4
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to create an operating system other than Android for Android devices?
Something like a secondary bootloader. Is that possible?
Yes it's possible. As you mentioned, since the boot chain up to bootloader stage is closed source and binaries are signed with OEM's private ...
- 21.2k
3
votes
32-bit and 64-bit Android: how to tell before buying a phone
One way to know that the OS is 64-bit is to check the RAM. 32-bit OSes have (see/utilise) a maximum of 4GB of RAM while 64-bit devices see more.
Devices with more than 4GB of RAM will be using 64-bit ...
- 7,394
3
votes
Accepted
Will Android be able to install OS updates without Google account?
OS updates are provided by the device manufacturer. They are retrieved directly by the device and don't require any user account.
The only requirement for an OS update is a working Internet ...
- 21.7k
3
votes
What steps are taken by the OS when an app is uninstalled?
Application updates do not recognise OTA Updates..
I have had several problems lately due to the fact that still use Android 5.0 and updating an application built for Android 8.0 or Android 7.0 will ...
- 1,590
3
votes
Accepted
How does android dm-verity protection validate blocks with hash tree
"But how can I verify root hash, when I have not read all the blocks??"
"In essence, the leaves of the tree are pages containing hash values; each higher level in the tree contains hashes of the ...
- 2,628
3
votes
TWRP API to aceess TWRP from the OS?
It's possible by OpenRecoveryScript
Official command guide: https://twrp.me/faq/openrecoveryscript.html
Official TWRP App, TWRP Manager and Lineage OS Updater use this approach.
- 135
3
votes
Accepted
What is the lowest version of Android that supports split screen apps?
tl;dr. Android 4x
The basic Android framework has always allowed what you see on your screen to be drawn at almost any size, and the idea of having more than one view shown at a time was kicked ...
- 10.2k
3
votes
Accepted
System update notification but system already up-to-date
Does Android put out security updates with the same version #?
Yes. Version number changes generally correspond with new features or new APIs. Occasionally it will also be incremented for major ...
- 36.8k
3
votes
What steps are taken by the OS when an app is uninstalled?
Uninstalling an app will remove entry from /data/system/packages.xml, and delete package from:
/data/app/ (apk file)
/data/data/ (user data and cache)
/data/dalvik-cache/arm/ (translated java ...
- 4,259
3
votes
Accepted
Wiped System Partition... No OS.. How can I recover it back?
Download the following file (J730GMTCE2AQJ1_TCE) from samfirmware.com: direct link
Extract (unzip) the firmware file
Download Odin v3.12.7
Open Odin v3.12.7 (make sure to Run as administrator)
Reboot ...
- 379
3
votes
Accepted
Would the Amazon Fire OS count as Android?
Android is 'open-source' in that Google releases code at every major version level. So long as whomever is doing the OS forking doesn't change APIs AND developers don't use any Google Mobile Services ...
- 5,478
3
votes
Accepted
How can I see which system update Android wants to install?
The update information on Samsung One UI can only be seen from the "Download and install" menu.
- 16.5k
2
votes
Accepted
are the apps being uninstalled during OS update?
If you do a normal system update (no restore or something like that) your apps are not uninstalled. The system doesn't really do anything with your apps at all until it finished the system update. ...
- 1,008
2
votes
What steps are taken by the OS when an app is uninstalled?
If the app stores most of its data online (in the cloud) through an account, then uninstall/reinstall isn't actually that nuclear. All you'd have to do upon reinstallation is sign in and the app ...
- 21
2
votes
Accepted
Where are the download images for Android?
It seems like for Samsung devices the image download servers are available but there is no user interface to select an image for download. According to XDA blog there is a new Python based command-...
- 21.7k
2
votes
Accepted
Can I install Android using Android studio on any supporting devices?
Android Studio is purely for developing Android apps. hence you can only build Android apps, install them on a device or emulator and you can run/debug it.
Android Studio has no functionality for ...
- 21.7k
2
votes
where does the official, "non-custom firmware" Android os look for version updates?
The OS looks for updates from the manufacturer's site for a newer version. When you click download on your phone it download the latest update usually as "update.zip".
2
votes
How can we trick an android device that the device does not get our real location?
The phone has a GPS sensor and the OS can read the values from this sensor. Thus, the OS knows your real position.
However, the apps have no access to the direct OS reading - they can only ask the OS ...
- 1,025
2
votes
Apps go portrait and then landscape unexpectedly
Well, I believe the easiest way for you to avoid that would be to disable auto-rotate in your phone.
The automatic rotation tool is very sensitive, based on accelerometer, and some users complain that ...
2
votes
Can 2 mobile devices detect each other's presence using NFER technology?
When I understand the Wikipedia article on NFER correctly this requires special hardware that is not yet present in Smartphones. Therefore this questions seems theoretical to me (which means that it ...
- 21.7k
2
votes
Can I disable OEM lock from computer?
For security reasons the only way to change the option "Allow OEM unlock" is from within the running device in the developer settings menu.
- 21.7k
2
votes
Are Android framework and operating system the same thing?
The Android framework is part of the operating system. The Android operating system has a lot of components. Here's a diagram from the Android developer documentation.
The system apps are Android ...
- 2,060
2
votes
Android settings and Microsoft Intune report different security patch levels on Huawei devices
Some suspected that Huawei couldn't get the security patch update on their Android devices certified by Google anymore because of the TGL (Temporary General License) extension timed out in August 2020....
- 16.5k
2
votes
How can I update my TV that is running android OS 4.2.1
The possible routes to updating this TV are:
If the manufacturer has produced a later version of Android for it, install that.
If someone independent has produced a "custom ROM" for it, ...
- 2,060
1
vote
Does Android 8 has journaling enabled in its ext4 files sytem?
Does Android 8 has journaling enabled in its ext4 files system?
It depends on a few factors. OEMs can possibly disable journaling e.g. on system partition as it's always supposed to be used R/O. ...
- 21.2k
1
vote
32-bit and 64-bit Android: how to tell before buying a phone
Until the manufacturer doesn't describe the technical specifications of OS included with a device, it's hard to say if it's 32-bit or 64-bit. But a device with 64-bit hardware is expected to come with ...
- 21.2k
1
vote
Accepted
What position do cellular communcation (1G, 2G, 3G, 4G or other function only implemented in phone) play in Android operating system archtecture?
If it is in kernel layer, it means that there should be an independent kernel repository or patch specific for cell phone other that tab computer, smart television and music player. It would not be a ...
- 5,478
1
vote
Accepted
How would I go about purposely disabling all microphones on an Android phone?
I can not see a purpose for this but ultimately the easiest method if you never want to use the microphone again is to just break the microphone with a small pin or something,
you could disconnect ...
- 1,590
1
vote
Lanix X110 (Mexican made, generic android 4.4.2 OS) Random "ghost" apps appear from nowhere and other issues
Do this. Those are brought to you by some app integrated to system. If you could be kin enough you could realize that even advertisements appear on status bar and or drawn over other normal apps. But ...
- 719
1
vote
How can I switch keyboards using gesture navigation only(no navigation bar)? (OnePlus 5t)
Android 9 "improved" this problem, as navigation bar is default hidden.
My Bank app has a feature which is a keyboard and helps a lot to make payments during chats in WhatsApp and SMS, but now it's ...
- 11
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible