Finding a way to create a WLAN between tablet and phone I currently own a nokia N900 and am waiting for the my pre ordered Nexus 7 to arrive. I was wondering because since android does not support p2p adhoc networking, as far as i know. Is there any way to create a private lan wirelessly over bluetooth? Maybe setup the tablet or phone as a wireless router?

Also, I am also considering modding a usb cable to be able to plug into the tablet and phone, because from what i heard the tablet also supports host mode, and linux supports IP over USB.

I just need an SSH connection between the two so nothing special as regards protocol usage.

Thanks, and I hope i got my question across clearly.

Android, starting from 4.0, does officially support a form of p2p wifi networking called Wifi Direct. A Wifi Direct-capable device can create an access point which any other Wifi-capable device can access. I don't know about Nexus 7 specifically, but Galaxy Nexus does support Wifi Direct so I'd presume that so is Nexus 7.


kitkat not displaying emoji I have an LG G3 phone with kitkat (4.4.2), about 2 years old. When using the twitter app, there are some emoji I can't see (those belonging to Unicode 9). My LG keyboard only supports, AFAIK, Unicode 7 emoji. I have also tried installing Gboard but the emoji set is exactly the same one.

Although I have managed to survive so far without typing the newer emoji, I seriously can't forfeit seeing them on Twitter app (or any other place). Don't mind which version will be displayed (google, iOS, twitter or whatever) as long as they will be displayed (bonus points for a solution that will also include updating my emoji keyboard).

I am NOT interested in upgrading my OS, rooting or installing any other version - I'm completely fine with what I've got, just want to see those new food emoticons.

Any Suggestions?

Emoji are dependent to OS too! You cannot have a emoji(s) which was typed in upgraded versions of the OS. You need to update the OS.


How to Store BTsync Data Files in SD Card? The new BTsync 2.3 advertises that it has the feature of storing in the SD card of your Android >=5.0.
However, I cannot find such a setting in Settings of the application.
There are two options which to do when having the card in CyanogenMod 13 when first time having SD card in the phone: use it as portable SD card or internally.
I chose using as a portable SD card.
However, I cannot now see any files in the portable SD card when looking the files with PC.

How can you store BTsync data files in SD card?

Answer from the BTsync support

Did you disable 'Simple mode" in Sync settings -> advanced? If yes, then after scanning a QR code from another peer, to which you want to connect, Sync will ask you to pick folder location, and it's here where you'll be able to pick SD card. Please see detailed guide here.
Else, you can start sharing from the mobile - tap on "=" icon -> add folder and pick a folder from the SD card, share it with other peers. Detailed guide is here.

where disabling the Simple mode is the trigger to solve my case.
Then Settings > Default folder location and you are able to change to SD card.


Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE Bricked and not charging (gray battery) Some time ago i had problem with my Samsung S3 LTE, namely, after some time the phone started to flash screen, lose signal and finally crash. The problem lasted about 2 months but I belittled it and just got used to it.
 Unfortunately after all that time my phone could not boot after such crash.
 I went back home and tried to solve the problem as always - charge the phone, but this time the phone was not charging, it was only displaying grey battery with a thunder in it.
 I checked my battery and saw a bulge so i replaced the battery with a new one but the problem persists.
I tried odin but had the "can't open the serial(com) port" error.
If I try to turn the phone on, it gets stuck on the Samsung logo.

Another way of charging Samsung Galaxy S3 if it has broken micro usb charging port is to connect directly to the terminals inside the case. This will only work with a wall charger, and you'll need some electronics know-how to do it. This video shows how.


How to flash Cubot r11 stock rom on bricked phone? I am using Ubuntu and while attempting to root my phone using fastboot I ended up on a boot-loop cycle. Also power+volume-up to enter recovery mode isn't working.

How can I fix this issue(Linux tools preferred)?

You can use SP Flash Tool. You need MediaTek MT65xx USB VCOM Preloader USB Drivers for it. If you care about data, you should make a full rom dump (or at least nvdata metadata oemkeystore and userdata partition). You need a scatter file for this. A scatter file you can create with WwR MTK v2.30.
If fastboot is working, you can try "fastboot format:ext4 cache" to fix bootloop. You can try to port a TWRP and "fastboot boot recovery.img" then you get full access via adb in recovery (and if metadata is still intact it will hopefully decrypt userdata).
If the bootloop is caused by flashing TWRP, install Universal Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt.zip to disable the dm-verity boot chain validation.


I need help with backingup data and doing a factory reset How do i back up data for apps, such as games? If so,is it safe to factory data reset? I'm basically wanting to know how to save my data and still be able to reset my tablet.

In order to save apps' data you have two options:

If your phone is rooted, use the famous app Titanium Backup;
If your phone is NOT rooted, use Helium with a Windows PC.


How can I set the locale and language? How can I set the keyboard and language in Android, and how can I add more languages to the device?

Go to 'settings'-> 'Language & keyboard' -> 'Select language' and select one. If there are only a few available then that was the (awkward) choice of your operator or phone manufacturer.

To solve that problem, an app like CustomLocale solves it only a little. It doesn't work all that well or complete. Rooting and installing a custom ROM with sufficient languages is the only way to fully solve it.

If only the virtual keyboard is bothering you, you can install others, such as the MultiLing keyboard, from the Market. Be careful for malicious apps though. You're granting them access to anything you type in, and since the keyboard is pretty much always loaded, it might render your phone slow or instable if the keyboard app is buggy.

The instructions above might differ per flavour of Android (provided by the manufacturer on top of the stock Android) but will be similar.


Fix SELinux contexts for a SU binary I am trying to root my android 6.0.1 phone using the following method:

I first booted into a TWRP image using fastboot boot, then using the TWRP terminal I copied the su binary from the SuperSU kit to /system/xbin/ and ran chmod 6755 ./su, chown root:root ./su and chcon u:object_r:system_file:s0 ./su. Now I booted into Android and opened a terminal emulator and goto /system/xbin/ and see that the SUID bit is set for su. But when I run su, nothing happens and the binary exits with a 0 value.

Running strace su shows that the setresuid() and setuid() calls are failing. I suspect this is because of SELinux contexts.

What should the SELinux contexts be for the binary?

Apps can't elevate their privileges by making use of set-uid-root or file capabilities. It's due to Security Enhancements in Android 4.3:

  No setuid/setgid programs. Added support for filesystem capabilities to Android system files and removed all setuid/setguid programs.  This reduces root attack surface and the likelihood of potential security vulnerabilities.
  Restrict Setuid from Android Apps. The /system partition is now mounted nosuid for zygote-spawned processes, preventing Android applications from executing setuid programs. This reduces root attack surface and the likelihood of potential security vulnerabilities.
  Capability bounding. Android zygote and ADB now use prctl(PR_CAPBSET_DROP) to drop unnecessary capabilities prior to executing applications. This prevents Android applications and applications launched from the shell from acquiring privileged capabilities.
  NO_NEW_PRIVS. Android zygote now uses prctl(PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS) to block addition of new privileges prior to execution application code. This prevents Android applications from performing operations which can elevate privileges via execve. (This requires Linux kernel version 3.5 or greater).

Default SELinux context of /system/xbin/su is u:object_r:su_exec:s0 but it may not be the only constraint.

For more details see:

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

Also:

How to manually root a phone?


Is there a way to turn my phone to landscape mode in the lock screen? I have had a Motorola Moto e4 for almost 2 years with relatively no problems. A few days ago, my phone's touch screen stops working in certain frequently pressed places on the screen. This proves to be mildly annoying, but manageable as I would just flip the phone to landscape to get past this (especially when typing). Unfortunately, my phone has finally died and after I charged it, it now asks for my password so I can log in. The thing is, I can't press one of the onscreen keyboard keys to enter my password completely, and thus cannot unlock my phone. I cannot use my fingerprint because every time my phone reboots it asks for the password. I know if I can get my landscape mode I can enter in the correct password but all my attempts (notification bar, lock screen camera) have all failed. Any help? :)

Your device seems to support USB OTG functionality. Given that, you can buy an OTG cable and use a mouse (any mouse would work) to control the device, just like you control a computer using a mouse.

Once you unlock the device, attempt to root it, then install Xposed Framework for Nougat, followed by installation of GravityBox [N] Xposed module.

In GravityBox module, there is a setting named Enable lockscreen rotation under Lockscreen tweaks. Enable it and restart the device. The rotation control should work on lockscreen now.

Note: If the device is encrypted, and you reboot the device, the rotation tweak would not work because the apps are not loaded by that time. You would have to use your fingers or the mouse in portrait mode to unlock the device.


Looking for a Lightweight gallery to replace the stock gallery I am looking for a lightweight gallery with following characteristics:

No annoying 2D/3D animations
Possibility to set wallpaper
Classification by folders
Fast or at least faster then standard Cooliris gallery
No background services like Just Pictures!

I'm a big fan of QuickPic: it's simple and truly fast :)


How do I set Google Photos to ignore videos? I only want to back up photos and not videos.

In the official Google Photos app, you can't disable backup of videos per se, but you can exclude folders having videos from being backed up. That can be done like this:

In the "Device Storage" view (accessible from the swipe-in sidebar), look for the "cloud" icon to the right of the folder name.
If the Cloud icon is blue with an up arrow on it, backup of that folder is enabled. Tap on the icon to disable backup for that folder.
The Cloud icon should now become white with a slash through it. Congratulations! Backup of a folder has been disabled successfully.
It might happen that your videos are intermixed with your photos, especially if they have been shot on your camera. Move the videos to a separate folder using a file manager app, usually "Videos", and disable backup for that folder from the "Device Storage" view.

This will disable Google Auto-Backup for the selected folders only, leaving the rest unaffected.

Click on image to enlarge

Image Credits @ mobilesiri.com


How to remove balloon/ripple effect while entering pin on lock screen? Recently I updated my phone to android lollipop. When I type my pin in lock screen a balloon/ripple effect or a circular thing is observed near the key which I pressed/touched. I don't want that effect in my mobile. Can I remove it without rooting my phone?

Without rooting there are 2 ways at least. Neither are that great, but they do produce the desired behaviour.
Developer Settings

Activate developer settings by tapping the build number 7 times
Adjust the animation speed (Animator Duration Scale). Either make it much faster or disable it completely

This has the downside of disabling all the lovely material design animations universally :/ Fortunately, transitions can still be preserved so it isn't all that terrible.
Power-Saving Mode
This is essentially toggling power saving mode as required because this too will disable the lockscreen ripple animation. Whilst it also disables all animations, this may be preferable as it's easier to toggle (fewer taps) than digging into developer settings.
Rooting
Rooting and installation of xposed for Lollipop is of course much more preferable, and opens up many more options, but without that, you still have the above two options.


Latest Cyanogenmod doesn't want to be rooted? I just saw that if I need to install the latest Cyanogenmod on my tab (Galaxy Tab 2 7 (GT-P3113)) I don't need to root it. Is this true? Any one have more information on this? So will it be easy to restore to the original rom?

Technically, you don't need root if you have an unlocked bootloader. Even if it is locked, you don't need root, you just need an exploit to change the recovery to install CM9/CM10. Usually, the first thing that people do when an exploit is identified is "root" the device but flashing a different recovery and flashing a different ROM is also possible. Root happens first because there are little or no modifications that have to be made except put the su binaries on the device.

The Galaxy devices, from my experience is actually pretty easy to "Restore to Stock" if you so choose. It does require a little research to find the stock rom files and the use of ODIN (or hemidall). Once you have the stock files that can be used with ODIN, it is rather simple to restore to "stock"

With CM9 and later, you do not have to have root enabled. On top of that, you can change that when ever you want. You can also specify if you only want to allow apps to have root access, only adb, or both.


Disable GPS time synchronization I live in Kiev, Ukraine. My device is Motorola Defy with CyanogenMod 7 (2.3.7). In time settings there's no Ukraine timezone so I use Minsk, Belarus timezone (GMT +3). After I locate my position using GPS my phone's timezone changes to African (GMT +2).

Is there any way to disable GPS time synchronization on android?

My phone is rooted.

Android does not synchronize neither time nor time zone with GPS (I don't know about CyanogenMod but I don't think it works in some other way).

Android does synchronize both time and time zone with cellular network. I guess that your cellular network sends to you wrong time zone (African). You can disable it by unchecking "Automatic time zone" in Settings -> Date & time.


What is the lightest custom Android ROM (Android 4.0 or higher)? I need a minimalistic custom Android ROM which has a lot of RAM free for use because the app that I need to use needs a lot of RAM. I want to only use my phone for one thing and only have one application installed on it. I will install the app after I install Android on my phone. The app is using GPS and needs Android 4.0 or higher. The name of the app is Map My Tracks. What is a custom Android ROM that is the lightest of all?
My phone is HTC Wildfire S.

There is no definite answer for this but here is my point of view -
The Simple Solution - SlimRom:
SlimRoms - On-Click away,free, HTC compatible ROM.
With SlimRom you can configure how much of google services you wish to use which have significant effect on device performance.
The Hard Solution - Create One:
You can create your custom Android OS and build clean version of it (without any google app like chrome or youtube).
If you really want to get wild you can delete all unnecessary apps under platform/packages/apps (e.g calculator,camera).
If you choose this option bear in mind that HTC specific features won't work.

More data:
If you're still not sure and need more data about specific features that you'll need in your app check the Custom ROM Comparison Database.


How can I uninstall the local Speech Recognition from Google? My Google Speech Recognition isn't working.  When I use it (in Google Now, Evernote, etc.) it crashes the app.

I'm guessing this is because I installed the local SR.
(I did a Factory Reset on the phone (Motorola Razr M) and the problem persists AND the local SR is still installed.

Update: What I've tried
I can't find any App (Running or Installed) that seems like Speech Recognition. So I've not removed anything.  The only thing I've seen that looks like it might be what I'm looking for is com.google.android.voicesearch but there's only an option to Stop and Disable it, not uninstall.

You need a rooted device to remove system apps. There are many apps on the market which will do this or you can do it manually via the command line.

Link2SD, for example, allows you to "convert" or remove system apps.

Be careful when removing system apps and do not do anything unless you fully understand what you are doing.


How to Turn off App Suggestions From Launcher on Moto E4 Plus This is my first question on this community. I was wondering is there a way to disable App Suggestion(Recently used) from the Launcher on Moto E4 Plus Running on Android 7.1.1

Also I wanna disable the google now which appears on the home screen when we swipe from left.

I have disabled them until Marshmallow. But I don't see any option to disable these 2 on Nougat 7.1.1

Solution for Question 2:

While on the Home Screen do a LONG PRESS/TOUCH and HOLD (Brings up the Background, Widgets, and Settings Menu)
Select SETTINGS (Bottom Right)
Select SWIPE LEFT
Select option NOTHING


How can you stop your phone from saving contacts to your sim? I Have a T-Mobile Sidekick 4G. It runs on Gingerbread. I just got my phone and when I first tried to enter a contact I accidentally pressed "Save to Sim" and "Remember This Choice". I really want to save contacts to my phone but it won't let me. How do I un-do this? This is really annoying!

Open Contacts then press the menu button go to More>Settings in that the first option is where you want to save your contacts .


How to shrink a notification in notification bar in Android Lollipop? I was used to shrinking and enlarging notifications for more buttons in former android version - Kitkat. Now with Lollipop I am unsure how to execute this. I want to shrink notificaitons with buttons if I do not want to use them (i used to be able to do it).

Formerly I did it by holding notification for a sec and then pulling it down to enlarge or up to shrink. It seems like it works down to enlarge but I cannot shrink. Is there a different way to do it? Or does Android decide when to make it large or small (if yes that is a sad thing)

You can shrink a notification by pinching in horizontally on the notification. Likewise, you can expand one by pinching out horizontally. You can see this in my beautifully-drawn diagram:

EDIT: You can also swipe up/down using two fingers instead of one. Thanks to eldarerathis for this addition.


Reasons for MMS to fail while sending? I've been trying to send an MMS on a rooted ST17i with the MiniCMSandwich Lite rom but for some reason, I can't send any MMS (no matter how big). It will just say "SENDING" on the messaging app but would stay that way for quite some time (probably around 30 minutes) then it would say that sending has failed. So far, I've already tried the following combinations:

wifi: on
data: on
wifi: off, data: off
wifi: on, data: on

All to no avail. It just won't send. However, I can browse the web without any problems using my data plan (no wifi) and I have assumed that data and MMS are somewhat tied together in a way. So since data is working (it's even on an HSDPA status based on my signal bar), why won't MMS work?

I guess it should be also beneficial that I state that sending MMS worked when I was still on stock. As for my service provider, I'm under a postpaid plan from Sun Cellular. My APN settings is as follows:

Name: Sun MMS
APN: mms
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://mmscenter.suncellular.com.ph
MMS proxy: 202.138.159.78
MMS port: 9201
MCC: 515
MNC: 05
Authentication type: Not set
APN type: mms
APN protocol: IPv4
APN enabled/disable: APN enabled
Bearer: Unspecified

As I don't use MMS, I had to check first: Looks like MMS have a APN configuration separate from your (normal) internet APN. Here are some useful ressources:

How to set up Internet and MMS APN on Android for any operator A youtube video
How to: O2 UK APN Settings for Android iPhone iPad just as an example showing you need both APNs (Internet + MMS) -- if O2 UK is your provider, all the better :)
Support: APN settings for data and picture messaging (MMS): Android T-Mobile

Quoting from the t-mobile link:

  When you receive errors trying to send picture messages (MMS) or access data or the internet, confirm your Android phone is set up correctly. This is usually a problem with device settings.

Which seems to confirm my initial suspicion :)

So if you let us know your provider, plus your current APN configuration, maybe we can give more detailled help. On the other hand, the easiest was would be asking your carrier for the correct APN data directly (or visit his website, where they are probably held available -- as my examples from O2 and t-mobile show). A Google-Search (for " mms apn") could also prove useful.


How do I remove the search bar? On my Android 1.5 MID, there is a Google search bar in the main screen.

Does this have any value to me if I don't use the Internet?
How can I remove this from the main screen?

Long-press on the search bar; after a second or so, a trash can should appear at the top or bottom of the screen.   Drag it to the trash can.
Alternatively, you could drag it to an open space on another screen by dragging it to the left or right edge of the screen.   The screen will flip to the next panel and you can drop the widget on any open space large enough to contain it.


Is it ok to charge my Nexus S with an iPhone power adaptor? Possible Duplicate:
  Is my phone liable to explode if I charge it with a charger that came with a different phone?

I have an iPhone charger (produces 5V and 1A output). Is it okay to use this to charge my Nexus S?

As long as it is standard micro USB charger, it should be fine. Per spec, dedicated USB charging ports can supply up to 1.5 A at 5 V.

Check the battery label to see the rated maximum charging current to be extra safe, but it should work properly. USB devices are very common and standardized these days, and USB chargers work without a hitch across multiple devices.

Then again, Apple has been known to use not-quite-standard ports (I'm looking at you, 3.5 mm audio jack!), so take this with a grain of salt.


Connectivity problem with an app on my Android phone What can I do about this message: "Could not complete the action due to poor connectivity"--Says Network Issue? I have downloaded an app called LYFT. Everytime I try to get into this app, that message comes up.

Check using different connectivity type (wifi, lte, etc.). Also Check with whomever wrote the app, could be a server issue or bug in app too.


Red color lost in my tab 10.5 I have a Samsung tab s 10.5 inch. Once I try the Samsung code *#0*# and try to check the red color it gives a black screen, but all other color tests working fine – even tab working fine but any red color showing black  in all pics. I went to Samsung, they told problems is in Lcd or digitizer.

Any one can help please?

If the test is not displaying any red this is your LCD (all colors are created using 3 LED (light emitting Diodes) Red Green Blue (RGB)  Sadly your R is DEAD.  It might be something as simple as a loose correction which a technician with a test kit and some soldering could fix.

But I doubt you could do it yourself sorry to say.  Find a good computer repair shop near you.... Or contact Samsung and find an "authorized" repair shop if you are wonder warranty.

Good LUCK!


If an Android device is stole and wiped, does it stay connected to your Google+ Account/Dashboard? I am asking out of curiosity. I think my phone may be stolen but I can't find it. I am wondering if a thief erased/wiped the phone would it "remove" itself as a listing on my Google+ account?

If the stolen device is wiped, then your phone will disconnect from your Google account and you will not be able to locate it. It will stay as an entry on Android Device Manager, but you will not be able to locate or access it in any way.

If you believe your phone has been stolen, you should contact your carrier immediately as they have your IMEI on record and can try to locate it. If that doesn't help, try looking on local Craigslist or eBay listings.


What's ADB and why is it used for? How do I install it on my device? There are mentions about ADB on various questions and answers on this site. I'm not exactly sure what ADB is, what it does, how it works and where I can get it: there's little information on the tag wiki besides the link for ADB on the android developer site.

On the site itself, the language is a bit too technical, and there is no information on how to install it or get it working, only a list of commands. This may seem obvious for a developer but may not be for some users.

What is the purpose, usage and installation procedure for ADB?

ADB is the acronym for Android Debug Bridge, which is part of the Android SDK (Software Development Kit). It uses a client-server-model (i.e. adbd, the ADB daemon, is running on the device and can be connected to), and in most cases is used via an USB connection. It is also possible to use it via WiFi (wireless adb).
There's nothing you need to install on your Android device, as the ADB daemon (adbd) is already integrated into the Android OS. It is usually accessed via a command line interface from the PC, where either the full Android SDK is installed (several 30 MB download archive currently), or a massively stripped-down version for "non-developers", sometimes referred to as "Mini ADB" or "ADB essentials" (for Linux, this is only the adb executable; for Windows it's adb.exe plus two or three .dll files):
adb [-d|-e|-s <serialNumber>] <command>

(serialNumber is only needed if there are multiple devices connected at the same time, so you have to specify the target)
It would become a rather long answer to explain all the options/commands available to adb. So I will only name some of the more important:

adb backup / adb restore: To backup/restore your device, either single apps with/without their data, or data with/without their apps, up to a full backup of all apps and data, including system apps
adb push / adb pull: copy files to/from the device
adb shell: open a shell on the device to execute commands directly
adb logcat / adb bugreport: display the system log or generate a complete bug report including system log, device information and more
adb [un]install: (un) install an app

This is just a small selection. There are additional commands for scripting, and especially adb shell has a lot of options (basically, all Linux and Java commands available on the device can be run through it).
Useful references

Everything about ADB (A reference for everyone at XDA Developers)
ADB for Dummies (again available via SDK Developers. If you miss the guides as I did firstly: The first article is consisting of links only, colorful as they might look :))
Android ADB Quick Guide


Clear SD Card on Galaxy Tab 10.1 gt-p7510 I know how to factory rest my tablet but all of the information on my sd card remains. Because the sd card isnt removable is there a way to wipe everything from it?

If you have no option to wipe internal SD card during factory reset you still can clear it manually with any kind of file explorer/manager you'll find at Play Store (navigate to your SD card, and delete all content there). Just make it before factory reset and you're done.

[credits: Izzy and our little conversation in the now deleted comments]


Privacy, Malware & Android Permissions From a privacy perspective is the sheepoll app ok to use? Whilst the owner has reassured us they're not looking to snoop there is a possibility of a nefarious deeds being done so comments? It's for a polling entertainment show so not important to install.

It also has this scary permission description:

  Device ID & call information

  Allows the app to determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active and the remote number connected by a call

The app owner's reply:

  Hey Darryn, the new app has a heap of new features we couldn't do playing from just a web browser. As for the device and call info, I think you have misunderstood it. All the app does is identify your phone so when you log back in it picks up from where you left off. There is no recording of the numbers of people you call. We ain't the CIA. We do hope to see you at our shows though. Can't wait to see your Baabaatar!

From a privacy perspective, any app that requires more permissions than its actual usage is not a secure or private app. Is there a valid reason why they would need your call information? Is the software related to managing calls? From what I can tell, not really. You can never trust developers for their words. Many people in the past claimed they will not spy or collect additional data even with permissions, many more people will do that in the future, yet there are a lot of them who do break their "promise".

I am personally relatively paranoid, so if an app is just a news browsing app, if it requires permissions like my SMS history or anything more than its initial purpose, It is a massive no go.


fb_temp not appearing on orca/cache folder I tried to recover my facebook messages that were deleted around a month ago using the ES File Explorer. So I went to Internal Storage > Android > data > com.facebook.orca > cache. The forums stated that there should be the fb_temp folder there, but there's none. Version is 5.0 and is not rooted.

Do I have to root my phone first?

Thank you guys.

Do I have to root my phone first?

Yes, you need to root the phone to see apps' private data files in internal storage.


How do I change the default search app in MIUI? I'm running MIUI 11.20.90 on my HTC Incredible. I recently updated the Google Search app via the Android Market and now the default search app has changed from Google Search to MIUI's built-in Sidekick search app. To be clear, this is only when single-pressing the hw search button; long-pressing the search button brings up Voice Search (as desired) and the default setting for that action is still configurable. I really prefer Google over Sidekick and would like to change it back.

I tried resetting the default search app but can't - under the Google Search app's properties "Launch by Default" says "No defaults set" and the "clear defaults" button is grayed out. I can't find the Sidekick app in the applications list.

I also tried to uninstall/reinstall Google Search but the market only allows me to revert from the update with the message "Do you want to uninstall all updates to this Android system app?" When trying to uninstall Google Search in the OS I get the error "Unable to remove system application."

I think it's silly to have the Google Search bar/widget taking up homescreen real estate when I have a dedicated hw search button, so I'd really like to find a way to get the default corrected.

This in terminal app and restart afterwards did the job for me:

su
mount -o rw,remount /system
cp /data/app/com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox-1.apk /system/app/QuickSearchBox.apk

Found the answer here.


Samsung tablet 2 10.1- why is the adaptor in two separate parts We have just purchased a Samsung galaxy tablet 10.1 and there are no directions for charging - so we put the adaptor together to plug into the wall and it does not come apart - why is it in two separate pieces and why can't we get it apart?
Thank you

It's to make it cheaper to manufacture in bulk. The part with the actual transformer in is the same for every country, and the other half (with the plug itself) is different for each country. Making the complicated part global means they don't have to redesign the whole transformer for each country, and the manufacturer can benefit from increased economies of scale, reducing the price.

Most transformers for today's gadgets follow the same design. In the drawer in front of me I have examples from Apple, Sennheiser, and Asus, as well as Samsung, all in two parts.

Usually, it is possible to take the two pieces apart again, it just needs a bit of a wiggle and some practice. This makes it easier to use another country's plug if you're travelling, but apart from that there's no reason to. If you can add a photo of the particular kind of adaptor you have, I can probably add instructions for how to take it apart.


How to disable certain Android sound alerts? I have a Motorola Droid phone running Android 2.1. Many times per day my phone alerts me with a sound. It is not a new email or SMS or disconnection from the 3G network. I suspect it may alerting me about new WiFi networks that come in or out of range (I live in a big apartment building with dozens of networks around). That's only my suspicion as there is no indication on the screen about what triggered the sound alert.

I looked in Settings/Sounds but I don't see any category for such alerts.

And just to be clear: I want to find out how to disable the sound only for some alerts. I do not want to mute all of them.

Thanks in advance.

It's maybe because you ave a Google Talk session opened : It's the same for me, for day, I've looking for what "ring" like that and don't display any informations...


Tablet won't connect to any WiFi network anymore, always shows "saved" My tablet will not connect to ANY WiFi network anymore. Everything was working perfectly for about a month. But now, the WiFi icon has disappeared, and every time I try to connect to a network it simply shows "Saved." I figured maybe it was an issue with my network, so I went out and tested it with other WiFi connections. It can scan and detect everything, but the same thing happens while trying to connect to anything. My Nokia phone and laptop are able to connect to everything perfectly, but the tablet will not, even to the networks which it has previously connected to.

Things I have tried:

Deleted all networks by using the "Forget network" option and tried connecting again.
Tried "open" type networks without any passwords.
Rebooted the tablet several times.
Done a factory reset, twice.
Tried to analyse logcat data.

Here is a screenshot:

I also tried connecting to my laptop using Ad-hoc (with the laptop using a wired ethernet connection and transmitting it to the tablet wirelessly) but no use.

As you can see in the screenshot, the WiFi icon which turns blue and gray is GONE from the notification bar. It never shows up anymore. And the "Saved" result is what comes up every time I try to connect to a network.

I switched the WiFi on and tried connecting to the network while logcat was running, here is the text: http://pastebin.com/9pUba6Tt

The D/CommandListener(   79): Clearing all IP addresses on wlan0 is what happens every time I attempt to connect to any network. Always the same thing.

I have gone through dozens of XDA threads and such with this issue. Many people have gotten the "Saved" problem, but it's only been for people who have UPDATED to ICS 4.0.4 from Gingerbread or something. My tablet CAME with ICS 4.0.4.

P.S: My tablet is a cheap one, it's a Ubislate 7C+ from Datawind.

ANY help would be really, really, appreciated. I've been trying to fix this for about a week now. Thanks.

Have the "Saved Problem" on a cheap tablet that came with 4.1.1.

Tried 3 different WiFi networks without success: ZyXel P2601HN, Tomato and DD-WRT.

I was about to return the tablet but, as a last resort tried connecting it to an Android phone in tethering mode. That worked - so the WiFi in the tablet was working?

Then I tried a fourth Tomato WiFi router using 802.1b mode - also successful.

It seems this version is picky about the WiFi routers? Could it be the channel assignments - maybe some banned channels due to legislation?


How can I turn off vibration without going into silent mode on a rooted Nexus 5 with stock firmware? I see a related question but I do not see an applicable answer to my exact situation. I want to turn off vibration on notifications, without diabling notification sound along (so notifications should still play sound, just not vibrate).

I'd like to do it using Tasker. @Izzy recommended the "Vibrate On Notify" toggle but that doesn't seem to be available for me; unsure as to why (see image below).

I'd be open to installing Xposed Frameworks module if needed. Any ideas?

Tasker window (click image for larger variant)

Install Vibration Tuner Xposed module and set "global vibration strength" to 0%.

Compatible with at least Android 5-7 (I don't personally own a device with Oreo installed).


Cannot start emulated Android device/AVD device in Windows 7 I follow the official Android guide here but I cannot start the emulated device. It keeps saying PANIC Cannot start device... as below screenshot.

Do you have the same problem and any work around for me?

Creating the device

Starting the device

PANIC/failed result

Try these steps

Create a environment variable called: ANDROID_SDK_HOME and set it to C:\Users\<<Administrator>>
Open Eclipse > Window > Preferences, click in Run/Debug and String Substitution. Add a new variable called user.home and set it to C:\Users\<<Administrator>>
Create an AVD and run it.

Note The <<Administrator>> means the name of your Windows account; it is where resides the folder which contains your .android directory

An android project member says here:

  As a work-around, you can define the environment variable
  ANDROID_SDK_HOME to point to the directory containing your .android
  directory. The emulator and SDK Manager will pick it up properly.

  Also you should check that the AVD is created in the location
  D:\NN\.android\avd (check in your screenshoots, just above the list
  of AVD, the path in List of existin Android Virtual Devices).


How to make Samsung Tab 2 10.1 screen always on? In settings, they only give 15 secs to 30 mins options. But in my scenario, I need make it like an ads screen to present information forever, until the screen dead.

Is there any way to achieve that? Do I need unlock the bootloader?

Download tasker from play store

Import the following task to tasker (save as .xml ) and then import

Download tasker task.

You will get the following screen on time
23 hrs 59mins 59 secs

Put a profile to run everyday, so it gets repeated everyday.


Link2SD doesn't work on Marshmallow: No such file or directory Due to my displeasure with the new SD card as internal storage of Marsmallow, I decided to switch back to Link2SD, something which I had been using on previous versions of Android. However, there's a problem. If I try to create the mount scripts for my partitioned SD card, I get the following error:

Mount script cannot be created

mount: '/dev/block/vold/179:66'->'/data/sdext2': No such file or directory

Does anybody know how to get Link2SD to work on the Marshmallow?

Marshmallow internal storage can be better used with a mixed-format SD card as I also explain in my blog here:

http://blog.sam.liddicott.com/2016/02/android-6-semi-adopted-storage.html

First, you need adb working.

Have SD card inserted and formatted as portable.
Eject your SD card from the Storage & USB menu
Use "adb shell" to list your adoptable storage:

like this

$ adb shell sm list-disks adoptable

disk:179_64

disk:179_64 is my SD card that can be made adoptable, I want 75% as external SD:

$ adb shell sm partition disk:179_64 mixed 75

Note: Your card may be listed with a comma instead of an underscore, e.g. disk:179,64 in which case, that is what you type:

$ adb shell sm partition disk:179,64 mixed 75

This will erase the entire SD card, giving 75% as portable storage and the rest as adopted internal storage.
Reboot your phone.
From Storage & USB menu, select the SD card (internal) and choose Migrate Data (so that apps, where possible, are installed there).
From the Storage & USB rename the adopted storage to have some name like Adopted otherwise if it has the same name as the external storage partition, the USB MTP view may only show the internal


Why does :) sometimes display a blushing emoji on Android? Can you stop this? There are a few apps (including at least the stock Android 'Messaging' app, and Bumble) in which when I myself (or other people) type :), I see a blushing face emoji instead. Why does this sort of thing happen, and can you stop it?

Why does it happen?
Because the app renders such text as an emoji. Users of old MSN (or new Facebook) are more or less used to it. The app reads the text, sees a specific string of characters like :) and replaces it with the emoji it is linked to.
Can you stop it?
Depends on the app. Far as I know, stock messaging apps usually offer the option to turn it off. But third party apps might or might not.


How can I set Froyo's screen timeout to "Never"? I have to keep my Skype running all night on my mobile. I am using a Motorola MB200 Mobile which I have today upgraded from Eclair to Froyo. Now the Screen timeout option has a maximum of 30 minutes and there is no "Never" option, causing my mobile to automatically disconnect my wifi after and Skype. Previously using screen timeout set to never solved this problem for me.

How can I fix this?

Seems like what you need is to set the "wifi sleep policy" to never...
You can find that in the Advanced Wi-Fi menu.
Then you could let your screen shut down and still be able to talk with no interference with skype.


How do I turn off the HTC Desire boot jingle? Even with a set of headphones plugged in, when I reboot my HTC Desire it (ironically) still plays the 'quietly brilliant' boot screen jingle loudly on the built-in speaker.

This can be utterly annoying when lying in bed and the handset needs a reboot as it invariably wakes up the wife.

Can this be turned off or replaced?

There's an app for, well, turning off the sound on shutdown and then back on at startup.  As I've got Tasker I no longer use it, but you're looking for Silent Boot by Anton Weber.


need to install gtalk on my HCL X1 tab and also Skype My tab uses 2.3.3 android version and I need to install Gtalk and Skype. As I read thro threads only after 2.3.4 gtalk is available. But any methods available for Gtalk on 2.3.3? also on skype
Please help

Google Talk is available for most Android versions, and in fact is pre-installed on all Google-authorised Android devices that have the Android Market and GMail installed (because both of those apps rely  on Talk to do their authentication and communication). It may just be called "Talk" on your device rather than "Google Talk" or "Gtalk".

If you're talking about Google Voice, then that app is available to all devices using Android 1.6 and higher, but you can currently only use the service within the US.

Skype use is blocked by some phone networks, but is generally available otherwise if you're outside the US, see this previous answer for some of the options.


How does WiFiKill actually work? There is a program for Android, WifiKill, which disables wifi internet access of some neighbor peers connected to the same wifi AP. How does this program works? ARP poisoning or some other techniques?

The app's author himself explains how it works at the top of the second page of that thread you linked to:

  It's the same idea as FaceNiff (I'm a developer of it also), basically
  it sends ARP Reply's to all of the devices in the network fooling them
  to think that your mobile is router. And then all of the devices try
  connecting to network THROUGH your device... and you just drop every
  single packet from them. In this version it's just dropping packets
  but maybe later I'll try adding some sort of primitive REJECT target.

And slightly more on page 5

    Originally Posted by Jufjufjuf

    Is this using an arpspoofing attack? Just wondering if there was anyway to send out de-auth packets through android like airdrop-ng?

  Yes, it's using arp spoofing. I suppose there is a way to send deauth
  packets but it would require modifying kernel drivers for wifi card.
  AFAIK it won't work out-of-the-box because most of android wifi
  drivers don't allow packet injections and even changing the mac
  address of the NIC is super-difficult in a lot of devices.

As far as tools for desktop OSs go, there are a few that will do this kind of thing, MDK3 seems to be a popular one for doing this kind of thing.


How to permanently disable or remove preinstalled apps? I have an older Google Nexus 4 (by LG), running 5.1.1 Lollipop (latest supported version). I want this to be my daughters first smartphone, and want to lock it down as much as possible.

So besides my own user account on the device I created a second user account for her. I installed the apps she should be able to use, but want to restrict others.

So I went on and disabled all apps she should not be able to use.
However, all disabled apps keep re-appearing on her account after a day or so.

I went on and disabled automatic app updates on my own user and on her account, then went on and again disabled all apps on her account, but they keep re-appearing.

Question is: How can I permanently remove apps (especially the pre-installed apps like YouTube, Google, News, GMail, Hangouts, Play Books Play Music etc.) from her user account?

Rooting the device is not an option.

Try this way:

Connect device via ADB
Go to ADB shell

adb shell

Find your target app by listing all the apps

pm list packages

Remove app like this

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.inputdevices


Update Nexus 9 to Android 7.1 and stuck in Google screen I just tried to update my Nexus 9 from Android 7 to 7.1
Unfortunately the system now seems to be in an endless loop of "Google" screen and black screen (maybe rebooting?)
Goes on for hours, nothing happens...
So far i found out this was a big issue back then for the Android 6 Update - and sometimes the system was that fucked up, that the only solution was sending it back to the retailer...
Didn't find anything about the same problem with 7.1 - and i hope Google didn't repeat its big mistake here???
Would be happy about any help or tips :(

Applying "Rescue OTA for my Nexus 9 using Windows 10 on my laptop" works. But one must follow the instructions very carefully, and if need be, download the needed Android software to your laptop. I have to admit it took 3 or so tries but perseverance paid off.  Thank you to whomever posted the 2 page step by step instruction solution.  Needless to say my Nexus 9 was to valuable to me to be left stuck on the Google Logo.


Locked on stock recovery software? Even after flashing clockworkmod, when I go into the recovery menu after booting, it just gives me the stock recovery system. Help? I've also tried with twrp, no luck.

This is because most stock systems will flash the stock recovery on boot and/or your bootloader is locked (and prevents writing to safe partitions).

Please follow this instructions from CM; They are working, I already tested them:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_jflte#Recovery_Installation


Mute (not pending) a caller during a call I want to use conference mode for calls in a webradio. But i need to control who can speak, i can't find a way to mute a participant who should be cut to let others speak.

So, there is no way to mute someone during a call ?

I know pending but it's not that i want (caller can't hear the radio with pending).

You may need to look for a third party app like this one:

Voxeet Conferencing

(the one not based on regular phone call are the more versatile)


Backup recovery with dd on SM-G800F How can I backup my Recovery image with the dd command? I have the PIT file, where recovery is listed as:

--- Entry #12 ---
Binary Type: 0 (AP)
Device Type: 2 (MMC)
Identifier: 10
Attributes: 5 (Read/Write)
Update Attributes: 1 (FOTA)
Partition Block Size/Offset: 129024
Partition Block Count: 24576
File Offset (Obsolete): 0
File Size (Obsolete): 0
Partition Name: RECOVERY
Flash Filename: recovery.img
FOTA Filename:

What /dev/ file should I choose as my if?

When I cat /proc/partitions, I get some mmcblkXpXX, and mmcblkXbootX.

Since the identifier is 10, wouldn't the if be mmcblk0p10?

According to files in the /dev/block/platform/*/by-name directory, my Recovery partition is in fact /dev/block/mmcblk0p10. The ending of the name of mmcblk0pX matches all the identifiers on the PIT, so thus I conclude that the identifier and the mmcblk name does match.

The command now will be dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/storage/sdcard1/twrp.img bs=4096


No option for "mobile network" on Dell Venue 8 My friend has bought new "Dell Venue 8 3830" tablet with Android JellyBean 4.3.

Now we want to connect a 3g dongle (D-Link) via a micro-usb cable which came with it.

When i connect the dongle to the device the dongle shows solid green light (which probably means connected), but when i go up in settings of the tablet i dont see an option to turn on and use the device.

All the blog i read tells to enable the "Mobile Network" option in settings; But on this device theres no such option.

Wireless Settings
      - Wifi
      - B/T
      - Hotspot
      - Data Usage
      - More...
             - Airplane Mode
             - VPN
             - Tethering

Check Settings → Wireless & networks → More → Mobile networks → Data enabled to enable it

See user guide


FRP Huawei P9 Lite with Voice keyboard only I have recently just installed the Huawei P9 Lite Nougat beta update (EMUI 5 Update) and, when I wanted to setup the phone, I needed to do the FRP Verification (Which I can't because I have the voice keyboard only)
Does anyone know the bypass for this or maybe a solution? Thank you!
P.S. It is the test keys version.

I just used this keyboard, dictating my data by letters, then i opened the Google play and downloaded a normal gboard. That wass really hard, but i did it.


One Plus 5T on US Cellular? I am wondering if the One Plus 5T will work on US Cellular. I have searched all over and all I can find is that it should. I was wondering if any has ever had any luck with this and actually done it. Thanks.

yes... definitely it should work. If you have any doubt u can check on this link. Not just Oneplus u can check any devices. If u find this as helpful u can give a thumps up.

https://willmyphonework.net/


How can I prevent an application (Chrome) from opening another application (Google Play Store)? So today Facebook Messenger declared a war against users of the mobile website. Of course we have been plagued for months with small header messages as well as overlays hiding all content and encouraging us to install Facebook Messenger.

But as from today, wherever I click in the messaging interface of Facebook's mobile website (and that includes the Message icon in the toolbar, clicking any conversation, clicking the Load more button, ...), each time it will open the Google Play Store application and send me to Facebook Messenger's application.

So I wonder if there is a way to prevent an application (in this case, Chrome) to open other applications (in this case, Google Play Store) via deep linking.
I don't believe that this is a bug that would be fixed any time soon so I am looking for a way to overcome this.

Installing any Facebook application is not an option for me.
I have searched for similar questions: answers suggested to clear Chrome's and/or Google Play Store's data, which I have tried but it did not solve the problem.

This worked for me: Navigate to

https://www.facebook.com/deactivate/

and delete your account, then don't ever visit the site again.

Facebook never opened the Play Store ever since, so I suppose this workaround is just fine.


'|' types '\' instead I recently got a Logitech K380 (Turkish Q layout).
When I type '|' (Alt Gr + <) it types '\' instead.

I've already checked for:

Mismatched layouts: but all other keys (including '\', which is bound to AltGr + *) type properly.
Defective Keyboard: but keyboard works fine on a Windows PC.

I've tested it on two different devices, one with KitKat and another with Lineage 16. Both have the problem.

A possibly useful thing I found was that if I were on the UK layout, the keys I pressed would print '\'.

How can I fix this?

Minutes after asking this question, I started trying random combinations in order to see if anything else was out of place.

Turns out, Android decided that AltGr + - was a better shortcut for '|'.


Speed of Nova or alternative launchers? I'm thinking of getting the GS4, but plan to use Nova Launcher. When using an alternate launcher, will this negate any slowness or lagging introduced by TouchWiz?  Or is the damage done deeper in the ROM?

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4, and Nova is surprisingly snappy on it. You can change how fast the animations / transitions are. In my case, I set it to faster than light. If you're not content with that, you can go further and disable animations / delays via the phone's Developer options settings.


Toshiba Thrive, changing system font I am currently running the Favum 1.1 ROM on my toshiba thrive, and I tried to use Font Installer to install a new system font. For some reason the font will install, but the actual font on my thrive won't change even when I restart and wipe the davlik cache. Is there any way to change the system font?

I can't find the system/font folder anywhere either.

I use Rom Toolbox for this. Swipe left twice to get to the Interface section and chose Font Installer. If you're rooted, you'll see the new font after a reboot/hot restart.


I rooted my phone, but I never flashed the ROM and I never flashed the recovery, then I unrooted it. Can you tell its been rooted? I am using a Samsung Galaxy Pocket (GT-S5300) which has Android Gingerbread 2.3.6.
I rooted the phone by applying update.zip through the recovery console.
I installed titanium backup free, and ROM manager free, but quickly uninstalled them after I saw that I did not really need them on this phone.
I never installed clockwork recovery, i never flashed anything.
I then unrooted the phone by repeating the steps I did to root, using the unroot.zip (renaming first to update.zip)
That worked and Superuser app was removed after reboot.

Now what I want to know is....can Samsung tell my phone has been rooted?
If so, what can I do to remove any trace of it?

Thank you. I know this question has been asked before and answered but I could not find an answer which dealt specifically with my situation where nothing was ever flashed.

The short answer is yes. You should make sure your bootloader is locked by executing fastboot oem lock in your command line while your device is in fastboot (Home + Power + Volume+ for your specific device). Once your bootloader is locked it will be as if you never rooted your device. Once this is all done, you will regain your warranty which would otherwise be voided if you had left the bootloader unlocked.


Camera not able to connect I rooted my Micromax canvas HD phone and flashed a ROM. After which if I click on the camera app it says that it cannot connect to camera. This is only for back camera, the front camera works fine. This is the second ROM I flashed and a friend of mine flashed the same ROM on the same model. So why isn't the camera working on mine?

Maybe a bug in the ROM, a lot of ROMs come with bugs which is why you should choose well built ones, like cyanogen mod, You could always try reverting to your previous ROM is you don't get this fixed.


Chrome redirects to messenger on Samsung mobile I have been getting redirect notices on my Samsung Google Chrome browser with a link to messenger.  I once installed messenger but I have never used it nor do I even have a Facebook account.

But now it makes it appear like I am using play store secretly use messenger and my spouse believes I am secretly using messenger. I need someone’s help...here is the last link
https://www.google.com/url?q=chrome-native://recent-tabs/&usg=AFQjCNGr_fE_CEo3dlMRGaW3TnfE3S3U6Q

Try any of these steps:
×-Clear Cache, Cookies and Data of Chrome.
×-Also Clear the downloaded data if there's any infected file.
×-Check any previously installed apps causing troubles, if any, try uninstalling.
×-Scan using any good antivirus app or built-in one.


I can't root my OPPO Neo 5 (2015) So I came a lot of steps to root my OPPO Phone, Installed KingRoot in Android but failed to root, then tried the PC Version (Higher Success Rate) but still failed to root, I also tried KingoRoot, and got same results with KingRoot in Android And PC, and also I tried this Vroot (iRoot) but still did not solve this. I also tried  this  thread but I'm stuck at ADB Devices which returns me offline devices. And lastly installing Custom Recovery but the problem is, my device is not supported. So is there any way (longer way) to do it with PC ?  Thanks in advance !

You can downgrade your version to 1201EX-A_11_151230 then try to root it with kingroot. Just search for tutorials.


Will android background execution limitation issue affect Android notifications in 8.1 + devices? Recently i have updated my device from 7.0 to 8.1 .

Will android background execution  limitation issue affect Android notifications in 8.1 + devices?

Some of the app's notifications are not showing after the update ?
IS this due to background execution limit ?

Android 8.0 Oreo ( API level 26 ) introduced two major background limits in order to preserve the device's battery life and RAM resources.

Background Service Limitations: After Android 8.0, apps which go into the background have restrictions on the use of Services. It introduces the concepts of foreground and background Services. Foreground services are visible to the users and have no restrictions imposed.

According to the docs,

  While an app is in the foreground, it can create and run both
  foreground and background services freely.

Also, the system maintains a whitelist. The apps listed over the Whitelist have full access to create background services. The docs also mention that,

  To migrate to Android 8.0 (API level 26), the developer replaces the
  background service with a scheduled job, which is launched
  periodically, queries the server, then quits.

Broadcast Limitations: From Android 8.0, BroadcastReceiver can only be instantiated at runtime and not in the app's manifest. This reduces the system's load as the app only uses the component when required.

The problem is described in the docs,

  If an app registers to receive broadcasts, the app's receiver consumes
  resources every time the broadcast is sent. This can cause problems if
  too many apps register to receive broadcasts based on system events; a
  system event that triggers a broadcast can cause all of those apps to
  consume resources in rapid succession, impairing the user experience.

Now, your question,

  Some of the app's notifications are not showing after the update? IS
  this due to background execution limit?

There can be the following problems based on the limitations described above:

The app's developer hasn't optimized the app for Android 8.0 changes.
The app does not make the use of Android Services wisely and therefore gets eliminated by the system.
The BroadcastReceiver hasn't been initialized properly as required and therefore is not operational and could not update the app content.
Some other underlying change to which the app is not optimized.

Hope this helps.


Can't unlock bootloader for Lenovo a1000 I have Lenovo a1000 which I need to flash.BIOS  isn't opening such that I could try wipe and reset,not even factory reset in settings is working....so I was left with none other option than flashing....but when I connect it to PC,instead of getting into flash mode,its charging...I guess my bootloader is probably locked....please suggest what's the problem and also ways tp tackle it.When I connect errors like code10,code 51,code 49.....etc. was shown individually....I thought the problem was in my PC but same problem occured in others too.

According to your phone specs:

Chipset Spreadtrum SC7731
CPU Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7

SPD devices don't have a flash mode that can be entered manually, but it is detected when you connect the powered off device to the computer (3 secs before it starts charging). They don't have recovery as well making hard reset impossible with button combo.

Open device manager (on Windows), Connect the device to the computer, you should notice something similar to SCI2COM... this is the flashing port, it last few seconds before the device starts charging.

You need a flash tool to flash ROM (.pac file or . bin). RechearchDownload is the official flash tool for Spreadtrum devices.

Download ROM and flashtool for Lenovo A1000 SC7731 + extra drivers here
Download SPD SCI drivers here
To learn how to flash an SPD device, go here


Did factory reset, attempted to flash CWM using SP Flash Tools and fastboot but to no avail. How to unbrick Lenovo A316i than? Phone isn't mine, nephew got it bricked and doesn't know what was the  reason of it.

Well, phone shows some life, if booted in normal way logo appears (for some reason instead of "Lenovo for those who do" there is "Globe" text appears) and it probably indicates custom firmware, though I didn't found one with this name in internet. Now - list of what I can:

Can start device in normal way,  but it freezes on logo screen
Can enter the recovery mode, but it is stock version and capable of quite few things!
Can enter the diagnostics mode, but it's quite useless.
Can charge phone, related animation with battery shown whilst.
Can do something with ADB or fastboot, as Ubuntu recognizes device normally (I've set up /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules)
Can do something with SP Flash Tool 5.1532 (and probably older versions of 5.x, but I didn't try them).

Device is - Lenovo A316i, based on MediaTek MT6752, with Android 4.4.2.
PC: Ubuntu 14.04.1 x64

What I've tried:

To wipe all data and set settings to factory default - didn't change a thing
To change default Recovery with CWM Recovery using SP Flash Tool, but it freezes on red load bar, console output tells that COM Port is opened and program is waiting for something:

USB port is obtained. path name(/dev/ttyACM0), port name(/dev/ttyACM0)
USB port detected: /dev/ttyACM0
BROM connected
Downloading & Connecting to DA...
COM port is open. Trying to sync with the target...

This doesn't help much and doesn't hurt too;
To flash Recovery with fastboot tool, using command
"fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" and here some bug appears too:

  sending 'recovery' (5394 KB)... OKAY [  0.252s] writing 'recovery'...
  FAILED (remote:  partition 'recovery' not support flash) finished.
  total time: 0.267s

I spent about 6 or 7 hours on it, reading tons of text and my head slowly started to melt, so I decided to ask about this to specialists.

Is there any way to upload firmware knowing there is no way to root it first since OS doesn't load, probably impossible to upload CWM Recovery tool, and there is fastboot mode which doesn't work properly?

I spent another few hours trying things, and ended up going to a friend who had Windows on PC, with this guide: Lenovo A316i Stock Firmware - xdafirmware on this site placed archive which had everything needed in it:

Unmodified stock firmware which doesn't require modified Recovery
Lenovo USB Driver executable
Smart Phone Flash Tool 3.x (probably 3.1336 I didn't watch concrete version)

And guess what? I managed to install driver and flash firmware in matter of minutes, and got phone booting fixed!

P.S. So, the solution is to use 3.x SP Flash Tool and right firmware, but since 3.x isn't runnable on GNU/Linux, well you have to install windows first!


Huawei backup not offering location "Internal storage" I want do backup a Huawei P20 lite using its own "Backup" app. But it does not offer "Internal storage" as a backup location, even if it supports that, according to documentation here: PHONE BACKUP AND RESTORE GUIDE (see second screenshot there)

There is 44 GB of internal storage free (of 64GB total).

What is wrong?

I want to do a backup in the most hassle free way possible. There is no SD card at hand and have the slot used for the second SIM anyway.

I can confirm that the option to backup to internal storage is not available on the recent Huawei Backup application version 8.02.xxx.

You can still install the older versions of the application available on APKmirror  (versions 7.0.xxx) if you want  to back up on internal storage:

 online image


Internet over mobile-data while connected to WLAN network I have a WLAN network that is not connected to the internet. There is a DHCP server on that network and that assigns its clients an IP and subnet mask, but no default gateway.

When I connect to this network on an android device mobile data will automatically be disabled, so that the device will loose internet connectivity.

Most operating systems, when they are connected to multiple networks use the fastest connection that has a default gateway to connect to IP outside its respective subnet. However Android doesn't seem to get to that stage, because once it connects to a wi-fi network, it will disconnect the mobile-data - to save battery power, presumably. It doesn't care to check if there is gateway on the wi-fi network.

Is there a way to disable this "feature" of disconnecting mobile data when a wi-fi is connected?

Or better: is there a way to prevent disconnecting mobile data when the wi-fi has no default gateway?

Thank you in advance.

First, you need a rooted device.

Then, have a look at this, it's maybe what you're searching for.


why Android Mobile phone drive folder is not visible in my computer? when i connect my infocus mobile with my desktop through data cable. only Driver Setup file opened. Internal memory drive not visible in the desktop. but till yesterday its working properly. today i have deleted 2 files, after that it's not working and I don't remember what file i have deleted. I tried to repair Phone Driver software but it ask's me to insert disk.  i don't know what disk it asked to insert. kindly give me the solution as soon as possible because i kept all of my official files in my phone.

There are too many possibilities and I faced few of them so I'm suggesting here not answering directly. From your description the files you deleted probably the problem but I don't know where did you delete them from !. So, tracing the issue this problem could be simply an issue at the driver and one of the fixes regarding that is to plugin your phone, check the drivers manager (assuming you are on Windows) for the ADB driver or interface (You can use USBDeview instead of the devices manager if it doesn't show there). Uninstall it then plug off your phone and restart your PC and connect now.

Another solution is simply doing same steps but after the restarting step, install your phone usb driver. Search for this one since I have no info about infocus usb drivers. Then plugin your phone.

Another one is to use debug mode. sometimes this method does work. To activate debug mode, go to Settings > Developer options > and check USB debugging.  Plug in your device. Go to Settings > Developer options. When a warning about this mode for developers..etc, Click OK.

Las suggestion I can remember is to change the cable and/or try plugging on another computer just to make sure it is NOT the cable.


Nexus 5X: How can I use custom ringtones /alarms without installing additional apps? I have a Nexus 5X with Android 6.0.1 and latest security patches (June 2016). I try to use my own soundfiles for alarms and ringtones. I tried a lot of suggestions, but I can't get it to work. When I want to select my sounds, only the default sounds appear in the list.

First I tried to add them to the folders (/Alarms and /Ringtones) with the built-in file explorer. I could copy the files, but only the alarms were selectable, not the files in /Ringtones. So at that time alarms were fine, ringtones were not.

Here someone suggested that it could make a difference if the files are copied from a PC via USB cable. So I tried that, but it did not make a difference.

Someone suggested that the files might only be selectable after a reboot. So I rebooted and now it is worse than before: I cannot select my own alarms and ringtones. For both settings, only the default sounds appear.

I don't want to try the recommended "ES File Explorer" or the "Zedge ringtone & wallpaper" app. This problem must be solvable without any additional software. Does anyone have an idea how to find out why this is not working?

By the way: I tried sound files in different formats (mp3, flac, ogg). All files can be played on the phone. They worked perfectly as ringtones and alarms on my previous phone. The filenames do not contain any special characters.

I finally found a solution: I deleted all files in /Alarms and /Ringtones and rebooted. Then I copied just one mp3-file to each folder with the built-in file explorer (I guess it does not matter which app you use or if you do it via pc/usb). This mp3-file could be selected in alarm and ringtone settings.

My first idea was that one of the files that were in /Alarms and /Ringtones before was damaged or in a not supported format. So I copied back the other files. To my surprise it is still working and I can also select the other files. So I don't really know what caused the problem, but this work-around solved it.

So if you have a similar problem, it may help to delete all files in that folders (make a backup somewhere else), reboot and then copy the files back.


How can I get Google's two-step verification to work? On my Android phone, I can't seem to use my Google Account because I have the 2-step verification enabled. Can I log into Google without disabling the 2-step verification system?

Here is a link to Google's 2-step verification system:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/advanced-sign-in-security-for-your.html

Logging into my Google account is not a problem using the 2-step verification on a standard PC/Laptop, i.e. on a Microsoft/Mac OS, I just can't seem to use the 2-step verification system  on Android 2.2.2.

The answer is that you have to use a standard computer, log into your google account 2-step verified google account, go to authorise applications and sites, and set up your android device.  Google have said that 2-step verification will not work yet on android, so they have provided this work around for now.

Here is the link where you create a password to authorize your device:
https://accounts.google.com/IssuedAuthSubTokens

They will then give you a password which you can enter into your phone, allowing you to keep 2-step verification enabled.


How to remotely log out all web-based Gmail sessions from my Android phone Can I remotely sign out all web sessions of Gmail from my Android phone?

This question explains how to do this from the Gmail website with a standard web browser. This doesn’t work from my phone because when I visit the Gmail website with the browser in my phone, I am redirected to a mobile version so I can't access the "Activity on this Account" feature.

I have found two ways to access the “Activity on this Account” feature from the builtin Android 4.0 web browser:

Select the “Request desktop site” option in the browser menu, then open https://mail.google.com — this way it will not redirect to the mobile site. Then use the “Details” link at the bottom of the page, as you would do from a computer.
Open the mobile version of Gmail, select the “menu button” at the top line (with three vertical lines) — it will open the list of your tags. At the bottom of this list you will see a line with “Gmail version: Mobile | Mobile (old) | Full”; select the ”Full” link to switch to the full Gmail version (it looks slightly different than what you get with the first way). Again, you should see the “Details” link at the bottom of the page, which leads to the “Activity on this Account” page.


Android doesn't say it's Ericsson, hard restart does nothing I bought a Sony Ericsson X8 and saw on YouTube that when we turn on this phone a page is supposed to come up and mention the name of Sony Ericsson. When I turn on my phone just it says Android and that's all.

When I wanted to hard restart it or upgrade it, I pressed the back button but nothing happens. When I hold left and right keys together, the same situation when I release.

Is my phone a fake? Why it is like that?

Hang on a second, you wanted to hard reset your phone because your splash screen didn't look like the one on YouTube?

It is very common for carriers to change things like splash screens.
You don't say where you bought your phone or who your carrier is. Can't tell you if it is a fake.
If it is legit, you don't say if you bought your phone new or used or if you or a previous owner has rooted it and flashed a custom ROM. That would almost certainly change your boot splash screen.
I've never owned an Android phone that required pushing the back button during a hard reset. Here is the only method of hard resetting that I have ever needed:

From the main home screen, tap menu
Tap Settings, then Privacy
Tap Factory data reset
Tap Reset phone
Enter your password if required, then tap Erase everything to confirm


Does Factory Reset reset Xposed Modifications, especially on Note 3 SM-N900 Exynos? or I need other steps to RESTORE Xposed and everything back to like I first receive it without the need to Flash with Odin. Because I either hard or softbricked my device using it! I am scared of it now. I rooted using Kingo Android ROOT for further info.. :) I want to reset because my device kinda laggy and I can not disable some Device Admin.. So, it is kinda messed up.. I want to start over with no Odin at all?

Xposed will survive, and your root should as well. But you'll need to reinstall the Xposed installer app and any xposed modules you had installed before you factory reset.

EDIT: So, to clarify, xposed modifies /system/bin/app_process to "hook" in to android. This modification is not touched by a factory reset. Nor is the su binary. However, the Xposed installer app (which is responsible for the upgrading of the app_process modifications), and any xposed modules will be cleared.


GTalk notify when a friend is online Why can't I set GTalk on my Samsung Nexus S to notify when a friend is online like it does on the computer?

The reason for this is because that feature is not included on the application. It is more related to Gmail which gives you privilege to talk but it doesn't notify you of online activity between your peers.


Broken Google Play on cm 10.1.2 I've updated cm from 10.0.0 to 10.1.2, and after updating the gapps too, several things are broken, including Gmail and Drive.

Now, Google Play lists them at "updatable", but it is broken and refuses to update any app, reporting Error retrieving information from server. [RPC:S-5:AEC-0].

Some google services apparently work (Contacts, Calendar), so I guess it's no login problem.

I've tried wiping data of a few related apps, but it didn't help.

The error [RPC:S-5:AEC-0] is down to having to remove your google account and re-add it again.

If your account is primary google account, the only way you can remove it is to factory reset and re-install everything! That is the only known cure and quoted by Google themselves! Do not think they are taking it seriously enough. It broke on a previous update to Google Play Store about two months ago.

I get that too, if keep trying over a few minutes, it will eventually update, not successfully though.

I do think its more of an issue on the Google system itself in conjunction with Play store app.

It's not just confined to AOSP JB/ICS or CyanogenMod, I get in on Gingerbread too.

PS: As matter of curiousity - do you have Google 2-step account verification active on your account?


Wallpaper on Android: Automatically update to latest Instagram post I'd like to automatically update my Android wallpaper when a new image appears on a target Instagram account (not my own). Running once a day is fine.

What I've tried: IFTTT recipe tied to custom FetchRSS feed...but it seems the recipe fails to extract the image URL from the markup.

Navigate to URL:
https://web.stagram.com/rss/n/{INSTAGRAM_USERNAME}
For example, https://web.stagram.com/rss/n/puuung1

Verify a RSS feed appears.

Create the IFTTT recipe:
This: "RSS Feed" > New feed item, then enter the RSS feed URL from above
That: Android Device > Update device wallpaper > EntryImageUrl

NOTES

It seems this may not update your wallpaper until a new feed item appears
It seems any RSS feed errors may cause the update to fail...you can run through a validator to confirm (e.g., the FetchRSS feed had an error)
The wallpaper may not be resized properly if a video or other non-image media


How to start a hotspot automatically on device boot I have an Andriod based TV box connected to the internet via ethernet. I have enabled a portable wifi hotspot (so basically it acts as a wifi router). But every time there is a power cut to this device I have to re-enable the hotspot.

Basically want to save the tethering configuration so that on a reboot the device boots in tethering mode, i.e., the last configured state.

Use MacroDroid instead of Tasker, as it is more user friendly and the  UI is good.

Here are the steps:-

Open MacroDroid, click on the button "Add Macro", then select the trigger "Boot completed".
In the next screen, select the action "Turn hotspot on", then save the macro.
Reboot your phone.

You will see hotspot will be activated automatically after a reboot.

I used this method for an old 3g phone to create my own WiFi hotspot.


Closing applications I guess this has to do with our habit on desktop computers where we

open an application
use it
close the application

AFAIK there's no direct way from within the application to close it. And by pressing the Home button app just gets into the background. Still running.

I got a habit of pressing Home, then Recent apps and flicking all open apps out.

Is this a bad habit? Should I leave applications like GMail, FB, Currents, GNow, etc. running or is it better to close them and have as less apps as possible running?

The answer is simple: Do not close apps when possible!

Android takes care of app managemnt by leaving them stick around (which is not necessary in memory) when possibile allowing faster startup times and resumption where you left. Swiping out a app of the recent app list is similar too closing it, but not the same.


Disable SMS (Messaging) icon in for a Contact When you tap the contact icon for someone, it always offers to let you SMS a phone number. What if you do not want to ever SMS that number, is there a checkbox somewhere that lets you turn off that method of communication for a specific number in the Contacts database?

No, there isn't, AFAIK.

You can however specify a default number if there are more than 1 number. That way the phone will dial the default no. instead of popping up a list when the phone icon is tapped.


Why can't I create a hard link? I wanted to  create a hardlink but I  can't. I'm rooted and I want to offload my internal memory  and move the dalvik-cache to my sd-card.

You cannot create hard links across file systems, only soft links.


Recovering broken ecryptfs on SD-card with lollipop This morning my phone froze and I had to hard reset it. Now when I boot and I insert my SD card, I get the following two messages:

Preparing SD card/checking for errors.
A dialog offering to encrypt my SD card. Here I can pick disable or continue, entering my device password.

So far I have only tried continue, with device password - then I have "sd card encryption encrypting sd card" alongside checking for errors.

So I've started digging. Firstly

$ mount | grep -i extsdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/media_rw/extSdCard exfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,nodiratime,uid=1023,gid=1023,fmask=0007,dmask=0007,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=utf8,namecase=0,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/mnt/media_rw/extSdCard /storage/extSdCard sdcardfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,uid=1023,gid=1023,derive=unified 0 0
/storage/extSdCard /storage/extSdCard ecryptfs rw,seclabel,nodev,relatime,ecryptfs_sig=094f421508772d43,ecryptfs_cipher=aes,ecryptfs_key_bytes=32,ecryptfs_enable_cc,ecryptfs_passthrough 0 0

So I can see I'm using ecryptfs and the sdcard is formatted exfat (yuck, but never mind). I was suspicious about the state of the exfat filesystem, so I followed the top voted answer from this question. fsck.exfat /dev... returns "no errors" so it is happy. I can browse to the sd card in the shell and see the files, but obviously not their contents, so the exfat filesystem appears intact.

So the problem I have is clearly with the ecryptfs layer. My question is therefore:

Is there a fsck-like tool I can run with some actual output to know what is going on for ecryptfs?
Failing that, can I extract from the device the key used to encrypt the sd card files?
If I just wait, will it fix itself? I guess not...

Ideally I'd like to recover those files, however there's nothing in there that's critical.

Environment: rooted lollipop samsung s5, stock firmware, custom recovery (twrp), busybox, supersu.

Same phone, same problem (except my phone is not rooted), but it eventually resolved itself.

Posting the exact steps I followed in case it helps anyone else:

On first reboot (when the problem first occurred), the phone said it was preparing the device and then after a few seconds it told me the card was safe to remove (but I had not asked to unmount it). Going to the storage menu I had the same experience as the OP above. It just kept saying 'preparing device' and never finished.
Rebooted the device, same again as #1.
Repeated. Left the 'preparing device / checking for errors' message up for about 20 minutes this time but it still never completed.
Connected to computer, enabled USB debugging. Using adb shell command following the advice of OP I found the SD card mount directory was not accessible and I could not unmount it without root.
Rebooted the phone one last time. On initial boot, phone said 'preparing device' and then said 'SD card is encrypted'. I ignored this notification and was able to use adb shell to view the files and copy them to my PC. All files were readable. I then cleared the notification and all was well.

I don't think anything I did was responsible for fixing the problem, but if you follow the same steps then hopefully the same thing will happen for you.


What is Firebase App Indexing Under Google Services Settings Where do all these data go?

Is this a privacy issue?

Here it is. It's very intrusive !

Firebase allows developers to mobile and web apps that provide a database, analytics, cloud messaging, authentication and more without the need of sever side functionality. It belongs to Google.

From Connect to Firebase:

  Firebase is a mobile platform that helps you quickly develop high-quality apps, grow your user base, and earn more money. Firebase is made up of complementary features that you can mix-and-match to fit your needs, with Google Analytics for Firebase at the core.

The indexing is the database collecting  apps' information that will later be analyzed (apps that installed on the device that use Firebase API): user interactions with the app, what they click, see, etc.

  Where do all these data go ?

They are stored on Google cloud stores.

  Is this a privacy issue ?

Yes, it can be a privacy issue when the apps using the Firebase API collect too much information that are not related to the app's main purpose. Don't give too much permissions to apps. If necessary, write to the developers to ask why they need certain permissions for their app(s) (if they did not list or elaborate on their Google Play Store page).

Firebase documentations are found here.


When I edit contacts on my Nexus S, it's deleting their birthdays from Google Contacts. Am I doing something wrong? Is it something I'm doing wrong?

Where do  I report this?

I'm guessing there isn't a field for Birthday in the Android contacts app, and when you edit it's replacing the old info with the info on your phone (which has no birthday due to no field for it).

Here's the process for reporting bugs at Android.com: http://source.android.com/source/report-bugs.html


How can I view SMTP headers in the Gmail app? I'd like to view the full SMTP headers of a message in the Gmail app, but I haven't found a way to do so. I've also tried the Web client, but it displays a tablet-specific view, even when I've checked "request desktop site".
How can I view SMTP headers in the Gmail app?
If relevant, the device is an Asus Eee Pad Transformer tablet running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Sadly there's no such option in the official Gmail app.

You can try using a third party mail client with more options such as K-9 Mail: http://k9mail.org/


try to use flags in Chrome command line without ROOT I use guide Run Chromium with flags My phone is not ROOTed.
With agreement of that guide with flags its can be done. May be, anyone try it?
at that guide was said:For production build on a non-rooted device, you need to enable "Enable command line on non-rooted devices" in about:flags, then set command line in /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line, finally manually restart ...

Chrome version 74.0.3729.136

I successfully set up flag "Enable command line on non-rooted devices". But then I need to copy data file to "/data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line" - and I ca not do that!

I tryed:

Command like that:
C*:\WINDOWS\system32>adb shell 'echo --unsafely-treat-insecure-origin-as-secure=TestTest > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line'*
The system cannot find the path specified.
recomendation from that question,
 # echo "chrome --sync-url whatever" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line
use different android OS (5-7).
use construction like that  for copy files:
run-as com.example.app "cat /sdcard/temp_prefs.xml > shared_prefs/com.example.app_preferences.xml"

but nothing happend.

Its worked. You need set flag and next:
Command line like that:

adb shell

shell@:/ $ echo "chrome --user-agent=MyUser" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line

For check, you can download file from phone

  adb pull /data/local/tmp/iron-command-line d:\


What is the actual risk of bricking when rooting for new ROM Possible Duplicate:
  Are there any risks to rooting a device?

I've been planning to root my HTC One S for a while now, because the HTC software is so unstable. Sometimes it crashes every day for a certain period, sometimes even multiple times a day, I did a factory reset and the problem was gone for weeks but it recently came back. It has been going clean for 3 days now so it may be another period where it keeps stable, but I cannot trust it for too long.

Now consider these facts:

I will follow every instruction that I found on this forum, Phandroid.
I have experience with linux. Not too much, but I know how the file system works and I can work with bash.
I have quite a  bit of programming experience and I'm generally pretty good with computers.

The latter two may not be so relevant to the story of rooting, but all is to say that I'm an advanced user at least, if not expert. I know how to troubleshoot and I know when I should doubt an instruction or not.

That said, taking these things into account, and considering the fact that I've never rooted a smartphone, what is the approximate real chance of me making my phone unrecoverably damaged/bricked/whatever..., If I'm careful?

I'm just asking because this thing has cost enough money and it would be quite depressing to turn it into a worthless lump of plastic and metal.

If you're careful - risk is minimal. I do say minimal because there is no 0 risk!

Let's split this in parts.

Installing custom recovery:
Higher risk because now you're overwriting the recovery partition of the phone. If you're in the process of overwriting and your phone shuts off, the recovery part may get corrupted. Will your phone brick though? Maybe, depending if the boot partition may also be affected. But, since your phone uses fastboot, the risk decreases.

Rooting:
Usually the least risk operation of all, since you're pushing files to the device. If it messes up, chances are factory resetting will let you start again.

Now you've got custom recovery set up and want to try out a custom ROM
Risk  - Less than installing recovery if you choose a ROM for your device. Custom ROMS usually just copy the OS onto the phone. This should not touch the recovery partition. This means that should it fail and the phone does not boot into an OS, you can still use the recovery partition to restore a backup, retry the install or try another ROM. This may change though, if you install a non One S ROM, as most ROM zips have a hardcoded partition when they modify.

So remember to read the instructions thoroughly, make sure your battery is fully charged when doing this, back up your current OS after you install custom recovery and make sure you install the ROM that is made for your device.


Suddenly can't find several apps in Market So I've been using several apps for a while now, and all of the sudden, I can't seem to find them in the Market anymore. If I look on the "My downloads" page in the Market, it does show as installed, and I can even update them if I hit "Update all". However I can't seem to navigate to the apps's page, neither through the "My downloads" page nor through simply searching for it. It just says it can't find the item. Note that this doesn't occur with all apps, just specific ones.

As mentioned before, the apps were installed earlier and I didn't have this problem back then.

The apps I've run across that have this problem so far are the following

WhatsApp
eBuddy
PingChat!
ebuddy XMS

I've tried uninstalling them through app management, but this leaves me with an uninstalled app with no possibility of re-installing it through the Market. I'm using a UK Motorola Milestone running the official Froyo update. Any ideas anyone? :D

It seems like the content rating filter on my phone was the culprit! I recently updated my phone to Froyo and the Market's content rating filter was added after the update! Just set it to "All Applications" in the Market's settings screen.


Can you upgrade the RAM of an Android device? I'm sure many people like me are aware and annoyed by the extremely limited amount of RAM in Nexus S (512MB but only 300+ is usable), I have searched all over google for a solution to increase the amount of RAM available and came up empty (I tried swap file applications but they just broke my system's SD card partitions causing a complete reset).

I wonder if there is any hardware solution to this problem. Is it possible to swap the chip out for a bigger capacity one? I realize that it is not as simple as swapping out PC RAM from a dimm but I haven't seen any schematics for the chip layout on the ARM boards in the smartphones so I really hope that it is somewhat possible to increase the amount of RAM on the board.

You can't. Most smart phones are designed as a System-on-Chip; which means that the CPU, RAM, GPU, device controllers, etc are all in a single chip. Updating RAM in such system means replacing a whole lot of other stuffs. Not to mention that you probably would have a hard time finding a chip with different specification which fits perfectly into the hole that was left behind after you dismounted the chip; due to size restrictions, the components around the chip are designed to fit tightly into the available space.


Sort or search text messages by date How do I search and or sort individual text messages by date/time?

I am using an AT&T Samsung Galaxy S5.

export your message conversation (like a backup) with that particular person as a CSV file excel spreadsheet after that u can just sort by date in excel,
if you are using Huawei phone u have something called Hisuit (it is a device manager a default software to manage the phone) for this. I think Samsung phones have something similar if they don't. u can try using other device managers or Hisuit to try an export all your conversation messages.
hope you find what you are looking for all the best,
IT_kid


Multi-window: prevent the out-of-focus app from pausing? Android 7.0 introduced the native multi-window API which allows apps to be viewed in split-screen mode globally.

However, in actual usage, one downside prevents it from being as useful as some users would imagine. Many apps, when in the multi-window view but not in focus (i.e. user is interacting with another app in the multi-window view), pauses its activities: IM apps would no longer update incoming messages; music/video apps would pause playback; games would not proceed with their actions.

The official developer guideline briefly mentions the pausing behavior, and from what I understand, apps need to be programmed with this in mind so as to not exhibit it. But is there a way I can force the way around the limitation as a user? From what I've heard from fellow users, certain manufacturers' Android forks such as MIUI do not show such pausing whatsoever.

TL;DR: Can I prevent the out-of-focus app from pausing in multi-window?

Early this November, Google has confirmed that multi-resume - running two apps simultaneously without pausing - will be part of the next major Android release (Q), thus indirectly confirming that this functionality is currently not a part of AOSP Android.

However, Google also stated that...

  To help developers provide the best user experience on multi-window
  with minimal effort, we're allowing device manufacturers to keep all
  apps resumed when in multi-windows in P.

  To opt-in to this behavior in Android P, add the following meta-data
  in your app manifest:

  <meta-data android:name="android.allow_multiple_resumed_activities" android:value="true" />

  How to test: There are no device at the moment with this behavior but
  device manufacturers are working to update existing devices to allow
  developers to test. Stay tuned for more details from device
  manufacturers.

This implies that such functionality will be available in Android P at a later time. As of now (December 2018) though, there is zero reference to allow_multiple_resumed_activities in AOSP Android code, meaning that the time has yet to come.

Sources: Google Blog, XDA-Developers

Android Q beta was released on March 13, 2019, marking the first public debut of the multi-resume feature on non-OEM Android. Unfortunately, there's still no reference to allow_multiple_resumed_activities in AOSP Android P code (Q not open-source yet, obviously), and the "There are no device at the moment with this behavior" statement didn't change in the aforementioned blog either - the situation remains unchanged for the majority of users and the custom ROM community.

As of the formal release of Android 10, multi-resume has been made the default behaviour, as indicated in the multi-resume design page.


How to install python on my Android GT-P7510? My Samsung tablet 10.1 GT-P7510 is running Android 4.0.4.

I have root access to the device.

What is the best way to install python on my device.

I have tried QPython - Python for Android however the pip console does not show any text as I type into it.

Thank you for your time in advance.

You can try SL4A.
Which can help you to run python on Android. https://github.com/kuri65536/sl4a/releases/download/6.1.1/sl4a-r6.1.1-arm-debug.apk


Why are my photographs not stored with GPS location? I'm currently on vacation and used my Samsung Galaxy S 2 to take a couple hundred photographs.

I'm running the stable CyanogenMod 9 and have the Store Location option enabled in the Camera app. I also kept the GPS activated at all times.

Yet, most of my photographs were stored without location information which is somewhat disappointing.

I kept mobile data deactivated for long periods of time (to conserve battery power) and am wondering if that may have had an impact.

GPS has nothing to do with your mobile network (or Wi-Fi where applicable). GPS basically record the coordinates of the location (precise location) and time information. See the GPS tag or Wikipedia for more info.

About you question, the reason that there is no location information for some photos is that the camera did not have time to contact the satellites. It takes some time (maybe 15secs or so) to establish a connection with the satellites and locate you. Did you suddenly opened the camera, took the photo? There is no time to establish a satellite connection. (I'm sure you did this to preserve the battery power). This is also the reason some photos in a row have their location recorded. Another possible reason would be that You might have been in a place where satellites couldn't locate you. (Indoors, thick forests, etc.)

If you really need the locations to be tagged for your photos, you can do it manually with your stock album app or third party app as well.

The reason some apps like maps use data connection or Wi-Fi is that they need it to download map data (road names, traffic info, etc.) So no need to worry about your data, GPS or camera.

Hope this helps


Can you somewhere on you phone view a list of all applications and who made them? In another question I was asked which Calendar application I was running on my Android 2.2 Samsung Galaxy S phone.

I found the Applications  - Manage applications setting, but that shows only the version if you click on an appication, and this doesn't show which company created it.

Is there a standard application which gives me this info: e.g. name of application,  version nr and manufacturer ?

Or if no standard application is available, any recommendations ?

It seems to me that a lot of questions in this forum should benefit of people specifying in their question which version of which program they are asking questions about, no ?

For applications installed from Market, you can go to Market > Downloads for application name and developer info; however built-in applications (e.g. Phone, Calendar, other applications installed by default) often are not shown in Market list (neither will they show in Manage Application either).