*Warning re: restoring data usage through Titanium Backup*? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

*Edit* The problem was found to be with Titanium backup and how it reports data usage by apps after you restore it. I have contacted the developer for investigation.
________________________________________
Hi guys, this is a x-post from the Themes and Apps forum. I thought I'd post it here so more eyes would see it as a potential warning:
________________________________________________________________________
So, I have Tasker installed on my Nexus just for simple automation that turns on Wi-Fi tether when my phone's Bluetooth pairs with my car stereo (which is also Android) so I can stream Internet radio etc.
I've been noticing lately that my data has been transmitting a lot when my phone has been sitting idle so I did some investigation and found that Tasker has sent over 2GB of data this month alone. This is more than I've used while tethered! I can't think of any valid reason as to why it would need to send that much data (if any at all) so I am highly suspicious of this app. Anyone else using Tasker? Can you check your data usage to see if you're seeing the same?
Update: I checked my previous months of data usage. Tasker shows as #1 with the following being reported:
September: 4.0GB
August: 3.36GB (app was installed August 7th from the Playstore).
Here's the FAQ from the author's site on Internet access usage:
The INTERNET permission is used solely for:
google maps downloading map data, only for setting up a Location context
to carry out HTTP Post/Get actions and other actions that require an Internet connection by their nature
to verify the order number, and only until it has been successfully verified
to check whether a new Tasker version is available, if configured in Preferences
Tasker never directly uses Internet access for anything else.
I have emailed the author asking for an explanation. I will update the thread when I hear back from him. In the meantime, if you're using Tasker I advise you to check your data usage to see any suspicious activity.

Maybe there's a bug in yours? Tasker consistently registers <10MB for me...
Edit: Thought I'd mention, I bought mine from the Play Store as well.

Tasker is <1MB for me too, and I got it straight from the author.

fabrizziop said:
Tasker is <1MB for me too, and I got it straight from the author.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My copy is from the Playstore as well. Updated to the latest version. The author has contacted me. I'll keep you guys posted.

I've been using Tasker for over two years and have never had such an issue. In the past month, Tasker has used 899KB on my Nexus. I also have it installed on 4 other devices with no such problems.
My suggestion would be to examine your profiles - especially ones you didn't create yourself - for any actions that might use data.
The description you listed from the developer's due sounds right - Tasker uses limited data in support of other actions (like displaying maps in scenes), but has several actions that will use data if you tell it to do so.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

May I suggest that you also checkout Droidwall. It will allow you to control what apps can access your wifi/data. This is assuming you've unlocked/rooted your phone.

OK, I think I've found the problem. It appears to be a bug in Titanium backup and restoring the usage statistics.
Someone else had a similar problem but with a different app. When he did a restore of the system data usage, he had a random app reporting excessive data use. I have also done a restore of my data use after flashing a new ROM so I did some further testing after unfreezing Tasker for a couple of days and everything appears to be fine in that there is no data use being reported.
Thanks Everyone for the suggestions. I am going to report my findings to the author of Titanium backup.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Damn, i knew restoring system data was a bad idea, but i did it anyway
Sent from my i9250

jesusice said:
Yeah, stop besmirching Tasker's good name. Even double posting your own dumbness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave the developer and the app the benefit of the doubt from the beginning. I posted my findings here and in the App forum in order to get as much help as possible and also to warn others that use the app of a potential data leakage problem. Even after repeated conversations with the developer of the app with no success, it was a user on these boards that eventually helped to solve the problem. I didn't see you offering any words of wisdom to help solve this problem so STFU!
Anyhow I posted the update in the first thread and the title will be changed to reflect that. Thank you to those who actually had something meaningful to contribute.

Mancubus99 said:
I gave the developer and the app the benefit of the doubt from the beginning. I posted my findings here and in the App forum in order to get as much help as possible and also to warn others that use the app of a potential data leakage problem. Even after repeated conversations with the developer of the app with no success, it was a user on these boards that eventually helped to solve the problem. I didn't see you offering any words of wisdom to help solve this problem so STFU!
Anyhow I posted the update in the first thread and the title will be changed to reflect that. Thank you to those who actually had something meaningful to contribute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw your question when it was first posted and ignored it knowing that it was user error. And now your OP says the problem is Titanium, but it's not. It's you. Don't restore system data, it's a basic Android law.

Happened to me too, anyone know how to reset the data usage?
Edit: just had to remove all the files in /data/system/netstats

Related

[NEWS] Errant Data usage [Link]

Reading stories like this makes me glad mine is off.
Errant Data Usage
glad i have a 1.5GB plan. though i never see it chew up much. but aye, it's a good course to make MS do another update if they don't fix it with the feb patch.
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well
randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of people report high battery consumption with WP7 devices. This could be the reason.
randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS has acknowledged the fact and looking into the resolution, so I don't think it is some mumbo-jumbo.
The Gate Keeper said:
well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.
lqaddict said:
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i agree. but i'm just saying that MS could propose it as a temporary work around if it is indeed the cause of the issue, until they fix it in an update.
I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.
CreepinJesus said:
I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most people have limited cap on 3G data, so it's not that difficult to realize whether your phone is abusing your monthly plan or not.
Actually, from the comments at engadget and other blogs, it does seem that the vast majority of users are not affected by the issue. And I've never heard a single one in Italy affected as well. So it maybe a carrier-specific problem, or a 3rd party app available on certain markets/networks.
Or there might not be an issue at all, the high data consumption being just caused by applications running under the lockscreen in standby (so that wifi goes off and 3g kicks in).
MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... I know I'm ok because I have checked my online statement thing and I've only used a couple of MB so far this month.
Feedback Function? i dont think so.......
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........
SPVlover said:
...
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends how often it's sending location info, and whether it's using AGPS. I don't know the details... Mine is turned off anyway.
SPVlover said:
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Location is switched on on my phone and I haven't noticed any large data usage.
I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?
alan1467 said:
I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.
I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.
I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading a couple of games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.
bmazloum said:
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I have it in desktop view do you think that could be it?

Best security app ever for the Nexus 7

Sorry for the shameless self promotion. But my Security app Root Defense has been thoroughly tested on the Nexus 7 and unlike any other security app out there, it will allow you to continue to track your phone even if it gets wiped or a hard-reset by a thief.
It's almost impossible to lose your phone and it's completely free.
It requires that your phone be rooted (as most peoples are on XDA)
Please try it out and rate and comment on Google Play if you like it.
The Google Play page can be found here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unfairware.rootdefense&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS51bmZhaXJ3YXJlLnJvb3RkZWZlbnNlIl0.
The XDA homepage can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1775488
chetstriker said:
Sorry for the shameless self promotion. But my Security app Root Defense has been thoroughly tested on the Nexus 7 and unlike any other security app out there, it will allow you to continue to track your phone even if it gets wiped or a hard-reset by a thief.
It's almost impossible to lose your phone and it's completely free.
It requires that your phone be rooted (as most peoples are on XDA)
Please try it out and rate and comment on Google Play if you like it.
The Google Play page can be found here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.unfairware.rootdefense&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS51bmZhaXJ3YXJlLnJvb3RkZWZlbnNlIl0.
The XDA homepage can be found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1775488
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it try to connect to every available wifi network around it? Like if it's not connected after being stolen and detects a wifi network will it connect to it and send data?
atticusmas said:
Does it try to connect to every available wifi network around it? Like if it's not connected after being stolen and detects a wifi network will it connect to it and send data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, but thanks for the suggestion. It currently caches data offline and as soon as a WiFi or cellular connection is made, the application uploads the data.
This is fantastic
Would it be possible to log which apps are used on the device?
I'm currently trialling Airwatch for a project I'm working on for a fleet of phones and tablets. From what I've tested so far, I'd like to recommend a switch to your solution.
Looks pretty cool. I just bought Cerberus, but would give this a go if I hadn't done that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
I'm still a fan of lookout
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
This looks very impressive!
What I want to know is HOW does it work??
Billy
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2
looks like a good product. Will give it a try. Contrary to what you have said, other apps CAN survive a system reset or wipe of the phone. you can also embed Cerberus in the rom so that it survives a system reset and you can also hide it and make it look like a system app in the tasks list.
What i like about this product though is how it can track calls, and sms etc. Though this does obviously raise some privacy concerns with all this info being stored on a third party server.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
---------- Post added at 11:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:06 AM ----------
Jeepfreak, It embeds itself in the system so that it is treated as if it is a program that came with the phone or tablet. In effect, it injects itself into the rom of the phone (hence the need do root to install). this way out will still be they if you reset the phone.it will not survive the rom being replaced though i assume, which is the same limitation on other apps of this type.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Im a fan of lookout, had no problems but my trial is running out and not sure how good the free version is.
uberNoobZA said:
does obviously raise some privacy concerns with all this info being stored on a third party server
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather have my device stolen and wiped than trust a third party.
At £200 the N7 is almost disposable.
Looked at the title and thought... Avast... happy with it, and have no plans on losing something this big. I have mine in an auto on/off case. If the secret code isn't entered in 15 seconds, my N7 starts smoking and disintegrates.
New version just released, check our main thread for details.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1775488
Version 3.1 released!
Change log includes:
* Fix for calls not being recorded bug
* Fix for auto-update can cause auto-uninstall of itself.
* Fix for phones not attaching after install
To ensure your auto-updater is working probably and you weren't affected by the auto-uninstall of program from update bug, please download the latest version from our first post or directly from the market.
Cerberus does the same and has longer history.....so many features....
maysider said:
Cerberus does the same and has longer history.....so many features....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it doesn't, Cerberus tries to save money by not having a database store your information. This is one of the major differences.
What this means to the end user is the following:
If your battery is dead or the phone is off, you cannot see where your phone was a little while ago or see any of your logs. The map will show the location of the last time you manually told it to check and logs will only pull if the device is on.
Root Defense Keeps a copy online and automatically updates background info. This means you'll be able to see where it was right before the battery died or was turned off. Also, all the logs would still be available to look at.
Another major difference is that Cerberus only sends a copy of your SMS or calls logs where Root Defense records them in real time. This is pretty major because if I have Cerberus on my kids phone and they call or text someone they shouldn't, they just have to delete the message of call log and Cerberus would never know. With Root Defense logs can't be wiped.
This is useless, unless your N7 is taken back to a wifi hotspot you have previously allowed it's not going to report back.
Nice idea but only useful for phones
If I stole a N7 the first thing I would do is wipe the rom.
This will only catch a complete idiot and you would be one too for letting your N7 out of your sight.
No security software of this type will be any good unless CWM finally gets password locking.
Shame on the OP for spamming his app when he's already got a dedicated thread for it.
hoosbude said:
This is useless, unless your N7 is taken back to a wifi hotspot you have previously allowed it's not going to report back.
Nice idea but only useful for phones
If I stole a N7 the first thing I would do is wipe the rom.
This will only catch a complete idiot and you would be one too for letting your N7 out of your sight.
No security software of this type will be any good unless CWM finally gets password locking.
Shame on the OP for spamming his app when he's already got a dedicated thread for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is pretty harsh, the OP can post anywhere it is appropriate.. and this is one of those places. Also, you overestimate the intelligence of criminals- half of the people on XDA can't flash a rom, why would a random criminal know how? How to go into settings and perform a full wipe maybe.. but that would leave the software on the device.
Eventually they will connect to internet.
Cerberus and avast (and other apps I am sure) can also survive wipe / hard reset. As long as the rom is not flashed, the app stays installed. Cerberus stores very little data which is why it has a once off cost only.
Different pricing models provide different services. At their core, all of these types of apps do pretty much the same thing, but let's try and stick to the facts when saying which can and which can't do things.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

[Q] Built in data usage app

This seems to have been asked in a few previous posts, however, I can find no definitive answer.
My problem revolves around a spike in data usage last night. I had decided with the announcement of Google Reader being retired (grrr) I would replace gReader as my default RSS reader with RssDemon (which actually turns out to be just as good).
Once I had manually added all my feeds into RssDemon, I decided to uninstall gReader. This was whilst at home and connected to wi-fi.
Within a couple of hours I received my preset warning over data usage, which upon checking had spiked up 140mb due to 'Removed Apps'.
Now, having only had the phone a couple of weeks, I have monitored data usage very closely from day one, to ensure there are no background services wasting my data plan.
My gReader usage before uninstalling was around the 35mb mark. Why on earth would it jump up so high just from removal ?
Has it actually used the data or is it possible it is an error in the calculation within the Usage app itself ?
Any help / advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Lee
Couple of Questions
cc
I think you might have misunderstood how these forum type things work mate
You may want to try and start your own thread
wenndie said:
Hi
I have two Note II's. One I bought and rooted (Korean made) then had a few problems so I bought another (made in China - different sellers).
Anyway the first one is good now with PACMAN AOKP 4.2.2 the other still fully Samsung.
I cant get my work exchange email to work on either. Any recommendations for an app? Will happily pay if it will work.
secondly I would like to install a nice bootanimation on my rooted device, something tasteful like the mega droid walk. Will this work on my 4.2.2/ Have had issues installing any bootanimations so I rerooted and dont want to stuff it up again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TommyPeanuts said:
I think you might have misunderstood how these forum type things work mate
You may want to try and start your own thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
humble apologies = my error entirely
no worries mate
Anyone able to offer any possible explanations ?
Did you ever change roms? And restore data via titanium backup?
Because if you o store usage data via titanium backup then there is a chance of getting it corrupted. Sometimes after reset it would show me that system. UI has use 1.97 his which actually real racing 3 has use this is I think it's because android signs apps unique id on the basis of which it stores data usage. When you reset it probably assigns them which overlap which previous ones which caused the data usage to show wrong info.
this is SPARTAAA
TommyPeanuts said:
This seems to have been asked in a few previous posts, however, I can find no definitive answer.
My problem revolves around a spike in data usage last night. I had decided with the announcement of Google Reader being retired (grrr) I would replace gReader as my default RSS reader with RssDemon (which actually turns out to be just as good).
Once I had manually added all my feeds into RssDemon, I decided to uninstall gReader. This was whilst at home and connected to wi-fi.
Within a couple of hours I received my preset warning over data usage, which upon checking had spiked up 140mb due to 'Removed Apps'.
Now, having only had the phone a couple of weeks, I have monitored data usage very closely from day one, to ensure there are no background services wasting my data plan.
My gReader usage before uninstalling was around the 35mb mark. Why on earth would it jump up so high just from removal ?
Has it actually used the data or is it possible it is an error in the calculation within the Usage app itself ?
Any help / advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Lee
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your carrier not provide you with an option to check actual data usage from their end? You could compare and see the actual one with the built in usage data.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

Turn data off on Gnex

Found several references to this question but all outdated or not relevant to the Gnex... is there a way to restrict a search to a specific forum ie the Gnex forum?
I just discovered that my disconnected Droid X can still access the net and the Play store, etc. I want to use my Gnex phone to do that too; but worry that it won't know I'm on WiFi and chew up data, and get git with a big, unexpected, bill for excess data use.
Is there an app or a Widget that will turn off, or disable, Data use when there is an active WiFi connection? So that I don't have to remember to do it when I get home or leave home?
I wonder about public WiFi connections; I wonder if automating the process would be a good idea after all; unless there were a way to choose the WiFi connection to access.
ps It looks like I may have found the answer in "Data On-Off" :victory:
mikeacox said:
Found several references to this question but all outdated or not relevant to the Gnex... is there a way to restrict a search to a specific forum ie the Gnex forum?
I just discovered that my disconnected Droid X can still access the net and the Play store, etc. I want to use my Gnex phone to do that too; but worry that it won't know I'm on WiFi and chew up data, and get git with a big, unexpected, bill for excess data use.
Is there an app or a Widget that will turn off, or disable, Data use when there is an active WiFi connection? So that I don't have to remember to do it when I get home or leave home?
I wonder about public WiFi connections; I wonder if automating the process would be a good idea after all; unless there were a way to choose the WiFi connection to access.
ps It looks like I may have found the answer in "Data On-Off" :victory:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great you found the "answer", reported this to moderation team for closing.
Why would you even bother to bump/report it 72 hours later? The thread was fine where it was.
good day.
chopper the dog said:
Why would you even bother to bump/report it 72 hours later? The thread was fine where it was.
good day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because it had no replies; Because OP did not edit the title thread to include the [SOLVED] tag; Because the OP should have done it himself (reporting the thread for closing); Because it was 72h old, and not 3 months; I reported it to prevent the thread from being necrobumped, on a matter as trivial as this. If it's a 3rd party app OP was looking for, then this might even be more appropriate on Android General, since he "didn't want to remember" himself to shut data connection off, and there isn't a sw or a hw issue so..
Now, if my report didn't get this thread closed, this post (or the following) will.
Sent from my Nexus

General Automatic Play Store app updates delay - individual apps were set to not receive automatic updates

Back a couple of weeks ago or so at least two people mentioned they weren't receiving automatic updates to their apps. I can't find the thread now when I search for it - was probably posts buried in one of the existing threads.
I was having a problem with one particular app yesterday, and I was wondering if it needed an update. It didn't, the problem was probably the particular company's, but I noticed there were over 40 apps that needed updates, and just now I received a notification that 24 apps had updates available.
I chose to update them all, and then after they updated I started checking each of them one by one on the Play Store, and they were all set to not Auto update. I've had this before but only work select apps, not a bunch.
I don't know if it's related to me using Swift Backup to restore only some apps' data or what could do this. Even Swift Backup was set not to auto-update.
It's frustrating that after all this time there's no way to just get a list of those set but to auto-update and not, and be able to toggle a bunch all from one screen instead of each individually.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I keep getting 'unable to update' or whatever. Some apps only update by manual update
Hmm, that's an oddity. I'll start with some simple guesses for what could potentially be causing such an issue.
This hasn't happened to me yet, however, I don't use any backup apps after a full wipe or a phone swap; so that could potentially be affecting your device's apps. But also - and this probably isn't related to the problem - but do you disable verity and verification each time that you flash an update? So many people have been saying that it is no longer necessary, however, I have been doing it every single time just in case. Lastly, you are definitely using the correct factory image from Google's site, right? If you purchased the phone directly from Google, you're not supposed to use the image labeled as "For US Carriers" (although I'm not sure that using that image anyway would cause this issue)... These are all things that I've learned/started doing just to play it safe.
*Edit* - Oh, and which Google Play system update are you rocking?
fil3s said:
I keep getting 'unable to update' or whatever. Some apps only update by manual update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting! Have you looked at any of those apps' individual checkboxes to see if they're set to auto-update?
NippleSauce said:
Hmm, that's an oddity. I'll start with some simple guesses for what could potentially be causing such an issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for your suggestions on the subject.
Update of sorts: I scrolled through all 256 apps (not all of them user apps, and now uninstalled two) and didn't detect any particular pattern to the ones which had the checkbox set and which didn't. I believe among stock (in the firmware) installed apps that they were usually checked but I didn't pay close attention if any of those were not. I believe there were a few that were not.
At least 75% of the apps, but definitely not all - even not all of the user-installed apps, had auto-updates disabled.
As a side note, besides the usual pain of having to check that setting for each individual app, it's especially a pain to try to hit the 3-dot menu button right beside the curved edge of the screen, 250+ times. There was more than one app that it took several trials and errors to click the menu button.
NippleSauce said:
This hasn't happened to me yet, however, I don't use any backup apps after a full wipe or a phone swap; so that could potentially be affecting your device's apps.
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The most recent time I factory reset, I only restored backups through Swift backup for particular apps that don't implement Google's cloud backup for the app data. I didn't restore the actual apps, just the data. Previous to that, I had actually had Google's cloud backup restore everything. I always do and have never had any obvious problems for several years now.
NippleSauce said:
But also - and this probably isn't related to the problem - but do you disable verity and verification each time that you flash an update? So many people have been saying that it is no longer necessary, however, I have been doing it every single time just in case.
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I did disable them the last time that I flashed because I knew I was going to be flashing the updated CleanSlate kernel and I wasn't sure if it was still going to be necessary. At this point, I don't remember if I later flashed verity and verification without disabling them (to enable them).
When the January update arrives, I plan on not disabling verity and verification. I know that the CleanSlate kernel has been updated to not require those being disabled.
NippleSauce said:
Lastly, you are definitely using the correct factory image from Google's site, right? If you purchased the phone directly from Google, you're not supposed to use the image labeled as "For US Carriers" (although I'm not sure that using that image anyway would cause this issue)... These are all things that I've learned/started doing just to play it safe.
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I am on raven-sq1d.211205.017-factory-bf3da4b2 - for all U.S. Carriers.
You are the second or third person who has said in this section that the US Carrier image isn't the correct one if using the factory unlocked variant. I'd like to know what the source is of this information, as no one has pointed to an article or official Google source saying one way or the other.
At this point, over two months since my wife and I received our P6Ps, I don't remember the exact firmware that was on it, nor the exact OTA version that was available immediately - either one of the following two:
SD1A.210817.019.B1, Oct 2021, AT&T
or
SD1A.210817.019.C2, Oct 2021, T-Mobile (US), USCC, Google Fi, CA, & TW carriers.
I tend to keep things simple when possible and my interpretation and advice to everyone who has asked what update they should flash is simply, whichever one matches your carrier. After all, they contain radio optimizations geared towards the carrier(s) available in those areas. Certainly, all of the firmware versions work on any bootloader unlocked Pixel, but without evidence to the contrary, I have no reason to think I shouldn't be flashing the one for U.S. Carriers, and the December one that didn't specify a particular place would be for "everywhere else" other than the three others which did specify.
If you can lead me to the solid information that says I shouldn't, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'm not trying to be contrary or argumentative - I'm just genuinely curious what the source is for this information. It would have to be a very solid source for me to change my thought on the matter.
NippleSauce said:
*Edit* - Oh, and which Google Play system update are you rocking?
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I am on the November Play System update, with no update available.
Before I accidentally factory reset my phone three weeks ago, I had gotten the December Play System update. I remember reporting at the time in a thread here which someone made about the Play System update that the phone reported the update to December was ~650 MB, which was tons larger than what most were reporting as ~50 MB or so. As others have speculated, there are probably multiple updates available in the same month sometimes, so perhaps I was on an older October update before that, and most others were already on November - just speculation, though.
I didn't root right away because I was waiting on all the positive reports on success and methods, and then I had to wait for a time I felt comfortable taking the time necessary to set everything up on the freshly factory reset phone. I believe I had unlocked the bootloader immediately, as I knew that would factory reset and would be necessary for rooting, but of course then there was the disabling verity and verification which I didn't know about when I unlocked the bootloader, anyway, so I did that later, and then I had to factory reset yet again.
For the record, I haven't had any other problems, like others have.
Interesting! Have you looked at any of those apps' individual checkboxes to see if they're set to auto-update?
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Yeah it's setup to automatically update as I have unlimited wifi. I just get one or two apps fail to update about once a day.
fil3s said:
Yeah it's setup to automatically update as I have unlimited wifi. I just get one or two apps fail to update about once a day.
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You took a look at my screenshots in the OP? I just want to make sure you and I are talking about the same thing. My Play Store settings, in general, have always (or at least for many, many years) been set to auto-update over both Wi-Fi and mobile data connections (I used to do Wi-Fi only a long time ago as well), however, each app's page in the Play Store has its own individual checkbox for auto-update located in the upper right corner's 3-dot menu, which is independent of the overall Play Store settings for auto-update, and takes overrides it, at least when the general setting for the Play Store is to auto-update.
I haven't had the issue you're having with 'unable to update' or anything similar, for what it's worth.
roirraW edor ehT said:
You took a look at my screenshots in the OP? I just want to make sure you and I are talking about the same thing. My Play Store settings, in general, have always (or at least for many, many years) been set to auto-update over both Wi-Fi and mobile data connections (I used to do Wi-Fi only a long time ago as well), however, each app's page in the Play Store has its own individual checkbox for auto-update located in the upper right corner's 3-dot menu, which is independent of the overall Play Store settings for auto-update, and takes overrides it, at least when the general setting for the Play Store is to auto-update.
I haven't had the issue you're having with 'unable to update' or anything similar, for what it's worth.
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I use swift backup Pro also, but haven't used it on my p6pro yet.
Yeah sorry about that I didn't read your post properly. Blame the psyche meds I'm on, or my frontal lobe damage
fil3s said:
I use swift backup Pro also, but haven't used it on my p6pro yet.
Yeah sorry about that I didn't read your post properly. Blame the psyche meds I'm on, or my frontal lobe damage
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LOL!!! No sweat.
I've been noticing the same. However I also saw this issue on my OP8T running LOS18.1. I do manually disable auto-update on YouTube (since I use Vanced) all other apps are set to auto-update. I wonder if it has to do with having even one app not set to not auto-update or if it is Swift (since Google doesn't restore my 2FA Authenticator data and until recently you couldn't export).
As for the question about Verity, mine is off from when I rooted right after Dec update when it was required.
Based on your response, I'm going to guess that this could either be due to the incorrect factory image use or due to the use of SwiftBackup. We're both on the Play System update from November - so that seems like an unlikely cause.
I, personally, never backup anything before wiping my phone. Does that make it a real pain in the arse to setup again? It definitely does =(.
As for my information regarding the correct factory image to use, I don't have the links to where that information was discussed, however, it was stated by a Google employee on the Google forums and was also (I believe) discussed on Twitter from a Google rep. I may not be 100% correct on the other discussion happening on Twitter as I don't fully remember discovering everything related to the factory image confusion being that it was one of the first things that I had corrected after getting this phone. But, when I went to the correct factory image, a lot of the odd things that my phone would experience (such as an abnormally high usage temperature no matter what) were resolved. Perhaps the different P6 variants have a slightly different hardware design that isn't mentioned anywhere?
Also for the disable verity and verification stuff - I still don't think it could be causing the issue, however, I've been sure to disable it with every single factory image update. So perhaps this has more of an impact on stability than was previously thought .
Regardless, my apologies for my crummy formatting in this response and also for possibly missing some details. I'm on mobile right now and have had a severe traumatic brain injury about a year and a half ago. After reading the short message from @fil3s , it seems that XDA is the safe ground for us brain injury nerds, haha =)
NippleSauce said:
Based on your response, I'm going to guess that this could either be due to the incorrect factory image use or due to the use of SwiftBackup. We're both on the Play System update from November - so that seems like an unlikely cause.
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Of those two choices, I would lean towards Swift Backup, however, I doubt if it's that either since I definitely didn't restore anything using Swift for so many of my apps - I only restored very select apps' data after I had restored from Google Backup. Hell, it could be a Google Backup/Restore bug for all I know. I've had nothing (else) but good experience with restores from Google over the last five years or so.
NippleSauce said:
I, personally, never backup anything before wiping my phone. Does that make it a real pain in the arse to setup again? It definitely does =(.
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Click to collapse
I prefer to manually over-backup and restore only what I need to as I need it - any app data that Google's Cloud Backup didn't restore for apps that are slightly more painful to remember how I had them set up. It's better for me to not need the data but have it backed up, then need it and not have it backed up.
NippleSauce said:
As for my information regarding the correct factory image to use, I don't have the links to where that information was discussed, however, it was stated by a Google employee on the Google forums and was also (I believe) discussed on Twitter from a Google rep. I may not be 100% correct on the other discussion happening on Twitter as I don't fully remember discovering everything related to the factory image confusion being that it was one of the first things that I had corrected after getting this phone. But, when I went to the correct factory image, a lot of the odd things that my phone would experience (such as an abnormally high usage temperature no matter what) were resolved. Perhaps the different P6 variants have a slightly different hardware design that isn't mentioned anywhere?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll definitely need more than that before I switch my thinking on that subject, but thank you for sharing what you do know or remember. The easy way to find out, of course, is for someone who's completely on stock unrooted, preferably even bootloader still locked, running on AT&T like me to share with us which December OTA they received - for those relatively few who actually received it.
I may go ahead and make a question thread/XDA poll on the subject: Poll only for non-rooted factory unlocked P6P owners running on any US carrier who received the December over the air update, not manually flashed
NippleSauce said:
Also for the disable verity and verification stuff - I still don't think it could be causing the issue, however, I've been sure to disable it with every single factory image update. So perhaps this has more of an impact on stability than was previously thought .
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I doubt if it is a factor for stability, or at least only indirectly through the increased security they provide. See the section on that subject with information that other more knowledgeable folks in the first four posts in my P6P thread that I have in my signature below if it's information you're not already aware of.
NippleSauce said:
Regardless, my apologies for my crummy formatting in this response and also for possibly missing some details. I'm on mobile right now and have had a severe traumatic brain injury about a year and a half ago. After reading the short message from @fil3s , it seems that XDA is the safe ground for us brain injury nerds, haha =)
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Click to collapse
I'm very sorry to hear about your brain injury. I hope you cope as well as possible. Don't worry about formatting - even if it's not easy to read/digest XDA's newer software makes it easier to break up into chunks and respond to individual portions, from what I remember over the old software. My brain issues are more psychological (so far), however, the Army did feed us beef that was potentially from mad cows in Britain in the mid-1980s, but the only way anyone will ever know if I was exposed to it is if I die from it - at least that was the information that was given to me when I found out about that almost 20 years ago when I went to give blood.
roirraW edor ehT said:
Back a couple of weeks ago or so at least two people mentioned they weren't receiving automatic updates to their apps. I can't find the thread now when I search for it - was probably posts buried in one of the existing threads.
I was having a problem with one particular app yesterday, and I was wondering if it needed an update. It didn't, the problem was probably the particular company's, but I noticed there were over 40 apps that needed updates, and just now I received a notification that 24 apps had updates available.
I chose to update them all, and then after they updated I started checking each of them one by one on the Play Store, and they were all set to not Auto update. I've had this before but only work select apps, not a bunch.
I don't know if it's related to me using Swift Backup to restore only some apps' data or what could do this. Even Swift Backup was set not to auto-update.
It's frustrating that after all this time there's no way to just get a list of those set but to auto-update and not, and be able to toggle a bunch all from one screen instead of each individually.
View attachment 5503665
View attachment 5503667
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I've been noticing the same with my Pixel 3 and 6 Pro. When I upgraded my 3 to Android 12, I had trouble updating apps and checked the setting. It was turned off, for almost every app (I never did turn any of these boxes off manually). I guess it's an Android 12 thing-y / bug. Since my P6 Pro also had several of these settings turned off, it has probably nothing to do with upgrading to Android 12, but Android 12 in general just being a buggy mess.
Morgrain said:
I've been noticing the same with my Pixel 3 and 6 Pro. When I upgraded my 3 to Android 12, I had trouble updating apps and checked the setting. It was turned off, for almost every app (I never did turn any of these boxes off manually). I guess it's an Android 12 thing-y / bug. Since my P6 Pro also had several of these settings turned off, it has probably nothing to do with upgrading to Android 12, but Android 12 in general just being a buggy mess.
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Thanks! That does sound more likely. I guess I can officially list myself as having one problem.

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