How do I root Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V? I just got for myself this new phone with so many useless bloatware. I just want to root this phone and freeze or uninstall them as they are slowing my device down (even without opening any app, all I have out of my 350mb + RAM is an average of 50mb). Can someone please help me out with a noob step by step guide? Thanks in advance.

SPECS:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V (MT11i)

Android 2.3.4

Bootloader locked (but can be unlocked)

According to How to install ClockworkMOD Recovery on Sony Xperia Neo V this should be possible using UnlockRoot (download)1, which requires a Windows (XP/VISTA/7) computer. The process is described at How To Root Android Devices Using Unlock Root Tool, basically as follows:

You should have a backup of your data (for safety reasons)
Your device should be fully charged
USB drivers for the device should be installed on PC
USB Debugging must be turned on in the device
Connect the device to PC using USB cable
Run the downloaded tool, and Click on “Unlock Root”, That’s it.

Another guide available is Learn How To Root the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V – in case you are not satisfied with the described method ;)

Good luck!

1: The site hosting the tool unfortunately went down. With some luck, one of the results of this Google search has it.


connecting android to pc via usb cabe and file transfer So I can connect my android tab to the pc and I can enter the MTP mode yet when I try to transfer files it loads for ages then refuse to move any file to pc or from pc to phone.
The same cable works well with other android without any hustle and fast.
I tried to go to device manager (win 7) and update the android driver but Windows said I have the best.
PLS HELP!
Thanks in advance.
Gihon

Some device is not working as usual. So you have to enable developer option from your mobile setting.

Developer option comes in different location in different mobile

like

may be show in setting

or

may be in setting >> additional setting

If developer option is not shown in your mobile then you have to follow some step for showing developer option in setting.

Go to Settings > About phone > Tap 5 to 6 times on Build number
now your developer option will show in setting or other relative position.
and then enable your developer option as well as enable usb debugging.

and then try with your cable

hope this will work for you


Samsung Galaxy "SHORTCUTS" for the lock screen not available in S3 Ver. 3.4 I have Samsung Galaxy s3 GT i 9300 ver.3.4 . I am unable to find a way to change the shortcuts on the lock screen. very simply the "SHORTCUTS" for the lock screen isn't available.
 Could you guide me through how I can achieve this?

I tried all Settings doesn't work!!!!

You need to enable lockscreen widgets, to allow the shortcuts to be shown.

Go to Settings > My device > Lock Screen and tick the box "Multiple widgets"

The actual layout can change from device to device slightly, but below will give you a rough guide to how to find them.

Now click on "Lock screen widgets and turn on the button "Favourite apps or camera" on.
Now click on the actual option (by this I mean click the text, not the button) "Favourite apps or camera and select "Favourite apps" and hit save.

(source: laptopmag.com)


Applied Pin Lock screen to Galaxy S6 Edge, forgot password, need to get photos from phone I have tried using Google android device manager and end up with

"Since Google has verified that a screen lock is already set, the password you entered won't be needed."

Samsung's find my mobile site will not work because I didn't register device prior to being locked out.

I am desperate to get the photos and videos from the phone. They are memories I want to keep, please help.

You can use your Google account to unlock the phone.

Here's the steps from Google:

After you've tried multiple times to unlock your device, you'll see "Forgot pattern" on your lock screen. Touch Forgot pattern.
When prompted, enter the Google Account username and password you previously added to your device.
Reset your device's screen lock.


How to download photos (of others) from Instagram? By download, I mean saving to SD card for later use. I have already explored the app for this option, but without luck. :(

I think, there must be a way to trap from cache.

If you've screenshot based suggestion, please don't answer...

You would need a rooted device to do this.

First Browse the photos you want to download.
Now Open any File Explorer app like Root Explorer.
Navigate to /data/data/com.instagram.android/cache via Root Explorer.
The files here would be named something like ccf3a266.0, copy the file you
want or entire folder and paste it on your sd card.
Now open these .0 files in your PC via a Image viewer like IrfanView. You can sort
the files by size to determine large images.

The .0 files are cahce files and some of these are essentially JPG image files and quality may depend upon your device I believe because it would download compressed image if the device screen/density is small. (That's just a theory).


How can I know what type of encryption is used by my mobile phone? I'm interested in finding out what kind of cipher is used on my Android phone. For example A5/1, A5/3 or is the GSM connection unencrypted. I was thinking about sending AT commands to the GSM modem (/dev/smd0), however I didn't find any command that would tell me this. Is this possible somehow?

Try the service menu if your phone supports it: dial *#*#7378423#*#* (*#*#service#*#*).


Lock screen timeout on Samsung Note 4 I click the home button to activate the phone. If I don't swipe within two seconds, it goes black and I have to hit Home again.

This is frustrating when I want to just view the time and weather on the lock screen. It's almost enough time to view time and weather, but if I also want to see what date it is, then 2 seconds isn't enough time to view all three things and digest the information.

So I find myself hitting the Home button 2 or three times. So I guess I might as well just swipe and activate the phone. But I really wanted to just set the screen to stay on a little longer. I set the display timeout to 10 minutes but this doesn't affect the lock screen. It still blinks off after 2 seconds.

Is there any setting or something from a Tasker app or something, that can extend the time the lock screen will appear?

Please check whether "power save" mode is on. If so, the lock screen will turn black very fast (under 2 seconds). Otherwise it will remain on for over 5 seconds.


Should SD card be formatted before putting into new phone? I got a new phone and want to put the SD card from my old one into it. Should anything be done to it, such as formatting or deleting files? There is a lot of funky stuff on the SD card, from TWRP and Titanium Backup etc. On the other hand I'd rather not delete just for the heck of it as there's a lot of stuff and some I do want to keep.

There isn't a need to format it. However, depending on how the SD card is formatted (file system), it may at times not readable by the new device, in which case it is best to format it using the device if it has that facility or a laptop. FAT 32 is pretty much recognised across devices but be aware that it can't store files bigger than 4GB. As always, it makes sense to backup your SD card on your laptop, as you say data contained is important

In short, if the new device can read the SD card, don't bother

Additional information on compatibility of SD cards - Source

Should you decide to format and are unsure about the file system, information here should help you ( also consider which laptop OS you would want to work with ) - How many files can I put in a directory?


How to send binary SMS? Is there any standard way to send a custom binary SMS supported by Android OS (4.2.2) or through free but third-party support? I mean - could I somewhere enter, for example:

0x23 0xAB 0x12 0x56 0xFF

and send it as a binary SMS, not a text SMS? I am developing an app which receives binary messages and I would like to test it.

I could write my own app, of course, but I would prefer using some existing and reliable way.

I don't know if this works, but there's an app called SMS Server with the following description:

  Send binary sms messages on specifics ports. Indicated to test J2ME
  sms applications that receive messages on specifics ports. This
  application does not send free SMS.


How to install CyanogenMod on my HTC Desire SV My HTC Desire SV isn't listed as a supported device for CyanogenMod. How can I get CyanogenMod to work on it?

I'm very new to this. So, I could use some help.

Sad to say, CyanogenMod is not working on this model and will not work in the future too.

You could find enough help from communities like xda-developers. One link that might help is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2293155

There are some custom-rom developed by members of xda.

Never ever ever ever forget to backup your stock ROM.

There can be a lot of bugs in these customROM. Common issues found for desire aka MAGNI are screen flickering, wifi problem, sd-card not being detected etc.

I would suggest you to first root your mobile and try installing safeStrap bootloader as your first babysteps before taking a leap into installing the customROM. XDA is the only place where you could get this done.


Unlocked phone, GPS active What does it mean when I unlock my phone and the GPS icon shows active when I'm not running any apps that use GPS? After a second or two, it goes away.

I means you're on an security reset[ed] phone. If you forgot the pin / pattern / etc and you had to reset it with alternative access ways, like login with the google account email and password, then after every unlocking your phone sends your gps coordinates to the google account and the location settings will always reset to high precision, no matter what.

Offtopic, I'm on 4.4.1 and have no idea how to turn it off. Most suggestions are for smart lock but 4.4.1 doesn't have it or I can't find it.


Is disabling all the wireless connections the same as enabling "airplane mode"? I'm confused right now because I don't know if enabling the airplane mode disables all the data connections or it does something more.

I didn't dig into the source code for authenticity so consider this as an educated guess. I noted that when turning on Airplane mode only the radios mentioned in the key airplane_mode_radios1 are turned off. That is, the communication through those radios cease to exist. The list of radios in the value for that key I've seen in my devices are: cell,bluetooth,wifi,nfc,wimax,

where,

cell: cellular radio (used for mobile network connectivity)
bluetooth: used for bluetooth connectivity
wifi: used for Wi-Fi and portable hotspot connectivity
nfc: for NFC
wimax: ??

So yes, if you individually disable all the radios listed in the said key in your device then you would effectively be achieving the final result of Airplane mode.

If it matters, I found the value for the said key using adb through the command:

adb shell settings get global airplane_mode_radios

1 The key can be found in the table global of database /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db. In Android 6.x, the location for the key is /data/system/users/0/settings_global.xml


How to identify the Whatsapp sender of a media while playing it from the gallery? When media are received through Whatsapp groups and contacts, they are stored in the storage and are available for the media scanner to list them. When I view Whatsapp videos folder in MXPlayer I see the videos that I received through Whatsapp.

Occasionally when I see such an interesting video or image I forward to some people or group, but later to realize that I received it through them. This strikes only when I open the chat history to see the same media sent by someone else?

Question:
In this situation I want to find out the sender (or the group) without opening and scanning the Whatsapp messages to avoid this embarrassment.   I guess the file naming convention only helps to find the date and time.

You can take a look at media's metadata. If the sender's name is there you can identify it that way. Otherwise you can ask WhatsApp developers to add sender's name into the title or something. Or if you want you can manually sort the files.

It's all up to the app.


Devices on adb are fluctuating I have Ubuntu running on a Mac Mini with adb 1.0.31. I am trying to attach 3 devices directly and four devices via a powered hub. Every time devices attached start to fluctuate on adb after some time. For example I would see all the devices attached initially but within a few minutes last 2-3 devices will come and go on adb every now and then. Eventually more will behave same way.

I checked on dmesg and found this:

[ 1001.384481] xhci_hcd 0000:00:14.0: Not enough host resources, active endpoint contexts = 60
[ 1001.384495] hub 3-4.4:1.0: couldn't allocate port 4 usb_device

I have tried Fedora on Mac mini as well and I am seeing the same issue. I have tried on 4 different Mac Minis as well.

I've had the same problem when trying to use ADB on lots of devices on one hub. ADB uses a lot of the available USB bandwidth, so when many devices are on one hub, they can't all get the bandwidth they need. There are several suggestions you might try:-

Use ADB over the network instead of USB. If you don't know how to enable this on the device, there are a few apps to help you. Once it's enabled on the device, use adb connect ip.ip.ip.ip:port from the development machine.
Make sure the cables are plugged into a USB 2.0 port, not USB 1.1. USB 3.0 is even better if the development machine supports it. The different versions of USB are all compatible, but later versions have much more bandwidth.
Try a better hub. Cheap hubs are designed for plugging a USB storage device alongside a keyboard and mouse, and don't cope well with high bandwidth use. A professional-level USB hub will do a much better job - but it still might not be enough to connect all your ADB devices at once.


Is Odex really faster? Is an odex file different from the dex file generated and stored in dalvik-cache?

Is it faster? More optimized? Or just the same?

Most people mention the benefit of improved boot speed after wiping the dalvik cache or on new boot, but no one ever discusses runtime performance of both files.

The DEX file stored in dalvik-cache is an optimized ("odex") file.  For historical reasons it carries the file extension ".dex".

The canonical documentation on dexopt is in dalvik/docs/dexopt.html.  It's a bit stale at this point but is a reasonable starting point.


How to import contacts from  Samsung Omnia II i8000? How can I easily import my contacts from my old phone (Samsung Omnia II). I tried to copy them from my SIM card but I lost some of the contacts' numbers. (The contact name exists but the phone number does not.)

Please advise.

I had a similar problem withe my Ace 3, this article helped me a bit. What I had to do was :

go to "contacts"
tap on "settings"
"import from SIM card"
If it did not work (like erase the numbers in your case) try erasing them from the phone and starting again, some bugs can happen. If it still does not work, you will have to ask each person to send you back there number !

Have a nice day


Exchange ActiveSync on Android: All flavours of Android are not equals Just a quick question/remarks regarding the Support of Microsoft Exchange Activesync.

I work in a big company (10.000 people in belgium) and we have to configure an Exchange client to read emails.

iPhones are working fine, and on Android, they suggest to install Touchdown, a third party client with which they have an agreement and we get some discount.

Unfortunately, as I don't want to install third party apps to read email, in addition to gmail and stock email, I have been searching for some explanations.

I have then remarked that all my colleagues with an HTC Sense have a fully working email client!
HTC Seems to have improved the stock email app.

I contacted the HTC customer service but I couldn't get an answer on which ActiveSync features they improved.

Does anyone know if a list of all policies supported by native Android Vs Sense, Touchwozz, Blur.. exists?

I am pretty sure that other people than me are bugged with this issues and would like to compare all these email clients and see wich is the best, maybe some other would be porting Sense email to stock ROM.

Have you any idea of people working on that or other suggestions?

Thanks!

The stock email cient is not working after I updated ICS 4.1.2 cyanogenMod 10.  I am using nito desk touchdown and its very reliable.


Deleting unwanted contacts after accidental account sync A friend borrowed my phone when they forgot theirs. They had to log into their Gmail to get their contacts to find where they left the phone. When they added their account, it was synced to my phone.

I have deleted the account, but their contacts are still on the phone. I have tried to clear the cache and re-synced the account.

I do not want to do a factory reset unless that is the last resort. Any suggestions or ideas?

Removing the Google account should have invariably deleted the contacts linked to that account, from your phone.

If not, go to Contacts, choose "Contacts to display" and select the Google account of your friend. This should bring up only those 'unwanted' contacts. Select all and delete. In case if the account does not show up in "Contacts to display" then you can try adding the account once again. But this may delete all the contacts from your friend's Google account. Make sure to ask him to take a backup / export all contacts, in case if he needs to restore in his Google.

Hope this helps.


Built-in alarm clock on G2? I just upgraded from G1 to G2 Android. The G1 had a decent alarm clock application built right into it. The G2 doesn't seem to have this app (or I can't seem to find it.) Anyone know how to access it if there is one?

I think they changed the name of the stock Clock app during one of the Android OS upgrades.

In 2.1 I think it was called "Desk Clock".  In 2.2 it's just called "Clock".


Disabling screen record protection for specific app using adb I need to record the screen of an specific app that won't let me do for security reasons. Generally I'd use AZ Screen Recorder but it appears black in this app.

I know it's possible to install some things or plug into the computer to record, but is there a way to disable this record protection on the specific app using adb? Maybe change a flag or something?

There are two possibilities:

Modify the app removing the screenshot protection. However this is not that simple, as the protection is not application-wide but can be set for every activity (screen in the app) individually. Furthermore the protection can be set using the layout definition (xml in the resource) and/or using Java code (FLAG_SECURE). Both could be accomplished using apktool to decompile, modify, recompile, and sign the app - but this requires a lot of knowledge.
Use a rooted device and a screen recorder that can make use of root permissions. Usually this bypasses the screenshot protection.


Keep Rebooting After Installing Fake GPS For Pokemon GO (I Think It's Not Bootloop) Today I'm installing the Fake GPS app for Pokemon GO, I watch the tutorial from here: Trik akali GPS pokemon GO - Fake GPS POKEMON GO trick

Well, at the first try, I don't have any issue.. but, after a few hours it got rebooted by itself.

Just like this: My Rebooting Video

-Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 GT-S2720 Android 4.2.2

Just factory reset my phone *frustated =w= And I think, I know what's the problem that made my phone rebooting like that. The Fake GPS app itself, I've been testing it after a few factory reset.. well i think it's a bug =w=

My advice:

Never Install Fake GPS


What is ClockworkMod Recovery and what is it for? What is ClockworkMod Recovery and what is it for?

ClockworkMod Recovery is a "custom recovery image" which is installable on many Android devices.  You can install it in order to replace your device's "stock recovery image" with something more useful.  Specifically, it can be used to backup and restore your current ROM and data, as well as to install new ROMs.

You can use ROM Manager to manage which ClockworkMod Recovery is installed (you need one specifically for your device), to easily boot into ClockworkMod Recovery, and to install ROMs.


Disable Notification Vibration for Specific Apps I would like to change a setting for my Android (v5.1.1) to make my YouTube app show notifications (on the Lock Screen and Status Bar as it currently does), but without vibration and sound.  That is, I want to override the default notification volume/vibrate settings.

Looking at other Android StackExchange questions such as this one, it appears that this might be a feature I would need to rely on the developers of the app to implement.  Assuming this is not the case, is there is any setting that would allow app notifications while disabling the volume/vibrate only for that app?

Via https://www.xda-developers.com/stop-vibrations-android-apps/ :

Vibration can be disabled per-app with an adb command:

adb shell
cmd appops set [package] VIBRATE ignore

The [package] is usually something like "com.somecompany.someappname". There are a various programs that will let you see the name of apps (the page there suggests one), but

adb shell 'pm list packages -f'

should do it as well.

More detailed info about installing and using adb is listed at the top link or in other answers on SE.


Does `pm uninstall` also automatically execute `force-stop` and `clear` on a non-rooted device? This is for non-rooted stock ROM's.
To get rid of one single app, I've been executing the following commands:
(Step 1) disable-user
(2) force-stop
(3) clear
(4) uninstall
(5) clear
Steps (1) and (2) first — otherwise, if I just execute (3) before them, the app will (more often than not) launch itself again and start accumulating app data.
At this point, I've achieved to make an app useless. It is not running (force stopped), it has no data saved (cleared) and will not launch itself without me knowing (disabled).
If I wish to take it further and entirely get rid of it, I can execute (4) to uninstall it.
Step (5), might seem redundant, but I tested myself several times on two different categories of apps. The first one is system apps (i.e., the Settings UI has the option to disable it greyed out) and the other is typical carrier bloatware (you can uninstall it from the UI yourself without ADB)
If you run steps (1)‐(5) on a system app, you will get "success" on all five. If you run all five on the carrier app, you will get "success" only in steps (1)-(4). In step (5), you will get "app is not found" (or some similar message) instead.
So I said, maybe an "uninstalled" system app is still accumulating app data, if I can run clear as many times as I wish after it's uninstalled and still get "success". Is that the case?
As far as just disabling is concerned, I have verified steps (1)-(3) are necessary. But when it comes to uninstalling instead, are they redundant?
(i.e., does a simple uninstall also automatically execute force-stop and clear?)

force-stop
Uninstalling an app always kills all related processes. Keeping them running doesn't make any sense and can end up in an app crash. Therefore Android kills the app process(es) before uninstalling it.
clear
Clear data and cache directories is enabled by default. It is just the opposite if you want to uninstall the app but keeping data and cache you have to add the option -k to the uninstall command.
clear an system app after uninstall
System aps are located on the system partition which is by default read-only. Thus uninstalling an system app is not possible on a non-rooted device.
If you execute uninstall on a system app only the installed app updates on the user partition are removed and the system app itself is set to disabled. Clearing the data of an disabled app is possible therefore you don't get an error.


Security / Privacy concerns regarding custom android ROM What are the security and privacy concerns surrounding using a custom android ROM like that of cyanogen?

I would say the biggest issue with a lot of custom ROMs including Cyanogen's is that the OS and system apps are signed with test keys. These keys are publicly available, meaning that it is possible for someone to write an app that uses "signatureOrSystem" or "signature" level permissions. There are known cases of malware that targets these custom ROMs [1,2].

On a more positive note, if you run a rooted devices, you can do things like set up a host file to block ads, enable a firewall per application, selectively disable permissions, etc. Custom ROMs often ship with newer kernels, so a lot of security vulnerabilities that are kernel-based are dealt with faster than what Google can do.

[1] http://www.cs.ncsu.edu/faculty/jiang/Fjcon/

[2] http://blog.mylookout.com/blog/2011/06/15/security-alert-malware-found-targeting-custom-roms-jsmshider/


Android JellyBean stock keyboard capitalizes first letter of word before question mark On my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 running Android JellyBean 4.1.2, when I add a question mark after a word, the first letter of that word gets capitalized. Do you know why this happens and how it can be Solved? See the last Sentence? It's happened there too.

All I can see are lower case letters. It might be a bug with  your Samsung keyboard software. You could try updating your os if it is the case or you could try other apps for writing like SwiftKey for example.


Error: Unfortunately [every app] has stopped working I recently updated my Lenovo A2010-a via OTA  and after the update, it shows "Unfortunately, [every third party app] has stopped working"
Only system apps work now.
How to fix it?

Try factory resetting your phone, but backup important data first.


Details on Android OS massive data usage Yesterday Android OS on my Nexus 5 transferred 44,7 GB (!) data over both WiFi (42,2 GB) and mobile data (2,5 GB). I have no idea why the data transfer started, and I have no idea why it stopped after one day, and I have no idea what data was transferred, and to/from where.

I haven't changed or installed anything on the phone.

Is it possible to see exactly what data has been exchanged by the Android OS and why?

Yes, you can - details here: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/why-you-dont-need-third-party-apps-to-manage-background-data-use-in-android-jelly-bean/

From the article:

  "To access the Data Usage screen, open your Android phone’s Settings
  screen, and tap Data usage under Wireless & Networks. You’ll see a
  graph displaying how much mobile data all apps on your phone used over
  a period of time. Specify the “Data usage cycle”  time period that
  your carrier uses to determine your monthly data usage and you should
  see the amount of data you’ve used in the past billing cycle."

Hope it helps!


How can i update my OS (gingerbread) This question may be very low quality but it is very important for me ..I have Samsung
galaxy-Pro and the Os version is Android OS, v2.2.2 (Froyo).

The question is that i want to update it to gingerbread and there is no software update button in foryo.

There are many articles like using ODIN....Is that safe or is there any other official way to update that(like google)?

You probably have to use ODIN. I've done it myself, and it worked for me. I used it to root my phone (SGS2). I've postponed it for months, afraid it would brick my phone, but it didn't.

Make a backup of all important data.
Find a good manual on Youtube, XDA-developers or via Google. Compare them, and see what they say.
Be prepared that it can go wrong. If it goes wrong, it could mean that your phone is bricked.

I have a friend who bricked his Samsung phone, and Samsung repaired it without making problems over a rooted phone.

Google won't update your phone. Samsung has to prepare an update because of phone specific drivers and their own specific apps. That's the only official way to update, and if Samsung doesn't make that update, there is no alternative but to use a ROM.


Google Calendar is installed, How do I open it? I have recently purchased a Spice MI 350 Handset which is loaded with Android 2.3.3, the phone also has some preinstalled apps.. When I go to application manager -> installed I see Google calendar there but I don't know from where I can open it.. I have tried almost all the options.

I have tried finding "Google Calendar" at android market place but there is no such app (or at least I couldn't find one)... I need a calendar which gets sync with my Google Calendar account..

Since the phone is not rooted I can neither open nor use nor re install it from the market (disappointing) ..How do I get Google Calendar working for me...

Usually it's called Calendar. Ask your provider if it still isn't showing on your phone.

Alternatively, trying seeing if long-pressing an empty area of your screen and then choosing Widgets - shows the Calendar Widget in the list.

I am assuming of course, that you've already set up your Google Account to sync with your device.


Keeping Android quiet at night I'd like my Android device to keep quiet during the night, no alerts for mails and talk messages, only calls and of course, the wake-up alarm. How can I do it?

Timeriffic is fantastic for this purpose.  You can get the latest version from the app's Google Play store page, or you can get an older version from f-droid.org.


Is there a way to export/share "favourite" gallery images? I have selected a few hundred images as "favourite" in the stock Galaxy S3 Photo Gallery app. I can view these photos by tapping on the "Albums" drop down and choosing "Favourites". Once in this view I can open individual images or start a slideshow. There is no multi-select option like in "albums" view which allows for bulk sharing of images.

Does anybody know a novel way to export/share all favourite images?

I have tried other gallery apps in the hope they shared the "favourite" database but each has their own. AirDroid also does not have a "show favourites" option.

Or does anybody know if the list of favourite images can be exported from some sqlite database and I can script out the file names for copying?

Thanks!

You need to use the Photos app instead (it no longer requires a Google+ profile) which has the option you are looking for in the latest 2018 version. But you cannot export or migrate your favorites out of Gallery and the Gallery app is removed by Lollipop.


Is there a WhosHere-style (location-based) social networking chat app for Android? I like the WhosHere app for Apple iPhone iOS. Is there a similar social networking/chat app that uses location / gps to find people to chat or network with for Android?

Here's some more info on the application: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/whoshere/id284973016

Here's what I could find so far:

FlirtMaps, the first geo-aware mobile dating apps to find dates!
You are either very smart or very lucky! You’ve just found FlirtMaps, the first geo-aware mobile dating app that lets you find your next date right in the neighborhood... or around the world!
Skout for flirting, dating, friendship and love! Chat and browse photos for FREE! Use SKOUT to flirt, play, party, find a date or new friends. At SKOUT we take your safety and privacy very seriously. No one can figure out your exact whereabouts.
I'm Here Plus allows you to use SMS text messaging to check the status and GPS location of any person on your contact list, as long as they have "Im Here Plus" installed as well. You may also choose to send others your current location via SMS, whether with just your GPS address or with an edited personalized location.
If you root your android phone and enable wifi tethering, you could use your ipod touch tethered through the droid and still use whosHere

I haven't tested any of these out. If you can comment with which of these you prefer, that would be great! thanks!


Recover manually deleted call history I was looking for an outdated third party call backup app which does not update instantaneously at the deletion of logs via the default phone app. Would that be necessary or is there any other way I can save the said deleted history?
If yes, could anybody suggest such apps? Thanks!

there are no apps (as in an android app) to my knowledge but you can look at the binary data because what youve done is a soft delete and you need a hard delete to erase that information off the physical memory..

long to do and could be draining since you have to translate the binary also into higher level form .... you need a compiler for this. thats AFTER you find the location of the binary anomaly youre looking for (you can do this after too, thatll be easier, but youd have to decompile alot more code)

as long as your computer (in this case android) hasnt replaced that unused space (ie you havent downloaded too much information since) then its possible

im sure there are programmes to recover your code as i used to use these kinds of programmes since like 1997.

good luck finding that in 2019

but if you do btw... let me know.. thanks


Xperia M4 Aqua loop-crashes infinitely when trying to connect to my wifi network This morning I woke up and dropped my xperia down to the floor. When I would connect to my wifi network, my xperia would loop-crash infinitely. My xperia runs on Marshmallow (6.0.1)

To fix this situation, I used Xperia PC Companion to repair and reset it. Yet, any time I would connect to my wifi, my xperia would loop-crash infinitely.

The situation became quite irrecoverable applicatively.

Intuitively, I'd think dropping the xperia might have unconnected some hardware inside, most likely hardware linked to the wifi.

I watched the following videos to get more knowledge about what is inside that sealed water resistant phone.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=xperia+m4+disassembly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIvllLIefxcac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-QRcGrUK8M

From those videos, I planned I'd open my phone with an airdryer and small screw drivers. It's more sketch than what is suggested in the videos, but the phone is 2 years old already and I don't plan on keeping it many years longer.

So, I opened the phone and it was a scary experience. Hopefully, I managed not to screw up much of the glue setup. Like in the videos, I disassembled the battery and the bottom part of the phone in order to get to unplug and replug several components to make sure they are properly plugged.

I put the cover back on the phone and it sticked ok... From now on, I won't put it into water anymore, I can live with that.

Booted it back up and set it up. It works just as new.


Can't reboot system after CyanogenMod 14.1 update I am coming before you because I am being stuck in recovery mode after I updated CyanogenMod 14.1 Nightly on my LG G4 h-815.

Indeed, I just performed a weekly update as usual but afterwards the system did not reboot as usual. In order to solve this issue, I performed the following operations:

I reinstalled the latest version of Team Win Recovery Project, by following the instructions on this page: https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_h815#Installing_a_custom_recovery_using_fastboot
I booted in recovery mode and, in the menu, I selected "Wipe" and then "Format Data"
I installed CyanogenMod and Gapps, by following the instructions on this page: https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_h815#Installing_CyanogenMod_from_recovery

Unfortunately, when I reboot the system I am always back into recovery mode. I tried to install several version of CyanogenMod with the same result.

Does anyone have any idea of what I should do?

Thanks in advance!!

Clément

Thanks a lot esQmo for your answer!

I finally managed to return to stock. To do so:

I downloaded LGUP here: http://oceanhost.eu/eps4h4pmwphu/LGUP.zip.htm and I installed LGUP_8994_DLL_Ver_0_0_3_23 first and then LGUP_Install_Ver_1_14_3 (I am running Windows 10)
I downloaded the Frenche version of Marshmallow 6.0 for my LG G4 h815 here: http://storagecow.eu/index.php?dir=Xda%2FLG+G4%2FH815%2FMarshmallow+6.0%2F
Downloaded the LG drivers
I restart my phone into Download Mode and I plugged it to my computer:

4.1. Power Down the LG G4

4.2. Press and Hold the Volume Up Button on the LG G4

4.3. While Holding Volume Up, Plug the USB Cable into the LG G4

4.4. Continue Holding the Volume Up Button After You See ‘Download Mode’

4.5. Let Go of the Volume Up Button When You See the ‘Firmware Update’ Screen on the LG G4

I runned LGUP and I refurbished my phone with the .kdz firmware file downloaded in 2.

N.B.: if your computer does not detect your mobile device, you should change the port to have COM41

Good luck!


How to disable default calendar notification on Samsung Watch Active 2 I have the Samsung Watch Active 2, and use Google Calendar app on my phone, which also has event notifications on my watch, which is great.

However, the default Samsung calendar notification also shows up, but it would lock up the screen and require me to explicitly dismiss the notification to use the watch. Is there a way this notification can be disabled?

I opened the Samsung Calendar app on my phone. Not through device manager but the Default Calendar that comes with Samsung phones. From there you can see all calendars and un-check the calenders you do or do not want to be synced.


Menu button for very old apps in Android 7 I have Lenovo TAB4 10 Plus tablet with Android 7.1.1 and I'm unable to change settings for some very old application because of missing menu button for them.

In Android 5 there was floating menu button (with 3 vertical dots), and there was also a possibility (in general options of OS) to change the behavior of the task button - long press on it opened the application menu.

But now there is no floating menu, no possibility to change the behavior of task button (nor home button, nor back button).

I tried the long press / double tap on all three buttons (home, back, task) but without success.

Is there some way to display menu for such old applications?

Edit:

It's not a duplicate of the question
How does one use apps that place a menu on the system bar when the buttons are not in the screen?, because I tried using both answers in the question  but without a success - neither recommended procedures, nor the recommended application Menu Button helped me. The last one created the (new) menu button, but it opened Android settings, not the active application's menu.

This might help you: Xperia/AOSP NavBar Buttons. A pre requirement is root access and Xposed. I found only this alternative way for your device for the menu bar, but it might not worth.

Or try Custom Navigation Bar.


How do I erase all the data on Galaxy S4 if the screen is broken? I have Samsung Galaxy S4, but the screen broke. I wanted to erase all the data on it before I send it back to the factory for replacement. Is there any way to do this?

Assuming you ever registered a gmail address on your google play account(which you have to, to download apps), your phone will be registered in Google's Device Manager on play.google.com.  If your phone was connected to WiFi or Data when the screen broke the below method can work(I've tested it myself multiple times).

Head to play.google.com(From your PC)
Log in to your google account.
Click the 'gear' symbol in the top right hand corner of the screen.
Go To 'Android Device Manager'
Select your GS4 from the menu of your registered devices.
Select 'Erase' from the list.

That should erase the phone.


Drawing on Nexus 10 to Windows 8.1 I have a Google / Samsung Nexus 10 Android tablet, and a Windows 8.1 laptop (Dell Latitude E6430). I'd like to use my Android tablet as a drawing surface, to draw images on my Windows laptop. The ultimate goal is to be able to make narrated videos that consist of drawings, so I would be using my laptop to record the screen, while I'm drawing from the Android tablet.

I do not want to install anything new on my laptop (preferably)
I need to be able to view the drawing on my laptop while I am in the process of drawing (Remote Desktop isn't an option, for this reason)

What options are there for this scenario?

Teamviewer may be an option. You can remote into your tablet using teamviewer on your laptop, to the teamviewer app on your N10. This is the only option I can think of. This would not however allow to directly circle say an icon on your desktop, for that you would need some sort of overlay application for your laptop.


how apps bypass VPN? I installed flipkart from apk. And without logging in searched for mobile phones.Then cleared app data and started VPN and then opened the app again but I was getting recommendations of searched phones. How flipkart bypassed VPN? How can we sure that browsers don't really bypass VPN?

It didn't bypass the VPN. The apps use your other identifications such as "Advertising ID" identify you. Then this information is used to give you suggestions/recommendations based on your previous browsing or search history.

Most apps will also keep a local cache. So, unless you have cleared data for the app, the app knows everything you previously did.


How do I copy pictures onto a folder on the home screen? I have some pictures that I want to copy to a folder on the home screen, but I can't see any way to do that.  The home screen isn't a directory like all the others, so I can't copy files there.  Is there any way to do that?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S with Froyo.

If you install a file manager app like Astro File Manager you can put any files into any directory you create, including pictures.  Then all you have to do is make a shortcut to that directory on the home screen.


How to transfer my photos to PC wirelessly? I have an Android phone, and I have many pics stored there. Now I want to free up my phone space and transfer them to my PC. I don't want to use USB cable. Is it possible to do it wirelessly?

You cod use Google photos and the Google drive desktop app. Google photos will automatically backup all new photos (with unlimited storage as long as they are under a certain number of megapixels), and the Google drive app on you computer will load them onto your PC.

And Google photos also has a button that removes photos from your phone if they are already backed up.

Final bonus: you can now view your photos on your phone or computer, and you can also easily share them.


What happens in background when an app is linked or unlinked to/from Play Store? If you are rooted, you can use Titanium Backup to link or unlink an app to/from Play Store. What does Titanium Backup do for it? I don't think Android API supports this directly. It alters a file or database or something else?
I am just curious...

It removes the app's entry from the /data/data/com.android.vending/databases/localappstate.db database:

root@android:/data/data/com.android.vending/databases # ls
library.db
library.db-journal
localappstate.db
market_assets.db-journal
suggestions.db
suggestions.db-journal
appstate.db
root@android:/data/data/com.android.vending/databases # sqlite3 localappstate.db
SQLite version 3.7.4
Enter ".help" for instructions
Enter SQL statements terminated with a ";"
sqlite> select * from appstate where package_name='com.android.chrome';
com.android.chrome|2||||0|||<myemail>@gmail.com||

... Here I detached from the Market with Ti ...

sqlite> select * from appstate where package_name='com.android.chrome';
sqlite>

I'm not aware of it making any other modifications to the filesystem (it doesn't touch library.db insofar as I can tell), but it's possible that there's some other magic behind it.


Mount Galaxy A5 (2017) on Ubuntu via MTP I have been reading numerous articles on this, but nothing seems to work for me. I have a Galaxy A5 (2017). When I plug it into my Ubuntu 14.04 laptop, the phone is recognised and I can browse the folders and see files, however I cannot open any of the files, nor can I copy anything to the phone.

When I first plug it in, this is the dmesg output:

[ 2168.258890] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 2168.276856] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=04e8, idProduct=6860
[ 2168.276860] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2168.276862] usb 2-1: Product: SAMSUNG_Android
[ 2168.276863] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
[ 2168.276864] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: d31e7ed99d31e7ed

At this point, "SAMSUNG Android" shows up in Nautilus, with nothing in it.
The phone then asks me if I want to allow the connection, which I do. Then dmesg displays the following additional output:

[ 2190.116385] usb 2-1: USB disconnect, device number 9
[ 2190.417923] usb 2-1: new high-speed USB device number 10 using xhci_hcd
[ 2190.434886] usb 2-1: New USB device found, idVendor=04e8, idProduct=6860
[ 2190.434891] usb 2-1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2190.434894] usb 2-1: Product: SAMSUNG_Android
[ 2190.434897] usb 2-1: Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
[ 2190.434899] usb 2-1: SerialNumber: d31e7ed99d31e7ed

Another Nautilus window pops up and the contents of the SAMSUNG Android device now contain "Phone". When I open that, it displays the directory structure. Like I said, I can browse through it, but not actually read the files or copy anything to it.

The "Use USB for" setting on the phone is set to "Transferring media files"; "Transfer media files to a PC via an MTP connection.".

When I change this to "Transferring images"; "Transfer images and other files via a PTP connection if MTP is not supported.", then I can open images on the phone, but I am restricted to only directories containing images.

The Galaxy A5 (2017) runs Android 6.0.1.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

Marc.

For users who were out of luck with mtpfs, jmtpfs, go-mtpfs or any other libraries which depend on libmtp; try android-file-transfer.

It does not depend on libmtp and thus free from inherent bugs, is the most up-to-date mtp library I have seen on github (as of May 2018), and also can be used with FUSE, although I personally recommend to use its own Qt based GUI to avoid possible FUSE back-front interaction bugs.

Just make sure you DO NOT open your MTP device using any default mechanisms provided by your linux distro, e.g. clicking on Open when the device-connected notification pops up!

github: https://github.com/whoozle/android-file-transfer-linux

PPA: https://launchpad.net/~samoilov-lex/+archive/ubuntu/aftl-stable

Read about MTP on linux: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/MTP


How to delete offline dictionaries in Google Translate? I have downloaded some dictionaries for off-line translation in Google Translate. Those dictionaries are quite big, and take precious internal storage - there is no option to move them to SD.

I'd like to delete those files, as it turns out that I never needed them - always was in range of WiFi. Google Translate doesn't seem to provide an option to do this. I'd rather not remove my configuration (that's what I think would be the result of deleting all user data for Google Translate).

How can I do this?

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini (GT-I8190N), with Android 4.1.2

Go to Settings -> Offline languages, there you should see the saved dictionaries with a tick inside a grey circle. Tap on the tick and it will ask whether you want to delete the offline package or not, just press OK and it will free up some space.


Conflicted internal SD card because of casing/capitalization? I'm using two Tencent apps. One of them likes accessing /sdcard/tencent and the other likes /sdcard/Tencent. Somehow the /data/media/0/Tencent folder is empty and /sdcard/Tencent has exactly the same contents as /sdcard/tencent, so they worked fine for a while.

Recently I did something unrelated but eats a lot of RAM, and most of the background apps were shut down including the two mentioned above. To my surprise, /sdcard/Tencent was no longer mapped to /sdcard/tencent but they have reversed! I checked /data/media/0/tencent and everything that was there is still there, but /data/media/0/Tencent is no longer empty.

A reboot has a chance(!!) to fix the issue. Now I would like to know the cause of this strange behavior, and a possible solution.

I quickly merged Tencent into tencent in /data/media/0 and created an empty file, and to my surprise /sdcard/Tencent is still showing up as a directory, not the file.

I have a dirty fix but I still want a better solution.

Just delete the unwanted variant and re-create it, then both names would be mapped to the other (desired) one. However, this needs to be done once per reboot.


Discover version of Bluetooth How can I know what's the Bluetooth version of my Android device?

Go to http://www.gsmarena.com/ and search for your device: the site provides several info including Bluetooth version.


Why does my device turn Wi-Fi on by itself? Similar to Why does HTC Incredible S turn Wi-Fi on by itself?, it seems my Samsung Galaxy Victory will turn on Wi-Fi at random times. It establishes a connection if certain networks are in range (i.e. any open Wi-Fi).

I notice a Wi-Fi setting which allows this phone to keep its Wi-Fi on during sleep, but this is currently disabled.

Is there a way to prevent the device from looking for Wi-Fi networks?  If this is specific to Samsung devices, has anyone figured out how to take care of this issue?

After some searching, it turns out this feature is provided by the Sprint network (although that doesn't rule out that other carriers/devices may provide similar functionality). The Q&A at community.sprint.com points to the Sprint Connection Optimizer, AKA the "Intelligent Mobile Network and Wi-Fi Setting." This setting "will automatically connect you to Wi-Fi networks on your device's remembered list."

This setting can be enabled/disabled by navigating to Settings > More settings > Mobile Networks > Sprint Connections Optimizer.


Superuser does not show prompt Firstly I need to say that I know this topic has been discussed many times but none of answers helped and I think this question is somewhat different than the others.

I have tried to root my Android 4.2.1 phone trying various automatic methods, where all of them failed. Also rooting using update.zip does not work due to "Invalid OTA, missing scatter" error.

However I am able to get root access using "adb root" command so I have tried to root my phone manually:

'adb root' and 'adb remount' commands to gain access to system partition
downloaded newest su binary (version 3.1.1)
pushed it to '/system/xbin/su'
set suid and sgid bit: 'chmod 6755 su' --> ls -l displays '-rwsr-sr-x root     root       380532 2008-02-29 02:33 su'
linked '/system/xbin/su' to '/system/bin/su'
installed newest Superuser from Google play (3.1.3)
installed busybox (though this is not necessary if I understand correctly?)

Now it gets interesting:
When I 'adb shell' into my phone, I can use 'su' command and automatically get root privileges ($ changes to # and I can access root's files), and it is logged in Superuser app with originator as 'Shell'. BUT when I try application that needs root, it takes long (10 seconds) and then it fails (I have tried 'Root Checker Basic' from the store).

The Superuser app never shows any popup, also it is not in the log. It seems that it automatically denies all requests.

So here is my question: Have I done all steps correctly? (maybe I am missing something very important)

I am quite desperate right now (spent nearly 2 whole days trying to have this done), so I would even resort to solutions as editing some Superuser config files and enabling root access for app manually.

PS: If you need additional info, just ask, I will try to fill information if possible

Further investigation:

setting auto-allow in Superuser does not work either
running su from terminal throws exception: java.lang.SecurityException: broadcast asks to run as user -1 but is calling from user 0; this requires android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS_FULL or android.permission.INTERACT_ACROSS_USERS.
So I need to set this permission somewhere..

Izzy's comments lead me to correct path, so I have managed to root the device. If somebody else having the same problem (auto-root programs don't work but you can access device using adb root), here is complete how-to to root your phone manually:

Install Superuser from ClockworkMod on Google Play directly to your phone
Prepare adb as root and make /system writeable: adb kill-server, adb root, adb remount (you might need to kill adb.exe in task manager if it hangs)
Pull the just downloaded apk to your computer: adb pull /data/app/com.koushikdutta.superuser-1.apk (note: it may have different name in the future)
On your PC: open the apk using zip (for example rename extension to .zip or use WinRar)
Copy from zip system\bin\su to your working directory
Push it to your phone: adb push su /system/xbin/su
Be sure that owner is root: adb shell chown root:root /system/xbin/su
Set SUID and SGID bits on the binary: adb shell chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su
Reboot phone: adb reboot
Try su from adb: adb shell, su; prompt should change from $ to #
Try su from phone: install terminal and use command su or use Root Checker Basic from the store
If su from adb works but does not work from phone, repeat whole process from 1 but download different Superuser application from market (for example ChainsDD's version didn't work for me)


How to download an audio file from a web site? Is there a way to download an audio file, such as a mp3-file from the Android browser to the device so I could listen to it later when I'm offline? Is there a way I should program the web site to make this possible?

I'm not looking for an additional app to help me achieve this.

in your android browser long click on MP3 file link or any audio link and click on Save Link. It will be downloaded to your phone and it will be stored in download folder in your sdcard.

Hope it will help you.


Why is the '/storage/emulated/' directory inaccessible? The /storage directory and the /storage/emulated/0 directory is accessible in a non-rooted Android OS.
So, why is the /storage/emulated directory not accessible in a non-rooted Android OS ?

On Android 6+ /storage is a mountpoint where tmpfs is (bind) mounted (from /mnt/runtime/default) with mode 0755 i.e. it's world-readable.

For every app /storage/emulated is a bind mount in an isolated mount namespace, from /mnt/runtime/VIEW/emulated which is an emulated/virtual filesystem from /data/media having mode 0711 and owner root. So the directory is only traversable, not readable by non-root users that includes all apps.

VIEW is one of read (for apps with permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) or write (permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) or default (for all other apps and processes running in root/global mount namespace i.e. outside zygote).

/storage/emulated/0 is traversable, readable or writeable to apps depending on the status of manifest permissions READ/WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.

These measurements are a part of Android's app sandboxing approach for better isolation, security and privacy.

Related: What is /storage/emulated/0?


Display viewport only at the right bottom of the screen I have a Geniatech ATV1220 android set top box running android 4.2.2 and am using an arduino with motion sensor connected to it to modify content on a website when someone is in front of the sensor via NodeJS.

This works great, but what I would like to do is to manipulte the complete system viewport of the android system. For example if someone steps in front of the sensor, the whole system should be displayed in a reduced size like 1/4 original at the bottom right side of the screen while the other area should just display black or basically nothing.

It is really hard to find something because of the pretty common keywords like display, viewport, size and so on. I could probably do it dependent on individual applications but I also want to use it in third party applications, which I cannot modify.

Currently I am sometimes using commands like this:

echo 1 >/sys/class/graphics/fb0/blank

to modify the actual content that is displayed, in this case it all turns black/blank and I wonder if there is a similar way to achieve what I want to do. Any help is greatly appreciated.

What worked in the end was using the Xposed Framework and installing "One-handed mode" like explained here: How to get a one-handed mode on almost any rooted Android device.


How to recover files after formatting android mobile i accidentally formatted (soft reset) my Oppo smart phone running on android 9.0 , it has important images, now how can i recover them

Photorec (part of testdisk) is a fantastic open source file recovery tool that's my go-to, well respected, pretty easy to use and very good at file recovery as long as the data on the drive has only been deleted, not overwritten. I think it should work for your phone then, as long as the format didn't secure delete / rezero the memory

It's a PC tool, but you can run it on your SD card in a reader, or on your phone's memory if you attach it to the PC as a USB storage device

One thing to be aware of is it will find most files in my experience, but often it loses the filenames in the process, and it dumps every file it finds on the drive into generic folders, so you might have to sift through a lot of files with the extension of the ones you need before you find them, but it is good if you need something important back

https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec


How to train the battery I am trying to find the way to use my battery in the most efficient manner.

I found several suggestions how to achieve the longest life of the battery, and one of these suggestions is quite strange and mysterious. Check it out:

  Turn on your phone;
  Connect the charger and wait until the battery is full-charged (green indicator is on);
  Disconnect the charger;
  Wait until the green indicator is off and connect the charger back;
  When green indicator is on, turn off the phone.

  Now, continue with switched off phone.

  Disconnect the charger;
  Wait until the green indicator is off;
  Connect the charger, wait for green indicator and disconnect the charger again;
  Repeat the "3" step 10 times. This might take from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, usual that's about 1 minute.

  This procedure takes some time, but it proved to be worth the cost.

The original article is in another language (russian), so it would not be very useful to post it here, but, to be on the safe side, here's original article.

I am pretty unclear about chemical processes going in the battery, so I can't check out what exactly happened during this mysterious actions.

I did not try to do this with my phone because i'm not sure this isn't harmful for the battery. But at least one person confirmed that these actions helped him to enlarge battery life for at least one cycle.

So, the question is: why exactly the battery's lifecycle becomes enlared, and isn't it harmful to battery? Finally, is it good idea to do all this stuff?

I'm pretty sure this is called trickle charging. It's basically useless in modern LiON battery as the safety mechanism in the battery should have turned off the charging mechanism when the battery is near full capacity to prevent over charging, because over charging a LiON battery could cause explosion.


Google keyboard gestures not working for other languages than English (Moto G, Android 4.4.4) I can't get gestures ("swype") to work with Google Keyboard for languages other than English (which is my device language).

Gestures are activated in the keyboard settings, I have tried rebooting the phone, but still no luck.

Go to Settings -> Language and input -> Google Keyboard settings -> Add-on dictionaries. Scroll down/hit refresh to show all languages, then click the language you want to install, an "Install" button will appear, click it.

Gestures should now work for any language for which the dictionary is installed.


Factory data reset not working after root attempt I tried to root my HTC rhyme but could not do it properly. I have unlocked bootloader though.

Everything was fine for a long time after that but my mobile has gone very slow now and i wanted to factory reset it. But when i go to factory reset, it stucks on HTC logo and does not turn on. What should i do?

Look up the Hboot process on YouTube for your model HTC phone. Normally if there's a video then there's links to any files you might need. Follow the directions and thank all the great Devs for making life so easy for us all.


Is it possible, that old smartphone becomes slow simply because it is old? I have 3.5 half year old Samsung / Google Galaxy Nexus i9250. The phone has become so slow after that time, that it is simply being unusable. Launching any application, as simple as Gmail or Calendar takes 2-3 seconds, sometimes even five. Pressing Home button needs 4-5 seconds between press and really showing up main screen of my launcher (Nova Prime).

When I purchased this phone, it was simply lightning fast.

I have about 50 applications installed, of which about half is used (15 from time to time and 10 daily) and the other half, never used or used once per 2-3 months. Because I change my attitude very rarely, I have installed these applications in 2012, when I purchased my phone and haven't installed anything or nearly anything ever since that. I would describe this as changing 1-2 application per year.

Because of above, I can hardly accept, that my phone is slow, because I installed too many applications during that 3.5 year period. We can assume, that I'm sitting on the same apps set for past 1-2 years. It is also hard for me to belive, that 50 apps, of which half is nearly never used is enough to visually reduce performance of such phone. Even though it is quite old, its hardware isn't that weak, as I assume.

I of course did a full factory reset once or twice, installing only the same set of applications, as in 2012, after that. It brought little or no help and little or no performance gain. This has actually "killed" me, because I was more than sure, that full factory reset will return this phone to a level of performance and speed close to the days, as it was brand new.

The only theory, that comes to my mind -- though very strange and unbelievable -- is that my battery is old, its performance is far lower than when it was brand new, and thus it powers all hardware with lesser voltage causing its overall performance to degrade.

I know, how stupidly this theory sounds, but it is the only one, I managed to come with, in given situation.

Assuming that number of installed applications and overall usage style of my phone hasn't changed over past 3.5 years of using it, is there any reasonable reason for why it is so extremely slower than it was, when it was brand new?

Performance has nothing to do with battery voltage. The reason is that the flash memory is "worn" and therefore slower and less responsive.
My Nexus 7 (1st generation) is also very slow now and I have almost no apps on it. You can read more here: Why Android Phones Slow Down Over Time, part "No Solid-State Drive TRIM"

  No Solid-State Drive TRIM

  The lack of proper TRIM support was the main thing that caused
  Google’s original Nexus 7 tablet to slow down over time. This was
  fixed in Android 4.3, which added proper TRIM support. On Nexus
  devices, updating to Android 4.3 will fix this problem.

  If you have an older device that doesn’t have Android 4.3 and has
  slowed down over time, you can perform TRIM by rooting it and using
  the LagFix app. This app runs the same fstrim command Android 4.3 runs
  in the background. TRIM is necessary because of how solid-state drives
  work — solid-state drives slow down over time because flash memory
  cells must be cleared before they can be written to again. TRIM
  preemptively clears cells that contain data from deleted files,
  ensuring things will be as fast as possible when Android needs to
  write to those cells in the future.

  How to Fix It: Root your device and run LagFix if you’re using an
  older device. This happens automatically on devices running Android
  version 4.3 and newer.


newbie: how to get larger keys on lockscreen keyboard? background: LG model=L34C (virtual keyboard), Android version=4.4, on which I am the opposite of "power user" :-(

Basically I'm fat-thumbed. I don't want theming or photographs or animations on my lockscreen, I just want to type my password with {more speed, fewer mistakes}. (And, no, I don't wanna switch to PIN or pattern or biometrics for my lockscreen--I do want decent security for this thing.)

My understanding (which could be very wrong) is that the lockscreen must display in portrait mode (i.e., long side vertical). Is that correct? If not, please lemme know: making the lockscreen display in landscape by default seems like the easiest way to get what I want.

Alternatively: must I install a lockscreen app? If so, please recommend one that Does What I Want: display time and date in as little space as is {feasible, readable} and devote the rest of the space to the keyboard (preferably in landscape, but I'll take what I can get).

Considering that you responded in the comments that landscape-only is alright, I'd suggest Ultimate Rotation Control. Use its "Forced Auto" mode to rotate any apps to any direction you want - that of course includes the lock screen. After proper settings, it could seamlessly integrate with the built-in rotation switch too (basically you could toggle the built-in switch and the lockscreen will now obey).

On my devices, when I have a password set and lock screen rotated to landscape, tapping on the password textbox will show a full-screen editing interface with landscape keyboard, which should be good enough for your fingers.


Send SMS to Email address using Android without Internet I would like to know whether its possible to send an SMS text message to an email address in Android. Moreover, I need to send it without using Internet. I have heard of SMS to Email gateways but then how can one use it

It is possible to send emails to SMS inboxes. But you can't send a SMS to an email inbox given you do not have an internet connection. You must already know that emails require internet connectivity. As you asked, SMS gateways can be used to send and receive SMSes provided you are subscribed to a SMS line via a Direct-to-mobile or a Direct-to SMS gateway. Simply put, you cannot use this functionality with your normal SIM card, if you are willing to do it in an offline method. Read more about SMS Gateways in Wikipedia.

On a side note, if you can go online (say mobile data), you can do this by way of a MMS. All you have to do is to send the MMS to the desired email address. Some of the gateway addresses for email to SMS are listed below.

Alltel: phonenumber@message.alltel.com
AT&T: phonenumber@txt.att.net
T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com
US Cellular: phonenumber@mms.uscc.net

Keep in mind that most of the networks tend to block and/or alter their gateways once the traffic is considerably high, as this method is widely used by spammers.


Some of my apps disappeared after wiping cache and dalvic cache. Why? I am running Cyanogenmod 12.1 snapshot ROM on my Moto G 2nd gen. Today I Installed Xposed framework and Wiped dalvic and cache. After reboot I noticed that some of my apps have disappeared. Only grayed out icons can be seen. What should I do now?

As for as i know, when a rom boots up for a first time dalvik goes each and every apks and extract the dex (Android programs are compiled into .dex (Dalvik Executable) files) and put in the cache.So next time when you use your mobile it start faster and improved the performance, so when you wiped dalvik cache, it only clear cache memory. it will not delete application data.

i cannot say exactly one solution for your problem without getting more information, try to reinstall apk, maybe it will solve your problem because data is not deleted.


How to use adb to back up more than 2GB? I'm trying to back up my Nexus 7 before installing a new factory image. (There is an issue preventing OTA update from succeeding.)  But when I run

adb backup -f android-nosystem-backup.ab -apk -shared -all -nosystem

the backup gets stuck after writing 2147483647 bytes.  This number is 2^31 minus 1, and I recognize the problem as a lack of Large File Support somewhere.  I'm running the adb that ships with my current Debian Linux distro "Jessie."  The problem occurs whether I try to back up to a local file or to a remote NFS-mounted file server, so I suspect that something in the adb toolchain has been compiled without Large File Support.

The Nexus 7 reports total storage in use of 4.2GB, so I'm expecting a backup file on that order of size.  Is there some workaround I should be using?  Is there a way to split the backup into pieces?

It turns out this is a known issue and there is a patch.


Is there a Twitter app that allows filtering of tweets based on source, hashtag, etc? Tweet Deck for PC has a global filter that allows this but I cannot see this option in the Android client.

As above, is there an app that has this feature?

I would very much like to clear my tweetstream of Foursquare noise and the like.

Touiteur has been updated today and now has filtering. Please note that this feature may just be the paid version. I'll update this answer with a link and QR code when I've confirmed those details.

Edit: It would seem that filtering isn't a premium feature.

The filtering can be found under the mute settings in Touiteur -> More -> Mute.
You can choose to mute text (inc. hashtags), users and apps (sources).

Touiteur homepage


Listing the achievements unlocked by a friend In Google Play Games, is it possible to view all the achievements unlocked by a friend?

All the achievements wont be listed at once when you visit your friend's account(when you see their profile in the Google Play Games application). Instead when you visit their profile you get the list of games that your friend is playing/played. And you have to click each game your friend has played and compare/view the achievements with your friend's profile with your profile.


How to Customize Lock Screen Shortcuts on the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T I have installed a new camera app that I'd like to use by default. I set it as the default app in the settings, but that didn't make it the target app for the lock screen shortcut or the O gesture.

The most simple method - and I've tried this on my own OnePlus 3 running OxygenOS Open Beta 21 - is to simply disable the stock camera app - known as "OnePlus Camera" on OnePlus devices.

To disable it, go to Settings > Apps > OnePlus Camera > Disable

That should do the trick.


Can't ping Windows 7 from Android phone and vice versa in the same network, but other machines can I have an Android phone and a notebook running Windows 7, both are Wi-Fi enabled. Both devices are on the same network and they can't see each other (I can't ping phone from notebook and vice versa). But, to make it more weird, let me show you my network structure.

      Name  -       OS  -   IPv4 Address
----------------------------------------
    Router  -           -    192.168.1.1
ComputerXP  -    WinXP  -  192.168.1.103
ComputerW7  -     Win7  -  192.168.1.104
NotebookW7  -     Win7  -  192.168.1.106
 Telephone  - Android4  -  192.168.1.109

Now, ComputerXP and ComputerW7 can ping all devices in given network. NotebookW7 and Telephone can both ping Router, ComputerXP and ComputerW7. The only connection that does not work is Notebook7 <--> Telephone.

I have previously had this problem, I tried restarting NotebookW7, Telephone and Router, disabling and re-enabling Wi-Fi connection and firewall, pinging anywhere and nothing was working. Later on when my dad came home, I wanted to show him this situation, but suddenly I was able to connect to NotebookW7 from my Telephone like magic. I was happy that the issue got fixed. I stopped using this connection for a while and now I wanted to establish it again and guess what, it's again not working. I have no idea what is going on.

I used ping on Windowss and Ping & DNS on Android to test ping.

EDIT 1: For some reason, I was not able to ping ComputerW7 using my Telephone for a while. So in my Telephone I started external software for managing files. I added new network place with IP Address of ComputerW7 (192.168.1.104) and pressed test connection. It was doing something for a while and then it printed "Test successful". I went back to Ping & DNS, and re-pinged same IP Address and it started working for some reason. I did same thing with my NotebookW7, but I got "Test not successful" in my file manager.

EDIT 2: Little bit more weirdness. I added one more Android Phone (lets call it just Phone) to the network and checked all possible pings from outside to the Phone. Nothing worked. Then I tried to connect to VLC Player at ComputerXP using Phone and it worked. After that I was able to ping Phone from ComputerXP. Not really sure how this works. Only difference is that Phone has Android 4.2.2, but Telephone has 4.1.2.

EDIT 3: New thing I tried was to create Wi-Fi Router from Telephone and connecting to it using NotebookW7, it worked. However, I still was not able to ping it.

Are you using a Samsung Android running Lolipop? It is actually locked down and some Chinese hackers actually created the PINGPONG root to enable pinging from a Samsung Android.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/general/root-pingpongroot-s6-root-tool-t3103016


Android forgets ringtone settings after USB connected as mass storage Every time I turn on USB as mass storage device, my phone forgets its ringtone.

This is somewhat reasonable, because the OS doesn't have access to these file while the flash belongs to another computer. But I expect that the settings to revert or be kept after it's disconnected.

Is there a way to keep it remember ringtone settings?

Current settings (but it happened on other models as well):

ZTE
CM12

Just move your desired ringtone to /system/media/audio/ringtones and set proper permissions (refer to other files in the folder).


Enable WiFi when a specific application needs it, then disable after N minutes I do not leave WiFi nor data transfer enabled on my Samsung Note 3. The only application that I would like to have access to the network is Ankidroid.

Is there any way to have WiFi automatically enabled when Ankidroid requests network access, and then have WiFi automatically disabled (perhaps after N minutes)?

Right now I am enabling Wifi, syncing Ankidroid, and then disabling Wifi manually. It would be nice to automate at least part of this process.

Good. In this case you may try Tasker from App Store (However there are free trail available). Set your profile that triggers when the Specific App (Ankidroid) is Opened, and write a simple task

Proile:
1. App-> Ankidroid

Task:
1. Enable WIFI
2. Wait N Seconds
3. Disable WIFI

Tasker need some learning curve though, but it is very powerful and you can automate anything in your phone!


E3004: This package is for device: gts210vewifi; this device is I'm trying upgrade a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 Wi-Fi (2016) AKA gts210vewifi from a LineageOS 18 April 2017 to a 30 July 2018 build, but it fails printing this in TWRP:

E3004: This package is for device: gts210vewifi; this device is .

What does this apparently broken error message mean? -- Someone suggested that perhaps I "need to upgrade the firmware".. how would I need which version this new build requires?

OK, so this means that you have an outdated version of TWRP which, apparently, does not correctly report the device model name (it's empty).  --
Updating TWRP from 3.1.0-0 to latest is 3.2.2-0 solved this problem!


SIM contacts do not show up in my lenovo k6 How to show my sim contacts in my cell phone? I want to delete my sim contacts because I have received sms by my sim contacts not google account. Contacts are displayed of google account but not showing my sim contacts.
Any help regarding this issue will be appreciated.

Here you go SIMcardToolManager

with this you can view, Add , delete & manage contacts


How to turn off keyboard sound on Nexus 7 2nd gen I already have touch sound turned off, but still hear keyboard sound.

I believe this will fix it:

Go to Settings, Language & input, Google or Android keyboard settings then untick the box next to "Sound on keypress".


samsung s5 activity log I am suspecting that a friend of mine may have deleted an app I use for unknown reasons is there anyway I could see the phone activity log to check wet her the app was uninstalled and at what time

No there is no activity log but if you go on the play store and view all apps you can see all the apps youve downloaded and it will tell you if they are installed or not. Let me know if this helped


Where has the option to mount as hard drive gone ...? I have an HTC Desire HD (on Vodafone UK). I noticed this week that when I now connect it to either pc or mac the option to mount as a hard drive is no longer present. Why? What do I need to do to get it back?

Ok, so I had a look at this thread and, as it suggests, I took the microSD out and put it back in again. Now it works as before. Smells like a bug to me?


I just got a (used) Nexus 7 (2013).... And it goes to standby too quickly too often Is there are a way to configure it, with an app or guide, to be able to READ "something really interesting" in this tablet without the screen constantly randomly going off too soon?

I would understand that the tablet had something that told the system to keep being awake while I'm using "apps" that are obviously for "reading"?

The screen doesn't randomly turn off: it turns off after a fixed time. You can change how long before the screen turns off in the main device settings: Display → Sleep. This applies regardless of what app is in the foreground.

If you like, you can use a third-party automation tool such as Tasker or Llama to change the screen timeout according to what app you're using. This question explains how.

Samsung phones also have a feature called "Smart stay". This activates the front-facing camera just before it turns the screen off, to check whether you're looking at the screen: if so, it leaves the screen on for a while longer. This isn't a standard Android feature: it was developed by Samsung and only available on their phones.


Why Browser Tabs Reload After Restoring Back From Multi-Tasking? When i have tabs opened no matter in which browser and restore back to that browser due to previous multi-tasking, i get all tabs reloading (or would it be more correct to say, loading again from scratch?).

I thought when multi-tasking, tabs are supposed to leave at state they previously were in. So when certain websites were already loaded, why would they reload again and consume bandwidth?

UPDATE: Here is my device's memory status (sorry for bad quality but until Android implements screenshot feature in stock ROM or until i decide to ROOT, i will be capturing with another device's low quality camera):

Where are the rest of 499MB of memory? My device notifies me of low memory but what about the rest of 499MB? And did i mention that HTC Sense force closes when i multi-task?

It happens when tab is unloaded from memory.

Your thinking for multitasking is right, but just for multitasking, Android can't let device crashing happen, for example (device hardware resources are limited). There are many things which should be given higher priority than a background app. When foreground app needs high amount of memory, background apps are unloaded fully or partially from memory. Technically, when free memory drops below certain level, attack on background apps is performed. In fact, foreground app can also be attacked when kernel runs out of memory.

When it comes to websites, web browsers often make request of removed things of website (which aren't available in disc cache). To re-construct a web page, its better to reload webpage.
You can check it with Dolphin Browser HD: Send it to background & disconnect from internet. Then, re-open it. Webpage will be reloaded, but using cache (mind it, there's no internet connection).


How do I check if I have Cyanogenmod on my phone? Is it possible to check using shell whether or not Cyanogenmod is installed on a device?

In other words, something like uname -a (which tells the system Linux version and architecture).

Can the version be determined as well?

Another way is to simply go to Settings→About phone, where you should see (depending on your CyanogenMod version) an item "CyanogenMod updates", and (with all CM versions) "CyanogenMod-Version":


What does "svc power stayon wireless" do? Looking at the reference to svc on my phone there are options for svc power stayon [true|false|usb|ac|wireless]. I'm curious what usb, ac, and wireless do when you use them?

I tried svc power stayon wireless and it seemed the command succeeded, but I don't know what it did, or how to revert it.

I'm on an LG Tribute if that helps.

Executing svc power on the shell will bring the usage:

usage: svc power stayon [true|false|usb|ac|wireless]
         Set the 'keep awake while plugged in' setting.

The command will set whether to keep your device awake (prevent sleeping) or not while it's being charged on specific platform: USB charging, AC power, wireless charging, or all of them:

true will set all flags (usb, ac, wireless)
false will clear all flags
usb/ac/wireless will set that specific flag while clear the other

The same setting usually can be accessed on "Developer options" named "Stay awake", though it's simpler with only toggle to turn on/off.

Reference: source code of com.android.commands.svc.PowerCommand


Android shuts down when unplugged I have an HTC One m8. It's running android 6.0.

If I attempt to boot up the phone it instantly shuts down when reaching the Google Logo.
If I plug it in to a power source (AC/usb), it lets me boot, but once I unplug the power source it instantly shuts down.

The battery is indicated to be close to 100%.

This really does sound like a hardware issue with the battery, but I can still enter the bios (Power + Vol Down) and leave it open for a few hours without it dying (probably longer, didn't test it for longer). It only shuts down when I attempt to either boot or enter recovery.

I've already re-flashed the OS to stock with:

fastboot oem rebootRUU
fastboot flash zip rom.zip
fastboot reboot

So my question is: is this a hardware issue or software issue?

Is it because entering the bios requires such a minimal amount of energy, my device will allow me to enter it even when it's on extremely low battery? Or is it because the software is somehow incorrectly detecting the battery level and shutting down?

It seems like your battery is broken or something. I suggest bringing it back to HTC and have them fix it for you. Please don't do it(replacing battery/open then phone case) by yourself as it will void your phone warranty.

PS: HTC will have their way to replace the battery for you, but I am not sure whether it will cost you some money or not.

Hope it helps =)


Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn't keep wifi connected despite settings My Galaxy Tab 10.1, 16GB Wifi only version, disconnects the WiFi whenever the tablet goes into sleep mode.

I have ensured that I have selected to never sleep in advanced WiFi settings.

I downloaded and experimented with the Wifi Keep Alive and REGPON wifi KeepAlive apps, but they have had no effect.

I even tried rooting the device, and put on this ROM, in hopes that maybe some change would take effect, but it hasn't.

Is this a known issue with the Galaxy Tab 10.1? I've done some Google searching and I've seen other people report it, but most fixes seem to just describe how to go into the advanced settings and enable "never" as an option.

Is there any kind of fix I can apply?

This is a somewhat critical feature for me, as I intend to be able to receive Skype calls, which can't be done if the WiFi disconnects.

In a nutshell: using a static IP is like owning a house.  Having a DHCP lease is like renting, but you may have to move when the lease is up.  Unfortunately, the Tab's implementation is like a renter who leaves, then tries to get back into his old apartment (which in this analogy is a dynamically assigned IP address on your WiFi network) and finds it locked.  Instead of asking for a new lease, it just keeps knocking on the door, never to enter.  In this case, it means that your Tab won't connect to your WiFi network on wake.

The detailed explanation: It looks like Samsung's implementation of DHCP lease renewal is at fault here.  When a device wakes up and then tries to connect to WiFi, it will ask for a DHCP lease (if expired), which also gives it a dynamically assigned IP address.  This works fine when the Tab first connects.  However it looks like it never asks for a new lease and thus new IP address.  Instead it caches the IP address and keeps trying to reuse it.  DHCP is dynamic so it means that any particular device on the network cannot rely on a specific IP.  So eventually the lease will expire and/or the IP address that the Tab is using gets reassigned to another device.  When this happens, your Tab cannot connect to WiFi.

So the solution is to assign static IP until the Tab's implementation of DHCP lease renewal is fixed.

An alternative solution is to root your device.  Then you can manually delete the cached file which contains the stale IP address following the instructions at: http://steve-shaffer.com/2011/02/samsung-galaxy-tab-wifi/ (where I learned about some of these details as well).  This will cause the Tab to renew the DHCP lease properly and live in a brand new and shiny dynamically assigned apartment on your WiFi network.


Hangouts Face icons dim to bright Help me understand icons under messages going from live then back to dim under message.
When I send a message on hangouts the contact face shows live under the message, then reverts back to dim above the message.

So, you know how when you receive a message, there's a notification at the top of your screen? (When the icon is bright, it means person in question is looking at your message) Maybe it means that they have seen the notification, but have not yet responded and continued doing  what they had  been doing.


OK Google voice command through bluetooth headset (D.I.Y. Google Home device) I have a Bluetooth speaker with a built in microphone (and also several bluetooth headsets which are essentially the same). I have it paired with my Nexus 5x running Marshmellow. I would like to have a setup such that when the bluetooth device is on and connected, I can speak "OK Google" into the bluetooth device and Google Now activates on the phone.

I am fully aware that I can launch Google Now through a button push on the bluetooth device (albiet the speaker does not have any buttons but power on/off), however, I dont want to have to push any buttons. I want to activate Google Now, through the bluetooth device, hands free.

Note, in the Google Voice settings, I do have "Bluetooth Headset" on and "Hands free for Bluetooth devices" also on.

Is this possible?

Yes it is possible, it works on my Android 4.4 tablet with a Technika bluetooth speaker and I can say "Ok Google" anywhere in the room and it picks it up, it's pretty sweet! just like an Amazon Echo or Google Home device, just free.. haha. Just make sure "Ok Google anywhere" is turned on in the Google app settings and that your mic option is turned on in the system bluetooth settings and you should have your DIY Google Home/Amazon Echo up and running! I hope this helps  and have a nice day!


How to remove "Scrapbook Photos" from stock Gallery? A folder named "Scrapbook Photos" appears in my gallery app, but whenever I try to delete it, it remains. It doesn't contain any items, trying to navigate into the folder simply redraws the main gallery screen.

How can I remove this nuisance?

You can delete it at picasaweb.google.com.  (Click on the album, and then use the 'Actions' dropdown list.)


USB storage blank or unsupported filesystem Possible Duplicate:
  How to get rid of “SD Card blank or has unsupported filesystem” notification

When I connect a USB Flash drive to my Galaxy SII Android 2.3.4, it alerts me with this message:

  USB Storage Blank or Has Unsupported Filesystem

What is the problem and how can I resolve it?

Best thing you can do is first try and get anything off the drive you want from a computer.
Then reformat the drive to FAT32 and try connecting it again if your still getting the error report back


I need some photos that an app use, can i get them? I'm talking about zombiebooth app. I need those photos of damaged body parts for an after effects project. I guess they are saved as .png and i want those files, how can i get them?

You can extract the apk file (which is just a jar/zip file) and find the folder where the app stores the images, it is usually in the res folder, but it may be different place. If the app use APK expansion, then the image may also be stored in the expansion file.

Note that you may be violating the copyright of the developer by using these images, it's better if you contact the developer and request permission to use these images.


Captive Portal detection causing phones to disconnect from Wi-Fi in intranet environment Hello Android Enthusiasts!

I am the manager of an Internet Cafe on a cruise ship, and we're being plagued by a persistent problem that I can't quite solve.

We have a wireless network throughout the ship which can be used to access the Internet, but also includes a local intranet through which guests can view the daily events schedule, check their account, and use a free internal messaging service.

The issue we are running into seems to be with Captive Portal detection, and from my observations it appears to be affecting only Samsung phones (might just be S4 and higher), and has been observed on every OS from 4.2.2 and up. What happens is that they connect to the wireless network, and are then told that sign-in is required. A captive portal window will pop up, which does bring up our home page. If they then connect to the Internet, no problem. But if they just want to use the intranet, or if it takes them too long to fill out the user registration form, they get told that the network has been disconnected and we have to start over again from "sign-in is required."

I've done quite a bit of searching online for answers, and one is that the user must select "use network as is" from the captive portal options, but I see this option on very few devices. Other options have involved rooting the phone and running some terminal commands, which is obviously not something I can ask the guests to do.

We posed the issue to our shoreside networking team, and they came back saying they had whitelisted the following URLs and that this should fix the problem:

clients3.google.com/

apple.com/library/test/

captive.apple.com

connectivitycheck.android.com

connectivitycheck.gstatic.com

connectivitycheck.android.com/generate_204

clients3.google.com/generate_204

android.clients.google.com

It did not, phones are still being disconnected after about a minute if no Internet connection is made.

Is there anything else we can try? We are ultimately looking for a fix that won't require our users to do anything special.

We had a similar problem but I think it is not exactly the same problem.

We had an Galaxy S5 mini with Android 5.5.1 installed. We also have a "filter for websites" to deny access to some websites.
The problem here was that after starting the phone it connected and then disconnected immediately from network.
We found out that the network connectivity check is the problem. First tests show:

When there is unrestricted Internet access it works.
When there is no Internet access, network connection stays up. "No Internet connection" means we blocked all traffic on the firewall and all requests result in a timeout error.

When analysing more deeply and looking at the android source code we could identify the HTTP return code as problem. The device starts an HTTP request to connectivitycheck.android.com. This resulted in an HTTP 302 (moved temporarily) from our webfilter. Knowing this we did further tests:

webfilter redirects access to connectivitycheck.android.com via HTTP/302 and all other internet sites are directly allowed: Here network connection was shut down again.
deny access to connectivitycheck.android.com using firewall (therefore timeout for connectivity check) and all other internet sites are directly allowed: Here network connection stays up.

Therefore at the end we had two ways to fix the situation:

allowing access to connectivitycheck.android.com without webfilter (therefore no HTTP 302)
deny access to connectivitycheck.android.com on the firewall

But what about other Android versions? I did the same tests using a Galaxy S7 with Android 6.0.1. Here we never saw any problem. In Android 6 the connectivity check was slightly changed and is not suffering the above problem.


How Android Custom Recovery roots the phone? I rooted my Samsung Galaxy Note n7000. I performed some acrobatics and booted into the Stock Recovery of my phone and installed a zip that contained Philz CWM 6 Touch custom recovery. How can installing a custom recovery ROOT my phone when I have no idea of the root password? How can the said custom recovery even gain access to protected system level stuff without requiring some authentication etc. in the first place?

As davidgo explains, the recovery is like a separate, very simple operating system that your device boots into. When you boot into recovery mode, Android itself isn't running, so none of the OS-level protections like users and file permissions make any difference. However, the recovery mode does have access to the main filesystem of your phone. It's normal for a recovery to mount that filesystem to apply updates, but when you're rooting your phone, the update you supply just writes a suitable su binary to the correct place with the necessary permissions (i.e. with the suid bit set). Then, when you reboot into Android, the su binary is there and available to use.

If you want to think of it like a PC, it's like booting from a live CD, mounting the root filesystem of the PC, and editing /etc/sudoers or /etc/passwd to give yourself root access. Of course you can do this from a live CD, because the 'real' operating system on the PC isn't running.


How to get Power Control Widget (Status bar widget) on stock rom Can I have the Power Control Widget (Status bar widget) from CM7 on the Stock ROM?

This is the is the only feature I missed from CM7 when I switched back to Stock ROM.
It gives the quick access to power widgets when when I pull down my notification bar
I've tried ExtendedControls but its buggy and not as flexible as Power Control Widget.

Is there any way to have the Power Control Widget on Stock ROM?

Stock ROMs for some handsets from some manufacturers actually include such a widget.  For example, Samsung's TouchWiz overlay provides a similar looking functionality, although not as configurable or flexible as the one from CyanogenMod ROM.

For other stock ROMs that don't have this feature built-in, 3rd-party apps (like the one you already tried) are the only options.  Even if your device is rooted, porting this widget from CM is not an easy task, since it heavily relies on changes to Android framework and other core services that are specific to CM.  In other words, by the time you're done porting all the prerequisites, you'd end up running CM anyways.


Missing silent, vibrate or sound toggle on Lollipop's power button The "silent, vibrate or normal sound" toggle function have changed somehow on my Nexus 5 to merely an "off" function when I hold down the power button. I'd like the old options back, but I can't find any settings dealing with the issue.

Power options before & after Lollipop

Has it disappeared completely with the new "none, priority, all" slide?

This is a known issue with Lollipop, please see the following:

Issue 79445: No silent mode


Cross-device consistent symlink for internal storage There are many paths to internal storage:

/sdcard

/storage/sdcard0

/storage/emulated/0

/storage/emulated/legacy

/mnt/sdcard

/data/media/0

Several questions:

Which ones are most consistent (present) across devices?
Which ones are most likely to have Read+Write permissions? Do the symlinks alter this behavior?
Which one is the true storage location, where the rest of the symlinks point to? Does this also vary across devices?

To answer all of that, one needs to know all (or at least most) of the devices available. So all I can give is an "educated guess".

Permissions should not be altered by symlinks. And yes, what's there varies across devices, Android versions and even ROMs used.

Find the "real one" using df or mount at the command prompt (either via a terminal app, or using adb shell). Starting with around Android 4.2, a few of your listed locations should be pretty much standard:

/storage/emulated/0
/storage/emulated/legacy

The others, as I wrote, may vary between devices, Android versions and ROMs.

Concerning read/write permissions: All of them have. Question is just: for whom? The average app, or root? This changed a lot between Android versions, especially since Kitkat, and again might be handled differently by device, Android version, and ROM. Before Kitkat, an app just needed the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission. With Kitkat, on most ROMs it was restricted to its own directory in Android/data/, and with Lollipop that changed again.

For a reference, please also see Confused by the many locations of the virtual /sdcard/.


Deleting contacts in bulk - Ice cream sandwich I just got my Galaxy Nexus, and from logging into some service, I can't figure out which,
it automatically imported contacts which I don't want on the phone. Is there a way to delete contacts in bulk? I haven't found one yet.

Thanks

for android 4.0

settings--->storage--->Apps--->Contacts Storage--->clear data

sync the contacts with your gmail account before doing this, remove synchornisation, do the above steps and sync again with you gmail account, will take some time for the names and numbers to come


Samsung Galaxy S 2 - Recovery mode I am trying to install an application to my Galaxy S 2 using the "apply update from sdcard" option from the recovery mode (the script in the update.zip is written to do that). The problem I am facing is that when I choose that option, I can't see my external sdcard (where update.zip resides).
Anyone can help with that please ??

Take it off your external card and put it on the internal SD storage which is located at /sdcard.  Confusing, I know, but that's how Samsung has decided to do things.