copy multiple text messages in WhatsApp I am selecting multiple text messages in WhatsApp Conversation, and copying it.

But when I am trying to "paste", to forward it to other contacts,  it seems WhatsApp is adding the name (from whom that message is received in conversation) and time stamp associated with a message along with actual text of the message.

Is there a way to tell WhatsApp to only copy message content and exclude message sender and time stamp details?

Device: Micromax Canvas 4 and Android version : 4.2
WhatsApp App Version: 2.12.124

This might be a workaround for what you are trying to do. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2142170

Just incase the link goes dead at some point, the link just says;

Method:

Open the conversation to copy messages from in Whatsapp.
Press menu button and select "More" then "Email conversation" then select "Without media" then select any of the Email applications shown, for example "Gmail" but don’t send any message just cancel.
Open the Jota Text Editor application.
Press menu button and select "File" and "Open" then select the "Whatsapp"  - folder, then "Media" folder, then ".Shared" folder. You will see the name of the conversation you asked to Email earlier. Open it.
You will see all the messages of the conversation and you can copy multiple messages from here.

Notes:

We used "Jota Text Editor" application, but you can use any text editor or file explorer that can open a TXT file.
This method is for Android system, but can be used for other systems with minor modifications.
Use a file explorer to dispose accumulated TXT conversations in the ".Shared" folder. This folder is hidden but file explorers has an option to show hidden folders and files.

Hope this is works for ya.


Cannot log into my Google account, with any app I cannot log into my Google account in any app, like Play Store or Google Map. Whenever I try this, I get an error stating (see figure below)

Couldn't sign in

There was a problem communicating with Google servers.

Try again later:

My phone is not rooted. So what should I do?

Try 'forgetting' the current WiFi network, and then reconnecting to it. If this does not work, then the Google servers may be under maintenance, and you may need to wait for a while. (From 30+ mins to 2+ days.)


How to print to CUPS (running on another computer in the LAN)? How to print from Android to CUPS (running on another computer in the LAN)?

(CUPS (Common Unix Printing System/Server) is of course already set up to accept requests over the LAN.)

Preferably, without relying on proprietary software.

I have recently released an Android app based on (a modified) version of Cups4J. Communication is via http/https. The main thing I had to/opted to change from the java library was a dependency on JAXB for XML processing (a. I felt it too heavy b. Android does not have this javax lib and importing it apparently involves repackaging) relying instead on some hard coding.

Download Android CUPS Printing on the Play Store or get the sources on GitHub.


Does the alarm work when my phone is turned off? Will the alarm still go off if I turn off the phone before?

Example: when I have low battery, I have to go to sleep and wake up at X o'clock, and there is no charger around. Should I turn off the phone?

Note: If it makes any difference my phone is Galaxy S running froyo

No, if the phone is off, it can't do anything.  If it's in sleep mode where the screen is off and it's not in use then the alarm will still function as will other types of notifications.  I have never tried this specifically on a Galaxy S but I am fairly confident this is a universal rule.


Use Galaxy S2 / S3 as router for PC lan gaming I have a computer with no network interfaces (the only one it had went faulty). My friend's PC's network interfaces are working fine. We want to play PC LAN games, but when I set my Galaxy phone to tether / hotspot mode, the IP of the PC connected via WIFI hotspot is out of range of the PC connected via USB tethering (the one IP is on 192.168.42.n and the other IP is on 192.168.43.n), and as such we cannot get our PC's to communicate.

Is there a way to force a Galaxy S2 or S3 to put the tethering and hotspot IP's within range of each other? Our phones are rooted.

As near as I can tell, you need to run "ip route add" as root. I don't have root, so I can't try it. But something like this should work:

ip route add 192.168.42.0/24 dev rndis0 scope global proto kernel
ip route add 192.168.43.0/24 dev wlan0 scope global proto kernel

You can use ip route show to show the current routing rules.


How to create a "pipe character" with the HTC Incredible (ConnectBot)? I am trying to use the | (pipe) character in ConnectBot on my HTC Incredible, but everyone says to use Shift + Alt + ',' but that doesn't seem to work.  I have tried multiple different combinations to no avail.  Any solutions for this?

Thanks in advance!

No worky. HTC is not calling the correct ASCII code for the "pipe" symbol. It seems there are two of them in existence. One is a straight vertical bar (|) (supposed to be ASCII #124 in base-10 and 7C in hex) and one has a small gap in the center, it is also called the broken line or the broken bar and was used in the old IBM EBCDIC character set.
The confusion is that I have seen UNIX keyboards with the broken line representing the pipe symbol. However, the broken bar is not part of the ASCII set and I have no clue what HTC used for its ASCII representation.
On second thought they must be using an ISO/IEC 8859-1 representation: the vertical bar is 7C (hex) and the broken bar is A6 (hex). There you have it.
All I can say is that my invisible wireless network has | in it and as long as I hide it, I can't link to it with my Incredible. Making it visible and joining and then making it invisible again does not work as a trick.
Annoying!


Android support for TLS I have found that TLS1.1 and TLS1.2 is supported from API level 16 and on by default from API level 20. This corresponds to Android 4.1 (supported) and Android 4.4W (wearable) or Android 5.0 (on by default)

From a server perspective this means that you will only support clients using 4.4W or higher, since you can't rely clients to turn on TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 support.

Now the real question comes:

Do you even need to care about the Android version?

Hu, what do you mean? Well, should you look at the version of Android OR at the version of the browser being used. For example, Chrome on a desktop has OpenSSL libraries compiled into it (if I'm not mistaking). So couldn't a new version of Chrome on an old version of Android, support TLS1.1 and TLS1.2?

The same story goes for other browsers. I know this is an Android StackExchange, but does anyone know what the deal is on iOS? Will the browser use the system libraries for SSL or will it use it's own? Do I need to look at the browser or the OS for TLS support?

Kind regards,

Roel

Assuming you are not doing Android development, you do not need to worry about Android version.

Any serious security-minded application like Chrome on Android will use TLS 1.2. You can verify this for yourself by going to a secure website (make sure it supports TLS 1.2!) and inspecting the certificate and protocol used on the client. I have checked this on Chrome on a 4.4 Android device, and it uses TLS 1.2.

A security policy should basically rely on the TLS version, and not pay attention to what kind of client is running it. It's not worthwhile to determine the Android OS version, because the Android OS version is not what finally determines the security used.

Let's be pedantic about enumerating the possibilities.

Android API 20+: All browsers and applications should work with TLS 1.2
Android API 16-19: Some browsers and applications will work with TLS 1.2.
Android API 15-: I think we are not discussing these because no version supports TLS 1.2

Here are the server choices I think we are discussing:

You allow only TLS 1.2 and do not check Android version. All Android API 20+ clients, and those Android API 16-19 clients using TLS 1.2 applications are expected to work.
You allow TLS 1.2, 1.1, 1.0 and do not check Android version. All Android clients are expected to work. System is less secure.
You allow only TLS 1.2 and check the Android version. Only Android API 20+ clients can work because you are excluding API 16-19. This is fewer supported clients than in option 1, with no increase in TLS security. So this option does not make sense.
You allow TLS 1.2, 1.1, 1.0 and check the Android version. Only Android API 20+ clients are expected to work because you are excluding API 16-19. This option does not make sense because you are making the system both less usable and less secure than other options. Fewer clients will work than under option 1, and those clients will be less secure.

Checking the Android version makes your system support fewer clients, at no increase in security. Therefore, do not bother checking the Android version.

The basic security tradeoff is always how usable a system is versus how secure the system is. This applies to physical security measures, cipher suites, TLS versions, and more. TLS 1.1 and 1.0 are not as secure as TLS 1.2. You have to answer the following questions for yourself:

Do the vulnerabilities in present in TLS 1.1 and 1.0 make them unsuitable for your system?
Would using only TLS 1.2 be worth the tradeoff in some people not being able to use your system?


Any way to place a link to `/sdcard2` within `/sdcard`? I have a Sony Tablet S, for which I am not aware of any method of rooting. On this device there is an amount of internal storage (dependant on model 8 - 24 GiB) and an external sdcard slot. The former is mounted as /sdcard and the latter as /sdcard2. My usage of the device would be made a lot easier if I were able to access sdcard2 from within sdcard (when mounted).

I have not found any way to do this without root access (tried ln -s but it turns out the partitions are FAT) - has anyone else got any ideas? It is very annoying as I am unable to access my media on the large external storage card I have bought with many applications - I have found myself buying a music payer that specifically allowed me to type my own search paths for media libraries, but cannot use DNLA to send this media to other devices, instead having to remove the sdcard and put it in my laptop - less than ideal...

Do you know how the internal storage is formatted?  If it's FAT then there's not much you can do.

Otherwise you could do something like this from adb shell or from a terminal on the phone:

cd /sdcard
ln -s /sdcard2 <name>

For example, if <name> was sd2 then you can now access it via /sdcard/sd2/.


Removing ads on apps that don't have ad-free version (e.g. Angry Bird) My disabled child likes this game very much. But he can't handle the advertisement. It is just too much for him. I would like to get Angry Birds ad-free. I would pay for it, but there's no ad-free version on the Play Store.

The device is not rooted, and I'm not going to root it. So if possible, is there any solution for non-rooted device?

.. several months later. Here is my solution

It seems impossible to disable ads on android games. Most of them are completely useless and some are glorifying war.

This is no problem for normal people.

For my disabled child this is information overload.

We bought an old standalone device. This kind of device where you need to buy games on cartridges. This solves my use case. AFAIK angry bird is not available for nintendo DSi, but other nice games.

If your device is rooted, install Adaway. It will remove ads basically everywhere.


If I relocate to another country, will I still be able to access the Play Store and use my purchased Apps, Books, Magazines, Music, Movies and TV? I have a friend who shall be moving to Switzerland during the early part of 2013. He wishes to know is their a Swiss Google Play Store, or do Swiss residents use the German Play Store? If this is the case what happens (if anything) to his UK account and is the transition relatively straightforward. If this is not the case and a Swiss Google Play Store does not exist, neither do Swiss residents use the German Play Store - is their a way around it.

Would he still be able to access the UK Google Play Store ?

In order to do so doesn't he have to still be a resident (can he use someone elses  address ?)
In order to access it, is all that is required is to maintain a British Bank Account ?
Is it simply a case of you can access any Play Store from where ever you are residing in the world ?

What happens therefore if he wishes to order a Nexus device from the UK store in terms of postage costs and import duty ?

If he is able to register at the German Play Store would this be a more viable option as surely postage and import duty would be less than that from the UK ?

He has heard that even though Google has a HQ in Zurich, most Swiss are heavily iOS orientated.(He is reluctant to follow that path if it can be helped)

Perhaps a Swiss person can give some clarification or advice regarding the above matter for him (or what do the people who work for Google in Zurich do & what did the employees who came from countries such as Germany, USA & UK do with their accounts ?)

Thankyou for your understanding regarding this matter

He will still have access to all his purchases.
He will NOT be able to access the UK Google Play Store, unless he uses alternative methods (VPN/Tunneling/Market enablers..).
Assuming he managed to access the UK Play Store (2), he will be able to purchase as normal provided that he has access to his UK credit/debit card.
In order to purchase a Nexus device, he has to use his UK credit/debit card, and select a UK address for shipping, and then have someone forward him the package.
Provided that the devices he purchased was activated in the UK, he should still the Books and Movies apps on his Android phones/tablets. Some devices however will automatically freeze these apps on boot if the device was not activated in a supported country.

NOTE: Devices, Books, Magazines, Music and Movies and TV are NOT available in Switzerland without using methods that bypass the restrictions.

NOTE: The answer above is based on my experience with dealing with Google purchases, market restrictions, and international shipping. I have never dealt with the Swiss Google market specifically, but the experience should be the same.


Stop Google play store from Auto updating Okay so this is a weird issue but hear me out. I own an LG G4 and as usual, the play store updates itself to stay on the latest version. But I noticed the original play store that came on the phone is faster, not laggy, and the UI just looks better. Is there a way I can keep the phone ON that older version? Every time I downgrade it, it just updates soon after.

Unless you block Download Manager, Google Play Services and Google Pay Store from accessing internet, then you can't stop it from updating. Blocking them will also have the effect of preventing other apps to update which I presume you don't want.


Note 4 camera not focusing New galaxy note 4 camera doesn't focus at first,  it will only work when I shake my camera or thump it real hard.  Had anyone had this issue or have an idea on his to fix it?

This is a common issue on Note 4s running Android L. The most common suggestion seems to be a replacement, as the issue is not software based but actually a loose sensor within the phone itself. I suggest contacting your phone service provider.


Why am I not receiving network signals on a Samsung S3 T-999? I just bought a Samsung S3 T-999. The problem is when I switch the cellphone on, it connects to my network but just for a second. The moment that second is gone, I lose signal completely.  So it's not like the IMEI is corrupted or something. Moreover, the phone is not asking for an unlock code at all, so I assume it is unlocked too.

What could possibly be the problem? How can I solve it?

This is the screenshot:

It was a really stupid thing. My phone's network mode was set to cdma while my country operates in gsm. It solved it.


EMUI 5.0 is displaying orange navbar and notification bar even battery saving is turn off What is the possible other cause for this? I believe this one should not be orange. I tried to restart it, turn it off still got orange bars. Please no factory reset answer.

It's weird, but I was able to remove it when I told google assistant to turn of power saving mode though in the settings it was already turned off.


Why Does My Phone Keep Linking Facebook Contacts? I have an HTC Desire HD with Android OS 2.2.1 installed.
The phone keeps telling me I have to link contacts that I've linked before, the problem looks to be with Facebook for HTC.
For the first couple of times it happened I actually linked all of them and now my calendar is full of repeated birthday events from Facebook.

Does anyone know what the problem might be and how to fix it?

Not sure if it matters but before this phone I had an HTC Wildfire and also linked some contacts, but they were good.

Look in Settings->Accounts most likely you will have an account there for facebook. There may be settings for that account that allow you to choose what gets synced. Otherwise if you don't need any of it, delete the account. It won't running in the background updating facebook statuses for those contacts... Should help with battery life, memory, etc.

Hope this helps.


Open Image-link from NFC Tag I have a NFC-Tag (FeliCa), where I store a URL to an image. (something like  https://www.google.de/images/branding/googlelogo/2x/googlelogo_color_272x92dp.png for example). This Tag is emulated by a
ACR1252U USB NFC-Reader, but for any Android smartphone it behaves like any real physical tag.
When I approach my Android 4.4-Smartphone, to the (emulated) tag, it automatically opens my Browser-App, and browses to image-link.

So far so good.

However my goal is, that the Android smartphone does not open the image in the browser, but saves the image to the storage and / or displays it in the image-gallery app of the Android phone. I want to achieve this, with as few steps as possible.

For sure there has to be some prompt for the user "Do you want to save that image" or something. But how can I achieve this? How do I have to store the image-link on the nfc-tag, that the image opens in the gallery instead the browser?

No, there is no such option that you can set on the NFC tag to force Android to immediately store the image or show it in the gallery app. The reason for this is that you only store a URL on the tag. Before actually opening the URL, Android does not even know the data type behind the URL (i.e. "this is an image"). In fact URLs do not have that concept of a data type, they just refer to some storage location. Consequently, Android can only open an app that is registered for that URL (or URLs in general), which is typically a web browser.

What you could do:

If you have control over the server side, you might want to try to force the image to be downloaded from the server. You could do this by setting a Content-Disposition header when the image is requested from the server:

Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="googlelogo_color_272x92dp.png"

If the image fits on your emulated tag, you could try to embed it into a MIME type record instead of passing a URL to the image. On many Android devices, image MIME type records should be opened in the standard Tags app by default (see Read NFC tag without specific application?). However, I've never tested how well this works (or if the image is actually displayed at all). See Picture on nfc tags on how such a MIME type record could be created with Android code.


Are all apps on Google Play compatible with the Samsung Galaxy S4? I wanted to know whether the Samsung Galaxy S4 will run every app from the play store or not? I had done a lot of googling but failed to find an answer.

In general, NO.

Some apps:

run on specific devices only (i.e. not compatible with S4)
run on specific Android versions
available only in specific countries
available only on specific carriers
requires root access. (i.e. if phone is not rooted, it won't work)


Improving Galaxy Nexus's audio quality I found out about this website through androidguys.com and I'm giving it a first shot. :)

I remember when I had my Fascinate which is Samsung Galaxy S, I had Voodoo Sound Control app which helped to improve the sound quality tremendously. So you can imagine my surprise that when I got my Galaxy Nexus(Verizon), the app wasn't supporting it.

My question is, will we ever get Voodoo Control support? It's been awhile since the phone came out but the app didn't get updated yet. This led me to assume that it's either impossible or the developer dropped its support. If it will not get Voodoo Control, what other choices are there?

I'm currently using Volume+ and have tried PowerAMP, Neutron, and PlayerPro. All these do are some EQ and volume increase. They have nothing to do with hardware level sound modification.

It seems that Voodoo Sound Control on your Fascinate/SGS worked because of three different pieces - the preinstalled Voodoo Control app, a specific digital to audio controller, and a kernel that can allow the two to communicate. As best I can tell the Galaxy Nexus doesn't have the correct DAC nor a kernal that would allow the controller app to work. Sorry, it seems you're stuck with EQ apps for sound quality.

My suggestion at this point, if you're needing more volume from your phone, would be to look into external powered amps.


How to modify environment variables like PATH at startup? I'm trying to add /data/bin to variable PATH at startup in order to have it available for any other app.
In Ubuntu I use the file /etc/environment, I cannot find anything similar in Android.
I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

It's because adb shell starts a shell process (Android's default is MirBSD Korn Shell) which reads its configuration file /etc/mkshrc and can easily change environment variables. But apps inherit their environment from zygote, so we need to set variables before zygote starts.

Edit /init.rc file or any other .rc file or create your own. Append or prepend directories to Android's default PATH:

# /system/etc/init/path.rc

on init
    export PATH /data/bin:/sbin:/system/sbin:/system/bin:/system/xbin:/odm/bin:/vendor/bin:/vendor/xbin

DETAILS:

On Linux distros /etc/environment is evaluated by PAM (a set of libraries called modules) which is a centralized authentication mechanism used by privilege granting and administering programs like login, su, sshd, passwd, useradd etc. First process init - after starting system services  - drops us to a login shell or display manager (which starts a display server like X.Org to show GUI), running on a virtual terminal. When logging in a user, shells and display managers are configured to read and set environment from different files like passwd, login.defs, profile, bashrc xsessionrc etc. usually found in /etc or user's HOME directory. This environment is inherited by CLI utilities as well as GUI programs which run in desktop environment, including terminal emulators. Applications which attach to terminals also set TERM.

However on Android there is no concept of getty, login, text terminal logins and traditional X window system. There are no user sessions and hence no login files. init starts zygote which loads Android's Java framework, and after starting services in system_server, it forks virtual machines in which apps run. So the first thing we see (after animation ends) is an app; System UI (lock screen) or Home/Launcher app hosted by SurfaceFlinger - Android's display server. Mainly environment of all these programs is set in init's .rc files through export command. /init.environ.rc (1) exports variables like ANDROID_ROOT, ANDROID_DATA, ANDROID_STORAGE and others.  Or programs set some variables themselves e.g. logd sets TZ (2) to ensure correct timestamps in logcat, and adbd sets EXTERNAL_STORAGE (3).

Commonly used variables for Java framework are defined here. PATH is set by init on boot (4) and is part of Bionic libc definitions (5). CLI shell utilities like su (6) and run-as (7) also define PATH, HOME, LOGNAME, USER, SHELL etc. DOWNLOAD_CACHE is set in /init.rc (8) and ANDROID_ROOT is set by zygote (9) itself.

Shell specific configuration files like bashrc or mkshrc are read only if you use adb shell or a terminal emulator app.

FURTHER READING:

[INFO] TERMINAL, SHELL & DISPLAY SERVER on LINUX, ANDROID & WINDOWS


Defect in updated Marshmallow Recently, i updated Samsung galaxy J5 to Marshmallow,Today when i tried to change lock screen password,like type previous password then enter new password and then confirmation of new password.I did these all steps and all goes well as they should be but when i lock my phone and try to enter password again it does not accept my new password it says password is incorrect.Then when i try old password it is accepted.What is this? Why phone is just stuck to one password and does not change password.By the way this old password was also in previous Lollipop version.
I have done "clear cache partition" in recovery mode but still the issue is same.
I googled this problem but there was not any matter of this kind.
Have you people any suggestion for this?

Let me give another clear answer with steps. It is based on this you tube video

I updated Samsung J5 to Marshmallow but there was problem then I did a factory reset to make it right but after reset it asks me to enter your previous e-mail and password. Well ,this phone belongs to my father. He didn't know password .Then I searched on Google and finally found a solution.Key steps are:

Download Odin software from here
Download Samsung J5 firmware.You have to download firmware whose date is before September 2015, from here
Download Bypass app
OTG cable is required.

After downloading these three, grab your phone. Power it off then after few seconds press Vol down+ home button+ power button. After this a caution sign will appear,press Vol up button.Now your phone will go in downloading mode.
Connect your phone to PC via data cable,now launch Odin software on PC and click on AP button and select firmware which you have downloaded.It will say you to wait...then a message will appear as "Leave CS". When message appears ,click on start button. Firmware will now install to your phone,you will see loading line on phone and PC.When it completed android icon appears on phone. Now,remove data cable,after few seconds your phone will switch on.Now press few next button or skip them.When you reach on "verify your account" it will ask you to enter your e-mail.Since we *don't have email or password  save Bypass app in a USB and connect OTG cable to your mobile,after connecting OTG you will see that phone file manager will open USB on phone, install Bypass app (enable app install from unknown sources).Open this app,now you have access to settings, there go to factory reset and perform reset.Your phone will restart.Finally Google verify account has removed,after few steps your phone will switch on again.

Note :   Every thing works fine except two things:

Skype app does not connect to server network
You will not be able to do Software update


Gallary setting for whatsapp If get images or videos from different group in whatsapp its getting stored twice or thrice in gallery .I want it to be stored only once kindly help

You cannot avoid this duplication of photos as all the photos are treated as different files by Android. However, you can use a third party app, like Clone Buster to remove all duplicate files from time to time.


Android 'Add-on' for app Don't know if I have the terminology correct, but I recently install TeamViewer Quicksupport from the Play Store. After it installed, I had to download an 'Add-on' for Samsung (I have no idea why it is needed, but I don't care, really).

This 'Add-on' has it own entry on the Play Store and you can download it without installing QuickSupport first, but you cannot 'Open' it.

I cannot find any information online on how to develop these 'Add-ons'. I do not even know if it is possible.

What I want to know is, how can such 'Add-ons' be developed and deployed. Any links to information would be greatly appreciated. I would like to find out if this would work for a design whereby you create a 'base' app with X features and then if needed, you can download 'Add-ons' to get other features? Kinda like modules?

Here are links to the Apps on PlayStore:

TeamViewer QuickSupport

TeamView QuickSupport Add-On: Samsung

Without having looked more closely at your example, the "add-on" is likely just an app that doesn't have any activities declared as launcher activity. It doesn't show up on your home screen, because Android doesn't know what it would have to show you if you tried to open it.

The main app can then check if you have the add-on app installed, and communicate however it needs to with it.

There's no additional black magic here, just a regular app that isn't meant to be opened by the user directly.


Running flash files on Android 8 I have been running flash files and sites on Android 6 very smoothly using Dolphin video or dolphin browser. After upgrading into Android 8, none of these apps are running well: Dolphin browser is unable to install from google play or from APK, and Dolphin video is unable to work porperly.

Does anyone have any solution for flash files?

It's a 2 step workaround solution :
Go to the play store & install this version of Puffin browser

Open this website.
Browse for your local file, upload it & let it play.


Remove Quick Settings from notification pulldown I've been trying to find a way to hide or disable the quick settings toggles in the notification pulldown. I'm using an LG Optimus Fuel running a rooted LG-stock Kitkat ROM (Xposed Framework is installed). Any suggestions?

After a lot of searching, I've found my own answer. The Xposed module "LG G2 TweaksBox" works with the LG Optimus Fuel for reasons unknown and allows changing what's visible in the notification pulldown, as well as the every other option of the module. Hopefully this provides help to others with the same issue.


Where are dialer's "All Contacts" coming from? Stock Moto G running 4.4.2, initially set up using Motorola Migrate to transfer my data from an HTC Desire S.

I have Google, Skype, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts on my phone, and all the correct contact details from all those accounts are shown in the People app. Happy days.

The fun starts when I open the dialer, and select "All Contacts". Here I see all sorts of ancient contacts who did once exist on my previous phone(s), some of whom I may have called at some point but most of whom I never have. They don't exist in the People app, or in the Call History, or on my SIM card—indeed, if I tap one of them to look at their details, there's an "Add to My Contacts" button there.

Some of them are contacts that I used to have on my phone 1 or 2 phones ago and long since deleted, others appear to be old details for contacts that I have since updated or renamed.

Where have these ghosts come from, and how can I banish them?

SOLVED: It appears these contacts were in the "Other contacts" on gmail.com. I'm not entirely sure how they got there or why there is no such group in the People app where I can see or edit them, but at least I can delete them now!


What is the round circle next to the "do not dispose in household waste" icon on my Moto Droid? There is a round indicator of some sort under the battery cover approx 3/16" of an inch in diameter.  It is located to the left of the "Do not dispose with household waste" icon (looks like a trash can with an X over it.  The indicator appears white with red "X"s; I believe it has been this way since the phone was new, but I can't be sure.
What does this indicate?

Edit:  Added picture

Perhaps it's a water damage sticker -- it might go more red if water gets on it, or something.


Pictures do not appear at the gallery? I'm using Android 4.1.2 (I tagged with 4.1 jelly bean because there is not a 4.1.2 tag, my phone is Samsung galaxy S3 mini.
If I open my gallery, in wich all pictures on the phone should be present, only pictures on picasa and pictures taken by the camera do show in the gallery. I have a lot of pictures in my phone, for example pictures on the downloads folder. They don't show up.

I tried with the answers of other questions and it was in vain.

I restarted the phone many times. I re-scanned the device with this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.promethyl.force.media.scanner&hl=en

I went into settings, manage applications, all apps, I stoped the media storage app and the gllery app, also deleted all data (and thus the cache, in fact after deleting the data I tried to delete the cache but the phone didn't let me, I realized that it was because when deleting all the data, It also deleted the cache)

Also music on the phone do not display in the music application. I also deleted music app data, but still it's not there.

EDIT 07/09/2015: The solution that worked for me was to delete .nomedia "hidden" files, in particular a .nomedia file in the MAIN folder preventing the media scanner to scan anything in the main folder of the SDcard. After deleting it, all pictures everywhere seem to be scanned and they appear in the library.

Clear app data of Media Storage app.
Find and delete .nomedia files on sdcard.
And reboot.

Terminal command to delete .nomedia files recursively.
Install Terminal Emulator for Android app. Open it and enter the command.

find $EXTERNAL_STORAGE $SECONDARY_STORAGE -iname ".nomedia" -exec rm {} \;

NOTE: Since android 5.0 doesn't allow third party apps to delete contents of external sdcard, U may need root permissions before that command to delete any .nomedia files on external sdcard. In terminal emulator, Hit su and enter and grant root permissions before using that command.


How to change time on Android 6 (Nexus 5x) with display off (adb?) I need to change time on my phone while screen is powered off (because of some notifications I need to test).

On other devices I did this in adb shell as root by typing:

    date -s "YYYYMMDD.hhmmss"

But on this device my command has no effect (just printing out current time).

Do you have any advices?

I found answer here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32498628/change-date-on-rooted-device-android-m

I used wrong date format, apparently since Android M I should use

   adb shell date $(date +%m%d%H%M%Y)

This works to me (in adb shell signed as root):

toolbox date -s 20161231.235959
Sat Dec 31 23:59:59 GMT 2016


how to transfer google contacts on S3 to phone memory for car syncing new car has mobile sync which recognises samsung SIII, the old car didn't. Unfortunately all the contacts on my phone are in "google" contacts rather than the phone which the car system syncs with. How can I transfer the google contacts to the phone?

I did not understand the phone you have the contacts on... so I will try a general option answer: go to contacts and use the available options: e.g. Import/Export or "batch operation" followed by "select all" and "share".

other options are available just think out of the closet.


Enable Vibrate on touch in Meeting audio profile on Android 5.1 When I enable Meeting (Vibrate only) audio profile Vibrate on touch is turned off and there is no way to change that through GUI.

Is there any other way? Maybe using root or smth else.

I use Android 5.1 on TCL P561U.

One workaround is using automation. You can try using Tasker ($2.99 but available as a trial version for 7 days)
The goal is to use the profile context to check whether silent mode is on, if yes then haptic feedback is turned on (and becomes the global system setting)
Here is a workaround using Tasker:
Task
Go to the Task tab

Select "New Task + "
You can name this Task EnableHapticFeedback or anything.
Click "+" to add new Action
Audio >> Haptic Feedback [Set :On ; If %SILENT Is set ( this  is intended to only reflect whether the device is in vibrate mode (vibrate) or not ) ]
Tap back to exit from this task
Press back all the way to exit (Your task is saved)

Profile (or Trigger)
Create a Profile which checks if silent mode (vibrate only ) is set

State >> Variable value >> %SILENT  equals on

Tap back to exit from the profile, you should then link this profile to your task
Note: You may add an exit task that keeps this setting on e.g if you want haptic feedback (aka vibrate on touch) to remain on but the above mentioned workaround works perfectly if you want it active in "Meeting mode"

Hope this helps


Android Launcher Loading Problem I'm desperate, otherwise I wouldn't post this long type of post on this forum, cause whenever I have a problem, I just search it on Google and 99% of cases I find the solution, but this time, I'm helpless. I would really appreciate if someone has a solution to my problem,

I have a Infocus M2. It is an awesome phone, I'm really satisfied with it. I have it for 1 year now and I have never had a problem, everything worked perfectly (and is still working), but for 7 days something keeps popping up: it doesn't matter if I'm in a game, or on the internet or am I doing something on the phone, a black screen with text "Location service" and after that a white screen appears with a little text "Launcher loading..." and a circle that is loading, and I have no idea what is that. I can't do anything, I just have to wait like 1 minute for it to disappear. After that a new app automatically start installing from Google play store.

All this problem started when I install a free app "Task bucks" from Google play store. and this app automatically install a app "Key Chain" After that I just loose control over my phone. Whenever it connects to internet it start downloading apps like DU Speed, Battery Doctor and some those apps automatically install that I uninstalled 1 month ago etc. It's really frustrating. Also, this happens, like one time in 1 hours. I really hate it.

I have to mention a thing:

Some times After the white screen disappears, Google App Store opens, at a shopping app called "Ali Express" (like it wants to install it or something), I had it installed only one time, but I uninstalled it 6 months ago.
Key Chain does not remove by restore factory setting. that is automatically installed from Task bucks

Note: I know one Key Chain is default app but my phone has 3 key chain

I have Attempts following steps to solve my problem:

Restore factory setting and deleted all third party apps 2 times but problem is still.
Run up to 4 antivirus apps but no luck
Change google account password
Boot my phone in safe mode and clear cache, clear defaults of some apps like: launcher, key chain, location service etc. and Reset app preferrnces.

I'm sorry for the large post, but I wanted to be as specific as possible. Thanks in advance.

If your phone is rooted you can use Stubborn Trojan Killer.


My Nexus 5 got stuck when connected to PC I connected my Nexus 5 with PC and was transferring pictures. Suddenly it said the device is not working.  Since then my mobile is stuck.  I can't even power it off.  What should I do now?

Hold vol down + Power button for few seconds and the phone will reboot to bootloader then you will have choice to reboot anywhere you want


Is it possible to enable 4G/LTE band 40 in Nexus 5 D820? I have a LG Nexus 5 D820 model purchased in USA. Now I am in Chennai, India on Airtel network. As I understand Indian LTE/4G bands are 3 and 40 and unlucky me my service provider Airtel seems to be in band 40. D820 does not support both band 3 and 40.

I have seen few XDA posts that explain how to enable band 3 in D820. I could not see any posts for the same for band 40 and few comments then and there say it is not possible.

Has any one tried enabling band 40 on their D820? Even more better has anyone tried using their Nexus 5 D820 in India on LTE/4G with Airtel?

I followed the procedure said in a XDA forum (the very first post) and I got the LTE working in my phone.

I confirmed the same and added a confirmation to that thread as:

  I am using Nexus 5 (D820) purchased in USA and being used in Chennai
  on Airtel network. I read through many resources about the LTE bands
  that the phones (D820 and D821) support, about the bands that
  different service providers support. After reading through the posts
  in this thread I was aware band 3 can be enabled on D820. Even at this
  moment of writing (after enabling the band 3 on D820) I believe from
  various links Airtel uses band 40 in Chennai.

  To my surprise when I enabled band 3 (after few tensed moments) I saw
  LTE indicator in my mobile. The screen shot is as below:

  The app LTE Discovery did report that my mobile is in LTE when I made
  it to work in "LTE mode only". However it does not report the band
  that is being used.

I tried Speed test, but it showed a disappointing speed as good as 2G
(1.5mbps download). I need to try this at other places and see whether
really 4G is enabled in my phone or not.

Edit: The download speed in other areas of Chennai are in par with 3G. However surprisingly, I could see the upload speed is as good as download speed in 4G.

In the following image, the middle entry is 2G and rest are 4G.

Also I used Nexus 5 Field Test Mode app and it says I am using band 3 - surprise.

Edit: This was performed in my Nexus 5 D820 running stock Android 6.0.1, stock kernel, rooted and with custom recovery TWRP.

**Edit2:**This change seems to be permanent. I had OTA updates installed and after a point of time reinstalled latest ROM and even tried locking boot loader. In spite of all these changes still LTE is working in my phone.


Headset not found on Xperia L I've bought Sony MBH20 headset and Bluetooth transmitter ASUS BT400 to use it both for skype calls and with my Xperia L.

When I unpacked the headset I've succesfully paired with my Xperia.

When I tried to pair it with PC i removed it from list of bluetooth devices in the Xperia and paired it with PC (Win7, 64 bit).

From that moment I cannot detect the headset with my Xperia. It displays other bluetooth devices but not the headset. I tried turning the headset off and on, I tried to remove the hadset from devices in the PC and I tried to clear cache and AppData of SmartConnect app.

In all cases I can find, add and use hte headset with the PC but Xperia stll resist to detect it.

Is it caused by:

Deleting the headset from Xperia's list of (paired) devices?
Pairing with the PC resuilting in switching the headset's BT to be visible only for the PC?

How can I force the headset to connect to available host (PC or Cell phone), if both are active, connect to the last paired?

After removing the pairing from the phone, the phone won't be able to see the headset in its normal mode any more. To connect to it again, you need to pair the phone with the headset again. To make the headset visible again, you need to put it into a special "pairing mode" which makes it visible to all devices for a short time.

The way of doing this varies from one headset to another, but typically you might hold down the power button for a longer time, until the light on the headset blinks (if there is one). On headsets with a volume control, you might need to hold one of the volume buttons before pressing the power button. (I've seen that on a Jabra headset.) With the headset in its pairing mode, search for devices from your phone and you should be able to see it and pair with it. After that, the phone will be able to connect to it automatically, like before you deleted the pairing.

It's very unusual for peripherals to only be able to hold one pairing at a time, so once your headset is paired with both the PC and the phone, you should be able to connect to either. You can only connect to one at a time, though. To learn more about how Bluetooth pairing works and pairing with multiple devices, you might like to read my related answer.


Recovering from a bootloop in Lenovo S960 I've recently rooted my phone and have installed Xposed Framework. I'm used to this process and know what the consequences are. The phone was working fine until I installed a module for Xposed called Tinted Statusbar. Activated it and rebooted. thats when the bootloop happened. Tried all methods for disabling Xposed. The xposed-disabler zip didn't work when i tried flashing it, the hardware buttons just vibrate.

How can i recover my phone? The recovery is an old CWM v2.2.2 running on a Mediatek Processor.

The only way to overcome bootloop is to reflash the phone (start off on a clean slate) by using an SPFlashTool format firmware (where you have to use SP Flash Tool to flash).

Irregardless of the version release, replace the original recovery.img file with either CWM/TWRP recovery  file and rename it to "recovery.img" file. This will ensure that immediately after the reflash you will have custom recovery installed already.(but in the original firmware folder there will be a "Checksum" file. Remove/expunge this file from the folder since the CWM/TWRP (if it has checksum that doesn't match with the original factory recovery checksum)).

Then search for a "custom Firmware for S960" from NeedROM website and upgrade via TWRP/CWM. Install the latest updates you can find there (I do contribute firmwares on that site) and this bootloop issue is a normal occurence amongst users. I provide them with a downgraded firmware which is SP Flash Tool and then upgrade it back to the latest version with no issues, except you loose all the installes apps (better than having a paper weight!)


Display media volume in the status bar I have a Samsung Galaxy SII running CM9.

Currently I have an app that displays my media volume by using a persistent notification.

However I have 2 problems with this.

Since media volume is a system thing, I feel that it shouldn't belong on the left hand side of the status bar.
This takes up a notification slot when I pull down the notification bar.

Is there a way that I can display the media volume on the right hand side in the status bar next to the battery level, clock, reception meter, etc?

You can install a widget known as Volume Ace. It gives access to all the volume levels in the system. You get 1X1  menu sizes as you prefer.


Is there a way to make an android phone only run one app and nothing else? I want to take an old android phone and turn it into a dedicated calculator. In other words, I'd like to make it so I boot up the phone and my calculator app is running, and there is no way to access any other app, the home screen, app drawer, anything. No lock screen either. Just this app and the settings app, which there would be a shortcut too in this app.

Is this possible? Is android the best OS for this project? Is there an easy way to make this happen?

If you didn't have the requirement of being able to access the settings (the settings app is part of the launcher in some ROMs), this would probably be easier. In that case, you could simply build a custom ROM that boots straight to calculator. The main disadvantage would be the absence of even a battery indicator.


Block outgoing caller ID on Nokia 7.2 How can I block outgoing caller ID on a Nokia 7.2 with Android One 10?

I've tried to do the following:

Open the phone app
Click the three dots menu, choose settings

Now I see many options, including Caller ID and Spam. I don't see any option to block Caller ID.

I think you should try using *67* followed by the number you intend to call and end with a #. This works for me as my number gets shown as anonymous on the other phone I am calling. I hope this helps.


Is there a service that rates app security/permissions? Is there a service/company/app that vets Android apps and reports on their "trustworthiness"?

I recently moved from Blackberry to a Galaxy S2 which does not have an LED indicator light.  I searched the market and found an app that is highly rated and uses the screen to mimic this functionality.  This app requires an abundance of permissions that I don't see a need for.  I don't want to compromise my data if

I understand that the granularity of permission-granting leaves a lot to be desired, so I'm hoping there's a service that rates whether these apps are "good actors"...

There's one called Exodus Privacy which has both app (open source) and website https://exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/page/what/
One downside: it scans only apps available on Google Play, you can't upload apk manually.

Here's an example of it's report on one of popular browsers:
https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/50316/

(Click on image to enlarge it)

I prefer to use it together with Yalp Store app (free and open source) which allows you to download apps from Play Store without google account and services and has built in support of Exodus Privacy on app's install/update page:


how do I get stable connection of WiFi on my Samsung tablet A My Samsung tablet A, gets disconnected immediately after connecting to router WiFi at my home. But at my office I do not face this problem with the router over there. Can you help me?

Do you know if your router is wireless n and if there is a switch to change it to wireless g. Try to change channel in router also.


Prevent upgrade to 4.3 on rooted 4.2.2. device I have just rooted a Nexus 7 with Android 4.2.2. I now receive a notification for system upgrade to 4.3. I don't want to do this, probably ever, as I want to keep 4.2 for app testing purposes. In Settings > About tablet > System updates
and in there it says:
Android System 4.3 Update
[Restart & Install]

How do I prevent the upgrade, ie how to I get rid of that Restart & Install button and to I prevent future upgrades & notifications?

Go to this XDA-Developers thread and follow the instructions. You have to download an APK from there and install it as a system app.

[How-to] Disable OTA updates on Stock + Rooted ROMs - xda-developers


Output audio with Bluetooth and speaker at same time I want to watch a film with my friends
on my Xiaomi/Redmi7/Android9. I have Bluetooth headset and he have normal Headphones (with cable).
How can I output the sound on BT and AUX at same time?

In most cases, smartphones does not support the audio output to Bluetooth and to speaker at the same time. But some models support output to more than 1 Bluetooth device.
check this lifewire tutorial https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-connect-multiple-bluetooth-speakers-4173788


Uninstall on android wear I have an android wear device and I'd like to uninstall apps with sideload.

I already have:

1 adb forward tcp:4444 localabstract:/adb-hub
2 adb connect localhost:4444
3 adb devices
4 adb -s localhost:4444 shell
5. pm list packages
6 adb uninstall [package name]

but there is then -waiting for device-

does anyone know how I can solve this problem or how I can uninstall apps another way with side load?

thanks

Your instructions are almost correct. The one thing you need to remember is that the command you specified in step 4, namely adb -s localhost: 4444, is to be repeated each time you wish to perform some kind of action towards the Wear device.

Therefore, you simply change step 6 to adb -s localhost: 4444 uninstall [package_name]

Bear in mind that step 5 will produce packages that look something like package:com.google.android.music. Be sure that, in step 5, you simply put com.google.android.music where [package_name] should be.

Hope this helps! More information here.


External storage media setting I have a samsung Galaxy S4 with an external 64Gb class 10 micro SD card. How can I set the settings to have all media (photos, movies, music) stored automatically in the external card when a pic is taken or files are downloaded?

[ROOT ONLY]

A third party solution would be the App FolderMount. That way it is possible to move all the media folders one by one to the external SD Card and mount them on top of the internal folders.


Stop and disable Android system update on Motorola phones My phone is a non-rooted Motorola Moto G4 Play (XT1607). It is getting old, there's no space left, and I don't want to update the Android operating system. By mistake, I clicked "Update" and it downloaded the update, but it is not yet installed.

Instead of proceeding to update, I want to delete it. I see a system app called com.android.managedprovisioning. Could this be it?

Follow these steps:
1-You can force close updater app:
Go to system-app-system updater then press "Force close"
2-uninstall updater app for the current user:
Note:You can restore updater app by doing "factory reset" to your phone?

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

Note:"com.android.updater" is package name of "updater" app in my phone,In your phone "updater" app may have another package name.You can find it using
Package Name app.
I hope this help you


About how  long will my touchscreen last before it starts to lose sensitivity? I've read on various posts on the net that touchscreens lose sensitivity over time, but I have not found any detailed information about why and how I can prevent this. Does anybody know why and how this happens, and how long it takes?

I have a T-Mobile G1 (the first Android phone) that's a few years old now and sensitivity on the touch screen is still intact.

If you don't treat your phone well it is likely that over time you're going to damage it or the screen can get so dirty that sensitivity might decrease, but it is not an issue with the touch screen technology. Any phone that is badly treated will get damaged.


What's really 'third party applications'? I would like to know what's really third party applications in android.While I was referring Android development it says that application layer consist of:

Native apps
Third party apps
Developer Apps

I know that third party applications are those which are not developed by the first party(provider of the operating system) as mentioned in third party applications.But I think when it comes to android third party apps and developer apps are same isn't it?Could anyone help me.

Short version
Every app other than "OS and manufacturer apps" means "third party apps".
TL;DR
Third party apps are those provided by a, hrm, third party. Though the following terms are non-existent, you can visualize this as follows: First party is the one providing the OS (AOSP/Google), second party the manufacturer (adding his own apps).
Basically, this can be read as: Everything that didn't come pre-installed. This is what the term "third party" normally is used for1.
Technical background
You find some technical background in Android's permission system. If you browse the related pages on Android Developers or see my App permissions explained, for some permissions you will encounter the phrase "not for use by third party apps" (or similar). How does the system decide what makes a "third party app"? It looks at its signature and compares that to the OS and manufacturers' signatures. If the app's signature doesn't match any of the two, it's a "third party app".
"Developer Apps"
In your question, the focus was to decide between "third party" and "developer" apps. Basically, in practice developer apps are rather a "sub-group" of "third party" apps. As the corresponding developer page states, to make debugging an app during development easier3, it can be signed "in debug mode":

You can sign an app in debug or release mode. You sign your app in debug mode during development and in release mode when you are ready to distribute your app. The Android SDK generates a certificate to sign apps in debug mode. To sign apps in release mode, you need to generate your own certificate.
[…]
You can run and debug an app signed in debug mode on the emulator and on devices connected to your development manchine through USB, but you cannot distribute an app signed in debug mode.

Thus "developer apps" can be told by using a known "debug certificate". As the quoted source states, this should not be used with "released apps" (e.g. a developer shouldn't publish any app signed this way)2.
Further readings

Application Signature Verification: How It Works, How to Disable It with Xposed, and Why You Shouldn’t
Android Fake ID Vulnerability Lets Malware Impersonate Trusted Applications (describes a bug exploited to work around signature protection, allowing any app to pose as "signed by OS or manufacturer", which was fixed e.g. with Kitkat)
Android signature mechanism (describes the difference between "ROM signature mechanism" and "Third party APK Signature mechanism")
Digital signature (general background of what a digital signature is and how it works)

1: though technically it might be not fully correct (example: in this context, what would an app be called which you manually installed, when it were signed with the same key as the ROM itself – i.e. was coming from the manufacturer?)
2: This is for security reasons. Apps might be able to access other apps' resources when using the same signature – a fact used e.g. by "addons" for specific apps written by the same developer (as the already named source e.g. puts it: Android allows apps signed by the same certificate to run in the same process, if the applications so requests, so that the system treats them as a single application. And: Android provides signature-based permissions enforcement, so that an app can expose functionality to another app that is signed with a specified certificate. By signing multiple apps with the same certificate and using signature-based permissions checks, your apps can share code and data in a secure manner). Using "your own" certificate protects "your" app from being accessed by "other developers' apps".
3: AFAIK you cannot install an "unsigned app", so signing it is a must. When "signing" an app, one usually needs to provide two passwords (one for the keystore holding your signatures, and one for the signature itself). Using "debug mode" signing, this can be avoided, as this uses an internal signature of the SDK with a password known by the development tools. This makes debugging a lot easier, as you don't have to type the two passwords over and over during the "compile › test › compile › test again › .." process.


Used code bought on internet to unlock Galaxy S3 from 3 UK to O2-UK. Will rooting the device harm it? My Galaxy S3 was locked to 3-UK when I got it.  So I used a code I bought on the internet to unlock it.  When buying the code the form asked which network I wanted to unlock the handset for.  I said O2-UK as that's the SIM I want to use.  No other SIM cards work on the handset except 3 and O2.  If I root my handset will O2-UK still work on it?  Thanks to anyone that can help.

Rooting the phone won't change SIM-lock settings, they're saved in a separate part of the phone, please see these previous questions for more info on that: Where are the SIM Lock settings stored on an Android phone?  and Does Unlocking bootloader affect network lock?

You can find more explaining these different terminologies here: What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc.?


Prevent activating silent mode when screen is locked Is there a way to prevent turning the sound (silencing the phone) off from the lock screen? This is a Motorola Droid 4.

I notice I've missed calls and check only to find that the sound has been turned off. I always make sure to turn the screen off thus activating the screen lock when I put the phone in my pocket. However, I see that the touchscreen still allows the speaker to turn off. Is there a way to deactivate this? I tried using the Droid inPocket app and it didn't solve the problem. In fact, I'm not sure what it did do.

http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/how-to-replace-and-customize-android-lock-screen-guide/

 - http://www.vikitech.com/6075/best-android-lock-screen-apps

Essentially, if there is not an option in your security settings, you'll need to replace your lock screen.


Why the Slack app is not in the "Recent Apps" list? My phone: Samsung S7 Edge
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat

Almost all the apps can be shown in the recent apps list, which can be seen by pressing the left soft touch button, except the Slack app.

Some apps can hide themselves from Recent list.

There's nothing wrong. Slack is hiding itself. There's no solution except contacting its dev team.


Is there any way to launch an app (and keep the screen on) when a Galaxy Nexus is docked? Using the official desktop docking station, my Motorola Xoom (running official Honeycomb 3.2) by default launches the Clock app when the tablet is docked, and keeps the screen on whilst it's docked.

The Settings app on the Honeycomb Xoom has a Dock category with two options "Dock Application" and "Dock Insertion Sound", I can't find any similar options on the Galaxy Nexus.

Is there any (preferably built-in) way to get similar functionality with an (unrooted) Galaxy Nexus using the official Samsung dock?

Sounds like you could use DockAwake! Dock Manager for this. To just keep the screen on you can set Settings -> Developer options -> Stay awake.


Wipe system partition When installing a custom ROM shouldn't we wipe system partition along with data, dalvik, and cache?
What are the differences with and without wipe?

You should. That is a "clean flash" and is normally recommended in installation instructions. This ensures that the ROM is written on a clean slate

At times, like in the case of "nightly" ROMs or some mods to ROM, /system is not wiped but written over the existing system called "dirty flash" (not even /data  or cache is wiped)

As a thumb rule, switching over from stock to custom ROM or from one custom ROM to another, clean flash is recommended. ROM chefs clearly mention this in instructions. Also, if you are upgrading to a higher version of ROM by clean flashing it (Thanks to Izzy who pointed this in comments)


Sending as Unknown number in Hangouts In Hangouts 3.1.89134953 I get a "Sending as Unknown number" message at the top of my texts.  I googled for this message and found nothing.

What does this message mean?

You most likely are not registered for hangouts. Try navigating to hamburger menu -> Settings -> [your email] -> Scroll to Account section, and check to see if your phone number is confirmed.


How can you sync a calender with an iCal link? The school that I am going to has a calender that you can sync to other devices and programs through an iCal feed. There is just a link, no account info or anything. Is it possible to sync the events to the S Planner with this link? If not, is there another free solution out there?

For read only feeds ICSDroid does this. It'll work with facebook's feeds too.

DavDroid will do the same for a proper caldav server (syncs in both directions)


Need to set up a phone with limited permissions to help with a learning disorder I need to set up a phone that will allow the user access to installed apps but will not allow them to install new apps.  In addition I need to allow access to only a whitelist of websites.  These constraints need to be unbreakable short of a factory wipe.  My thought regarding privacy was to have a superuser account that the user and administrator each have half of the password, so the administrator can't get on the phone without the permission of the user.

I'm kind of desperate here.  I asked this question twice on r/androidroot and both times people told me to just install apps that "reward good behavior" etc.  We're way past that point.  The user really needs email, text, maps, and a few work related apps (plus definitely some apps like Habitica to reward good habits!).

I haven't rooted a phone before but am fairly technically proficient.  If Tasker is any part of the solution I'm pretty handy with that, otherwise I will do or learn anything necessary to make this happen.  I have a google pixel to work with but if absolutely necessary will get a different phone.

Thank you very much for any help you're able to provide!
p.s. the disorder is a pretty strong Executive Function disorder - despite 18 years of therapy with 6 different people the user is basically unable to build good habits or demonstrate much willpower.  It's been pretty devastating for them.

that's pretty sad condition you have there, I hope what I am going to provide will be much useful for you.

In order to prevent the user from installing new apps from Play Store, you may try any of this method from this article:

https://useboomerang.com/2018/07/25/3-ways-block-kids-installing-apps-android-phone/

Regarding with allowing only specific websites to access, you can try from any of the followings:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-block-websites-android-4179021
https://techwiser.com/block-websites-on-android/

I am not really sure if we are able to set this up, however, try this:

https://superuser.com/questions/1156080/how-to-stop-users-from-viewing-saved-passwords-in-chrome

Maybe the link below can be a good addition:
- https://www.howtogeek.com/223530/how-to-lock-down-your-android-tablet-or-smartphone-for-kids/


Downgrade Galaxy S Duos from ICS to Gingerbread I want to downgrade my Galaxy S Duos from ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich) 4.0 to Gingerbread. How do I do this?

Galaxy S Duos was released with the ICS onboard and there is no Gingerbread available for this model. You shouldn't use a firmware designed for other devices from the Galaxy family - this is an easy way to brick you phone.

"Getting Prepared" instruction is irrelevant.


recovery partition does not seems to be exist Hi all I have successfully root my innos a35 phone and now what I want is to
There's no file called /proc/mtd , So is that mean that my device is not based on the
mtd technology.

I have tried the fastboot but it seems not working.

My /proc/mounts is look like this bellow.

cat /proc/mounts
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
debugfs /mnt/debugfs debugfs rw,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /system ext4 ro,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,barrier=1,nodelalloc,d
ata=ordered,noauto_da_alloc,noinit_inode_table 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15 /cache ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordere
d 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,
uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharse
t=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/secure/asec vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,rela
time,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,ioc
harset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/sdcard/.android_secure tmpfs ro,relatime,size=0k,mode=000 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:18 /mnt/emmc vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,ui
d=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=
iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
#

So I understand that /dev/block/mmcblk0 is a one device and it should be refers to the
internal SD card. Is this assumption is right here?
So I navigate into /dev/block/ and executed 'ls' there.
I could find these files there.

mmcblk1p1
mmcblk1
mmcblk0p20
mmcblk0p19
mmcblk0p18
mmcblk0p17
mmcblk0p16
mmcblk0p15
mmcblk0p14
mmcblk0p13
mmcblk0p12
mmcblk0p11
mmcblk0p10
mmcblk0p9
mmcblk0p8
mmcblk0p7
mmcblk0p6
mmcblk0p5
mmcblk0p4
mmcblk0p3
mmcblk0p2
mmcblk0p1
platform
mmcblk0

What are those devices normally? So mmcblk0 does represent the whole partition table
there right?

I want to know how it was partitioned ahead, what address mapped to where and what
partition mapped to where.

So from them what is the recovery partition?
What is the booting procedure of this device? I mean device first sector of mcblk0 into it's memory and then it does starts executing there. Am I right?
Or the startup rom [I have no clue what's going on] does configured to directly read the
partition titles and load the recovery images? What is going on here?

If I dumped those partitions as hex files , is there any signature or something that
I could used to assume which is what?

I was able to gather that required information through reading a log

Starting recovery on Sat Oct  5 16:12:57 2013
framebuffer: fd 4 (320 x 480)

recovery filesystem table
=========================
0 /tmp ramdisk (null) (null)
1 /boot emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p8 (null)
2 /cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15 (null)
3 /data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p13 (null)
4 /recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 (null)
5 /misc emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p19 (null)
6 /sdcard vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /dev/block/mmcblk1
7 /system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 (null)
8 /sys_boot vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 (null)

Command: "/sbin/recovery"

It's also known as the recovery log, don't know whether there's a connection. It shows all the partitions which are mounted. I used the
dd command and flashed the recovery partition /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 as listed here:

dd if=recovery_image of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p16

NOTE: This resulted me a broken recovery image. (I think they are still not supporting this device). Good thing that I have already backed up the recovery image.

dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 of=recovery_backup.img

So I have replaced it with the backup again and it's working back.


Is there a in-built setting to login to public hotspots? I have a SIM-lock free Galaxy W with Android 2.3.6 on it.

The other day in the public library I found out that I was not able to login anyhow to the public Wi-Fi.

It shows that the DHCP gives the phone an IP address and then labels it as connected, but on the PC a "further data needed" kind of notification would appear in order for me to put username and password in.

Now I found the "Free Wi-Fi hotspot" that deals exactly with this and am going to test it today, but it looks just like a frontend. Really there is not a way to access them using only built-in options on Android?

EDIT: Trying opening my browser after connecting doesn't automatically redirect me anywhere. That's why I avoided using the term "captive portal" as I cannot see any portal.

If you open your browser when connected to that hotspot, it should automatically get re-directed to the login page for it. That is what most of these Hotspot apps try to automate using macros. After having logged-in via the browser, the internet connection should be available to your apps.


Specific DNS for a Android App I am currently using adguard DNS using the private DNS setting in my android device to avoid advertisements. But it increases the ping time while I am in a multiplayer game (like PUBG Mobile). Is it possible to use different DNS for an app and a common DNS for everything else?

Note: I am currently based in India if location matters for your answer.

DNS resolution in Android is handled by Net Daemon (netd) which runs in background as an init service. netd uses the DNS server set in Wi-Fi settings or that received through DHCP. Or it can possibly be set through CLI. See details in How does Android OS do DNS name resolution?. But there is no way to specify DNS server on per app basis.

Using Android's VPNService API it's possible to control network traffic on per UID basis (every Android app owns a unique UNIX UID). Or with root access the same can be achieved using iptables to NAT traffic going on port 53. An example VPN based open-source app which lets whitelist apps and configure DNS server is personalDNSfilter (I have no affiliation). It's configurable enough and supports root mode, encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT) and other features.

However in both cases (VPN or iptables), you won't be able to use Android's Private DNS (DoT) feature. It's because DoT (DNS over TLS) queries aren't plain DNS (like HTTP) but encrypted (like HTTPS), going on port 853. So the only entity that can receive and respond to the encrypted DNS queries is the DNS server set in Private DNS settings. Though it's possible to intercept DoT (like we can intercept HTTPS) but the hassle doesn't worth a try.

If you don't want to go with VPN or root based solutions, or don't want to leave Private DNS, another option is to setup DNS forwarder on local network, preferably on default gateway if possible. Or your app must itself have capability to make DNS queries, not depending on Android's resolver.


How to backup phonebook and user data through usb or command code in a locked Android phone My phone has a USB option. I want to connect it to the PC, and I need the command code to backup my phone book and all user data of my Android phone which is locked.

How can I get the command code I need?

You can connect through adb and run a backup, doesn't require root, however the process is different for different phones.


How can I find my Samsung Galaxy S5 without internet, or access to Android Device Manager? I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 that just recently went missing. However, I do not know what email address I made for the Google Account on my phone. I was told I could use Android Device Manager if my phone was connected to the internet & I had to be signed into the Google Account that I had set up on my phone. I do not know the email I used, & I also know for a fact that where my phone is (yes, i'm pretty sure I know who took it) that it isn't connected to the internet. I also have no plan on it right, no minutes, time, no data, no way for it to pick up internet unless it's in Wifi. I was only able to get it to connect to one Wifi near the place where I'm thinking it was stolen. I know it's on, but I'm not sure how much longer my battery is going to last. I really, really need to figure out a way to find my phone. Please any help, or advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

0
down vote
I believe that when you signed up your phone,system email,you must provide an alternative email address for p/w & user name recovery as is common w/Google & most effective email providers. Click on "Gmail"-tab, while on Google Chrome homepage browser,(using a desktop windows pc prefferably) try your best guess at the username, hit enter and under the sign in popup window there should be either "use a different. Account" or "Forgot user name/password"? Click on that and it should tell you something like, "Recovery email,Google will send you an email containing a one time verification code to xxx.....@xxx whatever the alternative email account you used when you set up your phone. If not,then I,might suspect of your true ownership of this phone you speak of. Hope this helps.


How to move apps from internal to external storage? I'm trying to move with Lucky Patcher (also with app2sd and Samsung stock app) some apps from internal to external storage, but everytime with every apps movable I got this message:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: New installs into ASEC containers no longer supported

I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 with Android 8.0 and root.

Do you now why this happens? Maybe, Android 8.0 doesn't allow anymore this?

Native app2sd method - which placed encrypted .asec files in .android_secure folder on external SD card - was available only up to Android 5. For details see Why root cannot access “.android_secure” directory on external SD card?

Starting with Marshmallow, the native method of moving apps to external SD card works only if SD card is formatted as Adoptable Storage (1, 2):

  ASEC containers have been deprecated since MNC, which is when we
  introduced the "adoptable storage" feature.  Adoptable storage is a
  much better user experience, since we move both the APK and private
  app data together as a single unit.

* MNC is Macadamia Nut Cookie; code name for Android Marshmallow (6.x).
And:

  new installs into ASEC containers are no longer supported; use adoptable storage instead.

Adoptable Storage is a Full Disk Encrypted SD card, completely managed by vold, not visible to user as external SD card. See here how it differs from traditional Portable Storage. You can format SD card as partially Adoptable and partially Portable too.

Like the pre-Marshmallow app2sd phenomenon (3), apps only with installLocation set to preferExternal or auto in app's manifest are moveable:

  Apps can be placed on adopted storage media only when the developer has indicated support through the android:installLocation attribute.

For apps with install location auto, default install location (set using pm set-install-location) decides where app will be installed. See this answer for details.

If you want to move all apps, use a third party solution like Apps2SD or Link2SD.

PS:
An even better approach is to move /data/media instead of apps. Create an extra partition on external SD card and on post-fs-data mount it to /data/media using an init.d script or Android's init service. Other bigger directories /data/app or /data/data can also be moved in the same way.

If you want to keep files encrypted on external SD card, this can be achieved through native methods dm-crypt (Android's FDE) for block device encryption, ecryptfs for stacked filesystem encryption, or third party solution like EncFS for stacked encryption. New native method of filesystem encryption fscrypt (Android's FBE) may also work, but I haven't tried. See details in this answer.

RELATED:

How to free Internal Storage by moving data or using symlink / bind-mount with Adoptable Storage?


Is it safe to enable Clean Master service? The above are capture of Clean Master that asks for service enable. Is it safe enough to turn the service ON?

The developer of that app, Cheetah Mobile, has been accused of committing ad-frauds. XDA has it covered in detail here. I would suggest to refrain from using any product from such developer. If you can remove such an app or at least disable it, than consider it.


How do I turn on flashmode in Sony Ericsson Ray? How do I turn on flashmode in sony xperia ray? I am doing what is said in forum the flash tool says I am in Fastboot mode not in flash mode.

HINT: Just try the combination with the other volume button if you enter the wrong mode (that's what I do because I cannot remember the button trick either and do trial&error every other time I need this.

Launch your software, prepare the ftf for flashing and only then do the following to enter flash mode:

Switch off the phone (remove battery maybe)
Press the Volume down button and hold it
(While holding) Plug in the USB cable
If successful, the LED should turn green

Just for the record, to enter fastboot mode:

Switch off the phone (remove battery maybe)
Press the Volume up button and hold it
(While holding) Plug in the USB cable
If successful, the LED should turn blue

If I mixed something up, please correct me.


Anyone knows the second icon? Thanks very much for explaining !!

That N-shaped notification represents NFC, which normally appears when its turned on.

  NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a technology that allows devices
  to exchange information simply by placing them next to one another.

Read more here:


How to do a full nandroid backup via pc How to do a full nandroid backup via pc using adb or anything or any software specialised for it.

The easiest way is to make the nandroid via a third party recovery (E.g. CWM, TWRP, PhilZ etc.) and copy that onto your PC of course. If this option isn't possible:

From  XDA Developers on Nandroid to PC

This guide is intended to make a full backup of your android phone (the entire memory block with all partitions) or a single partition (including sdcards, etc) directly to your computer, in either

Block level (with dd): for single partitions or whole memory block
(all partitions in one piece). The backup always has the same size
which is the size of the partition.

File level (with tar): only for individual partitions. This only
includes files and folders, so occupies much less space, depending on
how much filled is the partition.  It can be done with the phone
powered on or from ClockWorkMod Recovery (from both ADB works, while
in Fastboot doesn't so won't apply). Unless specified the commands
meant to be used from Windows. For Linux and Unix is similar.

REQUIREMENTS

Rooted Android Phone  Busybox installed on your phone.  If you are
using Linux / OS X you have native tools, for Windows download
Cygwin,  and install with it netcat, pv and util-linux.    Cygwin's setup.exe
ADB installed.  Make sure adb.exe is in your
windows' path. See here and here, or use Path Manager.
Android phone
with USB Debugging enabled, and the proper drivers installed on
Windows so the phone is recognized. Typing 'adb devices' on a
terminal should show your device.

PARTITION IDENTIFICATION

You now have to identify the partition or block device that you want to backup. For a single partition you can use either tar or dd, while for the entire memory block you can only use dd.

For example, on Galaxy Nexus you have the list of partitions here .

Usually on android, the entire block containing all partitions is located at /dev/block/mmcblk0 and the data partitions is a subpartition of it. You can push parted with GPT support to your device and see all information on a partition or block.

Whole phone memory -> /dev/block/mmcblk0 (may vary, in some phones this is the sdcard)
Subpartitions -> depends on each device. Usually at /dev/block/platform/dw_mmc/by-name/ there are listed by name linking to the real device.

Back up of the whole memory block (via adb)
Connect the phone in ADB mode and unlock the screen.
Open one Cygwin Terminal and enter (replace mmcblk0 if needed):

adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
adb shell
su
/system/xbin/busybox nc -l -p 5555 -e /system/xbin/busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0

You will see the cursor blinking at the left. Now the phone is waiting to send the block over the network.

Open another Cygwin terminal and type:

adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
cd /path/to/store/the/backup
nc 127.0.0.1 5555 | pv -i 0.5 > mmcblk0.raw

You will see how the image size is growing until it finishes. Now you have the whole phone backed up in raw format. You can see the contents of the GPT partition with gptfdisk tool, available for windows, linux and such. See official website and sourceforge to get it. You can do it the same from ClockWorkMod Recovery but you have to mount first the /system partition since the busybox included with clockworkmod does not come with netcat and you have to use the one from the system partition.
With further linux tools you could edit or extract single partitions from the whole block.


Network Unlock Code vs SIM Unlock PIN I bought an unlock code from http://www.unlockcode4u.com because my phone was asking for it (Enter PIN Code)

I got the code and it does not work. Actually only allow me to enter 4 digits.
Now this guys are telling that the code is for the phone's "Network unlock" not the "SIM unlock" and if I don't remember the PIN I will need to the PUK code from my network provider, so I feel that I paid for something I don't need.

This is the first time I try to do this and I feel frustrated.

I would really appreciated any help.

John

If your SIM card is PIN locked, the network unlock code is useless. The network unlock code allows a phone that is restricted to a single carrier to be unlocked for use in other carrier's networks.

The SIM PIN is a personal identification number that is used to unlock the SIM card in order to register it to the network. This means that the phone will not connect to the network before a SIM is unlocked. Usually (at least around here) a new SIM has a simple PIN, like 0000 or 1234, and the user can change this. However, the carrier doesn't know your PIN, so if you forget it it can't be reset from the carrier directly.

If you happen to forget your PIN, the only way to unlock the SIM is to enter a wrong PIN enough many times (3 or 5 usually), and after this the SIM asks for the PUK (Personal Unlock Key) code, which is sometimes referred to as PUK1.

The PUK code can be obtained from the carrier, after they verify you are the rightful owner of the SIM and contract. If the SIM is a prepaid, the PUK code is sometimes printed in the card holder. After you get the PUK, enter it into your phone and enter a new PIN. After this, you can unlock the SIM with the new PIN you specified.

Note: DO NOT try to guess the PUK code yourself, if you enter it wrong three times, the SIM will be permanently locked and you'll have to get a new SIM from your carrier.


How to bring Android device and desktop PC to same network? I have an unrooted Android device and a desktop PC running Ubuntu 18.04 with no built-in WiFi. I want to bring both the devices to the same network.

I tried USB tethering from Android to desktop PC. It is getting connected, but the network IDs are different (IP of Android device is 100.81.X.X and IP of desktop PC is 192.168.42.X).

I also tried reverse tethering with gnirehtet (https://www.ubuntubuzz.com/2019/09/android-reverse-tethering-with-ubuntu-1804.html). Using this, I am able to connect to internet from my Android, but still the desktop PC and Android are in different networks (IP of Android is 10.X.X.X and IP of desktop PC is 192.168.2.X)

Is there any way I can bring both devices to the same network so that I can ping the Android device from desktop PC without any additional hardware?

EDIT : This is the output of route command, where enp0s29u1u5 is the interface corresponding to USB tethering:

Output of adb shell ip route:

192.168.42.0/24 dev rndis0  proto kernel  scope link  src 192.168.42.129

I could do it by USB tethering. The IP address of Android was got from adb shell ip route


Set up portrait video output from Galaxy Nexus I know that I can hook up my Galaxy Nexus up to my TV, but I'm not able to change the orientation from landscape to portrait.

Is there a setting I'm missing? Or is there a way to do this if my phone is rooted?

Try this application, it can force screen orientation globally.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode.eyesfree.setorientation&hl=en


How can I download and install custom roms for the droid x? I have a droid x. I'm told that my phone will be much faster if it has a custom rom. After some googling I read that rubix is a good option. I'd appreciate any instructions on how to go about obtaining and installing this custom rom on my phone, or any pointers to this effect.

I think the instructions you find in this thread are fairly clear, aside from the process of rooting your phone and installing ROM Manager.

All the standard disclaimers apply, of course.  What you do with your phone is your business and nothing any of us say makes us responsible if you brick your device.


Can I use Dvorak on a physical keyboard? I use Dvorak as my main typing layout. I own a Motorola Xoom tablet, for which I bought an external bluetooth keyboard. I couldn't find how to use Dvorak on the physical keyboard though; I tried some of the Dvorak-capable keyboard apps in the App Store (Hacker's Keyboard, Honso Multiling, XenionSH Dvorak Keyboard), but none of these seemed to help (ASK has an open issue for this: http://code.google.com/p/softkeyboard/issues/detail?id=181)

Has anyone managed to do something similar (using either an external BT keyboard or a phone with an inbuilt physical keyboard.)

If your phone is rooted I think that you can write your own keyboard layout. I'm using my own layout (on SGS I9000) for some Chinese blouetooth keyboard that I bougth recently.

Layout files are in /system/usr/keylayout/ directory. Layout file that is used by my keyboard is Broadcom_Bluetooth_HID.kl. I think that layout used by built-in keyboard will be qwerty.kl - you could modify it and check if it's working.

Remember to make backups of original files before changing it...


msa couldn't install error I got a notification to install a system app msa update in my Redmi 4 Android Mobile. Whenever I'm trying to update the app it has been failing. I tried restarting my mobile as well but nothing worked.
What is the purpose of msa app and why it is not getting updated on my mobile.?

I got the same issue in my xiao mi max 2. I have read also this maybe this will help you:

On Mi Max 2 v9.5 MSA is not recognized as a system app for some reason. It is able to be uninstalled which is probably the reason for update error.
On another Xiaomi phone I have. MSA is a system app and succesfully updated.
MSA injects full screen advertisements into MIUI music player, themes + file explorer when you open them. I suggest you take advantage of this error by Xiaomi and uninstall MSA now then reboot your phone, full screen advertisements will be gone. If it updates you will be stuck with advertisements.


Android tablet where WhatsApp? My iPad has 4G but you cannot call with it so you cannot keep WhatsApp there. I am thinknig to if there is any Android tablet where you can keep WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is not compatible with tablets on Android. You could try using https://web.whatsapp.com/ through the web browser on an android tablet.


scp for "Material Terminal" OS: 5.0 Lolly-pop
Device: Samsung Galaxy note 3

Using the terminal emulator "Material Terminal" is it possible to add an ssh command scp?

I believe there is a way for rooted devices.

You will need a binary executable of the command you want.
Rename it (or don't) to what you want to type in the terminal to execute it. (no filename ending)
Copy the binary executable to /system/bin/sh (root-supported file explorers can do it)
Change the file permissions to r-xr-xr-- (ES FIle Explorer can, and perhaps other root-supported file explorers).
Reboot.

I haven't tested it but do believe it works.


How to stop the speaker totally I know this sounds weird, but for work reason we want to ban speakers on rooted tablets (Android 5.0), I searched for the APIs & system files, but couldn't stop it.

Any solution?

TL;DR Set device to silent. Tape it over.

If you're able to open the case, you can easily find the speaker attached to the back (or somewhere near the bottom) where gold contact pins are visible. Tape over the pins and the speaker will stop working totally without getting damaged.
If it's not possible for you to open the case, then set your device to silent mode is your primary option. Taping over the speaker hole helps this to some extent, but not as effective as turning off sound. Because sound is a kind of mechanic vibration, it propagates via (almost) all kinds of media, including solid, liquid and gas (air) so you can't simply block it.


Can .nomedia exclude file type? In my Music folder, I have many subfolders for albums and they each have their album art in .jpg or .png format. I want the media scanner to not pick up these files however if I do that, then the entire Music folder would have nothing in it.

Is there any way to only exclude certain file formats? My gallery is cluttered with album art at the moment.

I also don't want to delete any of the album art.

EDIT: Requesting tag "media-scanner" to be created.

.nomedia is on or off, no way to exclude just certain file types. You might want to try including the album art in the music files (it'll still show up in the music player) and then copying them over, rather than adding the art to the folder on your phone.


Where is the mount point for a USB stick on Android 9? I am working on IMX8QM with Android 9. I needs to configure usb stick on static mount point.

Once USB stick detected,
create sda1, after check I got:

mek_8q:/sdcard # df
Filesystem                1K-blocks     Used     Available    Use%     Mounted on
/dev/root                   1777588     1189664     587924     67%         /
tmpfs                       2918920     488         2918432    1%         /dev
tmpfs                       2918920     0           2918920    0%         /mnt
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12       249828      58936       190892     24%        /vendor
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14       9086336     967628      8118708    11%       /data
/data/media                 9086336     967628      967628     11%     /mnt/runtime/default/emulated

/dev/block/vold/public:8,1  3918844     1311400     2607444    34% /mnt/media_rw/2A61-DD07

You got it correctly, USB OTG sticks are mounted at /mnt/media_rw/[UUID].
Source:

// Use UUID as stable name, if available
    std::string stableName = getId();
    if (!mFsUuid.empty()) {
        stableName = mFsUuid;
    }
    mRawPath = StringPrintf("/mnt/media_rw/%s", stableName.c_str());

For FAT family of filesystems UUID is not the 32 digits long real UUID, but a serial number (8 digit long). So the mount point vold creates isn't static since Android 6. UUID (or serial number) of filesystem changes when you change USB stick or re-format it (unless you explicitly set the same UUID when or after creating filesystem). For static mount point you need to modify vold source code or mount filesystem manually. For more details see: How to change random filesystem label on USB OTG?

SD cards are also emulated form /mnt/media_rw/[UUID] to /storage/[UUID] but still the path is not static. See details here: How to move files to external SD card?


How to get maps for off-line usage? I spent almost entire day looking for decent apps for maps (decent = free, up to date, being open-source is a plus).

I ended up with TrekBuddy, GoPenS, RMaps, Maverick, OruxMaps (the emphasized ones look the best, in my opinion).

However, now I have another problem -- how to prepare maps for those apps (please help me with one, and hopefully I will manage the rest) for off-line usage?

I would like to go on a ride, pick up the phone somewhere in the forest and see on the map where I am. For now it works only with internet connection, but without it I have a huge-scale map and after zoom-in blank space or "loading" icon.

In short -- QUESTION -- how to feed phone/apps with maps, so I could zoom-in/out map freely when I am in the wild (offline)?

I would like avoid tricks like relying on caching -- so "solution" to scan interesting region with all possible scales and in such case acquire off-line version of the map is a no-go!

Clarification: I am not looking for another app (however thank you for the hints/links), I am looking for maps (data). I want to get map from on-line version (which are automatically downloaded) to off-line one.

OsmAnd (on Play store or F-droid.org (version is sometimes a little behind)) has those features:

Fully open source
Fully offline (w/ option for some online features)
Play Store: Limited to 16 downloads (free) or costs ~6EUR (for funding)
(build it yourself or use a nightly build if don't want to pay or use the free one)
Offline vector maps:

based on Openstreetmap data
create your own with OsmandMapCreator
many pre-built areas available with in-app downloading

Online tile-based maps (data-caching plugin for GMaps/Bing/Yahoo/ and 25? others)
OSM integration (bug report, GPX uploads, live editing)
Voice guided offline navigation
GPX tracking

The unlimited app (in Google Play) costs a small fee (around 3EUR) to fund the project. Please consider buying it once you tested the free version and like it and don't just leech the nightly if you don't just want to test the bleeding edge features. You can of course also build your own (its FOSS).


Is it possible to record screens of two android phones connected to a PC? I am new to Mobile testing, Recently started using Android adb and started recording device screen using adb shell screenrecord command. Just wanted to know if we can record screens of two android phone at a time connected to a same PC using adb.

Execute adb help and notice

-s           - directs command to the device or emulator with the given
               serial number or qualifier. Overrides ANDROID_SERIAL
               environment variable.

Serial number can be found from adb devices. For example,

bash-4.X# adb devices
List of devices attached
543b45da        device

543b45da (imaginary here) is the serial number for my device.

Serial number can also be found in the output of adb shell getprop or the file build.prop under /system. Look for the term(s) ro.boot.serialno or ro.serialno.

Now that you've the serial number, simply do

adb -s SERIAL_NUMBER YOUR_COMMAND/ADB_ARGUMENT

E.g.

adb -s 543b45da shell getprop

You can execute command(s) for multiple devices from multiple terminals simultaneously. The answer by moonbutt74 may also help.


MP3 player, that remembers current possition in all playlists or folders Is there any MP3 player out there, that would remember current file and position in that file, not only for currently played playlist / folder, but also in all playlists / folders, that are added to it?

I know, that remembering file and position in an active playlist, which is essential for listening to audiobooks, is offered by many MP3 players available for Android. But, that's not enough for me.

I'm looking for a player that will:

support multiple playlists at once (with optional easy switch between them),
remember file and position for all playlists and restore / rest it on each switch.

I tried system player, Winamp and Simple Music Player. All of them lack second option. Once user switches to a new playlist, player begins to play it from the very first file and from its beginning.

I need this feature, because I'm listening to more than one audiobook simultaneously.

I know, that software recommendations are not much welcome to this site (or to any in SE network). But, I'm asking about very specific feature of an MP3 player. So, I treat this question not like recommend me a software, but rather as tell me, if there is anyone out there, that has this feature, or should I code it myself?

Yes, there is.
MortPlayer Audio Books and Smart AudioBook Player have both been verified by me to have asked feature implemented.

Some details:

MortPlayer Audio Books is completely free (it displays ads, but these can be... disabled in settings), but offers an enormous number of options, settings and preferences, which can overwhelm many of fresh users; it is also based on skins, with many skins having... well... not to good UI, look & feel,
Smart AudioBook Player is much simplier and offers more clean, standard UI, but it is not free. It comes with 30-days trial offering all options, after which it must be purchased for $2 or will block most extra options and features.

Both players have the most desired option. You can jump between folders or around media library and every time you open up a folder (book), that was opened by you before, you will always start listening from the position, you left it, not from the beginning.

There are probably many more audio players for Android, that supports these feature. Only, to find them,  one must search for audiobook player, not for MP3 player, as I did previously.