Android

Applications

Hangouts 17 is the last version that let's you set hangouts as the default SMS app.

Applications for eReader

Samsung Galaxy

How to root Samsung Galaxy?

Odin report after a successful TWRP flashing

Read and follow instructions1):

  • Select device / firmware on this site (e.g. G800FXXU1CRB1 for Galaxy S5 Mini / SM-G800F).
  • Click on “CF-AUTO-ROOT” button to download Odin + image (leave all further options as default).
  • Put your phone in download mode:
    • Disconnect USB from PC.
    • Turn off phone.
    • Boot the phone in download mode (VolumeDown + Home + Power). :WARN: If it asks you to press a button to continue (usually VolumeUp), press the listed button.
    • Connect USB to PC and wait until serial drivers are installed.
  • Start tools\Odin3.exe, check that ID:COM box is not empty i.e. Odin has detected the device on some COM interface, check “AP” and select image\image.tar.md5 as source image and press “Start”.
    :INFO: If Odin fails with a message 
    <ID:0/009> SetupConnection..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

    then try using another USB port or reboot Windows.

:OPT: Alternatively, flash TWRP (or FlashFire), and then install SuperSU. For that:

  • Download TWRP image for your phone (e.g. twrp-3.5.2_9-0-kminilte.img.tar for Galaxy S5 Mini / SM-G800F)
  • Start Odin and flash above TAR file with above method by selecting it in “AP” input.
    :INFO: You may wish to disable “Auto reboot” option to be able to launch TWRP using below steps.
  • Hold the recovery mode key-combo (usually VolumeUp + Home + Power and then release Power when logo appears). TWRP will start. Now install previously downloaded SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip from SD card.

To revert root (unroot) do one of:

How to replace stock firmware in Samsung Galaxy phones?

Options:
  • For Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9 take a look at /e/OS
  • For Samsung Galaxy S4, S5, A3, A5, A7 take a look at LineageOS
    • For Samsung Galaxy S5 mini use unofficial G800F/M/Y LineageOS build. Installation steps:
      • Root the device and install TWRP from Google Play (skip this step if TWRP is already installed).
      • Reboot the device in recovery mode (press VolumeUp + Home + Power button and then release Power when logo appears), see key combinations for other Samsung models.
      • Backup system, data, and boot partitions just in case (usually TWRP suggests a reasonable selection set, so keep it default).
      • Wipe “Data”, “Cache” and “Dalvik” partitions (this is the default option). If you want to start from blanc, also wipe “Internal Storage” (all application data is lost, including photos).
      • Install previously downloaded LineageOS to SD card lineage-...-kminilte.zip via TWRP “Install” menu.
      • :OPT: Install previously downloaded GApps to SD card open_gapps-arm-9.0-micro-...zip
        :INFO: Choose smaller packages if installation complains that there is no space in internal storage. You can later install necessary Google apps on SD card.
      • :OPT: Refresh your fingerprints as on new screen old fingerprints may not function reliably.

:INFO: To change default USB option from "No data transfer" to "File transfer" go to Settings → System → Developer options → Default USB Configuration.

Screen mirroring does not work on Samsung Galaxy S5 phones

See thread 1, thread 2.

Questions answered

When the phone is locked and I turn the screen on with the power button, it does off in few seconds

There is no explicit option to control the timeout of lock screen, but it is implicitly controlled by Power saving (set it to off).

How to upgrade firmware on Nokia 130 to enable Cyrillic?

  • Make backup of contacts:
    • Either using Nokia PC Suite via Bluetooth
    • Backup your contacts to internal SD card (Contacts → Settings → Backup contacts). :IDEA: Generated backup.dat is actually backup.vcf.
  • Download RM_1037.zip and unpack it to C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Packages\Products\RM-1037\.
  • Alter files RM1037_059W097_10.02.11_019.vpl and RM1037_059W097_10.02.11_019.signature.bin. Replace in them the model with the one you need. Also change the model in the name of four files (including two mentioned). (see very detailed here)
  • Download and install the latest Nokia Software Recovery Tool. The version 6.2.55 worked for me, previous version had problems with up-to-date firmware download.
  • After you run it, it should suggest to install software version 10.02.11. Complete upgrade.
  • Recover your contacts from internal SD card.

References:

Does Samsung Galaxy Mini support OTG?

From Samsung Galaxy S4 mini review:

Unlike the big Galaxy S4, mini lacks MHL and USB OTG support.

There is kernel with USB OTG Support for Galaxy S4 mini Duos (GT-I9192), but the problem is that phone will not provide power for the connected gadget so you would need to use an external power supply.

See also:

How to enable USB On-The-Go (OTG) on Android that does not have audio out?

How to use smartphone camera on PC via USB?

Install DroidCam and check Connect via USB.

How to take a screenshot?

  • Press and hold the standby key on the right side and the home button at the same time. Wait for the border around the screen to flash white. This is the only method that work on mini.
  • Alternatively enable Settings → My device → Motions and gestures → Palm motion → Capture screen and swipe with whole palm from right to left.

To automate screen capturing use adb shell screencap -p /extSdCard/screencap.png && adb pull /extSdCard/screencap.png

References:

How record the video from Android screen?

adb shell screenrecord /sdcard/file.mp4

How to disable "Fully changed" notification?

Unset Settings → Appls & notifications → See all apps → Show system (hidden under ⋮) → System UI → Notifications → Battery.

Battery statistics reports that GPS is on, but it is off

Settings → More → Battery shows that GPS is on all the time, however in fact it is off (After 4.2 update GPS is always on).

Restart your phone.

Google Calendar sync problem: continuously tries to sync and drains battery quickly

From issue#6107 and forum:

Go to Settings → More → Application management → All → Calendar storage and press Clear data.

The same problem is applicable to Google Contacts synchronization:

Go to Settings → More → Application management → All → Contacts storage and press Clear data.

How to force Google synchronization?

To force Google synchronization, go to Settings → Accounts → Google click on email and press Sync now.

How to change mail synchronization period?

For default mailer (see How to change the email syncing frequency on my Samsung Galaxy S4):
  • Open the mail application
  • Tap on Menu button
  • Go to Settings → [your mail account] → Sync schedule and make necessary adjustments.

Is it possible to rename Camera Uploads Dropbox synchronization folder?

Not possible to rename Dropbox "Camera Uploads"

Is it possible to merge automatically Google and Skype contacts?

Merging Skype and Google contacts should generally be performed manually.

How to set up Automatic Proxy Detection?

The article How to set up your device to Automatically Detect Proxy says that it is not supported. So use a helper application (requires a rooted device):

Maybe Chrome supports that?

Chrome browser does not use proxy set for WiFi connection

Latest Chrome browser releases come with enabled data compression service – a special SPDY proxy setup by Google that compresses contents (also does image rescaling). For Chrome to use proxy server, this should be disabled in Settings → Bandwidth management → Reduce data usage.

How to view the password for existing WiFi connection?

As passwords are stored in wpa_supplicant.conf in encrypted form (see Decrypting wpa_supplicant.conf) one requires root access to decrypt them. Check the following apps:

How to stream media to TV / DLNA client?

One need to setup DLNA server on device, for example BubbleUPnP.

See also:

Chat messages sent via Hangouts to not get to offline XMPP clients

This is known problem, see Not receiving offline chat messages in gTalk which are sent in Hangouts.

When I send messages in Cyrillic, the receiver gets only question marks

To fix question marks in outgoing SMS messages, go to Messenger → Settings → Input Mode and set it to Unicode.

Where are my downloaded files?

Open “My Files” app and go to Device Storage → Download.

How to install root CA certificate?

From How to install trusted CA certificate on Android device? and Work with certificates:
  • Put your certificate in DER format and CRT or CER extension to the root of your phone.
  • Invoke Settings → More… → Security → Install from device storage.

  • Convert PEM encoded certificate to DER:
    openssl x509 -outform der -in certificate.pem -out certificate.der
  • Convert DER encoded certificate to PEM:
    openssl x509 -inform der -in certificate.cer -out certificate.pem

My Android powers off by itself

How to backup app data or transfer it to another phone?

Steps for backup:

  • Fotos & media are easily transferred using any file explorer.
  • Contacts / calendar / mail / chat is synchronized by Google (normally automatically).
  • Whatsup chat history can be backed up to Google Drive (:WARN: don't forget to press “Backup” button before shutting down the application), Skype don't need to be backed up.
  • Authy should be better backed up, but it's more secure to generate new QR-codes.
  • Inoreader retrieves feeds from Google Profile.
  • Backup/restore SMSes via SMS Backup & Restore, then delete all messages on source device.
  • Create list of packages:
    adb shell "pm list packages -f" | dos2unix | grep "/data/app" | cut -f4,6 -d "=" | sort -u > packages_list.txt
  • Create backup for selected packages:
    cat packages_list.txt | while read package; do echo "Starting backup of $package..."; adb backup "$package" -f "$package.ab"; sleep 2; done
    or for all in one go:
    adb backup -all -apk -f all.ab
    :WARN: Since Android 12 and later asks for password for any adb backup invocation, it is more simpler to create backup for all packages and then unpack it and create application-specific backup as described here.

How to uninstall unwanted applications from phone?

bash

# removes "Facebook"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.facebook.katana
# removes Microsoft "OneDrive"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.microsoft.skydrive
# removes "Link to Windows"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.microsoft.appmanager
# removes "Google Meet"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.apps.tachyon
# removes "Google TV"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.videos
# removes "Samsung Internet Browser"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.sec.android.app.sbrowser
# removes "Dropbox"
$ adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.dropbox.android

How copy data from damaged Android phone?

How recover the accidentally deleted data from internal memory on Android phone?

Why did oxygen saturation got removed from Samsung Health?

Solution is to install S Health v6.4.0.047.

How to setup ADB?

  1. Enable USB debug. For that:
    • Go to Settings → General → About device and tap on Build number seven times.
    • Press return, and now in General there is new item added Developer options where one should enable USB debugging.
  2. Connect your phone to PC via USB (:WARN: Don't allow/enable MTP mode, just ignore that message). Now there will be unknown device (e.g. SAMSUNG_Android) in the list of other devices.
  3. Call driver properties and on Details tab select Hardware Ids.
  4. Copy the 2nd device ID (e.g. USB\VID_04E8&PID_6860&MI_03) and add it to android_winusb.inf two times into two sections (four lines to be inserted) :OPT: or use this version:

    android_winusb.inf

    [Google.NTx86]

%SingleAdbInterface%        = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866
; Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866&REV_0228&MI_01
; Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866&REV_0226&MI_01

[Google.NTamd64]

%SingleAdbInterface%        = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866
; Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866&REV_0228&MI_01
; Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_04E8&PID_6866&REV_0226&MI_01
  5. On General tab click on Update driver, choose Browse my computer for driver software and point to android_winusb.inf. After successful installation there will be new device Android Device → Android Composite ADB Interface added, and unknown device (e.g. SAMSUNG_Android) is gone.
  6. Download platform-tools_rXXX-windows.zip from here.
    :INFO: The first time adb is connected to the phone, there is a confirmation message displayed on the phone screen to allow the application with the given RSA key to connect to device which needs to be accepted. The key is stored locally in %USERPROFILE%\.android\.
    In command line type adb devices which should display similar to: 
    D:\Adb> adb devices
List of devices attached
5200bb49b0297384        device

    :HELP: If the phone does not display the dialog to accept the connection / RSA key and above output displays something like 5200bb49b0297384 unauthorized, try to change the connection type from “Transferring files” to “Transferring images” in USB Settings, check here for more info.

  7. Now one can use FARdroid plugin for FAR 3.x.

Also check manufacturer provided ADB drivers.

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1) A bit outdated