Ask Android
- Any keyboard with undo functionality?
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/21015575
> Hackers Keyboard has that via ctrl+z, but only in horizontal mode. For this only i had my Galaxy S3 in horizontal per default. But can't do that with modern phones' aspect ratio and i'm missing undo since then.
- Is Pixel 9 worth it? (instead of Pixel 8)
cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/31616900
I currently have an iPhone 14 Pro Max and I want to switch to an Android phone.
First of all, I eliminated all Chinese phones. Since Samsung has limited custom rom support, I gave up on that too. At the end, I decided to get a Pixel because of its GrapheneOS support.
But right now I'm stuck between Pixel 8 and 9. There's a big price difference with small improvements. I can afford both but not sure if Pixel 9 is worth it. What do you think?
- How do you connect two phones via Bluetooth to transfer files?
The phone models shouldn't matter should they? One is on Android 11 and the other is on 13. I can only get them to connect for about a second, then the connection drops out. And yes, they're right next to each other.
And where the hell am I supposed to enter the 'pairing code' thing? No entry box pops up on either device..
- How is Android's share menu such garbage?
You can't remove things from it, you cannot rearrange it... Useless things and suggestions get stuck at the top.
I'm on Android 13. Have they made any improvements in the newer versions of Android?
- Locked out by uninstalled keyboard
I accidentally all Gboard layouts and can’t enter my password anymore. I do have some other keyboard apps, but they don’t load immediately after booting. adb shows no devices, probably need to unlock and allow USB debugging… I thought about connecting a hardware keyboard. How would that work?
- factory reset bypass
I bought a galaxy Tab a7 lite at an estate sale place. Tried to set it up, but it's locked out of resetting without a password which unfortunately died with it's previous owner. I called samsung, who told me I need to find someone to do a factory reset bypass.
I don't want to use it as a phone, just as a tablet.
I did some reading online and looked at some software supposedly meant for the purpose, but no luck.
Any advice out there?
- Looking for app: flexible routines
I will be recieving a gastric surgery somewhere in the future. After which, I am to follow a strict schedule for eating and drinking. I looked at a lot of routine apps, and tasker apps. But they all lack the flexibility I need. Or I am just missing it.
Why I need it: my life does not fit a daily or weekly strict schedule. It is quite dynamic when my day actually starts and varies month by month.
If I have to move the tasks or alarms manually every time, I know I won't be able to stick to it.
If I have to manage a massive list of routines for any possible starting time. I will probably overwhelm myself and abandon the schedule.
What I need:
- Able to set a day spanning routine, that can be started at any time.
- Have an alarm that can be snoozed, and will also push all next task with the same amount.
- Be able to trigger a task early, and push all next event forward by the same time.
- Have a buy-once option
- Nice to have: wearos support
I am about to investigate how to make this myself. But I would suspect someone already made this.
Thank you for reading, and your time.
- Google Maps search history without "Web & App Activity"?
Q: Is it still possible to have "Web & App Activity" turned off, but also have history of previously searched places in Google Maps?
This was possible until recently (Pixel 8), and came back this week for a few days, but now my history is empty again with a button trying to get me to turn on privacy cancer.
(Yes I use OSMAnd and Organic Maps when I can already.)
- Any way to disable taskbar on pixel fold 9?
It shows up every time I dismiss or switch apps and displays over other stuff that might be more relevant. Any way to turn it off?
- Finally resolved: Recovering data after wiping metadata is actually possible, but I need you help with some info
I need to ask a small favor from the good people of Lemdro.id Community.
In short, I accidentally wiped the
metadata
partition on myPoco F3
and now I can't boot into the OS and access my data. I have a lot of pictures, videos and other stuff that I would hate to lose, because of a mistake. But all that is still on the phone, I just can't boot the phone to access it.Thankfully, there is a way to fix this by creating a full backup of the phone with
adb
, then using a HEX Editor to manually look through that gigantic file and try to find the files that were in that metadata partition.A huge thanks to bluet33th, a user from XDA Forums, without whom I would be helpless and couldn't do any of this. It might be a bit complicated and manual process, but it is possible. He explained everything in great detail here, so check it out, especially if you are facing the same problem, this will help you tremendously: https://xdaforums.com/t/how-to-recover-data-if-metadata-partition-was-deleted.4686789/
In order to find these files and put them back where they belong, I need your help, because I have to know their names, exact sizes and at least part of their content, so that I can search for it. Because I'm searching for a specific text in a text file that is 128 GB in size.
I have already tried this on another Xiaomi phone, to make sure this procedure works on Xiaomi phones and it does, but that phone had
HyperOS
withAndroid 14
and since every phone and android version is probably different, in order to be sure, I need this information specifically forPoco F3
withAndroid 13
.It doesn't take long, but if you don't have the time to look inside your
metadata
partition and tell me which files are inside of that partition and their sizes in bytes, you can just make a backup of themetadata
partition and sent it to me, and I'll do the rest of the work.Here are the steps on how to create a backup:
- Turn on your phone and boot into
TWRP
, then connect your phone to a PC, typecmd
inside Windows search and run cmd, then position cmd into yourplatform-tools
folder (if you flashed your ROM, you should already have the necessary drivers installed for the next steps to work). For example, if yourplatform-tools
folder on Windows is insideC:\platform-tools
, all you need to type into cmd is:cd C:\platform-tools
You can also just go inside your
platform-tools
folder and typecmd
in the address bar and the cmd will start already positioned inside that folder.-
Then type
adb devices
and you should see your device, if you do, that means that all the drivers are successfully installed and your phone is detected. ! -
After that, you should see a file named
metadata
insideC:\platform-tools
. That is the file that I'm looking for and as you can see, it takes just a few minutes to get it.
You can skip the next steps (5 and 6), but I'll explain them, just in case someone wants to extract these files for themselves, so that you have them in case something like this happens to you. Of course, you can also proceed to extract the files and tell me their names and sizes.
Here is what you need to do:
-
Extract the content of the
metadata
file, you can use a software like7-Zip
. Go inside that extracted folder, then intovold > metadata_encryption > key
-
Inside of that
key
folder, you should see a few files. These are the important files and save them somewhere safe in case you ever need them. Since I don't have them anymore, in order to recreate them, I need to know their exact names and sizes in bytes. You can check the size of every individual file by right clicking on the file and choosingProperties
. Then look underSize
, notSize on disk
, and in parenthesis, you should see the size in bytes. !
Please, if you could check the size of every file and write down which file has what size. I would really appreciate it.
I'm specifically looking for someone who has a
Poco F3
withAndroid 13
andMIUI
, because I'm not sure ifHyperOS
changed something, so maybe the number of files or their size is different. But feel free to post the information even if you haveHyperOS
, but please mention that, so that I am aware of it.Thanks a lot for your help, it really means a great deal.
- Turn on your phone and boot into
- Do you have any critiques of Pixel 9 Gemini's privacy?security.googleblog.com Private AI For All: Our End-To-End Approach to AI Privacy on Android
Posted by Dave Kleidermacher, VP Engineering, Android Security and Privacy, and Giles Hogben, Senior Director, Privacy Engineering, Android ...
I'm considering stock pixel 9, but I was wondering if anyone had specific critiques of Gemini's privacy.
I use LLM bots frequently, but am a bit hesitant to let one take over my phone.
- A Modern Private Messenger
In light of what's happened to Durov and possibly seeing Telegram compromised, I'm doubling my efforts to find a new main messenger. Before you start, not Signal as it's a bad fit for the needs of me, my family and friends.
So what do I need?
- The ability to run on multiple devices. Me, my family and friends all have multiple Android devices.
- The ability to run on desktop. Linux and Windows.
- Built in sticker repository. What can I say, I like to lazy flirt.
- Animated Emoji. I like my messenger experience vibrant.
- Material You. Again with the vibrancy, but also, it's a sign of modernity.
- Phone number linking. My family and friends are lazy as hell.
- Synchronized chats. I don't mind self hosting a bridge, but the ability to see messages on multiple devices is a must.
- Voice Messages
- Video Calls
- Group Video Calls
- Stories integrated into as first class citizens
- Private. If you suggest WhatsApp, I'm assuming you're either stupid or a troll.
Can anyone recommend anything?
- What are the benefits of rooting a Google Pixel?
So i have really been contemplating rooting my Pixel to gain more control over the android OS. I know this comes with risks and if your not carefully one can brick their phone.
I have already been able to decentralize myself from googles stock Android OS with out root by side loading Graphene OS on to my device which has worked out great.
Just wanted to get some input on whether it's worth the hassle to reflash a factory android is by google just to root the phone, then proceed with installing another non Google android os once again.
Input from anyone with more knowledge than mW regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.
- choosing hardware: pixel fold or pixel tablet
I currently use a Pixel 7 Pro with GrapheneOS and I really enjoy the experience. I have a Surface Pro 7+ with Linux on it that I use from the couch. It's a bit bulky and I've found myself gravitating more to the Android UI anyhow. I'm looking into either getting the Pixel Fold or the Pixel Tablet, both of which are supported by GrapheneOS.
The bulk of my usage would be mobile games (including emulation through Lemuroid), books and magazines through Libby/Librera, and the occasional video content. I'd like to bring it with me on the go.
I was initially going to get a tablet and dock but the fold looked interesting. My reservations about the fold are the internal screen life and how apps behave on the internal screens. Surely being a moving part is going to decrease its lifespan, plus screen protectors and cases seem like they would be difficult. Are there cases for those phones? I always put a screen protector and case on my devices. How do apps behave in full screen on the fold? Do they have black bars if it's not big enough or does it get stuck to one side?
Thanks!
- Pause app option isn't available on launchers
I know the title may sound a bit misleading, but this is my situation: I'm interested in using a custom launcher on my device, but the problem is that there's this option to "Pause app" that I want to use to prevent some apps from using my battery or getting my location or something, but I can't do that on custom launchers (for obvious reasons). Does this thing actually works or there isn't any actual difference?
- Is there a simple way to see the radio HAL version in your android device?
Recently, I came across an article talking about hardware security features in android. It was talking about radio HAL versions.
I wanted to see which version is present on my android 14 device.
The article in question: https://security.googleblog.com/2024/08/keeping-your-android-device-safe-from.html
- favorite launcher? and why
I was using the Nova launcher forever, but it's been getting buggier and buggier and support just blames android. plus I understand there are privacy concerns about them these days
I switched to hyperion, and it works just fine except for one feature, and I can't get support to respond anywhere for any reason.
which launcher do you use, and why do you like it?
- Help with Lineage/microG update? [OP6]
I've used LineageOS with microG on my Oneplus 6 for years — so happily, in fact, that I haven't bothered with major updates since version 17 (Android 10). Oops!
Now I've been flashing updates to an older phone, and I might as well continue getting my daily driver up to date. I'm going to dirty flash my way up to the current version (21). But I'm rusty as all heck, and the upgrade instructions seem to have changed since last:
- Back in '21 I recall being recommended to disable screenlock (fingerprint/PIN/pattern, etc) before upgrading. Is that still a thing?
- With a/b slot devices it used to be necessary to flash ROMs twice or use a
copy-partitions
or simiilar zip file. The instructions make no mention of it, is that rolled into the upgrade package now? - Finally, is it safe to just upgrade directly from LOS/mG v18 to v21? Because neither LOS main or the mG branch seem to archive older versions but I'd hate to miss some system update or other.
All help is appreciated!
Edited for clarity: Please don't offer suggestions on "better" phones or OSes — my question regards the above only. Thanks in advance 👍
- Which tablet would you recommend? Samsung S6 Lite or Lenovo K11 Plus
First time buying a tablet, seeking feedback.
https://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab_s6_lite_(2024)-12897.php
https://m.gsmarena.com/lenovo_tab_k11_plus-13186.php
Lenovo has awful update cycle but the display is bigger.
- How to just change the APP ID when building?
I want to compile all the GUI LineageOS apps and release their APKs.
To make them installable on other Android OS, I need to change the app ID. Otherwise Android would attempt an upgrade and fail because of mismatching keys.
For example the LineageOS Clock
There are many many files that refer to
com.android.deskclock
which I want to change toorg.lineageos.deskclock
.Do I just need to change this line? And can I leave all the others normal?
I think I got build failures when changing more, and I wonder if I would need to change all the lines (using sed or something)
- Messaging app that stores downloaded media in user accessible place?
Most of the messaging apps are "secure" hence save their data, downloads in locked space. They do allow one to save a particular image or file anywhere but it is a manual process not practical if I want to access all images I received in the last 5 years.
WhatsApp has been good for me in this regard because it saves them in a user accessible directory. But recently WhatsApp has made it impossible to use offline as backup because it refuses to read from it in a new phone. Only Google Drive backup is allowed.
Is there any other app which allows storage in a user accessible location?
- Shrinking A Video File
I have a DVD hard copy, but no DVD player. Anyway, I found the DVD online and downloaded it, only problem is it's a 7GB mkv. Is there a method to shrink it down by around 6GB?
- On Android 10 and higher, is GSF ID of the device visible and accessible to all apps downloaded on the device? Or only to privileged apps?
Is Google Services Framework ID (GSF ID) of the device visible and accessible to all apps downloaded on the device on Android 10 and higher? Or is the GSF ID only visible and accessible to privileged apps?
- Changing date display system without changing language
Im currently using Traditional ZH(HK) language setting, which uses the date display system as the (for lack of better words) "Chinese system", where dates are listed like "6月19日, 週三", however I would like to use the Seven Luminaries system (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_days_of_the_week#East_Asian_tradition), available on the JP language setting, which displays date like "6月19日(水)". I do not know Japanese but would like to use this date system whilst using Traditional ZH(HK) language setting. I have tried messing with settings in the Samsung Calendar app as well as messing with the settings of the phone itself but I cant figure it out.
I think I have done a pretty good job at describing what im asking about, but if not, I have also asked about it on Google support where I also included pictures: Change date display system on phone - Android Community (google.com)
Thanks for the help!
- Is Whatsapp buggy/slow nowadays?
Recently formatted my phone. Reinstalled whatsapp n the imported the backup. It seems very slow and buggy. After 1-3 mins of usage, the app starts acting up and after a minute or so autocloses.
Has anyone experienced the same?
I'm planning on reinstalling to check whether that fixes the issue. Asking here to see if anyone has experienced something similar and/or has resolved it.
- Any alternative frontends for Play Store?
I rarely "app", but when I do, I usually get them from F-Droid. Unfortunately, I had to actually go into the Play store today to install my work's new authenticator app. Play Store is practically unusable with ads and "suggestions" strewn all over the place and the app info scattered around those almost like an afterthought. My device's ad-blockers are DNS-based, so there's no blocking those.
I vaguely recall there was at least one alternate frontend for Play Store, but it's been forever and a day since I last went down that route. I don't recall the name of it, and definitely have no clue if it still works or not.
Are there (still?) any recommended alternate frontends for Play Store?
Edit: Aurora Store was the one I was trying to remember. Thanks to @Xirup@yiffit.net and @pfaca@lemm.ee for that. If you know of any others, please share; always nice to have more than one alternative.
- Android 14 Apps Run Forever, why?
So I noticed that when you close an app, most apps, they never actually quit. Is this a new behavior? Or am I missing a setting to terminate, completely, an app when I actually close it without using Force Stop on everything.
- How do I fix this?
Whenever I watch the in car cameras in the NASCAR app, the whole interface for laps, driver positions etc is shifted downward, and when I try to do a screen share with smart view, a huge gray bar appears at the top. I'm in a Samsung Galaxy s20fe, and how do I fix this?
- Newpipe and using a VPNgithub.com [YouTube] Can't play any video - "Sign in to confirm that you're not a bot" · Issue #11139 · TeamNewPipe/NewPipe
Checklist I am able to reproduce the bug with the latest version given here: CLICK THIS LINK. I made sure that there are no existing issues - open or closed - which I could contribute my informatio...
I seem to be suffering from the above bug
https://github.com/TeamNewPipe/NewPipe/issues/11139
but it only seems to pervade if I'm using Tailscale to VPN
hometo my exit node at a family members house?Is Google / YT blocking the use of VPN's here / anyone else experiencing this?
- How would/do you backup before a factory reset?
I'm thinking about resetting my phone to see if it fixes a mobile data download issue.
I want to avoid losing important data and also avoid cloud services for backup, as much as possible. So, how should one ideally go about it?
- I can directly backup all files in /storage/emulated/0
- I can backup contacts as vcf
- I can backup apk's using apk extractor
- I can write down saved passwords in Chrome and Firefox
- Create backups from apps like Pipepipe and Mihon. And also get the database file from whsap
Is there a way to save preferences for apps without root? Are there foss or offline apps that simplify this?
Also is there a way to locally backup google calendar?(Fossify calendar seems to have an export local calendar option. The backup file seems to be supported by google calendar too.)Are there other things that I'm overlooking? Would like to get suggestions/advice on this. Thanks in advance.
- S21 vs S22 vs S23
Hello, I'm looking to upgrade my Huawei PSmart 2020 and considering these 3 options.
-Galaxy S21 5G 128GB - 276€
-Galaxy S22 5G 128GB -
276378€-Galaxy S23 128GB - 539€
Which one is the best price-quality match? If you have any other recommendations I'll be happy to hear them.
I'm in Spain and the store selling them is backmarket. Thanks!
- How can I transfer 11000 photos from one phone to another
I recently bought a Redmi,and I skipped the setup process,since I was in a different city from my old phone and now I cant get back my photos and videos,I tried copying it on a PC from phone to phone but it doesn't work,idk what to do
- Android randomly opens calls list every 4 minutes
It happens only when Google Maps is navigating and the phone ist connected to the cars aux cord via usb c to aux adapter. The device is a Fairphone 4 running Android 13.
My search skills fail me at this one. Any ideas how to stop this?
- Please Recommend An Alternative To Solid Explorer
I use Solid Explorer a lot. I use it mostly to transfer files from my phone to my Samba network storage. However, in the past couple days, this has randomly stopped working for Solid Explorer and I can no longer connect to my NAS as a guest. I've confirmed that it's a Solid Explorer problem by connecting with Material Files and so I tried to contact NeatBytes and got no response, so now I'm looking for an alternative.
You might be thinking, if Material Files works, why not use that? It's single pane. I really need a dual pane user experience.
The other thing I would really like is a Material You looking/feeling user experience. One of my issues with Solid Explorer is that it feels a bit dated.
With all that in mind, can you recommend something please?
- How to see which app is trying to desperately contact api.segment.io
Looking at my Pi-Hole logs, one app is trying hard AF to contact segment.io. The only issue is, it's my second phone and while most apps are the same as what's on my first, I tried uninstalling a bunch and it's still trying desperately. Does anyone know of a way to find out which app is the culprit?
- What games do you play on your phone?
Hey! I looked around a bit and the last thread like this I found was several months ago, so I thought I'd make a new one. As per the title, what game do you play on your phone? I'm both looking for new ones myself by also hope others might find some of interest to them.
For my own part of this I mostly like puzzle games, especially these:
Hook, Klocki, NABOKI etc. from Rainbow Trains games
Monument Valley games from ustwo games
The Room series from Fireproof games
I Love Hue duology from Zut!
And all the games from Legenbeary games (very addicted to Wordathlon, currently at level 3253)
(all playstore links)
Would love recommendations of any lesser-known similar ones! But post anything you like of course. :)
Hope anyone finds something they like from my list above or recommend by others in comments (if there are any, heh).
Cheers!
- Problem with engineer mode app Mediatek
I have Xiaomi Redmi note 12 prop plus ( HYPER os)
So a few months ago i change LTE BAND settings in Engineer mode by Phone dialer (##3646633##)
Now i have other interface of this app and there are no all options, i can't set LTE BAND settings
Can anyone help me ?
https://imgur.com/a/T7k7Cri
I think it happened after updating the system from miui 14 to hyper os
https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQuestions/comments/1d0mqb0/problem_with_engineer_mode_app/
- Problem with samsung's Voice recorder
I have Samsung Galaxy f12. It has a Voice recorder which was pre installed from Galaxy store. I had a software update 4 days ago and my Voice recorder is also updated.
I access it a lot and recently it is having problems. I access it mostly thru the lockscreen shortcut. I press the record button then record the stuff but when I press the save button it doesnt save the recording for a few seconds to minutes. It stops the recording but then it looks more like it froze with the play/pause button,save button and recording timer still visible. Then it closes the recording and goes back to being a big red button which we are supposed to press for a new rec, but it doesnt show me the usual pop up message on the bottom of the screen saying that my voice recording is saved as this name etc etc.
I did 5 recs tonight. When i went to check in my recorded stuff i saw nothing until a few mins when it saved the last 2 recordings only after showing this message "recording stopped suddenly. Recording is now saved as xxx" or smth like that. I cant see my past 3 recs in the folders/albums of saved recs.
I even opened the app itself and recorded thru it but the same problem persisted.
I just want to know how and why this happened and will i get my recs back through any way?? Also what can i do to prevent it? I have cleared the cache too, i have kept it updated always but still this happened.