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I have installed an Android Application which was developed by the friend of mine. It had installed on my Android phone (HTC G2, with Android 2.2). I need to locate the application forlders, and especially SQLite database which was created along with the application, because I need to copy it to my PC. I did seach on SD card but I did not found it, so I assume it must be on the device RAM, but I really don't know the structure and how the apps are organized. I might suspect the SQLites data filename, but that all I know at the moment.
Can somebody pint me to some utility which will allow to find the database, and the application path, and most of all to copy it to the PC ???
Thanks - Arthur
The database and any other "data" used by the app will be located in /data/data/ then inside a directory that corresponds to the app's package name. If we use the Kindle app as an example, the path to it's data would be: /data/data/com.amazon.kindle
unfortunately I checked this foldeor on RAM as well as SD and couldn't find it. device /data folder is empty, and SD gas some other stuff bot not this App.
aklisiewicz said:
unfortunately I checked this foldeor on RAM as well as SD and couldn't find it. device /data folder is empty, and SD gas some other stuff bot not this App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should have also said, you need to be rooted in order to see the contents of the /data directory. Without root access, it will be shown as empty because you do not have permission to view or modify. If your phone is rooted, you can use Root Explorer, Terminal Emulator, or adb to access /data and copy, modify, create, or delete files there.
Thank you for your time. That would explain why I do not see it.
OK, I have HTC G2 from T-Mobile, I think it has Android 2.2
Nothing was changed or updated on this phone since I bough it last fall. I'm not with T-Mobile anymore so I do not wat to mess up with the phone unless I'm really sure what am I doing. The only nice thing is that the phone is unlocked now. The reason I ask those questions is because I am working on some tool, which is a desktop program wchich supposed to sync SQLite data from device to the PC.
What I want to do is to connect the device through USB cable, then have it mapped is it normally does (i.e. drive H. Then access the SQLite file from the desktop application by opening the database through that link and syncing the records. Not sure but I hope this approach would work. If it cannot work that way then eventually I want to copy the SQLite dB file to the PC sync database and then copy it back to the device. I already have a desktop App which work on SQLite localy so now I want to access the device, having the same dB file residing on my android phone instead on my local HD.
What could be the reason that the installed APP doesn't want to move to SD ???
I would appreciate any suggestions...
What is required to root the phone? I've herd there are some risks. Besides I probably have to find some other solutions as none of the App users would want to root their devices (or have a knowledge how to do it).
aklisiewicz said:
Thank you for your time. That would explain why I do not see it.
OK, I have HTC G2 from T-Mobile, I think it has Android 2.2
Nothing was changed or updated on this phone since I bough it last fall. I'm not with T-Mobile anymore so I do not wat to mess up with the phone unless I'm really sure what am I doing. The only nice thing is that the phone is unlocked now. The reason I ask those questions is because I am working on some tool, which is a desktop program wchich supposed to sync SQLite data from device to the PC.
What I want to do is to connect the device through USB cable, then have it mapped is it normally does (i.e. drive H. Then access the SQLite file from the desktop application by opening the database through that link and syncing the records. Not sure but I hope this approach would work. If it cannot work that way then eventually I want to copy the SQLite dB file to the PC sync database and then copy it back to the device. I already have a desktop App which work on SQLite localy so now I want to access the device, having the same dB file residing on my android phone instead on my local HD.
What could be the reason that the installed APP doesn't want to move to SD ???
I would appreciate any suggestions...
What is required to root the phone? I've herd there are some risks. Besides I probably have to find some other solutions as none of the App users would want to root their devices (or have a knowledge how to do it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Took me a bit to get back to you but figure better late than never...
Here is a good FAQ on rooting among other things specific to the G2(the US variant of the Desire Z). In order to root your G2, this guide looks to be good as he's simplified and automated a good bit of the process, should be safe, and seems to work. You'll need to install the two apps he mentions in step 1 and download the zip file he mentions in step 2 which is attached at the bottom of the post then just follow the instructions.
As for the database stuff, if you end up needing to access the /data directory you'll have to be rooted. Also, moving the app to the sdcard won't really help you with having access to the app's files. Froyo built-in App2SD just moves the apk file to a hidden directory on /sdcard (.android_secure) but the app data, cache and all that stuff will still be on internal memory. But to answer why the app won't move to the sd card, I'm guessing it's because the app itself must allow for it to be moved since by default, an app doesn't have this enabled unless the app dev gives it that ability.
To communicate with the phone, even with root access, you'll probably have to do so through adb commands or use an adb shell to be able to run shell commands on the phone. This would require adb be set up on the user's computer. If you want to play around with adb, there's a nice guide called ADB for Noobs that goes through setting it up and starting out using it. I can't say I've really done anything with SQLite databases on Android and certainly not then syncing it to a computer so I could be off-base or overlooking a workaround.
Thank you for your valuable information. You guys are really great help, and I appreciate your time. I will study the links provided.
In the meantime my main concern is to access SQLite database, as I need to get to the records, or at least be able to copy it back and forth between device an PC. I guess the database file would be something like MyDatabase.db , but I have no cule how to find it and copy it. As you have said it might be in some system protected directory. The main issue is that I will ne a solution which would work on every standard device (no the rooted one), so I need something very easy for the user to setup and follow. I have seen a utility that allow to manipulate SQLite records directly on device, but again thsi tools requires to root the phone (which I'm reluctant to do) because ot the above reasons. If you could help my to resove this I would be very graceful!
Arthur
aklisiewicz said:
Thank you for your valuable information. You guys are really great help, and I appreciate your time. I will study the links provided.
In the meantime my main concern is to access SQLite database, as I need to get to the records, or at least be able to copy it back and forth between device an PC. I guess the database file would be something like MyDatabase.db , but I have no cule how to find it and copy it. As you have said it might be in some system protected directory. The main issue is that I will ne a solution which would work on every standard device (no the rooted one), so I need something very easy for the user to setup and follow. I have seen a utility that allow to manipulate SQLite records directly on device, but again thsi tools requires to root the phone (which I'm reluctant to do) because ot the above reasons. If you could help my to resove this I would be very graceful!
Arthur
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unless there is some trick I don't know about you are going to have to be rooted to get access to the database. I found a couple links discussing this: here and here. The second link does mention that the app with the database you want to access could be written to store the database on the sdcard where it would then be accessible but that would be unsecure since anything could read/modify it there.
Thanks, looks like I have to do more research on my own. It is hard to believe for me that Google would not allow to access the same database from different Apps. I've seen there is a Java class ContentProvider which seems to allow that, so I will study this, perhaps it will help. Thank for you help.
Arthur
I'm new to Android and have a few question that didn't get answered by trying to Google it. I have bought my first Android phone (A Samsung Galaxy S2, after years of being a Symbian fanboy), but have not received it yet.
1. Does everything run on top of Dalvik JVM? At the bottom is the Linux kernel. Then there is a Linux process which runs Dalvik VM. Could for instance Sun's JVM run on a Linux process of its own or another Linux application?
2. Can C/C++ Linux program run on Android? Though compiled for ARM. Android has NDK (Native Development Kit) which allows it to run C/C++ applications inside Android applications, but I'm wondering about running C/C++ applications directly on Android. BusyBox is coded in C, but runs on Android. Is it running directly on the kernel's linux process or within an Android application on Dalvik?
3. The latter(Q2) would indicate that not everything run on top of Dalvik. Otherwise C/C++ programs would not run.
4. Android uses ADB (Android Debug Bridge) for its CLI magic. BusyBox uses Ash. Can one install bash as the default shell, with full GNU Core Utilities commands? Some forum posts indicate that it is possible to install an ARM re-compiled bash version.
5. Android can be rooted by installing applications like Super User or BusyBox that would let the user execute applications as root. That would indicate that there exist a root user, in addition to the actual user. Is this similar to how it is on Linux? Can I define a password for the root user so that no applications can run root directly?
Edit: Seems each application is a different user on the system.
6. Are all user data stored in the database SQLite that are stored on the phone? User data is accessible through different applications, but how does Android determine access rights to it?
7. I have read that Android applications run on their own Linux process and are assigned a unique user ID. Does this mean that we can run ps to see all running processes or does it act like the Sun JVM just showing each VM process? However looks like different applications can run in the same process. Can these be distinguished or do we just the the once process.
8, Is the camera application (that some have made modifications of) a Google app or Samsung app? Just wondering since the former would allow such modified versions to run on other than Samsung phones, but given that different phones have different camera specs I don't see how this could go well.
9. Can the codes typed in the dialer be executed through a shell instead (adb)?
10. Can I get an overview of permissions given to applications? Can they be revoked after once granted?
i have question,too.thanks
Ill Be back with most of your answers. Im on my phone. Ill be at a comp in few.
Sent from my Incredible using Tapatalk
I'm also wondering about how the methods of rooting works.
Some offers rooting by means of a modified kernel.
Another method entails using programs like SuperOneClick or GingerBreak.
Can anyone describe to me what exactly does these methods do?
In order to have root I guess the user root needs to be created/activated/enabled on the phone. Also programs like su and Superuser needs to be installed, perhaps with Busybox.
Those are the methods for root, but I want to know what needs to be done on the phone in order to root it.
Can I root my device (Samsung Galaxy S2) manually without any modified kernels or special programs?
DJViking said:
10. Can I get an overview of permissions given to applications? Can they be revoked after once granted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can see the permissions an app has through Settings->Apps->Manage Apps i think. There are also apps on the market summarising that.
Revoking or granting only certain permissions is not available natively.
I believe they are working on that in cyanogenmod.
Revoking a needed permission will usually make the app in question crash.
DJViking said:
8, Is the camera application (that some have made modifications of) a Google app or Samsung app? Just wondering since the former would allow such modified versions to run on other than Samsung phones, but given that different phones have different camera specs I don't see how this could go well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have a samsung device, the camera app will be from samsung.
It is not impossible to have the google camera app running on your device, it might need some tinkering though (see cyanogenmod).
DJViking said:
7. I have read that Android applications run on their own Linux process and are assigned a unique user ID. Does this mean that we can run ps to see all running processes or does it act like the Sun JVM just showing each VM process? However looks like different applications can run in the same process. Can these be distinguished or do we just the the once process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can, here is the about from running "ps" on my i9000 : http://pastie.org/2089555
Only apps from the same developer ( meaning signed with the same signature), can be run in the same process. This is not default and only happens when the developer requests it. This is not very common.
DJViking said:
6. Are all user data stored in the database SQLite that are stored on the phone? User data is accessible through different applications, but how does Android determine access rights to it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Through the android permission system.
PHP:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_SMS"></uses-permission>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SMS"></uses-permission>
will be needed to read and write from/to the sms database.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.galoula.LinuxInstall
New every thing. Redesign of everything every where, rewite of all English parts, many bug fixes.
What for ? install Debian using debootstrap in chroot, and use your Android device like if you had installed Linux on a standard computer.
Bugs shall be reported to [email protected] .
Misc questions about how to use and feature request and general discussions to [email protected]
Market description:
This application will allow you to install a complete Debian distribution in your Android device. Based on chroot, it will perform a standard debootstrap and install a legacy Debian so that you can install, and run any classic Linux command, tool, daemon or service.
The package has few limitations; it is not restricted to Debian; we already offer the choice to use Ubuntu, and will add more distributions in close future. Each distribution is available in several tastes (stable, testing ...). It will not require to reboot; chroot is run inside Android. Installation can be done on any storage device, either on SD card, or inernal memory; no need to repartition any thing, run mkfs or fdisk. We do with what you let use. If you have almost nothing, the package will manage with almost nothing; if you can afford for a large ext4 partition on your SD card, the package will be happy to use it.
It will allow you to install all classic LAMP services like Apache, MySql, PHP, Samba, Netatalk, or just any classic Linux tool like vim, xterm, aterm, Abiword, Firefox, dillo, wget, cron, Perl, Python ... just everything.
Package utilisation will require a rooted device.
Reasons to install this package can not be listed. Just too many: want a cron daemon ? want to have gcc inside your phone ? want to recompile some kernel driver because the legacy Android driver for your Wi-Fi card has is bogus or limited ? want to use vim, or the real full featured desktop ls, ip, nmap, or top commands ? this package will give you all this for free, and much much more.
Requierments:
- an Android device based on some Linux kernel
- a rooted environment
- 300M free space
That's all.
Optionnal registration on our website, http://android.galoula.com/LinuxInstall/Register.php , will allow you to use advanced management features, and install package from within the application interface. You will not need to type any strange command in any terminal. And you will be able to make some services start automaticly at phone boot, and/or application start.
Online documentation: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/
Quick installation guide: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/QuickTutorial.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Free space must be on sd-card or phone memory?
Both accepted You choose where to install.
500M by default on SD card using loop method (on ext2 or fat). Down to 180M using the directory method (does not work on FAT).
thanks for this man.
Sorry if this is a noob question but will this in any way brick/soft brick my device?
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
Yes, it can.
But this app is underdevelopment since almost two years, and nobody ever bricked yet. I have written a very long complete tutorial, where I say what you should NOT do. I could easily tell you how to brick in 5 steps.
But we have been working very hard on default settings, to make default settings as much safe as possible.
There are many bugs, many known bugs; but 99.999% bugs will just make the chroot not work. Data loss is very rare. Data loss was highly probable in previous version 3.2 . But default settings are now safer. And if you do not do what we claim to be dangerous ... you are safe.
The most frequent case with 3.2 was complete wipe of /sdcard and /data . This have been fixed.
We never ran into wipe of /system until now. Never bricked.
And since Galoula and me are working on it, we are the most exposed ones. We test every single feature, in all possible situations. And when we find a wipe case, we repro it dozen time until we understand why, and how to fix, so that it won't happen to YOU.
3.3 is way safer than 3.2. And nobody reported wipe on 3.2 ...
But if you blindely clik any where, yes it can. And if I tell you where to click, you can brick in 5 steps for sure And it won't be a soft brick. I promise a good real brick where even HTC will be in trouble to repair it It's explained in the tutorial.
Wow. Thanks for the reply. At least i have an idea now. Is the tut on the app itself? I'll nake sure to read it very carefully coz i wanna learn all about this stuff
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
A not so short tuto is inside; but since most mobile devices have only one screen, you may want to read the online tuto on your computer: http://android.galoula.com/en/LinuxInstall/
Default settings are safe. Just follow the guide.
Will go ahead and read this tut. I'll make sure to give feedback. Thanks for paying attention to this noob
Sent from my GT540RR using XDA App
this is just great, are there any videos or screen shots?
edit: nevermind i just checked the market
Feel free to send us screen shots; I am not good at doing that (i can to shots, but I don't know what could be nice to upload).
We would apreciate shots of working (of course ) VNC clients connected to server running localy, or local consoles (like Connectbot) doing funny things.
Send to support. Thanks.
Spent the whole weekend on this...
I'm trying o get an X- GUI on the Samsung Captivate, (hope i said that right) like Ubuntu so i can VNC to a linux desktop environment. I'm on FASTY and wondering why I keep running into refusal of connection. I have the password and localhost as well as the port correct. I've lost sleep on making this work. Can anyone help...?
You question is somehow off topic.
You seem to have a basic VNC connexion issue.
Could not help without deeper description. And I rarely use VNC, i have very low experience.
First point: do you have free space in the distro ? depending on installation method, and what you installed, you may have run out of disk space (especially Ubuntu, uses lot more than Legacy Debian).
The distribution manager is still beta AOT. It may report the VNC service to be up and running, when it could not rally run. First thing to check is: is it up ?
- from local machine, to ps, and check if process is up
- from remote machine, just scan your IP for the device. VNC should be port 5800 or 5900, forgot which one.
Your VNC password is *NOT* your distribution password. VNC password need to be set at a different place (this is VNC specific; VNC is not UNIX, and never claimed to be fully a *UNIX "merged" service*).
Never used VNC in LinuxInstaller. Never yet. Not enough time to test it. We take report, and will test only major and frequent issues. We have many "easy success" reports, so, we don't worry about it. We have much more issues about rooting (getting root on phone), and starting debootstrap; this is what we focus on.
Make sure you have enough free space (at least 50M free left), then join any Debian or Ubuntu forum. They will ask you if you have a CLI; you shall use either adb shell, or connectbot. Fact you are in a chroot is not an issue, chrooting is not frequent for debian users, chrooting is the normal procedure to install Gentoo; and all debootstrap users use chroot daily; forums should not reject you for this reason. As long as you have a CLI.
Good luck.
Lost me fast...
Sorry..but you lost me, and FAST! I really don't have the terminology down...but I do have the Linux 3.3 Installer running properly...it indicates so. I was assuming that this would allow me to somehow load Ubuntu on my Captivate..as I've seen on some screen shots...I guess I'm just lost...a little knowledge is dangerous...I have a little. Just enough to accomplish the basics..but the vernacular is LOST to me. Guess I'll have to wait for the Ubuntu apk...thanks for trying...
I've got this errors...(see attached files).
I have busybox 1.19, connectbot and the superuser (v2.3.6.3 and su binary v2.3.2, the latest from the maket)...
What can I do?
you guys are still lucky.your able to make it work...
im running the ongoing cm7 2.3.5 on moto defy...
kernel is not supporting this yet.
hailmary what's missing in your kernel ? I don't know any Android that won't have ext2 in; if you have an Android without any ext2 filesystem, please contact me in private, I know it could be done, and I would be VERY CURIOUS to see how HTC did it.
If you are missing loop support in kernel, try block or directory method. Blocck will require ext2; directory won't (but will work only over ext FS ... so ... unless you can use NFS )
dugryce , ScumpinatoS, I will come back later (maybe today, maybe not).
ScumpinatoS said:
I've got this errors...(see attached files).
I have busybox 1.19, connectbot and the superuser (v2.3.6.3 and su binary v2.3.2, the latest from the maket)...
What can I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reading the first message, you as, as said, a CPU issue. What's your CPU ? device model ?
run in some console:
uname -a
which tail
Application could not load viable environment to work; it is an issue, but it can be fixed. I can help digging, but I won't give you any solution. Send an email to Galoula; the bug report system via the console should work for you.
doublehp said:
Reading the first message, you as, as said, a CPU issue. What's your CPU ? device model ?
run in some console:
uname -a
which tail
Application could not load viable environment to work; it is an issue, but it can be fixed. I can help digging, but I won't give you any solution. Send an email to Galoula; the bug report system via the console should work for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Huawei Ideos CPU: MSM7225 without GPU.
I am use it and try install Ubuntu Natty but after download all deb package i get error installation, "issue binary, try other version"
Can someone help me what distro (Ubuntu/Debian) and what version of it that have installed succesfully.. please...
Sent from my GT-S5570 using XDA App
Hello XDA Developers, I have a Debian subsystem of sorts on my phone which is created by an application called Lil' Debi. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it essentially creates a Debian install on an .iso that can be mounted onto the disk. Once mounted, a user can access a shell to interact with this Debian subsystem by running /debian/shell as root, which will chroot to its own directory system separate system accessible from the Android Terminal.
Within this Debian subsystem I have created a non-root user account for the purpose of running a few networking applications that if compromised for some reason, won't give the attacker root privileges to break everything on my phone. There's only one small problem with this setup: I can't access the internet from a non-root account.
Both my terminal emulator and Lil' Debi have full network access, even when not run as root. I am curious then, why a non-root user account should have an incapability of accessing the network. A sample of wget on my phone using Google's IP address (I use the IP address because it cannot do DNS lookup obviously) gives a Permission Denied error. At the current moment I am not sure whether this problem lies with Android or with Debian. Does the user need to be explicitly granted permissions to use the network through Debian, or is the application somehow only able to access the network if it's root?
Additional information: The ROM used is PAC ROM, so you can assume any settings changes that could be made from Cyanogenmod or Paranoid Android can be made if necessary. The phone itself is a Oneplus One. No I don't have invites, so don't bother asking.
Opinions on the matter?
Also, on an unrelated note, g++ will only run under root. If I launch it as a non-root user, it will tell me that execvp failed because cc1plus doesn't exist. Why?
Thread's fallen onto the third page, so I'm going to bump.
One day has passed, and no help offered. Bump again.
Another bump. I thought XDA was supposed to be the most knowledgeable forum on Android.
Daily bump until this problem is solved...
Still bumping...
I hope people aren't just looking at the number of replies and assuming it's resolved...
Bumping again. At least 100 people have seen this thread, and not a single one has anything to say.
Bump again. It's now been a week since I asked this question.
Bump.
Hello guys,
I have been searching for answers to some of the tech stuff, but couldn't find them.
Here are some of those questions. Hope some of you would have answers to these. Thanks in advance!
ANDROID
1. How to share files between multi-users on Android 11?
Before Android 11, it was possible to save files inside the Android/ obb folder, and these files were visible for all users on the device. In Android 11, this is no longer working as the 'obb' folder appears to be exclusive to each user.
I know this is possible via USB OTG or a cloud service, but is there a solution without these?
2. How to copy/ backup game data for non-rooted devices?
Helium Backup doesn't seem to work. I have played a game for long on my Mediapad, and I would like to copy that game to my phone. Unfortunately, my Mediapad is not rooted and losing all that game progress has become a nightmare. I have written to the app developer to provide some sort of backup using either Google Play Games or social media integration like Facebook/ Twitter, but haven't received any response.
3. How to force apps (esp. file managers & gallery apps) to use in-app media viewer without changing system default.
For example, I may use the stock gallery app as default for viewing media. But if I am using another gallery app or a file manager that is capable of viewing media files using its own media viewer, I would rather want it use it than open the default app. Is there a way to do it?
4. Replace stock file manager (a system app) with another app from Google Play Store or other sources. Is this possible?
I am not asking how to convert a user app into system app. I know that part. I tried replacing the apk file of the stock file manager with a 3rd party apk, even renamed it, but it didn't work.
5. Extract a system app from one device and install it on another device without root. Is this possible?
I have tried it, but apk installation fails. For example, Samsung Gallery app on OnePlus phones.
iOS
1. How to install .ipa (iPhone app) on an iPhone (not jail-broken) without a laptop (iTunes)?
2. Is it possible to have SFTP server for iPhone?
All Operating Systems
1. How to provide LAN only access for non-rooted devices as well as in Windows & iOS?
For rooted devices, we have apps like AFWall+ that can do it. But is there a way to do it for devices without root, as well as for Windows and iOS?
For non-rooted devices, we have apps like Netguard that support 'Allow LAN access' whilst blocking internet access.
Are there any alternatives and solutions for other platforms?
2. How safe is it to enter login credentials in an app to allow it access to network drives?
I use several apps (on various platforms) to connect to my laptop over SMB. This requires me to provide the app with my Windows Login Credentials, which is a Microsoft account. Am I risking my account by providing this info to the app? Is it safe to enter login credentials of cloud services in file manager apps?
Just bumping this thread as it seems to have been lost/ unnoticed.
@Ultramanoid can you answer some of these?
Sridhar Ananthanarayanan said:
@Ultramanoid can you answer some of these?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't help much, sorry. As to Android, some notes :
1. Never have used an OEM / Google's version of Android, or anything other than rooted single-user systems.
2. In addition to the previous answer, I'm not a gamer.
3. I usually don't ever set defaults with some rare exceptions, so I am always given a choice of what I want to use to handle a file. It may vary depending on many things; I may want to edit an SVG file as text, or view it as an image, for instance. There are applications / services that will intercept intents to allow you to do this sort of thing as well, but I can't recommend a specific one, never use them myself.
4. Possible, but will break Android as by now the system requires it as a file picker in many instances without recognizing alternatives and developers of most applications do expect it as well and their services will not work without it. Don't do it. With recent Android storage changes, including the scoped storage debacle, this is not a viable option anymore.
5. Depends, but not likely as a general rule, specially for OEM garbage, which relies on their own proprietary modifications of Android, their libraries, frameworks, et al. You'd have to carry those over to the destination too, which may not even be possible. Use OEM-independent and not Google Services reliant applications. ( Edit : you'll find some of those applications built to install on all devices here on XDA by single developers, "SONY camera for all devices" and that sort of thing, not recommended anyway, not well supported or long-lived experiments. )
Ultramanoid said:
Can't help much, sorry. As to Android, some notes :
1. Never have used an OEM / Google's version of Android, or anything other than rooted single-user systems.
2. In addition to the previous answer, I'm not a gamer.
3. I usually don't ever set defaults with some rare exceptions, so I am always given a choice of what I want to use to handle a file. It may vary depending on many things; I may want to edit an SVG file as text, or view it as an image, for instance. There are applications / services that will intercept intents to allow you to do this sort of thing as well, but I can't recommend a specific one, never use them myself.
4. Possible, but will break Android as by now the system requires it as a file picker in many instances without recognizing alternatives and developers of most applications do expect it as well and their services will not work without it. Don't do it. With recent Android storage changes, including the scoped storage debacle, this is not a viable option anymore.
5. Depends, but not likely as a general rule, specially for OEM garbage, which relies on their own proprietary modifications of Android, their libraries, frameworks, et al. You'd have to carry those over to the destination too, which may not even be possible. Use OEM-independent and not Google Services reliant applications. ( Edit : you'll find some of those applications built to install on all devices here on XDA by single developers, "SONY camera for all devices" and that sort of thing, not recommended anyway, not well supported or long-lived experiments. )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much. But I wish you answered the last 2 questions as well.
If time permits, would you be interested in telling us how you use your phone? I mean which device, which OS and what apps you use. I would like to give that a try (on a spare device) and see if it is possible for me to live without Google.
Sridhar Ananthanarayanan said:
Thanks very much. But I wish you answered the last 2 questions as well.
If time permits, would you be interested in telling us how you use your phone? I mean which device, which OS and what apps you use. I would like to give that a try (on a spare device) and see if it is possible for me to live without Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't answer because it won't be helpful.
As to the 1st, I don't use LAN, and I don't keep data in any device or computer unless in use. External independent encrypted storage to be used wherever, whenever, independent of device, cables if needed.
As to the second, it's a matter of common sense, being informed of vulnerabilities and aware of reputation, and trust. Would you trust Chrome or Mozilla with data if you're online banking ? Seems reasonable -- but be aware of major vulnerabilities that may be going on. Would you trust an application released yesterday by a single developer for the same ? Probably not a good idea.
Finally, I doubt what I use and how I use it would be acceptable for you, or most people. In essence you could : Install latest firmware, wipe device, install latest security patched Lineage build for it, remove vendor / Lineage applications, get full root, remove anything you don't need or use which could have vulnerabilities; frameworks, libraries, binaries, etc ( Bluetooth, SMS, Android system-wide downloader, system-wide WebView, NFC, and on and on .. ), install your own binaries, fonts, hosts file, and applications where appropriate ( /bin /etc et al ), install Termux and all Linux packages required for your use, everything open source whenever possible, and stay away from any Google services / Play / applications with ANY trackers, analytics, data mining or even crash report capabilities; zero tolerance. Internet permission only for a secure web browser -- and terminal if / when needed. Half of what I do or use goes through terminal to be honest. In short, for me an Android device is a full Linux laptop replacement with added perks : Always on and on me, camera, GPS, pedometer, unlimited LTE data, and emergency calls for medics / police. ( Edit : And Japanese EEW alarm of course ! Only notification I use. We learned our lesson well in 2011. )
You can use ApkExport to extract any apk including system apks. I've transferred apks between other devices devices with it.
Never had need of doing that though with a system apk.