Ask Android

Hey folks,

I'm currently in the market for a new Android phone and I want to make sure I can seamlessly transfer all of my data from my old phone to the new one. I'm open to the idea of cloning the old phone to the new one if that's the most reliable way to ensure nothing gets left behind.

My current phone is Realme 5 running Android 13, and I'm still researching options for my new phone.

I'm particularly concerned about not missing any data - obscure files, contacts, photos, apps, messages, you name it. I've heard about methods like using Google's backup, third-party apps, or even manual transfer, but I'm leaning towards cloning for peace of mind.

Do any of you have experience with cloning Android phones? What tools or methods would you recommend for ensuring a smooth and complete transfer of all data? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I just got my transit pass but unfortunately there is no option to add it on the phone so, I was wondering if there is any way I can clone my pass and store it on my phone and use my phone instead. Thanks!

Ps. My phone is rooted

I was trying to upvote a YouTube short and encountered this error.

> resource has been exhausted (e.g. check quota)

Ironically, I'm using YouTube premium and I don't think i browsed too many videos.

Reminds me of this MRwhosetheboss video about subscription and enshitification. Not to mention the crackdown on 3rd party apps and adblockers.

https://youtu.be/wVYG1mu8Lg8?si=-kyJiOClz07FzpBM

Edit: It appears my friends are getting similar errors. I can comment so I think its some widespread YouTube issue.

Hello!

So I've been using my trusty old OnePlus 5T until now, without any problems. I always followed the phone market for replacement but I simply didn't see a phone that would fit me, so I just kept repairing and using the current one.

Recently, after 7 years, the glue inside the screen assembly started to loosen up, which caused a little gap between the OLED panel and touch panel. Moisture got in there, and the OLED panel started oxidizing, leaving a nice purple patch on the side of the screen, that is slowly growing as the panel is powered on. It was my fault ignoring the gap for so long, but here we are.

Regarding my new phone, I have a few "constraints" and preferences that I want to stick to, even they sound stupid or unreasonable. (This is why I simply didn't bother buying another one yet)

MUST:

• Be Android
• Not be Samsung - had some before, don't want to go back
• Have headphone jack - yes, this will narrow the selection quite a bit
• Have OLED screen - anything OLED, doesn't matter which kind
• Be similar size or smaller than OnePlus 5T - the ~160mm x ~70mm is sort of optimal for me.
• Be under 200g, preferable under 180g
• Dual SIM (2 physical cards)
• Something released recently (2022-24), so it still has some support, accessories sold, has more chance to use it for another 7 years.
• NFC
• Be customizable: unlockable bootlooder, option for different ROMs, basically community support...

Preferable stuff:

• Some reasonable camera. I don't use it often, so definitely don't need some Pixel level stuff.
• High refresh rate screen - I don't game on my phone, but general stuff looks nicer
• No under screen fingerprint sensor - Not a big deal, but I know that it's easy to fuck up the software side and calibration, so it can become a pain in the ass.
• Wifi 6 or greater - "ac" Wifi is enough in the current 5T, so not a big deal just future proofing
• IP rating - I take care of my phones but still, it would be nice to not worry about moisture or dropping it in wet stuff.
• Expandable storage - Again, no big deal. I don't use the camera often, so I don't even fill up my current 128GB OnePlus. I usually backup and delete stuff from my phone yearly.
• Extra programmable function button - Not a deal breaker again, but I got used to OnePlus alert slider and I would program a similar button to the same functionality (switching between normal, do not disturb and mute).

Of course it should have a reasonable price too, but I'm willing to pay for a phone that I will use for a long time.

So after all my unreasonable requirements and wishlist, GSM Arena's phone finder comes up with 3 different phones that look interesting:

1. Asus Zenfone 10 https://www.gsmarena.com/asus_zenfone_10-12380.php
2. Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_13_pro-12581.php
3. OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G https://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_nord_ce_2_5g-11269.php

1. The Zenfone

The Asus Zenfone series was my original choice as next device, I've been following the series for a few years, and I like the phones. Zenfones were unlockable by getting a device specific key from Asus's servers and using that in fastboot mode. As far as I know, this was done by Asus's unlocker app.

However, about a year ago, Asus decided to close this endpoint on the server, and removed the unlocker app from their website. This caused not only new Zenfones but older ones couldn't get unlocked anymore either. You can google this drama if you're interested, or just look at the threads on XDA Forums for Zenfone 10, Zenfone 9 or Zenfone 8. Right now, people are just waiting for someone to do something. Things are happening as I write this.

Besides all of this, Zenfone 10 is basically the perfect phone for me. People say that the software is also a plain Android with optimizations and you can turn off Asus features if you don't like them. This is pretty much the same with OnePlus, and I liked using OxygenOS. But this unlocking bootloader drama is feels bad. Especially that Asus only provides 2 years of software support. I would be happier knowing that I can reflash my phone if I don't like something.

2. The Xiaomi

Never had a Xiaomi before, but all my family and friends had one once in their life. I like the general quality and feature set of the phones and this looks nice just looking at the spec list.

The problem with this phone is it doesn't even have a forum section on XDA, so I don't know how active the community is behind it.

Second, slightly bigger problem: I don't like Xiaomi's OS. never liked the UI layout and custom functionality. I would 100% wipe the original OS from it and go with something else. But of course I don't know if that option is available with this phone.

3. The OnePlus

Nothing particularly bad with this one. I understand that this series is now OnePlus's budget series, so I won't get the fancy Snapdragons and it's the oldest from the all. I think it still looks OKish, community is active, OnePlus allows unlocking so no concerns there.

It doesn't have an alert slider like other OnePlus phones do. Meh, no big deal, but still wanted to mention it.

My biggest "first world problem" with this phone is it having a MediaTek CPU. I used phones with MediaTek CPUs before, they are OK in performance but so hard to work with... Every chip is different, with different drivers, random links for random shitty software, the partition map in a text file that you need specifically for you device to flash it... If you've tinkered with a MediaTek phone before, you know what I'm talking about.

4. Bonus: Nothing Phone

Yes, I know Nothing Phone doesn't have a headphone jack. But it's also kind of like the Zenfone, and I like the LED array on the back. My 5T still has the RGB notification LED and I would prefer something similar. Plus the phone has a community behind it. I also know about the Nothing drama with their messaging app. I don't really care. I would not have used it anyway. And as I said, if I don't like their software, I'll just flash another one.

So, what do you think? Should I give up my headphone jack rule and cry whenever I need to use the adapter with my headphones? What if that little worthless shit breaks? What if I want to charge? I know very well why the headphone jack isn't there on phones nowadays, and I try not to support that direction or products that do this, trying to "vote with my wallet"...

Or should I give up my freedom of choice and let Asus decide when my phone stops to work? Or wait to see what happens at the end of April with the "Asus's statement regarding this issue"? Maybe wait for someone who may or may not find a method for unlocking Zenfones which may or may not get patched by Asus? Is the Zenfone series popular enough that the community can solve this issue? Maybe, maybe not...

Or stay with OnePlus, dive back into the MediaTek world with an already old phone?

Or go Xiaomi and pray for it to not be crap in the long term?

Or fuck it and go Pixel and flash one of the many ROMs out there and cry about the headphone jack?

Thank you for reading this far.

(I've got a pixel watch 2 and moto edge 40 neo, and some jlab earbuds.)

I usually listen to music on my phone, but recently linked my earbuds to my watch, and the same music played on Spotify sounds massively better on the same earbuds when played via the watch.

I assumed it was because I had installed the jlab app, and it was doing a bad job of meddling with the eq. But after uninstalling it there wasn't a noticeable difference. Is there some other setting I can adjust? Any thoughts on whether it's something my moto is doing wrong or something my pixel watch is doing right?

Its a substantial difference (although I'm not enough of an audiophile to describe it) enough that I'm now mostly playing music via my watch. But it's hitting the battery hard, so I'd rather go back to using my phone!

Hey all!

I have been playing around with Universal Android Debloater a bit after getting my new S24+ but was wondering to see if there is a noticeable change when getting rid of things like Bixby, AR apps, and mobile carrier bloat (I hate you, Verizon).

Has anyone noticed an increase to battery life or snappiness or is it simply placebo? I never use the apps such as Samsung Smart Call because I use Google's alternative so having it there would cause SOME sort of power/battery usage, no? I am only touching the "recommended" apps but scared to remove too many things to not completely wreak my install. I don't wanna select something to have it crash and make things completely unusable.

https://github.com/Universal-Debloater-Alliance/universal-android-debloater-next-generation

I need to get a second phone for work. I’m set on a galaxy as I’m really interested in dex mode.

How is getting an s22 used these days? Are there any common problems I should be on the lookout for? Also, the battery health in some screenshots shows 32%, etc. does that mean the battery needs to be replaced right away? This will be my first Android.

Thx in advice.

Edit: Nevermind done it with "fastboot flashing unlock" command trough fastboot with "OEM Unlock" option enabled in dev settings.

cross-posted from: https://iusearchlinux.fyi/post/5157907

> Hi Lemmy, > > I'm in the market for a new phone as my galaxy S10+ that I've had for ~5 years has a dying screen. I haven't really been paying attention to the market in the same number of years, so I"m not sure what to go for and I would really appreciate your recommendations! > > Some info: > - My budget is definitely no more than 700 EUR (preferably under 500, but I'm willing to make concessions) > - I'm expecting to buy refurbished to save money, so the device need not be from this generation > - I prioritize: > - a high quality panel with high refresh rate, could be nice with LTPO > - Hardware that is at least as capable as the S10+ > - All-day battery life > - Preferably flat screen > > I don't really care about the camera, I'm sure most these days are serviceable for the few pictures I take. > > I'm very interested in the Nothing phone 2, but it's just at the edge of my price range so I'm trying to see if I can find something that scratches the same itch, both in specs and form factor (but I'm sure that's too much to ask). Any advice would be appreciated!

I've talked trash about Bluetooth for years (and rightfully so, often) but I finally did some detailed testing and determined that it appears to be my Android phone causing this particular effect. Android 10, Sonim XP8.

The best track I found to replicate the effect was Griz - Wicked due to the massive bass hits that come in around 1:00 really exaggerating it.

When the bass hits on Android, some sort of compressor kicks in and vocals and everything else get crushed FLAT, resulting in an awful effect where the volume fluctuates, the bass is weak, everything is garbage. This has resulted in crap audio in my vehicles for a couple years now unless I'm listening to the FM radio.

I paired several BT devices that I had blamed for the effect to my PC, and they sound fine playing this track. Both PC and Android are using the same codec, "High Fidelity" A2DP with SBC.

It doesn't matter which player I use on the phone, Ultrasonic and BubbleUPNP playing local copies or Youtube Music Vanced streaming, the compression is present on all of them.

Anyone know what's going on here or want to try to replicate it?

Basically topic. I've tried using some generic "catch all" widgets for music and they can see all other sources of audio and the associated album art, except for Spotify.

The app has its option to let other apps monitor it set, all permissions are granted to both the widget and Spotify. I've cleared cache, data, reinstalled, restarted, and nothing is working. It feels like some kind of specific permission I'm missing somewhere, because the music player apps can still read Spotifys track info and time and control it, etc. The official Spotify app works fine, but I don't only use Spotify...

I've tried using Kustom Widget (KWGT), Widget Lab, and Widgeet. Any ideas? Anything I can try?

I'm basically looking for an app that takes my contacts information (all my friend's phone numbers, etc) and puts it into a text file. I like to have my contacts on a piece of paper just in case I need numbers and my phone isn't available. Any suggestions?

I’ve been looking around, and with every vnc cliend I can find, when I press for example super+return, the vnc client gets backgrounded and the android “desktop” is shown.

Does anyone know of a client that actually captures the keyboard?

i am using nova launcher because i can change icons of apps and i was using lynx launcher before that just for the sake of using a custom launcher

Hi guys.

I have a Samsung s24U, and JBL Tune Beam. For whatever reason, it is not picked up by the phone audio players. Activating the Google assistant works fine. But if I want to play/pause audio it doesn't work. I tried this with podcast republic (a poscatcher), youtube and the audio player. I'm not even sure how to track this.

Any of you have an idea?

I uninstalled an app and checked the box to save app data. Now I need the app again and it will not download from play store. Upon clicking "install" it throws an error "something went wrong on our end. please try again." and just a "got it" button.. tried to clear play services and play store cache and storage, rebooting the device, and combinations in between those steps... still cannot download.

Anyone have experienced this before? any additional troubleshooting steps or ways to resolve? wondering if the data from that checkbox when uninstalling is preventing the reinstall but am lost otherwise as to what could be causing the problem.

I've been using gboard for a very long time and I use it in four total languages. English is my second language, and my second keyboard setting, one which I use very rarely because I usually type in English using my native Polish setting (with multilanguage input enabled).

Since last week gboard has started automatically switching to English input between apps. This happens for all apps and seemingly on random. I would use the PL+EN keyboard in Sync, then switch to Signal and it would be English (making me unable to type in Polish). I then change it manually to PL+EN, go to Messenger and it would be English again.

Any thoughts? This is especially weird because I have yet another two language settings which it never goes to, so it's not like it cycles through, but rather switches precisely to English.

And before anyone says there are alternative keyboards: yes, there are, but none of them allows swipe typing, mixed multilanguage input and Chinese zhuyin at the same time :/

Hello everyone! I have a big battery drain problem on Lineage where the media storage service is eating my battery as hell. The phone is a Oneplus 8T. !Screenshot_20240213-155539_Paramètres

Do you have any idea what could be the cause of this?

Hi there,

Only 2 weeks ago, I was on a jailbroken iOS device and got fed up with it (and everything that Apple produces - mostly because it's closed down and some proprietary crap like iTunes). And the reason I jailbroke my phone, was mostly for the theming options (place a .png with a specific app name in the folder, select it and that's it)...

Switched to a Oneplus12 last week, loving it, so easy to tweak things out of the box and installed some free icon packs but I can't seem to figure out how to proceed in creating my own icon pack (for personal use). Had a look inside an apk and I have now a basic understanding of the resources inside but swapping out files in an apk isn't the way to go (CRC check done by Android?). Had a look around and installed Android Studio but are there any up-to-date tutorials out there?

thanks! /d

Looking to upgrade my family member's old redmi note 7 with a Samsung A25 but am concern for the OLED causing eyestrain and other issues with PWM. Is PWM a real problem for some or should I perhaps play it safe and get a LCD phone like a Samsung A05s or Redmi note 13 with 1920Hz PWM dimming?

• Device: Oneplus 6 (enchilada)
• Android version: 10
• ROM: LineageOS for MicroG v17.1
• Rooted with Magisk

---

Apparently the latest Magisk update somehow crippled my WiFi. AFAICT this mainly affects Android 10, and since I probably need to go into ADB anyway to fix the WiFi issue, I might as well perform a long overdue OS upgrade.

So clearly I don't routinely do maintenance on my phone via CLI. LineageOS used to have fairly involved instructions on how to upgrade between major versions, some including unpacking Oxygen OS updates and selectively installing firmware modules through a terminal... That's not a trivial series of operations for a dappler like myself. Let me just run another idea by you all, please let me know if it'll work:

Suppose I flash an Android 10 OOS to my phone. Dirty flash preferred, I want to preserve my apps and settings. Could I feasibly let the official ROM perform as many kernel and firmware updates as possible via OTA to get to the latest (presumably last/end of life) supported Android version?

After that I would flash the latest LOS/mG back on the device, probably rooting with KernelSU this time.

I appreciate any comments and advice! Thanks in advance 🙏

I've only made one system change to my phone today, allowing the Magisk app to update to v27.0 — and now my WiFi returns "IP configuration failure" to all networks.

Maybe I'm seeing a correlation where there isn't one, but I'm curious if others have similar experiences and — more to the point — have any suggestions for fixes.

I have an old samsung S21+ I don't use anymore and was thinking it'd be cool to turn it into a wireless charger via the wireless power share, but every time I take my Flip 5 off it, it turns of Power Share, and every time I leave it for a minute it turns off too.

Is there a way I can keep Powershare on indefinitely?

I'm looking for a full-featured, lightweight Pomodoro timer. Not having much luck in the app store for various reasons. Some only have 25/5 cycles (My ideal is 50/10 and I need to work up to that), another wouldn't work with my headphones, another wouldn't alarm until the screen was turned on(???). At this point it's just easier to use my default phone's timer, but that's less than ideal since I have to manually set and adjust the timer and the whole point is to get into an uninterrupted flow for 2-4 hours at a stretch.

I'm predicting a FOSS alternative to that paid/freeby garbage will have the features i need with no bullshit on top. Help?

I can download the same when I use wifi tho.

My phone is a Tecno Spark 8c, running Android 11.

Things I have tried:

1. Checked with different carriers. So it's probably not some block that my carrier has or my private dns settings being weird.
2. Cleared the data of the gmail app and ensured that it has access to media and background data.
3. Searched about the issue and saw people talking about clearing the data of downloads and the download manager. Have done that.
4. Reset the mobile data and app preferences in settings. No change after that too.

Related to this: I use Tachiyomi. Similar to attachments I never could download the extensions from within the app using mobile data(could get it manually from their site, so not an issue with their website). Recently the chapter downloads in the app have also stopped working on mobile data, displays No Network Connection available in the notification(have updated to Mihon).

I think it is some android bug. Or downloads or download manager or some other app having issues. I've disabled some bloatware on my phone and also have restricted background data to some apps.

Has anyone else dealt with a similar bug. Is there any fix for it(other than a full reset, if possible)?

Thanks in advance

I have never used esim, but I'm considering trying it out on my Samsung galaxy s23.

The thing is - I will probably unlock my device when the warranty period is over. So If I unlock the device while esim is enabled, what will happen to the esim(s) ?

Will I have to register for a new esim or use my physical SIM card again to get back my esim ?

I recently found out that Android's kernel is VERY different from any Apple implementation. Never really crossed my mind that there are different types of kernels.

This made me wonder - if the microkernel is so much better, at the cost of being complicated to develop an OS for, would Android be better on microkernel?

Please enlighten me. I'm only trying to learn more.

Also, do interact, Lemmy needs good conversation.

I might be completely misunderstanding the way Android Auto/CarPlay function. They're both essentially just screen projections from your phone to the in-car display, right?

Since my car only supports CarPlay, is there any way for me to "trick" it into thinking I have an iPhone plugged in and get it to allow my phone to display the Android Auto interface on the screen instead?

My phone (Galaxy S22+, running OneUI 6.0) was inactive yesterday for 18 hours straight. On those hours the battery went from 60% to 25%. I checked and the main two causes were: 13.6% - Firefox 12.2% - Always on Display. The AOD I get, it was indeed on all this time. Altough it is a bit disapointing that it uses this much battery, it is still less than 1% per hour so I'll take it. I have not idea why Firefox was even on this list? What can it be? Why was it active? How can I check it?

So I'm willing to replace my physical notebook for my Samsung Galaxy Tab 5, but I'm having trouble finding the exactly app for me.

I need a note taking app with basically 2 features:

1. Convert handwrite to text
2. Ability to select the page background (I want to use a daily template that I've already made)

I doesn't expect it to be free, but it would be nice for an app that, at least, offer a free trial.

And it'd be nice if it could sync between devices, specially with my Mac.

Any suggestions?

\--

EDIT:

I saw a lot of people telling about Samsung Notes, but the handwrite to text conversion simply doesn't exist for me. I think it's probably because I'm (still) not using a pen.

Another option would be using the Gboard handwriting feature, but I didn't get used to it. I prefer writing directly at the place that the text needs to be.

I’m too lazy to do a full reset of my phone, so I was wondering if there is a way to help me pinpoint what exactly happens when my phone freezes. I do have a decent amount of apps but non of those really run in the background (to my knowledge). I also do have a custom ROM so it could also be just a bug in it, but while the installation was still fresh, I haven’t experienced such freezes.

Would Logcat thingie be useful?

Hello! I have GrapheneOS on my pixel 7, and yesterday I updated it to the latest version. Today, I tried setting a timer and... It didn't work. I'm using simple clock from simple mobile tools. Using the stock clock does work flawlessly instead. Do any of you experience the same?

How to reproduce:

• Install simple clock
• open the app and create a new timer, let's say 5 min, and start it
• close the app
• there is no notification showing "a timer is running", and after 5 minutes no sound will be played
• if instead of closing the app you just minimize it, then the notification is shown. After this, you can close the app and the notification will stay, working as expected

(I have it set as not optimized)

Help Me Find the Perfect Email App for Me ---- I am using an IMAP email.

I am currently using Outlook on PC, and the rules setting on Outlook is an important part of my routine.

I was wondering if there's an email app that I can seamlessly use both on Android and PC.

I currently use the Local send app to send files wirelessly between devices.

Its max speed is ~3.5mbps when sending on a 2.4ghz wifi mode and ~5mbps on 5ghz. If I turn off encryption it can reach 10-26mbps of transfer speeds with 5ghz wifi.

Is there a faster way aside from usb data cable transfer?

I have tried nearby share and found it unreliable and slower. Total commander wifi transfer is not functional on android 13.

Files I transfer can be a gig in size.

Hello! I have a pixel 7 with GrapheneOS, and would like to install eSpeak as TTS engine. On fdroid there is no release available, and on github if I download the apk and try to install it, a "the app cannot be installed because your device is not compatible" error is thrown. Why this? And how can I install it?

Hi there,

I just switched from a Pixel 4a to a Fairphone 5 and on the Pixel when using adaptive brightness, i was able to lower the brightness to a specific value and that value would be set as the maximum for adaptive brightness (same for increasing to a brightness value and that being the new minimum). On my new Fairphone, that behaviour seems to be gone - is there any way of replicating/re-enabling this?

i have a redmi note 12 phone, speaker is working,

normal calls are also working, but when I call using whatsapp or Instagram, I cant hear them, but they can hear me...

normal calls are working fine thoo...this is frustrating. Can someone help me please....

Update: My wife has decided to go for the repair. I managed to find the parts for about £30, and we're getting it done in a local place next week. Thanks for the advice :)

Hi all :)

My wife has dropped her Mi 10t Lite 5g one too many times, and now as well as a cracked screen, it won't charge. As far as I can tell, the charging port has come loose.

I'm hoping to get an estimate of the repair price, as all the local shops are closed until next week, but I'm also hoping to find some possible replacements to give her some options.

She mainly uses it for Facebook, emails, and WhatsApp, and some of the farming games where you seem to just click crap randomly. She also connects it to her car for maps and music, and takes photos of our kid.

A micro SD slot is essential, mostly due to the amount of music and photos she stores on it.

I'm hoping to spend around £200, but that's flexible if there's a jump in quality or features.

Thanks in advance :)

Hello! My notifications have a "BZZ BZZ" vibration, with two consecutive pulses. I'd like to only have one BZZ. How can I change it? In the settings I was only able to change the vibration intensity, but not the pattern Running Android 14