Does nexus 5 support chromecast 2? I bought Nexus 5 from India 3 years back.
Now I have chromecast 2 from France.
But when i tries to connect, my nexus says no compatible devices found nearby.

I tries connecting with Google Home application. Though that also i am not able to connect. It says check you T for a code but there is not code displayed on my TV (I checked my TV and I was on the right HDMI port)

Can anyone help guide me. What to do?

It seems like your chromecast is not setup properly.

Make sure you connect the chromecast through HDMI and also power it using the usb port at the same time. If you see the chromecast installation screen on your TV, then you can use Google Home to install it.

Also, the USB port on your tv is likely not to supply any power.


How to verify if Android is fragmenting large IP packets? We are running some tests in which the Android phone should fragment large IP packets before sending over wifi directly to a server. For some reason, the server is receiving the entire packet as can been seen on wire shark. We suspect Android is not fragmenting large IP packets. We set the MTU using an app. Is there any other way of setting the MTU? How to verify if Android is fragmenting large IP packets?

Setup a wireless sniffer in monitor mode. With monitor mode you can see all of the wireless traffic sent over a channel, including any management packets like beacons and control traffic like acknowledgments. At this level, you can see everything that is transmitted over the air on a channel and successfully received at your sniffer.


Does the Kindle Fire original have a camera? It may be too late to ask for such a thing... I checked my Kindle Fire 1st generation model and found a camera on the top left of the device. At least, it just looks like the camera on any phone or camera enabled device.

The listing of features on original Kindle Fire shows that there is no camera. Is this something any others have experienced?

Or is it something different from a camera?

I have not tried to download any app to use camera on the device. Any interesting info would be helpful.

Are you sure that this is camera? It is more likely a light/proximity sensor...


How to Sort shortcuts in a folder? I have made many folders on home screen on froyo containing shortcuts of applications.

Is there any way  I can sort those shortcuts by names?

Like all things in android, there are apps to do what the os was not equipped with. In my case I use a handy little app called simi folder widget. It allows alphabetical sorting of apps along with many other options.


Will Droid Bionic with Extended Battery Fit Inside the Otterbox Defender Case? I have a Droid Bionic and I keep it in an Otterbox Defender case.  I would like to get the extended battery but am concerned that my Bionic might no longer fit within my Otterbox.  Has anyone tried this?

No.

My friend got an extended battery so I tried my case with his phone -- the extended battery is really large, so it won't work.  Which is a shame, because the Otterbox Defender case is so large that a hypothetical extended battery Otterbox Defender wouldn't be significantly bulkier than the current Otterbox Defender (regular battery).

If Otterbox made a Defender case specifically for the Bionic with the extended battery, I would buy both that case and an extended battery.  I guess that the market for that specific case is just too small.


Constant decrease in android's internal storage free space I am having a hard time with my phone. My device, which is a simple LG Magna has had a constant decrease in FREE space. That means that something is constantly taking up more and more place in my internal memory. Of course, I did try to clear cache, clear all the useless videos, useless apps, I removed the Facebook app because I know it uses a lot of space, but the used space in the internal memory keeps on increasing. My 8Gb internal memory is already used up by 7.97Gb. And I deleted so much already on my phone.. Okay! I thought about the possibility of having a virus in my android.

So, I did factory reset my SD card and Internal memory. This means, starting every from back to square one. I managed to not download anything from the internet, use only the useful apps from the store like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, my usual music player which is BlackPlayer(Great app btw, try it, it's simply the best). Now, 2 weeks after the factory reset, I am surprised and also very annoyed to see that the device's internal memory is increasing again. Today, it is back to 7.97Gb.

I have only photos and merely some music on my phone.

Basically, I have absolutely NO free space on my phone and I can't never delete enough to free space.
Can someone please help me resolve this problem? I would be forever grateful!
Thanks in advance.

Seeing the reference to WhatsApp... I installed All-in-One Toolbox today for another problem (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=imoblife.toolbox.full&hl=en). I happened to notice it has a cleaner just for WhatsApp.


Problem with new Marshmallow 6.1 on Samsung J5 the Facebook Messenger app & Whatsapp audio & video calling is not unavailable, it wants the access for camera & microphone, when the settings come I do it but it doesn't work, what to do?

After clicking audio or video call on messenger screen

Try to delete and reinstall the application, id don't work try to reset the phone


Is there a solution to get the stock ICS Dialer and People apps with Touchwiz devices? I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Note with the stock Touchwiz UI ROM. I was wondering if there's a standalone ICS Dialer and People app available? I've managed to find a standalone messaging and calendar app which works just fine but have been unable to find the People app.

Apparently not. I checked with some people on XDA. I just rooted and upgraded to CM10.


Create Calendar events via Tasker that starts when entering a location and ends when leaving it I want to use tasker to log how much time I spent at a location.
I would like tasker to create a calender entry when I enter a location and have the end of the calender event be when I leave the location.

Is this possible?

Direct answer: Yes.

What you didn't ask: How :)

Have a location-based profile which fires when you reach the location in question. In the entry-task, create the first calendar entry ("Entered [location]"). Then, add an exit-task – in which you create the second calendar entry ("Left [location]").

You might have to add some checks to compensate for "drops" (e.g. entering the basement of a building might drop you to de-facto "airplane mode" with no cell network, no WiFi network, and no GPS coverage – which might "accidentally drop you out of the location"). So the exit task should contain something like setting a variable with the "current time", then a loop for e.g. 10 times having a Tasker › Wait › 10 seconds and location re-check, and then only log the "exit" when you really "left the building".

If you wish a single calendar item with the start time set to the locations entry, and the end time to when you exit it, a little modification is required:

in the entry-task, set a variable holding the current (entry) time
in the exit task, when submitting the calendar item, use the variable's content for the start, and the second variable's content for the end time of the event.


Drivers for 2.3.3 device to work as MTP I have a samsung Galaxy y device running 2.3.3 , where can i find the drivers of this device , to connect as MTP.

checked in the website of device manufacturers.
tried installing drivers from device manager also

For those of us who are frustrated in trying to alter the file system to MTP and cannot find how to change it. Do not despair.

If you've opened Samsung Keis and connected phone with a USB cable and got the error message, go to your phone and swipe top to bottom on the NOTIFICATIONS list you will see the USB symbol on the left hand side and the line stating - Connected as Camera. If it says - Connected Media Device - then your connected properly. To Change from Connected as Camera, tap/select the line - Connected as Camera and you will be shown another screen with the Camera option selected - Just select Media Device MTP and you will be able to connect to Samsung Keis, and all will be calm and peacful, no more screaming at the PC or mobile phone.


Restore data to android I Backed up my data on Google, as instructed by a Samsung representative, then reset my, as instructed by same. He never told me how to recover the data. After being disconnected, during reset, he never got back in contact with me. I did all the recaver methods that are listed here. I also contacted Google, a week ago, no reply

Usually with the backup it will save things like your contacts, messages, photos remotely. It can save apps data also like settings and files but not all apps utilise this and you could potentially be left not backup up.

These are usually synced from the settings / accounts / google and each one can be toggled.

What data exactly was it that you got instructed to backup ?


What the difference between miracast and DLNA? can anyone tell me the difference between DLNA and Miracast, especially the technologies underneath?

Thanks!

okay since no one is willing to answer this question, I figured something out myself.

Here's the key points:

DLNA:

TCP level, HTTP+SOAP interface based on UPnP technology
pull & push media contents
remote control play/pause/seek

Miracast:

transport layer protocol
AP makes two device handshake, then two device communicate directly via wireless
not only stream video/audio contents, but also mirro device screens from one to another.


How can I remove the battery from my Samsung P1000? My P1000 tablet needs rebooting but will not respond to any input commands.
If I remove the battery I believe this will force the tablet to reboot.

How do I get to the battery?

Like it was pointed out, the Galaxy Tab wasn't designed in a way for it's battery to be easily removed. Here's a video on removing the case and exploring what's inside. Hope this helps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urGUKerJOhg


Compose key on external blutooth-connected keyboard I have a Reudo RBK-3000BT VER 1.0 keyboard connected by Bluetooth to an Android 4.2.2 phone.

Can I use a compose key feature with such a keyboard?
For instance I would type CAPSLOCK+^+o and it would input ô.

I know how to install such a compose key on Ubuntu, but no idea for Android.

I would be much more efficient than copy-pasting from Charmap every time.

The nearest I could find to a solution for this question was found at another Stack Exchange question.  According to the "Keyboard layout" subsection of the User's Guide for Hacker's Keyboard there is a compose key available in their keyboard app.  The thing that I'm not yet able to determine is whether that functionality can then be mapped to a key on an external keyboard.

Unless some other user beats me to a better answer, I will do further research and try to update this answer with any new information I should happen to discover.


How to enable LED notifications on Pie On Android Oreo there was a special location in settings that you had to go to in order to allow an app the turned on the LED to actually be able to control it.  Now with Android Pie that setting is either gone or I am not correctly remembering where it was, because I can't find it.

How do I enable an app to use the LED in Pie?

There is a settings option called "Custom Restrictions".  I had to search the settings (from the search bar) to find this, but it didn't indicate where it was in the menu structure.  Under "While the screen is off" de-select the option that says to not blink.  If you do not see this option (as I did not) then you do not have a notification LED on your phone (shocker, I know!) and that is the reason you can't get the LED notification working.


Where is the layout file for the Sony Xperia launcher? Due to unrelated reasons my homescreen may reset sometimes. I do not seek help with that, and in fact I am already sure it cannot be fixed right now. However it is annoying to put everything back all the time.

So here's my idea: to work around this, I need to make a backup of the layout file whenever I change it, and when it resets, restore the backup. This way, I won't have to put everything back myself, just restore the file, restart the launcher, and everything is back to normal.

However, I cannot find this file. Where is it?

You will need root permission to do this.

The files for the stock launcher are in /data/data/com.sonyericsson.home/databases. You need to back up the database AND the journal. If it ever resets, just restore the files. After that, you need to restart the launcher for the backup to take effect. You can do this by temporarily switching launchers and then going back. You could also do this by using a task killer (note - there is no need to have a task killer, refer here)

Note that the location for the layout file is almost always in /data/data/<app package>/database. <app package> usually looks like com.company.launcher.


Google Play Services alternative I have a phone without google apps installed. I want to use some apps which are requiring Google Play Services (eg. gett and uber).

Is it possible to install some alternative (or mock that functionality) and became able to run that applications without installing Google Play Services?

And if it isn't possible what is a minimum configuration which allow me to run such apps?

You might wish to take a look at the µg (microG) project. It's currently between its alpha and beta state, but I'm using its predecessor (NOGAPPS) for quite a while and must say it works pretty well. And despite its early state, reports in the linked XDA thread sound real good: GCM seems to be working, and even the Playstore app accepts the backend.

The minimum configuration is described there: µG GoogleCore and the proxy should do – together with the Fakestore (a playstore stub with no functionality but letting apps believe it's there) for an absolute minimum should do. If you can live without the Drive, Fitness, and Games API, and without G+, it's the way to go. Currently the dev is working to add Wear support, and get the other stuff out of its "baby shoes".

Necessary .apk files can be downloaded from the first post of the linked thread.


Switch Live Wallpapers Automatically without Root I am wondering whether there is any way to switch between like wallpapers on my Pixel 2 without rooting it as it is a Verizon phone with a locked bootloader. I have 2 live wallpapers I like and would like for then to automatically switch... I've tried using Tasker and Automate, but both require root. If there is any way please let me know. Thank you!

You can try smart wallpaper from playstore
I've tried on static wallpaper
But it's worth a try on live wallpaper


Is Android associated with a specific set of control keys? Windows systems typically have three control keys: Control, Alt, and the Windows key. Mac systems have Command ⌘, Option/Alt, and Control. There is historical precedent for a system having even more control keys.

Does Android expect, or is it designed for, a specific set of control keys?

This question occurred to me after trying to connect a wireless Bluetooth keyboard to an Android smartphone. I wondered as to whether there is a best practice as to whether or not a Mac layout keyboard or a PC layout keyboard (or even something else!) should be selected, all other things being equal and assuming that I want to connect the type of keyboard that is closest to that which the designers of Android were thinking about when they designed the system.

To be clear, I'm not asking for a hardware recommendation - this is more of a theory or general design question. I'm aware that most keyboards nowadays "work" (or can be made to work) with most systems with minor adjustments. So, something like, "Android is designed to be compatible with PC and Mac keyboards, but the original spec defines a set of five control keys consisting of Blue Squiggle, Red Squiggle, Wumpus, Marklar, and Shazbot, and having all five keys helps with some obscure shortcuts that most people don't need to use." would be a great answer.

Android CDD -section 7.1.2 does not specify any mandatory requirements, except support for third party IME, say for instance Hacker's Keyboard, which implements those control keys

In my understanding, there is nothing defined as essential support for control keys


Can't transfer files to galaxy S3 from laptop?Kies not getting Installed in lap? I am having a galaxy S3, I can't connect it to my laptop.When I connect it with USB it's not getting mounted and so unable to transfer any files.

In my laptop Samsung kies is not installed, hope it may be the problem but in my laptop kies is not getting installed its showing "no internet connected!!" even if  am connected to WiFi. Am totally stuck and frustrated, please can anyone help.Its so painful to carry such a phone without file transfer :-(.

Select the 'Mass Storage Only' option in the USB settings and then connect the cable.

If this doesn't work, you can connect your laptop and your phone to the same wireless network and use AirDroid to transfer files wirelessly from your laptop to your phone and vice versa using a browser on your laptop. Both devices just have to be connected to the same wireless network (with or without internet access).

Hope this helps!


Samsung Galaxy S4 play edition and exFat Does the Play version of the Galaxy s4 include support for exFat in the sdcard reader? Or is exFat support one of the extras that Samsung adds to the device (presumably since they made the licencing agreement with MS)?

This question is specifically about the version available from Google's Play store that comes unlocked and without touchwiz.

I would assume YES.

From allaboutgalaxys4:

  The device supports the FAT and the exFAT file systems for memory
  cards. When inserting a card formatted in a different file system, the
  device asks to reformat the memory card.


How to get a rid from "Warning: Camera failed" error? I have a Samsung Galaxy J7. It's camera was destroyed by an accident. So everytime I open camera, snapchat etc apps it shows "Warning: Camera failed". For a reason I need my phone to take at least a black screen on snapchat by clicking on the button. Is it possible to edit the rom to make the camera take at least a black screen instead of showing "Camera failed" and how?

How to fix “Unfortunately, Camera has stopped” error on Galaxy J7
Step 1: Reboot your device
Step 2: Restart your J7 in safe mode
Step 3: Clear the cache and data of the Camera app and other related apps
Step 4: Factory reset your Galaxy J7


Generic version of Cyanogenmod for any Android device? Are there "generic" versions of the Cyanogenmod that would work on any device? (My device isn't officially supported.)

If not, why? (If Windows and Linux distros have images that work on any computer – as long you choose the version for the right architecture (x86, ARM, 32bit, 64bit) – then why not Android?)

EDIT

If the issue is mainly that drivers might not work, is there a way to save the drivers that came pre-installed on the device, and install them after Cyanogenmod'ing?

No, there isn't.

eldarerathis' answer on What's the risk of installing Cyanogen Mod on unsupported phone? explains the negative effects if you installed the incorrect CM ROM.


android tablet not waking up I've got a cheap android tablet running Android 4.0.4 and it doesn't seem to be "waking" up when I want it to. So, when it shuts off after period of inactivity or when I put it to sleep (not powering it off, though), it won't "wake up" at a specified time via the built-in alarm clock or another app (like tune-in which has an alarm feature built into it). When I manually "wake it up" by pressing the power switch, the alarm that should have gone off before goes off after a few seconds.

Do I just have something disabled that is preventing it from waking up? Or is this possibly a hardware issue?

Do I just have something disabled that is preventing it from waking up?

There's no user-visible setting in Android for disabling alarms. That would kind of defeat their purpose!  The only way you can have disabled alarms is if you've rooted the device and gone around uninstalling system apps or poking at the internals. If you have, we'd need to know a lot more detail on what you've done to know if that's the cause, and the fix would probably be to flash a new ROM.

This does sound like the kind of system integration error you might find on an incredibly cheap tablet. Not quite a hardware issue, but a bug in the device's software. If it is, the only way to fix it would be to try to get an update from the manufacturer, but if you don't even know who they are, you might be out of luck.


Memory almost filled by Android System and Google Application I recently bought my first smartphone, a Sony Xperia T2 Ultra (D5303).
It has 8 Go of total memory space and I add a 16 Go SD Card.
Android System (5.1.1) takes 3.58 Go and Google/Android/Sony Applications take 4.19 Go.
There is less than 300 Mo of free space.
I always have a warning message that says that the memory is nearly full.

There is a lot of application that I never use (Google+, What's new, Docs), but I can't uninstall them nor move them to my SD card.

What can I do to have more free memory on the phone ?

Recommended approach without rooting:

Go to Settings › Apps and select the "All" tab
Pick the first "useless bloatware" in sight and tap its entry
Tap (in this order): Force-Stop, Clear Cache, Delete Data, Uninstall Updates (if any), Deactivate
Repeat for the other bloatware items.

What does this do?

force-stop: make sure the app doesn't continue to run and create new data/cache
clear cache: remove all cache files belonging to this app
delete data: remove all user- and configuration data the app might have
uninstall updates: if there are updates for system apps, those are installed in user-space. So removing them frees space you can use otherwise – plus is required if you want to …
disable: make the app unavailable. Though you cannot uninstall system apps, you can deactivate most of them. This ensures they don't clutter your GUI (all the app's icons on your home screen and in the app drawer will be hidden), the app should no longer start automatically (and create new data/cache), plus it should not be updated anymore

This won't entirely cure the issue (you cannot e.g. regain the space those apps use on the system partition), but should ease the effects. At least some space can be gained this way.

A little warning: If unsure what an app is for, better do not apply the above steps on it. Though the system shouldn't allow you to disable essential apps, better be safe than sorry.


What methods can I use to block adult content? I'm looking for something along the lines of K-9 for my phone.  Does such a thing exist?

My goal: to have all adult content blocked.

I would like to know if this is possible and if it is, how to do it.

If you have a rooted phone, you can always edit your hosts file to block known adult sites.

Trying to block all sites is an exercise in futility, unless you opt for a slight reversal of logic and use white-listing wherein only allowed websites are allowed to be connected to and all others are blocked. As of now, I'm not aware of any app on Android that offers this functionality.

There are other avenues for adult content - the Android Market is one of them and blocking that seems counter-productive for a smartphone.

Also take a look @ DroidWall - an app that only allows certain apps to access the Net.

*UPDATE:*Trend Micro's paid app Mobile Security seems to have parental controls, although I can't vouch for the app's efficacy. The user reviews don't paint a very comforting picture but a 30 day trial is available so you can test the app out yourself.


How to solve "application can not be installed" error I am facing an application can not be installed error on my Samsaung Galaxy S Plus whenever I try to install applications. I have already allowed installation from unknown sources, but it didn't work. It still have a lot of memory space although my phone has no SD card.

Can you suggest some solutions to solve this? Thanks in advance.

First, make sure you have sufficient internal memory (that should be more than just the app size, because app needs to store data too). The storage for apps is different from internal mass storage. You can find it under Settings > Storage, look for the Applications label.

Also, if the app is, say 20 MB, keep at least 50 MB free, because apart from the app storage, Android also tends to slow down when short on internal memory.

If you're trying to update/overwrite an installed app, try removing it first. source.

If that didn't work, try this solution. It is aimed at Titanium Backup, but I guess it might work for other apps too.


I accidentally deinstalled the Google app—now my phone doesn’t boot anymore Memory on my phone was low, so I went to the apps and deinstalled some. Among these apps was “Google—A handy search for underway”, and since I also have Firefox, I decided that I don’t need the Google search, so I deinstalled it. And it worked, the app got deinstalled. But it was not only a search app, it was the whole home screen app, so my home screen didn’t show up anymore, and I could only switch the phone off.

I booted it again, and now it shows the “Android is starting”, subtitle “Apps are starting”. This takes about 30 minutes now.

I did not root my phone or do anything else, and still I could deinstall the Google app.

How can I get my phone working again?

The actual solution was quite easy:

Power down the phone by long pressing the Off button
Boot the phone into fastboot mode by pressing On and Volume-Down
Select “Factory Defaults”
See Android booting again, having preserved all of the installed apps; only the Home screen had been emptied—oh, sure, I had deinstalled the Home screen app. That’s how the whole story began.


What is 720p video recording I heard about the complaint of the Nexus S' lack of 720p video recording? What does 720p mean? How does it compare to the standard Samsung Galaxy S phones?

From Wikipedia:

  720p is the shorthand name for a
  category of HDTV video modes having a
  resolution of 1280×720 (for a total of
  0.92 megapixels or 921,600 pixels) and a progressive scan. The number 720
  stands for the 720 horizontal scan
  lines of display resolution (also
  known as 720 pixels of vertical
  resolution), while the letter p stands
  for progressive scan or
  non-interlaced. When broadcast at
  60 frames per second, 720p
  features the highest temporal (motion)
  resolution possible under the ATSC and
  DVB standards.

The Samsung Galaxy S is capable of recording 720p video from it's rear-facing camera.  The Nexus S is not (max resolution of 720x480).


The name of the default android browser does anyone know if the standard Android browser that comes pre-installed on the cell phones has its own name? Every browser on the market has one - Safari, FF, Fennec, Dolphin, etc. But the "standard android browser" seems lacking it. Or I'm wrong?

I'm writing small blog posts about JavaScript and Android and I'm really tired of writing "Standard Android browser works differently from Fennec" instead of "Foobar works differently from Fennec"

Not as far as I know; it's name is just "Browser". To distinguish it from the other browsers, sometimes I call it "stock browser".

btw, it's called Firefox now (or Firefox Mobile), and no longer Fennec.


Is it possible to directly print from Android? Possible Duplicate:
  is there any way to print directly from the phone?

Why can't Android devices directly print to a shared network printer? Or is there a way?

It is possible! Maybe not in the conventional way, but the easiest way would be to set it up as a Google Cloud Printer and download the Cloud Print app.

Also,

  if you have an Cloudprint ready printer (Epson, Kodak etc) or HP
  E-Print enabled printer you don't need your pc to be on, for other
  printers your pc needs to be ON.

So you might not be able to simply find a printer on your network natively in Android, but Google has provided us with the next best thing.


How to fix "Google Play Services won't run unless you update it"? My device is a Sony Xperia Z and it's running Android  5.0.2. It prompted me to update my Google Play Services, and when I followed the notification it delegated me to the Play Store to update it. However it would seem it is already updated.

My current version of Google Play Services is 7.8.93.

(Click image to enlarge)

The notification keeps coming back and I can't seem to find a solution. How do I get rid of this notification permanently?

Here's a look at the notification :

(Click image to enlarge)

Each time I have reset my phone, exactly the same thing happens. I cannot update individually only Google Play Services as it goes into an infinite loop of popups saying that you cannot Update until you Update.

The solution which worked every time is to go to the Google Play Store into the Apps and Games (sometimes called differently depending on the version) and doing a Update All. Obviously, it may update more than you want but that is the only reliable way that worked on Android 7.0. Hopefully, this can work (or some similar steps) for your version too.


How to enable ext2 or ext3 partitions? Does anyone know how I can enable ext2 or ext3 partitions on my LG Optimus V? I have already partitioned my 16GB SD card to 14.5 GB FAT32 and 500MB ext2. When using Link2SD it gives me a mount error. I am rooted but have not flashed any ROMs yet.

I think your ext partition must be a primary one NOT logical - check to make sure that's the case.


How to change /system/fonts directory permission to writable in switch off mode? I have Micromax A57 android 2.3.5 rooted phone, I have installed font using "Font Installer  Root" application , after installing successfully I realize that font is not good, then after I delete that font from /system/fonts directory, and I install DroidSans.ttf font from that application, while installing process device get hanged, so I remove battery and place it again and start the device , Now my phone is not started,

when I attach cable with device I can see in Eclipse that in /system/fonts folder DroidSans.ttf has o bytes that means by mistake that font has been deleted, now wants to copy that font in /system/fonts directory, i have tried with Eclipse but it has read only permission so I am failed, If I can copy that file then issue can be solved,

Please help me to change permission of /system/fonts directory so that I can copy that fonts and get my device data back

As it seems you can access your device via ADB, you should be able to remount /system read/write to repair that file, using

adb remount

After that, you can copy the intact DroidSans.ttf to /system/fonts, overwriting the 0-byte-file. Following a reboot, /system will be mounted read-only again, and everything should be working.

In case that adb remount should fail with a "permission denied", you might wish to read How to remount /system as read-write in Android, which explains the manual remount process step-by-step. That would basically be:

get a shell on the Android device using either adb shell or a terminal app
become root using su
find out how and where /system is mounted, using mount | grep system
mount /system read/write using the information obtained, e.g. mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/<device> /system (make sure to use the device obtained in the previous step instead of /dev/block/<device>)
verify whether your remount was successful, again using mount | grep system
now copy your DroidSans.ttf to /system/fonts
either reboot, or simply remount /system read-only using the parameters obtained in step 3, e.g. /dev/block/<device> /system ext4 rw,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0

Always make sure to use the device and parameters obtained from step 3, or you might completely mess up.


Is it possible to sync your Exchange/Outlook calendar with an Android application? I have decided to install CloudMagic to be able to receive Exchange e-mail on my Android phone without having to accept restricted company security settings. There are many e-mail clients that support Exchange without enforcing company security settings.

I was wondering if there are also Android applications that can just make the Exchange calendar available?

I just managed to get this to work on an Acer Z200:

Click the Settings wheel
Under ACCOUNTS, select Corporate
Add your Exchange account there and set its sync options

I now see my Exchange email and calendars in the standard Calendar app, and I get notifications for my Exchange calendar appointments.

Before doing that, I installed Microsoft's Outlook app and added my Exchange account as an account of type Outlook. This allows me to view my email and calendars in the Outlook app, but I didn't find a way to make it send notifications for calendar items. (If it is possible, please correct this answer.)


what is the path the file system location where SMS messages stored? Where in the file system are SMS messages stored? plese list the path

In CM11 (Android KitKat) when using stock messaging app the database file is located at:

/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db

Note that it's not a text file, it's a sqlite database file which needs to be accessed via sqlite-capable front-end (such as sqlite command line client).


Install brand new android API on my old Jelly Bean phone? Hello Android enthusiasts,

I'd like to know one thing :

I have a Jelly Bean phone. Which is API 16. What if I use Android SDK API 26 in Android Studio to create an app that uses classes of API 26... Can I use this app on my Jelly Bean phone ?

If not, how can I install API 26 in my Jelly Bean phone (if at all possible) ? (any option here I will take...)

u can do that only by installing oreo(api 26) based custom rom in your phone and it depends upon ur mobile model and year of manufacture if your is too old its very unlikely to get oreo based custom rom. Best option is using Emulators


Can SwiftKey be moved to the system partition? I want to move the SwiftKey app from my standard user partition to the system partition (I have root). I am able to use Titanium Backup or Link2SD to turn an app into a system app, but anytime I try that with SwiftKey, it continuously force-closes. With most apps, if they start acting up right after changing them to system apps, you simply reboot and it works. However, rebooting doesn't solve the problem with SwiftKey.

I have also tried clearing cache and dalvik cache, but it seems like this particular app hates being a system app.

According to this forum thread, I need to move a library over to the system lib folder, but I don't see any library needing to be copied.

Reinstalling the app looks like it works, but it doesn't really. Because updates to system apps are not stored in the system partition, 'updating' the Swiftkey app makes the app work again because the main binary that is running is running from userland, not systemland. If I then use Titanium Backup or Link2SD to Integrate the update into the system partition, it starts crashing again.

Has anyone been able to successfully move the SwiftKey app into the system partition?

Edit: I have tried clearing the cache, clearing the data, uninstalling completely and reinstalling (then moving to system), and I even tried the same steps on another phone of the same model (Optimus V).

I have also tried manually copying the .apk file over instead of simply using Titanium Backup's or Link2SD's built-in mover. SwiftKey simply refuses to run properly if installed as a system app, but works just fine as a user app.

First, go to to Root folder then go to "/data/data/.com.android.swiftkey" then copy the "lib" files to "//system/lib" and after that,
go to root then "//data/app" and copy the "swiftkey" apps file to //system/app and restart your phone.
After rebooting open titanium backup, find swiftkey and wipe data.
Done. It wont force close again :)


Cannot create Symlink via adb I try to create a symlink for a folder using adb. This is my attempt:

ln -s /storage/sdcard0/Android/media/com.amazon.mp3 /storage/sdcard0/mp3amazon

My device is rooted and as you can see this is the internal SdCard. not the external, so there should be no file-system-issues.

But all I receive for that command is a

  ln: /storage/sdcard0/mp3amazon: Function not implemented

Have to answer myself (though this isn't a solution).
Android 5.0 Lollipop uses "Fuse" as file system which does not support SymLinks


Can I play a game on a second device with the same profile with out starting over? I have been playing boom beach on an android tablet. The tablet is no longer accessible to me. Can I play the game on another android tablet without starting over?

If you signed into you Google+ account while playing the game, then progress is synchronised across to the second device.

While playing the game, sign into your Google+ account on the second device. This will give you the option to load your existing progress.

If you didn't sign into to your Google+ account on the first device, then I'm afraid it isn't possible without access to the device.


Avoiding "my cheek hung up on you" on an Optimus T? I upgraded my wife to an LG Optimus T from a G1, and she keeps accidentally hanging up on people with her cheek. She never had this problem with the G1.

I've asked her if she's locking the screen (by hitting the power button once) and she appears to be doing that but for some reason when she's on a call the screen appears to take input.

At first I thought this was a problem with her face (heh), so I had her try it on my Nexus One and she can call, hit the power button to turn the screen off and then talk normally.

Has anyone seen this kind of behavior before, and if it's just an annoyance is there maybe an application that can mitigate this?

It turns out that by avoiding touching it with her cheek she was turning the phone a bit and moving the proximity/light sensor away from her ear, which turned the screen on and was causing the hangups.

When she presses the speaker firmly against her ear the screen locks like it's supposed to.


why can't I download apps with 29 gigabytes of free memory on sd card I have 29 gigabytes of free storage on my sd card yet when I try to download more apps I get the insufficient storage message. All apps that I am able to move to sd card are. No matter how many apps I download the amount of free storage on sd card remains at 29 gigabytes.

Your android device has internal and in your case external storage. The external storage is, in this case, your SD card with 29GB of free memory.However most of the android apps get installed on your internal storage. You can check if your internal storage is filled up by going into "Settings -> Storage" and looking at the internal storage. If it is filled up try to move apps to your sd card by going to "Settings -> Apps -> Manage Apps" and you will see a list of installed applications. Click them one by one and in the menu you'll see an option "Move to SD Card" for some of the applications. You can alternatively root your device (or update to android V6.0+) and move all of your apps to your SD card using an app on the Google Play Store called AppMGR III.


Upgrade unlocked Motorola Droid Possible Duplicate:
  How do I update the OS on my device?

Is it possible to upgrade unlocked Motorola Droid to any Android OS version. Can this be done through wifi or does it has to be pushed through Verizon?

If you unlock (or root) your Droid and upgrade it using the official OTA (Over The Air) update. Your phone will sure be unrooted again. But for Droid, it is pretty easy to root it even with the latest Verizon OTA update.

Go to droid-life.com and click root in the menu bar. You will find many easy-to-follow instruction. Just one advice, please you start rooting your phone, read the comments to see if there are any major issues.

Once your Droid is rooted, install ROM Manager. It will let you back up your existing ROM and install many different ones, including the latest Android version, on one click.

http://www.appbrain.com/app/rom-manager/com.koushikdutta.rommanager


Whatsapp For Nokia X I wanted to know that how can I acquire Whatsapp for my Nokia X. My family and friends are both on Whatsapp and it causes a communication gap between me and them if I don't have it. I want to keep this mobile phone for a  I open to all suggestions on how to acquire it

Since your Nokia X doesn't have access to the Google Play Store, you will need to download and install Whatsapp manually.

Enable side-loading of apps on your Nokia X by navigating to Settings -> Security and enable the Unknown Sources option.
Download the Watsapp APK directly from their site to your computer.
Transfer the apk file you downloaded onto your Nokia X by connecting it via USB cable and using a file manager, send it via Bluetooth, or copy it to an microSD card and insert it into the phone.
Run the pre-installed ASTRO file manager and locate the file using the search option.
Tap the file to run it, which will start the installation process.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Important step: Modify your phone’s date to (or just prior) 2nd of August of 2014 (don’t worry you will change it back to the preset date afterwards.)
Launch Whatsapp like any other installed app on your Nokia X phone, and complete the initial set-up.
At this point you will most likely get a message saying that this application is "not supported" on your phone.
Exit WhatsApp when it says that your device is not supported back to the homescreen.
Uninstall the official Whatsapp application by long-tapping on the WhatsApp icon and tapping on the red cross.
Now download WhatsApp Plus from here and install it using the same method as the official app (steps 3 through 6 of this guide.)
Open Whatsapp Plus app and go through configuration steps. Make sure to use the same phone number as you used in the original WhatsApp, otherwise it will not work.
You can now revert the system's date back to the present date and still enjoy WhatsApp.

You can now use Whatsapp plus to connect to your Whatsapp contacts.

Sources: 1, 2.


If I put mkfs.ext3 file from another Linux system on my android ,will it work? I want to know if I take the mkfs.ext3 file, or any other mkfs file, from another Linux system like Ubuntu, and put it with my mkfs.vfat and mkfs.ext2 located at /system/xbin, Would it work?

And how can I call them from terminal emulator?

If relevant, I have a Huawei u8160 running Cyanogenmod 7.2.

EDIT:

I realized that it cannot be taken from Ubuntu or any non-ARMv6 built system ,so my question now is: Where can I find binaries that are built for ARMv6 phone? (at least mkfs ones(except mkfs.vfat and mkfs.ext2,I already have them) ).

Native binaries (as the mkfs.* tools are) need to be compiled for the platform they should run on. So if you take the mkfs.ext3 from your Ubuntu workstation, which probably is either x86 or x86-64, it will not work on your Android device, which most likely uses ARM architecure.


whatsapp backup from different phone number but same gmail account How can I restore my old chats on whatapp from different phone number but same gmail account?

WhatsApp keeps its chats on your internal storage in the folder /WhatsApp/Databases. There might be a large number of files, the latest being the one with no date in it (msgstore.db.crypt12, probably).

I'm not sure if the phone number being different matters if you have not enabled WhatsApp's 2FA, and if you have enabled cloud backups to Google Drive as long as you use the same Google Account you should be okay.


New folder 'androidlav' in gallery I use Samsung Galaxy Note 5. I found a folder androidlav in the gallery section which has been formed automatically, and it contained a screenshot of MakeMyTrip app.

Does this happen to anyone? Can anybody explain this? Can I delete it?

The folder is created by AppVirality SDK.
Before v1.1.18, the folder is not hidden, and can be read by gallery apps.

Version - 1.1.18
Major Changes:
Hidden androidlav folder from Android image gallery.

You can delete it. If it comes back, which it might if you open MakeMyTrip again, you should report it to them.


My phone is lost how do I track it? I can't get in to my Google account because I can't remember my password.

I can't get a password changed as it won't send to my Gmail.

What can I do?

You can't track or locate your phone without access to your Google account, or unless you have some 3rd party recovery software that you would have had to have installed previously such as Where's My Droid or Find My Lost Phone!. But again, you would have had to have these installed previously to losing the device and not having access to your Google account. There are some ways to push an app and install it remotely, but those require access to your Google account, and if you have that you could just use ADM.

Your best bet is to use Google's Account Recovery system and once you have successfully logged into your account then access Android Device Manager in an attempt to locate your device.

And just for future reference, if you setup a Google account ALWAYS setup the account recovery options or going through the Security Checkup as soon after account creation as possible


How can I get Google calendar to play a sound notification for an event? Is it possible to get an audible notification of an event in Google Calendar?

I have a new Android smartphone which I'm trying to fathom out. I'm new to all this.

Take a look at "Notifications" part of Google Calendar Help page. It has full details about notification setting in all devices like Android, iOS and Computer.

Open the Google Calendar app.
In the top left, go to the main menu (touch on 3 horizontal lines).
Choose "Settings" at the bottom.
Select "General".
To change or turn off the sound, touch "Tone", and choose another sound or None.
Switch "Vibrate" to on or off.

Hope this will help you.


Link2sd not working properly I've a Samsung Galaxy Ace and recently I installed link2sd, created the partiotion and everything it needs. It works. But I'm having two issues. The first one: each time I turn on the phone I get a notification from link2sd, I open it and a message says the following (translated by me, so it is not the exact text):

Mount warning
The 2nd partition wasn't mounted during the start, it was mounted after the system finished starting. With that reason your linked apps aren't visible for the system right now. To make them available again, please try "Quick restart".

The buttons are: "Quick restart" and "Cancel". After I make a quick restart all apps work good.
The second problem its that the launcher (not the default one) can't load widget. At the beggining I thought this one was easy: I unlinked the launcher and the apps which made widgets. But nothing, still can't be loaded.
Note killink the launcher and starting it again doesn't solve the problem
Please any help, thanks!

Stock Samsung software always mounts the SD card after the system is up, at least on my Vibrant, so I would expect there's not too much you can do about that without hacking the startup scripts (presumably difficult).

As for the second problem, the Market description says: "It can break some apps if they are not meant to be moved to the SD card (Such as Widgets)."  Try moving any widgets back to your phone storage.


Free app to block calls and SMS based on pattern I use Callblocker currently, but the unwanted calls come from different numbers each with the same first 5 digits. Is there a free Android app to block them based on this pattern?

Try aFirewall

Despite the name, it's an SMS/Call blocking app.


Google Now Launcher still exists inside launcher settings I have used Google Now Launcher on my Redmi 1S that runs Lineage OS 14.1. And, now I am using Nova Launcher as home app(launcher). I have uninstalled Google Now Launcher, and also, its not present in app list. But, it is still listed in launcher settings (Settings->Apps->Configure Apps (settings icon)->Home App). I have tried to clear cache from recovery, but have no result. I have uninstalled Nova launcher, but still it shows Google Now launcher, and Trebuchet to set as Home App. May be it got saved somewhere permanently, otherwise I have tried to make Google Now launcher as system app, it may be happened due to this. How to solve

Did you install Google Now Launcher as part of a Google Apps package? If this is the case, Google Now Launcher will be installed as a /system app. Therefore, you'll have to remove it manually using a file manager or recovery mode.


How to disable sounds on messages sent in various apps? A lot of apps have annoying sounds on various actions that I personally don't care about. For example WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger make a sound when you send a message. I can't figure out how this sound is classified, and how to disable it.

For messenger you have "in app sounds" in messenger settings, there is probably similar option in whatsapp.


Simple way to toggle between 2G and 3G connection TL;DR
Usually, I have my device locked to "2G only" for multiple reasons:

saving battery-life
no need for "high-speed" to simply be informed about new mail or doing the little contacts/calendar syncs (not much changes, either)

But from time to time, I could use 3G:

some area that has bad 2G coverage (data-wise)
the occasional "internet use" e.g. with a navigation app, looking up "a little more" on the web, or installing something from google-play-store

For those occasions, I find it impractical to navigate to the settings page and change that manually -- even when done via some "shortcut" placed on a homescreen. Preferably, I want to be able to automate this via tasker, to e.g. automatically switch when entering/leaving the "bad coverage area" or when one of those apps is in foreground (both conditions are covered by tasker, just the "action" is missing). I checked thoroughly on our site here, on the google-play-store, and even did an extensive Google search -- but all that turned up was either a shortcut or a kernel patch for specific ROMs, both no-gos for me.
Hence my...
Question:
Is there any easy way to switch between 2G/3G mode? As said, shortcuts to the settings page do not count (so Can anyone reccomend a 2g / 3g switching widget? is no option). Wanted criteria include:

not requiring more than one tap (preferably no tap to trigger the action, see below)
a big plus (and favorite wish): ability to be triggered via tasker
not depending on specific ROMs (should work with stock-rom)
preferably not involving root -- but options requiring root would still be fine with me
command-line hacks are fine with me as well :)

With Xposed module and Gravity Box installed, the pull down status bar can be customised even on stock ROM (of course it has to be rooted).

I have a Nexus 5 running stock 4.4.4 and following is how it looks:

With these installed, one can swipe down with two fingers from top and just tap the last tile shown as "3G" in the image. Though this nearly misses the first requirement of using no more than one tap, technically it still does as you have swipe down and use one tap.

That tile toggles between 3G, 2G, 2G3G states.  There is a minor lag to see the signal strength tile to reflect the status as "H+" or "E".

By installing the Gravity Box, I was also able to bring in the additional tiles like "Torch On/Off", "Auto Rotate Lock" etc which were not available in the stock ROM.

Update:
Thanks to jsen who was kind enough to share an intent to switch between 2G and 3G using Tasker and Gravity Box (that implies Xposed framework and rooting).

To avoid a dead link in future, the content of that Tasker hack is as below:

Send Intent [
Action: gravitybox.intent.action.CHANGE_NETWORK_TYPE
Cat: None
Mime Type:
Data:
Extra: networkType:1
Extra:
Package:
Class:
Target: Broadcast Receiver]

networkType enum values are:
0: WCDMA Preferred
1: GSM only <-- This would be "2G" on GSM networks
2: WCDMA only <--WCDMA is "3G" on GSM networks. You may know it as HSPA
3: GSM auto (PRL)
4: CDMA auto (PRL)
5: CDMA only <-- This would be "2G" on CDMA networks
6: EvDo only <-- EvDo is "3G" on CDMA networks
7: GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
8: LTE/CDMA auto (PRL)
9: LTE/GSM auto (PRL)
10: LTE/GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
11: LTE only
12: "unknown"

In my office, I have very bad 2G signal which drops my call very frequently. Hence I used to switch to 3G when I reach office. I created an entry task named "Enable 3G" and an exit task named "Enable 2G" which just sends intent as above. With Tasker's "Cell Near" state I can ask Tasker to enable 3G when I am near office and switch back to 2G while leaving.


My phone is unlocked, but I don't remember pin code. Recover from Google somehow? There's plenty of directions for those who forget their pin code and can't unlock their phone, but there's no explanation for those who have their phone UNLOCKED, but don't remember their pin code to change it.

I can use my phone right now, but I don't remember my pin. That's why once it's off or the screen is locked, which will happen at night, I suppose, I won't be able to access it anymore without wiping the data.

Is there an easier way for me to deal with the problem?

I think you can turn screen timeout off, if possible (may vary by OEM).
Most times, Google has no control of your phone lock, as far as I know.


how can I prevent a factory reset of Samsung android device? The Samsung android table I got for my kid has a "Guest Account" feature that lets anyone in without a password. Kind of defeating the point of the password feature that keeps a 7 year old kid out at bedtime.

so I ran:

adb shell settings put global guest_user_enabled 0

with a USB cable attached and it worked. Now the guest account is gone. But all the 7 year old has to do is go into setting and do a factory reset and that will go back to

adb shell settings put global guest_user_enabled 1

Right?

How do I win this password war? I'm older. I have to win.

This happened after any android user hard reset its device. There is a security feature in every android device apart from "Kitkat Patch and Lower" which is FRP (Factory Reset Protection) that helps user data to be secured after a hard reset is performed. Now you may provide the right Google account details, if not then you need to break this FRP lock using an android application. Don't forget to follow the steps to recover your device completely.


moving apps to my SD card on my Xperia E 4.1.1 Okay, I have an Xperia E android 4.1.1. It has 2 GB internal space and so I got an 8 GB SD card. I noticed that any app I download occupies space in my internal memory. I tried moving them to SD card but I can't do it in the way given on Google - Settings>apps>manage>move to SD card. When I go to my settings I don't get any Manage Applications. I just get my apps and there are options like Move to phone or Move to Internal Storage. I also tried App2SD. But it didn't work. Isn't there any other alternative than rooting my mobile? Please help

Android no longer natively supports moving apps to SD Card.  Some manufacturers that ship phones with SD Card slot (like Samsung, for example) often do include this functionality.  Apparently Sony is not one of these manufacturers, so you will not be able to use your SD Card for app storage with their stock firmware.

If you decide to root your device, you will be able to use apps such as Link2SD to move apps to your SD Card.  Note that you will need to re-partition your SD Card (and re-format it) in a special way to be able to take advantage of this feature.  You will also not be able to easily swap the SD Cards in and out, as it will become an "extension" of your phone's internal memory.


Fastboot Kindle Fire 2 EDIT 2:

Thanks for all the help. I think I found it!

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035047

EDIT 1:

Putting this edit on top of the post so that people read it first.

I got the device recognized as a Kindle, and am now able to flash system images onto it.
Anyone know where I can get a Kindle Fire 2 system image?

EDIT 0:

The screen suddenly lit up and I have an icon that says "Fastboot kindle fire".

I have a new device now:

  TATE-PVT-08

However, fastboot devices still gives me a blank line, and I still get the "waiting for device" message.

Also, my device did not "install correctly." I tried to install it looking for driver software online, but that didn't work.

And I am running fastboot with elevated privileges.

ORIGINAL POST:

I succeeded in bricking my Kindle Fire 2 last month while trying to install an Android operating system (yes, I know, I should have been more careful).

Today the fastboot cable arrived and I connected the Kindle Fire 2 to my computer. The screen is still black, but when you press the power button, a picture of a low battery with a charging sign pops up momentarily.

I tried to flash my device with fastboot (in the android tools), but I get the text:

  < waiting for device >

When I run fastboot devices, I get a blank line (no devices).

I'm running Windows 7, and when I looked at the device management, I couldn't find my Kindle or anything like it (might just be me, though). I unplugged the Kindle momentarily and saw no change in the device list (which usually refreshes when a device is added or removed).

Any ideas on what's going wrong and what I can do to get my device recognized by fastboot?

For posterity here's what I did (from memory, no guarantee the exact wording of the menu options will be the same):

Make sure you have Android SDK installed and Kindle Drivers installed.

Open up devmgmt.msc (device management window)
Go to device TATE-PVT-08. Right-click. Click "Update Driver".
Click "Browse my computer for driver software"
Click "Let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer"
Choose Kindle Fire 2 in the list that pops up.
Install ADB Composite Driver.
Open up CMD with administrator privileges.
Go to sdk\tools in your Android SDK.
Download http://fs1.d-h.st/download/00021/Pv3/KF2_SRT_10.2.3.zip (Kindle Fire 2 images).
Unzip the file.
Follow the rest of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2035047.


How to flash the gapps package after installing CyanogenMod I have recently installed the CyanogenMod in my Samsung N700.
Issues now i want to install Google apps like play store, maps etc. Learning from here i have download the .zip package and it is in my sdcard now.

Issue is now i don't know how to use it, if i try to open it its says no application to handle such(zip) files.

Can anyone please guide me through this?

The Gapps zip file is in the same format as the CyanogenMod ROM, and as such needs to be installed in a similar way. However, unlike the ROM installation, Installing Gapps won't remove anything (other than currently installed Gapps, if any) from your phone.

You need to boot into your Recovery (Based on your previous question, this will be ClockWorkMod Recovery) and install that zip file in the same way you installed the ROM. Booting into recovery mode will be easier now that you have CM installed. I believe you should just be able to long-press the power button to get the reboot menu, and select "Recovery".

Edits may be helpful, but if I'm remembering CWM's process correctly, it'll be:

Install from zip
Choose file
(Find and select the gapps.zip file to install)

Also go to Advanced and clear your cache and dalvik cache afterward.


How to save backups taken with Titanium Backup? I used Titanium Backup to backup an app and its data. I will be flashing my phone with a new ROM/firmware. How do I ensure I can latter recover the backup? I would like to copy the files to the computer but am not sure what to look for. Does anyone know where Titanium Backup stores the backup files and what files to look for?

Titanium Backup (TiBu) saves the files it has backed up by default on your internal or device storage, unless you have specifically pointed it to save on your external SD .
Saving on External SD is the preferred option, since you can do a factory reset or wipe your device as you would do now to flash new ROM
OP has confirmed  that the initial directory of backups was in internal SD /storage/emulated/legacy/TitaniumBackup

Now it is required to be saved on the external SD for transfer to PC

Steps to create a backup directory on Ext SD and copy the earlier backed files from internal storage

Menu → Preferences → Backup Settings → Backup folder location to display the current backup location (in pic below /storage/0000-0000/moto titanium is my current back up location, where 0000-0000 is my external SD)
Press Back key (to jump to parent folder of device) →Create a new folder  → by name Example
Select Use the Current folder and on the nest screen accept the prompt to move all earlier backups to new folder. (takes some time depending on the number of backups and it may look like app is doing nothing, be patient, it is working)
You are done ! To confirm that the location has changed refresh the application by hitting Back or reload to go to the home screen and see the changed location
Now you are set to transfer the files to PC or upload to cloud - ( TiBu also has uploading to cloud options)

Aside, you can set up the frequency of backups by scheduling them . Additional details and steps to schedule here

Note: An alternate way of specifying a backup folder is shown by OP in comment. That is also fine but requires to create a folder using a file explorer before and then specifying it.  Method suggested above, reduces one step of using file explorer to create a folder but that's not a big deal


OnePlus One (CM 13.1.2) persisting boot loop My OnePlus One phone got stuck in a boot loop over night without, as far as I know, a specific reason to do so (no new update was installed). Before this it was running perfectly fine. The phone was running the stock CM.

The phone boots and shows the Cyanogen Mod Ready logo and then restarts (Android version 6.0.1, Cyanogen version 13.1.2).

I tried numerous things so far
Booting in safe mode, wiping the caches and a factory reset (as suggested on the boot loop info page) all did not solve the problem.

Using ADB sideload to push and flash a zip of the ROM from the computer did not work. Yet no error was returned.

Furthermore, flashing the ROM with fastboot, as described here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/guides-bacon-timmaaas-how-to-guides-t2839471 did not resolve the boot loop. Also here, no errors were returned when flashing the individual files.

I'm not sure what other options I could still explore.

After contacting OnePlus they set up a remote session.
During this session they also flashed the phone using their own files.
This, however, did not solve the problem.

The phone was still under waranty so they arranged it to be send for repair.
They found the motherboard to be faulty, which has been replaced and the phone works perfectly fine again.


Play Store 4.9.13 insufficient storage error and icon issues I've been having issues with the Play Store's recent 4.9.13 update on my Blu Dash 4.5.  Every time I try to install or update any app that is more than 1 MB, I keep getting an "insufficient storage" error, even though I have about 120MB on the apps partition free.  Apps do install and update on an older version, however.  In addition, the icons on the Play Store have weird black borders.  I have searched all over the internet and I have yet to find a solution for either of these problems.  Apparently, most devices affected by these bugs are using MediaTek chipsets and have Android 4.2 on them.  My phone is using the stock ROM and is not rooted.

The correct answer to this problem, and I always see wrong explanations, is that you have a duplicate /data/app-lib folder for the app or apps that are giving you that error.

To fix: Using adb, terminal, or root explorer:

compare /data/app to /data/app-lib

you will see, for example:

/data/app/example-app-1.apk
/data/app-lib/example-app-1
/data/app-lib/example-app-2   <--EXTRA

OR

/data/app/example-app-2.apk
/data/app-lib/example-app-1   <--EXTRA
/data/app-lib/example-app-2

So for 1st example remove directory: /data/app-lib/example-app-2

and for 2nd example remove directory: /data/app-lib/example-app-1

Then your app will install just fine!

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO KEEP THE SAME NUMBERS,

IF THE APK IS 1 REMOVE 2... IF THE APK IS 2 REMOVE 1!


Create shared folder on sdcard Is there any way to create a directory on an external sdcard that has read/write access for multiple apps. For example I want to us synththing or rsync under termux be able to sync this directory to my file server. I also want to be able to download music from a browser or other app and add it to the directory, which would then be synced with the file server.

I am using an Android k7 with android 5.1.1

My phone is not rooted and I would rather not root it unless I have to.

Run

termux-setup-storage

And create anything you want in ~/storage/shared (which is a symlink to /sdcard.


Downgrade skype on Android to before Microsoft ruined it I have downloaded a few apk's from APKmirror

removed skype from my Nexus 5x

adb install -r -d com.skype.raider_7.34.0.114-119668850_minAPI15\(armeabi-v7a\)\(nodpi\)_apkmirror.com.apk
5486 KB/s (37425319 bytes in 6.661s)
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_VERSION_DOWNGRADE]

Is there any way to downgrade without error?  I do not like what Microsoft did to skype at all.

You should Uninstall the new version before insalling an old version.

But most companies stop supporting old versions after a major change so it can be possible that after some time MicroSoft decides not to support the version then it will force you to install new version


What happens when displaying through Miracast using low resolution device and high resolution external display? I am considering purchase of an Android tablet with 1024 x 600 screen resolution and Android 4.4 KitKat. I believe it will support Miracast to cast its display to a Miracast receiver.

The Miracast receiver will be attached to a 1920 × 1080 native resolution TV.

Will Android take full advantage of the full 1920 × 1080 resolution of the Miracast destination device?

What are my options and what would happen on the tablet's screen? What happens on the TV's screen?

OR: Do I need a tablet / phone with  1920 × 1080 resolution in order to Miracast at full 1920 × 1080 resolution on the external display?

Will Android take full advantage of the full 1920 × 1080 resolution of
  the Miracast destination device?

No. You will end up with a stretched yet aspect-intact mirror of what is on your android.

  What are my options and what would happen on the tablet's screen? What
  happens on the TV's screen?

Tablet screen remains the same. TV will appear as indicated above. You don't really have options aside from tilting the device to switch between portrait/landscape.

  OR: Do I need a tablet / phone with 1920 × 1080 resolution in order to
  Miracast at full 1920 × 1080 resolution on the external display?

Nope. If the device supports miracast, it will display on whatever screen the miracast dongle is set up with.


How does "Angry birds backup" app work? "Angry Birds Backup" seems to be a third party app that modifies other application's data.

This should not be possible from security point of view, as it enables you to create malicious software.

So how does that backup program work?

It works on my nexus one, but phone is not rooted.
Application only asks for the network and sd card access. the former could be required for ads only (have not checked the paid version yet)

According to the Android Dev Guide, files written to the internal storage such as the Angry Birds data cannot be accessed by other applications by default.  I'm guessing that Rovio used MODE_WORLD_READABLE instead of the default, however.  Maybe this was a mistake or maybe they plan on having future apps being able to read your progress and unlock sometihng, or whatever.

Of course, this doesn't bar the possibility that an Android exploit is being used to bypass the file privacy, but who really knows besides the author of the backup app?


Regular voice calls stopped working, was earlier. Maybe Skype related. Android 4.0.3 I have a Samsung Galaxy S II with Android 4.0.3.

The problem:

It was working fine until today, for both voice calls and Internet use, as well as for Skype calls. (I had installed Skype for Android on it some time ago after buying the phone). But only used it for Skype calls once or twice.

Since it supports both regular voice calls and Skype calls, when I go to call log in the Phone app, and touch or swipe a contact name to call them, it earlier used to give the option of calling that person either via a normal phone call or via Skype.

Today, while trying to call a person, I think I was absent-minded and may have accidentally pressed some wrong option. As a result, from then on, when I try to call a person, from the call log list in the phone app, it does not show the normal call option and the Skype call option for me to choose from. Instead, it directly goes to Skype and tries to do a Skype voice call. So I am now unable to make regular voice calls with it.

I looked in the Skype app settings as well as in the Call menu under the main Settings app of the phone, but could not find any way to restore the earlier behavior, where it allows me to choose whether to make a normal phone call or a Skype call. I also looked at all other options in the main Settings app, at the top level, but could not see any other menu that seemed as though it may be relevant to fix this issue.

Any suggestions on how to solve this?

Thanks.

You have multiple options to solve this:

Go to Settings->Apps, scroll to Skype, open it, and hit the "Clear Defaults" button
If that for some reason does not work: simply install some other VoIP app, try to call a person again (now you should be able to chose), hangup, and remove the other VoIP app again
Try Default App Manager Lite, DefaultApp Reset, or similar apps to reset single default actions
Chuck-Norris-Mode: try Clear default app for action to reset all default actions
Last ressort: uninstall and re-install Skype

All above solutions should reset the default app selected. Besides: same procedure works for multiple web browsers, home screen replacements (launchers), image viewers...


Unable to connect to 3G after updating my software I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and I updated the software to Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3), but I'm having problem connecting my mobile to 3G provided by my Network. When I go to settings and  search for the networks available, it shows that I'm already registered on the network.

Though I have the data access via mobile network enabled, and WCDMA Network Mode, the mobile network state appears Disconnected!

This might not solve the problem, but it is the first thing I would look after:

Many carriers require specific settings in the menu Settings->Wireless and network -> Mobile networks.

Usually when you make a contract, they send you a message with the necessary configuration settings. Updating your phone might reset them or require new settings. If you think that might be the issue, you should have a look around on the website of your network provider. They often publish the necessary settings and/or offer a service to send you a configuration message.

Also, are you sure you need WCDMA? Just asking.


Photos app doesn't show any photos when Internet connectivity is limited It seems when access to Google's servers is blocked (by a firewall for example) Photos doesn't display my photos. The photos are locally available and can be browsed with a file explorer app. I don't want all my photos stored in the cloud nor do I like the idea that Google is checking something every time I open the Photos app. Is there a workaround to disable this behavior?

Edit: The bounty auto-selected an answer but the answer does not work. This is the main "Assistant" view:

This is the device folders view:

Even thought the photos are stored locally, when in the main view of the photos app only the thumbnails or nothing at all (if thumbs are not cached) will be shown when internet is off/blocked/limited.

The only way you can access the local copies while using the photos app is to open the menu on the left and select "Device Folders" and then go into the Camera folder (or wherever it is you are trying to access).

Click Images to enlarge

Unfortunately because the internet is limited you wont have access to the nice new features such as the advanced photo search or the nice date order layout as these are all server-based features.


How can I move apps to SD on my Samsung Galaxy Ace? I want to move some apps to my SD card, and from Googling around I found that it's possible to do this if the device is rooted.  How can I root my Samsung Galaxy Ace?

Samsung Galaxy Ace runs at least Android version 2.2 and is upgradable to Gingerbread, so the device already has the possibility to move apps to the SD card. Though, not all apps support this. You can move an app to the SD card by navigating to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and click on the app you want to move. Then you click the button Move to SD card.

If you root your device you can move apps that doesn't support App 2 SD, as well (except for launchers and widgets which must be installed on internal storage). If you are running Android 2.2 you can use the desktop program Super One Click to root. If you are running 2.3 you can read a tutorial here.

Hope that helps!


How to use OTG (ethernet) and power on Nexus 5X using Type C connector? I would like to both power and connect a Nexus 5X via Ethernet (using an USB to Ethernet adaptor).

Here's what I tried to far:

a Type C OTG to USB Female adaptor: Ethernet adaptor works on it's own
a Type C to microUSB adaptor + power OTG cable/hub: Power works, but OTG doesn't work

Is there a Type C OTG Cable that supports power/charing too, or a Type C powered USB Hub ?

Otherwise, is there a pinout for the Type C connector describing how to hack an OTG + power cable (similar to the microUSB pinouts on this page) ?

From what I know, you'll want to get a usb c to usb a adapter that also has a power in port like this. Then you should be able to just plug in your ethernet adapter to the female usb a. If it's drawing too much power I've never had issues plugging usb hubs into otg cables so I can't see adding a powered usb hub into the mix being an issue.


How to change default homepage My GSM provider hijacked my default homepage and I want to change it. There is no option in android ( nice open system right ? ). So does anyone know how to change it ? Device is rooted.

I assume you are using the default browser that is provided in the android mobiles.

If so, Open your browser, go to settings by pressing the menu button, now go to General option and then set home page to whatever you like.

settings-->General-->Set Homepage


Why doesn't Google+ auto upload all my pictures consistently and in the right sequence? Google+ doesn't upload my photos consistently, and sometimes it uploads them out of order.

Why would the app not do its job consistently? There are missing pictures, and then a week later they randomly show up (sometimes, sometimes not), and sometimes out of sequence, which is very frustrating.

If I uninstall and reinstall Google+, will it have to reload the last 4 years of pictures? Or worse, lose my pictures from my old droid that died? I have plenty of storage space left (several GB).

It is a new Samsung S5 phone, but I have the same problem on the old Droid Razor. Auto upload is enabled, and if I try the "upload now" option, it tells me everything is already uploaded, when I can clearly see I am missing pictures.

Maybe because you choosed "Only WiFi" when the app asked you if you want to upload photos via wifi, mobile or both...
Try clearing G+'s data and restarting the settings step from zero...
I had a similar problem with a S4 and this was the problem/solution ;)


Will an Android phone still use data when cellular data is switched off? I refer to the option under Settings / Data Usage. If that is turned off is there a possibility for the system to still use mobile data?

If that is turned off is there a possibility for the system to still use mobile data?

Absolutely not. That setting turns off the data completely as soon as you use it.

Sometimes it takes 2-3 seconds to turn the data off completely(the LTE/H+ sign to disappear because of network issues), else the data is always switched off immediately.


How do I bypass the RSA authentication dialog box to enable controlling phone from adb? My phone is Samsung Galaxy S4 SHV-E330S with a broken screen (cannot see or touch anything)

For more context please see my old questions here and here.

I have already tried these:

Can I enable USB debugging using adb?

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26213954/how-to-solve-adb-device-unauthorized-in-android-adb-host-device

Nothing seems to work. I have pushed the adbkey.pub file in .android folder in the PC to /data/misc/adb/adb_keys in the phone while in recovery. On rebooting to android it was still unauthorized. I am pretty sure that before the screen c\broke AI had developer mode and USB debugging enabled on this phone. regardless, I executed the commands shown here

adb shell mount /system
abd shell

echo "persist.service.adb.enable=1" >> default.prop
echo "persist.service.debuggable=1" >> default.prop
echo "persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb" >> default.prop
echo "persist.service.adb.enable=1" >> /system/build.prop
echo "persist.service.debuggable=1" >> /system/build.prop
echo "persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb" >> /system/build.prop

since I found out that the above lines of text were not in the original default.prop and /system/build.prop (even though I am pretty sure I had enabled USB debugging before the screen broke). Even after adding these lines, the phone is still unauthorized when I reboot to android. Since then I have recovered the original default.prop and /system/build.prop into the phone.

What else can I try now to bypass the RSA authentication dialog box? I have another rooted android phone (different model and OS version) which I have full access to through adb, but it does not even have an adb_keys folder inside /data/misc/adb/adb_keys, so I can't just copy over from that phone to this phone either.

What else can I do to bypass the RSA authentication dialog box on this phone?

This was solved using clues from this post

  If you only need to authorize one computer:
   Simply copy the adbkey.pub
  onto the device location:
    /data/misc/adb/ and rename it from
  adbkey.pub to adb_keys
   chmod 0644 and then reboot.

I forgot to do the chmod but still works.


Make youtube play in background Is there any mechanism for playing youtube in background? When i am playing just audio songs from youtube, i need to play it as on background, since there is no video in it.

Install Xposed framework (root required), and then YouTube background playback module. Reboot, then play any video you want, and just exit via home button, audio will continue to play.


Permission to write to external SD card on HTC One M8 running Lollipop I updated my HTC One m8 to Lollipop and rooted it. I have programs that require the ability to write to external SD card like FileMount, but every time I launch FileMount it tells me that it can't write to SD card. The app itself has a feature to enable it automatically but it requires a reboot but still even after reboot the same problem occurs.

When I was on android 4.4.4 I tried installing sd fix but that thing didn't work.  I installed Xposed installer and installed HandleExternalStorage module and it worked great for me. But I can't use Xposed installer on Lollipop as the developer says it might not be possible for Xposed installer to be available for Lollipop. My device is 16 GB only and it's really not enough for me and I rely on FileMount for my storage issues.

Try applying the SD fix manually, the details are over at XDA. The steps are:

Remount the system partition as read+write (use an app such as ES File Explorer, or enter mount -o remount,rw /system after becoming root in a terminal).
Make a backup of the /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml file, just to be sure.
Look for the XML element android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and make it look like this:

<permission name=android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE >
<group gid="sdcard_r" />
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
<group gid="media_rw" />
</permission>

Similarly, find the XML element android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE and change it to:

<permission name="android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE" >
<group gid="sdcard_rw" />
<group gid="media_rw" />
</permission>

Set the file permissions to rw-r--r--, either using a file explorer app, or by typing chmod /system/etc/permissions/platform.xml into a root terminal.
Reboot the phone -- this is important for the phone to remount the storage.

All credit goes to poolmaker at XDA.


Which version of Lineage OS do I use for Samsung s4 SPRINT? Previously I used jfltespr. But Lineage OS doesn't show any builds for that. Did one of the other builds replace that?

jfltexx
jfltevzw
ks01lte

jfltexx sounds appropriate but I can't find anything that confirms that it will work on S4 Sprint.

I've been using the unofficial "Optimized LineageOS" ROM by JDCTeam for several months now, and it has been working wonderfully, thank G‑d. It is a ROM for several S4 models (I think this is called a "unified" aka jflte build), including the jfltespr (which does not yet have its own official LineageOS ROM, as of 2017/09). It has generally been updated monthly.

jfltespr is the code name for the sprint variant of the Galaxy S4, andjfltexx is the codename for the international S4. ROMs for the jfltexx will most likely not work with the jfltespr, since they use different cellular radio protocols. (When I tried to install the jfltexx version on a jfltespr device using TWRP, this was detected and an error message was issued saying it could not install on the device since was the wrong device type).


Brand New HTC Desire C Wi-Fi won't work Just bought myself a Desire C, pretty decent as far as I've played around with it, but I have a problem with WiFi (this is pretty much the case with all my phones). I can't connect to home network by any means. The network though is totally fine because my pc (from which I type this) is connected, my laptop can connect, my other pc can connect and my old HTC Wildfire (the original one) can connect totally fine. I have searched the web for about 4 hours now to no avail. All I can do is ask here for some solution. I will try to get (in a pirate-like way somehow) the WiFi fixer programs to my phone from my pc but still this is not sure to work, so I expect some help.

Now for the specs of the whole network problem:

Device: HTC Desire C (obviously) using Android 4.0.3 (out-of-the-box)

Router: Netgear DG834G v5 (if you want to ask anything about config, do so)

Router protection type: WPA2 PSK (that's what my phone tells me, I will go with this)

Notes:

I have an HTC Wildfire that can connect to the very same connection and a couple of Windows 7 machines that can do so as well.
I used to have the exact same problem with my previous device (Samsung Galaxy Ace rooted with SanGingerAce) but assumed it was the root config as a friend told me, so did not bother. Said device couls connect totally fine in any other network it has been (including the one of th university I am in), which I will try on my phone tomorrow if that makes any difference).

Solved myself:

I tried after reading a lot of stuff to tweak my router and do a firmware update and I totally messed it up and almost destroyed it. It actually won't work at all and won't be found by wireless or anything, but it was already 5 years old, so I did not mind too much, I went and bought a new one (LogiLink - heard this brand for the first time, but works like a charm). I installed my new router (even though it asked for some things I heard for the first time in my entire life) and it runs on 802.11n perfectly fine for all my 3 computers and all my 3 phones. So turns out my old router was too old apparently.

In conclusion, for anyone reading the question, I believe a firmware update on an old router if done properly (in which I failed horribly) can fix this problem, also as @MatthewRead pointed out in the comments mixed b and g was fairly worse than g only, so you can try this. In any case,


How can I change the order of suggested contacts in GMail app? I regularly send email to a specific contact with the same first name as nearly a dozen other contacts, and he's always at the VERY BOTTOM of the list, which is annoying. Is there something I can do to get him to rise higher up the list so that he's the first suggestion instead of near the bottom?

Gmail automatically sorts all the contacts based on your most frequent uses. But if you don't find that name at top, then you might consider saving a new contact.

To view a complete list of your most frequently mailed contacts, click Gmail at the top-left corner of your Gmail page, then choose Contacts. Next, click Most Contacted.

When you’re composing or replying to a message, hover over a contact’s name to see the email address associated with it, and double-click a contact’s name to edit it. If you have multiple email addresses linked to a contact, you’ll see your contact’s email address as well as name.


What Does Cached Data Include? I have 6.1 gb of cached data on my phone and I would like to clear it, but I'm not sure what is "cached data."  Would this reset the games I have on my phone?  Other things?

What does cached data include?

CACHED DATA could contain :

Precompiled applications to make them faster
Saved databases
Downloaded images/webpages from your web browser
Data to be copied by some apps
Thumbnails (light preview of images for faster rendering)

You can clean it whenever you want. Since you have 6.1GB I bet it comes from your web browser.


Android Wear - How to change device the watch is paired with? I have an LG G Watch, which was paired to my Nexus 4 phone with the Android Wear app, and was working perfectly.

I then got a new Nexus 5, and I wanted to switch everything (accounts, &c) to it. However, when I tried to pair the G Watch using the Android Wear app on the new phone, it didn't appear in the list of possible devices (even after unpairing it from my old phone).

The only way I found to do this was with the "Reset Device" option in the G Watch, but this loses "local" data (such as the number of steps, and other configuration).

Is there a less destructive way to accomplish this?

According to this page, you need to reset the watch to factory settings if you want to pair it with another device, each time you wish to switch phones or tablets.


Change the screen size and dpi Is there a way to make Android think it has a different screen size and dpi than what was programmed in its factory settings?

I'm asking because we bought a 7-inch tablet recently, and its interface is too large for a 7-inch tablet. I installed System Info Droid and it confirmed what I suspected: The tablet thinks its screen is 4.86 inches with 192dpi.

Is there a way to fix this and tell it its screen is 7 inches and 133dpi?

The tablet is Genx GX7-3GS running Android 4.2.2.

You can change. First ROOT your device.
Using file manager go to your root directory. Open folder named system. In that open file named build.prop using text editor.
Search for option called lcd_display= (after equals to enter your default DPI value) and save file.
Now reboot. Done.


Galaxy S4 - Exchange ActiveSync picks wrong Display Name When I add an MSN @live.com email account the Galaxy S4, it doesn't pick the Display Name set by Exchange.

From the web interface, it shows the Display Name set as the full name (e.g. John Smith), but on Android, all out-going emails have the username set as the Display Name (e.g. jsmith).

The Display Name for office365.com email accounts seems to be working fine, but not for @live.com email accounts.

Further more, Android doesn't give the option to re-set or update the Display Name in Exchange ActiveSync email accounts. That options is available under IMAP and POP3 email accounts only.

Is this a new issue?

Has anyone been able to fix this?

I called Samsung and they couldn't find a solution in their support knowledge base, asked me to contact my Cellphone Carrier. I called my Callphone Carrier and they said it's out-of-scope for their Support and that I should contact Samsung.

For posterity's sake, I'd like to point out that after doing research online, I have found out that this is an issue plaguing Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 as well. Most of the discussions on this issue end with, "Why don't you just get a @gmail account?"

Since I refuse to have an email with numbers in it, I am going to stick to my more professional looking email on @live.com. I don't want to put an ugly email like jsmith223@live.com on my resume or any other correspondence for that matter.

Anyhoo, long story short, if you have a hotmail email address (@hotmail.com, @live.com, @outlook.com, etc) and you value a synchronized mailbox (meaning, having all sent and read messages marked as such on your desktop, web mailbox and phone regardless of where you sent or read a message), then don't get an Android device until there is concrete evidence online of someone being able to show that it works. POP3 is archaic technology from the mid-90s. IMAP isn't a whole lot newer, but you can still get by with IMAP. Unfortunately, Microsoft has refused to offer IMAP services on hotmail accounts. So your only options are POP3 and Exchange ActiveSync (EAS).


Rooting an Android Motorola Moto G4 Rooting Motorola Moto G4
I have a Motorola Moto G4 that I would like to root.Quick summary of specs:

Developer options are enabled

OEM unlocking = enabled
USB debugging enabled

Android version: 7.0
computer os: windows 10
adb installed

adb devices: device shows up
adb reboot bootloader works

fastboot installed

device shows up in fastboot devices

Problem: after I go to the bootloader screen and I try fastboot oem get_unlock_data the output is:

... INFOUnlock data:

INFOUnlock data unavailable

INFOFailed

OKAY [ 0.101s]

finished. total time: 0.101s

Tried it also from a linux virtual machine. Same result, no code.

Nothing is added to my path. All commands are run in the installed directories of the programs.

How can I fix this?

your device is most likely verizon or AT&T. check your cid is unlockable with

fastboot getvar all

Your device is unlockable if the CID value returned is listed

0x0000
0x0003
0x0007
0x0009
0x000B
0x000C
0x000D
0x000E
0x0014
0x0015
0x00DE
0x0032

source


GET_ACCOUNTS Permission, Email Privacy Any app with the GET_ACCOUNTS permission, may retrieve all registered accounts and email addresses stored in Account Manager. I understand this imposes serious privacy and security issues, as a phone compromised with a potentially malicious app, could have ALL of their email addresses collected, and sent to unintended parties.

To tackle this issue, I know one could be prudent in choosing the apps I install, and use a 3rd party email app that does not use the Android account manager to store account/email credentials. However, there do not seem to be many of such email apps available to choose from. Most of them use the Android account manager, including of course the stock email app.

My question is, what are the best ways to tackle this issue? Since the choices one have is extremely limited.

You can deny permissions requested by apps when using Android 6+ in Settings --> Apps (or Apps & notifications) --> Your_app --> Permissions.

However if you are "forced" into accepting the permissions that may infringe on your privacy, it is better if you have a rooted phone or tablet to install apps that can feed them with fake data. Thus, reducing their ability to access your private information.


Samsung Galaxy SII: OTA ROM Manager update to CyanogenMod: Verification Failed Howdi,

Basically as question says;

Download and Install Cyanogenmod 7.1.0 from ROMManager App, reboot into system recovery, and lo and behold

E:failed to verify whole-file signature
E:signature verification failed
Installation aborted.

Also tried with the 'standard' download from the website instead of OTA, same issue even after verifying md5 hash

Anyone got any ideas?

I'd try putting the "standard download" on your device at /sdcard/update.zip and manually flashing it without using ROM Manager (reboot into recovery and select it yourself).  RM doesn't always play nice with Samsung devices.


Package manager has died while checking permission Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Package manager has died at android.app.ApplicationPackageManager.checkPermission(ApplicationPackageManager.java:427)
Caused by: android.os.DeadObjectException
at android.os.BinderProxy.transactNative(Native Method)
Can anyone help me what does this mean and how to prevent this?

A DeadObjectException can occur if two Android processes are communicating with each other and one of them dies while transferring data to the other. The other process will then throw a DeadObjectException.
In your case the "other" process was the PackageManager process which was communicating to a second process - may be a system service for listing packages?
There is not an easy solution how to prevent such an error. The only chance you have is by checking the adb logcat output for errors when you access the package manager.
The reason why the other process (whatever process it is) fails may be corrupt data.


What do the names means in settings > application manager > current app? In settings>application manager><your app> we got some infos about her.
What do they means? I am quite confused.
I really need to know it but somehow its quite hard to guess. Where can I get that full descibed information about this stats?

The most important things to know (first):

Total
Application
Data

Thanks in advance.

Total = Application + Data

Application = Size of APK file of the app

Data = Space consumed by /data/data/<Package_Name_of_App> (it contains data stored by the app)

Other stats details:

If Force Stop button is active, it means the app is running in background. You can use this button to stop the app from running.
Cache section shows how much data the app has stored in /cache partition.
If Clear Defaults button is active, it means the app is set as default to complete an action like sending email, open URL etc. You can tap this button to clear default(s).
On the same page, you can get list & small description about Permissions the app has. If you need explanation of Permissions, check this article out.


How can I change the default camera app (on lockscreen)? I would like to uninstall the default camera app and instead use the FOSS Open Camera. And I would also like to access the camera from the lockscreen.

How can I do this in Android 6?

Default camera is a system app, which requires root to uninstall default camera app. You can use Titanium Backup like app to remove system app (N.B: Removing system app will be harmful to your device).
Settings->Security, under device security, tap on settings icon near screen lock. Select Lock screen shortcuts. Tap on any left or right default icons, prompts to choose action: tap on select application. Tap on Apps on top, and select your required camera app(These setting is on Lineage 14.1 android nougat)


Do every Android version store the PIN/passwords at the same file? I find a hateful peculiarity of Android its nagging usual changes between versions in the paths for some system files and configuration variables. Even when I assume it is expectable on newborn operating systems.

I have read that the PIN number for unlocking the screen is stored (cyphered, I pressume) at /data/system/password.key .  So, for example, if I do:

# rm /data/system/password.key

... I will be able to delete it (of course priorly mounting the partition system as read/write, booting via Recovery, connecting via ADB shell, on a rooted device... blah blah blah).

Could this change work on every version of Android? Or this storage file is version-dependent?

According to this source

  Android stores this pattern in a special file called password.key in /data/system/. As storing the pattern in plain text wouldn’t be very save, this time Android stores an salted SHA1-hashsum and MD5-hashsum of the PIN or password. The numeric PIN and the alphanumeric passwords are processed in the same way...

  Due to the fact that the hash is salted this time, its unfeasible to crack the password with help of a dictionary attack. For cracking the password it is important to get the salt and enough time for attempting a brute force attack. The salt is a string of the hexadecimal representation of a random 64-bit integer.

From this page it seems you are correct in believing that the password is located here in at least the 2.2 versions of Android and later.


Disable open Google Search by sliding up from the home button "feature"? Galaxy Nexus running Android version 4.1.1.

After a recent update, it seems google has added a feature where you can place your finger on the bottom home buttons, and slide up, to open google search. This feature is extremely useful when I want to interrupt my game play to open a google search while running the streets of liberty city. I am wondering if anyone knows how to disable this wonderful feature.

Thanks.

A simpler solution that doesn't require root access is to go into Settings then Apps. From there, disable Google Search. This will also disable the homescreen searchbar and Google Now features.