Database Info

[Q] PANIC

If I break forum etiquette in some way please excuse the lapse - this is my first post to any forum. Honestly, it's a bit intimidating but I'm more than a little desperate right now. Near panic would be a better description of my state.
My Droid Incredible is stuck in a continuous boot loop. 24-48 hours after downloading a sleep sound generating app (if this is relevant), I was trying to use a different app and a pop-up stated "internal error" and would not load the app. I tried another and same result. I tried to kill all running apps with advanced app killer and same result. I turned off the phone thinking that it would correct when turning it back on but no luck. Now it just power cycles in a continuous boot loop. There has been no solution through tech support or a store visit. I don't care about the phone. At this point I would like to strap it to a steak and throw it in a lion cage. I do care about the data its holding - none of which is backed up in any way. There is no sd card and no back-up in my gmail account. I need to try and rescue the following data: voice memos from the HTC app, notes from the 3bannana (catch notes) app, photos, videos, apps, bookmarks from the dolphin HD browser and the Android browser, pdf downloads, text messages, call log settings, etc.
I have tried to boot the phone with a sd card installed. I have tried to view the data from a Celebrite machine at the Verizon store - it sees the drive but not the data. I tried to get into a "safe mode" menu by depressing down volume+center click+menu. Nothing has worked.
Is there any desktop software (or any other solution) that would enable me to restore (rescue) the data from the phone while it is in this state?
If there isn't, please just make something up so I can continue for a while in a delusional state of hope and get over this gradually.
Thank you for your wisdom and mercy.

Kandinsky1 said:
If I break forum etiquette in some way please excuse the lapse - this is my first post to any forum. Honestly, it's a bit intimidating but I'm more than a little desperate right now. Near panic would be a better description of my state.
My Droid Incredible is stuck in a continuous boot loop. 24-48 hours after downloading a sleep sound generating app (if this is relevant), I was trying to use a different app and a pop-up stated "internal error" and would not load the app. I tried another and same result. I tried to kill all running apps with advanced app killer and same result. I turned off the phone thinking that it would correct when turning it back on but no luck. Now it just power cycles in a continuous boot loop. There has been no solution through tech support or a store visit. I don't care about the phone. At this point I would like to strap it to a steak and throw it in a lion cage. I do care about the data its holding - none of which is backed up in any way. There is no sd card and no back-up in my gmail account. I need to try and rescue the following data: voice memos from the HTC app, notes from the 3bannana (catch notes) app, photos, videos, apps, bookmarks from the dolphin HD browser and the Android browser, pdf downloads, text messages, call log settings, etc.
I have tried to boot the phone with a sd card installed. I have tried to view the data from a Celebrite machine at the Verizon store - it sees the drive but not the data. I tried to get into a "safe mode" menu by depressing down volume+center click+menu. Nothing has worked.
Is there any desktop software (or any other solution) that would enable me to restore (rescue) the data from the phone while it is in this state?
If there isn't, please just make something up so I can continue for a while in a delusional state of hope and get over this gradually.
Thank you for your wisdom and mercy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a custom recovery image and the partitions aren't corrupt you should be able to recover everything with adb.
If you don't have a custom recovery then it might be impossible to recover anything.
Have you rooted the phone and installed a custom recovery?
With respect to backups - GMail for example is stored in the cloud - so the data on your phone is just a clone - you won't loose your mail - other apps I don't know, you'll have to check each.
If you can't get stable adb access you will need to research a factory reset for your phone which should fix it (but will wipe your data).

djmcnz said:
If you have a custom recovery image and the partitions aren't corrupt you should be able to recover everything with adb.
If you don't have a custom recovery then it might be impossible to recover anything.
Have you rooted the phone and installed a custom recovery?
With respect to backups - GMail for example is stored in the cloud - so the data on your phone is just a clone - you won't loose your mail - other apps I don't know, you'll have to check each.
If you can't get stable adb access you will need to research a factory reset for your phone which should fix it (but will wipe your data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, I have not rooted my droid, have no custom recovery image and don't even know what adb is. As you can tell, I am a complete novice - but a novice in serious trouble if I can't recover the data. When you say stable adb access, what do you mean?
I was hoping to find some type of desktop recovery software that may be able to recognize the drive on the phone and then view and copy the data. Is it possible that this might exist. By the way is there a more appropriate sub-forum to place this post?
Thanks for your help,
Caleb

Kandinsky1 said:
Unfortunately, I have not rooted my droid, have no custom recovery image and don't even know what adb is. As you can tell, I am a complete novice - but a novice in serious trouble if I can't recover the data. When you say stable adb access, what do you mean?
I was hoping to find some type of desktop recovery software that may be able to recognize the drive on the phone and then view and copy the data. Is it possible that this might exist. By the way is there a more appropriate sub-forum to place this post?
Thanks for your help,
Caleb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol ADB is the Android Debugging Bridge - in layman's term, it's a way to gain terminal access to your phone and do several other things with your phone. Mostly for debugging, but can be used for these purposes if you're rooted/installed a custom recovery.
That said, it would be at this point in time, virtually impossible to save your data that hasn't been backed up. Even if you had root, this might have been a bit more accomplishable (though usually a custom recovery never hurt ). If you're REALLY desperate, there might still be a way, though the chances of it working and providing good results is a mixed bag of results.
I'm assuming that if you didn't have an SD card in there in the first place that it has some built-in memory, right? Well, If not, then Catch notes would not have worked as it depends on an SD card to hold backups and (if i believe correctly) notes. Also, I'm assuming that you had some accounts set up on your phone (HTC/Google). If not, then I don't know how you've gone this long without it, but I'm almost positive you did have at least those two. In that case, the voice memos might be saved as well as the call log settings. Contacts might also be synced, so its more of the physical stuff we need to worry (texts/pdfs/bookmarks/pictures/videos)
Now, there are ways to recover using a computer. It all requires that you get your phone to work again (don't throw it to the lions yet!) So, we'll need to try and unbrick it. Follow the instructions here to try and get your phone back into factory state. It's true this will delete all your data, but as you are now, you have even less of a chance of recovering it.
From here, you're going to just skip past the setups and everything. After that, you're going to mount the phone as a disk drive. Now, this is where things can either go really good or really bad for you.
Get a recovery software for Windows, Linux, or Mac here. I honestly prefer Recuva as it has worked well for me in the past and this other program I had to pay for (can't remember the name. Search google and you might find it ;P), but Recuva should serve these purposes well.
The reason why these things work very inconsistently is that when you delete stuff in your phone/computer, they don't actually get "deleted". Rather, they are flagged as "not needed" and is left there until the phone/computer needs more space. It'll search out any flags, then overwrite them. In our case, that will work for and against us. Since we have to rewrite about 1 GB of data to reinstall the system (or was it +- 500 MBs?) we'll have to assume that about that much will be lost to us. That's why usually videos are unrecoverable. They are large and usually take up the most space, so they will be hard to recover if anything.
However, this works out for us as we can recover things like texts, contacts, your color note files, bookmarks, pictures, and whatever else you can dream of with a very high success rate. This is because they are small enough and if they don't get touched, you can probably get them in their original form. However, if parts of it is overwritten (i.e. texts, video) , you'll know cause the texts will have funky characters that dont make sense and the video wont load. Use this to your advantage and recover only small things first. Rule of thumb: if its small and seen by the software, most likely untouched. Grab these first.
I apologize for this really really long post. I just wanted to explain every part to you so you can understand the thinking behind why I'm asking you to do something as delete your precious data. However, like I stated earlier, there is almost 100% chance you won't get everything back and you could still possibly lose all your data should the software not see it. However, I feel this is much better than not having any chance at all and just staring at your phone waiting for it to grow brains and spit out the data in a conveniently-hidden SD card. So, I hope this works for you and if things go well, let me know! =]
~jojojohnson7410

In case hard reset didn't work...
You can follow the following section by clicking here:
How to revert to factory (stock, S-ON, no root):
Get S-ON by flashing THIS FILE (218.5kb) via recovery the same way you would flash a ROM. If you're not on the stock radio, you'll first need to FLASH THE STOCK RADIO. If you don't know how to do this, then you've never flashed off the stock radio, so you're good.
Revert your phone back to the stock, unrooted ROM. You have two options.
Option 1: Download HTC Sync and run the RUU. You can download the RUU HERE (180MB).
Option 2: Download THIS FILE (172.5MB) and place it on the root of your SD card. Reboot your phone into HBOOT (Bootloader, NOT RECOVERY!!!). Once the bootloader checks the image, it will ask you if you want to update. Select Yes and let the update run. After the phone reboots, you will have a stock, factory Droid Incredible running the November update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's all the way at the top. Do this only if the hard reset didn't work. If you need help using this or encounter any problems, let me know =] (oh, PM me cause sometimes I forget to check >.>)
~jojojohnson7410

[Q] LGL45C factory reset problems

Hi all, I come to you all in this time of great need. I have in my possession a LG Optimus Net or LGL45C as its know technically.
I started to suffer from problems from gapps resulting from uninstalling the Google Talk app(yes doing this in retrospect was incredibly stupid). After failing to resolve my problem when trying to re-install it, I decided to take the easy way and just do a factory reset and start from scratch. Little did I know what was to meet me. I was given the "Touch to the android to begin" screen like so many others, but it was not meant to be that simple. I would touch the android, and it would light gleefully but it would not reveal to me the next step and sit there motionless. So I proceeded to the next logical step, touching each corner in succession to skip the setup process. But no matter how many times I repeated it, nothing came of it. Next I booted into recovery mode(stock I never bothered to install CWM, another one of my mistakes) and did another factory reset, clear cache, etc. This too did not work. And I thought, there was always installing CWM through ADB where then I can then just flash to a stock ROM I downloaded. But Alas!! USB debugging some how got disabled and it was all fruitless. A little google-fu later I came across a method to flash .kdz using obscure LG utilities. With renewed hope I followed the steps but to no avail. Now I come to you stranger, and plead you in somehow help me in recovering some use of this phone. I have exhausted all my options and I hope someone out there read this and comes in my time of need. Sorry for the long block of text :silly::silly::silly::silly:

Having the same problem as you, bookface.
I couldn't install CWM from the links provided in another post, all lead to a 404 Dropbox page. This sucks. And when I tried to use the installer from Play, I got a dialog saying it's not compatible. Some would say to ignore it, it would be fine...
But if something doesn't feel right, don't do it, I've always been told...
So, I was rooted, but phone started acting funny. Done a factory reset. Since I didn't have CWM, I thought it would clear that mess up.
Nope, almost all apps crash. I'm lucky that at least the browser, Gmail, and music apps work, but everything else, including Google Play Store, all crash upon launch.
Net10's forum is a lame excuse as a "forum." Seems like TracFone employees have NO concept of how a forum works. I looked at there for the same issue, and they rather take software/hardware issues to private messages?
I have NO computer, my hubby's friend who helps him says "You have an Android tablet, that is a computer!" Technically, yes and no. Since I can't root that thing, it's useless. (If you want to know, Polaroid PMID709 4.1 with Rockchip RK29xx, and impossible to root fully, it's "semi-rooted".)
And I'm lost. I and my hubby need this phone to work. Because we need it fpr work (our jobs). And I'm getting sick of TracFone screwing up Android ROMs.
Please help!

youve made much more headway than i. trying to help my neighbor with his. he set a lockscreen password on his lgl34c and then promptly forgot it.
so upon a bit of research, this model is a doozie to work with. i had intended to overdeliver by flashing him a ROM that might allow some hotspotting and the like. upon closer inspection, i dont believe that i will be able to do that. at best a towelroot...
but ONLY IF i can get past this lockscreen. i've tried to factory reset by:
1) removing/replacing battery then holding vol down+power and waiting for LG splashscreen then releasing power (still holding vol down ) and then re-pressing(holding) power again
2) turning phone off and holding home+vol up+power and holding 30-40 sec
ive repeated both methods many many times, and these are the only methods that i have seen described in my google searching. in fact, yours is the most advanced post i have found yet.
how can i factory reset this phone without access to the settings menu?

Random app crashes and problems

Hi, I have a samsung galaxy tab s2 the 9.7 inches one, but lately some apps have been crashing or having errors, chrome for example throws that snap somethjng wrong, perfect viewer sometimes gets stuck on an image and I cant chnge it, but all menus work, several apps keep crashing as well.
I have it with official firmware, never touched it, its rooted with magisk since before the problems started, apps that use root are file explorer, vanced manger and an app to disable some samsung bloatware.
I dont know how to troubleshoot android, on pc I would check memory and hdds, but theres nothing lkke that kn android that I could find.
I think it could be memory or storage, but everything Ive downloaded or copied/moved hasnt have any problems or errors. Or something is corrupted in the system, or I dont know what else or how to check.
What would you recommend to fix it? Hopefully starting with less drastic, as in less data loss, factory reset, flashing an original rom or somethjng.
The device is aSamsung galaxy tab s2 9.7 with android 7 with lean launcher.
All help is appreciated.

I believe this were an common issue for Android 7 and below !
and you have an old device and android which I believe it's no longer supported by the most of developers.
try to flash any custome roms & kernels if available.

If apps are randomly crashing then the reason might be it's caused by an update of Google's tool called Android System WebView.

Abdullah.Csit said:
I believe this were an common issue for Android 7 and below !
and you have an old device and android which I believe it's no longer supported by the most of developers.
try to flash any custome roms & kernels if available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But it hasnt happened before until now, what would it fix using a custom rom instead of the original?
jwoegerbauer said:
If apps are randomly crashing then the reason might be it's caused by an update of Google's tool called Android System WebView.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had that problem with my phone, my tablet never got that update.
Thanks

Clear system cache...

Wiped dalvik and system cache, but still having the same problems.
Thanks

totopesce said:
Wiped dalvik and system cache, but still having the same problems.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try using the stock launcher.
See what apks are running and cached right when this happens is it may give you a clue.
I would completely backup all critical data now.
Android is normally very stable.
Scan with Malwarebytes. If you can't find the root cause, suspect a virus, rootkit etc.
This is rare but can happen.
Karma Firewall can help you to see what's accessing what and how often. It uses almost no battery or resources, freeware, adfree, a near perfect little app.

Cant remove lean launcher it gets stuck in android is starting and it doesnt let me change to stock, installed nova just to check if it was lean and still the same problems.
Installed malwarebytes, had to run the scan several times cause it kept crashing, it completed and it didnt find anything.
Installed karma firewall and will see if I find anything.
Thanks

totopesce said:
Cant remove lean launcher it gets stuck in android is starting and it doesnt let me change to stock, installed nova just to check if it was lean and still the same problems.
Installed malwarebytes, had to run the scan several times cause it kept crashing, it completed and it didnt find anything.
Installed karma firewall and will see if I find anything.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Figure out how to get the stock launcher back.
Any 3rd party app you can't uninstall is already malware. Check Device Administrators to see if it's registered there. Nova is no saint either.
If you can't resolve it error on the side of caution that it is malware and nuke it. Sometimes you never find out which one it was... getting rid of it is all that matters.

Sorry, what I meant was that after uninstalling it it got stuck in androiid is starting, somehow I lost the stock launcher, so it got stuck with no launcher. Found the launcher that came stock, installed it and uninstalled the other 2.
Apps are still crashing, I deleted all apps that I dont really use.

totopesce said:
Sorry, what I meant was that after uninstalling it it got stuck in androiid is starting, somehow I lost the stock launcher, so it got stuck with no launcher. Found the launcher that came stock, installed it and uninstalled the other 2.
Apps are still crashing, I deleted all apps that I dont really use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, that can crash it for sure.
See if you can find a common apk between the effected apps. Any recent system app updates?
New or uninstalled apps?
A system apk may have gotten corrupted.
Android is pretty good compared to Windows when uninstalling apps but occasionally a poorly designed app will screw it up.
It's just about factory reset time or your equivalent.
If it an old load that's probably best anyway.
I haven't reloaded in almost a year but I'm ready to go at any time.
Takes me about 2 hours to get it back within 99%. All the data I need for a full restore is on my SD card otherwise it would an additional 6-8 hours to restore the SD card data as well.
If you don't have a complete reload plan that saves all your critical data no matter what, implement one now before you get burnt.
Those stories are too common here

Dont remember when it started, cause at first it was one app from a github that was having problems, then yesterday magisk started and when I got that working it all when to hell.
The app that I use most has a backup/restore file that I saved on my sd, what do you use to backup/restore?
I would think that some backup solution could bring the problem back or am I mistaken, like if you fully restore something corrupted it should still be corrupted?
A factory reset could be corrupted as well? I mean after a factory reset, assuming its software, could it still have the same problems?
Though I dont really have any critical data on the tablet its mostly for browsing, youtube and reading comics. Still its a bother to re configure everything xD. IIRC I think its only been factory reset once.
Thanks.

It's unlikely the factory reload image is corrupted.
The current one your using likely is.
Other than apps that allow you to back them up like Poweramp or perhaps bookmarks, most app data I would write off just in case that was connected to the current issues.
None of my database is on internal memory except DCIM and downloads (both I back it up at least monthly). Critical apps like Poweramp are backed up on the SD card as export backup files.
The Poweramp setup would literally take a week to recreate. Most apps you can throw together rather easily.
All the SD card data is then again backed up at least twice to other separate drives.
I will try Samsung Smart Switch to restore home settings and see how it does on the next reset.
If you issues are of unknown origins being conservative about what you allow on the new load could save you more time in the long run.
If you unintentionally import corrupted data you'll end up doing it over again.
Or do so if the reload time isn't that great and is an easy write off for you.
Fun times... especially if the reload doesn't fix it

Did a factory reset and problem solved, took me less time than I thought to get my most used apps ready to go.
Thanks for the help.

totopesce said:
Did a factory reset and problem solved, took me less time than I thought to get my most used apps ready to go.
Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yay! Success!
And a minty fresh OS load.
Load apps and especially updates over time to see if one these were the cause.
Forced reloads are rare but they happen usually caused by a rogue app screwing up boot or a malware infection. Otherwise you can usually track down the root cause which is preferable to avoid it from happening again.
Lazy techs misuse factory reset a lot

Will do that, install apps just as I need them and try not to instal a bunch at once.
I had a problem with an sd card and sent it to samsung, they did just that factory reset it and gave it back with the same problem, and they dont even let you know so you can back your stuff up, just lucky it was fairly new at the time and I had the sd card with me.

totopesce said:
Will do that, install apps just as I need them and try not to instal a bunch at once.
I had a problem with an sd card and sent it to samsung, they did just that factory reset it and gave it back with the same problem, and they dont even let you know so you can back your stuff up, just lucky it was fairly new at the time and I had the sd card with me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sammy tech support sucks.
I'm using the Lexar .5 tb V30 card, just format in phone and it's good to go. Zero issues for $64.
Been using it for over a year now. Play movies and music from it all the time from it flawlessly.
Been using Lexar flash cards for over 15 years and all cards are still functional. No failures or card related issues at all. I like that brand a lot.

Why didn't my apps install on my new U11+ ?

I just bought a U11+ as an upgrade to my U11 and am configuring it, which is taking longer than I expected because neither of the two backups I did (htc's and Backup Your Mobile) installed most of the apps (or their data). Also, I've had two System updates in the last two days.
I got my custom background, the Keep Notes app (plus its data) and Facebook; that's pretty much it.
What did I overlook?
Oh, yeah... I cannot find a setting to keep the display on when powered. Anyone know how to do that?

If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
If you did any major firmware updates on the new device, it's factory reset time.
Otherwise clear the system cache.
Manually loading them may be your only option.
Welcome to the fking planet

blackhawk said:
If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That occurred to me when I (finally) checked the OS version and saw that it was 8.
I've been getting update notices for the last two days and the most recent one (the third) was the Android 9 OS (update # 2.19.401.2). Where can I check on official updates so I can get an idea when this will stop (because manually looking for updates this morning got me nothing, then I saw the update prompt a couple hours later).
Updated to 9, rebooted and verified that Google Drive is connected, but I'm still not getting Backup & Restore to work. Will have to experiment with the others.

Jeff in 92833 said:
That occurred to me when I (finally) checked the OS version and saw that it was 8.
I've been getting update notices for the last two days and the most recent one (the third) was the Android 9 OS (update # 2.19.401.2). Where can I check on official updates so I can get an idea when this will stop (because manually looking for updates this morning got me nothing, then I saw the update prompt a couple hours later).
Updated to 9, rebooted and verified that Google Drive is connected, but I'm still not getting Backup & Restore to work. Will have to experiment with the others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I learned long ago that if your OS is fast, stable and fulfilling its mission, let it be.
I've been on Pie for 2 years, my last reload was 1.5 years ago, still fast and stable with minimum maintenance. What's not to like?
Unless you start screwing with the firmware and bring in new issues that need fixed.
Security generally isn't an issue unless you do something stupid.
There's no saving dumb bunnies... be careful what you load and download.

blackhawk said:
If you did a jump to a new OS version or device that may be why.
If you did any major firmware updates on the new device, it's factory reset time.
Otherwise clear the system cache.
Manually loading them may be your only option.
Welcome to the fking planet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did a Factory Reset (but it stayed Android 9). I did this because I had 'restored' a lot of files from Backup Your Mobile's (aka BYM) work on my U11.
Two things are bothering me:
1) The HTC Transfer Tool is not working this time (it transfers the PIN Code, but never gets to CONFIRM. After repeated attempts following reboots, etc., I have noticed that the PIN Code sometimes flickers off and back on again; what's up with that?).
2) BYM transferred my SMS and MMS to my U11+, but clicking on a text message that includes an MMS just makes the message thread avatar flicker and stay on the message thread listing (not even a flicker of the thread is displayed).

You mean screen lock codes?
First I don't password lock devices. You're the most likely one to end up getting locked out.
If you do use one I wouldn't attempt to back it up and transfer it. If it gets corrupted what follows won't be fun.
Pie's a good OS.
Clearing the system cache never hurts to try when experiencing glitches.

blackhawk said:
You mean screen lock codes?
First I don't password lock devices. You're the most likely one to end up getting locked out.
If you do use one I wouldn't attempt to back it up and transfer it. If it gets corrupted what follows won't be fun.
Pie's a good OS.
Clearing the system cache never hurts to try when experiencing glitches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I did not mean screen lock codes. The HTC Transfer utility worked the first time I tried it before the Factory Reset, but it's not working now. The PIN Code is displayed on the source phone, but it doesn't activate the confirmation button to do the transfer.
I have since learned that many of the apps that were copied over via Google Play's utility also transferred the data, but not all the apps were transferred.
More research to be done, it seems.

Jeff in 92833 said:
No, I did not mean screen lock codes. The HTC Transfer utility worked the first time I tried it before the Factory Reset, but it's not working now. The PIN Code is displayed on the source phone, but it doesn't activate the confirmation button to do the transfer.
I have since learned that many of the apps that were copied over via Google Play's utility also transferred the data, but not all the apps were transferred.
More research to be done, it seems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bad... I use Google search a lot and it doesn't need to be that specific model or OS version most times. Many of the issues are long standing. I even use solutions for other manufacturers models. Whatever comes in handy.
And/or just play with it until I work it out.
I haven't used that app. If you upgraded the firmware or are transferring data from another device these kind apps can screw up especially with app settings.
If you're doing a factory reset because of an issue or a crash they can inadvertently reload the root cause of the issue.
It's nice to save the homescreen, theme, icon setting on a reload using these though. Most apps I hand reload/configure or use the app's backup setting file like with Poweramp or DIGI Clock which are very intensive to set from scratch.
Critical data I save in a master backup folder(s) as files. Be ready to reload at any time as most crashes while rare give little or no warning. Redundantly backup critical data to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Most times a factory reset is to give the device a clean slate. Looking over app settings while setting them up helps to spot things you may have previously missed. It helps a lot to be familiar with the nuts and bolts at the user interface level. Many times when troubleshooting this is where the answers lurk.
I consider my first load or two on a new phone trail runs. After which it's pretty well sorted out for a clean load. I do the same on PCs. Android's are very forgiving but poorly written apps or the user can still skew hidden user settings that are hard to find/access on a stock device. A stable, fast load is a pleasure to use and will run well for a long time with only simple maintenance on a stock Android.

Phone downloaded apps by itself, even without data enabled.

Hi all.
I have searched quite a bit and have found no answer to this problem yet.
So the phone is fresh from factory reset. Phone is pre-owned. Never connected to any wifi network and the wifi always remained off. Same goes with mobile data, never turned on. What's even more interesting is the sim is a prepaid simcard with no credits and no data. The simcard is intended to receive text and calls. (No cost to receive calls or sms). So data leak from that isn't possible either.
I have seen hidden downloaders from carrier that downloads bloatware by itself before. But this is the first time I've ever seen it self download apps without any data connection.
The built-in data usage counter still shows 0. The phone has never connected to anything. But now several bloatware apps just showed up. And those apps do work and storage used has increased. I noticed this around 24 hours after the reset.
Can someone please explain what is going on?
Do phones have secret functions to access data undetected by wifi or carrier?
The phone manufacturer is a one of the major brands and probably the largest that don't have access to GMS.

WishTime said:
Hi all.
I have searched quite a bit and have found no answer to this problem yet.
So the phone is fresh from factory reset. Phone is pre-owned. Never connected to any wifi network and the wifi always remained off. Same goes with mobile data, never turned on. What's even more interesting is the sim is a prepaid simcard with no credits and no data. The simcard is intended to receive text and calls. (No cost to receive calls or sms). So data leak from that isn't possible either.
I have seen hidden downloaders from carrier that downloads bloatware by itself before. But this is the first time I've ever seen it self download apps without any data connection.
The built-in data usage counter still shows 0. The phone has never connected to anything. But now several bloatware apps just showed up. And those apps do work and storage used has increased. I noticed this around 24 hours after the reset.
Can someone please explain what is going on?
Do phones have secret functions to access data undetected by wifi or carrier?
The phone manufacturer is a one of the major brands and probably the largest that don't have access to GMS.
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Some devices have system apps that can be "uninstall", but they don't actually uninstall completely because the uninstalled apps are stored in a hidden partition. But, once uninstalled, if the device is factory reset, the apps automatically reinstall themselves from the hidden partition, similar to when resetting a PC to factory defaults. I had a tablet that would do this, the apps were definitely uninstalled but would reinstall from the hidden partition when I would factory reset the device, then I would have to uninstall those apps again. This would happen every time I did a factory reset.

Droidriven said:
Some devices have system apps that can be "uninstall", but they don't actually uninstall completely because the uninstalled apps are stored in a hidden partition. But, once uninstalled, if the device is factory reset, the apps automatically reinstall themselves from the hidden partition, similar to when resetting a PC to factory defaults. I had a taste would do this, the apps were definitely uninstalled but would reinstall from the hidden partition when I would factory reset the device, then I would have to uninstall those apps again. This would happen every time did a factory reset.
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Thanks for the answer.
Yes I understand that part of uninstall. But the difference here is those apps never returned fresh from factory reset. It returned hours after using the phone. The first few hours of using the phone, those apps doesn't exist, doesn't even show up on the free space count. It wasn't until the next day those apps appear.
I did suspect what you said too, but I can't explain why it waited at least 18-24 hours delay before installing itself and show up on the phone. If that was the case, it should have appeared right after the reset.

WishTime said:
Thanks for the answer.
Yes I understand that part of uninstall. But the difference here is those apps never returned fresh from factory reset. It returned hours after using the phone. The first few hours of using the phone, those apps doesn't exist, doesn't even show up on the free space count. It wasn't until the next day those apps appear.
I did suspect what you said too, but I can't explain why it waited at least 18-24 hours delay before installing itself and show up on the phone. If that was the case, it should have appeared right after the reset.
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Yes, I considered that also. The only other thing I could imagine is that maybe you installed something and then whatever that was installed the additional apps.

Questions of a hidden Google mesh network come to mind after reading this. I guess it's theoretically possible via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth between devices. I don't know.

So after trying to gather more information.
I believe it is installed from some "hidden partition" by some hidden app installer.
The reason is.
1. No data of what so ever is connected.
2. The installed app version is old, as in few months before the official release.
What is intriguing is.
1. The delay before installing this app (and through an installer), rather than just install it fresh from reset.
2. It doesn't appear to be consuming and storage, as if this hidden partition cannot even be seen. Once the app appears, the storage usage increases.
zpunout said:
Questions of a hidden Google mesh network come to mind after reading this. I guess it's theoretically possible via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth between devices. I don't know.
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Click to collapse
I actually believe it is a thing. I vaguely remember that my brand new iPhone detected and recommended my current location region without even inserting a simcard or connecting to wifi yet. The kicker is, phone was purchased in another country that is separated by vast ocean and several time zones.
To this day I still can't figure out how did the iPhone know that. I suspect that the wifi routers broadcast more than just SSID to any device that is not connected. Or it could be from another iPhone. Maybe some similar bluetooth tech that predates "Airtag". This was about 3-4 years ago, likely it was the X.

WishTime said:
So after trying to gather more information.
I believe it is installed from some "hidden partition" by some hidden app installer.
The reason is.
1. No data of what so ever is connected.
2. The installed app version is old, as in few months before the official release.
What is intriguing is.
1. The delay before installing this app (and through an installer), rather than just install it fresh from reset.
2. It doesn't appear to be consuming and storage, as if this hidden partition cannot even be seen. Once the app appears, the storage usage increases.
I actually believe it is a thing. I vaguely remember that my brand new iPhone detected and recommended my current location region without even inserting a simcard or connecting to wifi yet. The kicker is, phone was purchased in another country that is separated by vast ocean and several time zones.
To this day I still can't figure out how did the iPhone know that. I suspect that the wifi routers broadcast more than just SSID to any device that is not connected. Or it could be from another iPhone. Maybe some similar bluetooth tech that predates "Airtag". This was about 3-4 years ago, likely it was the X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Location is detetmined by more than just mobile data and Wi-Fi, it also uses the regular cellular part of the radio. The cellular part of the radio works even without an active SIM. That is why the emergency location and emergency call features work even without the device being activated on a network so that you can make emergency calls and your location can be tracked in emergency situations so that you can be found if you need help or rescue.