|OT| The Android Thread - The ultimate haven for headphone jacks

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Welcome to the Android OT for device news, discussion, advice and troubleshooting!

-------------------------------
FAQ
- What is Android?
Android is an open source operating system created by Google's Android division. Originally made for smartphones, the Android OS expanded into tablets, Smart TVs and Automobiles.

- What are the advantages of Android over iOS?
In addition to being open source, Android is a lot more customizable due to its plethora of personalization apps for wallpapers, lock screens and even ringtones.

- Can I root my Android phone/tablet?
It depends. If you are interested in installing custom roms on your phone, go for it. Be careful though, there is a chance that your device will be bricked if you fail to do the root method properly.

- Are Android tablets good for drawing (ex Photoshop, ArtRage, etc)?
Sadly, drawing on Android tablets is very inferior due to the lack of dedicated bluetooth styluses and poor support for tablets. Your best bet is to get the NVIDIA SHIELD tablet as it has a proper native stylus, but you're better off with an iPad with Apple Pencil or a Microsoft Surface.

- Are there any other appstores besides the Google Play Store app?
Yes! Other appstores exist such as F-Droid and the Amazon Appstore. You can also use APK sites such as APKMirror, TapTap, and QooApp to install games/apps from other countries. Be careful when installing from other sources as the APKs they distribute can infect your phone with malware.
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THE MANY TYPES OF ANDROID

Android: The default operating system for smartphones and tablets.

Android TV: TV-focused version of Android for Smart TVs. Included in NVIDIA SHIELD TV, Mi Box S, and recent Sony Bravia TVs.

Wear OS: Originally Android Wear. Android for smartwatches, supports the Google Play store, though some apps may have limited functionality. Certain watches can also recieve iOS notifications via dedicated app.

Android Auto: Version of Android that is an interactive menu for cars. Lacks gaming capabilities, but app support makes up for it.

Android One: A special modified version of Stock Android with regular security updates for 3 years. Usually sold more in India and Asian countries.

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CUSTOM ROMS
LineageOS - A free Android ROM that the successor to CyannogenOS/CyannogenMOD. Also available in a version for microG.
Paranoid Android - A very old yet very well known custom ROM
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RECOMMENDED APPS
Nova Launcher (personalization) - The most customizable and popular launcher for Android. Contains Pro option as a one time payment via separate app.
Textra (messenger) - An alternative to your phone's stock texting app. Customizable with emjoi styles and colors.
VLC (video player) - Port of open source video player on PC, macOS and Linux.
Zedge - store for free/paid ringtones, notification sounds and wallpapers.
Cx File Manager - nice lightweight app that lets you manage your phone's files, also no ads looks at ES File Explorer
Files - Nice alternative to ES File Explorer, lets you delete, move, copy files on phone
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NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,198
25,726
113
Rocking a Moto Z2 Play here. I had an iPhone once but fuck they're expensive.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Rocking a Moto Z2 Play here. I had an iPhone once but fuck they're expensive.
Yeah, I used to have a iPhone 6S but the battery sucks ass even after uninstalling Facebook and Snapchat. What's strange is that after I changed my phone, the battery began to decrease slowly without the SIM card.

Now I own an S9 which is refreshing. It currently has the Pie beta installed that I sideloaded from some months ago. Trying to get it back to Stable pie but with no luck :(
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Oppo and Xiaomi are working on under-display selfie technology.

Looks cool, though I wonder how Samsung would implement this in their next phones.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
OP
JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Moto Z3 Play and Moto Z2 has recently gotten the Pie update

Nokia 2.2 phone announced

Leaked Galaxy Note 10 renders comfirms no headphone jacks :(

ASUS unable to use Zen and ZenFone brand in India due to trademark issues
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
well that fucking sucks :(
Yeah. You think with the praise for Samsung keeping the headphone jacks for the S10, they could just keep them for the Galaxy Note 10.
Looks like I am switching to an S10e. That phone is easily the best of the Galaxy series.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Huawei will no longer preload Facebook apps in future phones

Google lobbying for Huawei ban

You can now file a claim for the Nexus 6P settlement

Moto G7 Power on sale for $230

Google Nest Hub is $65 on Rakuten.com (Buy.com)
 
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Alexandros

MetaMember
Nov 4, 2018
2,851
12,250
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I want to buy a new Android tablet. Huawei is out after recent events, any recommendations?
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
I want to buy a new Android tablet. Huawei is out after recent events, any recommendations?
I heard that ASUS Zenpad 8 is a decent tablet, though I haven't owned an ASUS tablet in my life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is also good, but the price can be expensive if buying the Samsung keyboard case for it.
 

Alexandros

MetaMember
Nov 4, 2018
2,851
12,250
113
I heard that ASUS Zenpad 8 is a decent tablet, though I haven't owned an ASUS tablet in my life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 is also good, but the price can be expensive if buying the Samsung keyboard case for it.
These are my main options in my country:

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018) at around 200 euros
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (2017) at around 320 euros
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e (2019) at around 360 euros.

...and an iPad (2018) at around 280 euros.

I'm going to be using it as mainly a media & internet device with a bit of typing here and there. No gaming. The first Tab A is the cheap option, it's decent but the other two have far better screens. The S3 has a 4:3 aspect ratio which seems like it would be terrible for Youtube and movie watching.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
These are my main options in my country:

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018) at around 200 euros
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (2017) at around 320 euros
Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e (2019) at around 360 euros.

...and an iPad (2018) at around 280 euros.

I'm going to be using it as mainly a media & internet device with a bit of typing here and there. No gaming. The first Tab A is the cheap option, it's decent but the other two have far better screens. The S3 has a 4:3 aspect ratio which seems like it would be terrible for Youtube and movie watching.
Hm.... Sounds like you should get the S5e for power or Tab A for budget.
 
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gabbo

MetaMember
Dec 22, 2018
3,525
5,571
113
Toronto
I'll be rocking my LG G7ThinQ until it drops dead or I do. I just need to find a better case and a new screen protector, as my screen protector is, well garbage, having split in several spots.

Don't want to go with an Otter because while it'll work, it will double the size of the phone. Looked into AUG, but they dropped their G7 ThinQ line of cases
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
A PSA to anyone who owns a Chromecast or Assistant speaker: A recent update to the Google Home app repeatedly forgets Chromecasts and speakers and continues to say that they're offline.

Luckily, there is one solution found in a comment:
Turn off battery optimization for Google Services Framework, com.sec.android.app.chromecast, Google Play Store and Google Home. These have helped mine tremendously. Apps > Special Access > Optimize battery usage. However, some issues will still persist, but by and large, these aren't put to sleep and my Chromecasting apps still see the devices.
 
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Kuro

"Oh yeah? Aren't you gonna punish me?"
Dec 22, 2018
597
806
93
I get weird stops with Discord on my S9, when switching between emoji picker-keyboard fast sometimes the App just hangs for 2-5 seconds. Tried clearing cache to no help.
Anyone else?
 

Nirvash

Junior Member
Feb 25, 2019
23
49
13
I get weird stops with Discord on my S9, when switching between emoji picker-keyboard fast sometimes the App just hangs for 2-5 seconds. Tried clearing cache to no help.
Anyone else?
S9+ user here, can't replicate this. Performance on Discord has always been top notch for me.
 

Guilty of Being

META MAN
Dec 5, 2018
1,607
3,971
113
Texas
I think the wife and I are going to move from iOS to Android next purchase/update. We don’t really use or have an Apple ecosystem at home or work, so we just want a change.
 
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bbq of doom

MetaMember
Nov 16, 2018
327
177
43
I've had an iPhone since 2014ish (whenever the 6/6 Plus came out) and am kinda itching to return, although that would run absolutely roughshod over my social life.

That being said, the newest Pixel leaks are interesting? As a devoted Nexus fanboy in a past life, I don't think I could stomach TouchWiz (unless it's gotten significantly better, which I hope it has) or any of the other skins/forks/etc.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Not related to Android but I have to share this.

As the complaint notes, "AT&T prominently advertises particular flat monthly rates for its post-paid wireless service plans." But after customers sign up, the telcom "covertly increases the actual price" by tacking on the "bogus so-called 'Administrative Fee,'" according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in US District Court for the Northern District of California.


AT&T "hides" the fee in an easy-to-miss spot in customer bills, the complaint says, and it "misleadingly suggests that the Administrative Fee is akin to a tax or another standard government pass-through fee, when in fact it is simply a way for AT&T to advertise and promise lower rates than it actually charges."
This sounds really scummy, I am glad me and my mom are with T-Mobile.

I've had an iPhone since 2014ish (whenever the 6/6 Plus came out) and am kinda itching to return, although that would run absolutely roughshod over my social life.

That being said, the newest Pixel leaks are interesting? As a devoted Nexus fanboy in a past life, I don't think I could stomach TouchWiz (unless it's gotten significantly better, which I hope it has) or any of the other skins/forks/etc.
Not sure about the Pixel 4 leaks but I really hope that its an improvement over the Pixel 3.
 

Pogi

illiterate
Jun 25, 2019
170
483
63
With price being equal, Pixel 3A or Samsung Galaxy S10e (SD)? Both brand new.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Samsung Galaxy Tab 6 announced, improved S Pen, $649 USD

New Lenovo Chromebooks announced

Google scrapping smartphone UI for Android Auto for Google Assistant features

Xiaomi announces Black Shark 2 Pro with Snapdragon 855 and 12GB RAM
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
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NarohDethan

There was a fish in the percolator!
Apr 6, 2019
9,198
25,726
113
That Note 10+ is sexy af, but it way, way too expensive. I would rather buy a 2080Ti if I'm spending that kind of cash.
 
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JMTHEFOX

JMTHEFOX

Planning to Be a Game Designer
Oct 4, 2018
517
688
93
Brooklyn, NY
Does anyone here use Swappa? Its like Ebay where you sell used Android phones. The site looks promising as I am looking to replace my Galaxy S9 with an unlocked Galaxy S10e.
 

Le Pertti

0.01% Game dev
Oct 10, 2018
8,665
22,278
113
45
Paris, France
lepertti.com
Whoa just woke up and 60% if my battery had drained during the night and it seems it's Google Play Services that caused it. Tried to google it and seems it a common problem but none of the old tips seem to work. Anyone here have any experience with the problem?
 
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Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,737
8,978
113
So, my Xiaomi Mi A2 was acting up today getting in an endless loop where it froze after boot & unlock with no time to do anything like factory reset or whatever else I attempted. I thought some app update borked since that's the last thing I had left it doing only to find it turned off for no reason. I don't really use anything but boomer social media and email and bank apps and what not and a few legit store apps like food delivery and local price comparison site and stuff. Safe mode boot did the same too but I eventually managed to factory reset without going in normal boot, just the android bios type thing you can go to.

The process went smoothly but I'm thinking I somehow got a virus rather than a different sort of bork because this photo is the last one in my google photos now I've restored everything to how it was but google searching for it doesn't help (it's a joker) and tineye also can't find any instance of it at all. This is it:

Virus scanned it first of course. Anybody seen it? I never had anything like this happen before, I just occasionally use antivirus on my PC (just to be sure nothing got through, switching between AVG and other free stuff depending on the era, nowadays it's Malwarebytes I employ) but haven't gotten any issues since like the 00s, I know my way around stuff, what to do, what not to do, etc., granted I'm not that into phones and only ever change device after serious hw issues etc., plus I don't yet use adblock on my phone even though I did switch from Chrome to Firefox recently to match what I use on PC.

Oh I haven't yet restored it all, maybe it's just something sent on viber or something and it auto backed up, I have that set for the group with my brother and his wife and they send my niece photos etc., so maybe false alarm, I'm doing app updates now and will be getting the rest apps later so I'll see then. It was suss :ROFLMAO:

And yah it's carnival/halloween type days here now so probably something like that. Never mind for now! Edit: maybe not, can't find it in any convo now...
 
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Alextended

Segata's Disciple
Jan 28, 2019
5,737
8,978
113
My Xiaomi Mi A2 borked. I tried everything, it's stuck in boot loop and when it does boot the touch screen won't work. It worked once, then after the screen locked it wasn't working again. But mainly it's stuck in boot loop. The screen did have a big crack a long while now (the day my so called rugged case just disintegrated by itself I dropped my phone, just my luck) but Idk if that's what finally did it in. It did it before but a reboot from recovery fixed it, this time nothing worked until it stopped booting altogether. I got a Redmi 12 4/128 from my brother in law, his "old" phone. It's in pretty good condition, surprisingly.

Edit: ok so apparently he did mess it up as usual but replaced the screen, that's why it looked new to me, lol!

During the first setup process after a factory reset (how does it keep and ask a previously used old code from the same device Idk, I had to ask him for his code, I guess it does't wipe everything as it should, but anyway moving on) I did not select to sync with old phone (I tried but every choice seemed to need a cable or stupid shit like the other phone to be on rather than a simple google account sync).

I also selected to make backups when I added my google account. Now, is all my old google data from Xiaomi Mi A2 lost and if not how do I get it?

I tried to do the setup process again and this time choose to select a phone to use data from but it seems to only give me the option of this phone, on the setup I did earlier, as that's the last used. I'm doing the steps again with another factory reset. Please halp.

Please tell me there's a way to choose older date google account data to download/sync with, or select from specific older device, or anything else.

Edit: Ok, I think I finally did it... God damn scary... It did somehow let me choose to restore from my Xiaomi Mi A2. I lost a few days of stuff, depending on the app (I had viber set to weekly backups) but not much, thankfully. At one point I got scared it locked me out of my google account, asking me to allow the connection from the defunct Xiaomi Mi A2 with the phone number confirmation option greyed out due to "higher level security settings" (which is bs, I always use SMS 2 step). Thankfully the option saying to ask for help and that it could take 3-5 business days had a not-greyed-out option to verify by SMS. Wtf...

Also I hate the differences to whatever android/launcher this has, lol, almost everything you try to do has some kind of marketplace to sell you crap, like changing the ringtone or wallpaper or whatever else. I got the A2 back then exactly because it was Android One so largely stock. The phone is alright though.

Edit again: Floating windows suck and you can't disable them altogether, nice. Notifications are also weird, I don't understand what I'm doing and say, Messenger messages don't stay in the middle of the top screen to drag down at any time but I just get a small icon on the top left? Weird new stuff for me.

Anyway since this phone isn't in as good condition as it seemed I'll probably try to find something during this Black Friday or whenever. This one's chipset isn't much better than my Xiaomi Mi A2's, it has a G88 or whatever. I don't think my budget will allow way better (150-200) but we'll see. At least I have this.
 
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EdwardTivrusky

Good Morning, Weather Hackers!
Dec 8, 2018
7,430
12,539
113
I've had my Pixel 2 since launch and it's immaculate but the battery has been dying for a long time and it's now at the point where the phone is shutting down kinda randomly so...

I have a Pixel 8 Pro in Mint* coming because they're £400 off at the moment which is wild! First new phone in what, 7 years? So although i'm happy enough with the Pixel 2 i'm really looking forward to the new phone and just have my fingers crossed the transfer goes well with my provider.

Buying a couple of cases and screen protectors too.

*( Colour totally not chosen because of a Vtuber at all - it's just a happy coincidence, i like my phones to be non-black or grey so i can spot where they are easily but Mint, yay! )