title: 2G preferred network type on Android 13

text:
# Question
Title: 2G preferred network type on Android 13
I'm using a crDroid rom on a Samsung S8 phone and I have realized that google decided to fight 2G networks.

I have only 3G and 4G options for preferred network type now in the rom settings. And if I use a method that worked beautifully on android pie, it no longer works on android 13. When I set the type to 2G, the network type doesn't change and the rom settings displays something like "invalid value, defaulting to 4G".

But I found out I can still change it by using the phone app, inputting `*#*#4636#*#*` and then selecting 2G. This way 2G is even displayed in the rom settings and it works. But as soon as I change it to 4G, the only way to get back to 2G is to input the code again in the phone app.

I would like to have some automation to switch between 2G and 4G. Preferrably with a quick settings tile.

So, is there a way to achieve this in a more effective way?

# Answer
> -1 votes
No. `*#*#4636#*#*` is the only way.

---
Tags: mobile-network, 2g, android-13
---


# Question
Title: How to set MMS subject with the official Google Messages app?
On many apps, they have an "Add subject" menu:

<sub>(source: tapatalk.com)</sub>

This allows setting the message's subject, a feature of the MMS protocol.

But how to do the same with the official Google app?

# Answer
> 1 votes
You need to long-press the MMS button on the bottom right. Only then will you be able to add the subject.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The newest version of Google Messages (as of this answer) has moved the subject to the "three dot" menu in the upper-right of the application when composing a message. Simply tap the three-dot menu, choose "Show subject field" and you're there! This is possible without the message being an MMS beforehand, but will convert it into an MMS (instead of SMS) when used. See the screenshots below:

---
Tags: mms, google-messages
---


title: Turn off in app sounds in facebook

text:
# Question
Title: Turn off in app sounds in facebook
How do I turn off in-app sounds in facebook for android 397.0.0.23.404?

There seems to be no section named "media and contacts" in the settings menu.

As a result, every time I push a like button, I get a disturbing sound from the phone.

# Answer
# Facebook app (400.0.37.76)

In the Facebook app, you can follow these items to find "Sounds in the app":

* Tap the "Hamburger menu" (three lines) in the top right from the main page
* Tap the "gear" for settings in the top right
* Tap "Profile settings" (with your name and photo next to it)
* Scroll down and select "Media and contacts"
* Disable the toggle for "Sounds in the app"

For what it's worth, the "Media and contacts" section also showed up for me when searching in settings for "sound"

Screenshots for help:

## Hamburger menu

## Settings gear

## Profile settings

## Media and contacts

## Sounds in the app

# Facebook Messenger

In the settings of the Messenger app, tap your profile picture in the top-left to get to the settings menu. From there, select "Notifications & sounds", then turn off the "In-app sounds" toggle:
> 2 votes

---
Tags: facebook
---


# Question
Title: How to disable the in-app update notification on Google Photos?
When opening Google Photos and if there is a newer version, it says that I need to upgrade. You can of course click no, but it is very troublesome to do it always.

Is there any way to disable this popup without upgrading the app?

I got a rooted device.

# Answer
> 1 votes
1. Go to the Android Settings
2. Find the Google Photos app
3. Disable background data

# Answer
> 0 votes
When you get the notification next time, long press it and you will get the Settings or the details option based on the version of Android running on your device. Once you select the option, you will be taken to the notification settings page of the app and from there you can choose to turn off the notification for that particular popup category or for the entire app.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Alright, I have a solution, more of a workaround and not the best one, but it works for me, I used MacroDroid to dismiss that window automatically. I'm using Photos v5.52.

Application Launched (Photos) \> Wait 750 ms, Repeat 7 times{Click\[com.google.android.apps.photos:id/negative\_button\], Wait 100 ms}

It's the UI interaction action and identify in app function.

Didn't find any other solution.. tried LuckyPatcher to change some components, detaching from store, XprivacyLua, but no luck.

Macro here: http://bit.ly/3HAHwBc

---
Tags: google-photos
---


# Question
Title: Is it possible to get the name of the active activity-alias?
I am developing an application that has the ability to change the icon that is displayed in the launcher. I share the code that does this. I understand that this is not a forum for developers, so you can imagine that there are several icons in the application, but only one is always displayed in the launcher.

```
public static void setIcon(LauncherIcon icon) {
    Context ctx = ApplicationLoader.applicationContext;
    PackageManager pm = ctx.getPackageManager();
    for (LauncherIcon i : LauncherIcon.values()) {
        pm.setComponentEnabledSetting(i.getComponentName(ctx), i == icon ? PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED :
                PackageManager.COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED, PackageManager.DONT_KILL_APP);
    }
}

```

I wanted to write a command that would know which icon is currently active. This can just be determined by taking from somewhere a list of only active `activity-alias`es. Since the control in the code happens through the `PackageManager`, I assume that in the terminal this is possible with the `pm` utility. But I didn't find anything to help me. As I understand it, somehow through `pm` I can get a list of `activity-alias`es, and then for each get the properties `COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED` or `COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_DISABLED` , which I specify in the code. If I find the property `COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE_ENABLED` then I should get the name of this `activity-alias`.

# Answer
> 0 votes
For example if your app has package `com.company.Calc` and has two `activity-alias`: `com.company.MainActivity1` (default) and `com.company.MainActivity2` you can get current active `activity-alias` like this:

```
dumpsys package com.company.Calc | grep -A1 "enabledComponents" | grep "com.company" | grep -o '[^$(printf '\t') ].*' || echo "com.company.MainActivity1"

```

---
Tags: applications
---


# Question
Title: What does an orange street symbolize in Waze?
I wonder what an orange street symbolizes in Waze. Example in Washington state, USA:

Traffic jam? No traffic jam, but slow street? Something else? I believe the traffic jams I've seen on Waze were red, not orange.

# Answer
So I found: https://support.google.com/waze/partners/answer/7246755?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwaze-o-meter

And as you noted in the comment the description of colors may not match expectations. As that page is for Waze Partners, I'm unclear as to its support in various regions, YMMV.

From the webpage on **Use Traffic View**:

> **Waze-o-Meter**
>
> The color coding of the Waze-o-Meter mirrors what's displayed on the Waze app.
>
> * **Green:** Free Flow - Great conditions, cars are able to move at speed limit.
> * **Yellow:** Light Traffic - Slight congestion, but drivers can still travel at relative speeds.
> * **Light red:** Moderate Traffic - Congestion starting to build up noticeably.
> * **Red:** Heavy Traffic - Speeds have slowed down, expect significant delays.
> * **Dark red:** Bumper to Bumper - Traffic is near standstill.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: navigation, waze
---


title: 64 bit ROM on arm-v7

text:
# Question
Title: 64 bit ROM on arm-v7
I'm not finding a stable Lineage armeabi-v7 ROM for my Moto G6.

All I found was a 64 bit Lineage ROM meant for another codename (my phone's codename is "Ali". The 64 bits phone seems to be "Evert")

Also found an unofficial 64bit TWRP for the Ali (doesn't say which XT).

If I flash this recovery, is there a way to predict if I'm gonna be able to flash a x64 ROM ? Or trial and error ?

I lose a whole day to customize the phone after a flashing goes wrong (happenned twice this week), even using titanium, and android's native backup. That's why I ask if someone has experience on this particular case before jumping.

If the architecture isn't problem enough (processor seems to support x64), there's the Vendor and other partitions that usually aren't bundled onto custom ROMs...

```
XT-1925-5

Qualcomm Snapdragon 450

8xARM Cortex-A53

GPU Adreno 506

```

This question could also become cannonical/General.

# Answer
> 1 votes
IT DOES WORK
The 64 Bit TWRP and ROM DO work on an arm-v7

* First I installed the Unofficial TWRP (mali.img)
* Then this unofficial ROM
* Gapps must be Pico, or else no space on /system.

Reminding that my device is a XT1925-5

**DO NOT** install TWRP app as a system app. If you did, there is an uninstall option on the TWRP advanced

---
Tags: custom-roms, lineageos
---


# Question
Title: How can I change the flashlight intensity on my Pixel 6?
I wonder how I can change the flashlight intensity on my Google Pixel 6.

# Answer
Flash Android 13 Developer Preview on your device. “getTorchStrengthLevel” and “turnOnTorchWithStrengthLevel” is only available from Android 13.
> 1 votes

# Answer
If you have Android 13 installed there are two apps I know that support flashlight dimming functionality:
> 1 votes

---
Tags: settings, google-pixel-6, flashlight
---


# Question
Title: What might prevent ADB from writing to a Settings.Secure key?
I am trying to edit the value of a Secure Settings key over ADB with the command:

`settings put secure camera_double_twist_to_flip_enabled 1`

For some unknown reason, the value of this key is `0` and cannot be changed. Because of this, the shake gesture in the Google Camera app does not work.

I've tried a number of fixes, all with no success:

* `settings put --user 0 secure camera_double_twist_to_flip_enabled 1` : Fails to set value.
* `settings put --user 10 secure camera_double_twist_to_flip_enabled 1` : Successfully sets value for the Work Profile (aka user 10), but doesn't affect the Personal Profile (user 0) where Gcam is installed). There are no other profiles set up.
* `settings put secure camera_double_twist_to_flip_enabled default` : Value remains at `0`.
* **Settings \> System \> Languages & input \> Advanced \> Flip camera** : No such toggle exists in the Settings app.
* **Settings \> System \> Gestures \> Flip camera for selfie** : No such toggle exists in the Settings app.
* Boot into **Safe Mode**, then `settings put secure camera_double_twist_to_flip_enabled 1` : Successfully sets value, but only temporarily. When phone is rebooted into Regular Mode, the key value is RESET TO `0`.

The device is an unrooted Google Pixel 7 running GrapheneOS 13 (a ROM very similar to stock AOSP).

This issue is being discussed on the GrapheneOS development forum, where a different user running GrapheneOS 13 on a Google Pixel 6 did *not* encounter the same issue and was able to set the key value via ADB as expected.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Problem solved. I had the app SystemUI Tuner installed, which can manage such settings and apparently had a way to make its own preferences persist even if a setting were changed by another method, including ADB.

---
Tags: adb, settings, bugs, gestures, google-camera
---


# Question
Title: How to watch Facebook video without stopping music playback from Spotify
Here is a very common use case I have: I listen to music on Spotify while going through my Facebook feed. Sometimes there's a video that I want to see in full screen. When I tap the video, music playback stops. What I want is to watch the video without any sound and keep my music playing. Is that possible? Phone: Galaxy S8

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can't do this exactly, But there's a workaround. Go to settings \> sounds & vibration \> sperate app sound. Note: that this will only work if a Bluetooth device is connected.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It is not normally possible unless the apps have been written to release the speaker.

From xda.developers

> Android offers the concept of "audio focus", a set of APIs that can cooperatively be utilized by third-party apps so that only one app can hold the focus at a time. Apps can choose whether or not their audio should halt or "duck" whenever another app takes over the audio focus. Because Google left it up to developers to decide how to handle things when the audio focus is lost, there's a lot of inconsistency in how apps behave when another app takes over audio focus.
>
> Fortunately, there's a new mod for **rooted** phones called "App Volume Control" that seeks to solve this.

If you are willing to root your phone, then you can try Per App Volume Control

---
Tags: facebook, music-player, spotify, samsung-galaxy-s-8
---


title: A proper way to create complete backup?

text:
# Question
Title: A proper way to create complete backup?
Maybe someone could point me in the right direction, just trying to make a complete backup of my phone (Samsung Galaxy S22), so I could back everything up when needed, I have tried the 'Titanium Backup' and 'Swift Backup' tools so far, but they only back up the .apks, and my Google login credentials are lost.

I am really kind of lost browsing through some 11-year-old topics about 'nandroid' and 'ClockWorkMod', do people use these tools today?

# Answer
> 1 votes
For a non-rooted phone, I have found Samsung **Smart Switch** the best option. But it will not restore to non-Samsung phones. I may still work for rooted phones.

Otherwise, I quite like MyPhoneExplorer. You can see what you are backing up in the filesystem and it has numerous options on what you want to back up.

However, I do not believe that you can backup/restore

* Paid-for apps - I guess it's a safety feature for developers. Otherwise, you could get multiple copies of paid-for apps working.
* Credentials - Again, I believe it's a safety feature for you.

If you save passwords to your **Google Account** for Android App and Chrome, then I think these could be restored.

From support.google

> Use passwords across your devices You can sign in to apps and sites on different devices using passwords saved to your Google Account when you either:
>
> * Turn on sync in Chrome on Android
> * Sign in to Chrome on your computer

---
Tags: backup
---


# Question
Title: How can I get a notification when a Bluetooth device stops being accessible by my Android phone?
I wonder how I can get a notification when a Bluetooth device stops being accessible by my Android phone. I use Pixel 6 + Android 12.

Example of list of Bluetooth devices that are accessible by my Android phone:

When a given device (e.g., "TV") disappears from the list, I'd like to receive a notification.

# Answer
> 1 votes
This can be done using Android App **Tasker**. Here is a link: Tasker: Run a task when a specific bluetooth device loses connection

Note: If you haven't used Tasker before, it is powerful, but it has a pretty steep learning curve.

---
Tags: notifications, bluetooth, android-12, google-pixel-6
---


# Question
Title: Google Wallet gets replaced by Google Pay
Weirdest shenanigan:

I just installed Lineage 18 and gapps, then Google Wallet (from the store). But the wallet does not get installed: the defunct **Google Pay** takes its place !

Problem is: this Google Pay detects the root. Wallet used to work (after all the root hiding modules)

And now it got worse, the app is giving that error message: *Google pay is currently updating so you won't be able to access the app*
Can't even attempt to use it

Wiping data, dalvik, etc doesn't change anything

The ROM and device is from this question here
Also asked the ROM developers to see if they have a clue

**Feb 4:**
Tried making the app system (using the Systemizer module), but no difference.

Also noticed that just right after installing the app, **both** the Wallet and the Pay coexist on the app drawer.
For a moment, though: if I choose wallet, it disappears and runs the Pay

# Answer
> 0 votes
Found out this is NORMAL
Somehow...

Apparently, on THIS VERY ROM, the google Pay takes precedence over the Wallet.
I have an Official 18.1 Lineage on an S7, and the Wallet app takes precedence there.

All works:

* Shamiko, USNF 2.3.1MOD2.1, MagiskHidePropsConfig (spoofing myself), HiddenCore Module;
* Play Store, Play Services, and Wallet on the Deny list. Don't force DenyList;
* Wipe data of the three above. Uninstall the updates of them all, disable them, reboot, and do the reverse. Let them update themselves from the store.

At first, GPay will be unavailable, as it really IS updating itself (internally?).

---
Tags: lineageos, google-wallet
---


# Question
Title: Back up/restore /data on a device with forced encryption and no TWRP support
Back in the days before forced encryption, I was able to back up my entire filesystem (or rather, the `/data` partition, including all non-system apps and app-private storage) using TWRP and restore it. I even migrated my data from one phone to another using this method.

Nowadays, modern devices have their data partition encrypted by default. The one in question is a Fairphone 4, which has no official TWRP support yet (and the unofficial one to date does not support access to an encrypted `/data` partition) – so no way to simply back up the data partition from TWRP, and I am looking for a replacement.

Environment constraints and requirements:

* Must back up and restore the entire `/data` filesystem transparently, without changing or even looking at the data – including user apps, app data (system and user); internal shared storage is optional
* Device runs LineageOS and is rooted with Magisk
* Must work without Google services
* Backup must be stored on the device itself (internal storage, SD card or external USB storage), a Linux PC via USB or a server under my control
* Any extra software needed for this (recovery, backup tools, server software) must be FOSS

Any options?

# Answer
Not a complete answer yet (better ones are encouraged), but here are some pointers.

* LineageOS 19 and up includes Seedvault, which claims to restore apps and settings, and some report it even works for transferring data to another phone. It is also available as a standalone app. It can back up to internal storage, USB storage or cloud storage (which can be self-hosted). I am not sure, though, how selective it is about the data it backs up, so the first requirement may not be fulfilled.
* On a rooted device, you can install an SSH server such as SimpleSSHD. In order to get full access, the SSH server must support root mode – SimpleSSHD allows this by setting the `su` binary as the login shell. You can then access the entire device via SFTP, mount it on a PC and run the tools of your choice on it. Caveat – I found SFTP to be about an order of magnitude slower than MTP (~500 kB/s vs. ~5M/s), thus a full backup takes long. You’ll want to limit your backup to what has actually changed. One way to do that is to mirror files with Unison – that way only the first backup (and full restores) will take long. As the data will not be compressed, you will need the equivalent of your phone’s storage in available space somewhere.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: backup, file-system
---


# Question
Title: Set navigation buttons back to old layout on Samsung tablet Android 13
I have two Samsung Galaxy A8 Tablets.

One runs Android 13, the other one 12. How do I get the navigation buttons on the bottom (not sure what they are called) back to the Android 12 layout?

I don't need the quick start apps options in the middle. I want the navigation button there and not on the right.

Android 12 (this is how it should be)

Android 13 (Quick start apps & button on the right, this should be the same layout as the image above)

# Answer
The thing is called "Symbol/Task bar" (Translated from Germany, not sure if its correct)

**Settings \> Display \> "Symbol/Task Bar"**
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung, tablet, navigation-bar, android-13
---


# Question
Title: Restore all data to another rooted device (LineageOS)
Is it possible to export all phone data (phone settings, installed apps, app data...) and import it to another device (different model) in one shot?

What I'm looking for is a way to "mirror" all data in a device to another device (e.g. when I buy a new phone, or when I have to repair my current phone and use a spare phone in the meantime), avoiding losing time restoring manually all phone settings, reinstalling every app from the Play Store, restoring app data with Titanium Backup, configuring all icons and widgets on my home launcher, and so on... I'd like to switch on the new device and find it the same (except for hardware differences).

I'm thinking about PCs with Linux OS. If I take apart the main hard drive from a PC and put it in a new PC, most of the time it works flawlessly (and I find exactly everything I had before).

I always root my phones and install LineageOS.

So I'm thinking: I could

* nandroid backup the `/data` partition from the first phone with TWRP
* unroot the new phone and install *the same* LineageOS ROM in the `/system` partition (obviously not the same file, but the same nightly for this new device)
* restoring the old `/data` partition to this new phone

Do you think it could work? Or are there limitations I don't know about?

# Answer
Encrypted open source backup solution for Android is called SeedVault by Calyx Institute and has been included as a built-in backup solution from *LineageOS 18.1*.

1. To use it, navigate to *Settings* -\> *System* -\> *Backup*, and *“Change backup provider”* to *Seedvault*. You can then click *“Seedvault Backup”* to configure, schedule, and encrypt backups!
2. Backups created with Seedvault can be uploaded on your *NextCloud* instance, an *external USB* drive or kept on your *local storage*.

---
> 3 votes

# Answer
On older devices that did not encrypt their storage, I have successfully done that. Both devices were running the same version of CyanogenMod 11 at the time – on different hardware, but both systems were signed with the same key.

Using TWRP recovery I made a backup of the `/data` partition, extracted that from one device and copied it to the other via MTP (both while still in recovery). Migration was seamless, even the authentication token generated the same code on both devices.

Instead of using TWRP, any other way to copy the `/data` partition from one device to the other should work just as well.

Some app data may also be in internal shared storage (`/sdcard`), so you will need to copy that over as well.

Since `/data` holds all user apps and the private data of both user and system apps, your new device will feel just like the old one – I had all my apps, app settings and system settings on the new phone.

Caveats to this method, though:

* Newer devices encrypt their `/data` partition, so you can no longer access it from recovery. You might be able to do this with the OS running, but there is a risk of copying files that may be in use, or of the OS interfering in some way.
* I have no experience with moving data to a newer OS version. On a cold system, maybe you’re lucky and Android will think it’s just been upgraded from an older version, causing it to upgrade data as needed. This is more likely to work if you can copy the data to the new device in recovery mode, not with the OS running.
* If the devices are running different OS distributions with different signatures, this might be an issue – I have no experience with that. Note that unofficial builds of LineageOS will have a different signature than official ones, and signatures will differ between unofficial builds by different authors (or even across builds by the same author if the author is not being careful). LineageOS has instructions on moving to a build with a different key, but I have not tried these.

All in all, if your new device is still in “virgin” state (i.e. no data on it yet), you can try various ways of copying data from the old device. As long as the old device remains usable, you can always wipe the new device and start over.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: backup, lineageos, restore, data-transfer, nandroid
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy A3 - stuck on empty battery boot screen after total battery drain
So, the battery on my Samsung Galaxy A3 drained completely. Then I plugged in USB cable, and the empty battery logo appeared - and nothing else, to graphics to indicate it was charging:

I left the USB plugged in for some 15-20 minutes, then I unplugged it.

Now the screen STILL shows an empty battery logo, even after some 15-20 minutes after unplugging.

I had kept power button pressed for more than 30 seconds, nothing happens.

I had kept Volume Up + Power button pressed for more than 10 seconds, in hopes it would reboot to recovery, nothing happens.

I would have taken out the battery at this point, but this damn phone does not allow the battery to be replaced.

What do I do now to get this phone working again?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Found here: Fastboot Mode SAMSUNG Galaxy A3 Core - HardReset.info https://www.hardreset.info › devices

> hold down Volume Down and Power button to turn off the smartphone

That is what I did: help Volume Down and Power button pressed together for about 10 seconds, and the phone turned off (the empty battery icon disappeared), and then it rebooted normally to system - I quickly plugged in the USB cable when I noticed it was rebooting to system, and now it is charging. Phewwwwwwww.....

---
Tags: charging, boot, system-freeze, samsung-galaxy-a3
---


title: Built-in Sound Recorder app | Nokia G50

text:
# Question
Title: Built-in Sound Recorder app | Nokia G50
I have Nokia G50, running Android 13 I can not find any built-in sound recorder app. I am not referring to call recording app but one that can record audio that doesn't originate from the device. Does anyone have an idea of such app comes with this model? Is it an app that is provided by the OS or the device manufacturer?

# Answer
There is a related article on Nokia Support - How can I record a voice clip on my Nokia smartphone?

> You can use the pre-installed Keep app to record a voice clip. Alternatively, you can search for third-party apps in the Play Store.

Nokia relies on Google Keep for voice recording, but it doesn't have an independent sound recorder app.

While the AOSP has SoundRecorder app, the manufacturer can and do customize their Android ROMs, including removing AOSP apps.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: android-13, nokia
---


# Question
Title: Enable usage of mobile data while connected to a WiFi without internet connection
It is possible to allow my device to use mobile data while connected to a WiFi hotspot?

The reason being is that the WiFi hotspot I connect to does not have an internet connection. So I want to be able to access the internet while still being connected to this WiFi network.

I can see that after Android 10, there is a feature called dual acceleration which allows this for certain app like Instagram, Chrome and Facebook. I want to be able to do it for any app. Is there a way of accomplishing this?

# Answer
I've just recently come across this question, as I have been struggling with the same problem.

I have a potential solution which I've found which might help others. These instructions are for a Samsung Phone, but you may be able to find the equivalent options on Android.

I have a device that requires me to connect my phone to it via it's own hotspot. The hotspot the device creates doesn't have internet access, and because my cellphone thinks it is connected to a wifi network, it then refuses to use mobile data. I only want to use mobile data when connected to this ssid.

These are the steps I used which seemed to work:

1. Activate hotspot on device which does not have internet access.
2. In the connection settings connect to device.
3. Android then prompts you saying the current network does not have internet access.

```
    Connect just this time
    Always Connect
    Disconnect

```

**IGNORE THIS PROMPT!** Close the wifi connection app, and you should now have both a mobile connection and the network connection.

> **Note:** If you have already accepted one of these options, you can either:

* forget the network, and try this again,
* otherwise go to `Connections -> Wifi -> Advanced -> Switch to mobile data -> Network Exceptions` and delete the entry for the SSID in question.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: wi-fi, mobile-data, wifi-hotspot, mobile-network, android-10
---


# Question
Title: Google Chat randomly hyperlinks words like "see", "zoo", "walmart", and "in a" on Samsung Galaxy S22, Android 13
I am using Google Chat from GMail on Samsung Galaxy S22, Android 13. Some words like "see", "zoo", "walmart", and "in a" are linked randomly. When I tap it, I can search for the word(s) or click map which actually doesn't do anything as it's not a place.

I don't see any recently added apps that might be doing this. I have also restarted the phone as well as wiped the cache and data for GMail to attempt to fix it. The only thing I can think of is the update I performed yesterday as I don't remember seeing this happen prior to that.

How to fix it?

# Answer
> 0 votes
It's been happening on my Note20 as well. I think I found the setting that controls it, but it's kind of crap for a fix because it disables a lot of other things as well. To get to the setting, open the Gmail app and go into settings. Choose the account-specific settings for the account you are using with Chat. Scroll down about one screen worth and you will see a checkbox option that says:

> **Smart features and personalization**
>
> Gmail, Chat, and Meet may use my email, chat, and video content to personalize my experience and provide smart features. If I opt out, such features will be turned off.

Turning this off will not un-create the random word links it made in the past, but it will stop all future links from appearing. However, doing so will also disable the smart features in other Google products on your phone, as well as disabling features like Package Tracking, Smart Compose, and Smart Reply. So unfortunately, it seems that either you live with the janky, buggy link generation that Chat wants to do, or you have to live without some of the other more useful features you'd find in Chat, Gmail, and other Google apps.

---
Tags: samsung, hyperlinks, android-13, google-chat
---


# Question
Title: Audio & Video Codecs not working on Android 7.1.2 phone
Since recently the phone i have been using for about 2.5 years has developed an issue with it's audio and video codecs. Videos won't play in the Google Chrome app, in the YouTube app, not in Whatsapp or Telegram either. Downloaded videos won't play from the gallery except when i use VLC app (Which is known for having it's own codecs bundled). Audio won't play either, i don't hear a ringtone when i am being called, when i set an alarm for in the morning it goes off but only vibrates (no sound), and music players either don't play the song or skip through all the songs at a fast pace.

I am not debugging something i wrote, this is my phone's system failing on it's own. I tried to unlock the bootloader 2 years ago but never got any kind of special access to the system. I also didn't get any updates on the system since i bought the phone sadly.

I used ADB to get the error logs from me setting an alarm with default ringtone, and it confirms a codec error like i suspected (vorbis codec this time, but other codecs also have the same issue):

```
[ 01-02 16:07:00.342 13560:13560 E/SoftOMXPlugin ]
unable to dlopen libstagefright_soft_vorbisdec.so: dlopen failed: library "libstagefright_soft_vorbisdec.so" not found

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342 13560:13560 E/OMX      ]
FAILED to allocate omx component 'OMX.google.vorbis.decoder' err=ComponentNotFound(0x80001003)

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8727 W/ACodec   ]
Allocating component 'OMX.google.vorbis.decoder' failed, try next one.

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8727 E/ACodec   ]
Unable to instantiate a decoder for type 'audio/vorbis' with err 0xfffffffe.

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8727 E/ACodec   ]
signalError(omxError 0xfffffffe, internalError -2)

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8727 E/MediaCodec ]
Codec reported err 0xfffffffe, actionCode 0, while in state 1

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8726 E/NuPlayerDecoder ]
Failed to create audio/vorbis decoder

[ 01-02 16:07:00.342   611: 8722 E/NuPlayer ]
received error(0x80000000) from audio decoder, flushing(0), now shutting down

```

This goes beyond what i know about Android system, but a full reboot seems to fix the issue temporarily but this is not a good way to make sure your alarm goes off several hours later.. I pasted the full ADB log in a pastebin for those interested.

What can i do except do a hard reset or buy a new phone?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Same problem here on Moto G4 with Android 7.0: no audio in videos, remote (youtube, facebook, etc) and local files. Different messages in different players. Symptoms:

* Youtube: Plays videos, no audio. It used to work fine.
* Facebook Videos/Stories/Reels: sometimes plays video, no audio, shows message "There is a failure in audio, would you restart the device?"
* Other online applications with Video: plays video, no audio
* VLC/Videolan play mp3 freezes and crashes (it did not crash before).
* Default video player, shows message "cannot show video" even thought video plays with no audio. It used to work fine.

Tested solutions:

* Already checked all volume settings
* Already tried restarting the device 10+ times, made no difference.
* Tried drfone\_repair windows application, only works on Samsung devices.
* Tried droidkit windows application, also repair only for Samsung devices.
* Tried reiboot windows application, it would delete data after fixing.
* Tried clear data in Media Storage (Configuration, Applications, 3 Dot icon, System, Clear) and restarting the phone, no good.

Looks like only solution is Factory Reset: Configuration \> Personal - Security Copy \> Factory Reset (in my device).

---
Tags: audio, video, 7.1-nougat, system-error
---


# Question
Title: Disable in-app browsing on the Facebook Lite app
By default, many apps open links inside the app using an in-app browser. On Android, this is a version of Chrome, called Chrome Custom Tabs, optimised for in-app use (1).

When in-app browsing is disabled, clicking a link results in the default browser app opening and rendering the webpage.

To disable in-app browsing on the Facebook app, users can go to Setting \> Media to find a checkbox related to this behaviour (2).

How can in-app browsing be disabled in the Facebook Lite app? This light version does not seem to include the same checkbox as the regular Facebook app.

# Answer
I have a solution for disabling Facebook Lite's in-app browser. What you need is a rooted smartphone and Lucky Patcher and that's it.

1. Open Lucky Patcher.
2. Click/tap Facebook Lite.
3. Click/tap "Menu of patches".
4. Select "Change the app's components".
5. Select "Disable components (pm disable method)".
6. Scroll down and disable
    * com.facebook.lite.inappbrowser.common.BrowserLiteProxyActivty
    * com.facebook.browser.lite.BrowserLiteInMainProcessactivity
7. Click apply then close.
8. Launch Facebook Lite and open any link and see magic.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The new update (Version 200.0.0.8.117) now open links directly opened in the browser instead of in-app.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: browser, facebook
---


# Question
Title: How to completely remove Google from an Android device?
So tired of Google running in the background even when I block it. Installing unauthorized apps. Monitoring and snooping. It's involved in many places and not security minded.

I am for privacy and I want a secure system. I have begun using F-Droid. I have secure browsers and now I just want a secure Linux-based OS.

# Answer
> Installing unauthorized apps.

No, Google does **not** install unauthorized apps.

> secure Linux-based OS.

Android isn't exactly a GNU/Linux based OS if that's what you mean. Android uses the Linux kernel, but has a totally different OS core from what you normally see in so called linux 'distros'

> How to completely remove Google from an Android device?

The best alternative remains flashing an AOSP based custom ROM that doesnt bundle with GSF (Google Services Framework) and Google Play services.

The next best thing you can do right now is using ADB. Download it from here

⚠ You haven't mentioned your phone's OEM, OS, Version, etc so I can't exactly know how your device might behave once the below command(s) are executed, things might break.

The command to uninstall an app would be (even if that's a system app)

`adb shell pm uninstall -k --user <user id> <Package name>`

For example to remove Google app for user 0, it would be

```
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

```

Incase your fork of Android restricts Google app from being removed using ADB, i.e., if an error pops up upon executing that command, try disabling it via ADB

```
adb shell pm disable-user com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

```

Similarly, for Google Play services and Google play store, the package names should be `com.google.android.gms` and `com.android.vending`

Google Services Framework is `com.google.android.gsf`
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung, security, google, privacy, uninstallation
---


# Question
Title: Close current tab on Chrome for Android without showing all tabs first
When I'm browsing on my computer, I can press CTRL-W or click the X on a tab to close it. That's convenient. But it seems Chrome for Android has no similar function.

To close the current tab on Android, I need to click the "tabs" icon which brings up all tabs. This often takes 10-60 seconds on my phone because there is anything between 100-3000 tabs open/cached there, and it seems very unnecessary.

Is there another way to close the current tab without first loading all the tabs?

# Answer
Long press the tab number next to the 3 vertical dot, a menu will appear. Select Close tab.
> 15 votes

# Answer
Install a keyboard that has a control key. Here is one such keyboard.

To close the active tab without displaying all tabs, tap the address bar to invoke the keyboard, then press Ctrl+W (the keyboard should let you tap the two keys separately in the order Ctrl,W). The tab will close and the next older tab will become active.

To change the active tab without displaying all tabs, swipe the address bar left or right. This is useful if you need to skip over a tab you don't want to close.

To open a new tab without displaying all tabs, tap the three dot menu icon and choose "New tab."

Using these three methods, you should be able to completely avoid displaying all tabs. I believe the only function you need to show all tabs to access is "close all tabs." Even that might be possible with something like Ctrl+Shift+W but I don't want to try it because I too have an embarrassing amount of tabs I need to sort through.
> 2 votes

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


# Question
Title: How can I disable the Android 11's auto-reset permissions globally?
Since Android 11, there is a system feature where it resets app permissions after a certain amount of time has passed and you haven't used the app. I hate this, it keeps resetting apps I use infrequently.

I know you can turn it off on most apps, but it seems to turn back on when there are app or system updates. There must be a way to disable this feature entirely or to make the default setting off instead of on.

I have tried various searches but I can find nothing. Others must have had the desire to disable this annoying feature? Any help would be appreciated!

# Answer
> 3 votes
I have not found a way to completely disable this "feature", but it can be done per app: Google play store→your profile picture in the top right→"Play protect" (even if it's off)→gear icon in the top right→permissions for unused apps→"Auto-remove on" tab
Then click each, turn off the "Remove permissions if app isn't used" slider and go back.

The app "RepetiTouch" can be used to record and repeatedly execute clicks, but you should be careful with it, when I just tried it, it somehow got into another menu and installed a random app.

This still needs to be repeated after every app install. The closest I've found to automating this is letting an automatic app like MacroDroid trigger on app install and use the "Secure settings" plugin to launch the Google play store activity "\[Play Protect\] com.google.android.finsky.protect.impl.PlayProtectHomeDeepLinkActivity", which is the "Play protect" screen.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Since you haven't mentioned your OEM, Android skin, etc., I'm going to answer this from my device's perspective, i.e., a Realme device (steps below would also work with any Realme/Oppo/OnePlus device)

Go to app info on each of those apps \> permissions \> toggle "remove permissions if not used" to OFF.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Disable Play protect service at all. I have disabled it, and now permissions are not being removed. There is only one disadvantage - it is annoying banner in Google Play asking me to turn on Play protect.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Open Settings, open Play Services, scroll down to "Unused Apps", then de-select "Remove permissions and free up space". This is on Android 12 but should also work on 11.

---
Tags: permissions, android-11
---


title: Download location of Aurora Store?

text:
# Question
Title: Download location of Aurora Store?
Working on an Android 6 (stock ROM) phone, which has only internal storage (no external sd card), and is not rooted.

Aurora Store is installed and updated on this phone via F-droid.

Aurora Store has a "Downloads" choice in its "hamburger" menu, where I see something like this:

So, clearly some .apk's have been downloaded - the question is, where?

I have checked the following locations:

* `/sdcard/Aurora/` \- there are some random .apk's there, but not the two on the screenshot
* `/sdcard/Download/` \- again, some random .apk's there, but not the two on the screenshot

With a bit of `find`, I also found the following location - but unfortunately, it turns out completely empty in `adb shell`:

```
$ ./adb shell
shell@DDDDD:/ $ ls -la /sdcard/Android/data/com.aurora.store/files/Downloads/
shell@DDDDD:/ $

```

My guess is, the .apk's Aurora downloaded are actually here - but I cannot access/see them, because I'd need root for that, and this phone is not rooted.

Could anyone confirm, what should be the default downloads directory/location for Aurora Store, on an unrooted phone with only internal storage - and whether root is needed to access these files?

# Answer
Aurora Store downloads files to app-specific storage by default (`/data/data/com.aurora.store/files/Download`).

If you want to save APKs to shared storage to access them without root, in Aurora go to **Settings****Downloads** and switch on "User external Storage". After this, APKs will be stored in `Android/data/com.aurora.store/files/Downloads` under Internal Storage (typically `/storage/emulated/0`).
> 2 votes

# Answer
You are right - I had the same problem...

However, "manual download" works with this folder:

storage/emulated/0/Aurora/Store/Downloads/

...com.futuremark.pcmark.android.benchmark/

...4061/

...com.futuremark.pcmark.android.benchmark.apk
> 0 votes

---
Tags: downloading
---


# Question
Title: Google image backup sans moving photos off phone
Prior to recent phone dying, I had found out that Google's photo backup strangely (or at least sans a setting I was missing) **MOVES** files off your phone that they *backup*. Once I realised that I excluded all new folders created from this "backup". Of course when I get a phone replacement, and choose to recover the old phone's stuff, don't expect those to be there.

So that I don't end up in the same situation again with the next phone, with Google photos backup is there any way to retain a copy of everything backed up on the phone?

# Answer
> 0 votes
This process usually only happens when the user uses the "Free Up Space" feature. It is likely that this process was run on your old phone. For example, this could have been initiated as simply as responding to a notification. You should avoid using this feature if you want to retain the photos on your phone. The feature exists so that less space is taken up by media on people's phones (whilst, the media are still accessible in the Google Photos app, as they are instantly downloaded via the internet when the user opens a photo or video).

If you really want to store your media on your phone, after it has been taken off, consider the following (other than tapping on photos individually). You could download the media on a computer, and transfer them to your phone via a USB cable.

---
Tags: google-photos
---


# Question
Title: How do I prevent screen dimming for specific apps?
My phone has Android 4.0.4 (ICS). Now, I use several apps for reading like browser, Wikipedia, Adobe Reader, etc. Only Adobe has a screen dimmer setting.

Is there an app or setting that allows me to stop the screen from turning off while I have any of these apps open for reading?

# Answer
That's one of the many things Tasker does for me, with a quite simple profile:

* **Condition:** App (select your browser, reader, etc., multiple apps can be selected simultaneously)
* **Task:** Display-Timeout (all sliders to max = never)

Optionally, you also can adjust screen brightness. Then, as soon as one of the selected apps is running in the foreground, that action triggers – the screen won't turn off anymore. When you bring another app in front which was not selected with your condition, *Tasker* reverts to the previous state automatically.

Of course, there are also several apps available just doing that and nothing else; but having one app () that can doing this and so much more, I forgot about them long ago...
> 0 votes

# Answer
Found this while searching for info on how to prevent screen dimming in KOReader. In KOReader in top settings \> Settings (Cogwheel icon) \> Screen \> with `Automatic Dimmer` enabled it is possible to set `Idle time for dimmer` to a custom value.

Disabling `Automatic Dimmer` did not result in the screen not dimming, since it seems KOReader then was following general system settings for which I wanted to keep screen dimming.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, screen
---


title: Access iptables logs on Android

text:
# Question
Title: Access iptables logs on Android
I'm attempting to diagnose a packet forwarding issue on my Android 9 phone. I've added a `-j LOG` rule to my `FORWARD` chain. How can I access the logged messages?

According to this guide, I first need to alter the syslog configuration file which is either at `/etc/syslog.conf` or `/etc/rsyslog.conf`. However, neither of those files exist on my phone.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Android has a different userland and indeed doesn't use these log files (even modern Linux desktop distros don't use these files usually). So, that guide is wrong today (even if it *claims* it was written not a month ago!)¹ for desktop Linux and wouldn't have ever applied to Android to begin with.

Now, `iptables` is *not* the usual way the Android userland interacts with netfilter / \*btables in the kernel. So, it's unknown how that logging is *exactly* implemented – chances are that whoever built the kernel modules for the logging chain in the netfilter kernel side modified them.

**If**, however, the logging code itself is unmodified, then the packets will be logged to the *kernel log* (the thing you can read using `dmesg` on a desktop Linux). Now, it's unusual for an Android Linux to have the `dmesg` utility. Not that much of a problem – you can just read `/proc/kmsg` yourself.

---

¹ Hint: when you find a guide on a basic technology and it is from some random "tech advice" website, and especially if it claims a recent modification date, chances are it's machine-generated or cheaply-without-understanding-anything-copied-together content :( That's the sad state of the internet: Content generation from unquoted sources for the sole purpose of traffic maximization, hoping to scrape the bottom of the advertisement revenue barrel :( These clutter the top search engine results very reliably. Let me tell you (*shakes walking stick at cloud*) back in my day, searching the internet was actually better.

---
Tags: iptables
---


title: Alarm volume changes on its own

text:
# Question
Title: Alarm volume changes on its own
Something keeps lowering my alarm volume. I keep it at about 70% because I can be a heavy sleeper at times, but I keep finding that it's been lowered to about 40%. This has been going on daily for months. (One time it turned itself to silent and I slept through my first class)

Any ideas as to what's causing this or how to fix it?

EDIT: I've realized that it would probably be useful to talk about some of my settings. I have Do Not Disturb scheduled for "Priority Only" from 10pm to first alarm daily. I keep my ringer on mute or the first/second setting.

# Answer
So, I've had this problem for a while as well. What I came to realize was that my sleepy-brain would hit the volume rocker to adjust the volume of the alarm while it was going off. Usually, this was to adjust the volume of my music to a more bearable level to wake up to once my phone was in-hand. But this also had the side-effect of adjusting my alarm volume to a point where next time it goes off, it's way too quiet.

I fixed this problem by downloading an app called MacroDroid. I set up a macro that executes each night at 10 pm. The macro starts by setting the alarm volume to 80%, pops a notification up that says "Don't forget to set your alarm!" And when the notification is clicked, it takes me to the Clock app to set my alarm.

It's a bit of a workaround since it uses a third-party app, but it's been a huge quality-of-life adjustment for me so I figured I'd share.
> 3 votes

# Answer
This happens to me regularly on my Motorola Moto G6 Play. I've been testing the alarm app today by snoozing two alarms many times and I'm not touching the volume buttons while an alarm displays. After snoozing the alarm, I increase the alarm volume and the next time one of the alarms appears there is no sound and the alarm volume has gone to zero yet again.

I seem to have solved it by: update native clock app, turned batt saver OFF - next time alarm had sound, then Turned batt saver ON - next time alarm had sound, then turned DND ON - next time alarm STILL had sound, yippee!
> 1 votes

---
Tags: alarm, volume-control, volume
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to block incoming calls from specific phone numbers?
I want to block a number from calling me. I don't even want to know if the person even tried to call me. Don't want any notifications.

The person on the other end should not get a ringing sound when he tries to call me. He shouldn't even know that I've blocked him.

**If possible, I would like to block text messages from that number as well.**

The specifications of my device can be seen in the attached image: Redmi Note 5, Android 8.1.0, MIUI Global 10.2.3.

Is there a way to do it?

# Answer
You can access Xiaomi call blocker that way:

1. Go to **Settings \> System Apps \> Call Settings \> Blocklist**.
2. Enable Blocklist by sliding the toggle
3. To block any number you want, Click on the **Blocked numbers** \> Click on **Add** & choose from the contacts or enter the contact you wanted to block manually.

<sub>(source: xiaomigeek.com)</sub>
> 2 votes

# Answer
You can easily use Truecaller to block unnecessary calls.

Otherwise, you can use call barring or call blocking in your default phone dialer settings itself.
> 0 votes

# Answer
In the settings of the Phone app, usually there are options to block calls and messages from specific numbers.

The call will be automatically blocked and the caller will think that you have hung up the call, but the call does not sound to you, it only appears in the logs.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Almost all the newer Android phones have native dialler apps that support call blocking. Your phone supports that too - a simple Google search shows so. Refer to this site:

https://www.hardreset.info/devices/xiaomi/xiaomi-redmi-note-5/block-number/

* Choose Call icon from the main screen.
* Tap on the right upper corner to select the Settings option.
* Scroll the list down, pick the Blocked Numbers
* Now, Add a Number to the blacklist.
* Finally, the added number is blocked already.
> 0 votes

# Answer
This is possible in the phone dialer settings. In phone dialer settings, enable "Caller ID and spam protection" to ON and then click the "Block numbers" option and choose "Block unknown/private numbers" to ON. There is a problem if you choose "Block unknown/private numbers" to ON because if a new person from a company calls you for a job, you will not get that call. The best option is to add the numbers manually to the blocked list. Even if you block the person, you may see the text messages in the blocked list inside the messages app. You just delete all the messages in a while.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: call-screening, sms-blocking
---


title: Galaxy S6: It just won't wipe

text:
# Question
Title: Galaxy S6: It just won't wipe
So, I have my old, and broken Samsung Galaxy S6, and I have some plans for it, but I need to get it to a "factory status" in terms of user data, meaning that I need to wipe everything but system.

Right now I'm in a weird position, since the screen is partially broken, meaning that I cant see but I can touch. Luckily for me, that isn't a barrier, since I was able to connect to ADB and use scrcpy to navigate the phone.

The thing is that the phone dosent wants to be wiped. I dont know what could it be. At first, I tried on the stock ROM. Went to settings and looked for the factory reset menu, did all the confirmations and proceeded with the supposed wipe. After giving it some time, I noticed the phone was dead cold, and I thought maybe it had shut down instead of rebootng. After I turned on the phone on back again, I was greated with the old lockscreen, meaning that nothing at all was wiped. This was with the stock recovery, since flashing TWRP and booting into the system would re-install the stock recovery. I tried many many times, and also tried to unplug the USB after seeng the "rebooting" text, thinking that the usb could be triggering the charging screen to be loaded instead of the recovery.

Since I was totally unsuccesfull, I went ahead and with no screen, installed Resurrection Remix OS. After manually adding the ADB key.pub to the corresponding path to the phone and enabling usb debugging by editing build.prop,Ii was able to set up the phone using scrcpy, and immediatly after doing so, I went ahead and tried to wipe the phone again, just to find out that it also wont do any changes. Since I cant see the screen, I dont know if some "confirmation menu" is being displayed, so I'm stuck at this point.

And, to add to the problem, the openrecoveryscript present on the latest official version of TWRP is lacking the `format data` command, and also, wont allow me to do `wipe sdcard`.

My last thought is to manually wipe partition by partition the hard way (without openrecoveryscript) and hopefully free all that used storage. Since probably not so many people have tried to wipe partition by partition using adb shell, I wasnt able to find any info on google, so I thought I might as well ask here.

# Answer
> 3 votes
in TWRP you can format data from cmd line with `mke2fs`. you can double check current file system type with `df`

```
adb shell
df -t ext4 /data
umount /sdcard
umount /sdcard
umount /data
mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/block/platform/15570000.ufs/by-name/USERDATA
reboot recovery

```

the official cmd line is

```
adb shell twrp format data

```

https://twrp.me/faq/openrecoveryscript.html

---
Tags: twrp, factory-reset, broken-screen, samsung-galaxy-s-6
---


# Question
Title: Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has no aux jack, trying to use a USB-C adapter instead
I'm trying to use an aux cord, but my Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra does not come with one.

I got a USB-C adapter, but when plugged in, it says the connected USB device isn't supported. I've tried to go thru the developer options, but none have worked. I'm currently at `*#0808#` but have not the slightest idea what each means.

When I watch videos, other phones don't have all these other options, so it's kind of like I'm just trying to use aux on a phone that has no aux option.

# Answer
From what I could find the adapter has to specifically have an integrated DAC(Digital to Analog Converter). You can read a full discussion **here** that applies for the S21FE so it is safe to assume it will apply to the S21 Ultra.

I have a Note 10 and observed one day that I got prompted for a firmware update for the wired USB-C headphones that came included with the phone. This shows that they are not using an analog signal and there is some sort of integrated chip in the connector(I always thought that they were just simple analog headphones). **Picture of the headphones** so you can see that they are the most basic of basic headphones. :)

**This article** was also helpful when searching why the issue would occur. It explains how analog audio works on USB-C when implemented.

The problem might be that the adapter that you have uses the analog implementation for audio but the phone only supports digital.

Also check the Media Output in the dropdown bar, as outputting audio should not require you to enter USSD codes(\**#0808#\* that you mentioned in your post.) I attached a photo of how it looks on my phone and highlighted it.

I don't have an adapter to test this but in my opinion this might be the cause.

I hope this is helpful and you manage to fix the issue.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung, usb, audio
---


title: Have screen rotation option always on

text:
# Question
Title: Have screen rotation option always on
The screen rotation of my phone works fine. When I rotate the phone from portrait to landscape, then a small icon appears in the lower right corner. I have to click it, then the screen rotates. Going back from landscape to portrait works similarly.

Is it possible to have this icon in the lower right corner at all times? I.e., allowing me to rotate the screen at any time (by tapping the icon), but suppressing auto-rotation after I physically rotate the device?

In the options of my phone, I do not find that possibility. (See screenshot.) I also searched the internet, but what I could find was more concerned with bugs of the screen rotation (which I do not experience).

# Answer
*This answer assumed the device in question is Samsung based on its screenshot.*

---

On Samsung devices, it is possible to show an always-on screen rotation button with the help of **the Assistant menu**.

1. Open Settings - Accessibility - Interaction and dexterity
2. Tap "Assistant menu"
3. Tap "Select Assistant menu items"
4. Add "Screen rotation" (and optionally remove the rest)
5. Switch "On" the feature
6. (Optionally, configure the size and its transparency)

The Assistant menu can also be moved around by holding and dragging the button.
> 6 votes

# Answer
It doesn't appear there's a way to do this directly in the Android system. For most phones the standard options are:

1. Auto-Rotate ON: Your phone rotates automatically when you adjust its rotation
2. Auto-Rotate OFF Your phone doesn't rotate automatically but gives a small button to allow for rotation (Android 12 and up)

Although there is no way to do it within the Android system settings, there is an app called Always Visible Screen Rotation that looks like it does exactly the thing you're looking for. It places a small icon on the screen that can be activated whether your device is physically rotated or not.
> 5 votes

---
Tags: auto-rotation
---


# Question
Title: How to disconnect SIM from network on schedule
I have a 2-SIM phone and need to be able to unregister one of the SIMs from the network each Friday from 16:30 to 20:00. The reason is that this SIM is a duplicate of another SIM which my friends use to stream a series of lectures every Friday. The SIMs have unlimited data, so I want to use my copy for data during the rest of the week.

Both of the SIMs cannot be connected to the network at the same time because then the behavior is unpredictable and we do not want any interruptions in the stream. I could physically pull the SIM out every Friday, but I might forget and it's a hassle to open the phone every time.

**Is there a way to schedule a disconnection of the SIM from the carrier network on schedule?**

(There may be an app for that, but I couldn't find one. I am a software developer, so I can even write my own if there is some way to accomplish this, but I'm not sure whether there is an API that would allow this. I have a Fairphone 3, so I can even root the phone as well.)

# Answer
> 3 votes
Here's a community favorite: Tasker! It is very straightforward to set up a profile to exist that is triggered based on a day of the week and time, as you specified.

Disabling the SIM appears to be possible, and will require either:

1. A rooted phone
2. Enabling ADB Wifi each time you reboot your phone

Assuming you've done one of those, there's an excellent video demonstrating this task setup here on Youtube.

The steps are as follows:

* Create a new Profile based on "Day"
* Change "Month Day" to "Week Day" and select Friday
* Click the back button at the top right
* Select "New Task" and give it a title
* Click the "+" button to add an action and search for ADB Wifi
* In the "Command" line, paste the following: `phone.setSimPowerStateForSlot(0,0)` where the first zero is the SIM number (change to '1' to disable the second sim) and the second zero is the power (0 for off, 1 for on)
* Go back and add an exit task to turn it back on with the same ADB Wifi command entered as `phone.setSimPowerStateForSlot(0,1)`
* Go back to the profiles screen and long-press on the "Fri" and choose "Add"
* Choose "Time" and set the time you'd like the SIM to be disabled

---
Tags: mobile-data, sim-card, mobile-network, dual-sim
---


# Question
Title: Why do apps paste from my clipboard as soon I open them (without manually pasting anything)?
I have a Google Pixel 5a running the latest version of Android 12 (I updated a couple of days after I bought it, so I didn't use Android 11 much if at all). I noticed that a lot of apps trigger the "app pasted from your clipboard" as soon as I open them. These are legitimate apps like Here Maps or Firefox Focus, installed directly from the Play Store.

Importantly, I am not doing anything to trigger this manually. No long press and hitting paste, nothing. I'm worried about this for security reasons, obviously, but I've checked my permissions and they all have minimal permissions. Here Maps, for example, only has location access and nothing else.

Why is this happening? Is there any way to debug this or see what's being pasted or why? Or to disable apps from checking the clipboard without my explicit permission?

# Answer
I cannot answer the question as to why apps are doing this, it does seem like a major security issue to me. It looks like there might be better features in Android 13 for this. I have an app that I need to use but this bothered me that it pasted contents from my clipboard on open every time. For Android 12 (and I assume below that, but only tested on 12) there is an option if you run a few commands. First you will need to setup `adb` on your computer (there are many tutorials depending on your computer os), then on the phone enable developer options, and enable adb access. Then you can type `adb shell` and this will allow terminal access on the phone. You can then type the below to see all the apps that have clipboard access.

`cmd appops query-op --user 0 READ_CLIPBOARD allow`

From there you can type the below, replacing with the full name from the list.

`cmd appops set <packagename> READ_CLIPBOARD ignore`

This will block the app from reading the clipboard and I no longer see the message at the bottom of the screen when I open the app. Hope this helps!
> 2 votes

---
Tags: security, copy-paste, android-12
---


# Question
Title: Allow certain contacts to ring when phone on silent/night mode?
My WinPhone had this feature to set my phone silent at fixed hours of the night, but whitelist certain contacts for calls/texts.

I've recently switched to Android (OnePlus3) and while I'm sure this must be possible (iOS does it too IIRC) I can't see what its called or where to configure it.

Can someone tell me what these features are called on Android?

My phone is running OxygenOS 3.2.8 atop of Android 6.0.1

# Answer
look at your settings for **Do not disturb** mode. it will make your phone silent for everything, except your favorites contacts.
> 27 votes

# Answer
Look in sounds and vibrations. Scroll to the bottom. There should be a do not disturb setting. In there you will find allow exceptions. Customize to you're preferred settings
> 4 votes

# Answer
"Silent" mode is sometimes conflated with Do-not-disturb mode, but they are different. Under standard Android, you can set certain contacts as able to bypass the DND mode. But if the phone is on silent (volume set to zero), then you still won't hear the call.

If you need a certain contact to be able to call you, audibly, even when the phone is on DND and silent, you can do this:

1. Add the contact to the DND exemptions.
2. Install an app such as MacroDroid. Create a macro so that whan that person calls, the volume is set to 100%.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: call-screening, silent-mode, oneplus-3, oxygenos
---


# Question
Title: What is `NoxConsole` `list` command output meaning?
From `Nox` documentation we know that there is following command:

`NoxConsole.exe list`

It lists existing emulators and some data about them. Example output follows:

> 0,nox,Business,0,0,0,-1,-1
>
> 1,Nox\_1,Instagram,00210D2E,00371542,2732,23876

It is easy to understand that the 1st column is emulator index and the 3rd one is its name.

But what information does other column contain?

And why emulator which is currently running contains 7 columns, and stopped one contains 8 ones?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Thanks to the link provided by Andrew T. from Yeshen FAQ, and after some my own research, I can write the description of the `NoxConsole list` output columns:

1. The device index. You can use the index with `-index:` command line switch to refer the emulator.
2. The device virtual machine name. It is possible to use it to clone the emulator instance with `-clone:<nox_id>` command.
3. The device name. You can refer to the emulator with `-name:` command line switch with this value.
4. Top emulator window handle (HWND?) in hex format. If emulator is turned off, this value is `0`.
5. Toolbar windows handle (HWND?) in hex format. If emulator is turned off, this value is `0`.
6. This column is unclear; it is present when emulator is turned off only, and it is `0` always.
7. (6 if emulator is running) Emulator GUI (`Nox.exe`) process ID. If emulator is turned off, this value is `-1`.
8. (7 if emulator is running) Emulator virtual machine (`NoxVMHandle.exe`) process ID. If emulator is turned off, this value is `-1`.

---
Tags: android-emulator, emulators, noxplayer
---


# Question
Title: Screen recording phone and Discord calls with sound
How can I screen-record phone or Discord calls with sound? I tried the in-built screen recorder and the set of task-related apps but unfortunately the first does not work and the second type either screen records soundlessly or does not screen record at all when it comes to calls.

How can I manage to circumvent the whole block? Does it relate only to Android or every system?

I want to record on the device itself and not with another device.

# Answer
> 1 votes
* You can simply have another device recording everything. Anything you can hear or see can be recorded.
* You can run Android in a VM (e.g. on your PC) and record everything again - VirtualBox will do it happily.
* There are Android VMs in the Google Play Store. Whatever restrictions apps have won't affect the Android VM - thus you can possibly record everything.
* Many Android phones have wireless casting or even an HDMI output - this will probably facilitate in recording everything quite easily.
* Discord has a PC version. No recording limitations whatsoever then AFAIK. You can use OBS or anything similar.

---
Tags: screencast, call-recording, discord
---


# Question
Title: Unable to use SSH server over VPN on Android 11
I had an old mobile phone with Android 8.x Oreo. In it, I was using "SSH/SFTP Server - Terminal" app to access my files on the phone through "WinSCP" in "Windows 10". I used to do that while a VPN connection with "UFO VPN" Android app is active on the mobile phone.

Now, I bought a new mobile phone with Android 11, when I tried to do all the things above, WinSCP refused the connection over the VPN and I can only access the files without the VPN.

I tried to solve the problem by using different SFTP server apps and VPN apps with no success.

Any help will be appreciated, with a notice that I don't want to use a normal connection on my phone.

# Answer
It seems that the Android version newer than Oreo prevent VPN and SSH connection at the same time, only one connection can be active.

That is very very frustrated.
> 1 votes

# Answer
This is because the VPN app disconnects the SSH tunnel to pass all the traffic through itself, causing the SSH connection to drop.

The solution is to exclude the SSH tunnelling app, e.g. Connect Bot, in the VPN app. I have also explained this in more details here.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: vpn, ssh, android-11
---


# Question
Title: Delete file with special characters from un-rooted device
**How can I delete a file with special characters from an un-rooted Android device?**

I used a web site to download a YouTube video to my mobile phone. The video name contained special characters (emoticons and alike) and the Android browser downloaded the file right away, so I could not rename it.

Now I'm stuck with a file that I cannot delete with the stock file manager of my phone. It is a Wiko device with some shady file manager app. I also tried AndroZip, which is usually more reliable.

However, the file has a size of 0 bytes and I can neither delete, nor rename or move it. I do not get any error message, simply nothing happens. In AndroZip the file does not even show up, so I'm not sure whether the Wiko app cached the file name somewhere and, in fact, it does no longer exist, or if AndroZip cannot display the file due to the special character, even though it exists.

Long story short: The device is not rooted and I want to get rid of that broken file. What can I do without resetting or rooting the entire device? Is there any helpful app that can handle special characters? Is there any safe mode option that would be of use?

# Answer
I converted the file into a 240p MP4, downloaded it using Chrome, and I was able to delete the file using Solid Explorer easily.

I was also able to delete it using Termux. I installed it, enabled Storage permission for it from Settings app, launched it, and used these commands:

```
cd /sdcard/Download/   #I had downloaded it in Download folder.
rm FILE_NAME           # to type file name, I didn't actually type it. I used Hacker's Keyboard which comes with Tab key for auto-completion. I typed JER and pressed tab key to automatically load the full file name including emoji (which actually renders as a flame in Termux).

```

If you wish to keep your default keyboard, Termux provides two more means to use Tab autocompletion. Either use `Volume Up + T` to send a `Tab` to the shell, or use `Volume Up + Q` to display an additional button row on top of your keyboard, which contains frequently used commands such as `Esc`, `Ctrl`, `Alt` and `Tab` itself.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I just did it thanks to Firelord's answer: use Termux. Here is how to do it though:

1. First, type this to be able to use the `DIR` (`pwd`) command:

```
termux-setup-storage

```

* To show the current dir, use:

    ```
    pwd

    ```
    * To show the current dir's contents, use:

    ```
    ls

    ```
2. Change the directory to the folder you need to be deleted:

* to go up one level, use

    ```
    cd ..

    ```
    * to go into a directory, use

    ```
    cd yourdirnamehere

    ```
3. Browse to the folder where the file you need to be deleted is located, e.g. mine was in `/storage/emulated/0/Download`
4. Delete

* the file using

    ```
    rm -rf yourfileorfoldertobedeleted

    ```
    * or the whole folder using

    ```
    rm -rf *

    ```

Just be careful not to delete something essential.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I fixed it by transferring that 0-byte special character file to any `/android/data` folder and clearing that app's data. Then the files are gone.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: file-system, file-management, special-chars
---


title: Enable OTG with a shell command

text:
# Question
Title: Enable OTG with a shell command
I'm running Android Pie on a rooted OnePlus 6, and I wanted to know how I can enable OTG with a shell command. I need this in order to automate some tasks.

There is a setting that can toggle OTG, found in `settings > system > OTG storage`, so I figured something like this would work:

```
settings put global otg_enabled 1

```

However I'm unsure what the setting for OTG is actually called; I tried a bunch of possibilities but none seemed to work. Also tried googling it, but found nothing.

Anyone able to help me out here?

# Answer
Note: the solution is tested on a rooted OnePlus 6 running OxygenOS (**Android 8, 9, 10**).

---

The command I use is:

```
adb shell su -c 'setprop persist.sys.oem.otg_support true'

```

Some folks on some forums suggested to toggle the value for the global settings key `oneplus_otg_auto_disable`, but it never worked out for me. My solution survives reboot and OTG would work even when decryption password is not supplied.

I automate the solution for fail-safe scenario (in case something disable the OTG) using Tasker app. My task is:

Code → Run Shell:

* `setprop persist.sys.oem.otg_support true`
* enable *Use Root*

I then assign the task to a boot event profile so that the task runs during startup.
> 4 votes

# Answer
This works for me :

turn ON:

```
echo 1 > /sys/class/power_supply/usb/otg_switch

```

turn OFF:

```
echo 0 > /sys/class/power_supply/usb/otg_switch

```

This doesn't change the toggle button's state on OTG setting page though.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: settings, shell, usb-on-the-go, command-line
---


# Question
Title: I cant download a specific app on an emulator
So I am trying to download stockspile (trading app). First I thought that my problem was that internet so I used US proxy. But I keep getting the issue your device isnt compatible with this version.

Does anyone know how to bypass this ?

# Answer
Because of emulation speed Android emulators usually emulate a x86/x86\_64 Android device. real Android devices are ARM/Arm64. If the app uses native libraries and don't provide them for x86 or x86\_64 you can not run or install the app on such an emulator. The emulator included in Android SDK/Android Studio includes some images (e.g. "Android 12.0 API Level 31 Google Play | x86\_64") that have an internal ARM emulation so it should be possible to install an arm or arm64 only app.

You can check the supported CPU types of an emulator by executing `adb shell getprop ro.product.cpu.abilist`

Possible values in output:

* `x86` -\> 32bit x86 apps are supported
* `x86_64` -\> 64bit x86 apps are supported
* `armeabi` -\> 32 bit arm apps are supported
* `armeabi-v7a` -\> 32 bit arm apps are supported (today just an alias for `armeabi`)
* `arm64-v8a`-\> 64bit arm apps are supported

If it outputs for example `x86,armeabi-v7a,armeabi` then this means it can execute 32bit x86 and 32bit arm code. If your app is only available as 64bit arm version then it won't work.

The best way to check for which platforms an app is available is to look at the available downloads at https://apkmirror.com, https://apkpure.com or any other web site Apps providing apps for manual installation.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: android-emulator, bluestacks
---


# Question
Title: My Google Username is a non-Google email address and I used it to log onto a new Pixel 6 Pro which now won't add my Exchange account with same address
I have a new Pixel 6 Pro and have migrated apps and settings from Pixel 3a via my Google ID. My Google Username is my regular Outlook email address and not a Gmail address. When I now go to add my Microsoft Exchange account, I get an error message in red saying 'You have already added this account' because it sees my Google account as an email account, which it isn't.

The 3a ran Outlook for me with my Exchange email address, contacts (4,000+), and calendar quite happily alongside using the same email address as my Google Username. The 6 Pro won't have it!

Five different Google Help operatives over ten days have failed to provide a solution or answer my question which is: Should I get a Gmail address and change my Google Username to that and if I do so on a PC, will I be able to then add my Exchange account on the phone, and will I lose all my app data and set-up on the 6 Pro? The 3a was traded in and is irretrievable.

Any ideas on here would be very welcome.

# Answer
When you say your device "sees" your Google account as an "email account", which do you mean?

An Exchange account, Google account, and IMAP email account should all be distinct despite it being possible to use the same username string. Furthermore, your Microsoft account/Office account, Outlook, Outlook.com, OWA, Work/School permutations, etc, can similarly be distinct despite also possibly having the same overlap (I'm not familiar with the specific distinctions on that end, I just recall it was not at all intuitive). You *should* have the ability to specifically add the exact account types you require, and manually configure them respectively.
> 0 votes

# Answer
On a Pixel 7 with Android 13, a detour via “Set up manually” worked around the problem for me.

In detail: When you see the message “You have already added this account” when trying to add an Exchange account, e.g.: (the red rectangle is a redaction)

… then type in another valid e-mail address instead, e.g.:

Now you can tap on “Set up manually”, resulting in, e.g.:

You can now type in your real e-mail address in the “Email” field. Do not bother with the other fields unless you have to; instead tap on “Switch to modern auth”. After waiting for “Getting account info…” you can proceed without any problems.
> 0 votes

# Answer
According to the OP's comment,

> Anyway, I stumbled on a solution by simply deleting my Google account from the phone, anticipating Armageddon, but nothing nasty happened and it then let me add my Outlook-based Exchange account and everything is fine, including all the Apps. Very weird.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: gmail, google-account, exchange, google-pixel-6
---


# Question
Title: Set up a contact database and sync it between iPhone and Android devices
Ideally, I like to have one centralized contact database. So if something needs updated, you only have to update it in one place and then it syncs to all the phones.

Thus, is it possible to set up a contact database and sync it between iPhone and Android devices?

# Answer
> 0 votes
If you're using the same Google Account on both phones, you can use the system settings on both phones to sync your contacts with Google Contacts, also available via the web at contacts.google.com.

On your Android phone, go to:

> Settings -\> Passwords & Accounts -\> \[Pick Google account\] -\> Account sync

and ensure the Contacts toggle is enabled.

On your iPhone, go to:

> Settings -\> Contacts -\> Accounts -\> \[Pick Google account\]

and ensure the Contacts toggle is enabled.

You can find more detailed instructions for syncing contacts with your Google Account and your iPhone here and your Android phone here.

If you're trying to use multiple accounts and just need the contacts replicated between devices with no Google (or other) account in common, your best solution may be to export your contacts and import them elsewhere.

Finally, if you're looking at doing this at a large scale, such as for many employees in a business, there are Content Resource Management systems that can accomplish this for a fee, one example of which is Copper.

---
Tags: contacts, sync, ios
---


# Question
Title: What's this icon that looks like a frequency wave with a slash through it on my Motorola One 5G Ace (T-Mobile)?
I have a newer Motorola One 5G Ace, provider is T-Mobile. I've traveled away from home, still in the US though, and have a strange icon (next to my battery indication) that doesn't go away. It looks like a frequency band wave, (squiggly up and down and across) with a bar through it. I would describe it as a "No frequency" icon.

I can't find anything about it, or how it might be indicative of a phone signal problem. It popped up suddenly and now my camera doesn't work, nor does any voice features (dictation into Google or notes). Rebooting doesn't take it way.

Update: I'm back at home and still have the icon and camera/dictation problem so it's not something to do with roaming or being away from T-Mobile's network.

# Answer
**The strikethrough frequency wave notification icon indicates sensors off.** It can be used to disable sensors, including *the camera and microphone*.

> When in airplane mode, devices can still access some sensors to enable specific functionality, such as screen rotation and taking pictures. Android 10 provides a developer options setting to shut off all sensors in a device. This feature \[...\] gives users a way to control the sensors in their device.
>
> When a developer or user enables **Sensors off** in developer options (**Settings \> System \> Developer options \> Quick settings developer tiles**), a new tile appears in the quick settings tray. They can use the tile to *prevent apps from accessing the camera, microphone, and all sensors* managed by the `SensorManager` class.

<sup>(Italic emphasized added)</sup>
> 1 votes

---
Tags: notification-icons, motorola
---


title: Start recording audio from lock screen

text:
# Question
Title: Start recording audio from lock screen
Is there a way to add the Recorder app to the lock screen? I would like to be able to be able to quickly start recording audio. Kind of like how the camera app can be opened from the lock screen. Is it possible to record as soon as the app starts without hitting the record button?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Quote from the Android development guide

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media/mediarecorder

> Note: On devices running Android 9 (API level 28) or higher, apps running in the background cannot access the microphone. Therefore, your app should record audio only when it's in the foreground or when you include an instance of MediaRecorder in a foreground service.

---
Tags: root-access, lock-screens, tasker, audio-recording, android-13
---


# Question
Title: How to restart an app on a Philips Android TV?
It happens every now and then that an app crashes on my Philips 65PUS9006 Android TV.
The problem is that I haven't found a way to restart the app from the Philips TV Remote.

* Is there a way to restart an app on a Philips Android TV with the help of the TV remote only?
* Alt, is there a way to completely restart Android on a Philips Android TV with the help of the TV remote only?

*I don't want to have to pull the plug out of the power outlet (like I have been doing so far), just to be able to restart an app that is not responding anymore.*

# Answer
> 1 votes
With the help of @Snostorp answer I actually found a solution that works.

Here's how to force close an Android TV app:

* `Long press` the `Home button` on the TV remote.
*This will bring up the Apps Gallery, which shows all the Android TV apps installed on the Philips Android TV.*
* From the Apps Gallery, `Highlight the app` you want to force close.
* `Long press` the `Select button` on the TV remote.
*This will bring up a Popup Menu.*
* From the Popup Menu, `Select "Information"`.
*This will bring up a side menu with all the information regarding the app you want to force close.*
* From the side menu `Select "Force stop"`.
* You will now be prompted to confirm the force stop, `Select "Okay"` to finish.

Congratulations, you have now succesfully force closed an Android TV app installed on a Philips Android TV.

How To Force Close an Android TV

# Answer
> 1 votes
I'm sorry to say, but it doesn't seem like it's possible to do with the current version of Android on Philips TV.

From Philips Support:
What to do if an app in a Philips TV does not work?

---
Tags: applications, reboot, remote-control, android-tv, hard-reset
---


# Question
Title: How can the power saving feature on Android phones be set not to kill tracking apps?
Those who choose a simpler cyclometer consisting of only a speedometer and distance display, but that does not include a GPS tracker can use their Android smartphone quite nicely with one of many tracker apps. At the limit a smartphone + suitable mount can act as a cyclometer.

If you leave one such app, Strava, running on iOS/iPhone, "out-of-the-box" and without any special adjustments iOS will not kill the app, despite that it uses an unusual amount of power for the GPS sensor.

But some Android phones, in particular Samsung Galaxy phones, reportedly kill Strava after a few minutes, which precludes tracking rides.

How can the power saving feature on Android phones—specifically on Samsung Galaxy phones—be set not to kill tracking apps?

# Answer
Link-only answers are frowned upon (for good reason) on Stack Exchange sites, but for every rule, there may be exceptions.

And when there is a long-standing canonical site with all the answers you likely need, I think that's going to be a good exception.

Samsung devices are ***notorious*** for aggressively killing apps when they really should not. Some speculate they do this to make it look like their devices have longer battery life than they actually do.

To delve into all the gory details, go to https://dontkillmyapp.com/samsung

Read everything there. Read everything twice. Enjoy your new knowledge.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: battery-life, gps-tracking, task-management
---


# Question
Title: ADB server version (40) doesn't match this client (41) {Not using Genymotion}
**Disclaimer:** this is not a duplicate to this SO question as the source of the question is different and the answers don't apply.\* I hope, it is correctly placed in AE and that the note about not using *Genymotion* does not confuse the reader. The reason to include it in the title is that it is so dominantly present in other answers, but it does have nothing to do with this question, as I don't use any emulator including *Genymotion*.

---

So I'm trying to install LineageOS on my Fairphone FP3+ using Windows 10. But: This also applies to other products with other respective versions - in this case, the device uses **Android 10** (with Build number 8901.3.A-0054.20200929). For the installation I need **ADB** \- at first to access the fastboot mode. For that, I first installed the latest *Android Studio* from here but actually only needed the *SDK Platform Tools*, which you can find here (not to be mistaken with the *Command line tools* from the link before). I unlocked the bootloader and ran the following command which is displayed with it's output:

```
D:\Setups\XXXXX\Lineage FP3\platform-tools_30.0.5(ADB_1.0.41)>adb devices
adb server version (40) doesn't match this client (41); killing...
* daemon started successfully
List of devices attached

```

This SO question I mentioned in the disclaimer didn't help, as `abd` didn't even print any devices - so the setting is quite different. I also went through these linked questions: link 1, link 2, link 3 and link 4 among others. **Genymotion** is as said not used here, but referred to in almost any Q/A except here, but also no soulution for me to be found there. I already checked the PC for any software that could have installed another adb version, but neither me nor cmd's `where` could find any (, , ; , 11 or 10).

---

```
adb kill-server
adb start-server

```

Did also not change a thing as suggested here or here. I restarted all devices and software multiple times and tried getting rid of all adb processes too (, 13 or 12). I also reinstalled Android Studio to try it without using the cache as suggested in this SO answer from a possibly related question that unfortunately also has no leads. I can imagine that some questions like that one or this SO one could also be helped here.

# Answer
Since this `adb server version (XX) doesn't match this client (YY); killing...` seems to be a very prominent question, let me present the quite straight forward solution - I actually wonder why it wasn't answered anywhere else or at least, I couldn't find it. To find the version of ADB you are using, type `adb version` to get something like:

```
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 30.0.5-6877874
Installed as D:\Setups\XXXXX\Lineage FP3\platform-tools_30.0.5(ADB_1.0.41)\adb.exe

```

The **Android version** simply doesn't match the **adb version**. **Android 11** for example uses the API 30 and **ADB 41**. **Android 10** (API 29) and that phone needs **ADB 40**. You can check your Android version to find the corresponding **ADB version** to get or easily read the error message above to find XX (in this case 40).

I was able to find ADB version 1.0.40 from here and it works like a charm:

```
D:\Setups\XXXXX\Lineage FP3\platform-tools_28.0.1(ADB_1.0.40)>adb devices
List of devices attached
A2XXXXXXXXX1    unauthorized

```
> 3 votes

# Answer
I just encountered this error and this QA thread did help me, although it wasn't the exact answer for me. I had recently added a second copy of adb to my computer, so that was causing a conflict between the two copies of adb. I needed to update the Path in my Environment Variables to point to the newer platform-tools directory.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Having had this issue after an update and I wasn't able to solve this in the usual way. Through @Cadoiz's answer I was able to find another `adb.exe` instance running om my windows, which was the one used by SuperDisplay, which I use to run an Android Tablet as a secondary screen.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: adb, lineageos, command-line, android-sdk
---


# Question
Title: Is a Google-free work-phone possible using Microsoft 365?
We are a small company, and in the past, we used Windows Phones; since we are very much based on Microsoft's services. Now that the Windows phones have all been replaced by Android phones, our smartphones at work are in a sort of limbo state.

Without a Google account, the Play Store is somewhat limited, and new apps need to be installed via side-loading. While this is feasible if you restrict yourself to trusted sources; however it could also be a disaster waiting to happen.

Is there a way to get a functioning Play Store without creating a Google Account for every employee? One might be forgiven to think that must be a solution to this problem already being thought of.

---

The reasons why we would like to avoid this are as follows:

* All work-related communication should run over our Microsoft 365 services, i.e., Outlook for Android, since then they are automatically synced to other devices. If Gmail was available, one can surely bet that some communication will run over Gmail, which would only complicate things.
* The same holds for the Calendar. I bet with a Google account, some people will (knowingly or unknowingly) use the Google Calendar for work-related dates, which will essentially hide those dates from others who use the Outlook Calendar.

# Answer
I would suggest that you stay with the Play Store for safety.

It is perfectly possible to use the same Google account on all devices.

* You don't need to have separate accounts.
* This is not a problem, as long as you don't need to differentiate their activities that use a Google Account, such as a calendar.
* Data will be differentiated for all apps that use email or phone numbers for accounts.
* It is possible to have multiple accounts when for the odd person, they may want to keep some Google Account activity separate from others in the group.

##### As an example

We as a family use the same account to install all apps. Then we switch over to our individual accounts. An advantage of this is that we just have to pay once for many of the apps. They use the Google account to verify the purchase.

##### Another use of multiple accounts

Some apps require that you be in their particular country. Each Google account is tied to a country (as defined in the Payments section). And you can only change this once a year. So, I have 3 accounts for three countries where I have to use their banking apps. For some apps, I also have to switch the VPN at the same time.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, google-account, microsoft-365
---


# Question
Title: Get one static MAC address for Doodgee N30
**tl;dr** How to force Doodgee N301 (or any other device with Android 10) to use single, static MAC address, if *Use static IP* checkbox is not available in *Wi-Fi Settings*?

---

To allow my Doodgee N30 to access my home Wi-Fi, I must add its MAC address to the router settings (I have MAC filtering enabled and I am *not* going to change this). The problem is that, when I type `Mac` into Settings' search box, I see **two** different places with MAC address:

1. *MAC address* in ⚙ → *Network & internet**Wi-Fi**Wi-Fi preferences*: Keeps changing all the time.
2. *Wi-Fi MAC address* in ⚙ → *About phone*: Always the same.

What I learnt so far:

1. First one looks like an *Use random MAC address* feature enabled by default, but I don't know how to disable it; there is no *Use static IP* checkbox below.
2. Second MAC address is... wrong. I don't know, what it actually is, but adding to router does nothing (i.e. does not enable phone to get access to my home network).

Is there anything I can do to force this phone to use one, static IP address? Or the only option is to replace it with any other model that has *Use static IP* checkbox?

1 This is about Doodgee N30, a rather niche phone, but probably fits to many devices with Android 10 that faces the same problem, i.e. no *Use static IP* checkbox.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Android device like other Wifi devices have one fixed Wifi MAC address. This MAC has been generated by the Wifi hardware or the device manufacturer and should be unique to your device. This is the MAC address you can see in Settings → About phone.

As having a unique MAC address which is used in any network packet transmitted over Wifi is a bad idea from the privacy perspective Google introduced in Android 8 MAC randomization (which is enabled by default since Android 10). The randomized MAC is the one you can see in Settings → Network & internet → Wi-Fi → Wi-Fi preferences . There two variants of Wifi MAC randomization. Which mode is active can usually be selected in Developer Options -\> "Non persistent random generation of MAC addresses":

1. Wifi specific randomized MAC, called "persistent randomization"
2. True random MAC address, called "non-persistent randomization"

### Wifi specific randomized MAC

By default this mode should be enabled since Android 10, unless you or the device manufacture changed the default configuration.

> Android generates a persistent randomized MAC address based on the parameters of the network profile including SSID, security type, or FQDN (for Passpoint networks). This MAC address remains the same until factory reset. The MAC address does not get re-randomized if the user forgets and re-adds the Wi-Fi network since the MAC addressed depends on the parameters of the network profile.

### True random MAC address

> Under the non-persistent randomization type, which is used for some networks in Android 12 or higher, the Wi-Fi module re-randomizes the MAC address at the start of every connection or the framework uses the existing randomized MAC address to connect to the network. The Wi-Fi module re-randomizes the MAC address in the following situations:
>
> * The DHCP lease duration has expired and more than 4 hours have elapsed since the device last disconnected from this network.
> * The current randomized MAC for the network profile was generated more than 24 hours ago. MAC address re-randomization only happens at the start of a new connection. Wi-Fi won't actively disconnect for the purpose of re-randomizing a MAC address. If none of these situations apply, the framework uses the previously randomized MAC address to connect to the network.

## MAC filtering

In your case the device seems to use a random non-persistent MAC address. You can try to switch to persistent mode in Developer Options -\> "Non persistent random generation of MAC addresses" (disabled = persistent mode, enabled = non-persistent mode).

Also on most device you can totally disable MAC randomization for one Wifi in the settings of that specific Wifi.

No matter what way you chose you first have to connect to that Wifi so that Android creates a Wifi config for that network. If you have chosen the persistent mode you can open settings of that Wifi connection and see the MAC address that is used in that Wifi network. Add this MAC address to your MAC filter. Or if present you can disable MAC randomization for that Wifi in it's settings. Then use the real MAC address of your phone shown in "About phone"

Please note that MAC filters or totally useless from a security perspective because they are transmitted in plain text (not encrypted) with every network packet one of your Wifi devices sends in your network. So if I would want to break into your network I would sniff a few seconds or minutes the Wifi traffic in your network, pick a MAC address that is white-listed and then use root permission on my device to change my Wifi MAC to the one I captured from one of your devices =\> MAC filter bypassed

---
Tags: wi-fi, mac-address
---