# Question
Title: Is Fennec F-Droid an official product by Mozilla?
Is the Fennec F-Droid Browser an official product by Mozilla? All the links from the F-Droid page link to official Mozilla pages, but I cannot find any hint on one of the Mozilla pages that they distribute Firefox under the name of Fennec on F-Droid.

# Answer
> 7 votes
I agree that the description is ambiguous on this matter — i.e., is the Fennec F-Droid app an official Firefox release, or a fork like Orfox or Iceweasel? The different branding implies the latter, but the lack of any dedicated repository and all the Mozilla links imply the former. The answer is somewhere in between.

The first thing you have to understand is that F-Droid does not package any supplied apks, but instead builds everything from source. Therefore, nothing is *truly* an official release from another project on the main F-Droid repo, even if that project gives F-Droid its blessing. At the end of the day, you're trusting F-Droid's build environment, and not that project's. The way a project is added to F-Droid's app repositories is by adding a metadata file to a particular git repository that specifies how to build it. In the case of Fennec F-Droid, that file is here:

https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/blob/master/metadata/org.mozilla.fennec\_fdroid.yml

While that looks like a 4,354 line, single-file build script, and yes technically it is, the overwhelming majority of it is just repeating the same ~40 lines for every release they've shipped. Those lines are basically just passing options into the build process (e.g., use the generic branding, build for ARM CPUs, etc.), and don't contain and code that needs to be compiled. All of the actual code comes from upstream.

It's also worth noting that this isn't some random person's hobby project, the way a lot of F-Droid apps are. The main contributor to that file is relan, who is currently the largest contributor to F-Droid's build scripts, and a prolific contributor to F-Droid in general. Mozilla is also aware of Fennec F-Droid, and does what it can to help. For example, see this thread:

https://forum.f-droid.org/t/making-it-easier-for-f-droid-to-package-mozilla-firefox/1649

tl;dr: It's as close to an official release as you can get without being one.

---
Tags: firefox-for-android
---


# Question
Title: How to uninstall Button Savior (non root) from Samsung Galaxy Note 4
I asked this question here and somebody suggested to me that I should asked here.

A friend of mine installed an app called Button Savior (non root) from google play and then decided to uninstall it for whatever reason, but he was not able to uninstall it from his phone, he then asked me to help him to uninstall it from his phone. I searched in google for how to do it, and I found this link.

On this link it was suggested that I first should remove the app from the device administrators list (settings - security - device administrators) and then and uninstall it and if this fails then I should reboot the phone into safe mode and repeat the process. I tried both methods but when I try to remove the app from the device administrators list the setting crash and I got an error message "unfortunately setting has stopped working".

Any suggestions to resolve this issue ?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I would suggest trying to uninstall via adb. You'll need the following if you don't already:

* ADB
* Enable Developer options

After that, proceed as follows:

1. Find the package name of the application on your phone that you want to uninstall. The easiest way is to use Package Name Viewer, or in your `Settings` under `Applications`.
    2. Enable `Debugging mode` through `Settings -> System -> Developer options -> USB debugging`
    3. Connect your phone to your PC
    4. Right click on an empty area in the Fastboot folder while holding the shift key, and click on “Open Command Window Here”.
    5. Now in command window type the following command: `adb uninstall packagename` where packagename is the name you found earlier (usually looks like `com.packagename.anotherthing`)
    6. As soon as you hit the Enter key, it will uninstall the App and show you `Success` in the command window.

# Answer
> 0 votes
There is an easier way. Go to Play Store and search for the app. When the app is found, you will have two options - open or uninstall..

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-note-4, device-administrator
---


title: Samsung Galaxy Tab drivers

text:
# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy Tab drivers
Where can I find the Windows 7 drivers for the Samsung Galaxy Tab? Can't seem to find them on the samsung website.

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/supportDownloadCenter.do?prd\_ia\_cd=N0000407&prd\_mdl\_cd=SCH-I800&prd\_mdl\_name=SCH-I800

Ultimately, I need to deploy an application that I'm developing :-)

# Answer
I used the same drivers that I installed for my Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant).
> 3 votes

# Answer
Just download Samsung Kies and you're good to go!. All the mobile USB `drivers` come inbuilt along with `Kies`.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The driver for Samsung Galaxy flagship are all the same, no need a specific driver type for a certain Samsung Galaxy device. Because Samsung has made it simple. You can directly head to the Samsung Developers official website to download the driver for your device from this page and learn to install the driver from this page.

Once you have finished installing the driver then you may be able to transfer files between your Samsung Android device to Windows and installing the stock ROM manually.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-tab, usb-debugging
---


# Question
Title: What is this "Vo LTE" notification bar icon?
This icon  started showing up in my Android notification bar last week. I think it was after I used the Google Drive app for the first time (I had never opened this app before and was just curious).

Now the icon is there all the time, occupying valuable notification bar real estate – and not providing any useful information in return, as far as I can tell.

What is this icon? What is it supposed to be telling me?

Can I make it go away? If so, is there a reason not to?

# Answer
> 9 votes
VoLTE means Voice over LTE. The icon notifies you that you are now able to phone over LTE. This means, it's not necessary in order to make a phone call to switch back to 3G (You cannot phone over normal LTE).
In short it's new and better. As far as I can tell you could disable VoLTE altogether, but I recommend you to simply live with it.

# Answer
> 1 votes
VoLTE stands for voice over LTE. It means you can make HD voice/video calls over your LTE network.

# Answer
> 1 votes
VO-LTE is the next generation of VOIP.

It indicates that VOLTE is enabled in your device and you will be able to call via LTE.

It stands for Voice Over Long Term Evolution.

It is a technology works with 4G/LTE.

The VOLTE calls are highly secured and thus can't be taped

# Answer
> 1 votes
I also started seeing this icon very recently on my Samsung phone. You can switch it off by following the path on your Samsung Android phone: Settings \> Connections \> Mobile Networks \> VoLTE calls (off or on)

# Answer
> 0 votes
it's describe your phone supported 4g Volte. and You can call without any third party app. EX jio4g voice.

---
Tags: notification-bar, notification-icons
---


title: Copy message text in android 7

text:
# Question
Title: Copy message text in android 7
In my past phone (Android 6) I could long tap a message and sow "Copy" context menu. Now in Android 7 I see only some strange icons on taping a message. Could somebody advice how I can copy message text?

# Answer
> 1 votes
* This icon on the top means **copy**. Pressing this button should copy the text to your clipboard.
* This icon means **share**. After pressing this icon, you shall be prompted with multiple apps on your device that allow you to share this message.
* This icon means **forward**. When you press this icon, you'll be able to directly forward this message to somebody else.
* This icon means **info**. Pressing this icon will show you more information about the message. (e.g. sender, server, etc..)
* This icon stand for **delete**. By pressing this icon will the message be deleted.

---
Tags: sms, copy-paste
---


# Question
Title: Is there a limit to how many WiFi networks can be stored?
When you go to a new place and connect to a wifi android "remembers" it and connects automatically next time. Is there a limit to how many networks can be stored? I understand it is probably not limited to some specific number but still - what is an approximate count before phone starts act weird or something else bad happens?

# Answer
I think it is infinite because when you connect to a wifi, Android saves the wifi in wifi\_supplicant file and when ever android finds the wifi having a name saved in this file. Android tries to connect with that wifi automatically.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, networking
---


title: Google contacts not syncing

text:
# Question
Title: Google contacts not syncing
I have a **Lenovo A6020a40** with **Android 5.1.1**.
Local GMail contacts and cloud ones have always been in sync till some day ago. Then, suddenly, without any modification on my phone and/or on the cloud, sync stopped working.
I realized something was wrong when I created some new contact on the cloud and I didn't find it on my phone.
Then I created a new local contact and there's no way I can see it on the cloud

Naturally I've gone to **Settings \> Accounts \> Google \> Gmail** and checked **Contacts sync** is on; I've also tried to turn it off and the on again, but nothing changed: after a sync attempt I have 778 local contacts and 777 cloud ones.

I've also tried **Contacts Sync Fix** app (as suggested on some forum), but app says none of my 778 contacts are having problems.

I'm out of ideas...

**--- EDITED ---**
After a few days and some brand new account created on my phone (and saved in my GMAIL profile according to my phone), GMail contacts are still 777.

**--- EDITED ---**
Contacts are not in sync anymore, even if everytime I change something I see my phone trying to sync.
If I change/add something on the cloud contacts, modification is not sent to my phone and vice-versa.
Note that emails and calendar are synchronized properly!

# Answer
You can simply remove that account and again add it in your account. Then it will again sync all your contacts to your Gmail.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 5.1-lollipop, google-contacts
---


# Question
Title: How to access the content of an sd card formatted as internal storage?
I am using Cyanogenmod 13 (based on Android 6) and an external 64GB sd card. When starting Cyanogenmod the first time I selected to format this sd card as an internal storage (Note that in my case the sd card should not be encrypted as I did not enabled device encryption). Now I want to transfer a big file to my PC. (See: *File transfer of large file to PC fails* why other file transfer methods did not worked)

So I put the sd card into the sd card slot of my PC, but I noticed that the file system is not recognized. This is what GParted shows:

I can read the FAT32 part, but this is not the part Android uses. **So how I can access this part? What file system does it use?**

# Answer
> 0 votes
From what I now today, I think the unfortunate problem is: Even **without** disk encryption Android always encrypts the "internally/adopted storage mounted" sd card.

As such you need to decrypt that. The file system used "afterwards" (i.e. inside of the encrypted "container") is, AFAIK, just ext4 or so. Basically a simple file system you can access with Linux.

---
Tags: external-sd, 6.0-marshmallow, file-transfer, formatting, adoptable-storage
---


# Question
Title: Continuous pairing request from a smart watch
Some time ago I replaced a phone to a new one using Android 7 (before it was 6) and my smart watch updated to Android Wear 2.0. Hard to tell what was the reason but since then each time a bluetooth connection between the devices is broken and going to be re-established there is a pairing request with a code which needs to be confirmed on both devices. Is there a way to make a phone and a watch to trust each other once and forever and to connect without re-asking a confirmation? This was the case with Android 6/Android Wear 1.1.

Not sure it matters, but the phone is Asus ZenFone AR and the watch: Casio WSD-F10.

# Answer
> 1 votes
It is an issue across most Android wear devices, Wear 2.0 and any watch. You'll see this issue all over the Internet. I have two Moto 360's and both constantly have pair requests with my Android 7 Motorola Droid 2. I have factory reset both, followed Google's directions and still does it. Hopefully Wear OS 3.0 will fix it, but I've heard both of my watches are not getting that update, which is BS.

---
Tags: bluetooth, android-wear
---


# Question
Title: ConnectivityExtension: ConnectivityExt jar file not present
When using `adb logcat` to get debug messages from my phone, I get many of those lines:

```
04-23 18:16:51.085  1428  1951 W ConnectivityExtension: ConnectivityExt jar file not present
04-23 18:16:51.187  1428  1951 W ConnectivityExtension: ConnectivityExt jar file not present
04-23 18:16:51.658  1428  1951 W ConnectivityExtension: ConnectivityExt jar file not present

```

Where is this coming from? What can I do to get rid of those message?

I'm running LineageOS 14.1-20180314-crackling (Android 7.1.2) on a Wileyfox Swift. I don't have any google apps (nor google play services) installed.

# Answer
> 4 votes
After some searching around, it turns out `ConnectivityExt` is a proprietary Qualcomm file (source \- you can see that it is included in the proprietary-files.txt in LineageOS), related to the Qualcomm package `com.qualcomm.qti.tetherstatsextension.tetherstatsreporting`. I found some code for this here, line 107 onwards. As it seems to be about `TetherStatsReporting`, maybe it is related to hotspot? Considering it is proprietary I do not think you can do anything about it.

---
Tags: logging
---


# Question
Title: How to set default alarm ringtone in Android 6.0?
With my new Moto E3, every time I open *Clock* application (to enable some alarm) I see a message:

> Default alarm ringtone is silent \[Change\]

When I tap on `Change` I'm redirected to *Sounds & notification* section of Settings, where I can only see *Phone ringtone* and *Default notification ringtone*. Both set (not silent). As for alarm I can only see alarm volume (not ringtone) which is also around half (50%) and thus not silent as well.

When I open settings of *Clock* application itself, I can see a cool set of nice settings, but -- again -- nothing around default (or not default) alarm ringtone.

**How can I set default alarm ringtone or otherwise get rid if this a bit annoying reminder**?

I've been out of "Android world" for around two years or so. Last version I've used was 4.3.5, but I can hardly recall something like default alarm ringtone. If I'm not mistaken, there was default tone for notifications and default ringtone, but alarm tone was always set per each alarm separately.

BTW: Since this is a system-level notification, I assume that using 3rd party app won't solve this.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Answer is - use "ES Explorer"

Very strange, but "System settings" have only Ringtone and Notification, and no Alarm-clock sound. I think it is a bug. Maybe that setting should be in Clock app, but it also no.

Steps:

* Play any music file you would like to set as default ringtone for the alarm in *ES Media Player*
* Click three dot button \[:\] in top right corner
* Select *Set ringtone*
* Now set ringtone dialogue will open. Choose *Set alarm*
* Now open Clock app. You should not see the warning

# Answer
> 3 votes
Go through all of your alarms, including inactive ones, and see if you have "Default Ringtone (Unknown)" set for any. If so, change the ringtone to your custom one or a preset, or delete the alarm entirely.

When making any new alarms, it should default to the last one you used... but just make sure to avoid "Default Alarm Sound." (For some reason it calls it the Default Alarm Sound in the drop down menu, but the Default Ringtone after it is selected).

I am not sure of the root cause, but this is what removed the same message for me (it was hiding on an inactive alarm). Hope it works for you too!

# Answer
> 2 votes
*Assuming* Moto is using a near-AOSP clock app... When you have an alarm in the list (enabled or not), you should be able to set its ringtone individually. Setting one will make alarms created in the future use that ringtone by default.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Copy your ringtone file to the *Alarms* folder in your internal storage using a file manager. Now you will see that ringtone file in the *Default alarm ringtone* list in *Settings* -\> *Sounds*.

---
Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, alarm, ringtone, motorola-moto-e, motorola-moto-e3
---


# Question
Title: Set a custom alarm / browser entire storage on Motorola Moto G5 / Android 7.0
I've been using Moto E3 and G4 before and had absolutely no problems in using custom / own alarm tones on these devices / Android versions (on both Android 6, 7.0 and 7.1 in case of G4).

Now, I have purchased Moto G5 and whenever I go to *Clock \> Alarm \> \[alarm\] \> Ringtone \> Your sounds \> Add new* some kind of weird file browsers opens that allows me to pick alarm ringtones from only: "Audio" and "Downloads" folders giving me "Recent" and "OneDrive" options in addition.

How can I select alarm ringtone from (system default?) "Alarms" folder? Or how can I force Clock app to use different file browser (i.e. system "Files Manager" or custom "Solid File Explorer"), which allows me to select a file from any folder?

Am I limited only to above mentioned folders and must copy my alarm ringtone to i.e. "Download" folder in order to use a custom alarm ringtone on Moto G5?

# Answer
> 2 votes
In the "weird" file manager, click on the ellipses in the top right and choose *Show internal storage*.

Now you should have "Internal Storage" available in the hamburger menu (three horizontal bars) in the left.

You can now browse your internal storage and choose the custom alarm tone which you want to make your alarm tone and it should be applied.

---
Tags: 7.0-nougat, motorola-moto-g, alarm, ringtone, motorola-moto-g5
---


# Question
Title: Android Wifi Hotspot turn off all the time
Phone: Honor 8 with EMUI 5.0.1 and Android 7.0

Each time I try to turn on my wifi hotspot, it turns off after several minutes. A notification of Android System is sending and tells me that "no device is connected. Wifi Hotspot disabled" while my laptop or other devices are still connected...

Is it possible to deactivate this setting?

# Answer
Android turns off the hotspot automatically if no device connects to it for "several minutes". Now, since you are connecting your other devices and it still turns off, it seems that the your Honor is unable to recognize the connected devices and continues to feel that no external device is connected to the network.

I'm not sure why it does that, but is definitely an issue. As for Android, there is no way to turn this setting off. It will continue to turn off hotspot if no devices are detected. You can try a "factory reset" if it is possible for you.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, wifi-hotspot, emui
---


# Question
Title: Google Play updates a non-existing application
Recently, on my Moto G5 I was hit with a situation of Google Play updating an application that is not listed in the application list:

Situation on right screenshot remained only until given update process has completed. Right after that "Moto Actions" application appeared on the list.

Questions here:

1. Why Google Play calls something "an update", if in facts it installs it for the first time?
2. `Disable` button for this app is disabled. Can't disable or uninstall it. Any option to get rid of it?
3. How can Google Play install anything on my device without asking me for a permission?
4. How can Google Play install anything that I cannot uninstall?
5. Are there any other app-examples of such behavior?

I thought that this is possible only for apps that are part of core system and that anything that is installed through Google Play can be uninstalled?

I purchased my Moto G5, after having Moto G4 earlier and after having Moto E3 even earlier. I was using all my phones because Moto offers "as close to pure Android as possible".

Every phone came with some annoying Moto-like stuff, but I was always able to uninstall or disable it. This is first example. Is this some kind of change in Motorola policy? Cause I find hard to believe that "Moto Actions" is so essential system app that user can't uninstall it and Motorola only forgot about it in system release and had to later install it through Google Play.

# Answer
> Why Google Play calls something "an update", if in facts it installs it for the first time?

1. Even if you think the app was not installed before it may be the case that the app was renamed. Therefore the app name is new, but the app itself was already installed.

> Disable button for this app is disabled. Can't disable or uninstall it. Any option to get rid of it?

2. Apps that can't be disabled are system apps. The manufacturer installed it and the app itself is system critical (based on the manufacturers opinion), therefore you can't disable it. With root permissions you may be able to delete the app, however most likely your system will not work correctly at some point (or at all) afterwards.

Regarding the Moto Actions I assume that Motorola uses it for defining tasks that trigger under certain conditions. As those settings are integrated into the OS the app is system critical and can't be deinstalled.

> How can Google Play install anything on my device without asking me for a permission?

3. The answer is more or less already included in 1. Most likely the app was already installed.

> How can Google Play install anything that I cannot uninstall?

4. System apps can be updated - you will see that in the app overfiew you have the option to uninstall the update (but not disable the app). In such a case the updated app is installed into the regular app space and the system app is ignored.

> Are there any other app-examples of such behavior?

5. On nearly every device there is at least one pre-installed manufacturer system app that can be updated via Play Store and that can't be disabled.

If you want a clean Android System you can unlock your device and install LineageOS or another AOSP based custom ROM. Lineage OS for example does not even include the PlayStore and the other Google apps (but you can install them if you want).
> 3 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, motorola-moto-g, uninstallation, motorola-moto-g5
---


# Question
Title: TWRP app bricked my Huawei Y3 II phone and it refuses to be flashed again
I have flashed my phone recovery mode official TWRP app with restarted the bootloader with ROM Toolbox Lite app, and then my phone didn't power up again and refused every single try to flash it with all the ROM on the internet. I went to authorization of Huawei and they said you will new a new board for the phone that will cost me the same as a new one. What should I do?

# Answer
I fixed it by flashing every partition alone while the battery is off the phone and then hard reset.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, rom-flashing, recovery-mode, twrp, huawei
---


# Question
Title: My phone doesn't boot at all after restarting bootloader
My phone is Huawei Y3II.

Now, my phone is not starting, no matter how I press the power button.

I have tried Smart Phone Flash Tool, but it failed and it got an error 2004 - 6045. Now, it does nothing when I click on "Download".

I have restarted the bootloader with ROM Toolbox Lite

# Answer
> 1 votes
fixed it by flashing every partition alone while the battery is off the phone .. and then hard rest ....... fuuuucccckkkk yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh

---
Tags: 5.0-lollipop, root-access, unbricking, bootloader
---


# Question
Title: Oreo/Pixel2: Bottom Navigation Bar is no longer fading out
As long as I had my Pixel 2, the **bottom navigation bar** would not be displayed as long as an app was open. To get to the bar, you have to swipe it up from the bottom.

Works fine for me, I like the additional space.

Since yesterday the bar is no longer hiding and stays visible. And I've no idea what I changed. I believe I hit some combination of volume buttons, power button and nav bottons ... makes no sense though.

The navigation bar is still hiding for games and videos, and can be retrieved by swiping up (or to left/right in landscape mode) but i.e. stays visible in Chrome, Play Store, the settings and other apps (including some which were not created by Google).

I found a bunch of threads/posts where people are asking how to get this feature (to hide the bottom navigation), and they were referred to rooting their phone and some ad-featured apps in the Play Store.

Thats not what I am after. The feature already worked, but I can't find any setting to enable it **again**.

Anyone have an idea how to enable this feature again?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Credit to PM\_ME\_2LEARNHOW2CODE from r/GooglePixel:

To autohide statusbar only, use command:

```
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.status=*

```

To autohide navbar only, use command:

```
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.navigation=*

```

To autohide both nav and status bar, use command:

```
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*

```

To revert back to stock, just re-enter the command you did but without the *

```
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=

```

If your phone doesn't let you unlock it/freezes up when you try to unlock and you want full immersive mode run these:

```
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=apps,-com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

```

I personally used a tweak to permanently hide my navbar and then use immersive for my status bar.

---
Tags: navigation-bar, 8.1-oreo
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to charge and transfer files to an Android phone with a usb-c hub?
I'm considering buying a usb-c hub to use with my Android phone (Google Pixel), so that I can charge my phone, use a flash drive and a USB keyboard at the same time - all using the phone's single usb-c port.

However, the hubs I've seen sometimes have lists of compatible devices and these lists mention only laptops and not phones. I wonder why, is there anything special about laptops or phones that the accessories aren't compatible? I've seen articles saying that Android's USB can't do OTG and charging at once.

# Answer
Being a fellow Google Pixel user myself, I can say with 100% confidence that the phone is absolutely capable of providing a charge and transferring files at the same time. It may not be the quickest charge or transfer if your aim is to have both at once, but it supports it nonetheless.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: usb, usb-on-the-go, google-pixel
---


# Question
Title: Unable to detect Android device with ADB on Mac but can detect it through Fastboot?
I am unable to view my Android device, an Oppo Find7, with ADB. I can view it with Fastboot. As I use a Mac, I followed this guide to install ADB and Fastboot.

More generally, I am having issues with my phone which is stuck on boot-loop and I can only access Fastboot (no bootloader or recovery working). I'm hopeful I can fix this once I get ADB working again! But if anyone knows if I can get the Oppo unbricking tool for Mac I would be very grateful :) I've only found it for Windows, and unfortunately, the official Oppo support forums no longer exist.

Typing

```
Fastboot getvar all

```

gives me

```
 All:

```

Not a good sign I think.

Thank you!

# Answer
> 0 votes
EDIT: To begin with you should probably install adb/fastboot directly from Google. This is the best way to update/maintain adb/fastboot.

So you state that you have no access to the bootloader, yet you are able to issue fastboot commands and invoke at least some type of response? Then that means you have access to your bootloader my friend. Fastboot == bootloader (or Download Mode, which is essentially still bootloader). I've never had a chance to mess with your specific model, but if you're stuck in a bootloop I'd suggest trying to issue a few more commands:

```
fastboot flashing get_unlock_ability

```

this will let you know if you can unlock the bootloader

```
fastboot flashing [unlock] [unlock_critical]

```

one of these will let you unlock the bootloader (as long as nothing else prevents it from doing so)

And if you're able to unlock it, I'd suggest downloading TWRP for your device (Google = best friend), and flashing it to your phone with a

```
fastboot flash recovery [twrp.img]

```

Bricks aren't ever really a permanent mess-up, as long as you can get into some type of recovery. Even if you can't get it unlocked or flash, you may be able to boot still with a factory image (Google = best friend), then try flashing the full firmware, if it wont take, extract the boot image and see if you can force it to boot with

```
fastboot boot [boot.img]

```

let me know if any/none of these work and we can go from there. best of luck.

---
Tags: adb, boot-loop, fastboot, macos, oppo-find-7
---


# Question
Title: Can't find data folder of an installed game
I've installed a game through Google Play and I would like to analyze data files to see where information about progress are stored, but I can't find any folder of the game itself.

In `sdcard/Android/data` there is no game folder. Wehre should I look?

# Answer
Applications keep their data in `/data/data`. It is a folder that resides in a partition that a normal user can't access. In order to access there, you have to root your phone and download another file explorer application that can browse `/data`.

I'd personally suggest Nextapp FX File Explorer with Root Add-On or ES File Explorer.
> 3 votes

# Answer
You need to root your device.

Download an Root File Manager, im using Xplore File Manager but you can download Root Explorer app. Goto /data/data/ (package name of the app) / (whole data) Note: you need to root your device.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If u don't have root for this phone one possible work around is that you can back up the game using phone's built-in backup app. Then u may unpack the backed up file. Or just recover the backup to someone else's rooted phone, or an emulator.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: file-management
---


# Question
Title: can you connect a wired controller through a pc to an android without plugging it into the tablet itself
i say this because i dont have an usb otg cable or whatever its called and i dont want to go out and buy one

# Answer
some applications are made to interconnect an android device and a personal computer for casting or to make the android device do the job of a mouse for example. but your way is impossible because there hasn't been any software which allows a device to connect to android through PC and the fact is there is no need for it. or else nobody has developed a software for it. better u buy it from amazon. its cheap nowadays
> 0 votes

# Answer
Just download BlueStacks on PC and map PC keys to touch screen Next download pinnacle controller and map PC keys to controller Problem solved (:
> 0 votes

---
Tags: game-controllers
---


title: Weekly mobile usage

text:
# Question
Title: Weekly mobile usage
I have a weekly payment cycle for mobile data. The data usage settings are limited to a monthly billing cycle and data warning. What can I do to monitor data usage on a weekly cycle?

# Answer
Withe the App MyDataManager it is possible to monitor mobile data usage in 4 ways :

1. Monthly
2. Weekly
3. Daily
4. Custom

Hope this will help.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Alternatively you could achieve the same with 3g Watchdog, giving a breakdown usage history per day/week etc.

Additionally extra alerts, for switching mobile data automatically add soon as it exceed allocation
> 1 votes

# Answer
If you have the Xposed Framework installed, install the Advanced Data Plan module.

This enhances Android's built in data usage meter with a system where you can set the number of days between billing cycles.

GitHub repo

XDA thread
> 0 votes

---
Tags: settings, data-monitoring
---


title: Is 'Spy Phone App' safe to use?

text:
# Question
Title: Is 'Spy Phone App' safe to use?
I am thinking of using 'Spy Phone App' for tracking different whatsapp accounts. Is it good and safe to use? Have anyone used it? Kindly advice me.

Note: It isn't available in google play but you can find it in google search.

# Answer
> 5 votes
The best way to assess this tool is to read the Terms of Service, which is publicly available here.

A relevant part is this subsection of "Installation and use of software" on the tracked users' devices:

> You can only install and use this app on a device which is your property, or for which you have written permission to install the app, from the owner. You must make anyone who uses a device on which this app is installed, aware of the fact that their internet and phone activity is being monitored and archived. Failure to do the above might be considered breaking of federal and state laws. If you install our software onto a device which you do not own, or don’t have proper consent to do so, we will fully cooperate with all relevant institutions. Spy phone app is not to be used to ‘Stalk’ or ‘Harass’ anyone. Spy phone app software must not be used to monitor the smartphone and private life of a spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, child over 18 without their written consent. Please read all relevant legislation before purchasing and using this app.

Considering the possibility you are asking whether it is safe for you (as the tracker), this is the relevant subsection from the "Privacy policy":

> Our app does not collect any additional info from your device than the ones required for its successful operation. Your data is in safe hands.

And this further down:

> The data collected includes but it is not limited to phone calls, gps logs, sms logs, system logs. We do not collect passwords or credit card numbers.

So, the conclusion: You can only feel safe about this app if you lower your defenses and those of the "friends"/"active voluntary participants" in your scheme.

Unsolicited personal opinion - it's probably a good idea to evaluate why this app is not distributed via Google Play Store.

# Answer
> 1 votes
**Spy Phone App** is basically a tiny application which allows people to monitor activity that is operated on the particular smartphone. All the activities logs that are performed on the particular smartphone are delivered to your personal online account.

Yes, I used spy WhatsApp application once. You will have to follow these steps to spy any software:-

1. Install the software on the phone that you wish to track.
2. Log in to your account and check the activities.
3. Customize your setting and activities that you wish to track.

It's also important to know the purpose of cell phone spy software. These are some important things that you track with the help of spy tools:-

1. You can monitor all text messages.
2. Monitor all online chats such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Snapchat's chat.
3. Track GPS location at present time.
4. You can easily read email and messages remotely.
5. Controls all applications and programs.

Nowadays most of the people think cellphone application software is a scam, but according to me, it basically allows for proper tracking of a smartphone without any physical access.

**I will this article will help you to know about spy software**.

---
Tags: applications, whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: About accessing premium sms in Samsung j7pro
On my J7 phone under Apps, Special Access, Use Premium text message service, it is not showing my messaging service, so I can't set it to Always Allow.so how to fix this problem

# Answer
The app needs to request "Premium SMS" at least once before it will start showing up in *Use premium text message service* So, first try to send a premium SMS using your messaging app and then the app will be available for you to make the permanent choice.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sms
---


title: using a Pixel 2 without Google account

text:
# Question
Title: using a Pixel 2 without Google account
I would like to buy a Pixel 2 but use it without signing in to a Google account. I would get apps from F-Droid, for example. I do not wish to use any Google apps. I also do not wish to use a custom ROM. My questions:

* does this work?
* would I receive OS updates?
* are there any problems to be expected when using a Pixel 2 without ever signing in to Google?

# Answer
> 2 votes
It's possible to use an Android without a Google account, but it would not be a "fun" experience.

You will need a 3rd party app store in order to download apps (apk download sites will work, too).

I think you will receive OS updates (not sure).

Now for the 3rd question: are there any problems? Yes, there will be. Some apps ask you to sign in to Google - you won't be able to use those apps. Some apps ask you to have Google Play Games - they will work, but you will not get achievements. In addition, items like contacts and downloaded apps will not sync, making it hard to transfer to a new phone (without Wi-Fi and Bluetooth).

Overall: it is possible, but would not be a good idea.

---
Tags: google
---


# Question
Title: Please help! What should I do before unrooting?
I accidentally deleted my Photo Album in Gallery, unfortunately I never backup any of my photos. I tried to recover my photos using Android Recovery Data Software but required rooting.

Not sure what to do, so I rooted my Galaxy Nexus using Kingo Root via computer. I successfully recovered almost 90% of my photos now and I want to get my phone back to its condition before rooting. I'm not sure what to do next as this is my first time doing rooting.

Anyone can help? What should I do before unrooting my phone using Kingo Root to make sure I get back to the version before rooting, not to lose any data and not damage my phone? How to safely unroot my phone?

# Answer
It's a simple answer, but when I used that program, I did not lose data by unrooting. To unroot, go to Settings, and press "Unroot". You will see a "com.kingroot.kinguser has stopped" message, and your phone will reboot with its data still intact.

For more see If I root my Android phone, will I lose all of my data?
> 0 votes

---
Tags: rooting, unrooting
---


# Question
Title: Forgottern Pattern on a Samsung Galaxy Tab A
Does anyone know how to reset a forgotten pattern to a Samsung Galaxy Tab A. My sister has forgotten the pattern and cannot access the tablet. Can you guys help me.

# Answer
To do this, you will need to use recovery mode and will need the Google account password linked with the device.

1. Power off the device and hold Power+VolUp+Home, then wait a minute.
2. Navigate the recovery menu with VolUp to go up and VolDown to go down, and the Power button to select.
3. Select factory reset\>Yes.
4. Press "reboot system now".
5. Enter the Google account password last used with the device.

Your device should now be unlocked, and you can use it again. But none of its original data will remain (except data on the SD card). If you still have issues, contact the company and tell them your issue, and what to attempted to solve it (You will not void your warranty with the steps shown above).

For more, refer to this article on the Samsung website.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-tab-a
---


# Question
Title: i never get the popup about usb connection when i connect my moto g android 6.0 to pc
i never get the popup about usb connection when i connect my moto g 3rd generation android 6.0 to pc. due to it, I am not able to connect my phone to any pc or laptop. it is in the default charging mode.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The issue is not your phone or pc. You need to change your usb cable and install a usb driver from the respective brand.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Marshmallow, on the Moto G 2015 at least, does not give a pop-up like Lollipop did, you must manually grab the pull-down menu and select USB Charge Only and switch it to MPT each connection.

There is an option in Developer Options to set the default USB operation, but the setting seems to have no effect on operation. As of the current MM release it isn't known if this a bug or as designed because Moto hasn't made an official comment on it.

# Answer
> -1 votes
It's a known issue. Google wants you to use their cloud and not access Android like its a USB drive. It's stupid and nothing more than vendor lockin, because if you're in the situation I'm in, I can't get my files off my phone except for slow methods.

---
Tags: motorola-moto-g, 6.0-marshmallow
---


title: All apps seem to be gone

text:
# Question
Title: All apps seem to be gone
I was using my Chrome on Android 4.1.2 on Samsung Galaxy S II and phone suddenly crashed. When phone restarted it looked like all apps are gone, even Google Play.

App Drawer shows only standard apps like Camera, FM radio, Internet, Messaging, Phone, Samsung Apps etc. but all other cannot be seen there.

Application Manager lists my apps under DOWNLOADED label, but instead of apps names (e.g. Chrome or Viber) it shows app IDs (com.android.chrome or com.viber.voip) and instead of app icons it shows some gray icon with labels Android and SD. Under ON SD CARD label it there are no apps. I don’t have external SD card.

I used Android System Recovery to wipe cache partition and it wiped cache for all except Chrome cache.

What can be problem? How can I get my apps back?

# Answer
> 0 votes
This seems to be some sort of faliure or glitch in your phone.

One way to fix this would be to factory reset your phone. by going to `Settings > Backup & Reset > Factory data reset.`

I would believe that there is nothing wrong with the SD card, so photos & music should be fine.

You can regain apps by then going to `Google Play Store > Swipe Left to Right > My apps` and install the apps back into your phone.

I hope this works.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Go to widgets and click on google play and from there, add it to your home screen. From there download all of your apps.

# Answer
> 0 votes
This is an old question, but this may fix it:

The screenshot of the disabled apps shows the Android logo and an SD card (meaning you have an internal SD card, this is also evident from "Apps on SD card" tab). Go to Settings \> Storage and select "Unmount" under the internal SD card (or "Mount"). Then reboot.

I had the same issue and that helped me (only when it happened to me, it was because I was using the USB Mass Storage option).

But the Google Play Store part did not happen to me. If it still does not appear, try installing a third party app store as a last resort. Or obtain root and use an app that installs apps as system apps to reinstall the Google Play Store.

---
Tags: applications, 4.1-jelly-bean, internal-storage, internal-sd
---


# Question
Title: Prevent other users to get Whatsapp notification
Is there is any way to prevent other users to get notification when I joined Whatsapp?

Apparently, I don't want others to announce I'm using it as I'm trying to join it for only selective friends and family members.

# Answer
Users don't get a notification or the like, when you join WhatsApp. (Maybe you're mixing up with telegram where users do get notified?)

But, when someone who has your number will try to send you a WhatsApp message, they will see that you have WhatsApp.

To prevent them from seeing that you have WhatsApp, you'll have to either block their number in WhatsApp or open a WhatsApp account with a new number that no one knows.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: notifications, whatsapp-messenger, privacy, push-notifications
---


title: Clean install of android

text:
# Question
Title: Clean install of android
I am wondering is there a way to completly delete all data on the phone(including system, kernel...) and reinstalling clean system, something that would be equivalent to formating hard drive and reinstalling system on PC.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Yes and no. I'll explain:

TL;DR *Simple method at end of post*

Using your example... Formatting a hard drive on a desktop computer (depending on quick or full format) effectively writes 0s to all (or at least enough) memory addresses to where the drive will assume it's been wiped clean. Any data recovery specialist will claim otherwise though, since data can *most* always be recovered.

If your goal is complete eradication of all data on your phone (though I'd wonder why lol), then you absolutely have to have root permissions, and I'd recommend a full partition map for your device. Then just open up an ADB terminal on the device and issue the following command as root:

WARNING, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS COMMAND UNLESS YOU KNOW ABSOLUTELY WHAT IT MEANS

`dd if=/dev/null of=/dev/block/mmcblk0`

This command will assuredly destroy all data on the phone and prevent all but the most technically savvy recovery specialist from being able to find any usable data.

TL;DR

But if all your looking to do is to start fresh with a clean OS and you're not concerned about data recovery then you can simply do a factory reset via settings menu (remove Google account first!), via recovery menu (remove Google account first!), or if you have/are able to have an unlocked bootloader then you can manually flash the stock firmware via fastboot.

# Answer
> 2 votes
First, for reinstalling you'll need a ROM specifically matching your device (there's no such thing as a "generic installer" for Android, see e.g. Can I install a ROM made for a different device and Why are there not generic phone OS installers?)

Second, for a "clean start", it is possible to "wipe" all mentioned partitions – but usually not with the stock features of Android devices. You will need a custom recovery such as or , where you can explicitly select which partitions to "wipe" (including `/system`).

Note: As therealjayvi correctly pointed out, those "wipes" wont really destroy all data (forensic experts will still be able to recover) – but I guess you won't need that anyway: as soon as you install the "fresh Android" (i.e. flash the ROM), most of the data will be overwritten anyway. And if you're really concerned about remaining data blocks being recoverable by experts: encrypt your device before wiping. That's safer than the `dd` approach (in terms of not accidentally destroying things).

---
Tags: factory-reset, formatting
---


# Question
Title: Adb does not list LG G3 phone after Lollipop update on OS X
I know a few questions have been asked about this, but I have not found a solution (particularly for OS X).

I updated my LG G3 to Lollipop and now `adb devices` does not list the device.

USB debugging is enabled on the device. The device seems to be stuck in MTP. Furthermore, the device requests to install PC Programs, but nothing happens when I allow it.

The device hasn't asked me to authorize my Mac for USB debugging, and I cannot find a way to get this prompt.

# Answer
> 0 votes
This was finally solved by enabling Safe Mode, and changing the USB connection type from MTP to PTP (which was actually successful this time).

When changing to PTP, I was prompted to trust my computer. I allowed the connection & then `adb devices` listed the device.

Special thanks to based EB.

---
Tags: adb, lg-g3
---


# Question
Title: permission denied error trying to run custom script, but works in SSHDroid
I wrote this script to reset a USB controller:

```
echo -n '1-2' | tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind
sleep 0.5
echo -n '1-2' | tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/bind

```

I can then run it like so:

```
q201:/data # sh foobar.sh
1-21-2q201:/data #

```

But I cannot run it like this:

```
q201:/data # su -c "sh /data/foobar.sh"
tee: /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind: Permission denied
1-2tee: /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/bind: Permission denied
1-2
1|q201:/data #

```

It only works when I am connected to SSHDroid on my rooted device, other apps such as Kernel Adiutor, Script Manager fail to run the script and get the same permission denied error that I get when I try to run it with su.

The su binary that came with my android device does not prompt to grant permission. It just gives it to any apps that ask.

I just want this script to run via other apps, and/or on startup.

# Answer
The issue is with SELinux, and upon further digging, it seems I had to adjust the permissions of these files to make this work. I don't really understand it, but it seems to work.

```
chmod 644 /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind
chmod 644 /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/bind

echo -n '1-2' | tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind
sleep 0.5
echo -n '1-2' | tee /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/bind

chmod 200 /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/unbind
chmod 200 /sys/bus/usb/drivers/usb/bind

```
> 1 votes

---
Tags: root-access, usb, shell, superuser
---


# Question
Title: Cannot add owner info to Lock screen - HTC One M9
In my other Android devices, I've always been able to set an "If found" message on the Owner Information shown on the lock screen.

`Settings -> Security -> Owner info`

But for the HTC One M9, this configuration item does not exist. I have not been able to find an alternate setting.

**Apart from writing the owner info on the lock screen image, is there any other way to display a message on the lock screen?**

# Answer
The Android 7.0 `Nougat` release has added the lock screen message functionality.
> 0 votes

# Answer
There isn't a direct option. You could probably create your own lock screen wallpaper with your "if found" message on it.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: lock-screens, 6.0-marshmallow, htc, htc-one
---


# Question
Title: How to consistently take a picture using a voice command
Using a samsung galaxy s8, android version 8.0

I'm able to occasionally take pictures with "take picture" but it works about 25% of the time. If in selfie mode with the front camera and the camera app has identified a face with a yellow circle, "say cheese" seems to work about 33% of the time.

# Answer
ok it turns out the actual commands are "smile", "cheese", "capture" or "shoot" to shoot a video.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: camera, voice-command
---


# Question
Title: "force allow apps on external" on EMUI 5.x not toggling on
so i've been trying to force allow apps on external storage by ticking the option: **force allow apps on external** under the developer options segment of the phone but it just doesn't seem to work. Every time I try to toggle this setting on, it just refuses to turn on it goes back to its original greyed out state. Please note that I have set my Default Storage" to SD; Could this be the reason ?

Thank You, Wael

# Answer
> 1 votes
Huawei has disabled this function. It won't work unless you root the device.

Source: Huawei support website.

---
Tags: app2sd, 7.1-nougat
---


# Question
Title: please help me in recovering my lost contacts on WhatsApp
Please I formatted my phone by mistake and in the process my WhatsApp was uninstalled and some very important contacts deleted please how can I still get the contacts back on WhatsApp please help.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The contacts would be safe if you have saved them either in your SIM or have backed up them in your Google Account. The main thing is whether you have a chat backup or not. If not, then I don't think there's any way you can get the chat back on your phone. If it is there (assuming that you have not deleted that backup) then you will get a prompt to install it when you are again logging in with your number. A same instance happened with me and luckily I had a backup in My Drive account.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: How to stop getting WhatsApp notifications from completely muted groups?
**The groups are completely muted - no sound and no notifications allowed.**

Still, occasionally I get WhatsApp notifications (with sound and vibrations) that immediately disappear.
I can see the WhatsApp icon in the notifications bar coming and going within a second.
When I enter WhatsApp - I see that I have a new message in muted group (no mentions, just regular messages).

**Is it possible to stop that very annoying behavior?**
(Without completely disabling all WhatsApp notifications, sometimes I still need them)

---

**Completely muted:**

---

Device: LG G5, Android 7.0, stock ROM, no root.

# Answer
As you mention that the notification comes and goes within a second, I think that it's actually a WhatsApp notification which says "Checking for new messages" - a screenshot of that notification can be found in this MIUI thread. It is not related to your groups, muting them will not make any difference.

I've occasionally seen it myself; it appears and disappears extremely quickly. If you want to verify what the notification actually is, check your phone's notification log which can be viewed by creating a settings shortcut to the log on the desktop using your launcher of choice.

I've seen speculations that it only appears if your internet is spotty, or if WhatsApp cannot work in the background for whatever reason (eg Data Saver is on, your phone/ROM is extremely aggressive with background tasks like MIUI is or because of low RAM). Another notification which appears under similar conditions is "You may have new messages", but that messages stays permanently until you open WhatsApp.

As for how to disable it without stopping all other WhatsApp notifications, it would natively only be possible in Android Oreo because of support for notification channels. I think the relevant channel for the notification is "Other Notifications". I've disabled that channel and I haven't seen the notification in ages (then again, can also be because I've never met the conditions for seeing the notification ever after).

I should also warn you that disabling the channel also turns off other notifications like "WhatsApp Web is running" - check everything carefully!
> 1 votes

---
Tags: notifications, whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: SD Card Suddenly Stopped Working -- Cannot Remove Read-Only Attributes
My SD card suddenly stopped working in my Motorola Moto E2, running Android 6.0. When I insert it, it just says "checking..." for ages, then says that it's not inserted. I then removed the card and told Android to forget the SD card. When I insert it now, it tells me that it's in an unsupported format. I try to format it, and I get an error as shown in the picture below (apologies for the size!)

I previously had it formatted as internal storage, and had various apps installed on it. I've tried for format it in my computer, but it is read-protected. I've gone through all the methods online to remove read-protection (specifically using `regedit` and `diskpart`), but neither have been successful. I've got `AOMEI Partition Assist`, but that doesn't even see the SD card. When I plug the SD card in, my computer can see the drive (and data on it), but is in read-only so won't format.

I've also tried `MiniTool Partition Wizard`, but, while it sees the SD card, since it is read-only the wizard can't do anything with it.

Any assistance would be most appreciated! (and if anyone knows how to make the screenshot below smaller, feel free to edit this question to do so!).

# Answer
Full-sized SD cards have a physical write-protect tab. The adapter for your microSD might have one. Make sure it's in the correct position.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, sd-card, internal-sd, formatting
---


# Question
Title: Remove a package (upday) from stock theme
I'm new to android so please forgive my maybe trivial questions.

So far I've been able to root my J3-2017 (TWRP+SuperSU+Nougat) and now I can access the internal file system using adb shell.

My purpose is to debloat my device. I've been able to manually delete Microsft apps (\*) but I don't seem to find a way to remove UpDay which, apparently, is packaged inside the default theme.

The question is: does anybody know a way to remove such apps from a theme?

Thank you

(\*) this is how I did remove Office:

```
adb shell

su

mount -o rw,remount /system

find / -iname '*Excel*'

.

.

.

rm /data/data/com.microsoft.office.Excel

...

```

# Answer
Sorry, really a stupid question!

Actually the problem was that I could not find the correct package name for Upday. After a lot of google digging I've been able to discover the mistery.

The package is de.axelspringer.yana.zeropage (so where is "upday").

a normal `find / -iname '*axelspringer*'` (followed by `rm ...`) did the trick.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: root-access, apk, themes, samsung-galaxy-j3
---


title: Change ROM Samsumg S7 Edge

text:
# Question
Title: Change ROM Samsumg S7 Edge
I have a Samsung s7 Edge cell phone, I bought it in the US with the Verizon company, I returned to Mexico and I am working with the Telcel company, the model is GS G935V, my question is: I Can install a ROM SM G935F Telcel?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I Change mi ROM of SM-G935V to SM-G935U and all Verizon applications have been removed.

I share the ROM link in case someone wants to change it.

SM G935U

---
Tags: samsung, custom-roms, rom, stock-rom, samsung-galaxy-s-7-edge
---


# Question
Title: How does one share Samsung camera "Virtual Shot" (3D spin-around) photos?
I recently traveled to Europe and took dozens of beautiful 3D spin-around shots using Samsung built-in camera's **"Virtual Shot"** mode photos.

These look amazing on my phone, but I want to share them with the world. In the past I've been able to share photos to a javascript-powered website, such as 360 photos via Microsoft's Photosynth.

How can I share these spin-around 3D photos?

*Note: if there is no way to do it currently, I am an app developer and web programmer so I'd be happy to build one myself, so let me know if there's any information on the data they are stored in as well*

# Answer
> 1 votes
Othr than an MP4 export, you can't. You have to take your photos in Phogy (app, gif, or mp4) or Fyuse (web or gif). Both are lower in pixel quality (slightly) but allow for sharing the interactive experience. The pro version of phogy has higher quality but still lower than 4k.

I hope someone makes a parallax player that takes raw videos, then all video cameras could share it.

# Answer
> -1 votes
If you click the share button while viewing the shot, you're given the option of sharing as a video file, which converts it to an mp4.

---
Tags: samsung, camera, file-sharing
---


# Question
Title: Block a device from connecting to a specifix router
There is an ISP in my town that connects to my phone all the time, but it wants to sign in to be used. It is not my ISP so that all I get is my Wi-Fi blocked.

There are many spots from the same ISP in town, because a couple of ISP give their customer a router with two Wi-Fi outputs, one private, normal, and another one open for their customers use with their site password wherever they exist. One of them (not my ISP) sticks to the devices, so I get blocked in many areas.

I have tried to change *autojoin=1* to *autojoin=0* on `/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf`, but that didn't do anything. This file also mentions another one, `ctrl_interface=/data/misc/wifi/sockets`. Will that control I need be here?

I am almost sure there will be a way to disallow a device from connecting to a specific Wi-Fi, but I don't know how. Maybe somebody can help me and teach me how, please.

# Answer
If you go into Settings and choose the option to Reset Network Data, this will erase the phone's memory of ever connecting to the many millions of these open wifi hotspots that are around. Then just go into Wifi settings and toggle the switch to "disabled" on the option that says "Automatically connect to high quality public networks" and you'll be good to go. I personally do this and it seems to yield results.

OR

If you have root access you can try the following:

1. Install Termux from Play Store (not some other terminal emulator, must be Termux)
2. Type `apt update && apt upgrade -y && apt install nano tsu -y`
3. Become root via `tsu`
4. Turn off Wi-Fi
5. Now you'll be editing a file, which will require the use of arrow keys, theres another app called Hacker Keyboard that has arrow keys you can use. This file may be called something else on older versions of Android, so YMMV.
6. Type `nano /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml`
7. The file contains history of all previously connected Wifi networks. The XML is structured by , so you'll need to scroll through and find the network you don't want your phone connecting to anymore. It will be preceded by a tag, and will also contain several other inside of it; just continue scrolling until you find the VERY next occurrence of , signifying the entire configuration for the unwanted network.
8. Erase the unwanted network configuration by deleting everything from to , ensuring that you are only removing the configuration for specifically unwanted network.
9. Now just do a `Ctrl+O`, `[Enter]`, `Ctrl+X` to save, confirm, then exit the file.
10. Type `chown $(whoami) /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml` to change the owner to root
11. Type `chmod 640 /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml` to allow the group member (`System`) to still have read access to be able to retain normal functionality, but disallow write access to be able to re-write the unwanted wifi configuration back into WifiConfigStore.xml.

Please note that this will mean you can no longer save any additional wifi networks to be automatically connected, and your device will only remember the networks that you left in the file before running steps 10 & 11. If you ever want to revert the changes and re-allow typical access to the file just undo steps 10 & 11 via the following:

1. Open `adb shell` or Termux again
2. Gain root via `su` (if adb shell), or `tsu` (if Termux)
3. Type `chown system /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml`
4. Type `chmod 600 /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml`

Cheers
> 0 votes

---
Tags: wifi-direct
---


# Question
Title: Nexus 6P Bootloop - Flash "Google" on dark background keeps going on and off forever
I own Nexus 6P, and am having nothing but problems with it. Definitely, the worse device I ever owned. It was rebooting daily (note past sense as this is not my main problem) often multiple times for no reason but the main issue is that it ended up in an infinite reboot loop.

Here is the description of problem: 2 days ago, phone suddenly rebooted but this time, "Google" text would show up, then black screen, and this would repeat endlessly, phone would never reboot and ends in bootloop.

What I tried to fix this?

1. Press Power button and Volume Down and hold until menu shows allowing you to do following and description what happens:

* Restart,
    * restarts phone but ends in infinite boot loop again
    * Reboot bootloader, - no changes
    * Recovery mode, - no changes but see 2 below
    * Barcodes, - shows barcodes
    * Power Off. - turns off the phone

I tried all of these without success - phone is still in endless boot loop showing "Google" text on black background

Press Power button and Volume Down and hold until menu shows, then select Recovery mode. Soon after, "No command" shows on screen with little green android icon with red triangle. Next, press Power button and Volume Up and release. This bings Android Recovery screen with yellow text at the top showing google/angler/angler, 8.1.0, etc etc and blue menu at the bottom with options to:

Reboot system now - tried it, nothing changes

Reboot to bootloader - tried it, nothing changes

Apply update from ADB - havent tried it, dont know what to do with it

Apply update from SD card - tried it, get "cannot mount /sdcard" Installation aborted

Wipe data/factory reset - formats /data and /cache but nothing is fixed, still infinite reboot loop

Wipe cache partition - same as above, just formats /cache

Mount /system - nothing changes

View recovery logs - shows number of logs

Run graphics test - shows "Installing system updates" and then shows "Error". No changes

Power off - turns off the phone

I also tried every single of these options as described above but nothing will boot the phone. It always ends up in infinite boot loop with "google" text on black background showing and disappearing forever.

I have found that phone rebooting and above described infinite boot loop are so common that there are many complaints and even a law class suit going on against google and Huweii as per link Google and Huawei Will Face Class Action Over Nexus 6P Bootloop Issues

I have tried many suggestions, Google one's are useless as they all assume phone actually boots up, so ridiculous, and have no resolution.

How to fix this issue? How to install manually Android OS on my phone if I cannot do anything else to resolve this?

You can fix this issue according to Google only if you can somehow enable EOM but to do that you need to boot your phone. Some suggested to put phone into fridge or heat it up with hair dryer or heat gun. If you are lucky with this, you may get change to boot it up briefly and go to setting to enable OEM, then you can attempt to fix using fastboot but even this is not working all the time and will significantly downgrade performance of your phone

I tried both without success, heated it up for 1 hour, it was scorching hot but it would not boot up. PUt it in fridge and freezer overnight, still no way to boot it.

# Answer
> 2 votes
It seems like you are facing the unfortunate end for your device. I personally have gone through 3 of these devices that fell victim to the same sudden BLOD (Boot Loop of Death). You have a few options at this point:

1. Get yourself on the list to be part of the class action lawsuit against Huawei and Google.
2. Contact Google or Huawei (don't have the link for this one sorry...) and demand a replacement. For a while there I know that people were given replacements for this reason well beyond their limited warranty.
3. If you're feeling particularly savvy you can perform these steps outlined on XDA that will give you functionality back to your phone. I've used this method for all 3 of my 6Ps that got the bootloop. Best of luck, I definitely feel your pain.

---
Tags: boot-loop, nexus-6p
---


# Question
Title: How to copy Unity Game (SpaceFlight Simulator) from Galaxy S6 Edge to S9?
I have been looking for a way to transfer game progress of Space Flight Simulator (made by Unity) from a Galaxy S6 Edge to a new Galaxy S9. Please note that /data/data/ directory does not exist on both devices, there is no PlayerPrefs folder, I can't root the S9 as it's still new and under warranty (so can't use TitaniumBackup) and the game isn't connected to an online server (no Google Play Account). I copied whatever files related to the game I found on the S6 Edge (all under Internal storage/Android/data/) to the S9 but it didn't work. I have also tried Helium Sync and Backup (free version) but it seems that it creates backups to be restored on the same device, not a different one.

I have been looking for a way for about 2 weeks now, but haven't found naything. The game developer isn't sure where saved data is stored on the S6. I have also looked in this forum and couldn't find anything useful. Is there any way that doesn't involve writing code (I'm not a programmer), rooting any of the devices or buying paid apps?

Any help is much appreciated!

# Answer
> 1 votes
Summarizing from the comments on the question:

Helium *does* do the job if the actions are performed correctly:

1. Backing up the app on the source device
2. on the target device, copy the folder to the exact location to where Helium creates the backups
3. on the target device, restore the app.

If step #2 wasn't exactly followed, *Helium* wouldn't find the backups on the target device.

A comparable approach would be using (see our ADB tag wiki for details). To use that, you will need to know the *package name* of the app to deal with (that is e.g. what you find on the playstore URL by the "id" parameter). Then:

1. Connect the source device
2. Run `adb backup -f foobar.ab -apk com.app.foobar`¹
3. Disconnect the source device, connect the target device
4. Run `adb restore foobar.ab`¹

Another detail: you can mix the two approaches. Backups created by Helium contain that `*.ab` file, which you could pass to `adb restore`.

---

¹ of course replace `foobar` and `com.app.foobar` with the corresponding app name

---
Tags: backup, samsung-galaxy-s
---


title: How to run multiple whatsapp accounts?

text:
# Question
Title: How to run multiple whatsapp accounts?
My Android device is rooted.

I use Parallel Space for running two WhatsApp accounts but Parallel Space gets stuck very frequently.

Please let me know how to run multiple WhatsApp accounts in my Android device in both cases; device is rooted and device is not rooted.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There is a custom app based on original whatsapp , named *Whatsapp PLUS* , it allows you to edit complete user interface and as well you can run multiple whatsapp account on a single phone .

# Answer
> 1 votes
You should try GBWhatsapp. It runs smoothly here on my 4.2.2. It's arabic website but hope you will find what you need

# Answer
> 0 votes
Follow these simple steps to go run multiple whatsapp accounts:

1. Root your Android device.
2. Make sure that you have WhatsApp app installed on your smartphone.
3. Install SwitchMe Multiple accounts on your smartphone.
4. Run *SwitchMe Multiple accounts,* it will ask for Superuser request that you need to grant.

Hope It will help you.

# Answer
> 0 votes
There is one way to do that without root.

If you have a device with the Google Play Store, go and download Parallel Space app. If you have an arm/arm64 processor, download its extension Parallel Space 64-bit support as well.

After downloading this app, you can run two accounts of not just Whatsapp, but also of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Snapchat etc. This will not affect the first app installed in any way. You don't need to do any switching at all. Just add the shortcut of the Parallel app from Parallel Space on your launcher, and it will launch Whatsapp of the second account.

Regards.

# Answer
> 0 votes
One quite simple way of doing this that often gets overlooked, is adding a new user to the phone if you have android 5 or above, and installing whatsapp on there.

Hope this helps

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can use this App Cloner.

From the description:

> Using App Cloner you can create and install multiple copies of your existing apps.

* Note: WhatsApp is available in their premium version. So you can try it on another app and if satisfied - continue to the premium.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: can't find executable installation file in droid explorer folder so how do I install on windows 10 please
I am new to droid explorer, I wish to install it on my windows 10 system I downloaded the software from this link https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer. I need a step by step guide on how to install the software itself as I can't find an executable installation file. Thanks for your help in advance.

# Answer
GitHub is mainly for developers, therefore the main view shows the source code repository. On GitHub the binary files are usually available in the "releases" section of each project.

https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer/releases

In this page you can finde the ZIPed version of the DroidExplorer installer.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: installation, droid-explorer
---


# Question
Title: How to run "parted" command in terminal emulator on my android smartphone
## Updated question (2018/2/20)

Thanks to grawity's answer and comment, my question can be updated.

My final goal is to acquire detailed partitioning information (including the start and end address of each partition on my android phone), either using fdisk or parted.

1. How to "install" the parted command into my android smartphone?
2. Can I use fdisk on a Linux system or on Cygwin on a windows system? Knowing that fdisk brought by BusyBox can't handle GPT. (If so, maybe I could post another question.)

---

## The original question (2018/2/19)

I have installed Busybox on my smartphone, and I want to acquire detailed partitioning information, including the start and end address of each partition on my android phone.

I can use fdisk command, but maybe because my phone's disk is GPT instead of MBR, command "fdisk -l" shows no output.

So I want to use the command "parted". But I don't have it on my smartphone. How can I get it?

I've traveled to GNU website of "parted". But what I can download is only source code. Do I need to compile that? If so, how do I compile that? Can I compile the source code with MinGW on a PC with Windows system?

If I get the "parted" file, where should I put it to make it work? Is it under /system/bin?

I haven't found a usable "parted" file yet. Is it because of my bad google skill or the file has to be compiled differently for different devices?

I hope to find an official version of the "parted" file.

---

## EDIT (2018/2/19)

I do know my storage is GPT because `fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0` tells me. And I've read on the net that fdisk can't handle GPT, while parted can. I'm just not sure why `fdisk -l` is showing nothing.

```
fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 15 GB, 15634268160 bytes, 30535680 sectors
1908480 cylinders, 1 heads, 16 sectors/track
Units: cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes

Device             Boot StartCHS    EndCHS        StartLBA     EndLBA    Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1    0,0,0       0,0,0                1   30535679   30535679 14.5G ee EFI GPT
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary

```

# Answer
***Note:*** This is applicable to Qualcomm SoC with eMMC (block device accessible through FTL). Not tested on MTK or other chipsets (paths may differ) or the devices with raw NAND/MTD memory.

# PARTED

> How to "install" the parted command into my android smartphone?

There is no official way, so `parted` isn't part of AOSP. Android doesn't want you play with its partition table. Using a static binary is the best option to avoid complications of dynamic linker/loader, libc etc.

You may get parted static binary for `aarch64` (ARM-v8) and `armel` (ARM-v5) architecture from `this link`. I have compiled these on ArchLinuxARM (running on my Redmi Note 4) and on Ubuntu (PC) using `gcc` (cross-)compiler with `glibc` and they work great. Building with `Bionic libc` on NDK (to make it fully Android-ish) needs a lot of changes in source code because function calls (libc) and also some syscalls (kernel) differ on Android and Linux. `devmapper` and `NLS` are disabled since former isn't directly used, latter isn't supported on Android.

# FDISK / GDISK

> Can I use fdisk on a linux system or on Cynwin on a windows system? Knowing that fdisk brought by BusyBox can't handle GPT. (If so, maybe I could post another question.)

You may use `fdisk` on Android too, but `fdisk` is traditional tool to manipulate MBR partition tables, though newer versions also support GPT. `fdisk` shows somewhat info about GPT as well because GPT contains protective MBR (first sector of disk or eMMC) which contains information about partitions. Also, first partition `(modem)` on most of the Android devices which contains firmware for baseband processor (BP) is `FAT16`, more compatible with `fdisk`. For other partitions `fdisk` may behave weird or may crash.

`Busybox fdisk` is very minimal like other applets, and I think it hasn't been updated for a while now. Instead, `GPT fdisk (gdisk)` is a great tool for GUID Partition Tables and from certain aspects is better than `parted`.

`gdisk` , `fdisk` and `mkfs.ext4` (mke2fs) static binaries are also available on above mentioned link. You may put these anywhere in your PATH; `/system/bin`, `/system/xbin`, `/vendor/bin`,`/sbin` (volatile) or even somewhere on `/data` or `sdcard`.

Now just execute:

```
~# parted /dev/block/mmcblk0
(parted) p free

~# gdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0

```

**Please note** that `fdisk -l` and `parted -l` won't show complete information (or not at all) about Android GPT because Linux kernel populates block devices directly under `/dev` while Android uses `/dev/block` path. We need to change code before compiling to make them work perfectly. `fdisk -l` shows `loop` devices because they share same nomenclature. `blkid` also shows partition info because it reads from `/proc/partitions` and `/sys/dev/block/`.

## Finally!!!

With power comes responsibility and Linux tools are powerful. Really. A displacement of even a single byte in partition boundaries may put you in serious trouble, the worst being inability to use Factory Firmware Flashers. So, be careful!

**Further reading:**
> 5 votes

# Answer
> maybe because my phone's disk is GPT instead of MBR, command "fdisk -l" shows no output.

Or maybe it does not have the privileges to read the partition table.

Though, as far as I know, many Android phones do not *use* software partitions, but something more complex than that: they partition the flash storage *in hardware*. So not even parted would help you in this case.

This answer on Android.SE might be relevant: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/5232/how-can-i-view-the-android-internal-partition-table

**Regarding your `fdisk` output example.** It's *not* showing nothing – it's showing one partition!

But it's the wrong kind; the actual problem is that your fdisk version *does not support GPT* and is showing you the contents of the "protective MBR" partition table.

All GPT disks have a fake MBR containing one massive partition which covers the entire disk; its purpose is to prevent old MBR-only tools from accidentally destroying data. If you see it in fdisk's output, it means your version of fdisk is MBR-only.

The `fdisk` which comes with util-linux has added GPT support in v2.23. However, the Busybox `fdisk` has not.

---

That said, the rest is fairly generic and applies to *all* programs, not just `parted`.

> I've traveled to GNU website of "parted". But what I can download is only source code. Do I need to compile that?

Yes.

> If so, how do I compile that? Can I compile the source code with MinGW on a PC with Windows system?

Probably not. MinGW is oriented towards creating x86/x64 Windows builds – you need a cross-compiler which would provide Linux binaries *and* which would compile for a different CPU architecture (your smartphone uses some ARM variant).

Cygwin might have a compatible version of gcc, but doing the compilation *on* Linux might be much easier.

> I hope to find an official version of the "parted" file.

It is rare for Linux developers to provide official compiled versions – that's usually left to the distributions.

You can download the official packages of various distributions such as Debian (Raspbian) or Arch Linux ARM, and extract the needed files manually.

Be careful to pick the correct CPU architecture of your phone.

Second, note that you'll need *more* than just the "parted" file: most of the core functionality is actually in a library (DLL file) called `libparted.so`.
> 2 votes

# Answer
> I can use fdisk command, but maybe because my phone's disk is GPT instead of MBR, command "fdisk -l" shows no output.

It's neither MBR nor GPT. Smartphones typically use MTD partitions. These partitions are configured in the device tree, so changing them is significantly more complicated than just running a partition editor.

You can get information on the partitions by running `cat /proc/mtd`.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: partitions, terminal
---


# Question
Title: External SD card is not working in Android phone
I used **8GB** external memory card. Suddenly all data inside it is corrupt. Which means cannot read any data.It shows only it has **2GB** size.

**For a solution** :

1.Unmount it and insert it.

2.I format the SD card.

Still I cannot insert any data into that.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can try to wipe the first sectors of the SD-Card. Afterwards the OS should detect again the correct size.

The simplest way to overwrite the first sectors is to use a disk wipe software on your PC that overwrites the SD-Card with zeros (one pass is sufficient). It is important not to just overwrite one file or the free disk space but the while drive.

In general you can stop the disk wipe after about a minute as you don't need to overwrite it completely, the first blocks are sufficient. Afterwards eject it from your PC and re-insert the SD-Card and format it. The correct size should now be recognized.

---
Tags: sd-card, data-recovery
---


# Question
Title: Android - how to keep launcher setting after reboot
Instead of the preinstalled "Launcher3" I'd like to use "Microsoft Launcher" – but when I choose it as default, it only lasts until reboot. After reboot "Launcher3" is again set as default.

How to keep a launcher after reboot? Where are such things stored in general?

(Android 5.0.2 - API 21)

**EDIT:**
My Phone is a Medion X5004.
I tried via the settings menu in MS-Launcher, and via system settings.

**EDIT2:**
I tested installing "Apex Launcher" and set it as default - also resets to Launcher 3. So it doesn't seem to be specific to MS-Launcher.

**EDIT3:**
MS-Launcher does not sit on SD-card.

**EDIT4:**
Wiping cache has no impact...

**EDIT5:**
Tried to `chmod 440 /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml` while launcher set to MS-Launcher - after reboot the file has write permissions again and Launcher3 "greets" me.

# Answer
Not really an answer – but problem does not occur after factory reset.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Here's something to try:

Go into settings → apps. In the menu, select *show system apps* → launcher3 → set as default → clear defaults.

When you go back to your homescreen, it will let you choose your default one. Choose Microsoft launcher as the default.

Reboot your phone, and see if it helped.

**Edit:**

If the Microsoft launcher is stored on your SD card, move it back to the internal memory, that should fix it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: launcher
---


# Question
Title: What does "automatic" mean under Network restrictions?
I'm running Android Oreo 8.1 on a Pixel XL. When I go to Settings \> Network & Internet \> Data usage \> Network restrictions, I notice that all of my saved wifi networks are listed. Under each one, it says "Automatic". When I select one of the networks in the list, I see "Automatic", "Metered", and "Not metered". What does "Automatic" mean in this context?

# Answer
As far as I can tell from looking at the code, "Automatic" means the network is metered if it meets at least one of these heuristics:

(I found the code links by searching the LineageOS source code on GitHub and opening the corresponding AOSP files, since the AOSP repository browser doesn't appear to support searching; maybe there's another way.)
> 8 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, 8.1-oreo
---


title: What icons are these?

text:
# Question
Title: What icons are these?
What icons are these?

Not sure if these can be seen well enough.

# Answer
The one on the left is a notification about a potential power or memory hungry app that could be put to sleep temporarily. The one on the right is probably a suggestion notification from Google Maps.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: app-icons
---


# Question
Title: 'Rear Camera' and 'Flash light' Not Working in Lenovo k6 Note (Custom Rom)
I am not able to use Rear Camera and Flash Light in My Lenovo K6 Note. Front Camera Works Well. When I open Camera App, by default it Opens with Front Camera. Rear Camera Option is Not Found. (Front Camera works Perfectly Fine)

Even when i opened WhatsApp and Take a pic, only front camera is shown. No Button to switch To Rear Camera. (Front Camera works Perfectly Fine)

When i swipe Down the status Bar and try to switch on 'Flash Torch light'. it is not working.

In Stock Rom, Front and Rear Camera Works Fine even Flash Light Works Fine.

**Solutions Tried**

* https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71423852&postcount=112 Tried But Not Working (Both Solution not Working)
* Download libmmcamera2\_sensor\_modules.so from my github, override /system/vendor/lib/libmmcamera2\_sensor\_modules.so in your phone, take care file permission, then reboot your phone. Even This Is not Working
* Used Rom lineage-14.1-20180319-UNOFFICIAL-karate . Not working
* Used Validus\_Karate.zip still not working same Problem As above

**Device:**

Device : Lenovo K6 Note

Android Version : 7.1.2

Os : lineage-14.1-20180319-UNOFFICIAL-karate (Flashed Using TWRP)

Rooted : Yes

**Just a Doubt**

I downloaded 'karate' and there is a rom with name 'karateP' . I have a no idea what is it, Im a noob. Am i facing problem because of this ? I am Not sure.!

# Answer
u need to flash the rom named Karatep. the one you flashed in for k6 power. K6 Power(Karate) K6 Note (Karatep)

https://forum.xda-developers.com/k6-power/development/stable-unofficial-lineageos-lenovo-vibe-t3635064
> 1 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, camera, camera-flash
---


# Question
Title: How to install a custom ROM on a generic Chinese Android tablet?
My generic Chinese Android tablet has Android 5.1 pre-installed on it. Here is a link to the eBay page on where I bought it.

How can I install Android 6.0 onto it?

# Answer
I have the same Chinese tablet but on my tablet I have Android 4.1.1 Jellybean. So first you can see what is the type of the proccesor you have. Next step is to search a custom ROM for your tablet (a CyanogenMod is a good choice). But you need to root your tablet (Superuser is a good choice) and you need to install CWM. You can watch on YouTube step-by-step (you can watch and you will understand)
> 0 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms
---


# Question
Title: How to stop dialogs telling me to turn on the ability of Google apps to access my location?
This phone I have been using for years and flashing it with different ROMs, mostly CM. However, I think at the switch from CM 10.2 to CM11 it started giving me this insanely annoying message:

> In a previous version of android, you turned off the ability for Google apps to access your location. Turn it back on for all Google apps ?

Sometimes it just keeps throwing it to my face at every 5-10 seconds, making my device quite hard to use (as if it was not already).

The only options are "Not now" and "Yes". I have root, so, if anyone knows how to blast this nuisance away please let me know.

**Note**: Choosing "Yes" is not an option. Only options for me are either "No, never" (missing from the UI popup) or delete the Google bloatware from it altogether.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I believe that the text in the dialog has been changed with newer versions of Google Play Services, but it still pops up, annoyingly, if you disable WiFi scanning under location settings. I haven't personally tried this Xposed module, but I think that it accomplishes what you want (Deny Location Consent): http://repo.xposed.info/module/org.brainkiller.xposed.denylocationconsent

Note: Since you mentioned that you use CyanogenMod, I assume you have the ability to install Xposed if it isn't installed already.

---
Tags: google
---


# Question
Title: Samsung S7 hacked and running some FTP server?
I believe my Samsung S7 was hacked. It looks like an external server with Linux is running via my router's FTP server (Fritz!Box):

Screenshots (click images to enlarge)

The second screenshot is from the system protocol, the third from a detection app I had downloaded.

Please help!

# Answer
(Note: at the time this answer was written, only the first screenshot was present in the question post.)

Your screenshot shows details of some app you've selected. More specifically: it shows the permissions that app requested, as seen in the background. Obviously you've tapped one permission, so an explanation for that permission is shown. That permission is DUMP.

This permission is normally used during development, to retrieve detailed debugging information to narrow down errors – which is why it has the protection level "development" assigned. For such a permission to become effective, the ROM must be signed with a development key – a case a normal user with a "normal device" shouldn't encounter.

To answer your direct question: No, this is not a sign of being "hacked". Just a sign a (careless) developer forgot to clean up :)
> 0 votes

---
Tags: security
---


title: Why would an APK contain DLL files?

text:
# Question
Title: Why would an APK contain DLL files?
I used Archive Manager on Linux Mint to open the APK of a game made with Unity. To my surprise, inside the archive, there is a folder under the path `/assets/bin/Data/Managed/` that contains almost 10MB of DLL libraries.

The `file` command on Linux gives this output on the DLLs:

```
PE32 executable (DLL) (console) Intel 80386 Mono/.Net assembly, for MS Windows

```

As far as my understanding goes, those should only be useful on Windows running machines.

Why would anyone load 10MB of useless data in a 50MB APK? Am I missing something here and DLL libraries can in fact be used by Android?

# Answer
Izzy's guess is correct. Unity is based on Microsoft's .NET programming environment. A Unity game is written in C# and compiled to DLL files (the *portable executable* format, which is abbreviated to *PE32* in the output you included). Unity packages those files along with the game's assets (3D data, textures, videos, sounds, &c.) and the Mono runtime. Mono is an open-source runtime for software made in .NET: it loads the .NET DLL files and executes them.

DLL files can contain executable programs for Windows, or Windows icon files, or compiled .NET code (the .NET equivalent of Java `.class` files). In a Unity game, it's the last of these options.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: apk
---


# Question
Title: Phone answer or hangs up when it rings and I take the phone out of my pocket
When the phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket, most of the time it either hangs up or answers the call. I don't touch any buttons with my fingers. Sometimes it does this even before I start to take it out of my pocket. This is not in bluetooth mode. Phone is set to stay locked until I swipe the pattern or use fingerprint. Ideally I want the phone to only answer when I explicitly tell it to do so.

Model SM-G930V Android version 7.0

# Answer
Ok, I dug a little deeper and read the user guide/manual for your phone. It might be some settings that are enabled in the accessibility settings, called Single Tap mode. Here is the link to the user guide. I included a screenshot of that section and added the text too.

> When an alarm sounds or a call comes in, tap the button to stop the alarm or answer the call instead of dragging the button.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility, and then tap the Single tap mode switch to activate it.

> Change the method of answering or ending calls.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility → Answering and ending calls. Select the desired method.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 7.0-nougat, calls
---


# Question
Title: How can I remove these apps from my device?
I am trying to remove the Facebook and Messenger apps from my Asus Zenphone Laser 2.

Unfortunately, in both cases, I seem to be unable to find the option to fully delete them from the device. I have disabled them, but the app management screen now shows the following:

How can I fully delete/uninstall them?

# Answer
> 4 votes
You can't remove those apps from firmware without root but you can uninstall any system app for current user or any user using ADB.

Assuming ADB is installed and PATH is set if not you can do it with a simple internet search.

Steps:

1. Obtain package name for app you want to remove.
2. Open Terminal/Command Prompt
3. Make sure device is connected by running `adb devices -l`
4. Run `adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 <package name>`
5. Done

Package Name

Facebook: `com.facebook.katana`

Messenger: `com.facebook.orca`

---

## Proof of Concept

After some discussion in the comments I'm adding an example here that worked for me. I have uninstall Google Keyboard from my device for current user using command `adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.inputmethod.latin`

Before and after uninstalling (click images to enlarge)

# Answer
> 2 votes
You cannot uninstall them as they are system apps. But if you can root your device then you can permanently uninstall them and all other bloatwares. You can root your device by installing Magisk (Magisk-XDA-portal) remember to read the post thoroughly before installing it!

---
Tags: facebook, facebook-messenger, asus-zenfone-2
---


# Question
Title: Why do so many apps use location permissions on a near-constant basis?
I have an Android 5.1 device with App Permission Manager on, in order to stop apps from using permissions they don't need. Recently, I have noticed that many apps are trying to obtain my location when I don't need them to. For example, some apps attempt to get my location 3 times in a row on launching then, every 10 seconds while it is being used, or even every 7 seconds, even when the app has not been launched on my device - ever. Because I have blocked most apps from using my location, I now have a near-constant amount of toast notifications that read:

```
 (app name) has been denied to obtain your current location.

```

Why do they need my location so much? I would say it is for analytics reasons, but if that was the case, it should ask to get my location once per hour or once per day (not multiple times per minute).

# Answer
Location details are not only used by analytics, but also by advertisements (think of localized ads). Unfortunately, many of those ad/analytics modules are "mal-behaving" and use those details for "profiling" as well.

For some closer details, I've collected information on my Android site:
> 0 votes

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Tags: permissions, privacy, geolocation
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# Question
Title: Speech recognition is not underlining and providing alternate interpretations
I just broke my Droid Turbo and replaced it with another of the same model. On both phones I was/am using Android 6.0.1. On my old phone, whenever I used speech recognition, some of the words would be underlined. Whenever I clicked one of these underlined words, a list of other possible interpretations would come up. This was extremely helpful for correcting mistakes on the fly. However, on my new phone, this capability seems to be somehow disabled. I'm not sure if it's a setting or something, but it seems odd that I should have the same phone, backed up the way it was before to the best of my knowledge, but behaving differently. Any ideas on what can I do to get this function back? I tried searching for a solution, but it's a bit difficult when I have no idea what this functionality is officially called.....

# Answer
> 0 votes
While it's unclear if you asking as development perspective or for using only. Knowing about the app /more information could be useful. Here's a few information for you: If development - yes, Google voice recognition returns more than one match. I think development is not reflected on question.

If app is showing only the first one/ result only then please check if it has the functionality to enable such feature(other results).

Thanks.

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Tags: voice-recognition
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# Question
Title: Android system takes too much data usage
Checking through Glasswire application, Android system has the highest data usage everyday on my Android. I only used my phone for tethering to my laptop and it don't take that much of data (My laptop only has Glasswire apps so I can check).

I have searched through the internet and most of them said you should restrict background data. However, if I set it, I won't receive notification from my instant messaging app.

Also, it seems weird that the upload data usage take more than 100 MB. I realize I even didn't upload too much things.

Are there any solution?

# Answer
# Android System data usage

When you use tether your Smartphone and your PC the I assume that those data will be accumulated in the "Android System" entry - or did you encounter a separate entry in the Android network usage list?

On your PC you should check if the tethered network connection is marked as cellular / metered connection network connection (Windows).

# Background data user

You can restrict the background data usage for ever app separately. Therefore you can spare the apps where you want/need background data.
> 0 votes

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Tags: applications, system, operating-system, background-data
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