Is there a way for a user to tell if their Android device is encrypted or not? There is a semi-relevant thread on SO https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12640708/check-if-android-filesystem-is-encrypted
that explains how a developer would determine if full-disk encryption is enabled, but is there an easy way for a user to know? I tried encrypting (I'm on 4.4.2) and it seemed to fail at some point but did not throw an error, just dropped me back to the homescreen at a certain point.

On Oreo 8.0.0
Settings → Security & Location → Encryption & Credentials & it shows phone encrypted
Better method
Using adb command adb shell getprop ro.crypto.state ( works on unrooted devices also) returns encrypted or unencrypted
Output examples

Oreo ( Unrooted, encrypted)

Vostro1510 ~ $ adb shell getprop ro.crypto.state
encrypted

Marshmallow ( Rooted, unencrypted)

Vostro1510 ~ $ adb shell getprop ro.crypto.state
unencrypted

Source - Adb command to check if the device is encrypted
Note : Original question refers to Full Disk Encryption which has been replaced by File encryption from Nougat onwards. See this for details
Edit Instead of adb you can install Termux and type getprop ro.crypto.state to get the result - works on unrooted device also


ES File Explorer - Share by LAN I want to use ES File Explorer's LAN share feature in the Share via options in Android to send files to my PC that you can currently only do by going into the app itself - a rather long process.

UPDATE

As mentioned below, I posted a request to the Developer about being able to send files to your PC through the "Share via" menu - this would be a shortcut/alternative to opening up the ES File Explorer app and manually copy and pasting from your phone memory to the LAN PC...

This feature is now added! Anywhere on android, click a file, picture, video or pretty much anything that can be moved or copied, click the "Share" button, then click the "ES Save to..." option, and choose your path on your PC. It will now be copied directly to your computer using the LAN feature inside the ES File Explorer app.

Enjoy :)

I don't know if this was added in a recent release of ES File Explorer, but you can share to computer with:

Share via -> ES Save to... -> Click on the header (under "Choose path")

Your LAN shares should appear there.


Google location history... wild anomaly Was driving home today from a trip up north and decided to check my journey on Google's location history after I got back. Phone is a Nexus 5 running Android 5.0. The locations mostly correct apart from one obvious wild location - which is clearly impossible. Any ideas what could have happened?

I have also had this happen, though when tracking my location for an exercise app.

I assume that I connected to a WiFi network unknowingly and that network was routed through a proxy in that far-away location. Thus, Google thought that I was farther away. I started turning off my WiFi when using that exercise app to track my location.

The root of this is that Google uses a combination of GPS, wireless network, and WiFi information to determine your location. Of these three, the WiFi is most likely to yield an incorrect answer.


Full backup of Moto X I have a non rooted Moto X (2014), which does not have a SD slot. I am looking for a full backup method which either is over the net or preferably uses an OTG cable to a flash drive.

Helium apparently does not work with Moto X phones.  In this instance I cannot use adb.

A full backup is desired.

Are there any other options?

I've heard of this tool. It doesn't seem to be complicated to use.

Also, I've heard of this one that requires rooting the phone.

Just to let you know, I didn't test them, so I can't say if they meet the expectations. I would choose the first one, because it apparently does not require root (and, the second one is not available in my country). However, since you have already rooted your phone, you can try either one (or maybe any other different app).


My phone doesn't boot at all after restarting bootloader My phone is Huawei Y3II.

Now, my phone is not starting, no matter how I press the power button.

I have tried Smart Phone Flash Tool, but it failed and it got an error 2004 - 6045.  Now, it does nothing when I click on "Download".

I have restarted the bootloader with ROM Toolbox Lite

fixed it by flashing every partition alone while the battery is off the phone .. and then hard rest ....... fuuuucccckkkk yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh


How can I share from my image gallery on Facebook? Do I have to install the Facebook application on CyanogenMod 7 RC3 to share on Facebook from my image gallery?

Yeah, you need to install the Facebook application, since it adds the option on the drop menu. Then follow this instructions after you installed it correctly:

Tap and hold an image
The screen will change to be possible to select multiple images
Select the images you want to post on Facebook
Hit Share on the bar
Then Facebook


How to get dumpstate logs in samsung galaxy grand? While working on my app, I have faced app crash. But I can't get any dumpstate log from data/log folder. So what is the solution to get dumpstate. Or I have to create any folder on my app name in data folder?

Advance thanks for your help..

You don't need an adb shell to get dumpstate logs in this case.

Every Samsung device has a built-in tools like SysDump, just follow these steps:

1) Open the Phone app in your device and type: *#9900#

2) Depending on how much detailed logs you would like to get change Debug Level and Silent log options (by default Debug Level is Disabled/LOW and Silent Log is turned Off)

3) Click on Run dumpstate/logcat/modem log (should be first option) wait until process finishes

4) Click Copy to sdcard(include CP Ramdump). This is important step because by default collected logs will be stored in /data/log directory, which is under root permissions so you can't access to it without root permissions

5) Your logs will be stored in /log directory on your DEVICE STORAGE.(this means that you don't need root access to find it just use file manager).


How to update all your apps from the Android market over web? I constantly get multiple update notifications on my Android phone.  How do I go online from my computer and update all my applications to my phone?

You'd have to go through your library, find each app that had an update, and then select to install it from the website. There is no way to batch update your apps from the web Market.


how to mount /system as read/write in android? cannot mount /system in android with following command, anyone has a solution for this?

root@hwG7-UL20:/ # mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
mount: Invalid argument

255|root@hwG7-UL20:/ # mount -o remount rw /system
mount: Invalid argument

root@hwG7-UL20:/ # mount|grep system
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system /system ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered 0 0

the full output for mount is:

255|root@hwG7-UL20:/ # mount
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,size=970220k,nr_inodes=155384,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,seclabel,relatime 0 0
selinuxfs /sys/fs/selinux selinuxfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
none /sys/fs/cgroup tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=970220k,nr_inodes=155384,mode=750,gid=1000 0 0
none /sys/fs/cgroup/memory cgroup rw,relatime,memory 0 0
none /dev/frz cgroup rw,relatime,freezer 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=970220k,nr_inodes=155384,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=970220k,nr_inodes=155384,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
adb /dev/usb-ffs/adb functionfs rw,relatime 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/log /log vfat rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1007,fmask=0007,dmask=0007,allow_utime=0020,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system /system ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/cache /cache ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/persist /persist ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modem /firmware vfat ro,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1000,fmask=0337,dmask=0227,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=lower,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/data/media /mnt/shell/emulated sdcardfs rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1023,gid=1023 0 0
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/cust /cust ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered 0 0

thanks a lot!

Solution is simple. To remount a mounted system you need to have root privileges. Do an su. You will enter root mode. Then run the below command. It will work, I did it many a times.

So here are the steps:

 adb shell
 su
 mount -o rw,remount -t ext4 /system

Edit: Found a better solution

From host machine(Linux or windows PC), execute the following commands.

>> adb root
>> adb remount

remount will by default remount the /system partition with rw, if you have the permissions.

Note 1: To do su or adb root, your device must be rooted and have su executable on it. When you do an su, if it is executed properly, your terminal prompt will change from $ to #. Thanks..

Note 2: In recent mobiles, few of acer and samsung that i know, Security has been tightened, and even after rooting the phone, adb remount wouldn't work. As of i know, there is no solution available for it so far.


Nexus 5 nothing bootable? I add Paranoid OTA on my Nexus 5, and I tried to uninstall it.

During the processus, everything totally failed and my phone start rebooting itself all the time.

Now :

ADB is not working. (I tried to end and restart the server but nothing to do) My phone is not recognize on my computer (windows 8.1) I can't install the driver on my computer

And i CANNOT start my phone, I don't have any more any system on it ...

I'm totally lost and I don't know what to do =/

i'm trying to install ADB to install Android 4.4.4 but impossible, my phone is connect to my computer but windows doesn't recognize it (and i uninstall and reinstall the driver with the package manager from android studio)

Someone can help me =/ ?

I know Windows doesn't recognize the phone but I still want to try something.
Download Wugfresh toolkit from here: (For download links just scroll down, there are some mirrors)

http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

Once you install it, click "Full driver installation guide...". This will give you a thorough guide to uninstalling remaining drivers and installing the needed ones.

Hopefully, it will help you install the necessary drivers for the N5.
If it does work, Press the "flash stock + unroot" button on the right (I think you should check "soft-bricked/bootloop").

Hope it helps :)


Is there a way to extend or stop the expiration limit of Offline Maps provided in Google Maps? I was wondering if there's a way to either completely turn off or extend the time frame of expiration for Google Maps - Offline feature.

I tried to search about it, but almost all blogs suggests that these offline stored maps expire in 30 days. The notification for their expiration reads "Offline maps expiring  You won't be able to use them after they expire."

Now, this a little too frequent and I'm unable to access the Stored Maps (without internet) post this time frame without an update.

Unfortunately it's not possible.

Straight from the horse's mouth:

  Offline areas that you downloaded on your phone or tablet need to be
  updated at least every 30 days.

  If your offline area expires in 15 days or less, Google Maps will try
  to update your area when you're connected to the Internet and plugged
  into a charger.

(from Google Maps Help - Download areas and navigate offline)

There's a bit of conjecture online about what the reason for this may be, and whether it's potentially related to Google being worried that maps will be out of date. On the same link above, I would say this gives a clue:

  Note: Downloading offline areas isn't available in some regions
  because of contractual limitations, language support, address formats,
  or other reasons.

Although there's no official word from Google on it, I'd say it's highly likely that this time limit is related to contractual limitations at least in some areas. Kindof like how iTunes rentals expire, or Spotify Premium offline playlists expire: if there was no expiry date at all, then there's no difference between 'accessing' and effectively 'permanently buying for free/cheap'.

If offline maps are very important to you, you may want to consider apps that support OpenStreetMap (or see this answer).


How to access bricked phone /system folder? Fix corrupted file I have a SK504, brazilian phone. Well, i was trying to change my boot animation, but downloaded and installed a corrupted one.
So, when i rebooted, the phone shows ANDROID like always, but after, a black screen appears and stays forever.
I can acess recovery, and the phone is rooted. No backup. Is there a way to get into the phone trough USB and change the bootanimation.zip file to a valid one? Because i don't want to reset it or install another ROM, unless necessary.

Besides the corrupted bootanimation.zip file, i have two more on the /system/media folder, they are bootanimation.old (the original one) and bootanimation(2).zip, a valid one that worked before, so there is no need to transfer something from pc to phone, just rename the files.

Thanks!!!

On custom recoveries (CWM, TWRP) you normally are able to use adb. With that you can delete the corrupted bootanimation and replace it with your original one.

Mount your /system partition using "Mount->System" on TWRP or "Mounts and Storage->mount /system" on CWM
Plug your phone onto the computer
Remove your corrupt bootanimation: adb shell "rm /system/media/bootanimation.zip"
Restore your old bootanimation: adb shell "mv /system/media/bootanimation.old /system/media/bootanimation.zip"
You may have to set the right permissions: adb shell "chmod 0644 /system/media/bootanimation.zip


What should I do before sending my bricked phone to repair? There are similar questions here, but this one is about a phone that doesn't turn on. I can't reset to factory.

What should I do? Change my Google password? What information will the technician have access to?

You might want remove the external sd card before giving the handset.
It's safe to change your google account password associated with that phone.
Basically what they try to do IS a factory reset, in which case, you shouldn't be worried about the stuff on your phone.


Where can I change the timezone in Microsoft Outlook for Android? Where can I change the timezone in Microsoft Outlook for Android?

Unfortunately up to the writing of this answer, there is no option or setting on the Outlook app for Android to change the timezone directly from the app. To change the timezone, you must do it from Outlook on the web. There are threads such as provide instructions on how to change the time zone in this application and Time Zone Support for Calendar from Uservoice opened in 2018 and 2015 repectively, but the Outlook team has not provided the options yet.


Unable to unlock boot-loader and root Micromax Canvas A1 AQ4501 I have Micromax Canvas A1 AQ4501 which comes under Android One. It’s upgraded to Android 6.0.1. I tried to unlock its boot-loader but it’s not successful.

I did
•   adb reboot bootloader
•   adb devices (it shows device.)
•   fastboot oem unlock (after this command its stuck on 'waiting for device')
•   fastboot flash recovery recovery.img (after this command its stuck on 'waiting for device')

I changed USB cable and plugged it in another port but no changes.

I tried to root it using Kingo Root from PC. After 15 to 16%, it says, failed. Please help me to fix this issue.

Regards
GNS

Hello GNS

How many time did you try to root your device ? You may need to try it more than ones, just like my old galaxy tablet.

And if that is not successfull, try using different one click root application.
Here are the list of some of this applications

Vroot Software (ADB drivers needed)
Kingo Root For Windows (ADB Drivers Needed)
SRS Root (ADB Drivers Needed )
Framaroot (APK)
KingRoot (APK and PC)
Unlock Root Software
Root Master (APK)
Z4Root (APK)
Universal Androot (APK)

Or you may visit This site for more information.


Where does the system saves wallpapers in (official) Kit Kat? I want to copy my current system-selected background from the system directory in a Nexus 7.

If my understanding of your question is correct, your current system-cropped wallpaper is located at /data/system/users/0 under a filename of wallpaper.


About Android versions and naming Android 4.1 was jellybean. Also 4.2 and 4.3. And then, 4.4 emerged - as KitKat. After that, it bounced right up to 5.0 Lollipop!
How does this 'versioning' system work? What makes a 'new version with the same name' like 4.1 and 4.2, and what makes a 'new version with a new name' like KitKat?

The names and numbers are decided by Google's marketing department. It's got nothing to do with the developers, who don't even know the name or number until shortly before it's announced: they use an internal name to talk about the release while they're working on it.

The numbers aren't real "major" and "minor" numbers like you get on most software. You'd expect minor releases to be compatible, but in fact they often introduce new features (for example, Bluetooth LE support was introduced in 4.3). Google supplies security updates on a monthly schedule, much more frequently than the marketing version changes.

Application compatibility is dealt with in an entirely different way: every time the Android API is changed, the API level changes. Each Android version (whether it's a new name or not; whether it's a new "major version" or not) has an API level. The Android developer site has some information on API level numbers and how they relate to the marketing names/numbers. It's not intended for end-users but it's quite readable.


How to insert "blank character" in WhatsApp? There is a blank character (kind of box) that can be used in WhatsApp to set blank status or send blank messages.
How to create/type or find that character?

The methods shared here unfortunately do not work; the Arabic Character used to work but it stopped working since long.
The only character which seemed to work was the Reverse Character Unicode [which I discovered in 2005]  Pasting or Opening it on a PC messes it up.
Afterwards I stumbled on another unicode character which would work (on most devices) even when shared through PC etc.

Copy the Space visible between the bold brackets [  ] .

If for some reason you fail to copy it from above you may copy it from my blog > here.

The box type thing you mentioned appears on Apple devices and the proper technique wouldn't result in a box type thing even on Apple devices.

Fun Fact : I was the one who worked out the "blank character" thing on the internet more thn 2 yrs back and finding others using(stealing) even "my images" spoils the mood, thus I came here to post the same.


How to see the contents of boot partition Does anybody know how to mount the boot partition?On my nexus 7, I booted to recovery and tried to mount the boot partition using the following-

mount -t ext4 /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot /boot

But this failed.
I tried to do read-only mount and mount using vfat, but with no success.

The boot.img file is a bootfs partition. I also tried to mount this partition, but in the end I stumbled upon this script. It may help you solve your problem.


Application doesn't get installed : insufficient storage available I have around 50MB of internal storage left and some 1.7 GB of external storage left in my phone. But when I try to download and install any application from google android store,I get a message insufficient storage and the application though downloaded doesn't get installed. Why is this ? Earlier it worked fine from the same store.

For instance yesterday when I tried to install whats app I got the same message. What can I do about this ?

I have had this in the past and been able to fix it by rebooting the device


Google Play Store - No Connection (Galaxy Note 3) I'm have connectivity issues with the Google Play Store app.  I have a non-rooted Note 3 (4.3).  The had worked the first few weeks I had the phone in December and then hasn't worked since.  I get the same "No connection - Retry" error everytime I access it.  I've been have trouble with Google Play Services since I tried disabling it when I realized how much battery life it drained.  I've had trouble using Youtube at times but never as persistent and consistent as the Play Store.

I have done the following:

Wi-fi/LTE connections, no difference between the two
Airplane mode on/off
Manual and automatic date/time
Updated both Google Play Services and Google Play Store via Android Police

I have basically done everything except a factory reset which seems like the next logical step but it does not fix the problem for everyone.  I am trying to figure out if there is anything else I haven't tried that I may be overlooking.

Thank you!

@RossC I had Google Play Services enable but I went to check my disabled list and Google Play Services Framework was disabled!  You helped my find the answer!  Thank you, sir, for the help and the link to help with battery drain!


using printenv in script sh in recovery TWRP return error execv failed : Exec format error for example just try this script

#!/sbin/sh

printenv | grep sdcard >> /tmp/tong.txt

in recovery.log i've

run_program: execv failed: Exec format error
run_program: child exited with status 1

I think it's about printenv but i don't understand what is wrong.
Using printenv in a terminal emulator works but not in my script sh

printenv doesn't work but using env works well

so i changed my script like this

env > /tmp/tong.txt

it works as expected


turning off email preview on lock screen after update Galaxy S4 just updated to latest Android and now my email is previewed on my lock screen. Any way to turn this off?  I'm using Gmail. Thanks

Go into Settings > Sound & notification > "App notifications" and set Gmail as sensitive (as shown here: https://youtu.be/GNFE-S42wgU )

If you want to prevent all apps from showing notifications on the lock screen go into Settings > Sound & notification > "When device is locked" and set "Don't show notifications at all"


contact data transfer mobile to mobile How do I transfer my contact details from one mobile to other mobile
Samsung S3 to Sony Experia P.
I am using both mobiles and want to have contact on both mobiles.

You can use the "Google Contact Sync", an built-in synchronization-mechanism and some of the basic-functionality of android.

More here: http://www.google.com/sync/index.html


Xiaomi Redmi 1S: Deleted system and framework folders I have a Xiaomi Redmi 1S. Through Root Browser app I unfortunately deleted system and framework folders. From then onwards my phone is not getting booted up. I tried wiping and resetting my phone from recovery (holding volume up and power button), but this did not work.

I backed my data up with an app called App restore and backup. The bakcup is in my SD card.

I'm waiting for a solution...

The /system folder contains your operative system. That is why it won't boot anymore.
Xiaomi's default MiRecovery permits only installing a ROM located in your root directory (the main folder, corresponding to location /) and named update.zip. Since you can't access your phone directly, you have to put this file in it using your computer. This will include installing a better recovery.
This instructions are for a Windows system, if you are using another OS just tell me.

Step 1: Install Fastboot on your Windows system

Download this file, it is an installer for the strict indispensable tools you need to put files on your softbricked phone from your PC.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979
Install it and say yes both to the adb and the driver questions.

Step 2: Download latest MIUI ROM for Xiaomi Redmi 1S

Download the last MIUI ROM for you device from the official MIUI Eglish forum. Move it to the C:\adb folder the installation process created.

Step 3: Reload your phone to fastboot and flash CWM

When your device is turned off, connect it to your PC via USB and hold the power and volume down button. You should see the MiBunny operating as a mechanic to an Android robot.
Open a command prompt in Windows (Start --> cmd.exe). Type cd C:\adb and then fastboot devices. You should see an hexadecimal code followed by "device". If not, tell me in the comments.
Now download the file you find at this link, it is our recovery.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95747613655040280
Extract the .img file you find inside and rename it recovery.img. Place it in C:\adb.
In the command prompt, address this command
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

Now reboot your phone to recovery using the power and volume up buttons. You should see the new recovery.

Step 4: Copy the ROM in your phone

While your phone is in recovery mode, type adb devices and you should see again a code and "device". Then move your rom .zip file in your C:\adb folder and address these commands:
adb shell
mount /data/
adb push nameofrom.zip /data/

Obviously replace nameofrom with the name of the zip archive of the rom you have downloaded (probably miui_HM1SWC_JHCCNBL50.0_42c35e6c1b_4.3). If you want, rename the zip to address the command with more ease.

Step 5: Install the ROM

When the push process has succesfully finished, navigate through your phone's recovery to install zip, install from internal memory or something like that. Select the zip you just pushed. It will start installing and, after finished, your phone should boot again upon reboot.


Media player doesn't show songs I have a ZTE Whirl 2 (a.k.a. Z667G or Salem 2). I'm running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

Whenever I start my media player (I use Black Player EX, but it happens with all media players, and the default file explorer) after a reboot or USB connection, my songs will not show up:

I have no idea why this is. The songs will not show up unless I restart the application several times. Anyone have any idea why this happens, and how to fix it?

Note this part in your description:

  ...The songs will not show up unless I restart the application several times...

Every reboot or finished USB connection will broadcast a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED intent to apps. Media Storage captures this...

...and triggers a re-scan of the media library. If you have a very large one, the Media Storage is probably re-scanning during that period (could take minutes, depending on your phone's specs), thus the library is temporarily unavailable.


Why is adb backup with system apps unsafe? (Holo backup) In holo backup, adb backup with system apps is said to be unsafe. I was and am not sure why it is. But I tried it anyway, and slept then when I woke up in the morning, my computer crashed. So I am wondering what is going on. (I tried other "safe" adb backup methods, and they did not crash my computer :) )

I doubt two things here: first, the crash of your computer is unlikely to be meant by that statement (I won't say it was completely unrelated, but at least rather a co-incidence). Second, the backup is unlikely to be unsafe – it's rather the restore to be concerned about.

Searching the web, you can find plenty of reports where a restore "broke the device", and left the user with crashing apps, not being able to read/write SMS, and things like that. Such happens especially when that backup was restored to a different ROM, or even just with some OTA in between. Structures might have changed, database layouts looking different (some columns dropped, others added), so "stuff" is no longer compatible with the backup. A restore would simply place the old files back, and thus might change parts of the system which now consist of more files/apps.

All those problems are rather unlikely to affect "self-contained user apps", but quite often happen with system apps. I hope this little excurse sheds some light.


Phone is being overrun with ads Whenever I switch on my Internet every morning I get a page which opens up with applications and games that aren't from the Play Store and I see a message that says my phone has stopped outside applications from being downloaded. Plus my gallery gets flooded with pictures of game icons and stuff and no matter how many times I delete them, they come back again. How do I make this stop?

You have downloaded an app using an advertising platform that uses these ads.

These ads are actually against Google Play's Developer Policies, so when you find the app (see below) that is doing this, be sure to report it.

There are a few ways to find the app:

When did the adverts start? If you can remember this, try and think of any apps you might have installed not long before they started, and uninstall them.
Are there any apps in your Manage Apps area that shouldn't be there? Uninstall them, and see if the adverts go away.
Check through all your apps, and look at the permissions. Adverts like these will need loads of permissions, so if you see an app with many permissions which it may not need, uninstall it and see if the adverts go.

If the worst comes to the worst, you can factory reset and reinstall all your apps one by one, however this is a last resort, as you will lose all of your data.


How can I limit data usage depending on whether the screen is on, or off/locked? How can I limit data usage depending on whether the screen is on, or off/locked? For example, when the screen is off, data can only be sent and received at a reduced rate. Or, when the screen is off, data connectivity is reduced to 2G. I want to leave data on, but I don't want to let it chew through all of it.

I am aware of the data saver option, but it doesn't do what I want.

Use Tasker app which can disable the internet connection automatically when the screen is off. Configure the app as below:

Profile: Screen Off

Context: (Event) Screen off

Task:

Clear variable %SCREENSTATE
Stop if %POWER ~ ON
Disable "Mobile Data" (With "Keep MMS" if you want)
Disable "Auto-SYNC"

Set Profile's Task Priority to 6


adb reboot -p usually reboots instead of power-down which it is supposed to When write:

adb reboot -p

I expect the unit to power-down indefinitely. Instead it just reboots automatically, same has having written:

adb reboot

only.

Why is that? What should I write?

Many phones start booting when a power cable is attached. This could be the reason here for the phone rebooting instantly instead of staying off.


Why WhatsApp is suddenly unable to open any APK shared by users? As of 13-11-18, I was sharing APK files on WhatsApp, for testing apps within a circle of people, with no problem whatsoever. But as of today, if I try to open an apk, I get an error toast saying:

  You may not have the proper app to view this content.

Did they change their policies and decided not to let people share APK files on their platform?

I don't use third party websites for sharing APKs, where mostly Chrome spooks most people saying that "This type of file may harm your device".

Well as per my understanding this is how files are opened from WhatsApp making use of file extensions:

File type is determined from extension (getMimeTypeFromExtension) and intent.action.VIEW is launched provided with file path dat= and file type typ=.
If the file extension is not known, file is treated as octet-stream mime type.
List of preferred apps (/data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml which is built from user selected defaults and files at /system/etc/preferred-apps/*.xml) is checked for activities that can handle this file type.
If there is only one app that can handle this mime type, that app (activity) is launched. You can see which app handles what mime type by:

dumpsys package preferred-xml

Use adb shell or one of permission.DUMP or root is required.
If there are multiple apps (more than one matching activity for the given intent) available and no preferred app is already set, ResolverActivity (from Android framework resources) is launched (not intent.action.CHOOSER) showing a dialog to select app (for Once or Always).
If the file type is apk (typ=application/vnd.android.package-archive) and PackageInstaller is set to handle this file, action.INSTALL_PACKAGE is invoked.
Now if Android version is Oreo or above and WhatsApp is updated, it would need permission.REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES to install unknown package. Once granted, app will be installed.

You can use logcat to view how this whole process goes on. Use adb shell or one of permission.READ_LOGS or root is required. You can share results here to help me and others understand where the chain breaks.

Workaround:
Make sure that files are sent and received with correct extension i.e. .apk. If WhatsApp is unable to handle downloaded apk file for any reason, use a File Manager. Explore to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Documents and install apk file.

RELATED: Alternative “File Open” (not stack “DocumentsUi”) for WhatsApp?


Re-locking bootloader with stock ROM/recovery - Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus I recently unlocked the bootloader on my Wileyfox Swift 2 Plus to take a partition image, as per this answer.  I didn't flash the recovery or make any change to the ROM, and the device is not rooted.  After a factory reset (to Android 8.1.0, if that helps), I now need to re-lock the bootloader, but fastboot oem lock renders it unable to boot normally.  I can still boot into fastboot mode or recovery, but the phone won't start normally until I run fastboot oem unlock again.  How can I get this back to factory settings, with the bootloader locked?

Note that I'm not interested in reasons to keep the bootloader unlocked.  Having the bootloader locked is a requirement for several apps that I need to use, and I'm not going to try to bypass that.

You can try to reflash the stock rom, or if your only problem that apps wouldn't work install magisk and by this apps you can use magisk hide.


How to update apps on Android from Playstore? Is it possible to update apps that is on my android from a PC????

I do not see any option from Playstore to update apps. And now am not able to use Whats app as i wasnt able to download the latest version. Do somebody have an advice for this??

There is no way to push the update out from the play store when done from the PC. Sometimes if you click "install" for the app, it may allow you to select the android device as the target, even though it is already installed, but this is rare.

There are ways to download the APK using the PC then sideload onto the device.

The best way to update apps is to start the play store on the device, choose "my apps", then perform whatever updates are presented.


Bluetooth headset delay To start off I am not really sure if this is hardware (headphones or the phone) or android specific issue/feature. Maybe there is an android workaround for the hardware feature hence this kind of fits here the best.

Google is full of similar topics, but all I've seen are related to windows and not really this kind of delay.

Up until recently I've been using wired headphones, but I started using bluetooth ones and I hit this weird delay when using an app like Duolingo.
When there is no sound for a few seconds playing there is a slight delay when the sound is actually played.
Let's say I do 5 exercises in a row and I do it very quick- no issue.
Then I come to a more complex one that I need more time to do, the sound that plays after submitting an answer is slightly delayed.

When listening to music there are no issues, which would point me to believe that the headset is actually going to some sort of sleep mode when there is no audio played from the source device.

Sony Xperia M2 android 5.1.1

Headphones are Marshall Major II wireless

Do you know of a way to fix/counter-act this annoying bug/feature?

Did you use custom sound app? like viper or something?
I suspect those app are the thing that cause the problem.

Try to use on another device (android devices).
If there are no problems there then I could assume the problem between software or hardware on your android device.

Hope that helps.


How to get removed default app back? I've removed my Gallery default app with NoBloat. NoBloat is a great app and I've used it to remove all of the bloatware that came with my Note 3. Yesterday I was playing with my phone, then I thought "well, I use QuickPic, so let me remove the Gallery app too". Well, not a great idea (especially not backing it up before doing it). Now, I can't access my pics from the corner of the Camera app. Is there anyway that I can get it back without resetting my phone (it just won't happen)? I've tried looking for the app at the Samsung Apps store but they don't keep it over there

No, you won't be able to get it back without a backup unless you know someone with the same phone who can back it up & provide you with a copy.

You also won't be able to update your system OTA in the future either, as updates check to make sure that all the apps that should be there are present.  If they're not, they won't install.

Freezing apps rather than deleting is generally a much better idea.


Why does "Power off" actually reboot? If I hold my power button, I presented with the option to "Power off" my device. I touch it, and my phone (a LG Nexus 5 running on Android 4.4 KitKat) indeed turns off. However, it suddenly turns back on. If I power off multiple times, it eventually stays off. Is this normal? Does the phone restart if it is aware of pending updates or something?

Because long pressing the power button on all most any android device(if not all) will reboot the device. It is meant to be the restart button in case on a device something goes wrong, you have the option to hard reset the device.

To correctly shut down a device you have to tap the power button and select the option to power of, or if you are in CWM select "Power off device", or I think you can shut it down using adb to.


Watch and download youtube video simultanously So I can watch a youtube video, great. But once I go out of range of wifi I can't play it.

So the other option, is, I use a program to download the video. But I can't play it before it's downloaded.

So is there like a program that you see the video, but after it has been downloaded, it's not discarded but permanently saved ?

There are apps like TubeMate or EasyTube that let you download Youtube videos to your phone internal storage or to the SD card in order to allow you to see these videos whenever you want wherever you want.

Maybe this is what you are looking for.


Battery level indicators: Do they consume more battery? I have a Samsung Galaxy Y phone, the battery level indicator that comes pre-installed in the status bar, shows only a graphical representation of the battery level and does not gives a number (percentage).

So, I have downloaded an app to indicate the battery level, but I am afraid that this would further consume more battery. I think so because, it shows up as "Ongoing" in the status bar:

I have tried many different battery indicators.

Yes, of course they consume battery. You can go and check in Settings >> Battery how much is the app actually consuming. (It should appear something like shown the following screenshot) I think it might not consume a significant amount like other apps, but just check it and see if you are okay with the amount of battery it is consuming.

Also, if all you want is remaining battery percentage, I would recommend installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod that shows the percentage on the status bar itself. (See the status bar in the screenshot below)


Unable to send a text containing ".xyz" I discovered this while trying to send friends URLs ending in .xyz. The texts appeared to be sent, but no one was receiving them. At first I assumed it was because the link was blacklisted somewhere along the line, but further experimenting showed that I cannot send a text containing the string ".xyz" anywhere in the message.
I am able to receive such texts though.
The phone is a moto g(7) power running Android 10. A friend has a Samsung Galaxy S10E and also can't send .xyz.
Sending other tlds such as ".com" etc works fine. Any guesses about what's going on?

This depends of your phone carrier provider because actually I tested it with my orange carrier lines and sent an sms with url .xyz extension and received it. It could be also that your AV is restricting such extension. screenshot


What is my phone doing at 1 o'clock in the morning? I have recently installed JuiceDefender (JD) and along with it JuicePlotter (JP). JP gives me a nice graph about my energy consumption over time. I noticed that around 1 A.M. my phone uses up more battery power than the rest of the night. I don't think that I have something explicitly scheduled at that time. I have Samsungs 2.2 Froyo (rooted) on my Samsung Galaxy-S (I9000).

How can I find out the cause for this?

You can use a logcat viewer, such as LogCat Reader (I've found that one works well), and just scroll back through the logs until the time in question.

A less precise solution would be to go to Settings > About phone > Battery use and that will tell you what has been using most of your battery.


How can I move files between folders in the Dropbox app? I am using the Dropbox app on a Samsung tablet (Android 4.1.1) and I need to move files from the current folder into a new folder that I have created in the current folder.

I can create a new folder with the menu in the top right but I cannot see how to move files into the folder.  The pull-down menu associated with each file only contains options for Share Favorite Delete Rename Export.

NOTE: I have a terminal on my tablet and I am not opposed to using that but going to com.dropbox.android does not show the updated version of shared folders from Dropbox (but this is a whole other question I need to ask!)

The menu for each file (the one you get by clicking the down-triangle-in-ring icon, or by long-tapping a file) should also have a Move item between Rename and Export. Clicking it brings up a selector you can use to select where to move it to. I can't imagine why you might not have that item.


How many type of video format supported in native android device? Basically i refer the android developer site and also search on google but did not find any proper solution.

Basic supported video format are

3GPP (.3gp)

MPEG-4 (.mp4)

WebM (.webm)

Matroska (.mkv, Android 4.0+)

More Information on Developer site


Accessing Windows PC folder on Android tablets without internet connection I am trying to access a Windows PC folder on my Android tablets (let's say 10 tablets). I have a video folder in my PC and I want to access that folder and play video. Things I have tried are:

Using JCIFS library and Samba server: the drawback is it requires internet connection.
Using WAMP server and localhost: this solution was perfect until I tested it on multiple devices. It takes a lot of time to buffer big video files and sometimes fails to access videos.

Is there any other method to do that without root? Any other methods to connect my Android tablets to Windows PC and access the video files from a folder?

There are several File manager supporting all local file systems & LAN, so they can access your Windows shares directly – no Internet required, just a local WiFi both, your Android device(s) and Computer(s) are connected to. My (very subjective) "top 3" you can find described in my answer on our sister-site, together with some screenshots: ES File Explorer, Open Explorer (also see my recommendation here), Solid Explorer. All 3 have network capabilities and even can auto-discover your Windows shares.


How to Remove persistent "Samsung Account" notification? It keeps showing up regardless of settings I have been struggling to find out how to turn off (or otherwise hide) the notification that says:

Samsung account
Tap here to use your Samsung Account

I've read elsewhere online about ways to stop this, but they don't seem to be working.  I tapped the notification, held down and went to "Details" on the Notification.
According to that screen, I shouldn't be getting these notifications but still am.

How can I turn this off (without signing in to Samsung or creating an account)?
(Galaxy S8 Active, Android 8.0.0, Samsung Experience Version 9.0)
Edit: 9 November 2018 - Now the notification is showing and making a "text message" noise. I still can't figure out how to stop this!
Edit: 17 Dec. 2018 - Still getting the notification multiple times per hour sometimes, and it makes the text message noise. I've done everything I can find online and there's no solution still...
Edit: Nov 2020 - whelp my s8 galaxy bit the dust and I got an S10. It doesn't appear to have this issue, but unfortunately am no closer in learning how to stop the notification

Constantly had the notification appearing and making noises, tried everything but nothing worked until I tried this;

settings
notifications
advanced (top right corner)
tap the 3 dots in the top right hand corner and select "show system apps"
scroll down to Samsung Account
Turn off
Curse samsung for making this so difficult and counter intutive.


Why is Android claiming I have multiple Flickr accounts, and not allowing me to upload to Flickr? Starting about a week ago, my phone -- rooted HTC Incredible, 2.2 -- stopped being able to upload to Flickr. I can't associate any system/device changes with the problem; I rooted a couple of months ago, and updated happily, since then.

I'm not using any special Flickr apps -- just the default "Share >> Flickr" accessed via the Gallery.

But when I do, I first get prompted to log in to Flickr, then told that I have multiple accounts (I don't) which is not supported.

hunh?

N.B.: Question may be rephrased over time....

Go to:

Settings -> Accounts and sync

Do you see a Flickr account there?  If so, either make sure you are using that account with the Gallery or try deleting that account and trying the Gallery again.


Attempting to update ADB from 1.0.31 to 1.0.32 I'm trying to update Android debugging software from version 1.0.31 to 1.0.32 on Ubuntu 14.04.  I have consulted an earlier Stack Exchange post on the same topic here but it has not helped.

I've been successful at this once before by following some well-written instructions posted here.  I'm including the relevant excerpt below:

adb version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.31
wget -O - https://skia.googlesource.com/skia/+archive/cd048d18e0b81338c1a04b9749a00444597df394/platform_tools/android/bin/linux.tar.gz | tar -zxvf - adb
sudo mv adb /usr/bin/adb
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/adb
adb version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.32

Unfortunately, I have not been able to replicate my earlier success.  After running the above commands, it appears that adb is not recognized as an updated version (ie, 1.0.32).  Instead, running the command below...

adb version

..provides a response that adb cannot be found.

I can easily revert to 1.0.31 by removing and then reinstalling adb tools:

sudo apt-get remove android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

But my goal is to update to adb 1.0.32.  An inspection of the archive showed me that it contains two files:

adb (library)
perfhost (executable)

I don't know what to make of these files.  My expectation would be that "adb" should be an executable.  I've tried executing "perfhost" but without any success.  At this point, I'm not quite sure how to continue troubleshooting this.  Perhaps the downloaded archive has changed since the above instructions were posted?  Perhaps I do not understand the purpose of the "adb" and "perfhost" files?  I'd appreciate help locating the updated version of ADB which, as others have noted still needs to be updated in the Ubuntu repositories.

Late answer, but incase someone else runs into the issue down the road and stumbles upon this question.

sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libstdc++6:i386


Asus nexus 7 (2012) and Cyanogenmod I've grown confused by the various nexus 7 models as I want to try cyanogenmod on my tablet. So I wonder:

Is there any software difference between the asus nexus 7 tablet and the google nexus 7 one, or are they one of the same, meaning I can use the regular cyanogenmod google nexus 7 ROM for my asus nexus 7? And what about 2012 vs 2013 beyond hardware (camera at back on the 2013) versions in therms of getting the correct ROM for my 2012 model?

There isn't an Asus one and a Google one: both the Nexus 7 models are Asus-Google collaborations. All Nexus devices are design collaborations between Google and another device manufacturer (Asus, Samsung, or LG).

That said, the two models are completely different, with different SoCs, screens, and cameras. The original Nexus 7 (aka nakasi) has a slightly-over-720p screen, powered by a Tegra 3, and only one camera. The 2013 model (aka razor) has a 1920x1200 screen, two cameras, and a Snapdragon SoC. ROMs are not compatible between the two.


Is there any way to unlock my phone from a mobile network carrier so I can use a different sim? I've got a BQ Aquaris M5. BQ don't have a telephone number I can ring or much of a support base, so I wasn't able to find help there.

I bought the phone sim free and put a giffgaff sim in it. Apparently giffgaff don't usually lock the phone to the parent O2 network, but this can happen as a bug on some iPhone models - I think the same thing has happened to my BQ Aquaris M5.

Recently I bought a replacement three sim on a contract - I tried putting this sim in the phone but it just says "emergency calls only". I rang three to get technical support with this but they weren't able to do anything at their end, and suggested to me that my phone might be locked to some other network.

I'm wondering if it is possible to "hack" (loose use of this expression) the android system in some way to unlock my phone from a particular network? Alternatively, perhaps this data isn't stored on my phone but is stored remotely, and therefore this isn't possible?

Either way it would be useful to know.

I have tried searching around google, but so far I can only find info on PAC / PUK codes, which I don't think is what I am looking for?

I have found my IMEI code - not sure if that is useful?

I can't believe it but I managed to resolve the problem.

Just a quick list of details to help future google searches:

I had a BQ Aquaris M5. Bought it sim-free, but then added a giffgaff sim.

Later I changed to a three sim, removed giffgaff sim and inserted three sim, but three network was not recognised. (Emergency call only.)

Resolved problems by going to System Settings -> Data Usage (or show more) -> Cellular Networks (might be hidden in top right corner) -> Set Preferred Network type to 2G/3G/4G AUTO, also go to Access Point Names, click Reset in right hand top corner menu, then go to Network Operators and check network operator is correct. Possibly restart your phone.

Happy to report mine is now working!


Online Nandroid Backup and later restore of an encrypted Android L 5.1 device I am using an Android One phone with rooted Android 5.1 and the Online Nandroid Backup application to do live (o)nandroid backups. I am also using the built-in encryption, which encrypts the /data partition, but as the backup is performed on a live running system, the resulting data.img is unencrypted as I've verified with Nandroid Manager being able to extract data without asking for a password. Apparently it is not doing a block-level copy of the /data.

As the backed-up system in the system.img expects encrypted /data and the restored /data is now unencrypted, my question is if the resulting backup can be restored and booted without any problems, using fastboot for example? Will Android hang while booting if the /data partition is decrypted and the system is not factory reset? What is the correct way to perform a live backup of an encrypted Android 5.1 system?

I looked at the onandroid script and it seems that it does a block-level copy of the data with dd only for partitions that are not mounted during the normal system operation (such as recovery partition) and copies the files on the filesystem level from the mounted ones - meaning it copies the decrypted content of the data partition and others and creates a backup images out of it. Further testing would be needed to determine what happens after a recovery is made from a system image (expecting encrypted data) and non-encrypted data image.

It seems that onandroid is "best effort" software (I didn't see any mount -o remount,ro / before copying the contents of the partition - it would probably also affect the running system possibly crashing it) and is therefore best not to use it with encrypted devices. The proper way to handle them still remains encryption-supporting recovery such as TWRP (or dumping the partitions via adb pull while in ADB-supporting recovery). I would be happy to be proven wrong by someone who knows the onandroid script in greater depth.


How can I toggle mobile data from a terminal? I have a rooted Sony Xperia 3 running CyanogenMod 10. Can I turn off mobile data from the terminal?

From the terminal, you can use svc to control several elements of your device. For mobile data, it would be:

To disable: svc data disable
To enable: svc data enable

You can simply type svc help for a list of available commands, or svc help [command] for a list of subcommands. For example:

To get the list of subcommands for controlling mobile data: svc help data
To get the list of subcommands for controlling wifi: svc help wifi


How can I identify if my device is using ART runtime or a Dalvik? I have an app called Timberman.

Under the description it gives an important note:

  Game is not compatible with ART devices at the moment. Please switch to Dalvik.

I don't understand what/ how can one confirm whether his device is an ARM device or a Dalvik supported. Also please give a clear difference between Dalvik and an ART.

Note: I would like to clarify that I am not seeking any recommendation regarding any particular application. I just want to know: how does the ART effect the game/device? Does it have anything to do with the safety of the phone or just the working of the device differs?

I have installed/used many applications so far, but I never came across this kind of a note.

Short answer: unless you've changed it yourself, it's Dalvik.

Dalvik is currently the supported VM for Android. ART is a new VM, which is expected to become the supported one for the future L release. If you are using the L developer preview, you're using ART.

In KitKat, there is a preview (an early beta version) of ART, which you can turn on from the developer options. It's not recommended to do this, because the preview has bugs and is not yet compatible with all apps. The option's there primarily for app developers to test their apps with ART and report bugs.

So unless you're using the L developer preview, or have turned on ART in the developer settings, you're using Dalvik, which is the only recommended option for end users.


LG Phoenix 3 stuck on firmware update My LG phoenix 3 is stuck on firmware update when it was being unlocked from the network and it is showing: "do not unplug until the process is complete".

What should i do?

Press Volume Down and On/Off at the same time for up to 10 seconds.


"Package installer has stopped working" after updating to COS13/Marshmallow I have a OnePlus One, never rooted or modified the OS. Today I updated the OS from YOG7DAS2K1 (COS12.1) --> ZNH0EAS26M (COS13) via OTA incremental update zip from Recovery (stock).

I wiped cache and user data from Recovery after update.

Phone seems to be fine so far, except this:

Whenever I sideload an APK, although the installed app works fine, an error message pops up at the end.

  "Unfortunately, Package Installer has stopped"

I tried wiping cache, rebooting, reinstalling those apps, but the error appears anyway.

What seems to be the problem here?

I do not know how to reproduce this problem. It simply solved itself after changing the Cyanogen themes a few times.


If you install another home locker program which one does Android chooses when it locks your phone? I asked a similar question regarding an alternate email program here My similar question about an email client, and got a logical answer. Thanks.

However, what happens, I now wonder, when you install another home locker program( I presume this is the name for the software that locks your screen , no ) ?

Since the device itself 'locks' your phone, you may not be around to choose the one you want to use.

Or does , installing another one, automatically disables the current ?

Basically, the replacement lockscreen program will have a service running that recognizes when the phone 'locks' and then overrides the default lockscreen with the one you've created through that app.  There is typically a delay of a few seconds, so it's possible to still see the default lockscreen on occasion.  I've been using WidgetLocker for some time now and have been very happy with it.  It's available on the Market.


How do you unlock bootloader on galaxy J3 (2016) I need it unlocked to move forward with customizing my device

Go to Settings > Developers options >  OEM  unlock.

If the developer options is not enabled:

Go to Settings > About device > Software infos > Tape 7 times on Build number then go back to Settings the options should be visible now.


In what directory does the Dolphin HD browser store its files? I already have root access and tried to use ES File Explorer to search for "dolphin" but to no avail.

Applications store their data in a folders named after their package.
These folders are located in data/data.

The easiest way to find out the package name is to look at the Play Store url.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser

The package name is the part that comes after id=.
You can see that Dolphin's package name is mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser, so the full path is:

/data/data/mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser


Problem with notification bar in rooted droid I just now rooted my Galaxy Pocket S-5300. Now when I rebooted,my notification bar is vanished! I could not Find it anywhere. Besides when I try to open "About Phone" In settings it force closes. Please help me fast!

My advice, backup /data/ and sdcard (not external), use OTA ROOT KEEPER, do a factory reset, and restore data and the root.
Instead of rk, try first Framaroot.


How can I `adb pull` a large file when the USB connection breaks continuously? I want to transfer a large file with adb pull, but my USB connection disconnects all the time, interrupting the transfer. How can I make this work?

Here's a Python 3 script that implements a workaround based on adb and dd. It continuously retries and resumes download when disconnection happens.

For me the performance is the same as adb pull. If you experience problems with performance—try to play with BUFFER_SIZE value.


CyanogenMod install failed on Samsung Galaxy S II, phone now shows boot screen and then a black screen I was trying to install CyanogenMod on my un-rooted  Samsung Galaxy S II using this installer.

I installed the app on the phone and the PC;
downloaded the data for the program;
plugged the phone and it started downloading;

I followed the instructions thoroughly and the phone restarted and started installing the ROM. First, it showed the "Downloading" with the green Android then showed the blue CyanogenMod man for a long while, then the app on the PC said it failed and I should try to restart my PC or disable the antivirus (already did).

So I restarted my PC. Now it said "If you tried all these things, it's safe to restart the phone". So I turned off the phone and now when I try to turn it on it shows the splash "Samsung Galaxy" then shows a black screen (not off).

I tried booting in Download mode ("Vol. Down" + "Home" + "Power" button) but the result is the same as turning it on.

Resuming the install process fails every time.

How can I revert back to the stock Android or continue the installation?

System info (before the attempt):

Model number: GT-I9100P
OS : Android 2.3.6
Baseband version : I9100P
Kernel version 2.6.53.7-I9100PXXKL1-CL761356 root@DELL131 #2

Note: Keep in mind, Samsung Galaxy S2 has infamous Superbrick bug. Every flash can result in permanent brick (only board changing or maybe JTAG unit can recover device). You can learn more about it here.
Note2 : Last resort to enter Download mode is to get USB JIG. There is plenty of this on Internet and it's very cheap. Also there is tutorials on Internet to make it yourself, if you can't get it shipped in your country.

You can try to:

return to stock ROM
install custom recovery, wipe data/cache/dalvik/system partition and reflash custom ROM

Steps for returning to stock ROM:

Download ODIN.

Download Stock ROM from Sammobile site.

You will probably get zip file with one dll and one tar.md5 file. You need to unpack only tar.md5 as it is the file you need to flash.

Put your device in download mode - Pull off battery, insert it again, push "Vol Down" + "Home" + "Power" button.
Now connect it into PC using USB cable (check if you have install Samsung USB driver, search on Google for it)

Only check auto-reboot and F. Reset time! Repartition must stay unchecked.

Put unpacked tar.md5 in PDA section (if you downloaded Odin v3.07, can be different on other versions).

Click Start. Do not unplug your phone or it will result in a brick.

Phone will reboot and if everything went OK it will finally boot.

Steps for recovery solution:

Download ODIN.
Search XDA-Developers for CWM flashable file (I will try to post it in a comment, I cant post links anymore - reputation) and download it.
Search for Recovery-flashable file of CM that you need - usually just zip file. You will need to put it on External SD-card and insert that SD-card in the phone.
Put mobile in download mode, make sure you have Samsung USB drivers, and that in ODIN you have only checked Auto-Reboot and F. Reset Time. (Also connect your phone into PC).
Put recovery tar.md5 in PDA section and click Start.
Now pull off battery, insert it again and press "Vol Up" + "Home" + "Power".
Wipe /data,/system,/dalvik,/cache.
Go to flash and select zip file that you downloaded from SD-card.
Flash it.
Reboot device, and check whether it works.

Note3 : Be aware that following anything involves flashing can result in permanent brick of the device. Maybe it is even smarter to take in to service so they can better fix it.
Also, I or others (including this website) shall not be held responsible for any damage that may be caused to your device by using the aforesaid instructions.


Can I monitor my phones temperature? Recently in the UK we've had an unexpected bout of nice weather which means wherever I leave my phone it tends to get quite warm. I know the operating range of my phone (Sony Ericsson Arc) however is there an easy way to find out how warm it is?

It's never left in the sun, always in the shade. If I need to root it I'm open to options - currently running stock 2.3.4 Android.

You can use TempMonitor available from Google Play Store:

System temperature reading in your status bar updating at your choice interval.
TempMonitor is the oldest CPU Temperature monitoring app on the android market. This app is built to do one thing: Temperature, and it does it well.

Some features that you might like:
The temperature can be displayed on the status bar or in the APP Screen. You can also select what you want to see:

Choose from Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Choose what temperature to display (Battery, CPU).
Choose the update interval.


Android 4.0 ICS in Samsung galaxy R Possible Duplicate:
  Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I want to install Android 4.0 in samsung galaxy R. However i have installed ClockWork in my phone by following this link. But i haven't find any ICS ROM for samsung galaxy R phone. I have also remarked that the reference i have found to install ICS is all for Samsung galaxy s2, and i have also downloaded the ROM named ALPHA7.zip of Sam. Galx. S2 . If i will install that rom in my sam. galaxy R phone then will it be cause the problem? If yes then please give me a good reference from which i can install ICS in my sam. galx. R phone and also downloadable link of ICS ROM for sam. galaxy R.

Thanks in advance.

You can look for a Galaxy R custom ROM on xda-developers section of your device. (Link)

Do not flash the Galaxy S II ROMs on your Galaxy R, or you may end up with a unusable device.

From a quick glance I had on your device's section, it seems that it doesn't have a ICS/CM9 port yet, but that may change.

Currently only CM7 is being ported. Though since your device is lined up for Official ICS update, my advice would be to wait for it.
See more here - xda-developers Galaxy R Guide


How do I change the email address used for Google Play? My email address I use for the Play Store will be invalid soon, so I need to change it. However I don't want to make a new account because I want to keep all my apps. How can I do that?

You should be able to add an alternate email to your Google account. Afterwards, you can sign in with any of your alternate email addresses, using the same password for your main address.

Once your current email is invalidated, you should also be able to remove that address from your Google account and continue using your alternate email as the primary login.

Since the Google account stays the same, all of your apps will remain on your account.


Change video quality of embedded YouTube video in Chrome for Android Is there a way to change the video quality when playing embedded YouTube videos in Chrome for Android? I can only change the video quality in the YouTube application.

A workaround would be to trigger the desktop version of the site you're looking at. After the page refreshes, you should see more options for the YouTube video.


Weird app on my andriod. Unable to uninstall it Here is this weird drawer/app I am getting when I swipe on bottom left corner of my screen.

I tried to uninstall it, but can't find it in the list.

I believe it is some malware/adware, as it shows random keywords in the search box (in screenshot, it is showing india vs australia). This app came out of nowhere without being preinstalled. I have another phone of same brand/model which is without this creepy app.

I am using Xiaomi Redmi 2

That's most likely a MIUI app called Lazy Swipe:

Lazy Swipe (source: Miui; click image for larger variant)

This app might have come pre-installed with your device. I wouldn't consider it malware until proven otherwise. The "random search presets" might even be possible to deactivate. And if you don't like it at all, you can simply deactivate it in settings. Please refer to the corresponding article/review for details.

Hint: Miui is the GUI (Graphical User Interface) most Xiaomi devices ship with. This is why I hold it much likely the app came pre-installed with your device, and is no malware you've caught somewhere else.


How to get the Pixel Android 7.1 Navigation bar back? My brother has recently used the "factory reset" option on his Google Pixel XL phone, this made the navigation bar to change from the traditional

to one where the circular one in the middle is a solid disk (as in the first bar below).

I have been looking for a way to get the original navigation bar back, but all I found were "artificial ways" whose purpose is to get this navigation bar to other Android phones. Is there a natural way to get the default navigation bar back? Thank you!

Seems like the problem was changing the language from English to a less common one. Once it was changed back to English the issue has been resolved.


How can we remove the Work tab from the Samsung all-apps screen after the Profile is removed? I have a Samsung SN9600 (international Note 10).

I recently left a job that pushed a Work Profile to the phone.

The Work Profile was locked by the employer, as it should be.  I found the settings to Delete the Profile, and also did my best to Delete or Disable any Work Profile apps.

Now I want to remove the Work tab in the screen of all apps.
.
.
.

.
.
.
 - Any ideas about how to remove this Work tab?

Turn on the Work Profile.
Next select Accounts and remove your old work account. (May not be needed)
Next select Uninstall Work Profile.
I did it so fast but I believe that was all the steps I took.


push and pull command return "push: not found" I can't seem to pull or push files from my phone. The file exists, and I can get into adb shell. But whether I do the command adb pull or adb shell and then pull, it doesn't work.

If I do it via shell, it gives me 'push: not found'. If I do adb pull on windows command line, it just gives me a list of all adb commands (so it doesn't understand push or pull).

What's wrong, and how do I fix it?

I am using the correct syntax.

Within shell: push (or pull) /path/to/file

outside: adb push (or pull) /path/to/file

I am working as root too.

The file I need doesn't seem to be visible to the graphical file manager I have on the phone, even though it has root permissions and is showing hidden files. It's visible via adb, so it's definitely there!

By your words, I suppose that you're running adb within an adb shell and that's wrong. See this answer for more details.

In case I misunderstood your question:
On Android, adbd is by default not running as root, so certain files and directories are not visible to the ADB client. Still, refer to my answer for more details.

There is no such command as push or pull on your Android device. All you can do is adb push from your host PC. Whatever non-existent command makes shell tell you aaabbb: not found so it's not a bug.


How can I replace stock download manager that Google Play uses? Yesterday I upgraded my rooted LG Optimus One (P500) running v20g 2.3.3 to CM10 (unofficial) 4.1.1 through this post.

Since the new ROM is unofficial and is in alpha/beta stage there are few known problems. I am able to live up with those problems just to enjoy the new Jelly Bean.  However one undocumented problem about download manager was discovered yesterday, which proved to me nasty.

When I attempt to install any app from Google Play Store, a progress bar appears saying "Downloading..." and the numerical progress indicator 'x/y Kb done' does not come up. At first I thought it should be problem with my WiFi, but other application seems to access Internet correctly.  In concurrence to this behavior, the LEDs in my WiFi modem does not blink, which it usually does when there is a WiFi activity.  Even small apps in the order of 150 Kb takes long time and eventually ends with error.  However, I accidentally noticed that a combination of simultaneous downloads of more than one app, cancelling and starting again etc, made FEW of the downloads to actually progress while other still linger.  So, it is clear that the download manager that Google Play Store relies on is trouble some in my case.

My question is how can I replace that download manager? Installing other download manager does not help as Google Play still uses the troublesome native one only.

Any ideas on how I can use some other download manager for Google Play or to mend the troublesome one?

BTW, I had tried: Turbo Download Manager, Download Manager for Android. They do not detect the download when i press "install" button in Google Play Store for an app. Trying other download manager is still a big pain as I have to download APK from other sites and transfer to my SD card to install.

While you intend to replace the stock download manager, but keep access to Google Play Store, since it's your trusted market, before that, you should try to find the reason as to why are you having troubles downloading apps:

Troubleshooting Download Issues

Is the device supported by Google Play Store?

You can confirm this from the Supported Devices List last updated 2012/06/29
Common quick checks:

Restart your phone, then try downloading the app again.
Confirm there is connectivity to either wireless or cellular networks on your device.

If behind a firewall, ensure that TCP and UDP 5228 ports aren’t blocked (they are required for Google Play).
Clear cache and data of both the Google Play Store app and the Download manager:

Visit Menu > Settings > Applications > Manage applications;
Tab over to "All";
Select the Google Play Store app, and then tap "Clear data" and "Clear cache";
Select Download manager and tap "Clear data" and "Clear cache".

Aditional information for troubleshooting can be found at Google Play: Troubleshoot an issue.

Alternatives

Other App discovery Method

Appbrain, an app discovery service that as per your request still uses Google Play Store as the source for the downloads provide.

It features a great instant download tool (AppBrain App Market), a nice search function, a very clear interface and you can sign-in with your Google account.

One side note: This app still downloads via the stock download manager.

Alternative Markets

Alternative markets have their own download manager. They may be a solution, provided the issue does not lie with your current unofficial ROM:

Amazon Appstore for Android

While an alternative market, I've received a notice from the website stating:

  The Amazon Appstore is only available to customers located in the United States.

GetJar

Launched in 2004, it grows every day, counts 600.000+ apps, and 450.000+ registered developers. As an independent app store, not tied to any particular handset or carrier, it comes as an alternative solution for you.
AndroidPIT

AndroidPIT is a Web 2.0 network and Android blog. Was created to bring together Android experts, enthusiasts and developers. Apps are tested, at least one every day and reviews are published to help users on their decisions.
SlideME

Founded back in 2008, SlideME provides a 'Managed App-Store Service' and builds solutions as per market requirements.


Is it possible to run a screensaver on an Android device? I want to run a screen saver when my phone is in sleep mode. Currently, if my phone says idle for a bit it fades to a black screen. Instead I want to display some images as screen saver. Is this possible?

I want to run a screen saver when phone is in sleep mode.

When the phone is in sleep mode, the screen is off.

  When we stay idle some time a black screen comes.

This is built into Android.

  At that time I want to display some images as screen saver.

I repeat, when the phone is in sleep mode, the screen is off.

  Is this possible?

You cannot have the screen on and the device in sleep mode.


multiple users on android 7.0, need to extend privileges of the first one I have an android 7.0 phone with two users (Oneplus 3, oxygen 4.0.3).

The first user (as it was created first in order of time) seems to have more privileges than the second one.

for example, the phone boots on the first user, he can tweak certain configurations that the second cannot, and some apps (wifi monitoring for example) don't work on the second user. and more.

I'd like to extend the privileges to the second user, or at least to switch the main one. so that the second will become fully operational on the phone.

how can I do that?

Thanks,

Looks like the only way to do that, would be by deleting the first user account and then creating a new user account.


Google+ Background Data Usage My 1GB data pack (3G) was running out a bit faster than normal, so I started investigating using the Data Usage tool (Android 4.1.2 Nexus S).
That's when I found out the Google+ app had used 300 MB in 3 days, and all of it was background data.
Here's the graph:

Graph (click to enlarge)

I don't remember using the app much at all, yet it almost burned through my data pack. I've set the Instant Upload settings to only upload when connected to Wi-fi, and roaming uploads are disabled too. I disabled background as soon as I figured it out, but I still don't know how and why it used up so much data. Any pointers?

Google Photos auto-backup may sync automatically the local photos to account.turn of this feature if you don't need it.


Installing custom recovery using Odin will erase data or not? My phone's model is sm-g5108q(SAMSUNG G5108Q Galaxy Core Max).

I'm going to install custom recovery on my phone.
But I can't found custom recovery package suitable my phone.
So I prepare custom recovery package similar version.

Installing custom recovery will erase data?
Is there any problem others?

The installation itself will not erase any user data, but to boot a custom system image or custom recovery, your bootloader needs to be unlocked. If it isn't already, then unlocking the bootloader will erase all user data.

Note also that it is generally not possible to use a system image or recovery that was prepared for a different phone. Samsung in particular tends to release two completely different phone models under the same marketing name. Commonly one has an SM- model number like yours, and the other has a GT- model number. ROMs made for one model will not work at all on the other model.


Transfer *.contact from PC to Samsung Galaxy S 2 How can I transfer my contacts from my PC (win7) .contact (iPhone 4) to Samsung Galaxy S2? I no longer have the iPhone 4.

If I'm understanding what you are saying, you synced all your iPhone contacts to Windows and have *.contact files in the Contacts folder.

So download Samsung Kies and you will be able to sync the contacts from PC to phone.

Alternatively, in Windows export your contacts as a CSV file and then import this into the Gmail/Google account you have linked to your phone. These contacts can then be synced from Google to your phone.


Phone answer or hangs up when it rings and I take the phone out of my pocket When the phone rings and I pull it out of my pocket, most of the time it either hangs up or answers the call. I don't touch any buttons with my fingers. Sometimes it does this even before I start to take it out of my pocket. This is not in bluetooth mode. Phone is set to stay locked until I swipe the pattern or use fingerprint.
Ideally I want the phone to only answer when I explicitly tell it to do so.

Model SM-G930V
Android version 7.0

Ok, I dug a little deeper and read the user guide/manual for your phone. It might be some settings that are enabled in the accessibility settings, called Single Tap mode. Here is the link to the user guide. I included a screenshot of that section and added the text too.

  When an alarm sounds or a call comes in, tap the button to stop the
  alarm or answer the call instead of dragging the button.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility, and then tap the Single tap mode switch to activate it.

  Change the method of answering or ending calls.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility → Answering and ending calls. Select the desired method.


How to Connect Kindle Fire to ADB while in "Kindle Fire System Recovery" I have a Kindle Fire HD (tate) that I bricked by modding /system/app/Framework-Res.apk and I am trying to unbrick it. How can I connect it to ADB? It won't show up in Ubuntu or Windows. It is in a bootloop with a red triangle and it prompts to system restore (doesn't work). It doesn't have TWRP because I used iRoot. It looks similar to this image.

Is this possible? If so, then how?

You need a driver built by amazon to connect it to ADB. This should help you: https://developer.amazon.com/public/community/post/Tx3RZFBU0KJTSWS/Setting-up-the-ADB-Driver-for-Kindle-Fire-Devices


How do I turn off the Google Voice typing on htc desire 510 I'm having a problem I change my oil changed I guess D card in my phone and now to send a text message all I got is Google Voice typing and I don't want it how do i turn it off

In your phone's settings, look for Input settings. It might come under Languages or Text Input. Look for the list of keyboards, and de-select Google Voice Typing. Note that your phone should have another keyboard installed for you to be able to switch to something else.


Is there some trick to block the Netflix "BangBang" sound? That horrible sound that hurts my ears, on the start of every episode with Netflix logo...
I would even root my phone if that sound could be detected, filtered and blocked...
May be some app that when there is no sound playing for 10s, auto lowers the volume to a minimum?
I use headphone always - I need to - but that just worsens the problem...
These big companies and their lack of config options are quite annoying...

This is a manual (non automatic) workaround.
I installed this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alwaysvolumebutton
It is highly configurable. I can move the buttons, rotate them, and make them transparent. And the volume percent shows on the button.
So with 1 click, i can quickly mute sounds and not show the bright annoying system volume control. To mute is a initially disabled option.
So, b4 clicking on play, i hit the mute button, and again after the bangbang, and that is very simple to use.
It may be buggy to configure, but as soon you manage to, it works fine.


HTC One Deactivate Autocorrection Is it possible to deactivate the autocorrection feature of the HTC One (Android 4.3) without losing the 'swype' feature of the keyboard?

I could only figure out how to deactivate the 'swype'-, wordprediction and autocorrection feature all together.

What I would like is to deactivate just the behaviour that unknown or uncommon words get corrected.

Go into your Settings/Language & Input.  Under "Keyboard & Input Methods" hit the settings icon next to your keyboard.  Scroll down to "Text Correction" hit "Auto Correction" and select "Off". That should do the trick.


How to turn off vibration during a factory reset? I am experimenting with my phone quite a lot, and I need to do a factory reset quite often (several times per day).

Everything works fine, but it vibrates several times during the factory reset. And it's really annoying. Maybe someone know, how to turn those off - some setting maybe?

I'm using Android 2.3.6, Alacritous v3 Mod.

I'm assuming you are using the menu found under settings when the phone is fully booted.
Doing a factory reset from clockworkmod recovery shouldn't make the phone vibrate. Boot to recovery and choose wipe data/factory reset. The effect is the same as the menu in the settings.


How to make an Android device to display complex rendering of Indic characters? Please excuse the length of this question. I need to explain all this to help others and to avoid helpful contributors to provide answer without asking clarifications.

My requirement in one line: "to enable an Android phone to display Tamil characters properly".

Elaboration:
Tamil, like any other Indian language has complex character rendering system. Unlike English or other Latin based script, it has glyph (what you see in screen) composed of more than one character.
Android does not have ability to render such complex scripts (with exceptions). My aim is to know how I can provide such an ability to an Android phone or tablet.

Little background that I gathered so far:
To display a glyph in screen, Android first needs a suitable font file.  Android device has a folder /system/fonts which has few of them.  The most interesting file in that folder is the DroidSansFallback.ttf.  As the name suggests, when Android's system fails to find a character in system fonts (that could be DroidSans.ttf or DroidSans-Bold.ttf etc) it falls back to search it in DroidSansFallback.ttf.

By replacing a suitable font file from PC (Latha.ttf or Lohit-Tamil.ttf - these are fonts for Tamil) and DroidSansFallback.ttf will enable to display Tamil characters in the device.
It is not so easy to replace and it involves rooting the device and mounting the system as writable.

In spite of those troubles, even if the DroidSansFallback.ttf is replaced, the Tamil characters that are displayed are not rendered properly.  The Tamil character "தி" is a conjunct of two characters and instead of getting displayed as "தி", it will be displayed as "த ி" without space in between. Though this is enough to read short messages, it cannot be used to read books etc.

From Android 4.0 on wards, Tamil and other few languages are supported through browser as said in Android 4.x API overview as seen below.

Support for Indic fonts (Devanagari, Bengali, and Tamil, including the complex
character support needed for combining glyphs) in WebView and the built-in Browser

The words to notice is "in WebView and the built-in Browser", which means that Tamil characters will be rendered perfectly if it is rendered as HTML content and will not be rendered otherwise.  Opera and other few browsers did this even before Android 4.0 by substituting image instead of character.

I noticed that in few devices that target Indian market (ex: LG Optimus One, most of Samsung phones and tablets) are able to display Tamil properly both in browser and even in places out of browser like in contacts, text messages, file names etc.  To my surprise they do this even in Android 2.3 onwards.  I also noticed that the same model targeting non-Indian country running same version of Android does not support Tamil character display.

This made me to investigate further and reached a conclusion that Android (as other Linux based OS) depends on a font rendering engine to display such complex characters.  The two engines that I came across are Skia and Harfbuzz. I noticed LG uses skia and Samsung uses Harfbuzz libraries in their devices to bring this ability.

I came across many websites suggesting to replaces these libraries and fonts. It did not work and results in freezing.  Fortunately I backed up using clockworkmod and hence I restored my phone.

Though I had explained this with Tamil, this is applicable for most of the Indian languages.

Here comes my question (if you are still reading;) )
Now, far sure it is clear that a TTF file should be present to provide characters and an appropriate libraries (libskia.so or libharfbuzz.so) are required to render them correctly.  Does any one know how these manufacturers are able to provide the ability? I am even ready to build my own ROM from AOSP (Android Open Source Project).

Rooted Phone

Android under the folder /system/fonts contains a file named "DroidSansFallback.ttf" supposed to contain all the language characters. Currently it lacks support for many, including Tamil.

One can always replace the file with one that contains Tamil characters, thus allowing the usage of Tamil on your phone.

From XDA Developers Thread - DroidSans Fallback Indic Font, users have tried and successfully used Tamil on their phones.

Download the DroidSansFallback.ttf file
Download the original DroidHindi.ttf file

To acomplish this method, you need root access to your phone, in order to access the /system and change the Fallback file:

Read How do I root my device? if your phone isn't rooted yet.
Follow XDA Developers thread to see how to replace the file:

Using and Android SDK environment:

First Copy the DroidSansFallback.ttf file into your sdcard,
then issue the following commands:

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd /sdcard
busybox cp DroidSansFallback.ttf /system/fonts
mount -o ro,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
exit
exit

Lastly, rebooted the phone

Note: mount point isn't the same for all phones.

Android APP

While the above method may appeal to some users, I do prefer an APP when available.

Besides, Tamil has a keyboard with a total of 247 characters, while the English one only needs 26. So this becomes a major problem when typing:

See Wikipedia :: Tamil language - Writing System

  The current Tamil script consists of 12 vowels, 18 consonants and one special character, the āytam. The vowels and consonants combine to form 216 compound characters, giving a total of 247 characters (12 + 18 + 1 + (12 x 18))

Thanks to Krishan, and is work on this subject, there's already an APP available to deal with both issues, the system wide usage of Tamil, and a keyboard that can be used to type Tamil Characters.

Read Krishan's post entitled Tamil Unicode Font for Android – Working for detailed information about the development of this solution.

To summarize

Krishan developed and published two APPs at Google Play that completely deal with the problem of having an entire Android OS in Tamil:

Tamil Unicode Keyboard

Tamil Unicode Font


I have a Blutooth Keyboard connected with my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, and the Keyboard works, but I dont want the on screen keyboard I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, and recently bought a blutooth keyboard for it. They keyboard works, but whenever i click on the area that i want to type something, the on screen keyboard shows up, and i cant use the blutooth one. How do i disable the screen keyboard and only use the blutooth one. Thanks!

You can install and select different keyboard apps from Play Store. Some of them only have a few or even no key(s). Therefore this should be the way to go.

An alternative would be deinstall all keyboard apps, however this is dangerous as there may be situations where the Bluetooth keyboard does not work and you have to enter a password to unlock the device but without keyboard app this won't work.


Is it possible to reorganize the SD card? Because it is a mess in there One of the things I hate about Android is the folder organization. Each app creates its own folder, usually in the root of the SD card. When I'm trying to find something, I have to search it through long lists of app-specific folders.

Is it possible to reorganize these? For example, this is how I would like my SD card to look like:

Android: OS specific data
AppData: Application specific data. This is where every app puts its settings and data, not where they want
Documents
Downloads
Pictures
Music
Video etc.

So in other words, can I restrict where apps put their data?

You cannot restrict where the applications write the data on the sdcard. You can go and delete what ever you want on the sdcard, but it may be data for an application. If you move it, the application will think it has been deleted or doesn't exist, and it will just create the data in the same place again.

Google recommends applications use the /sdcard/Android/data/ folder, but if the application has permissions to write to the sdcard, they can write where ever they want on it. Some applications were created before the recommendations, others may not know the recommendation, and others may not care for what ever reason.

The "standard" is the following for non-application specific data:

Music/
Podcasts/
Ringtones/
Alarms/
Notifications/
Pictures/
Movies/
Download/

and then application specific is:
Android/data/<application>


Selecting a range of photos in gallery I have several hundred photos that I want to transfer from my phone to computer. I don't want to manually click each one, is there a way that I can select a range of photos? Similar to how in Windows Explorer you can shift-click one item, then shift-click another item, and every item in between will be selected. I haven't worked out a way to do this. I'm using HTC One Mini, running Android 4.4.2.

I found I could multi select pics by touching the first one, holding my finger on the screen, and then dragging across the screen to the last one. They all turn to selected as I pass over them. A bit like selecting text with a mouse on a PC!


Sync to my own server for contacts, sms and notes? Possible Duplicate:
  Suggestions for syncing data to someone besides Google? Funambol?

Does anyone know any effort on Android which can sync contacts, sms or even notes/todos to my own server? I saw similar function on Samsung GS3 "Add account" settings page but not sure how it works.

All advice are appreciated. Preferably open source projects. Thanks!

The most complete solution for private contacts and calendar sync seems to be installing the CalDAV-Sync and CardDAV-Sync apps on your phone and setting up a CalDAV / CardDAV server.  Several open-source solutions are available; check the list on Wikipedia. I've been a happy user of a DAViCal installation.


Why is application data of the same application stored in different locations? I have installed the same application on

a device running Android 7.0 (not rooted) and
on a tablet running Android 4.4 (root),

but nevetheless I noticed that the application data (databases/files etc) is stored in different locations on each device:

On the tablet device the files are located at: /storage/sdcard0/Android/data/com.packagename and can be easily manipulated (i.e copy, back up etc) but not on the smartphone which likely leaves the storage location being: /data/data/com.packagename which I have no access to.

I understand that it is usually stored on /data/data (protected internal app storage) or /storage/sdcard0/Android/data (storage on user's internal storage partition), else on a SD card if present. In addition, a related question has been asked here: Where Android apps store data?

My biggest surprise is why is this happening on the same application (same version - sideloaded)?

This reference page also explains how a developer can configure the default location of application data. It  would have been  understandable if there were different versions of the application, but here I am only dealing with the same application (i.e .apk file). Is there something I am missing here or things have changed in recent versions of Android?

My concern is that I can't access these files on /data/data without root and since these are large files and I need to back them up just in case the app data is accidentally cleared (and I have already done that by mistake :(.

Most importantly  I don't want to continuously download them over again.

Note: Both devices have no external storage attached.

From the look of things the biggest obstacle is not being able to access files on /data/data  (device 1), hence no backup possible...(I would appreciate if there is another reliable workaround to achieve this)

All apps have private storage in the protracted /data folder. Some apps choose to temporarily store data in public locations. Unfortunately I cannot say for certain what the exact results of this were, but I know the way shared data is handled changed in Android 7 for security reasons.


Odin detecting Galaxy S plus only in Ramdump Mode I have a Galaxy S plus (GT I9001), I installed Tiger Jelly Bean recently, which was working fine. But phone was lagging a lot so I decided to install the stock rom again. I installed Kies(latest version) with drivers and connected my phone to my PC, but it was not detected by Odin. Every time I got Samsung Composite USB Device driver installation failed. So I searched and installed drivers from Here and Here . But they didn't worked either. I tried again after changing USB Cable but still no luck. Then I installed Kies in my Laptop and tried to connect the phone. Still it wasn't recognized.

Things were not working with downloading mode and Stock rom tar file cannot be flashed with recovery mode. So I searched a converter for .tar to flash able .zip file and found THIS. I installed this tool and tried to convert the tar file to zip. Didn't noticed that it require knowing "Mount Point", so I converted the tar file to zip without changing the mount point and copied the file to internal storage of phone and flashed the zip file. After that phone restarted , and stuck at Samsung Logo.

New I can't even to recovery Mode, nothing happens when I keep Pressing Vol Up + Power. Phone starts and stuck at samsung logo. Odin was already not detecting the phone so I tried connecting the phone on Ramdump Mode and some how drivers were installed and odin detected it correctly. But odin can't flash phone in ramdump mode so it didn't worked.

So now the problems I am facing are:
1- Phone is stuck at samsung logo, can't go in recovery mode.
2- Odin not detecting phone in downloading mode.

Is there something what I can do to fix this?
Please help!

Thank you.

I also faced the same problem in my phone, when I flashed a wrong Rom. But I had USB Jig which reset my phone to Download mode automatically. Then I was able to flash with ODIN.

Try using USB Jig (you can buy it on eBay) to force your phone into Download mode.


How do permissions work in the Android Market? I've been told that the permissions for an app are there to inform me the types of things the app has permission to do. If this is right, can a developer 'forget' a permission and get away with using something anyway.  I'm just curious for the security of my device.  I know that Google does not police it's market as strict as Apple so I was wondering if a app could 'forget' to claim a permission but use that feature anyway?

This is not a programming question - its about the trustworthiness of permissions

The permissions are entered by the developer, yes.  But the Android OS only grants those specific permissions, and no others.  Therefore an app could try to do something it wasn't allowed to, but it would fail (barring a security exploit).  See http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/security/security.html#permissions for more details.


Android update and android mod I want to create a custom boot image for my Android. When I will update the System OTA I will lose my mod?

That very much depends on the OTA and what it includes: it might only replace/add some files, but it could as well replace an entire partition (usually /boot and/or /system).

So yes, an OTA system update might overwrite your "custom boot image" – though not all OTAs will do so.