"Access Point Name settings not available for this user" This was probably an issue before but only became an issue when I changed providers in a foreign country. Running CM12.1 nightlies.

I can't connect to data and get the above message when I try to manually enter the APN settings.

I have tried:

The other fix on this site to change permission in com.android.providers.telephony to 660 from 751 but that resulted in non-stop error messages from the phone app.
Upgrade to the latest nightly with the new SIM inside. No change in service or in ability to change APN
Delete the data and cache for the settings app
Wipe cache and Dalvik cache.
Downgrading to CM 11 milestone

edit: I should mention this fixed issues with Sprint for me, but perhaps googling in this vein could lead to finding a similar fix for other carriers.

tl;dr: I booted to recovery (TWRP), wiped, flashed CM12.1, 5.1 GApps, and the sprint.zip file from this XDA post and got LTE back.

I'm not positive my issue was the same, but the symptoms are very similar so I'm adding the solution I found. My LTE was working fine on CM12 and CM12.1 for perhaps 3+ months. My phone battery died overnight a couple days ago, and when I powered it on the next morning it didn't have LTE anymore.

Not only that, but I was getting the "APN settings not available for this user" under Settings -> Mobile Networks -> APN settings. After googling, and googling, and googling, I think I tried about every solution suggested for this issue:

setting /data/data/com.android.providers/telephony/database/telephony.db to higher permissions (e.g. 761)
deleting telephony.db and telephony.db-journal and letting the system re-create it (theoretically in the "proper" manner)
using *#*#4636#*#* and playing with the preferred network (LTE/GSM/CDMA, LTE only, etc.)
Turning on wifi, rebooting, waiting a while, and then turning it off and trying to connect to data
Adding a custom APN, which often wouldn't even save if I had the "APN settings not available for this user", and didn't seem to do anything otherwise.
I even went back to stock (upgrading radios and firmware in the process) by applying the latest RUU here. This updated my radios (I was on 3.31.651.2), and allowed me to update PRL/profile while I was at it. I didn't even have LTE from the stock ROM.

I ran into post where someone mentioned "the Sprint APN fix" so I googled for that and ran into this post, which points to this XDA post with the fix.

Downloading that file (sprint.zip) worked great for me, despite that post being ~2 years old. I just did the following:

boot into TWRP, wipe as usual as if installing a new ROM
flash CM12.1 (I used the most recent M8 snapshot from 09-01-2015)
flash 5.1 GApps
flash the sprint.zip file
wipe cache/dalvik

Rebooted and had LTE right away during setup. Soooo relieved, as this was killing me. I'm still puzzled as to how it could have gotten goofed from a previously working setup, but at least it's behaving now. Hope this helps others.


water damaged Tmobile Revvl I dropped my android in the toilet last Thursday November 9, 2017 and it turned off and it kept going to the powered by android screen, on and off. It came back on that Saturday and I have been using it since with no problems. Today I got to work and was talking to my sister on it and it turned back off and has been doing the same thing it did the day I dropped it in the toilet with the exception of it will turn completely back on, but when I go to text someone or do anything with it, it turns right back off.

You have to take it to a repair shop that has an ultrasonic cleaner.
You can't put it in rice or any other ridiculous mythical magical fix.
There is one option for you. ultrasonic cleaner.
Why does rice and those other methods not work?
CLICK HERE FOR CITATION
Water is not harmful to electronics, it's the impurities in the water that hurt the electronics and cause corrosion.
Tell me what rice is going to do? Nothing. Don't use rice. Don't buy kits at the 95cent store. Don't do anything you read online. Don't follow YouTube videos. It's all fake stupid advice that doesn't work and can cause more harm than good.
If you don't have access to a repair shop and you just want to try to fix it yourself you can try to take apart the whole phone. Get to the circuit board and painstakingly clean every single part of the phone with high grade alcohol and a toothbrush. This is not as effective as an ultrasonic cleaner.
Also keep in mind an ultrasonic cleaner is not a guarantee. Water damage is the worst possible thing you could do to your phone. You are 99% screwed. Even if you take it to a repair shop keep in mind they will have NO GUARANTEE for water damage. That means that if they don't feel like cleaning it they don't have to. They can just take your money and do nothing because there is no guarantee with water damage. Even if they clean and fix it afterwards the problem could come back. BE CAREFUL PICKING YOUR REPAIR SHOP. GOOD LUCK!


Re-route all audio from tablet to PC-Speakers My setup is the following: I have a PC and a tablet (Nexus 7), and only one sound system (2.1, 3.5mm input). My goal is to play both sounds coming from my PC and from my Nexus 7 whilst it is in the (official) docking station through the speaker-system hooked up to my PC.

I've looked for a way to merge the two incoming signals but without any success (except for cost-heavy DJ equipment to mix both signals), so now I'm wondering if it's possible to simply re-route all outgoind audio via USB to my PC (both running Windows and Linux (Ubuntu)).

I'd appreciate any help you guys can give me. Thank you.

According to Lifehacker, you can use a headphone splitter in reverse to achieve your goal.


use wifi for data but not phone? I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 and figured out how to connect to WiFi, but I want only the data to go through WiFi, not the telephone calls. (I have had trouble w/ phone over wifi; the data is fine though + it saves me money going through WiFi.)

Is there a way to do this?

aha, found it:

under apps -> settings -> connections, I can turn overall use of Wi-Fi on or off.

Then if I select "More networks", I get this screen:

and I can turn on or off "Wi-Fi Calling".

Tmobile has a note about it here: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-5864


Prevent Samsung S4 Screen From Turning on Every SMS How do you prevent the Samsung S4 screen from coming on with every SMS message that is received?

In the galaxy S4 SMS application, go to Settings and there is an option called "Screen On". Untick this option and you should be able to do what you want.


Link2sd, partition unmounted itself, can't mount back I have Sony Xperia M2 (D2303), and i have had Link2sd for quite some time.
A while back I created a partition in Minitool and mounted it as ext4 in Link2sd. Sometimes it crashed, but usually waiting or restarting would help, because all it needed was to link lib, obb and dex files. However couple days ago i set up Sleep as Android, and before i woke up a family member took the phone for a while (Facebook, Candycrush - which heat up the phone a lot). So when i woke up and tried to shut down the alarm i couldn't, Sleep app kept crashing.
After that I rebooted the phone, only to find out i have 10 installed apps showing, apps showing crash messages, even if i didn't have them in the background. On top of all there is an alarm icon below the clock which i can't turn off because Sleep app is not showing in app drawer.

After 2 days I figured i might flash SuperSu again from twrp, because it wouldn't update binaries.
Tried turning Link2sd into a system app to mount ext4, it only shows some grey screen for a second, nothing changes.
In settings there is Sdcard present with similar space i had before(1 GB more space- probably just app data wiped)
In Link2sd there is Sdcard, as well as the second partition which is showing as unmounted
In DiskInfo app i see partition by its name and allocated size(mmcblk1p2)
I see Sdcard in computer when plugging in usb.
However, I don't see it in Minitool, Disk Management or when running cmd - "diskpart" - "list disk" commands
SDHC card is Kingston 32 GB class 10. Total commander app allows exploring Sdcard which is not appearing in Minitool. Not only is partition missing but Sd card as well.

Thank you.

I dont use Sony Xperia M2 but I had similar problem with Link2SD after upgrade to Android version 6.0.1 on my Samsung NOTE4 N910C.
The reason is - from my point of view - fact, that Link2sd is not longer supported especially for new versions of Android.
I used Apps2SD: All in One Tool[ROOT] (cost aprox 3,5 USD in my Country). Link
-> Look here

Sorry it is in Polish language but of course You can switch to Your language.
This app is still under develop and has more features than Link2SD like working properly recreation of mounting script


Google Goggles Battery use I have not even opened the google goggles app in several weeks. Why does my phone report that it is using such a large amount of my battery? This is especially disconcerting considering that this app has the ability to analyze images which it could be taking without my knowledge or consent. Anyone else ever experienced this?

I have had similar issues with Google Goggles, the Android API Demo app, and one or two other apps.  I strongly believe this is just a bug in the battery statistics, as it has never impacted my battery life in a meaningful way.  Usually the way I make this go away is by rebooting the phone, although that is not ideal.


Can I connect my device to a Cisco pix VPN? We are buying quite a few tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich. Will it be possible for us to connect these tablets to our Cisco pix VPN? I know that Cisco have launched an app but it is for ASA. I have looked and not found anything that could do this.

Cisco offers a rooted AnyConnect vpn client, and it turns out they also have an ICS AnyConnect available in the Play Store as well. This should help!


Samsung Galaxy Ace keeps updating Samsung app store I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy Ace and tried to get onto the Samsung application store on the phone.
It said that there was an update for the application so I downloaded it and tried to get into the application again.
It again came up with the update option and it keeps repeating the process...

Please can I have an answer for this as I'm not familiar with these kinds of phones...

If I remember correctly, the Samsung app store required me to install 3 updates before I could use it when I bought my Samsung Galaxy S2. I browsed it once and then never looked at it again because it hardly has any interesting apps. So if I were you, I wouldn't bother with the Samsung app store update, just use Google Play.


Disable mobile data permanently A strange request I know... but I am quite keen to disable mobile data from my phone permanently (as opposed to just switching it off in the settings) so that I can only browse the internet when I'm connected to Wifi.

I've tried getting my network provider (O2) to do this with my account but they said it's not possible.

Is it possible to achieve this in Android instead? I'm basically just looking for a way to 'break' it... whether that's by installing some kind of app then that would be fine (perhaps if I could then return it back to normal with a factory reset)

You could delete your APN settings on your phone's configuration, or use airplane mode.


What to do when the AVD is HUGE and is taller than the screen I am setting up my environment in Eclipse to do some development for the Galaxy Tab 7", and I have a problem with my Android Virtual Device (AVD).

If I set my target for:

  GALAXY Tab Addon - API Level 8

and the Skin to:

  Default (GALAXY Tab)

using the Edit AVD button in the Window > Android SDK and AVD Manager menu, when I run my Hello Android app, the AVD window is so huge as to be useless (note, I also think the actual emulated Tab is taller than the window itself...). See screen capture below, in which you see top of the screen to bottom (w/taskbar). My screen size is 1680 x 1050.

Now, if I switch the target to:

  Android 2.2 - API Level 8

and the Skin to:

  Default (WVGA800)

the AVD window is a reasonable size, but I imagine this is because it's emulating a phone-size device, not the 7" Tab. I am needing to target the 7" Tab though, so that's not really an option for me.

Short of increasing my desktop resolution, does anybody know how to get this window to open up in maybe a 75% size? Or some other workaround?

Why don't you run it in landscape mode? Portrait is not the default orientation for tablets, even if the Android SDK defaults to portrait. I'm also wondering if you can cut out the body of the device and set the view to screen-only; the Tab's screen is 1024x600, so it should fit your screen like that while in portrait mode.


How to multi select emails in browser or Gmail app? I want to do something like below given question in Android, is it possible to do in browser or Gmail or any other email app?

Is there any way to easily select multiple messages in Gmail?

Within the gMail app you can select multiple messages by using the big capital letters in front of a message.


Android music pauses when using headphones This started happening a few days ago but my phone stopped to play music (pausing) on headphones when I:

Screen off
Notification menu is pulled down
Opening all applications on the default stock launcher

Music plays only if the music app is in foreground or if I went to the launcher and not selected anything.

I am using custom rom but it stopped working on it after using it for over a month. I tried to update the rom to a newer one but it still doesn't work.

Music plays fine when not using headphones and just using the speakers.

Phone: Note2
ROM: temasek cm11 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2596887)

Kernel: Devil's kernel (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2239453)

App: Apollo and Google music (same thing), pretty much every music application on Android

Are your headphones defective or have a weak spot? You can try a couple of things, such as testing this on another Android device.

It could potentially be the ROM and its ability to detect headphones properly while doing different things (Multi-tasking in a sort of sense).

What you can do is go into Settings and turned Motion off. Sometimes it can sense movement and such and it'll pause accordingly. I'll look into this more but into l your next response, this is what I have to say.

Update

It is probably an Android 4.2.2 issue. You can downgrade, wait for an upgrade or perhaps install the 4.3 KitKat ROM.

Other options are trying newer/older versions of the Google Play Music software.


Properly update a rooted Nexus 5X with stock Android 7.0 to October Security update When I bought my Nexus 5X, it had Android Marshmallow on it. I immediately rooted it and flashed TWRP using the Nexus Root Toolkit (NRT) and it went well.

Along came the Android 7.0 OTA and I only had to remove the saved fingerprints and PIN (to make TWRP see the phone as decrypted) I was able to go through the update successfully with that current setup. Of course I had to re-root my phone after that.

But the 46.7MB October Security Update won't install via OTA. I've tried:

re-rooting it with the latest TWRP (via NRT)
re-flashing the stock recovery (via NRT)

but the OTA still wouldn't get installed. I checked the recovery log and it showed this line:

installing lge.bullhead updater extensions
Source: google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NRD90R/3141966:user/release-keys
Target: google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NBD90W/3239497:user/release-keys
Verifying current system...
script aborted: E3001: Package expects build fingerprint of google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NRD90R/3141966:user/release-keys or google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NBD90W/3239497:user/release-keys; this device has google/bullhead/bullhead:6.0.1/MMB29Q/2480792:user/release-keys.
Source: google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NRD90R/3141966:user/release-keys
Target: google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NBD90W/3239497:user/release-keys
Verifying current system...
E3001: Package expects build fingerprint of google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NRD90R/3141966:user/release-keys or google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NBD90W/3239497:user/release-keys; this device has google/bullhead/bullhead:6.0.1/MMB29Q/2480792:user/release-keys.
E:unknown command [log]
Updater process ended with ERROR: 7
I:Legacy property environment disabled.
Error installing zip file '@/cache/recovery/block.map'
Done processing script file

But I checked the build.prop file and found this:

ro.build.desciption
google/bullhead/bullhead:7.0/NRD90R/3141966:user/release-keys

Where could that google/bullhead/bullhead:6.0.1/MMB29Q/2480792:user/release-keys have come from? How do I proceed with the OTA? I've yet to try FlashFire because it won't detect the downloaded OTA file and I've yet to download that 1.2GB factory OTA file.

Also why only now am I having problems with OTA? It should have happened during the Android 7.0 update, right? I would like it very much if I could do this without wiping my data. Please help. Thank you.

From XDA Developer's [GUIDE] Unlock/Root/Flash for Nexus 5X, I went away and:

Downloaded the OTA zip file
Installed the Android SDK tools,
connected my device and rebooted it into TWRP
Then went to Advanced -> ADB Sideload
Then from the command prompt, typed "adb sideload /path/to/OTA/zip/file" and hit enter
It took a few minutes to 100%, then I rebooted my phone and all is well and updated now.
Re-rooted my phone using NRT.


Voice Activation: Send Email: Recipient Name not working I have disabled Contacts sync with all my Google Accounts and deleted all my contacts. Then I added a simple email contact Type: Phone (as opposed to SIM or Google Account). Name Bob, and a valid address for Bob's company email.

I say "Send Email To Bob (pause) Test" And I get an email form with a blank To and a body that says "To Bob Test".

How can I fix this?

It is a bit odd, because it is obviously expecting a pause in the middle of the whole thing, but it still manages to not realize that "Send Email To Bob,,,, Test" means "Send Email To Bob,, and put Test in the body".

It needs to be a Google contact. Your voice request is sent to Google's servers to be parsed and it looks for the information in your Google Contacts. The server can't query your phone.

See this Google Help thread.


How to view who is connected to my Wi-Fi hotspot I'm using stock android 9.0. I'd like to be able to get a list of the devices (IP and/or MAC) that are connected to my phone when it's used as a Wi-Fi AP.

Here are a few ways I tried but didn't work:

In the settings, there is an indicator of how many devices are connected (Network & internet / Hotspot & tethering / under Wi-Fi hotspot), but there is no list of them.
Fing only works when my phone is a client on a Wi-Fi network, not when it is an AP.
On Oreo, the  /proc/net/arp file used to contain the list, but as of Pie, it doesn't (it's empty, even when something is connected).

I'm looking for a solution that does not require root.

The solution is to enter ip neighbor into a terminal app, it displays both the IP and the MAC address of the connected devices.


Paid apps when using 2 Google accounts on a same device? I have seen here that we can use paid apps on several devices because play store apps are saved on a Google account (not on one device).

I have one android device but it will be connected depending on the days to 2 different Google accounts. Some paid apps will be on the first Google account and some others (not the same apps) on the second G. account.

● Will I be able to have all my paid apps on my device all the time?

Let say Day 1, I buy 2 apps (A and B) with my G. account 1 and install them on my device.
Day 2 I switch my device to the G. Account 2 and buy 2 more apps (C and D) and install them on my device.
Day 3, I connect back my device to the G. Account 1. At this point, will I still have on my device the 4 apps (A,B,C,D) that I have paid for?

● Will there be issues occurring from this process during backup, update,...?

I would test the theory first but I think they stay with the device after you sign off. You can also have two accounts signed on the same phone at the same time so your not logging in and out. You toggle them on all the google apps by clicking on your profile pic very much like the PC. If your good with file managing I have only had a few apps that I have paid for that I was not able to just import the file APK and actually share it with other user profiles and they worked just fine, in case you ever just wanted to have all paid on one account. Hope this helps some!


just boot in recovery mode htc one xl Well, I have a htc onexl at&t (evita) bootloader unlock and custom recovery TWRP
when i try to turn on my phone he just boot in recovery, i can go to bootloader but i cant boot in system, is not a boot loop, he just go directly to recovery

This is what i did:

Unlock bootloader
Install custom recovery TWRP 2.6.3.0
Then I try to restart the phone and when he turn on he go directly to
recovery

On TWRP recovery, tap Reboot and then System


Why did the Market app disappear on its own, and how can I get it back? The Market application recently disappeared from my device. I did not install any OTA updates or other system upgrades to cause this. Why has the Market disappeared on its own, and how can I get it back?

Google officially renamed the Market (and its associated products) to Google Play, which they announced on March 6th. Google Play encompasses all of the content distribution/sales services previously provided by Google such as music, movies, and apps. Due to this rebranding, the various Android apps have also been renamed:

Google Music is now Play Music
Google Books is now Play Books
Google Movies/Videos is now Play Movies
The Market is now the Play Store

The last one I've bolded because it will update itself, meaning that the Market will suddenly seem to "disappear". In reality, the application has simply been renamed, so open your app drawer and look for the "Play Store" app instead of the "Market" app. The icon will resemble the same shopping bag as the Market icon, but it will be white:

The other three will not update on their own, but can be updated from within the Play Store as per usual. The functionality and visual design of the Play Store app is almost identical to that of the most recent Market app versions (3.4+ or so). Again, it is simply a renaming/rebranding of the original Market app.

However, if the Market did get completely uninstalled for some other reason (not associated with the Play Store update), you may need to look at Android Market disappeared! How do I get it back? which also discusses how to re-install the Market.


Why do I keep getting interrupted by a Device Management - Software Update screen? How do I get rid of it? Occasionally and frequently at inconvenient times (in the middle of important Angry Birds games) I get a screen that says:

Device management
Software update
Congratulations!
New software update for
phone installed.
Phone is ready for use

OK

I click OK and it goes away, but it always comes back. Is my phone really being updated this often. I doubt it. It always reports the same version, Eclair. Even if it was, I don't want to be notified like that.

How can I stop this?

That's very odd.  Normally there should be no auto-update of the device software, and other updates will require a reboot.  Try the following:

Hold both volume buttons and the power button
Wait until the phone reboots, keep holding
Release the power button about 1 second after the white text with your phone model appears onscreen, keeping holding the volume buttons
Recovery mode should appear
Select "Reinstall packages" or similar


how to completely disable lockscreen? Possible Duplicate:
  How to disable screen lock on my HTC desire Z?

is there any way to do this ?
kinda unnecessary on android

Go to Settings --> Location & security settings --> Set up screen lock -->  None.

Note: this may be a CyanogenMod feature.  I can't remember if Stock Android allows this or not (can someone verify this for me?)


Unable to see all folders on Moto G using FTP I have set up an FTP server on my Moto G, and I'm trying to copy (music) files from my laptop (running Ubuntu 12.04) using FileZilla.

I understand that user data appears in the /data folder, but when I try to open this folder, FileZilla says

Response:   150 Directory listing for data/
Response:   550 Requested action not taken.  does not exist, not a directory or insufficient rights
Error:  Failed to retrieve directory listing

I faced the same problem, but I launched filezilla from Terminal using sudo:

sudo filezilla

It works fine.


Does Android support new fonts? Does the Android operating system support installing new fonts?

I am that person who adores calligraphy and improving handwriting, and I am proud to say that my handwriting is now more beautiful than my teachers in almost every language I know! Anyway, can anyone answer that question (about Android fonts), because this will judge if I will buy a ruuning-Android tablet pc or not!

Yes, you can install new fonts, but it requires root on most devices.

To install a font, you just simply need to copy the font file (.ttf format only) into /system/fonts.  There are also numerous apps available on the Play store to do this automatically for you, such as the plainly named Font Installer.  Other apps also include functionality to find new fonts.

With the right app, it is also possible to install fonts without root on the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note, and Note 2.


Unlocking bootloader on HTC Desire 320 I am trying to unlock bootloader on Desire 320, but failing on retrieving the OEM number:

$ fastboot oem get_identifier_token
...
FAILED (remote: unknown command)
finished. total time: 0.004s

I've also tried flashing recovery with TWRP directly using

$ fastboot flash recovery <recovery.img>

But that failed with security deny, error code 0x2017. I've rooted the phone using KingoRoot but that did not change anything.

I've even tried an automated application HTC Bootloader Unlocker, but this app failed on the same step as I did. Also, after investigating its logs, this app tried to read various variables using fastboot and could not read any of them.

I've also tried to update ROM directly from stock recovery using both SD card and ADB sideload, but both installations were canceled (but sideload on itself works).

The phone specs and prerequisities:

android 4.4.2, core version 3.4.67
Developer mode unlocked, USB debugging enabled (was able to send adb/fastboot commands)
Unverified applications can be installed (was able to install KingoRoot)
Cannot enable OEM Unlocking option as many guides suggest (this option does not exist in my phone)
Cannot use RUU (my phone does not have a carrier)

The question:

Am I screwed or is possible to unlock this device (and how?)

There seems to be an issue with USB3.0 and Fastboot. Fastboot commands won't work on a phone which is conencted via a USB3.0 port. In order to investigate further and look for the solutions, I need you to crosscheck this first. Try running other fastboot commands such as:

fastboot reboot

and see if it works.


Windows 8.1 drivers for low end device I have a low end device I'm trying to connect to my Windows 8.1 laptop. The device has no markings and was purchased by a friend of a friend (I think it was one of those cheap Groupon buys) and I don't have the manufacturer info as of this time.

Currently in Windows Device Manager, it is showing up in Other Devices as Android. The device status says

  The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28).

Windows couldn't automatically find an updated drive and the generic Google drivers didn't work either.

Does anybody know where else to go about finding drivers that  may work?

Here is the information that is available via Settings->About tablet:

Model number: MID
Android version: 4.0.4
Baseband version: 2.1rc
Kernel version: 3.0.8+
tt@tt-System-Product-Name #68
Mon Aug 5 13:36:51 CST 2013
Build number: nuclear_evb-eng 4.0.4 IMM76D 20130725 test-keys

It's very similar (looks the same, specs are a little diff) to this generic tablet

I was able to use a Samsung driver.

Go to Device Manager, find the Android device, and select Update Driver Software.
Select Browse my computer for driver software
Select Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer
Select ADB Interface from the list
Select SAMSUNG Android ADB Interface (this is a signed driver). If you get a warning, select Yes to continue.
Done!

For good measure, I ran adb kill-server and adb start-server. Then when I ran adb devices I finally saw a device listed so I fired up IntelliJ and all is good in the world again!


Yahoo Mail App - Send Email To Contact List I have created several contact lists in my Yahoo e-mail account by using Yahoo's website via Internet Explorer.  I would like to send an e-mail to one of the contact lists from my Android phone (which is a Galaxy S4), but I can't figure out how...  Here is what I've tried so far:

Unable To Access Contact Lists From Yahoo Mail App:  I tried accessing the contact lists from the Yahoo Mail App, which I installed on the phone, but I can't find the lists anywhere.  My contacts all appear in the app, and the information seems to be read-only.  I can't edit their names or any of their details, and I can only access a list of all of my contacts when I try to compose an e-mail and touch the "To" field in the newly composed e-mail.  There is no mention of the lists to which they belong.
Unable To Create New Contact Lists As Groups On Android Device By Syncing With Yahoo Account:  I went into the Yahoo Mail App Settings and selected "Sync Yahoo contacts".  This imported the contacts into my Android contacts, but it did not assign them to any groups.  If they belonged to contact lists in my Yahoo account, no new groups were created.  Also, existing groups on my phone that matched the names of contact lists in my Yahoo account were ignored and not used when the contacts were imported.

I realize that I could manually recreate the groups on my Android device and assign all contacts to them, but this would be a very tedious and time consuming solution to a process that seems to beg for automation.  Is there a quick way of doing this?

If necessary, is there another app I can download that is safe to use which will accomplish the task?  I tried the above solutions using Gmail as a workaround, but encountered the same obstacles.

Okay, I just figured out a workaround. You can export your Yahoo Contact Lists by:

Signing into your Yahoo Account via their web interface,
Clicking on the "Contacts" icon, and
Choosing "Actions" => "Export".

This will create a CSV file which can then be used to import the contacts into a Gmail account via Google's web interface. After that, you can sync your Gmail contacts to your phone using the Android Gmail app. This will create the contact lists from Yahoo and import them into your phone as contact groups on the device.


What is the difference between AOSP and CM/AOKP? I've been flashing ROMs but I don't really see the difference between them. I'm on KitKat 4.4.2 for the Nexus 4.

Well AOSP [pure android from google's kitchen] is the Android Open Source Project which is the father and the mother of all ROMS out there, it is the base android code.

AOKP is kanged [copied/stolen], its based on AOSP or derived from AOSP with some mods.

Differences are mostly UX and UI based, for example HTC Sense and Samsung TouchWiz are all just skins on top of pure android. Ok not pure android there is a lot of stuff modified by the big banners. The basic idea is this, AOSP is what google gives and AOKP is what people build with features on top of AOSP.

EDIT : XDA-Developers
The above mentioned thread has a lot of info if you the patience to scroll through!


How to figure out what the Android Software Update is? I just received a "Software update" and in the details it says important [sarcasm] stuff like:

  Size: 91.45 MB
  Improved stability.
  [WARNING: The devices will be restarted during the installation process.]
  Caution: ... blah blah about you can't use your phone during install.

but it doesn't state which version I'm updating to.

Phone details

  Phone: Samsung Galaxy S4
  Model: GT-I9505
  Android: 4.4.2
  Build: KOT49H
  Baseband: I9505XXUGNG8
  Carrier: unknown

It's secondhand phone, I think German/Austrian because it keeps installing some weird apps with german names on every OS update. I bought it in the UK and currently using it in Hungary.

News / 5.0

When I search for new news articles about S4 and OTA today, I find Android 5.0 Lollipop OTA finally arrives for Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition, there are a few problems with this:

I don't think I have Google Play Edition, because I have TouchWiz
I don't believe S4 would get 5.0 sooner than my Nexus 7 (1st edition)
I cannot believe an 5.0 update would be 90MB...

I'm really looking for some authoritative info on whether it's 4.4.3 or 4.4.4, because I want to avoid 4.4.3. Even the build number of the update would help a lot. By authoritative info I mean that it's possible to find out next time it happens without asking again. Maybe a global list of baseband/build numbers?

I tried a few methods I could think of:

Wireshark the WiFi packets -> nothing
adb logcat to see if anything extra info is logged -> nothing
I found out thought, that most of what we see on the "Update" screen is hard-coded and only the "Improved stability..." part is dynamic.
adb pull /cache/fota/update.zip or adb pull /data/fota/update.zip -> requires root

After almost giving up I found http://sammobile.com. The sad thing is that it only works for Samsung phones, which I have luckily. The fact that my phone's origin is German or Austrian and the date the update showed up helped me narrow it down to
12-11-2014 Firmware Updates:

Germany (DBT)                   GT-I9505    GALAXY S4 LTE   4.4.2   I9505XXUGNK4
Germany (Black Edition)(DBT)    GT-I9505    GALAXY S4 LTE   4.4.2   I9505XXUGNG8

and since I already have I9505XXUGNG8, it must be the first one, which is weird because I would swear the color is black like this

Then I checked the carrier's listing:
http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/database/GT-I9505/DBT/ which seems to correspond with the timings of my past received the updates. So I checked my CSC (*#1234#) and found that indeed this is my current version so the update is still 4.4.2.

Edit

I did the update and after checking About device it was indeed updated to I9505XXUGNK4.


How to set default phone number for contacts? USE CASE
When I do voice dialing with Google on my Android phone or more importantly text messaging it always asks which phone number I should use for the contact. That's really frustrating when I'm driving.

Is there a way to set a default so it just uses that one?

Open up the Google Contacts app on Android.  Go to the desired contact (do not edit the contact).  Long press the phone number you want to set as the default number.  You should get a pop-up dialog with Copy, Edit before calling, and (Tada!) Set default.

You can do the same thing with email addresses.

This works with the official Google Contacts app from the Google Play Store.  If it doesn't work on your phone, make sure you are using the official app and not a phone vendor-supplied version (Samsung, LG, etc.)

This works in Contacts Version 6.01 that was installed on my phone by Motorola and Version 2.5.4... from the Play Store.


Configure email notification with Calendar app If I create an appointment in the Android* calendar application, I can add a reminder that will pop-up on my phone at the configured time.  It will automatically synchronise the event with Google Calendar (which is great!).

If I create the appointment with Google Calendar, I can add a reminder that will either be sent as an email, be sent as a text message or appear as a web-browser pop-up.  Again, the event will be synchronised with the phone.  I really like the Google Calendar email notifications as they appear in Gmail Manager as well as on the phone, so I'm much more likely to notice the reminders when I'm at work and have my phone on silent.

Is there any way to create an appointment in the Android calendar application and at the same time set up a reminder to come by email rather than as a calendar reminder notification?

Thanks in advance for the help.

* HTC Desire, CyanogenMod 7.1.0, Android 2.3.7

Go Calendar
Tap the event you want to add a reminder for (or create a new event)
Tap Add reminder
To the right of the time drop down you should see Notification as a drop down tap this.
Select email

Tried on Android 4.1, Google Nexus 5.

Hope this is what you're looking for.


remote access rooted device with broken screen I have a samsung galaxy s1 rooted and using cyanogenmod, yesterday i broke my screen , I need help to remote access it, I got allot of things written down on my memopad allot of things that I need to retrive but I dont seem to make it work(i tried allot of things but mostly i need to find a way to press on that button and activate the debugg mode or smth to let me access the phone) because as far as I remember  everytime I connected my phone on laptop I had to manually turn on debugging mode for access to the phone , even though I already activated it in dev tools. it shows me that I plugged in my device but I cant access it and I cant use any app to remote control it. Anyone can give me a solution?
When I plug it in, on devices I can see the name of my phone, GT-I9000 but thats all I can get access to it...

Suggestion 1:

Run an ADB shell in ClockworkMod
Remount /system in readwrite mode.
Add this to /system/build.prop:
persist.service.adb.enable=1
Save the file.

Suggestion 2:

You said that you have installed CyanogenMod. So you probably have a custom recovery, right? You can boot into it, connect your phone to your computer and go to "mounts" -> "mount USB storage".
Then you can access your internal storage.

Suggestion 3:

With a little bit of work you could flash a custom kernel with USB-OTG.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1450298

Please note that you need an external power source (USB-Y cable, powered USB hub; see the link).

Then you can use a mouse and a keyboard to control your phone and access your data.


Moving from one droid to another I have a Motorola droid with issues (but it still turns on) and I'm exchanging it for another.  How can I move contacts, mail settings, etc. to the SD card so I can transfer them to the replacement phone?

Ideally I won't have to root it.

For contacts, the best way is to sync them to your GMail account.
Settings->Accounts and sync
Then when you add the same account on the new phone, it will sync them automatically.

For settings without root, I'm not sure.
If you are willing to root, Titanium backup is very good. It will save the settings onto the SD card. Then with the new phone, install the application and you should be able to restore the settings off the same SD card.


Blocking 'Android System,Battery Warning,com.media tek,Common Data Service…' from connecting to the Internet I am using NoRoot Firewall to block Internet access to some apps. It recently notified me that this/these app(s) are attempting to access the Internet:

"Android System,BatteryWarning,com.media tek,Common Data Service,EM SIM ME Lock,FotaProvider,Fused Location,Input Devices,Key Chain,MTK Thermal Manager,Permission Control,Scheduled power on & off,ServiceMenu,Settings,Settings Storage,Video Favorites,Voice Unlock,[non-English characters…]"

I'm not exactly sure why it needs to connect to the Internet. What will I miss if I block this from connecting to the Internet? I am using a Lenovo A536 phone. Android version is KitKat 4.4.2.

With respect to MediaTek's "Common Data Service" I worry about it.  Reviewing what rights it has in... [Menu button -> Manage Applications -> Common Data Service] shows that it has all rights, basically.

And I've just setup the ADB (Android Debug Bridge), connected my phone to my computer and ran the following command from a prompt:

adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.mediatek.connectivity/com.mediatek.connectivity.CdsInfoActivity

...and it brings up the app on my phone.  It's a menu with the following entries:

CDS Information
Wi-Fi Information
Radio Information
Network Utility
Multiple APN
Connectivity Testing
MTU Configuration
Socket Information
PS data control

There's a wealth of information going on here.  The "Network Utility" appears to be able to get/set a variety of attributes to include running local shell commands the user enters.

It kind of looks like a backdoor.

The bad thing about this is that you can't launch it normally using the various methods given to a user.  The Launch button is grayed out in the interface under Manage Applications, for example.  So if this isn't a tool for users then this must be for MediaTek themselves who made the processor.

Weighing in here only against "Common Data Service" I would say that if it's trying to reach out to the Internet then that's a bad thing.  DENY.

As for "MTK Thermal" they're probably trying to send themselves temperature data, in theory, about the products in the field (or so we could hope).  OUCH... look at the list of rights this program has.  Again, DENY.

Same goes for com.mediatek.  DENY.

Unknown UNICODE string of Mandarin.  DENY.

Things like Key Chain are worrisome in that you have to go fetch the public key in this sort of cryptography.  But then again, what's to prevent them from uploading your credentials to some server out there?  Hard to suggest in this case.


How do I know 360 Security antivirus app really works? I have an Alcatel one touch fiercexl & 360 Security is the antivirus/cleaner app I have. I'm  not entirely sure it even works like it says it should. Aft I use it & leave the app, and then go right back to it, it seems like (almost always) it'll have just as much (if not the same) things to do. Like Clearing cache, cool down battery, boost,  etc. Also if I get a message that says"warning your alcatel has viruses, & You have to do an antivirus scan before phone is damaged" it always says phone is secure no viruses detected. Then why did I get the message in the first place?  Is it also fixing the problem while scanning? Also why doesn't cleaning junk also cover app cache? It makes you do it manually in advanced clear. How do I know if it is actually working correctly or if I need a different antivirus? Can you recommend one for me if I need it?

First, That app is shit !
Second, It does nothing but clearing junk and cache of the apps on your device.
It will always prompt you with ads and unwanted bullshit.
There is no such thing as virus in your phone. If it were then it will make you almost impossible to operate your phone as the malware and torjans designed these days are pretty cool.

 Clearing app junk and cache is now a built-in feature in android.
The memory booster does nothing but killing all the running apps in the background. Friend! My advice is to un-install that app ASAP !! save some memory than having an useless app


i have already root my nexus4,but why it shows “shell@mako:/ $ ”when i enter command“adb shell” Should not shell@mako:/ $ be shell@mako:/ #?
Or I haven't root successfully yet?
How to check whether my nexus4 have root successfully?

Thanks!

Rooted or not: Logging in via adb shell first brings you to a user-prompt only (connected with the "shell" account). In order to work with root, you need to "escalate" your permissions by invoking su:

> adb shell
shell@mako:/ $ su
#

Apart from that, there are a few root checker apps available as well...


Run Android app on PC but outside of Emulator screen I know we can Android apps on PC using emulator like Andy or Bluestack.

What I really want to know if there's a way to run the app using the emulator but outside of Emulator screen.

For example - I use fooview app which floats on screen and I want to run that on PC. Using the emulators, I'm able to run it but only inside the emulator's screen not PC GUI.

The fooview app appear to be using a combination of Android Accessibility and SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW (system overlay) permission. Unfortunately such features are Android only an have no knowledge of what is going on outside of the emulator.

You should look for a Windows app which provides similar features for your version of Windows. Asking for such recommendation is off-topic for this site.


How can I backup my contacts and get them back? My question might sound stupid, but I want to backup my contacts, so even when I lost the phone or deleted the contacts, or factory reset the phone, I can still have the contacts. I never backup contacts before, so pls offer a detailed guide, thanks.

Use google contacts sync. to backup online, so your contacts will be safe there.

Read more at
https://www.google.com/sync/index.html


Generate different thumbnails for videos in Gallery Device:  Nexus 7
Android: 4.4.2
Gallery app: 1.1.40304

I have a series of videos with a similar first 30 seconds. The thumbnails for all of them look identical. Is there any way of making the Gallery app calculate a different thumbnail for these videos?

Alternatively, is there any way to display the filename along with the thumbnail? I have to go through to the details menu for each to see the filename.

Not a nice solution, but if you have to access those videos regularly for a long time, you could find the thumbnail files and edit them so you could tell the videos apart.

Also you could find another application which displays the title as well, or an animated preview. VLC player and Mobo player function well for me.


How to block notifications in a certain period? I get notifications all day long, which always interrupt me while I'm working. So, I'd like to know if there is a way to block all these notifications in a certain period.

You have "Automatic rules" in Do not Disturb menu , there you can create an event/timerule named "work" give time period and occurrence of the event . Select the profile you want in this i would prefer priority only . If you still want some notifications you can increase priority of those notifications in app setting of that particular app .


How to install new Python modules in the Dcoder app? The Dcoder app supports the Python programming language. However, for a code that requires 3rd-party modules (e.g. mlxtend), it will show the following error when running:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "fun.py", line 7, in <module>
    from mlxtend.data import iris_data
ImportError: No module named mlxtend.data

Process finished with exit code 1.

How to install new Python modules in the Dcoder app?

As of 2 February 2020, Dcoder does not support 3rd party modules.
This was their developer's statement on the Twitter

Currently we do not support 3rd party modules, we are working on 3rd party module integration, keep an eye on our updates.

Below is my personal reasoning before getting their reply.
The reason is, as stated in their app's description, it uses an online cloud service to compile and run the code.

Disclaimer: Dcoder uses array of strong cloud based compilers to compile the code and display output, [...]
[...]
Dcoder is an online compiler, now run, compile and execute your code snippets on your own android mobile devices.

To put it simply, Dcoder does not install Python nor compile the code on the user's device. Instead, the app works as a code editor, sends the code to the online compiler and runs it, then returns and shows the result on the app. As such, the modules are restricted to their online compiler.
To list which modules are installed, run the following code on Dcoder
set1=set2=set3="None"

set1 = 'list(k[1] for k in pkgutil.iter_modules())'
set2 = 's.modules.keys()'
set3 = 's.builtin_module_names'

import pkgutil, sys as s
def calculate(what): return eval(what)

print(calculate(set1))
print(calculate(set2))
print(calculate(set3))

Code modified from SOLOLEARN's Discussion Board


Can't send MMS messages (but can receive) About a week ago I lost the ability to send MMS messages. I can still receive, and single-recipient SMS works fine. The phone is a Moto X, stock. I did recently install some new apps; could one of them be interfering with the messaging app?

EDIT: the message I get is invalid destination address or could not send message.

This may help

  i have test Moto G

  1.Open Message

  2.Choose Attach Option on right side Options(Picture,Capture picture,Videos,Capture Video,Audio,Record audio and Slideshow).

  3.Choose Capture Video/Videos,if choose video then we have send small video otherwise its not selected.

  4.Then last Send MMS.


Can I setup & use a google play account for free & paid items only using gift cards? Is it possible to setup a google play account without a credit card, using only gift cards (this is possible on apple), which will allow me to download free and paid apps & music from the play store?

I'm in the uk if that helps,

Thanks

Why should it not be possible?

You can setup a Google account without any payment method attached.
You can add giftcard codes to your playstore account.
Giftcards can be used to pay for apps.

Watson combined: Setting up an account with no payment, add a giftcard to it – and with that should be able to pay for apps (and use them, of course).


Unable to Downgrade after upgrade to Android M from Android L I upgraded my MOTO G 3rd Gen (XT1550) to Android M. After that I tried to root My Phone but unable to Root Android M. So I decided to Downgrade to Android L. But also unable to Downgrade.

Seeing the exchange of comments in other answer and the link provided, the problem is with SuperSu:

Version 2.62 ( from memory) is normal SuperSu

Version 2.76 is system less root, which provides root without modifying system partition. My device is rooted with this and I had the same problem.

Systemless root requires different treatment.

First thing to do is shut the device by adb shell reboot -p . Next is to boot into recovery, enter TWRP terminal and key ''echo SYSTEMLESS=true>>/data/.supersu'' without quotes ( I had read of this in this XDA post

After this reboot into recovery for custom recovery to replace stock. Else in some current devices the custom recovery is replaced by stock. See this for more Booting into twrp unsuccessful


Internal SD periodically becomes inaccessible I'm having an issue with my Samsung Galaxy S. My phone has trouble reading my internal SD card. When the problem occurs, I cannot take pictures, or even access the "My Files" folder.

When I check the settings in the SD card and phone storage area, everything is unavailable or greyed out. The phone is not USB mounted when this happens. A battery pull fixes the problem, but this seems unconventional. Also Kies does not work as well with my device.

I had the problem with my Ainol Novo 7 Crystal Quad Core and the solution was simple but took hours of research.
The internal SD partition that goes beyond the memory reserved for the OS and some apps may have become corrupted.
Go to the backup/reset tab in "settings" and click the erase SD card.
You will be told that you will lose all the information on it but you will only lose that which you cannot access anyway.
Erase the card.
Once it is erased, you will be able to mount it when you go to "storage" and you push the remount button.
Hope this of help and use to you. It worked for me.


What can be accessed if phone is lost? If a phone has not had its bootloader unlocked, has not been rooted, has a finger print lock as well as a pin lock if the fingerprint lock doesn't work. How much can a thief access on the phone?

Will they be able to bypass the finger print lock? Will they be able to undelete deleted files in anyway?

What can and can they not do on a locked, unrooted, bootloader locked device? The device in question is a Oneplus 2.

They can flash stock firmware and resell it.

Without knowing the exact build number of the device, your data will not be kept after flashing. (I say this because it is possible to keep sdcard storage on some Samsung devices if you flash exact same build number, but it's a long-shot if you don't have it written down.)

They would have to spend a lot of money for professional equipment/service get your data off of it. To name some potential tools out there: reverse JTAG (privately owned, requires a specialist), government software, even Dr. Fone may be able to recover some pictures here and there, but that depends on how the flash image matches up (small chance).

IMO, there's not much to worry about as far as data. Report your IMEI stolen, then go on ebay and craigslist twice a week and see if you can find it! Search your imei # in titles and descriptions, and message sellers what their imei is, etc. You'll probably find it! Better yet, you may be able to track the loser down!


Motorola G4 refuses to connect to iPhone's Hotspot I have an odd situation, I recently purchased an iPhone XS and for some reason, my older Moto G4 cannot connect to the hotspot provided by the new phone.

The situation is odd because other phones, both Android and iOS,  can connect and use the internet from the iPhone XS without any issues. yes I do have a sharing data plan.

The Motorola G4 seems to be working fine as it can connect to other hotspots,  iOS devices, Android devices, and routers from my home and coffee shops, and use their internet without problems.

The Moto G4 can connect to the 2Ghz and 5Ghz networks in my house correctly.

I've hard reset both the Moto G4 and the iPhone phones.

I changed several times the password on the iPhone XS hotspot as well as the phone name. I tried setting passwords with all caps letters, all numbers, all lowercase, 123456789, a mix of both, but it just refuses to connect.

The Moto G4 always says authentication failed, but I am 100% confident that the password is correct.

If I swap the sim cards to use the Moto G4 as a hotspot then, the iPhone XS can connect to the G4 without problems.

My mobile provider is T-Mobile.

The MotoG4 can also get internet from the iPhone using Bluetooth connection but this is a less than an ideal scenario.

I'll appreciate any clues to solve this mystery.

Edit: Additional information from someone with the same problem:

Getting the same problem with iPhone Xs and iPhone 11 as hotspots

Moto E4 getting Authentication Failed, if verbose is enabled in developer mode it goes authentication failure 1-5 before quitting

I have done a Direct Firmware Update on the iPhone Xs with no change. I have factory reset 2 of the Motos and no change.

All devices running the latest OS that auto-update allows.

The older devices sometimes just do not connect to networks with new Wi-Fi encryption modes. It can be an reason because as you said your Moto G4 connects to other wifi spots.
You can try to change region on your G4.
Or change your encryption method on your iphone.


Lost-phone apps do not work for my S5 I am struggling to understand what's going on here! When I first got my phone, I signed up for Samsung's service for finding a lost phone. But, not too long after it simply stopped working. I finally decided it's time to try something else. So, I tried Lookout as well as the Android Device Manager. I offer this information only for history.

Now, I have pretty much given up on everything except Android Device Manager. It is currently set as an admin to my device. But, it only works if the screen is on! If my screen is off Google cannot find nor ring my device. If my screen is on (even locked) it has no trouble. What can I do?

Perhaps, you have set the parameter in the settings, that all network connections are disabled when the screen is off.

Or aybe you should try another anti theft guard, such as the avg antitheft app.


ADB backup is not working I just tried to make a backup from my Nexus 5 (before installing CM 11) It is unlocked but not rooted. On PC side I'm working with Ubuntu 13.10.

When I type

adb backup –all -apk -nosystem –f /data/Nexus5Backup/backup_17042014.abk

then my phone asks me if I want to backup and I confirm. But the terminal in Ubuntu immediately returns to prompt (~$) and my phone says the backup is complete.

When I type

adb backup –all -apk -shared -nosystem –f /data/Nexus5Backup/backup_17042014.abk

and also confirm that I want to backup then the terminal hangs at

Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation.

The phone is displaying "shared storage".

But the weirdest thing is that in both cases the backup file (/data/Nexus5Backup/backup_17042014.abk) is never being generated.

How can I do a full backup? I already did backups in the past and they worked. Is this a bug in my Android version (4.4.2 KitKat)? And is there a workaround?

Is ADB hung or just inconsiderate in reporting on what it's doing?

I came here with a similar question; on Win7 adb backup -apk -shared -all -nosystem -f path\to\backup_file.ab the Nexus 5 reported "com.stuff.foo .com.stuff.bar" ... for awhile and then stopped for a very long time, 20+ minutes, on "shared storage".  Jacking up the confusion and anxiety level, after I picked up the phone when the screen blanked, the display auto-rotated, and then from that point didn't show any status messages at all.

On the PC side, the console never reported anything other than the initial unlock device message.

What kept me hanging in was that the backup_file.ab was created, the time-stamp continued to match current time within a minute or so, and the file size was multi-GB and kept increasing slowly -- albeit in fits and starts -- one pause was about 10 minutes(!), and then jumped by 0.5GB in a single shot.

After more than an hour the phone the Backup/Encryption Password screen closed of it's own accord, and the PC console prompt became active again. Neither one exited with a message to indicate whether they'd finished successfully or in an error state.

Final .ab file is just under 8GB. Nexus > Settings > Storage reports 12.55GB total space and 500mb free.

I think perhaps you just didn't wait long enough (understandable given the lack of feedback!) and that perhaps Linux spawns adb as a background process? (thus the return to prompt).


My new Android device not showing up in Google Play I had a Intex iBuddy Connect (Tablet) linked with my Google account.

Later on I purchased an new Android device (a XOLO Q700). I logged into Google Play from my device and I am able install apps to the new device.

But when I log in to Google Play from my laptop and hit install the list does not show my new device. Only my old device is listed in the list of devices.

What would be the issue in linking my device with my account?

I had a similar issue (new device can install from Google Play, but from the website it wasn't being shown as a device under my Settings).

What I had to do was to go into Settings/Apps/Google Play on the device and then clear the data. Once that is done, when you next launch Play, it will ask you to accept the terms and conditions. Then I just downloaded an app (any app will do) on the device. This seems to alert the web settings that there's another device.

I then checked my settings on the Play website and the device was now listed (no delay, it was there straight away). Note that I never logged out of the Browser, or cleared any browser caches etc. Effectively the step are:

Clear the Google Play app cache on the Android device.
Start Play and accept T&Cs
Download any app from inside the Play app.

Hopefully this will work for others too.


Does it mean that Memory usage of app same as size of app This is a conceptual doubt I have. Request some one to resolve my doubt. I have an app of size of 4.5MB and I am calculating memory usage of processes in the app. I am getting each process memory usage as 16MB...

final Runtime rt = Runtime.getRuntime();
rt.gc();
final double startSize = rt.totalMemory()-rt.freeMemory();

What I am getting is correct or wrong?Does it mean that Memory usage of app same is same as size of app?

It is correct, there is no reason for the memory usage of you app to be the same size as the apk.


Can CPU intensive apps cause sudden shutdowns? Lately my Droid Incredible has been shutting down spontaneously when using my GPS for periods over 30 or 45 minutes.  After the shutdown the back of the phone is pretty hot (and that's with a case on it).  I kept my other services to a bare minimum when using the GPS.

Could this be a battery overdraw (or overload with it connected to a charger)? If not, could some services (GPS, CPU-intensive games/apps, etc) or a combo of services cause the CPU to overheat and shutdown (much like a laptop when it gets too hot when the CPU is overworked with no additional cooling)?

Yes

Overworking the CPU is what creates the intense heat, this intense heat is detected by the OS and shutdowns the phone to protect your hardware. (A PC works just the same).


how to remove my synchronised data from my gmail account I want to remove all data in my Mail Account. I want to delete all contact, image ,whatup-data and any all think which is synchronized in my account. how to remove all information of my Email account any Help please.

Go to the SETTINGS menu and select the APPS option.
Select the app from which you want all the data to be removed.
Select the CLEAR DATA option. This will take a few seconds and all the user data from the app will be deleted.


Overlay a live WiFi camera image I am using a WiFi endoscope camera with an Acer Android tablet, for woodturning hollow forms. The camera points to a cutter on the same structure as the camera so that the camera is always focussed on the cutter.

I need to be able to superimpose a graphic that I have created over the live image of the cutter. Essentially the image is of the cutter, but with a margin drawn around it.

I have tried many apps that allow overlaying one saved image over another, but none of them work with a live camera "feed". I found one that does allow an image to be superimposed over a live camera feed, but it will only use the camera feed from the camera on the tablet.

Can anyone here help me with this?

great, I got it . This is easy and possible, SO first of all i need to know the camera you are using to record or live preview your work ?

You need a good high resolution camera , which can zoom at that detail what was shown in your Youtube link .
Secondly if the camera has live streaming / mirro link options that will be cool , cause you can connect to TV  / Mobile in android and get the camera  live streaming in you mobile or tablet.
Your tablet with android 6.0 is good enough .
The important thing is you Camera that will record / live stream when you work.

Secondly , you can do this wirelessly and wired way.
Wireless ,if you cam has a wifi direct / mirrocast , airplay like features , wired with it supports direct camera raw data to pc streaming ...

Hope this helps..


Front camera not working after a while, issue with Smart Lock This is basically the same issue as described here:

Camera isn't available - Trusted Face ( Android Lollipop - Nexus 5)

Im running Marshmallow on a Nexus 5.

So yesterday i enabled password protection and Smart Lock with "Trusted Face".
This worked great so far.

However, after some time (like 4-8 hours) the front camera will stop working.
This will cause Smart Lock to not recognize me obviuosly and i have to use my password every time.

When launching the camera app, i am able to use the back camera, however switching to front only gives me a black screen and the app does not react to input anymore.

Rebooting the device will fix this, until it starts againt after the mentioned time-span.

Anyone got any ideas?

EDIT:
Clearing the cache (as advised in an answer) did prolong the time the front camera worked to about 36 hours but did not fix this permanently.

I had issues with my nexus 5 front camera not working randomly (switching to front camera would give a blank screen). wiping cache fixed it. I suggest you try it.


Can anyone identify the S notification icon Someone please help me identify the S at the top left corner of my picture

I figured it out finally. It is Shopkick app.


Completely change home screen on Android TV I have Android TV (Sony KJ-65X8500D running on Android 5.1.1 Marshmallow if relevant). On the home screen, there are several ads and a wallpaper that I don't control. It's currently showing an ad for a TV show I find highly offensive and I want it off my TV.
It's not just an icon. Since it's the default icon (the first one), it also defines the background of everything on the home screen.
How do I change it to

Get rid of the ads
Set the background to my own photos

So this is how I solved it for my particular TV (A Bravia KJ-65X8500D running Android 5.1.1)

First off I found a 3rd party homescreen program called HAL Launcher which I installed. It works as an app but it's not the app the home button on the remote goes to. It has the option to make it so but that option stopped working android 5 something.

To solve that problem I downloaded and installed Android Studio from Google.

Then I followed these instructions for connecting my computer to the TV. They can be summarized as follows

Enable Developer mode

Press Home and select Settings.
In the TV rowselect About.
Scroll down to and click on Build seven times until  "You are now a developer" appears. (note: at 5 clicks a different message will appear. Keep clicking
Press Home (do NOT skip this step)

Enable ADB Debugging

Select Settings
In the System Preferences row, select Developer options
Select Debugging
Select ADB Debugging
Select On.

Get the IP address of your TV

Press Home
select Network Settings.
Pick wifi or wired and note the IP address

Connect ADB

Make sure your TV and your computer are connected to the same local network.
On your computer type

adb connect <TV IP address>:5555

For example my TV's address was 10.0.0.13 so I typed

adb connect 10.0.0.13:5555

The TV will ask if it's ok for your computer to connect. Select Always allow from this computer and select OK.

Hide Leanback

Now that adb is connected you can hide the launcher

This part I got from here.

On your computer type

adb shell pm hide com.google.android.leanbacklauncher

If you want to undo it type

adb shell pm unhide com.google.android.leanbacklauncher

NOTE: if adb is not in your path find in on your computer (it's installed with Android Studio) and cd to that folder then use ./adb or .\adb on windows

At this point HAL Launcher comes up when I press the HOME button on my remote which means the offensive ads are gone! YAY!


Is USB debugging needed when flashing stuff? I mostly worked on Samsung phones, but I also had a shot on some cheap MTK phones.

Over the course of rooting/flashing roms/flashing kernels I built myself/using Odin (Samsung)/etc. on a lot of phones, not once did I need to change any USB debugging option, except on my first try when I was still new to Android.

But, once I began learning how Android works (and becoming an Android dev in the process), turning on USB debugging didn't make sense when interacting with the phone outside of Android, because as far as I know, USB debugging is only soft. That is, the phone hardware didn't care, but the OS requires it for debugging purposes (ADB access).

So, basically, when you need to flash something in recovery mode OR via a tool (e.g. Odin, Heimdall), you don't need USB debugging. But, when you are talking to the OS (logcat, etc.), USB debugging makes sense.

So, why do almost all of the online tutorials that I revisited require turning on USB debugging even though you're outside of Android? Is there something I don't know that needs it? Or are they naive and simply followed the leader (copy-pasted another tutorial into their own blogs)?

It is never really required for anything related to flashing kernels and Roms. However, you can do other things with adb that are more related to modifying the existing system. However in the case of most tutorials, I think its what Andy Yan said, it's just for copy paste


Remove option for dual SIM in Sony Xperia C3 Dual My Sony Xperia C3 Dual phone (which has dual SIM slots) has now updated to Lollipop. I never use the second SIM slot, so is there a way to disable or remove the option because in lock-screen mode it gives me the notification about no service on SIM 2 slot?

On Mediatek devices, Gravitybox works well to hide the said SIM card notification. However, if this app does not work for your Qualcomm device, then use an alternative app named NotifyClean which can selectively hide notifications including the said one.
See if it helps.
Note:- Device needs to be rooted and Xposed Framework installed.

About Gravitybox

GravityBox is a module which primary goal is to provide the users of AOSP devices
with a tweak box to turn their vanilla AOSP ROM into custom ROM packed with additional features and tweaks
without need to flash anything. Most of the preferences can be changed on-the-fly without rebooting.

About NotifyClean

You could configure which apps are allowed to create notifications in the top left area, the notification area. If an app creates a notification it will be collected and added to the list.
You could deny all notifications of an app or only specific messages - if it's not a customized notification. So I used it to hide "waiting for connection", but not "you are connected".


Wifi sleep policy not working I tried some stuff I found about sleep policy. I obviously tried setting it to Never, I tried the Wi-Fi keep alive app, it doesn't seem to work.

When I let the phone lie for a few minutes and then wake it, the wifi icon is grey and i cannot connect to anything right away, I have to wait till it turns green. This also messes up my GTalk, plenty of times i found out someone wrote to me only by manually opening the Talk app and waiting for it to sync (there was the red unconnected line at the bottom).

How do I fix this?

I have Nexus S, if that helps.
Thank you

I was frustrated for a long time with the same problem. An app called Wifi Fixer seems to have fixed it. Hope that helps you too.


How to append text with paste? In android many times I just want to paste in text after the current text. But Android won't offer the paste context unless I select text. This means I have to overwrite text I want or insert a garbage word that will get pasted over. How do I just append the text in the clipboard to the current text?

For example if I long press after the entered text android selects the last set of chars and i have tonpaste over it.

On Android, to paste text, all you have to do, is long press anywhere after the last words that are displayed at the moment. This will bring up a few options, and one of them will be paste press on that, and the text will appear where you want it to.

In the screenshot below, if you want to paste something after the word here all you have to do, is long press where the red circle is (or anywhere along the line). This can get tricky in a situation where you want to paste between words.


Does Android put wifi and other data networks to sleep when the display is turned off? I was wondering if stock Android puts Wifi and other data networks to sleep when the display of the device is turned off. If not, what app can help me do the same ?

It depends, some Android devices have an advanced setting WiFi Sleep Policy under

Settings -> Wireless -> Wi-Fi Settings -> [Menu Button] Advanced -> Wi-Fi Sleep Policy

But I am not sure if this is a vanilla Android feature or an manufacturer modification. At least the Galaxy S series has this setting.

Data networks are usually fully active. But Apps like Tasker allow you to define certain profiles to improve battery life. For example: Only allow 2G when the display is off, because 2G requires less battery then 3G (UMTS).


Couldn't connect to server Google+ I get an error "No connection: Couldn't connect to the server" when trying to assign my google account to the Google+ app on my 2.3.5 Android phone. Tried several times along the day today, any ideas what else I may try?

I have no connection problems with any of the other apps on the same phone at any time.

Check for a security notification under the notifications. I missed it at first on my tablet.


Is there a ways to set data speed limit in android? Is there a way to set data speed limit on android device(Samsung Galaxy GTi9003,Gingerbread 2.3.6)?
Note :this is different from data limit.

I want to use 3G network 300MB/month plan which I think can only be achieved by limiting data speed and also limiting net access to various apps

NON ROOTED DEVICE

Not usefully.

If you root the device, you can use a tool such as iptables to configure a rate limit, but the only way for that to work on downloads is to drop network packets above a certain limit. The effect of this will be that the apps on your phone see slower downloads, but the overall use of your Wi-Fi or mobile data connection will be greater, because the server has to keep re-sending packets that have reached your phone but been dropped.

This isn't an Android-specific problem: it's just how the internet works. Desktop machines have just the same problem with rate-limiting. It's just worse on mobile: because wireless network connections genuinely do lose packets more often, they're usually set up to re-send more aggressively than wired connections.

The exception to this is if you have a particular app whose network protocol supports rate negotiation. BitTorrent is one example. In that case, you should set the appropriate setting in the app you want to limit.


any way to read DATA/ directory's CONTACTS.DB? Suddenly my HUAWEI (Android  4.2.2) bricked. It stucks at BOOT LOGO.
However,when i connect to USB, ADB is able to read phone memory (shell and ls), But the /data directory is not readable (permision denied)

I need contacts (people say it is located in /data/com.android.providers.contacts, but ia m not sure).
What to do? i had no backup of contacts, I cant loose them, they are important?
WHat's solution ? How to get custom ADBD to do that?

What you read is about correct: contact is stored in /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db.

You will only be able to read /data if you're rooted. Although Android 4.2.2 should be easily rootable by now, the fact that you're stuck in the boot logo (likely a bootloop) means you can't keep a stable ADB connection, therefore no rooting tools would work (requires stable connection for minutes).


Music player that utilizes ReplayGain tags and can scrobble to Last.fm? Is there a media player that can read ReplayGain tags from the music files and adjust play volume accordingly? Also it will be appreciated if it can live scrobble playing tracks to a chosen Last.fm profile.

As a bonus: Can it display currently playing song to a bluetooth handsfree with screen, like SE MW600?

Thanks in advance.

Winamp supports ReplayGain in its desktop versions, so the Android version might also support it (I'm not positive, but it seems reasonable). It definitely does support scrobbling, though I've not used it myself. You could give that a try and see if it fits your needs.


How can one add attachments from Google Drive in Gmail android app? In menu to attach file, it sometimes shows Drive as an option under recent if you have opened Drive recently. But other times it doesn't show Drive as an option to select from and then I couldn't find a way to select Google Drive. I am using Nexus 4.

You could open Drive-App, select the file you want to send, long-press on it and choose "Send".
There you can choose gmail and it automatically creates a new mail with the file attached.


Where can I find the change log for Android 4.0.4? I'm curious what changed in Android 4.0.4. Is there an official change log somewhere? It seems very well hidden.

It's just a maintenance update for bug fixes. This is the best I can find:

  Revision 3 (March 2012)

  Maintenance update. The system version is 4.0.4.

  Note: This system image includes support for emulator hardware
  graphics acceleration when used with SDK Tools r17 or higher. (more
  info)

http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-4.0.3.html

Unofficial change log

Revision change log and more details


Nexus 5 not detected in Ubuntu 14.04 I want to build an android image in my Nexus 5, but the adb devices cannot detect the device. I think I have a USB access problem in my laptop. When I plug the device, it is not connected.
Here are some outputs of the various commands that were suggested when I googled it:

lsusb -t:

/:  Bus 03.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/4p, 5000M
/:  Bus 02.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=xhci_hcd/9p, 480M

/:  Bus 01.Port 1: Dev 1, Class=root_hub, Driver=ehci-pci/2p, 480M

|__ Port 1: Dev 2, If 0, Class=Hub, Driver=hub/8p, 480M

sudo fdisk -l

Attention : identifiant de table de partitions GPT (GUID) détecté sur « /dev/sda » ! L'utilitaire fdisk ne prend pas GPT en charge. Utilisez GNU Parted.

Disk /dev/sda: 1000.2 GB, 1000204886016 bytes
255 têtes, 63 secteurs/piste, 121601 cylindres, total 1953525168 secteurs
Unités = secteurs de 1 * 512 = 512 octets
Taille de secteur (logique / physique) : 512 octets / 4096 octets
taille d'E/S (minimale / optimale) : 4096 octets / 4096 octets
Identifiant de disque : 0x8c377765

Périphérique Amorçage  Début         Fin      Blocs    Id.        Système
/dev/sda1               1  1953525167   976762583+  ee  GPT
La partition 1 ne commence pas sur une frontière de cylindre physique.

dmesg | tail ⇒ plug the usb ⇒ dmesg | tail -n 20: here is the difference between the 2 previous commands:

[ 2919.365968] [UFW BLOCK] IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=01:00:5e:00:00:01:c4:2c:03:2f:2d:54:08:00 SRC=141.223.83.156 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=63097 PROTO=UDP SPT=64283 DPT=8612 LEN=24
[ 2939.662014] [UFW BLOCK] IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=01:00:5e:00:00:01:c4:2c:03:2f:2d:54:08:00 SRC=141.223.83.156 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=9057 PROTO=UDP SPT=54364 DPT=8612 LEN=24
[ 2954.005896] [UFW BLOCK] IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=01:00:5e:00:00:01:c4:2c:03:2f:2d:54:08:00 SRC=141.223.83.156 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=65052 PROTO=UDP SPT=61778 DPT=8612 LEN=24
[ 2975.324471] [UFW BLOCK] IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=01:00:5e:00:00:01:c4:2c:03:2f:2d:54:08:00 SRC=141.223.83.156 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=21456 PROTO=UDP SPT=59758 DPT=8612 LEN=24
[ 2996.844609] [UFW BLOCK] IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=01:00:5e:00:00:01:c4:2c:03:2f:2d:54:08:00 SRC=141.223.83.156 DST=224.0.0.1 LEN=44 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=1 ID=58470 PROTO=UDP SPT=55238 DPT=8612 LEN=24

4.usb-devices

    T:  Bus=01 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=480 MxCh= 2
    D:  Ver= 2.00 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
    P:  Vendor=1d6b ProdID=0002 Rev=03.13
    S:  Manufacturer=Linux 3.13.0-55-generic ehci_hcd
    S:  Product=EHCI Host Controller
    S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:1d.0
    C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=0mA
    I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

    T:  Bus=01 Lev=01 Prnt=01 Port=00 Cnt=01 Dev#=  2 Spd=480 MxCh= 8
    D:  Ver= 2.00 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=01 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
    P:  Vendor=8087 ProdID=8000 Rev=00.04
    C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=0mA
    I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

    T:  Bus=02 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=480 MxCh= 9
    D:  Ver= 2.00 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=01 MxPS=64 #Cfgs=  1
    P:  Vendor=1d6b ProdID=0002 Rev=03.13
    S:  Manufacturer=Linux 3.13.0-55-generic xhci_hcd
    S:  Product=xHCI Host Controller
    S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:14.0
    C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=0mA
    I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

    T:  Bus=03 Lev=00 Prnt=00 Port=00 Cnt=00 Dev#=  1 Spd=5000 MxCh= 4
    D:  Ver= 3.00 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=03 MxPS= 9 #Cfgs=  1
    P:  Vendor=1d6b ProdID=0003 Rev=03.13
    S:  Manufacturer=Linux 3.13.0-55-generic xhci_hcd
    S:  Product=xHCI Host Controller
    S:  SerialNumber=0000:00:14.0
    C:  #Ifs= 1 Cfg#= 1 Atr=e0 MxPwr=0mA
    I:  If#= 0 Alt= 0 #EPs= 1 Cls=09(hub  ) Sub=00 Prot=00 Driver=hub

Thank your for your help :)

Do you have adb installed? Added the android rules and etc? I was in the same boat last night kind of, was trying to run a logcat. Google adb for whateverdistro you are using. Once I set up adb/android rules, my phone would show up via lsusb

Also, not sure if it matters, but do you have USB debugging turned on?

I assume since you are trying to build an image, that you know the basics, but have you tried searching/posting on xda as well?


Can my Whatsapp calls and messages be tracked and recorded by my mobile network carrier? First of all sorry if this is the wrong section cuz I don't know where to post this question :/

I have been using Whatsapp for a while now and I'm wondering if it ever possible for my mobile network carrier to know who am I contacting on Whatsapp and record my call and text?

Nothing is utterly IMpossible, but it's certainly improbable. They'd have to carefully monitor every bit of your network traffic, and as WhatsApp encrypts all of their traffic, your carrier would then have to break that encryption which is no small task.

The alternative is for your carrier to have installed some sort of monitoring software on your phone pre-purchase to track all your actions before they even reach WhatsApp. If they're a large provider, we'd all know if they were doing this by now, as the class action suits would be flying. People take their security very seriously and regularly tear apart what's going on inside their phones to ensure they're not being spied on.

So for all practical purposes, no, your carrier doesn't know who you're contacting or what you're doing in WhatsApp. The most they likely know is THAT you're using WhatsApp. No need to worry.


Troubleshooting my WiFi - can't get an IP-address I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Gio (Android 2.3). And I can't get a WiFi connection. My brother has the exact some phone and can get a connection.

When I enable WiFi, it tries to connect to the router. It then says it's trying to get an IP-address. But fails to do so and closes the connection.

When going to *#*#4636#*#* and into the WiFi Status menu it tells me the following:

WiFi state: On
Network State: connection lost
Supplicant State: DISCONNECTED
RSSI: -200
BSSID:
SSID:
Hidden SSID: False
IP-adress: 0.0.0.0
Mac-Address: /censored/
Network ID: -1
Link Speed: 1 Mbps

What should I try to fix my WiFi connection?

Make sure the Wi-Fi router is not banning you. Wi-Fi routers have a setting to allow/deny specific MAC Addresses which could be used by your brother (to tease you).

If you are allowed to connect with router, this means DHCP is not working for you. DHCP service automatically assign IPs to devices in network. DHCP server on router could be corrected after reboot. It has assigned IP to your brother's device, after all.

If rebooting router doesn't work, it means that DHCP client in your device is not working properly to obtain IP. Try turning off - on Wi-Fi, restart device. If its not a big matter, you may do factory reset, too.

If it's also not working or you don't want to do factory reset, Fix IP of device. On Wi-Fi settings screen, hit menu button and tap Advanced. From here, you can fix IP to device after ticking Use Static IP address. If you don't know IP addressing, grab your brother's IP and change digit after last dot. Make sure, no other device in network has that IP.


Samsung galaxy S Duos 2 gt-s7582 codename error Trying to install ressurection remix 7.1 ends in error because my samsung which should be named kyleprods is named kylepro(which is the codename for gt-s7580).

Also, there is no OS installed on it yet, it is erased.

Is there a way to change it? The system folder is empty so no build info.

Trying to install an OS for kylepro(gt-s7580) ends in unable to mount /system error.

To note, I have TWRP recovery.

Edit: It is 7582 because of the sticker under the battery + booting screen.

Go to download mode and flash with stock rom https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=385035244224393610
hope your problem will be solved.


Nexus 10 not booting, showing Google and lock icon when turned on This is odd. My Nexus 10 has been working great a quite a while now, but now, suddenly, when I turn it on, its quickly shows a Google title in the middle, and a lock icon at the bottom (in landscape mode only). The lock looks like a padlock and it looks open (not fully closed). Nothing happens when I wait. I can turn the tablet off by holding the power button for about 5 seconds. The tablet then stays off, until I press the power button for about 1 second. "Google" and the open padlock icon then reappears.
I've image-googled for anything about not booting and lock icons and whatnot, but I can't find anything that resembles this.
I've had an ipod touch years back and after my toddler tried to log in a few times, I lost access to it, and lost all my data. This made me not wanting to try Apple again. I seriously hope I'm not dealing with something like this here now again...

So if the lock icon was closed before and just opened somehow, you should find out what happens.

Now the lock is opened, so your boot-loader is opened. Have you opened it?

There are BL-unlocking apps available but all of them need root permission so I think this is not the cause. But I'm sure the device did not open its BL.

  I lost access to it, and lost all my data. This made me not wanting to try Apple again. I seriously hope I'm not dealing with something like this here now again...

On the Nexus devices if you open the device's Bootloader all data will be deleted. It's a security concern. The Android documentation doesn't provide a lot of elaboration, stating simply:

  The procedure must be confirmed on-screen, and deletes the user data
  for privacy reasons.

Once the bootloader is unlocked, the rooting process is quite easy so all of the information on /data essentially becomes accessible. This could be emails, contact information, or many other pieces of personal information that you likely don't want in the wrong hands. Therefore, it makes sense to wipe all of this data during the unlocking procedure.

TL;DR: If the device bootloader was opened somehow, all of your data will be gone.


Getting the Europa notification tone off my old phone I'm moving from a Nexus 5X to a shiny new OnePlus 5T. I like my old Europa notification tone, but it's not on my new phone, and I couldn't find a way to find the file on my old phone without rooting the device, which I want to avoid doing.

Any idea how to get that sweet Europa tone?

Any idea how to get that sweet Europa tone?

I'm not sure if you can get it off your old phone without rooting. But there is no need for that, as you can download the tone online. Here's an xda thread, where the main poster posted zip files of all Nexus 5 notification tones. I imagine that the Europa tone in the 5 would be the same as in 5x.

Instructions:

Open the link
In the main post, you'll see a few links. One of them will be for notification sounds. Download that one.
extract the file, and you will see the Europa tone.


Can i customize "select an action for text" menu? I have downloaded a dictionary application for my native language and English translation and it can work offline.

But i need it to be seen at the "select an action for text" menu when i select a piece of text on a browser, or an e book reader, or an offline browser.

Is it the business of developer of the dictionary app?

If not how can i add an app to "select an action for text" menu?

Thanks.

Short answer
You yourself cannot. But you can ask the developer to implement that.
TL;DR
Explanation in easy terms: an app itself must "register for this service", which must be done in code.
The "Share picker" is not handled by apps directly – it's rather the system taking care for that. So it must be made known to the system if an app has something to contribute (or can accept from) here, and if so, for what actions/content types. For example, an URL (link) basically is "normal text" (consisting of characters), so it could be copy/pasted to other "text processing apps" (notepads, word processors, etc.); but it could also be passed to browsers or other link-sharing apps in a specific way. A video makes no sense to be copied into a text-based app, so when "sharing" it you wouldn't like a notepad-type app to be in the share menu (which otherwise would be really cluttered pretty soon).
So an app must "tell" the system what type of "sharing content" it can accept, and it must provide a "standardized interface" for this which the system (or rather its "share" component) then can address.
Additional hints
As your question was for a dictionary-type app: Several other apps support those directly. So e.g. ColorDict (my personal favorite currently) is an online/offline dictionary app directly supported by e.g. Moon+ Reader (my favorite app for reading eBooks – ePub, Mobi, PDF, and more supported). Looking up a term even makes ColorDict blending in seemlessly. So apart from the "standard sharing option" of the system, there are also other ways to achieve things. But again, it's up to the developer to implement this.


Revert back to factory defaults after rooting and installing CM7 Rooting your Android and flashing CM7 seems pretty straightforward (SGS2 as an example).  I'm a complete notice and notice that you have to replace the recovery partition thingy in the process.  Lots of people say doing this invalidates the warranty, understandably.  This leads me on to wonder if it's irreversible.

Is there a way to completely un-root, put the stock ROM and recovery thingy back onto the handset - so that it is back in the exact same state when you opened the box?  Are there prerequisites to this, i.e. can I backup the recovery and the ROM before I start rooting, etc, and how?

The Galaxy S II doesn't have a locked bootloader, so DavidAP's (deleted) post doesn't really apply in this case.  It's also theoretically possible to exploit a flaw in a bootloader or something and re-lock it, though I don't know of such a method.  But anyways.

As noted here, it may be possible to fully back up a Samsung device through Odin, though we haven't been able to get it working.  Doing so would allow you to backup your stock ROM and restore it in perfect condition.  Via Odin you can also flash a stock firmware image, completely obliterating any trace of rooting.  This also might not be perfect, depending on where you get the firmware image — some of them are re-packed OTA updates and so on, and different from any "real" Odin package Samsung might use internally.

The problem is not with the real data on your phone, though; as noted it's easy to go back to stock and leave no trace of rooting.  There's a counter that gets incremented when you flash your phone with Odin.  It's possible to reset this counter, but that increments another counter.  Samsung does check this counter sometimes so you should flash with ClockworkMOD or Mobile Odin to avoid that.

If you brick your phone, that's certainly your fault and I wouldn't expect help from the carrier/manufacturer.  If you need them to fix a cracked screen or something I wouldn't expect them to care about any flashing you may have done, though who knows.  That said, I of course am not encouraging you to void your warranty; that's up to you.


What happens if I factory reset the phone after upgrading to Lollipop? I have updated the OS from Kitkat to Lollipop using system update. Now I want to factory reset. Does anyone know that after the factory reset Lollipop OS remains or it reverts to Kitkat?

A factory reset only clears the user data from the device, it doesn't touch the system partition which is where the update was applied.

So yes, the Lollipop upgrade remains.


How to turn off CPU cores on Samsung Galaxy A8? I need to turn off CPU cores in order to make energy measurements of sets of cpu cores in isolation (meaning that I want to run an application on a set of cpu cores and turn off the cpu cores that are not in the set). I looked at the documentation on the android linux kernel source and it says the following:

  Q: How do i logically offline a CPU?
  A: Do the following.
      #echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuX/online
  Once the logical offline is successful, check
      #cat /proc/interrupts
  You should now not see the CPU that you removed. Also online file will report
  the state as 0 when a cpu if offline and 1 when its online.
      #To display the current cpu state.
      #cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuX/online

But when I write 0 to the online file, it still reports the CPU as being online even with superuser permissions and marking the file as writable (chmod +w).

I imagine that the kernel is enabling the cpu again after I disabled it. Also I did not try to turn off CPU 0 because in the same documentation it says that it's not removable in some architectures, this behavior is happening on other CPUs.

Do I need to rebuild the kernel in order to enable the cpu hotplug or is this an architecture specific problem? Maybe my cpu doesn't support hotplugs.

What I've tried by now

Writing to /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuN/online with a rooted device. (echo "0" > ./sys/device/...../online)
Changing the kernel to a custom one and trying the step above again. (Kernel installed was Quantum Kernel)
Using kernel adiutor to turn off the CPUs on the CPU tab (this turns off the CPU for a while then it turns back on again)
Using su on adb shell to change file permissions on sysfs (chmod 664 /sys/devices/...../online) and then trying to write to it.

Device Information
Model: Samsung Galaxy A8 (SM-A530F)
Android Version: Android Pie (9)
Kernel: Quantum Kernel V4
Kernel version: 4.4.111-Quantum_pie.V4.0-A530F
Processor: Samsung Exynos Octa 7885
Architecture: aarch64

EDIT: Forgot to mention that my device is rooted.

This helps on Galaxy-S7:
echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpuhotplug/enabled
echo 0 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/online


Why does the new Gmail address not show on the Samsung tab 2 version 7.0? A friend forgot her primary Gmail address so I created a new one for her. The reason she could not find it was her surname was wrong. The problem is that when I press the Gmail icon on her Samsung tab 2 version 7.0 only the primary email inbox is shown. I have found no way to view the new Gmail address which she needs to open to confirm something she did on the internet.

Is there any solution given on the web, perhaps from Google? I completely fail to understand why Google will not allow us to change what the primary address is. We shall never use the one Google has decided upon against our wishes. The only inbox we are interested in opening is that of the new Gmail address I have just created.

Go to your phone's Settings. Under Accounts, add the existing Google account. After you go through the wizard (and making sure email is synced), go back to the GMail app. When you trigger/click the hamburger menu, you should be able to select between your different GMail accounts.


(Android) Launch app activity shortcuts from the command line? I'd like to know how would it be possible to launch an action "shortcut" (like Greenify's auto-hibernation shortcut) through the command line in Android.

I'm trying to launch a StrongSwan VPN profile on boot, but first I need to know what command does eg. the launcher send to it while launching the profile from the home screen.

So far, what I've managed to observe is that when I launch SS with that shortcut, the logcat says:

START u0 {act=org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE flg=0x10000000 cmp=org.strongswan.android/.ui.MainActivity bnds=[360,1759][540,1920] (has extras)} from uid 10077 on display 0

Any ideas on how to make it into command input? Thanks in advance!

Looking for an intent interceptor I came across IntentTask which is helpful for your objective. I installed Tasker, that app, setup a Task with action:

Plugin → IntentTask → Launch Shortuct → Configuration: tap pencil icon → your app → the profile.

The intent auto-populated there was:

#Intent;action=org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE;l.org.strongswan.android.VPN_PROFILE_ID=1;end

You can now attach your task to a boot profile in Tasker now.

As for the command-line I tried the same intent in the command-line and it works too.

am start -a org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE --el org.strongswan.android.VPN_PROFILE_ID 1

Replace 1 with the your profile's ID.


What's this "drawer" in the task switcher and how to configure it? I just upgraded my Samsung Galaxy S9+ to Android 9 and was wondering about this new UI element that shows up when opening the task switcher (the ||| button).

In the below screenshot you can see the task switcher and five icons which are similar to the app drawer that lives on the bottom of the home screen (highlighted by the red frame). However, this selection of apps is not the same as in my actual app drawer. Also, I don't really use ES Explorer that often such that the frequency of the app usage would seem relevant here for its appearance (all other apps appear to be system apps). For example I have not even opened it once since the system upgrade.

What is this new UI element called? (relevant for web searches)
How can I configure the apps appearing in this UI element?

That section is showing predicted apps. This feature was introduced in Android 9, along with their changes to the recent apps screen. I'm not sure if there's a common name for that UI element, but I found relevant info when searching for "predicted app drawer" and "app suggestions".
AFAIK, you can't customize this - the apps that appear are predicted by the system based on your usage, so over time it will learn and (hopefully!) get better at showing you apps that you're likely to want to use soon.
I don't have access to a Samsung phone to test with, but you can turn it completely off in stock Android 9. You can see screenshots here.

Long-press on the home screen
Tapping "Home Settings", then "Suggestions"
Toggle "Apps" off


How does Android multiuser system work? If each app on Android gets its own UID, then how are phone users identifed? Do they own some different UID or something? Or are they in special group "users"?

The human users of the phone don't correspond to different Linux users. The human users are identified only within Android itself, not to apps. Android provides a completely separate environment to the app for each user - a little like a Linux chroot - so the app doesn't have to worry about separate users. When a new user runs the app, it just looks like a fresh install on a new device, because it's given a brand new data directory, separate from those it's given for other users.