Fastest way to set a contact picture on Android Recently, I got an Android for my father instead of the iPhone he always had.

Well, his main complaint is that his contacts have no picture associated, that would be simple to sync with facebook. I had done that before in the old days for my phone using an app, but now, since facebook removed the capability of apps to access users pictures, all the apps that should do that, such as "Contact photo sync" became useless and are nothing but a swamp of ads.

Now, the only method I found is manually is going to someone's picture on Facebook, doing an export to external application and then choosing "Set as contact picture" in the export selection.

Would be simple if it wasn't for this simple feature missing in pure Android, the contact photo export does not appear in the "export options" as an application (I am using 6.0 on Nexus X5) . So now what I have to do is save the picture on the device, then setting it as a contact picture, having to navigate on multiple windows instead of directly exporting.

I am pretty sure I've seen the "Set as contact picture" before on another version of android, or some branded version.

Ultimately, my question is: how to export to a contact without having to save it on the phone? Are there any apps that would export from the "transference area" directly to the contact picture?

Unfortunately there is no simple, fast solution to this, Facebook has actively made this difficult and even though there were solutions for older versions of Android, they all related to the Facebook API, not Android which was just doing documented calls that are not supported any longer.

However, if your father uses Google+ you CAN sync Google+ and Google account pictures to contacts.

Open Google+ and go to Menu (3 lines) and select Settings, then tap the Google account used on the device, scroll down to Contacts, and in that menu enable "Keep contacts up to date". Note that this will also put your user account and Google account avatar in sync, and most SMS/MMS Messaging apps will use this information as well and display the contacts profile picture in the message stream.

Contacts can also be edited online by logging into the Google account in question and going to Google Contacts page. Again it is not speedy, but it will work, and there is some import/export functionality on this page as well, but I don't believe it relates to profile pictures.


Duplicate Text Messages, Verizon: DroidX2 I have a DroidX2 on Verizon and I always get duplicate text messages and it's super annoying. Is there a simple way to fix this? Or is this a carrier issue?

This does sound like a network (carrier) issue, however, do you have any applications that intercept text messages? If so, uninstall it, and see if that helps.

Edit: i just got this issue on an ICS rom. What i think it could be - your network holds the text, and tries to send it if your phone is turned off, or has no signal. It then tries to send them. After it has sent, the network doesn't actually realise it, and sends it again.


Are Android updates signed with Google's private key or other signing techniques? I noticed that Android pops automatically for new updates and patches.

Are these updates signed so that the device knows it's from the official publisher and not from some server spoofer?

Are updates digitally signed before being shipped?

Yes, updates are cryptographically signed by the publisher. This is to ensure the integrity of the update, both from unintentional corruption during the transmission, and willful manipulation from an attacker.

  Who signs the updates? Is it Google?

That depends on who publishes updates for your phone. If you own a Nexus or Pixel phone, then the update is likely published and signed by Google.

Other manufacturers, such as Samsung for instance, modify Android before shipping it. This may include their own system applications, their own launchers, etc.. In such cases, the manufacturer is the publisher of the update and thus responsible for signing it.

  But isn't Google the one who develops Android?

It's not Google alone, it's the OHA - Google just happens to be their most prominent member. Furthermore, Android is Open Source, meaning that contributions come from many different companies and individuals, not just Google.


How to get rid of this orange highlighter Recently I've noticed a really annoying orange highlighting feature that I can't find a way to get rid of. It usually appears in the default browser and apps that use webview (websites that act like apps). So I was hoping someone would know of a way to get rid of it.

Some info about my devices:

Archos Platinum 50
Runs a vanilla flavored stock ROM (android 4.1.2)
Rooted

I've attached a sample image with it.

Settings > Accessibility > Enhanced Web Accessibility > Don't Allow.


Will I still receive OTA updates after rooting my Nexus 5? I just wanna ask that after rooting Nexus 5 will I be receiving OTA updates by Google ? Or I'll have to install a custom ROM ?

Yes, OTA updates will still be suggested to your device when you're rooted.  Under most circumstances, they will also be applied.  However, be advised that if you performed any root-required tasks that altered system files, such as editing build.prop, freezing apps, removing apps, etc, then the OTA may fail.

When the OTA does come, if you apply it OTA rather than flashing a pre-rooted image, you will most likely lose root, and Towelroot will no longer root the device.


Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) released for AT&T HTC One X .... but how to install it on unlocked AT&T phone? Though there are few questions already existing about AT&T HTC One X in the forum but this one is a bit different.

AT&T has recently released long awaited Jelly Bean update for HTC One X.
But when I am trying to update the software on my phone using Settings --> AT&T Software Update, nothing happens.

I have read that other users are also experiencing this problem and this is probably due to phone being Unlocked!

Moreover, I have read that normal Jelly Bean ROM cannot/shouldn't be installed on AT&T HTC One X as the specification of AT&T's model is different.

Can anyone please tell us how to update software on our Unlocked phones? Thanks!

Manually backup all the data with the help of below mentioned steps so as to make sure that just in case if the data gets lost or corrupted, the same can be restored with the help of below mentioned steps. Make sure that you don’t use any sorts of PC Suites like HTC Sync to back up the data as it won’t help you restore the data smoothly.

SMS – Use “SMS Backup & Restore app”
Contacts – Sync with the Gmail application
Call Log -Call Log and Restore
Images, Songs, Videos, Files – Copy to internal / External SD Card
APN and MMS Settings – Note down from the path “Applications > Settings > Wireless and Network > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names”

Enable the USB Debugging from the path “Settings > Applications > Development > USB debugging”
Make sure that the minimum battery life should be 30% so as to ensure that the phone doesn’t get turned Off in the middle of update.
Disable / uninstall all the security suites installed in your phone.

Let’s head to the procedure which will help you update your phone with the latest firmware of Jellybean 4.1 firmware.

Procedure to Update AT&T HTC One X with Jellybean 4.1 firmware:

  1.Download the Official Jellybean 4.1 Firmware update from here to your computer.
  Once downloaded, you need to place the same in your device’s root or in the phone’s storage and not in any of the sub folders.

  2.Now, disconnect the device from computer if you have connected the phone and then turn Off the device so that it can be entered in the Recovery Mode.
  To enter HTC One X in the recovery mode, press the Volume Down button and while doing this, press and hold the power button for a period of 10 seconds till you see the fastboot screen.

  3.In Fastboot mode, use the Volume Keys to navigate to the Recovery option and then press the power button. After this, you will see the HTC Logo on the screen and the screen will go blank with an exclamation mark and a triangle.

  4.Now, press and hold both the Volume Up and down key and then while holding them, press and release the power button. After releasing the Volume rocker key, you will get a Blue Menu along with a set of options which will indicate that the device has been successfully landed in the Recovery Mode.

  5.Now, select “Apply update from internal storage” from the option and press the Power button. You will need to select the update file which you have placed in the Phone storage and press the Power button to confirm the same. It will take around 3 -5 minutes for applying the update and once it’s done, you need to select the option of “Reboot system now” for rebooting the device in the normal mode.

Source

NOTE:Do it at your own RISK, no one can held responsible.


What's app doesn't recognize a contact in my phonebook I tried adding +, tried + with international access code plus country & are codes, tried +with just the country & area codes, tried refresh but still that particular contact doesn't appear.

First verify that the person actually has WhatsApp, because if they don't, it will not show up.

After you confirm the above, add the contact to your phone then open WhatsApp and press the green new chat icon on the bottom right. Now press on the three dots on the top right, and select 'refresh'

As long as you put in all area code info correctly and you did the above, it should show up.


How to root Samsung Galaxy A5 (SM-A500H) running Android 6.0.1 I have Galaxy A5 (SM-A500H) When I was on Lollipop I rooted it using kingroot apk. Yesterday I upgraded to 6.0.1 from sammobile. And it has SS/pc not sure if that prevent rooting or anything like that, I'm using Uzbekistan's version.

Kingroot apk no longer works, it gets to 65% then tells me that no rooting strategy works. Kingroot exe seems to be offered exclusively in Chinese these days so I cannot use it.

The chainfire version doesn't work, if I use it, I get a little red warning on booting screen that I have breached the warranty or something like that, I don't care about the error but the phone won't boot, the only way to exit, is to press volume down and power and home button and wait like 10 seconds, enter download mode and flash the Sammobile firmware again.

Odin, this TWRP recovery and a SuperSU flashable zip (the thread also supplies one but it seems to be for Lollipop) should be all you need.

P.S. As of version 2.78, SuperSU is fully under the control of Chinese firm CCMT - use 2.76 if you don't trust that.


How can you see your Facebook Groups in Facebook for Android? I downloaded facebook for Android latest version just now.

This version is much better than the one which was pre-installed on my Samsung Galaxy S phone.

But can I see my Facebook groups somewhere in this version ?

Facebook have just released version 1.4 of their official Facebook app for Android, this has support for both the new Places and Groups features (this is the new Groups feature where you can group your friends, not the old Groups feature which is a bit like the current Pages feature).

If you've already got the official Facebook app installed, then you should be able to update though the Market app. Otherwise just download it from there!


Auto restart android OS I am looking for a mechanism so that I can auto restart my android 4.3 phone at periodic intervals without human intervention.

Is there some way that allows me to do that ?

You can use this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pereira.autoreboot

It needs root permissions.


HTC One S won't boot after battery fully drained Today the battery of my HTC One S got completely empty and when trying to reboot it's just stuck on the splash screen.

I am rooted and have Trickdroid 8.1 installed. This is an 4.0.4 ICS ROM.

I've already wiped cache+dalvik and reflashed the boot.img to no avail...

What could be wrong?

Too bad Android SE is not as active as other SE sites, just did a nandroid restore from when I just installed the ROM and so far I haven't set up titanium backup. Well that'll teach me... At least it boots again.


How to Enable Android phone for full Tamil Indic Interface I'd like to buy an Android phone to gift to somebody who only knows Tamil. From the little research I've done there are Android phones setup in Indic languages available readymade (like Robosoft), but I'm not very happy with that.

I've also come across the thread below but even after going through the full process (with the Android emulator) I'm unable to get the full tamil interface (specifically in contacts list). I want to add/edit contacts in Tamil and hopefully back them up in a Google account.

How to make an Android device to display complex rendering of Indic characters?

Is there a check-list or help available somewhere.

Thanks
Ganesh

Rendering Tamil characters is a challenge as there is no one glyph to one character mapping as in English.

Earlier versions of Android (before 4.1) does not have this support natively. Which means unless the manufacturer or the author of the ROM decides to additional support, Tamil characters cannot be rendered properly.  There were few hacks which helped those users who didn't have such ROMs.  But those hacks were not always successful.

With many users lamenting on Google's support pages, I guess Google decided to provide this feature from Android 4.1 onwards.

These are the ability of the vanilla Android ROM (i.e. the factory images for Nexus 4/7/10):

Supported:

Display Tamil characters with proper conjunct rendering in browser
Display Tamil characters with proper conjunct rendering out of browser in file names, SMS, contacts (which means you can have a contact and its details in Tamil characters).
Display Tamil characters with proper conjunct rendering in apps like notes editor, facebook, twitter, ebook reader etc.

Not supported:

No keyboard to input Tamil character - Swype has Tamil language support. You even swipe along the keys to type which is much better and much needed input method for Tamil input.
No interface language as Tamil - which means the menu, home screen, settings etc will not be in Tamil.

I have a rooted LG P500 which runs Android 2.3.3. Thanks to LG which had added support for proper rendering of Tamil characters in contacts, file names, text (SMS) messages and many other apps. With Swype keyboard I am even able to type in Tamil as well.

However, when I tried to use a clone of Cyanogenmod ROM based on Android 4.2.2, I observed that Tamil characters are not even displayed (all characters were displayed as empty space). Replacing fonts didn't do the trick. I later understood that due to limited /system partition size of my phone, the ROM developer has to chop off some components and I guess whatever did help to render the Tamil characters has been axed.

I also have a Nexus 7 running vanilla Android 4.2.2 and it works superb with Tamil. Again, Swype also works and I am even able to mix and match English and Tamil characters in all apps.

So if you want to ensure Tamil can be read without any user intervention, I would suggest you to buy phones that have Android 4.2 installed. Again chances are there they can be trimmed as my Lg P500 experienced.

Update: I could see this answer being upvoted in spite of being quite old.  Now (Marshmallow) Google has provided Indic keyboard support where one can enable Tamil keyboard to type Tamil. Still gesture typing a.k.a swiping across the characters is not supported for Tamil.  Same is applicable for many Indic languages.


Shell script to reboot into recovery and install zip Okay, without getting too deep into details, I'm looking to automate the installation of a flashable zip (must be flashed from recovery).  For now, I can use the command "reboot recovery" in a shell script to bring me into TWRP, but I'm not sure how to tell TWRP to install something automatically.

I know this is possible because Cyanogenmod does this exact thing with their ROM update utility.  Once a ROM update is downloaded, you click "Reboot and Install" from within CM, the phone reboots into TWRP, the installation of the flashable zip begins, and after it completes the phone reboots again back into CM.

I don't know if I can just append the file's path onto the "reboot" command with a particular switch?  I haven't been able to find documentation on the available options.  I was also thinking maybe TWRP looks for an update.zip file upon launching?

Does anyone know how to do this?

I ended up looking at Cyanongenmod's source code and figured out how they did it.

Here is my working .sh script:

echo 'boot-recovery ' > /cache/recovery/command
echo '--update_package=/sdcard/update.zip' >> /cache/recovery/command
reboot recovery

Update:

with android JellyBean [4.1] and later versions, the sdcard data is located now at /sdcard/0, So the second command must be:

echo '--update_package=/sdcard/0/update.zip' >> /cache/recovery/command


Keep getting strange words in Google Keyboard's dictionary I keep getting strange words getting predicted by Google Keyboard's dictionary. I know I've never used them and doubt they would've come with the keyboard. One example is "Lync". I think some are names like "Bahar". Also slang words that I don't use like "kiddo" and abbreviations like "MSI and "SV". Also just the prediction seems strange, like I tried typing "something" and it came up with "softcover", which is a word I rarely use. How do I make it stick to more common words? I've tried resetting the custom dictionary but it didn't help.

The Mysterious Japanese Dictionary
I can only think of one thing right off the top of my head. Gboard is reading and automatically importing a ASCII text encoded zip file from somewhere. Most likely  in the emulated/0/ path and everything within aka all recursive subdirectories and all content of said subdirectories. It could be an app that is using a zip file to run its code somehow or storing don't sort of data in a zip format that the app utilizes. It could be a bad extension somewhere, For example a folder or a file that contains ASCII text somewhere within and the extension of that folder\file somehow got changed into .zip...The possibilities are quite numerous now that I really think about it. The one concern I have about all this is the frequency and verbosity(intensity) that Google spies on everybody content... Personal or otherwise.
The reason I am interested in this topic(and I realize that this "answer" does not solve the issue at hand) is because this has and still is happening to my Gboard dictionary, Though I don't get random words that make no sense or don't go with what I am typing. So I tend to ignore the glitch/bug.
In fact Gboard somehow (without my knowledge/permission) located a .zip file, said hey this looks like a Japanese dictionary, processed to import the file, create an actual Japanese dictionary, and finally somehow created all new shortcuts for every single word. I've literally just sat here and scrolled down this mysteriously looking Japanese dictionary and still did not get to the bottom. There are thousands and thousands of "words" in the Japanese dictionary. So yeah, I think I will give it another go and try to track down the source of this mysterious Japanese dictionary that Gboard wants me to have so badly. (I tried to uninstall the app and reinstall it and it still searched through ALL folders and files to once again locate and import the Japanese dictionary that is completely unreadable, only to confirm my suspiciousness  and make me free like I was not going crazy for a second.


Can I set it so the "Phone" on my phone takes priority over all other apps? Every once in a while my phone gets very sluggish when I'm multitasking, which is annoying but fine.  Is there any way for me to set it so that the Dialer app takes priority over everything else, quickly stealing whatever resources it needs to run as fast as possible?

Also, I am aware of the plethora of task killers available but I'm not interested unless it specifically allows me to set the dialer as a VIP or in some way make sure that the dialer gets first dibs on resources.

Unrooted Moto Droid on 2.2

I don't think there is any way to prioritize threads/apps in Android. Programatically you'd set thread priority here, but it would be your threads in your app.  You shouldn't be able to do this against someone else's app unless you had their developer signature as all applications are sandboxed from each other (unless permission is given).

Instead, I would focus on trying to improve overall performance on your phone:

Conserve memory:

Reduce the number of running services
Delete apps that you do not use (especially those that are spawning services)

Overclocking (requires root and will drain more battery, but could be allieviated some by running an under voltage kernel) or installing a custom mod with performance tweaks

As a side note, overclocking the Motorola Droid makes it hell of a lot more responsive than the default 550-600mhz clock speed, but I find the battery drain to be too much unless I have my phone plugged in to a power source. If you carry a spare battery around like me, it may not be that big of a deal

You are right to not use a task killer.  The Android OS was built to handle tasks appropriately and you would otherwise waste resources running an auto-kill service every X minutes (because those killed tasks are just going to re-spawn) and potentially cause other problems (killing a task that is writing to the SD card, for instance, could cause file corruption). The only thing task killers are good for are for what you would normally use one for: to kill hung up processes.


Is there a way to "downgrade" (revert) an HTC Desire HD to stock Froyo from Gingerbread? I don't have any backups or whatever. My phone isn't rooted. It updated to Gingerbread 2.3.3 OTA a couple of days ago, and I hate almost every change that it introduced.

Thanks.

Stock Froyo, I assume you mean Froyo with HTC Sense on top of it.

You would have to root your phone and then load a Froyo ROM.

How to Root HTC Desire

See here for instructions to install custom rom: Modaco Froyo with Sense


How to fix broken display on Samsung Galaxy Tab? My Samsung Galaxy Tab felt on the street and the glass on the touch screen is broken. The display still works fine, but it is "danger to touch it", especially for kids.

When I visited repair shop, they asked for the price almost equal to the price of new device.

As it seems to work still fine, my hypothesis is that only the glass is broken, and actually display (electronic device) behind it is ok. And if I would be able to remove the broken glass and get new one (from some ordinary "window maker") and glue it on the display, everything should be ok.

Is that crazy idea or do I have a chance?

You can get a new screen through eBay. Here's one for ~$77.

Also, here's a YouTube video that shows how to dismantle and replace the screen and digitizer.


So what does Cyanogen Inc shutting down mean for CyanogenMod and similar ROMs? So Cyanogen Inc (cyngn), known for their support for their support for CyanogenMod and their efforts to integrate Cyanogen OS into devices such as the OnePlus One, Alcatel POP Mirage, and several other devices. Cyanogen Inc just recently announced that they are shutting down their services.

What does this mean for CyanogenMod, Cyanogen OS, and the devices which originally shipped with Cyanogen OS? Will they no longer receive OTA updates?

CM's own blog is unreachable now, but XDA-Developers already summed it up and clarified some important bits:

All monetary and infrastructural support for CyanogenMod from Cyanogen Inc. will cease. -> CyanogenMod will no longer receive nightly builds after December 31st... unless the team finds another host to build nightlies.
CyanogenMod will rebrand as LineageOS.
The CyanogenMod team will not continue official development on the CyanogenMod project, but the work will continue in LineageOS.

Since it's clear that Cyngn is going in a new direction, Cyanogen OS will almost certainly have no future - it's not community-driven in the first place. CyanogenMod, on the other hand, will live a bit longer, until Lineage truly dawns (or fails).

UPDATE Dec 29, 2016: The GitHub repo and Gerrit code review platform of LineageOS are online, and I have personally verified that codes are fully buildable, and previous CM users can seamlessly transition to current builds. Also, from what the Gerrit shows, the team is now working on renaming all CM elements to Lineage/LineageOS, amongst the usual bug fixes and improvements.

UPDATE Jan 13, 2017: Rebadging is almost complete: LineageOS 14.1 now has a redesigned setup wizard with no CyanogenMod presence. LineageOS 13 remains mostly untouched, since Marshmallow is near deprecation. The download site itself is also accessible, though building has yet to begin.

UPDATE Jan 18, 2017: LineageOS now has its own bootanimation, thus rebadging can be deemed as completed.

UPDATE Jan 23, 2017: All systems operational, and first official builds have rolled out!


CM12 installation interrupted Just started installation of cm12 via tool from http://www.cyanogenmod.org/ on my Nexus 4
At some point during installation ive got message that it lost connection to the device and i need to reboot or switch usb port.

I rebooted and only thing that i can get now is bootloader. If i go with normal load or recovery it the same screen with "standing cynagenmod guy". And device is doing nothing.

Im running Windows 8 and in fastboot its not detected.

I have tried both adb and fastboot but it seems that they do not see the device.

Is it the end of my phone? Thanks.

Uninstall any existing drivers through device manager/USBDeview and install raw google drivers (you can use Nexus Root Toolkit for that). On side note, also try this-> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979 I too have nexus 4 and I too faced drivers problem in windows 8.1, but this was what fixed it for me.

  Is it the end of my phone?

No android devices arent that easy to completely mess up (especially modern ones). So in case you fail to get phone to be detected via fastboot in windows 8, try that in linux (like ubuntu) instead. Thats because there you only need to add USB rules while setting up adb. And until today, I havent faced a single situation personally where it didnt detect my phone.

Now what to do after your fastboot has been detected?

First, download twrp or similar recovery. If its in zip form, extract it and get the recovery.img file. If its already in img format, leave it as is. Then open terminal in linux/cmd in windows and use command->

fastboot erase recovery
fastboot flash recovery PathToRecoveryAndFileName.img

This will flash recovery into your phone. Just download flashable zip on CM rom (do not use any tools this time, get directly flashable zip).

Use fastboot reboot recovery to boot it into recovery, push the zip file you downloaded as rom by->

adb push PathToROMZIPAndFileName.zip /sdcard/

This will push rom zip into sdcard, then simply flash using recovery.

In case you fail to flash recovery from some reason, you can also directly boot into recovery without flashing it right from pc. For this, use command fastboot boot PathToRecoveryAndFileName.img

One last thing, in case you decide to use nexus root tookit, it has an in built option to try recovering from bootloop. Select I cant use recovery or any such option in that, it should automatically do some work for you.


what do the numbers after the : /dev/block/vold/179:xx mean? I've been trying to figure out an micro sd card issue and just stumbled upon a page where someone mentioned that the numbers after the colon would represent xyz and if they are something different then they will represent abc.  I'm having issues with cm12.1 recognizing my micro-sd card and I've been trying to fix it with fsck in terminal.  When I manage to find where it's mounted the numbers I am seeing are 179:33...anyone know?  Thanks.

These are the "major device number":"minor device number" (You can list them with cat /proc/partitions in adb). The major device number selects which device driver is being called to perform the input/output operation. This call is being done with the minor number as a parameter and it is entirely up to the driver how the minor number is being interpreted. The driver documentation usually describes how the driver uses minor numbers.

The sc-card is normally mounted by the volume daemon (vold). The output of mount shows you where the according mount points are.


How to list pathname of all files using adb On most of my devices I'm able to use the find command to get the full pathname of all the files on the device.  However I have two tablets that don't have the find command.

I tried various combinations using the ls command, however, it doesn't output path names.  It'll put a directory on line line, then a list of files that are in that directory below the directory name.

The output that I'm trying to get is the same output that you would get using find or locate on the PC.

An example of the output that I'm trying to get is:

This is output from a Tablet that has the find command:
adb shell find /sdcard/

  /sdcard/backups/.SystemConfig /sdcard/backups/.SystemConfig/.cuid
  /sdcard/backups/.SystemConfig/.cuid2 /sdcard/backups/system
  /sdcard/backups/system/.confd /sdcard/backups/system/.confd-journal
  /sdcard/backups/system/.config /sdcard/backups/system/.timestamp
  /sdcard/backups/apps /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/.nomedia
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-16_06-41-10.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-16_10-36-12.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-16_10-36-17.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-16_14-01-15.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-17_06-42-20.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-17_10-34-25.wav
  /sdcard/EasyVoiceRecorder/2016-06-19_09-42-31.wav

This is the output using: shell ls -R /sdcard/

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.documentsui:
files

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.documentsui/files:

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.htmlviewer:
files

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.htmlviewer/files:

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.nfc:
files

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.nfc/files:

/sdcard//Android/data/com.android.providers.calendar:

I have been looking at other adb commands, but I'm only seeing commands to pull or push files from the device.  I'm not seeing a way to just get the full pathname of all the files.

i found a workaround resolution of mounting the device using adbfs-rootless.

The process is simple.  Install the package which is easily build-ed with the two packages from normal distro repositories(the the package's readme):

$ sudo apt-get install libfuse-dev android-tools-adb

then mount with:

$ adbfs ~/mnt

Once mounted the find command from the PC can be used to process the files.


How does a phone store date and time even when the battery is removed? I have seen android phones which do not ask users to set the date and time even if I remove battery and reinsert and start the phone. If I have a SIM card inside it, I understand it fetches date and time from the network provider. But what if I do not have SIM and there is no Wi-Fi connected?

“There is in fact a second battery in every phone.” (Cf. answers 15., 19. and 48. of this discussion.)


Phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi I installed Cyanogenmod on my HTC Desire about a month ago and have just received my first mobile bill. Before installing Cyanogenmod, I'd use maybe 200-300MB per month, because most places (home/work) I spend time have Wi-Fi that I can use. I have scheduled downloads of podcasts over Wi-Fi, configured to only use Wi-Fi (BeyondPod)... although I found that this setting had been unset when I changed from having 2 accounts on the phone (one Google Apps and one not) to just having 1 (Google Apps)... so I guess the preferences had been saved under the account I removed.

Have had just received my first bill since I changed to Cyanogenmod and I've apparently used 4GB of data! That's going to cost me over $100 extra, so I'm not best pleased.

Some points/thoughts/questions...

I have Wi-Fi and mobile data enabled all the time.
Podcast downloads were scheduled for 4am so, even with the "only use Wi-Fi" option disabled, it should have downloaded over Wi-Fi at that time as I spend nearly every night at home and therefore on Wi-Fi
Sometimes when I unlock the phone, I see the mobile data symbol on screen briefly as well as the Wi-Fi one.
Is there a setting somewhere that is turning off Wi-Fi when the phone is locked?
Is there a way I can prevent the phone from using mobile data when it's connected to Wi-Fi... and how do I make sure it's connected to Wi-Fi as much as possible?
Anyone got any tips/tricks to share for this scenario?

Go into the Wi-Fi settings, press Menu, choose Advanced. You should get options including Wi-Fi Sleep Policy. Sounds like its set to turn off Wi-Fi when the screen is off.


Galaxy S3 cell standby is eating my battery My battery on my new S3 seems to be being eaten up by the cell standby using more than 50%.
I appear to get a decent signal on the phone. Does anyone have any idea why this figure would be so high?

That is terrible! Drains to 50% only in stanby!

Maybe the apps are not really shut off. You can use the free apps - JuiceDefender to save your power. Packed with smart functions, it automatically and transparently manages the most battery draining components, like 3G/4G connectivity and WiFi.

Or you may need to have a external battery to backup. This one sugegsted:

Small and portable design, Powerful and giant inside. Will be helpful!


How to use/install Xperia lock-screen on any Android? I'm trying to see if there's a way (maybe an app) to change the built-in lock screen to one that either imitates or full-on emulates Sony's Xperia's lock-screen.

Forewarning: I'm not going to root my phone for this. I have enough problems with Google snooping around. Don't need malware getting more than it needs.

I understand that there are plenty of apps that include a customized lock-screen UI/design, but I specifically want the lock-screen that Xperia uses/implements.

What I don't get is if people have been able to come out with the apps that do this, what's stopping someone from porting the code or creating an app that let's the user select from different themes with regard to lock-screen design?

What I'm asking for seems to be possible by rooting my device, but I'd rather not do that.

For reference, I'm running Android Marshmallow on my Samsung S5.

After doing some extra research (5 or so sec), I found that there's an app that gets close. It's called XZ Locker. You can get it from the Play Store.

It has what I asked for.

Pros:
*Very flexible in controlling what elements show up on the screen.
*Let's you customize many aspects of the look and feel of the elements on the screen (e.g. font-size/color, swipe animation, etc.)
*Lightweight and allows for additional options some implementations don't have natively

Cons:
*Security isn't the best. It allows for a maximum pin number of 6 digits. If that isn't chosen, then it gives the option of a defined sequence of gestures using the common dots on the screen.
*Kind of buggy. Certain things create a weird behavior on the app, but not the representation itself (e.g. extra app instance when testing screen).*Can be slow at times, depending on app usage and etc.


Transfer of data from PC to Samsung Note 8 GT N 5100 using USB cable is very very slow Transfer of data from PC to Samsung Note 8 GT N 5100 using USB cable is very very slow.Have changed cables as well. Same Issue

This is usually caused by plugging the USB cable into a USB 1.0 port on your PC instead of a USB 2.0 or USB-SuperSpeed port. Although they all look the same, and the USB protocol is backwards-compatible, USB 1.0 is much slower, and most PCs tend to have both varieties.

Try plugging the USB cable into a different USB socket on your PC.


How can I disable the notification sounds while playing music? I don't like the notification sounds overlaying my music playback, but I can't find any setting to disable notification sounds while playing music.

I also don't like the way the sound overlay works. The IPhone handles this much better.

Is there any way to set this up to behave more like the Iphone or turn off the notifications while playing music at all?

First install Quick Settings: http://www.appbrain.com/app/quick-settings/com.bwx.bequick

With that under volume control you can control the following volumes seperately:

ringer
notification
media (this would control the music)
alarm
voice
system

On top of that you can install Quick Profiles

...which will let you create a sound profile with the settings you want and easily activate it with one click.


How to setup an alarm with no dismiss, no snooze and only one time media play? Is there a way to set an alarm or a notification that plays just one custom sound once on weekdays only and requires no snoozing or dismissing?

Following are the apps I've tried and the details of the problems I have with them:

Simplest Reminder - no custom sounds for individual alarms, shows a notification
Androids built in alarm clock - you must press snooze or dismiss it
Alarm and Pill Reminder - shows a notification (but doesn't interupt)

Alarm Clock Xtreme has several options for how to dismiss and snooze alarms. Snooze can be disabled altogether, and dismissal can be set to automatic after ringing for a specified amount of time, the shortest being 1 second and the longest being 90 minutes. The default is to never auto dismiss. One manual dismiss method needs to be set as well, and the automatic dismissal happens if you don't manually dismiss before the limit is reached.

You can also set the alarm sound individually for each alarm, and if you set the auto dismiss limit as closely as possible to the length of you sound of choice, you'll essentially get an alarm that plays your selected sound once, then stops.

Alarms can be set to repeat on specific days.

I'm not in any way affilliated with AVG Labs, I'm just a happy user.
I'm using the paid version of the app, and some features described here may not be available in the free version.


Hash All Files in a Folder Is there an app to hash all files inside a folder? I'd like to have a text list like the one you get if you go into a directory in Linux and execute

sha256sum *

I always use sha256, but here I don't really care as long as it's a standard hash algorithm. md5 is perfectly fine.

File Hash by Light Weight Apps lets you calculate the md5 hash of all the files in a chosen directory. It may be frustrating because you have to copy the text generated by hand. It seems like there is no 'save' function.


Android phone automatically deletes photos? A quick rundown on the situation is this. I've just changed to a new phone just about a month ago, and there's something weird that I noticed - my phone automatically deletes the photos.

At first the deletion is small scaled - I noticed it when I lost about 3 photos about 2 weeks ago. However today I noticed something bigger - I lost almost 5 months worth of photos. It wasn't moved anywhere else as I couldn't find it even after a search on the SD card on my computer.

As you can see from the image below, the file names of the photos in my DCIM gallery simply jumped from 9 July 2016 to 12 December 2016. I'm pretty sure I several photos during the 5 months in between as there were quite a few major events and I took plenty of photos during them.

I know there's another similar thread on this matter, but the contents doesn't help as the approach in the thread doesn't apply to me. I've checked for the file they mentioned but it doesn't exist in the folder.

I'm running on Android 6.0.1.

If anyone knows what's going on, your assistance is much appreciated. Thank you!

Photos could be removed by a cloud sync/back up application.

One example is Google Photos. You may have chosen to remove photos which have already been backed up. You may not see them in the Gallery, but they will appear in Google Photos thumbnail.

Photos are removed from your device by tapping menu -> Free up space.

If you did, you can still see your photos, including the ones removed, in the Google Photos app and http://photos.google.com.


Samsung galaxy tab2 P3100 "android.process.media" stopped issue? I have updated Samsung galaxy tab2 P3100 to jelly bean since then I am getting popup error as "unfortunately the process android.process.media has stopped". Is there any fix available for this?

hay it's a simple problem to encounter, go to settings reset the system don't forget to backup your important data before doing so.


Lollipop + Google Play - small application installs take 10 or more minutes? The specs:

Samsung Galaxy S5
Android 5.0 Lollipop (new device, came with it)

Installing small applications in Google Play Store take 3-15 minutes, Spotify has been "installing" for over an hour. It's not the Wifi speed, because speedtest on the device showed 20-30mbit/s download, and my other Android 4 device installs the same application within a few seconds.

Any ideas? Are Google Play application installs fast on your Android 5 devices?

I tried removing the SD card, didn't help.

Well I managed to solve it, got the idea from here: Application stuck in "Installing..." stage in Market.

I went to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications.

Force stop the Google Play Store application
Uninstall updates for the Google Play Store application

It warned me that Google Play Store would be restored to its original state, I accepted.

After this, I launched Google Play Store and installing applications was lightning fast. :)


How to restart an Android device? Is there a way to restart an Android device? Now I have to shut it down and manually turn it on again, but I'm looking for a solution where the whole process happens automatically.

This might be device specific, mine is Samsung Galaxy S.

The menu you get when you press the power button should give you a list of options including Shutdown, Restart etc. If it doesn't, your phone's manufacturer might have left it out of the ROM.


Where is Castbox saving the downloads? Installing the podcast manager Castbox, it has a setting to chose downloads location between internal and external card, but I cannot find them with a file manager. I would like to just copy/paste them on my computer and keep a copy (without the need to download them again on the computer).

Maybe are they trying to avoid the saving of the files?

They saved the file on sdcard > CastBox > channels > xxx > yyy
or on sdcard>Android>data>fm.castbox.audiobook>files>channels>xxx>yyy

xxx is folder of channel usually the unique number of each channel, yyy is file name. But, they stored it without extention of the file, so you cannot play it.

Trick to play it, just rename the file name. Add extention .mp3 on the name.
Example: filename= 24234234
Rename it to 24234234.mp3


How can I sync iTunes with a Galaxy Nexus How can I sync my music from iTunes onto my Galaxy Nexus? How-To Geek has a good article about using Salling Media Sync, but apparently the Galaxy Nexus isn't supported because it only shows up as a MTP device in Windows.

Also I'm outside the US so I can't use Google Music (no sure if that would even help though because I don't have access to it! :-o).

Thanks in advance!

Try isyncr. They have a wifi add on also.


Web based Google Talk chat notifications sent to my device When I chat in Google+ through my desktop, my two android devices get the conversations as well. Anyway to stop that from happening? I don't want to necessarily log out of the Apps since I can walk away and I want to still receive messages, but if a conversation is occurring via website, can I have the Apps ignore it?

It appears the message is initially logged to my phone, and tablet, as Google says "Hey there's a new mmessage fofor you." Once I start in on the convo it only runs on the one device.


How to fix a black screen (bricked) after rooting an encrypted device Phone: Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300)

Per work policy to add an exchange account I had to encrypt my phone. After doing so, I needed to root it to create a swap partition as it was constantly running out of RAM. I did what I had done in the past which was to flash CF-Auto-Root with Odin3. After the process finished, the phone restarted and I was shown the usual screen for entering the PIN/Password, so I did and it accepted it showing the unlocked Android icon, but instead of booting to the OS, it froze on a black screen. I have tried flashing the stock firmware, which has had no effect. I have managed to flash the ClockworkMod Recovery, but since everything's encrypted I could not get access to any data.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

I ended up flashing the Stock ROM (using sammobile.com) back again and using the Stock Recovery to do a factory reset as the Team Win Recovery format didn't do anything.
That did the trick, but of course all data is gone too. Oh well.


Can't mount /sdcard while doing a NANDroid backup! I just got root with Unrevoked and S-OFF with AlphaRev. I partitioned my SD card in GParted as following.

Part 1: 4096 MB ext3
Part 2: 25842 MB fat32

The card is a 32 GB SD card. I intended to have 4 GB reserved for apps and such. Now I am trying to do a NANDroid backup using the new ClockWorkMod AlphaRev Recovery 2.5.1.8. But it keeps failing and says that /sdcard can't be mounted.

I tried to navigate to Mounts and storage, and then Mount /sdcard but it gives me an error.

CWM-AlphaRev Recovery v2.5.1.8
E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0)
(Invalid argument)
Can't mount /sdcard

//I attempted mounting it manually here.//

E:Can't mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 (or /dev/block/mmcblk0)
(Invalid argument)
Error mounting SDCARD:!

I noticed that, after partitioning the SD card and rebooting the phone and loading Windows, when I clicked to do a safe unmount of USB drive in Windows there was a message in Android that said it was safe to unmount the SD card now. ????....

And then I went into recovery mode in Android and found out that it couldn't do a backup because it couldn't mount the SD card. Is my SD card damaged or what? Do I have to do some kind of data/cache wipe first?

I had the phone shut down since the last attempt, just to make sure that the SD card really gets mounted when booting up. But that didn't help at all.

Update:

I tried a solution I found over at XDA forums.

  In CMD, go to dir C:\Android\android-sdk\Tools Type: path
  C:\Android\android-sdk\Platform-tools)

  Input "fastboot oem enableqxdm 0"

But I tried this and it says < waiting for device > in my CMD prompt and nothing happens. Does the phone really communicate with the computer in this mode? My ClockWorkMod screen has changed to an icon of a white software box with a blue android mascot next to it. So it looks like it is in this so called fastboot mode now.

C:\>adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
SH08KPL03467    recovery

C:\>fastboot oem enableqxdm 0
< waiting for device >

So it looks like the daemon was not running but the phone definitely communicates with the computer. Do I have to press some button? I tried mounting the SD card again and it still doesn't work.

Recovery images are hard coded to use the first partition of an SD card are the main FAT partition.

As such, you need to ensure that the first partition on the card is the FAT partition, or recovery will try to mount the ext partition as the fat partition.

You can use any partition tool to modify the card.

You also said that fastboot wouldn't work - this is most likely due to lack of fast boot drivers.


Do any OS upgrades (between major versions) NOT require wiping data? I'm  an Android developer and I have a non-technical question regarding major Android version upgrades (e.g. from Android 4.x to 5 or from 5.x to 6).

Do any of the big Android device vendors offer these kinds of upgrades without wiping the data on the device?

I'm asking this question because I need to know if this kind of scenario should be supported by the app.

I must admit that I'm a bit confused by this post. Granted, I haven't been an Androider from the word go (my first device was a Nexus 7 running Jellybean), but every major update I have done has not required a factory reset (unless of course it has got stuck). This is true for all three of my devices: my Nexus 5, my Nexus 7 and my Nexus 9.

The biggest update I have done was on my Nexus 5 and Nexus 7, going from KitKat to Lollipop and that kept all my data. And of any update, KitKat to Lollipop would be the most likely to require a reset - they're very different.

Mind you, they are pure Android devices. So I'd say that if you have an official Google device (be it LG, HTC, etc.) with vanilla Android, you're pretty safe.

(Also, it would not be in the best interests of the vendor to require a factory reset before an update because then there would be less of an incentive to update.)


How do I forward a text with a link? I'm using Motorola Moto E (first gen) running Android 5.1.

I'm fairly new to Android, I know I could forward message if I tap and press on the message for a while, wait for the dropdown menu to pop up and then tap on "Message".

The problem is, if there is a link in the message body, no matter where I tap on the message - it gets me to that website instead of showing this context menu.

How do I forward this type of text?

Just long press on the message, its should either highlight and give you the option of forwarding or select text, then just select all and paste it on a new message body


phone not coming out of recovery mode Yesterday an update came to my mobile. I updated and was installing the update an then an error occured. After that i restarted my mobile and from then on a no command screen is coming. My mobile is not rooted. Also in the downside it is showing No .zip file in internal storage. Please help asap.

Samsung Galaxy S4
Step 1
Power off the device, then remove the battery to make sure the phone is completely powered off. Reinsert the battery.

Step 2
Press and hold the “Home” button, “Power” key and “Volume Up” key simultaneously until the phone vibrates.
Step 3
Release the “Power” button when you feel the vibration, but continue to hold the “Home” and “Volume Up” keys. The Android Recovery screen displays. Release the “Volume Up” and “Home” buttons.

Step 4
Press the “Volume Down” key to scroll to the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option, then press the “Power” button to select the option.

Step 5
Press “Volume Down” to highlight the “Delete All User Data” option, then press “Power” to select. The device resets, then the screen displays the “Reboot System Now” option.

Step 6
Press the “Power” button to reboot the device into normal mode.

HTC EVO 4G LTE
Step 1
Power off the device, then remove the battery to make sure the phone is completely powered down. Reinsert the battery.

Step 2
Press and hold the “Volume Down” key, then press and hold the “Power” button. The device powers up to the Android Recovery screen.

Step 3
Release both keys when the Android Recovery images appear.

Step 4
Press “Volume Down” to scroll to the “Factory Reset” option. Press the “Power” key to select. The device is reset to factory settings, then boots back up into normal mode.
          Hope this will help you


The meaning of 3 axis values of magnetometer Could someone explain to me the meaning of 3 axis x, y & z of Magnetometer

The magnetic field of a certain point is directional and has magnitude. The x,y,z returned by the sensor is a vector that describes the strength and direction of the magnetic field relative to the device measured in microtesla.

For example, a value of (x, y, z) = (50, 50, 0) means that there is a magnetic field sqrt(50**2+50**2+0**2) ≈ 70.7107 microtesla strong in the direction of 45 degree to X-axis and Y-axis of the device.


Is it normal for Wi-Fi to always be on? I have a Nexus 4 running CyanogenMod 10.2.1.-mako. While trying to figure out why my battery life seems to be shorter than usual, I have noticed that my Wi-Fi is constantly on.

Shouldn't the Wi-Fi turn itself off when the phone is not in use? Could this be responsible for my lower battery life? (I had much longer battery life on earlier CM versions)

Wi-Fi is usually turned ON or OFF manually. If it's turned on, and it's not in use or phone is considered sleeping, it's still running.

You might want to check with the CyanogenMod forums if there is any Wi-Fi issue for that version.


How can I set a static IPv6 address for a WiFi connection? I am running CyanogenMod 12 (Android L) on a OnePlus One, and would like to set a specific wireless network to use a static IPv6 address. I see a menu option for doing this for the IPv4 address (as well as hostmask/gateway) but not for v6.

Currently the connection is getting an address using SLAAC, on the prefix I am using. It gets its routing advertisement from a machine running a tunnel client and radvd.

Is there a method for doing this that preferably does not require root, and needs to only be run once and applies for that specific connection?

Open a terminal in your android or connect to your smartphone from pc with "adb shell" command. Then type "ip a" command, just to know how your needed interface is called. For me it is "wlan0 ".
Now, type the following command

 # ip -6 addr add 2001::your:want:ed_s:tati:c_ad:dres/CIDR dev interface

For example,

# ip -6 addr add 2222::1234/64 dev wlan0

Now execute "ip a" again or go to settings advanced and ensure, that your wanted address was assigned.
As I can see, this method do not survive rebooting. For permanent configuration you need use another way.


How do I change the terminal font? I notice a difference in the terminal font between two of my Android devices, specifically in terms of character coverage (in both cases it's the terminal shell of JuiceSSH).  How do I set the font that the terminal uses in Android?

I found two ways for changing font size in JuiceSSH.
Use Volume keys
The very first time you would've used JuiceSSH, you might have come across this brief tutorial:
(Click image to enlarge)

Use the Volume Up/Down keys to adjust the size of the font.

Traditional way (Settings)
On the default page of JuiceSSH, go to Settings → Font size → adjust it.


How to mute Gmail thread on Android? I muted the message on web browser on my pc. I can see Muted tag is applied to the thread. I no longer receive notification on this thread from browser on pc. But I keep getting notifications on my Android. I am not the only person on the to/cc list of its messages. I searched old questions and answers. They mentioned a Done button. But this button is gone on the Gmail android app I'm using. Please advise.

Long-press or open the conversation.
Click the 3-dot, select Mute.


unlock developer options for new user? is it possible to enable/unlock developer options for a second user
Android-version: 7.1 nougat
does it reqire root access to enable it

@alecxs is right.
Enable developer settings you want as the main user; then it will be the same across all users (at least, this is what worked for me). Note that often if you are connecting to something there will be a prompt on your device asking if it's okay to connect to the computer/application. You need to switch back to the main user to accept the prompt, then it should work on all users
Source
Another similar thread


ROOTING THE ANDROID DEVICE Hope y'all doing fine, My question may be so lame sorry but wanted to know the answer.. how to root a android device I have mobile of Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini (ST15i) I bought that before 3 years, still use the thing it's still good working condition but on the latest update of the software which it sucked all my internal memory now i have only 100 MB to usable and latest update of Facebook alone is 25 MB + extra data 30 + cache 10 MB and total is 65 MB (rough calculation) so thought of removing the unwanted default apps which came with the update which were uninstallable searched for removing, XDA Developers  said that the best bid is to root our device and so can you guys please guide me how to root I checked with SuperOneClick it never worked

So, here I will be trying to help you real fast by directly dropping you over to the thread over stack exchange How to root the Xperia Mini ST15i.

PS: Updated the link.


Terminal-IDE / wifi routing issues As cited here, I think there are likely issues unique to Terminal-IDE users because Terminal-IDE is, effectively, an "accessable-linux-on-your-non-rooted-Android" environment. And, therefore, it likely has unique environmental issues. So thank you for not immediately telling me to go to ServerFault or SuperUser...

After installing Terminal-IDE, I read all the help and set about taking advantage of the SSH tools - I really want to get logged in from another system so I have a full keyboard and can treat the phone just like any other networked system. However, I got stopped in my tracks pretty quickly.

I have several routing issues, but I'll put them all here in thinking they may well be related and one place is better than several for finding answers.

I'm using WiFi to get to/from the phone and, using my possibly lame Netgear WN802T WiFi unit (that doesn't have a DHCP server and requires another system to do that). The phone (and other devices) links up, gets an IP address, and surfs the internet from there just fine. I told the DHCP server to match up the MAC address and give a fixed IP - this way I avoid the "single IP for all interfaces when "fixed IP" is chosen" problems identified elsewhere on this site. I have confirmed that IP is indeed given to the phone.

So, I set up the sshd service as found in the official Help PDF. It runs. But no inbound connections succeed; they always end with "Connection timed out" (notably NOT "no route to host" - which is what I get when I ask for a non-existent IP). That tells me it MAY be actually getting to the port on the phone but nobody's answering! This leads to to immediate questions:

Is there a way to log inbound attempts?
Is there a "firewall" of some kind?

When I connect out-bound, it ONLY connects either on the wilds of the internet, OR on the default gateway the DHCP server told it about. It won't connect to ANY "non-routing IPs", even though other devices on the same WiFi will (so clearly the WiFi is routing to the local subnet just fine).

Do I have to create a route specifically pointing to the internal router (the netgear box)? Or;
tell the real outbound router how to route internally as well as externally?

Thanks for any insights.

EDIT TO SHARE MORE DATA

As I have continued to work the problem, and after many hours of frustration, I hooked up a USB cable to the phone and used "internet passthrough" to connect to a lap-top which itself is connected via the same wifi. Now I have more data.

I have confirmed the following:

connection via the laptop to the rest of the network is stable
connection to the phone from the laptop succeed in getting through authentication and, after discovering and fixing a minor typo in the sshd script, it works fine.
connection from the phone, through the cable to the laptop then has full access to the local internal network via IP address.

So, this strongly implicates that there are some issues with the phone's end of the WiFi and NOT with the WiFi itself, however, there's not quite enough data to say that since I haven't got sshd running on the laptop to know it is accepting connections through the net... Interestingly, it is not rejecting connection attempts out of hand - they take a long time to drop! (It's a Windows 7 laptop and, frankly, I don't really know how to tell it to open up specific ports - or how to forward to the phone!)

Note also that the only system that can connect to the phone via the wired connection is the laptop that the phone is wired to; so far I have been unable to find a way to get to the phone through the laptop.

Thanks again for any insight.

After some discussions on the (new, and not yet archived) Terminal-IDE community email list, I learned that the configuration should be working correctly!

A bit frustrated, I kept trying and then noticed something that I suppose should not have surprise me: I set one computer screen to 'pinging' the Android device, with ZERO reply for a long time, and forgot about it. Then, I later noticed the pings were getting through and there were zillions of them scrolling past.

From this, and a bit more investigation, I found that the stability of a WiFi connection on my Android device isn't very stable, especially as compared with my laptop.

In short, "be patient, ping the heck out of it while moving the device to find a good signal path, and it should eventually work."


Profile Question on Android Tablet My background: I'm 30, my mom is 68 and terrified of technology. I gave her her first computer 2 years ago, and she's visibly terrified to use it, so I bought her a tablet for this Christmas.

Personally, I hate tablets, but I bought her a Lenovo 10" tablet running Android Jellybean 4.2.2. Now, I'm an iPhone guy, so I have never played with Android in the least. I am trying to install all the programs she will use so it's ready to go... one situation is I know she and my aunt will both want to use it to access facebook. (As horrible as this sounds,) they don't know how to change accounts; to solve this, I would like to create two profiles on the tablet.

The problem is, I don't have the "users" option in settings to let me create multiple user profiles. Does anyone know how to get around this (without Linux emu hacks)? Thanks!

You don't say which Lenovo tablet you bought, but according to this review Lenovo have disabled multiple user profiles on their Yoga 10 tablet in Android 4.2, but may be re-enabling the feature when they update to 4.3:

  The Lenovo Yoga Tablet launches on the Android 4.2.2 operating system,
  which brings most of Jelly Bean's goodness - that candy-based name
  being the generic term for Android version 4.1 to 4.3, ahead of KitKat
  4.4's launch - but there's the notable exception for multiple user profiles. That's coming, but you'll need Android 4.3 and we don't know
  when the Yoga Tablet will receive this update, which is already
  available on some smart devices.

So it looks like this isn't possible on the tablet as customized by Lenovo at the moment. Why they've done this I don't know, but one common downside to manufacturer modifications and customizations to the Android OS is that they often make things look flashier but work far worse than stock Android.

One alternative is looking into loading custom ROMs that could give you back the feature, but this is a big step if you haven't done that sort of thing before, so personally I wouldn't recommend it. See these questions for more on that: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? and What are the advantages of a custom ROM over rooted stock?.

Alternatively, you could load a second Facebook app onto the device that has a different Facebook login saved into it. You can only load one copy of the official Facebook app on the tablet, but there are quite a lot of third party Facebook clients out there in the Play Store.


HTC One X factory resets itself My HTC One X erased everything on the phone by itself. i lost everything from contacts to pictures to music, everything's gone! I have no back ups! Please, how can I restore everything back? All my important things are gone please!

Unfortunately, if there are no backups of your device, it cannot be restored.

However you may still have some data!

If you had the app Google Photos, your photos are saved online, and can be accessed at photos.google.com.

If you had Google Drive on your phone, your files can be received on the platform on your computer.

If you had Chrome, your bookmarks are most likely synced with your computer.

If you have any questions, please respond!
Regards,
James Kerrane


How could I sync ONLY my calendar with Gmail (optionally when a WiFi connection is available)? On my old Nokia C5, there was a quite smart setting to sync the phone calendar with my Gmail calendar when a WiFi connection was available, every say 30 minutes (using MailForExchange).

I'd expected that a tightly-Google-coupled system like Android would do that task even better, but it doesn't (or I wasn't able to figure out how).

First of all, automatic synchronizing is disabled because I don't want to sync contacts, images, mails, whatever. Only my calendar!

I know that I could sync the calendar when I go to Settings → Accounts and Synchronisation → tip on my Google account → scroll to the calendar entry → sync now.

But that's that deep hidden in menus that it is not really fun.

Is there a way to have a shortcut on the home screen that I could use to directly start synchronizing only my calendar with one tip?

If automatic synchronisation with WiFi could be set up (once again: only my calendar), that would be an extra bonus.

My main aim is to sync only the calendar, nothing else.

EDIT: To only sync the calendar you first have to switch off everything else:
Go to Settings -> Accounts -> YOUR Google Account
and un-check all the sync targets you don't want (Chrome, GMail, Drive, Contacts, ...)
/EDIT

Then you can take care of when to have it sync.
Generally, this is left to 3rd party apps.

You can always pick your favourite 3rd-party app to get that feature, and there is a ton of it. Some samples:

JuiceDefender (free/plus/ultimate/beta, you'll probably have to buy ultimate for the feature you want)
Tasker
Llama (not sure if it supports your use case)
or just search Google Play for 'profile sync schedule' (or similar)

The latter two examples are somewhat complicated to set up but are very powerful. I'd try JuiceDefender.


How do I recover my photos i have Samsung galaxy gt-s7562 phone. i was wanting to reduce my phone memory. my photos and videos have all been cleared. i would like to know to recover them from my phone.

Connect the external SD card to a PC and try a recovery software like Recuva(or any other recovery software for that matter) and see what it can recover.


Free location-aware todo list Is there a free location-aware todo list out there?

I need something, that: reminds me to buy milk, when I'm near to my favourite shop.

If you are already using Locale (which is not free), Astrid is a free task/todo list manager which can be configured to open a list of tasks with a specific tag.  Astrid also integrates with Remember the Milk.

You can configure the list to open by various Locale conditions, including location.

I use it to remind me of maintenance tasks when I'm near the hardware store.

Additionally, Remember the Milk is a free app which can trigger by location, but it does require a Pro subscription to Remember The Milk's website.


Hide buttons overlay (e.g. 5 second burst) on Google Camera I have been getting overlays as such on my Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and now my Nexus 6P - haven't noticed exactly when they start to appear and have yet to find a way to disable them - please take a look at the following image:

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

If you look at the upper right, you should notice a few buttons on the viewfinder. It used to be just two, now I have three after the camera app updated. They were not there when I initially got any of my Nexus devices but shortly presented themselves afterwards.

I do use my Nexus devices for debugging so I have disabled debug mode to see if there was any connection, but this does not seem to be the case.

Is there sort sort of hidden button I must press (ex; how the developer menu is activated) in order to hide these buttons once again?

I recently had the same issue with my 6P, running 6.0.1 and the latest Google Camera version 3.1.021. It turned out to be a result of having the Screenwise Trends Panel app installed on all my phones. Enabling it in Accessibility Services causes the buttons to show up. From my searching there is no real solution other than to disable the Accessibility Service toggle for Screenwise. Then the buttons go away.


Moto X Pure Edition MetroPCS tethering Need help w Moto XPure Edition tethering on Metro. The plan I have came with tethering on there Phone but my Unlocked MXPE shows other devices connected but no internet connection. The lady at Metro says that because its not a metro phone but it is unlocked. Everything else worked but the tethering. What should I do? Do I need to root? Is there anyway to extract their Mobile hotspot app from my Metro phone and install on my Moto. I can't find it on the metro phone except on one of the screens and not the apps setting. Thanks Please help.
Rawfah

http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x-style/general/moto-x-pure-mvno-carrier-ting-vs-t3218182

One irritation with Ting was that tethering only worked on 3g. Which required manually setting the phone to 3g, after enabling the hotspot. You

MetroPCS in contrast does not allow tethering unless you purchase a metro branded phone.

I was able to work around the metro pcs tethering restriction by adding a "tether_dun_required=0" entry to the sqlite provider.settings file, and now it works perfect on LTE with the stock hotspot software.


Best way to install Android app on 500 tablets? We have 500 tablets that need to go out with our Android app pre-installed. From our experience so far, the only way to install the apps is by creating a new Google account, logging into the play store, and installing the app. The problem with this method is that it's very time consuming, it's creating junk accounts that I'm sure Google doesn't want, and each new account requires a phone number to verify and you can only create a limited number of accounts on a single phone number.

The obvious alternative is to side load the app with the APK file manually, but the downside to this is that we want to be able to update the app later. My understanding is that if we side load the app we can't update the app automatically.

We are already using Ionic Pro which has live deploy which handles most small updates but it can't live deploy any updates that involve updates to the cordova/native plugins.

Since both of these methods have drawbacks, I'm hoping there's another way. I'm curious how educational institutions are able to preload apps on classroom tablets that update without an account logged into the Play Store.

To be clear, and to avoid duplication of other similar questions, what I'm really looking for is to use the Google Play Store for updates, not bypass it, but without having a unique Google account per tablet.

I do not think you need a unique account. I have several devices that all use the same account. That aside...

Sideloaded apps should be able to update from Google Play. I just tested this myself. I installed an older version of Discord on my phone, opened a fresh run of Google Play, and checked for updates. It showed me that there was an update and was able to do it.

Since 2015, Google Play is able to detect the keystore signature of the apps. As long as the one installed and the one on the market are signed the same, then it should update.

You should be able to test it yourself, assuming you have older version of your app that you can fiddle with.


Does Android have a built-in FTP client? Does Android have a built-in FTP client? Even a basic one, like ones that are built into PC browsers and file managers? I know there are good free apps with FTP clients (like Ghost Commander), but I'd like to know if there's a way that doesn't require app installation. I'm excluding chrome's FTP support, since that is being deprecated, and not all android phones have chrome built-in.

No, for better or worse, Android does not have an integrated FTP client.
As you've discovered, many third-party apps are available to fill this gap.  Some of them are dedicated FTP clients, while others are integrated into file manager apps.


How to SCP files from a PC to storage in Termux I can scp files from my Linux server to Termux directory on my Android smartphone but Termux directory is not accessible through file explorer. What exactly should be the destination path for scp so that it places the file in the storage, say in the Download directory which is accessible through the file explorer.

By design Android won't allow any other app to access Termux's data directory: /data/data/com.termux/files/home. However you can scp directly to SD card after granting WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.

As referenced in Termux wiki:

  It is necessary to grant storage permission for Termux on Android 6 and higher. Use 'Settings>Apps>Termux>Permissions>Storage' and set to true.

Now to copy files to Download directory:

~$ scp <file_name> <phone_IP>:/sdcard/Download/

RELATED: How to run SSH/SFTP server for multiple user logins with password authentication on Android?


Looking for a way to shrink the size of MP3 files I have a lot of MP3 files on my phone and I would like to re-size them to save space. (Note: I do not want to trim the audio file.)  I know I may lose some quality, but it is fine.
What is the best way to do this?  Perhaps an app? (Free is preferred)

For doing the conversion on device itself, I would suggest searching the Google Play Store for audio conversion apps.  Several results look like viable candidates: The File Converter and Convert Audio, for example.  The features to look for are downsampling, changing bitrate and frequency, conversion to more efficient formats like OGG, AIC or FLACC.  I recommend trying each app yourself on one or two MP3 files to see if you get the results you want.  Play Store's 15-minute refund policy should give you enough time to figure out if the app is worth the price.

With that said, I would highly recommend doing the conversion on your PC instead.  First, by copying your MP3s from the phone to the PC you are making a backup.  Just in case something goes wrong during the conversion process, you will not lose the original file from your handset.  Second, there are a lot more choices in terms of software on Windows/Mac/Linux for audio file manipulation (especially the free and open-source variety,) and may also be able to do this in batch (i.e. convert multiple files automatically.)


Is CyanogenMod available in several languages? Vanilla Android works in so many languages (including mine). What about Cyanogen? Are there language packs? I have not found any on official site, but maybe anything unofficial?

And if there is/isn't any, then

Is the translation device-specific?
Will some parts of system, that come from original (vanilla) Android work in my local language?

CyanogenMod ROMs are multilingual and you can select the language the first time your phone boots or in System settings-->Language & input-->Language(ICS 4.0.4) at any time.

I can say it supports all languages in the world from The far East to South America including right to left languages like Farsi.


Background apps get killed (by something other than battery optimization) All of my background apps get killed when I turn off the screen.
This is particularly annoying for my most-used messaging app, WhatsApp.

I've looked at the obvious "Battery Optimization" option:

Based on advice found elsewhere, I've checked that the background process limit in developer options is the default (I've never changed this AFAIK):

And yet, it gets killed in the same manner as battery optimization would. If I look at running background processes:

When I then press the power button, and power it back on after < 10s, the list is the same. But if I wait longer than that:

...whatsapp has disappeared.

This happens for all apps I install that have some sort of useful background feature - the Battery Optimization setting doesn't seem to do its job anymore.

What else can I try to diagnose this?

NB0: Android 7.0 on DOOGEE S60

NB1: This just started happening some time ago, i.e., it did work propertly when I got the phone.

NB2: I know how to use adb

NB3: I'm also fond of trying new apps and have ~400 apps installed. Ideally, I don't uninstall/disable all of them 1-by-1 to see which one is the culprit...

Go to "settings", "memory" and turn off "background auto clean memory".


How can I manage my store cards on the Android? I have a bunch of store cards with barcodes on them hanging on my keychain. Every now and then I won't have my keys when I'm in the store. I once saw someone with an iPhone who had an app that managed those bar codes. Is there anything similar for the droid?

I've never used it but I remember reading about Key Ring Rewards Cards.  Try that and see what you think.

Edit: I also tried searching the market for "loyalty cards" and came up with this list of apps. I was going to specifically name some but as I haven't tried them I thought it best that I just give you the list. Seems there are quite a few that will help you manage your cards


Google's location history minute by minute My phone was stolen. Is it possible to get the location history as realtime as possible from Google?

It's quite easy, You have to just login here with your Google account which is configured on your mobile - https://maps.google.co.in/locationhistory/b/0/

Then you can get location.


g-mail app: download without an attachment I have a Samsung Galaxy S2. I use GMail, and I am using the GMail app on this phone.

Is there a way to have emails downloaded to my phone without the attachments?  So when I open the email I have the option to download the attachment, if I chose to? If not: is there another email client/app you would recommend?

I have an SGS2 too. The GMail app never downloads your attachments automatically. You'll see a list of the attachments at the bottom of the email, with the option to download them. The attachments get downloaded (and the corresponding bandwidth used) only when you press download. You can already safely read the email without worrying about GMail using up your bandwidth.


Serious battery drain (Screen, Android OS) after JB upgrade Since I upgraded my Samsung Galaxy SII from Android 4.0.4 (ICS) to 4.1.2 (JB), my battery life has decreased dramtically.

Running ICS I could easily have ~25% battery left when going to bed, after about 20 hours of moderate use.
That is with a few phone calls, reading work/private e-mails as they arrive, occasional news reading, internet browsing and Facebook.

My usage pattern is largely unchanged, but since the moment I upgraded to Jelly Bean, I can barely make it through a working day without charging.

Looking at earlier battery stat screenshots (I'm a nerd, guilty as charged), my phone would use about 2-3,3%/hour. Now I see usage of between 5,7% and 10,6% per hour!

The top power consumer is, as always, the screen, which takes up 35-45% of the power used - just like before. Only now, it has drained the same amount of power, 2-4 times faster - or about 1% of the total battery capacity each minute it's been on.

(click images to enlarge)

72% of the total capacity used, of which screen consumed 38% (relative) or 27% (absolute)

Android OS has moved up the list of power consumers. Now using typically 16-17% (relative) or 12-17% (absolute), as opposed to the previous 9% (relative) or 5% (absolute).

I never switch off WiFi completely, unlike GPS which is switched off (thanks, Facebook) unless I actively need it. Display is set to auto-brightness - just like before.

I have completely drained, then fully re-charged, the battery at least three times, to re-calibrate the battery gauge. It didn't help my battery life.

Any idea of what's going on here and how to fix it (short of doing a factory reset)? How can the screen suddenly drain the power so fast? What's causing Android OS to burn more fuel as well?

You are suffering the same problem I was after upgrading. Look in the direction of either Google Now or Google Maps. Good chance you have 'Report from this device' set in Maps Location Settings. This is murder on your battery! I disabled it and am now back at about 2% - 3% per hour on 3g with light use throughout the day. I also disabled Google Now for good measure, but I didn't notice any real improvements from that.

I do still notice much higher battery consumption than 4.04 when having wifi on. At home, I have reverted to 3G after seeing it burn through the battery at 5% per hour even without any active use.


some issues in moto g 2nd generation after lollipop version After updating my Moto G 2014 to Lollipop I have started experiencing some issues as I don't know how to get it fixed. So the problems are:

Autorotate option isn't showing,
If I tried pressing and holding the power button, I can only see the power off option, I can't find the silent option.
While on the call, previously I have the ability to write a number on the dialpad which I can correct if I tap in the wrong number but now I can't find the backspace button to correct that !

Please help me out !

Settings -> Accessibility -> Auto Rotate.
Silent mode is now changed to Priority mode. Press the volume down button and you will find the priority mode
No easy solution for this. While on call press back button until you reach the homescreen. Now go back again to call screen from notification bar. Now the typed number will be gone


What exactly happens when I use Kies to perform a "Firmware upgrade and initialisation"? I bought an unlocked Telstra Samsung Galaxy S3 4G, and it's loaded with some Telstra software. I wanted to get rid of those, so I loaded up Kies and it gives me the option to perform a "Firmware upgrade and initialisation". I don't want it deleting everything off my phone and I don't want to do anything to my phone to mess with it so I wanted to be absolutely certain I understood what would happen. I tried googling this subject but couldn't find any useful information.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me a detailed, clear and concise answer.

Basic Caveat.

It is likely (and to be expected) that a firmware (or OS) upgrade will wipe any user data or settings.

These settings are not easily translated / adjusted across such an update.  However, most tools will give such a warning before you proceed.

In more detail ..

Firmware Update (ROM code)

A firmware update will normally cause ALL user data, settings, and (custom loaded) applications to be lost. This is because many applications and your online identity (connection to e-store) are usually firmware specific.

Exceptions: For only a minor update it may be possible to just replace the firmware, and not disrupt the higher layers. This is only advice for developers and the truly adventurous.

Your specific case: You are attempting to replace the Telstra (big Australian telco) firmware with (possibly) later firmware. This will likely not include any Telstra specific applications, and you would need to re-register the phone (upon completion). By then ALL data, settings, and applications would have been lost.

Firmware Update (Android OS)

An Android update will normally attempt to retain ALL user data, settings, and (custom loaded) applications. But this is only true for minor update, as major changes will make your existing applications incompatible. For each application, the vendor may provide an update with support for the new version to convert (or import) any old data.

Exceptions: If you are attempting a major Android update (eg. from 3.2 to 4.0+) this will very likely not retain (in any useful form) any of your settings.

Your specific case: If you were using KIES to update Android from 4.0 to 4.0.4 (or similar) this should be as painless as OTA (over-the-air) updates (prompted on your phone). However, it is not clear from your description what type of 'firmware' (Android or ROM) it is suggesting.

Note: I have not used KIES, as it has no Linux support.

Recommendation:

Look at syncing or backup tools, to save any user data (phone numbers, messages, etc.) to your PC. Any applications will be more of a problem, but will still available (in the online e-store) to again download.


root and stored passwords concerns I think I've read a lot about the good and bad of rooting devices, probably some outdated info also. I'm a bit confused.

I confess I'm a little root-o-phobic and I take a lot of precautions what I grant root access.

My only concern is about stored passwords (mostly Gmail app and stock email app).

I know that passwords are probably not in plain text but I'm little concern about it since root can remove one layer of security

Thanks

In that case, you'd better keep your passwords on plain paper in a heavy metal safe only – and never ever use a desktop OS to maintain/enter them. All desktop OSes known to me have "root access": it's called "root" with Linux/Unix, "Administrator" with Windows, and so on.

And like on all those: you should make sure what has access to "root powers" – and like on those you need to explicitly grant access. On Android, it's a core app often referred to as "SuperUser" managing that: as soon as a (new) app requests root access, you'll see a pop-up asking you whether you confirm (you can then chose yes/no and whether to always apply that decision when this app asks again).

Yes, like on all those, an application with "root powers" can (at least theoretically) access all your stored passwords, as any other data. That is why a properly coded application never stores your passwords in "plain text", but rather encrypts (or at least hashes) them.

Not rooting your device only takes that decision from you at the cost of not being able to "fully use your device". But yes, you should always be careful deciding what permissions you grant to an app – and in the first place, what apps you install.


Is there any way to edit ODT documents on Android? I need to edit my OpenOffice documents.

Is there any version of LibreOffice for Android?

Or

Is there any ODT texteditor app for Android?

There is AndrOpen Office

AndrOpen Office is the world's first port of OpenOffice for Android.
You can view, edit, export office documents using full features of the OpenOffice.
AndrOpen Office has 6 components:

Writer (a word processor)
Calc (spreadsheet)
Impress (presentation graphics)
Draw (drawing)
Math (equation editor)
Base (database)

* AndrOpen Office is forked project from the Apache OpenOffice project.
AndrOpen Office is not affiliated with the Apache OpenOffice project.


Is Restoring a previous backup results to happen bug again I am using Xiaomi phone, in which I have got a hardware error(sound problem), which may be a bug. Then I serviced my phone. Now it functions well.
If I restore my previous backups, should it result a hardware error again?
Thanks in advance.

No backups are not connected to hardware problems. Hardware means physical part/s of the device. The backup is software, by that I mean the non-physical part (or correctly data).

If you want detailed, please write us what was the problem with you phone. What did the service sad about the problem.


how to re-enable first time setup at next boot? tl;dr: What is the hidden setting that tells the first-time-user-wizard to run? i just want to re-enable that flag so next time the phone boots it shows the new user wizard and UI hints.

A friend gave me his new nexus to install CM11 and a few applications.

To install those applications i created a bogus Google account, downloaded them from the store, configured and then removed my account.

now i want to give the phone back in a way that when it is powered on, it shows the create new account/enable Wifi/etc wizard.

I already tried wiping out data from "one time setup" system application, but that did nothing. Any other ideas?

I had the opposite problem. I deleted OneTimeInit and SetupWizard and after a hard-reset my system was acting like in first time init screen:

notification pull-down is unavailable
recent screen is unavailable
home button is unavailable
limited power menu

So I had to set all those first boot flags manually.
Then, I found three of them, which solved my problem:

settings put global setup_wizard_has_run 1
settings put global device_provisioned 1
settings put secure user_setup_complete 1


Can I use one number on two different phone(Device) on Whatsapp? I just want to know if it is possible to have on two phones the same whatsapp messages.

The short answer: you can't do it using the native app, but there is a web interface that will work on Chrome, Firefox,  Opera and most other browsers  in desktop mode (i.e. "request desktop site" or "user agent: desktop").

Whatsapp allows only one device to pull your messages from their servers. You can make the app think you only have one device by changing the MAC address and some other files using root access, but that doesn't mean it will work.

Whatsapp messages are stored only temporarily on the whatsapp servers. This means thay when device A downloads those messages, device B can no longer see them. This means that, in order to keep your messages synchronized, you will need to constantly sync your messages using tools with root access. This is not very usable to most people.

The easiest solution would be to use the app on device A and the web interface, (web.whatsapp.com), on device B. To make this work on an Android device you need to make it request the desktop site. There you can scan a QR code into your first device by opening the menu and selecting "whatsapp web". Point your camera at the QR code and you can use Chrome to send and receive whatsapp messages.  This requires the device with the official app to be on and connected to the Internet.


Missing "Easy Mode" from Samsung Galaxy Core Prime I bought this phone for my grandparents. The salesman at the store told me that this phone would be great for old people who are new to smart phones. Any idea where to find this "Easy Mode" or "Simple Mode" option? There's no such option under Settings.

Model: SM-G361F

Android version: 5.1.1

Samsung provides Easy Mode in options (differ from device to device) :

Open Settings → Personalisation (by scrolling down) → Easy Mode.

Open Settings → Display → Easy Mode.


I cant find my kernel number anywhere First off I'm not very experienced with phones, but while trying to root my phone I need the kernel number.  I've looked where the instructions told me to look, in my about phone section. Under the kernel version it only says:

3.0.31-980103
se.infra@sep-129 #3
smp preempt fri mar 1 04 29 20 kst 2013

Second, I've downloaded the update to 4.1.2. (I think ice cream sandwich or jelly bean.)  My model number is sch-r760x.  I have an Alltel wireless.

I just want to root my phone.  I don't want to spend forever looking for this "kernel version".

That is your kernel version.  Specifically, you are running version 3.0.31 of the Linux kernel.

The rest of the line is various details about who compiled it, what options were set, and when it was compiled.


Can't stop Skype from intercepting phone calls I am using  the HTC One 806w with Android 4.4.3 version. When I attempt to call from phone, it showed me a screen whereby I could select the Skype application. I selected it but I'd like to remove the default application. I have dialled the number, but I keep accessing calls from my phone.

I tried going to settings >> apps >> skype >> defaults...
but found that I had no defaults set. I tried clearing the preferences and the cache also. I am unable to find a viable solution..

If anyone knows anything about this, please help assist me in finding the solution.

Try to reinstall Skype and the you can call a number with the default dialer.


Send file via NFC from Galaxy S2 Plus and Sony vaio with Ubuntu OS I have a problem with sharing files between my Galaxy S2 phone and a Sony Vaio model SVF1521DCXW with NFC support1. I am using Ubuntu 14.04 Desktop version and I don't have any idea how can I use NFC to send a single photo to my PC. When I enable NFC on my phone and put it on the NFC sign on my laptop nothing happens.

I also enabled NFC on my Ubuntu machine, and I see my NFC is ON in Ubuntu. As it is usually done between Android devices, I've held my S2 back-to-back on the Vaio while running Ubuntu and Win8. I hear a sound on my Win8 and it opens a url on chrome browser – but I get nothing to transfer.

1: To be clear: both devices have NFC support, see the specs at GSMArena for the S2 and at Sony for the Vaio.

You can try Airdroid as it available even for Ubuntu OS. It is one of the easiest way to transfer from PC to mobile or vice versa.

Go to Google Store and look for Airdroid and have it in your mobile.
On browser type - http://web.airdroid.com
Put in your user name and pass -> Boom you will have complete control of your mobile from your system.

If you like to know Airdroid's feature then you can check this out - Airdroid Features


How can I share my bug report with Android devs? I just learned about the ability to capture a bug report at will. I don't see it properly documented on an official Android web site, so I'll describe it here:

  After reproducing the issue, navigate to developer settings, ensure ‘USB debugging’ is enabled, then enable ‘Bug report shortcut’. To take bug report, hold the power button and select the ‘Take bug report’ option.

And optionally:

  Screen capture of the issue:
  Press the volume down and power buttons simultaneously. The image will appear in your gallery. Attach the screenshot file to this issue.

And finally:

  Please upload the bug report and screenshot to google drive and share the folder to android-bugreport@google.com, then share the link [here in this issue on code.google.com/p.android/....].

Question 1: How do I get it shared to google drive?  I previously presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app, and I don't see how to override that setting now.

Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a Google Drive link publicly to the world.  Aren't there privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?

Update: Here is an example, from the open-source ChkBugReport desktop application, of the deep and wide range of information in a bugreport, which can include email addresses, the device serial number,  details on applications used and timings of user activity with them,detailed battery usage, the current software build ID, the network carriers uses,
 detailed hardware information, boot parameters, various detailed usage statistics, etc.

Question 1: How do I get it shared to google drive? I previously
  presumably configured all bug reports to be shared via the Gmail app,
  and I don't see how to override that setting now.

You can download the files which you got in the gmail app and upload them to google drive by selecting those files on your phone.

  Second, I'm very surprised to see that we're being asked to share a
  Google Drive link publicly to the world. Aren't there
  privacy-sensitive aspects to bug reports?

Bug reports are only there for developers of the app you have a problem with to see the issue/bug you are having. They only disclose what type of phone you have and what problems there are on the bug so they can fix it.

Secondly, there is no real security risk of sharing a google drive link. It only goes to those you send it to, but granted if you send it to the wrong person, they can be able to see that information. If this happens (reminding again that sharing a bug report is not dangerous and that there is only about a 1% chance of this to happen) then you can delete the link so no further people can access it.


Remove Lollipop status bar tint over color? Is it possible to remove the tint over the status bar color in lollipop? Currently, the bar color will change to a slightly darker version of the app's color.

Example of how it is now:

Click image for larger version

I would like it the be the same color as the rest of the app, no darkening.

EDIT:
I've managed to modify Lolistat to color some apps the same color, my dilemma now has two parts: White status text on white text bars and the apps which Lolistat doesn't touch (ones with predefined colors)

Two working apps:

Click image for larger version

If you can use Xposed Framework (needs root), try any of the following Xposed apps which can theme your status bar:

Flat Style Colored Bars
Tinted Status Bars
Material Status Bar

They do it by taking a sample from the app's action-bar and colors the status-bar accordingly as per some mode settings, which include Gradient, Flat (which you want and the unpaid default), L and custom.

(Note: some features require an in-app purchase.)


gmail account recovery with android phone Say I have attached my android phone to a gmail account and specify that phone for account recovery.

If I am locked out of the gmail account, will I be able to operate the phone sufficiently to receive the confirmation signal from google, even though its link to google is severed?

No, not if you're using the google authenticator app. You will be able to receive the sms with the code, but you won't be able to link the app. Always print out your backup codes in case of this:

Account - Security - 2 step verification - backup codes


External USB Keyboard to Android (via bluetooth preferably) How to connect external USB keyboard (preferably via bluetooth) to Android device?

Best would be piece of hardware with USB socket to plug standard usb keyboard into it, that would work as "bluetooth keyboard" without need of any special software on android device.

If it's an USB keyboard, it can be directly connected to the MicroUSB port of your Android device using an OTG cable. If your device is OTG capable (most devices of the current generation are, so chances are pretty good), it should be detected automatically. That's what I do with my tablets (running Android 4.1) and a tablet-case with integrated keyboard, to transform them into a mini-notebook – it works fantastic!

As a USB keyboard usually doesn't have Bluetooth integrated, the BT approach would require some kind of adapter. I won't say there is no such thing, but at least I've never heard of any.