What are the optimal settings for a video that will be played on a Galaxy Tab 10.1? What are the best size, compression settings, and format for making video for playback on a Galaxy Tab 10.1?

Video

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will work best with MP4 files (H.264 encoding) at 720p (1280x720). Do not use Entropy Coding. I'm noticing a few problems with it; it could be the video / my setup though and not the device itself.

Use a constant bitrate at a reasonable quality level (RF:20 should be good, or around 1000kbps). Maximum B-Frames should be set to 0, and Reference frames to 4 or 5.

Audio

As far as audio goes you should be fine with most anything; a samplerate of 48 and a bitrate of 160 should be good. Make sure to downmix to stereo. AAC is probably you best bet for the codec.

Summary

More information can be found here and here (though you might want to experiment a bit with some of the advanced settings if you feel that you need them—Probably not a big deal though).

Audio: AAC with Bitrate of 160, Samplerate of 48; downmix to stereo
Video: H.264 in an MP4 wrapper at 720p (1280x720) at a constant bit rate


How to bypass an app's ability to know is being run on an emulator rather than a real device. I would like to install an app called entrust (from the play store) and be able to use it. My last try was to use an emulator called "Genymotion", but the app can detect that the app is being run on an emulator because I get this error:

"Error: Manual Activation is not supported on an unsecured device."

which I don't get if I'm running the app on a real device. Are there any ideas about how can I bypass this check and be able to run it using an emulator?

Thank you!

In general there are three ways to bypass an emulator check:

Modify the app and remove the emulator check.
Modify the emulator so that it pretends to be a real device.
Modify the system calls the app does for detecting it is running on an emulator

As you can see all three ways are not that simple, however the third way may be the easiest as there are some tools that can help you.

Back to option 1 - it requires a lot of development skills to decompile the app (e.g. using apktool to decompile it to Smali code), identify the emulator checks (and to bypass app integrity checks that may exist).

Option 2 is even harder as it requires you to patch and recompile the Android emulator (which is available as source code).

Therefore from my point of view only option 3 is realistic for you. However it still may require some Java development.

You can install the XPosed framework onto your emulator. It allows to modify system calls the app uses for identifying that it is running on an emulator.
There are a some existing XPosed modules for hiding that a device is rooted or that it is running on an emulator. If you are luck there is an existing module working out-of-the box, letting you run your app on an emulator.


How to increase the download speed of Torrent on Android Mobile? I own Xperia Mini Pro. Recently I came to know that there are some Torrents Clients available on Android Market. So I installed aDownloader to download some movies from Torrent server. I want to know if there are any tricks to speed up the Download on Android mobile. And I am using 2.75G(Edge) data connection to download. I found the average download speed on this connection is 25kB/sec.

Pl let me know the same on WiFi connection. The average download speed using WiFi connection is around 50kB/sec.

An Edge connection by itself is so slow compared to the normal torrent download speeds that it makes no sense to optimize the downloads. The ping times on the connection are so high that constant peer switching will slow the download if you attempt to download from several peers simultaneously. Your best bet would be to try to find a couple of good peers to fill your bandwidth and stick with them, or stop+restart the torrent to get new peers.


APK's AndroidManifest.xml looks to be binary I'm not sure if this is a problem with my unzip tool, or not but I'm looking into the APK file structure and I see a file called AndroidManifest.xml. Inside that file there is no XML? It actually looks like a binary dump,

What does this file do, and should it look like this.

I'm using the official VLC nightly, I'm trying to troubleshoot this problem

https://nightlies.videolan.org/build/android-armv7/VLC-Android-3.0.11-20180618-0249-ARMv7.apk

It seems AndroidManifest.XML is a binary xml file, here is a tool to extract Binary XML. You can confirm that by using file

$ file AndroidManifest.xml
AndroidManifest.xml: Android binary XML


how to add Thai as system language Samsung J5 Can someone please walk me through how to add Thai as a setup language on my wifes new Samsung J5? As I understand it the language will be there somewhere and just need unlocking

You need to go to Settings > Languages and Input > Languages and then select Thai as the language.


Why to create and use a Samsung account (on a brand-new S4 mini)? Are there any real benefits of (creating and) using a Samsung account? Or is Samsung just offering inferior services (e.g. "synch") in an effort to deepen its marketing clout?

As well as getting access to Samsung's sync and backup service, creating a Samsung account also gets you access to Samsung's app store. It's not as extensive as the main Play Store, but it has a good selection of apps.

Whether you think that's a "real benefit" or not is entirely up to you.


bug with nexus 5 calendar For some reason the calendar in nexus 5 lg acts strange.. it keeps on taking me back to 1970.. and the date selector keeps on changing at a hysterical speed. any idea how to address this?

This doesnt seem normal. If your date/time-settings in the Android System-Settings-Menu are correct (maybe change it by hand to the current day & year to test it) there should be no issues like this.

If after this there is still this issue please go into your App-settings (Settings > Apps) and search for google calendar. Here please delete data and cache and maybe also installed updates. Then make a device-restart and re-download the update and check again. This should solve issues if they are caused by the problem-app itself.

In case you have other Calendar apps installed, or other apps that interact with systems time-settings you should try to disable (Settings > Apps > AppThatHasProblem > Disable) it to test if this was the error.

If all that doesnt help (also not the data & cache-cleaning etc) and you absolutley want to use this calendar (maybe try Sunrise, its really very good) i can only suggest a factory-reset, sorry.


Is there a reason why an app would want all of my contacts? I've downloaded an application that wasn't in Google Play (private developer) for testing purposed. Part of the assignment is for me to send them back some information about my device (auto-generated, I just hit send). However, I noticed before sending the email that there was an attachment. I sent it to myself first so I could look at it on my computer and saw it was all of my contacts and the information I had of them, such as phone numbers, names, etc.

Is this something the developer legitly needs? The application can call other people, so that may be why they need it, but I don't understand why they need it. Should I send it to them?

Definitly not! That's nothing like what a developer needs. And a developer requiring you to send that I'd avoid in the future as well. All that might be needed can be provided by e.g. adb bugreport (which is the most comprehensive data collection known to me to be useful for a developer concerning his development). Requesting all your addresses is harvesting, and rather used for spamming.

TL;DR: I would NOT send that information. You might contact that dev and ask for an explanation, and then maybe decide different. But I cannot believe this being a "mistake" or simply "carelessness".


How can I tell if my Samsung S7 supports connecting to a wired ethernet via a usb OTG cable? I want to connect my Samsung S7 to a wired ethernet connection using something like this usb micro > Ethernet hub

Their instructions say to look for Ethernet option under Settings> Networking
But I see not such option.

Folks are reporting that the Samsung does not support wired connections

Like any other computer system Android also requires a driver for talking to a device.

However unlike regular PCs you can't just install a driver, instead you only have the drivers the manufacturer included when building the Android system.

In a terminal or on an adb shell you can list all the drivers that were included in your kernel:

ls /system/lib/modules

If the list contains for example the driver usbnet there is a chance that an USB Ethernet adapter may work.


Are there any known ways to root the new HTC Wildfire revisions? After using CyanogenMod on my HTC Desire for some time, i wanted to root and convert the HTC Wildfire i bought for my wife early this year.

Turns out that unrevoked is currently unable to root this particular version of the wildfire ('is your firmware too new'-error).

Are there any Known ways currently available (or available in the foreseeable future) to root said version of the wildfire?

a little late for this.

Wildfire is now rootable. I did it on mine a couple of days ago. I have cyanogenmod running.

I followed the instructions in  this site
you basically first use alpharev to unlock the S-off mode and then you install clockwork recovery to backup and then unrevocked to root.


Looking for some way to share images and other media to Facebook (without having the Facebook app installed) I've removed the Facebook app from my phone due to it's high drain on the battery (Facebook and Messenger were consuming over 18% of the battery just based on background activity)

Is there some way or method that can provide "share to" functionality to Facebook without having Facebook installed. I'd be fine with it only supporting images, but other media would be great. I know I can use Facebook in Chrome and that might be the answer, but I was hoping for a better solution.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Login to facebook from your moblie browser. Click on the Photo at top left of facebook home page. Click Add photo or Add Video as per your requirement. Then select the content you want to upload.


Can applications be downloaded without a Google Account and without disabling security features? If I wish to install applications such as Skype, DropBox, etc however without registering for a Google account, is that possible? If so, how do I install them without a Google account?

Use ADB to install the applications.

Install the Android sdk ( https://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html ).

Enable USB debugging in Settings>Applications>Development.
This process can be done even without enabling side-loading of apps. Open a command prompt window and type:

adb install app_name.apk


Registering Viber in a Virtualbox Android I have Android installed in Vistual Hard Disk and I run it in VirtualBox. Everything works fine. But I cannot register a Viber account in it. In fact, it was registered in my first trial but after a few minutes a message appeared saying this registeration is no longer valid:

and I could no longer sign into the account. And I could no longer register with the same phone number in the virtual android because viber thinks it is not run in a phone:

Is there a way to solve this problem?

After a lot of searching and contacting Viber, I found out that, such version of android does what is regarded as unusual activity by Viber. This results in blocking all phone numbers used in such version of Android.

To unlock my phone number, I insisted sending messages to Open a Ticket, explaining the situation. They sent an email and I had to explain again as a reply to that email. Their first answer was a template answer:

  Our system has identified your account as a source of spam messaging
  due to an increased activity on Viber. The account has been
  automatically added to a block list and can not be unblocked.

  No further information is available at this time. Please do not reply
  to this e-mail.

And I opened another ticket explaining that I could not be a spammer only in a few minutes. This time they had a non-template answer:

  Your numbers seems to be blocked at this time due to unusual activity
  on Viber. We have unblocked them and you should be able to register to
  Viber again.

  Please note that if your numbers are blocked again after being removed
  from our block list, we will not be able to unblock them in the
  future.

  Best regards,  Orlando  Viber Support Team

So the answer is that such widely used virtual versions of android are in Viber black list and may result in clocking your phone number in Viber.


How to install vanilla Android OS on Kindle Fire? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I install vanilla Android on the Kindle Fire?

I have a Kindle Fire device and I want to install the vanilla Android OS on it.

Please help me how to flush out the original ROM and how to install new vanilla Android on it.

Rooting the Kindle Fire (necessary for installing a new system, see tutorials below)

Installing CyanogenMod on the Kindle Fire (I guess it is pretty much the same with other Android systems)

Installing the Android Market on the Kindle Fire (may also be helpful)

! Warning !

The Kindle Fire is known for having hardware compatibility issues with systems other than the pre-installed one!


Boot hangs after firmware update I flashed my Samsung Galaxy Ace (GT-S5830) with the Cyanogenmod 7.2 release, the install went fine without any errors.

Powering the phone on shows a black screen with the word "ANDROID" in white, and it stays there. I left it alone for up to 30 minutes to humor the "may take up to 5 minutes" caveat.

I tried this answer without success (broken link to PDA zip, the one I googled is obviously incorrect). Looking into this issue more, this answer also yields broken links. (Seems a common issue for fast-paced firmware releases. . .)

I cannot seem to find a firmware for GT-S5830, which I could update via Odin. I can still power on into recovery mode, so installing from sd card is also possible, but I'm lost for what to install if the CMod did not work.

Edit: I had the phone reset by the store staff. I am a bit jaded that I could not install a nicer release on it, but hope to get this right next time!

Sounds like you're stuck in a bootloop. If you backed up your phone before you flashed the release, reflash that image.

If not... Well try reflashing the ROM release. If this still doesn't work, flash an older version of CyanogenMod, or your phones stock, factory ROM.


Samsung S4 Mini (GT-I9195) TWRP recovery fails I have a Samsung S4 Mini (GT-I9195) and successfully installed cm13 with the cm 13 recovery on it. Now I am stuck with the installation of GAPPS by means of TWRP.

I have tried to follow this tutorial to install twrp (3.0.1 or 2.8.7):

a) App Install Method: it tells me that something went wrong and it does not boot the recovery, indeed. What seems wired to me is that when I have to choose an image it shows me the device code serranolteusc and serranoveltexx for my S4 mini rather than serranoltexx, like on the website of cm 13. Is this normal?

(I even tried flashify instead of the twrp manager, but it did not function!)

b) Since I am on linux and have no windows, I cannot use the odin method. But I tried heimdall via heimdall flash --RECOVERY twrp.img --no-reboot to no avail.

c) I tried the dd Install Method via dd if=/sdcard/twrp.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery, but it still does not boot into recovery mode. Is it possible that there is an issue with the path in of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery?

Is it possible that there is no twrp for serranoltexx available? Can someone help me, please, I want to install the Google Play Store!

It functions now with the file posted by Death Mask Salesman here!


Blinkfeed, what exactly it is? HTC says best feature of the device. But what exactly is Blinkfeed?

BlinkFeed—an aggregator of news and social network content [...]
BlinkFeed will always occupy the leftmost page of the home screen.

The default BlinkFeed home screen of HTC Sense 5

(Wikipedia: HTC One)
To explain the second line:

By default, there will only be two home screen panels out of the box: a "BlinkFeed" page and a classic Android home screen on the right.

This explanation is taken from HTC One software hands-on: Sense 5, BlinkFeed, Sense TV and new Sync Manager (Engadget), where Blinkfeed is further described:

This is simply a Flipboard-like tile interface that sits permanently on the main home page. Created in collaboration with Mobiles Republic, this tool pulls in content from various publications and social networks (Twitter, Plurk, LinkedIn, Flickr, Zoe Share and more), as well as your calendar and TV shows from the TV app (more on that later). You won't be seeing emails here, as HTC positions BlinkFeed as a place for more ambient info rather than critical updates. Regardless, the feed can be customized to suit your needs, though the first version won't let you add custom RSS feeds just yet.

Read more in the linked articles themselves.


How can I record internal audio? When I try use recording apps to record audio that comes from another app they don't work - actually the recording doesn't start at all. so how can i record this audio output?

I am looking for a solution for android 8.

as far as I know, Google policy don't allow internal audio recording on Android.

But here are some tips:

Some phones have the feature within their UI like MIUI or EMUI or samsung. But you may not hear the sounds while internal audio is recorded.
Also, you can try Elgato game capture card. Many other apps are available (but they frequently need Root though.)

Use audio splitter. You may connect one to headphones to hear what you are recording. Connect other to PC through aux cable and record in windows. Use any screen recorder to record screen and finally mix the audio and video file.


Remove TeleNav GPS app from myTouch 4G Slide After accepting a system update, I found that T-Mobile installed TeleNav GPS on my phone. Tech tier support tells me there is no way to remove it since it is installed as a "system level" app or something.

I'd really like to remove it, because it interferes with the default Google Navigation app, coming up no matter how many times I set the defaults.

I planned to root the phone, following the instructions on rootzwiki, but after running Revolutionary I got this message:

  Your device: doubleshot, with HBOOT 1.45.0013 is not supported at this time

I've read elsewhere I can unlock my bootloader with software from HTC, but that this will completely format the phone, erasing all personal data, installed apps, and messages.

Do I have any other options to remove this hostile GPS application?

There is an application called Root Uninstaller Pro 2.7, with the sole purpose of allowing users uninstall either SYSTEM or REGULAR applications.

To download it to your phone via WAP:

Visit http://wap.mobiles24.com on your wap enabled handset
Select Download by ID and enter 552004
Click Download Item

Other links:

Root Uninstaller Pro 2.7 Android App Apk

Google Play :: Root Uninstaller Pro (small price)


Odin3 Bootloader button is greyed out I'm trying to install the custom Rapture ROM to improve performance on my aging Note 4. I've rooted it and now in following the instructions I see I need to update my FW which involves loading BASEBAND.TAR.MD5 using Odin3. (quick link).

My problem is that even though I've downloaded the baseband and bootloader when I run Odin3 all of the buttons except for 'AP' are greyed out so I cannot proceed. Please advise.

In the case you weren't eager to look at the research, here's the solution.

In the same folder of your Odin executable, you'll find a file called Odin3.ini. Being it a configuration file, it defines the behaviour Odin should meet at startup. What we're interested into, though, is to examine its content, so fire up your text editor of choice and open the file.

Once opened, you'll see various sections, each marked by a [Something] label. What you need to do, is to find the [ButtonOption] label.

After you've found it, you'll see various entries under it. Specifically for your case, the section should be similar to the following:

[ButtonOption]
Bootloader=0
PDA=1
Phone=0
CSC=0
UMS/PATCH=0
USERDATA=0

Now, a 0 means that the corresponding checkbox is greyed out, while a 1 lets Odin know that such checkbox will be selectable. Since the flags' names can be confusing, here's a brief overview of their meaning:

Bootloader = BL button
PDA = AP button
Phone = CP button
CSC = CSC button
UMS/PATCH = UMS button
USERDATA = not implemented yet

You should now be able to edit the flags in order to activate the needed checkboxes. Just remember to save your changes afterwards.


plain text editor that can delete lines I keep to do lists on my computer using plain ASCII text (.txt) files that I sync with Dropbox.

I just got an Android tablet and I'd like a text editor that I can use to edit those files.  I need only two features above the basic text editor:

Ability to delete a line (the ability to select a single line would also work)
Ability to move a line up/down one line (this one is optional)

Any Android text editors good for lists?

I find Epistle a useful text editor that syncs with a Dropbox folder, it's not the most advanced editor but can handle both plain text and Markdown formatted plain text (as used here). It uses the built-in Android text selection features, so you can select a line by dragging the text selection arrows to both ends.


i still can't connect gt-s5360 Samsung phone to windows 7 PC i still can't connect gt-s5360 Samsung phone to windows 7 PC but it charging i can't get "connect to pc" option and  i can connect another Samsung phone to PC with same usb cable

Depending on the model of your phone, you may not be able to get the "Connect to PC" dialog. This is normal behavior.

Troubleshoot:

Since you can connect another phone to your PC, you probably have the
correct drivers (since Samsung uses a universal USB driver which you
can download here), but I would try to install it just in
case (it doesn't hurt to try).
Try disabling USB Debugging under Settings > Developer Settings.
Try enabling Settings > Wireless and Network > USB Settings > Ask on connection.


Unable to install Cyanogenmod in GT I9000 I have done something very wrong with my GT I9000 devices.
i rooted and install cyanogenmod and it works for 2 months, but after that it went into boot loop and while troubleshooting i make the device unusable.
I again rooted the device via ODIN and install sempaphore KK_3.4.3s and after that try to install cyanogenmod 11 kitkat pacakge via external SD cards but everytime getting error:

error: installation aborted.

From error logs:
I:cant partition non mmcblk device :/devices/platform/s3c-sdhci.2/mmc_host/mmc2

Pls help me in providing slution via ODIN only as ADB is not getting connected.

Thanks

First go to the download mode
Volume Down & Home & Power
Now install stock GT-I9000 using ODIN from firmware in XDA here. Root and then install Semaphore_2.7.4.tar from here. Alternatively you can also install recovery from Replicant website (my preference). First install CM10.1.2. check if the phone is working fine. Then download, cm11 go to recovery, wipe data/factory reset + wipe cache partition. Wiping cache is important otherwise you will endup in a boot cycle. This is necessary as the partitions are different in cm11 in comparison to cm10.x. Do not directly flash cm11 on stock.


Why is it possible to backup the rom images from mediatek devices using third party (open source) tools such as SP flash tool unlike Google Pixel? When running Linux i am able to use SP flash tool to do a readback from my mediatek device and do a full backup of the rom images while the device is in preloader mode, without the use of any additional USB drivers.
Yet this is not possible with Google Pixel.
Is this perhaps due to Mediatek going out of their way and adding support for their devices during the development of the mainline linux kernel and Google dont?

it is simply not true that linux does not need drivers. linux is just smarter than windows and handles it's drivers itself. linux just doesn't ask for drivers, but it use drivers anyway
new mediatek devices are accessable from preloader only with proper secure boot download agent (DA_SWSEC.bin) and authentification file (auth_sv5.auth). that files are vendor and device specific. even with proper files SP Flash Tool is not able to read back whole EMMC, there are forbidden partitions which can't be accessed. Lenovo devices are a good example
for qualcomm devices it is quite same, there we have EDL mode available instead where we can read raw partitions from device only with proper factory loader (firehose programmer). again that files are vendor and device specific
the fact that you can't read data from google pixel is that HTC hasn't released/leaked firehose programmer for google devices
while google may have that file internally, it seems they are not interested in unbricking, the official install method rely on fastboot only. once a device becomes bricked, it is not possible to unbrick (on locked bootloader). so the official solution for bricked google devices is a replacement device. that's why i personally recommend every google device should be bootloader unlocked on initial setup (my opinion)


Launch Linkedin app from Gmail link rather than browser Background
Currently, when I receive an email from LinkedIn, let's use the example of an invitation to connect, I'll select the link from the Gmail app which will open the mobile LinkedIn site via my default browser (Firefox).  Now, I have the LinkedIn app on my Android phone and I would expect these applications can talk to each other whereby the link would launch the app instead of the browser.
My Attempts to Fix
So my initial assumption was that something within the default applications settings got allocated to Firefox rather than LinkedIn for this type of link.  So here's what I've tried...

From App Settings > Gmail > clear defaults, clear cache, clear data
From App Settings > Firefox > clear defaults, clear cache

From here when I try again in the Gmail app I get the option of choosing between different browsers installed.  However, LinkedIn still does not appear as a choice for the default application.
Some Details

I'm running the latest versions of both Gmail and LinkedIn apps
On Android version 4.4.4

Have others had success here?  Is it possible this is not a current capability?

Sadly, This feature/functionality is NOT currently Supported by LinkedIn App.

The best user can do is write a Feedback/Review in Google Play Store and request this feature to be added to the development team of LinkedIn.

Hopefully, in newer version of LinkedIn App, this might be included.


using a theme .zip file for my home screen I was looking for customize my homescreen and found  this screen attractive.
I have already downloaded the zip file given there, but don't know how to use them.

Please help.

You need to install the software the page links to in the top right: Nova Launcher and Ultimate Custom Widget. The files in the zip include a wallpaper (which you set through the launcher's settings), a theme for Nova Launcher, and settings to use with the widget. Once you've installed the right software and played with its settings, it should become obvious how you need to use the files.


command line text editor for android lollipop terminal emulator Is there any text editor for lollipop which i can use from terminal emulator??The editor must be like gedit or notepad like (means i can create any kind of file like .txt .c .cpp .html etc)I have used mobipad which resembles notepad but I want something for command shell.

Depending on the Android variant (stock ROMs, custom ROMs, etc. could differ), GNU Nano might already be built in. Here's what it looks like running in Terminal Emulator, identical to its desktop Linux counterpart.

Even the CTRL key shortcuts are preserved, so your terminal emulator should support emulating CTRL key combos if you want to use it, else you'd need an external keyboard.

Run it anywhere simply by executing nano /path/to/file/filename.


Connecting PS3 controller to Xperia Z How can I connect my PS3 controller to my Sony Xperia Z for gaming?

You sure can! Sony introduced this in 4.2.2. for the sony-xperia-z

Sony have introduced native dualshock 3 support

  This software functionality was spied in the upcoming Sony Xperia SP (C530X) settings menu (Settings > Xperia). From here you will find a ‘DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller’ menu option. You then need to connect the controller to your phone via an USB-OTG cable. Once this is done, you can remove the cable and the phone and controller will now be connected via Bluetooth.

Here is a YouTube guide on just this wirelessly:

3G Uk also have a guide posted on how to do this using USB OTG, and here is an extract:

  How do you connect the DualShock Controller ?

  Connecting your controller to your Sony Xperia devices doesn't involve rooting your device or anything complex.

  However, there are some things you'll need two things before you can begin:

  •USB OTG (On The Go) adapter - An inexpensive cable which enables you to connect USB devices to your Sony Xperia device (£2.68 on Amazon).

  •The charging cable that came with your PS3 Dualshock controller
  Then follow the 4 simple steps below:

  Step 1 - Connect the "charging cable" to your PS3 DualShock controller and plug the other end into the USB OTG adapter.

  Step 2 - Plug the USB OTG cable into the micro-USB port on your Sony Xperia smartphone/tablet.

  Step 3 - Open up "Settings" on your Xperia device and navigate to the "Xperia" menu (listed under the Device section)

  Step 4 - Select the "DualShock Wireless Controller" app and follow the on-screen prompts.

This artilce is for the coders and programmers and has details on how to implement in your own game. Not exactly what you asked, but may be of interest to some!


Swype "The Swype package you installed is configured for another device." error on install Running CM6 on my Motorola Drid.

Another Swype upgrade, another headache.

I keep getting this error message when I uninstall --> reboot --> reinstall Swype: "The Swype package you installed is configured for another device."

Apparently I was closing out of the install app too early.  When you install Swype (the actual app, not the installer), and press done, you must WAIT about 2 to 4 seconds for a dialog box to appear to "Enable Swype".  DO NOT PRESS BACK (and then try to enable Swype via the keyboards in Settings) because it will not work!  Swype has to show this dialog box in order to create a license file.  More info here.


Can I extract the Stock HTC firmware (Sense) from an M8 and flash it in another rooted M8? I rooted my friend's HTC M8 upon his request and also put TWRP in it. He tried many ROMs, including AOSP, but couldn't live with the bugs. So, he asked me to revert his phone back to stock with Sense on it and the ability to install OTA updates (basically unroot the phone).

I searched a lot over the Internet on how to unroot an HTC M8 but nothing worked. So, I flashed SkyDragon ROM hoping it would be the closest to stock HTC, but it has its own bugs.

My sister also has an HTC M8, which has never been tampered with (no root) and currently runs Android 6.0.1. I've been thinking for some time if I could somehow extract the Stock HTC firmware from my sister's unrooted M8 and put it in my friend's rooted M8. If I could get this latest version of HTC firmware in my friend's phone (even as a flashable ROM), I don't need to worry about future OTA updates, since this is proably the last update for M8. I understand that first I would probably have to root my sister's phone for that, but that's okay if I can just make sure that she stays on pure HTC stock afterward (I would probably need help for this too).

Is there any way to do this? Or it would also be great if someone could post a working method to unroot the M8 and install OTA updates. That way would be much simpler.

I live in India and both the M8s are the international version.

Hey I had the same problem I tried everything. Then I did this - I downloaded ruu file for my m8 and it works like a charm now . You just have to run the ruu file on windows while your phone is connected. Beware finding the right ruu files takes time. And also it requires you to be on the correct mid and Cid that came with your phone (or the developer Cid number 11111111)


ADB works over USB, but doesn't work over Wifi I have weird issue with  NTT 407 tablet that works on Android 4.1.1.
I've switched "USB Debugging" and when I plug USB, adb works fine. But I need it working over Wifi, so I connect to my AP, set static IP 192.168.0.53, make sure it's pingable and then try to switch into TCPIP mode with following command:

adb tcpip 5555

Since this moment if I execute

adb connect 192.168.0.53

it should work without USB cable plugged in. At least My Galaxy S2 and another tablet NTT 807 do. But it doesn't! All I get is:

unable to connect to 192.168.0.53:5555

Another weird thing, "adb connect" command works when I've USB plugged in. And "adb devices" command returns

List of devices attached:
192.168.0.53:5555    device

and everything works well till I unplug the USB cable.

Moreover, when I perform

adb kill-server
adb devices

I get blank space after List of devices attached, even is USB is plugged. I need to execute
    adb connect 192.168.0.53
again to work with adb.

It seems that TCPIP mode is working, but still over USB cable.

Any ideas how to fix it and make ADB working over WiFi? Tablet is not rooted and I prefer to avoid doing this, because I don't want to lose warranty.

You need to configure your phone for adb wireless before you can use it. If you don't have root, try ADB Wireless (no root).

If you have root, this is the method I always use for adb wireless. It's worked when adb wireless apps don't. Run these commands as root in a terminal emulator.

# kill adbd
toolbox ps | grep adbd | { read -A i && kill ${i[1]}; }
# set the adb tcp port to 5555
setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555
# start up adbd
adbd&
# get your Android's local ip
toolbox ifconfig wlan0 | { read -A i && echo ${i[2]}; }

Then on your pc:

# clear out adb connections
adb kill-server
# connect over the default port 5555
adb connect ANDROID_LOCAL_IP

If you have trouble with this, I would try a few things. Update your PC's adb client. Check your PC firewall, if you have one, to make sure either adb has tcp access or port 5555 is open. Check your Android firewall, if you have one, to make sure adb has wifi access. I use this on Windows and Linux.


How to stop creepypasta.wikia from suddenly redirecting me on Android basic browser? For the past few days I've been reading the creepypasta.wikia site on my new, virus-free Android phone. For the past couple of days when I'm reading a story, not clicking anything at all, the page changes to another page saying that I need to update Android at the Google store, or one of two other adverts I can't recall exactly. The page I'm on changes, this isn't a pop up or under so if I want to return to the creepypasta I was reading I have to click Back. How can I fix this?

This is called malvertising. As an user, your only option is to use an ad blocker like AdAway.


"Charging 54%" in android x86 I am using android via virtualbox in my windows 7 PC. My android x86 home screen always shows a "Charging 54%" message before I unlock it. It never increases or gets down. Why is it always "charging 54%" ?

Since your virtual machine doesn't have a battery, it uses a fake battery sensor to provide the required battery information to the OS. While it's possible to make it read any amount of charge, and to change over time, it's convenient to use a fixed amount somewhere in the middle of the range, since values close to 100% or 0% can cause the Android OS and apps to take special actions (such as closing down apps) to help preserve the battery).

For your use case, it might make more sense for it to report that the device is on mains power, since there isn't really a battery at all, but they've probably set the default behaviour based on the official Android emulator. Since the official emulator is primarily used for testing and developing apps, it's better for it to report battery power, to make it easier for app developers to test how their apps behave on battery power.


Link2SD | 1st partition not working / not showing / not detected My problem is, that I can't see the 1st. partition in the storage informations.

Hardware:

Sony Android mobile phone (don't know exactly the model; is my girlfriends)
Android 4.2.2
Samsung PRO Plus Micro SDHC 32GB (https://www.amazon.de/Samsung-Micro-100MB-Speicherkarte-Adapter/dp/B06XFRZ9Z6)

I have prepared my mobile phone with the following tutorial:

https://www.wikihow.tech/Use-Link2SD

After starting the app (Link2SD) I could successfully create the mount script! But wenn entering the storage informations, the 1st. partition is not beeing detected properly.

On the picture below, you can see Ext. Speicher SD /storage/sdcard1.

I have partitioned the SD card 50:50, so each partition has got ~16GB.
When plugin the mobile phone to a windows PC, I can only see the sdcard0 with 4GB and not my 16GB storage. Also in the Settings/Storage the SD-Card is not properly detected.

try with this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgV3Ty9Bnw  to creat the mount script of the second patition using app2sd(all in one tools)[ROOT]
i hop that help you .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgV3Ty9Bnw


Galaxy Mini can't connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi I purchased a Galaxy Mini with 2.2.1 a few days ago and I can connect to my home network (the wireless icon appears) but I can't surf on the Internet. I verified it got an IP correctly and tried many suggestions but no luck. It worked once at home and on a friend's network.

My router is a wireless-n Linksys.

This sounds more like inconsistent wifi settings.

Since your phone shows its connected, try to visit your router's web interface through the phone to see if its connected properly. (note that please use stock browser and no proxies for now) If this doesn't work, most likely its the problem with wrong password or security mode like WEP/WPA.

If the above works, then I suspect you to have a DNS problem. A rooted phone can let you custom-set the DNS on your phone. Try to set it to Google's DNS.
Just to confirm if its a DNS problem, try entering an IP address of a website rather than the domain name.


How to not be asked every time whether to use TouchWiz Home or TouchWiz Easy Home? On my Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo (Android KitKat 4.4.2), as soon as I reboot the phone and enter my password to unlock the screen I get the following dialog box, asking me which home screen app I want to use. I am then asked the same question on several other occasions (such as when I exit another application, perhaps one that fires up by default when the phone starts):

Click to enlarge
I always click on Always, and then OK in the following screen:

Click to enlarge
The problem is that every time I reboot my phone I get asked the same question. Is there a way to permanently store this setting (and perhaps change it at a later time via the phone's Settings app)?

This seems like a bug on my particular Samsung device (since I haven't had the same problem on other Samsung phones I have tried). I wonder whether there's a way to fix it.

You have said that if you select Google Now launcher the problem does not happen. It sounds like Google Now is forcing the choice. If you do not use the Google Now, I would suggest uninstalling it and this should fix the problem for you.


Why am I unable to view pictures sent to me by MMS from an iPhone? If I receive a picture message from a friend with an iPhone, the MMS message appears with a "Slideshow" attachment.  When I try to open the Slideshow, I get a message saying, "Unsupported media type".

Can anyone help?  Why can't I view these messages?

Edit: I'm running the T-mod ROM with Froyo (2.2b)

A few things you could try... (good luck!)

Reset the Messaging App

Settings>Menu>Applications>Manage applications>Soft menu key>Filter>All.  Scroll to the Messaging App and tap that. Tap Clear Data, Clear Defaults, then Force Stop. Powercycle the phone. Test MMS. If it fails to resolve the issue go the messaging application and tap the Menu soft key>Settings>Menu soft key again> Restore Default Settings.

Alternative Messaging Apps

Try ChompSMS or Handcent from the Market.

Download the message first

I forget how you do this exactly :o/ Maybe long press or menu button? Then try viewing the image from the Gallery app.


My SD card is missing 2 GB of space i have a 16 GB samsung SD card (~14.8 GB of usable space). As i have a rooted phone, i tried to partition my SD card into a 2GB ext4 and rest as the FAT16 partition, using MiniTool Partition wizard.

After i applied the changes, the minitool partition wizard has been showing me only 1 partition of the sd card disk with only 12.8 GB of usable space (FAT16) (the ext4 partition is missing). Even my android can't find the ext4 partition on the SD card. I have been googling for hours, still can't find a solution.
Supposedly, it should show me approx 2 GB of unallocated space, but it is not.

Basically, 2 GB of space just vanished from my card. Please help!

Try to format the card in a device other than a computer or Android device. As example a camera that supports the card. This must solve partition / space allocation problems.


Formatting internal MTD storage: selecting block size? I have rooted china N101-II tablet with CyanogenMod after flashing custom ROM.

Internal MTD storage is 32 GiB large and custom ROM flashing make different layout to internal partitioning. Thus /data near 12 GiB instead of original 1 GiB (so thera are no longer need to move packages to external flash!!):

130|root@android:/system # df
Filesystem               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/system                595.4M   549.8M    45.6M   1024
/data                   11.8G   449.8M    11.4G   4096
/cache                 126M     4.1M   121.9M   4096

Rest space left to /mnt/sdcard:

root@android:/ # cat /system/etc/vold.fstab
dev_mount flash /mnt/sdcard auto /devices/virtual/mtd/mtd9/mtdblock9 nonremovable

but custom ROM flashing process left mtdblock9 unformatted.

Under PATH available commands: mkfs.ext2 and tune2fs so I can format myself.

mkfs.ext2 support:

130|root@android:/system # mkfs.ext2 --help
mkfs.ext2 --help
BusyBox v1.21.1-jb bionic (2013-07-01 01:04 +0200) multi-call binary.

Usage: mkfs.ext2 [-Fn] [-b BLK_SIZE] [-i INODE_RATIO] [-I INODE_SIZE] [-m RESERVED_PERCENT] [-L LABEL] BLOCKDEV [KBYTES]

        -b BLK_SIZE Block size, bytes

According to:

root@android:/ # cat /proc/mtd
cat /proc/mtd
dev:    size   erasesize  name
mtd0: 00400000 00004000 "misc"
mtd1: 00800000 00004000 "kernel"
mtd2: 01000000 00004000 "boot"
mtd3: 01000000 00004000 "recovery"
mtd4: 18000000 00004000 "backup"
mtd5: 08000000 00004000 "cache"
mtd6: 300000000 00004000 "userdata"
mtd7: 00400000 00004000 "kpanic"
mtd8: 28000000 00004000 "system"
mtd9: 46fa00000 00004000 "user"

seems that I need to select block size as 16384 (16KiB). Am I right?

UPDATE Seems that mkfs.ext2 from busybox and doesn't properly functioning:

android# mkfs.ext2 /dev/block/mtdblock9
mkfs.ext2: lseek: Value too large for defined data type

But I found mke2fs:

android# mke2fs -I 16384 /dev/block/mtdblock9
mke2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
mke2fs: invalid inode size 16384 (min 128/max 4096)

In order to reduce fragmentation I try to  select larger block size (which make lesser amount of erase operation on flash I hope):

android# mke2fs -I 4096 /dev/block/mtdblock9
mke2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
1162128 inodes, 4651520 blocks
232576 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=0
142 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8184 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
        32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
        4096000

I select largest possible block size for mke2fs to avoid block fractioning as erase operation on that MTD memory performed by 16 KiB chanks:

android# /sbin/mke2fs -t ext4 -I 4096 -O ^huge_file -m 0 /dev/block/mtdblock9
mke2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
1162128 inodes, 4651520 blocks
0 blocks (0.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=0
142 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8184 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
        32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
        4096000

Writing inode tables: done
Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

This filesystem will be automatically checked every 35 mounts or
180 days, whichever comes first.  Use tune2fs -c or -i to override.

then:

android# tune2fs -c 0 -i 0 /dev/block/mtdblock9
tune2fs -c 0 -i 0 /dev/block/mtdblock9
tune2fs 1.41.14 (22-Dec-2010)
Setting maximal mount count to -1
Setting interval between checks to 0 seconds

NOTE There is no need to format /data and /cache partitions. That can be done automatically in wipe data of recovery menu.


What's the point of encryption with 3x3 in OnePlus 5 if it has 409104 combinations meaning it can be cracked under a second with any modern processor? I am not sure what I am missing, but decryption the sdcard should be as easy as opening it if it it that few possible combinations. So what's the point of it?

To clarify I mean booting into recovery mode, ADBing, and trying to decrypt the partition directly, without artificial timeouts that OSes do.

Countering your supplemental conditions...

  To clarify I mean booting into recovery mode, ADBing, and trying to decrypt the partition directly, without artificial timeouts that OSes do.

Stock recovery doesn't have regular ADB capability (only ADB sideload, and that only flashes signed firmware).
Even with USB Debugging enabled, you can't authorize a random PC to debug over ADB, since the authorization dialog is behind the lockscreen.
Can't read/pull anything from /data even if you have ADB authorization, unless the device is rooted.
Can't flash a custom recovery without unlocking the bootloader, which nowadays requires flipping a switch in Settings - Developer options, again behind the lockscreen. Unlocking also fully wipes all data including the internal storage.
If the bootloader is already unlocked then theoretically none of the security measures would ever matter - but such is a very rare case for regular users, and anyone who do it would (or should) know the risk well already.


Android sdcard appears empty to Windows? I have a Archos Cobalt tablet.

The external micro sdcard appears empty to the tablet and to the pc when the tablet is attached via USB, debugging on.
I have used app2sd to move apps to the sdcard. Without the card in they don't work so it must have moved them but it still appears as blank to the tablet and pc?

The contents of the tablets internal disk appear ok on both the tablet and in Windows so whats the difference?

I have also tried removing the card and plugging it in again.

I've done some research and it seems to be an oddity of the tablet.

When you do 'move to sd' whats happening is its moving data to another part of the -internal- sdcard. You can't move apps to the external one

e.g.

http://yatse.leetzone.org/redmine/boards/2/topics/259#.UTfGXxyeN8E

thanks anyway


Manage photo Library on Facebook Messenger app I was just wondering if there was a way to modify the folder structure on the Facebook and Facebook Messenger app to use the folders already set up in the Gallery to select photos, rather than selecting all at once and ordering them by "last modified".

To explain, I have several folders in my Gallery app - "Camera", "Facebook", "Friends" etc. When using the Facebook and Facebook Messenger apps, and I want to share a photo, I just get all of my photos, seemingly organised by the date they were last updated (including if the photo was edited).

So is there a way to get these apps to use the folder structure I have in my Gallery app, rather than the current setup?

The only way to do this I know of is to circumvent facebook when selecting photos.

To do this:

go to your gallery
select the photo(s) you want to send
press share on those
choose the method as facebook or messenger.

If you want I can explain in more detail, just comment if that's the case.


Cannot scan QR code for WhatsApp web even when mobile data only I am on the very last version of WhatsApp for Android: it can't no longer connect to WhatsApp Web (it worked fine for ages)
I tried all older tricks found in this forum: mobile data only(no wifi), rotate QR code by 90°, clean up camera lens, etc. Nothing works
Does anybody have this issue as well?  What else should I try ?
My phone is a Samsung S10 (patched to very last firmware & Android)
Thanks for your help!
Didier

In the meantime, my problem got solved : I got an update of WhatsApp on both my phone (2.20-2005.169 and my Mac (Version 2.2047.10). With those 2 versions, I can connect WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Mac with my Samsung phone again.
NB: for it to work, you MUST on the phone use ...>WhatsApp Web and then scan the code even for the Mac App. Do NOT go  ...>Settings>QR code (top right)>Scan Code: you'll get a scanning error message saying "Use the WhatsApp Web scanner to scan this QR code"
I hope that it help others facing same problem.
Didier


Enable USB Debugging with broken touch screen and no physical buttons I'm trying to fix a phone (LG G3 Stylus) that has been badly injured, so now the touchsreen doesn't work, and the only button that works is the volume-up one.

I need to backup some stuff (notes, calendar, contacts, and some apps data), so I was trying to add a Google account to sync the data.

Now I was going to do this by using an OTG cable, so I bought one (USB 3.0 A to USB C that has a USB C to micro usb adapter) to connect a mouse, but it didn't work.

Now I found this solution to control the phone with a Windows PC but it needs USB debugging activated.

Now that's the problem. How do I activate USB Debugging without the touchscreen. I read that I could get into recovery mode, but the power button doesn't work. What can I do?

EDIT 1: I found another app that allows me to control the device: Vysor. Now I still require USB Debugging enabled.

Now I tested the other OTG cable (usb 2.0) and it didn't work either. But I found something: USB debugging was already turned on, but for some reason I can't find it when I run adb devices.

Anyways there are some random touches so I am waiting until the screen unlocks.

Actually, we can Enable USB Debugging on Android with Broken Screen by OTG Adapter and USB Mouse or by Using ADB Commands and Fastboot.


How does the application Xprivacy give fake private data to applications? I was wondering how the Xprivacy app worked exactly. Does it do something with native Android code? With Java? Does it put itself between the data and any application that requests them, or only if the application has a restriction active for the relevant permission in Xprivacy?

XPrivacy is not a stand-alone application. It's a module of the Xposed framework, and thus utilizes the latter to achieve its goals. So if the Xprivacy dev "reports in", he might just say: "Waiting for the Xposed team to show up"...

Oh, if you don't wanna wait: head straight to the Xposed thread at XDA for all the details. The intro over there states:

  I extended the /system/bin/app_process executable to load a JAR file on startup. The classes of this file will sit in every process (including the one for system services) and can act with their powers. And even more: I have implemented something that allows developers to replace any method in any class (may it be in the framework, systemui or a custom app). This makes Xposed very powerful. You can change parameters for the method call, modify the return value or skip the call to the method completely - it's all up to you! Also replacing or adding resources is easy.

So in short and simplified words: Xposed replaces some system resources to "expose" the system API, so other apps (acting as Xposed modules) can use it. Amongst those other apps is – tam-tam-tam-tam-tam – Xprivacy.


No fingerprint reader after adding self signed certificate Cyanogen OS 12.1 running on a ZUK z1. I added a self signed CA certificate to the "trusted credentials". Since then android doesn't allow me to use the fingerprint scanner to unlock the screen anymore. Is there any workaround to this security feature?

Step 1: Make the certs compatible (if they are not already)

At the very beginning we need to figure the file name of our the cert file. The name of the cert file is a hash one can obtain from the certificate itself. For this, one needs the openssl tools. On Unix/Linux the steps are then as follows:

# Obtain the hash – in my case that returned d6a2705a – so we have the file name
openssl x509 -inform PEM -subject_hash_old -in root.crt | head -1
# Copy the original file
cat root.crt > d6a2705a.0
# Append additional data
openssl x509 -inform PEM -text -in root.crt -out /dev/null >> d6a2705a.0

Step 2: Get the cert into our system cert chain

If your device is rooted, a solution to this is importing the certificate as system cert (not user-cert). You will need the command line for that, using either adb shell or a terminal app on-device. The following snippet assumes your certificate was already pushed to the SD card, saved as /sdcard/d6a2705a.0 (adjust that to your cert name), and you're at the command prompt of your device.

mount -o remount,rw /system
cp d6a2705a.0 /system/etc/security/cacerts/d6a2705a.0
chown root:root /system/etc/security/cacerts/d6a2705a.0
chmod 0644 /system/etc/security/cacerts/d6a2705a.0
mount -o remount,ro /system

Done. Now you should be able to use the cert – and as you do not have any "unsafe user certs", you're free to use whatever unlock mechanism you prefer.

A quick check shows all these steps are also described in the CaCert Wiki on how to create Android compatible certificate files from their original files. So my personal notes I took the above from might well originate here, at least partly.


Take a voice note without unlocking the device Sometimes, I want to take a voice note quickly. My ideal approach will look something like this:

Take the phone
Push a button
Speak a sentence (without unlocking the device)
Done

Later, I want to see a list of open voice notes (not handled yet) and reply them. No speech-to-text magic is needed. The primary focus is on speed.

Background: If I am talking to someone and want to take a note, I don't want to disturb the conversation since taking the phone, unlocking it, opening a note app, and finally typing it takes too long.

Best solution would be this: Start recording without looking at the phone. Like a dictaphone.

Anyway to get this thing get done?

Well, I don't know a specific application for this specific task. But you can use the built-in camera to record a video (obviously with audio) without unlock the phone.

Most devices have the function to take a picture without unlocking (camera-button, sliding, shaking etc). On the camera screen you can change from picture mode to video record easily.


How to re-enable the People application? I am not able to add contacts on my Nexus 4. It keeps saying "Re-enable People's application to use this feature".

Go to Settings > Apps > And select the last tab named All . On top right corner, tap the 3 dots button, and select Reset app preferences. This will enable all the disabled apps on your phone.


How can I set the sound profile to silent for a given contact? As the title says, how can I set the sound profile to silent for a given contact? Or in other words, how can I set that a given contact will have no ringtone assigned to it?

I looked at it and apparently I do have the option to set a custom ringtone for a given contact, but I have to pick one ringtone. I cannot pick "none" as an option. So I was thinking maybe there is an app that can accomplish what I want or there might be a trick I can pull off to get this result?

Instead of having no ringtone assigned to it, get a short silent ringtone (such as the ones found here and use that to set a silent ring.


Recover photos that got deleted when device switched off? I have a Moto X Pure running Android 6.0. I have a lot of pictures saved on it. I was recently taking pictures and the device ran out of battery and switched off. When I got home and turned it back on, I couldn't locate the last 30 or so photos that I took when the battery was running low. The videos that I took during this same time show a file size of 0kB and are not openable. However, all the older photos - even the ones I took earlier on the same day - are completely unaffected. I am wondering what could have caused this? Is there a way to recover the photos without having to root the device (most file recovery software that Google searches showed up need the device to be rooted to access internal memory)? I have around 1 GB of free space and I've never received a low disk space notification, nor did I get any other error when taking these pictures. Any help is appreciated.

You can connect your device to PC/Laptop whatever you have and use one of the data recovery tool like recuva*, easeus, etc. So, download easeus on your PC and connect your phone then select your device to scan for picture or videos or whatever you like. Good thing is that you don't need the rooted device to do that.
*Recuva cannot act on an Android device's storage, if device has been set to MTP. But if your files were on MicroSD cards you can use recuva to scan them.(thanks to  Death Mask Salesman)


How to make root-created files accessible to normal users? My device is running Android 8.0, rooted using Magisk as the su manager. I log into it using SimpleSSHD.

I'm trying to do some actions which require root access, and in the process I'm creating some files to be later used by normal users. But for some reason what I'm used to in "classical" Linux distributions doesn't appear to work: root-created files can't be read by normal users, whatever chown/chgrp/chmod actions I try. See the following session:

$ su -c "echo hello > file.txt; chown $(whoami) file.txt; chgrp $(whoami) file.txt; chmod a+r file.txt"
$ cat file.txt
cat: file.txt: Permission denied
$ echo readable > my.txt
$ su -c 'cp -a my.txt my-copy.txt'
$ cat my-copy.txt
cat: my-copy.txt: Permission denied
$ ls -l *.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 6 2018-08-20 15:21 file.txt
-rw------- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 9 2018-08-20 15:23 my-copy.txt
-rw------- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 9 2018-08-20 15:22 my.txt
$ whoami
u0_a182

What's happening here? Why are permission bits, owner and group ignored for files I created as root? How to properly change owner to normal user?

Android uses SELinux to manage file access. The files created by root and non-root users differ by SELinux context:

$ ls -lZ *.txt
-rw-r--r-- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 u:object_r:app_data_file:s0           6 2018-08-20 16:01 file.txt
-rw------- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 u:object_r:app_data_file:s0           9 2018-08-20 16:01 my-copy.txt
-rw------- 1 u0_a182 u0_a182 u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768 9 2018-08-20 16:01 my.txt

To make the file really belong to the non-root user, one has to set the correct SELinux context:

$ su -c 'chcon u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768 file.txt'
$ cat file.txt
hello


Android ADB connect to device with broken USB and no root I've read through the thread below and come across 2 solutions for connecting a device with ADB.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4893953/android-run-install-debug-applications-over-wifi/19940301#19940301

The first is to use USB, and this isn't an option because the USB port is busted on my Droid Razr Maxx. The second is via wifi but using root permissions.. and I don't really want to root my phone.

Can't I use strict WiFi without root to set up ADB?

I have not tried this myself, but there's an app named ADB Wireless (no root) which, as the name suggests, claims to make this possible without involving root:

  This app is for developers wanting adb access over WiFi without rooting your phone.
  …
  *** NO ROOT REQUIRED ***

Usage instructions can be found on the app's playstore page – looks pretty easy and straight. And the permissions look phantastic: nothing that's not necessary or explainable. In fact, just a single one to view WiFi connections. So no ads or spyware to be expected ;)

Same to be said for an app called ADB Wireless (no-root) (yes, same name – different dev), which seems no longer maintained though (last release was 6/2013):

  the first android application in the Google Play store to provide a wireless ADB connection without root.

Asks a few more permissions (a.o. full network), though.

Note however that all those non-root solutions seem to require a (USB) cable connection for initial setup – so there's probably nothing for your special case.

Conclusion:

No app for that if your USB port is busted. So unless you get your busted port repaired or root your device, I see no way to get ADB running wirelessly. As initialization requires more permission as any "standard user" on Android gets, there are no command-line tricks either unless you already have root access: the initialization via USB makes use of the ADB daemons elevated permissions, which are only accessible that way.

For other readers:

Initial phrasing of my answer omitted that fact, as the OP's USB port is broken/unusable: If your USB port is in working order, and you can use an USB cable to connect to it, you won't need any of those fancy enabler apps (see here for more) just to be able to use ADB wirelessly (though some might come in handy if they e.g. offer a tasker plugin, so you could enable wireless ADB in your home network automatically and turn it off when you leave it). As Firelord pointed out in his commend, and Lucky linked to a post on SO, steps to enable wireless ADB are easy then:

enable usb-debugging on your device
connect your device to your computer via USB cable
run adb tcpip <IP address>:<PORT> (e.g. adb tcpip 192.168.1.50:5555 – find the correct IP address in the wireless properties of your Android device) on your computer
still on your computer, run adb connect <PORT> (e.g. adb connect 5555)
unplug your USB cable, it no longer needs to be attached – ADB now runs via WiFi


Tried rooting my Nexus 5, did something wrong and now it is stuck rebooting So, today I tried rooting my Nexus 5 with Nexus Root Toolkit. I have done it before, but I did something wrong. After rooting it, I had to reboot it, but it got stuck in the part with all the circles with colors, before it says ANDROID and the phone starts. I researched, and it seems I have to reinstall the ROM with the Nexus Toolkit. It says the phone has to be completely turned off, so I have to wait until my battery dies or I do a battery pull. Any solutions? My phone was at 20 percent when this happened, so, how long will it take for the battery to die?

Wiping cache normally fixes boot-loop issues. Before you proceed you will need to install ADB on your system.

Connect your device to your PC using a USB cable
Open a terminal and enter adb reboot recovery
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe data/factory reset" and press the Power button to select it.
Scroll down to "Yes - erase all user data" and press the Power button to select it.
Reboot the phone.

If your phone becomes unresponsive at any point during these steps, you can restart it by holding down the Power button for several seconds.


Can Google services be firewall-filtered (market yes, sync no)? I recently asked about the availability of calendars with limited sandbox permissions, since I felt that most of them ask for access that is too wide, and hence are not as secure as I'd like. I also explored in that question what options were available to sync only to local computers, and to definitively prevent the device from syncing private data (calendar, contacts, todos) to Google. I plan to do my own backups locally.

Side note: not syncing private data with Google is a little trickier than a new user would expect. This is because a Google account is required to use the marketplace, and once the phone has that account, it cannot be removed without a factory reset (at least in version 2.2). The sync to it can be disabled, but if one accidentally turns it on - easily done momentarily, in my view - contacts and calendar are likely to whoosh to the cloud in short order.

One of course has to balance security requirements with usability, and my favourite calendars thus far (Business Calendar, aCalendar) do not offer their own private calendar repositories (they just work with any calendar sync provider). Ergo, they are equally at risk of accidental cloud synching as the stock Calendar application.

So, I am wondering if rooting the device and installing a firewall would be the way to go? I was originally of the view that I could grant application permissions to Market/Play to contact Google, but not Calendar. However I see in the DroidWall FAQ, if one wishes to continue using the market after installing the firewall:

  Enable the following applications:

  "Market";
  "Media Storage, DRM Protected Content Storage, Download Manager" and
  "Calendar Sync Adapter, Google Services Framework, Contacts Sync Adapter"

It seems odd that, to use the market one needs to grant permissions to the latter, but would be entirely in keeping with Google's policy of making it hard to avoid their services. Any root owners here have thoughts as to whether it is possible? I'm hoping I can filter+block on calendar.google.com etc whilst permitting play.google.com - or similar.

(I suppose the easiest answer to this Q is "try it!", but I'm looking for expertise before I risk rooting my phone).

To firewall, you need a root, as it modifies the iptables and filters the network stack. The iptables comes with Droidwall which is btw, an excellent tool and a must have if your ROM is rooted :)

Edit: Just checked mine, in theory its possible to create a script to modify the iptables to block the domain calendar.google.com whilst allowing play.google.com to pass through. Droidwall's set of rules are a bit too generic though, but you can most certainly set the custom script by hitting menu from within Droidwall itself and use it to suit your custom needs :)

The IP address for calendar.google.com is 173.194.33.37. and for  play.google.com is 173.194.33.37. Sure they are the same, but you need to find out what port is the calendar using, same for play.

# Block all connections in the TCP port nn for calendar!
$IPTABLES -A "droidwall" -p TCP --destination "173.194.33.37" --destination-port nn -j "droidwall-reject"

Linky here that explains how to do add custom script.


How can I rooting a ZTE stack 6.0.1 z799vl I'm looking for a way to root my ZTE stack running 6.0.1 and the model number is z799vl

The easiest way to root any android device is with one of these 1 click root methods:

(I already rooted about 7 devices with these methods.)

https://kingroot.net/

http://www.kingoapp.com/

h ttp://www.iroot.com/

h ttps://www.oneclickroot.com/

More links and info can you find here.


Text-to-speech reading queue? Anything similar to InstaPaper/Chrome to Phone, but with reading (text-to-speech) capabilities?

InstaFetch (Lite / Pro) is a InstaPaper client that has both the ability to download the webpages for offline use, and to read them aloud with the text to speech engine. There is both a free and a pay version. (BTW: For text to speech I use Ivona - it is free for now and produces amazing quality.)


Htc one wifi download speed is slower then upload speed I just bought a HTC one (m7) today and its working fine! But for some reason my wifi speed is really really slow on this phone. My download speed is slower then my upload speed at the moment wich isnt normal I think. This doesnt happen on other phones/laptops in this wifi network.

Why is the wifi download speed so slow on my HTC one? It started while downloading the newer updates it took hours to download/install them. After that the wifi is still really slow.
I tried a speedtest from speedtest.net and came out with a weird result:

1 Mbps download
5 Mbps upload

On my laptop connected to same wifi network:

40 Mbps download
5 Mbps upload

So the upload speed is fine but for some reason i only get 1 mbps download speed wich should be 40.

What is causing this and whats the best way to solve this?

Thanks for reading/help.

Router: Technicolor TG789vn v3

Phone: HTC One (m7 black)

Solved it! :-)

If you also have this problem you have to change your router security from wpa2-psk to wpa. This worked for me on a technicolor router!

Google for your own router how to change this.


Downgrade Android 4.2 to 4.1 I have an Asus K013, an old tablet running android 4.2. As i have no use for it now, i want to downgrade it to android 4.1 as Wiimote compatibility is broken in 4.2+. However, I don't think it runs stock android (though I'm not sure) so I'm not sure how I would downgrade.

K013 (otherwise known as MeMO Pad 7 or ME176C) comes with Android 4.4 minimum, as shown on PhoneArena and supplied by the HelpDesk of ASUS themselves. Therefore, there's no lower version of official OS you could downgrade to. Since it's an Intel-based device, you won't be able to find custom ROMs for it either. Not to mention that there are only a handful of examples where custom ROMs can have a lower Android version than the lowest provided by stock ROMs.

TL;DR: No you can't.


Buying from Play store using a credit card with foreign billing address Is it possible to use a credit card with a foreign billing address to buy items from a local Play store?
I have a Visa credit card from a German bank with a billing address in Germany registered in my Google Wallet. I have successfully used my Wallet to pay for online purchases from several online service providers in different foreign currencies so I am sure the credit card is correctly registered in my Wallet account. However, while physically located in the UK, I cannot complete any purchase from the UK Play store. At the point when I need to select my preferred payment method from my Wallet account, it shows my registered credit card greyed out with the text "Unsupported Payment method" next to it.

As far as I know Google doesn't allow the use of International cards (at the moment).

I also heard from some other people (and t0mm13b acknowledges it too apparently) that the Play Store looks at your current SIM card to know your home country. So maybe if you could get your hands on a German SIM card (maybe an old one that doesn't really work anymore), you can still pay for applications.

Or you can have a look for some cheap credit card in the UK.


Will cutting the sound cables do any long term damage? If anybody read the question here I have now commited to dissecting the tablet completely, because SCIENCE! Anyway, only one thing is keeping the back connected to the main tablet: the two cables that connect the main motherboard to the speaker.

So, this is it:

So, to my question: will cutting these cables result in unfixable hardware issues. To clarify,  by unfixable I mean destruction of hardware e.g. cutting off power to an important segment. The obvious lack of sound is no issue to me, I can just wire it back if I want (which I won't, for personal reasons)

You should be fine (95%). It's nothing more than electricity. Just make sure to seal it up really well when done modifying your phone.


Android losing BT headset password I have a Sidekick 4G running 2.2.1.

I've had a problem with both stock and custom ROMs randomnly losing the BT connection to my Plantronics Pro headset.  Sometimes hitting the connect button on my headset will reconnect it, but eventually it always loses it permanently and I have to unpair, delete it and then re-pair it.  If I try to just re-pair, I get this message: "Unable to pair with PROPlantronics. Incorrect PIN or password."

This is, needless to say, hugely annoying and oft times very inconvenient (such as when I'm driving and discover my headset can't be used).

Anyone have an idea of how to fix this?  I never had this problem with the headset on either my G1 or my og Droid...

Seems to have been a common problem with Plantronics Pro Voyager series headsets, not specific to Android.


Mic is being used by some other application ( Which ? ) I have a Samsung mobile ( S9 Plus ), When I use an app called "BixBy", sometimes it does not work and message is that mic is used being used by some other application and hence "Bixby" can not function.

In such cases, how may I know that which application is using mic at present?

Install the app named Unhack from playstore or from the link given below. It gives you a list of all applications using mic, camera etc. separately.
https://www.apkmonk.com/app/com.lucideustech.unhack/


Can a Dream's camera really zoom from the camera app? I upgraded my HTC Dream to CM6.1, and the camera app now has a zoom option.  Is this a real zoom, or just a digital blow-up of the image?  I'm guessing the latter.

There is no mention of physical zoom on the HTC Dream specification page. (To my knowledge no Android camera has that.)


How to fix a damaged sd card? Possible Duplicate:
  “SD card is damaged - You may have to reformat.” How do I fix this problem?

I made my SD card available as mass storage, copied one file from the SD card, unmounted the card from OSX (inside OSX) and then .. I am not 100% if I unmounted the card in mobile or it was already damaged at this point.

I tried to reboot the phone but it doesn't help. Removed the card, put back and turned on again. Didn't help either.

Do I have to reformat the card and lose all data on it?

HTC Desire + CM 7 RC2 + Kingston 16GB Type 4

You can try to recover files before you format it, but yes you will have to format it.  See this question for various methods of SD card recovery: Data Recovery - How to Restore Deleted / Formatted Files on HD Micro SD Card


How to turn off Google Reminders sync for Android? I closed the Google sync option, but it appears in the notification bar. So I must turn off manually every time.

You can disable sync from accounts option.

Go to settings -> Accounts -> select google -> select gmail account -> unselect all options


Why doesn't my Galaxy S2 see my keyboard/mouse? I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 and Android 4.0.3. It recognises all the mass storage devices but doesn't seem to see a mouse and keyboard. The mouse was for sure working with Android 2.3 but now it is transparent to the phone, which acts as if no devices have been plugged in. I've seen some Youtube videos where it was all working perfectly fine. What might be causing it?

On one forum I've read that the version of firmware that I have (I9100XXLPQ) doesn't support mouse and keyboard but I tried to research this information and confirm it with no success. Can anybody confirm/deny it or give some website I could consult?

Try flashing your SGS2 with the siyah kernel. It proved effective for me. Grab the latest version of the kernel from the official site

I am able to connect flash drives, mouse and keyboard. Yet to test with external HDD with and without external power. Please post if you come up with any other device that can be connected


Does Google Play allow for the caching of your entire collection on a mobile device? Without having to play each individual song once, is it possible to cache the music collection stored on a Google Play account onto a device (in my case, a Nexus 5)?

No option to do this exists. You'll need to select each song individually.

To make it easier you could arrange by album instead of song, because you likely have fewer albums than individual songs.


Is there a way to disable access to certain Settings components? The Settings app is common to all Android devices, some have more features than others, but most of them are common, such as "Wireless and networks", "Sound", "Screen" and so on.

However, I am faced with the desire of disabling access to some of these components, while keeping access to some others. Using apps such as "SmartAppProtector", I am able to lock access to the entire Settings application, but can't configure access on a deeper level.

Is there a way to do so? How can I, for example, enable access to the "Wireless and networks" component and disable access to the "Screen" component?

Rooting is no problem, thank you.

AFAIK, the Settings app is just a regular app but with a protected system permission level (normal apps are not allowed to request system permissions). Android is open source so you can download the source, create a modified Settings app, and install it as a protected system app (which is needed so it can obtain system permission, needs root). To be precise, for the system to grant system permissions, the app must be installed in the /system/app directory as opposed to the normal app install directory.


Is there a countdown timer in Android? I searched for a countdown timer, and I was not able to find it. It should be there in every phone... Is it coming with the standard Clock app?

There is not a countdown app built in to android, but there are a ton to choose from on the android market.


Tasker: Conditionally End Calls for Contact Group Dear Android Enthusiasts:

Just got myself an Android for work and started fiddling with Tasker.
The goal consists of two parts, the first part is to send calls from a specific Contact Group ('Work') during certain times. Second, I want to let them through if they are persistent, i.e. call me X times within Y minutes.

The first part was a breeze to create. But the second part is a lot more complicated as I need to keep track of every caller and the amount of calls within Y time separately.

Currently the 'Profile' looks like this:

Event: Phone Ringing
Caller: CG:Work
Task: Test

This is what task 'Test' looks like:
1. End Call, if %TIME < 6.15 & %TIME > 19.30

This works to block calls from the contact group 'Work' within the given timeframe.

Any suggestions on how to implement part 2? I was thinking of pushing the caller to a keyed array every time it gets blocked where the %CNAME is the key and an integer is the value. Also add an action to check against the array every time I am called from the CG before I end the call to see if I have been called before. Finally, I would need to 'pop' every key from the array that hasn't been updated for Y minutes.

Part 2 should be easy depending on the way you't want to log the calls. I would recommend using the writing a csv file then you can use the call in related variables to keep track of who call and when the call started but you'll need to create a timer for the duration of the call. You can find these variables by searching the webpage I've linked for Call Name. Don't use the variables that start with CO they are for outgoing calls.

The timer would be triggered when you pick up and end the call. You could then subtract the beginning time from the end time to get the duration. You don't need to write these time in the log in order to get the duration but you might want to at least log the start time to give you a better frame of reference.


Sony Xperia Z3 Compact Back and Home buttons not working Background

Many people have experienced a bug whereby the Sony Xperia Z3C (compact) no longer has functional home and back buttons. Specifically, the issue involves the buttons highlighted by the red rectangular box in the following image:

Problem

The problem may be caused by a number of reasons, from hardware issues to software upgrades. A solution is not easily found. As these buttons are essential for using the phone, when they are broken the phone is far less usable.

Workaround

A quick workaround is to rotate the phone "upside down" so that the buttons flip to the "top" of the screen.

Question

How do you fix this issue permanently?

Requirements

To fix the issue, you will need:

A laptop or desktop computer
A USB cable

Then:

Download Universal Android Debug Tools (ADB) onto the computer
Install ADB into C:\Program Files\platform-tools.

ADB is installed and the phone is ready to be fixed. Another SE answer has details on using ADB.

Instructions

A message on Sony's forum (since moved) offered the following solution:

Enable Developer Mode

Tap Settings > System > About Phone
Scroll down to Build Number
Tap Build Number about 7 times
Confirm Developer Mode, if prompted

Put the Z3C into USB Debug mode

Tap Settings > System > Developer Options
Scroll down to Debugging
Enable USB Debugging
Tap OK to confirm, if prompted

Plug the Z3C into the laptop or desktop computer

ADB must be installed before this step

Connect the Z3C to the computer using the USB cable
Confirm the connection, if prompted
Open a command prompt
Change to the ADB installation directory by typing:

cd "c:\program files\platform-tools"

Make sure the device is listed by typing:

adb devices -l

Change the overscan settings by typing:

adb shell wm overscan 0,0,0,30

The screen is shifted by about 30 pixels and the navigation buttons now work. It is safe to unplug the USB cable.


Is it possible to use one android as a remote speaker for all audio on another android, using no more hardware than an unmodified wifi access point? I have an android phone (Sony Xperia Compact Z1 / Stock) with an "eh" speaker, and a tablet (Kindle Fire 7" HD / Cyanogen) with amazing speakers. I use the phone a lot to listen to audiobooks, but at home i'd like to be able to use the tablet so i can hear the audiobooks over other noises.

I currently use Smart Audiobook Player since it seems to be the best audiobook software on the market, but it cannot synch progress between different devices, or stream audio between them on its own.

So i would like to stream all audio that is currently playing on my phone, over to my tablet and have it play via the tablet's speakers.

I suppose this should be feasible via Bluetooth or Wifi, but:

No Bluetooth solutions seemed to work, none of them even indicated being able to connect between the two devices.
No Wifi solutions seem to exist that can work with only the two android devices and the unmodified Wifi AP.

Did i overlook some piece of software that can do this?

THIS app does the trick...
You need to install it on both Android devices and pair them. Then put the tablet in ListenMUSIC over Blueetooth mode and the the phone in shareMUSIC over Bluetooth mode.
HOPE IT HELPS...


An error has occurred with the fingerprint sensor Shortly ago, my J7 Prime stopped recognizing my fingerprint.

When I go to
Settings ->
Lock screen and security ->
Fingerprint Scanner
I get

  An error has occurred with the fingerprint sensor. If this message appears repeatedly, restart your device.

I tried a few options I found, and none worked:

Rebooting.
Going into Safe Mode. The same error appears. Plus, almost all my widgets in the home screen disappeared, so I had to redo it.
Settings ->
Apps ->
Three dots ->
Show system apps ->
Fingerprint ->
Clear Data
. The cache was already empty.
Rebooting.
Logging off and into my Samsung account.
Developer options (this was already enabled) ->
OEM unlock ->
Enable.
Reboot.
Developer options ->
OEM unlock ->
Disable, and
Developer options ->
Disable.

What I did not (and I cannot) try:

Rooting my phone (it is a corporate device).
Resetting my phone (same).

What can I do to fix the problem? (other than taking it to the IT dept.)

Most likely the problem is with the fingerprint scanner itself.  He was either damaged or moved away from the water, and he burned


Recovery boot not working properly - cannot select items I am working towards installing CM7 on my HTC Incredible and have hit a snag. When using 'Reboot into Recovery' from ROM Manager v4.3.3.0 the phone reboots into Recovery, but the menus do not function properly. I can scroll up and down with volume control, but pushing power to select an option blanks the menu and takes the watermarked Icon for ROM Manager at center of display and makes it solid with nothing else displayed. Action does not happen. If I press power again, it toggles back to showing the menu and I can scroll up and down, but no action can be selected. I have to take battery out to boot again. I thought it might be due to doing this first time with USB connected to computer since install guide states:

Known Issues

Shutting down the phone with USB plugged in will start ClockworkMod
Recovery in an unreliable mode.
Shutting down the phone and then plugging in USB will also start
ClockworkMod Recovery in an unreliable mode.
The HTC Battery charge icon is replaced by ClockworkMod. Charge with
the phone running in standby mode.

But upon retry without USB plugged in same result. I tried 'Flash Alternate Recovery' to "RA_GNM Recovery v2.2.1" in Rom Manager and it gets: "An error occurred while flashing your recovery." I tried 'All ClockworkMod Recoveries' to move back to v3.0.0.7 and then back to v3.0.0.8 and it still fails in same fashion.

Phone appears to be rooted properly, but I cannot do this last step.

Please suggest how to get Recovery to function properly.

Try pressing the trackball instead of the Power button.


Galaxy alpha strange touchscreen "feature" in file explorer I realise this may seem weird but please bare with me.

Recently I updated my Galaxy Alpha to 5.0.2 and I noticed something really strange when using the "My Files" application (not sure if it's because of the update though).

If I hover my finger about 1cm from the screen I can actually select some files.
This only happens only for files with names that do not fit on screen and only in portrait mode.

Is this some hidden accessibility feature or what ?

It is calle Touch Screen Hoverings or Air View.
This is a feature in new Samsung Phones. For more infor you can look at the documentation on the Samsung Website here.

Hope my answer helps!


android folders problem. please help me Am using micromax unite 2 a106 device
Am used the app 'folder mount' for move files to sd card for the apps whatsapp,uc dowloads,picsart,and other apps.
After some days my phone having many hang problemz.
I just uninstalled foldermount and did a hard reset to my phone. But before uninstalling folder mount i forgot to unmount all folders.
Now i am facing many problemz with that.
The folder mount partitions stil in my phone.
If i create a folder "whatsapp" to my sd card and internal storrage. The folders mounting automatically. And afte 1 or 2 minutes phone will hang up. I formatted sd card but it is not a solution. Am tried another sd card. But the result is same.
How i remove these folder partition????
Helpe guysssss.
Thankss in adwance!!!!

This could not happen if you have hard reset the device. But still you can try Installing 'folder mount' again and unmount all partition created on sdcard.
If this not work you can always flash the stock firmware to restore the device.


How can I get notifications from two Android phones to one Android Wear watch? I have a Nexus 5 as my personal phone, a Samsung Galaxy S5 as my work phone, and an LG Urbane watch.

Currently my watch is linked to the Nexus 5 and due to Android Wear limitations it seems I can't connect a second phone to it. Surprisingly it doesn't look like I can find any workaround anywhere online to force the watch to allow multiple connections, however I'm sure there is some way I can at least get limited functionality.

So my question is does anyone know how I could get this to work? The two phones are ALWAYS together so I was hoping for something even as bare minimum as call and text notifications on the Samsung being forwarded over bluetooth to the Nexus that will then send it to the watch.

My Nexus has all the fun Android Wear stuff on it, I just need call/text/email notifications from the Samsung, I don't even need to be able to interact with them, just need to see it. Also rooting may be possible if required, for any device watch included. And I'm okay with paid apps (free is better) but monthly charges are a no-go ever.

There are a number of applications in the Play Store which are designed to allow a tablet to send/receive SMS/MMS via a connected phone. If you connect your watch-connected phone as the "tablet", you should at least be able to get notifications for some subset of events to show on your watch.

Caveat - I have used Tablet Talk for this purpose on a non-android wear watch, but not recently, and I don't recall all the limitations.


rom manager needs to reflash after every reboot phone : htc hero.
I've started using rom manager for clockwork mod.
However; it seems that every time I want to reboot into clockwork recovery; I need to reflash it.
Rom manager shows that current recovery is clockwork; but if try rebooting into recovery without reflashing; i get stock recovery (which ofc does not support nandroid backup :D)

Any idea why is this happening and how to prevent it?

"Fake flash"

When you boot into recovery via vol-down at power up, you get stock
When you boot into recovery using RM you get update.zip

You need to flash permanently eg via alpha rev, unrevoked or via adb. I have a desire so what I used may not work for you.


GO Launcher EX: widget lost after reboot Whenever I reboot, widget get lost in GO Launcher EX.
how can I fix this?

NB: the widget is on the internal memory

Is your widget application installed to the SD card? If yes, then that is the problem. When the phone reboots, it takes a few minutes for the SD card to get loaded. This causes an issue for any widgets that are not installed to the internal memory as they aren't available when the phone first boots up, causing them to not load.

So, please verify the widget app is installed to internal memory instead of the SD card.

This is what you're looking for:


How do I grant su rights to the File Manager app? I'm digging around trying to find a Angry Birds save files but File Manager is lying about what's in each folder. How can I give that app su rights? Can I launch it from the command line after typing su or something?

I'm not sure how you'd do that with the built-in file manager, but there are several file managers that will work.  I use Root Explorer, and I've heard many other recommend Astro File Manager (which has a free version, I believe).  They should work if you have the Superuser app installed (I would assume it comes with CM, but it's in the Market if not).


How do wi-fi only Android devices synchronise time? I'm having a problem with some Android tablets being unable to synchronise the time when connected to our wireless network. This is in a school and fairly heavily locked down, so it's probable that they are being blocked from accessing something that they need to in order to synchronise the time.

These are Wi-Fi only devices, so they can't set the time from a GSM provider or anything, meaning they must be using something else, presumably NTP. If it's NTP, how can I view/change the time server used?

The devices are Android 4.0.1. I'm not sure what make/model they are but will try and find out.

We confirmed with the device manufacturer that the devices use NTP to sync the time with pool.ntp.org. After a bit of research of my own, I discovered that NTP is configured in /system/etc/gps.conf. You have to be root to edit this file, but I was at least able to confirm that the information given to us was correct.

We have opened the firewall to traffic going to pool.ntp.org, and so far all of the devices have kept in sync, so it looks like this has worked as intended.

Thanks to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1200089 for the info on the NTP config file.


shutting down hasn't finished (2.1) my battery was getting flat so HTC Desire 2.1 decided to shut down. That's fine but the shutting down never finished.

Put it on charger. And when clicking Power Off nothing happens. The phone is slow to operate.

Is there anything else I can do except taking the battery off?

A while back I read something that suggested this problem could be caused by a dodgy SD card. The suggested fix that seemed to work for me was to unmount the SD card and then power off. I have since bought a new SD card and the problem has gone away entirely.


How to display my heart rate on the Samsung "Android Wear" Smartwatch? I have a Samsung Gear Live Smartwatch that says it has a heart rate sensor.

How can I see the output of this sensor?

There are two applications that come preloaded on the device which can do this for you, "Fit" and "Heart Rate".  You can start these apps by saying "Ok Google" or tapping the screen to bring up search, followed by the command "Start Fit" or "Start Heart Rate" which launch the corresponding app.  Heart Rate's sole purpose is to show this information, so the button to start monitoring will be available immediately.  Fit also tracks other fitness data, such as steps you've traveled, so you'll need to swipe to the left once to get to the heart rate section and expose the button which will start the reading. Both of these apps will request that you stay still for 10-15 seconds as a reading is taken, and it is important to note that they only measure your heart rate when you ask for it, there's not a passive reading being taken.

As a shortcut, you can just tell Google to "Show me my heart rate" to skip the "Start Fit" or "Start Heart Rate" commands as well as the button press to start the reading.  This will automatically launch the default heart rate measuring app and start taking a reading.  You can configure which app does this by default by using the Android Wear app on your connected device.


Android email setup of Mail app results in a "Force Close" On the Motorola Droid I was successfully getting my corporate email for a year with no problems. On 11/09/2010 I started getting a security error when trying to retrieve email in the native Android Mail app. I tried tweaking a couple settings but ended up deleting my account credentials in order to re-enter them in an effort to bypass the security error. I know get an error every time I enter my account credentials and attempt to connect to our corporate exchange server.

I go through the following steps:

Open the mail app
Enter email address and password
Press Manual setup
Press Exchange
Modify Domain\Username and Server to contain correct corporate information
Insure "User secure connection (SSL)" and "Accept all SSL certificates" are checked
Press Next
App says "Checking incoming server settings"
Message pops up "Sorry! The application Email (process com.android.email) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."

No combination of rebooting, clearing Mail app data and changing of SSL selections allows me to bypass this error.

UPDATE
According to Motorola Level 2 technical phone support the only solution to this issue is to restore the phone to it's factory settings.

Andy appears to be gone, so I'm going to post the answer since the problem is solved.

  According to Motorola Level 2 technical phone support the only solution to this issue is to restore the phone to it's factory settings.


HTC Desire won't boot - buzzes 7 times instead I've just bought an HTC Desire and it seems to have stopped working.

On startup, I just get the O2 splash page, then it buzzes 7 times, and that's it.

I tried holding down the Vol down key, then the power button, and it gets me into some menu called HBOOT.  There is a recovery option in there, but it just reboots the phone, and I'm back where I started.

How do I wipe the thing and get it starting up again?

I gave up and returned the phone to the guy I bought it from on eBay, saying it was faulty. My conclusion was that it was an intermittent hardware fault.


How do I sync calendars from my PC to my Samsung Galaxy Note 3? I have synced my PC and all calendar entries I have done on my phone appear on the calender on my PC, but not the other way around. I need to be able to add events etc. to my PC and have them appear on my phone.

How do I accomplish this?

Use Google Calendar on your PC and your phone. This will also gives you access to your calendar from any device with internet connection simply by logging into your Google account.


Delete large numbers of photos at once without deleting from Google+ backup I have about 5000 photos on my phone right now, and they are all backed up on Google+.

I know I can delete photos without removing them from Google+ by using the Photos app and selecting "On Device."

I also know that I can select multiple photos by selecting one, and then clicking more.

However, to quickly remove all photos, say, older than a month, I would need to individually click on 4000 thumbnails. Plus, when I do this for just 10 images it takes ~10 seconds to delete them. This would be a nightmare to do for 4000 photos.

Is there a way to batch-delete lots of photos from my phone, while ensuring that they won't get deleted from Google+?

(Alternatively, is there a way to delete-all locally, and selectively re-add photos from Google+?)

Edit (2017): This is obsolete ever since Google added the ability to "Free up space" from the menu in the Photos app.

You should be able to plug your phone into your computer and browse your files (probably under a folder called DCIM) using Windows Explorer (Not Internet Explorer but the file explorer) or Apple Finder.  You might need to install the specific drivers for your phone if it doesn't automatically connect.

You can then sort your pictures based on date and remove everything past a certain date.  They will not be deleted from Google+ since you are doing a local delete.

You can then download photos from Google+ that you want to keep locally.