I have a TCL A600DL phone, and recently I've been having issues with Google Messages being able to download images or other attachments. The last time I was able to receive an image without issue was April 26th of this year (2024), but now when I'm sent an image or video and I tap to download it, the icon just continuously loads over and over until eventually I get the "Message/Attachment from [name] could not be downloaded or received." And if I've already tried to download the attachment previously, it will say "Not availiable" under the sender's contact when I'm previewing all my messages.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15358017

Google Pay alternative?

Hey there, I'm looking for an alternative to Google pay that'll allow me to use NFC payments etc. Thoughts?

I don't have a Google account, nor am I interested in opening one.

I'm considering getting a Xiaomi 14 Ultra and I can get it pretty cheap with Chinese rom. I heard it's not that hard to flash it and put in a Swedish/global rom. anyone with real experience? or do I keep the china rom and live with it?

Can anyone recommend one? I thought I found one, but the pages were just pictures of the PDF pages 😮‍💨

I'm looking for an app that lists all my installed apps and sorts them by / shows their last-update-date. I want to check what apps on my phone didn't get updates for a long time.

So I just bought a OnePlus 12 recently, I was used to controlling volume using the onehand operations goodlock module in my Samsung galaxy S23. I basically never had to press the volume buttons to control the volume unless absolutely necessary.

Possible ways I've thought of (it would be really great if at all possible) -

1. Using the curved edges in phone screen for volume control.

2. Using the gestures to control volume when the screen is off.

3. Setting Diagonal swiping gestures to do different functions, controlling volume in this case.

I'm looking for an app that can convert flac to mp3 but also other formats to mp3. But a modern app please. Nothing that looks like a throwback to gingerbread. Any suggestions?

I searched around the web and the official answer seems to be no as Samsung doesn't provide a public API for connection.

I can manually sync my sleep times from the app. But, I would prefer the automated approach and flexibility of the Sleep app.

I feel like I'm encountering weird little tics and problems with my android devices, and those of family and friends. Just simple things where settings don't seem to be consistently applied, or the os switches something back repeatedly. For example, my apps are set to auto update, to use data as well as WiFi, etc, but every month or so I go into Play and see that some random app hasn't been updated in weeks.

Or my friend only gets Signal notifications when they open the app, despite giving full background data use, turning off adaptive battery, etc. My mother uses an alarm app that needs to display over the screen for a feature, but despite me setting that permission repeatedly Android keeps turning it off.

Is this just anecdotal bad luck? Or is all the work to preserve battery life, control background usage, etc led to an OS where the user can't control things reliably? It starting to feel a lot like MS Windows!

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?