# Question
Title: Clone the Andriod version from Samsung to Lenovo?
I bought this Lenovo K10a40, and I bought just problems. This will be a number 2 phone if I can get it work in a reliable state.

I have been looking a little around and if I could downgrade it to clone of the Android 4.2.2 on an old simple Samsung GT-S7580 it would really work as an upgrade. If that is impossible any change to the better would be OK to test. Else the phone is just garbage, I cant trust it.

I am totally green on this, and do not even know how to root a phone. Among the problems with the Lenovo, I got MMS problems, Bluetooth problems, and I miss the native android sip client.

As you understand I need a detailed description of every steps I have to do.

Thank you dsk

# Answer
Android version are always device specific. Therefore you can't use Android from device X and copy/clone it to a different device Y.

The main reason for this is that each Android version contains a number a device drivers for all the different components (graphics chip, GPS, camera, sensors, hardware keys, main CPU). Each driver has to be the correct driver in the correct version configured in a correct way. Otherwise nothing will work

If you have problems with a new Android device there is only one way: Check on https://lineageos.org if there is a custom ROM version for your device. With a little bit of luck such a version exists and there is a way to install it on your devices. Note that installing a custom ROM results in loosing the warranty for your device. If something goes wrong with the installation of the custom ROM there is always the chance to brick the device.
> 2 votes

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Tags: android-versions
---


# Question
Title: How to hide developer option from setting except with clear data or factory reset on android 8.1.0?
I'm using clear data but the developer options is still there, the phone is vivo y81

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can clear the settings through an adb shell. That should hide the developer settings to make it like them hidden like before you enabled them:

`adb shell pm clear com.android.settings`

---
Tags: settings, developer-options
---


# Question
Title: What version of Android starts “Messages for Web” support?
The Messages for Web documentation gives the impression (as does the Chrome OS documentation on the matter) that this feature has been available since Android 1.0 as it lists no "if you have Android greater than". But my LG V20 is running Android 7.0 and in the Messages app under the "More icon" there is no menu item "Messages for web".

# Answer
> 1 votes
The "Messages for web" feature works only with the Messages app created by Google.

The LG V20 runs a custom version of Android with a *customized user interface*. It is not the stock version of Android using only standard Google apps as is shipped on, for example, Google Pixel devices. The manufacturer (LG) will customize and add more features to applications like dialer, messages, camera, themes etc. creating a custom Android version above what Google provides. So, in this case, the Google SMS messaging application has a feature "Messages for web" which has not been implemented in the Messaging app created by LG.

But, you can use this feature by following these steps:

1. Download the Messages app by Google from the Play store.
2. Set the Messages app as the *default messaging app* in Settings.
3. Open Messages app, and tap on three dots on top-right corner (options menu), select 'Messages for web'.
4. QR code window will open, enable camera permission, scan the QR code on the desktop, your messages on android device will be opened on your desktop/laptop.

Note: You can't uninstall the LG provided Messages app as it was installed as a *system app*.

---
Tags: sms
---


# Question
Title: Contacts from removed Google account still appear in Phone app - Android 9
I am currently using a Xiaomi Mi A2 (andoid one) with Android 9. At some point I added another google account to the phone, just to view some mails. After removing this account, the contacts saved to it were removed from the Contacts app, but still appear in the Phone app. I have tried force stopping the Phone app, and clearing the cashe and the storage and also resetting the permissions. Does anyone know what I can do? Is there a way to find out if any contacts are stored in the internal storage do that I can mass delete them?

# Answer
Ok so, moments after I posted this I found the answer and I am posting it in case someone else struggles for some days like I did. I went to the Contacts app, and on the menu I selected All contacts. This way everything appeared and I could just select all that I didn't need and delete them.
> 0 votes

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Tags: 9.0-pie, android-one
---


# Question
Title: "Please sign in using one of the owner's previous accounts for this device."
After resetting my Huawei Honor 8 I'm asked to log into a previously added google account.

I clicked on "I forgot my email" and added my phone number. After this google showed me all the email accounts attached to this phone.

I then tried to log into the account with all of those accounts but I always get the same message: "Please sign in using one of the owner's previous accounts for this device."

This phone has always been mine so the account can't be someone elses.

# Answer
If for sure you have forgotten your primary mail, for as far as I know, there's no guaranteed way of knowing the mail, you should rather prefer bypassing the lock instead of trying to get to remember the mail, here:

At the very beginning from the Welcome panel choose appropriate language.

Afterwards connect your device to one of the available wifi networks.From the Verifying your account panel active the keyboard to input the email.

In the next step press and hold the icon from the left-down corner of keyboard.

As soon as Huawei Swype menu appears on the screen choose the Help.

After that tap Version and the select Swype.

From the text in front of you click the first link and choose Browser.

You can now use the Internet browser. Type in the following phrase in the searcher: download.hardreset.info

Next choose Huawei folder and download Huawei Bypass Google file.

Open the menu of the browser by tapping the Middle key.

Then select Download options.

In the next step open the Bypass application.

When the Install blocked screen appears on the screen choose Unblock.

Afterwards tap Install and accept necessary conditions.

Tap Open icon and Cancel for the Delete installation package.

Excellent! You are right now in the Main screen of your phone.From the main menu choose Settings .

In the next step tap Backup & Reset and select Factory data reset.

Then choose Reset phone, and confirm the whole operation tapping Reset phone again.

Good job! Wait to accomplish the process! This operation removes your Factory Restet Protection.

If incase you switched to another input method. Hard reset the phone again as below:

First of all, hold down the Power key in order to turn off the device.

Next, press and hold the Volume Up + Power button at the same time for a few seconds.

Let go of held keys as soon as the Huawei logo appears on the screen.Then select by using Volume buttons option "wipe data/factory reset", and confirm that with Power button.

Once more choose "wipe data/factory reset" from the menu, and accept it with Power key.

When the Recovery Menu pops up accept option "reboot system now" by using Power button.

Congratulations! You have just performed the hard reset operation

Boot it up and try again the previous procedure to bypass the verification
> 0 votes

---
Tags: factory-reset, huawei, frp
---


# Question
Title: How do I find out what is causing the app "Google" to use so much background data
Even though I have background data turned off, it is using incredibly high amounts of data to the point of being ridiculous. This is starting to cost me money as data is not unlimited in Canada. It's gotten to the point where I can't use data because if I turn it on Google just gobbles it all up. At one point, it was just full tilt downloading/uploading something I have no idea what it would be.

What is causing this and/or how can I turn off background usage for Google for real (obviously the toggle is a placebo)

Screenshots of data usage.

# Answer
> 0 votes
As an update to this: I never figured out the exact problem that caused this. Even after turning off features like google assistant it still continued to use an unusually high bandwidth. The eventual solution was rooting + custom kernel + custom ROMs. I don't have any issues now.

---
Tags: google, data-monitoring, background-data
---


# Question
Title: How can I disabled/lock certain settings components
I'm trying to find a way to disable or lock certain settings components for Android Tablet. We need to protect the tablets from out students pressing un-allowed settings. Kindly assist

We need to hide:
\- Apps
\- Backups & Reset
\- Accounts
\- Accessibility
\- Developer options

Screenshots attached to be more accurate, thank you in advanced?

# Answer
> 0 votes
You could consider using an EMM that supports COPE devices and MDM but that costs per device per month and some technical experience. More info here: https://androidenterprisepartners.withgoogle.com/emm/. If you don't want to pay for an EMM you can use an open source one like WSO2 but you need to set up your own IoT server running 24/7 and you need a good technical background to understand the instructions. Mind you that doesn't prevent students from rooting the phone and uninstalling the app, so you can only really use this method if the students are not too tech-savvy.

---
Tags: root-access, settings, restricted-profiles
---


# Question
Title: OneNote app -> Save images from Notebook to local storage
is there any way in the Android App to save an image from a notebook to local sdcard except for taking a screenshot which in fact gives me a quality loss, especially on detailed high-res pictures?

Thanks!

# Answer
On my OnePlus 6 running latest OneNote from Play Store, when I long-press an image, Gallery is listed as an option. From Gallery you can really do virtually anything, specifically, "sharing" to another app. Then you can find a way to save the image.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: images, microsoft-onenote
---


# Question
Title: How can I control which messages are considered focused, and other in Outlook?
The Focused inbox is handy in Outlook for hiding out all the dross emails like marketing emails, but some emails that require my action are ending up in there, and being missed until I read my email on a desktop PC.

How can I train the system to understand what emails I want to focus on (like invoices due payment) vs. those I don't (like an email inviting me to go to a meetup)?

# Answer
> 2 votes
You need to move the messages (that are important to you) from Other inbox to the Focused inbox. Doing so will allow them, in the future, to be placed in the Focused inbox instead of the Other inbox.

To move a message from the Other inbox to the Focused inbox:

1. Select the Other tab, then long-press the message you want to move.
2. Click the 3-dot on the top right, select `Move to Focused inbox`

---
Tags: outlook
---


# Question
Title: Where is user/group id info stored on Android and how do I interpret it?
I have been wondering for quite some time now; where does Android store it's user and group id information?

For instance, on standard Linux, user and group information is stored in `/etc/passwd` and `/etc/group`, respectively. When you add a user to a group, his or her username/uid gets added to the list of users in that group, for instance the my audio group entry in `/etc/group` looks like this:

```
audio:x:29:pulse,edge-case

```

Where pulse gets mapped to the uid of the pulseaudio daemon and edge-case gets mapped to my uid (1000), on my Linux box.

As I understand it, each app that gets installed on Android gets it's own uid and gid and this is the bases of the "sandboxing" of apps that occurs on Android as they all run in their own process and can't access data of another process or files owned by another app unless there are declaration in a Manifest file created by app programmers which dictates what info is to be shared to other apps and what not. This is also how apps gain or rather request access to networking services during installation by requesting to be added to the INTERNET group or something like that, don't quote me on the name of the NET net group, it might be more like INET or INET6, either way I know there are several levels of network access that can be granted to an application through this mechanism on Android.

My question is, where is this information stored in Android?

Further more, is it possible to modify?

I would like to integrate a glibc stack with it and the data within it in my `/etc/{passwd,group}` files, trust me, they exist on my phone, I even have apt installed with a lot of other goodies.

Update: Have been doing more searches and This might be what I am looking for.

I will need to dig a bit deeper and make sure it is everything I am looking for.

Update: (5:40 June 27 2014)

Since someone thinks I don't know what I am doing or talking about, let me clarify;

User UIDs on Android are offset with 100000 and App UIDs are offset with 10000 when mapped to the user number _ app number, hence when a ps shows something like u0\_a10 which means that User with UID 100000 is running app with UID 10010,

I have pulled UID and user/daemon names from system/core/include/private/android\_filesystem\_config.h and used those to update my /etc/passwd and /etc/group files (On my Android box), for example my /etc/passwd file (on my Android box) looks like this :

```
....
brainard:x:100002:100002:Professor Brainard,0420,,:/home/brainard
:/bin/bash
radio:x:1001:1001::/data/radio:/bin/false
bluetooth:x:1002:1002::/data/bluetooth:/bin/false
graphics:x:1003:1003::/home/graphics:/bin/false
input:x:1004:1004::/home/input:/bin/false
camera:x:1006:1006::/home/camera:/bin/false
log:x:1007:1007::/home/log:/bin/false
compass:x:1008:1008::/home/compass:/bin/false
mount:x:1009:1009::/home/mount:/bin/false
wifi:x:1010:1010::/home/wifi:/bin/false
adb:x:1011:1011::/home/adb:/bin/false
install:x:1012:1012::/home/install:/bin/false
media:x:1013:1013::/home/media:/bin/false
dhcp:x:1014:1014::/home/dhcp:/bin/false
....

```

I have set up configuration in /etc/adduser.conf to create new users like so ( On my Android box) :

```
# FIRST_[GU]ID to LAST_[GU]ID inclusive is the range of UIDs of dynamically
# allocated user accounts/groups.
FIRST_UID=100001
LAST_UID=199999

FIRST_GID=100001
LAST_GID=199999

```

This is in accordance with Android's policy, I let "glibc based" system users still be created from range 100-999 I believe and I modified the audio user on my /etc/passwd and /etc/group files to be of 1005, like it is on Android.

I need to update Android and synchronize it with info regarding my User UIDs as well as with my Daemon or system user UIDs from the glibc stack.

You can read more about this in the book "Embedded Android" by Karim Yaghmour Sold here

My goal is to get programs like nvlc to work but I need to get UIDs and GIDs synchronized so that Android is aware of my users and the groups they belong to so that for instance, my brainard user with have access to the audio devices.

Also I need to inform Android about Postres and it's membership in the network group so that it can open sockets and allow access to databases. I have disabled PARANOID\_NETWORKING in the kernel for the time being, but this hack only serves to make Android as Secure as vanilla Linux, no less. It would be nice to keep the paranoid setting and apply the group permissions to what daemons/users I see fit.

This would make Android a great operating system for public facing servers with such paranoid and fine tuned controls. Imagine having access to Kerberos, LDAP, PAM, or When using you phone as WAP having Radius configured, all of which are available from Debian and other distribution repos free of charge.

I have got this all figured out, I just need to know how to update Android's UID/GID database, which does get updated every time you install an app, so I know it is possible.

Update : (7:08pm June 30, 2014)

After going over the data in the following files ...

```
/data/system/packages.list
/data/system/packages.xml
/data/system/user/userlist.xml
/data/system/user/0.xml

```

... I have updated my question to include "how do I interpret it?"

* I think I am going to need to create a custom PAM module and blend Bionic and Glibc into a single C library, they need to compatible with applications on both sides, no exceptions, expect C++ exceptions that is ;p--- I have written a couple rules of thumb-2 :) for myself to follow. I might also need to write a wrapper to popular package management systems like rpm and apt that fakes an apk installation and gives each new deb|rpm package a UID and maybe just sym-link everything into the FHS. That might be the most ideal solution I could go for, though the most work, as each would need a set of permissions in their "manifest", maybe a menu during install an the user can give and take as needs be.
* Does anyone have a good reference that explains the syntax of these files? I am not very well versed with XML, not to mention it's use usually depends on the application that interprets it.
* I do understand the `packages.list` file with the exception of the `null` entry in the last column, can anyone explain that?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Here my thoughts on how Android implements UID/GID lookup. I hope it will be helpful to anyone who is having the questions.

grp\_pwd.cpp describes how Android translate a UID/username to a `passwd` structure. From the `getpwuid` function we can see that

1. The UID is first compared to the predefined AIDs from `generated_android_ids.h` under `$(AOSP_ROOT)/out/soong/.intermediates/bionic/libc/generated_android_ids/gen` which is generated from android\_filesystem\_config.h according to bionic/libc/Android.bp and bionic/Android.bp. The AIDs are stored in a username to UID map in `struct android_id_info android_ids[]` and when looked up, they are converted to the `passwd` structure with `uid` and `gid` set to AID, home directory set to `/` and shell set to `/system/bin/sh` (code).
2. If no user is found in the previous step, the function will look for OEM defined users. The UIDs of these users range from `AID_OEM_RESERVED_START` to `AID_OEM_RESERVED_END` and `AID_OEM_RESERVED_2_START` to `AID_OEM_RESERVED_2_END`. The vendor-defined users are stored in `/vendor/etc/passwd`. User names are set to `oem_${uid}` and the other attributes are set in the same fashion as the AID users.
3. Finally, it will check all app users in `app_id_to_passwd()` and the process is very similar.

If you wish to get all `passwd` entries, please take a look at `getpwent()` in the same file and also the manpage of getpwent(3)

# Answer
> 1 votes
Seen the `GET_ACCOUNTS` permission? (***Ed. Note:*** That particular feature might not be every useful for this question, either, as it is apparently a feature developed moreso for web authentication.)

Personally, I'm reading about the topic as with regards to UID/GID values computed at time of APK install – presently, as research for a simple 'blog article -- but I would like to study this topic a little further, too. Referring to the reference documentation about these multiply-linked OS features, in Android, it seems there is an *Account Service* in the Android OS. (***Ed. Note*** It may seem, furthermore, that the *Account Service* in Android may be more a service developed for application about an Android user's web accounts)

Though personally I'm preoccupied about writing another article, immediately, but certainly the Account Service may bear some further study. Perhaps it may be relevant, orthogonally, as with regards to applying Kerberos on Android appliances. There is some of an existing work, with regards to implementing Kerberos services on the Android platform. For web apps, of course there's OAuth/OAuth2.

Evidently, Android does not use conventional UNIX passwd/shadow files(Anderson2013). My best estimate, presently, is that the Android OS Account Service may be a topic to a manner of a further study ... at least, so far as to discover that the Android Account Service may be rather a *web authentication* utility(API: AccountManager).

I'm sure there's something more about Android's alternative to `/etc/passwd`, somewhere in the Android source code. Hopefully, it's close to however the same thing might be approached in CyanogenMod.

# Answer
> 0 votes
First of all as you are aware of that the every Application has its own unique PID(Process ID) this PID is assigned to the application by the kernel of the Operating System.

1. In Android ADT you can off course view the PID in the logcat .
2. If you want to view the PID in your device then you need to install an Application from the play store(can't give any guarantee whether the PID displayed by the app is genuine or not)
3. Coming to the modification part is a big No.
4. No you cannot modify the PID as your wish as it will lead to security concerns as well as ambiguity between the apps for another app may have the same PID thereby resulting to Conflict.

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Tags: multi-user
---


# Question
Title: How can I find if I have a rogue background process killing cpu and battery?
On my Android phone (Sony Xperia Z3 Compact), I have a situation where it sometimes goes very sluggish, and the battery drains quickly.

This seems to happen after roughly once a day, and lasts until I restart the phone.

I haven't been able to get any useful info out of the battery info in settings, although the %s there sum to quite a bit less than 100%, so I'm concerned there is some dodgy system process killing my phone.

Is there any way I can get a list of all processes and current cpu usage? I've had a look in the play store but not found any apps that can do this.

# Answer
Enable Developer Options on your phone (usually done by tapping the Build Number in Settings → About phone 7 times) and look for an option named "Running Services" in it. It shows a list of all applications which are running, for how long, and the amount of RAM they are using. If you tap on the app it will also list those services of the app which are running and allows you to force stop each service.
> 2 votes

# Answer
The "Show CPU usage" feature shows an overlay on the screen, listing the processes using CPU, sorted by usage.

Turn it on through "Settings" \> "Developer options" \> "Monitoring": "Show CPU usage". Turn it off when you don't need it, because it takes up a lot of screen space.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Sounds like you have a lot of background activities running, you could just go to

> Settings \> Apps \> Running,

and Force stop the them, or check this 5 best task manager apps for Android

Task managers could help free memory, and kill useless background processes, that make your phone slugglish
> 0 votes

---
Tags: battery, background-process, cpu
---


# Question
Title: Installing TWRP on a Samsung device, no fastboot (using ADB or other ways)
My device (Samsung Galaxy S3 I9300) is not detected by `fastboot` in **Download Mode**, but it is detected properly by `adb`. I want to install TWRP as my device recovery. Is there any way to install it using `adb` instead of `fastboot`?

There is a question about the problem of detection of the device by `fastboot` on this site (which has no working answer yet). But my question is not how to solve that problem. If you like to answer that problem please see this page.

# Answer
There is no fastboot mode on Samsung. You must use the ODIN mode, which is an alternative to fastboot. On Linux there is a client application called Heimdall which talks to phones via Odin mode. So the answer to your question is ODIN or Heimdall. ODIN is the proprietary Samsung PC application, Heimdall is multiplatform open source alternative.

Alternatively, if you are able to root your phone somehow, you can put TWRP (or any other recovery) on your phone by rewriting the recovery partition via shell but this can be tricky and I wouldn't recommend it unless you know exactly what you are doing or willing to risk bricking your phone. If interested, I can write a generic how-to too but I'd rather leave it to someone with more experience on that - I only did it like 5 times.
> 6 votes

# Answer
adb sees your device, so then you can just go from adb to fastboot:

```
adb reboot bootloader

```

Phone may ask if this is OK, voids warranty, blah blah

```
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

```

After flashing recovery, remove battery, then hold the appropriate button combination to boot into (new) recovery. Then reboot into system from the new recovery. Otherwise, unless we reboot into new recovery once, the boot snoopery may replace new recovery with old.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: adb, samsung, recovery-mode, fastboot, flashtool
---


# Question
Title: How do I figure out which version of Android is supported on my device?
I am a Pixel 2 that is running Android version 9.

I also have a much older Nexus tablet. I get an update on my tablet almost every day but it is only for Androids version 5.1++.

Why can't I upgrade to version 9 on my tablet too?

Is there some sort of hardware limitation and if so, how do I figure out what the latest supported version for my device is?

# Answer
> 1 votes
It is not a hardware issue but rather a resource management issue in maintaining a device. Which is evident through custom ROM's they are able to maintain updating Android devices to the current Android version.

Since your device's are maintain by Google you have you recieve the most dependable update schedule with a straightforward device update policy.

Nexus policy:

> Nexus devices get the latest version of Android directly from Google.
>
> If you bought your device from the Google Store, updates will typically reach your device within 2 weeks. If you bought your device elsewhere, updates can take longer.
>
> Nexus devices get Android version updates for at least 2 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store. After 2 years, we can't guarantee more updates.
>
> Security updates Nexus devices get updates for security issues documented in our Public Android Security Bulletins.
>
> Nexus devices get security updates for at least 3 years from when the device first became available on the Google Store, or at least 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device, whichever is longer. After that, we can't guarantee more updates.

({Device then end of update guarantee date}

The first date is:

No guaranteed Android version updates after.

The second date is:

No guaranteed security updates after.

The third date is:

No guaranteed telephone or online support after)

> Nexus 6P
>
> September 2017 - November 2018 - November 2018
>
> Nexus 5X
>
> September 2018 -
>
> November 2018 - November 2018
>
> Nexus 9
>
> October 2016 - October 2017 - October 2017
>
> Nexus 6
>
> October 2016 - October 2016 - October 2017
>
> Nexus 5
>
> October 2015 - October 2016 - October 2016
>
> Nexus 7 (2013)
>
> July 2015 - August 2016 - August 2016
>
> Nexus 4
>
> November 2014 - November 2015 - November 2015
>
> Nexus 10
>
> November 2014 - November 2015 - November 2015
>
> Nexus 7 (2012)
>
> June 2014 - June 2015 - June 2015

`How do I figure out which version of Android is supported on my device?`

One of the benefits of owning a Nexus and/or Pixel is the fact that it is maintained by Google and all firmware is freely available. You can verify what official Android version you device can be updated too by simply go to Googles developer factory image repository.

`Why can't I upgrade to version 9 on my tablet too?`

After your nexus stops recieving official Android updates it does not mean your device cannot be upgraded to a newer android version. The great thing about open source is anyone can utilize the the source code to develope updated Android version devices that are no longer officially supported by the OEM.

The Nexus is a very developer friendly device. The possibility of getting the up to date Android version are higher through a custom ROM. For example I have a nexus 7 (2013) Flo. I am running a custom Android 8.1 ROM. Iin the process compiling and updating things. Trying getting things to hopefully work with android 9 pie for my nexus.

---
Tags: updates
---


# Question
Title: Is there a reasonably straightforward way to download videos from proprietary web browser players?
I have a Samsung SM-P900 tablet that I bought specifically to watch professional education videos during a long commute. Unfortunately almost immediately after that the videos I want to watch the most, generally relating to statistics and R programming and hosted on the RStudio website, switched from an easily downloadable format to hosting via the Wikia media player. I have been able to download a handful since then by looking at the page code, but it is a lot of work and the rules keep changing, and I have not been able to download the more recent videos to either my tablet or Windows machine with any amount of effort. I've faced similar problems with the JW Player and a few others. All of these videos are free and I want to download them solely for my own use.

My question: Is there a reasonably straightforward way, perhaps involving an app, of capturing such videos that works consistently over time and across players? It seems like there's got to be a way to interpose a (software) recording device between the player and the screen, but I have not found it. It might need to reassemble streaming video from the pieces that arrive.

My OS is the Resurrection Remix versin of Android 7.1.2.

# Answer
> 0 votes
'Easier' solution: have you tried Firefox on Android and the myriad of video downloader add-ons you can get there? One of them might work. I don't have the time to test them all now but let us know if one works.

'Harder' solution: I tried digging around on that site you gave, on a desktop you just need to fire up dev tools and look for the first .bin file in the network tab (once you start playing the video) then throw it into `youtube-dl [url]`. Tip: use the search filter to find it. I feel there might be some way to automate this with a Python script or similar.

https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/

---
Tags: browser, downloading, video-recording, video-streaming, browser-add-ons
---


# Question
Title: Javascript not loading in browser(Miui10 Global8.9.6 beta_Redmi note4)
I had written a custom HTML/javascript application and wanted to run it in a android browser on my Redmi Note4.

Firstly I activated javascript in all the browsers (MIUI default browser,chrome,firefox).Then,I tried opening the file directly from the file manager,but it only loaded html but not javascript.

Afterthat ,I pasted the file path

> content://com.mi.android.globalFileexplorer.myprovider/external\_files/...

in the browser but even in this case only html was recognised but not javascript.However as seen from this forum thread here,this solution has worked on other phones. Is there any way to detect javascript in MIUI10 OS?

# Answer
Apparently,the Redminote4 file manager doesn't recognise the link between separate html/css/javascript files(even though it get's perfectly recognised in a desktop environment).

The only option left is to embed all your html/css/javascript code into one large html file(not a good practise!) and open this file directly from the file manager.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: javascript, miui-10, redmi-note-4
---


title: Lost play store

text:
# Question
Title: Lost play store
I was trying to fix the 491 issue and apparently followed badadvice uninstalled and the entire Play Store app disappeared from my phone I can't seem to get it reinstalled help please

# Answer
> 1 votes
You may have disabled it. Please make sure you don't find Google Play Store in Settings\>Apps and get back to us!

---
Tags: google-play-store
---


title: Desyncing android phone from google

text:
# Question
Title: Desyncing android phone from google
We set up our daughters new phone using my husband google account. He turned off the sync for contacts on just her phone because she doesn’t need all his contacts. Several days later most of his contacts were deleted and ones that he had deleted off his phone were now back on his phone. How can he keep his contacts on his phone and not on our daughter phone

# Answer
> 1 votes
The easiest way to do this is open a new account for your daughter. If you want your daughter to have access to apps puchased by your husband, have a read on how to share the apps with family here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/search?hl=en&q=Family&from\_promoted\_search=true

---
Tags: google-account
---


# Question
Title: problem opening normal boot after TWRP install on nokia 3
by using sp flash tool i installed TWRP on nokia 3 phone and using fastboot loader i can open TWRP but i can not normal boot , when trying to boot normally only android logo appears. Is it possible to open in normal boot.

# Answer
As you have install the custom recovery following reasons may cause problem-

1. Wrong version of twrp.
2. Wrong size of twrp recovery because some mediatek processors support 7mb of recovery.

So as you mentioned after installing twrp recovery device won't boot into system and it stuck on boot logo see the following guide to fix-

1. download stock rom of your device.
2. flash recovery.img from stock rom with sp flash tool as you flash twrp recovery.
3. This will return your device recovery mode to stock recovery form.
4. Now you can perform normal boot and your device won't stuck at logo.

Extra tips-

* try to find the right version of twrp recovery, unlock the bootloader and if won't find the twrp recovery for your device just build it yourself take help from Google hope it helps good luck.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: twrp, nokia-3
---


# Question
Title: Does Android have a terminal like Window's Run?
I have often hated the idea of looking for apps among tons of glossy icons and running them that way. I wonder if there is a terminal capability in Android like that of Linux or Windows (Run window) for faster and more seasoned app access. Is such a thing in Android inherently?

# Answer
Yep there is this

You can use the following command to run apps

`am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n package/class_fullname`
> 0 votes

# Answer
I recommend using Termux. You can find it on Play Store. I find it better than Terminal Emulator because it has a rich repository from which you can download a lot of useful programs. I had no idea what Bash Script, Unix, Linux commands were or how to use them. After playing with Termux for 1-2 years (in my own rithm and just with stuff I want curious about plus experimenting), I saw some advanced bash scripting videos on YouTube and I was like : Hey I knew that! Thank you Termux :) Mainly you need root for a lot of the things (playing with system files), but you can do a lot of other things as well, without it. Finding duplicate files, listening to online radio, downloading videos, you can even play some text based games :) If you know terminal commands well (linux, unix, Android) you will soon discover that you know a bit of coding as well :D
> 0 votes

---
Tags: terminal
---


# Question
Title: Bypassing VPN restriction in another app
I want to know if its possible to trick this app "Diitalk" into either thinking I am in US or blocking it from knowing that my VPN is working cuz if I dont have a US based IP, it wont let me use the US based number.

*(Click on image to enlarge)*

Can this be done on the android device itself without having to use a VPN router or any other device?

*(Click on image to enlarge)*

# Answer
> 1 votes
VPN detection is usually done on server side.

Diitalk simply has to check your IP and compare it to a list of IP ranges by common VPN providers. If the IP is in the IP range of a known VPN provider it blocks you. This is known as blacklisting.

Therefore the highest change to bypass such a VPN check is to use a custom server and install your own VPN on it. If the server's IP is not in a range used frequently for VPN your VPN may stay undetected.

However the service you are trying to use may use a different VPN detection technique, like whitelisting. The IP ranges from US telecomunication providers are known and one can simply check if the IP is within a range or not. In such a case any VPN provider or self-installed VPN will fail.

---
Tags: vpn
---


# Question
Title: How can I tell if my Samsung S7 supports connecting to a wired ethernet via a usb OTG cable?
I want to connect my Samsung S7 to a wired ethernet connection using something like this usb micro \> Ethernet hub

Their instructions say to look for Ethernet option under Settings\> Networking But I see not such option.

Folks are reporting that the Samsung does not support wired connections

# Answer
> 1 votes
Like any other computer system Android also requires a driver for talking to a device.

However unlike regular PCs you can't just install a driver, instead you only have the drivers the manufacturer included when building the Android system.

In a terminal or on an `adb shell` you can list all the drivers that were included in your kernel:

```
ls /system/lib/modules

```

If the list contains for example the driver `usbnet` there is a chance that an USB Ethernet adapter may work.

---
Tags: 7.0-nougat
---


title: Listening to in-app triggers

text:
# Question
Title: Listening to in-app triggers
How can we listen for and record in-app events? I've been searching the net for some time without the slightest hint. Bellow are my case specific details for clarity, (though maybe I should be ashamed).

The reason I ask is because I want to create a macro bot that would play a complicated mobile game or at least automate it further. (I am new to scripting with basic knowledge of Java.)

This mmorpg is very much automated. However too much choice is in the hands of the player in order to use user prompts (like touches, swipes and time intervals) for triggers. The conditional clauses must depend on the dynamic state of the game server if the script is to be "smart."

So the question is how to listen for in-app events? How do we pick up the important triggers (timers, health bars, presence of NPC or player) from the noise in order to model the gameplay?

(This should be possible since people sell successful bots, nicely packaged, linked to a license server and with an intuitive front end.)

# Answer
There are some possibilities, however both a far beyond scripting and falls more into the development section:

1. Check the network traffic. If it is an online game it has to receive and send data to the server. If you can sniff that data you know in what state the game is
2. An app with root permission can get access to the memory of another app. If you know where to look you can find all the data the app contains in it's memory and therefore get info on the game state.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: automation, scripts
---


# Question
Title: How to Set App-Specific notifications/vibrations?
I recently switched from an iPhone to a Galaxy S8, and with the iPhone I was able to set app-specific notification sounds and vibration patterns (1 for texts, another for email, another for group messages, and so on).

Is this possible within the Android OS?

# Answer
You can go to *Settings→Notifications→App from List*

Be sure not to press the slide check, otherwise that turns off notifications.

If the notification has a sound, it will say something like "Make sound", then you can change it from the default. If not it will say "No sound".
> 0 votes

---
Tags: notifications
---


# Question
Title: Have oem unlocking option available in nokia 3 ,do i have to unlock bootloader?
there are guides on rooting and it first requires to unlock bootloader on nokia3, at first i did do it but due to some issue i had flash firmware ,after flashing back there was a option available of oem unlocking . So do i have to unlock bootloader even if i had oem unlocking option available in settings and also can you tell on starting device i get red state warning is it a big issue or should i ignore it.

# Answer
> 1 votes
That option does not do the unlocking itself – it just prevents it (when toggled off) or permits it (when toggled on). So yes, even with this option present, if you want to have the bootloader unlocked while it isn't, you will have to run `fastboot oem unlock`*after* permitting it here.

---
Tags: bootloader, 7.1-nougat, nokia-3
---


title: Screenshot as PNG instead of JPEG?

text:
# Question
Title: Screenshot as PNG instead of JPEG?
Is there a way to teach a Samsung Galaxy S9+ with Android 9 (Pie) to generate screenshots as PNG files instead of JPEG files? I was looking for such a configuration option (in Settings) but came up empty-handed.

My device isn't rooted and I'd like to avoid rooting, if possible.

**NB:** My question is somewhat related to this one, but I am indeed looking for a way to revert to PNG as a lossless default format, so I'd hold *this* is not a duplicate. I also scoured questions on the tag, but nothing useful there either.

# Answer
Unfortunately I also don't know a way how to configure the format used by the system screenshot function that can be triggered via **Volume-Down + Power**.

However if you can trigger your screenshots via adb and the `screencap` command let you choose which image format is used. You can select if by the file extension:

```
screencap /sdcard/screenshot1.png

```

If you don't use a .png file extension you seem to get the raw pixel data with a small header in front containing width, height, pixel-format and the color-space (SRGB, DISPLAY\_P3 or UNKNOWN).
> 4 votes

---
Tags: screenshots, samsung-galaxy-s-9
---


title: Creating a bootable USB through android

text:
# Question
Title: Creating a bootable USB through android
Is there any way to create a bootable USB (not turn your android device into a bootable USB), with an OTG USB stick through android?

I do not have a laptop to do this on, as the one I need (the one i need to bootable USB for, and the one i need to fix)no longer has an OS installed nor a CD drive. So any help would be much appreciated.

I am aware of the app to turn your android device into a bootable USB, but that does not work in my case.

# Answer
Based on the discussions with OP, he has

* Broken Win 10 machine, unable to get into OS
* Rooted Android

He wants to

* Extract Data from the Win machine
* Install OS

**Solution**

> DriveDroid allows you to boot your PC from ISO/IMG files stored on your phone. This is ideal for trying Linux distributions or always having a rescue-system on the go... without the need to burn different CDs or USB pendrives

* From the developers XDA thread, download *Hiren's boot CD* (for windows) - link in OP into the Android device
* Enter BIOS of your machine and set the Boot order to boot from USB as first choice ( key combination would be based on the machine and Google can help)
* Connect Android to device and boot, device will recognised and a temporary Win environment Win XP / 7 can be created. Connect an external drive and transfer files to drive

**Above based on my personal experience in getting data out of dead Win XP**

**Installing new OS**

* In my case, CD was working so I installed OS again
* One of the reviews ( by Steffen Mossefin) claims he was able to do that using this app.

**Edit::** *Help* section of app suggests ways of installing windows using this app by creating bootable USB drives, which of course need access to another PC - not tried this
> 2 votes

# Answer
ISO to USB app does the work same as rufus for windows
> 1 votes

# Answer
Use ZArchiver (Play Store link) to extract ISO to USB. In BIOS open EFI boot file present in USB (options like in HP: Run UEFI application). Once boot menu opens, install/recover Windows.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: stock-android, android-device-manager
---


# Question
Title: I am trying to move a file from sdcard to another device folder and it fails with error that file is not there, but it is!
I am trying to move a file from `/sdcard` to another device file and I am getting the following:

`mv: bad 'xxxxxxxx.0': No such file or directory`

while `ls -l` shows the file in directory.

The device is physical one, not an emulator and it is rooted. Why is this happening? `file <file>` confirms this is an ASCII file. I know cases that this was happening when someone was trying to move 32bit binary to 64bit device, but this is just an ASCII text file.

# Answer
Answering to my own question, the reason for that error is that I tried to move the file from an absolute path instead of a relative one, /sdcard instead of sdcard.

Using relative path worked.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: file-system
---


# Question
Title: My locations on my google timeline are showing places i never been,and now my bf thinks im cheating
My bf went on my locations timeline and its showing I been to places when I never left the house and it says i drove this long and how long it took and shows a map of the streets I took but I never left the house and they are all in different cities. How is this possible also my ex and I had our emails hooked up so I thought that could be a reason but then seeing it was my house as the start location or the end kocationt I was so confused because once again I never left the house to go anywhere. Someone please help Im sick and tired of telling him I went nowhere.

# Answer
> 0 votes
It maybe cause because your Gmail account is signed into the multiple devices may person from those who have logged in with your account cause for this misunderstanding that he went somewhere and his device is tracked with it or it might be some misunderstanding that he had seen someone likes you and followed her as he was thinking that she was you in relationship their are lot of factors like this and it might not technical questions.

---
Tags: location-services
---


# Question
Title: How to move Apps to SD on the LG P-705 with Android 4.0?
I can move apps manually or progammatically on my Samsung Galaxy Ace 1, but on my LG P-705 with newer android version there is no such an option. Apps like App2SD don't work as well.

Why does LG P-705 Android 4.0 Smartphone not have a move to SD feature?

# Answer
First, you should root your smartphone. Then, use Link2SDapp. Then, move the app to the SD card.
> 0 votes

# Answer
first of all, you should root your phone, follow this link to find out how you can root your phone : ONE CLICK ROOT YOUR LG LG-P705 then you can use this apps to move your apps too your SD card : APP2SD 3 or AppMgr Pro III
> 0 votes

---
Tags: 4.0-ice-cream-sandwich, app2sd
---


# Question
Title: iPhone/Android Nearby Filesharing Systems Across Platforms
In the past, I have been excluded from group chats, denied entry into groups and overall discriminated against because I have an Android while almost everyone I know has an iPhone. I have been trying to find ways to integrate iPhone and Android functionalities, to bring the two platforms closer together. I had found the app "WeMessage" that would allow an Android user to use iMessage, but I haven't set it up yet. Next, I wondered if there was a way to send and receive using the iPhone's AirDrop functionality on an Android. My phone, a Huawei Mate SE, has a function called Huawei Share, but it only works with other Huawei phones. So does anyone know how AirDrop works or how one could use a nearby filesharing system across platforms?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Currently, it is not possible as AirDrop uses Bluetooth to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between the devices. But here are some ways Android and iPhone/iOS users can share files with each other:

```
1.Use email
2. Use an app to share locally Like Zapya or Shareit
3. Use an app to share semi-locally
4. Use an online file-transfer service

```

Or you can jailbreak you i-device then use your Bluetooth connection to share data between i-devices and others.

---
Tags: bluetooth, ios, file-sharing
---


# Question
Title: Cannot log into the WiFi due to blocked website called hla2.safemovedm.com
I just got a new LG G3 running android 5.0. On my schools WiFi, there are blocked websites. When I try to connect to the school WiFi, it comes up with a terms and conditions screen (like the ones you see at Starbucks or other free WiFis), but it says that I am trying to access a blocked website called `hla2.safemovedm.com`.

I can bypass this by getting one of the teachers to log me into their administrative accounts, but I don't want to have to do this every time. Is there a fix for this?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Do you have an app installed called 'Hotspot Login Assistant'? It appears as though it could be related to an app that attempts to log you into hotspots automatically.

I've found several sites on the safemovedm.com domain which imply that this is caused by 'Hotspot Login Assistant'.

# Answer
> 1 votes
The app that makes calls to this site from my phone is the "Sprint Connections Optimizer" which is my phone company's network spy. If your service provider is Sprint then this is definitely your problem. It was tracking all my wi-fi connections in hopes of creating a dynamic map of networks to the benefit of Sprint, from which to steal bandwidth rather than giving me the unlimited access to their data network for which I have explicitly prepaid.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Solved by going to setting/data and deselecting the connection opptimizer

# Answer
> -1 votes
I downloaded an app called Hotspot Shield.
All you need to so is start it and while on your school's wi-fi, it will unblock everything.

**NOTE:** This app uses alot of data so make sure you are connected to wi-fi first.

---
Tags: wi-fi, lg-g3
---


# Question
Title: How to remove a persistent malware that downloads unwanted apps?
Some months ago, I purchased an Azumi cell phone from an official store in a shopping mall in Mexico and subsequently discovered its firmware contains a ton of malware. The malware connects with a server in China and downloads a load of malicious apps which then launch automatically and eventually render the phone so slow as to be unusable.

I have just done a factory reset for the fifth time and expect it to run smoothly for a few weeks until the problems return. I tried installing a new ROM but it did not resolve the problem, possibly because the malware is hidden inside a partition.

I am not at all literate with Android, but am willing to learn and do whatever is necessary to fix this phone. Can someone advise or point me in the right direction?

If I need to root it, how can I do this safely, and how can I locate the offending malware? What diagnostic tests can I perform to learn more about the problem? And if it's easier to flash a new system, what is the most effective way to do this, and where can I locate a reliable ROM?

# Answer
The app - NoRoot Firewall can be very useful for preventing unwanted malware / adware related app downloads. Cheap phones, tablets (particularly phones off the grey market) typically experience this issue.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: malware, system-apps
---


# Question
Title: Where are Chrome Settings Stored in Android 4.4.2
I am configuring a lot of devices and one thing we have to do is turn off Autofill in Chrome. Is there a way to drop a settings file in a folder that contains this setting or do we have to manually go in and turn it off through Chrome settings?

I'm sure this will require root access but is there a settings.xml file or something where this information is stored?

# Answer
I finally rooted a device to determine the exact location. There is a Preference file located in the following directory.

```
/data/data/com.android.chrome/app_chrome/Default

```

This Preference file stores the settings. Unfortunately, you can't write to it without Root access.
> 1 votes

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


# Question
Title: Permissions for apps from unknown sources
When installing an app from unknown sources, does it have to ask for specific permissions like regular apps or is every permission granted by default?

# Answer
> 1 votes
What permissions are granted is not depending on the source. If you sideload apps directly on the device via "unknown sources" (e.g. by using a third-party market app such as F-Droid or Aptoide), Android's package installer will pop up and ask you to confirm, showing basically the same permission list Playstore shows (i.e. a quite abbreviated) for the "all-or-nothing" part (i.e. permissions that cannot be granted at runtime). Runtime permissions are then asked the same way as with all other apps, whenever you use a functionality needing them.

The first confirmation is only skipped if you install apps via `adb install` or `adb pm install`. Runtime permissions will always be dealt with in the very same way: whenever needed.

---
Tags: unknown-sources
---


title: Play store error #963

text:
# Question
Title: Play store error #963
I have a Xiaomi redmi note 4, last week, I flash super su with TWRP, I change the sd mount to EXT4 because I have a problem, but is solved, and I wipe data. When I reboot the phone to system, all is OK, but I can't install any apk from play store, I get the error 903. I try to wipe data, wipe play store cache, uninstall the updates, reinstall play store, wipe data of google play services, etc... But nothing works. Right now im using Aptoide, please help, thanks you.

# Answer
> 2 votes
When using the methods reported by @Izzy, none of them solved the issue on my Galaxy On7, rooted to work with Android Pie (9), LineageOS 16 flavour -- using an SD Card as adopted storage.

Here is what I did:

1. After enabling Developer Options, I checked the option "Force Allow apps on external"
2. Cleared the play store data;
3. Rebooted the device

Now all apps on playstore, which I had forcibly moved to the sd card with Titanium Backup, are able to be updated with no issues.

Hope this helps

# Answer
> 0 votes
The complete error message reads:

> {App Name} could not be downloaded due to an error (963).

(just writing this for the benefit of those who cannot understand the language in your screenshot). According to this post on Google's product forum, there are multiple approaches to solve the underlying issue:

1. uninstall updates of the *Google Play Store* app
2. clearing cache and data of the *Google Play Store* app
3. unmount and remount the SD card
4. using the sd card as internal storage (see: )
5. moving apps which are installed on the card to internal storage
6. remove the Google account from the device and then add it back

Detailed instructions for each of those methods can be found behind the link above.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I have found that if you move or delete a large file (or a few small ones) then you should be able to download and install the app. This has worked for me and works for all of the 900-1000 error codes. I have not encountered all of them so it might not work for some but it does work for this one.

To move correctly Just move a file to a different storage to the instalation storage.

To move a file go into settings》Storage》Applications (or another catagory)》X》Storage Then press change to successfully move a file

X=File of choice

---
Tags: google-play-store, google-play-services, xiaomi, miui
---


# Question
Title: Should Android kernel version date match the release date?
In the process of checking the settings on my Sony Xperia XA I came across the Linux Kernel information. Version 3.18.35 was released in June 2016 but the date shown is from 2017:

```
3.18.35+
BuildUser@BuildHost #1
Fri Sep 15 05:31 CST 2017

```

Is it normal for the date shown here to be later than the release date? I assume it may represent the last automatic update. Also, what does the + sign mean next to the version number?.

I have no idea what BuildUser@BuildHost is but I am hoping someone can reassure me that it is normal for Sony phones :-)

# Answer
To create the kernel for your phone, Sony downloaded Linux 3.18.35 (released June 2016), modified it to include your device’s drivers and built¹ it on the 15th of September. The date you are seeing in version information is the build date, not the release date, of your device’s kernel.
The plus means changes to the code of the kernel were made without being committed to the git² version control system. (read this answer for more info)
Lastly, `BuildUser@BuildHost` means that the kernel was compiled by a user called BuildUser on a machine called BuildHost.

¹ Or *compiled*, which means converting from human-readable C code to processor-runnable machine code
² A version control system. After editing code, you commit it to your local *git repository* to make a record of the changes you made. Then you sync it to the central git repository so your team members receive the changes you made.
> 1 votes

---
Tags: kernel, date-and-time
---


# Question
Title: control per app internet (non-rooted) while using actual VPN?
I am trying all sorts of (non-root) security software that allows me to block internet for apps. so far every one needs some kind of fake VPN to gain access to traffic, I guess so no root is needed. I can't have this since I use an actual VPN which gets turned off if I use any of these security apps. is there no way to block internet for apps while using my VPN?

# Answer
> 1 votes
This is possible since Android 8 (when Block connections without VPN feature was added), also you will have to use VPN app which supports Per-App VPN (which is supported since Android 5.0?) e.g. OpenVPN for Android from F-Droid or Google Play.

Assuming you use OpenVPN for Android:

1. System settings → VPN → tap button with gear icon on the right side of OpenVPN for Android → enable both Always-on VPN and Block connections without VPN.
2. OpenVPN for Android → tap button with pencil icon on desired profile → swipe to ALLOWED APPS tab → select apps you want to exclude from using VPN → return to main screen → re/connect to VPN using this profile

This was tested on MIUI device, but I think should be pretty much the same on majority of devices (except those whose manufacturers removed or hid Android's default functionality from ROM (like Huawei from EMUI)). Also per app internet control access is built-in by default in MIUI.

# Answer
> 0 votes
I don't think it's possible as per this answer: In Android 6, how to deny an app permission to access the network?. To summarise the network permission is classified as 'normal' so it is automatically granted and can't be removed. However you can *try* to revoke the `INTERNET` permission using adb.

`adb shell pm revoke com.name.app android.permission.INTERNET`

I'm 99% sure it won't work, but can't test right now, on mobile. Unfortunately that means a VPN firewall or root + iptables firewall are your only options.

# Answer
> -3 votes
You can try NetGuard, the non-root firewall for Android smartphones. It can help you in restricting the net usage per app.

---
Tags: security, vpn, firewall
---


# Question
Title: Could someone have installed a ROM virus on my Xperia XA?
I posted this question over at XDA forum but I hope someone here may be able to help.

I recently went on vacation and left my Xperia XA F3111 at home. Someone had access to it for over 2 weeks and installed some spyware on it.

When I found out I factory reset the phone but I am worried he may have flashed the phone with a malware-infested ROM which will survive a reset. He had access to the phone for a long time and I am sure he knows someone who knows how to hack phones.

My phone settings say "Bootloader unlock allowed = No" which I believe (rightly or wrongly) means he could not root the phone or install a custom ROM?

Anyway, I am hoping someone can tell me if there was any way he could have bypassed this setting, unlocked the bootloader, flashed an infested ROM and re-locked the bootloader?

If this is possible, is there a guide that would help me do the same thing and re-flash the phone with a clean stock Sony ROM?

It's a nice phone, but at the moment I can't take the risk that it has been poisoned so it may well be heading for the recycle bin.

# Answer
If the settings say that bootloader unlocking is not allowed, it is impossible to unlock the bootloader, even if you wanted to. If you want to make extra sure your device is not compromised, dial `*#*#7378423#*#*`, go 'Service Test', 'Security' and check if all lines say `[Key Ok]`.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: rom-flashing, rom, sony-xperia, virus
---


# Question
Title: how can I prevent apps from immediately connect upon wifi connection
I often have to connect to public wifi networks, and upon connecting (automatically or otherwise), several apps will immediately connect to their host server and start exchanging data. How can I make sure that those apps will not start anything until I have my VPN turned on ? Even if I have my VPN auto-connecting, there is still a \[sometime longer\] delay during which other apps will start "chatting" on the net..........

I'd like to be able to give the go before apps automatically connect to the net. Some will let me configure a "connect on demand" but most will connect whenever they can.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Since Android 8 there's built-in option Block connections without VPN in VPN settings.

In other case you may use AFWall+ (root required) from F-Droid or Google Play to allow apps to connect to internet only through VPN (only paid version supports VPN).

# Answer
> -1 votes
You can do that by "Force stop" apps from app manager before connecting to wifi network that will prevent apps bring in background until you open them. Only that will be pain in the ass process because you will need to do that for every app you want to prevent using wifi until connect to vpn. You can try geenify or some app to stop background processes if you have a lot of apps.

# Answer
> -3 votes
Go to settings, then click WiFi or WLAN Then press the extra option button,then you click advanced setting , then switch off scanning always be avaliable. It will prevent any app from using wifi.

If that doesn't work switch on app permission an deny all apps wifi access.

If it doesn't work, I suggest you see a phone technician.

---
Tags: wi-fi, vpn
---


# Question
Title: ES File Explorer "Save to" doesn't work with Google Drive; "That operation is not supported"
Trying to move a downloaded Google Drive file to the SD storage on my tablet.

1. Select the file in Drive
2. Choose "Send File" from the ... menu
3. Choose "Share with ES Save To.."
4. Choose path and Select
    * Result: "This operation is not supported".

What does *that* mean? Is it a bug in Google Drive or a bug in ES File Explorer or a bug somewhere else?

P.S. Android 5.1.1 on Nexus 7 tablet (the original version) and yes, all of the above software has been kept up-to-date.

# Answer
ES Explorer cannot handle `content://` URIs.
> 2 votes

# Answer
Expanding user136964's answer, when you try to send a file from Drive, the URI (i.e **path**) of the file is passed to the app in this format:

```
content://com.google.android.apps.docs.storage.legacy/hashed_name

```

Take note that it's not a direct path to the file (not `file://root/folder/file.ext`), but a path to content provider. A resource inside content provider cannot be accessed directly, and any apps have to manually handle the given path according to its structure to get the resource (or in this case, **the file**).

ES File Explorer doesn't handle `content://` URI, and thus fails to get the real file.

---

WhatsApp and Terminal Emulator also fail to handle it. On the other hand, Yahoo Mail and Google Inbox handle it properly and attach the real file without any problem
> 2 votes

# Answer
This is a bug in es file explorer and android one work around is to print as a pdf file (if you dont need to edit) pref use adobe pdf and then it will give you options where to save, default is download, avoid this as it may not be moveable , just click on top left menu and you will have options to save to sd card or internal storage locations.

If you want other file formats not a pdf print then you will have to send to a pc via share by email, blootooth, LAN or via a cloud server like drive. Once on a pc you can the release it from Android and then move it direct to your android desired folder of choice either by ideally usb or back through a cloud server under a different file code like mx doc or the original.

ES file xplorer used to allow it but they've fallen under Google control who want you to use their cloud drive, they detest people using sd storage and want control over all your data

1 for spying and information gathering 2 ultimately when enough critical mass of info is stored on drive, they can start charging you for it
> 2 votes

# Answer
guys, guys... When you use ES File Explorer to copy data to a location, a pop-up is displayed on screen to show details of the transfer progress. IF in your phone, the app permission 'enable / show popups' is not granted, ES File Explorer will not even begin a transfer operation. Simple. So go to "Other permissions" settings for the app and enable / grant "Display pop-up window" for ES to permit the copy of files.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: google-drive, share-menu, es-file-explorer
---


# Question
Title: Install older version of apk on to newer installed version or root SH-06E 1.00.08
Is it possible to install an older version of an app (via `.apk`), when a newer version is already installed on the device – without rooting and patching system with Lucky Patcher or previously uninstalling the newer version?

### Some background

This may be a weird question. I'm having the situation that I want to root Sharp SH-06E firmware 1.00.08, as described in this blog post.

Firmware newer than 1.00.07 has new root protection. This new root protection involved preventing installation of hacked `VpnFaker.apk` to data partition. Hacked VpnFaker is required for rooting process. The blog says that root is possible if VpnFaker is already installed (used to root on firmware older than 1.00.08), but VpnFaker in data partition on my phone is removed during firmware update. (I was on 1.00.01, root, then unroot to update firmware)

Sharp has a lot of root protection, even on firmware older than 1.00.08, the rooting process uses a workaround that mounts system image file in data partition on boot instead of directly writing file to system partition.

VpnFaker is indeed VpnDialogs of Android System 4.0.4, while newer version installed in system partition is version 4.2.2-1.00.08.

### Final question

So, is there a way to sign 4.0.4 VpnFaker to have the same signature as 4.2.2 VpnDialogs. Here is the link to the files.

# Answer
> 2 votes
Your ending question differs in a little but significant point from your introductionary question. But let's go step by step:

Sure it's possible to *install* an older version of an app over an already installed newer version. For a user app:

1. make sure you've permitted installation from (see its tag-wiki for details)
2. open/launch the `.apk` file using a file manager, web browser, or similar
3. the package installer should fire, asking you if you want to replace the installed app by this "older version".

But be aware that though installation most likely succeeds, the app *might* experience problems if the newer version e.g. had updated the structure of its database (I had this only once yet, and the affected app just force-closed when trying to start it). If in such a case you insist on using the old version, the only way to make it work is to clear its cache and data.

---

Now to your final question. This is not just about *installing* an older version, but about *signing* it. Yes, that can be done as well. You've simply got to ask the developer of the original app to give you his signing key. Trouble is, his answer will (and should) be "no". Alternatively, you might give him the files and ask him to sign them with his key. Assuming it's the manufacturer's company behind it, the expected answer again is a "no", though.

---

So your real question rather reads:

> I've got an app already installed on my device. Is it possible to install a different (older) version of it which has a different signature – without rooting and patching system with Lucky Patcher or previously uninstalling the newer version?

The answer is: No, that's not possible:

* Signature check will fail, so you'd have to uninstall the app first when using the "normal approach" as shown above
* Overriding this signature check without root IMHO is not possible
* Changing the signature to match IMHO is not possible unless you've got the developers key

# Answer
> 2 votes
Answer is Yes : https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/root-appdowner-downgrade-apps-easy-t2828705

You *can* downgrade your apps (install lower version over actual (higher) version of app) using android feature "pm install -r -d file.apk" , small and simple app which does everything for you. Just pick APK and click on Install APK. That's it.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can downgrade your app easily by apk file from only 2 simple commands in windows. But there are some prerequisites to it.

* Have a computer.
* Adb should be installed in the system.
* Enable developer option, usb debugging and install via USB option in
setting. just go through the internet you will understand how can you set these developer option.

Then make sure adb connection is there to the device, and run following commands. Example of windows system:

```
adb push C://path_to_the_app//app.apk /sdcard/app.apk

adb shell pm install -r -d /sdcard/app.apk

```

This downgrades your application to whatever the apk version you have, keeping all the previous data of your app.

Note: Setting up adb and developer option is easier so you can just find it out in internet.

---
Tags: root-access, installation, apk
---


# Question
Title: Why does Google Messages (SMS/MMS) app lose phone number?
I've been using Google Messages since it released a year or two ago on the same phone.

Suddenly, three days ago the app popped up a message and said, "Your phone number isn't available in the settings for this app. Do you want to add it?"

I added the number (see snapshots below for how to get to settings in Google Messages).

**App Forgets Phone Number**

However, (even though I've added the number) each time I turn my phone off (for example, at the end of each day) the data seems to be lost because when I turn my phone on again and Google Messages app starts again then the number shows as UNKNOWN again.

**Doesn't Know Who I Am**

When the app starts and doesn't have the phone number filled out, it sends the messages I send to myself also.

Is this setting a new feature? What are some reasons this might be occurring?

**Getting To The Settings In Google Messages**

---

**Select Advanced...**

---

**Phone Number UNKNOWN** You can see (at the bottom) the phone number is unknown.

---

---

---

**MMS Messages Are Affected**

This affects my MMS messages (specifically when I'm in a group message). The thing that happens is that the phone doesn't know my number so when I send a message to the group it believes there is another receiver and that receiver has my phone number so I receive my own message.

**Phone Settings**

My phone settings have not changed and when I look under the main phone settings I can see that my phone number is correct. Also, if I type in the phone number then the group messages work fine but I have to remember to do that every day.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Try the following process:

1. Uninstall the app.
2. restart the phone.
3. obtain the app from Google Play
4. Install the app again

**Update**

Today, after turning my phone on (after uninstalling and installing Messages yesterday), Google Messages asked me for my phone number.

I'm assuming this is because I re-installed the app yesterday.

However, it did not show this message yesterday after restarting.

I remember seeing this message long ago when the problem started and I believe that time I chose Don't Ask Again. This time I'm leaving that option unselected to see if it helps solve the problem.

I added my number and clicked OK and it seemed to save the number to the app the same way as when I manually add it. Let's see if retains the data now??

**Update 2**

I turned my phone off and allowed it to restart.

I get the following message but only when I start Google Messages and then click a Group Message (MMS). I will see this little warning at the bottom of the group. It shows up as :

> Messages needs your phone number - FIX

If you click the FIX message then it proceeds to the other screen where you can enter your number. If you don't click that message in about 3 seconds it disappears.

If I add the phone number and say don't ask again then it saves my number while the phone is on but doesn't save the data permanently.

If I add the phone number and allow it to ask again then it saves my number while the phone is on but still doesn't save the number permanently.

---

**UPDATE 3**

**Device Displays Phone Number**

My phone number shows up perfectly fine on my device under:

```
Settings => About phone => Status => My phone number

```

So, I figured I should test the Android API call and see if that works on my phone.

**Retrieve Phone Number Via Android API**

I added some code to retrieve my phone's number using the Android API. I added the code to another program I had previously created and added the command to the menu and ran the code and it successfully retrieved my phone number.

**If I Can Write That Code, Google Messages Devs Should Be Able To Also**

I've blotted out my phone number but you can see the first two digits and that the app is able to retrieve the phone number so **Google Messages should be able to do that automatically too**.

Here's the basic code I used to do that:

```
// 1. use TelephonyManager API
TelephonyManager tMgr = (TelephonyManager) getSystemService(Context.TELEPHONY_SERVICE);

// 2. insure that the app has the correct permissions to allow it to read phone number
if (ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.READ_SMS) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.READ_PHONE_NUMBERS) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED && ActivityCompat.checkSelfPermission(this, Manifest.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE) != PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED) {
    // 3. handle perms failure here.
}
// 4. get the phone number
String mPhoneNumber = tMgr.getLine1Number();
// 5. display the phone number in the main text control (outText)
outText.setText(mPhoneNumber);

```

---

**Update 4**

I added a few more API calls to get more information about my phone:

I figured maybe this only occurs on GSM devices or something (versus CDMA)?? I wanted to show that the SIM card is in a good state. I was curious about the MMS agent that is being used.

**NOTE**: The "Device Software Version" is actually the telephony driver and not the Android API level. This phone is running Nougat API level 25.

Here are the extra calls I made to the API (they're all TelephonyManager calls):

```
tMgr.getMmsUserAgent()
tMgr.getDeviceSoftwareVersion()
tMgr.getPhoneType() // GSM, CDMA, SIP or NONE
tMgr.getSimState() // numerous states (see docs*)

```

*docs

---
Tags: sms, mms
---


# Question
Title: How to log/record system events or phone vibrations - Problem with Huawei Mate 20 Pro
I have a Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Awesome phone, I love it. I live in Canada, and have the model LYA-L0C.

My phone is set to vibrate, so anytime I get a text or a FB message or messages from other apps my phone vibrates, and I check and I have a notification from xyz app. My phone has started to vibrate arbitrarily, for no apparent reason. It will vibrate, I will look and check my phone and there is no notification from any app. It will vibrate again and I will check and there is nothing there. I will check through my apps and there are no new messages or anything in any of my apps. Notifications are turned on for all apps, nothing turned off in the settings of the phone. I don't know how to track down where this is coming from or what app is causing this.

Is there some kind of app I can install that will monitor and log system events like vibrations and log where it came from? Or does anyone have any other better solution to this problem?

Thanks in advance for the thought and suggestions!!

# Answer
> 1 votes
The vibrator is not really logged that much but you might be able to get enough information to help. First, The log output format is:

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

Looking like:

12-10`date` 13:02:50.071`time` 1901-4229`pid-tid`/com.google.android.gms`package` V`priority`/AuthZen`tag`: Handling delegate intent `message`

adb logcat -v long

Linux: `adb logcat -v long > ~/Desktop/logcat.txt`

Windows:

`adb logcat -v long > %userprofile%\desktop\logcat.txt`

Vibrate is system thing so to get just system logs then this use this log command:

adb logcat logcat -b system

Linux:

`adb logcat logcat -b system > ~/Desktop/logcat.txt`

Windows:

`adb logcat logcat -b system > %userprofile%\desktop\logcat.txt`

If within the logs you happen to see what package is responsible for vibrate and it gives its pid number write it down. Next use this command inserting the pid number where {pid} part. This will show only the output for that package.

adb logcat --pid={pid number}

Looking like:

`adb logcat --pid=1000`

If you know the package name you can get the pid number from this logcat command:

A adb logcat pidof -s {package\_name}

Looking like:

`adb logcat pidof -s android.os.Vibrator`

Just riffing but if you want to get fancy and try the previous two commands at once then through an adb shell throw this:

adb shell "logcat --pid=$(pidof -s {package\_name})"

{With linux use a single quote instead of double quote.}

`adb shell "logcat --pid=$(pidof -s android.os.Vibrator)"`

You might be able to get some information from the battery stats with the command:

`adb shell dumpsys batterystats --checkin`

Look for `vib` for time and count.

There are apps that record the logs such as Matlog (no affiliation) that can record, highlight, and other options. However, I do not know if you narrow down the logs to get the details you are looking for.

---
Tags: huawei, logging, bugs, task-management
---


title: Can I unlock bootloader for Mi phone?

text:
# Question
Title: Can I unlock bootloader for Mi phone?
I've been told that I need to ask permission from Xiaomi to unlock bootloader. Why and is there any other way? Btw, I'm currently using Redmi 5A.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Here is the all information to unlock bootloader of redmi 5a without asking redmi with unofficial way Pre required-

1. Pc running on Windows.
2. Download Mi flash and Mi drivers from here.
3. Download official twrp recovery for redmi 5a here.
4. Follow the guidelines given in above XDA thread link.

**Good Luck**

---
Tags: xiaomi
---


# Question
Title: LTE doesn't work after attemp of fixing hotspot using ADB
I had problem with hotspot in Xiaomi Mi5s Plus after updating to MIUI10. I used ADB:

```
settings put global tether_dun_required 0

```

Unfortunately, after that mobile data and 4G network stopped working. Changing back this setting to "1" or "null" doesn't give any resoult.

2G and 3G network works (calling only, mobile data doesn't), I tried default settings, I tried restarting APN - no resoult. I got only notification, that system cannot install SIM Card. I already reinstalled my system - also no resoult.

//Small edit: I partly solved the problem by changing SIM port (my phone has dual-sim), but when I put SIM card to sim1 again - problem still exists. When I put card to sim2 slot it says that it uses "default settings" and it works as should. What can I do to reset settings of sim1?

# Answer
> 0 votes
Try resetting your APN first

You can revert your APN type to default to remove the dial up networking feature i.e (dun) by this method:

1. On your phone, go to Settings → SIM card and mobile networks
2. Tap the entry for your carrier (or SIM card in question) → Access point names.
3. Scroll down to APN Type and replace,`dun` at the end (so the it should say `default`,`supl`,`mms`, or whatever was there).

Or just tap on your SIM card option → Access point names → Reset to default

If you do not see a change, then I'd suggest you reset **Network settings**:

Settings → More → Network settings reset

---
Tags: xiaomi, miui, miui-10
---


# Question
Title: What happens if a change the SIM card to my phone?
Will Android add the contacts of the new SIM card to my Google Account? What else could happen?

# Answer
You'd probably have a different phone number, and possibly a different contract/data plan for your device. If your device is SIM-locked, you might have no service at all (i.e. no calls, SMS, internet) if the SIM card is from the "wrong" provider.

Apart of that, nothing would happen: contacts on the SIM card are not synchronized with any account.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: sim-card, 8.1-oreo, motorola-moto-g5s-plus
---


# Question
Title: How come Android can support 2 apps in split screen but not in background?
I read another question on Ask Different about why apps have to reload when you switch to another app and back, and I think it's the same for Android.

But why does this not happen in split screen?

For instance, when I'm using a ressource-consuming app (pokémon Go for example), of I switch to another app (let's say Whatsapp) and stay a little too long on it, the system will kill other apps (possibly the most consuming first), and when I come back to the game I'll have to face the (long) loading again.

However, I can split the screen while playing, having the game on one half and any other app on the other.

* Why is it so different? If the system is capable of running Youtube and Pokémon Go at the same time, why does it kill Pokémon Go if I do a single search on the youtube app when not split?
* If the system "locks" Pokémon Go and kills other apps when in split screen, is there no way for me to "lock" it too in normal mode?

# Answer
> 2 votes
On Android, only 1 app can be in the active (or "resumed") state, but when the app is still visible but not currently the active app, it will be in the paused state.

So when you use multi window, the app you've interacted with last will be the active app, while the other app is paused.

If the app is no longer visible, it will enter the stopped state. In the stopped state, the elements on the screen will still be kept in memory, but if other apps require more memory the app might get killed, destroying the data causing the screen to reload when you come back to it.

If you'd like to learn more, there's a guide to understanding the activity lifecycle here. (An Activity is just a single page in the app)

---
Tags: applications, performance
---


# Question
Title: How to find out stolen phone of android by using IMEI number?
I have already tried by finding findDeviceWebsite

Is there any way to find device by IMEI number?

# Answer
Find your device through the IMEI number is not really a thing an everyday citizen can do.

Googles find my device is about the best you can do. If the internet and location are off then things will not work. There are website that state they can track based on your IMEI number but then why would they also need your phone number. It is also very doubtful a carrier would give the third party website access to their proprietary information and tools.

Your IMEI number should be consider sensitive information not freely given out to unknown sources.

Another thing you can try is view location history through Google Maps Timeline. If the find my device or location history does not work.

Depending on the laws of your country contact the authorities and file a report. They can then subpoena your carrier to get the location or last known location of the device by triangulating based off their towers.
> 5 votes

# Answer
Track phone by IMEI is nothing but a illusion for normal citizens. Websites are useless, they only creates backup of IMEI numbers and additional is showing you advertisments along with popping malicious app installation.

• The best way is Google's Find My Device

Remember:

1. It must be installed in the stolen/lost device along with administrator permission to the app.

2. To enable this heads to *Settings-Security Settings* under security settings you will find 'administrator permissions'.

    3. Device must be connected to the internet along with enabled location access.

You can do following things with this app:

1. Ring your phone at highest ringer volume even when device is on silent phone.

2. Secure your device with a password.

    3. Erase your device completely.

Remember: In order this app to work device must be connected to internet with location access(to view it on google maps).
> 12 votes

# Answer
Unfortunately if your phone did not have any other tracking app installed such as avast or Cerberus (you can use text messages to find your phone through those apps) then you need an internet connection to be able to track your device through googles find my device. Also like previous answer said you can't find your phone through IMEI only the carriers can.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: security
---


# Question
Title: How do I know which GPS my Android Auto is using
Apparently Android Auto can either use the GPS in the connected head unit or the GPS in the mobile device itself. As I understand, Android Auto will always prefer to use the GPS in the connected head unit. (which makes sense: typically has better antenna reception, doesn't drain the mobile unit's battery, etc).

How can I tell which one is being used ?

When the phone is in the car, I put it in "The Grotto" below the climate control and connect it via USB. I call it "The Grotto" because it is really deep and I'm thinking there's no way a GPS can reach in there. Yet my Android Auto works fine and never loses GPS signal. So something else must be going on.

# Answer
> 0 votes
According to this forum post it uses the phone's GPS. Can you see if the GPS indicator shows up on the notification bar? Also if it were the car's GPS, revoking location access to the app shouldn't cripple it. You could try this if you wanted to truly confirm.

(I have not used Android Auto before)

---
Tags: gps, android-auto, external-gps
---


# Question
Title: Insufficient storage space & Insert SD card
I'm using a Meizu M6 and a newly bought Sandisk Ultra Micro SD XC 64 GB. Internal storage is about 1.67 GB free out of 16 GB. My SD card's system was FAT32; reformatted it to exFat, now the phone won't read it (still working fine with desktop). Android version is apparently based on Nougat, OS is Flyme 7.1 Global. Phone file explorer is built-in/default; desktop is Windows Explorer.

So my phone and desktop can detect my SD, but:

1. Every time I tried to create an empty, new folder on my SD, it gave me the "insufficient storage space" message, despite being empty as a clean slate.
2. Every time I tried to use the camera, it gave me the "insert SD card" message, despite being able to detect it earlier.

Yet I can create new folders and move items to my SD if I connect it to my PC with some card reader.

For the record, I have already checked the wiki tags and similar topics, as well as format, remount, cache clear, and/or reboot, but none of them worked.

The SD card worked fine in another phone (Realmi2Pro, with a custom OS). For now, we suspect it's the problem with Flyme 7 OS.

What might cause this? Any pointers?

# Answer
you could try using the Windows partition manager to format the micro sd card and create a brand new partition. You could try using the tool h2testw to check if the card is damaged or authentic.
> 0 votes

# Answer
The micro SD works after I downgraded the Flyme OS to the latest 6 series. I guess it's an OS problem after all.
> 0 votes

---
Tags: external-sd, insufficient-memory
---


# Question
Title: Infamous Nexus 5x bootloop: why does heating or battery drainage allow it to boot?
I have been tinkering with my good old bootlooped Nexus 5x (how I wish there was an affordable Pixel these days!) and after naively thinking it had recovered spontaneously (it seems to have booted because drained battery?) I gave up on it. Then I saw it come to life again as it was bootlooping on top of a hot laptop. I now boot it at will by placing it on my espresso machine's cup warmer!

1. Why does this happen? What component needs to heat up in order for the system to work? Before the bootloop, why did it work at 'normal' operating temperatures? What changed after the bootloop?
2. Why would a drained battery also do the trick?

# Answer
> 0 votes
you should try the 4core fix.

If you can boot your phone and enable oem unloock you are good to go.

Visit this post, there is everything you need.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/general/tool-bootloop-death-blod-workaround-t3819497

Hope it helped.

Manuel.

---
Tags: boot-loop
---


# Question
Title: Disable/pause audio when active playback device changes
Is there a way to enable a system-wide disable/mute switch for audio when the playback device changes (i.e. on an Android phone). Sometimes on the bus, my Bluetooth headset will disconnect from the phone, and VLC continues to play music loudly through the built-in speakers, which is embarassing for the user and annoying to other passengers.

Similarly, using "Smart Audiobook Player", if the same thing happens, the family gets to listen to whatever I'm listening to during a Bluetooth disconnect until I manually unlock and stop playback 30 seconds later. Is there any reliable mechanism built into the OS to clamp down on this "feature"?

# Answer
> 0 votes
You can achieve it with Macrodroid by creating macros to pause apps such as VLC.

1. Open the app, select `Add Macro`.
2. Under the Connectivity section, select `Headset Insert/Remove`, then choose `Headphones Removed`. Click OK.
3. Go to `Actions` tab, under the Media section, select `Control Media`, select `Simulate Media Button`, click OK, then select `Pause`. Click OK and select the app you want to mute/pause. Click check the check mark button on the bottom right, give the macro a name.

When completed, the macro will look like the image below (there are 2 `Media Pause` because 2 apps where selected).

A solution to disable sound only for VLC if you are unable to use the steps described above:

1. Open VLC, go to Settings, then to `Extra settings`, click on Audio.
2. Go to `Headset` section, enable `Detect headset`.

Note: I didn't test it with a Bluetooth headset.

---
Tags: audio, bluetooth-audio
---


# Question
Title: LINE lite app - "All account information has been deleted as this account has been registered with the same phone number on another device"
I can't find a way to backup my chats on LINE lite. I understand there is a way to backup and restore LINE chats on the regular LINE...LINE lite though, i am not finding ANYTHING on. The methods discussed on this site and elsewhere (such as here, here and here) do not seem to be applicable with LINE lite because the file needed (Naver\_line) is not present.

So what i've done is make a backup using Titanium Backup - my phone is rooted. To simulate what would happen if i later tried to restore it on another phone, i uninstalled LINE lite from my phone...clearing the cache and the data, as well as force closing the app before hitting uninstall.

I then installed it again from Google play and signed in using my email and password (same backed up account). It then asked me to put in my number. I did that, entered the code i received through text, and logged in.

Then i went to Titanium Backup and restored only the data (3 options: App only - Data only - App+data). I go back to LINE and sure enough, my chats are all there just the way i backed them up. But seconds later, i get a pop up message saying "Sorry! All account information has been deleted as this account has been registered with the same phone number on another device" (even though its the same device - but thats not the point) and the only choice i'm given is to tap "ok".

I tap ok and i'm logged out. I have to then log in all over. When i log in, i don't see the chat. I repeat the processes with Titanium Backup, but the same thing happens. If i restore "app+data", i have to log in...and then the same thing.

Anyone has a solution for this? How can i backup and restore my chats on "LINE lite"?

# Answer
> 1 votes
Line lite app is associated with Android ID on your device. In case you want to back up the line lite app and its data, also you will have to get the android ID from original phone.

1. Get the Android ID on ADB console with root account by typing the following command. In this case, the "aabbccddeeff" is the Android ID of original phone.

```
# settings get secure android_id
aabbddcceeff

```
2. Backup all the data of line-lite (such as with the Titanium backup app + data and `/sdcard/Android/data/com.linecorp.linelite directory`) into your PC.
3. Modify the Android ID of target phone to original one.

How to change the android ID of target phone is as follows:

1. login the shell console with root account by ADB on target phone;
2. type the following command with Android ID that you get from original phone (for example aabbccddeeff);

```
# settings put secure android_id aabbccddeeff

```
3. reboot the target phone;
4. move all of the backed up data from your PC to the target phone ;
5. on the target phone, restore the line-line app + data by using Titanium backup app and `/sdcard/Android/data/com.linecorp.linelite directory`;
6. launch the Line Lite app on your target phone.

Now, you will see the chat history with line lite app on your target phone.

I think the points are:

1. same Android ID is required both original phone and target phone
2. App+Data of line lite app by Titanium backup
3. `/sdcard/Android/data/com.linecorp.linelite` directory

I hope you will succeed in the backup and restore the all data (including chat history) of line lite.

---
Tags: root-access, titanium-backup, line
---


# Question
Title: How to export a chat thread in Tinder app?
I have a chat on Tinder that I do not want to lose. Is there any way (even against payment) to export that chat thread to pdf, txt, excel, etc.?

# Answer
> 1 votes
All the Tinder messages are stored in `/data/data/com.tinder/db/tinder.db.`
Use Root Explorer and extract the data.

# Answer
> 1 votes
You can save a "full page screenshot" using a third-party app like LongShot.

---
Tags: chat, export
---


# Question
Title: Transfering app data to other android device
I have lot of data written by ColorNote application. Now I installed the ColorNote in other Android device, too.

Now, how to copy my ColorNote data to from the original device to that device (with the fresh installation of ColorNote)?

I don't know where ColorNote writes data written by its user :-(

# Answer
The Colornote support page gives a few options. You can sync through their online services, by transferable backup, or by SD card.

> How to transfer notes from old phone to new phone.
>
> Using the online sync is Recommended.
>
> Sign up online sync on your old phone. Go to:

`Menu –-> Backup –-> Sign Up.`

> next Sync your device by going to:

`Menu –-> Sync. Check how many notes are synced by going to: Menu -–> Settings –-> Online Backup –-> Synced notes.`

> Then sign in to online sync in your new phone by going to:

`Menu –-> Backup -–> Sign In.`

> Using sdcard backup:
>
> the steps below to transfer notes saved on the previous device to the new device using local backup.
>
> When you have the previous device Open ColorNote and go to the device backup screen on the previous device go to:

`Menu --> Backup --> Tap Device`

> Which is located in the upper bar or go to:

`Settings --> Backup.`

> Next manually back up notes by pressing:

`Backup Notes --> Enter master password --> Done.`

> then move the backed up files from the previous device to the new device.
>
> Go to sdcard backup screen on your old phone by:

`Menu –-> Backup -–> SD card backup.`

> To Backup Notes you need to press the button and then enter your master password.
>
> Lastly, move sdcard from old phone to new phone.
>
> Go to sdcard backup screen on your new phone and tap backup item you want to restore.
>
> finish up by typing the password that you have set when backup file was created.
> 2 votes

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Tags: file-management, data-transfer
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# Question
Title: How to prevent phone to install bloatware automatically
I have a `THL T9 Plus`. I just wonder, why are applications installed automatically in background. I already installed `NoRoot Firewall` and `Avira Antivirus`. These are in most cases "HotKnotBean" and "Coordinator" named applications. I get notification by Avira, when these are installed and I can remove these too, but unable to protect phone from installation of these.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Looks like malware in your phone is pre-installed by manufacturer.

It's better to install another ROM.
You may check here which one owners of your device recommend.

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Tags: applications, antivirus, bloatware, firewall
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# Question
Title: Is there a way to test if a firewal (AFwall) l is blocking a specific app?
I installed AFwall+ to block internet connection for my keyboard. Is there a way I can test if this is actually working? The keyboard is Swifkey.

# Answer
> 0 votes
Android setting has an option named 'Data Usage' where you can see per app data consumption. Compare consumed data on two instances to make sure it is not using any Internet.

PS: IMO If you've Xposed installed then LighteningWall could be a better option.

# Answer
> 0 votes
1) In AFWall+ go to Menu -\> Preferences -\> Log -\> Turn on log service

2) Open your keyboard and do something requiring internet connection

3) Return to AFWall+ and open Menu -\> View log and you'll see it was blocked

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Tags: keyboard, internet, firewall
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