How do I add other apps to Samsung's multi-window/sliding app in Android 4.1.2? I just got the Android 4.1.2 update.

I know how to disable the multi-window/sliding app section. I know how to add and remove the preassigned apps there, but how can I add other apps (e.g. camera, calculator, standard music player and other apps I have downloaded and installed)?

You can't add just any app to the multi-window list (the one you get by clicking Edit). That list only contains apps that have been written using Samsung's vendor-specific library to support the multi-window feature. (I suspect that the feature also has special-case code to enable the Google apps in the list such as Hangouts, but that's just speculation on my part.)

You can only make an app appear in that list by contacting the developer of the app and asking them to support it. It may be an up-hill struggle to convince them to invest time and make their app larger to support a feature used by a minority of users on one manufacturer's devices.


Trouble installing stock ROM due to multiple '0' folders !HELP! I am having a lot of trouble restoring my GSM Galaxy Nexus to it's former glory. I installed CM12 and CWM recovery earlier but CM12 suddenly stopped working. My phone started rebooting over and over so I decided it was to time to flash the stock ROM.

I flashed the stock ROM with WugFresh's root toolkit. And it worked fine besides the fact that writing the system.img took 30 mins, which is very unusual. I rebooted my device and CM12 showed up again... ?!. I tried flashing it by hand with ADB but no luck either. CM12 was still there.

I've been busy 3 days now and suddenly realized that CM12 created new root folders after a factory reset which I did multiple times. So for example, my sdcard contains one root with a folder, named 0, that contains the files on my phone before the factory reset. The problem is that this folders contains the system and CM12 ROM too. So I have like four 0 folders, and the 'deepest' one contains the system and ROM.

Assuming that if you flash a stock ROM, it will install in the root of my SD-card, but doesn't boot because it didn't overwrite the CM12 ROM in the deepest '0' directory [IMG]. If only CM12 was working, I could manualy delete all the unnecessary 0 folders... I really have no idea how to continue from now on and I really need your help [IMG]

Edit: I tried: adb shell rm -r /sdcard/0 and it is gone but if I reboot Recovery and look into my folders everything is there again...

epilogue:

Maybe the fact that system.img took 30 minutes to write has something to do with all those 0 folders [IMG]
I tried flashing multiple recovery's to my device but they only show up if I open them via ADB. Otherwise CWMR shows up again because that one is actually installed in the 'correct' (read:incorrect) folder.
With Skipsoft roolkit I actually received an error while writing userdata.img. It said: remote: write fail. I thought this was due the multiple installation folders and the toolkit not knowing where to place/flash the ROM.

So I need to remove all the 0 folders and place the OS back in the sdcard's root, or I have to somehow tell android to place the stock ROM in the same directory as CM12, or I need to somehow wipe the complete sdcard so I can install a new recovery and flash the stock ROM... I have no idea how however.

Thanks in advance!

From what you describe, the most likely cause is that your flash storage no longer applies any writes – be it additions or deletions. For understanding, a simply description of what happens:

You send a file to the storage (copy/flash).
to be most responsive, the OS uses "buffers" in RAM to cache your storage, so that's where the file goes first.
You check if the file arrived, and the OS says it did (but in fact, it just saw it in the "buffer pending to be written")
Now the OS tries to "flush" the buffers (write them to "disk"), but fails
As long as the buffer "lives", you won't notice. But as soon as you write more than the buffer can hold, the oldest entries disappear. On boot, the entire buffer disappears.

So in the end, that was the reason why CM "suddenly stopped working": the storage got unusable. And this is also the reason why your device booted up into CM after you thought you've flashed another ROM: the flash was never performed.

I had this twice with SD cards, a replacement was in order then. Unfortunately, internal storage is soldered in into your device, so you cannot simply replace it: you'd have to send-in the device to have its board replaced. Unless the device is still in warranty (which I very much doubt if we speak about the 2011 "Galaxy Nexus", code-named "Maguro" here), it's probably not worth the postage costs, but you'll rather have to get yourself a replacement device – which might even be cheaper than the repair.


Huawei Ascend P7 locks out after months of usage I have been using my Huawei Ascend P7 for months. It was acquired unlocked, I've been using the same SIM card from a prepaid carrier since the very beginning.

Today, without any action taken on my side, no application installed, OS not upgraded recently, the phone locked.

The device prompts me to enter a code, with the following message:

  Please unlock your phone first

I've been looking it up online and stumbled upon some websites that offer release codes for money (or other dubious favors), but it just doesn't make any sense:

The device was never rooted
I haven't upgraded my OS lately
It's not about a SIM card lock
I talked to my carrier, they haven't been able to help
The phone worked for months, unlocked, exactly the way it was purchased from an authorized Huawei seller in Germany

Does anybody have any idea what could cause this? What could possibly lock an originally unlocked device without any action by the user?

I should note that I don't wish to root my P7.

Turns out it wasn't a hard-lock on the device, it was just a code that apparently I set when I started the phone for the very first time. Sorry for alarming whoever spent time pondering with me about this issue!


Is this behavior normal for lock screen and Phone app for android 4.1.2? Is this the normal behavior for the LOCK SCREEN?

Scenario

When on Phone app, after disconnecting the call.

Tap on Call button again
Mean while Screen times out, and device shows lock screen (for fraction of seconds)
But, skips the lock screen and shows the phone app again.

Basically it is like skipping the lock screen without passcode.

Device: Samsung Galaxy Note2, 4.1.2 Jellybean, with the latest update of 'XXDMC3'.
Observed this scenario before and after this particular update is installed.

Edit:

My intention here is to know why some times the default 'Phone' app bypasses the LOCK SCreen.  In the scenario I mentioned, when I again tap on the call button, The screen timeout should be calculated from that instance of time. But that doesn't happen.

Depending on your ROM, there might be two settings for screen lock:

user turns of screen explicitly (default: lock immediately)
screen turns off by timeout (default: lock after 5 seconds if not switched on again by user before that)

You might wish to check with your device. It's usually found in Settings→Display. Not that this is not separately configurable on all devices.


What are possible consequences of not installing updates I've a many-years-old android phone on which I've never updated the OS, never logged in to Google Play.  I haven't had any google accounts for years.

I deleted nearly all apps that came preinstalled on the phone, and have never installed any apps (other than firefox directly from mozilla, with some privacy plugins/addons).  Further I've never logged into any website (i.e. no email, no banking, no purchasing, etc).  Further, my address phone book doesn't contain any sensiteve contacts, such as my financial institutions.

I never connect to wifi other than my home.  My online phone activity is limited to checking the weather forecast and reading mainstream newspapers (and that is only at home. I don't have any data on my phone subscription plan).

What harm am I open to?

Even if you don't use the phone for many things you may still get a victim of an attack.

The first security problem are apps that are no longer updated because your Android version is too old and is no longer supported. App updates some times not only add new features but also fix vulnerabilities. Not getting the update can make your device even more vulnerable to attacks.

Especially an up-to-date web browser app and WebView component is crucial, because malware was even found on large well known web sites - or to be precise it was found in advertisements shown on these pages. Nowadays ads are are sold via real-time auctions, therefore the owner of the web page has only limited influence on what ads are being displayed. The ad companies try to prevent such "malvertising" (malware advertising) campaigns but in such a dynamic market you can't filter out 100% and one banner with malware may be enough.

A second problem may be the Android Media Service which automatically processes every file you download. In history this service has shown dozens of vulnerabilities that enable root access. Now again Google has managed to put some more vulnerabilities in this service. Therefore from my point of view this service is one of the major risks on your device - but you cant disable or remove it and even if you could so apps would stop working like the USB PC connection or the photo album app.

Once an attacker has managed to take over your Android device the attacker can scan your home network for other vulnerable devices such as Smart TVs (often contain microphones), webcams, and so on. Depending what you have installed the effects of an attack can have an significant impact on your life.


Can Google device manager turn location on automatically? For battery saving purpose is there any way to google device manager turn location on when we need it (Like when I search "Find my phone")???

No, this is not possible at the moment, may be you could add this to feature request in the Google Product forums.


Error 927 while updating YouTube I am suddenly getting Error 927 while updating the YouTube App from Official Google Play Store on my Android device.

Android version: 4.2 and Device name: Micromax Canvas 4

I am using 2G Internet connection and  the network coverage is sub-optimal. I am using the same device since last 2 years and never saw this issue in past. Also, this issue I am seeing coming only for Updating YouTube App.

For other App's update, there is no problem.

EDIT: When I tried updating YouTube App using Wi-Fi it worked!! So it seems like Network issue

Method 1 :

Go to Settings -> Applications and find Google Play. Then > Clear Cache.

or

Method 2 :

Go to Settings > Accounts > Google and remove your google account. Then add it back to the device and try redownload or reupdate the App. If it doesn't work and the error is still there give it some time. It'll likely clear itself out and you'll be able to download the App later.

Sources and other Links :

Error 927 Google Play (Xda forum)

Error 927 Google playstore (androidcentral)

Android Fix: Error 927 while downloading or updating apps in Google Play Store

Different Ways To Get Rid Of Error 927 In Android


Download from internet to phone hard drive. Droid x rooted My droid x recently got damaged and the sd reader no longer works, is there some way to download from the internet to the phone's hard drive rather than the sd card?

This is going to be application dependent.  For example, Dolphin Browser HD has an option in the Settings menu to specify what directory you download files to, and you can change that to the internal memory instead of the microSD card.  I don't believe you can change this option in the stock Android browser.


I have reset my phone samsung galaxy fit through factory data reset... Now my contacts are deleted How can I recover my contacts? (They were stored on phone memory.) I have also saved all my sd card data.

If you haven't synced them with your Google Account, nor you stored them in your sim card, then your contacts are lost since a factory reset means a wipe of the phone memory.


Is it possible that I unrooted my device after changing the build.prop? I had rooted my device, I have Titanium Backup, Superuser, and ES File Explorer.
I changed the android version, phone model and sdk version in the build.prop file. Now I can't open any app other than Titanium Backup, which tells me it wasn't granted superuser permissions, and that I should check if my ROM is rooted.
When I access the files through my computer with Android Studio, I can see the root files.
Is my phone not rooted anymore or is Superuser just not working properly due to the build.prop change?

So yeah, it turns out my device was always rooted. As Robert said, I probably broke something that SuperSU used.
If anyone finds this helpful, I got it back to normal through recovery, like Izzy said.
I had previously backed up the build.prop file to my SDcard, so I created a zip file with build.prop and a meta-inf folder that I found in a custom ROM (I actually found it in this question from the XDA forum https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/copy-build-prop-with-flashable-zip.2986827/
However, this https://www.reddit.com/r/FirmwareDevelopment/comments/1iut7m/howto_understanding_the_metainf_folder_for/ says you can get it from any custom ROM). Flashed the zip file through CWM recovery and after rebooting, my phone was acting like nothing ever happened c:
*If you didn't backup build.prop, I'm sure there's ways to retrieve it through ADB, pretty sure you can copy it and paste it somewhere. Either way, you can still see the content of the file in Android Studio, and I'm guessing Eclipse and other programs I don't know of; and I'm a n00b, but I'm pretty sure you can make a brand new build.prop by copying the contents of the existing one on a text editor, of course changing what you had previously modified, hence leaving it the way it was before you messed it up.


How to know my base station? I am an android user and I would like to know what are the available base stations and what is the base station that I'm getting signals from. How can I know that? Is there a way?
Thanks in advance..!

It's possible to get the cell tower id and location using the PhoneStateListener of the Android API.

Here are some apps that seems to use this feature to show some information about the nearest cell towers :

OpenSignal - 3G/4G/WiFi maps
Signal Finder
Antennas


How can I save notes taken in the Galaxy Ace's Notes 2.0 application to restore after a system reset? I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 running 2.3.3 and I took a lot of notes in the default Notes 2.0 application. I want to reset the system and I need to back them up somehow before I perform the reset.

Install Titanium backup - (this requires root access) from Play store and you can backup thinks like sms/call logs/apps and app data. In your case, you might want to backup the app and the app data for that particular app, save your backups. Once you restore the phone, you can use Titanium to restore that app and data.


Why am I Unable to login to playstore app after password reset when I can login with the same password in the desktop version It's almost an hour and half I had reset my password on gmail and selected log me out of all devices. So for which I need to re login to play store in order to view my apps. But the problem is that the play store is not accepting the new password.

I can login to gmail as well as the desktop version of the play store, the problem is only with the app version(When I enter the same password for the Desktop version of play store it even sends the pin which is required for 2 step verification).

In the app version it says the Email or password you enter is incorrect.

At first I verified that I was entering the exact password by doing a copy paste.Once done I later head to Google Help and after reading their FAq's I choosed Contact us and within few seconds there was a Google Technical help wherein for him also it was a strange situation and later with some Research with the Problem he asked me to do is Factory Reset+Account Recovery.

After doing the above my problem got solved and I was back into the Gmail with both the mail Id's online


What apps in base Android can be replaced? I've seen that you can replace the default launcher app with something like LauncherPro, the onscreen keyboard with Swype or ShapeWriter, and I've heard of others. Does anyone have a list of all default apps in the base Android OS (version 2.2 preferred) that can be replaced?

Keyboard can be replaced
Browser can be replaced (Opera, xScope (i like), Dolphin HD, etc.)
Launcher can be replaced
Gallery can be replaced (3d gallery is my favorite)
Camera can be replaced (Camera 360 (drains battery like crazy), Retro Camera, etc.)
Hell you can even replace the kernel if you root.
Not an app, but you can add search providers like getting the DuckDuckGo app which allows you to search using all search tools, but ddg vs google.


Stop MS Office ads on Samsung S5 (Neo) Today, my Samsung S5 suggested that I might want to try MS Excel:

A few days ago, it did the same with MS Word. Back then, I just dismissed the message and thought that I'd be done with it, but now this is getting annoying.

How do I turn off these ads? Where is the "Yes, I know that MS Office is pre-installed and I'm quite happy about it and I'll surely use it when I need it, so stop bugging me" button?

Settings->Apps->All and uncheck the Show Notifications


Is there a native way to find all the installed apps that have access to a phone feature? Is there a native way to filter installed apps by permission (features they have access to)? For example, filter all the apps that have access to the camera.

Looking to delete all the apps that have access to the camera without manually going through each installed app and checking its permissions...

Android version: KitKat and newer

In case, you ever decide to go with a command-line way, you can try my approach.

Dependencies

Requires adb to be setup in PC.
Requires busybox binary. If the device is rooted, install Busybox app. Else, download busybox binary from official source, rename the binary to busybox, set Linux compatible executable permission on that binary for everyone and move it into device using

adb push LOCAL_FILE /data/local/tmp/   # LOCAL_FILE is the file path where busybox binary is located in PC

Requires aapt binary. If you're running a CM or its derivative ROM then ignore this requirement. Otherwise, for Android 4.x, you can consider downloading the binary from here, rename the binary to aapt, set Linux compatible executable permission on that binary for everyone and move it into device using

adb push LOCAL_FILE /data/local/tmp/   # LOCAL_FILE is the file path where busybox binary is located in PC .

Android 5.x users: ask Google for assistance.

This is my little script:

#!/system/bin/sh
# Check if the busybox binary exists under /data/local/tmp/ or /system/xbin. Set the detected binary's path into the variable busybox or exit if file doesn't exist or executable permission is not set
[[ -x /data/local/tmp/busybox ]] && busybox=/data/local/tmp/busybox || { [[ -x /system/xbin/busybox ]] && busybox=/system/xbin/busybox || { date +'busybox binary not found or executable permission is not set. Exiting' && exit; }; }

# Check if the aapt binary exists under /data/local/tmp or /system/bin or /system/xbin. Set the detected binary's path into the variable aapt or exit if file doesn't exist or executable permission is not set
[[ -x /data/local/tmp/aapt ]] && aapt=/data/local/tmp/aapt || { [[ -x /system/bin/aapt ]] && aapt=/system/bin/aapt || { [[ -x /system/xbin/aapt ]] && aapt=/system/xbin/aapt || { date +'aapt binary not found or executable permission is not set. Exiting' && exit; }; }; }

! [[ "$1" == +([0-9a-zA-Z._]) ]] && { $busybox printf 'Permission field should not be empty or contain anything beyond these characters: a-zA-Z0-9._' && exit; } || perm=$1;

# List package name of all the installed apps and save them in the file packages.txt under /sdcard
pm list packages | $busybox sed 's/^package://g' | $busybox sort -o /sdcard/packages.txt
$busybox printf "\nList of apps with permission $perm:\n\n";

# From the output we just saved, take each line (package name) and see whether the package has the said permission. Print the app's label and package name when positive. Before printing everything we're also sorting the lines in A-Za-z order. Sorting is not mandatory.
while read line; do
    [[ `dumpsys package $line | grep "$perm"` ]] && perm=1 || perm=0;
    if [[ $perm == 1 ]]; then
        path=$(pm path $line | $busybox sed 's/^package://g');
        label=$($aapt d badging $path 2>&1 | $busybox sed -ne '/application: label=/p' | $busybox cut -d "'" -f2);
        $busybox printf "$label ($line)\n";
    fi
done < /sdcard/packages.txt | sort

Save the script in PC into a file named perm_script.sh and move it into /sdcard using

adb push LOCAL_FILE /sdcard/   # LOCAL_FILE is the  path where you saved that file into PC

Run that file

adb shell sh /sdcard/perm_script.sh PERMISSION   # replace PERMISSION with the android permission for which apps are to be shown

The greater the apps installed in the system, the greater the time will be for the command to complete execution. In my device, it took around 40 seconds.

Demo output:

List of apps with permission android.permission.CAMERA:

AirDroid (com.sand.airdroid)
Android Live Wallpapers (com.android.wallpaper)
Barcode Scanner (com.google.zxing.client.android)
Camera (com.android.camera2)
CellConnectionService (com.mediatek.CellConnService)
Chrome (com.android.chrome)
...
Webkey (com.webkey)
YGPS (com.mediatek.ygps)
YouTube (com.google.android.youtube)

One-liner

You can reduce the script to one line:

adb shell pm list packages | tr -d '\r'| sed 's/package://g' | while read line; do [[ `adb shell dumpsys package $line | grep 'android.permission.CAMERA'` ]] && echo "$line"; done

Drawbacks:

Nothing much, except that you need a *nix OS. Cygwin may work for MS-Windows.
You won't be seeing labels but only the package names.

(To get app's label using its package name, use GAThrawn's answer - works if only the app is available in Play Store; use Izzy's answer - works for any installed app.)

Profit: execution time reduced to ~50%

Bulk removal

Use this command to remove those apps in bulk

adb shell pm list packages | tr -d '\r'| sed 's/package://g' | while read line; do [[ `adb shell dumpsys package $line | grep 'android.permission.CAMERA'` ]] && echo "Removing $line" && adb uninstall $line; done

Expect it to report failure for system apps.

Show App info for all

The following command would display the App info page of the apps having the permission android.permission.CAMERA

adb shell pm list packages | tr -d '\r'| sed 's/package://g' | while read line; do [[ `adb shell dumpsys package $line | grep 'android.permission.CAMERA'` ]] && printf "Launching App info page of $line\n" &&  adb shell am start -d "package:$line" -n com.android.settings/.applications.InstalledAppDetails --activity-multiple-task && sleep 1.5; done

The flag --activity-multiple-task is important to note. It is because of that every App info page for an app would be shown as a new task for the same activity. In essence,  App Info page for every app having the fed Android permission can be accessed under the Recent activities and once you close the App Info page of an app using the Back button, the App Info page for an other app would show up because they were consecutively opened.

In this way, you can review the app having the Camera permission and take the actions on it, be it Uninstall or Disable.


How to restore expired WhatsApp chat history? My phone's internal memory is full so I'm planning to reset my entire phone in order to update my whatsapp, however I want to keep my old conversations.

How do I retrieve my WhatsApp conversations after it has expired?

You can use Helium backup to backup all your chats, groups, etc. Moreover, this app can be used to backup all the applications on your phone.

You can store this backup on your PC, and when you reset your phone, you can upload the whole backup folder on your SD card and initiate a restore from Helium app.

If you are not rooted, you will need its desktop application to backup your phone. It's pretty simple and reliable. You can refer to Helium Wiki in case you get stuck.


Where is the apk file stored in android phones? Where is the apk file stored when it is downloaded from 9apps? I can't find it.

If you downloaded the apk from the internet like it sounds it would most likely be stored in your download folder.


USB port not functionning anymore on Samsung Galaxy Tab S3i After installing software for an endoscope USB device, my USB port stopped functionning (no more tethering, no battery charging from adapter, tablet icon doesn't appear in Windows explorer). The software worked fine with device connected. Uninstalled it, but still can't use the port. Is there a way to reinitialise the port? When the tablet is off and I plug it into the charger, I can see te circled animation for the battery, but no percentage is displayed.

If you have installed the app you have also tested the USB microscope, right? If yes most likely this broke your USB port physically. Also that the device does not charge correctly when powered off is a strong indicator that you are facing a hardware and not a software problem.

When the USB port does not work correctly this usually means that the soldering points are broken so that electrical power sometimes can pass the USB port, however it is way too less to charge the device (loose connection).

To fix this the device most be opened and the USB port have to be re-soldered, sometimes also the USB port have to be replaced.


How to play one-channel audio in both headphones? I would like to have exactly the opposite of this question, or this.
Some audio documentaries on youtube that I want to listen to with an old-style (wired, non-bluetooth) headset have only one channel audio. That is, I hear audio in just one ear.
Is there a way to hear the sound in both headphones while playing that? (That would improve the experience, the voices are not always clear, etc.) — I mean, maybe there is an app that has a setting for that.
NOTA BENE:
I am referring to wire headphones here, not bluetooth. The device is Xiaomi A2 phone running Android 10.

EDIT after comments:
Opening the audio file in Audacity, I see this:

Although Mediainfo says 2 channels:

Two of the comments made by @AndrewT have suggested to me the good solution:

true mono audio shouldn't be a problem when played on stereo speaker
(it will play the same waveform on both left & right channel)

and

the audio source is actually stereo, but the audio is only recorded on
1 channel

As the youtube audio in question is not a mono but a stereo with just one channel (Audacity was right, Mediainfo was wrong), a solution is exactly the one that initially seemed to me the opposite of what I wanted: rendering the file as mono — and thus, playing it through both headphones.
This solution works on Android 10, the setting is under Accessibility, Audio& on-screen text.


Where do you disable Google Timeline on the Android phone? On OnePlus phone to my surprise, all my location was automatically sent to Google Timeline which I don't remember I actually agreed on such thing.

At what point it was enabled and how do I disable such option completely on the phone?

I'm aware that I can Pause Location History online at Google Timeline, but I'm looking for option on the phone, not to pause online, but to disable it completely for privacy reasons.

Go to Settings, then Location.
Find Google Location Settings and individually switch off both Location Reporting and Location History.
Underneath Location History, select “Delete Location History” to wipe clean the cache of locations.
Repeat the steps for every Google account you have registered.

Note that disabling all location-finding features will throw a monkey wrench into the functioning of some  apps, so it’s wise to carefully consider which you want to strip of location services


How do I automatically add all existing apps to my home screen? When I got my first smart phone years ago, there was no app drawer. Every app I had was represented as one button in one app menu, so I didn't have to look in two places if I couldn't find an app. To me this was ideal, but now that I use Android phones I have to deal with both the app drawer and the home screen.

I just got a new Moto g7 Power (Android 9 "Pie") and backed it up from my old Android phone, so there are over a hundred apps on it. I want all of my apps to show up on the home screen so that there aren't apps lurking in the app drawer that I can just forget about, and so that the apps I want to use are easier to access. Is there any way I can automatically add all of my apps from the app drawer onto the home screen so that I don't have to manually hold and drag over a hundred apps one after another? It's fine if they don't automatically get sorted into folders etc. because I'm happy to do that myself.

When I looked up my question in the Play Store, I found an app called Smart Drawer but it's not even smart enough to know what a game is. Are there any other apps I should try?

It's maddening that it's so hard to find information about this. I would have expected this to be an extremely common thing for Android users to want to do.

Android launcher(s) is a dedicated app that serves as an UI to the underlying OS. There are tons of launchers available with features catering to the tastes of needs of users. If one needs features to be added to the existing (OEM or third party), they cannot be provided by yet another app because the launcher is so closely tied with the Android OS. Either the developer of the launcher, provides the requested feature or one uses a different launcher with that feature.

Case in point is the requirement of OP to add all installed apps with the OEM Moto launcher (instead of having
 installed apps in the app drawer). OP is looking for the functionality of ABC launcher to be added to Moto launcher. This isn't possible for reasons explained.

Android users, usually, let pre and subsequently installed apps be in the app drawer and choose the apps, they access more frequently on home screen, organized in the manner of their choice. Launchers let you search for  apps, even when they are not on home screen. In the app drawer, they may be sorted alphabetically, or organized by functions (e.g.games) or user created panes (e.g. shopping /banking apps) etc. The possibilities are endless and there are launchers available for different needs. Nova launcher is famous for exactly this - letting the user customize practically each element of the launcher interface (the reason I use it)

tl:dr; You choose the launcher that works best for you


Nexus S won't turn on HELP! i got issues with my Samsung Galaxy Nexus S i9023. It's new mobile. After 2 months i was msg's with my friends,then my phone just restart and its was fine for 1 min. then it turn off. And when i try to turn it on it's showing NEXUS Logo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWA6WFi3-RM) like in this video. And its can take hours but its will never turn on. I tried to use bootsettings (http://nexusshacks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/nexus-s-root-6.jpg) recovery. But it wont help at all same way.
Thanks and answer soon.

You need the binary image of recovery and ROM
Now start in fastboot mode
Flash the recovery
Then flash the ROM

The recovery and ROM can found on manufacturer's website. However, it is a good idea to try to claim the warranty as it's still 2 months, though I think they will not fix it as you have rooted your device.

Issue the following commands on the terminal:

fastboot devices
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash system rom.img
fastboot flash reboot


Downloading using youtube-dl and QPython on Android I used this tutorial to install youtube-dl and QPython on Android

But when I run the command youtube-dl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5nxkynkSDI It throws the following error:

[youtube] D5nxkynkSDI: Downloading webpage
[youtube] D5nxkynkSDI: Downloading video info webpage
[youtube] D5nxkynkSDI: Extracting video information
[youtube] D5nxkynkSDI: Downloading MPD manifest
ERROR: unable to open for writing: [Errno 30] Read-only file system: 'Ezekiel Elliot Touchdown Run Dallas Cowboys Win Against Pittsburg Steelers Fan Reaction Upset-D5nxkynkSDI.webm.part'

As per the answer given here:  I tried creating /etc/youtube-dl.conf using ESFileExplorer but failed to do so. The device isn't rooted.

So here are my questions:

How do I enable writing permissions? or Specify path to a directory on external SD card as output directory?
I actually wanted to batch download few links using youtube-dl -a 'batchlinks.txt but I don't understand the current working directory. So I don't know where to put my 'batchlinks.txt'
Do I need to go to "QPython Dashboard > Libraries > PIP Console" to run youtube-dl? Why can't I run youtube-dl from "QPython Dashboard > Console"?

Note: The 'batchlinks.txt' doesn't contain YouTube links.

I solved this by using a Python script inside which I used youtube-dl not from the command line but with the YoutubeDL API (their documentation is good). Then, add this code Python script in which you are using the YoutubeDL API.

import os
os.chdir(r'/path/for/download')


How can I show two alphabets in my contact list? I have a Galaxy S with an interface in Hebrew. Some of my contacts are in English and some are in Hebrew. However, I only have the option to scroll through the letters in Hebrew. The English alphabet is simply not there.

Is there any way to show the English alphabet as well so that I can scroll through the English letters too?

I don't believe this is possible with the default Contacts app (and I don't know of any third-party ones).  Android's language/locale support is very basic -- for example, your date format cannot be changed independently unlike, say, Windows -- so I recommend filing a bug with Google, hopefully it will be fixed in the future.


How to convert/encrypt WhatsApp .sqlite to .db.crypt8? I have aa WhatsApp ChatStorage.sqlite file which was taken from an iPhone backup, and I don't exactly understand the structure of the data inside the database, but it's clearly not encrypted.
I want to use this file to "restore" the messages it contains into a newer Android phone. From what I know the current format WhatsApp uses to store message databases is .db.crypt8 which I assume is the same SQLite DB, only encrypted (but I may be wrong).
WhatsApp (2.12.317) on Android (5.0) doesn't seem to "recognize" the plain .sqlite file as a backed up DB on first setup. Is there a way to make it accept the file as a message backup? Can I somehow encrypt the DB file in the format it is expecting to receive?

Ok... at home now.

Don't know if you run unix variant or something else... That doesn't really but all these scripts have been run under Linux.

create iphone backup (http://libimobiledevice.org)

idevicebackup2 backup

Reading the backup

git clone https://github.com/PicciMario/iPhone-Backup-Analyzer-2
make build

then modify main.py on line 1449

-database = sqlite3.connect(':memory:') # Create a database file in memory
+database = sqlite3.connect('/tmp/md.db') # Create a database file in memory

then just start program and let it parse Manifest.mbdb of the iphone backup

python2.7 main.py

parse /tmp/md.db and extract names of whatsapp files and media

sqlite3 /tmp/md.db
SQLite version 3.8.10.2 2015-05-20 18:17:19
Enter ".help" for usage hints.
sqlite> .mode csv
sqlite> .separator | \n
sqlite> .output files2.csv
sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> select fileid,domain_type,domain,file_path,file_name from indice   where domain = "net.whatsapp.WhatsApp" AND domain_type = "AppDomain";
sqlite> .out stdout
sqlite> .quit

copy files and correct their names (just replace with your UUID):

foreach i (cat files2.csv | grep Library/Media/ | grep '""' | sed "s/|\"\".\+$//g" | cut -d "|" -f 2- | sed "s/|/\//g");do;mkdir -p /tmp/extracted/$i;done

foreach i (cat files2.csv | grep Library/Media/ | grep -v '""'  | sed "s/|/\//g" | sed "s/\/AppDomain/|AppDomain/");do;src=echo $i | cut -d "|" -f 1;dst=echo $i | cut -d "|" -f 2 | sed "s/.$//g" ; cp -v /Path/to/iphone/backup/UUID/0ef862e6faede9b72c75b948f8b5c9663921e796/$src /tmp/extracted/$dst;done

cp 0ef862e6faede9b72c75b948f8b5c9663921e796/ec50dd986a0f35953e40f6ca9602ad78173e254f /tmp/extracted/Contacts.sqlite

cp 0ef862e6faede9b72c75b948f8b5c9663921e796/7c7fba66680ef796b916b067077cc246adacf01d /tmp/extracted/ChatStorage.sqlite

Now you have your whatsapp media and ChatStorage.sqlite

install adb (from Android-sdk-update-manager) http://developer.android.com/sdk/

On android install WhatsApp, become debugger and enable usb debugging. Setup WhatsApp and send at least one message and click backup in whatsapp. Download Legacy whatsapp and possibly also current one:

links https://github.com/AbinashBishoyi/WhatsApp-Key-DB-Extractor-UnOfficial/
wget 'http://www.whatsapp.com/android/current/WhatsApp.apk'

adb install -r -d LegacyWhatsApp.apk

backup whatsapp (http://www.digitalinternals.com/security/).

This is the only phase the legacy version needs to be installed:

adb backup -f whatsapp.ab -noapk com.whatsapp

Extract key (http://www.digitalinternals.com/security/decrypt-whatsapp-crypt8-database-messages/419/):

dd if=whatsapp.ab bs=4096 skip=24 iflag=skip_bytes | openssl zlib -d > whatsapp.tar
tar xvf whatsapp.tar apps/com.whatsapp/db/msgstore.db apps/com.whatsapp/f/key
k=$(hexdump -ve '2/1 "%02x"' apps/com.whatsapp/f/key | cut -b 253-316)

Pull whatsapp message backup

adb pull /sdcard/WhatsApp/Database/msgstore.db.crypt8 msgstore.db.crypt8

decrypt:

iv=$(hexdump -n 67 -ve '2/1 "%02x"' msgstore.db.crypt8 | cut -b 103-134);dd if=msgstore.db.crypt8 bs=4096 skip=67 iflag=skip_bytes | openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -d -nosalt -bufsize 16384 -K $k -iv $iv | gunzip > msgstore.db

merge databases (https://gist.github.com/paracycle/6107205). The script provided here is not complete and trou reading multiple forensicsites I now know how to modify, to get your media also... but that is work in progress

Anyways:

sqlite3 -init ../convert.sql ../merged.db

encrypt:

dd if=msgstore.db.crypt8 iflag=count_bytes count=67 of=msgstore.db.crypt8; cat merged.db | gzip -5 |openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -e -nosalt -bufsize 16384 -K $k -iv $iv | dd of=msgstore.db.crypt8 bs=4096 seek=67 oflag=seek_bytes conv=notrunc

Push new backup:

adb push msgstore.db.crypt8 /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/

Push current version back to android and start whatsapp to read the backup:

adb install -r -d WhatsApp.apk


Android-x86 in Vmware workstation fails to start I need to emulate an Android 4.2 device in Vmware Workstation 7.1.

I downloaded the image android-x86-4.2-20130228.iso from http://www.android-x86.org/download. I tried to run it as a live-cd and also installed it on the VM harddisk (much like described at http://www.walterdevos.be/installing-android-x86-4-0-in-vmware-player). In either case I got the following console screen:

taken from this topic in the google groups. So, you may see the problem occurs not only in my environment. I tried recommended setting from the topic (... nomodeset vga=(any unreal mode such  as 987877 or 5785 etc)) as a possible workaround. Nothing helps.

The question: how to fix the problem and run android-x86 in Vmware Workstation?

Over time new versions of Android-x86 appear, and the problem is solved now by the next available release - build 20130725 with Android 4.3.


Two 4G sim enabled simultaneously (Jio & Airtel) - Samsung Galaxy On Max I have Samsung Galaxy On Max and inserted two different carrier SIM cards that are Jio4g and Airtel. It has been written that this device is dual sim 4g. It was working fine till I was using Jio4g as my LTE network and for mobile data as well but when i recharged my Airtel sim card and switched it to 4g my Jio sim disabled(Jio doesn't have 3g/2g connectivity). So it means i can use only one sim as 4g enabled.

On the basis of device model, it support 4g SIM on both slots but not at same time. It means it does have SoC that can handle LTE networks on both SIMs so,

My concern is,  Can Samsung provide some update so that users can use both SIM as 4g(LTE) simultaneously?

What you are looking for is something like DSDV i.e. Dual SIM Dual VoLTE. Unfortunately, your smartphone does not support it and it will not be possible for Samsung to push an OTA update to enable it.
The chipset itself is not capable of connecting both SIM cards to 4G networks at the same time. One has to fall-back to 3G/2G.


Why are bootloaders in rewritable storage? I successfully flashed my device a few times, but I am still paranoid about hard bricks. I am sure I can use my Arduino to fix them, but this made me wonder why bootloaders are stored in rewritable storage. I am aware that there is a PBL and an SBL and all that, and the PBL is in ROM. In this context, "rewritable storage" means a storage medium that can be electronically rewritten (EEPROM, Flash, RAM, etc) and "ROM" means read only storage, not aftermarket Android distributions such as Lineage OS.

Summary:
Why would code that is required to even turn the phone on, not to mention booting Android, be stored in a location that can be rewritten.

Bootloaders, like other partitions, might be updated officially for various reasons:

Switching to a new partition layout (e.g. a bunch of older devices with life spanning across Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich, the latter requiring considerably more space)
Implementing new security mechanisms (e.g. earlier Xiaomi devices, old bootloader readily unlockable, new bootloader requires logging in and verifying before unlocking)
Ensuring you're on a version the manufacturer wants you to be, i.e. preventing downgrades (e.g. Samsung, doing so will halt halfway).


Lost All Contact On My Nexus 4 Device I decided to make a new gmail and replace it with my old gmail on my phone so i removed account and then what i put my new gmail id all my contacts are lost and in my call log i only see numbers no names. Can anyone please suggest how i can reverse this?

Your contacts might have been synced with the old Google account. You can try doing this:

Login on your computer with the old Gmail. Go to "Contacts" and see if you have all your contacts visible over there. ("Contacts" option will be available on top left, where there is a caption of "Gmail" along with an arrow).
If you find your old contacts in the above step, login to your phone with old Gmail Id. You will probably see all your contacts again.
Export all the contacts to your phone memory.
Login with new Gmail Id.


How to copy games data Can I copy the data of a game and transfer from my old tablet to my new tablet and if so, how do I do that? Both tablets are samsung tab4 10.1
( my old one doesn't have an sdcard )

Depending on the game, the save data might be saved inside the /data/ partition. If you want to copy files from that partition you need root access.
Some games offer a function to save the game data to some online account (Facebook, Google Play etc).
I suggest you first check for an online method and then think about rooting both devices to copy the files.


Google Voice in Android to make cheap international calls like on Desktop through Google Wallet? I need to make international landline/mobile calls. My laptop with Debian is failing me here and iPad failing here. I want to use Google Voice because it is far cheaper than my local carriers.

I tried to use their marketed Google Voice -mobile but for some reason it seems to turn into my carrier -version of "phone" or actually I am not sure whether it is the right version. I am looking for the same Google Voice as in Desktop: you open up Gmail and then there type the number to make cheap calls to which you pay through your Google Wallet.

So how can I call, using Google Voice and Google Wallet, in my Android -phone?

Yes you can! Check up this answer about Talkatone here, it is based on Google Voice. The sound -quality is not the best but I like the idea that I actually need just a WIFI to make cheap international calls.

I have actually replaced my landline/mobile/local -phones vith Google-Voice because it is much more convenient to pay to it through credit card and much more convient than carrying a massive amount of PrePaid/Post-paid -cards when travelling-or-just-living-well-and-free-etc, highly recommended tool indeed! Talkatone in iPad is a killer, a bit like FaceTime but integrated to Facebook and probaly to other services in the future. Talkatone in Android is similar, good integration so saving time in toning all contacts from Google Contacts, FB Contacts, etc. If you are a buz, you can imagine how much time this will save -- you need less to worry about crazy international -phone charges and you can actually drop out mobile-phone -contracts altogether, just charge employers with Google Wallet/Voice!

Talkatone has poor sound -quality because it wants to sell its Premium service but if ads and a bit poorer sound quality do not matter, it has worked for me, nicely (haven't tried the Premium -service). A good/bad side is that your number is some oddity but extremely good side is that you do not need to know the prefix with internatinal calls in using Google Voice, super convenient!

  -Sim-card?

-Yes you don't need a SIM -card to make international calls, just WIFI. Phone does not require SIM -card, dot. Victory :)


is it possible to have the gps location while offline with the nexus 7? This is a mystery to me, I know that WiFi and GPS use different chips to work, but it seems I can't use the GPS location when there's no Internet access.

I already tried to clear the cache, disable/enable it, reinstall it.

I just want to use my nexus 7 as a GPS while I'm out, thought that I already downloaded Google maps offline data.

Is it supposed to work while offline or not? Is it a real GPS?

I had this issue - it isn't that a fix doesn't come, it is just that it is taking a very long time to get a fix.

This is due to the lack of the downloaded aGPS data - it can't download the data, and so has to rely on solely GPS satellited, which takes ages.

If you have been disconnected from the internet for a while, then you will suffer from these effects. aGPS data is cached for a few days, or when you change location, so if you just disconnected, GPS should work for a while afterwards.

(You should also check to make sure that the Google System is enabled for location use)


Removing or blocking default Android apps I have developed a software for a company, not for a personal use, and I need to block some app access on Android.

I need to block the user from making calls, sending sms, using the Android Market, using Gmail and several other apps.

As I see it there are two options:

1 - Uninstalling default apps with "Titanium Backup" and If need to use this device to do calls again I will reinstall the original ROM or restore a Titanium Backup.

2 - Use a software with a ignore list and this software will kill all the ignored process(Backgronud, Foreground), and this software needs to use a adminitrator password for configuration.

So does this software exists? Uninstalling is a good option? Are there other options?

Uninstalling via Titanium will work for removing Gmail, Market and Messaging, but be very careful removing Phone.apk, as it's tightly integrated into core services.  You might start seeing Force Closes and other instability from the handset.


Complete list of hardware keyboard shortcuts for Desire Z? I like to use the hardware keyboard of the Desire Z including shortcuts, however I haven't found a complete list. For example, the HTC help pages don't mention Function + Backspace = Deletion of text left to the cursor.

Can anyone provide a complete list or further "secret" shortcuts? This might also involve the usage of the optical "trackball", e.g. selecting text by using it while pressing Shift.

As the links in the comments are partly broken, I try to sum some things up here -- before the remaining links go to Nirvana as well.

Global Shortcuts

Access number pad – Tap the 12# button on the keyboard
Turn on CAPS – Tap and hold the up arrow/Shift key until it has an underline.
Access keyboard settings – Tap the Gear icon on the keyboard

Browser Shortcuts

Homepage – Menu + Spacebar
Find – Menu + F
Select text – Menu + E
Page Info – Menu + G
Share Page – Menu + S
Downloads – Menu + D
History – Menu + H
Settings – Menu + P

Messaging Shortcuts

Press C to compose new message
Press R to reply
Press A to reply all
Press F to forward

(Source: HTC.COM)

Assigning your own Shortcuts

While on the Home screen, you can quickly open an app or an item by pressing a keyboard shortcut.

While on the Home screen, open the slideout keyboard.
Press and hold any of the keyboard keys (A ~ Z).
Tap OK.
Tap Apps or Shortcuts, and then tap the app or shortcut that you want to assign to the selected key. If you are assigning a shortcut to an item on your phone, follow the screen instructions to proceed.
While on the Home screen, press and hold the key you’ve assigned a keyboard shortcut to. The app or item opens.

(Source: HTC.COM)


How can I add multipath TCP ability to my nexus 5? I want to be able to connect to my wifi and mobile data plan simultaneously, I've heard that this is possible through MutlipathTCP , and that the support of this protocol has been built in android OS. How can I add it to my Nexus 5 ?

First you will need a multipath TCP enabled Nexus 5, which means:

rooted
with Android 4.4
with the kernel developed to enable MPTCP (available here)

Then you will need to subscribe as an alpha tester for an app that lets you use WiFi and cellular network at the same time. Note, though, that it is deprecated. You can find all the useful links at the end of the page I linked.


Wipe before upgrading from stock nexus to CM? Since CM is based on stock Android (AOSP), and the Nexus 7 is a stock device, can I just flash the CM zip without first doing a wipe/factory reset?

I just wonder if it's possible to avoid the hassle of backing up and restoring all my apps and settings, widgets, email settings, etc...

What you are describing is what's known as a "dirty flash" which is a no-no! Especially from AOSP to CM and vice-versa, could lead all sorts of force closes etc. Likewise, [a particular custom ROM (insert of your choice)] to another but different [custom ROM (insert of your choice)] and vice-versa.

The only time a dirty flash can be performed if going from CM nightly to the latest nightly, or [custom ROM] to a more recent version of same [custom ROM], theoretically, although no guarantees that everything will work "proper". Occasionally force-closes will be exhibited or some "weirdness" will manifest, hence no guarantees.

Really, if going from one ROM to another - best to wipe cache/data completely provided a backup has been done in the first place :)

Why not use a backup tool such as Titanium Backup or the basic backup tools found on the Play store in the event you are not rooted? :)


Android ADB drivers installation error I am trying to install the usb adb drivers. I turned the debugging mode on in the settings of my phone, connected to the PC. I click update drivers and manually selected the folder where the drivers are placed. For some reason the drivers installation fails and Windows gives the following error. Kindly guide me what is going on and how can I solve this issue? I am on windows 7

Drivers Installation error

(click image to enlarge)

It sounds like your drivers are fine
Are you trying to use ADB with the Android SDK or are you using it for running commands etc...

If you are using ADB to run commands and ADB isn't installed as a recognized command ( universal installation )

then you'll need to run adb in it's directory.

Unzipping Easy ADB V1.zip will give you a few versions.

Auto Authentication ADB - Used for automatically asking for
authentication.
Normal ADB - Old device's  ... new device's will say Offline without
the authentication.
Fastboot
OPEN ME.bat

Double click on Open Me.bat to start a command window using the desired option, this is a simple batch menu to start a command window in the desired directory, right click and edit it to customize the colors etc....

Make sure your device is recognized as Android Composite Device etc....

And run adb devices from the command window you opened.

  If you've chosen the Auto Authentication version, you'll need to accept the connection on your device.

Sometimes you will need to do this on the normal version as well. ( it's just an old version )

Hope this all helps simplify the process ...

Using the SDK
You should only download the entire Software Development Kit if you actually plan on developing software...

It should automatically use the correct directory in Android Studio, without modifications.

I personally use the Easy ADB files - I just slapped the .BAT file together to make easier for beginners to navigate without using cd.


What does "Voice Command" "Unexpected server error occurred. Please try again." mean? When I restart my Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100), I get an error message:

Voice Command
An unexpected server error occurred. Please try again.
[OK]

This started ever since I download the trial version of (redacted) earlier tonight, but its still happening even after I uninstalled it.
I've not accepted the Voice Command agreement. Whenever I accidentally activate it by pressing the home key the wrong way, I select Decline.
What does this error message actually mean?

I was getting this error constantly today, so I went to Settings → Applications → All → Voice Command. From there I clicked Force Stop → OK then Clear Data → OK. Then I relaunched the voice command by tapping the microphone button on my Google search widget.

The Voice Command worked perfectly, and I haven't seen the error message in about an hour.


Plugging phones into tablets I have an android tablet (1) and phone (2). Using the phone as a wireless hotspot drains the battery almost as fast as having the phone screen on. I'd like to be able to use it as a tethered hotspot and charge the phone from the larger battery in the tablet (3) but I have two problems - micro usb to micro usb cables don't seem to exist and i'm not sure that a micro to usb converter + a micro usb to usb cable is worth setting up - does it do anything useful?

motorola xoom - answer may be honeycomb specific
nexus one
Copying files would be nice but is a plus.

You would need to enable USB host mode on your xoom. Google this for some more details on this - you will need a rooted xoom; there will also be links to USB OTG (on the go) cables that will let you use this (most of them seem to be micro-USB to USB female, into which you would then need to plug your normal USB cable).

I don't know if this USB OTG configuration would actually charge your phone - some USB OTG don't provide power at all.

Copying files would work on this really easily (I think that's what it's generally been done for), but network may be a little trickier - it would rely on the xoom having the usb network drivers for your N1, which it might not (in that case you'd need to compile the drivers/kernel modules for your xoom, where it starts to get messy :-/ )


Checking that GPS is paused after turning screen off? I suspect a maps-based application I use doesn't actually pause GPS after I turn the screen off like it's supposed to, draining the battery accordingly.

Is there a way to check the status of GPS after the screen is turned off?

Thank you.

Macrodroid automation app may help by giving you a audio notification under the twin conditions of ( app being active, GPS being enabled ) when the screen is turned off

Trigger: Screen off

Action:

If

app state of your app ( choose from running in background / not in foreground / alive in background /not running- in the example below it is App in foreground)

And

GPS enabled

add child action of Notification sound,

end if

Constraints: None


Nexus 5 GApps crashing after installing wrong GApps I tried installing gapps for my phone with cyanogenmod but I installed one for Kitkat and not lollipop.

Now my phone acts all weird and nothing can be done on it, especially when it keeps saying Unfortunately Android Keyboard (AOSP) stopped working.

My computer also stopped recognizing my phone so I'm in deep trouble.

Any tips on what I should do?

You can go back in recovery by pressing and holding Volume+Up buttons.

Then in recovery wipe cache, dalvic cache, system and reinstall ROM and correct GApps.

Now if you have ROM and GApps inside the phone its fine. Else you may have to use ADB if your PC doesnt recognize the phone.

Set up ADB using link above and download both ROM and GApps in your pc.
Restart phone in recovery mode.
Connect phone to PC. Open CMD and run these commands->

adb push Path_to_ROM_File_and_Name.zip /sdcard/

adb push Path_to_GApps_and_FileName.zip /sdcard/

These commands will transfer both ROM and GApps to your phone which you can normally install after wiping cache, dalvic cache, system (as already told above).

Hope this helps.


How to pick a phone for long usage? Is it possible to buy an Android phone for 5 years?
First, replaceable battery, yes.
But then, will I be able to use new and newer Android versions?

Yes, it is possible to buy an Android phone that will last for 5 years.  My phone has served me well for 7-8 years, so far, and I believe it will last even longer.
However, you can't tell what will happen in the future.  So, here's some other thoughts.
The phone will definitely need a replaceable battery as batteries go bad.
Best thing to do would be to buy a phone that is popular or that you believe will be popular in the future.
Custom ROMs are key, as already mentioned.  XDA is where you'd likely find custom ROMs.
If the phone is popular enough, then in the future, with more people owning the phone, it will be more likely that there will exist someone that is able to and willing to create and maintain a custom ROM.  However, with a phone that has many models, some models may get more or less attention.
Also, with a phone that is popular will likely mean that there will be more replacement parts available in the future...although a lot of phones, I believe, are being made to be less serviceable...so that more people replace their phones.
I have a Samsung Note 3 that was first released in September of 2013.  It had Android 4.4 and later Android 5.0 also.  Nothing after that.  I was OK with it, except that some apps stopped functioning or were updated, requiring newer Android versions.  Luckily, XDA had a custom ROM for Android 10 and now for Android 11.  I was also lucky that the person(s) creating and maintaining the ROM(s) has/have a Note 3 model compatible to mine.  It's fast enough and has most, if not all, of the things that most current phones have/do.  I replaced the battery with an extended battery and can get up to 7-10 days of usage by minimizing screen use.  Main thing it doesn't have is the upgraded cameras that are available now.  There are some other items too, such as fingerprint sensors missing.  Liked it so much, I bought a second hand one for $60.
You'll also probably want a phone that is sufficiently fast as future apps will likely be more "intensive".  Another thing is that you'll probably want one with sufficient RAM/ROM so that future larger apps and ROMs will have enough free space.
Depending on what you'll be using the phone for, you might actually want to buy an older, released phone that meets some or all of the above.  I believe the replaceable battery will be the biggest item.  This way, you can verify whether ROMs are available, such as on XDA.  Also, chances are, if there's a custom ROM available, it's more likely that there will be future custom ROMs available for future versions of Android.


How to send any kind of voice messages from phone to a tablet used by a kid who can't read? My daughter is  4 years old and she can't read. She is using an Android tablet for games and YouTube while I am away.

I am looking for a solution to send her voice messages from my phone. Any kind of voice messages would be great (voice, prerecorded messages, TTS, and more). It should be played instantly, whatever activity she has currently engaged into on the tablet.

How can I do that?

Depending on how those messages should reach the device, and based on what event they should "pop up", this could be accomplished e.g. using tasker. Tasker is the most potent automation app for Android, and a.o. can utilize TTS to read text, but also can play sound files. It can react on a multitude of events such as time and location – but also on more device-specific events like battery low or a changed network state (see e.g. my list of Tasker resources for more details (and also howtos/tutorials) – especially watch out for the graphs in the lower third of that page for available events and actions). So you could e.g.:

play a certain sound-file each day on 12:00 am (optionally: only when the screen is on, i.e. your daughter is actively using the device)
read the content of a text file whenever that file was updated (useful in connection with some other app/service transferring that file to the device, e.g. using Dropbox or FolderSync)
use TTS or a pre-recorded sound file to be played when she leaves a specified "safe area" (see: Geo-Fence), or when she opens a certain app
and more

Of course you could also install some VoIP app and ring her tablet so she can pick up the (video-) call for interactive messages :)


Controlling the camera through phone keys I am an android novice. My question is : Is there any free app to take pictures or videos using any phone key, like power or volume up/volume down, without touching the screen button? I checked the other answers here, but they talks about cyanogenmod or a paid app.

There are many apps. You can go with Vosco which is my favorite one but without key mapping (no hardware button to take pic) but a great one. Otherwise, Camera360 is a good choice. Also you can go with CameraMx (or Mx Camera maybe) or Line Camera or Cymera (this one has a great range of photo editing tools as well). All of these can be customized to take pictures with volume key or so.


Bootloop problem. Lenovo A600e I have this cellphone for my CDMA card and also it is my fav cell phone as gifted from my first girlfriend. It went in bootloop. However I got the flash zip file on internet. But couldn't find the better tool to flash this zip. If I want to flash via android recovery then external SD card is not getting in that. From which I could flash that zip. I want this cell phone back to work. Least ABD tricks may you know guys? Pls help me.

PS : our english teacher got hit by bus.

Flash your phone using a computer. As your phone is powered by Mediatek chips, it is easy to flash.

Go here and download the firmware for your phone model and here for Instructions.


Does the 4.4.1 update improve 3rd-party camera apps or are the enhancements just to the stock camera app? The new minor update to Kit Kat is apparently all about improvements to the camera on the Nexus 5. The official Nexus G+ page says:

  It improves the camera with faster focusing, especially in low light, faster white balancing, for truer colors, the ability to pinch-zoom the viewfinder in HDR+ mode and less shutter lag.

Will I see these improvements when I use a third-party camera app, or do they only affect the official camera app that Google ships with the OS?

Updates of this kind are usually for the camera as a whole and not just app centered. For a detailed analysis I suggest you read this. The update as a whole brought changes to the API the way the auto focus, White balance, etc in pictures taken as a whole. You will notice changes(for the better) in pictures taken from a 3rd party app too.


Any "must read" docs for Linux-head buying an Android device? I've decided to finally upgrade to an Android phone from my perfectly good N900 because Twitter open sourced the encrypted SMS messaging application TextSecure by Whisper Systems.

I'll want vanilla linux software though, probably busybox/bash, sshd, rsync, perl, python, latex, duplicity, git, git-annex, gnupg, encfs (fuse), and tahoe-lafs.

Is there any good resource for comparing issues with rooting different Android devices?  Or perhaps resources to suggest issues I should google before selecting a carrier?

Are there any HowTos or other docs I should skim before buying an Android device?  Is there a debian derivative who's package list I should explore?

Basically, what's the due diligence for a Linux head buying their first Android device?

Android != GNU/Linux. That is a common misunderstanding.

You will never have the same Linux experience like you had with your N900 running debian. Sure, you can install busybox, sshd, maybe rsync and fuse should also be possible. Latex for example, with it's various dependencies will be hard to get running. Mostly because there is no package manager for Android and the toolchain (i.e. libc) is not the same. It's all technically possible, no major blockers. There are even ways to get debian/ubuntu running on Android, even side-by-side. But this doesn't seem a practical solution, more a proof-of-concept for now.


Samsung Galaxy SHV-160k won't get signal I bought on ebay a refurbish Galaxy Note N-7000. Once I received it I put my chip and for my surprise there was no signal. After checking It I noticed it has on the back of the phone N-7000 but when I see on the software it says SHV-160K.

Right now, I don't know what else to do with this phone because it simply doesn't recognize any network, it just displays a NO SyMBOL where it should display the carrier signal bars.

I'm posting to see if there is any way this phone can be use or IF I should ditch it.

This is what It lists on the about device page

Model: SHV-E160K

Android Version: 4.1.2

Band Base: E160KKKJLL6

Kernel version: 3.0.31 - 10034927
se.infra@SEP-93 #1
SMP PREEMPT Fri Mar 22 12:43:28 KST 2013

Compilation: JZO54K.E160KKKJMC3

The SHV-160K is a version of the phone only made for the South Korean market. It works in the US, but only on GSM, not 3G or LTE, because the US cell networks use different frequencies to South Korea. (The Western half of S America uses the same frequencies as the US.)

This tells me that it should work as a 2G phone for you, but perhaps there's no GSM coverage where you are, only LTE? In that case, you're screwed and you should sell your phone to a Korean on eBay.


No 3G on a Samsung GT i5800 I recently bought a Samsung GT i5800, ok. It has Android 2.1 update1 installed. ok.

If i need to connect to the internet through wifi, then i can, ok!

If i need to connect through a vodafone mobile internet connection, then i just can't!! What could the problem be? I tried to reset the phone to factory settings, and then power off, power on, then enter PIN, then? it should work, no? Why does it say's "the page cannot be displayed"? why isn't working?:O

Are there any tips? Can i provide you guys with more info? [what info?]

this is getting urgent, and i spent all the dawn with this problem.

There is an icon at the top displaying that it has enough signal strenght, but it doesn't displays an icon @the top that says it's connected through 2g, or 3g.

:( please help!

Check that the following setting is ticked:

Settings->Wireless & networks->Mobile networks->Data enabled

Also verify that the access point name settings are correct and the correct access point is chosen. You should be able to find the details of what it should be on the Vodafone website. The settings are at:

Settings->Wireless & networks->Mobile networks->Access Point Names


APN Settings: What Does Each Setting Do? An Access Point Name, APN, is a gateway between mobile networks and the public Internet.
I've done research, and there's not much online about what the individual settings are or do.
This is what I've managed to figure out so far, listed in the order they appear on an Android phone.
Settings in bold I do not have a good answer for. Please tell me the setting's "full name" and what it does. If you know of a site that lists these out and describes them please share it. Thank you!

Name: User given label that doesn't actually affect anything. It can be anything.
APN: Stands for Access Point Name I guess? Usually, this is a short single word and ALL CAPS for some reason. No idea what this does.
Proxy: Is this for using a regular proxy server or something mobile specific?
Port: Port for the proxy? 80 by default?
Username: Credentials to use the carrier.
Password: Credentials to use the carrier.
Server: Found out this is for a WAP Gateway Server - kind of like a proxy except that it also translates/decodes web pages.
MMSC: A URL to send MMS messages to? What does MMSC stand for?
MMS proxy: Why does there need to be a proxy? Why not just send it to the MMSC directly?
MMS port: Why is this here, won't it always be 80?
MCC: Mobile Country Code - I believe this specifies to the cell phone towers which network to default to. Why would they need to know this?
MNC: Mobile Network Code - tells the towers what carrier is being used?
Authentication type: Port to send the Username & Password over?
APN type: So instead of IP port numbers mobile networks use "port names" to specify the data type. So if you put "default,mms" then those communication protocols will be used. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.
APN protocol: Whether to use IPv4 or IPv6.
APN roaming protocol: Roaming is using another carrier company's service. This specifies what IP type to use when doing so.
APN enable/disable: For when multiple APN's are on the phone. Allows one to pick a certain configuration.
Bearer: What does this do?
MVNO type: Mobile Virtual Network Operator - a reseller carrier that uses one of the larger (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile) carriers. This option can be either None, SPN, IMSI, GID, or ICCID. Tells the major carrier what the reseller is I think.
MVNO value: The number given to the reseller?

Found this as part of a search that lead me here:
Name (APN)
A user-chosen name to apply to this APN configuration. This name has no effect at all on the connection, and is only used as a label.
APN
Specifies the Access Point Name (APN) your device should quote when communicating with your carrier. The APN is a short string of text.
Proxy / Port
Optional fields for specifying an HTTP proxy to use for all web traffic over this connection. No longer usually required for most carriers.
Username / Password
In rare cases your carrier may require a username and password in order to access data. Usually left blank.
Server
WAP Gateway Server, a feature not usually used in modern smartphones and devices. This field should usually be left blank.
MMSC
Details of the Multimedia Messaging Service Center to use for sending and receiving of MMS messages.
MMS proxy / MMS port
HTTP proxy details to be used only for communicating with the MMSC to send and receive MMS messages.
MMS Protocol
Specifies the protocol that your device should use for sending and receiving MMS messages. Usually does not need to be modified.
MCC / MNC
Specifies the carrier network that the APN configuration should be used for. Stands for Mobile Country Code and Mobile Network Code.
Authentication type
Method used to supply your name and password to the server for your data connection. Usually not used.
APN type
Specifies which types of data communication should use this APN configuration. Different types of communication may use different configurations.
APN protocol / APN roaming protocol
For devices that support IPv6 networking, this specifies whether to enable IPv4, IPv6 or both. This can be set independently for home and roaming networks.
APN enable/disable
When having multiple general purpose APN configurations, allows you to choose which one is currently enabled.
Bearer
An optional field allowing you to exclude this APN configuration based on the communication technology (eg LTE, eHRPD) currently being used.
Mobile virtual network operator type / value
Restrict use of this APN to certain MVNOs (mobile network resellers) or subscriber accounts.
Mobile virtual network operator type / value
Restrict use of this APN to certain MVNOs (mobile network resellers) or subscriber accounts.


Changing default video player in Google Chrome for Android tl;dr

When you open any video, default HTML5 player is used.

What I want is to make Google Chrome to use custom video player whenever it wants to playback a video

Longer story
My real goal is to stream video content from Android to AppleTV via AirPlay. I found a nice app called streambels which is capable of doing that.

The only problem is when I am trying to watch video on Google Chrome, I can't stream it so if I could change the default video player would allow me to pass the video to broadcasting app. And life would be so great :)

Use Dolphin Browser.  I think what you are asking is impossible for now on Chrome.


Asus Transformer video playback I have an Asus Transformer tablet with the dock extesion and I am trying to play a video file recorded in MOV format. I had recorded the video on my Powershot ELPH 310HS camera in 1080p setting and it is saved in h264 format.

I tried putting the SD card into the dock and playg back the video but the playback is very slow and I think it i sbeing done in software.I installed the MX video player app to play back the video.

My question is if there is any way to do playback using a HW  video decoder? I thik that I've read that the tegra 2 has this bultin but I don't know enough about video formats to know whether this is a hardware limitation or whether it could be solved with a diffferent app.

Mobo Player. Singlehandedly the best video player app on Android. Its the 'VLC' of Android. Plays nearly every format flawlessly.

Download the app, click the button to download a 2MB codec pack (so it can play different video formats) and you are good to go. If you have any problem with the playback, just go into the settings and force software rendering.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.clov4r.android.nil&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5jbG92NHIuYW5kcm9pZC5uaWwiXQ..


Android Apps from Old Tablet to New Tablet I have a Motorola Xoom running Jelly Bean and am moving to the Asus TFT-700. I plan on giving my Xoom to someone in a factory default condition so that my Google account will only be on the Asus. Do I really need to remember all of my installed apps so that they can be manually downloaded to the Asus or will my Google account take care of this automatically?

Google's backup service is described on one of their support pages:

Backing up and restoring your data
You can back up your settings and other data with your Google Account,
so if you ever replace your tablet, you can restore your data on the
new one. If you choose to use this service, your data is backed up
automatically.
If you previously used the backup service with the Google Account you
just used to sign in, you can also choose to restore your settings
from your Google Account to your tablet now.
Important: If you want to restore your settings, you must do that now
during setup. You can’t restore data after setup is complete.
Many kinds of data are backed up, including:

Your Android settings, such as your Wi-Fi networks and passwords,
user dictionary, and so on
Many Google application settings, such as
your Browser bookmarks
The apps you download from Android Market Some
third-party apps also make use of the backup service, so if you
reinstall one, its settings and data are restored


How to rate an app in Android Market on a tablet? I know this question sounds dead stupid but I can't figure out how to rate an app in Android Market on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Honestly I've looked everywhere. Am I blind or what?

Thanks in advance...

The first versions of the Android Market on Tablets didn't have an option to rate an App. Rumors are that Google wanted to prevent bad ratings on Apps, because they weren't optimized for tables (yet).

Some say that they received an Market Update that enabled the rate function. My Lenovo Thinkpad Market hasn't got it yet. But it seems just a matter of time.

Until then, you can rate Apps on the web version of the Market.


Samsung Galaxy S20 camera cannot use the flashlight I wanted to use the light with the camera, then it said that some other app is using the light and I see that the two icons on the right on the top are faded out. It's so horrible getting a high-end smartphone and I cannot even use the light with the camera. What can I do?

The first thing I see from the image you posted, it appears there is a line through the Flash Lightening Bolt on the left, meaning it is disabled. So I would attempt that button first. Otherwise...
Exit out of the camera app and use the following steps. Go back to camera app after each one to see if it allows normal flash use.

Clear cache on camera app
Force stop one app at a time that you believe may be the culprit, stopping you from using flash.
Try another camera app.
Verify you have a working light with some flashlight app.
Verify your phone hardware is legit with one of the verification apps in the play store.

All else fails, you can always factory reset. But if it is all original hardware, it's probably from something you recently downloaded.


Overheating device with random apps spiking CPU usage Few days ago my phone has started overheating and burning through the battery like crazy. I don't use it too much, and it used to last 1.5-2 days, now it's dead in 6 hours.

I've installed System monitor lite and it's showing that several of my cores are constantly at extremely high usage (over 80%), and various regular applications like Gmail and LinkedIn are shown spiking the CPU up to 20% each. I expected a single app to be doing something stupid, and after seeing which one it is, it would be simple to just remove it, but that's not the case. It turns out that a bunch of regular apps that I haven't opened in days are going crazy.

Here are some screenshots:

So, any suggestions besides doing factory reset?

The phone in question is Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 running original MIUI without root.

A couple of things:

Applications that show running processes are only able to show the user processes (meaning no kernel processes)
Android gives more priority to the application in the foreground (the one you are currently seeing). When you open the the task manager, the other processes are being capped. The measuring you are trying to do influences the results.

If you can provide more details by measuring externally with one of these:

Try installing Android Studio:
Post the Log Cat results:
Or use the Android Debug Bridge (adb) with adb logcat – you can view your Android device’s log.

With one of these you can actually profile your running Android phone over a USB connection.

I don't think anyone can give you a complete direct answer without some more information, except if maybe they had the exact same model number and issue.


Unknown Tag Type collection Since purchasing my Samsung Nexus S I have been bombarded by 'New Tag Collected' Tag Type 'Unknown'.

I have since learned how to turn this off, but I was wondering what these Tags are and where are they coming from?

Sounds like NFC terminology to me.  Presumably either NFC is malfunctioning or you've been in the vicinity of NFC tags that are of a type your phone doesn't recognize.

Looks like ID badges and probably some credit cards and so on could trigger this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-989630.html


How do I reboot Samsung Galaxy S when it locks up? Is pulling battery bad? My Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate) occasionally locks up, so that the screen freezes and it doesn't respond to any user input.  I also cannot hold the power button down to bring up the menu to Reboot, Turn off, etc...

The only thing I know to do is open the back and pull the battery out and turn it back on.

So, my questions are
1)  Is pulling the battery to hard shut down harmful to the phone?
2)  Is there some button sequence I can press to restart the phone?

I'm running a 2.3.4 Gingerbread based ROM.

Android is pretty resistant to faults resulting from sudden power loss, but there's always a risk of data corruption/loss, depending on open apps and files at the moment.

Have you tried holding the power button longer, for about 15 seconds (until the screen goes black and the normal startup screen appears)? On my Galaxy S this triggers a hard reboot, meaning that the phone forces itself to restart without regard to the usual shutdown process. I'd think it's a bit friendlier than pulling the battery, but nevertheless, it's a "wrong" way to reboot.


Why does phone has 2 different IPs When I check my IP at whatismyip.com (for example) I cab see my IP is 109.253.X.X.
When I type netcfg at the phone's terminal I can see the line

  rmnet0    UP 10.229.X.X

And indeed when I try out apps like "Droid IP Camera" it listens on 10.229.X.X (rmnet0 interface).

Is it a NAT configuration 3G uses? if so, how can I make apps like "Droid IP Camera" (this app is only given as an example) work over 3G?

Thank you.

Is it a NAT configuration 3G uses?

Yes, I believe most - if not all - carriers use NAT.

  if so, how can I make apps like "Droid IP Camera" (this app is only given as an example) work over 3G?

You will probably need to ask your carrier to provide you with an external IP address.


Unbricking HTC Desire HD - really need some help here! Been given a Desire HD that seems to have had a bad Radio Flash

I have spent perhaps 50 hours on this problem as follows:

Screen is always black whatever I do (unless /sbin/recovery - see below)

Power on: 3 Vibrates and Orange light (flashing) and in Windows Devices shows: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies MSM

Power on + Volume up: same as above

Power on + Volume Down: 5 vibrates and Green light and in Windows Devices shows: Qualcomm CDMA Technologies MSM

Connect device power lead and don't turn on:

One Vibrate
Shows in Device Manager as Android USD Devices -> "My HTC" (installed OK)
Also shows an "HTC DIAG" device with question mark (can install this with software from the web)
F: drive comes up but cannot be accessed

can be seen in ADB devices as:
HTCxxxxxxxxxxxxx RECOVERY

fastboot devices

NO fastboot... (not seen whatever I do)

adb shell

At this stage I cannot adb shell into the device as the "sh" is missing, so I adb push /system/bin and/system/lib over to the Desire HD (from another Droid) and can then adb shell to a root ('#') prompt.

I seem to be in a ramdisk, with no changes saved across reboots (not persistent)  - but I do have write access to /dev/block/mmcblk0 partitions!!

NO SDcard mounted

The sd card is not mounted and seems not be recognized due to the faulty (radio?) flash.androidboot.cid is totally corrupt (crappy strange characters)

if the kernel boots why doesn't the screen come up???

Also:

dmesg

msmfb_probe() installing 480 x 800 panel
mdp_lcdc_probe: initialized (probably probing for the display???)

...some stuff....

err: Device config mismatch

is this where the screen fails?

also

#reboot

Issuing reboot from adb root shell # and the phone vibrates continuously and green led flashes!!

My only hope of recovery it seems is:

1) Reflash all mmcblk partitions with stock from adb (but I don't have the images).

2) Somehow rebuild the bootloader so I can get some life on a reboot/power on.

3) Flash a radio.img via adb (I don't have any fastboot access). And perhaps this will 'repair'the device.

4) Make PD98IMG.ZIP (or whatever) persistent in storage to allow me to access it on an /sbin/recovery reboot (somehow get it into /data which at the moment isn't persistent across reboots).

5)  "fastboot oem enableqxdm 0" somehow from adb (I don't have fastboot) so that an /sbin/recovery can retrieve the PD98IMG.ZIP from the sdcard and reinstall stock.

Any help appreciated. I really believe it can be done!

To add, after a little thought I think the lack of a cache directory may have been my problem all along. I formatted this ext2 and this may have solved the problem. Therefore a damaged cache directory might have been the root cause of this problem.

after formatting the cache and running /sbin/recovery it went straight into Clockwork (it was a big surprise) .. I went to HBOOT and RUU'ed a new ROM immediately (unfortunately in my excitement and due to a mislabel by the uploader) it turned out to be a Telus one... which is giving me problems.. but heck.. simple ones.

The moral here is don't give up. Nearly everybody said this was a bricked phone. But, I think, if you have HBOOT/fastboot or (most probably need rooted) ADB access you can do many things to get things going - I learned a lot ))))


Phone manufacturer prevents installation of apps signed by third paries, does anyone know a way around this? I'm trying to put apps on an LG Exalt VN220, which is a flip phone that runs on a limited version of android. Whenever I try to install an apk using adb I get the following message: INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_INCONSISTENT_CERTIFICATES. From a quick Google search I learned that this usually occurs when you try updating an app with an update that has a different certificate. This can not be the case because these apps were never installed on the phone before. When I pulled stock apps from the phone and tried to install them I got: INSTALL_PARSE_FAILED_UNEXPECTED_EXCEPTION. However when I install apps by LG that did not come on the phone they successfully install. Does anybody know if there is a way to get around this?

Not sure how it works with LG exactly because I don't own an LG phone. But I had similar issue with my mi phone.

Before you can install any apps using adb you need to enable developer setting allow usb debugging, and allow install via usb. LG might have some other flags too

In older version of android there was a switch - "allow install from unknown sources". Please look for these settings and do the needful.


How can I use external modem for voice calls on Android tablet? My tablet doesn't support calling/messaging function by default and also it doesn't have an app for that by default.

Is it possible? In my case I use Micromax Infinity P275 tablet and Huawei E1732 modem. ICS is my OS. I can connect to the internet with that modem.

Root your phone, and download PPP Widget from Google Play.


Windows 8 driver error with SGS Got a new computer with Windows 8 64 bit, In the last day, I tried to connect my Samsung Galaxy S (GT-I9000) but get a driver error when I plug it in. I tried looking in the Samsung's web site forums, for it but with no luck. I got no luck in any other forum site.

Any suggestions ? I tried this found here also and it did not help.

Have you tried installing Kies?

Other Solution is,

Windows 8 will take some time to load and install drivers. Please keep you phone connected to Windows 8 in USB mode. It will install the driver.


Cheetah Keyboard wanting permission to manage my email I keep getting popups from Google asking me to give permission to Cheetah Keyboard access to manage my email. I got so many popups that I sent Cheetah emails. I've not heard back, so I uninstalled their app but continue to get popups. How can I stop this?

I reccomend you run a virus scan with something like malwarebytes.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en


What does FTM mean on my phone? I have a Telstra smart-touch Next Gen. I wanted to get rid of my google account so I went to settings-privacy-factory reset. Everything was perfectly fine until I tuned off my phone and when I tried to turn it back on. The only thing it says now is 'FTM'. I can't do anything to the screen not even turn it off again.

How can I fix it?

FTM = Field Test Mode

Try removing the battery to turn the device off. Replace the battery and then turn the phone back on and you should be out of FTM.

FTM, i believe, is usually entered by holding a button combination down when turning the phone on. Sounds like you accidentally figured out that combo when you turned it on. It could be as simple as "holding the power button while turning on".


"Wi-Fi was turned off since internet connection was not available on " I have a local wireless network at my home that doesn't provide me with internet access. If I connect my Android device (AT&T NEC Terrain running Ice Cream Sandwhich v4.0.4) to that WiFi network, as soon as it receives an IP address, it turns off WiFi again and prompts me with the message above where <SSID> is the SSID of my wifi network.

Any ideas how I can turn off this behavior?

I have a linux server hooked up to that WiFi and have full control over its DHCP and DNS, so if I can provide some fake host on the network for my phone to stay connected, that's a perfectly fine solution, too.

This was a painful one, but I figured it out:

When Android connects to a new network, it tries to auto-detect whether it can actually reach the internet via this network. If not, it will display a browser window and open a random http-address in the hope to bring up the captive portal of the network (i.e. your hotel's wifi login page, etc.).

The detection is done by requesting http://clients3.google.com/generate_204 (or similar) and expecting a certain answer. (I deliberately didn't turn this address into a link, because if you try to open it, nothing happens as it returns HTTP Status 204: No Content, which most browsers ignore).

Now, my confusion came from the fact that I did have an HTTP server running to serve this response and did have a DNS server set up to direct the request to that server. But the server wasn't getting any requests from this particular phone (other Android phones worked).

Turns out this particular phone does two things differently:

It simply disables WiFi rather than bringing up the captive portal page if no network is detected, which made it really hard to even understand what was going on.
It didn't use a DNS lookup for clients3.google.com, but instead used a hard-coded IP for it!

So, I was finally able to solve the problem by setting up an iptables-rule that simply forwarded all HTTP requests to my HTTP server, irrespective of which IP they were targeted at. After that, the phone got its generate_204-reply and everything worked as planned...


Does rooting (but no custom roms) trigger knox's void warranty Does it make Knox's "void warranty" = 0x1

There are two events that will trigger the Knox flag to change from 0x0 to 0x1.

Unsigned recovery (recovery.img) is flashed
Unsigned kernel (boot.img) is flashed

It's not the actual custom rom that trips Knox when you get to flashing. It's the step before that, getting a custom recovery loaded in order to flash the rom itself.

This is also why the de-la-vega root method works, because it flashes a prerooted stock system image to your device without touching the two partitions that DO trip Knox of modified.


USB Camera for Google Duo in Philips Android TV I have a Philips 49pus7503 Android TV. As you know, Google allows Duo calls on Android TV at late 2020. As I read in Google Duo in Android TV article from Google, it says that "Simply connect USB camera to TV, after that you can use this camera with microphone also.". I connect my old Logitech C270 camera, however Duo cannot find the camera. How can I do ? Thanks.

Looking at the Philips 49pus7503 manual online I don't see any mention of supporting a USB webcam.
And sadly, the Android Compatibility Definition Document gives device manufacturers the option of not supporting:

7.5.3. External Camera
MAY include support for an external camera that is not necessarily always connected.


Extracting firmware from a device for reflashing? OK, so I have a Ubislate 7C+ tablet, and it's screwed up and the Wi-fi is unusable. See Tablet won't connect to any WiFi network anymore, always shows "saved" for details on the problem.

I've tried everything, and I've given up on it. But I'm sure it's a software issue. Factory reset didn't fix the issue either, so I guess the last resort is for me to re-flash my device with the original firmware. The problem here is that the manufacturers (Datawind) have HORRIBLE customer care, and they don't even have any software/driver/firmware downloads for any of their devices. (see petition)

So, since the stock firmware isn't available as a download... is there any way of extracting firmware from a device? I know someone with the exact same device as mine, and it's functioning perfectly. He could help me, but neither of us know any way of doing it. The idea is to basically "leech" the firmware from his device, and then re-flash my device using it. Of course, this whole thing may not even be possible, but I'm lost here.

Thanks.

EDIT: Ok, I just realised that a Nandroid backup would include all system data, and it's a complete system image, including the device firmware. The thing is, such a backup would be huge in size. Is there a way to specifically make a backup of just the firmware of the device or something?

If it isn't the overlapping WiFi channels: a normal Nandroid does include /system and /data, but I think you can just flash them separately. What you're referring as "firmware" is probably the /system partition.

If you guys are using the TWRP recovery, you should be able to add his entire TWRP-created recovery onto your device, boot into TWRP and start a restore, but simply uncheck all partitions except /system. I would make a Nandroid backup before attempting this, as it should work, but I'm not certain.

If you guys aren't using TWRP, it's possible manually via a straight adb dd copy (but...it's not perfect): http://www.modaco.com/topic/327661-how-to-backup-the-systemimg-bootimg-and-recoveryimg/

Basically, as that thread states, on his device, use adb dd to copy a system.img from his phone onto his /sdcard. Then, on your device, use adb dd to paste that system.img onto your phone. Things that need answering: what partition block is /system on (mtdxx) and whether the pull will actually create a full system.img (they note that this method doesn't always copy all of the /system partition).


Suddenly phone is dead for no reason (it has non-removable battery) We have a Micromax Q380 at home which is running Lollipop. It was working fine last night and suddenly it is not  responding this morning. Power button and it's combination with volume buttons won't work. It just looks like a dead phone. Display doesn't light up at all, even when charging. It's battery is non-removable which is the sad part of the story. What can I try before handing it over to a service store?

Battery got so drained that the display doesn't turn up even when charging it. There was no problem with the mobile at all. My bad. Now it is up and running after hours of charging. I am not deleting this silly question because somebody might face similar silly issues in the future. Ain't they? ;-)


Google Authenticator and Switching or Resetting your Phone My phone isn't working so well, so I'd like to factory reset it. However, I use Google Authenticator for a number of different websites. How can I resume using it after I rest my phone?

Can I wipe my phone even if I use it for 2-step verification? Discusses editing 2-factor settings for Google, but I don't want to change the settings for all my different accounts on different sites.

How To Geek has a post on using Titanium backup, but is there a simpler way?

When you initially set up two-factor authentication you should have been given a set of 10 single-use passwords and told to store them somewhere safely for use if the authenticator on your phone was unavailable. Alternatively if you don't want to use one of them, log into your Google account before the reset and turn on SMS message authentication for two-factor.

You can then use one of those methods to log back into your Google account the first time after you reset your phone.

Once you're into your Google account go through the normal method to reset up the Google Authenticator for 2-factor and when you get to the point that it shows you the QR code that you can scan from your phone to set up your account, print out or save the picture of that QR code (obviously make sure you store this securely). If you ever reset your phone again, or want to set up the Authenticator app on another device, you can just re-scan that same QR code again, it seems to work every time, years apart.


I want to prevent Google Market from upgrading to Google Play store my HTC desire HD wont download from the Google Play Store , but will from the Google Market.
How do I stop the phone from automatically upgrading ?

If you're rooted, then use an app to freeze the MarketUpdater.apk app.

You can also remove that app from the /system/app directory.

Without that app, the market/Google Play won't automatically update.

There is no way to prevent market updates without root.


How do I connect to an IRC server behind NAT using Android phone? I use a private IRC server that is behind a NAT. Currently, I SSH into a server with a public address and use a command line IRC client in a tmux session to connect to the private server. Is there a way using only android apps to connect to the protected server using an IRC client on the Android phone through an SSH tunnel? I am not rooted but I am also not against rooting.

One way to do this:

Run an SSH client on your phone, such as ConnectBot
Forward a local port to the remote IRC server, say localhost port 1234 to irc.server.ip:6666. (Directions for ConnectBot, with screenshots)
Connect your IRC client to localhost:1234, instead of irc.server.ip:6666. If this doesn't work, check that you have permissions.

When your connection's not working, you will have to do some extra debugging to check that the SSH tunnel is still up. But otherwise, you should be able to use any IRC client.


Move DCIM .thumbnails to external SD My phone has 1.5 GB internal memory and it's always full with gallery thumbnails (500 MB) . Every time I delete it for more space after one day it's full again .

How can I move it to external micro SD memory ?

Moving this folder to sd woun't help, cause android would recreate it. For me, this folder is shown as 6.5 GB (the real size was aprox 80 MB).

WorldCAD Access posted an interesting solution, how to prevent Android for recreating at least the db files.

Another soultion, if you have root access would be to symlink this folder to sdcard. You can do this via command line or using tools like Link2SD or FolderMount.

here you also can find some suggestions/solutions.