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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Related
I didnt root or unlock it myself.... im pretty sure i wiped all data before flashing the rom i have on there now, but i cant remember for sure....
seems to be the only way to truly fix my extremely messed up WIFI situation... (wifi kills my phone completely... regardless of whose internet as i tried my neighbours and got the same error). i did a restore to last year but it only fixed it for a day... if im gonna restore to a year ago again, i figure i may as well do a full fresh install, since its crapping out still anyway
i have something called superuser (i know is root access), and something called stk which ive read is sim toolkit, in "system/app" they are both apk's. "superuser.apk" and "stk.apk"
also, will my custom recovery be gone? as far as i remember that is how i flashed my ROM last time... but its been so long i cant remember...
Let me try helping since myself new on forums:-
There are two types of phone resets available- 1.Factory wipe from settings of phone/from custom recovery (cwm/twrp) or 2.Complete wipe performed such as in upgrading os version of android (like i did lollipop from jellybean). The complete wipe is done in custom recovery only under mounts and advance option in cwm and then wiping cache,system,data and everything else. If you do so,you will be losing everything installed in your phone EXCEPT Root and Custom recovery.
Back to your question, if you perform factory reset,NO,you don't lose root. If you do complete wipe from recovery,still you don't lose root of your phone UNLESS you fix the root on reboot.
Choose the reset carefully before installing any rom,read their steps,if they ask full wipe or just factory reset and dalvik cache.
Hope it helps.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using XDA Free mobile app
you cannot unroot yourself thru factory reset
Pawprints1986 said:
I didnt root or unlock it myself.... im pretty sure i wiped all data before flashing the rom i have on there now, but i cant remember for sure....
seems to be the only way to truly fix my extremely messed up WIFI situation... (wifi kills my phone completely... regardless of whose internet as i tried my neighbours and got the same error). i did a restore to last year but it only fixed it for a day... if im gonna restore to a year ago again, i figure i may as well do a full fresh install, since its crapping out still anyway
i have something called superuser (i know is root access), and something called stk which ive read is sim toolkit, in "system/app" they are both apk's. "superuser.apk" and "stk.apk"
also, will my custom recovery be gone? as far as i remember that is how i flashed my ROM last time... but its been so long i cant remember...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset WILL:
Remove all apps and their data
Contacts that are not on the SIM card
(In some rare cases) Pictures, music...
Factory reset WILL NOT:
Remove carrier unlock
Remove root (but may remove superuser app)
Remove the recovery
In case that superuser app is gone, just install that same superuser app from Google Play and update it if it asks to do so.
Ok, let me ask this, to ask if its even worth me doing....
last night i did the same restore to a year ago... except this time while i still had wifi i had downloaded both avast and AVG
I can with both now, and my phone says its clean...
but yet the problem is recurring now, and wifi, 4g, tethering..... basically any function that connects me to the world outside completely craps out my phone...
i thought the restore, and especially he restore and downloading antivirus would fix it, or at least be able to tell me WHAT the problem is... avast will scan the wifi network, but of course this test now freezes up just the same cuz it has to turn on wifi to do so.... while it was still working this test did execute just fine with no errors....
its as soon as internet is connected... for 3g or even my router, it will read it without the internet feed plugged in. but plug that in and it all goes to crap again. Id just hate to do a full fresh install just for it to all go to crap *again*....
ive scanned all computers on the router and those come back clean/no viruses... i tried i different router with internet, same error. i tried the neighbours connection.... same thing again.
this is really baffling.
so i feel more comfortable doing a factory reset....... but i guess im wondering is will it help me??? at all????
whatever this is is clearly not an infected device as some on another forum had thought.... something *else* is going wrong....
Pawprints1986 said:
Ok, let me ask this, to ask if its even worth me doing....
last night i did the same restore to a year ago... except this time while i still had wifi i had downloaded both avast and AVG
I can with both now, and my phone says its clean...
but yet the problem is recurring now, and wifi, 4g, tethering..... basically any function that connects me to the world outside completely craps out my phone...
i thought the restore, and especially he restore and downloading antivirus would fix it, or at least be able to tell me WHAT the problem is... avast will scan the wifi network, but of course this test now freezes up just the same cuz it has to turn on wifi to do so.... while it was still working this test did execute just fine with no errors....
its as soon as internet is connected... for 3g or even my router, it will read it without the internet feed plugged in. but plug that in and it all goes to crap again. Id just hate to do a full fresh install just for it to all go to crap *again*....
ive scanned all computers on the router and those come back clean/no viruses... i tried i different router with internet, same error. i tried the neighbours connection.... same thing again.
this is really baffling.
so i feel more comfortable doing a factory reset....... but i guess im wondering is will it help me??? at all????
whatever this is is clearly not an infected device as some on another forum had thought.... something *else* is going wrong....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory reset fixes all problems that were not made with root. You will not lose root either. For a total fix just wipe everything and reflash rom.
Right now im trying a different router, which doesnt have any windows XP machine plugged into it, and i made it extremely secure. even changed the default username and password to get onto the router itself (never bothered with the other one, the one i had been routinely using)... I did a complete reset of this router before even connecting to it with my phone, after it was secured. the other regular one still has everything else connected to it. this one is literally a separate connection, which i named "phone test" lol.
if it makes no difference, total fresh install is my last resort. if it *does* make a difference however... then something in my other regular router is messed up that cause my phones connections to freeze up - but that avast or AVG wouldnt detect (thats the only weird part)...
i even did a scan of my external SD card the other day, thats clean too.
time will tell, im approaching the 24 hour mark with this new setup. if by tomorrow its freezing up again, its not the router. but if its still working, ill have extreme suspicion that it was in fact, the router, probably something dealing with my XP machine thats plugged into it (well, normally anyway).
Time will tell...
im also trying to remember which apps i had updated before any problems started in case there are any corrupted updates i installed, without knowing it. (legit from play store, but still, ive heard that doesnt always mean totally safe, cuz anyone can make them)
Dude, wipe data, cache, system, reflash rom on your phone. BUM, problem fixed.
I still may, but i wanted to play around with the routers first to see if i could fix the problem.... that way id know i wouldnt be fully wiping for no apparent reason. if in a week or so things have been fine and i try connecting to the old regular router... than ill know its something on there infecting my phone... id rather not have a fresh install crapping out on me.
You can do a nandroid backup and then reflash everything. That way if you screw something up or the problem is not fixed you can restore in minutes.
Hi. New to the forum, hoping to resolve this issue that's been plaguing this phone for months. The phone is not allowing connections to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or hotspot (all both ways, to and from. Won't connect to another hotspot, won't allow others to connect to it's hotspot). What's truly strange is that all will work randomly, then quit again. But it works maybe 1% of the time. This makes me believe it's not a hardware issue, but it's not proof. And other times, it will work (Wi-Fi for example) and within a few minutes it will shut itself off. Same has happened with Bluetooth. I doubt it matters, but this phone is unlocked and currently using the T-Mobile network. I'm positive I've isolated the issues to this phone. I have done weeks worth of research online, and tried everything I know to fix it myself to no avail. My skill level is moderate to noob-ish, I know plenty more than the old folks, but would bet my house I'd brick a phone trying to root it.
What I've done already (thanks to countless bits of info by Google searching):
*Have powered off/on the phone many times
*Have factory reset the phone
*Have done a "master reset"
*Have wiped the system cache partition in the boot menu
*Have booted in safe mode, problems still persist
*Have gone to system apps>device maintenance>storage>clear data
*Have gone to system apps>wifi direct>storage>clear data
Fwiw, I've had nothing but problems ever since I installed the FB messenger app (only installed briefly to place an ad), but I deleted it ages ago and will never install it again. Can't be 100% certain whether or not the issues started before or after the install, or whether it's related at all. I really like this phone and don't want to give up on it, but I'm not willing to take it somewhere and spend hundreds fixing it either. I really appreciate anyone who takes time to read and offer help. Thanks in advance!
Bump. Can anyone offer help or advice?
Hi all, my mom has an Motorola Moto G3 phone. Have noticed many weird things happening on the phone since yesterday.
The notification panel won't slide down. Also, no notifications are displayed in the notification bar, even when there are notifications, like receiving sms or messages on Whatsapp.
The phone has a swipe lock screen. But, the lock screen won't work, even though it shows in Security settings, that there is one.
Calls are being made from the phone, but no calls are being received. For example, if I call the phone, it says that the person is busy and the connection ends. My brother had also tried calling... same thing.
No apps can be downloaded or updated from the Play Store.
I tried to connect the phone to the PC, but, since I cannot slide down the notification panel, there is no way to change the connection mode to transfer data.
I should mention that the storage on the phone was getting close to being filled, and the phone was showing the warning that storage was less and that some of the functions might stop working. So, are these things because of that?
But, I did delete a lot of photos and videos and uninstalled apps, and now there is sufficient storage for the phone to run properly, but it still doesnt work, and these weird stuff are happening.
I suspect from the weird behavior that there might be a virus. Is that so?
What do I do? How will the phone return to sanity? How do I backup the data... if the solution is to factory reset the phone. There are important photos and videos and whatsapp data which I would like to save before performing a reset.
Any help will be appreciated.
A lot to cover there.
First Long press the power button whilst the phone is on.This will reboot to Safemode.See if you can now use a USB Data cable to backup what you need to your PC/Laptop/Tablet.
Note:Some USB cables are,"Charge Only" so check the USB cable is Data transfer capable.
Then if you have a Google account and are connected via Phone data or WiFi go Settings/Accounts/Google and untick and re-tick all sync options to make sure all your Google stuff is updated.
Then do a,"Hard Reset/Factory Restore.
Just put Moto G3 into youtube with the words Hard Reset,
https://www.youtube.com
Although a Hard reset seems like a big move I do one at least a couple of times a year as a kind of 10,000 mile service for my Android phones even if they are running well and it clears out all the junk I tend to accumulate and keeps them slick,fast and problem free.
HTH
Thanks a lot for your reply. Your post comes as a lifesaver.
I took a backup of the data by transferring stuff on to the SD card and then transferring the data from there to the computer.
I had booted in safe mode, but there too the phone showed same behavior. I also noticed that the home button, or the task manager button were not working too.
After taking the backup, I also changed the password for the Gmail account for security, in case the mobile was somehow compromised.
Then I wanted to do a factory reset, but the button seems to be greyed out, and there seems to be no way to perform a soft factory reset. So, your post comes at the nick of time to save me, as I was thinking what to do now. Thanks a ton!
Performed a hard reset of the phone, and the phone is working fine now. Everything is normal.
What might be the reason for such behavior though?
Not being able to lock the phone, install/update apps, factory reset... all this makes me think if it was some kind of malware.
Another reason I can think of is that the storage got full, and so these strange stuff started, but it should go back to normal when stuff was deleted and sufficient storage became available. Still, doesnt explain why lock wouldn't remain.... and other stuff. Really weird.
Modern,"Smart Phones" are very complex computers.With so many apps on them that get updated some updates don't always play nice and mess up the phones.You could spend hours tracking down a single app that might be a cause of a problem.
As you say as well the the storage on the phones might well have got clogged up with old Temporary data that has not been cleared out as it should.
For future reference another trick is to wipe the Cache partition from Recovery mode.I would have suggested this first but as you said space was running out it's best to have a clean start
Yes, it was good to have a clean start with the phone.
Thank you for that trick to wipe the cache partition from Recovery mode. Will keep that in mind.
Thanks a lot again.
So been running c59 Android 11 for a couple of weeks. All working pretty well when today i noticed my device was not on Wifi..
I went to wifi settings the phone locked up and crashed - rebooted.
Same thing is occuring except now i have a little Sim icon and an X in where the celluar signal is.
I still can recieve calls though no network access at all!
Just tried aeroplane mode and now its stuck and i cannot turn off aeroplane mode..
tried the reset network settings.. no change..
this phone is rubbish.
looks like another factory reset coming up...
just for anyone else who has this issue. you need to Format Data through recovery.. you lose everything. this fixed it for me.
You lose nothing because people are supposed to BACKUP their stuff.
Smartphones haven't been around since only a few weeks ago, it shouldn't come as a surprise that at some point they can fail or like in this case for some reason need a formatting.
Craphead said:
You lose nothing because people are supposed to BACKUP their stuff.
Smartphones haven't been around since only a few weeks ago, it shouldn't come as a surprise that at some point they can fail or like in this case for some reason need a formatting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you think about it you should be able to format Application Data only and not lose your photos etc..
Even my old Nexus 4 from 9 years ago can do that..
actually every phone i have ever had could do that other than this one.
Why would the existence of personal photos cause a phone not too boot? So why would the manufacturer make you format them to reset the phone?
Just a poorly designed device really..
And for the record i did backup and do backup. Though i wanted to inform others who may have to perform this fix that they will lose data.
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.