How to create filesystem in TWRP? Getting error: "Unable to format to remove encryption" The screen appears after booting into TWRP and trying to format memory:

I was trying to flash a custom ROM using TWRP recovery but it's showing Unable to mount storage & Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument).

I tried several methods like formatting memory but it's also not happening. It's showing Unable to format to remove encryption. Also tried to change the file format but nothing helped me. Now whenever I switch my phone on it automatically boot up into TWRP recovery mode. I tried this method and almost every method possible but nothing helped.

I'm using Moto E4 Plus (nicklaus).

You can always format from command-line to be sure where the problem is (if any). This will erase your whole /data partition which contains personal data, apps etc.

Boot to TWRP recovery.
Find block device for userdata partition. Usually it's symlinked at /dev/block/by-name/userdata or /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata. See FINDING BLOCK DEVICE section in this answer.
Make sure userdata partition is not mounted (which already seems the case here). Execute mount to see all mounted filesystems. To un-mount open terminal or adb shell and execute:

~# umount /data
~# umount /sdcard

Find partition size:

~# SIZE=$(blockdev --getsz /dev/block/by-name/userdata)

You get size in 512-byte sectors.
Leave (at least) 16 KB (32 sectors) at partition end for crypto footer - it's required on devices using Full Disk Encryption (FDE):

~# SIZE=$((SIZE - 32))

Create filesystem on the rest of space. To create f2fs filesystem:

~# mkfs.f2fs -l data /dev/block/by-name/userdata $SIZE

To create ext4 filesystem, size is to be provided in block count. If using 4KB block size:

~# mkfs.ext4 -L data -b 4096 /dev/block/by-name/userdata $((SIZE * 512 / 4096))

Or if older Android-specific make_ext4fs is available:

~# make_ext4fs -L data -l $((SIZE * 512)) /dev/block/by-name/userdata

data is filesystem/volume label.

NOTES:

blockdev and mkfs.*/make_ext4fs are usually bundled with TWRP or you need to get static binaries.
Why we need to leave space for crypto-footer? See quote from Partition map:

  Starting in Android 3.0, the recovery.fstab file gains an additional optional field, options. Currently the only defined option is length , which lets you explicitly specify the length of the partition. This length is used when reformatting the partition (e.g., for the userdata partition during a data wipe/factory reset operation, or for the system partition during installation of a full OTA package). If the length value is negative, then the size to format is taken by adding the length value to the true partition size. For instance, setting "length=-16384" means the last 16k of that partition will not be overwritten when that partition is reformatted. This supports features such as encryption of the userdata partition (where encryption metadata is stored at the end of the partition that should not be overwritten).

You don't need to provide filesystem size if you don't intend to encrypt your device or if device uses File Based Encryption (FBE). To create filesystem on whole partition:

~# mkfs.f2fs -l data /dev/block/by-name/userdata


Suddenly no data can be written to SD Card from PC (MTP), read Ok, Galaxy Ace 4. What to do? It is not a filesystem error as I tried to install a different SD Card to see if it is possible to copy files to it, same behavior, can read, not write.

There are plenty of free space in SD card. 32 GB total, like 20 or more free.

The problem is reproducible in two operating systems, Windows XP SP3 (Desktop computer), Windows Vista 32 bits (Toshiba Laptop). Right now I don't have access to other systems.

I don't think that this is related to the problem of some apps not being able to write to SD Card. What I'm trying to do is copy files from Windows PC to Samsung Phone SD Card.

In PTP mode Win XP does not even display the content of the SD Card (this is known problem in XP). In MTP mode, It displays it, allows me to copy from phone to PC, but If I try to copy from PC to Phone, the copy stalls indefinitely and no single byte is copied, not even the file created.

In Win XP, Event Viewer shows this message:

Event ID: 15200

MTP USB Driver has cancelled the operation 0x9808

I didn't check Vista Event Viewer yet but I think the same event will appear.

I tried installing Samsung Kies and Samsung Smart Switch, as they install drivers, and then with Windows Explorer again, same situation.

I also Removed Avast from phone and disabled Avast in Win XP. Same result.

This might be a simple problem of a write protection or permissions issue. Take a backup of your SD card and format the SD card. This may reset the permissions and you will be able to write into the SD card


Keep contacts local (not google account related already disabled) from other accounts on phone ie hotmail I've had my nexus 5 for a while now and still haven't found a solution to the particular problem I am having, I want to keep all of my phone contacts local without syncing them to an account, now I've disabled Google Contacts Sync, which stops the phone syncing contacts to a google account, however when using any other account with the built in email application (either corporate, imap or POP3) it begins asking me to sync contacts with that account. It is frustrating to say the least, any insights that you guys might have would be really valued as another question showed me how to disable Google Contacts Sync!

Edit - if its any use I think it as attempting to sync with something related to exchange.

MyLocalAccount adds an entirely local account to your account-list. Within the dialogue for creating a new contact, you can choose the contact to be created into that account.


4.3 issue on nexus 4 while taking screenshot I've just upgraded my nexus 4 from 4.2.2 to 4.3 few days ago. And now i found that i can't take screenshots with volume down button + screen lock button anymore. It was working perfect on 4.2.2.

Anyone having same issue? Or it's just me? Any workout for this?

Thanks a lot!

I had the same problem and restarting my phone fixed it. Try rebooting your cell if you haven't done it yet.


Which method of wireless tether uses the least amount of power? Bluetooth or Wifi? If I'm going to wireless tehter to my Android phone what method drains the battery the least? Wifi or Bluetooth?

I decided to look up some data, and my guess seems to be correct: http://nesl.ee.ucla.edu/fw/documents/reports/2007/PowerAnalysis.pdf

According to the report, Bluetooth takes the least amount of energy.

However your 3G radio will probably take the most energy; maintaining a 3G connection without transferring any data is cheap, but once you start sending/receiving data, then it trumps even Wi-fi.

  WiFi radios have a high wakeup and
  connection maintenance energy, but low
  energy per bit transmission cost and
  high bandwidth.

  Cellular radios have low connection
  maintenance energy, but high energy
  per bit transmission cost and low
  bandwidth.

Disclaimer: The study might only apply for the particular model that the device they use.


Backup/Restore Android Possible Duplicate:
  How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?

I am considering rooting my Motorola Droid, and I am wondering if it is possible to revert back to the exact state that my phone is in right now (ie unrooted, with all my apps, settings, etc).

I know I can backup all the files on my SD card (in fact I have that job running right now).  But how can I backup/restore the phone's internal memory?

Is this what SPRecovery does?  All of the 'how-to-root-your-phone' tutorials say that you start by installing SPRecovery, but I can't find any details on what, exactly, SPRecovery does, and how to use it.  I suspect it does more than what is necessary to load a rooted ROM, but I just can't find any details.

Could you use Nandroid to do this? I understand that this creates a full image of your phone for restore.


Android How to set new default user for Android Marketplace I have a Sprint Samsung Captivate phone, and I am somewhat sharing it with co-worker.  Problem is that every time I want to download an app free or otherwise, her username comes up and prompts for password.  I would like to add own email and download under that without removing her account.  Much easier said than done.  I cannot seem to get her logged out and a new prompt for username and password where I could enter my user name.  This is a much tougher problem than I ever imagined.

Unfortunately you can't do this.  You would need to entirely remove your account (the primary phone account) from the phone and add hers as the primary account, which would perform a factory reset on the phone.  Hopefully future versions of the Android OS will support multiple users, especially the tablet versions, but currently it does not.


What app is showing these fix now messages on galaxy s6? I have a Samsung Galaxy s6 that sometimes will pop up a message suggesting that some apps are consuming too much ram or cpu. And the following screen. I haven't been able to figure out what app it is though that seems to be acting like good samaritan on my phone.

It doesn't show on recent apps list and once I tell it to perform the fix, i can't interact with app or go back to it.

Install Shutapp from play store and close all opened applications through it, you'll see all the opened apps and doing this may fix your problem. Find the conflicting one. If it's not a system application, you'll see it in the list. Also, You can click just below the big circle to see the list without closing the apps. Check whether that list has any unknown app.


How can I turn off the shutter sound for the camera on droid x running 2.2 froyo? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I disable the 'click' sound on the camera app?

I'd appreciate any help

You should check this question for a solution.


Enable LTE/4G on Samsung Galaxy J1 2016 If a SM-J120H device with Android 5.1.1 shows "WCDMA/GSM (auto connect)" as its top "Mobile Networks=>Network Mode" option, is there any secret code that can enable a "LTE/WCDMA/GSM (auto)" mode instead?

In other devices it seems to involve dialing *#0011#.

J120H is not capable of LTE. The "H" suffix indicates HSPA-only.


Not able to Track and search stolen android phone Recently my Smartphone (Lenovo Vibe X3) stolen by someone. It’s very painful for me.
When it was stolen, I was able to ring my phone till 10-15 min but that time I was not able to sign in my gmail account on desktop computer so that I can track it using Android Device Manager. My phone was locked with fingerprint and patterns both. And some apps were locked with App Locker..

After 2-3hrs, I was able to sign in my gmail on the same desktop computer and with the same password but Android Device Manager couldn’t locate device. I don’t know how that stealer manipulated everything. Even an anti-theft application was also installed. However, it couldn’t be traced.

I request to all expert users for assisting me for two concerns.
Is it possible to trace device with IMEI? Please let me know, how to do this? How to tackle such problems? And
Please let know some best apps that can trace a device even with IMEI and mobile GPS.

I complaint to nearest police station but it doesn't seem helpful. That's why I need assistance from expert user. If stealer removes my gmail account from phone but GPS is ON, in that case will ADM work?

I have gone through a link. Is it helpful for an android device, if these are installed before device lost/theft?

Apart from this please provide me better tips & tricks.

Regards
GNS

If your GPS on phone is off you will not locate it via ADM.
Yes, phone can be located with IMEI but you can't do that, police can. So go to police and report stolen device and bring box of the phone for the IMEI and proof that is your device, but keep in mind that police doesn't really bother with stolen phones.


How to change stored password in Skype4Business app? My domain password changed and the Skype4Businnes app on my phone started to complain about wrong credentials. How can the password in it be changed?

I searched everywhere and ended up reinstalling the app and entering the credentials on first start.

After starting Skype4B:

open the menu by swiping into the screen from left
select "Sign Out" (last option)
the login page appears
there edit/delete the old password and enter the new one
click the big arrow icon to sign in


Why are portrait photos sometimes sideways? When I take a portrait photo, it shows up correctly on the phone.  But when I transfer it to certain software, it shows up flipped sideways.  Why is this?  Is it the fault of the phone or the software that's reading the image?  Is there a way to fix a batch of these images so that all software shows them correctly?

The phone is an LG G3, but it's happened to me on multiple phones, and many people have reported this problem, e.g.:
https://androidforums.com/threads/vertical-photos-rotating-to-horizontal-orientation.588960/

The same thing happens if I use a different camera app, OpenCamera, instead of the stock Android app.

I found the answer to my own question.   It seems cameras take the picture and then store an flag, the Exif orientation, rather than just storing the rotated data, because the latter would be too time-consuming or it would be too expensive to give the camera custom hardware. (https://www.impulseadventure.com/photo/exif-orientation.html)

But not all software supports these image rotation flags, so it's best to process images when importing them to convert them to an image with no rotation flag.  Some tools for doing this are here:

http://how-to.wikia.com/wiki/How_to_auto-rotate_digital_photos_to_their_proper_orientation

The exifautotran script seems to work for me, e.g.:

exifautotran *.jpg


Can I have notification sounds repeat every few minutes? Is it possible on a Droid X to repeat the notification sounds on a regular basis (perhaps every 5 minutes or so)? When I get a voicemail, I want it to beep every few minutes to remind me to check it.

Missed Call will do repeat vibration patterns/notifications for SMS (per contact), missed/incoming phone calls (per contact),  Battery, Calendar events, device storage, etc.

Unfortunately this doesn't do voicemails, but if a missed call is good enough for you, then give it a shot.  You can also set it up to do different patterns/notifications per contact for missed calls (so alert you differently for a VIP than everyone else).


How to add an old podcast episode to Google Reader, so I find it in my Google Listen app? I subscribe to podcasts via Google Reader, which puts them on the Google Listen app on my phone. But there are some podcast episodes that are very old that I can see in reader which I want on my phone.

How do I tell reader I want a specific old podcast episode to appear in Google Listen on my phone? Searching old podcasts from the phone is a miserable task.

The syncronization between Google Reader (web) and Google Listen (phone app for listening podcasts) is limited to podcast subscriptions and marking episodes as read/listened and unread/unlistened. There is no direct way to add episodes to your Listen "My listen items" queue from Reader.

You can still access old episodes from Listen by scrolling down and clicking repeatedly on the "Load more episodes..." link at the bottom, and you can add them to queue from there. Of course, this isn't as friendly as selecting them from Reader.

However, here's a workaround that might work:

In Google Reader, add a specific tag of your choice to the old episodes you are interested in.
In Google Reader, go to "Manage subcriptions -> Folders and Tags" to make your tag public.
Access the public page of the tag to get its Atom feed. That link should be a valid podcast feed containing only the episodes you have tagged (even from multiple different podcasts).
(This is the step I cound't get to work) Somehow subscribe to that created feed from Listen. Since you can't add a tag directly to a folder in Reader, you need to subscribe to the Atom feed of the tag, and from "Manage subscriptions" add that feed to the "Listen Subscriptions" folder. However, I coulnd't get Listen to show any items in that subscription, even though it looks ok when viewed in Reader.

These questions might also help:

Podcast app which supports old episodes well?
Alternative to Google Listen?


Can I recover a soft-bricked Galaxy A5 without voiding the warranty? I have a newly purchased Samsung Galaxy A5, which, after attempting to install Marshmallow eventually got stuck on the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen. Just before this happened I briefly saw a message that said "error" beside a picture of a little android lying on its back (presumably suffering from an error).

I tried leaving it there on that "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen but after 8 hours I gave up, took the charging cable out, and let the batter die (the A5 has an internal battery so removing it was not an option).

I can restart by charging the phone for a bit and then holding down Power + VolumeDown + Home, which takes me to a screen with 2 options:

VolumeUp: Continue
VolumeDown: Cancel (restart phone)

both options take me back to the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen. I can restart with Power + VolumeUp + Home, which seems to make the phone attempt to reinstall the update. I get a screen saying "Installing system update...", which gets to about 90% before showing me the little dead android and the "Error" message. After that, it's back to the "Downloading... Do not turn off target!!" screen.

My first option was to return the phone but the vendor is giving me the run-around and my credit-card company will take up to 80 days to revert the payment, so I was hoping to fix this myself, but not at the cost of voiding the warranty, as this could jeopardize my chances of getting a refund / repair. I have contacted the Fair Trading body in my state (in Australia) who will mediate and probably get me a refund but, again, this will take a while.

So, do I have any options, or do I just need to wait this out?

I installed Odin and was able to flash a stock version of android Kit-kat onto the phone:

http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/38455/A5000ZCU1ANJ2_A5000CHC1ANJ2_CHC.zip/

I now have the phone running again but this version doesn't seem to have the play store installed. I'll start a separate post outlining my woes in that department:

How can I install Google Play on my Samsung Galaxy A5?


How to install app in playstore without Google playstore in android emulator I had installed AndroVM to use Android apps in computer. But when it comes to games like shadow fight even with OpenGL support enabled, AndroVM couldn't run many games such as Hill Climb racing, Gunship battle etc. Hence I tried Genymotion. When I installed Genymotion, it automatically detected AndroVM installed in Virtual Box. And I could only run Hill climb racing and rest of them didn't work. So I finally installed Android SDK and followed all instructions to add packages(Tools, extras and System Images). Even if I have installed Google play services and Google repository, I couldn't find Google playstore in the android emulator. Even this post suggests how to install Google playstore in emulator,it also have discussions about piracy and legal issues(in comments) and the apk's (GoogleLoginService.apk , GoogleServicesFramework.apk , Phonesky.apk) are not official packages. Hence

Can any one suggest how can I install apps inside emulator without using Google playstore, and
Why can't I find playstore even after I install Google play services and repository.

These are the packages I've installed. And I'm using Ubuntu 14.04

Update
If you cannot open the image. Here I've copied exact names of the packages.

Tools:

Name                              API   Rev      Status
Android SDK tools                       23.0.5   installed
Android SDK platform tools              21       installed
Android SDK build tools                 21.0.1   installed
Android SDK build tools                 20       installed

Android 5.0(API 21)

documentation for Android SDK     21    1        installed
SDK platform                      21    1        installed
Android TV ARM EABI v7a System    21    1        installed
image
ARM EABI v7a System image         21    1        installed
Sources for Android SDK           21    1        installed

Extras:

Android support Library                 21       installed
Google Play services                    20       installed
Google Repository                       12       installed

I assume you have only one emulator running, then you can install an apk file by using adb

adb -e install <apk file>

You get more options by

adb -h


Deleting hidden pictures When I download my pictures from my Samsung Galaxy S3 onto my desktop, hundreds of screen shot pics download.  These are those annoying pop ups that come up trying to get you to select the app to purchase.  They are not in any picture folder in my phone - I only see them when I download all pictures.
How can I find them in my phone and delete them?

Just a bit of warning: Even if you do delete these pictures that come from in-app advertisements, you'd have to block those apps from accessing the internet otherwise they'll download those pictures again. [Unfortunately, that's another question entirely]

Otherwise, to fully delete these pictures, it'd be best to use a third-party app, as follows:
http://features.en.softonic.com/how-to-permanently-delete-files-on-android

The reason why I suggest using an app instead of, say, deleting them right off your SD card is that most of them won't be on the SD card. Most apps usually hide them inside their own personal data folders, so the link above should help you.


ROM on android phones isn't really "read only"... right? I see the word ROM and internal memory used interchangeably in the context of Android phones. The OS seems to be stored in the internal memory itself, which is also used for installing applications. Which implies that it is not "read only".

So, just to clear my confusion, am I correct in understanding that in Android phones the OS is stored in the internal memory and word "ROM" is used for "historic" reasons, since ROM is where firmwares on non-Android phone were/are otherwise commonly installed?

It seems like you've been misinformed. ROM means Read-Only Memory and is used in Android as such.
The ROM is the part of your system that is: able to run on its own, write protected and thus not changeable.
Many/All manufacturers implement a way to bypass Linux' restrictions/file system permissions to be able to update their ROM ie. write to /system.
The normal user is not able to write to that /system partition, which is independent form the /data partition, where all your apps and data is stored (/data is not needed to run Android).
The only thing those two partitions share is (not always) the same hardware/memory chip.

  The contents stored on /system contain all software needed to run Android on that specific device including: drivers, configurations, scripts, applications, frameworks etc.
  They are read-only for the user and only writable after remounting as a system user or superuser/root.
  Therefore ROM can be considered a valid and correct term for the Android system's /system partition/ROM partition.


I need a way to trace GPS trails in the background I have tried several GPS apps over the months, but so far all have fallen short of what I want. My needs are:

Takes a location at short intervals, and writes it to a file (KML or similar open format).
Keeps the GPS active between points, rather than turning it off and restarting a fix each time.
Starts tracking a path as soon as it is launched, without needing to press buttons or choose menus.
Continues tracing in the background or with the screen off.

Applications I have tried:

GPS Trace: Meets criteria 2, 3, and 4; fails 1. Defunct (no longer on market)
GPS Logger: Meets criteria 1, 3, and 4; fails 2.
GPS Essentials: Meets criteria 1 and 2, fails 3 and 4.
Tasker: Meets criteria 3 and 4, 2 partially, fails 1.

Is there a solution for GPS tracking that meets these criteria? I would be happy to pay for such an app, especially if it included additional features such as the ability to be turned on or off from Tasker. Thank you.

If you are ready to compromise the third requirement, Google's My Tracks, fits your other needs perfectly.


Samsung Galaxy Gio network menu I have a problem with my galaxy gio. It has a network lock (I think) and I've tried to unlock it. The problem is that I have the unlock code but the phone doesn't ask for it. It is there a menu or a key code to open that menu to enter the unlock code or any other solution ?

Thanks

I've solved the problem. The device has a custom rom and you cannot unblock them so. I had to flash the device with a stock one and Odin and then it asked me for network key.


News and weather app/widget crashes on startup Over the past couple of days, the news and weather app won't start for me.  I get an error message and I'm asked to force close or report the issue whenever I try to add the widget to a home screen or launch the app from the app tray.  Does anyone know what's causing the issue, and if so, how can I fix it?

Try clearing the cache and/or clearing app data.


Wifi issue on my Nexus 4 I recently updated android version to 4.4.2 on my Nexus 4. After this update my apps like "watsapp", "LINE", "VIBER" are having connectivity issue when connecting through WiFi, But I could open the browser and could access the web pages. I didn't have this issue with the previous android version.
Can anyone suggest how to resolve this issue.

As you have mentioned problem seems to be coming after updation to android version to 4.4.2 you may want to refer to android-4-3-no-internet-access-unable-to-connect-to-the-proxy-server-error.

The reason seems to be If you have cleared your Google Service Framework data to recieve the update, it will change your device ID that google uses to recognise your device.


How can I forward a port when using PdaNet? I'm using PdaNet to connect my laptop to the Internet. From there I'm using an ethernet cable and Internet conection sharing to connect my PS3 for online gaming. Works pretty good for most games, but one in particular will not connect to the server. I need to know how to adjust the router settings when (I think) the phone is the router. In particular, how can I forward ports and enable UPnP?

If this isn't possible, is there another setup i could use to get what I want? I've got my laptop running Win7 64 bit, a Belkin Play N600 router (not used currently), a stock LG axis AS 740 Android phone (2.1 OS) and the PS3. Oh, and the game I'm trying to play is Modern Warfare 3. I'm just not very tech savvy.

I had an almost identical setup with my phone-laptop-xbox. Windows ICS (called Mobile hotspot in Win10) was useless. I got ICS to work for a day or two with my Xbox but gaming on the Xbox was very poor and connections would drop every 5 minutes. Finally after a reboot of my laptop one day Windows wouldn't let me enable Hotspot when using PDAnet as the source of internet. I tried restoring Windows but nothing worked, Windows refused to recognize PDAnet's virtual adapter as a valid internet connection. I tried changing every setting and loading old drivers but Windows kept refusing to acknowledge an internet connection.

After a few hours of experimentation I came across Connectify 2018. Connectify takes the incoming PDAnet internet connection (or any other source of internet) and shares it via the WiFi adapter. It sounds awfully familiar to ICS but one major difference is it allows the WiFi client's connection to be bridged rather than the standard 'routed' mode that ICS only allows. I switched to bridge mode and the UPnP features for the Xbox all worked great and it has never dropped a connection while gaming. Connectify also displays connection details of each client. There are newer and older versions of Connectify but 2018 works flawlessly with Win10, my LG Note and Windows 10. It is available on TBP.


"incompatible" apps through google play market Just a quick one here, I've recently installed gingerbread to my HD2 using cyanogenmod 7, previous to this I was running froyo through a different mod.  My problem is this, many of the market apps that ran fine on my phone before are now listed as incompatible and Google play refuses to let me download them.  I know that they are compatible, because like I said, I ran them perfectly well on my froyo mod.  Is there a way around this problem?

It's really hard to say without knowing specifically what previous ROM you were using, but there are two possibilities I can think of:

The apps in question were updated to require some new feature that your device doesn't have.
(Probably more likely) Your previous ROM had different information in the build.prop file than your current one does. This can include specific hardware like GPS, NFC, accelerometer and such or things like screen density.

The /system/build.prop file contains a lot of information about the hardware of your device (among other things), and it's what the Play Store will use to determine if your device supports the hardware requirements of a given app. It is fairly common for ROMs to use build.prop entries to masquerade as other devices or pretend to support nonexistent hardware for the sake of app compatibility. I would suggest trying to find a copy of your old ROM in zip format then extracting the build.prop from your old ROM and comparing it to your current one. If they are different then you can consider editing your current build.prop to include any missing entries from the old one (there are apps to help you do this). This is also covered in some detail in Is there a way to trick the Android Market into thinking I'm using a different device do I can download protected apps?

For screen/LCD density specifically there are a handful of apps that will help you modify it. Based on Chahk's comment, values of 160 and 240 may be good to try if it is set to something different than that.


Does stock Android have a panorama camera feature? I was wondering if Android has any panorama-like feature like how iOS does?

This depends entirely on the OEM and what features they decide to put in their devices.

However, I've used a panorama feature since the beginning (2.3 Gingerbread) on my Nexus S, and have had it all the way till my 4.2 Galaxy Nexus, so I can say that the stock Android camera app has panorama, at least 2.3 onwards.

Beyond that, device specific panorama is dependent on the OEM.

You could always use third party apps, like this one, which supports Android 2.1 and above.


Is there any way to password protect application folders? I have a Galaxy S4 running Android 4.2.2. When I drag an application onto another one a folder is created. I was wondering if there's any way to password protect that folder? Most of the related apps I've found so far don't do that.

There is no point in password protecting something if it is not getting encrypted, or in other words, its content not becoming obfuscated to any other program. If you simply password protect a folder using an app, then very likely you can access the folder using another file explorer or perhaps with adb too.

I would recommend encryption in this case. I use ES File Explorer which can encrypt the file. Since it encrypts the file, the file  becomes illegible to other capable file reading programs.

You can encrypt a file/folder by long-pressing it and choosing Encrypt. Provide the password (note it down somewhere for future use) and the file will get encrypted eventually.

If you click the file, the file explorer will ask you to provide the password. You can also opt to permanently decrypt the file by long-pressing it and choosing Decrypt.

Hope that helps!


Phone calls dropped after approximately 5minutes into call I have the Android Hello Love, 4G/ LG VOLT. Lately when I make phone calls, I put put it on speaker phone and sit it down when I'm on a call. My calls keep getting dropped. Should I turn the sensor off? Is that the problem?

With the info you provided, one possibility is that the screen times out after five minutes, locking the phone, and thus ends the call. This shouldn't happen during a call, but go to your display settings and make sure your screen doesn't time out to see if this solves your problem. Again, it is unlikely this is the problem, but it is a possibility.


Is Qualcomm safe to be on phone or is it a security threat? I have alot of stuff downloaded on my phone like com.qualcomm.qti.simsettings all starting with Qualcomm. Should these be on my phone ?? What little I did read it said security threat. Should I delete all these ??

Yes. They are completely safe to have.

In fact, they are helper programs for Qualcomm parts, for example the SoC, the modem, or another chip in the phone.

Do not try to remove or disable them - your phone will sooner or later run into random issues.


How to recover data from corrupt SD Card formatted as Internal? My mother has been using the Moto G3 Turbo Edition for almost 2 years now.
The device has 16GB of internal memory, but she is using an external Samsung Evo 32GB class 10 memory card as her INTERNAL MEMORY (Thanks to the memory-switching feature of Marshmallow). She has been using the phone with Evo as her internal memory since the phone was first bought.
Today while she was using WhatsApp, suddenly she noticed that she was not being able to download any media (music, videos, songs). And when she checked her gallery, she found it empty! Out of nowhere! After further checking it was discovered that the G3 Turbo was not detecting the Samsung Evo at all, eventhough the card was still inside the device. It was showing "No Internal Memory Detected".
I tried various solutions like switching off and turning the device back on, cleaning the memory card, clearing cache...nothing works! This has led me to doubt that the problem might be with the SD card. I inserted it into my PC and it wasn't getting detected.
The Card has lot of important files in it. What should I do?

Unfortunately, using an SD card as internal (adopted) memory is very hard on the card itself. TBH, I am surprised you got 2 years out of it. Most 3rd Gen Moto devices are lucky to get a year or maybe 18 months and we have seen cards fail in as few as 30 days. The way adopted storage works puts incredible amounts of stress on the card itself with constant read and write operations, even Moto staff on their official support forums recommends NOT using adopted storage if at all possible. SD cards like many types of flash storage have a finite number of write cycles, they will fail, the question is when.

What can you? Reboot and see if it shows up again, then copy it off immediately and replace the card as soon as possible.

Other options are pretty limited and the adoptable-storage tag may give you some options, but in general once adoptable storage gets messed up the data is not recoverable due to the encryption used by Android.

Otherwise, there isn't much UNLESS the phone is already rooted and you are pretty handy with Linux. If it isn't already rooted, then it doesn't matter because of the rooting process requires wiping the device. If you are rooted you need to access the *.key file in /data/misc/vold and you can mount the volume as shown here and attempt normal data recovery in Linux.

BTW, Android has tools to mitigate these situations by maintaining backups in online storage... for example, tools like Google Photo will automatically backup pictures and videos to your Google account for free. What is the old saying? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


Why does Android not include an Add Hardware Wizard? If I want to install Windows on, say, a bare-metal Thinkpad X1 Carbon with no OS, then I can buy Windows and install it. Windows includes numerous drivers. If there are any necessary drivers missing, I can normally get them from the manufacturer, use the Add Hardware Wizard, and install them.

But, if I want to install Android 6.0 "Marshmallow" on, say, a Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G, then things are not so simple. It's true that I could (theoretically) download and install some random Nexus ROM shipped by Google. But such a ROM includes far fewer drivers, and in fact may not allow my phone to boot up at all. And there's no UI for downloading and installing signed drivers downloaded from hardware-manufacturer websites.

Why does Android not include any driver-installation wizard?

And how does Android deal with a USB On-The-Go ("USB OTG") device, if it doesn't know how to communicate with that particular USB OTG device?

On desktops and laptops, drivers are a necessary evil. Hardware is often user-serviceable and prone to changes, and there is a huge variety of possible combinations. On phones and tablets, this isn't quite so. You can't really change the hardware easily. It's entirely safe to disallow driver installation since you don't really need it.
It is a lot easier to break ARM devices than x86 with messed-up drivers.
Drivers on Android must be written for specific kernel versions and all. This is easy to do for a manufacturer, but hard to get right as a user.
Most USB On-The-Go devices are USB interfaces, for which drivers are included.
Driver installation requires root access, which is disabled by default on the vast majority of Android devices.
Allowing driver install exposes a massive surface for the installation of rootkits and other malware.  And, in fact, such malware can persist across devices wipes and firmware upgrades.

We will likely see some kind of driver installation if Project Ara takes off. But I imagine it will be along the lines of each component having its driver loaded onto it and installing when attached, as opposed to allowing the installation of arbitrary drivers found on the Internet.


How do I collapse outlines in OneNote app? I understand OneNote for desktop can collapse/expand outlines to any levels. However, I failed to find this feature in OneNote Android app (version 15.0.2727.2300). Did I miss it?

Almost one year later and version 15.0.3232.1047 and this critical function is still missing - unless someone can explain how to this?

So I would say the answer is no


Data connection problem with my galaxy s3 Hi I have a peculiar data connection problem with my Samsung Galaxy S3.

Cellular connections work fine at first however when the mobile loses signal and then reconnects after sometime, the data connection doesn't start again automatically (even though mobile data is enabled in settings)

The only way I can turn data back on is by toggling airplane mode.

This doesnot happen everytime the mobile loses signal, perhaps one in three times.

Has anyone experienced this and are there any fixes?

I had the same problem after installing custom rom (ICS for Desire), solved it by installing Data Connection Fix from Google Play. It now works perfectly.


How to use KVM alone without Android Studio AVD to emulate official x86_64 android images I want to use official (google compiled) x86_64 android images. I know that I can use AVD manager from Android Studio to easely run and manage them. However, I use virt-manager with KVM, so I can't run Android and my other images at the same time (even if I could, I prefer to do all inside virt-manager instead of installing all of Android Studio).

Since the images are x86_64, theoretically I could run them into virt-manager as well. The problem is that the images downloaded from google server when I use ADV are a bit strange. They contain some files and at least two .img files inside of it. It's not simply an ISO image that I can plug into a disk in virt-manager and run. For example, this is the image for Android 25 (7.0 I guess):

https://dl.google.com/android/repository/sys-img/google_apis/x86_64-25_r11.zip

So how to run this thing inside the zip file? Is it possible?

If it's not possible, then is it possible to install and run AVD alone without Android Studio? Or at least launchd AVD manager GUI without launching Android Studio first?

Yes its possible to get Android SDK (Software Development Kit) as a standalone package.

There are just a couple of prerequisites to note:

Java runtime environment (or JDK) at Oracle website (and download the correct version (32- or 64-bit) for your computer).
A good internet connection (needed for downloading system images etc)

  There is a simple option to install the Android SDK, you can
  grab the available offline installer (Windows) SDK Tools installer_r24.4.1  from Google repository by itself you do not need Android   Studio. You can then use the included sdk manager to download other SDK packages.

For linux (Ubuntu), you can refer to this guide: Complete Installation Guide for Android SDK / ADT Bundle on Ubuntu

Here is the workthrough (windows):

Download the  SDK package from above link.
After downloading the package, begin installation (and choose the desired installation folder to proceed or just leave the default %USERPROFILE%\android-sdk):

When done leave the option to download system images "checked":

Now we're in business...

The SDK manager window will appear, now you need to update/download other sdk packages (i.e platform-tools, system-images, platforms etc according to API levels.

Note: I recommend downloading x86 images as they're much faster tham arm counterparts, also get intel HAXM (hardware accelerated execution manager) driver to significantly increase your emulator speed

All set, now you just need to create and configure an Android virtual device matching your target Android version and tweak desired settings.
To do this click on the Tools tab in SDK manager and select manage AVDs, then in the following window click Create you'll see a similar screen as below:

After that boot the newly created virtual device running Android 8 Oreo

(Note: I am still running Android 7, because of this : Can't start Android 8.0 Oreo on emulator: “Decryption unsuccessful” but you might be lucky :)

Install applications and test as you wish ..


Use wifi direct at 2.4GHz on Galaxy Tab S2 I would like to configure my Galaxy Tab S2 to use the 2.4GHz frequency for WiFi direct because my PC doesn't support the 5GHz band.
I'm using Total commander with the WiFi plugin to create a WebDAV server to be able to see the files on the tablet on the PC. This plugin can work by connecting to a wifi network but you can also use a wifi direct connection. My laptop is mostly in a room without a wifi connection, so  I would like to use the wifi direct option. However, it seems that this tablet only creates a 5Ghz wifi connection with WiFi direct.
Is it possible to configure it to use the 2.4Ghz band? How?

It is strange that you are trying to use wi-fi direct to accomplish this task. AFAIK most Wi-Fi Direct compatible devices use the 2.4GHz connection  (by default) and given that most devices nowadays only communicate with other Wi-Fi Direct-certified devices not just random.

I suggest you simply use a standard wi-fi connection i.e something like a mobile hotspot using your device or PC as host. If it is a case that your mobile predominantly uses 5GHz connection, then you can use this to force a 2GHz connection.

Another option apart from WebDAV server is using an SMB, FTP server or even TCP server of your folder structure in sdcard or internal storage similar to this.


How to push gapps via adb to a rooted device I have a Samsung t355c. A China model of the normal tablet that doesn't have gapps and as far as I get it a locked bootloader.
There is no custom recovery for it.
Runs 5.0.1

I managed to root it using kingo and tried many ways of pushing google apps into it. Ended up bricking it for now... redownloading original rom.

The question is. After I fix and root him again
Using adb with the root . How can I push gapps

I have not really tried this, but a possible approach would be following the steps a custom recovery would perform when installing ("flashing") the .zip file – which can be found in META-INF/com/google/android/updater-script (after extracting the archive). For the Kitkat GApps archive, this looks like:

ui_print("Installing files...");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/system");
show_progress(1, 15);
delete("/system/app/Provision.apk","/system/app/QuickSearchBox.apk","/system/app/priv-app/SetupWizard.apk","/system/app/priv-app/Velvet.apk","/system/app/Vending.apk","/system/app
package_extract_dir("system", "/system");
set_perm(0, 0, 0755, "/system/addon.d/70-gapps.sh");
package_extract_dir("optional", "/tmp");
package_extract_file("install-optional.sh", "/tmp/install-optional.sh");
set_perm(0, 0, 0777, "/tmp/install-optional.sh");
run_program("/tmp/install-optional.sh", "");
show_progress(1, 15);
ui_print("Cleaning up and setting metadata...");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/addon.d", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0755, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/app", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/priv-app", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/etc/permissions", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0755, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/etc/preferred-apps", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0755, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata("/system/etc/g.prop", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "mode", 0755, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/framework", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/lib", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/usr/srec/en-US", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
set_metadata_recursive("/system/vendor/pittpatt", "uid", 0, "gid", 0, "dmode", 0755, "fmode", 0644, "capabilities", 0x0, "selabel", "u:object_r:system_file:s0");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/system");
ui_print("Installation complete!");

We of course can skip the comments/debug-output, and thus essentially end up with these steps. I assume you've unpacked the .zip file's contents somewhere on your device, and are sitting in a shell (terminal or adb shell) with root permissions (su) to start with:

mount -o remount,rw /system (line 2)
if the files listed in line 4 exist: rm -f <file> for each of them
copy all contents of the .zip file's system/ directory to /system (line 5)
chmod 0755 /system/addon.d/70-gapps.sh (line 6)
( apply the previous 2 steps on lines 7-9 )
sh /tmp/install-optional.sh (line 10)

Now it gets a little more difficult (for beginners) interpreting the set_metadata_recursive commands. I'll explain this on the first one (line 13):

/system/addon.d must be owned by uid 0 and gid 0, file permissions should be 0755 (dmode is directory mode, fmode file mode), SELinux attributes are u:object_r:system_file:s0. You might have noticed I've skipped two columns: I have no idea what the "capabilities", 0x0 stands for, so I cannot explain it (if anyone does, please comment). So let's do that:

chown -R root:root /system/addon.d   # -R is recursive, root is user/group id 0
chmod -R 755 /system/addon.d         # as dmode and fmode are the same, we can do that
# at this place missing: SELinux properties. I've never dealt with those

If like in line 14 fmode and dmode are different, you'll have to take care for that as well. Apply dmode as above, and follow it by a find <dir> -type f -print0 | xargs chmod <mode>, replacing <dir> by the first argument of set_metadata_recursive, and <mode> by the corresponding fmode.

Finally, remount /system read-only again: mount -o remount,ro /system – or simply reboot (you'll have to anyway), which takes care for that as well.

I have skipped the SELinux stuff due to missing knowledge. It will most likely work without – but might be good to do for additional security :)


Having trouble setting up Android SSH tunnel with port forwarding (x-post /r/ssh) I'm trying to log into an SSH server in such a way that I can securely visit websites on my Android phone. I have done the following:

Set up port forwarding for SSH server xyz.org, port 8080 on VX Connectbot (I did this with "Edit port forwards"->"Add port forward")
Logged into xyz.org on VX Connectbot
In Firefox, set:

network.proxy.socks=127.0.0.1
network.proxy.socks_port=8080
network.proxy.socks_remote_dns=true

But when I go to whatsmyip.org, the WHOIS lookup shows my cell phone provider, when it should be showing the SSH server. What am I doing wrong?

Is it possible that the SSH server is allowing me to log in, but refusing port forwarding requests? How would I test that?

Or have I incorrectly configured Firefox or VX Connectbot? Or maybe there's something else I have to do in my Connectbot session to start the port forwarding?

Reddit post here

I ended up using a different SSH server, and setting Firefox config as follows:

network.proxy.type=1


How do I add a desktop link to a youtube video? Normally I can add a desktop link from Chrome by using "Add to Home screen".  However, when I click on a YouTube video, it automatically opens that video in my YouTube app rather than in Chrome.  Thus I no longer have an option to add something to my home screen.

Any ideas?

I am using:
Android version 7.0 on a Samsung Galaxy S7

I found a way to do this! (It's a bit fiddly).

Find your YouTube video
View the website in Desktop mode
Shorten the URL (using goo.gl)
Turn off Wi-Fi (so the shortened URL won't get to youtube.com)
Enter the shortened URL in your address bar on chrome
You should get a no internet error
Add that page to your home screen
Voila! Now enable Wi-Fi again and the icon will link to YouTube in your browser!


Is there any way to do automation/repetition based on user input? Like iMacros in Windows, is there any way which can automate my task?

I had tried so many application like MacroDroid but hadn't got my aim to be complete. As I want similar work like iMacros, I want to open one link and then click some elements and then save the webpage to external storage and I want this task to repeat. Is it possible?

Try Repetitouch: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cygery.repetitouch.free

It Allows you to input a set of touches and swipes, and the app will repeat exactly what you have recorded.  You can also set stuff like delays, speed, or amount of repetitions.


Where is my Outlook attachment downloaded? I use the Outlook app on my Android phone and I received an attachment in one of my emails. I downloaded it and it automatically opened with another app so I can read it.

Now I want to retrieve it and make a copy, on my phone. Which folder in my phone should I search to find that attached file? I searched the Download and Attachments folders, without success.

Long press on the attachment, a window will appear with the option Save to. Select Device. The file will be downloaded in the Download folder.


Using Google Voice Without Simcard This is a simple question but I couldn't find the answer in this website?

Is is possible to call phones without a voice plan just using Google Voice?

You can do this with an app called GrooveIP: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gvoip

I have it on my OG Droid, which is no longer activated on VZW, and use it as my "house phone" with my Google Voice number.


Are there any Marshmallow-compatible bluetooth styli? I've bought a Nexus 9 as a gift for my daughter for Xmas.  After reading that Android M added native support for Bluetooth styli, I'm looking to purchase one as an additional gift. I'm looking for a stylus that is highly accurate and supports varying levels of pressure and palm rejection, like the Wacom Bamboo Fineline 2 or Intuous 2. Those products only list Apple device compatibility, though.

I realise that apps need to be updated to accommodate the new APIs in Android, but can I pair either of these with the Nexus 9 in the meantime?

Try the Adonit Dash. No palm support on Android device though.


Saving links with Pocket on Android browsers? Should I have a bookmarklet of some sort that does that?  There doesn't appear to be a button to do that in Firefox mobile or for Google for Android which is strange since there's a Pocket App for Android, and that app doesn't appear to save bookmarks, so you're just kind of trapped with the links that you saved on your computer using pocket.

I also, don't see any browser extensions for it.

Though this is really @Izzy's answer here's what I found on my device on how to do this:

Click the Hamburger button.

Click the Share button.

Click the Pocket Button


Different user interface than usual on Facebook app Whenever I download the Facebook app for my Android phone (Motorola Razr D3) it shows up normal for the first time but then changes to a strange interface and then stays that way.

 (Click picture for larger variant)

I've tried deleting it and then downloading it again and again but it keeps changing back, what is this? What should I do?

I would say you are very lucky to have that UI (user interface). I've been waiting to get that version, to no avail.

What you have is the Holo-fied UI of Facebook, which I think was initially available to selected alpha testers of the Facebook app. A group would get the Holo version, while the rest would get the regular version. This concept is called A/B testing. Eventually, if there are no more issues, everybody will that that UI. Have you, by any chance, applied as an alpha / beta tester?

Holo, as described in WikiPedia, is the Google recommended theme for the design of Android apps, introduced with Android version 4.0.

Is there a way to change the interface? NO, because the UI is determined by Facebook's servers. If you attempted to download and install (by sideloading) a Holo-fied version of Facebook, and you were not given the rights to have this UI, you would be reverted to the regular UI. This is the reason why Holofication Nation cannot make a custom Holo-fied version of Facebook. To date, they have already released a Holo-fied UI for Grooveshark, Steam, and Instagram. (and I think for CNN too!)


How dependent are stylus devices on software? I am considering acquiring a tablet or phablet with integrated stylus. One of the first things I expect to do with is flashing the latest vanilla Android release. That done, is the stylus expected to work properly? Can I then install alternative note taking programmes (e.g. Quill)? Or is the stylus functionality fully dependent on vendor software?

For a start, you can't install "vanilla Android" on a non-Nexus device. See Flash a smartphone with vanilla Android ROM for more. The closest you can get is a custom ROM that was originally based on AOSP and then ported to your device, such as Cyanogenmod.

The custom ROM's documentation should say whether it has the drivers for the stylus, and if so, it'll work just like a more precise touchscreen. You still won't get any special stylus features (like extra buttons or pressure-sensitivity) in this case, though. There's no standard Android interface for such features, so they rely on the vendor's proprietary library and interfaces for apps to support them. Again, you should check the custom ROM's documentation to find out how much is supported.


Droid X, how to get rid of Motorola Mobile Services? So I'm used to the original Motorola Droid, I recent picked up a Droid X, and nothing seems to be the same.

To start, I cant add a second Gmail account to the Gmail app, in fact, ANY account I try to add, whether it be work email, gmail, facebook, etc, I'm always forced to use the Motorola Mobile Services feature.

I have ZERO desire to use this thing, and all it does is make my life hell. Is there a way to turn it off? The Droid was awesome but all this Motorola and Verizon bloat is killing me!

Nasty carrier! Sorry to hear that.

If you rooted it and put Cynogen Mod 7 on, that would get rid of all the Moto and Verizon bloat and you could have as many email acc's as you want :-)

http://www.droid-life.com/2011/06/15/download-cm7-released-for-the-droidx/


I want to flash my my Skyrocket I-727. There's an issue, though: My USB conneciton isn't recognized on any computer I got a Skyrocket my father no longer uses and there's a big problem with it: the Wifi doesn't work.  after some checking with buddies, discussions, and searching, I'vbe figured out it's a software issue.  I'd like to root, and then flash and install the latest stable release of CM 10.2 on the device.  All of this would have been done weeks ago, however, it seems that my device's USB port is either unreadable or corrupt.  Any computer I plug it in to the device is not properly recognized.  Hell, I would have used the CM Installer already.

So my main question is:
I have a stock, non-root Skyrocket I-727. The Wifi does not work, nor does the USB connection.  Is there any way to put a custom ROM, or even another Stock-based ROM on this device using just the shirt on my back and a microSD?

What you need to do is head over to sammobile.com and download the latest firmware for your phone, then using Odin you can flash the new firmware.

If your driver issues are software related then this will work because Odin uses your phones "Download Mode" and that is a different driver all together, and if your truly stock and not rooted there is no way you could have changed it.

Samsung Kies will come with the needed driver for download mode to get that too if you don't already have it.

Also you can check out forum.xda-developers.com there is a lot of useful tools and guides there.

Another option if the Samsung Kies for skyrocket supports it is a firmware emergency recovery. It will install the latest firmware, and use download mode to do it.


Apps suddenly stopped starting automatically when my phone boots I have two apps that I expect to start when I boot my phone: AccuBattery and Weatherbug. A few months ago though, Weatherbug stopped starting automatically, and AccuBattery stopped a couple days ago. I've been needing to remember to manually start them when I boot my phone, which is a pain.

Neither app lists such a change in functionality in their changelogs, and I haven't done a firmware update that would change how Android functions.

Does anyone know why these apps stopped starting automatically?

Note 8, Android 9

It turns out Android decided to "optimize" the apps for some reason, which apparently had the effect of preventing them from starting automatically.

To fix this,

Go into Settings
Search for "Optimize" (click the magnifying glass in the top right)
Click "Optimize battery usage", then click the option again in the menu that comes up
In the drop-down at the top, click "All"
Find your app(s) in the list, and deselect the toggle to the right of it.

The app(s) should now start properly when your phone starts.


How can I check the firmware version of my ONDA V712? Is there an easy way to check the firmware version (not Android version)?

You can use either the way geff_chang suggested or use android service menus

In the service menu, it is located at Software info -> Phone info

You can always use third party apps as well.


Locked phone with Android Device Manager and can't remember the password I lost my phone and used Android Device Manager to lock it. However, it turns out my boyfriend was last logged into my Gmail, so his phone is the one that was locked and now I can't remember the password!

How can we unlock his phone?

Only solution,Hard reset your phone and do a reset factory settings in recovery mode. BTW which phone model you are using, I guess it must be Samsung :)

updated

One more way, if you know your phone is rooted and ADB on..
You have to delete all your key files from system folder. Try this.
Connect you device with usb and run following command. If you are not able to do so, i am afraid. You need a full wipe.

adb devices
adb shell
cd data/system
su
rm *.key

Even if shows lock screen after reboot, try a easy random pattern/password.


Samsung galaxy s3 vibrate I have had my phone for a while and I am always feeling guilty because I haven't replied to text message that I never knew that I got when I have my phone on vibrate. It only vibrates when I pick it up or move it, it's not like my old phone like when you get a message it vibrated automatically but my samsung galaxy s3 doesn't.

Is there anyway that I could have it like that so it doesn't only vibrate when I move it?

If you look under sound settings there should be an option for vibration patterns. The intensity should be configurable from there as well.


What is a "synthetic password" and how is it used by Android? On a first-generation Pixel that is running Pie, in locksettings.db there is a field named sp-handle that contains a 64-bit value. sp is an abbreviation for "synthetic password". Under /data/system_de/0/spblob there are three files:

0000000000000000.handle
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.pwd
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.secdis
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.spblob

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX is the lowercase hexadecimal representation of the aforementioned 64-bit value. (I actually have several sets of pwd/secdis/spblob (some missing the spblob or the secdis file—I cannot remember which) presumably due to my attempts to get TWRP to decrypt my Pixel.) There are also files under /data/misc/keystore/user_0 named 1000_USRSKEY_synthetic_password_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX and .1000_chr_USRSKEY_synthetic_password_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.

These "synthetic passwords" are mentioned and used in TWRP and SyntheticPasswordManager.java. They are used in decryption, but I can't tell how they are used in it or if they are also used in password authentication. Are they used to decrypt /data/misc/vold/user_keys/ce/0/current/encrypted_key (which I'm told is used in file-based encryption)? What are the purpose of the .pwd, .secdis, and .spblob files? Are the files gatekeeper.*.key used in deriving synthetic passwords?

Update

This paper from Qualcomm goes into greater detail on "synthetic passwords" than the source code, but it doesn't answer the more important questions like:

What is the purpose of and what is inside of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.spblob?
What is the purpose of and what is inside of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.pwd?
What is the purpose of and what is inside of XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.pwd?
Is the authentication token used in decrypting the CE key?

First. You need to understand, two gatekeeper enroll processes are involved in synthetic passowrd.

Here is  the process:

generate synthetic password, it's just a random number
use real password to enroll a fake id. and get sid(secure_id)
use keystore to generate an AES key, and bound it to sid. and use it to encrypt synthetic password
use synthetic password to enroll the real user_id.

So you will see, in order to unlock real user, you need to know synthetic passowrd. However it's encrypted by keystore, so you need real password to unlock the keystore first.

To understand it , you need to first understand how gatekeeper works (eg. what is secure_id? how it works?). That's another topic

00000000000.handle: return value of gatekeeper first enroll by synthetic password derived password.

handle.pwd: second gatekeeper enroll by real password with a fake userid (eg. user_id+10000)

handle.secdis: Actually a random number. used to encrypt synthetic password

handle.spblob: encrypted synthetic password

/data/misc/keystore/user_0/XXX: keystore key. used for encrypting synthetic password.


How to uninstall preinstalled apps on Gingerbread? Possible Duplicate:
  How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?

I have Samsung Galaxy Note running Android Gingerbread. I have several apps like Crayon Physics that don't show up in the list of installed apps in the market.

How to get rid of them?

If Crayon Physics was a pre-installed bloatware application then you must root to delete it. Ice Cream Sandwich lets you "freeze" the app though that may not be what you are looking for.

If you side-loaded the application then I have seen times when an application won't show under the Market application because it doesn't have a signature the Market recognizes; that is, you didn't get it from the Market.

If you installed the application go to Settings->Applications->Manage Applications. Under the 'Downloaded' tab you should be able to find it. Again, if it was pre-installed then you didn't 'download' it so it won't show up here but you should see it here even if you side-loaded it.

Good luck (:


Will Dropbox re-upload a changed file if I don't access it from within the app? I know that when I edit a file from within Dropbox (using an external application), after I close said file Dropbox uploads the updated version. Does this also work if, once I have accessed the file from within Dropbox once, I open the file from within the editor app (e.g. using a "recent files" menu?)

If this is not the case, I'd be looking for a way to achieve this effect.

For Dropbox and OfficeSuite (if you edit from the recent files), they seem to sync.

I'm not sure with other apps. In any case, if you need a two-way sync, you can always use DropSpace. See this similar question: How do I sync with DropBox?


Can I purchase apps from the Amazon App Store without an Android Device? I don't have an Android device anymore. However, I still see an app for free every now and then that I would like to have when I get a new one. Can I get apps from the Amazon Appstore without having a device?

By using an Android emulator such as Genymotion or the one provided by Google, you can download the Amazon Appstore on that "device" and authorize it that way. From then on, you can just get the App of the Day by visiting this link from your desktop browser.


How Can I Record Text-To-Speech Output Android has a Text-To-Speech engine called PicoTTS.

Is there any way to have it read a file and save the output to an audio file (instead of routing the audio to the headset or speakers) without programming a custom app myself?

UPDATE: The OS has a synthesizeToFile() method ... I'm just looking for an app that uses it instead of developing one on my own.

Make sure your default Text-to-Speech engine is PicoTTS (from settings). Install and start a sound recording app (there are many in Play Store). Send it to background and use Speaking Pad.


Moving keyboard app to SD card? I recently rooted my phone, so obviously the first thing I did was

 pm setInstallLocation 2

then move all my internal storage hogging apps to the SD card. I left the widgets, wallpapers, and system app updates because moving them will break them apparently. My question is, can I move my keyboard app to the SD card without breaking it?

Which keyboard app are you using? It doesn't break normally on SD card. I have used stock and SwiftKey both on SD card. Never cause any problem to me.


Location of Recent Apps screenshot directory Where does "Recent Apps" in Android store the screenshots?

I have seen a couple of threads on how to prevent these screenshots from being taken. But I would like to know the location of the screenshots directory.

On my Nexus devices /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots

I think it's the default, odd really as it should go in with DCIM


Disable VoLTE, while still using LTE - To force Jio4gVoice to work I have a Nexus 5X running an unofficial Pie build (https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-5x/development/rom-android-source-project-t3827122)

VoLTE does not work (no incoming or outgoing calls), but data over LTE works. So the Jio4gVoice app should be able to receive calls (over data, meant for non-VoLTE phones). But the problem is that this app detects that the phone is VoLTE compatible and simply refuses to connect.

PS: The phone supports VoLTE, I've used it before, but this particular ROM doesn't.

I'm looking for a way to disable VoLTE so that the app can work.

Any ideas?

The answer is wait in case nexus annouces its support for android pie then upgrade. As of now degrade to previous version of android.

Note: You can try some more ROMs, so that you can enjoy VoLTE.


Multiple problems with HTC M8S after rom upgrade I have an old HTC M8S I'm trying to give a new lease on life by getting off the stock ROM. It's an EE (read Orange UK) branded phone.

romver: 1.11.61.2
CID: ORANG001
ModelID: 0PKV10000
Project: M8_QU_UL_L50_SENSE60

After switching on debug mode and unlocking the boot loader I installed TWRP specific to that model (twrp-recovery-2.8.6.0-m8s-qlul.img) and it worked, recovery worked fine. After that I wiped and attempted to install the Lineage M8S ROM, which did not work.

Now I have a phone that won't boot and can't be accessed on USB, the device shows up in adb as offline. The phone has an SD card, and I've loaded the stock recovery back on, which was successful. I then attempted loading the original ROM onto the SD card as 0PKVIMG.zip, however I got a message about 0PKVDIAG.zip not being present. The device still shows up as

I am not sure how to proceed to get this phone back, several hours of research has been very contradictory. I'd like to get a better rom on than the stock because it was full of trash apps and they stopped making releases for it, but I'm happy to get back to stock and try again if that's what it takes.

Try the ROMs here from XDA Forums, as they can help you to fix your problem.
 You can also try a higher version of TWRP, such as v3.2.1.


Can I recover photos and contacts from lost/stolen phone days ago? Lost phone (LG Optimus) 2 days ago, anyway to recover photos and contacts?  Reported phone to sheriff's dept and Sprint.

Yes, there is a way to recover both if your Android phone was synced to your Google account. All you have to do is just sign-in on a new Android phone and all of your data should be redownloaded.

In order to see if your photos were backed up, just go to Google Photos and you can view your photos there.


Does Android TV remote always have a back button? Does Android TV remote always have a back button, or do some manufacturers do not include it? The reason I as is I am developing an app for it and want to decide to include a back button in UI or not.

Two major Android TV boxes I know of are Nvidia Shield TV (which I use) and Xiaomi Mi Box. By checking the remote control of my Nvidia Shield there is a back button. Looking at images of the remotes of other Android TV boxes such as Ematic Jetstream, these also have an independent back button on the remote control.

It appears most if not all Android TV box manufacturers include a back button on their remote controls.


How do I know which one is a stable version of Cyanogenmode on this list?' I am trying to install a new ROM on my phone, but I have no clue which one is the stable release:

Is it the latest release?

What's the difference between the release and release recovery?

Cheers

There are essentially two different products available here: Cyanogenmod (release), and Cyanogenmod Recovery (release recovery).

While Release is the custom ROM in itself, Release Recovery is a special recovery partition used to load Cyanogenmod onto the device if you don't already have it or TWRP installed. It is also used to do other low level system stuff if booting into the live system isn't possible or appropriate.


CM12 app install/reboot issue I've installed CyanogenMod 12.1 (stable branch: cm-12.1-20151117-SNAPSHOT-YOG7DAO1K9) on my phone (MotoX, 1st gen) using Clockwork Recovery, including the version of OpenGApps recommended on CM wiki, and SuperSU.  There are three issues i've noticed - putting them all here in case they're related...

App install from Play Store triggers soft reboot
Android is upgrading, Starting apps message on every boot
Can't copy files to device: The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected

I've searched around but advice seems pretty thin.

UPDATE: I've checked adb logcat during install, and found that this seems to happen shortly prior to reboot:

F/PackageManager( 5905): java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)

Having checked for the file I can confirm it's not there. Is there a replacement I can add in order to resolve this? I've noticed that any new users created do have this file, though it doesn't seem possible to copy it across, even with root.

UPDATE2: Somehow i have files located in /data/media/0/0/0/0/0/clockworkmod: .recovery_version and philz-touch_6.sav

When I format in preparation for reinstall these files cannot be removed. I've also tried using root and adb shell to delete with no success. As a result apps seem to persist across OS reinstalls.

I think the best thing to try now is a manual reformat of the data partition...

I'm writing this here because I am unable to comment.

You could try a clean install i.e. wipe system, data, cache
partitions and flash ROM & GApps packages.
OpenGApps recommends that you flash OpenGApps package right after you
flash the ROM without any reboots in between
https://github.com/opengapps/opengapps/wiki/Notes-for-Android-6.0 (I
know this is for 6.0 but it might be applicable to previous versions
as well)
You could try posting your logs in the OpenGApps XDA Forum link given on
their FAQ page
https://github.com/opengapps/opengapps/wiki/FAQ#2-im-having-a-problem-with-my-open-gapps-install-what-information-do-you-need-to-help-me


How can I change screen timeout based on whether my phone is/not charging? I'd like my screen to stay lit while charging but have a timeout when just on battery. Is ther any way to do this?

There's an option to keep your screen lit while charging, try:

Settings -> Developer Options -> Stay Awake


Is it possible to use Gmail Android app without SSL? I'm interested on using my email without SSL on my Android phone, yet I haven't been able to find the option to do it or to load the emails server without SSL.

I want to be sure it's not possible before giving up. Is it possible to use the Gmail app without SSL on Android?

Gmail has been HTTPS only since early 2014. Even if plaintext connections were still supported, it would be insecure. Gmail has fully supported HTTPS since it launched, so there was really never a reason to disable it anyway.


Can I recover photos that were being stored in a corrupt SD sector and then deleted after a phone restart? I have no idea how this is even possible, but let's start from the beginning.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3. I went on a road trip this Memorial Day weekend and took a bunch of photos. The whole weekend I was able to view all of these photos just fine. However, while I was driving back my phone ran out of battery power and restarted (the Google Maps application drained it faster than my car could recharge it).

I did not notice until just now that all of the photos I've taken in the past 10 days are gone. What doesn't make sense is that I also have Google Photos installed on my phone and set to back up over WiFi only, however I connected to two (TWO!!!) wireless networks after I was finished with taking pictures. On neither of them did Google Photos trigger and upload the backups. Of course, now I've set Google Photos to back up over WiFi or a wireless network, so that backups are hopefully immediate.

Before leaving on this trip, I was attempting to add an album to my phone. While copying, I received a message somewhere along the lines of, "The SD card has been unmounted.", but upon a second try, I was able to continue copying to the SD card. I tried to delete four of the MP3s that were copied from this album later, and it would not allow me to. Also, after deleting the folder of these MP3s, it was replaced by the same folder with a single file ~TfsP or something like that.

I didn't have time to copy my files off the SD card and then do a reformat before my trip, so I just went with it like this. I was still able to play my music and, as I said, it supposedly was taking photos that I was looking at a day later.

If anyone knows how a restart of my phone deleted 10 days of photos, I would love to hear it, and if possible a way to recover them.

EDITS: Putting the micro SD card in an adapter and then plugging it into my Epson printer gives the message, "Cannot recognize the memory card or disc." Windows also gives me the option of "Scan and Fix" for drive H: (the SD card), but later says that it cannot access the drive. It is a Sandisk Ultra 64 GB, if that matters.

When confronted with such situations on a tight budget I have used the HDD software offered in the Hirens Boot CD.

www.hirensbootcd.org/hbcd-v152/

There are a few hard drive recovery options to choose from and I'm sure one of them will work providing the drive is not completely fried.
I have had many success stories in the past few years with the various tools offered by this useful collection.

Be sure not to try to write anything to your drive until it is recovered.
You may even be able to access the folders successfully using one of the alternative file explorers offered. There have been times when windows simply cannot read what Total Commander could.


Issue with work profile deletion. Remove profile left work profile half deleted Having an issue with work profile, created through Mobile Iron Go.
After de-registering the device, tried removing work profile. On selecting "Delete" on prompt, the profile got deleted from Accounts. But re-installing Mobile Iron Go is not allowing re-configuration:
The message I am seeing is:

You have set up a work profile. To continue using MobileIron Go, please use the badged version of the application

Is there any way to remove work profile left-overs without resetting mobile or removing cache from recovery console?

I was able to delete the work profile.
Reference: OnePlus Forum discussion thread
Root cause: Oreo allows to have more than one work profile and OnePlus was adding a work profile by default (not sure).
We have to use adb to remove it.
These are the commands:
adb shell pm list users

Now you will get this list of users (or profiles) running in your device:
Users:
UserInfo{0:Your Name:13} running
UserInfo{999:Multi-App:4000030} running

In this case, the default profile ("Your Name") has the USER_ID 0, and the work profile has the user USER_ID 999.
The second one is the one created by OnePlus to get parallel apps, so you have to launch a command to remove it:
adb shell pm remove-user 999

And there you go. Work profile deleted successfully.


How to make a screenshot with Android 2.3.5? Possible Duplicate:
  How to take a screenshot with an Android phone?

How to make a simple screenshot with my HTC Desire S with the Android 2.3.5 version?

My HTC Amaze takes screenshots if I press the power button and the home button at the same time. You should hear a camera shutter sound and the screenshot will be in your Gallery App under "Camera Shots". Many of the HTC phones with the newer version of Sense have this functionality now.

If this doesn't work, there are a lot of apps you can get from the Android Market that allow you to take a screenshot from your phone without rooting it. I've used Shoot Me, Screenshot It and Screenshot UX with good results, although not all of them are free apps.

You can also take screenshots while the phone is attached to your PC or Mac if you have the Android SDK installed (doesn't need to be rooted), but this is a little more involved and you have to have the phone connected to the computer with the USB cable. You don't need Eclipse to do this, just search "DDMS" for some more info, although this is probably way more involved than most people want to get into.


does my zte model n817 have a built in IR blaster so I can use it as a tv remote for my Sony tv I have a ZTE model N817 android smart phone.  Does it have a built in IR blaster? If not, what do I need to do so that I can use my phone as a remote for my Sony flat screen TV.

According to the spec sheet at http://mobilespecs.net/phone/ZTE/ZTE_Quest_N817.html, it says IrDA = no which means it doesn't have an IR blaster.

As for using it as a tv remote, you can always get an 'ir blaster dongle' - there are various types, if you don't use the headphone port there are convenient ones that will go into the 3.5mm headphone port and not hang around as wires etc. (easier to carry in pocket).

However, you should check the TV as well; if its a newer tv with bluetooth remote then you just need a bluetooth remote control app.


Windows phone, Android OS I made the mistake of getting a windows phone because the price was enticing. I want to run android O.S. if at all possible, being a working full time school full time person I'm looking to save money. Really I need the applications so I can interact with the rest of the world.

NO you can't based on the hardware and most windows phone are made by nokia which android doesn't support, if its been less then 2 weeks most phone providers will allow you to exchange your phone.


Delete backed up photos on Samsung S4 mini How do I delete backed up photos from my gallery (Samsung S4 mini).

Please note:  I took photos with my phone camera.  Those photos were uploaded to Google maps.  Once they were uploaded I deleted the photos. But those photos still show in gallery.  It won't let me delete it.  When I click on the photos there is no "delete icon (dustbin)".  It gives an options to share the photos but not to delete them.  Please help.

If there's no option to delete, then they're already gone from your device. Google keeps a thumbnail available for you so that you can see the photo, share, etc., without taking up a ton of storage on your phone.

If you want them really gone, you'll need to go to Google Photos and delete them from there. (Actually, they'll go into the Trash, where they'll be auto-deleted in 3 days, but they'll get removed from your photo gallery on your phone.)


How do I determine which calendar entry is breaking my Android calendar sync? First a bit of background for those who aren't familiar: Just a few weeks ago Samsung released their ICS build of TouchWiz, and my phone (a Samsung Galaxy SII) updated over the air. Ever since none of my calendars have synced. It turns out there's a bug wherein recurring events that were present before the update (I think it's only them?) can cause calendars to stop syncing. (I've searched in vain for a concise link to the problem to reference... )

I've tried factory resetting to no avail and I've tried deleting all my extraneous calendars and the recurring events I could find, but sync still doesn't want to work. Is there any way that I can track down which events are causing the trouble more precisely?

I know it's typically frowned upon to answer your own question, but I have. This was a total PEBKAC. I use a different calendar app than the default, so I disabled the pre-installed Samsung calendar in the Application settings in order to stop it appearing in my application list. This is fine and doesn't affect anything, but I apparently got a little trigger happy and also quite stupidly disabled the Calendar Storage process. Yeah, that'll mess up calendar sync something fierce.


Unable to Update HTC One M8 to Android 6 My HTC One M8 phone has just gotten the Android 6 update (like a week or few ago). I successfully downloaded and unzipped the update. However, I was the confronted with this screen (sorry for the poor resolution, I took it with my iPad since I couldn't screenshot):

I tried to do this multiple times (including recently, which is when I took the photo), and the same thing kept happening. I contacted HTC support, and someone told me to download a ROM onto my laptop and update from my laptop. However, to do so, I also needed to download HTC Sync Manager.

HTC Sync Manager had trouble connecting to my phone. It would start a sync process, but then say that there was an error. After an hour of fruitless research, I tried to update anyway. After a bit of updating, it would say that the update failed, and it would just revert back to the old OS. Frustrated, I said that I would try again later, and uninstalled/deleted everything that I had downloaded.

Trying it again now, I'm getting the same thing. What can I do to circumvent this and successfully update? Everything I've tried, I've tried twice.

SOLVED: OK I couldn't get this update either tried moving as much as I could to the SD card had over 16GB free still wouldn't work till I wiped the cache.

Here are the steps to wipe the cache
1) Hold power button
2) Press restart
3) As soon as you see the HTC logo, hold the down volume button
4) If done correctly you should be met with a white screen, from there go down to recovery and press power button
5) Within a minute, you should be greeted with black Android System Recovery Page
6) From there click Wipe Cache Partition
7) After that is done, go to reboot system now and once in android again, download update.

You must have battery at least 35% charged to install the update.


Why do the photos taken on my HTC One X not have a date/time displayed on them? When I take a photo on my HTC One X, the date and time that the picture was taken do not appear appear (printed) on the photo. I can't set the date or time in the settings, either. If I use a third party application, I can set the date/time and see the timestamp on the photo.

My old HTC Legend (Gingerbread) had an option to choose whether the timestamp would appear or not.

Is it a feature not supported by Android 4.x, or is it just because of HTC One X model? It was not present on Ice Cream Sandwich or since I've upgraded to Jelly Bean.

This feature is rather be app-specific. Probably the default photo app on your Legend does this by default, while the one on you One X does not. To achieve the desired results on your new device, you might need to find a 3rd party photo app supporting this feature. Your phone is certainly capable of it, that's not the issue.


How to open local web pages in Chrome on external SD card I wanted to be able to open local files in the Chrome browser. If I tap a local file (htm, rss) or paste a valid "file:" URI into Chrome it does not work when file is on external SD card. I am using Samsung S4 Android 5.0.1 (not rooted). I tested a few paths in the chrome browser and found works ok on internal SD card but that there is no read access to any data on the external SD card even the private data folder (I was expecting Chrome should have access to private folder on exteranl card??). Selecting a file E.g. file:///mnt/sdcard/Documents/testarc.htm on internal SD card works fine but paths like file:///storage/extSdCard will not show a directory.

I know that access restrictions were added to Android 5.x but don't applications have access to a private data folder (under /Android/data) on external SD card by default?

Does Chrome (com.android.chrome) have read access the file:///storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.android.chrome/files/ ?

Is there a way to enable it?

I have two file manager apps installed - ES file explorer, Total Commander, and the is "Myfiles" app which came with the phone. If use ES file explorer or Myfiles the "open with" windows only lists Firefox not Chrome, or Samsung browsers. Choosing Firefox will open the web page file (htm) (even on external SD card), so is there a way to add other browsers to "open with" list?

In MS Windows file association was relatively simple using "registered file types" options. Is the Andriod equivalent?

Does Chrome (com.android.chrome) have read access the file:///storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.android.chrome/files/ ?

One workaround I found is to download something (anything) and when you get the download prompt, choose to save to SD.  You can also choose from chrome settings Settings -> Downloads -> Download location.  Once you save one file, you will be prompted to grant the extSDcard permission.


How to quickly write an apostrophe with Swiftkey keyboard In Swiftkey how do you right an apostrophe (') for words like "can't", "hasn't", or "the dog's bone"? Is there a way to do it without taking your finger off the keyboard and going to another menu?

At the bottom there is no apostrophe like there is in swype, only a period. To get to the apostrophe you need to click on the button that says "123" but that requires taking your finger off the keyboard. Auto correction/auto detection has nothing to do with it since using an apostrophe to show possesion can is just as allowed as not having an apostrophe there to show plural e.g. The dogs bone vs The dog's bone.

The way I do it is to have space insert the suggestion. That way I write cant and hit spaces and Swiftkey inserts the suggestion of can't in its place. I basically never use the apostrophe key.


Internal storage displays as empty when connected to PC My HTC One M9, when connected as a MTP device to my PC shows the correct portion of free memory to used memory, but when I try to access the files, it says this folder is empty. Any ideas? I am running android 6.0

SD card not showing files when connected to pc the first answer fixed my problem, just clear media storage and external storage, and boom, it shows all files in internal storage.


How can I return to locked boorloader, unrooted and original ROM state on Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE500KL? I need to return the phone for reparation. The handset is broken. The warranty is void in the current state of the mobile phone.

How do I return to its original state?

ASUS already upload stock ROM for ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser Series, You can download the ROM's via download links below :

Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE550KL:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/ZenFone/ZE550KL/UL-Z00L-WW-1.16.40.763-user.zip

Asus Zenfone 2 Laser ZE500KL:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/ZenFone/ZE500KL/UL-ASUS_Z00E-WW-12.8.5.222-user.zip
Adb fastboot Tool
USB drivers
Laser ZE550kl

How to Flash Stock Rom on Zenfone 2
In this tutorial I'm taking WW_1.16.40.763 in ZE550KL/ WW_12.8.5.222 in ZE500KL as an example.

Step 1. Once you have downloaded the full stock rom, rename the zip file to WW_1.16.40.763 / WW_12.8.5.222

Step 2. The reason why we did this is, by renaming the zip file the phone gets notified that a new version of software is available to install.

Step 3. Copy the renamed zip file to internal memory of your zenfone 2 laser.

Step 4. Disconnect the phone from pc, you'll get a notification of available update.

Step 5. Install it. Now the phone reboots with the fresh stock rom flashed in it.

If the above method not work try the below one.

How to Flash Stock Rom on Zenfone 2

Turn off your Zenfone 2
Go to recovery mode (Tutorial HERE)
Select apply update from ADB
Connect your Zenfone 2 to your PC with USB cable
Open command prompt in Windows (in the same folder where ADB is located)
Check connection by type adb devices if connection successful will be a list of Zenfone 2 device
Type adb sideload file.zip (file.zip=adjust the filename, asus zenfone firmware that you download earlier)
Wait until the process is complete
Zenfone 2 will flash to clean thoroughly

Hope it helps.


What's the fastest and most intuitive way to transfer and install an Android application from a PC? I need an Android app to be installed on my phone. I have the APK on my PC. How can I receive it without manually transferring it over USB or using the adb install method. Preferably via WiFi.

You can transfer the file over with something like Pushbullet. It has some file size limitations, which I don't remember right now, but if it's small enough it's a very useful application to do that sort of thing with.


Typing accented letters from physical keyboard I use a SGH-i927 Captivate Glide (4.0.4 AT&T stock rom, rooted) which has a physical US-keyboard. I frequently type in my native language which uses letters with umlauts. I know the trick that keeping e.g. 'a' pressed for a moment brings up a popup that has different variations of 'a'. However, I find that very clumsy since it breaks my typing flow. I always use the same umlauted 'a' from the popup, so the other 8 variations of 'a' are useless.

What I'm now looking for is some kind of a shortcut to 'ä'. Ideal would be the same kind of behavior that can be seen with the top row of a virtual keyboard and its embedded numbers.

How can I make 'a' turn into 'ä' after keeping the key pressed for ~0.5 seconds?

I don't believe there is a way to do this with stock keyboard.  Try a 3rd-party keyboard app that supports language packs and transliteration for hardware keyboards.

I've personally used AnySoftKeyboard with a plugin for my native language, which worked great on my old G1's slide-out keyboard. Try to see if a layout pack for your language is available.


After update to GRJ90 I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot My phone updated to GRJ90 about two weeks ago and now I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot or USB tethering. When I try, my 3G connection is dropped. After disconnecting and waiting a few minutes, it comes back up. I used to be able to tether before the update. How can I bypass this, or stop the 3G from disconnecting when tethering. Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.

Phone: Nexus S 4G from Google
Carrier: Sprint

Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.

Sprint clamped down and disabled the previously free built-in tethering with the latest update. If you want USB tethering you can try PDANet, but wifi tethering will almost certainly require you to root, as it does on other devices.

Even with root, you don't necessarily need to use CyanogenMod if you don't want to, though; you could just as easily install a free tethering app (one example). This has been covered here a lot, in fact, so you might want to take a look at any wifi tethering apps noted in other questions.

See also: Is there a way to enable WiFi-tethering without root access?


Pause Android LogCat output How can I get a wider LogCat output than the one from the terminal window? I also want to be able to pause the output so I can actually read something.

My OS is Windows 7 X64.

Windows
Its easier, what you can do is this, from the cmd window, adb logcat > my_logcat.txt and just let it run, now, you can pause, resume the scrolling, in that cmd window, same keystrokes for Linux terminal, IIRC, now launch an editor and open the file 'my_logcat.txt' and there the results will show, had there not being a pause/resume in the cmd window, the file will get updated, such as using 'notepad2', 'Notepad++' or similar, the in-built Windows's version of Notepad would do very little justice.
Linux
From a Linux terminal under a GUI such as KDE/Gnome, using the two utilities combined, found on most distributions, multitail, which is like a tail unix utility, only more powerful!
adb logcat # want to see the logcat on the screen

Using Ctrl+S to suspend, then Ctrl+Q to resume the display, and simply mouse scroll the terminal to back-track seeing the logcat output.
The other way is this...
adb logcat > my_logcat.txt 2>&1 &
multitail my_logcat.txt

The first line above creates a background process by using the & at the end of the command, redirecting any errors to /dev/null hence 2>&1.
As the process is forked into the background, using multitail can perform, scroll-back on the logcat.


Can't install xposed framework I want to install the xposed framework on my Nexus 5 and in the framework, the install/update option doesn't work.

My Nexus 5 runs Android 5.0 (Lollipop).

The xposed framework does not currently support Android 5 (Lollipop). More specifically it doesn't work on the ART runtime which is available as a developer option on 4.4 and the only available runtime in Lollipop. You will have to wait for the xposed framework to be updated in order to install it on your Nexus 5 (or downgrade to 4.4 if it's that important).

Ryan's comment appears to show that it's actually the API level but I believe that's a side effect / symptom of running the ART runtime.


Add NFC functionality (like Nexus S) via SDIO standard in microsd to non-NFC phones? Google Nexus S is the first Android phone to include NFC (Near-field communication) for wireless hardware for applications such as contactless payment and perhaps proximity based target advertising.

I wonder if the micro SD card slot on other Android phones supports the SD IO standard. The SD card interface also defines an interface for devices as well as storage cards, for example a SD sized WiFi transmitter could be fitted to photo cameras for transmitting pictures to the internet as they were taken.

I wonder if the micro SD card slot also has this capability and if the NFC chip and antenna could be viable in such a form factor (and for some phones underneath the battery, but still user removable)?

A microSD NFC reader has been certified for commercial use (Visa certifies DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay NFC microSD ). We used a Nexus S to read, display, & share a video from an RFID sticker The Internet of Experiences: Consumer-based advertising using the Nexus S.  XtremeSignPost Consumer-based Advertising.


Protecting my Google identity in case my Android device gets stolen? My devices are all linked to my main Google account. This is encouraged, almost required, by Android, for example to make my Google Play apps available everywhere. However, it requires me to store my main Google password on the device, which provides access to a ton of sensitive data: all email, Drive documents, Google Wallet.

What can I do to protect myself in case one of my devices gets stolen?

The devices I currently have are Google Nexus 5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Google now has a device manager as part of Google services where you can do a remote wipe:

https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager

At least put a pin lock on your device so that it will be harder to access.

Don't enable Developer Options / keep adb on all the time.