Connecting Android Phone to computer without USB Is there a way to connect my Android phone to my computer in the way a USB connection works without actually using USB?
I mean that it at least registers as an external drive and hopefully I'm also able to install programs when developing via Eclipse.

If you have WiFi, there are possibilities:

you can use ADB over TCP (also called "wireless ADB"), see e.g. my list of ADB solutions
you can use WebDAV or Samba to share your "drives from the device" to your computer (note, however, that with Windows that would require your Android device to be rooted, as Windows cannot deal with Samba shares on "unusual ports")


Streaming movie from Galaxy S5 to TV, through laptop? Summary: I want to stream Google Play movie from Android to HDMI/VGA/Composite TV, possibly through laptop.

I have no idea whether it's possible or not but I'd really love some insight from some more knowledgeable people on.

More in depth: I have a Galaxy S5, unrooted, that I absolutely love. First smart phone, I've been living off of a talk/text only phone previously. I also recently came home for the holidays to discover that my sister hasn't seen the Lord of the Rings! I figured I'd be smart, and use my Google Play account (with all three extended editions) to stream it through my laptop, and laptop to TV. Well, the internet here is very poor, I guess my parents get about .6 MBps? Anyways, video streaming kept buffering/loading, so I tried to move over to my phone, which has all three already downloaded into internal storage. Couldn't find a way to stream from phone to TV, the USB port wasn't gonna work. I don't have an adapter, but I do have my laptop. I tried pulling the downloaded .wvm file from the phone, but because yay DRM, that's a no go. I've done some searching, and while the AndroidScreencast project seems promising, it says it refreshes at about 5 FPS, so not very good for media streaming.

So I have a phone, a laptop, and a TV. I can connect the phone to the laptop by USB or Bluetooth. Laptop to TV via HDMI or VGA. Is there any way I can play the movie on my phone, have it feeding the video to the TV/laptop, and then to the TV?

I'm not sure you can because there are many interfaces in the middle. I don't think there's an app for doing that. What I strongly suggest you is buying the Google's Chromecast. With that $35 stick you'd avoid the using of your laptop and you'd stream directly to your TV.

There are a lot of apps for Chromecast out there, it's a whole new world because Chromecast is a whole new concept.

Videostream is one of the apps you can use for streaming from your smartphone or laptop directly to your TV (well, directly to your Chromecast, but it's connected via HDMI so it's the same) and controlling the play, pause, seekbar and even the volume.


Tagged for Android not compatible with Mi320? Possible Duplicate:
  Why are some apps on the market incompatible with my device?

I use CSL Mi320 and I tried to download 'Tagged for Android'. The problem is that it stated that the app is incompatible with my phone. Why is that?

Could be a number of things.  App developers can set the minimum requirements for their apps which the Market will check before letting you download and install them.  The phone's OS version could be less than what the app requires, the screen resolution could be too low (320x480 of your phone as can be seen on the bottom of this page,) the phone could be missing some hardware component required by the app (e.g. GPS, front-facing camera, etc.)  The best way would be to contact the developer with your phone's specs, and inquire as to why their app is incompatible.


How to change the thumbs up icon in Facebook Messenger chat? In Facebook Messenger in the web browser or the messenger app, there is a thumbs up sticker button out by default. People I know changed it to some other icons by default, but I can't ask them how.

I don't see any option for it, yet somehow it was changed. After you change it, it will say

  <person name> set the emoji to <emoji here>.

Can anyone tell me how to change it?

Using Facebook Messenger, at the conversation window, go to:

Details (top-right) --> Emoji --> Pick your Emoji.

There's no option to change Emoji using the web version yet.


Kindle Fire Not Recognized when plugged into PC I have just got a Kindle Fire and I want to root it and Install Android Market on it. I am having a problem that is ticking me off big time. I plug my Kindle Fire to my computer (Windows 7 Professional) and I get the message in the Fire screen that states that I can now start to transfer files to my device but two things are happening:

Every time I plug the USB end to any USB port on my computer my Internet goes down !!! WTF!!!!
When double clicking on my computer the Kindle Fire does not seem to be recognized correctly as it shows under Devices with Removable Storage. When clicking on that drive mapping I get a pop up saying: "Insert disk"

Any ideas?

UPDATE:

I have installed the Kindle drivers by adding 0x1949 to the adb_usb.ini and now under Device Manager I do not longer see "Kindle" under Others. Now I see Android Phone/ Android Composite ADB Interface

I double click on My Computer and I still do not see the Kindle anywhere. I have the letter I: which appears there once I plug the Kindle Fire but its not clickable. What am I doing wrong?

I have followed this instructions to the dot correctly. http://www.jayceooi.com/2011/12/13/how-to-install-kindle-fire-adb-usb-driver/ but yet I cannot see the Fire as an icon in my computer

The instructions I have followed in the link above do the job. The solution to my two problems listed above was:

Replace this Micro/Mini USB to USB adapter

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfish%26%23153%3B+-+1.5%27+USB+Cable/1000247.p?id=1218207305639&skuId=1000247&st=RF-CC1MC&cp=1&lp=1

...with this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfish%26%23153%3B+Mobile+-+Micro+USB+Data+Transfer+Cable/2077196.p?id=1218308698225&skuId=2077196&st=rocketfish%20micro%20usb%20&cp=1&lp=3

It sounds weird but trust me do not get Micro USB to USB adapter from the first link. You will not be able to access the Kindle Fire as a storage device, guaranteed.


Accidentally Uninstalled Download Manager I was using my phone ASUS Zenfone Max when I accidentally uninstalled my Download Manager, I thought it was a random pop up download when you go to sites so I deleted it. After that, when I tried download photos from Google, a window popped saying "The Browser has stopped working". I have also tried to download from Google Play Store, but it won't let me download any apps at all. I also tried opening the "Downloads", that can be found on the settings, but this pop up window shows up see photo. I tried downloading an apk file using another download manager (named ADP), it got installed, but when I tried to download photos again from browser and apps on Play Store it still won't let me. I think the reason is that the one I deleted is the built in app. I don't know if I reset my phone will help me to download files again. Please help, I have already searched the internet but I still can't find a solution.

My big brother has the same phone (ASUS Zenfone Max). He installed an app where he can send built in apps to other devices via APK. So he sent the Download Manager APK on my phone, tried to install it but the "com.android.providers.downloads is not working" still keept popping out. In the end I decided to Factory Reset my phone. And it worked.

My phone is not rooted so I was shocked that I deleted a built in app. Maybe because of the pop up download I got when I went to a website (I was checking sites to download Korean Dramas). I read from forums that if they deleted a built in app and chose factory reset there was no assurance that the said app will be in the device, so I presumed that by sending and installing the original apk file of DM and by choosing Factory Reset the system will recognize the installed apk file and reset it.


Do any data-recovery solutions still work on android 11? Question: All data-recovery solutions I can find on this site are from 6 or more years ago. Similarly, commercial solutions (such as Dr. Fone) are only good up to android 4. Are there any tools or techniques that still have a reasonable chance of success on Android 11?
Background: I have an ASUS Zenfone 6 that I recently updated. After the update, I was asked for the lock pattern, which I somehow forgot (I usually use the fingerprint scanner). Without bypassing the lockscreen (or somehow reactivating the fingerprint without the lock pattern) the only option I see is to reset the phone (which I understand will delete the user partition). If it is possible to create an image or recover data after the factory reset, there is at least a chance I can recover the contacts and a few months worth of photos that defaulted to internal memory after a previous update. I know that android has encrypted the user partition by default since Android 5, so maybe recovering data is no longer possible.
Perhaps a successful method would include rooting the phone, although I don't intend to keep it rooted. At this point any method is better than no method.

Since about Android 6 all devices come with enabled user data encryption. I think since about Android 8 Google enforces that this encryption is hardware backed, which means you can't export the used encryption key and once the key has been deleted all data are gone forever.
These measures have been introduced to protect user data e.g. of a stolen device. Unless the thief knows the unlock code the device does not allow user data access.
There were a few cases were you could trick the lock screen to bypass it, however this only affects devices that were already running. If you boot the device you need to provide the lock screen PIN/password/pattern otherwise the user data encryption key is not released (the exact way this works was changed with every Android version a bit).
From the device perspective you are not the device owner unless you have authenticated using the required password/PIN/pattern. Therefore it now protects the data from any access.
There is no way to bypass this protection, otherwise a thief could do the same and in the get access to your data:
rooting: Requires an bootloader unlocked device or for an device with a vulnerability access to the UI is required. Unlocking a bootloader locked device automatically performs a factory reset which deletes the encryption key -> data gone. And that you don't have UI access to the device is obvious.


Where does Amazon Music store files? I have recently installed Amazon Music, I am a Prime customer.  Music from my cloud has downloaded to my device (Galaxy S3) but I want to move it to my SD card.  I cannot find the music files anywhere to move them.

Does anyone know where they are?

I ultimately found the m4a files in /mnt/extSdCard/Android/data/com.amazon.mp3/files/Music

The trick, however, is that they are hidden files.  They do not appear when viewing the folder with either the native file manager or RootExplorer (even when "Show Hidden Files" is checked).  They are found only by using RootExplorer to search the device for "m4a" files.

At least now I know they are on the SD card anyway.


Always see last-viewed group in Contacts Whenever I view Contacts it always defaults to the full list.

Is there a way to make it show the last-viewed Group of contacts? Or at the very least a specific group?

Thanks for any help!

If you are using google contacts as your address book, you could star those people you always want to come up, and then use the star folder on your desktop making it a quick easy way to always have access to them.

The Folder Organizer app will also allow you do this and isn't limited to using just the google address boo, and it also has more features enabling you to pick specific details from a contact i.e. choose only mobile instead of all their details etc.

I know it doesn't answer your question specifically in terms of the contact app, but it does provide a decent work around. Note that depending on your phone it might have built in widgets that can aid i.e. Sense has a pretty good one for this purpose.


Pixel 3 stuck in Fastboot mode with "no valid slot to boot" when trying to install factory image I was trying to install the factory software image from https://developers.google.com/android/images#blueline on my Pixel 3. I downloaded the image as well as the platform-tools with adb and fastboot.

After plugging in my phone, I ran "adb reboot bootloader" which put me into Fastboot mode. After this I tried to run the flash-all.bat file, but it was just stuck on the "waiting for devices" prompt. I'm not sure what I did at this point, but I must have really messed up the phone, because now I can't even boot from Fastboot, where clicking "Start" just puts me back in fastboot with the reason "no valid slot to boot." Any idea how I can get my phone working again?

I tried putting my phone in recovery mode, but I just got "error booting boot.img"

In this state I was just able to run "flash-all.bat" - which let me load. Not sure why it wasn't letting before.


How to edit hidden settings from Developer options? I have a chinese tablet with very specific Android 4.4.2 ROM - it's Developer options menu has only USB debugging available, and all other settings are hidden.

The problem is that i switched off the Developer options toggle by mistake, so now all settings are back to their defaults, including the transitional animations (when changing tabs) period.

They was not active before, so it was the default behavior of the ROM.

The device is not rooted.

Is there any way to edit the hidden settings?

I'm uncertain on bringing those lost options in GUI back other than to recommend clearing data of Settings app from Settings → Apps → All apps → Settings → Clear data. Reboot and see what happens. In the event of failure, you can consider factory-reset.

That said, if you're simply concerned with changing Window/Transition animation scale and/or Animator duration scale, then you can use settings or content tool which do not require root access. You can refer to Christopher Galpin's method for an approach requiring root access.

(Solution tested on Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2, 5.0.2 and 5.1.1.)

Setup adb in PC and execute

adb shell settings get system  window_animation_scale    # for Window animation scale. Some ROMs have this key under global table instead of system. So replace system if command gives null
adb shell content query --uri content://settings/system --where 'name="window_animation_scale"'  # an alternative to above command. Make replacements as appropriate

If the first and the second command returns you a decimal and a string beginning with Row:, then you're on the right track. Now do

adb shell settings put system  window_animation_scale VALUE   # Replace VALUE with a decimal, such as 0.75 or 2.0. The minimum and maximum I've seen are 0.0 and 10.0
adb shell content update --uri content://settings/system --bind value:s:VALUE --where 'name="window_animation_scale"'  # an alternative to above command. Make replacements as appropriate

In order to change Transition animation scale, replace window_animation_scale with transition_animation_scale. For Animator duration scale, replace with animator_duration_scale.


Contacts are not displaying after marshmallow update Recently I upgraded my Moto g(Second gen) to android marshmallow. But after that my Contacts app is not displaying any contacts and call logs. What i am getting is one blank screen only. I tried installing other apps like contacts + , true dialler etc. But same result. Infact contacts plus is not launching only. Its getting stuck while launching. So , after marshmallow update my phone is of no use , because I cant make any calls , see my call logs etc. Is this a bug with marshmallow? Any solution for this issue? Thanks in advance.

I could fix this issue by doing the following steps.

First Wipe the Cache partition. (It won't erase any files or settings)

To wipe the cache partition do the following steps.

Ensure the device is powered off, and unplugged
Press and hold the Volume Down button and Power button (located on the right edge of the device) for approximately 3 seconds then release.
From the "Boot Mode Selection Menu" screen, select Recovery.

Note: Use the Volume Down button to scroll through the menu options        and the Volume Up button to select.
From the "No Command" screen (Android figure lying on his back), press and hold the Power button, tap Volume Up once and then release the Power button.
Select "wipe cache partition".
Note: Use the Volume buttons to highlight and the Power button to select.
"Reboot system now" will be highlighted, press the Power button to select it.

Note: Allow several minutes for the reboot process to complete.

Once you are done with the Wipe procedure , go to https://contacts.google.com and export your contacts as .vcf file and copy to your device.

Open Contacts App (Phone app) -> go to options on the top right corner (3 dots) -> choose import/export -> import from .vcf file. This will restore your contacts..


My virtual QWERTY keyboard has vanished I have an Xperia X10.
Suddenly my virtual QWERTY keyboard has vanished and has been replaced by some other layout.

When I enter the "Contacts" list an try to edit  I now get a standard phone keyboard layout instead of the QWERTY one.

What could have happened?

If you long click on a text box, you have the option to change the keyboard to any you have enabled under Settings -> Language & Keyboard. Maybe you accidentally switched it ;)


WEP Wifi Connection Problem I am new to this forum and would really want to please help me get this problem solved. I just bought a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and tried connecting it to my internet at home (Belkin N1 router - 64-bit WEP encryption) but it does not connect at all. It catches the internet connection and says its in very good range, I put the key but it never connects. I have tried all the different things possible via this forum, googling for answers, etc but haven't found a solution yet.

Stuff that I have tried:

Tried accessing it via a static i/p technique.
I cannot change the WEP encryption to WPA-PSK because the internet
is set up by my landlord and I am not allowed to change it. I can
check the settings and it shows access to all b/g/n configurations.
I have another phone i.e. the new Sony Xperia S, even that is not
able to connect to my wifi.
I am able to connect both these phones very easily to other wifi's
having WPA-PSK connectivity but just not my home network.

Update:

I have been able to partially solve the problem but it is not the exact solution that I am looking for. Here's what I have tried:

I have tried the WPA-PSK approach (AES encryption) and it does somehow make it work on my Xperia S (it did not connect to it instantly). Basically, there is an option of WPS (Wifi-Protection Setup) in my Xperia S which allowed me to do a Push Button Configuration (PBC) i.e. holding the router button for 3 seconds to allow my phone to access it. It assigned me an i/p address and thus made it work but spoiled it for my other housemates, so I had to get the setting back to WEP.I know it is more secure to use WPA, but I cannot change it without asking my landlord. Anyways, the point is that somehow my other phone connects to the router not instantly but via some route as given above. My question again is: Is it really not possible to connect it via WEP?

Kindly help as I have been struggling a lot to find for a proper solution over the internet.

64-bit WEP key in ASCII mode is 5 characters, and since you've said your WEP key is 0e39c004e1, you have to enter it in HEX mode. I'm not sure if your phone can handle HEX input, so if I were you, I'd try to (temporarily) assign some other WEP password, which can be entered in ASCII mode (5 random characters, letters or numbers), and see if that works from your phone.

Since you've mentioned that both your phones, Xperia X10 and Xperia S have the same problem with this router, it might be a good idea to invest about $30 in small WiFi router, which can connect to your home network and serve internet to your phones and other wireless devices. I use TL-MR3020 and it works perfectly in many situations.


Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc ROM change I am interested in buying the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc in a couple o f days, but I have a few questions.

I have heard that it runs Android 2.3, but with a Sony Ericsson shield around it.

I was wondering if there are good ROMS by professional developers that you can flash onto the device. Roms that are not bloated with all the Sony Ericson crap.

--

The smartphone I own now is a HTC HD2, I can flash good custom roms on the device. I download my roms from XDA-Developers.

For sure! Hopefully there are professional ROM cookers at XDA-Developers that cook ROMs without any kind of bloatware. Here are some articles that I recommend you to check before flashing a new ROM:

Unlocking The Bootloader
Updating Firmware/Flashing ROMs
Optional: A Beginners Guide To Modding And Tweaking The Arc

After you done all that you are good to go flashing a clean ROM, my suggestions are:

[DEVELOPMENT] - CM7.0.3 - Free xperia project


How to restore an image of android partition from my linux PC I created an image of my flash disk of my Nexus 4 as described in this question by doing

# adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0 mmcblk0.img

The image is fully functional but I would like to push this image back to my phone and the inverse command is not working since stays there forever and no change is done.

# adb push mmcblk0.img /dev/block/mmcblk0

How can I push this image back to my phone?

I had this problem trying to push back a backup of my Samsung Galaxy S2, using ADB with the CWM (clockworkmod) recovery tool. When pushing to a device file, ADB simply deletes the block device file and creates a regular file in its place, and thus no data actually ends up on the mmcblk0 device.

Unfortunately, piping the output of a command into "adb shell" is not implemented either, and the "adb forward" unix sockets feature also doesn't seem to work, so it's difficult to get the backup back into the device.

The solution is to pipe the image file to netcat, and use ADB's TCP port forwarding to direct the stream into your device. However, if your CWM/busybox doesn't have network tools, you'll also need to download the arm-v7 static binary version of busybox with all the applets from http://www.busybox.net/downloads/binaries/latest/ to be able to run netcat on your device.

# wget "http://www.busybox.net/downloads/binaries/latest/busybox-armv7l"

# adb push busybox-armv7l /tmp/busybox

# adb forward tcp:6789 tcp:9876

# adb shell

~ # chmod +x /tmp/busybox

~ # /tmp/busybox nc -l -p 9876 > /dev/block/mmcblk0

Then, in a new shell:

# dd if=your-image-file.img | nc localhost 6789 &

"dd" is better than "cat" because you can check the copy's progress at intervals (replace 5647 with the PID of the DD command):

# kill -USR1 5647

48+0 records in
47+0 records out
49283072 bytes (49 MB) copied, 17.6145 s, 2.8 MB/s

Beware that writing to mmcblk0 (or the equivalent on your Android device) will obliterate even the boot and recovery partitions so is a great way to brick your device. For the record, my restore worked fine ;-)


Only image files are showing up in my folder when I view my phone's files on the computer I need to transfer some sound recordings from my Samsung Android phone to my computer, however when I view the phone's files on my computer, only image files (.jpg, .png, .bmp, etc.) are visible.

No .mp3 files from the /sounds/ folder are appearing.
No .mp3 files from my music albums are appearing (but the album cover photo is appearing!
No .pdf files from my /documents/ folder are appearing.

For all three of the above bullet points, the files are clearly visible (and accessible!) if I look on the phone itself, just not on the computer.

Originally I thought this was something wrong with my Ubuntu 16.04 computer, but then I tried on a different Ubuntu 16.04 computer and still couldn't view the files, and now I've tried on Windows 10 and still can't view the files on my computer!

What can I do to transfer these files from the phone to the computer?
I do not have any memory card inserted into the phone, only internal storage.

Set the USB Connection that pops-up on your status bar to File Transfer instead of Photo Transfer.


How can I set a Screen Lock Timeout? I'd like to have to enter the PIN not immediately after pressing the standby button, but only after some time, e.g. 30 minutes.

I know there is Password Delay, which is better than nothing. But it works only if you keep the application running and the application itself is not password-protected. Update: newer versions of Password Delay work okay (no more need to keep it running, application is now password-protected).

Are there better solutions? Or do technical limitations of Froyo prevent better solutions?

For Reference: tested.com (found via https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/780/what-is-a-good-lock-program-for-android-phones) mentions Lock Delay and AutoLock, but these work only on 2.1 or below.

And How to disable screen lock on my HTC desire Z? proposes No Lock, but this is a solution of a different problem (complete disable the lock, not just delay it).

I have a HTC Desire running Froyo, and I can go to Settings | Security | Lock phone after and choose the timeout to "Immediately", 3, 5 10 or 15 minutes.

Doesn't the Galaxy Tab have this setting?


Phone as a GPS tracker I'd like to use an old small Android device as a GPS tracker to be installed on my bike.
My first though was simply to use Google location services.  I sign in with a Google account, and then I share location through Google Maps.  It turns out to be very battery friendly, as the location is not updated too frequently, and most of the times the phone is quite accurately located without the use of GPS.  But there's a drawback in this approach, because I need to install a SIM card with internet access, so I would have to pay my ISP.
So I thought of inserting a SIM who can only send/receive SMS (and calls), that would be costless unless when actually used (or anyway would be much more cheap).  Doing this I cannot use any of the Google services obviously.  My intention is to use it this way:  when I need to know where my bike is, I simply send an SMS to this device, and the device should reply with its location.  So, when it receives the message, it should turn on GPS, attempt to find the location, and send back the answer.  But what if the GPS signal is low?  It could locate itself using the network (WiFi, Bluetooth, cells).  But it can't determine by itself where the networks it sees are located, so it should send the raw network data, that can then be used to locate it on the receiver phone (e.g. through the Mozilla location services).  Is there a simple way to do this?

Summing it up.
The locator device installed on the bike has no internet access but can send and receive SMS messages. The device should be always in sleeping state except when it receives an SMS instruction from my phone.  When it receives it, it tries to locate itself and replies with the GPS location (if found) or with the raw network data it sees.

Have you tried Tasker? I actually have a task set up exactly for this in case I lose/forget my phone, where if I send an specific message (so that I don't do it by accident), the app automatically gets my location and sends the co-ordinates to the sender of the message.

You said you also want it to automatically turn on GPS, so you might need to root your phone to do that depending on how old your phone is because after Android 2.3 apps can't change GPS without root.


Clear massive system data file on LG G3 I have somehow run out of space on my LG G3. Under storage under Misc I see have a 6.34GB System Data file.

I tried dialling *#9900# as suggested here in order to delete the dumpstate/logcat but when I dial *#9900# it tells me it's an invalid MMI code. http://androidforums.com/threads/low-on-space-system-data-huge.278837/

Note that my phone is not rooted. I can get to the hidden diagnostic menu using the international code shown here, i.e. 3845#*855#, however I can't see any menu items that look like they might clear that system file.

Any ideas?

This doesn't work on my LG G4 either, and it looks like it's a feature that's available only on certain manufacturers (maybe only Samsung?) rather than all Androids:

How to delete dumpstate/logcat on Moto E

Clearing logcat on HTC one X

As you probably know from reading around, you cannot delete these files using a normal app unless you have root access. The only way to do it is with the OS (which I guess always has root access).

I went to Settings > Storage & USB > Internal Storage and tried clearing cached data, but this didn't seem to do the trick.  (In particular, it didn't effect the size of the mysterious "system data" block that the app DiskUsage identifies and which apparently includes these logcat files.) Settings > Smart cleaning also didn't give access to anything that large.

Wasn't able to solve this.


Possible to flash factory ROMs on an encrypted phone using fastboot? I have the storage on my Nexus 4 encrypted using Android's built-in encryption feature. I'd like to update to 4.4 using one of the factory images provided by Google. If I follow the standard script included in the tarball (removing the option to wipe the phone), which uses fastboot, will fastboot do the right thing and prompt me for the encryption password? Or might it brick my phone by writing unencrypted data on top of an encrypted partition?

For the record: this works fine, so long as you are careful not to flash the userdata partition. I was able to follow the instructions from AndroidPolice for flashing the factory image, including removing the "-w" option from the "fastboot update ..." command (this prevents the update from wiping the userdata partition).


How to sync calendar with android without google? is there a way to sync an Ubuntu calendar application like Thunderbird Lightning or Evolution with an Android device without using google-calendar?

At the moment I am syncing my Thunderbird-Lightning calendars on different computers via Dropbox, what is much more reliable than google-calendar. Another big advantage over google-calendar is, that I can access my appointments offline as well, since the calendar files are synced onto the harddrive of each computer by Dropbox.

I'd like to access those calendars via my android device as well.

The Dropbox-app for android does not support automatic syncing yet, so it seems like I have to use another service.
Apart from that I guess I need to know an android app, that can access a calendar-file stored in ics-format.

Thanks in advance
YSN

If you use a CalDAV server such as SOGo or DAViCal with Lightning, you can then use CalDAV-Sync on your Android device to sync your calendars there as well. SOGo also has CardDAV support, and CardDAV-Sync will keep your contacts in sync as well.


How to filter the contacts by phone number on Android 5.1 I am running Cyanogenmod 12.1 and it appears that there is no option to filter my contacts only with phone numbers:

PS: Local phone account is only for locally stored phone numbers which I have none. The Customise menu only offers to filter thru these options which you already see on the image.

I know it's a sub-optimal workaround, but I wrote a script for myself that I thought was worth sharing. This will filter an exported contacts file. To use go to Contacts > Import/Export > Export to storage, and copy the file to an environment equipped with python.

Edit the script to read from the exported file and write to an unused path, then delete all your contacts and import the filtered file back in.

    READPATH = 'D:/ContactsBackup.vcf'
    WRITEPATH = 'D:/ContactsFiltered.vcf'

    vcard = ''
    vcards = []

    for line in open(READPATH):
        vcard += line
        if 'END:VCARD' in line:
            if 'TEL' in vcard:  # Append contact if it has phone number.
                vcards.append(vcard)
            vcard = ''  # Reset read-cache.

    with open(WRITEPATH, 'w') as file:
        file.write(''.join(vcards))


After formatting SD card "as internal", can the partitions be downsized? I've a 16 GB MicroSD card that's apparently faking its size. Using H2testw I found that only the first 7.8 GB are usable. Before buying a new one, I want to see if I can "fix" it. The idea is to have Android format the card "as internal", unmount it, and then either through a rooted Android or a Linux/Windows desktop downsize the three resulting partitions to fit inside the first 7.8 GB of the card.

Is there any reason why this wouldn't work? My only concern is that the Android phone might have its own record of the sector ranges of each partition, which I would be changing.

I'm not just trying it out, because I don't have a card reader on hand, and want to find out if it's likely to work, before I invest time into it.

I'm abandoning the project, since the card I was going to do this with is counterfeit and apparently unsalvageable (or at least not in the way I envisioned). To quote Robert: "because of wear-leveling algorithm the sd-card [can] reallocate the sectors at any time (and of course it can reallocate it into the non-existent flash part)".

Anyway, for people trying to find out how to work with these Android SD partitions, here's a few links from my research:

http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html

I want to split one MicroSD card into two parts: part adoptable storage, and part normal storage. How can I do this?

One of the tools used in the above posts is adb shell sm (or just sm). It can manipulate the partitions on the SD card. I didn't look into it further, but if I wanted to go through with this, the sm command is what I'd investigate next.

Of course, one of the things to know about working with Android's adoptable storage partitions is that one of them is encrypted, so unless you decrypt it, you can only manage it with the phone that encrypted it.


Is it possible to play games from my HTC Desire HD on my HD-TV? Is it possible to play my 3d games on my HTC Desire HD and mirror the display to my HD TV?

I have a Sony Bravia 55HX820 3D LED TV with 240 Hz, which was top of the range when it came out in 2011. I don't think it has MHL technology but I know there are adapters so I can connect via MHL. Neither can I find anything that says my HTC Desire HD is MHL compatible as I don't think it is.

I can stream videos photos, music etc to my TV wirelessly via DLNA -- but does anyone know a way to play my games from my HTC DHD to my HD TV via HDMI? The phone doesn't support MHL mirror image to TV. I have a lot of high quality games on my phone.

Moreover: What would the quality be like -- as the phone screen resolution only is 400x800 -- but display in 1080p or even 720p on my TV mirroring my phones image.

My phone isnt rooted. I'm running Gingerbread 2.3.5. I'm thinking about rooting my phone and updating to Android JellyBean Rom. Does anyone know a possible way to do that without to much quality loss on the TV -- as it looks good on the phone but the phones resolution on my 55 inch tv would look horrible! Also, would updating to JellyBean make any difference?

Taking a look at the device specifications reveals:

The Sony Bravia KDL-55HX820 gives you four HDMI ports at your disposal according to TelevisionInfo.Com
The DHD doesn't have video out capability according to HTCDesireHDForum

So while your TV would support it, your DHD won't. Updating your device to any other Android version won't change that: the hardware does not support it (the DHD has no HDMI port, and its USB port is not MHL capable according to the information I found).

With that pre-condition broken, all the other questions are rendered meaningless. But for curiousity: Even if your Android device's screen can only display 400x800 resolution, the HDMI signal should carry the source resolution (and not the screen resolution). So if you e.g. try displaying 720p, it would be "rendered down" to 400x800 for your device's display, but if the HDMI connected device supports it fully, it would not be rendered down on the other end, to my understanding.


How to show password while typing? Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (there is no such tag, and I have too little reputation here to create it).

On LG L5 when I type password I can see in the edit box the last character I typed. Better something than nothing.

However, with Ace 2 the story is worse -- all I see is sequence of dots, and I have real difficulties to type anything correctly.

Question -- how to show the password while typing?

I do not have your phone model on hand to try, but you can give this link a shot.

Generally, just go to Settings > Security > check Make passwords visible. This is true for my phone (HTC Desire, BCM 4.0.4).

Hope it works for you.


I need detailed instruction on how to recover a ZTE z828 lt from soft brick caused by Kingo root! I need detailed instruction on how to recover a ZTE z828tl  from soft brick caused by Kingo root!

I bought this “simple mobile ZTE Midnight pro LTE” off eBay, and simple won't unlock it, so I can use it with anyone else, so I was playing with KingoRoot trying to root it, the computer version said root complete please donate, the phone rebooted into boot loop, I can access the stock recovery screen, but can't do a factory reset, and I can get to ftn!!!

Please help, I am a newbie to android, cell phones, but have messed with tablets for years, and usually can get a factory ROM restore for flashing, but this time I've searched all over without any luck..

Thanks.

I did the same thing as you and ended up in a boot loop but then I wiped the cache when I entered recovery And then restarted phone, let it boot up for a while then it restarted on its own.  I immediately did the button combo for recovery again and then did a factory reset.  I downloaded SuperSU and was still rooted. Hope this works for you.  Please let us know.


Stuck in USB-debugging mode I turned on usb-debugging on my HTC One X just to see if I could identify it when using Android SDK. Now the usb-debugging mode always shows up when I connect the phone to my Windows and Linux computer.

I have Android 4.1.1 on it; it's not rooted. The settings in developer options is off for everything. Developer options itself is also set to off. Despite this, I always get a notification on my phone that it has connected in usb-debugging mode when I connect with usb-cable. When I check the developer options, they are mysteriously set to on again.

When I try to change the settings for the usb connection, I get the settings for Portable hotspot & tethering and not the settings to charge or use mass storage. Strange!

This behavior prevents me from using the mass storage option. On my Linux computer, I cannot see any files on the device.

Are there any global configurations/settings I can clear to fix this? What else should/could I do?

In the developer settings, there is a "Revoke USB debugging authorizations". Try to use it. It should remove the authorization you give for your computer. So next time, that computer won't be able to directly use the debugging.


Connecting to Google Talk on tablet I am trying to connect to Google Talk on my Android tablet. The error message is saying 'the connection interrupted'. The tablet has connected to Wi-fi and I can browse the Internet. I am using version 4.0 OS.

What might be stopping it from connecting to Google Talk?

You might have a too restrictive firewall, either in your WiFi router or your tablet. Try opening up the ports that GTalk needs and check that access to GTalk servers isn't blocked.


Trouble installing Cyanogen on Galaxy S II using recovery console method After replacing my ailing Nexus One with with a SGS2 yesterday (an ordeal in and of itself, but neither here nor there), I decided to replace the stock  ROM including TouchWiz with something a little more familiar, hence Cyanogen.  I've was following these instructions, and it was going relatively well until step 9 under Method via Recovery.  The first time around, I had placed the zip files directly on the root of the SD card, but I couldn't find them.  After several more attempts, using different locations, attempting to put them on the internal storage, etc, I still haven't found a way to load those zip files.

As can be seen, I don't have a mount point named sdcard as is typical.  I do have that external_sd folder, but whenever I try and enter it to select a zip, I get an error saying something like "No Files Found" and am just returned to this folder.

Any help would be appreciated.

The folder you're seeing is the internal SD one. Just put your update.zip file there and search for it, it might be hidden in the scroll, just go down and it will show more files in the folder.

To make the process a lot more easy, just rename your *.zip to update.zip, but the file in the root of the internal SD card folder and use the Install update.zip from internal SD method.


Quantum joystick doesn't work on my xiomi redmi I have quantum ps2 like joystick which doesn't work on my xiomi redmi  HM 1SW.
My phone's android version is 4.3. I use a usb otg cable which works fine with keyboards,mouses & pendrives.
Whenever I attach the joystick,just the red light in the joystick blinks and nothing happens.

USB OTG doesn't work when high power output is needed. It usually doesn't work with joypads which have analog sticks. If you want to use it, you'll have to attach USB hub with external power source, or make DIY externally-powered USB OTG.


Unable to install bootloader on MotoDroid with froyo FRG83D I'm attempting to root my phone and have placed an update.zip in the root of my SDCard.  I get the message that the zip is not signed and the update fails.

I understand that VZN started added this checksum to make sure that only official OTA's can get installed.  Does anyone know howto get past this so that I can root my phone, so that I can install cyanogenMod, so that I can do wifi hotspot tethering?

You may have a bad file, either from a bad source or it just got corrupted.  I would try again.  Follow this tutorial on DroidForums.net.  It reportedly works fine with FRG83D.


How to restore my IMEI on Galaxy S if I don't have a backup of /efs? I installed CyanogenMod 10 Nightlies on my Galaxy S1, coming from CyanogenMod 9.
On every reboot I get the message:

  Warning! A problem was detected with your device. Your device IMEI number is invalid. And invalid IMEI number could cause network issues including the inability to call emergency numbers.

Sometimes I have network issues and my handy just won't connect to the Internet(even though it shows E/H Connection)

I once made a backup of my /efs/ partition, I already restored it but the message still appears.

FYI

The CyanogenMod 10 is the first update with the code to detect an invalid IMEI.
You could already have an invalid IMEI and don't know about it.
The issue with an invalid IMEI is that you may have emergency calling problems (inability to do emergency calls).

Confirm IMEI
Does the IMEI reported match the number under your battery?
Dial *#06# and the IMEI will be presented on your screen.

Possible Solution
From this code.google.com thread, the user at comment 5 managed to solve the issue:

Steps I took to solve the problem:

Flash my phone by Odin to version 2.2.1
Update to CM9 using Recovery with stabile version od CM9
http://download.cyanogenmod.com/get/jenkins/5805/cm-9.0.0-galaxysmtd.zip
Update to CM10 using last version of kernel.
I used cm-10-20120822-NIGHTLY-galaxysmtd.

Between steps I did wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache partition. Now my IMEI is correct.
After cleaning the phone and updates do CM10 I recommend installing gapps-jb-20120726-signed, because your phone will be clean as a baby after birth.


Notifications Randomly Rearranging Themselve I have a problem where every once in a while my notifications just start to randomly rearrange themselves. It's odd, because they're still in my notifications bar and none of them ever disappear.

I notice that sometimes in the past it has occurred whenever I'm using GPS to an extreme level as well.

Can someone tell me why this is happening?

I am assuming you are on Oreo since you mention notifications shifting in order

From Android 8.0 Oreo, thoroughly reviewed

Notifications are ordered on the concept of attention based sorting, as pictorially shown

To quote relevant sections

  The panel and notification ordering logic has been refined into a tiered top-to-bottom system. First, there's "Major Ongoing" notifications for things like currently playing music, phone calls, timers, Google Maps navigation, and other running, foreground services. Below that are "People-to-People" notifications, which are incoming text messages and missed calls from various apps. After that are "General" notifications for e-mails, reminders, calendar appointments, and all other apps.

  P2P notifications also get to be bigger in Oreo

  The new bottom section, which Google has given the perfectly fitting name of "By the Way," houses single-line, minimized-by-default notifications that don't create a status bar icon....The idea is that this section can house notifications that you don't need to deal with right now but might be useful information for you to have...

This explains why you noticed this shifting more when your GPS was on (presumably navigating and this takes high priority


Stuck at Logo, Download Mode doesn't appear, Vol buttons don't work in Recovery mode I currently own a Samsung Galaxy 3 gt i9305 which was network locked by EE. To make it work on GiffGaff I wanted to unlock it.

Current Android version - v4.4.4 (rooted)

I found out that Service mode in v4.4.4 could not be used to unlock the SIM Network. And that I had to downgrade to 4.1.1 to do so.

I was unable to boot into Download mode using hardware keys. They just didn't work and always booted into OS. So I used a on-phone app to boot me in Download mode - It worked!

I used Odin v3.11 to copy the .tar which was used by other users on the forum and seemed to work well for them for the same device. Odin passed! Device rebooted.

Since then, it has been stuck on Samsung logo. Upon further research, I found that I needed to clear the Cache from recovery console, but Volume keys are not working for some reason in the Android Recovery Console 3e. I read on forums that at times they dont highlight and I should use volume keys, assume highlight and use power key to make my selection. Did not work!

Would appreciate any help in reviving the device!

Thanks

I could not solve this problem without using a jig.

I bought a USB jig for the device and forced it to enable Download mode. Odin did rest of the job.


how to disable unlock screen sound on galaxy S3 Lately my phone makes an annoying sound when unlocking the screen. I don't have "Screen unlock sound" checked in the setting. I googled and found few people complained about this issue but no solution has been found yet. I tried checking and unchecking the setting and restarting the phone many times but still no joy. A hard reset might help but i don't want to do that if not absolutely essential.

This is not me but just found on youtube and this guy seems to have exactly same issue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3m2Dyv-jaY

Anyone here had same issue and found a solution?

One of the comments with 9 Likes in the video says: Settings > More settings > Under file/data transfer, turn off NFC


Set Arrows 301F to automatically accept RSA keys? Every time I unplug and replug my phone, it asks me to accept the RSA key for my PC.  It says "always allow from this computer", and I toggle that to on.  Regardless, I'm prompted every time.

Is there any way I can just enable my 301F to always accept any RSA key, or to at least always accept the RSA key from this pc?

Likely you started the ADB the first time as ROOT, and now the device doesn't have the permission to write on $HOME/.android/adbkey
now you have to change the owner of that file (and everything else in that directory)
$ sudo chown <your_username> .android/*
 and eventually:
$ chmod 777 .android/*


Equalizers are not working I have been using Equalizer+ and a while back it stopped working.

I was told that it might be interference with other apps, so I deleted/disabled all other music apps (except default music player) and it didn't work well.

I referred to Android 5.0 (Lollipop) music equalizer? and I could not find MusicFX anywhere in my apps.

It doesn't work with Equlizer+, Bass Booster EQ, Shuttle, Rocket Music Player and any others wither.

I have ran out of options and I really want sound quality back. My phone is LG Leon and it is running Android Lollipop (v 5.1.1).

Yep!
A known issue :(
Some platforms such as Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (mine has official firmware/lollipop 5.1.1) comes with a built-in equalizer which is disabled by default,
I've searched for ways to permanently disable it and use an external one ("bass buster pro") and I did, but apparently there is no way to do it, even after completely disabling the built-in services (to prevent resources from being "locked" by the internal equalizer),
Apparently it is not the issue,
perhaps in more "open" firmwares or different devices it can work, from reports around the web Android 6 (marshmallow) will enable a workaround,
Or, maybe - for rooted users, a XPosed module can patch it in memory,
(but due to many bugs and bootlocks happening when installing XPosed on Android 5.1.x+, mudule developing might take a while).

Not 100% bad news though, You can install VLC player (or even a legacy winamp apk) which has a built-in equalizer, which, although limits the experience to a specific application, provides a working solution for bass enhancements for your selected playlist (as long you are playing it through the app. that is... )


How Can I Check the Location of a File (e.g. Cluster or Sector #) in the Internal Storage? I would like to know If I certain file moves on the Flash memory (internal storage), between writes/updates to it.

Is there some way I can get the file's location on the Flash memory?
(Cluster Number, Sector Number, etc)

I am using Android v8,
and can either install use an App for that,
or use the Command Line, If a relevant command exists in the Linux command-prompt that Android has.

I assume by saying cluster you mean Windows' allocation unit, commonly called block in Linux world. It's a unit of data storage a filesystem uses. A cluster/block may consist of or correspond to multiple sectors on underlying storage media (HDD or flash storage). Sector is the minimum atomic unit of storage an OS can read or write. Block size is decided at the time of filesystem creation i.e. when we format a partition (high-level formatting). Partitions and filesystems make it easy to categorize and organize our data on the physical storage device.

HARD DISK DRIVES

"Sector" may refer to a physical sector or logical sector. In early days of HDDs there were only physical sectors created by dividing clusters/tracks on rotating disks into small parts. Cylinder/Head/Sector (CHS) has been a popular method of addressing before the Logical Block Addressing (LBA) was devised. Instead of directly dealing with physical sectors, OS now talks to disk controller firmware (through SATA/SCSI commands) referring an LBA number. Firmware in return maintains an LBA to CHS mapping itself, which includes ECC, G-list (disk's defect table) etc. This mapping (1:1 / sequenced / linear) (ref) is created during low-level formatting of disk drive when manufacturing, which never changes except if some sector is marked bad and remapped to some spare sector. So the OS / filesystem is aware of the physical geometry of the disk, which is propotional to the geometry of LBAs.

FLASH STORAGE

On flash media (SSDs, eMMC, UFS, SD cards etc.) there are no rotating disks and hence no cylinders. NAND flash is made of silicon cells, each cell consists of one (Single-Level-Cell), two (Multi-LC), three (Triple-LC) or four (Quad-LC) bits. Cells are grouped into pages (e.g. of 4KB) and pages into erase blocks (e.g. of 128 KB). LBAs to Physical Block Addresses mapping is fully controlled by Flash Translation Layer; a part of flash controller firmware. OS knows nothing about it, it can see at maximum the LBAs, not what's happening below it. Not even the ECC of failed memory cells, and that's why we don't realize the bad health of eMMC unless it fails, except by reading EXT_CSD (requires root) using mmc-utils or from /sys/class/mmc_host/*/*/life_time (if driver supports).

Since a page of memory can't be just overwritten unlike HDDs, a whole EraseBlock has to be Erased first before being Programmed (written). A side effect is that a number of pages are erased/re-written and the physical mapping changes even if a small file is edited. This unnecessary read-modify-write (RMW) is called Write Amplification. On HDDs, files aren't physically replaced unless shortened or elongated. OS is aware of these physical changes on HDD, but not on flash memory.

WHAT IS SECTOR?

So after all what we are concerned with is logical sector. Storage media informs the OS of its logical sector size but “the default of 512 covers most hardware” because HDDs have been using 512B from early days, though things have changed with 4Kn format for HDDs too. 512B is the size what OS sees, in actual it's a bit larger to make some room for header, ECC etc. Physical sector size on flash storage is of no use to us.

Your queries:

  I would like to know if a certain file moves on the Flash memory (internal storage), between writes/updates to it.

It depends on the definition of “move”. On flash storage, even if you don't write to a file, it may keep on changing its true physical location due to background Garbage Collection; a phenomenon controlled by FTL internally to reduce WA, to achieve Wear Leveling and to provide high write throughput (Program operations) by deleting invalid pages in background (Erase operations).

  Is there some way I can get the file's location on the Flash memory (Cluster Number, Sector Number etc.)?

Yes you can get the filesystem block addresses of a file which have a linear mapping with LBAs of underlying block device (partition). But these addresses aren't the actual/physical file's location on the Flash memory. However usually one isn't concerned with true physical location unless some forensics or data recovery is involved.

EXAMPLE

~# cat /sys/block/mmcblk0/queue/logical_block_size
512
~# blockdev --getss /dev/block/by-name/cache
512
~# tune2fs -l /dev/block/by-name/cache | grep 'Block size'
Block size:               4096

So the sector size here is 512B while filesystem block size is 4KiB. Let's create a test file:

~# echo foobar >/cache/test_file
~# cat /cache/test_file
foobar
~# filefrag -sv -b512 /cache/test_file
Filesystem type is: ef53
File size of /cache/test_file is 7 (8 block of 512 bytes)
 ext:     logical_offset:        physical_offset: length:   expected: flags:
   0:        0..       7:     307200..    307207:      8:             last,eof
/cache/test_file: 1 extent found

* debugfs -R 'stat test_file' /dev/block/by-name/cache can also be used in place of filefrag

Created file (of 7 bytes size) occupies 1 filesystem block. -b 512 converts block size (4096B) to sector size (512B). "test_file" should be at 307200th sector, same for partition and filesystem because filesystem occupies whole partition:

~# blockdev --getsize64 /dev/block/by-name/cache | awk '$1 /= 4096'
65536
~# tune2fs -l /dev/block/by-name/cache | grep 'Block count'
Block count:              65536

Let's read the file directly from partition:

~# dd if=/dev/block/by-name/cache skip=307200 count=1 | head -c7
foobar

It's there. Now locate the file from the start of eMMC:

~# readlink /dev/block/by-name/cache
/dev/block/mmcblk0p25
~# cat /sys/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p25/start
7471104
~# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 skip=$(( 7471104 + 307200 )) count=1 | head -c7
foobar

So even if filesystem and partition are deleted, you can read the file (provided that it's not overwritten).

Let's do some more digging:

~# rm /cache/test_file; sync; echo -n 1 >/proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
~# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 skip=$(( 7471104 + 307200 )) count=1 | head -c7
foobar

File is deleted from filesystem, but physically still there. Let's ask FTL to delete it permanently:

~# fstrim /cache; sync; echo -n 1 >/proc/sys/vm/drop_caches
~# dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 skip=$(( 7471104 + 307200 )) count=1 | head -c7

And it's gone. But most probably it's still there somewhere in Over-Provisioning Space, scheduled to be Erased in next GC, just we don't know where it is.

Note:

dd on naked partitions is a killer. Be cautious!
tune2fs and filefrag are part of e2fsprogs. filefrag isn't shipped with Android, build from source or try this one. fstrim is a busybox applet.

RELATED:

When should fstrim run?
What makes recovery of deleted data difficult / impossible?


How to add desktop shortcut for URL, ignoring web app manifest? Goal:  Have a desktop shortcut that opens https://news.google.com/news/i#0 , ignoring the contained web app manifest that otherwise "overrides" the saved shortcut to http://news.google.com/news?sapa=1 and with "display": "standalone".

I had this working previously on an older Android phone before a replacement / upgrade.

Prior to the upgrade, I was able to long-press and open individual articles in new tabs - as well as copy link shortcuts to specific articles, as well as all of the other features and functionality that Chrome has to offer.  Here is just a partial selection of references of other users complaining about the same:

https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/news/MdZ22eC1X1Y
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/news/bLlTM_OhTns

Using https://news.google.com/news/i#0 provides a temporary successful work-around.  However, I can't find a successful way to add a link for this to my home screen.  The "Add to Home screen" option within Chrome instead saves a link to http://news.google.com/news?sapa=1 - and in such a way that it opens as a web application instead of a web page within Chrome:

https://developer.chrome.com/multidevice/android/installtohomescreen
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Manifest

On a desktop operating system, this would be a non-issue.  (Create shortcut, enter desired URL, done.)

Attempt 1: Provide my own Manifest

So I created my own manifest - editing https://news.google.com/news/ui/resources/json/manifest.json to change the start_url attribute to https://news.google.com/news/i#0, and the display attribute from standalone to browser.  I then created my own HTML page that simply contained the below - then self-hosted both on a local web server:

<html>
        <head>
                <Title>Google News</Title>
                <link rel="manifest" href="/news/manifest.json"/>
        </head>
        <body>
                Test
        </body>
</html>

However, this doesn't work:  Despite the shortcut being saved with the desired name and icon, it links back to my self-hosted HTML page, and not the indicated start_url.  Unfortunately, it appears that cross-domain URLs are not allowed per the manifest intent - as per https://github.com/w3c/manifest/issues/183 and https://github.com/w3c/manifest/issues/196 .

Attempt 1b: MITM website

Within the confines of my own local network, I figured I could try to man-in-the-middle (MITM) the website to temporarily provide a desired manfiest to use for addition to the home screen.  Unfortunately, the website uses HSTS here, which appropriately blocks the attempt.

Regardless - this is way too much work for what should be a simple effort.

Attempt 2: Widget Bookmark

Unfortunately, it looks like the 1x1 bookmark widget was removed in Chrome 48, as per https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/chrome/Ikn2YhvT98s .  The suggested work-around is to use the "Add to Home screen" feature within Chrome.  Goto 10 / see beginning.

Attempt 3: Use the default-provided "Internet" browser

Unfortunately, using "Add shortcut on Home screen" in the default-provided "Internet" browser produces the same result as Chrome.

Consideration 4: Use a custom app / widget

Could probably write and install a custom application or widget that could be added to the home screen to meet the goal.

Or don't re-invent the wheel, and use an existing one.  Some possibilities:

"More Shortcuts": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ss.moreshortcuts&hl=en
"Shortcut Customizer": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dezits.shortcut4file&hl=en

Conclusion

How can someone create a desktop shortcut to an arbitrary URL, ignoring a provided web app manifest?

To bypass any site's web app manifest...

            Copy the following code...

JavaScriptx:

if (meta=document.querySelector('meta[name="mobile-web-app-capable"]')) meta.parentNode.removeChild(meta);

if (mani=document.querySelector('link[rel="manifest"]')) mani.parentNode.removeChild(mani);

void(0)

        Open Chrome on Android

            Go to the URL you want to add to your Home screen, for example...

            https://news.google.com/news/i#0

        Paste the code copied earlier into Chrome's Location bar

            Scroll to the beginning of the pasted code

            (Touch & Drag repeatedly on the text in the Location bar to scroll it)

        Touch after the x in JavaScriptx
        Backspace the x, using whatever your Backspace button looks like on the on-screen keyboard
        Touch Go on the on-screen keyboard (to confirm/accept the URL & run it)

    The JavaScript should execute on the page & it should appear to do nothing, that's fine.

    Note: if the page reloads for any reason, you'll need to run the JavaScript again.

    Now, try adding that page to the Home screen again...

To add the URL to the Home screen...

            Touch Chrome's on-screen "3 dots menu" (on the right of the Location bar, next to the "open tab count" button) or use the hardware menu button

            Touch Add to Home screen

    It should end up as a normal Chrome link, not as a Web App, since the JavaScript nuked the page's preference for "web app mode".

Questions / Comments?...

    Why did you have me copy JavaScriptx...just to have me Backspace the x off later?

        Because, in my testing, on my phone, when I pasted anything with JavaScript: at the beginning, Chrome ripped that part off, leaving only the text after it.


How to remove encryption in Marshmallow without root? Encryption is making transferring of files from phone to PC really slow besides I want to open my phone without any prompt and jump directly to my work.

As far as what I've tried is to go to settings but nothing occurred on tapping encryption.
As my phone is in warranty and and also not popular (Eluga Tapp) root not seems to be a viable option.

A factory reset will remove the encryption. After doing this you might want to install a custom recovery, just in case. There are many tutorials to do this in the internet.


Android large empty storage marked as full (new phone) So I purchased this brand new X27 Plus with 64Gb storage, the phone shows 63Gb of free space when checking but I keep getting "your storage is full" errors.

When I plug it as MTP on my computer it actually shows the 64Gb disk as used space while it's empty. When I plug it as USB storage, it divides it as a full 1.25Go G: disk and an unreachable H: disk. I tried to access it with "DIR/A h:-s" and get "the device is not ready".

Any ideas of what's going on and how to get this working ?

Do not unlock the bootloader because you will lose warranty.
Check the following command to proof it's a fake X27 plus or install this app

adb shell cat /proc/partitions

Claim the phone to the seller and get your money back


BSNL Penta TPad 701C Android ICS - Play store closes immediately after opening. When I got the tablet, new version of play store was pre-installed and was working fine. Initially my 3G dongle was not connecting to Internet. After complaining to customer care, I was provided a firmware with which I updated my tablet. Then onwards, I could connect to Internet but Play store was gone. I managed to download it and installed it on tablet but now it opens and closes without any error message.

I have already tried:

Re installing the given ROM
Done factory reset
Tried to install different versions (v3.5.19, v3.7.16, etc) of Play Store app.

None of the above solved the probelm. Please help.

The ROM that BSNL customer care provided might not have GApps installed. You can download a relevant version of GApps from goo.im/gapps.  Based on the information you had provided, you can use gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip.

Download that ZIP file and place it in your SD card. Install ROMManager from their site. Once installed, choose install ZIP option and select the ZIP file.


empty log files created automatically For 5 or 6 months I have been experiencing a strange activity on my android 4.1.2 device. It is samsung galaxy tab 2. The problem is somehow every day a few log files will appear in the root of my SD card and I could not figure out why and what application does it. It is very annoying as I need to clean them. I will attach a screenshot. If anyone came across the same issue, please let me know. We could try to find the solution together. If more information is needed, feel free to ask. Thank you. Vitaly.

Dan Hulme was correct. I did indeed have an application called "Foreca Weather" and it created the logs. It's been several days since I'd uninstalled the app, and the problem haven't showed up again. Previously I had this application for a year and didn't see any such issue till the recent update they had.


How can I open the keyboard on my Android tablet? I have just bought a NATPC M009S ULTIMATE Capacative Android Tablet PC Android 4.0 ICS and I can't find any way of accessing the keyboard.

How can I open it?

It should pop up when you tap on a text box.
If it doesn't, does there appear a small keyboard icon in the bottom right corner?


Google Play Store is unable to search for updates I have a THL T9 Plus with Android 6.0. Google Play Store version is 8.5.39.W-all [PR]. Google Play Services is version 11.9.51. I try to install updates on phone, but I get the error message, "There was an error during update process." I can't see even new version of installed applications in the list.

I tried to force stop those processes, wipe caches, restart phone and I already updated Google Play Store client version, but none of these helped, I got same error message.

Here are list of things can be done like uninstall updates and install fresh again, you can get a list of check here


Tablet Touch Screen partially unresponsive I have an Android Tablet with Android 4.1.1, some days ago, the screen started to have random touches around the top of the screen, and sometimes, the top of the screen was unresponsive.
After a factory reset, the problem wasn't solved, but now the top of the screen had stopped being sensitive... I opened the tablet and cleaned the screen.
Now it stopped the random touches (Sometimes they happen again), but the screen still doesn't respond, what do I do?

I know this is a low tech answer but I've had this happen before, normally due to screen smudge from fingers or liquid splash/residue on the screen.
Give the screen a good clean (use cloth from a pair of glasses) and see if the problem persists.  Failing that, shutdown, remove the battery, and leave it for 5 minutes just in case it's a charge/capacitance issue.


SP Flash tool mediatek - cannot add download agent I need to flash a new firmware for my china X-302 Tablet (detail below). From the producer i have got a package containing firmware, stock rom, sp flash tool, drivers etc. When I want to use flash_tool.exe select and add download agent (for example MTK_AllInOne_DA.bin or more) then pops up an error:

ERROR BROM: S_FTHND_FILE_LOAD_FAIL (5008)

[HINT]:

Tablet at that moment I connected. Usb driver da Vcom I have installed.

tablet: x-302 of Dragon - h701

Android 4.4.2
kernel 3 April 67

Build ALPS.KK1.MP1.V2.11

Tested on Windows 7 32bit, Windows 10 64bit (I also tried compactibility mode).

UPDATE

Standard drivers are installed. The tablet normally communicate, install apk using adb, run and Debug android/Xamarin applications using Visual Studio. This is all OK. If you think MediaTek USB VCOM drivers, so you've got installed:

MediaTek DA USB VCOM (Android) (COM18)

MediaTek Preloader USB VCOM (Android) (COM19)

MediaTek USB Port (Android) (COM22)

MTK USB Debug Port (COM20)

MTK USB Modem Port (COM21)

I had to allow installation of unsigned drivers, and then writes were installed OK. But device has warning "This device can not start. (Code 10). I tried different ways to install or other version, but always writes this warning. However, on the forum, I found it's not a problem. SP Flash tool may work...

I finally discovered that the problem was in the path to download agent, where was the Chinese characters for example :

**x-302 NEW firmware \ 线 刷 工具 和 驱动 \ mt65xx preloader 驱动 **

I just retype to :

**x-302 NEW firmware\Flash\mt65xx preloader**

and then it works correctly and retrieve the download agent. In all the tutorials I could see that the used path with Chinese characteristics and it worked. However, in my case not.

Here is some helpfully link :
Tutorial flash device with mediatek chip 1

Tutorial flash device with mediatek chip 2


HTC one e8 Stuck at htc logo it wil only startup after a factory restart but after a second it says com.android.settings stopped. after that i cant reach any app because of the black background after a minute it turns itself into the HTC one logo screen. i tried several ROM updates they all didnt work it gave error 155.

did you try flashing a suitable RUU? Boot your phone in Fastboot mode then flah the RUU file.

[For mods: there is no way to put a comments in the Android app. I can only comment on my own answer.- Please move this comment]


Galaxy S9: Most apps keep stopping Galaxy S9: All day, most apps that I open will stop and immediately close. Apps running i the background repeatedly give the message "(app) keeps stopping".
I've removed the SD card, and started it in Safe Mode. I also wiped the cache partition and cleared the Chrome cache.
I'm using 57.1 GB out of 74, and memory shows 2.3 GB out of 4 used.

Uninstall Android System Webview on the play store. I just did this and it fixed the issue.


Can I hook up an external GPS to Android devices without a built-in GPS? I know there's a number of solutions that allow you to use a Bluetooth-enabled external GPS antenna but what if you don't have Bluetooth?  Does anyone know of a way to connect a USB GPS antenna to an Android device?

*A little background: I just ordered this cheap resistive screen tablet primarily to be a less expensive dedicated Kindle/Nook Reader but I'm also thinking up other ways I can use this thing.  One way I was thinking was as GPS unit mounted on my dash, only problem... no GPS.

I believe Bluetooth is the only way to do this.

In order to be able to do this via USB the device would need to support USB-OTG (basically be capable of acting as a USB host); given that you are excluding Bluetooth, I doubt there would be a device with USB-OTG but without Bluetooth. You'd obviously need a GPS capable of sending data over USB, as well.


Cannot charge due to low battery temperature on Lenovo P780 My Lenovo P780 won't charge because the battery warning always pop up & says that charging is paused due battery's temperature is too low. I have checked the battery's temperature & it is around -20°C. I am just living in the Philippines and only got this when I went back to work in Vietnam.

Tried to warm up the phone, but the temperature is still -20°C. I can only charge the phone when it is "OFF" & it takes very long time to charge; 5 hours charging & the battery is charged up to 60% only. Why this happens and how to fix it?

So what you have sounds like one of two things.

One, there is a software issue giving false readings off the temperature sensor. In order to diagnose this I would recommend installing a third party battery monitor which can monitor temperature. If this gives you a normal temperature you know its software and a factory reset should fix your problems. If it still is -20 than it could be hardware or just firmware level software.

Two, the temperature sensor could be broken or malfunctioning giving a false or default reading.

Either way if doesn't cause any problems a factory reset would either fix it or tell you what is wrong.

Let me know how it goes, I may have some other options for you if need be.


Update Virus Database on S6 I have a Samsung S6.  I keep getting a message that says I need to update my virus database, that my virus database has not been updated for 26 months (my phone is only 3 months old) and is no longer protecting me from the latest threats.  There is an option to update database and an option to enable all premium features.  Below that there is a security broadcast that lists a virus named a.payment.cola.a and has information on the virus and what kind of threat it is.  This keeps coming up on my phone over and over.  I am not sure if it is legit or is itself a virus.  I have tried googling it, but can't find any info on it.  Is this a virus?  I have Avast security on my phone since I got it and it shows there are no current threats or viruses, but you never know.  Just need to know if I should click to update the database.

Searching the name of that "virus" returns only results for NQ Security, who are essentially a nobody company accused of creating spyware to trick people into paying for their useless security app.  In my opinion, this is a complete scam.

You should check in Settings → Security (or Safety & Privacy) under Device Administrators and remove any apps that you don't want controlling your device (if present), and then remove anything suspicious under Settings → Applications.  Specifically, remove anything from NQ or any anti-malware software you don't recognize.


How to install Noto font on Android? Google builds a beautiful font (Noto) for the world. How can I replace the system default font with the Noto font?

As Per this site
Install gujarati fonts in Android

Google has finally added Gujarati fonts to Android 5.0 (Lollipop) in the Nexus line of phones. The fonts are called  Noto Sans Gujarati  and Noto Sans Gujarati UI and both come in regular and bold versions, though they are seemingly indistinguishable. Google still has to add Gujarati keyboard input though so we can type in Gujarati. Until then, SwiftKey Keyboard is currently offering a Gujarati input method. Images below show the Noto Sans Gujarati font displayed natively on my website. The third image shows the SwiftKey keyboar layout for Gujarati input.

 Note : you have to root your android device and it voids warranty from manufacturer


Show adb backup manual How do I show the help text/manual for adb backup?

When I run adb help I see

  ...
  backup/restore:
      to show usage run "adb shell bu help"
  ...

When I run adb shell bu help, nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

That's because you need to connect a device to adb first. Check for connected devices, using adb devices.

Otherwise, it'll display an error:

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools>adb shell bu help
error: no devices/emulators found

When you've connected device, run adb shell bu help - it will output something similar:

C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools>adb shell bu help
 backup [-f FILE] [-apk|-noapk] [-obb|-noobb] [-shared|-noshared] [-all]
        [-system|-nosystem] [-keyvalue|-nokeyvalue] [PACKAGE...]
     write an archive of the device's data to FILE [default=backup.adb]
     package list optional if -all/-shared are supplied
     -apk/-noapk: do/don't back up .apk files (default -noapk)
     -obb/-noobb: do/don't back up .obb files (default -noobb)
     -shared|-noshared: do/don't back up shared storage (default -noshared)
     -all: back up all installed applications
     -system|-nosystem: include system apps in -all (default -system)
     -keyvalue|-nokeyvalue: include apps that perform key/value backups.
         (default -nokeyvalue)
 restore FILE             restore device contents from FILE


WiFi hotspot turns off by itself + WiFi turns on by itself My honor 8 lite (Android 7.0) started to do strange stuff:

While WiFi tethering works, and my PC is connected, the tethering turns off after a few minutes.
Even after turning WiFi off, it turns on by itself.

Apps permissions:

Additional permissions

A rogue app is turning the Wi-Fi ON. Look into the Permissions.

In Change Wi-Fi Connectivity, you can find list of all apps which can create such problem. Disable all of them or do trial & error.

Edit:
If you can't find this list in Settings, install this tiny app, go to Permissions tab and tap CHANGE_WIFI_STATE to get the list. This app doesn't let you remove permission, but after knowing the information about an app, you can disable its permission through app's App Info in Settings.


Will resetting my KitKat android force me to upgrade to Lollipop? I have a galaxy s4 running a rooted kitkat system. If I upgrade to lollipop I cannot root phone (which I need!) Will doing a factory reset force me to upgrade or will I retain my kitkat system?

A factory reset of your phone will not cause an upgrade of the operating system. You will still have the whatever OS you started with.


No way to restore apps and data from Titanium Backup Recently I switched from Lineage OS to Pixel Experience on my Xioami Mi 9t device. I made a backup of all my apps and data trough Titanium Backup and an update.zip file.

After flashing Pixel Experience and going through the setup I installed Titanium Backup on my phone and rebooted into TWRP to install the update.zip file. It flashed the zip file with no errors and automatically rebooted the phone into system.

However nothing happened and my apps and data were not restored. Then I wanted to restore them manually but trying to access my backup location on my external USB drive I found out I could not access my backup folder anymore, which was located at: /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup

It is extremely frustrating knowing I have done everything to backup my apps and data but not being able to restore them anyway. If anyone knows a solution to this problem tell me, I would really appreciate your support.

Here is what worked for me. I booted into TWRP recovery. From there I copy pasted my backup files from my usb drive to internal memory. Then and only then I was able to access and restore my backups from Titanium Backup.


Why do I get a phantom text message when I reboot my phone? Every time I start up my HTC One X I get a notification of a new text message. That text message is blank and is 'from' a string of gobbledygook.

Here is a screen-shot of the message:-

Note that the From is an upside-down exclamation mark and those other two strange characters. This is always the same. I do not believe it is a function of the Go SMS program in use as it also appears in other messaging programs.

Any ideas on how to stop this admittedly minor annoyance?

Some troubleshooting suggestions:

Does the SMS only show up in GO, or does it also show up in the stock "Messaging" app? If it only shows up in GO, we know it's an issue with that app. If not, an actual sms is being received by your phone.
If it's a GO problem, try clearing the GO app cache completely. If the issue still persists, explore if it might be contact related as someone else suggested. If you sync your contacts with Google, temporarily un-sync them so they go away and reboot. Do you still get an sms?
If you're actually getting an SMS (feels unlikely) you might want to contact your carrier just in case, they will probably be able to submit an error report so that someone can look into it.

Please supply more info on how your problem develops and I'll try to expand my answer.


How can an NFC battery's NFC functionality be used on Android devices? My Samsung Galaxy SIII comes with a battery with an Near Field Communications (NFC) label on it. Several earlier Android modles don't come with such a label on the battery. I would like to know what the NFC functionality on the battery enables Android devices and their OS to do with the battery.

Batteries labeled NFC come with the NFC antenna, without which it would be impossible for the NFC chip on the device to operate.


Application not found I have a Sony Xperia P, with Android ICS. I have Ingress installed on my phone. Today, I synced my phone, and Ingress got updated. I had an icon on the homescreen. However - whenever I click on the shortcut, the toast message appears and says Application Not Found. I can't find the Ingress icon in applications list too.

I thought that it might get accidentally uninstalled, so I went to Play store to download it again, but I can see that it's already installed on my phone. I clicked on open button and Ingress got opened, and is still working fine.

So what is wrong here? I didn't yet try to reinstall the app, and don't want to do that. Where's the app-icon, and how can I get it back?

This happened on my Nexus - you just have to reboot your device, and the Icon will show up.

Most likely Niantic changed the Launcher activity, so the short cut is no longer pointing to the correct activity, hence the error message.

Rebooting the device/restarting the launcher, and then re-adding the home screen shortcut will fix this.


Transfer and import .VCF Contacts Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300, 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
I have a Nokia phone with .vcf Files of Contacts
to be transferred to the Galaxy S3.
My contacts are more than 4000 in quantity which I want to transfer along with their pictures and each & every detail without any loss.
Any Reliable Suggestion / App that can do this?

If I remember correctly, Android natively reads VCF files for import

Just put your .vcf file in any folder in the sdcard. Then open your Contacts app. Look for the 3 grey dots on the upper right of the screen and press it. Select Import from the list. Next, select Import from external memory.

Wait for a while for it to finish. Close the app after importing your contacts and open it again to refresh the data. You should start seeing all of your contacts after that. Unfortunately VCF file can only contain information, no pictures, it is still stored on your nokia's memory


Safest way for rooting I would not recommend rooting a device that is still under warranty.

I am trying to find a way to root my old device from 2014 that has become my daily because the new one got damaged and cannot afford a new one. It runs on Android Lollipop.

I am trying to avoid the traditional root way which involves unlocking the bootloader and then flashing it with different files. I am not comfortable in doing that since it is risky and my brick my phone from a mistake. There are tutorials on doing it for my exact phone model so that is not the requirement here at all.

I also know about the one click root solutions but there seems to be a lot of debate on its safety as it is not clear what info is being collected by the app developer. I did kingroot on my test device and it is fine for that device but I don't want it on my daily.

I have found a way which "on paper" seems the safest. It roots without rooting the device. However, I would still like to make sure that it is safe before I use it.

In the below link there is a video that is about an app called VMOS which allows to duplicate the O/S (done automatically) and creates a virtual O/S on top of the locked one on the device and then the virtual one can be rooted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUTxMGsM_Uc

The app has been removed from the "Android Play Store". I am adding below the FAQ from their website. In the FAQ they mention that they do not collect any data and that the only data they collect is for error logs.

https://www.vmos.com/faq.htm

Can that claim be trusted? Would anyone trust that they are honest and do not collect any other data.

I don't think that the app can be put behind a firewall because then it might block all the apps that are running on it as it is the main gateway for them.

I am also sure that running a virtual O/S would require to use more resources on the device. So this solution would not be useful for just any device.

As far as the app you found my impression is, that it is as of until someone of standing in the community can legitimately say otherwise, that its ability and origin are "questionable" at this time. I have only seen a few people even comment ABOUT it, let alone bonafide users that actually USED it and have some form of empirical data that can back up any claim to it being effective/non-spyware related/not full of issues like bricking peoples Galaxies, Lg ThinQ's (god I love mine), Note, etc., and so on. If it is a usable way of being able to solve some issues for the general public than I'm all for it but hopefully someone can start showing some good hard data on this for everyone.


After Rooting my phone, I get a black screen, followed by "[app] has stopped working" for every application, any idea what could be going on? I just rooted my Samsung Galaxy G4 I9500 today. It was working fine, I even restarted it a few times just to test everything was going nice and dandy. I also installed two apps to see if SuperUser was working properly (busybox and titaniumBackup) and both seemed to work fine.

Now, while trying to make a nandroid backup I entered recovery mode and touched "reboot device now". Afterwords, the device stopped starting properly.

As described in the title, the screen remains black with messages popping up saying something like "[x] app has stopped working". Trying to turn off the device gives me the usual windows (turn off/airplane mode/restart). Also, I can change the volume. Any idea of what could be going on?

I had the same problem when I flashed cmw12.1.
I backed up that Rom and when I rebooted I got same message as you.. Everything saying "stopped working!".
Later I noticed that my nadroid backup was on internal storage and I was running out of space.
I deleted that backup and everything went fine.
Move that backup file to external sd card and try rebooting again..
Hope that would fix it :)


upgrading to android 10 on RedMi Note 5 I have made system update on my Redmi Note 5. Before system update it has Android version 7.2. Now after I do system update it is showing MIUI version 11.0.5.0 and Android Version 9PKQ1.180904.001. I do not understand what is this android version indicates, is it android version 7 or 8 or 9 or 10? I did not understand. Now I want to update my android version on RedMi Note 5 to Android 10, is it possible?

It's Android 9

The Redmi Note 5 was launched back in 2017, running Snapdragon 625 with MIUI 9.5 based Android 8.1 Oreo. It has since picked the Android 9 Pie. However, in the last couple of months, the device has not received any form of support, and amid the arrival of MIUI 12 update on the device, Xiaomi has now released a new global stable update for the Redmi Note 5.

The update is based on MIUI 11. It brings the August security patch to the device in a 523MB size package, and with a version number, MIUI 11.0.5.0 PEIMIXM

It was launched with Oreo according to this blog, not Android 7
From what I read, your device does not have stock upgrade to Android 10. You can look for custom ROMs on XDA.


S4 cant unlock my phone I have a galaxy s4. I had the screen locked with a pattern. My 1year old daughter got a hoed of my phone and after the 5 incorrect patterns it asked for the pin. I entered the pin incorrectly  5 times so it asked me to wait 30 secs before trying again. Now I have the bar that says type pin code but when I tap the bar to type it in the keyboard does not pop up as usual so how do get the keyboard to pop up to enter the pin. I have tried restarting the phone, by pressing restart and shutting down and powering back up the phone  and  taking out the battery.

What specific code is it asking for? Cell phone companies can give u your plu code to enter and unlock to restore phone. Or performing a master reset manually..keyboard won't pop up right?


Which allowBackup attribute is useful to understand if an app can be backup? A user on our site wanted to backup a game. For an unrooted device, the usual route to backup is either with Google Cloud Sync, or with adb. Both depends on the attribute allowBackup in the app manifest. If it is false, it won't be backup. That was my understanding, until now.
When reading the manifest of the game, I came across two entries for allowBackup. First one set to false (line 6), and the last one to true (line 70). I am trying to understand which one should I, an end-user, be concerned with to ascertain if the game/app can indeed be backup by adb or Google? An explanation, however brief, would be nice as to why there are two allowBackup attributes, and can there be more  than those two in an app/game?
Another confusing thing is that for regular apps (non-gaming apps), the attribute was always written as android:allowBackup=<FLAG>, but for the game here, it is game_display_name:allowBackup=<FLAG>. Is this convention game-specific? This part of the question is optional for you to answer.

I don't know what tool you used for decompiling AndroidManifest.xml but both apktool and Jadx do not show an game_display_name:allowBackup=... entry.
No matter what allowBackup entries you have the only entry that matters is the one in the <application> tag. See Android documentation: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/application-element#allowbackup
The other one may be added by the developers because they have not read the documentation carefully.
However the game you are refferring to has a second relevant entry for backup: android:fullBackupContent:

This attribute points to an XML file that contains full backup rules for Auto Backup. These rules determine what files get backed up.

When I look at this XML file I see the following content:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<full-backup-content>
    <exclude domain="sharedpref" path="appsflyer-data" />
</full-backup-content>

From my understanding of this file format that means that the file(s) in /data/data/com.ironhorsegames.idlewasteland/shared_prefs/appsflyer-data* are excluded from backup.


Root N1 and keep the official ROM Is it possible root my N1 with 2.3.3 without flashing custom ROM?

Yes.  According to this XDA thread, you can unlock the bootloader with fastboot and then flash only a custom recovery.  The custom recovery will allow you to put su on your device.

You could also flash a stock 2.3.3 ROM that has been altered slightly (i.e., pre-rooted).  For example, this one over at XDA.


Android PTPP VPN session stalling after precisely 30-31 minutes My Android 4.2.2 device (MINIX neo X5 TV-box) uses PTPP VPN connection to Netflix via a HideMyAss VPN server. The problem is that the Netflix session always stalls precisely 30-31 minutes after the VPN connection was established, claiming there is no data connection, although the VPN status (in android settings) says "connected". It works again (for another 30-31 minutes) when I disconnect and reconnect the VPN connection.
I usually take the occasion to get myself a new cold beer, but it adds up :) does anybody have an idea how to fix the problem?

Does the rest of the Internet work? Or is it just the Netflix service?

In any case, contact your VPN service provider for advise. As long as the VPN connection is not terminated (as you say it isn’t) any problem is likely to be much easier debugged on the service providers side. You have noticed a pattern, and that should be debuggable for them.


fastboot seems to work, can transfer files but doesn't actually flash or boot images I bought a cheap Wiko Lenny 3 (MT6580 with Marshmallow) to replace my old Galaxy Nexus which died yesterday (after four years) from the infamous V3U00M bug.

I owned a couple of Android phones before the Nexus, and I often flashed new ROMs and recoveries, so I'm quite used to adb and fastboot (under Linux).

So, I'm trying to root this new phone but so far I've been unsuccessful. Unlocking the bootloader was quite easy: there was an item to check in the developer options, and then fastboot oem unlock did its thing. But after that, I'm stuck.

I'm trying to boot a custom recovery, the file seems actually transferred:

$ fastboot boot twrp3.0.2-lenny3.img
downloading 'twrp3.0.2-lenny3.img'...
OKAY [  0.446s]
booting...
OKAY [  0.065s]
finished. total time: 0.511s

The feedback on the phone seems to indicate that the transfer actually happened, but after that, it just sits there, instead of rebooting into TWRP. After a while, it reboots normally to Android.

Trying to flash the recovery instead of booting it ends up with the same result: the transfer works, all on-screen messages (both on the computer and on the phone) indicate success, but the stock recovery isn't overwritten.

I thought that there may be some kind of manufacturer script that checks the image's validity, but trying with the stock recovery image (extracted from a Windows executable provided on the manufacturer's website to recover corrupted phones), but the result is the same: the file is transferred, but nothing happens after that.

So I tried to install the SuperSU zip from the stock recovery, since it includes options to install updates from either an SD card or ADB sideloading (but I have a doubt about this, I used custom recoveries for so long now, that I forgot if a stock recovery including these options should be able to install any zip file, or only ones containing a full factory image). Unfortunately, it didn't work either: installing from the SD card failed with the message "Installation aborted", and the sideloading option, surprisingly, doesn't seem to even start an ADB daemon : adb devices returns an empty result, so obviously adb sideload can't work (needless to say, adb works normally when the real system is booted, and I can adb push and adb pull to my heart's content).

Can someone help me ? Are those non-functional bootloader and recovery a pattern with Wiko and/or MediaTek devices ? Either I'm too much used to Nexus devices and I'm doing something wrong, or this phone seems to be intentionally crippled by the manufacturer.

Interesting: by trying several key combinations to start the phone, I found a "Factory Mode" that I never saw on any Android phone so far, with a menu allowing to run tests; and, also, a "Meta Mode" which look like "Fastboot Mode" but doesn't answer to fastboot commands - I guess it's meant to be used with a special proprietary tool from this manufacturer. That's what makes me wonder if these MediaTek-based phones are supposed to be hacked with the usual adb and fastboot tools, or if they are completely different beasts.

You can't root with ADB or Fastboot because you don't have the ''adress" where the files will be sent. Mediatek devices need a map file, called scatter files which maps the memory and tells the flashing tool where every file should go, the start adress and the file size.

As they run Android,  Mediatek devices can be  manipulated with adb and  fastboot (depending on manufacturer: Alcatel and Huawei seem to support fastboot commands).

META mode is like fastboot, as you've pointed out. Besides you can enable ADB in META mode, it is used by hacking tools to access internal memory, as an example for network unlocking, IMEI repairing and so, you need special drivers CDC and VCOM to get it work though.


Link2SD doesn't really move the apps I have link2sd with granted root permissions and a partitioned SD card, but when I give Create Link to SD on some big app, it creates just few small files there, like 20-30mb, but the big files of the applications which some are more than 1Gb don't get moved to the second partition... is this supposed to be this way?

the apk file is stored in the internal memory still, it's in the 'data' folder.  I don't think you can do much about that with earlier versions of android but if you find a way then please let me know!