I just updated my 2025 Moto G Stylus 5G to Android 16 only to discover the only feature I updated for doesn't work on my device thanks to Qualcomm.

Starting in August, installing APKs from unverified developers will require a new procedure called Advanced Flow. It involves enabling developer mode, rebooting the device, and waiting 24 hours with biometric verification. After that, you choose: allow the APK installation for 7 days or indefinitely. The procedure is a one-time process and applies to all versions of Android. Will the 24-hour wait stop you from installing APKs outside the store?

Over the years I've tested out pretty much all the Android keyboards, but swipe typing always kept me on GBoard, even though GBoard did not support voice typing for anything except Google, so I had to switch keyboards for that. Recently I learned that HeliBoard has support for gesture typing with the Google library. But I couldn't find any instructions on where to get the necessary files or how to do it. Well, someone posted a link to the file elsewhere so I'll [share it here](https://github.com/erkserkserks/openboard/blob/46fdf2b550035ca69299ce312fa158e7ade36967/app/src/main/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/libjni_latinimegoogle.so). And it works! Extremely well. I can also pin a button for voice typing and then select Transcribro for that (which uses OpenAI Whisper locally and works super well. Another gripe I had with GBoard was the cursor moves way too fast when swiping on the space bar. Not so with Heliboard. You can also swipe backwards from the backspace key and it will highlight text and then delete it when you let go.

Trust me, I push Signal _hard_ and even donate to it monthly. As I'm sure many of you know, there are always a few contacts who unfortunately refuse to use it. In this case: do you prefer to use insecure SMS in something like QUIK SMS or Fossify Messages, or do you prefer to bite the Google bullet to get end-to-end encrypted messages (even if the metadata isn't encrypted)? I can see good arguments for both sides, so I am curious what Lemmy's take is.

If you haven't seen this yet, Google is planning to require mandatory developer identity verification for all Android apps, including apps distributed outside the Play Store, taking effect September 2026. This affects every independent and open source Android developer directly. This is not just about the Play Store. After September 2026, on any certified Android device, applications from unverified developers will be blocked by default. The only proposed bypass, the "advanced flow", exists only as a blog post and has not appeared in any beta, dev preview, or canary release. No one outside Google has seen it. The community has been fighting back at keepandroidopen.org: - Read the full breakdown of what this means - Sign the open letter (organisations only) - Contact your national regulators — contacts listed by country on the site - Add the countdown banner to your project September 2026 is closer than it looks. The time to push back is now.

I'm using e/os and I want to be sure that, when connected to my local network, my local dns server is used, however, no matter what I do, my phone always use google's one. Is there any way to fix this?

Quote from Proton VPN: > Google has known about a bug that breaks VPN apps for 7 months, leaving users exposed with no warning or error, just a VPN app that stopped working in the background. > > If you're using ANY VPN on Android, you can help us by getting Google's attention to fix it. > > We first reported this bug to Google in September 2025. > > Others like Mullvad and Wireguard reported it even earlier, in August. > > Google's response? "I don't see anything unusual." > > The bug corrupts Android's network stack at the system level after a VPN update, causing users to blame their VPN provider. > > Restarting the app doesn't help, with the only fix being a full device reboot or VPN app reinstall, something which most users never figure out. > > This affects several VPN providers on Android 16, and only Google has the access to diagnose it properly. > > After 7 months of waiting, we're now asking publicly: Google, when are you fixing this? > > Issue Tracker Links: > > https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/441315112 > > https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/4474331

Screenshots:  and Gesture navigation is now enabled by default

Link to the app: <https://f-droid.org/packages/com.jksalcedo.librefind/>

Trying to remove the FRP on my phone, but so far just able to get it to load google.com cannot sign in, or install any apps. https://i.imgur.com/Pa1pRkR.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/AHXKLAy.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/U9vnMII.jpeg Any tips

In November I'm visiting Dominican Republic for the first time. I want to take underwater photos & video. TIA.

> Following the last update over a year ago, Google Authenticator 7.0 is rolling out with a Material You redesign and other new features.

Hello everyone! A lot has happened since my last post, specifically talking about my LineageOS inquiries. I had a string of bad luck and broke the digitizer but no cracks to my Pixel 7 Pro. So I ended up "upgrading" to the Pixel 8 Pro because the store I went to only had the 8 Pro and not the 7 Pro in stock and it was dire that I have a phone. So this leads me to my next questions: What is your favorite Android spin for your Pixel Device? --- I have used GrapheneOS, LineageOS, and Stock Android (of various versions on my Pro 7) This leads me down the rabbit hole of deciding which experience I want on my Pixel 8 Pro. --- I have GrapheneOS on my 8 Pro right now because I wanted to see if I could make it fit my needs, and I am leaning towards it not working for me. Since I switched, android auto is not connecting even following the instructions GrapheneOS has to offer. AdAway (nonroot) is not working on GrapheneOS, as it just kills any internet connection to everything on GrapheneOS. So that's another point against me wanting to stick with GrapheneOS. No AFwall+. Another point against it. --- It appears that CalyxOS is going to give me a similar experience with issues related to the ones I mentioned with GrapheneOS. -- I had considered trying out [LineageOS for microG](https://lineage.microg.org/) but unsure if this is the route I want to go because I am unsure if some of the apps I will rely on will work for various reasons. (Mainly unsure if MicroG will suffice for them.) --- I am open to other options to, and would love to hear what you are using! --- Thank you!

> The Google Phone app doesn't often receive huge updates, but a new change to the incoming call UI appears to be in the works.

I'm looking for a programmable calculator with the option of saving and loading the functions i created. the closest I've found so far is something like Free42 but the learning curve is kinda steep. thanks for your help!

Hi, this is the last week before I will return my Pixel 7 Pro for a refund, after owning it for a year. My replacement is the 15 Pro Max, and I thought I'd post here in case anyone has any questions regarding these two devices. I know it's not best comparison as the Pixel 8 Pro is out, but in any case.. I can take pictures, run benchmarks, answer other questions etc.

> The Google Play Store has a Nearby Share-powered method for sending apps on your device to others, but this is now going away...

cross-posted from: https://thelemmy.club/post/45174889 > Reddit post by Jeff Gadway: https://www.reddit.com/r/ClicksPhone/comments/1rg082s/clicks_communicator_coming_in_azerty_qwertz/

A Snapdragon Elite phone with giant 7000 mAh Silicon Carbon battery, 100 W charging, 144 Hz refresh rate and even a 3.5 mm jack. All of it is let down by the fact that it's promised only one major OS upgrade.

> TL;DR > - The Android 15 source code will be released next week, according to multiple sources. > - The source code will allow Android platform developers to build modified versions of Android 15. > - Major OEMs have already had access to Android 15’s source code, giving them a head start on preparing updates.

if I buy a pixel 7a within the next 5 days they'll add on top of the 20% off they already offered, a free pair of pixel a-series buds (retail price $100), so I'd get a 33% discount on both items. online reviews say it's compatible with every android device, but Im going to buy this model to delete the software and install either graphene or lineage, so, will these buds work with either OS?

I'm having trouble finding a good WiFi or Bluetooth walkie app. Both of them on f droid are too old to run on android 16

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22174477 > A source within Google has told Android Authority that Google plans to basically turn Chrome OS into Android.

I used to have no issue with this, just like the person from this reddit post, where my music app would resume playing if it was the last app with media playing via Bluetooth and I did not actively close the app since the last time it played. I am having this same issue, with this same phone, running (I assume) the same Android version. Ever since I got my Pixel 7, I've had no problems with Bluetooth resuming in my car. I'd listen to Deezer on my way to work, my way from work, and as long as it was the app of choice, it would start playback as soon as it connected back to my car. I received a few updates recently and now that doesn't happen. Now it just shows me what it **was** playing, but never starts it, and I have to go into the app, itself, just to "wake it up" to play. Anyone seen similar? I've unchecked all things that I know of which could stop an app from running in the background, or with loss of connection to devices. It's not set to close at all for any reason, yet it almost seems like it does. No one has responded to the OP of the cross-post so I figured I'd extend this post to Lemmy and see if anyone has an answer or suggestion. Soon as my phone is paid off I'm going to Graphene or some other alternative to Google's trash.

Edit: I found the culprit! It is an app I've been using for years called "Notification Toggle" that has sadly been abandoned, and that seems to have a bug on Android 14 where it's icon will be stuck at 1 instead of showing the current date. I completely forgot it even had this function, because it was a default on all my phones for a looooooing time without me ever opening it or fiddling with the settings. Sad to see it abandoned, with no hope of getting this bug fixed, but what can I do... I switched phones recently, and am very satisfied with my Xperia, but there's this one useless icon in the taskbar that annoys me a bit and that is like to hide, but I can't identify it, could someone help? I tried SystemUI tuner, but it doesn't list it as one you can blacklist in the list of toggles, and I don't know how to find it's key to add it as a custom one. Tried turning off calendar notifications, but that's not it - it still shows. Does anyone know what it is and how to hide it? It's a minor annoyance to be sure, but it's completely useless, and I'd like it gone if possible. Thanks in advance for any help!

i apologize for how niche this question is cuz im not sure where else to post this i'm currently running microg lineage with verizon, but i'm soon switching to a google fi plan. will the service work fine in this rom ?

cross-posted from: https://thelemmy.club/post/44940960 > https://www.poweredbymediatek.com/device?search=Clicks > > If true this is great. It will have more than enough power for 99% of tasks and will be able to do it all smoothly. The Clicks Communicator, if you haven't heard of it, is an upcoming Android phone with a physical keyboard.  It currently has pre-orders open however a working prototype hasn't been shown yet, with one coming Q2 according to the company. Release is expected Q4 this year. They have successfully released keyboard cases for other phones in the past.

I've written this blog post about moving from rooted Samsung to a Pixel running GrapheneOS. It's a list of every root tool that I used, with a note on whether I'll miss it. I wrote it as a checklist for myself initially, and decided to add links and more comments and publish it. Turns out I don't really need root, which truly surprised me. Do you have any apps or tools that hold you back from leaving root?

I've been looking for something like the old app making 3D wallpapers from GCam lens blur photos, but found nothing. This is not the same, but it is quite good nonetheless.

See the title. Any suggestions? I have a lot music favorited on Spotify but I want to switch over to apple music as it is included with my phone plan.