Problems with Marshmallow on Moto E2, any help?

[Javier P]

It's 2018 and I have a Xiaomi Mi A1 running Android Oreo 8.0.0
I had the same problem and this solution still works!

Just created an account here at AndroidCentral so that I could thank you for this elegant solution.
Simply the thought of backing up my data, factory resetting and then reinstalling everything was giving me shivers. Thankfully due to this solution my problem was sorted in 10 mins flat!

Excellent job! Keep up the good work!

Glad it helped and thanks for the follow up! Welcome to the forums!

 

[harryrf3]

For another 2018 post, I thought I'd also confirm that this just helped me bring my phone back to a normal operating state.

Phone Info:

MetroPCS Alcatel Fierce 4 model 5056N (wouldn't recommend, sorry)
Marshmallow 6.0.1

Issues:

Home button, recent button, notification bar (notifications and pulldown menu), developer tool's menu, and Play Store downloads were not working at all.

Conclusion:

Followed Javier P and johnatg's instructions to the T and all worked out fine. You can safely uninstall Nova Launcher after re-running the Update Wizard with success.

Other notes for newbies:

If you happen to have the same issue as I did with not being able to download files from Google Play Store (it kept saying 'download pending'). You can go to Settings > Security > and activate the Unknown Sources option. Google 'Nova Launcher apk' and install from your downloads folder.

 

[Javier P]

For another 2018 post, I thought I'd also confirm that this just helped me bring my phone back to a normal operating state.

Phone Info:

MetroPCS Alcatel Fierce 4 model 5056N (wouldn't recommend, sorry)
Marshmallow 6.0.1

Issues:

Home button, recent button, notification bar (notifications and pulldown menu), developer tool's menu, and Play Store downloads were not working at all.

Conclusion:

Followed Javier P and johnatg's instructions to the T and all worked out fine. You can safely uninstall Nova Launcher after re-running the Update Wizard with success.

Other notes for newbies:

If you happen to have the same issue as I did with not being able to download files from Google Play Store (it kept saying 'download pending'). You can go to Settings > Security > and activate the Unknown Sources option. Google 'Nova Launcher apk' and install from your downloads folder.

Welcome to the forums and thank you for such as detailed follow up! Yeah, I've seen some reports of this same issue with different Alcatel devices. This will be very helpful.

 

[Isaac Gonzalez]

Wow!! Thank you thank you thank you Javier!

I followed the link - now everything works!

To help anyone else and save you following a link, here are the instructions as copied:

Here's the fix, being broken down dummy style:
1) Download Nova Launcher & set it as default to replace TouchWiz.
2) Long press on the home screen.
3) Choose Widgets.
4) At the top, under Nova Launcher, scroll to the right & press & hold on Activities and place it somewhere empty on the home screen.
5) Scroll down to Setup Wizard. I saw 2 Setup Wizard options.
6) Under the first Setup Wizard option, I opened it & scrolled down to the 3rd choice which said ".SetupWizardTestActivity". It might be in a different spot for you, but look at the small writing, that's how I saw this one.
7) Select that to create the widget shortcut.
8) Open it. Apparently you're supposed to have a menu to go through and just click through "Next", but there wasn't one for me.
The screen just flashed and then next thing you know, everything works!

At 8, my phone took me through a whole lot of setup screens and updated some apps. Just follow them.

The only thing that didn't work then was the linking to the computer.

To fix that, see this video: USB Connection to PC Problem NOW FIXED in Android 6.0 Marshmallow !!IT Support Services UK

And now everything works!

Hello I'm having the same issue I followed the steps but I can not find the .SetupWizardTestActivity in the nova activities it's not in the "setup wizard" nor the "setup".

My phone is a Moto Z with Android 7.1.1

 

[nvitone23]

Hi Javier!

I am having the same issue with a Google Pixel and when I go to the activities in Nova launcher there is no Setup Wizard option. Are there any other work arounds in order to do this?

 

[Javier P]

Hi Javier!

I am having the same issue with a Google Pixel and when I go to the activities in Nova launcher there is no Setup Wizard option. Are there any other work arounds in order to do this?

I think they removed that option in some devices after Nougat or at least it's hidden in the different place. I can't find it anymore under Nova activities on 7.1.1.

You could open a new thread in the Pixel sub-forum giving as much detail as you can. Maybe some owners have faced the same problem and know a workaround.

If you do so, leave the link here so we can trace it easier. In the meantime I'll do a bit of search about any possible fix on Oreo.

 

[Javier P]

Re: Problems with Marshmallow on Moto E2

Just a thought. Have you already tried switching to 'guest' user and back to 'owner' in settings - users?

 

[MyHyperionDays]

Re: Problems with Marshmallow on Moto E2

Hope someone can help!

I have multiple problems after my Moto E2 upgraded to Marshmallow recently.

1) My phone connects to my PC, but just shows 'empty folder' rather than the contents of internal storage and SD card as it did with Lollipop. I have found various solutions on-line, but all involve going into developer mode.

2) I can't get into developer mode. I had done so in Lollipop - now 7 taps - even 17 taps, on Build number just brings up part of an unmovable magnified image of the about phone menu - it certainly doesn't get me into developer mode. Clicking on developer options just shows developer options are not available to this user.

3) Home and Settings buttons don't work. They light up and vibrate when I tap them but they do nothing. So now, how do I switch quickly between apps - eg to copy from a web site into Keep or copy and paste between documents? And how do I get quickly back into the Home menu without backing out of each individual page? (I use Smart Launcher)

4) Why has the name of the SD card changed to a 8 digit code? What was wrong with SD card 1?

5) I seem to have less space in Internal Storage for Apps, and under apps in settings there seems to be no easy way to send apps to the SD card as there used to be. How do you do that?

I want to reformat my SD card to Internal storage but am loath to do that if I am not going to be able to reload my pictures and music and at the moment I can find no way top get files from my PC to my phone. None of this feels like progress to me and I'm feeling I'd like Lollipop back - first step - enter developer mode - see 2 above!

Help!

You definitely entered a User's Account or activated your Work Profile. Go to Settings/Accounts and you'll see Work Profile below your Pesonal Profile. If you did not mean to activate your Work Profile then proceed to deactivate it accordingly.

*Just remember that Developer's Option Settings is not accessible from any Users Account created from the Owner's or Main account. *

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, likewise, Work Profile cannot access Developer's Options either. Only the main Personal Profile can access it.

To sum up, you are most definitely not in the Owner's or Main Personal Account. If you own the device then deactivate that account from Settings/Accounts if you have no need of it to avoid any burden on your device's resources. If you don't own the device, the owner might have opened that account for you, an account that disallows you to do many things that might affect the Main account. Basically, the user is relegated within the confines of what the owner has determined for you. You then need to talk to your father er-the owner of the device and initiate a deal for more freedom ;-)

Sorry, it's best to explain it this way to show the advantages of having a User Account (say your father allows you to use his tablet and created a User Account for you) or Work Profile (initiated by Admin or the company you work for, if your company has control over your device or issued you one for your use that is connected to your supervisor in case you are out on sales call) Personal Profile is yours and basically has God mode over your device including Work Profile.

Oasis Feng, the creator of Greenify app, has a very good execution of this in her app, Island, which is a fascinating way to learn about Sandboxing and God mode as she termed it. I have been using Island for a year now. I use it as a privacy tool so scammers and fraudsters can't get to my personal data.


Sincerely

 

[LucasDavies]

@Javier P, I couldn't thank you enough for leading me to this solution! Visiting my grandma, her Infinix phone running MM had these issues: no notifications panel, recent apps and home keys not working, Play Store downloads stuck "pending", Developer options not unlockable and who knows what else! I was able to get Play Store to download Nova Launcher by disabling Play Store twice. The first disabling reverts it to the factory version and the second one disables it. I re-enabled it, found Nova and it started the download without issue.

When I launched the Nova Activities widget, nothing happened. The screen just returned to the stock launcher/home screen. I was dismayed, but didn't give up, so I did a full shutdown and cold boot. Upon startup, it asked me which launcher/home screen to use, so I selected Nova and the Activities widget/shortcut was visible on the home screen for the first time! I tapped it and voila! The Setup Wizard started right up at language selection screen. I went through the steps, skipping setting any networks or accounts. It asked whether to restore the phone or setup as new, I selected restore, it allowed me to choose which apps to restore and recalled the account that was already on it. After the process completed, notifications flooded in, including 608MB of 23 Play Store app updates, countless Gmail and WhatsApp notifications and working navigation keys! Grandma couldn't be happier, considering she had been advised by tech support to have it sent to the service center (for a factory reset!).

 

[Javier P]

@Javier P, I couldn't thank you enough for leading me to this solution! Visiting my grandma, her Infinix phone running MM had these issues: no notifications panel, recent apps and home keys not working, Play Store downloads stuck "pending", Developer options not unlockable and who knows what else! I was able to get Play Store to download Nova Launcher by disabling Play Store twice. The first disabling reverts it to the factory version and the second one disables it. I re-enabled it, found Nova and it started the download without issue.

When I launched the Nova Activities widget, nothing happened. The screen just returned to the stock launcher/home screen. I was dismayed, but didn't give up, so I did a full shutdown and cold boot. Upon startup, it asked me which launcher/home screen to use, so I selected Nova and the Activities widget/shortcut was visible on the home screen for the first time! I tapped it and voila! The Setup Wizard started right up at language selection screen. I went through the steps, skipping setting any networks or accounts. It asked whether to restore the phone or setup as new, I selected restore, it allowed me to choose which apps to restore and recalled the account that was already on it. After the process completed, notifications flooded in, including 608MB of 23 Play Store app updates, countless Gmail and WhatsApp notifications and working navigation keys! Grandma couldn't be happier, considering she had been advised by tech support to have it sent to the service center (for a factory reset!).

Welcome to the forums. Glad it helped and thank you very much for such a detailed post. It will be very helpful for other members with a similar issue. See you around the forums.