title: Oneplus 3T Screen and Touch Screen

text:
# Question
Title: Oneplus 3T Screen and Touch Screen
I broke my OnePlus3T the other day. The screen is cracked, doesn't show anything and the touch screen is not responsive. This has happened before, but this time I want to fix it myself since it is very expensive to get it fixed.

Since it's my first time trying to fix a phone, I have a these questions:

1) Can an average Joe like me even change a OnePlus3T screen? (Or is it too difficult?)

2) What parts do I need to buy? (If I just buy a new screen and apply it, will the touch also be working again, or will I need more than just a new screen?)

3) Is it necessary to buy special equipment? (Or will my average Joe equipment do?)

# Answer
> 0 votes
I found this video about it. You might be able to find some other ones on Google... For me, it is too difficult to change the screen (any screen, from any phone), and I wouldn't risk it.

It requires as tools (described on the video):

* Plastic Triangle opening tool
* T2 Torx screwdriver
* Nylon Spudger
* A SIM Card ejection tool
* Fine tip curved tweezers
* Precision knife set
* 2mm red adhesive roll
* heat gun
* Professional Phillips Screwdriver
* Cards (playng cards)

I would say most of these equipment will be really necessary, since you will need to perform high precision tasks.

---
Tags: broken-screen, oneplus-3
---


# Question
Title: Samsung USB Driver for Windows 10 - Android Studio
I've got an issue setting up the AVD in my Android Studio as Intel HAXM is not working with my Windows 10. So, I am trying to debug and run my projects with my Android device. However, after trying to download the Google USB driver and replacing it with the standard driver that comes with Windows, I find I am not able to:

By the way, I am trying to replace this driver with the Google driver or the driver offered by Samsung - both turned up with this error.

But when I check the Android Device Monitor, my phone is not listed as it did in the tutorial I watched. (My device is a Samsung W GT-I8150 - Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread)

Any help or advice will be most appreciated.

Raihaan

# Answer
> 1 votes
In Win10 use this:

1. Uninstall previous Samsung USB drivers from “Programs And Features” and “Device Manager”.
2. Power off your Samsung phone. Switch your Samsung phone into download mode (power it on with Power + Vol UP + Home pressed simultanously).
3. Connect it to your computer via USB cable. Your phone should become discovered by Windows as some device. In my case, Windows has found my phone as a “SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface” device.
4. Restart your phone.

Now it all. Phone driver work perfectly.

# Answer
> 0 votes
According to the last post on this forum, Samsung simply doesn't have a windows 10 driver.
I am stunned that Samsung did not anticipate the Windows 10 release.

# Answer
> -1 votes
All I did was go to the Applications-\>USB Settings and cleared cache. It stopped working on the last W10 update.

---
Tags: 2.3-gingerbread, adb, usb-drivers, android-sdk
---


# Question
Title: Disable bluetooth calling on Android Wear
I have a Huawei Watch 2 Sport and a Pixel XL connected together, and I have enabled Bluetooth audio on the watch. This was purely for the novelty value of the Dick Tracy style having a phone conversation via the watch.

However, the side affect of this is that the watch now seems to have grabbed Bluetooth audio.

**Symptoms**

* When turning on a previously paired Bluetooth headset it would auto connect; now it must be manually connected
* When turning on a previously paired Bluetooth car kit it would auto connect; now it must be manually connected
* When making a call with a Bluetooth headset connected the audio would be via the headphones; now it appears that the watch is interfering with that

So while the ability to use the watch to make and receive calls is useful, it is very niche compared to the daily problems it creates.

So how can I either resolve the problems above, or disable that the watch handles calls? I would prefer a solution that doesn't involve factory resetting the watch.

# Answer
Usually you can specify in bluetooth settings for each audio device whether it handles Call Audio and/or Media Audio. So turn Media Audio Off for your watch and On for your headset.
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: "Unfortunately, Google play services has stopped." LG Destiny
Ive tried all of the methods listed by most forums, tech blogs, the google play help group or whatever it is, anyway. There literally has not been a single solution that's worked for others and myself. I can't add any google related accounts, anywhere, on anything. I've reset about a dozen times. Nothing has proven worth the hours trying to get a solution.

Here are some of the things that I have tried:

* I tried deactivating the device manager, cleared the cache on download manager, Google play store, google play services, reactivated android device manager, and rebooted.
* I have also tried downloading the Google play services apk file from apkmirror.com
* Made sure unknown sources was unchecked,

I use an LG G3 device see screenshot below:

What do I do and how exactly do I do it? Thank you.

# Answer
> 0 votes
if nothing works find a stock rom for your phone and flash that (not all phones have the same methods for flashing ,google how to flash stock rom on "your phone". flashing will format your whole phone!

# Answer
> 0 votes
This is a very annoying message that many android users face. The worst thing about this error message is that there is no clarification about why this message appears and how to precisely fix it. I got a great help from **this** site, to how to resolve this issue. Below are some of the mentioned steps you can try for this.

1. Reboot your device.
2. Clear Google Play Service Cache.
3. Clear Google Service Framework Cache.
4. Uninstall Latest Google Play Service Update.
5. Update Google Play Service.
6. Check Internet Connection.
7. Disconnect and Reconnect Google Account. Last and not on the list is Factory Reset.

If the issue is not being solved then you can try Flash Firmware.

---
Tags: google-play-services
---


# Question
Title: Flashing a firmware for SC-02H model on SM-G3950 model of Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge
Problem: I have a phone I bought from HK and using in Japan. It has been working perfectly fine for 2 years until recently when I changed the service provider. Unfortunately, the service provider has washed its hands off the problem claiming the country of origin.

Possible Solution: I read in many forums that it could be an issue with the CSC. So I am presuming that if I can start updating the phone with Japanese OTA it might work so I intend to flash my phone with the Japanese firmware though I can't find a reference where the different firmware are claimed to be compatible.

My concern are the following:

1. Where can I determine if the firmwares are compatible and if the worst comes to pass can I reset my phone to default factory settings?
2. If I download a HK firmware and reset CSC to SMB (I think it is for Japan), will i actually receive OTA updates for Japan even though the firmware itself is for another location?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Question #1 Answer: http://willmyphonework.net

Question #2 Answer: Since you are looking to flash firmware that did not come on the device by default you run the risk of bricking the device. Definitely ensure if you have a bootloader that can be unlocked, and I would advise flashing twrp to begin and follow it with a full backup in case something goes wrong. You will always have the option to return to stock (make sure OEM Unlocked is ENABLED so you don't accidentally FRP Lock your device if it bricks, as this will result in a much more difficult to save situation than just a bad flash!!). As far as if your device can receive OTA updates.... typically flashing anything other than the stock firmware will result in you not being able to take OTA updates, but in the context you have asked it almost sounds as if your carrier uses a similar system to US CDMA carriers, in that it requires the "activating" or "programming" of the device to enable service. If that's the case then you just need to flash the radio.img or modem.img of the correct carrier while in TWRP recovery (only after you have backed up your current radio.img!) and then see if the phone boots and receives signal.

Second answer is a bit rough around the edges, but let me know if anything goes wrong or if you need further help and I'll be happy to help where I can.

---
Tags: rom-flashing, csc
---


# Question
Title: Change MTP/PTP for a Galaxy S4 w/ a Broken Screen
I'm trying to do a complete backup of all data on my Samsung Galaxy S4 before I send it in for repairs.

Even though the screen is completely black and does not work (very little touch abilities), I have the Galaxy Smart Dock, which lets me output the screen via HDMI and control the phone with a mouse.

I removed the lock screen, installed Kies, then connected the phone to my computer.

Unfortunately, at one point, my phone switched from MTP to PTP, and now I cannot switch back to MTP (which Kies requires).

Everything online says to just connect the phone to the computer and swipe down to select the connection mode - I cannot do that because the screen is broken.

I also do not see any "three dot" option in Settings / Storage to change the USB Computer Connection.

Is there an option I'm missing? Am I SOL?

Again, I have full control of my device through the media dock, I just do not have that control when the phone is connected (via USB) to my computer.

# Answer
> 3 votes
If your phone is like mine, this option does not exist in any of the Settings menus. First, connect your phone to your PC via the USB cable. (If it is already attached, remove and reattach). Watch your Notifications bar at the top of your screen and you will see a USB symbol appear. Pull down the Notifications and viola, there is the option to change it back to MTP.

# Answer
> 3 votes
i know you have probably fixed this by now but if not try typing \*#0808# into your phone this will bring up a menu where you can select mtp

# Answer
> 2 votes
Change the cable. I had a noname cable and did not worked, it only charged and the phone was not available as storage. After replacing cable with a trusted one (BB or Samsung i tried) it worked.

# Answer
> 2 votes
try typing the following into your Samsung phone to get access to a hidden USB connection menu

\*#0808#

# Answer
> 1 votes
I am sure this is to late for you but hopefully will help someone else out.

Some launchers for example Nova have 'actions' that you can add as shortcuts by long pressing your homescreen. One of these actions is 'expand notifications'. Now you can simply select this icon to pull down the notifications.

This can be useful for using the phone with gloves too when pulling down the notifications can be annoying.

# Answer
> 1 votes
This solution should work.

First, for Michael, note that the OP bought a Smart Dock. That will be crucial for you. It is not free, but the price you pay will benefit you in other ways:

* purchase a Samsung Smart Dock. I've seen them on Amazon for around $60
* mount your phone in the Smart Dock

Now you have:

* external HDMI connection for the screen
* power for charging your phone
* Several USB ports for PC connection and more

*All* simultaneously.

It's the only connection I've seen that does screen + USB at the same time. Other cables sometimes claim it but I've never had one that worked properly.

Now, once you have the Smart Dock, you're ready to go.

Note: the OP already had a Smart Dock but could not get it to switch to MTP mode. That sounds mighty strange! As soon as you plug the phone into your PC ***with a valid data cable*** you should see it recognize the USB connection.

If you don't, one of two things is wrong in my experience:

1. Have you installed the Samsung Kies 3 app on your PC, and have you updated the driver? (That's an option in "Tools") If not, the PC likely will not recognize the phone, and the phone will not know it is connected to a PC.
2. Are you certain you have a good data-USB cable? A charging-only cable will not work. (Most micro USB cables are fine, although an old one may have a bad pin you would not notice except for this problem.)

# Answer
> 1 votes
Check the USB connector on the phone. I had a lot of trouble connecting my GS4 (it would charge but not be recognized by the PC) until I found out there was a LOT of pocket lint down inside the connector area. I cleaned it out gently with a toothpick and after that it hooked right up to the PC. I think the USB cable connector wasn't getting completely inserted.

---
Tags: usb-connection-mode, mtp, broken-screen
---


# Question
Title: Setting different email address on LG G3
I am not computer savvy, I don't want you all to laugh at me. When I set up my cell phone I used the same email address that I use on my home computer. Needless to say, I get all my emails on my cell as I do my home computer. I don't like that. Can I set up a different email address for my cell phone, and if I do that will that delete my email address from computer?

# Answer
Obviously not. It is even possible to add a variety of email accounts on your LG G3 including personal email and work email . But for your case, simply add a new adress. Create your secondary email adress and delete the main adress (from the phone: settings \> account \> Google \> \[your address \] \> delete).

Now you have two addresses, one on the computer, the other on the phone.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I understand from your question that you do not want to receive any email from your "computer" email account, onto your phone.

For that you can remove your current account from your phone, and add a new one. Simply go to settings -\> accounts -\> Google -\> "uraccount@gmail.com". Now open the menu (three dots on the top right) and select "remove account".

This will remove the account from your phone, but you will still be able to access this account from your computer.

Now you can add a different account. Open settings -\> accounts. And press in "add account" -\> "Google" there you'll have an option to add an existing account, or to create a new one.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: gmail, email
---


# Question
Title: How to import/restore .vmg SMS backup to Android?
I have got an old Samsung mobile that exports all the SMS messages in `.vmg` format. How can I restore those messages on my Android?

Is there any tool to convert `.vmg` messages to `.xml` so I could restore using SMS Backup & Restore?

Or is there any app to restore from `.vmg` files directly like the one, SDBackup, unfortunately, which didn't work for me?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I recommend you to try Import SMS from Windows Phone app. It imports unlimited SMS messages from both .vmsg and .msg. It is free and you can find it on Google Play Store.

If you have MMS messages or group conversations to import, try the PRO version, called Import SMS from Windows Phone PRO. It also imports unlimited MMS or SMS messages, but is a paid version. You can also find it on Play Store.

# Answer
> -1 votes
I've made an app called VMG Converter, you can get it from Google Play

Depending on your old phone, it might be able to import your messages from VMG files into Android. The app is free.

---
Tags: sms, restore
---


# Question
Title: How to access/disable the Google account sync settings in Android 8.1?
So I've just got a Nexus phone running Android 8.1 and wonder where I can turn off all of the Google account synchronization settings? Under `Settings->Users & accounts->[name of google acct]` there's an option `Account sync` to `Sync on for all Items` \- pushing it syncs all data. However, that's exactly the opposite of what I'm looking for. I'd like to disable all account synchronization. Do you have any ideas where the sync settings are hidden in 8.1?

# Answer
> 5 votes
You went a little too far! Go into settings -\> users and accounts -\> Google. Without pressing on your email address, you'll see an option "auto sync account data" turn that off. This will stop sync for all Google apps.

If you just want to turn off sync for some apps, then leave that setting on, and you'll have an option to choose individual settings.

---
Tags: sync, 8.1-oreo
---


# Question
Title: Turn Bluetooth on so it stays on even when trigger app is closed
Hi Guys I am trying to make a profile to turn on Bluetooth when I open Spotify. That works but as soon I switch the app to browse something while playing the music Tasker turns the Bluetooth off ;(.

So I want an Event when Spotify is opened turn on Bluetooth even if I delete Spotify it should stay on ;)

Does anyone know a solution?

Thank you guys ;)

# Answer
You can add an exit task that will turn on Bluetooth. And being that Bluetooth is already on, it will stay on till you manually switch it off.

To set an exit task, long press on the task and select "add exit task" there, select Bluetooth on as the task.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Alternatively - you can specify that the profile should not restore settings:

1. Long-press on the profile
2. Tap 'gear' icon to access the profile's properties
3. Disable the 'Restore Settings' option
> 0 votes

---
Tags: tasker
---


# Question
Title: Disable touchscreen area (root available)
My rooted Xperia Z1 on Android 5.1 has a broken touchscreen area in the upper half of the screen.

I was able to partly solve the problem by following this SO question: Resize screen for Dead touch zone

My problem is: The broken area constantly sends touch events. By that, I am not able to input any touch events myself.

## How can I filter any touch events in the upper half of my screen?

# Answer
you can use `wm size (WIDTH)x(HEIGHT)` the difference between `size` and `overscan` is that any input outside the screen area will be ignored if you use `size` to change the display resolution

first you have to know the resolution and the display density of the device. In the terminal/cmd enter `adb shell dumpsys display | grep mBaseDisplayInfo` to show display related info. in my case it's

* real 1080x1920
* density 480

the equivalence for `wm overscan 0,0,a,b` is `wm size (WIDTH-a)x(HEIGHT-b)`. In my case `wm overscan 0,0,30,0` --\> `wm size 1050x1920`
> 2 votes

---
Tags: root-access, touchscreen, broken-screen
---


# Question
Title: Sync contacts between different account types
I have two account types on my phone: Exchange and Google.

I'd like to sync the two, to make sure that an account that exists only in Google exists in Exchange as well, and vice-versa. I'd also like to sync the photos (in my case, the Exchange photos are all very old and low quality, and I'd like to fix that).

I couldn't find a way to do this using the standard Contacts app on my phone (Galaxy S8). I'm guessing I'd need to use some kind of app for this, but most searches yield backup-restore applications which seem to be designed to, well, backup to a file / restore from a file (which isn't what I need), and completely ignore the photo problem.

Any suggestions?

# Answer
After doing some research it seems it's impossible to do this using stock Android software.

Sync can be done with Contacts Optimizer. This should transfer basic contact information between account types, however leaves out picture information (at least I've found it to copy low-res photos only).

So I've tried apps like Sync.ME and CoSy for pictures (at least to get the latest info from social media sites). The former was a miss - it doesn't actually store the downloaded FB information as part of the existing contacts. The latter seemed to work much better, and actually stored high-res photos as part of the contact information.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: contacts, accounts, samsung-galaxy-s-8, contact-photo
---


# Question
Title: How can I use PSP headphones with my Android phone?
My Phone is Oukitel k-4000 Pro. I bought a headphone. But, then the problem came out. My phone does not support headphone output, just like in the picture. My phone's headphone jack is like everyone else, just a flat ledge.In my headset, There is an additional usb input.That's why I can not put my headphone on the phone. Would I break the usb output? Or is there another way to do that?

Thank you!

# Answer
> 0 votes
The extra part you've noticed is not USB at all: it's actually some extra contacts for the microphone and media/volume controls on these headphones. This a proprietary connector that's just for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which these earphones were designed for.

If you break or cut off this part, you can use them like normal headphones, with a phone or anything else, but the mic and media controls won't work any more. They're not very good earphones, so you'd be better just using them with a PSP like they were intended, and getting some proper earphones to work with your phone.

---
Tags: headphones, headphone-jack
---


title: How to root a Galaxy SM-930U

text:
# Question
Title: How to root a Galaxy SM-930U
I've found varying amounts of information about this subject and I'm hoping that someone here can point me in the right direction. I've never rooted a phone before and would like to know the correct procedure so I don't end up with a paperweight. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

# Answer
> 1 votes
I don't have enough reputation to post comments.

Would you check this thead on XDA Developpers? The method uses TinySU an lternative for Chainfire's SuperSU or SuperUser or MagiskSU.

---
Tags: rooting
---


# Question
Title: Can't get passed Setup Wizard after Factory Reset cause Google Play Services keeps stopping!
after Factory Resetting my **Lenovo Tab 2 A8-50F** Tablet with **Android 5.1** i can't get passed the Setup Wizard after selecting the WIFI you want to connect it.. After Checking the Connection then it's doing a Software Update then **Google Play Services** keeps stopping every time, then revert me back to the WIFI selection screen and loops again and again. What can i do to fix this? i tried Resetting it again but no luck and there is no option to Clear the Cache from the Boot Menu!!!

# Answer
Well, this is probably a corrupted system files resulted from the reset. Flashing the firmware should solve this.

Depending on the hardware platform, you'll need tools to flash the device. This phone comes with two variants: the one with Qualcomm chipset and the other with Mediatek chipset.

For your case the chip is a Mediatek MT6735 , you need SP Flash tooland ROM file for the phone exact model. Don't forget to install Mediatek USB and Preloader drivers otherwise the device won't be determined by the computer. Then follow the flashing process.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, 5.1-lollipop, tablet, google-play-services, lenovo
---


title: Can I delete an app I got on sale?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I delete an app I got on sale?
I recently downloaded an app for free from Google play store. It usually costs $0.99, but is now free. If I were to delete it, will google remember that I purchased it, even though I paid nothing? Can I delete it now, and install it later without purchasing it? Thanks in advance!

# Answer
Bochur's answer is correct. By way of additional information in your Play Store → Account → Order History , these apps will be shown as **0** price payment apps as the screenshot below shows - all these apps (barring third) were bought free (discounted) and I can install them again on any device (of course with the same account)
> 3 votes

# Answer
From play store support:

> You can use apps you bought on Google Play on any Android device without paying again. However, each device must have the same Google Account on it.
>
> You can:
>
> * **Reinstall an app you bought but deleted**
> * Install an app on more than one Android device.
> * Install an app on a new Android device.

Even though the app you downloaded was free now, being that usually it is a paid app, Google will count it as if you paid $0.00 and therefore it's counted as if you bought it. And as quoted above, purchased apps can be reinstalled later.
> 6 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, uninstallation, delete, paid-apps
---


# Question
Title: Understanding android app permissions section (Android Nougat)
In android Nougat, using an android phone if you go to settings\>installed apps\>\[name of app\]\>permissions

There are three sections there: Details, App Permissions, and other permissions.

What are the differences between these three sections? Why are they arranged in this way?

In details section there are detail explanation about a list of Notes Permission regarding Security, Privacy and Other. Are these permissions listed in the details section activated or not? Why are they different (or arrange in a different way) from the one listed in the app permissions sections for the same app?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Starting from Android 6.0(API level 23), app permissions are listed as *normal permission* and *dangerous permission*

> Depending on how sensitive the area is, the system may grant the permission automatically, or it may ask the user to approve the request.

The section **App Permissions** tells you about the Permission Groups, which are dangerous permissions requested by app and can be revoked by user.

> All dangerous Android system permissions belong to permission groups.

The section **All Permissions** provides you more details regarding permissions. In which permissions are listed as:
**Permission Group** for all dangerous permissions further followed by requested permissions in that group. Permissions which are automatically granted by system are listed under **Other app capabilities**.

Since you are running Android N, if targetSdkVersion of any particular app is 23 or higher,

1. All the permissions listed under Other app capabilities are granted.
2. If you have granted permission for a particular group like **Storage**, then further permissions listed under storage are automatically granted. App will not ask again if permission is granted.
3. If targetSdkVersion of app is less than 23, then it will not ask for permission at runtime. However you may revoke any dangerous permission from that app.

---
Tags: permissions, 7.1-nougat
---


# Question
Title: Auto Complete coming up with strange suggestions
The auto complete on my LGL41C android is coming up with strange suggestions, this started in the last couple of weeks.

Type "Wash" and the number one suggestion was 'Washingtonu' the phone has a languge setting of English (Settings \> Language & Inputs \> Language)

What is going on and how do I fix it?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The keyboard also has a language setting, that can be different from the phone.

Go to (Settings \> Language & imputs \> Language \> LG Keyboard \> Input Language and type) Select your preferred language (English) and keyboard type (QWERTY)

---
Tags: auto-correct
---


title: Full low-level backup and restore

text:
# Question
Title: Full low-level backup and restore
I've got some embedded system running Android. Before I start compiling anything for it I'd like to do full backup and then have possibility to restore it. The only way of backup everything I know is to use:

```
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=/dev/block/mmcblk1

```

but how to restore it when something went wrong and system is not running? Is it possible to burn back this image to Android system - for example using fastboot? I've got development board with Qualcomm MSM8909.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Yes, it's possible. You can restore all partitions grabbed by `dd` like this:

```
fastboot -w flashall

```

Or write separate partitions by

```
fastboot flash boot

fastboot flash recovery

fastboot flash userdata

```

Prior to that your should put your partitions to the same directory where you run fastboot. Separate partitions can be obtained by simple unpack of the image got from your `dd` command.

---
Tags: backup
---


# Question
Title: How to access and modify previous commands (bash history) in Termux
I use Termux on my Fairphone 2 and I want to speed up working with it. What slows me down is not having an up arrow key that I can use to access the last command in my bash history. I can do `!!` `!7` and so on, but most of the time I don't want to actually repeat the commands, I just want to do something similar. I know some keyboard shortcuts to work with my bash history but they require a `ctrl` key, which none of my keyboards have. I use

* AnySoftKeyboard
* Hacker's Keyboard
* AOSP Keyboard

None of them have up arrow or `ctrl` keys

At the moment, I select and copy text by touching, but this is still slow.

How can I access my previous commands more quickly?

# Answer
> 8 votes
See the Termux help page for how to input arrow keys using the VolumeUp button, VolumeDown for Ctrl and some additional shortcuts!

Volume Up+W → Up arrow key

# Answer
> 2 votes
You said you use Hacker's Keyboard. If you turn the device into landscape mode Hacker's Keyboard does indeed have all four arrow keys along with ctrl & alt.

# Answer
> -1 votes
Volume UP + Q to add Ctrl, esc, tab, alt Keys on Termux

---
Tags: keyboard, terminal, bash
---


# Question
Title: Contacts and telephone applications crash
On my Galaxy Note 4, when I launch the phone and contacts apps, they say "Unfortunately, Phone has stopped" or likewise for "Contacts". I have to go through message program to make a call. What's the problem and how can I fix it?

# Answer
From your comments on your post I can understand that your phone's system apps are crashing.I am going to list out some steps by which you might solve your problem.I have faced this kind of problems a lot and these are generally faced by users how are using a low end phone or a high end phone which has been used for many years.

**The steps to troubleshoot your phone are:**

1)Try restarting your phone.Sometimes the cache files(temporary files) takes up a bit of your storage.Restarting your phone helps in removing those useless files.

2)Stop temporary background processes which are neither used by the system nor by any of your third part apps which you generally use as they eat up your ram and the app you want to open does not get enough available memory which may be the cause of your phone and message apps getting crashed.

3)If the above steps don't work,take a backup of your important files and try doing a factory reset.

**Note:**

*If the problem still persists feel free to comment down below.*
> 1 votes

---
Tags: system-apps, phone-app, samsung-galaxy-note-4
---


# Question
Title: How to remove Measure/mobileOcr/engriks malware?
My phone is attacked by barrage of error dialogs every 1 second:

> * Unfortunately Measure Has Stopped
> * Unfortunately mobileOcr Has Stopped
> * Unfortunately engriks Has Stopped

It makes the phone so laggy until it restarts by itself. Some other apps also don't work, and it's hard to use the keyboard due to the error dialogs.

I have tried:

* Disabling and uninstalling the apps from Settings
* Installing antiviruses (NQ Mobile Security & Antivirus), but it didn't help either
* Factory reset

I found out that turning off the WiFi (or internet) and restarting the phone prevent the error dialogs to appear, but as soon as I turn it on, they appear again.

Is there a way to remove these malwares?

---

<sup>\*This scenario is written based on the post from AndroidCentral forum and Cafe Arjun blog. Original poster didn't face this malware personally</sup>

# Answer
> 0 votes
I also have an idea!

Buy an SD card (a new one), put it into the mobile phone, and go to settings. Then go to apps and select engriks ... move them to the SD card, and then remove the SD card.

Maybe it works. I still did not try it.

---
Tags: malware
---


# Question
Title: Browsing PC through phone with adb shell
I am connected to my phone from the laptop using wireless adb. After that, I connect my phone to laptop physically with a usb-wire. Now with the wireless adb-shell open, I want to find the wired "connection" and browse my pc through android-phone. (Like open a shared folder on the laptop with adb-shell)

Is that possible and if yes, how? (I want to replicate a similar scenario with my phone so I can connect it to my car-navigation system and browse through the system from my PC using adb-shell).

# Answer
Not possible. ADB is a one-way channel. Excerpt from help:

> When you start an adb client, the client first checks whether there is an adb server process already running. If there isn't, it starts the server process. When the server starts, it binds to local TCP port 5037 and listens for commands sent from adb clients—all adb clients use port 5037 to communicate with the adb server.

To access PC you would have to set up an ADB server on your mobile device, which is currently impossible.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: adb, usb, linux, shell
---


# Question
Title: Backup of internal and SD storage via script (USB)
**tl;dr**

* I want to backup my internal storage and SD card contents when connected via USB cable
* due to potentially large amounts of data I don't want to use WiFi-based programs
* failed attempt at using `rsync` and `gvfs`

Is there anything I can do?

**Full story**

I would like to backup data from my Android based phone (5.1.1 that is currently). I do not want to use an WiFi-based unstable and insecure hacky solutions with SSH and server here and client there (you name it - actually Samsung's very unreliable `kies` software made me think that way).

By now I used a current Linux Mint (18.2), I tried to read data from the phone using `rsync` and the mapped storage from `gvfs` which failed miserably (permission issues, unstable connection).

I would like to script which directories I backup and automate that process as far as possible. Can I make Android act as some sort of virtual device on `Windows/Linux` that allows some sort of file based access? Or a Web-DAV server connected via USB cable? No free cloud solutions (Google, OneDrive, Dropbox), either, please!

Thank you for your help.

# Answer
> 0 votes
As most of the time: error in layer 8 of OSI model. Here is what I did and what I should have done:

**What I did**

I mounted my target external drive using `sudo` (nothing wrong so far) and thus only `root` has permissions to write, `rsync` failed to do anything (which makes sense after all) - even when running using `sudo`. Where exactly the error was, I am not absolutely sure, but let's focus on

**What I sould have done**

* Mount the external device using the GUI tools (for I am using an encrypted external drive)
* Create a directory in the root of the external drive and `chown` it to your designated user (or group or both)
* Run `rsync`

I created a small script to automate the finding of the `gvfs` path and rsync to external drive:

```
#!/bin/bash

PHONE_VENDOR=0000 # your phone vendor here!
USERID=1 # your user ID here - possibly `id -u`

PHONE_BUS=\`echo $(lsusb -d ${PHONE_VENDOR}:) | cut -d' ' -f 2\`
PHONE_BUS=${PHONE_BUS}%2C
PHONE_BUS=${PHONE_BUS}\`echo $(lsusb -d ${PHONE_VENDOR}:) | cut -d' ' -f 4 | cut -b 1-3` #extract vendor ID from lsusb

SOURCEBASE=/run/${USERID}/gvfs/mtp\:host\=%5Busb%3A${PHONE_BUS}%5D
TARGETBASE= # your target base path here

rsync -a --progress ${SOURCEBASE} ${TARGETBASE}  # your rsync commands here

```

I don't know if anything changes (or this script works) when applying an `fstab` entry and then mounting via shell and not relying on the GUI tools.

This works for me and provides a neat way to backup contents from Android phones without copying whole SD-cards or internal spaces.

**UPDATE - First real attempt**

During execution `rsync` started throwing I/O-errors, probably because the process in general was taking very long (got about 50GB to sync). I am now starting over.
It might be a good idea to start a foundation by manually copying all files initially and all further syncing-processes by using `rsync`.

**UPDATE - Second attempt**

So it happens this amount might be too much for one attempt. Maybe this is my crappy smartphone, too. In general it works and after the first initial load-up it will be fine, I guess.

---
Tags: backup, linux, windows, automation, rsync
---


# Question
Title: Can't find music I downloaded from Google play music
I just downloaded the Google play music subscription and downloaded a bunch of music that is supposed to download to my SD card but cannot find any of my music and its also not downloading to my SD card. Almost any app or music I try downloading or moving to my SD card says it's downloaded or moved but doesn't move it stays on the phones memory. Don't want to keep paying for this music subscription if I can't access my music I downloaded, and need to figure out why my phone memory doesn't free up space when I move to my SD card. I have the SD card and another external memory device that says I can transfer my media and most times it says I did move them but I don't get any free space on my phone afterwards. I also cannot find anything in downloading mainly music I'm worried about now since I'm paying for this subscription, if you can please help me out that would be great. Thank-you for your time only got this phone less then a month ago and I'm having a lot of problems already, cannot receive texts or phone calls when I'm online or in a game. Pretty much of anything is running on the phone nothing will come through and phone won't even ring, only way I know I have a missed call is if a message is left and that takes awhile to come through.

# Answer
Google Play Music app is storing music files in your phone's internal memory, which means that you can't access them without root access.
They are located in `/data/data/com.google.android.music/files/music` folder. To access them you need to root your phone.

But if your phone is not rooted, going to this folder will show your downloaded files named something like `1123.mp3 / 1234.mp3` and etc.
You will have all your files, but name of artists, tracks and everything else is erased from mp3 file's metadata.

I hope this helps!
> 2 votes

# Answer
I had a similar problem. My music don't download either even after it says download complete. Also I couldnt hear my ringtone when I got a call. For this I wrote down all the apps and contacts I had and I reset my phone. That worked and freed up a lot of space on my phone from the built up misc. files I had.

Hope this helps if you haven't figured it out already.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I figured it out after racking my brain. When you open Google Play, swipethe menu left until you open PLAYLISTS. Then it should have a playlist saying "most recent" or along those lines. When you open the list up, click the little download circle with the arrow down, and it downloads to the SD card. At least it worked for me. Hope this helps
> 0 votes

# Answer
It's looking for music in a particular folder - a folder called "Music". Nothing more, nothing less. If your music is in a folder otherwise named, it won't find it
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google, google-play-music
---


# Question
Title: Upgrade android 4.2.2 to 4.4 (MHTMID-B718DC8 DualCore-A23)
I was trying to look up some way on upgrading this device I have to a later version (kitkat) so I'd have more functionality with this tab. I know it is a bit of a low end device but is highly able to be overclocked. The build version is MHTMID-B718DC8\_20140716 and android 4.2.2. Kernel Version 3.4.39 swtest@swtest-desktop #37. I also was looking for a custom recovery as cwm doesn't support my device. I have rooted the device using Kingo Root. Hopefully its possible. Its a Mikona brand tablet

# Answer
There are a lot of custom Android ROMs out there, you need to find one that was made for your specific device. XDA-developpers and FreakTab are good places to look. Flashing requires a few utilities, but it is a fairly straight-forward process. Whomever made a custom ROM for your device would tell you the specific flashing procedure and utilities for your tablet.

Your first step is to find a custom ROM that was made for your specific tablet. I still run custom KitKat ROMs on a couple of old phones.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.4-kitkat, custom-roms, 4.2-jelly-bean, tablet
---


title: How to find audio files from apps

text:
# Question
Title: How to find audio files from apps
I have this app from Bungie, which is called Destiny, and it's a companion for their game.

The app has a really nice notification sound but I don't know how to find the audio in the file manager because the folder from /Android/data has nothing in it.

If it helps I also have 2 computers, one with Windows 10 and the other with Ubuntu 16.04.

My phone is a Samsung J5 2017 with Android 7.0

# Answer
On your phone you can install Show Java or Dexplorer to decompile the apk. Usually such media files are kept in assets folder, but can vary on their development practices. On your PC you can use apk tool to decompile the apk and check the source there.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: audio, file-management
---


# Question
Title: Is Android associated with a specific set of control keys?
Windows systems typically have three control keys: `Control`, `Alt`, and the Windows key. Mac systems have `Command ⌘`, `Option/Alt`, and `Control`. There is historical precedent for a system having even more control keys.

Does Android expect, or is it designed for, a specific set of control keys?

This question occurred to me after trying to connect a wireless Bluetooth keyboard to an Android smartphone. I wondered as to whether there is a best practice as to whether or not a Mac layout keyboard or a PC layout keyboard (or even something else!) should be selected, all other things being equal and assuming that I want to connect the type of keyboard that is closest to that which the designers of Android were thinking about when they designed the system.

To be clear, I'm not asking for a hardware recommendation - this is more of a theory or general design question. I'm aware that most keyboards nowadays "work" (or can be made to work) with most systems with minor adjustments. So, something like, "Android is designed to be compatible with PC and Mac keyboards, but the original spec defines a set of five control keys consisting of `Blue Squiggle`, `Red Squiggle`, `Wumpus`, `Marklar`, and `Shazbot`, and having all five keys helps with some obscure shortcuts that most people don't need to use." would be a great answer.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Android CDD -section 7.1.2 does not specify any mandatory requirements, except support for third party IME, say for instance Hacker's Keyboard, which implements those control keys

In my understanding, there is nothing defined as essential support for *control keys*

---
Tags: hardware, external-keyboard, keyboard-shortcuts
---


title: Why is Google app so large?

text:
# Question
Title: Why is Google app so large?
I see that Google app takes 120 Mb of storage. Since it's just an app to search things on the web, why is it so darn large?

Are there any more functions (except searching the web) that it does to justify taking up so much space?

# Answer
> 5 votes
Google App does more than just searching the web, it customizes your feed, updates you about stories, weather, etc., offers Google Assistant, Learns about how you use it and much more.
This results into an App size of about 120MB(apk size varies according to specific screen densities or Application Binary Interfaces) after installation without app data.
Analysing APK Structure of Google App 7.20.16.21.arm, I got following details which takes about 115MB of storage and further 90MB of data is stored on phone, making the total app size of 205MB.
The app size of approximately 115MB is categorized as:
**classes.dex ~ 42MB(39%):**

> Contains the classes compiled in the DEX file format understood by the Dalvik/ART virtual machine.

**resources.arsc ~ 30MB(27%):**

> Contains compiled resources. This file contains the XML content from all configurations of the res/values/ folder. The packaging tool extracts this XML content, compiles it to binary form, and archives the content. This content includes language strings and styles, as well as paths to content that is not included directly in the resources.arsc file, such as layout files and images.

**lib/ ~ 23MB(20%):**

> Contains the compiled code that is specific to the software layer of a processor. This directory contains a subdirectory for each platform type, like armeabi, armeabi-v7a, arm64-v8a, x86, x86\_64, and mips.

**res/ ~ 10MB(8%):**

> Contains resources that aren't compiled into resources.arsc.

**assets/ ~ 5MB(4%):**

> Contains the app's assets, which the app can retrieve using an AssetManager object.

**META-INF/ ~ 2MB(1%):**

> Contains the CERT.SF and CERT.RSA signature files, as well as the MANIFEST.MF manifest file.

**Rest ~ 1MB(1%):**
org/, AndroidManifest.xml, build-data.properties, etc.

Further 90MB of data stored on disk consists of *search history*, *feed data* which grows with the app usage.

---
Tags: google
---


# Question
Title: Android apps open to a white screen and do not load
I have a new Moto E4 running Android 7.1.1. The system and all applications are up to date, as of today. However, when I try to open certain applications (Mendeley, Fitbit, and MyTracks, to name a few) the apps just show a blank white screen. They don't load.

My phone is not rooted and is using the default Android 7.1.1 that came with it. I found some discussions online that said I need to enable Android System Webview, but when I find this app in the Play Store and click Enable, nothing happens (and the button still says "Enable").

Since this happens across numerous apps, it seems like this is a system wide problem. What am I doing wrong?

# Answer
The problem stemmed from *where* these apps were installed. By default, my phone was installing apps to the external storage (which was formatted as part of the file system). While this worked fine for most apps, it caused these apps to crash. Once I went into Settings and moved these apps to internal storage, they worked as intended.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If the problem persists try running the command "ActivityManager" via ADB. It might be the start-up time for the app itself try running this command :

```
tns create app1
cd app1
tns platform add android
tns run android --justlaunch

```

Or this command to troubleshoot...

```
I/ActivityManager(XXX): Displayed org.nativescript.app1/com.tns.NativeScriptActivity: +XsXXXms

```

Also, Just a stab in the dark, but if it's the problem I think your having, try running this command to help:

```
exports.navigatingto = function() {
    setTimeout(processingFunction, 0);
};

```

With any luck that command might reset everything.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: applications, 7.1-nougat
---


# Question
Title: Prevent Google reacting to inline remote
My new wired earphones have a one-button in line remote. Two common uses of pressing this button include:

Option1. Pausing and resuming music playback;

Option2. Opening and dismissing an audio Google search.

But, I am only interested in Option1. At first I found all I could make the button do was Option2; even after I disabled Google's microphone access, Option2 still happened instead of Option1 (but of course Google couldn't hear anything, so although the search app opened it didn't attempt to discern a search string.) After I restarted my phone, pressing the button does Option1 and Option2 simultaneously. In particular, the Google app is brought to the front (whether it's currently open or closed), and stays in the front even when a second dismissal button press occurs.

My question, therefore, is how to stop this app coming to the front. I wouldn't mind it opening so much if the app I want to use stayed at the front. In theory the solution is to change the headset settings so the button doesn't have a search effect. However, I haven't managed to do this because:

* When I search settings changes that should do it, the menu options they list are unavailable, possibly due to the instructions being out of date or my phone being unusual;
* I have also tried several headset-controlling apps, but none worked (some didn't even seem to have a relevant setting).

Thus my question concerns how to prevent an uninteresting app from focusing.

# Answer
In case anyone has this problem in the future, I fixed it by force-stopping the undesired app.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google, headphones
---


title: Contact avatar colors

text:
# Question
Title: Contact avatar colors
What do the different color contact avatars mean? My Samsung automatically generates avatars for new contacts. I'm wondering what the different colors mean. I can't figure out the pattern.

# Answer
Different colors on contact avatars are randomly generated from an array of colors. If you look at the Source Code of Contacts app, you will find something like this in a `xml` file.

```
<array name="letter_tile_colors">
    <item>#DB4437</item>
    <item>#E91E63</item>
    <item>#9C27B0</item>
    <item>#673AB7</item>
    <item>#3F51B5</item>
    <item>#4285F4</item>
    <item>#039BE5</item>
    <item>#0097A7</item>
    <item>#009688</item>
    <item>#0F9D58</item>
    <item>#689F38</item>
    <item>#EF6C00</item>
    <item>#FF5722</item>
    <item>#757575</item>
</array>

```

This array consists of HEX color codes for different colors.
So when you create new contact, a `function` will pick any color at random from that array and it will be assigned to the avatar.
Since, the color is assigned at random, you won't find any particular pattern.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: contacts, samsung-galaxy-s-5
---


# Question
Title: sir Google play is showing unwanted apps to install and unwanted information about something repeatedly.can u help me to avoid that disturbance
Like I attached a pic it is showing repeatedly

# Answer
> 1 votes
Couldn't understand your question fully, but as far as i understand you get notifications to install this app ? If so then long click on the notification to see which app displays it (i had Go Keyboard annoying me with ads) and uninstall this app or block notifications. If not, then run a malware scan for your device using any antivirus from Google play.

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


# Question
Title: Share contents between my Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Smart TV
I used to have a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 a few years ago, I remember I could connect my phone with my 8880 Samsung Smart TV.

This connection was two way, I used screen mirroring so I could display phone contents on the TV, and I could watch TV programs on my phone.

I even remember once my wife was watching TV and I watched another program on another channel using my phone (connected to TV).

Unfortunately I can't remember the application names which provided these features.

Its now two years that I have changed my phone with a Galaxy Note 5, and I have done all the upgrades. The problem is I can not do what I did with the old version of mobile set. I believe I don't have the applications, and I can't remember their names.

By the way is there any way so I can screen mirror a video played using streaming (is not on my phone but it is online) on my TV? Because Samsung Smart View application just shares contents (videos/photos/music) which are stored in my gallery.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Screen mirroring is a feature available on some editions of Samunng Smartphones, but unfortunately has been removed in later builds on smartphones and replaced Samsung Smart View and related.

> Using the Screen Mirroring feature, you can share your Galaxy device’s screen with your Samsung Smart TV or with an HDTV using the **AllShare Cast** Wireless Hub.

The following phones support the Screen Mirroring feature by default. Some phones can be modified through a custom ROM, so they also may be able to support screen mirroring.

* Samsung Galaxy S3, S4 ,S5
* Samsung Galaxy Note 2, 3, 4

Nevertheless you can use alternatives app to achieve the same e.g Screen Mirroring from Playstore.

Another aggressive way of enabling the feature in Note 5 is perhaps rooting and editing build.prop line: `wlan.wfd.hdcp=disable` (anywhere within the additional build properties section, preferably at the end) under `/Device/system` folder. (Remember to save and reboot) as outlined here on XDA thread.

---
Tags: smart-tv, samsung-galaxy-note-5, screen-mirroring
---


# Question
Title: Is there any way to recover a camera view (photo) that I didn't take?
So it happened that I asked a person to take a picture of me with Huawei P9 Lite smartphone. She said she took it but it happens she didn't because she didn't even press the button. I know this sounds crazy but is there any way to see that photo she had to take? I mean the camera was turned to me and the camera app was opened.

# Answer
> 3 votes
If the picture was not actually taken, you cannot recover it. Your phone doesn't record what's done on the camera screen, unless you actually record a video or take a picture.

If it would be recording the whole time, that would take all your phone's memory and it would probably be against some privacy laws.

*The above is assuming that you didn't download a special camera app that has this function.*

---
Tags: camera, huawei
---


# Question
Title: Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro (YT3-X90L) factory image, OTA update or backup needed
I was playing around trying out some new stuff with my Lenovo Yoga tab and locked it. There is an old Google account on it, but I can't remember it.

I've tried so many things:

1. I've tried to factory reset it, but it's still locked.
2. I've tried to flash TWRP in the hope to do something more, but unlocking my tab in a locked state isn't allowed.
3. I was able to follow this tutorial to minute 9:08. But the option "Email and password" is not there anymore. I guess they patched it with 6.0.1.
4. I tried to flash a stock ROM or TWRP with LenovoDownloader(QcomDLoader). The stock ROM file is: `Lenovo_Yoga_Tablet_3_YT3-X90L_ENG_S200028_1609230146`. Even it's a German device, this file was the only one I could find. But the LenovoDownloader won't recognize my device. The windows stay white with no entries. I guess I installed the correct driver for this device and Windows recognizes them as a removable device if I plug it in via USB.
5. I've tried to use `adb` and `fastboot boot oem unlock`. But these commands aren't working in a locked state.
6. With a trick, I could open the Settings and be full of hope to activate the developer options to set USB debugging to active. But these developer options aren't available either with this "user".
7. There is an APK for showing the "Email and password" interface. I could install it, but it force closes right after starting it.
8. I've tried several tools to bypass this FRP: WinDroid Toolkit, D-G Unlocker, Realterm, but NOTHING.

What could I do further?

Specs for the device:

* Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro (YT3-X90L)
* Lenovo/YT3\_l0\_row\_lte
* 6.0.1/MMB29M/LenovoYT3-X90L\_S200307\_170614

# Answer
I've written it down. Translation by Google, but I think it's all good.

Situation: "Confirm account: The device has been reset. To continue, sign in with a Google Account that was previously synced on this device."

Explanation: The device has been blocked by repeated input of the wrong password, pattern, etc., and can only be unlocked with the Google account of the owner. A factory reset or hard reset does not help here, as the account information is saved in its own FRP partition and will not be deleted when the factory state is restored.

Solution:

1. Connect the device to Wi-Fi and Internet access.
2. Before confirming "Next", select another hotspot here
3. Go to "Advanced Settings" and change the proxy settings of any hotspot to Manual.
4. In the text input field of the proxy settings, enter any word: e.g. Test
5. Now, mark this word and select "Assist" in the context menu.
6. Selecting this "Assist" option opens the Google search application.
7. You can now not only browse the Internet through this search but also search for and open installed programs.
8. We are looking for Chrome, open the internet browser, go to www.google.com, and search for DPC test (APK Mirror)
9. After downloading this application, go back to the Google search application.
10. Here we enter "Download" to search for the download application.
11. In Downloads, we can now find and install the downloaded app.
12. To allow the installation of this .apk, you must allow the installation of "unknown sources" in the settings.
13. Either you go here on the installation itself on "Settings", or you search for "Settings" on the Google search app.
14. After completing the installation of the DPC-Test program, start it with "Open".
15. The app itself will register as a device owner and now allows us to set up a new Google Account as an owner.
16. If this is set up, it will also be included in the FRP partition.
17. In the event of a new factory reset, the device is reset, the DPC-Test program is removed and the device can be freshly set up in the factory settings.

After the takeover of the owner, the reason for blocking the device was not present anymore and the old owner was overwritten. This will be overwritten in the FRP partition as well with the new account and the old one no longer be queried.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: locked-out, frp, lenovo-yoga
---


# Question
Title: What are the differences between a system app and user app?
As I've played around with different ROMs and used Titanium Backup, I see that apps are categorized into system and user apps. Several ROM developers state that Titanium Backup should only be used for user apps and not for system apps, and when I proceed to uninstall system apps, TiBu warns me that the ROM may not work correctly.

Other than the fact that user apps are downloadable via the Market or some other means, what are the key differences between the two?

What is it about the system apps that make them more integral to the OS itself?

# Answer
`/system` is read-only without root so it prevents uninstalling applications from `/system/app` and `/system/priv-app`. Applications that are critical are put there so that they can't be uninstalled. Carrier bloatware that they don't want to let you remove is also put there. The latter category of apps can be removed if you are rooted; the former, not so much.

`/system/priv-app` also allows apps installed there to use `signatureOrSystem` and other privileged permissions. Stephen's answer has some examples.

As for *why* apps might be critical, that depends on the ROM. HTC's Sense is heavily dependent on their built-in apps from what I hear, for example. They simply didn't design their UI such that it would work natively with third party apps (or fail nicely if the system apps were missing). Other apps are essentially part of the Android OS but Google coded them as apps/services (probably for encapsulation and reliability reasons).

Updates for some system apps can be downloaded via the Play Store, such as Google Maps. If it didn't come preinstalled as a system app on your device then you can use Titanium to convert it from a user app to a system app.
> 25 votes

# Answer
The other answers are correct, but fail to point out a couple differences:

## Permissions

System apps are granted the ability to request certain system-only permissions that are never available to user apps. This is *not* the same as root/sudo/su permissions.

One example that I know of and use daily is the ability to reset the missed call notification counter. I have Go Dialer, which is a replacement for the stock dialer and contact app (how you make phone calls). When I miss a call, android lets me know that with a notification. However, Go Dialer is not allowed to reset this counter, even though it asks for that permission when you install the app. Android 2.2 and earlier let user apps reset it, but made this permission a system-only accessible permission for android 2.3

By moving my Go Dialer app to the system partition, it is allowed to reset this counter. Root is not required for the app (except, of course, to actually move the app to the System partition).

Another system permission is the ability to set the current gps location. Now, Android does have a preference where you can allow mock locations, so any gps spoofing app you install can declare a gps location. But if the app is in the System partition, mock locations can be disabled while still letting the app spoof the gps location.

## Updates

System apps can be updated just like user apps, but the update is never integrated into the original rom. That is, system apps have the unique ability to roll back to the version that existed when the rom was first installed.

## Move to SD

Android lets users move `user` apps from internal memory to the sd card. System apps cannot be moved and always take up some internal space. Most (all?) devices, though, have internal user apps on a different partition, so uninstalling a system app would not give you any more user app space (other than the dalvik-cache being removed).

You will recover some space if you uninstall any updates to a system app. As noted, the updates are not integrated with the rom and are thus stored in user space. The updates are not allowed to move to the sd card either, but if removed, user space is recovered.

# How it affects you

If you are a casual android user, you likely won't run into scenarios where system vs user app would make a difference. If you are an advanced user, you likely have root and can thus change a system app to user (and vice versa) if you ever run into one of these situations.
> 23 votes

# Answer
System apps are apps that are included within the system. They are located in the /system/app folder.

The vast majority of them are required to make the device run. An example of some of these are the dialer, which sets up all the network connectivity, and browser, without which no in-app webviews would work.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I would like to add something in the above answers. System apps cannot be deleted in a full factory reset, unlike user apps. So if you want to delete all your personal files but they are too many to be deleted conveniently that a factory reset is only the most convenient, and you have apps you want to keep, you can convert those apps to system apps so that they won't be erased during the factory reset.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Another feature of system apps is that they use native libraries (**libsomething.so** files) from the common system libraries directory (typically **/system/lib** or **/system/lib64**), and not from the app-private libraries directory (e.g., **/data/app/com.example.HelloJni/lib/arm**). Before Android Nougat, user apps were free to load and use the system native libraries. Restrictions have been imposed later, see https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-7.0-changes.html#ndk.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: applications, rom, system, titanium-backup
---


# Question
Title: If Android is a Linux distribution can I run it natively on my computer?
Is it possible to run Android on PC? Is it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Despite that it's worth discussing whether Android can be called a Linux distribution or not, you can find several working Androids for desktop platforms:

# Answer
> 0 votes
i would have to say yes as i have a linux android distro i have played with a few time i made a live bootable usb stick with lili i am not sure where i origanelly downloaded the ISO but i have had it boot fine a few times and also after some playing in the shell when it has not loaded properly other times not sure if its something from the creation of the usb or the different computers i have used it on. sorry i cant help more then that (is there a reason you cant just run knox to emulate)

---
Tags: boot, linux, operating-system
---


# Question
Title: How does Android display image or video even before you start to capture using the camera?
When Android is used to take a photo or capture video, the display continuously displays what a camera can see.

Does that mean the CCD/CMOS device is exposed to light continuously? Or is it displayed by some other means (without involving CCD/CMOS)? Is the difference between displaying and capturing a video (or photo) only storage? Is Android continuously taking pictures for displaying, even if you don't take a picture?

# Answer
> 3 votes
First off, there is no physical shutter on smartphone cameras, so the CMOS is always "exposed to light continuously", even when the phone is completely off.

The Android camera interface has two modes (actually more, but only two are relevant). One is the "capture" mode, which allows full control over exposure time, resolution, and image processing, and allows to take photos at the maximum quality offered by the hardware. The second is "preview" mode, which produces images at a high frame-rate, but doesn't offer the app as much control over exposure and image processing, and is limited to smaller resolutions, and worse exposure control.

Often, the "preview" mode can also output in a different (YUV) format directly into GPU-accessible memory for efficient display on the screen, while "capture" mode can encode directly to JPEG for storage in main memory.

> Is the difference between displaying and capturing a video(or photo) is only storage?

No, the difference is between the two modes. Capturing a video or photo offers better quality and more control, and can take advantage of hardware encoding to save efficiently to a JPEG or MPEG file.

> Is cellphone continuously taking pictures for displaying, even if you don't take a picture?

Yes, while the camera app is open. When you take a picture, the preview mode stops while the picture is being captured. When you're not using a camera app at all, the camera module is powered off.

---
Tags: camera, video-recording
---


# Question
Title: Getting the Europa notification tone off my old phone
I'm moving from a Nexus 5X to a shiny new OnePlus 5T. I like my old Europa notification tone, but it's not on my new phone, and I couldn't find a way to find the file on my old phone without rooting the device, which I want to avoid doing.

Any idea how to get that sweet Europa tone?

# Answer
> 0 votes
> Any idea how to get that sweet Europa tone?

I'm not sure if you can get it off your old phone without rooting. But there is no need for that, as you can download the tone online. Here's an xda thread, where the main poster posted zip files of all Nexus 5 notification tones. I imagine that the Europa tone in the 5 would be the same as in 5x.

**Instructions:**

1. Open the link
2. In the main post, you'll see a few links. One of them will be for notification sounds. Download that one.
3. extract the file, and you will see the Europa tone.

---
Tags: root-access, notifications, file-system
---


# Question
Title: Google Timeline error - "Can't connect to Maps, try again later" only on certain dates
I have been using Google timeline successfully for many months without problem but in the last few days I have getting this error on all my devices (phone, tablet and desktop) **but only on some dates**

# Answer
> 1 votes
I suspected that it was a data issue as it only affected some dates so I contacted Google Maps support and they reset something. I can now view all my dates ok. If you get this problem view your timeline for a different date and if the problem only shows on some dates then I suggest you contact Google Maps support - they were very helpful as none of these message boards seems to have a reliable solution.

---
Tags: google-maps
---


title: WiFi disconnects in doze mode

text:
# Question
Title: WiFi disconnects in doze mode
Nexus 5x and Pixel with project fi. No antivirus installed. OS 8.1.0

Regularly puts me on LTE connection both at home and in the office.

How do I force WiFi to always connect to known networks rather than surprising me every time that I just watched a video and used tons of data?

Is this related to the removal of Wi-Fi sleep options? And what "Sleep options are not relevant any more." means that the relevant commit message (via reddit) says?

# Answer
Customer service explained me that my Project Fi SIM card is expected to kick me off from free Wi-Fi whenever it decides that the LTE connection is stronger. He said the customer should every single time manually put himself to airplane mode as a remedy. Complete bullshit esp. given that fact that it loses Wi-Fi in sleep even if data is off so waking the phone would not give me any connection, until I would force a reconnect by opening settings.

Finally, a device update from March 5 fixed it, so now my Wi-Fi stays on.
> 0 votes

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


# Question
Title: Is it possible to install a ROM on /recovery instead of /system?
I am not going to do it, but I just wonder whether it is possible to install a ROM to /recovery and TWRP to /system, so one would normally boot into TWRP and only boot into Android when one performs the key combination for recovery mode. Is this possible somehow and would it have any negative side effects?

# Answer
> 1 votes
TWRP normally installs to `recovery`; kernel for the OS normally installs to `boot`; `/system` is another thing entirely where the majority of the files of the OS goes.

Doesn't change the conclusion for what you want to achieve though - yes, you *can* swap `boot` and `recovery` so it boots to recovery by default and boots to the OS when choosing "reboot to recovery" or using the key combo. At heart the two booting processes are both simply booting a kernel image. Note that this doesn't touch `/system`.

---
Tags: rom-flashing, recovery-mode, custom-roms, rom, partitions
---


# Question
Title: System app reverts to original version after device reboot
I have created a custom System.img for my device, I need to put an APK as a system app, and I have places the app within /System/priv-app, app works flawlessly, I can download and install app updates from my own server, and after update is installed the correct version is used, until I reboot my device, and the version is reverted to the original app installed in Priv-App. I increment versionCode with every version and the issue is still present, what are my options? Thanks!

# Answer
As I turns out, it WAS the versionCode that prevented me from keeping updates around, I was changing the versionCode within the manifest, but gradle.build was overwriting it to the same versionCode back. I made sure build.gradle had the proper version and I allowed me to keep app updates after reboot.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, rom, system-apps
---


# Question
Title: Unable to delete a huge UPDATE.APP file on Huawei P8lite
My Huawei P8lite running on EMUI version 4.0 and Android 6.0 Marshmallow is low on disk space. I noticed there's a huge UPDATE.APP file, it's taking 2.55 GB.

I tried to delete it, but it shows an error:

> Error while deleting the file "UPDATE.APP".

How to delete this file?

# Answer
You can use some good file explorer like ES File Explorer and then try to delete the file, if direct deletion doesn't work then try renaming the file, then delete it. If that doesn't work then plug your phone into your computer and delete it from there. If nothing works then you might need root access to delete it.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: huawei, files, delete
---


# Question
Title: How do i stop apps i dont want or use from redownloading?
Apps like Google Books and Flipaclip I dont use them so I Uninstal them but the moment I turn my Samsung Galaxy back on they redownload taking up space for app I do want/use in the future so how can I stop this if it is even possible D: please help?! TT^TT

# Answer
If they are system apps, then you're probably not uninstalling them, you're just uninstalling the previous updates. And probably your automatic update is turned on in Play store , and hence why whenever you boot up your phone and it gets internet access, it starts to download the available updates (which includes the apps you don't use/want). So go over to play store and disable automatic updates, or you can find the app (that you don't want to receive updates for), and disable automatic update by unchecking the option in your top-right corner. But if you want to get rid of those apps completely then you'll have to root your phone (only if those are system apps), and remove them afterwards, or you can just disable those apps (which don't require rooting) in settings if there is an option....
> 3 votes

---
Tags: applications, google-play-store, samsung-galaxy-s-3
---


title: System notification service error

text:
# Question
Title: System notification service error
Getting this error from system notification service. With two options, Keep it anyway (unsafe) or disable. I'm getting this notification in every 2 minutes. No matter if I select disable, or keep it anyway (unsafe).

I have restored my phone to its original factory settings two times, still the same issue.

# Answer
> 0 votes
That's the warning from Google Play Protect, which is quite new. It's detecting that app to be harmful, but often it detects some system apps as harmful (which are not available in play store). So if that app is a system app, then nothing to worry about. But if you don't wanna seen the warnings then go over to play store and disable both options in play protect. You can find that option in the left navigation bar....

---
Tags: applications, notifications
---


# Question
Title: Making the white bar below the keyboard black
I just got a new OnePlus 5T. I like to use a dark theme whenever possible, including the Android keyboard. In many apps, the bottom bar is white. (I'm talking about the navigation bar which has the three buttons, back, minimize and show active apps.)

Here are a couple of examples:

Any idea how I could make it black?

# Answer
Use substratum theme engine for this purpose. You can theme individual ui element with the help of this. You screenshot looks like you are using oreo build so you can use substratum even without root. Check out this link https://www.xda-developers.com/custom-themes-android-oreo-substratum/
> 1 votes

---
Tags: themes, color, oneplus-5t
---


# Question
Title: Google Play store asks to uninstall apps on sd card to free up space for new installations
My phone internal storage has very less free space (about 450 MB), which is why I cannot install any new app, or update existing apps.

When I go to play store and click on any app to update, it asks me to uninstall apps to free space. However, the list also has apps that are completely on the sd card. When I click on the check box adjacent to an app that is on sd card, play store says that the required space has been freed.

But how is this possible? Apps on sd card should not take any space on internal storage other than cache. On the other hand, updates are always installed on internal storage. So, how can an app on SD card free up space on internal storage?

For example, consider the following app which is on SD card:

I want to update an app, which requires 46MB storage space:

When I tick the check box adjacent to it, play store says that space has been created for update to get installed:

How is this possible?

# Answer
See App Install Location for what could be the reason

> When your application is installed on the external storage:
>
> The `.apk` file is saved on the external storage, but **all** private user data, databases, optimized `.dex` files, and extracted native code are saved on the internal device memory.

(Emphasis Supplied)
> 4 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, 6.0-marshmallow, insufficient-memory, adoptable-storage, samsung-galaxy-on7
---


# Question
Title: Phone Stolen and want to know if it was erased or a google error
My phone was stolen a week ago. I went home to log into my Google account in order to erase my device through Android "Find My Device". There was a check sign next to the erase, but it is still showing up on my account. I watched videos that told the owner that the phone was factory reset and I think my phone has not. Does this mean the thief has access to everything?

# Answer
> 2 votes
When you press on the *erase* option on the *find my device,* page, it tells you "If your device is offline, erasing will being when it next comes online" This is because Google cannot erase your device if it cannot connect to it.

The check mark you see, tells you that you put it into "erase mode" but it will only take place when it's online.

Had the device been online when you tried to erase it, it would have told you that it's online, and you would have seen the actual location.

I must conclude that the thief turned the phone off as soon as he got it. He could then put it through factory reset, or access your data while in airplane mode.

If you had a lock on your phone, the chances of him getting passed it, are very small. But If you did not have any lock on it, then he could have access to your data, and there's not much you can do about that.

---
Tags: applications, samsung, gmail, google, lost-phone
---


# Question
Title: How to deactivate backup apps on other phone remotely?
I dont have the phone. Its my old phone but I am still logged onto my mail. How can I deactivate it from my actual phone? I dont have the old phone on me.

# Answer
> 2 votes
*Assuming that you want to stop your Google account from syncing to your phone.*

To stop Google from syncing to your device, you should sign out of your account. To do that remotely, go to this page, sign into the same account as the one on your old phone, scroll down to the bottom of the page, press on the name of the device, and press *remove*. This will remove your account from your old phone and will stop any new info from coming in. You'll have to sign back in, in order to resume sync.

If you want to fully erase everything that's on the phone, go to Android.com/find log into your account, and press *erase* in the pop-up press *erase* again. As long as your phone is *on* and has internet connection, everything that's on it will be deleted.

---
Tags: gmail, google-account, cloud, onedrive
---


# Question
Title: How can I delete a WhatsApp chat with a specific contact from my app
I am not able to find the URI for it.

# Answer
To delete a specific conversation, open WhatsApp, find the conversation, long press on it, and you'll see a delete icon on the top right. Press on it, and it will ask you if you also want to delete media that was sent in the conversation. Choose accordingly, and press *delete*
> 2 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: Adding a new contact skips the phonebook, goes to viber
My grandma has a new Huawei phone that has an odd configuration. Whenever she adds a new contact, it doesn't appear in the phonebook, but in Viber instead. Naturally when she goes to her phonebook looking for her friends and doesn't find them, even though she had added them earlier, she gets very frustrated.

Since she's pretty old, I can't expect her to figure it out on her own. Is there a way to fix this? Viber hijacking your phonebook and not letting you add any contacts is pretty annoying.

# Answer
> 4 votes
There are 2 things to keep in mind:

1. Is your grandma actually going into her phone's contacts to add people, or is she going into the Viber app to add people?
2. When creating contacts, my phone asks me WHERE to store the contacts. In my case, I have 2 options: one the SIM card, or on my Google account. She may have a 3rd option (Viber). She should select one of the other 2. (I recommend Google account).

There is also a setting on Viber to let Viber sync with your phone contacts (so tyhat Viber contacts appear in your phone, and your phone contacts appear in Viber). This should be under General

---
Tags: huawei, viber-messenger
---


# Question
Title: What Exactly is this *expletive* Rooting Business?
Sorry this is a rant. I'm using the file manager EX Explorer and i just want to create a folder, put some files in it, possibly rename the files. Why did i have to spend 4 hours going through youtube videos and forums talking about "rooting" and "rooting directory". It is the simplest process imaginable...just moving files into folder. I'm NOT touching any system files. Why do i need extra or to enable permissions? I don't understand. Just what exactly is this rooting business anyway? In the end i just followed the "hint" and selected each directory i needed for each file, a long laborious process. Why hasn't android addressed this seemingly silly and extremely frustrating issue?

# Answer
> 2 votes
There's 2 parts to your question:

* **What is rooting:** On Linux-based systems (like Android) the "admin" user, i.e. the user with complete access to the entire system is called the "root" user. Since this is a potentially dangerous thing, the "root" account is often disabled. "Rooting" your phone is a term used to describe the procedure that either re-enables this "root" account or gives you (the owner of the phone) "root" privileges.
* **Why do you need to root your phone:** Well, long story short, it's your phone, you should have full access to it, shouldn't you? Most phones come bloated with apps that you do not need but cannot be uninstalled unless you have "root" privileges. If only for that, you should have "root" access so you can uninstall those nuisance apps and free-up some memory, storage and battery power.

---
Tags: rooting
---


# Question
Title: Clearing out most recent emoji / emoticons?
Whenever I use an emoji / emoticon from the Google keyboard on Android, it gets added to the recent / most-used list of emoji.

This is generally useful, but there are times when I use an emoji just one time, and I prefer not to have it stored in the "most used" list.

Is there any way to remove just one or a few emojis from the most used list? Or even clear out the entire list and start from scratch?

# Answer
1. Go to Settings app \> Apps \> Google Keyboard
2. Click "Storage"
3. Click "Clear Data"

This will remove / reset all your most recently used emojis so you can start from scratch.
> 1 votes

# Answer
And if you’d like certain ones there asap then text a friend or business (knowing it’ll be a landline) a couple times with all the emoji you’d like. Tap them a few times if necessary. It usually works in 2 texts for me. Text the grocery store. No one cares and it won’t go through anyway. I prefer this method over resets bc I don’t know what else I’m clearing that I may want
> 0 votes

---
Tags: keyboard, gboard, emoticons
---


# Question
Title: Is there any Android TV that could act as a Bluetooth center?
I'd like to develop an app for Android TV that can control BLuetooth devices.

Is there any Android TV that could do that ?

Alternatively, could a TV box such as the Xiaomi Mi TV do that ? http://www.mi.com/en/mibox/

# Answer
> 3 votes
The official Google Android TV support page has instructions for connecting devices via Bluetooth. This page (written in January 2018) specifies these steps for connecting Bluetooth speakers:

1. Find and select `Settings` from the app menu
2. Select 'Bluetooth' (may be under `Wireless and Networks` or `Remote & accessories`)
3. Use the `Pair` button on your speaker (or other device) to start the pairing process
4. Follow the dialog on the screen to complete pairing.

According to this answer on Stack Overflow, you should be able to connect up to 7 devices as long as they are above Bluetooth 4.0. The MiBox you linked to does have Bluetooth 4.0/3.0.

All this considered, **yes, controlling Bluetooth devices via an Android TV is possible.**

However, in relation *developing* an app to control Bluetooth devices, there are several in the Play Store now, but **development questions are best handled on StackOvervlow.**

---
Tags: bluetooth, android-tv, smart-tv, google-tv
---


# Question
Title: No Google Play Store on Huawei devices, nor within Huawei HiApp store
I recently got a Huawei P10, but there is only Huawei HiApp store, not Google Play Store. I want to download the Google Play Store, but I cannot find it in the HiApp store.

How can I install Google Play Store on this Huawei device?

# Answer
Huawei devices (and other smartphone brands) whose default ROM originates from China, have a certain geo-restriction that prevents accessing most Google apps and services and most (if not all) don't ship with Google Playstore pre-installed.

Instead the OEM based store called HiApp, is the default app store, with which you can download more apps. Fortunately the process of installing Google Play store is not a big hassle at all if you reside outside China (otherwise you might need to install a VPN beforehand).

Using the HiApp store app, **you can simply search and install Google Play store in a few taps** as shown in the screenshot:

You coud also you the web version of app store here: http://appstore.huawei.com

alternatively you get still get the .apk file on apkmirror and side-load it normally.

PS *I have a Huawei tablet with China ROM, that did not have Google playstore preinstalled and I simply used the above process, and it works well alongside **microG***.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The Google Play app should already be installed on your phone. Look in your App drawer.
> -1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, huawei
---


# Question
Title: In Android 6, how to deny an app permission to access the network?
In Android 6, the user has (finally!) the possibility of approving or denying specific permissions to an app.

However, I couldn't find a way to approve or deny network access, either via Wi-Fi or via cellular data connection. The relevant permission appears in "Other app capabilities" and it's only informative -- apparently there's no way to change it.

Here's an example with the Chess Free app:

# Answer
You won't be able to achieve success through the native mechanism of Android.

Cody Toombs at Android Police has very well pointed this out in the article: Android M Will Never Ask Users For Permission To Use The Internet, And That's Probably Okay.

In the section *Normal and Dangerous Permissions* of the document Permissions Overview, Google has noted:

> Permissions are divided into several protection levels.
>
> There are two protection levels that affect thrid party apps: normal and dangerous permissions.
>
> * *Normal* permissions cover areas where your app needs to access data or resources outside the app's sandbox, **but where there's very little risk to the user's privacy or the operation of other apps**. For example, permission to set the time zone is a normal permission.
>
> **If an app declares in its manifest that it needs a normal permission, the system automatically grants the app that permission at install time.** The system does not prompt the user to grant normal permissions, and users cannot revoke these permissions.
> * *Dangerous* permissions cover areas where the app wants data or resources that involve the user's private information, or could potentially affect the user's stored data or the operation of other apps. For example, the ability to read the user's contacts is a dangerous permission. **If an app declares that it needs a dangerous permission, the user has to explicitly grant the permission to the app.**

(Emphasis mine)

Surprising or not, the following permissions comes under the list of Normal Permissions:

* CHANGE\_NETWORK\_STATE \- allows applications to change network connectivity state - i.e. mobile data;
* CHANGE\_WIFI\_STATE \- allows applications to change Wi-Fi connectivity state;
* INTERNET \- allows applications to open network sockets.

If that doesn't suffice, checkout the permissions managed by AppOps here. If you don't find your permission listed there, you won't be able to do anything with it in GUI.

Since alternative methods are already extensively covered on this site, refer to:
> 29 votes

# Answer
You could use NetGuard (see my list of Internet Firewalls for other alternatives), which works without root and lets you block internet access for apps selectively (WiFi or mobile data, and even always or only if screen is off). It's from the dev of *XPrivacy,* so it has to be good ;)

*NetGuard* (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)

*NetGuard* is open source, so you can also find it at F-Droid.

**Update:** Note that recent versions of Netguard include Google Ads as well as Firebase Analytics – two things which IMHO have no business in a firewall (or any other security) application – which most likely is the reason it is no longer updated on F-Droid's official repo (still available in mine with the appropriate warnings).

**Update2:** Situation from the previous update has been resolved, and recent Netguard versions are available from both repos now – without those proprietary components.
> 26 votes

# Answer
There are some really cool apps that can do it without rooting. Here are two examples:
> 7 votes

# Answer
If you have *root* access you could also use:

I have updated my device to Android 6.0.1 and until now both seem to work.
> 4 votes

# Answer
## Preamble

It may be late, but I wish to add my own take on your question, for completeness' sake. This answer is a surefire way to block internet access to an application. The downsides? It doesn't block Intents, it is convoluted and might make the target app crash, and it *requires root privileges*.

It has been tested and confirmed to work up to Android 7.1.2.

---

## Rationale

As mentioned by the other answerers, any app which wishes to access the internet, must declare the `android.permission.INTERNET` undeniable permission within its `AndroidManifest.xml`. How does Android remember which permissions an app requested, though? By saving them inside `packages.xml`, a protected file located at `/data/system`.

It goes without saying that someone like us might be interested in editing said file, for the purpose of adding or *removing* a permission, provided they have root privileges. This is our way to negate internet access to an app without VPNs or firewall software.

---

## The `packages.xml` file

The `packages.xml` file lists all of the installed apps, together with their paths and permissions. Each app is placed between the `<package></package>` tags; for the sake of my answer, I'll target Nova Launcher by TeslaCoil. The app's stanza in the file is as follows:

```
    <package name="com.teslacoilsw.launcher" codePath="/data/app/com.teslacoilsw.launcher-1" nativeLibraryPath="/data/app/com.teslacoilsw.launcher-1/lib" publicFlags="944258628" privateFlags="0" ft="16075caace8" it="16075cac965" ut="16075cac965" version="53000" userId="10083" installer="com.android.packageinstaller">
        <sigs count="1">
            <cert index="7" key="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" />
        </sigs>
        <perms>
            <item name="com.android.launcher3.permission.READ_SETTINGS" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="com.teslacoilsw.launcher.permission.C2D_MESSAGE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.EXPAND_STATUS_BAR" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.INTERNET" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.SET_WALLPAPER" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.SET_WALLPAPER_HINTS" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.VIBRATE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE" granted="true" flags="0" />
            <item name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" granted="true" flags="0" />
        </perms>
        <proper-signing-keyset identifier="10" />
    </package>

```

The indentation is reported verbatim from the file.

---

## Procedure

Armed with the above knowledge, we can now proceed to examine Nova Launcher's permissions, wrapped between `<perms></perms>`. Soon enough, we will find the only one we need to edit:

```
            <item name="android.permission.INTERNET" granted="true" flags="0" />

```

To effectively deny internet access to the app, we merely need to delete the whole line and reboot our device. Commenting it out for future use is useless: Android examines this file at every boot, and *will purge your comments*.

---

## Drawbacks

Following this procedure will net you an app which cannot communicate with the internet in any way. However, *poorly coded apps and software intended for Marshmallow and above might crash upon trying to connect to the internet*, as Nova does.

Moreover, as pointed out by Firelord, updating an app causes the changes to revert, effectively voiding our efforts and requiring the permission to be deleted anew.

---

## Amending this procedure

To reverse what we did above, all that's needed is to add the permission we deleted back among the other ones and to reboot the device.

---

## Disclaimer

I'm in no way affiliated to Nova Launcher or its developers.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Internet access cannot be denied for individual apps on Android natively. Ads are the major sources of Google's revenue.

However if you're using Opera Max, you can restrict internet access to individual apps. You can even save data, thanks to Opera's compression technology.

Install **Opera Max** from Play Store. It's completely free and easy to use. No root required.
> 3 votes

# Answer
In light of some recent events, I'd like to improve this question by introducing Triangle by Google. Get it on APKMirror or APKPure and install it with ADB.

# Here are some of the key features.

It's not a VPN, it blocks locally your apps' access to Internet. Think of it as a new permission just like using the camera or having access to your location.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: networking, 6.0-marshmallow, permissions
---


title: Keep flashlight on while in camera

text:
# Question
Title: Keep flashlight on while in camera
I'm looking to use an old phone (like a Nexus 5 or Honor 5X) as a nighttime security camera with the Manything app, but this doesn't seem practical as I just can't get the flashlight working.

I plan to use Macrodroid/Tasker to turn the flashlight on automatically at night (as Manything doesn't natively support it), but the problem is that the flashlight turns off when opening the Manything camera view and can not be turned on while using the camera.

Is there a way to keep the flashlight on while using the camera in Manything? Or is there an Android skin which allows the flashlight to be turned on while the rear flashcamera is active?

# Answer
> 1 votes
This seems like a device specific issue. Some phones will allow the flashlight to be on while the camera is on, others won't.

The phone I'm using, Galaxy S5 has no issue with the flashlight that comes preinstalled, being on while the camera is running.

So if you're anyway buying a phone for this, Galaxy s5 or any other phone that allows it, should be your choice. *(In my humble opinion, instead of buying this phone, you're better off buying a security camera with night vision...)*

In the screenshot below, I have the manything app in recording mode, and the flashlight on, and I'm facing a mirror.

*Using galaxy S5 on AT&T Android 6.0 flashlight widget that comes with the phone.*

Note: other flashlight apps didn't work while camera is on.

I wouldn't post this as an answer had there not been a comment from OP saying:

> @Abochur I mean I'm literally going to buy an S5 for this express purpose :). Could you help me make sure I get one that'll let me use the flash like you can?

---
Tags: camera, flashlight
---


# Question
Title: Mirroring an Android display via Android Studio
I have an Android (first-generation Pixel) with a broken display. While the display does still appear to receive touch events, its ability to actually display anything seems to be basically done for.

Before I get a replacement phone (which I will, in a few days), I was wondering whether I could mirror the display on a laptop via some of Android Studio's visual or command-line tools, or otherwise without installing third party apps.

Is this possible at all, considering how limited my interaction with the display is?

# Answer
> 1 votes
TLDR; Yes because it receives touch events.

Why? I have even done this with the original iPhone 2G back with a jailbreak. Basically I would copy the configuration files from a working jailbroken iPhone onto the broken iPhone. Back then I used Chickenvnc and a VNC root application. The problem with Android is that I do not know of a current VNC application that let's you operate the entire device from VNC even with *root*. There are literally zero to my knowledge. My question here has gone unanswered for similar reasons. Home Screen Launcher Completely Operated By Keyboard & Alpha VNC But you have touch events so you should be able to configure the device on an identical pixel and then flash the exact same configuration onto the broken pixel. The tricky part will be navigating the home screen.

---
Tags: usb-debugging, broken-screen, external-display
---