USB tethering with Cyanogenmod 7.0.3 How do I enable USB tethering with Cyanogenmod 7.0.3 and Ubuntu Lucid?

http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/index.php?title=Tethering mentions Settings » Wireless & networks » Tethering » USB tethering, but there is no such option Tethering.

With http://code.google.com/p/android-wired-tether/ the phone application says that I have a bad kernel (on the phone). ifconfig on the laptop doesn't show usb0.

The built-in tethering should be Settings->Wireless and Network->Tethering & portable hotspot->USB tethering. I think the name of the menu simply changed between CM6 and CM7 from "Tethering" to "Tethering & portable hotspot".

Edit: Additionally, it appears that some phones are simply not supported due to kernel issues. For these devices, the menu option will not be present. This thread on the CyanogenMod forums discusses this, and notes at least two devices which fall into this category (the HTC Tattoo and the ZTE Blade).


Archos external USB Keyboard I recently bought a case for my Archos 101 9G Turbo, which has a built-in USB keyboard, but I can not make it work by simply connecting the usb cable from the keyboard either the micro USB port (with and adapter) or the normal USB port. The tablet shown in the photo is not the Archos, but it is right to illustrate the example.

As you can see, the case has an USB cable coming out of the keyboard. I updated the tablet firmware to the new ICS 4.0 so maybe it is a drivers problem and I haven't found the solution on the Archos forums.

My approaches are:

The keyboard works because I plugged it into my computer.
The tablet USB also works because I plugged in an USB hub with a LED screen and it received energy (both via micro usb and via normal usb activating the 3G option).

I read that maybe it is a power consuption problem because when the keyboard is plugged in the built-in lights (for example, the upper case key) don't work. I have also tried to plug in a mouse and nothing happens.

I wonder if anyone else had this problem and how he solved it. Should I use a bluetooth keyboard?

Archos deals with a special USB host cable for USB OTG. Perhaps you need it.


"Loading video..." seems to take forever on Android For some reason, whenever I try to stream a video on my Galaxy S3 (running the latest stable Cyanogenmod 10) it takes up to 1 minute before it eventually starts playing. The exact same video on my iPad will load instantly on the exact same connection.

Does anyone please know why this is? I usually play videos through the default app, 'Gallery' I think it is, but I have tried other players too (ie MX Player and Hubi) and get the same problem.

Thanks!

Their could be a number of possible problems such as the format of the video; either the phones hardware or Cyanogenmod 10 may not support the format in which the video is in. I believe the video format is most likely the case because as you describe:

  The exact same video on my iPad will load usually instantly on the exact same connection.

and

  I usually play videos through the default app, 'Gallery' I think it is, but I have tried other players too (ie MX Player and Hubi) and get the same problem.

So check the video format of the videos in which you view. In this link, they describe the possible video formats that the Galaxy S3 can play. If the video is not in the correct format, I suggest trying to convert the video files localy on your PC.

Also another solution may be to re-image the phone to possibly earlier version of Cyanogenmod could possibly work.

Hope this helps.


Ads page opening on browser startup I'm getting incredible bored of this situation.

2 different friends phone got infected with some kind of ads-malware that open internet page at random while navigating with news, shopping and google fake searchbar.

I've joked they for weeks for let getting this 'malware' (nb: undetected by all antimalware apps that I know) installed on their phone (nb: different models, different carrier, no root, never connected to the same wifi. Basically never encounted). They simply download app from playstore, do web browsing and using whatsapp and telegram... They use in a 'casual' way their phone and they seriusly don't know what they are done wrong...

Today I've got a similar problem and I seriously don't know what I've done, cause I didn't have installed any app since several months, didn't used anything aside chat app and gone through the same 3-4 website I check usually.

What's the problem?: every time I open a browser (whatever it is, chrome or firefox) it try to open a page full of spam and sh1t. If I press HOME button and reopen again the browser I got another tab with the same page... And so on: if I tap 10 times on chrome or firefox app icon it will open 10 tabs that redirect on that crap site.

The deal is that I usually use firefox with adblock and ghostery and it's strange that I got infected with something.

I've not installed nothing strange, and nothing at all since 2 months ago. I didn't done any app update since...ever. I'm using 5.1. I think maybe I got something surfing the web, but I can't discover what or HOW I got screwed.

Also I can't get rid of this, tried everything I know: cleared ads ID, cleared cache and checked dns and....nothing.

How can Android be such insecure? How can I understand what's causing it? Any ideas?

It may be an app installed on your phone that is displaying ads while also running in the background. Uninstall any apps you feel display an excessive amount of ads if you don't need them. Also, depending on the phone OS you can go to the recent apps and see a "screenshot" of what process you are doing on the app. if it shows an ad on that screenshot, then that is the app which is doing it.

If your problem is the web browser then uninstall and reinstall those apps again. Do not add any extensions and see how the apps work.

If you are receiving any type of virus or malware then I would recommend using Avast Antivirus or some other virus remover app that checks the contents of your phone and wipes away the virus.

If you've been through these 2 steps, and the problem still persists, you may have to go through and flash your phone with the stock image again. This will remove all your data, but at least you'll know you don't have a virus on your phone anymore.


After OTA update all my data are in shell folder I have Acer Z530 with Lollipop 5.1, kernel 3.10.65+. I have the 16GB version, without external SD Card.

Today I have received an OTA update and after the restart all my data were gone as well as some 7GB of free space missing on the internal storage. When I connected using adb I have found all my data in folder /mnt/shell/emulated but the new data are being stored in /mnt/shell/emulated/0. So far I was able to find that the 0 is the default directory of the owner user. It seems that this update added the multiuser support, but failed to transfer the data.

How can I easily restore my data? Can I just mv everything to the 0 folder?

At this moment I'm pulling the folder to my PC, to have a backup, but I would rather do it correctly.

Using adb shell and mv command I was able to move all data to correct directory. After that, to be sure I did an restart and everything seems to be working correctly.


Set your own contact photo on huawei ascend 2? I've tried everything. Saving myself as a contact, and changed the picture. Didn't work. Synced all my google accounts. Didn't work. I'm not even automatically saved in my contacts. I had to save my number, just to get to my voicemail.

OWN CONTACT AVATAR
To have your own contact avatar appearing, this varies a bit, due to the device being used or the app being used.
What is recommend and should work on any case is that you need to identify yourself to your phone:

Tap your device "menu" button;

Tap "Settings";

Scroll your way to "About phone" and tap it;

Tap "Status":
Where it reads "My phone number", you should read your own and up-to-date phone number there, otherwise the phone doesn't know who you are and cannot use any avatar.

A solution to allow you to apply your up-to-date phone number at the mentioned menu, or a solution to have your contact being retrieved from Google with an avatar, has already been mentioned here concerning the Avatar for the SMS conversation, but equally applies to your situation:
How to show own photo in SMS conversation?, specially the answer from Protron.

CONTACTS AVATAR
Usually the contact photo is the user's avatar, if the contact has a Google Account.
To apply a photo or change the existing one, you have to:

Open the "Contacts" app;
Scroll your way to the desired contact and long tap it;
Tap over "Edit Contact" from the popup menu;
Tap over the existent picture or over the picture square that if empty shows a + sign;
Select either "Take photo" or "Select photo from Gallery" to apply the new photo;
After selected, tap "Done" to actually save the changes.

By now your contact should have the new photo applied to it.

Official Android Support Page for Contacts Management:

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) - Editing contact details


Wileyfox Swift won't boot, identifies as QHSUSB_BULK My most reliable device until now, this morning suddenly remained black: the screen didn't turn on. Long-pressing the power button didn't yield any reaction – nor did removing the battery (and SIM plus µSD card) for half an hour. Battery is at least half full, and the reaction is the same with a power cable connected. As at the other end of that cable currently is a Windows machine (not mine, so I cannot install anything on it), surprisingly that one was instantly searching for drivers – and the device identified is named QHSUSB_BULK. So something must be still working there.

Any idea what's going wrong there and how to fix it? As I wrote, that Windows machine isn't mine – so if a computer must be involved, it should work on Linux.

What I tried without success:

long pressing power button to provoke a restart/boot
at the same time, holding either vol-up or vol-down to see if it at least boots into fastboot/recovery. Nada.
pluggin into USB (just in case the battery suddenly discharged). Not even the LED lit up (which it normally does, indicating the device is charging)
removed battery, microSD and SIM for about half an hour, put it back – no change.
searched the web for possible solutions; only found that QHSUSB_BULK mentioned with solutions on some Nexus and/or LG devices, involving the install of very (LG) specific Windows software (not possible for me, and won't help anyway as in my case it's no Nexus or other LG device). Reading between those lines, it seems to indicate trouble with the bootloader. Confirmed by other findings of the problem (without solutions) involving devices from Huawei and a Moto G with a solution again not applicable to my case (similar thing for a Oneplus). Found one mention of the Wileyfox Swift on a Russian forum (4PDA) mentioning some special software (QFIL) again but no details, quote: "it is possible to try to flash through QFIL. In a personalized reply."

Device is a Wileyfox Swift (1st gen), still running its original CyanogenOS 12.1 (Android 5.1.1). Bought in 2015, so AFAIK warranty just run out (hm, suspicious).

We received your device and were also not able to get it back into normal boot, so we changed the PCB (mainboard). Your device will be returned today.

Though we strongly want to advice you to accepted the FOTA update to Android 7, as CyanogenOS (we flashed the latest CyanogenOS, Android 6 version, namely ZNH2KAS7EB on your device) is no longer supported and you are running an Android version with security patches from 2016. With this software, your device is vulnerable for several security issues like the Kracken WiFi (patch is coming) and the Blueborn Bluetooth (patch already available) vulnerabilities.

But besides that, some recently updated applications (Facebook, Spotify, Instagram) from the PlayStore are conflicting with CyanogenOS and causing the phone to freeze/crash and eventually the phone will get in a bootloop where you won't be able to get out of, unless you manually flash your device to Android 7 through the recovery.

If you decide to not accept the update to Android 7, we can no longer help you in the future in case of warranty claims.

With regards,

Team Wileyfox


Home screens maxed out (oops)... now I can't edit? Someone was playing with my coworker's Samsung Galaxy Gio (Froyo), and added an eighth home screen. Now hitting Settings->Edit makes the phone crash, as does minimizing (pinching) on any home screen - in other words, there is no way to jump between home screens or delete the four or five screens she has no use for.

I'm thinking a home screen launcher app would be a workaround, but is there any way to actually recover her original home screen setup?

Adding additional home screens is not a stock Android feature so I can't comment specifically, but clearing data for the launcher application should work.

Settings → Applications → Manage applications → Launcher (might be named differently) → Clear data

You will lose your current home screen configuration, of course, but this should take care of the crashes and allow rebuilding it.

Any method for fixing the actual problem without losing the data will necessarily be specific to that particular launcher application, and it sounds like you've tried to find that sort of thing already.


Android ignoring imported dictionary I recently upgraded from Nexus 5 to Nexus 5x. I used the automatic process to move my data from the old device to the new, and everything went smoothly, except for the dictionary.

I type in Hebrew (I'm Israeli) and I have a custom dictionary of hundreds of Hebrew words that aren't in the built-in dictionary. (That's because Hebrew has a lot of different declensions and connected propositions, so built-in dictionaries never have all the words you might want to type.)

It took me years to amass hundreds of words that I use every day. I noticed that my new Nexus 5x doesn't recognize these words; when I type them, it red-lines them, and when I try to swipe them, it doesn't guess these words.

I figured that the upgrade process didn't really transfer my dictionary, but then I went into Settings -> Language & Input -> Personal dictionary in my new phone, and saw that all my old words were there! But yet, the phone doesn't recognize them when I'm actually typing.

How can I solve this problem?

Add 2 more words to your personal dictionary (accessed through Settings -> Language and Input -> Personal Dictionary) and give them optional shortcuts. This will make Android start using all of the rest of the words in your personal dictionary again.

(Also make sure that Google Spell Checker is the default spell checker, also accessed in Language and Input settings.)

This might sound like strange advice, but it worked for me.

Here's what I did, as I recounted in my comment above: So I tried to recreate your problem. I added a word to my personal dictionary, with no shortcut, and when I typed it, it got the squiggly red line! Strangely enough, once I added two more non-words to the personal dictionary (accessed via Settings -> Language and Input -> Personal Dictionary) and gave them optional shortcuts, the first word, still without an optional shortcut, was actually added to my dictionary and lost its red line. And any further words I added to the dictionary worked fully, immediately. So try adding two random English words with shortcuts to your pers. dict.


How to root Samsung Galaxy S10/S10e/S10+ Samsung Galaxy S10 unfortunately comes up with apps that I don't need:

Unfortunately [...] the South Korean smartphone maker decided to bundle tons of apps inside the firmware of their flagship phone.
Majority of the bundled apps inside S10 are part of the Samsung ecosystem, although third party apps like Facebook can also be found there. Some of them can be disabled from the Settings, but not all.

I also want to use a few root-only apps, and need write access to /data/data/ for backup/restore purposes.
Question: How can I root my Samsung Galaxy S10e as easily and risk-free as possible?
(I generalized the question to all S10 variants, but please let me know if methods differ enough that separate question are required)

I managed to root my Samsung S10e using topjohnwu's Magisk-based work. Here is the procedure, it also works for S10 and S10+:

https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html#samsung-system-as-root

The procedure is rather complex, but fortunately a YouTuber has made an easy-to-follow video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3a8YnWT3yk

The video is directly based on John's instructions, so I recommend reading/watching both before each operation to make sure you understand correctly before executing.

The only drawback of this method is that when you want to reboot your device, you will always need to press simultaneously Bitxby+Power+Volume Up until the logo appears. If you boot normally, it will start normally but you won't have root.

Dedicated xda thread (including donation links for John): https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s10/development/magisk-root-galaxy-s10-series-t3918699


Wifi Calling and Asterisk SIP Account I would like to know if its possible to set up a generic sip account under "wifi calling" or Android sip accounts to use your phone as an extension with, say, Asterisk?

I can get the phone to register with Asterisk and when asterisk attempts to bridge a call to my SIP account I can see in the captured SIP packets, that the SIP packets are reaching the phone and being responded to. The packets returned from the phone are ringing sip notifications however the phone does not ring.

I also find it impossible to tell Android to use the SIP account for outgoing calls. I enable, "for all  calls" under SIP accounts but it still tries to dial over the SIM.

I can get everything working with a SIP client like csipsimple. It looks like the "SIP account" support built into asterisk is only for use with a cellular service provider that provides a SIP account in addition to their normal 3g/lte connection?

Is this true? I seem to remember earlier versions of asterisk supporting SIP accounts for PBX's like Asterisk in the early days without the need  for 3rd party apps?

yes it is possible to setup astrisk sip account and use it to dail out from android standard dailer also you can receive calls with it, but as i know you can not setup a straight forward wifi calling because it is not a standard sip protocol and it is a carrier specific service integrated with 4G.
You can emulated such service with alot of work on PBX server side and the cliend side. Finally these is nothing impossible.


Quickest way to sync video taken with Android to computer I'm taking a video on my Nexus 5 and I want to view it on my computer immediately afterward. What's the quickest way to do that? Here are the options I know about, please tell me if there's something faster.

Connect the phone to the computer with a USB cable: Transfer would be blazing fast, but having to connect the phone physically would suck.
Use Dropbox's auto-upload to get that video automatically to my Dropbox: This is great in that there's no need for fiddling, but it takes way too long, as Dropbox is not smart enough to transfer the file directly from phone to computer through the LAN, but rather first uploads the entire file to the Dropbox servers, which can take hours. (The file is a few hundred MB big.)
Use AirDroid. The upload transfer is reasonable, but having to turn on the app, go to the browser, navigate to the file in their interface... That's annoying.

Isn't there a way to have the video automatically transferred to my computer over LAN after it's taken? Or better yet, while it is being taken, to make it even faster?

All three are viable options that I have personally used. I have found that connecting via USB is the fastest and most reliable. (By reliable, I am referring to control over the transfer; with Dropbox you will sometimes wait for it to sync.)


Is there any other way to get updates to frozen apps? This is in response to my question " Does the google play store not provide updates for frozen apps? ".

Since google play is now making it difficult, if not, impossible to find and update frozen apps automatically, I'd like to know of alternate ways to do so.

EDIT: Apps like 'App Update Notifier' and 'aTrackDog' does find the updates to the frozen apps! But downloading an update isn't possible since all these apps do is call the Google Play Store. I might need to sideload APKs or get the updated apps from web sources for now I guess..

Like you said, there is no way to update via Google Play if an app is frozen/disabled.

The only way to get the update from Google Play would be to unfreeze/enable it, but this isn't what you want.

The only other way to update an app would be to find out if the developer provides a spare APK to download - if they do then you can sideload this APK.

Otherwise, you may be able to do it using a 3rd party app store - however I don't like 3rd party app stores and don't use them, so cannot comment on this method.

So, in conclusion the only way to get updates to frozen apps is to:

Downgrade your Google Play app
Download the new APK if available

You can find an old Google Play APK via Google, but when you install it by copying it to the /system/app directory (overwrite the existing vending.apk file), make sure you freeze or delete the marketupdater.apk app, or the market will just update again.


Remove stock android apps via file manager I have a rooted HTC One (M8). I want to remove some pre installed apps like Play Newsstand, Play Movies, Fitbit etc.

I tried uninstalling them using System App Remover by jumobile, and Titanium Backup.
But after uninstalling, even removing the backup of the app, and then rebooting my phone, I find the app still there and it opens and works too. I deleted the apk of an app that was the factory version. So it's apk was not there in /data/app, I checked. So basically it reappeared in /system/app after reboot.

I read somewhere that if I delete the app folder in /system/app via root file explorer then the app will be uninstalled. Is this method ok? Or are there drawbacks? And if its fine, will it work on Android Lollipop?

If there is any workaround or alternate method, please suggest.

Assuming your HTC One is running Sense, it sounds like your phone is S-ON (locked). Naturally, with S-ON, any change you make to the system will be undone on the next reboot.

I'm not sure if there's a working S-OFF (unlock) method available for your device, as a quick Google search turned up varied results for S-OFF methods on the M8. Take a look at SunShine S-OFF, if you want.

If you don't want to go that way or if your phone's already S-OFF, you may want to try Titanium Backup's "Bloatware Melter" feature (TB menu > Preferences... > Bloatware Melter) specifically made for NAND-locked devices.

You can also try to delete the app files themselves inside /system/app and/or /system/priv-app, like you said; but do be careful if you do this - you might accidentally delete something else.


Will Rooting through Kingo Brick the device? If you have Knox installed in your Samsung device and you try to root the device using Kingo root app will it brick your device ?

Welcome to AE,

Please ask your questions after searching through the internet.

Root

Rooting wont brick your device unless you did in a wrong away,

Keep the battery full (greater than 75)
Install appropriate drivers
Make sure you use offical USB driver
Follow the procedure.

Kingo Root

As per documentation

  Kingo Android Root has already rooted more than 100,000 devices，and we never met a bricking situation.

Refer this link.


How can I root my HTC Legend without erasing my data? I want to root my HTC Legend but I don't want to lose my data on it. I have seen the unrevoked method for rooting HTC devices but it does not have a version specifically for HTC Legend. Would the HTC Wildfire version work or do I need to look elsewhere?

With rooting there is no guarantee that you won' lose your data, but in general it is safe. For rooting the HTC Legend it looks like the following is the best method:

Register with HTC Dev and unlock you bootloader
Get the ACS HTC Super Tools and drivers from here
Install the drivers
UnRAR the Super Tools
Ensure your phone has USB Debugging enabled
Plug phone into computer and run SuperTool.exe
Do options 1 and 3 (in that order) to root your phone
Download the S-Off file from here
Move that file to the htcsupertoolv3\root\ folder where adb and fastboot are
Open a command prompt and navigate to the root folder where you put the S-Off image from above
Run the following commands:

 adb reboot bootloader

 fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.0-legend.img
You are now rooted with a custom recovery.

Note: I don't have an HTC Legend and this is just a synthesis of research that I have done.


How many apps available for android which have option for setting up a proxy authentication I am running Android 2.3.5 on my HTC Explorer phone.And I always connect to internet through my college's wifi which is behind a proxy server and requires basic authentication.Till now i can only connect my browser to the internet,By setting up the proxy server in wifi settings.
I want to know are their other apps available,other than web browsers which have options for proxy settings.Like some online music app,mail checking,some online video viewing app etc.
I dont want to root.

There are many, the prominent ones being Hotspot Shield and Hideman VPN. Hotspot shield works really well so I never tried using any other VPN.


Choosing the right DPI-Setting My Nexus 5x has a setting for the DPI (using cyanogenmod).

When is use the default 420, twitter doesn't display the cog-icon on profile pages (block, list, mute, ...). Using 400 i get the icon again, but the pebble app doesn't show the install button for apps. Choosing 380, the pebble app works again, but twitter is broken again.

Is there some "safe" DPI setting? Seems like apps assume some dpi and have parts of their interface hidden at "wrong" DPI settings. But when the optimal DPI differs between apps it's really annoying. Despite that i would prefer to choose DPI by my preferences instead of being forced to use a certain setting to avoid misbehaviour of apps.

Xposed + App Settings is what you're looking for. You can modify DPI on a per-app basis and keep system DPI intact. Since the Marshmallow compatible version is not in the official Xposed repo, I reuploaded a copy to my own AndroidFileHost. You're already on CM so Xposed installation shouldn't be a problem for you either.


Is it possible to disable Google Play updates? Is it possible to disable updates to Google Play and Google Play Services?
I have automatic updates switched off, but this 2 Google apps are upgrading itself without my permission, and I can only helplessly watch how the free space is decreasing to the amount, my Gmail synchronization is not working anymore (related to Does the gmail app stop syncing once the "Low on space" message appears?).
I know I should root my phone to move apps to SD completely, but I don't want to do that before the end of summer, to not risk not having mobile internet in case something goes wrong.
Edit:
Device is a HTC Desire A8181, aka HTC Bravo.

The Google Play and Google Play Services, yes, they have increased in size, due to ever-evolving updates to Android. The only way you can stop this from happening is to have no Google related apps on the device.

Why do you not want to root it, in order to put apps on the SDCard?

Rooting does not interfere with the Mobile internet, and furthermore, Play store and play services, cannot be moved to SDCard anyway, so if that is what you thought of there, it will not work.

What device are you using in order to enable a better answer..?

If you were rooted, then you could remount the /system as re-writeable, and remove the app called Vending.apk and reboot, which is responsible for pushing app updates via Google Play Store.

Amendment: Cheers @Izzy for pointing out about MarketUpdater.apk also, note from the comment below, Izzy suggested "freezing" the apps, by freezing, it means to stop the service and effectively disable it, Titanium Backup can do this for you but does necessitate the need for root.


Galaxy S4 Turning on problem My lock button was having some problems such as when I clicked it it wouldn't do anything or it would glitch and hold down, so I restarted my phone now nothing is happening, I can't get anything on the screen to work at all
I tried to boot into savemode, and download mode, dev move, nothing is working. I tried taking out the battery then trying, still didn't work. The most I can do is have it show "Samsung Custom" and then turn back off.

I found out that it was my lock button, I put on my otterbox then banged my lock button against my table fairly hard, but if you don't have a good case I don't recommend that because it would probably crack your phone. use your wrist


Tablet does not connect to the hotspot My Samsung tablet was working just fine. Now it does not connect to the Internet via our hotspot. It does not even scan and see the available connections. When I try to turn WiFi on, it turns ON momentarily and then again turns back OFF saying To see available networks, turn on wi-fi

This happened to me once and I just made a factory reset. However this did not work for a friend.


LG optimus 4x HD root I tried to root my phone, but got only to the step 10, because my phone is too damn slow! I can't do anything with my phone, all I'm able to do is restart it over and over again, I can't even go to the lock screen. Can someone please help me? Is there a way to get my phone back to how it was? I don't need the root.

Link to the site I used while trying to root my phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29868577

The rooting steps were posted by alexp999.

You can just reinstall your firmware using this tool. It's the official update tool for lg phones. After that you can just root your phone again. Just remember, it's almost impossible to completely ruin your phone ;)

Edit: You might want to make a backup, because during the update you lose everything on your internal sd (everything on your external sd is safe)


can i give root access to an app without root my phone? i have a Wiko wim lite which cannot be rooted for whatever reason, however i wanted to give root access to apps like greenify or flux or even orwall, how can i do please?

No you can't.

Some apps like Greenify permit you to gain more functionality using adb commands (e.g. see this for Greenify). My device is presently not rooted but I use Greenify powered by these commands and it works well

This is not as powerful as root access but much better compared to vanilla version

These adb commands are not available for all apps as the developer needs to cater for this. It's better to search for  alternative apps that facilitate this and use them instead

Aside, some other apps that have this are Wakelock Detector Lite, Force Doze, Macrodroid (these are the ones I use )


Get rid of "Invite to Messenger" forever Facebook Messenger displays a huge banner nagging me into sending unsolicited advertisement:

It is a serious drawback of the app because:

It wastes a lot of screen estate
It capture the eye's attention, making me less productive
Sending it would be very creepy in the first place
The banner is very easy to tap by mistake, it is huge and there is no confirmation
Clicking the X is not a solution as I would need to do it for thousands of people.

Is there a kind of setting or add-on that removes or at least hides these banners or makes them less easy to tap by mistake? Apparently it is possible on iOS.

Unfortunately I doubt you can get rid of it because Facebook wants people to use their messaging platform.

I would try third party Facebook apps such as Face Slim, Tinfoil for Facebook, etc...  Don't trust them all however and do your research into the permissions they use.  I'd consider anything on F-Droid to be safe.  Or use your browser instead of an app to check it.

Of course you could also just delete Facebook.


Operating System isn't working in Onda V812 I bought an Onda V812, a Chinese tablet. Since beginning, the operating system hasn't worked correctly.

Now it simply doesn't boot. I'd like to reset the tablet and maybe install a new version of Android to see if it works.  The Onda V812 specifications are very good so I'd like to believe that there should be a solution to my problem.

My e-mail complaints to their support team have not been replied.

Have you tried holding down the power button and the volume up button at the same time until you see the dead android and red triangle, if you then tap the volume up button once you should see a list of options including factory reset(complete data removal) which will reset the device to the basic state it was in when you bought it


Copy messages from my old phone How can I transfer my SMS and MMS messages from my old phone to my new phone?

My old phone uses Android 2.1 and it seems that you currently need at least Android 2.2 to log in to a Google account. Therefore, I can't use any tools which require a Google account, such as Android Market/Google Play.

You can try SMS Backup & Restore. Install it on both phones. Backup the messages from the old phone (preferably in xml format). Transfer the file on the new phone, then use the app to restore the messages.

You can also try the method described in this answer.

Disclaimer: I am not related to the app's developer(s), just used it a few times.

Note: I am not sure if it still supports Android 2.1 or not.


high contrast mode for icons had disappeared That worked, except now the option in Settings has disappeared and I can't reveal it a anymore.

Android SM_696U0 (Samsung Galaxy S9)

Removed here:

I was snore able to fix this by opening a third-party app that had an "invert colors" toggle.

Flipping that on/off restored default colors across Android.

Vey strange.


How to get contacts from an Android phone to an iPhone? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I transfer my contacts from an iPhone to an HTC Inspire?

I use Google to maintain my contacts, which syncs to my Android device. However, I'm switching to an iPhone 4. Will it be easy to transfer contact information?

The Mail, Contacts, and Calendars settings allow you to sync all 3 from multiple different web services to the built in Mail, Contacts, and Calendars apps. These should automatically sync when you open the different apps.

The contacts will be merged by default, but you can filter based on source i.e. Gmail, My PC, etc.


Can't update to WhatsApp latest version I got a message saying I was running on an old version of WhatsApp and that I must update the app from Google play store.
However, when I try to update, it hangs at the message saying Updating and never finishes downloading the update. I have been trying for days, until now and nothing. I am now stuck without access to WhatsApp. Please can you advise?
Thanks.

Don't worry. Try to download whatsapp apk directly from whatsapp official site. For that here is link.


Why is TRIM not supported on encrypted "/data" partition? I have a rooted Lenovo A369i. I use LagFix (fstrim) to TRIM partitions. Previously it was working well with /data but after I encrypted my phone it doesn't. I decrypted my phone by formatting. But now in the app it shows /data partition having kernel or hardware issues. It's not hardware because before encryption it was working well.

Just if someone stumbles upon this, following conditions should be met for TRIM to work:

Underlying hardware (eMMC) must support TRIM. For instance Redmi Note 4 comes with MCP: RX1BMB which contains eMMC 5.1 and hence supports TRIM.

Kernel must have support for TRIM, was added in v3.1, but it is disabled by default and vold daemon must map userdata partition with allow_discards option, which it didn't in my case.
If your /data partition is encrypted (FDE), Support for allow_discards was added in version 1.11.0 (1) of device-mapper crypt (1) target, but may not work e.g. on devices with Qualcomm SoCs. See this issue for more details.

Filesystem must also support TRIM (1) (except if you want to TRIM a whole partition with blkdiscard). Android uses ext4 or f2fs on /data partition, both support TRIM.

If these conditions meet, you can perform TRIM manually (fstrim -v /data) or periodically (scheduled service) or continuously (with discard mount option). See this answer for details on how often you should perform fstrim.


How can I wipe my Samsung galaxy S5 completely before selling it? I has a Samsung Galaxy S5 and now i want to sell it to others.This phone takes many my private information. How can i delete them all and ensure that no one can restore it?

You can try factory reset first, after that using some random data to over-written. If you worry about that it can be completely over-written. Try some eraser software, which will help users to clean up the exist data and the deleted data together.


Can a phone without a gyroscope measure angles sufficiently? It seems that a gyroscope sensor is currently not so common amongst Android devices. But does an accelerometer (in conjunction with the compass?) provide enough accuracy to measure angles (tilt, yaw) with high precision?

Sufficiently for what, how high a precision?

There are a number of apps that will measure levels and angles purely using the accelerometer, that are good enough for everyday use, after an initial calibration.

For examples see the range of Spirit Level apps available on the Market.


How to deal with sporadic WiFi As I zip down Broadway in a bus in Vancouver, I pick up a ShawOpen WiFi signal every few hundred feet.

Sometimes, at a stop, or during slow moving traffic, this is enough signal to start a page load or download.

But, when leaving the range of the signal, and dropping back to cellular data, whatever what was going on hangs.

Is there a no-effort way to avoid this? I would prefer to not have to turn off my WiFi when I'm on a bus and then reactivate it when I'm off of the bus. I'd prefer to use the WiFi when it is stable, but if not, it should just stop attempting to use this fleeting signal for a while.

Things I've thought of:

NFC triggers (but don't think there is any NFC on TransLink busses)
multipath TCP (but I can't tell that this is ready for compilation into a custom ROM)

Maybe there is another option I haven't thought of.

I am on CyanogenMod latest for the Note 3.

Couldn't you decide to do the simplest thing that can be done?!
Just go to Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Advanced and tick the "Avoid poor Internet connection" voice...
This way your device will stop using weak WiFi connections ;)


S5 unable to add additional homescreen I'm trying to learn how to add an additional homescreen.  According to docs I should be able to slide over to the right most screen, long press, and a 'ghost' homescreen with a big + sign would appear-- clicking that would add extra homescreens.

The problem is that the homescreen with the plus sign is not appearing when I long press on the right most (or even left most) existing homescreen.

Is there another way to get additional homescreens installed?  This phone was previously installed with Cyanogen & Fusion.

I am using Lollipop, so to add a new blank homescreen I needed to hold and drag a program icon to the far right.. a new homescreen automatically appears.


Regarding the "Error Downloading: insufficient space" error in the Google Play store I've spent a long, long time searching for a viable, long-term fix for this problem; though I'm beginning to believe that Google Play (or Google Play Services) is to blame. I recently factory reset my phone running KitKat 4.4.2, which has both 16GB of Internal Storage (not an internal SD Card) and a 16GB external microSD card. Even with over 12GB of space remaining (after the factory reset, I was free to download apps from the store with no errors for a while, though it was visibly running a different version), it gives me this error. This is 12GB of Internal Storage, I have over 7GB more on the SD card.

I'm currently at a loss about this. I've attempted to rollback both the Store and the Services apps, and it only clears me to download apps for 5-10 minutes (if that) before giving me the same old error. “Error while downloading There is insufficient space on the device”.

Update: While writing this question up, yet again I attempted to download three apps. The first proceeded through the process without any issue (keep in mind that I had not changed anything since the last time an error was encountered - I simply unlocked the phone and clicked install on the already-open Play Store page for Facebook Messenger), while the second and third spat out the same old error.

I have attempted to clear my cache/move it to another partition, clear the data on both the Store and Services apps as well as the caches, and several other things. APK files never fail to install when attempting to install from an external source. This issue is also not local to this phone alone, my previous model did the exact same thing without the allowance for one download that I just experienced.

Edit regarding "duplicate question": Whether this is a duplicate question or not, I have found no valid solution for this, regardless of how many threads I have looked at and how many different methods I have tried. I've purchased a new cellphone to try and bypass this error ffs. It is not my home internet, as I have attempted to update apps and download new apps from both my mobile internet connection and from several (more than five) different internet sources; inclusive of a USB-tethered internet connection shared from both my computer and a friend's computer. I would like to state that this question is different in the light that I have tried and exhausted every method I have come across, without a single ounce of lasting success.

To put it bluntly, I think that Google needs to get off their asses and fix the problems that so many people are so blatantly reporting.

I fixed my problem by uninstalling Google Play's updates. After that, all the apps will start to update.


How an Android app can restrict all my accounts on my phone? I'm using multiple accounts for an android app in my phone. today the app blocked all my accounts because it's not allowed to have more than one . I've had android 10 on my phone . the question is:

what type of data an app knows about my phone?
how they know I'm using multiple accounts?
What's the solution for this? how can i remain hidden with multiple accounts on one mobile phone?

App link :Slowly

General way to identify you or your device

What information the app (and therefore the operator of the app) has about your device depends on the permissions the app have and the Android version installed on your devices (Google makes it harder to gain access to phone identifiers with ever release).

The most important ways to identify your device are:

Telephone number (depends on the SIM card, requires READ_PHONE_STATE permission)
IMEI (hard coded in your phone, requires READ_PHONE_STATE permission)
Android-ID (a random number generated on first start of the device, factory-reset clears it. Since Android 8 every app sees a different but static Android-ID)
Google Advertising ID (randomly generated, can be re-generated in Google settings)
List of active accounts on your device (requires GET_ACCOUNTS permission)

Of course for online-services there exists various indicators that may indicate that only one device is used such as the IP address you use (especially relevant if IPv6 is used), and of course your usage. If two accounts are used from the same IP address but are never online at the same time this another good indicator.

Some those identifiers may change if you use a second user profile on your device, others will stay the same.
In conclusion the only way to totally avoid getting detected as one user is to use two devices that use different accounts for every stored account (especially the Google account).

Slowly app

The slowly app has the following permissions:

android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
android.permission.CAMERA
android.permission.INTERNET
android.permission.READ_APP_BADGE
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO
android.permission.USE_FINGERPRINT
android.permission.VIBRATE
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
com.anddoes.launcher.permission.UPDATE_COUNT
com.android.vending.BILLING
com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE
com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE
com.google.android.finsky.permission.BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICE
com.htc.launcher.permission.READ_SETTINGS
com.htc.launcher.permission.UPDATE_SHORTCUT
com.huawei.android.launcher.permission.CHANGE_BADGE
com.huawei.android.launcher.permission.READ_SETTINGS
com.huawei.android.launcher.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS
com.majeur.launcher.permission.UPDATE_BADGE
com.oppo.launcher.permission.READ_SETTINGS
com.oppo.launcher.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS
com.sec.android.provider.badge.permission.READ
com.sec.android.provider.badge.permission.WRITE
com.sonyericsson.home.permission.BROADCAST_BADGE
com.sonymobile.home.permission.PROVIDER_INSERT_BADGE
me.everything.badger.permission.BADGE_COUNT_READ
me.everything.badger.permission.BADGE_COUNT_WRITE

As you can see none of the afore-mentioned permissions are present. But I am not very familiar with some of the permissions. Thinking of how I would implement suc a check I see two additional possibilities:

The permissions com.android.vending.* allow to talk to the Play Services and identify your "license" - mainly this is for checking on in-app purchases, but even free apps without in-app purchases are managed by the Google Play Store and therefore get a license. may be this allows to identify if an the app is installed on two devices with the same Google account?

Additionally WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE can be used by the app to write an identifier somewehere on your internal storage. This file can even survive if you execute delete Sloly's app storage and cache and therefore can be used as permanent identifier of your device.


How to change someone's profile picture in WhatsApp? I don't like one of my WhatsApp friend's picture (we chat regularly though his photo disgusts me), so I want to change his profile picture.

I did change its source image, but it didn't work on the small image that you see on the chat screen next to the name. Is it possible to change it? If it's how?

I did it.
With this command: adb push C:\Users\portakal.AndroidStudio\system\tmp\image.jpg  /data/data/com.whatsapp/files/Avatars/XXXXXXX@s.whatsapp.net.j

XXXXXXXX is the number and image is the photo that I wanted to see instead of his.

Try this out. To summarize the steps in the link:

Resize the pic you want to use to 561×561.
Save it in /sdcard/WhatsApp/Profile Pictures on your phone.
Then rename it to your friend's phone number, including country code first. (If Jenny lived in Manhattan, her filename would be 12128675309.jpg)
Reopen WhatsApp and the picture should be there.


How to stop the LG phone launching preset applications when the phone is locked and inside your pocket? This design concerns more LG phones, in my case it's LG G2 Mini, but it was reported also on LG D605 Optimus L9 II and probably other LG phones with the same logic.

On the back of LG G2 Mini (Android 4.4.2), there are 2 buttons, which keep being pushed in my pocket.

Unfortunately, there are applications mapped (by manufacturer setting) to the up and down buttons (some drawing notes and camera) when the phone is locked. They keep being launched unwillingly in my pocket.

I've searched through all the settings but couldn't find how to get rid of this mapping and set the buttons' action to void in the phone-locked mode.

My phone is rooted so I can change the system settings but don't know where it is stored.

EDIT: In the official LG upgrade of Android (5.0.2) the problem is solved, see my answer.

NEW SOLUTION:

In the official LG update of Android (5.0.2) LG finally came themselves with an option to turn off the "feature".

Settings | System | Shortcut key

ORIGINAL so called a "solution":

After a long research, I am answering my question by stating that in Android 4 (the original version of the phone) it does not have a proper solution.

I called to LG helpdesk as well as wrote them emails. They always answered that "It's a feature, not a bug", the buttons events are hard-coded and that I can use a protective case if I want to avoid the accidental push.


How can I unbrick my Droid Bionic? The problem:

My Droid Bionic boots to a black screen

How I got here:

Successfully rooted the phone with SuperUser and SafeStrap.
Used SafeStrap to install CM11 into Rom-Slot-1.
Used CM Updater on the phone to install the latest snapshot of CM13 (for targa).
Used SafeStrap to install CM13 on to stock rom
Voila!  Boots to black screen.

Solutions I've tried so far:

I still have access to fastboot, and my PC recognizes the phone when it's booted into fastboot.

Can't find any CyanogenMod images to fastboot with, so I started looking for Droid Bionic stock images to flash with fastboot.

I found some and downloaded them.  My research shows that RSD Lite is the way to go here, so I've installed RSD Lite v6.2.4.  Unfortunately, it does not recognize my phone when I boot it up into fastboot (but fastboot devices still sees my phone).

So I tried manually flashing back to stock using Moto Fastboot as described in this thread:

http://androidforums.com/threads/droid-bionic-fastboot-fxz-files.540725/

Most of those steps worked, but some of them (most notably flashing boot.img) gave me "pre-flash validation" errors.

I tried rebooting the phone anyway and was greeted with a picture of the green android, and blue loading bar.  Then the phone rebooted itself and made some sounds (it sounded like the sound effects accompanying the Droid splash screen), but it still shows me a black screen.

I can still boot to fastboot, and my PC still sees the phone when fastbooted.

Any ideas?  I'm up for anything at this point.

EDIT:

I have also tried running RSD Lite as Administrator to no avail.

I fixed it.  Here's how:

Download moto-fastboot
Download the images for stock Motorola Bionic into the same folder you downloaded moto-fastboot to
Open a Command Prompt to that folder and run the following commands:

moto-fastboot flash mbm allow-mbmloader-flashing-mbm.bin
moto-fastboot reboot-bootloader
moto-fastboot flash mbmloader mbmloader.bin
moto-fastboot flash mbm mbm.bin
moto-fastboot reboot-bootloader
moto-fastboot flash cdt.bin cdt.bin
moto-fastboot erase cache
moto-fastboot erase userdata
moto-fastboot flash lbl lbl
moto-fastboot flash ebr ebr
moto-fastboot flash mbr mbr
moto-fastboot flash devtree device_tree.bin
moto-fastboot flash system system.img
moto-fastboot flash boot boot.img
moto-fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
moto-fastboot flash cdrom cdrom
moto-fastboot flash preinstall preinstall.img
moto-fastboot flash radio radio.img
moto-fastboot reboot

My problem was that I downloaded the wrong stock images for my Bionic.  I initially downloaded VRZ_XT875_6.7.246.XT875.Verizon.en.US_CFC_01.xml.zip but those image files gave me "preflash validation failure" messages.  6.7.246.XT875 was the previous stock version my phone was on.  But prior to rooting, I had upgraded to 98.72.22.XT875, which was not backward-compatible with the previous version.  As such, once you upgrade to the latest version, you can never go back to the previous stock version.

The stock images I should have downloaded were cdma_targa_9.8.2O-72_VZW-22_1ff.xml.zip  Once I downloaded these images, I was able to run the moto-fastboot commands successfully.

My phone is now running the latest stock version.  I don't have root anymore, but that can change :)


Do all microSD slots support the current maximum capacity in the market, or is it device-specific? I know that currently (Dec 2013), microSD capacity is up to 64GB.

However reading some devices' specs, it says "includes microSD card slot, up to 32GB", is it a device restriction, or it's because it was written before 64GB cards were available?

That will most likely depend on the device, a generic answer valid for all of them cannot be given. For example, the Samsung Galaxy S2 specs give 32 GB as max, still some user was able to get a 64 GB card working (see: 64gb SDXC Cards in Galaxy S2). For some older devices, the 32 GB limit might be a fact, while again others might just have specified it to be "on the safe site".

TL;DR: Yes, it's device dependant, some devices have their limits.


Cannot install or move Android Apps to SD Card - is it a flaw from the Android or from the phone manufacturer? From my understanding, while the Galaxy S4 does offer a memory card slot, it's worth mentioning that you can't install apps on the memory card and can only use it for storing movies, music, pictures, etc.

So, is this a problem with the Android 4 OS not capable of allowing phone user to install or move apps to the SD card?

or

is it that the phone manufacturer are not capable of producing a phone that allow user to use the SD card slot given that the limited space for a 16 GB Samsung Galaxy S4?

Android supports moving apps to the SD card since version 2.2 (only for apps which allow it); however, this feature can be disabled when building the ROM. Apparently Samsung decided that about 9 GB of user-accessible internal memory should be enough for apps, and disabled the “move to SD” function in their stock ROMs for the 16 GB Galaxy S4 model.

However, there are recent news that Samsung heard complaints of 16 GB Galaxy S4 users and enabled the “move to SD” function in a software update.


Trebuchet search application by name I use CyanogenMod 12.1 (Android 5.1.1) with the Trebuchet launcher.

How can I search for an app by its name, if I don't want to have the Google search installed?

As far as I can see, it is not possible. So I need to use en external app for this. I found KISS launcher and Hayai Launcher which both do a great job.


What to do about app that starts using excessive storage space? I have noticed that sometimes an app will start using an excessive amount of space.

For example, I've recently seen a few examples where the Amazon app was using over 350MB of storage.

One solution is to clear all the data for the app.  But then the user must reconfigure the app from scratch.

Is there any way to fix this issue without clearing all the data for the app?

One option would be to freshly install the app, set it up, then back up its settings using Titanium Backup or another similar app.  Then you can freely wipe the data when needed and quickly restore the basics.  This won't necessarily work if they significantly change how a new version of the app stores its data, of course.


Note 4 screen locked I had finger scanner on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but somehow it stopped working. Then with Android Device Manager, I was able unlock the screen with new password, and also registered with new finger scan as well while downloading the new software. I also set notification off on screen as message pop up for same as notification do come on screen before when it was locked during first time it's got locked.

So last night I put DailyMotion on with some current affairs program and slept, but in morning when I tried to unlock the screen it's again not unlocking with new password , I tried again with device manager , the message comes that its already verified password so there is no need for new password, and also with Samsung account but both not working, I'm all stuck as I got all my data, contacts, important pictures in it.

Please do tell me how to unlock or bypass the screen. Please help, as I don't want to do factory reset. Any solution will really be appreciated.

Two suggestions:
1) Rephrase your questions using better English grammar in order to make it more understandable.
2) (An actual possible solution) Connect your phone to your computer via USB, backup all important data (all data should have already been backed-up via Google Sync but it's good to be safe), then attempt a factory reset.


Mute button doesn't work on a rooted Samsung Galaxy S4 Device: GT-I9500
Android: 4.2.2, rooted

Whether I press and hold the power button and select mute from the menu or double-press the sound icon in the pull down notification menu, the phone still rings when I receive a call or a notification.

I using the volume button to turn the sound off, but now it's on vibration.

I have managed to solve my problem taking the following steps:

Install the Clean Master (Cleaner) app:

  Clean Master is a Free, top-rated all-in-one cleaner app for Android™ devices.
  Clean - Cache files and residual files
  Clear - Search/call/text/etc history
  App Management - Move app data to the SD card and uninstall/backup apps
  Kills tasks - Smart memory booster

Clear the system cache;
Restart the phone.


Revoke App Permissions Without Root? I have some apps that are asking for unnecessary permissions. I would like to revoke these, but I've read that this is not possible without rooting.

Is there any way to do this without having to root?

Yes there is, though it's not really elegant and it's a REALLY bad idea to do it.
The app that you do it to, will more than likely break if you revoked a permission and it tries to use it. If this wouldn't be enough you will lose your app data and you won't be able to update from the Play Store. With that said it's not that hard to do.

You need apktool. Refer to this guide on how to use it (you'll need the decompile and compile commands.) And this on signing the apk after you're done.
You need to modify the AndroidManifest.xml file. Look for lines like this:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />

and remove it if it bothers you.

After you're finished recompile the app than sign it. Now you can uninstall the original app and install the new one using a file manager or in adb using

adb install /local/path

To find out what each permission allows, you can refer to the incomplete documentation or try searching for it's name.


Unexpected touch behavior in Chrome On my 2012 Nexus 7 running Android 4.4.4 and the latest version of Chrome, I've noticed that when I touch and hold links that are close to each other, it may not select the link I intend to select. Instead of activating the link at the center of the touch area (the behavior I expect), Chrome seems to select the link based on the entire area covered by my finger:

Is this (counterintuitive) behavior normal? Can I configure Chrome to simply use the center of the touch area instead?

Going by the unexpected touch behaviour you provide it seems that your multi-touch screen is not responding properly to your inputs for this you need to confirm it by doing a small and freely available  multi touch  test.

Download the app and check whether the touch is shown exactly where you selected. The two dots are drawn exactly where the phone reports you are touching.

or else you can simply do the following

1- Go to the developer options section in settings.

2- enable pointer location.

3- touch the screen as lightly as you can. you will notice a red number on the upper right corner of the screen named ""Prs:". this indicates the level of contact needed to register a touch.

4- do the same on different areas of the screen & remember try to touch the screen as lightly as you can (the goal here is to find the lower number that registers a touch)

If you see that at one point of the screen the screen is not responding according to your input then you need to get in contact with your Authorised service centre and report the issue.


How to disable mobile data on DROID Bionic? I tried this, but there's no such option. I suspect that it might be because of Motorola's customizations.

The device is a DROID Bionic.
System version: 5.9.902.XT875.Verizon.en.US
Android version: 2.3.4.

From Verizon:

Open settings.
Select Battery & data manager.
Select Data delivery.
Select Data enabled to enable / disable.


How install gapps with adb commands How can I install google apps with adb commands ?
I don't know how to unzip .
I used busybox. But it is not useful.
Please guide me .
Thanks to all and everythings. :)

If you have a rooted phone with a custom recovery, you can do it:

Reboot to recovery
Go into Sideload (might be under advanced - if your recovery doesn't have this feature, then you need to update your recovery.
On your computer, run adb sideload <gapps-version.zip>
Reboot.


Forwarding Calls From Certain Callers Is there a way to configure (with or without an app) an Android phone to forward calls from only certain numbers/callers to another number?  I'm not interested in call screening; I'm looking for a way for this to happen silently in the background.

I doubt that this is  possible for an app to do. This is simply because an app can recognize the number only if the incoming call request has reached the phone and by then,  is too late for a call forward and the only options are to hang up or answer.

In essence this has to be supported at the operator level and that is not also going to work as they cannot configure for a specific contact.

When searched the Internet, I saw the following from Verizon's page:

  Select Call Forwarding (Special)

  Using Select Call Forwarding, you can
  program your phone to forward incoming calls from a pre-selected list
  of numbers to a different number of your choice. The number you choose
  can be a cellular phone, a pager, or another phone number. Normal
  local or toll charges may apply to forwarded calls.

  Your Select Call Forwarding list is limited to either 6 or 12 numbers,
  depending on your region. Only calls from your list of numbers will be
  forwarded; all other calls will ring at your regular number.

  You can change, add, or delete the numbers on your list at any time.
  Also, you can turn your Select Call Forwarding service temporarily off
  without changing your list.

  All calling features are subject to availability and compatibility
  restrictions.


Identify an unknown app I really need your help, big time. I searched everywhere and couldn't find an answer to this. Can anyone tell me what app is this? I took a screenshot of the device but it's locked, cannot open Notification Bar.

It's the one that looks like a little Devil face.
What is this app/notification from? I'd really appreciate if anyone knows please share the answer with me.

That app is the Opera VPN app, telling you that you're connected to their VPN service.

Here it is on my phone (third notification icon):

And the matching app (third notification):

For the record, that's a Viking's helmet, not a devil face.

For more on what VPNs are, see Android Authority's relevant article.


Getting apps to work on Android-x86 with Virtualbox Almost every app, from chrome to gallery simply crash right after launch, and others like maps have bugs that render it unusable (it all goes black and only the search bar and location button are visible).

I'm running it with 2 cores, 2GB of RAM, 8GB of storage and 128MB of VRAM, better specs than many actual android x86 devices out there.

Is this a virtualbox problem or an android x86 problem?

Most likely this is a problem with the Android-x86 image you've downloaded, or else that the virtual hardware you've set up in Virtualbox doesn't match the configuration the image is expecting. Check which image file you've downloaded, and make sure the configuration matches what's described in the setup instructions.


Stop the lock screen! Jelly Bean 4.2.2 How can I stop the lock screen locking itself every two minutes? How can I extend the time it takes to turn off automatically? I'm running Jelly Bean v 4.2.2 on a Samsung Galaxy S 4.

Go to Settings -> Display -> Sleep, and you can change the time out requirement from there.


How to download file using tasker? I need to download files using tasker.(detailed post here on softwarerecs)

But I am not able to understand the HTTP_GET task. I want to download different files from various links read from a file, so I tried this settings.

Server:Port    http://
Path           %Line  #this is variable that stores link

Everything else was optional so I left it as it is.

But I get Unknown host error. So I think I'm doing something wrong.

So can you give an example of downloading a file using tasker?

Have a look at the Documentation (search for HTTP GET).

Server:Port    www.example.com:80
Path           path/to/file.txt

This is how you should format that request. The server is just the base of the url (www.example.com) and the Path is the path to the file in the respective server (path/to/file.txt).


How to cancel download on chrome I accidentally clicked download button of 1.2 GB (my wifi speed is slow so it's a problem) file, from chrome browser on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, now I want to cancel this download package but it seems impossible to me. I googled and found this similar question but none of those answers helped me.

My device download manager don't show chrome current downloading.
when I close my wifi, download pause,but when I turn on wifi then download resumes.
when I force stop chrome app,download stops,but when I open it again download starts again.

My device is xiaomi mipad1 (China version) running on miui.My device is not rooted.

simple ... just go too setting ..apps...download and force stop download application and clear data ....


Smartphone App running on Tablet We recently bought an Android Shopping App for Smartphones (supporting 2.2 to current version). Sadly, the app ist not available for tablets.

Is it just a button in the IDE to create a tablet version (not tablet optimized) or is there much more to do?

For example: every iOS iPhone App is running on an iPad (looks ugly, but works)

check your AndroidManifest.xml and see if you have below prezented:

    <supports-screens
        android:anyDensity="true"
        android:largeScreens="true"
        android:normalScreens="true"
        android:smallScreens="true" >
    </supports-screens>

There is no button for tablets :) you have to make it available for that type of screen.
Hope this helps.


Can I use a pin/password/pattern lock and safely have basic phone functionality while in car? I would like to lock my phone with a pin for additional security.  Also, I try to minimize my phone usage in the car, but in the event that I do need to call someone, I would like to be able to do so without having to enter a pin. I would like to do this by automated means if possible.

I see two possible directions, but there could be others

Use some third-party lockscreen app that supports pin/password/pattern while containing shortcuts to a few apps. I've seen lockscreens that have shortcuts to certain apps, but they don't provide a pin lock.
Have a Car Home app that automatically launches when I plug in the headphones.  Car Widget launches on headphone plugin, but it provides access to other screens as well, which I don't want.  It has to be headphones though, I don't have a car dock or bluetooth or even a car power cable.

There are programs like Tasker, and llama that can automate things like that for you. But the problem here is how to tell those program that you are inside your car. If the conditions were like time of day, location or battery percentage you could easily use those programs to accomplish such task.

In programs like Tasker and Llama, you can create task so that your lock screen will be disabled when you plug in headphone. But the problem here is, if anyone, anywhere plugs in the headphone your lock screen will get disabled.

Also Sony recently release NFC tag.

http://www.psfk.com/2012/01/sony-nfc-tags.html">

Maybe you can have one such device in your car and provided that you have NFC in your phone you can just tag it and the lock screen will be disabled. And maybe tag it again before leaving the car to enable the lock screen again.


What is 1 and 2 when check KitKat Version on Sony Xperia recently I saw on my friends mobile when checking KitKat version,

Friend 1 : Kitkat 4.2.2 shows Big '2' spinning (Sony Xperia E1 single sim)
  Friend 2 : Kitkat 4.4.4 show Big '1' spinning  (Sony Xperia M2 dual sim)

there is some screenshots. I wanna know what's the meaning of them ? I saw earlier big 'K' letter. but now '1' and '2'! complicated..

Can you help me to solve this ?

According to the AOSP source code, the big character shown at the first stage of the KitKat easter egg screen is the first character of the build ID. You can find the build ID (called “Build number”, but actually it is not just a number) on the Settings → About phone screen.

On Google Nexus devices the build ID for stock KitKat ROMs looks like KTU84Q, therefore the big letter on the easter egg screen will be “K”. In fact, the first letter of the Google build ID always matches the Android version code name, and the code structure is documented.

Other manufacturers have their own build ID formats. E.g., for the Sony Xperia E1 model the build ID for one of KitKat ROM versions is 20.1.A.2.13, and for the Sony Xperia M2 Dual the build ID may be 18.3.1.B.0.18; this explains why the first model shows a big “2” on the screen, while the second shows “1”.


I can't find my stock rom? Please help I need to flash stock rom on my dead samsung device but I can't find it, I attempted to remove the case but I don't know where sould I find it.

Here are some the phone info
Model found on settings : N5200
Rom : 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor in board: MediaTek ARM MT6572A

Found this unknown numbers and letters
Rated 5V = 2A
FCC ID: A3LGTP1000
Dual Core2 Tablet: N5200
V710-1-V710_bin_V04
SN:8145051101607  14E08025
SAMSUNG ----- 410
KMN5X000ZM B209
T V710-1-2G
Thats All ! Thanks

There is no GT-N5200 or SM-N5200 produced by Samsung, and Samsung never produced MediaTek-based devices. Add the fact that the FCC ID is that of P1000 (Galaxy Tab 1st-gen), and it's obvious that your device is a fake copycat, and a poor example at that. Don't expect to find anything for it.


Carrier apps still appear after stock android installation So I have been trying to install stock android on my phone, but not having the desired result. Before I try on my current phone (Galaxy S9), I've been practicing on an old S6 edge.  The phone was bought in Canada, and has the Telus build on it from the factory.

Downloaded Odin (version 3.13)
Downloaded the firmware from Sam mobile (specifically, I have picked the XAC, carrier agnostic product code)
Flash with Odin
Reboot and wipe cache partition
Factory reset

But when I restart the phone - BAM! Telus bloatware remains installed.

Any idea what I am doing wrong, and how to do it correctly?

Edit: clarified question

Samsung have its own partition /preload for its bloatware which is usually not wiped on factory reset


Text To speech feature on selected text I wonder if there is ability to replicate this feature from iOS :

In iOS you can turn on Accessibility function that add the "Speak" button to the "selection menu". And if you click, it would turn on Text To Speech engine and read selected text. Can I do the same thing in Android ?

Thank you very much in advance

PS: I assume that regular app could not modify "copy, paste, cut menu" so I probably need custom ROM.

Maybe not exactly what you had in mind, but coming close: There are several clipboard-action apps available which might come close to that. I didn't try them, so no guarantees – but their descriptions are promising they can do that. Two examples would be:

Speaklip
Auto Speak Clipboard 2

Hopefully one of them proves helpful to you. Good luck!


Messages on computer? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I be informed through my computer if a new SMS is received?

I have the LG Optimus One p500. It comes with LG PC Suite IV which is great.
It allows me to download my sms messages to/from the computer fine.

However I must manually check if there are new messages.

Is there any program (for windows) which can listen for sms messages in android and download them to the computer automatically then alert you?

There's Android notifier and SMS2PC.  PDANet will also do it, along with tethering.


Why do I keep getting "not enough storage space" I have an LG Stylo with a 32gb SD card, which is supported on my phone, and I have 29gb free. I try to move an app of any size and I am told there is not enough space. One or two apps move, but the majority won't. What is the point of walking someone through the steps and not allow it?
My system has been updated to 6.0 Marshmallow, but I was having the same issue before.
The Stylo has been great but I am starting to run low on space, which could be fixed using the SD card.

Your phone has 8GB internal memory this is low if you have many apps installed, including updated apps.

If you turn on automatic update in google play, turn it off.
If it was already updated some Microsoft apps, uninstall them. This will return some space.
Facebook app is the big app. You can use Facebook lite or browsers instead.
Clear cache. Setting -> Storage/Usage -> click on cache and clear cache.
If you have Line or other chat apps, delete chat history one by one.

Hope this help.


Move whatsapp account without SIM My problem is exactly the describe in this post. I want to move my whatsapp account from my old phone to a new one, but the SIM of the old phone is already expired (nonetheless, I currently can use my whatsapp in it). In my case what I want is to continue using that Whatsapp in my new phone. I dont care about the chat history or contacts (I already save them). So, I have read that in a rooted phone by accessing to the storage/Android/data and copying the com.whatsapp folder, and replacing it in the same directory of the new phone, the account can be moved and no verification number is needed. I have notice that even with a non rooted phone I can access to those folders copy them and replace them, as in the instruction, but in my case it did not work. Is there are differences in the content of, for instance com.whatsapp folder, when you access in rooted mode and non-rooted mode? If not, what I am doing wrong?

Many thanks in advance for any help you can provide me!!

what you are trying to do is very possible but your methods will never work. firstly you gotta know that there are two different com.whatsapp folders. The one you were just talking about is so useless anyone any device can access, you need the whole directory from . to copy this you need root permissions right, and to copy them in a new device you need root as well, so that you are able to put them in the root dir.


Do I have to install a custom ROM if I root? Possible Duplicate:
  Does rooting require a custom ROM?

I have an HTC Desire S with the stock ROM.

Can I root the phone but keep my stock ROM, that is the one provided by HTC ?

Or do I HAVE to install a custom ROM if I root?

And what is ClockworkMod. Is it a custom ROM ?

You don't have to install a custom ROM, you can use a stock one. There's usually rooted versions of stock ROMs readily available for most devices, with the only difference between them and a completely stock ROM being the addition of Superuser and the su binary (and often busybox). If your device is supported by a simple software rooting method (HTC stuff often is) then you can simply root and be done.

ClockworkMod is not a custom ROM, it is a custom recovery image. The recovery system is basically a minimal environment and GUI that exists on a separate partition and can be used to backup or restore your device's state, install new ROMs, and perform some other functions that can help you fix your system if it gets into a bad state. The differences between these and other things is covered pretty well in What is the difference between: Rooting, Jailbreak, ROM, Mod, etc.? and What is ClockworkMod Recovery and what is it for?


OP5t - Decrypt an encrypted data folder from a second user after reset Basically what happened was that the camera on my phone decided to not work so I did the factory reset without wiping data (in the OOS settings) but forgot to do a backup on my second user. Is there a way to decrypt this? If so, how does one do that? I had some important things on that user.

Once you do a factory reset encryption PIN is also reset and you cannot decrypt  anything be it on primary or secondary user by that PIN

It's practically impossible to recover data


stuck on logo, cwm recovery not showing I recently tried to install cwm recovery on my qmobile a2 (mtk) phone, according to the method stated in xda forum for my device.

I don't know what I did wrong, but now when I restart my mobile to recovery mode, the logo appears and is just stuck on that.  Cwm menu is not showing.  I didn't make a backup of the stock recovery.

I tried to install cwm 5, cwm 6, and others with many methods like spflash tool, rom manager, mtk, mobile uncle tools, etc. but still no luck.

Many users have installed cwm in the same mobile that I have why I am stuck.

Is there a manual way that I can delete the system recovery and put my cwm recovery to that directory in which it is located?  or please give me a suggestion.

So a new Qmobile User?

Let me explain buddy! The ROMs you get from these developers (INCPak for example) are neither tested nor developed correctly. They just create a ROM and upload it somewhere just to show off there names.

What you are facing is something like a ROM issue, the ROM you installed is not able to access the kernel or firmware or blabla, or is having some other issues.

I would like to advise you to please reinstall the ROM! If you can. Secondly please try to understand that when you install a new ROM, everything from previous ROM is removed, and new are installed (flashed). So, when you install a new ROM CWM is also removed, and Stock Recovery is placed there! So you cannot access CWM now. And unfortunately you know that when you are not able to use CWM you cannot flash new ROMs (without any issues; stock ROMs can also update the firmware or other stuff).

Now what happened to your phone is, that its not bricked! If it was bricked, then it might not even had started as the name suggests "Brick". Its working but accessing the cache, or booloader! You must try to wipe everything!

What you can do will be: Reinstall the ROM but this time try to Wipe out all Data,

Wipe Data/ Factory Reset
Wipe Cache
Advanced --> Wide dalvik cache
Install ROM from SDCard --> Choose --> rom_name.zip

I try this everytime to install the ROM for my Qmobile Noir A8 (yes, I was bit by same snake named INCPak). So this method should work!

You cannot replace the system files, without being Rooted! And you said you are having a new ROM, so this is almost impossible! However, if you manage to remove this CWM, and go back to the basic recovery, you might get lucky to replace the CWM by using the Install zip from SDCard and enter the zip for CWM

And believe me, never ever try to flash a ROM created or shared by them! They are not developers they are kid messing stuff out! Try to spread this message too.

Hope you get something, if not the stock rom, then atleast some ROM to run your phone!


My Samsung Galaxy S4 does not have sound when I play videos, however, sound works on calls I can make phone calls just fine but when I play videos, there is no sound. I have checked everything I can think of to check.

Did you use the built-in video player? If you haven't done this, try playing videos using a third party app from Play Store, and if it is still getting the same result, sadly you're gonna have to start over and normally by doing factory reset will do the trick on android stock roms -- if you said you've done everything you could to fix it, but the result is still the same, well this is the last thing to do. but if you're using a custom rom this is another story and perhaps may even lead to be some sort of a bug.


Google Map alternatives with offline navigation support Possible Duplicate:
  alternatives to Google Maps

Hi All,

Does google map application provides voice guided navigation ? Does it supports offline navigation ? Any app which supports offline/hybrid (like nokia ovi maps) mode of map navigation ? Any google map alternatives in android market ?

Thanks,

Ankur Shah

I've never used it, but here's one: OsmAnd

  Open-source OSM-based GPS app with
  online/offline capabilities and
  audible navigation.

  Online: maps, routing, search, edit OSM POI/bugs.
  Offline: search POI, address, transport, map cache.


how can i download movies on Acer A200 How can i download video torrents onto an Acer A200? I've tried several apps from Google Play including Bittorrent and uTorrent. I tried PotLocker as well. I don't know what else to try.
This is my tablet, which I'm less familiar with, so it is possible that it's operator error, but i believe it is a compatibility issue.

Always explain what problem you are having. It is difficult to judge whether it is a compatibility issue or a bug in the apps.

Anyway,
Flud works well on most phones. Some alternatives are tTorrent and aTorrent.


Change behavior of space on external keyboard? On my PC, I am using TouchCursor, so that I can control the text cursor using key combinations such as:

SPACE+I/J/K/L: up/left/down/right
SPACE+H/N: page up/down

That way, and when using a keyboard with a TrackPoint, everything is reachable from the home row, and I don't need to move hands. TouchCursor reconfigures the space key:

to act as a modifier key when pressed together with I/J/K/L/H/N/..., and
to act as space, when pressed and released.

Can I get the same functionality with an external keyboard connected to a modern Android device?

I have done extensive research talking to developers who make applications for Android and the PageDown & PageUp do not exist in Android unless the application chooses to implement this(which is quite rare).  The PgDn key doesn't even work on Chromebook with Android apps.  The only application that I know of that implements the PageDown key at all are web browsers like Chrome.  I also use a pointing stick so I understand your frustration and or desire to have a feature like this.  My best advice would be to either VPN/VNC into another computer which has this implemented or use SSH/MOSH to have such feature at least at the terminal.


My phone thinks it's charging After upgrading my Galaxy Nexus to 4.0.4, it keeps thinking the cable is being plugged in and out all the time. The battery discharges at a normal rate, even though the screen keeps lighting up as a result of the random plug events. I don't think this is a hardware issue, but I've not completely discarded the idea either.

Has anyone experienced this? Is this a known issue? Anything I can do about it?

I faced a similar problem recently on my Nexus S upgraded to stock ICS.
The problems were:

Connecting the phone to the AC charger would sometimes show the phone to be charging, while the battery level was not actually increasing and sometimes the opposite.
Connecting the phone through USB to my laptop would allow it to charge, but my laptop used to throw a "Unrecognized USB Device" error.
The battery level displayed on my phone was misleading. For eg, the battery level was shown to be 44%, but when I restarted it, it suddenly dropped to 19%.
Shutting it down while connected to AC charger would cause it to hang on the shutting down screen till I remove the charger.
Connecting it to an AC charger while switched off would cause it to automatically turn on.

A little research on the net yielded this dicussion on the Google Product forums.
The alleged problem was the pin in the phone's USB port, and the solution was to bend it upwards a little using a penknife.

I was a little wary of taking things into my own hands, so I went to a nearby Samsung service center where they replaced the charging connector, and I haven't faced any problems since.


Unable to download apps from Play Store using cellular data Hi while i am in home network i can easily able to download anything in playstore with my mobile data when am in roaming that time i cant able to download anything from play store it is showing downloading when i click on install but it wont download....please help me what to do

There is an issue on android - https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=211038

It's reported almost 6 months back, since may! ( In developer preview).
It's supposed to be released in the next update.


Google Hangouts chat not sending notifications I am using Hangouts for both google chat and for text messaging. When I get a chat message my phone doesn't notify me, but when I get a text message I do get a notification. I have missed many messages via chat because of this. Is there anything that I can do to fix this issue?

This used to work, and all of a sudden it stopped working. I have no idea what happened, if it was an update or if I changed a setting not realizing it would affect this.

I have looked through all hangouts settings and I can't seem to find anything that would be causing the issue.

I have tried clearing the data, and I got a few notifications right away, but it didn't solve the issue.

go to settings/date & time/automatic date and time (enable"Use network-provided time.“) I do this and the notification start coming to me.


Can an app run code if you don't open it? Can an app run code if you don't open it?

As part of this question, the topic of an app downloading data without ever being explicitly opened by the user was mentioned briefly.

It got me thinking: is it trivial for an app to run code without ever being opened by the user?

Obviously, an app could just be set to launch on boot, causing it to run on the next power cycle.  But even easier, couldn't an app just have a receiver for a very common function (such as turning the screen on), thus running itself without the user being aware?

Is it even possible for an app to act as a receiver to an alarm timer so that it automatically gets run every minute?

Many people run App Ops right after installing an app to limit exposure.  But it seems like it would be almost trivial for an app to run code immediately after being installed.

Is this correct, or are there safeguards to prevent this?

Take a look at Broadcast Actions (scroll down to Standard Broadcast Actions).
All intents that are declared as a Broadcast Action can be received by an app that declared a receiver in its manifest.
There are some broadcasts that require explicit registering in the system (Annotated with You can not receive this through components declared in manifests, only by explicitly registering for it with Context.registerReceiver().).
The most important ones for apps that run code after installing are:

ACTION_USER_PRESENT: Sent when the user is present after device wakes up (e.g when the keyguard is gone).
ACTION_SCREEN_ON: Broadcast Action: Sent when the device wakes up and becomes interactive.
ACTION_SCREEN_OFF: Broadcast Action: Sent when the device goes to sleep and becomes non-interactive.
ACTION_MY_PACKAGE_REPLACED: A new version of your application has been installed over an existing one. This is only sent to the application that was replaced. It does not contain any additional data; to receive it, just use an intent filter for this action.
ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG: Wired Headset plugged in or unplugged. Same as ACTION_HEADSET_PLUG, to be consulted for value and documentation.
ACTION_DATE_CHANGED: The date has changed.

(Source: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent.html)

Is it even possible for an app to act as a receiver to an alarm timer so that it automatically gets run every minute?

Yes it is possible using the ACTION_TIME_TICK Broadcast Action. It has to be registered using Context.registerReceiver() but after that the registered service is called every minute.

Many people run App Ops right after installing an app to limit exposure. But it seems like it would be almost trivial for an app to run code immediately after being installed.
Is this correct, or are there safeguards to prevent this?

Your assumption is quite correct. Theoretically any app could declare a Broadcast Receiver to receive one of the above mentioned Broadcast Actions and start executing some code. This is even more crucial when updating an app because of the ACTION_MY_PACKAGE_REPLACED broadcast to execute code right after the update is completed. That's the reason many people use AppOps to prevent apps from running if one of the more often sent broadcasts are sent.


Why has speech-to-text stopped working on my phone? I have an HTC Desire Z with Android 2.2. For some reason my speech to text convertor has stopped working. Everytime the soft keyboard opens up and I press on the small mike button, it says audio problem and closes. Up until yesterday, the phone was fine. What could be the problem?

I would try clearing the data for it.  Do so via Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and finding Voice Search (or the relevant app if you're using another) under the All tab.


Disable/pause audio when active playback device changes Is there a way to enable a system-wide disable/mute switch for audio when the playback device changes (i.e. on an Android phone). Sometimes on the bus, my Bluetooth headset will disconnect from the phone, and VLC continues to play music loudly through the built-in speakers, which is embarassing for the user and annoying to other passengers.

Similarly, using "Smart Audiobook Player", if the same thing happens, the family gets to listen to whatever I'm listening to during a Bluetooth disconnect until I manually unlock and stop playback 30 seconds later. Is there any reliable mechanism built into the OS to clamp down on this "feature"?

You can achieve it with Macrodroid by creating macros to pause apps such as VLC.

Open the app, select Add Macro.
Under the Connectivity section, select Headset Insert/Remove, then choose Headphones Removed. Click OK.
Go to Actions tab, under the Media section, select Control Media, select Simulate Media Button, click OK, then select Pause. Click OK and select the app you want to mute/pause. Click check the check mark button on the bottom right, give the macro a name.

When completed, the macro will look like the image below (there are 2 Media Pause because 2 apps where selected).

A solution to disable sound only for VLC if you are unable to use the steps described above:

Open VLC, go to Settings, then to Extra settings, click on Audio.
Go to Headset section, enable Detect headset.

Note: I didn't test it with a Bluetooth headset.


Can I play YouTube videos at 2x Speed in DicePlayer or some other way? Before I commit to switching from iPhone to Android, I wanna make sure there's an app that can play YouTube videos 2x speed. On the iPhone, Swift Player can do it, and I read there's a way to do it on android by using youtube desktop version but I heard that DicePlayer from the Google Play store could do it. If anyone has DicePlayer, could you tell me if this is true? Thank you!

I was using DicePlayer and I confirm that it supports 2x speed for video playback for media contents.

I am not sure how are you going to play youtube videos on this player. Youtube uses it's own stuff to play the content.


How to automatically reconnect VPN on network change? I'm using a VPN service, but so far I've only been using it on my computer. Now I'd like to have it on my phone as well. The service I use allow up to four simultaneous connections, so that isn't an issue. They don't have their own client for Android, but they do make config files available for download and use with any client that supports OpenVPN. I've tried OpenVPN Connect, and it works quite well. However, whenever I switch between networks, for example when I lose my home WiFi on leaving my home, or when switching between public WiFis, it doesn't reconnect, so I have to remember to actively disconnect and reconnect.

I've tried setting up a macro in MacroDroid to automatically close OpenVPN Connect, wait for a few seconds, then reopen OpenVPN Connect, but all that does, is bring up the login screen, and I still have to manually click Connect.

My phone is rooted, and in case it matters, it's a Honor 8, FRD-L09 running EMUI 4.1. I'm not going to upgrade to 5.0 at this time, as TWRP and SuperSU have been reported not to be compatible with the EMUI 5.0 kernel. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions. I'm not afraid to play with shell scripts, as long as I have some understanding of what the script does, and with this, I have no idea how to implement it in a shell script, so if if you have such a solution, please also explain what it actually does.

EDIT: OpenVPN Connect has the ability to create shortcuts to disconnect and connect on the homescreen. I'm assuming that these shortcuts just pass arguments to the executable, telling it what to do, and what config file to use. If I knew how to find what arguments the shortcuts pass, I'd likely be able to write a shell script that I could then call from MacroDroid upon network change.

This seems to have been caused by either a bug or an oversight by the app developer, and it sorted itself after an update. Just make sure the OpenVPN client is recent.

Also, the following settings are worth checking.

Reconnect on reboot. Enable it unless you want to manually decide when to OpenVPN and when not to.

Seamless tunnel. Enabling it blocks all internet traffic while the VPN is (re)-connection, to avoid leaking your real IP.

Connction timeout. How long to try re-acquiring the connection if it is lost. Set this to CONTINOUSLY RETRY to keep trying until a connection is established. If a timeout is set, and a connection has not been established before it runs out, OpenVPN Connect will exit, and the connection will be unblocked, to let you connect unprotected until you manually restart OpenVPN Connect.

Moreover, keep in mind, that reconnect on reboot only works if OpenVPN Connect is connected when you initiate the reboot. If you manually disconnected or if you lost the connection, you need to manually reconnect after rebooting.


Where's exactly the NFC area in the Nexus 7 2013? I've had a Nexus 7 2012 and in the tiny manual there was an indication on where exactly I should touch my phone on it to get NFC communication - near the "e" in the back. That worked great, as I know the NFC area on my Nexus 4 is somewhat in it's middle, but... In a big device like a tablet that's not a guarantee.

However, I have trouble doing the same in the Nexus 7 II. I touch my phone's back to its back but the connection is bad, it comes and goes before I can actually beam stuff... I've tried touching the phone in several different places but didn't get better results.

Where's exactly the NFC touching point on the Nexus 7 II / Nexus 7 2013?

Looking at a teardown of the new Nexus 7, it looks to be near the center again (here
you can see in the photo the NFC is under the inductive charging). iFixit did a pretty good teardown of it here which may give you more detail.


Is GPS replaced by A-GPS in Android latest version (4.4, 5.0)? I have created an application that uses GPS for getting current location. I have checked my app in latest version of Android (4.4), and it is not working as it works on previous version. I saw the configuration of 4.4 devices that every device has A-GPS with GLONASS.

I just want to confirm that do we have to get current location using WiFi/Network? Is GPS outdated now?

If you go to the location settings on your device you have the options of:

Off
High Accuracy
Power Saving
GPS Only

Where Off and GPS only are obvious, Power Saving uses Wi-Fi & Mobile networks only and High Accuracy uses both GPS and WiFi/Network information. (I am running 4.4.2 on my Galaxy Note 3).

The reasons for the multiplicity of choices are the balance between accuracy and battery life,

GPS can give good accuracy anywhere so will work even if you are out of range for all calls or on holiday with roaming turned off,
Network information depends on the availability of towers &/or WiFi with the geographic information set up but will be either be connecting to towers or querying WiFi both of which have some impact on battery life but not much more than being able to receive calls,
Both uses the most power but will produce faster, more accurate, more reliable, results than any single method.

So now the user of the device has the choice and if your application relies on one specific method it should query the available information and if it is not enabled prompt the user.


Question on How to see my mobile's contact numbers in PC I want to see my all contact numbers in my mobile on  my PC.

Your question is lacking multiple details – e.g. what device you're using, what Android version it is running, whether or not you use Google Services to backup/synchronize your data. Let me sum up some possibilities for a "generic answer":

If your contacts are synchronized with Google Services: Take your browser to Google Contacts (or to Gmail and switch to Contacts from there), so your contacts are displayed in your web browser. You even can edit them there.
Alternatively, open your Contacts app on your Android device, use Menu › Import/Export › Export to SD card to have all your contacts exported into a file using the VCard format. Transfer that file to your PC, and you can open it in almost all apps dealing with contacts (e.g. Outlook on Windows, or Evolution on Linux, or Thunderbird on any OS).
Alternatively, if your PC is running Windows, you can install MyPhoneExplorer to it (and the MyPhoneExplorer Client on your Android device). This not only allows you to see your contacts, but also to synchronize them (and your calendars) with your Windows PC, and much more.
Alternatively, use some remote management app which can be accessed via Web browser.


How do I change the stock firmware in Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo to higher than 4.4 KitKat without rooting? My Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo has Android Kitkat. Is there a way to upgrade (without rooting the phone) to a newer version?

Quite simply, no. Samsung support ends at KitKat due to its age.

There does seem to be official CyanogenMod 12.1 (Android 5.1.1) and even unofficial ResurrectionRemix (Android 6.0.1) available, but you will need root and/or recovery to flash them, so I'll not go into details.