Getting "E:Error in /sdcard/.zip (status 7)" while upgrading Android Nexus 4.0.1 to 4.1.x (Jelly bean) I tried to install Jelly Bean (4.1.1) onto the Nexus S handset following the instructions from here.

Later, I noticed that the Nexus should have at least 4.0.3 to upgrade to 4.1.x.

So I tried to install 4.0.3 following the instruction from here.

But each and every time I'm having the error -

  E:Error in /sdcard/filename.zip (Status 7)

How can I fix that?

The explanation is simple, as I have suspected, there's a verification mis-match in the build.prop, see below,
Starting recovery on Fri Jan  4 20:43:32 2013
can't open /dev/tty0: No such file or directory
framebuffer: fd 3 (480 x 800)
ClockworkMod Recovery v5.0.2.0
recovery filesystem table
=========================
  0 /tmp ramdisk (null) (null)
  1 /sdcard vfat /dev/block/platform/s3c-sdhci.0/by-name/media (null)
  2 /system ext4 /dev/block/platform/s3c-sdhci.0/by-name/system (null)
  3 /cache yaffs2 cache (null)
  4 /data ext4 /dev/block/platform/s3c-sdhci.0/by-name/userdata (null)
  5 /misc mtd misc (null)
  6 /boot mtd boot (null)
  7 /recovery mtd recovery (null)
  8 /bootloader mtd bootloader (null)
  9 /radio mtd radio (null)

W:Unable to get recovery.fstab info for /sd-ext during fstab generation!
I:Completed outputting fstab.
I:Processing arguments.
Fixing execute permissions for /cache
mtd: successfully wrote block at 0
I:Set boot command "boot-recovery"
I:Checking arguments.
I:device_recovery_start()
Command: "/sbin/recovery"

ro.secure=0
ro.allow.mock.location=1
ro.debuggable=1
persist.service.adb.enable=1
ro.build.id=GRJ22
ro.build.display.id=GRJ90
ro.build.version.incremental=121341
ro.build.version.sdk=10
ro.build.version.codename=REL
ro.build.version.release=2.3.5
ro.build.date=Mon Sep  5 11:04:10 PDT 2011
ro.build.date.utc=0
ro.build.type=eng
ro.build.user=koush
ro.build.host=Koushik-Lion.local
ro.build.tags=test-keys
ro.product.model=Nexus S
ro.product.brand=google
ro.product.name=soju
ro.product.device=crespo
ro.product.board=herring
ro.product.cpu.abi=armeabi-v7a
ro.product.cpu.abi2=armeabi
ro.product.manufacturer=samsung
ro.product.locale.language=en
ro.product.locale.region=US
ro.wifi.channels=
ro.board.platform=s5pc110
ro.build.product=crespo
ro.build.description=soju-user 2.3.4 GRJ22 121341 release-keys
ro.build.fingerprint=google/soju/crespo:2.3.4/GRJ22/121341:user/release-keys
rild.libpath=/vendor/lib/libsec-ril.so
rild.libargs=-d /dev/ttyS0
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
keyguard.no_require_sim=true
ro.opengles.version=131072
wifi.interface=eth0
wifi.supplicant_scan_interval=15
dalvik.vm.heapsize=32m
ro.rommanager.developerid=cyanogenmod
ro.url.legal=http://www.google.com/intl/%s/mobile/android/basic/phone-legal.html
ro.url.legal.android_privacy=http://www.google.com/intl/%s/mobile/android/basic/privacy.html
ro.com.google.clientidbase=android-google
ro.com.android.wifi-watchlist=GoogleGuest
ro.setupwizard.enterprise_mode=1
ro.com.android.dateformat=MM-dd-yyyy
ro.com.android.dataroaming=false
ro.config.ringtone=Playa.ogg
ro.config.notification_sound=regulus.ogg
ro.config.alarm_alert=Alarm_Beep_03.ogg
ro.ril.enable.managed.roaming=1
ro.ril.oem.nosim.ecclist=911,112,999,000,08,118,120,122,110,119,995
ro.ril.emc.mode=2
ro.modversion=CyanogenMod-7.1.0-RC1-NS-KANG
ro.kernel.android.checkjni=1
ro.setupwizard.mode=OPTIONAL
dalvik.vm.dexopt-flags=m=y
net.bt.name=Android
net.change=net.bt.name
dalvik.vm.stack-trace-file=/data/anr/traces.txt
ro.factorytest=0
ro.serialno=3334E1630CFF00EC
ro.bootmode=unknown
ro.baseband=I9020XXKI1
ro.carrier=ATT
ro.bootloader=I9020XXKL1
ro.hardware=herring
ro.revision=16
init.svc.recovery=running
init.svc.adbd=running

I:Checking for extendedcommand...
I:Skipping execution of extendedcommand, file not found...
mtd: successfully wrote block at 0
I:Set boot command ""

-- Installing: /sdcard/VQ8PQk_V.zip
mtd: successfully wrote block at 0
I:Set boot command "boot-recovery"
Finding update package...
I:Update location: /sdcard/VQ8PQk_V.zip
Opening update package...
Installing update...
script aborted: assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:2.3.6/GRK39F/189904:user/release-keys" ||
       file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:4.0.3/IML74K/239410:user/release-keys"
assert failed: file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:2.3.6/GRK39F/189904:user/release-keys" ||       file_getprop("/system/build.prop", "ro.build.fingerprint") == "google/soju/crespo:4.0.3/IML74K/239410:user/release-keys"
E:Error in /sdcard/VQ8PQk_V.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.
mtd: successfully wrote block at 0
I:Set boot command ""

The ro.build.fingerprint contains this google/soju/crespo:2.3.4/GRJ22/121341:user/release-keys but the update performed a verification check on the fingerprint which resulted in mis-match and there-by producing Error code 7.
Notice the last few lines of the recovery.log, i.e. the update was expecting the handset to have this version of Gingerbread - google/soju/crespo:2.3.6/GRK39F/189904:user/release-keys OR expecting Ice Cream Sandwich google/soju/crespo:4.0.3/IML74K/239410:user/release-keys
This is meaning, that the version of Gingerbread on your handset is too old for the update to work. (Its Gingerbread 2.3.4 that is on it!) am not 100% sure how this recovery is showing the fingerprint as GB 2.3.4 if the OP states in the comments that the handset is running ICS 4.0.1
So to resolve the issue, you need to flash to Gingerbread v 2.3.6 Ice Cream Sandwich v.4.0.3 first, then apply the update and it should work then.
Edit
It transpires the OP is running ICS v. 4.0.1, the update script was performing a check for either 2.3.6 or 4.0.3 which is something that I have missed inadvertently.


Exchange email sync late for email, on time for calendar I have a Nexus S running 4.1.2. My phone is setup with my gmail account and two exchange accounts. One of these exchange accounts points to my zimbra+zpush mail server, the other points to my day-job exchange account.

A few weeks ago, my day-job exchange account stopped updating the email received in real-time. I however was able to send out no problem. I then proceeded to re-add the account in many different ways, including restarting the exchange server. I seem to be the only one affected. Whenever I have re-added my account it does still retrieve old email messages, but the "newest" email it retrieves is about 6 days old. It eventually gets newer messages, but seems to keep that 6 day gap. Calendars however seem to properly be updated for this account.

However, my zimbra+zpush mail is working properly. I receive email on my phone right away.

I'm not certain exactly what caused this, as nothing changed for my phone or the exchange server at the time the issue came up. The best explanation I can come up with is a DST skew, but I'm not sure how to correct this and why it hasn't been previously corrected.

One method I've found very useful for troubleshooting Exchange Activesync problems is to use the troubleshooting and connection logging functions built into the Touchdown Exchange client (30 day free trial app). It's helped me out with troubleshooting my Exchange connection in the past.

On the app's initial connection attempts to your Exchange/EAS server it logs the entire communication, with an option to save the logs for future reference. Once you've setup the connection there's a Diagnostics menu option on the main screen that can be set to log everything that happens between your phone and the server, with the option to attach the log to a new mail, or copy to the clipboard for use in other apps.


What's the complete map from letter to mobile network type? I was wondering about what all letters mean. Specifically the "R" that I'm currently on.

I found this summary by some provider, but it doesn't contain the R-symbol that I'm on right now.

These are the symbols I've found thus far:

G GPRS
E EDGE
3G 3G
H HSDPA
H+ HSDPA+
LTE LTE

The letter R means that you are roaming. You are out of your mobile provider home country or you are roaming while using a virtual mobile provider. Some providers that don't has his own network can cause that your phone shows a roaming signal, dependent of your phone firmware.


Why don't calls to emergency numbers show in the Phone app's call log? I recently had to make an emergency call.

I later noticed in my device's call logs in the Phone app that the emergency number I called doesn't show up in the call log. (In other words, no entry shows of the call; no trace in the call log that I called an emergency number.)

Why is this? Is this intentional and by design, or is it a bug?

(Using stock Android 8.1 with latest updates on Nexus 6P.)

Logically they should for traceability of crank / genuine distress emergency calls. As a matter of fact   Call  |  Android Developers specifies extra time accuracy for emergency calls:

  Extra key used to indicate the time (in milliseconds since midnight, January 1, 1970 UTC) when the last outgoing emergency call was made. This is used to identify potential emergency callbacks

(Emphasis supplied)

Try changing the call app and if it still persists report to OEM / ROM developers

Related What's the purpose of "Emergency Call" button on SIM unlock screen?


How to install Google Play Services? In notification panel, I have a notification that says "Instal/update Google Play Services" (or so).

How can I solve this problem?

This might work since I have had success in installing play services in one of my devices.

Go to the Google Play link of the Play Services App and install the app to your device of choice.


Is it possible to designate a Wi-FI SSID as metered "mobile network"? I am wondering if there is a method by which I can designate a WLAN/WiFi connection as "mobile network" based on its SSID for the sake data usage policies by apps or the Android system in general.

Typically when you have a data plan with your mobile provider, your phone's LTE (or  3G ...) modem will connect to the provider to enable you to have internet access.

Now if I am using a mobile LTE/WLAN router instead, my phone assumes that it's on an unmetered WiFi uplink and apps/the system will (mis)behave accordingly.

Is there a way to tell the system that when it connects to a particular SSID it should treat that as "mobile network" in regards to how apps may use data?

Phone: Samsung S9+ (SM-G965F), Android 9

NB: the settings from this answer don't exist on my phone.

This option actually exists and I have just tested it on Android 10 (AOSP). The trick is to set a custom DHCP option 43 with the text value "ANDROID_METERED". What I find a bit confusion is that Android does not show you that it is on a metered Wi-Fi. I verified it with the NetworkMonitor app.

Someone documented this further: https://www.lorier.net/docs/android-metered.html


System Indicator icon, what does it mean? What does it mean when the system indicator icon (red triangle with a white exclamation point in the center) shows up next to the phone number I sent a text to?

That icon means the text is not sent. Just click on that text and it will push the typed text into compose box, you just have to press send.


What happens to a running program when "home" button is pressed in Android phone? One thing puzzles me. It looks like if I use some program on Android and press the "home" button I see the home screen and can rerun the program and see that program in the same state as it was before - so looks like the program is not fully restarted, just suspended and then resumed.

Yet that doesn't seem to happen consistently with Air Control game. Sometimes when I'm playing Air Control and press "home" and later rerun Air Control - it is paused (as if I pressed "pause" button) and I can resume the game. Sometimes the same leads to Air Control dropping the game and starting anew.

So it looks like I don't understand something.

What's the deal here? What happens to a program when "home" is pressed? Does it continue running or what does it do?

The Android Development document Tasks and Back Stack actually covers this pretty nicely. A relevant excerpt:

  A task is a cohesive unit that can move to the "background" when users
  begin a new task or go to the Home screen, via the HOME key. While in
  the background, all the activities in the task are stopped, but the
  back stack for the task remains intact—the task has simply lost focus
  while another task takes place, as shown in figure 2. A task can then
  return to the "foreground" so users can pick up where they left off.
  Suppose, for example, that the current task (Task A) has three
  activities in its stack—two under the current activity. The user
  presses the HOME key, then starts a new application from the
  application launcher. When the Home screen appears, Task A goes into
  the background. When the new application starts, the system starts a
  task for that application (Task B) with its own stack of activities.
  After interacting with that application, the user returns Home again
  and selects the application that originally started Task A. Now, Task
  A comes to the foreground—all three activities in its stack are intact
  and the activity at the top of the stack resumes. At this point, the
  user can also switch back to Task B by going Home and selecting the
  application icon that started that task (or by touching and holding
  the HOME key to reveal recent tasks and selecting one). This is an
  example of multitasking on Android.

  Note: Multiple tasks can be held in the background at once. However,
  if the user is running many background tasks at the same time, the
  system might begin destroying background activities in order to
  recover memory, causing the activity states to be lost. See the
  following section about Activity state.

Summary: The task is moved to the background when you press Home and sits in memory, not really doing anything and retaining its state. This means that (generally speaking) you can switch back to the task and it will pick up where it left off. However, the Android system can - and will - kill background tasks if it needs to reclaim memory. When and if this happens is entirely up to the system, and is probably why you see inconsistent behavior when resuming.

If the task is destroyed by the system, it will have to be re-created when you launch it again. So unless the application author has taken measures to save the application's state during the destroy process, it will be lost (and saving exact state in things like games is fairly impractical).

Another good (but also verbose) document is the one covering the Activity Lifecycle (there's a nice flowchart if you scroll down a bit).


How do you merge decks in Anki? I'm getting an error in Anki that says I've got too many decks.  So, I want to merge a bunch of decks that are essentially the same.  But I can't find a way to do this.  I tried exporting the decks and naming them all the same name and then importing them, but they just come in as the original deck names.  So, I'm not finding any other info on how to do this.

Open AnkiDesktop.
Open the "Browser".
Click on the deck you wish to remove on the left-hand pane.
Hit ctrl+a (command+a on mac) to select all cards.
Click "Change Deck" at the top.
Select the deck you want to keep in the pop-up dialog.
Click "Move Cards".
Repeat steps 3 - 7 for all decks you wish to merge.
Go back to the "Decks" screen in AnkiDesktop.
Find the empty decks (the decks you wish to remove will have a card count of null).
Delete those decks.


How to enable/disable apps using ADB (Android 8.x)? I cannot get apps enabled or disabled using ADB.

Android: 8.0.0
Device: Samsung Galaxy A520 (SM-A520F)

I don't have root access to my device.

To get the list of the disabled packages I use:

$ adb shell pm list packages -d
package:com.samsung.android.game.gamehome
package:com.microsoft.skydrive
package:com.google.android.webview
package:com.google.android.videos
package:flipboard.boxer.app
package:com.samsung.android.ststub
package:com.sec.android.emergencylauncher
package:com.samsung.android.dlp.service
package:com.samsung.upsmtheme

Q1: Oddly, this list doesn't seem to include the apps I really disabled in the Apps section:

Briefing
Google Play Movies & TV

Why is that?

Then I run through the list and enable every package, e.g.:

$ adb shell pm enable com.google.android.webview
Package com.google.android.webview new state: enabled

Q2: Despite some packages are reported as "enabled" they are still in the disabled list:

$ adb shell pm list packages -d | grep com.google.android.webview
package:com.google.android.webview

Why is that?

Q3: How can I get the list of packages that I myself disabled in the Apps section and how can I manage this list using ADB?

Q1: Oddly, this list doesn't seem to include the apps I really disabled in the Apps section:

  Briefing
  Google Play Movies & TV

  Why is that?

Your output already listed the two apps. com.google.android.videos for Google Play Movies and flipboard.boxer.app for Briefing app.

Optional: see my answer to know how to find an app's package name easily.

For your other issue:

This seems to be a problem in your ROM per se. My experiences with stock Android ROMs on Nexus 6 device and a near stock Android ROM on OnePlus 6 (Android 8.1.0) tell me this shouldn't happen.

Normally, the apps disabled using shell user are not listed in Settings app, but any app disabled by any means are listed in pm list packages -d or cmd package list packages -d.

Disabling and enabling an app without root access is simple. Run:

adb shell pm disable-user PACKAGE_NAME  # disables the app for the current user
adb shell pm enable PACKAGE_NAME        # enables the app for the user, regardless of how the app was disabled.


Does Google Navigation Live Traffic reroute during the journey? After setting a destination and start navigation and my journey, if a new incident occurs and slows/blocks the route, is Google Navigation able to update the route and find a faster alternative automatically before I get near?

As far as I know and based on my testings with the same concern, I came to the conclusion that it doesn't update the route based on traffic or any other reasons.

I even took an alternative route that I knew it was faster in rush hour conditions and the navigator was still trying to reroute me back to its original route, considering that faster due to speed limits.


Connect NFC to Galaxy S5 I have a Galaxy S5 and 6 NFC chips:

I want to write text to those NFC chips. I've already tried 2 apps: NFC Tools and Trigger. None of these apps hadn't recognized those NFC chips.

How can I read these NFC chips and write text on it through my Galaxy S5 device?

They seem like ordinary RFID chips. (I want to make emphasis on "LOOKS LIKE", cause I cant tell for sure).

NFC operates on 13.56Mhz and those seem like ordinary RFID tags (125KHZ tags, with no memory)

I could be wrong since form factor, is not the only matter to identify them. They also could be an NFC tag not compatible with your phone, but they should come up saying "tag not compatible".

Have you tried: NFC tools, its a free app from the market, It could get some information out of it, if not: IT LOOKS  like a regular RFID tag. (do you have the link for those tags, from where you bought them?)


However Outlook is accessible, I can't access to Gmail via Nexus 4 despite I can access to internet network through chrome browser and check my email by using "Outlook" application by Microsoft Corporation, I have not had my "gmail", "google+" since December 17th. I have not succeeded to check update since December 17th. My cellphone is Nexus 4 and its OS is Android 4.4.2.
Regards

I assume this has happened after a recent update to your nexus 4 to the latest kitkat update?
How did you do this update, was it naturally from google or did you manually force the update by clearing your google services framework cache? I have seen this happen before.


How to clear an Android device without losing root? I am considering selling an Android (KitKat) phone that is rooted.

Normally, when selling a phone, I would recommend performing a factory reset.

Do root privileges typically survive a factory reset?

If not, is there any way to really clear out everything on an Android phone without performing a factory reset?  Or will some data remnants always remain?

Performing a factory reset doesn't make you lose root access, since the root handling app (SuperSU or KingUser or whatever) is installed as a system app and only the /data and /cache partitions are formatted by a factory reset. The /system partition remains unaffected.


Use Transformer Prime instead of virtual emulator I am thinking about buying the Asus Transformer Prime, to start developing on android. Currently I am borrowing a Motorola Xoom to develop, and that has a Micro USB port, that I can plug into, and use it to debug my apps. From what I can tell the Asus Transformer Prime does not have such a port. Can I even use this as my debugging device, or would I be making a $500 mistake?

The Prime uses a proprietary cable, but it supports a USB connection to a computer via that cable (which you can see in this image from Engadget which I posted in another question). The fact that the connector isn't a micro USB port has no bearing on whether or not you can connect over USB (see: every Samsung tablet).


My Gmail is signed in through the app on ex-boyfriend's phone I had my email signed in on the Gmail app on my boyfriend's phone who is now on the other side of the country.  I've asked him a couple times to disconnect it but recently checked out Google Play and there's a bunch of new apps connected to my account. (I don't have a smart  phone.) Is there a way to disconnect it remotely without access to his phone?

Second, I've recently been flooded with spam mail, which is unusual for me.  Could this be because of that connection?

Go to:

https://accounts.google.com/b/0/EditPasswd

and change your password, then go to:

https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions

and revoke access to everything.


Why screen turns on while connecting/disconnecting charger? Even if it's (somehow) understandable to turn screen on while connecting charger, why it turns on also on disconnecting? Whats behind the design decision for this?

Is there native way of preventing this behaviour?

You can disable it on settings, depending of your device and ROM.


Fast Video Compression on Android I want to upload video files to server and compress before uploading. I'm using ffmpeg libx264. I have seen viber can upload 30 second video file of size 32MB within a minute [reduce it's down to 2.3MB]. I want to know how do they do it so fast?

What I have tried so far -

FFMPEG version :  n2.4.2
Built with gcc 4.8

Build Configuraiton : --target-os=linux --cross-prefix=/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/toolchain-android/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- --arch=arm --cpu=cortex-a8 --enable-runtime-cpudetect --sysroot=/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/toolchain-android/sysroot --enable-pic --enable-libx264 --enable-libass --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-fontconfig --enable-pthreads --disable-debug --disable-ffserver --enable-version3 --enable-hardcoded-tables --disable-ffplay --disable-ffprobe --enable-gpl --enable-yasm --disable-doc --disable-shared --enable-static --pkg-config=/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/ffmpeg-pkg-config --prefix=/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/build/armeabi-v7a-neon --extra-cflags='-I/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/toolchain-android/include -U_FORTIFY_SOURCE -D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fno-strict-overflow -fstack-protector-all -mfpu=neon' --extra-ldflags='-L/home/sb/Source-Code/ffmpeg-android/toolchain-android/lib -Wl,-z,relro -Wl,-z,now -pie' --extra-libs='-lpng -lexpat -lm' --extra-cxxflags=

Command:

ffmpeg -y -i /storage/emulated/0/main.mp4 -s 480x320 -r 20 -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -c:a copy -me_method zero -tune fastdecode -tune zerolatency -strict -2 -b:v 1000k -pix_fmt yuv420p /storage/emulated/0/output.mp4

The result so far is, a 30second 78MB file gets compressed to 4.3MB which takes around 1min 28seconds. Here is the console dump - http://pastebin.com/rn81acGx . I mainly want to reduce the time it takes to compress. How can I achieve this?

Thanks in advance.

Use SiliCompressor, a library on android that gives you the possibility to easily compress while maintaining the quality of your video and images.


Can't hear the caller on Moto E I have a Moto E with kitkat 4.4.4.
I can not hear the caller's voice unless I put my phone on speaker.
noticed this problem yesterday only.. earlier it was working fine.
Will appreciate any help regarding the issue.

I had the same problem and this solved it.

1.With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds, then POWER key, then release.

2.The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS
Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited too long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.
The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress (logo with Exclamation mark)
Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the POWER key and VOL DOWN key, and start the process again.
The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)
Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option
The device will then perform the partition wipe
The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence

DISCLAIMER : I am not responsible for any loss of data due to you doing any of the steps wrong. follow the procedure. It should work out well.

Good Luck!


How to select menu item in Android System Recovery? LG Optimus One P500 I'm started my LG Optimus One in System Recovery Mode. Vol Up/Vol Down buttons works - moving up/down through the menu. But i can't start menu item, for example 'reboot system now', or 'apply sdcard:update.zip'.

What type of System Recovery do you have? On my P500 everything is fine.

In AmonRA Recovery there are such bindings:

VolUp/VolDown - moving through menus
Back - previous menu level, cancel action
Menu - select menu item, approve action

Also I've noted that from some time back button doesn't work every time as I press it. I think it is hardware problem. Maybe I need to disassemble phone and make it maintenance.


Sync Outlook Calendar on my PC to Samsung Galaxy S4 I use Outlook Calendar on my PC.  Can I sync it to Samsung Galaxy S4?

You can use Samsung Kies for this.

  You can sync contacts, calendar, and tasks between your Microsoft®
  Outlook and your device and vice versa.

Related question:

Is there any way to sync my Outlook calendar to my Samsung Galaxy S without Kies?


Not all google logins should be equal on my phone While setting up a new phone for a family member whose location I want to track and calendar to manage (yeah, Big Brother type for medical reasons), I logged from my phone to her google account as an additional account. So in most google apps and sites I have this dropdown like who am I currently using this service as - e.g. posting calendar meetings and events as her, which may be shared to other family members who'd be available to help at a particular time slot.

Unfortunately, in google find me (location and stolen device protection app) it works both ways - if she (or someone else) logs in as her account on her phone, there are options to e.g. remotely lock or wipe my phone - as it is logged into google. Which would be unfortunate.

Is there some way to avoid this and tell at least this particular app that only my account is almighty here? (I know security was revamped a lot in Android 8, but our phones range in Android 4 to 6)

You can try to deactivate google-s " find device"  device manager from settings(usually in the security tab)...but this will also block you to reset it remotely..


Why does my phone vibrate when service is lost? My phone (Huawei x1) has started vibrating whenever I lose service and is really annoying. Does anyone know of anyway to fix this? Or maybe there is a setting I accidentally changed to allow this

My Droid Bionic (running Android 2.3.4) has a "network lost tone" setting under Settings/Sounds.   If you the phone is in silent mode with vibrate enabled, this setting might cause a vibrate, although I have not experienced that particular scenario.   Your phone probably has a similar setting.


How to switch the layout of a hardware keyboard without changing language? I have bought German T-Mobile G1 (HTC Dream), and thus I have German hardware keyboard. In stock firmware I used English language, but the keyboard was still German - that was OK. I got used to that layout, and all was well.

Then I upgraded firmware to CM6.0, keyboard was still German.

Then I went restored backup of stock 1.6 firmware, and suddenly android thinks that I have US keyboard. I can't type quickly because the symbols printed on the keyboard are for German keyboard, but the keystrokes generate characters for US English.

Is there a file containing the key mappings, that I can save using adb with correct layout and restore on the firmware with wrong layout? Thanks.

There is no file that I know of for changeing keyboard layout.

You might want to try to change the settings for your phone to English and then back to German.  That might help reseting the keyboard layout, depending how HTC have set up the firmware the you used when you reinstalled the phone.

If that doesn't work, you could try to use adb from Googles Android developer site.  There you can set Localization for your phone without using the menu in settings.  That should be the same thing though.

Tells how to change Localization on a device through menu and using adb command (which is advanced!).
Android Developers Dev Guide, device
Also some instructions how to change/test localization on an Android device when you test their Tutorial program on Localization.
Android Developers Resources, test localized

If this doesn't work, you could always try to install another software keyboard from the Market or reinstall the Android firmware in the phone.


Smart Lock not working, is it due to Outlook? I have a Nexus 6 with Android 5.1, kernel version 3.10.40-geec2459, build number LMY47D.

When I first started using the Nexus 6, Smart Lock worked.
After a while it stopped working.

If I open the Smart Lock setting under Security, all options (like Trusted devices and Trusted places) are Disabled by administrator

Possible suspects: I use gmail with exchange, I use Android Device Manager and I use Outlook for Android.

Is anyone of those apps supposed to stop Smart Lock?

On the Office Blog it states

  Further, a device level PIN means we can take advantage of features like native device encryption, TouchID on iOS and Smart Lock on Android

I am not sure of how to interpret this. Does it mean that they "take advantage" of "Smart Lock" by disabling it?

I tested disabing Android Device Manager and Outlook Device Policy under the Device administrators and then rebooted the phone. That did not help.

I would really like to use both Outlook and Smart lock. Is it possible?
Would it help to root the phone?

I've discovered that Outlook Exchange server overrides my smartlock settings on my Android device. I used the default built in Samsung email client to setup my 2 Outlook exchange emails and my smartlock now works as advertised. I would like to find the settings in the Outlook exchange server to defeat this, but so far I can't find it. I am the admin for my own email service from Godaddy and Office 365. So far I can't find anything on a Google search that will direct me to the settings. I still have my Google MSN and ATT emails setup in Outlook and they don't seem to interfere with my Smart lock settings, but now I am split between 2 email clients on my phone.


How do I connect a Samsung Original Stylus Touch S Pen to a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4? I recently bought my wife a new tablet - she is an artist and is looking to draw on the new screened tablet.  I also got her a pen so that she could do this.

The Tablet I got her was a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 and the pen I got her was a Samsung Original Stylus Touch S Pen for Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

Is there any way for me to connect this pen to the tablet? Or do I need to get a different pen?

Nope.

A Samsung Original Stylus Touch S Pen for Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will not work on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 has a capacitive digitizer; not an active digitizer that the Samsung Original Stylus Touch S Pen requires.

This review states the issue; bold emphasis is mine:

  The S Pen is an inductive stylus. The display on the Note has what's called an active digitizer under the glass. When the S Pen gets close to the screen, the magnetic field of the active digitizer induces a current that powers its internal circuitry. Power is passed here just like a wireless charging mat and phone that supports its work, it's just not inducing nearly as much power.

And this too; again bold emphasis is mine:

  This is far more accurate than a capacitive stylus could ever be. It's why the S Pen won't work as a stylus on any other phone — it's not an electrical conductor. It's also why the S Pen, or Apple Pen, or Pixel Pen, or Surface Pen, etc. work so much better than a "regular" stylus.


Background apps and the battery Every time I use Google Search, the browser or the music player of my Samsing Galaxy S II (Android 2.3), even if I push the back button until it brings me back to the home screen, the apps keep running in background (seen in the "Active Applications" widget).

Do they consume my batery? Do they enter in some kind of supended mode, so they don't consume the CPU? If they do consume, is there any configuration to make them really close when I push the back button?

I've asked a similar question about my browser.  The consensus seems to be that these apps are normally pretty dormant when in the background, and my browser was behaving strangely.  Android's designed so that you don't need to exit apps (the system manages suspending and killing them); so, unless you notice an app consuming an abnormal amount of CPU time while in the background, it should be safe to leave them be.


Connectbot menu on Lollipop I just upgraded to Lollipop on my Nexus 5 and I use Connectbot a lot. There used to be a menu button, with things like "URL scan" and "Paste".  But with Lollipop that menu button is replaced with a button where I can change my keyboard. Totally redundant, since there is already a button for that on the keyboard (or at least, there is with Hackers Keyboard).

So the question is, does anyone know how to get the menu button back?

If you press 'back', then the keyboard changer button is replaced by the menu buttom. This is still a bit more complex than what it was in the 4.x times, but should at least allow you to disconnect if you want to avoid e.g. manually detaching your screen, etc.


How to setup call only mode Miss this feature from my old 'Berry - easily set to Phone Call Only mode overnight so support calls from work ring through but text/email notifications are silent. Is there a way to have similar one touch on/off functionality?  Thanks

You can use blocking mode. A feature in the Samsung TouchWiz devices (I believe made available in 4.0).

Settings -> Blocking Mode

Enable blocking mode
Uncheck "Disable incoming calls"
Set the time that blocking mode should be enabled
Sleep until the phone rings

If you still want to actually receive the notifications for email and text messages you can do the following:

Go to Settings -> Sound
Select Volume
Turn up Ringtone
Turn down all the others

While these are not "one touch", you can do the second one right from the home screen.

Just hit the volume button
hit the button to expand the volume controls
adjust the volume of all the settings


Why is the SD-card mounted to "/sdcard/external_sd" instead of "/sdcard" (or "/mnt/sdcard")? I recently upgraded my phone to an LG Motion 4G (Android 4 ICS). I see that the sdcard is mounted at /sdcard/external_sd. I also noticed that this appears to be the same with some other newer models. Apps expect the sdcard to be at /sdcard. I assume the manufacturers want to include a lot of internal storage, but why mount internal storage at /sdcard? Shouldn't this be against some form of Android specification standard?

The reason is the history of Android: The first generation of Android devices only had a small amount of internal storage (around 100-400MiB) which was mounted under /data.

Next, devices with a, at that time external, SD-card came out. The SD card was mounted under /mnt/sdcard.

After that, devices with large internal storage came on the market. This storage was portioned, because /mnt/sdcard had become the default place for big data chunks from apps, pictures and such. So the Android environment had to have a /data and /mnt/sdcard directory. Therefore one partition was for /data, the other for /mnt/sdcard. This is the reason why you storage space could become low (the /data partition) even if there is plenty of space on /mnt/sdcard.

This situation was improved with Android 3.0: /data and /mnt/sdcard are now pointing to the same partition. Good job Google, that could have been done versions ago. Which is also the reason why app2sd is no more needed on Android 3.0 or higher: You would only move the data within the same volume.

Now we come to the answer if your question: Since /mnt/sdcard is already mounted on the internal storage, an external SD-card has to use a different mount point. And this mount point is not specified by Google. It could be

/mnt/sdcard/ext_sd
/mnt/external
/mnt/extSdCard
/mnt/sdcard/external_sd
etc.

The API call getExternalStorageDirectory() usually points to the internal storage directory. This behavior is documented. There are open source projects that provide tools to find the external SD-card directory in a canonical way.


Does the google play store not provide updates for frozen apps? Possible Duplicate:
  Is there any other way to get updates to frozen apps?

I freeze problematic apps in hope of waiting for a better update. When frozen, the apps once did update like normally. I've turned on automatic updates in Google Play Store.

Now I've noticed that apps that are frozen does not seem to get updates.

Is this a problem with the way I freeze apps? I use Link2SD app to freeze apps.

Or is it because of the updated latest versions of Google Play Store doesn't allow updates for the frozen/disabled apps? (Google play store shows "Enable" button over the place of "open/update" for installed frozen apps.)

My Google Play Store version: 3.10.10

Based on one of the comments in an AndroidPolice article about Google Play Store v3.7.15, you can't update frozen / disabled apps anymore.


Can I desolder the internal memory from a Samsung Galaxy SIII and move it to a Samsung Galaxy SII? My SGIII phone has an issue with the main board and will not start at all. Can I desolder the internal memory and move it to a Samsung Galaxy SII?

Or is there any other way to retrieve the information from the internal memory?

I have never done this and this answer is based on this XDA thread -Soldering? Move internal memory chip which can give you some pointers

EMMC is a BGA chip, which means you require specialised equipment and expertise to deal with it
IMEI information is stored in EMMC and CPU for Samsung phones. If you simply remove this chip and place in another device, IMEI mismatch will prevent radio (calling, SMS) to work, but you may be able to recover data stored
Encryption is the biggest hurdle (if your device was encrypted), even if you tackle the hardware portion. Your encryption keys are tied to the device and even if you remember the password on the old device and use the same, you may not be able to access data

Using JTAG , it may be possible to revive or locate and repair the fault. Again, buying JTAG, manipulating it's controller, transferring information etc is again for a professional or a serious hobbyist (I did try to learn this when I had a Note 2 to fix battery draining motherboard and found it too involved, though I didn't need to spend anything)

Bottom line - it's best dealt with repair  or data recovery professionals and not something trivial . But then, if you are upto to it, go ahead and share your experience here for the benefit of community :)

Edit Google will tell you that both chips are different. For S3 it is KMVTU000LM-B50 and S2 KMV3U000LM-B304

Establish if they can be interchanged? (Not within the ambit of this site) and then proceed. There can be many variations, footprint of the chip, pin connections, architecture, voltages etc which could prevent you from doing what you want


Sony Xperia Tipo not recognizing SD memory card I have installed an 8GB SD memory card in my Sony Xperia Tipo, but the memory card is not being recognized. Has anyone else had this problem with the Sony Xperia Tipo? If so, how did you solve it?

I have the same phone, I didn't have any problems.

A few possibilities:

Make sure the card is completely inside the SD card slot.
Format the card.
Turn off the phone, take out the battery and pull the SD card out, turn on the phone without the SD card (wait for it to completely load), again turn off the phone, put the SD
card back in, turn on the phone (wait for it to completely load).
Remove any widgets that access the card on boot (like gallery widget,
etc), reboot phone.
Try another SD card.


Is there a way to move the caret in a text box without using the hard keyboard and without a bunch of single touches? Often when I'm editing in a text box, I'm trying to insert text and specific location or delete text from a specific location.  It usually takes me a few touches to get it right, but sometimes I just say screw it, delete the word and and retype.

Since I'm usually off by just one character, is there a way to move the caret to left or right by 1 character?  Maybe a gesture of some sort?

I'm a little unsure if this falls under keyboard software functions(If it does then I'll take a closer look @ the alternative keyboard questions).

My device is a Droid which does have a hard keyboard, but I want to be prepared for the day I decide to get phone that doesn't have one.

This depends on the phone you're using, on my Spica, for example, I can use the directional keypad to adjust the position of the cursor. On phones that have trackballs, the trackball does the same job.

Otherwise, the backspace key can be used as a workaround for left-arrow key (delete a few chars, then retype the word you're inserting and retype the deleted chars.

Another alternative, if you're typing in English or in one of the supported languages, you can try Swype. Swype is a word-based text input (as opposed to character based), and you typically delete or swipe one word at a time and the correction mode (double tap on the word you want to correct and pick or swipe the new word) make correcting errors a breeze.


How to force Adobe tracking link in SMS to open Google Play Store app and not the web browser I am sending a bitly in SMS that masks an Adobe tracking link to download an app. I want the link to open the Google Play app, not the web browser. Is there a way to force this? Given that I can't change the settings on everyone's phones, need to be able to do it from my side.

Instead of linking to play.google.com, make the link point to market://details?id=com.example.android, though you may find that some software will block these links for security reasons. There's no way to force a play.google.com link to open in Play Store.


Tesco Hudl Hardware Problem = bin? My boy has a Tesco Hudl 1 - been trying to stop it crashing that is was doing very regularly.

Did a full system reset with power on/vol up and reformat.   On restarting after this with completely clean system it glitches again.    Sometimes not even getting past the boot logo.

My feeling is something wrong on the hardware side, and this thing is destined for the bin.   Bad RAM?

Any Android specialists out there like to confirm fears?

I contacted the ebay vendor who sold me the hudl.  He recommended full charge and reset button again.

It boots now at least.  Will try to install just one or two apps and see if its a software issue, and download any updates.  Hope this helps someone in the future.


Getting a hotspot without root I've read several articles on how exactly to do this, but none of them seems to work. I can't root my G Flex 2 (because I have ZV9), so that route is inaccessible. FoxFi initializes but I get a warning that I need to subscribe to a hotspot service. Is there any workaround for this?

I downloaded Pdanet+ and used the USB option, not the Wi-Fi one.


Unable to flash factory ROM on Pixel I'm trying to restore the factory ROM on my Pixel. I've downloaded and unpacked a factory image for my phone, and when I run sudo ./flash-all.sh I get FAILED (remote: partition [bootb] doesn't exist). Here's the whole transcript. Can anyone suggest a workaround?

target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'bootloaderb' (32728 KB)...
OKAY [  0.836s]
writing 'bootloaderb'...
(bootloader) Valid bootloader version.
OKAY [  1.600s]
finished. total time: 2.435s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  8.593s]
finished. total time: 8.693s
< waiting for any device >
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'radiob' (57192 KB)...
OKAY [  1.428s]
writing 'radiob'...
OKAY [  0.909s]
finished. total time: 2.337s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.006s]
finished. total time: 0.106s
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.img'
archive does not contain 'system.sig'
archive does not contain 'vendor.sig'
wiping userdata...
Creating filesystem with parameters:
    Size: 122633060352
    Block size: 4096
    Blocks per group: 32768
    Inodes per group: 8192
    Inode size: 256
    Journal blocks: 32768
    Label:
    Blocks: 29939712
    Block groups: 914
    Reserved block group size: 1024
Created filesystem with 11/7487488 inodes and 518062/29939712 blocks
--------------------------------------------
Bootloader Version...: 8996-012001-1610061102
Baseband Version.....: 8996-012511-1611190200
Serial Number........: XXXXXXXXXXXX
--------------------------------------------
checking product...
OKAY [  0.050s]
checking version-bootloader...
OKAY [  0.051s]
checking version-baseband...
OKAY [  0.050s]
sending 'bootb' (24821 KB)...
OKAY [  0.642s]
writing 'bootb'...
(bootloader) Flashing active slot "_b"
FAILED (remote: partition [bootb] doesn't exist)
finished. total time: 1.095s

I had the exact same issue you did, and after finding nothing about it online, became panicked that there was a defect with my phone.

Instead, I realized that the version of ADB I had installed on my computer was out of date. I downloaded a newer version from Google and tried the process again. It worked fine and I was able to restore my phone.


How to change Gmail settings to automatically unhide pictures in messages Among the settings of recent versions of Gmail there is the following entry:

Hide pictures in messages
Until you allow by sender, pictures won’t display automatically

Tapping the entry brings this dialog:

Hide pictures in messages?
Cancel  OK

How do I change this setting so that Gmail automatically displays pictures in messages? I’m aware that it’s possible to display pictures on a message by message or sender by sender basis. Here I’m referring to reversing the effect of tapping OK in the above dialog. Tapping Cancel only dismisses the dialog without changing the setting.

I am not sure what version of Gmail you have, but the version I have (along with Android 4.1.2) allows me to "Show Pictures" in the message, then I have the option to "Always show pictures from this sender".

The option in the settings is to "Remove" the always show that you have set for any sender in the past.

The only way to always show images is by first showing them for a sender, then select the always show. And AFAIK, this can only be done per sender.


Kindle Not showing up and backup not converting in Droid Explorer. Titanium Backup also not working So I had to get my Kindle 10" replaced, so I created two backup's. One in Droid Explorer and one in Titanium Backup. Titanium Backup wont see the files for some reason, and now Droid Explorer won't read my Kindle. It see's my kindle, but it doesn't show the file system, nor will my back up convert to a basic backup.

Am I missing something? I'm rooted, everything installed as before but nothing is working.

ADB wasn't given proper root permission, so it wasn't seeing the device's file structure. As for the backup, I made a copy of the abex file in to my adb folder (probably irrelevant where), then tried converting it again and it worked. With the .ab file however, Droid Explorer crashes when trying to run the restore, but it ran fine with running the command manually. adb restore .ab.


Wifi problems after 4.4 KitKat update After updating to 4.4 all of my Nexus devices (4, 7 & 10) have problems with wifi, they all worked fine before the update.
After some idle time they lose the wifi connection and it can only be reactivated after restarting the device.

The Nexus 7 right now doesn't connect to wifi at all, I can set the wifi switch to 'on' in the settings but it won't even show available wifis (see screenshot).

Anyone else experience this? Any ideas on how to resolve it? Without wifi the device is pretty much useless.

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

I found out what the problem was: on every single device there were 'battery saver' apps installed. The devices are in my workplace, so I'm not the only one who uses them and someone must have installed those apps.
I didn't care for them until now and they never did any harm, but they somehow must've interferred with the new 4.4 Android. After uninstalling them everything is fine on all devices :)


Samsung Galaxy 10.1 2013 frozen in odin mode Granddaughter playing game on tablet and assume she pressed on power and volume at same time It had the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 verbiage across the screen. I tried to press the power and increase volume button as I had done before on the Motorola Xoom, big mistake from what I read in forums. It is now stuck on the ODIN MODE and says: Downloading...Do not turn off target!! with the Android symbol above it. Help!!

Hold the volume up and volume down at the same time then press power button. Hold for a few seconds and unit will reboot.


Make the internal SD card storage act like normal Ext4 storage (with file system permission management) Some people have apparently managed to get Ext4 formatted SD cards to work in their Android devices, allowing them to get file system permission management. I don't have an SD card in my phone, but I want to be able to manage the file permissions on the emulated SD card that all Android devices have.

The problem I see with the current implementation is the fact that apps which can access one file on your SD card (or emulated SD card) can access every single file on your SD card. There is no way to limit access to a single folder.

Now I'm wondering how I can change the emulated SD card in a way that I can specify which app can access which file.
Btw from what I've read, every app has it's own Linux user so in theory it should be as simple as setting permissions with chown/chmod.
But people say that Android has a special implementation for the emulated SD storage, which has been accomplished by using FUSE.

I am aware that apps may not work correctly when they don't have permissions to read or write form that storage. But that shouldn't really be a problem if you manage the permissions with chown/chmod.
I also know that I might lose the ability to use MTP to access that storage from a computer.

I'm using CyanogenMod 13 on a OnePlus One at the moment. Rooted and custom recovery etc. I will upgrade to Android 7 soon (CM14).
(also running microG instead of google play services.)

You seem to be missing the point. Actually a few of them:

Emulated SD Card storage has nothing to do with the lack of physical SD card support by some devices.
It is a public storage area by design.
It is implemented via FUSE - it is not an actual block device and you can not simply reformat it to any filesystem you want.
Being able to share files via MTP depends on the current implementation and the change like you are suggesting would break it.


Charging Nexus 5 to 100% Is it wrong to fully charge your android phone in general to 100% will it hurt battery life? and is it also to drain your battery to below 20% will it also hurt the battery life?

As derived from this battery-related answer:

Li-ion batteries, unlike former battery technologies, do not need full discharges - actually, it's better if you don't let them drop below 40% (it's kind of like a sweet spot for batteries; you'll age your battery if you store it below 40%). It's also unhealthy for the battery to be left at 100%, that's why a number of phones (Nexus devices, to be exact) quickly drain the battery down to something like 98% or 95% after you unplug the charger.


What percentage of devices have each of the Android versions? We're starting out with some Android development in our company, and I'm working out which  Android versions we should support.

In one of Google's videos from 27th May 2010 (22:34 minutes in) there is a pie chart showing roughly a third of users each for Android 1.5, 1.6 and 2.1.

Does anyone have a more up-to-date source for the percentages of active Android devices with each version of the platform?

Check out Official Android Developer's Dashboards.

Data as of September, 2017 1

Version       Codename       Distribution
2.3.3-2.3.7    Gingerbread       0.6%
4.0.3-4.0.4    Ice Cream         0.6%
               Sandwich
4.1.x          Jelly Bean        2.4%
4.2.x                            3.5%
4.3                              1.0%
4.4            KitKat           15.1%
5.0            Lollipop          7.1%
5.1                             21.7%
6.0            Marshmallow      32.2%
7.0            Nougat           14.2%
7.1                              1.6%

1 Data collected during a 7-day period ending on September 11, 2016.
Any versions with less than 0.1% distribution are not shown. (Note: Beginning in September 2013, devices running versions older than Android 2.3.3 do not appear in this data because those devices do not support the new Google Play Store app. As of August 2013, devices with versions lower than 2.2 accounted for about 1% of all devices.)


The lowest in-call volume level I have a redmi 4x, lineage os 15 official.
I have the lowest in-call volume level as big as 20%. I can't make it lower and in a quiet room almost everyone can hear my phone conversation. I tried different apps, some of them worked: they could lower the volume to 0% but the effect was temporal. I'm looking for a constant solution. Can anybody suggest a method how to lower the in-call volume below that level?

The cause is Volume Steps are set to 5 ... At 20% you must have only 5 steps and 20% per step... You need to modify your build.prop and add more in-call volume steps.. Here's an example of 20 steps... 20/100 = 5% volume as minimum..

Soo...
If you MUST Have a minimum of 0 or 1% then set the steps to 100... I recommend 20 however..

Add to build.prop

Go to Development Options
Enable Root Access for Apps
Open a root explorer
Open system / build.prop
Edit this line if it exits, or add it if it doesn't...

ro.config.vc_call_vol_steps=20


How can I see if my boyfriend has added a listening, tracking app on my zte?/ I believe that my boyfriend has put a hidden app on my phone that enables him to read all my text messages, phone calls and know my location. How can I see if he has done this ?

PC World had an article on the topic a little while back and recommended Anti Spy Mobile Free and Anti Spy.

Be careful when using them - judging by their descriptions, they appear to be using heuristics that might be fooled by legit apps in some cases. Of course, if they show an app that's deliberately hiding itself and can read your text messages, it's probably spyware.


How to remove KINGroot? I installed KINGroot and regretted it. Now I can't remove all of its files because of permissions only KINGroot has. My friend tried to remove it by using towelroot and other methods but my phone crashes them. I need a PC method to remove all KINGroot files but also having my phone permanently rooted. The friend I mentioned and my other friend have rooted phones without KINGroot.

Can you please help me solve this issue.

I have:

Samsung Galaxy S3 mini - model number: GT - I8190
version 4.1.2
Phone manufacturing date: Jul 28 2013

If you require any other information about my phone please let me know. I messed up.

Firstly, soon after uninstalling KingRoot be sure to get another SU management app, to protect your device against malicious attacks since it has elevated privileges than a non rooted device,

A checklist just in case;

Check if KingRoot is enabled as device administrator (under settings≥security), sometimes it's difficult to uninstall apps with such privileges
Try to uninstall the app from  within itself, rather than dragging to uninstall (you will need to reinstall su binaries with this method, but if your goal is to just get rid of KingRoot for another SU app it's worth a go)
Navigate directly to /system/app/ and search for a package with name com.kingroot.kinguser and delete the contents.

If the app is still stubborn, then try the PC method

Connect your device via  USB with debugging enabled,

On your PC open ADB terminal and type the codes one by one

# mount -o rw, remount /system

# am kill com.kingroot.kinguser

# pm uninstall com.kingroot.kinguser

Check if the app is removed


ADB not seeing device after update I just updated the Android SDK Tools to 22.6.4 and the Google USB Driver to Rev. 10 and now ADB cannot see the device.

Device: Honeywell Dolphin 70e Black with 4.0.3

Modified the android_winusb.inf to include:

;Honeywell 70e
%SingleAdbInterface%        = USB_Install, USB\VID_0C2E&PID_0BA3
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_0C2E&PID_0BA3&MI_01

I was able to install the driver just fine and everything else seems normal except ADB with this device. Other devices work fine (Droid X, Kindle Fire, Motorola Photon Q)

I have done ADB resets, computer restarts, I downloaded an older version of the tools (22.6.2 and Rev 9 driver) but was still unable to connect. I even did a factory reset on the Honeywell device.

I can't think of anything else to try

I completely forgot about the adb_usb.ini file in the \USER_NAME\.android folder. Added 0x0C2E to the bottom, restarted ADB and all is good.

So, full instructions:

Get device hardware Ids from Device Manager in the form of USB\VID_1234&PID_5678&MI_90

ENABLE DRIVER:

Open file \android-sdks\extras\google\usb_driver\android_winusb.inf

Add

;Device Name
%SingleAdbInterface%        = USB_Install, USB\VID_1234&PID_5678
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_1234&PID_5678&MI_90

Under both

[Google.NTx86]
[Google.NTamd64]

Save and close.

INSTALLING DRIVE:

Find device in Device Manager and Update Driver.

Choose Browse
Let me pick
Have Disk
Browse
select \android-sdks\extras\google\usb_driver\android_winusb.inf
OK
choose Android Composite ADB Inerface
Next
accept unsigned warning if shown. For Windows 8 you may need to enable the installation of unsigned drivers, just Google it.

UPDATE ADB:

Open file \USE_NAME\.android\adb_usb.ini

add to the bottom 0x1234 (this is the VID part with the 0x identifying it as hexadecimal)

Save and close

Restart the ADB by either

Eclipse:

Show the Devices view
Click the facing down triangle in the top right corner of the view
Click reset adb

Command Prompt:

Open command prompt
cd to your \android-sdks\platform-tools\ folder
Run adb kill-server
Run adb start-server

All Done.


Trying to uninstall a keyboard, 'uninstall' grayed out, no root I'm trying to uninstall PDAC Multilinugal keyboard and its language packs. The uninstall button on the app is grayed out, and I don't yet have root - is it possible to remove it without root access?

Most pre-installed keyboards are system apps.  System apps can't be uninstalled without root access.


Error: Google Play Services keep stopping This errorr message keeps flashing. I tried the solutions offered but on Settings the google play services app does not open the disable or force stop buttons.  I tried uninstalling updates but I get the message that it can't uninstall because google is an device administrator. Switching off my mobile data and wifi did not work, switching the device off and on did not work.  Any other advice?

Open Settings/Apps/Google Play Services/Storage.

Click Manager Storage and Click Clear All Data.

Then Re-install Google Play Services.


Use my Android phone as the camera and microphone for PowerPoint slide recording For conference purpose, I have to record a PowerPoint presentation recording. (That is, I have to record a video of me explaining a PowerPoint presentation using the webcam and mic while playing the presentayion). The problem is that the inbuilt camera and microphone of my laptop are not that great. iS there any way to use my android phone as the source of the camera and mic input? I tried DroidCam and I could connect the camera to the laptop. But when I start recording, it is using the default inbuilt camera instead of my phone.
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S9 running on android 10.

Sorry for the confusion there is an option inside the PowerPoint where you can select the source of audio and video. You can select droidcam there.


How RAM usage effects battery drain? I'm really confused about Android memory management.

I just read here that killing apps by swiping from recent list or using task killers won't save your battery but drain more because this cause the OS to load the apps all over again next time you launch it or startup by themselves. They also said the actually thing we should worry is CPU usage, not RAM usage.

Is that mean using too much RAM doesn't drain battery? As RAM is a hardware, holding something on it shouldn't drain battery? What if I was playing Temple Run and just press home button so the app will load faster next time I launch? Or should we just press back button until the app exit as we always do? I've also searched the internet but some said it would drain battery as it sits on RAM, some said there is no difference between RAM holds actual data or nothing. Should we let go of our app-killing habit and just feel relax?

Some precise answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. :)

I doubt that there is a direct correlation between battery consumption and RAM usage. The hardware doesn't know which RAM cells contain 'used' data and which not. So there can be no difference in battery consumption on that level.

But I think that one could say that unnecessarily killing Apps causes a few extra CPU cycles when those Apps have to be re-started and therefore "uses more battery".

And yes, you definitely should let go of your app-killing habit. In most cases, Android is capable of managing the system's resources quite well and you shouldn't bother with manually killing Apps. They definitely won't drain more battery if they just idle around and consume some RAM. Of course, if those Apps are constantly using the CPU, they will drain battery (but this is usually a sign of a bug within the App or a badly implemented App).


Android File Transfer cannot access device storage I am using a Moto X (2nd Generation). I have a recurring problem that occurs when I plug my phone into my Mac to transfer files (music, etc).

When I plug it in, it is unlocked and on. However, Android File Transfer comes up with a message that says:

Cannot access device storage

And I am not able to transfer any files. I tried plugging it in again, locking and unlocking my phone, no luck. Any solutions?

The only solution I have been able to find is to, with the phone plugged in to the computer and unlocked:

Enable Developer Mode in Settings
Go to Developer Options
Select USB Configuration
Select MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
If this doesn't work, select Charging only, then select MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) again.


Will updating an app with a sideloaded apk delete app data? I have an application and I want to update it . I have downloaded latest version apk and I would like to know if i sideload the latest apk would I loose old application data .

No. If you don't uninstall the existing app, and you use adb install to install the new APK, the existing app data will be preserved.

Note that you can only do this if the package names match and the old and new APKs are signed with the same developer certificate:

If the package names don't match, then both versions will be installed side-by-side, and the new one won't have access to the old one's data. This might happen if the developer has slightly different variants for the app depending on the distribution channel (e.g. a variant for Google Play, and another for direct APK download).
If the signatures don't match, then installation will fail with an error message telling you that's what went wrong. The only way to fix that is to use an APK signed by the original developer.


Nexus 5, low space problems I recently got nexus 5 16GB, but I have weird storage problem. The OS should take about ~3.5GB, so I should have 12.55GB left for apps and stuff. BUT:

Screenshot (click image to enlarge)

4.66GB + 2.95GB + ~0.5GB IS NOT 12.55, but ~8GB. Where is the remaining 4GB space?

Thumbnail cache

Check the .thumbnails directory in sdcard/DCIM (Digital Camera IMages)/  notice that it is a hidden directory and only visible with certain file managers with the option to view hidden files.

This directory stores a lot of thumbnail data especially in the form of two large binary files.

Play Music (if you are using it)

Play Music caches your songs so Settings > Clear Cache.

App Data left behind

Delete some app data cache left behind by uninstalled apps from sdcard/ and sdcard/Andorid/data. Even apps such as Chrome, Maps, YouTube leave a lot of cached files in sdcard/Andorid/data. Clean those apps cache from sdcard/Andorid/data.

Storage Space

Install DiskUsage and check your devices storage by detail.

DiskUsage provides a way to find files and directories on storage card which consume a lot of space.

After pinpointing down apps and files that consume a lot of storage with DiskUsage. Simply deleting those files and going into Settings > Apps selecting and cleaning those apps would prove sufficient.


Strange message: Firefox Android When I reopened Firefox after a few hours, it normally opens the last website I've viewed but it  displayed  for a second a strange message popup similar to
"there is a more recent version of the page on the server, do you want to reload?", (maybe it's not 100% the exact phrase because of my translation and that I may have not read 100% correctly the popup).
I opened  Firefox about 4 hours before, then left Firefox in standby on the phone. Then I reopened the site without refreshing, when I saw notification above.
I have no malware on the smartphone, and it was just a normal website about cars.
What does the notification mean?

The message there is a more recent version of the page on the server, do you want to reload? is shown by the web site itself. It is generated via JavaScript and other web techniques and therefore can vary by size, displayed text and other properties.
When you re-open Firefox the previously cached web page is displayed.
Some web sites use special web techniques (JavaScript + WebSocket) to connect to the server in background and check for provided update information.
For example the Stackoverflow/Stackexchange web pages also use this technique for displaying an info header that new questions are available or that there is a new message in your "inbox".

Therefore if your browser first loads the cached page and then checks for updates and displays this message. As the message is generated by the web page, not by the web browser itself it will only appear on web pages that use this technique and it may look totally different on each page.


Unable to delete a huge UPDATE.APP file on Huawei P8lite My Huawei P8lite running on EMUI version 4.0 and Android 6.0 Marshmallow is low on disk space. I noticed there's a huge UPDATE.APP file, it's taking 2.55 GB.

I tried to delete it, but it shows an error:

  Error while deleting the file "UPDATE.APP".

How to delete this file?

You can use some good file explorer like ES File Explorer and then try to delete the file, if direct deletion doesn't work then try renaming the file, then delete it. If that doesn't work then plug your phone into your computer and delete it from there. If nothing works then you might need root access to delete it.


How is the default launcher set after a factory reset I would like to know how is the default launcher set after a factory reset. What files are in charge of telling the OS, for example, that the Touchwiz app is the default launcher for Samsung devices.

I do not want to replace the launcher, that is something I already know how to do. This is a very specific question regarding how the os works. I am interested in doing a system update via recovery and changing the files that tell the OS which app is the default launcher, in order to tell it that my newly flashed app (flashed in system partition) is.

I look forward to your response. Thanks in advance.

EDIT:

As stated, Samsung is just a given example but it is one of an endless list. This is an os general-behaviour related question not manufacturer specific.

If a ROM has multiple launchers, and one is not set by default in the default factory configuration, then after the Setup Wizard completes and the device attempts to go to the desktop, a pop-up appears asking you to select the Home application and it will give you an option to "Always do this".

You can select a launcher here, but until you select "Always do this" (or similar text) this pop-up selection window will appear every time the Home button is pressed.

This is common in custom ROMs which have multiple launchers pre-installed.


Stuck in recovery while doing factory reset Having had problems in the past with battery draining too fast, I was advised to return it to factory settings. On doing this, it worked for a while.

Now the same problem has started occurring again. So, I thought, I would simply reset again.

However, I think, I may have pressed the volume down instead of volume up (or vice versa) as now I have a pic of the android and a message warning me not to turn off the tablet for the last 15 minutes.

Have I done something wrong?

Your device is currently in either:

(Non-Samsung) Fastboot Mode

or...
(Samsung) Download Mode.

In this case, because you're not actively transferring files, you should be able to safely reboot it.


Why there is no Calendar sync Option on android 4.2.2? (Lenovo A850) I can't find the sync option for calendar in my new Android 4.2.2 phone.
There is every other option such as: Gmail, Google+, Contacts and so on but no calendar!
Can somebody help me to make it work?
By the way, I have rooted my phone. Thanks.

Install Calendar app

Enable calendar sync

Select calendars to sync


Android 9 pie see if device is encrypted I am trying to figure out if my Android (Pie) is encrypted.

Per Is there a way for a user to tell if their Android device is encrypted or not?, it says my phone will be reported as phone encrypted.

However, when I go Settings --> Lock screen & security --> Encryption & credentials, here is what I can see:

One can see that:

My SD card is encrypted
Credential protection: Hardware-backed

I see no mention of phone encrypted.

Does this mean my phone's contents (not my SD card) is actually encrypted?

My Phone Specifics

LG-G710VM (aka LG G7 ThinQ for Verizon)
Android 9 (Pie)
Secure start-up is enabled

**2/24/2020 Edit**

In an answer below, @beeshyams suggested verifying encryption by following the answer to this question: How can I find out if my device uses FBE or FDE?

Using Termux I ran getprop ro.crypto.type.

It output: block, which means my device uses Full Disk Encryption.

All devices that run Android 5 and beyond (out of the box) are encrypted. That's probably why you don't see a separate status for device encryption as you see for Ext.SD.
Encryption can be Full-Disk Encryption (FDE)  or File-Based Encryption (FBE). The device is encrypted on first boot using default encryption and once the user sets up lock screen mechanism , that is used for encryption. Relevant extracts

FDE was introduced in Android 4.4 and is supported till Android 9.

Android 7.0 and higher supports file-based encryption (FBE).

For devices running Android 7.0–8.1, file-based encryption can't be used together with adoptable storage.

Devices running Android 9 and higher can use adoptable storage and file-based encryption

For new devices running Android 10 and higher, file-based encryption is required.

Your device being Android 9 with secure start up, it's most likely FBE. You can verify ro.crypto.type on Terminal Emulator and it would show file ( See How can I find out if my device uses FBE or FDE?)


I forgot the lock screen PIN on my Moto G second gen XT-1068 I forgot the PIN number of the lock screen.

I'm unable to do anything to get into my device as both data connection and Wi-Fi are off and USB debugging is disabled.
Is there any way to enable them?

Otherwise suggest a way to root the device in this state and delete PIN and also to un-root it after the problem is solved.

I don't want to factory reset as I have important data on my phone's internal memory.
My device is un-rooted and runs on Android 4.4.4.

Did you set up and activate either Google's Android Device Manager or Motorola Device Policy (Settings/Security/Device Administrators)? Both allow you to set a new password remotely (which would clear the forgotten PIN), via either https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager or the Moto Support Site respectively.

If so it might be worth giving it a try although if you did manage to Factory Reset the phone that should have removed your Google account. I'm surprised that the PIN survived a Factory Reset.


Android ICS ROMs for MID Tablet I have a MID (Chinese) tablet and I found 2 Android 4.0 firmwares, but with the first one wireless doesn't work and with the second camera doesn't work, the other components and functions of my tablet work perfectly with both firmwares.

Is there a way to extract the "wireless driver" from the second firmware and use it on the first one?

based on my experience with Chinese-made MID, we can extract it ONLY if we have the access to it's kernel (which usually the manufacturer doesn't release it). Maybe you can start looking for the solution at tabletrepublic.com forum.

Find the specific device model and chipset used, and I am sure there will be a lot devs out there willing to help.


having problem with my lockscreen I have tried everything,
Knox is on,
Android device manager is on and its still not working.

Your question was already answered here:

Try this:

Open your Settings.

Scroll down and select Security.

Clear Credentials.

Check the Screen Lock setting to see if the low-security options are now enabled.

If that doesn't work, you can revert your lockscreen security to Slide.

Set your lockscreen security to Pattern from Settings>Security>Screen Lock.

Click the power button on your phone to lock it.

Click the power button again, but don't unlock your phone. There should be a button labelled Forgot Passowrd. Note: On some devices, you may need to incorrectly enter the password/pattern several times until that option appears.

Enter your Google account credentials.

Your lock settings should now be Slide.

Note: With this method, the option for Slide security will still by disabled, but you should still have it as the lockscreen security on your phone.


Add Maps-URL to homescreen How can I add a shortcut with this url to my Homescreen?
https://maps.app.goo.gl/1234567
When I open this URL in Chrome, the Maps Application starts and shows the desired page/activity. But because of this instant redirect from Chrome to  Maps it's impossible to use chrome's builtin add-to-homescreen feature for this type of URL.
The final Shortcut should open the Maps-App as Chrome already does. The final shortcut may open my browser just for the redirect into Maps, so a simple URL-Shortcut should be fine.
I tried QuickshortcutMaker but it does not offer to add URLs.

Found a solution.
I use the App "Url Shortcut" and add a shortcut to open Chrome to navigate and redirect to Maps. For this the URL needs to be changed:
googlechrome://navigate?url=https://maps.app.goo.gl/1234567


I used memory card as adoptable storage in Android Marshmallow I used memory card as adoptable storage in Android Marshmallow.And all of a sudden its asking to format the card,but wherein i have my data stored..how do i recover it?thanx in advance

Check if your pc is showing the sd card content. If it is then copy the whole storage into pc and format the card and copy back everything into card.If it is not , then format the card and use data recovery software like diskgetor to get back the lost data.


launcher ex: how to take screenshot in? I have a galaxy s2 and can't take a screenshot.

I've tried taking a screenshot with vol-down+power and power+home. both don't work.

What is the proper combination ?

It has nothing to do with what app you are using – on Android the screenshot key-combination works globally, no matter if you are on your homescreen, in the settings, or in a game.

However, the global key-combination can vary from device to device, depending how the manufacturer implemented it. Like you mentioned: Normally that combination would be vol-down+power. But Samsung uses (at least on the Galaxy S2) the combination home+power, where home is the big iPhone-like button in the center below your screen.

Press both those keys simultaneously and hold it for about a second.


sim processing error please help error pops up right before shutdown and right after powerup but only for a second then goes away. phone seems to work okay but what is this? how do I fix this?

You shouldn't worry about it too much unless it was lasting too long. When you switch your phone on or off, the SIM is not detected yet (when switching on) or no longer detected (when switching off), that's why you get the error message. When it is detected and connected to your service provider, the error disappears.

If the error becomes permanent, then you will know that your SIM card probably is faulty and should be swapped to a new one.


How to get rid off annoying android pop ups Purchased LG Stylus 2 Plus 10 days back. Have got frustated with annoying pop up ads by android. Have started hating Google Play store due to these ads..

Here are some ways you can block ads:

For NON-ROOTED devices: Download APK Editor from the Play Store(Pro version lets you do more). You can use apk editor to remove ad strings and more.

For ROOTED devices: If your device is rooted, you can use an app called "Adaway". This app modifies a file in your system which is known as the "hosts" file.

With root, you are more likely to block all the ads.

I hope this helps!


How to Change the Filename Prefix (DSC) of Camera Photos I have a android mobile with 5 MP camera. I use the default camera app to capture photos.

All the pictures captured by camera has DSC prefix in their name - DSC_XXXX.
I want to remove DSC prefix and add the date prefix in DEFAULT CAMERA APPLICATION

How to do it ?

You can't do that since it has been coded in program level you can't change the prefix DSC in all photos. You need to have the code for the apk and change the prefix string and build an apk then only you can do that cheers......


Samsung Galaxy S2 - sound notification does not always work my samsung galaxy s2 (android 2.3.4, kernel 2.6.35.7, build gingerbread.xwki4) does not always beeps when I get google talk messages (I'am not using social hub, just native Talk app) also it does not display message on the top of the screen

I can't figure out when the notification works and when it doesn't work, is it that because I already answered to the person? but I would like to be still notified if I don't have gtalk opened

if a notification does not work for a certain contact it still works for new people starting conversation, however it is not clear for me when it should beep and when it is intentional that it does not beep

is there a way to configure notification to always beep when a certain application isn't opened?

Are you sure that you receive the message?

If you don't get a beep nor a top screen message but you get the message once you re-enter on the talk application (after a small delay) maybe the problem is that you lose the connection with the server.


Google Maps can't get my location This seemed to just start happening recently but for some reason Google Maps can't get my location (just have a gray dot).  If I go into Settings -> Location and choose High accuracy or Device only then I will just get the gray dot.  If I change it to Battery saving I can get the blue dot but it's obviously not as accurate so I'd like it to use GPS.  At first I thought there was a problem with GPS with my phone so I downloaded a couple of GPS status apps and they were all able to get GPS signal immediately (even with poor conditions; e.g., indoors).  If I go to maps.google.com in my browser on my phone (either Chrome or Firefox) I get a blue dot.  I've also downloaded Waze and HERE Maps and they can get my location without problem.

In Google Maps app I can tap on the gray dot and I get a message saying it can't connect to Maps and I should try again in a few minutes.  There is also an option to report blue dot issues.  This has been happening for a couple weeks now and it's really frustrating as I use Google Maps all the time.

I was thinking that maybe there was some issue with Google Maps and Google Play services but I double checked and I have the latest versions of both (I'm on a stock non-rooted Nexus 5x).  Is it possible there is a bug in Google Maps that I seem to be the only one experiencing?  Any help narrowing this down would be greatly appreciated.

I had the same problem; fixing it was as simple as enabling automatic date and time and automatic time zone.  Not sure what program turned those off but correcting that make the problem go away. (When I turn them off, the problem re-occurs.)


Interruptions are either broken or some apps disregard settings? So, I updated to Android 5 and I discovered this new feature, interruptions and priority notifications.

I set up the phone to interrupt me only for calls and messages and I went to sleep.

I was woken up by Facebook Messenger notification sound. Pissed off, I decided to check again if it was by chance whitelisted.

Is this behavior normal? Are Whatsapp, Telegram, and those kind of instant messaging app supposed to bypass this setting?

The problem stems from the fact that Android has multiple audio channels, for different kinds of output. The Priority Notifications feature will silence any apps that try to output over the "notification" channel unless they are whitelisted, preventing their notification sounds from being played.

However, not all apps actually use the proper channels. In the case of WhatsApp (and apparently Facebook and Viber), it appears that they may be using the "media" channel, which is intended for music, games, etc. These sounds do not get muted when you set your device to Priority mode because the system does not perceive them as "notifications".

The alternative (silencing all channels in Priority mode) would mean that you could not use any apps that output audio when your phone was silenced. This would effectively be like the (now nonexistent) "silent" mode. Google probably felt that was an unacceptable implementation for what they were trying to do with Priority mode, and has marked a bug related to this as working as intended. The advice given on the bug tracker was to contact the developer(s) of the offending app, because they are not actually using Android's notification API correctly.

In the meantime, you might be able to create a profile with something like Tasker that would help. Something that turned down the media volume to zero overnight might suffice, though I have not actually tested this myself yet. You could also try triggering the profile off of the notification itself, to see if you could just swallow it completely.


Scala and ART, android runtime I understand that Dalvik has a just-in-time compiler.
The android team is making ART, android runtime, which has an ahead-of-time compiler.

Effectively using Scala can increase code execution time but I am under the assumption that reported performance is only regarding the Dalvik VM.

What would the implications of using Scala with ART be?

You shouldn't worry about ART or Dalvik since you have no control over which one they are using. Assume they are using the slower one and go from there.

ART is far off anyway and even after its out as the default for android it will still probably be years before its the biggest chunk of the market. And ART is still in beta so who knows how good or bad it will be after they optimize/fix all bugs, etc. Do NOT worry about ART  right now unless it causes your app to crash.

Scala can be slower but if it decreases your overall development time then just use it. Scala's compiler is still evolving and the possible gap in equivalent code is shrinking.


How do I Change the Font Text Style in Sony Experia M without rooting phone? I want to change the default font style on Sony xperia M without rooting my phone. How do I do this?

Here's a link that covers some methods for changing the system font on some android phones without root, I don't know if it works on your phone as well: http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-change-the-fonts-on-your-android-phone-32078/


Nexus 6 file transfer over USB is not an option I have a Nexus 6 (just factory reset).  When I connect it to my computer through USB, it charges, but nothing else.  My computer doesn't recognize any new device being plugged in, and my phone does not pop up with the dialog asking what I want to do (Charge, MTP, PTP, etc.), nor do I get a notification asking this, even when pulling down from the notification drawer.  I am running Android 6.0.  I have another Nexus 6, and it works fine.  When I plug the first Nexus 6 into any computer, I have the same issue, while the second device works fine in any computer.  I have tried Windows and Mac computers.

You should try some of the following:

Make sure your phone is not encrypted. (Settings>Personal>Security>Encrypt Phone).
Try enabling USB debugging in dev settings and use adb devices and see if it is listed (you will obviously need adb).
Keep trying USB cables!
Try using something like ASUS File Manager to wirelessly transfer the files.
If they are photos you are trying to transfer, consider using Google Photos (accessible at drive.google.com)


How do I reduce WeChat storage size on Android? Wechat takes up a huge amount of storage space on my phone (Moto G5 plus). Almost all of it is due to the Wechat cache (which has ballooned to 11gb) but neither the app nor my phone settings allow me to clear the Wechat cache. When I use File Manager to open the Tencent-Micromsg-xlog folders, I see that a lot of space is taken up by files like MM_20190420.xlog or MM_20190430.xlog. What are these? Can I delete them to free up space? Otherwise, how do I clear my wechat cache? Thanks!

Select "Me" on bottom panel. Then Settings > General > Manage Storage. For the cache, I have a "Clear" button on the this screen and was able to clear the cache by pressing it.
On this screen, can also press "Manage" which brings up another screen where you can select conversations from which to remove all pics, videos, and attached files. Text msgs are kept. Don't know about audio msgs. After pressing orange "Delete" button on my version a warning window popped up telling you what's about to deleted and asking for confirmation.


Using mobile data on sim card 1 and sim card 2 for calls and messages? Can I use both sim cards in order to use internet and handling calls? For example, while browsing on the internet on sim card 1, can I get calls to sim card 2 and also call to somebody else?

while browsing on the internet on sim card 1, can I get calls to sim card 2 and also call to somebody else?

You can call someone/receive calls in SIM 2, but you won't be able to use the internet from SIM 1 during the call. But if you call someone/receive a call on SIM 1, you can still use the internet from SIM 1 during the call.


how to get back up of all phone data after Flash stock ROM? i am having Letv 2 mobile phone, unfortunately i uninstall google launcher and my phone stop working. i was advised to update system and my all phone data has been lost. i want all phone data back, please help me how do i get it back?

First of all, I would suggest not writing any new file on your device until the deleted ones get recovered. You can use tools like Wondershare Dr. Fone for android(Its a PC app) https://drfone.wondershare.net/android-data-recovery.html. Its paid but you can try it for free if it works or not for you. Another tool I remember is Disk Digger(Android app) and its pro version Disk Digger Pro which requires root access. If they dont work you may need to seek professional help. But remember dont write new files on your phone as they would overwrite the deleted ones and make them unrecoverable.


How to fix "signatures do not match previously installed version" error? I'm using a Moto G6. With the latest update to android 9, they removed the capability of using the built-in Dolby Audio equalizer for some stupid reason.

I found this Reddit post that had a way to modify the APK to make this work. I followed all the steps. I decided to try the 20 band equalizer steps and made a backup of the previous work before starting. However, when I finally got to the ADB install DaxUI2.apk, it didn't work. I got this error:

  adb: failed to install DaxUI2.apk: Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_UPDATE_INCOMPATIBLE: Package com.dolby.dax2appUI signatures do not match previously installed version; ignoring!]

This was saddening, but no biggie, right? Because I already had a backup. I renamed the DaxUI2 folder to DaxUI2broken, renamed my backup to DaxUI2, and I tried again, with just the first part (minus the appendix). Once I did this, though, I got the exact same error.

I'd like to be able to fix this, so if anyone knows how, please tell me!

just uninstall the current app and then run it again.


How can I race against a GPX track? I'm using the Strava app to record segments I ride.  It would be very helpful in trying to beat existing KOMs to be able to upload GPX file(s) to my phone and have audible feedback during each segment to tell me in real time how many seconds ahead or behind I am so I know when to put extra effort in or when I can take a breather.  The audible part is especially important because my phone is stowed in a pouch on my bike and the only interaction I have is via a bluetooth headset. It is also important that the feedback be continuous as some segments are relatively short (under two minutes) and so if I only got a notification every mile or minute or something that would be pretty worthless to me.

I have heard that such a thing exists on certain dedicated GPS devices (e.g. Garmin), but I'm trying to find an existing app for Android that does this.  So far I have tried Record Beater and Ghost Runner, both of which claim to have a feature like this, but have not had any luck.  (One of these programs refuses to import tracks that it didn't create, and the other I could not find any way to import a track at all!)

I used an old app called cardiotrianer for Android. It's old, but should still work for this purpose. It tells you how far in front or behind you are. I don't think you can just read a gpx into it though. You'd need to record the run/ride first. So it would give you the same issue as the other apps you tried.

I would suggest submitting a feature requests for RunnerUp. It' an open source app and the developers are quite active.

https://github.com/jonasoreland/runnerup/issues

I'm sure they would be interesting in adding such a feature.


My HTC Hero Upgrade to Android 2.1 has slowed it down! I went ahead and let my phone update itself and since then it's been realllly SLOW. Phone calls take 5-45 seconds to connect, which is beyond aggravating. Apps don't run as fast as they use to. And I am constantly reconnecting the Mobile network because it keeps losing it. Anyone have similar and get around it??

Thanks,

A brief post about speeding up a HTC Hero.

Are you with Sprint by any chance?

This thread and this thread have at least one suggestion:  Have a look in Menu > settings > About phone > System updates > HTC Software update. Apparently there is a .6 firmware patch. Unfortunately, most of the posts are not reassuring. Perhaps time to upgrade/change phones?


Retrieve my contact list I am unable to retrieve my contact list,I had originally  put in on my Google account and only bits a d pieces  of my list  are showing up.have tried resetting my preferences to no avail.

Select the “Settings” of the device.
Scroll to “Accounts”
Select “Google”
Under the Accounts should be your Gmail address. Select it and verify that “Sync Contacts” is checked.


Samsung Galaxy S5 Password I inadvertently set a password for my Samsung Galaxy S5 that I cannot remember. I tried resetting it via google device manager (lock) option and I get the following message:

"Since google has verified that a screen lock is already set, the password that you entered won’t be needed"

Any ideas no how to log back into my phone without factory reset?

thank you so much for your help in advance!

I suffered the same problem, and was locked out for full day. I used findmymobile.samsung.com to unlock. I dont think you need to be enrolled to use the faciltiy. Thank God my problem is resolved. Give it a try, ADM was clearly not working


Xiaomi Redmi 1S bootloop on inserting battery I have a Xiaomi Redmi 1S running stock MIUI 7 global stable ROM and one day while I was using my phone it suddenly restarted and then it went into a bootloop. The phone would power on upon inserting the battery without pressing the Power button.
It kept restarting but by pressing down the Volume up button I could enter into the recovery mode. But the phone was still restarting after the a few seconds even in the recovery. But I could navigate within the recovery and I tried wiping the cache and then the phone restarted and later worked fine.
A week later, the phone suddenly restarted again and this time I am unable to navigate in the recovery. The phone just keeps restarting itself after a few seconds even in recovery and fastboot mode.
What could be the problem with my phone?

The issue was the phone hardly stayed in FASTBOOT MODE or Recovery Mode for 2-3 seconds and went back to boot loop.  Basically it had to be really  fast fingers when the phone is connected to LAPTOP to achieve this.

I did as mentioned in the post of @Robert_xes...

On your laptop(I used a Windows 10) Download the fastboot.zip and unzip it and keep it ready. Download the latest MIUI Stable ROM and keep it in your desktop or if you have a SD Card remove it from your phone and copy it to SD cards and insert it back .
The moment the phone is connected to laptop (it will start its bootloop) .. get it into fastboot mode (power and volume down) and the moment you get the fastboot logo, CLICK  on flash_recovery.bat

TWEAK -PLEASE NOTE GETTING INTO FASTBOOT MODE AND THE PHONE STATYING IN FASTBOOT LOGO SCREEN (WITHOUT GOING BACK INTO BOOT LOOP  BEFORE YOU HIT FLASH_RECOVERY_BAT) MIGHT NOT HAPPEN THE FIRST TIME... IT TOOK ME AT LEAST 10-15 TIMES TO GET THE TIMING RIGHT WITH FAST FINGERS TO MAKE SURE FLASH_RECOVERY.BAT FILE PUSHES THE TWO FILES. You have to do this very very quickly.
  Keep trying again and again and again and again till his happens.(you will see for a fraction of second some file being pushed and an OKAY message at command prompt screen . If the PHONE is in BOOT LOOP  then flash_recovery_bat will only show "waiting for Device/Signal" message. You need to keep doing this till it is achieved . Only then you can proceed to next step.
Once step 2 is done. by now your phone would have gone back to its boot loop logo mode and you will be only seeing MI logo looping continuously.
Now get into RECOVERY MODE by using the volume UP and Power button simultaneously.
 TWEAK - PLEASE NOTE. Again as indicated in step 2, since your phone is in BOOT LOOP you need to try this again and again till it gets into recovery mode... sometimes it will get into recovery mode but doesnt stay there and goes back to bootloop. As soon as it comes into recovery mode , hit the down arrow(which you will see in recovery mode) and NOW the phone stays in recovery mode.
Once you have reached this step - 90% of your problem is solved as you have come into recovery mode and all you have to do now is follow the steps  7-9 of his solution. In my case I did not install new ROM , I just did a  factory reset, wipe cache and wipe Dalvik Cache. The reason I didnt install new ROM was because the problem had started only after upgrade to MIUI 8.
As Next Step - TWEAK - I  used one of the options of recovery to do a POWER OFF. Then kept it for charging and waited patiently till charging. Most of the phones in boot loop would have had their battery drained

Credits:http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=663881&page=1#pid13355815


How can one reduce Microsoft Outlook's background mobile data usage? How can one reduce Microsoft Outlook's background mobile data usage?

For example, today I wrote only one email (text only), received 5 text-only emails, and open 5 conversations (also text only), yet it used 16 MB of background mobile data:

See Microsoft's offical website for the full details: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/outlook-data-hog/a88b5e3f-2982-4558-a190-1afa93044e1f

You can do a number of things to reduce background data usage:

Turn off mobile data when connected to Wifi.
This may sound strange, but apparently Outlook sometimes still uses mobile data, even when connected to a stable Wifi network.
Turning off the "Sync" feature
If there is the feature, set a data limit on Outlook.
This will prevent it from eating up your data when you arn't using it.