# Question
Title: How do I generate a PKCS12 CA certificate for use with Packet Capture?
I was trying to use Packet Capture app to find out some URLs used by an app. Packet Capture allows you to capture SSL packets by installing a VPN Gateway with its own root CA certificate and then channeling app requests through that gateway. However, when I try to generate the certificate from within the app (on my Galaxy Note 8), I just get the error "Cannot create certificate". I don't know why this is as the app doesn't give any further explanation, but this means I can't use SSL capture in the app.

The app does have another way to just import an existing CA certificate, known as "Import PKCS#12 file". However I need to generate the PKCS#12 file myself to use this, and not sure how to do this.

What I did so far: I installed the app "Dory". Then I tried creating a public/private keypair, CSR and root CA certificate, all the time setting the passphrase and alias to "abc". But when I tried to import the p12 file to Packet Capture, it just said "java.lang.RuntimeException: Cannot load key. Password might be wrong." I must have done something wrong; what should I be doing next?

# Answer
> 10 votes
I had some issues with this after the Android 11 update. Android 11 no longer allows you to add certificates from any app other than the settings app, so you will have to generate and set the certificate yourself.

1. Generate the certificate in linux. You can also do this on the device if you get an openssl app or terminal. I followed this tutorial, except I added the name "alias" to the p12 key:

`openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout myKey.pem -out cert.pem -days 365 -nodes`

Hit enter for all the prompts

`openssl pkcs12 -export -out keyStore.p12 -inkey myKey.pem -in cert.pem -name "alias"`

Enter the password "test"

2. Transfer `keyStore.p12` and `cert.pem` to the android device
3. In android settings, go to Biometrics and Security (note I have a Samsung device, it might be different for you) \> Other Security Settings \> Credential Storage \> Install from device storage \> CA Certificate \> Accept the scary red warning and tap "Install anyway" \> enter your pincode \> find "cert.pem" and click "Done"
4. Going back to "Install from device storage," \> VPN and app user certificate \> find keyStore.p12 \> Enter password "test" and name it "alias"
5. Go the the app info screen for Packet Capture \> Permissions \> Files And Media \> Enable "Allow management of all files"
6. Open packet capture \> Setting \> Tap "No CA certificate" \> Import PKCS#12 file \> find keyStore.p12. Enter password "test" and the "alias". Restart packet capture. If everything worked, the "Status" subtitle should say "Installed to trusted credentials"
7. Restart device

SSL should work for most apps now but it can be hit and miss

# Answer
> 1 votes
I got it working on Android API 34 with the `-legacy` option as @JanWytze mentioned. Here's a simple script that will create the pair and push it to the device (password: `test`):

```
#!/bin/bash

# Step 1: Generate the certificate

# Generate a self-signed certificate and private key
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout myKey.pem -out cert.pem -days 365 -nodes -subj "/C=US/ST=Some-State/O=Company Name"

# Export the private key and the certificate into a PKCS12 keystore using the -legacy flag
openssl pkcs12 -export -out keyStore.p12 -inkey myKey.pem -in cert.pem -name "alias" -passout pass:test -legacy

echo "Successfully generated keyStore.p12 and cert.pem"

# Step 2: Transfer files to Android device using adb

# Check if device is connected
if adb devices | grep -q device$; then
    adb push keyStore.p12 /sdcard/
    adb push cert.pem /sdcard/
    echo "Files transferred successfully to the device!"
else
    echo "No device found. Make sure your device is connected and USB debugging is enabled."
fi

```

---
Tags: networking, certificates
---


title: Turn of Google Calendar event sounds

text:
# Question
Title: Turn of Google Calendar event sounds
I recently upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S23. I previously had all sounds off on all previous devices. I have checked this phone and no sounds are on anywhere on the phone. But every time I get a Google Calendar event notification, it plays a damn tune.

I cannot figure out how to turn this off! I have tried everything.

# Answer
1. In the app drawer, long press on the Calendar app.
2. App info \> Manage notifications
3. At the bottom, you will see 2 categories

* Calendar notifications
    * Task notifications

Both have a button, but both buttons are grayed out because it is a system app.
4. Select which you wish to make silent
5. Select "Set as silent". This should work.

Let me know if this works. Thanks!
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung, audio, google-calendar
---


# Question
Title: Using tablet as second screen for viewing
Is there any (free) way to use a (Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e) tablet as a second monitor (with Windows) without an app? But if that's the only way, then that'll do.

# Answer
Yes, I am using spacedesk, but it isn't super smooth enough for watching movies, enough for working and coding. It is available for Android and Apple devices.

You will need to install the same software on Windows. Windows acts as a server. Open the app on your Android, and connect to the same WiFi (it says even wire can be connected).

Your laptop's software has to be turned on to make it work, but it works well

If you have an Android phone, you can connect that as well. Once everything is set up, don't forget to change the display option in Windows settings.

Hope this serves your purpose.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung, tablet, secondary-display
---


# Question
Title: Adding tasks to Microsoft To Do using voice only - goes to Keep instead
I recently moved from Google Tasks to Microsoft ToDo and it's very good, which should not be a surprise considering it's Wunderlist underneath.

Using Android Auto in the car, I want to be able to add to my *Microsoft To Do* Tasks list using voice only. Microsoft Support says to use voice commands with *Microsoft To Do* on Android, tap the microphone icon in the Google search bar, say "Ok Google, add a note...", and select *Microsoft To Do* as your default app.

That does not work for me though when I just say "Ok Google, add a note...", without taping first, a note gets added to Google Keep. I can't see anywhere to change the default so it's added to the *Tasks* list in *Microsoft To Do*.

Has anyone been able to get it working?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I found an old techcommunity post that gave me a close solution for Samsung only which works for me though it would be nice to have a nonproprietary solution and not to need an intermediary app.

1. **Requires a Samsung phone**. Enable *Bixby*, Samsung's virtual assistant, by searching for the *Bixby* app and clicking enable. In the *Settings* -\> *Language and voice style*, you can choose one of 2 voices.
2. Enable the hidden reminder app on your Samsung phone by opening the Samsung calendar, selecting the menu, and tapping reminder, You will be taken to the reminder app and an app shortcut will be added to your app screen.
3. Open the Samsung reminder app -\> *Settings* & tap *Sync with Microsoft To Do*, sign in with your Microsoft account, and accept the permission request.
4. You now see the synced *Tasks* under *Microsoft To Do*
5. You can now say "Hey Bixby add a reminder to walk the dog"
6. Go into the reminder and see "Walk the dog" as a new Task. It will have a red dot after it, which disappears when it has synced. The To Do then shows in your To Do task list.

* Initially when I did the last step earlier the note appeared in *To Do* under a new list called Reminder. I am unsure how this changed to go into Tasks but it's working now.

---
Tags: google-assistant, voice-command, android-auto, to-do-list
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to select base station to connect to?
There are applications that show the base stations around, but is there a way to select the base station to connect, inside the phone provider of course?

For example, if my provider XYZ has 3 base stations around my current place, how can I select one to connect to? How to change?

# Answer
> 0 votes
The answer is no. It's not the phone that decides on the base station to pick. The stations decide when and who to hand over the connection.

---
Tags: mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: Android 13: Swapping apps in split screen and adding new apps
*Not a duplicate of Swapping windows in split-screen mode since it is Android 12 specific (I actually wrote out an answer for this without realizing the question is for Android 12 and instead of wasting the efforts in answering, I decided to make it a self-answered question).*

**As in title, how do I switch apps from top pane to bottom pane (and vice-versa) as also add a new app?**

# Answer
* Firstly, the behavior of split panel has changed from earlier behavior. See the open issue tracker of Dec 21 (before Android 12 L update) Split screen feature doesn't work as it use to.
* This works on Android 13, Pixel 6a, YMMV depending on the customization of your OEM.

I used split screen to pin two apps *Permission Manager X* on the top pane and *What's running pro* on the bottom pane (app *selected first* for split screen goes into top panel).

# To switch panels

**Double tap** on the panel divider

# To change one of the panels

For example you want to change the top panel, close the app on the top panel and add a new app which *automatically* occupies the top panel.

And of course, double tap the panel divider if you want to switch panels.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: android-13, multi-window, google-pixel-6a
---


# Question
Title: Camera app can't access SD card anymore after formatting it as internal
I recently formatted the SD card as internal on my Android 7.1.2 (LineageOS 14.1). Now the camera app is showing an error message that it can't access the SD card anymore. The error message is: "Couldn't access SD card".

I can't find the setting to change the storage folder of the camera app.

Does anybody have an idea how to fix that?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Meanwhile, I found the solution. In the app settings, I had to delete the app data and cache. That set the settings back to default which solved the issue.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Encountered the same issue on MIUI 11.0.8.0 stable, solved by allowing the *usage access* permission for the camera app.

You do it by opening the Settings app - Passwords and security Privacy - Special application access - Usage access, choose the (native) camera app, and permit usage access.

Source: xiaomi.eu forum.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Another possible cause is if an old SD card had been used as the default location for the camera, and was since removed, and the system becomes determined to save to that specific SD card only (and wouldn't allow the location to be changed while it was unavailable).

This causes the same "Couldn't access SD card" error on taking photos in the camera, and causes images attached to messages to refuse to download, Bluetooth image shares to fail as "unsuccessful", etc, despite all these apps having correct storage permissions.

What fixed it was:

* Going into Storage Manager
* Selecting the old, absent SD card
* Choosing to "Forget" it

As soon as the old SD card was forgotten, everything involving saving images started working again, and the setting to choose where to save images was no longer greyed out.

---
Tags: camera, internal-sd
---


# Question
Title: How to use `adb push` after mounting /system R/W without losing R/W permissions to install app as /system/apps?
I'm using a rooted Revvl 6 5G - TMAF025G\_0.05.29 - MT6833 - Android 12. Without a `recovery.img`, I rooted using `Magisk_Patched-boot_a.img`. After this, I used the RO2RW module to aid in making the partitions R/W mountable with:

```
adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system

```

The goal is to install apps as system apps using:

```
adb push xplore.apk /system/apps

```

How do I go from mounting the `/system` partition as R/W to 'adb push' without losing the permissions? How do I push `xplore.apk` to `/system/apps` while the partition is still mounted R/W? If I exit the root command and then exit the Android shell, the partition resets to normal. So I'm trying to figure out how to transition.

# Answer
> 2 votes
`adb push` is never affected from calling `su` from within a shell. If you execute `su` within a shell a new shell instance is created that get the root permissions.

However `adb push` does not use a shell at all. Instead the push operation is directly executed by the `adbd` on the Android device.

The only way to get root permissions in `adb push` is by calling `adb root`. If the `adbd` running on the device supports it, `adbd` will restart itself and keep the root permissions.

If you now execute `adb push` all operations will be executed with root permissions.

---
Tags: applications, adb, root-access, installation, system-apps
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to run Android on a Raspberry Pi?
With smartphones and the Raspberry Pi both being ARM devices, is it possible to run Android on a Raspberry Pi?

# Answer
Yes.

If you happen to have a Raspberry Pi 4 4GB or 8GB, you can try out an unofficial build of LineageOS 17.1 for Raspberry Pi 4. One of my favorite YouTubers Leepspvideo made a tutorial on installing Android 10 LineageOS on a Raspberry Pi.
> 1 votes

# Answer
There are at least two routes for running Android on Raspberry Pi. You need a Pi 3 or later for both of them:

# Non-commercial

KonstKANG provides a variety of images, but the RPi-specific drivers included are limited to non-commercial use, presumably by the author. Raspberry Tips has an article on the installation process, as does BeeBom.

## Rasperry Pi 3

* LineageOS Android 7.1 to Android 10.

## Raspberry Pi 4 (and 400)

* AOSP Android 12L to 14
* LineageOS for Android 9 to 13 and Android TV 9 to 13.

## Raspberry Pi 5

* AOSP Android 14

## Other hardware

KonstKANG also provides TWRP images, and a variety of Android-related images for older devices.

# Commercial

Emteria provides commercial support for Android for kiosk and IoT applications, but has a free starter account that does not time out, clearly as a sales and goodwill generator. They provide a user guide for installing AOSP Android with their drivers (up to Android 14) using the Raspberry Pi Imager application. Little Bird Electronics also has a guide.

The limit on the free account is that it is limited to three devices. Emteria also don't provide all versions of Android: currently, they seem to offer versions 7, 11, 13 and 14.

## Other hardware

Emteria also support various other SBCs, plus Intel NUCs via Intel Celadon. The latter is a route to running Android on x86 and x86-64 hardware, should you want to.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: arm-processors, hardware-requirements
---


# Question
Title: How to check supported Bluetooth Profiles on Android device
How do I know which "Bluetooth Profiles" are available on my Android device?

Is there any terminal command to list all "Bluetooth Profiles" supported by Bluetooth Stack present in Android device?

# Answer
> 3 votes
With USB debugging enabled,

```
adb shell dumpsys bluetooth_manager | grep Profile`

```

Output on a Mi 10i is as follows:

```
Profile: GattService
Profile: HeadsetService
Profile: A2dpService
Profile: HidHostService
Profile: PanService
Profile: BluetoothMapService
Profile: HidDeviceService
Profile: BluetoothOppService
Profile: BluetoothPbapService
Profile: HearingAidService

```

# Answer
> 2 votes
Have you tried `sdptool`?

This link has `sdptool` command syntax. You can issue the command even from the ADB shell on your connected Android phone. But I guess this requires the other Bluetooth devices. But this will be good starting point for you.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Enable developer options and then look under Settings \> Developer Options for **Bluetooth Audio Codec** and tap that. That should give you the list of available codecs.

Here's mine:

Here is the official documentation for those options (check here first for the latest info).

> * Bluetooth Audio Codec: Adjust the sound quality (codec) of your devices by selecting one of the following codecs:
>     + SBC: Transfers data to Bluetooth audio output devices such as headphones and speakers.
>     + AAC: Provides better sound quality from wired devices than MP3 at similar bit rates.
>     + aptX: Provides a wireless sound in high-quality smartphones, speakers, soundbars, headphones, and tablets.
>     + aptX HD: Provides high-resolution streaming to Bluetooth devices.
>     + LDAC: Provides high-quality music listening over wireless connections.

It kinda describes each codec, but it's unfortunately not clear on what it means to select them.

I assume selecting one codec will force its use. (But what if a device doesn't support that one?) The default either always uses a static default setting (aptX on mine) (same question), or dynamically selects the best codec for the device and application.

---
Tags: bluetooth
---


# Question
Title: Can't unlock apps on the recent apps screen to close them
I cannot unlock apps to close them in the recent apps screen on my new phone. Pressing the lock icon only open the app.

# Answer
> 5 votes
I solved it by swiping down the lock icon on my android 10 device. Hope this helps

# Answer
> 1 votes
Not sure if you're still having this issue, but recently suffered the same (different app) and managed to resolve it completely by accident:

Go to the recent apps menu (as shown in image) and simple do a (quick) swipe to the right on the app you want to lock/unlock, starting point doesn't seem to matter much but make sure to swipe all the way to (or over) the edge. If you do it too slow or not far enough it doesn't work.

I haven't been able to find this in any official documentation or if/where it can be configured/disabled, it's not listed in the System-\>Gestures menu. It also seems to be fairly tenacious since 'locking' an app persists after a reboot or force stop via developer menu's 'running services'. It seems to be something similar to Windows' 'Pin to Taskbar' or Apple's 'Keep in Dock'.

Phone: Alcatel 1S (2019) running Android 9 (build 01001)

# Answer
> 1 votes
This may help someone.

On the BLU G61S android phone, to unlock recently opened tabs with a lock to the right corner:

1. Long-press lock icon
2. Then swipe down,

This puts the lock in an unlocked position and then it can be cleared.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I also found tapping and swiping under or on the lock icon and swiping down unlocks the app.

---
Tags: applications, recents-screen
---


# Question
Title: Infinix Hot 12i can't boot due to dm-verity corruption
My Infinix Hot 12i on Android 11 is having this dm-verity corruption. The phone turned itself off and it can't boot.

I tried to flash, but it's saying `no command`. Nothing is working. The phone can't come on.

What do I do? And it's operating

# Answer
> 0 votes
Did you try `fastboot flash vbmeta --disable-verity --disable-verification vbmeta.img` when flashing `vbmeta.img`?

OR;

Plug your phone in fastboot mode to PC and open command prompt in platform tools.

Type:

```
fastboot oem cdms

```

---
Tags: boot, dm-verity, infinix
---


# Question
Title: TWRP seems to be corrupt or not working for Infinix X5515F
I was trying to install TWRP recovery to my Infinix X5515F (Smart 2). I followed these steps:

* enabled OEM unlock and USB debugging
* connected to a computer
* logged into adb and sent `adb reboot bootloader`
* send `fastboot erase recovery`
* flashed this file using `fastboot flash recovery <filename.img>`
* tried to boot directly from the image using `fastboot boot <filename.img>` (after a while without any response, it performed a normal boot to the system, not to recovery)

Then I tried to reboot to recovery by these methods:

* pressing and holding the Volume Up and Power buttons until the Infinix boot logo appears (after releasing all the buttons it shut down without showing anything, booted again, and performed a normal boot)
* send `adb reboot recovery` (it boots to system recovery, not to TWRP)

What is the problem? Is this image corrupt or not right? If it is, can you provide any image for X5515F (not for X5515)?

# Answer
You dont need vbmeta for this device since it is android 8. I searched online and it seems it has mediatek processor. Its been two years now and no one seems to answer here. Please double check if the bootloader is unlocked, this is required for installing custom roms and rooting devices...

Enter the `fastboot oem device-info` command and run it. It should list some device data, including the bootloader information. Look for `Device Unlocked` from the info. If it says `true` next to it, it means that your device is unlocked. If it says `false`, it means that that it’s still locked.

Once you really confirmed that it was unlocked then you can go and try porting twrp to your stock rom `recovery.img`. Proceed at your own risk. Please double check the model of the stock rom since it may confuse you and you will end up bricking your phone

You should only tweak the recovery partition of this phone don't touch any other things. If it happens that the device is not opening after flashing wrong `recovery.img`. You can try mtkclient and use the command `python mtk e recovery`
> 1 votes

---
Tags: recovery-mode, twrp, infinix
---


# Question
Title: Android 11 missing change lock screen PIN
In a new Android phone, OS version 11, I can't find the change lock screen PIN.

In this phone, privacy and security are separate (i.e., some related questions direct users to "Privacy and Security" -- Change screen lock from password to pin).

The Settings \> Security shows the lock screen PIN item, but when opened it does not list an item to change it. And the options of Screen lock, are limited to 1) lock screen timeout and 2) power button activation.

As the screenshot below shows, I have not set up a Device admin app.

**When I click the cog next to "Screen lock," I see the content illustrated by the screenshot below:**

How can I change my lock screen PIN or set a pattern or password?

# Answer
press the word "Screen lock PIN" instead of the cogwheel icon. Enter your pin if prompted. Then select PIN again to enter a new PIN
> 0 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, android-11
---


# Question
Title: Long-pressing power button shows Assistant, how to restart the device?
The long press on the Power button that I used on my earlier Android (Oreo) is now popping up the assistant. So what is the secret gesture?

This is for a Pixel 7 if that makes a difference.

# Answer
> 3 votes
On a Pixel Device

`Power` \+ `volume up`  pressed simultaneously will give you options to restart amongst others

Note: You won't find the *bug report* option unless you enable it from developer options (enabled by tapping build number 7 or more times)

---

For Samsung users. the gesture is `Power` \+ `volume down` , per this comment

# Answer
> 6 votes
**Long pressing the power button is still the standard gesture to show the power menu, including the restart option.** However, the Assistant is likely due to the system gesture setting.

At least for Pixel devices with Android 12 or later: Settings → System → Gestures → Press and hold power button → Hold for Assistant.

| Toggle | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Off | Press and hold for the power menu |
| On | Press and hold for the Assistant |

Note that since Pixel 6, the default is set to on (Assistant).

---
Tags: reboot, google-pixel, buttons, google-assistant
---


# Question
Title: How can the microphone work for speakerphone calls but not regular calls?
My Droid Turbo (Android v.4.4.4) has developed a problem. When I make calls nobody can hear me, but as soon as I hit the speakerphone button everything is fine. I'd take the phone back to Verizon for a replacement, but it's the same microphone in both situations, right? So how could it be a hardware problem? Is there maybe a volume setting somewhere I need to tweak?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Lots of phones have more than one microphone on them. I know for a fact that my Oneplus One has three, and I think your phone has four. If that's the case then it could be a hardware issue. before taking it back do a full reset and see whether that helps. At least then that eliminates the possibility of a software error.

# Answer
> 0 votes
My LG G5 running Android version 8 developed the same problem earlier this year but the cause ended up being the case I was using because I had no problem while the computer was not in a case and the two cases I bought since then, an Otter Box Defender and Otter Box Symmetry, do not seem to cause a problem for the microphone but the transparent plastic case from Amazon that I was using from 2022 to earlier in 2023 seems to have begun blocking the sound from the microphone during handset calls but not speakerphone calls. Was the original poster using a case? If yes then did they try without the case?

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat, microphone, speakerphone
---


# Question
Title: How to get notified when I get too far away from my phone?
If I am too far from my phone, then it will do no good for the phone alarm to warn me. I may not hear it.

Is there any way to get notified when I get too far away from it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
One solution is to use a smart watch. I have been using one for years. One of the many features is a warning when the two go outside the bluetooth range.

I am using Samsung, but others may also have this function.

---
Tags: alarm
---


title: Adb push error: closed

text:
# Question
Title: Adb push error: closed
I want to move the firmware to the phone’s memory in order to install it on the device via TWRP, since the computer does not have enough power to install the firmware in time, there is a problem with the waiting time. How I can install android 13 to pixel 2

# Answer
Use google android flash tool then find your device image here there is a

> "taimen" for Pixel 2 XL

and

> "walleye" for Pixel 2

on their list. I hope this answers your question
> -2 votes

---
Tags: adb, google-pixel-2
---


# Question
Title: Bought a used Samsung Galaxy A03, cannot bypass FRP, cannot enable Developer Options
I bought a used Samsung Galaxy A03. I'm pretty tech savvy but I didn't know about FRP protections and making sure he was signed out of his Google account and all, until I factory reset it and got stuck with Google wanting me to sign in to his account before I could proceed past the initial setup.

So I went to the Internet to find out how to bypass FRP and for some reason, it won't let me open Package Disabler Pro. Get right to the end and it craps out and wants me to enter a code it says I received but didn't. So I looked into this for the last 2 days.

Learned about rooting my phone, so I go try to do that and I download and again get right to "open" and it too craps out. I don't know why or what is happening, but I can't do any of the major system bypasses.

I can get to the Internet from the FRP Google's Verify screen by activating Talkback, then going through YouTube's, and then its Terms of Service. I can download AND SUCCESSFULLY RUN all of the "fixes" from `fixfirmware.com/apk` but not Disabler Pro. So then I tried iRoot and KingRoot and can't do them either, iRoot and something about a network error, but my WiFi is on and good.

I think it must've been the guy's kid's phone because the whole reason I did the factory reset was he has Google Family Link on and I was limited to kid stuff. So I reset it. Now I'm stuck and can't get this guy to answer my messages or anything to get him to log in to it and sign out so I can sign into my account and use my new used phone.

Is the child safety settings still active after the factory reset? And if so, is that what's stopping me from rooting or being able to run Disabler Pro? Also, I can't turn on developer options.

After factory reset and before you sign into Google, you know how you can't access anything until you sign in unless you turn on TalkBack and access the internet through YouTube TOS, and then from the browser, install, download, or run Settings app or Galaxy Store app.

Is it because I'm going through that settings app and not signed in that I can't enable developer options? I go to about phone, hit build number 7 times and it doesn't even do the backward count from 7, saying how many more times to hit it to access dev ops. It's like it's not the way to do it but it's how I always have. Please help me figure this out.

# Answer
Usually the developer options can be enabled by tapping the Build number multiple times. But not all the phone has been made to be like that.

Sometimes hitting the Baseband and Kernel version multiple times will also enable developer options, before you root this device make sure OEM unlocking is enabled inside the developer options.

I think you already know about unlocking bootloader stuff... If not, then go ahead read this tool from github maybe it will help you:

1. For Qualcomm
2. For Unisoc

If those tools doesn't work for you then more unlocking tools can be found here just read it thoroughly and try to understand how dangerous it is.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung, locked-out, developer-options, frp
---


# Question
Title: How to delete all information about the old device from the Google account?
A few days ago I transferred everything to a new smartphone and **factory reset** the old one.

Even **before the reset**, I signed the device out of the Google account, but it still remembers it and cannot delete information about it.

This is probably also related to the fact that the Google Play Store still remembers the applications that were installed there and still lists them that way.

How do I remove all old device information from my Google Account, please?

Thank you

# Answer
> -1 votes
> ### How to Remove a Device From Your Google Account
>
> #### From a Computer
>
> * From your computer browser, navigate to your Google Account dashboard (account.google.com)
> * Select **Security** from the left-hand menu
> * From the **Your devices** section, tap the **Manage devices** option.
> * From the list of devices connected to your Google account shown, tap the three-dotted menu icon at the top corner of the device you want to remove from your Google account. Then select **Sign out** from the options displayed.
>
> #### From a Smartphone
>
> * Head to your Android Settings menu
> * Scroll down and select **Google**
> * Tap the ‘**Manage your Google Account**‘ button at the top
> * Next, tap the menu icon at the bottom corner, and then select **Security**
> * Then, scroll to the ‘**Your devices**‘ section and tap **Manage devices**
> * Tap the three-dotted menu icon on the device you want to remove
> * Select **Sign out**
> * Google will then display a prompt urging you to confirm sign out. Tap **sign out** to confirm.
>
> Here’s a quick video we have made on how you can remove a device from your Google Account.

Reference: https://www.dignited.com/80516/how-to-remove-a-device-from-your-google-account/

---
Tags: google-play-store, factory-reset, google-account
---


# Question
Title: lpmake error "Partition should only have linear extents:"
I'm trying to extract the content of super.img, modify some elements then repack it again. I followed all the steps correctly to extract the contents of `super.img` file.

When running `stat '%n %s *.img` for all images, I get the following sizes:

```
super.img 9663676416

```

For the partitions within `super.img`, I get the following:

```
mi_ext_a.img 4096
mi_ext_b.img 0
odm_a.img 755478528
odm_b.img 0
product_a.img 2827481088
product_b.img 0
system_a.img 644575232
system_b.img 0
system_dlkm_a.img 98304
system_dlkm_b.img 0
system_ext_a.img 503472128
system_ext_b.img 0
vendor_a.img 1484333056
vendor_b.img 0
vendor_dlkm_a.img 37294080
vendor_dlkm_b.img 0

```

I noticed that the sum of the partitions is `6252732416` which is less than the `super.img` size (don't know if this is the problem)

Now, without even modifying any partition content, I wanted to use `lpmake` to re-create the `super.img` again, hence, I created this batch

```
lpmake \
 --metadata-size 4096 \
 --super-name super \
 --metadata-slots 2 \
 --device super:9663676416 \
 --group main:6252736512 \
 --partition system_a:readonly:644575232:main --image system_a=./system_a.img  \
 --partition system_b:readonly:0:main --image system_b=./system_b.img \
 --partition system_ext_a:readonly:503472128:main --image system_ext_a=./system_ext_a.img  \
 --partition system_ext_b:readonly:0:main --image system_ext_b=./system_ext_b.img \
 --partition system_dlkm_a:readonly:98304:main --image system_dlkm_a=./system_dlkm_a.img \
 --partition system_dlkm_b:readonly:0:main --image system_dlkm_b=./system_dlkm_b.img \
 --partition product_a:readonly:2827481088:main --image product_a=./product_a.img  \
 --partition product_b:readonly:0:main --image product_b=./product_b.img \
 --partition vendor_a:readonly:1484333056:main --image vendor_a=./vendor_a.img \
 --partition vendor_b:readonly:0:main --image vendor_b=./vendor_b.img \
 --partition vendor_dlkm_a:readonly:37294080:main --image vendor_dlkm_a=./vendor_dlkm_a.img \
 --partition vendor_dlkm_b:readonly:0:main --image vendor_dlkm_b=./vendor_dlkm_b.img \
 --partition mi_ext_a:readonly:4096:main --image mi_ext_a=./mi_ext_a.img \
 --partition mi_ext_b:readonly:0:main --image mi_ext_b=./mi_ext_b.img \
 --partition odm_a:readonly:755478528:main --image odm_a=./odm_a.img \
 --partition odm_b:readonly:0:main --image odm_b=./odm_b.img \
 --sparse \
 --output ./super.new.img

```

Yet, I'm getting the below error:

```
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition system_a will resize from 0 bytes to 644575232 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition system_ext_a will resize from 0 bytes to 503472128 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition system_dlkm_a will resize from 0 bytes to 98304 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition product_a will resize from 0 bytes to 2827481088 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition vendor_a will resize from 0 bytes to 1484333056 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition vendor_dlkm_a will resize from 0 bytes to 37294080 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition mi_ext_a will resize from 0 bytes to 4096 bytes
lpmake I 02-07 20:36:57 3610213 3610213 builder.cpp:1012] [liblp]Partition odm_a will resize from 0 bytes to 755478528 bytes
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
Invalid sparse file format at header
Invalid sparse file format at header magic
lpmake E 02-07 20:36:59 3610213 3610213 images.cpp:320][liblp]Partition should only have linear extents: odm_b

```

Regardless of changing the order above, it keeps giving the same error for the last partition in the script.

Any idea how to get it properly configured?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I checked the build log and found the part of building the `super_empty.img` includes the full lpmake command, but with `0` sizes for all images. I changed the size of the images of all `a` slot to fit the new sizes of the created images, and the below code worked as a charm. I noticed also that the order of the partitions makes a difference.

```
lpmake \
 --metadata-size 65536\
 --super-name super --metadata-slots 3 --virtual-ab \
 --device super:9663676416\
 --group xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a:9659482112 \
 --group xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b:9659482112 \
 --partition odm_a:readonly:1327194112:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition odm_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition product_a:readonly:1524256768:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition product_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition system_a:readonly:965316608:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition system_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition system_dlkm_a:readonly:348160:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition system_dlkm_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition system_ext_a:readonly:457531392:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition system_ext_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition vendor_a:readonly:1512812544:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition vendor_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --partition vendor_dlkm_a:readonly:13971456:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_a \
 --partition vendor_dlkm_b:readonly:0:xiaomi_dynamic_partitions_b \
 --sparse --output ./super_new.img

```

It really doesn't matter the size of `--device super:` in the third line of the code as long as it's bigger than the total of images which I found to be `5801431040`.

# Answer
> 2 votes
It means that odm\_b cannot be at the end of the statement. You need to order your statements according to how the images expect to be treated inside the super.img They are referred to as extents.

imjtool should be able to give you information like this, but i was not able to get it running properly.

Debug through https://github.com/rumplestilzken/lpunpack somewhere inside at the end of read\_metadata and find out how it should be ordered according to LpMetadataPartition.num\_extents and order accordingly.

Additionally the super:\[SIZE\] should always be larger than the total sum of its parts, ideally you would set this as the maximum size of the devices super partition.

I had a problem like this crop up and by moving the issuesome statement to the top of the list (as it had 0 for num\_extents) i was able to create the needed super.img. I don't have the device the super.img belongs to and am relying on external testers to test in the future, but i was able to create the super.img.

This should set you on the right path to getting where you need to be.

EDIT: Your metadata size looks a little low, the device i'm working with has 65536

# Answer
> 1 votes
I'm using **lpmake** built from this repo: https://github.com/LonelyFool/lpunpack\_and\_lpmake

Maybe it's a bug of source code. I print some log trace, and there is a vector overflow:

```
AddPartitionImage vendor_b ./vendor_b.img size:7 index:7 type:0

```

You can just comment the check, and lpmake works well.

```
// if (extent.target_type != LP_TARGET_TYPE_LINEAR) {
//     LERROR << "Partition should only have linear extents: " << GetPartitionName(partition);
//     return false;
// }

```

---
Tags: rooting, ab-partition
---


title: Custom keymapping for games?

text:
# Question
Title: Custom keymapping for games?
I'm using an iPega Bluetooth controller with my HTC Desire 510. For most things it works great, but I am running into some issues with Ravensword 2. Ravensword finds my controller and connects fine, but when I start playing, certain actions can't be performed (attacking being one of them).

Is there a way to custom map my controller? I'm not on a rooted phone as I can't find a reliable way to root this device.

# Answer
For mapping controllers Mantis Gamepad Pro, Odo Gamepad Mapper, and Octopus is one of my favorite apps since i started playing with controllers. Buy the pro version if you dont want ads

*i'm currently using Mantis for mapping my xbox and playstation controller, i don't have wireless ones so i can't confirm if this will work or not.*
> 0 votes

---
Tags: bluetooth, game-controllers
---


# Question
Title: Is there a native option to keep the screen on if there is an any application open on the screen?
Sometimes I need the screen to remain active on a website where it updates news in real time without needing to refresh the page manually or on a football game application that updates the scores in real time without needing to refresh the page either.

But the device does not detect these updates and the screen turns off.

Is there an option that realizes that there is an app open on the screen so the screen will not turn off?

# Answer
# Coffee

> This Android app allows you to keep the display awake without having to change the device settings. It can be toggled at various places:
>
> * A tile in the quick settings, the place that holds the toggles for e.g. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Requires Android 7 or higher.
> * A button in the app itself
> * A shortcut on your home screen. It can be created in the app, if your launcher supports it.
>
> Coffee can be set as assist app (Device settings =\> Apps =\> Default apps =\> Assist app) and changes it's state when assist is called.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: android-13, samsung-one-ui
---


# Question
Title: getting an old Nexus 7 to connect to wifi
I have an old 2012 Asus Nexus 7. How can I get it to connect to wifi again?

My goal is to use it as a digital photo frame, where the software for showing the slideshow of photos is a React app (website) that I've built.

So all I need this tablet to be able to do is browse a website hosted on my LAN.

(Ideally the browser ideally will support localStorage and IndexedDB.)

Currently, I can't get the Nexus 7 to connect to my wifi.

It has some custom limited version of Android 7.1.2 that I barely remember installing.

Sometimes it can see my wifi networks and lets me enter its password, but then never lets me browse the internet. Sometimes the wifi is "Off", and when I try to turn it "On", it just hangs.

My WiFi router is a NOKIA BGW320-505 (AT&T fiber) with WPA-2, WPA-3, and B/G/N/AX.

NOKIA BGW320-505 gives me 3 options in the dropdown for WPA Version: "WPA-1 and WPA-2", "WPA-2", "WPA-2 and WPA-3". It has been on "WPA-2 and WPA-3", and I'd love to keep it there. I temporarily changed it to WPA-2, and even then the Nexus won't connect.

I've already tried a factory reset of the Nexus.

What are my options for solving this? I'd be up for installing a new OS on the Nexus if there is a high chance of achieving my goal.

# Answer
**Follow these steps to set up a fixed IP address on your Nexus 7:**

1. Make sure that the Wi-Fi on your Nexus 7 is turned on.
2. Go to your Nexus 7's Wi-Fi options.
3. Find your Wi-Fi network and choose it.
4. Click **"Forget"** to remove the network.
5. Join your Wi-Fi network again. You'll see a button that says **"Show advanced options"** Click on it.
6. Choose **"Static IP"** from the dropdown options or fields that appear next.
7. Enter a fixed IP address in the same area as your router's **DHCP server**. This means selecting an IP address that falls within your router's DHCP address pool.
8. Fill in the other essential information, such as Subnet Mask, Gateway, and DNS (if needed), which should match how your router is set up.
9. **Save** your settings.

> ***Alternatively***, if you want to set up a static IP address, you should do this instead of using DHCP, which automatically assigns the address from the router. Ensure the static IP address you choose is within the range of IP addresses allocated by the DHCP server in your router.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, 7.0-nougat, nexus-7, nexus
---


# Question
Title: LG G Pad F 8.0 (UK495) Android 6.0: Cannot Access Bootloader or Recovery
I have an older LG G Pad F 8.0 (UK495). The tablet originally came with Android 5.1 but at some point received an official upgrade to 6.0. My ultimate goal is to hopefully root the device & install a custom recovery & ROM. But I am running into two problems in trying to access the bootloader & default recovery.

`Enable OEM unlock` & `USB debugging` are both enabled in developer options. ADB recognizes the device connected to my Windows system:

```
> adb devices
List of devices attached
LGUK49520651306 device

```

I didn't find any instructions in the official documentation from LG. But according to many tutorials found online it should be possible start the bootloader using a combination of the power & volume keys. The only combination I have found to do anything is holding power + vol down to start the device. Release once the LG logo appears & immediately press power + vol down again. But this only brings up a minimalist menu for resetting the device to factory defaults:

ADB is also unable to bring up the bootloader. Executing `adb reboot bootloader` restarts the device but in regular user mode. So I am unable to use `fastboot` to unlock the bootloader & flash partitions.

I can get into what appears to be recovery mode with `adb reboot recovery`. A black screen with the Android logo laying on its back:

But the usual "no command" text is missing & no button combinations (power + vol up/down) bring up the recovery menu options.

I read on XDA that some manufacturers/distributors make the bootloader & recovery partitions more obscure or just completely remove access.

Some users have been able to use a KingRoot exploit to root this device without unlocking the bootloader. But the exploit only works for devices with Android 5.1 or older. So it's not an option for me. I need to access the bootloader to unlock it as far as I can tell.

Is anyone familiar with this device or have any suggestions that may help me to unlock the bootloader & access recovery mode? This is the first device on which I wasn't even able to bring up the bootloader.

The following is a selection of tutorials & threads from the many that I looked through for help:

**-- Update --**

I found some stock firmware images available for my device:

I was able to flash them to the device in upload mode using LG Flash Tool. The ROMs were successfully applied, but did not fix or change access to bootloader or recovery mode.

# Answer
Hello is the bootloader already unlocked? please check Developer options and look for **OEM unlocking**.

> Google introduced a new security feature in Android from Android 5.0 Lollipop onwards. The new feature named “OEM Unlock” has a meaningful purpose in the device. If you’ve tried rooting your device, unlocking its bootloader, flashing a custom recovery or ROM, you must have seen “OEM Unlock” option to be checked as a requirement for doing any of the aforementioned custom processes. -Reference here

You need to unlock bootloader before rooting or installing custom roms. Please try this tools:

This tool helps me a lot for rooting my phones. It is more advanced than fastboot. If you are lucky, you could even restore the system in case it was damaged due to how risky rooting is.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: adb, rooting, recovery-mode, bootloader, lg
---


# Question
Title: Are Android framework and operating system the same thing?
I’m learning about the partitions of Android and in one place, they say that the system partition contains the Android framework (https://source.android.com/docs/core/architecture/partitions)

> **`system` partition**. This partition contains the Android framework.

while on another page, they say that it contains the Android operating system and ROM (https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114048/https://www.codelivly.com/android-partitions-explained-in-simple-terms-layout/)

> **/system**: This partition contains the Android operating system.

So, are the Android framework and the operating system the same thing? Is framework another word for an operating system? No matter how much I google it, I can't find a direct answer to this question.

# Answer
> 2 votes
The Android framework is *part* of the operating system. The Android operating system has a lot of components. Here's a diagram from the Android developer documentation.

1. The system apps are Android applications that provide the tools everyone uses on a smartphone: 'phone dialler, e-mail, calendar, camera, and so on.
2. Those do most of their work by using functions from the Java API framework.
3. The next layer of the stack is native-code libraries which either do computational heavy lifting for the Java framework, or actually *run* the Java (or Kotlin) code that most apps are written in.

4. The Hardware Abstraction Layer provides standardised interfaces to hardware. For example the Camera app will check what cameras exist via the Camera HAL and send commands to it to actually take pictures.
5. The Linux kernel manages the computer aspects of the device, starts and stops apps, and so on. Power management is mostly done here, and is absolutely vital to give devices reasonable battery life. The kernel also contains the device drivers, which are quite specific to the hardware of the 'phone or tablet it's running on.

All of these parts of Android are built and put together by the device manufacturer, in the "ROM". That certainly contains the Android Framework, which is the part of the operating system that most apps interact with, but it also contains all the other software in the stack.

---
Tags: partitions, operating-system
---


# Question
Title: How to restore WhatsApp chat -- without a backup?
I have switched phones (both Android) and activated WhatsApp on the new phone.

Unexpectedly, the WhatsApp chat messages did not become available on the new phone and disappeared on the old one. I also had WhatsApp on my MacBook, where the old messages now also disappeared.

Unfortunately, I did not have a regular backup activated.

Is there anyway to restore access to the chat messages either from the MacBook or the old phone (whatever is easier/more reliable)?

Thanks!

# Answer
This may work, assuming you havent made drastic changes on your old phone. Whatsapp is linked to a phone number, so this is the side effect of it. I am basing this on seeing the same effect, when I tried to run a second copy of Whatsapp on the same phone

1. Disable Whatsapp on new phone
2. Enable it back on the old one, the messages should come back.
3. Enable backup in Whatsapp setup
4. Wait for it to backup
5. Then switch over
> 0 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: How to enable hotspot button on Samsung S23?
I recently switched to a Samsung S23, Android version 13.

It seems that in the quick setting buttons (when you swipe down), the button "Hotspot" is missing, which toggles whether the phone provides a wi-fi hotspot for other devices.

There are some online articles discussing that this setting might be disabled based on your provider. I have bought the phone independently from a provider.

I tried this workaround described by XDA Developers which uses *adb* to add *MobileData* and *Hotspot* to the *sysui\_qs\_tiles* list. However, that does not seem to have an effect, the desired button does not show up.

Any suggestions of what I might try?

# Answer
To my knowledge, the provider controls this, I assume via the Sim. if your plan does not offer hotspots, then you cant enable it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung, tethering
---


# Question
Title: Use fingerprint to unlock the lock screen after booting Pixel 6
## Background

I am trying to unlock my Google Pixel 6. Due to an accident, I lost much of my memory and in turn, forgot the lock screen PIN code for my phone. I have, however, also activated fingerprint detection for unlocking my phone.

Now, the issue is that the device ran out of battery while I was in a coma, and upon trying to use my fingerprint to unlock the device, I received the following message:

> PIN required after device restarts

I have tried remembering the PIN for the past few months, however, I frankly cannot remember. As I have important data stored on the device locally (that is not backed up as far as I can recall), a factory reset is not really an option for me.

## Question

Is there any way of enabling the fingerprint sensor on a Pixel 6 to unlock the phone (via adb or similar) or any other means of unlocking the device without wiping all data?

# Answer
Unfortunately there is no way to use fingerprint as authentication directly after rebooting the device.

The first unlock always have to be performed using the PIN/password, because the PIN/Password is passed on into the Gatekeeper system (the central Android security core) and there combined with other keys to generate the master encryption key.

That means without the correct PIN/password the gatekeeper can not build the key that is necessary to decrypt your user data.

Biometric authentication systems can not be used to generate something reproducible so you can not derive an encryption key from it. This is the reason why Google had to implement it that way. And to answer your question, even if there would be a way to enable fingerprint authentication directly after boot it wouldn't help you as the user data would remain locked. As without the correct PIN/password the decryption key can not be generated.
> 13 votes

# Answer
Robert's answer describes why you unfortunately cannot unlock an android phone with a fingerprint after a reboot. However, depending on you password habits, there's a significant chance you can guess your pin with surprisingly few attempts.

For example, cybersecurity professional Tarah Wheeler claims the following 20 pins are most common and will unlock 26% of all pin locked phones:

1234, 1111, 0000, 1212, 7777, 1004, 2000, 4444, 2222, 6969, 9999, 3333, 5555, 6666, 1122, 1313, 8888, 4321, 2001, 1010

(other readers, if you use one of these pins, it is a good idea change your pin)

If none of these pins work, you can find similar lists by performing a web search along the lines of "most common phone pins". Other common pins that won't nessesarily appear in such lists include the user's birth month and day, user's birth year, birth days and months or birth years of the users loved ones, the user's year of graduation, or other dates of significance to the user.

If the most common pins don't work, you can use a tool like Android PIN Bruteforce (software) or a USB Rubber Ducky (hardware). These tools can pretend to be a keyboard and type in pins automatically, waiting a little between attempts. Reportedly, *all* 4 digit pins can be tried in just under 17 hours without triggering a lockout (neat but scary).
> 10 votes

# Answer
*Vaelus*' answer is the most useful one here, and did well to cover the actual kinds of tools you want to be looking into, so I won't repeat those here - this answer is more concerning the methodology of what you need to do, as well as a little motivation.

It's no longer possible to unlock your phone through legitimate means (and if it was, no Android phone could ever be considered secure). Your only chance of getting into your phone now is to think like a hacker, where the target is yourself. The good news is that - as any hacker will tell you - the more information you have about a target, the better your chances, and no-one has more information about yourself than you do. Even if your memory is no longer reliable at all, that information is likely still easily accessible to you, either noted down or in the memories of those around you - your secure pin codes, the birthdates/years of significant people in your life, the date you got married, and so on. In other words, no-one is better placed to hack into this phone than you are.

Bear in mind that all the numbers you're looking for will be the same length as your passcode, which you can get by entering a wrong code and seeing how many digits you can enter before it automatically fails.

Once you've compiled a list of your significant numbers, combine it with the list of common pincodes in *Vaelus'* answer and any other similar lists you can find, then run your list as a dictionary through one of the Android brute-forcing tools. You could also just try each code one by one, since you also have another luxury that most hackers don't - unlimited access time with the physical device - and therefore never need to worry about being permanently locked out; at any time you can just stop and try again tomorrow.

If you're unsuccessful even after several more months, your best bet at that point would probably be to hire the services of a reputable white hat hacker with experience in this field. Whether that's worth it for you depends on how much that service would cost, and whether that cost is worth the value of the data you have on the phone.

All the best for your (health and data) recovery, and good luck.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, boot, locked-out, google-pixel, fingerprint
---


# Question
Title: Display contacts birthdays on stock Samsung calendar app
I'm using a SM-G920V Galaxy S6 with Android version 6.0.1. When I open the calendar app that comes with the phone, tap "More" in the upper right corner and then "Manage Calendars", there's an option to turn "Contact's birthdays" on and off. To me, that would indicate that it has the capability to display your contact's birthdays on the calendar app. However, I've got it set to "On" and only a few of my contact's birthdays are showing up.

Can anyone tell me how to get all my contact's birthdays to show up?

# Answer
You probably figured it out by now, but the calendar of birthdays only syncs with the Samsung account.

The fastest way to link a different account to the Samsung account I could find without re adding contacts was by adding a relationship to the contacts you want to set up.

I did this by going to my Contacts app, clicking on my own profile, and under the relationships section adding a relationship. I did it with my family members and they started showing up right away.
> 0 votes

# Answer
You have to enter them into your address book for it to show them. It would be a terrible breach of privacy if it could grab everyone's birthdays from their phones.

On newer phones this is done under the contact. It may still be the same on S6

* Edit Contact
* Press on `View More`
* Press on `Important Dates`
* Press on `Add relationship`
* Select `Birthday` from dropdown and enter it in.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: calendar, samsung-galaxy-s-6
---


# Question
Title: How to fix apps not knowing their accessibility is enabled on Android Go?
I have an Itel A56 running Android 9 (Go edition) and I decided to install an auto clicker app to help automate some things. I finished downloading the app and it asks me to enable accessibility and I do, but when I go back to the app, it tells me that I have to enable accessibility. I go back to settings and the accessibility is still on for the app.

I thought maybe it was a mistake or something, so I put it off and on again, but the app still tells me I need to enable accessibility. I tried putting it off and on many times, and it still wouldn't work. It's as if the app doesn't know its accessibility is enabled.

What is happening and how to fix it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
General troubleshooting : force stop the app, then turn off its accessibility, then open app again and grant accessibility again.

By the way, accessibility issues are known with Android Go editions ; I would suggest you to take this issue to the app developer rather. An email would do it.

Go to play store\> that app\> scroll down to find contact details

# Answer
> 1 votes
I also use itel A56. It doesn't support auto clickers. The problem is from the phone itself and not the app. I recommend you change your phone because other phones support it.

---
Tags: 9.0-pie, accessibility, android-go
---


# Question
Title: Family link setup prevents making phone calls and using Messages app
I got phones for my kids, and I set them up with family link. Because I'd previously had a similar setup and they would continually factory reset the phone to get rid of the family link supervision, I set these phones up with an account I own and used that to enable "Find my phone" so that if they factory reset the phone they still can't use it without my pin.Then I turned on multiple user profiles, and created a second profile that's managed by family link. All of this works fine. (The phones are Pixel 7s with the stock carrier ROM.)

What's odd is that they can use everything except the phone app and Google Messages. When they try to place a call during allowed time, the phone app says that only emergency calls are allowed. And when they try to open Messages, it says `This app isn't allowed by the device owner`, even though I've got it set to always allowed.

How can I enable these to allow the phone to actually be a phone?

# Answer
> 1 votes
It does not seem to have to do anything with family link but with default behavior of multiple user profiles.

As mentioned in answer to Hide call logs across user profiles, the *default* behavior is *not* to permit the secondary user to make or receive phone calls.

Tap the cog icon on right of the secondary user and **disable**

`Turn on phone calls and SMS`

That's it.

If you **enable**, it gives you a warning that your calls and SMS would be shared as shown and they can use phone and message apps.

---
Tags: multi-user, android-13, google-family-link
---


# Question
Title: How does Samsung Wi-Fi password sharing work?
Every article I find mentioning how to share a Wi-Fi password between Android devices either mentions using a QR code, or clicking a "nearby share" button.

But when I enter the password for a new Wi-Fi network on my Galaxy phone, my Galaxy tablet connects automatically to the same network, without any action on my part. No QR code nor button pressing. And this happens while the tablet has no internet access.

What mechanism is making this happen? Is this something that I enabled and I don't remember, or does it happen by default?

# Answer
> 1 votes
*Note: this answer was based on the original revision with an assumption that the other Samsung device already had an internet connection through another method.*

---

**Samsung Cloud provides several sync features to all Samsung Galaxy devices linked to the same Samsung account, *including Wi-Fi profiles.***

From Samsung Support - Sync data across all of your devices using Samsung Cloud,

> You can make sure your phone's data is up-to-date with Samsung Cloud. It will sync data on multiple devices, so they'll have the latest information. For example, if you added a new Calendar event or contact on your phone, they will appear on other devices that are signed into the same Samsung account.

From Samsung Support - Back up and restore data or files on your Galaxy device

> ### Content types that can be backed up using Samsung Cloud
>
> * \[...\]
> * **Settings:** Accessibility settings, ringtones, Samsung Keyboard options, Wi-Fi settings, and Always on Display settings (your default ringtone won't be backed up)
> * \[...\]

From Samsung Support - Access your device backups in Samsung Cloud

> ### Access and manage the Cloud from a Galaxy phone or tablet
>
> Samsung Cloud is integrated directly into your Samsung account, so you can access it easily from your phone or tablet's settings.
>
> 1. Navigate to and open **Settings**.
> 2. Tap **your name** at the top of the screen, and then tap **Samsung Cloud**.
> 3. From here, you can access the following options:
>
> * **Sync:** Choose which apps or settings you'd like to automatically sync to Samsung Cloud, such as Contacts or Samsung Notes.
> * \[...\]
>
> ### Access the Cloud from a web browser on a PC
>
> 1. To access Samsung Cloud on your computer, open your desired web browser, and then go to **https://support.samsungcloud.com**.
> 2. Click **Sign in**, enter your Samsung account information, and then click **Sign in** again.
> 3. If you're unsure of your account information, click **Find ID or Reset password** after you click Sign in.
> 4. Once you are signed in, you can see all of your synced data.

---
Tags: samsung, wi-fi, wifi-password
---


title: Connect ADB through SSH

text:
# Question
Title: Connect ADB through SSH
**How can I connect ADB on remote server through SSH to a local, non-rooted Android devices without installing anything on the middleman with root?**

This is what I want to achieve:

```
┌─────────┐                       SSH through internet
│ Physical│ USB cable  ┌────────┐ (outside LAN) ┌────────┐
│ Android ├───────────►│ Laptop ├──────────────►│ Cloud  │
│ device  │            └────────┘               │ server |
└─────────┘                                     └────────┘
192.168.0.5            192.168.0.7                            (internal IP address)
                       204.12.46.76             108.63.15.64  (public IP address)

```

The one in the middle *must not* install any software with root/`sudo`. The laptop and server are both running Ubuntu 22.04.

From Android device to laptop, I can use the physical USB cable. From laptop to cloud server, I can use local SSH port forwarding (ADB uses port 5037). However, I do not know how to go from "physical USB cable" to "port 5037".

I include the relevant (fake) internal and external IP addresses for demonstration only.

# Answer
It is possible to install ADB without root by downloading directly:

```
curl -LO https://dl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools-latest-linux.zip
unzip platform-tools-latest-linux.zip
cd platform-tools
./adb version

```

To use it through SSH, see this other Stack Exchange post.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: adb, wi-fi, ssh
---


# Question
Title: Viewing list of downloaded apps, in the order they were downloaded
I am running Android 12 on a Realme 8 5G phone.

How can I view my apps in the order in which I've downloaded them from the Google Play store (instead, of alphabetically, in the phone's app drawer)?

I need this because I would like to go through all the downloaded apps and go through them.

Is there a place where I can download such an operating system enhancement/ window manager enhancement, on Android?

If this cannot be done, then I wonder whether this can be done through a special app that keeps track of downloads, and whereby you can launch apps from it. I wonder if this is possible also for apps that are not launcher apps, but could allow you to open apps by presenting them in a list (is a special "launch apps" permission required for this, I think not). Can the app just retrieve, the app installation time, from the file system (if it cannot determine the order in which the Google Play install button was clicked)?

Thanks.

# Answer
Usually phone OS does not offer this feature. Many third party apps do this.

APPs history is one such app that is simple in it's interface. From the app description

> A list of your applications, last installed shown first. Run or see details

> My Latest Apps shows you an application lists sorted either by the first install or by the last update time so you will not miss any apps when testing time comes!

> You can directly launch applications from the list or go to app's settings in order to stop/uninstall a certain app.

I find it useful to debug changes in Phone's behavior if one of the recently installed apps is causing it.

I am not affiliated with it.

You can also use `pm list packages/adb dumpsys packsges commands` for similar queries.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store, installation
---


# Question
Title: Automate inserting 2FA code when screen is locked
I use a service for which I'm forced to use two-factor authentication whenever I log in. It's pretty inconvenient and unnecessary, so I would like to automate accepting the authentication request when it arrives on my phone.

The service uses an Android app that sends a notification when an authentication request arrives. When I then open the app, I need to insert a 4-digit PIN code which accepts the request.

I tried using an automation app (MacroDroid) to open the 2FA app whenever it sends a notification and simulates the four clicks. However, this only works when the phone is unlocked, and as far as I understand, I will run into this problem with any automation app.

The goal is to accept any authentication request without having to interact with my phone. Is there a way to insert the code without unlocking my screen? Would I have to root it? Or do I just have to keep my phone permanently unlocked?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I have automated this by using WinAuth. Once the QR auth is fed, it supports using a shortcut key to enter Auth PIN on any text field. Very handy and I am able to login at 2FA sites/applications in a jiffy with this

---
Tags: screen, automation, 2fa
---


# Question
Title: How to always show NFC/location/Bluetooth icons on status bar when on?
I have Samsung Galaxy A14 with Android 13. My problem is that the icons for NFC, Bluetooth and location are only shown in the status bar when they're currently active, for example when I'm connected to another Bluetooth device. I want them to show up on the status bar *always* when they're on, so that I can turn them off if I forgot to do that. Is there any way to do that?

# Answer
> 0 votes
For these functionalities, you can consider using a home screen widget To get native icon in status bar, custom ROMs might be only solution but it might not be feasible to you

---
Tags: samsung, notification-bar
---


# Question
Title: Read websites text on Chrome/Firefox/Edge mobile
Is there any way (e.g. extension) for text reading (text-to-speech) from websites through mobile browsers Chrome/Firefox/Edge, etc.? I'm at the Android latest.

# Answer
* For Chrome & Chrome Canary nothing worked despite many internet claims of turning on the 'Read Aloud' flag from chrome://flags to enable.
* I didn't try on Edge
* On Firefox `117.1.0`, the add-on *Read aloud-Text to Speech* can be enabled, and it works. You need to open a site and tap on add-ons, select this to read aloud (note: certain pages like Mozilla help pages are not read aloud)

You can select various read-aloud options as below:
> 2 votes

---
Tags: browser, text-to-speech, reading
---


# Question
Title: Can a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone be connected to a 49-inch ultra-wide monitor?
I want to start using my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra as a computer. I'm also planning to buy an ultra-wide 49-inch monitor that I want to display the Samsung screen on using DEX mode. I want to connect the phone to the monitor using a USB-C cable. I'm talking about a monitor having screen dimensions of 5120x1440 or something very similar, e.g. Philips 499P9H.

I haven't purchased the monitor yet because I want to know first whether the built-in video card of the Samsung Galaxy S21 is powerful enough to handle the resolution of a 49-inch ultrawide screen.

Does anyone know whether this smartphone can handle such a widescreen? It needs to be able to fill the entire screen, not just part of it.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It **didn't work** with my Samsung 32:9 1080p monitor. Specifically, invoice says

> MONITOR SAMSUNG LED 49” LC49J890DKUXEN

Monitor kept displaying `Not optimal, use 3840×1080 60Hz`. I tried both HDMI using dongle, and direct USB-C connection.

With traditional full HD monitors I'm getting lock screen displayed all right, tested on two, both using HDMI dongle.

This is only one data point, so it is possible that other pairs would work.

---
Tags: external-display, samsung-galaxy-s-21
---


# Question
Title: Get rid of simplify page option in Chrome for Android
I am on Chrome 117.0.5938.60 which was updated on 11 Sep 23.

I occasionally see this *Simplify page* colored sticker

Which collapses into a page icon after a while

I am not sure if it is because of the update or me messing with some flags but **how do I get rid of it?**

# Answer
> 0 votes
In Chrome flags, `chrome://flags/#contextual-page-actions-reader-mode` shows this menu.

**Select disabled** to get rid of it.

---
Tags: chrome-for-android
---


# Question
Title: How to use symbols instead of fractions for the number row?
For Gboard, the default symbol when you long press a number in the number row is to show fractions. Is it possible to change this behavior to symbols instead similar to a normal keyboard where 1/!, 2/@, 3/#, 4/$, 5/%...etc. I know these symbols are already present when you long press the letter keys but I just want to know if there is an option for this.

# Answer
**Some languages have a *PC keyboard* layout that allows long-pressing the first row (e.g. numbers) as quick access to its Shift modifier.** Otherwise, there is no option to add alternative keys to the existing keyboard layouts.

Steps to change the keyboard layout:

1. Open Gboard settings
    * Android Settings - System - Languages & input - On-screen keyboard (steps may differ depending on the device model and Android version)
    * Tap the **cog wheel** icon from the Gboard keyboard directly
2. Select **Languages**
3. Select an existing language, or add a new keyboard
4. Swipe the layout options to find the **PC** layout.

Note that this layout *hides the pop-up character hint* on the keys, so the user must have already remembered the characters to use them efficiently.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: gboard
---


# Question
Title: How to Unlock Samsung Galaxy s21 ultra with totally dead screen?
My screen stopped working. Both display, and touch. I can connect it to a dongle with HDMI and USB ports.I get the display out, as seen below. When I connect mouse or keyboard, I get the "device connected" sound. But no matter what I press, drag or click, it doesn't seem to make a difference, phone stays locked.

I didn't have an option to unlock my phone using accounts.samsung.com enabled on that device, something I regret, but can't fix now.

If it matters, I unlock using the symbol method. I have a face unlock enabled, too, but I lost about 23kg / 50lbs and it stopped to recognize my face. I was "just about to" re-record it. Another thing I should've done to save me from being in this situation, but didn't and can't fix now.

I need to unlock it in order to migrate Google Authenticator and Signal to my new phone. It can only be done with QR code. I would also gladly retrieve newest messages, but only the Authenticator and Signal are things that I would be seriously inconvenienced loosing, everything else I have backed up in more than one place already, or is not that important.

# Answer
I tried connecting a wireless mouse into my S23 Ultra using a USB Type A to Type C Converter (OTG) with a Screen Locked enabled (PIN) and it worked just fine. It's weird seeing yours won't at least wake up the phone from sleep/screen-off state. Even just connecting a USB DAC to my phone does wake my phone on.

In my experience, some phone (my old OnePlus One) disable waking up the phone using a mouse that is connected with an OTG, it just stays locked until I unlocked it, unplugging and plugging the OTG back in, then it start working. I'm not sure about your S21 Ultra, but it should be the same as my S23 Ultra too.

Have you tried using other mouse or other OTG/Converter?
> 0 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, broken-screen, external-keyboard, mouse, samsung-galaxy-s-21
---


# Question
Title: Setting a reminder for when you enter your car
Most of us have Android smartphones. At the same time, not all of us may have Android powered(/enabled) cars, but, may have to do something (such, as, check a note in the front drawer, or under the top light blocking panes, or do something next to the engine or other car part in the front hood, or grab something in the back part of the car and give it to someone in the morning, or check the fueling components at the back or at the front, or clear the back seat, or something along these lines).

Google Keep has location reminders, but here we need something to remind us when we get in proximity of the car. And we may not be able to go to the car, because we may be busy or it may be snowing outside.

We want to set a reminder that kicks in as a notification next time we are in proximity of the car, perhaps also with a specific associated time or time interval in which that reminder will be active.

Does NFC do the job? Do I need to purchase a special NFC chip for my car, and how can I program it make the notification kick in when my phone is next to the car or when I enter the car. Can NFC be made to work this way?

How can I do this in Android?

Thank you for your contributions.

Thanks.

# Answer
you need to give more informations to help us understand and then help you.

When you say 'next time we are in proximity of the car' what kind of proximity is it ?

NFC could be a solution but the max range of it is 10 - 15 cm so you would need to be really close.

I would recommend using wifi (15 to 45 meter range)or ble (bluetooth low energy | max range 100m).

You could setup a ble device broadcasting auround the car and have an android app on your phone to "catch" the broadcast.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: accessibility, nfc, android-auto, google-keep, reminders
---


# Question
Title: Can I transfer images from the Phone to Windows?
Almost every photo I take, I transfer to my Windows 10 PC. I normally do this by connecting the USB cable between them and using Windows explorer. All my phones fail with the USB connector becoming loose on the phone. I normally charge it wirelessly, it's only the car Android Auto and Windows connection that requires a physical cable.

I would like to minimise the usage of the USB connector.

How can I connect the two using WiFi or Bluetooth, so that I can transfer files across.

# Answer
Do you mean FTP? You can transfer files from Android to Windows and vice-versa using Local area network. You can try installing WiFi FTP Server and see if this is what you are looking for
> 1 votes

# Answer
Nearby Share by Google, is available on Windows now. It allows you to send files or photos from your Android to your Windows. But it requires Bluetooth for the Windows.

To use it, you just need to install the application on your Windows by downloading it from the link I provide above.

Here's a picture of what Nearby Share on Windows looks like :

And to send a files/photos from your Android, simply click the Share and click the Nearby Share button

Alternatively, you can also use Shareit or Arc which work the same but you have to install both app in your Android/iPhone and your Windows/Mac.

---

Conclusion :

If your laptop/PC has a Bluetooth connection, go with the **Nearby Share**. I really recommend this a lot, and it's made by Google too, and I've been using it ever since it has been released on Windows, where before it only work Android to Android.

If your laptop/PC does NOT have a Bluetooth connection, you can try using **Arc**. It's easy to setup and the UI is user friendly too. It works both on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac. It requires you to have both laptop/PC and your phone be on the same Wi-Fi/Network, doesn't matter if your laptop is connected through a LAN Cabble, it still works.

I use both of them bunch of times.

Thank you.
> 2 votes

# Answer
You could use a simple webserver running on your computer using php and htlm.

Then connect to the server with your phone and upload all the files you need.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: windows, file-sharing
---


# Question
Title: Phone stays connected to WiFi even when out of reach
As the title says, when I get out of home, my phone keeps the connection to my Wi-Fi even when it is out of reach. This results in a Wi-Fi icon with an "X" and thus not using mobile data and not having internet.

Normally when I get out of home it usually disconnects the Wi-Fi and switches on mobile data, but now I need to disable / enable the Wi-Fi so it disconnects and have access to internet again. Any ideas ?

Phone is Asus Zenfone 9 with Android 13

# Answer
> 2 votes
I would try two things

1. Forget that Wifi connection and then connect again.
2. If that doesnt work then reset network settings.

---
Tags: wi-fi, asus-zenfone
---


title: How can I pin a share target?

text:
# Question
Title: How can I pin a share target?
When we click a share button, a universal "Share Target" pane slides up. Apps declare Share Targets, which is a way that the user can share something from one app to another. This is how, say, we can share a tweet on facebook. It gets even more complex now that share targets can be created for specific contacts. So we can directly share an item with a specific person, through a specific app.

In the developer docs, you can read about how developers can implement certain features to try to increase the "ranking" of their share targets. Basically, they want to get their share buttons closer to the front than share targets from other apps. You can also directly rank the share targets within your own app. Android has some sort of algorithm that dynamically determines the rank of share targets between apps, and this ranking changes with the user's behavior.

What I want to do, however, is outside of the scope of that documentation. I want to "pin" a certain share target, so that is always the very first share target displayed regardless how much I use it. And I only want to do this on *my* device, so I am not trying in anyway to get around android's ranking system to improve the ranking of my app on other people's devices.

It just so happens the app whose share target I want to "pin" in one I am developing myself, but I suppose such a feature to manually control the ranking of share targets on your own device could be useful regardless whether or not you are developing your own app.

# Answer
In Android 14 (and maybe earlier), you can do that:

1. Long-press the share target (contact or app)
2. Tap "Pin"

At least I get that on a Pixel 7 phone.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: applications, customization, share-menu
---


# Question
Title: Who or what can trigger an app installation from Google Play Store?
I was more then sure that my actions in the Google Play Store (either mobile app or through website) are the only way to trigger installation of some app.

My phone was lying alone and dark for the last hour, I did nothing:

* around Google Play Store website on my PC,
* around any app or phone in general

in the last hour or so. But, when I have just unlocked it, I have found out that to my extreme surprise, it started installation of Microsoft Teams.

This is the first time in my 10+ years Android history that something like that has happened.

Who (or what) beside my can start installation of some app on one of my devices?

# Answer
> -1 votes
If it was a Google app instead of a Microsoft's one, I would bet it was triggered by Google itself, since they firmly believe they have ownsership of every single Android device ever made.

But in this case, someone may have accessed your Google account and installed it from the web store, which allows installing apps on all your devices, including Android TVs. Just in case, change your Google account password and logout from all devices.

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store, installation
---


# Question
Title: How can com.google.android.documentsui be missing in Android 13?
I cannot run my favourite MP3 player on my Redmi 11S and Android 13, because the `com.google.android.documentsui` is missing.

How it is possible? App author claims that is an essential system component that must exist, exists by default in Android 11+ and is only gone when user tries to debloat the phone which I personally didn't do.

Is there any other reason for `com.google.android.documentsui` for not existing? Has Redmi removed it intentionally from their Redmi 11S' version of Android? Can Family Link be blocking or removing this file?

# Answer
> The DocumentsUI module controls access to specific files for components that handle document permissions (such as attaching a file to an email). This module is updatable, meaning it can receive updates to functionality outside of the normal Android release cycle...The DocumentsUI module (com.android.documentsui) is delivered as an **APK file** and is available for devices running Android 10 or higher (Emphasis supplied)

Hence, it is an essential app and on Pixel 6a it is a system app as it should be with your device also.

* There are multiple reports like yours with various versions of Redmi and suggested solutions are listed in *order of priority*.
* In the apps section of your device, enable system app search and try to locate this file. If it is disabled,enable it and reboot. You should be able to use the MP3 player. Some reports say you need to enable as described after every reboot. YMMV.
* Use any \[activity launcher\]  from Play Store and search for `com.android.documentsui`. Create a shortcut for `com.android.documentsui.files.LauncherActivity` to launch it or directly launch it. You should be good to go but, being Redmi you may be unpleasantly surprised.
* Assuming that this app got somehow disabled for the user you can try to reinstall `com.android.documentsui` using the command (source)

```
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.android.documentsui

```
* As a last resort download Files by Google and pray that it solves your problem
> 2 votes

# Answer
As you can see in the DocumentsUI reference:

> Important: Starting in Android 12, file browsing through DocumentsUI is disabled.

Which means that even when installed, your MP3 player won't be able to browse files with such library. The author must fix this by using a new API to browse your MP3 files in the device.

Go to know why Google decided to block file browsing with it, probably due to ill-use by developers, as they did when disabling the SMS receive API that was a serious privacy threat.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: redmi, google-family-link, android-14
---


# Question
Title: Cannot open PDF files when the extension is in capital letter
On my Android tablet, it is not possible to open a PDF where "PDF" is written in capital Letters. If I rename the file, it is opened with Google PDF viewer. The error is: "File can't be opened".

How can I fix this issue?

# Answer
As usual, you can't fix the misbehavior exhibited by any app. This is unlike Windows, where you could edit the registry to resolve such issues. With Android, Google effectively owns your phone, and they take extensive measures to prevent you from making modifications or fixes.

Your only option is to install a new PDF handler such as Acrobat Reader or the Drive PDF viewer (invariably bundled with Google Drive).
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, pdf
---


# Question
Title: What adds "Translate" item to selected text's context menu and how to get rid of this
I am trying to figure out which application or which application's setting is adding "Translate" button to the selected text's context menu in Wikipedia app:

Wikipedia mobile app's developers says that this is not their problem and that this item comes from some other place, not from their app.

I *do have* Google application installed. I *don't have* Google Translate app installed. I have never used translate functionality out of Google app (to be honest, until now I wasn't aware that there is such). And certainly I didn't enable such damn thing intentionally.

My gear:

* Phone: `realme GT 5G (RMX2202)`
* Android: `13 Kernel version 5.4.147-qgki-ga616720f33728`

Can someone tell me, if it is possible to turn this thing off?

# Answer
Two options to try:

* Uninstall the Google app. If this is not possible,next
* Disable the Google app

These were suggested since *Google Translate* is baking itself in the option menu.

The second option worked for the OP
> 3 votes

# Answer
> And certainly I didn't enable such damn thing intentionally.

Of course you didn't. Google keeps adding + enabling useless features endlessly, as you can see in the dedicated Google entry in the **Settings** menu. If you are lucky enough, such setting can be disabled somewhere here. Good luck finding the relevant option though.

I only keep the Google app for its QR scanner and camera translation feature, so disabling it would be quite an extreme option. Other people may use it for 99% of their daily tasks including searching and browsing from the app's crippled, built-in webview that disguises itself as Chrome, something which I did manage to completely **disable** (for now). As a side note, I'm probably the only Android user that browses the web with Opera and not Chrome nor the Samsung Browser.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: google, android-13, realme
---


# Question
Title: impossible to update whatsapp due to Google Play Store error
I'm using Whatsapp on a Samsung GT-S7582 Android 4.2.2 *machine* :) (I know it's old but please stick with me), ... and I would really appreciate if you could help me making it work again. (Google Plays Store build 4.6.17)

Today Whatsapp, told me it's its last day and needs to update, so ... I let it update; but it didn't get very far. I'm displayed with the Google Play and an error within it "Error retrieving information from server. DF-DFERH-01" and the "Retry" button. (the wireless is opened)

What I had tried:

1. I knew I disabled some Google apps (like Voice search, Youtube, Hangouts, Play Books, Play Games, Play Music, Play Newsstand, Samsung Apps, Gmail, Google+, Photos, Drive) since I'm not using them, so I went to Apps \> Settings \> More \> Application Manager, and in the 'All' tab I went and enabled them back. (now I only have these apps disabled: Weather widget, TalkBack, secWallpaperChooser, Samsung Cloud Data Relay, S Planner widget, Picasa Uploader, Photo screensavers, phase beam, music FX, market feedback agent, Hp print service plugin, face unlock, Epson Print Service, dual clock (digital), Dropbox, DropboxOOBE, ChatON, Bubles, Basic Daydreams, Backup) I restarted the phone, did the same thing but Google Play shows me the same error.
2. I'd tried to cleanup the cache; restarted the phone but this didn't work either;
3. I'd tried to uninstall the Google Play Store; restarted the phone but this didn't work either;

\*** EDIT: I think this step only got things worst, i.e. I wasn't allowed to install a newer version of the Google App Store. So I installed the Google Play Store from this site: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-store/google-play-store-25-2-27-release/google-play-store-25-2-27-16-0-pr-371716608-android-apk-download/download/. Unfortunately, I get the same error when trying to update WhatsApp. \***

4. I'd tried the Ehsan Sajjad trick from stackoverflow; restarted the phone, but it didn't work;

The most irritating thing is that once this error is displayed in Google Play Store, you are automatically shown the menu, but in settings I don't have anything useful: at the first level I have Settings and Help, and at the second level within Settings, I have some checkboxes, clear search history and some *about* things, together with some user controls. None of them could/will fix the issue.

Is there a way to make the Whatsapp working again? I noticed there are other things I could do like:

1. ~~resetting the Google Account (but I don't want to lose all my chats with my friends from Whatsapp).~~ (performed this but it didn't help)
2. ~~install Google play store apk from this site - is this site safe? https://apkpure.com/google-play-store/com.android.vending~~ (see the Edit note from the above step 3)
3. resetting the phone to factory and really lose everything - which I would rather not want.

I don't know if this helps, but I don't have too many apps installed (one banking app, skype, M$ authenticator and one health app).

Thanks!
R

# Answer
> 0 votes
I'm not sure if this will work for you AND I'm NOT RESPONSIBLE of anything regarding you or/and your phone/whatsapp chats history/job/career/finances/anything else/etc... but:

1. I had installed the GooglePlayStore from here and then restarted my phone;
2. I had installed the latest Whatsapp version which works on my phone, from here and then restarted my phone;

For the moment, I can send and receive messages.

All the very best!
R

# Answer
> 0 votes
1. You don't ever need to uninstall Play Store nor Play Services.
2. Most of the time you can fix the Store errors by clearing all data from Play Store + Play Services and restarting the phone, then wait a few long minutes and retry..
3. If that does not help, also restore to the factory version of both apps (by using the DISABLE button, old Android versions force you to revert to the factore preinstalled version). Then restart and let them gracefully update normally to the last supported version.
4. All the bloatware you have disabled like Hangouts and other Stores are utterly useless, do not enable them back.

**Never ever** try manually installing/updating Play Store nor Play Services. This is something that will introduce more problems that it could solve, I learned this in my 15 years using Android. Resetting those apps, or in the worst case scenario, a phone factory reset, will eventually fix your Play Store.

# Answer
> -1 votes
Reinstall Whatsapp. Reinstalling will always install latest version.

---
Tags: google-play-store, updates, whatsapp-messenger, google-play-services
---


title: Cortex-A53 cpuinfo'd as ARMv7?

text:
# Question
Title: Cortex-A53 cpuinfo'd as ARMv7?
I picked up a used Samsung Galaxy Core Prime offered by MetroPCS in the US for testing. The device is powered by Android 5.1.1. Testing requirements are a 64-bit ARM processor, but I'm not sure if I have met the requirements.

According to ***`cat /proc/cpuinfo`*** (see below), I see ***`Qualcomm Technologies, Inc MSM8916`***. That's a Cortex-A53, which is ARMv8a/64-bit architecture. But I also see ARMv7 listed, which is a 32-bit architecture.

Can anyone explain why I am seeing conflicting results?

---

```
$ adb shell cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor   : 0
model name  : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
BogoMIPS    : 38.40
Features    : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0xd03
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 1
model name  : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
BogoMIPS    : 38.40
Features    : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0xd03
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 2
model name  : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
BogoMIPS    : 38.40
Features    : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0xd03
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 3
model name  : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)
BogoMIPS    : 38.40
Features    : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0xd03
CPU revision    : 0

Hardware    : Qualcomm Technologies, Inc MSM8916
Revision    : 0006
Serial      : 000009f200000001
Processor   : ARMv7 Processor rev 0 (v7l)

```

# Answer
Some more testing reveals the following. I've done this procedure hundreds of times, so I know the results are an ominous sign.

I'm guessing it is a Cortex-A53/ARM-v8a processor, but its configured in 32-bit mode.

---

```
$ aarch64-linux-android-readelf -h ./cryptest.exe | grep -i 'class\|machine'
  Class:                             ELF64
  Machine:                           AArch64
$ aarch64-linux-android-readelf -h ./libcryptopp.so | grep -i 'class\|machine'
  Class:                             ELF64
  Machine:                           AArch64

[Push test program to /data/local/tmp, open a remote shell]

shell@cprimeltemtr:/ $ cd /data/local/tmp
shell@cprimeltemtr:/data/local/tmp $ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=./; ./cryptest.exe v
/system/bin/sh: ./cryptest.exe: not executable: 64-bit ELF file

```
> 2 votes

# Answer
What you have there is a 64-bit CPU running a 32-bit Android kernel. The kernel maintains `/proc/cpuinfo` and reports on what it is *using* rather than what *exists*. The boot code of the device will have put the processor into 32-bit mode before starting Android.

The 32-bit OS can recognise 64-bit executables, because there are identifying numbers in the file header. It knows it can't run 64-bit executables, and tells you so. There are several kinds of mixed 32/64-bit Android:

1. This one, with 64-bit hardware and a 32-bit Android. Devices like this were presumably produced to take advantage of new hardware before the vendor had finished updating their version of Android.
2. 64-bit hardware and operating system, but 32-bit Android RunTime ("ART"). This setup will run 32-bit and 64-bit native code, but Java/Kotlin code runs in a 32-bit environment. I've encountered one device like this, a 2017 model of the Amazon Kindle Fire HD.
3. 64-bit hardware and operating system, capable of running 32-bit and 64-bit native code, and with 64-bit ART. This has been common for several years as of 2023.
> 0 votes

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Tags: hardware, arm-processors
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