Is it possible and practical to add a larger screen to an Android phone? I've been working on an Android navigation app, and to be able to use this on my motorcycle I need a waterproof device. Since I couldn't find a waterproof device that fits my needs, I was thinking of buying standard parts and recasing them.

Would it be possible to take a motherboard from let's say a Huawei P8 and attach a larger and brighter screen to it?

What would be some tips on doing this?

Depends on the device. If you get one with HDMI out you can connect it to an external screen and expect it to work.

Otherwise you have to take a very close look at the connectors and signal standards of the replacement screen and touchscreen digitizer. If you find one that's exactly the same but larger then it might work out of the box.

If it's not the same resolution then you will most likely have problems which require rooting the device and fiddling with its display drivers.

(I managed to get a variant of this by accident; the Asus Transformer has two almost-indistinguishable models of touchscreen digitizer, but one of them has the X coordinate flipped. This makes it very hard to safely buy as a spare part.)


How to send all internet traffic to a SOCKS5 proxy server in local network? I got the inspiration here. It looks like AFWall+ is able to create a NAT forwarding policy to keep all traffic going through a SOCKS5 proxy and fool Google apps into thinking they are not connected via a VPN (Google apps implement additional security measures when connecting via VPNService and if you are in China you will not pass the security check - the security check requests don't go through VPN, so they will EOF because GFW will kill these requests, read more here).

So my question is, if let's say I have a socks5 server running at 192.168.1.1:1088 which tunnels all connections via vmess protocol (aka V2Ray) to remote servers in the US, how do I create my custom script? I have tried:

IP6TABLES=/system/bin/ip6tables
IPTABLES=/system/bin/iptables
ULIMIT=/system/bin/ulimit
PORT=1088
SERVER=192.168.1.1
$ULIMIT -n 4096
$IP6TABLES -F
$IP6TABLES -A INPUT -j DROP
$IP6TABLES -A OUTPUT -j DROP
$IPTABLES -t nat -F OUTPUT
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -o lo -j RETURN
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -d 127.0.0.1 -j RETURN
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -p tcp --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination $SERVER:$PORT
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -p udp --dport 53 -j DNAT --to-destination $SERVER:$PORT
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -p tcp -j DNAT --to-destination $SERVER:$PORT
$IPTABLES -t nat -A OUTPUT -p udp -j DNAT --to-destination $SERVER:$PORT

This does not work. So:

Did I create a wrong script? How do I create a script that does what I want to do?
Are there other settings that I should enable first? I didn't tick any app so I assume that means all app go through custom script, right?

The link you have provided is not setting up SOCKS but a transparent proxy i.e. it takes TCP/UDP traffic and SOCKSify it before sending through shadowsocks tunnel. But you need to make your traffic SOCKS-aware before directing towards SOCKS proxy. Either configure individual apps (which have built-in support for SOCKS) or enforce proxy system-wide transparently (what you are trying to do).

LIMITATIONS OF SOCKS PROXY:

  It looks like AFWall+ is able to create a NAT forwarding policy

AFWall+ uses iptables at back end and it can execute your script on network changes. Enforcing global proxy is (at least partially) possible with proxifier apps like ProxyDroid (which is iptables-based) and SocksDroid (which is VPN/routing based). I have no affiliation with either.

If manually workig from CLI, you can use a transparent TCP/UDP-to-proxy redirector like redsocks in combination with iptables. shadowsocks provides its own similar tool (ss-redir), so does Tor.

  I didn't tick any app so I assume that means all app go through custom script, right?

No. The problem with the iptables approach is that SOCKS5 is a layer 5 protocol in OSI model. So it cannot carry whole traffic from all apps. Most of the traffic generated by apps is TCP which works fine with SOCKS and is easy to setup. But some games, VoIP apps and above all the traditional DNS generate UDP traffic which is not supported by many SOCKS5 proxies. E.g. openssh and tor both don't, shadowsocks however does have UDP associate features. But it doesn't work with simple DNAT or REDIRECT (probably because SO_ORIGINAL_DST is not available for UDP sockets, I don't know the details). You can possibly redirect traffic only towards a fixed socket (IP:PORT) e.g. a DNS server or game server.

TPROXY is the alternative here, but the trouble is that it works only with PREROUTING chain i.e. the traffic coming from outside, not that generated on device. So you have to do extra setup to route your on-device traffic without NATing towards a local proxy server (usually default gateway) where you'll set up TPROXY.

Complicated? That's why VPN is preferred. Even if you need to use a proxy to circumvent firewalls, VPN tunneling through proxy spares you from the traffic redirection complexities. VPN operates at lower level in network stack (L2/L3 in OSI), so it flawlessly carries all IP traffic including ICMP echos (ping) etc. which can no way be sent through SOCKS. Another plus point is that VPN can be tunneled through transparent proxies - like shapeshifter-dispatcher and stunnel - or SOCKS proxies which are meant to forward only single port - like obfs4proxy.

If not forwarding single port (tunneling), SOCKS5 must be an application level proxy i.e. it should be able to forward arbitrary ports from different apps like SSH dynamic port forwarding does.

tun2socks is another SOCKSification method which collects TCP/UDP traffic on a tun interface (same like a VPN, no NAT involved) and forwards it through a SOCKS proxy. It recently added UDP associate support. Previously used UDP Gateway method also worked quite fine but it requires running a separate daemon (udpgw) along with proxy server. tun2socks is a non-root solution because apps - like SocksDroid and many other firewalls, sniffers etc. - using this method rely on Android's VPN facilities.

  ... and fool Google apps into thinking they are not connected via a VPN (Google apps implement additional security measures when connecting via VPNService ...

With both above methods (VPN through tunnel and Tun-to-SOCKS) it's not necessary to use Android's VPNService API (if that's causing problems for you). On a rooted device you can get a static openvpn or tun2socks binary and run that through CLI. That's far less hassle than setting up proxy through iptables. In former case, though, you need a VPN server obviously.

SOCKSIFY WHOLE DEVICE:

As you don't want to go with VPN/routing based solution, here is the simple iptables-based method.

First get redsocks binary for your device architecture (or try this one for aarch64 or this one for armeabi-v7a).
Create configuration file:

// redsocks.conf

// general configuration
base {
    redirector = iptables;
}

// for TCP
redsocks {
    local_ip = "127.0.0.1"; local_port = "12345";
    ip = "192.168.1.1"; port = "1088"; type = socks5;
}

// for UDP, assuming your SOCKS5 proxy supports UDP associate
redudp {
    local_ip = "127.0.0.1"; local_port = "12345";
    ip = "192.168.1.1"; port = "1088";
    dest_ip = "1.1.1.1"; dest_port = "53";  /* set whatever DNS server */
}

 * See redsocks.conf.example for details and more options.

Run:

#!/system/bin/sh

IPTABLES="/system/bin/iptables -w5 -t nat"

# create new chain
$IPTABLES -N PROXY
$IPTABLES -I OUTPUT -j PROXY

# exclude local traffic, see: http://manpages.org/ss-redir
$IPTABLES -A PROXY -d 127.0.0.0/8 -j RETURN
$IPTABLES -A PROXY -d 192.168.0.0/16 -j RETURN

# socksify whole TCP traffic
$IPTABLES -A PROXY -p tcp -j DNAT --to 127.0.0.1:12345

# socksify only DNS UDP traffic
$IPTABLES -A PROXY -p udp --dport 53 -j DNAT --to 127.0.0.1:12345

echo "Ctrl^C to exit."
trap "$IPTABLES -D OUTPUT -j PROXY; $IPTABLES -F PROXY; $IPTABLES -X PROXY" EXIT

# run socksifier
redsocks -c /path/to/redsocks.conf

You can add custom iptables script to AFWall+. redsocks can be run as init service with non-root UID, dropped capabilities and restricted SELinux context. See How to run an executable on boot?

RELATED:

Why is not all traffic captured from my device when routing through proxy?
How to set up a socks5 with Android CLI?


Unable to factory reset gt-s5830i I'm in a big trouble let me explain.
I have a GT-s5830i where I installed MIUI, I have also CWM Recovery 5.0.2.8.

Now for many reasons I would like to factory reset my device to it's original ROM, what I did:

Enter recovery mode
Wipe cache
Wipe dalvik cache
Wipe data/factory reset

The system stuck here with this error message

Error Mounting /sdcard/.android_secure!
Skipping format...

Now I rebooted the device and for 1 hour is on boot Samsung logo, it do nothing, just stay on Samsung logo showing GT-s5830i

Please help me I don't want to buy another phone.
Thanks in advance
Sonia

Reading your question a second time, I just see you're on the complete wrong track (a thing we call the XY problem):

  Now for many reasons I would like to factory reset my device to it's original ROM

That's not possible at all. You overwrote this when flashing MIUI (for details, see our factory-reset tag-wiki). You'll have to get yourself a ROM file to flash (see: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?), and flash your device again if you want to "return to stock".

That said, it makes no sense to get your "supposed solution" to work – as even if we did, it would not solve your issue.


Seeking alternative to Andoid File Transfer utility Need usb alternative to Android File Transfer for Mac. Problems: 1. no search capability 2. Cannot report size of files. 3. No route to send problem reports to developer. Reasons for not using bluetooth: security.

You can use adb push/pull, it is command line based but working well. You can search using an adb shell.


Is There A Way To Be Notified About Google Play (Android Marketplace) Discounts? Is there a website or even Android app that keeps its subscribers updated of any possible promotions/discounts going on at Google Play (previously Android Market)? I hate to miss the train.

Your best bet would be to follow Google Play on Google+. They always post any kind of news, including promotions for apps, music, movies...


Do Android One tablets exist? I am looking for the zero bloat, 100% pure Android One experience.

So far, I have only been able to find phones with Android One, like the Xiaomi Mi A2.

Do Android One tablets exist? Or if not, are there resellers of rooted hardware with reflashed ROM with stock Android?

The Wikipedia page on Android One has a complete list of all Android One devices released, and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any tablets.
There couldn't be any tablet resellers with Android One (the source code is not available, and it is impossible to port from phones to tablets) and there's none I'm aware of selling stock Android either.
If you don't mind the warranty and willing to do some tweaking (it's almost always worth it) you can flash a stock AOSP ROM yourself, as there's no risk for most devices (some are risky) XDA Forum for your device should have ROMs, flashing guides and guides on how to recover your device if something goes wrong. It could be good to check there if these are present there before buying a device.
Good luck!


Is it possible to use multiple accounts from one email address in K9 application? In the company I work for We would like to use one general email address, but different accounts. Is it possible to do that?

AFAIK, it's not possible (Related How to setup K9 Mail properly for free email services offering multiple aliases for same email box?)

K9 mail isn't really active in development and I would rather suggest you switch to a modern Email Client which does this and much more. I am talking of FairEmail. Don't be discouraged by "unreleased"  status. It's very much functional and actively developed. See this XDA thread.

Specific to your query see FAQ 9

I am not associated with the app but would happily recommend this being a better alternative to K9 mail - it's leagues ahead of K9


Snapchat shutter sound before update Now I have Snapchat 10.23.11 on Huawei and my friend has the same ver but on Samsung device. I have muted system Camera app and in system app there's no shutter sound. In snapchat when I'm takeing a photo by back cam without flash light there's annoying shutter sound but my friend on her Samsung device with the same Snap version doesn't have a shutter sound. What's going on? When I had a Snap version from about October 2017 there wasn't shutter sound. Last days I've updated Snap app and all others app and the shutter sound apperared. How to remove the shutter sound?

That probably means that the Snapchat app is taking an actual photo as opposed to a screenshot of the viewfinder which is done on most Android Snapchat devices for compatibility, which explains why Android Snapchat quality is rubbish. However some phones like Samsung Galaxy S7, the rear camera makes a shutter sound because it takes an actual photo and not a screenshot of the preview feed.


How to take a screenshot on a Kindle Fire? I ran across this question posed on Twitter by Anil Dash:

Is there really no way to take a screenshot on a Kindle Fire? Huh.

I know it's early to tell, but does anyone know if this is true about the device?

You can take screen shots with ddms and the Android SDK. It's not hard to set up. See http://www.thefireblog.com/2011/11/16/houston-we-have-screenshots/:

  So, here’s a quick summary people:

  Install the android SDK tools, then the platform-tools
  Edit your adb_usb.ini file to add the 0×1949 vendor ID at the end
  Ensure that adb is running properly
  Check that your device is online
  Run ddms
  Start taking your screenshots using the Device > Screen Capture option.


How do I transfer app data/settings from an S3 to an S6? When I turned on the S6 for the first time it said by using NFC it would transfer all my info.  I don't know if I did it wrong but all the apps on my new S6 are empty. The settings and levels completed in games do not appear on the S6.  Is there any easy way to transfer EVERYTHING from my S3 to S6.I don't have access to a PC. My S3 is rooted if that helps with suggestions.

S3 OS: 4.1
S6 OS: Lollipop latest

Since your S3 is rooted. You could make app backups with a 3rd party app, Such as Titanium Backup, but to use Titanium back up to restore them on your S6, It would need to be rooted as well. I know Google claims that its back up service saves app data and settings as well. But I think that only works if the app dev has added in the option to store things in the cloud.

Personally I can say that TB works like a charm for me. For non-rooted options(I assume your S6 isnt rooted if you dont have access to a pc). It looks like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.backup.license&hl=en can back up to the cloud. Only reason I linked the paid one is cause the free one doesnt allow you to back up to the cloud.


Unknown download on my android phone 8891h_01_enUs_GridClear.webp

Does anyone know what this is? There were three more like it, 4117h and 130h_01_enCA

Webp is a file format for images. See wiki.
Telegram uses these for stickers. It probably was downloaded from Telegram or some other app that uses this image format files.


Galaxy S3 graphics issue, how to resolve? My Galaxy S3 has developed a graphics fault (see image) and I don't know the cause or the cure.  It has not been exposed to humidity or any thing magnetic and to the best of my knowledge it has not been dropped.  Im not sure whether its a hardware or an Android OS issue.

The fault is a purplish blemish that seems to be getting darker and bigger with time.  Has any body got any idea of the cause but more importantly the cure (if any).  Many Thanks

Your phone officially needs a trip back to a Samsung Service center

That is in No Way caused by any android glitch, as the issue is progressive (getting darker, bigger in time). It might be caused by some shock that made the lcd inside crack and bleed.


How can I change the file size of photos uploaded to Google Photos? i have uploaded my photos in google photos with upload size Original. Now 4.4GB only left out of 15GB. I have deleted photos in my phone after uploading to google photos. Now i changed my google photos settings, i have selected Upload size High Quality. But still it is showing 4.4GB left. I want to keep all my photos in google photos as well as i want to get more free space which is occupied by the photos with Original size.

Go to photos.google.com. Select Options from the top left of this page, then select Settings near the bottom of the Options menu.  Change the radio button to High Quality (free unlimited storage).  Just under this you will see two options - Buy Storage - Recover Storage.  Select Recover Storage and you will be presented with the option to "Compress".  Select Compress and it will warn it could take up to an hour to complete.  Go ahead and you will have then compressed all your original sized photos to High Quality and recovere the space.  If you don't have the full size photo's backed up, be aware this option is not reversible.


How to send a text message from skype on android How to send a text message from Skype on Android

So, I just spent 30 minutes trying to find out where to send a text message (SMS) to a phone number using the latest version of Skype on Android.

Does anyone know if it's still possible to do this or has this feature been removed?

Instructions please if possible.

Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/QOSydpM.png

Please if you reply make sure it applies to this rather new version of Skype for Android.

You can send text messages using Skype for Android phones and tablets at the same great Skype rates you get when using Skype on your computer. All you need is a little Skype Credit.

Sending an SMS text message
To send a text message to a Skype contact’s mobile or landline number:

Sign in to Skype.
Locate the person you want to contact by going to the People tab, finding an existing conversation in Recent, or by using the search feature.
After selecting a contact, tap the plus icon .
Select Send via SMS.
Enter your message. You’ll see the number of remaining characters as you’re typing in.
Tap the send button.

If you can’t choose Send via SMS, it means that your contact doesn’t have any phone number attached to their account.

You can also send an SMS text message to a saved phone number. If a person in your People list has a telephone icon next to their name, it means that they have a saved phone number.

Edit:

So in the Latest version of Skype, you need to follow these steps:

Go to the calls tab.

Select the dialpad icon
Type the number you want to send SMS to.

Type your SMS and send.


Why is the SMS app crashing when sending SMSes to a three digits number? The SMS application crashes when I try to send an SMS to a three digits number. With other "regular" numbers, works just fine.
phone-HTC desire
Rom - AOKP Rom 4.2 JB
I tried to replace phone.apk,mms.apk, but that didn't work.

My logcat

V/SmsReceiverService( 7599):
onStart:
#1 mResultCode:
-1 = Activity.RESULT_OK E/SmsUsageMonitor( 7089):
Parsing pattern data found null E/SmsUsageMonitor( 7089):
No patterns for "in":
using generic short code rule D/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
Shutting down VM W/dalvikvm( 7089):
threadid=1:
thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x41801930) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
FATAL EXCEPTION:
main E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
java.lang.NullPointerException E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at com.android.internal.telephony.SMSDispatcher.handleConfirmShortCode(SMSDispatcher.java:1241) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at com.android.internal.telephony.SMSDispatcher.handleMessage(SMSDispatcher.java:343) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at com.android.internal.telephony.gsm.GsmSMSDispatcher.handleMessage(GsmSMSDispatcher.java:116) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:137) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5233) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:511) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:795) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:562) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at de.robv.android.xposed.XposedBridge.main(XposedBridge.java:126) E/AndroidRuntime( 7089):
    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method) I/Process ( 7089):
Sending signal. PID:
7089 SIG:
9 I/ServiceManager(  152):
service 'iphonesubinfo' died I/ServiceManager(  152):
service 'simphonebook' died I/ServiceManager( 152):
service 'isms' died I/ServiceManager(  152):
service 'phone' died I/ServiceManager(  152):
service 'sip' died I/ActivityManager( 1137):
Process com.android.phone (pid 7089) has died. W/ActivityManager( 1137):
Scheduling restart of crashed service

Your SMS app is crashing because of an software bug, which is causing an uncaught NullPointerException resulting in a termination of the davlik VM and it's process.


Best way to transfer photos from Android 4.4.4 to Windows 7 I just upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy s5 running android 4.4.4. On my old phone running gingerbread, I was able to use the USB Mass Storage Device (MSD) feature to browse, delete, and copy photos (to a Windows 7 PC) very quickly since that phone basically acted as a standard USB drive.

On the Galaxy s5, it uses MTP, and trying to perform these same functions is painfully slow. I have over 1,000 photos on the phone, and it takes several minutes for them to be all listed in the DCIM/Camera folder. And even longer for thumbnails to appear. Nothing appears to be cached for quick access.

Considering that MSD is no longer available, and MTP is excruciatingly slow, is there a better way to handle accessing photos on the phone and transferring them to a PC? I would prefer to avoid cloud services/features.

1) Use Air Droid Copy to comp, copy to phone [too long]

2) Switch on dropbox lan sync and transfer the photos by installing dropbox on your new phone too.

Both the methods will be a bit slow, but at least you can start the process and let things be taken care of.

[EDIT]
OP did not want cloud solutions, you can try out Dukto
No intermediate required :) There you go


Damage risk of using flashlight I'm using a flashlight app on my Xperia L phone. I accidentally turned on the flashlight, but noticed it only 4 hours later. I turned it off then.

Is this keeping the flashlight on for a long period of time harmful for my phone or flashlight?

You shouldn't worry that much as it happened once. Just take care it doesn't happen often.

In short, LEDs have a long life span (20k+ hours?). So the concern isn't really the LEDs burning out (although after a long period of time, they will eventually start losing the amount of output and their brightness will dim).

The real concern is to not apply too much voltage to the LED and overheat it. Another concern would be overheating your battery (due to heat dissipation from draining the battery from powering the LED).

In short, if you're only using the LED for time periods less than half an hour, you should be okay.

Source


Android Market on Pandigital Novel, without rooting? Pandigital is advertising on their site, that users of their devices can now "download & enjoy Android apps" after applying a firmware update.

I've applied the update to my wife's Novel, but haven't found any shortcut to the Android Market on the device since.  I tried using the Android Market website, and it doesn't seem like that will work without having the Market installed on the device.
Is there a way to get Android Market on the Novel, without rooting it?
More details of the device in question:
Model Number (in About screen) - PD_Novel
Model Number (on back of device) - PRD07T10WWH756
FCC ID - TLZ-NU706
Firmware Version - SH20_20110302_K_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP
Kernel Version - 2.6.29 fsysky@fsysky Mon Jan 24 18:22:16 UTC 2011
Build Number - PD_Novel 2011.03.02

From page 53 of the user guide, you need to install the Android SDK and use ADB to load applications.  If you do this with the Market (3.3.12) I would expect you would be able to use it normally after that.


Does it make any sense to use a firmware with HTC Sense or is better to go for plain 2.3 firmware? I do have HTC Desire HD and I rooted it but I'm not sure how valuable is the HTC Sense package and if it makes "sense" (funny) to use a 2.2 firmware with HTC Sense or just to go for the plain Android 2.3 firmware.

This is pretty much just a matter of preference, to be honest. I don't think you'll really "lose" any functionality on a Desire by going to an AOSP based ROM, either 2.3 or otherwise. You should gain built-in USB and wifi tethering, though, since those are a standard part of Android 2.2+. The real deciding factor will just be if you prefer the Sense UI or another launcher (ADW, LauncherPro, Zeam, etc). You will lose any HTC widgets since they depend on Sense, but there are widgets in the Market which actually mimic the style and functionality of the HTC ones for just that reason. You also lose HTC's proprietary apps, since they generally use the Sense framework in various ways.

Threads pop up on XDA from time to time where people argue over whether Sense is better than other launchers but it almost inevitably just amounts to each group saying "I think X better than Y because I like the way it looks".


SMS-only to Data-only texting My wife has an unlimited SMS plan, but she doesn't have a data plan or access to WiFi.  I have a data plan, and can receive unlimited SMS but I can't send them for free.  We're both on Android.  Is there a way for us to send/receive messages without me having to buy a text plan or her having to buy a data plan?

If you are located in the USA, Google Voice with Hangouts app may be what you're looking for.

Your wife doesn't need to change anything, as she can text using her carrier's SMS plan.  You will need to do the following:

Register for a new Google Voice number here using your Google account.
Install the Hangouts app on your phone.
Open the Hangouts app, and sign in with the same Google account you used in step 1.
In Hangouts app go to Settings -> SMS, tap on "SMS Disabled" and enable the Hangouts app to be the default SMS app.  This may be different depending on the Android OS version your phone is running.  Refer to this site for more details for pre-4.4 instructions.
In the same Settings screen ensure the "Send SMS From" option is set to "Smart Reply".

Now if you open Hangouts and tap on your wife's contact, a new Conversation screen will open.  On the bottom, to the left of the text entry area, tap on the green text icon and tap "More".  This will bring up all the options, including "... (via SMS)" and "... (via Google Voice)".  The "(via Google Voice)" is the option you want, as it will use your data plan instead of your carrier's SMS plan.

You're all set - your wife will only need to make sure that she texts you at your newly created Google Voice phone number, and not your cell number.  Other than that, she can continue using her SMS plan, while you will be using the data plan, and avoid SMS charges.

Once again, Google Voice is currently only available in the USA, and does not support sending texts to international numbers.


Error retrieving information from server Whenever I try to download an app from Google Play Store, it allows me to accept the App Conditions but I don't see it downloading. A sign that shows there's an error pops up, 'Error retrieving information from server. [RPC:S-7:AEC-0 ZVSF-VF44-KHLR]'.

What should I do? Please help. I need to download an app.

Goto Settings > Apps > All > Clear Cache and Data for these apps >
  Play store, Download manager and Google Services framework.

Remove you google account from your Account > Google section under your phone Settings.

Reboot your device and add your google account back and then try to download/update the apps from the Playstore.


Disable auto-screen-on feature in Moto G Play tl;dr When picking up Moto G Play out of shelf or out of pocket (or doing any other sudden move) phone automatically turns on screen to about 50% of brightness, showing unlock icon and recent reminders even though I haven't toucher Power button so far. How can I disable this feature?

Shortly after purchasing Moto E3 (for private use) I decided to purchase another child from this family -- Moto G Play (for company use). I have replicated configuration setting of Moto E3 under Moto G Play. I was more than sure that I will be able to use both phones in exactly the same way.

To my surprise, Moto G Play comes with a feature that causes phone to automatically turn on screen to about half of its regular brightness, showing reminders and unlock icon every time phone's accelerometer detects any sudden move of the phone (like picking it out of pocket, moving quickly on the shelf or desk etc.), even though Power button is not pressed at all.

I'm very found of the idea that you must actually press Power button to turn screen on and find this feature of Moto G Play quite very annoying. I wanted to disable it, but I can't find proper options in configuration. Since I replicated configuration of Moto E3 which doesn't have this feature I might miss something. Is there any way to disable this feature or do I have to get used to it?

This feature is called Moto Display and is very similar to AOSP's ambient display.
Assuming it is in the same place as the Moto G 2015 and Moto X Pure devices, open the Moto app, go to Feature Settings (the 3 stars in the upper right corner) and then select Display and turn the slider off.
If that doesn't work, try turning off "Quick Capture" in camera settings.


Bootanimation command not recognized without root I am thoroughly confused. In a terminal, without root, when I run bootanimation, it says /system/bin/sh: bootanimation: not found. But when I am root, and run it, it works. Why is this? I attached a screenshot.

It's because SELinux is enabled at the time.
Take a look at this. Let's pick sh as a comparison.
Note if you installed busybox then specify toolbox ls explicitly because SELinux-related functions in busybox is totally failing.

root@android:/system/bin # toolbox ls -Z bootanimation sh
-rwxr-xr-x root shell u:object_r:bootanim_exec:s0 bootanimation
-rwxr-xr-x root shell u:object_r:system_file:s0 sh

and...

u0_a0@android:/system/bin $ toolbox ls -Z bootanimation sh
ls: bootanimation: Permission denied
-rwxr-xr-x root shell u:object_r:system_file:s0 sh


How to make screen stay turned on while charging? I have 2 devices: one with Android 4.2.1 (Emotion UI 1.6), one with Android 5.1.

Android 4 device has an option in "developers" settings to always keep screen turned on while charging. Android 5 device seems not have "developers" settings at all, and I couldn't find such an option to keep screen turned on while charging anywhere.

Could I somehow tell my Android 5.1 device not to turn off the screen after timeout, when charger is plugged?

This option is still there in developer settings. Those settings have just been hidden since around Android 4.2/4.3. Our developer-options tag-wiki shows you how to enable them:

Go to Settings → About
tap the Build number entry 7 times (hammering the item)
Go back to the Settings main page, Developer Settings should now be visible

In there you'll now find the option to "keep display on".


How to solve "insufficent space on the device" error on Samsung Captivate I have a Samsung Captivate, running the stock Froyo ROM, rooted.  When I try to install a large app from the Market, I get the error "insufficent space on the device", for apps of ~40 MB, with 700+MB free.  I first noticed it with "Jelly Defense" on Google's Christmas-week sale, but you can see it for yourself if you try the free "Reiner Knizia's Labyrinth" which is also quite large.

This is a common problem -- just Google it and you'll see dozens of posts around the Internet going back almost a year. From those posts, I've tried two free apps that are supposed to help, "Market Fix" and "Cache Fixer", but neither has done the trick yet.  As I understand it, both are supposed to re-mount /cache as a loopback file on the SD card.  I don't know why they don't work.  If anybody has fixed this specifically on the i9000 series (SGS1, Captivate, Fascinate, etc), please let me know how!

Always the way, innit?  5 minutes after I ask, I stumble across this.  It's not super elegant but its success is in its simplicity.  Simply replace the dedicated /cache partition with a link to the internal SD card, and Bob's your uncle.  Has to be repeated on reboot, so not perfect, but way better than not installing at all!


Accessing my phone whose screen died My Samsung's screen (Samsung S-III mini) seems to be dead (it suffered mechanical damage at the top, mostly the right corner).  I can't really tell if the phone boots completely normally or not, tho it does generate the usual little tune that it does at boot, so it seems like maybe it does boot more or less normally.

When I connect it to the charger, it does give me the usual "beep".

I tried to access it via adb but adb devices doesn't list anything and adb shell says error: device not found.  I did access it via adb before, and IIRC it required some interaction on the phone to enable incoming access via ADB, so maybe the problem is that I'd need to perform this interaction but without seeing anything it's rather impossible.

So I'm looking for some kind of "secret handshake" I could use to get access to the machine, so as to extract the data it has on the internal flash?

Maybe some tool that can just extract a raw image of whole flash partitions (i.e. the reverse of rom-flashing)?

The screen can be replaced.

In the interim, you can install the Android USB driver. The device will show up. After that, you can take screenshots of the screen using Eclipse with ADT plugin or Android Studio. You can also check the Log Cat window.


Where did these share options come from? Recently some new share options started appearing on my phone (Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.2.2):

They include the first three you see here:

AIM
Baidu Space
Blinklist

I haven't installed any of these apps. I checked to see if they were installed without my knowledge (sometimes my girlfriend borrows my phone) and I don't find any the apps listed among those installed. And when I click on one of them, it doesn't launch an app but prompts me to pick a browser option in order to, I presume, take me to a web page.

So does anyone have any idea where these come from? Is this some kind of crapware that got installed on my phone? And more importantly, does any one know how I can get rid of them?*

*I used Andmade Share to customize my share menu, but I'd like to purge them from my phone all together.

I finally figured this out as I was cleaning out the apps on my phone today.

I had installed this Bookmarklet app as a way of sharing links with Delicious from my phone. Unbeknownst to me, the sharing options had gotten switched.

So that's where these mysterious unwanted options had come from.


Can I set up Wi-Fi and USB tethering on the Galaxy Nexus without rooting it? I am about to buy the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and I need to tether with the following connections

USB to my Windows PC
Wi-Fi with my Mac, iPad or iPhone (to download apps over 20MB)

I will be using Verizon Wireless's LTE 4G connection to my smartphone

I also don't want to root my phone, install a custom rom or pay Verizon $20/GB

I heard of PDANet and EasyTether and Tether.com but they only provide USB connectivity to the Mac or PC (I won't be able to use it with iPhone's or iPads)

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I am willing to pay for the software if it provides Wi-Fi and USB. (Bluetooth is optional but not needed)

ClockworkMod Tether does USB tethering without root and Bluetooth tethering is planned (it's still in alpha).  Unfortunately, from what I understand only Windows, Linux & Mac OS will be supported, but who knows what will happen in the future (maybe Wi-Fi support).  Koush's apps are great.


Run android on windows 7 All I want to do running Android on Windows 7 is using whatsapp for certain group discussion.

I tried BlueStacks, but it causing keyboard issue, at many times, certain key act like got stuck, keep repeating, and when this happen, I have to restart my windows.
quit the bluestack won't help.

now I want to try other (free) option, any recommendation?
youwave is not free.
I come across this androvm, but the file type is ova , no idea how to run it at present.

just to re-clarify:

I already running WhatsApp over BlueStack on my Windows 7 64 bits.

But it comes with a side effect, very bad. At time, my keyboard seems like got 1 key stuck, and keep repeatively pressing it unstopped.

the keyboard is absolute fine. I kill/quit BlueStack if I don't plan to use the WhatsApp, which is auto-start whenever i login.

when the funny keyboard issue happened, the only way to resolve it is reboot, quit the BlueStack won't help at all.

You could simply unplug the keyboard and plug it back in. Works for me every time.


How to actually merge/join the internal storage and external SD card! I have a 30 Gig external SD card in my LG 9 phone. I am trying to merge/join the SD card with the internal storage so when i save ANYTHING on my phone whether it be an app (including updates), a song, a video, a picture, system updates, etc. I want it all to know how to save to my SD card automatically without setting up directories or using a "transfer file to SD card" app.

You can try link2sd, use the first partition on SD as internal storage.

I had many issues with link2sd, mostly related to app failing installation/upgrade


How to troubleshoot this condition of recurrent restarts? State of my OnePlus2 phone after Tech2 support session, troubleshooted in the thread How to login to resetted phone when verified password not accepted?
I am thinking what to do before my second tech 2 support session is taking place.
The tech support did not manage to resolve the original case completely because time ended of the session.

Phone starts. Welcome screen. It does not accept all inputs (something wrong in the system). Sometimes, it restarts itself during the welcome session and goes back to welcome. If it goes to the desktop view, it restarts itself in few minutes, and goes back to welcome.

I think this condition can be only for OO support but not sure.
Maybe, there is something which could be done, because now, access to the phone frontend.

Phone: OnePlus 2
OS: 3.1 OO, Android 6

In the recovery mode, cleaned all memory. Reinstalled bootloader. No effect on the phenomenon. Finally, money back from warranty because most likely a software issue in OO itself. Two sessions with OO Tech support.


Xiaomi Swipe up brings Browser, how to change behavior? After updating to the new MIUI 10, swiping up from the home screen now brings the stock browser rather than the former default (Google search).. and there is no option to change that behavior.. how would you restore the original search app??

after lots of research... I have come to realize that you should remove the stock browser completely in order to restore Google search app as the default...
removing the browser requires a computer and an app called "Xiaomi ADB/Fastboot Tools by Saki_EU" that can be found here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Xiaomi/wiki/tools


Always open links from apps in a new browser tab I often catch up on feeds (twitter/facebook/rss/email) when off line. There are often web links included that I want to check out, however, as far as I can tell, Android limits each link source application to one tab and, more annoyingly, if the same app sends a second link it creates a new tab in place of the old one with no browsing history+ - so I can't just go back and forward through the links i've tried to access while off line.

Is there any way to:
Force the browser to create a new tab for each link clicked on an app - even if it means many tabs related to the same app being open at the same time.
Or add these sites to the history of the tab (even if not loaded successfully) so I can get to them via the back button.
Store links (ideally with information about their source) for later investigation?

Nb Since I'm on android 3 these are real tabs - with no limit to their number i've found - rather than the 8 cards/slots on earlier versions.

I'm minded to raise this as a bug. It seems daft.

As stated in the comments under the question, Opera mobile acts in a much more sensible manner, creating a new tab for each link clicked.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.opera.browser


android apps wont connect over school wifi I have several apps that won't connect even though I connected to WiFi google chrome and browser work find it other apps that say can't connect to server or needs internet connection. When I'm at home it works fine

My school uses a similar system, probably the same actually.  What I think it is, is either Deep Packet Inspection or your Firewall.

I am almost positive, all I know is that your school blocks the applications somehow (it could also just block the website or server the app uses).


How can I update my Desire S from Android 2.3.3 to Android 2.3.4? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I update the OS in my device?

How can I update my Desire S from Android 2.3.3 to Android 2.3.4?  Is it possible to update the OS for this model?

madlymad's right, there is no official update.  XDA has several 2.3.4 custom ROMs, though.  Should you choose to go that route, read a few of the linked ROM threads and then follow the instructions for the one you want.


Is there a way to customize vibrate patterns? Like many people my phone is most of the time in silent/vibrate mode. I was wondering if there's a way to assign different vibration patterns for different notifications, just like we do for ringtones and alerts with sounds.
Maybe there's an app that allows us to do that? I couldn't find anything yet.

SMS Popup does vibration patterns on a per contact basis (or for all texts).

Handcent does it only for all texts.

Missed Call will do vibration patterns for SMS (per contact), phone calls (per contact),  Battery, Calendar events, device storage, etc.


How to prove Orbot is working for apps I am using Orbot to torify the traffic of a certain app. To be sure I selected the option 'Tor Everything', because I dont need high speed internet on this phone anyway.

Now besides using this browser and checking my ip is there any way is there anyway to prove tor is working for all the other apps aswell ?

Best regards

There is no general way to verify if an unspecific app has been torifyed, but you could simulate behavior of https://check.torproject.org/ web service (which essentially looks up HTTP client address in tor exit node list and reports if found or not) using general purpose utilities as follows:

Launch terminal and telnet to public route server

user@android:/ $ telnet route-views.optus.net.au

At server prompt issue show users command

route-views.optus.net.au>sh users
    Line       User       Host(s)              Idle       Location
   2 vty 0                idle                 00:01:32 94.228.44.113
*  3 vty 1                idle                 00:00:00 tor-exit01.baconsvin.org
   4 vty 2                idle                 00:04:46 203.81.71.31
   5 vty 3                idle                 00:00:46 cg.eastlink.ca

  Interface    User               Mode         Idle     Peer Address

An asterisk * at line 3 (vty1) denotes an active line you are using to connect, and location of your line's endpoint (tor-exit01.baconsvin.org in this case) clearly marks tor exit node (some exit nodes do not have so friendly reverse DNS, so check against known endpoints like your ISP, VPN or look up in tor exit node list).

Thus, you just connected through tor (try the same with tor stopped to see the difference) and hence, Orbot's transparent proxying feature works for all apps.


Lock screen with Nova launcher not showing new icons I have an HTC One (M8) and downloaded Nova Launcher to customize my layout. I downloaded the Black Glass ADW Theme and it looks great. However, on my lock screen it is still showing the app icons from my HTC Blinkfeed. (Aside from the theme, I have the exact same apps on the launch bar in both the Blinkfeed and Nova home screens.)

I have my alarm on my launch bar so it shows on the lockscreen. When my phone went off this morning, it was the Blinkfeed alarm settings rather than the alarm settings through Nova.

I've been trying to figure out how to get the icons to match both in the look and the functionality but don't know how.. help please! :)

First of all, how are you enjoying Nova launcher? There is your problem: Nova launcher replaces the home screen only. It does not alter the lockscreen. For that, you need a custom lockscreen.  These often come with a lot of..... crap you don't want or need.


How to fix play store signing in issue? I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (model:GT-I819ON).

All of a sudden the Play Store has stopped working and whenever I try to sign-in into it, a message is displayed saying that it couldn't sign-in "problem connecting to a reliable server".

I have tried everything: rebooting, clearing cache data, uninstalling and installing it again.

How can I get the Play Store to work again?

have you tried backing up the files you would like to keep from the device onto the SD card, and reflashing a fresh system and GApps .zip entirely? this may solve your issue, but i am unfamiliar with the common operation of your specific device, this is sort of a blanket, last resort panacea type solution. hope this helps :] Note that this requires a decent fastboot usage knowledge and root access


How can I regenerate .thumbnails folder in DCIM I accidentally deleted the contents of .thumbnails folder in DCIM in sdcard. After deleting it I am unable to access MediaStore.Images.Thumbnails._ID however MediaStore.Images.Media.DATA is having all the images. How do I regenerate thumbnails in the .thumbnails folder to get the details of MediaStore.Images.Thumbnails._ID?

I initially had the idea that the gallery app in Android generates thumbnails in the .thumbnails folder so what I did was clear the cache of gallery app. Unmounted the sdcard and mounted it again in the hope that .thumbnail folder will have all the thumbnails when I relaunch the app

I am using HTC One V(Android version 4.0)

Go to Setting-->Applications--->Gallery-->Clear Cache

After clearing the cache, open the gallery app, it will automatically regenerate thumbnails.


How to remove login popups when connected to a wifi network? At my school there is a wifi network that blocks most websites. You don't need to log in, you simply connect and start browsing. But periodically a login page pops up. The problem is, this login page is also blocked by the network. So, all I can do is go back out of that page, and it will reappear every now and then.

Is there any way to disable the login page?

I don't think there is a method for doing this (though I stand to be corrected). I believe that Android only shows this page when it detects a login request from the network. Maybe your school network frequently refreshes its login keys whether it requires a login or not which causes Android to react by bringing up the page?


Rooted Moto E won't start Wi-Fi i did a hard reset on my rooted Moto E android device since the Wi-fi was not somehow turning on. Now it has rebooted, and after entering the preferred language, its got stuck on the second step : Select Wi-Fi, and shows the text "turning Wi-Fi on...". ( the same problem for which I did a hard reset in the first place). Why is the reboot stuck at this point and what can I do about it?

Can u post a pic of Ur WiFi select screen or give some more information.
Since u have rooted your phone, u can boot into recovery and try to wipe dalvik cache and factory reset.
Hope it solves your WiFi problem if not,then it might be a hardware issue.


How do I upgrade my Dell XCD35 from 2.2 Froyo to 2.3 Gingerbread? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I update the OS in my device?

I'm not an expert in this, and need help. I have serious issues with the Froyo build and want to upgrade my brand new phone to Gingerbread. How can I do this?
It is not available as a standard upgrade through the manufacturer.

Root it.
Install Clockworkmod Recovery.

Install ROM Manager.
Run it and select your device.
Choose the "Flash Clockwork recovery" (or similar) option.

Install a custom ROM.

Note that doing this voids your warranty and may brick your device.  I highly recommend reading through the XDA forum (the last link above) so you get a good grasp of everything involved here.  In particular, a lot of the ROMs are for "GEN2 devices".  I don't know know if that's a hardware revision or a firmware version, or if there are any relevant differences between the Dell XCD35 and the ZTE Blade that you would need to account for before installing a Blade ROM.  Edit: See http://wiki.modaco.com/index.php/ZTE_Blade#What_different_Blade_versions_are_out_there.3F for some useful info, the rest of that wiki is useful too.


How to enable developer settings in android 5.1, instead of LOLLIPOP game I want to  access developer setting in my phone, but it is not showing all settings. It has developer options but there is only one switch button for switching Developer options and USB Debugging settings. I searched on internet and many sites, they said that in LOLLIPOP devices, developer settings are hidden. we can enable them by clicking 5 or 7 on Build-number in About section in the settings. In my phone, when I navigate to Settings>About Phone> there is no option with containing word 'Build'. but when I click 5 or 7 times on Android Version option it open a game of LOLLIPOP instead of developer settings. Can anyone tell me how can I enable developer settings in my android LOLLIPOP phone???
Thank you in  advance....

I have Q-Mobile i6i with android 5.1.

In vanilla AOSP builds, the Build number menu is the last one on the About phone panel. From your screenshot, your device instead has Software version in that location. Try the 5-7 clicks on this area. If that doesn't do anything, or produces a message like "No need, you are already a developer.", then I'm afraid your OEM has removed this ability and given you only minimal Developer options capability in the form of a USB debugging switch. The good part is that it's already enabled so at least you have that.

Also, the Lollipop game that you found after multiple clicks on Android version is also what happens in normal AOSP devices.


Rsync-like downloads over adb? NOTE: I asked a similar question here several days ago, but I was told to re-post it to "Stack Exchange Software Recommendations", which I did.
Now, I posted this current question to "Stack Exchange Software Recommendations", but I was told to re-post it here.
I hope this current question indeed will now be accepted here.

I know that I can use adb from my desktop computer to take a backup of my sdcard ...

adb pull /sdcard/ .

This downloads everything from my sdcard to the specified directory on my desktop machine. However, I'm wondering if there is some way to download in an rsync-like manner: i.e., only downloading and updating files that have actually changed between my device's sdcard and the directory on the desktop machine.

Or is there perhaps a non-adb-based way to do this?

Also, I want to initiate this from the desktop machine, not the Android device.

Any ideas?

PS: This is an Android-10 device, a OnePlus 7Pro (GM-1917) running OOS 10.3.2. However, the answer to my question is probably unrelated to that, since it has to do more with adb than the android device itself.

Thanks in advance.

Per the comment by alecxs, above, adb-sync gives me the functionality I'm looking for: https://github.com/google/adb-sync

Some day I'll also try Adebar.

Thanks to alecxs!


Flashed addonsu-arm-signed.zip on LineageOS, still no root I just installed LineageOS 14.1 using TWRP.

Then, following this guide I downloaded addonsu-arm-signed.zip to my SD card and installed it, also using TWRP.

PROBLEM: Then I installed Titanium Backup from Play Store, an got this message:

Is there a mistake in my procedure?
Is there a missing step?

Go to Settings.
Click on About phone and then tap 7 times on the Build number.
Navigate back, open Developer Options.
Tap Root Access.
Select Apps or Apps and ADB.

Now you have root and Titanium Backup finds it:


"Last seen" on WhatsApp for same contacts on different phones is not shown I have 2 phones with 2 different WhatsApp accounts, not linked to each other at all.
Let's say I've got 3 contacts, contact X, contact Y, and contact Z on my WhatsApp profile "A" on phone "A", and the same 3 contacts on my WhatsApp profile "B" on phone "B".

I can see contact X "last seen" time and date on the WhatsApp profile "A" on phone "A", but at the same time not see contact X "last seen" time and date on the WhatsApp profile "B" on phone "B" of mine.
I can however see on WhatsApp profile "A" & "B" when contact X is online as both WhatsApp profiles "A" & "B" simultaneously indicate "online" when contact X is online.
For contacts Y & Z, I can see the "last seen" time and date as well as "online" simultaneously on WhatsApp profile "A" & "B" on phones "A" & "B".

Why would it be that I can see contact X's "last seen" time and date on WhatsApp profile "A" but not on WhatsApp profile "B" while I can see the "last seen" time and date of contacts Y & Z on both "A" & "B" WhatsApp profiles?
Other contacts which are also on both WhatsApp profiles of mine, I can see the "last seen" time and date on both WhatsApp profiles.

There is a setting, which allows you to control who can see your "read receipt" or your "last seen" (or a few other settings).

You find this settings under:
WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Account > Privacy.

Following settings are possible: Everyone, My Contacts, Private.

To summarize your described behavior: Your observed person must have one of your numbers in his contact list, and has selected "My Contacts" for this settings (regarding "last seen"). So you are able to see the "last seen" from the number, they have in his contact list. But not from your additional number

For additional information you can visit https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/android/23225461


How to extract data from Samsung S5 with broken screen+digitizer? I need to extract the photos from the internal memory of my Samsung S5. I've downloaded some software called dr.fone which shows me previews of my files (i think by downloading software onto the phone) so it must be possible but it is expensive for the full version. Are there any free apps which I can find to do this? (All search results give expensive heavily SEOed apps!

Actually firstly when you connect your phone to pc it will show your phone icon and drive but it will empty until you will unlock your phone and that you can't do.

if you have enabled usb debugging than you can backup your files via adb.
use following adb command after connecting to adb terminal and listing your device is adb.
type:-

"adb pull /storage/sdcard0/ C:\to_folder_where_you_want_t0_copy"

Have a great day


How can I keep settings after flashing a ROM? I am considering flashing my SGS to a custom ROM.  I do not, however, relish the prospect of re-configuring everything.  Most apps on my phone and most definitions should have no dependencies on the ROM, so I would like to be able to back up all the settings, flash the ROM and then restore them.  This would include:

all installed apps
all app settings (launcher preferences, active widgets etc.)
ringtones, backgrounds etc.

Is there any way to do this?

Titanium Backup from the Android Market!

From the Technical FAQ:

Can it back up and restore applications across different ROMs or even different phones ?

YES, without restrictions.

Although you also have:

Can it back up SMS, MMS and system settings ?

Please note that if you backup and restore all system settings across very different ROMs, you are on your own. Before restoring on a different ROM, it is strongly recommended to enable the "Data migration" option in the Titanium Backup settings.


One-click access to alarm settings I want to access the alarm clock feature built into Jelly Bean in one click. In the past, I've always done this by tapping the analog clock that's on the home screen by default. I want to switch to a third-party clock widget now, and it doesn't leave me enough room to keep the analog clock on the screen. (Besides, having two clocks would look weird.)

The only other way to get to the alarm clock setup page, as far as I know, is to open the clock widget and then tap on the "next alarm" bar. That, of course, takes a minimum of two clicks. How can I do it in one?

Some launchers (Nova, Launcherpro) can create shortcut on home screen which can launch custom activity from any app. This may allow you to launch alarm settings directly.

Also you can create custom app to launch activity from another app.


android lollipop with moto g (2nd gen) I have updated my Moto G (2nd Gen) to the new version of Android (5.0.2), after which I am facing hang and slowness issues.

How can I revert this back to my old version of Android?

Thanks in advance.

Not sure if this applies as it's been a while since this question was asked but thought I'd answer it it since I had a similar experience now.

I also have a Motorola G2 and it was having slowness issue just last week, and I saw on android pit website they suggest you go in to the developer options and speed up the animation which can cause slowness if it's set to default that is 1 second, I changed it to .5 seconds and it really makes a big difference, and now everything works much faster.

And there's another suggestion there as well for clearing the cache. I'm posting a link here: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-speed-up-the-moto-g-2014-for-better-performance


How to control the volume of an android device from a pc I want to ask if there is a quick way to control my android devices volume from my pc. All solutions I find in Google are the otherway round. So does anybody has an idea?

Thank you in advance

I am proud to announce that I have just published an application on Google Play Store and Github to address this exact problem.
It is (and will remain) free, without ads, and open source.
It will let you control the sound volume of your Android device remotely, easily, from any device that has a web browser (this includes PC or iPhone per example) and is connected to the same local network (Wifi).
You can get it :
on Google Play Store : Web Remote Volume Control
on GitHub : tanaka42/androidapp-webremotevolumecontrol
Some times ago, I did land on this stackexchange question when searching how to control volume remotely easily. I did try the Vysor+SliderWidget solution, it did work, but I was not happy with that. Moreover that solution did not include iPhone as the remote controller. So I have built this app for myself, but finally I have decided to make it public.
If it can be useful to even a single person, I will be very happy.
EDIT : my app now has more than 150 users located all around the world : I am very happy :D


Problem connecting Nexus 7 as mass storage device on Windows 7 I have an Asus Nexus 7 tablet, and was trying to connecting it in MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) mode to my Samsung Series 5 laptop running Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium Edition. I have a bunch of Android development tools installed also, and typically have my devices connected using the ADB (Android Debug Bridge) driver.

When I first attempted to connect my Nexus 7 to my laptop to use in MTP mode, it simply refused to show up in Windows Explorer. Finally, I figured out that I had to uninstall the ADB device ("Android Phone") from Device Manager and then it would work correctly in MTP mode.

Any ideas why this is? Is MTP mode trumped by the ADB USB Driver?

Note: I always had USB Debugging disabled on the Nexus 7, so it wasn't that.

Although I'm surprised it didn't work in Windows 7 out of the box (it worked on my PC) there is a way to fix it.

Please open C:\Windows\inf\wpdmtp.inf in Notepad and add following

; Nexus 7
%GenericMTP.DeviceDesc%=MTP, USB\MS_COMP_MTP
%GenericMTP.DeviceDesc%=MTP, USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E42&MI_00

In two places - at the end of sections [Generic.NTx86] and [Generic.NTamd64]

This method will also work on Windows 7 after installing Windows Media Player 11.


Is there any Android phone that can wake up for alarms even when the battery has died? My old Nokia N95 used to wake up for alarms even when the battery had died.

Is there any current Android smartphone that can do this?

Looks like it's a NO.

Star this issue if you're interested in Google adding the necessary framework for a hardware alarm: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1942


Messages does not show HTC Desire Z I have a problem with my HTC Desire Z, when I open messages it’s just blank, I have the option to write messages but I can see any of my old ones. I have tried restarting it and taking in an out the sim-card.

Is this a known problem? Anyone have a solution?

Are you capable of receiving new sms? Do new SMS messages pop up?

If you're using the default or stock messaging app, try installing another app like Handcent or GoSMS and see if the same behaviour is repeated.

Else, try clearing all the messages stored and see. Within the default messaging app, there's an option to specify the Message Centre number - you need to verify that the number entered is what your service provider has assigned.

If that doesn't result in any improvement, see if a Factory Reset will help. Beware that a Factory Reset will erase all user data.


Prevent apps being uninstalled My kids love playing with my Android. However, they don't always understand what they are doing, and occasionally I find that they have deleted some of my apps (strangely, never the ones they play).

Is there any app that can make uninstall more difficult, or make access to the apps menu more difficult (e.g. require a password)?

There are quite a few apps in the Market which will lock certain apps behind a password, a search in the Market for "applock" should find most of them.

I haven't actually used any, so can't give you a recommendation, but these should allow you to lock the Market and Settings apps behind a PIN number, to keep your kids out of them.


Where's the 8pen Preview Popup? I just purchased the 8pen keyboard last night, and one frustration I'm having is that I keep having to look around my finger to figure out where the next letter is.

I found this blog post from November saying that the keyboard was now free and also updated to, among other things, include a preview popup that would show where the letters are.

The bit about the app being free is definitely outdated, as there is no free app on the marketplace and the links it includes are dead. It would seem that the preview popup is also gone.

I'm hoping someone can help me either to get the preview popup in my version (2.0.3), or help me find the version that has the preview popup.

8pen has now answered this at their official support site:

  You're right, in the early version of the 8pen from November 2010, we
  included a popup window. It's now removed, but we are considering
  putting it back again, as you are not the only one requesting this
  feature.

  By the way, are you aware of the game "8pen Wordcup", available for
  free on the Market (http://goo.gl/Qvpiw)? That should get you quickly
  up and running with the new layout, so you won't need to be looking
  for letters all the time.


Is there any difference between Samsung Galaxy S 3 GT-I9300 and I9300? I've been looking into flashing a custom ROM on my Galaxy S 3, and most of custom ROM are only supported by the I9300 model of the Galaxy S 3.

When I went into my phone's settings, it said GT-I9300, so my question is: Are these two are the same and the HTC part is just being omitted, or these are two different models of the device?

Thank you for the attention, I.

I9300 is just a shortened form of GT-I9300.  They both mean the same device.

Just don't mix it up with the I9305, which is a different device, specifically the international LTE version.

Wikipedia has a useful chart of the different models and how they differ.  Minor models (e.g. I9300/I9300T or I747/I747m) are inter-compatible for ROM purposes.


How can I manage Intent association with Apps? When the system emits an Intent for which you have multiple apps that can handle the intent, a dialog opens to tell you which application you want to use with that intent.

Is there a way to see what these associations are, and clear them?

If there is no app or interface to do that, do you know of an API to access these associations?

EDIT: When I said associations, I was thiking of the "late-bound" associations. For example, when I open a link and I have multiple browsers, an intent is fired saying "view link", and I choose "always use that application"; what can I do if, after some time, I would prefer to use another application for that intent?

I believe it's a no to both those questions. Yes you can clear default associations only if you know which app is associated with with Intent (you will still be prompted with the dialog asking you which app you'd like to use with the current Intent).

Apart from that there is no way to clear associations. They are hard coded inside each app, there is no way to remove them.

UPDATE: To answer your edited question head to Settings > Applications > Manage applications find your application that you chose as your default app for that intent, click Clear defaults


Wifi tethering unavailable HTC Magic Possible Duplicate:
  Wifi tethering with HTC Magic

Hi,

Got a HTC Magic (the black one) with official froyo 2.2.1 in it, but when I went to check there is no WiFi tethering available in the menu (although, there is usb tethering).

Is there any way I could put this old phone to work as a portable hotspot? I mean, are there any apps I could download to enable the wifi tether?

I'd just prefer not to have it rooted, custom ROM, if possible...

thanks.

I only tinkered with it a little, but I'm pretty sure that you can only create a WiFi tether with an Android 2.2.x device if the manufacturer allows for it or if you root your phone and install something like Barnacle.

I found this thread over at Android Forums in which the first reply specifies that the Magic doesn't support WiFi tether.

If you can handle having a USB cable connected between your laptop and phone PdaNet seems to work well for people without root.


Recently Used Apps crashing in portrait mode When I try to switch to the "Recently Used Apps" screen (by holding the home button), the process com.android.systemui crashes.

However, in Landscape mode it works as usual (and rotating the device makes it crash again).

Device: Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini
Version: 4.4.2
ROM: Stock

EDIT: The system was not modified in any way (e.g. no root access).

Where can I find logs/files that provide me with additional info i.o. to trace the problem? Or what can I do to make it stop crashing (preferably not reseting)?

EDIT: Unfortunately, the issue mysteriously disappeared today and I cannot reproduce it any more.

To check logs there are a few options, for instance:

Given that you have a Samsung, try opening SysDump by going to Phone dialer -> *#9900# (no need to press Dial).
To get the logs, you might need to root your phone. This shows methods for accessing files in data/data without rooting, and it may apply to data/log as well.
Use the adb to check the output of dmesg.
Use aLogcat.
Details for checking an app adapted from here, it may require some tweaking for Recently Used Apps, if useful at all:

Start your target app (e.g., "Myapp") on the device. If it crashes, repeat this step 2-3 times.
Next start "aLogCat app" and wait for approximately ~1 minute.
Press the "Menu" button and select "Filter".
Type "Myapp" in the text field and press "OK" button.
Wait for approximately ~1 minute.
Press "Menu" button and select "Share".
Collect the log via any sharing option you have access (e.g., email, Bluetooth).

Use CatLog - Logcat Reader!. You might need root Access.

For completeness, I leave here a few related posts

Android device crash logs?

How can I view and examine the Android log?

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24407984/how-to-locate-app-crash-logs-in-android-phone

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24305180/error-erasing-old-data-from-logcat


MI Max 2 soft-bricked Okay here is what happened Yesterday I restrated my phone beacuse the volume and power keys were acting funny but instead of booting into the system in boots into TWRP btw just in case I installed a custom rom before i restarted this okay back to the problem today I gave up trying to flash new custom roms since It keeps booting into TWRP so i decided to go with the stock rom I flashed with Miflash hoping it would fix but now TWRP is gone can't turn off my phone,can't boot into fastboot or bootloader,all I can is Mi-Recovery 3.0 also just to add my volume up key wont work that's the reason for why i think there is damage on my volume up key.

From the Main Menu of Mi-Recovery 3.0 all i could do is reboot to system which just makes it boot bact to recovery and wipe data which also did'nt work, Connect with MIAssistant is also useless since the app cant detect it. Thats all.

Your phone boots into recovery because of a short circuit in the Volume Button.

From TWRP Recovery, get a backup of boot partition and
copy the boot.emmc.win file to PC via MTP-USB
tap "Reboot" and "Bootloader" to enter fastboot mode
boot your phone from fastboot with

fastboot boot "C:\Users\<profil>\Desktop\boot.emmc.win"

you must repeat the last step each time you want to boot into system


Contact App of Samsung A5(SM-A500G) become slow after software update (5.0.2) After software update on my Mobile phone Samsung Galaxy A5 (SM-A500G), the Contact app become very slow to use. When I am cleaning the call log to zero then Contact app is working fine till the call log count reach the 4-5 in count. Please suggest the solution other than factory reset.

download some contact app from play store n disable the samsung contact app in settings.


Resetting Galaxy S 3 to factory default ICS I am a new Android user, and recently I have upgraded the default ROM of Samsung Galaxy S 3 to Jelly Bean MIUI ROM using the steps mentioned at the International Business Times.

Now I want to revert it back to default ROM but I am unable to do so.

Although the blog says

  If you want to return to your previous ROM for some reason, boot into
  recovery (using the procedure explained in step 3), choose backup and
  restore, then restore your previous ROM by selecting it from the list.

But I didn't find anything within the list.

I tried wipe data / factory reset but still not getting the default ROM.

What do I need to do to get back the default firmware?

I found a workaround, Downloaded a firmware from http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/ and updated my galaxy s3 with that using odin. Upon first reboot my phone hangs showing only boot screen with samsung logo for about 2 hours, then I restarted phone in clockworkmod recovery did a wipe data / factory reset and then restarted the phone again, I got the default firmware back. Then connected the phone to pc using kies and upgraded the firmware.


Bluetooth keyboards is not switching languages properly I just bought a cheap bluetooth keyboard to use it with my Huawei MediaPad M3 lite (Android 7.0). It works pretty fine but when I tried to change the language it does not work, i.e. it stay on English (US) (and I have Bulgarian too in the virtual keyboard).
Here is how the settings for it looks like:

The problem is that I cannot add additional layout/language to the Gboard. It only allows me to select just one.

Strangely enough, the BT keyboard have a shortcut for switching layout (blue Fn + space) and when pressed the virtual keyboard switches the layout but the BT keyboard still uses English.
I want to be able to add Bulgarian language to physical keyboard. How to do it?
Is this problem solvable in Android 7.0?

I haven't seen that built-in any Android version so far but you can achieve it easily with a 3rd party software "External Keyboard Helper":

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelper&hl=en_US

It includes support for Bulgarian typewriter and Phonetic layouts.


Adb connects and disconnects after 2 seconds I am running an AVD through Genymotion. Also, I have installed Kali Linux VM in my windows laptop. I am trying to connect to the android through the terminal

adb connect 192.168.104.103

and it connects successfully. Then I have tried to install an application with

adb install test.apk

and it is also installed successfully.
BUT, when I am trying to execute the command pull I am getting the error:

adb: error: failed to get feature set: no devices/emulators found

adb connect 192.168.104.103
already connected to 192.168.104.103:5555
adb devices
List of devices attached
device
192.168.104.103:5555
./adb pull /data/data/com.android/providers.userdictionary/databases/user_dict.db
adb server version (39) doesn't match this client (41); killing ...
* daemon started successfully
adb: error: failed to get feature set: no devices/ emulators found
adb devices
List of devices attached
adb server version (41) doesn't match this client (39); killing ...
* daemon started successfully
adb devices
List of devices attached
adb connect 192.168.104.103
connected to 192.168.104.103:5555
adb devices
List of devices attached
device
192.168.104.103:5555
./adb pull /data/data/com.android/providers.userdictionary/databases/user_dict.db
adb server version (39) doesn't match this client (41); killing ...
* daemon started successfully
adb: error: failed to get feature set: no devices/ emulators found

According to Robert's instructions problem solved:

The console output shows that you have two different and incompatible
adb versions installed. Usually Genymotion comes with an own adb
version, make sure that you are not using this potentially outdated
version. Better to have only one adb version (the newer one)
installed. Then such problems can not occur.


Run voice commands like "Play", "Pause", "Next" on Spotify with Tasker and AutoVoice? When I get into my car, I connect my Nexus 5 (not rooted) on my audio system and play music with Spotify. What I want is to be able to skip, pause, and play songs with voice commands. I tried out with Tasker and AutoVoice. AutoVoice is recognizing the command, but nothing is happening. Is it possible to do that with Tasker and AutoVoice? If yes, then how?

You should try using AutoInput, a plugin for Tasker available in the market, which doesn't require root.

You can then create a profile and set AutoVoice for every command, then set AutoInput (plugin section) with the X and Y coordinates of the button you want to press. Find the coordinates of the button by enabling the feature in Developer Options.

N.B. Make sure you're in the app you want when running the task.

Hope it helped!


Multilingual smart dial in HTC One X I have HTC One X with default firmware and the latest updates installed. I'm totally fine with the default dialer, but the only feature missing is Russian (Cyrillic) symbols in Smart Dialer. It's where you type T9 versions of names to fast filter your contact list.

Is there a way to add Russian symbols to default Smart Dialer? I want to use both English and Russian symbols simultaneously.

I can use separate app for that, like ExDialer, it does exactly what I want. But I don't want to blunt Occam's razor.

Default dialer is to the left. ExDialer is to the right, since it is doing it right.

It turned out, that when I set system language to Russian, Smart Dialer adds Russian letters. I used MoreLocale2 to add Russian system language. And I had to use the "pm grant" trick to make MoreLocale2 work.


Phone reception puzzle My wife and I both have 2013 vintage moto g phones using the GiffGaff network. My phone gets decent enough reception, whereas my wife struggles to get reception most of the time (for instance see is currently talking on my phone because her phone didn't get reception). I just wondered whether there was a possible software reason for the difference in performance? Or is it likely that my wife has just dropped it and broken/weakened something inside?

I had that problem when I was in the UK using a giffgaff SIM on my Moto (Marshmallow). My daughter's phone was getting a signal when I couldn't get one bar. Checking my APN settings to ensure they were as giffgaff intended solved the problem.

Assuming you both have exactly the same set up otherwise, if the APN setting is different or non-existent on one of the phones, your wife's phone may be trying to connect to the wrong network (or, if she has roaming disabled, she may not have a network to connect to).

First guess? Check APN settings are what giffgaff gave as the settings. It may be that hers are different from yours because for whatever reason giffgaff had the SIM cards set to use different networks. So check the text which provided that information on her phone as well as yours.


Language and input made foreced stopped,how to change keyboard on android device? I have phone named Micro max A091(Android 4.4.2), I had rooted my phone a long ago.There is a problem that when ever I tried to open the language and input in setting, but that makes stopped the whole setting.

Is there any way to change the default keyboard without flashing or repairing this issue.

Which keyboard are you trying to get rid of? If it isn't Google Keyboard, go download it from the Play Store, open the app and follow the steps. See if that fixes your issue. If you already use Google Keyboard, try downloading another keyboard like SwiftKey.


How to avoid factory reset and bypass unlock pin on my kyrocera 2.2 froyo I forgot my unlock pin but i dont want to hard reset my kyrocera M9300 HOW CAN I BYPASS

Flash a stock firmware with fastboot. Look for instructions on XDA. It's not nearly as hard as it sounds.


Full dump of Android to use to flash another deivce? I'm looking to dump the full rom (system, boot, bootloader) of a device.  But I don't want to dump it in parts, I want the whole thing in one image.  Is this possible?  I have full root on the device.

I'll then take that image and burn it into another device using software provided by the chip manufacture.

Moving one device's rig to another? No problem! All you need is:

one large SD card/USB-OTG
TWRP (You have root, so this will be easy) on both devices

Part one- getting TWRP If you have TWRP already, skip this.

Download TWRP manager from this google play link.
Install TWRP from the install section. Make sure you select the right make and model
Follow on-screen prompts. Check recovery when done.

Part two- Doing the dirty work
Now what we are here for :)

Boot into TWRP. You don't need to, but mount EVERYTHING (except efs)
Begin the Backup operation from the appropriately named tab. Tick all, except External SD, USB OTG and EFS. (Note- Ext. SD and USB-OTG are normally not options) ensure it is saving to an external SD or USB, however. Also, enable compression to get one, neat file.
Twiddle your thumbs and contemplate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything while the backup happens.
When done, power down (from TWRP'S reboot menu) and Pop your external storage into the other device.

5.Use TWRP'S Restore (Yep, restore) function to install the zip. You will be asked what segments you want to use, so pick what you need, and flash!

6.Well, slow dimmer lightbulb. Might take a while. Go read a book.

Reboot normally, and you should be done!

Why no EFS?
EFS tends to contain UNIQUE ID's, like you MAC address and IMEI. Two devices should not share the same EFS partition.


If the owner installs an app can a secondary profile use it? It appears that in Lollipop secondary user profiles can no longer install APKs from unknown sources.

So, if I install an APK from the owner profile, can I give a secondary profile access to that app?

Suggested tag: secondary-profile

Yes, as long as the user is a Restricted User.  When you first create the user, you must choose "Restricted User".  Then you can choose what apps the user can access (4.2 style).


What is the applypatch tool and how does one use it? I recently stumbled upon the applypatch tool, but I couldn't find any documentation for it online. Here is the usage output (this is after typing adb shell)

shell@android:/ $ applypatch --help
usage: applypatch [-b <bonus-file>] <src-file> <tgt-file> <tgt-sha1> <tgt-size> [<src-sha1>:<patch> ...]
   or  applypatch -c <file> [<sha1> ...]
   or  applypatch -s <bytes>
   or  applypatch -l

Filenames may be of the form
  MTD:<partition>:<len_1>:<sha1_1>:<len_2>:<sha1_2>:...
to specify reading from or writing to an MTD partition.

What do the command line options mean? What is MTD? What are all the sha1 hashes for?

Also, could someone with the reputation add an applypatch tag, or maybe a tools tag? Something more descriptive than what I've put.

diff and patch are Unix/Linux commands used to easily check for differences, send updates to huge files by shipping only the differences, etc. (see Wikipedia). They are mostly used in development (to update source code), but can also serve practical purposes in non-development environments.

applypatch is one of those patch-tools on Android, and used e.g. for minor updates (OTA and the like). So it is most likely not intended for the "normal end user" to deal with it directly.


"Unfortunately, Google App has stopped". Locked out of my phone! Please help! My phone started popping up with "Unfortunately, Google App has stopped." notification non stop. The keyboard wouldn't come up on my phone. I decided to restart my phone, which I guess was a bad idea because now I'm stuck on the lock screen. The keyboard won't come up, so I can't type in my password to get into the phone. I've tried restarting, taking the battery out, leaving it off for a while. Nothing has worked. I tried going into Safe Mode but the keyboard still won't come up. I also tried going into recovery mode and clearing the cache, that didn't help either. I would really like to avoid a factory reset. Help??

I have a possible solution. But I don't think it works most of the time.

When you are at the lock screen and your keyboard doesn't pop-up, connect the phone to the charger or your laptop/desktop. It resets the processes and your phone will come back to normal. Disconnect the cable if connected previously. After the lock-screen is opened, take a gap of 20 - 30 seconds and connect it and try opening it.

This is an old regulation for many android phones and worked a lot of times in my case with Sony Xperia SP C5302. Hope it works in your case also.


Will Rooting android give me access to Google Play? If I were to get an android tablet that uses an app market like GetJar, would rooting it allow me to use the google play store?

I want to get a Android Hipstreet Flare, but I am hesitant because it uses GetJar.
If I'm going to dive in to the android world, I want to be able to use the legit app store.

When your Android device is rooted, you should be able to flash images. There is a "gapps" package that contains the Google applications (like Gmail, ...) that is delivered with most AOSP roms, so you can flash that through recovery.

If I'm not mistaken, this enables the Google Play Store on the given rom. I think the gapps package must be (somewhat) compatible with the rom it's being flashed on.

There are also separate apk files that you can install directly (without flashing), though I have no experience with those. And again, they probably must be compatible with the rom you're currently running.

Please refer to xda-developers.com for more information.


Mass install apps using FTP/HTTP I would like to mass install few apps at one time from a single FTP server - from Android phone, without using adb command.

The phone will be rooted and will have and the option to install non-Market apps turned on.

I know it is possible to install many apps using single adb command (http://www.androidsim.net/2011/06/how-to-18-mass-installing-multiple.html) but I would like to do this using an Android app that would download all the apps and install them.
I am looking for a ready-made solution (app/code snippet) or a clues for implementing FTP connection.

This is a way of programatically installing APKs

the code snippet you're looking for is:

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setDataAndType(Uri.fromFile(new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory() + "/download/" + "app.apk")),"application/vnd.android.package-archive");
startActivity(intent);


Can't uninstall app says already uninstalled I am working on a game an I decided to change name of it. Now I can't uninstall or install my game. When I try to install it says it is already installed and when I try to uninstall it shows something like this (My game is at the bottom of the list):

Click image for larger version

This may be a simple glitch! Try some troubleshooting...

Turn off developer settings.
Install ES file explorer. Go to App manager in the Es file explorer.
Try to uninstall the app from that app manager.
IF u still cant do that?
Delete the app directory(your own app) & restart the phone.


Sony Xperia Z stuck in a bootloop My Xperia Z is stuck int a bootloop. It goes up to the colorful waves and then it restarts. It was connected with USB in charging mode. Suddenly, it starts restarting. I thought it might be carrying out some of its processes, but even after an hour of restarts, it failed to start normally. Now my battery is completely drained.

I want to recover/restore it to factory settings, but I can't because of bootloops.

The phone is only two months old, and I do not want to format and restore flash files
via flashtools as suggested on the XDA forums. Getting into recovery mode and restoring from there will be preferred, instead of flashing. My last resort will be a Sony Service Center.

You have to download a rom for your mobile.

Download it from

https://xperiastockrom.com/category/firmware

Download a flashtool from

https://developer.sony.com/develop/open-devices/get-started/flash-tool/

open the  flashtool
Connect a USB cable to your computer.
Turn off your phone.
Connect your phone to the USB cable while holding the Volume down key.
Select the software you want to flash in the Service list. The tool automatically detects the phone model and lists available software versions.
Click on Apply Service. The phone will now be flashed.
When you have flashed your device, you can disconnect your phone from the computer. The first time the boot-up might take a little longer than normal.

Hope it will solve your problem...


Encrypt Tablet in Android 3.1 hangs indefinitely I've recently gotten an Asus EEE Pad Transformer (my first Android device) and I love it. I've updated it to 3.1 right away.

I tried to enable the "Encrypt tablet" option. After following the on-screen advice (fully loaded battery and having the charger attached), I entered the PIN and pushed the button.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

All the time the tablet showed the green "encrypting" droid full screen, but didn't show any progress meter or any other text (even the system bar was disabled).

After several hours there was no visible progress (the introduction screen mentioned that it can take "an hour or longer") and after a while I shut down and rebooted the tablet. Everything worked just as fine as before, but nothing was encrypted.

I've attempted this a few times now, but every time it showed the exact same result (i.e. none).

I've searched around and found several accounts of the same thing happening to other 3.0-users and not a single post saying "yes, tablet encryption worked just fine for me".

Can someone shed some light on this? Or at least post a "it worked for me, sorry"?

Note that this tablet is not rooted and I don't plan to do that (yet).

It seems to be a general problem. I was trying this on my Asus Eee Pad with physical keyboard which actually allows to minimize the "encryption process" and go to settings. However checking running processes doesn't show any activity that would suggest that something is actually happening.


sd card not mounted after formatting So, I tried to do a clean wipe of my Galaxy SII I1900 variant and flash in Paranoid Android's latest build, and everything was successful, but I realised the clean wipe wasn't that "clean". It did not wipe out anything from my internal data, so my app data and photos etc were not wiped. I tried to wipe it again but it doesn't work somehow.

For some reason my brain thought formatting the sd card means formatting the internal memory (lack of sleep), and after formatting it, neither my phone nor my computer could detect the sd card anymore. I formatted it using the CWM I think (I held power button and chose reboot->recovery), there was no option to format it in any format, it just formatted right after I chose the option. I am not sure if I plugged it out safely but there wasn't any notifications about it being plugged into the computer.

I don't have a sd card reader and I don't think I have any spare sd cards lying around.. Any help for this poor soul here? :/

Summing up the solution from above comments:

While it's not clear what happened with the card, the solution was quite trivial:

take the card out of the Android device, and put it into a card reader
attach the card reader to a computer
format the card using FAT32 (a file-system both sides can handle easily)
"safely remove" ("eject") the card from the computer, take it out of the card reader, and put it back to the Android device

Now the card was recognized fine \o/


Will existing users be able to update the app if the app is blocked in their Play Store country I have a published Android app open to US, Singapore and UK. There are users on app from all these countries but for content reasons I would like to block the app on Google Play to users in US and Singapore.

My question is, will users from US and Singapore still be able to download the further updates on the app from Play Store?

Probably, because in my country I have no access to some Google apps when I install custom ROM and want to download them, but if I use stock ROMs that come bundled with them, I can normally update them as I have them under "My Apps" in my Google account.

Think of it also from security reasons. It would be very bad if someone shipped an app with a security hole and then can't update it because it isn't available for that market.


modify the HTC unlock system on an HTC Android 2.3.5 phone? My HTC Unlock system comes with "Phone", "Mail", "Camera" and "Messages" options on top of the bubble-thingy that one has to move around to unlock. How can I modify the options in this menu to add new app icons or remove any of these four?

Long tap in your main launcher window --> (Personalize menu pops)--> click on "Display" --> Lockscreen --> Settings.

You can only switch between application, but you cannot have more than 4.


Which music players support search by "Album Artist"? All the music players I've tried have search by artist/album/genre but I really want search by "Album Artist".
Do any of the market players do this?

Music PlayerPro has that feature.

But it's a Paid app. I tried many free ones, (powerAmp, winamp, cube, double twist, mixzing...) none have that feature!

Note 1: Meridian (free) can search using composers (it calls it writers).

Note 2: There is an issue-ticket related to this open in the android issue tracker. So this may be fixed in stock players in future.


Can I keep my WhatsApp videos on the cloud? My Android smartphone only has 4 GB and the WhatsApp folder already has 500 MB in the WhatsApp Video sub-folder.

I know I can make a one-time back up my WhatsApp data on the cloud but I need a permanent solution like keeping all the videos older than 3 days on the cloud, in order to permanently save my storage space.

Does WhatsApp have such a feature? It should not be very difficult for them to do that because WhatsApp can keep a single copy for each video shared by millions of different users (and the people share mostly popular videos, not personal videos), therefore the space consumed per user should be quite low.

WhatsApp doesn't have the feature to save videos to a cloud. As soon as you download a video sent to you, WhatsApp deletes it.

You can have all your WhatsApp messages and media backup to Google drive, but that's not easily accessible unless you restore all messages from Google drive (usually done when switching phones or data loss.)

My suggestion is to get an app that will backup your phots/videos. Like Google phots.

Or you can move all videos to your SD card and then delete them from WhatsApp.


Updating to CM11 - (Status 7) Installation aborted (i9300) I'm trying to install CM11 onto my Samsung Galaxy S3 (i9300) so I can have the new Google Camera and Chrome Remote Desktop apps.
I tried to install initially via the usual update menu, but got an error and it went to ClockworkRecovery Mod. After much messing around, I downloaded this zip and put it onto an SD card and tried to install it using CWM but I get the following error:

Error in cm-11-2014005-SNAPSHOT-M5-i9300.zip (Status 7) Installation
aborted

Any ideas please? It sucks being without a phone, and I don't want to wipe everything and start again if I can help it since I'm pretty sure I have things on there that aren't backed up (that'll be my first job when I get this working again!)
Thanks :)


is there a place where new phones release dates are posted? I recently got a new Inspire 4G and its awesome but how can I know if something new is coming out in a few days and I should have waited? Is there a site that keeps track of this stuff? Sorry if this is not the correct place to ask this. thanks!

I typically find out about new android devices coming out on gizmodo. The only official place I know of is Google's phone store. It doesn't list new phones that are coming out, only what is currently out.


Does Nexus One WiFi traffic go through Google? When I use the default browser (what is it? Is it Chrome? Firefox? other?) to view a site (not necessarily via Google search), does any of that visit information reach Google servers?

How about DNS?

Actually the predictive search from the address bar sends the text you enter to Google to provide the search predictions. For example, if you start to type "search" and get to "sea" it suggests "sears", "seattle times", "sean parker" etc...


Is it possible to shutdown or restart a Logitech Revue without pulling the power cord? My Revue (Android 3.1) was acting balky, so I wanted to restart it.  I spent several minutes looking through menus, but didn't find an option to shut down or restart the OS.   I ended up pulling the power cord, but it seemed a bit harsh.

Google's support page provides this option:

  To Reboot your Google TV:

  To reboot your Sony TV or Bluray player or your Logitech Revue, press
  Control + Alt + Backspace on your controller.

If you had adb connected you could also try adb reboot, which works on other devices.


Where do I configure DNS and IP settings in HTC Desire S? HTC Desire S seems to have very scarce WiFi settings. I'm trying to debug a Wifi connectivity issue and looks like it might be a DNS problem. I Googled and looks like many Android devices have some "advanced" settings including DNS server addresses. I can't find anything like that in Desire S.

What am I doing wrong? How do I change DNS and IP settings in Desire S?

In my HTC Desire I find it under:

Settings-> Wireless & networks -> WiFi Settings

Press Menu and select Advanced

Here I can see option to use static IP by selecting "Use static IP"


Updating an App Cloned with Parallel Space I just found that Parallel Space lets you clone apps, for example, you can have two Whatsapp accounts at the same time.

What happens when the app (Whatsapp in the example) is updated? Does the cloned version updates automatically or it remains with the previous version?

The cloned  app doesn't get updated automatically. You will have to create the clone again after updating.


Lock screen while playing YouTube video I have Samsung Galaxy S5. Is there a way to lock the screen but keep YouTube videos playing?

For example, a particular browser app or add-on that would allow for the audio to continue playing while the screen is off.

Download MX Player
Play YouTube video using MX Player.
Press Menu button (or the 3 dot icon), and then select Play
Make sure "Background Play" is checked
Now, you can press Home Button and listen in lock screen.
There is also a shortcut for enabling Background Play, which is tapping and holding the Play button, instead of just tapping it to play a video

Update #1

Only For Rooted: You can install Xposed Modules Installer and use Repository called Youtube Background Play


Is there a better sync application for Windows than HTCSync? I'm running HTCSync 3.0.5422 on Windows 7 Ultimate but I find it just a bit unreliable. One one PC, sometimes the application doesn't see my HTC Desire (bought as an unlocked SIM free unit) and on another computer it just won't connect/sync at all.

Is there an alternative?

Given android phones just run as USB drive mode for syncing:

Just for music:

DoubleTwist
Media Monkey

All Media:

WinAmp*

Will also sync outlook contacts, files etc.

Missing Sync for Android*

*Syncs over Wi-fi