After buying OnePlus One - Google Keep stopped syncing "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly. " I bought OnePlus One. Keep did not sync any cards. I thought it was problem with the phone but than I uninstalled and installed Keep on my tablet and it stopped working with it too.

I get this in my sync screen in OnePlus One (left) / Nexus 7 Android 5 (right).

Notice the Sync is experiencing problems below.

When I try to play music on google play music app it stops immediately after start. Keep not syncing. My friend does not have this problem so it does not seem to be global.

It seems as if I broken my account somehow. Can I do anything about this? I have no clue who could help me resolve this.

Here is a video were I show the behavior Google Keep does not sync. Please help: http://youtu.be/AbAU-8TIf_w

Ok, so I found the solution with help from Psychol3oy on OnePlus One Jira. The issue is on Google site. They do not respond to any attempts to contact them, so I managed to find the issue myself.

Psychol3oy suggested on this ticket in OPO Jira, to turn on developer options on your device like this:

Enter settings on android
About phone
Tap on build number numerous times - it will say you enabled developer options.
Go back to settings and enter developer options
This will vary from device to device. I had to enable "Android debugging" and "Power menu bug reports"
Go to settings
Find Google in Accounts
Attempt to synchronize Keep
In OnePlus One hold power button and press bug report
It will slowly generate a bug report for you. Share it with you via email, or any other way.
Investigate. I am not sure how Android developers look for it, I just looked for "keep" and "sync" keywords within the log.

I found in mine there was some issue with one of the cards I had on my Keep. It looked like this:

01-12 21:39:04.993 1562 16531 E SyncScheduler: Ignoring sync request: rate limited

(on connection limit)
01-12 21:39:05.003 16099 16529 V KeepSync: Connected to GoogleApiClient.
01-12 21:39:08.653 16099 16529 I KeepSync: documents to pin: 5 Documents to unpin: 0
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: Error inserting user_edited_timestamp=1418138554492 time_created=1418138472081 notification_state=0 type=0 is_new_list_item_from_top=0 title=Marian Simonovi realtime_data_server_version=2 has_read=1 last_modifier_email=null parent_id=0 server_id=1RV2lPCgF9kzIYEAXKFxpH1JOxAsDRredxIoFvBrOiHaB2vYiLRFqoB3FISCS11A account_id=1 order_in_parent=116391936 color_name=GREEN time_last_updated=1418200125436 base_version=29 last_changes_seen_timestamp=1418140253433 is_archived=0 is_graveyard_closed=0 is_trashed=0 is_deleted=0 is_owner=0 sharer_email=null is_dirty=0 uuid=1418138472079.1701639728 is_graveyard_off=0
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: android.database.sqlite.SQLiteConstraintException: columns account_id, uuid are not unique (code 19)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteConnection.nativeExecuteForLastInsertedRowId(Native Method)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteConnection.executeForLastInsertedRowId(SQLiteConnection.java:782)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteSession.executeForLastInsertedRowId(SQLiteSession.java:788)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteStatement.executeInsert(SQLiteStatement.java:86)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase.insertWithOnConflict(SQLiteDatabase.java:1469)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase.insert(SQLiteDatabase.java:1339)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.provider.KeepProvider.a(SourceFile:1762)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.provider.KeepProvider.insertInTransaction(SourceFile:1650)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.android.common.content.SQLiteContentProvider.insert(SourceFile:113)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.content.ContentProviderOperation.apply(ContentProviderOperation.java:214)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.android.common.content.SQLiteContentProvider.applyBatch(SourceFile:231)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.provider.KeepProvider.applyBatch(SourceFile:1633)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.content.ContentProvider$Transport.applyBatch(ContentProvider.java:260)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.content.ContentProviderClient.applyBatch(ContentProviderClient.java:377)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.content.ContentResolver.applyBatch(ContentResolver.java:1227)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.syncadapter.DownSyncResponseProcessor.lZ(SourceFile:295)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.syncadapter.DownSyncResponseProcessor.q(SourceFile:263)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.syncadapter.DownSyncResponseProcessor.lY(SourceFile:236)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.syncadapter.KeepSyncAdapter.a(SourceFile:311)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at com.google.android.keep.syncadapter.KeepSyncAdapter.onPerformSync(SourceFile:198)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: at android.content.AbstractThreadedSyncAdapter$SyncThread.run(AbstractThreadedSyncAdapter.java:259)
01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E Keep : Failed to insert row for content://com.google.android.keep/tree_entity?caller_is_syncadapter=true
01-12 21:39:08.813 16099 16529 E KeepSync: OperationApplicationException error while applying sync results
01-12 21:39:08.813 16099 16529 W KeepSync: Sync result 3
01-12 21:39:08.853 16099 16099 D WearableClient: WearableClientImpl.onPostInitHandler: done
01-12 21:39:08.903 798 851 D SyncManager: failed sync operation mimkorn@gmail.com u0 (com.google), com.google.android.keep, SERVER, latestRunTime 3728633, reason: 10013, SyncResult: stats [ numParseExceptions: 1]
01-12 21:39:08.903 798 851 D SyncManager: not retrying sync operation because the error is a hard error: mimkorn@gmail.com u0 (com.google), com.google.android.keep, SERVER, latestRunTime 3856031, reason: 10013

Pay attention to the longest row, saying:

01-12 21:39:08.793 16099 16529 E SQLiteDatabase: Error inserting user_edited_timestamp=1418138554492 time_created=1418138472081 notification_state=0 type=0 is_new_list_item_from_top=0 title=Marian Simonovi realtime_data_server_version=2 has_read=1 last_modifier_email=null parent_id=0 server_id=1RV2lPCgF9kzIYEAXKFxpH1JOxAsDRredxIoFvBrOiHaB2vYiLRFqoB3FISCS11A account_id=1 order_in_parent=116391936 color_name=GREEN time_last_updated=1418200125436 base_version=29 last_changes_seen_timestamp=1418140253433 is_archived=0 is_graveyard_closed=0 is_trashed=0 is_deleted=0 is_owner=0 sharer_email=null is_dirty=0 uuid=1418138472079.1701639728 is_graveyard_off=0

The title parameter on this row is saying the card name "Marian Simonovi". I found this card. It was a card shared by a friend with me.

I deleted (not archived, but deleted) this card on web interface of Keep.
I tried to sync my device and it worked immediately.

I know this is rather more difficult to do and it might not be this easy on your non-OPO device. You might have difficulties get to logs on your device (might have to use Android Studio on your PC). But this is what worked for me. Hope your issue will be similar.

This seems to be a bug on Google site. If you know a way how to let them know other than the ways I alredy tried (contacted developers via Google play, sent bug report, wrote google groups question, wrote on xda-forums) please let me, or them know about this.


Verifying a (custom) ROM signature Android ROMs and also Android custom ROMs are typically cryptographically signed.
Most users will only recognize this if they try to install a ROM and the signature verification on-device fails.
For verifying authenticity of a ROM it can makes sense to verify the signature offline, before installing the ROM and e.g. compare the used signature certificate if it is the one expected, e.g. if the ROM is a genuine ROM build by LineageOS.
What command do you have to execute for verifying the signature of a ROM (e.g. if you have the ZIP file) on a PC?

In order to verify the signature of a ROM ZIP file on a PC, two things are required:

The public key from the ROM creator (can be extracted from /system/etc/security/otacerts.zip if the creator is the same e.g. in case of updating stock ROM).
A tool to extract the certificate from the comment (footer) of the ZIP file and verify its signature key against the ROM developer's public key.

There are multiple tools available to perform the second step, including the one officially provided by LineageOS:
update_verifier.py <pubkey> /path/to/zip_file

DETAILS
I had a vague notion that custom ROM ZIP files contain the standard JAR signatures block (which is also the case with APK signature scheme v1). So the standard jarsigner -verify command could be used to verify the integrity of a self-signed JAR/ZIP file (that it hasn't been tempered with since created), though not the authenticity of the source (which requires the root certificate, as is the case with AVB).
But a deeper look into TWRP source code indicates that it's using the same signature verification mechanism used in stock recovery for OTA ZIP file verification (source code here) i.e. verifying the authority of the ZIP file's creator against prebuilt public keys stored in /res/keys/. signapk.jar is used at the time of compilation to sign both APKs (apksigner is called) and OTA ZIP files. The same tool adds the "signed by SignApk" message you noticed in ZIP file.
So the /res/keys/ directory in recovery must contain the public keys from all ROM creators in order to verify their ZIP files, which doesn't seem practical.  Stock recovery contains only OEM's public key(s) while custom recovery most probably contains test keys from the official SDK. And that's why we often face the infamous "ZIP signature verification failed" message for ROMs and other flashable ZIP files.
On non-A/B devices the OTA package (if not manually downloaded by the user) is also verified before booting to recovery mode. In this case prebuilt keys from otacerts.zip are used for verification (source code here). But with A/B updates recovery is not involved at all (/res/keys/ no more exists since Android 10) and package might not be verified even once (if doing "streaming updates", some more details in this answer).
So keeping these points in view, the verification mechanism used in recovery doesn't seem to be of much importance. In order to verify the authenticity of a ROM, better would be to simply do a checksum verification of the downloaded file if possible, like LineageOS provides SHA256 hashes with their downloadable ZIP files.


Install GApps without flash it I know we can download it in a zip format in order to flash in recovery mode, for exemple from opengapps project.
What are others solution to install GApps on any android device without to flash?
Edit : without root and without flash

GApps : Google applications + Google play services and framework

If you want to install without modifying /system then it's impossible. So the answer is "No, you can't" with neither root access nor recovery flashing. But if you simply wany to DIY without using a custom recovery, it's OK.
Takine OpenGApps as example. Download their ZIP and extract it.

Install BusyBox
Use busybox lunzip to extract the .tar.lz files in Core/
Move files other than APKs to /system. You will find things to be merges into etc/ and framework/. Take care of file mode (permissions) and owner/group.
Install GoogleServicesFramework.apk as system app. In my experiments it sometimes fail if not installed as system app.
Install the rest of the APKs as normal.

You can't install GApps without modifying /system. As you see, there are quite a few configuration files that will be merged into /system/etc during installation, and a few essential framework JARs to be installed to '/system/framework. They won't work if installed elsewhere.


How do I get Key Ring Reward Cards to store other kinds of barcode? I've started using Key Ring Reward Cards to store my barcodes on my DroidX. I managed to scan in a couple of cards (Safeways and REI) but it refuses to scan any of my library cards and some other cards like Toys R Us.

Does anybody have any tips or tricks to getting all barcodes on these types of cards recognized?

It looks like they explicitly support a few hundred (650, as of this reading) rewards programs. So they don't support just every last bar code you might want to store, unfortunately.

That said, they do show a Toys R Us reward card in their banner graphic so you'd think it ought to upload that one. My guess is that you should nudge them about the reward cards you haven't been able to scan: http://www.keyringapp.com/


Can application be installed on an Android phone without confirmation, just by visiting or clicking links on page? I went on putlocker and then got some popup saying something about system error and then another one like this:

At that moment I turned off my phone. But before I got to the screen above, I think I clicked something like "find more details" on the scam page. I was googling a bit and of course I found this is a scam, tricking me into installing malware. The question now is, is it OK, or has anything been installed on my phone? I read this page, and they write:

  The virus infection pop up is a fake and touching it will redirect you
  to another page that may automatically download an APK file that would
  automatically install an app that contains the virus on your phone
  ...  As I told earlier, apps containing malware can be automatically
  installed on your phone and in this case, you need to uninstall it
  immediately before it can create more issues.

Hmmm, this is strange - is it actually possible for a webpage to install something on your phone without confirmation? I think I clicked something in the scam page, but I am SURE I didn't confirm any installation.

The app can be automatically downloaded, however Chrome does warn you before downloading an APK file. So, that's check one.

Next, any app package (apk) which you try to install outside of Play Store requires your consent before the installation is started.

And you also need to enable "Unknown Sources" before such an app can even start the installation.

So, going by these checks, yes the file can automatically download on your phone. But I'm not buying that it will install automatically as well. Your phone should be clean right now if you haven't installed the app.

Just check your downloads and remove any unknown APK package that you see. Thereafter, start using your phone normally without worrying.


Looking to somehow get control of my LG Optimus G with broken screen.. I dropped my phone the other day, and the screen cracked rendering it completely useless as it made the digitizer break. I have no touch control of my phone whatsoever, I reset it like an idiot to see if maybe the digitizer will decide to work again (so its no longer connected to wifi at the moment). I'm wondering if there is any way whatsoever to control this phone from my PC, without USB debugging enabled (or, if there is a way to enable USB debugging from an unrooted device). I do not plan on replacing the screen, as the phone is a little outdated now. Any suggestion is appreciated highly, I just simply wanna be able to get some sort of use out of this phone before letting it go for $20 on kijiji.

I recommend you take it to a place where they fix phones. They can fix the screen for you. Depending on who you go with, the prices will vary. Other than that, I doubt there will be any other way.


Can an android app cause my phone to reboot? I have a Samsung Galaxy S (i500) running Android 2.3.5
Lately it has been rebooting randomly.
Sitting on my desk and it just reboots, sometimes when I'm on the phone, etc.

Does Android protect itself from installed apps?
I thought the security sandbox apps run in was supposed to prevent an app from causing the entire phone to reboot.

My phone provider wants to blame apps for the phone reboots. I just want to know if this is legitimate, or if the reboots should ultimately be attributed to an android or handset manufacturer problem.

An app can certainly deliberately reboot the phone, depending on the permissions for the app in question and whether it has root privileges.

An app can also force you phone to reboot if it bombs out and takes Android down with it, particularly apps that interact with phone functionality (volume adjustors, automatic task killers - which are a bad idea in general, location aware apps, etc)  If an app has the right permissions this can happen quite easily.

So to sum up, yes, it's quite possible that an app could be causing the system to die and your phone to reboot.  If you want to troubleshoot, you can use Titanium Backup to freeze one app at a time to see if that alleviates the issue, or you can just uninstall and then reinstall later on.


Why are some old images downloaded from the web always sorted under "Today" in Gallery? When I open the gallery and sort by Time, there is always a section "Today", and it has several images I downloaded from the web...... months ago.

That's literally it. Why are old images showing under "Today"? There are other images I got from the web that are actually correctly sorted in older sections. But under "Today" I got around 20 web images that have been sitting there for months.

One thing I noticed is that this doesn't happen with photos taken with the phone. Such photos are always correctly sorted. So it's something with web images.

Android 5.0, Galaxy S5.

You may want to look into some EXIF editors to edit the metadata of those images (specifically the time). I can't name any great editors in particular, but there are plenty of apps and programs available as I looked through. If I find any good ones, I'll be sure to tell you the names of them. Best of luck!


How to Diagnose Wireless that won't turn on? I just bought a new d2 Tablet, and it seems to be functioning normally, except that the Wi-Fi will not turn on.  I navigated to the settings screen and selected Wi-Fi, and dragged the Off button to On.  It stayed at On  and displayed the text "Turning Wi-Fi on..." for five seconds, after which it turned the button back to Off.  It has done this repeatedly.  I know I have good wireless signal b/c I'm using it to submit this question from my laptop.

Is there some additional diagnostic I can do, or do I need to see about returning it as defective?

This is what i would do myself, and in that order :

Modify the way you authenticate to the Wifi access point. Removing temporarily any kind of encryption. If this fix your problem ---> Your phone most likely doesn't handle some advanced kind of WPA2 or something like that.
Look for an issue in the configuration of the access point itself. Look for MAC address filtering for example.
Finally as a last resort, use command line tools like "adb debug on your phone to read what's happening to your wireless driver on the phone.


How do I turn off geolocation when taking photos? Is there a way to turn the geolocation feature for photos off? Is this per application or phone-wide?

edit I have a Droid X. I would like to have geolocation off even if my gps is on. Is there a way to do that?

This video seems to cover it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUV31pKOZcg&feature=player_embedded

To recap:

Open Camera app
Open Menu
Tap "Tags"
Uncheck Auto-Location tag
Done.


How can I record game audio with screen without using microphone? I found so many apps which can record screen on my android device.
Some of them can record audio and video at the same time, but only when I turned on the "Record with microphone" option.

That's not realy good, becouse the game sound can be a little bit noisy that way, so I need to record the game audio without using my microphone for best quality.

I would be grateful if the solution does not require a computer for audio recording.

My device is:
Sony Xperia Z2
Android version 5.1.1
Not rooted and can't root it becouse if I do, I lose my warranty.

Well, I have been using the SCR Pro for game recording without using microphone.
Install the app, then you launch the app, there are 3 buttons, tap on the setting icon, scroll down to the Audio tab, tap source, tap System Audio Output (or Internal). And there you go. But I am not sure if that one requires root or not.


Retrieving app messages Is there a way to (offline)  retrieve app messages (messages that  appear with on the top right on the home screen with a small icon of the app)

Without opening the app itself? (or when the app doesn't store these messages)

Or is there an app that I can install that can remember these messages?

I am using a Dtek 50 android 6.0

Notification History records  notifications, toasts, Dialog message and many more.

You can configure it store these either for 30 days or 300 Notifications and view off line

From app description:

(click image for larger variant)


Provably, temporary, disable wireless networking on Android tablet I am taking an exam during which any materials or electronic devices are allowed, provided that I can demonstrate that they cannot be used for communicating with others. I want to take my Android tablet and use it to display PDF files that I don't want to print out.

I need to come up with a way how to temporary turn a Nexus 7 Android tablet from a communication device into a book reader incapable of connecting to WiFi. I need to be able to quickly prove to the teacher that this is so and that whatever I do it will remain in this mode during the exam.

Do you have any ideas how this can be achieved? My belief is that this is impossible, but I decided to ask anyway.

As no "bullet-proof" system is required here, and at least some level of trust assumed, possible solutions hide behind the buzz... ahem, key-words kiosk-mode and child-protection. In short: you create a "jail" you're working in, and hand it's key (password) to the teacher (let him/her set a password – of course on the premise to unlock you once the exam is over).

Options on establishing a kiosk-mode are already discussed in several other questions tagged "kiosk-mode", so there's no need to repeat them all. You might wish to take a look at SureLock Kiosk Lockdown, which should meet your requirements: one of its features is to prevent access to system settings. So disabling all network features (mobile data, WiFi APNs, etc.) and then locking the settings with the teacher's password should satisfy both sides – provided you've allowed all required apps for kiosk mode. As the "dirty trick" to regain control would also remove all data from the device (factory-reset), it cannot be expected you'd do that during the exam ;)


Android: Manually alter the contents of an app's database? Is it possible to manually change the contents of the databases an app uses to store all it's formation.

yes of course, so long as you have access to that database.

if we are talking about mobile phone apps, then most will have an embedded SQLite database or equivalent. These typically are "stand alone" databases that don't have user authentication to access, you simply need access to the file ("someapp.db", or "someapp.sqlite", etc) and the proper utility installed to read it (SQLite version 3 for example).

on linux you would do something like

sudo yum install sqlite -y

sqlite3 someapp.db

and it will open the database and you can issue all your SQL commands from there.

Keep in mind some apps go through lengths to "hide" or otherwise make their database impossible for average-joe to access and get into.

EDIT: also, on Android specifically there is an App in the market (paid, like $3 i think) called "SQLite Editor" that allows you to browse all found sqlite databases on the phone and edit them if desired.


Shark for Root not working I am pretty much new to the packet sniffing. I found some application for the same Shark for root. I have rooted my phone for the application and I tried logging the packets being transferred from my mobile using the start button available in the application. But all in vain I was not able to log even a single packet, and All the time I open the .pcap file with the sharkreader It gives error as Empty file opened.

I am using Android Gingerbread on my mobile.

Also while stopping the logs, it gives some error executing some Shell commands like killall.

Thanks in Advance.

See if you still have available memory in your storage. Shark for Root won't record any packets if your device has insufficient memory.


Imitate a swipe down gesture periodically There's an app that allows for monitoring of some specific process. This app gets locked every 5 minutes unless a screen activity is detected. The phone itself is not locked, the only app's interface is blocked. There's no way to configure the app's timeout to 10 or 30 or 60 minutes at all.

Is it possible to imitate a swipe down gesture periodically (for example, every 60 seconds)? I need it to run on Android 4.4.2.

I have seen AutoInput, but it appears it's not free.

Use Macrodoid. It offers 5 macros for free.

On the Triggers tab, under the Device Events section, select Screen On/Off then Screen On.
On the Actions tab, under the Device Actions section, select UI Interaction. Enable Macrodroid UI interaction accessibility option. Select UI Interaction, choose Gesture, then enter the X and Y values (X and Y screen coordinates: where to start and end the swipe).
Save the macro and give it a name.
Edit the macro. On the Actions tab, under the Conditions/Loops section, select Repeat actions, choose While 'conditions repeat. Add a condition (I selected Screen On, under the Screen and Speaker section, then Screen On/Off.
On the Actions tab, under the Macrodroid Specific section, select Wait Before Next Action, and set the time to 1 minute.
Click the up and down arrows on the Actions block, then move the items from steps 2 and 5 to be under the While/Do condition.
Save the macro. Click the 3-dot, then Test macro.

The macro will be like the image below:

When I tested it, I set the start values at X=100, Y=300 and the end values at X=500, Y=300 to simulate a swipe from left to right. The values on the steps described above should try to swipe the status bar down. I advise to change the X and Y values so they be based on your screen resolution and needs.


Unable to download Google Allo from Google Play Store - Pre-register/Unregister So Google Allo was officially released just a few days ago as per this Google Blog:

  Today, we’re releasing Google Allo, a new smart messaging app for Android and iOS that helps you say more and do more right in your chats.

Today being Sept. 20, 2016 as per the blog's post date, while in our country, it's already Sept. 22nd.

I followed the link up to it's Google Play Store page, but still only see it as Coming Soon and the Pre-register/Unregister button.

Is this an expected delay since it is still being deployed? Or was there an unexpected delay in the release or is it just that my phone is not compatible with it?

I'm using Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML with Android L and the Google Play Services is up-to-date. However, there is the behavior of Google Play Store to not show the app to non-compatible (blacklisted) devices for searches, and a label of

  Device not compatible

if you were still able to find the page, pretty much rules out the device compatibility issue.

We’re beginning to roll out Google Allo for Android and iOS, and the app will be available worldwide in the next few days.

(Taken from the end of the blog post)

Google roll out app releases in stages. Initially it will be available to a small percentage of devices and countries. Over a few days (or weeks even) it will roll out to more devices and countries.


Group messaging on Samsung J2 How do you do group messaging on a Samsung J2? I can send out a group message but when people reply, it comes in as individual texts, not in a group conversation. I cannot find the option to turn on group conversation.

SMS is one-to-one; your phone is texting each person in the group individually, and the app is just simplifying this for you.  There is no information transmitted to them about the group or about past conversations, nor is there any information transmitted in their replies about what they are replying to.  As such it is impossible for your phone to tell that their replies should be grouped together rather than kept separate.

Some messaging apps (like Google's Messages) support group messaging over MMS, which may incur additional expenses.

Otherwise, you'll have to get everyone to sign up for some other service like WhatsApp or Line and create a group within that.


ADB full backup restore command stuck on restoring app Clean Master I have a full backup file using adb backup command. When I try to restore the full backup file using adb restore command it always displays "Unfortunately Clean Master has stopped working" while restoring the package of Clean Master app com.cleanmaster.mguard.

adb logcat - (too long to paste it here)

How can I skip the clean master app package alone while restoring the full backup?

I removed the clean master app data from the backup and re-created the backup.ab file again using the Android Backup Extractor(ABE). It seems that the backed up file was corrupted and couldn't able to restore it properly. So I suggest to,

use the adb backup command atleast twice to make sure the backup is fully completed and compare both file are same sized ones

( OR )
extract the backup file using ABE as .tar export and make sure the extracted .tar file can be opened without any errors.

Since I also had app backups using Helium Backup(Carbon) app, I was able to restore my app data using the Helium app. And all the shared data folder contents I moved from the extracted .tar file to my device via an USB cable manually.


Why won't 'usb debugging' mode stay on? I'm trying to put my phone into usb debugging mode, but it won't work. I'll turn it on, and it will turn off right away.. Has anyone else gone through this?

I'm running 2.3.4 on a zte score.

I had a similar issue with Huawei P Smart (today on Android Oreo).  Revoking USB debug permissions enabling USB debugging and then re-attaching it with 'transfer files' option, followed by accepting the PC certificate fingerprint appeared to work - at least for the time being.


Exchange contacts don't show up in Contacts app I use an e-mail service that uses an Exchange connection. I have an Exchange account in my accounts list on the phone. I receive mail properly for this account. However when I add a contact and choose to add it to the Exchange account, it doesn't show up in the general Android Contacts app. When I open the phone app, the contact is saved, so I see the name of the contact.

How can I get these contacts to show up in the Contacts app?

If another app solves this problem, that's OK as well.

In the Contacts app go to the three dots and select Contacts to Display. Make sure the Exchange account is included in the contacts being displayed.


I want to buy game items on my deceased husbands Galaxy Tab 2 , I dont know his password. Is it possible? When my husband became ill I promised him I would keep his game going until he could, unfortunately he died. I am still playing his game on his Galaxy Tab 2 and wanted to buy him some game items. When I tried I was asked for his google password which I don't know. Is there anyway I can buy him game items using my PayPal account?

You CAN get full access to his gmail and recover his password!!!
Google has a way of recover the password for deceased people.
https://support.google.com/accounts/troubleshooter/6357590?hl=en
Click and fill out the forum that says,
"Obtain data from a deceased user's account"
Don't log out of his account and log in with yours!!!!!!
People have suggested in comments above to do so. DON'T Some (not all) apps will detect fraud if you remove the account the game was purchased from!!!


Can I fastboot flash a factory image without flashing the recovery? Factory Images

Using Nexus 9 as an example, the flash-all.bat contains:

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-flounder-3.43.0.0114.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul
fastboot -w update image-volantis-lrx21l.zip

image-volantis-lrx21l.zip contains recovery.img and the other images. Can I remove the recovery.img to avoid having to re-flash TWRP?

Do I need to use a different parameter for fastboot? ie. not update or -w?

According to the CyanogenMod Wiki, you should be able to flash each partition separately – if you've got an image for it. Quoting:

  Common fastboot commands
  fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
  fastboot flash boot boot.img
  fastboot flash cache cache.img
  fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
  fastboot flash system system.img

Following this list come instructions on Installing recovery using fastboot, which should apply (with the partition/file names replaced accordingly) be valid for the other partitions. Basically, with usb-debugging activated and your device connected to your computer (which has the appropriate tools installed):

# Boot the device into bootloader mode:
adb reboot bootloader

# Make sure fastboot can "see" it:
fastboot devices

# Flash the image:
fastboot flash recovery your_recovery_image.img


Remove credit card from google wallet, will it affect purchased apps? I use my credit card to buy app on Google Play Store and now that I changed my credit card, I want to remove my credit card info from my account, but Google gives me this message:

  You are about to remove the following credit card:
  Visa ending in xxxx

  The following orders will be affected by removing this credit card:
  [list of apps I purchased]

What happen when I remove my credit card, will I lose all my purchased apps? Or what will happen exactly?

Of course not. The only way the would be affected is if they were still pending purchases.
I have removed a card previously and all my apps were still intact.

Your purchases are linked to your account, not to your cards.
However common sense still applies. If you have in-app subscriptions set up on the card that you've removed, than the next charge will fail.


LG Nexus 5 is not detected despite having installed LG Universal Mobile Drivers I use Windows 8, and ADB seems to not be able to find my LG Nexus 5 (D821) despite having installed LG Universal Mobile Drivers (LGUnitedMobileDriver_S498MA22_WHQL_ML_Ver_2.2). adb reboot bootloader failed to find the device.

I have set the device in USB debugging mode. It does not seem that LG provides anymore anything else than the manuals on their new website.

Which USB driver should be installed to detect LG Nexus 5, and where can I download it?

I found the issue. I tried installing some other generic LG drivers which were interfering with the other drivers. (LGUnitedMobileDriver_S498MA22_WHQL_ML_Ver_2.2)

To solve this:

I uninstalled the generic LG drivers (LGUnitedMobileDriver_S498MA22_WHQL_ML_Ver_2.2) like a software (Control Panel -> Uninstall or Change a Program)
Turn on the USB Debugging
Unplug and replug the device
In the Windows Device Manager the MTP was shown with an exclamation mark
Open it and ask Windows to find a driver automatically which it did successfully. You will need an Internet connection
Should work now


How to block incoming advertisement sms from senders with no visible phone number? I get spam ad messages from a few companies regularly on my phone. And when I try to block them using the option given on the messaging application a custom message says that the number is invalid and cannot be blocked. So, how to stop such messages sent by unknown numbers?

Try this SMS Organizer app.
Apart from a host of other features, this app lets you set 'rules'. For example, you can set a rule to auto delete any message when the sender's phone number/contact name contains a certain sequence.

If you are unsure about deleting, you can also set the rule to move the sms to a folder (This app also lets you create folders for sms), say a spam folder


Milestone outperforming Galaxy Nexus on mobile data connection speed I recently switched from a Motorola Milestone to a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and it seems the quality of my mobile data connections drops considerably between the devices without any apparent reason. The Motorola device can get up to 2mbps, while the Nexus struggles at ~150kbps.

The  *#*#4636#*#* menu on both devices shows no noticeable differences.

The tests were made 20 minutes apart using the same SIM card.

In summary:
Is there any configuration that can interfere so heavily on the way the data connection operates? If not, can it be a Radio/Baseband problem?

I'm using the 'stock' Google Rom (yakju) on the Galaxy Nexus, while the Milestone is using a custom Rom (ShadowMod 2.3), although it's behavior was the same on stock Froyo 2.2.

While this might not be the complete answer to your issue, it appears that the Galaxy Nexus is connected to an HSDPA:9 radio (10.1mb/s theoretical speed) while the Milestone is connected to an HSPA radio (14mb/s theoretical speed, not HSPA+ which can have a theoretical speed of between 21 and 42 depending on the network). While the theoretical capacities of the networks are similar, it does seem that they are using different radio tower connections, which could explain the difference in bandwidth that is being experienced.


Callers cannot hear me unless I turn on speaker phone! I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 (SGH-S959G) and it is a Straight Talk phone (don't know if that makes a difference or not). Anyway, I have only had this phone for about 6 or 7 months.

Around August 16, 2013 I noticed that when someone calls me or I call someone I can hear them but they cannot hear me unless I turn on speaker phone. I got in touch with Straight Talk and the representative instructed me to:

turn the phone off,
take the battery out,
take the SIM card out,
clean the SIM card by wiping it on my shirt or whatnot,
and then replace the SIM and battery.

He then said to make a call, which I did and it worked.

However, two days later it started back doing the same thing by repeated the instructions listed above in the exact same manner several times and it did not work. It still does not work.

Also, when I call voicemail and change my personal settings, it will record what I say without it being on speaker. So I'm not quite sure why I am able to be heard in that manner but not when talking to someone.

Also, every now and then when I sit my phone down on a counter, the phone will just randomly turn off.

There really is no good reason for that to happen unless I was throwing it down, which I am not. I have always taken good care of my things, especially my $350 phone. It's ridiculous to pay this much and only be able to use it for 6 or 7 months.

Please Help.

Try disabling "Noise Cancellation" on your device.


Google voice search crashing The Google voice search crashes after detecting the keyword ok google.
If, I tap on the mike button in the search app and do voice search, it works.
What could be the reason behind this app-crash?

Phone: Samsung Galaxy Note II (GT-N7100)
OS: 4.4.2 KitKat. (Rooted)

At last, I found a solution.

The problem was with the entry in sports section in Google Now. It can also happen with entry in stocks according to this article.
Resetting the Google Now data fixed the issue.

Steps I did:

Open Google Now and click the magic wand on the bottom right which opens a Customize Google Now screen.
Click the sports section and remove all.
Do the same for stocks.
Open settings >> Application >> Google search, and tap clear data.
Open Google Now, go to settings and disable Google Now.
Restart the device.
Open Google Now, Follow the instructions.

I also turned off audio history from the voice menu of google now settings.
This link helped me to fix this issue.

After the reset all my cards started to appear again except the sports. Data was there in  for all sub menus except sports and stocks in the Customize Google Now screen.


How to root VIVO Y31L I have tried all the apps like king root,kingoroot and I tried to flash manually also but it fails anyone please try to help

As suggested on XDA Developers, you should first get the firmware of version 1.9.22, then you'll be able to root with KingRoot.


Where are notepad notes stored? A simple question really, where do apps such as notepad store their data (the notes)?

Additionally, where do offline games store their information (such as what level you're on)?
I've looked at the android/data/ files, but they're often empty. Any tips?

Example below:

According to that, the app uses 30+ mb of data

But, the file for that app (Internal Storage/Android/data/...) only has 8mb inside it. Where's the rest?

Edit: what's a "data" file? Here's my internal storage:
.

I'm on EMUI 9.1.0 and Android 9.

Android apps follow rules where each app is stored unter <pkgname>
and usually the data is stored in databases. big data (games) usually stored in obb

/storage/emulated/0 is your Internal Storage (which is a view for /data/media/0)
/data/user/0 is a symlink to /data/data (where you have no access)
/data/user_de/0 is rarely used for some apps (not sure if this my country code or stands for DeviceEncrypted)

so the example paths looks like this

/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/files/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/databases/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/shared_prefs/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/cache/
/storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/
/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/files/


Prevent Google reacting to inline remote My new wired earphones have a one-button in line remote. Two common uses of pressing this button include:

Option1. Pausing and resuming music playback;

Option2. Opening and dismissing an audio Google search.

But, I am only interested in Option1. At first I found all I could make the button do was Option2; even after I disabled Google's microphone access, Option2 still happened instead of Option1 (but of course Google couldn't hear anything, so although the search app opened it didn't attempt to discern a search string.) After I restarted my phone, pressing the button does Option1 and Option2 simultaneously. In particular, the Google app is brought to the front (whether it's currently open or closed), and stays in the front even when a second dismissal button press occurs.

My question, therefore, is how to stop this app coming to the front. I wouldn't mind it opening so much if the app I want to use stayed at the front. In theory the solution is to change the headset settings so the button doesn't have a search effect. However, I haven't managed to do this because:

When I search settings changes that should do it, the menu options they list are unavailable, possibly due to the instructions being out of date or my phone being unusual;
I have also tried several headset-controlling apps, but none worked (some didn't even seem to have a relevant setting).

Thus my question concerns how to prevent an uninteresting app from focusing.

In case anyone has this problem in the future, I fixed it by force-stopping the undesired app.


Is there any Vanilla ICS ROM for Galaxy Note? Possible Duplicate:
  Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Is there a plain ICS ROM for the Samsung Galaxy Note? I'm looking for something that is relatively stable and without any kind of mods/frills.

XDA Developers have published on May 10, 2012 an article regarding the update of GB ROM to ICS:

International Galaxy Note Official ICS Released, Repackaged

If you’re looking to install an ICS AOSP ROM on your Note, there's an article published on April 24, 2012:

Get AOSP ICS ROMs on the Galaxy Note the Easy and Safe Way

On both you'll find the step by step guides, links for the necessary files, the XDA forum thread with user comments and experiences about those two updates.


Is there an easier way to type apostrophes on the Droid X keyboard? Is there an easier way to type apostrophes on the Droid X keyboard?

Two issues --

I press and hold the period key, which brings up the little pallet of punctuation.  But the apostrophe is inexplicably all the way over on the left.  Can I move this closer to the right, where my thumb is while clicking and holding the period key?  It's the most common character I use from this pallet.
Alternately, can I somehow get an apostrophe on the overhead menu that appears when you type a space?  This is the place where auto-correct goes, but when you type a space, it becomes a comma, exclamation point, question mark, etc.  How can I get an apostrophe in this list?

You can 'cook up' (create) your own keyboard thanks to an awsome android dev. (That way you can have the apostrophe wherever you want :-)

See here: http://www.gimpsta.com/themer/

It has also had a blog review here: create-your-own-custom-keyboard-for-android-devices


Using over 2gb sd card space for link2sd apps i have a rooted S3 mini, android version 4.1.2, link2sd free edition installed. S3 mini doesn't support moving apps to SD so I have to use Link2SD. I have 4 GB sd and I have followed the instructions in this video to partition it.

Today, I have bought a 64 GB SD card to replace the 4 GB sd card that I have. At about the second minute of the video, the guy says you can go as high as 2 GB for your apps.

My question is, can you go higher than that? can you link say 16 GB of apps to SD using link2SD? I have 64 GB  card so 2 GB is nothing, my internal memory is 8GB so I need that extra space.

Yes, Im using 32gb card.
I have kept 4096mb as EXT4 partition and rest I have formatted as FAT32. Link2SD works fine.

You can go max 4GB.

Download mini partition tool
Format your CLASS10 SDCARD 1st partition being FAT32, and second keep (4GB) it EXT2 (EXT4 might not work)
Shutdown your phone, put back your card. Star the phone.
And then start linking your files with Link2SD. I have bought Plus version, it is very useful. Since My phone has only 16GB internal memory.


How to Chromecast videos from a Safari Books Online subscription If you have a Safari Books Online, the Safari To Go app for Android is useful for reading the books (particularly offline) and watching the videos, but when you watch the videos there is no option to send it to Chromecast. It would be nice to watch the videos, which include training videos and popular conference sessions, on my TV using Chromecast.

Instead of using the Safari To Go app, go to http://m.safaribooksonline.com and log into your account there. When you start playing the video, maximize it and the Chromecast icon will appear in the upper left. Tap that icon, select your Chromecast device, and the video will appear there. As always, you can use your Android to control volume, pause/play, and seek within the video.


How can I prevent wireless tethering from being disabled when I receive a call? I use my phone (a OnePlus 3 running the stock ROM and Android 7.1.1) as my primary internet connection. This means that I make heavy use of wireless tethering, especially for work. The trouble is, whenever my phone rings, regardless of whether I answer it, wireless tethering gets disabled. If I use USB tethering, I have no such problem, but wireless is much more convenient.

Is there any way to prevent wireless from being disabled? I previously came across this answer, but it doesn't apply to me. I've never had a phone which was unable to simultaneously use phone and data. When I'm on a call, I can enable wireless tethering no problem. It just gets disabled for no good reason whenever I receive a call.

Failing my first question, I would also accept a method to make my phone completely ignore incoming calls during specified times, so that they couldn't disable tethering, so long as I kept internet access and text messaging.

EDIT

In response to comments, let me point out that the issue is not the connection technology (WCDMA, VoLTE, carrier support, etc.) This is absolutely impossible, since the fact mentioned above that I can manually re-enable tethering while on a call, coupled with the fact that I have full access to data while on a call, disproves any such theories. This is why I started a new thread instead of using the old one I linked to above.

On my LG K20 running 7.0 I have “Do Not Disturb” under” Settings > Sound & Notification”. With that turned on, incoming calls do not turn the WiFi hotspot off. I just now tested it to make sure. I can leave it on until I switch it back off again myself or I can set a timer that will turn “Do Not Disturb” off after a specified length of time.


Moving apk to system/app. Operation failed I have rooted my Nexus 5 and am trying to move an apk to the system/apps directory but keep getting "Operation Failed". I am trying to move from the /data/app directory to the /system/app directory to give access to system only settings.

I have changed /system and /system/app to permissions of 777 with "Root Browser".

What needs to be changed to allow for this?

Most devices have the system partition mounted as read-only. You need to remount the partition with write access so that you can modify the files.

This free app should work. Other utilities such as ES File Explorer and Titanium Backup also have the ability to remount the system partition as writeable.

Alternatively, you can use a Terminal Emulator or ADB to run the following command, which should remount the volume as well.

su
mount -o remount,rw /system /system

After the volume is mounted as read/write, you can go ahead and move the app over. The volume will remain read/write until you reboot the device, at which time it will revert to read-only.


Can't change vibration strength on Lineage OS I just installed Lineage OS 14.1 on my Samsung Galaxy S5 Plus. However, the vibration strength for - for example - pressing the "Recent Apps" or "Back" button and typing was pretty much the maximum.

When I go to settings I can't find a setting for changing the the vibration strength, when I search, however, I can find a setting for vibration strength, but when I click on it, I go to "Other sounds" and don't find that found result there...

So how can I change the vibration strength on Lineage OS 14.1 on my Samsung Galaxy S5?

Open Settings and use Search. If there is a setting available it will take you straight there.

Open settings and use search


Android battery monitoring method Android phones powered by a constant 4v DC external supply (no battery) still show battery charge diminishing to low battery warning. Switching the mains off and then back on and restarting the phone restores the battery meter to 70% which then starts depleting again.

How does Android do this without sensing the actual "battery" voltage?

How does Android decide that this non-existent 4 volt battery is flat and needs recharging?

Usually there is a special battery controller chip (IC) in your phone which is always active even if the phone is switched off. This chip does the calculation on whatever base.

Android running on the main CPU just queries this special controller, retrieves and displays the values.

For a more detailed answer see How does charging a phone battery work?.


Installing google play services from APKmirror by command line APKmirror provides many modern apps as split apk tar files. For example, if I want to install the android webview apk, I can download it from here, and un-tar the .apkm file to produce the following split apk:
├── APKM_installer.url
├── META-INF
├── base.apk
├── icon.png
├── info.json
├── split_config.en.apk
├── split_config.es.apk
├── split_config.fi.apk
├── split_config.fr.apk
├── split_config.iw.apk
├── split_config.ja.apk
├── split_config.pt.apk
├── split_config.ru.apk
├── split_config.sv.apk
├── split_config.th.apk
└── split_config.zh.apk

This split apk can be installed with:
adb install-multiple -r -g -t <directory>/*.apk

However, for APKmirror's google play services found here, when I untar I get this:
├── AndroidManifest.xml
├── META-INF
├── assets
├── build-data.properties
├── classes.dex
├── classes2.dex
├── classes3.dex
├── classes4.dex
├── classes5.dex
├── classes6.dex
├── classes7.dex
├── com
├── googledata
├── lib
├── org
├── res
├── resources.arsc
└── stamp-cert-sha256

This looks more like an .aab file, however it is missing the required BundleConfig.pb file.
What type of app format it this, and how can I turn it into a split apk that can be installed easily?

The answer is:

This is apk app format
I can install by just renaming the download from .apkm to .apk.

Thanks to Robert for pointing this out!


How to save images / videos from a Xiaomi Redmi 4X that keeps rebooting in every 30 seconds My phone (Xiaomi Redmi 4X) is faulty since last week, it's restarting itself in every 30 seconds (this time starts when the home screen appears). This little time is not enough for copying everything to my PC because it disconnects before even the thumbnails are loaded.

It doesn't work with the MI PCSuite, it says "Connect your device". Not working in recovery mode neither in fastboot mode.

I downloaded the android sdk so I have fastboot and adb.
'fastboot devices' command lists my device (I guess it is), but
'adb devices' doesn't list it. (I guess it only works when the phone and USB Debugging are on)

Do you have ANY idea how to save my pictures and videos. They're invaluable to me. I don't care about the phone, but I don't want to lose my data.

Any help is appreciated!

Whew, it was a tough round but under 5 hours I figured out and finally managed how to save images and videos in this situation.

First I had to make some kind of connection between the phone and my PC. The best option for this was the platform-tools in the Android SDK. Then went into the shell with:

C:\platform-tools> adb shell

Next thing was to find out the path of the Dcim folder and list files in that folder:

ls /storage/emulated/0/Dcim/

there is a folder in it called Camera. After I got all the filenames in that folder I managed to copy them with the adb pull command: I copied all the filenames into an excel document and prepared them with the full command which was:

adb pull /storage/emulated/0/Dcim/Camera/video1.mp4 C:\media\
adb pull /storage/emulated/0/Dcim/Camera/video2.mp4 C:\media\
adb pull /storage/emulated/0/Dcim/Camera/video3.mp4 C:\media\
...

It contained 450 files. That is impossible to copy within 30 seconds, so I had to divide them into chunks. First I divided them into videos and pictures and copied 50 pictures at once per 30 seconds session. With videos, I could copy only 5-8 at once.

And one last but an important thing: on the phone the USB Debugging must be enabled (under the Developer options) in order to make use of the adb tool. And all the above mentioned only work when the phone is on!


Is there a way to root an Android phone without unlocking the bootloader? I've tried almost any method to root my ASUS ZenFone Live, but no one seems to work. Also I only need root, no unlocked bootloader (don't want to wipe data) or custom recovery (not essential ATM).

This can be marked a duplicate of questions like this, but it's a  device-specific question. It cannot be answered in a generic way, should be “How to root XYZ Android device without unlocking bootloader?”
Simple answer is: It should not be possible to root Android devices without unlocking bootloader, but is possible for some devices due to security vulnerabilities or bad security implementations.
Android's security model recommends OEMs/SoC vendors implement a Chain of Trust which must have a hardware-backed root of trust - a cryptographic key. On boot every software component verifies the integrity of the next component before loading it in memory. This chain of trust starts with BootROM (the very first executable code which runs on Power ON) and ends at /system and /vendor partitions. Everything in between - bootloaders, Device Tree, Linux kernel and Android OS code - is verified to be unaltered.
Since Android by-design won't allow any app (system or user) to run with root privileges, we have to modify critical parts like boot.img (which contains kernel) and/or system.img (which contains Android OS/ROM) in order to gain root access. Modifying such components means they are no more signed with OEM's private keys and hence cannot be verified by bootloader. So we have to unlock bootloader to break the chain of trust so that it just ignores the unverifiable state of OS. Unlocking bootloader is usually accompanied by flashing custom recovery because it makes other modifications easy.
That said, if there are flaws in implementation of Verified Boot or if there are hacks to elevate privileges from within running OS, it becomes possible to gain root privileges without unlocking bootloader. But that's very device-specific, not applicable to other devices. Power users who want to root their devices prefer to go for devices with unlockable bootloaders, rather looking for exploits and vulnerabilities which may also get fixed over time.
Note that some new devices which implement Android Verified Boot (AVB or VB 2) support user-settable root of trust i.e. injecting a new key for signing and verifying process. Such devices can be locked after flashing a (possibly rooted) custom ROM. However unlocking bootloader is necessarily required in the first place.


Acer A3-A40 Fastboot erase system, OEM not unlocked, not rooted, cannot find stock rom I erased the system with fasboot, now I cannot find the stock rom for it. What can I do ? There is no root and it is not OEM unlocked.

The easieast way if your stock rom isn't available on the internet is to try multiple system.img files from different brands which have the same specs with your device (same SoC, same TP...).

Good luck!


Associate HTML files with Google Chrome I want to create a file association between my local HTML pages and Google Chrome, the reason being that I am beginning to develop HTML pages and I need to be able to access the URL address as I use this to pass parameters between HTML pages. I am hoping that when opening the HTML page in Chrome I will be able to do this, as it appears that 'HTML viewer' does not.

When you tap on the local link, you should get an option to chose which browser to use.  If so, simply chose Google Chrome.

If you do not see this dialogue, go to Settings-Apps-html viewer and tap clear defaults.  The next time you open an HTML File(or any link), you should see the dialogue described above.

I hope your HTML development goes well!


How can I directly edit text files over SSH or FTP? Sometimes I want to edit text files on a remote computer (such as linux scripts, websites, etc.) but I only have an Android device at hands (let's say I'm sitting in a train and have nothing better to do with my time).

I could download the files over SSH, edit them, and upload them again, or even edit them on the SSH console, but this is tedious (I mean MORE tedious than it already is to edit text with an handheld device, if that is possible).

Is there a way that I can directly edit the files remotely? I would envision a solution that might, for example, automatically download the file, and upload it back on save.

For what it's worth, here are the solutions I've found so far, but I'm happy with none:

DroidEdit has an SFTP/FTP option in the pro (paid) version. I have not tested it myself so I can't guarantee anything.

I used to mount a samba or NFS share on my local Android file system, using the CifsManager app, which can be tunneled through SSH, and then you work on the files as if they were on your local device. However, this required a rooted device, and I'm not sure it's still possible with recent Android systems (the problematic part being to mount a file system that isn't provided by the base Android system ; it seems the cifs or nfs kernel module is not part of standard ROMs anymore).

If your remote computer has a desktop environment, you could use a VNC client (there are a few available for Android). But remote applications are not designed to work with a touchscreen, and without keyboard/mouse.


Allowing my rooted Sanyo Zio to work with my Vista 64 computer I recently got my Sanyo Zio phone and I would like to upload my android programs that i coded earlier onto it. I installed the driver that I found on the website and then plugged in my phone and when prompted I located the usb driver folder. Yet the installation failed. I tried the same thing with a new driver i found for vista x64. The same problem reoccurred. (i found multiple drivers for both vista x64 and x84 and tried installing all of them) None of them have worked. I can access my phones SD drive no problem but i would like to upload my software from eclipse.

Because of the response I got from costumer service (locted below) I decided that I will root my phone if it allows me to upload my programs from my computer. Does anybody know of a rom that will work with vista 64 on sanyo zio.?

Anyone has any ideas??

Update: I have send a msg to the costumer service for my phone the response is quite upsetting

  Dear XXXXXX,

  Thank you for contacting Kyocera Communications Inc. This email message is in response to your email about the difficulty of installing the Sanyo Zio device driver in a Windows Vista 64-bit PC and in a Windows Vista x86 PC.

  We are sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing with your phone and appreciate the opportunity to assist you.

  Unfortunately the Sanyo Zio device driver will only work in your Window Vista x86 PC. If you are having difficulty installing the Sanyo Zio M6000 device driver in your PC, please try to download and install the Sanyo Zio SCP-8600 device driver.

  The Sanyo Zio will only work in your Windows Vista 64-bit PC if you set it as a mass storage device. To set it as a mass storage device, connect the USB data cable from your phone to your computer then from your Sanyo Zio just press "Mount".

  If you have any further questions, or are interested in purchasing, or information on accessories for your Kyocera Communications Inc. phone, please contact us at any of the phone numbers listed below:

  -E-Mail: phone-help@kyocera.com -Phone: (800) 349-4478 (Toll-free USA and Canada only) -Sanyo Accessories: (877) 204-1816 -Kyocera Accessories: KyoceraWeb@scp4me.com -International Access: (858) 882-1401 (Outside the USA) -Fax: (858) 882-1717

  Please help us improve our service by taking the survey. Click the link below:

  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VKK5RWC

  Thank you for contacting Kyocera Communications Inc. Ivan Technical Support Specialist

  Phone:
  Zip:
  Carrier: Cricket Wireless
  Feedback:
  I tried to install the usb driver on my vista x64 laptop. I then connect my phone and locate the driver but the installation fails. (i tried this with the driver for vista both the 64 and the x86 version)

Submitted via form: http://www.ziobykyocera.com/tech-support/

So any ideas on how to get my applications on my phone without installing the driver or how to install a driver anyways... Im kinda desperate :/

Update I have rooted my phone and I am willing to install a rom on it to make it connect with my computer. Will that help? If it would how would i go about doing that

Unfortunately rooting your phone won't change a thing, as the problem is on the Windows side.  If Windows doesn't have a way to communicate with the phone (ie, a driver), then it doesn't matter if the phone has a different ROM on it - the hardware is still the same.

However, if you package your apps as APKs you can upload them to the SD card and then click on them to install that way.  In Eclipse: right click on the project > Android Tools > Export Signed Application Package.  Follow the prompts and you're flying.


After completing download 100% from google play store app wont install. but after 3 to 4 hour it install itself. What could be the problem? After completing download 100% from google play store app wont install but after 3 to 4 hour it install itself. What could be the problem??

can't say exactly but might be your device having low internal storage or your internet connection was interrupted or your device was busy with may background process


Is there a way to use your voice to open apps in Android? Is there a way to use your voice to open an app in Android?

I would like to say the exact phrase, "Run GMail" and it starts the gmail app.

Yes, there is. At least for some app names it should work fine. You should start a voice search with the "Google App" and press the microphone button in it to speak and say "open application". I've tested trying to open a couple programs:

open gmail
open telegram
abrir caixa (Portuguese for open and a bank app...)
open just java

All of those worked and it is not limited to English. If you have a phone like a Samsung Galaxy, I think there is another app that lets you voice control, but I am not sure if it is worse/better than the Google App.

References: "Ok Google" voice search & actions and some testing by myself on Android 5


Can't install system update on Samsung Gear I've just gotten a Samsung Gear Live and I get a card for a System Update (I currently have KKV81). It says "Touch to install", however nothing happens when I touch it. I swipe left and select "Open" and I get asked "Download complete. Ready to install?" Again, nothing happens if I press the tickmark to install it.

There are a bunch of other minor issues, but I'm hoping the software update will fix them.

I've unpaired, re-paired, restarted, factory reset and just about anything else, but nothing seems to make a difference.

Any ideas what might be wrong?

I had the exact same problem. This is how I solved it:

Hold the button on the right hand side of the watch down until the screen goes off (about 10 seconds).
Release the button.
The watch "rebooted" and came up with system update message that said swipe left to install
Follow instructions on screen


Prevent a particular wi-fi spot from trying to connect automatically At my work, there's a "guest" wifi spot and one for employees.  The one for employees connects normally, but the guest one requires a log-in process each time, so obviously I just want to use the former.

This creates a problem, though, because sometimes my phone finds the guest network first, and so to get access I need to go to settings and explicitly tell it to connect to the same one.  Annoying.

I'd like to have my phone auto-connect to networks in general, but not to the guest network.  However, I can't find a setting option for autoconnect broken down by network.  Any ideas.

I'm on a Moto X with Android version: 4.4.4

Just long-tap that network on the list and click "Forget network". Android will only autoconnect to networks it has previously connected to and still remembers.


Does GPS require clear view of sky to lock satellites? I have been reading conflicting information about the GPS signal lock in the XDA Developers Forums.

Certain users say they have to be outdoor to get any lock in to satellites, others say they could lock in their home basement.

Which one is it?

GPS uses radio frequencies between 1 and 2 GHz (L1 signal at 1.57542 GHz and L2 signal at 1.2276 GHz).  These have to get through for GPS to work, which is not the same as visibility.

For example, my GPS (Garmin Etrex Legend HCx) gets a fix on the top floor of the house, below the roof made of tiles, insulation and drywall. It doesn't get a fix on lower floors, where there's too much concrete and steel in between.

BTW, I had a Motorola Defy for a while, if I remember correctly it also worked, but had a much lower precision, sometimes it was hundreds of meters off.


How to disable file extension check during incoming file transfers? I'm running CyanogenMod 10 on my Nexus 7. As with all other Android devices, for some reason Google thought it cute to check file extensions of incoming Bluetooth file transfers and reject them if they're not one of a handful of extensions.

In other words, a file called file.pem, file.xxx will not transfer via Bluetooth but file.zip or file.jpg will.

Is there something I can do on my rooted device to disable this silly file extension check?

You could use a workaround, compress your file as zip archive and then extract it on your Android Device.

I use AndroZip for it. As an alternative you could use a better Variant. Total Commander.


ICS Photo editor weird behavior I have just installed CyanogenMod and, while testing the Gallery and Photo editor apps, have noticed a very strange behavior. Whenever I try to apply some effects such as Lomo, Documentary among others, the Photo editor applies the effect only to a circle in the center of the image. The problem happens with any image from my gallery, no matter the resolution or the camera (back or front camera).

I have already rebooted the system, and have tried to "clear data" of the app. I have searched all the possible configurations and could not find anything related to this problem.

(The funny thing is that I tried an app called Photo Editor ICS, which is a clone of the original Photo Editor, and it worked fine. But I don't mean to keep using it, I expect that the original app works)

Try using Aviary instead.
It's an excellent photo-editor app with even more features than the default one, and it works for me, even when I flash experimental JB roms where the camera doesn't even work.

This is a strange problem, unique to your device, and you should probably report it on the CM forums.

HTH!


Can I use the same google account on 2 differnt Samsung G5 Phones? My husband and I are tired of multiple e-mail and accounts and would like to use the same Google account on both of our phones. Is this possible? This would also help us stream line contacts. I have not been able to find anything on-line about the account itself only in using the same Google play or how to set up seeing a Gmail account from another phone.

Yes, you can add the same account to multiple devices. You can even have more than one account on a single device. I personally use my Google account on my Verizon phone, 2 Wi-Fi tablets, 2 Wi-Fi phones, Google TV and several computers. All synced and works perfectly.

I'm going to expand on my answer a bit as it originally just said "yes" but didn't explain...

Yes, you can use a a single Google account on multiple devices. However, if you're looking to consolidate emails I would actually suggest still having separate Google accounts for each device to save settings and other personal preferences but then add the joint Google account just for shared email use. It's always good to have a "backup" Google account as Google's security features send alerts to other accounts. If you only have one account, someone can hack the one account and you would have less options for locking them out and getting it back.

To set up multiple accounts on your Android device, you would first set up your personal account as normal-- you probably already have this set up from when you first powered on your new phone and entered your Google account information. Then you can go into the phone's [Settings] and [Accounts] and press "Add account". On my Android 5.0 Lollipop, "Google" has a green dot next to it showing there is already a Google account set up, but you can just tap it again and add another Google account. Make sure when it asks to back up phone settings to decline-- keep that stuff separate and personal. Then, still under [Accounts], tap on the new account and change all the sync settings so just Gmail is synced (or anything else that you want to share- perhaps Keep notes or a shared Calendar).

That should do it. You can even go further by managing your labels in Gmail to filter messages by recipient and only show notifications when they're filtered to you. There are a lot of options to have it work pretty much any way you want.

Hope this helps!


How to transfer BlackBerry 9700 contacts to Android phone? I have a BlackBerry 9700 BOLD and a Samsung Galaxy SIII and I need to transfer as much of my contact info from the BB to the Galaxy SIII. I already know that if I save numbers on my SIM card they will be transferred but I can't save everything on it.

I read a lot of articles about using "Google Sync" app for BlackBerry to sync with Google's cloud and then back to Android again. But the problem is that I went there now http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/ and it seems they stopped BlackBerry support for Google Sync.

So my question is how to sync as much of my data from BlackBerry to my Android phone without using Google Sync?

Used RainbowContacts app for Android to connect to BlackBerry via Bluetooth and import contacts.


Can I perform phone tasks through a Windows 7 PC directly? As an developer and QA tester, spending hours on my Xperia Z1 Compact isn't too cosy. Therefore, messing around with android emulation software like BlueStacks, I run into compatibility problems, mostly GAPIs (Graphic Application Program Interface).

Therefore, I was wondering if there is a way to connect my phone to my Win7 PC with the USB cable, and have the phone do all the android processing, and all the PC will do, is enable USB keyboard and mouse as input devices for the phone, and an external monitor as the output device which the PC will boost the resolution from the phone into something that's a decent resolution on the monitor.

But I don't know if the USB poll rate on the Z1 Compact is high enough to deliver all that information both ways without too much latencity.

So, is this possible and is is already done?

What you want to achieve is nearly impossible.

You can get some approximations by using Airdroid app (lets you see your phone on the web browser from your desktop pc) or installing vnc server on your device and vnc client on your desktop pc, or using Pushbullet app. This last is used for notifications rather than absolute control, but you could give it a try


Odin not recognizing Galaxy Mini I'm having a hard time with my friend's Galaxy Mini which I agreed to flash.
I am a happy owner of S5360,I've flashed using odin before this is not my first try.
Installed and updated kies on a clean install of Windows 7 x64.
Windows detects the phone in download mode and installs the required driver.
The whole process is the same as with my S5360 phone the difference being the drivers that are installed.
Odin won't recognize Galaxy Mini.
The device currently gets stuck at "Samsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570l".I can access recovery mode and download mode.
Firmware I'm trying to flash: S5570XWKTN
Odin: 4.42 and 4.43, re-downloaded multiples times from multiple sources thinking it may solve the problem
Additional notes:

I've also tried this on my friends machine which has Windows 7 x86 installed.
Odin never recognized the phone even when it wasn't soft bricked.
At the moment I just want to make it usable.If there is any method can achieve that with or without Odin please reply.

The firmwares files you are trying to flash using ODin have bootloaders removed and they are for s5570 while you have s5570i.
You should download the firmwares that are specific to your phone from here http://www.sammobile.com/firmware/?page=3&t=1&o=1&m=GT-S5570I&r=1#modelsa1
Hope your problem gets resolved if it isnt till now...


Can I use my Mobile's wifi adapter in Desktop PC My desktop has broadband connection. But I do not have any wifi adapter. I want to use my cell phone's wifi adapter and wifi hotspot facility to make internet available for other systems. How can I do that?

It is possible but for that you need to use reverse tethering and then create a wifi hotspot.You can view this XDA thread for more information
PS:- Do you have a laptop? If yes, then you can use wifi hotspot apps to create a hotspot from your laptop


How to Make Spotify the Default Music Player in CM13? I cannot find any setting for the feature in Settings.
I want Spotify takes over the buttons' actions in the lock screen. So drawing the next symbol should play Spotify's song instead. I do not want to remove the built-in one (Eleven).

Phone: Oneplus 2
OS: Cyanogenmod 13
Related: How to set Spotify as default Music Player?

How do you want it "default"? Play music when clicked file in a file manager, or take over media button actions?

Maybe simply disable/remove the built-in one (Eleven)? Do note that Eleven is capable of playing music directly from file managers, and Spotify may not have this function.


Copy files from android device to windows 7 laptop using windows command I connect my android phone to my laptop.  I see computer\gt-19100 in windows explorer for the phone.  I wish to run a dos command to copy photos from the android over to a temp directory on my laptop.

I try

C:\Users\Me>copy Computer\GT-I9100\Phone\DCIM\Camera\20130702_083215.jpg C:\temp

I get:

The system cannot find the path specified.

You'll need Android Debug bridge to do that.

You'll find a tutorial for that here.


Cannot get to fastboot/bootloader menu on xiaomi mi5 I have forgotten pattern/passcode for my brand new Xiaomi Mi5. So, I need to do a factory reset to recover the access.

However, when I try to boot to the fastboot/bootloader menu (using power and volume keys, as instructed on other posts), it gets stuck at the screen showing the fastboot logo and a little white animal fixing the little android robot (which appears to be the fastboot logo). No menus are displayed for reset etc. It just doesn't go past this screen.

I've also tried installing the android SDK to try and run commands from PC command line, but -

a) I cannot find the commands

b) The device is not being recognised by the PC. But I'd rather just factory reset manually if possible, cause the SDK way looks complicated.

Can't you just use your google account to recover the locked phone?
Anyway, if not, keep the device on, the type in cmd adb devices

If the device is not displayed you should, in effect, flash a ROM, in order to use it again, if the phone asks for permissions give them to it and do adb reboot recovery

Then you can proceed to wipe the data


Get the list of downloaded YouTube offline video's title from another device Is there a way wherein I can see what YouTube videos I have saved offline on my phone on another device with the same Google account?

Is there a way to see a list of my saved YouTube videos?

Is there a way wherein I can see what YouTube videos I have saved
  offline on my phone on another device with the same Google account?

AFAIK the answer is No, and below is brief theory explaining why so.

When YouTube Download those videos for offline viewing, it basically store those videos on THAT device's internal storage. The location for those videos is something similar to below path.

  Internal
  storage/Android/data/com.google.android.youtube/files/Offline/(system
  generated folder name)/streams

There might be a minor change to this location or path on other Android devices, but all those downloaded files are saved as .exo files, in an Internal Storage of a device!

Those "offline" videos can only be played using official YouTube App, and those videos simply can not be played using any other Video/Media player application.

YouTube (means Google) controls the access to the offline file.

The permission is controlled on their server to access those downloaded files and Since they are part of specific device, you cannot access/view those using Google Account, from another device.

  Is there a way to see a list of my saved YouTube videos?

Yes, you can see the list of all offline saved videos on same device by 2 ways

As mentioned earlier, using the path from Internal store.
Through YouTube App itself. Open YouTube App, click on the right most icon(which looks like person/contact). Here you can see "Available Offline" section with Saved videos, click it to see all offline saved videos on your device


Odin and ChainFire on Samsung Galaxy S III I am using Odin and ChainFire on Samsung Galaxy S III i9300 to root it.
This device is bootloader-unlocked and can be rooted with Odin and ChainFire.
Could someone please explain in greater detail what the rooting procedure
does to the system files, ie., which files are changed and how these
files can be restored back to normal if needed? Also, how does a
root app exploit the fact that the smartphone is rooted? Of course,
it runs as root, but how does it tell the OS it is going to run as
root?

Thanks.

Rooting will add a few files to your system and will most likely remove the startup process that resets your recovery back to stock. The files it will usually add is the su binary, which is what will actually elevate your privileges, busybox, which will give you some basic command prompt commands, and a super user app, (usually either Superuser or SuperSU). Most stock ROMs have a file that is run during the bootup process that will reflash the stock recovery on every boot (for security). Most rooting processes will remove/rename/change this file to prevent your custom recovery from being overwritten.

Most rooting processes have easy ways to unroot. But essentially, you would just remove the files that it added and then flash your stock recovery back on the device. Many toolkits have an easy unroot option.

As to how an app can use root... when an app attempts to use the su binary, Superuser or SuperSU steps in and pops up a dialog asking you for permission to allow this app root access. You can approve or deny it and there is usually a checkbox asking if you want the Superuser/SuperSU app to remember your choice. An app is not able to get elevated privileges without you approving it through the Superuser/SuperSU app.


How can I configure Google Play so that it doesn't update applications when I'm using the phone? I'd like to configure Google Play so that it doesn't update applications when I'm using my phone (Samsung Galaxy S3) or tablet (Nexus 7).

Note that I still want to have the auto-update, but only when I'm not using the phone.

You can use an app for automating tasks, like Tasker,  AutomateIt, etc.

Here, for example, is a suggestion for a Tasker profile that enables auto update only when the device is plugged in for charging. You may be able to find an alternative trigger that better suits your needs, like screen off, etc.


How to decrypt storage for s4 How to decrypt storage for Samsung S4, there a password that I never do before, so how can I find the password, because I never make a password for decrypt storage before.

After you've enabled encrypted storage, the password is the same as your lock screen password.


Are device administrator permissions a security risk? I would like to use t-igra's SwipeLock+ app, but it requires device administrator permissions.

Google Play Store lists the following permissions:

receive data from Internet
view network connections
full network access
run at startup
draw over other apps
prevent device from sleeping
install shortcuts

Are any of these a security risk?

To answer your title, device administrator by itself is not a risk as it does not give extra privileges beyond what is mentioned in app manifest. See What permissions are granted to an app with device administration privileges?

Permissions are classified as normal, signature and dangerous.
See permission overview for more details. Note that these keep changing with Android versions. Create shortcuts for instance is a normal permission

More important than this classification is to know why those permissions are needed by the app. Last four mentioned by you are required by the app to be a lock screen app. As for the first three, I don't  know why they are required and it's best to ask the developer (note that reasons are not given in the app description). If you aren't satisfied with the reply don't install or install and block access using a firewall.

I am not implying developer here is posing a risk for you but  you should know why it is required - as you care and therefore are asking. For example, here is another screen lock app that doesn't need receive data from internet


Samsung Galaxy S5 turns on when fully charged and never turns off I just 'upgraded' from the Samsung Galaxy S4 to the S5. Both use similar Android 4.4.2 Touchwiz software, but the new one has some odd behavior. I set smart screen sleep (or timeout, how it's called) to on and put it to one minute. I do have the Developer Options revealed, but the "Stay awake" is not checked.

I'll describe some situations:

Phone unplugged, unlocked -> Sleeps after 1 minute idle.
Phone unplugged, locked -> Sleeps after 1 minute (or even less) idle, no matter if I have notifications or no.
Phone plugged in, unlocked -> Sleeps after 1 minute idle.
Phone plugged in, locked, manually woken up (pressing some button) -> Sleeps after one minute.
Phone plugged in, locked, woken up by some notification -> Rings, displays the notification, and never sleeps until I press the lock / power button.

I tried to minimize the problem by minimizing the notifications I get while it sleeps: turned off WiFi, blocked messages, etc. But there is still one problem. I charge my phone overnight. Plug it in at evening (22:00), at about 1:00 (night) it finishes charging. The "Battery full" notification appears, and also the popup saying "Close the charging cover for water protection" fires up. And after that, the phone does not timeout. And when I wake up, the phone is very hot. I bet it's not OK. And also, from my knowledge, static images burn into OLED displays. I really don't wanna break my phone by charging it at night.

What I have tried:

Restoring and leaving developer mode off.
Resetting to factory, twice.
Tried letting it on silent with and without vibrate.
Tried putting some apps to block notifications.
Tried changing all the power, timeout and sensors options.

Nothing stops it from lighting up and never lighting down at night, and overheating itself. Any ideas?

I am answering my own question, because i somehow solved it. I downloaded the Battery Doctor app (the one featured by Clean Master) and created a scheduled profile for night that has timeout set to 5. Also enabled 'charging screensaver'. It's ok now. Battery doctor takes over the TouchWiz uselsss popups and notifications, and forces it to stand by after 5 secs. It's all OK now :).

This is the app I am using: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ijinshan.kbatterydoctor_en&hl=en


Removed an Xposed module but still causing conflict I installed Disable Location Consent and have been having GPS issues where I cannot actually use High Accuracy mode so I removed this module but the problem still remains. Are there remnants of the modules modifications somewhere? How can I find them? I've already tried wiping Dalvik, Data, and Cache.

I had a similar problem where my SMS wouldn't send to my contacts. That day I had made a few modifications one included a Xposed module, I uninstalled the module and other modifications, but the problem persisted I resorted to restoring an old backup of my phone and the problem went away. I assume as our using a Xposed module your phone is rooted try restoring to a previous backup, it's always good practice to back up your phone before attempting any modifications. If you don't have a backup, then I'd suggest the only option is to restore your phone using Odin (If your using stock ROM) or to Flash a custom ROM


Phone stuck in bootloop and recovery not working TLDR: I wanted to root my LG G6 (H780) so I unlocked the bootloader, flashed TWRP, then SuperSU and now it's stuck in a bootloop and the recovery isn't working.

Unlocking the bootloader itself was as easy and gave me zero problems. Flashing TWRP was also easy however I did initially have a problem with it: it asked for a password to decrypt the storage even though (afaik) I had turned the encryption off. After some searching I found out that this might be a bug with the version that I used so I found a more up to date one for my phone. This time it didn't ask me for a password and I was even able to flash SuperSU. After flashing SuperSU I wanted to reboot my phone, and it's now stuck in a bootloop. If I try to go into recovery I get the 2 prompt that ask you if you are sure you want to delete all user data but after that, it just goes back into the bootloop.

I was wondering if anyone has any idea if there is even anything that I can do. I can't get it into recovery so I can't even use ADB (afaik). Thanks for your help.

I have seen other similar questions about this but I believe they are specifically for that phone.

I managed to start Download mode and use LG Bridge as shown in this video.

I wanted to try this before, but I wasn't able to get into Download mode. The time window to hold volume up and plug in the cable it pretty small.


How can I view and easily delete pictures? Could you advise me of some way to view pictures and easily delete some of them when viewing (with one or two taps)?

I'm using Android 2.1.


Getting "Storage space running out" message in Galaxy S4; *#9900# does not show any menu I have a Samsung Galaxy S4. I am getting the "Storage space running out" error message in my notifications bar, and some applications have quit working or updating. None of the usual solutions I've read about elsewhere on the site have helped me.

(Click image to enlarge)

The most common solution to this problem is to access a hidden menu by dialing *#9900#. When I try this, however, the menu does not appear:

Another common solution is to root the phone and delete /data/logs. Looking at what's taking up so much space on my phone, it does seem likely to me that the problem is my phone has lots of accumulated log files that aren't being deleted. I would rather not root my phone, however. I am happy with the functionality my phone has, even with bloatware and tied to my provider, and I don't want to take the time to root my phone for this one problem if I don't have to. =P

Finally, a third option I've read is to delete apps that are taking up a lot of space. I've attached a few screenshots below showing how my phone is using up space, though, and I believe that they show that my real problem is that there's something my OS is doing wrong, perhaps creating a lot of log files and not deleting them to save space. (Besides that, I've already tried deleting some apps I don't use often. The overwhelming majority of my apps don't take up much space at all, and the biggest space-wasters are also the apps I use the most and the reasons I have a smartphone.)

Is there another way for me to get back more storage space without rooting my phone?

If necessary, I'm willing to plug my phone into my computer and use developer tools to resolve this issue.

Here are a couple images showing that the biggest gain I could get for storage would be to delete some system files (which is why I'm guessing that the problem is accumulated log files). I have over 6GB that my phone categorizes as "Miscellaneous files:"

And of the files my Android includes in that category, over 6GB are generic "System memory" (again, I'm guessing logs) that, unfortunately, I can't interact with or delete from this menu:

Approach 1:
Many users have had the problem of "6GB of miscellaneous files". The problem might be because of /sdcard0/DCIM/.thumbnails.
You can go ahead and delete the folder. This may free up your memory. To delete .thumbnails folder, you need a file manager that can see hidden files. After deleting the folder, also delete LOST.DIR and reboot. Clearing apps' cache is recommended.
Approach 2:
This might be a Verizon carrier bloatware. Verizon customer support seems to confirm it (see reply #5 in this link). This problem is not just confined to Galaxy S4, but to other phones too (Note 2, Note 3 Galaxy S3 S4 S5).
Deleting  /data/media entirely seems to have worked for some (needs root access).
Alternatively, installing a custom recovery (eg: CWM) and choosing to delete all backups in the Internal SD seems to have solved the problem for many users.


Is it possible to force enable the battery saver mode in Android Lollipop? It is possible to automatically enable battery saver mode in Android 5.0 when the battery hits 5 or 15%.

However sometimes it would be nice to enable this mode by hand. e.g. when the battery is still half full.

Is this possible?

Yes it's possible. You can turn on the battery saver mode anytime.
Goto Settings -> Battery -> Battery Saver -> On

You can easily turn off anytime by opening the notification and selecting
TURN OFF BATTERY SAVER option.


Install WhatsApp on Android running under Virtualbox I've just installed Android using Virtualbox on Ubuntu, and now I want to install WhatsApp on it.

When I visit Google Play and try to install WhatsApp, it tells me that I have to associate a device via my Gmail account. When I'm connected, it's saying that I have to choose another device (because I've already installed it on my Nexus) but it doesn't list me the Virtualbox install as an option.

What's causing this problem?

I was able to install Android on Virtualbox normally but never got Whatsapp working on it, always errors and complications (Tablets are not supported, etc...). Finally I found the only solution that worked for me on a spanish website. NO SIM-card needed! Also beginners will understand!

Here's the way I did it:

Download Virtualbox for your system, install it...
Download Android with Whatsapp included Android_4.1.1_WhatsApp.ova.
This is a fully working Android version with Whatsapp already installed
If downloaded, open Virtualbox and

Select "File"-Menu
"Import Appliance..."
"Open appliance"
locate the downloaded "Android_4.1.1_WhatsApp.ova", select it and press "Open"
"Continue"
"Import"

Now you should have a Virtual Machine in vbox named "androVM_vbox86t_4.1.1_r4-20121002-gapps".
Select it and press "Start". A window with running Android will pop up, let it load, unlock it (if cursor doesn't work, disable in "Machine"-Menu the "Mouse Integration")

Your Android version will be in spanish language. With translate.google.com you will be able to select your own language in the settings menu in Android.
Whatsapp is already installed, just run it and type a number you can be called with... Follow the steps and there you go.

Hope I could help you, I'm German, apologize for bad english ;)


How to backup my symphony v50 rom without pc? I have a symphony v50 mobile. I can not go to
recovery mod when my phone was switched off.I was trying to go recovery mood by hold click
volume up+power buttons. But not go to
recovery. It goes to phone test function.
When I go to make a backup of my current rom
with rom manager i did not get the backup
option in the recovery mood. May I change the cwm recovery? If the
ans is yes please tell me how. Else how I can
make a backup of my current rom?

flash stock ROM that will fix ur v50 my phone is also v50


How do I set Google Latitude to auto-update with location regularly? When I use Google Maps it sets my Google Latitude location, but once I turn Maps off it stops. I'd like it to update with my location on a regular basis. I don't want to drain the battery by always using the GPS, but it'd be nice if it updated, say, every half hour or so.

I found this from the Google Mobile Help forum after a little searching. It's from 8/15/09 so I actually see something a little different on my phone Settings > Location > Google Location Services. I haven't tested it but hope it helps.

Quoting the site:

  Hi everyone, Apologies for not
  updating this thread specifically
  sooner. There is a new version
  available in Android Market (version
  3.1.2). Just search for "Google Maps" if you have at least the 1.5 system
  update (Cupcake) and install this over
  your current version of Maps.

  Please let me know if you experience
  background location updating issues
  with this version. As long as you have
  enabled automatic location detection
  in the Latitude privacy menu and have
  enabled location detection (Settings >
  Security & location > Use wireless
  networks), Latitude should update your
  location while your phone is on. This
  means your location should never
  appear older than ~1 hour to any of
  your friends.

  Thank you all for your patience! Chris


Creating a multipartition bootable SDcard manually I'm trying to create a bootable sd card for an embedded board from Android images for various partitions (bootloader.imx, boot.img, recovery.img, and so on). Each of these images has to be written to specific partitions on the sd card with various filesystem types. Using a traditional disk copying programs like Win32DiskImager only allows to write to the whole disk at a time. I can use dd to write the images to the partition, but I'm not sure how to actually create the partitions on the sd card which range in size from ~1 MB (for the bootloader) to ~800 MB for the system image

Is there a way to create these partitions (with size and offset information) and write individual .img files to each of these partitions? Thanks in advance for any help.

I recommend you to take a look at parted or gdisk tool for this. It allows to create partition from specific sector with desired size. Then you can use dd command to copy the .img into these partitions.

If you are looking for an partition app. for rooted device, you can try parted4android.  Disclaimer: I'm the dev.


Some applications seem to always stay open, even after I exit them. How do I close these? When I hold the Home icon down, several apps appear that I thought I exited - how do I actually close these?

The apps you see when long-pressing the "Home" button (or with newer devices, the "MultiTask" button with the two rectangles) are not the "currently active", but the "recently used" apps. With Android 4.0 and higher, you can simply swipe them out of that list -- which will not only remove them from the list, but also "kindly ask them" to close themselves.

For details on what happens with apps swiped out of this list, please see What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?