# Question
Title: Android browser's desktop mode not really the same as PC desktop
Is there any way to make the Android browser browses in true desktop mode, i.e. viewing the same layout as a desktop computer?

I know in Firefox, I can click on "request desktop site" in the menu, and some similar functions in Chrome. However, neither of these modes brings me the same experience as I have on a desktop computer. For example, Gmail has a menu item "filter messages like this", which is missing in "request desktop site" mode, and similarly for many other websites.

I understand the UI differences such as mouse vs. touchscreen. What I mean is to emulate a desktop screen mode. For example, a virtual screen size to mimic a desktop monitor (I can swipe the touchscreen to move the viewport, and can even enlarge/shrink the viewport with two-finger gestures). A touch emulates the mouse's left button click. No mouse right button is acceptable, since most functions should be able to work by just left click. (Remember Apple Mac desktop might even go with a one-button mouse).

The problem is, that what they think as "optimized for mobile" might not be what the user thinks/wants, such as the removal of some functions.

I don't need "mobile optimize". Just the browser to mimic desktop one to the maximum extent, and I want to visit the website in Desktop Mode, as if I connect it from a desktop computer.

Some websites provide a "full site" button to do this. But why can't I pretend myself as a desktop computer in the first place? How on earth does the server identify the browser as an Android browser, even in the "desktop mode"?

Note that this question may seem a duplicate as Bypassing mobile detectability from the browser. But I do express the problem in a more general/broader perspective.

# Answer
There are various ways of creating responsive web pages.

The developer can ask the browser to tell whether it is Windows OS, Android, iPhone, or whichever browser it is, etc.

Secondly, most often, responsive design is implemented based on the width available to the browser window. To learn more, you can search the web or try for yourself as I explain below:

In the Firefox browser on PC, go to menu -\> Web Developer -\> Toggle tools or press `Ctrl` \+ `Shift` \+ `I`

>

Now click on the button on the left of the three dots. You can change the size of the page to see how it looks on browsers of different sizes.

Hope this helps.
> 4 votes

# Answer
**Try Firefox for Android with a User Agent spoofing addon.**

You may also need some addon to lie about the viewport dimensions.

I don't know what exactly the best option to do so is, so I hope these links help point you in the right direction.
> 4 votes

# Answer
*You cannot, unless the site is **optimized for mobile** by design*

Two factors distinguish and also limit mobile website compared to desktop:

* Touch screen interface
* Smaller display area

What most websites do (cost being the main reason I guess) is to make a site *mobile compatible* meaning that a site can be viewed on mobile but all functions or navigation as on desktop are not available (as in your example).

To make the controls or navigation of website as on true desktop mode, the site needs to be *mobile optimized*. Unless this done, you cannot have the same experience as on true desktop mode. This requires *Responsive Web Design* (which also doesn't guarantee full functionality) , and is off topic for this site - you can Google about it and here is some information from sister SE sites

> How on earth does the server identify the browser an android browser, even in the "desktop mode"?

User Agent information which is shared by all browsers (barring privacy oriented browsers but if you use such browsers, you may face other issues YMMV)
> 3 votes

# Answer
The best solution I've found, which works for the Gmail filter problem, is using Firefox Beta or Nightly and then setting the devPixelsPerPx setting to 1 as per this SO thread, as well as turning on desktop mode.
> 0 votes

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Tags: browser, user-interface
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# Question
Title: Is it possible to have 2 separate Google Voice phone numbers?
Can I get 2 Google Voice numbers?

I have a single phone number issued by AT&T. I can sign up, but the verification process requires me to enter a phone number to link and as soon as I enter the phone number to link, the previous Google Voice number gets disconnected.

From their official docs, it appears you can have just 1 GV number - 1 phone.

> You can link up to 6 numbers. You can't link a number that's already linked to a Google Voice number.

So is there any obvious loophole that can be used to get 2 phone numbers?

# Answer
**TL;DR - it's possible to get more than one GV number; you can only use one at a time; here's how and why it can be useful.**

FWIW, linking a GV number to a "real" mobile number is only really needed when you to take ownership of the GV number, solely for verification purposes (it's one SMS message with a 6-digit code, just like any other MFA).

Once you have the number in your GV account, you can unlink the "real" mobile number from the GV number and they are completely separate again. So, if you already have a GV number and really want another one, find a friend that will let you use their phone for the SMS verification code, then unlink their number right afterwards. Viola, you have another GV number. The caveat is that the friend can't then use their number to get their *own* GV number, so make sure they don't care.

If you have more than one GV number (so, multiple Gmail accounts), you need to link the one you want to use to your actual mobile number under **Google Voice \> Settings**. You can link/unlink as many times as you want, which means you can change which GV number is tied to your phone any time you want. You can *NOT* link more than one GV number to your mobile number simultaneously.

This came in handy for me because I wanted to add another line to my cell phone plan, but if I didn't bring a number with me the carrier would force me into a higher plan ($35/month) for that additional line. If I brought a number with me it was only $15/month. That's $2,400/year! Ridiculous! Google only charges three dollars to unlock a GV number, which allows you to port it to the carrier of your choice. When you add the line the carrier will port it over for you. So, there are some instances where this can be useful.

This is all true as of November, 2023. Who knows if Google will decide to change things up someday. Hope this helps.
> 1 votes

# Answer
The only loophole would be to get a second real phone number, as each can only be linked to one GV number. This could easily be done with a "burner" phone if they're available near you, or if someone else will let you use their phone to signup, or a government ("Obama") phone.

Another VoIP number won't work because they're identifiable as being VoIP. It requires a mobile or landline number.
> 0 votes

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Tags: google-voice
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title: Unable to set Signal as default SMS app

text:
# Question
Title: Unable to set Signal as default SMS app
I tried to set Signal as the default SMS app on my Samsung Galaxy S23+ after I enabled the SMS permission, but for some reason, it won't let me or even make it show up on the default apps menu as an option.

Other new apps are not showing either, although IDrive is showing up as an option that I got a while back even if it's not an actual SMS app. Starting to think there may be something weird I did to my phone that is causing this.

Any help would be appreciated.

# Answer
> 11 votes
Signal got rid of SMS support in October 2022. They posted this blog explaining their decision:

> We have now reached the point where SMS support no longer makes sense. For those of you interested, we walk through our reasoning in more detail below.

further adding

> In order to enable a more streamlined Signal experience, we are starting to phase out SMS support from the Android app. You will have several months to transition away from SMS in Signal, to export your SMS messages to another app, and to let the people you talk to know that they might want to switch to Signal, or find another channel if not.

---
Tags: sms, default-applications, signal-private-messenger
---


# Question
Title: How to input sokuon in Gboard's Japanese 12-key on Android phone?
I'm using Gboard's Japanese 12-key. I want to write っ, such a sign that is called "sokuon (促音)", but I don't know how to put it in the 12-key input method.

How to input sokuon in Gboard's Japanese 12-key on Android phone?

# Answer
> 1 votes
To write it normally:

1. Swipe up た to write つ
2. Press the 濁点 key which also includes 大⇔小 to convert it to a small っ

Alternatively:

1. Swipe up た to write つ
2. Choose っ（小書き） from the suggestion strip

Tips: Gboard also includes *dakuten* and *sokuon* as suggestions without needing to manually convert them. To write ピッツァ, writing ひつつあ may suggest ピッツァ.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You must long press on a key. You will then see the other keyboard keys (characters) being displayed. Select the characters you want to type by moving your finger up or down or left or right depending on the character.

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Tags: gboard
---


# Question
Title: Is there a method to record video chat app (Google Duo, Skype, Tango, etc.) straight to the phone?
I am trying to record all the video calls with my parents. However, every video chat app that I know does not support a recording option. I have tried 3rd-party screen recording apps but they did not work. It seems the screen recording app clashes with the video chat app for the microphone. So, all I get is a recorded video chat without sound, or a good recorded video chat but the person who I am calling cannot hear my voice.

I searched everywhere and even contacted Google support but with no luck.

Would it be possible, or would I have to wait for the video chat app to start supporting recording?

# Answer
According to the OP's 3rd revision of the question,

> As of 01-20-2023, if you are using Samsung devices, you can record the whole conversation. Just click built-in screen recorder in the quick panel. The size of the file will be big, but it is worth it. I am not sure about other Android devices.
> 0 votes

# Answer
For privacy reasons, voice from phone calls is not recordable. Not only is this limited by Google but also by your device and carrier. You can use an external recorder.

> Recording Limitations on Android Google has never been particularly fond of call-recording apps for Android, at least not those from third parties. With Android 9, the company added limitations that prevented many apps from recording your phone conversations. The apps seemed to work, but when you would play the recording, you’d hear only silence or just your end of the conversation.
>
> With Android 10, Google cracked down even further on these types of apps by blocking call recording via the microphone. In response, many app developers started tapping into Android’s Accessibility Service to record phone calls. But Google then updated its developer policy in April 2022 to state that it would not allow apps in the Play Store to use the accessibility service for call recording. That policy went into effect on May 11, 2022.
>
> The company has even gone so far as to label call recording a type of spyware.

From PC Mag
> -1 votes

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Tags: applications, video-recording, call-recording, video-calling
---


# Question
Title: How can I access multiple user spaces from adb?
I am running KitKat on a tablet with two users: primary (owner) and secondary. I need to access a file generated by an app of the secondary user.

When I plug the tablet into my (Ubuntu) desktop via USB, it mounts as a media device (MTP), and shows me the base folder for the currently active user. \[1\] But the file I want is elsewhere on the system, so I connected from the command line via `adb shell` instead.

Connecting via ADB gives me access to deeper folders (`/mnt` `/proc` etc) but I couldn't find the file where I expected it \[2\], so I looked in `/sdcard` anyway. To my surprise I recognised the contents as the base folder of the owner account, even though the currently active user is the secondary user.

This also tells me that, if I ever need to, I won't be able to access the base folder for the secondary user via `adb shell`.

How can I access the tablet from `adb shell` as the secondary user, rather than the primary (owner) user? (Being able to access the secondary user's files is good enough.)

\[1\] I'm not sure what the proper term here is. I mean the folder with Android, Download and Pictures, specific to a particular user.

\[2\] FWIW I am exporting an OPML file from Flym. Flym reports that the OPML export is generated at `/storage/emulated/10/Flym_123456789.opml` but I can only get as far as `/storage/emulated` \- there is no subfolder called `10`, only `legacy` which is the same as `/sdcard` (the primary/owner's base folder, not the secondary user's base folder).

# Answer
The `legacy/` locations are always pointing to the data of the currently active user. Let me first point to a few related questions/answers explicitly dealing with those multi-user storage issues for some background:

So to find the files of the secondary user:

* list the sub-directories of `/data/media` and `/storage/emulated`
* restrict your search to sub-directories whose names are simply "numbers"
* the `0` candidates belong to the owner, higher numbers are of secondary users
* external storage is something different: `/sdcard/0` points to the internal sdcard, while `/sdcard/1` should be the external (if available). Similarly for storage attached via OTG

Remember you might need to be root to access data of a user other than the one currently active on the device.

Also see:
> 4 votes

# Answer
In Android 13 I finally found the folder at `/data/media/USERID`
> 1 votes

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Tags: adb, usb-connection-mode, multi-user
---


# Question
Title: In LineageOS, how to remove the redundant navigation bar line?
I flashed NikGApps on LineageOS 20 on my Samsung Tab S6 Lite, with Pixel Launcher replacing Trebuchet. I get double lines in the navigation bar.

The upper larger line seems to come from Google Pixel Launcher and is functional to show quick app drawer. The lower smaller one seems to be a remnant of the Trebuchet launcher and is always there.

Can I get rid of the small line?

# Answer
As Andrew T. pointed out, the redundant navbar line is from SystemUI and can therefore be removed by installing the Magisk module "Fullscreen/Immersive Gestures (Q-U)" and choose "Fullscreen" mode while installing.
> 1 votes

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Tags: samsung, lineageos, home-screen, navigation-bar
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# Question
Title: I can't start my Moto G60 anymore after locking the bootloader
I recently downgraded my Android on Moto G60 (I downloaded ROM from some websites) because my phone screen was sometimes not working which upon locking and unlocking the phone made the screen work again, so I thought downgrading might help. The phone was working fine until a few weeks ago when I had to restart the phone for some reason and the phone was showing that the bootloader was unlocked and the phone's sensitive data might be attacked if I didn't lock it.

> No valid operating system could be found.
> The device will not boot.
>
> For more information, visit our support forum:
> support.motorola.com

I watched a tutorial on YouTube and connected my phone to my PC and then proceeded to lock the bootloader. After that, I tried to restart my phone, but it didn't start anymore and it shows this on the screen. The recovery mode doesn't work and also I tried to unlock the bootloader once again but I couldn't. I tried to use Rescue and Smart Assistant, but it says "The connected device does not match the shipping software values expected and Rescue cannot run". I took my phone to a service center and they said that they couldn't help me.

(P.S. My phone is not rooted)

# Answer
> 1 votes
A locked bootloader only accepts a correctly signed OS image. For the same hardware there can be multiple OS images which each signed by a different key. So just replacing the OS image might have worked, if you had left the bootloader unlocked.

Without working recovery you can try to get to bootloader mode and re-unlock the phone and hope OEM unlock setting is still active (which is usually not because unlocking the bootloader has reset user data and thus reset OEM unlock to disabled).

**If that doesn't work your device can be considered bricked.**

Relocking the bootloader without being 100% sure to know what you are doing is one of the actions that has a good chance to brick a device as a locked bootloader only boots correct unmodified OS.

Next time contact the vendor and wait for the next update to fix the problems. Installing a different OS image and re-locking the bootloader is something even experienced users are afraid of because of the high risk to brick the phone.

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Tags: adb, rom-flashing, fastboot, bootloader-lock, motorola
---


# Question
Title: Can Outlook Device Policy monitor anything outside of the app?
In order to get emails for work on my phone I need to enable this feature. My worry is that this will allow my employer to monitor personal things on my phone such as my internet search history or messages. This is what needs to be enabled.

# Answer
> 1 votes
`Monitor Screen Unlock attempts` is not nefarious. Many apps do this. It is a way to stop people getting to your data by wiping the phone when this happens.

I have mine setup (not using Outlook, a different app) to take a photo after 3 unsuccessful attempts and email it to me.

In your case once you enable Outlook Device Policy monitor, the setup will have what measure you want to take when this happens - Locking up the phone, wiping all data etc.

This is not to say, that there aren't other features that may spy on you.

I would suggest that you activate it, look through the warnings and setup, Then deactivate if you are unhappy.

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Tags: security, outlook, device-administrator
---


# Question
Title: How to turn Android phone into an USB gamepad for PC?
Is it possible to turn an Android phone into a USB gamepad for the PC? If yes, how?

# Answer
There's a $43 USB device, InputStick, that will do the trick. I bought this a few months ago for password entry from KeePass on Android, but the developer created the USB adapter so your android device can act as any conceivable USB device. Your android device connects to the USB dongle via bluetooth, and the desktop computer sees the USB dongle as any profile you choose.

The gamepad profile is built-in. From the description, it can emulate 4 axis and 16 buttons built-in, with the ability to customize as well.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Remote Gamepad allows you to use your phone as a game controller for your PC. I created this app because other apps are no longer available or do not work on newer phones.

You can use Remote Gamepad as the steering wheel in racing games by rotating your phone. On-screen controls are available similar to a game controller.

A PC with Windows 10 or later is required. This app is compatible with all PC games which support game controllers. Use a Wi-Fi or USB cable for the connection, no additional hardware is needed.

Remote Gamepad is available on Google Play.
> 0 votes

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Tags: game-controllers
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# Question
Title: Will I be exited from WhatsApp groups when I reset my phone and install app again?
Will I be exited from WhatsApp groups when I reset my phone and install app again? I didn't make backups. Please help it's very important.

# Answer
If your phone number does not change, your groups will be intact. But, without backup, your conversation history will be blank.
> 3 votes

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Tags: whatsapp-messenger
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title: Hacked Wi-Fi password

text:
# Question
Title: Hacked Wi-Fi password
Once a hacker has my Wi-Fi password on Android, can he still enable Location to track my whereabouts even if my phone is not connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data and would he also need a BRATA RAT to do this?

# Answer
> 3 votes
Each Wifi Access Point or Hotspot or Source has it's own password. The password is not unique to your phone, it is unique to the Source.

Unless you are talking about you phone's hotspot's password.

But in any of these cases, Wifi password does not give the hacker access to anything, unless they are able to hack into the devices on that network. To hack into your phone, they would need something running on it.

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Tags: password
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# Question
Title: Use fingerprint in apps but not device unlock
On my Samsung Galaxy A14, I could configure my fingerprint for use within apps (such as banking and qualified electronic signature apps) but not for unlocking my phone. This is my preferred setup as I do not want to be able to unlock my phone solely with a fingerprint.

However, on my new Fairphone 4, which runs a closer-to-stock version of Android 13, I can't seem to locate an option for this. Surely, there must be a way to achieve this, **somehow**?

# Answer
> 1 votes
As a permanent workaround, **3rd-party apps can "disable" fingerprint unlock by force-locking the system and requiring strong authentication (PIN, pattern, or password) to unlock the device.** Note that this requires the app to be registered as a device administrator to leverage the feature.

1. Tasker

* **Profile**: Event - Display - Display Off
    * **Task**: Display - System Lock
2. Automate

1. Add new block: **Interface** \- **Display on?**
    2. Connect **Flow beginning (GO)** to **When display on (IN)**
    3. Connect **When display on (YES)** to **When display on (IN)**
    4. Add new block: **Interface** \- **Device lock**
    5. Connect **When display on (NO)** to **Lock device (IN)**
    6. Connect **Lock device (OK)** to **When display on (IN)**

# Answer
> 2 votes
There's an old Android Device Admin API for disabling fingerprints on the lockscreen, which, while deprecated, continues working even on Android 14 as long as the app accessing that API targets at most API28.

Somebody wrote an app for toggling that API and **it's available on F-Droid**.

# Answer
> 0 votes
**On stock Android (AOSP), it doesn't seem to be possible to customize how fingerprints should be used, other than the default for unlocking the device and additionally for biometric authentication.**

A YouTube video by the official Fairphone channel shows that the interface is the same as AOSP, where there is no customization other than adding, removing, or renaming the fingerprints. (Cross-checked with Google Pixel 3a on stock Android 12; additional reference).

For these devices, the standard way to disable fingerprint unlock is to delete all the fingerprints. For temporary workaround, activate Lockdown mode if available, but this always needs to be re-activate on each unlock.

---

As for Samsung devices, they actually made customization to the Android OS to add the "Fingerprint unlock" toggle and other settings. (Confirmed on Galaxy M12, Android 13).

> * **Fingerprint unlock**: Unlocks your device when your fingerprint is recognized.

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Tags: lock-screens, fingerprint, fairphone-4
---


title: Double backup and migration for Iphone

text:
# Question
Title: Double backup and migration for Iphone
I am about to migrate from a Xiaomi Mi6 to an Iphone 15. I have a regular whatsapp installed on the Mi6. Its backup is configured to Never backup on Google Drive.

However, I do have data in an old backup on Google Drive that I need to retrieve before moving to the Iphone. After retrieving the messages and files from the *old* Google Drive backup, I need to come back to the *current* whatsapp messages so I can migrate to the Iphone using my *current* regular whatsapp.

So I am detailing this workflow to avoid any major headache:

1. Make a copy in my notebook of the local backups for safety in case anything goes wrong. I'd need to backup only the files in this folder:

2. Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it on the Mi6.
3. Select Restore when prompted, from Google Drive.
4. Retrieve messages and files I need.
5. Rename msgstore.db.crypt14 to whatever other name.
6. Rename msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt14 to msgstore.db.crypt14.
7. Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it on the Mi6. *At this point, all media, including files, documents, audio, images and video will be available as of before this whole process. Please confirm! I will do this first time in the next morning so I don't lose today's messages due to the local backup time at 02:00 AM.*
8. Migrate everything from Mi6 to Iphone using Move to ios.

Please confirm it should work as expected.

# Answer
> 1 votes
In case it is useful to anyone, it almost worked. The only issue was that the old backup, in Google Drive, was deleted to inactivity after a few months. But the local backup worked as expected.

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Tags: backup, whatsapp-messenger
---


# Question
Title: Disable auto-screen-on feature in Moto G Play
**tl;dr** *When picking up Moto G Play out of shelf or out of pocket (or doing any other sudden move) phone automatically turns on screen to about 50% of brightness, showing unlock icon and recent reminders even though I haven't toucher Power button so far. How can I disable this feature?*

Shortly after purchasing Moto E3 (for private use) I decided to purchase another child from this family -- Moto G Play (for company use). I have replicated configuration setting of Moto E3 under Moto G Play. I was more than sure that I will be able to use both phones in exactly the same way.

To my surprise, Moto G Play comes with a feature that causes phone to automatically turn on screen to about half of its regular brightness, showing reminders and unlock icon every time phone's accelerometer detects any sudden move of the phone (like picking it out of pocket, moving quickly on the shelf or desk etc.), even though Power button is not pressed at all.

I'm very found of the idea that you must actually press Power button to turn screen on and find this feature of Moto G Play quite very annoying. I wanted to disable it, but I can't find proper options in configuration. Since I replicated configuration of Moto E3 which doesn't have this feature I might miss something. Is there any way to disable this feature or do I have to get used to it?

# Answer
> 9 votes
This feature is called Moto Display and is very similar to AOSP's ambient display.

Assuming it is in the same place as the Moto G 2015 and Moto X Pure devices, open the Moto app, go to Feature Settings (the 3 stars in the upper right corner) and then select `Display` and turn the slider off.

If that doesn't work, try turning off "Quick Capture" in camera settings.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Leaving this here in case it helps someone else.

For me, this behavior suddenly appeared after a device update. The `Peek Display` setting was actually off in the Moto app, so I had trouble figuring out how to fix this.

It turned out that enabling the `Peek Display` setting and then disabling it fixed the issue.

# Answer
> 1 votes
With my Motorola E (2nd Generation) (also known as *Moto E2*), the instructions are similar to the other answer to this question:

1. Open the Moto app:

2. Select *Display*:

3. Disable *Moto Display*:

Now my phone's screen has stopped turning on whenever I move the phone. I imagine my battery life will increase significantly!

# Answer
> 0 votes
I just fixed this on my Moto G Power, and it was in the Moto app under "Moto Display", called "Peek Display."

---
Tags: lock-screens, motorola-moto-g, motorola-moto-e3
---


# Question
Title: How do I rename entries in Google Authenticator?
I have about a half-dozen entries for one site. So the name usually only displays the last two letters of the account name. It's hard to figure out which account the entry is for.

How do I rename entries in Google Authenticator?

# Answer
Touch the entry you want to rename for maybe one second (until it's selected), then use the three-point-menu to rename it.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Touch the entry you want to rename for one/two second until a an accordion appears. On the top of the screen, you'll see edit icon (pencil) allowing you to rename the entry. Click on the pencil and rename the entry.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Oddly enough, it can't be done. You can change the account name, but that's only the second part of the name. The first part is fixed and can't be changed. The problem with this is many use a sub domain and domain as the first part so you can't even see the second part (which can be changed).

Google really should fix this.
> 1 votes

# Answer
You cannot rename application part of the entry. Only thing that I found helpful is to put the phone Font size to smallest possible, however drawback is that its a global setting and has its obvious side effects to overall usability.
> 1 votes

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Tags: google-authenticator
---


# Question
Title: How to automatically normalize loudness system-wide?
I have to constantly adjust the volume, especially to turn down ads and loud action scenes or dramatic soundtrack swells in video, but turn up to keep dialog audible, etc. I need something that does this automatically, like a dynamic compressor/limiter/normalizer. If apps are available for this, I prefer those that are free and don't require root.

I have searched the Google Play Store and found nothing with this feature system-wide. Some media players/streamers have it built-in just for their own content (probably excluding ads, usually to handle songs mastered to different levels), sometimes called something like "smart volume." There are many apps that process audio files offline and add a "replay gain" to their metadata, which some media players respect. I'm looking for the same kind of thing, but applied to all media audio output in real-time, including ads.

Windows has "loudness equalization" option built-in to their sound manager, and VLC has it as an effect in the desktop version.

Googling indicates that ViPER4Android may work, but it requires root and I can't find a definitive statement that it has this feature, and it looks like it doesn't easily install on some devices. If it does and is the only option, I would consider rooting.

A great option would be if Android could run LADSPA plugins like Linux.

Is this possible?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try this https://github.com/ThePBone/RootlessJamesDSP.

The "Output control" is exactly the option you want, but it has other things to.

# Answer
> 0 votes
As on April, 2023 there are following methods: The avialble applications can be categorised as follows'

I) Real Time Normalization (a) Across the system: Viper4Android-Android, Realtek driver v6.0.1.6767, Date 30-10-2012-Windows, Realtek-Dolby Audio (b) Application level: AIMP-Android, AIMP-Windows, double Twist v3.2.1-Android, Cloud Player v1.8.5-Android, many online streaming services

II) Replay Gain identification, linking and saving as separate file without even disturbing meta data: Neutron Audio Player - Android

III) Replay Gain Normalization (Replay gain writing at Meta Data it can be undone, if player is not compatible it will ignore Replay gain): mp3gain, foobar2000, R128Gain\_1.0.11\_win64\_gui.

IV) Loudness conversion (can not be undone to original, such processes generally cannot be lossless): Audacity, etc many apps for windows as well as android.

## Note: Perceived volume level or Digital “loudness” is measured as LUFS and it’s negative. Mp3gain 89dB = -18LUFS

I.a.1 The following is experience sharing of Android with Viper4Android 2.7.2.1 on spare phone Xiaomi mi5 lineage 17.1 (Android 10) (Phone Volume 40 to 70%)

i) Enable "Master limiter"

Output -0db Output pan 50:50 Threshold limit 0dB

ii)Enable "FET Compressor" with the following settings

operator threshold to -60dB (or -50 to -60dB) Compression ratio to 10.00:1, (or higher like 20:1 upto infinite) Automatic Knee untick it, inflection: 10.8dB inflection point gain 2.00x, Automatic Gain-Untick, Automatic Gain 25.6dB (or 20 to 40dB it will be more effective but in relation with operator threshold ) Automatic attack, untick Attack to 10ms. (0.1 to 12ms) Max attack 200ms, (10 to 250ms) Automatic Release untick Release 20 ms (0.2 to 25 ms) Max Release 250 ms (2 to 300ms) Crest 20dB, Adapt 2639 Clipping prevention Tick

it is able to normalize loudness automatically tested qith audio volume 88.8dB (-14LUFS) and 105.2 db (-3LUFS), -36LUFS (dB as identified by MP3Gain PC software).

As normalization standard is available so many parameters are not required for audio normalization, once selected it can target -18 LUFS like Foobar plug in /double Twist.

Note: (i) Even after Audio Modification libraries (AML) is installed, a4v needs SoundFX to be disabled. It is working on Legacy Mode. it works along with Dolby Atmos also.

(ii) James DSP is having Dynamic Range Compressor, but not having options to provide necessary inputs /it is not having them built in, it is not able to work as auto volume normalizer.

(iii) Any DSP expected to impure or introduce artifacts to the audio, we may not be able compensate by tweaking with v4a etc to the original. If you enjoy your own way, you may like it. Further if the function of Auto loudness / Auto volume level /auto volume normalization is at top priority , it succeeds to great extend android across the system. Tested with pink noise with digital loudness from -3LUFS to -23LUFS. It is noticed if bass is very high in original the above settings may not be suitable or difficult to adjust to universal setting.

(iv) There is no auto loudness normalization in "Dolby Atmos" in current versions. Dolby Audio is effective which is available at speaker control panel on windows 10.

in my case:
The Viper4Android 2.7.2.1 rootless type installed from TWRP (as magisk module is infinitely trying for installation of driver) even after installing Selinux 11, AML 4.2, Lineage's SoundFX disable or all in one type available at Github.

at present UNINSTALLER for above rootless type is not readily available.

There is noticeable deterioration in sound quality of low frequency with fet compressor of v4a.

I.a.2. or If you are on windows 10 with Realtek audio , install 2012 driver v6.0.1.6767, Date 30-10-2012 (old driver) it will give options “Enhancements" select loudness equalization ’ (sometimes it miss few milliseconds at start of track). This is real-time type as well as across the system, but it's effectiveness cannot be checked with pink noise. It is also noticed that later drivers having Dolby Audio , when made it on , it is also acting as loudness normalizer. However Dolby Atmos is not having any such feature.

---

I.b.1 or use "double Twist v3.2.1.apk" (i.e classic) Android {for real-time normalization: Settings\>Loudness Normalization\>on} but it is not able to recognize all folders / audio files.

I.b.2. or "Cloud Player v1.8.5" for Android by double Twist Corp {for real-time normalization: Settings\>Loudness Normalization\>on (after buying)} but it is not able to recognize all folders / audio files.

I.b.3. Or use "AIMP" for Android or PC {for Real-time auto loudness normalization: options \>sound effects \> options \> Volume Normalization\> Replay Gain \> select / Tick Replay Gain, Untick at Use values from tags (as not required for real time mode) , Tick on the fly Analysis\> tick (=ok)}. Some times it misses by a few milliseconds at new track.(PC version's UI is not user friendly at present)

I.b.4 or Jet Audio HD Player Android {for Real-time auto loudness normalization: Menu \> Preferences \> Playback\> select "Adjust Replay gain with AGC"}

I.b.5 Foobar2000 PC Use "EBU or R128 Normalizer" plugin for Real-time auto loudness normalization ( install the plug in , add the same at DSP from preference. It is working ok. Tested with pink noise with digital loudness from -3LUFS to -33LUFS. Working perfectly when started with -33LUFS and going up , it's output was normalized to -18LUFS and verified with Youlean\_Loudness Meter 2 vst3 plug-in installing to Foobar.

I.b.6 PC through installation of VST adapter: adding this adapter to DSP compnent to Foobar and using available VST plug in. At present volume normalizer for play purpose yet to be developed.

I.b.7 Many online streaming services

---

II.1 "Neutron Audio Player" Android It writes replay gain information to a separate file with a reference for location and file name, so even meta data is also preserved. However getting into folder browsing is outdated {Neutron v2.12 Menu (3 horizontal lines) icon\> Sources (do not select folders available in options, the following folders will linked /show up at the folders of neutron at later stage )\> + \> File system \> Devices \> SD card\> now it will come to nearly modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder \> select Tick \> it will scan files}

(i) Addition of music folder to Neutron {Neutron v2.12 Menu (3 horizontal lines) icon\> Sources (do not select folders available in options, the following folders will linked /show up at the folders of neutron at later stage )\> + \> File system \> Devices \> SD card\> now it will come to nearly modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder \> select Tick \> it will scan files , if not hold on folder to get option to scan.(The files inside above folder is not responding/not scanning , delete above folder in above settings of neutron click and hold to get delete option (it is not real deletion at internal drive) , make back and forth , to get refreshed and re-create. If required select other than previously used folder or super folder or some other sub folder. For using any other than sub folder you have to repeat above process.

{Neutron v2.21.9 Menu , just after fresh installation : select Audio Source as Manual\>File System\> + \> Audio files folder or subfolder (as per your plan and scheme how you want them appear later) \>Use This folder \> ALLOW \>select this folder \> click on Tick Icon\> Folder on drive will be added to folders of Neutron, if not successful add another folder or subfolder consisting audio files.

if above skipped or at later stage some more folders to be added : (3 horizontal lines with arrow) icon\> Sources \> + \> File system \> + \> now it will come to nearly modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder \> \>Use This folder \> ALLOW \> select Tick \>.....

(ii) (i) Deletion of music folder to Neutron To delete folder in neutron app (No physical deletion on inernal drive) : (3 horizontal lines with arrow) icon\> Sources \> tap and hold on the folder \> delete

(iii)Normalize the volume level all files in a folder to -18LUFS {Menu\> Sources\> Folders \> Click and hold on the required folder to get normalize option \>+EQ Preset\> Normalize \> select Tick} (Source file will not be affected , even metat data)

(iv) To remove above normalization To delink above Neutron assigned Replay Gain through Normalize: {Menu\> Sources\> Folders \> Click and hold on the required folder \>click again on +EQ Preset}

## Note: Some times icons /menu are relocated, please find them to get navigation options.

III.1 mp3gain.exe {It is the most compatible with Windows as well as Android apps, it is a defacto standard for Replay Gain, until mp3 normalization standard is formed}

or III.2 Foobar2000 v1.6.16 {compatible with Foobar2000 player v.1.16.16, AIMP v3.30.1250 and VLC player v3.5.4 , Jet Audio HD v11.2.3, both windows / Android , USB Audio player pro trial 6.0.3 (Android) but not v6.1.0.0, Power Amp v3b957 (Android), FIIO Music v3.1.7 (Android) }

or III.3 R128Gain\_1.0.11\_win64\_gui {compatible with AIMP and VLC player both windows / Android, USB Audio player pro trial 6.0.3 (Android) but not v6.1.0.0, Power amp v3b957 (Android)} program on PC (freeware) to write replay gain data at meta data of track (or album) without changing any music data i.e music will be as original. If the player is compatible with this replay gain, data stored at metadata will play the music file with normalized volumes.

---

IV.1 Normalization open freeware DAW like Audacity etc.

Procedure to Loudness Normalization by Audacity

1)file\>Browse to the required files \> Open all required files, 2)Select all files, 3)Effect \> Volume & Compression\>Loudness Normalization\>Perceived Loudness (Digital)\>.....LUFS\>Apply 4)File \> Export \>...... (processed file will be outlet folder)

## IV.2 PC through VST3 for 5.1 Install VST3 plug-in e.g The Normalizer by FinalLoud by TBPro Audio VST3 manager. They are in advanced audio creation (DAW) etc. It will do permanent changes to music.

In case of real time loudness normalizer, if it is not programmed to know track to track to information or analysis of sufficient length of buffer etc , it may intervene in between / intermittently causing a feeling of unnaturalness or distortion. Same difficult is similar with across system loudness normalizer.

---

Due to any reason , if you don't want to listen to full length of song, but initial few seconds (like 30 sec or 120 sec or 180 sec or any) , automated preview of various varieties are available at "Automate Community" a forum of Automate by llamalab.

---
Tags: audio, automation, volume-control, volume
---


# Question
Title: How to install Advanced Charging Controller (acc) module?
I have a phone that's been rooted using `Magisk`. How to install something like the acc module? The instructions state running `acc` commands, but where from?

# Answer
I've been using this for several years now and it's a great app for your battery.

**Installation**

* It's a Magisk module. Install it like any other Magisk module and it's better to reboot though not always required for this module.
* You can get the latest version and help from Telegram group. The telegram group is very active, with the developer often answering questions.
* Forget about the front end app mentioned in Github notes. Those apps are outdated.

**Commands**

* Use Termux (not the Play Store version which again is very outdated) . Get it from Github or F-Droid. You can use any other terminal emulator of your choice.
* You need to use `su` before running the commands
* Documentation:

+ `acc -r g`: Full (HTML)
    + `acc -h g`: Condensed (plain text)
* Some simple commands:

+ `acc: Wizard` : gives you an interface to get started.
    + acc pause resume: Set pause and resume % (e.g., `acc 80 70`), defaults are 75 70.
    + acc -s mcc=milliamps: Set charging current limit (no value means default)
    + acc -s mcc=millivolts: Set charging voltage limit (no value means default)
    + acc -f: Charge once to 100% without restrictions.

I mainly use it for *idle charging* (see Don't charge the battery but use connected power to run the phone). Also, I configured the voltage supplied to the battery to be low enough not to cause heating, which is a well reported problem with Pixel 6 series (thankfully, it's alleviated on Android 14).
> 2 votes

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Tags: battery-life, magisk
---


# Question
Title: SD Card crashing settings but being detected
I ran out of storage on my:

Oukitel WP20 running Android 12

and so I decided to get a 512GB Micro SD Card from SanDisk. My previous one was a 128GB from SanDisk aswell. So I backed everything up, ejected the sd card via the settings app, removed it physically, and inserted the new one.

The phone then asked me to format it either to mobile format, or to extend the internal storage, so I choose extend internal. That went uneventfull. I went to the settings app and it says: 8% used, 499GB free. So far so good. But when I click on the storage icon it loads for 10 - 20 seconds, and then just goes back to the main settings page (the list of settings options). Also when I try to download a file explorer (CX File Explorer) or any other app, googe play says: Please make more free space before installing...

And when I uninstall a app which was on the internal storage before I had any SD Card (for example Clash of Clans, yes, I was young at one point lol), it still says make more space (COC is 1.smth GB and the app is just a few MB...)

The SD Card works on my computer just fine, I even loaded the backed up files onto it just the check if I could get it to work, they worked just fine. After formatting to extend internal storage one cant view the data on a laptop / computer anymore obviously.

Weird behaviour though, maybe someone has experienced this aswell :D

Thanks in advance for any tipps!

# Answer
> 1 votes
Ok, I just reset the whole device, it works now. Really weird :/

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Tags: external-sd, sd-card, storage, android-12
---


title: How to recover WhatsApp chat history?

text:
# Question
Title: How to recover WhatsApp chat history?
My phone has been running low on space lately. WhatsApp gave me the low storage error and then crashed. After freeing a couple of gigabyte on my phone, I went back to WhatsApp, only to discover that my chat history (for all contacts) has been wiped out. However, I discovered that in my phone's settings, it says WhatsApp is using 70 GB (probably all my WhatsApp chat data).

I don't think any files are corrupted, because I went to the WhatsApp data folder in the "My Files" app and I was able to play WhatsApp videos from there.

How can I get my chat history to show up again in their respective WhatsApp chats?

# Answer
> 0 votes
1. Back up all your data from WhatsApp
2. Add to Dropbox or whatever is your preferred backup storage app or SD card
3. Sign out of WhatsApp
4. Clear storage bins and delete all WhatsApp data, don't forget about junk files
5. Uninstall WhatsApp
6. Clear cache again
7. Restart
8. Open Play Store
9. Download WhatsApp
10. Set permissions before signing in
11. Sign in, and set all usage and preferred settings

All your past data will show on the app side or web app side of WhatsApp, then go and test the erroneous process again.

Not sure if this will work, but the alternative would be to copy WhatsApp to the SD card and have it always launch from there. To move that data to another drive, that would free up over 70 GBs. Always format your SD card before loading anything onto it. See SD card instructions on the web.

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


title: Unroot hacked Xiaomi Poco C40

text:
# Question
Title: Unroot hacked Xiaomi Poco C40
My Xiaomi Poco C40 was hacked and rooted by a stranger. How to restore to factory settings?

# Answer
> 4 votes
If your phone is indeed rooted, it must have its bootloader unlocked. You can restore its factory state from fastboot if bootloader is unlocked.

# WARNING: you will lose all data

* write down your MI account and google account credentials
* download the Fastboot Type of MIUI according to your region
* power off the phone
* press Volume Down + Power to enter fastboot mode
* connect the phone to PC
* install usb drivers
* install platform-tools
* execute `flash_all.bat`
* reboot when done
* enter your Mi Account password to unlock (FRP)

---
Tags: factory-reset, xiaomi, unrooting
---


# Question
Title: How to download and set high-quality voices in Android text-to-speech in MIUI 14?
The option to download and set high-quality voices in Android text-to-speech is not available in MIUI 14. Is there a way to do so?

# Answer
While certain voice are available for downloading offline from the corresponding menu under **Settings** \> **System** \> **Languages & Input** \> **Text-to-Speech output**, high quality voices are only available online and won't work without an internet connection.
> 1 votes

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Tags: miui, text-to-speech
---


# Question
Title: Google Calendar event reminder sound is too short and I can't hear it
One of the main Google Calendar's functions is to remind people their events, with a scheduled sound alarm. The problem is that this sound, I know how to change it, only lasts for 1 second, so I don't hear it. Instead, when they call me, the sound lasts for very long until they hang up the phone, so I realize I'm being called. I would like if the alarm sound lasted longer, how to do it?

By the way, I have the same problem with Google Keep reminders.

I imagine some people like short sounds because they don't want to get disturbed, and they probably get reminded when they check their phones and see the notification. I want to know if it's possible to make it work like I specified, a longer loud sound like a call.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Go to "My Files" and then copy any MP3 or sounds that sound longer to be your reminder. Then go to "device storage", look for the "notifications" folder, and paste it there.

Now, go to your S-Planner and open "Settings". Now, you'll see your MP3 as the choice in the notifications tone options. Now, you can have a longer reminder tone.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I am using Xiaomi's Redmi Note 7 and even *after multiple attempts* I could not implement Clara's answer since it is not allowed by MIUI.

I had to settle with having another app that rings an alarm according to my Google Calendar.

'**Event Alarm Reminder for Google Calendar**' by Lion Zöchling syncs with Google Calendar and rings an alarm that lasts longer (can be customized).

This is the only app that worked well with MIUI for me. Added bonus is that it has a decent-looking UI.

# Answer
> 1 votes
I have both Google Calendar and Samsung Calendar installed. They seem to coexist fine, and Samsung Calendar has what you need:

Go to Settings \> Calendar Settings \> Alert style and set it to "Strong". You can then customise the sound, but you have a large choice of long and loud alert sounds.

It's pretty simple but you can also see it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Q5cAo8ezw

# Answer
> 0 votes
I use **Calendar Notifications**, with persistent notification and a loot of other options.

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Tags: google-calendar
---


# Question
Title: Will unrooting an Android phone remove the virtual RAM created while rooted?
I have a 4yr old phone and it's CPU processor can take up to 6GB RAM, but I have the model with 3GB of RAM and it's somewhat slow in doing some tasks that are high demanding. So, after I root the phone using Magisk and use Roehsoft RAM Expander and my SD card to expand it to 6GB RAM, if I unroot my phone back, will the virtual RAM still remain or will it get left behind?

# Answer
> 2 votes
Removing root doesn't change anything that was done with root access, it just removed your ability to make changes to the system partition. You will need to remove any changes done manually before unrooting. Most people in this case had done a nandroid backup prior to the changes/rooting, and then just restore it.

Note that if you unroot, some of those changes or applications may require root access... Removing Magisk, which manages the root access, may cause them to still be installed but not function or only partly work. It is also possible that removing root could render the device unusable.

The recommended way to "unroot" is to flash the device back to stock or restore a pre-root nandroid backup.

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Tags: rooting, ram, magisk, unrooting, cpu
---


# Question
Title: How to forget a WiFi network that is previously connected to via QR code?
My main phone is Pocophone F1 (Android 10, MIUI 12.0.3)

I connected my phone to home WiFi network via QR code, like this:

It works. And when I click it to show its detail

There's no the usual "forget/remove this network" button.

On WiFI -\> Additional Settings -\> Managed saved networks -\> the home wifi network isn't listed there.

How should I remove it, then?

# Answer
> 1 votes
I had the same issue on my Google Pixel 7.

For me it worked to **uninstall the app that I had used to connect to the network**, which in my case was a QR reader app.

---
Tags: wi-fi, xiaomi, xiaomi-pocophone-f1, miui-12
---


# Question
Title: In Android 13, how can I type the tick character?
As the title says: How can I type the tick character (`´`) in usual Android devices (Android 13)? I haven't found a keyboard app yet that provides this character.

In Western Europe, the tick character character is not that unusual, and I have a few passwords that contain it. Changing those passwords at the respective servers would require them to be changed on multiple other client devices, too, which is not possible. So I have to enter them on every Android device that should be used to access those servers.

On the Android device, I could solve the problem by copying that character from a text in the browser into the clipboard and pasting it into the password text box from there. But this procedure is error prone and extremely annoying.

I am convinced that Android (as every other serious O/S) lets us enter not only this specific character, but Unicode characters in general. It's just that I am not able to find out how.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Without knowing *which* Android keyboard you're using, a definitive answer is probably impossible. However, try pressing and holding similar keys. On several Android keyboards, such as Gboard and Samsung Keyboard, that produces menus of related characters: accented versions of letters, fractions for numbers, and so on. You may well find the tick that way.

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Tags: keyboard, android-13, special-chars
---


# Question
Title: Are iOS apps faster than android apps since android apps are interpreted?
Android apps are interpreted rather than compiled. Does this make them slower than iOS apps at runtime?

# Answer
> 86 votes
Java isn't interpreted on Android. Android apps are compiled to *bytecode* by the developer. Bytecode is a compact representation of the program: smaller than the source code written by the programmer, but still not directly executable by the CPU. Some optimizations, such as dead code removal, can be made at this stage.

When you load the app on a device, the Dalvik JVM compiles the bytecode to native executable code, just as it's about to run. This is *just-in-time* compilation. It causes a brief slow-down while the program waits to be compiled, but after that there's no performance overhead, because the code has been compiled to native executable code.

There are some performance advantages to doing it this way instead of compiling up-front on the developer's computer. The app can be compiled for the particular CPU on the phone, taking advantage of its hardware features and using its performance characteristics. For example, it can use hardware floating-point operations if the CPU supports it. In addition, a clever JIT compiler (admittedly, Dalvik is not quite this clever) can monitor the way the program runs, and perform optimizations based on the way the program is used in real use. It might recompile the code with better branch hinting once it has seen which options are turned on and off in your environment, on your phone. An up-front compiler doesn't have this information to use.

Dalvik uses the *Dalvik cache* and other techniques to mitigate the drawbacks of JIT compilation. The new JVM for Android L and later, ART, replaces the JIT entirely with an *ahead-of-time* compiler. This compiles the bytecode to native executable code when the app is installed, to get most of the advantages of JIT without the delay loading the app.

Don't forget that Android apps don't entirely consist of Java. Developers have the *NDK* to write all or part of their apps in C or C++, for performance-critical parts of the app, especially for games. Special-purpose interfaces like OpenGL and Renderscript let programmers take advantage of special hardware like the GPU and SIMD coprocessor for some kinds of computation.

So really, there's no simple answer to your question. Using JIT instead of up-front compilation makes some things faster, some things slower. It's just one part of the overall performance of the OS.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Since this is a broad question, here's a broad answer.

"Are iOS apps faster than android apps since android apps are interpreted?"

First off iOS apps are not "faster than" android apps.

Secondly, regarding the issue "Android apps are Interpreted." This is something you'd say about computing, like "15 years ago": as you can see from the discussion above, the situation is much more complicated today; entirely new technologies have come to the fore. The concept "compiled is faster than interpreted!" was relevant comparing, you know, perl to machine code 20 years ago; things have moved on so much that issue can not be really clearly applied to "iOS V Android" today.

Thirdly, there are other issues in mobile programming that totally swamp such considerations. Just one example on the ground, mobile programmers knock themselves out over handling large scrolling lists of images, lazy loading, and similar issues. How the two OSs, and the various popular libraries, handles these critical issues often swamps other issues.

Fourthly, just one more overwhelming issue on mobiles is the issues of the graphics chipset and the various complicated relationships of that to software, OpenGL, and so on. For example, Apple is coming out with a system they calL "Metal" in relation to these problems, and Android is coming out with their own "thingy" in this field. These issues around the graphics pipeline are tremendously important to how apps "feel" in your hand.

The very short answer to your question is "compiled V. interpreted" is basically an out-of-date discussion point you know?

(Also, I don't particularly find a Note3 "slower" than an iPhone. Also, some of this is pure artefact - there does exist inexpensive Android phones: there simply aren't low performance iPhones made, so some people may have incorrect ideas from this.)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Short answer:

Android only executes native machine codes and not VM bytecodes.

* Codes are compiled to byte-code by software developer (apk files)
* During app installation, the phone byte-codes are converted to native machine codes for a specific CPU. This leads to longer installation and larger execution files but faster runs.

# Answer
> -3 votes
Because interpreted apps does not means that they are always slow. Sometimes they are more powerful and dynamic as compared to compiled one. As all codes in compiled app are compiled once & output is kept in form of libraries or executables, while in interprated language, once can randomly change the sequence of execution. So i can say, it depends of developer to developer and there way of programming.

However, Java (Android's programming language) is not interpreted but is JIT compiled. That means that Android programs compile just before you run them, giving reasonably similar performance to iOS' Objective C.

More recently, Android's ART framework pre-compiles the apps, so they are run in the same way as iOS apps. In other words, the next version of Android will presumably be just as fast as iOS.

**Update**

Programming languages generally fall into one of two categories: Compiled or Interpreted. With a compiled language, code you enter is reduced to a set of machine-specific instructions before being saved as an executable file. With interpreted languages, the code is saved in the same format that you entered. **Compiled programs generally run faster than interpreted ones because interpreted programs must be reduced to machine instructions at runtime. However, with an interpreted language you can do things that cannot be done in a compiled language. For example, interpreted programs can modify themselves by adding or changing functions at runtime. It is also usually easier to develop applications in an interpreted environment because you don't have to recompile your application each time you want to test a small section.**

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Tags: applications, ios
---


title: What is .Lenovoreaper in Lenovo tablet

text:
# Question
Title: What is .Lenovoreaper in Lenovo tablet
In my file manager (of Lenovo tablet) i saw a hidden file with the name .Lenovoreaper when i tried to open it, they asked if I wanted to see the file through html viewer or google chrome, It is a 17 byte file some ON THE INTERNET say it is malware some say it is of the share it application which I do not have....but I do have to say the file manager which it was in had ads and I guess share it was also used in advertising....what are your thoughts

So what is this file and what is it used for

# Answer
> 1 votes
According to this post and some others I’ve found, it’s something to do with the advertising experience in the ShareIt app. It’s not malware, but it should be safe to delete.

The reason it sometimes gets flagged is because of the advertising service inside of it.

---
Tags: file-management, lenovo
---


title: Mount ISO file in Android

text:
# Question
Title: Mount ISO file in Android
I am trying to install SPEC CPU2017 benchmarks on an Android development board. SPEC comes with an ISO file. You're supposed to mount the ISO and run the `install.sh` script inside it. Otherwise, you get the following error.

> Can't find the top of your CPU2017 tree! Please change to the benchmark directory and run this program (`./install.sh`) again!

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to mount the file in Android. I've tried the commands in this answer without any luck.

When I run `mount -t iso9660 cpu2017-1.1.7.iso mountpoint -o ro,loop`, I get the following message:

> mount: 'cpu2017-1.1.7.iso'-\>'mountpoint': No such file or directory

I checked the kernel config and I've found that the `CONFIG_ISO9660_FS` options isn't set.

What are my options? Is it possible to mount the ISO? Is there any other way to install the SPEC CPU2017 benchmark suite?

# Answer
## Frame challenge: mounting the ISO on Android won't get you anywhere.

I took a look at the FAQ for SPEC CPU®2017, which makes it clear that the ISO contains source code, and you have to build the benchmark programs yourself. To do that, you need compilers and a linker, and apparently a Perl interpreter to run the benchmark suite. None of those programs are normally present on an Android device: this benchmark suite is meant for desktop or server computers, with software development tools installed.

## Running *these* benchmarks will be a fair amount of work

If you want to run these benchmarks on Android, you'll need to do some work with build systems. Possibly quite a lot of work. You'll need to start by installing the benchmarks on a machine that you can use for Android development (Windows, Linux or Mac), and then build and run the benchmarks on that system to get the hang of working with them. Once you have done that, you can install the Android NDK and figure out how to build the benchmarks for Android. There are two obvious routes:

1. Adapt the makefiles that SPEC provide to work with the NDK compiler, linker, and so on. This is the route that I'd take, but I'm used to working with the Android command line in the ADB shell. That should let you build the individual programs. You'll need a Perl system to run the `runcpu` wrapper, or it may be easier to do that on your build machine and have it run the programs via `adb shell`.
2. Install the Android SDK as well as the NDK, and write an Android app that runs the benchmarks and presents their results. This is more work, but it gets you an Android app. However, you can't distribute that app without breaching SPEC's copyright on their benchmark source.

## Look into SPEC's benchmarks for embedded computing

SPEC has recently added an Embedded Group which produces "industry-standard benchmarks for the hardware and software used in autonomous driving, mobile imaging, the Internet of Things, mobile devices, and many other applications."

These may well be easier to run on Android.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: mount
---


# Question
Title: unzipping backup of sdcard, wrong folder structure
I have a backup of my old phone in my computer, in a folder called `phone_backup`

it contains the usual folders:

* Airdroid
* Alarms
* Android
* Audiobooks
* AuthenticatorPlus
* Books
* DCIM
* Documents
* doubleTwist
* Download
* MEGA
* Movies
* Music
* Neobackup
* Notifications
* Pictures
* Podcasts

I have zipped the contents of `phone_backup` and transferred to the sdcard of my new phone.

If I open, in Windows, `phone_backup` or `phone_backup.zip` and check the Download folder I see the same I have on my old phone, however, when I do `unzip phone_backup.zip` everything seems to work until I get the error

`unzip: couldn't create file Download/Videos: Is a directory`

And if I do `find Download/ -maxdepth 1 -type d` I get:

* Download/
* Download/Videos
* Download/WhatsApp
* Download/Airdroid
* Download/Alarms
* Download/Android
* Download/PowerTube

For some reason it's decompressing the root inside the Downloads folder?

```
redwood:/sdcard $ ls -lah Videos/ Download/Videos/
Download/Videos:
total 3.0K
drwxrws--- 2 u0_a402 media_rw 3.3K 2023-12-01 21:50 work

Videos:
total 3.0K
drwxrws--- 2 u0_a402 media_rw 3.3K 2023-12-02 09:02 work

```

same content too.

Why could this happen??

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can't transfer apps and data from one phone to another in this fashion. Try using the Android Backup, or Samsung Tool (if you have a Samsung phone) or for another Backup app on App Store.

Even if you manage to transfer the files over, it is not going to work.

---
Tags: adb, zip
---


# Question
Title: adb install apk successful on device (or emulator), but not found
I am using command line to install apk on devices and emulators. There is only one device at one time, so I don't have to specify the device's name.

```
adb install file.apk

```

output:

```
Performing Streamed Install
Success

```

I check on the device (or emulator), but can't find the installed app. Could you please help?

# Answer
> 7 votes
perform a full uninstall

```
adb uninstall <your-package-name>

```

then try reinstall your app

```
adb install app.apk

```

I faced this issue on the flutter release installation.

This problem happens because of different app signatures between debug and release

# Answer
> 1 votes
I kid you not. In my case, I was comparing two apps(app1 and app2) and what I was actually doing was install the app2(adb install in app2 directory where the apk path and filename happened to be identical to app1), when I really meant to install app1, and it simply said "Install Success", which was true; the app2 was indeed installed.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had to run `adb uninstall com.myname.myapp` *from a different machine*.
When I did it from my windows PC, it was failing because it did not find the app. When I did it from my ubuntu laptop, uninstalling worked. Subsequently running the installation from the original machine (Windows PC in my case) did work as well.

---
Tags: adb, installation, android-emulator
---


# Question
Title: Is there a way to duplicate cell from above in Android Excel?
On Windows the Excel has shortcut `Ctrl+D` which copies the content of the cell from the cell above.

Is there any way to duplicate cell from above in Android Excel without copy/paste? Maybe a kind of menu item or something alike?

**Update** The only requirement that I need this without external keyboard so that I could use it on my smartphone in "usual way".

# Answer
try the following steps:

Tap the cell you want to duplicate:

Navigate to the cell where you want to duplicate the content. Access the editing options:

Look for a menu or toolbar that provides editing options. This might be a toolbar that appears at the top or bottom of the screen. Find the "Fill" or "Insert" options:

Some versions of Excel for Android have a fill or insert option that allows you to fill a cell with the content from the cell above. Explore additional options:

Check for additional options in the menu, such as "Fill Down" or "Insert Copied Cells." Use the context menu:

Long-press on the cell to access a context menu. Look for options like "Fill" or "Insert." Check for keyboard shortcuts:

Some Android devices support external keyboards. If you're using a keyboard, try using keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+D to see if they work in Excel on Android.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: microsoft-excel
---


# Question
Title: Is there any shortcut for closing a tab in Chrome?
I find it very annoying opening the tabs list and swiping over or hitting the little X for closing a tab (an action which I do a lot...)

Is there any shortcut for closing the front tab using some single gesture? If not, is there some way to create such a custom functionality using some add-on/hack?

# Answer
> 5 votes
It seems the method you describe is currently the only true way of doing this. However, if you press the back key, it will close the current tab once you've gone back through the history of THAT tab. So if you open up lots of tabs but then close each one after reading, this is a very quick method for you (1 click). If you do extensive browsing in each tab, it's not as good but still easy in that you just press one button

There are many other browsers out there (Firefox, Dolphin HD / Mini, Boat Browser / Mini, Opera, Maxathon, SkyFire) which are all great applications (as you can tell by their app star ratings), albeit with different levels of integration with you Google account. Several support addons or plugins to provide additional functionality.

# Answer
> 1 votes
**Credit of this answer goes to @Joe in the comments**

As of Chrome 78 (and at least till 119), hold the tab list button (next to the URL bar, the one that displays the number of tabs you have open and which opens the tabs list when you press it) and you'll get a menu like this:

You can use that to quickly close the current tab. Still a bit slow for my liking, but much better than before.

Thanks @Joe.

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


# Question
Title: Why isn't Wireguard available on F-Droid?
Lots of sites speak of Wireguard being available on F-Droid but I noticed it's no longer on the site. Why is this? And how can I install it?

# Answer
The official Wireguard App is no longer available because the author insists in packing self-updating functionality that targets a non-F-droid repository. This functionality means that F-Droid can't ensure that the software running that was originally installed with F-Droid, was built by F-Droid. It's no longer repeatable, nor auditable.

This put the author and F-Droid at odds, and the package was de-listed.

As an alternative,
> 5 votes

---
Tags: vpn, f-droid
---


# Question
Title: I can't register my device in samsung account?
When I open my android device and open my user details in Samsung I can see registered devices. There is no option to add my device. When we buy a new phone we activate our new device with the sim card. Here what is this registered devices section and how do I register my device. Do I need to go online for device registering?

I want to know how to register my device.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You just have to add your Samsung account to the new device. Similarly, if you want to see the new device in Google's list, add the Google account to it.

---
Tags: applications
---


title: Can I force Pixel 6 Pro to slow charge?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I force Pixel 6 Pro to slow charge?
There are long periods of time when I know I will stay in place so I would like to be able to connect the phone to the charger and have it charge slowly to try and curb issues created with fast charging.

Preferably it would be something that I would be able to quickly switch to fast charging when needed.

Phone is not rooted, but I'm willing to root it if need be. I already use adaptive charging during the night. I was hoping for something not linked to the alarm.

# Answer
This could be possible just using hardware - if you use a 5V/1A (5W) charging block, for instance, your phone would charge at a maximum of 5W, which is rather slow for today's charging standards. That being said, even a 5W charger will charge your phone within several hours.

Another option, again hardware-based and assuming you're somewhere where it would be practical, is the Pixel Stand 2, which allows you to choose "Max charge" or "Charge quietly," which is effectively equivalent to "slower." These can be switched at any time, and wireless charging for the Pixel phones is generally slower than wired regardless.

These being possible, Pixel phones already offer several built-in and features that can be enabled that make this not as necessary as it used to be. See especially the "Protecting your battery" section linked.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: charging, battery-life, google-pixel-6, battery-saver
---


# Question
Title: Can we use Bluetooth to transfer money from one person to another?
Is it possible to transfer money from one person to another using Bluetooth technology without using the Internet?

# Answer
> 0 votes
I dont think that there are existing apps to do this. But if you are going to write an app, then you can do what you want, within reason. Whether it will be usable, secure, fast enough is up to you to determine and solve.

---
Tags: bluetooth
---


# Question
Title: undeletable "permanent File" Android 11 phone
I have this file:

/storage/emulated/0/Tones/test1/test2/test3/test4/brooke-shields,-a�os-80.jpg

Cannot delete. I get a \<java.lang.illegalargument\> response when I try to delete using several different file managers. My phone is unrooted. Tried through javascript, termux, iShredder, and others. Have tried to understand the black diamond with the question mark, but unclear what it truly is. Am a real novice, so have patience.

Any suggestions on how to delete this file.

# Answer
> 0 votes
play with `find` until you get the single line with (1) result.

```
~ $ find -L /sdcard -mindepth 6 -type f -name 'brooke-shields*80.jpg' -print

```

add the `-delete` flag to delete result(s)

# Answer
> -1 votes
* Rename the file and check if you can delete it. Also, have you tried the same with adb?

```
adb shell rm /storage/emulated/0/Tones/test1/test2/test3/test4/brooke-shields,-a�os-80.jpg

```

---
Tags: files, delete, javascript
---


# Question
Title: Can I remove an app that I've bought from my account and re-purchase it again?
To thank the developer on Steam you can repeatedly buy games as gifts or remove them from the account and re-buy them again (I think it still works).

How to do a similar thing on Google Play Store?

# Answer
> 1 votes
App purchases are tied to the account. You can't re-use that account to buy again. Create a different Gmail account , add it your device and buy from that account (you can use the existing payment method set up for the main Gmail account you had set up)

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


# Question
Title: Do system apps automatically get root permissions?
If I install the famous App "Tincore Key Mapper" as a system app, will it get the required root permissions without my phone being rooted or damaged? If the answer is positive: How to do that via ADB?

# Answer
> 3 votes
If your phone isn't rooted, then **none** of the apps can get root access, regardless of whether they are installed as system app. Also, I quite doubt how you can install extra system apps without root. Rooting may require a custom recovery and may not be easily done with only ADB.

# Answer
> 0 votes
The system apps do not have root access, but they have a lot of access. Maybe you can install Magisk Manager like a system app and gain "something like root". Installing system apps can't be done by adb, unless the phone is already rooted.

Theoretically, you intercept the phone's WiFi traffic (Bettercap) while it is updating a normal system app like Camera (update from the Settings.) Then you can modify the `camera.apk` file of the fly and put the `magisk.apk`.

This won't work on every device because most of the phones check if the app is signed by the manufacturer.

---
Tags: adb, root-access, system-apps
---


# Question
Title: How can I control which apps are able to use the data connection while roaming?
I am planning a trip to abroad and need to use my Android phone while roaming.

But i couldn't disable all data roaming because i need my company emails. So i want to disable WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Play Store and etc; except Exchange.

Is there any way to achieve this? My device is rooted.

# Answer
Install Avast. Enter its Firewall section (requires *root access* to work) and allow/deny apps in Roaming column (Wi-Fi and Home Cell access will be untouched). Avast's firewall provides two modes: Block Selected and Allow Selected. Choose any as per your requirement.

Use My Data Manager if you want to track data usage of individual apps. It has dedicated Roaming section. It can help you in creating firewall rules or lowering data usage of important apps.
> 8 votes

# Answer
Give a try to Onavo Count - it can block certain apps to use only WiFi, cap data usage, provide alerts on data hogging apps, has widgets and more.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.android.onavoid

Overall, it's a very handy app for data management. It also comes with a companion app Onavo Extend to save on data usage: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.android.onavoics

I would also suggest to keep data turned off as a pre-caution, and turning it on periodically - even if you use Onavo. Settings \> Wireless & Networks \> Mobile Networks and tick off the "Data roaming" checkbox.

Enjoy your trip!
> 11 votes

# Answer
Not without a rooted device (or uninstalling/freezing the other apps). If you have a rooted device, you can control each apps network access e.g. using a firewall app like DroidWall or even a more complex security solution like LBE Privacy Guard. Both would allow you to say which app(s) may access the network via Wifi and/or mobile network -- so you could even let them all work while connected to the free Wifi provided by the hotel.

If you are not rooted, but your device runs at least Android 4.x or higher, you could alternatively (temporarily) "freeze" (i.e. disable) all apps which should not use the internet.
> 4 votes

# Answer
Turn on Data Saver in Android will stop apps from using data when in background.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sync, roaming
---


# Question
Title: Lock tablet to run ONLY a webpage on chrome fullscreen
I have created a software for restaurants. Some restaurants have tablets on each table so that their customer can order food/drink without a waiter. I have finished coding my software, and now I have another task:

Each tablet (for example, Galaxy A7 Tab Lite), must run my local app on chrome (for example, http://192.168.1.100:3000)

Problem is: Chrome showing the tabs, the bottom navigation bar and user can access the settings through the notifications bar, enable/disable wifi, etc, such as in these images:

As the tablet's use will be for the user to only access my webpage (so he can order food/drinks), the web page should be:

1. full screen, so that the tabs view do not appear
2. navigation bar and notifications bar should be locked/disabled

I've tried THIS tutorial for fullscreen. I tried adding my website to the Home screen, but when I clicked, it would just open as a regular tab, no fullscreen mode.

The reason for that is (as funny as it may sound) that in some restaurants, some kids were able to exit the application and were downloading games to the tablet, were watching Netflix, were adding their photo as the Android's background image, etc. The user has to interact only with my web app.

So, is there a way to achieve this? Maybe some Android settings, chrome tweaking, third party apps, custom ROM?

# Answer
> 3 votes
You can try my app WebLock.

It won't disable the notifications bar but there's not much that can be done with it. To go to Settings for example, you have to type the password. There's no way to bypass it since the phone is locked. They can go to the usual lock screen and back to the app but nothing else.

\[edit\] I just posted a new version on Google Play, it addresses the issue I mentioned before with the compatibility with newer Android devices. Now every device should be able to install it, regardless of Android version.

---
Tags: chrome-for-android, notification-bar, navigation-bar
---


# Question
Title: How to transfer Firefox bookmarks (and saved logins, etc) from one phone to another **without** using Firefox's "sync", 3rd-party apps nor root?
Title says it all, pretty much.

A quick Google search (surprizingly) did not return any pertinent results.

I guess it might boil down to copy-pasting some system folders/files from one Android installation (via USB-C, via a PC) to the other. But I prefer not to be the guinea pig here...

(PS: I'd rather not have to revert to Firefox's "sync"-feature for various reasons... anyway, it's obvious that "sync" would work, but that's not the question here...)

---

EDIT:

* My phone(s) aren't rooted.
* Neither a 3rd-party app, nor a cloud-based solution is what I'm interested in.

---

Related link(s):

seems like the transfer-via-USB-route would require a **rooted** phone :(

# Answer
As of now, given the constraints, you cannot achieve what you have set out for.

Firefox app would be able to restore bookmarks using these methods, in the absence of a hack:

1. native settings option to import bookmarks. This is not available in Firefox for Android as of now.
2. Using Web Extensions/ Addons. Firefox for Android doesn't provide API support for manipulating bookmarks as of now.
3. Read and write to its browser.db database using a universally accessible content provider. Firefox's content provider for this is not accessibly by any user other than Firefox itself.
4. Full participation in Android Backup Service. As a result, a user can use adb to backup and restore Firefox app's data. Sadly, Firefox explicitly disallows backup as of now, so adb is also out here.
5. Using its own implementation of cloud backup service. It does provide a sync service -- but then, you don't want that so this is also not an option anymore.

Possible hacks:

1. copy and then restore the browser.db or into your another phone. That database contains users' bookmarks. Alternatively, use a root backup/restore solution, such as Titanium Backup.
2. Use content provider with root access to read and write into browser.db. But if you have root access, "1." is plain and easy.

As you can see from above, your options, *as of now*, are: get the devices rooted, or use Firefox's sync services.

Third option is to raise a feature request with Mozilla to provide bookmarks import, and extension support for manipulation of bookmarks.
> 4 votes

# Answer
I recently migrated app data from multiple Firefox apps from one Android phone to another. At first I tried to rely on Android's device-to-device backup transfer mechanism, but that did not migrate any meaningful Firefox data. I also tried `adb backup`, but that does not work either (bug 1808763).

What did work is to enable Firefox's remote debugging feature (`about:debugging` to connect to an Android device) + adb (no root required) to unlock the ability to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in Firefox's main process on the Android device. This enables me to do anything what Firefox is allowed to do, including reading and writing its app data. Which is exactly what we need to create and restore a backup.

The remaining part is the code to actually perform the copy and restore, which I shared at:
**https://github.com/Rob--W/firefox-android-backup-restore**

**Backup instructions: https://github.com/Rob--W/firefox-android-backup-restore#backup**

* The backup instructions are designed to not consume any space on the source device. The first step is to start a TCP server on your computer to receive the data directly. If you don't have `nc` (netcat) available on your computer, an alternative is to run a local TCP server on your Android device and then use adb to retrieve the data from it:

```
adb shell 'nc -l -p 12101 > /sdcard/firefox-android-backup.tar.gz'
adb pull /sdcard/firefox-android-backup.tar.gz
adb shell rm /sdcard/firefox-android-backup.tar.gz

```
* Once the server has been set up, follow the rest of the instructions to run `fab_backup_create();`

**Restore instructions: https://github.com/Rob--W/firefox-android-backup-restore#restore**

* The first step to restoring is to put the backup archive on the device (replace `org.mozilla.firefox` if NOT using Firefox release!):

```
adb shell mkdir /sdcard/Android/data/org.mozilla.firefox/
adb push firefox-android-backup.tar.gz /sdcard/Android/data/org.mozilla.firefox/

```
* The default instructions are for Firefox release (`org.mozilla.firefox`), but if you want to restore to a different app, replace `org.mozilla.firefox` with:

+ `org.mozilla.firefox` \- Firefox Release
    + `org.mozilla.firefox_beta` \- Firefox Beta
    + `org.mozilla.fenix` \- Firefox Nightly
    + `org.mozilla.focus` \- Firefox Focus
* Once the backup has been uploaded to the device, restore it by following the rest of the instructions to run `fab_backup_restore();`

I have tested this with all Firefox apps (versions 118 - 120), on Android 12 and Android 14, on Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 8.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: data-transfer, firefox-for-android, bookmarks, device-migration
---


# Question
Title: How to setup a good defense from unwanted content
I have an android phone, xiaomi if it matters. I want to set-up a defense for my phone, so that:

I can't view pornography in any possible form. No websites, no games, and not even "soft pornography" - things like "dating simulators" or anything like that. Not only on the web browser, I also wantnot to be able to download from the playstore any app that contains content like that.

Block access to youtube or anyway to reach it.

Possibly (I'm still thinking about it) completely blocking access to a web browser.

I still want to be able to use everything else of course: navigation apps, bank apps, etc.

I want to do it for free if possible.

It is very hard, almost impossible, to remove the defense. So an app that i can delete any moment isn't going to do the job.

I searched the web for a good solution, but i'm quiet confused by all the information. If anyone knows how to setup such a defense that would be amazing.

# Answer
Getting all of what you want may be quite hard. Your classification of apps doesn't seem to match Play Store categories, and those are not completely reliable in any case.

Parental controls could be used, if you have someone who will organise them for you, but they won't block the results of searches, and they may not allow banking apps.

There is a market for "Kosher phones" which are used by some Hassidic Jews who see the Internet as a major danger to their culture, but feel that mobile telephony and GPS navigation are OK and useful. Those don't allow web browsing at all. The problems for you are that they don't allow installing apps, so you can't have your banking app, and they are quite expensive.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: privacy, xiaomi
---


# Question
Title: Does Android AOSP communicate with third-parties?
I'm trying to eliminate all Google and Meta services from my digital life. (I don't like their policies.)

So I thought about buying a new smartphone, removing the pre-installed ROM, and installing Android AOSP without Google Gapps.

However, the question I would like to ask is whether programmatically, a lot of information from my AOSP smartphone will communicate some information with Google despite not using their services. Is removing Gapps enough, or could something else be done? Is there empirical evidence in the code that confirms this?

Considering that for web browsing I would mainly use Mozilla Firefox with DuckDuckGo thus avoiding any Chromium-based browser, and for messaging Telegram downloaded from their Website. (I haven't used WhatsApp for several years.)

# Answer
> 4 votes
A very large portion of the applications for Android depend on Google Play Services and Cloud Messaging, *even if you don't want to use a Google account*. AOSP and most alternative "Google-free" Android distros like LineageOS are therefore not very useful for running anything until you install the core Google Apps suite, including Play Services, on them. And then you're back to Google controlling your phone.

Unless you just want to run some unpolished FOSS apps off F-Droid, there are basically two ways out of this that get you near-complete Android app support:

1. microg \- a minimal alternate implementation of Google Play services and other system components, **not controlled by Google**. It will connect to Google services for the purposes of cloud messaging and to login to a Google account if you want to do that (e.g. to use with the GMail app or YouTube app, if you choose to install them, which you can do as normal unprivileged apps). Unfortunately, in order for it to work, the system has to lie to apps that microg is the real Google-signed Play Services, and most popular distros, including LineageOS, refuse to do this, despite it being the right and necessary thing to do. (LineageOS will even ban you from their IRC channel or other support venues just for asking about microg.) If you want to go this route, the easy way that doesn't require lots of hacking and breaking automatic system upgrades is to get the build of LineageOS from microg: https://lineage.microg.org/
2. GrapheneOS has a system whereby, rather than using microg, they sandbox the real Google Play Services to run as a highly restricted normal app rather than a system app. This gets you full functionality, including access to paid apps and in-app purchases, without Google having any control over your device.

# Answer
> 7 votes
> I know the project has always been open-source but recently purchased by Google.

You are mistaken on that point. The original Android, Inc. was founded in 2003 and acquired by Google in 2005. Google develops AOSP as open source, but you can't just install that and go. The reason for that is device drivers: those are almost all proprietary, written by SoC and/or device manufacturers, are not released as open-source, and aren't in AOSP.

If you want an Android-like smartphone OS without Google apps, the easiest way to get that is to pick a device that LineageOS supports, buy one, and put LineageOS on it. You'll find that most of the devices it supports are obsolete: this is because reverse-engineering hardware to write open-source drivers takes time, and nobody gets paid to do it.

There are other custom Android versions, but LineageOS is the most widely used.

Addendum: There are also a few manufacturers who provide their own Google-free alternative ROMs. SHIFT ships their phones with all the Google stuff (as any manufacturer must if their device is certified by Google), but you can download their Google-free ROM directly to the device and use its updater to switch.

The Fairphone 2 had the similar Fairphone Open. That doesn't seem to have been repeated for later models. You can download Fairphone's source and build yourself a new OS, but this is a big job and requires skill.

Further lists of alternative ROMs are here and here.

---
Tags: google, privacy, aosp
---


# Question
Title: How can I configure Android so that Chrome doesn't stop uploading when Chrome doesn't have the focus?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra running Android 13. I am uploading a large video to YouTube via https://www.youtube.com/upload and not the Android YouTube application. I notice that when Chrome doesn't have the focus for a few minutes, it pauses the upload. I have to switch back to Chrome so that it continues the upload. However, I have other things to do on my phone outside Chrome.

How can I configure Android so that when Chrome doesn't stop uploading when it doesn't have the focus?

# Answer
> 0 votes
> How can I configure Android so that when Chrome doesn't stop uploading when it doesn't have the focus?

It seems that keeping the phone on charge seems to mitigate that issue. I've tested that behavior when uploading a large file to https://archive.org/upload/ and the behavior seems rather consistent: Chrome doesn't stop uploading when it doesn't have the focus if the phone is on charge, while Chrome does stop uploading when it doesn't have the focus if the phone is not on charge. I'm not sure if that behavior always happens, but it seems to often happens.

Note that this is a behavior specific to Chrome, as some other apps such as utorrent continue uploading when it doesn't have the focus even when the phone is not on charge.

---
Tags: chrome-for-android, android-13, focus, uploads, samsung-galaxy-s-23
---


# Question
Title: How to inspect any android app's HTTP/HTTPS request using Requestly.io?
Requestly.io currently allows to intersect the HTTP and HTTPS packets if requests are made from google chrome as the SSL certificates can not be installed for "VPN and App".

How to inspect any android app's HTTP/HTTPS request using Requestly.io if the phone is running Android T (13)?

# Answer
To Intercept and modify HTTPs Requests from Chrome, Firefox & Edge browsers, you can use the native browser extensions. You can install them here

To Intercept and modify HTTPs Requests from Mobile Apps, Mobile browsers, or Desktop Apps like Terminal, Slack, etc, you can use the Desktop App.

Once you download the desktop app, Setting up Interception is a two-step process

1. Donwload and Install the SSL certificate generated by the Requestly Desktop app on your Android device
2. Configuring Proxy Settings so that traffic can be passed through the Requestly desktop app installed on your device

To set up interception traffic from Android apps, you can refer to the following

Hope it helps!
> 0 votes

---
Tags: proxy, certificates, https
---


# Question
Title: What all methods can be used for detecting malware on lower partitions where antiviruses cannot reach?
I had bought a used phone from a friend and was facing issues like password changes and media leakage as shown by my other friends

so I scanned using antiviruses like Malwarebytes,Kaspersky,lookout, dr web etc, but it came clean so I then flashed it along with factory reset(only factory reset didn't remove it)i think it's gone, is there any way any way to confirm this? (I think It's a malicious rom that my friend flashed)

But afterwards I think I somehow got reinfected and the above symptoms persist even after I started all services from new accounts

I am running an redmi android 7 so exploits exist, can this be detected and patched? Does it matter if my phone is unlocked if exploits come into play?

I suspect it is either ransomware/stalkerware and I'm getting infected just by visiting a friends profile on Pinterest(suspicious)/Twitter (sus)/Spotify link(clean)

I tried to scan the links using virus total but only got one low suspicious warning saying wiper ransomware seems far fetched but it's the only lead I have so far I did report it but they later confronted me about it, how did they know about me reporting it?

How do I detect malware on lower level partitions where antiviruses cannot reach like system partitions, recovery, bootloader and etc? I know only know of I want to know the source of infection if there is one

What are all the reinfection possibilities other than me doing something obvious?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Once you have flashed it and factory reset it, then it can no longer be infected. Also, if Kaspersky and MalwareBytes can't find anything then

* Either there is nothing to find
* Or your so called friend is a super genius.

If you are getting re-infected then

* You are not running a decent virus scanner
* Or you are installing suspect apps or visiting dodgy sites.

---
Tags: root-access, security, rom-flashing, factory-reset, malware
---


# Question
Title: Can WhatsApp be used without granting contacts permission?
I'm trying to install WhatsApp, but I'm obviously uncomfortable about serving up my entire address book for Facebook to trawl through.

I've found plenty of posts from a few years back saying it is possible, but I'm wondering if something has changed.

On opening the app and going to the 'chats' screen, I'm greeted with a screen saying "To help you message friends and family on WhatsApp, allow WhatsApp access to your contacts" along with a link to open my settings.

If I push the green 'chat' button in the bottom right, I get a popup with the same message. If I hit the 'not now' option, it closes the popup and puts me back on the original screen.

There doesn't seem to be a way forward here. Does this app just strong-arm you into uploading your contacts list in order to use it? Or is it potentially a more phone-specific issue?

# Answer
> 1 votes
The technical answer is no, there is no way to send a message to a new person without giving the app access to your contacts. You can, in certain cases, receive messages, but only if someone else who has allowed WhatsApp full contact access has first added you as a contact on their device.

There are two workarounds:

1. The obvious, though least helpful, solution is to simply use another device and have that device be your WhatsApp device. You give WhatsApp full access to that device's contacts, but have no contacts in it for WhatsApp to siphon clean.
2. Recent versions of Android allow multiple users and allow easy switching between them. Each user is essentially its own self-contained ecosystem with access to its own set of apps, accounts, and permissions. You can have a second user on your phone that has no contacts, so giving Whatsapp on that account access to the contacts is no problem. This is the solution I use.

While it doesn't solve the problem of software vendors using bad faith methods to get inflated permissions, it does limit it. And if enough people take advantage of Android users to contain WhatsApp, then we may see change there.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try installing Shizuku and App-Ops from Play Store. And activate Shizuku using PC or root and activate App-Ops via Shizuku. Then in App-Ops, navigate to WhatsApp, and after pressing it, go to contacts permission and choose to ignore it. This will trick WhatsApp where you have given it contacts permission but with null data.

**OR**

You can just do it via ADB or a rooted terminal in your phone using `adb shell` to access your phone interactive shell and seeing the `$` sign. Then write this code

```
appops set com.whatsapp CONTACTS ignore

```

to ignore contacts permission in WhatsApp where `com.whatsapp` is the WhatsApp package name.

And if you want to chat with someone who is not in your chats, just type the chat link in notes or browser, then open it via WhatsApp. It's something like `https://wa.me/+15555550155` where `+1` is the contact country code (**BECAUSE YOU MUST TYPE THE COUNTRY CODE BEFORE THE NUMBER**). You can also type the country code without the `+` sign as this: `https://wa.me/15555550155`

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Tags: contacts, whatsapp-messenger, permissions
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