Every time I run a specific app on my Android phone, it crashes.
This question isn't about the app though - it's about the crash.

How can I "debug" why the app crashes?

What happens is I install the latest version from the Google Play Store.
It installs fine but when I tap it, it comes up, and then goes away.

Is there a debug log somewhere I can consult to get an idea why it crashes?

Erholt Rhein wrote:

> Is there a debug log somewhere I can consult to get an idea why it crashes?

https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/logcat

On Tue, 4 Oct 2022 13:43:26 +0100, Andy Burns wrote:

>> Is there a debug log somewhere I can consult to get an idea why it crashes?
>
> https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/logcat

From Windows I connected via adb to the phone over wifi and then typed
C:\> logcat

As you can imagine, that resulted in teaching me that I need a filter.
The example of filtering given was this which actually worked.
C:\> adb logcat ActivityManager:I MyApp:D *:S

I was surprised that worked because "MyApp" shouldn't exist.
The app is actually "Network Cell Info Lite" "com.wilysis.cellinfolite".

But what do I use for "My App"?

I don't think this is correct but it actually still outputs things.
C:\> adb logcat ActivityManager:I "Network Cell Info Lite":D *:S

Here is what happened when I tapped on the Network Cell Info Lite app.

10-04 06:31:00.392 21447 21486 I ActivityManager: Changes in 10699 19 to 2,
0 to 15
10-04 06:31:00.516 21447 25113 W ActivityManager: Unable to start service
Intent { act=com.google.android.gms.leibniz.events.service.START
pkg=com.google.android.gms } U=0: not found
10-04 06:31:00.517 21447 21994 W ActivityManager: Unbind failed: could not
find connection for android.os.BinderProxy@f1e3a3f
10-04 06:31:00.525 21447 25113 I ActivityManager: Changes in 10227 3 to 3,
8 to 15
10-04 06:31:00.530 21447 23624 W ActivityManager: Unable to start service
Intent {
act=com.android.vending.developergroupidinfo.IDeveloperGroupIdInfoService.BIND
cmp=com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.developergroupidinfo.DeveloperGroupIdInfoService
} U=0: not found
10-04 06:31:00.596 21447 21499 I ActivityManager: Start proc
5024:com.google.android.webview:sandboxed_process0:org.chromium.content.app.SandboxedProcessService0:0/u0i38
for
{com.wilysis.cellinfolite/org.chromium.content.app.SandboxedProcessService0:0}
10-04 06:31:00.596 21447 21499 I ActivityManager: check webview name :
com.google.android.webview:sandboxed_process0:org.chromium.content.app.SandboxedProcessService0:0check
hostingname webview :
{com.wilysis.cellinfolite/org.chromium.content.app.SandboxedProcessService0:0}
10-04 06:31:00.620 21447 23592 I ActivityManager: DSS OFF for
com.wilysis.cellinfolite
10-04 06:31:00.626 21447 23592 I ActivityManager: Changes in 99038 20 to 3,
0 to 8
10-04 06:31:00.718 21447 21994 W ActivityManager: Unable to start service
Intent { act=com.android.vending.licensing.ILicensingService
pkg=com.android.vending } U=0: not found
10-04 06:31:00.828 21447 21994 I ActivityManager: Process
com.wilysis.cellinfolite (pid 4763) has died: fg TOP (141,1268)
10-04 06:31:00.830 21447 21994 W ActivityManager: Scheduling restart of
crashed service
com.wilysis.cellinfolite/androidx.work.impl.background.systemjob.SystemJobService
in 1000ms for connection
10-04 06:31:00.832 21447 21994 I ActivityManager: Killing
5024:com.google.android.webview:sandboxed_process0:org.chromium.content.app.SandboxedProcessService0:0/u0a699i38
(adj 0): isolated not needed
10-04 06:31:00.832 21447 21994 I ActivityManager: Changes in 99038 3 to 19,
8 to 0
10-04 06:31:00.832 21447 21994 I ActivityManager: Changes in 10227 3 to 5,
15 to 8
10-04 06:31:01.838 21447 21499 I ActivityManager: Start proc
5080:com.wilysis.cellinfolite/u0a699 for service
{com.wilysis.cellinfolite/androidx.work.impl.background.systemjob.SystemJobService}
10-04 06:31:01.863 21447 23632 I ActivityManager: DSS OFF for
com.wilysis.cellinfolite

About the only thing I get out of this is there is some sort of sandbox
violation that the com.wilysis.cellinfolite app is causing.

Is that a valid assumption

Erholt Rhein <erholtr@pobox.com> wrote:

> Every time I run a specific app on my Android phone, it crashes.
> This question isn't about the app though - it's about the crash.
>
> How can I "debug" why the app crashes?
>
> What happens is I install the latest version from the Google Play Store.
> It installs fine but when I tap it, it comes up, and then goes away.
>
> Is there a debug log somewhere I can consult to get an idea why it crashes?

After enabling Developer Options on your phone, go into Developer
Options to use the "Take bug report" option. More info here:

https://academy.test.io/en/articles/2541912-crash-logs-on-mobile-devices

The log can be huge. There is no filtering of what to see in the
output. If Notepad won't load the file (too big), you can use WordPad,
or a 3rd party editor/viewer, like Notepad++. Then you could search on
".wilysis", ".m2catalyst", or "Cellular Info" (or prepend "Network" if
there are a lot of other "cellular info" entries not related to that
app).

I see the system requirements for the NCI app is up to Android 12. Are
you running 13? Android 13 was released a month ago. I think it is
still in beta status per:

https://developer.android.com/about/versions/13/release-notes

The developer might already know of the problem, and working on a fix.
To save time, and frustration, I'd check with them first before trying
to analyze a log report. The app was updated half a month ago, so it
could've introduced a bug that either has not yet been reported, or the
developer is working on it. I did not find links to download older
versions of the NCI app, but maybe web.archive.org copies of their web
pages have still-usable links to old versions. Contacts for the NCI app
are:

support@m2catalyst.com
https://www.m2catalyst.com/contact

Looks like the crash might be associated with Google Mobile Services
(GMS). GMS requires the phone maker get a license with Google for GMS.

https://www.android.com/gms/
While the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) provides common,
device-level functionalities such as email and calling, GMS is not
part of AOSP. GMS is only available through a license with Google and
delivers a holistic set of popular apps and cloud-based services. Note
that GMS apps can vary based on country availability and requirements.

What are Google Mobile Services (GMS)?
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-mobile-services-gms-3025963/
Can you use Android without Google services?
Yes — Android is a perfectly functional operating system by itself and
can do most of the things you’d expect it to do without Google Mobile
Services. In fact, the vast majority of Android smartphones sold in
China do not include GMS at all and have never done so. Of course,
this is because Google is banned and inaccessible in China.
and
In that vein, apps like Uber or Lyft that use Google Maps for their
core functionality may also throw up errors or refuse to open.
(Note: NCI uses the Google geolocation API for map data.)

Google: Oh yes, our OS is free and [mostly] open source.
(Chromium is open source. Chrome adds proprietary shi[f]t.)
You: I'm feeling your grip on my balls. Let go!

I've seen Google projects that failed on their Google Mail API requests,
because they exceeded their quota. I didn't check if there is an
expiration on GMS licensing. However, NCI works on my ancient Android
8.0 smartphone, but then each version thereafter might've made changes
that now contravenes what NCI expects.

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-mobile-services-gms-3025963/
"... the vast majority of Android devices today aren’t, in fact, running
pure and open-source Android. You can thank Google Mobile Services (GMS)
for that."
and
"The key distinction between the two, however, is that GMS is not
open-source. Instead, Google selectively licenses it to device
manufacturers or OEMs for free."

NCI uses the Google geolocation API to get map data to show where is the
cell tower to which you are currently connected. Several core Google
services on Android were updated to use GMS. Is it when NCI loads that
it crashes (after you made sure to do a force stop to require a new load
of NCI)? Or sometime later while using NCI? As a guess, I would try
inputting latitude and longitude coordinates into a Google Maps search
to make sure works okay.

There a minimum requirements for GMS. Google upped them for Android 13:

https://www.xda-developers.com/android-13-gms-minimum-hardware-requirements/

I couldn't find GMS on my old Android 8.0 phone by LG (who exited the
mobile phone market a while ago). No com.google.android.gms (when
system services are shown) under Android's Settings -> Apps -> applist,
or under Developer Options -> Running services (including cached ones).
From comments in Android forums, the GMS service is rolled into the
Google Play Service, so I wouldn't see it via the user config screens
and would need some programming tools.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62319899/how-to-check-google-mobile-services-enable-in-device-or-not

That lists how to test if GMS is enabled or not, but I couldn't find an
easy way digging into my non-rooted phone to discover if GMS is on it.

The errors noting "chromium" seem odd. Don't know what NCI uses of
Chrome that would cause a chromium error. Have you tried designating a
different web browser (e.g., Firefox) as the default web browser? I
still have Chrome on my Android phone, but Firefox is the default one.

Did you start with testing the NCI Lite free version, or jump into the
NCI Pro paid version?

On Wed, 5 Oct 2022 02:55:19 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:

> Did you start with testing the NCI Lite free version, or jump into the
> NCI Pro paid version?

Sorry it took me so long to conclude this thread.
I had to borrow someone else's phone in order to test why the app crashes.

I found out exactly what causes the poorly written app to crash every time.
(1) Run the app on a different phone and it works
(2) Set up that different phone for privacy and the app crashes every time

Note that this does NOT happen with other apps which are not badly written.
The app which is crashing is making use of Google Play Store spyware.
Specifically one privacy step is to disable "Google Play Store" spyware.

Anyone can reproduce what I found out after testing on another phone.
(1) Run Network Cell Info Lite version 20 Oct 2022 and it works
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wilysis.cellinfolite&hl=en_DE&gl=DE
(2) Disable the Google Play Store for privacy
Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Store > Disable
(3) Run Network Cell Info Lite and it crashes in light of privacy

It's repeatable.
(4) Turn on Google Play Store spyware
Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Store > Turn on
(5) Run Network Cell Info Lite version 20 Oct 2022 and it works

Oddly enough, the program is so poorly written that it only works when it
can access Google Play Store spyware. No other apps that I have need that.

This is the privacy you lose with the application that I tested above.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/datasafety?id=com.wilysis.cellinfolite&hl=en_DE&gl=DE