How do I disable notifications for a second Gmail account? I have two Gmail accounts, one that I use for mailing lists and signing up for online services and whatnot, and the other one for more important stuff like work and friends.

I'd like to set it up so that my phone doesn't play the notification sound when an email comes in for the mailing list account. I only want to hear notifications for the account that has the more important email.

I can't find any setting to differentiate notifications between the two accounts.

Is this possible, and if so how?

This is what I did in Android 4.1 and Gmail:

Open Gmail
Tap the Overflow menu (three vertical dots) and select Settings
Tap the account for which you don't want to get notifications
Uncheck the Notifications option

That should be all you need to do.


Can you run Linux command line apps on Android? I'm brand new to Android; in fact I've never owned one.

But I'm traveling all this summer, and I'm very interested in doing some programming while I'm on the run.

QUESTION: Is it possible to run a full Ruby development environment with Emacs on Android?  How?

And does "rooting" give you anything close to a real Linux system?

"Rooting" allows you access to the internal Android environment, which of course consists of more than just the Linux kernel.  So you are running Linux, but you should consider it as though you are running under a different distribution than say Debian or Redhat.

There's a different set of standard libraries and some files are in different locations.  At least on my Droid ext2 support is not built-in by default.  There is also no init or cron.  The full set of Linux modules is not available unless you compile them yourself and put then in /system/lib/modules.  Important ones you may miss on standard ROMs are cifs, ext2, tun, and others.

Most, if not all, phones running Android are ARM CPUs.  So the binaries you run on them must be ARM "EABI" "soft-float" binaries.  If you have the source you can cross-compile whatever utilities you need, but read on.

There are many standard commands and utilities available in the /system/bin directory such as grep, ps, cp, rm, mv, ls, ip, even vi.  You have enough to get by until you...

...use the "Linux Installer" utility to install a chroot'ed Debian environment.  Debian has supported ARM for a while.  It takes some work, but if you can root your phone, and have a sizeable enough SD card, this is the way to go.

This is close to a standard Linux system and under it you can install and run Ruby.  Of course CPU and RAM limitations come into play.


How can I get the Android Market installed on my Kindle Fire? There are a couple of apps I'd like to install that aren't available in Amazon's store. Is there a way I can get the normal Android Market app set up on this thing, so I can get apps (and updates for those apps...) without involving Amazon?

You can set up the Market on a Fire, but only if you have root by doing the following (guide originally from this XDA thread):

  Prerequisites

  Root your Kindle Fire

  Download the following apks
  GoogleServicesFramework.apk
  Vending.apk (Latest Version 3.3.11)
  See HERE for .apk downloads (complete GApps zip file)

  Root Explorer App (or similar that lets you change ro/rw permissions)

  Side Loading Apps activated on Kindle Fire On the Kindle Fire Settings
  screen, go to “Device” and turn On “Allow Installation of Application
  From Unknown Sources”

  Instructions

  Transfer the .apk files to your Kindle Fire via PC / Mac (remember where you put them)
  Open Root Explorer App, and navigate to the transferred .apk files
  Select the GoogleServiceFramework.apk and install
  When complete, click "Done" and return to the file location for Vending.apk
  Long-press Vending.apk and select the "Move" option on pop-up menu Navigate to /system/app folder
  Change mount option from RO to RW (read-only to read-write) Paste Vending.apk into the /system/app folder
  Long-press Vending.apk and select "Permissions" from pop-up menu Change permissions to match all other apps in this folder (rw-r--r--)
  Install Vending.apk
  Reboot your Kindle Fire

You can also use adb instead of a file manager to perform all of these steps. Simply use adb install <apk> to install an apk file. To move Vending.apk to /system/app you'd probably need to first push it to the sdcard (adb push Vending.apk /sdcard) and then copy it over from a root shell (cp /sdcard/Vending.apk /system/app). When changing permissions you would need to use chmod 0644 /system/app/Vending.apk from a root shell. To remount the system partition as read/write you would need to execute

mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/platform/mmci-omap-hs.1/by-name/system /system

from a root shell.

After performing the above steps the Market won't appear in your apps list or on your carousel. You can work around this by either installing a 3rd party launcher or by using the Market Opener app, which basically just bootstraps it.


How to Prevent Battery Full Notifications in Mi 2 Band? Situation: to prevent Mi 2 Band's battery full vibration, which wakes me up; the notification bypasses Android's own Silent Mode
Secondary solution: use Do Not Disturb applicaiton of Playstore

Band is in the connection with the phone by Mi Fit of Playstore.
My Pebble is connected to my phone by Gadgetbridge.
Situation

In Mi Fit, DND active from 2100-0700
Android's Silent mode active but not effective
In Mi Fit, I find no setting about disabling the vibration of the band about the battery full status

My Settings > Notifications > App specific for Mi Fit

Phone: Samsung Galaxy S4, Oneplus 3
Phone OS: Cyanogenmod 13
Activity band: Xiaomi MI Band 2
Smart watch: Pebble Classic 1
Pebble firmware: 3.12.2 (newest 9.8.2016)
Pebble hardware: V3R3
Ticket at Gadgetbridge github about the issue: Can you Stop Vibrations of Mi 2 Band about Battery Full Status with Gadgetbridge?

I resolved the problem by getting the second phone for my Mi Band 2 because I use Pebble at work, thus causing me much complications because no two internet gadget -support is not supported at the same time. This way, you can control the notifications of battery full -status stably.


How to block images in android app In my country data is really expensive, I find my self spending almost $50 every 2weeks, which is a lot of money.
I've been wondering if there's a way to disable images in android apps, This would be very useful, and save a lot of data.

I've a rooted phone
5.1 lollipop

You cannot in general.  Images are arbitrary data; they come from different sources, in different formats, over varying protocols, with or without encryption.

The best you could do is to figure out what domains the images are coming from and block those domains.  I use Shark to sniff app traffic and discover the domains.  For example, i.stack.imgur.com hosts the images uploaded for questions and answers on the Stack Exchange network.  There are various apps to do the blocking, or you could manually edit the hosts file.

Browsers like Opera can also compress images when browsing (supposedly Chrome can now as well), and might even have options to not load them at all.


What's the risk of installing Cyanogen Mod on unsupported phone? My device is not listed as supported on website www.cyanogenmod.com/devices. I have ZTE Skate, and some other ZTEs are listed, but not mine.
Is it possible to install the mod on Skate, and what's the risk? If phone is not listed, does it mean, that it was just not tested, or the mod wouldn't work?

It means that in all probability it won't work. There are a lot of factors at play, but if it installs correctly there's a good chance it won't boot. Problems that could occur include:

Your hardware will likely not have proper drivers. If it shares drivers with other devices then it may work, but otherwise various parts of the hardware will simply fail to function.
The partition layout may be different, which could cause the install itself to fail if partition sizes are very different.
The kernel from another device may not run on your device's processor.
The boot image may not be configured and packaged properly for your device.

If the above all manage to be identical, then the system may boot and function, but it's generally pretty unlikely.


Which Virtual machine is used in Android 11? Every Android application runs in a virtual machine. We know that Dalvik virtual machine \was the one that is used by Android.  Next, they changed to ART (Android Runtime machine). Just correct me if I am wrong. Android 11 uses which virtual machine, Dalvik or ART?

Android 11 uses ART.  Android 4.x KitKat were the last Android releases to use Dalvik.


Remove search bar from home screen in Android 9 ("Pie") I am using Xiaomi A2 Lite and I want to get rid of search bar on my home screen, preferably without and without installing custom launchers (that are likely to be the next configuration time sink).

In case that launchers are only way to do this without rooting phone - is there some good launcher that would allow me to remove this and out of the box is not changing anything (otherwise phone is acceptable and I prefer to avoid wasting day on configuring software)

I found info that in Android 4 it was impossible and that I can install launchers like Apex Launcher or Nova Launcher (not sure is it still going to help and what kind of downsides it will cause).

Nexus 5 also required custom launcher or custom ROM or requires rooting phone, none of which sound like something easy and without negative consequences.

The same answer mentions "long press on home screen on an empty space + toggle the hide/show button of the Google search bar" what is not working for me.

It mentions removing Google Now. The same functionality seems to be now provided as Google app and I disabled it, resulting in less offensive but still present gray rectangle.

Dragging or longpressing this bar has no effect whatsoever.

Xda forum claims that removing Google app is sufficient (what is untrue, it leaves inactive grey bar just to spite people that want to get rid of it). It also mentions launchers as alternative, and problems with launchers on unrooted phones. Xda thread recommends LawnChair launcher for unrooted phones to fix this.

The best thing i was able to do was to

Sign in to the google app
go to settings
customize widgets.
Use the colour and opacity options to fit it into your background.

(my wallpaper is a Earth thing so I was able to blend the search bar in)


Power button not working on Asus Zenfone 5 I bought an Asus Zenfone a few days ago and it was working well for 2 daysT the system asked to install an update and I agreed and installed it. Now the power button is not working at all.

Could it be a hardware or software issue? What should I do?

Device information:
Model Number : ASUS_T00J
Android Version : 4.3
Software Build Number : ASUS_T00J_WW_user_1.18.40.9_20140827_0215

I had the same problem. Was working fine until the update.

To fix it I had to reset the phone: Settings/Backup & reset. Make sure all of your data is backed up before you do it. After the reset it is working fine.

I considered running it flat & see if it would work on restart but if it didn't then it would be a lot harder to reset - manually through pc.

Hope this helps.

Update

I changed my case during this process & have just changed it back. Same symptoms started happening - it seems that the power button on the case is placing too much pressure on the switch & by picking up or moving the phone it is sometimes enough to activate the button. Changing the case back & everything works fine again.

My original case was fine. The problem one was the asus flip cover case. Looking inside at the buttons I noticed that the materials were slightly different.

I would suggest trying your phone without any case & see if you still get problems.


Is it possible to use the Google Play Store without having a mobile provider? I am trying to install Skype and other applications on my brand new Android tablet but I keep getting stuck with a message:

Can't establish a reliable connection to the server
This could be a temporary problem...
If it continues, call Customer Care

The tablet is running Android 4.0.3
It's a cheap tablet that I ordered from a website for the purpose of doing my own software development. I am using it in Japan. I don't have any contract with any mobile provider. I can successfully access the Internet via WiFi. I tried opening TCP and UDP ports on the router after reading some other threads on similar problems. I updated the Google Play Store apk version 3.4.7 with version 3.10.10 which I downloaded to my Windows PC and transferred with an SD card to the tablet.

It's getting quite frustrating after almost one week of fighting with this problem.
I would appreciated any help or suggestions. Thanks.

If all else fails.

So if you can't install apps from the google store. Then you can sideload them with adb.
The apk can be found in backup folders from apps like 'titanium backup' so you can have your friend install it and back it up. then copy the apk.

I had a Cricket phone that I didn't buy service for... and they disabled the app "Google Voice" This sideload method worked to bypass that.


Sync iPod Classic on Asus Tablet I have a lot of music on both my iPod Classic (pre-iOS type), and my Asus Transformer tablet. Is it possible to sync the two for music and pictures? Or am I forced to use a computer?

The tablet is rooted, and the iPod does have Disk Usage enabled. All the music files show up as just 4-letter folders and filenames though.

I have a similar setup with iPod Classic (160 GB) and Asus Transformer TF300T. I have yet to find a direct method to connect iPod to the tablet and sync via an app. As of now, the only way is via a computer.

If you want to go the PC way, you can use iSyncr for PC and sync playlists. iSyncr also has an app for Mac.
However, I am not sure of pictures being synced via iSyncr.

Another option is to export all the music via programs like Floola to your computer and later transfer to the tablet.


Moving apps to SD: is there any difference between the function in Settings and the apps offered in the Google Play store? I noticed several apps in the Google Play store featuring the ability to move apps to the SD card. My Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 has an application manager under Settings, and this application manager already provides the ability to move apps to the SD card.

Without rooting my phone, is the included application manager doing the same thing as the apps in the store? Or is there something more the other apps can offer?

I ask because of a few problematic apps that take up a lot of device storage, even after telling them to move to the SD card.

No they both use the same method to move it over. And if you did desist to root your phone, they could move over the ones that aren't allowed to be moved over, but that may cause them to break.


Removing a deleted account that's still on Galaxy S4 I had a Google account I wanted to get rid of linked to my phone and ended up going to: Settings>Accounts>Google>Account Preferences and selected my account so I could get rid of it.

Click to enlarge image

I selected  "Delete your Google account" and I don't remember but it probably prompted me asking if I was sure or what the password is or something like that. Anyways I deleted it and ever since I've had this error message

Click to enlarge image

And when I tap it, it opens up Google and asks me to sign in again and says it can't find the account. All this is just an inconvenience but what's really making this a problem is I can't update any apps in the play store until I get rid of this account somehow. I've tried looking in the android file explorer for some sort of accounts system file or even a google accounts system file to delete and can't find anything of the sort on the S4. I don't want to have to factory reset and get all my stuff back over this. Oh yeah, this is what shows up for the accounts settings now.

Click to enlarge image

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Just remove the account from the device.

Go to Settings > Accounts > Google, then click on the account, click on 3-dots ⋮ > Remove account. You'll get rid of the notification.


How to get disappeared keyboard back? I am using Android 5 and, on rare occasions, my keyboard disappears or becomes unavailable when I enter editable fields in different apps (browser, FB, etc).  Once that happens, what can I do, other than rebooting, to get the keyboard to reappear once I am in editable fields?

I have seen this on rare occasion. Often simply backing out of the app, and optionally removing it from the list of recently-used apps (which quits an app a bit more calmly than an End/End All), will restore functionality once the app is relaunched.

Sometimes a web page or web-based app, like Facebook, will refresh itself in the background, and that can disconnect the keyboard from the field being edited. Sometimes it's a slowdown elsewhere in the phone.


Is the class rating of my MicroSD card relevant? Does Class 4 perform differently from Class 6, and so on, when it comes to Micro SD(HC) memory cards on smartphones? Samsung Galaxy S to be specific.

The general consensus seems to be that a Class 4 is just fine, and you definitely would not need anything faster than a Class 6.  Unless you're seeing a lot of lag during IO intensive operations, though, I wouldn't be worried.  The best way to test might be to take a few minutes of 720p video.  If it records and plays back fine — and it should — you should be good for anything. Since L3 video at 1080p is just over 5.5 MB/s, a class 6 card is sufficient.  The Galaxy S II only takes 1080p video at up to 3 MB/s, and I don't know of any phone at the moment that takes higher-quality videos.

Note that the Galaxy S uses the internal SD storage for most things (possibly including video; not sure if you can choose the save location).  So the external SD card may in fact be irrelevant most of the time.  I've had my Galaxy S nearly a year and used the external SD card approximately twice.

If you're copying large files onto the SD card, it will obviously take less time if the class rating of the card is higher.  This might happen on file transfers from the computer, or 4G downloads with low network usage, but not during general use.


Can I reflash stock with kies I'm on a Samsung Galaxy s4 sgh-i337 from att and I messed up my system a little bit I want to reflash and restore stock firmware with kies. Will that work?  Also, I am rooted will kies work with me?

It should, but if it doesn't, it won't hurt to manually flash your stock firmware with Odin.

It's also worth noting that Kies sometimes has trouble recognizing devices which no longer boot up normally (speaking from experience); in which case you would be better off using Odin or Heimdall.


adb and platform-tools not working anymore on Mac Lion Ok, I had that eclipse + SDK + all projects working fine on my Mac (Osx Lion). After updating the SDK recently, everything stopped working. It seems that some very smart guy there forgot to allow adtand platform-tools to Mac Osx Lion (possibly because he has a newer version and he didn't care too much that other people don't. So, now I am stuck because I can't find a way to downgrade it back to where I was before the update. It seems there's no page from where I can download just the platform-tools in the version I had before. Any hint? Does anyone have a previous version of that folder?

Hint, Google repository. Ah here you go a better example from the past

Find your Sdk folder then locate both tools and platform-tools subfolders.
Check the Google repository  find what version you want to downgrade to and download the .ZIP for both.
Unpack the the .ZIP's you just downloaded move the Tools subfolder over to your Android Sdk folder. Then move and extract the Platform-tools subfolder to your Android Sdk folder.

Now you should be good to go.


How to force Google+ Instant Upload to perform an upload right away? Sometimes I want to share photos my friend right after after we take the shots. I want those photos to appear in my Google+ Instant Upload album immediately, rather than waiting for it automatically do it.

How can I force "instant upload" to run?

From the Google+ app, select Settings -> Instant Upload and press the Upload all item, it will just upload any photos that haven't already been uploaded.

As noted in the comments, you can also share individual photos in your album via Google+.


Can you charge a Quick Charge 3.0 phone with a Quick Charge 2.0 mains adapter? The Wileyfox Swift 2 is QC3.0 enabled, but the only trusted brand adapter I can get is QC2.0. What happens when you charge a QC3 device using a QC2 adapter?

I noticed several other questions on this StackExchange, but none of them seemed to answer this particular scenario.

From  Qualcomm product manager, responsible for Quick Charge

  Of course, QC3 is backwards compatible to QC2 so your existing QC2 adapter will charge a QC3 phone and vice versa

(Emphasis supplied)

Thanks for asking this, I was under the impression that it is one way compatibility


Alternatives to Smart Actions for non-Motorola devices? Motorola's recent selection of Android gadgets (particularly, the Droid Razr) sport a Smart Actions application that automatically modifies your phone settings when certain events occur -- for example, turning off data service and ringer at night, reducing volume when you arrive at work, turn off Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when you get home, etc.

I've seen this in action on my friend's device, and by his account, this is quite a battery-saving and convenience feature.

I wonder if there exists a similar application on the Market for non-Motorola devices.

Well, you have several applications that do what you want. You have Tasker which is paid, Llama which is free and I'm currently using and can recommend, if you look around in the Market, you can find other applications.


Where to find com.sonyericsson.android.camera? i want to update Sony Camera app on my device, i tried to install the new version as normal APK but that didn't work, because of signature problems i think, i get 'package not installed', however, i think replacing the apk using root explorer (or any other similar app) would work, i tried that before with other apps and it worked well. Now the problem is that i can't locate where the apk (com.sonyericsson.android.camera) is on my device, i mean the already installed one, which i want to manually replace with newer apk.
I tried looking in /system/apps/ , it's not there.

You can find it here (Root is not usually required to read this directory, but you should use a root-capable file explorer):

/system/priv-app/SemcCameraUI/SemcCameraUI.apk


Get rid of setting bar above Gboard keyboard How do I get rid of this bar above the Gboard keyboard?

I checked all of its settings, cannot seem to find it.

OnePlus One - Android 6.0.1

Older Gboard doesn't have the setting bar above the keyboard, so downgrading is one of the options.

Here's what Gboard v5.1.18 looks like.


Moving Content from Galaxy S7 to iPhone X Apple Move to iOS app really sucks. It is only available to transfer a few items from Android to iPhone and you have to factory reset iPhone to bring up the app.

So my question is: what is the fastest way to transfer 60G content, including Contacts, WhatsApp, Music and Photos.

Apple Move to iOS app really sucks. It is only available to transfer a
  few items from Android to iPhone and you have to factory reset iPhone
  to bring up the app.

  So my question is: what is the fastest way to transfer 60G content,
  including Contacts, WhatsApp, Music and Photos.

Apple’s made it easy for Android folk to move all of their data from their Galaxy  HTC, or Lenovo phone, etc. i konw some ways:

For contacts: Apple’s official mail app supports iCloud, Microsoft exchange, Gmail, Yahoo,  so if you use one of those services, linking up your email account is pretty straightforward. Source.

For photos, videos.
Apple suggests you use PhotoSync ($3, iOS and Android). You’ll find those freshly synced photos in the Photos app in Albums. You can also move photos and videos with a computer. Download Android File Transfer then go to Transfer > DCIM > Camera to drag the images from your device to a folder on your computer.(source)

For messages.. sorry, i dind't know.. if you found great way to transfer messages from phone to another phone, please let us know.


"There was a problem while playing. Touch to retry" when trying to play offline video I encounter problems when I play videos downloaded from Youtube. I've downloaded 5 videos. Those videos are added to disk. The downloads were all completed successfully, but when I try to play them, it says

  There was a problem while playing. Touch to retry

May I know the reason and how to fix it?

Those videos are added to disk.

How do you know that they are added to disk? and what is mean by disk here? Do you mean external store such as SD card?

If you mean SD card, then that is unlikely as YouTube Offline feature save all downloaded videos on internal storage (and not on disk/SD card), something like below location:

Internal storage/Android/data/com.google.android.youtube/files/Offline/(system generated folder name)/streams

You can check this question for more details on storage of YouTube Offline video location.

  downloads were all completed successfully

Again, how did you verify this?

The important point is anything you save will be accessible for 48 hours in the offline section on the left-hand sliding menu, of YouTube App. Even if the file is there, YouTube won't list it if it's already expired. The permission is controlled on their server per account basis, to access those downloaded files.

You can try below quick steps to see if you Offline feature is working:

Download at least 1 video and as soon as you finish download Turn-off Internet (3G/4G/Wi-Fi).
Open YouTube App, and go to offline section on the left-hand sliding menu, of YouTube App.
You should now see this recently downloaded video there, just try to play it. YouTube should immediately start play (remember, we turned off internet in step-1, still app should play video as it is offline and already downloaded on your phone)

Caution: You will lose all Downloaded Offline YouTube videos, when you "Uninstall Updates" of YouTube App.


I flashed Cyanogenmod to my Galaxy S3, got the stock ROM after restarting I used the Cyanogenmod installer on my phone and PC, everything went fine, and at the end received a success message. After restarting however, I was back at the stock ROM, though with all of my data and settings deleted. What did I do wrong?

The device is rooted. I have ClockworkMod working.

I had similar problem when I first tried installing a custom ROM (CyanogenMod ofcourse) on my ZTE Blade phone. Everytime I tried to install the custom ROM and getting the success message, it asked me to restart the phone but after restarting it again turn back to the stock ROM. I researched a lot and found a pretty simpler solution; I rooted my device using z4root app and then installed Custom Recovery (Clockworkmod Recovery) on it (this custom recovery is device specific many a times, so first ensure if Clockworkmod Recovery is compatible with your Galaxy S3) Now after your phone get rooted and have a custom ROM installed, you will be able to install your custom ROM on it by booting into the recovery.

Feel free to ask me futher if you find difficulty at any point and I will be happy to elaborate the steps further. Cheers!


LG G2 (d800) Stuck in Bootloop After rooting my new G2 and tinkering with some XPosed modules I am now stuck in horrible bootloop limbo. My phone starts, shows the LG splash screen, plays the AT&T startup sound, and starts the boot animation. The boot animation slows down and freezes after a few seconds, and after a few minutes the sound plays again and the animation starts over ad infinitum. I didn't bother installing a custom recovery like an idiot, factory reset doesn't seem to do anything, I can't adb in when I'm in download mode, and I can't find a stock KDZ for a d800.

Please help me!

Try flashing this zip (the xposed disabler attached to the OP) in recovery. You can also try repeatedly pressing any hardware button during boot until the phone starts vibrating. Xposed will have entered "safe mode" when it vibrates for a longer duration. From the post:

  Quick explanation of the safemode: It was developed by @Tungstwenty and makes it possible to disable Xposed by repeatedly pressing one of the hardware buttons during early startup. The phone will vibrate twice when the first key press has been detected. Then you have five seconds to press the same button four more times. Each key press will be confirmed with a short vibration; the final one with a long vibration. It creates /data/data/de.robv.android.xposed.installer/conf/disabled, which prevents most of Xposed’s actions (e.g. no hooks are made and no modules are loaded). There’s no 100% guarantee that this will get you out of a bootloop, but in most cases it should.


Huawei ideos s7 slim Honeycomb update - is it possible somehow? I got this new tablet and I have to write an application which live streams video. I know that since 3.1 this is natively supported on Android. Since the s7 is a tablet I think that there should be some way to update its 2.2 to 3.1. Is there a way to do this? Little hint where to start looking? Cyanogen doesn't have anything for s7.

XDA has nothing except for some attempts at getting Gingerbread on it.

I would expect you're out of luck since Honeycomb wasn't open-source, and porting was therefore very difficult.  It's possible that someone will mod CM9 (Android 4.0) to run on it, so I would wait and see.


How to know how long my smartphone is running In Android Lollipop, I can only see the estimated time how long the device will be up.
But I want to know how long my device is already running - where can I find this information? (Can't (and dont want to) believe it was removed completely from Lollipop...)

Go to Settings > About Phone > Status and scroll to the end of the options. You'll see the up time.


Does the Asus Transformer have any USB ports? Does the Asus Transformer have any USB ports? I know that the available keyboard dock has 2 USB ports, but does the tablet itself have any?

No, it does not. The only USB ports are on the keyboad dock. The tablet itself has:

A microSD card slot
A mini HDMI port
A 40-pin docking/charging/USB transfer connector
An audio jack

Source: CNet's review of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer


How to increase/decrease volume in smaller increments/decrements? I'm using Huawei P10 (released in ~Feb 2017, using Android 7.0). One annoying thing I noticed is that the volume button changes the volume by 20 units (out of 100). Phone call volume in general is ok but for some apps like whatsapp, even 20 units is unbearably loud. I installed Precise Volume app which lets me change volume in smaller steps. However, it is not tied to the volume button i.e. I'd need to switch to that app's UI to change the volume. Is there any way to fix the volume button in general so that it changes the volume in smaller units?

I wonder if smartphone (software or hardware) makers are focusing too much on the smart and overlooking the basic phone features like call quality.

From the look of things Android Nougat has limited options to achieve this, but still a few options exist:
Using Magisk
This method is belived to be ideal for devices running on Android 7.0+ Nougat as is in this case.
Requirements

Magisk
Terminal Emulator app.
Volume Steps Magisk module (recent versions) or XDA link

Proceedure

Install the module by flashing it via recovery or the Magisk Manager app;
Next, open the Terminal Emulator app and type this command: vol_magisk;
Press Enter;
If you used the latest version of the module, you would see some values that you can apply by typing and pressing enter.

*For other android (rooted) versions, please see the workaround in my other post : How can I increase the number of volume levels?*
Edit
For higher Magisk versions (20.4+) find the module here.The default config has media volume steps set to 30, call volume steps set to 10.
However modifications can easily be made by customising system.prop values to your liking and zipping up the repo.
Acknowledgements

Learn to Add More Steps to your Volume Slider with VolumeSteps+

Volume Steps Increase (for Magisk v10+)

bladeSk


Open links to particular domain with particular app I use a browser as my default, but wish that links to certain domains be opened by default with another browser. For example if an app has a button that opens a website it normally opens it in the default browser. For most situations this is fine, but there a few exceptions I would like to change the browser the site opens in.

Is it possible to set "rules" for default app per domain?

AFAIK stock Android itself doesn't have any such feature. But it totally depends on the app you are using to open other links. Apps can open certain links with other apps/browsers. For instance browsers (like Firefox) can open facebook and youtube links in their respective apps if installed. Also it depends on the app which you want to open for a certain domain (if it accepts URL forwarded by other apps). It depends on intent-filters an app declares in its AndroidManifest.xml file. For little more details on this see this answer.


Unable to enable hotspot option in android 4.4 The device of mine is Lenovo A5500 and I used to see tethering and hotspot option in setting but I am now unable to locate that. Actually it is I here but I don't see any option to configure and enable it. Screens are included for more information.

The option for WiFi hotspot should be restored after rebooting the android handset, at least it was the case for me.


Older Exchange calendar disappear in Android Calendar, but not in Apple Calendar I have an Exchange account for my email and calendar, which I use on my Mac in the default Calendar desktop app, and on my phone in the Android Calendar app. On the phone, older items (last week and older) disappear, on the Mac they stay, so it looks like this is not an Exchange problem.

I want to see my old appointments on the phone, back to the first appointment ever. It's just text, so it can't be that much.

Why do these older items disappear and how can I bring them back?

Open system settings
Goto Users and accounts
Click on the exchange account
Click on Account settings
Click on the settings button next to the account name

Now you see all settings for this account.

Scroll down
Click on "past items synchronisation"
Change this to all past items
Click the back button till you're out of the settings

NB: I translated "past items synchronisation", so the actual English name for this might be different, but I think it's clear what I mean. If you have the correct naming, then please comment here.


Is my battery damaged? I have an HTC 10 running stock Oreo with Sense, not rooted and S-ON. I bought this second hand and don't know whether the issue came up as the phone was upgraded to Oreo, or whether it had always been an issue (which would solve my case).

The issue is that the battery seems to work fine, although mobile network standby appears to take an uncomfortably large amount of power, however when it gets to a lower percentage, it shuts off unexpectedly then bootloops when you try to turn it on again. When you plug it in, it shows that the battery is at about 1%, but in a matter of minutes, it charges up to around 40% - this is on a 1mA 5V charger - and then proceeds to charge normally.

I can temporarily solve the issue by calibrating my battery, and that makes the mobile network standby drop back to normal, and my battery works fine, and the phone shuts down as expected when it reaches 0%. The problem is that the next time I charge the battery, no matter whether I charge it from nothing to 100% or from 65% to 85%, the problem gradually comes back, and I have to once again drain my battery to calibrate it properly, then wait for it to charge up to 100%.

I've heard online that many other HTC 10 owners have experienced similar issues with their device, but the fixes only work for some people sometimes, so this could easily be a software issue or a problem with the battery itself. Which is it?

Pretty much.

Smart phone batteries last around two years of normal use. Once the 80% capacity is hit, batteries lose their charge quickly.

Even worse, the voltage decreases which causes unexpected shutdowns. Apple tried to solve low voltage with throttling but never informed the customer. Apple is now hit with plan obsolesce lawsuits.

https://qnovo.com/what-happens-after-80-percent/

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-apple-slows-down-iphones-old-batteries-explained-2017-12
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387


Is is possible to configure the 'listen to' voice action to pull up Amazon MP3 player (or other player) rather than youtube search? Love the voice commands, but for me 'listen to [[blah blah]]' only ever pulls up the youtube app & searches for whatever [[blah blah]] is.  I've got the amazon mp3 app installed (as well as UberMusic) and would like for one of those two to come up instead.

I tried going into Menu > Manage Apps > Youtube & hit the 'clear defaults' button to see if I would get prompted to choose a program to respond to 'listen to' commands, but there was no prompt--I still went right to youtube.

This is a t-mobile vibrant running bionix 1.2.1 (an android 2.2 version).

Thanks!

Try using the apps suggested here and configure them to launch the program of choice.


Android OTA update fail when increased the system.img size I am working on IMX6Q with Android 7 for OTA update. Current system.img size 499 MB with this OTA update work. I increased this due to compilantion error. If system.img is above 499 MB ota update fail.

Removed webview application from build. webview application is the default one in Android AOSP build. But, It takes 40MB.


Accessing Port 8888 in Android Web Browser I'm developing a mobile site which runs on port 8888. I want to see how it looks on my Android phone. How can I use my phone's web browser to view pages on port 8888?

You should just be able to add the port to the end of the domain as you would with a desktop browser, e.g. http://mysite.com:8888. Chrome and the built-in Browser app definitely support this as I use them in this fashion on a daily basis; I'd imagine other browsers would as well since the syntax is defined in the RFC specification.


Fastboot command not working as expected When I connect my android phone in fastboot mode and enter fastboot devices ,I get no output at terminal ,but when I enter fastboot -i 0x1ebf devices I get an output.I need -i option with every other fastboot commands too. Why ???

The fastboot utility had an internal whitelist for USB vendor IDs, which included only some major Android device vendors:

0x0451    Texas Instruments
0x0502    Acer
0x05c6    Qualcomm
0x0955    Nvidia
0x0b05    Asus
0x0bb4    HTC
0x0fce    Sony Ericsson
0x18d1    Google
0x22b8    Motorola
0x2314    INQ Mobile
0x413c    DELL
0x8087    Intel

In the AOSP commit from 2015-08-10 this USB vendor ID whitelist was removed, therefore new fastboot versions should work with all Android devices without needing the -i 0xXXXX option (now the option just limits the selection in case multiple Android devices from different vendors are connected). However, the most current platform-tools release (23) at the time of writing this answer does not yet have this commit included, therefore you will need to keep using the -i 0xXXXX option for some time.


The last App update keeps downloading after reboot When I update an app everything works fine. Android Market shows that the update was succesful and nothing is downloading. Also there are no items in "downloads". But when I reboot, the progress bar of the update that I've just installed reappears in the notification area and the download stars again and it finishes without installation. After another reboot it stats downloading the update again and so on.
There is only one update that is being continuously downloaded after reboots and it is always the last update that I've made.
I've already tried clearing Android Market's cache and checking if there are some items in downloads.

You need to clear the data of the Download Manager and of the Play Store. Go to:

Settings -> Applications -> All

Now for both of the apps mentioned above choose Clear Data and Clear Cache.


Whatsapp: could it be that messages from some contacts are received but not from others? "My mum and her phone are driving me crazy" must probably be an entry in many personal diaries by now...

The thing is: my mum claims that she sends whatsapp messages to some of her contacts (there's a double blue tick and everything, so they've read them) and she doesn't get any replies. However, she does get replies from some other contacts. And I just tried myself: messaged her and the message arrived instantly.

Could there be a reason for whatsapp not getting messages from specific contacts only? (I just checked her phone settings and no contacts are blocked).

The double-check indicates that the message received. So, it might be possible that the recipient simply chose not to reply.

You mentioned that your mom hasn't blocked anyone. How about if your mom has been blocked? You can check for these indicators:

- You can no longer see a contact's last seen or online in the chat window.
- You do not see updates to a contact's profile photo.
- Any messages sent to a contact who has blocked you will always show one check mark (message sent), and never show a second check mark (message delivered).
- Any calls you attempt to place will not go through.


My SD card was removed unexpectedly and won't work anywhere no I bought a 32gb SD card for my Galaxy Mini long ago. It's never been removed from the phone. But yesterday my phone removed my SD card. I don't know why it happened. I tried to remove the SD and put it back, turn off/on phone, but nothing worked. Tried to put it in to another phone. Nothing. Then tried to put it into a laptop and it says "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error".

Please help, it has really important files inside.

Try the following: switch off the phone, remove the card, stick it into a windows computer. It will most probably pop up a window with the message that the card is corrupt, and ask: "do you want to format it?" refuse the formatting. Open "your computer", check if the card is visible as removable medium. It likely is, even if the card is corrupt. If it is, copy the data of the card, format it (the card is corrupted after all), and copy the data back. I had that twice now.


How can I tell my device to ignore a public Wi-Fi network? The city I live in has city-wide Wi-Fi available for a subscription, but the Wi-Fi access point is public.

This means that everywhere I go in the city I get a notice that there is public Wi-Fi available even though I can't use it because I don't have an account with the city-wide Wi-Fi service.

How can I tell my phone (Droid X, Android 2.2.1, not rooted) to ignore Wi-Fi named "CityWifi"?

I'd like to get notification for other Wi-Fi networks, just not "CityWifi"

Try WiFi Ruler.

I just downloaded it to see if it would work and it may be what you are looking for.  The app allows you to categorize known access points and then you can set rules on if your device will try to connect to that access point.  You could categorize "CityWifi" with one of the built-in rules to not connect.  And then all others you know of make it automatically connect and categorize as open or drive-by.  In the settings you can be notified of when you have connected to an AP.  My guess is that you would still have to turn off notifications for open access points in your settings like Matthew's answer.

Note: I am not the developer of this app


Ubuntu one app: how can I sync a text file edited on my android device with ubuntu one? I've just got ubuntu one app on my android device to sync file between my android device and my desktop computer. I see that the app has the ability to automatically sync uploaded photos, can it also sync other files?

If I download a text file from my ubuntu one with this app and edit it on my android, how do I sync that file? I'd appreciate any help

I use an app called Foldersync in conjunction with Cryptonite. The former can synchronize any directory on your sdcard with a number of cloud providers. The latter handles encryption. You would use Encfs on the desktop to run the encryption there.


Is it possible to select default contact picture service? Here is my problem: I merged all my Google and Facebook contacts in my contact list. When a contact has both a picture on Google and on Facebook, the picture from Google will be displayed.
I don't know if this is the default behavior, or if this is because I merge the Facebook contact into the Google one (but I want to keep doing that, to prevent my contacts from changing their names).
Is it possible (built-in option, or external app), to change this behavior and display the Facebook picture instead?

I have a Motorola Razr running Gingerbread.

Try Contacts Dialer. That is the only dialer app that I found that offered Facebook support, seems reliable, and offers a ton of extra features and settings (that you'll actually use). I just started using it myself and it looks promising. The user interface is fantastic and very user friendly. I also just noticed that it does allow you to choose which picture you want to display. Hope this helps!

Note: You should consider opting for the full version too. It's only $2.90 and unlocks many features. Well worth in imho.


How can I upgrade to the latest Android version? Possible Duplicate:
  How do I update the OS in my device?

I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace and would like to upgrade to Android 4. How can I do that?

If your phone is eligible for an operating system upgrade, you'll see a System Update message pop up in your notification bar (along the top of the screen).  You will only see this, though, when Google, your phone manufacturer and/or your cellphone provider have customized the operating system for your device.


Backup all installed APK's from phone using ADB I have done many reinstalls of my OS on my Android phone in the last few months for various reasons. Every time, the biggest hassle is manually searching, downloading and installing all the apps I had in my previous installation.
I use a degoogled custom rom, downloading apps from F-Droid and Aurora Store, so no Google solutions are acceptable.
What I want, is to have a way to keep on my computer a copy of all the apks of the installed apps of my phone, and have it automatically updated too, so that when the time comes to reformat my phone and install everything all over, I will be able to simply adb install all of the apks in no time, instead of doing it all manually and waiting for them to also be downloaded. Any suggestions for how I can make that happen with existing programs, preferably open source?

If it's just the APK files, you could use the getapk script provided in the tools/ directory of my little helper Adebar, calling it e.g. with getapk user to retrieve all user-installed apps. You won't be interested in system apps, but for completeness:
$ getapk

getapk
Extracting APK files from a connected device.
getapk lets you extract a single app's APK, or that of all user apps,
all system apps, or all apps altogether – depending on what parameter
you passed it.

Syntax: /mnt/av/src/git/adebar/tools/getapk <package_name> | user | system | all

This requires ADB being available on your computer. Should you not have that yet, you might wish to take a look at Is there a minimal installation of ADB? here at our site. You don't write what OS you are on; getapk is a Bash script (as Adebar is a Bash tool), so it works best on Linux, was reported working fine on MAcOS, and also in Cygwin.
To have that automated, you could create a cron job (Linux/Mac; no idea how that works on Windows but AFAIK there's something like a "Scheduler" you could probably use). APKs will be named <packageName>.apk (e.g. org.fdroid.fdroid.apk) once retrieved, so always retrieving them to the same directory (i.e. calling the script while inside that directory) should take care that you have always the latest versions in there and no more. Though it wouldn't delete APKs of apps you've uninstalled later ;)


Tune-in to next radio station on FM radio without unlocking the phone I'm using Moto E 1st gen. on Android KitKat. I'm used to listening to FM radio while travelling, but whenever I want to tune-in to other radio station, I have to unlock the phone first because I'm using a pattern lock. I'm also using headset, but there's no control buttons, so I can't change the radio station with it.

Since it's difficult to unlock while travelling (moving) and sometimes takes too many attempts, is it possible to tune-in to next radio station without unlocking? Perhaps a widget on the lock-screen?

Have you tired to double press the button in your headset? The stock radio player app should do it. And in case if does not there are plenty of apps (Headset Control Center to name one) in market that can recognise the double press and do a task for you, which could be change the radio station.

Update:
After realizing the absence of headset button through the OP's comment, I suggest to use Tasker and Intent Radio app.  The concept is that the Tasker can be used to identify a trigger. This could be head set plug in, head set removed, power button pressed, volume buttom pressed, movement gesture - few listed out of many options.  This trigger will raise an intent to the Intent Radio which can change the radio station.


ADB couldnt detect oneplus2 I am trying to connect andriod debug shell to oneplus 2, i have enabled USB debugging on my mobile and installed google usb drivers via sdk manager but still adb couldnt detect the mobile

i tried restarting adb server also still facing same issue. I even tried updating the driver via device manager but not luck it says MTP driver is already installed.

Can anyone please help me here.

Install PDAnet.
I know its a long shot but it helps to connect phone quicker

http://pdanet.co/a/


Google logs my activities wrong My Google activities log says I have been messaging people late at night and in the early morning, but I know for a fact I haven't. Plus I have a search on my Google maps I never did. These things are putting a strain on my marriage and I want answers to why this is happening to me. I rarely go anywhere due to me meaning a stay at home mom. I want answers and I want to be able to show my husband that I'm not lying to him about any of this. I'm also getting to were I don't want to do anything on my phone far as searches, texting or making calls.

I've had similar mysterious activity showing up on my account in the past (albeit, several years ago).  It's important to remember that your Google account, and thusly your usage history, can be shared across multiple devices, including a mixture of desktop, laptop, mobile, even TV and assistant enabled devices like Google Home.

I spent a moment going over security and reviewing my account  - it sounds like you would benefit from the same.

First, visit https://myaccount.google.com/

Secondly, sign in to your Google account and you should see some options on the left side pane:

Under Data & personalization, you can review your privacy settings and also see location history.  Clicking on Location History reveals a page where you can review which devices are contributing to your accounts history.  Be sure to have only the devices you actively use as checked.

Under Security, I highly recommend turning on 2-step verification.  Also, make sure you have no security issues including any unidentified sign-ins from devices you don't recognize.  You can revoke access to your Google account on a device-basis from this screen.

Under People and Sharing you can view who is sharing content with you, including location history.  You can also control which content you see, of course, including location sharing.

In regards to your mobile devices, make sure you audit and remove any suspicious looking apps that you may not remember downloading.

Finally, reset your Google password.  This is the single best security practice and often the most overlooked.


How can I disable 'factory reset' function? This is not a duplicate as I'm not trying to protect it against being stolen. I'm trying to protect it from tech illiterate people that keep resetting it. I basically need to make it so that I can only reset it though the PC. I have root and everything and I thought I disabled anything dangerous to them.

If we don't get any good ideas, can I just set it up to some sane defaults and then just delete the Settings app? (Good thing "Recovery" is protected by a hardware key combination.)

Yes, you can disable Settings if you have root.  From a root shell or terminal:

pm disable com.android.settings

Run it again, changing disable to enable, when you want to use it later.


When to know it's time to replace the Nexus One battery? As we all know, battery consumption rate (i.e. "per hour") is not very standardized and its highly dependent on actual use, per user.

This makes it very difficult for me to know whether I need a new battery for my Nexus One (I bought it used) or not.

Assuming WiFi and Bluetooth are enabled, how long should the Nexus One battery last while the Nexus One is in Standby?

How long should the battery last when the Nexus One is completely turned off?

Thanks.

It is very difficult to put a number on the estimated battery life of the N1, mainly because there isn't really a standard "typical use".

But since it seems that you are looking for a number, this thread may help.

Since at least 2 people reported at least 2 days in a single charge (given certain conditions), I would say that if your N1 battery doesn't hold more than 10 hours, it is time to start shopping for a new battery.


Disable vibration of the phone, but leave it on smartwatch I'm trying to figure out the best setting for my Android 5.1 phone during my working hours.

When I'm at my workplace, my phone is constantly docked and in set to the Priority mode (this is automatic). When someone calls me, I get notification on the smartwatch. I set up Hangouts to vibration only and let it notify me in Priority mode (it is in the exceptions list).

I don't like the vibration of the docked phone, which may distract my colleagues, especially given the fact, that the only vibration I need is one of my smartwatch. At the same time I believe the smartwatch notifications are duplicates of phone notifications and if the latter are disabled, the former get disabled too.

Is there a possibility to disable docked phone vibration notification, while left smartwatch notifications intact? Any other suggestion to set up the phone in a workplace-friendly manner?

Android Wear -> Settings  -> Mute phone alerts & calls


"SIM Tool Kit: Error in application" pop-up always shows on Lenovo Vibe K5 I have a Lenovo Vibe K5. The phone screen always shows a pop-up message saying:

SIM Tool Kit
Error in application

How to fix this issue?

Check if both SIMs are activated or not. If not, kindly recharge and activate it. The pop up will not come.

Ex. I got this error due to Airtel SIM and my SIM's incoming outgoing was already stopped. I also got the same error, also tried all things posted on internet and YouTube. I recharged RC 35 and it automatically resolved.


Does using an unofficial charger negatively affect overall battery lifetime of a GS4? According to two employees at the Sprint store, using an unofficial charger for the Galaxy S4 will negatively impact the overall life of the phone's battery (edit: in other words, the battery will need to be replaced much sooner than if one always uses the official charger).

I've never heard this before. Does anyone else know what they are talking about?  What is special about the S4 charger?  I saw someone online mention that a "special code" is transmitted over the USB connector, which the phone will use to judge if it is an official charger; again, new to me, but I'm not a hardware expert.

Update: I still haven't figured out an answer to this. Regarding the "special code", the post I saw may have been referring to the IC chip, but I don't know.  So if we look at the distinguishing characteristics of a Micro USB Charger, there's 1) whether it has the IC Chip; 2) whether it is 2 amp vs. 1 amp; anything else?

I shouldn't think so. Samsung is a signatory to the EU Common External Power Supply standard, which includes specs for a USB charger. As long as the charger you're using supplies something close enough to what the Samsung one supplies, you're good to go. You can even charge it from a Computer USB port, although it will be quite a bit slower (except some PCs which can supply a higher amperage via a micro-usb cable, making it almost as quick as a mains adaptor charger.)

But in any case, you should be fine as long as the charger is of decent quality and isn't going to catch alight or something. I've been mixing and matching HTC, Samsung, and Blackberry chargers for years now.


How can I get the Windows 7 USB driver working for my Android Tablet? I have a Tech_7 from Chinavasion, S3C6410 Android 1.6;

When I plug it into the usb port, it shows up in the Device manager as HiDROID, but the driver is not installed.

How can I get the USB driver working?

Install the avd & sdk manager - I'm assuming you use c:\Android_SDK
Edit c:\Android_SDK\usb_driver\android_winusb.inf
Find the section [Google.NTx86] and add the following:

;Techpad
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_0002
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_0002&MI_01

Find the section [Google.NTamd64] and add the following:

;Techpad
%SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_0002
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_0002&MI_01

Edit .android\adb_usb.ini and add the following:

0x18D1

Note:  This corresponds to the device id up top

Plug device in - you should have an unknown device in the device manager.
Update the driver on it and manual select the location of c:\Android_SDK\usb_driver.
It should install the driver and show up as an ADB Device.
Run adb kill-server then adb devices

Remember to turn on USB debugging from the application settings as well


Are SMS messages queued or discarded when there's no signal? I'm thinking of getting an Android phone (a Samsung Galaxy S2) but I need to know whether it queues SMS messages (when there's no carrier) and then sends them when it's in signal again, or whether you have to re-send as on the iPhone. As I don't get a very good mobile signal at home this feature is very important for me.

This is a general Android question that applies to all devices.

Messages (SMS) are queued if there's no signal. See screenshot (device is in airplane mode).


Using Swype, or a Swype-like keyboard, is there a way to type without lifting my finger up? Swype is great, but I feel like it could be even faster/more fluid if you just dragged your finger over the space bar/performed some other gesture to insert a space between words, rather than having to pick up your finger. Is there any way to add functionality like this to Swype? Alternatively, are there any good gesture-based keyboards that support this?

Your lifting the finger between words IS a gesture. And I guess that's the fastest & easiest one without confusing the keyboard.


How do I troubleshoot low touchscreen event rate? I have a strange slowdown on my device (non-rooted Android 5.0.2). At times, the screen becomes unresponsive. And touchscreen testing apps register only a few events per second when I move my finger over a screen, as opposed to dozens.

Sometimes it gets back to normal. I manage to make it normal with appkillers and/or service disablers, but it's a) not reliable b) random actions instead of  searching for the root cause.

So the question is: how do I trace down the issue? I'm a programmer so I'm able to use tools if necessary.

GNU/Linux tools and general troubleshooting (identifying and killing offending processes) don't work well in intent-oriented architecture of Android, so some android-specific tools are necessary, such as Android Profiler.

Try one of the apps that will let you run a terminal window and run the top command -- that will show you the processes using the most CPU.  I use "Terminal Emulator for Android" -- it is easy to install and use.


Delete a single dex file After I unstalled a system app (guvera music) using es file explorer, its .dex file still exist in the /data/dalvik-cache/arm folder even after restarted my phone. Why Android is not smart enough to detect the change and remove it？Can I manually delete it to save space？FYI, the phone use rooted Android 5.0.

If you removed a system app without notifying PackageInstaller (which is often the case), the Dalvik cache won't be removed automatically. You of course can manually delete it to save space. It's 100% safe to delete Dalvik cache for a removed app.


Does migration of whatsapp images and videos from google drive preserve file modification date? According to this Android Stackexchange answers file modification dates aren't restored upon restoration. So videos and images restored from Google Drive backup of whatsapp won't work leading to incorrect sorting. This is an error in the filesystem drivers called FUSE and won't be fixed till Android O.

Is this correct?

Whilst the file system modification date is updated to the current date somehow whatsapp whether through the EXIF date picture taken tag or database it keeps the original date thus preserving sort order.


Why doesn't Huawei provide just the USB driver to use ADB? I'd like to use the MyPhoneExplorer application to sync my Android smartphone with Windows over USB.
This requires first installing a driver for the phone and the ADB application.

However, the official driver seems only available as part of the Huawei HiSuite bloatware: http://consumer.huawei.com/minisite/HiSuite_en/index.html

Can someone confirm that there's simply no official driver from Huawei, and the alternative is either installing that bloatware, or find a non-official (possibly virus-carrying) driver somewhere?

Thank you.

Drivers are not distributed as standalone package in order to increase market penetration of the HiSuite software. It's quite popular marketing strategy: you can get what you want only in bundle with something you don't actually want, but need to get the primary item is big enough to make you buckle in and get the whole package.

Nevertheless, you can circumvent the bundling yourself:

download the HiSuite installer.
open the installer .exe with 7zip and extract its content preserving internal folder structure (a trick that works on most installers)
find something that looks like the driver
run/install it, preferably on a disposable system first, to prove it's what you want.

In HiSuite version 5.0.1.300 it was \$_OUTDIR\Driver\all\DriverSetup.exe. Works with P8 Lite and Mate 7.


App optimization on every reboot? I received the official OTA Google update to Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 on my HTC Sensation. Every time now when I reboot the device, the system displays a notice stating that it is optimizing the installed apps. This should be just on the first reboot after the update and not every time?

This seems like it may be a bug in the update that HTC has released for their phones. It's been reported on the Android issue tracker and appears to affect various HTC models only. You can star the issue if you want, and some people have suggested that enabling the "Fast Boot" option in your settings may help (something like Settings->Power, I believe). On other devices it should only run at first boot or when the Dalvik cache has been erased.

If it's of interest, the details regarding what the optimization is actually doing have been covered in What kind of app optimizations do newer Android versions do at the first reboot?


How to launch app when phone is connected to a specific Qi wireless charger? I have a Qi charger in my car and I wanted that my phone launched the dash cam app when the phone starts charging on this base.
Is there any API to detect the ID of the Qi charger? Besides the API, is there any way to generate an event when the phone starts charging?

Type of Charging is determined by :

Charging Signature - see  here
The D+ and D- pins of the cable that negotiate the charging voltage and current with the device, in tune with the charging circuitry in the charger (see Overview of USB Charging for more
So a Qi charger would be recognised by the internal circuitry in the device and voltage / current negotiated with the battery charger circuit , depending on the charge level of battery

I am not aware if the API provides information regarding the make or brand or ID of charging, to use that to trigger any action. If available , that would be so very convenient for OEM's to tie users to their own chargers as a sales strategy :). I have also not come across any evidence in the charging algorithms published by charging IC manufacturers. This is not a  definite conclusion though

Coming to your requirement,  automation is the preferred option. Many apps are available. I prefer using MacroDroid , since it is free (upto 5 macros) and easy to learn. To understand how MacroDroid works and required settings,  my answer here

Your macro would look like this

Macro : Dashcam (name of macro )

Trigger: Power connected / removed → Power connected

Action: Launch application → Select from drop down your dashcam app

Constraints:  WiFi State → WiFi not connected to network ( assumption here is that when you are in your car you are not connected to any WiFI network.  When you are connected to any network say at work or home, and charging this macro will not run, meaning your dashcam will not be launched)

Alternative constraint suggested by OP, an excellent one ( thanks ) is

Bluetooth State: → Device connected


Why my photos end up half dark? Sometimes my motorola milestone camera goes crazy and starts out to take photos half dark.

I noticed that it only happens when flash is on. Also, I've seem this happening when the battery is low (~20%), or the system is slow.

As an example, this is a photo I took minutes ago: http://twitpic.com/2q65bs

Take it back to wherever you bought it and demand a refund.  Regardless if this is a hardware or software problem, you shouldn't have a problem with the sales staff -- show them the picture you linked to.


How do I connect a Wii Balance Board to Android via Bluetooth? Cue the "I've tried nothing and I'm out of ideas"...

What do I want?:

I want to make a Unity game for Android using the Wii Balance Board as a controller.

What have I researched?:

The Wii Balance Board uses standard Bluetooth to connect to the Wii. The board does not have a passcode. All results for connecting the board to an Android device points to two apps FitScales and WiiScale both not compatible with my device. I can't find any other results than these two apps.

What's my question?:

Why can't my phone (Nexus 4, Lollipop) connect to a device with no pin? (It prompts me to put in a pin and "OK" is greyed until I enter a pin). So how can I get it to connect to my Bluetooth?

Other than Bluetooth, is there any other way to get information from the board to my phone?

Notes:

My Windows 8 can connect to my board flawlessly.
Yes, I've tried tuning my phone and Bluetooth "off and on again".
Yes, my Bluetooth works.
Yes, my board works (like I said I could get input from it on my pc).
My board does appear in my Bluetooth list.
Any information is welcome!

TL;DR
Currently it's impossible for Nexus 4 running on stock (AOSP) ROM to connect to Wii Balance Board via Bluetooth.
Reason: On JellyBean 4.2, Android changed its Bluetooth stack, and the new one doesn't "support" L2CAP which is used to connect to Wii peripherals.
Solution: Some custom ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod) and custom kernels might fix this issue.
(Specific answer for your case: unfortunately, it's not a good idea to make a Unity game for Android using the Wii Balance Board as a controller)

Details
From FitScales's "what's new" and WiiScale's description:

Prevent installation on JellyBean MR1 4.2 due to Google replacing the Android Bluetooth stack. The new stack does not expose the functionality required by FitScales rendering it incompatible for now.

**DOES NOT WORK on NEXUS devices or JELLY BEAN or ANDROID 4.2 devices.

Using that clue as the starting point, I found a discussion on MoDaCo forum:

Post #4: Google broke/removed insecure L2CAP socket support in Android 4.2.x. Wiimotes and other Wii peripherals stopped working because of this. Tell Google to fix/restore this functionality.

And finally, the report on AOSP issue tracker confirms this: Issue #58164: Support Bluetooth L2CAP (consider starring that to follow the progress. Also, there are some constructive technical information posted there).
One thing that might interest you:

Post #50: Alright, so I'm on a Nexus 7 rooted and running the latest official build of CyanogenMod 11. Before I flashed CM, it always asked for a password when trying to connect a WiiMote via straight Bluetooth. Now that I'm running CM, it connects to on without asking for a PIN.

Also, post #113 mentions a link to Android code review which seems trying to support WiiMote (and possibly other Wii peripherals) on Android's next build. However, it still needs kernel that supports the following:

CONFIG_HIDRAW=y
CONFIG_UHID=y
CONFIG_HID_WIIMOTE=y

3.4 based kernels support only the original WiiMote,
3.10 kernels should have native support for 2nd gen WiiMotes,
Wii U remotes did not make it in until 3.11 kernel release.


'Cancel' will not cancel OK Google This is a minor niggle, but I am sure that OK Google used to let me say 'cancel' to cancel it; now, it's doing a Google search for 'cancel'!  Is there a way I can get it to actually cancel instead?

"Thank You." Seems to work. It will stop listening, but also will pop up a list of Ok Google commands. Which is annoying and unneeded. Personally I just say"open (last app)" and resume my life.


Android 2.2 (froyo) update available or not for myTouch Slide? Possible Duplicate:
  When will my phone get Android 2.2 (FroYo)?

I haven't been able to keep up with the update calendars. But I did some google searches to find if the froyo update is available for T-Mobile's myTouch Slide. I heard the update was going to be live for most HTC devices around august but it's been awhile and I haven't gotten the update. Anyone know what I should do about this?
Is it available? If so, can I install it manually?

According to rumor, Mid October. However, I'm not the guy at that link. I won't swear to it but it's something to hope for


How to hide bottom navigation bar in Youtube app? I want to hide bottom navigation bar (not system wide navigation bar) or at least make it act like Chrome toolbar which shows/hides itself on scroll. I am blank on this as I couldn't find anything on hiding Bottom Navigation bar, except through programmatically.

This is what I'm talking about.

I'm using a rooted OnePlus 6 with stock Android 8.1 and Xposed Framework.

As for reason for wanting this: I'd prefer to have real screen estate show something dynamic from Youtube, as part of scrolling content. That bar is in my way of using view to its maximum size.

The Xposed module L Tweaks supports the feature of removing the bottom navigation bar of Youtube and several other apps.

Install L Tweaks. After installing the module, open it, then click Google.

Google apps are listed with features that L Tweaks can enable/disable. Go to the bottom to find Youtube. Enable Remove bottom bar

Before opening Youtube, force stop it. Open Youtube, the bottom navigation bar will no longer be shown.

To access Home, Trending, and other options, swipe from the left as you do for Google .Play

The module is also available in Google Play Store and has other features.

Note: The device must be rooted, and have Xposed framework installed to use the module correctly.

Disclaimer: I am not related to the app's developer; I am just a user.


Apps offering free data or money based on using and sharing I have been hearing about some android apps which give you free money or data by installing, using and sharing. Many of my friends have been asking me to install such apps so-that they get benefits of sharing app with trying to convince me like "share to others and get free benefits". Such apps also gives benefits if you install other apps or click on some links through them.

But I've been refusing to install or use such apps thinking following reasons:

It should be nothing but pure advertising app for app maker
It may get our personal information like email, phone, contacts and even some may get usage and information of other apps, files etc.

But/Now, I want to know more about such apps like how do they work? what are the major and possible disadvantages (malicious, spy etc.) of using such apps, etc. so that I can keep way from  possible temptation/seduction and can preach my friends with better understanding.

Your concerns are 100% valid!

A few things you can consider while making a decision whether to install such apps:

-Firstly, do you really need this so called app? If not, don't install!

-Secondly, see if the app has any good/social cause which really helps people if you download the app (when i say help, i dont mean your friends getting free money), if it does, then consider helping out!

-Lastly, if you do choose to install the app, check the permissions the app is asking before installing. Try not to download from unknown sources, and do read the reviews. If you have Xiaomi phone or cyanogenmod/lineage, they usually have 'App Permissions' sections, make sure not to give the application any permissions!


How can I edit the URL of a home screen bookmark? I want to have a bookmark shortcut on my Home screen to launch a web app I use regularly. The only way I found to achieve this is using the Add to Home screen from the Chrome browser menu when I'm on the site. However, this does not let me edit the actual URL the bookmark will point to.

This is a problem because said web app automatically appends the current date to the end of the URL when it's loaded. When I add the shortcut to the Home screen, the link will then actually open the app to display data from the day on which I created the shortcut. I'll always have to open the date picker and navigate to the current date to start using the app.

I'd like to edit the Home screen bookmark shortcut's URL to remove the date added to its end, so it always opens to the current day. Can I achieve this without third-party software?

I'm using an unrooted Sony Xperia Z5 Compact running Android 6.0.1.

Some sources say to create a standard bookmark in Chrome, where the URL can be edited, then long-press it in the bookmarks manager and choose to add it to the home screen from the context menu. This context menu entry does not appear to exist anymore in current versions of Chrome.
Some sources say to look for a Bookmarks widget that allows to choose a Chrome bookmark to display. This widget doesn't appear to exist anymore in Android 6. The only bookmarks widget I have displays the entire bookmarks folder.
The website in question loads too quickly for me to be able to cancel before the URL is modified. I tried many times.

I havent been able to find an intuitive way to modify a desktop shortcut's URL, but I have found a workaround for the problem.

Put your phone in airplane mode and disable WiFi to turn off all internet access
Open the Chrome browser
Type in the URL you are trying to set a shortcut for
Press enter and the browser will alert you that you are currently in an offline status
On Chrome, click the settings (hamburger) button
select add to desktop

You will now have a shortcut on your desktop that refelcts the URL that you have just entered into Chrome
Turn off airplane mode and you're golden.

This applies to Android Marshmallow 6.x as well as Nougat 7.x. It may also apply to older versions as well


Homescreen on Nexus 4 (Lollipop) looks different compared to images of stock Lollipop I installed Lollipop on a Nexus 4 and I noticed some differences from the videos and images of stock Lollipop that I've seen before. Mainly the status/notification and navigational bars are black (they should be transparent). Also, the design of the folders on the home screen is different (my folders have a black background while it should be white). You can see some examples in the images.

"Black bars" / "Black Folder" (click images for larger variants)

Does anyone know where's the problem?

Transparent notification bar / softkeys background, app drawer opening and closing animations are part of Google Now Launcher. Install it and you are good to go.


How does Android handle wifi root CAs? Should they be a security concern? My university requires me to install a custom root CA to connect to their wifi network. When I installed it on my phone, it let me specify "Wifi" or "VPN and apps". I chose wifi, and was able to connect successfully.

However, I'm concerned about the security of this certificate. I don't know who is responsible for it at my university, and whether it's a group of volunteer students who don't know what they're doing.

When I chose the "Wifi" option, does that mean the CA will only be used to authenticate with the wifi network and not for anything else? So if the private key gets leaked and someone tries to make a phishing site using HTTPs to target students, would Chrome/whatever browser I have installed accept an HTTPs certificate for a site signed by the CA I installed for wifi?

I'm on Android 7.1.1

A certificate authority signs digital certificates. Often times companies will pay an internationally trusted CA such as VeriSign or DigiCert to sign certificates on their own domain.

In some cases it may make more sense to act as your own CA, rather than paying a CA like DigiCert. Your university is doing exactly that, ie using their own certificate authority.

The first thing to understand is that the root CA that you installed is not a private key, but a public key. Take a look at your certificates on the browser you are using and look at the authorities tab, you will see a whole bunch of root CA such as VeriSign.

So lets say your university has an informational webpage university.edu. With out installing the root CA onto your device if you were to go to the web page you would see an error warning you that the site is not trusted. After installing the root CA, the site will show as secure since it is verifing that it is valid using the public key on your device. The unversity.edu webserver will have a private key that correlates to the public key you have. So when you access the webpage it verifies it is a valid site.

In essence having the root CA is not an issue. The only key that could potentially cause major issues if compromises is the root CA private key. Typically CA's are set up with a root CA and then an intermediate CA. The root key is kept offline so that it can not be compromised. That way if the private key used to sign Certificate requests on the intermediate CA is compromised, a new private key would be generated using the root Private key. This would require reissuing keys to all the servers that are verified, but does protect the environment.

Hope this helps.

Take a look at this documentation for setting up a certificate authority for more detailed understanding of how a certificate authority works.

https://jamielinux.com/docs/openssl-certificate-authority/introduction.html


Is Adobe Flash available for ARMv6 devices? Is it possible to have flash working or ARMv6 devices?

The official flash player for android only supports ARMv7 processor architecture.
The way that some ARMv6 devices have flash is that some is that a few cheap tablets (usually from China) have a non-official version.

You can download one here. But beware it may or may not work!


Fine Bluetooth Volume Control I connect my Pixel 3 to JBL Flip 4 via bluetooth. The volume rocker buttons don't increment the volume in equal installments, which is very noticeable at the lower volume range. I installed the Precise Volume app to get the actual numbers and it looks like the bump from 12% to 13% is barely noticeable (which is how it should be) whereas from 13% to 14% is quite significant (which is annoying, hence this post)
If I use the Flip 4 via an aux cable this isn't an issue as the two volume controls become decoupled - the speaker's volume buttons affect the speaker's volume without affecting the phone volume, and you can get much finer control over the volume with small, equal increments (leave phone on 5-10% and play with the speaker's volume until it sounds good)
Basically, I am interested in being able to make fine adjustments to the volume coming from a bluetooth speaker, but it looks like it's just a bluetooth limitation that I can do nothing about.
Can anybody comment on with any thoughts or workaround ideas (other than using aux)?
ps: the actual use case i am after is that i like listening to audiobooks at night, don't want to deal with a cable in bed, really want to find a fully wireless solution where I can set the volume exactly right, but I kind of feel blocked by the technology and don't see a way around it

Found the answer:
To decouple phone volume and speaker volume enable what's now called Disable absolute volume in developer options (looks like used to be called Disable max volume)
Taken from here


Is it Possible to Create an Operating System for Android Devices? Is it possible to run an operating system other than Android on Android devices? I know that the bootloader is hard-coded into the firmware and even if you tried you can't change what it does but what about from that bootloader you use the kernel that it loads to load another Operating System. Something like a secondary bootloader. Is that possible? Could you compile your own Operating System and install it on an Android device if all the necessary requirements are met? What about a "Hello World" Operating System? Is that possible too at least? And I don't mean Linux.

Something like a secondary bootloader. Is that possible?

Yes it's possible. As you mentioned, since the boot chain up to bootloader stage is closed source and binaries are signed with OEM's private keys, it's not possible to replace or modify the bootloader. However if bootloader is unlockable, it's possible to boot a custom kernel (your own OS). But the first thing is that you need to follow the standard format of boot.img (i.e. fixed offsets and file formats for kernel binary, ramdisk, DTB etc.) as specified in Android (AOSP).

Secondly building a "Hello World" kernel (or even a bootloader) for a PC is rather simple because many of the buses and the hardware attached to them are already recognized by BIOS/UEFI. However mostly Android devices are ARM based, so they don't have ACPI like in BIOS/UEFI. Instead hardware mapping is provided in the form of Device Tree which is provided by the SoC vendor. The Android/Linux kernel source provided by OEM also includes drivers for all hardware components. So you need to include the Device Tree Blob (DTB) and relevant parts from kernel source with your custom kernel.

Bootloader itself is built with the DTB to use hardware components like eMMC/UFS, display, USB etc. to be able to flash partitions, show boot splash screen, connect to PC etc. For instance, splash_region or freamebuffer in DTB specifies memory addresses of display hardware, which is required to print e.g. Hello World on screen.

Thirdly many of the kernel interfaces are proprietary (not documented) and they don't work with standard Linux ioctls/syscalls. In order to fully make use of hardware features (camera, gps, modem an so on) you need proprietary binary blobs (HALs) in userspace, again provided by device OEM. Android framework uses HIDL to communicate with HALs, so you also need to rely on that.

So what you come up with is not a purely “other than Android” OS. For a large part you have to share the same codebase, specifications and resources that run in Android OS, whether it's kernel or userspace.

For more details see:

How to boot Ubuntu persistent live USB on Android?
Is it possible to install Windows, iOS or Linux on Android device?


I need authorization from Google before downloading Messenger but it wants me to sign into my Google account. I am signed in everywhere I need to authorize to download Messenger. It says sign into your Google account, but I'm already signed in everywhere. I don't understand what I'm not doing right.

You need to relogin as it may be a play services error. just remove your google account/accounts, reboot your phone, relogin to your account/accounts. if it still fails then look for google play services in

  settings > applications > google play services

and do a clear data. after restarting, relogin your account/s it should work fine.


Anyway to split apps sharing an UID? For a while, I had an exclamation mark instead of a signal status in the top bar, and some apps didn't realize they were connected to Internet when other worked perfectly.
Thanks to AFWall+ logs, I found the issue.
I need to allow access to an app called com.android.engineeringmode.

But this app is tied (in OnePlus 3) with some others, as you can see in this screenshot :

I'm OK to allow access to EngineerMode, but certainly not to all this bunch of apps (especially camera or fingerprints services).

After searching the web, I found that all theses apps are linked in /data/system/packages.xml using the sharedUid 1000. But it is said to never change the UID of an app when it's shared (I didn't really get why).

I'm using the stock ROM (OxygenOS 3.2.8) from OP3, but rooted (got Xposed an Xprivacy too), so it's Android 6.0.1.

Is there any chance I can allow Network access to EngineerMode only ?

I don't think it's possible to change this without recompiling the ROM. You can't change the UID of apps after they're installed because they won't be able to access their files any more, and because it will confuse the app permissions system.

Maybe there's some other way around the problem with Xposed, but I don't know about that. It might be possible for an Xposed module to detect the exact call the package is making (to distinguish it from the calls made by other packages in the same process), and mark it for AFWall to allow it. That way you wouldn't need to split up the apps at all.

An alternative might be to find where it's trying to send traffic to, and whitelist that address for that process. Again, this would solve the specific symptom without splitting the apps. If it's the captive portal detection, it's probably http://client.android.com/generate_204.


How to install Opera Mini without internet connection? I'd like to know how to install Opera Mini without internet connection, because I'm going to test an application in my tablet, but it needs a browser that support proxy configuration and I don't have wi-fi to install Opera Mini.

I already downloaded the apk, but to install Opera Mini it needs connection to download itself. There is anyway I can install it without internet connection on my tablet? There is a full apk? If you have can you post the link for download or upload by yourself?

Thanks in advance.

Looks like this is not possible.

In the Opera Mini FAQ, it says:

  You must have a compatible phone with an Internet connection. When you
  download Opera Mini, you will be told if your phone is known to work.
  To see if your handset can run Opera Mini, visit the list of supported
  devices.


Caller ID for SMS doesn't recognize contacts unless I add the country code to all If I have a contact with the number 099123456, the caller ID doesn't recognize it, I need to change it to +59899123456.

My phone is a Galaxy S2. I have friends with other android phones (Galaxy S1, Nexus S) and the same carrier, but they don't have this problem. Could it be some kind of setting?

It's always a good idea to save numbers in canonical format, this ensures that you will be able to call the contacts if you are roaming in an foreign country.

You issue is surely related to the Android ROM you are using. You could try to use another ROM. But as I stated before, saving the numbers in a canonical format will be the best solution.


Can system reserved memory be recovered after debloating? Say I have a rooted phone, and I "debloat" it by removing some system apps. This means removing apk files from /system folder. On the other hand, user-installed apps on internal memory go to /data/app folder, according to this answer.

Does this mean the system reserved space is still not available for app installation unless I use something like an app-systemizer (that forcibly stores apk files in /system folder)?

You are totally right, removing pre-installed apps from the system partition has absolutely no effect on the free space of the user data partition where apps and their data are stored into.

The only chance to be able to use the free space of the system partition would be to decrease the size of the system partition and use the now unpartitioned size to increase the user data partition. However these complex operations may end up in a total data loss even if the used tools support to perform it without data loss.


Wi-fi stopped working The other day out of the blue my Wi-Fi stopped working. I've tried fixes I found here in stack exchange (see below), but nothing seems to work. How can I tell if it's a hardware problem or a software problem?

I should note that the Wi-Fi says it's on but dose not show any SSID's and my network history's are no longer there. I have tried...

deleting the data/misc/WiFi folder the rebooting
Fxr fix and rescue

I have a sprint galaxy S3 rooted running Cyan fox 2.02 (KitKat 4.4.2)

This can have multiple reasons. First thing to look for is always whether a "user app" might have caused this. This can be done by booting into safe-mode: if everything works here, at least the hardware is fine, and the system as well. In that case, next steps would be:

Boot into recovery-mode, and clear (wipe) cache. This is possible on rooted and unrooted devices, each recovery (stock or custom) should permit this (exceptions are quite rare). Then reboot, and see if the issue is solved.
If it's not solved, and your device is equipped with a custom recovery: Again boot into recovery, this time wipe the "Dalvik Cache". Reboot, and check whether the issue is solved now.

If none of these two steps brought you any relief, you need to go the "hard way":

Backup all your apps into single backups (so you can restore them separate), including .apk and data. Useful tools for that: adb backup (see: adb, backup) and Helium Backup, or on rooted devices also Titanium Backup.
Uninstall apps in reverse order of their installation (the culprit it's more likely an app you've installed lately, than an app you've installed a year ago) one-by-one, and after each single uninstall see whether the problem solved. Doesn't hurt to reboot as well (i.e. uninstall→reboot→check, next).
At the point where it starts working again, re-install all apps you've removed (again one-by-one), skipping the last one – as that was most likely causing the issue.

If the issue still persists (or still persisted in safe-mode), last resort is a factory-reset. Before doing that, make sure your contacts etc. are either synced with your Google account, or backed up otherwise (the apps you have already "secured" with above steps). Does the issue stay even after this, it's most likely a hardware issue, and you'll have to turn in your device for service.

If, on the other hand, the factory-reset made it working again, carefully restore from your backups – again one by one, with a reboot in between (to make sure you don't end up where you've started).


delete all email from Samsung galaxy s3 at one time? How can I delete all my emails without doing it checkbox by check box? I can't do it from my computer at this time all I have available is my phone. And I don't know how to delete all email at once.  Please help my inbox is overwhelming with emails.

Go to Settings => Storage => Used Space => Applications

Find your email app in the list and select it. For example mine is Gmail.

Click on "Clear data". You will get a warning saying you will have to set up your account again. It is your choice if this is what you want to do.

Once you have done this, go back into your email app as you normally would to check your emails and enter your account details. In the Settings of your email app you should set things up not to keep so much email. So for example in Gmail you can reduce "Days of mail to sync" from the default 30 to for example 5.


Ringtones from my MP3 I have in Bluetooth folder some .mp3 files. How can I make them ringtones? The phone ringtone option doesn't see them.

Add the files to the /media/audio/ringtones directory on your SD card.

See also: How do I set a custom MP3 as a ringtone for other notifications?


Do 3rd party camera apps really improve picture quality? I've got a Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo (Jelly Bean). It has a 5 mp camera but I'm not satisfied with the picture quality. Will it help if I use another app like Camera Zoom FX or anything? If yes, then which app should I use?

Some camera apps improve the photos taken, but it's usually on a case-to-case basis. Some phones have limited / low-quality hardware and won't benefit from 3rd-party apps. Others have high-quality hardware, but poor camera software.

It's difficult to recommend a specific app. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 and have installed the following: Camera Zoom FX, ProCapture, Snap Camera, official Google Camera. However, I don't get very good photos, probably because I think the camera is defective. My phone has been dropped several times already.

But your mileage might vary. Try the different apps, and see what works for you. There are trial versions.


Keep play books audio in the background? Listening to books in Google Play Books read aloud and would like to know what needs to be done to keep the audio playing in the background so I load up other apps at the same time.

Rooted nexus 5 running 4.4.4

According to this google fourm's message, 17 Dec 16, this is a feature since version 3.11.19

Quote danjaf
Confirm this has been resolved in version 3.11.19
I am running Marshmallow 6.0.1
Thank you to the developer who heard our first world problems.

I have tested myself in at the current version of 4.4.9_RC07.213889590, released 21 September 2018, and can confirm it is still present.


Taking screenshots on Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Jelly Bean Apparently on Ice Cream Sandwich you can press power + volume down to take a screenshot, but this doesn't work for me with Jelly Bean. Anyone know how to take a screenshot on a stock Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.1?

You need to press the Vol Down and Power buttons together, and hold them for a second or so.

Some users report that it works better if you press both buttons simultaneously, as opposed to one after the other in sequence.


Is there a way to enable the headphone output for audio while using HDMI for video? I have a yarvik tab464euk tablet, which I'm mostly happy with in an it-was-cheap kind of way. However, there is a particular annoyance.

I have a monitor which has a rarely-used HDMI port (my PC connects via DVI). I don't have a HDMI TV, or any kind of TV at all. Sometimes, I'd like to use my tablet as a media player using the HDMI monitor.

I can connect the tablet to the monitor without any problem, but of course it's a monitor - like many monitors, it doesn't have speakers. That's fine - the tablet also has a headphone jack socket. I thought I'd do exactly what I do for my PC - connect the tablet to the speakers separately.

Unfortunately, this doesn't work. The headphone socket works fine, but not when the mini-HDMI cable is connected. As soon as I have a HDMI monitor connected, the headphone output is switched off - I checked with two sets of headphones as well as speakers to make sure this wasn't a dodgy cable issue.

Giving priority to HDMI seems very odd to me. First, monitors with HDMI but no speakers are quite common. Second, even if I was using a TV with speakers, the obvious reason for having headphones plugged in is because I want to use those for the sound, not the TV speakers.

So... Is this a general thing with Android tablets? Is there a setting I can change to control it? Or is there any other way to get the headphone audio output to work while a HDMI monitor is connected?

I've seen this question about splitters, but the price is out of proportion plus the convenience isn't there. Part of the point is to reduce hardware clutter, tangled cables etc. I already have a media player that works with separate HDMI and audio just fine, but it never gets used because it gets put away to avoid the clutter and tangle, then it's just not worth the hassle to set it up again later.

And it just seems so stupid anyway that the headphone socket is there and works, but it switches off when I most want to use it.

This is a non-answer to close the question. In the unlikely case that an actual answer appears, I'll transfer the accept to that.

No solution was found for the question as asked. By now, I doubt that anyone will ever care for that particular model of tablet, which was cheap even back when it was new. I'm still using it, as it happens, but mostly only as a PDF reader.

For displaying video, some monitors have an audio output to external speakers driven by the audio from the HDMI. It turns out my monitor had that - I'd just somehow managed to miss that at the time. I also now have a TV/monitor with built-in speakers. I still don't care about broadcast TV - I want the composite video inputs for an old PS/2.


OsmAnd: Show only POIs from my OBF file I have created an OBF file (OsmAnd POIs), and would like to display its POIs.

PROBLEM: When I enable POI display, tons of orange circles make the map unreadable. 99.99% of these POIs are not from my OBF file, they are from the base OSM map.

QUESTION: How can I show only the POIs from my OBF file?

I can modify the OBF file if needed, for instance adding attributes or changing POI type if needed.

In the layers settings I see a "Create POI filter" dialog with a "User defined" item, might it be part of the solution?

Quickly skimming OsmAnd~ on my phone I believe it is not possible in current version (1.9.x) to filter displayed POI by their source. You'd have to tag them so that you can apply a custom filter or you have to disable other sources in settings.