Android Intent problems So a few days ago I build an update for my custom android car tablet with my own launcher (based on nexus 7 2013). I added a few new features and some fixes, and I added accidentally the device admin permission together with the install packages permission.

After the update was installed on the tablet, the device opened always the Android for work app when clicked something which should start an external app (like Spotify or Maps). I thought it might be something with these permission and I deleted them and reinstalled a new version of the app (not updated!), but it didn't worked, it still started the Android for work app.

Then I uninstalled the Android for work app, and now the google now app started. After uninstalling it too, the settings app keep launching?!

Has anyone an idea why this is happening and what I can do to get rid of it?

Try:

Restarting
If you can (i.e. phones bootloader is unlocked):
Try clearing the cache and 'davlik-cache' (By installing a custom bootloader
Deleting the offending app using adb (the same software you use to put the app you wrote on there)


"iplink: applet not found" error when trying to change the MAC adress I want to change my mobiles MAC address because it got blacklisted at school. I have tried some apps from the market, but none of them are working. I have rooted my phone (Huawei Ascend Y300) with a custom ROM and installed Busybox from market. I found these links helpful, but none of them worked:

XDA forum: [SOLVED] "sh: applet not found" after BusyBox install
XDA forum: [How to] Configure Terminal Emulator to use Correct BusyBox & Improve Shell Features
How to change the (permanent) MAC address on my android phone?

So, I tried to set my MAC address in terminal. I typed in su, then it requested root access. After granting the superuser permission, I typed busybox iplink show eth0. However, it returned an error:

  iplink: applet not found

I don't know what to do. I tried both links above, but none of them worked. I know one of them is about another command, but I tried replacing it with iplink.

I think there is something wrong with Busybox. It installs its stuff to /system/xbin, and maybe it's the problem, but maybe I'm wrong, I don't know.

Could someone explain to me why, and how to do it correctly?

There's no such command. You want to use ip link, with a space in between.
You might want to look up (under Settings -> About phone -> Status) the original MAC address of your phone. Then issue the command without the interface name first: busybox ip link show, and look for the MAC; you will find the interface name of the wifi adapter, which may very well not be 'eth0'. Mine for example is 'wlan0'.
Then you could try disabling Wifi first, then changing the MAC using the commands on the site you linked, then re-enabling it. It may or may not work - for me, the address change confused the Android settings app and it failed to connect to any network I tried. Don't worry though, everything these commands do are temporary and reverted by a reboot.
You could try searching the /system directory for the configuration file of the wireless adapter and editing that. Mine is at /system/etc/firmware/wlan/prima/, but it's vendor specific and this is an Xperia. Be careful to make a backup of the original, because if you screw this file up, your wifi may not function ever again. This file (or any other file in /system) is not restored at reboot!
You're not going to like this part. You could ask your school to un-blacklist your MAC instead, although they probably had a good reason to blacklist it in the first place. In this case, by changing your MAC, you may very well start an "arms race" which will end up in them whitelisting only their machines and locking everyone else out for good. Try not to abuse their system, and only use it with a spoofed MAC when really necessary.


Huge "Data" when using DiskUsage in Innternal Memory My Lenovo P770's internal memory usage is very large – although I have deleted some unimportant data/apps. This is what it looks like using DiskUsage application:

Screenshot (click for larger variant)

I noticed that theres a huge "Data" (755 MB) in my internal storage.
What is this data? Is it save to delete it? How to do it (where is it's location)?

Sorry for much questions, please help me out. Thanks a lot

Note: I have used CCleaner but it doesn't help much. I think the main problem is this huge "Data".

As you can see on the right, it contains the private data for all apps. If you want to delete these data, you can do it by uninstalling apps or by clicking "Clear data" in the apps manager.


Can I get Skype on my HTC Wildfire in 3? I recently got HTC Wildfire from 3. On the webpage & in shop they told me that I will be able to do Skype talks. After doing some research I found out that:

HTC Wildfire is not officilly supported
Some claims that installing the Skype from apk just works

Hence I have following questions:

Is it legal to install Skype in such way (according to UK or English law)? On one hand it is advertised feature of phone (or at least it looks like it is) on the other hand Skype is propertary.
Which apk files I need?

HTC wildfire is supported by 3.  You need to go to favoured on 3 website and choose Skype. Then it begins to download.


Problems with two-step verification on a new SIM I recently purchased a new SIM. When I try to install WhatsApp, it asks for a PIN that was apparently created by the previous owner for two-step verification. What should I do?

I just experienced the same problem and according to WhatsApp support there is no real solution for it.

I also got a new SIM with a phone number that was used by someone else before. This previous users WhatsApp account had two-step verification activated which means I couldn't activate WhatsApp since it was asking for the pin that I don't have and that can only be reset with an e-mail adress that is not mine.

The answer from WhatsApp support is to wait 7 days and then I will be able to reset the account without the pin. They said there is no alternative or other way to speed up the process.

Update
The account reset worked as expected after 7 days.
Any messages that I might have received in the meantime were not delivered and deleted.

This whole process doesn't seem very optimal to me.


How can I run chroot on Android? I have my chroot environment setup (Alpine Linux) in /sdcard/alpine. I try running my chroot with the following commands:

su
chroot alpine /bin/busybox

(busybox is the cli of Alpine)

I get the following error:

chroot: exec /bin/busybox: Permission denied.

How can I fix this?

My device specs:

Google Pixel XL (marlin)

Android 9.0

Rooted (obviously) with Magisk

Binaries can't be executed on /sdcard because it's an emulated filesystem with fixed file permissions, mounted with noexec mount option. Create alpine directory on some other filesystem e.g. /data:

~# mkdir -p /data/local/tmp/alpine/bin

Place your executable in newly created directory and do chroot:

~# cd /data/local/tmp
~# chmod 0755 alpine/bin/busybox
~# chroot alpine /bin/busybox sh

This will drop you to a root shell (UID 0) with changed root (/).


Disable Carrier Phone Number for Google Voice Number This seems similar to this question, but that one doesn't have a clear answer, and this is a bit different.

Is there a way in Android to block all incoming calls that target the carrier number, but still receive calls that target the Google Voice number?

General problem I'm trying to solve:
I use Google Voice and all valid callers have that number. The carrier-issued number was previously used by at least two people who are being sought by many debt collectors, and has started to get a large number of calls from scammers. I have no reason to ever receive a call at this number.

I currently use on{x} to manage various functions on my phone, but as far as I can tell, it does not offer a way to detect which of my phone numbers was called, only the number of the caller. I'm not sure if another management app (e.g. tasker or locale) would be more helpful, since I don't own either.

I've been blocking numbers as they come up using AVG Anti-Virus, but since what I really want is a white-list for callers (those who know my Google Voice number) rather than a black-list it isn't really doing the trick for me.

Since Google Voice just comes in as a normal carrier call, there is no simple way to separate those calls. It doesn't pass any identifying information that the phone could use to identify it is a Google Voice call versus a carrier call.

You can, however, change your Google Voice settings (on the website, not the app) so that it always shows your Google Voice number as the caller ID on incoming calls. This means you could just whitelist your Google Voice number and block everything else. Then you will receive only GV calls, but you will lose the ability to see who is calling since all calls coming to GV will just display as your GV number. You could then use the call screening features of GV to identify unknown callers.

It really isn't an elegant solution and the loss of caller ID is a big inconvenience, but if you absolutely have to do this, it is about your only option.


I had root and I just updated my phone to 4.4 I updated my phone to 4.4 while it was rooted, and now in my setting its says its 4.4 and when I wanted to download pokemon go it said ''Your device isn't compatible with this version''

Updating from the stock vendor while in root will unroot the device as the new image downloaded is not rooted. Many devices are not compatible with many games.

 Can you be more specific ! Which device you're using and what ROM you're using ?


Cyanogenmod without google apps I flashed my Android with Cyanogenmod 11 without google apps, the sole intention being to avoid Google whatsoever. I am using Runtastic to log my runs, but it doesn't display the map. Understandbly, because Google maps app is not installed. My question is if I can install some other maps like bing maps etc. and use it with Runtastic.

PS: I have no intention to install Google maps or any other google product on my phone.

You might wish to take a look at the NOGAPPS project, which is what I am using. Without having to install the GApps, it e.g. provides a MapsAPI in a way that other apps think it's GMaps. There's also a NetworkLocation provider able to use a locally stored CellID database – found my location on the spot. Third part is the BlankStore, allowing access to the PlayStore including License-verification for paid apps (you cannot buy apps with this, but you can use apps you've already bought). Perfect trio.

You might also wish to see my article on this topic: Android without Google 6: Self-Experiment (need to update it with my progress on another device, where all 3 components work fine).


IMEI number publicly displayed whenever connected to Wifi I connected to Wifi (using a HTC Desire using Android 2.3) and a friend used an app (I think it was on an iPhone) to display information about devices connected to the Wifi hotspot.  I can accept the MAC address being available but isn't having your IMEI number publicly available make it easy for people to do negative stuff like clone it, then fake a phone on the same network with the same MAC address etc?  Or just report the phone stolen by phoning a network and giving the IMEI number?  Why is it visible anyway?  Can I change that field for the purposes of Wifi connectivity?

Note: I am in no way asking here for information on how to change the IMEI number of my phone - I know it's illegal in many places, and I agree with the law.  I just don't see why the IMEI number is relevant in this situation.

Update - to answer your questions/comments:

The Apple app is called Fing.

I saw the app running; my friend is not teasing/lying.

I'm 99% sure I was running the latest version of stock Android on the Desire, and not Cyanogenmod (which I later switched to).

I can't see that it's possible to turn a MAC address into an IMEI address.

The network uses WPA2. He wouldn't have had time to crack it.  I'm not aware Fing has a live, free, online WPA2 cracking capability.

I don't know how one would garnish the IMEI information over WiFi but what I would suggest is ask your friend what application they were using and then try to find an Android version of it. The developer that makes the iOS application might make an Android one, too.


Remove "Google" appearing on Gboard spacebar Very recently Gboard updated adding an ugly and distracting "Google" on top of the spacebar. How do I disable this?

I saw this Android Authority tweet just now expressing disappointment and disapproval of this move by Google.

We’ve spotted the changes over here at Android Authority too, and we’re guessing it’s a server-side update as some of us haven’t enabled automatic app updates. So rolling back to an earlier of Gboard likely won’t help you.

(Emphasis added)
What worked for me is having more than one one Gboard languages  English (US), English (India) and two Indian languages apart from SwiftKey. Probably because of  this ,I don't see "Google" and this is supported by others on the tweet thread.
You can add languages to see if it solves the problem
Update

It appears either the update described below was a mistake or Google has quickly realized that people hate it because it’s already starting to revert back to the way it used to be.
Users are now reporting that the Google-branded space bar is no longer there and the Google search function has returned.


Changed keyboard, now can't enter password For some reason, I changed my keyboard to Greek, yet my password is in English. I am unable to enter the password to unlock the phone. I can't pair with Bluetooth without unlocking, and there is no option to change the language of the keyboard. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You can Hack the screenlock password by typing this from terminal:

$ adb shell
$ rm /data/system/gesture.key


How to mute audio of video ads? My phone has Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
even when it's on silent mode, some apps show audible video ads.

How can I mute the ads audio?

Thanks to @aBochur's comment

It turned out that video ads use the media channel
I have muted the phone media and the ad audio was muted as well.


my tablet requires a pass code in order to turn it off but I dont have my my code My tablet requires my password to be turned off but I forgot my password and I already tried google's suggestion. Is there another method for retoring my device?

Do the Hard Reset.

Depending on your phone/tablet, boot into recovery but usually this is how it is:

Since you tablet doesn't turn off. Press power button + Volume Down till it powers off. This is a feature of some tablets.
Press Power off + Volume Up to boot into recovery.
Perform wipe cache partition
Then wipe data/factory reset
Reboot.


Selectively remove Chrome (Android) browsing history All I found is help on desktop based Chrome, like this:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18597884/selectively-remove-chrome-browsing-history

Is there a way to select a part of the history but in Android?

In Chrome in Android, select the Menu in the top-right, and in that menu select History. In the history view you should see an X at the right side of each item in the list. Pressing this should remove that item from your browsong history.

Tested on
Samsung Galaxy S5
Android 6.0.1
Chrome 54.0.2840.85


Uninstalling inbuilt call recorder I have iBall Andi 3.5 KKe winner, Android 4.2.2. It records every call and there is a logo "REC" on calling screen, showing recording time. There is no option of turning call recording off. In apps there is nothing like "auto call recording". I have rooted my phone. How to remove/uninstall auto call recording?

You can easily stop Automatic Call recoding by following steps:

Go To Phone Dialer
Press Option Button { At Left side of your home(middle) button}
Go to Settings
Go to Other Settings
Turn Off Auto Recording

Thats It :)

Note: This option may not apply to all phones.


Restart data connection when stalled? Occasionally the data connection of my mobile will stall, i.e. it still looks like it does have a data connection (either "H" or "G"), but no server can be contacted.

(In particular, my ROM being a Cyanogen, the data icon will turn gray, meaning that the Google servers can't be contacted at the moment).

This is usually easily solved by switching mobile data off and on again, which is not a terrible nuisance, except sometime this stalled state goes unnoticed for hours, putting me at risk of losing important communications.

is there an easy way to detect this "stalled connection" state? preferably a way that could be used in Tasker to trigger a disable/enable mobile data cycle?
is there an app to handle these situations? I found many that seem to deal with a similar problem, i.e. when the data connection is completely lost (no "H" or "G" icon), but none that deals with this particular situation.

(This is happening on a rooted HTC Wildfire S with a Cyanogen 9 rom, but my question is not specific to it).

You can periodically check status of real connection using HTTP GET by Tasker. You can restart the Data again by Tasker in case connection is stalled.

But, its down side is that it'll drain battery faster.


Is it possible to Boot into Safe Mode on an Android Device as a Precautionary Measure If Required? Is it possible to Boot into Safe Mode on an Android Device, similar to booting up into safe mode on a Windows PC ?

An example being In Windows if you were infected with a virus you may want to immunize it in safe mode ? Is the same scenario likely with the Android OS ?

If for example you experience crashing, or freezing or indeed have battery issues ?

Perhaps it can be resolved in Safe Mode, if it exists ?

It is just something that came to mind and I thought might be worthy of asking !

This depends a little on the device and what version of Android you have.

On versions of Android later than 4.1 you can access safe mode by bringing up the power down menu (i.e. hold the power button) and long pressing the "Power off" option. This will bring up a little dialog box that will ask if you want to reboot into safe mode. The addition is noted on the Android web site under "System" changes.

On some older phones - though not all will necessarily support this - there may be a button combination that you can hold at boot to get into safe mode instead. For example, the Galaxy S2 used to allow you to hold down the hard menu button during the boot process to start up in safe mode. Others have used (I believe) holding both volume up and volume down. Check your user manual (or Google) for your specific device to find more information, including whether or not the device supports safe mode at all.

As to what "safe mode" means - it generally disables third party apps and widgets, to help you recover from a bad app install, give you a chance to remove a possibly rogue/malicious app, or simply determine what apps may be causing problems in your system.


Duration of System Update - Nexus 4 (after download) - 4.4.2 to 4.4.3? How long is it supposed to take to install the system update, I think from 4.4.2 to 4.4.3, on a Nexus 4?

I downloaded the 70 MB and after the phone restarted, it attempted to install the system update for the last 2+ hours. The progress bar starts, goes all the way to the end, the screen goes black for a split second and then the install screen appears again with the bar starting at the beginning again. The phone is not brand new anymore, but I would expect it to go faster.

If this is too long and maybe an error occurred, can I cancel the update process by pressing >Vol-Down + Power Button< without having to worry about an unusable phone afterwards?

I had the same issue, after giving up on waiting more, I restarting the phone.

After reboot, the update started from where it was, and finished as originally intended.

To restart the phone, hold Vol-Down + Power for a few seconds.

Posting answer as the OP only posted solution in a comment.


Can I connect an Android phone to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse? Is it possible to somehow connect a monitor, keyboard and mouse to an Android phone and then use it as a lightweight computer (netbook-like)? If it is, what Android version / phone type support it, and how can it be done?

I know that 2 years ago, the guys behind REDFLY presented a proof of concept working with their terminal; but I've heard nothing else about it and a lot has changed with Android over the past 2 years.

Samsung have a dock for the Galaxy Tab which connects it to a pretty much full-size keyboard, and props the screen in a position where it's like a laptop's screen. There are also a number of Android devices that have a video or HDMI out capability to output their screen onto a TV, often needing a special converter cable.

Bluetooth is an option for connecting keyboards, KeyPro (AppBrain Link) (Official Website) andTeksoft Blueinput (AppBrain Link) (Official Website) load drivers onto your phone to let you use Bluetooth HID to connect up many Bluetooth keyboards  (trial versions are free to test your device's compatibility, but it looks like if you want to carry on using it you'll have to pay to register to make it work fully). There are other options for loading Bluetooth HID (keyboard) drivers onto your phone if you root it.

Also, see these previous questions regarding connecting peripherals, such as keyboards and mice, to Android devices using Bluetooth.

Bluetooth keyboard with Android?
What else can Bluetooth do?
External Hardware Keyboards

From Android Honeycomb (Android 3.1) upwards certain devices, that have USB Host support built into their hardware, can attach and use normal USB keyboards and mice (with the appropriate USB host micro-USB to USB converter cable). I have occasionally plugged in used a keyboard this way on my Motorola Xoom.


Why does my phone keep asking me to select an input method? I bought a Samsung Galaxy Nexus a couple of days ago, and set it up so I can use both an English keyboard and a Russian one.

Since I did that, though, my phone asks me over and over to select an input method. There is usually a notification in the bar at the top of the screen, and if I set an input method, it will go away for an hour, but then it will be back.

How can I get it to stop asking?

The icon in the notification bar will always be there if you are using (possibly even just have installed) any alternate input method.  It's just the new way that ICS offers quick switching between different methods, and cannot be disabled (at least not on "stock" ICS, custom roms may offer this).

The notification icon should only be there while you are actively entering something, i.e. have a keyboard open.  If it showing all the time (even when you are just on the homescreen, for example) it may indicate a possible bug or configuration issue with the alternate keyboard/input method you are using.


Extracting contacts from broken phone I've broken the glass of my LG G2. Touch is not working. Although I can still connect the phone via USB and see its contents. I want to extract contacts and copy them to my new Android phone.

The phone is not rooted.

Yes, I had sync with my gmail account, but for some reason many contacts where not synced.

Is there anything I could do?

You will not be able to access the contacts data on an unrooted phone using a file  explorer.

You may be able to use "LG PC Suite" to control and manage the phone from your PC.

As a final option, have you thought of having the phone repaired? Lots of glass replacement businesses out there. Many will  fix while you wait.


Lollipop 5 overview / recent apps in landscape listed top to bottom? Put apps list down low to keyboard height like KitKat 4 cover flow recent apps I'm not on Lollipop yet.

I just tried the Lollipop 5 carousel recent apps switcher (overview?) in a store with the Nexus 9, and once I had few apps open, some of the apps were covered, and in the top and back.

I use a Nexus 10 that is placed on a surface, and I think that I would have to keep lifting my palm to reach the thumbnails at the back and top.

The KitKat 4 recent apps (cover flow?) are at the same height of the top row buttons of the stock Android keyboard, and are thus easily reachable.

Perhaps the Lollipop recent apps view that I saw that had the apps out of keyboard-level reach was only for portrait view?

But then I found this site with a picture of the Lollipop recent apps in landscape view:

https://sarriest.wordpress.com/2014/12/01/lollipop-sweet-or-not-sweet/

I can access 6 apps in KitKat 4 recent apps, and they’re all at keyboard level.

I am concerned that even in landscape view, the recent apps in Lollipop 5 will be listed top to bottom, and there will be less apps at keyboard level.

I see another article that has this picture of a grid view of the running apps.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/HTC-One-M8-with-Lollipop-vs-One-M8-with-KitKat-UI-comparison_id65309

I initially thought that you had 2 choices in Lollipop: grid and carousel.

It looks like having the choice of 2 options might just be for the HTC SenseUI.

Is the carousel recent/running apps switcher the only available option for Lollipop 5?

Are 3rd party apps allowed to let you choose a grid view, cover flow view, etc.?

I'm seeing mention of recent apps modifications with Cyanogenmod, Paranoid Android, Xposed, etc..

Does that mean that mean that you might need to root to change the recent apps layout?

Thanks.

That's correct. That's the only available layout in stock Lollipop. Any alternative Recents layouts would require rooting and/or custom ROMs. The alternative layout you're seeing is HTC's custom layout. OEMs are free to alter it in any way they choose, and many do.


Yu Yuphoria bricked after installing custom recovery and boot file My YU YUPHORIA got bricked while I was working with it. I want to install custom ROM into it for that I am installing custom recovery and boot file but the file that is found on Internet was not working and that's why I am stuck with company logo. I can't go into recovery mod, neither it boot, and USB debugging mode is turned off. I tried to install fresh ROM from fastboot but after installing every driver properly command prompt is showing "waiting for the device". Please sugest some way to get rid of this problem.

Flashing stock firmware may solve the softbrick.
Download firmware fron this link. - The link is for model Y5010a, since you didn't mention which model. Update with model name if it's differ.

There is 3 files, in zip format. Choose any of them, unzip it and you'll find drivers, the flash files and the flashing instructions. Install drivers and your phone should be detected.


How does SuperSU check if a phone is rooted? I have a rooted custom device (Android 8.0), I can use adb and run su and do whatever I want in the shell. But SuperSU or any other app cannot find root. I have made a symlink from /system/xbin/su to /system/bin/su but it still does not work.

/system/xbin/su is a normal su binary that's shipped with userdebug or eng builds of ROMs. It gets you root access by making syscall setuid. On the other hand, with SuperSU or Magisk root, a special binary is placed at /sbin/su which works quite differently. For details see How Magisk works?.

So, with only a working /system/xbin/su executable, your device isn't essentially rooted. SuperSU won't work this binary.

RELATED: What special privileges “/system/xbin/su” does have w.r.t. root access?


Folder becomes invalid after trying to create a nameless folder inside it by mistake! My first post on stackexchange.
I was trying to change the name of a folder inside another folder in my extsdcard. I cut the name. But unfortunately pressed the rename button before inserting  a new name for the folder. Now the parent folder becomes empty, only a file named "invalid " (0.0 byte) is in it.  Other files & folders are not there.
Is it possible to recover the files?

You should try to put your SD card into a linux computer.

Then make as soon as possible a dump of your SD card using dd. In this way you'll get an image which you can use for recovery trials and avoid to brick your original device.

Then you can use this image (or a copy if you modify it) for your trials.

First try just to mount it and see, if it possible to access it and the relevant files.
If this does not help, you should use fsck to hopefully recover your lost files, results are typically stored in the directory lost+found.
If this all does not help, you should use a tool like testdisk to recover all kind of lost and deleted files. (However, this method will be most likely have a chance to be successfull, if there have not been to much write operations on the SD card, as every write operation might overwrite any lost files).


Lengthy sleep command not working in script I've written a su.d script to periodically (every 4 hours) back up data from an app using a looped sleep command:

#!/system/bin/sh

(
  # Wait for boot to complete
  until [ "$(getprop sys.boot_completed)" ]
  do
    sleep 300
  done

  while true
  do
    (
      new_dir="/storage/emulated/0/temp/AppData/$(date '+%Y%m%d-%H%M')"
      mkdir -p $new_dir
      cp /data/data/com.example.app/files/*.json $new_dir

      echo "$(date '+%F %T') | app data backup OK!" >> /storage/emulated/0/su.d.log
    ) &

    sleep 14400 # 4 hours
  done
) &

In practice, the script backs up the data only after boot—not every 4 hours.

However, if I enter a remote shell via adb and leave it alone, then the data does get backed up every 4 hours.

How can I force the periodic backup without being permanently connected to a PC? (And why isn't it working as expected?)

EDITS

@Irfan Latif's comment gave me the idea of trying a different interpreter (busybox ash - #!/system/xbin/sh), but the result was the same. I'll try @mirabilos's daemonise suggestion (sh -T- -c '...') next.
Tried @mirabilos's daemonise suggestion with the same result: backs up data only after boot.
Tried nohup:

nohup /system/bin/sh -T- -c '...' >/dev/null 2>&1 &

Same result.

If it’s the terminal thing @IrfanLatif wrote, try this:

#!/system/bin/sh
# run a command block in the background, detached from all terminals
/system/bin/sh -T- -c '
    # Wait for boot to complete
    until [ "$(getprop sys.boot_completed)" ]; do
        sleep 300
    done

    while true; do
        (
            new_dir="/storage/emulated/0/temp/AppData/$(date '\''+%Y%m%d-%H%M'\'')"
            mkdir -p "$new_dir"
            cp /data/data/com.example.app/files/*.json "$new_dir"

            echo "$(date '\''+%F %T'\'') | app data backup OK!" >>/storage/emulated/0/su.d.log
        ) &

        sleep 14400 # 4 hours
    done
'

The -T- option tells the shell to daemon()ise, that is, replace stdin, stdout, stderr with /dev/null and double-fork the command into the background. Perhaps this helps.

I don’t have an off-hand idea why this would otherwise not work. Full disclosure: I’m the mksh developer.


How to retrieve a system file of Android? I ve deleted the file "fw_bcm4329.bin" from the root of the SD card,
right now I cannot connect by my pc with the tethering of android.

Anyone knows how to retrieve this file?

I have a

Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830
with Android 2.2.1 Froyo

thank You

max

This XDA post provides a Multiupload link, where you can download that file.


Mp3s open in Google play after tapping always, have already reset all app preferences. What now? Thanks for not scrolling by after the first half. This happens in Firefox, irrespective of which site used. The first time it offered the choice of downloading using play or downloads. Naturally I clicked the app I'd be opening it in. Now it just opens the file. After resetting the app preferences three time and closing both promhams after resetting and before trying again. With no obvious solution in Firefox settings. I'm out. Do any of you have any suggestions? Have a nice day.

In the Firefox address bar, enter about:config.
search for download.preferred.
After the search had filtered some items, You will see a preference named browser.download.preferred.audio/mpeg whose value is probably com.google.android.music.
Tap the Reset button at the lower right corner of this preference.

Future tip:
To see preferences you modified yourself, enter about:support, and check under Important Modified Preferences.


How to bring back the Google Now card? I've accidentally swiped off the Google Now calendar card on my Nexus 4 with Google Now launcher, and I missed the "undo" button. How to bring it back?

Do either:

Go to the Google Now > Menu > Refresh, or
You could try clearing the cache for Google search.

Hope that helps.


Change permission on file in /sys folder I am trying to turn off the backlight on the soft keys (home, menu, back and search).

My phone is a HTC Evo 3D running Ice Cream Sandwich.  Before, I had Gingerbread installed and I could use "Screen Filter" app to turn the lights off. After the upgrade, "Screen Filter" no longer works.

On one forum it says that if you edit the file max_brightness in folder

/sys/class/leds/button-backlight

from 255 to 0 and then switch the screen off and on again then the key lights stay off.

However, the file is read-only.

I want to make the file writable. Do I need to root my phone to do this?

Yes, your phone must be rooted because to access that file the /system needs to be mounted as write-able

Once you obtain root you can run this command inside a shell:
su
chmod 777 /sys/class/leds/button-backlight/max_brightness

Then just navigate to that file and edit it using a file browser. What the chmod 777 command does is change the permissions on that file so that you can edit it. After you finish I would suggest changing the permissions back to what they were.

The original permissions were probably 0666.
So it would be like this: chmod 0666 /sys/class/leds/button-backlight/max_brightness

To encompass t0mm13b's remark below, go here for information on how to make the file write-able at boot, instead of having a script be run at each boot that makes it write-able.


Can't log in to Hangouts I just uninstalled and reinstalled Hangouts to get the updated version.
(Even though the market showed the new version, it didn't have "Update" yet).

Now, I cannot log in to Hangouts... it keeps asking me to add a Google account.
I've tried rebooting the phone, but no joy.

Gmail and other google apps still work fine, it's just Hangouts.
I've tried adding my account, and it tells me that it already exists on the device (which is true).

So this turned out to be a pretty easy fix, once it dawned on me what it was.
I just recently installed the Xposed framework, and the XPrivacy module.
When I uninstalled the old Hangouts, it must have deleted all the old permission settings in  XPrivacy, and then when I reinstalled it, it defaulted to maximum restriction.

With access to the phone accounts restricted, Hangouts was not able to see my google accounts.

The fix was as simple as fixing the permission settings for Hangouts in the XPrivacy module.


My Nexus 5 won't update So my phone was doing random shutdowns. I thought maybe rooting it would solve the problem. And it did.. but now I can't do any updates.

There is this 10.1 MB Update that keeps prompting to install ever since March 2015. I have tried unrooting it back but still no luck.

The major problem is I want to download the new Marshmallow software update but well I can't. My nexus 5 always says it's up-to-date. I decided to manually download and install it. So I restarted phone and went to recovery mode for TWRP and I initiated the install. And I got this error error executing updater binary in zip etc.

How can I get Marshmallow on my Nexus 5?

Click image for larger version

Sorry for the bad res image, had to use my laptop for that.

P.S: I have Lollipop 5.1.1

From what I can read on the image you posted it looks like your device has 4.4.4 not 5.1.1, and possibly a custom rom rather than the stock one (it looks like omni_hammerhead/hammerhead: 4.4.4 in the screenshot).

If you have a custom ROM you will not be able to apply an OTA update as they will only work for the stock ROM.

Your best bet might be to flash a factory image (see my instructions here - you'll need to modify the file names but the process should be the same). You should note that unless you've already unlocked your bootloader this will wipe your device, and even if you have if you don't follow the steps correctly it still might (so you'll have to set everything up from scratch again unless you have a backup).


can not change keyboard input language I can not change language on my new android 4.1 tablet. On my phone I am able to change input language by long clicking on space bar button, however on tablet space bar does not have such functionality despite several languages are selected in android keyboard settings.

Tablet just picks first selected input language and thus if I want to change input language I need to uncheck all other languages that are before which I want to set. That seems to be some kind of a bug or I am missing something.

Oh, I found how languages may be switched :). There is a small keyboard icon in the notification area which allows to do that.


How to turn off vibration for incoming messages in Google Chat (not Hangouts) - Android 10? I can't find a setting anywhere in that app. I'm aware of the options present: All messages, New threads, @mentions, etc.
I want those notifications. I just don't want the vibration.
Tried going into Manage your google account. Couldn't find anything there either.
Tried several google search queries:
turn off vibration notification google chat site:reddit.com
turn off vibration notification "google chat" site:reddit.com
turn off vibration notification "google chat" site:reddit.com -intitle:hangouts
turn off vibration notification "google chat" site:superuser.com -intitle:hangouts
turn off vibration notification "google chat" site:stackexchange.com -intitle:hangouts

Nothing was useful.

Go to App Info

Click on Notifications

Click on the Messages (didn't know that it could be clicked; was assuming it'd just toggle)

Expand the Advanced section

Toggle Vibrate

Was desperate; so decided to ask SE.
But, found the answer right before submitting it; so, sharing it.


How to run multiple whatsapp accounts? My Android device is rooted.

I use Parallel Space for running two WhatsApp accounts but Parallel Space gets stuck very frequently.

Please let me know how to run multiple WhatsApp accounts in my Android device in both cases; device is rooted and device is not rooted.

There is a custom app based on original whatsapp , named Whatsapp PLUS , it allows you to edit complete user interface and as well you can run multiple whatsapp account on a single phone .
whatsapp-messenger


Any help on a HTC Desire GPS problem after Android 2.2 Froyo update? I have an HTC Desire with T-Mobile Germany branding. Last Sunday I finally got the long-awaited Android 2.2 update from my operator. The update ran successfully. However, since then it doesn't get the GPS location! The blue dot won't lock on Google Maps. Another GPS-App, "Gps Status" cannot get the coordinates, even after almost half an hour. Restart or reinserting the SD-Card doesn't help. I wonder if anyone here experienced something similar after the update.

Cheers

I had problems with GPS with my new HTC Desire (Froyo out of the box). I downloaded the "GPS Status" and "GPS Test" apps which showed only two satellites but were not locking them. Even Google Maps didn't get a GPS lock. I went outside of my room and tried but no luck. I switched off the cell, removed the battery, SD card and SIM and then put them back and restarted but still no luck.

Then I installed GPS Essentials from the Android Market. I launched the application and changed the following settings:

Gps update interval -> 10 seconds
Tracking update interval -> 10 seconds

After this I tapped on "satellites" on the main screen while standing outside. It detected 8 satellites in a few seconds and it was able to lock to 7 of them. After that everything started working including "GPS Status", "GPS Test" and Google Maps (even inside my room).


How can one know if one's battery is damaged What are the signs of a damaged or completely drained battery for Samsung Galaxy Note II? The battery displays it is empty and yet does not charge. It does not power the phone either. Am confused

You can check the the battery status using the service menu of your android device.

You can see the current battery level there. The device suggests whether or not to change the battery.


Set native Jelly Bean dialer and contacts for Samsung Galaxy S3 The stock Samsung dialer and contacts (developed by Samsung) is waaay too laggy for me to use it. Actually it takes seconds to navigate through the tabs of logs, favorites or the contact list. (Got about 10 pictures and 10 custom ringtones in 70 contacts, so there's not that much data to handle.) It was actually laggy from the first time I used it. Got Nova launcher instead of the crappy and laggy TouchWiz. In my opinion, every Samsung application is a piece of something brown.

Can I - somehow - force the OS to use the stock Jelly Bean dialer and contact app, or is it got replaced by Samsung's crapware?

Thanks for the input!

The Samsung ROM doesn't have the stock AOSP dialer and contacts app. It has Touchwiz themed dialer and contacts app. This is one of the most glitchy and slowest of dialer apps out there.

Try the Swipe Dialer if you care to. It has good reviews and seems to be working fine across the board.
Another option will be to port AOSP dialer as in Cyanogenmod. This is advanced stuff and you'll need knowledge of ADB. Try it out if you want.
The easiest way out is to flash a custom ROM. Try Cyanogenmod, AOKP, Paranoid Android, etc. There are several others too. Try XDA Developers forums for more in depth info.


Android Lollipop's notification bar is not transparent in Nexus 4 I had updated my Nexus 4 with Android 5.0 OTA update last week. I observed that the notification bar is not transparent. I see some reviews of Android Lollipop (Nexus 4) in YouTube and as I remembered correctly the notification bar was transparent. Is anybody having the same issue?

Compared to Nexus 5, Lollipop stock launcher on Nexus 4 doesn't have transparency on the notification bar.

Instead, the one with transparency is Google Now Launcher (originally known as Google Experience Launcher). After installing the launcher, you can switch between those two from Settings > Home.

Lollipop stock launcher      Lollipop Google Now Launcher


Can I re-install a purchased app from Google's Play Store? I've successfully purchased an app from the Market via my Android phone. It's currently too large for my internal memory (still running 2.1), so can I uninstall it and then re-install it at a later time?

Will uninstalling the app (after the 15 minute eval period elapses), also ensure that I can't re-download it again or do purchased apps remain linked to my Google account even if they aren't currently installed?

You can uninstall it and the market will remember that you bought it.  It'll say "purchased" in the market and you can reinstall any time. Every time I reflash a ROM I go into my downloads section of the market and I see all my purchased apps.


Swipe pattern for broken screens? I had a swipe pattern lock set on my LG G3 phone. It felt down and the glass broke, so I cant use the touch screen any more.

Is there any way to connect my phone to a kind of a screen emulator, so that I can enter the pattern on a emulator and unlock my phone?

I'm afraid not, you now have to enter your boot menu and wipe all data. This will remove the lock.

This URL might help

Boot Menu


Need Root For Asus Zenfone 5(T00J) 8 GB(Kitkat ROM) I Need to root my Zenfone 5 (Asus T00J) - 8 GB Kitkat ROM, But I can't find any solution over Internet. Please help me to get the root for Asus Zenfone 5.  Also need The CWM.

Thank you....

For Android 4.4.2
I've tried solution here with success. Just need to run bat file to root or unroot.

Notes:

Need windows pc
Needs to rename "recovery-ww.img" to "recovery-root.img" (look
comment section of link given above)
Only for android version 4.4.2


Sending an SMS message via one click? Can I send an SMS message via one click or touch?

Can I have an icon or shortcut that would let me send an SMS message to a certain phone number with predefined text?

The Tasker app will let you do this (and much much more)

Once installed, add a "Task" widget to your homescreen, and have it run a "Send SMS" action.  This lets you specify the target of the SMS, as well as the full body of the message.


How to disable traffic alert messages which come as flash sms from carrier? I get this alert message (screenshot from my phone) from my carrier after using the internet for sometime. The problem is that I get numerous messages (20+) like this when my phone is idle. I guess some apps are syncing in the background. The phone is unusable till I hit OK on all the alert boxes. Is there a way (or an app) to make sure that I do not see these messages.

This looks like a special kind of SMS message, sometimes called "flash SMS", that shows up instantaneously on the phones screen. I don't think that there is an option to block these messages and even if it would be possible I wouldn't encourage you to do so, because you could maybe miss some other important information.

I think the best approach would be to ask your carrier from disabling these messages for your number. I am sure that they are able and happy to do so.


Can't save to disk after rooting device I have rooted my Android 5.0.2 (Samsung Tab 8.4 Pro, TM700) the day before yesterday, and I noticed yesterday that my Chrome won't save files anymore, at all. I then installed Firefox, same behaviour. WhatsApp, can't download images or videos. My mail application downloads files just fine, so I am not sure what is going on here. What do I need to check for? Could it be permissions on some folder, and if so, what folder to check?

Try this in a Terminal Emulator. The 'su' command is for becoming the root user and the next one fixes all the permissions.

su
restorecon -v -R /data/media


What is the mobile provisioning website supposed to do? When I go to Settings → More... → Mobile plan it gives me a message "{mobile operator} has no known provisioning website".

Digging into Android source code for WirelessSettings.java I found how URL gets populated (it was later moved to IConnectionManager but I guess it have similar implementation):

private String getProvisioningUrl() {
    String url = getActivity().getResources()
            .getString(com.android.internal.R.string.mobile_provisioning_url);
    log("getProvisioningUrl: mobile_provisioning_url=" + url);

    // populate the iccid, imei and phone number in the provisioning url.
    if (!TextUtils.isEmpty(url)) {
        String phoneNumber = mTm.getLine1Number();
        if (TextUtils.isEmpty(phoneNumber)) {
            phoneNumber = "0000000000";
        }
        url = String.format(url,
                mTm.getSimSerialNumber() /* ICCID */,
                mTm.getDeviceId() /* IMEI */,
                phoneNumber /* Phone number */);
    }

    return url;
}

So potentially it can create an URL like:

https:\\operator\provisioning.aspx?ICCID=8991101200003204510&IMEI=49015420323751&number=008801552341588

My question is, what such a provisioning site supposed let me do?

Is information passed to URL is sufficiently secure for a network operator to identify a customer so it can skip authentication?

To my understanding this functionality is to configure your current provider services such as offers, cheaper international calls, flatrates...

But I suppose you'd always have to login first. Just the those 3 things don't seem to be secure enough to just login with them.


Tethering / Portable Wifi Hotspot Samsung Captivate Repeated attempts to get WIFI tethering failed, even after a reboot. I can turn on the wifi hotspot. I used these steps.

Settings > Wireless & networks > More... > Tethering & portable
hotspot > Set up Wi-Fi hotspot,
(put in my settings - SSID, security "WPA2 PSK", and password)
Save
Check "Portable Wi-Fi hotspot"

At this point the hotspot turns on and is discover-able by other devices, but when they connect to the hotspot, they can't access the internet.
Anyone have a solution to this? Am I doing something wrong? Need this fixed before I travel...
TIA

Here's my device details:

  Samsung Captivate

  Device Model: SGH-I897

  Android version: 4.1.2 Jelly Bean

  CyanogenMod version: 10.0.0-captivatemtd

EDIT: Ok, I got it working. I connected my laptop using USB tethering, which worked immediately on the first try. Once I had done that I disconnected from USB and tried enabling the portable hotspot again. This time, connected devices could use the internet via the hotspot.

Hope this helps other people.

Here is what worked for me:

I connected my laptop using USB tethering, which worked immediately on the first try. Once I had done that I disconnected from USB and tried enabling the portable hotspot again. This time, connected devices could use the internet via the hotspot.


If I install a leaked ROM on my device will I be able to receive OTA updates? Specifically, I'm interested in flashing a leaked build of Ice Cream Sandwich on my Nexus S 4G. I'd like to get in on the action early, but this is something I'd like to know.

If you are installing a custom ROM that is not a "carrier leak" then you probably will no longer receive OTA notifications/updates.

In the custom ROMs they remove the OTA settings that the carriers use. I don't know exactly what is changed/removed, but I can't even tell you the last time I have had an OTA notification.

But if you use tools like ClockWorkMod Rom Manager you can get notifications for updates to the ROM you install if it is added to Rom Manager by the developers. This is how I get my update notifications for CyanogenMod.


How to regain access to phone when unable to use password and fingerprint? I use a  Samsung S5 (Globe LTE) which has a fingerprint security system, but I forgot the password, and I can't use the fingerprint anymore. What should I use? Should I do factory reset or hard reset? Also, my phone is lagging.

"Factory reset" and "hard reset" are just different names for the same thing. Just make sure you know the password for your Google account, as you'll need it after you factory reset.


Can I use different countries version of the Play Store on different accounts? I recently moved abroad and I need to change the country of my Play Store (for mobile/banking apps), I also need to keep the apps from my home country.

Can I use two different Android accounts (with two different Google account) each with their own countries? Will they interfere with each other?

Thanks.

I think yes. I have different accounts with a different country. It is working fine.


How to prevent navigation bar from being hidden, globally? I know I can set some apps to not hide the navigation bar. But I would like to globally set that it should be shown by default. My Android is not rooted.

Basically I want the old behaviour back in Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) where it was not removable unless you root the device.  However, I don't mind being able to allow it to hide the navigation bar on a per application basis.

Normally phone have navigation icons or bar so to hide you can have full screen mode/(depends upon brand its  name changes) under it their will be settings to turn on full screen mode to all apps individually.so u enable(no navigations)/disable(with navigation) them.On turing on full screen mode no navigations will be there.you may have gesture navigation or swipe to show again the nav bar.in samsung devices there is an advanced option in navigation bar settings to show or hide bar


Super slow file transfer via OTG and system lag Android 9 So I'm using a new Lenovo TB-8505X with Android 9 and I've tried several file managers and still when I'm trying to transfer files to any of my USB sticks the speed is too slow, like one mb and even gets slower and the system starts to lag, when the transfer is complete the system resumes its normal work! At first it starts to transfer fast, like instantly 10-20% of the file and then it slows down!

On my old Lenovo Tab Essentials with Android 5 everything transfers fast and the system doesn't lag! Why is that and what can be done about it?

I've already tried to enable USB Debugging and all that, to no avail!

Do any of you guys have this problem, seems like a Pie's problem...

Is it even solvable?

Device works flawlessly except for this one problem!

P.S. Doesn't seem like a warranty problem or is it?

Probably the USB OTG adapter.

on some controllers I have to flip the USB around, one side of the USB C runs at USB 2.0 speeds.

The other side will run at 3.0 speeds.

If your tablet has a full USB port - then im baffled. running fast at start then slowing down is usually a sign of write caching. sometimes it doesnt measure the speeds right.


Is there a way to find the 'the last factory reset time'? Is there a way to find the 'the last factory reset time' ? any logs or any other stuff like that? Please reply.

Yes, it seems there is a way to find out about the last factory reset -- provided it was followed by a Google account initialization:

Go to the Google Dashboard, login with your Google account.
Scroll to the section labeled "Android" and expand it (by clicking its title / the LGM [little green man])
Check for the device in question

Associated, you will find a date of registry. That doesn't reflect the first time a device was added, but the last time the Google account was activated on the device. So if you activate your Google account following a factory-reset, this field is updated and thus reflects this point-in-time.


Cannot Accept Google Android Market Terms and Conditions on Samsung Galaxy 7" tablet I have a GT-P1000 Samsung Galaxy 7" Tablet wifi plus 3G. When I try to download a game, it goes straight to Android Market Terms of Service or Google Play Terms of service. However, when I scroll down the list, I cannot find an accept or decline box. So, I cannot proceed. I have tried clearing the cache in Market in Applications to no avail.

This is a little bit strange, what you're writing, because I have exactly the same Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000 right here, with me, and I see absolutely no problems. I just did a factory reset of this device, to test your issue.

I taped on Market icon. Tabled asked me to provide my Google Account details, what I did. Right after that I saw license text and buttons to accept and decline, in the bottom of the screen. Note: These buttons are not in the end of license text, instead they're always floating on the screen, so you can always see them, no matter, where in the license text you're.

After clicking Accept my tablet automatically updated Market icon to Google Play icon and shown me on-screen information about this change.

I've been doing this (factory reset, license acceptance and Market to Google Play update) at least few times and have never encountered problems, like you described. If you still unable to see that Accept button or access Market / Google Play service, then I fear that factory reset of your device is the only option you're left with.


Root to set a battery limit and unroot again? I dont have any practical experience with rooting my phone. There is one thing that's been bugging me for a very long time: I need to be able to set a charging limit on my Pixel 2 since I dont feel like replacing the battery soon and destroying the water resistance.

My question is: if I root and set a charging limit and unroot again, will this setting be erased? As I said, I am not too familiar with the risks of having my OS more vulnerable towards viruses, thus the only thing I want to do is to set the battery charging limit and then just go back to unroot.

Thanks,
Alex

Setting a charging limit is not persistent. Therefore the call has to be made (with root permissions) at least once after every reboot.

Rooting/unrooting requires at least a reboot. Therefore you can't "temporarily root" your device and set a charging limit.

If your device does not provide something like an intelligent battery charging optimization the only alternative is to use a battery charging notification app.

There are a lot if battery charging notification apps on Play Store. Even if it is a bit old I still use Battery Full Notification  which can be configured to notify at a specific charging level.


Kobo Glo Running Android I recently bought a Kobo Glo, and while carelessly googling around, stumbled into this:
 http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/04/kobo-glo-android-hack/

1) Has any of the fellow SE-Android-lings attempted / succeded installing android on the Kobo Glo?

2) How can I backup the Original Firmware of the device?

Answering question #2 only, since I don't own the reader.

According to this post on the source thread, the original firmware can remain intact if you simply use a different microSD Card to load Android on:

  You can dual-boot by having two separate MicroSDcards, one for each
  system, and swap them. You will have to open the back of your glo each
  time though.

  See the first 10 photos at http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2462848&postcount=2


if my phone shuts down, does my google incognito tabs stay up? My phone received water damage and I had some stuff up that i don't want my parents to see if they manage to make it working again? Do my tabs stay open or do they close?

No,they will not remain open because in order to fix your device it needs to be opened up and that means battery of the device will be removed...etc ! So, no worries about it at all if it gets fixed your parents wouldn't be able to see the opened incognito tabs. because after a reboot they are usually not re-opened automatically !


I accidentally deleted my android phones system app Anyone can help me on how to restore system apps like HOME.apk, i accidentally deleted it so the phone is stuck on boot, cant go to its home, my phone is a goophone4s thanks ...

If you didn't take a backup before fiddling around with your system (which I assume is the case), you will have to get yourself the ROM (see: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?) and flash it to your device.

Advice for the next time you start playing with system stuff: Backup your current ROM (which can be done via Custom Recovery as nandroid backup). So in case anything goes wrong, you simply need to boot into recovery and restore that backup, which includes the entire system and your user stuff as well.


How to change location of AVD (Android Virtual Devices) files to external SSD? I have limited SSD on my Mac.

I have an external SSD.

I would like to store multiple virtual devices, far beyond the capacity of the Mac internal storage.

How to configure location of AVD?

Attempt 1

I tried using: https://stackoverflow.com/a/30614524/775359

ln -s /Volumes/1TB/.android .android

The files are stored on SSD but when I try to launch, it keep bouncing in the dock

Attempt 2

https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/variables.html

  ANDROID_AVD_HOME: Sets the path to the directory that contains all AVD-specific files, which mostly consist of very large disk images. The default location is $ANDROID_EMULATOR_HOME/avd/. You might want to specify a new location if the default location is low on disk space.

This should be exactly what I need, trying this solution again:

export ANDROID_SDK_ROOT="/Volumes/1TB/Android/"
export ANDROID_EMULATOR_HOME="/Volumes/1TB/emulator/"
export ANDROID_AVD_HOME="/Volumes/1TB/emulator/avd/"

23 seconds video: https://youtu.be/8bPv85RnzP4

Attempt 3

Formatted and partitioned the external SSD.

It doesn't start, see the split-second popup

Handy answer to go nuclear: https://stackoverflow.com/a/45669617/775359

rm -Rf /Applications/Android\ Studio.app
rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/AndroidStudio*
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.google.android.studio.plist
rm -Rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/AndroidStudio*
rm -Rf ~/Library/Logs/AndroidStudio*
rm -Rf ~/Library/Caches/AndroidStudio*
rm -Rf ~/AndroidStudioProjects
rm -Rf ~/.gradle
rm -Rf ~/.android
rm -Rf ~/Library/Android*

1) There is a solution here: Move Android Studio Virtual Devices to Another Hard Drive on a Mac
. I will outline it later.

2.A) I am using Linux but my emulator is found under the Android SDK folder:/mnt/DATA/Android/Sdk/emulator (ON MY NVME M.2 BOOTABLE SSD) and my AVDs are located in /mnt/DATA1/.android/avd (on my 2ND SSD) and are accessible to Android Studio and the AVD Manager through the Symbolic Link to /mnt/DATA1/.android/avd stored in my ~/.android folder  (ALSO ON MY NVME M.2 BOOTABLE SSD).

2.B) I copied the avd Folder from ~/.android to my Prefered Location, renamed he UNWANTED avd Folder avd.OLD (just in case), created a symbolic link to the desired avd folder, and copied the symbolic link to the ~/.android directory with the name avd.

2.C) I also ensured the Paths in the ini files point to the Physical location of the AVDs. for example: path=/mnt/DATA1/.android/avd/3.2_HVGA_slider_ADP1_API_29.avd


market links to google play in browser I just bought a desire HD. I did the factory reset. When I click on Market (old app or at least old icon), it opens a new window in the browser with the policy of google play. At the moment I click, I see the accept and decline buttons shortly but can't click on them, they then disappear.

Basically I can't use market. There is no google play app on the phone either...

Does anyone else have this issue? Does anyone know how to solve this?

I found if I went in and cleared the Market Data (from settings -> applications), it then let me accept the terms and then started the same browser.  The next time after that, that I clicked on Market, it took me to the proper interface.


Internet fast when sharing via hotspot or tethering but slow on the device itself Yes, I didn't get that backwards. And all I found is "slow tethering", even here this was never asked before. So, here I am!

Internet is slow on the device, but fast for other devices connected to it.
It doesn't look like the fault of some software I'm using (browser, openvpn)

Soooo how in the world? And how in the world do I fix it?

Model: Doogee T5. OS 6.0, Nothing is changed, no root.

So, I have discovered the cause of this problem... the darn chinese brick is riddled with vendor's own poorly written system level adware. It constantly opens connections to it's servers which turns into a DoS attack on the device itself, akin to shooting your neighbor's house with a bazooka through your own door's keyhole. The device's own network gateway is differerent from the gateways for wifi and bluetooth hotspots, so those are unaffected.

Installing a firewall app solves the issue.


If I flash a custom recovery img, will I be able to boot the normal old system? Can I flash a custom recovery (say, the one from Replicant with heimdall flash --kernel path/to/recovery.img, or ClockWorkMod) and then be able to boot the old system?

Without reinstalling the main OS of my Samsung Galaxy S.

I'm interested in using the commands from the recovery system without re-installing the main system.

I just tried this, going from TWRP and LineageOS flashing the Replicant Bootloader.

First of all you will have to flash it using the command from the replicant guides: https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/RecoveryInstallationWithHeimdall#Flash-the-recovery-image (archive)

I won't include the table in that link, this question is not about that, but do note that some devices need you to flash to the BOOT sector of your device. This means you won't be able to boot the previously installed system. Needless to say, I was not able to boot LineageOS going from TWRP to Replicant bootloader.

However, if you were to go from stock to TWRP, most TWRP installation processes do not cause any data loss and will allow you to boot the previously installed system, see for example: How to flash and root OnePlus 3T on Linux? or Rooting already unlock phone without losing data, possible?

However, unlocking a stock bootloader will usually cause the device to factory reset (resulting in data loss), so if you need to unlock to install a custom bootloader you will not be able to boot your previously installed system. See Why does unlocking the bootloader wipe phone?

Upgrading a bootloader usually wont re-lock, or cause data loss. See Does upgrading bootloader wipe your data?


Are android system kernel panic logs available in TWRP recovery? I am trying to debug a rom I built but can't seem to find the any kernel panic or system logs in TWRP recovery.

Is it possible to create logs for a failed boot to see whats going wrong?

I am still a total noob with this stuff so any help is appreciated!

Check /sys/fs/pstore immediately after a crash

In some cases there are no logs here as the device warm resets (it happens when a crash is serious enough to boot the device into edl). To avoid this try disabling kernel panics in your kernel.


Android unit without gravity sensor gets stuck with screen rotated I have an Android unit which does not contain a gravity sensor.

It should always be in Landscape mode, but when I open certain apps
they force screen rotation to Portrait mode. After I go back to the
launcher however, the screen stays rotated to Portrait mode without
ever going back to Landscape mode, the way I want it to.

What can I do to make it always stick with Landscape mode? Is there
som /system/build.properties  value that I can change or what can I
do? Is it because of the Launcher application itself?

I have (probably modified) Android version 4.2.2

Some apps only work in portrait mode due to the fact that that is the way they are designed. Also most launchers (on a phone) are automatically in fixed portrait mode as well. If you don't have a gravity sensor then I suggest using an app like Unlimited Rotation Control which puts rotation buttons on your device. For landscape mode on my phone I installed Nova Launcher and turned the rotation option on in the settings. There are also multiple launchers out there that can work as well however.


Quickest way to toggle between apps (Alt-Tab equivalent) *not* requiring 3rd-party apps? There seem to be a handful of apps with this functionality in mind, but I'd prefer an inbuilt solution. (I'm on the S4 mini)

See also here.

There is one way not requiring third-party apps: long-pressing the home button.


Android tablet won't reboot after rebooting using volume and power buttons I am using a 7" Smartfren tablet called S7.

I was following this tutorial. When I got the last part about the bootloader, I turned my device off. I tried to reboot using the volume buttons and power button, but it won't open up. Also, it cannot be seen by using the command adb devices. Thus, I can't use any adb command to access it. What am I doing wrong?

It is recognized by my laptop as Android Bootloader Interface. So, it means that it can still be detected by my laptop, but not when using adb devices in cmd.

Edit #1: I tried the fastboot devices command, and it just returned an empty line. I guess it means that nothing happened.

Edit #2:
I'll tell you its current status. It can't be normally rebooted, but when you plug it in, it shows that it is charging. Then if I put it back on its case, complete with box and all it heats up meaning it is still functioning and is turned on.

I was able to solve this problem by draining the tabs battery completely. After a day I was able to turn it on using the power button today while charging.


Can anybody tell me exactly what this shell command does? ADB [Ice Box] So I have been looking alot into how I can save some battery life on my S8+ (Not that it is bad in any means) and so I've been trying and looking at a lot of different apps.
Among these are Greenify, Island, Tasker+Package disabler and Ice Box. And especially Ice Box has cought my eye.

But there is something about, how Ice Box is setup that I don't understand? If your device is not rooted (which mine isn't) you'll need to run the following in ADB to make it work: adb shell dpm set-device-owner com.catchingnow.icebox/.receiver.DPMReceiver

I don't know a lot about shell commands but as far as I understand this will set the App as device admin/owner (is there a differense?)? But this command for some reason also require you to remove all account when run, otherwise it wont work.. - BUT Apps like Island also require device admin? But that can be set right on the device without ADB?

What is the difference and what exactly does that shell command do?

Google has noted here:

  A device owner is a specialized type of device administrator that has the additional ability to create and remove secondary users and to configure global settings on the device. [It can be used] to take fine-grain control of the configuration, security, and apps on managed devices. A device can have only one active device owner at a time.

(Emphasis mine)

So now you know why all other accounts have to be removed for Ice Box but not for other apps. You can add those accounts later, after making that app a device owner.

Also, if memory serves correct, once you set an app as a device owner I don't think you can remove that app. You would have to factory reset the device or use root access to wipe it out.


How to get search of different location? On android device, whatever we do Google search, we get search content of nearby location.

Is it possible to get search content of another location?
If yes, what I need to do in my android device?

Regards
GNS

You can use applications like FakeGPS.

Using which you can mock your device's location. Hope this helps you


Is there any way to fix a hard bricked Nexus 7 when it can't even connect to the computer? I rooted my Nexus 7 2012 Wi-Fi running 5.1.1. yesterday (worked great). I tried to flash a ROM for Kitkat (KTU84P) and it stopped booting. I've tried all the usual ways to hold down the Power, Vol +, Vol -, and both volume buttons. I can cycle through the START, RESTART BOOTLOADER, POWER OFF, AND RECOVERY MODE options but NONE of them work except OFF. RECOVERY MODE shows BOOTING FAILED when I push the power button. NOTE: I can't load any files to the Nexus 7 because after it bricked, the USB cable doesn't even recognize the tablet and there's no way to transfer files or see what's on the Nexus. I'm guessing I'm hosed, but thought I'd ask to see if there's any way to fix the USB issue (worked before it got bricked) so I can download files and fix it.

You may easily fix this and unbrick it using the stock Google Android Factory Image.

Step-1: Download the latest Android Factory Image file for Nexus 7 from here

Step-2: Extract (Unzip) the content from the downloaded file and save it in a folder on the computer.

Step-3: Download USB drivers from here

Step-4: Boot the tablet into Fastboot mode. For this press and hold Volume Down and Power buttons together. Release all the buttons when the Fastboot screen appears. You should see the Start option listed in the upper part of the screen.

Step-5: Connect the Nexus 7 to the computer using USB cable.

Step-6: Navigate to the Factory image folder created in step-2.

For Windows:  double click  flash-all.bat file.
For Mac or, LINUX users launch flash-all.sh file

Step-7: Wait for some time until the installation is completed

Step-8: When the installation process is completed, press Volume Up until the Start next in the Fastboot Mode changes to Recovery mode then press Power button to boot into Recovery.

Step-9: Select wipe data/factory reset and confirm the process

Step-10: When the Factory Reset is completed, select reboot system now and wait until the Nexus 7 boots into stock Android


How do I download an app from another country? I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini and when I go to download certain apps and it will not let me because 'it is not available in my country', however other people within my country have these certain apps and I am confused.

Try using the Hola Android app yo spoof your location with the Google Play Store application. Never used it for this, but I imagine it should work fine.


How can I enter an English unlock password when the keyboard is Arabic? How can I unlock my tablet that my password is in English and the keyboard is in Arabic?

Try plugging in a keyboard via USB.  If you don't already have an adapter for it I would recommend that you go ahead and buy one.  It comes in handy.


Quickest way to note the current time I occasionally need to note the current time so I can quickly check it later, for example the time I arrived at some place. I don't care how it's stored since I don't keep it long term.
Previously I used the alarm functionality of the Clock app - when adding an alarm, the initial value was the current time. Unfortunately they updated the app and now it defaults to the next hour or something, so I have to manually adjust it.

I agree with Irfan Latif's suggestion in the comments that taking a screenshot is the quickest way. That said, I'm suggesting a little bit sophistication on this, so as to justify this answer!
My suggestion is that you add up a quick tile in your Quick Settings. Preferably, among the first four or five tiles that shows up when you swipe down from the status bar. Customize it in a manner so that whenever you would tap/press that quick tile it would log the then datetime in a text file. Whenever you feel the need to look the time log you can see it by opening the file in any text editor. Better, if you append the file instead of overwriting it, you would have all the timelogs at your disposal.
I'm suggesting MacroDroid automation app for this, primarily because it is free (price) to try and test the solution.
Instructions:

Install the app and launch it.

In the main window, scroll down until you see a box/tile titled Quick Settings Tiles.

Tap on it, and do the following:

In Macrodroid tile 1 field enter this text : Log time.
Tick Button.
Tick Collapse on Press.
Turn the slider rightwards to make it Enabled

Edit your Quick Settings to add MacroDroid tile named Macrodroid tile 1 in the visible quick tiles. This step may differ depending upon your ROM. If you need help do a web search such as "How to configure/customize quick settings in" followed by the name of your device.

In the main Macrodroid window, click on the box/tile Add Macro.

Set Triggers, Actions and Constraints as follows:

Trigger: Macrodroid specific → Quick Settings Tile → Log time → Toggle On/Button Press

Action: Files → Write to File:

Use pencil icon to choose location for your text file, or leave it to default location /storage/emulated/0 (this is the internal storage / sdcard location that shows up when a file manager is started)
in the filename field, type logtime.txt
in the Enter text field, type [month] [dayofmonth], [year] - [hour 12]:[minute]:[second] [am_pm]\n
tick Append to file

Constraints: leave them untouched

Name the macro to whatever you want.

If you have not done this already, make sure to exempt Macrodroid from battery optimization settings, or it won't work reliably! This step may differ for your ROM. If you have difficulty getting the app battery optimization exempted, do a web search.

At this point everything is ready. Swipe down from the status bar to access  Quick Settings and tap/press that Log time tile you had added. Now, go into your file manager to the location where you intended the text file to be saved (in step 6). It should be there. Open it, and the datetime would be noted there. It should look something like this:
May 20, 2021 - 12:01:10 PM

New datetime would be appended in a new line every time you would tap/press that quick tile. If you don't want the file to be appended, untick "Append to  file" option in the action for your macro.
Tip: you can add another action in your macro to give you a audio/visual or both of the hints that the macro has run. For example, after the file writing action, you can add another action that should play a sound or show a notification. Such actions are available in Macrodroid.


How to update HTC desire 630 to Android 7 without rooting the phone? I would like to update my HTC desire 630 to Android 7 without rooting it. I currently have 6.0.1 installed.

Have anyone done it? Are there any good articles? I found this one, not sure if to try it out.

No, you won't, just because HTC does't support it anymore.


Wi-fi problem after tablet stand by I have a couple of tablets for a school software.Tablets are mid 2.3 gingerbread. They work ok. When they start, it checks for wi-fi and automatically connects. My problem is, after 30 minutes of inactivity, when they get into stand-by, after I unlock the screen my wi-fi connection is not available. But if I turn off/on it works ok. I was wondering how can I fix this so that when the screen goes into stand-by when it wakes the wi-fi will work. (The tablets are in a different city and I can't turn the wi-fi on manually or by remote). Any help is welcomed. Thanks.

Go to SETTINGS > WIRELESS > WIFI SETTINGS.

Press MENU > ADVANCED. Ensure the WiFi Sleep Policy is set to NEVER. This will make sure that your WiFi remains always connected. This may however result in a marginal increase in battery consumption.


internal to external I was wondering if there's a way that I can download apps from google play to my external sd card because every time I try downloading a game or a app it says "sorry, there's not enough storage on the device" and I have a 32gb sd card in and I tried going to applacation manager and moving apps manualy but some don't allow  me to move to my sd card and i have my default write disk on sd card and I have a samsung galaxy s5 mini

If you have rooted your phone (if you do not know what root is then it is not rooted) try the app foldermount, it may solve your problem. For more help moving an app to the external storage please watch this video I made: http://youtu.be/SUiZ_-B94Co


Is the data associated with an app cleared when an app is uninstalled? The data associated with an app which we see when we go to Applications > Manage Applications > application, is it cleared when we hit "Uninstall" or is it left untouched by the uninstaller?

The reason why I'm asking it is, I've heard from a lot of people who first hit "Clear data" and then hit "Uninstall" mostly because they're not sure so they just ensure that they get rid of the data and then uninstall!! So do one need to hit "Clear data" before uninstalling.

As Matthew Read noted in a comment: yes, it is. The entire data directory is simply deleted:

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
lib           shared_prefs

C:\Console2>adb uninstall com.chessclock.android
Success

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
ls: /data/data/com.chessclock.android/: No such file or directory

#Reinstalled from the Market at this point

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
lib

The shared_prefs directory is absent in the last ls listing because I didn't launch the app, I only reinstalled it, therefore there were no preferences yet created for it (it sets defaults on the first launch). I point this out only because it illustrates that the preferences from the previous install were not retained anywhere.


Wiped System Partition... No OS.. How can I recover it back? I successfully installed TWRP yesterday on my phone and then wanted to root it, but before doing that, I wanted to do a Full-Wipe of my phone, just leaving the phone with the OS, but for some reason, I left the System Partition Wipe option enabled and Wiped it. Now, I'm stuck in a bootloop without an OS, and I can only access TWRP and Download Mode.

How can I recover the system/install the OS again?

Phone Specs:

SAMSUNG J7 PRO (SM-J730GM),

Previous O.S: Nougat 7.0

Region: México TCE

Download the following file (J730GMTCE2AQJ1_TCE) from samfirmware.com: direct link
Extract (unzip) the firmware file
Download Odin v3.12.7
Open Odin v3.12.7 (make sure to Run as administrator)
Reboot your SAMSUNG J7 PRO (SM-J730GM) into Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons)
Connect phone and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin
Add the firmware file to AP / PDA
Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked
Click the start button, sit back and wait few minutes for it to install the stock operating system.

Instructions source (personally tested on another Samsung device)


Root Huawei Honor 9 Lite without screen access Is there a way to root the device without access to the screen itself (which is broken). All methods I've seen require access of device to allow rooting etc. I need some hack into the device, whilst connected to Mac or pc - need some pointers to info about that etc.

thanks in advance (finally got time to figure this out after a year of it being on a shelf)
Charlie

In short - No, there isn't

Assuming you have previously unlocked bootloader (with unlock code from Huawei, which they don't provide anymore), there is still the encryption problem.

But your bootloader is locked, that means there is no hack into data partition.

In case you get TWRP booting from fastboot (which you don't), you could root /system and enable USB-debugging from TWRP, then remote control the device with scrcpy


What are all these security certificates on new phone? This is a new T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S7.

Is it normal to have all these certificates? Many look dodgy.

Image resized. Click to see full-version

Yes, it is normal to have these security certificates.

To trust a security certificate you encounter on the Internet, your device needs a way to verify a certificate is good. You can't just accept any certificate that is presented because any adversary able to become a man-in-the-middle (like a public WiFi access point) would be able to spoof any website.

This problem has been solved by giving each device a list of certificates initially, like the one you have shown, and requiring all certificates to have a chain of valid certificates (signed, not expired) that terminates with a trusted certificate. These initial trusted certificates are for organizations that are in the business of signing certificates for other organizations. People need certificates all over the world which is why there are certificates for authorities from all over the world. To verify a certificate, the device looks for a chain of valid certificates.

This means that if you run a server and want a certificate, you have to go to one of the companies that issues certificates (often called a certificate authority) and get them to sign a certificate for you to identify your server. The certificate includes the name of the server so you cannot just take a certificate and use it anywhere.

With certificates, an adversary can still try to spoof any website, but if you require a certificate (use HTTPS) the client can detect the spoofing.


Bash terminal on tablets I would like to buy a tablet and use it as a netbook to work using a keyboard dock (I still like the touchscreen and stylus options over buying a netbook). I work mostly on linux machines where I need ssh, vpn and the ability to open X windows remotely. Are there terminals for the Android tablets that can do that ? Anyone with comments about Ubuntu on tablets ?

Yes, to an extent. I know there are apps that will create an SSH terminal. Most likely there are other apps that can process other types of protocols.

There are only few tablets that compatible with Ubuntu (At least work well with). The Nexus 7 and/or 10 being a prime example. From what I hear, it works very well and is almost no different from the desktop version.

In my opinion, from what you are looking for, I'd get a Nexus 7/10 and try out Android OS, and if it can't do everything you want it to, then install Ubuntu.


Clearing Dalvik Cache without root? I recently tried updating my Motorola Atrix 4g. It downloaded, and then it booted down to try to update. However, instead of updating, it ends up booting to a screen that just says

Failed to boot 2
Starting RSD mode

If I take out the battery, I boot up the phone for about 60 seconds before it starts shutting down again.

The phone is rooted, and it seems like it starts shutting down as soon as Android starts giving out root privileges.

Looking through different forums online, it seems as though the best solution to stop the phone from trying to update (without erasing all my data by resetting the phone to factory settings) is to clear the Dalvik cache.

The problem I am having is that so far, it seems that in order to clear the cache, I need root, but as soon as my phone has been on long enough to give out root, it restarts, and I can't do anything with it. To make the problem worse, I seem to be unable to boot into recovery...

Is there any way to clear the Dalvik Cache (really, really fast, and) without root (or recovery)?

I finally figured it out, here's how I did it:

Even though adb can't get root, and the phone it's self can't get root, as it turns out, there is in fact one more way to clear the cache without fully booting the phone.

Turn the phone off
Make sure you have fastboot working on your computer
Press the power button on the phone and then hold down the volume down button until you see fastboot, then hit the volume up button.
Open a terminal window, and type the following

sudo su
fastboot erase cache

And (apparently) voilà!  The cache is cleared!!


Is there an Android equivalent for iPhone's "mobileconfig"? iPhone provides an easy way to add Email accounts using .mobileconfig files, "installable configuration profiles" or whatever they call it. Its basically a XML file containing all the parameters needed to install the Email account, its extremely handy.

But I'm in need of something similar for Android. Any ideas?

Or perhaps something I can configure in my server that makes Android detect the technical stuff automatically, like the IMAP and SMTP server/port etc. Google is not being helpful on this.

Nope, unfortunately there is nothing like this to my knowledge.I'd love to be proven wrong though


How to use Mozilla Location Service as network location provider? Mozilla Location Service (MLS) can derive a location from cell towers and wi-fi networks in the vicinity, just like Google's network location service.

But how can I configure my Android system so that it provides MLS to apps just like the Google network location service is provided now?

The MLS wiki has a list of community-provided Android software that utilizes MLS. There, you find a link to Ichnaea NLP Backend.

And that is exactly the piece of software you are looking for. Because it is an implementation of Unified NLP, the de-facto standard of non-Google network location provider services employed in Custom ROMs. See its README for installation of Unified NLP and a backend, in your case Ichnaea NLP.


Sniffing SSL/TLS connections with BURP I want to sniff SSL/TLS encrypted traffic of my installed apps using BURP.
After installing the burp certificate on my One Plus 5T and moving certificates through the Magisk tweak "Move Certificates" there are still applications like mcdonalds that I can't sniff because tell me there isn't Internet connections. I'm sure that Internet connections there is because another app like deliveroo work perfectly with burp.

I was wondering if there was a solution to this problem.

If you have a rooted device with Magisk it is IMHO much simpler to just disable SSL/TLS certificate checking and pinning for traffic sniffing:

Install Xposed for Magisk and the Xposed module Trust me already


Flashing new rom, are old files deleted or hidden? I'm not sure whether I'm doing something wrong or it's something normal.

I had CM9 on my Galaxy s3 and decided to try another rom (Paranoid). I didn't like the new one I installed and downloaded another (Carbon). But I am noticing that my internal storage is close to being full now. But when I browse the phone from my PC, I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

I copied Carbon zip onto the phone, but clockwork mod is not even seeing it, I am noticing a lot of files from the sd and I'm still seeing the Paranoid zip from clockwork mod, but I cannot see it from my PC.

Did I skip a step somewhere? What should I do?

What happens to existing files when flashing a new ROM very much depends of the location in question:

your SDCard (internal or external) is not touched at all, apart from the fact you're placing the update.zip for flashing there.
your internal storage (/data and /cache) is neither touched by the flashing process itself. But when switching between different ROMs, it's recommended to wipe these two to avoid complications
some other locations are usually wiped and rewritten. This includes for sure /system, and in most cases also /boot

I know of no case where files are "hidden". Either the entire partition is not touched at all, or it is wiped. It might be that on some partitions files are simply overwritten, though I've never heard of such a case either.


Can I install Xposed framework and run GravityBox on stock and rooted Android 4.2.2? I'm using a Karbonn A52+ running rooted Android 4.2.2 (stock), and haven't installed any custom recovery or ROMs. Can I run the GravityBox with Xposed framework on my device? I've heard rumors that Xposed framework works on devices running Android  version above 4.4. So I don't want to take the risk of installing it on my device.

Xposed framework is designed to work on all Jelly Bean devices and up. All you need to do is rooting the phone first. Similarly Gravity Box. There are 3 different variants like JB, KK, L which we know in Xposed modules store. In your case use Gravity Box (JB)  with latest xposed framework. A quick tutorial for future readers - Install Xposed installer > Install Xposed framework from within the app > Search for Gravity Box module and install it > Activate and reboot. That's it. Gravity Box is also available in Play Store.


Just upgraded to Nougat - Textra notifications disappearing from tray So I LOVE the Textra app, but after I just upgraded to Nougat on my OnePlus 3T - I noticed that my text message notifications disappear form the notification tray on my main screen after a while. It used to be that they would stay in the notification bar until I accessed/dismissed them and then they'd disappear.

Now I get a message and it temporarily shows the Textra notification icon in the tray at the top of the main screen, but if I lock the phone without answering and then unlock again the notification disappears.

This is inconvenient because after a few hours away from my phone, I have no indication that I got any texts unless I remember to open up the textra app and see what's new. I liked it better before!

I couldn't figure out where to ask Textra directly - so I came here! Thanks.

I had the same problem. The Textra app includes a support section (settings > support) and this is one of the top topics. Here is the text.

OnePlus running Android 7 - Notification disappears / goes away

To fix, do Android Settings > Battery > Aggressive doze and app hibernation (dotdotdot top right) > set Textra to 'Not optimized'.


Broken power button mikona I have an android tablet (mikona) and my power button has broken quite literally snapped inwards and it has turned fully off I have opened it up and looked at the circuit and the area around the power button. How do i turn it on?

Try plugging in the device with no battery and then put the battery back in while it is running !

Also try plugging in the charger to load the battery bar and then hold all buttons aside from power,
 it might cause a forced reset and restart into the system like a normal restart !

If none of the above works..
try adb Use ADB and run the command

adb reboot

If you can't pick up a device with

adb devices

Then you'll need to hope they included a V-COM boot before boot.img

To access V-COM You'll need the driver for your device and a flashing program like
SP Flash Tool

• To check for V-COM compatibility you'll need to Open Device Manager as the Administrator on your PC,
• Pull out the battery if removable "if not removable read below" and plug in the device
• LOOK CAREFULLY FOR UNKNOWN DEVICE OR  V-COM DEVICE
• IF YOU HEAR THE COMPUTER GO BEEP AT ALL, IT'S REGISTERED A V-COM DEVICE

IF YOU DON'T HAVE A REMOVABLE BATTERY
If you don't have a removable battery, then v-com will only connect for a few seconds and then disconnect when the screen comes on !


How can I draw over other apps? I'd like to be able to use my Asus Transformer for a presentation using the HDMI out and I'd like to be able to draw on the screen over videos, pictures and over a powerpoint presentation.  Obviously I can't be drawing and navigating simultaneously with touch but I guess I'm envisioning an "always on top" floating dock or tool bar to toggle between the "paint" function and the normal touch input.

To be clear I'm not interested in specific "drawing" apps, I'm looking for the ability to draw persistently over any and every open app.

Is there an app or hack that will accomplish this?

In my old school days, this were trivial because just right behind the projector screen are whiteboards which is sometimes used as a "screen" which can be drawn on with markers.

As more modern alternative, there are also smartboards that provides a virtual whiteboard to draw on with digital annotations. And one of them can be controlled and viewed from an Android tablet.

If you only need video and slides, then you can run your presentation on the computer running smartboard software and connect to the computer with the Android tablet controller. This doesn't actually allow you to draw over arbitrary apps though.


My custom ringtone plays with stuttering, what may be the problem? After some time (may be it's related to the update to 4.4.x) my custom call ringtone (a .flac file) started to stutter permanently and always.

I can hear it even while choosing it in a system settings. But playing the file with another player works fine.

What can be the problem?

Model: Nexus 4
Version: 4.4.2

There is a bug in Android 4.4 which causes flac files to pop and stutter.

AndroidPolice has an article on it, there is a fix that has been committed (but not released) according to this bug report. It should be fixed in the next release (although when that'll be is anyone's guess)

  Since the problem exists in Android's native flac codec, which is used
  by most of the music players available, finding an alternative app
  with its own custom implementation will easily solve the issue.


Is it possible to point System > Ringtones folder to Memory card > Music? I want to have custom ringtones and notifictaion tones on my phone. But I don't want to copy every file to the ringtones folder.
Is it possible to make the System > Ringtones folder point to MemCard > Music folder?

Just isntall some file manager I recommand Total commander, and than when you tap to choose ringtone you will be offered to open it with Total commander or media storage. If this doesn't work than just open to choose ringtone and in upper right corner you will have '+' tap on it and it will open your music player


My device is not listed in Play Store I have an LG P760. Until yesterday, I had an U8800Pro that was listed along with my P760 phone under my account. The U8800 is now the phone of my wife and is listed under her account correctly.
But, my phone is not listed. I have disabled the U8800 from my phones list but the LG is not shown again.
I have installed at least 2 applications via Play app in the LG but still Google Play store says that I have no phone connected with my account!
I also tried to Sync my phone with Google from Setting-->Apps-->Sync

Any ideas?

Well, delete all your google accounts restart your phone better re-insert the sim card. Go to gmail create your account again then try opening play store. If it doesn't work sync again! :)