# Question
Title: What's the difference between Data and Internal Storage?
I came across installing ROMs, but I can't install it because I need to wipe some things ...

It told me to wipe / do a factory reset ...

Then, when I go to the Wipe Section of the TWRP Recovery, clicked on Advanced Wipe, I noticed that there is Data, and there is Internal Storage.

Here's a picture of that: *(from androidtipsandhacks)*

TWRP told me that `Data, Cache, and Dalvik` is the only wipe that I need.

Will wiping Data remove my apps, music, photos, videos, and app data?

---

# Answer:

### Data

`Data` is your user apps (installed from Google Play Store, or with an \*.) and its app data. It is stored on `/data`.

* Your user apps is stored on `/data/app`.
* Your apps' data is stored on `/data/data`.

**NOTE**: *You must be rooted to see the contents on `/data/ ...`*

Therefore, if you wipe your data, it might also delete your user apps, and its app data, but **excluding your music, photos, videos, etc.**

### Internal Storage

On the other hand, `Internal Storage` is actually the storage where your other data are saved, such as music, photos, videos, **other app data**, downloads, etc., and is usually stored on `/storage` or `/sdcard`.

**NOTE**: *`/sdcard` is different from your external SD Card.*

* Music is saved on `/sdcard/Music`.
* Photos are saved on `/sdcard/DCIM`.
* Videos are saved on `/sdcard/Videos`.
* Other app data are saved on `/sdcard/ (App Folder)`.
    + Other apps choose to store their app data on `/sdcard/ ...`, such as Minecraft: `/sdcard/games`.
* Downloads are saved on `/sdcard/Downloads`, and can be easily found if you have the Downloads app.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Two relevant aspects before answering your specific questions :

* You are planning to install a new ROM
* The device is going to be with you so you are not bothered about wiping all personal traces ( like you would be if you are planning to sell)
* See What should I wipe in TWRP? from official TWRP help . That would take care of your needs for installing a new ROM

> If you are switching ROMs (changing from one ROM to a completely different one) then you should perform a **factory reset**. A factory reset wipes data and cache (which includes dalvik cache). A factory reset will also wipe sd-ext and android\_secure if your device has those items. 99% of the time, this is all that you need to wipe and you only need to do it once, not three times as some people would lead you to believe.

(Emphasis supplied)

is equivalent to Wipe `data,cache, dalvik`. It will **not** remove your pictures . See Firelord's answer which has other useful references as well

> ...Factory Reset would remove everything under /data (excluding /data/media which serves as emulated storage available through /sdcard as internal SD card)...

* > What's the difference between Data and Internal Storage?

Data is what is contained in the `/ data`partition. Internal storage world refer to the **entire device** directory structure and what is contained in them as well

> ....you may have options for wiping internal storage, external storage, sd-ext, android\_secure, and/or an option for formatting data. There's almost **no reason that you would ever need to use these items....**

(Emphasis Supplied)

# Answer
> 3 votes
The existing two answers are nice, but there are two things which are not quite correct in how TWRP handles and calls the different wiping options.

1. > \[This statement is **wrong**\]: "Internal storage world \[sic\] refer to the entire device directory structure and what is contained in them as well."

Instead, the term "Internal storage" as used by TWRP refers to `/data/media`.

2. > \[This one is also **incorrect**\]: "On the other hand, Internal Storage is actually the storage where your other data are saved, such as music, photos, videos, other app data, downloads, etc., and is usually stored on `/storage` or `/sdcard`."

More correctly, "Internal storage" is actually stored at `/data/media` (indeed it is usually mounted at something like `/storage/emulated/...` and `/sdcard` as well).

Source: https://twrp.me/faq/datamedia.html

---
Tags: internal-storage, rom-flashing, twrp
---


# Question
Title: LineageOS update files not present in /data/lineageos_updates since 27th April 2018
Since the update from 20th April 2018, I can't find the LineageOS update in the current path which is `/data/lineageos_updates` . When I download the latest update (27th April 2018) and reboot in TWRP, there is no corresponding update file in the folder. After a reboot, the updater in the settings show me that this update isn't downloaded - altouth it did before the reboot.

Comments say that they found the update in `/LineageOS updates/` (internal storage) but on the Samsung Galaxy S4 it doesn't contain the latest update. Only a outdated version of February. No idea, how those old update got there. I didn't ever now that those folder exist. I only know `/data/linageos_updates` as current update location store and `/data/data/org.lineageos.updater/app_updates` for older updates before August 31st, 2017.

So in the current situation, I'm not able to update LineageOS on this Galaxy S4 directly. I want to avoid downloading the update from a PC and moving it to the device since it's not mine and the owner is a non-technical user.

# Answer
I'm not aware of the causing issue, but have found a workaround for fixing: I downloaded all avaliable updates (the owner last updated in March) and bootet TWRP. Now I searched for the last update that I found in `/data/lineageos_updates` and installed it.

In my case, it was from 10th of April. This update seems to be something special: The updater say it's from 10th of April, where the LineageOS download page list it as 11th of April. I installed the update and every single following update by hand. This worked and made them visible in the expected `/data/lineageos_update` path.

Don't know what's the reason for this. I assume that some changes were made on the update process in one of those update (maybe the one from 11th of April or another one) and those changes weren't included properly in the following updates. But at least those steps are a workaround, when you're not able to install the latest LineageOS update any more.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: updates, samsung-galaxy-s-4, lineageos
---


title: How to be invisible on whatsapp?

text:
# Question
Title: How to be invisible on whatsapp?
It’s related to a specific user and a specific group.

I don’t want to block that user and don’t want to quite that group.

Whenever that user send me a content (text, image or video) or whenever anyone share a content in a group; I want to see all contents but I do not want them (a specific user and members of group) to know that the contents have been delivered to me and I have seen the contents.

Also, if I am online, I do not want them (a specific user and a specific group members) to know that I am online.

Please let me know.

What settings are required for both?

Regards

Smith

# Answer
There are apps that get around the limitations you mentioned, and they're able to retrieve the messages without you opening WhatsApp.

There are many similar apps on the play store, one of them is called private read for WhatsApp it displays the messages and media in it's own app without you having to open WhatsApp, this way you can view the content without the other person knowing. I've never tried the app, and so I cannot vouch for it's accuracy.

As for hiding the fact that you are online while using Whatsapp, you should first disable your *last seen* from WhatsApp settings, and then, every time you want to open WhatsApp, you should put your phone into *airplane mode*. That way no-one will be able to see that you're online. (The messages will be sent after you exit WhatsApp, and go out of airplane mode)
> 2 votes

# Answer
You can become practically invisible to all, from both sides, by executing the following steps.

* Disable the read receipts
* Disable the Last seen

If you want even more security, Download Whatsapp Business edition. Its got even more high ended privacy settings and analysis as well.
> 1 votes

# Answer
You can't be 100% invisible on WhatsApp since online status has a default settings which you can't change at all. However there are ways to improve your invisibility.

1. Set your last seen to nobody.
2. Set your status to "Only Share with". (Add one or a few people)
3. Block contacts that you don't want to talk temporarily.
4. Disable read receipts
5. Set your profile picture to nobody.

These will improve your invisibility on the application. You can also do the plane mode trick to read messages if you don't want others to see you have received messages from them.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: Override Google+ profile picture for my contacts
I have a contact with a Google+ account. Whenever I search her for Hangouts or call, I get the picture from her Google+ account.

It does not matter if I go to google.com/contacts and I set up a new image. I will still keep seeing their Google+ image.

Is there any way to override it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I had a similar issue on my phone, and this has worked now with 2 contacts with caveats described below:

**Please note: I'm verifying this with contacts that definitely have Google+ profiles and are synced to my Google account.**

1. Select the contact (either from within Hangouts or via the Contacts app)
2. Choose the Pencil Icon to `edit` the contact.
3. Add a new picture.
4. Delete any extraneous fields that include things like `Facebook link` or `Profile link` or `Google+ Profile`, or any field with any sort of web address link

Now, on a computer through a web browswer

5. Navigate to contacts.google.com and find your contact
6. Edit the contact again, **again** removing any links to profiles and such
7. Save and exit

Upon returning to Hangouts (and Messenger, etc.) the contact pictures should be changed on your phone. **Strangely, this photo edit will only take place on the phone, and not on the Google Contacts website. Conversely, changes made on the website seem not to affect photos you've changed on your device.**

---
Tags: contacts, google-plus, profiles, contact-photo
---


# Question
Title: USB debugging permission alerts stopped although USB Debugging is enabled on android 4.4.2
I was able to connect my android mobile to my computer as I enabled USB debugging from the developer options. I used to receive the USB debugging permission alert and from there I switch from charging to file transfer.

All of a sudden and while my device is having a low space problem, the USB debugging permission alert stopped appear when I connect it to my PC. That means I can not connect him to my PC as I can not give the permission as the default is charging. I tried two different PCs (Ubuntu based, and Windows 10 based) with no luck as well as two different cables. I used another android phone with the same cable and to the same PC and it connects OK.

My mobile has an Android version of 4.4.2 and updates stopped a while ago. My other mobile (Android 7.0) is connecting with no problem. I connected several times before from this mobile with no issue.

I tried to restart the mobile and switch off and on the USB debugging option with no luck. I am trying to connect it to my computer to take some backup and free some space.

**Here is the information of my mobile:**

1. Huawei Honor 4C CHM-U1
2. Memory at the current time: 391 MB Free 8 GB total
3. Android version of 4.4.2

Can any body help me how to fix this?

# Answer
It was a hardware problem. When I pushed the cable hard into the port, it connected. I will need to fix the port. Thanks for the support.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: usb-debugging
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to run an app twice side by side on the MIUI?
It is said that with MIUI, it is possible to run the same app twice as if they are on two different phones. (example: WeChat or Line running with a work account and one running with a personal account).

Is it possible to run the same app twice, and side by side on an Xiaomi Redmi 4X with MIUI 8? Or is it only possible to show them one at a time?

If it is only possible to show one at a time, you can't really play some games such as Pokemon Go and do the Raid Battle at the same time using both accounts (since you have to switch screen to one at a time and therefore not play at the same time).

And if it is possible side by side, can it be vertically or horizontally split on the screen, but won't the 2 apps be really small and make it not practical to play at the same time?

Could some screenshot / YouTube video be posted if you are possible to make it happen?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can't play the same game simultaneously, while gaming the active window only will be active in split-screen mode (see the example below), but you can play while you're watching Youtube, because gaming isn't like watching or listening.

> * Your device has a **1.4GHz octa-core** and **2GB**, it's not a high end device where you can run resource consuming apps twice, your chances of getting things up and running are low.
> * The app cloning feature is good for WeChat,Line and other chat apps but not for gaming apps where your **5" device** is not enough to run two instances in a split screen.
> * The following solution is almost for every Android Device with high end specs:

# 1. Force activities to be resizable

To force apps that doesn't support split screen feature, you have to enable this option from Developer Settings:

* Goto Developer Options.
* Scroll down and until "Force activities to be resizable" and activate it.
* Restart your device.

Now, you can use split-screen with any app, even if it doesn't support split screen feature.

# 2. Install Parallel Space & Parallel Space - 64Bit Support

> **Note:** Parallel Space has **access to many dangerous permissions**

* Launch Parallel Space and choose the apps you want to clone.
* Launch the cloned instance of your app.
* Tap & maintain on recents button to split the screen.
* Launch the same app from your recents or from your home screen.

# 3. Example: Two instances of Clash Royale

In the picture below I'm Playing **Clash Royale** and **Clash of Clans** (by default they don't support split-screen feature) **in split-screen but not simultaneously**.

# Answer
> 0 votes
On MIUI, you can play both game simultaneously since they don't use the native splitscreen made by Google.

On MIUI installed on Nougat or Oreo, you don't need to install parallel space since it's native in MIUI but you still need to force activities to be resizable.

---
Tags: miui, multitasking
---


title: What notification icon is this fish?

text:
# Question
Title: What notification icon is this fish?
This is on an S7 Edge. I do not have this phone in my possession. This is from a screen shot of a text they sent. This "fish" icon was in the notification bar at the top left. I have searched in reverse image and cannot get an app name. Does anyone recognize this icon?

Thank you

# Answer
> 1 votes
It's a game notification from Fishdom

# Answer
> 1 votes
By clicking on the notification (icon) you should always get a popup to the app which pinned the message!

And if you pressing/ holding the icon long you can select the app-info for more details!

If missed to clicking the app or you accidently swiped away use the Andorid-Notification-Log

---
Tags: applications, notification-icons
---


# Question
Title: Honor 4x recovery menu and factory reset not work
i need help with this strange problem, i want update my phone to android 6.0 but when i start local update phone reboot and freeze on Honor logo, when i try factory reset or reboot to stock recovery menu - its same, again only Honor logo. Bootloader work ok, its unlocked, phone rooted, but when i for example try flash twrp recovery - fastboot send me "Failed...command not allowed"...Cant access recovery menu by fastboot, any app in phone and by keys combination too..also vol up, vol down and power for update from sd card not work, trying to seek for solutions to more than 2 weeks, can anybody here help me please?Thx.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Os installation in huawei Honor 4x

Unzip the os zip and copy the dload directory to sdcard. press volume up + power key to switch to EMUI screen then install OS through sd card. OR Press volume up and down key + power key until phone turns on then leave power key and hold volume up and down key until it show Huawei software installing.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Solved!!! I also face same issue.Try with EDL mode. Download corresponding firmware extract it. you see the dload folder copy the folder to sd card. power off mobile and press all the 3keys(power,Volume up,Volume down). It boot into Emergency downloadmode. Firmware link: http://www.stechguide.com/download-honor-4x-marshmallow-firmware/

---
Tags: recovery-mode
---


# Question
Title: Mount Galaxy A5 (2017) on Ubuntu via MTP
I have been reading numerous articles on this, but nothing seems to work for me. I have a Galaxy A5 (2017) running on Android 6.0.1. When I plug it into my Ubuntu 14.04 laptop, the phone is recognised and I can browse the folders and see files. However, I cannot open any of the files, nor can I copy anything to the phone.

When I first plug it in, this is the `dmesg` output:

```
[ 2168.258890] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 2168.276856] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=04e8, idProduct=6860
[ 2168.276860] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2168.276862] usb 2-1: Product: SAMSUNG_Android
[ 2168.276863] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
[ 2168.276864] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: d31e7ed99d31e7ed

```

At this point, "SAMSUNG Android" shows up in Nautilus, with nothing in it. The phone then asks me if I want to allow the connection, which I do. Then `dmesg` displays the following additional output:

```
[ 2190.116385] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 9
[ 2190.417923] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 10 using xhci_hcd
[ 2190.434886] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=04e8, idProduct=6860
[ 2190.434891] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2190.434894] usb 2-1: Product: SAMSUNG_Android
[ 2190.434897] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
[ 2190.434899] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: d31e7ed99d31e7ed

```

Another Nautilus window pops up and the contents of the SAMSUNG Android device now contain "Phone". When I open that, it displays the directory structure. Like I said, I can browse through it, but not actually read the files or copy anything to it.

The "Use USB for" setting on the phone is set to "Transferring media files"; "Transfer media files to a PC via an MTP connection.".

When I change this to "Transferring images"; "Transfer images and other files via a PTP connection if MTP is not supported.", then I can open images on the phone, but I am restricted to only directories containing images.

Any ideas?

# Answer
For users who were out of luck with mtpfs, jmtpfs, go-mtpfs or any other libraries which depend on libmtp; try **android-file-transfer**.

It does not depend on libmtp and is thus free from inherent bugs, is the most up-to-date MTP library I have seen on GitHub (as of May 2018), and also can be used with FUSE, although I personally recommend to use its own Qt-based GUI to avoid possible FUSE back-front interaction bugs.

Just make sure you DO NOT open your MTP device using any default mechanisms provided by your Linux distro, e.g. clicking on Open when the device-connected notification pops up!

Read about MTP on Linux: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MTP
> 0 votes

---
Tags: linux, mount, mtp, samsung-galaxy-a5
---


# Question
Title: What are my options for connecting my Android to Ubuntu?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 running rooted Jelly Bean 4.1.2. My computer is running Ubuntu 12.10.

Before, in Android 4.0, I simply plugged the USB in, and a notification would pop up, and I was offered a button to Turn on USB storage, and then my 12GB internal SD card and 16GB external SD card were both mounted as external drives. Nice and easy.

Now, to get the same thing, to connect my Android as a mass storage device, before I connect the USB cable, I have to go to Settings -\> More Settings -\> USB utilities and press Connect storage to PC, then plug in the cable, *then* press Turn on USB storage. It's a hassle and a half.

If I don't do it this way, when I connect the USB, it tries to connect with MTP. Which causes this error:

```
Unable to mount SAMSUNG_Android
Error initializing camera: -60: Could not lock the device

```

If I switch the connection mode to PTP, I get two devices, both called SAMSUNG\_Android, only one of which (12GB internal) actually ever displays the contents. The other hangs.

In either case, MTP or PTP, if I have Banshee running when I connect my Android, it causes Banshee to crash. I use Banshee to sync my music collection.

The short story being that currently, connecting my Android to my computer is either complicated or doesn't work very well.

I've been told that USB mass storage is being deprecated, and MTP is the standard going forward. At the end of the day, I don't care if it's MTP, PTP, or mass storage that's used to connect my device. All I care is that it's as easy as it used to be. Plug it in, press a button, both drives are mounted and usable like any other drive.

How do I get this ease of function when connecting my Android to my USB.

# Answer
> 1 votes
A developer on the XDA forums provided a script that changes the default behaviour so that connecting by USB mass storage is the default behaviour:

```
#!/system/bin/sh
setprop persist.sys.usb.config mass_storage,adb

```

I had to use a file manager app that gave me access to the root directory, I placed the script in `/system/etc/init.d/`, changed the script's permissions to `rwxr-xr-x`, and then rebooted the phone.

Now I have the full functionality and ease of use I hoped for. I'll probably eventually have to use to something like MTP or whatever, but hopefully in the meantime while proper support is developed by all relevant parties, I won't have to suffer.

# Answer
> 1 votes
With the problems I had with different devices and versions of Android, I found that the most effective and the easiest way to access files on my device is to use AirDroid. Although this will not mount the Android device as a file system, but will allow an easy file transfer. All you need is a wireless connection of your phone to your local network. Once AirDroid is started, you get a web interface that you can access from your desktop computer's browser, using the port 8888. AirDroid is a free application on the Play Store and received great scores so far from everyone.

# Answer
> 0 votes
For users who were out of luck with mtpfs, jmtpfs, go-mtpfs or any other libraries which depend on libmtp; try **android-file-transfer**.

It does not depend on libmtp and thus free from inherent bugs, is the most up-to-date mtp library I have seen on github (as of May 2018), and also can be used with FUSE, although I personally recommend to use its own Qt based GUI to avoid possible FUSE back-front interaction bugs.

Just make sure you DO NOT open your MTP device using any default mechanisms provided by your linux distro, e.g. clicking on Open when the device-connected notification pops up!

github: https://github.com/whoozle/android-file-transfer-linux

PPA: https://launchpad.net/~samoilov-lex/+archive/ubuntu/aftl-stable

Read about MTP on linux: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MTP

P.S.: I'm only a user of the this application.

---
Tags: usb, linux, usb-connection-mode, mtp
---


title: retriving my contacts

text:
# Question
Title: retriving my contacts
I restored my phone sonny xperia E5 to factory settings then after I sinned in with my google account but I am unable to synchronize my contacts please help me my contacts are saved in google account

# Answer
Hi and thanks for your question on

# How to Retrieve Lost Contacts from Google

I hope this screenshot I grabbed from Google will help you:

And here's a written summary of the steps:

- Go to your device settings and choose 'Google'.
- Under 'Services,' select 'Restore Contacts' (tap 'From Account' if you have more than one account and need to specify which you want to restore)
- Then tap the device with the contacts to copy and select which contacts specifically you would like to copy
- Lastly just hit "Restore" and wait til you see the "Contacts Restored!" message. These will sync automatically.

For contacts in other apps like Outlook, you will need to re-download those apps and follow their procedures.

Again, I hope this helps! Have a great day!
> -1 votes

---
Tags: contacts
---


title: Wifi Authentication Problem on Android

text:
# Question
Title: Wifi Authentication Problem on Android
I am not sure if this is really an Android problem, but I have reasons to believe so. Please let me know if not.

I am trying to connect to a WiFi network. This network redirects me to an authentication page (in the HTML viewer). This worked perfectly fine until a few days ago. Now, in the HTML viewer, after I authenticate it just shows `ERR_CONNECTION_RESET`. I thought it could be a problem with the HTML viewer, so I turned to Google Chrome for authentication. This worked at first. But now, even Chrome throws an error `405 Method not allowed`.

I think the problem could be the Android device, because I am able to connect to the WiFi with my laptop, which runs on Ubuntu. But, I am not really sure.

Any suggestions or solutions to solve or diagnose this?

My Android version is 6.0.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I solved this by installing another browser on Android. I tried firefox, same problem, with Brave it worked.

I have the same problem too, and it appeared about 10 days ago too. Maybe a security update from Chrome ? I have Huawei P8 Lite (ALE-L21) Latest Chrome app Android 6.0.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Been having a similar issue for the last one week...couldn't connect to my company's guest wi-fi. Called helpdesk and they connected with Cisco. Apparently, there is a bug with the latest Andriod Chrome browser that has caused this. You need to login with a browser that isn't Chrome or Firefox.

I installed Brave browser as per Nicolas Piquerez's suggestion and that resolved it for me too.

---
Tags: wi-fi
---


# Question
Title: Can I transfer my sms messages from my old phone to my new phone WITHOUT using any third party software?
The only answers I have been able to find want me to download third party software. It is NOT an acceptable solution to expose all of my SMS history to a third party. Maybe there's an open source solution?

# Answer
> 1 votes
# With root

If you're rooted or willing to root, you can check out this method: Where on the file system are SMS messages stored?

**Note:** If you're transferring between different versions of Android, or even ROMs, I would check if the SMS format is the same.

# Third party app

**Note:** You can use a well reviewed and popular third party app from play store (bonus if it's an editors choice), and after installing it (before even opening) - move to flight mode, backup locally, remove the app and transfer to your computer or other phone.

---
Tags: sync
---


# Question
Title: Getting "???" and no permissions when using 'adb devices' on Linux
I am new to Android and ADB. This is my first time trying to install Linux on an Android device. I have been stepping though this tutorial. I am at step 5, where the tutorial claims I will need to authorize USB debugging connections. I'm not sure it is accurate, when I booted, the device simply informed me that there was a USB connection.

So then, I gave the Linux command:

```
~$ adb devices
List of devices attached
????????????    no permissions

```

So then I thought it might be a Linux permissions issue, and gave it `sudo`, but I still get the same gibberish.

```
~$ adb devices
List of devices attached
????????????    no permissions

```

when I unplug the device, and run the command `adb devices` nothing shows up... a blank line. So it would seem ADB is detecting something.

What is this output telling me? How might I get my device recognized? Are there any additional settings I should enable for this to work? This Android device, is an Nextbook Ares 11.

# Answer
On your device, Go to Settings \> About Device and repeatedly tap "Build Number" until it says you're a developer. Then go back to Settings and into Developer Options. Turn it on and check the box for USB debugging. Then Revoke USB debugging authorisations.
Now, connect your device, install its drivers if you haven't and type any ADB command. A message will popup on your device asking for authorization. Click Allow. Once you have done that, when you type `adb devices` it should say `<device_id> device`
> 2 votes

# Answer
Changing the USB Mode in phone did the trick for me. (I set it to File Transfer)
> 3 votes

# Answer
There are a number of reasons this can happen, most can be solved by following instructions of the official guide:

1. You didn't enabled USB Debug in your device (do it, see guide above / other answer)
2. Your device is USB Mode, try changing it (a notification pop up / you find a menu in the developer setting)
3. You miss the permission on the device on your Linux system: I explain what to do in this case

Whatever you do **DO NOT** launch `adb start-server` with `sudo` (some guide / answer on stack overflow suggest this). This is bad! It works cause you run the adb server as root (administrator) but this isn't supposed to run like that and could cause you other issues later.

Firt of all if you are in Ubuntu / debian check if a package named `android-tools-adb` is available and install it:

```
sudo apt install android-tools-adb

```

this install a community managed list of permission for android devices (unplug / replug the device or try to reboot).

Make sure you are in the udev `plugdev` group:

```
groups

```

if the `plugdev` is not listed add yourself:

```
sudo usermod -aG plugdev $LOGNAME
sudo usermod -aG plugdev $USER

```

you may have to logout and re-log in for the change to take effect, check again with `groups` command.

Some devices are not on the list, for example I've a Pixel 2 device which is not listed in the community maintained module. **If you still get no permission** this is what you have to do:

**Step 1**: plug your device in

**Step 1**: Check it is detected by your PC:

```
$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 8087:07da Intel Corp.
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 18d1:4ee7 Google Inc. <----------
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 8087:0024 Intel Corp. Integrated Rate Matching Hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub

```

**Step 3**: note down the two codes you see after ID

In my example the device is the one named *Google Inc.*, and the codes are `18d1:4ee7`, the first is the vendor ID, the second is the device model ID, these are for Google Pixel 2

**Step 4**: write an `udev` rule for your device

```
sudo gedit /etc/udev/rules.d/70-android-custom-device.rules

```

inside it write this:

```
# GOOGLE PIXEL 2
ACTION=="add|change", SUBSYSTEM=="usb", \
  ATTRS{idVendor}=="18d1", \
  ATTRS{idProduct}=="4ee7", \
  TAG+="uaccess"

```

Raplace your comment (*GOOGLE PIXEL 2*) with the name of the device, this is ignored by udev, it's only useful for an human reading the file (the `#` is a comment). Then change the code for `idVendor` and `idProduct` with the codes for your devices.

If you have multiple devices with the same vendor you can list them all separating them with a pipe `|`, example: `ATTRS{idProduct}=="d001|4ee7"`

**Step 5**: restart udev to make your changes be read

```
sudo service udev restart

```

**Step 6**: unplug / replug your device

it should now have the permissions
> 2 votes

---
Tags: adb, linux
---


# Question
Title: How to change key signature on Google account manager 5.1 apk to match Google account manager 7.1 using lucky patcher
Can't install old version of apk Google account manager 5.1 cause it says file is corrupt or file exists under same name...solution lies in giving the old version of Google account manager 5.1 the same key signature as the already been Google account manager 7.1....how do I change the signature using lucky patcher?

# Answer
> 0 votes
> how do I change the signature using lucky patcher?

You can't. Apps on Android are signed using a private key. The signature is computed from the private key and the contents of the APK file. You can't copy a signature from one app to another: if you could, there would be no point having a signature.

To make the signatures match, the same person who built the APK file you already have installed must build the new APK file, and sign it using the same private key. In your case, that's probably the author of the custom ROM. That's the process the SO question you linked is talking about.

---
Tags: google
---


# Question
Title: How do I restore the microphone button on my Galaxy keyboard
The little microphone icon disappeared from my Galaxy 3 keyboard a couple of weeks ago, and the mic icon does not appear as an option when you hold that button on the keyboard. All of the other options are still there but the mic button is completely gone. It doesn't show up on the keyboard in any programs.

S-voice still works. However, when I try to use the voice input option in Google Maps, it crashes as soon as I touch the mic icon. When I open a browser window and try to use the voice input option, when I touch the mic icon, it says Google Voice Search is busy, or need better connection (it does this everywhere so it's not a bad connection problem).

Help!

# Answer
Did you by any chance disable the Google App in your application manager? To find out go to settings\>application manager then swipe over past "running apps", "all apps" options until you see a list of "disabled" (or "turned off" on some devices) apps. Look to see if the Google App is deactivated. If it is, click on it and press 'turn on'.

I disabled my Google app a while back because it was using a lot of data in the background and I never use that app. It took me a few days to figure out why my voice input no longer worked because I don't use it that often. Apparently though, the voice input function is routed through the Google app, so disabling it will make it unavailable.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Enable Google Voice Typing input in phone settings. if its not there or disabled - install/ enable google voice search app.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Restore microphone on keyboard....settings...apps...application manager... your text message appp.. turn on microphone. Done!
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, microphone, voice-recognition
---


# Question
Title: Tasker, how to append a string to a variable
Tasker is making this simple task complicated.

I am doing a "Send Intent" action within a task and I need the extra 1 and extra 2 to be a string concatenated to a number variable concatenated to another string.

In most languages it'd be something like

```
extra1 = "str1:" + integer + "str2"

```

It'd be easier if there were spaces between the strings; it'd just be `str1 %integer str2`, but there are no spaces to separate things out.

How do I accomplish this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Set a new variable with `To` field as `%var1%var2%anyvarname`

---
Tags: tasker
---


# Question
Title: Why do apps like WhatsApp, Facebook run background services in android even though their apps on iOS without backgroung services
What is the reason for apps like WhatsApp running background services in andrioid even though in iOS they work smoothly without any background service

# Answer
Because they can.

In Android you can create background services and do a lot with them, whereas in iOS Apple does not allow you to do this. Both use push notifications to get your new messages when the app is closed, so the main functionality of the app works fine regardless, however the apps may be doing more processing or monitoring, or whatever Facebook wants it to do in the background while you're not using it.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, whatsapp-messenger, push-notifications, background-data
---


# Question
Title: How can I change the default browser on Xiaomi Mi Max phones?
How can I setup in my phone (Android 7 mimax 2) in way that every link or pop-up will be opened by chrome. In the past I was able to choose how to open. Now the called "browser" browser only does it

# Answer
**MIUI 9**

Go to Settings-\> Installed Apps. On top you have three dots, tap on that three dots will pop up a menu, select `Default app`. Under browser part, set Chrome as default. After this operation, every link you open will be loaded in Chrome browser.

**MIUI 8**

Go to installed apps as described above. While when you are in Installed apps, you can see an icon written with Defaults. Tap on it, and set required.

Note: MIUI is the user interface of Xiaomi devices. MIUI 9 is the latest now.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: chrome-for-android, default-applications, xiaomi
---


# Question
Title: "Software installation failed" error when booting up
I got stuck at Huawei Logo and it won't start, then I followed this instruction

> Download the same build you had before getting stucked or newer one, Extract it and transfer "dload" folder to the root of FAT32 MicroSD, Put the SD in the phone, Hold Vol+ and Vol- with Power button to boot into Upgrading mode

Then when the installation shows up it automatically says "Software Installation Failed". How to fix this problem? I found that some say that it must upgrade a transfer package provided by R&D, and I don't know how to update it. I'm stuck in Huawei logo.

# Answer
This procedure should work:

1. copy the `dload` folder(should contain `update.app` package provided by Huawei R&D) in MicroSD card (root folder) and insert the MicroSD card in your phone.
2. Turn off the phone by removing battery or pressing `power` button longer than 10 sec.
3. Boot the device in recovery mode by pressing `power` \+ `volume up` key.
4. once it is booted in recovery, select "upgrade using external storage" using `volume up`, `down` and `power` key
5. navigate to `update.app` package and press `power` button.

It will start the installation process and your phone should work after upgrade.
> 0 votes

# Answer
It's a MicroSD card compatibility issue. Don't worry, your device is fine. The problem is with the MicroSD card you are using. Try an 8GB original card. Twinmos / Sandisk / etc.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: updates, installation, boot-loop, huawei
---


# Question
Title: Does a broken screen affect the resolution of an android device?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which screen was recently broken. I am trying to use the phone with a third party app on my PC. I tried vysor but the screen resolution is terrible. I also tried the Connect app in windows 10 and I am facing the same problem again. Here are photos of what I mean:

**Connect app screen**

**Vysor Screen**

Is there anyway I can go around the issue?

# Answer
I'm a big fan of Vysor, especially for texting with my keyboard. Have you tried messing around in the resolution settings? Click the gear icon in the upper right hand corner of your Vysor screenshot to see this menu:

There could also be some strange stuff going on with your device. You need to enable USB Debugging from the Developer Options on your Android, which might be tricky if your phone screen is completely broken and unusable. Here's a HowToGeek link on getting it enabled.

Finally, Windows users need to download some special drivers to get it to work. Download link: http://download.clockworkmod.com/test/UniversalAdbDriverSetup.msi

All of this info comes from the Vysor page on the Play Store, and some quick Googling.

If you've tried all of this without any luck, we'll need more info about how broken your screen is to help further.

EDIT: I don't have enough reputation to comment below, but I can respond here. How exactly is your screen broken? Is it merely cracked, or is it totally unusable?
> 1 votes

---
Tags: screen
---


title: What is USB BICR function in android?

text:
# Question
Title: What is USB BICR function in android?
In the `build.prop` file I found an entry commented "Enable USB BICR function" (`ro.sys.usb.bicr`). I searched in Internet, but I did not find anything useful. Maybe you know?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I found some hints in the MediaTek (MTK) kernel sources.

There is no description but with a bit of guessing it seems that this option allows you to present a virtual USB CD-ROM when connected via USB to a PC. Often this is used for providing specific drivers that are required for accessing special functionality of the device. The virtual CD is present on the Android device in form of a ISO-image.

From my understanding this option is only relevant for developers creating a custom ROM.

---
Tags: settings, usb, stock-android
---


# Question
Title: Why does this character ⚫ crash Whatsapp?
I received a WhatsApp forward that reads:

> If you touch theblack point then your whatsapp will hang
>
> \<⚫\>          ereh-hcuot-t

Surprisingly on touching the black dot, it crashes WhatsApp (The whole screen hangs and we have to wait till WhatsApp closes). Is there any reason for this crashing behaviour? (Attaching screenshots for reference)

This crashed on my Android (8.1) Phone. My friend who uses an iPhone claims that it doesn't crash on his phone. (I hope this is the right place to post the question)

# Answer
As others said, there are ~2000 zero-width or 'invisible' unicode characters in that message. These characters are the ones which instruct the text renderer whether to display the text left-to-right or right-to-left. When you tap on the message, the text renderer tries to work out which character you are tapping on. As there are a lot of characters with conflicting instructions, the app hangs up until it can make a decision.
There is this very elegant and informative video by Tom Scott on youtube that explains the problem better than I ever can: https://youtu.be/jC4NNUYIIdM
> 9 votes

# Answer
that message have more than 2000 no displayable characters and for be that long message make a crash if you hit wait on the message it came back to normal just give it time to process the long long long string
> 2 votes

# Answer
The message have a lot of (about 2000) invisible characters called "left-to-right makr" (It is used to set the way adjacent characters are grouped with respect to text direction)
> 1 votes

# Answer
It just bunch of letters and numbers hidden behind that ball and bugged so someone who touches it, it will try to open the whole message but cant hence as a result it crashes the app..
> 0 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, crashes
---


# Question
Title: Transfer Facebook Messenger messages from one phone to another
I am using Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account (only a mobile number), and would like to transfer my messages from one Android phone to another. What is the best way to do this?

I have tried using Helium Backup but it does not backup Facebook Messenger. Titanium Backup unfortunately is not an option as the phone cannot be rooted (rooting it would require a data reset, which would delete the messages).

# Answer
**Added March 2019:** the "Account Key Backup" seems to have been removed from Messenger, so I have updated this answer.

According to a Messenger help page,

> In order to switch to a different account or access your account on another device, you'll need to add a password. To add a password to your account:
>
> 1. From **Chats**, tap your **profile picture** in the top left corner.
> 2. Scroll down and tap **Password**.
> 3. Tap to enter a password and tap **OK**.
>
> You should now have a password associated with your account and can Switch Account

The Messenger help page currently states "This feature is not currently available for Android" but it is present in the Android app.

---

**Old solution: (cannot be used anymore)**

To transfer Facebook Messenger conversations to a new phone without a Facebook account, while keeping the same phone number, do the following.

1. On the old phone, open Messenger and tap your profile picture to go to your profile settings.
2. Tap "Account Key Backup".
3. Select the option to back up your account key to Google Drive. After the backup has been made, Messenger will say

> Account Key Backed Up - Your account key is saved to Google Drive with the email address \***. You'll be able to sign into Messenger if you switch phones or uninstall the app.
4. On the new phone, install Messenger, and open it.
5. Select the option "I do not have a Facebook account", and enter your phone number. You will receive an SMS with a verification code to enter in Messenger.
6. Messenger will ask you if you want to continue with your existing account; answer yes. Messenger will tell you that an account key has been found on Google Drive and use it to copy your conversations. However, secret conversations won't be copied.

You will be logged out of Messenger on the old phone, and will no longer be able to use Messenger there.
> 1 votes

# Answer
You can log in to facebook using that phone number and password whether or not that is the phone you are on, you could even log in to the website.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: backup, facebook, data-transfer, facebook-messenger, instant-messaging
---


title: where is android keyboard app located?

text:
# Question
Title: where is android keyboard app located?
I uninstalled the stock AOSP keyboard from my android cyanogenmod 11 I have the ROM zip file so I'm fetching the keyboard to put it back but I don't know where it is, it's neither under /system/app nor under /system/priv-app

```
rahman@SISYPHUS:~/Downloads/lineage> ls -l system/app/
total 104076
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  1686064 Feb 29  2008 Apollo.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    33302 Feb 29  2008 BasicDreams.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2003305 Feb 29  2008 Bluetooth.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   295592 Feb 29  2008 BluetoothExt.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  3229555 Feb 29  2008 Browser.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   980865 Feb 29  2008 Calculator.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2039531 Feb 29  2008 Calendar.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  4186076 Feb 29  2008 Camera2.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   455626 Feb 29  2008 CellBroadcastReceiver.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   164413 Feb 29  2008 CertInstaller.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2433831 Feb 29  2008 CMFileManager.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   311660 Feb 29  2008 CMHome.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  7898628 Feb 29  2008 CMWallpapers.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2963113 Feb 29  2008 DeskClock.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   111050 Feb 29  2008 Development.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   427255 Feb 29  2008 DocumentsUI.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   238325 Feb 29  2008 DownloadProviderUi.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   733567 Feb 29  2008 DSPManager.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  5194472 Feb 29  2008 Email.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  1174970 Feb 29  2008 Exchange2.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   279206 Feb 29  2008 Galaxy4.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  6223567 Feb 29  2008 Gallery2.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users   206402 Feb 29  2008 GoogleContactsSyncAdapter.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    61557 Feb 29  2008 HoloSpiralWallpaper.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    12165 Feb 29  2008 HTMLViewer.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    10448 Feb 29  2008 InCallUI.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    74638 Feb 29  2008 KeyChain.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users 42780317 Feb 29  2008 LatinIME.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  1765803 Feb 29  2008 LiveWallpapers.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   180192 Feb 29  2008 LiveWallpapersPicker.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  8629786 Feb 29  2008 LockClock.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   239931 Feb 29  2008 MagicSmokeWallpapers.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    90493 Feb 29  2008 NoiseField.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   391583 Feb 29  2008 PackageInstaller.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     5634 Feb 29  2008 PacProcessor.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   105916 Feb 29  2008 PhaseBeam.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   803882 Feb 29  2008 PhotoPhase.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   478492 Feb 29  2008 PhotoTable.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    18151 Feb 29  2008 PicoTts.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   241796 Feb 29  2008 PrintSpooler.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     3691 Feb 29  2008 Provision.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   170124 Feb 29  2008 SoundRecorder.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   112484 Feb 29  2008 Stk.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   100002 Feb 29  2008 TelephonyProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   564672 Feb 29  2008 Term.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   189585 Feb 29  2008 Torch.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    15787 Feb 29  2008 UserDictionaryProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  5704511 Feb 29  2008 VideoEditor.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   207362 Feb 29  2008 VisualizationWallpapers.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   224525 Feb 29  2008 VoicePlus.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     7116 Feb 29  2008 WAPPushManager.apk
rahman@SISYPHUS:~/Downloads/lineage> ls -l system/priv-app/
total 71160
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   141551 Feb 29  2008 BackupRestoreConfirmation.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users   233655 Feb 29  2008 CalendarProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  1490703 Feb 29  2008 CMAccount.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   299723 Feb 29  2008 CMUpdater.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  3178247 Feb 29  2008 Contacts.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   429926 Feb 29  2008 ContactsProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    20378 Feb 29  2008 DefaultContainerService.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  4276606 Feb 29  2008 Dialer.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   504601 Feb 29  2008 DownloadProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    26999 Feb 29  2008 ExternalStorageProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    14793 Feb 29  2008 FusedLocation.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users   127421 Feb 29  2008 GoogleBackupTransport.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users   303583 Feb 29  2008 GoogleFeedback.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users  5714918 Feb 29  2008 GoogleLoginService.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users   129466 Feb 29  2008 GooglePartnerSetup.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users  2358561 Feb 29  2008 GoogleServicesFramework.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   163176 Feb 29  2008 InputDevices.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2306822 Feb 29  2008 Keyguard.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   131631 Feb 29  2008 MediaProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  3065387 Feb 29  2008 Mms.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     5691 Feb 29  2008 OneTimeInitializer.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users  6126834 Feb 29  2008 Phonesky.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users  8536422 Feb 29  2008 PrebuiltGmsCore.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     8179 Feb 29  2008 ProxyHandler.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users 19786541 Feb 29  2008 Settings.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   138839 Feb 29  2008 SettingsProvider.apk
-rw-rw-r-- 1 rahman users  1533478 Feb 29  2008 SetupWizard.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users     6889 Feb 29  2008 SharedStorageBackup.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    56582 Feb 29  2008 Shell.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2425108 Feb 29  2008 SystemUI.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  4068193 Feb 29  2008 TeleService.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2560728 Feb 29  2008 ThemeChooser.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    27912 Feb 29  2008 ThemesProvider.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users  2223276 Feb 29  2008 Trebuchet.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   129746 Feb 29  2008 VoiceDialer.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users    63231 Feb 29  2008 VpnDialogs.apk
-rw-r--r-- 1 rahman users   176798 Feb 29  2008 WallpaperCropper.apk

```

# Answer
The default AOSP keyboard is `/system/app/LatinIME.apk`. IME is an acronym for Input Method Editor.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat, keyboard, aosp
---


# Question
Title: Can i recover data from a Nandroid Backup without the original device?
I'd like to start making scheduled backups to my rooted OnePlus 3T (Oxygen OS 5.0.1) in order to prevent the loss of data from any reason that could occur.

I want to save everything: the entire content of /sdcard and the apps+data. I know doing a Nandroid Backup with TWRP is the best way to make a complete backup of an Android device quickly, but i have a question:

Is it possible to recover data without the original device? If i had a totally new device, would it be possible to extract some specific data from the backup? (For example, read and extract the /sdcard/download directory from the backup, or also extract the data from a given app)

# Answer
That would indeed be possible. There are several apps which are able to extract parts of a Nandroid backup, e.g. Titanium Backup or ROM Toolbox.

Apart from that, depending on the format used by your Nandroid backup, you can either mount them as loop device (disk images) or unpack them (tarballs) to invesigate/access all contents.

For further details, I'd recommend a look at our nandroid tag-wiki – and especially follow up to:
> 1 votes

# Answer
Nandroid backup is nothing more that just images of partitions of your phone: **/system**, **/boot**, **/data**, **/cache**. It is extractable by any decent archiver that recognizes **img** images, e.g. 7zip.

I done this many times.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: backup, nandroid
---


# Question
Title: Why does this string of LTR and RTL markers cause Android devices to 'hang'?
I received this innocent-looking message forwarded from my brother on Whatsapp claiming that it could 'hang' my phone.

And sure enough... touching it would make my Android Samsung J2 running Android 6 freeze over for a while; it would ask me if I wanted to force close the app or wait.

I suspected there was more than met the eye here and copied the message over to my laptop and pasted it on an editor and opened the file through python and this is the string that I get from python. Turns out whoever is doing this is using/misusing the Unicode `\u200e` left-to-right, `\u200f` right-to-left, and `\u2067` 'right-to-left-isolate' character interspersed with some spaces to do this mischief. All the apps I've tried are falling victim to this tiny prank.

Below is the message in its Unicode hex format:-

```
"\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e\u200f\u200e 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ereh-hcuot-t'nod"

```

Questions:

1. What does this string actually cause text editing programs to do? Make them go left and right too many times?
2. Why does this cause Android apps to 'hang' or crash?
3. Going off reports from my friends, this problem doesn't seem to affect iPhones. Why?

# Answer
> 7 votes
Tom Scott did an interesting video on the subject

Fundamentally, the fact that it is triggered by touching the text probably means it's a bug in the code responsible for working out which part of the text is highlighted (which is not at all trivial in Unicode) so it can be copied/pasted or otherwise manipulated. Given it hangs, it is possible there is an exponential blowup or infinite loop in the algorithm due to the many LTR/RTL transitions. I'm not aware of any detailed analysis of the source code and bug, though one may appear from the android team at some point.

iPhones have a completely different set of text rendering and interface libraries, so they will likely use a different algorithm here, or at least one which suffers from a different set of bugs.

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, crashes
---


# Question
Title: How do I disable the USB Connected notification?
Every time I plug in my phone, I get a notification for USB connected. Is there any way to disable the notification, without disabling USB debugging?

* Phone: LG Optimus S
* Carrier: Sprint
* Android: 2.2, Rooted

# Answer
If the sound is what you don't like, on some phones the sound can be turned off by disabling USB Debugging. `Settings` -\> `Applications` -\> `Development` -\> `USB debugging`. However, on some other phones, this will not change the sound that gets played when you plug it in.

To actually remove the notification, as previously mentioned, you'll need a custom ROM to do that for you.

\[Update\] Another option to disable the sound is to go into your Sounds settings and set the default notification ringtone to silent and then go to each and every one of your applications that you want to have ringtones in and individually set them up there. I don't recommend this option (sure would be a pain if you forgot to set a ringtone to work email and missed an important one saying "We need you here ASAP or you're fired!"), but it is an option nonetheless.
> 5 votes

# Answer
This is part of a Core system in android. It can not be disabled unless you have a ROM that allows you to disable it. I believe 6.x versions of CyanogenMod have/had the option to disable it.

I am not sure if your phone is supported, and I am not sure if that option is still there (since my device doesn't have "official" support currently)
> 2 votes

# Answer
One option **without rooting** is to use a simple app like this one: Mute.

The only thing this app does is toggles between a muted / not muted state when opened.

Note that this mutes *all* sounds, not just the *`USB connected in debug mode`* notification. So for disabling that annoying sound (for example, when debugging at night), this is perfect. Just don't forget to turn it off after the debugging session.
> 1 votes

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Tags: notifications, usb, usb-debugging
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# Question
Title: Decrypting manually Android 4.4.2 partitions pulled from phone (SM-G313HN)
Way how I got to this point is that my phone somehow had restarted in my pocket and was asking for password which I entered but upon entering password it restarted so I was basically stuck in bootloop. So I went into adb through recovery and pulled all partitions of the phone so they are on my pc right now. The question is how can I decrypt them. I tried looking around how is 4.4.2 encrypted but didnt find any good answer. I only understood that key is stored in footer of it which I did find there but then arises question of how you derive the encryption key from it? I'm so confused. Also how is sdcard encrypted as I looked at files from sd card they seem to be file-based encrypted?

# Answer
Okay so I got more info about how Samsungs encryption works from this video and was able to decrypt my userdata partition with tool called Sandy. As for SD card I just pulled out eds\_p\_sd file from /efs partition from my dd dump and put it back into factory reset phone and it worked like a charm. But SD card decryption can also be achieved with the Sandy framework you just need to have eds\_p\_sd file and right ECryptFS version so the keys work otherwise you will run into problems.
> 1 votes

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Tags: 4.4-kitkat, external-sd, encryption, disk-encryption
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# Question
Title: Switch OEM Theme between Blue and Gold on Honor 8
How can a base theme be switched on Honor 8 device?

A child of my friend somehow managed to switch device theme on his blue device as if it was on gold device. Icons became silver-gold and wallpaper was switched to gold. This gold theme can be seen on images of gold version of Honor 8 in product catalogs. The same for blue theme. See image of two phones in linked article (it is not mine so I only keep it linked).

The side effect of the switch was losing of all custom desktop folders, app icons they are now outside the folders and sorted alphabetically across multiple screens.

No 3rd party theming apps were installed or used, I checked Play Store history which also tracks app usage. At the time of the switch, only one game was used. There was no reboot or similar.

I tried to search for theming in settings, but I found only possibility to switch a wallpaper.

*How the entire thing could even happen?<br>How we can switch from gold back to blue device OEM theme?*

# Answer
After some further research I found that Honor uses Huawei EMUI user interface and it has its own theme switcher app called **Theme**. It was lost among the apps as they became reordered, easy to get overlooked.

After launching the app, go to tab **Me**, switch to desired OEM or installed theme and confirm.
> 0 votes

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Tags: huawei, themes
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# Question
Title: View & control screen of broken screen android phone?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 and need to control the phone. The display is totally messed up, its flashing about 20 different colours every 5 seconds.

I can't use touch screen as I can't see what I'm doing. USB debugging is not enabled and I want to view my screen, control it, respond to texts etc until I get my screen fixed at a store.

Is this possible? I have a really important text I need to respond to and my screen has broke?

# Answer
You're probably going to be able to connect using a USB cable to a laptop/desktop and to use Vysor to emulate your screen. https://www.vysor.io/
> 0 votes

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Tags: samsung, broken-screen
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# Question
Title: Can I extract my contacts from my device remotely
I lost my device which is a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge can I extract my contacts and pictures from the device remotely

# Answer
If you saved your contacts as Google contacts, you can access them by visiting the **Google contacts site** and logging in with the account under which you saved those contacts, which will likely be the Google account associated with your device.

If you're unsure about whether you saved your contacts as Google contacts, you should check that site using the primary Google account you used on your device, and any other Google accounts associated with that device.

If you can't find them in your Google contacts, then, unless you set up some tool on your device beforehand specifically for this purpose, you will not be able to recover your contacts.
> 2 votes

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Tags: samsung
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title: How to root Lava Iris 60?

text:
# Question
Title: How to root Lava Iris 60?
I have Lava Iris 60 running on Android 7.0 Nougat with Mediatek MT6737m chipset. I'm trying to root this phone.

I have tried many PC software for rooting, but none of them work. I have tried to unlock the bootloader, but it is not working. I have installed all MTK drivers. In cmd, it's not recognizing the fastboot device.

How to root Lava Iris 60?

# Answer
> 0 votes
To root the Lava Iris Fuel, you must disconnect your device from the Internet and then use **Kingroot**. You can download Kingroot and find more detailed instructions on the official **Kingroot XDA thread**.

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Tags: rooting
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# Question
Title: How do I transfer numbers/contacts from Windows Mobile to Android?
I finally activated my Android phone and would like to import numbers/contacts to the new phone. I forgot to ask the store rep how to do this, but I figured since both of them can be hooked up to a computer, I can probably do it myself. I'm on a Windows platform.

What's the best way to do this?

# Answer
It's pretty easy because your Android phone will sync to \[Google Contacts\]\[1\].

1. Sync your Windows Mobile phone to your computer (Outlook, Outlook Express, whatever you normally sync to)
2. Export your contacts from there to a CSV:

1. Go to the File menu on the top-left in the Outlook
    2. Click on Import and Export
    3. Click on Export file to
    4. Click Next
    5. Click on Comma Separated Values (Windows)
    6. Click on Next
    7. click on Contacts
    8. Click on Browse
    9. Select the drive and folder where you want to save the file
    10. Click on Next, and done
3. Use Google Contacts to import the CSV (import is in the upper right from https://contacts.google.com/)
4. Wait a couple of minutes. All of your contacts will show up on your Android phone soon
> 16 votes

# Answer
An even simpler method (at least for me) would be to first sync your contacts in WinMo to Google Sync. The Active sync settings are:

* Server: m.google.com
* Use SSL
* Username and password are the same as other Google services (username@gmail.com-format)
* Contacts must be selected in the data selection

And then on your Android phone, you should have automatic contact sync enabled by default.

Did this with my HTC Touch HD and Motorola Milestone/Droid, took a couple of minutes, and everything on the Android side went completely automagically.
> 7 votes

# Answer
I just transferred my contacts from my HTC Touch Pro2 to my Samsung Galaxy S II X.

You need to install the Bluetooth File Transfer app for Android, pair your two phones, and then send your contacts to your Android phone using the Windows Mobile Bluetooth Explorer program.
> 1 votes

# Answer
You could also try vCardIO which uses the Funambol code and runs on an Android phone off the SD card. Export from Outlook and copy the file to the SD card.
> 0 votes

# Answer
**Disclaimer: I do not work for Sprite Software**

I did a search for the following phrase on Google: "moving windows mobile contacts to android". One of the hits was Sprite Software who makes the following application: SpriteMigrate. It's free and purports to backup your stuff to a backup file and then you use a second program on your PC to convert that backup file to Android-ready format.

Sprite Migrate apparently saves the following information (from their website):

> What do we migrate?
>
> * Contacts
> * Call Logs
> * SMS
> * Bookmarks
>
> much more coming soon...

I've performed step 1 already and am in the process of performing step 2, once I pick up my phone tomorrow (Evo), I'll try step 3 and report back on how successful I was.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I tried LocalSync and it worked fine.

Pros:

* It doesn't simply "migrate" WinMo to Android: it actually establishes a sync relationship with your Windows PC/Outlook
* Doesn't share contacts with Google or other clouds (privacy safe)

Cons:

* You must have Outlook installed on Windows
> 0 votes

# Answer
Use the following simple steps (no need for Microsoft/Google account)

1. Search/install contacts+message backup on your Windows Phone
2. Go to Settings -\> contacts+message backup -\> Backup from the list that is displayed, select Contacts, and then press Backup. A folder named "backup + restore" will be created in your SD card/phone memory containing the vCard file.
3. Copy this file to your Android device and import contacts from this file
> 0 votes

# Answer
1. Go to the account settings.
2. Choose Microsoft exchange.
3. Log in to sync.
4. Note that Microsoft Outlook online calendar, mail, contacts are synced. No need to create a Google account.

Don't know if it matters but this was on Android7.
> 0 votes

# Answer
You can use Qontact (I'm the developer of this app). It can export in many formats like vCard, readable by iOS or Android app. Just send the contacts by email and open the attachment (Gmail or Hotmail account).

The free version can export about 200 contacts (including photo, the solutions that use CVS exports doesn't). In case you have more contacts, you can use the pro version.
> -2 votes

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Tags: contacts, data-transfer, windows-mobile
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# Question
Title: Can android phones use micro SD storage in the same way they do internal storage?
Dose putting a micro SD card in your android phone allow the OS to mount the SD card and use the storage space the same way it would internal memory eg. photos taken on the phone would be saved to the micro SD card. Or does the android OS treat the micro SD card as an "external storage source" the same way a laptop treats an external USB flash thumb drive ?

The phone in question is a Samsung Galaxy J5 2016.

If its not possible to mount the external storage and use it like "internal storage" is it possible to set that all photos are to be stored on the external storage as this is whats taking up most of the room on the phone.

# Answer
Since Android 6.0 (Marshmellow), Android supports **Adoptable Storage**. However, many phone manufacturers, including Samsung, have disabled this feature on their phones.

# How to use Adoptable Storage on supported devices:

If you do have a phone that supports this feature, you can turn it on by following these instructions:

1. Put an SD card in your device.
2. Open "Settings", "Storage", the SD card, click the three vertical dots, and press "Storage Settings".
3. Tap "Format as Internal".

# What it does:

Here's how Adoptable Storage works, according to source.android.com:

> When external storage media is adopted, it’s formatted and encrypted to only work with a single Android device at a time. Because the media is strongly tied to the Android device that adopted it, it can safely store both apps and private data for all users.
>
> ...
>
> Apps can be placed on adopted storage media only when the developer has indicated support through the `android:installLocation` attribute. New installs of supported apps are automatically placed on the storage device with the most free space, and users can move supported apps between storage devices in the *Settings* app. Apps moved to adopted media are remembered while the media is ejected, and return when the media is reinserted.

So not only does the device have to support Adoptable Storage, but the apps have indicate support for it too to be able to be stored on the SD card.
> 6 votes

# Answer
No, in Android Micro-SD is taken as an external device. Also in the context of your question if you are talking about programming an Android App, Google doesn't recommend to use an external Device, because they are temporary storage. They Say:-

> Every Android device supports a shared "external storage" space that you can use to save files. This space is called external because it's not a guaranteed to be accessible—it is a storage space that users can mount to a computer as an external storage device, and it might even be physically removable (such as an SD card). Files saved to the external storage are world-readable and can be modified by the user when they enable USB mass storage to transfer files on a computer.

So before you attempt to access a file in external storage in your app, you should check for the availability of the external storage directories as well as the files you are trying to access, then perform your operation in it.

For more info, see the official Android developer documentation on data storage.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Because you have a Samsung phone there is no easy (offical) way to format your sd-card as Adoptable Storage if it's that you are looking for.

---

However using `adb` it's still possible:

1. Connect your phone (with insert sd-card) to your computer and make sure USB-Debugging is allowed
2. Open adb-shell (How you do that it matters what OS are you using on your computer your phone is connected)
3. Type `sm list-disks` then it outputs the name/ value of your sd-card
4. Use `sm partition <DISK> private` and put the disk-value in that it looks like: `sm partition disk:179 private`
5. Then restart using: `reboot`
6. Now it shares the internal-storage with the sd-card and when you install apps it fills up internal and sd-card in a relation 50:50

Notice that all of your data on the sd-card gets erased. I don't know if it's also erase your internal (it depents on device and android-version). Also your memory will not anymore be displayed correctly as you can see here. There is **no root** required but it won't work on every device. Some users say it works others say it doesn't. At least you can try it.

BTW. here is a guide **how you install and open adb-shell** for every common OS, if you don't know how to do that!
> 2 votes

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Tags: sd-card
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# Question
Title: Automatic screen recording when my android phone wakes up
I have checked out many Android screen recorders, but none of them start recording the screen automatically when the phone wakes up.
Does anybody know of a screen recorder that does that job?

# Answer
I recommend using Macrodroid. This has the same functionality as Automate but is much easier to use. To set up this feature:

1. Click "Add Macro"
2. For the trigger, choose Battery/Power. If device is rooted, you can pick the option for when device turns on. Otherwise, you can set another trigger such as "Power button toggle" to do close to the same thing.
3. For actions, you need experimental options enabled (Settings -\> experimental features), then select launch and press screen action. You can enable the recording option after this (alternatively, you can set macrodroid to automatically run a recorder by setting the action to launch an app such as Screen Recorder).
4. You can add constraints if you want but as of now it should be able to record once the phone turns on.
> 2 votes

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Tags: applications, 6.0-marshmallow, automation, macrodroid
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# Question
Title: Method of typing input while the screen is off
Does anyone know a way to enter text input (either in settings or as an app), while the screen is off? I want to use my phone to take notes while reading (with a bluetooth keyboard), but I don't want to leave the screen on or unlock my phone every time I take a note. I don't need any features, except maybe a tone whenever I start typing to confirm everything is still working.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Here is a way to do it but it will waste a lot of battery power if you don't have an Amoled screen:

1. Install No Screen Off. This allows you to always keep the display on (although it doesnt look like its on since it will be on a black wallpaper).
2. Install Draw on Screen. This will allow you to draw on any surface on the display.
3. Open Draw on screen and get used to the controls so you know how to use it.
4. Download a black wallpaper and open it using your photos app in immersive mode.

Now you should be able to draw on the black screen as if the phone was turned off. Considering you have an amoled display, this won't waste much battery. If you ever want to go back to the normal screen, simply tap "shut down" on the top of Draw on Screen and go back to the homescreen.

For more reference to how to use Drawonscreen, check this link: How to draw on any screen on android device

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Tags: external-keyboard, notes
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# Question
Title: How to repair damaged Android 4.2.2 on tablet?
While deleting apps to free up storage, I removed important system functions (display touchscreenscanning). How can I replace the system with a fresh version of Android 4.2.2?

# Answer
You need to find a complete ROM for your tablet and flash it. Basically:
1. Search Google for " stock ROM" if you want the exact same system. Make sure you get the "gapps" (Google Apps) for that version of Android.
2. You will need a custom recovery, so search Google for " custom recovery" (TWRP and CWM are 2 common recoveries).
3. Find the instructions to flash your tablet
> 0 votes

# Answer
If your goal is to have a fully-functioning device again, you should be able to do a factory reset to return to a factory image. If you did not root, then your system image should be ok.

Navigate to *Settings \> Backup and Reset \> Factory data reset* and proceed from there. **This will delete all data on the device**, but your installation of Android 4.2.2 will be fresh, just when you started using it.
> 0 votes

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Tags: factory-reset, 4.2-jelly-bean
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# Question
Title: Can't sync or even access contacts of Moto G4 / E4 and fresh Android 7.1.1
**tl;dr** I can't access or sync my contacts on two phones with freshly installed Android 7.1.1 while I can access and sync them without problems on third phone, with Android 6.0, connected to the same Gmail account.

---

Whenever I try to access contacts on my Moto E4 or Moto G4 with Android 7.1.1 I see following:

This process is endless. It last 12+ hours so far.

I have no problems accessing my contacts on my Moto E3 (Android 6.0.1), which is connected to the same Gmail account as my Moto G4 is.

It seems that contacts are inaccessible due account not being able to sync them:

As you can see (left screeenshot - Moto G4 / Moto E4), the *Peoples details* item cannot be sync for past two days (since getting this phone) and I don't even have *Contacts* sync item on the list.

Everything is OK on Moto E3 (right screenshot).

Steps taken so far:

* phone restart,
* removing Google account and adding it back again,
* checking on different network access type (i.e. LTE instead of WiFi).

No luck so far. What else can I check or do?

# Answer
As I was suggested (in some other source), factory-reseting the phone might do the trick. And it did, but source of problem was different and factory-reset only revealed it.

It turned out that for some reason the *Calendar Storage* application was disabled on both phones:

It is a system application, so you must tap on *⚙ \> Apps \> ⋮ \> Show system* in order to see this item.

After enabling back of this application everything started working with a snap of finger, without even a need of restarting the phone.

I figured this out after factory-reseting of the first phone mentioned in question, so I managed to fix the problem on the other one without need of factory-reseting it as well.
> 0 votes

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Tags: motorola-moto-g, motorola-moto-e, motorola-moto-g-4g, motorola-moto-e4
---


# Question
Title: Apps launch automatically after update in Google Play Store
I am using Samsung Galaxy S4 I9505 running on Android KitKat 4.4.4. If there are 5 apps to update, all the apps open automatically after the update. My Google Play Store's current version is 5.3.6.

Why does this happen and how to prevent it?

# Answer
> 2 votes
I believe you have an app installed that monitors other apps.

For example, an app called Earn Talktime does the same. These apps launch other apps (on installing and updating) for monitoring whether that app was installed through their offer or not.

Simply uninstall any app like that and the issue would be gone.

# Answer
> 4 votes
As answered by devconsole in the comment.

> If you want to find out which app is responsible run `adb logcat`, look for `ActivityManager: START u0 {act=android.intent.action.MAIN ... from uid xyz on display 0`. Note the uid number, then run `adb shell "dumpsys package"` to find out what app that uid belongs to.

My case was **Mr Jump** game.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Do a cache partition wipe, as described here: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2668187?hl=en.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It's a Play Store bug.

Uninstalling updates of the Play Store in settings should fix the issue. It is drastic but app opening every time you update it is annoying.

This fixed my issue when wiping cache partition did not.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The solution for me was to delete the TVSMILES UK app. Once that app was deleted, updates didn't auto-open apps.

# Answer
> 0 votes
After a couple of days and a lot of searches and tests, I figured out that a game named "Zombie Tsunami" was the cause. Deleting all data and uninstalling it fixed the problem.

Maybe start by deleting some games.

---
Tags: google-play-store, application-autoupdate
---


title: Is USB host supported by hardware?

text:
# Question
Title: Is USB host supported by hardware?
Im using an Acer Liquid E2 Duo (with Androium 5, which is based on 4.4.2).

I would like to know how i can find out if OTG is supported on the hardware side, or if someone knows about this phone specifically.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The first place to go, would probably be to the specifications' page on the manufacturer's website or other alternative reputable websites offering the same kind of information.

For a quick check this website doesn't state your device as being supported for USB OTG. The other one GSmarena: Acer Liquid E2, doesn't list this functionality, which most likely means your device doesn't support OTG.

The other ways of checking may be using an application e.g USB OTG Checker ✔ , just as Izzy mentioned, they normally check the presence/absence of certain parameters required for USB OTG to work. For example they check;

> the presence of USB Manager, the presence of `android.hardware.usb.host.xml` or find the list of connected OTG USB devices.

It is important to note that this functionality should be supported by the **hardware** as well as **the kernel of the phone**.

<sup> Additionally some users claim the possibility of enabling USB OTG by using tools as StickMount or USB OTG Helper (if the chipset supports OTG and the device doesn't) when rooted , or using a using a usb Y cable (if your chipset doesnt support OTG) to power up pendrive externally</sup>.

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Tags: hardware, usb-on-the-go
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title: Sync apps from specific device?

text:
# Question
Title: Sync apps from specific device?
My new phone got synced to my table instead of my old phone. It didn't list my old phone as an option to sync from.

Is there a way to sync my installed apps and data from my old phone? Getting the screen layouts synced would be nice too.

All the articles I can find are just "sync to Google", but not to sync to a particular device.

If it matters, the old phone still (mostly) works.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Check to make sure that you have Google backing up your data on the phone you want to sync from. On your old phone, navigate to **Settings \> Backup & reset \> (Google Backup)** and ensure that `Back up my data` is `On`. Also ensure that your `Backup account` is the account which you're logging into on your new phone.

After your old phone syncs (which may take some time, but it will let you know when), you should be able to see your phone on your new device as you are setting it up. *You may need to factory reset your new phone in order to see the list of Google backup devices.*

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Tags: sync
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# Question
Title: Why can my phone interact with other devices wifi streaming?
I've noticed today, that, if someone in my company is streaming music to our smartTV, my phone is able to interact with it and, for example, pause it or even fully stop it.

I don't know what causes this behaviour, even weirder, my colleague is casting using Spotify and I don't have Spotify on my device.

Needless to say we are using the same WI-FI. But, still, I can't figure out why I can access the stream.

Couldn't that even be a security flaw?

Cordially, Matthieu

# Answer
Most likely the TV supports DLNA and provides the controls to any device in it's network.

In your scenario there are three DLNA device roles:

1. The "Server" provides the audio/video stream (e.g. a NAS with a lot of files or as in your case a smart phone)
2. A "Renderer" (the TV) displays the data
3. One or many "Control Points" control what is displayed where and how

In conclusion what you have observed is simply a DLNA feature. It just means that multiple control points can be active at the same time. I think DLNA was just designed to work - security was not an objective - therefore it is not a security flaw, it is a feature...

BTW: TVs and DLNA are designed for end customers not for company networks, therefore they should always be separated into a restricted network section.
> 0 votes

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Tags: wi-fi, music, streaming, smart-tv
---


title: Firefox - long img titles cut off

text:
# Question
Title: Firefox - long img titles cut off
This is one thing (in fact, the only thing that comes to mind) about Firefox on Android that bugs me. If an image (or "img") has a title, I can long-press the image to get image options to pop up, but it also shows me the title-text. If the title text is too long though, it gets cut off with an ellipsis.

For example: xkcd.com/1987 \<-- on my Firefox, the title text shows as: "The Python environmental protection agency wants to seal it in a cement chamber, with pictorial messages t..."

xkcd is a long-running comic, which (since it began) has continuations to its jokes (or sometimes just related bits of information) in the comic title-text. Frequently, these are too long for me to read in Firefox, so when this happens I have to swap to another browser just so I can view the full title-text. In Firefox, I've also tried double-tapping or long-pressing on the cut-off title-text, in case it was just hidden but is able to be expanded, but I've had no luck on that front.

Is this a bug in Firefox? If so, is there any word yet on when it will be fixed/has this been reported yet? And if it's not considered a bug, are there any Firefox extensions out there which ensure that the full title-text is shown?

Asking this here on the Android stack-exchange, as I don't have this problem with Firefox on my computer.

# Answer
> 2 votes
What you are seeing is the default behavior of Firefox. Rather than calling it a bug, I'd say that it is how Firefox for Android is designed. That said, I see that this is pretty inconvenient and you should probably open a bug report at bugzilla.

Meanwhile, you can use this handy addon (extension) for Firefox for Android which allows you to view the complete tooltip menu. It goes by the name *Mobile Tooltip*. You can also use this link to see it at Mozilla Addons (AMO). In your case, you can use it to read the full title tag of the image.

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Tags: firefox-for-android
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# Question
Title: Xiaomi Mi A1 - Touch screen, capacitive buttons, fingerprint scanner dead
A week ago all the input sensors (touch screen, capacitive buttons, fingerprint scanner) on my Xiaomi Mi A1 died, completely out of the blue. The device had never been rooted, and was running the stock ROM (Android One, Android 8).

I tried a factory reset, but nothing changed. I then tried re-flashing the stock ROM with MiFlash and TWRP. I ended up bricking it, but revived it by deepflashing - I shorted the test points to put it into EDL mode, and reflashed the stock ROM with MiFlash. This worked, but was stuck in a bootloop, where the booting animation would hang forever. I tried flashing a custom PixelExperience ROM, with a clean stock ROM and wiped partitions, but it also hung on the boot animation.

I eventually fixed this by flashing the persist partition in EDL mode (I knew this would destroy my IMEI, but I was out of options).

Now the device boots successfully, and I can use it with an OTG mouse with both stock and PixelExperience ROMs.

However, the original problem persists. The input sensors still don't work at all - there is no feedback from any touch. In addition, it can't connect to any mobile network (IMEI = 0). It can find WiFi networks, but not connect to them. It also appears to occasionally do random touch events on the screen.

At this point I am very much out of ideas - does anyone have any ideas of what might be the issue, and any suggestions of what I could try next?

Thanks :)

# Answer
I'm sorry. but I believe that it is a hardware issue. The touch feedback and the capactive key feedback is sometimes carried over by the same flex ribbon. So, it could be either a loose connection of the flex cable and/or a broken flex cable or some other type of hardware issue with the touchscreen.

The fingerprint should use a separate connection and it definitely does as it is on the back. So, it could also be something wrong with the motherboard.

I do not see a software issue here. Also, with all that you have tried, I do not see much that you are left with. The best idea would be to bring the device to a Xiaomi service center. I hope you live in a location where it is officially sold and you have warranty coverage.
> 1 votes

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Tags: rom-flashing, unbricking, xiaomi, sensors, mi-a1
---