# Question
Title: What is this `adb` utility I keep getting advice to use?
In a bunch of questions on this site I see answers telling us to execute `adb shell` or `adb logcat` and so on.

Now, I'm not an entirely clueless user, so I downloaded and installed Termux and have a shell prompt when I can type in commands, but - where does this `adb` thing come from? Do I download it as an app? It doesn't seem to be installed by default (On a Redmi 3S, Android 6.0.1).

Also, it seems like it's some kind of permission elevator. Is it like `su`? If not, how is it different?

# Answer
> 34 votes
## About `adb`

To put it shortly, `adb` (Android Debug Bridge) is a utility made to be installed on a computer, in order to let it gain a shell on a phone that's either connected via USB cable, or on the same Wi-Fi network.

On certain devices running Android Lollipop (5.1.1) and possibly lower versions of the OS, it was possible to trick a device into connecting to itself, since the `adb` client came bundled in the phone as well. This is *not possible any more* because, from Android Marshmallow (6.0) onwards, *Google removed the `adb` binary* from the phones to reduce the usable attack surface.

It is possible, though, to manually reintroduce the `adb` client on a phone, without needing to compile the binary yourself. Refer to the adb tag wiki for more info about this topic, as well as about installation on a computer and general troubleshooting.

---

## Where to get it

Some time ago, in order to obtain `adb` and another utility, called `fastboot`, one had to download the full Android SDK from Google, if they wanted an official package. Nowadays, a small, official bundle has become available, as XDA says. It includes binaries for the most common operating systems.

---

## How it works

The `adb` client, installed on your computer, makes a connection to a plugged or otherwise detectable phone, by means of an internal server. Then, the user will be able to send a variety of commands to the phone itself, which will be listened to by `adbd`, a daemon residing on the phone.

When using `adb`, you impersonate the user called `shell` (UID `2000`). This user is special, in that they can grant app permissions and access more information than a simple user. This fact, though, does not mean that `adb` is the same as `su`, as the latter lets you impersonate any user.

More info about `adb` and its workings may be obtained by looking at the official documentation.

---

## Issuing commands from a phone

The majority of commands that can be issued via `adb` tend to be utilities that come preinstalled in a phone.

In order to access them, you need to install a terminal emulator app on your phone (note that Termux is special, in that it specifies its own `PATH`, thereby ignoring system binaries). This will, for example, let you issue commands such as `logcat` directly on your mobile device. *Remember to omit the `adb` prefix, though.*

It is worth mentioning that, should you lack root permissions, the range of commands you'll be able to execute and the info you'll be able to access will be significantly less than if using `adb`, because the UID that invokes them will be the app itself, and apps have less permissions than UID `2000`.

# Answer
> 2 votes
**Android Debugging Bridge (ADB)**.

It sends commands over USB or Wifi to an android device. It is typically installed on the computer connected to the device. The ADB client can also be run on device itself however the idea is to remotely debug the device.

It is part of theAndroid Software Development Kit

You can then use the SDK manager to download platform tools.

There is also a more direct link here in case you're just interested in the platform tools

ADB Documentation

---
Tags: adb, shell
---


# Question
Title: Transfer file from Xiaomi Redmi 4A to Mac
I have a Xiaomi Redmi 4A I bought in China a few months ago still running the Chinese ROM.

* Android version is 6.0.1 MMB29M
* MIUI version is MIUI 8.5 | Stable 8.5.4.0(MCCCNED)
* Laptop is MacBook Air running Sierra

The two are paired and I can connect easily. I can send files from the Mac to the phone using Bluetooth File Exchange.

I cannot use the Mac's "Browse files on device" feature because "The device does not have the necessary services".

From the phone's Bluetooth settings I can connect to the Mac but can't find any way to send a file. I can't find any app or tool on the phone for sending files or using Bluetooth. I've looked through the UI, in the Tools section, looked in the phone's storage using Explorer, and I've tried searching the phone for "transfer", "send", and "bluetooth".

I can transfer in both directions using a USB cable.

**For this question I'm looking for a solution without any 3rd party apps.** If it's not possible without such an app, that's an acceptable answer. I'm looking for non-USB solutions for this question.

# Answer
Sorry didn't get your question initially because of "I'm not looking for non-USB solutions for this question." sentence.

As for Bluetooth solution - Open Mac-\>Settings-\>Bluetooth on your Mac, there will be checkbox "Show Bluetooth in menu", Bluetooth icon will appear near your clock in top right corner. Click it, there will be "Send files to device". Click it, choose file, choose your device. You transfered file from Mac to Phone.

As for reverse direction - open any File Explorer application on your phone (stock explorer, ES, whatever), select file you want to transfer, long tap it, select "Share", select "Bluetooth", select your Mac Bluetooth name. You done.

Sorry for my English and maybe not very accurate menu item names - I am Russian and have Russian Mac OS and Android.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Here are the ways you can transfer data between your Android phone to Mac. **https://101android.com/transfer-data-android-to-mac/**
> 1 votes

# Answer
Note: If you are ok with third party app then,

There is an app called Shareit available for this purpose. It is cross platform (supports mac, pc, ios, android and windows phone). Uses wifi for file transfer, so its very fast. Please check it out.

Shareit Official website
> 0 votes

# Answer
Here is an official Android utility to transfer files: https://www.android.com/filetransfer/ As a pity there is no other non 3rd-party options for Mac.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: bluetooth, file-transfer, macos, xiaomi, miui
---


# Question
Title: Is Google Play Service a kind of "bypass" of my apps authorizations?
The tag info says that it's "A library used by Google apps and many third-party apps to provide location and social functionality".

Does this mean that if I refuse to provide the location to an app, the said app can still retrieve my location through Google Play Services?

# Answer
> 1 votes
To my understanding, there are 2 way to retrieve the current location from an Android developer's perspective:

1. The Android framework location API: `android.location` This is "the old way" and developers are encouraged to adapt the newer API:
2. The Google Play services location API.

To access the former, an application has to request permissions to use them:

> Unless noted, all Location API methods require the ACCESS\_COARSE\_LOCATION or ACCESS\_FINE\_LOCATION permissions.

To access the latter, developers still have to request the same permissions:

> Apps that use location services must request location permissions. Android offers two location permissions: ACCESS\_COARSE\_LOCATION and ACCESS\_FINE\_LOCATION. The permission you choose determines the accuracy of the location returned by the API. If you specify ACCESS\_COARSE\_LOCATION, the API returns a location with an accuracy approximately equivalent to a city block.

So, no, the service does not offer a way to bypass permission checks. Both ways require the same permissions.

# Answer
> 0 votes
No, the service/libraries still require permissions requests just like everything else.

See the Play Services SDK documentation for more info. But some relevant excerpts:

> ...Once you’ve declared the APIs that you want to use ... ensure that you have the required permission before calling an API.
>
> ...
>
> If the call returns false this means the permissions aren’t granted and you should use `requestPermissions` to request them.
>
> ... when you call `connect()`, Google Play services validates that it has all the necessary permissions needed. ... `connect()` fails when any permission groups needed by Google Play services itself are missing.

---
Tags: security, google-play-services
---


title: Where is Castbox saving the downloads?

text:
# Question
Title: Where is Castbox saving the downloads?
Installing the podcast manager Castbox, it has a setting to chose downloads location between internal and external card, but I cannot find them with a file manager. I would like to just copy/paste them on my computer and keep a copy (without the need to download them again on the computer).

Maybe are they trying to avoid the saving of the files?

# Answer
> 5 votes
They saved the file on sdcard \> CastBox \> channels \> xxx \> yyy or on sdcard\>Android\>data\>fm.castbox.audiobook\>files\>channels\>xxx\>yyy

xxx is folder of channel usually the unique number of each channel, yyy is file name. But, they stored it without extention of the file, so you cannot play it.

Trick to play it, just rename the file name. Add extention .mp3 on the name. Example: filename= 24234234 Rename it to 24234234.mp3

---
Tags: podcast
---


# Question
Title: Can Android devices connect to both WiFi and mobile data networks at the same time?
Can Android devices connect to both WiFi LAN (not necessarily connected to the Internet) and mobile data networks at the same time? Or when it connects to one, does it have to disconnect from the other?

The device is Kyocera Hydro Icon with Android 4.4.2 if it's relevant.

# Answer
Multipath TCP is a relatively new technology that allows a device to use multiple network connections for the same logical TCP connection. This is used for mobile phones to use WiFi and mobile data connections at the same time to reduce the time for retrieving data.

I'm not sure which Android phones currently support multipath TCP.

Without multipath TCP, a TCP connection must be either on WiFi or on the mobile data connection, but not both. It is up to the OS to decide how allocate these connections. I think the standard Android decision is to use WiFi if available (and perhaps with sufficient signal strength) to minimize cost under metered data plans.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I'm not sure about your phone, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 can do that. It offers a "Download Booster" ability which connects to a WiFi and mobile data network simultaneously while downloading a file.
> 1 votes

# Answer
On Android 6.0 Marshmallow or later, there is a developer option.

For previous versions, something like this should work. The methods numbers are Android version specific and these should work for Android 4.4 KitKat:

```
#!/system/bin/sh

radioM=20
mobileDataM=27
wlanIface=wlan0

## turn on radio
service call phone $radioM i32 1
## turn on mobile data
service call phone $mobiledataM

## set mobile data as preferred network
service call connectivity $preferredNetworkM i32 0

## wait for mobile data to connect
while [ -z "$(ip a | grep ccmni | grep inet)" ]; do sleep 1; done

## reup wifi
ifconfig $wlanIface up
## enable network bypassing android service
echo enable_network 0 | wpa_cli -p /data/misc/wifi/sockets/ -i $wlanIface

```
> 1 votes

# Answer
The Speedify app seems to work for this purpose, and for free if you don't use a lot of data: http://speedify.com/

I happen to own a Kyocera Hydro Icon, and just tested it on 4.4.2, and it seems to enable to my phone to connect to and stream audio from my WiFi hotspot solely when configured as a microSD card server (meaning, it's not connected to the Internet), and to still access data over my phone's 4G/3G.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, networking, mobile-data
---


title: Not receiving SMS messages

text:
# Question
Title: Not receiving SMS messages
I recently switched phone provider, and since then many of the messages sent to me never show up, as if it was never sent. But the sender shows it as *sent* (though I think it can't know it's been *delivered*).

I was with my old provider for ~10 years, I use SMS a *lot* and never had a problem receiving them before I switched provider. I've had my Samsung S6 for 2-3 years now, running Android 7.0 now. I use Google's messenger, currently known as Android Messages, up-to-date via Play Store.

The problems seemed to start the moment I switched SIM card. The phone is unlocked, and I am receiving "most(?)" of the messages. It's worth noting that my old provider was "3" and the new one is "Spusu" *which uses 3's network.* Definitely **not related to the sender;** this is a problem from any person, any company, any network, even any country.

Seems it's **not related to my current location or current time,** nor signal strength. I now carry 3 phones -- my S6 with the new SIM card, a spare phone with the old SIM card, and my work phone. Every hour I send a test SMS from my work phone to both my own phones. The old SIM always receives the message, the new one misses some at random.

I've spoken to staff with the new provider and they **claim that all messages have been delivered to my phone,** per their log files.

* They claim that the Samsung S6 is known to have this problem - but I never experienced it with my old provider, so I don't believe that.
* They told me to clear the cache of my SMS app. I did, but no change. I rebooted, no change.
* I received a replacement SIM card from the new provider. No change.
* I even went as far as doing a complete **factory reset** of my S6! I hoped this would either fix the issue or rule out the device. Still didn't help.
* Is the Samsung S6 really known to "throw away" SMS messages?
* Can the provider really see that my device received the message?
* How can a phone receive ten SMS messages and some would randomly be missing?
* How can I further troubleshoot this? How can I fix it?

This is a serious problem because everyone I know uses SMS a lot, and suddenly I can't trust it because who knows when a message will go missing again?

I must have SMS capability back. It's no help suggesting some other app.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I can guarantee that this is **not** a problem related to your phone. Some 15 years back, I had a network provider that did the same, and ultimately I had to switch over to some other network.

Since the problem started soon after you changed your service provider, you should contact your new service provider. There's nothing wrong can do from our side to help you.

---
Tags: samsung, sms, samsung-galaxy-s-6, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: No Mobile Network In Samsung Grand Prime
Samsung Grand Prime Phone. There is no Mobile Network. I tried `*#*#4636#*#*` but it didn't bring up the Testing Menu. I am not able to search operator or change the network mode. The IMEI in `*#06#` and in the phone is same.

When I remove the sim it displays insert sim card. When I reinsert it, it's able to find there is a sim inserted but there is no signal.

I installed Network Mode app and it shows Radio is Off. Turn Radio On is not working.

When I get into settings for mobile network, it will not allow me to search. When I click search it will say mobile network not available. Both automatic and manual search says the same. The SIM works fine in another device. I can confirm its definitely device.

Can somebody point me in the right direction?

**EDIT**

I have updated the phone using Kies and now its in 5.0.2. Still no signal. There is a Blocked Symbol near the Wifi Symbol

**EDIT2** How to check that I have correct modem for the phone ?

# Answer
I can confirm that the stop sign symbol in Android 5.0 appears whenever your mobile network's service is down/unavailable. (In Stock Android Phones running Android 6.0, the stop icon is associated with Do Not Disturb, however on Samsung Phones with Android 5.0, the stop sign means the network provider's service is down).

One common reason as to why there may be no service is because you are using your phone in a remote area (where service is generally not available)

Now to try and solve the problem, take your phone to your carrier and explain the problem to them (hopefully they will have a solution), or maybe try using a different carrier and see if the problem is solved that way.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Well, I think the issue is related to the EFS partition. You need a repair firmware and use Odin to flash it then see if it will solve the problem.

Unzip the files, open Odin then load each file in its respective slot. Put the phone in Download Mode, connect to the computer the hit start on Odin.

The operation should fix the issue.
> 0 votes

# Answer
dear i think u have to open your mobiles setting,in setting open mobile network and chose 2G.....
> -2 votes

---
Tags: samsung, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: How to stop System update on Firefly intense 5
My phone is Firefly Intense 5 and I received a notification of system update. I accidentally hit it so my phone starts updating. Now, it suddenly turns off because it's low bat.And up until now, it is still updating. The update starts last Wednesday, now it's Friday. Is there any way I can stop it?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try this:

* Go to Settings
* Then applications (or app)
* Sweep to **Running apps**
* Locate `SystemUpdateService` then stop it. (click on stop)
* Go back to **Download apps**
* Locate `Google Play Service` and `Clear All Data`
* Now go check at **Settings \> About \> Software update**. You should see the update there just don't hit on download.

---
Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: How to search stably contents/titles in old messages in any Android email client?
I have a test message 15th October, but my Android email clients (Gmail, Outlook) cannot find those messages. It really causes problems. I waited a few minutes for the results, so the computer power should not be the problem here. I can search the messages in my Email client *Evolution* in Desktop Debian, but not by my phone.

Test word: `ääni`

Email settings: IMAP and never deleted/archieved the message in any system

OS: Android 7.1.1
Phone: Oneplus 3T

# Answer
> 0 votes
AqualMail has the feature, and it works: it searches successfully at least one month old messages. It costs about 10 euros one-time for Pro account (no adds, and no ads on sent messages' footers): I am not sure if this is life-time or one year. I did not find any contact menu for the developer to ask. Reading the following rewies in Play Store, you need to pay 10 euros every year and on every new phone.

> I just got a new phone and this app wants me to pay again for what I have already purchased!

---
Tags: gmail, email, 7.1-nougat, outlook
---


# Question
Title: Tablet not recognized as removable storage
I have an Android A-13 Android tablet version 4.0.4 Baseband version 4.0.14 I have been trying to get my PC to recognize it so that I can download my music to it.

But I do not know if the PC does recognize it or not as the tablet does not show up on the removable storage. I have tried several different things to get it to do so but none of them work.

One of the attempted things is to enable USB mass storage on the tablet. But when I try to do that it does not have a place for it in the Settings. Can anyone help me with this?

# Answer
> 3 votes
On Android 4.0+ devices, certain devices without a separate memory partition (i.e. separate sd card) don't have the **USB Mass Storage** option, rather Android now uses **MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)** or **PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol)** to transfer files.

NOTE: If your device supports SD Cards, please make sure that an SD card is available in the device before connecting it to the PC.

To configure between MTP and PTP (and USB Mass Storage if an SD card is available): go to **Settings \> Device \> Storage \> Menu \> USB computer connection.**

To **transfer files to your device via MTP**, make sure it is in the MTP mode, then connect it to your computer via a USB cable.

On Windows: wait for Windows to install the necessary drivers, then your device will be available in My Computer. (more info)

On Mac: You have to install the Android File Transfer software. Follow the steps on this support page.

On Ubuntu: follow the steps in this article.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try removing the SD card from phone/tablet. Put it in a card reader or laptop card reader. Can you open it? You may need to try a couple of times, When you do get it to open, run scandisk (right-click the drive, select properties, open Tools tab, select scandisk).

After scan and repair, defrag the SD Card. This should fix any file errors, you should be good to go.

If the SD card wont open, maybe you need to try downloading the free Minitool Partition Wizard software. This should access the card and allow you to rescue data. (The Rescue My Files program is also good)

*Sigh* If all this fails, format the card and get a new life but this time subscribe to a free cloud backup system.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I Factory Reset my tablet (On the Lenovo TAB 2, select Settings, Backup and reset, Factory data reset). All my data and apps were erased, but it was worth it since all but one of the apps were free anyway and the lost photos were easily replaced from my laptop. This solved the problem.

---
Tags: usb, usb-connection-mode
---


# Question
Title: HTC Desire 616 hard-bricked (dead) after format all + download in sp falsh tool
Recently I have used SP flash tool for flash htc desire 616. I flashed successfully. But I am unable to start the OS. So once again i done "format all+download". But now my phone completely dead. Please help any one how to write NVRAM files (including factory logo and imei no). But still, i am able to flash the mobile using SP flash tool. But mobile not getting ON. Please help anyone.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The dead state of a smartphone is actually because of corrupted firmware files. either the rom your are flashing is corrupted or the flashing process is interrupted whatever is the problem. try flashing with some other flashing tool and make sure you are flashing the right rom for your smartphone...

and about factory logo and imei no. factory logo is inbuilt in the rom your are flashing if it is official..and for the imei all android roms have modem binaries which are responsible for networking and imei related operations..

Can you tell me about your smartphone.?

---
Tags: rom-flashing, unbricking, formatting
---


# Question
Title: How to extract data from Samsung S5 with broken screen+digitizer?
I need to extract the photos from the internal memory of my Samsung S5. I've downloaded some software called dr.fone which shows me previews of my files (i think by downloading software onto the phone) so it must be possible but it is expensive for the full version. Are there any free apps which I can find to do this? (All search results give expensive heavily SEOed apps!

# Answer
> 0 votes
Actually firstly when you connect your phone to pc it will show your phone icon and drive but it will empty until you will unlock your phone and that you can't do.

if you have enabled usb debugging than you can backup your files via adb. use following adb command after connecting to adb terminal and listing your device is adb. type:-

"`adb pull /storage/sdcard0/ C:\to_folder_where_you_want_t0_copy`"

Have a great day

---
Tags: usb, data-recovery, photos, file-transfer, broken-screen
---


# Question
Title: How to fix infinite bootloop problem in rooted karbonn Sparkle V
I have **Karbonn Sparkle V** and it has **marshmallow** before I root it.

when I root my phone using **Android One toolkit**, its restart my phone after showing message `rooting completed`.

But when it restarts phone stuck on boot display and after that, I try to recover my phone via recovery mode nevertheless problem persists.

Someone plz help and thanks in advance.

# Answer
Simplt Flash it with a new stock rom firstly if you can access adb then backup your data..i dont think you have access to adb..but if by any chance the you can use ADB Command:-

"`adb pull /storage/sdcard0/ C:\folderyoumade`"

Download your stock rom from here:-

http://www.mediafire.com/file/uqdnsantv1ytqfx/Karbonn\_Sparkle\_V\_1783956\_Lollipop.zip

and then flash it...dont interrupt the flashing process because it can result in a dead state of your phone.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, boot-loop, boot, bootloader, karbonn
---


title: Cant root my Samsung Galaxy tab A again

text:
# Question
Title: Cant root my Samsung Galaxy tab A again
I rooted my phone with king root. Everything was working perfectly, until one day I felt like I should make my phone new so I went to factory to reset the phone, at that time I didn't know anything about root, but I rooted it because I used it to play games to get good graphics. After reseting it stucked at boot. Then I sent it to a shop for repair, the repairer told me he had to upgrade to higher android before it will work. It was 5.0.1 then he upgraded it to 6.0.1 but now I want to root my tablet again and it won't root. Have tried like 50 times using kingroot and kinggo root but it won't root. Please I need help

# Answer
> -1 votes
Kingo root??? not a good try you can use pc and there are so many other tools that can surely root any android

either way you can flash twrp or cwm recovery with adb adb command you can use:-

"`fastboot flash recovery path-to-the-recovery-file`"

and then by using twrp or cwm you can flash SuperSU.zip

---
Tags: root-access
---


title: WhatsApp Intent

text:
# Question
Title: WhatsApp Intent
I'm trying to automatically change the text status (not the photo/video status) in WhatsApp via Tasker by sending an Intent. My problem is that I don't know if it's possible to call the status to change it, and if it is possible, how to do that.

Any help is appreciated!

# Answer
> 2 votes
There is no intent to change text status directly but you can use a workaround by using Autoinput which is a tasker plugin.

Here is the profile description. You can download XML for easy import here.

First, you need to set a variable for text for your WhatsApp status.

```
A1: Variable Set [ Name:%content To:intent test Recurse Variables:Off Do Maths:Off Append:Off ]

```

Next, Launc WhatsApp

```
A2: Launch App [ App:WhatsApp Data: Exclude From Recent Apps:Off Always Start New Copy:Off ]

```

Click the menu of whatsapp

```
A3: AutoInput Action [ Configuration:Type: Text
Value: More options
Action : Click Timeout (Seconds):20 ]

```

Wait for 1 second

```
A4: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:1 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]

```

Click status in Menu

```
A5: AutoInput Action [ Configuration:Type: Text
Value: status
Action : Click Timeout (Seconds):20 ]

```

Again, wait for a second

```
A6: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:1 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]

```

Click edit to edit status

```
A7: AutoInput Action [ Configuration:Type: Text
Value: edit
Action : Click Timeout (Seconds):20 ]

```

Wait for a second

```
A8: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:1 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]

```

Paste the whatsapp status from variable named content.

```
A9: AutoInput Action [ Configuration:Type: Focus
Text to Write : %content
Action : Write Timeout (Seconds):20 ]

```

wait for 1 second

```
A10: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:1 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]

```

Finally, click ok to update the status.

```
 A11: AutoInput Action [ Configuration:Type: Text
Value: OK
Action : Click Timeout (Seconds):20 ]

```

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, tasker, intents
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to send a text as my un-rooted device is shutting down using Tasker or any other method?
I've set up a `Device Shutdown` event on Tasker, and I'm trying to use it to send an SMS text before the device dies due to the battery dying. I've got:

```
Event: Device Shutdown -> Task: Phone: Send SMS

```

`Send SMS` is set up currently to just send to myself for testing, but it's not working. I was hoping to have it send a text to the last sender if the last text received was less than 10 minutes ago, and the battery is below 3%, but I can't even get it to just send a simple text without conditions.

According to the tasker help file:

> The phone is about to shutdown (completely turned off, not standby).
>
> Note: this is right before shutdown. You might backup a file or similar, but UI interactions such as dialogs and anything that takes a significant amount of time will not work.

From this note, my guess is that `Send SMS` takes too long to execute, however I thought I'd throw this question out anyway.

# Answer
> 2 votes
You should use `State > Battery Level` as a profile context with minimum and maximum battery as 3%.

In the task, You can use `%SMSRN` to get phone number of last received SMS.

Then to check the condition of whether Last SMS text is received less than 10 minutes.

`%TIMES` has the current time in seconds. You need to use Variable Convert to get `%SMSRT` time in seconds and then do maths on the two values,

You can also use the / and % maths operator to get things like 'remaining minutes'.

---
Tags: sms, tasker, automation, shutdown
---


title: Installing new firmware: PDA,CSC

text:
# Question
Title: Installing new firmware: PDA,CSC
I bricked my phone, and wanted to reinstall the firmware, but I'm not sure if it is enough that the build number matches or do the PDA and CSC numbers also have to much at all costs? I'm asking this because my firmware is branded, and I wanted the one without brands, but that doesn't have the PDA and CSC that I have (I saved them earlier).

# Answer
PDA/CSC explained in one of my previous answers here. As for your situation, there are 2 factors to consider:

* Generally, the release date and version of what you're going to flash should be equal to or newer than what you had on the phone right now, so that it will flash at all. Downgrading is not entirely impossible - on newer devices, bootloader level determines how far you can go back; see part of another answer here.
* If you need certain languages to be present, look into the CSC string and make sure it's from your general region.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: rooting, rom-flashing, unbricking, device-firmware
---


title: LG Volt is stuck on Boot-Loop

text:
# Question
Title: LG Volt is stuck on Boot-Loop
As I was using one of the apps on my phone. It suddenly turned off then kept turning off and on going through the same process. I tried taking the battery out for a while, but that never worked either it just kept proceeding to turn off and on. What should I do?

# Answer
> 0 votes
This might not help your device:

1. Go To Recovery Mode `Hold Power Button + Volume Down`
2. Navigate using Volume Buttons
3. Choose Wipe User Data/ Factory Reset
4. Reboot your phone

---
Tags: boot-loop
---


# Question
Title: Google Play services for Instant Apps downloads/installs itself without authorization, downloads/updates other components, how to disable?
# Background

"**Google Play services for Instant Apps**" has installed itself onto my device *without* my permission. It *broke* functionality of my firewall (AFWall and couple of other apps). And it is updating itself and other apps/components without permission. When I uninstall this component, it downloads itself again and installs right back. *(That is, most likely it is "Google Play services" that's actually doing this in the background)*

There are no confirmations and no notifications of anything downloading, updating, or installing. The way I discovered it was by noticing that some functionality of my apps was changed/broken. So I used an app ("System Info for Android") and it shows that in fact this "Google Play services for Instant Apps" was installed a day ago.

**My question is:** how do I completely disable unauthorized updates of an Android device, yet preserving the following functionality:

* Contacts Sync
* Google Play Store
* Google Maps App

In these screenshots, you can see that all settings responsible for automatic updates are switched off. Therefore this download and installation is clearly unauthorized and should not be happening. *The screenshot of Instant Apps setting shows up after the thing is already installed. Leaving just the global setting from Google Play Store.*

*Settings › Apps* // *Settings › Google › Instant Apps* (turned OFF!) // Play Store Settings (Auto Update turned OFF!)

It has all started after I followed a *misleading suggestion*, you can see in this screenshot, to update "Google Play services":

click image for larger variant

---

## Update 1:

What I've discovered so far is that *something* (most likely "Google Play Services") is requesting the download + install. The way it's doing it is placing the request with Google Download Manager. Unclear what triggers it, but if watching device closely an icon from Download Manager *does* show up in notification indicating download percentage. However, upon completion, it instantly disappears. Still, there is nothing indicating installation.

What I've tried so far:

1. Install the following as user-level instead of system-level apps that they are originally: Google Account, GP Store, and Service Framework (`com.google.android.gms`; `com.android.vending`; `com.google.android.gsf`) This didn't work. The download is still requested and subsequently, installed.
2. Seems any way of blocking installation will make it download again and again (until your data is used up). So most likely best approach would be to prevent the downloading in the first place. I wasn't able to install Download Manager as a user app, which seems the part that needs to be controlled.
3. Blocking Download Manager and/or Play Store via firewall is possible, but that breaks down the only trustworthy way of downloading apps.

## Update 2:

Downgrading to the previous version of GP Services (v11.3.02) worked for a few days, but today GP services for Instant Apps was downloaded and installed. So, doesn't matter which version you use. Most likely Google will update all phones this way regardless.

## Update 3:

So now Google is updating itself on regular basis pretty much whenever it feels like it. If I'm streaming a movie, crippling my speed, using up my internet bandwidth for which I pay money per MB. In this image you can see 3 Google apps were updated without permission.

# Answer
> 7 votes
**Update**: In recent android versions you can do it from `**Settings**` -\> `**Google**` -\> `**Instant Apps**` -\> `**OFF**`.

> *Original answer follows below:*

In the best case scenario this should be enough to block Instant Apps from auto-updating.

Run on device via a terminal (connectbot, juicessh, etc).

```
pm hide com.google.android.instantapps.supervisor

```

Or, if running via adb on a pc while connected via cable (or wifi adb), then use:

```
adb shell pm hide com.google.android.instantapps.supervisor

```

Unlike `pm disable` *`pm hide`* also works on non-rooted devices. So far, I didn't see any more Instant Apps notifications appearing.

If the above does not work for you then another approach would be modifying the SELinux context of the file/folder (e.g. with `chcon`).

---

To revert the `pm hide` command above use:

```
pm unhide com.google.android.instantapps.supervisor

```

# Answer
> 3 votes
As the name suggests, it's part of the Google services apps. PlayStore uses it to run apps without installing them (new service). It is possible to disable but not remove (as far as I know it will just keep installing it self as being part of the core services).

To disable, go to *Settings › Google › Instant Apps* and switch the toggle switch (Reference).

I believe this will be a system app on newer devices as they come out, for the rest of us with older devices they will just force install on compatible devices.

**Edit:** Due to the fact the question was amended after I answered. This answer applies to none rooted devices. With a rooted device it could be possible but I can't think of a solution that's easy or permanent.

# Answer
> 1 votes
**About:** \[Root Only\] This solution involves blocking write access to the temp (cache) folder where Google downloads its system apps such as Google Play Services, Google Play services for Instant Apps, etc. It's simpler than it looks, because I'm explaining everything, it looks like a lot. Afterwards, installing new apps essentially becomes 3 steps and the process is similar to installing programs on a PC.

---

**Background:** Under my system the folders work as follows:

1) `/data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache`
* This is the folder where Google system updates (as well as New system apps) are installed.
* Unfortunately, this folder is also used for downloading normal new apps. So you can't just block it permanently. You have to be able to block/unblock it when downloading new apps.

2) `/mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.android.vending/files`
* This folder is used to update normal (non Google-system apps). So no need to block this, or do anything special when it comes to updating your normal apps like Facebook, games etc.

---

**Solution:** The *cache* folder above is kept locked during normal operation. When you want to install a new app, overall process is as follows (although mostly automated): (1) unlock *cache* folder (2) lock app folders, in case it sneaks through while it's unblocked and installs it. (3) Download your new app from the store (4) Copy downloaded program from installation folder to another place, and rename it from default name (download.apk) (5) Clear and lock *cache* folder (6) unlock the apps folders (7) Click on the apk file to install it.

Obviously you don't want to type this at the terminal every time so these are automated steps. They involve using two additional apps as well as having BusyBox installed (to be able to use chattr command by the scripts)

1. Locking unlocking is achieved by an app called Gscript. You can use any other app that achieves execution of scripts. There's a version in google store, but it crashes for me and other people. There's a stable fork available here: https://bitbucket.org/Equidamoid/gscript (Thanks to author's post here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/20328927/7609435) Just paste these two scripts there. (Both need SU)
A) Execute before download - **Lock apps / Unlock cache**

`chattr +i /data/data/*
chattr +i /data/data
chattr +i /data/app/*
chattr +i /data/app
chattr -i /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache`
B) Execute after download is complete and after you copied the file - **clear and lock cache / unlock apps**
`rm /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache/*
chattr +i /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache
chattr -i /data/data/*
chattr -i /data/data
chattr -i /data/app/*
chattr -i /data/app`
2. You will know the app is downloaded when the Play Store says "download failed". It'll say that because it couldn't install the apk, but it was actually successful downloading and it is sitting inside the *cache* folder. Before running script (B) above, you have to move the file from *cache* folder elsewhere. You can do it using any app of course, but I like to use Total Commander, because it can have two panes and it supports bookmarks (I added *cache* to it). So move it and rename the file from default name to something else and then run the (B) script above. Also note, when copying the APK it should have an icon of the app. If it has the default icon it's probably corrupt download due to other unrelated reasons, so you can try downloading again.
3. Now the *cache* folder is cleared and locked and apps folders are unlocked. *(you can double check that cache folder is empty just to be 100% sure but I doubt this is necessary)* You can now install the APK you downloaded.

**Note1:** If you click on a new download and it says "pending" just (force) close Google Play and restart it, it should start downloading automatically.

**Note2:** I have tested this with only Android: 6.0.1 / MIUI: 8.5.3.0 so this solution might not be universal. Check to see if you have the cache folder and if the download of the Google Play Services is being uploaded there (once upload is finished it stays there for a while).

**WARNING:** It's fine to keep cache folder locked up, but if you happen to restart your phone while those data folders are locked, your phone will not boot. And you'll need to go manually and change it from TWRP shell.

P.S. I understand this solution is not for everyone, but if your primary concern is stability and to keep data-usage under control, this works... for now. Hopefully someone will come up with a better answer than this.

---
Tags: google-play-store, google-play-services, instant-apps
---


# Question
Title: How do I change the default file association in ES file Explorer?
When I click on a `.bin` file in ES file Explorer, the default action is to move it to the recycle bin. How can I stop this behavior?

* I am on a Samsung S4 running Lollipop, TouchWiz ROM.
* I have looked in Settings -\> More -\> Default Applications. This shows 2 options only for 'Home' and 'Messages'.
* I have installed the default app manager and there is nothing that relates to `.bin` files.

# Answer
There is no file type association settings under Android so it's not Samsung's fault. ES File Explorer doesn't have an option to set a default file association but you can have the same result if you do the following.

1. Long click the item (file) you wanna open it will create a check list with the file selected.
2. Click on the three dots at the right bottom of the screen.
3. Choose `open as` then select what type of file is your `.bin` file (text,music,image,video or others). ES File Explorer will prompt a list of available apps that can open the file you wanna open, choosing other will prompt all apps that accept `intent` of any type of file. In that list choose the app that can open your bin file.
> 4 votes

# Answer
As an alternative to fostandy's answer: From the three dots menu, click on "Clear Defaults" and that default app you wish to change from will no longer be the default, so you'll once again get the menu with the apps you can choose from. Of course, from that menu, you'll know how to set the new default.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I had a similar issue for mkv files on an android tv I have found that if you click on the gear for ES file explorer Settings then you can click on the "Cleanup settings" -\> "Clear defaults" and this fixed the issue for me (i.e. from tham moment when click on mkv files I was again prompted to choose which app to use as I desired) BTW: this is done for all the filetype associations at once - it seems you cannot reset the association of just the .bin files
> 0 votes

---
Tags: file-management, default-applications
---


title: Locationservices

text:
# Question
Title: Locationservices
When in my settings, looking at my apps, I have 2 apps labeled "locationservices" one has absolutely no data. The other does. Do I need both of could I force stop either one?! BTW, my phone is grand x ZTE. If that helps any.

# Answer
Well, Did you recently reset your phone with root access ?, in some not well built android platform (ZTE, Colors, Micromax...) Shows such type of behavior. Its not harmful to your phone if u disable, such kind of app with 0 data. But here is main issue, If your phone is rooted with softwares like kings root.. That superuser application (other with root permission) can install application which indeed looks same but its function may be spying to ransoming, so please verify that app from play store or remove asap.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: How to send Calendar invite links in email(Gmail)?
I would like to send Calendar events through mails to a group of people. I can currently share links from my Calendar but that just opens up a browser windows saying 'Untitled Event'.

For example,

If my event is Quiz No. 2 on 12th Nov at 4. Then the link should re-direct to(preferably in the Calendar app rather than a browser window) a event title 'Quiz No. 2' and the time must be set to 4. The person receiving the mail just has to click add event.

Can this be done?

**EDIT:**

I am able to send the link but it opens up in the browser. Is there any way make it open up in the Calendar app?

# Answer
* On your computer, open Google Calendar.
* Open an event to edit.
* Click Edit event.
* On the right, find the "Guests" section.
* Start typing the name of the person and choose someone from your contacts or type an email address to invite people who aren't in your contacts list.
* To mark a guest as optional: Next to the guest's name, click the person's icon People. If you don't see the icon, hover over the guest's name.
* When you're done editing your event, click Save.

You can invite people who don't use Google Calendar to your event. Just follow the steps above and invite the person using their email address.

Your guests will receive an email invitation. They can let you know if they are going by clicking the Yes, No, or Maybe links in the email.
> 0 votes

# Answer
People who do not have access turned on with different email platforms can not get access to your calendar link.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: email, calendar, google-calendar
---


# Question
Title: Android (Yuphoria) stuck in bootloop without recovery and ROM & files cannot be written
My **Yuphoria 5010** got into bootloop after installing a custom ROM. My friend tried to fix it but deleted the recovery following a tutorial.

Now the device is stuck at the boot logo.

Is it possible to hard format the device to the default ROM anyhow?

**Update:** This is not a normal bootloop. The problem here is the ROM could not be rewritten. Any writing attempts are being failed. The device was infected with a malicious adware which couldn't be deleted and that's the reason I tried to format the device. Is there any way around if the writing modules fail?

# Answer
Flashing a stock firmware should fix this.

* Download and extract Yu Yuphoria YU5010 stock firmware on your computer
* After extracting, you should get the **Firmware File,** **Flash Tool** and **How-to Flash Guide**.
* Install the USB Driver on your Computer
* Follow the How-to Flash Guide to Flash the Firmware .

Follow the steps carefully and your problem should be fixed.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, boot-loop, micromax-yu-yuphoria
---


# Question
Title: How to disable Google synchronization on Xperia XZ1 Compact?
Given that I'm an Android developer and know how to use Android, I'm yet again amazed by Google's ability to disguise options and to change them with every release (in addition to the device manufacturers doing the same thing).

What I want to achieve: disable auto-sync of all data with Google (including app data, contacts, SMS, calendar, ...)

The way it **doesn't** work on my device is by following the instructions you get from googling "android how to disable Google sync". I'm not stupid ;) I do know how to google.

I have a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact with Android 8.0 Oreo. I'm unable to disable synchronization. Here are the screenshots:

Note: On the last screenshot, when scrolling down the list, I can see "Google Play Movies & TV" where it explicitly says "Sync is OFF". It **doesn't** say that for the other items.

# Answer
Ahh. I found that "auto-sync account data" (shown on the first screenshot) acts as a master switch. Turning it on and then going to the "Account sync" screen then reveals the individual on/off sliders for the different items.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, google-account
---


# Question
Title: can't mount /data while installing LineageOS
I've rooted my Nexus 7 using the SO instructions How do I root my Nexus 7?. I'm trying to install LineageOS using its instructions https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/flo/install#installing-lineageos-from-recovery. But steps 4 and 6 fail (making a backup, and wipe / advanced wipe). Both failures include the messages `Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)` and `Unable to mount storage`. So `/data` may be corrupt.

From `adb shell`, `ls /data` shows that it's an empty directory; `mount /data` fails with the same error `Invalid argument`.

From `adb shell`, the Nexus 7's `/etc/fstab` mentions `/dev/block/mmcblk0p30 /data ext4 rw 0 0`. But when I try to repair that device with `e2fsck`, it finds no superblock, even with `-b 8193`.

From `adb reboot bootloader`, the screen shows `SECURE BOOT - enabled` and `LOCK STATE - unlocked`. From that fastboot screen, if I select recovery mode, I see the teamwin TWRP 3.1.1-0 splash screen for 30 seconds, then I "swipe to allow modifications," and then I see TWRP's 8 big buttons.

Well, the backup and wipe buttons fail, so just for giggles, I tapped the button `Install` (LineageOS steps 7-10), and chose the lineage and open\_gapps .zip files that I'd `adb push`ed to `/sdcard`. To prevent the install from working, checked the checkbox "verify zip signature" without copying over the md5 files containing the signatures. Besides the expected failure to verify the signatures, I saw these errors:

`Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)`

`Unable to recreate /data/media folder`

`E:Could not create /cache/recovery/`

`Unable to mount storage`.

`Can't open destination log file: '/cache/recovery/log'`

`Unable to mount /data/media/TWRP/.twrps`

`E:DataManager::Output_Version -- Unable to make /cache/recovery`

Again, `/data` seems to be the problem. I probably shouldn't attempt a real install before taking care of that.

**How should I recover from these errors, to install LineageOS or, failing that, to restore the device to factory defaults?** (If it helps, I have another Nexus 7, unrooted.)

# Answer
> 12 votes
These `/data`-related errors are likely because TWRP can't decrypt the current `/data` partition. This often happens with stock ROMs, since TWRP is only made to handle the encryption method of AOSP.

To work around it, in TWRP, choose `Wipe - Format Data`. This will wipe all data from the device, but at the same time remove encryption and allow you to start off fresh. You can then reboot to recovery again to check if there are still errors displayed, and if not (it shouldn't), proceed with any other flashing actions.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I had this encrypted volume problem as @andy-yan decribes, but couldn't boot into TWRP far enough to wipe data and remove encryption.

I had to reinstall a stock rom from https://developers.google.com/android/images and confirm that encryption was disabled in settings -\> security before trying again to install lineageos.

---
Tags: nexus-7, twrp, lineageos
---


# Question
Title: What's app doesn't recognize a contact in my phonebook
I tried adding +, tried + with international access code plus country & are codes, tried +with just the country & area codes, tried refresh but still that particular contact doesn't appear.

# Answer
> 0 votes
First verify that the person actually has WhatsApp, because if they don't, it will not show up.

After you confirm the above, add the contact to your phone then open WhatsApp and press the green new chat icon on the bottom right. Now press on the three dots on the top right, and select 'refresh'

As long as you put in all area code info correctly and you did the above, it should show up.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: How can I use Google Assistant on Android 7 to play a show on my TV on Netflix on Windows 10? - Super User
So here's the setup:

I have a phone running Android 7.1.1. It comes with Google Assistant.

I have a TV, which is connected to a Windows 10 PC. I use it to watch Netflix via netflix.com in Chrome.

How can I use my phone to watch shows on my TV via voice commands? Like "Play Stranger Things on my TV" or "Play Stranger Things on Netflix on my TV".

I know Google Home and the Pixel phones can control Chromecast. Surely there's an app for Windows 10 that will allow me to control it too?

# Answer
> 1 votes
TL;DR: I don't believe there is an official Windows 10 app which will act as a Chromecast client (and I doubt there will be). Buy a Chromecast HDMI stick for your TV.

So I have a 2nd Generation Chromecast connected to my TV and through the Google Assistant on my Android phone (6.0.2) I was able to launch YouTube as well as Spotify.

Netflix is a first party partner for Google Home:

https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/7214982?hl=en

so voice commands work there. You would still need to link up your account but if you had a Chromecast it should work.

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23924

While you can cast from the Chrome browser it is either a sender or remote control and not a receiver. My Chromecast does appear to be updated relatively frequently which means that Google can force updates while as a client app (on any OS) it could be blocked. Additionally they would need to integrate their DRM stack into Windows which is even more work.

**But what if I wanted to control my PC via Google Assistant**

Setup your own server to connect to Google Assistant. You'll have a write a Windows client as well which perform the actions. One blocking point is that you'll need to have it up 24/7 to keep it responsive. If you use a hosting service which shuts it down until request the startup delay may tell Google that the service is no longer working. As always coding problems are off-topic here.

---
Tags: windows, google-assistant, netflix
---


title: Exact same contact shown twice

text:
# Question
Title: Exact same contact shown twice
I have a contact that is shown twice in the contacts list. The copies are not from different accounts (so they cannot be joined), they are not two different entries in the same account(so they cannot be merged in Google contacts online), it is exactly the same contact. If I edit one, the other gets also edited.

* I have tried joining them on the phone, it says "contacts joined" but nothing happens. The two copies are still there.
* I have tried deleting the contacts, but when I delete one of them then I cannot access the remaining copy in the list as tapping on it shows the message "the contact does not exist".
* Another strange thing is that one of the copies does not belong to any account at all. When displaying one account contacts only (eg Google contacts, Whatsapp, etc.) it shows only one copy (the same for all accounts containing the contact, it is a joined contact).
* Finally, it is worth mentioning that this happened after installing Whatsapp and this contact has two mobile numbers associated so it appears twice in contact list inside Whatsapp. I do not mind having the same person twice in Whatsapp, but I would like to have only one copy in my contacts list on the phone.

What can I do?

**Edit:** I have removed my Whatsapp account from Settings-\>Accounts and the duplicated contact has disappeared. As soon as Whatsapp synchronises again, it appears again.

I have also noticed that it is the only contact with two mobile numbers and each of them has its own Whatsapp account so that there are two different entries in the contact list inside Whatsapp. I have other contacts with two mobile numbers but only one of them is associated to a Whatsapp account and appears only once in both Whatsapp and Phone contact lists.

is it then a Whatsapp bug? is there someone else with the same problem?

# Answer
Somewhere in Settings you can see **Contacts to display**

Now it shows different options like Show All Contacts, Device Contacts, SIM Contacts, Whatsapp Contacts and of all accounts that you have. Simply select your desired option as mine was to show SIM Contacts.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Due to the lack of details like screenshots, multiple apps I would be answering it as a what's app case

**Principle**: The basic principle is that every name has only one contact number storage space if you're storing it in sim card but if you're storing it in phone memory then only it would support multiple numbers to a single name.

What's app assigns every contact a single number just as in sim storage. Now if under contact settings/display you select to show all contacts I.e Phone, sim,whats app, email, gtalk etc then you will end up with multiple name display so far that you need to choose a single location where would you Store your contacts (settings menu is standard on all Android phones but only the appearance may vary due to the OEM flavour on top of Android)

-Normally i save all new contacts in sim to have it safe just in case there's system failure and it's formatted and later copy it to the memory card.

-After that I hide the sim contacts display, all other's app contacts display in phone , merge duplicates with this I avoid duplicate display of contacts from each and every app installed and get a summarised display.

**Note**

1. While saving contacts with same name and multiple no on sim card just add a identifiable suffix like name.1 so on so forth.
2. Later once you hide and merge duplicates then you won't get multiple names to worry and what's app would take all the names from sim card so you will get the names as you saved.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Open WhatsApp, goto Settings and un-check "Show all contacts" check-box.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I was getting the same issue in my mobile. Now I find the below solution for this issue. I am using Mi Note 3.

> Go to setting. Go to System apps. Go to contacts. Click on Display preferences. Click on Configure contact list and select your google account. (If you want to see only whatsaap contacts then select whatsapp)
> 0 votes

---
Tags: contacts, whatsapp-messenger, google-contacts
---


# Question
Title: How can I check if a lost Android phone has been flashed
My wife lost her OnePlus 3T and after 4 days it's returned by a passerby who found it.

Not to sound paranoid, but is it possible the phone was flashed with custom ROM but retains all the data? Can someone be possibly stealing data / eavesdropping on the phone this way?

If I go to about device Android version, kernel version etc still shows the same information.

Is there any checks I should perform to detect any other malicious activity?

# Answer
> 1 votes
if you have the same information about your phone and all the things are just like before, its ok.

(stolen) The possibility is: if you had not security like lockscreen, then it's biggest. but, if not, the way to do it is hard to do and to take it easy the phone should be with OEM-on and some things more. You can check (by active Developer Mode) if your device is 'Allow OEM', and look the system apps, if there's someone 'strange'. However, you can get backup your files and reset the phone to get safe over that.

I hope it help you.

---
Tags: rom-flashing, custom-roms, rom, bootloader, oneplus-3
---


# Question
Title: How to get option as install zip from SD card in recovery mode?
In a recovery mode, there are many options, such as:

* Apply update from SD card
* Wipe data/factory reset
* Wipe cache partition
* Backup and restore

But I can't find to install zip from SD card for installing zip file.

How to get option as install zip from SD card in recovery mode?

# Answer
Recovery is of two types:
a. Stock recovery
b. Custom recovery

**Stock recovery** is the one that comes inbuilt in the phone (which you are using now)..
The "Apply Update" option in stock recovery is same as "Install Zip", except that you can install only official updates using stock recovery.

To install some other ROMs (OS) or for some other things like rooting (by flashing SuperSu or whatever), you have to first flash (install) a **custom recovery**.
The custom recovery can have the option you said: "Install Zip"
> 1 votes

# Answer
If you can't find the option to install zip from an SD card, then you're probably on your stock recovery which comes with your phone. Stock recoveries don't allow you to flash a zip file because the manufacturers don't want end-users to try it and end up with a soft-bricked phone.

You will have to install a custom recovery first. I recommend you install the latest version of TWRP recovery. To do this, search the procedure to install TWRP on your specific phone.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: recovery-mode, sd-card
---


# Question
Title: Is there any way to make a backup from download mode?
I have an Idol 3 phone with a broken power button and a broken touch screen. I am only able to boot into download mode by holding down the volume up and down buttons while plugging it into the charger.

Is there any tool that will allow me to make an image of the internal memory on my phone instead of flashing it? Can QFIL do it, or is that just for writing data?

# Answer
Unfortunately, "Download Mode" is just one direction (as the name suggests: Download data to the device to be run there) – so no, you cannot use it to *read* data from the device.

For comparison, take a look into our tag-wiki – as `fastboot` is the equivalent to Download Mode. There you'll find a link to can fastboot be used to backup device? Though `fastboot` isn't *identical* to Download Mode (especially with Samsung devices, where the two are not compatible and one has to use tools like instead), both serve the same purpose.

Speaking of QFIL: Especially not. QFIL is a tool to communicate with the device while in emergency mode ("Qualcomm 9008"), and only intended to make the device operable again (AFAIK) – e.g. to flash a bootloader. And of course it's for Qualcomm devices only (as others are unlikely to enter a *Qualcomm* emergency mode).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: data-recovery
---


# Question
Title: Why would my /system partition be reset after being resized?
**Background:**

---

Device: Yu Yureka | CM 12.1(5.1)

https://www.gsmarena.com/yu\_yureka-6987.php

---

Its been a while since Cyanogen died and I was looking forward to migrate to a newer ROM. Turns out, Resurrection Remix has a custom ROM for Tomato(my build name) with Nougat support: https://sourceforge.net/projects/resurrectionremix/files/tomato/ courtesy being of Mr Abhishek, the maintainer of ROM for Yureka.

Anyway, I went ahead, changed my recovery from Cyanogen to TeamWin and flashed the new ROM, the only part remaining being flashing of GApps except flashing GApps gave me the infamous Error 70 : https://tech.chandrahasa.com/2017/03/09/error-70-gapps-fix/

In my case, I wanted to repartition /system to fix the problem and so used a tool(*built specifically for my device*) to do that. It worked and it ended up formatting `/system, /dalvik, /cache, /data`.

**Problem:**

When I checked the partition size, it showed 2.5GB just as was promised at this point. I went ahead and flashed the new ROM and somehow, the partition ended up being 1.15 GB like it was there originally. I suspect the install script of the ROM resets the partition size as a sanity check by default after all - this new ROM is a fork of the CM 12.1 ROM that originally came up with the phone. Or, there could be some sort of limit on the /system partition size.(not sure really...)

Question: How can I keep this new repartition size and prevent the ROM from resetting it to 1.15GB(if indeed that's the case)?

---

**For your reference,**

Here is the Update script for the ROM:

```
assert(getprop("ro.product.device") == "YUREKA" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "YUREKA" || abort("E3004: This package is for device: YUREKA; this device is " + getprop("ro.product.device") + "."););
assert(cm.verify_trustzone("TZ.BF.3.0.R2-00034") == "1");
ui_print("Target: YU/YUREKA/YUREKA:5.1.1/LMY49J/YOG4PAS8A4:user/release-keys");
ifelse(is_mounted("/system"), unmount("/system"));
package_extract_dir("install", "/tmp/install");
set_metadata_recursive("/tmp/install", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644);
set_metadata_recursive("/tmp/install/bin", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0755);
mount("ext4", "EMMC", "/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system", "/system", "");
run_program("/tmp/install/bin/backuptool.sh", "backup");
unmount("/system");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print(" RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR     RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR   ");
ui_print(" R::::::::::::::::R    R::::::::::::::::R  ");
ui_print(" R::::::RRRRRR:::::R   R::::::RRRRRR:::::R ");
ui_print(" RR:::::R     R:::::R  RR:::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print("   R::::R     R:::::R    R::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print("   R::::R     R:::::R    R::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print("   R::::RRRRRR:::::R     R::::RRRRRR:::::R ");
ui_print("   R:::::::::::::RR      R:::::::::::::RR  ");
ui_print("   R::::RRRRRR:::::R     R::::RRRRRR:::::R ");
ui_print("   R::::R     R:::::R    R::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print("   R::::R     R:::::R    R::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print("   R::::R     R:::::R    R::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print(" RR:::::R     R:::::R  RR:::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print(" R::::::R     R:::::R  R::::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print(" R::::::R     R:::::R  R::::::R     R:::::R");
ui_print(" RRRRRRRR     RRRRRRR  RRRRRRRR     RRRRRRR");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print(" **************** Software *****************");
ui_print(" OS ver: RR-N-v5.8.3-20170621-tomato-OFFICIAL-VoLTE");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Android ver: 7.1.2");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Security patch: 2017-06-05");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" SDK ver: 25");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Root status: Enabled");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Build ID: NJH47B");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Build date: Wed Jun 21 18:23:54 IST 2017");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Build type: OFFICIAL-VoLTE");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Build host: DeadlyMachine");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Maintainer: Men_in_black007");
ui_print(" **************** Hardware *****************");
ui_print(" Device codename: tomato");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" Manufacturer: YU");
ui_print("");
ui_print(" *******************************************");
if is_mounted("/data") then
package_extract_file("META-INF/org/lineageos/releasekey", "/tmp/releasekey");
run_program("/tmp/install/bin/otasigcheck.sh") != "31744" || abort("Can't install this package on top of incompatible data. Please try another package or run a factory reset");
else
mount("f2fs", "EMMC", "/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata", "/data", "");
package_extract_file("META-INF/org/lineageos/releasekey", "/tmp/releasekey");
run_program("/tmp/install/bin/otasigcheck.sh") != "31744" || abort("Can't install this package on top of incompatible data. Please try another package or run a factory reset");
unmount("/data");
endif;
show_progress(0.750000, 0);
ui_print("Patching system image unconditionally...");
block_image_update("/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system", package_extract_file("system.transfer.list"), "system.new.dat", "system.patch.dat") ||
  abort("E1001: Failed to update system image.");
show_progress(0.020000, 10);
mount("ext4", "EMMC", "/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system", "/system", "");
run_program("/tmp/install/bin/backuptool.sh", "restore");
unmount("/system");
show_progress(0.050000, 5);
package_extract_file("boot.img", "/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/boot");
show_progress(0.200000, 10);
set_progress(1.000000);

```

# Answer
I did it with a trick. I first flashed the ROM with 1.15 GB partition only. Then, switched to recovery, made backup of the ROM on SD Card then ran the script for repartitioning, it became 2.5GB, flashing /system, /data, /cache and /dalvik.

Then, instead of flashing the ROM afresh, I restored the backup into this partition.

Voila! It worked!

I am now a happy user of a Custom ROM with Android Nougat(stock was Lollipop) and only those Google Apps that I consider useful.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: rom-flashing, custom-roms
---


# Question
Title: How to change notification importance on android Oreo
Do you have any idea about change notification importance on your android Oreo 8.0 devices?

# Answer
You can check on 'app & notifications', setting app-by-app. search for 'notification' on quick-search icon (superior-right-side on app Configuration).

in another way rules of 'Do not Disturb' can do it too.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: settings
---


title: Disabling screen lock

text:
# Question
Title: Disabling screen lock
Suppose my android phone is locked by any locking method like password , pin, or pattern. Suppose my mobile is not a rooted phone , neither have custom recovery installed.

Is there is any way to unlock it with the stock recovery or anything like that ?

Without WIPE USER DATA . I don't want the data to be removed.

Also suppose no Google accounts help is available.

# Answer
there's some ways to do it, but 90% of it will wipe User data. If you did OEM on, you can save your data on backup then wipe the phone by fastboot mode.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, stock-android, android-emulator, sim-unlocking
---


# Question
Title: Why screen turns on while connecting/disconnecting charger?
Even if it's (somehow) understandable to turn screen on while **connecting** charger, why it turns on also on **disconnecting**? Whats behind the design decision for this?

Is there native way of preventing this behaviour?

# Answer
> -2 votes
You can disable it on settings, depending of your device and ROM.

---
Tags: charging, power-on
---


title: Insufficient Storage with new sd card

text:
# Question
Title: Insufficient Storage with new sd card
I have a ZTE N817 and I bought a 16GB sd card for it and when I try to download something, all it says is that there is "insufficient storage on device". What should I do to get my phone to register that I have am sd card full of untouched storage?

# Answer
> 0 votes
That is because your device downloads data in your device internal memory by default and you don't have sufficient space on your device internal memory . In this case you can transfer some data to your sd card such as media files or change download location to sd card.

# Answer
> 0 votes
When you download apps and updates to apps to your device, your internal memory is used as temporary storage for the downloaded APK which is then installed once it has finished downloading; you will need to clear some internal storage first. Caron was spot on about that.

However, if you are running Android 5 or higher, there is no way to treat the external SD card as storage for installed apps (until Android 6, which allows the external SD card to be treated as extended internal storage via Adopted Storage); prior versions of Android (at least Kitkat, someone please correct me) did allow apps to be moved to the external SD card.

Looking at your phone model, it does look like your phone is running KitKat, so you're in luck! All you need to do is free up space on your internal storage. What I would do first is go into the Settings app, then go to your installed apps list, then sort by size. From there, tap on an app then tap on "Move to SD card". If the app is a user app and the developer has allowed it to be installed on the SD card, the button should be available to tap, otherwise it will be greyed out.

Apps on the SD card won't suffer from too much of a performance hit but if the SD card is removed you won't be able to use the apps installed on it.

---
Tags: insufficient-memory, internal-sd
---


title: Synchronising files over SSH

text:
# Question
Title: Synchronising files over SSH
I have an SSH server providing access to my files at home, secured by a private key.

I'd like to be able to synchronise those files with my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy Note, running Cyanogenmod 11 (Android 4.4.2). I need two-way synchronisation: edits and deletes on the phone should be synchronised to the server, and edits and deletes on the server should be synchronised to the phone.

Ideally, this tool would run in the background, but I would be able to trigger it manually if required.

Does such a tool exist? I've been unable to find one either in the Play Store or F-Droid.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Revisiting this after several years, I've found a solution that works across all my devices (GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Android): Syncthing

It provides free (as in speech, and as in beer), secure, and easily installed peer to peer file synchronisation. Literally does everything I want, out of the box.

# Answer
> 2 votes
And if you want a tool with a nice GUI, take a look at FolderSync. It not only offers SSH, but plenty of additional protocols – including Samba, FTP, and a bunch of cloud services (yes, even ownCloud). More alternatives can be found in my list here.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Rsync is a great utility that can synchronize files using SSH, which I personally and at work for backups. Looks like there is an app available in the Play Store called rsync backup for Android.

EDIT: Also if you want a more Linux-y type solution, CM has busybox included, which I believe has rsync. Looks like this guy has a setup that seems similar to what you want. Check out his blog post.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I ended up choosing Unison, which supports Linux, FreeBSD, Windows and Android - the full set of OSs I use on a regular basis.

See https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/65691/synchronising-files-over-ssh for my replacement for Unison.

---
Tags: sync, ssh
---


title: Kiosk App - Auto-Update

text:
# Question
Title: Kiosk App - Auto-Update
update on an android device (Samsung Galaxy S2). A I am waiting for the app to download and install. Is there a way I can force this to take place without user interaction.

I was thinking about the following :

1. Killing the app (from another app)
2. Reopening the app after 1 hour (from another app)

Is this going to work? Can I garantee that the update will have taken place?

Thanks in advance!

P.S I have 700 devices so this has to be automated. I have waited overnight for the app to install while the app was running and it didnt happen. I am open to any suggestions.

# Answer
Is the app on the play store?

If yes, it should push out an update without user intervention *provided* the setting to 'Auto-update apps' is set, depending on preference of either Wifi or using Mobile data. See below:
> 0 votes

# Answer
In order to do this without user interaction (silent install) and without the play store, one of the following items should be addressed:

1. Device must be rooted
2. App must be signed with the OS system signature
3. Device is managed by a MDM preinstalled in the OS (And therefore signed by the OS vendor)

Without one of the above, Android will prompt the user to approve the update. And there will be a Cancel button that you can't control. Keep in mind also that if the uses cancels the upgrade you will fall back to the device launcher.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: application-autoupdate
---


# Question
Title: How to disable the "sign in to wifi network" page?
How can I disable the page "sign in to wifi network" that appears when connected to a wifi network that requires login?

I dont want to disable wifi. I just dont want this page to appear. Is it possible?

# Answer
> 0 votes
In most cases, no

basically, some WiFi providers will put a sign in page after you connect, so that you sign into your account which you paid for, or to be able to limit your time on the web unless you pay, or they'll give you free WiFi only if you subscribe to something etc.

So, what you're trying to do, in short, is get free WiFi in a place where they want you to pay.

There are a few tricks to try but chances are, that it's not going to work.

1. If the sign in page lets you download their app without signing in first, then what you can do is, press on the download option, it will open the play store, and while play store is open, you can go anywhere on the web,
2. Or you can use a VPN that blocks your activity from the WiFi provider and will let you bypass the sign in page and in turn you'll have free WiFi. Though it's hard to find one that will actually work.

---
Tags: wi-fi
---


# Question
Title: Are there situations that a crashed Android app's task will remain running in the background?
Quick question to help me understand how my phone's performance is affected when an app terminates "irregularly".

When an Android app crashes (or otherwise terminates irregularly), could the task keep running even though it's inaccessible?

For example, when a Windows app (like Excel) crashes either "on it's own," or because of a programmatic error on my part, and I then restart Excel, the *Windows Task Manager* will sometimes show 2 or more instances of the application (sucking up resources even though the extra windows aren't visible/accessible) until I manually `Ctrl``Alt``Del``End Task` or Reboot.

## My question(s) are:

* Can the same thing happen when an Android app crashes?
* If multiple instances were indeed running, would multiples show in `Android Task Manager`?
* The `Clear Memory` button in `RAM Manager`isn't exactly descriptive of *what* it's "clearing". Is it doing anything helpful in cases like these?
* Are the answers to these questions affected by whether or not the crash produces the standard `Unfortunately, xxxxxx has stopped. Report/OK` dialog (as opposed to just returning to the home screen)?
* Is there a better method for keeping an eye on resource usage that might not be easily identified with builtin Android `Task Manager`?

A quick explanation (or a point in the right direction) would be appreciated... As a coder (but not for Android!) the info I've found is either too simplified or too advanced to answer my questions. :)

I'm running Kitkat 4.4.4 on Samsung Galaxy 3.

# Answer
* If the app crashes the app will restart most probably by default and continue in background.
* You cannot run multiple instances of the same app in android.
* The clear memory button is used to free the memory occupied by all open apps and the apps will restart.
* Don't do it frequently because the apps will occupy the space again and it will take more power and processing power to free the memory and reload the apps.
* You don't need to be concerned with resource usage, android os is smart enough. Just make sure you don't keep unnecessary apps on your phone and huge media files that are not required.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat, crashes, ram, resource-monitoring, crash-reports
---


# Question
Title: Cannot exit Google Device Manager Installer
For reasons unexplained, I loaded Google Device Manager. Near the end of the installation, when I got to the screen where it lists all of the things that the IT team can do, and that the camera was going to be disabled, I tapped Cancel.

That took me back one screen. I tapped the X in the upper right and exited the installer. However, now I have a continual triangle notification in the upper left of the screen, When I view it, it says "Account Action Required" and my e-mail address. When I tap it, it takes me right back to the screen after had tapped Cancel (above).

If I uninstall from Google Play, it comes back after I reboot.

How do I kill this installer for good?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I assume you installed **Google Apps Device Policy**. Then you need to follow these steps from the official Google support site to uninstall and unregister yourself.

> 1. Open Google Apps Device Policy on your Android device.
> 2. On the Status screen, touch Unregister for each account you have registered with the device.
> 3. Depending on your device, go to one of the following:
>
> * Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications
>     * Settings \> Apps.
> 4. Select Google Apps Device Policy.
> 5. Touch Uninstall or Disable and then OK to remove it.
>
> Alternatively, you can deactivate the Google Apps Device Policy app and then uninstall or disable it:
>
> 1. On your Android device, go to Settings \> Security.
> 2. Touch one of the following:
>     * Select device administrators
>     * Device administrators
> 3. Uncheck Google Apps Device Policy.
> 4. Touch Deactivate.
> 5. Touch OK.
> 6. Depending on your device, go to one of the following:
>     * Settings \> Applications \> Manage Applications
>     * Settings \> Apps.
> 7. Touch Google Apps Device Policy.
> 8. Touch Uninstall or Disable and then OK to remove it.

---
Tags: android-device-manager
---


# Question
Title: Can't install a new p12 user certificate
I can't import a new company-issued personal certificate in binary .p12 format. The old one worked fine, I have a new one (CA was updated so we had to be issued new ones) that fails the import.

Both have the same password and the old one imports fine, yet the new one doesn't. When the (correct) password is entered, it prompts for it again with "Type the correct password." error message. When I export it (from Firefox) with another password, it fails the same. If exported without password, Certificate Installer crashes ("Certificate Installer has stopped unexpectedly. Would you like to send an report to HTC? This will help us improve our products.)

I don't want to send report because I'm afraid of the certificate being leaked.

My Android version is 7.1.1, kernel 4.4.21-perf-g0a2f731cb614, Android security patch level June 1, 2017, the device is a stock unrooted up-to-date HTC U11.

I don't have any other Android device to test it on. The certificate imports fine in Windows, Firefox on Windows and Firefox on Linux.

Any suggestion on how to debug this? Is there a known incompatibility with some ciphering maybe?

Both the working old and not working new certificates are located for import in the same folder in the internal memory.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Android Nougat doesn't allow to install user specific CA certificates. From Google blog:

> By default, apps that target API level 24 will—by design—not honor such CAs unless the app explicitly opts in. This safe-by-default setting reduces application attack surface and encourages consistent handling of network and file-based application data.

---
Tags: 7.1-nougat, certificates
---


title: Random Sounds on Galaxy S8

text:
# Question
Title: Random Sounds on Galaxy S8
I have Samsung Galaxy S8, recently the device started making sounds randomly from time to time (it sound like crow or monkey), i don't see any notification and I can't find the app source for it.

it is not the NFC or the notification reminder both are turned off.

is there a log that tell us which app played sound? any other ideas?

# Answer
the problem was a weather application with a widget. it didn't display any notification

so I enabled USB debugging on my device, connected it to the computer and started monitor the log (logcat) using SDK Device Monitor (I used what I have from Visual Studio 2017) I discover that once i here the sound, there is some app that use the MediaPlayer I got it PID and using running `ps` on `adb shell` I was able to detect the app.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: audio, samsung-galaxy-s-8
---


title: Phone reception puzzle

text:
# Question
Title: Phone reception puzzle
My wife and I both have 2013 vintage moto g phones using the GiffGaff network. My phone gets decent enough reception, whereas my wife struggles to get reception most of the time (for instance see is currently talking on my phone because her phone didn't get reception). I just wondered whether there was a possible software reason for the difference in performance? Or is it likely that my wife has just dropped it and broken/weakened something inside?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had that problem when I was in the UK using a giffgaff SIM on my Moto (Marshmallow). My daughter's phone was getting a signal when I couldn't get one bar. Checking my APN settings to ensure they were as giffgaff intended solved the problem.

Assuming you both have exactly the same set up otherwise, if the APN setting is different or non-existent on one of the phones, your wife's phone may be trying to connect to the wrong network (or, if she has roaming disabled, she may not have a network to connect to).

First guess? Check APN settings are what giffgaff gave as the settings. It may be that hers are different from yours because for whatever reason giffgaff had the SIM cards set to use different networks. So check the text which provided that information on her phone as well as yours.

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, motorola-moto-g
---


title: Markdown note taking with Dropbox sync

text:
# Question
Title: Markdown note taking with Dropbox sync
How do I do all of the following with my Android phone?

* Read markdown-formatted notes stored in my Dropbox folder
* Show it as HTML in Android
* Optional editing from the phone

FWIW, the iPhone already has an app that does this.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Seeing as both Epistle and its successor Draft are both no longer maintained and can no longer sync with Dropbox, this app simply called "Notes" seems be the closest alternative to them.

---
Tags: sync, notes, dropbox
---


# Question
Title: how to move photos to sd card on VFD 300
I can browse my photos on the phone's HD, it even says at the top select destination, but there doesn't seem to be a way to actually do that! I've set it so all new photos are saved to the SD card, but the ones already on the phone I can't seem to move.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can use either the gallery app or your file manager to manually move your pictures/videos

**Gallery**

1. Open your gallery
2. Open the album you want to move
3. Long press on any picture
4. On the top left of your screen, press "select all"
5. I'm the menu press "move" or "cut"
6. Select a folder on your sd card to move the items to, or create a new one

**File manager**

1. Open your file manager
2. Find the pictures you want to move
3. Long press on one of them, and press "select all"
4. In the menu press "move" or "cut"
5. Select a folder on your sd card to move the items to, or create a new one

---
Tags: internal-storage
---


# Question
Title: Preventing the uninstall of an app - samsung tab
I know that in android 5.0 there was a package system file named "package installer" , I used to delete it so I could prevent users from uninstalling any application. WHO knows what is the file name of the same file for android 6 - 7 for the samsung tablets?

Same question for the settings.apk for android 5 - what did it become for android 6 & 7??

# Answer
Now it's called "GooglePackageInstaller" and it's located in root/system/priv-app/GooglePackageInstaller/

Settings app is called "SecSettings2" and it's located in root/system/priv-app/SecSettings2/

The screenshots are from an S7 running 7.0, should be the same for the tablets as well.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung
---


# Question
Title: A questions about "wipe" in CWM Recovery
CWM Recovery has a many options for wipe and format partitions, and the options are:

* wipe data/factory reset.
* wipe cache partition.
* format boot, system, data, cache, sdcard or sd-ext.
* wipe dalvik cache.
* wipe battery stats.

1. I wonder What is the difference between a wipe and format In terms of safe deletion of data?
    2. How can I Completely Wipe Data from all partitions of phone device? (I want do that before install a new ROM).
    3. What is the overwriting Standard used in the wipe? ,thanx in advance.

Note: I don't know version of CWM Recovery but I'll use CWM Recovery from here:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/honor-4c/development/honor-4c-root-cwm-recovery-inshaalmirza-t3177770

# Answer
> 1 votes
> 1. I wonder What is the difference between a wipe and format In terms of safe deletion of data?

A wipe is, in any method, removes selected data from filesystem. It can be plain deletion or formatting the partition.

A format is a complete reset of a disk partition, by cleaning everything up and re-build its headers, inode records, file allocation tables, etc.

> 2. How can I Completely Wipe Data from all partitions of phone device? (I want do that before install a new ROM).

Use the 1st option **wipe data/factory reset**. That's enough.

> 3. What is the overwriting Standard used in the wipe? ,thanx in advance.

AFAIK there's no overwriting. It simply deletes files and/or formats partitions of your phone.

---
Tags: security, clockworkmod-recovery, delete
---


# Question
Title: Need to remove password on my Samsung s4
While trying to remove the password on my device, it's giving me a message stating that it's "administration or encrypted is blocked." Yes I have encrypted my phone

So please give me a solution to remove the password on my phone.

# Answer
1) Go to settings\>security

2) Find "Clear Credentials" and select ok to clear credentials

3) Go back to security setting and find "Device Administrators" and clear (disable) all checked boxes.

4) POWER OFF PHONE! I had tried everything up to this point multiple times and it does not work!

5) Once powered on again go into the security setting and find "Clear Credentials" and once again clear

6) Go to "Screen Lock" and the options should be available once again.

I hope its help you. if its work, Mark it as correct, please.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-4
---


title: Are these adb commands safe?

text:
# Question
Title: Are these adb commands safe?
my phone gone locked after hard factory reset, waited for 3 days but still can't login. I've found a solution on internet that works, i need to use adb and use following commands on my phone:

> adb shell content insert --uri content://settings/secure --bind name:s:user\_setup\_complete --bind value:s:1
>
> adb shell am start -n com.google.android.gsf.login/
>
> adb shell am start -n com.google.android.gsf.login.LoginActivity

what are these commands doing(especially first one)? Safe to use or makes a backdoor on my phone?

# Answer
yes, It is safe. the first one code is about to validation on user: name as 'true', the others starts Login and jump it..

about the codes its ok. but if you use another one soft, it might be not safe.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: adb, locked-out
---


# Question
Title: How to allow ADB on phone if there is a Lock Screen and Screen is not responding + black
How to allow ADB on a rooted Android Samsung J3(2016) if said phone has a broken display(black/unresponsive)?

P.S - ADB is enabled. Just not allowed.

# Answer
> 1 votes
theres no way to do it.

only if your screen on, you could broke-lock with a ByPass and then allow it

---
Tags: adb, root-access, lock-screens, broken-screen
---


# Question
Title: Find out if remote wipe has worked (Google find my device)
My phone (Galaxy S7 Edge) was stolen two days ago and up until about 8 hours ago it had been off (or airplane mode was on), I decided that I wasn't seeing that phone again so I opted to erase the device via the "find your phone" section of google my account (the replacement to google device manager, i believe). About 2 hours after I sent the command, the phone synced with my google account.

The phone was offline when I sent the command but I was assured the command would be executed when the phone came online. Presumably it came online when it synced.

Is there any method by which to tell if the command succeeded? The sim is still in the phone and active, I haven't changed the Google password or anything at all along those lines, my phone will still be connected to Google.

EDIT I should also mention that the phone has not been reachable after the sync - but that could be down to the phone being switched off again

# Answer
If it connected after you had the command prepared for it, it would continue to wipe the phone until all user data and apps were deleted once it synced, the only thing that can stop it after it starts is a force restart in which I believe it would continue trying once turned on again.

Once the phone is wiped there is no user data left including any login credentials, there is no way to know if it was successfully wiped and no way you can track it by yourself using google or any other online tracking solutions. If you still have the SIM active you should contact your provider and they might be able to track the phone with your SIM.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: remote-wipe
---


# Question
Title: Is there a free way of unlocking an Android phone from a particular network?
I bought a cheap Android handset for development and it is an exclusive to a particular network.

I would like to unlock it so I can use an existing SIM card from another network. I've done some googling and it appears that there are many services online where you can get a code from supplying your IMEI number.

Firstly, can anyone elaborate on what the unlocking process involves, and secondly, is there any application that can do this process, or are you forced to pay someone to generate a code for you?

# Answer
> 1 votes
To unlock you phone for free you can root it. But it is at your own risk. I found this guide but don't know if it works for you.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The Rooting method for the T-Mobile G2 / HTC Desire Z unlocks the SIM lock on the modem, but this is device specific.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I'm a little late getting to this (7 years actually) but if you still have it and it's still carrier locked, call the phone carrier and ask them if they have any conditions

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Tags: sim-unlocking
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# Question
Title: Can I install apps to adopted SD card from recovery?
WhatsApp is stubborn about not installing to SD card. I have an unlocked bootloader, but have not rooted or installed a custom recovery yet. I am trying to avoid rooting because of SafetyNet, and because I need it pretty much only for force-moving WhatsApp (etc.) to an adopted SD card.

Since my bootloader is unlocked, is it not possible to:

* boot into custom recovery without flashing it
* create a flashable .zip containing WhatsApp
* instruct the installer to locate it in adopted storage, ignoring the app's `installLocation` setting

?

Why is it said that we need root for force moving apps, when the bootloader being unlocked should be enough? I don't have a problem with flashing a custom recovery, just ... why flash when one-time boot should be sufficient?

Likely I'm missing some limitations of `fastboot` and the recovery here.

**Edit**: Trying out @DanHalli's answer gave me an error

```
P:\Software\Management\SmartPhone\apks>adb install -s WhatsApp.apk
3644 KB/s (38480037 bytes in 10.311s)
        pkg: /sdcard/tmp/WhatsApp.apk
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE]

```

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you have the APK for WhatsApp on a computer and USB debugging on you can do

`adb install -s path/to/APK`

I might have my syntax wrong, if you have it already installed you might need to add a `-r` after the `-s` to have it reinstall, I've noticed it works kind of like a force install

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Tags: root-access, recovery-mode, external-sd, app2sd, bootloader-lock
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# Question
Title: Can't figure out this icon on me status bar
This cross in a circle on top.

# Answer
Goodday,

This icon appears when data saver has been turned on. I found this under settings - data usage - "right corner 3dots" - data saver.

Android 8.0.0 OnePlus 3t OxygenOS OpenBeta 17
> 0 votes

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Tags: notification-icons
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title: Samsung S6 Digitizer

text:
# Question
Title: Samsung S6 Digitizer
I have been informed that the digitizer in my Galaxy S6 may be damaged. Is there any way to fix it? And is it even worth it to fix it or should I just dispose of the phone?

Edit: I no longer have this issue but can’t delete the question. This question may assist others who have this issue so maybe it’s a good thing I can’t delete it.

# Answer
There's no way to *fix* the digitiser, but it can be *replaced*. Your local phone repair shop can do that job for you. The parts and labour cost should be much cheaper than replacing the phone.
> 0 votes

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Tags: samsung, samsung-galaxy-s-6
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title: Emulate Menu button Nougat Galaxy S8

text:
# Question
Title: Emulate Menu button Nougat Galaxy S8
I miss using the menu key that I used to have on older phones.

I'm able to remap the Bixby key to a Tasker program or any app activity or shortcut, I'm wondering what I would need to do to emulate the menu button if I need something other than Tasker or what I need to do with Tasker to get this to work.

I've tried holding the back button and the recents button which used to work on older Samsung phones

Any help would be appriciated

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can do it with the xposed module : Xposed Additions (link). It allow us to remap any buttons to any effect. Requirement : rooted device + xposed framework installed

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Tags: 7.0-nougat, tasker, menu
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# Question
Title: Android is draining the battery on Kitkat 4.4.2
I have a little bit unusual case of Android draining the battery. Mobile: LG40, Android: Kitkat 4.4.2

Mobile phone was never connected to any data network (wifi or GSM). No updates, no new apps, no GPS, no Bluetooth. No playing games or using other apps. Just a couple of calls and SMS. Battery could live in this for 10 days nonstop. After 2 years battery changed (for original piece). New battery again could live for 10 days.

Until now. After 6 months after battery change, something is wrong with the process "Android OS". It consumes more than 80 % of the battery, which drains it in 24-30 hours. Even without any call.

Sometimes the restart can help for few days, but after that it starts again draining. Storage is ok, more than 1GB free, SD card is completely free (2GB). I have never done a factory reset on this phone, it is about 2,5 years from the buy.

Any idea?

# Answer
> 0 votes
You have to find the culprit with the app : BetterBatteryStats (link) Requirement : rooted device

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Tags: 4.4-kitkat, battery
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# Question
Title: Intrusive ads on Google Chrome for Android
I've been using an Android phone for 4 years (Nexus 5, LG G3, LG G4) and I recently swap to an iPhone.

Yesterday, a friend tweeted 2 photos of an ad when he was trying to read an article about a keyboard:

"you've been selected by Amazon (...) in order win a Carte Cadeau Amazon of 1500€" (mistakes and missing words are intentional in order to translate in the best way)

"you have 2 minutes to answer blablabla"

Then, I remembered that I had that kind of ad when I was using Android with Google Chrome on mutiple websites. I've never get this on Google Chrome Desktop neither on Safari iOS.

I didn't find anything on internet about that and I think this is an Android problem, does someone have it too? Do you know what is the problem (is it an adware)? Do you have a solution?

# Answer
My suspicion is adware. You should delete all settings in chrome, and including cache, cookies, history, etc. These kinds of spam happen when you think you are clicking something, but an invisible link is clicked instead, leading you to popup sites. Be careful about what sites you visit and what you click.
> 1 votes

# Answer
You should install an adblocker app, as AdAway (link, very effective to block and prevent ads. Requirement : rooted device.
> 0 votes

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Tags: chrome-for-android
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