From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?
--
Qihe
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe <Q@invalid.invalid> wrote:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?

On an Android device, the Play Store will not show apps that are
incompatible with your device. It does the compatibility check to
determine what it shows you.

Could be the app no longer exists at the Play Store. The author removed
it, didn't meet Google's criteria, discovered to be untoward, and so on.

At play.google.com, I searched on "Soft112", the web site you mention,
but didn't find apps from that author. I noticed at the web site that
the dev is called Accusoft, but a search on that at the Play Store still
did not find a USB scanner from them. Perhaps Soft112 is a software distributor, not the program author. The web site quotes a price of
$9.99, but now $0.99. Did you pay for this? The free trial only gives
you 10 scans.

Accusoft site doesn't mention they have a USB scanner app, but https://help.accusoft.com/USBScanner/v1.0/Help/index.html mentions an
SDK. Who knows what you're getting at Soft112, or who wrote it.

When I visit the Soft112 site, and click through the download links,
eventually it reports "This app was removed from Google Play". They
don't say why.

Barcode Scanner App https://www.camcode.com/blog/top-barcode-scanner-apps/#android-only-apps
"Built with Barcode Xpress for Mobile, AccusoftrCOs barcode SDK"

Barcode Xpress is another SDK from Accusoft.

I can find alternatives in an online search, but I haven't used any.
You could go to the scanner maker's web site to see if they have an app
for wireless scanning. For example, with an HP scanner/printer:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/hp-app/overview.html

For OTG wired printing with an HP printer, see (you have to ensure your
printer support OTG communication):

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_8030134-8030178-16

You didn't mention the scanner make and model, so no one can check what features are supported by your scanner.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe wrote:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?

Hi Qihe

Happy New Year!

I know less than nothing about on-the-go use models, but I looked it up for
you so everything I say below isn't from me, per se, but from the results.

My search tentatively confirms your observation though, that the specific
"USB Scanner" app from Soft112 is not available on Google Play anymore.

Apparently, there is no true Android app that can turn a USB-OTG handheld scanner (like a USB barcode scanner or USB flatbed scanner) into a plug-and-play scanning device.

The apps that do exist only seem to handle USB storage, not USB imaging/scanning hardware such as this ad-supported example.
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.otgbrow.files>
(It's just an example - I'd look for FOSS scanners if I had time.)

I looked up what USB-OTG scanners need in order to work on Android.
It seems USB scanners (such as barcode guns, flatbed scanners, document scanners, etc.) expect three things to be available from a desktop:
a. A full USB driver
b. A TWAIN/WIA interface
c. A desktop-class scanning API

Apparently, Android does not support these protocols natively, so we might wonder if the Soft112 USB Scanner listing wasn't misleading in the 1st
place as I can find nothing in a quick search that does the claimed tasks.

Android can use USB barcode scanners (HID mode) because they act like a keyboard, and Android can use Wi-Fi & Bluetooth scanners because they
generally have their own Android apps, and some apps, like Adobe Scan, & Microsoft Lens use the phone camera, but not the USB hardware.

I could be wrong as I ran only a quick search, but from that one search results, I could find no Android app that supports USB-OTG document
scanners or flatbed scanners. Instead I found only USB storage and HID
barcode scanners.

I can run a more detailed search later as I have to run right now.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> ha scritto:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/
[...]

The web site quotes a price of
$9.99, but now $0.99. Did you pay for this? The free trial only gives
you 10 scans.

No, I didn't. Luky me ...I would have paid $10 for nothing. ;-)

You could go to the scanner maker's web site to see if they have an app
for wireless scanning. For example, with an HP scanner/printer:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/hp-app/overview.html

Yes, lot of modern machines work wireless, not the older USB
scanners though. That's why it would have been nice having an app
similar to "nokoprint".

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nokoprint



.

For OTG wired printing with an HP printer, see (you have to ensure your printer support OTG communication):

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_8030134-8030178-16

Thank you. Maybe the otg communication solves these kind of issues
(sometimes printers want to call home before printing). https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/How-do-I-use-this-printer-without-internet-service/td-p/8697900

.

You didn't mention the scanner make and model, so no one can check what features are supported by your scanner.

CanoScan LiDE ... it doesn't support any wireless connection.
--
Qihe
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe <Q@invalid.invalid> wrote:

VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> ha scritto:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

[...]

The web site quotes a price of
$9.99, but now $0.99. Did you pay for this? The free trial only gives
you 10 scans.

No, I didn't. Luky me ...I would have paid $10 for nothing. ;-)

You could go to the scanner maker's web site to see if they have an app
for wireless scanning. For example, with an HP scanner/printer:

https://www.hp.com/us-en/hp-app/overview.html

Yes, lot of modern machines work wireless, not the older USB
scanners though. That's why it would have been nice having an app
similar to "nokoprint".

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nokoprint

.

For OTG wired printing with an HP printer, see (you have to ensure your
printer support OTG communication):

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_8030134-8030178-16

Thank you. Maybe the otg communication solves these kind of issues
(sometimes printers want to call home before printing). https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Printer-Setup-Software-Drivers/How-do-I-use-this-printer-without-internet-service/td-p/8697900

.

You didn't mention the scanner make and model, so no one can check what
features are supported by your scanner.

CanoScan LiDE ... it doesn't support any wireless connection.

Canon has several LiDE models. This one:

https://www.usa.canon.com/shop/p/canoscan-lide-400

says it does wireless printing using their Canoscan PRINT app, but the
400 specs don't mention wireless.

https://en.canon-cna.com/printers/wireless-printers/

Guess that's their list of their printers that support wireless
printing. No LiDE models are listed. No surprising considering those
are so skinny as to fit inside a desk top drawer, so not enough room for
RF radios. The [larger] Canon PIXMA printers have wifi.

Some of the Canon printers can be connected to a wifi network. You'd
print from your phone to the wifi printer device. Wouldn't be surprise
the LiDE models don't have wireless printing again considering how thin
they are. They're oversized pocket scanners. I had one years ago, but
it was USB attached to my desktop PC.

You can't transfer whatever you're trying to scan on your phone, like
take a screen pic, to share via OneDrive, Google Drive, other other
means to get onto your PC to then print via USB to the attached LiDE
scanner?

You're trying to (or did) use a setup not supported by the printer
maker. Looks like you have to resort to wifi printing *if* your printer
has wifi; else, check if there is a USB port on the printer where you
could copy a file from the phone onto a USB flash drive, and then plug
the USB flash drive into the printer. Again, considering the tight
space for LiDE printers, they probably don't have data USB ports for
input. Doesn't look like the PIXMA TS6420a that I have has a USB port
for input. The HP I had before did.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

VanguardLH wrote:

On an Android device, the Play Store will not show apps that are
incompatible with your device. It does the compatibility check to
determine what it shows you.

While VanguardLH is correct, there's a trick to get around that
compatibility check which doesn't require root and which works well.

In summary, you can use the open source Google Play Store client (Aurora)
which allows you to spoof most phones and API levels & ARM architecture.

You can even use the open source Windows Google Play Store client, which is especially useful for very old phones due to it's generic client spoofing.

I wrote a separate PSA on how to spoof your Android so that the Google Play Store repository is tricked into showing you all the possible APKs
available so as to not derail this thread which is about a specific app.

Newsgroups: comp.mobile.android
Subject: PSA: Getting apps from Google Play Store that do not show for your device
Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2026 00:41:54 -0500
Message-ID: <10jcuj2$1v0a$1@nnrp.usenet.blueworldhosting.com>
--
My posts aim to explore how the system actually works beneath the surface,
in ways most users may never understand because it's a subtle hidden path.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe, 2026-01-03 08:04:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?

I am not aware of any universal app to use document scanners via
USB-OTG. The app you mentioned was provided by "Accusoft" which does not
exist any longer:

<https://www.accusoft.com>

<https://apryse.com/blog/apryse-acquires-scanbot-and-accusoft>

However, some manufacturers provide apps to use the scanner their device
via Wifi, like this:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brother.mfc.brprint>

So depending on which device you use, you may be able to use a
manufacturer specific app.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> ha scritto:

Apparently, there is no true Android app that can turn a USB-OTG handheld scanner (like a USB barcode scanner or USB flatbed scanner) into a plug-and-play scanning device.

There are a couple of android apps doing that with USB printers:
"noko print" one of them. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nokoprint

.
This is the second (again only for printers): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dynamixsoftware.printershare

.

Apparently, Android does not support these protocols natively, so we might wonder if the Soft112 USB Scanner listing wasn't misleading in the 1st
place as I can find nothing in a quick search that does the claimed tasks.

I am going to read this: https://help.accusoft.com/USBScanner/v1.0/Help/gettingstarted.html

I can run a more detailed search later as I have to run right now.

Take your time.
Thank you anyway.
--
Qihe
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

However, some manufacturers provide apps to use the scanner their device
via Wifi, [...]

Sorry, I forgot to mention my old scanner is USB only. I don't
really mind to plug it into a PC as usual, but it would have been
nice doing that on android too.
--
Qihe
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> wrote:

Qihe, 2026-01-03 08:04:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?

I am not aware of any universal app to use document scanners via
USB-OTG. The app you mentioned was provided by "Accusoft" which does not exist any longer:

<https://www.accusoft.com>

<https://apryse.com/blog/apryse-acquires-scanbot-and-accusoft>

However, some manufacturers provide apps to use the scanner their device
via Wifi, like this:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.brother.mfc.brprint>

So depending on which device you use, you may be able to use a
manufacturer specific app.

From what I read online, the "USB Scanner" using OTG was only intended
as a demo app to show off their API library they want to sell to app developers. Putting it in the Play Store gave it a wider audience.
Guess they (or apryse that acquired Accusoft) didn't want to bother
supporting nor continuing a demo app that users glomed onto for use as
an everyday app. Or Google decided the Play Store was not a proper
place for demo apps.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:

On an Android device, the Play Store will not show apps that are
incompatible with your device. It does the compatibility check to
determine what it shows you.

While VanguardLH is correct, there's a trick to get around that
compatibility check which doesn't require root and which works well.

In summary, you can use the open source Google Play Store client
(Aurora) which allows you to spoof most phones and API levels & ARM architecture.

Did you try that method to see if the app was still at the Play store?
If the app was removed, circumventing compatibility checks won't make
the app magically reappear.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accusoft.usbscanner

reports "the requested URL was not found on this server". The app isn't sitting there waiting for a compatibility check to succeed.

Maybe the OP could find the APK to sideload onto his phone.

https://accusoft-barcode-scanner.en.softonic.com/android https://apkpure.com/accusoft-barcode-scanner/com.accusoft.barcodescanner.client

It is a paid app, so I don't know if sideloading without some means to
retrieve licensing would let the OP continue using the app. Without a
license key, the APK might be a trial version, and the user is expected
to purchase and enter a license key.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe, 2026-01-04 17:28:

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

However, some manufacturers provide apps to use the scanner their device
via Wifi, [...]

Sorry, I forgot to mention my old scanner is USB only. I don't
really mind to plug it into a PC as usual, but it would have been
nice doing that on android too.

I doubt that any app exists for this. There is no "generic" USB scanner protocol - so maintaining an app like this would mean a lot of work and
money to spend for it to support existing scanners on the market. Since
only a very small number of people would ever like to connect their old
USB scanner to an Android device, I don't think, that any company will
offer such a thing now.

However there are a number of "scanner" apps for Android which take a
picture of a document using the camera of the phone and create a PDF
based on that. For example:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.indymobileapp.document.scanner>

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camscanner.documentscanner.pdfscanner.textscanner.photos.scanner>
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

I doubt that any app exists for this

.
So do I. Maybe on 2012 (some old sources wrote about that accusoft
app) but not nowadays anymore.

|

There is no "generic" USB scanner protocol - so maintaining an app like this would mean a lot of work and
money to spend for it to support existing scanners on the market

.
On Linux there is "Sane" (xsane, simple scan...) that works fine
with several scanners. So maybe it's not impossible to get it on
android. I mean theoretically.

|

Since only a very small number of people would ever like to connect their old
USB scanner to an Android device, I don't think, that any company will
offer such a thing now.

I am with you.

|

However there are a number of "scanner" apps for Android which take a
picture of a document using the camera of the phone and create a PDF
based on that. For example:

Not exactly the same clear PDF than you can get with a real
scanner though.

|

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.indymobileapp.document.scanner>

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camscanner.documentscanner.pdfscanner.textscanner.photos.scanner>

Thanks, I'll give them a try.
--
Qihe
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe <Q@invalid.invalid> wrote:

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

I doubt that any app exists for this

.
So do I. Maybe on 2012 (some old sources wrote about that accusoft
app) but not nowadays anymore.

|

There is no "generic" USB scanner protocol - so maintaining an app like
this would mean a lot of work and
money to spend for it to support existing scanners on the market

.
On Linux there is "Sane" (xsane, simple scan...) that works fine
with several scanners. So maybe it's not impossible to get it on
android. I mean theoretically.

|

Since only a very small number of people would ever like to connect their old
USB scanner to an Android device, I don't think, that any company will
offer such a thing now.

I am with you.

|

However there are a number of "scanner" apps for Android which take a
picture of a document using the camera of the phone and create a PDF
based on that. For example:

Not exactly the same clear PDF than you can get with a real
scanner though.

You can get surprisingly good results. For most purposes they are easily
good enough. Depending on the quality of your phone's camera, obviously.

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.indymobileapp.document.scanner>

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.camscanner.documentscanner.pdfscanner.textscanner.photos.scanner>

Thanks, I'll give them a try.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe, 2026-01-05 17:29:

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

I doubt that any app exists for this

.
So do I. Maybe on 2012 (some old sources wrote about that accusoft
app) but not nowadays anymore.

|

There is no "generic" USB scanner protocol - so maintaining an app like this would mean a lot of work and
money to spend for it to support existing scanners on the market

.
On Linux there is "Sane" (xsane, simple scan...) that works fine
with several scanners. So maybe it's not impossible to get it on
android. I mean theoretically.

SANE (at least the scanner backend) is developed in C not Java or Kotlin:

<https://gitlab.com/sane-project/backends/tree/master>

So porting this to Android would require at least building packages for
several device types. Yes, in theory this may be possible, but still a
lot of work.
--
Arno Welzel
https://arnowelzel.de
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Qihe <Q@invalid.invalid> wrote:

https://usb-scanner.soft112.com/

It's not available (at least on google play store).
And it seems there is no alternative android app for usb-otg
scanners, is it?

In a subthread spurred by Maria, I checked if there other places you
could get the Accusoft USB Scanner app. Take a look at my reply to
Maria (Message-ID: <tgzit5l9mmv9.dlg@v.nguard.lh>) for those sites where
you could sideload the APK for that app.

I've heard the uninstalling an app does not remove its APK. Maybe there
is a way to rescusitate an app from a remnant APK still residing on your Android device.

We don't know if you had the app, and uninstalled it, or are trying to
install it on a new phone. Maybe you still have the app, but it stopped working with your scanner in which case it is unlikely there is a newer
version of what was a demo app to Accusoft to show off their library.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Chris <ithinkiam@gmail.com> wrote:

Qihe <Q@invalid.invalid> wrote:

Arno Welzel <usenet@arnowelzel.de> ha scritto:

[...]

However there are a number of "scanner" apps for Android which take a
picture of a document using the camera of the phone and create a PDF
based on that. For example:

Not exactly the same clear PDF than you can get with a real
scanner though.

You can get surprisingly good results. For most purposes they are easily
good enough. Depending on the quality of your phone's camera, obviously.

Indeed. Recently, I saw an article from a professional photographer
who recommended 'PhotoScan by Google Photos' for scanning photos.

Because I didn't remember the name, I just now did a Google search on
'google scan app for android' and Google's 'AI Overview' came up with 'PhotoScan by Google Photos' (which amongst others offers glare removal, auto-cropping and smart rotation), but also mentioned the scan function
in the Google Drive app.

Just now, I quickly tried the latter and I find it amazing! I put a
brochure on the table, just pointed roughly at it and got a perfect
scan! The scan contained only the brochure, not any part of the table
and the brochure was perfectly upright. You can save in PDF or JPEG
format. Of course the 'down side' is that the scans are saved to your
Google Drive, but if you use that anyway, it's no issue and you can
always download the Google Drive copy to some other place and then
delete it.

As you say, the quality of these scans depend on the quality/
resolution of your camera and the resolution (dpi) of most scanners is
much higher than the comparable resolution of a phone camera, but for
many uses, the results from a phone scan will be more than adequate.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

Frank Slootweg wrote:

Recently, I saw an article from a professional photographer
who recommended 'PhotoScan by Google Photos' for scanning photos.

Because I didn't remember the name, I just now did a Google search on 'google scan app for android' and Google's 'AI Overview' came up with 'PhotoScan by Google Photos' (which amongst others offers glare removal, auto-cropping and smart rotation), but also mentioned the scan function
in the Google Drive app.

The standard Pixel camera app detects when I'm taking an image of a
"document" and automatically crops/de-skews, I can manually choose B&W
or greyscale instead of colour, option to add multi-pages as single PDF document ...




--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: comp.mobile.android

VanguardLH wrote:

I've heard the uninstalling an app does not remove its APK. Maybe there
is a way to rescusitate an app from a remnant APK still residing on your Android device.

Hi Vanguard,

Happy New Year!

You bring up a good point that uninstalling an app doesn't do, in many
cases, what we'd all intuitively would think uninstalling an app would do.

Assuming we're not rooted...

Uninstalling an app only removes the user-installed copy if the app was originally installed in the user partition. However, if the app was a
system app then its APK lives in the system partition which is read only.

adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.android.chrome

In that case uninstalling it, whether through the normal UI or with adb for
a specific user, only removes the user data and the user specific install record. The base APKs in the system partition stay in place.

If the app was a user installed app then uninstalling it removes both the
APK and its data because those live in the writeable data partition.

The distinction here is that a system app is an app whose base APKs are
stored in the system partition. Modern Android uses split APKs, so a system
app may include a base APK and multiple split APKs for config or features.
The system partition is read only on normal devices so these APKs cannot be removed without root. But the group of bundled APKs for any given app come
and go together as a bundle when uninstalling the system or user app.

A user app is an app whose APKs live in the data partition under /data/app. That partition is writeable so uninstalling a user app removes its APKs and
its data.

Many common apps, such as Chrome, are shipped as system apps on many
devices. In that case Chrome's base APKs are stored in the system
partition. When you uninstall Chrome with adb for user 0 you are not
deleting those APKs. You are only removing the user specific install
record and the user data. The base APKs remain in the system partition.

If Chrome is a system app, and if the user uninstalls it with adb,
Chrome appears to be gone because Android does not launch apps directly
from the system partition. Android launches apps based on the user
specific install record stored in the user partition.

When we uninstall a system app for a specific user, Android removes:
1. The user specific install record
2. The user data directory
3. The launcher icon and visibility for that user

Once those are removed, Android treats the app as not installed for that
user even though the base APKs still exist in the system partition.

The system partition only stores the original APKs. It is not consulted to decide whether the app is installed. The user partition controls whether
the app is visible, launchable, and considered installed.

So the app looks gone because Android checks the user partition to decide
what apps exist for that user. The system partition only holds the files,
not the install state.

However, some devices ship Chrome as a user app instead. In that case uninstalling it removes the APKs because they live in the data partition.

So a system app does not live in both partitions. Its base APKs live only
in the system partition. What lives in the user partition is the user
specific data and the install record. Removing those makes the app appear
gone even though the base APKs are still present.

Notice this means you're correct that in some cases, removing the app from
the user view if it's a system app but it can easily be reinstalled since
the original APKs are still there (in the system partition).

adb shell cmd package install-existing com.android.chrome

This restores the app for user 0 using the base APKs that still exist in
the system partition.

Yes, I know, it's NOT intuitive.
--
Just one person paying it forward by helping others who later help me.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2