How can I delete cookies for a specific site in chrome in android I can see 'Settings' -> 'Privacy' -> 'CLEAR BROWSING DATA', but that will clear my browsing info for all sites. I can also see under 'Settings' -> 'Site settings', there is an option to select 'All sites' and then pick a specific site. However, the site that has a cookie that I want to delete is not in that list (perhaps that list is only sites that have more than just cookies set?).

I also tried navigating to chrome://settings/cookies (which works in the desktop browser), but this doesn't work in the mobile browser.

Press the favicon for the site and a pop-up will allow you to change a few settings for that specific site including removing data like cookies, just did it, Android 6.01, works.


Xiaomi M8SE Fastboot loop when trying to install TWRP When trying to install TWRP (latest version for Xiaomi Mi 8SE) I manage to install the newest TWRP using adb (fastboot flash recovery "C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot\twrp.img).
However, once I boot into TWRP, it does not set it as a default loader.
After wiping the data, and trying to reboot in recovery like here: https://youtu.be/FEN7Ujb4vdo?t=390 it simply reboots into fastboot and from there, I cannot do anything anymore.
I then have to install a Chinese developer version using MiFlash.

Can someone help me with this issue? I am trying to install a xiaomi.eu MIUI 11 version for my better half - she is tired of the Chinese ROM and half of the OS is in Chinese...

The solution to get out of the fastboot loop was to fresh install the developer MIUI with the MI Flash tool and then sign into the MI Account when setting up the phone. This is essential and the only way to install TWRP. I am guessing it has to verify that the bootloader is unlocked with the Mi account first.


how do you stop the battery animation, which appears when the phone is turned off and the cable is connected or d disconnected? I am using rooted touchwiz on an s5.

Someone asked why disable them. I have a bike charger which occasionally puts out power for a few seconds and then cuts out repeatedly. So the animation comes on, which drains a little bit of battery, and then disappears. This cycle repeats, and results in the battery actually losing power.

Under /system/media you should see some files whose names contain "battery" and end with .qmg or .spi (depending on your Android version). Moving those files elsewhere (for backup purposes do not just delete) should get rid of the animation.

Do back up before you fiddle with /system, though.

What I don't get is why you want the animations disabled. Does it do anything bad for you?


Trigger "mount as disk drive" (aka "USB Mass Storage" mode) from PC I've got an HTC Incredible that I sync to my Linux box.  I'd like the Linux box to automatically detect that the phone is attached (I can do that via adb wait-for-device), and then automatically put the device in "disk drive mode" (I've no idea how to do this part), and then mount the phone as storage, and run my sync script (I've got this covered), and then unmount the phone and return it to "charge only" mode.

I can manually put the device in "disk drive mode" by pulling down the shade and changing the "USB connection type", but I'm not sure how to trigger this remotely from the PC.  Ideally, some adb command would be great, but I'm open to installing an app, or other hacks (the Linux box can usually reach the phone via WiFi ...)

"Disk drive mode" is also known as "USB Mass Storage" (UMS) mode.

In newer (ICS and later), UMS support is being deprecated for MTP (slightly different USB-based transfer protocol).

This app is designed to mount your phone as soon as it is plugged in. It seems to do your missing step.

Alternatively, this command (found from this forum) can be run on the phone (ex. adb shell) to turn on disk mode.

echo /dev/block/mmcblk0 > /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file
Edit: This only appears to work in recovery.

Auto Mount App


Change colour of contacts (Nokia 6) Is it possible to change the colour of the contacts? It is getting confusing with my text conversations all colour coded but contacts completely random...

i haven't been able to change contact colours, but you can change the text message conversation colours. go into the conversation of the person you want to change the colour of, tap the more button and go to people & options, there should be a little palette next to the name of the person you want to change


adb device not found When I enter ./adb devices  I get Device not found.  Yet I can successfully unlock my phone via ./fastboot oem unlock.  I can't turn on debugging since my phone is stuck in a bootloop and won't start up.

I am in fastboot mode, and I don't have an sd card.

I'm using a Mac, Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Maguro), SDK, and terminal

Find a recovery, such as CWM or TWRP, and download an image. Then use "fastboot boot recovery.img" to boot into the recovery file and reflash a stock ROM, which should solve the problem. Note that even if you don't have a sd card, you should have a partition called /sdcard on the internal memory, which you usually can push files to. Also note that adb access can usually be gotten in recovery. Good luck!


Is there any way to record android screen in android 4.2.2 without rooting and PC? I want to record my android mobile's screen as a video. I tried many apps from play store but they didn't work with me. My device android version is jelly bean(4.2.2) and it is not rooted. So how can I record my screen without root?

Yes, you can.

Best App I have found for recording your phone screen: Shou. It requires rooted Android version 4.1 and up. Also, works without rooting your device.

Other applications that you can try Kamcord (Android 5.0+), etc.


How to copy the /system/media/audio from phone to PC The adb pull /system/media/audio command works on one of my phones to copy the folder to my PC, it copies the folder's contents recursively.

However, on my other phone the USB connector is broken, and the phone cannot get a USB data connection. The phone is not rooted and it's impossible to root without losing data. The apps FolderSync, ES File Explorer and ASTRO File Manager can't see the /system folder: they see / as empty.

My plan was (1) to use a file manager to copy the contents of /system/media/audio to /sdcard/audio, and then (2) to use FolderSync to copy /sdcard/audio to Google Drive. Step (1) doesn't work, I haven't found any app so far which is able to see /system. Also running ADB over TCP would require rooting the phone, which is not possible (because I don't want to lose data and settings).

Is there a way to copy /system/media/audio from this phone to my PC?

What about using Termux and copy those files like this?

cp -R /system/media/audio /sdcard/system_audio

and then you can pull system_audio from your storage as usual.

For most ROMs, you'll want to grant storage permission tovTermux first:

termux-setup-storage

and tap "Grant".


Why do Play Store apps show in Galaxy store? More recently I noticed something weird on my Samsung Galaxy S9 in the Galaxy Store. I have never used it for any apps other than the Samsung exclusive ones, but yet it shows me updates for some apps that are not from Samsung. For example the DJI Fly app, or the Zoom meetings app or the Discord app. App info for all theses apps say, they were downloaded from Google Play Store, but yet the Samsung Store claims it has updates for these Apps.
Is that normal? If I press update there do I suddenly get these Apps from the Galaxy store and am dependent on when they allow an update to the app?

Technically by how an app has been installed (which store, via web browser, any other app or via adb) is just a data flag once that app has been installed.
If an app is available in two stores at the same time with identical signed versions there should not be a problem even switching the stores randomly.
Problems can only arise if the app to be updated has a different versionCode (e.g. a fixed offset) in one store.
The versionCode is a number internally by Android to prevent users from downgrading an installed app. App updates can only be installed if the app signature is created by the same developer and the versionCode is greater than the installed app version.
I have seen developers that have different variants of one app (for different devices, platforms, CPU types...) where each app variant has a different versionCode.
For example the one app variant has versionCode 0x2000234 and a second variant has the versionCode 0x1000234.
Both app variants show same version string to the user but internally looking at the versionCode they are totally different.
It may now happen that if the app in the store A has the versionCode 0x2000234 and the same app of a slightly different variant has the versionCode 0x1000234 in store B.
In such a case you could install the app from store A as update of the app in store B but not the other way around.


Call another phone/text when bluetooth device goes out of range? I want my phone to call another phone/text when a paired bluetooth device goes out of range. Is this possible – and if so, how to achieve it?

You can try automation as an alternative .  I prefer Macrodroid, being easy to learn and free (upto 5 macros)

First pair your devices and confirm

Create a macro

Trigger:  Bluetooth event  → Device disconnected → Select paired device

Actions:

Make call  → select number
Send SMS → Enter phone number and desired text (Test in screenshot below) on next line

Constraints : Leave blank

Name the macro whatever, save and profit

Tested on  Android 7.1.2

Note: Initiating call / SMS is not instantaneous on disconnection. There is a pause of about 30 seconds or so during which I guess Bluetooth connectivity is attempted again before it gives up and declares as disconnected


How to install and uninstall apk application from MAC to my mobile android? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I install an app given only its APK file?

I need to install a apk application into connected android mobile in my mac.Is there any way to install it?

From the command line you can run adb install app.apk (requires Android Studio).

Or, put the *.apk on a website and then go to the URL on your Android device and you will be prompted to install the APK.


Can I use USB gamepad without any setup? I connected USB gamepad to my tablet.

I noticed that software like Tincore KeyMapper requires root access to connect to this gamepad.
This type of software recognizes all buttons, but asks me to map these buttons to screen areas.

Can I use a gamepad without mapping buttons to screen?
Do games support this mode?
Do I need to download some piece of software that will ask root access for these games?

Yes, you can use a USB game controller without root and without needing any prior setup. Just plug it in and Android will recognise it. By default, the D-pad on the controller will work like a D-pad or trackball on the device itself (if you remember when Android phones used to have little trackballs built in), and it will allow you to move focus between controls in most apps.

Stock apps are completely accessible using the controller without the touch screen, but not all third-party apps are. Many games (especially emulators for games consoles) support using a Bluetooth or USB game controller, but not all games do. The idea of apps like the one you mention is to make button presses on the game controller trigger touch screen events, so if you play a game that has on-screen controls but doesn't support controllers, the controller will trigger the game's on-screen controls. Generally you'll get a better playing experience, as well as easy setup, by choosing a game that supports game controllers.

If you just plug the controller in, it'll work in any supported apps and games right away. Games with controller support usually advertise it in the description on the store, but if you're not sure you can ask the developer through their support email address.


Converting an existing user to a restricted profile With Android 4.3 comes a new feature, restricted profiles. It allows creating new special "restricted" users, for which an admin user can control access to apps.

However, in addition to my own admin user, I already have a secondary user for my kid, which has all of the user-specific data, such as saved games. If I create a new restricted profile, those will be lost.

How can I convert an existing (secondary) user to a restricted profile?

Note for the interested: The restricted profiles feature doesn't provide a complete secure access block, but it works well as a hinderance and prevents accidental blunders - which happens to be excatly what I'm interested in.

As of this moment, it is not possible to convert a user into a profile.

However, you could create a profile based on the existing user. Downside: Since a profile doesn't have a Google account tied to it, they can't have a GMail app. And as you have already mentioned, they would also lose those user-specific data.

UPDATE #1: From Android.com, it says that a restricted profile is a subset of a user's account. It's using the same user account, albeit restricted. So the profile is quite different from a User, where it's tied to a different Google account.

  Each restricted profile offers an isolated and secure space with its
  own local storage, home screens, widgets, and settings. Unlike with
  users, profiles are created from the tablet owner’s environment, based
  on the owner’s installed apps and system accounts. The owner controls
  which installed apps are enabled in the new profile, and access to the
  owner’s accounts is disabled by default.


Is there a way to remove all other USB options except charging? Is there a way to disable MTP/PTP and all other USB options except Charging option from the Android system?

I'm using LG G4 beat, Android 5.1.1 and i want to remove it for my new ROM that i working on

Rooted device

Thanks!

There no action to disabling MTP mode, but you'll make remove all USB option is: connecting to electrical plug, not the PC.


Receive whatsapp notification only between a certain time I want to receive all WhatsApp messages only between 11-12 p.m everyday.How to do this? Can tasker app help in this.Or a script which can be used. Also please note that only messages should be queued but video/audio calls should function all day.

WhatsApp messages could not be stopped while they are coming from the app's data system.

  In other words, we can't stop WhatsApp from receiving new messages while we have an active internet connection.

One possible solution could be blocking the "New Messages" notifications coming from the WhatsApp application. Maybe, we will require some code to do this but it is yet possible.

  WhatsApp send notifications to alert the users regarding new messages. We could intercept these messages and block them for some time interval and also store them for later.

If the user can see notifications only in a specific interval of time, then we only know that new messages have arrived only at that specific time interval.

Hope this helps.


Second ring tone for my Google Voice phone number I'm considering adding a second phone number to my android phone by using Google Voice. Can I have a different ring tone to indicate that a call is coming from that second number and not from my first number?

The only way I can think to do this would be to set up Call Screening and Caller ID like so:

Then set up a contact for your Google Voice number with a custom ringtone.


Where are downloaded apps saved when installed on SD card? Yesterday I had ~40 MB of free space on my android 2.2.1 Samsung GT-S5570. I wanted to install Facebook App, so I downloaded from Play Store and then it installed automatically. It's size was ~20 MB.

This app is installed on the SD card. However, after all the proccess, I got a warning message about low internal memory. I checked the free spacea and surprisingly now it's ~20 MB...
I assume the 20 MB are the downloaded app(something like the .exe in windows).

I searched through .temp and downloads to see if the ".exe" is there but I couldn't find it. I went through browser's settings(the default android browser) to see where do the downloads are saved, but I couldn't find any refference to the downloads.

Where do the ".exe" files downloaded, are saved?

Android apps are not .exe files - they are .apk files, which are effectively Java .jar files with additional included information.

The packages are installed in one of a few locations:

/system/app - for system installed apps - you can't modify this folder.
/data/app - any apps installed from the market are installed into here, and you as a user can modify the folder.
/sdcard/.android_secure - apps that are moved to the SD card are stored here

Note that apps will also put data in a number of locations, and not all of these are on the SD card, even if the app itself is installed on the SD card; this is likely your problem with the app on your device, and unfortunately - without rooting the device and using something like a2sd which enables you to move other partitions onto the SD card.

For reference, also see this question on StackOverflow which has more info.


How to run 2 shell scripts from ramdisk? I am attempting to setup my ramdisk to fire off 2 sets of scripts.
1 is ramdisk /sbin only, the others are user allowed scripts

# Check Properties
on property:dp.early_init.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onearlyinit.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onearlyinit.sh &
    start dp_early_init

on property:dp.init.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/oninit.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/oninit.sh &
    start dp_init

on property:dp.late_init.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onlateinit.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onlateinit.sh &
    start dp_late_init

on property:dp.post_fs.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onpostfs.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onpostfs.sh &
    start dp_post_fs

on property:dp.post_fs_data.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onpostfsdata.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onpostfsdata.sh &
    start dp_post_fs_data

on property:dp.boot.done=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onboot.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onboot.sh &
    start dp_boot

on property:sys.boot_completed=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onpostboot.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onpostboot.sh &
    export PATH /sbin:/system/bin
    start dp_post_boot

on property:sys.shutdown.requested=1
    chmod 0777 /data/dp_scripts/onshutdown.sh
    exec /data/dp_scripts/onshutdown.sh &
    start dp_shutdown

# DP Services
service dp_early_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onearlyinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/oninit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_late_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onlateinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_fs /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostfs.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_fs_data /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostfsdata.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_boot /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onboot.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_boot /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostboot.sh
    class late_start
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_shutdown /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onshutdown.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

While the services themselves all fire off, the execution of the /data/dp_scripts/* scripts never happens.

This is a lollipop kernel, running on a Note 3

How can I force the execution of /data/dp_scripts/* at the moments specified?

This appears to do the trick

# Check Properties
on property:dp.early_init.done=1
    start dp_early_init
    start dpu_early_init

on property:dp.init.done=1
    start dp_init
    start dpu_init

on property:dp.late_init.done=1
    start dp_late_init
    start dpu_late_init

on property:dp.post_fs.done=1
    start dp_post_fs
    start dpu_post_fs

on property:dp.post_fs_data.done=1
    start dp_post_fs_data
    start dpu_post_fs_data

on property:dp.boot.done=1
    start dp_boot
    start dpu_boot

on property:sys.boot_completed=1
    export PATH /sbin:/system/bin
    start dp_post_boot
    start dpu_post_boot

on property:sys.shutdown.requested=1
    start dp_shutdown
    start dpu_shutdown

# DP User Services
service dpu_early_init /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onearlyinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_init /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/oninit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_late_init /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onlateinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_post_fs /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onpostfs.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_post_fs_data /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onpostfsdata.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_boot /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onboot.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_post_boot /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onpostboot.sh
    class late_start
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dpu_shutdown /sbin/bash /data/dp_scripts/onshutdown.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

# DP Services
service dp_early_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onearlyinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/oninit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_late_init /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onlateinit.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_fs /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostfs.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_fs_data /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostfsdata.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_boot /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onboot.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_post_boot /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onpostboot.sh
    class late_start
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot

service dp_shutdown /sbin/bash /sbin/0/onshutdown.sh
    user root
    disabled
    oneshot


How can I disable voice commands when double pressing the home button on the Galaxy S 4? How do I disable the Voice Command on my Galaxy 4s when pressing the Home key twice?

This seems to be a function of S Voice, which can be activated with the Home key. To disable it, open S Voice, and open its application settings.

Uncheck 'Open via the Home key'.

See this article at AndroidCentral.


Note taking app that syncs with the cloud and lets me create a shortcut to a specific saved note? I'm looking for note taking app that does the following:

Syncs with a cloud based account (like simplenote)
Keeps a local version of each note (I dont want to have to wait for it to download each time, or not be able to access it if I'm offline).
Allows me to create a shortcut to a specific note
Goes directly into edit mode when the note is opened.  I don't want to have to click "edit" from a Read Only view.

I've already tried all the apps listed here: http://simplenoteapp.com/downloads/ and they all open in edit mode which is nice, but none of them let me create a shortcut to a specific note.  Evernote does do this, however, it opens notes in Read Only view by default and I have a massive Evernote archive so I don't want to keep local notebooks with that app.  Catch and AK Pad also only open in Read Only mode.

Basically if it's in the market I've seen it so I don't need suggestions of apps to check out.  I'm looking for suggestions of apps that you know fit the specific criteria layed out above.

I am using Springpad which meets all of your requirements apart from 4. But you can long press and select edit which sort of works like you want it to.


testing an app in htc explorer jelly bean I m trying to run the android application project on my phone htc explorer,developers mode on when I run it shows unknown serial number when i check my devices

You are basically having a "no permissions" error, where your PC's adb is not able to identify the device that you're connecting. As you said, you have a HTC Explorer, which I do too, with KitKat ;) So here's how you'd be fixing this "no permissions" error:

First, you'd need to create (if inexistent), the 51-android.rules file. Since you have a HTC Device, we'll just be adding the "rules" for a HTC device, so that your adb can identify your device correctly.

First, obtain superuser permissions using:

sudo su

and type in your password. Note that you can't see the password being typed, but its still being typed. Then, create the file, if not exists, using the following command:

touch /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

This basically creates a 51-android.rules file in the appropriate place, if it doesn't exist.

Now, for adding the rules, we'll just append some text to the file, a correct config, which can be done using the following command:

echo "SUBSYSTEM==\"usb\", ATTR{idVendor}==\"0bb4\", MODE=\"0666\", GROUP=\"plugdev\"" >> /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules

This basically appends the following text, to the 51-android.rules file.

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="0bb4", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

What the above text is, is the appropriate permissions for a HTC Device.

Now, disconnect your device, kill your adb-server, if running, using

adb kill-server

and, reconnect device. Now, try running the following command, to see if your device's actually connected :)

adb devices

You should see an output similar to:

List of devices attached
XXXXXXXXXXXX    device

Hope this helps :)

P.S.
In case you're searching for rules for other android devices, this link at source.android.com might help: Initializing a Build Environment. Look for the "Configuring USB Access" section :)

Also note:
A better option would be to install the "android-tools-adb" and "android-tools-fastboot" packages available in the Ubuntu repositories.
This can be done using the following commands:

sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot


Is it safe to enable to allow apps from unknown sources? I would like to install whatsapp on my Huawei android tablet  but get the message (as others have ) stating ' your device is not compatible'.

Searching the internet it seems that you can bypass things and get it installed. However it seems the only way to do it is to all apps from unknown sources. My problem is I am not happy in what you appear to be doing ie withdrawing security and allowing apps from unknown sources.

Does anyone know if it really is safeand will not allow the tablet to add peculiar and potentially other unwanted app

thanks

As long as you are getting the file/APK from a reputable source, it should be safe.


Is there an app or setting available to increase video recording duration? My question is similar, but not identical to this one. Essentially I'd like to record videos of unlimited length on my android device(s) - that prior question seems to deal with a technical limitation: max filesize for FAT32. My issue is with an arbitrary limitation: the GNex uses EXT4 so max filesize isn't a reason to cut off my recordings at 30 minutes so I can only assume that this limit must be hard-coded into either the camera app or Android itself.

I understand that for many users you need to do some hand-holding and keep them from sucking down battery life, but I intend to record on a tripod while plugged in so none of that really matters to me. I'm also aware of an antiquated tax act in parts of Europe that heavily taxes devices that can record for > 30 minutes as "video recording devices" but I don't live in Europe and don't want to be limited by the obscure tax code of a country I don't even live in.

Is there a way to disable this limitation so the built-in camera app can record for > 30 minutes? Is there some alternate video recording app that doesn't have this limitation? Do the answers to these questions change if I root my phone?

Try Magisto. I just tested it initially and managed to record for almost 2.5 hours before I stopped it.


Sony Xperia Tablet Z can't setup proxy When I'm on my tablet, I go to my wifi network, tap and hold on it, and I get a popup menu. I hit modify network, and get a popup for the wifi.

I tap "show advanced options", and then change Proxy Settings from None -> Manual.

The moment I do this the Save button grays out, and I can't click it.

Even if I fill in the proxy hostname and port, the save button remains grayed out.

Do I need root? Sorry if this is fairly obvious, I just found nothing online.

I think you missed the password. Fill Password, then enable proxy to manual then type the proxy hostname and then the port. The all three need to be filled for the connect button to be enabled.


Reinstall OS on Karbonn A1+ I have Karbonn A1+, android system of my phone totally hanged. i want format my phone and reinstall operating system. please suggest me method. (Android Operating System : Android 2.3 Gingerbread)

Do you want to void your warranty? If not, contact the Karbonn Customer Care and ask for the Official Flash Tool and a copy of the Stock ROM. Reboot your phone in recovery mode and reinstall the android using that tool.


Connector allowing charger and usb computer connection as same time? PoE lead me to idea of having some kind connector, allowing supplying my connected tabled with power from it's charger (5V 2A) and in same time being connected to computer (for backup or whatever purpose).

Do you know such hardware solution?

To make it bold: I want to connect charger for power (2A) and have data connection in same time! (imagine a kind of "Y" saped thing :) )

It works that way by default. You can plug into your computer and use data while charging.  It may be your specific USB cable, I have seen some that don't always work. Bottom line there is nothing special needed


How to listen to Microsoft Media Stream (mms) on Android? There are many radio stations which stream in mms:// like a Chuvash radio: mms://media.cap.ru/ChuvRadio

Is it possible to listen to in on Android?

I know TuneIn can play MMS radio, but from what I see, only ones from a predefined set. ChuvRadio doesn't seem to be there yet. Maybe you can submit your station to them?


Single Authentication for Wifi, Bluetooth and NFC I would like to use a single authentication for Bluetooth(BLE and classic), wifi and NFC between an android phone and a wearable device.Which means , say i connect a phone and another wearable through BLE , then later the phone should authenticate the device in other two communication platforms as well without asking authentication again. Please point me in the right direction.Help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance
 !

This question is a bit of a nonsense. There is no standard pre-authentication step for NFC. The devices just exchange data when they touch. If the software you're using to control what data are transferred requires some kind of authentication step, that's only within that software, so you'd need to use some feature of the software itself to turn that off (e.g. in the settings for the app). It's not possible to give a more specific answer because you haven't described the software you're using.

Similarly, the question doesn't make much sense for Wi-Fi. Usually, the phone will be connected to some Wi-Fi network, and to communicate with the wearable device, it would need to connect to the same network. But the phone doesn't authenticate the device in this step: the device needs the Wi-Fi key to authenticate itself to the Wi-Fi hotspot. The phone already has this key, but for security reasons it can't be extracted by a normal app. Only a root app, running on a rooted phone, would be able to send the key to the wearable via the existing Bluetooth connection, and the device would need to be expecting this data. That is, the designer of the device must have included this feature. It's not something you can add as an end user.


How to allow a specific "unknown source" I would like to be able to install applications from a specific "unknown source" (it's our company continuous integration server).  Is there a way to do that?  (Using a Samsung Galaxy 7 if it matters).

No, you can't do that.  As acejavelin says, "Unknown Sources is all or nothing, you allow everything outside of Google Play, or nothing."

Depending on your phone, you may be prompted to allow for just this install (for example, Samsung Galaxy 7), or you may have to enable, install, disable (for example, Sony Xperia Z1).  The former is obviously safer.


after rooting,I cant install some apps regarding to tools and productivity I have rooted(micromax funbook p280) with root master after I had unrooted my phone with z4root.after rebooting I am facing this problem.on storage it shows ram is full (available 0.00 bytes) after everytime I shut down when power is on it is reseted.please help me.

Factory Reset Your Device
If your issue is not resolved than flash the stock ROM with sp flash tools

HERE is the tutorial for flashing stock rom.

  Step 1: Download and install Android USB Drivers on your computer. In case Android USB Drivers are already installed on your Computer then skip this step.

  Step 2: Power Off your Android Smartphone and remove the Battery (if it is removable).

  Step 3: Download the Stock Rom or Custom Rom that you want to Flash on your Android Smartphone and extract it on your Computer.

  Step 4: Download and Extract Smart Phone Flash Tool on Your Computer. After Extracting you will be able to see the following files:

  Step 5: Now Open Flash_tool.exe (you will find this from the extracted files in Step#6).

  Step 6: Once Smart Phone Flash Tool is launched, Click on the Scatter-Loading Button from the Right.

  Step 7: Now, Locate the Scatter File (you will find this file in the Stock Rom or any Custom Rom).

  Step 8: Now, Click on the Download Button to begin the Flashing Process.

  Step 9: Now, Connect your Smartphone to the Computer using USB Cable (without battery- if it is removable). After connecting the device to the computer Press Volume Down or Volume Up key, so that your computer easily detect your smartphone.

  Step 10: Once Flashing is completed, a Green Ring will appear.

  Step 11: Close the Smart Phone Flash Tool on your computer and disconnect your Android Smartphone from the computer.

  Congratulations, Now your Android Smartphone is successfully running the Stock Rom you have Downloaded.


Cannot turn on Wifi. MAC address unavailable I have an Android 4.0.4 tablet, Navon Platinum Explorer.

When I try to turn on wifi, the toggle button goes "off" after a few seconds automatically.
It doesnt even show the list of available networks.

In Wifi-Advanced, there is MAC Address - Unavailable.

The Wifi worked before doing a factory reset.
I also tried turning the table off and on, but it did not help.

What can I do to make the wifi work again?
I do not want to root the tablet.

I have no idea why,

but rebooting second time and trying to turn off/on the wifi icon on the homescreen several times did finally work.


Google Wi-Fi Assistant VPN I have a Google Nexus 5, running 6.0.1.

I'm trying to figure out how to reconnect to the network I'm on through the Google Wi-Fi Assistant VPN.

Today is the first time I ever used it, because I got a notification for it. I went through the steps to turn it on and it worked great. I then got curious, wondering if I could get around the WebSense blocks (security crap) at work by using the Wi-Fi Assistant VPN.

To do this I had to turn the Wi-Fi Assistant VPN off for a moment. After I tested to see that using the VPN does indeed allow me to get around the security block, I can't seem to get it to use the VPN again.

I go into Settings -> Google -> Networking -> Enable Wi-Fi Assistant, but I never get the question in the notification area asking if I wanted to allow Wi-Fi assistant to connect through the VPN.

So now I'm connected to my network like normal, but it's missing the key icon and it does not say Connected, via Wi-Fi assistant.

Is there a way I can manually do this?

Update: The Google VPN was not working because the network is password protected, rather than an open network. I'm not sure what caused the VPN to connect when I initially enabled it. The answer below describes how to reconnect to an open network to start using the Google VPN.

If you want to use the VPN, the documentation suggests

  If you'd already connected to the network manually, you can "forget" the network. Wi-Fi assistant will then re-connect automatically.

because

  Wi-Fi assistant doesn't connect to networks to which you've already connected manually.


android 4.1.2 apps shortcut disapperead from home screen I am using Huawei phone with android 4.1.2. Currently I'm losing the app shortcut on my home screen after a crash of the system recently. During the crash, I dragged the Whatsapp and Hoiio apps shortcut to the bottom menu (phone shortcut, browser and messaging by default). After a while, the phone turned off due to battery dry. But after I restarted the phone, the shortcut for the apps disappeared, although the apps are still installed (as shown in Google Play Store). After a few times of re-installation of the apps, the apps shortcut keep disappearing from the home scree. This android does not have applications page, only home page. How can I fix this and make sure that my apps shortcut can remain on the home screen?

I found fix for this, just visit xda-developers and dowload the file "fixdatatoggle.apk",   install it and enjoy. It will show your missing mobile data icon in quick setting panel notification bar.


Set default storage to SD card on Moto E running Lollipop I have Moto E 2nd gen. and I want to set SD card as my default storage. I googled but nothing useful found. Can someone help me?

There are several ways for doing this:

See this video on YouTube, if your phone can support this method; Or,

See this video to use default file manager to change the storage; Or,

Use file managers like ES File Explorer File Manager. When you try to download a file, it shows you the pop up menu and then you can choose the path for storing the files; Or,

Use Google Chrome Browser. In Chrome, tap the tools drop-down bar in the top right corner → tap Settings → tap Show advanced settings, and enter the file path you want where the file should download.
In other browsers the process is very similar.


android what is the minimum software that must be present in my PC to detect my android phone Hi this is very basic question

I have an android phone and when i connect it to few of the PCs in office i can see that "device drivers getting installed" and device ready to use

but few machines its giving "device driver not installed"

I have not specifically installed any software in these PCs to detect the phone.

So please explain me how it is getting rightly installed in few and not in others

maybe you forget install the android usb driver, look this:

http://developer.android.com/sdk/win-usb.html

and

http://developer.android.com/sdk/oem-usb.html#InstallingDriver

when you finish this work, if it also dont work, please try get your device specialized driver.


Asus Memo Pad HD7 wifi button is stuck at 'turning on wifi...' My Asus MemoPad HD7 (ME173X) is unable to connect to wifi. When I go to the wifi settings, the on/off switch is in the off position. Moving it to on causes 'turning on wifi...' to come up, but nothing more happens.

Under advanced settings, neither a MAC or IP address is available.

It's the same error as encountered in this thread, except on a completely different piece of hardware. It's running Android 4.2.2 if that's any help.

Thanks in advance!

First of all, this topic is long dead, but still couldnt stop myself from posting this, as this saved a hell lot of time & nuisance, for me...

all in anticipation of saving ones phone from rooting>deleting>installing all apps> and have pressure situation of whether all this will work or not

by just getting back to date from 10-12-2015 to 07-12-2015, in my case to be precise... VOILAA!!! everything back to normal ~~~ and here i am sharing my facts to help all those who are facing this ridiculous problem.

p.s. had been searching throughout the net for the solutionand found some interesting details... would love to share for others (if they can be of any help) ... factory formating/ soft or hard resetting wont work, so as the phone rebooting will also be noteffective ... setting back clock (manuallly) worked like a charm for me (my mobile lenovo Vibe X, carrier Vodafone) ... this problem arose, in my case, when i updated certain apps 5or6 OTA on Google Play Store (mainly Google inbuilt ones) ~~~ for others sufferers as i came to read through their posts >>> when they updated their handsets (for any updates... irrespective of any app) their wifi settings got disturbed causing the wifi to lock while initialising, not allowing the user to switch On or OFF, just displaying the scree n WIFI turning ON/Scanning/Starting/Searching/etc. ... a common solution suggested by many (which even i was going to try ~ if above hadn't work) was

    > solve it by deleting /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf. It will reset all your saved networks. have your phone rooted and delete the file through a root explorer or you can remove it via ADB (adb shell rm -r /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf. I'm not sure).

You may backup it before, then open with a text reader to see your saved passwords.<<<

on many forums, this was the common solution accepted as the only chance to get rid of the problem.

Hope my this post helps you all,

regards


One-tap audio note file that sends to email It often happens that I want to take a quick note to self when I have my phone, so I won't forget something, but I want to do it as quickly as possible because I'm in the middle of something else. Later, when I'm doing tasks, I'll have time to dedicate to do it, or make a proper task for it in my task management software.

The shitty way

What I currently do is open up Gmail and write an email to myself. That's takes about 3 times longer than necessary, because I need to:

Unlock the phone
Open the GMail app
Wait for it to load
Press compose
Tap the first two letters of my email address
Wait for the autocomplete box to appear, which can take a long time if there's internet connectivity problems
Click my email address
Tap in the Subject field
Type the memo (in very concise words of course)
Sometimes the typing goes wrong (I swipe) and I have to correct it
Close the GMail app and lock the phone

There are 11 items in this list. I'm looking for something much shorter. Here's how I'm imagining it:

The good way

Unlock the phone
Tap the record button that's on a widget on my desktop
Say the message
Let go of the button
Lock the phone

The crucial part is that the message will be sent as an audio file to my email, so I'll notice it. (I don't want to have to check the app for it, I want it in my email.)

Is there an app that does that?

Try Blitz Note. I have developed it exactly for such cases.
It allows you to sketch an idea and instantly send it to your email.

If you cannot find it on Google Play, here is the shortcut: http://volidar.com/blitznote


Why do two smartphones connected to the same WiFi network show different speeds (one displays the link speed as 135 Mbps and other only 72 Mbps)? I have two Android phones:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 3
Acer Liquid Z630s

On Redmi Note 3, the link speed is only 72 Mbps and the download speed hardly crosses 50 Mbps.
Whereas on Acer Z630s, the link speed is shown as 135 Mbps and the download speed has reached 90 Mbps on Speedtest.

On average, download speed on Acer has been 6 - 9 MB/s whereas on Xiaomi it has been only 3 - 5 MB/s.
This is quite surprising as Redmi Note 3 has a Snapdragon chipset and also supports dual band whereas Acer has a Mediatek chipset and supports only a single band (on using 5 GHz mode on Redmi Note 3, no WiFI signal appears).

What could be the problem and how can I improve the WiFi capacity of Redmi Note 3?

Just a quick comparison

Xiaomi Redmi note 3: Credits Gsmarena

Acer Liquid Z630s: credits: Gsmarena

The link speeds you mentioned are usually achieved only under ideal conditions which is not usually the case in situations where there is a lot of wave interference from other devices.

Additionally, the maximum speeds you see may depend on the wireless standard supported by the devices. I this case we see that the Acer Liquid Z630s supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, while Xiaomi Redmi note 3 supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, as well as dual-band.

Brief history of Wireless standards

  802.11b: This was the first commercialized wireless standard. It offers a top speed of 11 Mbps and operates only on the 2.4 GHz
  frequency band. The standard was first available in 1999 and is now
  totally obsolete; 802.11b clients, however, are still supported by
  access points of later Wi-Fi standards.

  802.11a: Similar to 802.11b in terms of age, 802.11a offers a speed cap of 54 Mbps at the expense of much shorter range, and uses
  the 5 GHz band. It's also now obsolete, though it's still supported by
  new access points for backward compatibility.

  802.11g: Introduced in 2003, the 802.11g standard marked the first time wireless networking was called Wi-Fi. The standard offers the top
  speed of 54 Mbps but operates on the 2.4 GHz band, hence permitting
  better range than the 802.11a standard. It's used by many older mobile
  devices, such as the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3Gs . This standard is
  supported by access points of later standards. 802.11g is also
  becoming obsolete.

  802.11n or Wireless-N: Available since 2009, 802.11n has been the most popular Wi-Fi standard, with lots of improvements over the
  previous ones, such as making the range of the 5 GHz band more
  comparable to that of the 2.4 GHz band. The standard operates on both
  2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands and started a new era of dual-band routers, which accommodate two access points, one for each band.

  802.11ac: Sometimes referred to as 5G Wi-Fi, this latest Wi-Fi standard operates only on the 5 GHz frequency band and currently
  offers Wi-Fi speeds of up to 2,167 Mbps (or even faster with latest
  chip) when used in the quad-stream (4x4) setup. The standard also
  comes with the 3x3, 2x2, 1x1 setups that cap at 1,300 Mbps, 900 Mbps
  and 450 Mbps, respectively.

Comparison between the bands

The 2.4 GHz band is a pretty crowded place, because it’s used by more than just Wi-Fi. Old cordless phones, garage door openers, baby monitors, and other devices tend to use the 2.4 GHz band. The longer waves used by the 2.4 GHz band are better suited to longer ranges and transmission through walls and solid objects.  However, because so many devices use the 2.4 GHz band, the resulting congestion can cause dropped connections and slower-than-expected speeds.

The 5 GHz band is much less congested, which means you will likely get more stable connections. You’ll also see higher speeds. On the other hand, the shorter waves used by the 5 GHz band makes it less able to penetrate walls and solid objects.

One thing worth mentioning is that a Wi-Fi connection takes place on just one band at a time. If you have a dual-band capable client (e.g your Xiaomi device) with a dual-band router, the two will connect on just one band, likely the 5 Ghz.

As a rule of thumb: The speed of a single network connection (one pair) is determined by the slowest speed of any of the parties involved. That means if you use an 802.11ac router with an 802.11a client, the connection will cap at 54 Mbps. In order to get the top 802.11ac speed, you will need to use a device that's also 802.11ac-capable.

Troubleshooting the issue

Having gained this bit of background, we can see there are factors which may affect the speed of connection :

Since you mention that the Xiaomi device cant use 5Ghz band, its most likely it is restricted to bands which much lower speed using ealier technology.
The congestion in the 2.4Ghz band may actually slower the connection as explained above.
Your actual router may not support the latest band offering such higher speeds which may be the limiting factor, causing your device not to utilize its dual band capabilities.
Also, transmit power, receive sensitivity, and antenna layout varies between the brands and models, and can have impact on overall speed output.
Another thing I suspect (looking at the chart), it seems your Xiaomi device will be restricted to use the a/b/g channels while the Acer device can utilise all the b/g/n which achieve higher speeds as the 5ghz on n channel is un-utilisable. (Note this is my reasoning and may not be conclusive)

Improving speeds?

If your Xiaomi device was made not to utilise the shorter waves which are faster, sadly there is nothing much you can do than buying a device supporting larger wide of wavelengths.
You may salvage a speed increase by opting for a router with latest standards matching the device.

Acknowledgements

What’s the Difference Between 2.4 and 5-Ghz Wi-Fi (and Which Should I Use)?
Home networking: Everything you need to know
WiFi standards explained: what you should know about the new 802.11 ad, ah & af standards
Why does same wifi gives different speed for different devices?


Permission to make and manage phone calls I just bought a second hand phone (my first device running android). I'm surprised by the fact that three times I've been asked for permission to make and manage phone calls. This is a very scary thing to allow and it's even for things that don't seem to need it. I first noticed it when I wanted to run Diagnostics. It asks to Allow Support to make and manage phone calls. This is already strange but perhaps could be justified in the process of running diagnostics. But I tried some other things to check the permissions that they would ask and also the pre-installed Xperia File Transfer Mobile and even the FM radio ask for it. All of these are pre-installed and system apps.

Is this normal? Would you give these permissions? Or is there something wrong with the phone (malware?)?

(For now there is no sim in the phone so the damage that it can do is very limited.)

I already did a factory reset and the issue persists.

Does seem very scary given permission to almost all apps requirements to agree to many requests such as to all questions an apps wants from a person .Fear not it's normal in companies software automatically .The requirement consist of few or many wanting phone ,SMS,contacts ect: Give consent some apps won't let install otherwise why !!we don't know Go to settings click on apps go through as many as wishes turn off what you don't want a company app having to many of your personal details that's it (Done ) no need to reset your devices it's inconvenient and will need to back up your files ,folders ,contacts in the meanwhile in doing so may loose  precious photo's and possibly some files .Just go to settings everytime you experience issues once you know how it's easy and less time consuming and save your sanity .


Accessing Calculation History on HTC Calculator App On my HTC Thunderbolt, it comes with a Calculator app. If you hold down the Clear button, you get toast that says:

  Calculation history cleared

I was wondering how to view the calculation history. I know you can clear it, I just don't have a clue how to get to it. menu button does nothing.

Definitely, the most unusual timing to anwser my own question!

When I picked up the phone. I accidentally held down the menu button and the on screen keyboard came up.

The up▲ and down▼ buttons there will do the trick!


I can't find the /system/media/ folder in any root browser or TWRP File Manager I was recently thinking about getting a custom boot animation for my phone, so I installed a root browser and looked for /system/media/ but it wasn't there! I also tried the file manager built into TWRP, but I couldn't find it there either. When I tried to use the "Boot Animations for Superuser" app, it ran into an error trying to backup the existing boot animation. If the /system/media/ folder is missing, how am I still getting the default boot animation that comes with Evolution X? Anyways, I just need help on how to replace the boot animation.

I'm running Evolution X 4.3 (official) for zerofltexx (Samsung Galaxy S6) with MagiskRoot and a few Magisk Modules.

You should read the detail text of the Boot Animations for Superuser app. There you can find the following info:

  Q: Is my device supported? A: Your device must be rooted to install a
  boot animation. Some manufacturers, like Samsung, use a different boot
  animation format (QMG) which is not compatible with this app.

Therefore the app does not work for Samsung devices. You need an app that is specialized to Samsung devices or that supports the QMG format.

And keep in mind the next section:

  Q: The boot animation doesn’t play. How can I fix this? A: Some
  Android devices use different install locations. You should find your
  current boot animation location and change it in the app’s
  preferences.

This explains why /system/media/ does not exist. Again Samsung seems to follows a different path that most of the other Android devices.


Set recurring notification for sms message I have a Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro Mini and would like to know if it is possible to be alerted to a new SMS message every few minutes until it is acknowledged.

Sometimes I am away from the phone and miss the initial alert.

The two more popular SMS apps in the market - Handcent SMS and GoSMS have options that allow you to set reminder tones and LED flashing to alert a user to unseen messages. Lots of configurable options in both apps.


Passwords containing "!" are always wrong I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 with untouched Android 4.1.2 and problems with logging into accounts on any website, in any browser, as long as the password contains an exclamation mark ("!").

I use the default Samsung keyboard for typing in the password. The language of the keyboard is set to German. The Android interface language is set to English. I use the exclamation mark which is seen on the first of three special character pages.

I tried this in the Chrome browser app and in the default "Internet" browser which comes preinstalled. If I change that exclamation mark in the accounts password to something else, I can login flawlessy on my smartphone.

Is this a codepage error? Do I have to set up some special localization or is it just a bug?

In the comments, ce4 pointed out what was going wrong.

A space gets inserted automatically after each exclamation mark (and probably other sentence limiting characters like full stop, half stop or question mark too), resulting in an invalid password with a space char too much.

Whenever I enter an exclamation mark, I also enter the following character, use backspace twice and then enter the following character again. Seems to be the simplest solution yet.

Samsung should consider turning off these weird auto-complete stuffs in password boxes!


Show dial/call duration In Android 2.1 there was the possibility to drag the notifications bar during dialing a number and to be able to see when the phone started ringing (it was starting counting when connecting, then resetting the counter when dialing) and hence be able to "beep" somebody without listening the dialing sound.
In Android 2.2 this function disappeared. Is there a way to bring it back or an app in the market for this?

Thank you!

If i understood you correctly, you want to get notified when a call goes through, not when the other person picks up? You could try Settings -> Call settings -> All calls -> Call status tones -> Call connect tone to get a sound from the speaker when the call connects, so you don't have to hold the phone to your ear. Is this what you were looking for?

Edit: I know, it doesn't answer the title but could help with the problem.


How to install ClockworkMOD Recovery on Sony Xperia Neo V (MT11a)? I have rooted my MT11a with UnlockRoot v2.4.2 and the "superuser" app has appeared. The tutorial said my phone should be requesting to upgrade 4.0.2.A.0.42 to another number ending in .62, but the Update Center says the phone is completely up to date. I should be getting the BusyBox after this update, but the update is not happening. Have I missed a step? The phone is working just fine. I downloaded the ROM Manager, and it is requesting to get "ClockworkMOD Recovery" in order to operate. All this I'm doing to get the cyanogen mod.

Probably the easiest way is to use x-Parts (formerly known as CWM Installer).


Can my Droid MAXX NOT delete everything if someone enters in the wrong password 10 times? Recently someone was messing with my phone when they shouldn't have been, most likely playing with the password screen (I use the pattern thing with nine dots), and my phone factory reset.

I'm trying to find a way to password-protect my phone so that no random kid at school can access my email, but I don't need to be secure against North Korea trying to hack into it with brute force. I would prefer if this is possible in vanilla (obviously) but if there is a free app required, then that's okay too.

Thank you in advance!

There's no such thing built-in to Android currently. However, you might wish to take a look at AutoErase:

  When the number of failed unlock attempts reaches the limit that you specified, AutoErase will reset the device to factory default and erase all user data.
  When the unlock attempts fail, messages warning that the device will be erased after certain number of unsuccessful attempts, will be displayed on the lock screen at the timing of your choice.

A pure factory-reset is nothing super-secure, as with some knowledge and the right tools content can be recovered – but certainly enough "so that no random kid at school can access my email" (as it's unlikely that random kid has the required knowledge and tools at hand when at school).

A comparable tool would be Wiper, in case AutoErase doesn't fit your needs.


How to re-install EAP 802.1x authentication methods? Is there any way to reinstall the EAP authentication methods? or Am I doomed to do a factory reset?
I can't connect to my enterprise Wi-Fi because it only has "EAP-SIM" selected and there's no way to change it.

I've tried creating it manually but still it only shows "EAP-SIM", It's stuck in that method and grayed out always.

Additional Info:

Model number: F3213 (Sony XPeria XA Ultra)
Android Version: 7.0
Android Security patch level: May 5, 2017
Baseband version: MOLY.LR11.W1603.MD.TC9.SP.... (is this needed?)
Kernel Version: 3.18.35+
Build number: 36.1.A.0.182
Service Provider: Telcel (Mexico)

PS: Can someone create a "802.1x" or "EAP" or "Authentication method" tag? Or that's not much of interest in here?

I had a similar problem with the phone. The EAP method is greyed out with the sim option selected. I did however manage to change it after playing with it for some time. For reasons unknown, the option did eventually become available to me by just trying to modify the settings then exiting and repeating that process. Once the option becomes available it did not remain available for long. As far as I looked there is no current fix, I hope this works for you too.

Hope you come right with you problem.
Cheers


Can you get a list of the RUNNING applications on Android for the purpose of activating them? On my Samsung Galaxy S Android phone: if I start a couple of apps, I can get an overview of them in the 'Active applications' icon on my first screen.

Clicking this icon, shows me all active applications but allows me only to end them.

I find no way to activate them.

Pressing the center touchpath at the bottom displays the last 6 clicked icons - which may or may not be the ones running.

F.i. if I start 6 applications, I see these 6 icons, if I start a 7th one I see the last 6 started. I wont see the first icon again . So how can I activate this first one, other than knowing it is running, and tapping it's icon again ?

Please don't start telling me why I should start 6 or more applications. That's not the point, here , of course  :)

ANSWER:

You can't - at least not by using the system as it is installed. A well, no big deal, really. Just wanted to see if I was missing something here. Coming from a Windows background (and aren't we all because otherwise we should be holding an iPhone now), this did not seem to illogical. Thanks for all answers.

Sounds like you're overthinking it. Android goes out of it's way to intelligently manage applications and resources. When you leave an app it will generally keep running as long as the resources are available. Long pressing Home and selecting it or just launching the shortcut again should take you right back to the running app.

Theoretically it shouldn't matter if it is still running or not, though -- every app is supposed to save it's state in such a way that if the OS kills it before you come back, it should still be able to launch back to the same state you left it in. This isn't universally applied in programs yet, but it does seem to be much more widespread these days -- presumably because the developers are getting used to the "android way."


If I root my Asus Transformer, will I still get and install the manufacture updates? I have an Asus Eee Pad Transformer which I recently upgraded to 4.1 Jelly Bean from the manufacture.  If I were to root my device, will I still be able to get updates from the manufacture?

Its great that Asus has been so great about keeping such an old device up to date, but it makes me more apprehensive about making changes like rooting.  I need to root it to change the hardware keyboard to the dvorak layout.  I still need to find if I can even root it after I've upgraded to 4.1.

When you root your device you're gaining administrator access to it (root). Nothing more nothing less.

So, unless you install a third party ROM, you will continue to receive updates and be able to use the source code you download. One small issue, updates may unroot your phone if you install them.

Some useful reading on this subject:

What does “to root a phone” mean?
Are there any risks to rooting a device?


Unsure if 'adb push' has completed correctly in recovery mode I did everything that the CyanogenMod wiki told me to, and I think I might be done, and I got this alert on my computer.

But I'm not getting any alerts on ClockWorkMod.... I'm using the international Samsung SIII.
Please tell me what's going, and what I can do to fix it if I screwed up. Thanks!

After that line (X bytes in Y seconds) appears, transfer has been completed.


How to start SSH Server in my Android? I am trying to login to Android Eee pad transformer from my other linux box using SSH. This are the step i followed and failed. So asking here for the correct answer.

1) Go to Android market and download install Connectbot

Launching ConnectBot
Asks ssh or telnet or local
Press local
Asks username
Username applied dummy
Connected to local Android
type ip addr; in the terminal
shows ip address and i can ping 8.8.8.8

2) Now i want to access to this box from outside box

Go to Android market and install SSDroid and SuperUser
Launch SSDroid
SSDroid says root:off, sftp://root@ipOfthisAndroidBox:2222 ready
From another box i try to login using ssh root@ipOfthisAndroidBox:2222 fails

3) Launch SuperUser it tries to install something but fails

All i get to verify am i rooted, always it shows:

$ su
su: permission denied

Follow up: How do i login after installing SSHDroid?

[sun@example ~]$ ssh root@94.xx.xx.xx -p 2222
The authenticity of host '[94.xx.xx.xx]:2222 ([94.xx.xx.xx]:2222)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 14:ae:33:xxxx.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added '[94.xx.xx.xx]:2222' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
SSHDroid
Use 'root' on rooted devices otherwise any username works
Default password is 'admin'
root@94.xx.xx.xx's password:
/data/data/berserker.android.apps.sshdroid/home $ uname -a
Linux localhost 2.6.36.3-00004-g069b8b5 #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed May 11 22:14:22 CST 2011 armv7l GNU/Linux
/data/data/berserker.android.apps.sshdroid/home $ uptime
 09:20:16 up 2 min, load average: 0.26, 0.25, 0.11

/ $ ls
EeePad_bootup_first_page.rle  acct                          default.prop                  init.ventana.rc               sys
OSD_battery_100.rle           bin                           dev                           mnt                           system
OSD_battery_25.rle            cache                         etc                           proc                          ueventd.goldfish.rc
OSD_battery_50.rle            config                        init                          root                          ueventd.rc
OSD_battery_75.rle            d                             init.goldfish.rc              sbin                          ueventd.ventana.rc
Removable                     data                          init.rc                       sdcard                        vendor

 More informations: https://gist.github.com/1357588

How do i login to my Android box from other distro's? (I am using Fedora, CentOS, FreeBSD).

SSHDroid does not need root, it's optional. Every App can bind a socket on an not privileged port (>1024).

I am pretty sure that your ssh client parameters are wrong, the port especially.  AFAIK you can't add the port via : to the hostname. Try ssh root@ipofandroid -p 2222 instead.

If you need more verbose output of the ssh binary, start it with -v, -vv or -vvv. This helps to figure out problems.


Will hard resetting my device remove the Android upgrade? I have updated the samsung galaxy s4 OS from Kitkat to Lollipop using system update. Now I want to hard reset. Does anyone know that after the hard reset Lollipop OS remains or it reverts to Kitkat?

Hard resetting simply removes all of your data and apps to make the OS like you installed it.  If you wanted to revert to Kitkat you would need to flash the ROM.

So no, hard resetting does not revert to Kitkat.


Recover from android factory reset? I "accidentally" did factory reset my sister's phone. I'm interested in trying out AccessData FTK Imager but the problem is i don't know how to load the android filesystem for insepection?

Or more broadly, how to recover from factory reset. No backups, no google sync.

There is no way to roll back a factory reset. There are, however, ways to recover data from the internal drive.

As always, if your are dealing with a potentially catastrophic loss scenario make a copy of the current state. The time-tested way is to clone the state by using dd via the adb (Android Debug Bridge) tool from the Android SDK. Guymager may be an alternative but I haven't used it for this purpose yet.

Here is slightly out-of-date how-to using dd.
Here is a how-to that only relies on Android tools.(Android 4+ only)

After creating a clone you can attach the phone to a PC and try your luck with Testdisk or the less powerful but easier to use Recuva (MS Windows only). If this is not working out, bring in the big guns.

Get a copy of Paladin (it includes Autopsy/Sleuth-Kit, a powerful forensics tool) and start digging. Be warned, this can take a long time.


Is there a way to always fire up my express VPN app whenever I open an incognito tab in chrome? Is there a way to always fire up my express VPN app whenever I open an incognito tab in chrome?

Basically something like a batch file or shell script maybe that can trigger this?

When you open incognito tabs in chrome, there is a notification that appears with the message "Close all incognito tabs". You can use it to automate the process of launching your app.

Using Automate:

In the Interface section, select the Notification posted block. Click on it, select chrome as the package and set Chrome as the title on the Input arguments section. In the output arguments section, set x (or any name).
In the General section, select the Expression true? block. Click on it and set "Close all incognito tabs" as the formula.
In the Apps section, select App start. Click on it, select your app in the package section.
Link the block as seen on the image below.
Save the macro. Grant Automate the Notification Access permission. Click Start.

When you open an incognito tab in  Chrome, when a Notification with the title Chrome appears, if the notification has "Close all incognito tabs", the app selected in step 3 will start.

Note: I don't have your app installed. So I stopped my demonstration at step 3. You could play with other blocks for instance to click at some part of the screen to click a button, minimize the app, go back to chrome after opening it, etc.


How do I Restore a ClockworkMod backup with a busted power button or through ADB? I was trying to flash a new ROM, but can't get it to boot. Usually, I would have just booted into my recovery and restored my last backup. But I can't do that now as my power button is broken and it is impossible to select the "backup and recover" option after booting into the recovery.

Unfortunately send key events via ADB in recovery mode is impossible, otherwise navigating through the recovery options menu would have been easy.

But fortunately, my version of CWM supports the soft keys on my phone. The 'search' button substituted as the selection button (usually the job of the power button). Using that, I was able to navigate into the backup and restore menu and restore my phone.

Hope this helps someone in the future.


WhatsApp: How to isolate contacts and photos - Privacy concerns Whatsapp is ubiquitous and is commonly used despite the long scary list of permissions it seeks ( see Help understanding Whatsapp's permissions )

Privacy and security conscious people would like to avoid it and use alternate means like Telegram but there are a huge bunch of people who are blind to the concerns and merrily use it

I am forced to use it, since I have a friends and relatives who are comfortable with this and won't consider switching - some got introduced to smartphones using this, for some others it is convenience of usage and the most common refrain is I have nothing to hide :-(

So my question boils down to How do I use Whatsapp without exposing my contacts and private photos to Whatsapp (read Facebook)?

This is a self answered question sharing one way and you are welcome to post other ways if you find

Requisites

Download Shelter - an open source app from F-droid or GitHub. Quoting the developer, use cases

  Run “Big Brother” apps inside the isolated profile so they cannot access your data outside the profile

  “Freeze” (disable) background-heavy or seldom-used apps when you don’t need them. This is especially true if you use apps from Chinese companies like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent.
  Clone apps to use two accounts on one device

Create a dummy gmail account to be populated with only Whatsapp contacts
Device with work profiles (post Lollipop all have them) unless you used a Magisk or Xposed module to disable this

Methodology

Export your contacts to  your dummy Gmail account. Follow instructions here or any other way, like this Export telegram and whatsapp contacts to vcf?
. Delete all non Whatsapp contacts from this account (you don't want Whatsapp / Facebook to see ALL your contacts , right?)
Add this account to your phone from Settings → Google → Account ( will vary , but you can search)
Install Shelter
Click on the app  to see two panes Main (where all your apps are listed) and Shelter where you will see contacts , Google Play Store. Go to Main and long press on Whatsapp and choose Clone to shelter (Work Profile)
Go to shelter tab and set up Whatsapp as if it is a new account and when it asks for contacts point it to the dummy Gmail account created having Whatsapp contacts
Delete all Whatsapp contacts from your main account and if you wish uninstall or Freeze or disable Whatsapp

Note: Open whatsapp from within the shelter (work profile) not from the app drawer. If you open from outside you will find Whatsapp having access to contacts and gallery. Once you install whatsapp it is completely limited to the storage dedicated to the work profile and cannot see storage outside the work profile

Profit Your contacts and photos are separated ! and Whatsapp will not see at least your future non whatsapp contacts / pictures

On a side note, even with root and mighty Xposed module like XprivacyLua , a successor to Xprivacy, contacts by group cannot be separated ; in other words you can only choose all / starred/ non starred contacts to be visible per app but you can't say hide my Whatsapp contacts ( For more details see Para 18)


How to verify a backup file from ADB backup I have backed up my phone via adb to my computer by doing the command:

adb backup -all -apk -f C:\myfolder\backup.ab

I went to look at the file it had created when it said the backup was finished, but it says it is 0 bytes big.

Is this because of the encryption? I am worrying if my phone is backed up properly...

I found out that there was a bug in the Samsung OS that corrupted the desktop backup password.

One day, my phone bootlooped and, after a reset, I could backup fine with no backup password set.


App Icons for Apps on SD Card Disappear on Reboot I have a Motorola Moto E4 running Nougat 7.1.1, security patch level of March 1, 2018. The phone has a 16GB SD card in it, which is installed as internal storage, not portable, and it has a number of apps on it. As far as I know, the phone has always behaved in the following fashion: whenever I reboot, any app installed on the SD card has its icon disappear from the home screen. I can get it back, but a reboot happens often enough that this is an annoyance. Any ideas on how to fix this?

Those Apps which icon get lost after ejection of the SD Card are actually in the SD card and when you take SD card out of your Mobile, android is not able to find the specific App in its system. Thats why Android is not able to show the icons of the Apps. For getting out of this problem kindly go o Settings>Application Manager. Move all your apps to Phone Storage from SD card by opening each Application and selection Move to Phone Storage


Kindle fire stuck in "Parenting mode" I unfortunately changed my Kindle settings to Parenting and know find it difficult to use. I can't get access to all my files and documents, videos, internet and many more.

I want to register for a new account but can't get access to my the main settings when I go to the MORE... it just open a page and says "manage child settings", "set daily goals" and others.

I can't use the device now. How can I get this fixed?

If you mean Kindle FreeTime, swipe down where the hotkeys are, then tap exit.


Gmail contacts not syncing - How to get them to sync? I have a new Samsung S8+ and Gmail seems not to find any contacts when I try to compose an email. I have downloaded google contacts and all contacts appear on my phone. Is there a setting I've missed?

Yes, the permission for Gmail to view contacts is most probably off.
Go into settings>manage applications>Gmail>permissions>contacts on

(Worked for me)


Auto Backup gone crazy My android phone has gone completely crazy by backing up hundreds of images onto my Google + photos. These are not photos from my phone camera but some sort of random pictures of all sorts of crap! It's driving me mad and it's filling up my online storage with rubbish.

Help!

If the rubbish/random images aren’t in the camera roll on your phone, how are you determining they are coming from your phone?

I’m wondering if one of two things is going on:

you’ve not signed out of google+ on some other device and that device is doing the uploading (sold or given away a phone or computer? used a machine or phone of someone else’s?) or
you have a security app installed and the app has been activated and taking random images (and helpfully sending them up to google) to help you nab the “thief”.


Error: An application has been forced to stop for an unauthorized attempt to access system in your device. I am getting the following error message every now and then. As far as I notice, it only happens if my phone has internet connection mostly on Wifi.

an application has been forced to stop for an unauthorized attempt to access system in your device. it may be    safe to delete an application obtained from an unauthorized route. Check now?

When i click Check Now it just shows me list of all apps but don't tell me which is having problem. It is Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and it is not rooted or i don't remember i installed any application which is not from Play store.

I googled and researched and found other people is getting same problem but i don't see any way to solve it. Anyone here knows how to fix it?

When it appears, long press on the message and it shows the app causing the problem. (It probably is Knox.) Clear data and clear cache, that worked for me.


Connecting With pc via USB I use Symphony w71.Though it would connect with PC but after root I find no option to connect with PC.It charge but not connect with computer.My phone debug option is on also enabling Root permission.What should I do now??

Once you connect your phone to your PC, unlock your phone and follow these steps

Pull down the Status/Notification bar. You must be able to see the type of connection. Press on it.

You must be able to see several options like Media device(MTP),  Camera(PTP), Charge only and Mass storage(UMS).

For your requirements, I suggest you choose the MTP connection. The UMS would just mount your SD card as an external device and ignore the internal storage.

You must be able to view your phone being connected to your PC by now and I would suggest you keep your screen unlocked till you disconnect your phone from the PC


Problem downloading add-on dictionaries on Google Keyboard (Gboard), can it be downloaded in different way? Using Lenovo A6010 Plus with the latest update of Android 5.0.2. Here is the problem:
When I go to GBoard Settings > Dictionary > Add-on dictionaries, I simply look for the language I want to add and mark it. The status changes to "Downloading", but in a second, it goes back to "Available" again, and no downloading starts or language dictionary added.

Google Keyboard comes with the phone and it can't be uninstalled. The problem occurs after updating Google Keyboard to Gboard (the new Google Keyboard name).
What I tried:

Restarting the phone.
Allowing unknown source installation
Trying the same exact steps on another phone, on the same WiFi, and verifying it works (is there any way to transfer the dictionary after downloading it from one phone to another ?)
Trying mobile data and disabling WiFi
Uninstalling the update and installing it again

Looking forward to any suggestions.

I had the same phone and the same problem.
Yesterday, I have installed "Norton Clean, Junk Removal". Open it and make it clean. After that, I can download any add-on dictionary.


How do I make my phone play a ringtone over my headphones despite being on "silent"? I'm running Cyanogenmod 7.1RC1 on my Desire.

When my phone is not on silent, I can hear the ringtone on my headphones when someone calls me, which is great. However, when my phone is on silent and my headphones are plugged in, an incoming call will not produce a ringtone over the headphones. I would prefer it if my phone, despite being on silent, would play a ringtone over my headphones if they are plugged in. Is there any way to make this happen?

You could create a tasker profile that sets the ringer volume when a Bluetooth headset is connected.

I'm not sure how to handle the case when you disconnect the headset,  though.  You would only want to set the volume back to zero if it was zero when it was connected.

Edit: tasker gives access to current ringer volume via variable %volr

In a profile with condition Bluetooth connected:

Set a variable %savevol to %volr

Set ringer volume to desired level, if %volr = 0

Exit task: set ringer volume to 0, if % savevol = 0


Inputting math symbols in Android I need to input calculus and trigonometric notations in Android.

How to input math symbols in Android?

I know this is an old question, but the answer might help if there are still people looking for what the OP asked.
There is MathKeyboard that comes loaded with math symbols from trigonometric symbols to logarithmic, integrals, subscripts, superscripts, etc.

From square roots to triple integrals, this keyboard helps you in math typing
MathKeyboard it's a keyboard that helps you with symbolic typing, for the ones who struggle to get a decent math text in common apps, this keyboard is fully compatible with all instant message services

When you open the keyboard, click on Menu to select symbols' categories.
The only caveat is that the free version contains ads.


How to view entire messages in the notification drawer? I've received some security notifications, but I can't seem to figure out how to view the entire thing. See the huge image below:

They do not scroll, I cannot pinch-zoom or drag them to reveal more information, and when I tap one it disappears. Is there a log of these somewhere? I can use ADB if I have to, but surely there's a way...

Just pull down the notification(not the notification bar, the specific notification you want to expand) with two fingers to expand(if and only if,the notification supports expanding).

if you cant expand it with two fingers swiping down, then just turn on the auto rotation and navigate to somewhere (which can be rotated, in my case I use to go to settings) and then slide down your notification bar. It should be visible by now.

:)


Cannot connect my Galaxy Ace to my Google account I have 'Market' and every time I attempt to log into it using my Google account it says that it 'Can't establish a reliable data connection to the server.'

Any idea what could be done to get it working?

Setting the correct System date and time.

It turns out authentication requires establishing a secure connection with Google’s server. The SSL certificate contains a expiration date which would be compared against the system date of the Android system. If the system date is too far in the past or in the future, the validation would be failed, thus the connection cannot be established. This is a security measures of the HTTPS connection, so check your system date next time encountering such strange error message.

OR

If that above fix is not working for you then you can try out ‘YouTube Connection Trick’ to rectify this problem.
Follow the below steps –

Add YouTube app and login into your Gmail account.
Go through the Gmail asp and add account if needed.
Sign in to your Gmail account with your user name and the password.
Go through your login process and now try to check Menu > Settings > Account & Sync.
Select “Add account” and add a secondary account.

This solution will work out if the above doesn’t works.


Better keyboard on Nexus One? is there some easy way to get a better keyboard on the Nexus One? The default keyboard has way to small buttons and it's hard to use.

There are a ton of keyboard apps out there -- check out the market for both free and paid.

I hate tapping and tapping, and there are at least two slide-the-finger virtual keyboards available:

Swype is my favorite -- but that's only been out in a limited beta for Android, so far. Maybe again....

ShapeWriter is a good substitute... but that's off the market due to a post-merger company re-org  (kids, THIS is why FLOS is a Good Idea). Hit up google, and you'll find a few people that have the .apk available, though. Here's one (as of Sept 2, 2010).

JetKeys is one of the weirdest that I've seen. Not a glider -- touch in the center of key, then slide in a direction to select alternate characters. Great idea, weird to use.

I have some more notes in a blog post.


Creating a custom launch action on the menu I am trying to cerate a simple icon on my Android tablet to launch, say, the browser, with a specific URL. Under Windows, this is simply creating a shortcut. Under Ubuntu, this is just creating a .desktop file with a couple of parameters, including the actual command line to execute. But I cannot seemto be able to do this under Android, and although I don't mind command line on a desktop computer, this is not a viable option under Android.

Can this be done with the stock launcher that comes with Android, or should I use a special one. I registered a couple of those.

Sure it can be done. I never used this feature, so I'm not sure whether there's an option for "a simple icon", but you should take a look at the "bookmark widget":

First, start your browser and create a bookmark for the page you want to link to. Second, go to your homescreen, long-tap on a free space (where you want the link to be), select "widgets", and then watch out for the "Bookmark widget". Tap it, select your bookmark, et voila! there should be a shortcut on your homescreen.

Alternative to the second step: while still in your browser, go to "bookmarks", long-tap the bookmark you created, and select "add to homescreen" (source: AndroidCentral).

More alternatives:

Is it possible to create a URL link to a website on the home screen?
Pinning Web Sites to Android Homescreen
check the many bookmark widgets available at Google Play
use the Tasker app to create a shortcut (not that easy when trying Tasker for the first time, as it is quite complex – but here I'm pretty sure it will be an icon. And as side-effect, you've got the mightiest automation tool available for Android :)

To do the similar thing to open a file with an associated app, depending on the launcher used, explained using an example:

Go to your homescreen
Long press an empty space where the icon should be placed
In the opening menu, select "shortcut"
Select your file manager (this won't work with all file managers; in my example, I used ES File Explorer, which perfectly serves this case)
Now navigate to the file you want to create a shortcut for (in my example, I selected an EPUB ebook)
The icon should appear on your homescreen.

Now, tapping that icon, either your ebook reader opens directly (if only one is installed, or you've made it the default to "always use"), or, as in my case, a popup asks you to chose the app to be used (e.g. Aldiko, Moon+ Reader, FBReader).


Manually edit the bluetooth pairing list, phone keeps overwriting it with old list. How to stop that? I have an Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and I wanted to connect my phone to an old HTC Rhyme docking station via bluetooth so I can use the speakers in it. I have all the data needed for the connection (ID, LinkKey, etc.) and I've edited the pairing list (path of it is in my case /data/misc/bluedroid/bt_config.xml). In that folder also was an bt_config.old file which was the same as the bt_config.xml file, I assume this is a backup file so I overwrote it as well after editing the list. This is how the part I added to the list looks like:

<N19 Tag="DC:DE:CA:0B:EF:C4">
        <N1 Tag="Timestamp" Type="int">1398527119</N1>
        <N2 Tag="Name" Type="string">HTC CR M540</N2>
        <N3 Tag="DevClass" Type="int">2360340</N3>
        <N4 Tag="DevType" Type="int">1</N4>
        <N5 Tag="AddrType" Type="int">0</N5>
        <N6 Tag="Manufacturer" Type="int">10</N6>
        <N7 Tag="LmpVer" Type="int">5</N7>
        <N8 Tag="LmpSubVer" Type="int">8953</N8>
        <N9 Tag="LinkKeyType" Type="int">4</N9>
        <N10 Tag="PinLength" Type="int">0</N10>
        <N11 Tag="LinkKey" Type="binary">a5c095e620e190f248f4b8a8b3291ed3</N11>
        <N12 Tag="Service" Type="string">0000110b-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb 0000111e-0000-1000-8000-00805f9b34fb</N12>
        <N13 Tag="Aliase" type="string">htc dock test</N13>
    </N19>

When I overwrite the edited list with the original one everything looks fine until I restart my phone. After that somehow the old list gets loaded and I have no idea how that is possible. Either when I shut my phone down it saves the list that is already loaded or it has another directory for the pairing list which I need to edit as well.

Anyone have any idea how I could fix this overwriting problem? Obviously both the Note 2 and my old HTC Rhyme are rooted or else I could never get the bluetooth data. If more information is needed I can provide it.

I did exactly the same thing successfuly by editing the bt_config.xml file in A HEX VIEWER in my PC and copying/replacing it using the Aoma Manager. My phone now connects automatically to the new device.


How can i safely clean up my phone for selling I am getting rid of my Samsung S 8 and need to reset to factory settingsHowever in the list of personal it tells me i am signed in to  yahoo  amongst others .Are my emails safe if Yahoo and others when i hit reset

If you mean to ask: "Are [your] emails safe if Yahoo and others [are deleted] when [you] hit reset?"

Then the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. Your phone simply acts as a medium between the email app (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and where your emails are actually stored (in the respective apps' servers).

Using your example: Your Yahoo account, and all of the emails for it, are all part of Yahoo's servers. Deleting your Yahoo account off of your phone will make no difference to the account or emails still contained in Yahoo's servers. You would have to use a Desktop browser and log in to your Yahoo account, then find the option to delete your account, and explicitly click that option - if you were trying to delete your account.

So yes, you have nothing to fear by factory resetting your phone in terms of keeping your account and emails safe.


Mute the external microphone when a headphone is plugged in? I'm running Gingerbread on my Samsung Galaxy S II. I dock it on my dash in my car and plug a 3.5mm cord from the phone to my stereo aux input.

I often listen to music from my phone through my car stereo, but when a call comes in and I answer it, there is terrible feedback on the other end because the caller hears both my speakers and the audio from the phone.

Is there anything I can do about this other than to switch to a traditional headset?

You could make use of e.g. Tasker -- an automation tool which can react on different situations and handle a lot of things (basically, sometimes I think 80% of questions like "How can I...with Android?" could be answered by "Use Tasker!". Though it doesn't come "cheap", on the developers website you can get a 7-day trial to check first. It's worth every cent of its 5 bucks!).

So with tasker, you do simple math:

condition + task = profile

For your case, it's probably something like...

Profile "docked-in-car"

Conditions: (they are always connected by AND with Tasker)

"headphones plugged"
"docked"

Tasks:

"audio -> mic mute"
optionally: "keyguard off"
optionally: "display timeout 0" (as it is connected to a power source, so you can continually see what's displayed)
most likely: "start app -> [music-app]".

Save & go. Now, when you dock your SGS2 and plug in the 3.5mm cord, mic should be muted -- and additionally some other nice actions executed.


How can I update the default stock browser (com.android.browser)? I have version 2.3.3 of the stock android browser on my phone.  I know there are newer versions out that support features that I want which are not available in 2.3.3.  However, I do not see any upgrades available, and in fact the stock browser does not even show up in the Google Play store.

I figure I probably need to manually install from somewhere, but where do I find the necessary files and how do I perform the upgrade?  Note: I am not interested in upgrading to a newer version of Android.

Check this XDA post. It has an APK for a 4.2 AOSP browser.

NOTE: Install at your own risk.


How can I tap once on my home screen and start composing an email to a specified contact? I'm looking for a widget, shortcut, etc. that will let me tap it once and the next screen I see if the compose email screen for someone.

For example, if I have a contact Joe whose email is joe@example.com, I could click one button (or contact picture, or label, etc.) on my home screen and an email to joe@example.com would be started.

If I use the contact widget, I click on Joe and then get a menu for email or call, etc.

Is there a one-click solution to start composing an email to a contact from the home screen?

It may depend on what phone you have but for HTC phones you can add a "Shortcut" of a person and have the shortcut be the whole contact card or just start an e-mail message (or any other contract related actions)

Long press on the home screen to bring up the "Add to Home" menu, select "Shortcut" then select "Person".  Here you can select the person you want to be able to contact and it will provide you a list of actions to perform on that contact.  Select "Send mail".  When you click on the new shortcut it may prompt you to choose an e-mail client but you can either choose a default or not and be able to choose which client you use each time.

Edit - I just tried this on my Hero with a AOSP custom ROM and the only option I could find on the "Shortcut" menu was to add a contact.  This would provide you with a two-click method - once to select the contact and a second click to select the "Email" action.

Edit2 - I just found Mail Widget Free in the Android Market, which looks like exactly what you wanted.  You can add widgets either 2x1 or 3x1 which will have the contact's photo and e-mail address.  One click and your default e-mail app will open ready to send a message to that contact.  There is a "Pro" version which allows a 1x1 widget.

Note: I am not the developer of this app.

Edit3 - I also just found that HTC's have a "People Widget".  With this widget you can select certain people or groups to be displayed and each one can have a different default function when clicked.  One of those functions is to send and e-mail.  To do this just add the "People Widget" (it should be there by default in your widget list) then select the group (or create one) that you want to be in the widget and then once the widget is up - click on the contact you want to email.  This will bring up a selection of functions to apply to that contact and you can then select e-mail and you'll see an envelope icon on that contact in the widget. I can't believe I missed this one before :). I hope either this one or the previous edit can answer your question.


reset samsung level u pro I have a Samsung level u pro anc , the problem is the sound balance in left and right ear are not the same , it's not related to software or anything else.

actually there was similar situation before and some one just reset the device by holding some buttons on the device and it balance again .

now the problem is back and I can not figure it out how to solve it.
 the headset has three button for call and volume up and down. and a toggle button with 3 situation for off , on and paring mode .
I appreciate any help to solve the problem .

@soha1410 turn off the headset then Hold volume down and up together then slide and hold the power button to the end right until the led flashes


How would I go about purposely disabling all microphones on an Android phone? I'm attempting to repurpose older Android phones, and I'm looking for a way to disable the microphones to avoid having spy-accessible microphones all over my house.

Is there a way of removing or purposely breaking the microphone drivers without breaking the ability to play audio?

I can not see a purpose for this but ultimately the easiest method if you never want to use the microphone again is to just break the microphone with a small pin or something,
 you could disconnect them from the motherboard altogether and rebuild the device with no microphone...

I'm recommending hardware based solutions because it's ultimately the safest method of complete removal....

If you are familiar with the mobile phone security protocol "SS7" and you have read your mobile phone provider's terms and conditions then you'd be aware that you don't actually have the legal right to remove the ability for police or other law enforcement agency's  to have access to the microphone ( even while your device is switched OFF )  ... This is clearly stated on most or all mobile phone provider's term's and conditions ...

The main reasons you can't legally do it ( without an unexplainable hardware fault - I strongly discourage tampering with your device )

You don't actually BUY the device, you ONLY buy the RIGHT to USE the device from the company or copyright holder.
You AGREE to ALLOW police and law enforcement angecys to have access to your microphone even while your device is switched OFF

So now that's clear,

This solution is provided for Educational use only.


Play Station 2 games on android Is it possible to play PS2 games on android and for free of course? Does it exist some PS2 emulator on android?

There are no PS2 emulators for Android yet, but there's a rumor on PCSX2 possibly being ported to Android sometime in the future. As of now, most devices don't have the desired computing power for PS2 emulation, but in the future they most likely will.


How does compass calibration work? I am wondering how compass calibration works / why e.g. drawing an 8 or rotating the phone to all 3 axis works (or at least shall work) - I mean I would understand the calibration process, if an application would say me: Point to north, then press that button down there, but you can start at basically zero knowledge for the app, just by rotating your phone! How is that done? Also, do I need to enter a special calibration mode or can I draw these figures (like the 8) directly in Google Maps? How does Google Maps know that I am not just really moving the phone but want to calibrate the compass? Thanks for any hint!

The purpose of calibration is to figure out how to compensate for how the components in your phone (screws, speaker magnets, etc.) interfere with the measured magnetic field.

The calibration process is based on the fact that you can separate the internal and external contributions to the magnetic field by looking at how the field changes as the phone is rotated. For example, in one orientation the magnetic field from the magnet in the speaker will add on to the Earth's field; but when the phone is oriented in the opposite direction, the two fields will partially cancel out.

As you wave the phone around, the magnetometer records how the magnitude of the measured field changes and uses this to calibrate the x, y, and z magnetic field sensors. See geometrikal's answer to a similar question for more details on this process. Note that this calibration does not let you compensate for the influence of other external objects (e.g., your refrigerator) on the magnetic field.

Regarding the implementation in Google Maps: I believe that Google Maps has no control over the compass calibration because there is no such functionality  in the Android API. The magnetometer is probably calibrating itself continuously, and Google Maps is just asking you to rotate your phone so that the magnetometer can collect the data it needs to get an accurate calibration.

In other words, you can calibrate your compass any time the magnetic field sensor is being used just by waving your phone – there is no "calibration mode".