How Google Detects and Warns about Premium SMS Messages

Billions of text messages are sent each year. Though the service is incredibly dated by modern technological standards, the SMS has persisted as among the most popular methods of communication. Google is pushing hard to get carriers on board with a new standard known as Rich Communication Services (RCS), but with so many competing messaging interfaces it will take some time before the ubiquitous text message is put to rest.

Since there are so many users sending and receiving SMS messages each and every day, it's a lucrative market for unscrupulous actors looking to make a quick buck. Premium SMS messages were for a long time abused to spam messages to unwitting users who are unaware that each message they receive is charged to their monthly bill. Thankfully, carriers banded together to do the right thing (for once) and refused to charge customers for reverse SMS scams. Today, though premium SMS services aren't really used by most people, certain services like mobile ticketing provide users an easy way of paying certain bills via text message. On Android devices, whenever you send your first SMS to a recipient that charges for receiving messages, you're met with a warning.

Google warns you before you send a premium SMS to certain recipients. Much like setting other default options, you're able to set Android to remember your choice for future messages to that same recipient. In case you accidentally set a default you need to undo, you are able to control the text messenger app's permission to handle Premium SMS messages by going to Settings –> Apps –> Permissions (hit the gear icon) –> Special Access –> Premium SMS Access. But how exactly does Android know when to warn you that you're sending a message to a premium SMS service? We decided to look into this obviously very important question to find out.

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Google's SMS Blacklist

As it turns out, Google maintains a publicly-viewable database of SMS short codes that it blacklists. The list is sorted by country so it only checks for premium SMS services that are actually utilized in your country. For example, here is the list for the United Kingdom:

   <!-- United Kingdom (Great Britain): 4-6 digits, common codes [5-8]xxxx, plus EU:           http://ift.tt/2eUW3vK,           visual voicemail code for EE: 887 -->      <shortcode country="gb" pattern="\d{4,6}" premium="[5-8]\d{4}" free="116\d{3}|2020|35890|61002|61202|887|83669|34664|40406" />    

What's listed under each country is a regular expression that is checked against before each text message is sent. If the number you are sending to matches one of the numbers in this regex, then you will be warned that the service you are sending a message to may charge you for the message.You'll notice that under each country listed, though, not all of the premium SMS services may be listed. Instead, Googlers are constantly updating this database based on the most up-to-date reference information they can find for each country. As evidence for this, the last update to this database was made on October 14th, 2016. Though the list is not comprehensive, it's still nice that Google maintains a list to ensure that you really meant to send that one premium text message.

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That's all for today. We hope you've learned something new, and if you have anything you want us to look into, feel free to reach out to the Portal team on the e-mail addresses listed on our profile pages!

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Supercharge Your Fingerprint Sensor with Fingerprint Quick Action

Developer ztc1997 from the XDA forums has put together this really cool app that uses your fingerprint scanner to trigger custom actions.

After installing the app, you'll toggle it on in your accessibility settings. Afterwards, you'll go back into the app and find all of your quick action options. Choose what action you want triggered when swiping or tapping your fingerprint sensor.

Check out the original thread and definitely give this app a try!

Download the app from the XDA thread here.

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Google Pixel Charging Speed Limited to 15W, While Pixel XL Can Charge up to 18W

While talking about the new Pixel devices, Google did not focus too much on the charging capabilities of the devices. While not exactly the a make-or-break anyway, the charging and battery spec on the Pixel phones do follow along the rest of the hardware in that it is flagship-grade indeed.

Independent tester of all claims USB, Nathan K, known previously for testing out the chargers on the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P and for educatingusers on how non-compliant USB Type-C chargers can damage your hardware, found that the marketing material on the Google Pixel was a bit misleading on what it promised and what the product delivered.

The smaller 5″ Google Pixel does not charge at 18W during normal use, despite the phone being advertised as being capable of so. As Nathan found out, the Pixel is functionally capped at 15W (5V/3A) for charging under normal circumstances. USB Power Delivery chargers, such as the 18W charger provided in the box with the Pixel, will still be restricted  to 5V (15W) charging. Only in instances where the phone is forced to utilize higher voltage, like with some smart PD-based charging hubs, the phone will switch to 9V (18W).

Nathan does clarify that this will have no effect on a user's daily usage of the phone. Both the charger supplied in the box, and the phone itself, are safe to use and will continue to function as expected from top tier Android devices. What changes is that the peak charging speed of the Pixel will be a bit lower when compared to that of the Pixel XL. The bigger Google phone likely conforms to the 18W charging through the stock charger, meaning that its peak charging speed will ordinarily be higher than the Pixel. Practically, peak charging speeds are not maintained for long during normal charging habits, and certainly not when phones are being used.

AndroidPolice reached out to Google to seek clarification on this issue, to which they responded by correcting the product page to read as 15W-18W charging. They did not mention any reason behind the limitation, but Nathan speculates that this limitation is imposed out of thermal concerns.

What are your thoughts on the issue? Let us know in the comments below!

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Sony Invites X Performance Owners to the Xperia Beta Program

We recently learned that Sony had released step by step instructions on how to build an experimental version of Android 7.1 Nougat for select Xperia smartphones. We rarely see smartphone OEMs go to these lengths in an attempt to connect with the developer community. They even go as far as to create a beta program for the latest version of Android, and even invite some of their customers to test out the new software.

Invites for this particular Xperia Beta Program went out to Xperia X Performance owners on September 24th. If you applied to be part of this beta program and were selected, then you should be receiving an email from Sony soon. Select X Performance customers have already started to receive an email from Sony about being accepted into the Xperia Beta Program. Those who received an email were told that an OTA update will be pushed out to them within the next 48 hours.

Users shouldn't expect to see anything too new from this Xperia Beta Program. We could see a new feature here or there, but remember that this is only a beta version of Android 7.0. The email confirms that it's not even 7.1.1 Nougat, but we can expect to see Sony continue to update this as time goes by. Sony has kept its betas rather lean and slim in the past, and they have made for really enjoyable experiences.

The build number for this upcoming update is being labeled F8131, and it would be helpful to Sony if you report any bugs that you see along the way. Remember, beta programs are a two-way street. They are letting you try out an unreleased version of software and they would love to hear any feedback and bug reports you may have so they can improve the software before it's released to the public.

Source: Xperia Blog

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ZTE Makes the Notification Bell Optional in the Latest Axon 7 Update

ZTE released a very impressive smartphone this year that focused on build quality and audio performance while keeping the pricepoint very competitive. Many were wondering if they would be able to afford regular updates on the device and worried that it might only receive an update or two before being forgotten for the next phone release. However, as we've noted in a past article, selling a smartphone at a competitive price doesn't mean an OEM has to skimp out on the software updates.

We've watched as the ZTE Axon 7 and the OnePlus 3 have both received multiple software updates that include tweaks, improvements and new features since they've been released. Some will likely feel that ZTE and OnePlus can do better, but for a $400 smartphone with the build quality and specs they offer, we feel they are doing an impressive job in the update department. To this end, ZTE has just announced a new OTA update for the Axon 7 that brings some improvements and a highly requested feature to the phone.

The upcoming OTA update for the Axon 7 will be labeled A2017U Build 29 (MR3) and it comes to customers a little less than a month and a half since ZTE's previous OTA update. The company says this update should reach all Axon 7 devices before the end of tonight, and to be sure to manually check for the update if you haven't received the notification alert about it yet.

One big gripe that many people had with the Axon 7 was that you had to tap a notification bell on the lock screen just to see your notifications. Thankfully, this new update makes that feature completely optional and is a highly welcomed change to the software. ZTE tells us this OTA update also comes with the following changes:

• New application management policy to enhance battery life
• Optimized video camera focus on moving objects
• Resolved .FLAC file playback issue
• Visual Voicemail optimized for dual SIM
• Updated fix for Mute Call issue
• Other general enhancements

Source: ZTE

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Samsung is Investing in Bezel-less, Edge-to-Edge Screen Technology

While some companies, including Samsung, are investing in foldable display technology, others are opting for a full screen display product. We recently watched Xiaomi make headlines with their Mi MIX concept phone. A smartphone that reportedly sports a 91.3% screen-to-body ratio. This type of technology is still in its infancy, and has already shown to be very fragile compared to smartphones with a bit of a bezel.

However, it seems like Xiaomi isn't the only company who wants to impress the world with a bezel-less, edge-to-edge display. Last week, Samsung was at the iMiD 2016 display exhibition in Seoul and a few of their engineers talked about the future of Samsung Display. The company would not confirm whether or not the upcoming Galaxy S8 would feature this type of tech, but Park Won-sang, a principal engineer at Samsung Display, did confirm the company was investing a considerable amount of money and manpower into the technology.

Won-sang said their goal is to hit above 90% in the screen-to-body ratio department. It's unknown if they will be able to topple Xiaomi's new Mi MIX smartphone, so we'll just have to wait and see what Samsung can produce. He did confirm that Samsung Display is targeting to roll out these types of displays sometime next year though. However, he did not give us a time frame for a release date or specifics on which phone Samsung would use it in.

Won-sang said their ultimate goal is to have something with a 99% screen-to-body ratio. He showed off some concept images during his presentation that showed a phone that looked similar to the Galaxy S7 Edge, and we were told that the display technology would allow for almost all sensors to be embedded under the display itself. Other than being impressive to hold and use, Samsung believes this would also help to improve immersion when used in a Gear VR type headset.

Source: The Investor

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It’s still possible to enable the AOSP Lock Screen on HTC Devices

Over the years, the lock screen has evolved with the changing design language of Google's Android. Starting with Android 5.0 Lollipop, the lock screen developed a Material Design flavor and implemented rich notification support. But apart from Motorola, OnePlus, and a couple of other outliers, most OEMs have opted to use their own lock screen implementation in lieu of the AOSP one. HTC is no exception in that regard. However, a peculiarity with the way HTC chose to implement their lock screen has allowed end-users to disable the stock HTC lock screen. Years later, it appears that the trick still works. Here's how it works and how it's done.

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Disable the HTC Lockscreen using ADB

Usually, the lock screen is contained within the framework-res.apk, which is pre-installed as a system app and cannot be modified without root. Furthermore, disabling the app would prove to be a very, very bad idea as it would almost certainly result in a bootloop. HTC, though, does not actually pack their custom lock screen within framework-res, and instead pre-installs their lock screen app on all of their devices. Fortunately for us, this means we can disable this package without causing any issues with the system!

To do so, you'll need to connect to your device via ADB and send a simple command. First, make sure you have the ADB binaries downloaded onto your computer. We recommend grabbing Minimal ADB & Fastboot from our forums. Next, install the necessary HTC drivers for your device. Finally, once you've got ADB and the drivers set up, open a command prompt and issue the following commands:

  adb shell  pm hide com.htc.lockscreen  

If the command returns 'hidden: true' then it was successful in hiding the lock screen package. Now, simply reboot your device and you should see the stock AOSP lock screen! As a bonus, by re-enabling the AOSP lock screen, you will apparently gain the ability to double tap the power button to launch the camera.

We hope you enjoy this mini customization tutorial. Do note that we've personally tested this on an unrooted HTC 10 with the September security patches, but this should work on most other HTC devices. Try it out for yourself! If we come across anything we think you might find interesting, we'll be sure to let you guys know in a future article.

 

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