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Help Galaxy Tab A 2019 locked out

Hello,

I have my mother's Galaxy Tab A from 2019. She passed away last summer and I don't know her pattern to unlock the tablet. I have all of her email and Samsung log-in information for those accounts, but because her tablet isn't on my internet, I cannot use the Find My Device to reset the tablet. I had wanted to keep the tablet intact until I was sure there was nothing on it I needed, but at this point I will even take a factory reset if I can just get it functional. I've tried to do the hold down the power and volume down button then switch to the power and volume up combo, the power and volume down to just power combo, etc. and none of them works to allow me to get to the Android menu to do the reset. I am frustrated I can't open this tablet even with her account information. Does anyone have any ideas of something I can do???

TIA for your help.
If you mother samsung account is registered to the tablet, you can try using samsung find my mobile service. Go to findmymobile.samsung.com, login with account credentials and se if you can remotely unlock or reset the tablet from there. Thanks and best wishes

Help Muffled Sound When Live Streaming

Thanks for your advice! I've just order a SmartMike+ external microphone and will see how that works out. I've just been puzzled because the Pixel 2XL mic works so well when recording video but much less effectively when live streaming. Also, friends with iPhones don't have any of the same low volume issues I've experienced with live stream broadcasts.

But in any case I will be sure to check out your links.
My Pixel 6 has the same issue. It worked fine on my Pixel 3, but on the 6 Facebook Livestream sound is muffled. It's clear when recording a regular video though

Australia Z Flip 4 - VOLTE setting missing

My Galaxy A14 5G only has setting for 'wifi calling'. Nothing for HD Voice or switching from 5G to LTE to older networks. I think it's all automatic now. the last smartphone I know that had the setting was my Galaxy S5, where under settings-->connections-->mobile networks it had a toggle for 'Advanced Calling' which was VoLTE compatibility, but that was 2014.

In the U.S., you can still put an active SIM into something that's at least 4G LTE like a Galaxy SII Skyrocket, LG Lucid 3, or LG G2 and you can still do SMS/MMS, data, email, but phone calls fail (they just sit there 'dialing...' until they give up)

Taking Screenshot on Android Smartphones Locally via Python (Without a second smartphone, PC, Wifi or USB Connection)

Hi All,

I want to take screenshots of my Android smartphone screen(not only screenshot of my app but whole screen) locally in background (without a second smartphone, PC , Wifi or USB connection) in my application via Python, but unfortunately I could not find a proper way to do it. I tried following methods but none of them is the right way in my case:

Android Screen Buffer: I guess this is used for screenshot, but I could not achieve to install it. I get following error:
The conflict is caused by: ash 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1 depends on opencv-python==4.1.2.30
but this version does not support any arm base platform. So I cannot install it. Moreover it has also dependencies with ADB tool,
so it looks like wifi or serial connection required.

ADB(Android Debug Bridge Tool): It requires either USB Cable or Wifi connection. The problem is that I do not want that my app users
requires necessary the same Wifi connection(I know internet connection not required but they need to be somewhere around a modem) to be able to use my app.

LADB: This requires also USB Cable or Wifi connection

scrcpy: It has also ADB dependencies. I get no devices/emulators found if I do not start any server from a PC.

Note: I want to implement it necessarily via Python with the reason that the implementation is already done for Windows and MacOS via Cross Platform Python. But if it is impossible with Python is there any other way? if it is so, then which language and library would you recommend? I found some examples via Java but all of them were screen capturing the window within the application not whole smartphone screen.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Environment: Android 11
Prog Language: Python 3.7
Smartphone:Samsung Galaxy A8

How to "Gingerbread-ify" a modern phone

I go some progress, with Nova Launcher Prime, XLocker (had to sideload that one, as stupid Play Store hid it from me), Jellybean HD Icon pack and Galaxy S4 Icon Pack (again, Play Store blocking me from seeing them, not even listing them, had to sideload APKs. Any wonder why I hate app stores?)

Also got the SIII lockscreen for Xlocker (another APK sideload) and Sense V2 Weather Widget (which Play Store did let me get) and AOSP Music+ (also Play Store cooperated with), Gallery ICS (listed on Play Store, why is it hiding some things that are definitely compatible from me though like Xlocker?)

Wasn't able to get the modded S-Memo APK to work (funny, it did work on my Nexus 6!, but on A14 5G it just ends 'app not installed' (no answer as to why)). That APK should work as it's modded to not depend on TouchWiz. Oh well, maybe Samsung Notes interferes with it? A shame as it'd have the UI.

Found some scaled updated versions of TouchWiz Wallpapers and some widgets, so I'm getting there. Wish I could find a third-party lockscreen similar to XLocker that imitated the original AOSP Gingerbread one though. Keyboard from Android 2.3 APK also works. Looks nice so far. I can't upload pics though since stupid Type-C won't cooperate with Windows 7. Windows just thinks its a camera and all of DCIM is empty (doesn't show screenshots subfolder).

Can't fix some issues. One UI 5 blocks third-party apps like some File Explorers from allowing user to pick notification sounds from sites like Zedge, but ringtones work. Can't find an app that allows a custom charging sound (so I can use the naturey TouchWiz charging cable connected sound vs. the more spacey one that One UI uses). The only app that does was an old Cheetah Mobile app that I refuse to risk using.

So I cannot use the Whistle sound for my texts, or replace the charging sound, or add in the 'bwop bwop' touch sound. There used to be a launcher called Galaxy Launcher (which was a modded Nova that resembled the Galaxy S4 out the gate) that did at least have that touch sound for the home screen (but not inside apps) but it's been hidden from access from the Play Store like the above, and isn't available via F-Droid or Aptoide or a search of APKs. Sadly didn't back that one up. Paid for the damn thing too.

Had to sideload Aldiko Classic as even it was hidden from me on Play Store. Starting to really hate you Google.

At least I'm making some progress. I'd like to find older usable (for the retro UI) texting app, email app but Handcent's old versions (which looked like iOS 6) seem to read texts fine, but won't send (they just vanish into the ether). Learned that from the Nexus 6 and used Assistant to work around sending them, but since it has issues with longer texts, and certain words (it cannot dictate words such as 'doe' 'deer' or Farscape curses such as 'Frell' or 'Fahrbot') so it wouldn't have been a 100% solution. I don't know of any third-party Android 2.3 email apps, and the AOSP APK fails to install like S-Memo.

Help Camera only doing Black & White

They are saying that they are "dumb as a rock" (see their username).

@IMdumbasarock55 your camera options won't be the same because that post was back in 2012 and so your camera app won't be the same. Manufacturers tend to use their own camera apps, so what settings or options it has will depend on what phone you have (which we don't know). But I would look for anything in the settings or controls that selects "effects" or "filters". My Samsung has nothing in the camera app's settings, but the camera user interface has a "magic wand" icon that allows you to choose filters (which include a few black-and-white or greyscale options). So if nothing is obvious, maybe try touching some of the icons and seeing what they do!

Buying The Right Device (Bootloader)?

An older Pixel might do what you want, though some phones sold through service providers may have locked bootloaders so you'd still need to check that.

I'd buy a bit newer than an original or a 2 though, if you can find it at a sensible price. The batteries on those will be shot by now, which will limit what you can do - my Pixel 2's battery died in late 2021, and when I tried to charge it a few months later to play with it the battery immediately swelled-up and popped the display out.

But what's the relevance of travelling to Europe and unlocking the bootloader? Your Pixel 7 will work fine over here, and as already said if you want to use a European SIM in it then a bootloader lock is irrelevant, it's a service provider lock ("SIM lock") you need to avoid (and you really do need to avoid it with a second-hand phone, because the carrier may well refuse to provide the unlock code to you because you aren't the customer who bought the phone from them).

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