[Android Apps and Games] GalaxyA325G:
WIP. This is a work in progress. It's not finished until the fat lady sings (as defined by the taptap app doing something useful). I admire and respect the developer. He should spend his time developing. I don't begrudge him that as there are 75 pages of satisfied users.

I just want to get it working and, just as importantly, I want to document what the steps are so that another person in my shoes can follow along more easily since maybe I'm doing something wrong?

First off, kudos to the developer Quinny899 for the "Tap,Tap" tool. I'm sorry I am writing this. I really am.

No good deed ever goes unpunished! :)

All I want to do is get TapTap version "1.3 (1300)" to "do something" (anything) as a first test on my non-rooted USA T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy A32-5G Android 11. I don't care what. Maybe open the camera? Or maybe snap a screenshot? Whatever. Anything. Heck, if I could just get it to beep when I doubletap the back of the case (the way it was shown in the video), I'd be happy.

The app must work because there are 75 pages of satisfied customers indicating that it works wonderfully. What that means is that it MUST be intuitive to use.

But it's not (yet) working for me, so maybe I'm doing something wrong? But what?

I just deleted it and will re-install it so that I can start from scratch to accurately document what I'm doing, and then maybe some kind soul will point out to me what step(s) I'm doing wrong.... and, in doing so, we'll be leveraging that documentation (and solution) for the next person.

The hope is the effort involved will tell others what the correct sequence of steps are (so that this is beneficial to others and not just a meaningless rant). :)

Here are the steps I tried:

0. I remove the "SM-A326U" T-Mobile 2021 Samsung Galaxy A32-5G from its case & from its USB power cable; the phone is connected to the Internet via my LAN

1. I sideload TapTap-v1.3.apk version 1.3 from GitHub

Name: TapTap-v1.3.apk​

Size: 13045401 bytes (12 MiB)​

SHA256: 80BCDB6F4D3538E6EDE7CC430F094BAE5FD98DBFD09F2CDEF7F05AFCB4C8E08B​

2. I tap the resulting "Tap, Tap" black & white bullseye icon on my homescreen

3. Up comes the TapTap welcome screen

4. I press the "Get started" button

5. Up comes the "Tap,Tap is free and open source" screen

6. I tap "Next"

7. Up comes the "Allow Internet Access?" screen [taptap01.jpg]

8. I press the "Allow Always" button

9. Up pops a "Gesture Configuration" which advises "Double tap the back of your device to activate the gesture"

10. It's "not working" when I doubletap (using fast, slow, or in between speeds and pressures); so I press "Gesture Configuration" at the bottom [taptap02.jpg]

11. I select the "Device Size" which says I have a "Samsung SM-W2014" of "Height: 116.85mm (4.6in)" at the top

12. The top-most radio dial is preselected at "144.7mm [5.7in] (Small)" "Created for the Pixel 5 (Recommended)"

13. Since that didn't work, I click the next radio dial, which is for the "147.1mm [5.8] (Small)" "Created for the Pixel 4" option

14. Then I press the back arrow to get back to the "Gesture Configuration" screen which leaves me no option to save so I can only assume it's automatically saved. [taptap03.jpg]

15. At this point I'm unsure what to do since I was expecting a "try again" or some other kind of indicator of what to do.

16. I hit the "X" at the top left of "Gesture Configuration" which brings me back to the test screen instructing me "Great! Tap to continue"

17. I pick up the phone off the desk & taptap it a few times

18. Nothing happens.

19. So I press "Gesture Configuration" again to set the "Sensitivity"

20. I raise the sensitivity from "High" to "High" (aka higher) by moving it one notch to the right [taptap04]

21. I press the "X" at the top left next to Gesture Configuration" to go back to the taptap test activity.

22. I run the taptap test, but it still does nothing, so I press on "Gesture Configuration" to change the device size & sensitivity 'smore. [taptap05]

23. I select the third radio dial down from the top which is for the "153.9mm [6.1in] (Medium)" "Created for the Pixel 4a 5G" and then I return by hitting the top-left arrow next to "Device Size"

23. I increase the sensitivity one notch to the right from "High" to "Very High"

24. And then I hit the "X" at the top left next to "Gesture Configuration" to go back to the test screen. [taptap06.jpg]

25. I pick up the phone off my desk and doubletap the back

26. Nothing happens - maybe I should have moved the sensitivity slider the other way?

27. Given the developer has stated the app requires use of the accelerometer & gyroscope in this post, maybe my accelerometer or gyroscope is the problem?

28. If I bring up my "Device Info HW" app "Sensors" page, there's a green dot to the left of the "Accelerometer" with an INFO button to the right which gives the following table: [taptap07.jpg]

Type = accelerometer

ID = 1

Name = LSM6DSL Accelerometer

Vendor = STM

Version = 15932

Max range = 78.4532

Resolution = 0.0023942017

Power = 0.15

Unit = m/s^2

29. When I press the "Test" button, up comes a soccer field where I am not sure what to do. I swirl my phone in a figure eight pattern a half dozen times but who knows what it's actually doing [taptap08.jpg]

Since the Gyroscope is also used, I press the "Info" button which reports "Gyroscope Test, LSM6DSL Gyroscope" of values

Type = Gyroscope

ID = 4

Name = LSM6DSL Gyroscope

Vendor = STM

Version = 1

Max range = 17.45326

Resolution = 6.1086525E-4

Power = 0.65

Unit = rad/s

And then I pressed the "Test" button and did a few swirls until the graph filled itself out. [taptap8b.jpg]

30. Back inside of taptap, still nothing happens when I tap on the back of the phone

31. I try the penultimate "158mm [6.2in] (Large)" "Created for the Pixel 3 XL" screen size option with the sensitivity lever set back to the original setting of the first "High" notch to the right of the last "Medium" level but the doubletap fails to react [taptap09.jpg]

32. And I try the last remaining "160mm [6.3in] (Large)" "Created for the Pixel 4 XL" size option with the sensitivity remaining at the default first-high level [taptap10.jpg]

Debugging further, I notice the developer asked someone to try "other actions" in this post, but I'm not sure what other actions to try.

33. I go back to the welcome screen and hit "Skip setup" and the first thing I notice is that the "Enable Tap,Tap" is turned on (which is good).

34. The next line down is "Disable Battery Optimization" where that's turned off saying "Android Battery Optimisation for Tap, Tap is enabled" but above that it says "Tap, Tap requires the Android battery optimisation be disabled for the app" [taptap11.jpg]

35. I turn off the battery optimization switch for the taptap app by sliding the slider and clicking on "Allow" when Android asks me "Stop Optimizing Battery Usage?".

36. Turning off the battery optimization switch had the effect of removing that admonishment from the Tap, Tap "Enable Tap, Tap" Activity [taptap12.jpg]

36. Moving forward, it's not clear what to do next but it seems reasonable to choose the first option of "Double Tap Actions" which is described as "Set the actions to be run when you tap on the back of your device twice"

37. The options that come up are "Launch Assistant" or "Screenshot", both of which are cause for concern because (a) I don't know what my assistant app even is (so how would I know if it worked?) and (b) I saw somewhere that non-rooted phones are problematic for screenshots (but I could be wrong).

38. Let's look up how to figure out what the "assistant" app even is. OK. It's found in Android 11 Settings > Apps > Default apps > "Digital assistant app" where mine is set to "Screenshot Tile (No Root") [taptap13]

39. Given both purport to take a screenshot, but that the Launch Assistant will be a "tile", we probably don't want that complexity. It would be good if a suggested digital assistant app could be provided so that the test would be easier.

40. Given the default assistant is set to a "tile", I'll just choose Screenshot instead for the "Double Tap Actions". I'm not sure how to select Screenshot though as when I press on "Service" next to "Screenshot", nothing happens, and when I press on "Add Requirement" below "Screenshot", up comes a form for requirements, none of which do I have. (Wouldn't an OK button have been more intuitive?)

This is not intuitive.

41. There is no "OK" or "SAVE" or "Selection" box so I don't know how to "choose" the Screenshot option versus the launcher option. (Maybe I'm interpreting the screen wrong - but I'm being as logical as any human can be in my interpretation of the GUI.)

42. So I go back with the upper back arrow and hit "+ Add Action" at the bottom - but that makes no sense.

43. How does the program know I want "Screenshot" and not "Launch Assistant"? Makes no sense. Unless it's both? Dunno. There's no way to tell from the GUI so I just have to hope in God that the program somehow knows I want to do a screenshot instead of the default assistant.

44. Anyway, I just have to trust in God that the omnipotence of the program knows that I want a screenshot to occur, and then this brings me to the "Add Action" Activity [taptap14.jpg]

45. Now I'm at another decision making impasse as I "think" I'm going to screenshot upon doubletapping, but now it wants me to "Add Action" (but didn't I already set that action to do a screenshot?).

46. Confusingly, I'm up against the "Add Action" where NONE of the actions are to add a screenshot. The options are

Launch

Utilities

Buttons

Advanced

Sound

Accessibility

Gestures

45. IMHO, there should be a simple obvious default TEST that one can do that everyone can do because I'm faced with all these choices but all I want to do is for it to do "something" (anything) and yet NONE of the choices are screenshot even though I thought I just selected screenshot. [taptap15.jpg]

46. If I type "screenshot" in the search bar, then it kicks me completely out of the program, and puts me in an Activity in the Settings which I don't have a clue what to do with.

47. Why the heck did Tap,Tap pop me into that Android Settings Activity? I don't know. I guess it wants me to turn something on; but what?

48. Just guessing blindly, I press on "Installed services" and scroll to "Tap, Tap" and turn it from "off" to "on" but that's just a wild guess as to what the program wanted me to do because there is also a "Tap,Tap Secondary Service" that is off, so I turn both of them on (not knowing why I'm doing what I'm doing or even if I'm supposed to be doing it). [taptap17.jpg]

49. Oh oh. There are TWO options to turn on for each item, where I don't know what the difference is between the Tap,Tap="On/Off" and "Tap,Tap Shortcut=On/Off" and even after choosing the first, it kicks me out of the Settings Activity when I make any selection.

50. That's abysmally confusing because I have no idea _which_ of the four options to set (two buttons for "Tap,Tap" installed services and two more buttons for the "Tap,Tap Secondary Service) and I don't even know WHY I'm in this Settings Activity since all I wanted to do was set up a screenshot action.

51. I think in hind sight that it was a dumb idea of me to try to perform a screenshot since it's more complicated than it needs to be.

52. I just want to make the "simplest" thing happen but there's no advice in the program what that simplest thing would be. Can't I just open a photo or beep or open the camera or run a program that everyone has instead?

53. At this point I'm just clicking things without knowing why, but I turned on the other option for "Tap,Tap Secondary Service" also. [taptap18.jpg]

54. What I learned from that fiasco was the last thing you want to do is something complicated where taking a screenshot involves too many decisions that you don't know what you're doing on. And so does choosing the Launch Assistant.

55. Can't I just do something simple that doesn't have more and more and more decisions to be made? I'm a beginner. I have no idea how this program works. I just want to doubletap and have "something" (anything) happen the first time I use it.

56. If I try to add an action that is SIMPLE... what would it be?

57. I press "Add Action" and in the resulting form I'm just looking for something (anything!) that will be simple that won't require more decisions and which every phone will have so it would work for anyone.

But what option is that simple it-can't-fail option?

Launch

Utilities

Buttons

Advanced

Sound

Accessibility

Gestures

58. Maybe Launch? [taptap19.jpg]

59. Launch an app seems the simplest no brainer. What app?

It asks to launch twice, and then opens up an Android Settings Activity that shows all my apps. Maybe I'll pick Termux, but it wants to "Draw on Top" which, guessing, I guess Tap,Tap needs to launch it? [taptap20.jpg]

60. Why does "draw on top" have ANYTHING to do with launching an app? Anyway, let's assume it does. So I turn on "Termux=On" to "Appear on Top".

61. Now what? There's still no "Done" or "OK" or "Save" button in "Tap,Tap" so I don't have any confirmation I'm doing the right things.

62. That's about as far as I can get as I had to make a bunch of guesses, but the further I get away from the original branched guess, the less useful these guesses will be. [taptap21.jpg]

63. In all these tests, once in every fifty to one hundred attempts, it actually takes hold, but it can't be reproduced for another fifty or a hundred attempts. [taptap22][taptap23].

64. I should note that this phone does NOT use a Qualcomm processor. Here are the salient specs and the SM-A326U XDA forum.

OS	Android 11, upgradable to Android 12, One UI 4.1
Chipset	MediaTek MT6853 Dimensity 720 (7 nm)
CPU	Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
GPU	Mali-G57 MC3

If someone can advise me as to how I can get Tap,Tap to recognize a double-tap, and what is the SIMPLEST no-fail no-brainer action we can all use to test if it's working, that would be helpful to me and to anyone reading this in the future.

WIP. This is a work in progress. It's not finished until the fat lady sings (as defined by the taptap app doing something useful). I admire and respect the developer. He should spend his time developing. I don't begrudge him that as there are 75 pages of satisfied users.

I just want to get it working and, just as importantly, I want to document what the steps are so that another person in my shoes can follow along more easily since maybe I'm doing something wrong?

(WIP).... to be continued.