Android Enthusiasts
Q&A for enthusiasts and power users of the Android operating system
Latest Questions
2
votes
1
answers
1642
views
How to get a list of all apps that start in Direct Boot Mode (Device Encrypted, not Credential Encryption)?
I want get a complete list including all apps (including system apps) that are running in Direct Boot Mode, therefore they necessarily store their data in the DE (Device Encrypted) area (as opposed to CE = Credential Encrypted Area). Background: As of Android 7, FBE (File-Based Encryption) was intro...
I want get a complete list including all apps (including system apps) that are running in Direct Boot Mode, therefore they necessarily store their data in the DE (Device Encrypted) area (as opposed to CE = Credential Encrypted Area).
Background: As of Android 7, FBE (File-Based Encryption) was introduced as an alternative to FDE (Full-Disk Encryption). Sadly, in Android 10, FDE was removed and everyone is now forced to use FBE.
* https://source.android.com/security/encryption/file-based
* https://source.android.com/security/encryption/full-disk
There are some apps that are considered "essential" and therefore they start-up on boot. As such, information leakage can happen if the phone is booted cold by an attacker. Such apps include:
1. Telephony-related apps
1. Alarm apps
1. Accessibility Services
1. Keyboard app to enter the passphrase
1. etc
For a given device, I'd like to get a complete list of all apps that are currently permitted to run in Direct Boot Mode, and I'd like to remove them (Yes, I don't want my alarm to run in Direct Boot Mode. Yes, I don't want to be able to send or recieve calls/messages in Direct Boot Mode)
How can I get a list of all of the apps that are set to start & run in Direct Boot Mode, and whose storage is then necessarily using DE instead of CE?
Michael Altfield
(526 rep)
Jul 4, 2021, 01:03 PM
• Last activity: Dec 7, 2021, 09:22 AM
5
votes
2
answers
3495
views
How do I enable Direct Boot feature on Nexus 6 running Android N Preview 1?
According to [these instructions][1] there should be a "Convert to file encryption" option in Developer settings, but it's not there on my Nexus 6 running stock N Preview 1. When I try to search for it in the Settings app, it does show up: [![enter image description here][2]][3] *[click for larger i...
According to these instructions there should be a "Convert to file encryption" option in Developer settings, but it's not there on my Nexus 6 running stock N Preview 1. When I try to search for it in the Settings app, it does show up:
*
*
Unfortunately, tapping on it simply brings me right back to Developer settings where that option is not found.
The alternative instruction is to reboot to bootloader and issue the


fastboot --wipe-and-use-fbe
command, but it fails with "**fastboot: unknown option -- wipe-and-use-fbe**" error. I am running the SDK Tools version 25.1.1 rc1, and Platform-tools version 24 rc1 from the preview channel of Android SDK, with latest fastboot utility (version 102d0d1e73de-android).
I performed a complete wipe (system and userdata), and flashed all the NPC56P images manually (bootloader, radio, recovery, system, cache, userdata.) The phone is encrypted, Screen lock is set to "PIN", and Secure start-up (requiring PIN before boot) is enabled.
Is this feature simply not available in Preview 1 and/or Nexus 6? How can I enable it?
Chahk
(19565 rep)
Apr 8, 2016, 06:40 PM
• Last activity: Aug 19, 2016, 05:13 AM
Showing page 1 of 2 total questions