What does unlocking the bootloader do? My understanding is that a boot loader is like a BIOS in a PC, which will help a device to load the OS correctly.

When I unlock the bootloader in an Android device, does this modify the complete bootloader itself? In other words, will this install a completely different bootloader compatible with the device? Or is it just a slight modification in the existing bootloader?

After some research, I finally got some details.

Unlocking a bootloader will generally not change the bootloader of a device.
The locked bootloader somehow ensures that the device should boot up with the OS that is shipped originally with the device or updated by the vendor officially.

Locked bootloader puts this as a security measure so that it can prevent the users
from installing custom ROM's. When the bootloader is unlocked it will simply provide the booting instructions to the device without checking for the stock ROM
on the device. The device will boot with the ROM present in /boot and /system partitions and thus unlocking a bootloader is an essential step if one want to install custom ROM.

Thus overall, locking a bootloader is just an extra built-in security check and
unlocking will just remove this check but will not modify the entire bootloader
of your device.


Would an android device pass the boot screen/enter recovery without build.prop? Is it possible to start up an android device without build.prop? Is it even possible to use stock recovery without build.prop?

Yes, you can boot into recovery without build.prop. You can, in fact, boot into recovery without anything in /system (actually, recovery and bootloader are the only things you can boot into without anything in your /system.); build.prop and /system are only used when the ROM is loaded.


Is there a way to improve S6 audio quality? I just got a Samsung Galaxy S6 (Android 5.1.1) and I'm disappointed by the poor audio quality, as sounds are "chirping" and metallic, quite disagreeable to the ear. At first I thought it was just me, then I found several comments of people having the same opinion.

Is there a way to improve sound quality? For instance a built-in permanent equalizer, firmware updates, etc. ?

If you agree to void your warranty, your best bet would be to root your device and install a custom kernel, which can be further tweaked in order to improve the sound quality (amongst other things).


Can I put a QuickOffice File shortcut on my home screen? I have a document in Google Drive that I am managing through QuickOffice, which is keeping a local copy of the file on my Galaxy S3. I would like to place a shortcut to this document on my home screen, but for the life of me, I can't find the local file. I'm assuming QuickOffice hides or encrypts it so that other apps can't mess with it, but that means I can't find it to make a shortcut.

It is important that this file remain in Google Drive, so I can't just create a local copy of the file and shortcut it through a file manager like ES File Explorer. If I could locate the local copy I would do this, but as I said, I can't find it.

So, my question has two parts:

Do you know where QuickOffice stores local copies of Google Drive files?

and/or

Is it possible to place a shortcut to a Google Drive file on my home screen?

QuickOffice 6.1.183 | Android 4.1.1 | Samsung S3 1747MVLDLK4

Open your app drawer and jump to the Widgets section. Swipe until you get to "Drive Shortcut". Long-press and drop on your desktop. Choose the account to use (if necessary) then select the document.


Since which Android version does it started emulating the SDCard? I know it's emulated in ICE_CREAM_SANDWICH_MR1 and over but I would like to know since which previous versions and preferable from official sources.

EDIT1:

Not an official source but I guess this answer my question (from The Commons Blog):

  Android 3.0 changed this around, allowing internal and external
  storage to each be on the same partition, just in separate directory
  trees. This provided a lot more flexibility for users, as now there
  was no artificial hard distinction between space for internal storage
  and space for external storage. Device manufacturers still could elect
  to have external storage be a separate partition, or even be on
  removable media, but typically they did not.

Short summary

It must have been introduced with Android 2.1 aka Eclair.

TL;DR

Though I cannot name a date (as I found no source for that), we can get a raw estimate. But to advance that, let's first take a look into history:

The first Android smartphone sold was the HTC Dream (also known as T-Mobile G1). As you can see in the device specs when following the link, this device had a little internal-storage (256 MB; also known as "device storage"), and featured a microSD slot. So no "internal SD card" here at all.

A bit later, we saw the first Nexus1 device released to the wild: The Google Nexus One came – you won't believe it – with a microSD slot and, no "internal SD card". Release date here was January 2010, and it shipped with Android 2.1 (aka "Eclair"). Mark the date and the Android version.

Now I've found an article on Android Browser Forensics dated 9/2010 (somewhere I've stumbled upon a copy dated 6/2010, but cannot find the link currently). They report having used the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, which according to GSMArena was released 6/2010 with Android 2.1. Quoting (emphasis mine):

  Currently I’m running Android 2.1 Eclair
  […]
  Each option is checked by default. Click Capture. A folder is created on the internal sdcard called ‘forensics’ with 6 .csv files.

As you can see: This device was running Eclair and featured an internal sdcard (unless the blogger made a mistake here). As usually the Nexus devices are "state-of-the-art", but the one originally shipped with 2.1 had no internal sdcard (which is quite untypical for a Nexus – but this was the only one) – and another device introduced about 6 month later, also running Eclair, features such, I think it's pretty safe to assume that was about the time eMMC was introduced to Android devices as "internal sdcard".

Not a proof, but at least a "good shot" I'd say.

Now we come to the quote of your question: allowing internal and external storage to each be on the same partition was the next step, and introduced with Honeycomb (aka Android 3.0), with the switch being made from USB mass storage to MTP. This brought two advantages to the user: for one, being on the same partition there was less "wasted space". You no longer should run into the condition to get an insufficient-memory error with plenty of free space on your internal sdcard. And number two: this storage stayed available on the device even if mounted to a computer (so no apps crashing and widgets disappearing for that cause anymore). But it also has a disadvantage: most external data-recovery tools no longer work on the connected device, as they need "direct block-level access" – which MTP cannot provide.

So much for a short story on the "internal sdcard" – hope I not only entertained you a little, but also was able to answer your question, at least to a degree :)

1: For a history of Nexus devices, see this Wikipedia article


Termux write permissions pretext:
as gmail no longer allows me to send zip files, i have been looking into other ways to get my java source directories from android to laptop and back again, depending whether I'm at home or not (folder hierarchy must be preserved). I have been trying to set up git on my android phone and have been using termux as the command shell to do this.
the problem:
I am unable to create a directory for which BOTH termux and the java ide have read write access. I have setup storage permissions in termux. If the IDE can write termux can't, and in another location termux can write but the IDE can't.
What I need is a folder location that both apps have full read write permissions. (I am not too bothered if these permissions extent to other folders)
I do not want to root my device.
Nokia 7.2 Android 10

I have achieved a solution by making the project folder in the main storage (/emulated/0/ProjectName) instead of on the sd card.
In termux i navigated to (...ProjectName/src/com/package/) and ran 'mkdir test'. In the ide i then created 'test.txt' in the newly made test directory. This all worked fine, although i have not linked git to this directory it proves that write access is there for both apps.
Before i was attempting to use a folder in the sd card which would not allow the permissions. I did not change anything else regarding settings and permissions between these two attempts, but some were changed prior to the initial attempt in the sd card, which may have played a role. If you are having the same issue feel free to comment and i will go through all other settings i changed before this. or maybe someone with better knowledge of android can comment as to why this worked.
edit: quote: "Some phones prevent third party apps from accessing the sd card but with the appropriate permissions all apps can access the internal storage."


How do you create a folder on a home screen in Honeycomb 3.0.1 (Xoom)? I was rather shocked to learn that my Xoom tablet, running Honeycomb (3.0.1) does not support the ability to group home screen shortcuts into folders.  Nor does it seem to provide a stock widget that could be used for organizing shortcuts.

Coming from a Froyo (DroidX) phone and iPad, both of which have long supported folder functionality, this is a huge surprise and my only big disappointment with Honeycomb.

I have found 3rd party apps that can help this (Folder Organizer), but this App is overly complex for the given task.  If anyone can recommend an app that does nothing but simple iOS-like folder organization, that would be great. (I realize there are many alternative launcher/homescreen repplacements that support folders, but would rather not broaden the discussion that far for now).

I find it embarrassing to have to explain to iPad users that Honeycomb does not have anything like folder organization for apps built-in to the OS.  Is this a design "feature" of Android?   Does Google prefer another method for organizing home screen icons?  Is it coming in a future release?

You can use Smart Shortcuts (lets you organize applications and bookmarks in folders using tags), of the Astro file manager, which let you add shortcuts to folders of the filesystem.


How to remove cwm and unroot tab 2 10.1 For my introduction into Android I picked up a cheap tab 2 10.1 from Amazon as it was stuck in a boot loop.

After searching this forum I found a post related to 'unrooting' the tablet, and so I was able to 'unroot' it by flashing it with a new rom. I used slimrom to test and now I'll use a factory rom next.

Could someone please instruct me on how to remove the cwm so that I can completely return the tablet to near factory-like condition?

Thanks.

Steps to unroot Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to stock official firmware

Download appropriate stock official firmware (according to region) for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to computer.
Download links: GT-P5100/GT-P5110/GT-P5113
Extract the downloaded zip to get a file with .tar.md5 extension along with some other files
Download and extract Odin3
Turn off the Galaxy tablet and wait for five to six seconds for vibration to confirm complete power off
Boot the tablet into Download Mode by pressing and holding Volume Down and Power buttons together until a warning screen appears on the tablet's screen. Now press the Volume Up button to continue to enter into Download Mode
Run Odin3 as Administrator
Connect the tablet to the computer using the USB cable while the phone is in Download Mode. Wait until Odin detects the device. When it is connected successfully, an Added message will appear under Odin's message box. Additionally, the ID: COM box in Odin will turn blue with COM port number indicating successful connection.
Note: If the Added message does not appear, then try the USB port at the back of the computer. If Odin still fails to recognize the device then re-install USB Driver.
Select these files extracted from stock firmware folder to install on the tablet

Click PDA button and select file with .tar.md5 extension
Click Phone button and select file with Modem in its name
Click CSC button and select file with CSC in its name
Click PIT button and select the .pit file

Note: Ignore last three steps (2-4) if such files are not found.

Configure Odin settings. Ensure Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time checkboxes are selected. But uncheck Re-Partition option; select it only when .pit file is being used
Double check everything and click the Start button in Odin. The installation should begin now and would take a few minutes to complete
When the installation process is completed, the phone will restart automatically. Following this, a PASS message with green background will appear in a box at the extreme left of Odin indicating successful installation. Unplug the USB cable from the phone to disconnect it from the computer

As the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 boots up successfully, it should be unrooted and running on stock official firmware. Head over to Settings>> About tablet to verify the software version of the device.


How to unlock non owner account after reboot? I've an Android 9 Samsung tablet. I've set up normal (I.e. not limited) accounts for my children.  When the tablet reboot, the only account which is usable is mine. The others are greyed out. When I've logged in once, the other accounts are unlocked.

I'd like my children to be able to use the tablet after a reboot without me needing to log in. How can I achieve that?

I found this question which seems similar but it has no answers.

It seems like by definition the primary user (here called "user 0") has to log in by definition as the first user. The documentation on the File Based Encryption (FBE) does not give many details on the question why:

  Each user in a multi-user environment gets a separate encryption key. Every user gets two keys: a DE and a CE key. User 0 must log into the device first as it is a special user. This is pertinent for Device Administration uses.

Source: https://source.android.com/security/encryption/file-based#supporting-multiple-users

Hence I don't see a chance to change this behavior, you can only teach your children not to reboot the tablet and not to switch it off. In air plane mode with really disabled Wifi the battery loss should be minimal so that the tablet can stay on even when it is not used for some days.


Where Can I Get The Latest GApps (Google services framework)? I need the latest version of GApps for my rom (running Android 4.1.2), however none of the sites that I found allow me to download it (I think it is an issue with my internet).

What is the best place to get them from?

The most frequently used site for downloading Google's proprietary bits is Goo.im (formerly goo-inside.me).
However it can be a little confusing as it list all version so I recommend you check out this Rootzwiki page as it list the recommended versions as well as the changelogs.


Getting mount's usage suggestion when attempting /system remount I'm trying to remount system on a rooted Samsung GT-S6102 running Android 2.3.6:

# mount -o rw,remount,rw /system

Usage: mount [-r] [-w] [-o options] [-t type] device directory

This is exactly like in this other answer, so I'm not sure why I'm getting this usage error.

So apparently the problem was that I needed to specify the target as per the answer to this other question:

mount -o remount,rw /system /system


How to navigate to top/bottom of page in mobile firefox Is there a way to quickly navigate to the top/bottom of the current page in mobile firefox (i.e. the equivalent of using the home/end keys in the desktop version)?

You should add an add-on to help accomplish what you asked. Top and Bottom scroll buttons adds buttons to scroll to the top or bottom of a page.

  This extension adds two beautiful buttons at the corner of each page for fast scrolling to the top or the bottom of the page.

  The buttons are customisable. You can change its size, transparency, position and the way they are scrolling.
  You can also set the buttons to auto hide so you'll see them only when you want.

Disclaimer: I am just a user of the addon, not related to its developer.


Distorted text rendering in Chrome About a week or two ago I started having font rendering issues in Chrome on my Note 4 (SM-N910V). It's not always, but frequent enough that it's driving me crazy. I have cleared the cache, uninstalled/reinstalled Chrome and still the same issue. When it happens, it's like only part of the text characters are displayed or even complete words are missing, but they're still there because if I highlight and select the blank areas around the partial displayed text, the remaining text will usually finally display. Sometimes they will correct themselves if I scroll down a few. Also, sometimes the text on a page may render perfectly and appear fine, and then while I'm reading it, suddenly just change to the distorted text as I mentioned above. It seems to be specific to Chrome and Chrome Beta, because I installed Firefox, and so far, no issue with text rendering in Firefox. I hope someone more knowledgeable than me can explain what is happening.

I have pictures which should help a lot.
1st pic shows the text at its worst, 2nd shows after I select a word and how it clears up the text in that section, 3rd shows when I select more than one word, how the remaining text area corrects itself also. Then an extra one for another example.

Had the same problem with Chrome on Samsung Note 4.
My chrome was 71.0.3538.80 and it behaved like you've described.

I've installed Chrome Beta 71.0.3578.55 and it renders correctly so far.


New smartphone LINE account recover/restore from PC LINE account I have the following problems and need help:

Before I got a new phone (Galaxy S9+), I synchronized my old smartphone (LG 10) LINE account within my new Dell laptop (Win 10).
After I switched all info from old phone (LG) to new phone (Galaxy S9+), I login/open LINE and I did "OK" for "Delete old messages and Logs" which no previous messages and logs were displayed.
When I login my laptop Line account, I found all messages and logs are still over there.
How can I restore or recovery my LINE account (Same phone number but in different smartphone brand names) ? Or, it's hopeless for my sutation.

Thanks,

Tony

No, there is no way to import the chat history from the PC version into the Android version. The PC version saves the chat as a .txt file, while the Android version saves the backup as a .zip file with various file formats in it.

You can, however, save the chat log of the PC version in the same way as you would on the Android version.


can't connect to wifi using lineage os LG g3s (jagnm) i recently updated lineage os to 14.1-20171206 on my LG g3s (jagnm) and there are several issues:

1) can't connect to wifi. Apparently it's because wifi mac address got switched to all zeroes (00:00:00:00:00:00) i found somewhere that ifconfig wlan0 down should fix this but it doesn't work, mac stays the same.

another possible solution i found was this https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70109272&postcount=5

in short:

Make an img of dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/misc
Edit it in a hex editor (details in the link)
Overwrite misc with the img
Reboot

there is just one 'small' problem: dev/block/bootdevice folder doesn't even exist.
I'm at my wits end. I would appreciate any help.

2) another small problem: for some reason if i connect my device to pc or my laptop and choose on the device to use usb to transfer files it almost instantly makes my computer to crash into BSOD.

stop code: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
what failed: lgandnetmodem64.sys

PS: if it's not obvious already i'm a complete noob at command line and shell

EDIT: installed 6.0.1 resurrection rom. The mac issue persists.

ALso the PC crashing got worse. With lineage at least i could connect to adb, but now if debugging is enabled pc crashes instantly when i plug in the usb.
Even though i have very little experience with stuff like this i can guess that the issue is deeper than the rom itself. Also something might be bad with LG usb drivers

Root your phone, install Mac Changer from Here and solve that issue ASAP


Multiple running application instances I'm an owner of Android 4.2.2 device.

For a while, I can see identical apps in Settings->Apps->Running:

"Baidu IME" x 2
"Google Services" x 2
"GO Weather EX" x 3
"GO Launcher Z" x 2
"GO SMS Pro" x 2

Would they all have just two instances I would think that this is caused by two google accounts registered in the system, but why then I have three running "GO Weather EX"?

Usually in Android,The processes may look the same. But it may do different functions.Inn Your case, GO Weather EX kill the two instance & check if that app works properly and comeback to Settings->Apps->Running page. If again 3 instances are running then Each of them may do different functions


How do I Delete the 5.0.1 OTA Update on my Rooted Nexus 4? A while back I rooted my phone with the stock 5.0 image, and was then pestered by the OTA 5.0.1 update that came shortly after.
Research led me to find a way to disable the event listeners that pop the notifications -- FANTASTIC!  This worked for months...

Today, Snapchat decided to reboot my phone (as it regularly does) in a spectacular fashion that included a long vibration while the screen went dark.   Since my phone's come back online, the "System Update Downloaded" notification is sitting at the bottom of my notification tray; something that wasn't there before.

I've dug through my event listeners and confirmed the correct ones are still disabled, but now I'm hunting for a means to delete the downloaded update so as to remove the notification (Hopefully?)...

Most of my search results show the files should be .APK files in the /system/apps folder, but I have a /system/app folder -- no /apps.  Another post mentioned they'd be in the /cache folder --- they are not....

Does anyone know where these OTA Updates are stored on Lollipop 5.0 so I can nuke 'em?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

Just download an factory image From :

https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

Steps :

  1.Unlock bootloader

  2.root phone

  3.flash new image

  4.lock Bootloader

How do I uninstall the Android update 5.0.1 back to 5.0?

hope this helps.


Is it possible to connect to multiple mobile devices non-wireless and run tests Is it possible to connect from computer to multiple mobile devices via USB and run tests on mobile devices while they (devices) are connected to Wireless network of another device.?

Scenario: We have some proprietary devices that have their own WiFi radio signal. We need to connect mobile devices to that signal. Then, we need to connect to that mobile device at the same time and inject tests. I've added a diagram to explain our need. Is it possible?

Any help/ pointers would be appreciated!!

Yes it is possible .
If your devices are android you can simply use scripts including adb commands

Steps :

GEt Device ID :
adb devices
Pass adb command :
adb -s $device_id shell am start -a android.settings.AIRPLANE_MODE_SETTINGS

Sample Script :
You can take device id as command line parameter

      for($i=1; $i<=$temp;$i++)
      {
      print "\n********* Opening activities : **********\n";
      system("adb -s $devices shell am start -a android.settings.AIRPLANE_MODE_SETTINGS");
      sleep 5;
      system("adb -s $devices shell input tap 200 200");
      sleep 25;
      }


Why most of the devices supported by CyanogenMod are from HTC? Why most of the devices supported by CyanogenMod are from HTC?

Because, for the most part, HTC doesn't try to lock down their phones. Compare this to Motorola: all their phones have locked bootloaders except for the original Droid. However, Motorola has been showing signs that they might be changing this behavior in the future. A lot of the HTC phones can use the Unrevoked method to root their phones (except for maybe the Thunderbolt?).


How to share Android "Reverse-tethered" internet via Android WiFi? Before going into main question, we do know that :

we can do Reverse Tethering from PC into android (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1371345)
And we can share current phone internet connection via Portable WiFi hotspot (or similar apps in Google Play)

Now the question is :

"Is there a way to share the reverse-tethered internet (as we known connected via usb0 interface) via "Android WiFi Hotspot?"

To make it easier, here's the schema:

Schema of my setup (click image for larger variant)

*Additional Notes :

Actually I don't give a limit which version of the Android (so if it's just compatible in higher version e.g. 4.2, it's okay for me), but I prefer it works on 2.3.x (Gingerbread)
Some explanations of how to make APN (Infrastructure Mode) on Android (just like Wireless Router/[netsh wlan hostednetwork] on Windows 7/8) might be really helpful too.
And also some explanations about how to masquerade (internet sharing) between two interfaces in Android. (such as ICS in Windows or Masquerade/iptables thingy in Linux-based)

I managed to make it work.  Here is an "OSI-like" diagram of my setup, if it makes sense:

 ____________________   ______________________________    ____________
|   LinuxVM <----+  |  |                              |  |            |
|  VirtualBox    |  |  |                              |  |            |
| Windows7(host) |  |  | +--> AndroidPhone <-------+  |  | +-->Laptop |
|  (USB)         +-------+   (USB)  (wifi-HotSpot) +-------+   (wifi) |
|___________________|  |______________________________|  |____________|

The script is located at the XDA forum: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=50236807&postcount=9

## 0.a. Connect android-phone to PC through USB.
## 0.b Enable Settings|...|Tethering
##  (so that the device gets detected by the PC's kernel, you should see the following with 'dmsg':
##         [    3.976599] rndis_host 1-1:1.0 usb0: register 'rndis_host' at usb-0000:00:0b.0-1, RNDIS device, 4e:d5:8c:7b:4f:5a
## Enable Settings|...|Wifi-Hotspot

## Setup usb reverse-tethering.
#  from: http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2287494
#
#  Yours device might be 'rndis0' or something else.  Check by just typing 'netcfg'.
#
netcfg usb0 dhcp
busybox route add default gw 10.42.0.1 dev usb0

## Disable mobile-data.
#
busybox ifconfig rmnet_usb0  0.0.0.0

## Masquerade through USB.
#
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
iptables -t nat -F
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o usb0 -j MASQUERADE
iptables -P FORWARD ACCEPT

## Set DNS (if neccessary, ie google's 8.8.4.4).
#
setprop net.dns1 XX.YY.ZZ.WW


What is device administrator supposed to be set to on a smartphone? I have an LG smartphone, and I'm curious what my device administrator should be set to. I have two options, one is Android, and the other is the anti-virus program that I'm running. Neither one are check at this time and I'm wondering which one if either should be?

Quoting from the Device Administrator tag wiki

What is "Device Administrator"?
An app can register as "device administrator", which usually requires the users confirmation. As device administrator, the app gains elevated privileges: it can e.g. define password policies (forbid "swipe-to-unlock", set a minimum password strength, etc.), but also wipe your device on remote commands

If you don't give the apps the power, they may not work as expected. Apps asking for such powers appear under Device Administrator menu you are seeing

In your case Android Device Manager helps you track your device if it is lost (amongst other things) , so enable device admin permission

Similarly, enable Anti Virus app too, if you want full functionality


Can I put a 128Gb micro sd card in a Samsung Galaxy s2? I have an untouched Samsung Galaxy S2 just out of its box, though this model of phone is rather old and came out in 2012.

I was wondering could I stick this brand new technology sd card into it?
http://www.sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/microsd/ultra-class10-for-android/
(It says the 128Gb card is microSDXC)
I saw in another post here that v1 and v2 should work in this phone but v3 wont. The site for the sd card doesnt mention any version though.

I want to do this so I can use the phone as a ipod replacement.

Also bonus question.. Anyone know how long one can play mp3s on the samsung galaxy 2 before it runs out of batteries?

EDIT: I found this which seems promising
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYUg14u_co8

Officially, 128GB Card is supported for the Samsung Galaxy S5 and onwards devices in Samsung releases. But technically, SanDisk’s 128GB card should work in any device that supports the MicroSDXC standard (buy/use at own risk). Check out list of supported devices. You can also verify your device at official SanDisk website here.

What if it shows an error ?

This video should help you change your mind to really go for higher storage space.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA9fp863d-o

How much of Battery life

Galaxy S2 has only 1650 mAh Battery, but i think if you just use it as music player then it should claim for more than 1 day battery life. you can also keep it in flight mode to give you less battery drain on networks.


Buying apps and entering credit card number via 3G/GPRS. Is it secure enough? As title. Of course using Android market and the Google Checkout payment. By the way, how about other market-like apps?

First be aware that you're transferring data over a wide area wireless device (the range of 3G is much wider than Wifi), therefore it is easier for an attacker to snoop on whatever your device is transmitting on 3G than on Wifi. The 3G/GPRS only has a lightweight encryption (to limit unnecessary use of CPU power and battery, which is already scarce in mobile devices), this encryption should never be relied upon.

However, applications can use its own encryption. I have not checked into it specifically, but I would presume that Google Checkout on Android does use SSL encryption; which is widely accepted to be strong enough for doing online purchases.

In short, you should not need to worry about doing online purchases using Android Market. If you're doing purchases on other apps, you should check whether they're using SSL or other strong encryption. Be aware that your banking details are being transmitted wirelessly, it is trivial for anyone to record data that are transmitted using radio waves; your only line of defense is SSL encryption, which should hold attackers at bay long enough until your credit card expires.


How to fix "Unfortunately, Google Play Services has stopped"? I am using a Sony Xperia C3 running Android 5.1 Lollipop. I had done a reset of my phone as it was getting hanged. When the reset completed I tried to assign my Gmail ID with the Play Store but at the final stage it says

  Unfortunately, Google Play Services has stopped

I tried every option shown on your website but the problem is not solved.

Try this solution.

Clear cache the Google Play Service

  Settings > Apps > Play Service    > clear cache

Clear data for Google Play Service.
Clear data Google Product and Media Storage
If not , try and reset/factory reset phone again.
If still not working, flash official ROM on it


"Flashing" custom recovery from running ROM A possible solution to my other question related to this.

Having root access, what's there to prevent me from manually flashing a custom recovery from my running operating system? If my bootloader is locked, can I still do:

dd if=openrecovery-twrp-2.7.0-deb.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery

If so, then I'd be able to flash a custom recovery from inside of a running Android operating system, bypassing a locked bootloader. I suppose if someone has root access to a running operating system, you're pretty much hosed anyway, but would this at least in theory work?

Can I use something similar to the above command to flash a recovery in a live, running Android device?

In response to my own question: yes, you can flash a custom recovery from a running OS. The recovery, since it isn't mounted, should be fine to write:

dd if=openrecovery-twrp-2.7.0-deb.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery

You run the above at your own risk and I accept no responsibility for what you do with this.

Do note, however, that if you have a locked bootloader, it will prevent booting because it will see that the recovery's signature is bad.


Birthday reminders in my phone start 12 hours prior for birthdays stored in Gmail contacts I store birthdays in my Gmail contacts. I have HTC One X with Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5. I have synced my calendars with Gmail contacts and all the birthdays are visible in my calendar app on Android. But the reminder for each of the birthday is set to 12 hours prior.

I don't want to reminded of someone's birthday 12 hours before! Is there any way to customize this time? Or remove it completely for all the birthday reminders coming from Gmail contacts?

First, go to your phone Settings > Date and Time and check if your time zone is correct.
Second, change the time zone of your Google account by following this guide.
Good luck!


Galaxy S1 won't read SIM card I switched my SIM card to the Galaxy S1 it reads it but under my network it says "unknown" so i can't send/ receive messages or calls why?

try to remove the battery and leave for 10minutes before replacing. This will allow any residual memory in your phone to leak and give a cleaner network link.


CM Note 2 Stuck Rebooting After Enabling Simulate External Screen My Verizon Galaxy Note 2 running a nightly from a couple weeks ago is stuck rebooting over and over after I enabled the option in the developer tools to simulate an external screen. I selected the bottom option that mentioned 1080p. It immediately went to the CyanogenMod booting animation. Here's the sequence that repeats forever:

It shows the booting animation for about how long it usually shows it when booting normally. Then it shows a black screen with one white, pink, or red (seemingly randomly) pixel in the very top left corner. After a couple seconds it shows another black screen and some of the top right icons (battery and clock) appear quickly. Sometimes it loads the clock and a few other elements. Then it repeats by jumping to the loading screen.

When turning the phone on after pulling the battery out, a dim light above the phone flashes red quickly.

I can get into Odin mode. Buttons don't do anything on the phone while in the perpetual boot loop.

Please help.

Thanks.

I was able to fix it by booting into safe mode by holding the volume up button while it booted. Then I disabled the setting that broke it.


Does Samsung KIES backup hidden photos in galery? I made a hard reset on a friend's SAMSUNG I9082 GRAN DUOS and he forgot to tell me about his hidden items.

On the KIES I selected all the possible options to keep, like a full backup (including configs, all pics and stuff).

I wanna know if KIES keeps these hidden items on backup. Because right after I've had restored the backup there were no more hidden items.

Is that possible that the item have missed his "hidden" property and it's still there or It really wasn't included on KIES backup?

Thanks in advance.

DON'T use the phone until you try this

You can retrieve the files you deleted. Those files are still in the memory of your phone just not visible, the data is waiting to be written over by new data. So from now on don't use the phone to take any more pics, to save anymore data, music, or installing any apps until recover has been done. The extensions of the hidden files will be different than normal.  When recovering look for the ext that the files were hidden under.

Then the best way to retrieve your deleted files, is to use a recovery program.

Download and install the recovery program on your computer.
With the phone plugged into USB, goto "My Computer", note the drive letter assigned to your phone.
Start the program and select the drive letter that was assigned to the phone, click "START".
Now the scanning process will automatically start to look for the deleted files.
The returning results are all recoverable items.
Select a location to save your files at.
Select the files you want recovered,  click "RECOVER"


Add app shortcut to homescreen in Lenovo A7000 I have Lenovo A7000 with Android 5.0

I've accidentally removed Chrome shortcut from my homescreen. How can I put it back? I don't mean shortcut to a certain webpage, I really mean just shortcut for running Chrome itself on my phone. Now when I want to run Chrome I have to go all the way into the Settings-->Apps-->Chrome and click on Launch - that takes forever.

I need icon on homescreen back but there doesnt seem to be an obvious way of how to do it. When I hold on an empty space i get an option to "add or edit widget" and I can choose from dozens of predefined shortcuts and add them to homescreen. However there is NO chrome shortcut here, only bunch of other google services and other apps installed on my phone.

Help pls!

Go to your app drawer, long tap on Crome icon then you'll be able to place it on home screen.


How can I install a missing locale? I bought Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 in Hong Kong. The System has some pre-installed languages but I need to install an additional locale (Polish). I tried "More Locales 2" from the Market and it worked but not as I expected. Some text is fully translated, but others are not. Is there any way to localize it correctly? Polish locales are supported by Android 3.2 but I do not know how to install them manually.

I believe you should install the European version of Samsung's ROM or any other ROM of choice. This XDA thread lists official firmwares for your device.


Xperia x10i complaining "no network connection" in some apps, but not others I have an Xperia x10i running firmware version 2.1-update1 from 3 (a very annoyingly-named mobile service provider).  After returning from a trip, I have noticed that certain applications are having difficulty recognizing the availability of a network connection, while others function just fine.  The cases I have spotted so far:

After spending a good while on "Loading...", the Facebook app displays "No Internet Connection.  Try Again"
The Youtube app immediately displays a popup stating "Attention: There is no network connection right now. Please try again later." on startup.  Attempting to view any type of information from youtube (e.g., "favorites" or "most viewed" lists, not just videos) causes this same error to be displayed.
The Google+ app can retrieve and display Notifications or members of my Circles just fine, but attempting to view posts leads to a long "Loading..." display, followed by "Google+ connection lost."
Searching and browsing work properly in the Android Marketplace app, but any attempt to install or update apps results in the downloads almost immediately going into "Download paused" status and staying there for hours, aside from the occasional attempt to restart the download (which invariably ends in re-pausing it), until I kill the Marketplace app.

Despite this, other apps work just fine - Browser will run searches and bring up pages, the Google Calendar widget updates properly, etc.  These results are consistent regardless of whether I am on a 3G or wi-fi network.  "Data traffic" is enabled under Mobile Network Settings.  Both "Background data" and "Auto-sync" are enabled in Accounts & Sync Settings.

What do I need to do to get this working again?

Try this:

Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks > Data Enabled (that should be checked).

Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names, hit menu, tap on 'Reset to default' :)


Terminal "Permission Denied" - Need more info on error message I am trying to run an executable from the android terminal with root permissions, but I am constantly receiving the following error:

[ExecutableName] : permission denied

I am confirmed to be loged in as root.  I see the # sign before my prompt and I can run root commands such as chmod.  I saw that the android shell guide says

  "The built-in shell has very limited error handling. When you type a command name >incorrectly it will say "permission denied", even though the real problem is that it >couldn't find the command:"

Does anyone know how to get more information on this "permission denied" error?

As eldarerathis already mentioned: On many (if not most) devices supporting an SD card, this card is mounted with the noexec option -- which means as the name suggests: "no exec from here", i.e. you cannot execute anything from the sdcard.

Again, one solution was already mentioned by eldarerathis: Try a different storage. You've got the power, your device is rooted.

A second approach would be to re-mount the sdcard without the noexec option. But there's a good reason why noexec is used here; it at least offers an additional level of security. So before using this approach, you should research a bit whether it might trigger unwanted side-effects.


debugging frequent crashes/reboot with nexus 6p Like many of you I eagerly awaited the release of the nexus 6p.. unfortunately it has been crashing a lot lately (a problem many seem to have). The first thing I tried was running a factory reset, which solved the problem temporarily.. but a couple of weeks later the problem returned (i noticed it returned after a certain mass update i made to several apps).. so i'm quite certain it's a software problem rather than a hardware defect.

I'm not an android developer.. but i did a bit research on logcat etc.. and I made this command
logcat -L *:E
the output is pasted in this github gist. (here is the verbose version)

Any advice? I've also installed aLogcat but i'm not quite sure how to use that.. i've seen some posts talking about instructing it to dump the output on an SDCard.. but i don't see that it has a command line interface..

Update 1

i got to install android 6.0.1.. everything worked perfect for several days.. however as soon as i started taking pictures.. the old crashes came back.. which reminded me that the exact same thing happened when i first got the phone.. so i narrowed down the problem to the camera app.

Update 2

I've asked the same question on the google nexus forum. Some helpful tips bit still no cigar.. i'll post the answer here if i actually solve it.

after going through the logs we found this part:

fs_mgr: Running /system/bin/e2fsck on /dev/block/platform/soc.0/f9824900.sdhci/by-name/userdata
<14>[    6.585352] e2fsck: e2fsck 1.42.9 (28-Dec-2013)
<14>[    6.585352]
<14>[    6.585390] e2fsck: ext2fs_open2: Bad magic number in super-block
<14>[    6.585390]
<14>[    6.585402] e2fsck: /system/bin/e2fsck: Superblock invalid, trying backup blocks...
<14>[    6.585402]
<14>[    6.585414] e2fsck: /system/bin/e2fsck: Bad magic number in super-block while trying to open /dev/block/platform/soc.0/f9824900.sdhci/by-name/userdata
<14>[    6.585414]
<14>[    6.585424] e2fsck:
<14>[    6.585424]
<14>[    6.585434] e2fsck: The superblock could not be read or does not describe a correct ext2
<14>[    6.585434]
<14>[    6.585445] e2fsck: filesystem.  If the device is valid and it really contains an ext2
<14>[    6.585445]
<14>[    6.585455] e2fsck: filesystem (and not swap or ufs or something else), then the superblock
<14>[    6.585455]
<14>[    6.585466] e2fsck: is corrupt, and you might try running e2fsck with an alternate superblock:
<14>[    6.585466]
<14>[    6.585476] e2fsck:     e2fsck -b 8193 <device>
<14>[    6.585476]
<14>[    6.585486] e2fsck:
<14>[    6.585486]
<14>[    6.585501] e2fsck: e2fsck terminated by exit(8)
<14>[    6.585501]

which shows that the file system is corrupt.. i guess that's it


How to delete Home and Work address from My Places? I was messing around on my phone and found "My Places" in the settings (Settings> Location> My Places). I set up a home and a work location thinking that I would be able to delete it afterwards.

However I have not found how to do this. I removed these location from Google Maps and Google Now, but I can't remove them from My Places. I also cannot change the method of them to WiFi or Bluetooth.

Device: Samsung Galaxy S5 (SM-G900F)

Android: 4.4.2

Thank you.

Open Google Maps on your phone, press the white rectangular button with three horizontal lines. It's located in the bottom left corner in Google Maps. Choose Settingsand Edit home or work.

Hope this helps you out.

--UPDATE--

You could also try to log in to google.com from a computer and choose google maps from the app-list (a small icon at the top-right corner with 3x3 dots). Next, click the settings-cog-wheel at the bottom-right corner in google maps and choose my places. Finally click on the drop-down next to my home and my work and click delete.


Is there any way to remove the timecode from an .srt file on my S3? I want to remove the timecode  from an .srt file so I can just copy and paste the text into a document.  Is there a way to achieve this without manually deleting each line?

S3
4.1.1

I'm going to provide a suggestion, but it's not an Android app.

You can try subeditnet:

  A simple tool to add or remove time to a SRT subtitle file. I
  developed this in my spare time, so don't expect it to be completely
  bug free. Please always BACKUP your .srt file ;)

  You will need Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 to execute it on older
  Operating Systems.

Or via Linux command (not tested):

  $ dos2unix subtitles.srt
  $ sed -r '/^[0-9]+$/{N;d}' subtitles.srt > outfile


Undo effects of adb screenrecord I tried out the screenrecord command through adb and executed it while my device was still locked (not sure if thats what caused it).
Now my lockscreen is in landscape mode with black bars around the side, and I can't use my touchscreen. I tried rebooting, but the problem persists. I currently can't use my device because of this, does anyone know how I can resolve this?

I finally manage to fix it using adb shell wm size reset


New phone : migrate pictures and videos? Alright, I just got my new oneplus one (replacing my old samsung). To get startes, i just need to get pictures copied to my new phone.

Not as easy as i thought!

1) google plus does not "recover" images to my new phone. It just lets med see images from my old phone via the net. Not good enough.

2) most sync apps (i've tried about 10 og them) syncs files, but fails to sync timestamps. For images this is fine (exif data is used), but all videos appear as being filmed today on my new device.

How do i get images and videos to my new phone WITH timestamps preserved?

Actually it's not sth in your hand to modify easily, but i've found some tricky solutions you can use.

At first take a look at a pre-asked related question here.

The second way which is a kinda boring is to use File Timestamp to rewrite your own custom time metadata on any file you want.

hope it helps you!


How to create Android EC2 AMI from scratch? I've tested all Genymotion on-Demand AMIs, but they doesn't work for me, since some apps are not compatible with 64-bit platform.

I'd like to create my own x86 (32-bit) AMI where I can install The Open GApps, then install some other apps. What would be a good starting point to do that?

To save compile times of the entire Android OS (see: Requirements and Building of Android OS) and your custom ROM builds from hours, it is possible to use Android Open Source Project AMI as a starting point for building the entire AOSP build environment which is pre-configured and completely synced with the repo on this app and ready to go.

Once the instance is ready, run these commands to compile the Android OS:

$ cd aosp && . build/envsetup.sh
$ lunch aosp_arm-BUILDTYPE
$ make -j4

The BUILDTYPE is one of the following:

user: limited access; suited for production,
userdebug: like "user", but with root access,
eng: development configuration with additional debugging tools.

See: Preparing to build.

The solution above eliminates the need to host a build environment on the local machine, or require the Linux OS.


Block all calls from area code unless in Contacts I need a way to block all calls from an area code, unless the number is in my contact list. Anyone know of a way to do that?

I found plenty of apps that can block by area code, but they'll also block any of my contacts if they have that area code. I could add each of my contacts to a whitelist, but then I have to remember to do that each time I add a contact.

beeshyams' solution did not work for me, but i was able to modify it and get it working. The issue that i encountered was that the "call incoming" trigger only happens once when you first receive the call. this means if you check for a boolean triggered by the incoming call, it won't be set yet.

first thing i did was find out what format i needed for the phone number by creating a very simple macro:

trigger: call incoming -> contacts -> any number
action: logging -> log event -> call number

i checked the logs and saw that the number was +12345678900. (im in the us)

next i deleted that macro and made the following:

T: call incoming (+1234*)
A: set variable (areacode: True)

T: call incoming (non contact)
A: set variable (noncon: True)

we are going to use the variables being set as our trigger to reject the call. these variables seemed to be set in a random/inconsistent order, so i just made two triggers, that way it didn't matter which was set first. this is a very janky solution, but it works.

T: macrodroid variable change (areacode = True)
A: call reject, set variable (areacode: False), set variable (noncon: False)
C: macrodroid variable (noncon = True)

T: macrodroid variable change (noncon = True)
A: call reject, set variable (areacode: False), set variable (noncon: False)
C: macrodroid variable (areacode = True)

finally, we need a way to reset the variables if our call blocking macros haven't been triggered. the best solution i found was to clear them after a call was completed or missed.

T: call missed (any number), call ended (any number),
A: call set variable (areacode: False), set variable (noncon: False)

i'm sure there is probably a more elegant solution, but this is at least working for me. (hooray, no more scam calls at 6am!) luckily there are exactly 5 free macros in the app, and 5 in my solution. if you have multiple area codes you need to block, you can put them all into the one macro with a separate trigger for each i think. (didn't test this)

all of this pain could be solved if you could have a trigger be caused by two conditions being met. that would mean we would only need a single macro, but from what i can tell, this isn't possible. unfortunately the constraints don't let you access the incoming call information so that doesn't work either. maybe there is a better app.


Nexus 4 getting "No Service" until a reboot after losing signal I've got a Nexus 4 running Android 4.2.1 on AT&T (via Straight Talk). I've noticed that sometimes at work (low signal area) instead of getting low bars (zero to two at my desk) I'll get "no service", with an empty triangle instead of the shaded in triangle with an H over it.

Moving to a place with better signal (outside, at home) doesn't bring back the signal indicator, but rebooting the phone does. I don't think it always does this, either, but I may have just not noticed. Once I even got "emergency calls only" which I've only previously seen when I had my SIM card but hadn't activated it.

The weird part is rebooting the phone at work brings back the signal meter too; the problem seems to persist until a reboot. Turning airplane mode on/off didn't seem to work. What's causing this? It seems like once it loses signal it just kind of stops looking for a signal until it reboots. Is there some way to prevent this or force it to reacquire a signal once I know I'm in an area with signal?

I've solved part of this issue; switching to Airplane mode and back (bring down the status bar, go to the quick settings panel, tap airplane mode twice) DOES restore signal if you're in an area with signal. So there's that at least, but it's still losing signal until a forced update. You might have to wait a second between the first and second tap of the Airline mode button to make sure it activates (the airplane icon will appear in the status bar).

Also note that occasionally it seems the phone will actually still get a 3G/4G signal and a stable internet connection...while still displaying the "no signal" icon. The only way to know this is happening is to try and use online features and find them working. You might just want to do the Airplane mode trick anyway since it's quite confusing to have the no bars icon but have the internet and calls working (and of course in this state you won't notice if the signal suddenly drops again).


Not ringing for incoming calls (Micromax Canvas Tablet P480 - Android 5.0.1) I have Micromax Canvas tablet P480, using Android 5.0.1.

When screen is locked it does not ring for incoming calls. Why?
(But rings when the screen is unlocked)
Due to this I am missing many calls.
Anything I should change in the settings? or is it a bug?
I tried all the audio profile setting as well as notification setting, including interruptions for priority calls.

Please let me know if you need any other information.

Any suggestions will be greatly helpful.
Thanks!

Suggest you to set any of the screen lock(swipe, pin, etc). and try ringing, and then even when screen lock, phone rings. It worked for me.


Internal memory full even when all apps are linked I have an Acer liquid Metal rooted. I have already linked(with link2sd) almost all my apps, even some previously system apps, to my sd. The problem being that my memory is still full, the best I can get is 30 mb free and this, only for a while.

Is there any solution to that? Like bypassing what the phone thinks as being its internal memory?

Thanks

link2sd doesn't move data to your extra partition of SD Card. So even when you've linked all apps your internal storage will get filled by app's data.

In lnik2sd click the sort icon and select sort by data size. From there you can see which app uses most data and maybe clear them.


How do I restore Whatsapp from backup after skipping the restore option? I accidentally skipped Whatsapp restore option when I changed my device and now my backup on google drive is overwritten. How can I get my old backup? It was about 2.3gb of my data and I need those chats. Kindly help me.

If you still have your old phone, recovery will be pretty easy

First of all make sure to turn on backup on your new phone.

WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chat Settings > Backup conversations.

Now, follow these steps:

Install the data recovery software for Android mobiles on your Windows PC using this link.
Use the data recovery to scan your Android mobile phone. It supports up to 2000 Android mobiles, including Samsung mobiles, LG phones, HTC, Motorola, Lenovo, Nexus, ZTE, Huawei, Xiaomi, Blu, or other Android based phones and tablets.
Get back your lost WhatsApp messages on your old phone.
Now, you will need to transfer the/sd card/WhatsApp/folder from your old phone to the same folder on your new phone.

Hope this helps.


Complete Dropbox implementation for Android I'm looking for a method to retrieve all my files from my Dropbox account and download them to my SD card.

This should download everything with no user intervention. There are a couple of Dropbox applications around but none of them have the ability to download everything and even worse most seem to work incorrectly on huge files skipping the last part or simply not working.

Titanium Media Sync offers continuous sync from SD Card to DropBox, but not the other way... the way I do it is setup rsync jobs with tasker and rsyncbackup... (requires your DropBox to be automatically kept in sync on a desktop pc somewhere, running an ssh server). The following should get you up and running:
Step 1: DropBox remote.
First, setup DropBox on a computer somewhere running an ssh server, so you can copy files from it over ssh (with rsync), and make sure it’s setup with private key encryption with an agent so you don’t need to enter passphrases/passwords every time
Step 2: RSync from remote to phone
Then, get rsync4android (market link)
That lets you setup rsync jobs from a remote server to your phone (and vice versa… I use it for this, but also for backing up my photos to my PC automatically every night)
Then create an rsync job to download a particular folder from your remote DropBox on your PC into the DropBox folder on your sd card.
Step 3: scheduled automatic rsync jobs
Get tasker (which lets you schedule jobs to happen on a large number of triggers, including time) (market link)
Create a tasker job to fire off your new rsync job to keep your dropbox folder up to date.
Step 4: Enjoy
Like I say, it’s a bit around the houses, but seems to do the job
I've also posted a copy of these instructions on my blog.


Why hasn't my Galaxy S3 received the 4.3 update? The title explains it all. I have an year old Galaxy S3 which runs Android 4.1.1 (stock ROM). Yesterday, my friend received the 4.3 update however, I haven't. Samsung Kies says that the latest firmware is already installed.

Why is it so ?

Is this because the phone was purchased in a country different from where I reside currently ?
Also, how do I update to 4.3 if it is a country issue?

Actually, I believe Samsung has suspended the 4.3 update for now.  Have a look here.


Tasker and Locale Execute Plugin root command not working in 2.3.5 I just rooted my phone and have been trying to create a task in Tasker with the Locale Execute Plugin to control the LED lights for different things.

Phone Type: HTC Evo 4G
Android Version: 2.3.5
ROM: AlterROM 0.0.4.1-RC1

I have followed instructions on every website I could think of except here so far and none of them work. Is there a bug in this version or something not allowing root commands from running?

Here's the command I'm trying to execute with Tasker & Locale Execute Plugin:

@! echo 1 > /sys/class/leds/wimax/brightness

(commands from here)

If I use a Terminal IDE to do the following:

$ su
# echo 1 > /sys/class/leds/wimax/brightness

It works, but no matter what I do in Tasker, it never asks me to grant it root access.

Any ideas?

The plugin you're using is deprecated; Tasker now has built-in support for shell commands (under Misc->Run Shell). You can use root with this also.

EDIT: It's too bad that didn't work for you :( The last option I can think of is using Secure Settings Plugin. This can run shell commands too, and has the option of returning STDOUT and STDERR to Tasker as well. Good luck!

Also make sure that in your Superuser app you've set it to ask for permissions (or even automatically grant it - turn that on, run Tasker for it to get su permissions, then set it back to "ask").


Another control tab in AVD I have Android Emulator from Android Studio and from some days I have another basic controls tab (on dark gray background). I don't want it, because it's second tab to controls emulator. Anyone kwow where I can turn it off?

https://i.stack.imgur.com/UxS1D.jpg

While creating Virtual device when you select "new Hardware profile" then windows open there is option Input. In front of input there is select box "Has Hardware Button" Unchecked that select box.

If you Already created virtual Device
then edit your Virtual device configuration. There is above mention option when you click Advance settings.
There is an option "hardware back/home keys". Specify the option and set it to "no" when creating the virtual device.


What is the matrix.txt file on my SD card? Is it safe to delete? I have a file called matrix.txt at the root of my SD card.

It is a text file that contains the serialization of a matrix of floats.

What is this file? Can I delete it?

The Android OS itself is not dependant on any files on the removable SD card. If you have no apps that use this file, you can safely delete the file, or even format the SD card if you want.


How can I determine whether or not a phone can be upgraded to Android 7.XX? I’m looking at getting an Android phone, and I don’t want to rule out phones that come with Android 5.XX installed if they can be upgraded to 7.XX, but I don’t want to get a phone if it isn’t capable of being upgraded.

I would suggest a number of things:

Check on the manufacturer's of the phone's website for hints or tips on capabilities that come with the phone, hardware specifications and all features of the phone
Check on technology blogs that do phone reviews e.g "Reviews Tabloid".
When Android 7.X.X is out check its requirements and compare with the specifications of the phone using Android 5.X.X and see if upgrade is possible.
Lastly try and find out if the phone allows for OTA updates.


How can I set Tasker to change "Network Operator Settings"? I have a "femtocell" in my house due to poor signal quality.
I am living in Japan now. I have to change the Android setting manually each time I get home as described below. There is a auto changer application provided by the carrier, but unfortunately it is not compatible with my smart phone (Xperia Sol 22).

When I get home

Change network mode to "Japan CDMA".
"Airplane mode" On
"Airplane mode" Off

Japan CDMA is under Settings → Other Settings → Mobile Network → Network Mode

When I leave home

Change network mode to "Japan LTE/CDMA".
"Airplane mode" On
"Airplane mode" Off

Japan LTE/CDMA is under Settings → Other Settings → Mobile Network → Network Mode

I have Tasker application in my Smartphone. But I have no idea how to set the tasker program.

Please advice me on this.

I don't believe there is a way tasker alone can do this.

The fastest way you'll be able to get this done is going to be using a plugin to allow you to recreate your interactions with android.

The AutoInput is popular choice to do this since the developer is responsive and just took over the Tasker app. Root isn't required for this to work but will most likely have it work more efficiently. Read the instructions provided to you by the app and it will tell you how to record your interactions.

You'll need to make two recordings, once for enabling these setting and once for disabling the settings. I'm not sure if this will work when your screen is off but having root should improve your chances.


Restore phone and keep whatsapp number after changing sim I am going to restore my phone and I want to keep my whatsapp number.
The thing  is, after restoring I am going to use a new number.
Restoring my phone means I will have to reinstall whatsapp, then I will be asked to verify phone number. My old SIM is not working anymore.
What should I do to keep my old whatsapp number?

I am using samsung galaxy nexus android version 4.2.1

Insert the new SIM into the phone.

Go to Whatsapp settings > Account > Change number

Validate the new number.

Go to Chat settings > Backup conversations

Follow the instructions here to restore the conversations


NEXUS S (t-mobile version) 2.3.4 / GRJ22 -- IS ROOT POSSIBLE?? can't mount /system mount /data I have the Nexus S (t-mobile version) that is 2.3.4 / GRJ22 and just wanted to ask, is root actually possible now??  I see lots of posts about how to do it under 2.3.3, but all the posts I have seen so far mention doing a mount /System mount /data and these ARE NOT options on the bootloader screen under GRJ22.

(these instructions do NOT work:
http://www.techwhizz.com/root-google-nexus-s-android-2-3-4-gingerbread-grj22/
)

Am I totally missing something here?  I'm usually pretty good at figuring this stuff out, but I am at a total loss here and any help would be very much appreciated!!

Thanks!

Try this tutorial, http://theunlockr.com/2010/12/17/how-to-root-the-samsung-nexus-s/


Will Samsung Galaxy Nexus i9250 work with Indian SIM Cards? Possible Duplicate:
  Can I use my device on a different carrier?

I understand that Samsung has stated they will not launch Samsung Galaxy Nexus i9250 in India and hence am planning to buy it from Amazon. Was just wondering if the unlocked version of the phone would work well with Indian SIM Card? Please advise.

The phone specification says it supports the following frequencies:

2G Network    GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network    HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100

I think this is almost all the frequency, so the phone should work in India.


Can I repurchase apps so they can be shared with my family library? The documentation states:

  Any apps or games purchased after July 2, 2016 are eligible to be added to Family Library. If you purchased the app or game before July 2, 2016, it’s eligible for Family Library if the developer has made past purchases available. You can find out whether this is the case by tapping Read More on the app’s details page.

https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7007852

I have apps that I purchased before this cut off date that I would like to share via my Family Library.  Unfortunately when I visit the Play Store page for these apps I am offered either an Install or Uninstall button instead of the Buy button.

This leads me to ask:

Am I able to repurchase these apps with my primary google account so that  I can share them via the Family Library?
If I purchase them with a Family Linked child account will they be shared with the other members of our Family?

Yes

The solution I have found is to purchase the software with another family member's account and from there set the Family Library toggle to true.

This can be done from a child account with the caveat that parental permission will be required if their account has been configured with that option.


How do you skip the PIN to go directly to the camera from the lock screen? I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 with Android 4.1.2 (standard, not rooted). I previously had an iPhone, and the feature I miss the most is the ability to go directly to the camera from the lock screen without having to type in my PIN. How do I do this on Android?

I know that there are at least two or three questions asking pretty much the same question. Unfortunately, I don't have the reputation to comment on those answers to explain why they don't help me:

Is it possible to use the camera without unlocking first?:
How to enable a PIN but allow quick access to camera?

For both of these posts, the accepted answers recommend WidgetLocker, but the persons who gave the answers had apparently never tried it themselves. I've tried at least five different free lock screen apps, but none of them solve my problem--they all still require a PIN to use the camera. I haven't tried WidgetLocker, but I'm not going to pay for an app that I'm not sure will work, especially when all the others I've tried don't work. Does anyone know for sure that WidgetLocker resolves this problem? I also bought and tried WidgetLocker, but it doesn't support PINs at all, and so it is not a solution to this problem.

How to use camera without unlocking phone? (Jelly Bean on S3):

This answer suggests using Samsung's built in motion. I tried this, and it still requires the PIN to access the camera. This answer doesn't resolve the issue. I'm certainly willing to pay for an app that solves this issue, but I don't need any other lock screen features--I just want rapid access to my camera. Also, I would prefer not to root my phone just for this, but if there is a solution via rooting, I would seriously consider it.

Can anyone please suggest an answer that really works?

There is no way in Android to access to the standard Android camera from a password-protected device. However this little application allows to access to a simple camera with a triple press on the power button even when the device is password locked...

Camera Unlock (free)

Disclosure: I am the developer of this app


Is it possible to backup and restore an app with data via ADB? Basically, I want to install an app with my settings already configured to a bunch of phones.

My thinking was

Install app on phone 1
Configure
Dump app and Data to PC
ADB app and data to phone 2
Repeat step 4

I would rather not root, but it's a possibility.

The answer is: It depends. It's the way supposed to work:

adb backup -f myapp.ab -apk com.myapp # backup on one device
adb restore myapp.ab                  # restore to the same or any other device

But an app can "opt out of Backup" declaring ALLOW_BACKUP:FALSE (see: adb backup not working for certain app), in which case (without root powers) all you get is a 41 byte (or in some cases 0 byte) file with the backup header but no contents.


Sporadic incorrect time on Galaxy S3 My S3 has been displaying the wrong time lately; maybe 3 or 4 times in the last week.  It's not off by exactly an hour, so I know it's not a timezone or daylight-saving-time issue.  It's usually off by 15 to 25 minutes; just enough to make me late to work.

It's not only a 3rd-party app or widget issue; the actual phone time is wrong (in the upper, right-hand corner near the signal indicator).

My wife has an older Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and this never happens on her phone.  We live together (obviously), so our phones are in the same location, and we use the same provider; so I don't think it's a network/signal/tower issue.

Any ideas what would cause this.  I've searched around, and all I can find are forums w/ 6 pages of "Me too" responses.  A couple definitive answers/suggestions would be welcome.

UPDATE - I've disabled the automatic date/time settings, but the problem still comes back.  I've worked on desktops and laptops for years, and they all use a CMOS battery to keep track of time... even when a computer is off.  Do phones have anything similar?

Does this happen at a particular location? Do you have the setting as "Automatic date and time", or "Network provided time"? If you do, I assume the cellular region has incorrectly set time and is providing it wrong. The phone adjusts when you move to a well-maintained region.


Clockwork: error: cannot load 'recovery-clockwork': No error I am trying to flash a recovery-image file into my Nexus 7 but the flashing fails

know that I am working on windows and my image file is located in the same folder as adb and fastboot files are

here are the steps I am following:

start the tablet android system, and the device works fine
I restart the tablet into the bootloader using: adb reboot bootloader
browse to the Recovery Mode and then check if the adb sees the tablet: fastboot devices
adb is working fine and can detect the device and read its serial number
then when I flash: fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork.img: I get this error:

error: cannot load 'recovery-clockwork': No error

what am I doing wrong ?

Most common errors (and solutions to them) are:

different file name: make sure the file is really named recovery-clockwork.img, in your example, or adjust your command according to the file name
wrong path, e.g. your file resides in C:\Downloads, but you're executing fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork.img from C:\: Either first change to the directory the .img file is located in, move the .img to where you want to execute your command, or try specifying the file with its full path (e.g. C:\Downloads\recovery-clockwork.img)
sometimes adb/fastboot behaves strangely when executed from "somewhere else". In those cases it helps to first changing to the directory where the resp. executable is located, and run your command from there.


How to use Android Device as Wireless Headphones for TV? I go running in the morning and I'd like to use the Sony Internet TV in the basement without waking up my family. Is there any way to connect my Galaxy Nexus to the TV as a wireless headphone set, so that audio streams from the TV to my phone? My TV model is the Sony HX929.

I know this app on the Google play: Wireless Headphone
that does exactly what you want. You need a 3.5mm-to-3.5mm audio cable and connect your TV's headphone output to your laptop microphone input. And then you can listen to the audio on your Android phone.


Why does my keypad fails abruptly? I use samsung galaxy y duos.And my samsung keypad fails abruptly at times.When I tap in the places where I need to give in the words,keypad appears but when I type in, the keypad works nice but there aren't any word in the input box.It happens in all kind of application and messaging.What should I do prevent this happen ever again.Somebody please edit this question with good english.

I had similar problems with my  new Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. When I wanted to write a post
for a forum I got the writing window and the keyboard but when I typed three letters
the keyboard vanished and this problem continued.
Later I discovered how to really shut down the tablet by pressing the switch-off a bit longer.
Then I got a message: Switch off the tablet? I clicked okay. When I turned on
my tablet again after some time the trouble with writing was gone.


Samsung Soft Keyboard Keeps Popping Up when Bluetooth Keyboard in Use on Galaxy Note 10.1 with Android 4.1.2 Models: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, GT-N8013 (WiFi) and SCH-I925 (4G LTE)
Android version 4.1.2

I've been experiencing problems with the overly aggressive Samsung soft keyboard  popping up whenever I touch the screen to select an input field, even though I am using a Bluetooth keyboard, and only intend to use a Bluetooth keyboard with this device.

Constantly having to dismiss the soft keyboard is a major hindrance to filling out complex forms.
In an attempt to work around the problem, I tried installing the Null Keyboard app from Google Play.
This works for a while, however whenever the Bluetooth connection is lost and reestablished, the Samsung soft keyboard, even though not selected as the default, pops up the following message:

  Change input Method. To use Bluetooth keyboard, change input method to
  Samsung QWERTY

The Samsung soft keyboard then resets itself as default input method.

I have tried other workarounds, such as using the Perfect Keyboard app and decreasing its size to the bare minimum, but unfortunately the Samsung keyboard still watches like a hawk and pops up its insipid dialog and resets itself as the default every time a Bluetooth keyboard connection is established...and then proceeds to pop itself up at the first opportunity.  This is irresponsible behavior. The Samsung soft keyboard knows the Bluetooth keyboard is there, yet not only can't it just go away when the Bluetooth keyboard is active, it insists on resetting itself as the default input method regardless of which alternative keyboard you may have selected.

Yes, I know I could root it and disable the otherwise undisableable Samsung keyboard, but unfortunately I need to be able to deal with this solution on about two dozen units in field deployment, so I pretty much need to keep things safe and simple. I'm not trying to do anything crazy - just use a Bluetooth keyboard for one of the primary reasons for which they were created - to be able to type without taking up screen real estate with a soft keyboard.

Has anybody found a workaround for this yet?

It is simple to remove on-screen keyboard when you have Bluetooth keyboard.

To remove on-screen keyboard, follow 5 simple steps.

Go to "Settings"
Select "Language and Input"
Select "Default Samsung keyboard" under "Keyboards and input methods" section
Turn off "Use on-screen keyboard"
push "Setup input methods" button


How can I permanently change my hotspot tethering IP address? IP address is 192.168.43.1 by default and there is no option to change it permanently. Is it possible to change it without root access?

My phone is Huawei Android 5.1.

Note: Adding / removing IP address requires root access.

METHOD 1:

Before Android Pie, tethering IP (192.168.43.1) was hard-coded (1, 2). But now it's randomized on each session(3). You can use Android's builtin ip command to set an additional fixed IP address (within same subnet obviously):

~# ip address add 192.168.43.100/24 dev wlan0

* Replace add with del to delete.

Make sure that the name of your Wi-Fi interface (wlan0 usually) is correct. Check with ip link or ls /sys/class/net or iw dev.

METHOD 2:

The problem with above approach is that the added IP is not permanent. Once you switch OFF the hotspot, IP will get cleared. So you can use an init trigger to set IP address whenever hotspot is turned ON. Add these lines to (/vendor)/etc/init/hostapd.android.rc file (or any .rc file under /etc/init/):

on property:init.svc.hostapd=running
    exec - -- /system/bin/sleep 2
    exec u:r:magisk:s0 -- /system/bin/ip address add 192.168.43.100/24 dev wlan0

hostapd is the system service which manages access points.
Service uses Magisk's SELinux context assuming that the device is rooted with Magisk.

METHOD 3:

dnsmasq starts listening on all IP addresses which are set on WiFi interface before dnsmasq is started. But with both above methods there is no way to make sure that IP is added after netd sets up the interface and before dnsmasq starts. So the added IP address may conflict with IP leased to another host (saved in /data/misc/dhcp/dnsmasq.leases) by DHCP server (dnsmasq up to Pie) from DHCP range (192.168.43.2 to 192.168.43.254 by default) (4).

To address this problem:

Reserve the manually added IP address by editing dnsmasq.conf. See How can I permanently assign a static IP address to Wi-Fi or USB tether clients?
Or modify DHCP IP range, but it's hard coded. You can replace dnsmasq with a shell script to achieve this. See How to change the default hotspot DHCP IP address range?
Or replace /system/bin/dnsmasq with a shell script which adds IP address before executing original dnsmasq binary. Rename dnsmasq to dnsmasq.bin and create script: /system/bin/dnsmasq:

#!/system/bin/sh

# set fixed IP address on Wi-Fi interface
ip address add 192.168.43.100/24 dev wlan0

# execute original binary
exec dnsmasq.bin $*

Set ownership, permission and SELinux context on both files. See this answer for details.
Additionally you may add listen-address=192.168.43.100 (5) to dnsmasq.conf.
Use ss or netstat to make sure that DHCP server is listening on reserved IP address (or on all IP addresses i.e. 0.0.0.0) so that to avoid IP address collision.

NOTE that in order to modify .rc, dnsmasq or dnsmasq.conf files, /vendor and /system partitions need to be mounted R/W which requires dm-verity disabled. Otherwise you may use bind mounts (used by Magisk modules). On non-SAR devices /init.rc can also be edited to modify /init.rc file in ramdisk by unpacking boot.img.


Why does Google Maps Display Routes/Waypoints Differently on Phone than on PC? And how do I fix it?

I am trying to display a specific route between my origin and destination, rather than letting google maps choose the route.  So, I create the route in google maps on my PC and then email the route to myself so that I can open it on my phone.  For example:

Note the white circles on the blue route indicating that I have dragged the route away from its default.

The link is:

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=22202&daddr=38.902418,-77.069841+to:38.908511,-77.053798+to:38.9456351,-77.0422782+to:39.00056,-77.03989+to:39.0174369,-77.0432333+to:20902&hl=en&sll=39.004912,-77.02652&sspn=0.089509,0.183506&geocode=FTzOUAIduXlo-yk34EFN2La3iTFBkycb6n588Q%3BFZKaUQId7wFo-yktwDKhRba3iTFCpG9KdYsdWw%3BFV-yUQIdmkBo-ym5an6ntbe3iTFJCATBLUUQZA%3BFWNDUgIdmm1o-ymfOuDwOMi3iTEfD6EAX58b7A%3BFfAZUwId7nZo-ykh5TBQz8i3iTHdODB7bMR3-g%3BFdxbUwId32lo-yn38LS2Mc-3iTEUl-sEkNiw-Q%3BFS7IUwIduXlo-ymj3f5RBc-3iTHt3MhgKrzmqQ&mra=dpe&mrsp=4&sz=13&via=1,2,3,4,5&t=m&z=13

When I click on the link on my phone and ask that it be opened in google maps (as opposed to the browser), I get the following result:

Clicking through the waypoints using the arrows at the bottom of the map, it seems like when I hit the 14th waypoint, the position of the waypoint jumps onto a previous waypoint, even though the text of the directions remains correct.  I haven't been able to discern a pattern to this remapping.

Why does this happen?  Is there a way to avoid it?

Note: I am using a Droid Bionic running Android 2.3.4.

To answer the original question, according to Google's official post, Maps on the phone take real time traffic conditions into account when calculating directions.  This could explain the discrepancies between the directions you found via PC earlier.

The bug you are describing could be a side-effect of this, when Navigation is trying to be too smart for its own good, and the route from web is confusing the computation of real-time directions.  I would submit this as a bug report to Google.


Android automatically deletes content of my Downloads folder Previously I had a Nokia 7.1 (Android 9) when I started to notice this issue. Every few time, the older images I had on my Download folder disappeared without I doing nothing. From time to time it happened again. I let this pass. Every time that ocurred, I manually download the images again, because I needed to have those images there.

Today, I have another smartphone (Multilaser MS50X, a brazilian cellphone with Android 8.1) and exactly after a month of started using it, the older images of my Download folder disappeared again!!!

I've checked some apps that I think it could be doing something like that:
* Google Chrome (downloads data to this folder)
* Google Photos (sync and backup images)
* File Manager + (access to data and folders)
* Quickpic (gallery app)

But no one have an option to "automatically delete Download folders content after a while".

I don't have any Clean App, neither use the function "Free up space" of Android. Also none of those cellphones had an option like "storage booster" or "smart storage" like state on this thread: Android phone automatically deletes photos?

Any clue where can I look? It's annoying

Regards

Update: When I open Google Photos, go to 'Photos on device', and select 'Download', I can see all the deleted images (the images that should be on that folder and it doesn't)

Check if you have storage manager enabled. It will automatically start deleting backed up photos and videos after they cross the selected timeline.

You can locate it in Settings > Storage > Internal Storage > Storage Manager.


Locating My Files in Android 4.0.4 I have bought a new Android phone (Intel Yolo Smartphone) and it runs on Android 4.0.4. However I can't seem to locate the My files (It is called that way in Android 2.3.6) folder so as to access the internal memory storage files.

In Android 4.0.4 the folder is called by which name?

You can download ES File Explorer. It's a free file explorer for android.

Download from Google Play

It's quite easy to use and doesn't require root access.


How Can I Pass Bootloader (Huawei Y200 stuck logo/ Boot-Loop) I have recently learnt a few things about Android and its system. I have a Huawei Ascend Y200, and I flashed it with ClockworkMod specifically for Y200 with a computer and it worked.

I rooted my phone by flashing it and was able to install Superuser.

When checking for swap partition I found out that my ROM doesn't support it. I got ROM Manager it prompted me with a message:

  ClockworkMod must be installed, do you want to insall it?

and I mistakenly tapped Yes .

Now I can't get past the bootloader (Huawei logo) - it freezes there.

I tried to reboot into recovery mode by removing the battery and pressing the UP + Power Buttons. I tried reflashing the first ClockworkMod. I was able to see the device on adb lists. I also tried factory reset.

None of this has helped. I still couldn't get my phone to pass the logo (before reflashing)

Further info:

I had access to the device's adb somehow. I reflashed it and now I can only see the adb device when in recovery mode and is stated "recovery" beside the device number and can't reflash, or access adb anymore (cmd promt says waiting for device forever).
Now that I don't have access to the adb device in bootloader (stuck) image, I can't do anything like reflashing ClockworkMod. Every time I plug it in the cmd prompt says device not found. When the phone is in recovery mode, the process in cmd prompt gets stuck at waiting for device, because now it shows as "recovery" beside the device number in the list, so as the device isn't responding to the process and won't restart as before.
Whenever the phone is off, if I plug the USB cable into the phone (with other end connected to PC) it does not charge, and goes directly into recovery mode. I don't see the charging indicator small lamp on.
I can press both UP and Down buttons + Power and I get a pink screen. I haven't really got much info about it.

Some, on the internet, say it's a never ending bootloop. And I've heard I can flash it to skip the bootloader screen and go into fastboot, but couldn't find proper instructions and won't be able to flash it anyway (can't see the device anymore unless in recovery mode but device will respond to any process).

I really need help; how can I pass the boot-loader again?

PS: Now, I've learnt that my phone is in boot-loop and needs to be flashed into a new ROM, or maybe get past the boot-loader also by Flashing.

I had the same problem with my y200.

Go to huaweidevice.com and download the firmware.
Extract the folder downloaded and copy it to the SD card.
Insert the sd card into the phone.
Press vol up & down key at the same time + power button, then a message installing package comes up.
Then wait until the phone reboots.

That's how its done


No Audio, Samsung Galaxy S4 A few weeks ago, my phone's APN list got corrupted, causing me to lose mobile data; a series of firmware flashes, modem updates, and backups and restores fixed the APN problem, but now the entire sound subsystem is non-functional.  The speaker and microphone do not work in any app.

Example symptoms:
Dialer - pops up a "stopped responding" dialog when making or receiving calls; selecting 'wait' in the dialog allows the call to complete, but with no incoming or outgoing sound.
Sound Recorder - pressing record pops up a dialog "Internal Application Error. Microphone may be in use."
YouTube - all videos show "There was a problem while playing. Touch to retry."

Phone details:
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Sprint), model number SPH-L720. Rooted, running Android 5.1 (& 4.4) (CyanogenMod 12.1 various nightlies and 11 snapshot).

Things I have tried (without success):

Factory Reset (without restoring backups, just to see if sound works)
Re-flash various ROM versions; cm-12.1-20150917-NIGHTLY, 20150922, 20150926, 20150928, and cm-11-20141112-SNAPSHOT-M12-jflte.  The 20150917 nightly and 20141112 snapshot versions have previously had sound working, so it's not a bug in new ROM versions.
Combinations of the re-flash with factory reset.
Reboot with SIM card and micro SD card removed.
Re-flash modem/baseband to earlier version (was running OH1, now running NAE; have not flashed all the way back to MF9, which is the version that was running the last time I'm sure sound worked, but this was a move of desperation, since the modem firmware shouldn't impact the sound system.

I'm at my wits end.  I feel like with the above, I've re-initialized every location that could possibly be affecting the sound system, and yet, I can never get any audio input or output from the phone.

Providing what worked for me, in case someone else has the same problem:

A helpful suggestion over at xda-developers.com by developer bilgerryan indicated I should Odin a full stock ROM, in order to replace whatever corrupted data was causing the problem.  Long story short, in the process of looking for progressively "fuller" stock ROMs after several failures, I ran across this thread, which provided a tar which "contains the NON-HLOS.bin modem.bin sbl2.mbn tz.mbn aboot.mbn rpm.mbn sbl3.mbn".

Flashing that tar fixed the problem completely, and since it doesn't touch the system or data partitions, it didn't require backing up or restoring anything.  (Although you should always back up your data before flashing anything, just to be safe.)  After that, I re-updated the NON-HLOS.bin and modem.bin to the further updated versions I had installed when sound wasn't working, and it continued to work.  So the problem was in one of: tz.mbn aboot.mbn rpm.mbn sbl2.mbn sbl3.mbn

Huzzah for having a working phone again.


How can I fix this Nexus 4 erratic ghost/phantom touch input issue? I have a Nexus 4 16GB stock on 4.2.

It is experiencing a ghost/phantom touch issue, as you can see here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f61TPtL4WBk

This doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen regularly (every 5-10 minutes) in Chrome, Dropbox, the stock Settings app and an app I'm developing.  It doesn't happen on the homescreen, though - at least not that I've noticed.  It may happen only when the device is warm, but I can't really tell as it's not that consistent.

I tried updating to 4.3 (using the standard OTA) and the touchscreen becomes completely unresponsive, like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSt5GFSTr0E

In this state you can't even unlock the phone, though it is responsive as you can see.  I also tried sideloading 4.4 onto the phone, and this didn't work.  I tried rebooting (by holding power for 10 seconds), going into fastboot and wiping the phone and nothing would enable the touchscreen to come alive.

I then restored the phone back to stock 4.2 (using instructions from here) which allows the touchscreen to work, but the original ghost/phantom touch problem remains.

Any ideas please?

have the same issues as the first bloggers that posted.

I have the Nexus 4 16Gb and in February 2014, I cracked the screen and changed the digitizer.  In the process I tore the lithium polymer bag for the battery and subsequently the phone started to have a sweet smell. After 5 days the phone started acting up with these ghost images which was typing the same random characters in Google Plus, the camera took photos by itself, it shut off by itself and made squealing noises and just have been crazy. Only upon plugging in the phone into the adapter charger would stabilize and use it on a regular basis.

After reviewing several blogs, one person recommended changing the battery, which I did and this has fixed the phone. I've had a new battery in the phone for over 4 days now and it's working perfectly fine. I am running Kit Kat 4.4.2 and have all of the different kinds of apps installed on the phone. screen replacement and battery replacement can be found on YouTube.

FIRST! Change your battery, don't give up the phone. Spend the money ($21 Amazon) and don't regret because you didn't try to change the battery and see if it works again.

Hope this helps and pass it on to others you may know!

**UPDATE:  Apr 13, 2014.  Phone is working as normal using USB charge and wall charger.  IT'S THE BATTERY CAUSING THE GHOST IMAGES.


How to clear memory in 2.3.4 like I did in 2.2.1 In 2.2.1, all I have to do to clear the RAM on the device is long tap the home key, then choose task manager and then go to the RAM manager to clear the RAM.  I'm finding that this has been changed in 2.3.4.  How do I clear the devices RAM in 2.3.4?  The device that I have is the Nexus One.

Your previous Task Manager was a Samsung addition, and not part of Android itself.

In 2.3 onwards there's a very similar and memory usage listing. If you go into Settings, then into Applications and click the "Running Services" option, it should show you everything that's running along with how much memory it's using. There's also a small graph at the bottom showing RAM used vs RAM free.


Why is there no JRE for android? I understand that android does not use a JRE and Google has build a platform only for android. But an android device is not really different from e.g a Raspberry PI. So why is it not possible to just install Oracles JVM on a rooted android device?

Why is it not possible to just install Oracles JVM on a rooted android device?

You simply don't just install something on Android. Installing apps requires a bunch of stuff.
Also: You can't just install ordinary applications, frameworks etc like on a PC (there are apps that allow this in their own container).
There is an ongoing dispute between Oracle (Java) and Google (Android) about Java APIs and code. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_America,_Inc._v._Google,_Inc.)
You are already running a Java virtual machine that is integrated into the system (DalvikVM, Android Runtime ART) and is able to run basically all non-proprietary Java code (no sun package).
If you really want to run Java code, make a simple one button app that calls the code you want.


HTC mains-to-USB charger: use to charge other non-HTC but USB-chargeable devices? My HTC Desire Z came with a charger that consists of a mains electric plug with a USB socket for attaching the phone to to charge via USB.

Other devices such as the iPod touch can be charged via USB.

Assuming that there is a standard for USB powered charging, i.e. a amp/watts/voltage rating, then could these devices be charged from the same adapter, safely and effectively.

This would save money buying additional mains adapters, when, for example, the iPod touch does not come with a USB mains charger, though it does come with a USB sync cable for iTunes and also for USB powered charging from a PC.

I treat chargers with the same specs as interchangeable... many USB chargers are rated as 5v 500mA (or .5A); in most cases, you should be able to interchange them (it may take excellent eyesight to actually read the specs; on my Motoroloa chargers, they are very faintly engraved).   Some Apple chargers produce more current than the standard 500mA, so I would not use them to charge products other than the intended.   Since most computer USB ports are rated for 500mA, chargers with the same rating should charge any USB-chargeable device without problems.


Factory reset, cannot reload Google paly I was having issues with my android tablet so I performed a factory reset.  Now, I am trying to get my Google Play account re-installed so I can download apps.  I keep getting a "cannot connect to Google servers" message.  For a week now I cannot connect to get any aps, did I do something wrong doing a factory reset? is my tablet useless now?  Please help

You have to remove two step verification of your gmail account.
to do so,

In “Signing in & security” section of My Account, select 2-Step Verification. Sign in with your username, password, and verification code if asked.
Select Turn off 2-Step Verification.
A pop-up window will appear to confirm that you want to turn off 2-Step Verification. Select Ok.


Can I set up my Galaxy Tab to boot from the external SD card? I'm having some issues with my Samsung Galaxy Tab, model SCH-I800 (VZW).

It started giving me a reboot loop one day (completely stock at this point). I've flashed ROMs and whatnot in the past, so I thought this would be an easy fix.

Based on the symptoms that this thing is exhibiting, I believe that the internal flash storage has gone bad. However, I do not have the desire to take this thing part and desolder the chip. So how do I get this Tab to boot off the external SD card? I've tried everything google has to offer thus far:

Manually (and correctly) partitioned SD card.
Edited /etc/fstab in addition to vold.fstab.
Flashed numerous ROMs.
Data/cache wipe in CWM 3.0.0.5 (for some reason, the newest version won't flash).

Running ls /dev/block in an adb shell shows mmcblk0, mmcblk1p1, and mmcblk1p2. For some reason, after every reboot, mount /sdcard throws an error that references mmcblk0 instead of mmcblk1. I am at my wit's end. I think /etc/fstab isn't sticking after reboot, but I honestly don't know. My knowledge of *nix-based systems is somewhat limited.

Is there any way for me to get this to boot from the external SD card?

Sorry but it's not possible to boot from an external sd card since when the phone powers up the processor start to execute code at a fixed adress in the nand, and you can't change that.


Storing things on the SD card I have successfully moved the Facebook app like 10 times from device storage to SD card (and the same is true for some other apps), but a few days later I try to install something and I get "insufficient storage".  When I look, Facebook is back in the device storage not the SD card (same with some other apps).  Any idea what is happening?  Most apps I moved stayed there, but some mysteriously move back.

This is common when you have automatic updated turned on, or the app set to auto update... When the update installs it places it in the default installation location, typically internal storage, and deletes it from the SD card.


restoration of deleted data by mistake i wanted to delete the data using the service however i deleted the data from my own phone by mistake. complete data from device as well as SD card have been erased.

Please assist to restore same.

Thanks & Best regards,
-Anand

I'd try pulling the SD card and doing a few attempts at data recovery from it.  If it's been formatted as EXT3/4 I'd try using Photorec on a Linux system.  If it's anything else I'd try GetDataBack or FreeUndelete on Windows.

I know of no way to attempt that on the device's internal storage, sorry.


Is it possible to transfer the internal memory/storage chip of an S9? My Samsung Galaxy S9 is physically damaged and the board is dead. The phone will not turn on or show any signs of life. Plenty of important photos and data are on that phone which I need to retrieve.

Is it possible to swap out the internal storage chip from the dead motherboard of a Samsung Galaxy S9 and place it to an identical working board and retrieve the data that way?

If not, is there any other way I can get the data off of my dead phone? :(

Thank you in advance!

Based on the iFixit tear-down of the Samsung Galaxy S9 you can see that the flash chip in this model is a single chip soldered onto the motherboard - it is inside the orange rectangle below, a 64 GB UFS (NAND flash + controller):

Therefore theoretically it may be possible to unsolder this chip and read out the content if you manage to get the chip working in a different environment.

However even if you manage to read out the chip completely it may be of no use as usually Android devices come with enabled encryption by default (not sure about Samsung and especially this device). The encryption method uses hardware based cryptography, which means that the key is not directly stored in the flash chip but requires other system components like the CPU. However I don't know the exact details on the used encryption especially where the keys protected by the "Hardware Security System" are actually stored.

As your device most likely uses File based Encryption (FBE) there may be some files accessible that are unencrypted, however I don't have any experience what files are typically stored without encryption. My assumption is that most of the app/usre data is encrypted.