Alldaymall A88s tablet popping up junk from PornClub. I have it rooted. Now what? On eBay I picked up one of those cheap Chinese 7" Quad-Core AllDayMall A88s tablets for $25, WiFi-only.

When it comes on all is fine unless you try to open the browser.  Then things start popping up that are quite unsavory.  So I did a factory reset but it seems all that junk is built in.

I sure hope the kid's version doesn't have this firmware.  There are some things you simply cannot un-see.  Perhaps the pink ones are different.

Going into settings, apps, I was able to identify and stop a lot of it.  But as soon as I opened the browser it went nuts showing more.

I got the unit to tell me to sideload a file via the menu that comes up when you hold down-volume and power.  Cool.  Following somebody's advice I installed the Android SDK to do it.  But then found out that all I needed was the ADB Platform Tools with adb.exe.  (Don't need the SDK at all it turns out)

So I plugged it into my Win7 machine which installed an Alcatel driver for it.  I could see it in device manager.

Typing

adb device -l

gave me a long number then the word sideload (instead of the name of the device)

Pushing on, I found out for positive certain that it needs Alldaymall-A88X-android 4.4.2-bsf.rar and thought I was on a roll.
All I had to do was download the file, unRAR it to get the ROM image, then refresh the ROM with the command it was asking for:

adb sideload Alldaymall-A888x-etc-etc

-- But no, the download link is to a dropbox account that says not found.

It can easily be set to receive a sideload.  Driver installed and working. Daemon program installed and working on the PC to handle the work.   Necessary file identified.  Seemed like a slam dunk.  But no.  Not available.  Dead End.  <sigh>  Lots of smoke but no fire.

Switching gears, I used the Windows version of one-click KingoRoot which said it succeeded.  Went to the play store to get Kingo SuperUser and a good file explorer so I can seek and destroy.

During the process of setting up for Play Store it wants to log in, so I let it connect to WiFi.  Big mistake.  I never even got to the part of credentials with Google.  Pop-ups on every screen and unresponsive touch panel.  OK, reboot.

I installed a mouse via an adapter into the USB port but it worked the same as the screen.  Just fine.  Until it didn't.

Rebooted; Shut off WiFi then with the stock file explorer I went into the DCIM directory and under Camera there were a bunch of porn photos and a video, which I successfully deleted.

I am not sure how to find the built-in junkware so I can remove it.

I made some headway but this has taken hours.  So now I turn to Android Stack Exchange to get some expert opinions.  You can see that I have done my homework before asking for help.

Last thing to do tonight is to uninstall the SDK.

The question is in the title:  Now what?

After rooting it and getting most of the software stopped it settled down a lot.

Google browser came up without incident.

A couple of coupons came on screen which closed when I clicked on the little x in the corner.

But then, as soon as I tried to get logged into Play Store it froze up and put a white low-res band across the bottom that said EXIT on the left, with a large low-res X on the right.  At first I just waited then tried again, but no mouse action would make it do anything.

When I hit the X on the bottom banner, it rebooted and restarted all the bloatware again...

After several rounds of this I tore it apart and removed the Lithium battery so I could just throw it in the trash.

Then, having learned about KingoRoot, I downloaded it into my good RCA Viking Pro, and rooted it successfully.

Downloaded the SuperUser browser which is nice, dual pane.

Then as I browsed around I wanted to see system text files so I downloaded QuickEdit for that.  It works well.

Then I downloaded the Qute SU Console and it would handle simple commands like pwd and ls and such.  It even included a bash editor which allowed simple scripts to work.  There was no sudo command so I couldn't change most of the system from read-only to writeable.  Maybe that is just the nature of ROM.

Manipulating things on the sd card is easy, of course.

Downloaded a VIM program which worked.

So this hasn't been a total waste.  It was a learning experience.

Meanwhile, the answer to "what now?" has turned out to be to use Google and learn all I can - and throw the darn thing away.  It is absolutely worthless.  I suppose I got $25 worth of learning out of the experience so it isn't a total  loss.  Chin up and all that.

Now I need to figure out how to dispose of the 2200ma Lithium battery.  I live out in the desert and am tempted to start a campfire and use it for fireworks, but perhaps the recycling center is better for the environment.

Thank you for the comments along the way.

Cheers!


How to retrieve file from broken samsung I have a broken Samsung Express GT-I8730 which keeps rebooting every 5 sec.
There is no sd card in the phone but I need the pictures that are on the phone.

In recovery mode, the phone is not seen by the computer.
I cannot copy the photos because it reboots to fast.

Is there any way to retrieve them without starting up the phone?

If you had Auto Backup turned on in Google Photos, you can retrieve them through your browser at https://plus.google.com/photos.


Android 2.3 Tablet: HDMI using both screens I've an android 2.3 tablet. When I connect it to the TV the tablet's screen turns off and I can only see in the TV screen. Is there any way to keep both screens on?

Thanks!

Most probably, there's no way. Your tablet screen and your TV screen use different resolutions and refresh rates, which is generally too much to handle simultaneously for the graphics chip in your tablet.


Text message time issue My text message app is behaving rather oddly:

When receiving a text message from a friend, and instantly replying, so that the time of receiving his or her text message is equal to the time of my reply, my reply is placed above the received text message.

ASCII example ;) :

From Theodor 16.23: Dinner sounds good, when do you want to eat?
From Anna 16.23: Do you want to have dinner tonight?

The phone is a HTC Wildfire S running Android 2.3.3

i believe this is a problem with most stock messaging apps (i have had this problem with several stock sms apps, as i re-ROM a lot ;) ), and i believe the app may be comparing times with the cutoff at minutes, and have a filter that says if they're at the same time (same minute) display the incoming before the outgoing. This is only my guess.

My solution every time has been to use a replacement SMS app (i've never had a third-party SMS app behave badly in this way), and they usually have more functionality anyways. If you would like to try some, i've used Handcent SMS for a long time, but recently switched to GoSMS and love it.


How to keep an app running? I have installed a talking clock app (named "Tell Me The Time") that say the current time every quarter hour. However I does not stay active and I have reopen it occasionally. At the same time, another similar app does not have this issue and remain active in the background. How to keep an app active (running) in the background (24/7)?

The issue is also more serious in using Torrent clients (they actually are useless in android).

It depends on how the app has been developed. Generally, android service needs to be running if you want the application to remain active in the background. But, if services are not used, then as soon as the activity disappears or destroys, behaviour is no longer observed.


Decrypt folder, that was encrypted using EncFS, on Android So this is my setup: I use Ubuntu (11.04, but this shouldn't matter) to encrypt my secret folder. I sync this folder using Ubuntu One (Dropbox would be possible too). Now I want to have it on my Android (not rooted) too.

But how do I decrypt it?

boxcryptor is in alpha stage now. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.boxcryptor.android


Can't sign into android Few days ago i updated my Samsung galaxy j5 into marshmallow version & now I'm unable to sign into google account, it gives an error
- "Sorry, there seems to be a problem. please try again"

I've tried hard reset, factory reset, other gmail accounts but i always get same error again & again. Please help me

Can you sign into the other Google Account?

If do, your google account is wrong
but If not, maybe I guess, your phone is crashed (such as /system) while android updating.
-> You should go to Samsung A/S center

If I have wrong thinking, Point out please


Opening sms thread goes into incorrect thread When using my mobile (HTC Desire), I would say I use sms more often than actually using it as a phone.

Because of this, I have a fairly huge history of sms threads (I really like how HTC Desire displays the sms conversation). However, I've realised that every so often when I hit on say sms thread with "person A" I actually get sms thread with "person B". At first I thought it was just me accidentally hitting the one below. However, today this happened three times (tried to open personA, but got personB instead) and the thing is there is a gap of ~8 between person A and personB... so impossible for me to accidentally hit the wrong one...(plus the repeated occurrence is quite annoying!)

Was wondering if anyone has a similar experience or know why this is happening... also preferably how to fix it :)

This is a known bug, and it's not entirely clear if it's the SMS application or Android's SMS implementation itself. You can see the ticket here, which was closed on Jan 29, 2011. The fix has been slow getting out to phones other than the Nexus line because carriers haven't released updates that include it.

One option in the meantime would be to try an alternative SMS app, such as Handcent or ChompSMS. However, though many people say that it does help, others have reported that the bug still persists on 3rd party apps.

There is also a reportedly related bug that causes outgoing messages to be sent to the wrong recipient. The "opening the wrong thread" bug was closed as a duplicate of the "wrong recipient" bug, as the fix for the latter apparently applied to the former (according to Google).


Is it possible to prevent numbers in text from being dialled If ever I enter a number into an app within Android (4.4.2, Sony Xperia M2), the system seems to interpret it as a phone number.  Therefore, if I try to edit that number, the system tries to dial it.

An earlier, unanswered,  question  suggested that this happens on Google Keep.  However, it also happens on the inbuilt Notes app, on Evernote and others, even numbers displayed on websites in the Chrome browser.  Therefore, it isn't the app, it must be the OS.

This feature means that keeping notes that contain a number is almost impossible. You can't edit a note without the thing trying to call the number.

I can't find a setting that turns off automatic hyperlinking of numbers.  Is there one?  Is there a service running that does it?  If so I'll uninstall the service.

At the moment this one feature is tempting me to scrap the phone and go back to an iPhone.

This has been traced to the keyboard.

Replacing the stock Sony Xperia Keyboard app with Swype has solved the issue.


How to flash phone, if it stucks in bootloop My phone gets stucked in a bootloop if I start it. The last thing I did was changing the fonts. I replaced droidsans by Segoe ui. Well I already deleted the cm10.zip on the phone and now can't flash it from CWM recovery. What shall i do now?

I read that this procedure here helped others. You should give it a try.

Following the advice from ZnewmaN I am "copy-pasting" the instructions here. The article refers to Galaxy Nexus w/ Android 4.0.2 but you can follow similar steps for other scenarios too.

Download the factory images to your PC.
Unzip the file and its contents into your SDK/Tools folder (wherever your adb.exe and fastboot.exe files are). *Make sure they are not in their own folder, but have all been extracted to Tools.
From within your Tools folder, open a command prompt (SHIFT + right click – “open command prompt here”):
Type the following commands, allowing each to finish before moving onto the next:

`

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-toro-primekk15.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio-toro-i515.ek02.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio-cdma radio-cdma-toro-i515.ek05.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot -w update image-mysid-icl53f.zip
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot oem lock

Reboot your phone by highlighting “Start” and pressing the lock switch.
It really is as simple as that. Your phone is now back to a 100% stock, unrooted and locked state.


Why such outlined fonts appearing randomly in my phone? See the OK Google thing in the screenshot?

This is caused by a accessibility option. To turn this off, go to: settings > accessibility > high contrast text


Locus Maps - adding additional zoom levels The Locus Maps app allows downloading maps and using them offline. When selecting a map region, the zoom levels have to be selected. I've downloaded a map at a specific zoom level (23) expecting that I will be able to use lower zoom levels as well (1-22).

However - I can now only go through the map at zoom level 23, which is awkward.

Is there any way to add additional zoom levels to those maps already downloaded, without having to download the entire thing again from scratch (it's big)?

Thank you!

After searching and searching - I don't think there's a way to do this. The only option is deleting the old map and downloading the map once again with multiple zoom levels selected.


Inputting katakana on Google Japanese Input How do we use Google Japanese Input 12-key keyboard to input Katakana as the keys are in Hiragana? For example, how do I input アinstead of あ？

Google Japanese Input only has 2 modes: kana/romaji.

There is no hiragana-only/katakana-only compared to other IMEs. However, in kana mode, the suggestion box provides hiragana (normal/small), katakana (normal/small and full/half), kanji, and recently used words as possible conversion.

Note: sometimes you need to scroll to the bottom for katakana conversion.

Screenshot resized. Click to view the full-size


Is there an app like Touchwiz Blocking Mode? I have a Galaxy Nexus and I want the features of Touchwiz Blocking Mode.

I have done lots of googling but can find only spam call and text blockers.

I want this functionality to block all communications while I sleep except from my fiancee. So basically flight mode but with an exception for one contact.

I think Ultimate Call Blocker Free might be what you are looking for.

You could also try some of these:

Call Control
Call Blocker


Auto-Tether when another phone nearby (in car) I have an android phone in car for Spotify purposes.
I'm trying to set up the system so the car phone tries to connect to my own phone once car power is on (phone starts charging) and start playing music:

My phone would notice that the spotify android is nearby (bluetooth) and automatically start up tethering for the spotify phone to connect to.

Music would start playing as soon as the spotify android notices it's charging and start downloading new songs once it's connected to my phone's wifi.

Does anyone know how to do this?

As I've never tried exactly that (and more specifically, never worked with Spotify), I cannot give you exact steps. But I can outline how this should be possible using tasker:

On your "Server" device:

Condition: State → BT Near (specify the BT MAC of the "Player" device)
Task: Launch App (whatever "server component" is needed)

On your "Player" device:

Condition: State → BT Near (specify the BT MAC of the "server device")
Task:

Launch App (the music player used to connect to the other device)
Either one of the "Media Control" actions, or "Play Music" should start playing

Of course, this assumes that – once the devices are paired, which should happen automatically once they are in reach of each other if they had been paired before – the app on the player-device automatically selects the "server device" as source to play from. As most players on a re-start resume where they stopped before, this should be the case unless you've used a "different source" in between – which might be avoidable using a specific app for this task.

On the other hand, my Collection of Tasker Resources a.o. lists the Media Utilities, dealing with Tasker as well as with Spotify, and thus might prove helpful in the process. And in fact, you can find a comparable process e.g. described here – explaining how to make Tasker launch Spotify when you plug in your headphones, then raise the volume and play the last played track.

Also see:

Is it possible to get Tasker to play the next song in Spotify
This is how I use Tasker in my car [VIDEO]
Tasker + Media Utilities + Spotify


Cannot install ffmpeg with Termux Why do I get a   404  Not Found [IP: 104.18.36.234 80] after attempting to install ffmpeg?

 # apt-install ffmpeg
    Reading package lists...
    Building dependency tree...
    Reading state information...
    The following additional packages will be installed:
      libbz2 libopus libx264 xvidcore
    The following NEW packages will be installed:
      ffmpeg libbz2 libopus libx264 xvidcore
    0 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 0 to remove and 2 not upgraded.
    Need to get 5595 kB/6094 kB of archives.
    After this operation, 19.3 MB of additional disk space will be used.
    Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Err:1 http://termux.net stable/main arm ffmpeg arm 3.1.3-1
      404  Not Found [IP: 104.18.36.234 80]

The ip can be reached with ping and with a browser (link)

It is written Direct IP access not allowed is displayed on the page but that is normal since only apt from Termux may be allowed.

Termux requires frequent update: apt update


Platform Certificate I am resigning apps on a system image in a manner similar to : Resigning System Image on a Device.

What I am trying to figure out is how Android verify these apks. In the standard android build the platform cert is selfsigned: platform.x509.pem.
I guess and hope this certificate is deployed as a file somewhere on the device.

For instance in my test system image framework-res.apk is signed with a selfsigned certificate with the serial number d20995a79c0daad6 but this certificate is no where to be found in /system/etc/security/cacerts.

My question is how is the platform certificate known to Android assuming it is not hardocded somewhere.

EDIT #1: I pasted the subject key id instead of the serial number.

EDIT #2: I searched the entire image for PEM encoded certificates, found some but still no platform cert. Searched for the DER encoding of the serial number too but without luck.

I was finally able to identify and ultimately change the platform certificate on an emulator and a test device by patching the following files:

  /data/system/packages.xml

Contains a hexdump of the DER encoded platform certificate
Contains the PEM encoded public key of the platform certificate

  /system/etc/security/mac_permission.xml

Contains a hexdump of the DER encoded platform certificate


What is the difference between generic and branded flashtoolfirmwarefiles (.ftf)? I want to root my phone a Sony Xperia Z1 C6903 and followed this guide to downgrade it to Android 4.4.4 KitKat 14.4.A.0.108 Firmware first.

Because the link to the provided firmware is dead I searched for an equivalent one and found this directory.

Now there are few more .ftf's for 14.4.A.0.108 firmware so which one should I select?

What is the difference between generic and branded firmware?

What are the differences between the different generic .ftf's and the different branded .ftf's?

1. What is a generic firmware?

A generic firmware is the firmware for an android device published by the devices manufacturer.

2. What is a branded firmware?

A branded firmware is a firmware customized by cell phone providers to advertise themself by showing their logo, installing apps or adding bookmarks to the browser. Updates for branded phones getting released later then for generic phones, because the provider has to customize the new updates first. This is the reason why it is always better to have a generic firmware.

3. What is the difference between generic and branded firmware?

The difference depents on the changes a cell phone provider accomplishes.

4. What are the differences between the different generic .ftf's and the different branded .ftf's?

The difference between several branded .ftf's of the same Build Number depending on the changes a cell phone provider accomplishes.

The difference between several generic .ftf's of the same Build Number depending on customization the user of this firmware accomplishes before uploading it on the internet. In most cases this recognizable by the keyword customized in the name of the .ftf.

5. Now there are few more .ftf's for a specific Build Number so which one should I select?

In most cases the differences are minimal so it is more or less arbitrary which one to choose BUT there are several helpful indicators to choose a .ftf which fits the most:

Always choose a generic .ftf.
Choose region and country nearest to the phones residence.
If the .ftf is from a forum check user posts for issues.


Backup tablet before repair My son received an asus tablet for his birthday last year and has now told me the screen does not work completely (some areas are dead to the touch). I have told him we will send it for repair but he is worried that when it comes back they will have reset it and he will have lost all his apps, videos, photos, programs etc. Can anyone tell me how I back it up so that when it comes back I can just put all the information back on so that it is exactly as it is now. Please can any answers be as easy to understand as possible

In terms of non app data, just plug it in to a computer, and move it over. Just go to your device in an file manager/explorer, and copy the pictures, DCIM, Download and Music folders to your pc. Then, if needs be, you can copy them back.

App data will be different. Assuming you have a Google account, just sign in to it again when you get it back(if it has been reset), and it will re-download the apps automatically. If they have cloud save (most games do) it will re-download his progress.


How to stream audio from PC to android device through USB? How to stream audio from PC to Android Device over Bluetooth

Is there a way to stream all audio from PC to Android via USB?

Can I stream video from PC to an android device over USB?

I have found these questions, but since they're asked a few years ago, is it possible for now?

I've seen some new feature in android 5.0 and above, like this.
https://source.android.com/devices/audio/usb.html#androidSupport

But I don't know how to use those features to stream audio from pc to android device via USB, please help me!

What you just read from the Android developer's guide is actually a specification for an Android device to send, not receive, audio using USB to an external device, such as a charging dock-cum-music player. This is a host mode USB connection. This does not allow your pc to send ( stream) audio to your device via USB. However, if your PC has Bluetooth, maybe you can register your phone as a Bluetooth audio player and stream audio to it that way.


Moving default folder Termux with content to downloads in Android 7 This is what I need;
Termux - How do I create a directory of files accessible outside of Termux?

I have my Tiddlywiki running on node.js in Termux. My problem is that Termux stores all files in the default folder. This way I can not let Dropbox backup. Can someone help me moving the default folder (with content) to, for example, Downloads? Or what is the best directory in my case? I spent years working on my Wiki and I'm afraid of making mistakes.

Android 7 (Nougat)

I installed my Tiddlywiki to this example: http://tiddlywiki.com/static/Installing%2520TiddlyWiki%2520on%2520Node.js.html

See https://wiki.termux.com/index.php?search=Storage for the newest information about using storage in Termux.  https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Termux-setup-storage is the prerequisite.  Use it first.  To share data see https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Sharing_Data for more information. Save your data to external storage in ~/storage/external which should be a link to Android/data/com.termux/files on your external SD card, and will be accessible from both Termux and Android.


Is there a way to post a photo on Facebook on Android without using the Facebook app? I've removed the Facebook app from my smartphone (Android) because it's a time suck, but I'd still like to be able to post photos of my food (because yes, I am that guy).

There used to be a way to email a photo to secretname@m.facebook.com and have it post, but it appears they've since removed that feature.

iOS can do it because it has Facebook integration built in, but I'm on Android.

I tried the Facebook Moments app, but it doesn't appear to post photos on your timeline.  I looked for other third party apps, but couldn't find anything.

Any other options I have?

You can create an IFTTT account and connect your Facebook account to it (ifttt.com).
Then you install the app from play store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ifttt.ifttt).
Here's the link to my applet for this same purpose: https://ifttt.com/applets/51211438d-upload-a-photo-from-url-to-user-s-photos
Or, you can create the applet yourself:

go to My Applets -> click on the '+' icon.
for '+this' search for and choose the 'Camera Widget'. In trigger, there is only one, 'any new photo'. Pick that
for '+that' search for and choose 'Facebook'. In 'select action', choose 'Upload a photo from URL'
On the next screen, you can modify how it is posted. Play around a bit with the message until it is to your liking. You can also set an album to store the photos.
Once you're done, tap on the checkmark in the top right corner and click 'Finish'.
you then go back to your home screen and add an IFTTT widget. Once you drop the widget on your home screen, you will be asked to choose the applet. Choose the one you just created.
Now, when you want to take a picture, tap on the new icon. It will open the camera and you can take the picture. It will be directly shared to your Facebook timeline.


Boot on charge for Huawei g70 Can somebody help me on how to make Huawei G730 to boot when connected to the charger? I've founs a tool to do this on Samsung that doesn't work on this phone.

Try this:

Install ADB and fastboot. If you already have the Android SDK, you can find these tools in dir_to_sdk/sdk/platform-tools/. If you don't have the SDK, here is a direct link to Minimal ADB and Fastboot (for Windows).
Install your device drivers if applicable.
Run the following code from your ADB/fastboot directory:

fastboot oem unlock
fastboot oem off-mode-charge 0
fastboot oem lock
fastboot reboot

Note: On certain devices, performing fastboot oem unlock may perform a factory reset.


How can I use web.whatsapp.com on an Android phone with a broken screen? My Android phone's screen died: no image, no touch, nada. How can I use http://web.whatsapp.com/ without being able to start WhatsApp and browse to the option Menu > Whatsapp Web so I can scan the QR Code on the web page?

This is obviously an interim solution until my new phone arrives.

Directly start WhatsApp with the correct activity intent via ADB:

adb shell "su -c 'am start com.whatsapp/.qrcode.QrCodeActivity'"

Then hold your camera in front of the QR Code @ http://web.whatsapp.com/.

Requirements:

a rooted Android phone (outside scope of this post)
working adb (like Minimal ADB + Fastboot or ADB for Chrome)
working SuperUser su binary

Found it with something along the lines of:

adb shell "su -c 'find /data -name *whatsapp*.dex | xargs strings | grep Qr'"


Replacing Ubuntu OS with Android OS Is there a straightforward step-by-step instruction to replace Ubuntu OS with Google OS on a BQ Aquaris M10 HD tablet.

I know nothing about computer code and nothing can be assumed. These instructions need to be precise. I.e. do I need another computer to perform this operation If so, what kind? If it can be done entirely on the tablet, then exactly how is this done?

Short answer: No

I don't know your tablet, but a straightforward instruction will not be available. Your tablet is also provided with Android, so there exist the working android port. Normally the producer of the tablet don't provide the needed files to re-flash the device.
Normally the image is build on a development computer and the image is flashed on the device. To replace your OS another computer will be needed (if you have the needed files)
Technically it's possible to create a USB memory stick that update your OS without interaction, but that's normally not provided by the producer of a "consumer tablet"

(sorry for my bad english, hope you understand my message)


stuck in bootloop, and flash recovery doesn't work on Nexus 5 Here's what happened:

One morning, my phone started rebooting once or twice on its own. I thought it was the power button, but then it got stuck at the boot animation logo. I've let it run like 3 hours, so I don't think it's some long update running.

When I reboot to recovery, it shows a dead droid with a red warning sign.

Only thing that still works is the fastboot. When I try to flash a new recovery (I tried twrp or cwm) with:

sudo ./fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

the command seems to run fine, but when I reboot to recovery, I'm still stuck with the dead droid with a red warning sign.

I would like to get my data back if possible (especially my files) so I didn't try flashing the whole stock rom. But if that's the only last thing to do, I'll give it a try.

So, What else can I do ? Why can't I even get the recovery working ?

TLDR; Nexus 5 bricked, bootloop, recovery HS, fastboot works; what do ?

My phone was stuck in a boot loop too for no apparent reason. I was driving to work and suddenly the phone started rebooting. 3.5 hours later it ran out of battery. I have no idea why, but this is how I got it back to life...

I use linux ubuntu so I was able to get the developer tools:

sudo apt-get install adb android-sdk
sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade

I also downloaded the latest image from google from:

https://dl.google.com/dl/android/aosp/hammerhead-m4b30z-factory-625c027b.zip

To recover the phone I performed the following operations from the bash shell:

1. Unlock the phone

fastboot oem unlock

me@ubuntu:~/Downloads/hammerhead-m4b30z$ fastboot oem unlock
< waiting for any device >
...
OKAY [ 47.200s]
finished. total time: 47.200s

This launches a prompt saying that it's waiting for devices. I then connect the dead phone using a regular USB cable.

The android device presents a menu saying asking if I'm sure I want to unlock the device and accept that the warranty might be void. As warranty on the Nexus 5 is void anyway, I can't see any harm in progressing.

2. Install the image file

Next I unzip the downloaded image file and cd into the folder:

me@ubuntu:~/Downloads/hammerhead-m4b30z$ ll
total 609328
drwxr-x--- 2 me me      4096 Dec  7  2016 ./
drwxr-xr-x 4 me me      4096 Oct 21 16:20 ../
-rw-r----- 1 me me   3199188 Dec  7  2016 bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img
-rw-r----- 1 me me       974 Dec  7  2016 flash-all.bat
-rwxr-x--x 1 me me       845 Dec  7  2016 flash-all.sh*
-rwxr-x--x 1 me me       798 Dec  7  2016 flash-base.s
-rw-r----- 1 me me 574089971 Dec  7  2016 image-hammerhead-m4b30z.zip
-rw-r----- 1 me me  46581248 Dec  7  2016 radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img

As the phone is unlocked, I can issue the flash command from here:

sh flash-all.sh

As the script executes I see the following messages:

me@ubuntu:~/Downloads/hammerhead-m4b30z$ sh flash-all.sh
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
sending 'bootloader' (3124 KB)...
OKAY [  0.291s]
writing 'bootloader'...
OKAY [  0.516s]
finished. total time: 0.807s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.062s]
finished. total time: 0.112s
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
sending 'radio' (45489 KB)...
OKAY [  1.547s]
writing 'radio'...
OKAY [  3.123s]
finished. total time: 4.670s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.050s
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.sig'
archive does not contain 'system.sig'
archive does not contain 'vendor.img'
wiping userdata...
Creating filesystem with parameters:
    Size: 13725835264
    Block size: 4096
    Blocks per group: 32768
    Inodes per group: 8144
    Inode size: 256
    Journal blocks: 32768
    Label:
    Blocks: 3351034
    Block groups: 103
    Reserved block group size: 823
Created filesystem with 11/838832 inodes and 93654/3351034 blocks
wiping cache...
Creating filesystem with parameters:
    Size: 734003200
    Block size: 4096
    Blocks per group: 32768
    Inodes per group: 7472
    Inode size: 256
    Journal blocks: 2800
    Label:
    Blocks: 179200
    Block groups: 6
    Reserved block group size: 47
Created filesystem with 11/44832 inodes and 5813/179200 blocks
--------------------------------------------
Bootloader Version...: HHZ20h
Baseband Version.....: M8974A-2.0.50.2.30
Serial Number........: 02c6bc76215fcd2d
--------------------------------------------
checking product...
OKAY [  0.100s]
checking version-bootloader...
OKAY [  0.100s]
checking version-baseband...
OKAY [  0.100s]
sending 'boot' (9156 KB)...
OKAY [  0.500s]
writing 'boot'...
OKAY [  0.781s]
sending 'recovery' (10014 KB)...
OKAY [  0.569s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  0.824s]
erasing 'system'...
OKAY [  1.297s]
sending 'system' (1020657 KB)...
OKAY [ 32.164s]
writing 'system'...
OKAY [ 69.195s]
erasing 'userdata'...
OKAY [  7.820s]
sending 'userdata' (137318 KB)...
OKAY [  4.511s]
writing 'userdata'...
OKAY [  9.175s]
erasing 'cache'...
OKAY [  0.628s]
sending 'cache' (13348 KB)...
OKAY [  0.630s]
writing 'cache'...
OKAY [  1.064s]
rebooting...

finished. total time: 130.023s

3. Welcome To Android instructions that you see on a new device.

Now it works.


changing x10 mini pro keyboard from querty to azerty CM7 pro's ROM I've just managed to install CM7 Ron on my Xperia x10 mini pro
but when I type with the physical/slide keyboard I can't seem to change it from querty to azerty
any ideas?

You may want to try 3rd-party keyboard apps that support transliteration of physical keyboards.

I've previously used AnySoftKeyboard, and with the appropriate language pack (e.g. French with has the AZERTY layout) it will transliterate physical keyboard as well.


Setting Flags in Android Chrome I have an Android 4.2 device with the latest Chrome-Browser.
in this Browser I can set some custom flags, by browsing the URL about:flags
If I screw it up, I can go to the app-settings, delete the Chrome-Data and everything is set to default. So far so good.

My question is:
Where exactly are those custom flags saved? I guess somewhere in the /data/data/com.android.chrome directory. But unfortunately I am not able to find it. Can you guys help?

This answer by Satyam Koyani tells us that the file that keep those flags is named Local State, though the answer isn't Android specific.

It turned out to be true. The location of the file is /data/data/com.android.chrome/app_chrome/Local State. It's a JSON file but the extension is missing so your text editor may run into issues with formatting when you open it. For those who can pull the file into PC, you may try Firefox addon JSONView. Make sure to rename the file to add .json as an extension before opening it.

(Click image to enlarge; hover to know details)


How can l get my old what's up in my phone I have my whatsup accont in my old phone.recently I purchesed a new phone.and I opened my account in new phone.aftet five days my new phone got a problem my phone completelyswitced off and not turnrd on when I went to service center they told me that your phone has mother board problem it will take to clear minimum 45 days.now how can I activate my account in my old phone.

Using "Restore" option you can get back your old data of whatsapp. But this will only work when you back up your data or save the directory "whatsapp" which is located in your sdcard. or if you attach your data to mail


iPhone/Android Nearby Filesharing Systems Across Platforms In the past, I have been excluded from group chats, denied entry into groups and overall discriminated against because I have an Android while almost everyone I know has an iPhone. I have been trying to find ways to integrate iPhone and Android functionalities, to bring the two platforms closer together. I had found the app "WeMessage" that would allow an Android user to use iMessage, but I haven't set it up yet. Next, I wondered if there was a way to send and receive using the iPhone's AirDrop functionality on an Android. My phone, a Huawei Mate SE, has a function called Huawei Share, but it only works with other Huawei phones. So does anyone know how AirDrop works or how one could use a nearby filesharing system across platforms?

Currently, it is not possible as AirDrop uses Bluetooth to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between the devices.
But here are some ways Android and iPhone/iOS users can share files with each other:

1.Use email
2. Use an app to share locally Like Zapya or Shareit
3. Use an app to share semi-locally
4. Use an online file-transfer service

Or you can jailbreak you i-device then use your Bluetooth connection to share data between i-devices and  others.


Mute notification sounds when on a call I use a bluetooth earpiece, and whenever I'm on a call, notification sounds play on top of the call audio. The person on the other end can't hear it, but it's very annoying as I usually can't hear them behind the sounds.

I've tried turning down audio completely, but that doesn't work. Any ideas?

This may help

Go to Setting:

  1.Sound

  2.Default Notification Sound (None)

.

  Choose the None option!


Phone stuck on loading screen and recovery mode doesn't work I have a Samsung Galaxy S1 with CyanogenMod, and I don't know what happened but when I turn on the phone it just stays on the loading screen, something like this:

It's just a black screen with that little loading icon in it (without animation) I tried running both recovery and downloading mode (Volume Up/Volume Down, Menu, Power) but nothing works.

There is another strange behaviour, sometimes it show me the "Downloading.... do not turn off target !!!" message. When it is in that screen, the PC does recognise the Samsung driver but I have no access to it, and Odin doesn't find the device.

Any advice please?

UPDATE :
After charging it for few hours (wall) the phone now isn't stuck in the loading screen, instead it goes directly to "Download Mode" (Downloading ... Do not turn off Target !!!).

When I plug it to the PC, it installs a driver then a message (windows driver)
"SAMSUNG USB Composite Device Ready to use".
The bad new is that Odin doesn't recognize the device :/

I have Samsung Kies installed (a long time ago for my Samsung Wave Y), I also made sure that it's not working on background though. I have also installed the Samsung USB driver manually. I really don't know what to do next.

strange behavior, sometimes it show me the "Downloading.... do not turn off target !!!" message

In fact, this strange behavior is the downloading mode. If it's true, then I would suggest trying to re-install the driver for the phone and seeing whether Odin recognizes it.


How to send a text message to someone who called me using Android 5.1 It seems to me like there should be a way to send a text message to someone who called without having to save that number in the contacts list, but I can't figure out how.
I'm using pure android 5.1.1 with default apps.

Updated Answer, for Android 6:

On the Phone app, go to the tab with the clock icon (the middle tab).
Tap the number that called you.
On the drop down menu that opened below, tap Send a message.

Original answer, for Android 5.1:

On the Phone app, go the RECENTS tab.
Tap the number that called you.
On the drop down menu that opened below, tap DETAILS.
Tap the three-dots-icon on the upper right of the action bar, and choose Edit number before call.
Tap the three-dots-icon to the right of the number, and choose Send SMS.


Can I use the file command on Android? The UNIX file command, which tells you what is inside a file, is seemingly not available either in Busybox or the system directory of Android.

Is there any way to run file on Android? (via Terminal Emulator, etc)

Preferably without having to be rooted...

You really won't find it because it doesn't exist on Android system not even from a third party Busybox installer. But I achieved to find a solution to compile it so that I can use it on my android terminal. Here's the link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1612760

Basically you just have to follow this,

Originally posted by samveen on XDA

After wandering around looking for an android build of the file command, I finally went ahead and compiled it myself.

The attached package contains the file binary (v5.11), the libmagic.so shared library, the associated magic files and the build specific files that I needed (over and above the source) to build it. The paths of the files are relative to '/'.

Refs:

source: file command website
compiling: Native Vim on Android

Note: Add the location of libmagic.so to LD_LIBRARY_PATH to get rid of the "CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE" error. (I use /data/local/lib)

Code

 $ echo $ LD_LIBRARY_PATH /data/local/lib:/data/local/lib:/data/local/lib:/system/lib:/vendor/lib
 $ file

 Usage: - file  [-bchikLlNnprsvz0] [--apple]
                    [--mime-encoding]
                    [--mime-type] [-e testname]
                    [-F separator] [-f namefile]
                    [-m magicfiles] file ...

  file -C [-m magicfiles]
  file [--help]

  $ getprop | grep device [ro.cm.device]: [jordan] [ro.product.device]: [umts_jordan]

Download here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1022807&d=1335294084


Can I flash my phone with another region firmware? I want to root my huawei phone but i've only found firmwares from another countries, would I have any problem if I flash my phone with any of these firmwares

If the firmware are made for your device you can flash it independently that it was made for a different country.

Take in mind that some countries have specific regulations regarding mobile devices, so some firmwares limit for example the wifi potence, the volume and/or the frequencies that the phone uses to work.


Space used in internal memory but nowhere to be found I own a Samsung Galaxy S5. I noticed that there is not much internal memory left (ES File Explorer reports 8.54 GB used out of 11.56 GB so about 3 GB left). Also, connecting my phone to my Windows 10 PC reports a consistent amount of free space.

3 GB Left according to ES File Explorer and Windows File Explorer

The strange thing is this: I can't seem to find where those 8 GB of files are! If I drill down by double clicking on my internal memory and select all the files and folders in it, the number of used bytes is completely different! Only 556 MB!

I have gone and make sure that my View Settings on Windows does not prevent me from seeing hidden and system files... so, where are the files that are taking all the space in the internal memory?

Anybody with any ideas willing to help would be appreciated!

I decided to keep looking for places that did not go reported by Windows (those reported by ES File explorer as "Other") and stumble upon a good candidate. In my case it was Google Maps.

Turns out I had a few "offline areas" downloaded on my phone from a recent trip and that was eating a full GB of internal space.

Deleting those maps fixed my problem.

I guess what I learn from this exercise is to always open "Setting" --> "Internal Storage" --> "Used Space" --> "Apps" to get to a screen called "Storage Used by Apps" that list the full set of applications on my phone and the amount of memory being used (from high to low). That should help me get started in pinpointing good app-candidates for "cleaning".


Does using brightness dimmer (screen filter) really save battery? We know that the lower the scree light/brightness, the lower the battery consumption.

There are some applications which provide ability (without root) to lower the brightness beyond the (default) limit.

So, I want to know does it really save battery? In other words, does it affect battery consumption comparatively to default minimum limit?

Btw, I'm also interested to know how does such application do this task if going beyond limit?

And is there any command-tool related to settings brightness level?

When you decrease the brightness of a light, it normally means less power is consumed. Therefore, having a lower screen brightness than your default would suggest battery use is reduced further than normal.

As far as I can guess, the screen brightness will just be a command in the android system that changes power flow through the screen LED's. The phone manufacturers likely just set their brightness slider's lowest value to whatever arbitrary value they expect a standard user would require. The app's that you are using just influences the same function, but drops the power lower.

e.g.
Samsung use a minimum screen brightness of 30% power, but your app will drop to 10%

I don't know the specifics of such tool.


Flashing up from 5.0 to 5.1 with CM12 nightlies? I have LG G3 VS985 which runs the nightly CM12 5.0 ROM. I want to upgrade from 5.0 to 5.1, but last time I tried just flashing the new zip certain apps I had on the phone were not compatible, such as Google Services, which caused my phone to soft brick every time I booted up.

Long story short, I'm sick of the bugs on the 5.0 nightly.

I'm wondering how to get the latest nightly without deleting all of my data and apps, if at all possible. I'm using TWRP.

I considered flashing a new GApps version specific to Android 5.1. Would that work?

So, I just went through this. I have the LG G3 D851. Not realizing that it went from CM12.0 to CM12.1. You WILL need to get the latest GAPPS. I did not, and ended up hosing my data causing me to have to wipe and start fresh.

I am now running CM12.1 with GApps for 5.1 and starting the process of logging back in to everything and recover all of my 2-factor authentication. Hopefully this helps you, so you do not have to go through the same.


Losing partition on sd card I have a 2GB sd card that I have partitioned with minitool partition wizard, Easus partition master and Gparted. Each time I create a 1.5GB fat16 partition set as primary and a 370MB ext2 partition set as primary. I do not have card reader capability so I do it through the phone connected by USB. I use windows 7 to verify that it sees the fat partition and can even copy files to it. I reboot my Samsung Admire (Metro) and it comes up saying the SD card is damaged. You may have to reformat. The phone reformats the card and its back to a single 1.86GB partition again.

I have done this about three times in the past and never had a problem. I got one of my old 2GB sd cards that was already partitioned and it showed the ext partition in Link2SD. Thought I was home free until I copied my backup files to the sd card and poof it was back to a single partition again.

I spent many hours and am out of ideas. Can anyone help?

I was trying to partition my sd card so that my rooted Samsung admire could access the Ext2 partition. I am using Link2SD to resolve my low internal memory issue.  I bought a card reader and used Minitool to delete all partitions and rebuild them per my first post.  For some reason it works using the card reader, but not using the phone connected by USB, even though I've done it 3 times that way with my family members phones (all Samsung Admire).

John thanks for your reply


SSHFS from Android to NAS I'm trying to get any folder on the internal storage of a HTC M7 to be mounted via sshfs to a folder on my NAS. The goal would be to have for example the /sdcard/My Documents/My Recordings folder setup like this so it has almost unlimited storage. I've installed EasySSHFS and connected via adb shell. In /data/data/ru.nsu.bobrofon.easysshfs/files are the ssh and sshfs binaries. I exported this folder to $PATH and started trying.

I tried mounting through the following symlinks:

/sdcard
/storage/emulated/0
/storage/emulated/legacy
/mnt/shell/emulated/0
/mnt/shell/emulated/legacy

always trying to get to the My Documents/My Recordings folder.
Depending on whether or not I used su some folder paths worked others don't.
But even if they where mounted the app (I tried with Smart Voice Recorder as it allows you to set the path of your recordings, HTC's builtin Voice Recorder doesn't) wouldn't place its files onto the NAS but instead into the folder. Using a different path I was able to see the files locally.
Without su though I can't sshfs because of a permission problem with /dev/fuse.
I think the problem must be with the way android mounts the sdcard (fuse) but I can't figure out what exactly it is. I also tried mounting something not on the sdcard and symlinking to it but that didn't work either. Im suspecting the fuse mount to prohibit that as well.

Any Ideas?

I had to disable "Mount namespace separation" in SuperSU to get this to work.


Samsung s5 mini - delock cable mouse / keyboard not working I am using a simple delock cable which I ordered on amazon:
Delock Kabel Micro USB Typ-B Stecker gewinkelt > USB 2.0-A Buchse OTG 11 cm

Question: When connecting Mouse/Keyboard through the cable to my Galaxy S5 Mini, it does not work. Am I missing something? or the cable is not working?

P.S: Every video on the web shows that you simply connect it via the cable and thats it.

OTG needs to be supported at the kernel level and you device does not appear to have that with stock kernel as you can see from cursory Google search.

Samsung S5 mini supports Gamepad through OTG? offers a way of flashing a custom kernel to override this limitation pointing to a XDA thread. You would need root to attempt this

Perhaps some videos which claim OTG support have this kernel flashed or custom ROM enabling this.


Spotify cache on 5109MB on internal SD, 4464MB on external SD Spotify takes up about 10GB data on my phone. Half of this is used on the internal SD card, which is becoming a problem. I've had this problem before, have removed Spotify entirely, after which it started to use the external card. Since a while it has apparantly changed its mind, and now prefers the internal storage.

I don't mind that Spotify uses the internal storage for settings or for temporary cache, if that is necessary. I don't mind if that takes up 1GB, but I don't want this. Now I have to download 10GB music, which is a waste of time. Plus I lose the local settings, which albums I want to have locally.

When I look at the app specs in the Android settings menu, I see it reports 9.42 GB on the external card, and 1.48MB on the internal one. That seems like a bug?!

Why does this happen and how can I force Spotify to use the external storage exclusively?

I ended up deleting Spotify completely. I reinstalled it, and now have downloaded 3GB of data.

I usually download several playlists and albums to avoid downloading them repeatedly. I don't know why I ended up with two caches on internal and external SD, and I don't even know if both of them were used or if this is a bug.

Now the internal cache is empty or very small, and external is 3GB. This is still less than either of the old caches, but that's because Spotify forgets which albums I downloaded before, and the current set is not exactly the same.


Searching in a specific folder of Google Drive on Android Since 2018 Google allows one to search within specific folders of Google drive.

e.g. The answer here:

In Google Drive, is there a way to search files located in a particular folder?

But can I do this on the Google Drive app on my Android Phone as well?

No, searching by folder is not currently allowed in the mobile versions of Google Drive. It's unclear if Google is planning on adding it to the mobile versions.


What is signified by the yellow triangle with a black exclamation mark on Samsung devices My friend has a Samsung Galaxy S9.
Every now and then it refuses to charge because of moisture being detected in the port.
However; upon completely discharging this once; it showed a ⚠ mark when the charger was inserted. Eventually the device started charging normally. What does this symbol mean?

Basically with that symbols mean is that the charger that is inserted into the phone is basically slow charging it so in order to fix this problem is to change charger connector


How to transfer Android contacts to iPhone? I want to move contacts from Android phone to my new iPhone. Do you know how to move Android contacts to iPhone?

You can use the Android application made by Apple : Move to iOS.

The applications will let you easily transfer your contact and a lot of other data (messages, photos, Google account, bookmark) from your Android phone to your iPhone.


Device Steadily Discharging While Plugged Into AC? Question: My device (Galaxy Note 2 running the stable CyanogenMod release) is charging extremely slowly and discharges while it's plugged into AC power.

What happened to cause this and what's happening now:
My device has been wonderful for over a year. Yesterday it ran down to about 10% and I borrowed a friend's charger. It charged up to 100% surprisingly quickly. I then let it drain down to about 3% before putting it on the charger. I came back to see the OS wasn't booted and it was in the charging screen (provided by the BIOS?). I then left it to charge for several hours and it only got about 10%. Then I was using it and it drained down to 0% while it was plugged in the entire time. The icon showed the charging animation and the Battery Status page (the one with the graph) said that it's charging on AC. Every couple minutes the battery loses another percent even while it's plugged in. While in the BIOS charging screen, I left it to charge for about 6 hours and it ended up with only 34% charge. It would normally be fully charged much earlier than this. Plugging it into my computer via USB seems to also make it discharge. I have tried two different chargers (but the same cable for both chargers and the computer).

I fixed the problem by switching cables.

The cable must have gotten a bad connection so the wires dedicated to power could carry less current. You might try bending the cable in a certain direction to get a better connection, but the real solution is to replace the cable.


Lock screen security - reboot after X invalid PINs I used following methodology to create a strong boot password on the phone, at the same time keeping a weaker PIN for screen unlock. Now I want to make sure that if someone tries to pick up a PIN, that the phone reboots, which would make it fallback to a more secure password prompt.

The default setting is to put a 30-second delay after 5 invalid attempts. I wonder if I can tweak these settings in any way to lower 5 to smaller number, and replace cooldown with a reboot.

If stock Android does not offer that experience, maybe there is a 3rd party application?

Stock ROM doesn't. Apart from building custom ROM or installing DPM, there are 3rd-party apps, SnooperStopper & Wrong PIN Shutdown.

SnooperStopper will power off device what option can not be changed. However, custom command can be issued in Wrong PIN Shutdown.


Re-run Pixel 4 Setup My girlfriend just purchased a Pixel 4 from Verizon. Apparently, the Verizon representative rushed through the initial setup flow, and my girlfriend didn't get a chance to configure her phone the way she wanted. Is it possible to re-run the onboarding flow?

If you are not familiar with ADB environment, then the most suitable solution for you is to Factory Reset your device. However, if you are familiar with ADB, then follow this:

adb shell su
pm enable com.google.android.setupwizard/com.google.android.setupwizard.SetupWizardActivity

adb shell settings put secure user_setup_complete 0

  Please note that the commands are case-sensitive and require
  permissions.


How do I share my wifi with my ipod or netbook If my home network is down or if I am traveling, how do I use my phone to access the internet. Basically how would I tether it to my other devices.

If you have Android 2.2, the functionality is built in so there usually is no need to install a separate app. Just go to: Settings > Wireless & networks > Tethering & portable hotspot.

However, depending on your phone, it is possible that your carrier has locked down this functionality. If this is the case, you can either root your phone and install a clean Android 2.2 such as Cyanogenmod, or you can call your carrier and pay their fee to enable it.


Is there any way that can EXTEND (not mirror) my phone screen to another phone? Half-Half Just want a bigger display for my phone. I need to know how I can EXTEND my phone's screen to another phone, by using bluetooth or wifi or RF or web? Few apps (idisplay, AirScreen, AirDuet screen, etc) exist for only mirroring/sharing the screen - but not extend it. Its like using two monitors for your pc side-by-side & you select 'Extend display' between two monitors and hence the display bisects into two monitors. Same principle for phones.

I haven't tried it (yet), but this might help, if you have the "dongle": http://www.displaylink.com/downloads/android.

There is also this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andromium.os. But again, I haven't tried it.

Martin


WiFi info popup broken and not showing all info on Lollipop So my popup window for WiFi info is broken on Nexus using android 5.0.1. That's not that bad, but i was also wondering why is it not showing other important WiFi information's, such as IP address? I need my IP often and its hard for me to go to terminal and type ip addr show each time i need it. Is that info removed or is my popup somehow broken?

Rather than clicking on the network name, click the three little dots on the top right corner of the screen, then select Advanced. The IP is listed at the bottom of the screen.


Force Show Menu button (Soft keys) I've updated to the latest nightly build of Pacman ROM, and then updated it through recovery (wiped: cache and Dalvik Cache) and the system boot up and everything works great but there are 2 exrea menu buttons (softkeys, on the left side of the screen, and on the right side) and actually they are a little bit dimmed. Is there amy solution to remove this extra menu soft keys?

Thanks in advance.

There is a setting for them in Interface > Navigation bar. You should read the instructions there and then proceed. It's similar to CyanogenMod.


How to silence all but one application? (no calls, messages, notifications and similar interruptions) When listening to meditation instructions (previously downloaded as *.mp3 files) I would like to be able to silence all applications, (that is, all audible notifications, messages and calls). How?

PS: Native solution(s) which are not reliant on 3rd-party apps are prefered.

If you don't want to use any 3rd-party apps, then you have to learn programming and make your own.

In my opinion, the best way to do this is using AutomateIt.
Its normal features include "Set volume" actions and if you register an account, then you could download one Pro codec, like the "Multiple(OR)" event that, could also be used when more than one app are opened.

All types of volume can be changed when a certain event happens.


How to list all the namespaces? Right now, to list all the settings of System namespace I can do:

platform-tools/adb shell settings list system

To list all the settings from Global namespace I can do

platform-tools/adb shell settings list global

But I want to explore all the settings from all the namespaces currently installed, and for that I need to list all the available namespaces, so how do I do I get this list?

There are only three namespaces available: system, secure and global.

The settings command prints this information if you execute it without parameter:

adb shell settings

usage:  settings [--user <USER_ID> | current] [--cm] get namespace key
        settings [--user <USER_ID> | current] [--cm] put namespace key value
        settings [--user <USER_ID> | current] [--cm] delete namespace key
        settings [--user <USER_ID> | current] [--cm] list namespace

'namespace' is one of {system, secure, global}, case-insensitive
If '--user <USER_ID> | current' is not given, the operations are performed on the system user.
If '--cm' is given, the operations are performed on the CMSettings provider.

  'namespace' is one of {system, secure, global}, case-insensitive

Alternatively if you don't belive the settings help page you can see it in the AOSP source code. The settings command is implemented in the Java class com.android.commands.settings.SettingsCmd where you can see that exactly those three namespaces are accepted.


How do I backup data (SMS/contacts) from a device with a broken screen? I just broke the screen of my (unrooted) Galaxy S.

How do I get back my SMS and contacts?

PS: I tried Kies but it won't detect my phone for some reason. (Kies works fine with another Galaxy I possess but not this one)

All of the solutions above require USB Debugging to be on. If it is not and you are using Android 4.0 then you can press power and volume down buttons simultaneously to obtain screenshot. If USB is not connected it will be placed somewhere on the SD card (e.g. \Pictures\Screenshots). Then you can connect USB to see the screenshot, then disconnect, navigate further and so on till you navigate yourself to enabling USB Debugging.

When USB Debugging enabled it is all easy as pie.

Provided you have SDK installed you can use ddms.bat from tools folder to get screenshots fast and convenient, adjusting any options you need and even installing apps.
Classic way - adb
I've found Moborobo to be very convenient way to make full backup

I understand this is very late and hardly helps OP, but I hope it helps someone else lurking here for the way to save data, like me.


Google Keep Mobile frequently freezes I use Google Keep a lot and I have many... many notes. Some of these notes were written with the mobile version of Google Keep. However, something that really inhibits my experience with it is the fact that around every ten seconds, the app will just "freeze" and not react for three seconds. I can type all I want, but the text won't appear until it unfreezes and it will ignore backspaces for some reason. Also, sometimes when I edit an already existing note and I leave the app too early, it will just remove all the additional text I typed into the existing note, which I assume is also an effect of this constant freezing.

My only theory is that the folks at Google, for some reason, decided to have ALL notes load at the same time and that's what's slowing down the whole app. The microscopic scrollbar on the right side seems to be evidence of this. I don't know why they would do this instead of the lazy load approach the regular Google Keep website uses, but it really starts to p*ss me off. Is there a way to make this constant freezing stop?

You could try deleting your notes. :D

If you don't want to delete them, you can archive them.  You probably don't need all those notes all the time.  Archiving removes it from the home screen, but you can view it when you need to by going to archives.


Re: Internal storage space I had a LOT (100+) apps installed on an LG Stylo 3+.  Never had any problems as far as storage space (no error messages about space running out, low memory, anything like that.)  Recently I upgraded to an LG Stylo 5.  In the course of setting that one up, I installed EXACTLY the same apps, EXACTLY the same # of apps, as I had had on the 3+.  The next thing I know, the 5 is refusing to download  email and popping up messages about "not enough storage space". Both phones are supposed to have the same amount of internal storage space, so why is what worked on the 3+ too much for the 5?

As Izzy has already surmised, via comment, the new device likely comes with a lot more space taken by the pre-installed apps and system data. That is what I believe is the problem. If you want to save space by stopping the default apps from updating, you can try to disable them in the apps portion of your android configuration menu, or, if that doesn't work, then this guide explains how to force disable apps using adb from a computer, though to get rid of the pre-installed versions' files, you need root.
https://www.xda-developers.com/disable-system-app-bloatware-android/


Tethering Not working if I enable Tethering (wifi/usb):

my phone and the pc can share files on the local net ( phone - pc )
but the Internet connection is not shared at all

How can I debug/fix this issue ?

After enabling Tethering follow the steps below:

On the Android phone, press Home, press Menu, and touch Settings to open the  Settings application.
Touch Wireless & networks > Tethering & portable hotspot.
Check USB tethering.


Can i use my android device as a windows touch pad? i want to use my android device as a touch pad for windows like ipad and other tablet device do for designing what should i do for this problem

There are plenty of ways to do this. Here is what I recommend:

Remote Mouse: It's an Android App/Windows Program that serves that exact purpose, and has a clean UI.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hungrybolo.remotemouseandroid&hl=en

You can also use a remote desktop app like Splashtop or Chrome Remote Desktop, these will let you actually display your computer screen on your Android device no matter where you are.


Install/Run Android Skype on ARM LInux? I have a Chromebook with an ARM processor.
I have installed Ubuntu on that Chromebook.

However, since there is no Skype-binary for ARM Linux, is it possible to use the version of Skype of the android APK, and run that on my ARM Linux ?

Is there some kind of Dalvik enviroment or converter for ARM Ubuntu ?
What would be the minimal emulation environment, if I wanted to emulate android ?

One way to install Linux apps on Ubuntu is through Anbox. It's very resource efficient, using your Ubuntu kernel to run Android apps without emulating the Android kernel or running Android in a VM. However, it's still in alpha, so getting it set up takes a while and apps might crash or not work at all.

Also, you'll need to find the APK somewhere (e.g. APKMirror), as the Play store isn't included.


How can I know which file system is used for my internal storage? I want to know whether my internal storage is formatted as exFAT, FAT32, ext4, etc.

How can I tell?

I run rooted Android 5.0, if it matters.

For this you need either access via adb (adb shell) or a terminal app. At the prompt, execute

mount | grep "/data"

The output will have something like

/emmc@usrdata /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0

The third column tells you the file system used (in the example above: ext4).

Of course there are also several 3rd party apps offering you such insight :)


Is it possible to control the charging voltage? As far as I know the regulation of battery charging is done inside the phone. The typical method of charging lithium cells is constant current charging followed by constant voltage charging where you shouldn't let your battery voltage go over 4.2V.

However it seems my charger keeps pushing the maximum possible current and increasing the voltage far beyond 4.2V. At 100% the voltage gauge is at 4.4V and if I remove the charger it's going down to 4.25V, which is again above the safe levels.

So it seems my charger is killing my battery. Is it possible to somehow tell the system to stop increasing the voltage above 4.2V or preferably 4V?

The battery voltage is controlled at a hardware level, not natively controllable via any Android APIs. Depending on your device & firmware, there may be apps that can control the manufacturer specific features, but that's very unlikely.

Try looking into Voltage Control on the Play Store, it can under-clock the CPU, maybe even the voltage - Voltage Control

  Voltage Control Extreme (developer name sulph8), features include:
  - Support more than one profile
  - CPU history display
  - overvolting support (+50mV and 1500mV limit)
  - undervolting up to -250mV (lite version limited to -200mV)


Automatic video on boot I want a video file to be open automatically on my LG tablet when it boots. Is there any app or setting in Android?

There is a video presentation that I am sending to my clients and all I want is that when client turn on the tablet, my video presentation starts playing automatically.

Could probably be realized using Tasker:

Condition: Boot completed (or Monitor Start)
Task: Start App

Not sure if you can specify a video file directly here. But there might at least be some video player supporting to automatically start playing the latest playlist, which should make up for it.

You can find a free 7-day-trial of tasker on their homepage -- or try alternative automation apps such as e.g. Llama - Location Profiles. Another possibility is to create the profile with Tasker, and then export it using the Tasker App Factory; this way you'ld get a "free version app" of your profile to distribute on the tablets.


Is App Data got reset or does it have a limit? Applications are the most important utility in Android. Classified into two types, system apps and user apps. System apps are the one that is preinstalled,and removing some system apps cause device instability. User apps are those installed from playstore or other sources. Everybody uses application along with internet or WiFi. And on usage, application consumes them and creates application data and cache.  My question is that, whether there is any reset point or limit for creating app data. For example, I am currently using WhatsApp continuosly, and presently app data reached 350MB. Will it have any auto reset by itself at say 1GB. What will happen if app data reaches a greater value?

No. That would be awful. App data is your data, the data you create using the app. Deleting it when it reaches a certain size would be like Windows deleting all your documents if you have more than 100. You can choose to clear an app's data through the Settings at any time, but this will delete everything you created through the app (except if the app syncs your things to the cloud, such as Tumblr or Google Docs). Usually, it's better to manage an app's storage through the app itself, which should offer more control over what you delete.

"Cache" is just that: a cache, or temporary copy, of data that's safely stored elsewhere. It's up to the individual app to correctly classify things as "data" or "cache", but you can expect that clearing an app's cache doesn't actually lose any data: it just means some things that were stored in the cache might need to be downloaded again.

The only limit for how much data an app can have is how much storage your phone has. If you use it all up, you won't be able to install or update apps, or store more data.


How can I install Firefox on an Android with no service or Google account? This is for a very narrow use case with a phone that is used as a mobile GUI environment only. The phone has no service and is not associated with a Google account, so it can't access Google Play. Is there another way to install Firefox?

You can grab the latest .apk on a PC from Mozilla's FTP server and sideload it, as noted on Mozilla's wiki.

If you're unsure of how to sideload an app, you can find a variety of methods in How can I install an app given only its APK file? (some require internet connectivity, many do not).


Audible difference in bluetooth A2DP sound quality - how change A2DP settings? After moving from Symbian to Android, I noticed an audible* drop in audio quality when listening to music via bluetooth (A2DP). I woudn't say the quality is poor, but bad enough for me to investigate the issue. While it probably is audible all the time in some way, it's not easy to pinpoint - I can only notice the difference in some music passages. Unfortunately it's usually most audible in the passages with most impact, where it also bothers the most.

As audio quality issues are notoriously subjective, I did wonder whether I'm just imagining the effect or not. Turns out, I'm not - I haven't done any blind testing or anything, but comparing the same file A2DP streamed from my computer to the one streamed from Android (and for control doing the same comparison with wire-plugged headphones) it's easy to spot the difference.

Doing a bit of research into the issue, it seems A2DP can be used to stream audio into bluetooth receiver with multiple different codecs and setting. As far as I've understood the discussions related to this, it looks like this could be either caused because Android is using SBC codec instead of MP3 or because it fails to use high enough bitpool setting. There seem to be multiple reports of this problem around the net.

So my question is: How do I fix the sound quality?

Is it possible to change A2DP settings to get bluetooth audio quality matching that of Symbian and my laptop?

My Android device is GT-S5570 running 2.2.1.

* - I don't consider myself an audiophile, and I don't spend money of pro audio gear. This isn't something that's hearable only in perfect conditions at a sound analysis studio - I hear it using the cheapest stereo bluetooth headset I could find (BH-505 at 50€).

Looking into this problem further, I also found a google code issue about it. The discussion there points out that the problem seems caused by the bitpool issue, and is fixed in CyanogenMod (at least the latest versions). Also, even stock 2.3 is reported to improve the situation slightly.

So switching to CyanogenMod seems to be one (and only?) way of resolving the issue.


Is there any way to sync a subset of my Google Contacts to my Android? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I sync only “My Contacts” from Google on Samsung Galaxy S?

My phone started responding really slow during sync and I suspect it has something to do with an ever-growing list of Google Contacts (nearly 2K). Is there a way to sync just some contacts? (by group or any other way)
Alternatively, do you suggest I suspect anything other than my contacts' sync to do with slowing the device.

Device is HTC Legend Android 2.1

Thanks for the help!

I had the same problem often before. I never found a way.

It is possible to only SHOW a part of your contacts, but inevitably they will all get synced.

This is especially frustrating since Google automatically creates a new contact for every person on Google+ you follow and it doesn't delete it when you unfollow that person. So I got stuck with ~7k unused contacts. I have a ROMed HTC Desire and the Contacts app was taking too much memory, so I had to delete all these unused contacts myself.

But as far as I know, this option is not available, you could suggest it as a feature to Google like I did. If you ever find out how to do it, update this question please :)


Calendar app from google not available I just upgrade my Samsung Galaxy s2 and was expecting to use the new Calendar app from Google itself. Here is a screenshot

http://cdn.pocket-lint.com/images/4zGC/google-android-ice-cream-sandwich-review-14.jpg?20111121-150627

It seems not to be included in the upgrade and strangely enough not downloadable from the play store.

I searched the net but it seems everyone can use it cause I see no similar reports. Is it available on your ICS android phone?

Thanks, Tom

That calendar app is the default included in AOSP. Carrier and manufacturer customizations frequently replace the AOSP variants in favor of modified versions.
This is what's happened with the Galaxy SII updates. Instead of vanilla android you received Touchwiz.

If you'd like it on your phone, you can install it from the Play Store or flash a custom rom like Cyanogemod or AOKP.


How can i make samsung S5 to be shown as a drive when i connect it to my PC? when i connect the phone via USB it shows as Portable device; but i want it to be as a drive so i can review my files on the labtop.
note: i have S3 and S5 with the same issue.

Click on the USB sign on the notification bar.
Then in the new page, check the "Media Device(MTP)" and wait for few seconds to see the drive show up in your computer/mac.


Will constantly having Bluetooth on drain my battery too fast? I'm thinking about making an app which will require Bluetooth to be available at all times.  However, if this reduces battery charge life significantly, then that's kind of a show stopper.  Can anyone give me a general idea about how much drain constant Bluetooth use will put on the battery?

What drains... my special. Here some data samples, based on a Motorola Droid:

+--------------------+----------+
| Mode               | Energy   |
+--------------------+----------+
| Bluetooth receive  | 751 mW   |
| Bluetooth send     | 487 mW   |
| Bluetooth standby  |   2,8 mW |
+--------------------+----------+

So if you use BT quite regularly (e.g. to be able to immediately pick up a call with your headset), having it in standby doesn't hurt that much (Compare: 2G StandBy 11,6 mW, 3G StandBy 18,3 mW, Wifi StandBy 7,8 mW -- and, often mistaken: GPS StandBy 0,4 mW).

But if, on the other hand, you use BT once a week (or even less) -- heck, you can manually enable it then, there are enough "toggle switches" and widgets available.


Samsung Galaxy Note 1 /sdcard/ folder tree Hi I am searching for the factory folder tree for Samsung Galaxy Note 1.
I want the folder tree, so I can perform adb shell commands to access these directories. In a quest of recovering data.

e.g. cd /sdcard/music/

QtADB hangs. On ADB cmd prompt, there's nothing happening after following command.

Android commander needs root access too..

There are several ADB GUIs available which might help you out. All of them have in common that you can browse the Android device's directory tree using a graphical frontend, and also execute "stuff" from a command-line interface ("console"). They might offer additional features as well:

Android Commander

root optional (and only needed for Applications Manager and flashing options), Windows only. Offers an ADB shell (console) and a graphical file manager.
ADB Browser

a GUI based file and application browser, Windows & Linux
QtADB

seems to require root & Busybox. Multi-platform, multi-purpose GUI, including shell (console), file browser, app manager, system info, and much more.


How to find unused applications I want to uninstall unused applications.

BTW : I don't have goople playstore installed nor use a google account, I use yalp or aurora stores to install applications.

How can I find the unused applications that are installed on my smartphone ?

Android since 5.0/6.0 contains an integrated app usage statistics system. It tracks which app is used when and how long.

The data collected by this system can be accessed by every app with the correct permissions - therefore you can find a lot of apps that are able to display the app usage of your device.

Based on this information you can easily find out which app(s) you have not used for a certain period of time.


Ran :(){ :|: & };: on my android device! So I was seeing dangerous command  in linux and I found a command which seemed funny:

:(){ :|: & };:

So I ran it on my Samsung Galaxy A7 term non-rooted phone and guess what it hung immediately. So I tried powering off my phone by holding the power button. But it did not respond and the screen turned off after a minute then I tried clicking the home button and all the buttons to wake it up but no response finally it powered off and rebooted and now it works perfectly fine. Should I worry about heat damage or hardware damage. If so how can I confirm that I have a damaged hardware. Developer mode in on too!

PS. I have my phone powered off fro safety because I don't want it to catch fire. XD

Modern Android Kernels are smart enough to shut down the entire system before any hardware damage occurs. Even when you're testing the limits of your CPU when overclocking, it will shut down as soon as incompatible frequency/voltage combination is set. So you're far from any real hardware damage cause by the infinite loop command.


Using an Android phone as a cordless headset I know there are some cordless phones which allow adding Android phones as additional headsets (e.g. http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/KX-PRW130W or http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/model/KX-PRX120W). These devices include both a headset and a base receiver. I already have an Android phones, so I only need to a device to transmit calls to my cell phone via WiFi (the base). Is there such device available?

In the links you provided in your question, are the devices that are required.  They have that feature built into the hardware.


Find a malicious app I have a Google Nexus 5.

Recently i had a problem about WI-FI, it just could not be turned on. I've found many suggestions how to fix that. None of them but turning on in safe mode solved the problem.

As i know, safe mode disables third party apps, which potentially can cause a problem.

I wonder how can i detect exactly which app caused wifi problem ?

What i think now is brute force approach, that is, to delete all the apps one by one and see what happens.

Do a brute force approach, but not by uninstalling apps one by one. Do it  in the  permission control. First go to settings, then go to permission control, then go to wifi and then uncheck app one by one . This may be woks