Apparently this is to hassle Epic Games. HN discussion has more info: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46333734

I'm pretty bad with self control, and I've noticed that I'm spending too much time on Lemmy/Reddit, so I grabbed BlockApp to moderate my usage. So far, it works really well. I appreciate that I can limit usage to x minutes an hour, as well as y minutes daily. It has a block screen, rather than killing the app like Digital Wellbeing. It isn't perfect, but it's a good bandaid for poor impulse control.

Title basically. My phone has been getting frequent stalls despite my connection being excellent and fast when it works. Looking for an app to help me figure out what's happening.

Hello everyone, I’ve been working on a simple 3D maze game for Android. The main idea is a daily maze: everyone plays the same maze each day and competes on a global leaderboard. It’s designed to be quick and casual. Wordle-style sessions you can finish in a few minutes. Features: - Daily Maze: same maze for everyone, resets daily, global leaderboard - Random Mode: no competition, solution button available - Duels: real-time 1v1 races on a randomly generated maze I’d really appreciate feedback, especially on what features or modes would be interesting to add. The app isn’t public yet because Google requires a testing phase, but testing is open. You just need to join a Google Group and then use the Play Store link below. Google group: (It may show "you don't have access to this content" but if you login you can request access. It's unfortunately a necessary step for the App links below to work.) https://groups.google.com/g/maze-trials-3d-closed-testing App links: Web: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.mazegame3d.app Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mazegame3d.app (The App links above will only be available after joining the group. I'm very sorry, those are google requirements.) Thanks!

I've posted on here a long time ago about [RTranslator](https://github.com/niedev/RTranslator), which is a phenomenal, real-time translation app for conversations. It's a beautifully designed app that allows for on-device transcription and translation. RTranslator has a few different modes that make it great for bilingual conversations. It can do simple text translations very well, like a handful of other apps. I actually use [this one](https://github.com/DavidVentura/offline-translator) for that purpose because it has system context menus and OCR for image translation. Where RTranslator really shines is in translating live conversations. When it first came out a couple years ago, it felt like sci-fi. You can set it up to walkie-talkie mode, and the phone will automatically detect multiple speakers, identify the language they're speaking, and translate to the other language. If you have TTS enabled on your phone, you can even hear the other half of the conversation (more on that in a moment). The really amazing feature is if you have translator installed on two separate devices, then you can communicate with each other over Bluetooth. Even with your phone in your pocket, you can easily have a complete conversation with another person. Did I mention that it does all of this without *any* internet? When you first set up the app, you'll have to access the internet to download language models, but after that, it never goes online. The file size and processing power might be heavy on older or cheaper phones, but runs smoothly and easily on modern phones (I have a Pixel 7, which is hardly bleeding edge). I like things that happen on-device for privacy purposes, but it's also immediately practical for something like this. If you need on the spot translation, there's a good chance you're traveling and may not have access to reliable (or free) internet. Most Android devices have built-in text-to-speech (TTS). So after you've installed RTranslator and selected your languages to download, then you're good to go. If you're using an alternative OS (like graphene, which I use), then you'll have to select one yourself. Note: I think that Google's TTS also works on device without an internet connection, but I'm not 100% sure. That's where [SherpaTTS](https://github.com/woheller69/ttsEngine) comes in. Like the translator, Sherpa will need some space on your device and uses some processing power (although, the footprint is much smaller). It takes a little bit of time to set up, but most of that time is choosing your selected voice. There are literally hundreds of models to choose from.  You can set it up as your system default TTS, and then select it through the menu or during setup in RTranslator. Now you have modern, offline, live translation almost instantaneously. Both apps are easy to set up and walk you through the process pretty quickly. *All software here mentioned is open source. Some of the models used by this software might be derived from proprietary sources, but the models themselves are considered open source. Nobody asked me to do this, but I like sharing great open source software. Projects like these don't have an advertising budget, and rely on word of mouth.* [RTranslator On GitHub](https://github.com/niedev/RTranslator) [SherpaTTS on F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/de/packages/org.woheller69.ttsengine/) [SherpaTTS on OpenApk](https://www.openapk.net/ttsengine/org.woheller69.ttsengine/) [SherpaTTS on GitHub](https://github.com/woheller69/ttsEngine)

I had been using the phenomenal Breezy Weather for quite a while. It has built in integration with my launcher, provides a variety of configurations, and looks great. Here's why I switched to Overmorrow. Overmorrow is on another level in terms of design. It uses well selected photos sourced from the copyleft Unsplash as the background, which indicate different weather conditions and times of day (and possibly other factors, like location, although I haven't tested it that extensively or examined the codebase). The background is responsive as you scroll the app, which is a nice touch. The minimalist icons used for weather and time of day make it easy to read at a glance at any size. To be honest, I was not a fan at first. They are almost *too* minimal for me. As I've grown accustomed to seeing them, it is clear the attention to detail that has been invested in each one. Unlike Breezy Weather, the icon pack can't be changed. Breezy is a more mature app, so it makes sense that it has a few more customizations and integrations available. Breezy offers over a dozen widgets, while Overmorrow offers just 5. The widgets available with Overmorrow cover all the basics, although I found one or two idiosyncrasies. The hourly mode could benefit from more configurability, and a weekly preview widget is missing entirely. For me that's not really a necessity, but might be a dealbreaker for others. Opening the app, it feels very much like a complete solution. The information offered is detailed and displayed extremely thoughtfully. There are obvious settings like units and weather sources, but also full control of what and in which order information is displayed. Put what's important to you at the top, and less important stuff lower down (or leave it off completely). Everything is snappy and intuitive. Colors can be customized or set based on your wallpaper, or the current weather conditions. The transitions between screens and updates are cleverly and subtly animated. The entire experience is crisp, smooth, and modern. My favorite feature is the radar view, which is just as snappy and intuitive as the rest of the app. Press play to see the recent radar animated, or tap to see it in full screen view and look around. It can be super helpful in looking out for incoming weather, or visualizing how quickly a shower will blow over. And it's something conspicuously missing from some other apps. Overall, the beautiful design, frictionless UI, and features make this one a winner for me. [Source code](https://github.com/bmaroti9/Overmorrow) [IzzyOnDroid](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.marotidev.Overmorrow/) [Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.marotidev.Overmorrow)

You used to be able to use the *#*#4636#*#* trick to get a hidden menu, but now that's gone too. There's nothing in the menu that alllows you to select which network to use. I hate to keep having network disconnects and in perpetual 4G/5G back and forth and battery draining. I use Samsung btw Edit: For context: Its due to issues with being near the edge of the 5G zone so your phone keeps going back and forth between 4G and 5G which (I suspect), is what causes constant network disconnection, phone being hot/warm, and battery drain. Very annoying. Edit: YOOOO I FUCKING FOUND IT https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.szalkowski.activitylauncher/ Search "Phone Info" --> Click the one with the phone icon --> Click again (there should be only one option --> Launch Activity --> Fina a dropdown option, change dropdown to LTE Voila. I feel like a fucking hacker (why is this so hidden wtf Samsung?)

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/17792695 >After slowly phasing the app out in some regions, Samsung has announced that it will no longer pre-install Samsung Messages...

I've been unable to access the PlayStore all day. It tells me I'm not signed in even though my profile picture is visible in the top right corner. When I tap "Try again" nothing happens. When I tap on my profile picture and then select "Google Account" it tells me I'm not connected to the internet (see screenshot). But I am, using my browser for example works just fine. The only other app I've noticed having problems is Weather, which is unable to refresh and also tells me there's no internet connection. Any idea what's going on here?

So I got a notification that Google is going to retire the reminders feature from Calendar and make it a Tasks feature instead. The only reason I was using Google:s Calendar app was for their reminders (and because they've made it impossible for third party apps to use reminders). The most important part of reminders for me was the way they worked, by putting up a notification that didn't go away until manually dismissed. Very useful for important stuff like taking a medicine. Any suggestions for other apps that have similar notifications? It would be great if they were a calendar app, and even greater if they are synced to a calendar over a standard (like CalDAV etc.) so I can self-host it.

Here's to you, AnandTech - thank you for the detailed smartphone reviews all these years.

A little rant about the Android operating system [@android](https://lemmy.world/c/android) Everyone felt weird when I said I was using custom ROMs. Most of them haven't heard about anything beyond stock android. I wrote a blog trying to normalise it. [https://text.tchncs.de/czars-blogs/custom-roms-and-my-phone](https://text.tchncs.de/czars-blogs/custom-roms-and-my-phone) [\#Android](https://mstdn.social/tags/Android) [#OpenSource](https://mstdn.social/tags/OpenSource) [#Privacy](https://mstdn.social/tags/Privacy) [#Linux](https://mstdn.social/tags/Linux)

Hey c/Android, We always keep hearing about Nova Launcher, Smart Launcher, Niagara etc, and I wondered how many of us here are using unpopular or underrated launchers. In my case, I've been using [AIO Launcher](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.execbit.aiolauncher) ever since I got my Fold 4, as it's one of the few launchers that have proper foldable support. AIO bucks the minimalist trend and instead focuses on an all-in-one approach. It's USP is it's plethora of built-in widgets, including music controls, integrated notifications, emails, RSS feeds, timers, dialer, and more. For advanced users, it allows you to control the launcher via Tasker, and you even create your own widgets using LUA scripts!  So, do you use a non-standard/unpopular launcher, if so, which one and what's your setup like?

I recently found out that a locked device (aka a carrier lock) is actually locked in two very different ways. 1) the sim lock, which prevents you from using a sim card from a different carrier. This usually has some sort of policy regarding how and when to unlock the device (for Verizon it is if the device goes for 60 days without connecting to the Verizon network, might also need to be fully paid off as well) 2) Bootloader lock, this locks the bootloader and therefore disables any way of flashing anything (rom, root, etc) This is not something that will automatically be unlocked as far as I can tell and only the carrier can modify it. Most carriers seem to have the basic decency to unlock the device if you request it from their support, but be warned that there is no guarantee. What is guaranteed, is that Verizon will tell you to fuck right off and will never unlock your device. The point of this post is to bring awareness to this issue, it is on me that I didn't properly research this and just assumed that carrier lock means just a sim lock, but this sucked. I bought a pixel 8 which was sim-unlocked but sadly, as I discovered, its bootloader was locked and the "oem unlock" option was grayed-out. This is because it was a Verizon model that was out of the network but still, a Verizon model... As of right now there are no known exploits against this device / Android version, and so, there is no known way to bypass this. I literally argued, begged, and threatened Verizon. And their official stand is that they don't allow bootloader unlocks, they don't have the ability to do them (A lie) and that it will degrade my experience (Idiots) So I started doing anything I could think of. I tried old exploits that were patched (unsurprisingly they failed), I tried sideloading other versions of stock android (worked but didn't affect the bootloader), I even setup mitm wifi hotspot that has a transparent tls inspection (see PolarProxy) but it seems that the OS does not trust any "user" CAs and so it tries to connect to android.googleapis.com, sees that the CA is not a system CA and aborts the bootloader check, which keeps it grayed-out. My idea was to spoof a valid response but apparently Android has good security practices (who knew) Short of reversing the OS/Bootloader, it seems there is nothing to do. So this is my warning to you, don't buy carrier models, but if you do, make sure the oem unlock option works, but if you don't, absolutely never buy a Verizon model. ETA: I bought second-hand under the impression that it was an unlocked device, I thought that by checking sim compatibility I verified that it was, I was wrong.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/19650358 > Through an updated Google API, Android app developers can now effectively block sideloading and force downloads from the Play Store.

Hello! I recently just released a Lemmy reader app for open beta. I've been working on the app since the black out about a week ago. The app is will very much a work in progress however the core reader functionality should be working. I will continue to work on the app and estimate it will likely like a month before all core features will be implemented. That being said, I've been having a lot of trouble browsing Lemmy on web and I still think the app is an upgrade over the raw web experience. If anyone is interested please give the app a try and let me know what you think! Here's a quick demo as well: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MMpMHwzTuII **Update** I started a community at https://lemmy.world/c/summit. I will try to post frequent updates there.

Hi, I've been looking info on how work (features available etc..) Dual sim on android . But all the websites talking about it trow back   https://stallman.org/cloudflare.html Does someone have an URL that is not ~~censored~~ "protected" by cloudflare ? Thanks. ::: spoiler This question might have been already asked ? Sorry if this question might have been asked.. But it seem Lemmy of search option, like search within a community and by title only.... :::

Running Android 13. For whatever reason whenever I set my phone to automatically connect to a WiFi network when in range, it never does. If I pull down the notification panel it'll say I'm connected to WiFi, but the LTE of my mobile connection is showing. If I go to network settings, hit disconnect and then reconnect directly from there, it'll show that I'm actually connected to the WiFi. But then after awhile it'll disconnect and I have to repeat the process to stay connected. The disconnect on my home WiFi network is normal because I have to use another laptop as a mobile hotspot because the location I'm at only allows 2 simultaneous connections to the WiFi under my credentials and so the laptop acts as a bridge to connect all my other devices at once and since said WiFi has to support several thousand people at once disconnections are frequent and expected. But despite that, my phone does it to every single WiFi network I've tried to connect it to. It will frequently have the exclamation point ! Next to the WiFi indicator saying that the network is unavailable (even though it works smoothly) until I turn on my VPN (Astrill). I've ticked the box that says "connect anyway" because it was annoying me to have to select that Everytime I connected to a WiFi network. So I'm at a loss as to what's the issue. It might just be that I have a shit moto stylus because my rear camera takes potato quality pictures if try to shoot anything beyond the reach of my arms despite it having "better" cameras than my previous phones. It's also not a VPN problem because on my previous phone (LGV60) as soon as I'm in range of my ad hoc network it'll connect automatically and the only issue I have is when the network refreshes itself and I have to go reconnect my mobile hotspot on my laptop. So something on my Moto Stylus 5G (2022) is refusing to connect to WiFi networks and stay connected once in range. I hope someone here can offer me solutions. Thanks!

I'm saying this because now i see a lot Google related posts. My(this one) account is new . but I'm here for a some time now.

Hi all, Okay so my Galaxy Tab A7 Lite has arrived. I did some searching and it seems like there are a million options as far as replacing / hacking the rom. So, all I want to do is have root access, and be rid of any bloat that’s built in. I prefer whatever is most tried and true, and whatever does not have any iffy components still. Like, I want everything to function without glitches, I want to get the most out of my hardware, and other than that, I really don’t want a 100-step process. So, recommends? What’s available that’s very reliable and what does it offer me? (Eg: GSI+Root, Lineage, Havoc, et al) I appreciate any advice. Thank you.

You can sideload the xbox fire tv app on a android/google tv. However you are unable to sign in as it boots you to the wrong page. On a fire tv its supposed to have you do some steps. On a side note you can sideload the new xbox app to an unsupported fire stick and sign in like normal.

LibreWolf is a great privacy oriented Browser for desktop. But there is no version for android or IOS . There are some like mull but they have their own problems. Mobile phones stay with us most of the day. So we need extra privacy for it.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18661137 > Learn about the updated interface and the new features on the way as part of this summer's Google Meet refresh.

> It’s no secret that Gemini is coming to Android Auto soon, but it’s not here just yet. Ahead of the...

I remember a while back Google unveiled a better photo picker that won't make us go through the file structure to pick images. Is that something developers need to implement because so far not a single app I use has implemented it. Just wondering if there's any apps that do?