Google Play site says the app is compatible but the Google Play app says otherwise I am trying to download a game from Google Play to my VirtualBox. The site (browsed with my Windows 7 laptop and Firefox) says the app is compatible with all of my devices.

I happily clicked the install button, and Google Play site said the app will be installed on my device soon.

However, my VirtualBox reported a failure: the app cannot be downloaded due to an error. (942)

Clicking the notification led to the a dialog with the app cannot be downloaded due to an error. (942) again, and at the bottom-left corner was a message saying that my device isn't compatible with this version, which is a conflict with what Google Play site said as in the first paragraph.

I am using Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3.10 with Android-x86 4.3 in Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64-bit). My question is: Is my device compatible with the app? And if it is, How can I install it?

(And an off-topic question: How can I complain this to Google for the conflict?)

That's not a Play Store compatibility error that you're getting on your device, that's an install error which says that it's having problems installing the app on your device. The Play Store only checks some basic specs of your device (like OS versions, screen size, RAM size, whether or not there's a camera, etc) it can't tell remotely whether or not there's a problem with your device.

There are a few threads on the internet that talk about getting error 942 when installing apps, and they seem to suggest that it's a problem with the GoogleApps on your device. Either there's a data corruption in the GApps, or there's a problem with the version of GApps you've
got installed.

See some of these for more info:

XDA: Play Store - Error Code 942
XDA: Apps not available on market and cannot be installed manually
And others

The two main solutions that worked for people are clearing the application cache on Google Play Services, and Google Services Framework:

To clear the app cache:

Go to Settings > Apps > All then find the following entries in the list
Google Play Services, Google Play Store and Google Services Framework go through each of those and select Force Stop (if available) and then Clear cache

The other solution that has worked for people using non-standard ROMs and installs like yours are to double-check the version of the Google Apps package that they've downloaded and installed and make sure that it really is the right version of GApps for their device and OS version.


Why is one of my WiFi networks not visible after connecting to the other one? I've got two access points / WiFi networks at my home and there is a strange behavior with my Android 4.0 phone (SGS2): after my phone connects to one network or the other (whichever is currently stronger), the other network becomes invisible. It cannot be found in this list of currently available networks in the system menu, it is not visible in apps like Wifi Analyzer etc.

After I turn off the WiFi and turn it on again, both networks are visible again. Then I connect to one of them and after a while, the same repeats again - the other network becomes completely invisible.

What could be causing this? It is a problem for me because apps like Best WiFi then cannot work properly.

How many other APs (Access Points) and devices are their in the vicinity?

If your first AP (on channel X) is causing overloading (or interference) on that channel, other APs are going to change signal strength and/or change to other channels.

Basically, you are dropping a large pebble into a small pond.  There is always going to be other effects.

If this happened under controlled conditions (i.e. out in the country), with no other signal sources or traffic, then you would have a legitimate puzzle ..


Folder turned into file? Normally "DCIM" is a folder in which all photos that were taken with camera are stored. When I tried to take a photo with Google Camera, the app instructed me to insert a sd card before taking photos (Nexus 5 doesn't support sd cards). I know that Google Camera also works without sd card, because it had been working before something messed up my Nexus's rom. I was looking with X-plore and ZArchiver and in both of them the folder "DCIM" appears as a file with a size of 0 bytes. I cannot delete this file, open it with an editor (Jota+) or create a folder with the same name and it is the only folder/file that is affected.

I'm using a Nexus 5 with Android 4.4.4 without any modification (like Cyanogen or root)

Does someone know what could have happened to this folder and possibly how to restore the folder or delete the file without root or factory reset? (If there's a way to delete this file, it wouldn't be a problem , because there wasn't a single photo inside before this happened.)

I got it. After doing a simple restart "DCIM" appeares as a normal folder. I still don't know what was causing this problem.


ICS disable sound/vibrate when keys pressed I want to disable the sound/vibrate effect when typing a message in Ice Cream Sandwich. I have disabled it in Settings > Sound Now there is no touch sound when I am typing a phone number or selecting an application to run, but there is still sound/vibrate when I type messages. How can I disable that too?

On vanilla Android you do this by going into Settings -> Language & Input and then pressing the settings button to the right side of "Android Keyboard" (or, generically, whatever keyboard you're using). There are two checkboxes on the keyboard settings page, one for "Vibrate on keypress" and one for "Sound on keypress". Uncheck both of these to disable the keyboard sounds/vibration.


A question about bricked phone (moto g xt1032) I hav moto xt1032. In short I can only access recovery and cmw. However it seems that either my usb debugging was turned off or there is somehow some sort of malfunction and in cmw adb does not detect my device (I have seen posts claiming that cmw does not required usb debugging off to use adb but still it does not work while it used to work previously). Mount as usb does not produce any effect neither

I need to somehow push a stock rom into my phone so I can use cmw to install it. Adb not working, sideload does not work as well. So is there any way out of this? Thanks

update:

0- my fastboot recovery command is working so I tried flashing recovery from twrp which works.But it can not for instance mount as usb neither.

1- I have tried using fastboot update rom.zip it says android-info.txt missing (and some more txts)

2- I can use fastbppt to flash files into to a flash partition but I guess they are not reachable by twrp or other recovery apps

Well okay instead of using recovery, I just followed the command line instructions in the rom zip file which goes as

 <step operation="getvar" var="max-sparse-size" />
<step operation="oem" var="fb_mode_set" />
<step operation="flash" partition="aboot" filename="emmc_appsboot.mbn" MD5="7ab4571da9966ecbe0455984ebe5d277" />
<step operation="reboot-bootloader" />
<step operation="flash" partition="partition" filename="gpt.bin" MD5="7778bf62e78dd8ed152e2234ba818fb1" />
<step operation="flash" partition="motoboot" filename="motoboot.img" MD5="b4cb31c6b875dbb13ae2a155ae44e305" />
<step operation="flash" partition="logo" filename="logo.bin" MD5="187908e994f5b42710d13dbb5126d6d2" />
<step operation="flash" partition="boot" filename="boot.img" MD5="2a0134f7dca00ab28ca3644febbe6bc7" />
<step operation="flash" partition="recovery" filename="recovery.img" MD5="25989942e94890fa2ab6e48fc488d569" />
<step operation="flash" partition="system" filename="" MD5="f6ea25745eab9f8368d5b276811ffa82" />
<step operation="flash" partition="system" filename="system.img_sparsechunk.1" MD5="d776d764c00627bcb7d0313657297ab4" />
<step operation="flash" partition="system" filename="system.img_sparsechunk.2" MD5="a17ebd36c45389a139e8f30e56241fa2" />
<step operation="flash" partition="modem" filename="NON-HLOS.bin" MD5="a964128abc6fa5ac4a253bd105ed6748" />
<step operation="erase" partition="modemst1" />
<step operation="erase" partition="modemst2" />
<step operation="flash" partition="fsg" filename="fsg.mbn" MD5="03d822a8e01a8edee85e12286dcc81ed" />
<step operation="erase" partition="cache" />
<step operation="erase" partition="userdata" />
<step operation="oem" var="fb_mode_clear" />
<step operation="reboot-bootloader" />

And the new system was installed suprisingly.


Unknown icon on screen I've noticed an unknown icon on my phone (a new Gionee S6s), next before the VOLTE2 label, within the top bar, as seen on the screenshot below; it looks like a pined business card.

I am disturbed and would like to know what it is.

Also, how can I possibly get rid of it (if not relevant to me)?

Below is a screenshot of my phone's home screen:

Click to enlarge

Toggle that option off and that icon will leave.


Samsung Galaxy S4 "Prevention Information" USB OTG I am trying to connect things to my S4 with a USB OTG cable. Standard devices such as mass storage, keyboard and mouse all work fine. My problem seems to be with vendor class devices.

I connected an FTDI USB to UART bridge (TTL-232R-3V3) to a USB OTG cable and installed the FTDI app. I plugged in the OTG cable and the phone reccognised the FTDI chip, launched the app, waited a few seconds and then closed the app again.

I got the message:

"Prevention Information, An application has been forced to stop for an unauthorized attempt to access system in your device". (Including the grammatical error)

I have the same problem with my Arduino Uno using the ArduinoDriod app.

I tried both devices on a friend's Huawei p6 and they both worked fine. From what I can tell, this issue is specific to the S4 and seems to be related to the recent update to Samsung Knox.

Does anyone know of a work around that doesn't involve rooting the device?

I am still in the 14 day trial period of the phone, so I could swap it for a different one. How do I tell if the Galaxy Note 3 or the LG G2 will have the same problem?

I did also read about this. KNOX seems to be blocking the communication to USB devices in some cases.

The Google Nexus 5 (LG) is also available now. Its pretty cheap for the features it offers. You should take a look at it before you swap you device. There is also a ROOT available for the SGS4 but it would break your warranty ofcourse:

This is where i read it

more about the root. only use the one from the xda-developers forum!


Uninstalling app from specific device only Is there a way to remove an app from only one device when using the same account over two devices?

I've just got a tablet - which is currently syncing settings and downloading all the apps that I have obtained from the market on my phone.  I won't need all these apps and would like to remove some from just the tablet (but leave them available for restore on the phone etc).

Is this possible?  Does the phone have an independent "installed app" list to the tablet?

Thanks.

Yes, they have separate lists - you can uninstall from the tablet or phone without affecting the other device.


Contact search in Xperia Z doesn't show all contacts The contacts system on my Xperia Z doesn't search through all my contacts, for some reason. All of the contacts were imported from my Google account, which has no groups or anything special.

As an example, I have the following contacts:

Antti H*****
Antti J*****
Antti K*****
Antti S*****

Now, if I search for antti, I only get the last two contacts.

The same applies for sending SMS messages. If i compose a new SMS and tap the recipients field and write Antti, it only shows details for the same two contacts as the contact search. For the other two, I have to go to Contacts, scroll to the contact, tap it and then tap the SMS button. The type of the phone number (home, mobile, work...) doesn't affect this.

The contacts work fine otherwise (show up on incoming calls, SMS threads etc.).

It seems that the contacts that do show up are the ones I have on Facebook. However, I can't find any settings that specify which accounts to search.

Is there some setting that I've failed to find?

Oh yeah, everything is stock, but not vanilla.

Edit: Tried searching with Google Now, but that won't find the contacts either.

I just got my Xperia Z and the contacts didn't seem to work properly in terms of filtering. The names were there when I scrolled through the list, but not all would show up if I filtered it with, say, the beginning letter. I enabled all ticks in the filter settings menu too.

Finally I figured that the ones not showing up were not assigned any group names like my contacts. They were showing as other contacts in Google contacts when I accessed the server through browser, but shown as undefined group inside android contacts, when I edited any of those contacts.

My solution was to log in to Google contacts server through browser, select other contacts group, click to select all, and add them to a group like say my contacts. Then log out from server. Go to Android Settings → Accounts, and force resync Google contacts by checking and checking the option. Wait for sync to finish. That's it. Now try Android contacts filter and it works properly!!!


How to know which apk correspond to a shortcut? My Chinese smartphone VIVO S7i has some shortcuts which I want to remove. Those are: LifeHUB, BeautyHUB, MediaHUB, ReadingHUB and GameHUB.

I could remove the shortcuts with a long press on them. Then, tapping on the cross (x) would remove them.

I would like to remove the app thought, not just the shortcuts. I'm using System App Safe Removal. Unfortunately, I didn't find which app corresponds to those shortcuts.

UPDATE 1:

I also tried openning one of the shorcuts. Then, pushing on the Home button. Next, pushing on the Settings button. On the menu, tap on Settings - More settings - Applications - Running.

Unfortunately, that application is not in that list, so I guess it is closed when I push on the Home button.

-Close all apps

-Open the app by clicking on the shortcut

-Navigate to multitasking screen

-This will show the currently cached/running apps

-Locate the app name which corresponds to the app opened by the shortcut

-You have now found the app.


Can I make my home screen the center instead of the left? I have the Nexus 5 from Google Play running stock Android 4.4.2. My home button takes me to the far left panel (the one next to Google Now). I added a panel to the left of it, but that changed my home button to taking me to that panel. Is there a way I can configure it to  go to the center panel? I'd really prefer not to have to install another launcher.

Currently, the default google launcher does not allow any customisation. In order to go to a particular screen, you need a custom launcher. There is no other way around it.


Google Music Offline Tracks I have sort of a follow-up question to a question I asked a little while ago...
That question was naively asking where Google Music stores the offline tracks (I've come so far since then), but my question is now, when I navigate to that folder in a shell, it only shows 11 songs, all with numerical names? I understand the numerical naming method, and I pulled some of these songs to see what they were, but I have about 5 gigs of offline music. Where is the rest of it stored?

The reason I'm asking this is because I'm about to flash a new rom, and want to know that those songs will be accessible to the new Google Music app I install on the new rom. If not, I will first want to disable their offline storage to free up space on my SD Card and then just offline them again.

 But anyway, thank you for your help!

Finding out where it's stored is easy. There's a terrific little app called DiskUsage that visualizes the space your folders take up. You can easily spot where the Music cache is.

As for moving to a new rom. Based eldarerathis' answer to your previous question, you should be able to make a backup of Play Music's music.db either from a terminal or using an app like Titanium Backup. Restoring this file on the new rom should make cached music show up.


Tasker - Advance Settings - Export App Package Name? I've deactivated beginner mode on tasker and noticed now when I try exporting a task as an application it requires a Package name, I've tried following their instructions and have been unsuccessful, I don't want to go back to beginner mode therefore it is not an option

Does anyone know what's needed in the Package name with examples of what would work?
Thanks

What are you putting in for the package name that it doesn't like? Beginner mode vs non-beginner mode shouldn't matter.

Package name has to have at least one . in it to be valid.  Usually you can just use your email backwards along with a unique name for the app.  Say your email is someone@gmail.com and you're trying to export an app you want to call myapp.  The package name could be com.gmail.someone.myapp.


Today I read that flash write performance diminishes with use. I'm a heavy user. Should I change my behavior? My phone
I own a phone with gigabytes of built-in flash memory.  My phone also includes a physical MicroSD card slot.  I don't own a MicroSD card to put in the slot, and have never bothered buying one, but am not opposed to the idea of buying one.
I perhaps make heavier use of my phone's flash memory than most people.

I run a freeware sleep tracker app most nights, all night long.  It has many features.  Its most storage-intensive feature?  It records sound for at least part of every night.

I have Debian Linux installed on my phone as well (even though the phone is not rooted).  I launch Debian when desired using an app named GNURoot Debian.  Debian Linux is normally stored on an SSD designed to handle an enormous number of write cycles, or on a hard drive which can also handle numerous write cycles — not on a smartphone flash memory chip.

I have perhaps a hundred apps installed, and the Google Play store automatically updates some of them from time to time.

I make heavy use of a game which was designed for use on Windows and Linux, but has been ported to Android.  Every time I move between floors of the game world, the game saves some information to disk.  I suspect that, in practice, it rewrites at least part of the game's save file.

The problem
David Cary has more than 10,000 reputation points on Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange.  In one post there, Mr. Cary writes:

Flash memory has relatively quick read times but much longer write times. For example, with a Numonyx M25P80-VMW6G 75MHz 8 Mbit serial flash, reading a sector of data (at 75 MHz) requires 7 milliseconds, while erasing and writing new data to a sector is typically 0.6 seconds (max 3 seconds).
In other words, writing this flash memory typically takes 85 times as long as reading, and in the worst case writing a sector takes over 400 times as long as reading. (That's not even taken into account the inefficiencies of partial-sector updating).
In my experience, the time it takes to erase and rewrite a particular sector of flash continues to increase with each erase/rewrite cycle, but read times stay constant.

I don't know that much about hardware, but let's assume that Mr. Cary's experience will be true for my phone too.
My question
I don't like spending money unnecessarily, and it sometimes takes me great effort to choose a phone to buy.  When I buy a phone, I like to treat it well and to keep on using it for five to ten years or more — unless it breaks so badly that this becomes absolutely impossible.
Certain operations on my phone are annoyingly slow, such as Debian Linux automatic software update checks (apt-get update) and others.  I don't know whether or not they're slow because of the time it takes to write to flash or because of other reasons.
Anyway, assuming that the issue which Mr. Cary has raised above is a real issue, should I worry about it?  Should I change my behavior because of it — for example, by moving GNURoot Debian from the phone's built-in flash memory to a MicroSD card inserted into the correct slot?
Note
I have left this question mostly device-agnostic.  This is because I'd like to apply what I learn both to the device which I own and any other Android devices which I may buy in the future.
Related

"Does Android suffer from the same 'over a period of time' performance degradation that OSes like Windows do?"
Also see the final section of a long answer by Izzy, where he discusses fstrim.

As a user, and not a developer, this is not an effect you should concern yourself with. For operations like disk defragmentation or use of flash memory as virtual memory, the sustained high disk write rates can wear out flash memory quickly. But "normal" usage by a human will not produce enough writes to create a wear issue.

Let's take the sleep app as an example and estimate how many writes this will cause on a wear-leveled disk. Suppose the app collects 128 kilobit / second audio to store uncompressed and runs and collects audio at all times for 5 years. (128 kilobits / second) * (128 bytes / kilobit) * (5 years) * (365 days / year) * (24 hours / day) * (60 minutes / hour) * (60 seconds / minute) ~= 5.17 * 10^11 bytes. On a wear leveled disk of 1 GB ~= 10^9 bytes, this will be (5.17 * 10^11) / (10^9) ~= 517 cycles over the 5 years, which is well below the expected 100,000 cycles for current flash memory.

Also, note that almost all SSDs are currently built from flash memory, so there is no significant difference between the storage for your Android phone and that in a consumer SSD for a laptop/desktop in terms of expected aging issues.

EDIT

If you are really worried about this, I would benchmark your storage performance. I don't think it is a good assumption that erase/write operations take 0.6 seconds; your flash memory is not the same as that used in the example figures.

This empirical evaluation of flash memory gives actual figures for degradation. The magnitude of the effect is not that large for cycles in the low thousands.


Issues with gmail not recognising Google Play services I have a tablet that came with no Google (suite) applications however I  managed to install them manually and are working pretty fine. The only issue is with Gmail application which seems to have problem with Google play services.

Everytime I open the Gmail application it shows a rather awkward, uncommon error meassage that reads: Gmail relies on Google Play services, which is not supported by your device. Contact the manufacturer for assistance` and I can't sync new emails or send new mails.

In my opinion this is a false alert, since other Google applications, work well and seem to interact well with the Google play services.

Previously to solve this issue with reference to Gmail, I have ditched Google play services in support of microG which works well with Gmail (version 6.4120760496) (as in I can sync new inbox messages and send mails from within the app).

However microG still misses some important aspects which is why I tried to switch to using default Google Play services implementation.

Things I have tried to resolve the issue:

clearing cache/data for Gmail, Google Play services, Google service framework
factory rest
ROM flashing (initally works but after some period of use the error shows up again)
Updating to latest Google Play services
Wiping cache
Unistalling and reinstalling Gmail (initially works but error starts showing after some time)

Any way to fix this?

I believe it might not be a false alert... Your tablet may not be certified for Google Play, and that's probably why you are seeing this message.

Try this:

  On your computer browser, go to the Google Play Services app page on the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...roid.gms&hl=en. Click the Installed button, and see if you can select your RCA tablet to install to.

Got it from here


How do I create a Favorite Contacts shortcut on Droid X? On the motorola Droid X there is a favorite contacts shortcut. I'd like to add this on another screen but I can't figure out how to create a new one. Any ideas?

while all of the above is true, you can simply click menu -> add -> shortcut -> dialer -> favorites to recreate the shortcut if you accidenatlly delete it.  that is if you are talking about the little red icon with the star that takes you to the favorites tab in the dialer.


Is it possible to default to a host name instead of a search query on Chrome for Android? I would like to type in "server" in the address bar in Chrome on Android, and have it go to http://server (like things worked in the old days) rather than searching Google for the word "server".  Is this possible to do?
I'd also consider other browsers, such as Brave, if they have this feature.  Thanks!

If you have root on the device, you should be able to access and edit your host file on-device.  If you don't have root, you can still look into:

configuring something at the router level,
add site as a search engine (I know Vivaldi supports this), or
search for browsers that support "!bangs".


Can I get my Galaxy 4 to put sent emails on my server? Just got a Samsung galaxy S4 mini (had an ancient Nokia before).
When I go back to my web email (its Yahoomail), all my emails are marked as read even if I havent looked at them on the galaxy, (I can live with that though its annoying as I'm likely to miss stuff)and emails I've sent are not copied back onto the server so the only place I will ever have them is on my phone. Thats not what I'm used to - the Nokia put them onto the server so I could see them in the web application. Any idea if I can get it to do that too?

How have you configured your emails? Is it POP3 or IMAP? Yahoo have a guide to explain the differences. I'd recommend using IMAP as it should sync read status between phone/webmail. You can find the info and steps needed here.
As for sent emails there is probably a setting to sync sent items (or you need to put them into the correct folder). If you provide more details about the app/how you configured it we can help further


Help! Renamed /system/bin/sh to sh.old.bak, lost root, can't rename, no nandroid backup I did something incredibly stupid today.   I renamed /system/bin/sh  to /system/bin/sh.old.bak on my rooted Huawei y536a1 running 4.4.3 KK.  I was going to install a app I thought might overwrite it and wanted a backup. I intended to copy it to another location in the path or link it, then rename in bin. In my haste,  I simply renamed it and couldn't install app w/o shell,  lost root,  thus eliminating any easy method I know of to fix.  I rooted with kingroot (not kingo)  because I currently do not have a computer.  I have no system backup,  foolish,  I know. I do have the original factory  .img file,  a pre-rooted .img file, (the only way to properly root and install a recovery) twrp recovery and a code to unlock the bootloader.   Since I didn't have a computer I used kingroot.  The phone is still functional.   Unfortunately I don't know what to do now. I have limited linux knowledge (obviously).  I am afraid to reboot,  not knowing what will happen. I can get access to a computer. The file needs to be renamed,  but I lost write access to the system. Is there anyway to use adb to rename or push another file on there,  or fix by rebooting into recovery?  I would prefer a solution the wouldn't wipe my phone, but I realize my options are quite limited. I don't even know if a factory reset or flashing either of the images will work. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

I'll now guide you through the procedure of writing a custom flashable ZIP, for the purpose of renaming your sh.old.bak. To begin, create the following tree of folders:

/META-INF/com/google/android

Once you created them, move to the android folder, and create the following new files. Make sure that they don't have any extension at their end:

updater-script
update-binary

Leave the first one blank, and proceed by editing the update-binary as follows:

#!/sbin/sh
mount /system
mount -o remount,rw /system
mv /system/bin/sh.old.bak /system/bin/sh
umount /system

Save this content (in the update-binary), open your favourite zipping tool, and create a compressed archive out of the META-INF folder. Its content should be automatically included. Make sure that the archive type is set to ZIP, and select the lowest possible compression level.

Finally, flash this script to your device with:

fastboot update name_of_your_zip.zip

As guessable, the third parameter should be the name (and path) of the ZIP you created. In short, the ZIP should mount the /system partition in read-write mode, rename your sh.old.bak to sh, and unmount the /system partition.


Why is my internal storage full if I dont even have any apps that is big im usibg a Huawei GT3 As shown in the picture below:

Storage (click for larger image)

I recommend you to reset your phone from FACTORY DATA REST
To reset your phone from factory data reset

  Go to settings>Backup and reset>factory data reset>RESET PHONE

I have also experienced this problem in my Lenovo A2010
Probably I had used only 500mb out of 4GB but then also only 200mb was available.
After factory data reset the problem was solved and 2.5GB was available...

NOTE:-Before resetting you should backup your data on SD card and remove SD card and sims from your device before resetting.


LENOVO Z2 PLUS VOLTE ISSUE with jio In my lenovo Z2 Plus handset with jio ,  currently jio volte stopped working  .
I was not able to make calls , but internet is working sometimes and sometimes not .

I restarted the device many times but no luck ?

Is there any solution to this .

I got the solution  ,

In some regions and cities Reliance puts limits on the speed so if it doesn't work for you that means in your area Jio speed is limited by Reliance itself does not matter what you do so keep that in mind. So folks here is the settings. Go to Settings -> Cellular Networks -> Advanced Options -> Access Points Names -> Internet In APN you have to change the following, rest all remains the same:- 1) APN Protocol: ipv4/v6 2) APN Roaming: ipv4/v6 3) Bearer: LTE Save, restart and enjoy..


Android App unavailable for download in Isle of Man I'm having the same problem as the BBC iPlayer app for Android where our Android app is not available for download in the Isle of Man, from the Google Play store.

As IoM is part of the UK, it should be available already as the UK is a selected territory.

Does anyone know of a workaround apart from our users travelling to the UK and downloading it?

I read that some internet providers on the Isle of Mann route their signal through Ireland disallowing the download of the software by IP address.

I'd recommended checking to see if you can download it through WiFi or finding an APK of the latest version and just installing it.

EDIT: Just provide the APK direct to them


Two Photo icons on Moto G following Lollipop upgrade After upgrading my Moto G 1st gen smartphone to Lollipop I now have 2 photo icons.  Is there any other way to delete the duplicate other than a factory reset?

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

You need to disable and remove Google+, then reinstall it from the app store, I did this to mine this morning and now its fine.


Is it possible to remove unnecessary letters from android-provided keyboard? I have got letters like ż ŗ ï æ ç ñ etc. on my phone's keyboard (generic android-provided keyboard). But in my language (Slovak), we don't use these. I often make typos when writing, so is it possible to remove them from my layout/edit the layout?

I would like to avoid using 3rd party apps.
I'm using CyanogenMod 10.1 Android 4.2.2 and the generic android-provided keyboard (AOSP ?)

I've made sure the language is set correctly (it is), and tried the different keyboard layouts available for it – but the problem remains.

As you didn't give much details, we can give generic answers only.

It very much depends on the keyboard app used: some allow modifications, others don't. You can either switch to a different keyboard layout (almost all keyboards support this), or use an alternative keyboard app altogether.


LED not turning off even after there are no unread WhatsApp messages I have this random problem with WhatsApp: the green light that blinks when there are unread messages don't turn off even after I go and read them. It doesn't even help if I delete all the messages. The only thing that helps is restarting the phone.

I have a Nexus 5.

For what its worth, the issue stopped occurring after I changed the Whatsapp notification light color to white. I think it might have something to do with the fact that Whatsapp and Hangouts both had the notification light color set to green. If this happens to you try providing a distinct notification light color to all the apps.


Simulate powerbutton I want to use terminal task to to turn the screen off using tasker. I have tried a code like this, and some variants, without success.

am start --user 0 -a android.intent.extra.KEY_EVENT --es KEYCODE_POWER ACTION_DOWN

I have also tinkered with

android.intent.action.SCREEN_OFF

 but with even less success.

Any ideas as how how I can get this to work? Either with terminal emulator or tasker send intent task?

Note: Not rooted, som shell task in will not work.

And System Lock doesn't work well with finger print reader

By use adb shell input keyevent <key_code>
And for simulating your device power the key code is 26

Adb shell input keyevent 26


How do I make reverse tethering work? I've been trying this for a couple of days and I've to say it's not getting any better. I've tried stuffs from here and here, but unfortunately none helped.

So if there is any alternative solution to use internet on my phone from my laptop please do humor me.

  Please do not suggest opening a hotspot from my laptop as my hardware doesn't support the hostednetwork capabilities.

Note : I'm running lollipop.

Check out Gnirehtet from Genymotion. It's the most simple solution I've come across.  There's no root required. The only requirements are that you should have Java 8 and recent version of adb configured.

Root: Not required

OS: Linux, Mac, Windows

Android device : Android 5.0+ [API 21]

Steps

Download the latest version of gnirehtet from this link.
Extract the zip
Connect the phone to computer with usb debugging enabled
Run ./gnirehtet rt
Accept the VPN request on phone and enjoy.
To stop, Ctrl+C

References:

https://github.com/Genymobile/gnirehtet
http://openjdk.java.net/install/index.html


ES Chromecast Player no longer works for ES File Explorer The brilliant ES File Explorer has been my go-to app for quite some time now. I particularly liked using it for Chromecast. However the ES Chromecast Player has recently stopped working for me.

When I select ES Chromecast Player the screen goes black and I no longer get the dialog popping up that allows me to select the device to cast to.

I've tried uninstalling both the ES File Explorer and ES Chromecast Player apps and then re-installing them, but the problem still persists.

Any idea what the issue might be, or things I might try to fix the issue? All other apps are still able to cast to my Chromecast device.

My device is a Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. The device is not rooted or anything like that.

This is an issue with the app's latest update, and the developer has to fix that. Other users have got this issue too. (Play store reviews)


Where do the  items come from? At the quick settings dropdown are some items that have no icon and just a label . They cannot be re-arranged and are obviously useless.
Please have a look at the Screenshot
.
I would like to know how I can find the apps or files that are responsible for those and/or a way how to get rid of them.
It is an Android Oreo with some EMUI on top.

Do you use Automate app? Those are for making a custom quick settings functions. You can customize them from the app by adding a "quick settings" block and defining its action.


How can I find the nearest ATM in India? There are some applications that can find and locate ATMs but those I tried are not for India or for Indian banks.  Is there an app that supports this for India?

Is Google Places out for India?

One of the main menu items is "ATM".

If not, You're probably better off using the website for your bank. If they're good, they've already got a mobile version of the site and one of the primary functions I'd think they'd have is ATM locations.


Call barring in Android Is call barring is a native Android feature? I mean blocking of outgoing calls.

In some Android articles I see the screenshots where call barring is present in settings but in recent Android versions I don't see it.

In what Android release it appeared and since what it became deprecated (or not)?

Edit: Based on OP's clarification in comments and subsequent search - Call Barring refers to both incoming and outgoing calls being blocked whereas Call blocking/Number blocking refers to only incoming calls being blocked.
To answer OP's question

Call barring is not a standard Android OS feature.

Call barring seems to be Samsung OEM specific. See call barring - Samsung community. It also includes roaming calls

Thanks to Andrew's inputs in comments

call barring is usually available on most phones (e.g. OPPO R11
, Huawei P10
, and even on older feature phones), but the service is linked directly to the SIM provider. That's why it also asks for the code before changing the settings.

Section below is retained for reference, just in case this confusion arises again

Number blocking was introduced in Android 7 and it is not depreciated AFAIK. I have been using close to stock devices(Moto, Android One) and found this feature, usually in the SMS & phone apps. I am currently on Android 10 with Oxygen OS which is considered close to stock and this feature is present
Extracts below

The default SMS app, the default phone app, and carrier apps can read from and write to the blocked-number list. The list is not accessible to other apps....
Additionally, carrier app integration through Android means that carriers can read the blocked numbers list on the device and perform service-side blocking for the user in order to stop unwanted calls and texts from reaching the user through any medium, such as a VOIP endpoint or forwarding phones

The article you linked pre-dates Android 7 and mentions specifically that it is not a standard Android feature and goes on to give examples of OEM implementation. See Implementing Block Phone Numbers which says

Before N, Android users had to rely on downloaded apps to restrict calls and texts from bothersome phone numbers. Many of those apps either do not work as desired or provide a less-than ideal experience because there are no proper APIs for blocking calls and messages.


What bootloader/recovery firmware can it be? I have a Wiko Jerry phone, after some bootloader install has already happened on it.

Volume down + poweron gives this:

It looks like some test firmware, but it has no name/version info.

What is that?

As comment says, it is the factory test firmware of this specific model (wiko jerry 1). There is no documentation, or practically anything for it. It is used mostly by the manufacturer, to initially test/setup the device after production; although it is also an useful test tool in the case of mysterious hardware problems.


How do I root my LG G4 Beat phone? I am fine with staying with the current Android OS but I just want root in order to be able to change the default installation location, etc.

I also want to know how I will be able to unroot it.

I do not wish to use Kingroot at all.
I am asking this because I couldn't find any guide about rooting LG G4 Beat.
I want a safe and reliable way that won't need too many permissions and won't upload my private data to remote servers like KingRoot does, I read in the internet that that's what it does and that is pretty creepy so I would like to avoid using KingRoot or any other one click root app, I can follow steps as long as they are clear and not too complicated

find a custom recovery for your device like TWRP or CWM then flash it or boot it in temp mode using commands like
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img or fastboot boot recovery cwm.img

then download su.zip from chainfire website and flash that zip vola your device is rooted

you might have to oem unlock bootloader to do this

for that use command

fastboot oem unlock


Using Android device as a loudspeaker I have a class of 100 students, and I have an idea to use my mobile as a loudspeaker so I don't have to shout.

Alternatively, it should work like an amplifier system. The difference is that the input is the mobile, the amplifier is the mobile and the output is a USB speaker connected to it.

Is it possible to do that?

You can use a microphone app like Microphone by Gaz Davidson.

There is a lag, but then again your phone isn't a full blown stereo mixer.


Phone got blazingly hot and started to act glitchy My phone is LG D855 also known as G3 international variant. I had my phone in my pocket normally. After picking it up after 45 minutes, it was hand-burning hot and nothing on the phone was working correctly. This got fixed after a reboot but I realized my battery level had dropped from 53% to 17%. What could be the thing that caused it?

My initial theory was some problem occurred in the battery (some sort of sudden discharge) and it gave the phone's internal materials a bad time.

Can anybody come up with an idea or a similar experience?

Here's the screenshot of battery screen:

Click image to enlarge

Same thing happens to me. Normally all phones heat up  there are some which are a bit pro at that. if u keep a phone of that sort under pillow (cloth). There wont be a method for heat to escape. So it will continue getting hotter. The reason for battery drain is cos the energy stored in the battery is being released as heat. So don't keep phone under the pillow or anything of that sort to avoid it.
Hope this helps :)


Stream Live Video from Android to RTMP Server I'm working on an Android RAT (Remote Administration Tool) project as a course project. I want to add live video stream feature to the RAT. I've searched for different ways and find out three different ways:

Captures video from service, then upload the video
Streams video from camera in a local web server inside Android application (such as https://github.com/darshanrn/SpyCam)
Ant Media which is exactly the suitable solution which encodes the video and transfer as a live stream (https://github.com/ant-media/LiveVideoBroadcaster)

But the problem is that Ant Broadcaster needs an activity to preview the camera, however as it is described HERE (https://github.com/sprimgupta/Secret-Video-Recorder) it is possible to record video from a service without previewing.

I wonder how to make video stream inside service using Ant Broadcaster?

Ant Media connects a service to an activity and then broadcast the video:
https://github.com/ant-media/LiveVideoBroadcaster/blob/master/liveVideoBroadcasterSDK/src/main/java/io/antmedia/android/broadcaster/LiveVideoBroadcaster.java

Finally I could create a live hidden camera library which takes a context and start streaming. The library code and release information is at:

https://github.com/mirsamantajbakhsh/LiveHiddenCamera

Here is a demonstration:


Albums are split by artist When I had 2.2 on my Desire, the album view of the stock music player would show each of the albums on the device.  Now I've upgraded to 2.3 (CM7), albums which have tracks by more than one artist appear multiple times in the list, once for each artist.  I'm using the same SD card with the same files -- what do I need to do (preferably to the app, not the files) to have them appear in a similar way to the way they looked under 2.2?

It looks like the easiest way to fix this is to add albumartist tags to each album.


Is there a way to get notify when mobile network is unreacheable? Sometimes mobile network (cellular network) is unavailable for my phone and I won't be informed about call attempts and SMSes. Is there a way or application that notify me (by notification, vibration, sound, etc.) when mobile network is unreachable?
I'm using Android 4.1.2

EDIT: By unavailability of mobile network I mean any reason that makes that I cannot call to anyone and others cannot call to me e.g. be in out og scope of cellular network, removing SIM card or anything.

I like OpenSignal, it will notify you when you leave a coverage area and also help you figure out the best service provider in your area.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.staircase3.opensignal&hl=en


How to install/flash a ICS stock rom of any device into a different android ICS phone? is it possible to flash a stock rom of a certain device into any android device? Like for example if I have a Samsung ICS phone. Is it possible to install the default rom of samsung to a different ICS device?

No, most manufacturers interfaces are proprietary and cannot be modified to work on other devices. That being said, there have been attempts to get interfaces such as Samsung TouchWiz and HTC Sense working on specific other devices, but they are very unstable and not suited for everyday use.

HTC Sense for the Galaxy Nexus (alpha): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1535715

However, you may also be interested in specific manufacturers apps for your current rom.

S voice: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293870


Mobile data turns itself on again and again; could be caused by WhatsApp My mobile data keeps turning on by itself and uses my data traffic. I think this is because of WhatsApp, but I'm not sure. Is there any other possible reason aside from WhatsApp? How should I stop it from happening?

Phone: Samsung GT9100i
Android Version: 4.2.1

What other apps related to mobile data are you using? Is there any battery saver app that are using? they can turn your data on or off automatically.
Whatsapp doesn't have the permission to enable mobile data. So it must be some other app. still you can use 3G WatchDog to check if whatsapp is the culprit.


Will joining notification be send to my contact number if he doesn't have it? Suppose I have synchronised my contact but the person in my contact do not have my contact number, will he receive my joining notification in telegram app?

No. He will only receive notifications of those people who are in his contact list.
Imagine a famous person getting 100s of notifications per day of people joining telegram he doesn't even know. LOL


I'm looking to buy a smartwatch. How can I tell if an app in the Play Store is compatible with it before buying the device? I want to buy a smartwatch, but I am trying to research whether apps will will work with it before buying. Is there any way to do that?

The easiest way to check is to make sure it is labeled either "Wear OS", "Wear OS by Google" or "Android Wear".

Another way to check is if the watch supports the Google Assistant, it most likely is running Wear OS and should be supported as well.

Finally, if you want to be absolutely positive, you can always check the Wear OS website


Unable to accept SSL certificate (k9mail) I am setting up k9mail on a 4.2 device (rooted Sony Xperia Mini Pro with stock ROM and crap removed) and it complains about the IMAP SSL certificate not being valid.

This happens with both a self-signed certificate, and also on a different IMAP server with Comodo-signed certificate (which is normally accepted by browsers and other mail clients).

  Unrecognized Certificate

  The server presented an invalid SSL certificate. Sometimes, this is
  because of server misconfiguration. Sometimes it is because someone is
  trying to atta you or your mail server. If you you're not sure what to
  do, click Reject and contact the folks who manage your mail server.

  (java.security.cert.CertPathValidatorException: Trust anchor for
  certification path not found.) Certificate chain[0]:

  ...

Clicking "Accept Key", however, make the same dialogue come up again and again in a loop.

What is the problem? Can it be that k9mail is unable to add the key to the cert store? How to debug this?

The problem was resolved by re-installing k9mail from scratch (the previous install, which exhibited the error, was from installed using Titanium Backup, from a backup on another phone).


Galaxy Stylo encrpted forgot password I encrypted my device then I changed the password. The encryption password changed too, but I can't remember to what, I thought I changed the password back to what it was. I tried default_password twice and it didn't work. I have 15 guesses left.

I encrypted my Galaxy Stylo phone using Google's encryption option.

Later, I changed my password, then I turned my phone off. I can't remember the password. I'm at the encryption screen with 15 more tries before I'm locked out. I have no idea what to do
I booted in safemode, but that still puts me at the decryption screen

Sorry the encryption is there for one reason and that is to not let access to the phone's settings and data without a decryption key or password. If it was just the lockscreen passcode, you could've simply factory reset your phone through recovery.


How do I switch off loading of pictures in Chrome for Android? In the Android browser one could switch off loading of images to save bandwith, battery and time when the images were not needed.

There seems to be no obvious way to do this under Android 4.4.2 KitKat with Chrome now that it has replaced the old browser.

Does anybody know a way?

You can do it with several 3rd-party browsers, but I don't think you can do it in Chrome. Possibly a root app to do it.


How can I turn off the "low battery" noise? I've started getting a loud beep notification when my battery hits 15%.  Possibly this happened after an Audio Manager update but I don't see any settings in the app to change it.  Previously the notification was silent, I didn't even know it could have a sound!  There doesn't seem to be a relevant setting under Settings -> Sound.

How can I disable this notification sound?

I'm rooted, running 2.2 (TeamWhiskey's NextGen v1).

If you go into /system/media/audio/ui, you can delete/rename LowBattery.ogg to remove the low battery sound. This will work as long as it is using the system low battery sound as an alert. I don't know anything about Audio Manager, or whether this is even possible, but it may be using its own sound, in which case this would not work.

This requires:

A rooted device
A SuperUser enabled file browser/terminal emulator
/system to be mounted in read/write mode


Question about Aptoide I found this “Aptoide” app on my Android A5 the other day but I certainly don’t recall downloading it. I opened it up and somehow got to the updates section. It showed me available updates for a bunch of apps, some of which I have but others I don’t. I’m wondering if one of my kids might be up to something on my phone and need some guidance. It shows a list of apps that have pending “updates” and then below it, it shows a list of “installed apps”. There is a weird messenger app called “Messagerie double” that you can see in one of the images. I don’t see that app anywhere on my phone and I guarantee I never downloaded it.

Does its presence under Aptoides “Updates” section indicate it does reside somewhere, hidden on my phone? And if so, how do I access it?

Thanks! I’ve attached photos for example. Apps I’ve never downloaded include:

Messagerie double
SEMFactoryApp
SVC Agent
Network Diagnostic
slocation (Another one not pictured but same green android logo)
bootagent (Another one not pictured but same green android logo)

Am I right to suspect these are somehow being used on my phone without my knowledge? If so, please tell me how to access them. I really need to know what’s going on, Thank you so much!

After some research this is what I came up with.

Did you download an APK for some app from the Aptoide website recently? If so, you didn't download that app. You downloaded the Aptoide market, and that market downloaded your app. It is likely that one of the kids tried to free download a paid app, as I see there are a lot of them in Aptoide. :) As always those free market apps are not trustworthy at best (they may look clean enough but they might still be sending sensitive data to their servers), and malicious and virus-infected at worst.

Here is a list of what I came up with each of the apps you mentioned:

"Messagerie Double" means "Double Messaging". I didn't find anything specially useful about this app, but based on what I've seen it looks like the Samsung Dual Messaging function, hence a system app.
"SEMFactoryApp" should be a system app, as it was mentioned in this Reddit Thread. Also, this JoeSandbox analysis dodn't detect any suspicious code in this app, so it looks like it's safe to assume that it is a system app.
"SVC Agent" looks like it matches com.samsung.android.svcagent, which is in this debloat list on XDA, and this thread on Android Authority also mentions that, so it looks like a system app too.
"NetworkDiagnostic" is mentioned on this APKMirror page as having package name com.samsung.android.networkdiagnostic and it is also in the debloat list above, so likely a system app.
"slocation" looks like a system app too, considering it didn't go away after a system reset as mentioned here.
Finally "bootagent" also looks like a system app, refer to post #147 here.

So why does Aptoide display system apps? Because it doesn't distinguish between system and non-system apps, and someone named sirkesyone-applikes (clearly without a proper knowledge of system apps) uploaded those system apps to Aptoide. If you or one of the kids mistakenly hit "Update" and confirm the update on one of those apps it could update to a wrong or incompatible version and brick your phone or erase your data or etc. So I would recommend uninstalling Aptoide as quickly as possible. :)

Good Luck!


Moving /storage/sdcard0 from NAND to a removable MicroSD card: will it break anything? Background information

I own a Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G running Android 4.1.2.  It comes with 8 GB of built-in NAND flash, which is almost full by now.  Luckily, it also has a MicroSD card slot.

My carrier doesn't offer handset subsidies.  I hope not to have to upgrade to a new phone before the BlackBerry Priv comes out:  I want a device with a physical keyboard.

On my device, /storage/sdcard0 occupies 2 GB out of the 8 GB.

Of the 2 GB:

OsmAnd offline maps take up 800 MB.
Downloaded podcasts and whatnot take up about 600 MB.
Google Translate's offline data takes up 200 MB.
The rest is miscellaneous.

Because I'm not running Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" or higher, my device doesn't include support for adoptable storage.

My questions

I'd like to move /storage/sdcard0 from built-in NAND (8 GB) to the removable MicroSD card I've bought (32 GB).  The entire MicroSD card is formatted as FAT32.  In the place of the old /storage/sdcard0, I plan to leave a symbolic link.

I've experimented a bit, and it's clear that I'll have to root my phone first.  That's fine.

I wonder:

Does /storage/sdcard0 include any file ownership or permission data which I don't want to lose?
Will Android (and all my apps) work fine even if /storage/sdcard0 is actually a symbolic link instead of a folder?  If you believe they'll work fine, then how do you know this?  :)
Is there anything else I should know before doing this?

Multiple things in this context:

apps might directly support using the external SD card as storage, check with their settings. This will save you some headaches, as it then works without "tricks". When changing to the new storage, apps might even offer to copy/move their data over, which would be the easiest thing for you to do.
As Gokul mentioned in his comments on your question: it's not as simple as just creating a symlink from the old storage to the new – after the next boot, that is most likely gone (which can be worked around by editing the boot image – or by facilitating init.d with a fitting script, if supported). You could however symlink each directory separately (e.g. /storage/sdcard0/foobar -> /storage/external_sd/foobar, which should do even without root and, more importantly, survive a reboot without "additional tricks"
both external storages use VFAT, so no user permissions covered (VFAT doesn't support them), so "nothing to lose" in this context ;)


Lost Android Phone data security I want to know if a lost smartphone which has been marked in all google related security activities(Erase Data,Lock etc),Can someone still recover something from the phone using hardware dismembering of any kind?

Some phones require correct pattern to startup the Android OS & the bootloader is in locked state so ADB or USB Debugging exploit won't be an issue?

Variety of security apps like Prey etc are present which provide features like SMS alerts on Sim change, Operate phone camera,wipe data etc.Could some hardware removal also disarm such apps?

P.S: Phone/device is also encrypted.

You haven't mentioned if your device is encrypted ; if it isn't you are in bigger trouble. See this Why encrypt the device?
100% security is a pipe dream. Given enough resources, it may well be possible to use means available in public domain or those available to the letter agencies to get information out of your phone . Point is that you need to address the security threat. If you are an average Joe who doesn't have sensitive information to justify using sophisticated techniques, you are relatively safe
Once your device is erased, so will those apps you mentioned be erased , unless they have been made system apps. Logging into a device with PIN lock is theoretically possible by brute force methods, I believe . Locked bootloader and USB debugging disabled make it harder ; but then back to the threat model. Is the information contained important enough to justify that ?
As far as hardware methods are concerned some typical ways are covered in one of the answers linked in the first bullet point

I believe that you cannot get a definitive answer but for an average user encryption along with locked bootloader, USB debugging disabled and PIN locked on an erased device shouldn't be a concern - your bases are covered


I tried to swap my sd with extsd I used es file manager and went to file vold.fstab and changed something wrong now I can't access my external sdcard or my file manager or my settings device storage. My phone is screwed up I cant figure out how to change it back to normal. I have the Samsung galaxy exhibit. Sght599. PLEASE HELP ME!

Restoring phone to factory settings is the easiest way. Tough way is to search on net for a valid vold.fstab file, which can be generally found in custom built ROMs.


HTC ONE X Custom ROM Issue I tried to install a custom ROM on my htc one X without making any backup. My new custom ROM did not installed correctly. It is just showing X type logo of custom ROM after htc splash screen. I can go to hboot, fastboot and recovery menus. I can also access the memory card. My problem is that I do not know how can I add new custom ROM on memory card so I can install it. Please help.

yesterday I had the same problem,and finally I found the solution.

Flash TWRP recovery on your one X, and power off.
Then Connect your phone to your PC by using usb cable
Boot into twrp recovery select mount & storage on twrp menu and the
select Mount USB Storage,after doing this your PC should see your phone as USB storage.
Copy your rom file into sdcard on your PC.
Disconnect the phone from PC,reboot your phone into bootloader and
then run twrp recovery.
Before flashing rom full wipe is recommended to avoid problems, so full wipe by twrp recovery or by fastboot commands (fastboot erase cache)
Flash compatible boot.img by using fastboot commands (fastboot flash boot bootfile.img)
Full wipe your device
Then flash the rom.zip by using twrp,that's all.


How to check if a phone is rooted from a PC I am trying to find a fast way to see if an android phone is rooted or not. I know you can use root checker app but due to numbers of phones it is far too slow to install and use.

I am looking for a way that I use. I know I have to turn ADB on, on the phone and plug it into my pc.

Is there a way to check this using command a line I can run in CMD?

I have android studio install so is there a way of running a script from this that will check to see if a phone has been rooted?

I know what due to number of way a phone can be rooted it not always 100% but I can live with that.

You can use the adb shell command to check if the phone is rooted. Execute adb shell su and if the phone is rooted a root shell will be opened. If it's not rooted you will get a su: not found error message.


Pokemon Go without compass? I'm planning to get a new android smartphone and have eyes on the Moto G4 Plus. I took a look at the specifications and noticed that there is no compass sensor. I would like to play Pokemon Go but the hardware requirements says it needs a GPS.

Edit: There's a website that says a camera, compass and a gyro is necessary for AR (augmented reality). That means i'm able to play, right?

I had a similar issue- but do not worry! Your device can grab your location using your mobile data/Wi-Fi. Its less accurate than the GPS, but it certainly works.


Stagefright security issue: what can a regular user do to mitigate the issue without a patch? There appears to be a giant security vulnerability with Android that seems to basically affect all phones. PC World wrote:

The vast majority of Android phones can be hacked by sending them a specially crafted multimedia message (MMS), a security researcher [Joshua Drake] has found.
...
Drake found multiple vulnerabilities in a core Android component called Stagefright that’s used to process, play and record multimedia files. Some of the flaws allow for remote code execution and can be triggered when receiving an MMS message, downloading a specially crafted video file through the browser or opening a Web page with embedded multimedia content.
...
The MMS attack vector is the scariest of all because it doesn’t require any interaction from the user; the phone just needs to receive a malicious message.
For example, the attacker could send the malicious MMS when the victim is sleeping and the phone’s ringer is silenced, Drake said. After exploitation the message can be deleted, so the victim will never even know that his phone was hacked, he said.

What can a regular user do to mitigate the issue? Disable Google Hangouts?

This is not just about MMS or web surfing, since Stagefright is the library that helps phones to unpack multimedia messages: see Media and this article on Fortune.

So it is about any application (including your web browser) that works with multimedia (video clips and audio records). MMS is just an easiest way to exploit it, because your phone will not ask you before downloading it.

That is why you also need to think about all other applications working with multimedia and never open any multimedia attachments before the fix is not installed on your phone.

For the Web browser, you could switch to Firefox 38 or higher, then you could continue opening web pages with video and/or audio content.

To summarise:

Disable auto-retrival of MMS in your Messaging App (whatever it is)
(Guide with images)
Switch to Firefox 38 or later (find it in your market / app store)
Switch to a filesystem manager hiding video thumbnails, which is the default for Total commander
Switch to a video player that is immune, e.g., the video player MX player (make sure to activate its "HW+" setting for all video formats) pointed out by hulkingtickets
Do not open any multimedia files or draw video thumbnails in any other applications and block automatic opening/downloading of them in all apps if possible. This is very important. If your phone is not patched and you use ANY app with multimedia content, and there is no option to block automatic opening of multimedia in this app (example for browser: if you open some random web page, you browser should preload videos, if they are on this web page), then stop using this app and block Internet access for this app (if you can't - delete the app). If this app is important to you, and you can't update phone firmware or block multimedia in this app, just stop using your phone and buy another one, which is not vulnerable.

Yes, this means that in the worst case you need to change the phone. Stagefright is a very serious vulnerability affecting ~ 1 billion devices, so you could easily become a victim of automated attack, that is not done directly against you, but directed to all 1 billion users.
Install updates, if you have Cyanogenmod 11 or 12 (fixed on 23.07.2015, see commits on github)

EDIT: fixes from 23.07.2015 were incomplete, you may need to update again after fix on 13.08.2015

EDIT 4: Fixes on 13.08.2015 were again incomplete, you need to update one more time after fixes from Google in October 2015 (so-called Stagefright 2.0). If you have Adroid 5.x or 6, you may need to update again after these next fixes from Google in November 2015, since there are similarly dangerous vulnerabilities (CVE-2015-6608 and CVE-2015-6609), that are probably not called Stagefright anymore. Please note, that the time of actual fix from your manufacturer could be later, or at least different. E.g., CM11 got updated on 09.11.2015, while CM12.1 got updated on 29.09.2015.

EDIT 5: 2 more Stagefright vulnerabilities are reported by Google at 01.02.2016, however, they "only" affect Adroid 4.4.4 - 6.0.1
Wait for update from your manufacturer

EDIT2: Similar with Cyanogenmod, an update from your manufacturer could be not enough, due to the issue with initial integer overflow fix, that was reported on 12.08.2015: Original integer overflow fix ineffective. So even after update, it is recommended to check if your phone is still vulnerable using the App from Zimperium (finder of the Stagefright issue): Zimperium Stagefright Detector App
If you already has root, try fix offered by GoOrDie. Also see this howto guide.

EDIT 3. I tried this fix on Samsung S4 mini, and it did not work. So think twice before rooting your phone.


How can I delete backed up Google+ photos off of the phone? How can I delete backed up Google+ photos off of the phone? I know Flikr has support for this, and I don't think there is a way to do this natively with Google+, so is there a 3rd party app or utility?

Using the Photos app, tap the hamburger menu (the three bars in the upper left corner), scroll down and choose On Device. You should be able to delete these without touching the backup. If you are prompted Delete Everywhere, select cancel, you are in the wrong place.

You could also use a file explorer app, such as ES File Explorer. Your photos are stored in DCIM>Camera. You should be able to select all and delete.

But if you are asking for something that will auto-delete them as you go, there doesn't seem to be a way to do this with Google Photos. Since they have recently been integrated with Google Drive, a new solution may arise soon.


Get into recovery mode Xperia Ray I want to install custom rom in my xperia ray. I have rooted my phone, Unlocked boot loader and also instaled clock work mod. I have downloaded the custom rom and gapps in my sd card.
But i am not able to enter recovery mode.
I am always sent to safe mode.
I have tried first two pages on google but no success.
Kindly help

Download android studio, install adb SDK, then open command prompt, change directory to

C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Android\sdk\platform-tools

Then hit the following in command prompt

adb reboot recovery

Then your phone enters recovery mode. I did the same in my Xperia Ray and succeeded.


Android 4.0.3 has virtual keyboard with Y key in wrong place? Why the virtual keyboard of Android 4.0 has a different qwerty virtual keyboard? It seems the Y is in the wrong place.

Is it some configuration? Where it is?

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)

Are the Y and Z keys switched?

It sounds as if you have the wrong language set for your keyboard (or your system, as it defaults to the systems language). Some European keyboard layouts, possibly German, have a QWERTZ layout instead.

Settings > Language & input > Android keyboard (Settings icon) > Input languages


Can my phone act as WiFi Access Point while Disabling Celluar Radio? Can Android act as a WiFi Access Point while the cellular radio is turned off?

I tried to accomplish that using flight mode, but that won't work. While flight mode is enabled, Androids portable Wi-Fi hotspot option cannot be enabled. Quite logical, because one cannot tether while cellular networks are disabled.

To my knowledge, there is no obvious dedicated option to only disable cellular networks. There is an Cell Radio ShutOff, but that app just crashes when pressing the disable cellular network button on my phone.

Are there any apps for setting up a cellular less, non-tethering WiFi Access Point or other ways to do this?

What's that good for? What is it, what I am really accomplishing to do? See background below.

Background:

For recording interviews, I want to use a newer Android device [Galaxy S3] as a video camera (MirrorOp Sender app), while using an older device [iphone 4] as an external display (MirrorOp Receiver app). In some sense as a  "wireless live preview" display.

The MirrorOp app has to my knowledge no WiFi Direct mode. Therefore I am using Androids portable Wi-Fi hotspot option, so the receiver can log into the WiFi AndroidAP (WiFi access point). Took me a while to figure out, but it works so far.

During recording, be not disturbed my cellar calls, voip calls, messenger or update notifications, I would like to disable the cellular network radio. That also seems useful to save battery.

Another reason for not providing internet access is to prevent the receiver phone from using use the WiFi as hotspot (which would in reality, be just a 3G network) to download bigger files, updates, etc.

I don't like blocking mode, because then caller think I pressed the "rejection" button, and because it also does not save battery.

FWIW I discussed a few ways to disable just the mobile connection here for a different reason but with the same result... depending on your Android version (you didn't mention which you were using), it's as easy as selecting the mobile icon in the notification settings to switch it off, or just selecting an invalid APN under Wifi->Mobile networks->Access Point Names or Network Operators.  But the absolutely easiest and most certain way as I suggested is to pull the SIM card while you're not using it.  As long as your device uses a SIM card for mobile (GSM networks do, Verizon may not), you should be good to go-- though I believe 911 calls will still work.  If you want to get really down-and-dirty, you can also root the phone, rename the binary blobs that work with your cell service, reboot, then do the reverse when you're done.  But I think the SIMcard trick should do it :)


Can I stream audio from Android to Windows through Bluetooth? Can I stream audio from Android to Windows through Bluetooth? If yes, how?

In case someone's coming from a Windows 10 without this feature, I managed to add it by installing Toshiba's Bluetooth Link, for example, from here: http://files.ecp.toshiba.com/2016/08/19/2123/59/tcp0000200a.exe


How to root a Samsung Spica How do I go about rooting my Samsung Spica?

The main reference resource site for modders and "cookers" of Samsung Spica aka i5700 is at Samdroid forum board, here.

It contains all information you need to upgrade your firmware version, root your phone, etc.


How can I chat with BlackBerry users? Is there an app that lets me chat with BlackBerry users just by adding their PINs? Something that simulates that my Android phone belongs to the BlackBerry network?

I know there are multiplatform options like WhatsApp but I am talking about an app that lets me chat with people who are using the native BlackBerry Messenger.

You can't.  RIM's PIN system and BBM are proprietary.  You can only communicate with a BlackBerry user via PIN messages or BBM if you have a BlackBerry.

Get a new Bold 9900 / 9930, they're great! Full disclosure: I work for RIM. This is not an official statement from RIM either, this is me speaking as a user in my off time at home. I honestly think the new Bold is the best BB yet.


Reverse tethering via Bluetooth: How to share PC internet connectivity with android phone via Bluetooth OS: Windows 7 SP1 x64

Phone: Galaxy Ace 3 - android 4.2 (rooted)

I'm aware of normal tethering scenarios in which the user can share the Mobile Data connection with other phones/pcs via wifi-hotspot, bluetooth tethering or USB tethering and my phone is capable of all of them.

Let's assume my laptop is connected to the internet via lan and I want to share the internet with my phone via bluetooth(not wifi or usb). I think it's called reverse tethering.

Is there any way to accomplish this? (It seems Mac is capable of doing that: How to share your internet connection over Bluetooth)

by the way:

->this method is not working(using ICS): How to Share the Internet With Bluetooth

->BlueDUN app is for sharing mobile data/wifi connectivity of the phone with another phone/pc

->Toshiba Bluetooth Stack is not working

Update:
On the Linux front there's an application called 'blueman' that does this

This is a good question which myself  couldn't get a satisfactory solution. This solution posted here seemed promising although I found out the bluetooth stack supports fewer bluetooth adapters and also some link was taken down.

Having said that, since you are running Windows, Microsoft seems to have at least provided a solution to that issue, but it supports newer editions of Windows (should be Creators update IIRC):

  Open the Settings app either by clicking its icon on the left side of the Start menu or simultaneously pressing the Windows logo + R
  keys.
  In the Settings app, go to Network & Internet  > Mobile Hotspot page.
  To turn on mobile hotspot, turn on the option labelled Share my Internet connection with other devices.
  Under share my connection over, choose bluetooth option.

Simply pair the two and enjoy the connection

Credits (and photo) Mobile hotspot or Wi-Fi hotspot in Windows 10

Windows feature are most buggy for me, that's why I prefer to try other workarounds first.


How to use my phone as a WiFi adapter for playing lan games I just want to play lan games and use wireless apps because my pc doesnt have WiFi so I want to use my damaged display phone as WiFi for lan games in pc
And also use pc remote from my other phone
-WiFi adapter
-lan games (pc)
-phone
-pc have no WiFi
Hope you understand
Any help will be appreciated

As Robert said it's not the best idea but if you still want to do it first turn off mobile data and connect to WIFI then connect your phone to the pc then on your phone go to network and internet then tap hotspot & tethering and enable USB tethering.


Is there any widget for iframing a link/url and make it viewable on homescreen in full or resizable area? Is there any widget for iframing a link/url and make it view able on home screen in full or re sizable area?

I think this might be what you're looking for:

Meta Widget: Create widgets from almost any website element
Websnap-Web capture,Web widget: take a snapshot of any web page or part of a page and display it on your Android home screen with a refresh interval of your choice

Feel free to search Google Play for related apps.


What do I type in PATH variable for ADB server to start from CMD? I am following a Wiki on how to install and set up Android SDK and I am stuck at a step where I am supposed to test if the ADB server works by using the command adb start-server. Is this command correct?

The Wiki can be found here:
http://wiki.rootzwiki.com/Android_SDK

I have done what it says in step 5. But it doesn't seem to work. I get the standard message in CMD that the command is not an internal, external command or a program.

  Add the following to the end of the Variable value field:

  Windows XP: ;C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\tools\;C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\

  Windows Vista and later:
  Replace YOURUSERNAME in the following lines with your Windows username

  32-Bit: ;C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\tools\;C:\Program Files\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\

  64-Bit: ;C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\tools\;C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\

  Click OK, OK, and OK to close the Advanced settings.

So what gives? The CMD prompt is at C:\Users\myusername when I run the command. Maybe I need to CD to the android-sdk folder first before running the command? But then what use is it to add the path in the PATH variable?...

I have solved my own problem. Those search paths are all messed up!

I checked the installation path and it's installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\Android even though I do have a 64-bit version of Windows. But nevertheless, this is the default installation location.

So I updated the PATH variable with following line.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\tools\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\

And now I can start ADB server from CMD regardless of where the prompt is at.

I have no clue why they are referring to AppData\Local\ folder in the guide for the 64-bit systems. That makes no sense at all. If anywhere, the installation location should be in "Program Files" folder for a 64-bit system. They actually put this in for the 32-bit systems... like I said, it's all messed up.

I should point out that adb.exe has been moved from C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\tools\ to the new location C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\. This has been done in later versions of Android SDK.

So if you are reading this in year 2013 then you can probably just get the latest SDK and use only this last search path. You don't need them both. At least not for ADB and Fastboot. If you're a developer then you maybe need to access tools from both directories, although if you're a dev then you probably won't need to read this at all.

How to edit a system variable

Here's a short how-to for the newbies. What you need is the Environment Variables dialog.

Click Start (Orb) menu button.
Right click on Computer icon.
Click on Properties. This will bring up System window in Control Panel.
Click on Advanced System Settings on the left. This will bring up the System Properties window with Advanced tab selected.
Click on Environment Variables button on the bottom of the dialog. This brings up the Environment Variables dialog.
In the System Variables section, scroll down till you see Path.
Click on Path to select it, then the Edit button. This will bring up the Edit System Variable dialog.
While the Variable value field is selected, press the End key on your keyboard to go to the right end of the line, or use the arrow keys to move the marker to the end.
Type in ;C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\tools\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools\ and click OK.
Click OK again, then OK once more to save and exit out of the dialogs.

That's it! You can now start any Android SDK tool, e.g. ADB or Fastboot, regardless of what your current directory is in CMD. For good measure here's what the dialog looks like. This is where you edit the Path variable.


How can I deny "android:keepScreenOn" to a misbehaving app? There is a misbehaving app (com.funplus.familyfarm) that keeps the screen on even long after it is ever needed (the app re-synchs with server and reloads the interface after some idle period).

  The app is not running in background. It is the active app currently shown on-screen.

It makes my device almost too hot to touch, not to mention the battery drain.

Is there any way for me to deny the "android:keepScreenOn" to the app, or to do something (like a Tasker task) to kill it after an idle period?

I am running ICS 4.0.4 and the device is rooted. I have purchased Tasker Pro, but really do not know much how to mess around.

Xposed Module

Since your device is rooted, you could install the Xposed framework and then install a module such as App Settings. It lets you tweak settings for an app. In your case, it lets you tweak whether to keep the screen on or not (according to its page, at least).

The Xposed framework has tons of other modules for tweaking the inner workings of Android.


Getting toast message with text sending I'm using Asus 551 with lollipop. I have numerous apps installed. Recently, I started getting toast notification with the text Sending....

This usually occurs when I'm using Facebook, whatsapp and such apps. It seems fishy.

I recently uninstalled es file explorer after a similar issue was reported by users. It was showing similar toast with some Chinese text.

Is there a way I could find out what app is causing this?

Here is a screen shot:

I tried the dumpsys command, as suggested by @Firelord. Then used some of the apps, got the Sending... toast a couple of times, then again ran the dumpsys command, but there was no difference in the log. Here is how it looked before and after:

Turns out that it was the Sim ToolKit that was showing the toast notification. I have recently switched to a Reliance Jio Sim (India), which has free unlimited calls and 4G data until December! Now that is too good to believe and fishy.

I used this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coconuts.pastnotifications&hl=en
And allowed it to monitor the Toasts via Accessibility settings.

For now I have Force Stopped the process. The toasts are gone, should they come back, I will disable the Jio Sim itself.


How to create playlist for all files in folder? I want to use Zombies, Run! and therefore need music that is organized in a playlist. I usually play by album or folder so I never needed to do this before.

What I want to do is copying a folder with the music to the phone (using ftp) and then create a playlist containing all of these files (without having to choose them manually). It would also be okay for me if the app on Android only converts a playlist in .m3u or .pls format (created on my computer) to a playlist in Android's playlist set.

For now I only found applications that create .m3u files (which are not useful for me) or crash upon start.

I know this is old, but it's in the top results for "Android create playlist from a folder" so I thought I'd add this:

Playlist Creator 2: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ksdeveloper.playlistcreator.v2

(From what I read, the not so good rating comes from the inhability of the developer to explain how it works, but it's really simple)

Download and open the app. (Duh)
Top right> Use file explorer.
Navigate to the desired folder and long press it.
Pick "Add whole folder as playlist".
Press the top right icon to open the playlist, name it, Create Playlist.

And voilà, you'll see the playlist in the Google music app and any common music player.


How to unhide apps that has been hidden in the play store? On the play store, I can hide apps I previously installed/bought by clicking on the "x".

How do I reverse this process? Thanks

Well pressing the install button will make they appear there again, duh.


How to run adb and fastboot commands from Termux? Is it possible to run adb and fastboot commands using Termux terminal emulator? I am wanting to run commands from one Huawei T3 7 to another using USB/OTG cable. Need to unlock bootloader but have no access to a PC or laptop.

This question is nearly a duplicate of this which has a detailed answer by @Firelord, except the Termux part. As mention by @DeathMaskSalesman in comment, Termux is more like a Linux environment, but so far it doesn't have adb and fastboot in repositories, though proposed. Most probably because they are meant for rooted devices. But you can use static binaries (e.g. this or this) on Termux like on usual Terminal emulator app. Make sure to set proper environment variables (TMPDIR, HOME or HOMEDIR).
However you won't be able to run each of them without root because only members of AID_USB group are able to read devices in /dev/bus/usb/ (1). Furthermore SELinux restricts unprivileged apps' access to /sys and /dev.
For adb there's a workaround if both devices are connected to same network e.g. Wi-Fi or hotspot. adbd can be run to listen on TCP socket instead of USB. It's possible if before turning on "USB Debugging" property service.adb.tcp.port (2) is set to some port (first default is 5555). Apps can't set properties, so to do this using setprop on adb shell or by simply executing adb tcpip 5555, you need to connect the target device to a PC over USB. Then all you have to do from Termux before sending commands is:
~$ adb connect <IP>:5555

But service.adb.tcp.port is reset on reboots and you have to set it again. There is another property persist.adb.tcp.port which persists across reboots but it's meant only for testing and SELinux won't let you set this without root or some system app running with UID 1000.
Some custom ROMs have built-in toggle to set service.adb.tcp.port. But for fastboot root is must. However it's possible on Android to access USB OTG devices through android.hardware.usb APIs. fastboot-mobile is an unofficial library from Google to send fastboot commands over OTG. This app (I have no affiliation) also provides similar limited functionality.


Enabling Location Reporting disables itself I'm trying to enable Location Reporting such that I can use it with my Moto 360 for tracking stuff. Whenever I enable Location Reporting in the Google Settings app it immediately turns itself off again.

I looked in the docs and noticed this:

I'm in Spain, and I know "Ok Maps" for offline maps doesn't work here. Could that be it?
It's also an Apps account, but I couldn't find any settings to enable or disable this in the admin panel.

I think your issue may actually be the fact you are in Spain. I've come across issues with others in the country, including (as you mentioned) the fact that you cannot download offline maps in Google Maps.

This appears (though it's not fully clear) to be down to licencing / legal issues around the mapping. Even a few metres over the Spanish border and everything works again.


software update available -- how to find out the details? My UK HTC Chacha phone running 2.3.5 since the last few months shows a notification since the last couple of days that there is a software update available. But the menu only says that it's a bit over 7MB to downloads, it doesn't specify what software update this is which version  -- how to find out the details?

Your carrier is responsible for sending OTA updates.  Check their website, call them and ask, or try searching for your carrier's name and "Android update".


Locked out with no service! I was fiddling with the lock your SIM card features and locked it, but the password I used now will not open it, and it is locked with no service, screen says screen is PUK locked and is asking for  an 8 digit password to change the PIN code, which the one I typed when trying to set it was only 4 digits. I think I must have clicked change password right before it locked me out. What do I do now?

Some SIM cards have PUK codes printed on the punch out cards that the SIM card came from.
T-Mobile for example has PUK code printed on the plastic punch out.


Xperia Arc shows 3G signal but not connecting to Internet I have an Xperia Arc L15i about 5 months old, suddenly I have started experiencing problems with my 3G/2G service.

I have the Access Points properly set up (confirmed the same also with my service provider) and when I start the Data Service it shows up the 3G signal (full strength) but cannot connect to Internet.
Tried with the inbuilt browser, Opera mini and neither is the market accessible.

Network mode is WCDMA/GSM and even if try with Only GSM still its the same issue with 2G.

Is there anything else I need to look into or could it be a handset issue (not sure since I can see the H symbol). Any idea ?

EDIT

It seems i can access the net via WiFi, now i am puzzled (in case some wonder my data plan is valid)

I don't know what was the issue behind it, but i upgraded my Arc to 2.3.4 and surprisingly this made it work.

Just added it as an answer in case someone does come across any such thing.


Is it possible to keep phone plugged in a powerbank when the battery is worn out? Is it possible to glue a powerbank to the back of a phone, and keep it plugged in permanently, if the battery has been worn out?

My experience is that the answer is yes.
For some devices, I have completely removed the battery and have them running just from the charger.
Of course, if there is a power outage, the device will immediately turn off without saving anything.  So be aware of that possibility.


Contact with 2 phone numbers - how to distinguish between them on WhatsApp? I have what I would think must be quite a common situation - a friend has 2 phones, one for work and one for personal, and I've created a single android (google) contact with the both phone numbers in, identified appropriately.
However, WhatsApp displays this as 2 contacts with the same name and no way of distinguishing between them. If I want to add them to a group I have to guess which one it is, then go into the group and select them, then I can view more details to see if I've picked the right one.
Is there any easier way to distinguish between them in WhatsApp?

Just save them as a separate contacts? Solves everything at minimal fuss.


Download Mode in Galaxy Grand Prime Ok so I rooted my phone useing King root downloaded twrp, busy box pro. Anyway I went to reboot in bootloader and i got a downloading screen. How long should this take. Anyway I'm a noob to rooted phones so not positive what I did. I can send a pic of the screen if needed.

That Downloading screen you got is representative of having entered Samsung's special Download Mode for flashing device firmware from a PC over ODIN. Over there, Downloading means downloading from the PC, not from the internet. In case you want to get back to normal Android, keep holding down the Power button until the device reboots. For flashing TWRP, you can try using this app called Flashify. For using it, refer to my other answer here.


What GAPPS do I need for Ressurection Remix 5.7.4 by aditya? Idk if I really need a different GAPPS for ressurection remix cause I flashed pico GAPPS. I need to know if I flashed the GAPPS or I flashed the wrong GAPPS.

It all depends. You can choose any flavour, what you need to be careful about is to select the right CPU architecture and Android version. Different flavours of GAPPS are just packages with a different number of Google apps. So you can download the whole Google Suite or just a few basic apps like the phone, Play Store or calculator.


LG Lucid doesn't recognize SD card as extra memory when dealing with photos Possible Duplicate:
  How can I deal with “Low on Space” messages on my HTC Incredible?

I have an LG Lucid, and recently (more or less) learned how to put files (music, etc.) on it from my Mac.

My question is: Why does my phone constantly think the memory is full when I'm looking through or taking photos? A little box pops up and tells me to delete files to make room. It still saves the photos I take, but it doesn't save the screenshots.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

There are multiple things you need to adjust -- let's step through them one by one:
Camera
Unfortunately not on all devices / Android versions, but some camera apps let the user configure where to store the photos (phone memory or sd). Check if your camera app supports this. If so, set it to sd (or "external" -- all but phone ;). If not, you might want to check the playstore for alternative camera apps offering this feature. Videos, photos, and music files are most likely the largest files on your device -- so keeping those away from your precious internal storage will reduce the possibility / frequency dropping into this problem.
Make room
As you said you get the "Memory low" or "Insufficient storage" errors, free space on your internal device memory (phone memory) most likely dropped below 25 MB. So as advised by that popup, you should make room. I'm not going into details on this, as this is already explained here multiple times. Check e.g. the following questions:

What can I do to manage my phone's internal storage?
How can I free up more space on my Android phone?
How can I deal with “Low on Space” messages?

Additionally, check out the list of most frequent questions tagged "internal-storage", which will list you even more useful questions (with answers, of course).
Screenshots
Once you've sorted out above two things, this problem has solved magically as a side-effect :)


Is there a way to recover contacts and T Memo from touch broken galaxy core I have a samsung galaxy core and now the touch is broken. Since I have a new Redmi Y1, the damage of phone is not a big deal but the thing that matters is I am in need of copying all contacts and T Memo from the galaxy core to either laptop or Y1.
More Info
Only touch and the two touch-keys (back key and menu key) is not working.
Display, Speaker, Other keys etc. are working fine.
The handset is slightly wet on a rain yesterday.
It detects USB connection.
No pattern or pin is set. Only swipe lock is there.
I can access files from laptop because the default usb connection is media.
My Tries
I tried to use Dr.Fone's feature of recovering data from touch broken device. But My Device is not listed.
I googled for a way of doing this via CMD in fastboot mode but can't find any.
Is there any way I can copy the contacts from mobile to laptop?

You can use an OTG cable to connect a mouse to the phone that will give you full access to the device.

You will then be able to go into contacts>settings>contact settings>export contacts, and select your desired method. I would suggest you export the contacts to an sd card, put it in into your new phone, and import them.

You should be able to do the same thing for your memos. Export them to an ad card, or save them to a cloud.


Synchronizing S-Note notes between S4 and Note 10.1 2014 Some time ago I used a pair of devices: Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. I noticed, that they synchronized the notes in S Note nicely: even though S4 was unable to edit complex Note's notes, at least it was able to display them. And they were synchronized with my Samsung account as well.

I've replaced the 10.1 with the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition1 lately and I've noticed, that it no longer synchronizes notes with my S4. Do you know maybe, why is it so? Is there a way to synchronize notes between my devices automatically?

1 Samsung for sure sets the records in their devices name lengths...

I have seen a similar issue trying to sync S Note's between a Galaxy Note 3 (smartphone) and a Galaxy Note 10.1 (as well as to a Galaxy Note 2).

The issue seems to be in the version of S Note running on Android 4.3.

On my Note 3, S Note saves the files as .spd files in a Snotedata folder.  On the Galaxy 10.1 the S Note documents are as .snb files in the "S Note" folder.

I think this explains why sync isn't working.


Is possible to invoke an Android API without declaring the related permissions but with root access? While reversing some malware, I have realized that despite they use an exploit that gives them root access, such malware declares a lot of permissions in the manifest.

Because (AFAIK) "normal" apps that require the su executable they still need to declare the permissions in the manifest, because the su command just launches a child process with elevated (root, in this case) access.

Android malware reversing isn't my full-time job, but in my little experience this is the most common pattern among malicious apps:

exploit -> root access
change permission or remount partition
steal data from other apps

Thus, my question is:
is possible to invoke an Android API (more precisely, the Java API framework) without declaring the related permissions but with root access?

I guess the answer is yes, but I think it's a twisted process, so it's easier to declare a lot of permissions (but it sticks out like a sore thumb).

The framework APIs do check for required permissions, so if you want to use those APIs, you do need the required permissions in the manifest. But of course, the root user can do any action regardless of permissions: it's just extra programming work to do the same low-level actions that the Android framework would do.


How to factory reset phone when I can't find the factory reset option? I have an old Samsung Galaxy S3 that's been sitting in my desk for years. I wanted to clear it off to give to a friend, but I'm not seeing the factory reset option anywhere. All guides I can find online indicate that it should be in the Settings app, but it's not. (There is no Privacy section anywhere in the Settings app.)

Is there any other way to factory-reset a phone? It's on 4.3 (Jellybean), according to the About Device screen. (I've tried to get to recovery mode with the power/volume down key trick, but it doesn't work; just continues to boot normally.)

Posting this as answer in case anyone else runs into this.

It turns out that I had manually disconnected my Google account years ago, when I switched to a new phone. By reconnecting the Google account, it added the Privacy section (including the Factory Reset option) back into the Settings app. Once that option became available again, the reset worked with no problem.


imo Messenger can't do Skype IM anymore, any alternatives? I used imo messenger to chat (instant messages) with my Skype contacts, but this feature is now unavailable.

The real Skype client sucks my battery dry in no time.

Any recommendations for further alternatives to log in or federate with Skype? I don't need voice or video calls, just text.

Have you tried IM+?

It mentions that for the Skype function you need to use an in-app purchase. However it has good reviews overall, however I'm not sure what the battery drain is like.


is it required to do unlocking of bootloader before installing and upgraded rom for sm-g550t galaxy on5 and then reroot i want to know,in order to upgrade from my rooted Samsung ON 5 SM G550T, to Nougate 7.00, will i have to re-root the phone process again. Currently my phone is rooted but i think my boot loader is locked, which will require me to unlock my boot loader; in order to do a upgrade to Nougate,if i understand?
 If the boot loader is locked how do i check? to see if its locked.
On a previous occasion i tried to flash xposed program (rom) and got a binary 1 error is this related to a locked boot loader, or diff issue. If so how do fix a binary 1-2 error message.

As Samsung hasn't updated your device to android 7.0 so in order to upgrade your android version you have to unlock bootloader then flash a custom recovery.

Then you can flash any 7.0 custom rom.