# Question
Title: How can I configure WhatsApp so that an email is sent to me when someone sends me a message on WhatsApp?
How can I configure WhatsApp so that an email is sent to me when someone sends me a message on WhatsApp?

# Answer
Whatsapp natively does not support this, besides, it does not expose an API for other apps to use, so it's not possible. But using the notifications generated on receipt of messages, one can workaround these limitations.

is the way to go because, you need an action to be taken in case WhatsApp is received from one / any senders.

Many automation apps are available. I prefer using MacroDroid , since it is *free* (upto 5 macros) and easy to learn. To understand how MacroDroid works, see answer here (Not affiliated to any app).

**MacroDroid Setup**

* Give MacroDroid all the permissions it needs.
* From Settings → Email account → Gmail account. Enter your account details and authenticate (MacroDroid needs to have access to be able to send you mails). Edit: As pointed out by a user you may need to use APP passwords instead of regular email password.

Create a macro as explained, name it whatever you like and save it.

* **Trigger:** Notification → Notification Received → Select Application → Whatsapp → Text Content → Any (this will mail you for **all** messages received)

Make sure to *uncheck* prevent multiple triggers (Edit: As pointed out by a user if you get duplicate emails a fix could be, by *checking* multiple triggers YMMV)

A variant below for **one** contact

Notification → Notification Received → Select Application → Whatsapp → Text Content → Matches (or contains) → contact name (you can use wild cards or Regular expressions(Regex) matching too)

* **Actions:** Send Email → account → Email address (where you want the mail to be sent to) → Subject, copy paste

`Whatsapp message from [not_title] at [hour12].[minute][am_pm]`

Message Text, copy paste `[notification]`

You will get mails with sender name, time stamp and textsee note as in screenshot below (`Aa` is a contact and I configured for a single sender)

Note:

1. Email shows the text in notification, which may not be complete text, because Notifications are restricted to 500 characters . Long texts are truncated (in my tests text till *see more* was mailed).
2. Notifications need to be enabled for Whatsapp
> 5 votes

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


# Question
Title: System partition locked to read only in Android 10
Help, I don't know what I did but after installing a custom ROM, I noticed that my system partition cannot be mounted as read/write.

## I tried

---

"mount -o rw,remount /system" command on a terminal emulator, ADB shell, and TWRP terminal

The command shows no feedback showing failure (maybe I succeeded?)

---

Mount it using the built-in TWRP mount function.

The system check box can be checked out (it doesn't retain its check mark on reboot)

---

Some apps that actually works according to sources and reviews.

Some say (Failure to mount..) Some say (System mounted as rw) some doesn't have feedback.

---

I don't know what to do.

I noticed this when I installed a custom ROM. I tried using another custom ROM but same thing. Also reformatting doesn't help. I don't know if this occur on the stock ROM.

---

For reference

Device: Xiaomi Mi A2

Android version: Android 10

Custom ROM: AICP nightly build 15.0

# Answer
Android 10 prevents apps or pretty much anything from mounting system as R/W. Yes, even if you are rooted.

**Top John Wu**, the creator of Magisk has covered this in a series of tweets. I will link them below for your reference. Your only way of tampering your system now would be using a systemless Magisk module. You can make your own or use some other module and inject files inside its folder before rebooting to apply that module.

1. Just confirmed that the inability to remount system (the directory "/" in system-as-root) to rw is something new in Android Q, NOT an issue with the new system-as-root approach Magisk is using in the canary builds. Will have to investigate further to find out how to deal with it. Source: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1169720663201988611
2. I found out that Android 10's system images are formatted with EXT4\_FEATURE\_RO\_COMPAT\_SHARED\_BLOCKS. It will deduplicate blocks in the filesystem to reduce the image size. On my Pixel XL, the partition is physically not large enough to successfully run 'e2fsck -E unshare\_blocks'. Source: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1170404631865778177?lang=en
3. As clearly stated in the name of the feature, that EXT4 shared blocks feature is RO (read-only). The inability to disable this feature due to lack of free space in the partition (at least on my Pixel XL) makes it literally impossible to ever mount the system partition as rw. Source: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1170404633371525120
4. I guess Google's justification to format partitions with this feature enabled is the introduction of overlayfs to "simulate" a writable partition. **RIP to any mods or root apps that modify system. On Android 10 it seems system is either formatted as RO or using logical partitions**. Source: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1170404634604658688
5. BTW, just found this tidbit in Android's source code. They call these kind of filesystems "ext4 dedup". Other read-only filesystems they are aware of is squashfs (widely used in extremely constrained devices) and Huawei's EROFS. Source: https://twitter.com/topjohnwu/status/1170443615077666816

So, in short, you cannot R/W the system partition anymore with Android 10. The argument is just rejected.
> 9 votes

# Answer
I was having similar problems with Android 10 (Havoc OS / TWRP / Magisk 20.4) on an ASUS Max Pro M1. I wanted to remount /system so that I could edit /system/etc/hosts. I couldn't get adb to remount, though, and running "adb root" wouldn't work either.

Eventually I was successful, though, doing what I needed to do on the phone in a terminal, rather than using adb / debug mode. Here's what I did, including installing a file editor, since busybox can't install on Android 10 either:

1. Install Termux from the google play store.
2. Run Termux.
3. Type "pkg install vim".
4. Type "su", and grant permissions when the Magisk app prompts you.
5. Type "mount -o rw,remount /" #mount -o /system doesn't work, so you have to mount the whole filesystem in read/write mode.
6. If you want to use vim as root, you'll need to do this, too: "alias vi=/data/user/0/com.termux/files/usr/bin/vim" #let the shell know where to find the binaries for vim, since it's installed with termux. You may need to modify the path slightly depending on your phone; check first to confirm that's where it is.
7. Do your dirty work.
8. When finished, type "mount -o ro,remount /" to remount the filesystem as read only.

That should do it! I hope this works for you as well...
> 2 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, mount, system, mi-a2
---


title: Trouble connecting phone over usb-c

text:
# Question
Title: Trouble connecting phone over usb-c
I just got a new samsung phone. It came with usb-c to usb-c cable and no adapters. I tried connecting it to my laptop, which thankfully has an usb-c port. The phone connects at first, starts charging. Then, whether I choose the option to "send files" or "send pictures", the phone disconnects after a few seconds or so.

It's really troubling.

My specs (just some of them, I will list more I missed anything important) Laptop is a 2017 gaming Asus. It has Windows 10 and usb-c port. Phone is the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Some facts:

* The phone is brand new, from a store, all sealed up.
* It charges perfectly fine using the cable and a charger.
* Connection over usb-c does NOT work - it keeps disconnecting, usually after a few seconds.
* However, I can easily connect a pendrive using an adapter I had before. (I can send data both ways)
* Using an old usb-c to usb-b cable to connect to my laptop through a different port ALSO works.
* I get no messages or anything when it disconnects.

What could that mean? Is the usb-c port on my laptop possibly busted, or is there some driver / permission / program I need to use it?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I feel stupid now, but I will leave the topic here in case someone has the same problem.

I decided to disconnect my USB hub which was using one of the usb-b ports. After I did that, the usb-c connection worked fine.

EDIT: Turns out things are even weirder. Apparently it doesn't matter if the hub is plugged in or not.

What seems to be the real issue is that after the phone connects and by default, it's set to "move files / auto android"... it's not really default. You have to change to any other mode like "move pictures" and then back to "move files / auto android". Seems to be working so far.

---
Tags: samsung, usb
---


title: Constantly asking to reboot

text:
# Question
Title: Constantly asking to reboot
My android phone (can give more details if helpful) has started to show a dialog after 1-2 minutes after booting:

> Reboot to update network setting?

(My translation, network settings refers to mobile telephone network, not WIFI etc.)

There only is an OK button, and the dialog cannot be closed or ignored. And after rebooting, it shows up again after 1-2 minutes.

The problem showed up after crossing the border into another country.

Does anyone have an idea what the problem might be, and how to get this to stop?

# Answer
I found out that the last system update had been downloaded, but not installed. After installing it, the error disappeared.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: settings, mobile-network
---


# Question
Title: Can I use Secure Folder without a Samsung Account?
On a Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 (A-320FL) I want to use the Secure Folder feature. Clicking on the Icon opens a prompt to sign in to a Samsung Account.

I don't want sync anything (or create another account with all of its privacy implications), just want to have password protected clones of apps and storage.

# Answer
I don't think there is a way to use Samsung's Secure Folder without logging in to Samsung. I don't know why Samsung requires that you log in to a Samsung account to use Secure Folder, as that seems to increase the potential attack surface.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: samsung, samsung-galaxy-a3
---


# Question
Title: Downloading and installing WhatsApp for Android 2.2.1 Froyo
I have an old Android 2.2.1. It doesn't have Play Store, nor any application as Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram. I can't download Google Chrome either.

I'd like to download WhatsApp, but it isn't possible because when trying to install it, Google says: "there are no identifiant", but I'm connected.

How to download and install this app from another place (or make the identifiant work from Google)?

# Answer
You can find old versions of WhatsApp here. Just navigate to the last (around the last) page to find versions compatible with Android 2.2.1.

**BUT** because those versions are too old, I am sure after you will be asked to update to a newer version. You should know that WhatsApp has stopped working on some versions of Android as stated here:

> Come Saturday, February 1, 2020 (tomorrow), WhatsApp will no longer work on devices running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older or iPhones running iOS 8 and older.

> Specifically, as of February 1, 2020, WhatsApp will no longer support devices running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older. After February 1, users will no longer be able to create new accounts or reverify existing accounts on these older Android versions.

As stated above, even if you install the old version, you will not be able to create an account or re-verify it.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Just get the older .apk file, then install it.

While registering, you will get like "This version has gone absolute on Some date", just change your phone's date and time before the given date and try to register.

I don't know whether that will work or not for registration, but it will surely work with already registered WhatsApp that has gone absolute.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: Cannot open PDF files received on WhatsApp directly
When I try opening a PDF file that I receive on WhatsApp directly by clicking on the WhatsApp message, I get the message, "You may not have a proper app for viewing this content".

I already have PDF viewers installed on the phone (Google PDF Viewer, Adobe Acrobat Reader). I can open the file when I open it via a file manager.

How can I open the PDF files by clicking directly on the WhatsApp message?

# Answer
It turns out the trouble was that .PDF was in caps.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, pdf
---


# Question
Title: Working with Trello offline and synchronization
Will the Android app work without internet connectivity and sync with Trello when the internet becomes available?

Can the Android app be controlled as to when to sync with Trello?

We work at sea and would like to use the Android app for storing project data then sync the data with Trello after reviewing/editing project information.

Are we able to store project data offsite from Trello for our own records once a project is complete?

# Answer
You can add cards and view cards and add comments to existing cards while offline, but you cannot add comments to new cards you create while offline. You also cannot view comments, descriptions, or checklists while offline. Changes will be synced when you reconnect to the internet and run Trello.

You can export your Trello board to JSON format, but I'm not sure what can read that format. Business users can export to CSV.

Based on these limitations, it probably would not work for your purposes. You might consider Google Drive or something similar that allows you to work offline and sync when you do go online.
> 2 votes

# Answer
The Trello team announced in May 2015 that offline support is something they are "working on".

That said, it's been crawling through their features process since 2012, and they warn "it will be a long while", so don't hold your breath. You can use the above link to subscribe to this proposal, and/or vote in support of this proposal (at time of writing, it had 3,214 votes and was one of the most popular requests).

Here's the key information from that link:

> ## Offline support *in list Working on*
>
> *3214 votes*
>
> Yes, we are working on this. We have a plan on what we need to do. It's a big project and it will be a long while before we have something to show you.
>
> * Daniel Lew moved this card from **Up next** to **Working on** 27 May 2015 at 18:23
> * Hamid Palo moved this card from **Feature Ideas** to **Up next** 17 Dec 2014 at 15:23
> * Hamid Palo added this card to **Future Features** 15 Aug 2012 at 14:15
> 1 votes

# Answer
Just installed Trello. Seems like it's designed for offline viewing, not offline editing.

Perhaps Evernote might be a better option, although it's not really a project management tool.
> 0 votes

# Answer
Trello announced in 2017 that the Trello mobile apps work offline. This includes:

* Creating new boards, lists and cards
* Assign members to cards
* Add descriptions, dates, labels and checklists to cards
* Leave comments and reaction emojis
* Attach pictures to cards

Changes that you make while offline will be synced once you go online again.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: trello, sync
---


# Question
Title: How to turn off CPU cores on Samsung Galaxy A8?
I need to turn off CPU cores in order to make energy measurements of sets of cpu cores in isolation (meaning that I want to run an application on a set of cpu cores and turn off the cpu cores that are not in the set). I looked at the documentation on the android linux kernel source and it says the following:

> Q: How do i logically offline a CPU?
> A: Do the following.
> `#echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuX/online`
> Once the logical offline is successful, check
> `#cat /proc/interrupts`
> You should now not see the CPU that you removed. Also online file will report the state as 0 when a cpu if offline and 1 when its online.
> #To display the current cpu state.
> `#cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuX/online`

But when I write 0 to the online file, it still reports the CPU as being online even with superuser permissions and marking the file as writable (`chmod +w`).

I imagine that the kernel is enabling the cpu again after I disabled it. Also I did not try to turn off CPU 0 because in the same documentation it says that it's not removable in some architectures, this behavior is happening on other CPUs.

Do I need to rebuild the kernel in order to enable the cpu hotplug or is this an architecture specific problem? Maybe my cpu doesn't support hotplugs.

**What I've tried by now**

* Writing to `/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuN/online` with a rooted device. (`echo "0" > ./sys/device/...../online`)
* Changing the kernel to a custom one and trying the step above again. (Kernel installed was Quantum Kernel)
* Using kernel adiutor to turn off the CPUs on the CPU tab (this turns off the CPU for a while then it turns back on again)
* Using su on adb shell to change file permissions on sysfs (`chmod 664 /sys/devices/...../online`) and then trying to write to it.

**Device Information**
**Model:** Samsung Galaxy A8 (SM-A530F)
**Android Version:** Android Pie (9)
**Kernel:** Quantum Kernel V4
**Kernel version:** 4.4.111-Quantum\_pie.V4.0-A530F
**Processor:** Samsung Exynos Octa 7885
**Architecture:** aarch64

EDIT: Forgot to mention that my device is rooted.

# Answer
> 0 votes
This helps on Galaxy-S7:

```
echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuhotplug/enabled
echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/online

```

---
Tags: cpu, samsung-galaxy-a8-2018
---


# Question
Title: How to back up & restore a rooted phone?
Before handing in my OnePlus 6T for repair, I want to create a full system backup and reset the phone to factory defaults. Afterwards, I want to restore the original state. My phone is rooted with Magisk.

*How do I do a full system backup?*

Note that this is different from a backup as part of migration to a new phone or a partial backup as part of fixing software issues.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Note: *This method will not work with work profiles or parallel apps!*

Here's how I performed the backup on a OnePlus 6T in 2020:

1. Downloaded TWRP for my device.
2. Rebooted the phone into *fastboot mode* by pressing volume down plus the power button and following the menu displayed on the phone. Note the process of entering fastboot mode varies from phone to phone.
3. Connected the phone to the PC, then booted TWRP from the Windows command line (`cmd.exe`):

```
fastboot boot twrp-3.4.0-0-fajita.img

```

I installed `fastboot` as part of the Chocolatey package adb.
4. In TWRP, I entered my password, then selected *Backup*.
5. Backed up all partitions to internal storage. See also the TWRP FAQ: What should I back up in TWRP?

Note that not all partitions need to be backed up, and in fact, according to the TWRP FAQ, it may be a bad idea to restore certain partitions. Still, it doesn’t hurt to have the backup of all of them.

Not included is `/data/media` (internal storage). This needs to be backed up separately. See the TWRP FAQ: What is EXCLUDED from a TWRP backup?
6. With TWRP running, I connected the phone via USB to my PC. Then I moved the following folder to my PC, which contains the TWRP backup of the phone:

```
This PC\OnePlus A6013\Internal Storage\TWRP

```

This step is not strictly necessary as in the following step I did back up the entire internal storage. However, it makes the next step execute faster as less data needs to be copied. The next step does not give feedback about progress.
7. For backing up internal storage I decided on the method found in Tadej Janež’s article Backing up Android's /data/media (i.e. internal storage) using adb and TWRP. From the Windows command line I ran:

```
adb exec-out "tar --create data/media/0 2>/errors.txt | gzip" >internal_storage.tar.gz

```

After completion, to check for errors, I ran (no errors):

```
adb shell cat /errors.txt

```
8. To leave TWRP, I rebooted the phone. Note that it is *not* necessary to install TWRP.

Restoration still needs to be tested.

---
Tags: root-access, backup, magisk
---


# Question
Title: [Honor View 10 Lite][USB] Device not recognized by PC
Looked everywhere around the net, followed any guide I was able to find, and now my last hope is here. As the title say I'm unable to successfully connect my device to any PC. What I already did ?

* Tested connection on Windows 10, Windows 7 and Kali. Windows not show any device connected, same for kali, using lsusb command.
* On the device, in Developers menu I've turned ON/OFF settings related to usb, changed the usb mode from Charge Only to any other option, but as soon as I exit the menu the settings change back to Charge Only, Debug USB OFF.
* I've also changed USB Port Settings in the ProjectMenu to Manufacture Mode/Google Mode.
* Removed, installed and updated to latest version HiSuite.
* I've tested with 6 different cables.

What I can think is the EMUI 9 update I did few days ago broke something or the connector is half dead and can only charge(weird). Any idea about any possible solution?

# Answer
I manged to get this working again, by enabling USB via Hi Suite.

1. Connect phone and open Hi Suite.
2. You should see a USB option for the device.
3. When selecting it, you should get the prompt on your device.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I had similar issues but it seems it may have been dodgy USB leads. HiSuite would pop up on the computer when I connected to the PC but wouldn't connect. Tried uninstalling then re-installing HiSuite on the phone but still the same. Was about to factory reset the phine when I decided to try a different USB lead whuch worked
> 0 votes

---
Tags: usb, 9.0-pie
---


# Question
Title: How to disable link previews in Android Messages app?
Android Messages app can show the preview of the link in an SMS. For example:

I am trying to figure out a way to detect if the request comes from a preview so I don't get false positive visits.

Is there a way to disable the link previews?

# Answer
> 2 votes
To disable link previews on Android/Google Messages app:

1. Tap the overflow menu (3 vertical dots) at the top-right corner
2. Select **Settings**
3. Select **Automatic previews**
4. Tap either **Show all previews** and/or **Show only web link previews** to disable

---
Tags: sms, google-messages
---


# Question
Title: Mute Phone Mic when Headphones are Plugged In?
I saw a question similar to mine but it was 7 years old so I'm hoping there may be an update to the answer

I would like for my Note 9 running Android version 10 to mute the mic on the phone when I have my headphones plugged in. It seems like it takes sound from both areas and I have my phone setting right next to my keyboard. When I am typing while talking, the sound of the keyboard clicks are extremely loud to the listener. I cannot move my phone as the conversations are typically video calls and I am using a wired headphone connection. Additionally, when I talk while in a somewhat noisy area, the phone mic seems to be more sensitive to the background noise and quiets my voice via the headphone.

# Answer
You might try an app called Pilfershush. It takes control of the microphone so that other apps can't use it.

Just remember to turn it off before you try to use the phone for a call.

PilferShush Jammer (Block unwanted use of onboard microphone) - https://f-droid.org/app/cityfreqs.com.pilfershushjammer
> 0 votes

---
Tags: automation, headphones, microphone
---


# Question
Title: How can I get more internal space for apps?
I have read several places on this but the answers all seem to be the same. The problem is that I keep running out of space on my /data partition. The steps I've taken to fix this problem: move all apps that will function on sdcard to sdcard, also clear data on apps but the problem with this is that as soon as you open them again they act like a fresh install and then refill data.

My device stats 1gb /data partition 30gb 'internal' sdcard partition, Android 4.2.2 with root kernel 3.0.36+. Ideas I've had to fix this problem and the problems I faced attempting to use them:

1. Repartition some of the /sdcard space to /data, problem is I can't really find any specific instructions on how to do this and from what I have read I'm not really sure if I can because my "userdata" (/data) partition is at mtd6 and my "user" (/sdcard) partition is at mtd9 with "kpanic" and "system" at mtd 7 & 8 respectively, the guides mention mmc blocks instead of mtd which one seems to be an emulation of the other. I have seen other devices of the same model come from the factory with 2gb of /data storage.
2. Move the /data/data contents of an app to sdcard and bind mount that location, problem is these directories always contain a /lib link thats points to wherever the apps installed package location is and this link can't seem to be made, also not sure if I can make permissions right. As I understand it, when android installs an app to the sdcard it creates a small ext4 partition to contain the app package so I'm wondering if its possible to do something similar and then bind an apps /data/data assets to it.

# Answer
On a device with such limited resources, your best bet by far is to eliminate as many apps as possible.

Any useless bloatware that was preinstalled might be able to be disabled. This will prevent them from growing.

Any apps that connect you to sites that are accessible with a browser- use the browser and ditch the apps.

A great, small, very fast browser for such a mission is Lightning.

Lightning (Lightweight web browser) - https://f-droid.org/app/acr.browser.lightning
> 0 votes

---
Tags: root-access, insufficient-memory, partitions
---


title: How to rate Google Play itself?

text:
# Question
Title: How to rate Google Play itself?
I want to know how we can put review or rate google play store (not their apps)

# Answer
> When you can write a review
>
> > You can only review apps you’ve downloaded.

* Since you didn't *download* Google Play, you can't review it. Instead, from the Play Store → Help & Feedback → Send feedback at bottom (via mail) is an option.

Edit: Just found this, it is a better option. Raise it in the Google Play help community
> 1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, google, google-apps
---


# Question
Title: Hide music from list of alarm, notifications, and ring tone files
How to keep my music and alarm files separate suggested I could nut an empty file named .nomedia in my top Music directory to prevent Music files from being seen by the Alarm app when I create a wake-up alarm. Well, that does not work and when I set an alarm and wish a non standard alarm sound, I must scroll through over a thousand music files to find the Alarm sound file. Same happens with ring tones and notifications. How do I prevent Music files from appearing on my OnePlus 7pro w/ Android 10?

# Answer
I had the same problem on my OnePlus 7. It's irritating that the Oxygen OS pick menu doesn't have a search () option.

To over come this I use Ring Tone Maker. You search for a tone, long press and from 3 dots menu on right, choose to set it as a ring/alarm/notification tone. Drawback of this approach is that you can't find default tones in this app. If your device is rooted, you could locate those files and copy in some folder that would show up on this app
> 2 votes

---
Tags: media-files
---


# Question
Title: Meaning of Samsung bootloader codenames?
I realized that you cannot install firmware with older bootloader version than the one in the device.

To do things more correctly and safely, I want more fully understand the bootloader codename meaning.

Here are diffrent bootloader codenames, that appear in different three Build Numbers.

> 1. Build Number: G965FXX**U7D**TB4
> Bootloader Codename: `U7D`
> 2. Build Number: G965U1UE**S7D**TB2
> Bootloader Codename: `S7D`
> 3. Build Number: G965USQ**U6C**SI2
> Bootloader Codename: `U6C`

I understand that the digit between the two letter indicated the bootloader version.
Therefore, the bootloader version is the same for `U7D` and `S7D` and the `U6C` is older.

However, it is not the same codename.

What is the difference between `U7D` and `S7D`?
I'd love to know what the diffrent letters means?

# Answer
> What is the difference between U7D and S7D?

First, the difference between `U` and `S`:

> The x is either a U or a S. U updates tend to have actual updates and/or new features. Or simply bug fixes. S updates tend to be strictly security-related.

Secondly, the meaning of `7`:

> This is the bootloader number/fuse. What you need to know: You cannot rollback to a version that has a bootloader fuse lower than the version you currently have. As such, if you have a 3 BL fuse, you cannot go back to a 2 BL fuse. But you can go forward to a 4 BL.

Finally, the meaning of `D`

> is the software upgrade version. The first version is always A. When there is a major update, such as a feature update or an Android upgrade, this letter goes up. Note that for official beta versions, the letter is always Z.

All the above quotes are from How to read build versions.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung, bootloader, android-versions
---


# Question
Title: Identify the source process and/or app from an output in the logcat
When I plug my phone into my computer, I can see the logcat output in Android Studio. I recently noticed that whenever I start entering a password in a field designated for passwords (the ones that display '\*' for any character), the phone prints a very concerning message to the console:

```
D/HwAutofillHelper: inputType is password, now record

```

Since it is an Honor Phone, I suppose `Hw` is short for Huawei?

Nevertheless, I'd like to know if there is a way to find out what process produced this output and what app it belongs to?

# Answer
Logcat can show the process ID (PID) that outputs the log message.

* For command-line: `adb logcat` will use `threadtime` by default, which shows the PID
* For Android Studio:
    1. Open the **Logcat** window
    2. From the toolbar (on the left-side), click the **Logcat Header** (cogwheel) button
        + If the toolbar is not shown, click the **Show Options Menu** (cogwheel) button on the top-right corner, then choose **Show Toolbar**
    3. On **Configure Logcat Header** dialog, check **Show process and thread IDs**, then press **OK**

By default, logcat will show the log in the following format:

```
date time PID-TID/package priority/tag: message

```

With the PID, it is possible to identify the source with `ps` command with `-p` flag to pinpoint the source, i.e. `adb shell ps -p [PID]`. The command will show the package name or the executable name.

---

### Example

The logcat returned the following message

```
2020-07-08 22:06:16.002 18510-18510/? I/ScreenEventHandler: Received Broadcast ACTION_SCREEN_ON

```

The PID is 18510.

Calling `adb shell ps -p 18510` returned the following

```
USER      PID   PPID  VSIZE   RSS   WCHAN            PC  NAME
u0_a107   18510 15708 1006092 44320 sys_epoll_ 00000000 S com.asksven.betterbatterystats

```

Thus, the message was written by `com.asksven.betterbatterystats` (BetterBatteryStats)
> 4 votes

---
Tags: applications, logging, processes
---


# Question
Title: How to make stock Camera app silent when shot is taken without preventing phone call ringtone sounds?
This question is basically the same as this one but the canonical answer for that post is not compatible with my particular device for which a discussion and a solution can be found below.

I would often like to use the Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo stock Camera app but would like to keep the sound it makes while pictures are shot on silent (so that when I take a shot people are not distracted by the sound so that the resulting pictures taken look more natural). However, I've figured out that to turn such sound off, out of the volume settings `Ringtone`, `Notifications`, `Media`, and `System`, it is the `Ringtone` volume setting which must be turned off for this to take place (click on any of the volume hardware buttons and then on the volume settings cogwheel to see these). Unfortunately, setting the `Ringtone` to silent means no sound will be made when a phone call is received.

So, I would like to know whether newer phones have a Camera setting menu list entry for enabling or disabling the sound specifically for the Camera application. And, if not, then I would like to know where to place a feature request width Samsung for this to be implemented in future releases of the stock Camera software.

Anyways, I think, as a hack, if one knew where the mp3 sound file for the camera app is stored, one could just deleted (or perhaps replaced it with an mp3 file producing no sound to resolve the problem). Anyone know where I could find such a file?

---

**UPDATE**: I've tried rooting my device and then following this solution but I still get an error message saying the filesystem is read-only. Not sure if Samsung KNOX is causing this. Thank you for your replies.

---

**UPDATE**: Remounting the system with the following command as root:

```
mount -o remount,rw /system

```

Allowed me to rename the file, but it seems it's the wrong file as the stock Camera app still produces a snap sound when taking a picture after the rename. Candidate files related to the stock Camera app under `/system/media/audio/ui` could be the following:

* Cam\_Start.ogg
* Cam\_Stop.ogg
* Camera\_click\_short.ogg
* Camera\_click.ogg
* Camera\_empty.ogg
* camera\_focus.ogg
* Camera\_Timer\_2sec.ogg
* Camera\_Timer.ogg

I've tried renaming both `Camera_click.ogg` and `Camera_click_short.ogg` to `Camera_click.ogg.bak` and `Camera_click_short.ogg.bak` but no luck! Even after rebooting the phone, the stock Camera application still produces a sound when a picture is taken with the `Ringtone Volume` enabled. The `Camera_empty.ogg` sound file produces no sound; ideally I would like this one to play when the camera takes a picture.

Anyone know where the problem may be and how to fix it?

---

UPDATE: After installing the `BusyBox` app in order to have the Unix `find` tool and then running:

```
find / -name '*.ogg' > out.txt

```

the contents of `out.txt` were the following:

```
/storage/emulated/legacy/Ringtones/hangouts_message.ogg
/storage/emulated/legacy/Ringtones/hangouts_incoming_call.ogg
/storage/emulated/legacy/Notifications/Calendar Notification.ogg
/storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/hangouts_message.ogg
/storage/emulated/0/Ringtones/hangouts_incoming_call.ogg
/storage/emulated/0/Notifications/Calendar Notification.ogg
/mnt/shell/emulated/0/Ringtones/hangouts_message.ogg
/mnt/shell/emulated/0/Ringtones/hangouts_incoming_call.ogg
/mnt/shell/emulated/0/Notifications/Calendar Notification.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Alarm_Day_by_day.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Alarm_Morning_flower.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Dawn_chorus.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Daybreak.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Sea_breeze.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Serene_morning.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Springtime_memories.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Ticktac.ogg
/system/media/audio/alarms/Walk_in_the_forest.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/Beep_once.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/Hang_drum.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/Harp_glissando.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Bubbles.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Charming_bell.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Chirps.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Dew_drops.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Flowers.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Good_News.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Harmonics.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Knock.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_On_time.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Opener.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Postman.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Pure_Bell.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Temple_bell.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Tickety_tock.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/S_Whistle.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/Sweet_favour.ogg
/system/media/audio/notifications/Whisper.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/A_rustling_in_the_trees.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Basic_bell.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Basic_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Beep-beep.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Beep_once.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Blowing_dandelion_seeds.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Break_of_day.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Breeze.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Bugs_story.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Chime.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Drifting_downstream.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Ecliptic.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Flying_in_the_sky.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Fog_on_the_water.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Glissando_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Ice_blue_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/In_your_mind.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Journey.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Leisure_time.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Over_the_horizon.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Popcorn_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Quantum_bell.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Rainbow.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Rainy_day.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Rays_of_the_sun.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Rolling_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Scampering_tone.ogg
/system/media/audio/ringtones/Writing_adventure.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Alert_on_call.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Auto_focus.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Auto_focus_error.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Birdsong_by_the_lake.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Call_Connect.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Cam_Start.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Cam_Stop.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Camera_Timer.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Camera_Timer_2sec.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Camera_empty.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Charger_Connection.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Dialer_new.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Dock.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Effect_Tick.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Fairy_fountain.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Highlight.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/HoverPointer.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/KeypressDelete.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/KeypressInvalid.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/KeypressReturn.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/KeypressSpacebar.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/KeypressStandard.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Lock.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Lock_none_effect.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/LowBattery.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/New_chat.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_att_noti.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_att_noti1.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_att_noti2.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_att_noti3.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_alert.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_beep1.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_beep2.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_beep3.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_beep4.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_beep5.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_noti.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_noti1.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_noti2.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Pen_det_noti3.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/PowerOn.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/S_Beam_end.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/S_Beam_error.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/S_Beam_start.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/S_HW_Touch.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/S_SIP_Backspace.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Sent_chat.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Serenity.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Shutter.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Shutter_multiple.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Sparkling_mist.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Battery_caution.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Battery_swelling_warning.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Call_Disconnect.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_SIP.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Silent_mode_off.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Touch.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Volume_control.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/The_secret_forest.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Undock.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Unlock.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Unlock_none_effect.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/VideoRecord.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Voice_processing.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Voice_start.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Voice_stop.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/WirelessChargingStarted.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/Zero_Clickr_Ready.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/airbutton_close.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/airbutton_open.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/camera_focus.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/lens_flare_lock.ogg
/system/media/audio/ui/lens_flare_unlock_silence.ogg
/data/media/0/Ringtones/hangouts_message.ogg
/data/media/0/Ringtones/hangouts_incoming_call.ogg
/data/media/0/Notifications/Calendar Notification.ogg

```

At this stage I'm not sure whether the stock Camera app is really taking the shutter sound from one of these `.ogg` files or whether the actual `.ogg` file is hardcoded into the stock Camera app's binary file.

# Answer
On my Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo (Android 4.4.2) I was able to solve my problem as follows:

```
C:\> adb shell

```

and then

```
# su
# mount -o remount,rw /
# cd /system/media/audio/ui/
# mv Shutter.ogg Shutter.ogg.bak

```

This solved the problem.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Not sure, but I think the camera shutter sound is hard coded and have a feature to disable it based on your location for legal issues (in some countries, taking a picture without making a sound is considered a crime and can lead to 6 months of jail).

But there is a simple way to disable this:

* install Xposed installer on your phone. Grab the apk file from here.
* download and install this module.
* after enabling this module, you're asked to reboot your phone, do so.
* after the reboot, enter to the module's app and navigate in the app to find the right option to disable the camera shutter sound.
> 3 votes

# Answer
After typing `su`, remount system as read-write with

> mount -o remount,rw /system

Then make the steps in the solution. This should work.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Since Android P renaming the files in the UI folder does not work anymore. With Samsung devices for example, the sounds are hardcoded into the Camera App, for countries where taking silent photos is forbidden (EU countries regarding privacy laws), the switch in the settings to disable the shutter sound is also not available.

Unless we do a little magic (no xposed needed, only root access to the filesystem):

# add Call Recording en Shutter Sound options to your Exynos phone by adding 2 CSC options to cscfeature.xml

---

1. check your csc code (about phone \> software information \> service provider sw \> last 3 letters: \[CSC\])
2. in root explorer goto: /system/product/omc/\[CSC\]/conf/cscfeature.xml
3. download OmcTextDecoder (https://github.com/fei-ke/OmcTextDecoder)
4. put the downloaded "omc-decoder.jar" in a folder together with the encrypted "cscfeature.xml" file on a linux pc
5. open terminal and cd to the folder where you have put the files
6. run: java -jar omc-decoder.jar -i cscfeature.xml -o cscfeature\_decoded.xml
7. open the "cscfeature\_decoded.xml" file in a text editor
8. add the following lines to the file:

> \<CscFeature\_VoiceCall\_ConfigRecording\>RecordingAllowed\</CscFeature\_VoiceCall\_ConfigRecord\>

> \<CscFeature\_Camera\_ShutterSoundMenu\>TRUE\</CscFeature\_Camera\_ShutterSoundMenu\>

9. save the file and rename your old "cscfeature.xml" to "cscfeature\_encoded.xml"
10. encode the edited file by running the following command in terminal: java -jar omc-decoder.jar -e -i cscfeature\_decoded.xml -o cscfeature.xml
11. copy the changed and ecoded file back to your phone: "cscfeature.xml" and backup the old one to "cscfeature.bak"
12. reboot and you will find the shutter switch in the camera settings!

extra options: https://www.askvg.com/tip-enable-hidden-secret-features-in-samsung-galaxy-smartphones/
> 0 votes

---
Tags: samsung-galaxy-s-3, samsung, camera, custom-sounds, camera-sound
---


# Question
Title: How to use wired and wireless headphones simultaneously?
I have both wired and wireless headphones. I thought of sharing the both to see a movie.

To do that, can we get the audio output of both at same time.

I can able to switch the output but not access at same time.

# Answer
> 0 votes
1. Upgrade to Android Pie, most of the android devices support it as an inbuilt feature since API28.
2. There are certain hacks you will find on Google for lower versions, they don't work to be honest. As per my knowledge in Pie it will work, because I'm using it

---
Tags: bluetooth-audio
---


# Question
Title: WhatsApp notification showing "Deleting all messages"
My father has a Samsung Galaxy On5, Android 6.0.1-Marshmallow.

Today, all of a sudden, the WhatsApp on his phone started showing this:

I quickly restarted the phone, but the notification again came back after some time. Moreover, although it's saying it's deleting messages, no message is actually being deleted from any chat or group.

Has anyone faced something like this before? Is it some malware that's causing this? I performed a check of the phone by Malwarebytes, but everything seems to be okay.

# Answer
To remove the blocking "deleting all messages" notification:

1. Go to Settings - Apps - WhatsApp
2. Press "Force stop"
> 2 votes

# Answer
1. Go to Setting - Apps - WhatsApp
2. Turn off the notification
3. Clear all the notification (interface or desktop)
4. Turn on the notification again
> 1 votes

# Answer
Fixes-

1. Open settings-\>App management (depends on ur system). Now find Whatsapp from the list. Then tap that and click Force stop.
2. If above step did not work, then try reinstalling Whatsapp from Play Store. Your data won't be lost. Hope this helps
> 1 votes

---
Tags: 6.0-marshmallow, whatsapp-messenger, samsung-galaxy-on5
---


# Question
Title: Manage connectivity of apps to internet of Sim-card vs. wifi
I have a Redmi note 8 android smart-phone, If I use Wifi then all the applications connect to the internet, But in Simcard, some of the applications are not able to connect to the internet.

For instance, in sim-card internet, some apps like Telegram or Whatsapp connect to the internet easily, but my Chrome browser or google map does not connect to the internet and says you are offline and there is no connectivity.

I'm wondering if there is a place in android or specifically in redmi note 8 which manages how application connectivity.

Thanks

# Answer
1. Turn off any power saving mode or data saving mode. If u have limited the data per month or per day, then turn that off.
2. Run an Internet Speedtest from the sim card data. If you are having trouble run Speedtest may be there's an issue, so try that sim on another phone and check.
3. I think MIUI has an option for turning on/off mobile data used by app. You can find it in App Management (from settings) for a particular app.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, wi-fi, internet, sim-card, application-manager
---


# Question
Title: Certain "core" apps lost access to media files
At some point in time (about a week ago) *something* happened to my Motorola Moto Z2 Play / Android 8.0 that caused my base apps to not have access to my media files (i.e. audio, photos etc.).

Examples:

* all my custom ringtones (i.e. based on my own media files) were reset to default sound:
    + Contact apps reset custom ringtones for contacts to default one,
    + Alarms & Clock app reset custom alarm tone to default one,
    + SMS (Messages) app reset custom message notification tone to default one,
    + system-wide default notification tone (set by me to custom) was reset as well,
    + system-wide default ringtone (set by me to custom one) was reset,
* I cannot pick a photo for a contact because my contacts app keeps saying: "No pictures are available on the device".

While first situation is resolved. I see my custom ringtone files in the list and I can go through my contacts and assign them again. But second situation is not resolved. I see this error all the time and I cannot change any contact's photo.

This is verified as not a bug (tested three different contacts-like applications and all of them shows exactly the same message, when trying to change contact's photo). But still, it seems that problem is limited to contacts-related apps only. Other apps still has read and write access to my custom files.

For example: :

* (read) I can pick any photo or other custom file and attach it to an e-mail, send it as MMS or share it in any other way or
* (read) upload it to OneDrive or Google Drive etc. or
* (write) my Camera app is still able to make new photos and store them in "DCIM" or
* (write) my sound recorder is able to record sound and write audio files.

The only thing that has changed on my phone recently and that I suspect as the cause of above metioned situation was Android 7.1.2 --\> Android 8.0.0 update.

Is there anything I can do (since replacing contacts app didn't resolve the situation) or check in this case? Or resetting the phone to factory defaults is the only option that I am left with?

**EDIT**: *I have cleared cache and data of media app, as suggested in comment. It didn't help.*

# Answer
• I think there are two options to change contact's photo- Take a photo and select a photo. Does the take photo option works. Or try changing the app to choose photos for changing the pic. • If your contacts are backed upto Google then you can goto https://contacts.google.com/ sign in with the account and can change the contcat pic. Upvote if it helps.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: contacts, photos, 8.0-oreo, contact-photo, motorola-moto-z2-play
---


# Question
Title: How is Verizon suddenly tracking my hot-spot usage on Android and how do I disable this tracking?
I am familiar with how iOS devices report hot spot use by treating it differently somehow. My understand is that Android is not crippled like this, and there is rightly no difference in traffic between hot spot data and data from the phone itself.

So I was a bit shocked when I received a text from Verizon telling me I had used up almost all my paltry hot-spot "allowance" because this should not be possible that it discriminates traffic like that. How is this possible? I have used my hotspot a lot before and never received this message.

I have read something about an "APN"s but there is only one, "VZWINTERNET" which can only be "reset to default" with no option to delete or create a new one.

# Answer
> 8 votes
Your phone uses a different type of connection (DUN) to send tethered data but you can make the provider treat all traffic as if it is non-tethered:

```
adb shell settings put global tether_dun_required 0

```

When enabling tethering on Android, the OS will first do a provisioning check with the carrier to determine if your plan allows tethering. You can remove this check:

```
adb shell su
mount -o rw,remount /system_root
cd /system_root/system/
echo net.tethering.noprovisioning=true >> /system_root/system/build.prop

```

However it will not be enough because carriers often spot tethering by looking at the TTL of your IP packages.

> Time to live (TTL) refers to the amount of time or “hops” that a packet is set to exist inside a network before being discarded by a router. It is decremented for each hop. A hop is any intermediate router the packet passes through.

When tethering, your phone acts as a router and your TTL is decreased by 1 before reaching your ISP, which is what betrays you.

By default, Android and iOS have a TTL of 64 so you only need to set the TTL on your PC to 65.

On GNU/Linux :

```
net.ipv4.ip_default_ttl=65

# persistent change
echo 'net.ipv4.ip_default_ttl=65' | sudo tee /usr/lib64/sysctl.d/70-ttl.conf

```

On Windows:

```
netsh int ipv4 set glob defaultcurhoplimit=65 netsh int ipv6 set glob
defaultcurhoplimit=65

```

On MacOS:

```
sudo sysctl -w net.inet.ip.ttl=65

```

For now it seems to be enough but keep in mind that your carrier has other ways to detect tethering (see here) and will most likely use them in the future.

# Answer
> 0 votes
See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734138 for a discussion about how they might. Mechanisms other than APN change might include

* Time to live
* Request header
* Data volume

---
Tags: wifi-hotspot, google-pixel-3-xl
---


title: Control another phone via bluetooth

text:
# Question
Title: Control another phone via bluetooth
I need to control an android phone by another android phone using bluetooth.

Same as *Teamviewer*, but via bluetooth.

Suggestions ?

I have root and xposed.

So far I found only apps that use Wifi, or that transmit to a TV. Not what I need.

To make it more difficult: one of the devices is android 4.1

**Edit 1:** I said *mirror* before. It was wrong. I meant *control*. Need to view and control another device.

**Edit 2:** It may be something different than bluetooth, as long as no internet be required.

# Answer
RemoDroid is the answer.

**Works through WiFi Direct.**

Works on older phones by using older versions (0.15.4 worked on my 4.4.0, same version installed on both).

Not bluetooth, but works.

Thanks Robert for showing the way
> 1 votes

---
Tags: bluetooth, screen-mirroring
---


title: Google Play Store won't download app

text:
# Question
Title: Google Play Store won't download app
Play Store downloads successfully first chosen app, but it get stuck on downloading the second one. There is no error message. Only activity I see is notification of content waiting to be downloaded. Solution is to reboot the phone.

Here is a screenshot that shows kind of notification I am writing about, since I am unable to provide an actual one. No error messages, just a continuous progress bar:

I tried clearing cache, then all data and then data in Google Play Services app, but it didn't help. The phone is Oukitel U11 Plus, using Android 8.

I have visited wiki page of google-play-store tag and didn't found any reasonable advice in regard of this situation.

---

On the side note, one other frustrating thing is happening, too. When searching in Chrome it redirects to local .rs domain, but it then prints out `err_tunnel_connection_failed`. I got around it buy using *no redirect* link to force it to go main .com domain.

# Answer
Do you have background data restricted? If not then try clearing cache & data of the following Apps:

Download Manager, Google Account Manager, Google Services Framework

Then reboot & open play store it will ask you to log in with your Google Account, after logging in try installing something it should be working now.
> 0 votes

# Answer
If we have set the download by WiFi only could be the reason. Change to Mobile data as well or try connecting to WiFi
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, google-play-services, download-manager
---


# Question
Title: Use laptop's keyboard shortcut in in Android device
I am using Ubuntu 18.04 with Genymotion version 3.1.0 for my laptop. How do I use the laptop's keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V in the installed android device?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Genymotion added support for copy and paste around their 2.1.0 version release. The host device and virtual device share a clipboard so copy/paste is possible.

There are a few ways to copy/paste into an Android emulated device:

I haven't used Genymotion in quite some time, but I would also try digging around its settings to see if there are key remapping options for things like copy/paste.

---
Tags: genymotion
---


# Question
Title: Unlocking Google Pixel 2 XL without losing data
I need to unlock my Google Pixel 2 XL without losing my data. I figured out the simple solution of doing a hard reset, but I can't lose all the important things on my phone because I need them for court and all of my clients of 20 years for work.

I can't afford to buy any software, so I downloaded an app called Dr.Fone, but unfortunately it does not support Pixel at this time. I am not the most computer or tech-informed when it comes to these things, so I went to a local phone store and ask if they have software to do this and still no luck. I also tried to follow some YouTube tutorials and did not have luck there, either due to my lack of ability to obtain some of the resources or actions that they needed me to perform from the phone because I cannot get into the system.

Is it possible to unlock Google Pixel 2 XL without losing data?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Android devices always delete all user data when unlocking the bootloader.

This is a requirement by Google which has to be implemented by each and every device. In the past there were a few devices that did not perform a full wipe or had other bugs, but as far as I remember Google Nexus/Pixel devices were never affected by such problems.

Therefore I would not trust any software that claims to unlock the bootloader without data loss.

The way to go is to make a backup of all data, unlock the bootloader and then restore the backup. If an app does not allow to make a backup, sometimes the app itself has an integrated backup function to do so.

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you have saved the files of your clients or any other important files on the phone (internal) storage, then copy those files to an SD card or computer. Then, reset your device, in which it will delete every app and file on the phone storage. After setting up your device from the start, move all the important files on phone storage.

---
Tags: bootloader-lock, google-pixel-2
---


# Question
Title: How to upgrade my Android device to latest Android version
I have very little experience with Android, or any other mobile device operating system.

I'm accustom to using Linux operating systems, where any time there is an update I can typically upgrade to the very latest version of the operating system without any roadblocks.

I have Galaxy Tab A (Model SM-T550) tablet, that I've barely used the entire time I've had it, and I'm wanting to give it to my Godson as a gift. Before giving it so him, I wanted to upgrade it to the latest Android OS, so that he wouldn't be limited by any missing features that this tablet's older Android version might have.

In the settings menu, I found a Software update feature and tried to update. This is what it said:

```
The latest updates have already been installed:
Current version: T550XXU1CQJ6/T550XAR1CQJ6/

```

When I go to "About Tablet", I see that this device has Android 7.1.1 installed and I read somewhere that Android version 10 was released in 2019.

Is this the type of support that I can expect from Samsung when buying one of their Android devices? If so, this will be the last dollar they'll get from me.

Is there any way to upgrade this Galaxy Tab A (Model SM-T550) to the latest Android, or at least a later version than 7.1.1?

I'm very technically savvy on laptops and PCs, if you could direct me to a thorough guide, where someone has accomplished this, I could probably pull it off, its just that I've never really tried to do anything like this with tablets or mobile phones.

Please advise me. Also, if this isn't doable, and I wanted to buy him a new tablet, which brand would be the best about always allowing upgrades to the latest Android? If there's a brand that does that, that will be the only brand I'll buy in the future.

# Answer
> 4 votes
If you are lucky for a tablet you can get one major Android version upgrade and security updates up to 2 years after the device has been released to market. For cell phone it the support period depends on how cheap or expensive the device was and how many devices of that type were sold. Usually the more expensive and the more devices were sold the longer you may get updates and upgrades (e.g. ~3 years).

After that time span usually do won't get any official updates or upgrades anymore.

This situation is sad. Samsung is one of the manufacturer who release updates for a long time for it's premium devices.

If you want to get a newer Android version you need to unlock/root the device and install a custom ROM (if there is a working one available for your device).

The only manufacturer on the market who provides updates to smartphone and tablets for a long time is currently Apple.

---
Tags: updates, 7.1-nougat, samsung-galaxy-tab, android-10, samsung-galaxy-tab-a
---


# Question
Title: Enable Camera Shutter Sound Switch on roooted Samsung Exynos with Android 9+
This question has been asked a lot of times, but since new versions of Android rolling out the given answers are not accurate any more. The old solution as root was to rename the \*.ogg sound files in the **system/media/audio/ui** folder but since Android 9 the sounds are **hardcoded into the Camera App**. On devices in countries where it is forbidden by law to take sneaky pictures (Europe for example) Samsung had to remove the **switch** from the options where you can **disable the Camera Shutter Sound**.

My question is: **how to put back the switch into the Camera App options menu**?

# Answer
> 1 votes
After days of searching I finally found out how to do it. The solution was to change the "cscfeature.xml" file in the folder corresponding to your country code. This file is encrypted, so I've written down a step by step guide. (no xposed or magisk modules needed, only root access to the filesystem):

## add Call Recording en Shutter Sound options to your Exynos phone by adding 2 CSC options to cscfeature.xml

---

1. check your csc code (about phone \> software information \> service provider sw \> last 3 letters: \[CSC\])
2. in root explorer goto: /system/product/omc/\[CSC\]/conf/cscfeature.xml
3. download OmcTextDecoder (https://github.com/fei-ke/OmcTextDecoder)
4. put the downloaded "omc-decoder.jar" in a folder together with the encrypted "cscfeature.xml" file on a linux pc
5. open terminal and cd to the folder where you have put the files
6. run: java -jar omc-decoder.jar -i cscfeature.xml -o cscfeature\_decoded.xml
7. open the "cscfeature\_decoded.xml" file in a text editor
8. add the following lines to the file:

\<CscFeature\_VoiceCall\_ConfigRecording\>RecordingAllowed\</CscFeature\_VoiceCall\_ConfigRecord\> \<CscFeature\_Camera\_ShutterSoundMenu\>TRUE\</CscFeature\_Camera\_ShutterSoundMenu\>
9. save the file and rename your old "cscfeature.xml" to "cscfeature\_encoded.xml"
10. encode the edited file by running the following command in terminal: java -jar omc-decoder.jar -e -i cscfeature\_decoded.xml -o cscfeature.xml
11. copy the changed and ecoded file back to your phone: "cscfeature.xml" and backup the old one to "cscfeature.bak"
12. reboot and you will find the shutter switch in the camera settings!

extra options: https://www.askvg.com/tip-enable-hidden-secret-features-in-samsung-galaxy-smartphones/

---
Tags: samsung, root-access, camera-sound
---


title: No Items on Play Store

text:
# Question
Title: No Items on Play Store
Whenever I enter Google Play Store on my phone, there are almost no apps available for me to download except for a very few (like 1 or 2) that are featured as the 'most popular.' On most categories, though, the screen is empty and an error message appears with a "Retry" button.

...Of course, the "Retry" button doesn't work and my Play Store remains empty.

I have a working Internet connection so I don't understand what's going on here. Apps installed prior to this issue works just fine, though.

My phone is not rooted, and I'm using Samsung Galaxy U running on Android Froyo 2.2.1.

# Answer
Your device is very very old. I am not sure if Google Play Store is still supported on Android 2.2 - if it would be still supported it would be the oldest

The current Android development tools can't create apps for Android 2.2 anymore, hence it is impossible to support such old apps. Also there are no emulators or devices available for testing apps on such an old platform. I assume for these reasons most developers have removed their apps with Froyo support from Play Store.

Additionally Froyo totally lacks support for TLS 1.2, hence it is now next to useless for Internet services as most web servers require TLS 1.2 or higher. There is a special Google Crypto Provider included in Google Services, however I am not sure if this provider is really available on Android 2.2 and additionally it is only used by apps which explicitly make use of it.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: google-play-store, 2.2-froyo
---


# Question
Title: How do I copy text from my PC to my phone?
I am looking for a way to copy text from my home computer to my phone, sort of a shared clipboard. Right now I go to the zxing QR code generator and paste the code, take a picture of the screen with the phone, and set the barcode scanner to copy text to the clipboard. It seems like there should be a simpler way. Does anyone know of a way to do this?

# Answer
You can install the **WiFi Keyboard** app from Android Market. A good app, supports both USB and WiFi input. You need to follow information carefully, to get work around.
> 17 votes

# Answer
Chrome-to-Phone
> 15 votes

# Answer
Google ~~Docs~~Drive allows collaborative editing between phone app and webapp. Updates typically propogate from one to the other within a few seconds, and just appear in the document on the updated device, with markup to show that it came from someone else.

I use it for brainstorming sessions with my colleagues on the go, I like it better than SMS/Email because it's easier to see what they're talking about (their text appears in the pertinent part of the document)
> 10 votes

# Answer
Try ClipSync

It's an app I have written that will update the clipboard on your PC once it has detected a change in the android clipboard over WiFi. (And vice versa.)

So you can do:

* ctr+c (win) -\> long press - paste (android).
* long press - copy (android) -\> ctrl+v (win).
> 8 votes

# Answer
**QRCopy** is a free app that lets you share your clipboard between your PC and nearly any other device. It uses qr codes to transfer information, so it works on any device that has a QR code reader. The Windows version includes a fast QR code reader that works using your webcam, and it has a mobile app that runs on most other devices. Once you have some text in your clipboard you just press windows-v and it pops up in an onscreen qr code ready for you to scan using your mobile. To send text back to your pc you use it's qr code generator on your mobile to copy your text to a qr code, then on your pc you just press windows-c and it will fire up your webcam and use it to read the qr code on your mobile device. It only takes a second or two, and it works in any program.

http://www.qrcopy.net

\[Disclaimer: I am a friend of the guy who created QRCopy.\]
> 5 votes

# Answer
You can try Pushbullet app (also requires the chrome extension for windows). It's includes universal copy and paste (currently only supported on Android and Windows).

> To enable the feature, you'll have to go to the advanced settings on each device you want to sync. Once you turn it on, copying text on one device will automatically send it to the clipboard of all the others. The developers state they're working on adding iOS and OS X support, but for now it works pretty well between Android and Windows devices.
> 5 votes

# Answer
You can use AirDroid. It has a clipboard feature and works over Wi-Fi.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Use UniClip. It has a desktop client, with global keyboard shortcuts to copy, paste text to/from your other devices.

**To copy text from PC to Android,**

1. Copy a text in your PC, then hit CTRL + Shift + C.
2. Your mobile will be notify you about the incoming clip, you might have to shake your mobile few times (this can be changed in preferences) to copy the clip to your mobile's clipboard.

**To copy text from Android to PC**:

1. Copy some text on your mobile device.
2. You will be notified of an incoming clip on your PC, press Ctrl + Shift + V to put the clip on your PC's clipboard. And then paste it like usual on any application.

Download the desktop client from: piyushagade.xyz/uniclip

**Features:**

1. Users can decide if/which their devices should update their clipboards. So, if you want only only one of your device to update their clipboards, then you can achieve this by shaking only that particular device.
2. The applications are very light on resources.
3. Android application maintains session's clipboard history.

**Disclosure:** I am the developer of the app
> 4 votes

# Answer
I use a standard text file synchronized through Dropbox. Works in both directions.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Thats is easy! Have whatsapp running on your PC. And paste/write text on to your account and access it on phone immediately!! enjoy the super fast sync. and the other way around to get it on PC.

No extra apps, whatsapp is always on the most easily accessible part on your phone anyways! and you always have a history. Who else messages yourself on whatsapp? :)
> 3 votes

# Answer
clipbrd is a chrome extension and android app works great across multiple pcs, macs, and android phones
> 3 votes

# Answer
I wrote bash script that will do that (for linux). It will require internet too. All you need to do is

1. create a launcher for the script and put it on the panel.
2. Highlight the text you want to transfer and click on the launcher.
3. A barcode will appear on the screen and you can scan that.

Link to script
> 2 votes

# Answer
I use Evernote to sync text between PC and phone.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I use AutoRemote and Tasker to copy text, as well as files. It does have a steep learning curve to use it, but it is an extremely powerful tool to transfer data, and there are many tutorials online to help.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I would recommend Alt-C app. It has 2 parts a small desktop application that runs in the system tray and an Android app. Basically, you copy any text with the keyboard shortcut alt-c and then you can long click and paste it on your phone and vice-versa for a phone to PC copy paste. The advantage this app has over ClipSync and Clipbrd(Both apps I've used before), is that Clipsync only works if both your device are on the same wifi network and Clipbrd requires you to keep Chrome browser running, which eats up resources. Also unlike other apps that only allow copying and pasting a single item, Alt-C keeps a list of up to 50 items synced across your devices.Personally, I feel the ideal solution would be a clipboard manager app like Ditto or 1Clipboard with cross-platform cloud synced shared clipboard.
> 2 votes

# Answer
I use airdroid. But a very simple & handy solution should be with default APP. gmail is installed in everyone's mobile -android/iOS (I think)

* goto gmail in browser
* type anything in new message
* close it. this saves it in draft.
* Open gmail APP in mobile.
* Goto draft. You will find your message (text) over there.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I have skype on my pc and phone. if i like a url i can paste it into there and send it to any address then it pops up on my phone as well.
> 0 votes

# Answer
I recommend My-Clipboard.com, paste from phone (browser/app), then open in browser on PC and click copy :)
> 0 votes

# Answer
Many good solutions in this thread, my suggestion is Snapcopy (http://snapcopyapp.com/) that i've used for some time now and does exactly what OP needed. Cheers!
> 0 votes

# Answer
You can use my app, Reader’S Checkpoints (RSC) which supports this functionality. The app can be downloaded free from Google Playstore, here is the link. With this app installed on your android phone, all you have to do is, head over to the website http://rscweb.in/ on the computer from which you need to transfer the text and click “send text to phone”. On the field that you see just type in/paste the text which you need to send to your android phone. Now click “Generate QR”, a new QR code will be generated. Now just open the Reader’S Checkpoints (RSC) app and scan the QR from your computer to receive the text instantly on your app.

Further details regarding the app can be found here

The app also offers a ton of other features like sharing text from android device to computer, adding a note and sharing it using a unique url, share text from any app on your phone to pc without even opening the Reader’S Checkpoints (RSC) etc.
> 0 votes

# Answer
try https://etell.me no registration needed. Simply create a customised tag e.g https://etell.me/my-temp-text and you can update text there e.g on your phone; then visit the same URL on your laptop. It’s based on Google Firestore so the data are synced between devices on the fly.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, cloud, copy-paste
---


title: my Samsung note 3 not booting up

text:
# Question
Title: my Samsung note 3 not booting up
Is my phone is bricked or not?The device is not turning on . I thought it was ran out of power. I connected it to my charger. But instead of charging, it shows a blinking battery symbol contains a circle. When I turned off the charger, my phone started flashing with the boot logo untill the end of its battery charge and it is not turning on. I'm not installed a custom rom or rooted it.Can anyone find a solution?

device:samsung galaxy note 3

model:SM-N900

# Answer
Something got wrong with the power button of the phone. I removed it and turned it on without power button. It booted up normally. Thanks for Robert for mentioning about the hardware issue.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: boot-loop, hardware, samsung-galaxy-note-3
---


# Question
Title: Restore local WhatsApp backup after factory reset
The phone is a Samsung J7 Prime. Lately, the memory was getting full and this ended up in causing Google Play Services to stop working and crashed Google Play Store which was not available anymore. Tried cleaning and increasing the available memory and following Google guides to get back to normal to no avail. Last resort was to factory reset. I made sure to use Samsung Smart Switch and Cloud Backup after doing a local WhatsApp backup since Google Drive wasn't accessible anymore. After the reset, the shock was that the local WhatsApp backup files were all gone. Tried using several recovery software but all failed to see the deleted backup files or any deleted file for that matter. I also read that file recovery needs rooting which is not something I'm keen on doing this as the phone is not mine. What are my options at this stage and is there any possibility to get back the deleted backup files? This happened yesterday late evening and the phone hasn't been used much since.

P.S. Samsung Cloud Storage sucks as it requires 2FA and to sign in requires an SMS which is not being received (that's another issue that I'm not addressing here) and I'm not even sure if the backup files were copied to this storage in the first place.

# Answer
The only available options at this point are restoring any last backup from google drive or rooting(which needs unlocked bootloader) your phone to recover files.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: whatsapp-messenger, factory-reset, data-recovery
---


# Question
Title: TWRP failed to install ZIP for Lineage 16 Samsung Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100 (t03g)
I tried to flash the ROM for Lineage 16 to my Samsung Note 2 N7100 (t03g) with TWRP custom bootloader, but there was an error which was:

```
Installing zip file '/sdcard/lineage-16-20200104-UNOFFICIAL-n7100.zip'
Checking for Digest file...
Unmounting System...
Warning: No file_contexts
Target: samsung/t03gxx/t03g:4.3/JSS15J/N71000XXUEMK4:user/release-keys
detected filesystem ext4 for /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
Patching system image unconditionally...
mkdir "/cache/recovery/8833b259bb088b2e13f62771d46006a40f54bc20/" failed: No such file or directory
E1001: Failed to update system image.
Updater process ended with ERROR: 7
Error installing zip file '/sdcard/lineage-16-20200104-UNOFFICIAL-n7100.zip'
Updating partition details...
...done

```

What I've tried to solve the problem were:

* unzipping and rezipping the file
* deleting the assert lines in /META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script
* rezipping after deleting asserts

They still failed to fix the error. In between attempts I've wiped the cache, Dalvik, system, data as normal. Since ERROR: 7 is a very general problem, I think the problem is on line `mkdir "/cache/recovery/8833b259bb088b2e13f62771d46006a40f54bc20/" failed: No such file or directory` but for the life of me can't figure out what it means. I'm certain that mkdir is supposed to create a new directory from scratch, so I find the "No such file or directory" very odd.

I'm using Comico Team's custom ROM and TWRP version 3.4.0. At first I did want to ask over there but the creators seemed to be unresponsive. So, anyone here know how to fix this?

# Answer
in TWRP go to advanced \> terminal, then create /cache/recovery with

```
mkdir /cache/recovery

```

solved the problem for me
> 14 votes

---
Tags: custom-roms, twrp, lineageos, system-error, samsung-galaxy-note-2
---


# Question
Title: Opening incognito tab in chrome when swiping on chrome icon?
As you all know that Nova Launcher allows assigning swipe actions to icons on home screen. For example I have attached the swipe action on the dialer to call home directly.

Now I am trying to assign the activity to chrome so that when I swipe the chrome icon it opens the chrome in incognito mode. I have tried assigning the activities from chrome but it does not have separate incognito function.

So I was wondering to any of you guys know anything of this sort can be done.

# Answer
I don't believe this is possible. According to this Reddit post it is not possible when writing an app as the Chrome code ignores the request if it is not Chrome initiating it, so an app or user cannot trigger the incognito tab. I assume the same applies when trying to launch the activity 'manually'.

> So what these are doing, is checking whether the intent should be ignored based on whether it is the user or chrome performing the action. They make this determination based on whether there is a token from a signed Google app. So unless there is a way to trick find that token and figure out how to attach it to Tasker I don't think it'll work.
> 1 votes

# Answer
I found a way to do it by going into swipe action: then to the shortcuts tab: Activities at the top of the list: scroll all the way to find chrome: and tap on (com.google.android.apps.chrome.main)
> 1 votes

---
Tags: chrome-for-android, nova-launcher
---


# Question
Title: Error when migrating data from internal microSD to internal storage despite apparent available space
I have a Moto G3 (Android 6.0) with a microSD of 2GB that I configured to use as internal storage. It's been working fine for years, but I want to upgrade to a larger and faster card. So, I'm first trying to safely remove this microSD. When I try to migrate data from the microSD card to my phone's internal storage, it fails with the following message:

> Couldn't move data
>
> Data left at original location

However, I thought I cleaned up enough space, as described in this answer. I removed several apps, cleaned data and cache. The microSD reports zero apps and cached data used. Here's the current disk usage:

* Android OS: 4.19GB
* Internal storage: 7.68GB of 11.81GB
* SanDisk SD card: 1.78GB used of 1.80GB

I checked this answer, but it seems different because there the microSD is used as portable storage, instead of internal. This answer seems closer, Droidriven says the `/data` partition might be the culprit:

> ***Droidriven (reply #13):***
>
> You probably have too many apps to move everything to internal, you have plenty of storage but your /data partition probably isn't big enough.
>
> You'll have to backup the apps and data, and store it on PC, then uninstall the apps. Then migrate what is left. Then go from there. You can put the apps and data back after you get done if you have enough space or another sdcard.

Using **adb**, it seems `/data` partition has space, though:

```
$ df
Filesystem               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/dev                   439.2M    88.0K   439.1M   4096
/sys/fs/cgroup         439.2M    12.0K   439.2M   4096
/mnt                   439.2M     0.0K   439.2M   4096
/system                  2.2G     1.7G   511.2M   4096
/data                   11.8G     7.6G     4.2G   4096
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
/cache                 248.0M   242.8M     5.1M   4096
/persist                 3.9M   192.0K     3.7M   4096
/firmware               35.2M    31.5M     3.7M   4096
/fsg                     2.1M     2.1M     1.0K   1024
/storage               439.2M     0.0K   439.2M   4096
/mnt/expand/6318ae65-dd0e-47fb-be4d-522416bf8877     1.8G     1.8G    16.0M   4096
/mnt/runtime/default/emulated: Permission denied
/storage/emulated       11.8G     7.6G     4.2G   4096
/mnt/runtime/read/emulated: Permission denied
/mnt/runtime/write/emulated: Permission denied

```

I think this is the right track, though, it looks like something related to a partition that doesn't fit.

Where can I look for more info? Can I use adb to perform this migration? Maybe the error messages will be more detailed.

**EDIT:** One thing I noticed after talking to someone at AndroidQuestions' Discord is that, since before I started cleaning up space, the SanDisk SD Card always showed 0.00 bytes allocated for Apps and Cache and 1.78GB used of 1.80GB. Even after I cleaned up around 4GB of storage, it still showed the same numbers. Is it possible that the SD card used as internal storage will always show these stats because it has been allocated by the OS? Thus, it is actually already empty and I can try to eject it without data loss.

I'll give it a try and post an update later.

# Answer
Despite the SD card was showing as 1.78GB used out of 1.80GB, it was already empty. So, I formatted as portable and ejected without data loss.

As I reported in my question, there were no apps or cache stored in it. It showed as used because it was formatted as internal, although it didn't have any data in it. About the option to migrate data back and failing when attempted, I think it's some buggy interface as this is an old Android version and the first one to provide this feature (internal storage).
> 0 votes

---
Tags: adb, 6.0-marshmallow, internal-storage, internal-sd, adoptable-storage
---


# Question
Title: How could I retrive full internal storage of an Android smartphone in order to restore data?
In TWRP, I originally intended to only formating Data as F2FS but didn't know that from around Android 5, data is a subfolder under `/sdcard` and everything in `/sdcard` is gone. How could I retrive a full image of Android internal storage so that I could try to use some data recovery softwares recovering as much as possible?

# Answer
Well, basically TWRP is a tiny embedded Linux so we could do Linux things in TWRP. First we need to unmount all the unneccessary ones in Mount menu, plug in a big enough flash drive formatted using exFAT (By default, Linux couldn't write NTFS, and FAT32 has file size limitation. You may also need extra power supply to get the HDD working), and mount it. Then go to Adaveced -\> Terminal and you get a busybox to play with, like other embedded Linux systems.

For phones using UFS, usually the block device for internal storage is `/dev/block/sda`, and you could confirm this by checking its size.

```
# --getsize64 would return size in bytes
~ # blockdev --getsize64 /dev/block/sda
123161542656

```

The returned number is the block device's size in bytes. That's around 123.16 gigabytes, consistent with the info available on LineageOS device specs (128 GB).

And for smartphones using EMMC, the block device for it should be `/dev/block/mmcblk0`, correct me if I am wrong.

Now we could dump all the content of that image into **external storage device**.

**DO NOT WRITE BACK TO INTERNAL STORAGE. You would get your data overwritten and that's why I said unmounting all unneccessary volumes at the beginning.**

```
dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img

```

Hint: You could utilize nohup to let dd running at background and continue other tasks in terminal, like:

```
# The "&" symbol at the end is necessary
nohup dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img > /usb_otg/dd.log 2>&1 &

```

After dd finishes, unmount your external drive. Wish you a good luck recovering data.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: twrp, data-recovery
---


# Question
Title: How to block Minecraft on YouTube on Android phone?
I have a child who is too young to watch computer games on youtube.

How can I block Minecraft on youtube search and videos on my phone? (Android) I tried **Youtube Kids** app. I blocked several videos, but I can still find other videos typing "Minecraft". Is it possible to block the search by whole words?

Also: Is it possible to block the search for "Minecraft" on the Google bar? Or Is there a web browser that allows blocking by keywords?

# Answer
Yes, this is possible with Google Family Link.

You install Family Link on your device (or some device that is managed by an adult) and simply configure the content you will allow your child to see and use. You can configure everything from Filters on Google Chrome/Search to location and account information.

I'm not sure Google Family Link has everything you describe exactly out of the box, but with some adjustments I'm sure you can manage. For example, instead of filtering out what you don't want to see, you might instead have to specify what you do want to see - i.e., a whitelist approach instead of a blacklist approach.

Here is the link to the Google Play app Family Link:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.kids.familylink&hl=en\_US
> 1 votes

---
Tags: applications, youtube
---


title: Android ADB Key Not Working

text:
# Question
Title: Android ADB Key Not Working
I used to have a rooted Android device about 3-4 years ago. I recently found it and I dont know the password. This android device was trusted on my computer but now it is showing unauthorized under adb devices. I also have the files called adbkey and an excel file. Do these keys expire after a certain time or am i doing something wrong? Thanks in advance.

# Answer
The authorization depends on a key stored on your key. You can find it in the files `~/.android/adbkey` and `~/.android/adbkey.pub`. If this key has been modified, replaced or recreated the authorization is lost.

So you should make sure you are still using the same key.

However even if you have the same key you might not get an adb connection because of Android security (in detail the device encryption).

On modern Android device (e.g. Android 9+) adb is only fully working after the user has entered the lock password/pin/pattern for the first time. Before this first user authentication has been passed adb is not or not fully available. For examle `adb shell` may work but access to `/sdcard` and other encrypted sections is not possible (Android 9 with FBE).

However on older Android versions (or if the manufacturer has changed the user authentication) this behavior may be different so that you see the device on ADB but the authentication fails as you have encountered it.

Edit: Starting with **Android 11** there seems to be a new feature called **ADB Authorization Timeout**. By default this is set to 7 days. I did not had the chance to test this in reality but this looks like Android 11 device automatically "forget" the adb authorization(s) after a certain period of time. There is an option in developer options to permanently disable this functionality.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: adb
---


title: How do I remove GIF emojis from Gboard?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I remove GIF emojis from Gboard?
I can see how to remove emojis from Gboard, but is it possible to remove just the GIF emojis?

# Answer
> -1 votes
Play Store -\> GBoard -\> Uninstall -\> Select the three dots on upper right -\> disable auto-update

This will mean that your version of GBoard is without gif functionality, as it was introduced in a later update

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Tags: keyboard, gboard
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# Question
Title: I failed to install Magisk and now I can't get out of TWRP
I have a Xiaomi redmi note 8, which runs on MIUI-11, I've recently unlocked my phone with MiUnlock, the official program of xiaomi to unlock (root) your phone. I've stumbled across a few hickupps, but eventually I got here, I can't get further though... I installed TWRP using the ADB terminal, wiped the cache, flashed a zip that disables force encryption treble and after that, I installed Magisk (I did this all with the compatible versions for xiaomi redmi note 8). Normally, I should've been able to just reboot to the system, but TWRP just comes back. When I reboot, I first see: Redmi by Xiaomi (screen 1) Then: Redmi Note 8 by Xiaomi powered by android (screen 2), this takes longer than it normally should, after that I see screen 1 again, and then again screen 2, whereafter I get the splashscreen from TWRP and it boots in recovery again...

I've already tried clearing the cache, enabling "System" in mount, tried to write this code in the advanced --\> terminal option: `dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/misc bs=256 count=1 conv=notrunc` Nothing helped me, one other weird thing that scares me is that, when I watch my folders with file explorer from windows, everything has gotten a random string as name... You can see it in my attachment.

I would be soo grateful if someone could help me out. Thanks for being awesome!

# Answer
If you don't need the data download the stock fastboot rom for your device and flash it.

From your comments above it looks like you've already wiped your data.

So I would suggest that you download the stock fastboot rom. Do a clean all flash. Don't do the clean all and lock flash, as it will lock your phone.

Once it's finished, you can flash twrp but don't try to disable file based encryption and then try flashing whatever other rom you were trying
> 1 votes

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Tags: twrp, boot-loop, magisk
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title: Available internal storage

text:
# Question
Title: Available internal storage
My device is showing 1.02 GB of free space in storage settings. But while installing app from play store, it says only 492 MB of space is available.. what should I do, please help..

# Answer
> 1 votes
Play Store suggests having *500mb of free space* for your phone to work properly. So when have low on storage you can't install large apps even through apks.

# Answer
> 0 votes
When you download an app from the Play store, you are getting the .apk file, which is an archive file (like a zip file). If you have a 500mb app, it will require 500mb to download the .apk and then a further 500mb+ to extract and install. There will be a temporary period, during installation where you need a total of 500+500mb, 1,000mb to get the app installed. After installation is complete, the .apk archive is deleted, and you will again have 500mb free. Try moving some data off your phone, onto your workstation, so you have plenty of space, then install the app. Once it is installed, and the apk deleted, move the data back from your workstation.

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Tags: google-play-store, internal-storage, insufficient-memory
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# Question
Title: How to check that my Phone supports MicroSd Card SDXC UHS1 Bus Speed U30 card or not?
My device manufacturer technical specifications say that **Expandable storage supported is of 128GB FAT32** hope its slots must be supporting SDXC form factor not SDHC form factor and UHS1 U3 BUS SPEED

I want to purchase a card of 64GB or 128GB for my device and want to pre-confirm before purchasing

I have readed answer to the question **microsd Speed necessary** **that UHS class U3 is not supported in all type of phones**

and link of Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD\_card#BUS also say that

> *"Older host devices generally do not support newer card formats, and even when they might support the bus interface used by the card.."*

and link of Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SD\_card#Bus also say that

> "Use of UHS requires that the host device command the card to drop from 3.3-volt to 1.8-volt operation and select the 4-bit transfer mode."

This all confused me so I want to confirm with online and other site whether integrated sdcard reader / host controllers specification but nothing could be founded for android and specially for my device

I want to know will the Micro SD-Card slot/host controller will able to detect **SDXC UHS1 Bus speed class U3** cards or not and if detected can it perform on good speed or not?

# Answer
> 1 votes
If your phone specification state that it can support sd card \>32gb (recent phones have support like 128gb, 512gb, 1tb or 2tb), then it supports SDXC.

Otherwise if it only supports 32gb and below, it only supports SDHC since there are no SDHC cards that has greater than 32gb of storage.

Regardless of the UHS-1 class, your phone can still detect micro SD cards that is SDXC compatible since it only specifies the card speed, not the compatibility. At the moment, no phone supports UHS-2 cards (not to be confused with UHS-1 class 2 or U2) but you can still use it since it is backwards compatible - though, you will not gain the optimal speed of that card.

Hope this helps!

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Tags: 5.0-lollipop, external-sd, sd-card, performance, adoptable-storage
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# Question
Title: Best file system for an external SD card
I have a Galaxy S5 with Android 5 and got a new 64 GB SD card. What is the best file system for the SD card? FAT32 is not an option because I want files \>4GB. Which file system offers the best performance ? Thank you for your help.

# Answer
The answer to your question is built into your phone's OS.
1. Put the SD card in your phone
2. Reformat the SD card with your phone(Settings --\> Storage/Storage & USB)
3. The file system on the freshly formatted SD card is the type that will give you the best performance with your phone.
4. Outside the context of your phone the optimum file system is another story.
> 20 votes

# Answer
Answering the question, the filesystem used on standard Android devices is "**exFAT**", which is available from Windows Format application and Android's own filesytem management tools. Hope this cleared your doubt.
> 3 votes

# Answer
Ext4 should be supported because Android always supports that internally but unfortunately, the SD card is treated differently and even Android One phones do not support Ext4 for the SD card. The Nokia 7.2 Android One phone will not support Ext4 or exFAT or F2FS for the SD card filing system. FAT is the only option in 2019 !
> 2 votes

# Answer
As far as I understand you should avoid used exFAT as it is much less stable in regards to errors than FAT32, NTFS or other filesystem that can handle multiple read/write better and has multiple file tables.
> 0 votes

# Answer
As far as am aware Windows only supports fat32 if your sd card is under 8g if is over exfat or ntfs. ext4 is only for Linux distros
> -1 votes

# Answer
As Android is based on linux, I am running with ext4. Not sure if it is the best but I don't see how it could not run. I am curious about filesystem optimized for flash memory such as F2FS, etc... All those are readable on any recent Linux and Mac. Don't know for Windows.
> -2 votes

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Tags: external-sd, sd-card, file-system
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