# Question
Title: How (where) do I browse to the /data/Tombstones (on the System Partition, I think)?
Trying to delete some files from my System partition. Someone suggested deleting /data/Tombstones (I.e., what's the Path to it so I can browse to it)

Using Astro File manager I navigated from the SDcard0 up until I got to what seems to be the root. It has folders like:

* acct
* cache
* config
* data *(which is empty)*
* ...
* firmware
* ...
* tombstones (which is empty)
* system (is **this** the system partition), it does not contain a Tombstones folder.

# Answer
on **unroot** device
`adb shell` or `adb pull` may no permissions read /data/tombstones.

## adb bugreport

but `adb bugreport` can dump those files (indirectly).

// Tested on android 10.

```
$ adb bugreport ./output.zip

```

got files in zip

```
bugreport/FS/data/anr/*
bugreport/FS/data/tombstones/*

```

refs:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/58128529/4896468
https://stackoverflow.com/a/47681111/4896468
https://developer.android.com/studio/debug/bug-report.html
> 5 votes

# Answer
If `/data` appears empty, the app showing that most likely has no root access ("root" in the sense of the privileged user, not the start of the file system). In order to browse that place, root is required.

Not all file explorers support this. For one, there are several specific "root explorers" around. I'd rather recommend ES File Explorer, which I use for years: it offers a lot of features you will welcome after solving your issue – and yes, "root access" is one of them. Provided your device is rooted.

And yes: what you're looking for is `/data/tombstones`, where "core dumps" of crashes are stored.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: file-system
---


# Question
Title: Why Google Play services upload nonstop 1MB/s everytime the device is connected to wi-fi?
Device: Nexus 5, Android Version 6.0.1

Every time the phone is connected to my home wi-fi after a couple of minutes the phone uses my whole bandwidth to upload something to varying Google (1e100.net) Servers. I checked the Network Monitoring app and it tell me that the bandwidth is used by Google Play Services.

The Uploading has been going on for three days nonstop and the only way to stop it temporarily is to disable and re enable the wi-fi connection.

What is causing this, and how do I stop it?

# Answer
From OP's (now deleted) comment,

> I disabled Photo Backup after a lot of debugging and it solved the issue. The Backup feature seems to be broken (it does not seem to be able to calculate the status and just uploads forever)
> 0 votes

# Answer
I think you are infected with a malware that spy on your phone and upload to a comand and control server almost everything from your phone like: pictures, sms, whatsapp conversatin, facebook converstion, viber conversation etc, and to not affect your mobile data plan it starts the comunication with the server whenever you are connected to a wifi network... Im not a pro on android but I've done it before and I already know what happens behind, how it works and how it affects your phone. Do a backup but dont backup apps and after it try a factory reset. Install the list of apps u had from Play store again (Its better to backup only pictures/videos and contacts and nothing more) I hope it helps u.
> -1 votes

# Answer
This could be your router or something with the servers that Google Play uses. You could try upgrading your router or restarting it. It could also be caused by a certain type of malware. It could also be something going on with your internet provider.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, 6.0-marshmallow, bandwidth
---


# Question
Title: How to enter a URL into a smartphone without doing a search?
Scenario: I'm talking in-person with someone and during the course of conversation I think of a website whose URL I know from memory, and I want them to type the URL into their smartphone and access the website directly without performing a web search (just like you could do on a traditional computer web browser in the address bar).

To be clear: I don't want it to do "search as you type", I don't want it to create suggestions based on partial matches, and I don't want it to do any kind of search that delivers search results. I don't want the entered string to be sent to a search engine to do any processing of any kind. I just want it to open a connection to the indicated website (i.e., go directly to DNS lookup followed by HTTP or HTTPS connection to the entered URL). Also, in this scenario, I have no way to generate a QR code for them (I don't own a smartphone, and might not be carrying my computer with me).

Do smartphones have that facility (i.e., a field to enter a URL without passing it to a search engine, exactly like the old browsers used to do with the address bar)? If so, how do I instruct the Android user (and/or iOS user) to find the field where they can type in the URL and not have it be processed by a search engine?

# Answer
Summary (after one month): "No can do." The functionality of entering a URL without doing a search (as it exists on computer browsers) does not exist on smartphones conveniently (i.e., without doing some kind of obscure config changes or app installation, which would not be suitable to do in the scenario described in the original question).
> 0 votes

# Answer
These days, browsers on mobile devices, use one bar for searching with an search engine and inserting a specific URL request of web site. What you need to do is simple tell them "***Touch top bar/address bar and insert this specific URL***" or "***Insert this URL in the bar and send***".
You need to know that if the inserted text is a correctly formatted URL (`protocol://domainOrIPAddress:port/path/filename`) then the browser will show you directly the web page, otherwise it will use the default search engine for retrieving a possible list of sites that you maybe want to see for the inserted keyword.

In summary, you don't need something special, everything should work without you doing anything on browser settings. However I think there is an option to deactivate the bar for searching cases and only use it for inserting URL, but it's more convenient how it works normally, so by default is one bar for searching and URL request in all browsers.

However, for not letting search engines look on your search/request you need to uncheck some settings on browsers like "***Suggestions by Search Engine/Bookmarks***".
> 2 votes

# Answer
None of the above worked for Chrome, but I stumbled on the solution. You type the address in the bar, then hold it. Initially just one word is selected with the cursor (like when you delete characters), but if you keep holding it down the whole address will be selected and a few icons will come up at the top. One of the icons is "open" so you just tap that and the requested page will open instead of doing a search.
> 0 votes

# Answer
**Note: my answer is speculative, so take with a grain of salt and YMMV, etc.**

You can access the Chrome internal page located at...

`chrome://omnibox`

...and play around with the options to potentially achieve what you're looking for. The notable options include the `zero suggest` and `prevent inline autocomplete` toggles. However, please note I have not tested these functions myself and hence cannot say for certain they will produce the desired results; if you have the time and desire to do so, here is the official resource regarding that internal page.

Another thought I had was that you can use *any* text-field outside of the browser to type your URL, and then switch over to the browser and directly paste the url into the omnibox.

Finally, there should be several ways to access a terminal emulator, which then gives you the option to directly open whatever literal URL you input as a command. I can't speak for certain, but I would make the assumption that this would circumvent autocomplete; in fact, you might test this with, say, a shortcut widget/application or other indirect means available to call on a URI you specify (e.g., generating the URL into a hyperlink in a word processor and clicking it; also works in Excel/Sheets with the `hyperlink()` function, etc).

Whether or not these are acceptable depends on your intent behind your question, as it's a bit ambiguous even after reading the OP over several times: do you not want any autocomplete entry logs? On server-side or device-side? Do you simply not want to **visually** see autocomplete predictions populating in-line as you type? Is your concern privacy-centric (in regards to ISP, or the device owner, etc), or some other criteria? I know you've tried to narrow your question down to be more context-specific, but understanding these facets would help the community be better able to answer your question and perhaps even qualify workarounds that might otherwise have been neglected.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: url
---


# Question
Title: How to delete photos/videos on Samsung but make sure they are not deleted on Amazon Photos?
I just backed up all my photos/videos to Amazon Photos but have been reading different blogs that say do not delete your photos from the gallery or it will be deleted from your Amazon Photos. I just bought a new phone. Will the factory reset delete my backup to Amazon Photos?

# Answer
I hardly doubt any backup cloud service would delete your backup files if you delete them in the phone, so I wonder what are those blogs you've come across? you could do a test, try deleting couple of photos, while keeping it safe, like copying to another folder. Then, you can check amazon photos and see it that photo is still there. Also, Google Photos (since you already need to have google account for your Samsung phone) is a nice photo/video sync/backup app. You can use more than one app, there are plenty of cloud apps that offer even 1TB free space, and once uploaded, those photos stay there "in the cloud". Just be careful when you want to organize files and folders in the cloud, so you don't end up deleting backed up files that have already been removed from your phone. But I've never heard that backup files are deleted once originals are deleted. It usually deletes photos and videos AFTER you back them up.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: backup, factory-reset, cloud
---


# Question
Title: will i lose my photos, voice recordings, videos and notes if i reset my samsung galaxy s1
If I reset my Samsung Galaxy S1 to **factory reset mode** will i lose my photos my voice recordings and my notes? Because i really need those, but its been so long since i've used this phone and i forgot my password to the account and the only way to delete the account is to reset the phone to factory mode i have another account but it wont let me use it. Can someone help me?

# Answer
Depends if you have used memory card and saved it there, in which case they are safe and won't be deleted. it could be the reason why *Ramzy Shah* didn't lose his data, if he had external memory to save all private data on, or used some backup cloud service like *Aravindan* said.
I'd rather focus on either recalling your password or looking for a way to recover password, *because once reset, it will erase all the data*.

---

With that said, I think you'll find this guide very useful and **recover your password** :)
https://www.howtogeek.com/226942/what-to-do-if-you-forget-your-android-phone's-pin-pattern-or-password/
Good luck!
> 1 votes

# Answer
Yes. Surely you will lost your personal data, contacts and everything. To avoid this, you should **Backup** your files and everything to your SD Card. You can **Restore** it again to your mobile.

This following site will help you how to take backup and reset your mobile and then restore it back.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-a-Galaxy-S

Thats all.. :-)
> 0 votes

# Answer
Usually you shouldn't lose any of those, only the settings you've made on the phone and applications you've installed on it. I've reset a phone to the default settings, but it was really long time ago so right now I can't remember in detail what exactly got deleted. However I would suggest you connect your phone to a computer and make a backup of the files you don't want to lose, just in case, but usually you really shouldn't lose any of this files, by resetting it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s, samsung, factory-reset, photos
---


# Question
Title: Time of individual calls in history, if *same* number consecutively
Samsung Galaxy S10, Andorid 11, OneUI 3.1

To obtain time and number of recent calls, I got to the phone app, tap "recent" on the bottom, and see a list of incoming and outgoing calls with phone number and time. However, if it was the same phone number several times consecutively, it shows only the last time, and the number of calls in brackets: "phone\_number (3) 12:34".

Is there a way to get a list of *all* calls *individually* (for *all* numbers, even if several times the *same* number consecutively).

(I know I can tap a line, hit "i", and see the whole list of calls for *only this* number.)

I prefer a native solution, but if a 3rd party app should be necessary, I prefer clean (as few rights as possible, no advertising, possibly open source) over "for free".

# Answer
The free software Simple Dialer has a relevant setting. As of now, the text of the setting is this:

"Group subsequent calls with the same number at the call log"

Disable the setting. That would list each call as a separate entry. Note that reverse chronological order of all the calls would not be affected. So if you had made a call to X at 01:00, then to Y at 02:00, then to Z at 03:00, and then X again at 04:00, it would show up as expected:

* X at 04:00
* Z at 03:00
* Y at 02:00
* X at 01:00
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung, call-history
---


# Question
Title: Japanese SIM card not connecting to network in US
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 SM-G950U that I used with Verizon. I moved to Japan and got a Japanese SIM card through SoftBank and used in my Galaxy S8 without a problem. My account has a global roaming service included. I came back to the US with the Japanese SIM card and was told it would work in the US but it is not connecting to a network.

'Settings' \> 'Connections' \> 'Mobile networks' \> 'Data Roaming Access' is on.

'Settings' \> 'About phone' \> 'Status' \> 'SIM card status' shows "Network not available" even though I have 4 bars of signal strength. Also "Not roaming" is shown but I assume I would be roaming since I'm outside of Japan.

I called a support number and they told me to go into "SIM App" to update the SIM card but I cannot find this app or setting. If I search for "SIM App", I get a result in 'Apps' \> 'App info' \> 'Sim App Dialog' but my only option there is 'Force stop'.

I can connect to wifi but I would like to be able to connect/use mobile data when wifi is not available.

# Answer
I had to go into Settings \> Connections \> Mobile networks \> Network operators and manually select a network.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: connection-issues, sim-card, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: LG V20 not recognized by MTP apps when in MTP mode on Mac
## Problem Summary

Neither Android File Transfer nor OpenMTP will detect an LG V20, model LG-H910, over USB when it's in MTP mode. The phone is detected by them in other USB modes, there are no issues with connecting to the phone via adb and the phone will mount under Windows. Changing cables and computers makes no difference. MTP works fine with an LG V20 LG-LS997.

## Details

I've got an (unrooted) AT&T branded LG V20, model LG-H910. I'm trying to transfer files over USB, but neither GUI MTP app I've tried for Macs (Android File Transfer 1.0.12; OpenMTP 3.1.10 & 3.1.15) will detect the phone when it's in MTP mode; they present "No Android device found" and "Android device is either busy or not connected" messages, respectively. When the phone is set to charge-only, each MTP app detects the phone but rightly can't connect (reporting "Can't access device storage" and "Your phone storage is inaccessible.", respectively). Image Capture connects to the phone when it's in PTP mode, though can't pull images (this also happens with another LG V20, so it's not surprising).

As a test, mtpfs (installed via MacPorts) will recognize the phone (though misidentifies it) and supposedly mount it, but all attempts to access the files via the mount result in a "Device not configured" error. Sample local shell session:

> ```
> $ sudo -s
> # mkdir /Volumes/phone
> # mtpfs /Volumes/phone
> Listing raw device(s)
> Device 0 (VID=1004 and PID=633e) is a LG Electronics Inc. LG G Flex 2.
>    Found 1 device(s):
>    LG Electronics Inc.: LG G Flex 2 (1004:633e) @ bus 20, dev 29
> Attempting to connect device
> desired configuration different from current, trying to set configuration
> libusb_set_configuration() failed, continuing anyway...: Operation timed out
> Android device detected, assigning default bug flags
> Listing File Information on Device with name: V20
> # ls /Volumes/phone
> ls: : Device not configured
>
> ```

mtpfs has other issues, such as taking about 1 minute to run (there's about a 1 minute pause before the last line of output, beginning "Listing File Information \[...\]"). I'm not so much interested in mtpfs as a solution as I was using it to test MTP on the phone.

Whether USB Debugging is enabled or not makes no difference to MTP, though when enabled, the phone is accessible via adb, both from the command line and in Android Studio (I can run a shell on the phone, pull files, install & debug apps in Android Studio &c.).

AFT didn't log any messages to the system console when the phone was connected in MTP mode.

There were no file access issues with the LG-H910 when connected to a Windows computer (both internal & external storage mounted, and the files were accessible). AFT and OpenMTP detect and can access a different phone of the same type, an (unrooted) Sprint-branded LG V20, model LG-LS997.

I've tried rebooting phone & computer, ejecting the SD card in the phone & rebooting, different cables, different ports and different computers (both Macs, one with a clean install of OS X); nothing had any impact on the issue, and the only common factors are the LG-H910 and OS X. A factory reset of the LG-H910 made no difference.

## Question

How can I get AFT (or even OpenMTP) working with the LG V20 LG-H910? What other troubleshooting steps can I take?

## Related questions

There are similar questions on this site, but none seem to describe the same situation, or have solutions.

There are plenty more questions, but all are either AFT isn't installed, AFT detects the phone, or the phone isn't detected by anything.

## System Info

* mid-2012 13" MacBook Pro
* MacOS 10.14.6
* Android 8.0.0 (both phones)
* Android File Transfer 1.0.12
* OpenMTP 3.1.10, 3.1.15
* mtpfs 1.1

# Answer
> 0 votes
## The Answer

The LG Mobile Drivers, installed by LG Bridge, interfered with MTP operation on the LG V20 LG-H910.

## The Process

Going off of Robert's comment, I disabled all kernel extensions in /Library/Extensions (which were all 3rd party extensions) by moving them to "/Library/Extensions (disabled)" and restarted. Android File Transfer was then able to detect and connect to the LG-H910. Among the extensions were a number of extensions with names beginning "lgandroid\_", which are the LG Mobile Drivers.

After re-enabling all but these extensions and restarting, AFT still worked with the LG-H910. After enabling the LG extensions and restarting, AFT stopped detecting the LG-H910. So, after a final round of disabling the LG extensions, AFT was working.

Originally, v 5.4 of the extensions were installed. I tried the newest, v 6.1, but they had the same issue (which has been reported to LG). LG Bridge, when run, asks to install extensions, which turn out to be the LG Mobile Drivers; with the drivers disabled, LG Bridge won't function (not a big concern to me, but for others with the same issue, you'll probably need to reinstate the drivers before using LG Bridge, and then disable them & restart afterwards).

---
Tags: file-transfer, mtp, macos
---


# Question
Title: Is there any way to check the backup that android does?
Today I have been researching a bit about the Android backup options (since I have seen some people having to lose all their data due to ICS serious bugs).

From now, I prefer to use native options, such as the "default" option or the `adb backup -all` command.

**But my question is about the regular way**.

I enabled the `Settings->Backup->Backup my data` option (on ICS). Now I would like to check on my Google Account Preferences when was the last backup was made, and which data is safely backed up - and which isn't.

I'm not sure if that's possible. Does anybody know?

# Answer
> 25 votes
> I went to https://www.google.com/dashboard/b/0/ and found the section labeled "Android device"; that had a link labeled "More data stored about this device". Clicking that opened a popup window that showed a disappointingly short list of apps that had backed up some of their data: just some of the built-in apps from Google.

The above paragraph was written in 2012; five years later the situation seems better: the relevant link is now https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard, and my list of apps is nice and long: 85, and they're not all from Google :-)

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you have Google Drive on your Android device then open it and go to *Backups*. Tap on the device's name you're interested in to see what's been backed up and when - App data, Call history, Device settings and SMS. Tap on *App data* to see the when each of your apps was last backed up.

---
Tags: backup, google-account, google-backup
---


# Question
Title: What does Chrome try to tell me? (aka red dot always appears on Google Chrome without apparent reason)
For a while now, there is a permanent red dot over my Google Chrome app icon:

I don't have any tabs open (had many, closed them all trying to get rid of the dot) and checked all possible settings of the app.

When I open the app and close the default tab it shows, the app close, dot disappears for a second then showing again.

Why is there a red dot, and how can I get rid of it?

Device and OS: realme 6 pro V2.0, android version 11

# Answer
> 3 votes
That's the Chrome app icon badge, which is a notification alert. You should be able to access the notification details in the notification panel.

In this case, it turns out be a download complete alert, which wasn't swiped away:

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Tags: notifications, chrome-for-android
---


# Question
Title: Why is TOTP two-factor digits behaviour different between Android and iOS implementations of Google Authenticator?
I have the below QR code generated from my application so users can use their phones for a time-based OTP. For Google Authenticator in iOS, scanning the QR code correctly leads to an eight-character time-based OTP generating every 30 seconds. However, **on the exact same Google Authenticator in Android, it incorrectly generates a six-character string instead.**

I have provided the sample string and QR code below (it's from a test system) - does anyone know why the implementation of the functionality differs between the exact same app on Android and iOS, or alternatively where I can find developer documentation for either the `otpauth` protocol or Google Authenticator itself (both seem thin on the ground and I've had to take what I can from tutorials)?

Sample string: `otpauth://totp/test@email.com?secret=GQ2DOMBXGRCDCMRSIVBEEOJSGMZEEQ2F&issuer=TestApplication&algorithm=SHA256&digits=8&period=30`

Sample QR Code:

# Answer
> 9 votes
While the Play Store version of Google Authenticator is proprietary, there is also an open-source version.

Browsing through its wiki for Key Uri Format, there is a remark for `digits` parameter.

> ### Digits
>
> **OPTIONAL**: The `digits` parameter may have the values 6 or 8, and determines how long of a one-time passcode to display to the user. The default is 6.
>
> > Currently, on Android and Blackberry the digits parameter is ignored by the Google Authenticator implementation.

So, apparently, the `digits` parameter is ignored in the Android version (along with other optional parameters like `algorithm` and `period` that are ignored on all platforms).

As far as I have tried searching for the specific reason why it is not implemented, I could not find it.

---
Tags: google-authenticator
---


# Question
Title: How to remove phone numbers from a contact when they are not visible in edit mode?
I have a French contact (phone number +33 ...) who went to Japan and got a mobile number there (+81 ...). We discussed via Whats App and Signal and now he is back in France.

**I would like to remove his Japanese phone numbers but I simply cannot.**

This is how I see his contact before the edition:

As you can see there is one French and two Japanese numbers. I then click on the edit icon and I see:

**The Japanese numbers are not present.**

There are nowhere to be found, I clicked on "show more fields", but these are just empty extra fields.

I remove the conversations from Signal (it was registered with the Japanese number, this is visible in the screenshot) - nothing. Note that I cannot actually edit a contact in Signal, it just mentions that this (Signal) contact is in my contacts - with the possibility to open the contact and what I get is the first screenshot.

I tried to edit the contact on the phone to add something and somehow influence the Japanese numbers - nothing. I tried a similar edit the contact on a PC via contacts.google.com - nothing. I tried to use the Samsung contact app - same problem.

After using Android extensively for 10+ years, this is the first time I see that. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

OS is Android 10, phone is Samsung Galaxy 9+.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Short on ideas I decided to delete this contact.

Right after it was deleted, **ANOTHER** contact with the same name appeared out of nowhere, holding the two Japanese numbers (and only this, plus the first name, plus the family name).

I then deleted that second (invisible so far) contact and recreated one for my friend (with only the French number).

It worked and I have one single contact.

This is really a mystery to me: I had **one** contact for that user previously, and the other one only appeared when I erased the first one.

I exclusively store contacts in google (not in the SIM or anywhere else) so this is not a traditional "merged contact" view. My wild guess is that Signal must have kept is somehow and presented it in a merged view. That said - it is not possible to edit anything contact-wise in Signal, it always drives you back to the main contact entry (the first screenshot in my question).

I will put it on the shelf with other unsolved mysteries in my 25 years career in IT.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Go to the contact with the bogus number. Click the 3 dots in the upper right. Select "add/remove linked contact". Remove the contact with the bogus number. Good luck.

---
Tags: samsung, contacts, android-10, google-contacts
---


title: ANT+ and UPSM (ultra power saving mode)

text:
# Question
Title: ANT+ and UPSM (ultra power saving mode)
I have a Samsung device with ANT+ support and i would like to connect to ANT+ devices when in UPS(ultra power saving) mode.

However, in UPS mode with bluetooth enabled, the ANT+ is not working.

Whereas in normal mode ANT+ works when Bluetooth is enabled.

Note that: ANT+ uses the same range of frequencies than WIFI and Bluetooth 4

Some specific details: ANT HAL service: 3.0.0

ANT Radio service: 4.16.00

ANT+ Plugins 3.6.40

(I can't tag it as 'ant+')

# Answer
> 0 votes
**ANT+ functions are not loaded during Samsung ultra saving mode (UPSM).**

For non-rooted users has not impact has Samsung doesn't include any system app that uses ANT+ protocol.

For rooted users, they can manage the system apps, so they can enable ANT apps to be used during UPSM.

Workarounds:

* Using Normal saving mode and ANT or
* UPSM with BLE apps and BLE sensors

---
Tags: samsung, bluetooth, battery-saver
---


# Question
Title: No keyboard on Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 running on Unofficial CM 13
I have a 'Rooted Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 NT-N8000'(tablet) running Unofficial CM 13 Marshmallow 6.0.1 and a TWRP touch recovery. After I flashed CM13, I had no keyboard anymore, so I couldn't log in to WiFi and Google Play Store.

Then I made a free WiFi hotspot on my phone and logged in (so I had WiFi) so I could use the microphone to search for an app, but I needed to log in to the Play Store. I also can't download the app to my tablet from the PC because I haven't logged in with my Google account on my tablet yet.

Then I downloaded a keyboard app on my phone, extract it, email it to my computer, on my computer transferred it to an SD card, and then plugged it into my tablet and installed it, but it still doesn't work. I tried Google Keyboard and Chrooma keyboard but *none* work, and the settings are all fine.

How to fix this?

# Answer
> 3 votes
I had the same issue. Just go to the right, choose language, and then you slide "Hardware show input method" to On. Should work.

# Answer
> 1 votes
CyanogenMod has a keyboard built in, did you try going to Settings -\> Language & Input and make sure you have a keyboard set as "Current Keyboard", the default keyboard in CM is `Android Keyboard (AOSP)`?

If there is truly no keyboard installed, you can go to http://www.apkmirror.com/ and download any number of keyboards, such as Swiftkey Keyboard or Google Keyboard as examples, then install them manually. You may need to make sure that `Unknown Sources` is enabled in Settings -\> Security

# Answer
> 1 votes
I solved this problem. I think it occurs because there is a default physical keyboard configured called "**sec\_keyboard**". The OS thinks this is available, so it doesn't choose to make the virtual keyboard appear - and I can't see how to remove it. Fortunately, if you click on the settings for "Physical keyboard" one of them is "Show virtual keyboard" under "Keyboard assistance". Enable this. The OS then puts up the virtual keyboard (whether the original AOSP or Gboard or something else) on the screen when keyboard input is needed, and you can then type on it! It's a bit of a kludge, but it does seem to deliver the desired result by a devious method. I trust there is a better way (probably using a different gapps installation), but this is a simpler solution once you have done this installation with the suggested files.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had problems with the keyboard on CM13 because of Gapps. You should delete this file `/system/lib/libjni_latinimegoogle.so` right after flashing ROM and the Gapps. You can delete it from TWRP's file manager.

# Answer
> 0 votes
if you are installing any custom ROM, then go for the Stock Gapps rather than Pico or Nano. Stock Gapps cover all the Google services including the keyboard. I had the same issue when I have installed Resurrection Remix with Gapps Pico, but after installing Stock Gapps the issue was solved.

---
Tags: cyanogenmod, root-access, keyboard
---


# Question
Title: Enable USB Debugging with broken touch screen and no physical buttons
I'm trying to fix a phone (LG G3 Stylus) that has been badly injured, so now the touchsreen doesn't work, and the only button that works is the volume-up one.

I need to backup some stuff (notes, calendar, contacts, and some apps data), so I was trying to add a Google account to sync the data.

Now I was going to do this by using an OTG cable, so I bought one (USB 3.0 A to USB C that has a USB C to micro usb adapter) to connect a mouse, but it didn't work.

Now I found this solution to control the phone with a Windows PC but it needs USB debugging activated.

Now that's the problem. How do I activate USB Debugging without the touchscreen. I read that I could get into recovery mode, but the power button doesn't work. What can I do?

EDIT 1: I found another app that allows me to control the device: Vysor. Now I still require USB Debugging enabled.

Now I tested the other OTG cable (usb 2.0) and it didn't work either. But I found something: USB debugging was already turned on, but for some reason I can't find it when I run adb devices.

Anyways there are some random touches so I am waiting until the screen unlocks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you aren't seeing it in adb the try killing the adb server first with

```
    adb kill-server

```

If still nothing, you may be missing adb keys files.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Actually, we can Enable USB Debugging on Android with Broken Screen by OTG Adapter and USB Mouse or by Using ADB Commands and Fastboot.

---
Tags: backup, recovery-mode, usb-debugging, broken-screen, buttons
---


# Question
Title: Unable to inspect nested directories from computer
I have an LG Nexus 5 running Android 6.0.1 which I am using as an MP3 player and for casual browsing as it has been replaced by a more modern phone. The phone is rooted and adb debugging is enabled.

For the last few months I have some weird behaviour. When I connect the phone to a computer and enable File Transfers, the phone is automatically mounted as an external drive by the OS as it has always done. When I expand "Internal Storage" I can see all the directories and files stored at the root level. When I open any of the folders they show as being empty. In order to copy files to or from the device, I have to copy them to the root directory and then move them manually using a file manager from the phone itself.

I get this behaviour from Linux and Windows machines including if adb debugging is disabled. On Linux (Ubuntu Mate 20.04.03) I also get the message `No such interface org.gtk.vfs.Mount on object at path /org/gtk/vfs/mount/1 Please select another viewer and try again` when I plug the phone in. Googling this only yielded forum threads that are over 5 years old (although the phone is that sort of age)

In the terminal, the device is visible when adb is queried from the terminal. If I cd to the `media` folder, the device isn't visible, even though I believe it is mounted already. It doesn't show up if I run `sudo fdisk -l`. In fact I get a strange output from that:

```
Device     Boot   Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *       2048    1050623    1048576   512M  b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda2       1052670 1250263039 1249210370 595.7G  5 Extended
/dev/sda5       1052672 1250263039 1249210368 595.7G 83 Linux

Partition 2 does not start on physical sector boundary.

```

Any clues as to how to fix this would be appreciated

# Answer
Robert's comment was spot on.

I installed SD Scanner, rebooted my phone and triggered a scan of the whole SD card. Plugging the phone into a computer and all was well.

Credit where it's due: more info can be found on Robert's answer
> 0 votes

---
Tags: file-transfer, internal-sd
---


# Question
Title: Mild mechanical sound when using the camera
I have a Samsung S10e, with android 11.

Whenever I use the camera, I hear a very mild sound that *appears* as if it were produced by an actual mechanical displacement of parts, not coming from the speaker. It is similar to the (old) point-and-shoot cameras when autofocusing.

1. **Is that possible?**
2. If so, **is there any way of confirming this?**
3. If the sound is "mechanical", **is that normal/expected, or is it a sign of something wrong (even if perhaps not serious)?** (see link below)

Notes:

1. *Shutter sound* and *Vibration feedback* are set to *Off*.
2. Sounds **are** produced, e.g., when I:

* activate the Camera app
    * exit the Camera app
    * open settings in the camera app (with the cog)
    * exit settings in the camera app
    * change mode (photo, video, more, etc.)
3. Sounds **are not** produced when I take pictures
4. If I shake the phone I hear a mild noise as well (not exactly the same). It is louder if I shake it up and down, than if I shake it left-right. Perhaps related to the OIS, but not sure...
5. Some people noticed similar clicks here, here and here, not sure it is the same. Not sure if the S10e is expected to make that noise.
6. This warns about upcoming failure.

# Answer
I confirm I could see a sort of a shutter opening and closing (but not fully) whenever the click is heard.

I am not sure if it is "likely the aperature of the adjustable lens adjusting for the current light in the shot." (VerbumVeritum, Samsung Care Ambassador), or the OIS as linked in the OP, or...

Hopefully it does not precede failure.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: camera
---


# Question
Title: Does TubeMate use some peer-to-peer network?
I was using TubeMate to download my first video with TubeMate, and I got banned from the Wi-Fi network I was using:

> Online activity through a browser or application has been flagged as malicious or in violation of the purpose of this network! Close all offending programs and try accessing the Internet again in five minutes.
>
> Quarantine Trigger
>
> "ET P2P ThunderNetwork UDP Traffic"(2009099) UDP 192.168.10.237:58509 -\> 13.57.93.165:10050

According to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/13.57.93.165, 13.57.93.165 is an Amazon.com IP. I have no idea why some packet would go there.

I'm wondering why TubeMate caused it. Does Tubemate use some peer-to-peer network? If not, what could have caused this ban?

# Answer
From https://community.ui.com/questions/IPS-Alert-1-Potential-Corporate-Privacy-Violation/b435dc41-7d47-4107-b789-198beee2c26d and https://redd.it/r0ok41, it looks like it was just a false positive. I'm guessing it was triggered by the port or IP.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: networking, tubemate
---


# Question
Title: When connecting two Android phones via a cable, how can I choose which phone is charging which phone?
When connecting two Android phones via a cable, how can I choose which phone is charging which phone? E.g. when I connected a Samsung Galaxy S9 (Android 10) with a Google Pixel 6 (Android 12) via a male-to-male USB-C cable, the Google Pixel 6 got charged.

# Answer
Under USB preferences, whichever device has *Charge connected device* as *enabled* is charging the other device.

Snapshot from Pixel 4a (Android 12) connected to and charging One Plus 7 (Android 10)

And the reverse (One Plus charging Pixel)

If you want to switch charging when connected, toggle the switch on any device and the selection on the other device gets reversed.

**Edit:** To address the comments, charging **cannot** be switched off on both devices. I couldn't find any documentation around this.
> 16 votes

---
Tags: charging, android-12, google-pixel-6
---


# Question
Title: Stuck in Fastboot mode with "No valid slot to boot" after Magisk rooting attempt
For a Pixel 3a XL with an unlocked bootloader, I tried to flash a `boot.img` file patched by Magisk following this guide, using `bonito-sp1a.210812.015` from Google Factory images.

After I successfully completed the whole process from "Step 2: Rooting Google Pixel 3a XL" section and rebooted, my Pixel became stuck booting with a "G" logo (and progress bar animating).

I tried to fix it with these commands, which resulted in always booting in `Fastboot Mode`, error message `"No valid slot to boot"`.

```
./fastboot flash boot_a "boot.img"
./fastboot flash boot_b "boot.img"

```

---

**How can I make my Pixel boot normally again *without loosing any of my user data* living on it?**

**Alternatively, is there a way to back up all my user files from Pixel with eg. `adb`, given the broken booting?**

---

I'm able to boot in recovery mode if it can be useful.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Sideloading in recovery mode with full OTA following the official instructions solved my problem: Pixel now boots properly; all my data is intact.

---
Tags: rooting, magisk, google-pixel-3a-xl
---


# Question
Title: My phone stopped detecting custom notification sounds (but custom ringtone sounds still work)
I installed some custom notifications sounds on my BLU Advance 5.5 running Android 6.0 a few months ago and they've worked fine for a really long time until when recently all my notification sounds went back to default, so I try to change back to any of the old custom sounds that I'd been using, but they won't show up in the options. My custom ringtone sounds didn't change and still work fine, but my notification sounds just won't show up.

I've tried rebooting, renaming, changing the location of the file(s), and clearing the cache, but nothing works.

I don't know what to do anymore.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The fix for me was to rename the custom sound files (the .mp3s) and make sure they started with Capital letters. Seems crazy I know, but the one thing I noticed that was different about my custom files and the stock ones was that mine weren't capitalized. As soon as I changed that, they all showed up and I was able to select them. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy A51.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Any sound files stored in a folder named

```
Notifications

```

will be found by the system and displayed as an option for a Notification sound

Any sound files stored in a folder named

```
Ringtones

```

will be found by the system and displayed as an option for a Ringtone sound

Note that it doesn't matter where in the system your `Notifications` or `Ringtones` folders are stored, Android will still find them. Notifications in `/media/notifications` will be found, and so will sound files in `/Music/Notifications`. You can also have more than one `Notifications` or `Ringtones` folders.

---
Tags: notifications, settings, custom-sounds
---


# Question
Title: How can I configure Google speech to text so that whenever I say "Frank" it writes "Franck"?
How can I configure Google speech to text so that whenever I say "Frank" it writes "Franck"?

I use Android 12 with a Google Pixel 6.

# Answer
there is isn't a direct way doing that. unfortunately Google voice to text translation is terribly biased. it offers various accents for English but it will not translate anything perfectly and errors remain.

so how do you force corrections that come from bad voice to text translation ?
from settings go to dictionary & add Franck and make Frank the shortcut. I believe this is the closest you can come to what you you want to achieve
> 1 votes

---
Tags: voice-recognition, android-12, google-pixel-6
---


# Question
Title: Google Photos, when syncing photos from both default camera and WhatsApp, how to segregate on cloud?
I use Google Photos and turn on syncing of photos, taken from my default camera on my mobile phone and also syncing of WhatsApp images.

My question is: How can I have those synced to my google photo cloud storage in separate folders or albums? I don't want the photos that are synced to end up mixed between the images, taken on my mobile camera and WhatsApp images.

Or alternatively is there a way the synced photos are somehow tagged so that I can easily differentiate between the images taken with my camera or whatsapp?

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you search for "wa" in the Photos app or the Google Photos website, it will show only the photos stored by WhatsApp.

If you click "Library" in the app, then click "Camera", it will show you only photos that were taken using your phone's camera. But as far as I can tell, that only works on your phone, or whatever device has the camera in question. This doesn't work when searching on the website, using my laptop, for photos I took with my phone.

If you search for the model of your phone ("Google Pixel 2" in my case) in the app or on the website, it will show you only photos you took using your phone. Or at least that is what it does for me.

I don't know of any way to make WhatsApp put its photos in its own folder, or to tag them so they can be searched for or excluded in any easier or simpler way. And no one else knows either, as far as I can tell from my research.

---
Tags: sync, whatsapp-messenger, google-photos
---


# Question
Title: Purge /data/system/packages.xml from manually deleted packages
I manually deleted around 50 obsolete Trichrome Library packages using `rm` as explained here.

Of course doing this brutal `rm` delete thing instead of a more graceful `pm uninstall` leaves all of the old Trichrome versions entries as leftover in `/data/system/packages.xml`.

```
<package name="com.google.android.trichromelibrary_438908633"
    codePath="/data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_438908633-SwvwbO_SyYGt5Xu9yACVFw=="
    nativeLibraryPath="/data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_438908633-SwvwbO_SyYGt5Xu9yACVFw==/lib"
    primaryCpuAbi="armeabi-v7a" secondaryCpuAbi="arm64-v8a" publicFlags="0"
    privateFlags="0" ft="1781fabc898" it="1781fac0a2e" ut="1781fac0a2e"
    version="438908633" userId="10263" installer="com.android.vending">

```

Is there a way to purge it automatically? Reboot doesn't clean it.

Or can I just edit such xml and remove leftover entries?

\[Android 10\]

# Answer
> 0 votes
I manually edited `packages.xml` deleting relevant sections from `<package name>` to `</package name>` for every obsolete Trichrome package, working fine.

Make sure owner `system` and permissions `rw-rw---- 660` are preserved after edit, then reboot.

For extra safety I first made a backup of the original file and for convenience I edited a copy of the file on a PC using Notepad++, then pushed back on my device.

---
Tags: android-10, system-apps
---


title: Hide photos & videos from the gallery

text:
# Question
Title: Hide photos & videos from the gallery
no matter what is stored on the Android operating system as long as there is no root rights needed to view this photo / video file stores in my case Amazon photos.

All photos & videos of the file system in your app or the pictures are released. But I do not want my photos and videos I automatically enter the gallery in another place like downloads / documents.

Unfortunately, I always have to go manually in the Amazon Photos app and hide the pictures that do not come from the camera which time unnecessarily wasted.

---

EDIT: After the hint of the community bot in the comments, I'll try to make the question simpler.

No matter where I save photos and videos on my device, for example in the music folder or in the documents folder, they end up in my photo gallery.

But I don't want them to get into my gallery because the pictures are in the documents folder and not in the camera folder. What exactly can i do now?

# Answer
you can try putting the pictures or videos you don't want in the Gallery in your "Secure Folder"'s Gallery.

If you don't know, there is an app called Secure Folder and you can access several apps, including the Gallery app, and so the Secure Folder acts as like a private room with an additional body guard / password required to enter.

You can move all pictures and videos in your Gallery to your Secure Folder Gallery by going to a specific pic/video, pressing the 3 vertical dots that appear in the lower right corner, and then tapping Move to Secure Folder, they will then disappear from the Gallery
> 0 votes

---
Tags: gallery, amazon-kindle-fire-hd
---


# Question
Title: How can I configure Android so that the keyboard appears by default when clicking on the settings search box?
When I click on the search box in the settings, by default no keyboard appears:

I have to click again on the search box for the keyboard to appear.

Instead I would like the keyboard to appear by default:

How can I configure Android so that the keyboard appears by default when clicking on the settings search box?

I use Android 12 with a Google Pixel 6.

# Answer
> 2 votes
According to this topic on stack overflow, this is defined by the application. The app must request the keyboard to be displayed when the cursor is on the field. They say that, in small screen devices, the keyboard occupy lots of space, covering important views. So it's better to not display the keyboard by default, and let the developer implement if he wants to display it.

---
Tags: settings, keyboard, search, android-12, google-pixel-6
---


# Question
Title: Cannot remove Avast from Asus Zenpad 3S 10 Z500M
I have an Asus Zenpad 3S 10 Z500M running Android 7 and I tried Avast recently but now I can not remove it. I deactivated the admin permission but still, when I uninstall, it redirects me again to manage the admin screen.

I tried to email support but they are very slow to reply and never give me a solution, all they knew is to deactivate the admin.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You could try uninstalling via ADB with `adb uninstall <packageName>` (see our ADB tag wiki for details on ADB). The package name is the part you find in the Play Store URL of the app, following the `id=` parameter – for Avast that would be `com.avast.android.mobilesecurity`, so the complete command should be

```
adb uninstall com.avast.android.mobilesecurity

```

---

As it turned out (see comments below), the instructions given by Avast included the required details, but one needs to take care not to miss a step. Summing up:

* open the app
* via the Hamburger menu (upper left corner) navigate to *Settings › Uninstall App*
* enter your pin, then **toggle off "turn off device administrator first"**
* now tap "uninstall app"
* on the following screen, tap the *Uninstall* button and confirm.

On the last screen mentioned, you could also try to first force-stop and clear its cache/data, as shown in this (older) video. Also see this video for more up-to-date visuals.

---

As for the so-called "Antivirus" apps, I'd keep them off my device and rather use "`brain.apk`", for multiple reasons:

* they often do more harm than good, especially with the trackers included. Avira is the best example of this, tracking you without your consent as security specialist Mike Kuketz demonstrated in detail (German article) – and as you experienced yourself, removing that threat proves hard.
* the term "Antivirus" is misleading. There are no viruses on Android (there is malware, yes, but you have to actively install it while viruses replicate themselves). So the naming is scare tactics as people using Windows think they must use such things.
* Due to the architecture of Android, such scanners must have root privileges to be effective. As they do not, they cannot do half of what they promise: there's no heuristics, no live-activity-scanning. At best, they compare the package names (and maybe APK hashes) against some databases.
* There's a wrong sensing of security. People let their guards down because they think themselves protected, getting reckless as they think no harm can happen.

So with some common sense and carefulness, your protection level is much higher :)

---
Tags: antivirus
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to enable Android debugging by PC?
I'm trying to turn on debugging on my Samsung Galaxy J5 so I can use `adb shell rm /data/system/gesture/.key` and unlock my phone screen so I don't have to reset it and lose all its data (but it's locked with my PIN). For that, I need to know how to debug it just by the Command Prompt.

Is there a way to enable Android debugging by PC?

# Answer
> 1 votes
There is no point pursuing this course of action. Deleting any file under `/data/system` requires root access. Android doesn't provide any way to users to access powers of root. A user has to resort to system hacking (called as rooting the device) to get root access. And in that process, most of the time the user data is wiped in the process.

In short, even if you somehow manage to enable and authorize USB debugging the problem of "no-root-access" would stonewall you. And if you try to root the device, you will end up deleting all of your data -- the very thing you want to avoid.

# Answer
> 0 votes
My advice is to try this with recovery mode. Download a custom recovery like ClockWorkMode or TWRP for your device. Then enter in recovery mode by holding Vol Up and pressing power. The recovery will give you root access with no need to grant permission.

---
Tags: adb, usb-debugging, locked-out
---


# Question
Title: Screen black during phone call and it won't come back during call
I have an Xperia XZs with Android 8. Lately I'm having problems while calling. When I start a call, the screen goes black immediately, and won't come back anymore during the call. The result is that when I'm in a menu where I need to chose a number, I can't, because the screen is black. I can't even hang up. Well, I can pull out the sim card, and that will end the call, but that means a restart.

I've installed a new dialer, and that seems to help a little, but the problem is still there.

**Is there any way I can get my dialer back to normal? Is this a new bug? I updated recently.**

# Answer
> 1 votes
The screen protector has an opening for the proximity sensor. This opening collects dirt along the edges. After removing the dirt, the problem is gone.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The proximity sensor take charge of your screen when making a call

Factory reset your phone or change to custom ROM. If the problem still exists, you've to change the proximity sensor on your phone.

---
Tags: lock-screens, locked-out, phone-app
---


# Question
Title: Converting images to ext4 format and back creates bad flash file
I am trying to create a Rockchip custom ROM by getting an existing custom ROM, unpackaging it, making small modifications, then packaging it back up again.

There is a problem with me converting the `system.img` file from sparse android format to extformat and back again. There are no errors, but when I flash the resulting pacakge, the device fails to start.

Here's an experiment I've done:

```
simg2img system.img system-raw.img
img2simg system-raw.img converted-back.img

```

If I type `file system.img`:

> system.img: Android sparse image, version: 1.0, Total of 1048576 4096-byte output blocks in 697 input chunks.

If I type `file converted-back.img`:

> converted-back.img: Android sparse image, version: 1.0, Total of 1048576 4096-byte output blocks in 9674 input chunks.

Should I be adding some parameter to `img2simg`, or should I be using a different tool to create the sparse image file?

To confirm it is actually the sparse image conversion that's the problem and not something else, I have successfully done the following:

* Used `rkImageMaker` to unpack the original firmware image (which produces a bootloader and a new package file with the header 'RKAF')
* Used `afptool` to unpack this package file to a number of different files, including `system.img`
* MODIFIED NOTHING
* Used `afptool` to repackage these image files into an RKAF file
* Used `rkImageMaker` to package the bootloader and the RKAF file into a RKFW file.

This newly create RKFW image file can be flashed to the device, no problem. It's only when I add `simg2img` and `img2simg` into the mix that things go wrong.

More details:

# Answer
> 0 votes
Do not use the tool `img2simg` to convert the raw image back to a sparse image. (Even though it seems logical to do so).

The tool that you use to create the sparse system img file is `make_ext4fs`.

I got this tool by *building the entire android source tree* for the version and target architecture. (Which took days to figure out)

Here's how I finally invoked the make\_ext4fs application. (The build was in the subfolder ~/aosp\_build).

```
sudo mkdir /mnt/system
sudo mount -O pipe system-raw.img /mnt/system
sudo ~/aosp_build/out/host-linux-x86/bin/make_ext4fs -s -l 4096M -a system -S ~/aosp_build/out/target/product/generic_arm64/root/file_contexts.bin ./converted-back.img /mnt/system

```

Here is my sketchy understanding of the parameters:

```
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
|  Parameter                  |  Meaning                                 |
+=============================+==========================================+
| -s                          | Output to be in sparse image format      |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| -l 4096M                    | Target size of the output image          |
|                             | (I wanted it to be the same size as      |
|                             | the source image, to avoid packaging     |
|                             | complications)                           |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| -a system                   | Something about setting an android mount |
|                             | point.                                   |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| -S <path>/file_contexts.bin | Something to do with permissions         |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| ./converted-back.img        | The output image name                    |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+
| /mnt/system                 | The source folder (generated by mounting |
|                             | the raw image)                           |
+-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+

```

Other things I discovered:

* There is a Ubuntu package android-sdk-ext4-utils which includes `make_ext4fs`. But this doesn't work! It was built without Android support. (See this discussion )
* There are a number of forks of the `make_ext4fs` packages on github. (eg here). These are pinned to a specific android version. I don't know if the tool differs much from version to version. I still needed the `file_contexts.bin` file, so these were not useful to me.
* I opened up the device and saw the motherboard had a serial DEBUG output. After buying the necessary USB adapter I could read the bootloader debug output through PuTTY. This was extremely useful.

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


# Question
Title: How to get a list of all apps that start in Direct Boot Mode (Device Encrypted, not Credential Encryption)?
I want get a complete list including all apps (including system apps) that are running in Direct Boot Mode, therefore they necessarily store their data in the DE (Device Encrypted) area (as opposed to CE = Credential Encrypted Area).

Background: As of Android 7, FBE (File-Based Encryption) was introduced as an alternative to FDE (Full-Disk Encryption). Sadly, in Android 10, FDE was removed and everyone is now forced to use FBE.

There are some apps that are considered "essential" and therefore they start-up on boot. As such, information leakage can happen if the phone is booted cold by an attacker. Such apps include:

1. Telephony-related apps
2. Alarm apps
3. Accessibility Services
4. Keyboard app to enter the passphrase
5. etc

For a given device, I'd like to get a complete list of all apps that are currently permitted to run in Direct Boot Mode, and I'd like to remove them (Yes, I don't want my alarm to run in Direct Boot Mode. Yes, I don't want to be able to send or recieve calls/messages in Direct Boot Mode)

How can I get a list of all of the apps that are set to start & run in Direct Boot Mode, and whose storage is then necessarily using DE instead of CE?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Android apps that can run in direct boot need to be declared in the Android Manifest as android:directBootAware="true"

To get the Manifest XML of an APK apktool can be used. https://ibotpeaches.github.io/Apktool/

You can write a script to achieve your result or else, do it manually.

Use adb and package manager to get a list of packages installed

```
adb shell pm list packages | sort

```

Find apk directory

```
adb shell pm path com.king.candycrushsaga
package:/data/app/com.king.candycrushsaga-1/base.apk

```

Download the APK

```
adb pull data/app/com.king.candycrushsaga-1/base.apk

```

Then use apktool on the output

```
apktool d base.apk

```

Then search for android:directBootAware="true" in manifest If it is there, you can remove the APK with adb

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2507960/does-android-keep-the-apk-files-if-so-where https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4191762/how-to-view-androidmanifest-xml-from-apk-file/54874783#54874783

---
Tags: security, encryption, android-10, disk-encryption, direct-boot
---


# Question
Title: How to open, edit, and save file on USB connected Android phone via notebook/desktop
Personally I do a lot with VBA in Excel and like it to explore various software to find the one that fits my needs best. I am a friend of proper data management, e.g. having photos taken at hand based on keyword management. Since I have my phone always with me, I have various lists in a text editor app. E.g. next needed maintenance at the car, grocery shopping list or a list of places I discover in my hometown. Sometimes I want to read and edit these lists at my notebook using Wordpad.

So I connect my phone with a USB cable, select the folder on the internal phone memory and see all the files as proper .txt. **But:** On my notebook when right-clicking a file, I can select 'open with' (there I select 'Wordpad'). But the files in the internal phone memory do not show this option on right-click.

If I copy the file to my computer, it works properly. If I have Wordpad open and select a file via 'file open' from the phone, then it opens properly in 'Wordpad', **but** automatically with an \[1\] in the file name. Obviously, write-protected. If I want to save any edits, I cannot save that back to the phone in the same file. Only to my computer and then copy back to my phone.

**My setting:** Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 with Android Nougat. Windows 7 Notebook.

**My question:** How can I enable opening a text file with Wordpad (solved with 'file open'), edit, and save the edits directly with the file on the phone when USB is connected? Ideally getting also the 'open with' option when right-clicking a file on the phone. Do I need to change any USB access option on my phone permanently? I searched via Google in various word combinations but did not find a helpful post.

# Answer
The MTP protocol used between phone and PC does not support editing. MTP is a very simple protocol that allows only listing files/folders including properties, download a file from the phone, upload a file to the phone and delete a file/folder. Additionally while one operation is ongoing no other operation can be performed.

Originally MTP was designed for very simple devices like early photo cameras without much CPU or RAM.

As editing is not supported you can only simulate it by downloading the file to the PC, edit and and then upload it back to the phone. The download part is integrated into Windows, but the upload part seems to be missing.

Also important (but Windows specific) is that MTP devices are shown in the Windows Explorer but can not be accessed by applications by a path like `F:\`. Therefore the Open With menu is totally different.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: usb-connection-mode, files, editing
---


# Question
Title: What happens to my WhatsApp account if my carrier sells my number to someone else?
I'm aware that I don't need a SIM card to continue using my WhatsApp account after the initial activation.

But say, hypothetically, I went into a pool with my phone inside my pocket and my SIM stopped working as a consequence, and I don't want to buy a new since I never use mobile data.

When the carrier inevitably cancels my number and sells it to another person, and said person activates his WhatsApp account with that number, will I still be able to send and receive messages on my account?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Simple answer **No you can't use that account anymore**

Reason being that WhatsApp is linked to your number. If the carrier sells that number and new owner activates WhatsApp , they will be prompted to authenticate and a new account is created for them. If they don't install WhatsApp you are good to go to the next time Whatsapp asks for authentication

Actions to be taken for change of number *before* changing number are mentioned in WhatsApp FAQ

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you didn't activate the two-step verification, the new owner of the phone number will be the owner of your WhatsApp account. He won't of course have access to your previous messages, but he will receive new messages destined to yourself. He may even be seen with your profile picture and status. See this interesting Vice article : https://www.vice.com/en/article/bv8mqd/how-i-hacked-whatsapp-account

Bottom line is : protect your account with 2-step verification. The new owner of your previous phone number won't be able to access your account, because he won't have your PIN. But after 7 days, he will be able to create a new WhatsApp account linked to your old number, and your account will be deactivated.

See https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/verification/about-registration-and-two-step-verification/?lang=en :

> If you didn't enable two-step verification, but are prompted to enter a PIN, the previous owner of the phone number might have enabled it. In this case, you'll need to wait 7 days before resetting the PIN to access your account.

Additional info : if you don't use your WhatsApp account for 45 days, and it's activated on another device, WhatsApp will consider that the number has been recycled and will create a new account linked to that number. See https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/account-and-profile/seeing-your-phone-number-already-in-whatsapp/?lang=en :

> To help eliminate confusion with recycled phone numbers, we monitor account inactivity. If an account is unused for 45 days and then becomes newly activated on a different mobile device, we take this as a sign that a number has been recycled. At this time, we'll remove the old account data tied to the phone number - like the profile photo and About section.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, sim-card
---


# Question
Title: Samsung S6 Active will not boot; AP, ROM flash succeeds (bootloader flash fails); then BL flash works, but the device still won't boot
I am having trouble with my S6 Active. It has been stuck in a boot loop for a week now. It was running stock beforehand. I flashed a stock AT&T Nougat ROM with Odin. The AP, CP, and CSC all successfully flash but it is still stuck on the Samsung logo screen when it boots. Here is the log:

```
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> Total Binary size: 4539 M
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/003> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/003> Erase...
<ID:0/003> ERASE_SECTOR: 1197824
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> ERASE_OK
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> boot.img
<ID:0/003> recovery.img
<ID:0/003> system.img
<ID:0/003> userdata.img
<ID:0/003> modem.bin
<ID:0/003> Transmission Complete..
<ID:0/003> Now Writing.. Please wait about 2 minutes
<ID:0/003> Receive Response from boot-loader
<ID:0/003> cache.img
<ID:0/003> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/003> RES OK !!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Remain Port ....  0
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0)

```

If I try to flash the Bootloader, and it fails. I receive the following:

```
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> Total Binary size: 4 M
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Erase...
<ID:0/003> ERASE_SECTOR: 1197824
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> ERASE_OK
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> sboot.bin
<ID:0/003> FAIL!
<ID:0/003>
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

```

Is the bootloader the issue or is it just failing because it's bootloader locked? Is there anything I can try to get it to boot?

For reference, the ROM I am using is found here:

```
AP_G890AUCU6DQD1_CL10950877_QB13102601_REV02_user_ low_ship_meta.tar
BL_G890AUCU6DQD1_CL10950877_QB13102601_REV02_user_ low_ship.tar
CP_G890AUCU6DQD1_CP6129305_CL10950877_QB13102601_R EV02_user_low_ship.tar
CSC_ATT_G890AATT6DQD1_CL10950877_QB13102601_REV02_ user_low_ship.tar

```

I purchased this phone secondhand. I do not know if the prior user flashed it.

**UPDATE**: I was able to flash the most current firmware onto the device.

```
Model: Samsung Galaxy S6 Active SM-G890A
OS Version: Android Nougat V7.0
PDA/AP Version: G890AUCS7DRF2
MODEM/CP Version: G890AUCS7DRF2
CSC Version: G890AATT7DRF2
Region: USA AT&T
Security Patch Level : 2018-07-03

```

I flashed the BL, AP, CP, CSC, and used the .pit file, and everything went smoothly:

```
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> Total Binary size: 4644 M
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Set PIT file..
<ID:0/003> DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!!
<ID:0/003> Erase...
<ID:0/003> ERASE_SECTOR: 1197824
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> ERASE_OK
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> sboot.bin
<ID:0/003> param.bin
<ID:0/003> cm.bin
<ID:0/003> boot.img
<ID:0/003> recovery.img
<ID:0/003> system.img
<ID:0/003> userdata.img
<ID:0/003> modem.bin
<ID:0/003> Transmission Complete..
<ID:0/003> Now Writing.. Please wait about 2 minutes
<ID:0/003> Receive Response from boot-loader
<ID:0/003> cache.img
<ID:0/003> RQT_CLOSE !!
<ID:0/003> RES OK !!
<ID:0/003> Removed!!
<ID:0/003> Remain Port ....  0
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 1 / failed 0

```

HOWEVER, the device is still stuck on the Samsung logo when it boots. I'm not sure what else I can do at this point. It's out of warranty and Samsung wants $70 to fix it.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I bought a firmware for US$3 from G890AUCS7DRF2\_G890AATT7DRF2\_V7.0\_Repair\_Firmware\_4Files\_( USA AT&T ). It worked flawlessly. I could go back to Android 6.0 and had the phone labeled as S6 Edge, 16 GB storage, no baseband, etc.

I uploaded the following file to Google Drive: G890AUCS7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship\_meta. It is the firmware for Samsung Galaxy S6 Active (G890A) to fix boot or missing baseband.

# Answer
> 0 votes
From what I have read, they recommended you use the default Odin3 options. I previously botched a downgrade to 6.0 and had a partial 6.0 bootloader working (always failed after sboot.bin using different ROMs). For me, I turned on `Nand Erase` and `Re-Partition` with a `PIT file` that I extracted from the CSV file using 7.zip.

Thanks to Joe Munden for linking the correct file. G890AUCS7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship\_meta

G890AUCS7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship\_meta.zip :

* AP\_G890AUCS7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship\_meta.tar.md5
* BL\_G890AUCS7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship.tar.md5
* CP\_G890AUCS7DRF2\_CP9924223\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship.tar.md5
* CSC\_ATT\_G890AATT7DRF2\_CL12599862\_QB18539350\_REV02\_user\_low\_ship.tar.md5
    + (PIT file MARINELTE\_USA\_ATT.pit inside the CSC file)

---
Tags: samsung, rom-flashing, boot-loop, bootloader
---


# Question
Title: Can't leave beta test program for an app in the Play Store
A few months ago, I signed up to beta test the New Scientist app in the Google Play Store. Now, I would like to go back to using the production app. I went into Google Play Store and searched for the app, then under "you are a beta tester" I tapped on "leave". I then uninstalled the beta version.

The problem is, now when I search for New Scientist in the Google Play Store so that I can install the production version, it still only shows me the beta version, and it says "removing your account from the beta program." I can't reinstall the beta, and I can't install the production version, so I am stuck.

I have tried rebooting the device, and I thought about maybe deleting cache and storage for the app, but of course, the app is no longer on my phone, so I can't do that.

How can I go back to the production version?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Same problem with another application. Just go to Settings → applications → Manage apps → Google Play Store → Storage → Clear data, and when it shows an option, choose only Cache.

Try to reach the app again.

---
Tags: google-play-store
---


# Question
Title: Deleting files on SD card does not free up space on SD card
I'm facing this issue:

When I delete a big folder, it's not deleted, but moved in "system data" instead, I remove the card, I plug it in my pc and my pc says that the device has to be checked for errors, it runs the check and then creates a folder named found.000, if I delete this, the free space is regained! I've already formatted my SD card, same issue happened!

The strange thing is that this happens only with large/huge files and folders, if I delete some megabytes, not a byte is added in system data! so I think I need to think why could this be happening with large data

I've got a similar 1 gb of data in internal too but this should be the mi cloud backup? is it stored locally? how can I delete it? (I'm root)

# Answer
For anyone using ES File Explorer, when you 'delete' from the SD Card the data doesn't delete, it gets moved into a folder called .estrongs (you have put the sd card into PC and in Windows File Explorer under View Tab check the box for 'show hidden files')...checking the box for showing 'hidden files' in ES Explorer is not reliable.....Then in just delete the files from .estrongs in Windows File Explorer to free up space
> 1 votes

# Answer
Connect your SD card to PC/laptop and perform a `chkdsk` repair
> 0 votes

# Answer
I think a **Cold Restart** (*Turning the device completely off and then back on.*) Should fix this issue.

In some rare cases you may need to remove the card when the device is off and put it back before restarting.

Then when you start back up you should see your actual available space on the SD card/Micro SD card.
> 0 votes

# Answer
To add to @river 's answer - on Mac OS, you can press 'Shift' + 'Command' + '.' on the keyboard to enable hidden files view, and from there you can check the SD card to determine if there's a hidden folder or trash folder where the deleted files gets moved to. In my case for a SANDISK Extreme pro it was moved to a hidden Trash folder. HTH.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sd-card
---


# Question
Title: How to disable "save password to Google?" prompt?
I am currently using a Galaxy Tab A 2016 on Oreo and the above prompt pops up everytime I log in an app. Is there a way to disable this prompt?

Thanks.

# Answer
> 14 votes
FYI, for future readers, I believe the correct way to disable this feature is by going to:

Settings \> General management \> Language and input

Then, under "Input Assistance," set "Autofill services" to "None."

# Answer
> 8 votes
For me on a Moto G9 with Android 10, the following worked:

* "Settings" \> "Accounts"
* Tab the main account for the phone
* "Google Account (Info, security & personalization)"
* "Security" Tab \> Scroll all the way down \> "Signing in with Google" \> "Password Manager"
* Tab the cogwheel in the top right \> Disable "Offer to save passwords"
* Voilà

In my special case I had some extra steps, because I was not able to access the "Password Manager" because I apparently used it at some point and would have needed my "Google Sync Passphrase" to get to the password manager. Therefore I first had to head over to https://chrome.google.com/sync in Chrome, login with my Google account, scroll all the way down and hit "CLEAR DATA" (which does reset all sync data, including bookmarks etc.).

Edit: Discovered another setting! Right above "Password Manager" there is "Signing in with Google" which has a "Google Account sign-in prompts" setting ("Allow Google to offer a faster way to sign in with your Google Account on supported third-party sites").

# Answer
> 2 votes
On Android 11 devices method to disable saving user/password autofill prompts:

System settings -\> General Management \> Autofill service -\> None

# Answer
> 0 votes
I found the answer after some exploration. Giving a gist,

> You need to modify the Google Account Settings and modify the "Offer to save passwords" options.

Follow these steps:

1. Go to https://myaccount.google.com/security
2. Sign in with your Google Account.
3. Go down the page and you will see a "**Password Manager**" option. Click it.
4. The "Password Manager" is opened. Tap on the **Settings icon** ( a gear icon on the top right ).
5. The **Password Options** page will open. The first option you see is "**Offer to save passwords**".
6. Uncheck the option and its all done!

---
Tags: password, 8.1-oreo
---


# Question
Title: Hangouts Notification - SMS no longer supported
I just got an Android tablet (Lenovo 4 8") after using an iPad for a couple of years or so.

I'm getting the "SMS is no longer supported" notification from Hangouts repeatedly and I can't seem to get rid of it.

I've tried opening Hangouts and trying to find a setting to let me get rid of this message, or to declare an alternate SMS app (I have one). But the instructions I've been able to find must be for an older version of the interface, because there's no Options menu item and I can't find an option in Settings to help.

How to get rid of "SMS is no longer supported" notification

I use Hangouts all the time and I'd like to continue using it. But the SMS message is really annoying.

# Answer
> -1 votes
I think you are getting this message again and again because Hangout is still registered as the default app to handle SMS messages (which it doesn't support anymore).

Therefore have to make a different app the default SMS app. To do so open the Android **Settings** app (the gear icon) and select the **Apps and Notifications** section (might be named a little different on your device depending on the Android version and manufacturer).

There you will find an entry that allows you to select the **Default SMS** app. If you can't choose the app your device may be missing an app that can handle SMS. In such a case search the Google PlayStore for an new SMS app.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I was having the same notification. I did what was suggested in the comment above...went to SETTINGS, then APPS AND NOTIFICATIONS, then DEFAULT APP. I selected the "messages" app that came with the phone because that's what i was already using. This did not clear the notification so...I opened the list of all apps and UNINSTALLED the Hangouts app. That worked! Hope this helps.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Settings -\> Apps -\> Gear icon top right -\> SMS settings You have to download an alternate SMS app for it to work. I suggest GoSMS. Restart tablet.

---
Tags: google-hangouts
---


# Question
Title: Is there a quicker way to turn on WiFi Hotspot?
is there a way to automate (or at least reduce the number of steps) to turn on or turn off the WiFi hotspot on my Galaxy 3.

I have to

1. unlock
2. press the menu button
3. press settings
4. press More Settings
5. Tethering and portable hotspot
6. Slide portable hotspot on.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Don't bother with these 3rd party apps.

Go to "Widgets" in your app drawer. Long-press the "Settings" icon and drag it to your main home screen and the shortcut settings menu for all your settings automatically appears.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Goto Apps (long press an empty spot on your home screen)

Find "Mobile Hotspot" press and hold, drag onto your home screen.

That's it!

# Answer
> 0 votes
Old question is missing an up-to-date answer: Meanwhile, the solution is built-in to Android and called "Quick Settings".

1. Go to *Settings › Notifications › Quick Settings*
2. Tap the entry to chose/arrange tiles
3. if "WiFi Hotspot" isn't shown on a tile:
    1. tap the `+` symbol
    2. scroll to the end of the list
    3. tap the corresponding entry to add (WiFi-Hostpot)
4. optionally: move the tile where you like to have it

Now, toggling the hotspot is as simple as

1. pull-down the notification bar *from the right corner* (this should immediately show Quick Settings)
2. if Quick Settings aren't shown (but your notification area is), tap the top-right corner to switch over
3. tap the hostpot tile

Some ROMs (such as CyanogenMod) even allow you to have the very same stuff "synced" to quick toggles placed on top of the notification area, for even easier access.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Its easy! Drag down from the top edge to reveal the "Notification Panel." Within the customization options for the Notification Panel there's a mobile hotspot shortcut (on my phone).

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, automation, wifi-hotspot
---


# Question
Title: Partition table modified by parted is not saved in Galaxy J5 SM-J500FN
I booted to TWRP recovery and tried to shrink `/system` and extend `/data` in the following way:

```
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0

(parted) unit s
(parted) print free

```

The output (original partition table):

```
Model: MMC H8G4u! (sd/mmc)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 15269888s
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start      End        Size       File system  Name        Flags
        34s        8191s      8158s      Free Space
 1      8192s      38911s     30720s                  apnhlos     msftdata
 2      38912s     156543s    117632s                 modem       msftdata
 3      156544s    157567s    1024s                   sbl1
 4      157568s    157631s    64s                     ddr
 5      157632s    161727s    4096s                   aboot
 6      161728s    162751s    1024s                   rpm
 7      162752s    163775s    1024s                   qsee
 8      163776s    164799s    1024s                   qhee
 9      164800s    170943s    6144s                   fsg
10      170944s    170975s    32s                     sec
11      170976s    192511s    21536s                  pad         msftdata
12      192512s    212991s    20480s                  param
13      212992s    241663s    28672s     ext4         efs
14      241664s    247807s    6144s                   modemst1
15      247808s    253951s    6144s                   modemst2
16      253952s    280575s    26624s                  boot
17      280576s    311295s    30720s                  recovery
18      311296s    336897s    25602s                  fota
19      336898s    351215s    14318s                  backup      legacy_boot
20      351216s    357359s    6144s                   fsc
21      357360s    357375s    16s                     ssd
22      357376s    373759s    16384s     ext4         persist
23      373760s    374783s    1024s                   persistent
24      374784s    393215s    18432s     ext4         persdata
25      393216s    4653055s   4259840s   ext4         system
26      4653056s   5062655s   409600s    ext4         cache
27      5062656s   5206015s   143360s    ext4         hidden
28      5206016s   15269847s  10063832s  ext4         userdata
        15269848s  15269854s  7s         Free Space

```

Then I removed last 3 partitions and resized `/system`:

```
(parted) rm 28
(parted) rm 27
(parted) rm 26
(parted) resizepart 25 3186687

(parted) mkpart physical ext4 3186688 3596287
(parted) name 26 cache

(parted) mkpart physical ext4 3596288 3602431
(parted) name 27 hidden

(parted) mkpart physical ext4 3602432 15269847
(parted) name 28 userdata

(parted) quit

```

Then you need to sync changes to be able to mount `/system` again:

```
sync
blockdev --flushbufs /dev/block/mmcblk0
partprobe

```

However, nothing is changed.

```
parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 print free

```

After mounting partitions in TWRP or after reboot to system the partition sizes remain old.

What am I doing wrong? Has Samsung Galaxy J5 (SM-J500FN) any hardware lock?

# Answer
This doesn't directly explain what you are seeing, but you have a missing step, which may possibly be contributing to your partitions getting reset by TWRP or something else.

When you create a partition with `parted`, and include a partition type such as `ext4`, that doesn't actually make a file system on your new partition. To do that, you need to exit `parted` and format the partition using

```
mkfs.ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p26

```

where `26` is the partition number of your `cache`, so repeat the same command using `p27` and `p28` for your other two partitions.

If you don't have `mkfs.ext4` there's a zipfile containing it along with `parted` and other related tools attached to this post in the XDA Developer forum. There are zipfiles for both ARM and ARM64/AARCH builds, so choose whichever zipfile's right for your device.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung, partitions, samsung-galaxy-j5
---


# Question
Title: Is there a hidden trash can I can empty?
I keep deleting things and clearing cache to try and clean up space on my android and it seems I just keep losing memory, as if it's all going to some huge trash bin and still taking up space. Is there a way to find and empty this trash?

# Answer
> 2 votes
My LG V20 Running on Android 7.0 with a gallery app v5.30.24.1 has a Trash can in the menu under the MANAGE section that saves Everything deleted for 7 days before permanently deleting it and then freeing up space. You can also go into the can and delete everything yourself. So Yes, android can have a recycler bin. A very useful feature for those accidental deletions.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Turns out there is a "hidden" trash can! I was desperate for room on my LG V20, and I deleted about 30 GB of photos. And I got zero space back. I was waiting, thinking Android just needed to update itself, but after several days, I was still at the cusp of no space.

I used the PC-based Tree Size program (free, can find via search) that friends recommended. After installing that on my laptop and letting it run for a while, lo and behold, I found there was a .trashcan buried deep in the phone. Going there by navigating on the phone produced a blank screen, but using the program I could see more than 30 GB of deleted photos!

The location of my trash was android -\> data -\> com.android.gallery3d -\> files -\> .trashcan

Good luck to anyone else with this issue!

# Answer
> 0 votes
To answer this question I'll need to get you to understand what deleting means.

> Deleting is basically telling the operating system, I'm done with this storage space, give it to someone else.

Think of it like a room where an app comes with his stuff then if it so happens that the app gets uninstalled, they leave the room there. So when android is installing the next app, it comes takes up the room. Just because the app was uninstalled doesn't mean the room was also demolished.

This would also explain why it's possible to recover data(through third party apps) even after having 'deleted' it. Now Android and I should believe all mobile phone operating systems don't have a native way of getting this data back. By native I mean you can't recover data by using the OS like the way you can use recycler bin in windows. This is due to the fact that memory is a very very precious asset on phones (it's very limited and the OS would rather have it stored for some other reason) and having a recycler bin would simply end up taking crucial memory making it more expensive to manage the phone.

So **no, android doesn't have a recycler bin**; but that doesn't mean you can't recover data. As to what might be taking up your memory consider wiping caches of your apps.

> Cache is app data used on the go that is stored temporarily

. Also some apps have a nasty habit of leaving behind files after being deleted. They do this in anticipation that you might install the app again and if so you can just come back from where you picked off. I would recommend clean master app from the google playstore as I've I'm used it before and it works superbly fine in determining which apps you don't need and finding out whether your storage is being misappropriated and by who. They also fully uninstall apps and bloatware not leaving any files behind.

# Answer
> 0 votes
My Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 9 has an optional "Trash Can" that's hidden away, yet enabled by default, that stores deleted photos/videos for annoying 30 days. (several GB in my case!).

Go to your apps to open the "Gallery" app, then tap the "3 dots", and then "Trash" to open & delete files... Or, on the "3 dots menu" go into Settings to disable the Gallery Trash Can completely.

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Tags: internal-storage
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# Question
Title: Creating launcher icon to Google Play Store's "Manage apps & device" page (preferably in Nova launcher)
I had a home screen icon to the "Manage apps & device" page in Google Play Store. Specifically, I had this set up in Nova Launcher (Prime).

I tried to recall how I accomplished this, and I simply do not recall, as it was several years ago.

Looking at the Nova Launcher backup file, I see that I had a shortcut to `action=com.google.android.finsky.VIEW_MY_DOWNLOADS`. Yet when I go to the `Activities` list for the Google Play Store, I do not see this activity.

How can one setup a launcher icon to directly access the Google Play Store's "Manage apps & device" page? Alternatively, the "Pending downloads" page might be acceptable as well.

To avoid accidentally posting an XY question, my goal is to quickly see what apps that were downloaded from the Google Play Store have available updates (and download updates if desired). The device is running Android Nougat and has auto-updates disabled.

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***Edit:***
The reason why I am interested in how I previously set up this Nova Launcher icon is that I want to open the "Manage apps & device" page as a "tap" (single-click) behaviour on a folder icon. Specifically, Nova allows creating a launcher icon for a folder that uses "swipe to open" to open the folder, and specifying a "tap action" when tapping on the icon. (A bug in Nova appears to prevent enabling "swipe to open" while having no "tap action".)

For the "tap action", the user can select almost anything, including any available shortcut or any available `activity` (but not manually entering an `activity` string). I just want to figure out how to specify opening the "Manage apps & device" page for the "tap action".

# Answer
* Long-Press on the Play Store shortcut.
* `My Apps` will be among the option shown. Long press on it to move it to your screen an create a shortcut.
* Press the icon to open `Manage apps & device`.
> 1 votes

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Tags: google-play-store, updates, 7.0-nougat, launcher, nova-launcher
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# Question
Title: How do I enable DNS over HTTPS on Firefox for Android?
I found the option to enable DNS over HTTPS for Firefox on the desktop but I can't find it on the Android version of the browser. Is it supported? How do I enable it?

# Answer
I try to complete Dale answer

* Open Firefox and type: `about:config`
* filter with: `network.trr.*` and set the following values:

`network.trr.mode` value `3`

`network.trr.bootstrapAddress` and set value as one ip from this page (mine value is currently `104.16.249.249`)
* now open a new tab to this page used to verify if everything is working. You should have all green except `sni`. To make all green you should
* switch tab and go back to config page
* change filter with: `network.security.*` and set:

`network.security.esni.enabled` value `true`
* go back to previous tab and refresh. You should have all green.

credits/references:
> 8 votes

# Answer
Although I have not been able to prove it's really changing the routing of DNS queries, I have changed the settings on Firefox for Android: `network.trr.mode` to `2` (fail-over enabled) or `3` (fail-over not enabled) and `network.trr.uri` to `1.1.1.1` (Cloudflare) or `8.8.8.8` (Google) or 9.9.9.9 (Quad9). This came from this Mozilla page (not specific to Android Firefox). So you type `about:config` in the address bar, then search for and change the `network.trr*` settings.

But as mentioned by Irfan, you can have all your DNS go to cloudflare by using their 1.1.1.1 app, or if you're on the Android Pie, you can go to `Settings > Network & Internet > Private DNS` and select `Automatic` (I'm sure that's GOT to be Google's 9.9.9.9) or `Private DNS provider hostname` with `1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com`, for instance (credit to this page on TechRepublic).
> 3 votes

# Answer
Things have changed since the time most of the answers were written so here's an updated version:

* The previous TRR (Trusted recursive resolver ) only encrypted the SNI(server name indication) which proved to be insufficient in masking your DNS queries. It has been shown that DNS queries , especially the SNI can still be leaked. So a new draft has been proposed which suggest to encrypt the entire 'Client Hello' message. This new draft (initially called draft 8) has been now referred to as ECH (encrypted client Hello). And it still under development, no browser have yet released it for production. This upgraded version would require all DNS servers to implement it for it to work properly. And as of date not many (I think none) have it working. Meanwhile firefox had removed Encrypt SNI since version 85. It would replaced by ECH in near future.

Though one can still enable DoH (DNS over HTTPS) or TRR(Trusted Recursive Resolver ) as Mozilla calls it.

From the firefox nightly version, go to `about:config`

then turn `network.trr.mode` to 2 or 3 depending on whether you want to fail the request if TRR fails to resolve the address or use a fallback default (your ISP) as your resolver.

firefox has cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 set as the default TRR so you don't have to change anything else.

In the absence of Encrypted SNI, it won't be as secure but still be able to access some DNS blocked sites because most of the ISP's still don't have the means to find out. Some ISP that have advanced DPI( deep packet inspection) means would be able to detect it though
> 0 votes

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Tags: firefox-for-android
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# Question
Title: "Something came up. The application has cancelled the request to choose a device"
I'm a tech savy person but this has me at my wits end.

I have two apps and two devices I want to connect to with my OnePlus 5T running Android 10, OxygenOS 10.0.1

For Image Sync, this is what happens:

1. On my phone: turn on NFC
2. Turn on my Pentax camera.
3. Open the app on my phone, click on "cam images" to try to download the camera's pictures.
4. App wants me to connect through NFC or through wi-fi. I pick NFC and put the camera near the phone.
5. The connection seems to work, I see "connection successful" at the bottom of my phone. Then a popup lets me select my camera. I click "connect" and immediately after, another popup appears saying "Something came up. The application has cancelled the request to choose a device"
6. If I go the wi-fi route, the same thing happens.

For the GoPro, my phone is able to find my camera but when I try to download the images, it says "connecting" and nothing happens. Then another popup: "we had trouble connecting with your GoPro".

My phone has developer mode turned on. Is there a setting that i'm missing? It can't be that both apps are faulty, right? It has to be my phone.

I've tried various combinations of connections on my phone turned on/off: wi-fi, bluetooth, data. Nothing works.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Well this is what worked.

For GoPro:

1. Phone: Clear all active apps and clear the app's cache.
2. Phone: "Forget" the camera on the app, and also forget the WiFi network.
3. Phone: Turn off data connection, leave only wi-fi and Bluetooth.
4. Turn on the camera, WiFi should be enabled automatically.
5. Phone: connect to the WiFi network normally, through the phone settings.
6. Phone: open app, connection should work.

For Image Sync:

1. Phone: Clear the apps' cache AND local data.
2. Phone: Forget the camera's WiFi network.
3. Phone: Turn off data connection, leave only wi-fi and Bluetooth.
4. Turn on the camera and enable its WiFi.
5. Phone: connect to the WiFi network normally, through the phone settings.
6. Phone: Open the app. It will ask you to accept terms and conditions and some permissions.

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Tags: wi-fi, bluetooth, connection-issues, android-10, oneplus-5t
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