Phone: Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro (EU, Finland)
Android: MIUI Global 12.5.6, no modifications, no root, nothing done at all.
Hello!
Two days ago I noticed that one of my Whatsapp-conversations had lost some media. I didn't think much about it, until today I noticed it wasn't just one conversation. *Everything* chat conversation that i have, has lost *Every* picture, video and audiomessage, if older than 04.04.2022. And since i have used Whatsapp since forever .. it's tens of thousands pictures, videos and audiomessages. In chat, in place of the media there is a placeholder of a media and Download-option, and by pressing it, it "loads" for few seconds and then says "Download failed, Sorry, this media file appears to be missing. Please ask <contact name> to re-send it."
Some days just before 04.04.2022, like, 08.04.2022, there are also media that are Deleted, but the download option works for them still in the conversation. The media isn't shown in the gallery or anywhere else, unless it's downloaded again in the chat.
Another weird thing is, that the only things that saved are the media that I have sent myself. Any picture, video or audioclip i have made and sent through whatsapp during the years of usage, is still there. So only the senders media is gone. In every conversation or group chat. All i have left is the media i have taken with my own camera, which is the last thing i wanted to save if this kind of thing would happen.
What is going on? I'm really frustrated, scared, annoyed, mad and very Very sad for losing years and years of media from my friends, family and my wife. I never thought this could happen, since i do have backups enabled and i have switched phones couple times, since starting using whatsapp.
I found nothing on google about this.
I have not done any "automatic clean up" or such.
My storage space looks like this:
Spoiler
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I'm also wondering, what is that "Other" stuff.
The whatsapp data used to take well over 16 GB but now .. it seems it's just gone.
Please help, anyone?
EDIT: While writing this post, I checked my gallery and i noticed another extremely scary thing:
Every picture and video that i have taken WITHOUT whatsapp and before 04.04.2022, is GONE.
Over two years of pictures and videos. My god. This was worse than i thought.
please, i really need help.
Is my phone broken or infected with some nasty virus? what can i do?
Get the social media trashware off the phone.
It's just asking to be fked. WhatsApp should have never been installed or used.
You don't backup your data? What did you think would happen?
Always redundantly backup critical data to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC. Never encrypt, clone or compress critical data backup drives. Use copy/paste commands. Verify folder count and size, ensure copy data is still readable after backup.
One scripted malware jpeg can implode the files in a folder on Androids. Saw one over 2 years ago. They may not be detected by antivirus, or anything. The trigger may be opening them, until then they sit waiting.
All downloads go in the download folder until vetted. At the very least open jpegs, pngs first in the download and watch for any changes to that folder.
With no backups you're in a beaucoup trouble as you can't do a factory reset to purge a virus or rootkit without losing all your data. If the phone is infected it should be taken offline NOW. Set a new Google account password as well as for bank accounts etc once the phone is factory reset or if another is used in it's place.
This may be a huge mess because you didn't plan ahead. You are what you install and download! If data isn't redundantly backed up it's only a matter of time until it is lost.
Take it to a repair specialist if you can't sort it out. They may be able to salvage the savaged data.
You may and probably will say that you can't live without WhatsApp, other social media apps*.
You see what your boy has done?
Don't try to clean a loaded gun...
* no social media account should ever be installed on the PC or phone. Access through browser only. Keep it in the cloud or you will get burned. Even then it poses a real multiple vector risk and should be used with caution... if at all.
I have used Whatsapp and backed it up to Google Drive with a separate Gmail account, for years and years. Last time i checked (probably last November or smth) my backup took approximately 16GB but now the backup is taking less than 3GB and i'm assuming that that 3GB is mostly text, of all the years, and because all the media is gone.
I have switched phones to new phones every now and then, and always used the backup from Google Drive. I thought that backup was enough. Now it seems to be gone At least i can't understand where it would be.
zaiross said:
I have used Whatsapp and backed it up to Google Drive with a separate Gmail account, for years and years. Last time i checked (probably last November or smth) my backup took approximately 16GB but now the backup is taking less than 3GB and i'm assuming that that 3GB is mostly text, of all the years, and because all the media is gone.
I have switched phones to new phones every now and then, and always used the backup from Google Drive. I thought that backup was enough. Now it seems to be gone At least i can't understand where it would be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Two flawed apps don't make it right. This was predictable. Cloud should be a secondary backup. I never considered Google backup reliable and even if I did I would never put all my eggs in one basket.
Always keep multiple offline data backup hdds that aren't stored in the same location preferably in an earth grounded safe or metal box.
WhatsApp is a major security risk and a known stronghold for scammers and hackers. What could go wrong? Find better workarounds and eliminate your dependance on these apps. I use phone, email, texting and online sites through the browser only. Vendors I use temporary guest accounts vs permanent accounts whenever possible.
I've lost a critical database before. Sometimes all you can do is learn from your mistakes and not repeat them. Only careful planning and redundantcy can prevent data lose. Expect things to fail; people, firmware, software and hardware.
If it never does, you'll be pleasantly disappointed.
This N10+ in my hand has the SD card date drive as backup, a OTG .5tb flashstick and at least 3+ hdds that are isolated. I'm bringing my second N10+ online with a 1tb SD card too. That might seem like overkill, but there's no such thing as overkill when things go south.
All the apps on both phones are vetted, and zero social media apps are loaded. Not even fb.
This is a deliberate strategy on my part with the primary mission of protecting critical data from being lost.
Would there be any way to fix my phone? to get whatever malware out, and get my well over 30 000 media back somehow? :/
zaiross said:
Would there be any way to fix my phone? to get whatever malware out, and get my well over 30 000 media back somehow? :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know; I'm not familiar enough with Google or WhatsApp recovery options.
Best bet be a 3rd party repair shop familiar with the phone, Google, etc. if you don't know how.
Hands on makes it a lot easier to do. They may spot something you missed.
For now don't use that phone or effected accounts.
"no modifications, no root, nothing done at all."
unfortunately in that case there is nothing you can do besides copying existing files, no recovery tools will work.
even with root access it's hard for layman to recover deleted files. I am not aware of any recovery tools for F2FS file system. in case of (FBE) file-based encryption it's impossible at all.
If you made an update to android 11 it's expected all your old media files aren't visible to WhatsApp any longer because scoped storage forced new location. apps no longer have permission to read from Internal Storage.
Code:
/storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp ->
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp
also the .nomedia file makes directories invisible to Gallery (not sure about WhatsApp media though, I don't use facebook crap) so if your disk space is still occupied the files might be still there.
adb pull -a /sdcard to PC and see what's left...
Hope dies last, you could try this app. It may recover some existing pictures from cached files, hidden trash can, thumbnails at least
FindMyPhoto – Recover Photos o - Apps on Google Play
A truely free app to recover deleted photos on Android devices.
play.google.com
It turns out that my Trash folder is over 22 GB big. It seems most of my media is in there. Tens of thousands of media. All of them have been sent to there on 04.04.2022. I have no idea what has transpired on that day.
I could return them one by one, but that takes forever. Is there a way to return them all?
zaiross said:
It turns out that my Trash folder is over 22 GB big. It seems most of my media is in there. Tens of thousands of media. All of them have been sent to there on 04.04.2022. I have no idea what has transpired on that day.
I could return them one by one, but that takes forever. Is there a way to return them all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe a adb command.
Find the cause. Are old files set to deleted?
Run any cleaners?
It's possible it could be malware, were they deleted from the same folders or share a common jpeg? A scripted malware jpeg can raise hell and maybe very hard to detect.
A rootkit is another possibility.
Recover the data and redundantly backup all critical data on that device... now.
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We know that many of you are going to be lined up bright and early come June 24, with one thing on your mind -- the EVO 3D. Can't say we blame you, it certainly looks to be one of this years best. We also know a lot of you guys will be retiring your EVO 4G to pick this bad boy up, and there will be questions about migrating all your "stuff" from EVO to EVO. That's where we come in.
There's a couple ways to go about transferring most everything over, some built in and some third party. The good news is, all of them are pretty easy. Hit the break and we'll sort them out.
Contacts, Calendar, and Mail
Google does this for you, maybe because they love us, or maybe they built a time machine and retro-copied iOS5 a few years ago. Since you have decided to use an Android phone, you should be using Google's cloud to sync these. We say it all the time, and we mean it -- nothing's easier. If you're not using the fluffy cloud now, you can still migrate everything over to it while you wait for the 24th.
OK, OK. Some of you just don't want to use the cloud. That's fine, you can still transfer everything over using HTC Sync and Windows Mail or Outlook. And with Sense 3.0 comes the Transfer app -- you can use Bluetooth to transfer your contacts and calendar events from your OG EVO 4G to the EVO 3D.
We still recommend using Google, just because it's so easy. But choice trumps all.
Text Messages
I'll bet you were expecting a recommendation about a great third party app here, but you're not getting it. You have Sense 3.0, and have no need for one. Use the same Transfer app mentioned above to copy all your text messages from your old phone to your new phone. Everything should be so easy.
Applications
Paid apps are no problem, they stay attached to your Google account. You can always find these by opening the Market app, pressing menu, then My Apps. The only requirement is that you're signed into the same Google account.
Free apps are another story. But no worries -- there are easy ways to get them on your new device. Firstly, this is built into Android. Dig through the settings, find the privacy settings, and make sure "Back up my data" is selected. Hopefully, when you sign into the Market on your EVO 3D, it will start re-installing your apps, as well as the application data you saved to the cloud. But to be honest, this is sort of hit-or-miss here. Maybe because we use so many different Android phones, or maybe it's just one of those "forever beta" projects. I wouldn't count on it working the way you want it to.
Edit: According to our commenters, this setting was removed from the Evo 4G. We don't know why, but you won't be able to rely on Google's magic here.
Besides relying on the cloud, install an app like App List Backup from the Android Market. This backs up a list of the Android Market apps on your current phone, drops that list on the SD card, and allows you to re-download them from the My Apps tab in the Android Market once you have that data on your new phone's SD card. There are quite a few apps like this, and most of them work well and are free.
Note that unless you're rooted, you can't back up the application's data files for an easy restore. That's where we have to hope Google's cloud backup kicks in and does it's thing.
Settings
My advice is to not backup and restore settings from two different devices. It's an invite to issues, and not good ones. But if you insist, it can be done pretty easily. Google's "Back up my data" feature above does it when it works right, and you can also download backup apps from the Market. If i were to recommend one, it would be MyBackup Pro. I've used it, it works just like it says it will, and is well worth the $5.00 if you have to back up and restore your settings.
SD card data
Two easy choices here. You can pull the SD card from your old phone and drop it into your new phone, or you can copy all the data from one to the other. Just mount your old phone as a storage device (or eject the card and use a card reader), copy everything to a folder on your desktop, mount the new card and copy from that folder to the card. You won't need to format anything, the SD card is good to go right out of the box.
Be careful not to delete anything from your new SD card without looking at it though. Many phones store things like PC drivers, bundled movies or app data, and it's likely that a new copy of HTC Sync will be on the EVO 3D's card. Unless you know what you're doing, leave all that stuff alone.
Rooted users
Don't think that you're off the hook here and can just use Titanium Backup. If you get your EVO 3D on or close to launch day, it's probably not going to be rooted, so you can't restore anything. It's still a good idea to take a full backup, and when the EVO 3D is rooted you can restore your app data.
Of course there are other ways to do all of this as well. I'm simply telling you about the ways I have used and can vouch for. Migration from your old phone to the EVO 3D is pretty easy, and let's admit it -- we'll all enjoy playing with the phone while we're doing it. I also want to thank Danny for asking about this and giving the inspiration to write it up!
FROM: http://www.androidcentral.com/migrating-evo-4g-evo-3d-simple-guide
I personaly preferred a Fresh Start.
My only exepctions are GAMES saved data, like for example Angry Birds and others that dont save the Saved Data on the SD, also some photos, but in the End the most important stuff is saved in the SD!
rockypr said:
I personaly preferred a Fresh Start.
My only exepctions are GAMES saved data, like for example Angry Birds and others that dont save the Saved Data on the SD, also some photos, but in the End the most important stuff is saved in the SD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, fresh starts are much better.
What about My Backup? I know there's an root version and a non-root version. Does anyone know if you can use the root version to backup apps, and then copy the file onto the new phone and then use the non-rooted version to restore the file?
Bookmarking this. Altho i am considering a fresh start
I believe app brain saves a list of apps you have then you can download then from the app.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Phone call logs, you forgot to mention. Yes you did.
You were reticent to mention the third party solutions, but yet this is a developer forum! Where is the love?!
Backup to Gmail or Gmail Backup will backup and restore your SMS, MMS, and phone call logs to your Gmail account. They show up as folders in Gmail.
The only drawback to the phone call log restoration is that the contacts associated with the phone calls don't link back. You just get the raw number restored. That is with both programs. Would be thrilled if someone points out something I am missing.
This is why I gotta have root from day one and I am not selling my Evo back for awhile. Titanium restore from my SD is the way to go.
smsbackup+ works great for backing up/restoring sms/call logs
http://www.appbrain.com/app/sms-backup/com.zegoggles.smssync
It is goin g to be different since i waited on the evo.When i got the evo it was already out so i got it rooted day 1
Korey_Nicholson said:
Same here, fresh starts are much better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I keep telling my gf that but she won't listen.
I'll be going for a fresh start but will probly back up everything to the PC just in case.
My free space on my AT&T LG V10 is disappearing for no apparent reason. My problem is that according to DiskUsage, my System Data keep getting inflated, crowding out my free space. I had 20 gig of free space last week, but now it is only 2.6 gig. I spent an hour with AT&T tech support, but nothing helped. It has almost no media or downloads. I have cleared cache, removed some unneeded apps, but free space keeps shrinking.
Part of the problem is that there are different results using different memory viewing tools. DiskUsage show this. Free = 2.6 G, Apps = 13.4 G + 7.44 G from App Backup (my apk backups), so Apps = 23 G and System data = 24.7 G. I cannot find a way to make the system data smaller. Here is the screenshot.
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https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sbtcVLtbhBT3hvd29zY1ZwV2lhbnhDVnFVTElMVHFhQm9j
AT&T told me to instead look at Settings - Storage & USB - Internal storage, which shows these numbers for various types of files. Free = 2.6 G, Apps = 38.3 G, Other = 10.2 G, System data = 12.5 G, the rest don't matter. I don't know what "Other" files are. Here is the screenshot.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sbtcVLtbhBc3piT2tRYmJJWDFtdE5wNTFlVmNfZkpxYktB
No one knows how to reduce the inflated System data. I tried to delete system dumpfiles using *#9900# but that won't work on my phone. There are about 2000 zero-byte folders which I have not yet deleted because I wanted to check it out with someone knowledgeable before I did.
This is an unlocked unrooted ATT LG V10 with Marshmallow. After receiving it back from warranty repair, I rebuilt it with my apps about two months ago. Would rooting help? This is the first phone I haven't rooted in years. I also really do not want to have to reinstall the apps. How can I free up space without resetting or rooting?
I have been using App Backup to backup and reinstall all my apks. I delete old versions of apks. That is the only thing I've worked on that involves a lot of space, now 7 gig.
I don't know if this is a clue, but another problem also began a few days ago. When it reboots, it "forgets" about 40 out of 500 apps installed and their icons disappear, usually the same ones each time. It acts like registry entries are lost. All the files and settings remain so when I reinstall those apps myself, everything works like before. If I do not reinstall them myself, the Play store automatically reinstalls them. This keeps happening most time I reboot.
Any ideas? I won't be able to download anything soon without a reset.
ziva1 said:
My free space on my AT&T LG V10 is disappearing for no apparent reason. My problem is that according to DiskUsage, my System Data keep getting inflated, crowding out my free space. I had 20 gig of free space last week, but now it is only 2.6 gig. I spent an hour with AT&T tech support, but nothing helped. It has almost no media or downloads. I have cleared cache, removed some unneeded apps, but free space keeps shrinking.
Part of the problem is that there are different results using different memory viewing tools. DiskUsage show this. Free = 2.6 G, Apps = 13.4 G + 7.44 G from App Backup (my apk backups), so Apps = 23 G and System data = 24.7 G. I cannot find a way to make the system data smaller. Here is the screenshot. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sbtcVLtbhBT3hvd29zY1ZwV2lhbnhDVnFVTElMVHFhQm9j
AT&T told me to instead look at Settings - Storage & USB - Internal storage, which shows these numbers for various types of files. Free = 2.6 G, Apps = 38.3 G, Other = 10.2 G, System data = 12.5 G, the rest don't matter. I don't know what "Other" files are. Here is the screenshot. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sbtcVLtbhBT3hvd29zY1ZwV2lhbnhDVnFVTElMVHFhQm9j
AT&T told me to instead look at Settings - Storage & USB - Internal storage, which shows these numbers for various types of files. Free = 2.6 G, Apps = 38.3 G, Other = 10.2 G, System data = 12.5 G, the rest don't matter. I don't know what "Other" files are. Here is the screenshot. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5sbtcVLtbhBc3piT2tRYmJJWDFtdE5wNTFlVmNfZkpxYktB
No one knows how to reduce the inflated System data. I tried to delete system dumpfiles using *#9900# but that won't work on my phone. There are about 2000 zero-byte folders which I have not yet deleted because I wanted to check it out with someone knowledgeable before I did.
This is an unlocked unrooted ATT LG V10 with Marshmallow. After receiving it back from warranty repair, I rebuilt it with my apps about two months ago. Would rooting help? This is the first phone I haven't rooted in years. I also really do not want to have to reinstall the apps. How can I free up space without resetting or rooting?
I have been using App Backup to backup and reinstall all my apks. I delete old versions of apks. That is the only thing I've worked on that involves a lot of space, now 7 gig.
I don't know if this is a clue, but another problem also began a few days ago. When it reboots, it "forgets" about 40 out of 500 apps installed and their icons disappear, usually the same ones each time. It acts like registry entries are lost. All the files and settings remain so when I reinstall those apps myself, everything works like before. If I do not reinstall them myself, the Play store automatically reinstalls them. This keeps happening most time I reboot.
Any ideas? I won't be able to download anything soon without a reset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try deleting ".thumbnails" folder, it's hidden folder usually exists in the same directory where the "camera" folder exist, and also check the "Lost Directory" folder and "android secure" folder.
MigoMujahid said:
Try deleting ".thumbnails" folder, it's hidden folder usually exists in the same directory where the "camera" folder exist, and also check the "Lost Directory" folder and "android secure" folder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestions but they didn't help.
I deleted the .thumbnails folder. I didn't have a Lost Directory folder on my internal storage, nor could I find an "android secure" folder. I have only about 24 gig of user-accessible memory used, 3.5 gig free, and still have 24.5 gig of inaccessible System Data.
BTW, you can see DiskUsage says my total internal memory is only 51.5 gig. That means that there is 12.5 gig of completely hidden system files since the LG V10 is supposed to have 64 G internal storage.
ziva1 said:
Thanks for the suggestions but they didn't help.
I deleted the .thumbnails folder. I didn't have a Lost Directory folder on my internal storage, nor could I find an "android secure" folder. I have only about 24 gig of user-accessible memory used, 3.5 gig free, and still have 24.5 gig of inaccessible System Data. BTW, you can see DiskUsage says my total internal memory is only 51.5 gig. That means that there is 12.5 gig of completely hidden system files since the LG V10 is supposed to have 64 G internal storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This hidden usage are normal, i have 16gb phone, and i can only use 11.5 gb for media, my father has 32gb phone, and he can only use 26 or 27 gb, the taken gigabytes are for system partition and data partition and other partitions such as Cache and Preload, but your case is weird bro, have you tried formatting and factory reset?
MigoMujahid said:
This hidden usage are normal, i have 16gb phone, and i can only use 11.5 gb for media, my father has 32gb phone, and he can only use 26 or 27 gb, the taken gigabytes are for system partition and data partition and other partitions such as Cache and Preload, but your case is weird bro, have you tried formatting and factory reset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am trying NOT to have to do a factory reset. Yes, this IS quite weird. I have been troubleshooting my own phones and computers for decades. I have spent hours researching this online. Earlier this week my phone kept showing Google Play services had stopped or was updating, and reinstalling it did not help. It turns out that I had to also install Google Services Framework.
This is phone is only two months old so I need to understand what is happening to prevent it from happening again.
BTW, I'm a sis rather than a bro, but it's no big deal.
ziva1 said:
I am trying NOT to have to do a factory reset. Yes, this IS quite weird. I have been troubleshooting my own phones and computers for decades. I have spent hours researching this online. Earlier this week my phone kept showing Google Play services had stopped or was updating, and reinstalling it did not help. It turns out that I had to also install Google Services Framework.
This is phone is only two months old so I need to understand what is happening to prevent it from happening again.
BTW, I'm a sis rather than a bro, but it's no big deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry for misunderstanding sis ??
Well, it's mostly a rom issue, i will suggest you to ask in this thread, it's dedicated specially for your phone.
This is the full support thread link (Q&A, General, Accessories, android development..etc):
AT&T LG V10
Again, sorry for misunderstanding..
Edit: sorry for wrong links, i got confused between LG v10 and AT&T LG v10, i thought they are the same one ?, links updated
Edit2: i see you already asked there 15 hours ago..., hope you solve the issue.
MigoMujahid said:
Sorry for misunderstanding sis
Well, it's mostly a rom issue, i will suggest you to ask in this thread, it's dedicated specially for your phone.
This is the full support thread link (Q&A, General, Accessories, android development..etc):
AT&T LG V10
Again, sorry for misunderstanding..
Edit: sorry for wrong links, i got confused between LG v10 and AT&T LG v10, i thought they are the same one , links updated
Edit2: i see you already asked there 15 hours ago..., hope you solve the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I did ask in the correct phone/carrier forum first, but I didn't get any replies. I figured a larger forum like this might get more replies. I still hope someone reading this thread may have some ideas short of a factory reset.
A little backstory. I got a Samsung Note 7 when it came out in August and set it up. Then you know what happened, so I got an LG V10 and set it up in October. It worked for a while, started rebooting a lot, and finally died in December. I sent it back for warranty repair and this is the phone I'm working on now. I didn't return my Note 7 (which worked perfectly fine) until I got my repaired V10 back in January so I could do a "tap and go" to restore my several hundred apps easily. It worked fine so I returned my Note 7. Now I can't do a "tap and go" Since I have a 256 G SD card, I'll have to work out something with that if there is no other solution.
ziva1 said:
Thanks, I did ask in the correct phone/carrier forum first, but I didn't get any replies. I figured a larger forum like this might get more replies. I still hope someone reading this thread may have some ideas short of a factory reset.
A little backstory. I got a Samsung Note 7 when it came out in August and set it up. Then you know what happened, so I got an LG V10 and set it up in October. It worked for a while, started rebooting a lot, and finally died in December. I sent it back for warranty repair and this is the phone I'm working on now. I didn't return my Note 7 (which worked perfectly fine) until I got my repaired V10 back in January so I could do a "tap and go" to restore my several hundred apps easily. It worked fine so I returned my Note 7. Now I can't do a "tap and go" Since I have a 256 G SD card, I'll have to work out something with that if there is no other solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if you have root or not, but there is an app called sdmaid that I use and it's very effective at freeing up space. A lot of times when I delete large files the extra space doesn't even register until I run this app.
DopeSick said:
I don't know if you have root or not, but there is an app called sdmaid that I use and it's very effective at freeing up space. A lot of times when I delete large files the extra space doesn't even register until I run this app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the first phone I haven't rooted in years. I figure with Nougat, I'll have what I want. I'm resisting rooting it for now. I may have to at some point since I have a license for Titanium.
I tried sdmaid and it did not help reduce my 24.5g system data area. It did not complain about the phone not being rooted.
I have been trying to backup my phone using Helium, but after 56 apps out of 221 (when there are really at least 318) it stops, even when I have it backup up to Dropbox. I also tried backing up internally, but it did not give me the choice of using my mostly empty SD card. I can't find where it backed up to internally, but it again stopped at fewer than 60 apps.
Thanks for you suggestions. Keep 'em coming, folks. Something may eventually work.
ziva1 said:
This is the first phone I haven't rooted in years. I figure with Nougat, I'll have what I want. I'm resisting rooting it for now. I may have to at some point since I have a license for Titanium.
I tried sdmaid and it did not help reduce my 24.5g system data area. It did not complain about the phone not being rooted.
I have been trying to backup my phone using Helium, but after 56 apps out of 221 (when there are really at least 318) it stops, even when I have it backup up to Dropbox. I also tried backing up internally, but it did not give me the choice of using my mostly empty SD card. I can't find where it backed up to internally, but it again stopped at fewer than 60 apps.
Thanks for you suggestions. Keep 'em coming, folks. Something may eventually work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I'm dealing with a similar problem. The only difference is that I was able to successfully use *#9900#, but it barely frees up any space.
I have done the following in attempt to get rid of this spyware:
flashed Havoc os
stock roms from official Miui using xiaomi flash tool and using twrp
erased partitions using adb before flashing (boot, system, recovery, data, cache)
It seems like it doesnt even touches it. I know its still there because he can control my phone (play notifications sounds from messenger i dont even have installed, closing/freezing my browser, freezing my screen, lockscreen goes on i dont even touch the phone).
What else can i do? Is there a way to erase every bit of data from the phone? What remains after flashing a stock rom?
edited//
Is there any way i can find Qualcomm Snapdragon 439 firmware and flash it? Can anyone help me pls?
I saw chimera tool can do firmware update but it costs 120 euro and idk if its gonna work
Can you explain more about the spyware?
Its like a windows bios malware or maybe its in some partition that doesnt flash when installing new OS.
I talked to xiaomi support and they told me to take it to service but there is none in my country. I asked for help on Malwarebytes forum, sent apps report and they scanned it with VIrusTotal... nothing found.
I also did a logcat at boot time, i dont know if anything can be seen there.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pulshar18/mylog/main/mylog.txt
The guy that did it hes messing with me like... telling me your wifi its not gonna work anymore, then it doesnt. O you have 5000 mah battery? my phone its charged 99% next day its empty and the phone just sits on the table... stuff like that so im pretty sure its hacked there is no doubt about that.
pulshar18 said:
Its like a windows bios malware or maybe its in some partition that doesnt flash when installing new OS.
I talked to xiaomi support and they told me to take it to service but there is none in my country. I asked for help on Malwarebytes forum, sent apps report and they scanned it with VIrusTotal... nothing found.
I also did a logcat at boot time, i dont know if anything can be seen there.
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pulshar18/mylog/main/mylog.txt
The guy that did it hes messing with me like... telling me your wifi its not gonna work anymore, then it doesnt. O you have 5000 mah battery? my phone its charged 99% next day its empty and the phone just sits on the table... stuff like that so im pretty sure its hacked there is no doubt about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get get infected by this ?
He got physical access to my phone.
pulshar18 said:
He got physical access to my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That wasn't too clever. Lol, rootkit from hell.
You need to wipe the internal memory 100% as well the SD card if any.
If it has a sim card I'd replace that as well.
Or make the perp fix it... legally.
Any associated Google accounts reset the passwords... now.
Internal memory was wiped, sd card wiped, sim card none (i read some articles about sim card viruses thats just little scripts to call numbers, send texts and stuff maybe in another 50 years they will make malware that can do whats happening to me).
"Or make the perp fix it... legally." What?
"Any associated Google accounts reset the passwords... now." I didnt connect to anything cuz i know he has all my passwords, he clearly doesnt want that i can still use all my accounts.
I am in a similar situation.
I install YouTube vanced and WhatsApp Plus
in the latter case something deleted my entire data without asking me -I suspect it was clean master and my vanced applications were uninstalled all of a sudden.
I seem to know what cause that com.miui. securitycenter if you disable it it will boot loop if you to change and restrict access to various permissions then phone functionality is upset
I took out a separate thread on that here on xda Google com.miui. securitycenter draconian legitimate spyware from redmi
there is a thread on XDA I use havoc ~ two years or so but because it does not support VoLTE and trying to enable that has been in vain I am forced to come back to China ROM.
Did you install any apps after flashing ROMs / gapps?
pulshar18 said:
Internal memory was wiped, sd card wiped, sim card none (i read some articles about sim card viruses thats just little scripts to call numbers, send texts and stuff maybe in another 50 years they will make malware that can do whats happening to me).
"Or make the perp fix it... legally." What?
"Any associated Google accounts reset the passwords... now." I didnt connect to anything cuz i know he has all my passwords, he clearly doesnt want that i can still use all my accounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The malicious jpegs may be capable of doing that. I've had one the damages files in a folder but not files in folders, in the download folder.
It was confined to that folder unless one was to move it...
The trigger was viewing the jpeg.
They cure; simply delete it and repair or delete the damage files.
There are both Android and Windows variants of these. I've had a Windows variant too. Zero or minimum damage but only because I ID both quickly.
actually step back a little how do you conclude it's your phone that is affected you say he has access to our accounts and password maybe e is connecting on your Wi-Fi network IP address is the same and then trying to tinker with your accounts. what specifically makes you think that your phone is hacked as against something else
blackhawk said:
The malicious jpegs may be capable of doing that. I've had one the damages files in a folder but not files in folders, in the download folder.
It was confined to that folder unless one was to move it...
The trigger was viewing the jpeg.
They cure; simply delete it and repair or delete the damage files.
There are both Android and Windows variants of these. I've had a Windows variant too. Zero or minimum damage but only because I ID both quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have more than 30,000 from photographs and especially WhatsApp
how do I scan for malicious code in JPG is there a specific tool anti malware that has that capacity to go through JPG hexdump and then fish out
sieger007 said:
I have more than 30,000 from photographs and especially WhatsApp
how do I scan for malicious code in JPG is there a specific tool anti malware that has that capacity to go through JPG hexdump and then fish out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jeeeesze, downloads from WhatsApp?
That's a great way to pick up creepy crawlers.
WhatsApp, FB, Instagram don't get on my devices. Ever.
They ruin lives, careers and more... they are spyware and malware by their very nature.
I never have had anything detect these little buggers, I'm not saying there aren't detectable, but don't count on it. The two I found I didn't even consider keeping them for analysis.
They wasted enough of my time as it was. Finding them in an ocean of jpegs could be problematic.
Rule #1, all downloads go to the download folder.
Choose what goes into your database after observation and at least scan it with Malwarebytes. Online Virustotal for any download remotely suspicious. Open jpegs at least once in the download folder and be aware of anything unusual afterwards... that may be the only clue you get.
If you really think one of these images has a malicious script, you need to isolate it. Scan with Malwarebytes and whatever else you want.
Try reloading, confirm the device is still clean then load the suspect database.
Problem being the trigger is opening the jpeg or some other related action to it like deleting the email it was associated with in Windows Outlook. If you get nailed again, reload and break/import your database in groups. You can see where this is going... it may take a while.
I've seen what they can do, I avoid downloading clickbait pics from untrusted sites, people and emails (email is kept in the cloud ie gmail).
My backups are also from different time periods on hdds completely isolated from each other and the PC. I could lose some of my database but not all of my it. With over 1 tb of data I'm not playing around.
The second and last(?) malicious jpeg I ran into was on Android about 1.5 years ago.
What do you use to back up and restore to PC? I tried Wondershare Mobile trans but it sticks at a certain point and I have to cancel and it takes hours and I lose progress! Any info on what others are using for backup tp PC would be great!
My Phone Explorer
MyPhoneExplorer | Functions
www.fjsoft.at
There is a bit of a learning curve to set it up as you want to,but once you do get the hang of it you can back up all the usual things (contacts,calendars,photos,music,etc)
Everything on my unrooted 10+ is backed up to the SD card which I use as a data drive and store all critical data there. The SD card is backed up to the PC data drive and a seperate hdd stored remotely. Critical bookmarks are saved on Colornote which is 3X backup.
Smartswitch is used for some backup and apps like Poweramp have their own backup files.
All apks and updates are backed up with ApkExport as well; no Playstore or cloud crap needed for a full restore. I can do a full restore with no external sources needed.
After 2 forced reloads I streamlined the process... with over 349 gb of data, the data drive saves hours of uploading from the PC.
Implement a complete plan now before you need it and have triple redundancy in place.
Only two types of data users; those who have lost data and those that will.
Crashes both software/hardware caused are mostly unpredictable and can happen at any moment.
The 10+ is rock solid stable but no OS is completely impervious to poorly written apks and malware. Be prepared... or suffer.
jenmal said:
I tried Wondershare Mobile trans
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the only product that worked at all from that company. Well, of those I tested because of this.
File encrypted! How can I open it!! HELP!!
I see, but how come when I load up a bruteforce program (passfab for rar as an example), it doesn't detect it as an encrypted file? Like, sometimes it doesn't even show up visibly in my directory as a usable file. I get what you're saying, but...
forum.xda-developers.com
Better stay away from their software. Too heavy and bad programming in general. Also backups can be restored only if you buy the s*it...
Better just take an attitude that nothing is that important. Tons of stuff but I don't have backups at all. If it goes it goes. Before computers how people managed to live at all without them...
Have never used 3rd-party apps , free or paid. I do it via simple scripts.
I've tried perhaps a dozen different apps which claim to be able to backup EVERYTHING I've installed and all contacts, etc, but they only allow you to do this one app at a time! Or they tell you to authorize write access to your MicroSD card, but when I do, it keeps telling me to authorize write access to my MicroSD card (ad infinitum). There may be apps that will backup to various cloud services, but I do NOT want that -- I want to backup to the MicroSD card ONLY.
I'm running Android 9 on my LG Stylo 5. Can anyone recommend an app that will easily backup everything (except OS files and LG apps) to MicroSD?
Thanks!
That's a tall order without root access.
I'll try Samsung's Swart Switch next reload but I don't expect miracles; if it saves my theme, icon pack and wallpaper I'll be pleased. Relying on an app to save critical data can end up doing the opposite... very easily. It's no replacement for a properly used data drive.
I use my SD card as a data drive so my critical data is already backed up; vid library, images, contacts, word docs, music library, etc.
I choose apps that allow a backup folder or file like Poweramp, ColorNote and Digitalclock. These are impossible or hard to recreate.
Most other app settings are throw aways.
The OS its settings and shortcuts are throw aways. I'm not sweating the little things.
I do however save copies of all my loaded apps and system apk updates with ApkExport on my data drive. When reloading little or internet is needed. No Playstore goofing around as I load the apks and updates directly from the data drive.
Since I'm using a data drive mostly the only things loaded on internal memory are the OS, apps, the download folder and the DMIC folder. The latter two are backup to the data drive periodically.
Another downside to a copy "everything" app is even if you do find one is inadvertently introducing bad settings even potentially malware to the new load. The whole reason for reload is a get a clean load, free of previous issues.
Malware is another reason to keep the critical data as seperate as possible from the OS, apps and their volatile data.
Backup hdd copies of the data drive should be staggered (at least one from earlier date*) and kept on separate hdds that are electronically isolated from each other in case of malware.
I keep at least 3 backup copies of the SD card data, 2 of which are on seperate hdds.
*in case of a virus or malicious script getting embedded. There was one time over a decade ago that I was down to my last hdd copy away from potentially losing all my data. That impressed me... I keep many copies now in separate locations.
My Backup Pro - Apps on Google Play
The easiest backup for Android Supporting the most content and the most devices.
play.google.com
Take a look at this one.
blackhawk said:
That's a tall order without root access.
I'll try Samsung's Swart Switch next reload but I don't expect miracles; if it saves my theme, icon pack and wallpaper I'll be pleased. Relying on an app to save critical data can end up doing the opposite... very easily. It's no replacement for a properly used data drive.
I use my SD card as a data drive so my critical data is already backed up; vid library, images, contacts, word docs, music library, etc.
I choose apps that allow a backup folder or file like Poweramp, ColorNote and Digitalclock. These are impossible or hard to recreate.
Most other app settings are throw aways.
The OS its settings and shortcuts are throw aways. I'm not sweating the little things.
I do however save copies of all my loaded apps and system apk updates with ApkExport on my data drive. When reloading little or internet is needed. No Playstore goofing around as I load the apks and updates directly from the data drive.
Since I'm using a data drive mostly the only things loaded on internal memory are the OS, apps, the download folder and the DMIC folder. The latter two are backup to the data drive periodically.
Another downside to a copy "everything" app is even if you do find one is inadvertently introducing bad settings even potentially malware to the new load. The whole reason for reload is a get a clean load, free of previous issues.
Malware is another reason to keep the critical data as seperate as possible from the OS, apps and their volatile data.
Backup hdd copies of the data drive should be staggered (at least one from earlier date*) and kept on separate hdds that are electronically isolated from each other in case of malware.
I keep at least 3 backup copies of the SD card data, 2 of which are on seperate hdds.
*in case of a virus or malicious script getting embedded. There was one time over a decade ago that I was down to my last hdd copy away from potentially losing all my data. That impressed me... I keep many copies now in separate locations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smart switch messed up my ringtones for apps, now they all sound the same. Plus didn't transfer secure folder tho it was given passwords when it asked.
So my game plan is to let Google restore apps and move only the most needed data.
badrsj said:
Smart switch messed up my ringtones for apps, now they all sound the same. Plus didn't transfer secure folder tho it was given passwords when it asked.
So my game plan is to let Google restore apps and move only the most needed data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You get the problem. I have zero faith in Google; they earned that level of trust.
AT&T restores my messages and Google, gmail.
That's it for the cloud services I use.
Save ringtones as audio files in their (your) folder.
Guess that's another little reload chore. Meh.
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Wasting your time asking for "everything" without root
You will only get the apps, and no data
Ive never used google for backing up data:
1) People think all apps backup their data to google...and learn the hard way that each app developer has to enable it, per app
2) The sheer data involved when youre paying a lot for data
Root for me every time, then Migrate (free) or MyBackup Pro (paid)
If you dont want to lose app data, and have to reset everything back up, root and one of the above.
Also, later version of Android restrict access to external sdcard, so i hope you mean backup to internal sdcard...doesnt mean you cant then copy it to external manually (yes theres a magisk module that can enable external sdcard access, but you shouldnt use it as it will bite you in the behind at some point)
In short, you want the easiest way to backup and restore apps, appdata, then root is your friend. Everything else half assing it,