My new Nexus 7 doesn't allow me to receive apk files with bluetooth I have just got a Nexus 7, and I am trying to send an app that i made into my Nexus, neither sending it with my phone using bluetooth or directly from my laptop using bluetooth works: on my phone it says "the file couldn't be sent" while on my laptop is says: "the request couldn't be honored".

I have tried sending an image and it worked.

Android only accepts certain file types (from a hardcoded list) by default.

There are two solutions:

The sender can rename their files before sending to one of the white-listed mime-types (by adding an accepted file extension).
Buy a phone from a manufacturer that supports it or install aftermarket firmware such as OmniROM or CyanogenMod that allow all file types with inbound bluetooth transfers.

If the manufacturer hasn't changed this behaviour or extended the list, the accepted mime-types as of January 2015 are:

"image/*",
"video/*",
"audio/*",
"text/x-vcard",
"text/plain",
"text/html",
"text/xml",
"application/zip",
"application/vnd.ms-excel",
"application/msword",
"application/vnd.ms-powerpoint",
"application/pdf",
"application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
"application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document",
"application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation",

I.e., just add a media file extension (eg. .jpeg/.png/.gif/.mp4/.mp3/), Zip file (.zip), PDF (.pdf) or office document (.doc/.xls/...), etc.

The list is defined in the string ACCEPTABLE_SHARE_INBOUND_TYPES variable if you like to see the exact and current definition in the source code.


Samsung galaxy s5 sm-g901f v5.0.2 Move an app from user to system I have a samsung galaxy s5 sm-g901f android: 5.0.2 (I live in france) and I would like to move an user app to a system app. I already dowload system app mover and do the read and write mount but it still doesn't word. I also root my device. And I try to move de file manually but the app does not work anymore. What can I do? Thank you in advance.

Simple steps, but you might have forgotten to do the last step.

Uninstall the user app as usual, but keep its APK somewhere. Rebooting after this is recommended.
Depending on whether it needs system privilege, put the APK into either /system/app or /system/priv-app
Set permissions for APK to rw-r--r-- (0644) and reboot.

Rather curious about what you're trying to achieve by moving the app to system - is it necessary?


Backing up Android without needing Internet? All the Android Backup apps I have checked out (MyBackup, Lookout) require an internet connection.

I don't want my data to ever be stored in the cloud. These apps may have legitimate reasons to require Internet, but I don't trust that my data is not being sent to the cloud.

Is there any backup app that can store my data on the SD card without requiring Internet access?

Update:
My phone is not rooted. Hence Titanium Backup is not useful.

Titanium Backup does not require internet access, you can firewall it off if you like or just turn off your connection while you use it.  The internet permission is used for downloading Busybox if you don't have an appropriate version, but again there is no reason or need to trust it to do what it says, you don't have to let it access the internet.  It does not back up to the cloud and saves the backups on the SD card.

Also, keep in mind that full backup apps require root.  A root application does not need to request permissions in order to use those functions; the root user can do anything, that's the point.  You should take the fact that they do request the permissions as a good sign.  They're letting you know exactly what the app does.

Edit: Without root, you can use LifeSaver 2 for SMS.  There are some options here for backing up contacts.


ADB pulling files from /data/data fails due to symlinks. How to skip symlinks in ADB pull? I can run

adb pull /data/data/com.xlythe.saolauncher/databases ./

or

adb pull /data/data/com.xlythe.saolauncher/files ./

and it works fine. However, if I try

adb pull /data/data/com.xlythe.saolauncher ./

It fails with the error:

  adb: error: failed to copy '/data/data/com.xlythe.saolauncher/lib' to
  './com.xlythe.saolauncher/lib': remote No such file or directory

It happens because the lib folder is actually a symlink to /data/app-lib/com.xlythe.saolauncher

Now, if I wanted only com.xlythe.saolauncher I would just do it by hand copying one folder at time, but I want instead to pull all /data/data at once.
So I need a way to tell ADB to just skip symlinks instead of failing the copy.
Any hints?

Method 1:

If you're okay with getting the output file as a .tar archive, try this command:

  adb exec-out tar c data/data > data_backup.tar

Make sure to omit the leading / in your path. (Source)

Method 2:

If you want to copy file-wise, use the following script written by me:

#!/bin/bash
## Run as: ./filename.sh <source_folder> <destination_folder>
## If no <destination_folder> is provided, it's stored in current directory.

location=$1
if [ -z "$2" ]
  then
    destination=.
else
  destination=$2
fi

## Find the full path of all the files in the given directory, and retrieve each file one by one

while read line
do
  ## Create the directory where the file will reside, by removing the filename alone from the fullpath.
  ## Thanks to https://stackoverflow.com/a/9022471/5002496
  mkdir -p $destination"${line%/*}"
  adb pull $line $destination$line
done <<< `adb shell find $location -type f`

## The find binary in Android doesn't seem to show symlinks when '-type f' option is used.
## Source: https://stackoverflow.com/a/16303559/5002496

Save it as adb_pull.sh, run chmod 777 adb_pull.sh and run it like:

  ./adb_pull.sh /data/data data_backup

All the contents from /data/data from Android device will be stored into data_backup folder.
(Note: DON'T specify the source folder like /data/data/ with an additional / after the folder name)

Tested and working on my Ubuntu 17.04, using an Android 7.1 device.
Note: To access /data partition completely via ADB, you need to run adb root. (more help..)


Can I disable the default calendar app notifications? This strikes me as a bug since the behaviour is incredibly consistent, but perhaps someone here can help me.

I want to use the google developed calendar app as my main calendar app. My phone (a Galaxy S2) came with a samsung developed calendar app (both very conveniently named "Calendar"). At this point, I simply want to disable the samsung calendar app from displaying any sort of notifications (since the google app also displays notifications and I want to use that app).

I have been able to do this by going to settings->Notifications in the samsung app and toggling to "Off".

However, as soon as I restart the device, the notifications are back on their original settings. Anyone else experience this? Anyone know how to make the settings stick?

EDIT: I notice the notification settings of the google developed app (sound, default reminder time, popup) are also not sticking after reboot. Is my device broken? It seems to only be for calendar. Gmail and other apps hold their settings fine.

EDIT 2: Ok, so disabling the samsung app allows my google app calendar settings to stick after reboot. So looks like that is what I will be doing. Anyone know how I can change the vcs file association to this app now?

I don't know how to make the setting stick, but if you are using ICS you can easily disable the Samsung calendar app - so it will act as if it is uninstalled.

You can disable it by clicking the Disable button on the App settings page - just above the disable notifications checkbox.

Once this is done, reboot your device and it will act as if that app is no longer installed!


Turn on screen during notification on Moto G Before I had an HTC one with 4.x & 5.x with custom roms. Whenever I got a text message and my phone had the screen off, the screen would turn on. I didn't think this was special behavior.

I just bought a Moto G (2nd Gen) with 5.x but when I get a text message the screen stays off.

I downloaded an app called AcDisplay and this helps, but it is a suboptimal solution since it shows its own screen and not the default android lock screen.

Is the turn on screen during notification only on custom roms?

This is hard to search for since nearly all results are for adjusting the privacy of the notifications that show on the lock screen.

Go to settings....display...then turn on he option "ambient display"
It wakes the screen when notifications arrive!


Syncing music from device to cloud with Google Play Music On my Android device, I've recently downloaded some music. The Google Play Music app recognized the music, and shows it within the app.

However, I am not sure how to sync this new music from my device to the cloud (thus making it available from the Google Play Music browser app on my PC).

Any suggestion?

It is not possible from your Android device. To sync music with Google Play Music you need the Google Music Manager program on your PC. From there you can sync your music folder with Google and then stream or download it on your device.

There is apparently also the possibility to do this with the Google play music extension for chrome


Receiving an EACCESS Permission denied error when copying files to ExtSDCard My ExtSDCard has begun to act funny over the past few days. I have downloaded and used a few file managers in the past, and my current favorite is ES File Manager. However, over the past few days, I have been unsuccessful in using it to copy anything to the ExtSDCard, always receiving a "Failed to copy" message. I tried the same with Ghost Commander, which is clearer in its failed operation message, yielding the "EACCES (Permission denied)" error message.

To try to correct the error myself, I moved everything I needed to retain to Internal Storage, and reformatted the card. It was virtually empty - barebones. Upon trying to move things back, it did not work again with either File Manager, however, the most simplistic file manager MyFiles did the operation without problems. So now my files are back on the ExtSDCard, but I'm concerned that my favorite file manager ES File Manager is now useless, as is Ghost Commander, too. MyFiles as a file management system really lacks sophistication.

I have uninstalled, and re-installed ES and Ghost Commander without recovering their former functionality. I have rebooted the tablet a number of times, thinking the disk was locked through some system lock that would reset. No luck. I have proved that Dropbox can export a file directly to a location the card, too, so writing is possible, just not with these tools.

I am not looking for alternative file manager suggestions. Anybody have any ideas what is causing well-distributed file managers to lose functionality like this? If it makes any difference, I'm not rooted. It's a Galaxy Tab, which just received an update OTA to 4.4.2 a couple weeks ago. The file managers retained their functionality until just a couple days ago; I don't think the upgrade has anything to do with it.

It's a Galaxy Tab, which just received an update OTA to 4.4.2 a couple weeks ago.

There you have the reason: Kitkat introduced restrictions concerning access to the SD-Card. While apps still can read from the card, only system apps are permitted to write to it (with the exception of app-specific directories in /sdcard/Android/data).

For non-rooted devices, there's no solution or work-around available (except waiting for the Lollipop update to lift these restrictions a little). There are, however, several solutions for rooted devices, some of them can be found in this list. If you're interested in those (maybe you've meanwhile rooted your device, or rooting became an option for you), watch out for apps like Kitkat external SD card patch or SDFix.


Can I safely do a factory reset without losing root? Sadly my quesiton isn't that simple. To make sure everyone unerstands I will explain as short but specific as possible:

Initial: stock state, not rooted, nothing special

I updated my HTC One M8 to Android 5.0 (Lollipop) and noticed, that it drains my battery waaay faster than before and also lags pretty bad (almost every press of a button).
I searched for fixes online but couldn't find anything that may work except for a factory reset. Since it's almost impossible to backup all apps including data without root (e.g. titanium backup) I thought I may as well root my device, so I'm prepared for future restores (as I found out it's particularly easy to root an htc device, I was relieved I'm a noob when it comes to rooting).

I then did a factory reset and rooted my HTC One M8, installed SuperSU and all that stuff, you know.
It actually ran faster than before the Android 5.0 Update and the battery drain also seemed to be OK.

This Monday I woke up to a completely depleted mobile data usage (had about 450MB left - all gone over night). I forgot to turn on WiFi as I went to sleep. Below is the data usage of that night. I set everything I can (Play Store Updates and HTC Backups, as far as I know) to WiFi only, because 1GB of monthly mobile data seldom is enough for me.

I contacted HTC Support Chat and that lady told me to go to Settings -> Apps -> Reset App settings and restart my phone by pushing VolumeDown + VolumeUp + Power Button.  I did that and it seemed like my phone is as slow as before I did the factory reset.
I still don't know why the heck my phone used so much mobile data that night. I just hope this won't happen again. If you know why or how to prevent this, feel free to tell me!

Now I'm here with a rooted HTC One M8 with Android 5.0.1 and the same problems as in the beginning of this nerve-racking process. I searched a lot for solutions of the battery drain after the Lollipop update, but couldn't find anything helpful.

So my question is Can I perform a factory reset without losing root? because that's what helped me in the beginning. But of course I would be very happy about solutions addressing the extreme battery drain and lags I'm experiencing.

In Settings -> Power consumption there (almost) always is Google Play Services at the top. I found some solutions on how to keep this from draining my battery all the time, but they include messing with more root apps and I'm not sure if my device will also run faster after doing that.

Recoveries like TWRP and Philz Touch checks for root verification and in the scenario of you losing root after  factory reset, boot into your custom recovery, attempt for a normal reboot and the recovery will offer to root the device. Take the offer. Come back to Android and install SuperSU from Play Store as usual. This worked well with my Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2, COS12 and stock Android 5.1 ROMs.

Note: do not use the said approach on a ROM running Android Marshmallow. It may cause boot issues which you might not be able to solve unless you do a clean and full flash of a device specific ROM or manually reverse the steps TWRP used to root the device.

As of now, to root a ROM prefer the flashable zip for SuperSU stable and flash it through your custom recovery. In case of installation issues, refer to this XDA thread.

Related: I've installed a custom recovery image, but not yet rooted my phone. How can I install SuperSU and subscribe to automatic updates?

SuperSU app offers to move itself into system partition which would make it a system app and invulnerable to any factory reset. The option is available under its settings as Install SuperSU into /system.

(As of now however, for ROMs rooted with system-less root mode SuperSU doesn't provide the said option.)

About battery drain, per my experience with it in Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2 and 5.0.1 I can recommend Greenify app in Boost mode. Boost mode requires Xposed Framework1 installed.

1  Xposed Framework: Android 4.x, Android 5.x and 6.x


Listen music from OneDrive I've a Samsung Galaxy A8 phone (android 8.0.0) and it's connected to my OneDrive accounts (both personal and business) where I store music.

I've tried downloading music to my phone, but I could only make the files available off-line, no proper download.

I've Google Play Music and Samsung Music installed, neither can browse OneDrive off-line files. I can play them with a very basic player (probably skin of one of before mentioned players?), but that's not a solution for me.

How can I listen to music from OneDrive?

I've tried downloading music to my phone, but I could only make the files available off-line, no proper download

To download music from Onedrive follow the steps below:

Click on the 3-dots next to the music file.

A menu with options appears. Select Save.

You will be taken to the folder where the file will be downloaded. As seen on the picture below, the default folder is Download. You can select another folder by clicking the arrow on the left. Click Save on the top right to start the download.

  How can I listen to music from OneDrive?

To listen directly from OneDrive, click on your music file, then ►. The music file will be streamed online.


My phone is 'samsumg s2 plus' i wana root my phone Am using samsumg s2 plus. I wanna root my phone. Suggests me best way.

Already tryed the www.unlockroot.com website.  But I failed.
Help me ..

Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus

Here is a Youtube video with the steps to root the device, below are the written instructions I've modified this from the XDA post for grammar etc.

Prerequisites:

Android 4.2.2 (If you want to flash custom rom ||| if not 4.1.2 is okay)
You can flash 4.2.2 via odin  find your firmware at Sam Mobile
USB Cable
Samsung USB Drivers
Odin 3.07 (Flashing Tool)(http://d-h.st/hSj)
CWM Recovery I9105/P(http://d-h.st/oKe) (Android 4.1.2)
CWM Recovery I9105P(http://d-h.st/II4) (Android 4.2.2)
CWM Recovery I9105(http://d-h.st/bq8) (Android 4.2.2)
Root Package(http://download.chainfire.eu/) - Locate most up to date SuperSU Zip.

Rooting the device:

Open Odin 3.07.exe
Put your phone into Download Mode
(Power button - Home button - Volume down button,at same time)
When you enter in Download Mod, you should get blue box on Odin 3.07
Uncheck  Auto Reboot option
Go to PDA and find your recovery, then click on OK
After you checked everything click on Start
It should take around up to 30 - 40 seconds
When its finished take out battery, put it again
Go to recovery mode
(Power button - Home button - Volume up button,at the same time)
Navigate with Volume Rockers (Volume Up -  Volume Down)
Select via Power Button
Go to install zip from sdcard ( if you putted in your phone)
Go to install zip from sdcard/sdcard1 (if you putted on sdcard)
Find root package, and install it via pressing power button
Go back and reboot system now

DONE !
You have rooted your s2 plus !


Nexus 7: micro usb port broken I have a 2012 nexus 7, its a beast of a device.
But unfortunately the usb port of the device is broken.

Is there any way I can charge the batteries my beloved nexus? I have opened it up, and removed its batteries from the wire that was attached to the socket. I have an external changer as well, I could try attaching the wires which are on the batteries to the external charger, but its a bit risky.

I know i could get the usb port & headphone socket for it and replace it, but it costs 75$, if i am spending that much money on an old nexus i could go n get nexus 7 2013.

So, is there any other way I can charge the batteries of the nexus? Apart from the batteries the device works well, and I hate to see the beast of an nVidia tegra 3 go to waste like that.

You did not give details on "broken" in which way, but if it's about not charging,
or having a flaky connection when charging:

There seems to be a common problem with the micro-USB port speciffically in phones.

It is very simple, but not so simple to detect.
The problem is dust on the "back wall" of the connector on the phone.

If you look into it, wou will just see this "wall", with no dust.
Chances are that there is dust - like fiber collected from cloth of paper in your pocket over time, but perfectly compressed by hundreds of connecting cycles. Looks just like a perfect surface (in the limited visibility situation in the socket).

So please do not make an assumption about it and give it a try - use a needle to scratch that "wall", and see how it reacts.
Next part may be easy, surprising, and fun!

(take care of unpowering the device it you use a conducting tool)


How to restore ColorNote notes after factory reset? I forgot to backup my notes before factory reset and now apparently I have lost them all. Before doing factory reset though, Back up my data option in Settings >> Backup & Restore was checked but right after it there was no sign of restoring data and such. I am not however sure if this has backed up any of my ColorNote app data.

There is a backup folder at this address /storage/emulated/0/backup which contains backup files for some applications including one file named com.socialnmobile.dictapps.notepad.color.note which should be related to ColorNote app. When I double click on this file, and install it, no note gets restored. I also did not have anything synced with my Google account before doing factory reset.

I know I have probably lost my notes, but still am desperately searching for some way to restore them! Those notes where stored on Androids file system, so my only hope for now is maybe I could use some file recovery application to recover those deleted files. Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated!

(Galaxy Nexus, Android version: 4.2.1, not rooted)

If you have the db files then the only way is to root your mobile and copy the corresponding db files to the location(data/data/com.socialnmobile.dictapps.notepad.color.note).


Which filesystems get overwritten when applying a ROM? I'd like to better understand the process of writing a ROM (a zip package) to my Android phone.

Checking with adb shell, the following filesystems are mounted on my phone:

rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0

none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
none /sys/fs/cgroup tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=750,gid=1000 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0

devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,seclabel,relatime 0 0
selinuxfs /sys/fs/selinux selinuxfs rw,relatime 0 0

/sys/kernel/debug /sys/kernel/debug debugfs rw,relatime 0 0
/dev/fuse /mnt/shell/emulated fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other 0 0

tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,mode=755 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/fuse tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=775,gid=1000 0 0

/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /efs ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,user_xattr,barrier=1,journal_async_commit,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 /system ext4 ro,seclabel,noatime,user_xattr,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 /cache ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,errors=panic,user_xattr,barrier=1,journal_async_commit,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 /preload ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,user_xattr,barrier=1,journal_async_commit,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,user_xattr,barrier=1,journal_async_commit,data=ordered,noauto_da_alloc,discard 0 0

Now, to the best of my knowledge, only the last five actually correspond to non-volatile memory. Could you explain what's the structure of such a zip package, and which devices are overwritten when a ROM update occurs through ODIN or CWM recovery?

As Izzy has said, this entirely depends on the device and the particular image you are flashing.  Some might flash a new recovery, some not.  Some might flash only the system partition and leave your data alone.  There are even packages that will flash a new bootloader.

If you want to see what a ROM contains, you should open it up and have a look.  Here is a basic explanation of the structure of a kernel flash package.


Is it possible to root the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900V) on Android 5.0 Lollipop? I had root on 4.2 previously, but the update lost it, and with it my ability to use Sixaxis, AdFree, some features of NFC Tools and Tasker and Xposed modules.

I have searched, but it does not appear on this list:
How do I root my Android device?

I also saw a similar question here, but this is the AT&T version, not Verizon:
How to root the SM-G900F Android 5.0 without tripping KNOX?

Towelroot doesn't work (just tried) and the SM-G900V isn't listed here: https://autoroot.chainfire.eu/

Anyone have any experience with this?

Hi there is a way out but it requires a bit of home work.

Towel root can only root Android KitKat so you've to downgrade to Android 4.4 and gain root access using Towel root.

Later you can upgrade to Android Lollipop 5.0 without loosing the root access.

If you like the idea here is the reference link to the guides given on the Xda developer forum.

Check post #2 http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/help/verizon-galaxy-s5-lollipop-5-0-root-t3075261

Detail explanation of procedure of what I have said above: http://forum.xda-developers.com/verizon-galaxy-s5/general/how-to-update-to-g900voc4-5-0-keeproot-t3068546

I hope you find my answer helpful. Do let me know what you think.


Any way or app to enable vibrate only mode in Lollipop? I have a Moto G and earlier the Moto Assist used to have a setting to put phone in Vibrate only mode while in meetings. On updating to Lollipop, I don't have this option.

I know that it's possible to manually set phone in vibrate mode. But I have to this each time, instead of Phone automatically going to Vibrate mode checking my calender meetings.

You can use something like IFTTT (If this then that) app + the online service to connect to your calendar.
Here is a sample recipe.
https://ifttt.com/recipes/165618-mute-phone-when-calendar-event-starts


After rooting with Kingo Root, do I need to leave Kingo Link on the device? I successfully rooted an Azpen 746G using Kingo Root on a PC.  It placed an app on the tablet called Kingo Link.  Once the rooting process is complete, can I delete this app off the tablet?

Because the word "link" is so common, googling for this was not helpful

You are safe to uninstall it, the root is done, you dont even have to connect it to PC anymore. In case you do need to root again, connecting the pc will auto-install it back anyway (nless you uncheck the almost invisible "install recomended apk" or something, that shows below inside kingoroot pc software window! lol) Cheers


desktop shortcut to phone options? can I have shortcut to

airplane mode and/or
phone options (power off/airplane mode etc)

I do not like the  current way of holding power on/off button for some time

The Quick Settings app puts that at your fingertips and, by default, is launched with a long-press on the search button.


Android 6, delete file from /data/user/0/ I have an un-rooted Samsung Galaxy running Android 6.0.1 and for an app to work properly, I must delete a (lock-)file from the following path:

/data/user/0/com.some.app/some.dir/lkc904d56b5dbe600e60d121882bb2a1f2

How can I delete that file (without rooting the device)?

Thanx a lot for your help!

BR,
D.

PS: I tried mounting the device storage to my Ubuntu 16.04 machine, but could not find the folder.

There is no way you can access the /data partition unless you are rooted.

So, you need to root the device again to delete it..

Or, if you have a custom recovery installed, then you can just easily delete it, like:

For TWRP, open 'Advanced' and go to 'File Manager' and delete the file.
For CWM/Philz, just use (flash) the AROMA Filemanager Zip and browse & delete the file.
Or else, you could create a flashable zip to delete the file from the exact file location, or you could do it from the Terminal of the custom recovery (if it provides one)

Or else, if you don't have custom recovery, and if you don't want to root, the only way would be to factory reset (you might want to take backups before that).

  PS: I tried mounting the device storage to my Ubuntu 16.04 machine, but could not find the folder.

The device storage (internal storage) shows the files under /data/media/0, so you won't see it there..


How to extract GPS data from my phone I am a database programmer, and I want to learn about geospatial pattern matching by using the gps data from my phone.

I would like to install an app that uploads a record about the location of my phone every few seconds - to somewhere - pardon my ignorance as I am not a mobile platform developer. Presumably I can point the uploading process to some sort of a listening process on an Amazon AWS machine, where I can install a database and then analyze the data.

Is there any android application that I can install that would allow me to do this? By using an app, I can ask some friends to do the same so that I can then analyze data from multiple devices.

Whats the best approach for this type of task?

You could try GPS Logger for Android.

  A lightweight, battery efficient GPS Logger. The purpose of this app
  is to log your GPS coordinates at specified intervals to a file on
  your SD card. This app runs in the background so that you can on a
  long walk, hike, flight ride or photo session or even go buy some milk
  and have this running as long as possible. Once you're back at your
  computer, you can then use the files to geotag photos, upload to
  travel sites, view in Google Earth and so on.

The app lets you send the data via email, FTP, DropBox, Google Docs, OpenStreetMap, or OpenGTS. What you do with it, programming-wise, is entirely up to you; this part is off-topic here.


Aoson M19 -- Need Device Drivers Myself and a few others have an extra Aoson M19 android tablet on hand, but can't seem to find any USB device drivers for it. I assume this is because it isn't an overly popular tablet.

Does anyone know where some drivers could be found? Perhaps someone wrote their own?

Found this..

  After a few days working with this beautiful tablet i must say it's better than i expected. Great screen, fast enough (i never tested games).
  Now i'm intersting to conect the tablet with a usb cable to my windows 7 desktop.
  Please tell me where i can find drivers so i can synchronize it with the program i use (my phone explorer).
  With the drivers i found i can only see and work with the files on the memory of my tablet.
  Thank you in advance.

  ANSWER:
  thank you for taking the time to post a review, please email us at techhelp@merimobiles.com we will send you the windows drivers, thank you

So it looks like they're not publicly available, but try emailing this company and you might get them as well!


Error: Process aborted, when installing zip in Moto Razr XT910 I rooted my Motorola Razr XT910 already, then I followed the process and everything went excellent. But when I wiped my data, cache, and the dalvik cache, and then choosing install zip, I received the message that the process aborted!

I realized that I didn't backup and reset. So my ROM (the last one) was gone! I thought to transfer other files for the ROM I wanted to install, but everything said that it aborted! All of them.

Every time I plugged my phone LED color was white. I thought it means that there is no battery, and the computer isn't strong enough to charge the phone.

I plugged it into the wall and it turned on showing Motorola's logo (happens every time you turn it on) and remains stuck on that logo.
I plugged it out and the logo was gone.
I plugged back in and the logo showed up again, so I thought it's just the battery. After 12 hours and more the logo was still there.
I plugged out the phone from charging, and the logo stayed there.
I plugged it into the computer and the white LED light lit up.

How do I resolve this highly problematic issue?

Try downloading the correct ROM. It seems like your .zip file is not adequate.

To transfer it to the phone, enter recovery, and then tranfer either byadb push command, or by entering "ADB sideload" option (in recovery), and then using adb sideload command on PC.


google-plus application for android 1.6? Is there a google-plus application for Android 1.6? My device won't be updated to 2.0+, so unless someone writes a 1.6 compatible app, I'm stuck without it.

The official Google+ app requires Android 2.1 or newer, and as the market share for 1.6 and older is now vanishingly small, and getting smaller by the day (at time of writing the combined market share of 1.5 + 1.6 is 3.6%) it's unlikely to be modified to work on older OSs. Similarly unless there's a dev who's also stuck on 1.6 himself and desperate to use Google+, a market share like that is barely worth most Devs efforts to create a 3rd party app if there's features in newer platform versions that would make things easier for them.

Your best bet is to use the web interface at http://google.com/+ as the Google+ for mobile page specifically states that that is compatible with Android 1.5 and up.


How can I check if a device is booted into safe mode from adb? Is it possible to use adb to detect whether a device is booted into "Safe Mode" or normal mode?

I've looked through the output of getprop and other command-line tools and haven't found any good indicator of safe mode, at least not on my N5/hammerhead device.

Update: I'm trying to check whether or not the device is in Safe Mode, not to force it into Safe Mode. Putting the device in Safe Mode programmatically is relatively straightforward and well-documented.

Any ideas?

Aha! This'll do the trick! Android's dumpsys display command:

$ adb shell dumpsys display|grep mSafeMode
 mSafeMode=true


How Google Pixel owner register the unlimited free storage? I have been reading and heard Google Pixel owner get unlimited free storage, but how?
How Google Pixel owner register the unlimited free storage?
I want to know if is register automatically when you buy the phone, or there is some code you can enter.

From Android Police

  .... When you receive your brand spanking new Pixel and log in with your Google account, the Photos promotion should automatically start.

Related How "Google Pixel (XL)" activates the "unlimited full resolution photo and video backup"


my google play uninstall by itself.. how can i install it again ? I have just reset my Samsung Galaxy Ace and now Google Play doesn't shown up. I've already restarted my phone but nothing happens, and I've downloaded a different Play Store but it doesn't seem to open.  Before I reset my phone I read that nothing will be un-installed from my application, but how does it come that Google Play doesn't shown up ?

Here http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/02/22/download-latest-google-play-store-3-10-14/ you will find download links to the play store in this site


Pin unlock without showing numbers When you type your pin into the Android lock screen, it does the usual mobile password field thing where it actually shows the last character you've entered.

Is there any way to disable this on vanilla Android 4.4? As in show only dots.

Since I just upgrade to 5.0/Lollipop, I can't confirm for sure if this setting is present in KitKat/4.4, but in 5.0, you can hide the last digit in the PIN unlock screen by turning off the Security setting labeled Make passwords visible, as seen here:

This is found under the general Settings app under the Security section.  Note, however, that this also affects password fields elsewhere in Android, such as in the Chrome browser.


Nexus 7 stuck in a boot loop I have a two-week-old Google/Asus Nexus 7 tablet, unrooted and otherwise standard.

Yesterday it ran out of charge a lot faster than it usually does, and wouldn't seem to recharge. When it finally ran completely out of juice it shut down.

Now when I turn it on, it gets stuck in an endless boot loop. I contacted Google's support and they're looking to send out a new item. However if I go that road, I'll lose the data on there.

Has anyone experienced this issue? Is there anything else I could try? Thanks!

(EDIT)
This answer is only really helpful for unlocked tablets.. Look after this paragraph if that is already the case. Otherwise read on.

"fastboot oem unlock" also does a factory reset, you need to have it unlocked before you need it, alas. This is both good for privacy and bad for recovery from half-bricked devices... The factory reset does In fact a secure erase which nullifies all your data.

According to Android: Building for devices:

  $ fastboot oem unlock
  The procedure must be confirmed on-screen, and deletes the user data for privacy reasons. It only needs to be run once.

$ fastboot boot recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-grouper.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
FAILED (remote: Bootloader is locked.)
finished. total time: 0.020s
$ fastboot oem unlock
...
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
(bootloader) erasing cache...
(bootloader) erasing cache done
(bootloader) unlocking...
(bootloader) Bootloader is unlocked now.
OKAY [ 12.704s]
finished. total time: 12.704s
$ fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-grouper.img
sending 'recovery' (6480 KB)...
OKAY [  0.785s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  0.225s]
finished. total time: 1.010s
# after that boot into the recovery (don't boot normal! it overwrites valuable data...)
$ adb shell cat /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/UDA \| gzip -1 -c \| uuencode bla | uudecode -o - | gunzip -dc | bar > /media/qnap/backup/n7.data.formatted.img

(END EDIT)

You can boot a temporary custom recovery and create a backup of your device.

It should also be possible to wipe it afterwards and recover from your problem without having to send it back at all (provided it's not a hardware issue).

Steps:

install the SDK (if not already done) and have working adb + fastboot executables ready
Download a CWM recovery image from here
unlock your Nexus 7's bootloader: fastboot oem unlock
Here's how to enter the fastboot mode (the Nexus 7's codename is grouper):
Press Power for a second, and press Volume Down when the bootloader logo appears
boot into a temporary CWM recovery: fastboot boot recovery-clockwork-6.0.1.0-grouper.img
Create a nandroid/CWM backup from your broken installation (backup&restore->backup)

after the backup is complete, try to pull all data from your device:
adb shell mount (should list something like /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 on /sdcard or so (not really sure however)
adb pull /sdcard backup/ (replace /sdcard with the above noticed directory, this should extract all your data to backup/)
check if everything is transmitted correctly)
you can buy TitaniumBackup+ProKey afterwards (it allows extracting data from Nandroid backups quite easily)

If that fails you can alternatively leech everything manually with adb:
I assume you use Linux.

.

#list available devices:
adb shell ls /dev/block
adb shell cat /proc/partitions
#create images for each mtdblock
#uuencoding is needed because the shell interferes with the stream (adds linefeeds or so):
adb shell cat /dev/block/mtdblockX \| uuencode foo | uudecode -o mtdblockX.img
adb shell cat /dev/block/mmcblkXXX \| uuencode foo | uudecode -o mmcblkXXX
#compare md5sums:
adb shell md5sum /dev/block/*
md5sum mtdblock* mmcblk*

# Look for reasonably sized images and what file system they are:
ls -lh mtdblock* mmcblk*
file mtdblock* mmcblk*
# You should be able to mount those images now (if you happen to use linux):
mount -t ext4 -oloop,ro mtdblockX /media/mtdblockX
# Now use some file-explorer to access your saved data

Final step:
If you are really sure that you got all your data back, boot back into the CWM recovery (see step above) and issue a wipe data/factory reset command. Then reboot and re-setup your tablet (hopefully you don't have a hardware issue).
Optional step: relock your bootloader via fastboot oem lock


Are contacts from the Google account also stored on the phone? Are contacts stored in Google Contacts also stored on the phone or are they only accessible if the phone has a data connection?

A copy is locally stored, so these contacts are also available when there is no current data connection.


Angry Birds Seasons "Installation Unsuccessful" -- Help? I have tried several times to install Angry Birds Seasons from the marketplace.  Every time, I get a notification saying "Installation unsuccessful" without anything more descriptive.  Has anyone else run into problems installing it?  Is there any way I can get a more detailed error message explaining what part of installation failed?

HTC Evo 4G

[Update]
7.15GB free on my SD card
196 MB free internally

[Update 2]
I got this error again when attempting to update to the Valentine's day version of Angry Birds Seasons.  Once again, unmounting the SD card and installing it seemed to work successfully.  Further, my save data was still in tact after remounting.

I had a very similar issue on my HTC Incredible. Try unmounting the SD card (Menu->Settings->SD & phone storage->"Unmount SD card" on my Incredible) and then installing the app. After it finished installing, you can then remount your SD card.


Restrictions of a Kindle Fire in Canada? I wanted to order a Kindle Fire in Canada but I saw that it wasn't available. Now I really wanted one and I could always just cross the border and get one. What I want to know is how restricted will it be in Canada. I hear it's probably only the Amazon content distribution system that won't work, meaning I still get a full-featured Android tablet with the Android market. I should be able to get any apps and any books from the Android market that I can normally with my phone in Canada.

Is that how it's looking?

I have a kindle Fire I received as a gift and live in Canada. The Amazon App Store is visible but you cannot download anything. It says "this service is unavailable in your region" The web browser works fine, as does downloading books from Amazon .ca
You can see the content for sale or borrowing in Amazon Prime, but get the same message.


Mount root filesystem as R/W I use NOTE4 N910C with Android 6.0.1 PDA N910CXXU2DPE6, CSC N910COXA2DPE1 + TWRP + root, dated Wed, 11 May 2016.
All works perfectly but in this version of firmware, root filesystem is mounted as read-only. Developer mode is turn on.
I try to remount /system from console, from ES Explorer, from Root Explorer and so on. Nothing helps. Can anybody advice me how to make root filesys as R/W. Just for a while, to make some changes.

Finally I remount /system as R/W. The proper syntax of command is:

mount -o rw,remount /system

NOT:

mount -o remount,rw /system

I really dont know why, but second syntax is executed without errors but /system is still read only. The first command works on NOTE 4 N910C correctly.
Thats all, topic closed.


Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100 keeps getting Status 7 when installing CyanogenMod I'm trying to install CyanogenMod rom on my Samsung Galaxy S2 i9100.

I have root (checked with root basic app).
Successfully installed SuperSU Pro.
Downloaded the third+fourth Cyanogenmon from here: http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?device=i9100&type=nightly (I tried installing both files since the first wasnt installed)

And it gave me the Status 7 error.

I edited the first part of the "updater-script" file as said in any tutorial on the web and tried to install - I got the same message.
I tried enabling "Toggle Signature Verification" and still doesn't install it.

What can I do?

Am I doing something wrong?

Am I using wrong versions?

Here is a FIX I found for you. Read thoroughly. This will solve your problem.

The first mistake that most people make is flashing incorrect/old/outdated version of recovery.

The second mistake is not matching the correct/proper ROM/firmware to the device hardware.

Incompatibilities when flashing account for the majority of failed installations.

Always make backups/nandroids


Can I use my Android device as remote control for my SmartTV? As a similar question was deleted by its owner while I wrote up the answer, I decided to share it this way.

I have a Samsung SmartTV, and want to use my Android device to remote-control it – including switching TV channels, adjusting volume and, if possible, the full spectrum of features the SmartTV offers. My Android device does not have an IR blaster, and I'm not speaking of "buying additional hardware" for it.

Is this possible – and if so, how?

There are multiple possibilities to remote-control your Samsung TV with your Android device. For one, there are a bunch of Samsung TV remote control apps giving you a wide range of choices.

A second variant would involve FHEM on your PC (this is a home automation software, and there's a module available for Samsung TVs – I use this, so I can vouch for it) and, optionally, the andFHEM Android app. This way you cannot only use your Android device, but any device with a web browser to remote control the TV – and even integrate it with some other (home) automation stuff. For example, using tasker you could have your TV turned off (or mute it) whenever you receive a call on your Android device – or turn it on as soon as your device connects to your local WiFi. Much more is possible, of course :)


reverse usb tethering works, but no internet For a hobby project I'm building a system manager for a gaming pc.

Instead of a custom touch screen and microcontroller I'm trying to use an old Samsung Galaxy S2 (i9100). For useabilty I'm trying to use reverse usb tethering to use the LAN connection of the pc.

I've managed to install LineageOS 14.1 with Gapps and Xposed framework.

Via the network settings on the S2 I've activated usb tethering

On the windows pc, a network adapter is added: NDIS based ethernet port with ip adress 192.168.137.1 and the local ethernet port is set for sharing the connection

Via Terminal Emulator for Android on the S2 with command ifconfig all the ip settings are confirmed and the NDIS is set to UP. I've also tried to reconfigure the default network route. Via the Xposed framework fakewifi connection is running for all the apps.

Still the S2 doesn't get internet connection. What am I doing wrong?

You just need to configure the dhcp.

Open Terminal emulator and type in: su . The $ will change to #.

Type the following command in Terminal Emulator:

 netcfg rndis0 dhcp

The name for usb interface inside Android may vary. It is usually rndis0 or usb0. Type busybox ifconfig to identify the name.

It can happen that automatic dhcp method does not work. In this case you  have to do it manually:

Type these following commands in Terminal Emulator:

ifconfig rndis0 192.168.137.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 route add default gw 192.168.137.1 dev rndis0

If route fails, try: busybox route add default gw 192.168.137.1 dev

  It has been noted that some applications (download in Google Play,
  Gmail, Facebook.) don't recognize Internet connection.

The following is a recommended workaround:

Enable temporarily 3G connection on your Android
Type: ifconfig rmnet0 0.0.0.0

The name for 3G interface inside Android may vary: ppp0, rmnet0... (Type busybox ifconfig to identify the name).

  This will make applications see your Internet connection via USB as
  3G.


Samsung Galaxy Y won't connect to the computer I'm having problem connecting my Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360 to the computer using via USB.

Whenever I connect it, it automatically charges. Before there was a prompt to connect it to the computer but now it just charges directly. I have tried downloading the Samsung Kies but it still won't connect.

2 places to check:

Settings -> Wireless and Network -> USB Settings, and select "Ask on connection".
Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging [disable USB debugging]


I have Unknown Sources enabled on my phone, now what? Along the same lines as this question. What's so special about enabling Unknown Sources, and what are some things that I should do once it's enabled?

This allows you to obtain and run an application (i.e. the .apk file) from sources other than the Android Market. (i.e. you get it from a download from a developer's site, from an email, etc.). That's it.

Edit:
Once you enable Unknown Sources this post covers the rest: How can I install an app given only its APK file?.


Is it possible to run a PS2 emulator through Android's DVM? I have heard some random posts from people on forums claiming that Android's Dalvik Virtual Machine can't handle something of the magnitude of a PS2 emulator, such as this one ported somewhat.

Is this true?

Are there obvious limitations to a massive program running under Dalvik, or the DVM's workload?

With the obvious limitation being the hardware and most devices having major trouble with this for that very reason, is there any software aspect that may limit this, in short?

It's not a matter of Dalvik being incapable of running certain types of programs, it's a matter of performance.

Any runtime system based on non-native bytecode (e.g. Dalvik, JVM, .NET CLR) incurs some performance overhead in translating the bytecode into a form that the CPU can run.  For most apps this isn't a problem, since most apps do relatively little CPU work and spend most of their time just waiting for input.  But an emulator is typically a CPU-intensive program, so it's often better to implement it using native code, which doesn't incur the overhead of running on Dalvik.


How to make your own CWM flashable stock ROM from "SP Flash Tool" Flashable Stock ROM ? I can't restore my stock ROM of device XOLO A500S IPS by using SP Flash Tool. I need a stock ROM that can be simply flashed by CWM recovery. There is no such ROM available on the internet, as I have searched for it, but couldn't find it.
Can I make one myself ?
How to do this ?

There are stock firmware images available for download here that can be flashed with the SP Flash Tool.

In terms of creating your own ROM (CWM-based or otherwise), that is beyond the scope of this site.


What can you do when you can't chmod /system/bin/chmod? I have changed the permissions of the file \system\bin\chmod from 777(-rwxrwxrwx) to 644 (-rw-r--r--), how can I turn back to 777?

I don't know is this may be relevant, but I'm using a samsung J5 running android 9.

Thank you in advance.

I wonder how you can change /system without read-write access. Usually a reboot will restore permissions, but you can also change it on-the-fly

chmod is most likely a symlink to toybox and you have changed permissions of toybox instead. this will affect most (if not all) of the commands. you can maybe fix this with busybox

external MicroSD Card permissions are -rwxrwx--x per default, so maybe this trick works (untested). copy binary to external MicroSD Card first, then move the file into /data/local/tmp (moving a file does keep permissions)

adb push busybox-armv7l /sdcard/busybox
adb shell
su
ls -1 /storage
cp /sdcard/busybox /storage/????-????
cd /data/local/tmp
mv /storage/????-????/busybox .
./busybox mount -o remount,rw /
./busybox chmod a+x /system/bin/toybox

if you really just changed permissions of chmod (which must a binary in this case) you can just use toybox applets with prefix toybox chmod

in case ls mount cp and mv not working, run the following commands in termux (thx @ Irfan Latif)

pkg install busybox
su
export PATH=/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin:$PATH
busybox mount -o remount,rw /
busybox chmod a+x /system/bin/toybox


How to make a backup from internal storage of my Galaxy S3 Neo while it stucks on Samsung logo screen? My Galaxy S3 Neo has stopped working without any clear reason! I woke up and looked at my phone screen. It was showing the logo of Samsung. Then I turned it off by removing the battery. Since then I have been trying to turn it on but again it stuck on the logo screen. I tried first, "wipe cache partition" from recovery menu (by pressing power bottom+home+volume up) but it did not work. Second, I tried using another battery and it shows that the battery works well. Third, I start using the safe mode but it could be loaded. There I have two questions:

I do not want to miss my personal information, photos, apps, etc. which are in my internal storage. This is very important for me. Please help me:(
What should I do with the problem?

If you have tried enough booting and it won't boot than all feasible option you have are

look if only flashing system partition is possible and if it doesnt remove your data
or if it is possible to root without loss of data, if possible do so and install recovery and extract your data to PC and reflash the firmware


Installing command line apps I have an unrooted Samsung Galaxy S4 Active running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. I have installed the Terminal Emulator and am wondering how to install apps to the command line.

Is it possible for me to install applications such as alsa-utils or cowsay like you would with a normal Linux machine. At the moment there isn't much you can do with the terminal that's of interest.

You can find a folder which is writable by the ADB user and put ARM binaries there. I recall that /data/local/bin is such a place. Then you can include that folder in the PATH variable.

You can compile your own binaries (I don't know how and even if I did explaining that would probably fill a page or two here) or  grab them online. Take a look here, you can find a lot of useful packages.

If you like to play around in the command line, and you know what you're doing, you could consider rooting the phone. That would make it possible to install busybox easily into the /system partition, and allow more to play around with in general.


What do you mean by kernel I have many times come across this word. I even know a little about it but don't know exactly what it is.

Visit the wiki pages of Kernel and Android for information.

In simple terms, the kernel is a key component of operating systems, which mediates between software and the hardware. When an application needs the hardware to do something (this is known as a system call), it sends a request to the kernel, which in turn interprets the command for the hardware.

Both the hardware and the software communicate both ways with the kernel.

In the context of Android, the kernel is not user-accessible without superuser permissions. Thus, many users flash a custom kernel, to tweak hardware settings such as CPU clock speed and File System Architectures.

For further reading, look here and here.


Link redirects to play store when I want it to open in app This happens to me a lot, but let's use today's example. I click a soundcloud link in facebook, it redirects me to play store to install soundcloud app. Fair enough. I install and go back to facebook to click the link again to open in app. AGAIN I get sent to soundcloud app in play store. Now it is obviously installed already so I click open, but when I do it seems like the link has been forgotten on the way, so I only get to the soundcloud home page. This happens to me with many links and many apps, opened from both Chrome and facebook. Any tips on how to fix this minor bug?

I had this same problem with Google Hangouts. If you request the Desktop version of the Google Play Store on Chrome, it will load the hangout appropriately, but not from the mobile version of the page.


How accurate is Google Play installs measure? When you look at app listing in Google Play there is "Installs" section:

How accurate is that? What values can be found there? Does is take uninstalls into consideration?

It doesn't take uninstalls into account. It is very slow to update and based on the all-time number of individual Google accounts that installed it, NOT the devices.

That's all based on what I experienced, from the Play Console combined with Store

Possible values include:

1+

5+

(Maybe some more)

100+

500+

1k+

5k+(?)

10k+

50k+

100k+

(Maybe some more)

1m+

(Maybe some more)

1b+


My Sony Xperia C4 can not Authenticate after a reset I reset my sony Xperia C4. After that the theft protection appears and asks me to authenticate. When I try to authenticate it says "Sorry Xperia Helper Has Stopped. And I can't authenticate.

Click on 'emergency call'. Type in this number ##7378423#*#. It will fail, but after a while, your google account will ask you to log in. Log in. The installation will go on. At some point, you will again be asked to authenticate. Only that this time the authentication does not crash.

// Probably typing the number does nothing, but I think its best you just exactly reproduce what I did.


How to lock Samsung Galaxy S2? My Samsung Galaxy S2 locks after some time I don't touch the screen.

How could I lock it immediately, without waiting for this time to pass?

On my original SGS you do it by just clicking the power button.  I would assume it's the same for the SGS2.


LineageOS: list of running applications When I had Android on my tablet (Smasung Note 10) I would long press the chassis button to access a list of running applications; the long press does nothing with LineageOS.

How can I access the list of running applications with LineageOS?

It depends on your settings. For me it is settings -> buttons. There you can specify which button is responsible for which action.


received SMS with content "request failed" Today I received two suspicious SMS from two different sender - both from the same provider.
The messages only contained the text "request failed". The numbers do not look like some special expensive numbers.

Can anyone guess what happened?

Is there a way to find out if there is an app which is allowed to send SMS on my phone?

Update: now that I've seen that there is no suspicious app with permissions to send SMS, I try to reconsile the SMS in my SMS history with the ones from my bill. But I noticed that it's hard to get a chronological list of SMS from the build in app - any idea how I can get a chronological list of sent SMS and not conversations?

The last part of your question is easily answered, as there are a lot of permission scanners available on the Playstore. For added benefit, I will just mention one: AppBrain Ad Detector also scans for contained ad modules and more:

AppBrain Ad Detector (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)

As you can see in the screenshots, such an app would turn up in "Has access to your messages", and for sure in "May cost you money".

There are a lot more permission-scanners out there, some even explaining what those permissions stand for and what they mean. Take a look e.g. at RL Permissions, Guardian Droid, or aSpotCat (app by permission) -- and check their related apps for more candidates.


Protect your Android phone from loss or theft It's an unfortunate fact that the pricey pocket computers we carry around with us at all times are prime targets for thieves—as well as very easy to leave behind in subway cars or on coffee shop tables. Now that we all rely on our smartphones for so much, having one stolen or misplaced can feel like the end of the world.

We are not bothered about the life-saving apps until we lost our Smart Phone or PC. Once something happens badly, we will run behind the apps to track the device.

But, by taking the correct Preemptive Measures/precautions beforehand, we can reduce the likelihood of crooks accessing our data, and make it easier to find our phone’s location. We can even make the phone itself pretty much useless to the thieves or anyone they sell it to.

And my question is what are the Preemptive Measures You Should Do Before—And After—You Lose Your Phone?

Safeguarding android device

Secure your device (before it is lost or stolen)

Set a PIN or password

The most important security measure on an Android Smartphone is to set an PIN or password.

An unprotected device is directly accessible to every one if you have lost it while it was running.

For a the length of the PIN/password at least five or better six digits are recommended.

A pattern lock is also possible but not recommended as it is easier to crack and in case of an broken display it will will prevent you from accessing your device as it can't be solved with an attached keyboard.

Do not unlock bootloader or root the device

From the perspective of an attacker that have found or stolen your device an open bootloader simplifies a lot of attacks. Hence the general rule for secure devices is not to unlock the bootloader or root your device.

Know the device IMEI

If your device has been stolen you may want to complain this to the police. In such a case you need some device details like Phone brand and model number and the most important the device IMEI (most mobile network operators have IMEI blacklists of stolen devices). Usually the IMEI is printed on the boy the device is shipped in. Hence as long as you keep this box everything is fine. If not you can use your phone to display the IMEI by entering *#06# in to the Telephone/dialer app. After entering the last dash immediately a dialog show pops up showing your IMEI.

After the device is gone

Worst case

To say the truth if your device has been stolen and the thief is not an idiot your device is gone. No GPS/cell tower/Wifi location technology or whatever can locate the device or send back the location it the device is in a electrostatic shielded bag. Hence if your device has been stolen and you were unprepared it is now too late.

Other cases

If you just lost your device or the thief is a complete idiot you may be able to use one of the location trackers. Regular Android devices that are "Google enabled" (Google Play Services and Google PlayStore installed and equipped with an active Google account) can simply use the Google Find My Device functionality.

Note that in case you have enabled two-factor authentication on your Google account make sure you have some backup codes in place. Because if logging into your Google account requires you to have access to your (now lost/stolen) Android phone you can't login and hence not locate your device.

I strongly recommend to test Find My Device while you still have access to your device just to ensure the functionality is really working.


Mere presence of SD card causes all sort of issues - what can be wrong? My Galaxy S II started to act weirdly recently - application can't be installed or updated neither in Google Play, nor locally, the Settings > Apps (Storage) says "Computing" forever, my SD card fails to dismount etc. But other than that, the phone operates normally - all files are accessible, all apps work etc.

As I needed the updates and installs to work, I needed to fix this. It appeared that when I physically take the SD card out, all is suddenly fine. When I put the card back in, I can access the data on it, the files are visible over MTP on my Windows machine etc. but the above mentioned problems are back again.

I've checked the card itself and it seems to be fine - it operates normally under Windows, the Windows check tool didn't find any corrupted sectors or anything like that. So I guess the fault is either in my phone or in Android - does this sound familiar to someone here? Is there anything I can do to try to fix this?

tl;dr: Have you tried with another SD card already? Have you tried the SD card on another phone? Try formatting the SD card and resetting the phone.

Maybe there is some problem with a file on the SD card, that isn't recognized by your computer, but that your phone doesn't like. Maybe you could try to format your SD card, so that everything is removed (also the possibly bad file). Or check if you have the same problem on your phone with another SD card.

Could be that this doesn't fix your problem, then I would suggest you try to reset your phone (don't forget to take a backup of course). And see if you still have the problem.

If this (formatting SD + resetting phone) also doesn't help, then I am out of ideas. Maybe then there is something wrong with your hardware, but I hope one of the above will fix the problem.


Sony Xperia U with my Windows XP laptop I have Windows XP and every time I connect my Xperia U, the computer thinks it a camera. I think it's a driver problem so I found the drivers on the Sony Website, but I'm not sure how to install them?

I installed the drivers, but my computer still thinks it's a camera. Any help?

There is problem with the MTP driver in Windows XP. It will connect in PTP mode thats why it is showing as camera. You can search in Microsoft forum for enabling MTP but still not sure whether it will work or not. Change the os or install Sony PC companion


What do I do when the keyboard is frozen on my lock screen and I can't get in? I have an Android Galaxy J7 V and I don't use the key board to put in my password, I just have to swipe a certain way on the dots which I can't see to get into my phone.Since the keyboard is frozen I don't know what to do.

What do you call that protection feature. Password but you use swipe to unlock or a feature similar to LG's 'Knock On'


I installed an incompatible kernel with CyanogenMod - what do I do? I installed Faux kernel on my Nexus 5 with CyanogenMod 11. I forgot about CM's special kernel setup when installing Faux - how do I uninstall, or wipe my phone to reinstall CyanogenMod?

I use ClockworkMod Recovery and know ADB

Resolved: Using this (http://android-revolution-hd.blogspot.ca/2013/12/how-to-copy-rom-zip.html) Then flashing the zip uploaded to the device. Note: If your cellular stops working or glitches out re-flash the stock radio (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2513701) Or completely re-flash stock then you are free to continue ROMing!


Where do I get multiwindow function? I bought a galaxy 3 tablet with 4.2.2 system. The multiwindow option isn't there at all.  I tried resetting the device but that did not help.

Pull down notification window, and enable it.


How to disable WhatsApp group message notifications? I'd like to only receive notifications (in the notification-bar) from single contacts but I don't know how to disable them without disabling all notifications from Whatsapp (via Settings->Apps).

Does anyone have a clue how to accomplish this?

The only way to mute group messages is to mute them for a time period, and the maximum duration is 1 week. To do this, open the group conversation you'd like to mute, press menu and select Mute and then select the desired duration (8 hours, 1 day, 1 week).

Unfortunately this means you have to do this weekly and separately for all groups.


How do I keep others from pairing their compatible device with my Android phone via Bluetooth? I'm going to use the mysterious Bluetooth feature on my Samsung J7 to play music from my phone while I listen with wireless headphones paired to my device. Apparently, all anyone has to do is turn on Bluetooth and it will show a list of all the nearby devices you can connect to. How do I keep neighbors etc. from pairing with my phone while I'm listening to music via Bluetooth?

turn off your bluetooth visibility, by this way the media center will not be able to detect your bluetooth, but you will still be able to connect to other devices. For suppose if still showing pairing request means try using some friends phone and connect to mediacenter, so when the other phone is gone from your home, mediacenter might remember that phone and stop sending you connection requests


Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 Died I updated my phone with Odin v.3.04 and now it is not working anymore. I took out the USB cable and I removed the battery while the phone was in download mode. When I went to turn my phone on again, it would not turn on. Can someone please help me?

Ok so I'm going to take a small leap here and assume you were trying to root your device. Here is what you need to know:

Soft-Brick

Symptoms

You can immediately tell that you have a soft-bricked phone if it turns on but doesn't really 'turn on'. You will see some kind of boot loader screen that will prompt you to connect your phone to your computer and start a transfer. Sometimes a soft-brick will look like a hard-brick (see below), in this case you can plug your device into your computer and see if you can connect to it. If you can connect to it and transfer over a new ROM, then your device is soft-bricked.

What is it?

This word is actually miss used all over the internet. When a device is 'bricked', that means that the system can boot up but it can't launch the operating system because it has been erased/corrupted. A soft-bricked device is actually not the worst thing in the world, all you have to do is flash it with a new ROM and you're good to go! Make sure the rom you are trying to flash the device with goes with the EXACT device. 'close' only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

Hard-Brick

Symptoms

You can tell that a device is hard-bricked if you try to turn it on or charge it and you get no response. If you cannot launch the boot loader with the special combination (usually power button along with up volume and menu button) then it is probably a hard-brick. Make sure you have determined that your power source and your battery are functioning properly before you jump to this conclusion.

What is it?

A device that is hard bricked is almost useless. There is almost nothing you can do to get it back unless you have professional experience in hardware hacking. Basically what you need to do is make your own 'Jig' that flashes the device ROM with a new boot loader. Once the boot loader is flashed, then you have your backdoor. You can then boot up the phone and flash it.

I will be completely honest with you, you have 2 options if your device has been hard-bricked:

Try to get a new one through your warranty (which is now void) on your device if it is not expired. If you try to do this and you get caught you will have to pay the full price of the device and your carrier will get very angry with you. If you get away with it, you have a new phone and the phone carriers get to sell your phone as a refurbished phone.
Pay someone to J-Tag it for you. Depending on which device you have, it can cost as low as $40. I DO NOT recommend this method because if they decide that they want to keep your phone (especially if you are shipping to Canada or Asia) there is nothing you can do and you are SOL with no phone and $40 missing out of your pocket.

The internet is full of people with your exact same problem. A quick google search will give you answers to most of your questions.

For Samsung device users specifically

Samsung devices can usually be forced into download mode using a JIG. They are pretty simple and cheap to make. If your device has been soft-bricked this will almost always work. If your device is hard-bricked this method will not work, I've tried.


How to overcome the failure of data wipe? My smartphone's type is Huawei g730 - U 10 My mobile was restarting several times even when I touch the screen or trying to make a call...then I found this message:

Encryption unsuccessful Encryption was interrupted and can't complete.As a result, the data on your phone is no longer accessible

To resume using your phone, you must perform a factory reset. When you set up your phone after the reset, you'll have an opportunity to restore any data that was backed up to your Google Account.

There is such like a button entitled "Reset phone". When I press it, the phone restarts and enters in "Android system recovery <3e>"

There are more than a category or alternatives to choose from. When I choose the "wipe cache partition", everything is ok and this process completes successfully. On the other hand, When I choose the category of "wipe data/factory reset", unfortunately appears to me this phrase: "wipe data failed".

What should I do? Give me a hand, please!

Common issue with Huawei devices. This happens when the memory chip (eMMC) is damaged and become read-only.
This is a hardware failure, the only fix is replacing the chip or changing the motherboard. Sometimes heating the chip can solve (temporarily) the issue.

To be sure the eMMC is damaged, power off the phone, hold volume up and volume down at the same time then briefly hit the power button: if the screen goes purple or you get a more explicit message : Update exception. EMMC is readonly, you can't update your system - the chip is damaged. Otherwise you can flash the device to solve the issue.


What special privileges "/system/xbin/su" does have w.r.t. root access? This answer says:

  Because of the way directory/file permissions are configured on
  Android, you need to have the su binary on your /system partition
  in order for it to work. Putting elsewhere will not suffice, because
  it will not have the permissions it needs to actually allow processes
  to switch users.

What is the mechanism that causes binaries in /system to have special privileges?
Specifically, if I moved /system/xbin/su to /data/xbin/su (and changed anything relevant to point to /data/xbin/su instead of /system/xbin/su), what would be different?

My guess is that these privileges are enforced by SELinux.
I searched Android's sources, and found in platform/system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts:

/system(/.*)?       u:object_r:system_file:s0

and in platform/system/sepolicy/public/domain.te:

allow { appdomain coredomain } system_file:file { execute read open getattr map };

However, I also found in platform/system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts:

/system/xbin/su     u:object_r:su_exec:s0

and in platform/system/sepolicy/public/domain.te:

# Nobody should be able to execute su on user builds.
# On userdebug/eng builds, only dumpstate, shell, and
# su itself execute su.
neverallow { domain userdebug_or_eng(`-dumpstate -shell -su') } su_exec:file no_x_file_perms;

So I am confused.

Since Android is based on Linux kernel, getting root access by executing /system/xbin/su - like one can do on a Linux system - used to work in good old days but not now. The story is a bit twisted.

WHAT IS SUID?
Special thing about /system/xbin/su isn't that it's in /system partition, but the set-user-ID-root (SUID) bit set on this binary makes it special. SUID  (Set owner User ID up on execution) is a special type of permission on Linux kernel that grants the permissions of the file owner to the new process rather than inheriting permissions from parent process who runs it. Since the owner of /system/xbin/su is root (UID 0), it can switch the effective UID of process to 0 when executed, hence enabling calling process to have root access.
This is a part of Discretionary Access Control (DAC); one of Linux kernel's security features.

MANDATORY ACCESS CONTROL (MAC):
Implemented since KitKat, SELinux can control who executes su binary, by defining Access Vector rules.

On userdebug/eng build of a ROM, adb shell (by executing su, as you have mentioned) and adb daemon (1) can make transition (2, 3, 4, 5) to run as root with unrestricted context u:r:su:s0 (6). But adbd can't be run as root on final user builds (7, 8), neither su binary is included. So, /system/xbin/su is intended only for developers to debug engineering or userdebug builds of a ROM, not for end user (9). And second special thing about it is its SELinux context u:object_r:su_exec:s0.

See Why “adb root” does nothing? for more details.

HOW ANDROID RESTRICTS ROOT ACCESS?
Keeping SELinux aside, on user build of a ROM that is intended for end users, placing su under /system won't give any advantage, even with set-user-ID-root. A normal app can't elevate its privileges to root by executing su because:

Starting with Jelly Bean, Android switched to file capabilities (a capability is a subset of root privileges) instead of relying on set-user-ID type of security vulnerabilities. A more secure mechanism: Ambient capabilities has also been introduced in Android Oreo.
System daemons and services can make use of file capabilities to gain process capabilities (see under Transformation of capabilities during execve) but apps can't do that either because they run with process control attribute NO_NEW_PRIVS set, ignoring set-user-ID as well as file capabilities. SUID is also ignored by mounting /system and /data with nosuid option for all apps.
UID can be switched only if calling process has SETUID/SETGID capability in its Bounding set (one of the 5 capabilities categories a process can have). But Android apps are made to run with all capabilities already dropped in all sets.
Starting with Oreo, apps' ability to change UID/GID has been further suppressed by blocking certain syscalls using seccomp filters.

ADB daemon, however runs with CAP_SETUID and CAP_SETGID (to allow switching to UID/GID shell???). But adb shell too can't get us capabilities by executing a SUID-root su binary because NOROOT and NO_SETUID_FIXUP security bits are set on adbd process. Contrarily on a debugging build, no capabilities are dropped from bounding set (10), so executing /system/xbin/su (with set-user-ID-root bit or cap_setuid,cap_setgid+ep file capabilities) would get us full root access.

Syscalls used in these sandboxing methods: cap_set_proc, setresuid, setresgid, sys_seccomp, prctl (CAPBSET_DROP, SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS, SET_SECUREBITS, SET_SECCOMP) are all part of Minijail.

Summarizing the above lines, DAC and MAC would only allow adb root and executing /system/xbin/su from adb shell on userdebug build of ROM. To have root access from apps and on user builds targeted for end user, we need to root the phone as explained below.

HOW TO GET ROOT ACCESS ON ANDROID?
So if we want to have privileges with UID 0 and all 38 capabilities of Linux kernel, we need a rooting solution that can deal with all above described security measures. Since the standalone su binaries stopped working with the release of Jelly Bean, a transition was made to su daemon mode.

Now on a rooted phone, a fully privileged daemon runs from the very start of booting process (in fact init is replaced). When an app needs root access, it executes su binary provided by the rooting solution. This su doesn't change UID/GID on its own, but just connects to super user daemon through a UNIX socket and asks to provide the requesting app a root shell with all capabilities. In order to interact with user to grant/deny su requests from apps, su daemon is hooked with an app that can display user interface prompts. A database of granted/denied permissions is built by su daemon for future use.
In addition to that, SELinux denials are also handled by defining SELinux policy allow-rules when rooting the phone.

New methods of root like Magisk work in system-less mode i.e. without modifying /system partition. Only boot partition - that contains kernel and initramfs - is modified to inject su daemon service and new SELiux policies. A locked bootloader won't boot modified boot.img, so bootloader needs to be unlocked. For more details regarding this, see Unlocking Bootloader. However there have been some rooting hacks that worked by bypassing above described security implementations without going for proper way of rooting. Most of such exploits and vulnerabilities in Android OS have been fixed over time. Here is a good write up on this subject.

So to conclude, placing su binary under /system or any other location won't give any benefit.

Also see How Magisk works? for more details.

PS: Please ignore so many links, they are for my own future reference.


I imported my Android contacts to Google contacts, and now they are all duplicated I was under the impression my Android contacts are not syncing with my Google contact list, but after importing them to Google contacts they are all duplicated in Android.

Any tips how to undo this mess?

Check if you're contacts are duplicated by logging on to google on a browser...

If they are duplicated there then that means the back up screwed up...

If they are not duplicated there, then, delete all your contacts on your phone then back up from google again.

Hope I helped,

Sid


Is it possible to reboot the Nexus 4 without root? On the Nexus 4, the power menu only allows you to shutdown the device, but not reboot the device. Of course, you could wait for the device to shutdown and then power it up again. What I'm looking for is the ability to reboot in one action.

A lot of apps provide this ability, but it seems that they all requires root.

Is it possible to reboot the Nexus 4 without root?

I found one solution: adb reboot

This requires connecting the device to a computer, so it's not perfect, but it works pretty well if I just want to reboot it when I go to sleep.


Setting up of multiple tablets from out the box I have the task of setting up 50+ tablets (Binatone Homesurf 744, Yes cheap & cheerful!), which all need the same App installed and same wireless settings entered but require different configuration files (config files stored on SD card).

I was hoping there might be a solution which I can set up each of the tablets via ADB or a script without root access if possible (as this would an additional step and take more time). The tablets so far have come out the box with debugging mode already enabled. If I access the tablet via ADB and type "su", it does give me some kind of root access as the symbol changes from "$" to "#" but I'm unable to remount the /system a rw.

The process I would like to do is as follows:-

Start Tablet and plug in via USB cable to the PC for ADB access
Automatically Disable/Skip "Welcome" screen (Initial Setup Wizard)
Install Wireless Settings
Install Required APK
Push Required Configuration Files
Restart Tablet if Required

I think I may have answered the question about disabling\skipping the "welcome" screen after a bit of research. This I believe requires full root or rw access to modify system files (ro.setupwizard.mode=DISABLED, I believe?).

With regard to the wireless settings, I'm able to add the wireless settings manually in ADB shell via the following command after switching to the "wifi" user (issuing "su wifi"):-

echo 'network={\nssid="Wireless"\npsk="i*********m"\nkey_mgmt=WPA-PSK\npriority=1\n}' >> /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

After restarting the wireless via ADB, the tablet happily connects to the newly added wireless.

I can install the required APK and "push" the required configuration files manually or via a batch script on windows.

Any help would be appreciated on automating this and making things as simple as possible.

Thanks in advance!

So here's a solution for Linux. The first part you already mentioned in your question, but for completeness I'll include it nevertheless:

#!/bin/bash
#
echo "Plug in the cable now, please!"
# Just kidding: That and skipping the intro you'll have to do manually :)
# As well as ensuring that USB debugging is enabled etc. Test with
# "adb devices". If it shows the connected device, go on.

# Install Wireless Settings
echo "Installing wireless settings..."
adb shell su -c "echo 'network={\nssid="Wireless"\npsk="i*********m"\nkey_mgmt=WPA-PSK\npriority=1\n}' >> /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf"

# Install Required APK
# assuming all the required APK files reside in a "install" sub-directory:
echo "Installing APKs..."
for apk in install/*.apk; do
   adb install "${apk}"
done

# Push Required Configuration Files
# these and all other files you want to push you've placed into
# the "upload" sub-directory **WITH FULL PATH** (e.g. to push "foo" to
# "/data/local", it would be saved as "upload/data/local/foo
echo "Uploading files..."
adb push upload /

# Restart Tablet if Required
echo "Rebooting device..."
adb reboot

Of course, this is just a skeleton; you might wish to have some "success checking" in place, or write a log to evaluate later. But it contains all the technical stuff you need:

adb shell su -c "command" to execute a command as root – here for appending your wireless settings
adb install to install your APK files. In case these are just newer versions of apps already installed on the devices, add the -r (re-install) switch; a simple install would fail then (i.e. make it adb install -r "${apk}")
adb push to transfer files to the device. Note a few things here:

Syntax is adb push <source> <target> (the counterpart would be adb pull <source> <target>)
you can push a file, or an entire directory
<source> and <target> must be of the same type (i.e. either both are a file name, or both are a directory name)
you can only push to directories you've got write access to. So in order to push into "system areas", the ADB daemon on the device must be running in root mode

As the last condition usually is a culprit (on "production devices", adbd runs in "secure mode" – i.e. non-root), use a work around by first pushing the files to a "common area" (e.g. the internal SD card), and then copy them over. Example:

adb shell "mkdir /sdcard/misc"
adb push upload/data/misc /sdcard/misc
adb shell sudo -c "cp -a /sdcard/misc /data/misc

And as a last hint: You might need to check permissions (incl. ownership), at least when it comes to system relevant files. So first try with one device, investigate the results, see if it works as expected (adjust if not – incl. adjusting your script(s)) – and if necessary factory-reset and start over to verify it's working now. And BTW: These "install and upload" stuff is the next item on my ToDo list for Adebar ;)

Good luck!


Screen offset when running some Android apps on PC (not Chromebook) I installed Android onto my laptop so that I could play a game called Psych with my brother.When I launch it, the screen is shifted to the right and the mouse is limited to the area of portrait orientation (see image).

My theory is that the app is a portrait app, but when it is displayed on a horizontal screen (like a Chromebook), it will stretch out these edges so that it doesn't look bad and the user can just click the important things in the center (that is why the mouse is limited to the portrait area). But for some reason, when it launches on the computer, it will be forced to start displaying from where the portrait apps start from, causing it to shift over.Please inform me, if my theory is correct or if it doesn't work for another reason, what the reason is, and most importantly, tell me how to fix it. Please ask me if there is any other information I should provide.

Before we address your theory and subsequent request for a fix, we need to establish some basic info about Android.

Firstly, Android is a Mobile Operating System.  Your laptop is most likely more closely related to the common desktop/personal computer type of operating system.

  "While computers such as typical laptops are 'mobile', the operating systems usually used on them are not considered mobile ones, as they were originally designed for desktop computers that historically did not have or need specific mobile features."  --  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_operating_system

As such, your laptop's hardware is not the best host for the Android OS.  Since Android is built on top of the Linux Kernel, it usually is built to contain just enough hardware configuration and driver support to function on its intended build target or host device - usually a mobile phone or tablet.

  "While the Linux kernel contains code for all the different chip architectures and hardware drivers it supports, an individual system runs only a fraction of the codebase. An average laptop uses around 2 million lines of kernel code from 5 thousand files to function properly, while the Pixel phone uses 3.2 million lines of kernel code from 6 thousand files (due to the increased complexity of an SoC)."  --  https://source.android.com/devices/architecture/kernel

This means that the Android OS you installed on laptop hardware is doing its damnedest to actually function.  The stripped down Linux Kernel now driving your laptop's hardware more than likely is falling back to generic drivers with limited feature capabilities.

Secondly, your laptop probably has hardware features not usually found in native Android - and conversely, the Android OS looks for mobile-centric hardware features in order to, for example, render the UI.

Which brings me to your first inquiry;

  My theory is that the app is a portrait app, but when it is displayed on a horizontal screen (like a Chromebook), it will stretch out these edges...

This has a grain of truth in that Android doesn't know how to properly drive your laptop's display.  Android has tons of sensors, including a bevy of Motion Sensors that help Android decide on configurations screen orientation.

Since among other things your laptop lacks these sensors, Android cannot determine in which orientation to display the user interface.  The Android OS you installed is probably having difficulty ascertaining other display hardware attributes such as pixel density, resolution, color encoding, screen size, etc... hence the "stretched out edges" you note.

Finally;

  tell me how to fix it

You're more than welcome to contribute to the Android Open Source Project while simultaneously building your own custom Linux kernel with help from around the Internet.  Though this is an utterly daunting task for even seasoned developers.

A better option, in my opinion, is to reinstall a more appropriate Operating System for your laptop (e.g., Windows, Ubuntu, etc...) and simply run an Android emulation software suite such as BlueStacks 4 or Nox Android Emulator.


Alerts & Reminders based on SMS content At work I get paged by our automated system. The problem is that the numbers come across unique each time. 1(999)000-0001, 1(999)000-0002, etc.

The body of the SMS is the same each time tho, in the form of an email:

FRM: helpdesk@mycompany.com
SUBJ:(12345)Company pager
This is a Page from the Pager

Since the number changes each time, is their a "notification" app that can say "If the SMS starts with 'FRM: helpdesk@mycompany.com', ignore silence mode and use this ringtone".

I'm using reminder programs that let me know if I've missed a message... but I want to differentiate the SMS's from the ancient paging program we use.

I'd go with Tasker for this. Tasker can react on a lot of events, an incoming SMS being only one of the many. You can then have it parse the SMS text, and react on keywords. There're probably already som "profiles" out in the wild which you could adapt (just check with a Google Search), you also can find more details on SMS Notification Management - Tasker Wiki. This is probably the most flexible solution.

To sum up alternatives already mentioned in the comments:

GO SMS offers a filter feature, as Sparx mentioned
SMS-Filter can check the SMS body and display notifications (again from Sparx)


Google map (and VZ Navigator) rotates in wrong direction When I use Google Navigation or VZ Navigator on a Droid Incredible 2 it is supposed to align the map to the direction I am pointing the phone. But when I turn around the map rotates in the wrong direction. It seems to work fine in Compass applications but not in Google Maps or VZ Navigator and not with other augmented reality apps.

I went to VZ store and saw that other Incredible-2 phone has the same issue, but Thunderbolt and some Samsung phone do not.

How can I fix this?

Upgrading to Gingerbread (Android 2.3) resolves this issue.


What does this icon in my notification window mean? Recently an icon has started to appear in my notification window. What does it mean ?

Click image for larger version

Its shows that your phone is in Extended Standby Mode.

You can find it in Settings->PowerManagemnet

Extended standby mode increases the standby time by reducing the background activities when the phone is in standby mode.

Data will automatically be turned off and background activities will be stopped from waking up , while applications will also be prevented from syncing data.

You will still be able to receive calls and texts, while the calendar application and  alarms will still feature normally. As soon as you unlock your smartphone it'll go returning to functioning normally.

Any ongoing downloads or bluetooth transfer will be allowed to complete and once completed data will be turned off.

Extended standby mode is replaced with Stamina Mode for Xperia running on Jellybean or higher

Source : SONY


HTC Desire: why not to root and install Froyo (no-porting)? I've bought an HTC Desire a quite ago and, since now, works fine for me (except for this).

Now I'm waiting for Android 2.3, or 3.0, or whatever, and I'm thinking: is it possible to install the original Android ROM on my Desire instead of HTC porting?

This will make spare me a lot of time in waiting HTC porting.
My only doubt is if all functionality stay the same. (except for Sense and similar HTC proprietary software).

There are many ROMs available for the Desire based on stock Android / the open souce project. I currently run Cyanogen's ROM on my Desire, but I have also used OpenDesire and many others.

Take a look on the XDA forums.

There is no 'Official' stock ROM for the Desire, because no one is selling in without the HTC ROM, but OpenDesire is as close to the open source project as you are likely to get, where as Cyanogen's ROM is more feature packed!

You will of course need to root your phone to install custom ROMs. This is easily done on the Desire using Unrevoked.


Tethering with locked boot loader A recent OTA update to KitKat removed the ability to tether my phone. I feel very frustrated by this bait and switch since I bought the phone for its ability to tether. The workaround is apparently to unlock the boot loader, gain root access, and then change a flag in a SQLite database. I'm aware that this introduces certain security risks. Is there a good way to have tethering without the security risks? E.g. could I unlock, become root, change the flag, and then relock? Most of the information regarding unlocking is in the context of installing custom ROMs and maintaining root access, which I don't have any particular desire to do. I really just want to change this one setting. Would this procedure enable future OTA updates to work? Are those updates likely to revert the value of the tethering flag?

The post you link says that a more recent OTA update fixes the problem. If you're not comfortable rooting the phone, I suggest you wait a few days and apply that update when your phone offers.

To answer your other queries about rooting: yes, you can unroot again (and lock the bootloader) once you've changed whatever settings you like. While the phone is unrooted, OTA updates will not apply. Applying an OTA update afterwards may undo the settings you've change: we can only guess whether they will or not. In this case, since the next OTA update fixes the problem, it probably will change the tethering flag.

FWIW, the problem you're seeing isn't that the phone doesn't have the ability to tether any more. KitKat adds new tethering features, and it seems (from the descriptions online) that the update had the accidental side-effect of making T-Mobile (and some other carriers) think that your plan doesn't allow tethering when it should.

Whether tethering is allowed is a matter between you and your carrier, not Android. If tethering is disallowed in your contract with the carrier, and you try to do it anyway, they have every right to stop you. Many carriers have other means to detect and block it that don't rely on the phone. It seems to be an accident that users on some carriers are being blocked when they shouldn't be, and that's what the work-around (and the official update) avoids.


Cannot boot into Android after freezing Blink Feed Launcher in HTC One M7 Using Titanium Backup Pro I froze Blink Feed Launcher.
Now all I see on the screen is just logo and bootloader page by using Power and Volume buttton. I have an HTC One M7 running Lollipop 5.0.2.

What should I do now?

Blink Feed Launcher is the launcher app for your HTC One M7 and with this frozen you'll be unable to use your phone.

Factory reset will be the simplest and easiest option available, and since you're using Titanium Backup Pro, I must assume that you have a backup of all your user apps, and as such you can restore them after the factory reset. If not then you'll have to re-download them all from Google Play Store.


Why is internet switched off when switching 2G/3G? I have a stock Android 4.2.2 on Galaxy Nexus, so I think this can be related to all Android phones. When switching from 2G to 3G and vice versa internet connection is switched off for a few seconds, even though when I browse in 3G I can connect to EDGE and GPRS too: why does this happen?

The radio frequency of a 2G radio operates in the range of 900 and 1800 MHz (source)-  varying from country to country.  The radio frequency of a 3G radio operates in the range of 2100 Mhz (source).

As far as Samsung Galaxy Nexus LTE L700's specification is concerned, the 2G frequency is CDMA 800 / 1900, 3G frequency is CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and LTE (4G) frequency is LTE 1900.

As far as Samsung Galaxy Nexus I9250's specification is concerned, the 2G frequency is GSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G frequency is HSDPA 900/1700/1900/2100 and LTE (4G) frequency is LTE 2300/2400.

The above examples clearly means that the phones use different radio frequency for each type of network and hence when switching from one to another it goes into no network mode momentarily and hence the data connection stops.


All apps including google apps stopped working Please help!
I reseted my phone still stopped working messages are pop uping. No apps can be opened all stoped working. Mine is rooted phone. I thought I will uninstall system app that is Google play services but no app can be runned.
Plz help!

Shreyas Kumar

I would suggest to go to twrp or cm recovery whichever you prefer and flash the custom rom again by wiping data, system, cache and dalvik-cache and then flash proper gapps according to your android version. This may solve the problem.


Locking the Android UI I'm running Android Nougat. I would like to know whether there is a way to lock the device while watching a YouTube video or doing some other critical operation so that you don't accidentally kick yourself or of the application or page your viewing in the process.

Ideally a slider button with a lock would be ideal here.

What about newer versions of Android?

Thanks

You can use Screen pinning. That way only YouTube (or any app) pinned on the screen will be visible, and you won't by mistake start another app.

Settings -> Security -> Screen pinning. Set it to On.


Facebook - Comment as Page When on my desktop browser, I am given the option when posting on somebody else's page to comment as myself or as one of the pages I have. But on my Galaxy S7, there seems to be no way to do this.  If I use the Facebook app, the option to "Comment as" is not even displayed. If I open up Facebook on my phone, on Chrome or on Microsoft Edge for Android, the option to "Comment as" does display. But as soon as you click your page, the checkmark automatically goes back to your personal profile. Even tried clicking on the "Desktop Site" option in Chrome, but this does nothing.

Is there anyway to do this?

Actually just tried installing Dolphin and the "Comment As" worked as expected. Must be some sort of glitch with Chrome and Edge for Android. I suppose it would be nice to know why these mobile browsers don't work though, or if there is a fix for them.