Banner Ads on bottom of different apps- Is this a Virus? I have Android 4.4.2. On a couple of apps (like Huffington Post and NBC 4 LA)I've noticed different banner ads that appear on the bottom of the screen inside different apps. The thing is these banner adds on the bottom of the page look very similar. I don't know if these apps use the same advertising company or what the situtation is. They're right on the bottom of the page so when you're scrolling you often hit them when I don't want to.

Are these normal or do i have a virus that installs adds inside some of my apps on my phone?

EDIT: I've added an image of the type of ad. This type of banner ad appears on the bottom of the screen inside different apps on my phone. Is this normal?

There are various advertising networks that will use cookies and the likes of which to track you and profile your online movement, and then later use those to target ads at you. It is possible that the NBC and Huffington Post Apps are using the same avertising network and thus showing the same/similar adverts.

You might want to check out adblockplus for android, it no longer requires root access and their installation instructions are quite easy to follow.


If I set up a VPN, does *everything* go over it? If I set up a VPN connection for Android, what gets routed over the VPN?  Just web browsing?  All internet connections from all apps?

In Cyanogenmod, in the Add OpenVPN config, "Advanced" settings, there is an option for "Redirect gateway - Force all traffic to berouted thru the VPN tunnel", which is off by default.

With this off, which apps/communications get routed through it?

The other VPN types do not have this option.  Do they work this way or not?

After setting up a VPN, how can I verify that it's working?

The setting that you're talking about is in effect the --redirect-gateway option of OpenVPN and is documented on the OpenVPN man page

  --redirect-gateway

  Automatically execute routing commands to cause all outgoing IP traffic to be redirected over the VPN.

  This option performs three steps:

  Create a static route for the --remote address which forwards to the pre-existing default gateway. This is done so that (3) will not create a routing loop.
  Delete the default gateway route.
  Set the new default gateway to be the VPN endpoint address (derived either from --route-gateway or the second parameter to --ifconfig when --dev tun is specified).

  When the tunnel is torn down, all of the above steps are reversed so that the original default route is restored.

The routing of all network connections occurs at the system level. Only apps that have the ability to modify the routing table of the device to use a different gateway than the default can bypass the VPN. Theoretically any app with SuperUser access could do this.


How do I enable a forced stop & disabled Bluetooth Share app on Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Over enthusiastic to disable many distracting apps on my Sony Xperia U (ST25i) I went "settings>apps>all" and disabled away.  Where no disable option was available, I clicked on force stop.  With Bluetooth Share I stupidly took it to be a social networking app and disabled it, later force stopping it.  Dumb, I know, but how do I get it back?  I'm fairly new to all of this, obviously, so please be very specific in responding.  Many thanks.

For apps that are forced stopped, locate them in the Play Store and click Enable button to enable them.


Terminal-IDE: Is there a working wiki somewhere to discuss issues unique to this environment? I'm trying to use the "Terminal-IDE" development environment.

I think it's FANTASTIC from what I can see so far, but at the moment its promise is more than it delivers (to me at least) because I'm having trouble getting to / from the phone as discussed in the HELP literature.

The wiki link on that page is non-functional.

While I have specific issues that may appear to be more of a generic nature and may appear to belong on, say ServerFault or SuperUser, I think they're likely to be common to people using Terminal-IDE...

I'm going to post those issues here in AndroidEnthusiasts as so far this seems like the best place....

Thanks.

BY THE WAY, a new tag, "Terminal-IDE" should be created, but, while I have plenty of reputation in StackOverflow, et al, I haven't got that reputation HERE. Would someone PLEASE create this tag (and let me know!), so we Terminal-IDE users can find related questions and answers? THANKS!

In communications with the coder who created Terminal-IDE, known only as Spartacus Rex, the Terminal-IDE community is fairly new and no one had yet created a community.

So, I did.

You can now find:

A Web Site where there may one day be a wiki (help needed - can YOU help set up a Wiki?).
An email list to join to ask and answer questions. This list has a
searchable archive.
A new Blog-Site.
And, at least one new contribution of code to help user's out. It's
called Resolver.

Happy? Give it a thumb's up!


Acer Iconia A500 factory reset won't restart My Acer A500 froze, with a blank screen ( complaining of low memory at that time), so I did a factory reset. Now the screen comes up with the ACER logo but doesn't do anything else within hours; I've tried to factory reset again but same effect. Any ideas on how I can force a start?
Gerry

Boot up your phone. When it gets stuck on the logo, remove battery then place it again.


How to properly format a MicroSD Card for FroYo? The MicroSD card that came with my phone shows up as simply 'FAT' in Windows XP. This 2GB card works well in my HTC Wildfire running FroYo.
I bought a new 16GB MicroSD which is formatted as 'FAT32' but this does not work well in my phone although Windows picks it up fine.
The formatting option under settings on my phone just hangs. ('Do you want to force close this application?')
I had formatted the 16GB card in Windows before I found the SDFormatter utility. Using the SDFormatter utility now does not make a difference.
I have read that the actual filesystem for Android is YAFFS but I cannot find a utility for Windows that will format it as such.
What can I do to get a YAFFS filesystem (or plain 'FAT') on this card?
n.b. As a side note, my phone was faulty. It now works fine with FAT32

In Settings -> SD card and phone storage there is an option to format the sdcard. You first have to unmount the sdcard before you can format it.


Google Account Log in doesn't work on LTE/Data Note I am using Android ver. 5.0.2 OnePlus One Cyanogen OS 12.0-YNG1TAS2I3

When I am on Wifi my device has no problem signing into my Google Account.
But when I am on Data/LTE my google account has log in issues.

For instance:
YOUTUBE APP: If I am logged in, I get a "Network Connection Error" even though my internet works fine. If I log out of the Youtube app by clearing the app data I can watch videos again, but trying to log into my google account gets me the Network Connection error again and does not allow the log in.
I can however open the web browser, go to youtube.com, log in, and access my youtube content.

GOOGLE MAPS APP: On LTE I can view all my starred locations on Google Maps, but when I try and add a new starred location it tells me to select my google account. When I select it nothing happens.

Google Now sometimes works, but sometimes shows the network connection error.

POKEMON GO: Trying to log into Pokemon GO via Google Account on LTE fails, but works on WiFi.

Not sure if relevant: It's my first time having cellphone with data plan. Also currently in Japan.

I had the exact same problem: Cannot log in to google account when on data (works on Wifi)

After contacting both google and my network provider, it was clear that the problem is on the device. For me there was a built-in security app from Lenovo, blocking 'google services'.

Check all your firewalls, antivirus programs and the settings>data that nothing as googleservices or googleframework is blocked. Uncheck 'restrict background data' in case it is enabled for all apps or google-specific. Also allow syncing data for apps while on data ofcourse.


Disabled my camera app. Can't find it anymore! I disabled the camera app on my phone because the front-facing camera wasn't working. I had intended to re-enable it in a minute or two but when I went to my home screen it was not there, and it wasn't in the setting-all apps place either. I went to the play store and did not find the same camera that was previously on my phone either. Where did it go and how can I get it back??

Open Settings> Apps> Disabled& find the Camera app. You can enable it there. This is the common way to enable disabled apps on all android phones. Comment if any problem persists.


How to check if bootloader is unlocked mediatek device My Device: Rooted Karbonn A52+ Android 4.2.2 (Stock ROM) | MTK6572 CPU

Hi friends, I was recently able to flash Clockwork Mod Custom Recovery followed by a Custom ROM flash from the recovery (though now I've re-shifted to the stock ROM). But, what is suspicious is: I NEVER UNLOCKED MY BOOTLOADER! And it's obvious for most/all android devices that neither a custom recovery nor a custom ROM can be flashed without unlocking the bootloader. I didn't flash the recovery through the command

  fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

but I flashed it through an app available on the play store called "Mobile Uncle MTK Tools". It successfully replaced my phone's stock recovery with the CWM Recovery.

Now, I could assume that this app itself unlocked my bootloader before flashing the recovery, but now the question comes "Then why didn't I face a reset of my device? I didn't lose any data!"

So I wanted to ask if there's any way to check out whether my bootloader is unlocked or not. Thanks in advance..

There is a great deal of ambiguity and misinformation in the previous answer(s) above. The root cause of this is ambiguity inherent in the words "flash" and "flashing": some people use a "flash tool" to "flash" .img or .bin files, others use a "custom recovery" to "flash" a .zip file, and still others use the bootloader to "flash" a .zip file.

Mobile Uncle MTK Tools (mentioned above) is software used with .img and .bin files, but there are others such as the so-called SP-Flash-Tools (SmartPhone Flash Tool). These tools are typically Windows, mac, and/or Linux programs. (and btw the correct word in this case is "download," not "flash").

When using a recovery to flash an update, the code that does the work sits in the recovery partition itself, and the user controls the process via some sort of GUI on the phone that the recovery displays.

When using the bootloader to update the phone, there is a special-purpose client called fastboot that lives on a computer which is connected to the phone via USB. Fastboot is also the name of the protocol that this client speaks over USB  with the bootloader code on the phone.

With those three things understood, it's easy to see what's going on:

If you use a flash tool to download some .img or .bin file to the phone, then you don't use any code in the bootloader at all. So whatever it means for the bootloader to be "locked" or "unlocked" doesn't matter (since you're not using the bootloader)
If you are using fastboot and the bootloader, then unless the bootloader is UNLOCKED, you won't be able to install ANYTHING but a bona fide uncorrupted factory-approved update file. That's what it means for the bootloader to be locked -- if you tell such a bootloader "Fastboot flash mywacko-update.zip" or anything similar, you'll see an error message and failure. Because it's locked.
Now if you use a recovery to update the phone, you might think that we are back in the 1st case -- you're using the recovery and not the bootloader, so it shouldn't matter if the bootloader is locked or not. Although the logic is unassailable, the fact is that the stock recovery of any Android that ever lived contains code which will cause the update to fail unless the update is a stock factory-approved one. In other words, it's a fact that if the bootloader is locked, you won't be able to use the recovery to install something non-standard either.

But it's perfectly supported to take a flash tool and download a CUSTOM recovery which is not stock -- where one important feature of the custom recovery is that it just doesn't care about the locked/unlocked status of the bootloader.

If you do this, your custom recovery will "flash" anything you ask it to, .but you STILL won't be able to  use fastboot and he bootloader to flash anything non-stock. Because the bootloader will still be locked.

Finally, to answer the question about how to verify if the bootloader is locked or not:

Boot into the bootloader (sometimes called "fastboot mode"), connect the phone via USB to a computer that is running fastboot, and type the following command:

  fastboot getvar all

If you're lucky, among the many lines of output you get will be ones such as:

(bootloader)    unlocked: no
(bootloader)    secure: yes

Strictly speaking, I believe that locked/unlocked just means that: it can not be changed. The bootloader is "secure" if it will only install factory-signed images. That being said, I have never seen any combination but two: unlocked and not secure // or locked and secure. (As a final comment, the value of the  "secure" is usually referred to as "s-on" or "s-off")


Sync DuckDuckGo bookmarks between devices? Is it possible?

I wonder if the reason I haven't found anything is it defeats the main purpose of DDG, being a privacy browser?

Unfortunately no not at the moment. you could leave a review on the play store asking them to implement it. or you can install Firefox or Firefox preview both of which have sync support. as does Chrome.


Android imei problems (I think) Hello and thank you all in advance
I had problems when I start my galaxys3, I have researched think is the IMEI

But if I press * # 06 # if I get my IMEI just that with a forward slash before the last 2 digits

Also I have a yellow box with information

I have internet, but I can not connect my phone to any network
and when I turn tells me that this mode makes and me off the internet, you just have to turn it to functions

An image which shows me the phone: http://postimg.org/image/qnj9eavln/

Both the IMEI as factory folder are empty, the'm seeing with "ES file explorer"

PS: If I get negative points for doing wrong and know that you can correct.
Thanks to all

If the suggestion above doesn't work, try flashing a stock firmware via Odin. Brought my imei back back then. After that you can root again and do all that stuff. I recommend installing one of the efs tools from the playstore to backup the efs folder.


How to reset usage tips My wife requested that I set up her new phone for her, then explain to her how to use it.  Well, my phone is a Windows phone, and I've never used an Android before.  (You may begin your jeering.)

Anyway, I noticed that there were a lot of usage tips that kept popping up that would be good information for her.  Is there a way I can reset those so that she'll see them?

Note:  I do not want a factory reset.

There are really only 2 tool tips that you dismiss. You'd be better off finding a tutorial or video to teach her.


Syncing Outlook Calendar Events to Google Calendar Good morning everyone,

I am having a peculiar issue with syncing calendar events between outlook, my phone, and Google calendar.  I have been using Android Sync to import all of my outlook calendar events onto my phone and have not had any issues with syncing that way.  Android sync gives me the option to sync to a local calendar on my phone or to sync to my Google account.  Either way it appears that only a local sync is completed.  If I sync to my Google account, the calendar events show up on my phone, and are readable/editable, but as soon as Google calendar refreshes (usually via reload on PC) all of the events are removed from my phone.

I am trying to convert from using a local copy of my calendar to a shared copy so that other employees can have access to my schedule.

Thanks in advance!

Not sure, as an alternative:
An alternative to the google calendar outlook calendar sync issue is as follows:

Ensure that you export all outlook calendar into google calendar once only (ensure that you use your google calendar not the phone calendar for all appointments or change them so that they are)
Use google calendar to create and update all events
To then use outlook: export from google calendar and then import this calendar into a NEW outlook calendar
Rename the new calendar in Outlook to today's date (deleting or hiding other outlook calendars)
Repeat steps 3 and 4 on a regular basis , deleting the out of date ones from outlook

Regards

Chris UK


Does the gmail app stop syncing once the "Low on space" message appears? Based on casual observation and anecdotal evidence it appears to me that once the "Low on space" message appears in the status bar the gmail app stops syncing and stops notifying me of new emails.

Can anyone confirm whether this is the case?

Yes, if you are in fact really low on space then gmail stops syncing. You might also stop receiving SMS's and other data until you have made some space.


Why the pattern to power down attempting to power off my samsung t560nu to prepair for a hard reset upon pressing the power button the tablet requests the security pattern why is it doing this the pattern is the reason im trying to factory reset

You really don't have a question here, but since you seem new I will not down vote or attempt to close it because I think I can guess at it.

I assume you want to know why this occurs, it is simple security.

The "fix" is just as easy, hold down the power button and continue to hold for about 15-30 seconds and the device should hard reboot (essentially like pressing the RESET button on your computer).

You will need to perform the factory reset via recovery, so know the key combo and be ready to hold it immediately at restart, it might take a few tries to get the timing right.

Remember you will likely need the username and password of the Google account that resides on this device, or the reset will not matter and you will be locked in FRP.


TWRP Stuck on Boot Screen Nexus 7 I have installed TWRP onto my Nexus 7 (2012) and have gone into Recovery Mode. This has led me to be stuck on the Google Boot Screen. What do I do to fix this? I have been using this guide: http://itsfoss.com/root-nexus-7-2013-ubuntu-linux/

You need to follow a guide for the 2012 Nexus 7 instead, which the model is called Nakasi (Grouper/WiFi, Tilapia/3G-WiFi). You're using the wrong image, 2013 Nexus 7, which the model is called Razor (Flo/WiFi, Debian/3G-WiFi), for your device. That's why its not wanting to get past the boot screen. Download from the link below or go to XDA Forum.

Here is the link to the factory images for Nexus devices

Scroll down to the Nexus 7 2012 and select which model you have.

Here is a link for Universal Nexus Linux Toolkit

You can get the image from inside the program. This will run on Linux and Mac OSX. This will take care of all the commands.

Edit
I did see at the bottom of the guide you used that it states for the 2012 model to use a earlier (older) version of TWRP, but it doesn't show anywhere a link to any 2012 images - just to the 2013 image.


Does charging a phone with another phone's charger affect it in any way? I have a Samsung S4 and because its charger is short I charge it with a Samsung Wonder charger. I am afraid that it can damage the battery or something. Will it?

Generally speaking the wrong charger to the wrong phone can cause damage.

However in your case, I do not believe that there is much to worry about.  The article below is a gizmodo article that explains in pretty good detail.

http://gizmodo.com/can-i-use-the-same-charger-for-multiple-devices-510829339

Basically the whole using the "wrong charger" was an issue back before the micro-usb standard.  Now that there is an international standard for the micro-usb, the voltage is limited to 5V.

    This used to be a much bigger issue on account of the wide variety of proprietary charging units and pin connectors that came with each device. Thankfully, the advent of USB changed all that and has provided an easy, standardized platform for charging devices. All USB cords carry the same 5V, regardless of if it's got a 30-pin head or a microUSB plug, whether it's first-party or third. That means DC chargers are now brand agnostic; if the volts, amps, and connectors are compatible, an Apple wall wart can charge an HTC just as easily as a Samsung. That if, though, is where people run into trouble.

In terms of the current, there can be issues that arise in the amounts of amperes that are flowing through  Take for instance the iPAD can charge off of 2.1 amp.  If the charge to it is only say 1 amp, then it won't charge as quickly.

    Because they have consistent, standardized voltage, USB chargers need another means of putting more power (in terms of watts) into larger gadgets faster. To do so, the system will increase the current (measured in amps). Most USB cables designed exclusively for charging (as opposed to data transfer) limit the current to between 1 and 1.5 amps, although new iPad chargers can deliver 2.1amps, and a standard USB port on your laptop only puts out .5 amps. This is why a 1 amp charger isn't effective on a 2.1 amp iPad. The device consumes power at the same rate that it's added.

Gizmodo also discusses things such as chips in the battery that monitors the charge (why you can plug your phone in at night and go to bed).

    Smart chargers are those that utilize a small CMOS chip to monitor and manage the state of charge (SoC) and state of health (SoH) of similarly-equipped batteries. This is a de facto feature on most every modern secondary battery on the market, and it's ubiquitous among Li-ion systems. This feature allows the batteries to be left unattended when charging without the fear of having them overheat and explode, and while maintaining 100-percent capacity over long periods via a trickle charge.

The author of the Gizmodo article, ANDREW TARANTOLA, does not think that you should use a different phone charger and that you should use the specific device's charger with the specific device.

    Once you're sure that your device's needs line up with your charger's output, all that's left is ensuring your USB cords are equipped with the proper pin connector. The micro-USB to USB cord that came with your last phone works just as well with your new one and can plug into any suitable USB power brick, so why do you have multiples of it—each with its own brick?

    Instead, just stash a single spare brick in your bag, bring only the cords you need, and stagger your device charging so that one is always plugged into a port on your computer.

    Tl;dr? While you can use the same charger for multiple devices, you probably shouldn't. Not unless you want to ruin your gear, or wait a lifetime for it to recharge.

So if you do not want to take the risk or what not, then you can use the correct charger (specific charger for specific phone).

I'm currently using a motorola backflip usb cable with the iPhone wall charger to charge my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active.  I have not noticed any issues at all.


Charging my device from power bank with two-way USB-C cable? So I have Nexus 6p with USB-C port and a Xiaomi Pro 10000 power bank.

Charging my device with bundled USB A -> microUSB -> USB-C Cable works. But when I connect them with my two-way USB-C cable that was bundled with my phone my phone is charging the power bank. Is it possible to charge my phone instead?

Xiaomi Mi Pro does not support discharge through the USB-C port. It's not possible. I've tried everything.

If any store promises this feature this might just be a translation error (source)

Quickcharge through the usb-c port on nexus 6p is not possible too.


S3 screen broken, developer mode on, how to transfer data My screen on my Galaxy S3 broke and I need to transfer an app that's on my phone to my computer. I have developer mode enabled on the phone and I want to be able to transfer the app without opening up the motherboard. But I can't physically unlock the phone because of the broken screen, so how do I do this?

(When I say I have developer mode on, I mean that I can install apps that I wrote in Eclipse onto my phone and run it. If this isn't what that means, then my mistake. But if it is, how do I access my stuff with a locked screen)

You can pull the apk from the android device using adb pull.

adb shell pm list packages

This will list the package name for all the apks. See the package name of your app. The app name may vary from the package name. It will be mostly in /data/app

If not get the path using adb shell pm path com.the app you need to.transfer

2 a.adb pull /data/app/com.the app you need to.transfer.apk.
This will transfer the apk from whichever drive you executed. Eg: D:

(or)

2.b.  adb backup -apk com.the app you need to .transfer

This will create backup.ab. You can make it a tar and extract using winrar

dd if=backup.ab bs=24 skip=1 | openssl zlib -d > backup.tar

If there is no zlib support you can try

dd if=data.ab bs=1 skip=24 | python -c "import zlib,sys;sys.stdout.write(zlib.decompress(sys.stdin.read()))" | tar -xvf -

Note : Dont setup a password for encrypt backup


I live in Israel,my Google Play country is set to USA. How to change to Israel? The need to change the above had arisen when I tried setting up Family Link on my kid's phone, which fails due to" country setting being different on parent and child phones". Sure enough, his country is set correctly in Google Play settings.

How can I change mine when the account->country and profile setting appears unchangeable?

Edited for clarification: I have never lived in the US and don't recall setting the country to US. I have no US based payment methods defined , but I do have Israeli payment method defined and used.

You have good instructions here:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7431675?hl=en .
But since this is Google you need to add payment method.

Change your Google Play country
If you move to a new country you may want to change your Google Play country. Your Google Play country determines what content you see in the store. The apps, games, and other content in the Store can vary by country.

You can only change your Play country once per year. So if you change your country, you won’t be able to change it back for 1 year.
When you change your country, you won’t be able to use your Google Play balance that you have in your old country in your new country.
Change your Google Play country
To change your country, you need to set up a new country in Google Play. To set up a new country, you must be in that country and have a payment method from the new country.

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Play Store Google Play.
Tap Menu Menu and then Account and then Country and profiles.
Tap the country where you want to add an account.
Follow the onscreen instructions to add a payment method to that country.
The first payment method must be from the country you’re adding a profile for. Once you create the profile you can add payment methods from other countries.
This creates a new Google Payments profile linked to the new country. The Google Play Store will automatically change to the new country. It can take up to 24 hours to change.

If that is not working:
Fix problems changing your Google Play country
If you can't change your Google Play country or don't see the option to, try the following:

Clear your cache and data
On your phone or tablet, open the Settings app Settings app.
Tap Apps & notifications and then See all apps.
Scroll down and tap Google Play Store Google Play.
Tap Storage and then Clear cache.
Tap Clear storage and then OK.
Check if your app is updated
Open the Google Play Store app Google Play.
Tap Menu Menu and then My apps & games.
Games with an update available are labeled "Update." You can also search for a specific game.
Tap Update.


My phone occasionally tells me: "Currently unable to continue download, please try again later". What was it trying to download? I have a Samsung Galaxy S3, which I often use as a hotspot for my laptop when WiFi is out of reach. I have a good deal with my carrier so that I have unlimited and fast connection anywhere. Everyone's happy.

Recently, my connection has been beginning to slow down, only sometimes, so I did some testing, and I found that whenever the connection is slow, and I go into Flight Mode (a.k.a. forcibly disconnect the internet connection), I get an anonymous popup message (The smaller ones at the bottom, not the alert() style ones):

  Currently unable to continue download, please try again later.

Now, I didn't initiate any download, so I presume some application is doing it. I've uninstalled everything but the bare essentials, and it still happens.

Is there a way for me to know what my browser is downloading, what kinds of requests it's sending, how much and from where?

I have read in several websites that users with the Samsung Galaxy S3 are getting that exact same message when having MMSes that fail to download (probably old ones...).
If possible, delete all and repeat the steps taken to get the message. If you don't get the message, the problem is solved and in the future we all know from where it is comming.
My original comment on the question:

Further into that issue, other users of your device have reported the same message in relation to the MMSes. Do you have any MMSes on your device?


I broke my mobile, help me I rooted my android KitKat recently and most of bloatware permanently. Today my phone was causing some problems. It showed Service exchange error, play store won't open, accounts won't sync, since i deleted my phone app as well and realised exDialer was just to improve UI of stock dialer and not a complete standalone dialer. I was angry and angry people can't think much. I removed my root access and factory reseted my mobile.
Now I realise my swiftkeyboard is also gone and can't type wifi password and I don't have a mobile data plan.

How can I fix my phone?

You may have to flash stock fimrware on it. which phone is it, I will put latest firmware for you so you can flash it.


How to backup/restore specific apps for factory reset? I have a Nexus 7 2013 and now with Android 5.0 I would like to get rid of all the try and error I made with my first tablet through a factory reset.

I want to backup and restore most of my apps but not all. So I can't make a full backup, I must be able to select which apps to backup (and later restore).

Do you know any app or tutorial backup a selection of apps from your Android (without root please)?

I just don't want to loose my games' progress and apps' preferences.

Though you don't want to make a full backup, you might still wish to take a look at Full Backup of non-rooted devices to get an idea what is possible. That page also mentions some helpers for your issue:

Simple Backup runs from your computer and, as the screenshots indicate, can also be used to backup a single app (so you could use it for each app you want to backup)
Helium Backup (formerly known as Carbon Backup) is an app you can install to your device. Select the apps you want to backup, start the process – and it creates a separate backup file for each app. Which means, you can restore them separately/selectively.
It's also possible to do this via the command-line, which might be a little non-intuitive.
Not on that page, but making the latter a little more easy: Adebar is a tool I wrote (and am still on it – it's far from being complete yet). It creates you scripts for backup/restore (where you simply can comment-out/remove those apps you don't wish to take care for), plus more. Possible drawback: Adebar is written for Bash, so you will need an OS that has this (Linux, and possibly also Mac should do).

There's one thing all those have in common: they require ADB-tools to be available. For that part, you can take a look at Is there a minimal installation of ADB? to avoid installing too much with too much hassle ;)

EDIT: WARNING!

If you find another app promising easy backups without requiring root or ADB, be aware it might leave your apps' data out! To my knowledge, before Android 4.0 only root-apps were able to backup app data, and with 4.0 only the option via ADB became available. Make sure to read the description of such an app very carefully.

To pick an example (experience of the OP, sadly): There's an app called App Backup & Restore. On a quick view it sounds like a perfect match. But looking deeper into the description you will find:

  App Backup cannot backup data or settings of apps for you, but it only backup the apk files.

Which means: It only cares for the apps themselves (which you always could re-install from their respective sources anyway – with the added work of looking them all up separately, and maybe some of them disappeared, or are no longer available in a specific version you might want for some reason – so this app still has a good reason to exist), but doesn't cover their data.


What is assisted GPS? This site describes the Galaxy as having "Assisted GPS". What does this mean?

Assisted GPS is a system which can improve the startup performance of a GPS satellite-based positioning system.

Wikipedia has your best answer.


Speech to Text apps stop after a few words I am trying out a few Speech to Text apps. All of them don't perform as I need them to. I have several pages of text, but I get no further than a half a sentence before the app stops. It records what I am saying, but just stops.

Am I doing something wrong?

Try calibrating your talk to 51st in the settings menue. It will have you repeat a few words a couple times until it has full voice recognition.


Restore the default Android settings app We just got a new Android smartphone. It is an LG L1 II E410i. The provider is HOT mobile.

The phone's default language is Hebrew, and I can't seem to change it. The normal Android settings app is not available - they seem to have replaced it with their own.

Is it possible to get the settings app back?

Try this link first - LG L1 Support Page and checkout the manuals provided. If you don't find what you need then try Live Chat provided below in the same page to ask them directly about this problem. If no chat agents available at that time try emailing them.


App/shortcut to quickly change screen lock type? Two scenarios:

I'm at a "trusted" place, and don't
want to enter unlock
password/pattern all the time
I'm at an "untrusted" place and want
my phone to be password/pattern
screen locked

is there any way to use some kind of a shortcut/app which would quickly switch the way the screen gets locked? for example (when my screen is unlocked) - I press an icon and the lock type changes from using just a regular unlock method to password/pattern unlock method and vice versa.

using android2.2

edit: added a new answer below on what I now use to accomplish this (using android2.3.7)

thank you

From what I've read, Tasker should be able to do this.  You can turn on or off the screen lock mechanism based upon whatever criteria you want, including the value of a variable.  You can also change the value of a variable via a widget.  Combine the two and it should work.

Caveat Lector: I've researched Tasker, I've read about what it can and can't do, but I've never tried it (yet).  So take this as speculation.


New Message error message, PHONE STORAGE IS FULL, but it's not I have a user who receives the "Phone storage is full." message when trying to create a new text message.  It appears immediately when clicking "New Message".  However the user has like 20GB free on his SD card, 6GB free in phone storage and 96MB free in system memory at the time.

How do I stop this obviously erroneous message from appearing?

I checked a couple other threads with similar titles but none included a fix for this.

Also tried restarting the phone of course.

Google Earth and Swype is the problem.

Uninstall the Google Earth and Swype .


Do all Android phones have a GPS receiver? That's pretty much it. I am developing an application which is utterly useless without receiving a GPS signal, so I was wondering if there are any phones which do not possess this feature.

Thank you

The current Android Compatibility Definition Document says:

7.3.3. GPS
Device implementations SHOULD include a GPS receiver. If a device implementation does include a GPS receiver, it SHOULD include some form of "assisted GPS" technique to minimize GPS lock-on time.

So "SHOULD" does not mean "MUST". [Edited because I messed things up. Apps that require GPS show up in the market regardless of whether the device supports it or not.]


USSD attack official notification I have an HTC that is vulnerable to USSD attack. I am trying to tell the HTC helpdesk about this issue, but they tell me that unless there is an official news from android team about this, they will ignore the huge amount of articles from blogs and websites that talk about this.
There is any official android article about this that I can link to them?

That's dangerously ignorant. I just checked today with a trustworthy site, and indeed, my Milestone² was affected as well. The source is known to be the stock dialer, so HTC phones are affected as well (at least unless they're running Jelly Bean already). I'd tell them to please give this statement in written form on company paper (with the HTC header), so you can go with that to some boulevard press to have it printed in the daily news. Maybe it's more convincing to them to read the fact there than in known reputable sources.

Meanwhile, the main issue is to get yourself protected. I recommend to install NoTelURL, which in its latest version runs on all Android versions from 2.0.1 up. I can vouch for the developer as a trusted person: he's a member of the AndroidPIT community with high reputation. Having this app installed, all USSD actions triggered by an app will open a pop-up to select the app the action should be performed with: the dialer (which was the only one registered for this before) or NoTelUrl. Then you can decide: Select the dialer to really execute, or simply press the "back" button. Just don't make anything the default here ;)


Used device manager once, now I can't set security to 'none' Phone is an LG Nexus.

I was messing around with security settings and decided to try using a pattern to unlock my phone. No more than 5 minutes later, I completely forget the pattern I set. Did some googling and used Android Device Manager on my PC to remotely set a password on the phone. Successfully regained access to my phone.

I prefer to have no security on my phone specifically to avoid situations like this. My problem now is when I go to security settings, the "None" option is greyed out and says "Disabled by administrator, encryption policy, or credential storage." So I selected Device Administrators and un-checked "android device manager."

But I still cannot select "None." Encryption is not enabled. I'm tempted to select "clear credentials," but there's a big list of default credentials and I'm afraid removing them might be bad. Is there a specific credential I should disable?

TL;DR: Can't set screen lock to NONE. Android Device Manager is disabled. Not sure if I should clear all credentials.

Ok, just posting an answer in case someone with the same problem finds this.

I took a change and hit "clear credentials." Afterwards I was able to select NONE for screen-lock again. So far haven't noticed and side-effects to clearing credentials.


Why aren't there notifications for updates to built-in applications? On July 29th, Google released an update for the Gmail application, that brought it to version 2.3.5. Since I had version 2.3.4, I was expecting to be notified of the update shortly as I had for updates to other applications including ones that came pre-installed on my phone, such as Google Maps.

Alas, I still haven't received the notification, even though I can see the update available in the market (yes, I realise I can download it manually).

I have since surmised (though this is a guess on my part) that the difference is that gmail is considered a "built-in" app, but Google Maps, while pre-installed on my device, is not considered built-in.

Is this right?

If it is, why are built-in apps treated this way? Is there a technical reason, or are they somehow considered more sacrosanct, because of their status n the platform?

Update:

Apparently, the SDK doesn't list Google Maps as built in, but it does list the "email" app.  Furthermore, Google Maps is listed as a "Downloaded App" but Gmail isn't.

If the app has never been updated via the market (you are still using the version that was bundled in the ROM) then there's no link between the market and the installed app. Because of that, you won't get update notifications. Once you install a newer version from the market you will begin to receive notifications of future updates.


How to cancel an announced Android System update I wrongly click the button to book a update for Android System.
How can I cancel it before Nov 22 after 02:00

You can not cancel the update itself because it has already been applied.
Modern Android devices have the system partition twice (called A/B partition). One that is currently active and one that can be used for installing updates "seamless" (so called by Google). Which partition is currently active on next boot can be changed.
The screen you show means that an update has been downloaded and installed on the non-active partition. The only step left is rebooting into the updated partition.
I am not sure if you do the reboot but not switch to the updated partition. No matter even if you would manage to do so I assume that the system would start to download and re-apply the update again on the other partition and then ask for rebooting into it to finish the update.
Prevent updates via Developer options
Edit: Even if it is too late for you I stumbled over a settings that might be helpful in similar situations:
On a Pixel 3a running Android 11 I saw in the Developer options and entry called Automatic system updates - Apply updates when device restarts
Therefore if you have such an option and disable it while there is already a pending update plus a scheduled reboot you can cancel the update installation.
If you decide later to install the update you can do that by manually triggering it in the Android system settings.


How to troubleshoot SELinux issues? On standard GNU/Linux computers, SELinux comes with a set of tools allowing the administrator to troubleshoot permission issues.

Such tools allow to:

Temporarily switch a single domain in permissive mode, thus reducing the security impact on the whole device compared to a global permissive mode (and yes, per-domain permissive mode is supported in Android's SELinux): semanage
List existing SELinux users, roles and categories (AFAIK categories are used for multi-users devices): semanage, seinfo, chcat
Query the SELinux policy: sesearch

I did not find any of these tools in my device.

Is there any equivalent or a way to install them?

As I feared, Google is against letting people tweak SELinux. This is stated explicitely in the Android Compatibility Definition Document:

  SELinux or any other security features implemented below the Android
  framework:

  [...]
  SHOULD NOT be user or developer configurable.

However, the good news is that there is indeed a FOSS project porting SELinux tools to Android: setools-android. This tools ports the usual seinfo and sesearch commands as can be found in the upstream SELinux Tools project, but it also adds the sepolicy-inject command which allows to modify the current policy or set a domain in permissive mode.

This however suffer from a big issue: unlike on standard computers, modifications made to the /sepolicy file which stores SELinux policy are not persistent and will be lost upon device restart.

In fact, this file as part of the root directory is stored in a RAM disk image which, in turn, is stored in the device's boot image and extracted during the device's boot sequence. To apply permanent modification to this file it is therefore necessary to modify the version stored within the device's boot image.

While the operation may still be possible from the device itself (as far as I know SuperSU for instance updates the boot image as part of its installation procedure), for my use-case I find it more convenient to do the operation from an external computer connected to the phone (here is my detailed procedure). Tools running on the device still remain useful though when frequent checks and updates of the SELinux policy are required (typically during development stages) and for automation (if a project needs a SuperSU-like installer for instance).


How do I disable audio pause in Android 5.0 when receiving notifications? My device is running Android 5.0 and one annoying thing about it is that if I'm listening to music and get a notification, my music will pause just to play my notification sound. Is there a way I could disable the pausing of audio when receiving a notification?  I have root access, which should help, but I don't know where to start or how to start.

If you're willing to switch to another audio player than whatever you're currently using, you can achieve this with PowerAmp. It has a menu for audio focus, which has settings for pausing or not when a notification is received, and whether to pause or not when there's an incoming call.

The one I linked to is the trial version. The pro version costs roughly $5.

I'm not directly affiliated with MaxMP or PowerAmp, but I am betatesting the upcoming version.


Is it possible to make my phone as a remote shutter? Is it possible to set a android phone to act as a remote shutter that can connect multiple devices (phones and/or camera) via bluetooth to take photos?

These types of remote shutters usually rely on a more standard 3.5mm jack to plug into the camera. The only Bluetooth solution I know of is this:

http://www.amazon.com/Satechi-Bluetooth-Wireless-EOS-D2000-Compatible/dp/B00ANWQMWK

but unfortunately it looks like its only for Canon DSLRs with a hotshoe.


Changing Administrator of WhatsApp group due to non-working mobile and migration to another country My friend is an Administrator of our group on WhatsApp. He migrated from Singapore to US and as a result, his phone is not working. I would like to take the Administrator privileges for adding him back to the group using US phone number. Can you please share suggestions for solving this issue?

Thanks,
Aniruddh

No need to remove all users. Just add the person who want to become the admin, then leave or exit the group. The last person you added will automatically become the group admin.


My Nexus One cannot connect to Wi-Fi being broadcast by a Windows 7 laptop My Android (Google HTC Nexus One) is not detecting Wi-Fi being broadcast by my Windows 7 laptop. However, my iPhone can detect the laptop's network. Why is that?

Is there any solution for connecting my Nexus One?

It sounds like you're trying to broadcast a wireless signal using your laptop so that your mobile devices can connect to it. If you set this up via the standard Windows 7 networking tools it would have created an ad-hoc network, and Android does not support ad-hoc connections out-of-the-box.

You can, however, use a "softAP" (that is - software access point) to broadcast a signal as an AP instead of in ad-hoc mode. Connectify works great for me, and I would recommend giving it a try. A list of their supported wireless cards can be found here.

Additionally, you can try to "enable" ad-hoc networking on the Nexus One using the steps described in this forum thread. These steps will require that you have rooted your device, however.


Could a 64-bit hardware device run a 32-bit Android version? This question comes from How can I tell if my installed Android version, not CPU, is a 64 bit or 32 bit one?

On desktop computers it is possible to install a 32-bit operating system on a 64-bit hardware device i.e. you can install Ubuntu Linux 32-bit on an AMD FX(tm)-9370 Eight-Core Processor (64-bit).

Does the same case happens for Android? Is there a 32-bit and a 64-bit version for the same 64-bit device?

Some example links (like ROM downloads in 32 and 64 bits for the same Android device) would be welcome.

It's not clearly mentioned but I assume you are talking about ARM architecture. “32-bit Android OS” means a 32-bit kernel and the collection of ELF binaries and libraries which are compiled to run on 32-bit processor. This middleware stack particularly includes app_process binary which runs with name zygote and hosts the complete application framework of Android. It forks Java Virtual Machines (for every app) in which Dalvik EXecutable (.dex) code runs which is neither 32-bit nor 64-bit. But the JVMs are native processes; either 32 or 64-bit depending on the JNI libraries the app contains.

We can run 32-bit OS on 64-bit device if 64-bit:

Processor supports running 32-bit code which is usually the case because backward compatibility is desired, but not always.
Kernel supports running 32-bit code because unlike bare-metal hypervisors we - the processes on Android - don't deal directly with hardware.

PROCESSOR'S BITNESS

Every 64-bit processor's support for 32-bit execution isn't universal. For instance Samsumg Exynos 9 Series 982x SoCs contain Cortex-A55 and A75 which (are based on ARMv8.x and they) have support for aarch64 and aarch32. On the other hand Qualcomm's Centriq 2400 SoCs and Cavium's Thunder X2 SoCs also include ARMv8.x processors but without aarch32 support.

In order to find device architecture, we can read /proc/cpuinfo which exposes information from Main ID register of the processor.

~$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
...
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 8
...
CPU part        : 0xd03
...
Hardware        : Qualcomm Technologies, Inc MSM8953

But there in no direct information like lm flag to confirm 32/64-bit support. So we need to get technical details of hardware. As per the requirements from Google, CPU architecture: 8 indicates that it's a ARMv8 device. Also see this commit. And here is the hex to human readable decoding map which lscpu command uses.

~$ lscpu | grep -E 'Vendor |Model '
Vendor ID:           ARM
Model name:          Cortex-A53

Other possible ways to get SoC information:

~$ cat /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. MSM8953 + PMI8950 QRD SKU3

~$ cat /sys/devices/soc0/{vendor,family,machine}
Qualcomm
Snapdragon
MSM8953

It's evident from technical specifications of Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 (MSM 8953) and Cortex-53 that it's based on ARMv8 architecture, which can process both instruction sets: aarch64 and aarch32.

KERNEL'S BITNESS

When arm64 support was added to Linux kernel, 32-bit compatibility mode was also included. If kernel is built with IKCONFIG_PROC, confirm by:

~# zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -E 'CONFIG_ARM64=|CONFIG_COMPAT=|BINFMT'
CONFIG_ARM64=y
CONFIG_COMPAT=y
CONFIG_BINFMT_ELF=y
CONFIG_COMPAT_BINFMT_ELF=y
CONFIG_BINFMT_SCRIPT=y

So the 64-bit ELF files are executed natively with binfmt_elf while 32-bit ELF files are executed with compat_binfmt_elf. See details in this answer.

Usually uname -m is used to find the architecture of device supported by kernel. It shows the persoanlity (execution domain) of the process which defaults to kernel's primary architecture (PER_LINUX ). But Linux kernel supports changing persoanlity, so this approach can be confusing:

~$ uname -m
aarch64
~$ setarch linux32 uname -m
armv8l

In latter command uname is running under 32-bit compatible personality. The same would happen if you use some app - like this - which runs with LINUX32 personality, no matter even if kernel and uname binaries are 64-bit. For details see this and this. lscpu also confirms CPU operation modes using same phenomenon.

USERCODE BITNESS

Now coming to the userspace, init is the very first process run by kernel. Lets check its bitness. If the 5th byte is 1 it's 32-bit ELF file, if it's 2 the binary is 64-bit:

~# hexdump -n5 /proc/1/exe
0000000 457f 464c 0002

Or use file command:

~# file /proc/1/exe
/proc/1/exe: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), statically linked ...

Similarly check bitness of other vital OS binaries/libraries:

~$ file /system/lib*/libc.so
/system/lib/libc.so:   ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, ARM, EABI5 version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked ...
/system/lib64/libc.so: ELF 64-bit LSB shared object, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked ...

~$ file /system/bin/linker*
/system/bin/linker:        ELF 32-bit LSB shared object, ARM, EABI5 version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked ...
/system/bin/linker64:      ELF 64-bit LSB shared object, ARM aarch64, version 1 (SYSV), dynamically linked ...

OS maintains 64-bit as well as 32-bit libraries and dynamic linker because apps may contain both types of binary code (though the major part must be Java/Dalvik bytecode). For instance the dnsmasq program which serves as DHCP server on hotspot is a 64 bit binary while Google Play Services uses a 32-bit library:

~# readelf -a /system/bin/dnsmasq
  Class:                             ELF64
  Type:                              DYN (Shared object file)
  Machine:                           AArch64
      [Requesting program interpreter: /system/bin/linker64]
 0x0000000000000001 (NEEDED)             Shared library: [libc.so]

~# readelf -a /data/data/com.google.android.gms/app_vision/ocr/libs/armeabi-v7a/libocr.so
  Class:                             ELF32
  Type:                              DYN (Shared object file)
  Machine:                           ARM
      [Requesting program interpreter: /system/bin/linker]
 0x00000001 (NEEDED)                     Shared library: [libc.so]

Similarly it's not uncommon to have 32-bit binary blobs from OEMs / SoC vendors on 64-bit ROMs. Even some basic components of AOSP aren't 64-bit supported. Take example of audioserver.
To see all processes running in 32-bit mode:

~# for p in $(ps -p 2 --ppid 2 --deselect -o pid=); do grep -qE '^.{8}[^-]' /proc/$p/maps || echo $p; done | xargs ps f -o pid,cmd -p
  PID CMD
 3359 /system/bin/mediaserver
 3358 /system/bin/cameraserver
 3357 /system/bin/audioserver
 3356 zygote
 5081  \_ webview_zygote
20824  |   \_ com.android.webview:sandboxed_process0
18609  \_ it.colucciweb.vpnclient
 3354 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.audio@2.0-service
 2665 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.camera.provider@2.4-service
 2335 /vendor/bin/mm-qcamera-daemon
 2278 /vendor/bin/wifidisplayhalservice
 2277 media.codec hw/android.hardware.media.omx@1.0-service
 2244 /system/bin/drmserver
  777 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.drm@1.1-service.widevine
  773 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.cas@1.0-service

Out of these only one is a VPN app, rest are OS processes.

CONCLUSION

So it's clear that even if core OS is 64-bit, there are possibly large number of processes running as 32-bit, though each process and its linked libraries have to be be homogeneous; either 32 or 64-bit. And there's no constraint if the OS doesn't include 64-bit code at all, but you won't find many instances because OEMs ship 64-bit devices with 64-bit binary code. It's more about business than performance; that's what a user pays for. However exceptions do exist where business isn't that much involved: Raspberry Pi 3 has 64-bit CPU, but 32-bit Raspbian OS. Android phones examples from past include Galaxy E5, LG G Stylo, Moto G5 Plus, Lenovo A6000 Plus and MT6735 devices. But now Android is moving towards 64-bit and some devices may drop 32-bit support gradually.

  Does the same case happens for Android? Is there a 32-bit and a 64-bit version for the same 64-bit device?

Yes, take example of Moto G4 Plus.

RELATED: Android apps for “armeabi-v7a” and “x86” architecture: SoC vs. Processor vs. ABI


How can I save keypad command numbers like `*#*#4636#*#*` to my contact list? I learned from a previous question of mine that Android has got several system numbers, or "keypad commands," which produce all kinds of information or invoke a system mode.

As example: one of them is *#*#4636#*#* ( which produces all kinds of usage statistics ).

How can I save these number to my contacts list ?

Or is there some other way that I can create a short cut to enter these numbers ?

Save it as contact; then when you want to use it -> navigate to it; and choose edit before sending.


Is there any android smartphone that is already rooted by default? Is there any android smartphone commercially available that is already rooted by default, so that no rooting procedure is required?

No, There is no phone with root access pre-built but there are phones like oneplus with cyanogen OS.

I hope these links may help you reguarding this topic.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/why-doesnt-android-come-rooted/
http://www.androidauthority.com/sell-android-devices-already-flashe-119002/


In which directory are Android updates downloaded? I want to download and install a system update for my Android HTC Desire.

The download was successful but during installation it stopped. In the ClockworkMod console I can see the error "signature verification failed".

I wanted now to try to toggle signature verification in the ClockworkMod menu off and give it another try but unfortunately I cannot find the update file (ClockworkMod menu proposes /sdcard/update.zip but this file cannot be found).

Do you know where the updates are downloaded or any other hint to help me update my system?

(I used ClockworkMod v2.5.0.7 for rooting my system)

You cannot install an over-the-air (OTA) update from the manufacturer or carrier if you have ClockworkMod Recovery installed, even if you disable the signature verification.  You will need to return to the stock recovery console and stock ROM (if you are currently running a custom ROM) first, and then go to Menu -> Settings -> About -> System Updates and re-start the update process.  Keep in mind that you will lose root once the OTA is installed, and you'll have to re-root your phone all over again.

Alternatively, you can see if there is a custom ROM available for your phone that is based on the same Android version as the OTA, such as CyanogenMod.  I'd start at XDA-Developers forums for your phone.

In either case, it's very likely that you will need to wipe your device's internal memory also (which erases all of your installed apps and settings,) so don't forget to backup what you want to keep.


How to change analog clock widget on home screen to digital clock? I have an analog clock widget on my home screen and I want to change it to a digital clock.

If I tap the widget it takes me inside the clock app. If I select settings and then select "Style Digital", the home screen clock is still an analog clock.

How to change the home screen analog clock to a digital clock?

You can't make the widget change from analogue to digital, but you can replace the analogue one from a digital one. Hold your finger on the clock widget and drag it to the delete icon to remove it. Then, to add a digital clock widget, go to the app drawer and click Widgets, and find Digital clock in the list. Hold your finger on the digital clock to pick it up, and drag it where you like on the home screen.


Rooting a Nexus7 (2012) without installing a custom ROM I have a Nexus7 Tablet (2012) with Android 4.4.2. I'd like to root it, so that I can use some Apps, that need superuser rights.

I just found tutorial that explain how to root this device using a Custom ROM. Is it possible to root without installing a Custom ROM? Why is it not possible to just install "su" on the Tablet as I did with my Phone?

Yes, you can root it without installing a custom ROM. The rooting instructions on this site just tell you to install a custom recovery, which can install su for you.


How to edit the list of reserved ports (under 1024) on Android? Is it possible to edit list of reserved ports on Android (0 - 1023) to move lower port (under 1024) to higher port (equal or above 1024).

My mobile phone is rooted and I want to use lower port.

One option can be to reboot device so that to kill the process using some specific lower port.

Does Android provide any file in system files with table of reserved ports for edit?

Ports are not reserved by Android (or by any other OS) but are assigned by IANA for specific use. If a port is free i.e. no process is connected to or listening on that, you may use that with your program. But this may break the app's functionality for which the port is reserved. Otherwise you'll have to modify the source code and rebuild all the programs that are using a fixed port. It doesn't seem logical and practically possible.

For instance UDP port 68 is reserved for DHCP clients and the same is on Android:

# ss -up
Recv-Q  Send-Q   Local Address:Port   Peer Address:Port
0       0         192.168.1.11:68      192.168.1.1:67      users:(("system_server",pid=4521,fd=249))

So if you want to use this port for your program, your will have to modify Android source code to replace all instances of port 68 with some other unused port and then rebuild the ROM.
However you are free to use it when device is not connected to some network through WiFi or mobile data which obviously doesn't make much sense. Or you can configure static IP, Gateway and DNS so that DHCP is no more  needed and the port gets free for other usage.

Further reading:

Why are the first 1024 ports restricted to the root user only?
How do I reserve ports for my application?
Reserved TCP/IP ports


HTTPS sites no longer load on my Android after installing cert to truststore I have a rooted Android 4.3 JellyBean. I was testing something and trying to install the certificate for Charles Proxy so I could sniff some SSL traffic. I was able to push the Charles certificate to /system/etc/security/cacerts and this allowed me to do what I wanted. However, ever since I did this, my browsers no longer load HTTPS sites. For example, Chrome gives me the "Your connection is not private" message.

Also, and not sure if this is normal, but when I look in Settings > Security > Trusted credentials, there are no System Certificates listed.

How can I fix whatever I did?

"Whatever you did", you removed all of your trusted CA's (Certificate Authority).

Unfortunately I cannot help other than to say you should have well over 50-60 trusted CA's in that list (where you have none).


How to archive all photos from an album in google photos app I have an album with more than thousand photos in it. I want to archive all the photos in this album. I didn’t see any option in google photos app for archiving all the photos inside an album.

Is there any way to do it quickly without having to select all the photos one by one and then archiving.

I put all the photos in an album, then from the landing page I performed a search, keyword [album_name]. Search returned the same number of photos as is in the album, but I haven't checked them one by one. Then, select all and select archive.


HTC HERO Android 2.2 Possible Duplicate:
  When will my phone get the Android 2.2 update (FroYo)?

Will my HTC HERO get Android 2.2?

I guess i can upgrade to Anrdoid 2.2 but can i get Sense UI on Android 2.2 for hero?

The answer is no. But if you root your Hero, the answer is definitively yes. Check out XDA Forums and lookup your device. I know for the CDMA hero there are already 2.2 ROMs ripe for the picking.


Install button greyed out on play.google.com I tried installing an app on my phone from the Play Store website, but the install button is greyed out. What could be the problem?

The phone is a Samsung Epic 4G running 4.0

It is possible that you searched for the app using google. Somehow the google result links to the US version of the page, which grays out the install link for non-US people.
Remove the "gl=US" at the end of the URL address.


Unable to remove Google Account from Sync I want to remove Google account from AutoSync since I want to use Outlook.com for syncing of my contacts, calendar, email etc. I am able to sync Outlook.com, but unable to remove Google Account from automatically syncing. There is no disable sync button for google Account.

I use a Redmi 1S mobile, on MIUI.

Auto Sync should be enabled for checkboxes to appear. Without Auto Sync on, the checkboxes didn't appear.


Is there any way to move apps to my SD with Android 2.1? Is there any possible way to move apps to my SD card on my Droid Eris?  I keep getting that low memory icon in my notification bar and its really annoying.  I'm running Android 2.1

It's a built-in feature of Froyo, as long as the developer has built the app that way.

However, you're mostly out of luck, unless you're willing to root your phone and install Cyanogenmod and APPS2SD or jump through the hoops Bruce details in his answer.

If you do have Android 2.2 or higher, the app SDMove can be a big help in moving apps in bulk. SDWatch is also useful, as it monitors apps you install and alerts you if it can be moved the SD card. (There are, of course, other apps that do the same things. They're just the ones I've used.)


Get 850MHz 3G working on Samsung S5 Active I have Samsung S5 Active. It seems that it never get the 3G signal, only 2G.

After some research I found that 850Mhz is disabled in my phone, I tried to enabled it with the code: *#197328640# but no luck. This code seems to work only with S5 but not with S5 Active. I don't have even DEBUG SCREEN menu if I enter this code.

Any suggestion how can I enable 850 3G in my phone?

I also tried to connect to my phone from terminal:

$ adb shell
shell@android:/ $ am start -n com.android.settings/.BandMode

After entering these commands, I got to the menu in my phone:

Set GSM/UMTS Band:

but there were no options to chose. I believe somehting is blocking me from changing the band.

Please help, I can't use 3G until I fix it, it seems that mine other chinese phone works much better than Samsung S5 Active.

If the underlying baseband does not support 850 mhz it's not going to work.
Also, if you have a very old SIM it probably isn't going to work.

I believe the software can also prevent you to change the preference.

Maybe upgrade your baseband (radio) after rooting your phone. Maybe a factory upgrade will also do the trick, but I'm not sure. See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2794087 to root and be able to flash roms.

Personally, I'd try for a refund or return, try to let the store fix this issue. 3G is on the carton after all?


Who runs the Android market? Does Google run the Android Market?

Yes, Google is in charge of the Android Market.


Prevent music player from closing while closing all apps Is there a way to prevent the music player from closing while performing a clear all recent apps from the recent apps menu? I mean the app is technically in use so ideally it should not be closed along with the other apps. Is there any way to prevent this?

The app is Google Play Music if that is important.
Android ver: 4.4.4
Device: OnePlus One

When you clear the "recent list", all related activities are "kindly asked to terminate" (see: What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?). So what you ask must basically be converted into "how to exclude an app from being removed from the recent list" – which I know no answer for.

In principle, "closing all apps" rarely is a good idea (except when shutting down the device, of course). It does no good to your battery (or anything else), as many of those apps will just "silently restart". If you have "performance issues", you should track them down to their cause (see e.g. How do I identify apps or settings that cause performance problems?) – and then stop the one app hogging those resources. Chuck-Norris-Roundhouse-Kicks in this case are like using atomics to kill a flie.


Android Transmit system audio over MTP Here is what I want to do. If I plug in my Galaxy S4 to my BMW 335i, then I can browse and play music stored on the device just fine and the sound quality is excellent. If I play over the audio auxillary input, I can play anything but the quality of the sound is not good at all. The only way to play system sound and services like Spotify, Pandora, Google Music, etc is though the aux input jack since MTP doesn't carry the Android devices audio output.

What I want to do is transmit all system audio over MTP when the device is connected. This should be doable through some app or through some custom code that would basically buffer the system audio output and push it over mtp. Ideally, you could just browse to an item in the BMW iDrive that says "System Audio" and then you could hear any output from the Android phone regardless of what app is playing it.

Does anyone know of an app that would route system audio over the MTP connection? or does anyone have a service or custom code that would route all audio over the connection?

I have the same problem with Bluetooth audio as well. The 2010 BMW I have doesn't support Bluetooth Audio, but I really don't care about that since that sound quality is pretty questionable as well anyway.

No, MTP doesn't work like that. MTP is a client-server file transfer protocol, a bit like FTP. Your best bet is to either find another protocol the car supports (there are many network audio protocols, so it's likely it'll support one), or failing that, fix whatever is making the aux input sound bad (most likely a bad cable or connector, or the car is expecting line-level instead of headphone-level audio).


Keeps loading on startup My Samsung Galaxy Gio keeps loading when I turn on my phone. I've installed a custom rom, in the recovery mode, and I think I did something wrong. I don't know what to do, because the only thing I see is the startup screen. How to fix this? This is my only phone, so I have to fix this quickly. Can someone please help me?

Sounds like you are in a boot loop. If you are sure that you installed a ROM that is supported on your device, go back in to the recovery and make sure you wipe the DATA and CACHE. If you reboot after doing so, and you still get the boot loop, then I would do as Matthew Read suggests and flash the Stock ROM back.


Execute Windows Run Command or Some Windows Batch Process from Android Can we execute a Windows run command from an Android device? Like for example I want to open a file in PC using my Android device such as Run>C:\abc.exe.

Or you can say I want to run a batch process (Exe File) placed in PC from my Android device.

One option would be to install and set up SSH on the target PC.  http://sshwindows.sourceforge.net/

You can then use any of the many SSH android clients to connect to the target PC and you will have command line access.


forbid ADB install apk through a password pls is there a way to forbid the adb install to install apk into tablets unless there's a password?

Android 5.0 - rooted devices?

thank you

The simplest solution is to turn off USB debugging.

If you want to disable adb install from computer while enabling USB debugging, you can try XInstaller (Requires Xposed Framework). In its settings you can disable "Auto Install" to prevent ALL kinds of silent installation.


Known issues when installing official google ICS on Galaxy s2 I know Google issued out an official ICS rom for the Nexus S devices and I'm wandering if the same rom (or any other Google official variant) will properly work on my Galaxy S2 or will there be any notable issues?!

I'm asking because I'm quite fed up with the Samsung's stock roms (both GB and ICS) and I really want to avoid 3rd party roms such as CyanogenMod.

Unfortunately, that's not how it works :/

Though we would all love the official ICS versions rolled out to the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus devices, they are designed specifically for the hardware of those phones; thus is the nature of Android.

So, if you want something similar, the only way you will be able to get it is a 3rd party ROM. The only official OS versions for each phone are the ones rolled out by each provider, in your case, Samsung.


Fastboot - what to install on Windows Desktop? I have an older tablet Motorola Xoom Wifi (MZ 604). The tablet stopped working suddenly (while playing a game on it) and it cannot be restarted now. I have tried step described on Motorola XOOM MZ604 hard reset:

I have tried soft reset (Volume Up + Power), this brings the Motorola logo but nothing more.
I was able to enter "wipe data/factory reset" option, but the reset did not finish
I am able to enter a fastboot mode, however no matter what I have tried, I do not see any tools on the PC to connect to the device (or even to list it)

Now before I declare the tablet dead, I would like to try fix it using fastboot. What should I install on my PC (Windows 10 x64) so that I can communicate with the device?

Most guides I have seen want me to install Motorola Drivers from locations like Motorola Support, when clicking through the links, all I get are messages like  "File not found" or 404 errors. If I need any drivers, are there any generic drivers I could use?

Driver: Motorola End User Driver Installation - choose 64-bit.

Fastboot binary: Minimal ADB and Fastboot - Google now does have an "official" package, but it's unintuitive to install and use, so this one is still recommended.


my phone cannot play stereo over 3.5mm headphone jack recently I tried to run android games on my laptop in Gameloop emulator (shooter games in general). after playing a couple of minutes in PUBG Mobile with the same headphone on, I noticed that the audio direction and footstep sound are far more clear and accurate than what it sounds on my mobile

I have a non-rooted Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro with the latest MIUI 12 on it.
and a headphone I purchased from a local store.

I saw this question on this site, and if I'm not wrong, it says that I cannot play more than 2 channel audio on a 3.5mm headphone jack! But since I was able to hear more accurately on my pc with the same 3.5mm audio jack(aux), I am thinking that the android was the problem.
Is there something I can change on my phone to make it output sounds like my pc, or even make it a little more accurate?
PS: another thing I want to mention is, my mobile doesn't even split left or right channel while playing surround videos on youtube. I cannot tell if the sound is completely from the left channel or right because both sides of the headphone play the same sound.
thanks for your suggestions.

I found a quick fix for this issue, I think that every Xiaomi phone that's on MIUI12 can do the same step, the steps are:
on your phone go to...

Settings ->   Additional Settings ->   Accessibility-> [scroll down] Mono Audio(turn off this)

on my phone, Mono Audio was (ON) by default, and that is the reason that your phone will get ridiculously loud (both on your headphone and speakers) and not accurate for sound direction while gaming or watching movies, notice if you Disable Mono Audio your over-all Sounds volume will decrease a by half, and AFAIK this is because your Audio volume will combine while on Mono.
hope that helps. thanks


Can't define APN: "Unfortunatelly, Settings has stopped" - SG 4 I have Samsung Galaxy S4 with Android 4.4.2, Kernel 3.4.0.

After returning from abroad and switching back my SIM card I've noticed, that mobile internet is not working. I've noticed in the Settings, that no APN is defined. When I click '+', there's the error:

  Unfortunatelly, Settings has stopped

Restarting the device has not helped. Restarting the device without SIM card and them again with SIM card hasnt' helped (I've noticed, however, the error icon appearing for a second in notifications and them disappearing). Configuration SMS from operator hasn't helped.

I've switched SIM cards many time on that device, and I've never had to configure anything with the internet, it's the first time I get that error, and it seems to be persistent. I suppose some configuration file is broken.

What can I do to fix that? Restoring factory settings would be the last resort, because I have many settings that I'd loose, for example it took me many days to disactivate all Samsung malware that was draining the battery... My phone is not rooted and it's not the option to root it because it's the company's handy.

What can be the reason for such behaviour and are there any solutions I can apply with non-rooted device? For example, deinstalling some system updates, or installing some?

I had the same problem. All you need to do is back up all your data using Samsung Kies 3. Download it from their website (Samsung.com). Then do a Factory reset. Once reset is complete on your S4 you will now be able to Edit the APN. If you have a contract with a provider ask them to send you the settings and your Internet data will work. Mine is now working all okay. Hope this helps.


Would it be possible to sandbox apps with SELinux? Many apps require too much permissions that they do not need to function

Most apps needs internet connection to talk to some API (let's say updates checking or notifications.. etc) and need to access SD Card (for buffering/caching). But if we grant them this they can take all of my data.

It would be great if the OS is structured in a way so that we can grant apps access only to specific directories that only belong to it (think of browser cache, youtube buffer ...) and when the user promptly and consciously want to pass files (eg. upload file throw a web browser) they get staged/promoted/linked to that area accessible by the app.

till that happens, we have SELinux in many android phones can we use it to sandbox apps (the idea is there since 2009 see http://danwalsh.livejournal.com/28545.html)

here is the question: can we define a policy that says (if yes how)

those apps are not allowed to access my gallery directory (DCIM)
those apps are allowed to access my gallery but are not allowed to use network connection

in desktop Linux it was successfully applied (here it was applied on firefox http://danwalsh.livejournal.com/31146.html)

Android already has this kind of sandboxing of apps. Each app gets its own data directory (and optionally another on the SD card), and only that app can read that directory. Apps can't read other apps' directories directly.

When an app (such as the gallery) wants to make its content available to other apps, they can offer an interface for the other apps to use. In fact, there are two kinds of interfaces apps can offer.

The first is via the intent mechanism. This is used when you get (for example) a "Choose image from" dialog, with different apps to choose. The intent mechanism allows the app that owns the image to grant the calling app temporary access to only the image(s) you choose this way.

The second mechanism is for the app to act as a content provider. The app then acts like a server, allowing other apps to browse and find content, and access it directly without your interaction. When an app acts this way, it's up to the app that owns the content to choose what security mechanism to use. The app might require that the calling app have a particular permission (even a new permission specially created for this purpose). For example, access to contacts is provided this way. Only the built-in contacts provider app has direct access to the contacts database. It also acts as a content provider, to allow other apps access, but only if they have the appropriate permission (such as "read my contacts").

So, as you can see, the mechanism you describe - to sandbox apps, and to pass files from one app to another only through the user's choice - already exists in Android. It's way ahead of desktop operating systems in this respect. It's up to apps to use these mechanisms to control the content they own - and there's always going to be a trade-off between granularity of control (using lots of permissions) and making things easier for the user to understand (using fewer permissions).


How do I factory reset/wipe Galaxy Note 2 with no screen? My phone's LCD is broken but the rest of the phone works 100%. I can't do the normal steps to erase the phone because I can't interact with the menu on the screen to do so. I would like to erase everything so I can sell the phone to somebody willing to have the screen repaired.

Hold volume up + Home + Power Key wait for 3 mins
Press volume down 3 times
Press power button
Press volume down 6 times
Press power key

That will do a hard reset.


Phone not receiving calls on deep sleep I have a Samsung Captivate Glide running android 4.2.2 (an unofficial version of Vanilla RootBox with a kernel called Litekernel). This phone is originally for AT&T but it's unlocked and I'm using it on Mexico's carrier Telcel (and I've seen multiple people with the same issue on different countries/carriers).

My issue is that sometimes when someone calls me, the phone rings on their side as if I wasn't picking up and eventually goes to voicemail, but I get no call at all, it's not a sound/vibration setting, I've checked. Also I've read about this kind of issues with multiple phones/carriers.

Once I tested this with another phone and called mine and the call didn't come until I pressed the power button to unlock the screen, waking the phone.

Also I read about some guys using an app called Wake Lock - PowerManager and using the option PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK to keep the phone from going to deep sleep, but of course that consumes the battery much faster.

Does anybody have any idea what could be done?

My phone is rooted and I'm willing to modify the kernel or do any complex action required to fix this...

Edit: I forgot to mention I have reflashed this rom several times, every time clearing the cache, dalvik chache, factory reset, etc. And this happened to me in other roms as well...

I hope you use ClockWorkMod , reflash the custom rom after clearing the cache ,factory reset,etc,. If the problem exist try flashing other roms and see if the problems is due to the Custom Rom.
If you are having the  problem only when using the first custom rom, then contact the developer of the Custom Rom and ask tell him about your problem.


How do I download PDF documents from Gmail? When I receive a PDF attachment, the Gmail app only gives the option to preview it, not download. It opens in the default PDF reader (I have Adobe's reader).

How can I save the PDF instead?

Attachment2SD will do the trick.

After you install it when you click on the PDF attachment in the Gmail app it'll pop-up the "Complete Action Using..." dialog.  Choose Attachment2SD and it'll download to a directory on your SD card, where you can immediately open it or save it for later.  This works with all kinds of files, not just PDF.


How to enable a disabled app I recently disabled a default app (Google+, using Settings -> Apps -> Google+ -> Disable) on my phone. Is there a way to enable it again?

The same way.

Settings | Apps | (app) | Enable

Disabled apps automatically sort to the bottom of the app list.


Connect Samsung Galaxy tab 2 P3100 to a GPS dongle/ Receiver I have a Samsung galaxy tab 2 p3100. I have an android application which uses its internal GPS to get Latitude, Longitude values. But the lat, long values getting from this tab is not accurate. So I want to connect an external GPS Dongle / receiver to tab and get lat, long values from the external device instead of from tab.
I want to know is there any external GPS Dongle / receiver device that supports Galaxy tab2  or any other android device? And if yes, which is the device and how to connect it?

There are several options available to you, but make sure that you know that the app you're using supports them!

You can go with a Bluetooth GPS receiver like this one. Reviewers mention that it works with Android, but not iOS. One reviewer says it works perfectly, another says that not all apps work with it. (I'm inclined to believe that the user who mentions that it needs an app is mistaken)

You can also get a USB bluetooth receiver like this one with an OTG Cable like this, but these are designed to be used with PC hardware, so support for Android may or may not be very good.

I would personally go with the bluetooth option for convenience and because there are others who have done it with Android devices already.


Google Music not available for Samsung Galaxy S with Android 2.2.1 I have Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) with Android 2.2.1 (Froyo).
Lately I got an invite to Google Music. Android app for Google Music requires 2.2.0, however Android Market keep saying my phone is not capable to run application.

Is there a way how to get Google Music Android client on my Samsung Galaxy S - ?

While I understand Google might not like this, and probably it is not 100% politically correct answer, here is the link where you can download APK of Google Music.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1072655

If you enable installation from unknown sources, you can install the thing on your phone, without restrictions.

I tried and it worked. I was able to access my music uploaded to Google and even play it.
That means the restrictions are only settings in Android Market, everything else seems to be free of restrictions.


Block SMS without number In India, we often receive SMSs which do not actually have a number, but instead, have a name like 'VK-AMSWAN'. SMS blockers like Truecaller don't have any facility to recognise such senders, and keep asking for a number to block.

How do I block such senders? I cannot blanket block all unknown SMSs because even banking information comes from such named senders.

Edit: When using third party SMS apps like chomp SMS, there is an option to show contact number below contact name. Guess what it shows for the spam?

VK-AMSWAN (name)

VKAMSWAN (where the number shows up for other contacts)

-_-

Edit 2: Thank you so much for your suggestions, guys. :) But it seems SMS blocking isn't as well developed as call blocking is. Truecaller actually rejects spam calls without you ever knowing about them. No SMS blocker I've seen has this facility so far. All they do is receive the messages and hide them. If someone can locate a method to fully block spam SMS, please do tell. :)

Since you told DND doesn't block these kind of messages, you can use Textra SMS from the Play Store and select the message that you received and select the Blacklist message option to stop receiving the SMS.

If you still want those messages to be received but not to get a notification you can select the Crossed Bell icon at the top to not notify on receiving the message so that it is stored into your inbox for future use but will not be notified to you.

Update:

Using textra I found another feature to find out the number of those LM-* ,TM-* , VK-* series kinda SMS messages. Open Textra and swipe the message to left to reveal the call feature. Double tap the call button and it calls the number. So now you've got the number and this way you can block those numbers from receving those text messages. I tried that and showed the numbers to me for every message in my inbox with XX-* sms messages. ;)


E-mails sent from Android not syncing to IMAP "Sent" folder I'm using the stock e-mail app of Android 4.1 (Motorola razr i), and when I send a mail from the phone, the mail app afterwards shows the sent mail in the "Sent" folder, but it seems that folder is not synchronized via IMAP. Thus, I cannot see those mails from my PC e-mail client.

Is there any configuration for this, or will I have to use K9 or some other app?

Unfortunately, the Stock Android Email app has the IMAP folder names hard-coded in the application, they cannot be changed by the user. The app expects the folders to have the following names:

Inbox
Outbox
Drafts
Trash
Sent
Junk

If your IMAP server uses different names, they are not properly synchronized with the Email app. There are two solutions to this:

Use different Email app
Get Android source code, modify names in Email application, rebuild Email application and replace original Email application on your device with the modified one

However, the second solution (of course) requires a rooted device and basic knowledge of how to build an Android application. But, I can say, I tried it and it works. The file where the names are stored is <Android-source-code-root>/packages/apps/Email/res/values/strings.xml. See the following excerpt:

<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "inbox" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_inbox" translatable="false">Inbox</string>
<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "outbox" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_outbox" translatable="false">Outbox</string>
<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "drafts" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_drafts" translatable="false">Drafts</string>
<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "trash" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_trash" translatable="false">Trash</string>
<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "sent" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_sent" translatable="false">Sent</string>
<!-- Do Not Translate.  This is the name of the "junk" folder, on the server. -->
<string name="mailbox_name_server_junk" translatable="false">Junk</string>

I have no idea why Google decided to make the names unchangeable withing the app. Probably they want to force people to use Gmail (I was told, the folder names work with Gmail).

If anybody with programming skills is motivated, I would love to see a patched version of the Email app, where the names of the folders can be adjusted in some configuration dialog. Should not be a huge thing to implement, I just did not have the time for it.


Install default Mail App on my Nexus 5 I do not see default mail App on my Nexus 5. I do have gmail though working fine. Probably I removed it earlier. How do I install it again ! I want to use that to configure Exchange Server on it to configure my official emails and calendars.

Currently when I try to do "Add Account" it does NOT show "Corporate" !

Try to install the Email app directly from Google Play Store.  If this app is shown as incompatible on your device, side-load it by downloading it from here, enabling the Unknown sources in Settings -> Security, and installing the apk (either by tapping the apk in the download manager, or via ADB from your PC: adb install -r <path-to-apk>).

Keep in mind though that this version sometimes breaks the Exchange functionality on some mostly non-Nexus devices. In order to resolve this, you need to also install a copy of latest Exchange2Google.apk app that is available for download from here or here. You don't have to install it as a system app, just side-load it in the same manner as described above.


Search Play Store history for an app? My droid phone died recently and I got a replacement. I was trying to install a phone silencer app that I liked which was on my old phone, but I couldn't find the exact one in the Play Store. Is there a way I can search my old Play Store history? Or is that information lost with the old phone?

Go to my apps in google play browse all the apps

Note: Made as answer as requested


What does the "Volume Level" in Spotify do? What does the "Volume Level" option in the Spotify settings do?

I don't notice anything when changing it. A coarse volume level like this also seems redundant to the system-wide volume level.

I haven't used Spotify for a long while but from memory the volume setting affects the next song, not the current song.And you would need to disable Normalize Volume logically speaking.

This reddit says the same with more description

  .... changing the volume level in setting will affect the next song you will listen to but not the one you are currently listening to


Deny the installation of apps or add new accounts (kiosk mode) I have a tablet that I want to give to people to go on the internet, but I don't want them to mess with it (install/unistall apps, add new accounts, change relevant options, etc).

Is there a way to lock the device so that it can only be used to go on the internet?

SureLock promises this amongst others, see its entry on Google Play.

With Android's rapid development, this is however a rather quick moving target.

I suggest you search also for 'android kiosk mode' on Google or of course in the Play Store.

Besides this: There's already a question for that on stackoverflow:
Kiosk mode in Android


How to downgrade Google search app in recovery? For some reason, I would like to downgrade the Google search app (com.google.android.quicksearchbox) to a older version, and upgrade later, on a MI 8 running Android Oreo.
But when /system is mounted in recovery, I couldn't find the Google app in /system/app, although other system apps are there.
I don't want to root the device, so how to?

some applications are in deferent locations, system/app holds certain applications while system/priv-app holds other's... sometimes your phone provider also puts apps in system/vendor/operator/APP_FOLDERS_BY_NAME   and custom/app/

These locations change depending on device, but mostly stick to the same root directory's..

system/app
system/priv-app
system/vendor/
custom/

Just have a look around at the different sub folders, and i think it's inconveniently named something completely different, like Velvet.apk


How do I configure Dropbox in my Galaxy S III so that it does NOT automatically upload every photo/video I take? How do I configure Dropbox on my mobile - Galaxy S III so that it does not automatically upload every photo and video I take?

Open the Dropbox app on your device
Open the overflow menu (three vertical dots) and choose "Settings"
Under "CAMERA UPLOAD" tap "Turn off Camera Upload"

If you've installed Dropbox's Carousel app, it takes over the upload of photos.

Open the Carousel app
Click the weird smiley face in the upper left; this opens the "Settings" menu
Uncheck "Backup photos & videos" (or you can log out or uninstall the app)


How do I get MIUI to allow notifications for reminder apps? I'm using an MI phone (Redmi Note 4G), it runs on MIUI v7. This is a problem that a lot of people have been facing for a really long time now: Push notifications for reminder apps (Say Wunderlist, Google Keep, Any.Do etc.) don't work. Mostly they don't work at all, sometimes they are delayed for random number of minutes / hours for absolutely no reason.

How do I get MIUI to allow these notifications?

Here is what I've tried:

I've tried "locking" the apps into the apps tray (So that when I clear the RAM, that particular app isn't cleared )

Result: Doesn't work.

I've given all permissions to the concerned apps. Even those permissions that were obviously not required for the app to do it's basic task: Remind me of my to-dos.

Doesn't work.

I've made sure that I've enabled allnotifications in both the MIUI settings and in the settings of the app

Doesn't work.

There is only thing that does work: Not force closing the app (by pressing the back button for a few seconds). Even if I do so, the reminders only work fine for a few minutes: say for half-an-hour or an hour. Reminders that come up later than that don't work.

Here is an ongoing discussion on the same topic: http://en.miui.com/thread-19270-1-1.html (miui forum)

On MIUI 8, under Settings, Permissions, you can add individual apps to Autostarts.  This is the only thing that worked for apps that I wanted to keep running in the background (eg Gentle Alarm).

The permission does more than autostart an app 'cos if I don't have that permission set for Gentle Alarm and start the app manually, the app doesn't work, so I think the term 'autostart' is misleading.

The other thing you might need to do is tell MIUI to not apply any battery saving methods (depending on the MIUI version).

Having said all this, I can't get Google Now to work.  I guess I need to find the right app/module to enable in Autostarts.


How can I copy *everything* from one phone to another? I have a Galaxy S7. I bought a Galaxy S8. I prefer answers that are more general, but I will accept answers specific to copying the experience between these two phones.

I have tried a few options to "copy" everything, including Samsung Backup, Google Backup, and Smart Switch. However, some things were not copied over:

Accounts. I have to log-in to Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Splitwise, etc.
TouchWiz "Always On" screen configuration (especially the appearance of the clock).
TouchWiz screen resolution and font size.
Homescreen. The background transferred, but the app icon layout and widgets did not.
App settings. The installed apps transferred, but their settings did not. It's like a fresh installation of every app.
Ringtones. I installed and chose custom sounds for notifications and calls.

There are probably other things missing that I just haven't discovered yet. I know from long experience that text messages do not transfer, so I'm in the habit of using SMS Backup and Restore.

Some of these things might not be transferable by any means (I can see this being true for accounts, and probably my authenticators), but I suspect I am just missing "the right answer" for others.

To transfer all your files from one Samsung to another all you need is Smart Switch. Download it from Samsung or Google Play. After download, install, get the necessary cable then you good to go. By the way all the instructions you need is on the app itself. Enjoy!


Permanently deleting Email from Default Email app I have a Nexus 4 running Android 4.3 [OTA came on July 29 \m/] and I use the stock e-mail app called "EMail" (I don't like Gmail app). Whenever I delete an app, a folder called Imap/Trash gets created and the mails I delete goes inside this folder. I can see this in the browser. Since I have OCD, I open the browser, delete the mails and remove the label. This is a bit irritating as I have to do this every day. Is there a setting or a tweak or something which lets me delete the mails from my Nexus and move the deleted directly inside Trash (like how it happens in the browser)?

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers :-)

From the Android stock email app, you can permanently delete emails if you access the trash folder and delete them from there:

Select and email to delete and touch the delete icon;
Access the Trash folder;
Repeat step 1 inside the trash folder for the same email.

With this steps, the email gets permanently deleted from your account.

I've tested this steps just now to be sure. Anyways, I did not find any setting within the APP or account preferences, in order to do this more seamless!