Ask Android

Hey y'all,

There's currently a sale on the Samsung S10+ tablet which I decided to buy out of curiosity. I am absolutely blown away by how good the screen is. I currently own a Pixel 9 so I'm definitely an AMOLED snob and the Samsung software has come a long way. Dex is also a great feature.

However I find it to be a bit too big and heavy with a case and the one accessory which solves the problem the official keyboard case, is 200+ dollars. I am considering returning it as it's a pretty massive investment for what is essentially a YouTube machine.

I just wanted to crowdsource some opinions and see what my options are. I'm considering waiting for an S9 to go on sale instead but the S9 won't be supported as long as the S10+. The pixel tablet is also on sale so it's an option if I can live with a 60hz screen.

What the title says. When it reboots, the screen just turns black without any warning or pop up windows. (Though I think I have seen a very dim flash of a red warning strip across the screen one time when using it in the dark.)

I also have a suspicion that the power button might be failing. I generally have to click it harder for it to lock the screen now, and sometimes it opens up the power menu when I only clicked it once.
Would a failing/stuck power button also cause this rebooting behavior?

Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for the help, guys! I think I'll get my phone checked for a stuck power button some time. Shame I use it often for the camera shortcut.

Hello, everyone!

I have an issue with transferring files. So, when I connect my phone with my PC, the phone detects PC, but not the other way around. Although when I try to use adb, it sees my phone as a connected device. I have tried switching cables and ports, but nothing seems to work. And the funny thing is that it worked before, but it just suddenly stopped working. Any help is highly appreciated!

PC is on Linux Mint 22.1 Phone is Pixel 8 Pro on GrapheneOS.

Thanks!

I am interested in installing a de-googled android on my phone, but I would like to try it out a little bit first. Is there some way to emulate a phone on my PC, or is there anything like dual booting on phones?

Looking for a clean way to display newest article on RSS feed.

It's fine via Termux, but I don't seem to be able to do it at all via the new Android 15 Terminal that's running Debian.

I’m new to android. (Default android 13, not looking to install custom ROMs because I need this to be very functional and dont have time to deal with bugs).

Anyways, I’ve installed F-Droid, Helix Keyboard and my go to VPN app.

What next? What browser, third party YT player, torrent client, jellyfin client (I’m deaf so need one with opensubtitle integration), email clients, rss aggregator, note taking apps etc. should I install? I’m paralysed by choice.

Is there an equivalent to the ios shortcuts app?

Anyways, I’ll be happy to try out any suggestions. Cheers.

F-Droid has been giving me some issues for a few days (that I've noticed). It crashes immediately upon opening. Sometimes I will see it open for less than one second before it crashes, but usually it just goes right to a crash submittal screen. I want to reinstall it, but am unsure how to handle all my apps. Will it just pick them back up? I don't really know how to troubleshoot this, I am open to alternative paths!

Like the Meebok M7 which runs Android 11. I know most apps support Android 9 as minimum, but how future proof will Android 11 be for these coming 5 years for example? I know it went EOL like last year. I could go for the Meebook M8 with Android 14, but it's much more expensive..

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/8317927

I have stuff I've prepared to help my family with what is coming, info, steps to take, articles and other sources and evidence, etc. Its in multiple formats. What's the best and/or easiest way to move it to SNote or another E2EE app?

As the title asks, why do so many email apps go on to add calendars? What's wrong with keeping them as separate apps?

I’m thinking of buying one of the two models, not to read but because I have a disability that basically makes it impossible for me to use normal phones due to visual overload. I have a couple questions:

1. How dim does the backlight go? Can it get so dim that you barely realise it is on — kind of like minimum phone brightness?
2. What is the experience like when typing? Could you use the phone to send messages?
3. What does the hardware feel like? It seems the CPU is pretty weak, do you feel that at all when using? What do you think the longevity would be like?
4. Do you think a usecase like leaving the display on as a button pad with a bunch of shortcuts would be a workable usecase?
5. Can the customisable sidebutton be programmed to do literally anything? Like could I link it to a Tasker shortcut or something?
6. I’ve noticed that people say the settings are rather limited compared to normal android? Has that limited you in any way, are things like DNS and VPN still usable?

So I haven't run a custom ROM for a long time and I'm thinking of trying out GrapheneOS. Before I do, is there a modern way to take a full disk image of a stock Pixel 8? The intent would be to factory restore to where I am in this moment if need be.

Silent notifications are annoying me, they put up icons by the clock and make me think I have something to notice but it's just a service.

E.g. ntfy

If I go to app management screen I can disable notifications but I'm unclear if that means the background service doesn't run as it should - I'm sure I've seen something about that somewhere.

I'm on android 15. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know where I could find comparisons of the various Lemmy clients available? I'd like to see something contrasting things like app maturity, features available, update release frequency, and etc?

I'm looking to try out some of the more mature clients since the one I'm using (Boost) has been exhibiting some problems for me recently. I wanted to narrow down the cause of the problem and will be trying other clients to make sure my instance isn't the issue. I'm writing this from Eternity (Nightly).

I don't want to use a USB, what's a quick and secure way to get data from a phone to a computer? They can be on the same WiFi network

I recently switched from a pixel 6 to a fairphone 5. There was stuff like a smart screenshot (which worked half the time) and the ability to select text most of the time. The fairphone doesnt have that, and i wonder if its a first party google feature, or if theres a different rom i should use.

So I have a debate in my head right now about how I should handle devices stored unattended in vehicles. The criteria:

• Devices have new versions of Android
• Pass phrases or many-digit pins are used
• Biometric login is set up (but can't be used in Lockdown Mode)
• Have Bitwarden installed with biometric auth for the vault
• Has SSH keys on the device

I'm not worried about nation state attacks, but am considering the vector of a tech savy thief, and want to keep SSH keys and other device data secure. Assume they cannot be stored in a vault.

Is storing the phones on but in Lockdown mode enough, or should I turn them off completely? Off would be super annoying to wait for boot every time, but I'm not totally sure how KEK works for an encrypted device with biometrics set up but in Lockdown Mode where they are disabled.

Hello! Does anyone has any recommendations for a to-do list app? I would like one that had a widget for the home screen, that shows my tasks or reminders, so I can see them every time. Not to be confused with a widget to write a note. It doesn't needs to be open-source, but that would be very appreciated. Thanks for the help.

If the court ended up forcing Google to sell Android, shouldn't we worry that its license as an open source project could be removed and then it become proprietary?

I currently use Joplin but I find it's a bit too over-engineered with many features I don't use. For me the best note taking app would:

• Be FOSS
• Sync over NextCloud / webDAV
• Support kind of formatting (markdown for example)
• Have ability to create check box lists
• Be lightweight and fast to open
• Have ability to set remainders and alarms (if possible)
• [if possible] as either a windows desktop client or a web client or interface to access notes from work

Now depending on how I like the software, I may change a bit my habits and drop some of those requirements if the soft please me and I find workaround or drop the feature (for example an automated backup can replace NextCloud stuff and I don't use that much the work computer to access notes, so if it's good and I can share the note manually by mail or so, I can live with it).

So feel free to share what you use.

I wanted to install a few PWAs in my private space but the option for installation or shortcut creation isn't there on the same websites where it appears in the normal installation of the browser app.
Is this a limitation strictly related to the private space?

Have searched about it on the net and have seen that WPA2/WPA3 is recommended, in the case of older devices n IoT.
I normally use the hotspot to share internet to other devices. They're not too old and I don't use IoT devices.

Would choosing WPA3 be better/faster for my case? Did not see much info on that or benchmarks about it?
Saw somewhere that WPA3 has more overhead because of greater encryption, but would plain WPA3 be better than the default WPA2/WPA3?

Thanks in advance