How would you avoid potentially dangerous apps in the Play Store edit: The goal of the question is to create a simple checklist for novice users.

It is not uncommon for news warning about malicious apps that have entered the Play Store to appear fairly regularly.

The common advice is to read reviews and check the app's ratings.
However, attackers also do fake reviews and comments.

Question 1: What sort of criteria have stood the test of time to avoid this sort of malware?

comments can't be trusted.
rating can't be trusted.

At the moment, time of existance, e.g. 2+ years, is the only one I think is feasible.
Can it be trusted too? And what else is important?

Yes or No criteria is preferable
False positives are better than missed malware

Question 2: Is there a curated list of trustworthy apps?

Currently, APK Mirror seems to be the best alternative since the apps there are curated by them. But they don't allow paid-apps.

While I mostly agree to Yaksha's answer, I still want to partly oppose it – and of course will include my reasons:

Instead of using Playstore, stick with F-Droid whenever possible.
F-Droid only serves open-source apps – so other than what Yaksha wrote about Playstore apps, you can look into the source. But most users won't be that "techy" to really understand it. Which is why the F-Droid team does that for you: they compile from the sources they have checked before (and they have a community supporting them). Plus, they have very strong inclusion criteria an app must meet to be allowed into their repository. So you e.g. won't find apps with proprietary ad or tracking modules there. Plus, so-called AntiFeatures are always pointed out. No way a dev can "hide" that by keeping it out of the app description.
When you have to use Playstore, cross-check the apps with Exodus.
Exodus grabs free (non-paid) apps from Play Store and analyses their code to detect trackers. It then points out how many of those it found and which ones. You can even read details on most of those "privacy snoopers" to know what they do. But they can only grab apps which require no payment.
For paid apps: AppBrain.
AppBrain offers an alternative front-end to what you find on Playstore – same data actually, and for installing an app you'd even be redirected to Playstore. But they add a bunch of useful information on top by checking the libraries an app contains, and grouping them so you can easily spot ads and analytics. Unfortunately, since summer 2017 free access is limited to 5 apps per day (creating a free account, you can top that up to 10).
Before installing a new app, cross-check with forums.
Often, a simple search (using the engine of your choice) gives plenty of useful hints – e.g. latest reports if an app had "conspicuous activity". For example, Cheetah Mobile's "Security" apps caused a big uproar lately as they called up to porn pages in background. With that search you can also find "external reviews" – though most of those usually concentrate more on the features than on security or privacy (a big exception is the German portal MobilSicher which does it just the other way around).

To make those steps easier, when looking for a new app you can use my app listings as a starting point. There you find the apps ordered by ratings – but with useful annotations: number of permissions requested (and details on them), availability on different places (e.g. F-Droid and Playstore), links to reviews, marks on critical libraries used, and more. It's not the full load of apps available worldwide, but a good hand-selected amount (about 14k currently).

Another word: don't rely on so-called "Anti-Virus" apps – they are mostly snake-oil. For references on this statement, please check e.g. Is there really such a thing as an Android virus?, Android antivirus apps are useless — here’s what to do instead and Antivirus software is snake oil!.

And yes, of course use your "common sense" when taking a look at the permissions an app requests: are they really justified by the purpose? Though admitted, that's not as easy as it sounds. While it might be clear a torch doesn't need access to your contacts – could you guess if access to your camera might be justified? Spoiler: indeed, to fire the flashlight it might be needed. When in doubt, compare with other apps offering the same feature set. If one app needs 24 permissions for something another can do with 5, you can be almost sure the difference of 19 is needed by some ad or tracking module. Again, my above mentioned app listings make such comparisons easier. To pick up an earlier example again: if one app was brought up obviously malicious, avoid all other apps from the same dev as well – chances are rather good they have similar issues (so: no Cheetah Mobile, for example).


How to recover my files from memo and mobilse note after format factory? I have Samsung galaxy s plus i9001. i have format factory my phone recently but i had some important notes in memo and mobisle Note and i didn't backup them before formatting, is there a way to restore them? i think they were stored in system storage.

i have a full copy of my usb storage, but i don't have copy of system storage, and i just need memo and mobisle note data, is there any copy of them in usb storage?

I think you cannot get your data back...if you haven't created any backup.
But For now you should download some apps and create backup for future use.. All these apps are available on Google Play.
1. Avasti  Mobile Security
2. Helium - App Sync and Backup
3. Ultimate Backup
4. Super Backup : SMS & Contacts


Restore S-Memo files A few days ago my Samsung Galaxy S4 asked to uodate the Samsung Account application which I accepted. After that all me S-Memo files are gone. They aren't in me SD-Card/S-Memo folder. And when I open S-Memo and choose import I can't choose Samsung account. The Memo's are still on my Samsung backup account. When I go to settings/account/samsung/used storage I see 2.85 mb of S-Memo files. When I click on that it asks me which files I want to delete but I don't want to delete them. I want them back. When I go to the account tab in settings again there's a option called cloud with which I can restore files from the Samsung cloud but I only can choose between, logfiles, mms, sms and wallpapers. I definitely need the memo files back. Does anybody knows how I can get them back from the Samsung server. Luckily they aren't completely lost.
Thanks in advance,

I know this is an old question but i just updated my phone software and lost my SMemo's. Dont know how many other people would still be updating old software but in any case, here's where I found them on my phone:
My Files>Application>SMemo>Switcher

Also, when i connected my laptop to the phone they could be found in:
Phone>Application>SMemo>Switcher


Is it possible to delete a file through the Google Drive app? In the Google Drive app, on its home screen, I get a list of files and a "3 dots" menu next to each file. When I open the menu, all of the options given to me are:

Share
Add to Starred
Make available offline
Link sharing off
Copy link
Make a copy
Send a copy
Open with
Download
Rename
Show file location
Details & activity
Print
Add to Home screen
Report abuse

While these are a ton of options, none of them are "Delete" or "Remove" or similar. I tried looking in the "Details & activity" section to see if there was a "Delete" option, but there was not. Is there a way to delete files through the Google Drive app, or do I have to use the website to delete files?

Yes, but not on Google Drive's home screen.
The Google Drive Help mentions the following:

Put a file in trash
To remove a file from your Drive, you can put it in your trash. Your file will stay there until you empty your trash.
If you're the owner of the file, others can view it until you permanently delete the file. If you're not the owner, others can see the file even if you empty your trash.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Drive app.
At the bottom right, tap Files .
Next to the file you want to delete, tap More   Remove.

Alternatively, you can also long-press and select multiple files, then tap "Remove" (trash icon) on the toolbar.
Note that you can also do this on "Starred" and "Shared", but not on "Home".

To actually remove the files, you also need to empty the trash.

Empty your trash
You can permanently delete an individual file or empty your entire trash. After deleting a file, anyone you've shared the file with will lose access to it. If you want others to be able to still view the file, you can give ownership to someone else.

In the upper left, tap Menu   Trash.
Next to the file you'd like to delete, tap More   Delete forever.


Navigation nearly completely unusable on Moto G tl;dr: Is there any known / reported problem with navigation on Lenovo Moto G / Android 6.0 or in the GPS network general? I found navigation completely useless in my case, because it keeps GPS fix and shows actual location of my device for no more than 5-10% of entire trip.

I've been using Android about 3-4 years ago, ending up on Google Nexus and Android 4.3.3. When I needed navigation, I couldn't find better solution (I even sold my separate Mio navigation system) than offered by my mobile phone: easy, fast and accurate.

For some reasons I left Android for 2+ years to Windows Mobile and recently have returned to it, by purchasing Lenovo Moto G (2 pieces) with Android 6.0. And I found navigation completely useless.

No matter if my trip is 10 minutes / 10 kilometers or 2 hours / 200 km long, no matter, if I drive by a car, walk or use public commuters, I can always get clear GPS fix and accurate location for no more than 5-10% of entire trip. For remaining part I'm getting "GPS signal lost" or completely mistaken location, even 10-20 km away from actual one.

This happens everywhere. I have experienced it in both very dense rural / deep city area, with a lot of high buildings, other cars, many mobile devices and anything else you can name that may influence GPS signal (propagation, deflection, reflection etc.). And I have also experienced it in a complete wilderness with dozens of kilometers around me with nothing but a flat area, fields etc. No cities, no buildings, even no trees and no other cars or devices (traveling Sunday early morning).

At first, I thought that this is a purely technical issue and that GPS hardware on-board my phone is simply broken / malfunctioning. But I have received exactly the same experience on both my Moto G Plus and on Moto G3.

Is there any bug report about recent problems in GPS in Android 6+? Or are there any reports about GPS network going down / being overloaded? Or anything else that could be a cause for described behavior?

On contrary to this answer, solution to my problem was exactly opposite --> I had to disable 4G networks / block my phone from connecting with them.

Settings > More > Mobile networks > Preferred network type > 3G.

In a moment after that my location become fast, permanent and accurate. No more problems with GPS fix, no troubles with finding location, extra fast location / route updates in Google Maps.

More information (on original solution -- disable 3G networks -- and problem itself) here:

https://android.stackexchange.com/a/184217/20449
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2198319
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/37012926

The TopNTP application was mentioned in some sources as possible aid to similar problems.


How can I scan barcodes on webpages in Firefox for Android? Using Firefox for Android, I occasionally find web pages containing barcode images (or photos containing barcodes) that I would like to scan.

I could save the image, switch to a barcode app, open and scan the image there, and probably end up relaunching the browser to see the result, but I'd prefer to long hold the image and launch the scanning app directly (with no save step required).

Is there an open source extension (Android app, Firefox add-on, Firefox app) that can achieve this? I've tried looking on the Firefox add-ons and apps marketplaces with no luck.

Example images:

f-droid.org (rendered image, imperfect QR code)
cryptojunky.com (photo, imperfect QR code)
wikimedia.org (rendered Aztec code)

In Firefox for android you can long press the image and select share. From there just choose "decode QR code".
Make sure you first install the program "QR droid".
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=la.droid.qr


Unable to install apps on new Android one device due to google play 489 download error I bought a new Android One device from Amazon.in but I'm unable to install or update any applications from Google Play Store on it when I'm connected to wifi. The error message is a 489 download error.

I found the problem documented at a few other places on the internet like this but there doesn't seem to be a know solution for this.

I have tried to delete my account and add it again, do a factory reset and try again none of these has helped. If however I switch to 3g I am able to update the apps, but my 3G plan is limited and I like to use it when I'm on the go. I have a pretty decent wifi at home which I want to use for updates and app installs.
Living on just 3g is not even an option.

Does anyone know of a fix for this? Since I got the phone from Amazon, they are pretty customer friendly and I should be able to return the phone easily should I do this?

I was able to install Amazon App store and have been successful in installing apps using it over wifi but this isn't a scalable approach for me either as I won't get the android updates and things like Whatsapp seem to be missing from the Amazon App Store.

My hunch is that there is some software issue with Google Play but I don't know if that is the case or if it will be fixed. What is the best thing for me to do in this case?

Happened to me as well when I first got my Nexus 4, but it was somehow sorted out. It is possible that I "forgot" the WIFI network and then connected to it again but I'm not sure.

Try to see if you can download apps through the web version of the play store: (from your computer, I mean)
https://play.google.com/store

This isn't an issue that should get you to return the phone to Amazon, I'm pretty sure it is a software problem.

Solutions that I came across

Solution 1

logging in Google App store using your gmail id in your pc.
Select the App that you want to install.
Click on install .
Make sure at the same time you mobile is connected to wifi. Then App will automatically get downloaded and installed in you mobile.

Solution 2

I not only tried all the above steps I also got my mobile formatted but it didn’t work. More so, I got it replaced. Still not sure what’s the problem – maybe it’s the mobile maybe it’s the google app store. whatever it is, I found a way to use wifi to download from play store.
It’s quite simple actually, start downloading using your normal data connection and quickly switch wifi. It will automatically start using wifi to download stuff.
Use Go widget for switching if you want to.

I don't know if they will work but it's worth a shot...


Google+ Auto Backup: How to reject non-camera photos? Google+ Auto Backup service backs up all photos which includes downloaded pics from Web, Facebook, 500px etc. I just want it to backup my cam pics only.

How to do this? I am unable to find any option in Settings for that. Is there a directory flag or other methods to do that?

OS: Android 4.4.2 KitKat

If you have Google's Photos installed, then the following will do the same:
Bring out menu in Photos.

Select On Device.

Uncheck the blue cloud icon for any folder you do not wish to sync with.


can I bypass screen lock request to log in to google (Samsung Galaxy S)? My two year old kept getting into my phone, so I put a pattern lock on it.  She played with this too many times and the screen is now locked, which shouldn't be a problem as it has just asked me to log into my google account to get past it, but it isn't accepting my google password for some reason.  I've spoken to people at Samsung and Vodafone who say I need to take my phone in to a technician.  I'm pretty sure they will just wipe it clean and make me start over.  I'd rather not do this, and even if I have to I'll have to go to another city to do it, which is a pain.  Does anyone know how to get past this password request since it isn't working?

Try logging into your Google account on your computer and changing the password to something very simple like "123456".  Then try it on your phone again.  I had a problem once logging into my Nook account on my Droid so I logged into the website and changed my password from the standard complex string of random numbers and characters to a plain string, and it let me in.


Can I repartition the internal storage of my device to make space for apps? I have a T-Mobile Concord and it has little memory (probably standard amount).  It is used up by applications that I don't use or don't need.  I would like to partition the OS so that I can increase the internal memory so I can download other apps or play games that I have downloaded.  Is this possible or am I just S.O.L.?

Highly doubt if this can be done, even if it is feasible, it is extremely risky and could render the phone bricked!

Some handsets have the capability to resize the partitions used.

For example:

The Zte Blade is one very good example that can enable through what's known as TPT transfer, where the /system, /cache and /data can be resized conveniently, albeit in a limited fixed way, such as 2Mb /cache, and 210Mb /system. See this example of the alternative layouts that can be used for this handset.

The software used to achieve this, is not easy to find on the internet, known as, testpoint, although it does require specialized knowledge on how to use it, and does involve the risk of overwriting the IMEI number for this to work.

There is one for Qualcomm based handsets and is floating around on the internet.

Now, going back to T-Mobile Concord handset, not sure if there's one for specified handset concerned, as GSMArena indicates that this is a Broadcom chipset...

It might be best to dig around on XDA to see if anyone has achieved it.

If not, then take it as a no-go!


Upgraded Galaxy S III to 4.0.4, can't drag app to taskbar anymore. How can I enable dragging again? I upgraded my Galaxy S III to Android 4.0.4 last night and now I can't drag apps to the taskbar anymore.

Is there a setting I can change to be able to drag apps to taskbar again?

According to the User's Manual, there isn't a setting that locks the Primary Shortcuts.  So I would suggest turning the phone off and then restarting it.

Here are the instructions from the User's Manual for Adding and Removing Primary Shortcuts.  Perhaps there's a step here that you've missed.

  You can change any of your primary shortcuts with the exception of the
  Apps shortcut. The primary shortcuts are the bottom row of app
  shortcuts that remain static on all home screens (by default Phone,
  Contacts, Messaging, Internet, and Apps).

Note: Before replacing a primary shortcut, you must first add the replacement shortcut to the Home Screen.

  Press to display the main Home screen.
  Touch and hold the primary shortcut you want to replace and then drag it to an empty space on any Home screen.
  Scroll through the Home screen to find the shortcut you want to add as the new primary shortcut.
  Touch and hold the new shortcut and then drag it to the empty space in the row of primary shortcuts.
  The new primary shortcut will now appear on all Home screens.


hangouts - How to see the properties of my partner to a discusson? It must be a simple question.

I'm chatting a while with the man. I have his contact in hangouts program (I have not his contact in my phone contacts).

I have added this chat by email. Now I want to see the email.
The email is the main identifier, and it must be there.
The question become principled.

It is so complicated, I can't figure it out.
How can I find the email of contact in hangouts?

Thank you, in advance.

To get your interlocutor mail adress in Hangouts, go in the conversation, then click on the 3 dots (top right corner), then Partcipants and Options (not sure about the translation) now click on the green circle at the bottom of your screen and your contact's mail adress chouls appears.

]


How to create shortcuts to a certain subset of files I have a large collection of books on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, organized by topic in many nested folders. I have a certain subset of them (coming from multiple folders) that I expect to refer to frequently, let's call them the "popular" books for convenience.

I'd like to have a single icon I can press on my home screen that will, one way or another, bring up the list of popular books, from where I can select a book to open.

I want to preserve the organization of the folders, so creating a separate folder containing the popular books is not an option.
I want to save space, so I don't want to make copies of every popular book and put all the copies in a separate folder.

Given these constraints, there are two approaches I can think of to do what I want.

First way:

Get an app "A" that can create shortcuts to individual files, and puts the shortcuts on the home screen.
Get an app "B" that can take arbitrary items on the home screen, and bundle them together into a single folder on the home screen.
Use A to create shortcuts to all the popular books on the home screen, then use B to bundle them together. Clicking the icon created by B should bring up a list of the popular books that I can then select from.

Second way:

Get an app "C" that can create shortcuts to individual files and put them in the file system, like (for example) Windows can - in Windows Explorer, I can right click on any file and choose "Create Shortcut", and the shortcut appears right there next to the file, not on the desktop.
Get an app "D" that can create shortcuts to folders in the file system, and puts the shortcuts on the homescreen.
Use C to create shortcuts to all the popular books in the file system, move them all to a single folder in the file system, then use D to create a shortcut to that folder on the home screen. Clicking the shortcut created by D should open the folder, which contains links to the popular books (this, presumably, does not have the same space issues as having two copies of every popular book).

So, here are my questions:

Are there any other approaches you can think of to doing this?
Do you have any recommendations for apps that would fill the role of B or C? I currently have Linda Manager, and it is only able to do A and D, as far as I can tell. For B, I have looked at Folder Manager, whose purpose is to create folders of apps on the home screen, but (as far as I can tell) it can't see the home screen shortcuts that Linda Manager creates to individual files.
Are there any issues with either approach I proposed above that might prevent them from working? For example, are shortcuts "in the file system" even possible in Android?

Many thanks for your help.

Install Astro File Manager.
Long tap homescreen & choose Shortcuts. Then, choose Astro from list. Using it, you can create shortcut of any file on homescreen.
Bundle these shortcuts in a homescreen folder using your default launcher. I use in-built folder feature of ADW Launcher EX (my default home launcher).

If your default launcher doesn't have folder feature, you can install Folder Organizer. Using it, you can create folder widget on homescreen. You can put shortcuts in this widget & Astro will help here again as in Step 2.


Heimdall errors, "ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT." When I try to flash my S4 with Heimdal and put on clockworkmod, i get the follow,

$ sudo heimdall flash --recovery ./clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img --no-reboot
Heimdall v1.4.0

Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.

Beginning session...

Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!

Session begun.

Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.

ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT.
Ending session...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

So why is it telling me,

  ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT.

This is because the command you used to invoke heimdall was,

heimdall flash --recovery

And, heimdall is caps sensitive, try this instead.

heimdall flash --RECOVERY ./clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img --no-reboot


Can I use a Canadian Google Play gift card on an American account and vice versa? Can I use a Canadian Google Play gift card on an American account and vice versa?

NO, as per Google Play balance restrictions:

Can only be used for purchases on Google Play.
Can only be used to purchase or rent content sold in the same currency.

  If you redeemed an Australian Google Play gift card or promotional
  code and then travel to Germany, you won't be able to redeem your
  Google Play balance since paid content in Germany is sold in Euros.

Google Play balance can't be used to purchase devices on Google Play. Google Play balance can be used to pay for subscriptions on Google Play Music and Google Play Newsstand but can't be used to pay for other types of subscriptions.


Phone seems to have WiFi connection, but loses connection to internet It's a Cat B15Q, with Android 4.4.2, with most recent update as issued by Cat.
I think it started with the most recent update. Unfortunately, Cat's support site doesn't work (you can't submit questions), so maybe someone here knows.

The phone always has a decent connection to WiFi, according to the icon. But after a while (it can be an hour or just 5 minutes), it no longer connects to the internet. I observed this on three different WiFi networks. Disabling and enabling WiFi fixes the connection, for a while. I disabled all sleep and battery saving options, but to no avail. It's driving me mad!

A couple of days ago, Cat came out with a system update for my phone. One of the items was something about fixing WiFi issues. It seems to be working!


TWRP Recovery stuck at splash screen I'm using TWRP 3.0.2 on my LG G3. At first it worked fine and I used it to install Cyanogenmod 14. But now I can't boot into TWRP anymore, it just hangs forever at the splash screen. Android still boots fine.

I was able to solve the problem by removing the SD card before booting into TWRP, like suggested here.


Split layout in Google's default keyboard? According to this Droid Life post from Jun 1st 2015, Android M introduced the split layout to the default keyboard by Google.

I have a Moto G3 with Android v6.0 and the "Enable split keyboard" option shown below, is not available.

Was this feature ever added? Perhaps in an update to v6.0 I might not have yet?

This applies to tablets running Android M only at this time, as on my Nexus 6 running Android M the option does not appear.

Thanks to @Firelord for this Android Police link and information:

  "Here's the thing, though: you won't find this option on phones."


Whats App Web QR Scanner damaged? I got a problem with my WhatsApp QR Code Scanner:

I use a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Resurrection Remix Rom (Nightly with Marshmallow) and WhatsApp 2.12.479.
Starting the "normal" camera and using it is no problem. It works fine.
All I could find with google are problems regarding a flipped scanner, but as you can see that is not my problem :/.

I already reinstalled WhatsAPP, but it doesn't work.
Thanks for your help,

after hours of searchng I found a post where a suggestion was just to hold the scanner on the qr code... It worked..

So nothing to do here ;)


Remove "Switched to mobile data" notification How do I get rid of notifications when the phone does not see a known Wi-Fi and switches to mobile data?

Open Settings app >Tap Connections >Press and hold Wi-Fi >Tap ADVANCED>Toggle the Smart Switch


Reset individual app settings Something happened on my HTC Tattoo (V1.6) this week that caused lots of apps to crash on start-up. I think it may have been due to their settings getting corrupted somehow, but I don't know what caused that.

I've been able to get some working again by uninstalling them and then installing them again. Obviously I lost any set-up by doing this.

Is it possible to reset the settings for a given app? I don't even know where they are stored. Is it in an .xxx type file as on Linux? It would be useful to know where they are so I can back them up in future.

Update August 2011: Now it's happening again. Google apps failed first, but then Facebook and last.fm stopped working. Tried clearing data/cache with no improvement. Can't re-install some apps as they are no longer available for 1.6. I do intend to try upgrading when I get time.

As Al says, Settings > Applications > Manage Applications, go to app and press Clear cache seems to do the trick.


Why does my YouTube app have performance problems and outright failures? I have a stock Captivate on AT&T.  I've tried to watch videos at least a dozen times, and maybe twice it's worked as I would like it to.

Problems include:

"This video cannot be played".  I saw the question about "allow mobile playback" flag, but I get it on user-created stuff too (not just commercial stuff).  Is there a way to check if the flag is set, say from the desktop web interface?
20+ second load time before playback starts, even for short videos, if it works at all
Sometimes I wait over a minute and the "spinner" ("Loading video") never goes away
Once it starts playback, if the buffer runs out, I can't get it to start again.  The buffer indicator might start growing again (pale red line appears again and gets bigger) but nothing I do can make it start actually playing.  I hit play/pause, scan forward/backward, tap the time bar, etc; nothing happens.

Some notes:

I have tried HQ and not-HQ; both have issues though HQ is worse (not surprising)
I have tried it on WiFi and 3G; 3G actually seems a little better
I can watch YouTube just fine on my laptop, etc, over the same wifi connection
I have used the wifi analyzer app (forgot the name) to inspect spectrum; there are no conflicting / overlapping networks in my area
I can download podcasts on Listen at ~10+ MB/min (estimated by my watch) so it's not something wonky with my wifi connection
I've rooted the phone but only so I could fix a corrupt wifi settings file  (known issue, but I'm having trouble finding a ref link right now).  I'm pretty sure the issue is not related, and I'm not running any other superuser stuff.

I'm at a loss.  I have no idea how to track this down -- there's no particular error to look up, just general crappiness.  Is it just me?  Does everybody have this terrible of an experience?  Would the "lag fix" do anything for me?  Is there a better 3rd-party player? (someone mentioned sideloading VLC)

I don't view a lot of YouTube videos generally, but when I do get a chance to look at them it'd be nice to be able to do so on my "super" phone...

Maybe it's not the whole answer but two things seem to have made a big difference:

One, my Captivate was recently upgraded to  Froyo officially. The new Youtube app seems to perform remarkably better.

Two, and this is the really interesting bit, I switched from WPA on 802.11g to WPA2 on 802.11n, and my wifi speeds went from ~200-300k to 4-5M. Not sure exactly why but it's definitely something to consider if you see performance problems in an app that relies on the network...


I want to copy a zero width space to the clipboard I want to copy a zero width space to the clipboard and paste it somewhere else, but after selecting all, the selecting handle thing doesn't pop up. I'm trying on chrome on this site.

Edit: no, I wouldn't want to do it with a character map

What do you mean here? Do you mean
- ONLY the zws
- zws WITH text

ONLY the zws? Go to Emojipedia - Zero Width Joiner (or click here).
Then click on copy.

zws with text: NO IDEA


Is there a way to determine what mobile network frequency band is in use? I use a Nexus 5X on T-Mobile's network in the United States. Is there a way to tell what frequency band is in use when using LTE? A Sony Xperia Z3 compact also on T-Mobile is unable to use LTE in many situations where the Nexus 5X can use LTE. I suspect it may be that the Nexus 5X has support for frequencies that are not supported by the Z3 compact, but I would like to see what is in use.

The LTE Discovery app can give you this information.

Incidentally, your specific situation is likely a result of the 5X supporting band 12, and the Z3 lacking it. This tends to be relevant in situations where reception differences are significant (one device with service, one without) because band 12 is T-Mobile's only low-frequency LTE band, meaning that it penetrates buildings better and will cover wider areas more effectively.


does it really work? rekey.app claims to protect agains Master Key vulnerabilities The android app rekey claims that it can protect android device against "Master Key" vulnerabilities

on their website they have a test/proofOfConcept

To verify that your device has been patched, you can
attempt to install a [PoC APK] to test whether it is properly
blocked by ReKey."

I first installed rekey (version 1.0.4 dated July, 21th 2013) and then PoC APK but got no warning that PoC is not ok.

Does that mean does rekey does not work at all?
Or does it not work on my rooted android 2.2 smartfone?
Or is PoC APK not a proove of concept?

What is your experience/option?

Can you confirm that it is working or not working on your device?

I'd be extremely worried there!

The MasterKey vulnerability exploit works in the handling of ZipEntry (see below - Bug 8219321), which is buried deep in the ROM itself, its used in the PackageManager layer as well.

For such an application claiming "to patch" it, is misleading and false, because it is a user application and not at system level.

The real cure to get around the vulnerability is to modify the source code in Android in itself and rebuild the ROM.

The vulnerability exploits ROMs from Donut (1.6) right up to Jellybean (4.2).

In the FAQ of the app's website - this made my hairs stand up:

  Can I trust ReKey with root access on my device?

  Did you see those seals up above? They look pretty darn official and
  trustworthy. They have Latin phrases and everything.

I really do not know whether to laugh or cry!

Dynamically patching the bytecode in the Android's Java DalvikVM (Runtime engine to the uninitiated) is unheard of.

Verdict:

I would take those so-called "claims of a user-level app" patching in Masterkey exploit, with a pinch of salt and not get fooled by it.

Source:

Masterkey Exploit (I) - Bug 8219321
Masterkey Exploit (II) - Bug 9695860

Patches:

Bug: 8219321 - Remove duplicate entries in Zip.
Bug: 9695860 - unsigned Zip Entries.


How to download an app from another region/country? I've found duplicate posts, but they are outdated.  The solutions no longer work as some of the apps have been deprecated, and things have changed since 2013.  My phone is NOT rooted, I have a HTC ONE M8, running Android 6.0.

I'm in the Middle East (but my Google account is based in the USA since I live there), and I'm trying to download an app that is only available here in the Middle East.  However, when I search for the app in my play store, I'm finding only the USA equivalent, which doesn't have the features I need while I'm here.  I'm physically not in the USA though, and my sim card is a local one from the Middle East so when I access the play store its weird how I'm still getting US based apps.

I've tried changing my country in payments.google.com > settings, and erased all data of my play store and play services, went back in and its still showing me results for the USA.  The only thing that makes sense to me is that somewhere in my google account it still has my country/region as USA.  How can I change this?  Would creating another account be a good idea?  I just don't want to have to sign out of my google account, but if its the only way I guess I'll try that.

If the best solution is creating a google account, I've actually gone ahead and done that, but how do I switch accounts?  I don't want to lose any data in the process of switching accounts.

There were two ways I was able to solve this.  I preferred to use the APK method, but the other method was to create a google account in that country and add it.  APK method was cleaner.


What is exact reason for "Unfortunately, app has stopped"? This error seldom occur for system apps but sometimes it occur while open an application that newly installed and that app doesn't start.

Question isn't about specific app or process but exact reason and possibilities of this error occurrence.

From a software standpoint, there are many types of errors.

All errors should have the ability to be handled as to let the application remain running, but sometimes there are errors that are uncaught. The developer is responsible for catching the errors or handling things to not allow errors to occur. However, there are some things that a developer is not able to foresee, so they slip past.

These uncaught errors can crash the application. They can range from any number of things, such as database access, file reading, values not being properly checked, etc. The program ends up trying to do something it is not capable of doing, and simply crashes.


Flashing Cyanogenmod hltevzw to Note 3 I'm a bit confused with Cyanogenmod's announcement stating that they are breaking up the Note 3 builds into their own version. Source

Is the hltevzw a build specifically for the Note 3 or all Verizon phones? I just want to be sure before flashing the wrong rom.

Has anyone else flashed the hltevzw to their Note 3?

Is the hltevzw a build specifically for the Note 3 or all Verizon
  phones? I just want to be sure before flashing the wrong rom.

It's for the Verizon Note 3 only.


How do I know which applications slows down the phone? How do I know which applications slows down the phone, so that I could get rid of them?

Although you can't find out what apps are 'slowing down' your phone, you can find out which apps are using your battery the most. Generally if apps are using a lot of battery power, they're probably slowing down your phone too.

You can find the list of apps vs battery usage in Settings > Battery.


Does CyanogenMod support the Google Play Store and Google Account integration? As it says. I am looking into CyanogenMod as a stopgap measure before I upgrade to an iPhone this year or the next. My current phone no longer gets updated and I cannot justify having year old bugs still active.

However, I have invested quite a bit of time in my current Android ecosystem and I both do not want to ditch that AND I want to be able to easily transfer my apps to the iPhone when I am setting the latter up, through the Apple transfer app. Are both an option when using CyanogenMod in this manner?

On a custom Os like Cyanogenmod you must flash the googleapps.zip from the recovery. The apps and services aren't built in but are very easy to flash.


My tablet won't boot I just got a Arnova 10D G3 and it doesn't boot. All I get is the "Arnova" logo on a black screen. I bought it on a refurbished condition, it was a pretty good deal so I am ready to do any risky procedure to make it work since I don't have much to lose.

I downloaded the latest firmware from the official website but I am unable to use it because I can't access the recovery mode.

How can I make it boot?

UPDATE : I am now able to access the recovery mode (power + vol up) but the tablet keeps rebooting after loading this mode. I don't even have a menu.

I finally found the solution in this tutorial in French : http://forum.frandroid.com/topic/180104-tuto-flash-arnova-10dg3-rom-uberoid-jeally-bean-411-root%C3%A9e/

It seems like the firmware from Arnova is somehow incomplete. I installed a rooted ROM.


Does installing the clockworkmod recovery require rooting galaxy s2? Does installing the clockworkmod recovery require you to root galaxy s2 gt-i9100?

In the link here
it seems the rooting is not required. However I have read that rooting is required for installing the CWM

Can anybody help with this? I am complete noob!!!

I am trying to install Cyanogenmod on my galaxy s2

Model number: GT-I9100

Baseband version: I9100DDLPB

Kernel version: 3.0.15-1056084 dpi@DELL168 #3 SMP PREEMPT Wed Aug 22 22:55:24 KST 2012

Build number: IMM76D.XWLPW

In general, no you should be able to install CWM with needing to root, but most of the tutorials I have seen for the S2 GT-I9100 involve rooting the device.

Here are a couple links that may be of interest to you.  I do not think you will need to root to install CWM.

As always, proceed with caution when flashing.

Galaxy S II GT-i9100 Install CWM & Root

Samsung GT-I9000 Galaxy S CyanogenMod install: Flash ClockworkMod Recovery

INDEX of GUIDES/TUTORIALS: SGS2 GT-I9100


Is there any app for Stack Exchange? Is there any app available in the Android Market for Stack Exchange sites?

The official Stack Exchange app is now available in the Play Store.


Keyboard keeps vibrating, even though "vibrate on tap" is off? I recently factory reset my phone, I have Android 7.1.1. I want to disable the vibrations when typing. I go to Settings, Sound, Other sounds, and all options are OFF there, including "Vibrate on tap".

However, my  default keyboard keeps vibrating :(

How do I completely silence my keyboard?

Device: LG Nexus 5X

It depends on your version of Android.

Samsung Touchwiz-based phones and many others have the ability to control key press vibration intensity. Some more pure ASOP phone do not, such as official Google phones, or LineageOS.

One answer is to change keyboard. Both SwiftKey and GBoard offer the option to override the system sound and vibration settings.


How To Switch To A Higher Storage SDHC Card With Less Hassle And Problems? Possible Duplicate:
  How to upgrade / swap SD card without losing data and installed apps?

I am about to switch to SanDisk 16GB SDHC from 8GB storage flash card of same brand, but currently have following problems:

Sometimes Android OS forcecloses and restart fixes problem for a while:

This happens again and again by touching back button until switched from application or a home button.
Android Market v2.3.4 does not update apps:

Apps that are set to update automatically are stuck at "Downloading" as progress meter does not move and i have to update manually by cancelling download which negates the point in automatic app update. Gets stuck at download progress bar but progress bar is animated. After cancelling automatic download, i can re-download again manually.

Should aforementioned problems be taken care of before switching to a higher storage card or after? Additionally how would you go about rectifying aforementioned problems?

I want to upgrade manually to Police Market from my old 2.3.4 but i cannot see .APK file of old market and cannot backup it. Maybe i should just backup old SDHC card with Android Market 2.3.4 and keep this one just in case but copy this one as well to newer SDHC card, update old Market from there to Police Market and in case something goes bad, i have backup of old SDHC card?

Multiple questions in one, so let's see how to address them:

if those issues you report already happen with the "old" card inserted, they probably won't get worse with the "new" card (if they are card-related at all) -- so I would not connect these two. Though I had that #1 problem with a certain card (but not with another), after a ROM switch (replaced stock by Cyanogen) the problem switched as well (lucky me, now the new and bigger card had no problems anymore) -- so there might be certain compatibility issues, and switching cards could even get you rid of that FC problem. But mostly, such FC problems are rather solved by cleaning the cache of affected apps, or (worst case) doing a factory reset. If your device is rooted, wiping the Dalvik Cache (an option available with enhanced Recovery) would be an alternate approach to the factory reset, in case the Dalvik Cache got messed up.
the market issue should not be related to your SD card either. Here it may help to clear the market cache (via apps->manage apps).
concerning your .apk, the solution could be provided by apps like AppMonster -- which creates a copy of .apk files from installed apps to your SD card (the Pro version even does so automatically on each install/update, so you can easily switch back to any previous version of an app when the latest version shows problems).
keeping the old card for a while (leaving it untouched) never can hurt, as it provides another backup :)


Can not receive WhatsApp messages unless I open the app I have a Huawei P20 Lite with Android 9, EMUI 9.1.0 and WhatsApp 2.19.253, which is the latest version.

As I wrote in the title, I can't receive WhatsApp messages, after many hours of researching I didn't find any solution for my problem. This is the first time I face whit this problem, because I managed and configured variues P20 Lite but none of them gave me that headache.

The things which I did:

Turn on every single option for WhatsApp's notifications;
Uninstall the application and install it again;
Remove the app from the battery optimization process;
Clear the cache;
Enabled automatic start, secondary start and running in background, following this steps Settings -> Battery -> app launch -> 3 vertical dots -> manage manually;
No limit for internet traffic and allow background data, following Settings -> networks and wireless -> data usage -> select WhatsApp -> enabled the varius option.

Any idea or solution for this problem?

EDIT

When I send a message from my phone to this P20 Lite, on the message appears only 1 tick, such as the P20 is disconnected from wifi/mobile data, but the wifi is enabled and connected, the same behaviour with mobile data.

I just had this issue here with P10 - WhatsApp would not receive until opened or at least running in the background. Now it receives even if closed. I solved it by:
Settings > Search for setting > Ignore battery optimisation
If by 'Allowed' apps you don't see Whatsapp, click on the corner triangle for 'All apps', search for Whatsapp and 'Allow'


Google Keep stopped sending push notifications on Android After about 2 or 3 months of using Google Keep I've noticed it does not notify me of due reminders any more (neither in Android nor in Chrome).  The only thing that I may think of that could have caused this -- I've disabled notifications "from this page" in Chrome.  But how could that have affected Android push?...

Does anyone know how to turn it back on?  On Android I mean.

UPD: I don't use any integrations (like Google Now) for these reminders -- plain Google Keep functionality.

UPD2: I double-checked.  Set up a reminder to fire in 5 minutes, than set down and watched what happens.  Turns out, it DOES play notification sound, and does show a reminder, in notifications bar, but only for a second, and then it disappears!

I don't know whether this is a permanent and complete solution, and I don't know which one of the steps below are important or not, but -- I did the following steps, and now notifications seem to be working on my Android:

I went through and deleted all the notes that had reminders on them.
Opened Chrome settings -> advanced settings -> content settings -> notification settings -> manage exceptions.  Deleted exception for keep.google.com:443 from the list.
I had Keep opened as a tab in Chrome permanently, on a permanently running PC (windows).  I closed that tab.  If I need Keep on PC -- I'll need to open the page anew, do the edits, and close it again.  (The idea was that maybe the page being open did something to suppress notification somehow, or mark them "viewed" or something.)
Clear Keep application cache on Android. (Did not reinstall anything, did not delete all data -- just cache.)
Reboot Android.

It seems to be working for a few days now, haven't missed any notifications so far.


Can I delete my original gmail account associated with my android & use my other gmail address I originally set up my android with my original gmail account. I've since added a second gmail account & I'd like to switch my android over to the second account without repercussions. I'd eventually like to delete the initial gmail account, as that address is no longer useful.

First off there is no way to not have repercussions if you do this.

You can delete an account by using your computer but be warned if you have purchased any games, music, movies, etc. these items will no longer be available to you with out dishing out extra funds as those purchases were bought from your original account and you'll need to buy them again. And any apps you have on your phone may not function correctly let alone at all if you do.

If you wish to continue goto

https://myaccount.google.com

Sign in (if needed)

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Delete Google Account and Data" and follow the prompts to compleatly remove the account in question.

And a little FYI be sure to set up 2-Step verification for your accounts as it will help protect your accounts from unwanted entities from looking at, reading and or a complete takeover of yor accounts. You would get a text from them with a 6 digit code to set up a computer as a trusted one. Someone I know almost was one of the unfortunate ones on this matter.


How to change tap sound of an Android device? The tap sound on my new Jelly Bean Android tablet sounds cheap and tinny. Is it possible to change it?

Yes

You cannot change it unless you have root access. But you can disable it if you don't like it. Go to Settings => Sounds => Deselect the Touch Sounds option.

Just in case you have root access, go to /System/media/audio/ui/ and replace the file named touch.ogg or tick.ogg or effec_tick.ogg or the one with a similar name.


Platform-tools not showing in Mac OS-X I've downloaded the Android SDK, and am running the SDK Manager. I've downloaded all of the packages, including Android SDK Platform tools (v 21.1.2). However, I don't have a folder called platform-tools anywhere on my system.

Running OS-X 10.10.2

platform-tools folder is created as soon as you install SDK components using the download manager. It uses to be at the same level of the tools folder (there's no option to change that during the installlation process it should have been there).
The only suggestion I have is to use the manager again, remove it to then download components again. Use to be in the top of the list that shows in the SDK Manager window.
Anyway, I don't suggest you to install the sdk "too deep" into the directory tree. I had issues with that.


Problem installing ubuntu on Galaxy S2 ICS The Error:

when running the ubuntu install script (ubuntu.sh) I get:

ubuntu.sh[11]:cut not found
This script requires root! Type:su

what I have done so far:

Installed a custom kernel that roots the phone:

[KERNEL] SpeedMod SGS2 ICS [K3-16 CIFS ROOT / NO-ROOT CWM5]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1574218

I installed it using Odin using the following instructions:

http://touristinparadise.blogspot.com/2010/11/samsung-galaxy-s-how-to-install.html

that all seemed to go fine.

Installed "Ubuntu Installer Free" from market place.

I then installed busybox:

tried Stephen (Stericson) and JRummy16 apps from market place.

I installed the VNC viewer as recommended by Ubuntu installer app.

I also installed Android Terminal Emulator (Jack Palevich)  as recomended by Ubuntu installer app.

Downloaded and de-compressed the image and script as per links from Ubuntu installer app.

I decompressed them to my external card initially but then moved them to the "internal" sdcard folder.

I also tried to establish that I had loopback device capability.. I found this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1425888

And the folders mentioned are present.

I think that is all i have done so far ;-)..

I had a look at the script and the failing line and it seems to me if the "cut" command was not found then it would report that i didnt have su privelages even if i did.

I have many times ofer forgotten and approved su access for terminal emulator and busybox..

When I type su in the terminal emulator the symbol for text entry changes from $ to# ..

Anyone got any ideas?

Try running su from the terminal first, then run ubuntu.sh again.


Google Translate offline translation I downloaded tons of offline translation packages for Google Translate some time ago. Then at some point I must have done something, maybe an update, or a setting change (perhaps that Primary Language thing that kept popping up every time I opened Translate?), and suddenly my packages have all vanished! Moreover, when I go under the top-left corner dropdown menu and choose "Offline translation", I end up here:

after getting a message Can't get offline packages list (or that pops up after those two blue texts appear, that varies from time to time), and none of those is a link. How do I get my offline translation back?

I just had the same problem. Just delete your app data and download them again.


Camera 'Failed to start" after button pressed on the left side I started the camera on the Galaxy Tab 3 10.1. One of the buttons on the left side was pressed by a customer.

Now whenever I try starting the Camera I get a "Camera Failed to Start" message. How can I fix this?

Go to "Camera" in "All apps" of the settings menu and selecting "Clear Data" should do the trick.


How to change dashboard icons? I want to be able to change the dashbord icons/text on my Android.

I've got HTC sense on the phone, but I'm currently running ADW.Launcher.

I know there's another launcher widget that allows photos as icons, but I'd like something so I can get the sleakness of the iOS icons e.g. http://dribbble.com/shots/57799

Desktop Visualizer

It's the best I could come up with.


System App Permissions I have an application that needs root permissions to run.  No biggie, all of my personal devices are rooted, so I am very comfortable with the process. The problem is that this application is to be used on company owned devices issued to certain employees and I don't want them to be able to uninstall the application nor do I want them having root access to the device.

I was thinking that the following process would accomplish my goals:

Root the device
Install my app as a system app
Launch the application and grant su rights to it
Unroot the device

Since it would be a system app, and the device wouldn't be rooted, users would be prevented from removing the app.  What I am unsure of is whether or not that application would retain its root privileges once the device is unrooted?

Any feedback or insight would be greatly appreciated!

As ProNetGuru already pointed out, Titanium Backup could indeed be used for that:

root
install TiBu
convert app to system app (i.e. it gets installed to /system/apps
uninstall TiBu
unroot.

Done. That app would have access up to "signatureOrSystem" protection levels then (if specified so in its Manifest).

Giving it root access is something different – but probably not even needed here.


Play Store (web) doesn't show my device on my default Google Account So I had three different Google Accounts set up on my Nexus 4:

personal google account - personal device
personal google apps account
company google account - two company devices (both no longer active)

Until 4.3 I had absolutely no problems, with the 4.3 update - some of the apps stopped updating (Error RPC:S-5:AEC-0).

I removed all of my accounts of the device and then re-added only my personal google account.

Now my Nexus 4 won't show up in my personal account's play store on the web but looks to be attached to my company google account, so I can install apps from the play store on the device but not through the web interface, which simply states: "You don't have any devices". Although on my personal google account I can see my wishlist being sync'ed between the two, and apps I install on the device show on the "My apps" screen, I cannot locate my device either through the android device manager.

What could be the cause, and how can it be fixed?

Extra Info

I currently only have my personal google account set up on the
device.
I've tried setting the default account through the Play Store app, but it still doesn't work
Locate my device settings on the device are active, and I'd assume it to work with my personal google account as there aren't any others active.

Error RPC:S-5:AEC-0 is known issue and many are facing the same issue as you. Check: Google Play Error [RPC:S-5:AEC-0]


Get all users by Organization name in People app of HTC One X I have HTC One X and I have stored my contacts in the People app. I have put Organization name  in their details. I want to view all the users belonging to a particular organization. I am unable to find a way to do that.

Is there a way to view all my contacts in People app by Organization name or at least search by it?

You can install Go Contacts EX.

One of its features is Quick find: by any letter, name, company, keyword.


Earphones stuck in call answer mode So I've got this problem with my earphones where they're stuck in call answer mode. They have a button which when pressed should switch the music to the background when in call answer mode and back to normal when pressed again. Well now I have the problem where the only way to have them back to normal mode is to press and hold the button. I have no idea myself how to fix this.

I require small information.

What mobile do you use ?

You're saying your phone is stuck in call answer mode. That means even though you disconnect your earphones from your mobile and you play the songs, the music can't be heard unless you switch it to a speaker. Is that it ?


Root ZTE Blade V6 seems complicated I nearly get nuts because I cannot root my ZTE Blade V6 (europe version).

In the past I have rooted several android devices. Actually it was quite the same procedure everytime:

1. Install platform-tools (adb and fastboot)
2. Make device appear in "adb -devices"
3. Make device appear in "fastboot devices"
4. Flash any recovery via fastboot (I tend to prefer CWM)
5. Copy Custom-ROM (usually a *.zip for the OS and one for gapps) to internal or external space
6. Start phone into recovery and install the zip and afterwards the gapps
7. Done

However this seems to fail on the ZTE Blade V6 this time:

If I go to the stock recovery, it is all in chinese (or some other letters I can not read).
So I flashed a CWM recovery.img to the phone, from https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/twrp-recovery-3-0-2-zte-blade-v6-t3362252. The flashing seems to work (However it says: target didn't report max-download-size) But it does not boot into it. It just does not do anything after flashing the recovery. No Recovery, no fastboot. Only thing that works after that is normal start. Directly sending adb reboot recovery after flashing makes a simple restart of the device into stock ROM.

I tried different recovery images but the output is usually the same.

Somewhere I found a command that does directly boot the image and not only flash it:

fastboot boot recovery.img

All the images I tried report FAILED (remote: bad boot image header) when directly booted this way.

Can someone tell me what's wrong and/or help me flash my droid?

First of all, make sure that you got the proper "recovery.img" for your device. Invalid header is not a good message.

Then,if you are able to communicate with an Android phone via adb, you can boot it into recovery mode by command "adb reboot recovery".

What I suggest for your situation is(I assume you don't need fastboot oem unlock):

Make sure your PC can see your device by the command: "adb
devices".
Boot into fastboot mode by the command: "adb reboot bootloader".
Flash recovery image to recovery partition: "fastboot flash recovery
recovery.img".
Exit fastboot mode: "fastboot reboot". (Some bootloaders may support fastboot boot recovery.img, I am writing for generic.)
After exiting fastboot mode, wait for Android to boot, then check if
your PC communicates with your device: "adb devices".
Reboot into recovery mode: "adb reboot recovery".
Now, the bootloader is expected to load CWM.

In case you need "fastboot oem unlock"(you will see a warning like "partition flashing is not allowed" at 3rd step above, because of verified boot feature.); under Settings->Development Settings, turn on OEM unlock. Then, run below commands:

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem unlock


After Update Andoid 5.0.2 - tablet not syncing I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 (Model SM-T530NU). It was updated to the new Android 5.0.2 and now nothing is syncing. Games, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are not syncing. Does anyone know a solution to this problem?

It maybe possible that auto sync is off.

Follow these steps:

Tap Settings.
Select the Connections tab.
Tap Data usage.
Tap Menu, then select the Auto sync data check box.
Review the pop-up message, then tap OK.


How to run app on one device from another device? Is there a way to run an app (for example Gmail app) on a different device in the same wifi network? Conditions:

Two Android smartphones are in the same with network.
The devices are controlled by the same person.
The user runs the script/app on one device that starts Gmail app on the other device.
There is no Internet connection in the network. Just the connection between the devices via WiFi.
No root access to both devices.

Use remote ADB.

First connect both devices with an OTG cable and a regular cable (or a C to C cable if applicable), and start an ADB shell, then type:

setprop service.adb.tcp.port 555
stop adbd
start adbd

You may want to run ifconfig to get the IP address.

Then you can disconnect the phone from cables and use wireless ADB. On your controller phone, run

adb connect xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5555
(tap [Authenticate] on the first phone)
adb shell monkey -p <package> -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER 1


How Do I Stop Double Email Alerts? On my Android 2.2 phone, I have the Gmail app and the regular Mail icon on the desktop GUI. Unfortunately when I get a message, I get two alerts, usually about 4 to 15 seconds apart from each other. How can I just get one alert that new mail has come in, not two?

I went into the Gmail app and turned off the alerts there under Settings, reached by the Menu key. That way, they both receive the mail, but only one sends the alert. Don't know why I didn't think of this before, thinking it was going to be much harder.


Is there an efficient way to calibrate the battery than using some apps? Is there an efficient way to calibrate the battery of my tablet in order to prove or disprove the very low battery backup than using some Apps.?

The context is that my tablet is giving a very low battery back up and when I contacted customer care, they are asking me to do a battery calibration by using some app. But, by some other posts in this forum and other help, I was able to understand that Battery Calibration apps does not make a much difference in battery backup improvement or to prove that my battery is really problematic. And there rises this question.

Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

The best method is the manual DIY method :D

Step 1: Drain your battery by using it normally until it turns off by itself
Step 2: Power-on your phone, if it wakes up and you see some power left, do step 1
Step 3: If phone is now drained to the point it can't wake up, Charge it to 100%
Step 4: Once fully charged, power-on phone, and charge it again. Leave it until completely charged
Step 5: Unplug, use, and enjoy.

This makes the phone remember the minimum and maximum voltage, discharge rate and other factors that constitute the battery capacity

WARNING: Do not do this frequently! It will put strain on Li-ion batteries that majority of phones use now. Do this if and only if you are noticing shutdowns on yellow battery bar, cannot charge 100%, and erratic battery capacity display. But still I do this once a month to keep my battery calibrated.


Generally speaking why do tablets have lower quality cameras than phones? I've done some comparisons looking at the specs on wikipedia and generally speaking tablets that have come out around the same times phones did, have cameras that are a few megapixels fewer than the ones on phones. Is there a technical reason why it's harder to have a camera in a tablet?

The manufacturer is trying to help you. Walking around taking photos with a tablet makes you look like a twerp, so they try to discourage you by not putting a good quality camera in there.

That might be a slightly silly answer, but it's not entirely untrue. Taking photos with your phone is really popular these days, because you always have your phone with you. The quality of the phone camera is therefore a big selling point, and manufacturers compete on that.

It's much less common to take photos with a tablet: not just because you look like a twit holding it up, but because people don't take a tablet with them on a night out, or a bike ride. Tablets are mainly for using at home on the couch, or in bed, at the office, or on a long train ride. The cameras on tablets are mainly targeted at scanning QR codes, and maybe doing a little video calling over the Internet. For this reason, the camera quality isn't such a selling point, and it makes more sense for manufacturers to spend the budget on other factors that consumers rate, such as the screen, the RAM, and the processing power.


Should I change the battery of my Samsung A7 (2018)? My phone shut off completely a few hours ago. It was at 20% and somehow it jumped to 0% and shut off. I didn't know what happened so I just put it to charge.
I had this phone for 2 years, if not 3. I've been using it everyday, nearly all day. For like 5-6 months I've been using it till it was at 20% percent and charge it till it was 90% ( I never used it till it was 0%). But in the first 2 years I used to let it charge overnight. I stopped doing this since July 2020( I think).
I tried my best to not use too much battery, I closed background apps, limited my brightness and leave it alone when it heated up( it started happening quite often for the last few months, but not that much).
It does charge normally.
I read an article about this kind of thing and what to do, and one of them was to do a factory reset. I don't want to do that.
Should I change the battery? I had this phone for like 3 years, I think I should change the battery.

Try other battery. If phone work properly than you can change battery.
Use code *#*#4636#*#*. go to battery information. If health is not good. Change the battery.


Newly installed apps creates multiple app icons My phone is Panasonic P66 Mega with android lollipop version.
When I install a new app from play store or connect to an app with an email, multiple app icons are being created on the screen, which disappears when the phone is restarted.
Since the phone only consists of a home screen (No app drawer) it's annoying to see many icons.

Please let me know how to get rid of this issue.

Two possible solutions:

1) Try deleting the cache and rebooting. On my phone, you can do it as follows: Settings > Storage > click on "Cached data" and accept.

2) Maybe it's the play store that creates the problem: Go into the settings of the play store and disable "Add icon to Home screen".


Cannot restore an adb backup due to a tarball with a broken header I have two devices that have Android 5.0.2 and 6.0.1 respectively. I would like to migrate some non-cloud apps from the device with the older Android version to the new one using adb. The backing up command is simple:

adb backup -apk -f foo.bar.baz.ab foo.bar.baz

Now, after connecting the device with the newer Android version, the following command is expected to work:

adb restore foo.bar.baz.ab

Unfortunately it isn't. As usual, the restoring process fails silently just reporting that the restoring process is ended. Actually nothing really happens. Here are the logs:

adb logcat -s BackupManagerService

  08-27 01:02:44.100  1300  2300 I BackupManagerService: Beginning full restore...
  08-27 01:02:44.100  1300  2300 D BackupManagerService: Starting restore confirmation UI, token=1956031088
  08-27 01:02:44.120  1300  2300 D BackupManagerService: Waiting for full restore completion...
  08-27 01:02:45.650  1300  2450 D BackupManagerService: acknowledgeFullBackupOrRestore : token=1956031088 allow=true
  08-27 01:02:45.660  1300 18181 I BackupManagerService: --- Performing full-dataset restore ---
  08-27 01:02:45.680  1300 18181 I BackupManagerService: Package foo.bar.baz not installed; requiring apk in dataset
  08-27 01:02:45.680  1300 18181 D BackupManagerService: APK file; installing
  08-27 01:02:45.680  1300 18181 D BackupManagerService: Installing from backup: foo.bar.baz
  08-27 01:02:45.690  1300 18181 E BackupManagerService: Unable to transcribe restored apk for install
  08-27 01:02:45.690  1300 18181 E BackupManagerService: Parse error in header: Invalid number in header: 'я╛В' for radix 8
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService: io exception on restore socket read
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService: java.io.IOException: Invalid number in header: 'я╛В' for radix 8
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService:  at com.android.server.backup.BackupManagerService$PerformAdbRestoreTask.extractRadix(BackupManagerService.java:7380)
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService:  at com.android.server.backup.BackupManagerService$PerformAdbRestoreTask.readTarHeaders(BackupManagerService.java:7179)
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService:  at com.android.server.backup.BackupManagerService$PerformAdbRestoreTask.restoreOneFile(BackupManagerService.java:6396)
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService:  at com.android.server.backup.BackupManagerService$PerformAdbRestoreTask.run(BackupManagerService.java:6254)
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300 18181 W BackupManagerService:  at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:818)
  08-27 01:02:45.710  1300  2300 I BackupManagerService: Full restore processing complete.
  08-27 01:02:45.720  1300 18181 D BackupManagerService: Full restore pass complete.

It looks somewhat strange that the same backup format cannot be restored on a newer device. I've also tried to repack the underlying tarball using nelenkov/android-backup-extractor preserving the same file order (tar cvf ... -T files.lst) hoping that the broken header gets repaired. No luck.

What does cause such a backup/restore behavior and how do I resolve the issue to migrate the application from the older device to the newer one? Any help is highly appreciated and thanks in advance.

Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.31
LG Optimus E975, Android 5.0.2, CyanogenMod 12-2015...
Samsung Galaxy S5, Android 6.0.2, flashed to a newer Sprint stock firmware (initially Android 5.0.x earlier)

After a whole day of various experiments with another tools like TitaniumBackup (neither worked nice, TB was only able to restore APKs, not data) I've figured out that specifying the -apk key was the problem. Simply omitting the flag during a backup operation makes it fully restorable.

So my new backup/restore plan became as follows:

device 1: backup data only
device 2: backup APK+data retaining the APK only later (requires nelenkov/android-backup-exractor by Nikolay Elenkov; can be easily built using JDK 1.8.x and Gradle 2.7 (couldn't build it using Gradle 2.7+ and Gradle 3.0+) with simple gradle command)
device 2: restore the APK using adb install
device 2: restore the data using adb restore

Here are the scripts:

backup.sh

#!/bin/bash

set -e

PACKAGE=$1

if [ -z "$PACKAGE" ]; then
    echo no package specified
    exit
fi

echo ">>> Backing up $PACKAGE data..."
adb backup -f "$PACKAGE".DATA.ab $PACKAGE

echo ">>> Backing up $PACKAGE APK..."
adb backup -apk -f "$PACKAGE".APK.ab $PACKAGE

echo ">>> Extracting APK..."
java -jar abe-all.jar unpack "$PACKAGE".APK.ab "$PACKAGE".APK.ab.tar
rm "$PACKAGE".APK.ab
APK_FILENAME=$(basename $(tar tf "$PACKAGE".APK.ab.tar | grep '^apps/'"$PACKAGE"'/a/'))
tar xvf "$PACKAGE".APK.ab.tar -C ./ "apps/$PACKAGE/a/$APK_FILENAME" --strip-components=3
mv "$APK_FILENAME" "$PACKAGE".apk
rm "$PACKAGE".APK.ab.tar

echo
echo "*************"
echo "*** Done ***"
echo "*************"

This script requires a package name as the input parameter and stores an APK and its data as foo.bar.apk and foo.bar.DATA.ab respectively. I also implemented it as a twice-backup script (a device asks for making a backup two times) because I didn't want to re-pack underlying tarballs preserving the original file order just making sure that the DATA.ab file is in its original state.

restore.sh

#!/bin/bash

set -e

PACKAGE=$1

if [ -z "$PACKAGE" ]; then
    echo no package specified
    exit
fi

echo ">>> Installing $PACKAGE APK..."
adb install -r $PACKAGE.apk

echo ">>> Restoring $PACKAGE data..."
adb restore $PACKAGE.DATA.ab

echo
echo "*************"
echo "*** Done ***"
echo "*************"

This script simply installs an APK on a target device and restores its data. The only input parameter is the application package name.

So the overall backup/restore process is:

Connect device #1
Execute backup.sh passing an application package name
Click "Backup..." on the device #1 (one will be asked two times for the data and APK+data backups respectively)
Repeat the previous two steps for other packages if necessary
Disconnect the device #1 and connect the  device #2
Execute restore.sh passing an application package name
Click "Restore..." on the device #2 once asked
Repeat the previous two steps for other packages if necessary


Android 2.2: Avoid disappearing of home shortcuts to apps into SD card. Restore app list items I'm using a Samsung Galaxy i5510. The space in internal memory was just about to finish so I decided to move some apps to the SD card. After I did it a lot of the apps moved (not all of them) disappeared from the application list. Also did the shortcuts from my desktops.

I don't think this is a problem with the SD card because the applications are still installed (I can see them in apps management).

Thanks for your help!

Update

Tanks to @GAThrawn's answer now I know that it is expected to disappear the home (desktops) shortcuts when the SD card is unmounted. But it is not expected that they disappear from the application list. So the questions:

Is there anyway to recover the icons in application list other than reinstalling all apps?
Assuming that this wont happen any more and will only disappear from the home / desktop. Is there anyway to avoid that? I would like to have my apps in my SD card but with shortcuts.

The apps will disappear from your Home screen if your SD card is unmounted from the phone for any reason, they won't automatically come back on their own.

The most likely reason is that the SD card can't be mounted to both your phone and your PC at the same time, so if you plug your phone into a PC, and your SD card is mounted as a drive so you can copy files to and fro, etc then that dismounts the card from your phone temporarily and you'll lose the home screen icons.

The apps should still be in your Applications list and you should be able to add them back onto the Home screen the same way that you did it when you installed them.

This is a combined limitation of the way that the Android OS handles SD cards, and the way that most home screen launchers (like Samsung's TouchWiz that you're using) cope with apps moved to SD.


How do I make Android continue playing the ringtone music instead of restarting it as peer calls again? Device receives a call, but there is no reply. In 3 minutes, there is another ring from the same peer.

How do I make long ringtone music continue from some point instead of starting from scratch when the phone is ringing soon enough?

I haven't tried doing this yet; but I believe you might be able to do it with this app called Automated Device, you can setup some rules to change the ringtone, and by cutting your song into chunks, and then using the flag functionality to define which rule is active at each moment, you could setup a rotation of ringtones that together play the full song.

Something like (pseudocode):

If phone is ringing, and the flag "ringtone step" is zero;
then change ringtone to cut 2 but only after 29 seconds,
and set the flag "ringtone step" to 1.

If phone is ringing, and the flag "ringtone step" is 1;
then change ringtone to cut 3 but only after 29 seconds,
and set the flag "ringtone step" to 2.

If phone is ringing, and the flag "ringtone step" is 2;
then change ringtone to cut 1 but only after 29 seconds,
and set the flag "ringtone step" to 0.

The 29 seconds thing is so it won't skip to the next chunk without completing the current one (if an action is delayed and the conditions stop being true, it won't execute). I'm not sure what happens if you try to change the ringtone while the phone is ringing though.

.

For doing anything complex with it, it is a bit like programming, but a lot more awkward. But simpler stuff is quite easy.

Perhaps there might be other apps; I haven't looked for an alternative in quite a while; this one is what I'm familiar with.


TWRP recovery installed but not opening I have Vivo y15s , I rooted my phone with fastboot (oem unlock)
I installed TWRP recovery.img using fastboot
But
My phone is not starting and TWRP recovery mode is not opening.
Only Fast Boot mode is working..

My suspicion is that you might have flashed the wrong TWRP image. TWRP images are specific per device. Look for your device here:
https://twrp.me/Devices/

If you find the correct one, then reflash stock OS, then oem unlock, then flash new recovery.


2.3.55: How can I edit Bookmarks between my Android phone and Desktop easily under Google account and Chrome? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I get my Chrome-synced bookmarks in an Android device?

I use Android -phone with my Google account. My laptop is configured for the same account. I would like to be able easily configure bookmarks: edit them, remove them, organize them, etc -- how can I do it over my phone and destop? Actually I have also iPad with Google Chrome so how can I edit them easily in one place? I can easily edit bookmarks with Bookmarks -manager SHIFT+CTRL+O in desktop but how easily in Android?

I use Android 2.3.5, not 4.x that has this feature as default.

There is no special method to do so, simply connect all your chrome browser across all you devises with same google account, and make change in any of the device and it should reflects and sync all other devises  and your google account's dashboard->chrome data also.


What does downloads mean in Google Play store app page? When we open the app page on Google Play Store, it says 1k+ downloads. What does this mean? Does this mean current total installs or total installs in life of the app?

It's the total over the life time of an app.
In 2017, Google Play Services was the first app to reach 5 billion downloads.
The important point from the article is:

  If you're not familiar with how the Play Store works, it's important to note that Play Services hasn't actually been manually downloaded that many times. When someone logs into an Android device with their Google account, Google Play marks the pre-installed apps as downloads. So in reality, this means over five billion devices with Play Services installed were used at some point.

Whether an app was downloaded directly via Google Play or whether it was installed by a manufacturer, Google Play Store counts both occasions as downloads and adds them to the total.

With Google's announcement that there are 2.5 billions (excluding China and Amazon's FireOS) active devices running Android, the number of downloads shown on the app's Google Play page can be skewed if it comes already installed on the devices.


/data partition corrupted? I have a Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 running CM 10.1 which was installed about a month back. Yesterday my phone suddenly crashed and after rebooting it got stuck in a boot loop. I tried wiping the cache and data but when the CM recovery starts formatting /data partition it gets stuck. I also did a clean install of GingerBread stock ROM but the problem still persists. Formatting /data partition cannot be done after installing stock ROM also. Did I brick my phone? Can someone give me links where I can download new kernels and fix the problem?

its a kernel corruption. Just install a new kernel.


How can I get Google Play on my Kindle Fire 5th gen? How can I install google play on my Kindle Fire 5th generation?

This would be the part where a lot of stuff would need to be done. However, there is a tool, SuperTool. You will need Fire OS 5.1.2 (BE AWARE! it may not tell you the full version in system>about device.)

To be brief, Supertool allows users to install ADB, (Android Debug Bridge) Root their devices, block OTA updates (which kills off root access, among other things) and, it lets you install Google Play.

Let us know how it goes! And I will say it again: you must be on Fire OS 5.1.2. Downgrading results in a hard-brick, and all other versions have a secured bootloader. Its like homebrew, but the war between the big companies and the modders almost never moves.


WIFI Receive Data in Sleep Mode? How can wifi receive data when it is in sleep mode? Will it wake up regularly, or do something else?
I tried to make a ping test to a full power management (sleep just after transmission) phone, and it wouldn't miss any packets. So I'm curious about the receipt progress.

It does not turn off by default, but you can change that option in Settings>WiFi>Advanced


Get the full Play Store on Tecno M7 How do I get play store on my Tecno m7 phone? It didn't come preinstalled.

To get the Play Store on a device that doesn't ship with it, just download the APK for it.

This should work on any Android phone, though you may need to get an earlier version if you're software version is too old for the current version of the Play Store.


Will deleted apps be restored when I reset factory data? I need to reset my phone to get it back to what it was like when I first bought it. If I reset it to factory settings, will the apps I've deleted be restored as well?
If not how do I find and restore those apps?

Inbuilt apps that you deleted/disabled will be restored. Any apps that you installed from Google Play and weren't pre-installed on your phone wont't be restored.

You will have to redownload those apps again which you want to use again. Also give this a read and the linked question inside.


Losing network operator on Samsung Galaxy SIII mini For some time now (I think it's from the latest Android update) I have this problem,
that time to time (on daily basis) people can not reach me, like I would lose connection to the Network.

I get an SMS after some time about all the calls I did miss. Sometimes I have a hard time to call as well.

I did call my operator, and they didn't had any report like this so far, and I did call Samsung service, and they didn't know about this issue, so I guess is on my side.

If you have any idea what would the problem be let me know.

I experienced a similar problem, and it was caused by physical activity making the SIM card coming slightly loose, just enough so that the phone couldn't read it reliably. Try turning the phone off completely, removing the SIM card, reinserting the SIM card, and then restarting the phone.

If that makes the problem go away (at least for a few days), then it probably is the SIM card coming loose: maybe that specific phone is on the largest extreme of manufacturing tolerance, and the SIM card is at the smallest extreme. In this case, a little paper inserted alongside the SIM card, on the side without the contacts, could provide a more lasting fix.


How to sync only Facebook contacts that already exists in phone for Android 2.2 Device: Samsung Galaxy Fit
Android: 2.2 Froyo

How can I sync only the Facebook contacts which already exists in my phone memory? I don't want to sync the contacts that are not on my phone memory.

You could choose to only show contacts that have phone numbers. If I remember correctly, this is in Contacts -> Menu -> Display options -> Only contacts with phones.

Another possible solution is to go to Settings -> Accounts & sync and remove the Facebook sync, Add account -> Facebook and in this process select Sync existing contacts only.

I'm not 100% sure about the menu item names, but they should be somewhat similar. It's been a while since I've used Froyo.


Install CA without having to activate screen lock I have a Nexus 7 (Android 4.1.1) and I want to add a CA (Certificate Authority) to my device to use it for the ssl-connection to my mail server. The CA is self-signed. The Certificate does only contain the public key of the CA (of course!).

I also want to keep my screenlock disabled because on a tablet not leaving my house it does not make sense to have a screen lock.

Now the problem arises: Whenever I want to import the CA, Android wants me to change my screenlock to digits/password which I want to avoid.

Can this behaviour somehow be prevented? There is nothing security critical at a public key of a CA.

I know that when the phone is rooted one can add a CA, but I want to avoid rooting my phone.

I've written an article on creating & installing CAcert certificates as Android System Certificates (Android >=4.2), thus allowing you to use your device without lockscreen:

http://wiki.pcprobleemloos.nl/android/cacert

Main part of my article:

cat root.crt > 5ed36f99.0
openssl x509 -inform PEM -text -in root.crt -out /dev/null >> 5ed36f99.0
cat class3.crt > e5662767.0
openssl x509 -inform PEM -text -in class3.crt -out /dev/null >> e5662767.0

Copy the files 5ed36f99.0 and e5662767.0 to /system/etc/security/cacerts/ (and chmod 644 them), reboot and it should work. Check Settings -> Security -> Certificates, it should list both "CAcert Inc." and "Root CA". Note that some browsers might use their own certificate store instead of the Android one.

The Android security model explicitly forces you to have a lockscreen whenever a non-system (user) certificate is installed. There is no configuration option around this.

You can either replace your stock Android version with one which has removed this requirement (I do not think that any exist, but you could theoretically create your own).

The other option is using (temporary) root access for installing this certificate, and then 'unrooting' it, although that sounds a bit silly.


Why Have Some of My Widgets Disappeared After Switching Launchers? I recently changed my launcher from the default TouchWiz (I have an AT&T SGS3, with the official 4.1.1 installed) to Nova Launcher. I enjoy Nova, but I've noticed something strange: the Calendar and Weather widgets that were available under TouchWiz aren't there anymore. They're still there in TouchWiz (Home Switcher makes it easy to switch back and forth). What's going on?

The widgets referred to in the question are TouchWiz-specific widgets. They will only show up in TouchWiz because they don't use the standard Android widget interface. I've found some references to Samsung releasing a TouchWiz SDK to develop such widgets, but those articles are from 2009 and the links they contain now lead to Samsung's developer home page, rather than to a specific page. I've also seen references to some of the widgets being ported to work on any Android phone, but I can't confirm as XDA seems to be down at the moment.


Tangerine app security warning? I recently got the Essential phone and I started downloading all my apps back. I downloaded the Tangerine banking app, and I got this security warning as soon as I opened the app.

"It seems your device has had unauthorized modifications to its operating system. Using this device for your banking could compromise the security of your personal information"

Has anyone else got this with the app or is this a problem? I bought the phone brand new straight from the Telus store. I haven't done any modding or anything to it so not sure why the app is giving me this warning.

Where did you downloaded the app from?.
Is there any pending os update?.
can you retry using USB debugging mode enabled?. Just revert after that.
is your phone rooted or is having su binary on it?.
did you bought it new officially from their website?.
is your phones status official (bootloader, recovery, etc)?.


App that optimizes images to set as lockscreen? How can I resize any image I have to 720 x 1280 resolution to set it as a lockscreen for my Xperia T? I tried Wallpaper Wizardrii but for some reason I cannot get the app to enlarge small pictures to entirely fit the screen.

I had an Apple phone they there was an app called "lockscreen" that automatically stretched/resized any image to match the screen resolution without any empty vertical or horizontal bars.

Are there any equivalent solutions for Android?


Wileyfox Swift Mobile data not working after update to Nougat 7.1.1 I recently applied the Android Nougat 7.1.1 update to my partner's Wileyfox Swift.  This update replaced Cyanogen with a more stock install.  Since the update, mobile data no longer works.  Symptoms:

In the status menu, it says "Emergency Calls Only", but the phone can in fact make calls and send texts as normal.
In Systems > SIM cards, it shows the SIM card for Three UK ('3') installed in slot 1.

Under "Preferred SIM for", it says "Mobile data: Selection required", but this item is greyed out so no selection can be made.  (For Calls and SMS messages, it correctly shows that the '3' SIM is selected.

In Settings > Data usage, under '3' it shows that mobile data is enabled.
In Settings > Mobile network settings > APNs, it shows the '3 UK' APN selected.  APN details are as specified on the three.co.uk website.
In Settings > About phone > Status > SIM Status, it shows the network (3), Signal strength (-73 dBm 20 asu), Mobile network type (HSPA), Service status (In service), Mobile network status (disconnected) and My phone number (Unknown).

I have tried rebooting, as well as booting without sim then rebooting with.

What could be preventing mobile data from working after an update to 7.1.1?

Overall it looks like a issue related to the kernel. I would say it would be possible to fix this just by installing another version and/or install a custom kernel which very likely fix this issue if it is related to the kernel. While you are trying this I would also recommend contacting the developer and reporting this issue. Also try another Simcard slot if you can. I had a similar issue sometimes with my phone too but a reboot fixed the issue usually.


Home button takes me to the Default Android Home on HTC Desire X The home button on my HTC Desire X used to take me to the HTC sense home. But once I stopped HTC sense from settings-apps & from then on, it takes me to the default android Home (the one with the snow capped mountain etc). Even after I restarted HTC Sense, Re-started the phone & even Factory reset the phone, this behaviour still persists. How do I get back my original home button functionality.

Try installing a new launcher app (it really doesn't matter if you want it or not, you'll only need it for a few seconds) from the Play Store. Once it's installed, press the home button and Android should prompt you to choose a home app. Choose the one you want, select "Always", and then you can uninstall the launcher app you just installed.


Where is the permissions tab in Google play? About 1 month ago Google change the layout on the Play store, at least on the web part. My question is simple. Is there any way to see what permissions an application have from a computer? You can see the permissions right before you install the app in the phone, but that isn't that effective.

Thanks in advance!

When you click Install to install the application (on the web or on the phone), you will notice a pop-up that says what permissions the app has and if you want to continue or not.

If the app is already installed, click on the Installed button and the permissions will appear.


How can I set notifications for gmail on the new version of the gmail app (2.3.5.2) I recently installed CM7.1 (stable version for SGS).  This has a new version of the gmail app (2.3.5.2).  Unlike previous versions, this has no control for notifications.  I like my mail to arrive silently, with nothing more than an icon in the notification bar.  Now, however, I have no visible option to turn off the notification for gmail.

Is there any way to disable notifications for the gmail app?

Actually, with 2.3.5.x version of Gmail app, Google added more notification options, although well hidden within the settings.  In the main screen of the Gmail app:

Press the Menu key, go to More -> Settings.
Tap on your Google account, scroll down to the Notification settings section and ensure the Email notifications option is enabled.
On the same screen, tap on the Labels to notify option.  Here "Inbox" and "Priority Inbox" are always listed, as well as any labels you've created on the Gmail's web interface.
For each label that you want to specify or change notification options, tap on the label, and in the pop-up window you will be able to select the following options:

Email notifications: whether or not to display the icon in the notification area when new e-mail comes in.
Ringtone: allows you to specify a custom ringtone, or set to "Silent" for none.
Vibrate: specifies options for when/if to also vibrate on new mail.
Notify once: when checked, will only display notifications (and sound/vibrate) once for new mail until you dismiss it, otherwise will notify for each new e-mail.

Tap OK button, exit out of the settings, and you should be all set.


Remove notifications "Activate Anti-malware service" and "Battery fully charged" on rooted Samsung S10 On my Samsung S10e device I often get these notifications:

  Device care - Activate Anti-malware service

and

  Battery fully charged

When I try to turn one of them off, I am told:

  These notifications can't be turned off

Which raises the question: On my rooted device, how can I turn them off?

Solutions that only work for one of these notifications are OK.

If you want to "flex your root muscle" so to speak, there are options using Xposed modules, but these options do not require it.

Battery full notifications are a bit of a workaround:

Open Settings and select the Notifications option
Click See All under the Recently Sent list
Select All from the dropdown in the top left
Click the 3 dots in the top right and click Show system apps
Select System UI
Click the Battery full item
Edit the options as desired

As for Device care, that is a little less of a workaround:

Open Settings and select the Device care option
Click the 3 dots in the upper right of this screen
Select Advanced
Slide the Notifications switch to off

This option may have been part of the Android 10 update. If you do not have this option:

Open Settings and select the Notifications option
Click See All under the Recently Sent list
Select All from the dropdown in the top left
Click the 3 dots in the top right and click Show system apps
Select Settings
Click the Device care (Important) item
Edit the options as desired
Return to the previous list
Click the Device care item
Edit the options as desired

Keep in mind that this will disable all Device care notifications. If you went with the second method, you may want to try disabling one at a time to remove the notification you want without necessarily removing all of them.


Gmail displaying "me" instead of actual sender's name When viewing my inbox, I would like to display the sender's name according to the email's header.  Meaning, if I send an email to myself from my gmail address, but give the from name as Freddie Flintoff, I want Freddie Flintoff to appear instead of "me".

There is special handling for "me" and you cannot override this.

Edit: This is handled by MessageHeaderView.getRecipientSummaryText(…) where myName is "me" (in English).


Android customization Galaxy Note Recently, Android ICS has been released in my country (Hungary) also for the Samsung Galaxy Note. That's cool, the phone updated itself to Android 4.0.3 and at first sight it was really cool and fast. But...
To be honest, the Wi-Fi disconnects and the battery gets empty in half of a day... These 2 make me really angry and I was thinking about rooting, which I have successfully done today, but it still didn't help at all on my problems. Okay, the UI might be a little faster...

So. I thought I might have to change the ROM to a custom one.

Now I have more questions about this:

I wish to modify my phone on a way I can easily turn it back to the factory state (no wonder, warranty). How to do this/is it possible?
Is it possible to "put up" more ROMs and when I'm turning on the phone just select the one I want to use (just like you'd install more OSs on a desktop computer)?
I would also want to know what are my options for a custom ROM for a Galaxy Note WITHOUT losing my S-Pen functionality, so which ROMs should I count in?
How to freakin' achieve these above questions if everything is ok? =D

Thanks in advance! =)

(Links and experiences are welcome also...)

Only devices with NVIDIA Tegra chips in them can be completely restored to factory conditions.

When you root your phone, the warranty is void, and there is no sending it back.

You can Back-Up a ROM and before booting, wipe the phone's ROM and restore one of the backed up ROMs.
Backing up and restoring is very time consuming, though.
You would only want to do that so you could perhaps have an AOSP ROM, a TouchWhiz ROM, and perhaps a CM9 or AOKP ROM as well--
Trust me, you'll be too busy flashing new updates to worry about switching between backups.

Head over to http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1346 for the low down on the rest. You can never read enough, really--

The different ROMs will be under the Development section.