How to restrict Android Market search results to a particular publisher? Is there any way that I can restrict searches in the Android Market to just show apps from one particular publisher?  For example, if I wanted to just see apps from Google, searching for "Google Inc." will also show apps that mention "Google Inc." in their descriptions.

If there is an app you like by that publisher, open the entry for the app in the market and select "View more applications".

OR

You can search by name:

pub:"Google Inc."


how to bulk move Android apps to the SD card Currently all my Android apps are on the phone's internal storage, which is quite low @ 8GB.

I've recently install a 32GB SD card into the phone.

I understand that I can go to Android Application Manager > Apps > click on app > click "Move" (to the SD card).

For the several apps I've tried to do this, the "Move" button was grayed out.

Only one app I've tried has had the "Move" button enabled.

Is there any way I can bulk move all Android apps to the SD card?

Android version = 4.4.3

As per Mario's answer:

There is an easier way than manually finding and moving one by one. I'm aware it's no bulk, but it helps.

App2SD

It helps to find all movable apps, and gets you to the move screen one by one, after you perform the move (manually), also instructing on impacts for each app.


Enable /system write in TWRP - Systemless root Moto X Play (XT1562), SuperSU 2.78 (systemless root), TWRP 3.0.2-r3

When I flashed TWRP, I chose the option of not writing to system to enable OS update (and also made a Nandroid just after flashing it as a backup)
Now, I made some minor changes to system audio files, without dwelling on consequences -  won't be able to update OS ( update expected this quarter) without flashing stock OS

I want to enable /system write option in TWRP ( without flashing TWRP again ) so that :

a) Flash backup Nandroid ( of stock OS from the first Nandroid), if I decide to upgrade OS

b) If I don't want to upgrade, have a complete Nandroid and tweak further knowing that I can safely roll back changes

In other words be able to backup and restore /system along with data

Is it possible and how ( please provide detailed instructions )?

Edit: Flashing different versions didn't help - see my unanswered post on XDA

It appears that the issue was TWRP's fault. To make the /system partition writeable, one could:

Uncheck the checkbox near Mount system partition read-only, in the Mount section of TWRP (screenshot at the end of this answer);
Delete, move or rename the .twrps file to force TWRP's setup wizard to trigger, in order to make /system writeable. This file is located under sdcard/TWRP, and can be managed directly from TWRP's File Manager, accessible from the Advanced section of the recovery. Notice that any TWRP setting customization aside of themes will be reverted.


Getting KitKat on my Galaxy S4 I was wondering if there was like an installation that you can install to a Galaxy S4 device to enable you to get KitKat?
I know some people with Galaxy S4's have already got KitKat installed, but it is taking forever to come through as a software update.

Do Samsung push out the KitKat update or the mobile carrier?

I'm O2 UK as well, and at 4.3, my phone is 'up to date'.

This article suggests we'll be getting Kitkat, but not quite yet. If you look at comparable previous releases from Samsung, I think we've still got months yet.


Cannot copy files from internal storage to external SD Device: Moto X Play Stock (6.0.1) with external SD as portable storage

Prior to rooting (recently), transfer both ways (internal and external SD and vice versa was not a problem)
After, rooting, it is one way- I can copy files only from external SD card to internal . I am assuming that external SD is not the problem since

Device shows external SD, so do various file managers- ES Explorer,  Total Commander and all of them fail to do this
External SD recognized on laptop and copying / writing is not a problem

In Marshmallow, when you need to copy to external SD, you get a notification as below, and in the second pic you expect to see the external SD card listed and you accept- this doesn't happen, there is neither external SD shown nor option to select

Rooting couldn't or shouldn't have caused this. Further, TWRP option of not allowing modifications to system was chosen
I didn't mess with any system tweaks,except for installing Xposed and a few modules (Edit Uninstalled Xposed and behavior is same)

What could be causing this and how to fix it?

Note:

I do have access to Mint Linux but practically zero knowledge of commands. If Linux helps in solving this , please be explicit about instructions
There a couple of questions similar but not the same problem and do not help

Solved it by shutting down device, removing external SD card, rebooting a couple of times, inserting external SD and starting the device

It worked but clueless as to what was wrong and what fixed it

I am hoping for a proper explanation/solution to show up


Why won't Google Plus automatically upload all photos and videos? I'm using an Android Phone by LG. Model #LG-D520. It's known as the OPTIMUS F3Q. I want Google Plus to automatically upload every photo and video that I record.

My Auto-backup options for photos are Wifi+Cellular. My auto-backup options for videos are Wifi-Only.

This morning I took 5 photos and 1 video. I am currently sitting in my home connected to my Wifi network for the past several hours. Yet only 2 photos have been uploaded. It doesn't seem to be uploading the video or the other photos? Why? How to work-around this bug?

This problem in such a basic operation is very frustrating. It has plagued me for several months and I have seen other people complaining about it in other forums.

It helped me to uncheck and check again the option "Back Up all" on the phone. It sort of restarts the process of backing up. But now they aggressively forced everyone to switch to Google Photos, so this will work differently.


keep getting a spam voicemail but phone never rang i keep getting a spam voicemail but phone never rang and it is always the same spam message, i'm on t-mobile with a moto g 4th gen.

tried searching for apps with adware, nothing found
ran lookout antivirus, nothing found

It's probably auto-sent to voicemail because either Moto or T-Mobile detects its spam. Nothing to worry about here, spam voicemails happen all the time. Consider blocking the number.


How to grant an app root access without GUI interaction? I'm trying to update my APN settings using:

adb shell "su -c 'content update --uri content://telephony/carriers --bind name:s:\""SDR"\" --bind apn:s:"SDR-internet"'"

The first time I run this command I receive a superuser request from the package: com.android.shell. I can grant this manually but I'm hoping to automate the process for practice and knowledge.

I've tried to use the following to list all permissions, but can't find superuser:

adb shell pm dump package com.android.shell

I attempted the following:

adb shell pm grant com.android.shell android.permission.SUPERUSER
adb shell pm grant com.android.shell android.permission.REQUEST_SUPERUSER
adb shell pm grant com.android.shell android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER

But receive an error:

    Exception occurred while executing:
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unknown permission: android.permission.REQUEST_SUPERUSER
    at com.android.server.pm.permission.PermissionManagerService.grantRuntimePermission(PermissionManagerService.java:1398)
    at com.android.server.pm.permission.PermissionManagerService.access$900(PermissionManagerService.java:89)
    at com.android.server.pm.permission.PermissionManagerService$PermissionManagerInternalImpl.grantRuntimePermission(PermissionManagerService.java:2093)
    at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.grantRuntimePermission(PackageManagerService.java:5411)
    at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.runGrantRevokePermission(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:1730)
    at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.onCommand(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:217)
    at android.os.ShellCommand.exec(ShellCommand.java:103)
    at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.onShellCommand(PackageManagerService.java:21330)
    at android.os.Binder.shellCommand(Binder.java:634)
    at android.os.Binder.onTransact(Binder.java:532)
    at android.content.pm.IPackageManager$Stub.onTransact(IPackageManager.java:2821)
    at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.onTransact(PackageManagerService.java:3856)
    at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:731)

Edit:

I tried:

adb shell su cat /data/adb/magisk.db

Which gave:

    SQLite format 3@

�                      .�
�       �-�d
N�tablehidelisthidelist
CREATE TABLE hidelist (process TEXT, PRIMARY KEY(process))/ Cindexsqlite_autoindex_hidelist_1hidelist
                             X�tablestringsstringCREATE TABLE strings (key TEXT, value TEXT, PRIMARY KEY(key))-Aindexsqlite_autoindex_strings_1stringsZ�tablesettingssettingsCREATE TABLE settings (key TEXT, value INT, PRIMARY tablelogslogsCREATE TABLE logs (from_uid INT, package_name TEXT, app_name TEXT, from_pid INT, to_uid INT, action INT, time INT, command TEXT)��tablepoliciespoliciesCREATE TABLE policies (uid INT, package_name TEXT, policy INT, until INT, logging INT, notification INT, PRIMARY KEY(uid))/Cindexsqlite_autoind��/ies_1pol�com.android.shell
���7�/    )�com.android.shellShell�l��uR/system/bin/sh7 /    )�com.an!�id.shmagiskhidel��?5/system/bin/sh
��!magiskhide
��6ucom.google.android.gms/.droidguard.DroidGuardService

That's pretty ugly, so I tried using sqlite3 but it provides no tables? I was expecting a list of something at the very least.

sqlite> .mode line
sqlite> .headers on
sqlite> .tables
sqlite>

I'm using Magisk Manager v18.

android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER was defined by SuperSU but:

  Due to changes in Android 5.0 Lollipop, this permission has been deprecated and is completely ignored from SuperSU v2.30 onwards

Also only app which declares a permission in its AndroidManifest.xml file can be granted that permission. Shell (com.android.shell) is an AOSP's dummy app to define UID for adbd, it must not have any such third party permission in its Manifest.

Magisk doesn't use this or any other such permission at all. So you have to grant the permission through user interface. Or try to modify database or configuration file directly where permission preferences are stored. In case of Magisk it's sqlite3 database (/data/adb/magisk.db):

~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db .tables
hidelist  logs      policies  settings  strings
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db '.mode column' '.headers on' 'select * from policies'
uid         package_name  policy      until       logging     notification
----------  ------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ------------
10146       com.termux    2           0           1           1
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db "INSERT INTO policies (uid,package_name,policy,until,logging,notification) VALUES(2000,'com.android.shell',2,0,1,1)"
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db '.mode column' '.headers on' 'select * from policies'
uid         package_name  policy      until       logging     notification
----------  ------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ------------
10146       com.termux    2           0           1           1
2000        com.android.  2           0           1           1
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db 'DELETE FROM policies WHERE uid = 2000'

For help on SQLite: sqlite.org
Above commands are working at the moment but Magisk may change database location, table names, table structures etc. any time.
Values may possibly be cached in running processes. So your changes may get ignored or overwritten. In that case putting a modified database from recovery (with proper permissions) may work. I didn't try though.


Is there a GB size limit for SD card for a HTC evo phone? So far can't find any info on GB size limit for the HTC evo phone. Is there one? HTC.com link is not working for the last few day.... so can't get tech support for the answer.

My problem, the phone comes with 2 GB SD card and work fine. Bought a 32 GB (10 speed I believe) and phone don't recognized that there is SD card installed and ask to insert one...

So, is there a GB size limit? forum info indicated that speed 6 would work but no info if 8 or 10 would work... any additional info is appreciated,

If you're referring to the HTC Evo 4G, the Supported limit (According to GSMArena) is 32GB.

GSMArena is usually pretty good for anything hardware related, so if the afore mentioned model is the one you have, try searching GSM for your model.

Source: GSMArena


Nexus 6 defaults to Call screen upon unlock Is the Nexus 6 supposed to default to the Call screen every time I unlock my phone? I get tired of unlocking my phone, and hitting the Home button every time. I want to unlock my phone and get the Home screen....anybody got any ideas?

If you swipe from left to right (a common mistake in users new to Lollipop) the phone opens the dialer, much like if you swipe from right to left, you open the camera. If you swipe from bottom to top, this unlocks the phone without taking you to either.


What Are The Differences Between Samsung Firmware Version For Countries In The Same Region? Sorry for the dumb question - I really am a noob at this.
I have just bought a brand new SIM-free Galaxy S4 Mini LTE GT-i9195.
I am in the UK, but the phone has French CSC installed (code XEF).

From Handset:

Baseband version I9195XXUBMJ7
Build number JDQ39.I9195XXUMBJ7
SELinux status - enforcing SEPF_GT-I9195_4.2.2_002

Instead of upgrading via Kies to latest XEF firmware version, I was thinking of trying to use Odin to install latest UK version instead:I9195XXUBML4_I9195YTUBNA2_BTU.zip

Question

Any potential benefits / downsides to switching from XEF to BTU firmware version?

I guess that they are optimized for a particular country for example they will use different wifi channels (you should find the best channel anyway for best speed) and for different mobile communication infrastructures.

The best you can do to find out is test them.If you want the best out of your phone then flash a 4.4.2 or newer if possible rom and kernel and more (I use dorimanx 10 bet test)


OneDrive not syncing properly OneDrive Android does not update OneDrive on PC, but OneDrive PC does update OneDrive Android:
    - If I edit a file on my PC, both the PC and Android will open that version.
    - If I edit that file on Android and save, then Android opens the new version, but the PC opens the original version.
    - If I edit the original version on the PC, Both the PC and Android will open the 3rd version.

Am I the only one? Is there a setting problem?
It seems like OneDrive Android App does not sync to the cloud even if refresh is pushed.

Galaxy S4
Kit-Kat 4.4.4
OneDrive 2.8.2

I have this problem too. Open a Word document on OneDrive using Hancom Office, for example,  edit and save it.

The document is saved in a cache on my tablet (labelled onedrive) but never updated elsewhere. The only way to update is to "save as" somewhere you can find it an reshare from the tablet manually.

This makes it a half useful app on tablets. Works fine'ish between PCs


How to send multiple contacts by email? I've searched all over the place and couldn't find a solution.

I want to send around 30 contacts (names + phone numbers) by email, to someone. Now I can't seem to succeed with the feat! What can I do to send a simple list (or a table) containing the name and phone number of an entire group of people (they're already organized in a group).

Offering free cookies and upvotes for any good info!

Do you need to do if from your phone?

Because if not, you can just use the Gmail desktop interface to do this, I do this quite often and it's fairly easy:

Go to your contacts (click Gmail in the upper left corner)
Select the contacts you want to export
Put them in a new group you can call Tmp or something random
Then click on that group and find the Export menu item in one of the menus (I think More actions)
Export to Google CSV if the receiver will import them through Gmail as well, otherwise you can consider vCard format. The file will download automatically.
Compose a new mail and put the newly created file as attachment.
(If you used Google CSV, the contacts can be imported using the same Contacts interface just by clicking Import in one of the menus)


Taking photos is slow I've a few month old Samsung Galaxy A51 (android 10) and it's camera needs couple of seconds (2-4) BEFORE taking any picture, which is just too long when I want to photo children.
My past phones were all from Samsung Galaxy A series and never had this issue.
Is there anything I can do to make taking photos faster?

Taking high resolution pictures needs to process the image data. Based on GPU, it may take a while, like ~ 2-3 seconds for ~ 14-20 Megapixel camera phone.
Some phones camera software may take several pictures to increase picture quality or prevent blurry photos using software, which also increase processing time.
You can manually reduce the photo resolution from camera app settings, which may reduce overall processing time. Turn off HDR as well if not needed.
Also try some 3rd party camera app and try which suits your needs.


How can I configure Android to login to an ISA proxy server? I see that if I did a long touch over a Wifi network, I can specify some proxy settings. In my company we use a Isa Proxy server, and each user has to login through domain server.

Is there any way to configure that on our tablets? ( Android 4.1)

There are multiple solutions. As you have Android 4.x, long-pressing on a WiFi APN in Settings→Networks & Wireless→WiFi lets you edit an APN. Check the "Advanced" box, and you can configure the proxy. Though this form does not offer separate fields for username/password, here's a trick how to do it:

For the server name, enter user:pass@proxyserver (e.g. if the proxy is 10.11.12.1, user joe, password foo: joe:foo@10.11.12.1) -- this is how it works in some browsers for password-protected urls. In case this makes trouble (should not, but who knows), further details can be found at Android-Proxy.Blogspot.DE (don't be irritated by .DE, it's in English).

Another possibility would require your device to be rooted: ProxyDroid offers some comfort in connection with proxies. Next to supporting multiple profiles, it is also capable of handling different authentication methods.


Contact groups in 2.3.4 - xperia? Is there a way to have contact groups in this phone?
I know it is possible on other phones, but this one does not give you the ability to make them.

Android 4.x supports contact groups. This is the only way I've found till now.


Is there a way to turn off app updates when global and app-specific autoupdate setting is already set to Never/Off? On Monday, January 18th, 2016, on a never-network-locked-or-branded Nexus 5, I've noticed that the Google Chrome app was suddenly updated, together with the user-installed "My Cricket" and one other app (possibly Visual Voicemail?), after doing an intended manual update of some unrelated app.  In all, 4 apps were updated, when only one was intended to be.

I've uninstalled the Google Chrome updates (which also resulted in the data-loss of the browser history and the open windows), but wasn't able to restore My Cricket to any prior version, since, being user-installed from the Play Store, there's no option to go back.

Today, Wednesday, 20th, the Google Chrome app was force updated again.  I've confirmed that its individual settings are not set to autoupdating, nor are the global settings set to apply the updates.  Moreover, one of the top reviews for Google Chrome was a 2-star one, dated 19.01.2016, also alleging a forced autoupdate!

How do I really disable the updates?  Like, for real, no exceptions?
Is there a way to see for sure which exact apps were updated?  E.g., what was that forth app that I allege must be the "Visual Voicemail" one?  (Only the first three apps were visible in the status in the notification bar, but it was mentioned that 4 updates were performed.)
Is there a way to backup my browser history and the open-windows, to prevent losing it all when uninstalling the unsanctioned update?
Is there a way to backup all my apps?

Please kindly note that a user-mistake is highly unlikely -- it happened twice, and was also reported by a highly-voted review in the Play Store.  Also note that the phone has been disconnected from Cricket many months ago; it's only used through WiFi; so, any sort of network interference is likewise a quite remote possibility (it still has the SIM, though, but it hasn't registered to any network in a very long time now, always showing no reception in the top status bar).

That Google Chrome update is horrendous! It's being forced outside of Play Store, but there is a way to disable it.

It's pretty ugly, but here's how I stopped it, while keeping Play Services (Gmail, Maps, etc): Go into Application Manager, scroll over to the "All" tab, and find "Download manager". Once you disable that, there will be NO updates from anywhere.

Now, Play Store won't open all the way, asking you to turn Download manager back on. So when you need to use Play Store, go back into settings, find Chrome, disable it, then clear data on Download manager and also on Play Store. Then, you can update other apps without updating Chrome.

You also will need to use Firefox or Opera to download PDFs and other files online.

Hope this helps,


How can I make Google Maps speak the street names when the voice is set to a foreign language? I'm running Google Pixel 2 with latest updates. You can change the navigation voice language in Google Maps via:

hamburger icon (3 horizontal bars) --> Settings --> Navigation Settings --> Voice selection --> choose any language

I have my Google maps voice set to French. However, it no longer speaks street names! I am using Google maps to navigate using voice only, without a screen, while riding my electric skateboard. So, I really need it to speak the street names while I'm riding, but I want the voice to be in French. Any way to do this?

The best answer would be for GOOGLE TO PLEASE FIX IT so we can have an option to turn street name speaking on or off regardless of the chosen system language and the chosen Google Maps spoken language (they should be functionally separate).

However, this is the only current work-around I have been able to discover:

the solution is simply to change your entire phone language to the foreign language you want spoken, as apparently the street names can only be spoken in the phone's default language. This is dumb.

Anyway: main phone settings --> System --> Languages & input --> Languages --> Add a language --> choose the one you want (ex: French) --> tap and hold the hamburger icon (3 horizontal bars) next to this new language and drag it up to re-order this language to be on the very top (it is now your default system language).

That's it! Now, back in your Google Maps navigation settings you'll see that the default language (French) is now chosen, and under it it says what it used to say for the English default language: "Prononce les noms de rues" (Speak street names). It now speaks street names in French, just like it used to do for English. However, the down-side is that my entire phone is now in French instead of just the audio for my Google Maps, like I wanted. Google, please fix this!


How to emulate a mouse? I am running Android 4.3 "jelly bean" in a VirtualBox VM. Google has released an ISO of an x86 port on code.google.com. It's a fairly straightforward installation, and easy to setup. You can find a tutorial here if you need help. But let's get back on subject.

Anyways, I have successfully installed it. It does not seem to have mouse integration, which I desperately need. My laptop which I am running it on does not have a touchscreen. It is a 64-bit Dell something-or-other laptop I received from a friend, and it is running Ubuntu 16.10. Is there any available APKs or workarounds for the mouse? I can use the mouse, but no pointer displays. For example, I can click and drag the top menu bar that displays notifications, battery, etc. and open that, or click buttons (if I'm careful), or use it as if it were my finger. I simply need it to display the mouse pointer. The only workaround I can think of is unlock the developer tools and use the mouse tracking option that draws a line when you tap. However, that only works if I click and drag.

The question: Are there any APK's or workarounds for displaying a mouse pointer or emulating a mouse, and if there is/are, how can I use/activate/install/get them?

edit: This isn't something I can't live without. I'm just experimenting, maybe going to do a little android gaming just for fun. I can do most of the UI navigation with the keyboard, but a mouse would make things much easier. Also, I am looking for a no-price, costless workaround. That said, I'd rather not do anything like buy a controller.

~ P

It seems that I have found a temporary answer. In the "Input" taskbar menu of Vitualbox, there is a mouse integration option. Left unchecked, Android draws the mouse pointer. However, if Mouse Integration is on, it relies on the host OS, which does not work. This option is less convenient, but it works for now. If anyone has any recommendations to permanently fix this, please post an answer.

~ P


How to factory reset Galaxy Note 10.1 from Odin My Note 10.1 (N8010) won't boot - sticks at the "Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1" logo.  Power+VolUp does not take me to the recovery (just reboots), but Power+VolDown does take me to "ODIN MODE", so I presume my options are limited to things I can do from ODIN MODE.  Fortunately there is no data on the tablet that I need.

I would like to perform a factory reset.

My best guess is that I need to erase the cache (and possibly data) partitions.  Can I erase these from ODIN?

If I need a cache.img or other images, where can I get or how can I create one?

I use Linux so I cannot use Kies.  I have Heimdall which appears to do this sort of thing.

I have flashed TWRP (using ODIN) in the hope that it would boot into that recovery, but it does not.

Flashing a whole factory firmware should automatically perform a wipe afterwards. If that doesn't work then you have trouble.


What could cause the camera to turn on automatically while the phone is in standby? I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 (the blue one just to help set the scene) running Android version 4.4.2

My phone was sleeping beside me peacefully on my desk in standby mode (or whatever you call it when it's just a blank screen not being used).

Suddenly, the screen lights up and to my surprise the camera is active - with no human intervention whatsoever. There were also no notifications of any kind at this point that might have had a hand in it.

What could be the possible causes for this to happen? Are there any conditions is which this might be expected? Is it a bug? Or maybe worse, could it be a malicious application trying to "catch me in the act"?

Additional information that might be useful:

When the camera started it was the main camera that was active, rather than the front camera
Looking through the phone and camera settings, there is nothing enabled (or even available) that might explain this happening. For example, there is no quick start camera gesture or voice command

Not exactly a solution, but this seems to be part of the problem:

  Launch Camera directly from lock screen

  Time is often of the essence when trying to capture the perfect
  picture. The Galaxy S5 lets you bypass the lock screen to snap a
  picture. Simply swipe the camera icon up (in the lower right hand
  corner) and you’ll launch directly into the camera app! If this
  feature isn’t turned on you can do so by:

  Go to Settings > Lock Screen Check “Camera Shortcut” You’re done! Even
  if you have a pattern or password lock set up this will let you take
  pictures without unlocking your phone.

How this is being enabled is anyones guess.


HTC One X Has Started to Constantly Disconnect From My Network Even at Close Range I have a HTC One X (not rooted) running Android 4.1.1 but unfortunately it keeps disconnecting from my router when I am at home. The router in question is a Buffalo AirStation WZR-HP-G300NH2 running DD-WRT and the issue occurs even when I am less than one meter away from it. The phone shows the WiFi signal as full strength, but most of the time it will constantly disconnect and reconnect.

The router is running in 802.11g/n mixed mode at 2.4GHz.

Here's the thing: the phone was previously working fine with my network for several months yet nothing has changed that I am aware of and I have not updated the firmware of either device in some time. I still have no problems connecting to my neighbour's router (which I have been granted access to) from the same phone even though the signal is understandably poor. Also, no other devices have trouble connecting to my router.

My router was configured to choose a channel automatically. Using inSSIDer on the phone I could see that the router was picking channel 6 - this seems to be logical as there does not seem to be anything else using it. I manually set the WiFi to channel 6 to be sure, but the issue remains.

I'm having trouble working out whether the phone or the router is to blame. I'm guessing that there could be some kind of interference on the channel I'm using, but I don't want to change to another one because no other devices have a problem using it and I'm guessing that performance could be reduced due to interference from other networks.

Any help in diagnosing the problem would be appreciated. Both devices have been restarted yet there was no improvement.

Ironically the Android 4.2.2 update I had been waiting many months for turned finally turned up the day after I posted my question. Since I updated I haven't seen the problem occur again so I'm hoping it fixed it. On the other hand it might just be a coincidence so I'll have to see how it goes.


Dialer & Contacts app display duplicate (WhatsApp) Issue: When searching in dialer or contacts apps (From Google Play store, latest version) many contacts show up twice. Only contacts with WhatsApp (or more times if more phone numbers stored under the contact have WhatsApp enable)

https://contacts.google.com online show only one Contact. So no "real" duplicates.

Manual Fix, (one by one): When I edit & save the contact the contacts are now "merged" like it used to be.

This is a new phone and WhatsApp data was restored from Cloud backup.

Same issue:

WhatsApp contacts doesn't merge with Google Contacts
Exact same contact shown twice
https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Android/issues/4191
https://forum.xda-developers.com/2015-moto-g/help/contact-duplication-phone-dialer-app-t3662691
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/help/duplicate-dialer-t3182676

Attempts to fix

Customize the view in contacts app is not a solutions.
Cleared the Contacts Storage data

Any suggestion how to fix it without manual touching all contacts?

I solved this issue by editing all my Google contacts to make sure they contain full country code and no dashes or spaces between the numbers. In the Google Contacts landing page (web) they will all look OK but once you click edit you might find some with the incorrect format. Doing this will enable the Dialer app to link the mobile and Whats App contacts correctly. I know this is still a tedious manual fix but it is the only one I found to work.


Disable Android Market localization I'm using LG GT540 with (LG) official Android 2.1. The market has never been updated, but months ago, the top apps show my local (Vietnam) apps.

Those top rated are actually very bad, can I disable it, use old international version?

If your phone is rooted, you can install Market Enabler from Android Market and choose another location. Sometimes you may need to change the language settings on your device.


android device manager not showing my device My phone was stolen a month ago. I tried to search it with Android Device Manager also but nothing came up.

After few days I searched it again it was not showing my device. What does that mean?

I was using One Plus One.

That mean your device cannot be located. The thief has probably done a factory reset on it. Unfortunately there is a very low chance for you find it back...


What is a 'global' phone? (ex: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge model SM-G935F) Is the 'global' model of a phone the same thing as an 'international version?'
I'm shopping for an S7 edge, and I've heard all over the internet that the international version doesn't work with Samsung Pay.
Also, this may be a dumb question, would a model such as the SM-G935FD (a Taiwan model) be considered an 'international version?'

Is the distinction thus:
--US--
SM-G9350
SM-G935A (AT&T, Cricket USA)
SM-G935P (Sprint, Boost, Virgin USA)
SM-G935R (US Cellular)
SM-G935T (T-Mobile, Metro PCS USA)
SM-G935V (Verizon USA)
--International--
SM-G935F (Global)
SC-02H (Japan Docomo)
SCV33 (Japan au)
SGH-N611 (Japan Docomo)
SM-G935D (Japan Docomo)
SM-G935FD (Taiwan)
SM-G935J (Japan au)
SM-G935K (Korea)
SM-G935L (Korea)
SM-G935S (Korea)
SM-G935W (Canada)

[I got this list from http://willmyphonework.net - I use this site as I'm phone shopping to check whether a certain model will work with my carrier]  (this example is to help me further understand, you see. Edit/shorten as you see fit.)

Okay, so I chatted with a Samsung representative, and they informed me that their global model phones are indeed considered international. In re-reading my question now, I realize my question may not have been as clear as it could have been- I'm in the market for a new S7 Edge, and so was curious about what it meant when one of Samsung's phone models was "global," such as the SM-G935F.

So, the rep said the global model, and any non-US models (Japan Docomo, Taiwan, Japan au, Korea, Canada, etc) are considered international. He also confirmed that they do not currently work on Samsung Pay, and he does not know when this will happen, if it does.

So this is correct:
--US--
SM-G935A (AT&T, Cricket USA)
SM-G935P (Sprint, Boost, Virgin USA)
SM-G935R (US Cellular)
SM-G935T (T-Mobile, Metro PCS USA)
SM-G935V (Verizon USA)
--International--
SM-G935F (Global)
SM-G9350 (China) [credit: Andy Yan]
SC-02H (Japan Docomo)
SCV33 (Japan au)
SGH-N611 (Japan Docomo)
SM-G935D (Japan Docomo)
SM-G935FD (Taiwan)
SM-G935J (Japan au)
SM-G935K (Korea)
SM-G935L (Korea)
SM-G935S (Korea)
SM-G935W (Canada)


Samsung Galaxy S 2 doesn't switch on or go into download mode , yellow triangle with exclamation mark I had Galaxy S2 with Gingerbread kernel, I needed to upgrade it to ICS. I used Odin 3 v3.04 to download the ICS kernel (I9100) to the phone. I followed the following steps:

You start with the phone disconnected from the computer and switched off.
Start the SGS2 in download mode: you do this by pressing "Volume down", the "Home" button and the "Power" button at the same time. Don’t release them until the download mode screen appears (it looks totally different from the normal starting screen).
Follow the on-screen instructions: 'Continue' by pressing "Volume up".
Start Odin 3 on your computer.
Click on PDA and select the tar-archive containing the kernel you want to install.
DO ONLY check the option boxes "Auto Reboot" and "F. Reset Time".
Connect the SGS2 to the PC via USB. The first field of "ID:COM" should turn yellow stating the COM Port of your device. Continue only after this has happened. It can take a couple of seconds.
Click Start and wait for the flashing process to finish.
After that it said "Reset", and I powered off the phone

10.When I switched on the phone Odin said Pass

*But now I have a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle, no switch on happening, not able to get into download mode also.*

Well... you have experienced a soft brick!

You did some thing you didn't need to do, but it's not the end of the world and you can fix it.

You flashed an ICS kernel on a GB device - big NO NO,
ICS kernel goes to ICS ROM only
You used Odin 3 when you should have used 1.8

So, how to fix this?

Download speedmod kernel for I9100 (i prefer his work) from this
site and flash using the correct Odin version

If, as you said, cannot go into download mode you need to get a JIG that will force your device to go to download mode (you have to go into download mode or you can't fix it)

By the way, can you go to recovery? VOL UP + HOME + POWER?


How should I correctly turn on my phone? This is regularly driving me nuts. Every once in a while, my phone freezes for whatever reason. I press and hold the power button to shut if off. Now comes the part that's giving me trouble.

If I just press the power button, nothing happens.
If I press and hold the power button, at some point a picture of a battery appears. It will disappear again after a while (probably because I'm still holding the power button and shutting the phone back off)
If I press and hold the power button and release it when the battery image appears, the image will stay and indicate that the battery is being loaded.
If I press and hold the power button for just the right amount of time, the Galaxy S2 logo appears and my phone boots.

So, usually I find myself going through this cycle a couple of times until I finally get my phone booted. What am I doing wrong?

I'm assuming you have a power cable plugged in.

In that case you'll have to unplug the cable, turn it on and plug it in as soon as something appears on the screen.

I've had this problem several times when trying to flash the phone while tethered to a computer and forgot to take out the USB cable when rebooting.


Inserting incompatible SD card? I have an Android phone which supports 32GB SD card. So, if I insert a 64GB SD card, I know that the device will not recognize it. But, if I create two partitions in the 64GB SD card (32GB each), will the device recognize it?

Note: I have Android 7.0 installed in my device.

The support is based on device performance rather than the actual hardware or software limitations.

For example, if your device has a slow processor then reading the SD Card to do a Media Scan will take for ever... So long that it will impact the user experience constantly waiting for the SD Card to read.

So, as to improve the user's experience they decided to implement a recommended maximum SD card limit.

It is only a recommendation.

You can usually not format a device in Fat32 larger than 32GB .. However if you use other software or even the inbuilt Format option, it will use a modified Fat32 called ExFat ... ExFat can handle larger than 32 bit and is basically a workaround for the 32 GB limit of Fat32.

So, just format it and wait a little longer for the card to load... A few seconds or minutes waiting is well worth the extra storage in my opinion, however some people prefer Speed over Size.


Tasker getting wifi info for unconnected networks Is it possible to discover signal strength info for unconnected networks? I want to switch networks if the current signal is weak AND there is a stronger signal available. I have hunted for a relevant plugin to no avail. Thanks

Here is a workaround you could use:

This workaround involves:

creating a simple tasker profile which notifies you when an unconnected WLAN with a good signal is detected.
creating a  notification (flash/blink/notification flash)-as you wish which will alert you when a good signal is available nearby.

connecting to a WLAN AP which has been classified as having a good signal

This involves using a %WIFII which shows information on detected WLAN APs ( useful info on mac address, signal strength, broadcast channel etc)

Task

A1:Alert >> Flash (or Notify LED or vibrate).
   Text: WLAN APs with good signal available
   Since WIFI signal strength ranges from 1-9 you may define strong signal as those above 5 (its up to you) See screenshot.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

A2: Net >> WiFi >> Set-On [If %WIFI~Off]

Profile

You can accomplish this by using a WifiNear profile to detect nearby WLAN APs.

In the profile tab, select State >> Wifi Near (You may put additional info for SSID/MAC/Channel if you want to connect to a specific AP)
but if you want detection for any access point leave as it is.
Also you can leave toggle wifi unticked if "Keep Wi-Fi ON" option is enabled in advanced wifi settings

Note: When any profile has a WiFi Near state, it will do regular scans for nearby APs (roughly every 120 secs default).
You may change this in preferences of Tasker

Limitations:

Once connected to a WLAN AP automatically, the context scan will be ignored until you move out of range of your currently connected AP.
Only previously saved APs are connected automatically since one can't access an encrypted WLAN except that they previously saved the password in the device.


Cerberus not start when mobile restart Hello I have a Xiaomi redmi 3 Pro with MIUI 8 and I installed the app cerberus and I have made the app is not shown in the menu. The problem is this, I restarted the phone and want to access the app now, I put the code 23723787 for show the app in the menu and I also tried to send a command from the web and I have not received a response. It is as if the app had not started after restarting mobile.
Any suggestion?

After searching some information I found the way.
You have to go to Settings -> permissions -> autostart and check the App Cerberus and other apps you want start automatically. Then I restart the phone and try the code or the web command and this work for me.

I found other way if you want to delete the App and then install it again. This way involves installing the App ROM Toolbox, that lets you delete a hidden App without being root and then install Cerberus again and follow the steps before.

This work for me, I hope this is the best way to do it, but I appreciate it corrected if I'm wrong.


Is the Motorola Xoom tablet suitable for making notes on pdf? I am considering buying a Motorola Xoom to get rid of piles of notes that I have from uni.

My questions are:

Does the Xoom have a digitizer pen (or can you buy a compatible one)?
Does Android have an app to make notes on pdf files?

I do not believe there are any Android applications that will allow you to make notes on PDF files. You might be better off looking towards a Windows capable tablet, since you would be able to run Acrobat on that.


How do I get to the "Home" in Play Store? I feel really dumb for needing to ask this.  When I'm using the Play Store app, how do I get back to the main screen?  Currently I hit "Back" multiple times to get there, but if I have done a lot of browsing, the navigation history is very long, so I have to hit "Back" many times.

Is there a quick way to get back to the main Play Store screen without using the Back button?

Whenever you navigate the Play Store using the app, each app page has a left-arrow just below the status/notification bar. I have just tested this to 20 levels deep, and the arrow brings you to one of 2 places:

Play Store home directly, or,
that account's navigation menu, including Store Home as the first option.


How do I verify that the USB debugging key fingerprint is correct? When I try to enable USB debugging on my Android device, I am prompted with this message:

The computer's RSA key fingerprint is:
FE:35:23:34:...

I see the public key in ~/.android/adbkey.pub
How can I verify that this RSA key fingerprint is correct on the computer's commandline?
Can I use adb?

Per this answer:
awk '{print $1}' < ~/.android/adbkey.pub | base64 --decode | md5sum


Xiaomi blackshark android 8.0 can't connect to LAN Ethernet ill buy LAN adapter with usb c to connect LAN directly to my phone but it is not working. What possible to do

If or if not external USB device like an USB2Ethernet adapter works is device dependent, not Android dependent.

If it is supported you will find some mention of "Ethernet" in the Android network advanced settings. If not it may work or not. If it does not work your device is most likely not capable to use such devices.

Unless you plan to root your device and install a custom ROM that has USB2Ethernet OTG support there is nothing you can do.


How to save or back-up whole SMS threads on SIM I have a Samsung-SGH -I927 and would need to save on my SIM card or send to my email for back up several text SMS messaging threads. I know that I can do this with an individual SMS' by lightly tapping on them and choose the save to SIM option, but I do not know how to do it with a whole thread. How can I do it?

Try using 'Super Backup' utility. You'll get an option to backup your entire SMS threads on your SD card in xml file. You can easily restore your sms too.


What's the best method for rooting HTC Desire? Possible Duplicate:
  How to root a HTC Desire running official Android 2.3?

What's the best method for rooting HTC Desire?

Do I need both S-OFF and root? How are these two things related?

I essentially want to root because I am often short on space so I want to be able to store apps and associated data on the SD memory card instead of the internal phone memory. For this I will need root, right?

One of the best methods to root the HTC Desire is to use Unrevoked. It will install root and a custom recovery. You can check the guide in XDA Forums

S-ON (default phone state) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partitions, so despite being root, you won't be able to modify them. With S-OFF you remove that lock and can make use of root in all the phone. To achieve S-OFF you can use Revolutionary.

I suppose what you want is to use any App2SD script. For that you will need to be root and depending on the script you want to use, you might also need S-OFF to be able to write in init.d


Close app as opposed to letting it run in the background I'm not sure whether this is a Galaxy Nexus question or an ICS question, but here goes:

Suppose I'm using some app and then I move to the home screen, rather than shutting down, the app is left to run in the background. Is there a way of exiting an app such that it gets closed upon leaving it rather than being left to run in the background?

This is really a question about Android in general, and is based on a misconception of how Android handles background apps. Check out this XDA post for a nice explanation of why processes sitting in memory in the background really aren't a bad thing. You should only worry about exiting/force-quitting/killing an app if things start misbehaving.


GSM signal lost - howto get signal back without restarting Several times a week I have the problems where the GSM signal is lost on my phone, due to bad coverage in that area. The real problem for me is that when that happens, and when I move to a place with known coverage, the signal doesn't come back. The only solution I know is to restart the phone. Switching to airplane mode and back doesn't help.

Is there an app or method I can use to avoid the restart?

Phone: Samsung Galaxy S2
Android: Jelly Bean 4.2 (Avatarrom)

The following is no complete solution, but at least a work-around, avoiding a long reboot:

There are apps like Quick Boot (others have things like "fast reboot" and the like in their names/descriptions). Other suggested by those names, they do not really reboot your device, but simply restart the system server (for details, please take a look at Can somebody explain the boot process of an Android device? – the system server is started at step 5 of 6 boot steps, so this skips more than half of the way down and up, effectively resulting in a process about 3 times as fast as a complete reboot).

While this way all your apps are killed as a side effect (as they require the system server to work), it's still a lot faster than a real reboot, and thus "less hazzle".


Is there a way to workaround the phone memory limit for installed apps? ..without rooting my phone.

Does this mean I really can't keep all the apps I want, and I have to clear data or uninstall apps when I want to install a new app that doesn't fit the phone memory?

Does anyone know if Google has any plans of doing away with this restriction?

Your phone needs space for upgrades, temp files, and the like.  You can't fill it up to the brim any more than you can fill the hard drive a computer OS is on.  Google will not do away with it.

If you are out of space and your phone doesn't take an SD card, then yes you will have to clear up space for new apps.  If it takes an SD card and you have root or 2.2+, you should be able to move many of your apps onto it (search for how), and App2SD support is being encouraged.


Can I link a variable to File Opened Event in tasker? I want to link a variable to the File Opened event in tasker.
But I can't...Is there any other way to check which file or folder is opened right now...but this event profile is only allowing me to review only one folder which I have selected.I want to assign a variable here...instead of a single folder name like Download

While this is a known limitation in Tasker there is a workaround which involves creating several events then combining them into a profile through a variable (Profiles Active)

Here is how to go about it:

Lets say you want a "File Opened Event" involving 3 seperate files,  in this case I named them A.csv ; B.csv; and C.scv

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

Event A

Go to Profile >> Event >> File Opened >> Choose A.csv (Give the Profile a name e.g FOa)

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

Task

As you know you can't create a profile without a linking task so here is a workaround:

When it asks for the task:

Go to New Task + >>Don't write anything in New task name ( so as to keep it anonymous)

A1 Task >> Wait >> 2 seconds (Note: This is a dummy task and it won't affect anything)

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

Event B

Go to Profile >> Event >> File File Opened >> Choose B.csv (Give the Profile a name e.g FOb)

Task

When it asks for the task:

Go to New Task + >>Don't write anything in New task name ( so as to keep it anonymous)

A1 Task >> Wait >> 2 seconds

Event C

Go to Profile >> Event >> File File Opened >> Choose C.csv  (Give the Profile a name e.g FOc)

Task

When it asks for the task:

Go to New Task + >> Don't write anything in New task name ( so as to keep it anonymous)

A1 Task >> Wait >> 2 seconds

Now to create one profile which accesses all those 3 files as if its one Event proceed as follows...

Under Profiles tab: Select State >> Variables >> Variable Value >> %PACTIVE ~ FOa/FOb/*FOb (see screenshot below my aesteriks not showing with text formatting)

(Means profiles active suggesting the MAIN profile is active whenever ANY of the files is opened - much more flexible than what you had only 1 file.)

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

Now you can then link this Profile to the real Task you wish to perform.

The consequence of this is that you have created a Profile with an Event which relates to 3 files not just one as before.

Hope it helps, even to other scenarios where multiple actions relating to on event cannot be performed.


Manually updating samsung home app I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy Y phone. I couldn't help notice that the Samsung Home app in my mobile phone misses a lot of features in comparison to that in more expensive models of Samsung phones.

I tried getting my hands on the .apk file of Samsung home, but apparently, it is not available in Google Play or any of the alternative markets that I know about.

My Question is, will the latest version of Samsung Home even work on my phone, if I am able to get it somehow? (From the /system/apps folder of some rooted Samsung Galaxy S mobile phone)

Check the ADW launcher. An open desktop, lots of functionalities (does not replace the notification bar as it's an integral part of the system


logged in from friends tablet but in device manager it shows current device is my cell phone I logged into my Google account from my friends tablet.went to my account info page. Looked at  my recent activities and it shows all devices I've logged in from. The top one says My Cell Phones name and says  its my Current Device. HOW can that be? I'm across town from my cell phone at the moment and I'm on a friends tablet for the first time ever! Does this mean these two devices are linked in some weird way? Spy app or?? I can even go to google play and click on My Apps and it shows the apps that are actually  installed on my cell phone!

Apps you install from Google Play are linked with your account. This way, if you've paid for an app,  uninstall it and want to reinstall it again you can easily do so without paying twice.

If you have logged in to your friends tablet, this device is now connected to your Google Play account as well. It's a feature meant for when you buy a new  tablet. This means you can download all apps you have bought or installed on your previous (own) cell phone. Being able to see your installed apps is actually what's supposed to happen when logging into your Google account.

It's very strange that Google thinks you're currently on your cell phone while you're actually using a different device. Your friends tablet might have received the login token from your phone if you use the synchronisation features in Google Chrome, confusing their website.

It could also be possible that your device was doing something with your Google account (like updating apps) while you signed in.

Google can only really guess the exact device you're using when you log in to Google. Their current device indicator works most of the time but I wouldn't rely on it.

Try clearing the history, cookies and login sessions from your friends tablet or go incognito in Chrome and see if the website still says you're on your phone. There isn't any spy app active active and the indicator probably took a wrong guess on what device you were using.


Is there a way to record and playback a set of touches? What I'm looking for is some sort of macro-recorder (though that term seems to be hijacked now my macro-photography apps).

I'd like to record a set of presses (specifically, beating a level in a game), and then have those repeated for me so I can accumulate in-game currency without wasting my time or a ton of money.

I imagine there would be other practical uses as well, but I'm not finding anything to do this in Google Play.

MacroDroid and Tasker both looked promising, but you can only assign predefined actions to predefined events - not a set of touches.

I've developed such an app called RepetiTouch. It's currently in beta stage and aimed at developers, but a limited free version is available here. However, it needs a rooted device running Android 2.3 or later.

As far as I know, currently no other app with this functionality exists, but there are some tools/scripts providing such features using a computer and an USB connection, e.g., here.

Anyway, I discourage any use of any such apps or tools for farming.


fastboot flashing error: "Partition should be flashed in fastbootd" I am new to android development and I am trying to flash a custom rom to my Pixel 3a. It was built through the android source project. But I am facing below error. If anyone has faced such an error, it will be great if you can help. Thank you.
user@user-Predator-PH315-52:~/aosp$ fastboot flashall -w
--------------------------------------------
Bootloader Version...: b4s4-0.2-5736883
Baseband Version.....: g670-00030-191028-B-5972069
Serial Number........: 9A9AY1CEC7
--------------------------------------------

Checking product

OKAY [  0.060s]

target reported max download size of 268435456 bytes

Erase successful, but not automatically formatting.

File system type raw not supported.

Erase successful, but not automatically formatting.

File system type raw not supported.

Sending 'boot_b' (65536 KB)...

OKAY [  2.340s]

Writing 'boot_b'...

OKAY [  0.346s]

Sending 'dtbo_b' (8192 KB)...

OKAY [  0.384s]

Writing 'dtbo_b'...

OKAY [  0.095s]

Sending sparse 'system_b' 1/5 (262140 KB)...

OKAY [  9.245s]

Writing 'system_b' 1/5...

FAILED (remote: Partition should be flashed in fastbootd)

Finished. Total time: 14.348s

**Phone**: Pixel 3a

**Build**: 9.0.0(PD2A.190115.032, Mar 2019)

I'm sure you figured it out by now but for any future users searching for a solution, I had the exact same issue on my Pixel 3a XL. You need the most up to date version of ADB and FASTBOOT. Grab it from Google to be sure you have the most recent, you only need the SDK Platform-Tools. Don't have to download the whole SDK Platform


Updating phone-firmware based on phone carrier A while ago I bought a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge with a a dutch site called BelSimpel. This phone came with an contract from a dutch carrier called "Simpel", which is using the T-Mobile network.

When the phone arrived, it was still sealed and wasn't a dutch device based on the EAN number, it was delivered like buying a phone without a contract. A week later my sim-card came in, from the Simpel provider, so this was a SIM-only contract.

The phone is originally from Czech Republic.

When checking for updates on the live samsung updates feed for my phone, I see all updates getting released for a specific region (per provider per region).

Since my phone was delivered without a contract, how are updates getting released for my phone? Because I have a dutch carrier, using the T-Mobile network.

If you want to get the latest firmware for your Samsung Android device, head over to http://sammobile.com/firmwares/ and type in your Model number found in

Settings->Device Information (or maybe one of the subcategories like Software information)

It can also be found at the beginning of either Baseband or sometimes Build number. As a last resort the box your phone came in has that information on the little sticker with the three barcodes.

Given that you linked the international, unbranded S6 Edge (SM-G925F), I guess your device is unbranded. You will get updates via OTA directly from Samsung (no carrier in between you and the stock firmware) so watch out for any carrier specific firmware. They may replace parts of the firmware with their branding and their bloatware.

Any stock firmware for the SM-G925F will work as long as you don't intend to downgrade.


Lollipop hide quick settings on Lock screen I'm sure this would have been asked before. But I couldn't find out yet.

I recently updated to Lollipop in my Sony Xperia Z phone. The notification bar and pull down settings are great.

But on lock screen, I don't want to turn on/off any WiFi, Bluetooth or any  settings. Simply pull down settings should not be allowed on lock screen. How can I do that? Is there any option?

I have pattern lock already.

I'm using CyanogenOS 12 (derived from CM12), so the following solution may not work on an stock Lollipop, but regardless, it is a very useful solution.

The tiles that you can toggle in the Quick Settings are assigned particular names like Bluetooth → bt, Wi-Fi -> wifi, Landscape/Portrait → rotation, and many others, and these names are stored as a value for the key sysui_qs_tiles under the table secure of settings.db (Settings Storage).

While those tiles can be removed/re-arranged from the Settings UI, the command line can also be considered to achieve the task.

The relevant command is settings and its usage is mentioned as:

usage:  settings [--user NUM] get namespace key
        settings [--user NUM] put namespace key value
        settings [--user NUM] delete namespace key

'namespace' is one of {system, secure, global}, case-insensitive
If '--user NUM' is not given, the operations are performed on the owner user.

You would need ADB setup in your machine before you proceed any further. Alternatively, if the device is rooted, you can use a terminal app like  Terminal Emulator for Android.

Note: ADB in wireless mode may prove dangerous  if the device doesn't support authenticating  a client before giving access. Proceed at your own risk!

We first have to find out the value stored in the key sysui_qs_tiles, and to do that, enter in a terminal the command:

adb shell settings get secure sysui_qs_tiles

For rooted devices using terminal app:

su
settings get secure sysui_qs_tiles

The output would be like:

wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location,airplane

Now, if I want to remove Airplane Mode from the Quick Settings or want Wi-Fi tile to be shown after Hotspot, then the commands  in a respective order would be:

adb shell settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location
adb shell settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,wifi,location

For rooted devices using terminal app:

su
settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location
settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,wifi,location

Now, coming back to the requirement, that is, "hide quick settings on Lock screen". You can use an automation tool like Tasker to remove the tiles from Quick Settings when the screen is locked, and add them back when the screen is unlocked.

Before we proceed with Tasker's usage, I should mention that settings command can only be used with ADB in non-rooted devices  because of higher privileges required than what is granted to an ordinary user, and hence, for automation in Tasker the device would have to have ADB running in wireless mode. To do so, see:

How can I connect to Android with ADB over TCP?, or
Android ADB connect to device with broken USB and no root

Instructions for Tasker

Create a task named "Tiles s-unlocked".
Add an action as Code → Run Shell, and add these details:

Command: adb connect localhost:<PORT>; adb shell settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location

For rooted devices, the details would be:

Command: settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location
Check Use Root

For cases where it matters:

Use <PORT> as the port number on which ADB wireless is running like 5555
In place of wifi,bt,cell,rotation,flashlight,hotspot,location use the names of the tiles you want or have in Quick Settings

Create an another task named "Tiles s-locked".
Note: If you configured settings such that the screen doesn't lock right after the device gets to sleep, but after XY seconds (like 30 seconds), then create an action as Task → Wait and set those XY Seconds. Alternatively, sleep XY can be used in the next step under the Command. Arielle suggested the idea.
Add an another action as Code → Run Shell, and add these details:

Command: adb connect localhost:<PORT>; adb shell settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles ' '

For rooted devices, the details would be:

Command: settings put secure sysui_qs_tiles ' '
Check Use Root

Create a profile named "S-unlocked" under Event → Display → Display Unlocked, choose Highest Priority, and link the task "Tiles s-unlocked".
Create an another profile named "S-locked" under Event → Display → Display Off, choose Highest Priority, and link the task "Tiles s-locked".
Have the Tasker enabled, and behold the desired action by locking/unlocking the screen.

(Click image to enlarge)

Order of images as "No tiles when screen is locked" →  "Tiles when screen is unlocked"

(Click image to enlarge)

Let me know if my solution works in a device running Stock Lollipop.


Process 'system/bin/installd' causing memory leak When reviewing my running tasks, I've noticed a memory leak in process system/bin/installd. On boot completed, it begins running in the background, consuming 20-30MB RAM. Over time, its RAM usage gradually increases, going as high as 400MB at which time it causes a random reboot.

I am able force kill this process with no noticeable effects. However, it does restart itself and continue to leak memory.

Before I can attempt to remedy this issue, I need to know exactly what system/bin/installd is/what it does - something I cannot seem to find any information on.

Can anyone help?

Specs:

OnePlus One (rooted)
Mahdi ROM (CM11 base), Android 4.4.4 KitKat
Build # KTU84Q
Kernel 3.4.0-Mahdi-One-kk
Running multiple Xposed modules, init tweaks, etc.

/system/bin/installd is a system daemon that is involved in the installation of applications. System classes like PackageInstaller use it in their execution.

This article from DZone dates back to 2013, but it gives some pointers that can put on track:

  PackageInstaller is the default application for Android to interactively install a normal package. PackageInstaller provide user interface to manage applications/packages. PackageInstaller calls InstallAppProgress activity to receive instructions from the user. InstallAppProgress will ask Package Manager Service to install package via installd. Source code is available at  /packages/apps/PackageInstaller.

Today's Android code states (for example: services/core/java/com/android/server/pm/Installer.java):

 public void onStart() {
    Slog.i(TAG, "Waiting for installd to be ready.");
    mInstaller.waitForConnection();
}

The same file comments on checking out frameworks/native/cmds/installd/installd.h (I did not look further for now).

In short, you may need to look at the source code to know more about installd, depending on what you are up to.


How can I check if my phone supports GLONASS, WAAS and EGNOS? I know my phone has a GPS receiver, and it is able to find my location using that.

But does it also use the GLONASS satellites?
And can it use WAAS or EGNOS, to improve the accuracy of the position?

It their any way to test if my phone is using these?

If you can see the NMEA data , may be from Android APP (available in plenty) , the Prefix would say what GNSS system , its supporting . Like GP Prefix stands for GPS. GLONASS should be GL and Galelio would be GA. But there are some NMEA Sentences which combine  more than one GNSS System and use a different prefix. Better to understand NMEA Format .

$GPRMC,162254.00,A,3723.02837,N,12159.39853,W,0.820,188.36,110706,,,A*74
$GPVTG,188.36,T,,M,0.820,N,1.519,K,A*3F
$GPGGA,162254.00,3723.02837,N,12159.39853,W,1,03,2.36,525.6,M,-25.6,M,,*65
$GPGSA,A,2,25,01,22,,,,,,,,,,2.56,2.36,1.00*02


Help understanding Whatsapp's permissions Whatsapp has been nagging me for the past few days that I have to upgrade it to continue using it. With the Facebook acquisition and the Play Store no longer marking the permissions that are "NEW" separately, I'm on a toss up between an upgrade and an uninstall; I'm hoping further information about the permissions will help.

First of all, does anyone know which permissions were added after Facebook's acquisition?
And among the permissions listed, what does "find accounts on this device" allow the app to do? Does "receive text messages" allow the app to read any existing or new incoming SMS messages? And as a minor curiosity, why would it need the "retrive running apps" list?

Here's the permission list from the Play Store:

  This app has access to:

  In-app purchases

  Device & app history

  retrieve running apps

  Identity

  find accounts on the device
  add or remove accounts
  read your own contact card

  Contacts/Calendar

  read your contacts
  modify your contacts

  Location

  approximate location (network-based)
  precise location (GPS and network-based)

  SMS

  receive text messages (SMS)
  send SMS messages

  Phone

  directly call phone numbers

  Photos/Media/Files

  modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
  test access to protected storage

  Camera/Microphone

  record audio
  take pictures and videos

  Wi-Fi connection information

  view Wi-Fi connections

  Device ID & call information

  read phone status and identity

  Other

  receive data from Internet
  read sync statistics
  prevent device from sleeping
  full network access
  control vibration
  run at startup
  view network connections
  connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
  use accounts on the device
  create accounts and set passwords
  modify system settings
  read sync settings
  toggle sync on and off
  install shortcuts
  uninstall shortcuts
  read Google service configuration
  change your audio settings

I had sent this question as an email to WhatsApp support too, and I've now received a reply from them with complete explanations of the permissions. Pasting that reply below:

Thanks for your message. We strive to keep this information as up to date and as accurate as possible.
However, at times, it is possible that Google or your handset maker may change, deprecate or remove various permissions.

Category: Your messages

Permission: Receive text messages (android.permission.RECEIVE_SMS)
Explanation: We use this to be able to read the SMS we send to your phone to verify your phone number.

Category: Storage

Permission: Modify or delete the contents of your USB storage (android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE)
Explanation: We store your media and chat history backups on the USB storage.

Category: System Tools

Permission: Modify system settings (android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS)
Explanation: We need this to read your settings, we do not write any settings, but there is only a write settings permission which includes the ability to read settings.
Permission: install shortcuts (com.android.launcher.permission.INSTALL_SHORTCUT)
Explanation: We use this to install a WhatsApp shortcut or conversation shortcut on your homescreen.
Permission: uninstall shortcuts (com.android.launcher.permission.UNINSTALL_SHORTCUT)
Explanation: We use this to make sure we do not create duplicate shortcuts on your homescreen.

Category: Your location

Permission: approximate (network-based) location (android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION)
Explanation: We use this so that you can send your location to your friends.
Permission: precise (GPS) location (android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION)
Explanation: We use this so that you can send your location to your friends.

Category: Services that cost you money

Permission: directly call phone numbers (android.permission.CALL_PHONE)
Explanation: We need this so that we can have the "Call" ability in the app.
Permission: send SMS messages (android.permission.SEND_SMS)
Explanation: You may send an SMS by using our tell a friend feature to tell a friend about WhatsApp.

Category: Camera

Permission: Take pictures or videos (android.permission.CAMERA)
Explanation: We use this to allow you to take pictures from inside WhatsApp. Read more here

Category: Microphone

Permission: record audio (android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO)
Explanation: We use this to allow you to record Voice Notes to send to your friends.

Category: Your accounts

Permission: Add or remove accounts (android.permission.MANAGE_ACCOUNTS)
Explanation: We use this to add a WhatsApp account to your device to show your WhatsAppable contacts.
Permission: create accounts and set passwords (android.permission.AUTHENTICATE_ACCOUNTS)
Explanation: We use this to add a WhatsApp account to your device.
Permission: use accounts on the device (android.permission.USE_CREDENTIALS)
Explanation: We need this permission to read and write your WhatsApp credentials.
Permission: find accounts on the device (android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS)
Explanation: This is necessary to find which accounts to check for WhatsApp contacts.
Permission: read Google service configuration (android.providers.gsf.permission.READ_GSERVICES)
Explanation: This is used for Google Maps integration in WhatsApp location sharing.

Category: Your social information

Permission: modify your contacts (android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS)
Explanation: This is necessary so that we can add the WhatsApp button into your contacts so you can send a WhatsApp to your friends from anywhere in your phone.
Permission: read your contacts (android.permission.READ_CONTACTS)
Explanation: We use this in order to automatically add all your friends that have WhatsApp installed on their phones.

Category: Your personal information

Permission: read your own contact card (android.permission.READ_PROFILE)
Explanation: We use this to try and set a default profile name.
Permission: read call log (android.permission.READ_CALL_LOG)
Explanation: This permission is not needed but is granted transitively from READ_CONTACTS because we support old versions of Android.
Permission: write call log (android.permission.WRITE_CALL_LOG)
Explanation: This permission is not needed but is granted transitively from WRITE_CONTACTS because we support old versions of Android.

Category: Phone calls

Permission: read phone status and identity (android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE)
Explanation: We need this so that we don't annoy you when you are on the phone.

Category: Your applications information

Permission: run at startup (android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED)
Explanation: We use this to make sure the app is running to make sure you get your messages on time.
Permission: retrieve running apps (android.permission.GET_TASKS)
Explanation: We need this in order to see if you are running any Task Killers, which may cause problems with our application.

Category: Sync Settings

Permission: read sync settings (android.permission.READ_SYNC_SETTINGS)
Explanation: We use this to make sure you get your messages on time.
Permission: read sync statistics (android.permission.READ_SYNC_STATS)
Explanation: We use this to debug possible problems in getting your messages on time.
Permission: toggle sync on and off (android.permission.WRITE_SYNC_SETTINGS)
Explanation: We use this so that we can make sure your WhatsApp contacts are up to date.

Category: Development tools

Permission: test access to protected storage (android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE)
Explanation: We store data onto the external storage. The permission is granted transitively by android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE. We have no idea why Google describes the permission thusly.

Category: Affects Battery

Permission: control vibration (android.permission.VIBRATE)
Explanation: to notify you of a new message, we may vibrate your phone.
Permission: prevent phone from sleeping (android.permission.WAKE_LOCK)
Explanation: We need this to make sure that when a friend sends you a file, it doesn't get broken by your phone going to sleep.

Category: Network communication

Permission: full network access (android.permission.INTERNET)
Explanation: Without this we wouldn't be able to send your chat messages.
Permission: google play billing service (com.android.vending.BILLING)
Explanation: We use this to allow you to pay for the WhatsApp subscription.
Permission: receive data from internet (com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE)
Explanation: We use this to make sure that you get your messages on time.
Permission: view wifi connections (android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE)
Explanation: We use this to check and see if you are on a Wi-Fi that WhatsApp won't work on.
Permission: view network connections (android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE)
Explanation: We use this to diagnose your network connection and have the app react accordingly to ensure you get your messages on time.
Permission: full network access (android.permission.INTERNET)
Explanation: We need this to open socket connections to our servers in order to make sending and receiving messages fast.


Meaning of numbers in files WHATSAPP VOICE NOTES? I want to know how I cand find an especific voice note from de file ''WhatsApp Voice Notes''?
I thought that the numbers of the files means year,  months or something like that but I couldnt find it because I have thousands of voice notes
If I want an especific voice note from 18 February 2015 how will be named?
I have the file on my PC so I can't use my smartphone

Thanks

Short answer

On your PC ( or mobile ) do a wildcard search for PTT-20150218*.opus to get a list of all voice notes of
18 February 2015

Folder numbering is YYYYWW where YYYY is the year and WW is the week number of year - 201726 is the folder for voice notes created in the current week (at the time of writing )

Long answer

As per  How to get specific whatsApp voice note from your mobile which says

  Whatsapp creates folders and names them as week numbers of the year. So folder number 201612 (in the example above) means that what ever voice notes I've sent or received  between 21st March 2016 to 27th March, should be saved in that folder

(Emphasis Supplied)

In this example, week 12 of that year covers 21sr to 27th March

So, you would need to calculate from calendar the week of year your date falls in and see the corresponding folder, which happens to be 201508 (please double check the week number of year - I did it in a hurry )

Edit: I just created few voice notes and the logic given above is correct.

Folder numbering is YYYYWW where YYYY is the year and WW is the week number of year - 201726 ( path /storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Voice Notes/201726 )
Within the folder, files are arranged in PTT-YYYYMMDD-WA000X.opus, where X  increases as created


are you able to still us a google account after frp if I bypasss the frp can I still use a google account or do I have to use the previously synced one?

Yes. You can use any Google account after the bypass was successful.
Some bypass methods, especially the one with Google account manager, require you put your own account which will allow you to unlock the FRP.


how can I change defaults in Android? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I change the default Complete Action With?

I've accumulated a number of programs that do the same thing (browsers, mp3 players, video players etc), and some of are set as defaults.

How can I change the defaults?  For instance, let's say I'm tired of Opera and want to to switch back to the stock browser, but I want to leave Opera installed, how can I do that?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S with Froyo.

Find the application which currently handles the action by default in your application list (Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage Applications).  Once you've found the app in question (note that the 'Manage Applications' list is almost, but not quite, in alphabetical order), tap it, and then tap the 'Clear defaults' button.

Then, next time you start an action that would previously have been handled by the app, you'll get the 'Which app should I use' popup.


How can I invert the colors for only a given application on Android? (and not for all applications) How can I invert the colors for only a given application on Android? (and not for all applications)

Turning on the "color inversion" option in the settings invert the colors for all applications.

Not possible on stock Android. Google help clearly says :

  Color inversion applies to everything on your device, including media.

If you are on Android 10 using Dark theme and Color inversion together as explained (see link) may be an option in some cases.

If you root your phone and install custom ROM that supports per app color inversion, you are lucky. AFAIK, there isn't an app or Xposed module available for this purpose


How to uninstall ice cream sandwich update on huawei ascend g300? I have an ascend g300 from vodafone which I have unlocked and moved to another provider.

Yesterday I updated the os to ice cream sandwich following these instructions.

Since then the phone intermittently does not recognise the SD card when it wakes up from sleep. Sometimes it "prepares the SD card" and sometimes it says blank SD card or unrecognised format. Often if I restart the phone it starts working again.

The phone has also twice spontaneously restarted itself when it was supposed to be asleep.

I tried formatting the sd card in the phone and then reset to factory defaults. The phone was reset, but it didn't reformat the sd card, all my data was still there.

I'm now thinking I'd just like to uninstall the update, but how would I do that?

There is an official Vodafone Gingrbread downgrade here.
http://www.huaweidevice.com/worldwide/downloadCenter.do?method=toDownloadFile&flay=software&softid=NDY4ODE=


How many different types of YouTube Vanced are there? I have many YouTube accounts, and signing in and out is inconvenient. That's why I use different YouTube Vanced for different YouTube accounts. At present, I have three YouTube Vanced: version pink, blue, and this one of which I don't know the name.

I need another version of YouTube Vanced other than these 3 for my other YouTube account.

I can't use apps like Dual Apps to make a copy of YouTube Vanced because then signing in won't work. I have also downloaded many versions from the internet but in the end, I found them all similar to my previously installed versions of YouTube Vanced.

How many different types of YouTube Vanced are there?

There are 4 YouTube Vanced versions: Blue, Pink, Dark, and Black.

You already have YouTube Vanced Blue and Pink. I'm not sure if you have Black or Dark, but one of them should work for you.

This XDA thread contains download links as well.

Some Alternative Apps

NewPipe Link
YouTube Go Link
OgYouTube Link


What is this notification icon with a person's head and a share icon? I'm just wondering if anyone knows, what application this icon goes with. It was a screenshot from someone else's phone, so I can't just pull down the status bar and check.

This is not an app icon, this is an Android built-in function for sharing content over Bluetooth, Wi-Fi direct, NFC, on Social medias, etc. Also called Direct Share on Marshmallow.


Mysterious heavy battery drain during device sleep since update to M I recently updated my Note 3 to Marshmallow, using the resurrection remix rom, and I am experiencing excessive battery drain I cannot pinpoint the source of.

I am a very light device user, prior to updating to M I was using an Lollipop based mod - xnote, and my phone lasted for up to 10 days.

The drain appears to manifest randomly, I cannot tie it to anything in particular, sometimes it goes away after a device reboot, sometime it persists, it has triggered during my sleep, when the phone is completely idle, no wifi or whatsoever. I've taken care to prevent third party applications for running on boot and keeping the device away, and as the phone information shows, the CPU is in sleep 98-99% of the time. It is not the battery either, as until last week it could easily last a week, the battery itself has no more than 200 discharge cycles. I have disabled NFC, WIFI, GPS, bluetooth and pretty much everything non-essential yet the battery drains heavily while the phone is sleeping, doing nothing. Also the phone is set to "power save" settings.

Here is what I am talking about:

The image above shows battery levels from one reboot, with the drain persisting after the reboot, draining half of the battery in 12 hours of idling, as is obvious from the images below. Then shortly before 4 PM I did another reboot which removed the drain.

Here is another image, illustrating a longer period with and without the drain, absent the drain the phone loses 2-3% battery a day.

Any ideas how to pinpoint the source of the drain and prevent it? Marshmallow was supposed to improve battery life, but in my experience so far battery life with it is terrible.

I didn't manage to pinpoint the actual source of the drain, however it was finally resolved by replacing the stock kernel that came with the rom with idlekernel. Back to losing about 10% change in 24 hours on my modest usage pattern.

Update: several weeks into using the phone with that kernel and I noticed some things were not working properly. This led me to investigate the matter further, to finally arrive at the conclusion that the drain was the product of old firmware. After updating the bootloader and modem the drain has disappeared, most likely it was the modem, now battery usage is normal even without the custom kernel.


How can I get my Android Phone to use its SD card by default? I've installed an Android ROM on my HTC HD2, and it's working smoothly and responsively. I've gotten calling, SMS, MMS and internet to work flawlessly. I do however have one small problem. With only Android installed, my phone only has a few hundred kilobytes of space left in it's internal memory. I have an SD card inserted with 16GB available that's not being used.

After 6 hours of use I'm already getting error messages about SMS message memory being full, and I can't download apps due to the lack of space.

Any way I can get my Android phone to treat the SD card as "default" location for saving files, including images from the camera, images recieved from MMS, apps, text messages, mails and application data?

The sad but inevitable answer is that you can't. There is as of yet no way to tell Android to use the spacious SD card instead of the precious internal memory when installing new applications or saving messages.

One workaround that I've taken advantage of is installing an Android ROM and running it from the SD card using magldr. My SD card isn't of particularly fine quality so the OS runs quite sluggish, but it beats deleting all my SMS every day


S3 stuck on first splash screen I recently installed an update to my custom ROM (http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s3/development/wip-cyanogenmod-12-t2936990) which was previously working fine on my phone. After installing this update my phone now sits on the "Samsung Galaxy S III" screen and after about half a minute reboots back onto the screen.

I can access recovery and download mode with no problems still and I've tried re-flashing recovery and the ROM with no success.

If anybody can suggest anything I'd greatly appreciate it, thanks.

EDIT: I am unable to actually turn the phone off without removing the battery, every time I hold the power button it just turns itself back on after a second.

Have you tried to do a data wipe/factory reset?

You could take a nandroid backup, and use an app such as Titanium backup or Nandroid manager to get (some of) your data back.


How do does rooting in Cyanogenmod 10.2 work? Cyanogenmod 10.2 comes pre-rooted, but some people don't like the built-in SuperUser program, and would like to either update the su binary or use a completely different su program. Can this be done? If so, how?

Flashing a SuperSU update zip via recovery will override Android 4.3's built-in Superuser. From then on, you can use SuperSU, but you will need to keep Superuser enabled in Settings.


How to bypass fingerprint lock screen with wiping memory? My fiancee has recently died and he had set his android note 4 to lock with his fingerprint. The family and I want to recover some of his photos and videos. How would I go about doing that without wiping the memory?

There is no regular way to do so if you do not have a backup. However, you can try this, if you are comfortable with using recovery.

Flash the file from this XDA thread in recovery: http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/orig-development/bypass-lock-screen-pattern-password-pin-t2948336, which will reset lock screen back to Swipe.

Alternately, you can: (Not sure if this will work, just my idea)

Install TWRP recovery with Odin
Insert a SD Card of your choice
Boot into your newly-installed TWRP recovery
Mount SD Card, System and Data partitions
Default storage area is /storage/emulated/0
You can access the data using the built-in File Manager to copy the data out to your SD Card, which is located in /sdcard


"Avoided poor internet connection" LG G5 Every time I try to connect to a wifi network my phone will obtain the ip address for a while and eventually not connect because it "Avoided poor internet connection". This only started happening a few days after I downloaded a software update.

Model Number: LG-H831
Android version: 7.0
Kernel version: 3.18.31
Software version: H83120b

You must have updated to a system that includes Avoid poor connections in WiFi setting's !

Just navigate to your WiFi settings via holding on the WiFi icon in the quick drop down menu of your status bar, or open your Settings app and go to WiFi > Settings/Advanced --- Scroll down and un-tick [ Avoid poor connections ]

If you don't have this setting in your WiFi app, then it's compulsory to have it switched on ( Maybe for battery life or better user experience )


Which factory reset should I use? I have the motorola droid 3 and it can be factory reset from either the settings menu or the recovery menu. What is the difference between the two?

Results should be the same, so you can use either.

The item in the recovery menu you could count as a "backup switch": How else could you reset a device which refuses to completely boot up? That would otherwise be a "vicious circle": In order to boot up you'd neet to factory-reset – but in order to factory-reset, you'd need to boot up. So with the recovery menu, you've got a "reserve switch" for cases like that.

The switch in settings, on the other hand, is easier to find for "novice users" not aware of those "Vulcan nerve pinches" (or "three finger salutes", whatever you prefer) to boot the device into "special modes".


Battery drains when phone is turned off I have a used Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini GT-I8190. When I shut down the phone the battery still drains. The longer I leave the battery in the shut down phone the more charge it looses. Typically the battery looses between 1% and 2% charge per hour when inside the shut down phone. After a few days without turning the fully charged phone on the battery is completely dead so that I cannot turn on the phone again without charging first.

I don't know the previous owner and cannot ask them if they had the same problem.

Things I tried so far:

Tried to spin the battery on a table to see if the battery is bloated. The battery did not spin at all. Its completely flat on both sides.
Removed the fully charged battery from the phone, let it sit outside for a few days, put it back in, turned on the phone to read the battery level: The battery was still full – so the battery shouldn't be the problem.
Bought a new battery from another vendor anyways and did the same tests as before.
Factory reset (multiple times)
Update to the latest available OS (Android 4.1.2) provided by the vendor.
Update to the latest available custom ROM (Lineage OS 14.1 / Android 7.1.2).
After the factory resets and after flashing I did not install or customize anything apart from the following things. Of course, they had no effect since the phone was turned off — I read about these things in some forums and tried them anyway.

Only on the vendor's OS: Stop the pre-installed Mail service (even though I didn't sign into anything).
Turn off everything (Wifi, GPS, ...)
Enable (extreme) power save mode

Neither did I insert a SIM card nor an SD card into the phone, so these two can also be ruled out as the culprit.

Question

Why does the battery drain when the phone is shut down?
Can I do anything about this?

This is not a definitive answer but most likely cause IMO based on my experience with a Note 2 exhibiting similar symptoms.

You did a thorough job of investigating the causes and this pretty much rules out wakelock as the common culprit in such cases.

That leaves with one possibility - hardware. Something in the hardware is causing electrical drain. This needs to be investigated by competent people. In my case, it was rainwater seeping through ear phone port that corroded the motherboard. Cleaning with alcohol and drying reduced the drain but not significantly as the corrosion was deep.

The cost of investigating and replacing hardware is significant and in your case, you are not the first owner, so it may not be worth it. My suggestion would be to use it as it is for as long as you can.


How can MIUI read my previous MI Account ID and phone number on clean install? I unlocked my bootloader, flashed some custom ROM and the ROM is working fine for several months.  Today I decided to return to the stock MIUI global ROM.  After finished flashing new images using fastboot, I'm quite surprised when the phone asked me to login to Mi Account.  It remembers the account id and my previous phone number correctly.  This is when I'm not connected to Internet.  I also have flashed TWRP  cleared user's data many times before.

I would like to know where is this information stored?  Is it on /persist partition?  Or, perhaps in Trusty OS?  Is it possible to see what are stored there (apart from account id and phone number)?

For Mi 8 Lite, it is stored in /persist/fdsd/st. This file contains JSON structure with extra_email and extra_phone that matches what is displayed in the screen.  Also, after deleting this file, the initial setup step that asks for account activation is not displayed anymore.


Cruz T301: Internet Kick-Off I have a Cruz Tablet (T301) that runs Android 2.2.1.  For the longest time, I've tried to fix this matter on my own, but now I've run out of options.

When I get on the internet, my tablet has an interesting favor towards Facebook: not surprising because it comes with an app/bookmark of Facebook by default.  I can browse Facebook and share as much as I please as well as talk to my friends to my heart's content.  However, if I step outside of Facebook for as short as a second, my tablet kicks me off the internet.

Various options I have embraced to fix this matter.  I've already turned off my Wi-Fi, waited for a minute or two, and turned it back on to browse: that didn't work.  I even restarted my tablet with the aid of my paper clip that keep handy for situations such as this: that didn't work either.  I even became so bold as to perform a factory reset: even then I'm still being kicked off the internet.

I only have one application that allows me to browse the internet on my tablet: Browser, which also came by default.  Is there anything else that I haven't tried yet that may aid me in this situation?  Is it the application, or the tablet itself?  Do I have a virus, and I'm just not aware of it?  If I do have a virus, how do I get it fixed?

Rather than continue to add comments, I'll post this as an answer. Steps to follow to root your tablet and flash a custom rom:

backup your device
root your device
backup personal data and settings, if any, with titanium backup (you can skip since you did a factory reset)
install clockwork mod recovery
flash with Feyer's Resurrection ROM; seems to be the best supported; no reports of wifi problems; also make sure to read his tips on keeping the T301 working well.


ADB Sideload Password Reset on Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 on Sprint? My Problem

A few days ago, I forgot my 3 by 3 pattern password and backup pin for my Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 (using the default home and lock screen). I don’t want to factory reset or flash a custom recovery, because I still have my warranty and I don’t want to risk bricking. One post states that in  “Apply Update from ADB”, commands can be executed via a ‘updater-script’ in an update.zip file. Can I use that  to mount enough partitions and access enough commands to follow a password reset tutorial? (Like this one?) Is there a zip ready-made for that purpose?

Unavailable Options

The phone runs Marshmallow. No Google-Account unlock.
Android Device Manager will not replace the current password.
I do not have a Samsung Account. No using findmymobile.
I have not enabled ADB normally, when the phone is fully booted.
‘ADB devices’ does not show my phone when in recovery unless I use “Apply Update from ADB”.
I  cannot use ‘fastboot boot’ or any other fastboot command, as Samsung phones only have ODIN Mode.
I don’t want to use Odin or Heimdall, as they seem to be unstable and risky.
Kies3 can’t unlock my phone, but it will see it when locked and fully booted.

I ended up just factory resetting it. Thanks for the information, @AndyYan.


Impossible to format corrupted SD card formatted as internal storage I see lots of questions about recovering data from corrupted SD card formatted as internal storage, that's not my case.
I want to FORMAT this SD card to be able to use elsewhere.

For some reasons the card become read-only so it is impossible for me to make any changes.
While on the phone I tried to switch the card from internal memory to external. It didn't work.
The only option I had was to forget the card, and so I did.
Now even with gparted on linux, I'm not able to format the card.
I tried also to change the permits with

sudo chmod -R 777 /dev/sdb

and other different commands like

sudo mount -o remount,rw /dev/sdb

all without luck.

What else can I do? It seems impossible to reset this card.

Ps. the lock on the SD adapter is in the correct position

edit1: I've used sudo badblocks -wsv /dev/sdb no errors found, but not luck, the partitions are still there (here how to use badblocks https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/badblocks). The process took around 10 hours for a 64Gb card.

edit2: after asking help to bunsenlabs.org these things came out. At the moment I can't try them because I don't have the hardware required but my gut and my common sense tell me that it's the right path.

links:
https://github.com/Nephiel/sdlocker-tiny
https://github.com/BertoldVdb/sdtool

It sounds like the other answer of the FAT being corrupt is likely, I would try "zeroing out" the card...

First, verify the device... it will be something like /dev/sdb or similar, make absolutely sure you know this device is correct. Then, in Linux open terminal and enter the following command:

$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=8192

Substituting the correct device name for /dev/sdb.

DO NOT interrupt this process or it could possibly brick the SD card.

Once it has completed, eject and remove the card... wait a few seconds then reinsert the card in the card reader. After this, open gparted (or your partition manager of choice) and create a new FAT and partition. In gparted, this is accomplished by selecting Device, then Create Partition Table from the toolbar menu, I would recommend using msdos as the partition type. Then after that process completes, select Partition - New, and change the File System to fat32 (or whatever is appropriate for your card) and click Add. Then Apply (the "return" arrow in the menu bar).

Once this has been completed, remove the card and reinsert it, it should be readable in Linux, Windows, and most other operating systems.