Sony Ericsson WT19i doesn't detect my wifi network When I bought the phone and tried to connect to my wifi network it worked fine, but after 2 days, I don't know why, it just doesn't detect my wifi network.

When I go into Settings->Wireless & network Settings-> Wi-fi settings my network doesn't show up there. Lots of other networks appear there but not mine.

I tried configuring manually with SSID WPA/WPA2 PSK and it says not in range. After this I tried rooting phone but still no luck.

I have a Galaxy SII and 2 other computers working correctly with my network. What's causing the WT19i to be unable to find it?

Check this forum out, since you're rooted now:

SGS2 I9100G keeps disconnecting from WIFI after installing firmware XXLPQ

Try installing a new kernel (usually found on XDA).


What does a "crossed circle" system notification icon mean on Amazon Kindle Fire HD 10? I recently spotted a "crossed circle" system notification icon on my Fire HD 10.

What does it mean?

It means that you have not turned on the "hands free" feature of the Alexa app. Instead of just speaking to Alexa, you will first have to long press the home button to make her listen to you.


Is there a way to map/translate a pattern-lock to a numeric PIN? I just encrypted my Moto X (Gen 1) (KitKat 4.4.4) using the default encryption option from the Settings > Security menu. After the encryption process finished, it asks me, "Type password to decrypt storage". Only there's one problem: it never asked me for a password.

It seems I'm not the only one who experienced this. I've tried my Google password like 3 times, and, like that other poor soul, I haven't been able to find a way to map my pattern-lock to a PIN, which might be what Android used for the encryption.

For the mappings, I have tried a standard phone dial pad:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9

and a standard keyboard numpad:

7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3

and a wild guess based on how a developer might do it:

0 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8

Presumably, though not necessarily, Android stores that pattern as a string or number somehow. Given a certain unlock pattern, how do I find the string or number that represents that pattern?

To the moderators: I'm fine deleting this question if it's not on-topic. I think the question would have been on-topic if the answer fixed my problem. I'm not sure how you guys see that.

I downloaded the Android source and found the answer. The wild guess turns out to be right. This is the mapping:

0 1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8

If your pattern is from top-left to top-right (0->1->2) then down to bottom-right (2->5->8), the string version of the password is "01258".

The source for this comes from LockPatternUtils in package com.android.internal.widget:

/**
 * Serialize a pattern.
 * @param pattern The pattern.
 * @return The pattern in string form.
 */
public static String patternToString(List<LockPatternView.Cell> pattern) {
    if (pattern == null) {
        return "";
    }
    final int patternSize = pattern.size();

    byte[] res = new byte[patternSize];
    for (int i = 0; i < patternSize; i++) {
        LockPatternView.Cell cell = pattern.get(i);
        res[i] = (byte) (cell.getRow() * 3 + cell.getColumn());
    }
    return new String(res);
}

where the rows and columns are both {0,1,2}.

However, as I said in my question, I tried this mapping with my pattern, and it doesn't work to unlock my encryption. This turned out to be a dead end, but I hope this answer is helpful to others with a similar problem. (Note again that the other person who had this problem also tried to find the pattern-lock to PIN mapping, but the answer wasn't out there.)


How to root Android Jelly Bean from terminal inside Android I have installed the Android Terminal Emulator inside Android Jelly Bean (4.2.2).
The device being used is http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/mini-pcs/rk3188-android-mini-pc.
This device has problems connecting over adb to my computer. Am also unable to enter the recovery mode/download mode on this device. Hence I cannot use any of the standard tools for rooting my device.
However, I have been able to install the Android Terminal Emulator app inside Android Jelly Bean. Is it possible to root my device from the Android Terminal Emulator. Please guide me.

Is it possible to root a device via some custom system update file put in an SD? Even this could work out for me.

No. On a few devices' stock ROMs it's possible to use a security vulnerability in a driver or the kernel to root the device from the device itself, but they generally require a specific app to work (such as Framaroot for the devices and ROMs it supports). AFAIK, there isn't a single device you can exploit this way to get root from the command-line. On devices without such a vulnerability, you can only unlock the bootloader from fastboot, which requires you to be in fastboot mode, or some equivalent vendor-specific tool.


Google Voice Upgrade: Get a new number from Google or use my mobile number? Google voice added an upgrade recently, in which they allow to choose whether you want to use your own mobile number or get a new Google number.

Will I be able to activate my android with either one of the options? Is there a good reason why to prefer one over another?

Take a look at the Choosing your Google number page in their help section. Specifically, have a look at the "Learn more about the difference between the two options" expandable link.

The gist is that unless you have Sprint, choosing to use your mobile number will simply allow you to port your mobile number and turn it into your GVoice number or continue using GVoice Lite. This means you lose your mobile number for your cell plan, which is probably not what you want in most cases.

If you have Sprint then you can choose to have your GVoice number be a copy of your actual mobile number, allowing GVoice communication to essentially appear as though it originated from your mobile phone (among other things, explained more at About Google Voice on Sprint).


Boot HTC Desire S into recovery mode without power button Hi Android Enthusiasts,

The power button of my HTC Desire S is broken (no response whatsoever), so I have to connect my phone to a usb cable to get it out of stand-by mode. I understood that with a custom rom I can use a volume button for instance to get it out of stand-by mode. However, for flashing the rom onto the HTC Desire S I have to boot it into recovery mode. Which involves pressing the power button...
Any alternative ways to boot the phone into recovery mode?

Yes:

Make sure ADB is installed on your PC (see e.g. Is there a minimal installation of ADB?)
Make sure you have USB debugging enabled (Settings → Development)
Connect your device to the PC via USB
On the PC, open a command prompt and type adb reboot recovery

Your device should now reboot into recovery mode.


does google know my browsing history by virtue of my phone being linked to my google account? I am completely new to the smartphone world - I have just purchased a Galaxy S4. I want to know if there is any way for me to "log out" of my google account and browse (and generally use the phone) without Google being able to associate my history with my account (which I understand is somehow linked with the phone?).

I am a longtime user of various Google services on my non-mobile devices, but I tend to be fairly careful always to log out of google when I am finished with the particular activity (gmail, calendar, etc) so that everything else I do (whether reading espn or anything else) doesn't become linked to my google account.

I am aware of incognito mode and clearing browsing history and cache - are there additional steps to take?

The title of your question sounds like you're talking about Chrome's "web history" feature. When you browse using Chrome (either on your Android device or on desktop), or from Google Now searches, the pages you visit are logged in your browser history. Chrome syncs your browser history to Google's servers, to let you access your history from any computer where you're logged into the same Google account, and for other Google services such as Google Now.

If you don't want your browser history stored on Google's servers or used in this way, go to the Google Settings app, click Accounts & privacy, and turn off Web History. (As Mr Kutch points out, there's also a web interface.)

If you use some other browser that isn't Chrome, such as Firefox or Opera Mobile, Google has no access to your browsing history.


Unable to login to the android stackoverflow app I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask.

I've the stackExchange Stackoverflow app on my android smartphone. I signed up to stackoverflow on my PC using my g+ account.

The app's login screen doesn't offer g+ login. I dont't have a user/pass combo set up. How can I log-in to SO on my android phone?

thanks!

If you can't see Log in using Google, which is strange, use "Login using another OpenID".


Things to check after dropping a Nexus 7 I just dropped my Nexus 7 from about a height of 4 feet. It landed on a hard floor, but luckily there were no cracks. But, when I picked it up, it.....rebooted....?

I've read sites telling me that the hardware inside tends to break before the screen, so what should I check to see what, if anything, is broken?

Your tablet probably rebooted because the impact caused the battery to go loose for a split second.

I would check all the sensors with an app like CPU-Z, making sure that all the sensors respond to any change. That should cover most of the potential damage.


How does Nougat encryption work technically? I found the explanation for Android M, how does it work now in Android N?
Bonus question: is it right to say that the encryption in N is weaker than the one in M? Because the OS can now be started up without pin/pass, so maybe this could bring some advantages to an attacker?

This  doesn't address how encryption is done in Nougat but addresses your concern

  Because the OS can now be started up without pin/pass, so maybe this could bring some advantages to an attacker?

The boot process is actually strengthened by strictly enforcing verified boot

As explained in Google is making it harder to root Android 7.0 Nougat,

  Google wants to make its OS safer and to do that it has come up with features like verified boot to make sure that everything is working as it should be, and that no one — not even the intended user — can do something to change that and expose themselves to unnecessary risks.

What happens if your device fails the test on booting?

  If your device fails the tests   — Google gives a corrupt boot image and verified partition as examples — it may not boot at all. But if it does boot, it will do so in a “limited capacity” and only with your consent.

Downsides of this

Difficulty in rooting, which would be overcome in time by developers or if OEMs don't implement this feature in their devices
Data corruption

  Google says that by using verified boot the impact of data corruption increases, and therefore reliability is reduced. However, there is an error correction feature that will help recover from data loss, which should also minimize the chances of it impacting users. Google notes that there is an overhead of 0.8 percent with regards to space but no performance toll, unless, of course, there is data corruption detected.

(Emphasis supplied)

See for details on Strictly Enforced Verified Boot with Error Correction

tl:dr; : Theoretically, this ensures that your OS system is intact on booting by not booting or booting with reduced functionality if the system is corrupted / modified by malware or attackers - which increases your protection.


How to find my recovery version I am using CyanogenMod with CM-Recovery. my phone is encrypted. So I update my ROM using sideload.

But I want which version of recovery I am using.

installing something like ROM Manager might help.

check this screenshot: https://lh4.ggpht.com/mCWZ9q9niBabx-HBbrlez8hFxAh0VrhNl2y0_diCmxbmj93BF36nuPR_KcACgYXuXstd=h900-rw


Stock 2.2 Clock app locks phone Last week, my LG Optimus V started having a strange problem. Steps:

Open Clock
Tap "Alarms" icon at the bottom of the screen
I must enter my pattern to access alarms
Do anything else in Clock
… ?
Exiting Clock requires entering lock pattern

This happened once before, but I don't remember what I did to fix it, or even if I did anything (it might have just fixed itself).

Had anyone else had this problem? What did you do to fix it?

Edit: The screen is locking when the main Clock screen (Activity?) is displayed. Exiting from Alarms (for example) doesn't require unlocking the phone again.

Edit (2011-12-20): My solution was to download Alarm Clock Launcher and just bypass opening Clock. My Optimus still has this issue; we'll see if I end up having it on my new Motorola Triumph.

I haven't figured out what the problem was, but I did find a workaround for my particular use case: Install Alarm Clock Launcher (donate version).

That way, I can change the alarm clock settings without having to unlock my device twice.


Auto-switching Audio Widget? I use a lot of audio apps on my HTC One, like Doggcatcher, Google Music, Tunein Radio, Pandora, NPR, etc. Most, if not all, of these apps have a 4x1 widget which controls playback. These are very helpful, but I have to devote 1-2 homescreen pages to these widgets, even though only one of them is relevant to me at a time.

Is there a way to reserver a 4x1 block of space on the homescreen, and have that space filled with the 4x1 widget of whatever app is currently outputting audio to the system?

This is kind of similar to the HTC One Sense's lockscreen implementation, where it has a generic widget that shows play, previous, and next buttons that control whatever app is currently playing audio, and shows the title of the currently playing track.

I think this would be a good idea, and would be very useful to me. Is there anything out there that can support this functionality?

An alternate solution might be a generic audio widget that just shows the title track, with play, previous, and next controls, just like the HTC One lockscreen widget above. It's not ideal, as I like the app-specific functions (thumbs-up, etc.), but it would scratch the itch.

And a third variant is a kind of "1x1 multi-widget", capable of holding other widgets, and expanding to their size when opened. There are several of those "widget folders" available, see e.g. Widget Folder or Widget Container (there might be more of them, but those are the two I was able to find short-term). Then each of your widgets consumes just 1x1 when not used, and the one you use opens on top of them.

To make it more plastic and better understandable:

Widget Container: All closed, weather opened (click images to enlarge)

The first screenshot shows 4 closed "widget containers" (the green ones). In the second screenshot, the "Weather Container" was opened, and here covers  4x4, i.e. the entire screen.

Admitted, not the most beautiful, but a practical solution to your problem ;)


Go back to previous custom rom - adb issue I decided to try a custom ROM from here.

I downloaded Exodus ROM to my computer, and via ADB transmitted it to the sdcard/0/ folder. I then rebooted and flashed this custom ROM. Everything went well but I don't like this version, partly because it seems old.

The problem is that I don't know how to go back to the previous ROM(Jellybean).

I made a backup of Jellybean to a folder of clockwordmod, but when I flashed the Exodus ROM the Jellybean ROM was not there.

So, what to do? I have it on my computer, but the problem is how to put it back to the phone. The problems are:

The ADB connection is not working via USB cable any longer.
I could download an ADB app from Play Store that uses Wi-fi, but the Play Store is missing in the phone.

How could I possibly solve this issue?

Very grateful for answers.

Edit: I succeeded to downloading it to my phone, that is the zipfile that holds the OS jellybean. But at the bootmenu where I select the zipfile it starts but soon fails (installation aborted).

finding update package
opening update package
installing update
installation aborted*

And then the droid is laying down with a read exlamation above.

The zipfiles contents look like this

[T]he Play Store is missing in the phone.

It is because Exodus doesn't come with Google Apps (aka gapps). You'll have to flash them explicitly. You may try these links to download Gapps:

AndroidFileHost
PA-Google Apps Plus(All ROM's) at XDA

Caution: Always flash gapps package meant for your ROM only. E.g. Do not flash gapps for 5.1.1 over a 5.0.2 ROM, or the vice-versa. You'll end up with bootloops, device stuck at boot logo, and what not!

  The ADB connection is not working via USB cable any longer.

Since you've already mentioned that the backup of Jellybean ROM is on the PC as well, you may transfer it to your Android device without using ADB at all.

Connect your phone via MTP into your PC and transfer the files; or,
As I mentioned in the comments, you can host an FTP server on PC (see this answer for know-how) and access it over wifi/hotspot/USB-tethering.

Thereafter, you can use a browser like Firefox(apk available) to access the backup files and can download into Android.

Alternatively, you can host a server (locally; see this answer for know-how) on your Android and do the transfer from PC. But that would be too much to detail here (unless asked).

  I don't know how to go back to the previous ROM(Jellybean)[?]

Once you've transferred files from PC into Android (in the folder clockworkmod):

Boot into Clockworkmod recovery;
Find some backup/restore option and select the backup file you transferred. It's best to clear (before restoring the backup) Data, System, Cache, Dalvik/ART cache to avoid any issue.
Reboot the device.

Done!


LG android phone emulator Is there an LG phone emulator to test android apps on ?
Since some LG phones show different behavior from other devices.

Nexus 5 (LG D820) emulator images are readily available from Android Studio.
Tools--> Android--> AVD Manager --> Nexus 5


Location History Accuracy? Ok, I have a big problem! My fiance says he was at lunch while google location history shows that for over an hour he was in the hotel next door to the restaurant. He has a Galaxy 3.

The dots at the bottom of the screen are from the restaurant and the dots up at the top are the hotel. None of the blue circles from the 2 locations run into one another either.

How likely is it that this is inaccurate?

Izzy, in his comment, linked this previous question which explains how Location data is gathered. I recommend reading it for a better understanding of the technology. (It also seems to be contextually applicable)

In this case, the phone was most likely assuming that it was inside the hotel because it could see the hotel's Wifi access point.


SELinux prevents my init.rc exec command to execute I've added a exec command at the end of init.rc file.

on property:dev.bootcomplete=1
    exec u:r:shell:s0 shell shell -- /system/bin/am start -n com.example.package/com.example.package.MainActivity

This exec runs in u:r:shell:s0 SELinux context, from user shell and in group shell. But SELinux still believes in access denial:

[28.918751] init: Starting service 'exec 3 (/system/bin/am)'...
[28.920227] init: cannot execve('/system/bin/am'): Permission denied
[28.920356] type=1400 audit(22128374.236:11): avc: denied { entrypoint } for pid=3887 comm="init" path="/system/bin/am" dev="dm-0" ino=292 scontext=u:r:shell:s0 tcontext=u:object_r:system_file:s0 tclass=file permissive=0
[28.921791] init: Service 'exec 3 (/system/bin/am)' (pid 3887) exited with status 127

That's wonderful when I issue the very same following command in adb shell and it runs successfully, having SELinux enabled.

/system/bin/am start -n com.example.package/com.example.package.MainActivity

This is id of adb shell:

uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) groups=2000(shell),1004(input),1007(log),1011(adb),1015(sdcard_rw),1028(sdcard_r),3001(net_bt_admin),3002(net_bt),3003(inet),3006(net_bw_stats) context=u:r:shell:s0

So, why does my exec command fail even though it has exactly the same identity of adb shell?

I finally managed to solve the problem. There are two problems:

You're not using the "exactly the same identity of adb shell". There are a couple of groups to which adb shell belongs but they're not mentioned in that exec command.
/system/bin/am on its own is not executable, it's a shell script and should be passed to /system/bin/sh to be executed.

So, here's the final and working init.rc statements:

on property:dev.bootcomplete=1
    exec u:r:shell:s0 shell shell input log adb sdcard_rw sdcard_r net_bt_admin net_bt inet net_bw_stats -- /system/bin/sh /system/bin/am start -n com.example.package/com.example.package.MainActivity


Is it possible to install the Nexus One Calendar app on the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate? I've been using the Galaxy S for a little while now, first on the stock 2.1, and then on stock 2.2. I'm mostly happy with this phone, but one of the things that I don't like is the Calendar app that comes with it (most of all - the fact that the it doesn't display the appointment titles on weekly displays).

So I've been looking for various calendars in the market, but the version that I remember being most happy with is the Calendar that comes installed in the Nexus One.

Is there some way to install it on another phone?

You'd have to find someone who's extracted it to an APK file, and side-load it onto your Galaxy. This link gives a nice tutorial on how to side-load an app.

Probably the best place to start to find it extracted would be in the forums on XDA.


Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC? I'm trying to recover accidentally deleted video from HUAWEI P10. I use Ubuntu so I tried to recover it using photorec.

The problem is that I can't see mobile internal storage or SD card storage in the list:

First row is a HDD, second row is SSD, third is external HDD and the fourth is I don't know what but not any of the mobile storages.

EDIT
The last row is present only when mobile is connected to the PC.

The mobile is connected to the PC through USB cable and I've set transfer files option. Same result with Transfer photos.

Do you know what to do?

Connecting to PC through USB (MTP) doesn't expose underlying filesystem (ext4 or f2fs) of internal storage (/data partition) to PC. But recovery programs need direct access to filesystem i.e. block level access and won't work with MTP (Transfer Files) which is just a client-server type protocol for data transfer.
You need USB Mass Storage (UMS) which is disabled on Android 3.1.x and above, when MTP was introduced and then UMS was discontinued gradually afterwards in later releases. See Android's Storage Journey and my answer to What is /storage/emulated/0/? for details.
OEMs may add UMS configuration to their devices. For samples you may see on property:sys.usb.config=mass_storage triggers in init.qcom.usb.rc and init.msm.usb.configfs.rc files in a Qualcomm device source.
However it's always possible to enable UMS manually provided that kernel support is present. The process described below should also work for older devices those had UMS officially supported. You need root access or at least custom recovery to enable UMS.

HOW TO ENABLE UMS?
Android Composite Gadget driver (which is an extension to Linux kernel's USB Gadget API) exposes Android in USB device mode to a USB host like PC. Different USB functions (like UMS, MTP, RNDIS etc.) can be configured and switched using sysfs interfaces. Later mainline Linux kernel added the ability to configure USB gadget modes through configfs interfaces. New Android devices also use the same (see this sample init's .rc file).
OLD DEVICES:
Kernel must be built with CONFIG_USB_F_MASS_STORAGE and Android Composite Gadget driver (CONFIG_USB_G_ANDROID):
cd /sys/class/android_usb/android0
echo -n 0 >enable
echo -n '/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata' >f_mass_storage/lun/file
echo -n 'mass_storage' >functions
echo -n <VID> >idVendor
echo -n <PID> >idProduct
echo -n 1 >enable

* Other files in gadget such as {iSerial,iProduct,iManufacturer} are usually set on device boot when creating the gadget.
NEW DEVICES:
Kernel must be built with CONFIG_USB_CONFIGFS_MASS_STORAGE:
cd /config/usb_gadget/g1
echo -n 'msc' >configs/b.1/strings/0x409/configuration
echo -n <VID> >idVendor
echo -n <PID> >idProduct
for f in configs/b.1/f*; do rm $f; done
ln -s functions/mass_storage.0 configs/b.1/f1
echo -n '/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata' >configs/b.1/f1/lun.0/file

* Other files in gadget such as UDC and strings/0x409/{manufacturer,product,serialnumber} are usually set on device boot when creating the gadget.
NOTES:

Paths may vary - including directories g1, b.1, f1 etc. - depending on device and the hard-coded configuration.
In most cases you need to set proper USB Vendor ID (VID) and Product ID (PID) to make the PC identify the mass storage device. E.g. 05C6 is Qualcomm's VID and 1000 is their PID for UMS device. See .rc files on your device for device specific IDs.
Exposing mounted /data filesystem to UMS may corrupt the filesystem, and must be avoided. Use UMS in recovery mode.
If your /data partition is FDE encrypted, you need to decrypt it before exposing to UMS.
To make sure your data is recoverable, see my answer to How to make a complete factory reset, without anyone being able to retrieve my data?

Now /data will appear as a partition on Linux PC which you can mount (preferably read-only to avoid overwriting data). However recovery tools including extundelete mostly don't need mounting filesystems.
If you have custom recovery, another option is to dd out an image of /data partition to external SD card and then mount it on Linux PC as a loop file. For this and other options to access internal storage at block level, see my answers to related questions.
PS:
Using the same methods it's possible to expose a loop file like ISO image or any other filesystem as UMS or CDROM device by writing its path instead of block device path.

RELATED:

How to recover a deleted file from /data partition?
How to take full image backup of partitions or eMMC?
Is there any way to recover data from 2nd SD partition?


Android remote factory settings restore My friend has asked me about the possibility of doing a remote "factory settings restore" in his android devices. He works with android tablets and needs to do an automatic factory-reset every day.

Do you know if it would be possible?

Here are some general ideas your friend could try. None of them are fully fleshed-out solutions, but they may point him in the right direction.

Custom Rom

If you can install custom Roms, you could set one up that automatically does a factory reset when the device is rebooted. And you could easily use a scripting app to automatically reboot the device at a certain time (ie 3AM).

Tweaked Stock Rom

As long as your device(s) can get root, you could temporarily root them and add a script or app to the system partition. This way, you could do a factory reset without wiping out your script. Once it is on the system partition, you could also remove root if you want.

There is an XDA Thread that has some useful scripts you could use. One of them, ROMReset, should be able to reset the device to factory settings when run. If you have Tasker or another automation app (also installed on the system partition), you could simply call this script every day at 3AM to reset the device.

Note: This also requires a custom recovery. With the scripts in the link, you specifically need ClockWorkMod (CWM).

Limited User Profiles

Instead of resetting the entire device, you could set up a limited user account that lacks the ability to install apps. Then figure out how to automatically remove and readd the user (at a certain time of the day).

Other

There doesn't seem to be anything existing to easily provide a solution. Even for desktop computers, you have to install custom software (such as Deep Freeze) in order to get a similar result.

You will need to make something custom in order for everything to be streamlined.


Android won't start. It keeps showing Samsung Galaxy logo It keeps showing the logo and doesn't get into Android. What do you recommend me to do?

I've tried hard reset, it didn't work.

(click image to enlarge)

I've installed 4.1.2 Jelly Bean XXEMD2 Firmware from the scratch. It's working now
Instructions: http://port135.com/2013/06/30/708/


Default google search country I am normally fairly astute at being able to change settings etc, however, I have hit a problem I cannot overcome and thought to ask here:

In android chrome, when I perform a search the searches (as of Wednesday) are all performed in google.nl and the results are returned in English.  This means the results are more appropriate for someone living in the Netherlands and not in the UK.  I was wondering how I change the default search location as I cannot find it in Android at all (My PC based Chrome works as normal, and I can change that quite straightforwardly).

Would love to know how to set the default google search location for chrome back to google.com or google.co.uk.

All assistance gratefully accepted!

Cheers!

Turns out there is no simple way that also preserves open tabs etc...
The only way I have found to do it, through trial and error is to go to Settings > apps> chrome and clear all data, then when you -rerun chrome it sets the default search locale back to the country you are in.


Desire HD GPS can't "lock" on a satellite? I'm a new Android user. This is also my first time to use a GPS device so I don't have any idea on how long it takes for a typical GPS device to get a "lock".

I just bought the HTC Desire HD last week. Everything is running fine until I tested the GPS today.

I noticed something strange when I used the "Location" application and it gets stuck in "Waiting for location". To check if this is an app issue, I used "Maps" and pressed the "My Location" button, and it said something like "Your location is currently unavailable". I've tried other "map"-type applications but the story is the same, I can't get my location.

Now, I've done some research and it seems that it will actually take a long time for the device to get a lock for the firs time (something about "almanacs" and A-GPS "setting). I've also read about the limitations of GPS (you need to be in a line-of-sight, clear weather, etc).

So, what I've done is I've downloaded the "GPS Status and Toolbox" app from the market. I've gone ahead a cleared and re-downloaded my A-GPS setting. I've also removed the "CAPDASE" rubber-case from the device to reduce the chance of interference.

Using the said app, I was happy to see that my device was able to "fix" and "locate" GPS satellites (I get 4/5). The weird thing is, I can't get any "data" (LONG/LAT?) from the satellites. The numbers below (see image) are not showing in my device, instead, it is replaced by a "loading" animated image. (like the used to indicate an "AJAX" load from webpages). While all of this is happening the GPS icon in the notification bar is blinking (Should it not blink when I get a "lock"?)

What is happening here? Is this normal? How long should I wait before I get a lock? Please help!

Additional information:

Android 2.2.1 and latest firmware from HTC.
Tried rebooting and clearing/redownload A-GPS.
Enabled "use network" on Settings->Location (Is this Assisted-GPS?)
Left the device on line-of-sight with around 4/5 satellites for about an hour and still can't get "data".

Thanks!

I advise you to use the application GPS test, where you can see (in a bar chart) the satellites your device sees and how good the reception is for each satellite.

If the GPS of my device is working, the first satellite shows up in less then 5 seconds or so. Then I gradually see more and more satellites appearing, with a lock taking something like a few minutes (or much less).

If my GPS is not working, no satellites appear, not even after 10 minutes or more of waiting. (However, take care, as the app does sometimes show old satellite charts, but you can easily see this because the reception values for each of the satellites remain constant, while they normally change every second or so)

And yes, the GPS icon stops blinking once it locks on a position. That's when the latitude and longitude values are available.


Can I turn off wifi, GPS, etc. on Android phone overnight? I'd like for my Android phone to automatically turn off some features overnight to save battery, and re-enable them in the morning.  Among the things I'd like to turn do:

Turn off wifi
Turn off the GPS
Use only 2G data networks

I don't need any fancy idle detection.  I'd be happy with the ability to do this from, say, 12am to 6am.

What Android apps are good for this sort of thing?

If you don't mind paying for an app, then this is very similar to the sort of thing that Locale for Android does, you can set it to switch stuff on or off, or run apps on your phone when certain conditions like fine/coarse location, etc are met. There are also quite a few Locale plugins (many of them free) available on the market that give it loads of extra functionality.


Is there a way for a website or app to view the contents of my internal storage without my permission? I see there are a lot of articles about the restrictions imposed on JavaScript in Windows Chrome. It can't access the filesystem of a user without the user himself uploading it to the server of the PWA. But I see none about JavaScript running on Android Chrome. Are there the same restrictions on JavaScript in Android Chrome as that of Windows?
For example I open a PWA on my Chrome, suppose Telegram, so will Telegram be able to access my files like my photos, videos, documents etc. without my permission?
Concisely, if I grant storage permission to browser X and open a web application Y in that browser, does that mean that Y can also access my media, files etc?
JavaScript aside is there any other way for any PWA or web app or website to view the contents of my internal storage without my permission?

Are there the same restrictions on JavaScript in Android Chrome as that of Windows?

Apps on Android are already containerized in multiple sandboxes, be it a web browser or some other app. There's Linux kernel's robust Discretionary Access Control (DAC); UIDs / GIDs / modes, supplemented by Mandatory Access Control (MAC); SELinux. Every app's Java virtual machine (the native process) runs with its own unique UID and SELinux context. Android also makes use of Linux namespaces, capabilities and seccomp. See Application Sandbox.
In addition to that Android has it's own permission control framework. Access to system resources, devices and filesystems is governed by a long list of manifest permissions like Storage, Camera, Contacts etc. which have different protection levels. See Permissions.
So any further restriction put on apps' internal code (like in JS) provides no significant improvement on Android.
From your comment:

But if all Android apps are sandboxed then how can a person upload a file to a website.

It's achieved through Android's external shared storage which is accessible to apps only after user grants permission.

Concisely, if I grant storage permission to browser X and open a web application Y in that browser, does that mean that Y can also access my media, files etc?

Definitely yes. There's no restriction from OS side. A web application runs inside a web browser. A web browser is an ordinary Android app. When an Android app starts, a native UNIX process is forked which is subject to all DAC, MAC and other restrictions at kernel level. A web application running in the same native process isn't a separate entity. From OS's view, the whole native process is a single unit. So the same restrictions apply to the whole code in that process, whether it's written in Java, JS, C, Python, or any other language.

JavaScript aside, is there any other way for any PWA or web app or website to view the contents of my internal storage without my permission?

Well, we first need to define my and internal storage.
DAC on desktop OSes (at least on Windows and Linuxes) is different than on Android. On desktop OSes files belong to human users. So when you say my files, that means they all are assigned an identifier (UID/GID) which represents a human user. And all programs run by a human user also run with the same UID, so they can access each other's files. That's why additional restrictions (such as JS improvement in Chrome as you mentioned, and Firefox's use of Linux namespaces etc.) are put on programs, particularly those interfacing the internet e.g. web browsers. Also check firejail.
But on Android, it's the apps which are isolated from each other, not human users. Every app is assigned a unique UID/GID and files belong to apps. For more details see my answer to Are multiple-users protected from each other differently than apps?.
Coming to storage, Android stores configurations, apps and data to partition mounted at /data which is not accessible without rooting (Why are superuser permissions needed to acess /data partition?). Apps have their private storage (in /data/data/) which isn't accessible to any other app because every app's directory has its own UID/GID which belongs to its owner app (that's how DAC works).
In order to share files among apps, Android provides a permission-less emulated filesystem called external shared storage. It's a physically internal storage (/data/media directory) accessible at /sdcard/ (primary), or additionally can be a physically external SD card (secondary). External shared storage contains private directories which belong to individual apps. These directories are available to apps without requiring any permission. The rest of the public directories are only accessible to apps which are granted Storage permission (READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) by the user.
However the filesystem level access to whole /sdcard is very much deprecated in Android 10 and 11 due to its broad nature. Now there are MediaStore and Storage Access Framework (SAF) which provide apps even limited access to files on external shared storage. For more details see my answers to Where Android apps store data?, Android's Storage Journey and What is the "u#_everybody" UID?.
So:

Access to files created / downloaded by an app in its private storage or private directories in external storage is never restricted.
Access to the files of other apps in private storage is never possible.
Access to the files in public external storage or private external storage of other apps is subject to permission granted to the app by the user.


Can I delete a file called 'UPDATE' in the dload folder, or will this delete the operating system? I recently received low space warnings on my Huawei Honor so I connected my phone to the Mac and observed the files:

As you can see, perhaps 75% is taken up by a file called 'UPDATE' in the dload folder.  Can I delete this?  Is this an install file or is it the operating system?!

Obviously I could answer my own question by deleting it but I don't want to delete the operating system.

This shouldn't delete the OS.  Looks to just be a small update file.


Android set is stuck in boot logo and not going to the home screen I have Qmobile i12 android handset which is basically explay neo set but qmobile company has installed their own firmware in it and are selling it with name of their brand Qmobile i12. Yesterday I installed chainfire 3d software in it and once I launched the chainfire 3d software i installed the driver that was asked to be installed by chainfire 3d software, i installed it and the phone after finishing installation restarted. It booted up but just got stuck on the qmobile i12 noir logo all the time until the battery drained. I resetted the phone with the recovery option but nothing went well. I have no idea what to do to fix the problem. Please help me out I am in serious trouble.

Thanks

Reinstall your firmware using Odin with PC while your phone is at download mode. If you're a Samsung user, you can find your phone's firmware at SamMobile. If others, Google for it.


Use SIM-only contacts with Nexus 4 I have bought an Android phone. My first And phone ever. It's Nexus 4. I Had SonyEricsson K800i before and i was satisfied with it. I got new phone only because my company gave me money for it (it was a reward) and i tougth it would be fun to have something "just like K800 with capabilites to offer better 3D games".

Now, i'm kind of disappointed because, contrary to my old phone, it turns out that i must have some sort of online account in order to use my phone properly. What do i mean? Well, first of all i have all my contacts on my SIM card and i don't want to change that, but in order to show those contacts on my phone, i have to "sync" them / add them (or whatever) with some online service like FB or gmail.

Tell me, if i just want to use my phone only for games, casual browsing the web (i don't even have wireless at my home), sms and calls - how do i avoid syncing ANYTHING with ANYTHING online?

I don't have Twitter, Picasa nor Instagram, i'm barely using FB (once in 10 days i check for new messages when i'm on my home PC), i have a "fake" gmail account (opened just so i can use "Google Play" from my office and register at sites i need for one time visit only. For true emails i'm using only my mailbox that i got from my ISP 15 years ago), i don't want to merge and "bundle" any of my contacts from the phone with any social network but with Android i have a problem "isolating" my phone from any online activities.

Please, tell me, how to make my Nexus 4 (with Android 4.3) use ONLY my SIM contacts, save new contacts to the SIM card only and not asking me to tie any contact with any online service? :) Also, i don't want even to see "gmail" contacts (if any) in my contacts list because contact with only mail address is useless to me (i'm never sending an email from my phone).

You could try to install SIM Contacts. I've not seen how to make it your default app for managing contacts, but I suppose you could drag the app icon to your homescreen or to the dock, so you can just access it quickly from there.

With the SIM Contacts app, you can add, edit (long-press on a contact and a menu will appear), or delete SIM contacts. You can also choose to copy them on your phone.

UPDATE #1: From Izzy:

  Also, if you don't want anything to be synced to Google, make sure to
  turn off all sync options in Settings → Accounts & Sync. By default, that's all enabled.

As long as you add new contacts as SIM contacts, they will not be synched to Google. Only contacts added as Google contacts will be synched.


How to remove the Google Now search bar from Nexus 5 My Nexus 5 has a useless and space-wasting Google Now search bar:

QUESTION: How can I remove the Google bar?

My rooted Nexus 5 runs stock Android 5.1.1, and I would rather get rid of Google Now if possible. I would rather not use a third-party launcher.

Notes:

Disabling Google Now bricks Nexus 5 phones, so I want a procedure which is certified to be safe on Nexus 5 explicitly.
This wild procedure for Nexus 5 is hard to trust (anonymous comment), and it requires two phones. The different procedure below does not sound more trustable.
Remove Google Search Bar on Nexus devices running on stock Lollipop is for Nexus 6 and Android 5.0. Hide search google search bar on nexus 5 is different because the asker wants to keep Google Now, I don't. How do I remove the search bar? is for Android 1.5

Added: After more searching, I found How to remove the Google Search bar from your Android homescreen indicating you have these options:

Disabling Google Now, which is not recommended on the Nexus 5 as it might soft-brick your device
Install custom launcher, which you don't really want to do
Using Xposed framework (root required), which doesn't seem to work as Exposed and ART is a bad combination
Install a custom ROM, and then disable it

In other words, it seems like you need to make up your mind on either living with the Google Now search bar, installing a custom ROM, or install a custom launcher.

Original answer with fails

The 14 Essential Tweaks to Perform on Your New Nexus 5 Smartphone  has the following to say on this topic:

  You'll probably notice the search bar on the homescreen has a reminder to say "Ok Google" to trigger a voice search. It's a neat feature, but the text is a little annoying. It will go away only when you've proven you understand what it's saying. Just do any voice search from the homescreen to clear the text and get your nice, clean bar.

Fail 1: Does only remove the text, not the search bar

The previous tip is for the nexus 5 and lollipop,  whilst the next tip is only for previous android version,  from 25 Hidden Nexus 5 Features:

  Open Google Now with the quick setting above, or swipe to the left and enter Google Now on the Nexus 5. Scroll to the bottom and tap the three dots on the bottom left (menu) > tap settings > and simply tap the On/Off switch at the top to disable Google Now.

Fail 2: Does only apply to previous version of Android

My final tip if none of the above works,  I did the following on my Sony Xperia Z3 running  Android lollipop:

long press on home screen on an empty space
toggle the hide/show button of the Google search bar

Fail 3: Correct procedure for some phones, but not for Nexus 5

Hope either one of these helps you out!


How do I get a gmail account on my HTC Cha Cha? I live in China and when I go to Settings > Accounts it's not an option to add a Gmail / Google one, is there any software I can download ?

You can manually add a Gmail mailbox using IMAP in the separate Email app.

As to adding a Google account to sync your contacts and calendar, unfortunately a great many of Android devices obtained from China have this "issue". The best course of action is to flash a firmware meant for the same device, but from a different region.

THese links might help - SuperDroidROM for ChaCha // HTC ChaCha forum on XDA


How do I open Markdown files from the Dropbox app? When I try to open a Markdown file in the Dropbox app, it tells me to "Please download an app that can open this file."

I tried downloading MarkDrop, but that seems to only sync within its own folder.

Any suggested apps that support this?

Draft can open Markdown files with .md and .markdown extensions.


Is there a way to perceive vibrations more effectively when device rings? I have an HTC Desire HD. I work in a noisy environment as well as ride a motorbike. I often don't hear or feel the vibrations when the phone rings.  One of my previous phones had a function where it would ring once every 60 seconds until I attended to the message on my phone.

Is there a way that will provide this service?

Another issue is that sometimes the volume gets reduced. I must accidentally turn it off when I put the phone on my belt clip. One day I had 20 missed calls when checked because the device didn't ring for those calls.

You can try MissedReminder. It's free.

  Hate missing txt messages?This will keep notifying of new unread text
  messages

  Do you hate it when you are away from your phone or in a loud place
  and miss a text message? This app will keep notifying you when you
  have a new unread text message so you don't miss it. It is
  customizable to notify as often or as long as you want. The default
  settings will notify you every 5 minutes.


How can I Run/Download Android Apps on a PC? I tried running Android 4.1.1 in VirtualBox, but it was too slow and sluggish to do anything. I came across Windroy which runs Android as a Windows app, but it won't run Google Play.

I want to run this on my laptop.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Is it possible to unroot a device? Once a device has been rooted, is it possible to unroot?

I also want to keep my data, so can I unroot without wiping/re-imaging?  If so, how difficult is this?

This really depends.  What phone are you using and how did you root it?

For example: some phones have an easy "one click" root method to root your phone.  They often have a reverse easy "one click" unroot method.  An example of this is EasyRoot for Droid.

As for doing it via a factory reset, that's not necessarily enough.  Factory resets usually (always?) wipe only the user partitions such as /data without touching the system partition, where su and other evidence of rooting is likely to remain.  Re-flashing the ROM should be enough though, although some devices have flash counters that may also be checked if you send in your phone for warranty purposes.


How to disable power button triple tap emergency call feature? I'm using a OnePlus 6 (Magisk; systemless Xposed, stock ROM at Android 8.1.0). One of the features that constantly irritates me is the accidental dialing of emergency number. The system by-default looks for triple power button tap and automatically dials Emergency number (112). I read on XDA here that this is a feature specific to India and Indian SIMs, and I also bought this in India and use an Indian SIM. Other regional users, per some threads of OnePlus subreddit and OnePlus forums, do not have this problem and can customize the shortcut from Camera app or under Settings app, while I cannot.

I found this YouTube video but the recommended solution does not work because the Emergency Info app in my system doesn't have the activity used in the video. That app only has these two activities which only leads to editing Emergency specific user details:

.view.ViewInfoActivity
.edit.EditInfoActivity

How do I change this behavior? I'm looking to prevent emergency number dial on triple power button tap, and if possible, customization of that double power button tap to Camera launch. Furthermore, if possible, please provide a non-root based solution.

In Android Pie in OnePlus 6 you can now access the activity shown in the video via Settings → Security & lock screen → Emergency Rescue.

(Image sourced from OnePlus Forums)


OTA update removed stock Contacts app (Galaxy Y S5360, Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread.XXMI1) My Galaxy Y S5360 did an OTA software update on 22 April 2014, and ever since then, after the phone rebooted, my Contacts app has gone completely!
The data is there, so I have had to download Contacts+ app from Google Play in order for me to call/text my contacts, but I can't add or edit any of my contacts.
I've contacted Carphonewarehouse, who I bought the phone from in January 2012, and they were unable to help. I've contacted Samsung, who got their remote assistance team to remotely delve into my phone (via Smart Tutor for Samsung app) and they were unable to help.
I've done a factory reset, no joy.
Apparently there is no option to reload the software update, as Kies is old and I can't update this because my phone is old and won't cope.
I am at a loss what to do!
I've raised a complaint with Samsung, so I'm hoping they will be sympathetic, but I won't hold my breathe.
Can anyone help?

download the required firmware bundle here
install Kies, or Samsung driver pack
unzip the package, You'll get 3 *.tar (or tar.md5) files
download Odin3 1.84 or 1.85
stop Kies
stop all active ADB sessions
start odin
do backup of your data and apps
charge your SGY at least 75%
remove SGY from USB or charger
start the device in Download mode
power off Your SGY
wait 30 sec
Press Vol Down, Home, and Power at the same time
When (about 5 sec) Warning screen appears, release Volume Down and Power, then (a bit later) Home
press Vol Up (You'll get Odin mode screen)
Browse the 3 tar files to odin PDA=PDA_xxxx.tar, PHONE=MODEM_ or PHONE_xxxxx.tar, CSC=CSC_xxxxx.tar
no PIT and/or BOOT files required - leave it empty!
leave all other fields and checkboxes default!
connect your phone, You must see yellow 0:[COMxx] in the first ID:COM and "Added" in the message box
Start flashing by the START button.
flashing will start immediately, see the progress in the message box, and progress bar on the phone
Wait 1-3 minutes, until green PASS! in the upper left
SGY will reboot, leave it as is for 2-5 minutes until startup finishes
if it stuck (eg boot anim loop) then:

- Start the phone in Recovery mode

- remove battery
- resinsert battery, wait 30 sec
- press Vol Up, Home, Power at the same time
- when Galaxy Y logo appears, release the Power button
- when Recovery menu appears, release the Home button first, then finally Vol Up
- select wipe data/factory reset (Vol UP/Down + Home)
- select reboot system now

When Android boots up, it's highly recommended to set your CSC via the dialer #272_your_imei_# (to see IMEI type *#06# in dialer) -> (it will erase all your data on the phone, but not the SD card)


Can't flash Unofficial CM 12.1 on GS3 After figuring out how to flash the official Cyanogenmod 11 to my GS3 I thought it was time to pick up a new project, the unofficial 12.

So for some reason I can't flash the unofficial Cyanogenmod 12.1 on my Galaxy S3.

I'm following these install instructions, along with the ones from the CM website because I'm still a bit new.

I flashed the TWRP recovery just fine, I've never used it before, and then pushed the zip to the phone and tried to install. But I get this error:

Updating partition details...
...done
Full SELinux support is present.
Running boot script...

Finished running boot script.
MTP Enabled
Installing '/sdcard/cm-12.1-20150516-UNOFFICIAL-temasek-i9300-V11.5.zip'...
Checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file found
This package is for device: m0, i9300, GT-I9300; this device is d2tmo.
E: Error executing updater binary in zip '/sdcard/cm-12.1-20150516-UNOFFICIAL-temasek-i9300-V11.5.zip'
Error flashing zip '/sdcard/cm-12.1-20150516-UNOFFICIAL-temasek-i9300-V11.5.zip'
Updating partition details...
...done

Now I realize that it tells me the issue is that the build is made for i9300 and not d2tmo.
I have the T-Mobile one. Is there a version for this phone?
Or have a just made a huge mistake and misunderstood what the issue is?

You should never try and flash software from a different device, or a different model of the same device. You could end up bricking your phone.

Regardless, d2mo has official CyanogenMod support. You can use the CyanogenMod installer or download a flashable zip from here.


Phone won't boot/start after successful flashing through QFIL My phone was bricked, so I decided to flash my phone LYF f1s with the stock ROM through QFIL, but after after successful flashing it won't start !! Nothing happens, no matter which combination of volume and power buttons I press, only the charging light blinks or keep flashing when I connect it to my charger or laptop. Please help !!

Looks like some of the images are incorrect for your phone?
or maybe you can try to remove the battery, then put it back and try again.


press and hold home button to see all running apps in teamviewer quick support I use teamviewer quick support  to control my mom's android from my mac.

It works ok. But still can't figure out how to press and hold home button to see all running apps in android using my mac's trackpad or keyboard.

I tried to move mouse over home button and press left mouse long and tried right mouse key but there is no result.

Alternatively you can install an app that emulate it. For example application home button . After installation long press to show the recent apps. Application *floating toucher * has an option named recent app


Icon keeps disappearing from app drawer in CM9 I installed Cyanogenmod 9.0.0 mango on my Xperia mini pro. Everything works fine...except for the built-in launcher's app drawer. What happens is that every time I reboot the phone, the rightmost app shortcut / widget / icon that I place in the app drawer keeps disappearing.

I can replace the icon and it stays there, but only as long as I don't reboot the phone. Why is this happening and / or how can I solve it?

It seems there is a further update to the Xperia Mini Pro, probably 9.1 is way to go, might fix up that known issue. Check on the CyanogenMod page for Xperia Mini Pro.


Bluetooth sync with Local contacts - cyanogenmod G'day,

I have a SGS4mini (I9195) with cyanogenmod 11 (4.4 kitkat) and have most of my contacts "local" i.e. not synced with google. I have successfully paired it with my (Citroen) car and can place and receive calls fine.

However, the contacts in the car only show those from google and maybe those from the SIM card - the normal contacts do not appear in car's contact list. It doesn't show a name for a local contact if receiving a call nor in the recent calls list nor can I choose it to make a call.

Could someone suggest how to fix it or how to get more information about it? It seems the problem is not so common, I'm willing to help fixing if it could need some fixing/coding. Thanks!

By chance, I found out that the local contact show up in the car when at the time before I start the car (or activate phone's bluetooth goint to the car?) I go to the Contacts App, select the options (3 dots), select (sorry german version) "Kontakte zum Anzeigen" ("show which contacts") and then, instead of "all", select the "phone only, not synchronized".

Drive away and have the local contacts visible in the car (though not the google ones then, but most phone numbers are local here)

Additionally I found out that I can "send" the contacts from the phone to the car, but then there are too many in the phone so that the car can't hold all of them, and I'd have to send new contacts by hand...


Apps not being pushed to new device Just got a new device, the Pixel. Had Samsung Galaxy before with a bunch of apps. That, in turn, was an upgrade from HTC. When I got it, all the previously installed apps were pushed to the Galaxy. I was expecting the same to happen with the Pixel, but nothing was pushed to it. The device is logged into the correct account and shows up as a registered device in the Play Store on the web. I can manually push apps to it and they install. But I have hundreds of them and was expecting them to install automatically. Why did they not? Is there a way to force it?

Depending on when you purchased your previous devices, you restored the devices during the initial setup window.

When booting up an Android device after a factory reset, you're greeted with the Setup app.

During this process, you add your Google account. In most cases, there is a link to restore your device, which will install apps associated with the google account to your device.

If you have yet to apply large amounts of data to the device, factory reset it so you go through the initial setup again, and look for a restore option.

If this doesn't show, no previous installations can be found, and you'll have to install apps manually.


How to convert pcm/wav to mp3? I'm using a virtual recorder to record voices and it records in the .pcm file format. I found an app freemp3droid to convert it to .mp3 but there are some bugs in the app and it has not been updated recently. Is there any other app to convert the file into .mp3 or, should I look for a new voice recording app that doesn't use .pcm?

The LAME encoder is useful for converting such files. PC applications  can be found here:
http://lame.sourceforge.net/links.html
You can try another recorder, like Hi-Q MP3 Recorder. This will record it immediately in mp3 format.
you can use an online converter to do the job. Try for example http://www.mediaconverter.org


Why are apk files are kept in system folder? Isn't an apk files just an archive which is unpacked when you install a package? So, why should it be kept then?

APK files aren't unpacked when you install the app. The APK file is the only copy of the executable code and static assets belonging to the app. Deleting the APK file would delete the app.

Unpacking the APK files would just take up more storage and take longer to access when you run the app.


Computer does not recognize Galaxy S4 after upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 I have updated from Windows 7 to Windows 10 and now can't get my Galaxy S4 to connect via USB to my computer to download photos etc.

I have Kies ordinary and lite, both up-to-date, but still nothing. The computer says to put the phone into MTP mode, but that is nowhere to be found. Please advise.

Connect your galaxy S4 to the PC first (don't bother if not recognized).
Go the the Device Manager (Right click on ‘My Computer’ and select ‘properties’ then ‘Device Manager’  in the left sidebar, or go to ‘Control Panel’ then ‘system’ then ‘Device Manager’ from the left sidebar).

Next, find the Android device driver if found then right click uninstall. The driver may be listed under ‘Portable Devices’ or ‘Other devices’ or it may be listed under it’s own name.

Once the drivers are uninstalled, unplug your device from the PC. Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet and automatic updating is turned on, then replug your device and allow Windows to find and install the drivers all over again.
If your device is not listed in the drivers list then check whether you are using the Right cable ( cable with data transmission capability not just charging).
Provide the unlock password on your device in order to view external or internal memory on your PC.
In windows 10, go to setings->Devices->AutoPlay. Tap to choose what happens to the devices after connected.

Alternative or best solution

Move to AirDroid for transferring contents from your system wirelessly to your phone or vice versa.


Android WIFI Hotspot Does anyone know where android save the details (Mac, etc.) of devices that connected to my phone ?! (When my device is used as a  mobile hotsop)

On my device it's /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml
You will need root to access it.


When a Google account is used to access the Android Market, what information is captured by Google? When I use a Google account which then becomes the primary account on the device, what information is captured by Google e.g. device make, model, IMEI, etc?

Am I able to access any of this information and if so where?

Google Play is covered by the terms of Google's privacy policy, and in fact links you to it when you first launch the app or visit the link in the Play website's footer. The very brief summary is that they divide it into:

"Information you give us" - Any info provided during registration
Device information - Noted to be "...your hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information including phone number"
Log information
Location information
Unique application numbers
Local storage
Cookies and anonymous identifiers

Since Google's apps are proprietary I doubt you'll get much more definite information than that unless you ask Google directly. You can read the full text of Google's Privacy Policy to see how they use the information they collect (among other things).


No internet connection in my S3 even though it's connected to my computer with internet and Kies already recognizes it I have no internet connection in my Samsung Galaxy S3, even though it's connected to my computer with internet and Kies already recognizes it. I'm trying to update my games and application using the USB connection to my desktop (Desktop has internet connection).

The phone doesn't support reverse tethering by itself. You'll need to have the phone rooted and then use an app to accomplish this. There is a trial version of such an app called Reverse Tether available in the Play Store.

In case you didn't know: reverse tethering is where you share the internet connection from your PC (or other device) to your phone, where tethering is where you share you phone's internet connection to other devices.


Where is clone Apps data stored in Realme 2 Pro (Color OS 5.2)? Generally, WhatsApp data and media are found in the WhatsApp folder created in the file manager.
When we enable Clone Apps for WhatsApp in Realme 2 Pro (Color OS 5.2), where are cloned WhatsApp data and media stored and where can I find cloned WhatsApp data and media in file manager?

Open File Manager → Choose Phone Storage → defaults folders will be visible, select Search icon/text area and type 999 and click enter, you will be redirected to 999 folder with following pre-defined folders:

Android
DCIM
WhatsApp

Click on WhatsApp → Media, and find your relevant files like images, profile photos, videos, animated gifs, documents, etc.


Dropped phone into water and shut down automatically after the logo is displayed I dropped my phone(Asus Zenfone max pro m1) into water then I took the phone out from the water and turned off and cleaned the phone surface with a dry cloth. Then kept my phone in a pouch with uncooked rice for 4 days. Now I try to turn on it shows the logo and shutdowns automatically. Even I tried to enter into the recovery mode but got failed. But I can enter into the fastboot mode. When I try to charge, the charging indicator fluctuates. Can anyone tell me what is the issue?

firstly did you completely sink your phone into rice? if at all you did then no wonder your mother board is damaged! like some kind of short circuit might have happened... well you can replace same model mother board or you upgrade to some good affordable motherboard because they cost nearly same price as new phone, you got 2 options buy new phone or buy new motherboard(costs less than new phone).


How to save files to external SD card on a non-rooted Android? I'm using the Terminal Emulator app on a non-rooted Android 5.0.2 phone.

When moving files from a folder of the external SD card to another with:

mv /storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/* /storage/extSdCard/phone/

I get:

mv: rename /storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/20170519_161315.jpg to
     /storage/extSdCard/phone/20170519_161315.jpg: Permission denied

Is there a solution for this (without rooting the phone)?

Note: ls -la in /storage/extSdCard gives:

drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2016-08-10 02:18 Android
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2016-11-20 09:45 DCIM
...
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2017-05-19 15:46 phone

Filesystem level write access to physically external SD card without rooting phone is not possible since pre-KK days. However apps can always (with or without Storage permission) read and write to their private directories on shared storages. So you can move files to /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/.

On Android 6+ external SD card is visible at /storage/[UUID] where UUID is that of filesystem. This filesystem path is only available for reading (to apps with READ|WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission granted) and traversal (for all apps). Latter case is to let apps read/write to their private directories. Like internal emulated filesystem, permission control is implemented through mount namespace and everybody (9997) GID. SD card is mounted with three distinct VIEWS of different permissions:

vold creates an isolated mount namespace for every app and depending upon app's status of Storage permission, bind-mounts a VIEW to /storage/[UUID]. For detail see What is /storage/emulated/0/? and What is the “u#_everybody” UID?

Since none of the three VIEWS has write permission, apps don't have filesystem level write access to public directories on external SD cards. However apps - like mostly file explorers - which make use of Storage Access Framework (SAF) (or Scoped Directory Access on Android 7+ or Scoped External Storage Access on Android 10+) are able to create and delete files on whole SD card.

USB OTG is treated almost in similar fashion, but with one prominent difference:

  "MOUNT_FLAG_VISIBLE means the volume is visible to third-party apps for direct filesystem access.
  ...
  transient volumes like USB OTG devices should not be marked as visible; their contents should be surfaced to apps through the Storage Access Framework."

So USBs aren't exposed as VIEWS, instead apps see /storage/[UUID] (which is not an actual) filesystem path through SAF for both reading and writing. That's why contents of removable media aren't available through MediaStore too. Neither available to apps through APIs:

  "The returned paths do not include transient devices, such as USB flash drives connected to handheld devices."

Multiple external storage devices:

  "External storage devices surfaced through these APIs must be a semi-permanent part of the device (such as an SD card slot in a battery compartment). Developers expect data stored in these locations to be available over long periods of time. For this reason, transient storage devices (such as USB mass storage drives) should not be surfaced through these APIs."

However Adoptable Storage is always visible to apps, whether SD card or USB.

RELATED:

How to stop apps writing to “Android” folder on the SD card?


Sending notifications from the desktop to an android device I'd like to be able to be able to send alert from my PC to my phone, preferably via wifi.
The only related app I found was Android Notifier, but it does the other way: android to PC.

You should check out Google's Cloud To Device Messaging (C2DM) framework. If you just want to send stuff from your browser to your phone try Chrome to Phone (it's a kind of reference implementation of the C2DM framework).

Good luck!


How to import ICS into S-Planner (Galaxy S7) How can I import an ICS file into S-Planner on my Galaxy S7 ?
An ICS file is an exported calendar from another application.

Btw: I know how to use Google calendar and then sync S-Planner with it but I definitely don't want to merge Google calendar with S-Planner calendar. The calendar I want to import into S-Planner is an independent calendar.

If S-Planner cannot import an ICS file, an alternative would be to have a Google calendar imported (not sync'ed) into S-Planner.

Thanks.

I presume the ics is an attachment to a mail or somewhere in your storage. Just tap to open it like any other file, and choose S Planner to open. It will give an option to import the event.


Turn on flashlight when volume button is held I have Nexus 4 on Android 5.0 Lollipop, and I'm using Tasker. Is there any way to get the Flashlight to turn on when screen is off and the volume up or down button is held for 2-3 seconds? Then turn off the flashlight if the button is held again.

I know there's a %SCREEN variable for the screen part, but how can I detect if a volume button is held?

I don't know how to detect a Volume Up/Down button press for 'n' seconds, so I would give an alternate  solution. You would have to install Xposed Additions Pro and TeslaLED Flashlight. The former needs root access and Xposed Framework installed.

Instructions

Visit my answer here. Under the heading "Instructions for Xposed Additions" follow steps 1-6.
For step 7, choose Screen Off instead of others.
Tap the newly created entry, activate Long Press by ticking the check-box, then tap on Long Press.
Scroll down and select Shortcut → TeslaLED Toggle. It will show a screen like:

(Click image to enlarge)

Also, the delay of 2-3 seconds is way too large in my opinion. Anyhow, the app doesn't allow long press delay more than 500ms and you may configure in step 2 of my linked answer. I settled for 250ms.

You may use Tasker instead of using the TeslaLED app (officially recommended) but there is no guarantee that the native method would work. In fact, some users reported that even the latter app didn't work for them.

The action in Tasker to activate torch is Alert → Torch. It would show up in red color if it's not supported on your device.

There are some other ways mention in this Reddit thread which seems to be device specific but nonetheless could give you a lead for better web search results.

For example, in my One Plus One running CM12 there is no class named camera  let alone a file /sys/class/camera/flash/rear_flash. But it does have a class leds and the file /sys/class/leds/led:flash_torch/brightness too. The default torch brightness in my device is set to 53 instead of 100.

I also tried the Tasker plugin AutoInput but it doesn't seem to support long press hardware buttons.


Are APK files saved on my device when I install from the Play Store? I used a Nexus 7 for a couple of years and got a Nexus 10 earlier this year.  I installed a number of kids books/games on the 7 and wanted to transfer them to the 10.  Now I can't find some of them at the store.  Would the APK files still be located on the 7?

Try ES file explorer

Under settings select App Manager and select all apps. And select backup on the action bar below.

A backup of all apps apk is created to your SD card probably under backups folder(or check /set backup folder on your es file explorer, settings-> directory settings )

Now you've got all apps apk.. You can either transfer them through Bluetooth/Wi-Fi /USB connection

You can select system apps too if your phone's rooted


Phone is locked and already at 60 min I have a finger print lock and the backup is a password. I forgot the password for backup and there no way of getting on my phone. When i use fingerprint it ask for password when nothing is wrong with my fingerprint. It doesnt show a forgotten password to click when i have many failed attempts. already at 60 mins and it keeps getting higher. i have already tried android device manager and find my mobile and dr fone which i have to enable usb debugging but i cant do because phone is locked. i dont want to factory reset because i dont have it back up since about 3 weeks and it doesnt back up everything it only backs up like messeges and other unessisary things i think. I really dont understand why it ask for a password when my fingerprint is absulutly fine. BTW i have the galaxy s7 edge. is there any way to unlock the device? and when i use device manager it say it wont set a new password because one is already set.

This is a security feature of Android: it will occasionally ask for the password after being unlocked with a fingerprint (presumably in case someone steals your phone and cuts your finger off, or I don’t know why). That’s just how it works. Fingerprint is only a convenience, you really have to remember the password.

According to Google, your only option is to hard reset the phone and start it all over.

I would not be so worried about backups: nowadays most of your data is stored in the cloud. I don’t know about your situation specifically, but the only pieces of information that are not in the cloud on my phone are SMS and call history, which I don’t care about. Therefore, I would not hesitate to erase my phone.

Fine print: in case your disk is not encrypted and the bootloader is unlocked, it is pretty easy to extract all the information, but I assume, if you had bootloader unlocked, you would not be asking your question here.


Android 9.0 x86 apps keep crashing - no native bridge So I'm not an expert in Android or in OSes in general although I can make my way around a Linux environment, just to add as a pretext.
I recently installed Android 9 x86 on a Linx 1010b tablet (Intel processor), and I have had many problems launching certain apps that just crash quickly after launching. I have installed and re-installed Android 7 and 8 x86 multiple times and it doesn't matter which version I use, I just have trouble using some apps. I also tend to have a problem installing apps (after about 8 apps installed, play store gets stuck on 'downloading', 'installing', or '95.99 %').
So I did some reading and found it may be to do with something to do with ARM (still not entirely sure what it is), so I decided to enable it, but when I enable the native bridge on my tablet, I get a download manager process, but shortly after stops, and the enabled button switches back to grey 'disabled'. I further found that libhoudini tends to be used for this native bridge, and I searched and couldn't find one for Android 9, and maybe this is why I am unable to enable it. Running /system/bin/enable_nativebridge as a super user in the terminal emulator was also ineffective and resulted in the error 'no such file or directory'.
Does anybody have any advice on what I should do? Is this really the source of my problem — not having a native bridge? Is it impossible to run Android with an Intel processor? Is there an alternative to libhoudini? Are there any versions of Android I can use and guaranteed to work — I basically need a few apps and that's it — Microsoft Office, Adobe, Kindle, Udemy, Coursera, and YouTube.

I think you have installed Android x86 on NTFS file system try with other Android x86 old more stable version like Android x86 7.1
With latest stable release or Remix OS or Prime OS


How to smart read PDF files in android on a mobile screen? I have a large PDF file in my phone that I want to read while in transit. I have the adobe app downloaded for this purpose but there is no smart read feature in it. I do not want to scroll the screen horizontally. Is there an app that I can use to do this?

[Edit]
I do not want the app to read it aloud for me. I just want to scroll vertically by myself with the contents of the file fitting the screen and the words still readable.

You can use @Voice Read Aloud app from the Play Store. Using @Voice Read Aloud app you can read aloud the text displayed in Android apps, e.g. web pages, news articles, long emails, TXT, PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, OpenOffice document files and more.

Note: You need Text-To-Speech engine and voices installed on your device to use this app. You may use more than one if you want.


Android 6.0 drains my Nexus 5 battery within an hour So. This morning I received the OTA update for Android 6.0 on my Nexus 5. Previously had no problems with battery usage, but after  installing the update my battery is drained within an hour, without me using the phone in any way.

The settings indicate that the Android Core Apps are the  cause of this and when I press the information icon in the top right it shows 'Contacts Storage'. I have to say that also since the update, my contact list is empty and keeps showing the message 'Contacts are being updated'.

Any clue on how to solve this issue?

I'm guessing this is being caused by a glitch in Google's sync services. This can be a difficult fix if there are more underlying problems, however clearing the system cache will likely fix the issue.

Turn your device off.
Press the power and volume down buttons at the same time for about 4 seconds. Release. A barebones menu should appear.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to recovery.
Open the recovery menu and press the power button for one second, then continue to hold the power button and press and hold the volume up button for 3 seconds. Release. This can be troublesome so if you have difficulty Google "Clear System Cache Nexus 5".
Scroll to Clear System Cache or something resembling it. Be careful what you select as a lot of device wiping commands are in here.
Let it go, then select "Reboot normally"

If that does not fix it, you may need to do a factory reset. You would stay on Marshmallow.


How do I move apps to Micro SD card in Nokia 6.1 (Android One) device? I got a Nokia 6.1 for my son in an effort to get him out of the Apple world. One of the big advantages for him was the ability to store Netflix videos and large games in his SD card enabling him to expand storage when necessary. However, Nokia 6.1 does not have the option to format the Micro SD card as internal storage.

What other options do I have to move the apps for him?

I don't want to shell out money again for a new phone.

The Nokia 6.1 has a reported issue with using SD card as internal storage,
detailed on the XDA Forum.

To summarise:
The ability to use an sdcard as internal storage is avaiable with build 00WW_3_206_SP01
However, users have found files put on to the sdcard get corrupted at random 4096-byte boundaries.

In terms of options open to you, Google Play does have the instant app, which allows the user to use apps without installing them on the device. This might help in a small way.


Selective syncing with Google? By default if you sync with Google, contacts, calendar, app data and wifi keys are synchronized. Is it possible to synchronize only some of these things, e.g. only calendar and contacts? Thanks :-)

System Settings -> Accounts & sync ->  Select your google account -> Make use of the checkboxes.

sync settings (click for larger image)


How do RAM and processor speed affect overall performance on Android? Since Android can be installed on wide range of devices, I'm wondering how important RAM and the CPU speed are to the performance of a device.  There are always tradeoffs when something is increased and another one decreased!

Is more RAM or a faster processor better for general browsing and less mulititasking?  What if I'm interested in gaming or doing lots of things at once?  Will more RAM make up for a slower processor or vice-versa?

In the context of Android, more RAM means Android can keep more sleeping program in the RAM so they will be ready to be quickly resumed when you return back to the apps. More RAM means Android is going to spend less of its time killing and reloading apps from the internal memory/sd card, and instead spend more time doing actual work you care about. This means that more RAM usually give you better/faster task-switching. Also, more RAM means your homescreen is less likely to be killed; and you won't experience that 10-second-wait-that-feels-like-forever. Having more RAM also allows you to run complex apps that naturally requires a lot of memory, e.g. photo/video editor, complex games, etc.
A higher CPU is able to calculate things much faster, while this might look tempting at first, it is notable that most programs -- except for games and synthetic benchmark and possibly flash-heavy webpages -- are I/O-bound and not CPU-bound; in other word, most programs are waiting for network transmission, flash storage reads, DMA reads, touch event processing, etc to finish, instead of waiting for some calculations. In CPU-bound application, increasing CPU speed can mean less latency between touching the screen and the screen updating to reflect the touch event. However, up to a certain point, there will be no longer any noticeable benefit of adding even more CPU; beyond a certain point, the input turnaround will be much faster than our own brain's turnaround time (approx. 100-200ms) and we will not be able to perceive the benefit of adding even faster CPU. Also, note that input-to-output turnaround time depends on a large number of other factors, e.g. the latency of the cables, speed of the bus, etc. Second, having some extra CPU time to spare also means that Android can assign those spare CPU cycles to background processes, so background processes can run better.
Summary
More RAM:

better task-switching
can run more complicated apps or open larger/more complex files

More CPU:

faster turnaround between input and response (less lag) on CPU-bound apps
better background processing

In short, both are equally important; your own personal usage pattern will determine which is more valuable for you. If you generally stays in a single program and is sensitive to input-to-output latency then having faster CPU will be more valuable for you; if you constantly task switch between many different apps or if you need to run complex memory-hungry apps to open complex large files, then having extra RAM is going to be more valuable to you.


OsmAnd: How to hide information? OsmAnd has so much information that it obscures the map. How can I decide what information (layers) that OsmAnd should show?

I had hoped Define View > POI would make it possible to hide the information, but it can only emphasize the information with an orange circle.

I use OsmAnd+ 2.3.5 and that was the first thought I had - too much of everything. It is all configurable, though.

tap the menu button -> Configure Map -> swipe up to reveal more options

See pictures below, I highlighted the options of your interest. You can disable the POIs (the orange circles you mentioned) and you can further hide things such as buildings and lots of other miscellaneous details.

By disabling what I mentioned above here is what you can achieve (you can go even further and hide polygons too (grass, water, etc.)).


Can I retrieve Whatsapp voicenotes which have been deleted while recording? If I record a voicenote on Whatsapp and there is an interruption while doing so (incoming call, calendar notification), the recording is immediately aborted by Whatsapp.  A little dustbin pops up in the bottom right corner and I cannot stop the recording from being deleted.  Is that "piece" of recording available somewhere or was it never saved?

If the dustbin animation is shown the voice note probably is deleted.

Or you can check all the saved voice notes on the SD card.
The path is
Whatsapp/Media/Whatsapp Voice


Google Photos and Files Apps on Google Pixel 2 is giving the following error "android.process.media has stopped" I have read quite a bit about this issue from "clearing caches" to "formatting your phone".... it works for some people and it doesn't for others. Well formatting your phone will work but you lose quite a bit of data and most importantly time!

I have been bugged by this problem for almost over 2 weeks and today I stumbled upon the solution. So I am sharing with you all so you can resolve a long lasting issue.

This is actually a SOLUTION for all experiencing the same problem as the subject header.

Good news: no formatting needed.

1a. Go into File Explorer > Phone Storage (internal) > Downloads > find a file called something like "goo.google.com..."
1b. Deleting everything in your download folder would be ideal but depends on how many files you got in there. There could be multiple files called goo.google.com or something like this.
2. Delete the file or files
3. Close all apps
4. Restart your phone
5. Check

This solution worked for me like a charm and I don't have to format my phone anymore.

Cause: I maybe was downloading a file from chrome which I may have stopped in the middle or something on these lines, i guess.

Maybe more people can shed light on this problem and solution!

Thank you,
Muhammad

Thanks for this suggestion, I tried several onces that suggested stopping some processes and removing cache but they did not work.

I want to downloads as you suggested, removed some files I recently downloaded, checking the date when the problem started (I did not find goo.google.com files).
Reboot and problem seems to be solved for now!


Can I convert a Google Drive spreadsheet to Excel format from my phone? My work has blocked access to Google Docs. I need to print off something which is on there.

At my laptop at home, I normally just export a google document to excel format but on the app version, it allows me to "send" it to an email address but it seems to send it only in PDF format.

Is there a way I can export it into excel spreadsheet from the android app and send it to my work email.

seems the only way to do it was to open up the document through the browser, selecting desktop mode.

Then "View spreadsheet mode" right at the bottom.
Then it'll load it up like it would if you loaded it from a computer. Then you can select File -> Email as Attachment.

Bit of a crappy process...


Installing an app I created solely for myself I was wondering whether I could install an app I create to cater to my personal needs solely for myself? Like a private app!
(I know there are other applications to do this, but I want to learn something in the process)

So the question can be boiled down to

  Can I install an app I created only on my own device?

Yes you can! If you create the app yourself you are not forced to share it on the Play Store. To actually install the app you will first have to accept apps from unknown sources in your settings. This can generally be found in the security section of the settings.
While the Play Store is the most popular app store on Android (I assume), it has nothing to do with android itself. You can find apps on alternative app stores or even on forum boards or in email attachments.

If you don't share your app in any way, you will be the only person with that app.

Of course, once someone gets access to the apk file it becomes trivial to install it on another device.


Android 7 won't update On my Alcatel U5 I keep getting a massage saying that a system update has been downloaded, press instal. When I do that it fails saying the file is corrupt and it will download again, same thing happens over and over again.

So, two questions:

What is the latest Android version available for my U5?
How can I get the download and install to work?

Thank you.

I was not aware that version 7 was officially supported on this device , only Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) , according to gsm-arena at least.
I do have one of these a 5044Y myself although I have broken it by accidental removal of the proinfo and preloader, despite putting them back it's dead.
Back to your update question don't use the inbuilt  phone updater try the PC Suite instead from Alcatel, this is different software to the regular " manage your photos and stuff " one.
Look here and if the newest one does not work try an older version:
https://www.alcatelmobile.com/support/software-drivers/
You may find this could well update it.


ext sd card is not working at all and not appearing all other sd cards are working but my card is not showing....neither on mobile or laptop.what to do my all data is in the card.the data card being inserted in my GT-S7562 mobile phone and laptop is not being recognized and neither the data

The SD card may be damaged. If not, try to mount the SD card, because it may be unmounted by the system itself. To do this, go to Settings, to Storage, navigate to the bottom, and then press Mount SD Card.


Replacement SD card not mounted properly in device I have an Android 8.1 device (encrypted, not rooted) that is configured to use an SD card as internal storage. That SDcard broke down and needed to be replaced.
After inserting a fresh replacement card, the device recognized it and asked how it should be formatted. I chose "internal", and the format went though without issues. The card shows up under "Storage" with the correct capacity, just as the old one did.
However, using this card is not possible. All apps that try to access it (like camera, browser downloads, file managers) show "SD card not available" errors.
When I connect to the device through adb shell to check how the file systems are mounted, I can see a difference. This is what shows up when the old card is inserted:
bbb100:/ $ mount
[...]
/dev/block/dm-3 on /mnt/expand/beb7cb3c-0c09-43cf-83b8-ce1eac90a92b type ext4 (rw,dirsync,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime)
/mnt/expand/beb7cb3c-0c09-43cf-83b8-ce1eac90a92b/media on /mnt/runtime/default/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=1015,multiuser,mask=6,derive_gid)
/mnt/expand/beb7cb3c-0c09-43cf-83b8-ce1eac90a92b/media on /storage/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=1015,multiuser,mask=6,derive_gid)
/mnt/expand/beb7cb3c-0c09-43cf-83b8-ce1eac90a92b/media on /mnt/runtime/read/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=9997,multiuser,mask=23,derive_gid)
/mnt/expand/beb7cb3c-0c09-43cf-83b8-ce1eac90a92b/media on /mnt/runtime/write/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,fsuid=1023,fsgid=1023,gid=9997,multiuser,mask=7,derive_gid)
bbb100:/ $

and this appears when the new card is inserted:
bbb100:/ $ mount
[...]
/dev/block/dm-3 on /mnt/expand/49d563a3-0905-4173-a1b3-8c29e3917d2c type ext4 (rw,dirsync,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,data=ordered)
bbb100:/ $

So it seems the new card is not initialized correctly and/or several directories do not get mounted for whatever reason.
Things I tried to no avail:

re-formatting the card
eject, mount
reboot the device
ran sm partition disk:179,64 private in adb shell just to see if there are any errors on the console (via) - there is no error
tried with different SD card (also brand new) - same behavior
copied device- and partition UUIDs (PTUUID, PARTUUID) from old SD card to new card using gdisk, hoping that Android would recognize the new card as "known" and mount it. It doesn't.

What's going on here and what else can I do to make the card work?

Okay, I figured it out (hat tip to @IrfanLatif). What's going on is this:
Android focuses on one single "primary" SD card that can be used to permanently enhance internal storage, e.g. by moving apps to it.
When it is removed, the system remembers that apps and settings are still stored there, and waits that it shows up again. Other SD cards can be formatted for internal use, but they won't actually be usable until all ties with the known SD card are broken.
This means the card must be explicitly forgotten. The option to Forget a card is available from the Storage menu when that card is not currently inserted.

Be sure to backup everything you need before doing that.
Eject the card via the menu and remove it from the slot.
Tap the card's name in the storage menu and then "Forget".
Confirm the warning that all data on that card will be lost forever, since the card is encrypted and Android is about to delete the encryption keys.

Only after that, Android will accept a different SD card as its primary storage and make it available to the rest of the system.


Salvaging a PDF with highlights done in Android I was halfway highlighting a book using Acrobat Reader on an Android tablet when I dropped the tablet. The screen still 'sort of' works but is not usable as such (constant blinking etc). The tablet is still mountable on a computer.

Is there a way to salvage the pdf including the highlights?
(to be clear, i have the pdf saved elsewhere, but not the highlights)

Many thanks,

It turns out the reader on the tablet saved the highlights on the fly. The reason i couldn't see those is because i was opening it using 'Document Viewer' on Linux Mint.
Using Adobe Acrobat on Windows shows the highlights as expected.


"Low on storage space" But I have 1.7GB free space I have a Alcatel OneTouch Star, Im running Android Jellybean the phone has 8 or 4GB storage Im not too sure but the low down is when i go into settings and look at how much free space i have it starts at 2MB then it changes to something like 250MB within a second then it changes to 1.7GB after 2-3 seconds. I have uninstalled all things I can, except for Facebook, Instagram and Snap chat. Its not the actual notification that Is bothering me, its the fact that I have 1.7GB of free space but the system doesn't let me download anything because it says that I don't have enough free space, so I think you can see why that would get on my wik, so can anybody help me? It would be much help

I believe that most phones seem to like a certain amount of space free, to keep things  running smoothly. If you try to downloaded something that would leave too little space free, it won't let you. Kind of like how Apple IOS system updates can required 4GB of free space though it may need less than 1GB in reality.

In any case,  your phone is capable of using a removable microSD card, and with the piddly 4GB of internal storage- of which only 2.5GB are available to the end user, that is exactly what the phone makers are encouraging you to do. You should invest in a microSD they are available in large sizes- 32gb is the largest without needed to format the card.


How do I find what type of file system is of an attached USB or SD card? How can I find the file system type of USB drive without using computer? Drive is attached to Android phone and I can see the files in it. I want to know if it is extFAT etc.

Apps like Disk Info also provide the format (enable "show file system" in settings).