Question and Answer about Android from Stack Exchange network.

This seems to be quite an edge case, as I can find no information on this.

Context
We have a regular "coffee chat" meeting in our group, and we use a Google Meet URL for this meeting, always the same, and we meet at known times a day. No need to have a calendar entry for this.

So, on the desktop computer, I can always easily reuse the URL (e.g. such one: https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hjk) like described here.

Problem
But now I am mostly using my Android Tablet to join, and I wonder how to set up a Home Screen icon/widget/link with that URL.

I can use Google Chrome to paste the URL into, but it will automatically start the Meet app. I have no chance to create a shortcut link first. Also, I have not found yet a way to create a link directly from the home screen.

Question
How to create a home screen icon/link/widget that directly opens a given Google Meet URL?

Phone info:

Motorola

Model: Moto E, 2nd generation

LTE: 4G LTE

Operating system: Android, version 5.1

Let me know if any more info would be helpful.

Issue:

My phone's Messaging app (the one that comes with the phone) seems to be "hiding" text conversations sometimes. It'll show how many unread messages I have, (see attached image, the circled number), but I don't see any conversations with unread messages shown. I know there are some conversations missing, I just need a way to un-hide them. As far as I have found, the only way to un-hide these conversations is to search for the conversation by contact, but this only works if you know which contact's conversation was hidden. Any thoughts on how to un-do this, or what is making the messages hidden?

My research:

I've looked on Android support sites, done Google searches of 'Motorola hiding messages', and all sorts of related searches. Unfortunately I have had trouble finding anything besides suggestions on how to hide messages.

I am currently using adguard DNS using the private DNS setting in my android device to avoid advertisements. But it increases the ping time while I am in a multiplayer game (like PUBG Mobile). Is it possible to use different DNS for an app and a common DNS for everything else?

Note: I am currently based in India if location matters for your answer.

Do tablets released in 2020 have a technology that allows to use them directly (no sofware to install, only cable) as a PC secondary monitor?

I want to buy a tablet to use it as secondary screen for my pc by cable and I want to know which features/hardware must have to be use it as secondary PC monitor.

I am asking because I have been using spacedesk to connect my tablet to PC via Wi-Fi. It works fine but if the connection is not good or the tablet processor is not powerful enough, there is too much delay between PC and tablet monitors.

Repro:

1. Headless Ubuntu 18.04 LTS VM (kvm note enabled)
2. sudo apt-get update
3. sudo apt-get install -y wget openjdk-8-jre-headless libc6-i386 lib32stdc++6 python3-pip nginx unzip
4. sudo wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-6200805_latest.zip
5. sudo unzip commandlinetools-linux-6200805_latest.zip -d /opt
6. sudo /opt/tools/bin/sdkmanager --install --sdk_root=/opt "system-images;android-19;default;armeabi-v7a" "platform-tools" "platforms;android-19"
7. /opt/tools/bin/avdmanager create avd -n arm -k "system-images;android-19;default;armeabi-v7a" -f

On step 7 in hangs with Loading local repository...

Notes:

• Running the avdmanager as sudo doesn't help, and the image need's to be created by a user anyway.
• Tried sudo setfacl -m u:username:rwx /opt/tools/bin/avdmanager didn't help
• setting ANDROID_HOME=/opt and PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools doesn't help
• newer version of command line tools don't help ether.

What is the problem? How can I investigate? Have I missed something?

I'd like to buy a new phone, I am considering a Nokia 5.3. I just noticed in its specification that it doesn't have a gyroscope. I wonder if embedded 3D/360 videos in Chrome ( and such videos in YouTube app ) would work on this phone ( + Google cardboard ).

I would like to install Google Play Services for AR (ARCore) on my Moto G5 Plus, running Oreo 8.1 - this device is not on the official Google supported list. I believe this is possible with TWRP and Magisk Manager. I have the Android SDK, and all necessary USB drivers installed. I can load .apk's using adb. However, I'd like to install TWRP without unlocking the bootloader or rooting the phone. First question: is this even possible? or do I need to root the phone?

I tried to follow the instructions to install TWRP withOUT rooting, but when I try to flash the latest version of the Potter image, twrp-3.3.1-0-potter.img, I get a 'Preflash validation failed' error:

\android\Sdk\platform-tools> .\fastboot.exe flash recovery twrp.img
(bootloader) is-logical:recovery: not found
Sending 'recovery' (16342 KB)                      OKAY [  0.710s]
Writing 'recovery'                                 (bootloader) Image recovery failed validation
(bootloader) Preflash validation failed
FAILED (remote: '')
fastboot: error: Command failed

According to this answer, Moto devices do not support downgrading the bootloader. However, I figured the recovery image (3.3.1-0) was the most updated, and suited for Oreo 8.1. Is there any way to check bootloader versions of the image and that on my phone?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

I would like to know if its possible to convert a split-apk user app to a system app. One example is the google messaging app, it has a couple of apk files, lib and oat folders and base.dm file in its own /data/app/ folder. I tried copying everything to /system/app without success.

This question has already been asked here, but it hasn't been answered.

I'm using Android 10 rooted with Magisk. I already tried moving a regular .apk file to /system/app without any issues.

Is there any way or a mail app where I can set a (per account) sync time? I would like the app to only fetch mails from my (work) account Mo-Fri 9-5 or if I manually sync.

I use k-9 mail since I got my first Android phone and it has a "quiet time" feature. But this seems somewhat broken in recent Android versions and I would like to have something even more aggressive if possible so I can set the app to not even download new emails from my email account at certain times.

Android version 8 (phone) and 9 (tablet).

I am stuck in a weird situation where I have two Android 10 phones from Samsung. I have rooted the stock recovery of both device as instructions given here. The problem is when I change something via recovery like create a new /system/etc/init/custom.rc file then on One device it persist on /system after reboot but on another it doesn't. The changes does persist when I reboot to recovery back.

I want to understand which layer of Android applied this feature:

• Kernel
• Stock recovery
• System
• or another

Any suggestion? and how to fix it?

I have an Android 10 device whose bootloader is unlocked. I have downloaded its firmware, modified it and get the adb shell rooted in recovery. Following are the steps for it:

1. Download AIK
2. Extract recovery.img and modified ramdisk/default.prop as follows:

 ro.secure=0
 ro.adb.secure=0
 security.perf_harden=0
 ro.debuggable=1
 persist.sys.usb.config=adb,mtp

3. Replace split_img/recovery.img-zImage with permissive kernel(built from kernel sources)
4. Repack it and flash it on the device.
5. Reboot to recovery and run adb shell. It will be rooted.

I want to add simple chmod 666 /dev/diag command and I have mounted system with stock recovery mount system option and then tried to do following:

1. Write chmod command at the end of init.rc.
2. Tried creating new rc scripts under /system/etc/init/ folder. New rc script has just chmod command written in it.
3. Tried appending(e.g. echo "chmod 666 /dev/diag" >> /system/etc/init/cameraserver.rc) chmod command in other rc files in /system/etc/init/ folder.

All were not able to change the required permissions. init.rc changes lost after reboot. Other files/changes persist after reboot but doesn't change the permission of diag port.

OTOH, I was able to make a system app with changes in /system/app/ folder.

Is there anything else that I can try to run the chmod command after phone boots?

I'm trying to flash a custom recovery image with fastboot flash recovery recovery.img but it can't find the image, hence I'm powering it on and getting into location where the image is to execute the command. The problem is fastboot doesn't detect the phone when the phone is on but ADB does detect it. How can I troubleshoot this ?

I have many working android cellphones with broken touchscreen but with a working screen and I would like to use them as computing device and/or additional screen. Is there a way to do that?

Updated with more information -- please see below

I have an unrooted LG X Power running Android 6.0.1. I have recently gone through Google Photos (using a desktop web browser) and deleted a bunch of videos, but even though Photos tells me that they will be removed from my devices, they remain on my phone, and I can't seem to get rid of them. When I try to delete them using the Photos app on the phone, I get the error message:

Can't delete [x] items

Photos doesn't have access to delete items on your SD card. Go to the Gallery app to continue deleting.

But I don't even have a Gallery app on my phone! Moreover, when I use a file browser to see what's on my SD card, there is no trace of them; they do not appear in the DCIM > Camera directory (although my photos do).

Where are these videos hiding? I suspect they are hidden somewhere in my internal storage, as I am rapidly running out of storage space, but the DCIM > Camera directory in my internal storage is completely empty, and I can't seem to find any other large directory. Why doesn't deleting them from Google Photos remove them from my phone? And why does Photos keep telling me to use a nonexistent Gallery app to delete them?

Edited to add: As far as I can tell, Photos does have permission to access the SD card; it says so in Preferences, and is able to save photos and videos there with no problem. It only throws up an error message when I try to delete. Furthermore, the error seems to affect photos and videos taken recently; older photos and videos (which were all taken on a different phone) can be deleted with no difficulty.

Further updates: Well, I found them! The files are not on my SD card, but rather are in my internal storage. But the plot thickens:

• Using the DiskUsage app by Ivan Volosyuk I was able to find the files hidden in my DCIM folder on my internal storage (which is odd, because Photos keeps telling me that it can't delete them because it doesn't have access privileges for my SD card... which it does... but anyway...). The folder, according to this app, contains about 5.9 GB of media. (There's also a Podcasts folder with 1.33 GB that I'd like to get rid of, also...) See screenshot below, then keep reading for more of the mystery!

• When I try to delete the files (whether one at a time, or the whole folder at once) I get an error message: "Error: file wasn't deleted." No additional information about why the file wasn't deleted is provided. See screenshots 2 and 3 below, then keep reading for more info!

• To further compound my frustrations, the files (and folders) in question don't show up when I use other file browsers. Here, for example, is what I see in Android File Transfer (see my last screenshot below). Notice that the DCIM folder exists, but is essentially empty, except for a few thumbnails; the Podcasts folder isn't shown at all. I get similar results when I use the stock File Manager app on my phone, and when I use this other File Manager app, and when I use Files By Google: none of these apps show the existence of the files in question at all. And yet they're there, taking up space, visible in DiskUsage.

I'm hoping that with this additional information, someone can help me figure out how to finally delete these damn files. I could really use that 7 GB of space back.

I read somewhere that long periods of charging can be bad for the battery and the best level to keep your battery at is around 50%. Is this true?

If it is then after how long will the battery show any signs of being affected?

I understand that Android is principally an wired-Ethernet client. i.e. it requests and receives a DHCP address. The internet is on the other side of the Ethernet cable.

Does any version of Android have the capability of running its wired-Ethernet in an "access-point", "tethering" or "server" mode, where Android's Ethernet provides a DHCP server and NATs Ethernet traffic out through its 4G radio, to the internet?

I just started using my brand new Samsung Galaxy A71 (Android version 10) by doing an initial setup, and it seems it does not support full disk encryption at all. On the contrary, on Samsung Galaxy A7 it was pretty easy to enable it. As it is impossible that in 2020 mobile devices without encryption being sold, I have done a google-fu, and, weirdly, there is no indication that anyone already searched for this feature.

Where is this function hidden then?

My old phone Huawei G8 (RIO-L02) with Android 5.1 is only used to play music. No SIM card installed and it only has a WiFi connection. The phone frequently plays sound "I am here".

After factory resetting the phone, the sound comes back after a while (about one month). I also have already disabled the location service. The only app I installed is a music player, though I don't think it is related.

Any ideas about which apps play this sound?

In my case, I don’t want to permanently root my own device and if possible, I want to modify the /data partition directly.

In order to do so, I want to add a single file to the /system partition or even apply capabilities on a single executable. That means no apk ; no new apps ; no bootloader changes.

But everything I found for creating my own ota for rooting explains how to use adb to apply it, not how to build such a file myself. Or suppose that I’m building for a firmware I designed myself for which I have the signing keys (whereas the aim is to do it for stock Samsung).

So how to create my own file‑based (with the aim to modify file permissions to existing files) ota zip file which can be installed through adb sideload on all devices as SuperSu does ?

I am trying to set up my Revolut card with google pay but I keep getting the following error

"This card can't be set up to pay in stores. This feature isn't supported by your bank yet. You can try another card for in store use".

Why is this?