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computers / alt.comp.os.windows-10 / Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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* Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-FiAndy Burnelli
+* Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-FiAndy Burnelli
|`- Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-FiAndy Burnelli
`* Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file systemAndy Burns
 `- Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-FiAndy Burnelli

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Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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From: spa...@nospam.com (Andy Burnelli)
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Subject: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi
Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 22:33:34 +0100
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 by: Andy Burnelli - Mon, 9 May 2022 21:33 UTC

WIP: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system

Help requested from those who know more about finding hidden files
on Android from the Windows computer over your local Wi-Fi network.

Recently I updated Android 11 to 12 and all hell broke loose (perhaps
because I change my GSF ID which, we can assume, is saved by apps).
<https://i.postimg.cc/0Q4xmPPR/gsfid01.jpg> How to change GSF ID
Maybe changing the GSF ID caused apps with GSF to be indexed wrong?
<https://i.postimg.cc/YStB48LH/gsfid03.jpg> Some apps use GSF APIs

This learning experience is perhaps a good thing as it's an opportunity to
learn where Android apps typically install their code into.
<https://groups.google.com/g/comp.mobile.android/c/GngVnfddiT8>

As that location is likely still there (I find it hard to believe that
Google _deleted_ the apps off my Android phone during the update).
<https://i.postimg.cc/L4tFb7ND/update14.jpg> The apps are gone!

Running adb over Wi-Fi (tcpip port 5555) allows me to list packages:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages > installed.txt (lists 663 packages)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -s (of which 390 lines are system)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -3 (and where 273 lines are third party)
One of which, we would have hoped, would be zoom, but it's not there:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f | findStr "zoom" (finds nothing)

Luckily, re-installing even hundreds of apps on Android is trivial since
all the APKs are automatically _not deleted_ when apps are installed.
<https://i.postimg.cc/Z5kdD2rg/aurora04.jpg> Just don't delete APKs

Which means they can be saved directly onto a Windows mount point.
<https://i.postimg.cc/cJK9rbjn/update03.jpg> APKs saved into Windows
And then the APKs can simply be slid onto Android to re-install apps.
<https://i.postimg.cc/wvsbcNBz/scrcpy05.jpg> Drag APK from Windows

But even without that, just clicking on the now-dead grayed-out icons
brings up the correct _new_ APK in the FOSS google play store client.
<https://i.postimg.cc/MHNhkgpY/update11.jpg> App is not installed

The point being the problem is NOT to re-install hundreds of APKs, as that
part is already trivial.... the problem here is to see if they're _still_
on the Android phone, where I need to know _where_ apps typically go.

Now it's time to look where the missing apps are typically installed into.

Let's take Zoom for example, which seems to have simply disappeared.
<https://i.postimg.cc/brtpv9T1/update17.jpg> Even Zoom disappeared!

First, let's check if Zoom requires GSF, and when we do, we see it does.
<https://i.postimg.cc/XJrSQ0w6/update21.jpg> Zoom requires GSF

So now, the question is whether or not Zoom is _already_ installed and
perhaps just hidden - but _where_ would zoom be installed onto Android?
<https://duckduckgo.com/?q=where+does+android+zoom+install+into>
<https://duckduckgo.com/?q=where+do+android+apps+install+into>

*Android Developers > Docs> Guides > App install location*
<https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/data/install-location>
"android:installLocation manifest attribute"

Apparently the flow is that the developer declares the location
android:installLocation=<unset>
App will be installed on internal storage only
android:installLocation="preferExternal"
App will be installed on sdcard if available
android:installLocation="auto"
App will be installed

But adb seems to show the location of installed packages.
<https://stackpointer.io/mobile/android-adb-list-installed-package-names/416/>

So let's try those adb commands over wi-fi (TCPIP port 5555) to see stuff.
C:\> adb kill-server
C:\> adb tcpip 5555
restarting in TCP mode port: 5555
C:\> adb connect 192.168.0.2:5555
connected to 192.168.0.2:5555
C:\> adb devices
List of devices attached
192.168.0.2:5555 device

I was hoping the "disabled" apps option would list zoom, but it didn't:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d > disabled_apps.txt (219L)
Nor did the enabled apps option list zoom (which wasn't expected):
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -e > enabled_apps.txt (444L)

I'm not at all sure what the definition of a "disabled" app really is.
But what was interesting was disabled apps were mostly in 1 spot.
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d -f > location_disabled_apps.txt
package:/data/app/~~{stuff} (208L)
package:/product/app/. (3L)
package:/system/app/. (3L)
package:/system/priv-app/. (5L)

While enabled apps were far more scattered about the Android filesystem.
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -e -f > location_enabled_apps.txt (444)
package:/apex/. (11L)
package:/data/app/~~{stuff} (87L)
package:/product/app/. (8L)
package:/product/overlay/. (28L)
package:/product/priv-app/. (7L)
package:/system/app/. (106L)
package:/system/carrier/. (4L)
package:/system/framework/. (2L)
package:/system/priv-app/. (171L)
package:/system/system_ext/priv-app/. (8L)
package:/vendor/overlay/. (11L)
package:/vendor/priv-app/. (1L)

Of course, if I _install_ Zoom, the commands below will tell me where it
installed into, but I'm trying to find out if it's really still there.

So let's try this adb command over wi-fi (TCPIP port 5555) to see:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -s > sys_package_location.txt (390L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f > 3rd_package_location.txt (663L)

Summarizing those files, the system apps seem to be installed into
package:/apex/.
package:/data/app/.
package:/product/app/.
package:/product/overlay/.
package:/product/priv-app/.
package:/system/app/.
package:/system/carrier/.
package:/system/framework/.
package:/system/priv-app/.
package:/system/system_ext/priv-app/.
package:/vendor/overlay/.
package:/vendor/priv-app/.

And the third-party apps seem to be installed into:
package:/apex/. (11L)
package:/data/app/~~{stuff} (295L)
package:/product/app/. (11L)
package:/product/overlay/. (28L)
package:/product/priv-app/. (7L)
package:/system/app/. (109L)
package:/system/carrier/priv-app/. (4L)
package:/system/framework/. (2L)
package:/system/priv-app/. (176L)
package:/system/system_ext/priv-app/. (8L)
package:/vendor/overlay/. (11L)
package:/vendor/priv-app/. (1L)

There are two others options of interest which may help find zoom.
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -i > installer.txt (663L)
installer=com.android.settings (1L)
installer=com.android.vending (20L)
installer=com.aurora.adroid (9L)
installer=com.aurora.store (85L)
installer=com.facebook.system (3L) <== note WA is installed, not FB
installer=com.google.android.packageinstaller (57L)
installer=com.sec.android.app.samsungapps (1L)
installer=com.sprint.ce.updater (1L) <== note it's a T-Mobile phone
installer=com.tmobile.pr.adapt (4L)
installer=null (482)

This might help if I knew what a UID was and what the UID for Zoom is:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -U > UID.txt (663L)
The UID is apparently particular for an application:
<https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5708906/what-is-uid-on-android>
The UID (aka AID) is the backbone of the Android sandboxing, apparently:
<https://source.android.com/security/app-sandbox>

This sounds promising but it lists installed packages apparently:
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -i > installer.txt (663L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -u > uninstaller.txt (663L)

Let's run a quick Windows diff filecompare of these two after sorting:
C:\> fc installer.txt uninstaller.txt (206L) <== too confusing

At this point, let's inventory all that is on the Android phone without
using adb but simply by using the Windows "dir" command on Android.
Pseudocode: dir android_file_system > list_of_all_files_on_android.txt

To more easily search my non-rooted phone, I mounted the Android root file
system as a Windows 10 drive letter using a free WebDAV server on Android.
*WebDAV Server* by The Olive Tree
Free, not ad free, Google free, requires GSF, rated 3.5, 100K+ installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.theolivetree.webdavserver>

*WebDAV Server - BestDAV PRO* by ZQ Software
Free, ad free, Google free, GSF free, rated 4.2, unknown # of installs
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zq.webdav.app_pro>

I'm using "The Olive Tree" WebDav server because I can't figure out the
settings to get the "BestDav" WebDav server to allow _write_ from Windows.
(If you can solve this problem, I'd appreciate the help you can provide.)
For whatever reason, using "The Olive Tree" I can mount everything on
Android but the sdcard (which I haven't yet figured out why - but it
appears that the Windows adb command _can_ see what's on the SDCARD).
(If you can solve this problem, I'd appreciate the help you can provide.)


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Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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From: spa...@nospam.com (Andy Burnelli)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.microsoft.windows
Subject: Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi
Date: Tue, 10 May 2022 00:09:43 +0100
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 by: Andy Burnelli - Mon, 9 May 2022 23:09 UTC

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> Of course, if I _install_ Zoom, the commands below will tell me where it
> installed into, but I'm trying to find out if it's really still there.

Since I've tentatively concluded, much to my chagrin, that Android did,
indeed, completely wipe out _hundreds_ of apps (zoom among them),
perhaps because they were GSF apps which didn't like that I changed
the supposedly permanent unique GSF ID tracking identification number...
<https://i.postimg.cc/X7ZspnsG/gsfid01.jpg> You can change the GSF ID
<https://i.postimg.cc/YStB48LH/gsfid03.jpg> GSF Apps use the GSF ID

I decided to _install_ Zoom (which was easily enough done) and then run
the adb commands again to see where it put stuff as an added learning effort.
<https://i.postimg.cc/wBndvc4d/update22.jpg> Re-installing Zoom is easy
<https://i.postimg.cc/tCzy56Jh/update23.jpg> Now let's look where it went

This is where Zoom seems to have installed on Android:
<https://i.postimg.cc/MKr5hWsv/update24.jpg> Zoom in /data/app/~~{stuff}
<https://i.postimg.cc/MKr5hWsv/update24.jpg> Zoom in /data/app/~~{stuff}
package:/data/app/~~PzJKYsZQ2ZCx6CppblPgRQ==/us.zoom.videomeetings-zGYsIcaI0d-LZ0jXknyD6A==/base.apk=us.zoom.videomeetings

But something is wrong with my Windows dir /s/a/l/on/b since it didn't
find the installed zoom location for some unknown-to-me-as-yet reason.

All it found were six new lines (all of which is the saved APK only).
C:\> findstr /i /r /c:"^.*zoom" android_filesystem.txt
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\.651004.download-complete
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\config.arm64_v8a.apk
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\config.xhdpi.apk
z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\us.zoom.videomeetings.apk

Since this experiment of adding just one app is rarely done, here are the file
size differences between Android minus Zoom and Android with Zoom just now.
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -s > sys_package_location.txt (390L -> 390L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f > 3rd_package_location.txt (663L -> 664L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages > installed.txt (663L -> 664L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d > disabled_apps.txt (219L -> 299L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -e > enabled_apps.txt (444L -> 445L)
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -f -U > UID.txt (Zoom uid:10588)
dir /s/a/l/on/b > c:\tmp\android_filesystem.txt (3914L -> 3920L)

In summary, it does appear that migrating from Android 11 to Android 12
actually deleted hundreds of apps, among them zoom, where there's no trace
of those apps on Android after the upgrade other than the Nova launcher saved
their location in the well-organized homescreen hierarchy.

Hence re-installing those hundreds of apps is trivial simply because
just tapping on the apps opens up the FOSS google play client to install
the latest version off the Google Play Store repository - or - I can
just as easily slide the APK from Windows over to Android - or - I can
just tap on the saved APK on Android (if I had happened to save it there).

I haven't conclusively proven anything yet as to why the migration of
Android 11 to Android 12 wiped out hundreds of apps, but I suspect it
was simply that the GSF apps misbehaved when they found out that I had
changed the supposedly permanent GSF ID.
--
Usenet is a world-wide team sport where purposefully helpful kind-hearted
adults help each other and learn by pooling our individual capabilities.

Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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From: use...@andyburns.uk (Andy Burns)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.microsoft.windows
Subject: Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system
over Wi-Fi
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 by: Andy Burns - Tue, 10 May 2022 06:55 UTC

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> Recently I updated Android 11 to 12 and all hell broke loose (perhaps
> because I change my GSF ID

Any other XDA users reporting similar consequences of changing the ID?

Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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From: spa...@nospam.com (Andy Burnelli)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.microsoft.windows
Subject: Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi
Date: Tue, 10 May 2022 16:50:43 +0100
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 by: Andy Burnelli - Tue, 10 May 2022 15:50 UTC

UPDATE:

I learn more about computers by breaking the rules than by following them.
1. It's (only?) GSF apps that are gone after upgrading Android 11 to 12
2. It may be due to the fact I changed the supposedly permanent GSF ID
3. Luckily Nova knows (almost) exactly how to point to the app installer
4. However it's a mystery _how_ Nova knows (almost) exactly which it is
5. Given the app appears to otherwise be wiped completely off the map
6. However Windows, for some reason, doesn't _find_ the installed app
7. And yet, adb on Windows can easily find that newly installed app

The main questions that need to be resolved are
a. Why can't Windows "dir" find the installed app when Windows adb can?
b. How does Nova launcher know exactly which app was wiped off the phone?
c. Why should Android upgrades even care about the GSF ID?

Bear in mind there's almost no effort whatsoever in re-installing the
hundreds of missing apps; all the effort is going into trying to figure out
_why_ and _how_ that happened (as a lot of "magic" seems to have occurred).

> Since I've tentatively concluded, much to my chagrin, that Android did,
> indeed, completely wipe out _hundreds_ of apps (zoom among them),
> perhaps because they were GSF apps which didn't like that I changed
> the supposedly permanent unique GSF ID tracking identification number...

Every disaster is an opportunity to learn, where, so far, as I'm going
slowly since it's something I look at when I need an app, all the missing
apps were GSF apps, which, for now, fits the hypothesis that they never
tested Android upgrades for the circumstance that the GSF ID changed.

But why would an Android upgrade even _care_ that a GSF ID had changed?
What's it to them?

> I decided to _install_ Zoom (which was easily enough done) and then run
> the adb commands again to see where it put stuff as an added learning effort.
> But something is wrong with my Windows dir /s/a/l/on/b since it didn't
> find the installed zoom location for some unknown-to-me-as-yet reason.
> All it found were six new lines (all of which is the saved APK only).
> C:\> findstr /i /r /c:"^.*zoom" android_filesystem.txt
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\.651004.download-complete
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\config.arm64_v8a.apk
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\config.xhdpi.apk
> z:\aurora\store\downloads\us.zoom.videomeetings\651004\us.zoom.videomeetings.apk

This is another _new_ learning experience.
Why didn't the Windows "dir" command find the zoom installation hierarchy?
Where does Zoom put its installed files if not in the system directory?

> Hence re-installing those hundreds of apps is trivial simply because
> just tapping on the apps opens up the FOSS google play client to install
> the latest version off the Google Play Store repository...

Yet another new learning experience is the fact that the ease of installing
the app is based on "something" (I don't know yet) which is hidden data.

Something about the grayed out icons tells Android exactly which app to
find in the FOSS google play store client... however... in one or two cases
so far, it did _not_ find the right "something" in that client.

So there's yet more "magic" going on that I don't understand about this yet
but it has been a wonderful new learning experience since you can't learn
this stuff without some lab work in destructive testing procedures.
--
I learn more about Android by breaking the rules than by following them.

Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi

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From: spa...@nospam.com (Andy Burnelli)
Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android,alt.comp.os.windows-10,alt.comp.microsoft.windows
Subject: Re: Using Windows to find hidden files on the Android file system over Wi-Fi
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 by: Andy Burnelli - Tue, 10 May 2022 17:32 UTC

Andy Burns wrote:

>> Recently I updated Android 11 to 12 and all hell broke loose (perhaps
>> because I change my GSF ID
>
> Any other XDA users reporting similar consequences of changing the ID?

I need your advice to make XDA more useful for me.
What XDA section would you ask that question you suggest that I ask?

As on Usenet, most of the answers I get on XDA are from kindergarten kids.
But maybe I'm just asking in the too-generic XDA forum sections perhaps?

Rarely do I find someone who knows more than I do about Android on Usenet
and on XDA, and I know that I know almost nothing about Android.

That's how sad the situation is.

Android, for some reason, isn't like Windows, where I can _easily_ find
people who know more than I do about Windows (e.g, Paul, you, Stan Brown,
Herbert Kleebauer, et. al) but that stellar caliber of both knowledgeable
and purposefully helpful person isn't on the Android newsgroup
unfortunately. The people on the Android newsgroup are basically morons.

However, all is not lost as on the Android newsgroup, you know far more
than I know, as do very few others, such as s|b, poutnik, and a few others
whose names escape me (they're that rare).

On the Windows newsgroup, the situation is different as there are plenty on
the Windows newsgroups who know more about Windows than I ever will know.

My hypothesis is that people were professionally trained on Windows,
whereas nobody on the Android newsgroup seems to have any training at all.

XDA _should_ be different, but so far, in my experience, it's a similar
waste of time and effort to ask a detailed question on the XDA forums.

Anyway, to your point, I had long ago already asked on XDA forums about the
update, but I had asked that question only in terms of anyone having
problems with the update, and not in terms of specific people who changed
their GSF ID.

I'll add a separate question regarding the GSF ID but I don't have high
hopes that anyone on XDA knows more than I do who will respond to it.

The likely fact is almost NOBODY changes their GSF ID, so the liklihood of
me finding _anyone_ who knows more than I do about that, is nearly zero.

But hope shouldn't be lost, as remember, I know almost nothing about this
GSF ID stuff, but a competent developer on XDA "should" know all about it.

For example, a capable developer on XDA should know how apps make use of
the GSF ID and more importantly, a skilled Android developer should know
how the update from Android 11 to Android 12 (or its indexing process
thereafter) makes use of that GSF ID.

Of course, the problem could be something other than the GSF ID, but my
phone isn't all that different from most Android phones, except I don't
have a Google ID.

Otherwise, my phone is the same as all the phones out there, so that's why
my hypothesis is that there's something nefarious going on during the
update with respect to apps with GSF and their tracking of the GSF ID.

In summary, most of my posts on XDA and on Usenet are to educate others, as
very few people on the smartphone newsgroups know more than I do and even
fewer are helpful, although I must say very clearly on the Windows
newsgroup, there are quite a few people who know a _lot_ more than I do.

If you can help point me to where you'd ask that specific question on the
XDA forums to get it in the hands of proficient developers, let me know.

However, at this point, I don't expect anyone to know more than I do.
--
What's sad about that is I know I know almost nothing, so what others know
is even less than nothing - which is a sad situation we find ourselves in.

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