Ask Android

Hi Guys, I am using lawnchair which is perfect but it hasn't been updated from a long time. Can you guys recommend a launcher similar to lawnchair which has everything preconfigured like location etc.

Android user for several years, many versions, now on 13 with a Pixel 5.

I've never been able to understand why when switching between apps, sometimes returning to an earlier app causes a full reload of the app - like it forgets where you were, what you were doing, and completely reloads an interface, webpage, or whatever. I get the sense it's purging every app from RAM as soon as it thinks it can get away with that, and the result is a noticeable time and continuity penalty. What gives?!? Is there a way to fix this behavior?

Edit: It happens with literally every app. System apps like messages or settings, lemmy apps, Reddit apps, Firefox, chrome - it's fucking annoying.

The first part is where I posted it on numerous places asking for help with no luck.

I have not found anyone talking about this which makes me wonder if I'm the only one facing this issue.Essentially Play service uses the location permission every single time I wake up my phone. 23.35.14 still uses location every single time I unlock the phone even in safe mode, the green dot privacy indicator pops up all the time. As early as the version I have tested, 23.26.17 doesn't have this issue.I have this issue with all recent updates on Android 13. For now, I have to uninstall the Play service update so it won't get updated.Should I back up my data and do a flash with full wipes? Are you facing this issue?Edit: I'm on stock Android 13.To be honest, I am slightly disappointed as this is the 7(?)th Android system Google has made for its Pixel phones. Google has full control over the system and the Play service, unlike other vendors and I'm still facing this kind of weird issue that I just don't remember ever happening on iOS aside from the poor performance on iOS 11.

This is the part where I finally tackled the issue after a full month of research(started having this issue in early August as I can remember).

Edit 2: I have finally figured out what it is, It's the "Unknown tracker alerts" under "safety and emergency" within the Play Service settings. This seems like a new feature and I doubt Google has actually tested it before shipping it, I'm still not sure if I'm enrolled in some kind of A/B testing since no one's really talking about this. And yes, turning it off does stop the green dot from popping up when I wake up the phone.

The official page of "safety and emergency" which doesn't include "Unknown tracker alerts" yet. https://support.google.com/android/answer/12464968?hl=en

The page talks about "Unknown tracker alerts" which does say the feature is under "safety and emergency". https://support.google.com/android/answer/13658562?hl=en

Conclusion: This is the most frustrating issue I have ever had with any smartphone ever and there is absolutely no way an average user(non-technical) would find the solution. Google really needs to up its game and make its phones and software reliable for normal people in order to compete with giants like Samsung and Apple.

Slightly adjacent topic, what's the practical applications of getting a USB3.1 Type C to Type C cable?

I want to see if 3.1 is worth the extra money.

Curious what alternatives to Tasker are available for Android. Slight preference to FOSS options, but any suggestions are welcome 😁

The last time I used one of these apps was almost a decade ago on my S4, kind of missing the convenience stuff I had set up back then - like adjusting the volume/opening apps/changing ringer mode when certain devices connect and disconnect, when the charger is connected etc.

Hello, I am using lawnchair but it hasn't been updated from past many years. Any alternative out there ?

Hello everyone,

I had a Huawei Y9s on EMUI 12.0 that started malfunctioning beyond repair so I recently bought a new phone (OPPO A58 on ColorOS 13.1) and the built-in screen time app is now called Digital Wellbeing and it's made by Google. It's terrible because it needs linking with Google Family Link and does not features such as self-imposed limits through a passcode. I tried installing Huawei Digital Balance from the APK but the app can't be opened; it is neither on the home screen nor in settings. I am unable to buy yet another phone but need something like iOS Screen Time or Huawei Digital Balance on a system-level that cannot be easily uninstalled.

Please help me if you have any ideas. Thank you.

On a throwaway Samsung Galaxy with American ROM, I installed some Chinese apps. When I uninstall them, the browser opens with a specific "uninstall survey". How that is possible? Are they exploiting some os weakness or it's permitted by the apk uninstall API?

The bad actors are:

• sogou keyboard
• Tencent video
• weibo

Hi all,

I was thinking of gifting someone, who is going to travel, an airtag-ish thing for android. I don't know the first thing about them, but a quick search learned me that:

• airtag is for apple - the person uses android

• some of these gadgets have subscriptions - i don't want to saddle them up with additional money grabs

• Tile seems to have a shady history, in the past selling locations of millions of users

It needs to be suitable for europe and asia, if that matters.

Could you give me some recommendations or info what i would need to consider?

Thank you for reading. Have a great day!

EDIT: thank you for your replies. I don't think i'm going to pursue this type of gift any further then.

I am planning on flashing Lineage os but I wanted to make sure everything works before losing my warranty

So, I got a request for suggestions from the community here.

I've been an android user basically all my life, and recently I've had a need for music. There's a long story here, but basically, Spotify is a no-go. I want to keep my own list of music files, sort them on PC, send them to my phone, and play it there. I do have means to get files I'm interested on, and playback devices and connections are no issue. So far so good.

However, the experience I've had has been lacking, because I'm missing an important step: Synching. I've been copying everything manually. Back when iPods weren't a joke, way way back, I used one and the iTunes <-> iPod experience was great. I could setup playlists on PC or restrict certain files, then have them show up on the iPod. Then playing and rating music a number of times on iPod and those stats would transfer and generate new playlists such as most and least played. I'm looking for something like that again. I don't need a complete seamless experience, and the synching operation doesn't need to be done by an actual music playback application either.

Can anyone help me with this? What mobile+desktop applications combos do you all use for music and do they synch up?

I have a pixel phone and a pixel tablet running Android 13, and I would like them to both synchronize do not disturb (basically, when one turns on, do not disturb, it activates on the other, and vice versa). Are there any apps that are capable of doing this?

Hi, suddenly my pixel 3 can't see any networks. It seems such a strange problem. Because it's a test phone, i wiped it to default, no fix.

Flashed android 9. The same. (with flash.android.com, which also refreshes the radio firmware)

Flashed android 11. No change.

Went back to android 12. No change

Some interesting fact: if i share something with "nearby share", the window is frozen and nothing appears, except a white dialog with no text

Has it happened to anyone that a phone wifi suddenly dies?

Something that i could do with root, to restart the modem or something like that?

Is There No Way to Automatically Record Phone Calls Anymore?

I'm still using an old phone (LG G7 ThinQ), and their Phone app has a built-in recording.

If I wanted to use another phone app (or when I upgrade phones), I would lose this feature. And I have looked (albeit not too much) and found that there's no way to record phone calls unless you root or it has to be built-in on the phone like some Samsung or Xiaomi phones.

Hello

For those unfamiliar with Moto gestures (moto actions) the ones i mention are gyroscope based double chop for flash light and and double twist to launch camera, it's very handy to be able to launch both those actions irrespective of app you're in and if the phone is locked or not. For example i could be in game, watch youtube or just take the phone from my pocket twist my wrist two times and have camera app launched

Now on OnePlus there are screen off gestures like V for flashlight and O for camera, but those are inconsistent and don't always work (40-60%?), also those require screen to be off, same with double press power/volume, also double press for power collides with 5 x power for emergency menu.

Are any of you using any apps that enable gyro gestures similar to Motorola ones? all i can find online are old guides, or links to old apps that don't always work or aren't necessary trustworthy privacy wise etc. tried it with automate but it doesn't always work. I prefer apps that are FOSS, gentle on battery and don't spy on me

I updated magisk and now my phone is stuck in bootloop. I have backup of internal storage but I need to back up few apps. I tried adb but i get message "Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation...". Currently I am trying twrp backup for data. does anyone know a tool or command to get apps with their data?

Phone: Poco X3 NFC

OS : xiaomi.eu miui 14

So I have a device running lineage os and I am a little concerned about the potential data breach if my device is stolen.

My first precaution was to setup SMS findmydevice so that I could remotely control my device in case it got lost or stolen. I'm not sure how secure this is but I wanted to have a way to remotely get its location and to wipe it remotely.

The second thing I setup was locker. F-droid says that the upstream code is no longer available which is concerning but I am using it none the less. This should prevent basic attacks on the lock screen.

Is there anything else I need to do?

Not really impressed with how the free AdGuard works for me, I'm interested in either free or paid app suggestions and I'd like to hear experiences from people who use them. Thank you!

Hi, I'm looking for suggestions for how to back up data in Android. I'm using a non-rooted stock Pixel phone. I want to try Graphene OS but knowing I could restore everything to what I have now would make me feel more comfortable trying it out.

Ideally I would be able to do a full system backup so I could erase and restore everything to exactly how it was before, but I doubt that's possible without a custom recovery. (I used to do this in my custom ROM hopping days, and it worked great!)

I'd like to at least be able to backup files/photos, app data for various apps, and messages from Google messages.

What backup solutions/tools would you recommend?

Hey guys, when I go to my feed and try to see some media on the post, it loads for a long time and justs replaces it with an exclamation mark. The only way see the pictures is to open the instance in my browser and tbh I'm lazy to do that 😅...

Do you know a fix for that?

Edit : Screenshot added.

I edited a video and cut out a part in kdenlive. I exported it as mp3 and set it as my notification sound on a fluffychat conversation but its not playing

I use both Firefox and Opera on my Android phone, the PWA shortcuts from both of these browsers always disappear sooner or late from my home screen. Any alternative or fix for my problem?

Edit: I use Poco F3 with Android 11, MIUI 12.5.8, and Lawnchair launcher. Auto-update my browsers.

If I download the .apk directly from ApkPure https://apkpure.com/pl/yanosik-antiradar-navigation/pl.neptis.yanosik.mobi.android it says there that Android 8.0+ is required, which I have.

Rough translation of picture:

"Analyze error

An error occurred during package analyze"

I'm thinking Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. Other processors are welcome if the phones are unlockable and are ideally somewhat likely to have rom development in the future.