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ADB System Recovery

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NARI edited this page Aug 13, 2026 · 1 revision

Restore Android with ADB

Use this page if Android navigation, Circle to Search, rotation, or display behavior remains abnormal after Dextop has stopped and the in-app recovery action cannot fix it.

Try Dextop recovery first

Open Dextop and run Restore Android from the recovery card. This is safest because the session journal restores recorded original values. If the app cannot open or recovery fails, continue below.

Connect and record the current state

adb devices -l
adb shell settings get global overlay_display_devices
adb shell settings get global enable_freeform_support
adb shell settings get global force_resizable_activities
adb shell settings get global force_desktop_mode_on_external_displays
adb shell settings get secure enabled_accessibility_services
adb shell settings get secure accessibility_enabled
adb shell dumpsys display > dextop-display-before.txt

If multiple devices are connected, use adb -s SERIAL shell instead of adb shell. Keep the output with the diagnostic report. null means the key is absent.

Minimal emergency recovery

adb shell am force-stop moe.n4tsu.dextop
adb shell cmd statusbar send-disable-flag none
adb shell wm user-rotation free
adb reboot

This stops Dextop, clears residual System UI disable flags, releases forced rotation, and restarts Android. It does not alter accessibility lists or freeform settings.

Remove a residual virtual display

Check first:

adb shell settings get global overlay_display_devices

If a Dextop display remains and you did not configure an overlay yourself:

adb shell settings delete global overlay_display_devices

Do not delete a value owned by another app or your own developer configuration.

Remove only Dextop accessibility

Try the Android UI first:

adb shell am start -a android.settings.ACCESSIBILITY_SETTINGS

If that fails, inspect the colon-separated list:

adb shell settings get secure enabled_accessibility_services

Remove only the component belonging to moe.n4tsu.dextop, preserve every other component, then write the complete preserved value:

adb shell settings put secure enabled_accessibility_services 'PRESERVED_COMPONENTS_WITHOUT_DEXTOP'

If the resulting list is empty, set accessibility_enabled to 0; otherwise keep it at 1.

Restore freeform and desktop-mode settings

Dextop can temporarily change these keys on non-platform-managed devices:

  • enable_freeform_support
  • force_resizable_activities
  • force_desktop_mode_on_external_displays

Restore the values recorded before the session. Do not blindly delete them because another desktop tool or developer setting may own them. Only if the keys were absent before Dextop, remove the residual values:

adb shell settings delete global enable_freeform_support
adb shell settings delete global force_resizable_activities
adb shell settings delete global force_desktop_mode_on_external_displays

Restart Android and verify Back/Home gestures, Circle to Search, automatic rotation, system bars, and Settings → Accessibility → Installed apps. If it returns, collect Settings → App information → Operation log and device diagnostics.

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