Android google play no connection error About a month ago my application updates ate all of the memory of my phone (samsung galaxy young), so I decided to uninstall, or disable and downgrade applications. I did this to google play as well. Now I need to install an application so I need google play. I enabled it, but it writes a "no connection / retry" message.

I restarted the phone many times, it did not help.
I installed the google+ application, which can log in to my account successfully, so I think there is no problem with the credentials.
One of the applications wrote me, that I have to update google play, but clicking on that link lead to the same no connection message. It has currently the version 4.1.10 (I guess I purged all the updates when I disabled it).
I cleared the data and the cache of google play.
I checked the date & time settings, they are okay.
There is no Freedom application on the phone.
There is only 127.0.0.1 localhost in the hosts file, nothing else.
I did not travel, I live in the EU, and try to access to the service from home.
I installed the google play 4.8.20 from here, and google play services 4.4.48 from here but there is no change.

I read about how to fix this error, but nothing worked for me so far, and I am sure I won't factory reset my phone... Any suggestions?

I feel your pain, this has happened to me. It's very frustrating. I tried clearing cache for apps, removing them using the application manager and a bunch of other unsuccessful attempts. The only thing that helped was a factory reset. Luckily I was able to backup my data prior to doing a full factory reset. I know you mentioned that it's something that you don't want to do. The only other option would be to root your device and flash your device with a new ROM - but doing this would essentially be a pseudo reset, so if this seems like a valid option, I would play it safe, backup and reset.

Also, you mentioned that you were able to read the host file? Do you see any specific URL's or IP addresses in the "hosts" file? If so, you want to clear anything that says Google play. Leave only the first two lines - which should be something like:

127.0.0.1    localhost
x.x.x.x:port*

Where x is variable and :port would be defined

I found a thread on XDA forums that might help - but it requires Root.

Tested FIX for Google Play Connection Error

Let me know if this helps.


Are Android chargers universal in terms of power (Voltage, amperage)? I would like to buy a car charger, wall charger and USB cables for my Samsung Intercept. However, $20 for a charger seems expensive and I want to avoid getting ripped off. The Samsung Intercept Manual doesn't show the specs for the charging port on the phone itself.

Can I use any Android charger with any Android phone? Does Google require Android manufacturers to follow a standard for charging the devices? Or do most Android devices follow their own proprietary standards. The form factors (Micro-USB, Mini-USB) and voltages (~5V) seem universal, but I'm more concerned about amperage. It's not unheard of for some chargers to ignore the USB 2.0 standard. Do some chargers try to force 3000 mA down the wire to supercharge their devices? If so, that could destroy a device which is intended to receive only 500 mA.

I can charge the my Android phone using a powered USB port on any computer. How many milliamps does this provide? I read that USB 2.0 will provide a standard 100 mA or 500 mA. Are there another standard amperes which are used for charging?

I found what appears to be a generic wall charger for any Micro-USB device. The product description doesn't say how many mA this provides, but from the comments it appears that this charger provides 950mA. Which this overcharge my phone?

Some devices use USBMicro, others use USB Mini. Like any device, it depends on the voltage that the device can take. But for the most part, AFAIK, as long as the charger is the same plug type (micro, mini, etc.) then yes it can work.

A lot of the chargers that use USB plugs output the voltage that a standard USB port would (between 4.75 and 5.25 volts). If this is the case, you will have no problems. The only issue, when you use USB to charge, it is usually a slower charge then using a wall charger.


If I charge my mobile from different charger what happens? My charger is lost so I am using a charger with an output of 5.5v and 0.6A. My real charger  gives an output of 5V and 0.7A. Will the other charger damage my phone?

No, it will not damage your phone. As long as it's a micro USB charger, it will be fine.

5.5V is fine, I've had success with 6 Volts from a homemade charger, and you won't meet voltages higher than 5.5V on a micro USB charger anyway. Extra Volts are dangerous, so it's good to be cautious but 5.5V will not do any harm.

The current rating (Amperes, A) does not count; if it's too low, the phone may charge slowly or not at all, but higher rated chargers will not do harm.


How to control the volume of an Android device from an iPhone? How to control the volume of an Android device from an iPhone?

You could use my free open-source and no-ad app, Web Remote Volume Control, I have made it myself to address this exact purpose, see my answer on this thread.
Full disclosure: I am the author of this free, ad-free, and open-source app.
You could instead use Teamviewer plus a slider widget (Teamviewer Remote Control on the iPhone, Teamviewer Quick Support on the Android device, and also a sound volume slider widget on the Android device), but this may not be free.
You could maybe also use Airdroid, but I think it is not free either.


backing up system image before rooting: please help I have a Samsung Galaxy S III i9300. On Windows 7 there is something called a
recovery partition which contains a full compressed image of the operating system
from which Windows 7 can be installed. On Android, instead, there is a recovery,
which as I understand it is a partition with a full micro-operating system
from which can be used to decompress an operating system from an image on
the sdcard and make it the current operating system.

What I want to ask is. I want to root my device. For this, I can use Odin 3
and ChainFire. Once the device is rooted will I be able to go back and
unroot the device? In order to do so I would like to save the program
which reinstalls the android operating system from scratch. Where is
this program. I want to back it up in case needed, I don't want to
lose it or customize it.

I can see my image on sammobile.com, but the download is slow if you do not
pay for the download, and I was unable to download the image.

If I install ClockworkMod as my recovery, I need to root the device first before
installing ClockworkMod, so when ClockworkMod overwrites the recovery, the old
recovery will be gone and I will only be able to restore the rooted version of
the OS. Plus, I will not be able to reinstall the old recovery as once overwritten
by ClockworkMod this old/original recovery will be gone. Is this correct?
What if I want to back up the unrooted version of the OS?

Thanks.

First, there is no such thing as a "full copy" of the system stored anywhere on the device, as it is with the Windows recovery partition you describe. Neither is there a "program which reinstalls the android operating system from scratch" stored on the device, so you could back that up (installation is always done via rom-flashing, which takes care of itself).

Second thing is a chicken-and-egg problem: in order to create a partition-image backup, you will need root access -- so you cannot do that backup before your device is rooted (and a custom recovery is in place to provide the necessary tools). But then you no longer can backup the original state, as that has been altered by the rooting process (and custom recovery installation). So the only way to have the "real stock state" available is to download a stock image.

However, the rooting process itself is reversible (see the unrooting tag). And with a full stock installation archive (including the recovery and everything), you should be able to restore the "pre-rooting" state. Not having a Samsung device, I can however not tell about any flash-counters which would let Sammy know what "dirty work" you did in between...


How can I physically remove the internal memory device from my Samsung Galaxy S2? My Galaxy S2 has recently died completely over night. It does not turn on regardless of which combination of buttons I try and how long I press them. I've tried with two different batteries, without a battery, SIM, no SIM and so on. It still seems to recharge the battery as it builds up heat when connected to a charger in the top left corner below the display side camera.

Since I'm certain it is beyond repair I've ordered a new phone and am now thinking about how to get to the stuff that was not on the SD card of the broken one, which I neglected to backup for a few month. I've been thinking about removing the memory device physically. No harm done if I break anything else as I consider it broken already anyway. Unfortunately, there are hardly any resources on the internet that I was able to find in that regard.

So my question is simple: where is the internal memory in the S2 and how can I rip it out?

I don't care if I break any other components as long as I get to that memory device.

This may not be as easy as you think. The eMMC is connected to the board with a Ball Grid Array (BGA) connection, which is pretty difficult to reconnect once removed.

You can see photos of the chip and more discussion on the topic on this XDA post.

As for where the chip is, you might be able to find it on some teardowns, but my eyes didn't catch it in iFixIts photos.


Using the same apps for a second user in Nexus 7 Possible Duplicate:
  How to migrate applications to other user account without downloading the applications again?

I've created a second user on my Nexus 7 for my wife.

Do I have to re-install common apps like Facebook and Skype for the second user?

Can I not just bring the apps across from the first user?

There are multiple possibilities with Android 4.2. The "board methods" are, as already explained in other answers: Every user has to install each app he wants to use (aside from the pre-installed ones) -- but they will be downloaded only once. Now, if one user updates the app, it will be updated for the other user(s) as well (which might get a bit problematic if one user does not want a certain app to be updated -- but that's up to the users to make clear).

If root is available on the device, some other interesting options pop up -- for which you might want to take a look at:

How to migrate applications to other user account without downloading the applications again?

With root, you can share apps (not data, of course) among users without the need of re-installation using Multi-User App Share, which even is reported to (partially?) work with paid ones.


Lg volt freezing on home screen Recently my LG Volt has started to freeze on my home page when I turn my phone back on.  Will not open when I swipe or tap.  I have to do a power off-restart in order to get it to work, and sometimes I have to do this several times before the swipe function will respond. I've tried removing the battery but even this only helps for a short time.  Any suggestions on a fix or has anyone else experienced this?

Since you confirmed it's the launcher, this isn't too bad of a fix.

Open settings, go to apps, then swipe to all. Scroll until you find an app called Laucher. This is actually your home screen.
WARNING! This will erase your home screen. Take screenshots if you want to put it back to the way it was!
Clear the cache and data of the app.
Restart your phone. If this fixes it, congrats! Otherwise, you can try downloading a new launcher from the Google Play Store or factory reset the device.


How to take screenshots from a generic ICS 7" tablet? I want to know how to take a screenshot on a generic Ice Cream Sandwich tablet? I believe this certain model is called the XTOUCH X708S. I already tried pressing power button + volume down and it just does its respective functionalities without taking any screenshots. The owner isn't very literate when it comes to Android devices so she doesn't know how to either.

Hold down the back button for 3 seconds. Still holding the back button press the power button once and release both buttons.


Removing an app protected from uninstall by password and with System Owner permissions? I want to ask, if there is a way to remove an app that is protected from uninstall by password and has Device-administrator permissions granted?
I am using an LG L90 phone with android 5.0.1 L (NOT ROOTED) Apparently it has a safe mode, as 1 year ago I accidently booted into it.

So here is the story what happpened:
I am developing an application that is supposed to limit access to for example work phones. It is password protected from uninstall, and I am regularly testing it on my phone. But in the most recent version, a bug slipped in which broke SHA256 hashes and caused passwords to be not recognized by the app, which means that I have locked myself out of games and youtube. Is there a way to remove this application? (Keep in mind that it has device administrator permissions and pops up with lock-out screens when on the "App uninstall" screen).

If the safe-mode thing could help, how would I boot into it?

Of course you can uninstall from the safe mode. Disable the authorization in the Device Administrator first.

Step for booting in safe mode:

From any screen, press and hold the Power key.
Touch and hold Power off. Review the 'Reboot to safe mode' screen,' then tap OK.
The device should restart in safe mode and 'Safe mode' will appear in the lower-left.
Uninstall the app that is causing a problem.


Android 8 confirmation before restart Is it possible to configure Android 8 to ask for confirmation before powerdown/restart? Is that option manufacturer dependant?

Android does not offer this feature by itself (barring restart confirmation after applying system update).

It is possible that OEM customized ROMs or custom ROMs provide this feature. If you're device is rooted, it is possible - one way I am aware of is using GravityBox Xposed module


Tasker Shortcut Icons & Names Revert Back to Default After Every Reboot All my custom Tasker shortcut icons get changed to the default Tasker icon and all the shortcuts' names got renamed to "Tasker" after every reboot no matter how many times I got them changed.

I have a rooted S3 running on Android 4.3 TouchWiz.

What should I do to fix this?

Thanks in advance.

Is Tasker installed on the SD card? I've seen that issue with other apps where some resources don't load. Try moving to internal storage.


What is covered by "Encrypt phone"? On Ice Cream Sandwich (CyanogenMod 9), Under Settings > Security there is an option to "Encrypt phone". I understand that this will require me to provide a PIN whenever I start up my phone. But what wasn't explained was if it covers the micro SD data as well?

I want to make it so that in case my phone gets stolen, the thief won't be able to simply get my micro SD card and pop it in to a card reader and view its contents, some of which may be sensitive.

Encrypt phone only encrypts the /data partition.

Encrypting the SD card is a separate function and isn't implemented in stock android.  Some manufacturers (I know Motorola and Samsung do) extend the encryption (optionally.  Where you find "encrypt phone", you'll also find an "encrypt SD card" option) to the SD card.  I can't determine whether cyanogenmod implements such a function or if it may be device-specific.


Improving Location History Accuracy I'm looking at creating a desktop application to track a number of vehicles using Google Location History and the Google Maps API.

Looking at the accuracy of the feed during a trip to Liverpool - it seems that while the general journey outline is broadly speaking correct, the finer details of the journey are inaccurate. The position can be anywhere up to half a mile out.

The implication here is that GPS isn't used. From Google Support,

  How often Location Reporting updates your location data isn't fixed. Frequency is determined by factors like how much battery life your device has, if you’re moving, or how fast you’re moving. Location Reporting will only use cell ID or Wi-Fi location detection depending on your device."

Is there any way to make the device make use of GPS for this to improve accuracy? Alternatively, are there any more accurate alternatives Google provides?

More accuracy is technically achievable, but at a cost. Keeping GPS turned on and recording positions more often draws power, making the battery run down more quickly. That wouldn't be appropriate for something that always run in the background like Google Location History, but there are other location tracking apps (such as running apps) that let you choose your own trade-off between accuracy and battery life.

You might even be better off making your own Android client, so you have full control, and can set up everything just right for your situation. Since this is a site for end-user questions, not programmers, we can't help you any further with that side of things.


How to access Android APKs without rooting I recently bought a 7" Android ICS tablet as a gift for a friend.  Unfortunately it's not a Store supported device, so I can't download from the Store.

There are a number of sites that allow you to download APKs, but most of the apps I want to download aren't available on them.  I have a 10" tablet that IS supported and has a large number of the apps I want to provide to my friend.  Is there any way to get at the APKs on the 10" tablet (without rooting it) so I can copy them to, and install them on the 7" - using the provided app installer?

You can use an app like App Backup & Restore. It allows you to select which apps you want to backup and it copies them to your SD card.


Is there a way to white-list an app (web browser) so Froyo 2.2 memory manager does NOT kill it? One of my biggest pet peeves with Android (due to heavy use of my Droid X for reading web pages) is the fact that it can kill ANY application it wishes when doing its automated memory management. Especially, the fact that it usually starts by killing the stock browser as opposed to other less useful apps.

More specifically, if I:

have multiple tabs open in Android's native browser (or even a single tab with some state in it, such as Google Reader)
and then switch to some memory hogging app(s), e.g. some heavy game from Glu or Google Maps/Navigation
Then, Android memory manager decides to kill my browser to free up memory (as opposed to, say, such critically important processes like Google Play or media player which I don't want)
Which, due to Froyo's stock browser not preserving its session state, loses all the open tabs I had, as well as in-tab state (e.g. which Google Reader article was open).

Is there a way to white-list an app (web browser) so Froyo 2.2 memory manager does NOT kill it?

System: Droid X with stock Froyo 2.2 ROM, rooted.

AFAIK, you can't.

But, you can customise when to kill background apps (not selective app) by tweaking MinFree values set by Android (root is required for tweaking). If you have problems dealing with it, there are many apps in Play Store for that. My fav is AutoKiller Memory Optimizer.

And, when foreground app and/or kernel runs out of memory, killing background apps can't be prevented. It's because foreground apps and kernel are more important than background apps. Probably, you'd not be wanting to crash device to preserve your web browser in background.

Update:
Another approach is to create/increase swap memory in device. There are apps for this purpose too: Swapper (by dario) and Swapper 2 (by Elviss).


How to create a guest account on Android phones? I want to create a "phantom account" or "guest account" on my smartphone Android to let other people accessing and using my phone without needing to enter the fingerprint pattern, on the one hand, and avoiding at the same time the risk that others can access my personal info, as far as I'm logged into my accounts (WhatsApp, messenger and so on).

Whoever accesses my system through a "guest account" would be able to connect to the internet, modifying settings and switching gps on, etc., but wouldn't be able to access my personal data and apps.

I'm focusing on something similar to what happens on Windows when you configure some anti-theft softwares (see ->  https://help.eset.com/antitheft/en-US/issue_no_fakeuseraccount.html).

I wonder: given that it's possible to create a phantom account on Windows, may I obtain something similar on Android too, to protect my privacy while I want to let others to use my phone?

U P D A T E - - - - - -

I read right now that Asus had removed Guest Mode on all Android Marshmallow firmwares. Can you suggest any way to bring on the above mentioned feature?

Guest is a built-in feature as of from Android L (5.0).

It's in Settings -> Users -> Guest Mode

Pros:

Guest data is isolated and gets wiped every time G Mode is disabled (device returned to owner)
Guest has limited access to existing apps, and the access is configurable

Cons: Unknown

And here's Google Support link provided by Firelord.


What's the "MTC Мобильная Почта" update on my Samsung Galaxy? What's the wierd looking update that's just turned up on my Samsung Galaxy phone?

"MTC Мобильная Почта" by "OJSC Mobile TeleSystems".

The review section has lots of one-star comments saying its malware etc, but I'd have thought actual malware would look more like something I'd want to install than something wierd in Russian.

Should I be worried? Is this malware or some perfectly normal component buried in the OS that's somehow found its way into public view? Should I install the update?

I did some searching due to the other answer and found someone on XDA claiming that this is a Market/Play bug, and you're seeing it because the Market thinks one of your apps is actually that OJSC Mobile app.

Even better, I found this just-published story on The Verge:

  Samsung has several pieces of software that it installs on it devices but that aren't in the Google Play store (for obvious reasons). However, every single Android app has an app name that identifies it on the Android system, in this case the "unique" name is com.seven.Z7, which identifies Samsung's email app. What appears to have happened is that Russian developer OJSC Mobile Telesystems gave that unique identifier to its "МТС Мобильная Почта" app, and so these Samsung devices were tricked into thinking it was an update to Samsung's email client. Since Google Play allows for automatic updating of all apps, it was installed on many devices.

I couldn't find the app in the Play Store anymore, so perhaps Google has taken it down to resolve this.

Below is the original version of this post, which would still be applicable in more normal circumstances.

If it's a system app for supporting Cyrillic text, which is what it sounds like, it could hardly be called malware.  Crapware, perhaps, if you don't need it.

If you don't need it, then no need to update (unless you want to be rid of the notification, though in that case I recommend rooting and removing the app).  No reason not to update either I'd say — you already have it on your device, so unless it's doing something nasty in the new version in particular then you've already been exposed to any dangers it may contain :P.  Of course, updating will require more space on your device unless you are rooted and can entirely replace the original version with the update (normally the system keeps all original versions of system apps).


Move saved YouTube videos between devices Is it possible to move the saved/downloaded exo YouTube files (downloaded with the YouTube app) between devices to avoid having to download them again on other devices? If so, how?

I am afraid to say this but moving videos between devices is not supported, Yet, AFAIK.

Here are few technical details.

When user download those videos, using official YouTube app, Android saves those videos on Internal storage(and not on external store such as sd-card)of the device. The path can be something like below:

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

If you can go to that location, you will find that, all those downloaded files are saved as .exo files.

Since these .exo files are supposed to be system files, these are usually filled with System info(in another words, the device info) into it. Also, those downloaded videos are encrypted and the video file is split into chunks of .exo files.

Hence not only they can be played on the same device, but they can only be played with Official YouTube app.

  You can not play these downloaded videos using any Other Media player.

You may want to check the links related to YouTube offline feature here and here for more information.


Can I open Whatsapp backup messages from Nokia C7 on Android phone? I have a backup files from older phone (Nokia C7) where Whatsapp is not supported anymore. These files are stored in data/wa: MsgStore.bak.1, MsgStore.bak.2, MsgStore.bak.3, and I have there very important message which I would like to open it again. So I was thinking if it's possible to install Whatsapp on Android phone, add those backup files in storage and recover it back to readable state.

It's not possible as explained here Whatsapp backup: Unable to move from windows phone to android

You can try the PC software or other methods mentioned here 4 Ways to Transfer Data from Windows phone to Android for Free


How to access Remote Desktop from Android 2.1? Suppose I am developing my application in WPF, for windows 2008 R2, and the tablet will be running Android in a LAN with Wi-Fi, and I would like to try to use the existing .net technology via RDP on the Android Emulator.

How to install Remote Desktop Client on Android 2.1?

Try PocketCloud on the Android Market. It's free for one PC connection.


Changing Google Play country: Are there any side-effects when it comes to available apps? The question of how to change your Google Play country has been asked over and over. However, it's not clear whether this has any (unwanted) side-effects when it comes to apps, and especially those with region restrictions.
Some possible issues that come in mind:

What happens with any free country-specific apps you have installed in the country you currently use? Will they cease working? Will they cease receiving updates?
What happens with any paid country-specific apps you have installed in the country you currently use?
Is it possible for an app to have different country-specific versions in two countries? What happens then?
Can you change back your country any time you want, or is there a limit on how often you can change it?

This may seem like a dumb question, but I have heard some horror stories from friends who changed country in Apple App Store, only to find content they had purchased inaccessible. So I don't take the safety of this operation for granted.

I did this when I moved across countries - the apps are unaffected. If you had apps which are available in the earlier country then you can continue updating and using them. The only downside is that if you have credit in your account, then that doesn't appear in the new country. You can still use the credit if you change your play store country back to the old one.


Fire Tablet FreeTime sometimes takes a long time to start an app Once every few days when my kids go into their account (FreeTime), none of the apps work right away. You'll tap/click to start running a game and the icon turns this like teal color, it waits a minute or two then it appears to either download or install something because a yellow progress bar shows up under the icon. It does this for every single app. The download/install process seems to queue, too.

If I go in directly into an adult's profile, this never happens (even while it is "downloading" in the kids profile). All apps work immediately.

Why does it do this?

Referring to a similar case posted on Amazon forum, this happens when the device has low storage.

First, check the device's storage

  To access your "Storage" on the kindle follow these steps:

  Swipe down from the top
  Click on Settings
  Device Options
  Click on Storage

  From there you can see how much storage you have left and how much storage your books/games/apps etc are using.

Next, remove corrupted download,

  It sounds like it might have been a corrupt download. Please try long pressing on the icon and "Remove from Device" then do another hard restart. But this time, please hold the power button down for 40 seconds (regardless of when the screen goes black.) Then try to redownload the application.

If it doesn't work, then try to free up some space,

  I had the same issue with my daughter's fire and I think it is related to storage. It's almost as if the app doesn't have enough room to download so it fails, but it never provides a message that there is a storage problem. One of the previous suggestions was to select "Remove from Device" and do a hard restart, but that is not an option (only "Remove from Carousel") which leads me to believe that it does not fully download. A hard restart also did nothing to help. I removed the app from the carousel, then removed a bunch of apps, and restarted. The problem was resolved. Now whenever her Fire starts acting glitchy I reduce her apps and make sure she has plenty of storage.

Or alternate method to clear FreeTime's apps data

  From your kid's freetime account pull down from the top of the screen. Choose "settings" (you will have to have the password to move on)
  Choose "storage" from the options listed
  Choose apps, from the list
  Select All (button or choosing each app checkbox individually)
  At the bottom, click the "remove" button. This clears the stored version of the app data (and possibly the app itself). It does NOT delete the app from your Amazon account or cloud.
  Back out of all the settings and go back to the apps page (where your child would start the app they want to play.)
  While you have internet access, click on any (or all) of the apps one at a time to download a new clean version of the app from the cloud.


How can I get the Android app store on the kindle fire? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I get the Android Market installed on my Kindle Fire?

How can I get the Android app store on the kindle fire?  Google searches for the solution seem to find S.E.O. fud from Amazon.com.

To do this, you'll need to root your Kindle Fire. To do that, you'll need to follow the procedure created by Justin Case at Android Police.

Once that's through, you've got to install the Android app store, along with all the other Google stuff it needs. You'll find those instructions here.

With that, you'll be all set. Good luck!


How to avoid Clash of Clans update and go right into the application? Whenever I open Clash of Clans, it gives a popup saying,

  Update is available!

  Good news! A new version of the game is available

There is no cancel option. No matter if I click the back button or tap outside the popup, it always leads me to Play Store page.

How do I avoid update and continue playing?

Bad news: For some apps, especially games, you are not allowed to play without updating it -- especially if it is connected to the net.

You will not be able to legally bypass this restriction.


What does waiting/clock icon next to a message mean and what if I delete message in this state? When my device is not connected to any network (WiFi/Cellular data) and I send any message, I have seen a waiting/clock icon next to that message.

So what exactly does that mean? Is that message added to a queue for next batch process to inform server or something else?

And during that state (waiting/clock icon next to message) if I delete that message, will that deleted message still be delivered to the recipient?

Actually, I mistakenly sent a message to one of my contacts and luckily that time I was not connected to any network. After a few seconds when I realized this, I deleted that message. But I am not sure if it got deleted completely or it will get delivered when I reconnect to any network. I don't want that message to be delivered to the recipient, so I had disabled all networks on my device.

The Clock icon means that you haven't sent the message yet. If you see a single tick mark it means that you have sent the message and it has been received by the WhatsApp server(but not the destined user)
If you see a double tick mark, that means the message has been received by the recipient too.

If a message has a single tick with it, it can't be stopped from getting to the user. But if you sent a message when offline and deleted when the phone was offline I don't think the message will reach its destination.


HTC One M7 won't update My HTC One M7 has been notifying me about a new update (v 7.18.111.35, Android Security Patch for libstageFright) for the past few months. And every time I try to install it, this is the result:

All I can do is reboot and the phone operates as normal.

It's not rooted, not modded in any way and I did a data wipe/factory reset about a week ago, but still it won't install.

My carrier is T-Mobile (although I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it)

Does anyone have experience with this?
And maybe have a solution?

Yes. The Installation Aborted:Status 7 error indicates an assertion fail during execution of the updater-script binary inside OTA file. This can be due to one of 2 things:

The OTA zip itself is corrupted (bad download). This then indicates a signature mismatch error.
The updater-script could not find the appropriate properties in your system during execution. This means that the updater-script checks for some particular values in your build.prop, which allow it to confirm that it is being installed on the system it was meant to be installed on. The updater-script has assertions, a kind of safety mechanism (or exception handlers, if you prefer). to verify this. This indicates an incompatible system software version versus OTA zip.

In both cases, you would be better off redownloading and double checking the update(checking the checksums if any are provided), or manually updating via adb sideload (Recovery Mode option Apply update from ADB), Recovery Mode option Apply update from SD card, or using an HTC RUU or fastboot.


Android Honeycomb Stock Email Font I'm using the stock email on Android 3.1 (ASUS Transformer) and I've configured my corporate email.

I need to know if it's possible to change the font used when creating or replying to emails. The font used, whilst nice enough, is a little too large.

Whats worse is when I view those sent emails in Windows 7/Outlook 2010, it gets rendered as Times New Roman.

My understanding is that the stock e-mail app sends mail in plain text only -- not HTML. Thus whatever client receives the message will render it in a default font for plain-text messages. For Outlook, that's apparently Times New Roman. (Courier New is another possibility.)

So your question might actually be "Can I send HTML e-mail from the stock Android app?"


How can I use a CyanogenMod theme with a stock rooted Galaxy S III? I'd like to make this my phone theme https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ramazor.theme.freedea&feature=more_from_developer

But it seems to require me changing my phone over to Cyanomod or something of the like. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, but I do already have root access via SuperSU and was wondering if there might be another way to go about using this theme.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999.

You cannot. The Cyanogen theming engine is specific to CM and derivative ROMs.

Samsung stock ROMs have Touchwiz UI, which is a proprietary layer. Theming CM to look like Touchwiz, or creating mashups would be easier because of CM's open nature. Some carriers might give packs, like Sprint (source).

You can install a different launcher and install themes on it, of course. Go Launcher, for one, has  many themes.


How to play audio during games When I switch from audio playback to a game the audio playback stops and the game audio starts.

How to prevent that? How to keep the audio playback and mute the game?

In partcular while using a Bluetooth audio connection.

Simple, just turn on the audio from your music player,  and in the app, mute the sounds in it. Although you may keep the in-app sounds if you wish, they may interfere with your audio


Turn off Wi-Fi Power Saving? Is there a way to turn off wi-fi power saving mode on Android, i.e. have the wi-fi radio stay on at all times?  I'd rather have a stable, low-latency wi-fi connection and slightly less battery life than a flaky wi-fi connection and longer battery life.  In other words I'd like to enable constant active mode for my wi-fi.

EDIT:  To clarify, I'm talking about the millisecond time scale power saving mode that's part of the wi-fi standard.  This is where the radio wakes up on every beacon, not the minute time scale power saving where wi-fi is disabled completely.

Settings -> Wireless and network -> Wi-Fi settings -> (Menu) Advanced -> Wi-Fi sleep policy -> Never.


How can I re-enable my keyguard? When I first got my Droid Bionic, if I pressed the power button on the top it would lock the screen; pressing it again would display the keyguard, requiring me to slide to unlock. I had it configured so that if I pressed the power button in less than 5 minutes from the time the screen went off, I got the keygoard and then was able to use my phone. If I pressed the power button after 5 minutes past when the screen turned off, I had to enter my PIN.

On my new Samsung Galaxy SIII, the behavior is not the same. It's acting like my Bionic did for a short period, which was resolved by updating the Bionic to Android v1.4.2: If I press the power button less than 5 minutes after the screen turns off, then I am right into the phone, with no keyguard and susceptible to pocket dialing or deleting.

The behavior I want is:

Power button turns the screen off
If the screen is off for less than 5 minutes, power button activates the "swipe to unlock" screen
If the screen is off for more than 5 minutes, power button requires a PIN to access the phone
If the screen is off, something should be required to get back into the phone, either "swipe to unlock" or a PIN. I should never be able to get back to the last app/homescreen without doing one or the other (or both) to prevent pocket dials or accidental UI actions.

Settings I currently have set under Settings > Lock Screen:

Screen Lock: Secured with PIN
With Swipe Lock: Enabled
Lock Automatically: 5 Minutes
Lock instantly with power key: Off (On requires PIN immediately after power key. I want the swipe, and PIN after 5 minutes)

How can I restore the functionality where the keyguard (swipe to unlock) activates instantly but the PIN lock activates only after 5 minutes?

This function is also referred to as the "keyguard." Most of the phones that I have had do not allow you to toggle this on and off in the settings.  Clearly something, possibly another app, toggled this off.  I use Tasker to manipulate this setting.  You may need to be rooted to do this but you can enable or disable they keyguard manually or programatically.  There are also third party apps for toggling the keyguard.  They are usually advertised as ways to disable the keyguard but they slice both ways.  Depending on what disabled your keyguard in the first place, you may only need to use this solution once.


What exactly are DRM keys? I was thinking of unlocking my ST17i's bootloader but I saw on the Sony Mobile website that unlocking the bootloader will result to the deletion of DRM keys from my phone. What exactly are they? And what will be affected if I lose the said "DRM keys"?

DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management", and mainly is used with sold eBooks/PDFs and the like (and also for sold music files plus maybe even videos). Those keys are to identify your ID as to prove if you have permission to access those documents. If you never bought any of those "crippled" documents, chances are you don't have to bother.


How to mimic tilt & shake controls in BlueStacks? I am running BlueStacks (beta-1) on an old Windows laptop which doesn't have accelerometer & gravity sensor.

Many Android games support physical key mapping using which I can use physical keyboard of my Laptop to play Android games. If a game doesn't support key mapping, I can still play it.. not always effectively, but I can play it. Tap, long tap, swipe is fine with mouse.
When it comes to tilt & shake controls, many games like Ripetide GP allows to switch to touch-based controls. The problem arises when tilt & shake controls are mandatory. For example, I can't play Temple Run after few meters because of that.

How to mimic tilt & shake controls?

Update:
My laptop features free-fall protection which I guess utilises some kind of accelerometer. I don't know how accurate it is in non-linear dimension, but can it be utilized with BlueStacks?

For tilting, from: Bluestacks Goes Into Beta, Supports More Apps

The latest version of Bluestacks also offers accelerometer support. No, you won’t have to tilt your computer to use it, just hit the arrow keys – the up arrow tilts forward, the down arrow tilts back toward you, and the left and right arrows tilt left and right (surprise surprise).

Unfortunately for shake as of from four months back, from: Need to shake the "phone" how i do this ?

This functionality is not available with current version of Bluestacks app player.
Stay tuned for future version with its fix.


Moto G5 Plus: Can you use a different USB cable (with the original charger) for charging? I know using a different adapter than the original one can cause problems later on, but is that the same for charging (USB) cables?

This guy here says it's fine

It's perfectly fine as long as the cable supports charging and not data only
For help on choosing non OEM cable see my answer here How to choose micro USB cable for my device?
My wife has the same device and it works perfectly fine with cable recommended above (or any other cable that supports charging)

Edit: If you are wondering if they support turbo charging - yes they do. Verified on my previous device Moto X Play and my wife's G5plus. Search for cables that support fast charging as they are usually thicker and more efficient


How can I copy Program Files/Bluestacks folder to another drive? The Bluestacks folder is now 5GB large and is taking up too much space in my C:\ drive, so I decided to move it to my D:\ drive. But, when I do that, Bluestacks says the software is corrupt and I need to redownload Bluestacks from their website.

What can I do to change the location of Bluestacks?

You should use a directory junction.

Close Bluestacks
Move C:\Program Files\Bluestacks to D:\Bluestacks (for example)
Open a Command Prompt
Run mklink /D /J C:\Progra~1\Bluestacks D:\Bluestacks


Are there any ways to prevent 'com.htc.bg force close' issues? I have a HTC Legend, and on occasion, I get an error "Process com.htc.bg has stopped unexpectedly".

According to other forums, this could be caused by issues with internet connectivity relating to updating Facebook contacts.

I have removed the syncing of Facebook all together (only syncs when I force it to), but I am still getting these errors.

Has anyone else worked out what is causing these issues, and how to resolve it? The processing crashing is usually just a popup, the process restarts ok without any issue, but on occasion the entire thing locks up, restarts, or the home screen reloads (as if coming from a restart)

I have also experienced this problem with an Exchange account.  My solution was to remove the account completely and re-add it.


TWRP recovery logo blinks in nexus 9 I have an unlocked nexus 9 (WiFi version) on which I upgraded to android N. Now I want to have a root access on it. I tried to flash twrp recovery 3.0.2 using fastboot,

fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0.2-0-flounder.img

but then when I try to get to recovery mode I see the logo of TWRP blinking again and again but can't access recovery mode. I tried flashing version 2.8 but then the device is encrypted and I don't want to wipe it.

How can I fix that?

You have a version that's not compatible with N. Support for N just released yesterday (local time), get it while it's hot: dl.twrp.me


Using the same Skype number on computer and phone I have a Skype account on my computer. I have a need to have the same number on my cell phone.  What do I need to do?

Install Skype application for your phone
Login using your Skype ID & Password (which you are using on your system).


Missing storage on Tesco Hudl 2 I have a Tesco Hudl 2 running Android 4.4.2. I have 9GB of total storage. But little free, despite not using much.

It shows a few GB in-use and 0.5GB free. The usage bar shows 80% available, but the table shows 581MB available. I used to have many apps installed, now there are fewer apps, and no room for more.

Total space 9.12GB
    Avalable 581MB
    Apps 1.58GB
    Pictures 12.46MB
    Audio 496kb,
    Downloads 35.61MB,
    Cached data 59.51MB
    Misc 113MB

That is less than 2GB in-use, and 9GB - 2GB = 7GB ≠ 0.5GB

I have no idea what has happened to the rest of the memory. Can you tell me how to fix, or diagnose?

Note: I have read insufficient-memory wiki.

It has 16GB of internal storage, and according to various websites I should only see about 9GB of this. The storage tool shows about 9GB of total storage.

As requested, I ran Diskinfo & DiskUsage. DiskUsage shows System data of 6782 MiB, this appears to be the problem, but what is system data, and why so much?

Diskinfo:

--------------------------
 Internal Storage (MMC)
--------------------------
 * Cache [mmcblk0p11] (/cache) [ext4]
   Used: 87.6 MB, Free: 1.4 GB, Total space: 1.5 GB
 * System [mmcblk0p13] (/system) [ext4]
   Used: 1.3 GB, Free: 761 MB, Total space: 2 GB
 * Data [mmcblk0p15] (/data) [ext4]
   Used: 8.8 GB, Free: 582 MB, Total space: 9.4 GB
--------------------------
 SD Card
--------------------------
 * SD card [mmcblk1p1] (/mnt/media_rw/sdcard1, /storage/sdcard1) [vfat]
   Used: 253 MB, Free: 29.5 GB, Total space: 29.7 GB
--------------------------
 Memory
--------------------------
 * RAM
   Used: 1018 MB, Free: 862 MB, Total space: 1.8 GB

DiskUsage:

Storage card: 9342 MiB
    apps: 1245 Mib
        …
    media: 734 Mib
        …
    System data: 6782 Mib
    Free space: 581 Mib

I've got the same situation on my HUDL2.
8Gb of space lost in a black whole.
I did a web search and found one page where a user had the same problem. They had eventually rooted their HUDL2 and found this file "/data/IntelCPHS.log" taking up the missing space.
It's in the /data directory so it's protected and all I can do is list the size with a terminal emulator. It also doesn't show up in disk utilities because of the protected directory it is in.
I did a "ls -l /data/IntelCPHS.log" and found it was taking up nearly 8Gb.
Without rooting all I could do was a factory reset to remove it.
The only thing I've found that causes the file to grow is the All4 app. If I don't view anything with that the IntelCPHS.log stays nice and small.So not a solution but maybe a workaround.


How do I set a default application that gets used without enquiry? Say I've got that app that allows me to make phone calls over my private WiFi network (FRITZ!App Fon if that matters).

Every time I'm going to make a call, Android asks me which application to use: the (system) phone app or the FRITZ! app. Usually, it's no problem to pick one of the two, but it is problematic when driving: with my Bluetooth equipment, I'm able to start a call without taking the hands off the steering wheel. Better: I would be able. Because every time I'm going to start a call, I have to select which app to use.

So I have to pick my phone, unlock it (while driving) and select the app to use.

Is there any way to set the default application for a task so that I don't have to pick one every time I want to do something (i. e. always use the system phone app when making calls).

Extra bonus: a rule-based setting would be great (only provide the option to choose that WiFi phone app when I'm actually connected to my home WiFi or when BT is off).

While it cannot switch the default app for something, Tasker can still do this.
Llama may be able to do it also, but you'll have to set it up like this:

Set the Stock Dialer as default.

Make a tasker profile that enables when you are connected to WiFi and triggers when you open the dialer-- the triggered action could then be to open your WiFi calling app.

I hope that works--


E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument) - how to format? I have a Asus Zenfone 2 and a few days ago it ran out of battery and turned off. Then after I charged it up and restarted it, it wouldn't turn on. It gets to the logo and the loading circle and just gets stuck there forever.
I can get into recovery, but can't do anything in recovery, because everything gives this error:

E:failed to mount /cache (invalid argument)

Trying to wipe cache, factory reset the phone, mount /system, flash a ROM from SD card, ADB sideload, everything gives the error multiple times. Factory reset formats /data fine, but when it gets to /cache, gives the error and aborts.
Same thing with fastboot. I tried to flash TWRP (I have stock recovery) and I tried to erase and format cache through fastboot, but both give this error:

FAILED (remote: 'Can not mount the necessary partition')
fastboot: error: Command failed

Is there anything I can do to format the phone or somehow rebuild the partitions without being able to flash anything via recovery or fastboot?
I don't know if tools like AFT or xfstk can do anything for me.
Edit: I don't think the EMMC chip is dead, because the recovery partition is still fine, I can still boot into recovery and when I did a factory reset, it formatted /data without any errors, only had an error when it started formatting /cache.
When I was looking for a solution to this problem, I read somewhere that sometimes when the device gets interrupted, like when it shuts down suddenly, to prevent data loss android would change permissions on the /cache partition to read only or something like that. This would certainly explain what happened to my phone. Just need to think of a way to access ADB shell on it to try to change permissions. Shell doesn't work in ADB sideload mode, that's the only ADB thing the stock recovery has. Is that a similar thing in fastboot by any chance?

download TWRP for your device, then fastboot boot C:\adb\twrp-3.3.1-0-Z00*.img from twrp: adb shell from shell: mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/cache


How to force network operator selection once and for all? I'm using HTC Desire running stock Android 2.2 (with HTCs enhancements). There's a network operation selection in Settings / Wireless & netwokrs / Mobile networks / Network operators, which allows to "Search networks" (and thus select one operator manually) or "Seleect automatically" (which would probably connect to anything it will find).

There are 3 major cellular network operators in my region currently and they allow inter-operator roaming, but for a huge roaming fee. I want to avoid this huge fee by manually forcing selection of operator once and for all. It seems to work if I select my operator (say, "Operator A") in "Search networks" mode mentioned above, and it kind of works - until I travel underground and GSM module faces following situations sequentially:

Operators A, B, C are available (on surface) => using preferred "operator A" and everything's ok
We move in the subway, no GSM network is available at all => everything's ok, it shows that network is not available
We start to emerge on the surface, and "operator B" becomes available, while "operator A" (preferred one) does not. Device stops execution of whatever was running and pops up annoying menu to "choose" new connection opportunity - "operator B". One can dismiss this menu with "Return" button, it as situation slowly changes and more operators become available, this menu would pop up a few more times.

So, the question is - how do I force mobile operator selection once and for all, and disable that extremely annoying (interruping currently running activities) popup menu with recently found cellular connections?

UPDATE: I'm using GSM / GPRS / EDGE / 3G (HSDPA) networks and in fact question refers to both voice and data traffic, so restricting APN probably has nothing to do with it. Normally, concurrent operators in the same region don't allow to roam through each other, so this problem probably doesn't exist for most normal users.

APN Lock may work.  It appears to give you the ability to block certain networks APN's which won't affect your ability to use Voice or SMS but won't allow your phone to make a data connection with the networks you block (by changing the APNs so you phone fails to connect).  I'd be careful though, messing with the APNs can cause problems this app doesn't have any comments yet.


Not able to "Clear" notifications from Astrid Tasks (an app)? I am not able to clear notifications in the status bar for an app named Astrid Tasks.

Here is the screenshot:

Why is it? I am sure that the app developer must have done this on purpose.

What should I do to get it back?

Can someone give me a link where I could read about these practices?

Astrid Tasks uses notifications that cannot be cleared by clicking on the "clear" button. Why they did this is a question only the Astrid developers can answer, but my guess is the people from Astrid want to remind you of a task until you actually finish it and/or change its status in Astrid.

By default notifications on Android can be cleared, but an app developer can choose to make a notification not-clearable (if you want technical details on how to do this, go here). If there are any notifications that can be cleared, the clear button is enabled/visible but will not clear any non-clearable notifications when clicked.


Does google maps personalize the walking time to your destination? Google maps has a lot of data about how far and how fast you move around. When you search for a walking route to your destination is the app calculating the walking time based on your average walking speed?

It does not take into account your walking speed but assumes a normal walking speed. From Google Maps help

What is the Google Map walking speed? Is this a constant value or does it change depending on slope?

Normal walking speed is about 3 miles per hour - It does not adjust for distance travelled, nor for whether you are on a road or footpath.
It does adjust slightly for slope - it decreases more for uphill than it increases for downhill.

A user wanted customized speed, like you do and they were suggested to raise a feature request.


Does ICS Gmail display unread message counts for labels other than Inbox? Up to Android 2.x, in the labels view the Gmail app of my Nexus S displayed the number of unread messages next to labels with unread mail. I recently upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.4 on the same device and now Gmail no longer displays unread counts for labels unless I access the list of messages for a certain label. Is this a new Gmail feature? Is there some way of viewing those unread counts in a way similar to Android 2.x?

Yes, at least 4.0.4 stock image on my Galaxy Nexus does, though if more than 999, it just displays 999+ (same as inbox).


Why isn't the Swype keyboard showing corrections? Normally, while using the Swype keyboard, corrections appear at the top of the screen and it allows me to pick the right word. For some reason it isn't appearing at the moment.

Is there a way to switch it back on? Its still correcting me and I want to type a word that isn't in the dictionary.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S2, aka GT-I9100.

I don't have the Galaxy S2 or Swype any more, but I was able to fix the problem by changing the screen orientation and then changing it back again. Once I did this, the corrections came back.

I found this out purely by accident but was able to repeat it to confirm the fix the next time the problem happened.


Is there anything malicious with play support libraries? I was doing my daily stuff on my Android Nougat.

And then something started downloading, play support libraries. I think OK right. But the moment downloading stopped, and installation started my mobile's screen started showing black screen for 2 secs with of a interval of about 5 secs. It continued for about 2 mins. And then the black screen was no longer appearing. But, now my phone started lagging.

So, I was thinking if that was indeed play support libraries or something else.

I'd also noticed that the first character of any word was not capital, i.e. play support libraries.  Which is a small mistake lazy developers often make while making vulnerable apps with the name of any system app, e.g. phone / settings, so the user doesn't notice, after the app gets installed silently, and can do it's work without interference.

So, Is there anything I can do to check if my mobile's safe or not?

What are the Android Support Libraries?

  The Android Support Library is a set of code libraries — resources that can be used to build features and/or functions into an app — that provide things like features or widgets that would normally require an actual Android framework API to include in an app.

The article goes on to state that:

  There are generally two types of support library packages. One set enables features of new versions of Android on devices running an older version and the other provides standalone features for all versions of Android. Because these aren't part of Android proper, they can be improved and updated without waiting for a major Android platform release.

Why are the Android Support Libraries important?

  we don't have to wait for the next version of Android to get an update if a feature is provided by the Support Libraries. This allows developers to add and improve how their apps work, especially on phones that don't run the current version of Android, whenever the libraries are updated.

Your device is not infected by a virus or something else. It is just Google deciding to update your device (even when did not want the update to add more features).

That said, on this thread from Google, there are other users who have noticed lagging the first few minutes after the update.

Source: What are the Android Support Libraries and why are they important?


Updated to 1.28 and now my Media Link HD won't connect? I got an HTC Media Link HD free with my phone for pre-ordering and it works fine, however having updated to the 1.28 software over the weekend, I found that I can no longer connect to the media link.

Is anyone aware of this issue or knows a way to fix it, as there seems to be very little detail about it online.

I got an update from HTC Tech Support on this one.

TL;DR
Search for a software update and you should hopefully find 1.29. Once this is installed you'll be able to connect again fine.

Quoted below

  Dear David,

  Thank you for your patience.

  I would recommend backing up your data and performing a factory reset,
  to do this please follow these steps:

  If your phone is tied to a Google account, your contacts, calendar events, downloaded apps, wireless settings can be backed up, if you
  have entered your Google account details in the initial set-up
  screens. Please go to , Menu, Settings, Accounts & Sync, tap on your
  Google account, then tap 'Sync now' you will see some spinning
  circular arrows for a short while, this just means your data is being
  saved to Google. When the arrows have finished spinning, the data has
  been backed-up (double check this).
  Or back up your contacts to the S.D card (For Android 2.1 or later) by following these steps; From the home screen tap All Applications.
  Scroll to and tap People.  Tap Menu.  Tap Import/Export.  Tap Export
  to SD card.  Select which contact Group to export (Phone, Google, SIM
  etc.).  Tap OK.
  Available from the android market is a free application to enable you to back up your SMS messages if desired.

  Now your phone is backed up we can perform the hard reset, all data
  will be lost that is not backed up on your S.D/SIM cards or online
  will be lost.

  Hard reset on Android From the Home screen, press the Menu key> Tap Settings> Tap SD & phone storage> Tap Factory data reset> Tap Reset
  phone.

  The reason I have asked you to do this is because though it may seem a
  bit extreme this is the best method for dealing with your problem.

  Once this has been done please manually search for an update.

I didn't actually do the reset, I simply searched for software updates and found the new update, installed it and all was well. I'd recommend this first before you wipe your phone!


Archive SMS messages, without extra permissions Answers to the following question list a number of Android apps that can be used to backup SMS messages:

How do I backup and restore SMS Messages?

However, all of the applications mentioned in the answers seem to require lots of permissions that are not strictly necessary; examples include "receive SMS", "edit SMS or MMS", "full Internet access", "read contact data", "write contact data", "write contact data", "read phone state and identity", etc.

Is there any tool that

simply copies all SMS messages to a local file on the SD card,
does not require any irrelevant permissions – as far as I can see, permissions "read SMS or MMS" and "modify/delete SD card contents" should be enough.

Edit: Based on the answers, I had a closer look at SMS Backup & Restore Pro. It is better than nothing – at least it does not require any kind of Internet access. However:

It cannot copy messages stored on the SIM card, only messages stored in the inbox.
It does not work on Android 3.2 tablets.
It still requires far too many permissions for my needs.

TxtArchive does not seem to work on Android 3.2, either.

As you don't ask to restore them (just to backup): Did you take a look at TxtArchive SMS Backup? Yupp, costs a few bucks. But hence it needs no ads, and no internet: Read SMS/MMS, Read Contactdata (both are connected -- you surely want to know who wrote the SMS ;), and store to SD.

Similarly SMS Backup & Restore Pro for about the same price (2 Euro), which also wants to write SMS/MMS (to restore them), and keep the phone from sleeping while it does the work.

Oh, plus the requirement mentioned by Flow: "read phone state and identity" is also required. -- though the app states Android minversion 1.6 (this requirement was removed with Android 2.0 AFAIK -- for all previous versions it was a "must").

Simple search for SMS Backup on the playstore, both on page 1 -- not too hard to find. Hope you like them ;)


What are some Android eBook options & eReader Apps (Kindle, Nook, Google Books, etc.)? What are my options for reading ebooks on my Android device?
There have been a number of questions about ebooks but I thought I'd pull the basics together into a Community Wiki.
Quick note on cross platform ebooks. It's possible to read the DRM'd Epub files on several devices, for example the Google books can be viewed by the Nook app.  You have to do a couple things like sign up for Adobe Digital Editions... (this needs more explanation).

Lets try and keep the same formatting.  If you come up with a better format then change this template too...
App Name:
( link to the app ↑ )

Marketplace - Where can you get books?
Format -  What file formats does it support?  Does it use DRM?
About - Simple explanation of what it's features, pros and cons are...

You can copy and past this for easy formatting:
##App Name:

 - **Marketplace -**
 - **Format -**
 - **About -**

Aldiko:
Only does non-DRM'd ePubs.  There are thousands of these books available but you're not going to be getting newly released copyrighted books.  Great user interface but the no DRM limitation is a problem.  Aldiko also has a paid app that has more features but it still doesn't let you load new DRM'd books from the major retailers.


Cheaper in-app purchases I play Game of War Fire Age and wondering if I can get cheaper packs on it, I'm from the UK and it costs me £79.99 to buy a pack but my Brazilian friend only pays $60 for the same pack, is there anyway for me to be able to change my region to Brazil and get the same deal, but then the only problem is my billing address, let me know if there is a way.

is there anyway for me to be able to change my region to Brazil

Yes. But it may not be that easy.

I've done it twice, and each time was hit-and-miss. The first time, it only changed once I made a purchase with my new billing details. The second time it didn't work and I ended up deleting all my payment details, wiping my phone, and setting up the phone and payments, with a SIM card from my target country.

Also note that if you change your country to Brazil, the play store will show up in Portuguese and you will only be able to see/buy services (such as Newsstand, Video, Music, etc) that are available in Brazil (which may be less than what the UK has).

Google changes the country your billing is associated with according to your Google Play billing method. These are the instructions I followed from Google -

  We use the billing address of your default payment instrument in Google Wallet >to help determine your home country for accessing the Play Store. Our collection of content can vary by country, so your view of the Play Store may differ from what others are seeing when you travel outside of the country listed on your default payment method's billing address.

  Please note that you must have a valid payment method with a billing address located inside a country in order to access that country's Play Store.

  If you're having issues viewing your intended country's Play Store and would like to change your default payment method or update an existing billing address in Google Wallet, please use the following steps:

  1) Sign into your Google Wallet account to manage your payment methods https://wallet.google.com/manage/paymentMethods

  2) Add a new card or change your default payment instrument to one with a billing address located inside your desired country

  3) Open the Play Store and navigate to any item available for download

  4) Click to begin a download until you reach the "Accept and buy" screen (no need to complete the purchase)

  5) Close the Play Store and clear data for the Google Play Store application (Settings > Apps > Google Play Store > Clear Data) or clear your browser cache

  6) Re-open the Play Store. You should now see the Play Store that matches your default payment instrument's billing country.

  If you haven't yet added a payment method to your account for the first time, please add a card directly from the Play Store with a billing address that matches your intended country location. Then, follow steps 3 through 6 to show your intended country's Play Store.

  If you believe that you're experiencing a different location-related issue, please first verify if the country of your primary payment method matches your intended country. If the countries match, please provide any screenshots and additional details that might help me resolve your issue.


how to backup contacts if the touchscreen is not working? My HTC Explorer A310e fell and now its touch screen is not working. I mean display is fine, but it isn't taking any input. Is there any way I could take a backup of the contacts?
To suggest the extent  damage: it rings but I can't receive calls.

I am travelling and can't go to a service centre until next week so if there was a way I could get my contacts out of it.

in this link they provide you with some usefull commands to try to get the contacts.
Basically, you need to install the Android SDK, but I think you need to have the USB debugging option on in your phone. Not sure if you need root also.

cd <android-sdk-dir>/platform-tools
[In linux] ./adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
[In Windows] adb.exe pull /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db

The path to the contacts database might vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.


What about unknown or hidden folders in android after connecting with PC? My iBall BraceX1 tablet runs on Android 4.4.2.

Whenever I connect my tablet with my PC, I see folders that I marked in following snap.

Please let me know about these folders.

Regards
FewL

These appear to be hidden folders in your external storage.

  Android is based on Linux, and that fact shows itself in how it
  handles files and folders. To keep it short, Linux/Unix, and therefore
  Android, hides any file that starts with a dot ., which has become
  a common convention to hide certain things that users wouldn’t
  normally need to care about, like app config/settings, databases etc.

You wouldn't normally view these files on your Android device, sd card even though these directories are present. As such you could use suitable file explorers such ES explorer, Astro manager etc to unhide these directories.

Unlike Unix/Linux systems, Windows doesn't hide files/folders that start with a . (dot prefix), and thus are visible when the sd card is mounted on a Windows system.


LG-P990 (2x) Australian, upgrade to ICS or latter I have an LG-P990 (Optimus 2x) Australian, is there an official upgrade to ICS or latter available? If so how do I get it and do the upgrade.

To upgrade your phone to official LG's ICS release do the following (remember to backup all your important data before starting):

Go to official LG support page for your region, Downloads & Manuals section
Scroll down to Search by keyword and input this: Optimus-2X-P990, click the only
result.
Scroll down to Downloads
Click the tab Software Update
Follow carefully all the instructions there.


I'm trying to factory reset my phone but...? ...when it reaches the point where it asks to confirm my PIN, an error message saying "Unfortunately, Android keyboard (AOSP) has stopped". So i'm unable to type my pin in. Any suggestions?

Try changing keyboard, go to the Play Store, download a keyboard, then go to settings and activate it and then you should be able to enter the pin


Can application upgrades happen automatically, even if you have it turned off in marketplace? I thought I had turned off all the automatic upgrades for the apps on my phone (T-Mobile G2 w/ Froyo).

However, yesterday, I got a notice that said that I had new GMail and described the new features.

I checked GMail, and I did have the new 2.3.5 version.

Then I checked Android Market, and it shows "Allow automatic updating" as unchecked.

I believe that Google can and will update their system apps like Gmail, Market, Search and Youtube (I think that is still system app).

There have been plenty times that the Market updates itself, without any interaction from the user. I have not seen them actually update anything automatically, except the Market, but if you have a "with Google" phone, I am sure there is some blurb somewhere that says they may update the applications without you knowing, or something.


Can I install Android app without all required app permissions? For many apps on Google play such as Facebook I would like to install them, but I would not provide all the access they require while installing. For instance, I would not like to provide the access to Contacts. Is this possible?

I am targeting the Android versions 6 and later.

I know how to revoke the permissions later time, but installation time, Facebook prompts me with the big accept list, that at that time I cannot disable.

The needs access to dialog pops just after I press the install button.

If an app targets Android 6 or higher, most of the permissions listed in your screenshot will have to be approved (or denied) by the user at runtime – i.e. when you're using the app. There are several permissions not falling into this category, as Google defined them as "normal" (and only "dangerous" permissions are considered worthwhile to be presented to the user). So you e.g. will never be asked for Internet access (if you denied, Google couldn't show ads).

OTOH one of course could argue: if you're concerned about your privacy, Facebook is the wrong place to go in general :) And of course again, if you don't trust an app, watch out for alternatives. Best at F-Droid where you can trust every app.


Motorola Triumph changes Volume between Songs or with Notifications I have a VirginMobile Motorola Triumph, stock but rooted.

I listen to music with both Pandora and Google's Play Music app.

When listening to music, the volume has two modes, 'soft', in which all the way down is too quiet and all the way up is too loud, exactly as it should be.  The other setting is loud - just loud.  The first click of 'loud' is enough to hurt my ears.

I can change the volume from 'loud' to 'soft' by playing with the Ring or Alarm volumes (not Media).  They don't have to change, but they have to be altered briefly to 'reset' it back to 'soft'.  Furthurmore, if I receive a notification, text, call, or any other sort of message, the volume becomes 'soft' again.

While listening on 'soft', if the song finishes and naturally continues to the next, the volume will jump to 'loud'.  There are other occasions where it does this as well, but I haven't figured out exactly what they are.

[ORIGINAL]:
I have a stock rooted Motorola Triumph (which does not have MotoBlur) with Pandora installed.  Media volume is pretty loud, so I keep it on the first click, always (I also have Audio Manager installed, but this problem was happening prior to installation).

However, when Pandora goes to the next song (either because I skipped, down-thumbed, or just finished the song), the volume gets really loud.  It doubles in volume, if not more!

The weirdest part though is that none of the volume sliders (anywhere!) have changed.  Not one.  Furthermore, altering the Media volume (still on 1st click), has no effect other than to make it even louder.  However, if I alter (or even touch) the Ringer or Notification volumes, the song volume drops to where it was.

I'm tired of changing my volume between every song.  I'm willing to talk to whomever (Motorola, Pandora, Google, etc) in pursuit of a fix.  How can I address this?

I reccomend you contact the makers of Pandora about this issue, as this looks like an app bug rather than a phone issue.

I would suggest emailing them with as much info as you can possibly fit in.

Another option would be to check the settings in Pandora - you may have missed an important setting that is causing this issue.


How to import large files to google drive from a public google drive shares without downloading? I need to import that file to google drive.

The problem is I can t download it right now, and the file will probably be deleted in few hours as marshmallow for galaxy tab S is out.

Just click on Add to my drive. Download it whenever you are free.


How can I sync a folder *to* android using syncthing? I have installed syncthing on my Windows desktop and on my android 2.3.3 based phone.  The nodes are talking and I see that I am connected to the windows desktop.  I successfully sync'd a folder from my mobile phone to the desktop, so I believe the connection is working.  The Android UI shows the connection as present to the desktop.

I selected the mobile phone device in the "Share With Devices" section of the desktop folder' configuration from the desktop syncthing localhost web UI, but I can't figure out how to add the Windows directory to be sync'd onto the phone.

In the Android syncthing UI, how can I sync an entire folder from the desktop machine to the mobile phone?

Meta:
I hope this is on-topic.  The on-topic blurb seems to suggest that it is:

  If your question generally covers...
  [...]
  Using a particular app on your Android device

Here's what I did.

Firstly I was in the same situation - devices were visible to each other, windows had the files, android did not.

I created a folder on android with syncthing and gave it the same name as my folder on the PC ( not essential ) but crucially, I used the same folder ID as the folder on the server.

Then I selected the server ( slide switch on ) and saved my folder in android. Now they are syncing files.

Summary make sure your folders have the same folder ID (on the general tab).

Hope this helps. Please give it approved answer if it solves.


Android 6: disable roaming completely On my Galaxy J510 I have primary sim for calls and secondary for data only. Operator 2 doesn't have 100% coverage and provides data on its own network only.

However after losing signal, phone warns and a couple minutes later switches to roaming and disables data connection. After network is available, roaming is not turned off. My current annoying way to regain data connection is:

Settings
Mobile Networks
Network Operators
SIM2
Search Networks
(wait ca. 30s)
My operator

I want phone to stay in SIM2 not connected mode forever until home network is available - connection loss is not a problem cos I can answer calls via SIM1.
Thanks fo any ideas.

Fixed this issue by changing SIMs in slots, former secondary is now primary.

SG J510 apparently can not disconnect roaming and search for home network on SIM2 slot.

Real answer still appreciated.


Can I use the HTC Desire HD Wifi Hotspot feature to share a wireless network instead of mobile internet? Possible Duplicate:
  Can we use an Android phone as a Wi-Fi repeater?

I have my home router which for a variety of reasons I can not switch to WEP. However, I occasionally need to use my Nintendo DS to connect to Nintendo WFC, and it can only use a WEP connection. My current method is to use the Wi-Fi Hotspot feature of my HTC Desire HD to create a temporary WEP network and connect to that using my DS. This is fine, except it forces my phone to use my carrier's data connection instead of my home wireless network, bringing with it associated charges if I hadn't used the internet on my phone that day already.

Is there anyway to share a wireless network instead of the mobile network via the Wi-Fi Hotspot feature?

The Desire HD can not be a gateway that supports rebroadcasting wifi with a different encryption, at best you could add an encryption from an open point or broadcast it as open from a secure point.

You would also need two antennas, and the chip does not.


Google Music Gapless Playback Works on my Galaxy Nexus but not my HTC One? I've recently started using Google Music on my phone but gapless playback isn't working. I listen to a lot of mixed, electronic music albums where it's absolutely essential that it's totally seamless with no gaps at all.

On my old Galaxy Nexus, with CyanogenMod 10.1 (Android 4.2.2), Google Music version v5.1.1107K.753159, it works flawlessly.

On my new HTC One (stock), with Android 4.2.2 also, Google Music version v5.1.1107K.753159 also, there's a very noticable gap (1 second or so).

Is there a way to enable gapless playback with Google Music on the HTC One? Does anyone use Cyanogenmod on the HTC One? If so, could you confirm if gapless playback works?

This is a symptom of the phone's hardware, not Android, Google Play or your uploaded/cached music. I have the same problem with a 1st gen. Moto G (LTE/4G) with about 1s gap between songs, despite 4 cores and no other noticeable performance problems, but the same music works perfectly in Google Play on a laptop.

I've read many reports where the same version of Android provides gap-less for some users, but not others. This means it's either a hardware limitation or the file I/O processes are single threaded and take time to drop the current track before loading up the next one.

My experience is that using a faster phone fixes this problem.


disassociate a device I don't have anymore from market account? Possible Duplicate:
  How to remove device(s) from My Market Account?

How can I disassociate a device I don't have anymore from my Google Market account? This is a device that I used to have working but it's not anymore, so I don't want it to show up in my Google Market account.

There's currently no way to do this. It has been suggested numerous times on Google's forums, but has never been acted on.

The best you can do for now is "hide" devices that you don't want to appear in the menus. You do this by logging into the Android Market website, then going to your account settings by clicking the gear icon and selecting "My Market Account" and then the "Settings" tab. On this page you should see a list of devices associated with your account. If you click the "Edit" button to the right of a device's name you can then select "Hidden in menus".


How do I hard reset my Samsung Galaxy S2? I have forgotten my password. I have seen some answers to similar questions, but they are all the same. I have tried these, but it always asks me for my password, which is the reason I can't get into my phone. This is also the reason I need to reset my phone.

Turn the phone off, or take the battery out. Put the battery back in and hold VOLUME UP and the HOME key, then the POWER. Hold all three until you see it says recovery mode. When you get to the android, press both volume buttons together and it will show the recovery menu. The rest should be self explanatory.


How to install Android Market on HCL ME X1 tablet? I bought an HCL ME X1 tablet one month ago. Its main drawback is that it does not support the Android Market and manually installing the Android Market's APK file does not seem to work either. It shows an error message like this:

the application Market(process com.android.vending)has stopped unexpectedly) please try again

How can I solve this problem so that I can use the Android Market on my device?

Here's a simple, step by step guide on how to install the Android Market on the HCL ME X1. It does not require rooting. http://dploy.in/2011/installing-android-market-on-the-hcl-me-x1-coby-kyros-mid7022-without-rooting/

Remember, the HCL ME X1 is nothing but the Coby Kyros MID7022 tablet renamed for the Indian market. So if you're looking for helpful resources on this tablet, you're better of googling around the MID7022 model.


Running a stock or custom ROM in a virtual machine on Android⠀ Can I run a virtual Android machine on my Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge? Or maybe can I run a custom ROM without flashing stock?

Part 1: Using Multiple ROMs without flashing again and again

App required: MultiRom

Introduction:

MultiRom powerful utility that installs itself into your Custom Recovery.
First Step:
"BACKUP"
It is recomended to make a nandroid backup of your current ROM in case something goes wrong you can just restore it.

Procedure:

Once you have installed MultiRom open up the app. MultiRom will ask for Root Access.
After granting it, you should see Multirom and its current version, the recovery that is required to manage Multirom with, and the MultiRom Kernel (Kexec-hardboot patch)
Just tick all 3 boxes to install Multirom, the recovery patch, and the kernel. Once it’s finished installing, MultiRom Manager should prompt you to reboot into Recovery to complete the installation. Once you’ve entered the Custom recovery, it should complete the installation and will soon reboot itself.
A message will appear saying something similar like the device will boot into the internal rom in 5 seconds, unless you click cancel. You haven’t installed another Rom into MultiRom yet, so you should only see one option to boot into, and that should say Internal. Internal is pretty much your current Rom, or whatever you were using before installing Multirom. If you do not click cancel, your device will boot into the Internal Rom by default, so click cancel in the event you decide to boot into a different Rom.
Now, in order for you to boot into a different Rom, first you have to download the different Custom Roms you want.

ONLY DOWNLOAD THE CUSTOM ROM THAT’S SUPPORTED BY YOUR DEVICE

Note that once you install your Custom Rom, Google Apps and Services will not be installed on it, so you will have to download something called GAPPS (Google Apps) for the respective Android version.
so now download the GAPPS zip file.
Once you are back into your device’s Stock Rom, we will be using TWRP Recovery, as it is the default Custom recovery supported by MultiRom. Once you are in TWRP, click advanced. You should see a new option called MultiRom. Click that, and you can configure settings, as well as install your Custom Rom to boot from.
Assuming you now have your Custom Rom downloaded on your device,click “Add Rom.” You will see many settings on the screen. For Choose ROM type, leave it by default, which is Android. Share Roms with Internal ROM, just leave that as don’t share. You can also see where the Custom Rom will be installed to. By default it will list your internal memory, but if you have an SD card, or even a USB Flash drive that is plugged into your device VIA OTG cable, it will be listed there as well. So just pick the destination of where you want your Custom Rom to be installed/saved on.
Click next, and select your source of installing your custom Rom. 3 Options will appear, which include Zip File, Backup, and ADB Sideload. You should have downloaded your Custom Rom earlier in for form of a .zip file, so just select ZIP File. Next, you will navigate to the place where you downloaded your Custom Rom, which most likely will be located in your Downloads folder. So find that and select it. Once you have it selected, you will reach a page where it shows you to confirm flash. So swipe the bar to confirm the Flash, or installation of your Custom Rom, and let it install on its own. Once the installation has ended, do not be so quick as to click reboot.
Click the back button on the bottom right hand side, and head over to the List Roms option from earlier. Then, click on the Rom that you just installed, and click Flash Zip, which will flash the Zip file for that individual Rom. Now, flash Google’s apps and services that you have downloaded now Reboot>system.
You should be prompted with the same interface as earlier when you installed MultiRom where it asks you which Rom you want to boot into. Click Cancel, as we do not want to boot into our internal rom. Now you should see your brand new installed Custom Rom name listed in the Boot options. Click on that, and confirm you want to boot into it.
Now the Custom Rom’s default boot animation should appear, so that indicates you’ve done everything right. Note that this simulates the process of a brand new fresh operating system being booted up for the first time, so the boot process should take a while longer, just wait a few minutes until you reach the device setup screen.
In the case that you want to uninstall MultiRom, just boot back into your Internal rom and head over to the Multirom Manager app, and click on the big trash can at the top right corner, as this just means the removal and deletion of MultiRom. Click on confirm delete, and follow the on-screen instructions for uninstallation.

Step by Step Video Tutorial

Part 2:Running Linux Distros On Android using Linux Deploy.

Linux Deploy is open source app offers an easy way to install and run a supported Linux distribution in a chroot environment.

Apps Required:

Linux Deploy.
VNC client.

Procedure:

Tap the Properties button it includes distros like

• Kali

• Debian

• Ubuntu

• Arch Linux

• Fedora, and openSUSE.

For certain distributions, you can also select a specific version. Choose Debian, for example, and you can pick the desired version (stable, testing, unstable, etc.) in the Distribution suite list.
Linux Deploy lets you install a graphical desktop environment, too, and the app supports several popular graphical desktops, including LXDE, Xfce, Gnome, and KDE. To install a desktop environment, pick the desired desktop from the Desktop environment list and enable the Install GUI option.
The next stop is the Startup section. To start, make sure the SSH option is enabled; otherwise, you won’t be able to connect to the running Linux instance. If you chose to install a graphical desktop environment, you will have to enable the VNC option as well, so you can connect to the desktop using a VNC client app. Next, scroll down to the VNC section and configure the VNC settings, such as color depth and resolution as well as desktop dimensions.
Once you’re done tweaking settings and specifying options, you can tap the Install item and wait until Linux Deploy finishes the installation.
The installation procession in Linux Deploy is completely automated.When the installation operation is completed, you should see the following status message:
<<< end: install
Then, tap the Start button to boot the installed Linux distro. Note the IP address of the running Linux instance. Launch the VNC client app and connect to the running VNC server using the default "changeme" password.
You can access the graphical desktop using a VNC client directly on Android

Step By Step Video Tutorial


How can I load a Project Gutenberg book on my phone's Kindle app? The Gutenberg site's guide to Mobile devices doesn't address this question. It recommends the FBReader which I may install if else fails, but I'd prefer to use the Kindle app.

Assuming it is possible, can somebody enumerate the steps to loading a book from the Project Gutenberg site to the Kindle App on my phone?

My phone is a Nexus 4 running Android 4.2.2.

I figured out one fairly unsatisfactory way to do it:

Using phone browser (Chrome), go to Gutenberg mobile site.
Find book (for example) and download Kindle version.
Go to Downloads (under Apps) where you should find the mobi file listed (e.g. pg174.mobi).
Long touch the file until menu bar appears at top with Share icon.
Click Share Icon which will present pop-up menu which should include Send to Kindle option.
Choose Send to Kindle option, which will list the wrong title and author for the book. Edit title and author, checkmark the devices you wish to send it to as well as Archive in your Kindle Library, and press send.

The book didn't show up on my device immediately, but within 5 minutes it appeared in the app's home view.

I'm not sure what if any combination of events was required to get it downloaded to my device. I received an email from Amazon informing me that my document had been prepared and providing a link. I clicked that link from my phone. I also visited the store within the Kindle app. I'm not sure whether either of these acts was necessary or sufficient for finally accessing the book from my app.


How to tell what architecture an APK is intended for? I am writing a script to test a large quantity of apks.  Some run on x86 and some run on arm.  Is there a way I can tell which apks are intended for which architecture?
I have looked through the report on aapt badging with aapt dump badging application.apk.  For some of the arm compatible versions I see native-code: 'armeabi-v7a' but not for all of them, and I don't see any indication of what architecture the x86 compatible apks run on.
I have also tried using apktool to break apart the apk and examine the AndroidManifest.xml.  I don't see anything pertaining to the chip architecture in it either.
I'm looking for something on a linux platform.
Any ideas?

One (rather crude) way to see what architecture an APK's native libraries are built for is to unzip it (it's only a zip file) and take a look at the libs folder - if the application contains any native libraries, they will be split into the following subfolders inside (with the compiled libraries inside these):

armeabi: compiled code for the older ARMv5 architecture (32-bit, support for ARMv5 was removed from the Android NDK in r17)
armeabi-v7a: compiled code for the ARMv7 architecture (32-bit)
arm64-v8a: compiled code for the ARMv8 architecture (64-bit)
x86: compiled code for the x86 architecture (32-bit)
x86_64: compiled code the x86-64 architecture (64-bit)
mips: compiled code for the MIPS32r1 architecture and later (32-bit, support for MIPS was removed from the Android NDK in r17).
mips64: compiled code for the MIPS64r6 architecture (32-bit, support for MIPS64 was removed from the Android NDK in r17).

See Android Application Package for more information on an APK's structure, and the above list's source. A more complete (including MIPS64) list, along with some information about architecture-specific things, can be found on an archived version of the Android Developer ABI Management page, captured on April 18th 2016.

Interestingly enough, targeting one single ABI (where an app includes native libraries designed for one architecture) doesn't necessarily mean that the app won't run on devices that use other architectures. ARMv8-a, for example, is backwards compatible with ARM and ARMv7-a, and Intel's x86 Android devices contain a proprietary translation layer that allows ARM code to execute on x86 devices (allowing ARM-only apps to run on x86 platforms). A list of the ABIs that an Android device can execute can be found in the ro.product.cpu.abilist property, which can be attained in a shell (e.g. via a terminal app on the device, or over adb using adb shell) using the getprop command: getprop ro.product.cpu.abilist.


Disable Data connection automatically I own an Optimus One. I want the Data Connection to go off, everytime I lock the keypad. For that, now, I manually go to Setting--> Wireless & networks--> Mobile Networks--> Data Enable.

Is there any way to automatically disable the data when the keypad is locked(or phone is in sleep mode) and enable it when the phone wakes up?

Also, I can't find Mozilla Firefox in my app store. Why it's so?

You probably need to use some sort of 3rd party program like Tasker, Locale or AutomateIt.

These programs allow you to set triggers such as:

starting an app
screen on/off
connected to Wi-fi
location
etc...

and perform actions based on that, such as:

toggle data
toggle GPS
run an app
etc...


Multiple layouts with SwiftKey and physical keyboard? I use SwiftKey with external Bluetooth and OTG keyboards. SwiftKey is designed for this.

However, SwiftKey only gives me the English keyboard layout. When using the soft keyboard, my layout is Norwegian, and I alternate between typing in Norwegian and English. Norwegian layout is important to me as it contains special characters.

How can I get Norwegian (or any other latin-based) layout when using the hard keyboard with SwiftKey?

What is the easiest way to switch between different layouts quickly while using a physical keyboard with SwiftKey? (Something akin to the Samsung stock keyboard's alt+Shift Shortcut)

My details: Samsung I9305 running rooted stock 4.4.4 with Xposed Framework and SwitKey 6.1.0.71.

With swiftkey you can configure the hardware keyboard input in the "voice and other inputs" option under the "typing" section. The configuration is rather limited though, and for example doesn't allow for (let alone let you choose) a shortcut to open the virtual keyboard (the google keyboard does this on the pixel c).

In the 3rd option from the left on the top row.


Android Log Output KINETO On my T mobile G2 there is always a lot of action in my Log output that has the tag KINETO these are the two most common things it puts in there:

ERROR/KINETO(9304): KLOG0C3- xmk_QueryOSQueue SDL Queue empty : WAIT_FOREVER
ERROR/KINETO(9304): KLOG0A3- ibs_os_GetMsg: Timeout forever for UKCC qHnd 0x80c34e3c

but there are a lot of others that it does as well. I am wondering what these logs are related to, because they seem to be happening basically all of the time on my device. I did a google search for KINETO and got a bunch of results for Wifi Calling related stuff, which kind of makes sense. My phone came with a Wifi calling app on it. But I never use this app. My suspicion is that I am getting these messages in the log because the wifi calling app does not have access to the internet on my device because of DroidWall. But my question is why does it try so often? and does anyone know if there is a way to stop it from trying so much I am sure this behavior has some negative impact on my battery life.

Kineto is the company that makes the Wifi calling software that is present on some Tmobile phones such as the G2.  Unfortunately this software is poorly written.  To make matters worse it is only possible to stop or remove the software if you root your phone.  (More accurately it isn't your phone - it is tmobile's phone to do with as they please.)  Coincidentally I contacted Kineto support yesterday to complain.  If more people do that maybe it will get fixed.

It constantly spews out log messages at the ERROR level every second or so, despite the messages not being errors
You cannot stop the software (needs root) and the constant logging still happens even if you disable wifi calling
Sometimes the software gets confused and you have to reboot the phone to get it working again
They haven't structured it like most Android apps separating the user interface from the service

It looks to me like they had an existing codebase that they ported to Android hence its poor structure and operation.


How to check call logs of my Android phone on my computer via internet I looking for an app or something which can help to check my phone call logs on my computer, It should not involve USB cable, the app should work wirelessly..

is there any thing that is suitable for my requirement.?

Thank you

Guide to Connecting Android Phone to PC through WiFi

Download

Go to Google Play to download AirMore on your Android phone.

Go to AirMore Web

Two Methods to get there:

Method 1: Open Chrome or Firefox browser on your PC. Manually type in the address: web.airmore.com
Method 2: Visit AirMore's product page. Click “Launch AirMore Web to Connect” button in the lower right.

Connect Android device to PC

Step 1: On your Android, find the AirMore app and open it. Tap the “Scan to connect” button.

Step 2: Scan the QR code displayed on the web or hit the device icon in Radar.

Step 3: On the condition that you connect devices in Radar, then click “Accept” option when a dialog comes out on your Android.

Note: For successful connection, your Android and PC are required to be in the same WiFi network environment.

In this way, without the need of USB cable, you can still connect Android to PC wirelessly.

As a cross-platform tool, AirMore enables you to transfer pictures, music, videos, apps, books, documents and files from Android to PC and vice versa.

Hope this helps!

Source:

https://airmore.com/help/android/connect-android-to-pc.html