Quickly switch back to in-progress call or navigation? One of my favorite iOS features is that, when you have a call or turn-by-turn navigation in progress and switch apps, you can easily return just by tapping the status bar.

In android, I've noticed a number of apps that can show floating widgets over other apps - Facebook messenger's floating "chat heads" and CyanogenMod's floating calculator widget are good examples.

Is there any way to make similar floating icons appear when on a call or when navigating in the background, that when tapped will quickly return to the relevant app?

In Android 4.4 on Samsung Note 4, while you are using an app, phone calls will pop up as a small moveable window on top of that current running android app. You can maximise/minimize that moveable window. This might be a better solution to multitasking while having a phone call on the same device. I am not sure cyanogenmod have the similar features, though.

However, stock Android 4.4, have a pull down notifications window. Applications such as Google Maps Directions and Waze, will put a notification icon in the notifications status bar while you are navigating, so pulling down the notifications window will allow you easy access to switch back to the navigation application. As the screenshots shows the notification window have resume navigation bar at constant place in the middle of the screen, on top of other notifications.


How do you delete thousands of text messages at once? I have a HTC vivid and need to delete about 30,000 texts. Every time I try to do it, it freezes my phone. The same thing happens when I try to create a backup.

There is a way to delete all SMS and MMS (and call logs) all at once.

In Android, SMS are normally received and stored by the package com.android.providers.telephony. That package’s common name is “Phone/Messaging Storage” in Android 4.2.2 and “Dialer Storage” in Android 2.3.7.

If you clear all data of that app, all it’s databases are cleared and SMS/MMS are gone. You can “force stop” and then “clear data” with the app manager, which you find under

Settings→Apps
Settings→Application settings→Manage applications

If you have an alternative SMS app, note that most of them side access the “standard” database anyway. – This is technically not clean, but has the huge advantage that you can swap SMS apps at will, because the SMS storage stays the same.


Locating a stolen phone with Android Device Manager On the weekend I had a brand new phone stolen from me. It was out of battery at the time. I'm assuming whoever stole the phone has removed the SIM card and probably re-flashed it as it was locked.

Does Android Device Manager still have ability to track it? Can anyone inform me how the tracking on it works? I have not yet had the phone locked via IMEI as im sure that would halt this method of location (they cant use it anyway).

The phone is an HTC One.

Much appreciated.

No. Once it's factory-reset or even flashed, the Android Device Manager is no longer able to find it.

Background: Android Device Manager uses your Google account to communicate with the device. Moreover, you have to explicitly enable it on the device. Once factory-reset / wiped / flashed, all that is gone.


How do you change the screen background on Nexus S? Just bought a Samsung Nexus S. No manual came with it. Apparently the moving default screensaver eats up heaps of battery life and I am not getting much battery life out of this new phone and I am constantly recharging.

How do you change it to a non-moving image?

From the home screen, press the phone's Menu button. Here, there is usually a button for Wallpaper (it will be the top right button on the menu), where you should be able to pick your wallpaper (this applies to your background and lockscreen).


Do any UK banks have Android apps? I'm researching a new current account, and an Android app would be a big bonus for me. None of the big few banks (Lloyds, Natwest, Barclays) seem to have apps. Santander has one but it doesn't work in the UK. Does anyone know of any UK banks which do have an Android app for viewing my balance, making transfers etc.?

From a quick search of the Market, only Northern Bank has anything obvious in there at the moment, and they're not quite one of the really big UK High St banks.

(Barclays have a couple of apps but they're all related to their marketing/sponsorship nothing to do with personal accounts).


Sim change alert on galaxy s8? How do i enable sms alert for sim change on my samsung galaxy s8?

I recently jumped from galaxy s3 to s8.

S3 had this neat feature called "SIM change alert" where you can enter a few phone numbers and if someone unauthorized replaces the sim card then the phone will send sms messages to the phone numbers entered earlier alerting them about the theft and thrives phone number.

However I'm unable to find a similar feature in my galaxy s8. Some articles on the internet state that signing in on my google account automatically activates antitheft features. But i don't see a place to enter phone no where alert messages would be sent

Running android 7.0

I had Same concern, got response fro Samsung itself, it seems they have discontinued "SIM Change Alert" after Nougat update. They have suggested to use third party app as an option,

Find below screenshot of chat for your reference:


How to get "Non-Root" access on Emulators ? I am running adb on emulators and by default, the emulators give root access.
When I execute 'adb shell', I get root access to the emulator(virtual device).

For some reason, I want to have non-root access to emulators. What shall I do ?

Any help would be appreciated.

*Configurations

Ubuntu 13.10, 32-bit.

Eclipse 4.2 with ADT bundle.

Genymotion Emulator(To be specific, I was using Android 4.3 here).

On the SDK emulators and virtual machines like Genymotion, adbd starts up as root and provides a root shell. Short of modifying the source code to do otherwise and rebuilding your VM images, I think you will have to use the su approach suggested above. su shell does indeed work on both SDK emulators as well as the Genymotion VMs. Specifically:

ubuntu$ adb shell
android# id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) context=u:r:shell:s0
android# su shell
android$ uid=2000(shell) gid=2000(shell) context=u:r:su:s0

Note that the initial shell is running as uid 0 and after su shell is running as uid 2000. In fact, you can su to any Linux uid (Android userId+appId) configured on your emulator/VM.  For example, after doing adb shell from Ubuntu:

android# su u0_a16
android$ id
uid=10016(u0_a16) gid=10016(u0_a16) context=u:r:su:s0
android$

On my emulator, uid 0010016 is the calendar app for user 0 (owner, userId 00). Remember that after you su, you only have the privileges of the new uid, and this may not include permissions to run Linux commands or view certain directories.

Finally, if you just need to do one or two operations as the non-root user, you can string the whole thing together as one command in Ubuntu. Something like:

ubuntu$ adb shell su u0_a16 id
uid=10016(u0_a16) gid=10016(u0_a16) context=u:r:su:s0

or

ubuntu$ adb shell su radio cat /data/data/com.android.phone/shared_prefs/*.xml\; su radio id
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8' standalone='yes' ?>
<map>
    <boolean name="_has_set_default_values" value="true" />
</map>
uid=1001(radio) gid=1001(radio) context=u:r:su:s0

Above tested on SDK x86 emulator running 4.4.2 and Genymotion VM running 4.4.2.


Will flashing other region's ROM unlock GT-I9515? I bought a Samsung S4 GT-I9515 from Saudi Arabia. But returning to my country found that this phone is locked and I don not know of any unlock code. It is also not possible to contact the seller in KSA.

Now I'm thinking if flashing stock ROM from other country will solve the issue.

Any help appreciated. Even any known unlocking technique.

Hi flash the phone is not the solution to unlock your device, flash and unlock are different things.
In case you like to flash your phone the only thing that you need to be careful is if the rom that you choose change or replace the modem, in this case you need to check if the rom has the supported bands for your country, The Samsung S4 GT-I9515 supports by hardware the following bands:
GSM:
850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
UMTS:
850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
FDD LTE:
800 (band 20), 850 (band 5), 900 (band 8), 1800 (band 3), 2100 (band 1), 2600 (band 7) MHz
Data:
LTE, HSUPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS
You could check the bands/networks to your country in this link:
http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html
However if you like to unlock the phone be careful with software methods because you can loss your imei or brick your phone (all software methods need root the phone).
You could check this this link on ebay to unlock your phone, unlock by imei its a more safe solution.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/INSTANT-REMOTE-UNLOCK-FOR-SAMSUNG-GALAXY-S5-G900A-G900T-G900T1-AT-T-TMOBILE-/121748816957?hash=item1c58cb843d
I hope this help you to resolve your question.


What microphone can I attach via the 3.5mm audio jack @ Samsung Galaxy S4? I need to attach an external microphone to my phone.
Can I do this via the 3.5mm jack on my Samsung Galaxy S4? What kind of microphone would it be?

I found this 3.5mm jack noise-reducing microphone on YouTube: Galaxy Samsung S4 External Mic for mobile phone and here is the mic quoted on eBay. I plan to test it and return some feedback here. I hope it will serve me well enough for the footage I need to create - some homemade lectures.


Why are Zygote and Whatsapp asking for root? Since yesterday, WhatsApp and Zygote have been asking for root permissions on my phone via supersu. Apparently zygote is a system app.

Is this malware? Lookout scan came up clean.

It is unlikely for WhatsApp to need root privileges, and impossible for zygote to ask for it.

Zygote is an essential system component that is started by init process itself while booting, so it does implicitly inherit root privileges.
Matter of fact, zygote is responsible for starting every other app, be it system apps or other apps.

Having said that, these two apps (installed in your device that asks for root access) are strongly MALWARE.

If you have ADB, issue the command adb shell ps | grep zygote. (Or from Terminal Emulator as ps | grep zygote)
I believe the output will be two processes: one is the real zygote, and the other 'zygote' is part of a package name, which is a malware.


WiFi never shuts off on Nexus 5 running Lollipop I have Nexus 5 on Android Lollipop. When I check the battery graph, it always shows my WiFi radio as ON, even when I am using 3G and have specifically turned it off. I have observed that it only shuts off in airplane mode.

Screenshot (Click to enlarge image)

How to correct this behavior?

I have a nexus 5 and had the same problem. I found an app called Power Toggles and it seemed to do the trick.


WiFi only working while charging the phone I am being experiencing this very strange issue in the last couple days. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini with an (unofficial) build of Cyanogenmod 11. Is has been working fine for the last year with this ROM. However, since yesterday, the WiFi is not working very well.

Basically, when I turn it on, it doesn't find all the networks I expect. When I connect to my home network, it shows a very weak signal and often disconnects completely.

Another issue that I think could be related to, is the battery. It discharges very quickly, I need to charge the phone twice a day (it's not a big problem though). Sometimes if I reboot the phone, I loose up to 30% of charge.

After various test, I found out that when the battery is very low, the WiFi scans but doesn't find any network, hence I can't use it. When the battery is half charged, I can connect to my network, but the connection is very unstable. When it's fully charged, I can connect to my network and browse the web normally.

Now the weird part is, if I plug my phone to AC power, the connection is (almost) perfect. WiFi works, it finds all the networks, and the signal is great.

If I try pinging 8.8.8.8 from the phone on half battery, I get several packet drops with time ranging from 200ms to 10000ms. On AC power, it is mostly stable on 40ms. All this problems are identical with another network.

I would like to know if the battery and the WiFi issues are related?

WiFi consumes battery. With this in mind, the operating system is designed to restrict or lower the strength of using the WiFi, with the basic goal of saving battery juice, to extend the battery life a bit.

In your case, the most likely culprit is your battery. Replace it, and all should be well.


Can I control the permissions of pre-installed "system apps" in Android Marshmallow? I am really excited for the permission control feature available in Android M. I am considering buying a phone that supports this OS just for that one feature.

However, I am concerned if I will be able to control permissions on the "stock apps" without rooting or flashing my device with a new ROM? Even a Nexus will come with stuff like Google Maps, I am sure. So will I be able to control what Google Maps has access to, for example? What about Samsung devices and the egregious bloatmalware they package with it?

When using apps which require certain permissions for the first time, the app asks you to grant the permission, which happens with stock apps too. If it doesn't, then permissions for stock apps can be managed in the App Permissions section of the Settings.


How would you uninstall a rogue Home (Launcher) application? If you were to install a Home Screen application that does not give you access to the System Settings screen (to go to Manage Applications), and also does not let you launch Apps (such as the Market App or 3rd party install/unistallers), is there ANY way to uninstall such an application?

I know that Android requires your permission before letting a new App take over the home screen privilege. But say you're trying a newly published Launcher app that is buggy (or malicious). You are of course still going to tell Android it's ok to give this App the Home screen privilege. Now once it is installed, your phone is now effectively useless?

Is there a way for a typical end user (who doesn't have Eclipse/ADB) to get out of this situation? Other than doing a complete factory reset?

I realize there are ways to uninstall an App via ADB ("adb uninstall package.name")

But it seems like a typical end user is potentially screwed if they ever install such a malicious/buggy app. This seems like a gaping security hole in Android, no?

Start your device in SAFE MODE and then uninstall the app that's causing problems. Rebooting will exit from Safe Mode. Here's how to access SAFE MODE in a few popular devices.

HTC devices with physical buttons:

Turn off your Android phone.
Press the Menu button on your phone.
While holding down the Menu button, turn on your device and keep pressing the Menu button until you see the lock screen.
“Safe Mode should now be printed in the lower-left corner of your display. When in safe mode, Android does not load any third-party apps, and you can uninstall the application that gave you trouble from Settings > Applications > Manage applications.

Nexus One:

Turn off your Nexus. Remove the battery if it cannot be done the normal way.
Press the power button to start your phone, and right when the logo appears, press and hold the trackball. You should also be able to hold down the touch sensitive Menu button at this point, if you prefer that.
Keep pressing until you see the lock screen, and you should now be in safe mode.

Motorola Droid

Turn off your Droid and slide open the hardware keyboard.
Press both the power button and the Menu button on the keyboard simultaneously.
Keep holding down the Menu key until you see the “Droid Eye”, and you feel your phone vibrate.
Your Droid should start and say “Safe Mode” in the lower-left corner of the screen.

Samsung Galaxy S

Power the phone off.
Turn the phone back on while pressing and holding the Menu button.
Keep holding the Menu button until the Home screen loads. The lower-left corner should say Safe Mode.


AFwall+: Why does the Kernel need an internet connection all the time? Since I started using AFWall+ (a firewall based on iptables) on Android, I was wondering why the Linux kernel tries to connect to the internet all the time?

Allthough blocking the kernel I didn't recognize any disadvantages or issues.

A short answer is given here on the FAQs page of AFWall+.

It says that the kernel does not communicate directly, it only pass packet information from some applications and something about policy routing based on fwmark.

What does it mean? What is fwmark? Can somebody translate it into simple language for noobs? Is it better to allow the kernel to connect over TCP?

fwmark stands for Firewall Mark, which can be better described as a "netfilter mark", according to a quote in this article (also my reference).

Simplifying stuff a lot:

fwmark is a "stamp" on TCP/IP packets put there by the kernel. mark refers to the command line entity (whatever that is, refer the linked article for details). These are used by Linux Virtual Servers to coordinate routing from different IP addresses used by the virtual servers to the same real server (the actual server machine).

I have next to no idea why an Android device would need that. It is probably a holdover from the mainstream Linux kernel features integrated by the developer into the Android kernel.


No operative System and twrp recently i installed a custom rom on my phone, then i decided to expand my phone memory on a trick i saw on youtube, where i had to go into twrp, unfortunately i clicked on delete system. afterwise when i then tried to boot my phone it was stucked on the logo screen and somehow the twrp is replaced with the android one, when try to open the recovery mode. I was wondering if there's any possible ways to fix this?

EDIT: Curently i'm using a chinese phone called "Cubot S308"

The obvious solution to having no operating system is to add one. That's why what you can do, is to re-flash the custom ROM you are having, or a different one (maybe even a stock ROM). You can go on their page, and find your build there.

Once you download the ZIP, you put it on your SD, through the computer, and flash the ZIP from there, or you can use ADB to transfer the ZIP and flash.


What is the difference between Ultra pixel and Mega Pixel camara? How we can compare Ultra Pixel and Mega pixel? And what is the difference between these two camara technologies.

Extracted from UltraPixel vs Megapixel: HTC One & iPhone 5 Camera Shoot-Out:
Ultra-Pixels:

Basically the sensor on the HTC One features larger pixels for better low light sensitivity and, on paper, better overall camera performance.
[...]
We have to understand that “ultrapixel” is just HTC’s marketing team saying that the pixels on the HTC One’s sensor are larger. Here’s how it works: the sensor on the HTC One isn’t larger than the sensors on other modern phones: 1/3.2-inch is what HTC used in the One and the same size is also present on the iPhone 5, Galaxy S III, or Lumia 920. A larger sensor means having something like the Nokia 808 PureView has with its 1/1.2 inch sensor.

Some other site described that term as "plain market buzz". More on the term UltraPixel can also be found at Wikipedia.
Megapixel, on the other hand, is a measurement term, describing the resolution of an image – a term used not only for the number of pixels in an image, but also to express the number of image sensor elements of digital cameras or the number of display elements of digital displays.


Switch between ringer and vibrate based on schedule? Certain times of the week I would like the phone to be on vibrate and other times of the week I want it to be on ringer. I would like to setup a schedule for these changes to happen automatically. Can this be done? If not natively is there an app that can do this?

Check out Locale (more expensive, but easier to use) or Tasker (less expensive, more complicated to use/more configurable).


Is a 16gb class 4 micro sd card enough for hd gaming on Xperia Neo V GB? I want to expand my storage to 16gb primarily for HD gaming (which the Neo V does so well). I have been offered a great deal for a SanDisk 16GB card Class 4 and wanted to clarify if it is enough for HD gaming, classwise.  I am using Android 2.3.

According to the specifications your phone has 512MB Memory, which is quite close to the lower limit for actual 3D games like N.O.V.A.3. Because the OS must read the game data into the allocated RAM for the game-process (a lot less than 512MB). The game-data is propably bigger than the total allocated RAM space so Android starts to cache the stuff internally (Internal Flash space, not SD Card).

So after loading the game the SD-Card class/speed isn't the most important part. A faster SD-Card will probably just speed up the loading progress but not the gaming experience itself.


How to mount /system rewritable or read-only? (RW/RO) How can I mount the /system directory rewritable or read-only on my Android phone?

There are a few methods how you can mount your /system directory RW or RO. However, it will require root.
Method 1:

Connect your phone to the computer. (Make sure USB debugging is enabled on your phone)

Open CMD/Terminal on your PC.

Windows: CTRL + R, then type cmd.

Ubuntu: CTRL + ALT + T.

Mac: Navigate to /Applications/Utilities/ and double-click on Terminal.

Type this:

adb shell

su

Choose one: (for security mount /system back to RO when finished)

Mount system RW: mount -o rw,remount /system
Mount system RO: mount -o ro,remount /system

Method 2:

Open terminal on your android phone (download here):

Type this in the terminal:

su

Choose one: (for security mount /system back to RO when finished)

Mount system RW: mount -o rw,remount /system
Mount system RO: mount -o ro,remount /system

Android 2.3
For people running Android 2.3 and the command fails, look at this answer: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/125437/95577


Problem with Genymotion After I updated to Windows 10, Genymotion no longer works. I get this error message.

I found out that Oracle VirtualBox, which Genymotion is based on, doesn't install the network adapters correctly in Windows 10.

And the solution:

Delete all previous VirtualBox adapters
Try downgrading to VirtualBox 4.2.18
Go to device manager and click "Action" > "Add legacy hardware"
Install the oracle virtual box adapters manually (my path was C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\drivers\network\netadp\VBoxNetAdp.inf)

Now that VirtualBox adapters are installed correctly, it needs to be setup correctly. (the following solution is like many other solution in here)

Start Oracle VM VirtualBox dependent Genymotion, and go to "File" > "Preferences" > "Network" > "Host-only Network"
Click "Edit"
Set IPv4 192.168.56.1 with mask 255.255.255.0
Click "DHCP Server" tab and set server address: 192.168.56.100, server Mask: 255.255.255.0, lower address bound: 192.168.56.101 and upper address bound: 192.168.56.254
Now click "OK" and start Genymotion.


How do I stop the "Unfortunately, Google Play services has stopped" message from popping up every three or so seconds? Last night I had turned my phone off and on again because my data connection at the moment is pretty poor and I was trying to send a message to a friend through Snapchat. This had worked before, and worked this time too, except now there is a message popping every three or so seconds saying "Unfortunately, Google Play services has stopped." I have read another thread on this problem, and tried everything, but nothing worked. I would appreciate all and any help. :)

I just had the same problem today. Clearing the cache of Google Play services didn't solve it for me. But clearing all data of Google Play Services, uninstalling its updates, rebooting, installing the updates back and rebooting seems to have made the problem go away.


difference between ninesky and ninesky cn Ninesky is a browser for android. What is the difference between Ninesky and Ninesky CN?

The screenshots of the CN version are all in Chinese, also the language code for Chinese Simplified is "CN".


"Battery Usage" page irrelevant I have been doing battle with the battery vampires, apparently similar to a lot of people on here. I have a Samsung Droid Charge (SCH-i510), and service with Verizon.

I have noticed my battery life growing shorter and shorter.

As I've had the phone for at least a couple of years now, my very first step in the solution was a new battery. No difference. Even with a brand-new battery, my charge would last less than 24 hours. So, I began my research. Discovered all the settings to correct, and changed them, (wifi, GPS, 4G, etc.). Still, my phone charge would barely last from when I unplugged it in the morning until I plugged it in to charge overnight. I dove deeper into the phone settings. This weekend, I noticed that my phone battery lasted all weekend. ALL WEEKEND ON A SINGLE CHARGE.

As I live in a rural area,  my service is a bit spotty. This got me thinking. I started reading all the permissions that the apps on my phone call for, looking for one that would cause increased battery drainage while in urban areas (around more cell phones, towers and wifi hot spots.) I found one such ambiguous app: "Bluetooth Test". This app is a "default app" and is automatically granted permission to MODIFY BATTERY STATISTICS, (apparently to hide its tracks from the user,) as well as pretty much permission to do whatever it wants, right up to internet access. Apps granted such permissions pretty much makes the Battery Usage page irrelevant, as any app can reassign its battery usage to "Display". As of yet, I've found no mention of it on this site. Does anybody have any info on this app?

The BluetoothTest app is part of the stock image on most Samsung devices. It's a system app, and as the name suggests, it's for testing the Bluetooth hardware. If you root the device, it's safe to remove/"freeze" this app. It shouldn't normally run or cause any problems at all, though some users have reported that in some cases it shows up in the battery usage list for their device. (Googling {Samsung BluetoothTest} gives you some forum posts, but no solid information.)

As for the permission to "modify the battery statistics", this label is wrong (see this old Android bug report), and is phrased differently in newer Android versions. The permission only allows the app to read the battery statistics. An app might use this to help you identify which apps use the most power, or to find and disable power-hungry apps on low battery.

There's no real need for BluetoothTest to use this permission, but as the app info screen explains, many system apps are bound together in a single process, because this is more (power and memory) efficient. As a result, all of the apps bound together in this way share the same permissions, which means the single process has more permissions than any one of the apps needs. This only applies to system (i.e. built-in) apps: apps you download and install are kept separate for security.


How do I decrypt files on my SD card that I encrypted I recently encrypted my sd card on my kyocera hydro air c6745 and it won't allow me to decrypt. I want to download music but it obviously won't allow me to do that either

Open the Settings app, and select Lock screen and Security.
Scroll to the bottom and select Decrypt SD Card.
Tap Decrypt SD card to begin the process.
Enter your lock screen pin, pattern or password.
Wait for the decryption to finish - you can keep an eye on the progress in the notification panel. Make sure to keep the device charged during the process as it can take some time.

Reboot Your Phone and try again if not works.


I accidentally started the download/install process for the Android 11 beta, can I cancel it? I have two Pixel phones on Android 10. Yesterday I joined the Android Beta program to get Android 11, with the intention to try Android 11 on one phone and keep the other on Android 10. I started the download/install process on one phone. Today, I wanted to check on the progress of the Android 11 update process, went to settings and saw that an update was available. Thinking that maybe it timed out and I just needed to try again, I chose to download/install the update.
Immediately after it started, I checked which phone I was looking at, and was horrified to find it was the other phone, the one I wanted to keep on Android 10. So I wanted to cancel the process on this phone, but there is no cancel button. Since the UI didn't provide the option, I thought I'd try killing the processes on the phone.
crosshatch:/ # ps -A | grep update
u0_a64       10143   893 4987920  48108 SyS_epoll_wait      0 S com.google.android.configupdater
root         10773     1   44184   5808 SyS_epoll_wait      0 S update_engine
crosshatch:/ # kill -9 10143

This killed com.google.android.configupdater, but update_engine refused to die. Every time I tried killing update_engine, a new one would pop up.
When I went back to the system update screen, though, it mercifully indicated that the download was paused. BUT it only presented an option to Resume, NOT to cancel.

Even then, this reprieve was short lived, as it soon automatically chose to Resume, without receiving any indication from me that I wanted to do that.
I have now turned off the phone while trying to figure out how to keep it on Android 10.
I see that in some cases, after the download is complete, the user will be given a final chance to decide whether to proceed. Is this true for the update to Android 11? And as the question in that link asks, can I choose to just delete the download instead? Or is there even some way to cancel the download in progress? I'm nervous about letting it complete and then maybe deciding for me that I want to proceed rather than selecting "Later".
Update
The other phone that I had intended to try Android 11 with, after the "download and install" process, did not give me a chance specify "Later" or "Cancel". So I can't just wait and cancel it, but may need to find some way to reset the "download and install" process while it is happening. Meanwhile I'm buying time by keeping the Android 10 phone off most of the time.
Update 2
I also did consider downgrading to Android 10 once Android 11 is installed, e.g., following this guide, but it seems troublesome and potentially risky. Would much prefer some way to stop the present download/install of Android 11.

I kept my android 10 phone off for some time. Finally, now that Android 11 is official, I found that the phone is still on Android 10, and now it only provides an option to upgrade to Android 11, but has not forcibly upgraded my phone.
So I guess one answer to my question would have been: Just wait till Android 11 comes out of beta, and then the download process for Android 11 beta would automatically stop.


As of vendors - whose bootloaders are easy to unlock, and whose not? The vendors differ in their attitude to unlocking the bootloader. Some require codes for unlocking, some not. Some require proprietary, Windows-only software, other not.

Which of the vendors are friendly to people unlocking the devices and which not? Which of them require obtaining tokens, which require proprietary and not-cross-platform software? Which treat unlocking the bootloader as voiding the warranty?

This is only devices which can run Android.

(I started the community wiki)

Please fill in the gaps!

Methods of unlocking

Unlocked by default or not locked at all

Fairphone
ZTE Nubia

Unlock with fastboot, no token needed

Google (excluding Verizon variants)
Huawei (very old models)
OnePlus
Xiaomi Android One devices (Mi A1, A2, A2 Lite)

Unlock with fastboot, token needed

Huawei (some models, mostly "moderately old" ones)
Moto (excluding carrier or Amazon Prime variants)

Unlock without fastboot, no token needed

Samsung (some models, often non-Snapdragon and non-carrier variants; requires enabling OEM Unlocking in Settings, or using official CROM Service app)

Unlock with proprietary software only, token needed

Xiaomi non-Android One devices (Windows-only software, unofficial flashers for other OSes - but still closed-source)

Note:  There are some important changes regarding unlocking bootloader application status and reason on MIUI based devices:

  The process is  now simplified and the permission is granted
  automatically. You don't have to fill in the application form or
  wait for the SMS anymore. Login and head towards
  http://en.miui.com/unlock to download Mi Unlock Tool

Important: Bind your Mi Account in Developer options → Mi Unlock and follow the waiting period shown in Mi Unlock Tool

Not unlock-able (unless by exposing a vulnerability)

BlackBerry
HMD Nokia (Can be unlocked with a token, but only a few XDA members know how to obtain it, and they don't publish the method)
Huawei (application for Honor unlock code still in limited availability to XDA users here)

Effects on warranty

Does not void warranty

OnePlus

Unlocking the bootloader voids the warranty


HTC Sense Keeps Crashing Even After Factory Reset I just updated my HTC Desire today to the newest firmware. However, on booting up the phone I get this message saying:

Sorry!
-------------
The application HTC Sense (process com.htc.launcher) has stopped unexpectedly.
Please try again.
                                 Force Close

When you force close it pops up again in <1sec and keeps looping like this. Sometimes you can pull down the notification bar and open a text or email, but com.htc.messaging and com.htc.mail produce similar error messages.

I have googled for some answers, but the search and menu buttons do not work, I do not have an alternate window manager and cannot install anything using adb (permission is denied). I tried many hard resets and factory resets but to no avail. Any help is greatly appreciated.

OP fixed the issue with the following solution:

  Edit: I fixed it by following the instructions from TheUnlockr - How To: Unroot the HTC Desire and flashing this ROM [Direct Link].

Community wiki under "best-practices" defined by this meta answer.


What makes the Polar Bear and Black Hole color palettes dynamic? When using the Polar Clock live wallpaper, there are two color palettes labelled "(dynamic)": Polar Bear and Black Hole. What's dynamic about them? How long does it take to see it?

The colors of the rings will change gradually as they move around the clock. If you have seconds enabled you can see it pretty easily over the course of the minute.

Specifically, the color of the ring seems to progress through the spectrum of visible light in order from lowest frequency to highest. That is, it goes in the same pattern as a rainbow's colors: Red->Orange->Yellow->Green->Blue->Indigo->Violet (ROYGBIV). Then the cycle starts over again near the top of the clock.

That's how it looks on my phone, anyway. I'm not 100% positive if the other rings follow the same color pattern or if it's just the seconds ring, but the inner rings seem to be properly colored for their lengths (as in, at the point where the seconds ring reaches the end of one of the inner rings, they are both the same color).


Can't run Linux over Android 4.3 after official update I used to run a Linux (Ubuntu 10.04) on a S3 running android 4.1. I updated the device today with the official rom, android 4.3, then rooted it again. But now I can't run linux anymore.

Any ideias, why this is happening?

Thanks!!

Might be a very good idea to reboot your device before continuing troubleshooting this. That /etc/fstab error should not have occurred, so likely there are some strange things hiding out if your RAM right now.


is there a way to know what Uri the apps on my phone connect to? there's one app on my phone that i need to know exactly what Uri it uses to connect to it's server. is there a way to find out how?

tl:dr - i'm not trying to hack or damage, and actually the app is developed by the company i started work for, and the guy before me wrote the Uri, but as he removed the source code when he left. Now my boss has only said to me "find it", and now as i'm extremely new to server stuff, i see no other way to recover it other than finding out what uri the app uses.

look for a software called wireshark
easy way look at your router maybe in
the support options to capture the network traffic to the router. On android maybe this app PacketCapture hard way device in your network that can run wireshark with a network card that can run in the promiscuous mode and that can act as gateway for your mobile
open this capure file in wireshark
here you have many options to analyze the net packages i.E. Statistics -> HTTP -> Requests
you could export the result to maybe filter

Wireshark

Promiscuous mode


"Always allow WiFi roam scans " - is it of any help to end user? Screenshot ( at bottom ) shows the option in Developer Options. It reads

Is it of any use for end users to activate it?

Description leads me to guess it might be useful when you are on the edge of WiFi coverage zone , switching to another WiFi may be faster

Edit: Googling threw up results confirming my guess on posts like this ( few more on similar lines). However, would request more explanation, since this is not encountered commonly as a suggestion to counter WiFi drops

enabling it will automatically connect to the best wifi around with best signal strength and best speedbut it also effects your battery life


Picture folder disappeared from gallery on Huawei Ascend G6 I have a Huawei Ascend G6, and my folder with more than 500 pictures just disappeared from my gallery. I regularly clean system with Clean Master. I did it a couple of times, downloaded DU Speed Booster and deleted it. I don't know what is the problem. Could someone help me?

What the problem is, is probably this:
Your clean master probably enlisted your 500 pics as worthy of cleaning, thus deleted them all in the process. Its just a thought, but its likely to happen.

I use ES Explorer to clean stuff on my phone, and I verify every single thing it plans to delete everytime I'm about to clean. You never know, it might include your wheat among the weeds!

Another possibility is what happens when the storage is almost full. Happened to me once, and witness a friend face same trouble. Storage was almost full, phone restarted, and everything personal info was gone, from pictures to videos to everything I put on. Perhaps one of those nightmares, but only happening to images.


Default folder location for images when saved as 'wallpaper' What is the default folder location for images when saved as 'wallpaper' from an internet site using FROYO or Android 2.2?

The default download location is /sdcard/download, I don't know if it's different for wallpaper.  The current image used as wallpaper is stored in /data/data/com.android.settings/files/wallpaper.


Send predefined sms/text message to group with a shortcut I would like to install a "panic button" on my phone's home screen or lock screen that would send a predefined sms/text message to a selected group of people.

I am NOT looking for a group sms app where you first need to wait for the app to start up, then need to select the group, then type a message, then handle various menus/screens/popups/confirmations to send it.

It should be quick and easy (with hopefully only one or two clicks or swipes) to send the predefined message to a group in a life threatening situation.  It should enable me to notify e.g. my neighbours, police, security, family, etc. immediately and simultaneously in a case of emergency.

Is anyone aware of such an app or any way to customized an existing app/feature to get this type of behaviour?

Check out WithU app

WithU connects you with your family and friends in any problem. WithU is an emergency App that, at the click of the Start button begins sending out alert messages in every 2 minutes to your contacts that you saved into the app as the receivers or guardians.
Enter Contacts Numbers of People whom you wanna inform whenever you are in Trouble. If you feel Unsafe, Distress, just press Green Start Button, It will send SMS (With your location and Time) to the Saved Numbers.
The message says "I am in Problem. Please help me. My Location is (Your Current Location)". Even if you have not Internet Connectivity , it send SMS to your contacts with message "I am in Problem. Please help me".

You can place the button on your homescreen.


Better Autocorrection on Galaxy Note similar to Blackberry? I got my first android device ever and it is the galaxy note.  Previously I was on a blackberry.

At the moment, I dislike the auto correction on the Galaxy Note.  If I want to type "and" but accidentally typed "abd", the autocorrect puts "abduction".  With my old blackberry, typing "abd" will display the suggested autocomplete inline.  If you press the space bar, then "abd" remains.  If you press enter key, then it will display the suggested autocomplete of "abduction".  This is great, because you can easily choose between abd or abduction without needing to look to a separate userinterface control for autocompelte suggestions and moving your fingers to a separate userinterface control.

Can anyone recommend a blackberry like keyboard for android?  Or just somethign that let's me easily choose "abd" instead of "abduction" when I mispell "and"?

There's a keyboard better that that of Blackberry: SwiftKey X. Believe me, you'll love its Artificial Intelligence based suggestions. It learns from your typing habits to suggest you better. And, it can learn from Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and RSS Feed too (Quick Learning).


Should I root before or after activation? I purchased an evo on Sprint that I'm going to root.  I'm wondering, should I root the phone before or after activation on Sprint's network?  Does it make any difference?

Do it after, just in case.  Rooting shouldn't affect this process, but you never know.  If it fails to activate you'll need to bring it in presumably, and if they see it's rooted they won't honor your warranty.

Installing a custom ROM can definitely screw this up, though, so I wouldn't do that.  The comments on my answer to this question have some insight into that experience (fortunately he got it fixed).


How to update a text file using both a desktop text editor and an android phone? I do most of my text edits on my desktop (using a text editor), but sometimes I'd like to edit them on my phone. I know that one alternative is creating a shortcut to my desktop text file, dragging it to the Dropbox folder, opening the Dropbox app on my phone, looking for the file, and editing it with an android editor (Jota, for example). This is a bit cumbersome.

I'm wondering if there is a better way to edit files using a text editor (so, no Google Docs) and keep editing on my phone.

Create an account with Evernote and download that app. on your phone. It will synch whatever you enter on any piece of kit you have it on.


Can cellular network providers detect the phone model/make when their sim is activated? When the user inserts the sim card and activates, can the cellular network provider detect what phone the user uses?

Like say Motorola Droid.

Or at least the phone is a smartphone or not?

The amount of information your carrier knows about you can be scary What Your Wireless Carrier Knows About You covers this in  detail. To answer your question specifically, quoting from this:

In general terms, wireless operators capture three main kinds of information: information about the devices connected to the network, metadata about the packets of data that run through the network, and information about the content contained in the packets being downloaded or uploaded by the subscriber.

If they (carriers) wanted to, these engineers (network engineers ) could detect a single device entering a specific cell and identify the type of device it is, its operating system (if it’s a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop USB modem), its IP address, its bandwidth consumption, and even the apps it is running.

Wireless operators need to know about the devices on their network so that they can make assumptions about the sorts of content their customers are using and the amount of bandwidth they’ll need. For example, if the carrier knows that the smartphones it has detected typically have large screens, it can conclude that those devices will probably be consuming a relatively large amount of streaming video content, which requires a lot of bandwidth.

Similarly, carriers can detect smaller, less expensive phones that don’t run a real OS but do sport a full keyboard. The operator can deduce that these devices are specialized for social networking, which doesn't demand a lot of bandwidth but does require a lot of signaling in the network.

This post What does your mobile carrier know about you? quotes a 2010 justice department memo and provides a link to retention period of such information by various carriers in USA

As revealed in the memo, mobile carriers capture a variety of data about you, including call detail records (who you called and when), text message details (who you texted and when), text message content, bill copies, payment history, and even which cell towers you use. Another category, called Subscriber Information, presumably tracks your name and all necessary contact details.

https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/71795/is-my-phone-carrier-monitoring-my-traffic provides related information


Do you have to root an Android device to install Ubuntu? Just as the title says. In order to install another ARM based Operating System or to dual boot your phone, do you have to have root access?

I'm currently using a Motorola Atrix, not sure if that matters or not.

Yes. See this method or this one, for example.

As per eldarerathis' comment, these are both for running Ubuntu in a chroot environment.


Phone keeps downloading data with no user activity, where's the leak? I've got a strange problem. My HTC Incredible running MIUI has a data leak of some sort.

It downloaded over 4 GB's of data last month and I can't seem to figure out where it's coming from.

I've installed Onavo and My Data Manager to track what's using the data and in Onavo i get 'Market Downloader' and in My Data Manager i get 'Download Manager'

I have barely installed any apps and certainly haven't downloaded 4GB of data, video streaming/downloading, or music. This never used to be the case and I've tried to delete as many of the apps as I could think of that might be doing this, but still nothing.

How can I pinpoint what's downloading this data?

One of the three Incredibles we own had the same problem. It too was running MIUI.

I found this thread on the MIUI forums. After changing the build.prop file as indicated in that thread the problem went away.

Edit to add the following information:

  http://androidforums.com/incredible-all-things-root/447517-stop-update-notification.html

  Changed these lines to this:

  Do not try to parse ro.build.description or .fingerprint ro.build.description=3.26.605.1 CL264707 release-keys
  ro.build.fingerprint=verizon_wwe/inc/inc/inc:2.3.4/GRJ22/222219:user/release-keys
   end build properties

  It's really just the "build fingerprint" that matters as you can see.

If the MIUI is referencing an older version of Android then the carrier will keep trying to download the latest Android update. That's where the data download is coming from.


How do I get Android kitkat 4.4? I have Android 4.3 jelly bean on my Nexus 7. How do I get Kitkat?

I have tried exploring the Android website. I have also found some tutorials out there like this one - http://www.ibtimes.com/android-44-kitkat-update-how-manually-update-nexus-7-latest-android-firmware-tutorial-1469800

but they seem to require taking steps that are quite low-level. I don't think a consumer like me is supposed to delve into such a low-level ...

This is really just if you want to do the upgrade manually, now. Google's own devices (the Nexus range) have always received the latest OS versions sooner or later over the air (called "OTA").

Actually, they've started seeding it now, according to Team Android on an article published November 15th:

  The new WiFi version Nexus 7 2013 can now be updated to Android 4.4 KRT16O KitKat OTA software update. The official Android 4.4 KitKat has just begun rolling out to users starting today and Google will be pushing out this firmware update to everyone in the coming days.


How to get photos off device? My samsung galaxy s4 screen and touch no longer work and I am trying to move my photos to my mac. The screen is locked and the mac is not authorized to connect the phone. I've tried to use a mouse to control the phone, it didn't work. I do not have a samsung account so I cannot unlock the screen that way. I know the problem could probably be solved by rooting but because I need my warranty this is not an option. I have onedrive(skydrive) installed, maybe it is possible to remotely activate photo backups?

My question:
How can I get my photos off the device? or how can I unlock the screen so I can get the photos off the device?

One thing that could be very useful is adb commands, but that only works if you have USB debugging enabled under developer options. If you happen to be in that situation, you can connect your phone to your computer and you can easily unlock your phone that way.

Otherwise, using a mouse is the only other option I can think of. The easiest solution is adb, however, if you can find a way to make it work.


Google Play Store claims background data is disabled when I'm not on cellular When I try to run the Google Play store app on my Android 6.0 device, I get an error message telling me:

Background data disabled

Google Play Store needs background data to be enabled.

When I click on "learn more" I am taken to this page: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/1663315?hl=en

That page claims that, under Android 5.0 or higher I need to open the Settings app and select  "Wireless & networks" or "Connections" and touch "Data Usage", or on some devices "Battery & Data Manager" and then "Delivery".   I have none of these, the closest I have are "WiFi" and "Battery", neither of which have "Data Usage" or "Delivery" under them.

I do however have "Data Usage" as a top-level menu item in Settings but it deals exclusively with Cellular Data limiting.  And in that I do have Google Play Store restricted to "Disable background data on cellular networks".  I am not going to change this as this was one app I identified which was using excessive mobile data usage.

However, I am not on a cellular network when I am trying to open the Google Play store, I am on WiFi, so I'm not sure why it is complaining.  Is there some other location that background data has to be enabled for WiFi?  I find that when connected to WiFi my phone is automatically updating apps in the background every day or two which would seem to suggest it does have background data when on WiFi, so why can't I open the Play Store under the same conditions?

I've just experienced this problem, and worked around it by completely disabling mobile data in the SIM card's "Data Usage" configuration page. Once wifi was the only possibility to connect, Play Store stopped complaining about not being allowed to use background data.


Why is charging from computer using USB slower than using an outlet? And what is roughly the ratio of the charging speed in USB vs charger? My phone is Samsung Galaxy S, if that matters.

A computer USB port is limited to 500 milliamperes (or 900 mA  for a USB 3.0 port). The dedicated wall charger, on the other hand, is usually able to provide 1000 mA or more.

Let's take the case where a connected phone uses 200 mA. Then, the USB port would have 300 mA left to charge the battery while the wall USB charger would have 800 mA left. A typical smart phone battery has a capacity of about 1500 mAh (milliamperes-hour) nowadays. This means that in a perfectly efficient world, a current of 1500 mA would charge the battery in 1 hour. So the same battery would then charge in 5 hours over the USB 2.0 port and in about 1h50 with the wall charger.

Of course in reality power losses would also affect charging times but these numbers are quite close to what I get with my actual phone.


Could I use my phone to scan or image myself? Could I use my phone or tablet to create an image rendering of my body that I could use to quantify body metrics like waist size, inseam, etc?

No. Even humans, who are much better at vision and understanding pictures than computers are, can't determine accurate dimensions just by looking at a photo.

The closest you can get is apps like in Is there any app that measures the distance using the camera?, but they can only answer simple questions using trigonometry: if you know how far an object is from the camera, it can measure how big it is, or if you know how big it is, it can work out how far away from the camera. Even then, they can only give very approximate answers. An app like that wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a 30" or 34" waist, for instance.

The only way to use your phone to "create an image rendering" with this data would be to use a drawing or 3d modelling app to make the picture and then add labels for measurements you took with a tape measure.


Is it possible to backup a ROM before installing a custom one? Can I backup my current ROM (Samsung modifications plus a few telco specific applications installed) before installing a custom ROM?

The best backup you can do is a Nandroid backup. I didn't know what it was for a long time, but it works like magic. I'll include instructions, but note that i have an EVO, so they might vary a little.

Reboot into Recovery
This is different for most phones, for example, the EVO you reset while holding the `Volume Down` button. Or, since you have a rooted phone, you might be able to get to it by holding down the `Power` button, then selecting `Reboot/Recovery`.

Once in this menu, select `Backup/Restore`

Choose `Backup`, or a similarly named option

Flash your new rom or whatever, and if you are not pleased, simply follow the steps back to recovery and do a Restore. This will reset your phone to it's exact settings from before, down to which widgets you had on your homescreen and what settings you had enabled and disabled.


Using Android phone to control a raspberry pi nintendo 64 emulator Say I make a nintendo 64 emulator on a raspberry pi 4, and I want to use my phone as a wireless controller ether over bluetooth or WiFi.
I doubt that any Android software would have support for linux, let alone support an N64 emulator.
So what would be the best course of action here, make a python translator that catches the signal sent by the phone, reads it, then simulates button presses on the raspberry? If anyone has a better solution, please let me know!

Android 9 added support for the Bluetooth HID Device Profile which can be used to make a Android device behave like a HID gamepad:
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/bluetooth/BluetoothHidDevice
The Bluetooth HID profile isn't available on all devices, you can use the Bluetooth HID Profile Tester app to see if it's supported:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rdapps.bluetoothhidtester&hl=en_US&gl=US
I've had some luck using ginkage's GamePad app:
https://github.com/ginkage/GamePad


Android definition of charge cycle? Battery life is measured in number of charge-discharge cycles. Charge Cycle wiki says

  Apple Inc. clarifies that a charge cycle means using all the battery's capacity, but not necessarily by full charge and discharge; e.g., using half the charge of a fully charged battery, charging it, and then using the same amount of charge again count as a single charge cycle"

This definition seems to be Apple oriented. My question is

Does Android follow the same definition or is there a different definition ?

Asking since I have both an iPad and Android (Samsung Galaxy) and was wondering if battery life is measured similarly or differently.

AFAIK I know there isn't any Android specific definition (would welcome corrections from others). Having said that, industry seems to treat this metric differently.
Wikipedia  definition implies 100% discharge to count as one cycle, where as industry seems to treat 80% discharge to count as one cycle per sources below

 Battery Definitions & Terminology defines (emphasis added)

Cycle Life:  The capacity of a rechargeable cell or battery changes over its life. The definition of the battery life or cycle life of a battery is number of cycles that a cell or battery can be charged and discharged under specific conditions, before the available capacity falls to a specific performance criteria - normally 80% of the rated capacity

What Constitutes a Discharge Cycle? section , says (emphasis added)

A discharge/charge cycle is commonly understood as the full discharge of a charged battery with subsequent recharge, but this is not always the case. Batteries are seldom fully discharged, and manufacturers often use the 80 percent depth-of-discharge (DoD) formula to rate a battery. This means that only 80 percent of the available energy is delivered and 20 percent remains in reserve. Cycling a battery at less than full discharge increases service life, and manufacturers argue that this is closer to a field representation than a full cycle because batteries are commonly recharged with some spare capacity left.
There is no standard definition as to what constitutes a discharge cycle (....)

To  summarise, Wikipedia definition seems academic while industry   treats it  practically
(Aside, Charge Cycle Counter, which measures battery charge cycles follows Wikipedia definition )

Why I  presume Android follows industry definition

Apart from the two reasons mentioned above for 80%  discharge to be measured as one cycle (namely, real life charging and better battery life ), I suspect that battery manufactures would prefer this as it boosts battery life cycle count by 20% compared to Apple/Wikipedia definition.


How to list my recently updated apps I would like to be able to see a list of my apps sorted by the date the app was last updated. Descending order is preferred, but honestly I'll take anything.

One use case: Earlier today I had two apps show they needed an update. Neither was one that I use daily, but both were important enough to me that I knew I wanted to update. Unfortunately, my phone crashed shortly after the update and thus the notifications are gone. I cannot for the life of me remember what both apps were. (I blame my advancing age. I remembered one of them.) I know I wanted to check out the changes, but since I've no idea what app it was, I don't know where to look.

I could open up every one of my apps in the Play Store and look at the updated date, but I've get well over two hundred apps on here and that is impractical.

Do you have a technique or know of an app that would help me?

As of version 4.3.10, the Google Play Store now has a "Recently updated" section under "My apps", which is ultimately what I wanted.


What Android device manufacturers supply their devices with longer software update life cycles than Google supplies its Nexus and Pixel devices? Google's software update life cycle policy for Nexus and Pixel devices is that:
1. They "get Android version updates for at least 2 years from when the device became available on the Google Store. After 2 years, we can't guarantee additional updates."
2. They "get security patches for at least 3 years from when the device first became available, or at least 18 months from when the Google Store last sold the device, whichever is longer."
Source: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4457705?hl=en

Are there any manufacturers that give their devices longer life cycles than Google gives Nexus and Pixel devices when it comes to Android version updates, security patches, or both?

In addition, if possible, please tell me how rapidly these manufacturers provide Android version updates and/or monthly security updates, in comparison to how rapidly Google provides them to Nexus and Pixel devices.

Everyone worth their salt is 2 and 3 for Security Patches, manufacturers with fewer phones and a greater concern for security (Blackberry) might extend the life cycle for the security but Android Version upgrades won't come if the next version is far enough away to let it slide (depending upon Devices in service vs. the idea of buying a new phone).

Once you're off Contract you can Root and Update yourself (cost the Mfg. nothing too) so there's little reason for them to support older Models IF people aren't going to complain (or make it a purchase consideration).

As for the second question: http://www.androidauthority.com/android-oem-update-speed-743073/ .

For Nougat:

LG: 78 days
Motorola: 88 days
HTC: 95 days
Sony: 99 days
Xiaomi: 126 days
OnePlus: 131 days
Samsung: 143 days
Huawei: Might get Nougat Q2 2017


mm-qcamera-daemon causing massive battery drain Recently, mm-qcamera-daemon has been causing massive battery drain on my Nexus 5, and making it become rather warm. At the same time, the camera appears to be locked, meaning opening the default camera app (or any camera app) causes the alert Camera is currently in use to appear.

Numerous forums around the web site apps such as Snapchat and a Yahoo video app as the issues, but I've never installed these apps before.

Restarting the phone does seem to fix the issue, but after awhile (more than 12h) later, the battery starts draining again.

UPDATE: Like the top answer says, this problem should have been fixed by the 4.4.4 Kitkat update that rolled out.

Solution:

Wait for the next Android maintenance update:

Comment #475 on issue 60058

  Thanks, everyone, for reporting about this problem.

  We believe we have fixes for the current high CPU reports on N5 due to
  mm-qcamera-daemon, and they will be included in the next maintenance
  update. At this point, we don't need more reports of the problem, with
  some exceptions I'll detail below.

  More details:

  We've had scattered reports of persistent high CPU usage of
  mm-qcamera-daemon since our last maintenance update, and based on
  those, found a number of bugs that were then fixed.

  More recently, there's been a significant increase in the frequency of
  reported problems. These may be related to a recent update to Skype,
  which seems to access the camera regularly from its background service
  in some way that triggers this bug (note, we don't currently believe
  there's a bug in Skype itself). Investigating this, we've identified a
  few additional fixes that we hope resolve this issue for good.
  However, since the high CPU usage is an intermittent problem, we're
  continuing to test our fixes to verify the problems are gone.

  Unfortunately, I can't provide an estimate for when the maintenance
  update will be ready, due to all the testing we need to do for this
  and other fixes. Until then, rebooting the phone is the only way to
  stop the high CPU usage/lack of camera function once it starts.

  Uninstalling Skype may substantially reduce the likelihood of this bug
  appearing, but I realize Skype is a very important application for
  many people.  Other camera-using applications may trigger this bug as
  well, but that's been relatively rare. Most applications also do not
  access the camera when not in the foreground, so they will only
  trigger issues when actively used.

  I'd also like to note that instances of high CPU use of
  mm-qcamera-daemon on other devices besides the N5 need to be reported
  to their manufacturers - while those devices also use a Qualcomm chip
  for their camera processing (and thus have a mm-qcamera-daemon
  process), each has differences in their software and issues with them
  do not necessarily mean the N5 has the same problem, and vice versa.

  If you are seeing high CPU use of mm-qcamera-daemon, and you have not
  used the camera at all, or installed an application like Skype that
  has a background service that accesses the camera (typically,
  applications that provide video chat may do this), we would like to
  know about it.

  Otherwise, for Skype and other typical camera applications, we believe
  we have fixes identified, and you don't need to add more information
  to this bug - remember, any note added here will send updates to
  dozens of people.


ADB is not fully backup my device I am backing up my device. When I restore it in another device, I see that some settings is not restored. For instance, Google accounts, security settings etc. How can I fix that?

UPDATE:

I used

./adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup_test.ab

for backup.

Because ADB doesn't backup anything other than apps. Google accounts  are stored with the rest of the web accounts in the device. It is a database file insider your user directory, ultimately, not part of any app.

As for security settings, the settings are scattered amongst android, SettingsProvider app and some files under /data/system. Those two apps do not participate in backup and restore infrastructure of the device, so that explains why they weren't restored.

If you want to check, try taking backup of those packages individually. You would fail everytime, irrespective of device
.


Storage on HTC desire X The internal storage on my phone is almost full. The storage screen tells me

2.77GB / 2.91 GB taken
Apps 0.89GB
Other 1.89 GB
Available 138MB

What is this "other" and how can I clean it up? I already followed the steps of "make more space", it barely makes a difference.

Phone Storage then tells me 43.00MB / 1.09GB is taken.

And on the SD card I have 1.86GB / 14.72GB taken.

I have plenty of storage in various places yet when I try to install apps I'm unable to do so cause of "insufficient storage". How can I fix this?

On the HTC Desire X the memory (you would think you get 4Gb, but you don't) the partitions are as follows:

System is 940 MB,
Data is 1 GB,   (This is what you get for your apps really)
'Phone' storage is 1 Gb
1 GB towards "internal SD".

Basically you only get 1Gb on the device for your apps.
You could use a micro SD card to expand your storage and move your pictures/music/media to it, and some apps still support App2SD functionality.
Keep in mind Chrome can run up to 300 Mb no problem, so a cache cleaner may well help you with storage.  Lifehacker article on what to do if you run out of space.
You can't really mess with the other partitions without rooting and then partitioning your SD card with an EXT3/EXT4 partition and a ROM that supports Link2SD to 'trick' your phone into believing there is more internal memory. These partitions contain Android, HTC stuff, system apps, data partition etc. So you get 1GB in all (you have 138Mb left). Otherabove is the OS, HTC apps and other Android related things, that you have no access to (without a rooted device).


How to play YouTube or any audio from my desktop Linux and send the audio playback to Android? I have many music lists and local files which is playing in my Fedora, Ubuntu, ArchLinux, Solaris, FreeBSD.

How can I send the playback audio to my Android so that I can hear using my headphone from my smartphone? Where my laptop is actually playing the audio because in Android I can not play the music how Iwanted.

How can it be done?

Follow up:

A) Ubuntu Desktop where my music are playing I do:

$ sudo apt-get install openssh-server
[sudo] password for sun:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
openssh-server is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 27 not upgraded.

$ vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
+ AllowUsers ssh-client
:wq
$ sudo useradd ssh-client
$ sudo passwd ssh-client
Enter new UNIX password: 1234
Retype new UNIX password: 1234
passwd: password updated successfully
$ su - ssh-client
Password: 1234
No directory, logging in with HOME=/
$ sudo echo helloworld
[sudo] password for ssh-client: 1234
ssh-client is not in the sudoers file.  This incident will be reported.

Couple of different ways:

Since you're specifically talking about Linux, you can download Remote Audio from Google Play. It's free, and connects to your Linux computer using SSH, then listens to your soundcard via its dev/dsp mount.
Download a "Remote Desktop" app. There are several, most are paid apps, and they each target a particular remote admin protocol and/or desktop OS. Most of them will forward audio as well as video, turning your Android device into a full remote control for your desktop.


What does the app "Eduroam fixer" do? I can connect to my university's eduroam network but very often I lose the connection and cannot reconnect until I reboot the phone. Now I found an app called "eduroam fixer" in the market. What is this app supposed to do exactly, what does it differently to the built-in WPA enterprise support? I cannot properly test the app right now as I'm not anywhere near my campus.

Judging by the reviews on various sites, this app is unlikely to solve your need to reboot after the connection gets screwed up; users report the same thing occurring with the app.

This thread is particularly relevant.  It seems that "Eduroam Fixer" is just a configurator.  In particular it allows you connect to Eduroam by changing config files for you; this is useful on some ROMs which (for whatever reason) don't allow you to properly set the certificate through the interface.  I'm not 100% clear on the details, but the people in that thread consider it a security risk.


Image instant uploading isn't working Ever since I upgraded my Google+ app on Friday (3.3.0.40049528) one of my favorite features, Image Instant Upload, is not working.

One of the big changes in this release was that instant upload could now upload full size images, rather than limiting them to 2048px.

I have plenty of available storage (4GB out of 5GB available)
I have force stopped the Google+ app as well as cleared the data at least once
The phone (Verizon Galaxy Nexus) has been restarted a couple of times
I am using the stock camera app for my testing
The settings were not changed when I updated Google+, but I have confirmed that Instant Upload is set to allow photo uploads on wifi as well as mobile data. I do not have "upload only when charging" turned on, and there is plenty of battery available.

Any ideas? Have I got a bug that needs an update?

In Settings->Accounts and Sync->Your Google Account make sure Google Photos is selected

This is in Settings->Google in 4.x.

EDIT: I just checked, and reinstalling the Google+ all fixed this. Uninstall the app, then install it again.

You then need to go into the settings menu and enable instant upload.


Gmail app links are not clickable For some reason any link that comes into my gmail app inside an email is not clickable. Whenever I want to browse to the link I have to drag select the link. I have a default Nexus 5. I have not made any modifications or really changed any settings. Whats the deal???

* Update *

This is still a problem (03/15/2016). It makes trying to visit for example forum replies VERY difficult! Does no one else have this problem? Please help!

* Update *

Default gmail app - Ver 6.0.115979076

Android - Ver 6.0.1

* Resolved *

Turns out this is most likely due to Cisco corporate high security email and phone controls. I cant say for sure, but it makes sense that email links would be one thing they would disable with the security policies. Marking this resolved and awarding points. Thanks

I was not able to reproduce the problem on two different HTC devices. It did work in html emails as well as text only mails. As far as I can tell it does not seem to be a general problem of the app but you can try to uninstall all updates of the app since you are not able to completely remove it. Therefore just go to Settings -> Apps -> gmail -> Uninstall Updates.


Why can't I charge a Samsung phone? I use a dual-port 2-amp charger with an Amazon Basics USB cable. This works perfectly fine to charge my Nexus 4 and the Nexus reports "AC" not "USB" as charging mode. From the recharge time it's also evident that it gets plenty of juice.

However, when I connect my wife's Samsung Galaxy S Duos then it simply does not charge at all - the battery indicator does not get the lightning symbol, and the battery really never charges (even when nothing is connected to the charger's second USB port). When I connect the same phone to my computer's USB port, it charges just fine - even using the LG charging cable! - but slowly of course. The Samsung also charges well from any el-cheapo car charger (lighter socket) as well as from my expensive 3A car charger and from my LG AC charger.

What's the cause of this? How can a charger&cable combination work very well for one phone, yet not at all for another?

In my experience, and my extensive reading on the subject, it seems to be related to the charger and not the cable, unless the cable is a non-standard USB cable.  Samsung does not use a special cable for their micro-USB chargers, only their old devices with the Apple-like connector.

The USB standard requires handshaking to negotiate more than 500 ma of current.  This is not done in a standard way outside of IOS devices, so not all manufacturers use the same methods.  I believe some Samsungs look for a certain voltage on one or two of the pins of the connector, and will not work with other chargers, but I'm only guessing.  What I have found with, for example, my Galaxy Tab 3, is that there are some chargers that will not register no matter what cable I use (including "charge-only" cables like from Mediabridge), and other chargers that will not charge it at the full rate unless I use a charge-only cable.

My wife's iphone seems to charge from all the chargers, although I'm not sure if it's at the full rate since I have no app to check.  I should mention that most aftermarket chargers are designed to work with Apple, and not necessarily Android, so this is no surprise.

My LG G2, on the other hand, seems to be much less picky, and charges from most every charger I have.

TL;DR, a lot of chargers will not work well, and it's hard to know in advance whether they will.


Change battery percentage at which phone turns off I'm trying to completely discharge an LG G2 D800 with Android 4.1; however, the phone always shuts down at 2%, so it's impossible for me to go down until the absolute zero. How could I change this configuration?

This isn't a "configuration". When the phone shuts off due to low battery, the battery is completely discharged. The shutting down isn't a configuration, it's due to the battery voltage dropping too low. The fact that the battery percentage displayed is above zero is just an artefact of the way the lifetime of the battery is estimated. The displayed percentage when the battery is discharged will gradually increase over the lifetime of the battery.

So if your aim is just to discharge the battery, you've already succeeded. Try not to do this too often, as full charge-discharge cycles reduce the lifespan of the battery.


Bootanimation can't be changed anymore for unknown reason I recently tried to add a custom boot animation to a Galaxy Note 3 by adding a custom bootanimation.zip to /system/media and then flashing a custom binary for the boot animation made by a user on XDA. That worked, the phone booted with my animation instead of the stock animation.

Though I noticed that it was rotated by 90°, so I replaced the bootanimation.zip with a fixed one, though after doing that the animation didn't change. Flashing the binary again didn't change anything either, neither did formatting the cache. I tried it with a totally different animation from XDA but that didn't work either so its not fault of the zip file.

The strange thing is I can flash the original .qmg animation from Samsung but then flashing the binary again just gives me my old rotated boot animation.

Now I wonder why is that happening? Does the system copy the animation to a different place and that's why replacing the original zip doesn't change anything?
It sounds like something Android specific, I somewhat doubt the binary is doing that.

I had a similar problem on CyanogenMod and it turned out to be broken permissions. I tried the following which worked in the shell only for whatever reason. You need to be rooted and have ADB installed. The following commands mount the system partition for reading and writing, copy stock bootanimation zip (change location, or skip), copy custom bootanimation zip to data/local, and (re)applies correct permissions to media folder and zip files, and finally reboot (if you want).

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
cp /sdcard/download/cm/bootanimation.zip /system/media
cp /sdcard/download/bootanimation.zip /data/local
chmod 775 /system/media
chmod 644 /system/media/bootanimation.zip
chmod 644 /data/local/bootanimation.zip
reboot

If you want to restore to stock, simply delete the data/local version. If you want a new one, replace it while keeping the system/media version intact. You can also create your own bootanimation using this guide from XDA.


How does the Amazon Appstore verify its apps? A few times after I've downloaded an app from the Amazon Appstore, I get an error pop-up similar to the following when opening the app:

  Amazon Appstore

  There was a problem verifying this application.  Please download it again.

It hasn't occured on the first launch of an app, but rather the second (or possibly later).  Uninstalling it and then downloading it again always solves the problem; it never occurs again for the same app (except Gentle Alarm. I couldn't shut it off because Amazon wouldn't let the app run, just the service. Gah).

My question is, why does this happen?  If the app works fine, it shouldn't be corrupted, so I don't see why it couldn't be verified (especially since it was verified fine on the first launch).  Is there some extra data downloaded?  Is it managed by the app or the appstore?  (I.e., would clearing data for one, the other, or both solve the issue without needing to re-download?)

According to their dev blog, the appstore does download a small token for DRM'd apps which it uses to validate them at launch:

  How can you verify that the user has an entitlement to the app without internet access?

  During the installation process for an
  app, the Amazon Appstore client
  downloads a small token that grants
  the user the right to access the
  application. A valid token permits the
  user that purchased the app to access
  their app offline. The Amazon Appstore
  client will periodically communicate
  with Amazon servers to refresh the
  token.

My guess as to why you see the error is that the token is either out of date or just got corrupted somehow (bug in the appstore maybe). Re-downloading probably refreshes the token since it's originally retrieved at install time, but it sounds like you may also be able to clear the appstore data and sign in to get a valid token, or possibly just launch the appstore and let it connect/refresh itself (haven't tried these myself as I haven't had this error yet).


Nexus 4 cracked screen touch no longer working and password locked (Android Device Manager) Can anyone please provide some assistance. I managed to crack my screen yesterday and now can't enter the password to unlock. I tried using adb but get unauthorized error at prompt and can't approve device since i can't get into the device. Usb debugging is enabled on my nexus. Is there a backdoor available to remove/enter password?

Can I use a usb OTG mouse function for nexus 4?

I just want to get all text messages from my phone.

Option 1: You might want to try this unnamed Windows Tool created by k.janku1. You just need to have ADB enabled. The forum has additional info on enabling ADB via kernel or recovery. Once installed,

  this tool lets you use your device through your Windows pc even if
  your touchscreen doesn't work or you can't see anything.

Direct download link here.

Option 2: A more complex solution would be to enable USB OTG support by providing you own 5v current and installing a custom kernel. The process is a bit involved and outlined in this XDA forum discussion. A video of a this working solution might also be beneficial to watch.


How to change icon shape in Android Oreo 8.0 Recently updated my Google Pixel to Android Oreo 8.0. I can't find the "change icon shape" option. Where can I find it?

Since you did not mention the developer preview version. Assuming you are using dev preview 1.

The newly added menu that’s available on the second developer preview of Android O contains a “Change icon shape” option on the main Settings screen that’s located near the bottom of the interface, immediately above the “About” section.
Tapping that option prompts a pop-up window from which you can choose the shape.

Source: https://www.androidheadlines.com/2017/05/android-o-pixel-launcher-supports-five-app-icon-shapes.html


Google Play Store is not updating I unistalled Google Play Services and Google Play Store and later when I reinstalled them both, the Google Play Store was again back to an old version, and now it's not updating. Before I uninstalled it was updated to the latest version, the one with material design. I've tried updating it manually in  Google Play >Settings >Build version but it says it is up do date. Please  help.

What you can do is get the .apk file of the Google PlayServices and Google PlayStore from some trusted source like Android Police etc. You can also use these .apk files Google Play Store and
Google Play Service and install it over your device that's should solve the updating problem you are experiencing.


File deleting problems after Android v4.4.2 upgrade? Phone:  Samsung Galaxy S3
Carrier:  AT&T (US)
Upgrade Path:  v4.2 to v4.4.2

Is anyone else noticing SD card file deleting issues after the upgrade to Android v4.4.2?

I use CoolReader to view files stored to  my SD card and continually delete them and add new ones.  After the updgrade, CoolReader and Astro File Manager are unable to delete files.  In fact, with Astro, the system popup appears with "Deleting..." and stays up until I cancel it.

Only connecting to a PC with USB and opening the folders there has allowed me to delete files.

Any suggestions on settings or anything else to correct this?

Thanks!
Bill

Pretty normal. With Android 4.4, Google decided apps shall no longer have write access on the external SDCard – unless they are system apps (or have root privileges). They call that "security" (while others call it "crippling", and doubt "security" being the real reason behind – rather suspecting "cloudy interests").

While apps still can store their own data in their own dedicated directories (i.e. <sdcard>/Android/<package_name>/), the entire concept of a "shared media storage", where you can use any app of your choice to organize your own media and documents, has been abandoned. So (without root access) it's e.g. no longer possible

for a media player to download covers into the music folder
for a media player to (re-)write ID3 tags im .mp3 files it did not create itself
to edit a document created with another app or copied from your PC

All this can only be done when you stored those files in the cloud, as with most cloud apps all cloud-stored data is available to all apps you give access to your cloud account (the same way they had access to the SDCard before 4.4).


Change the actual kernel on my phone After reading the "benefits" that I could have after changing the kernel of my phone I would change the actual one that my phone has.
I've already flashed custom roms in the past and my question is if the procedure to change kernel is more less the same , so do I have just to flash it ?

Yes the procedure is pretty much the same. Infact some custom roms already has the custom kernel inside them.
Anyways if you want to flash a custom kernel, find one for your phone ( probably from xda-developers ).
If you found a kernel, if its already in a flashable zip, just flash it via recovery.
Otherwise, put your phone in fastboot mode using button combination or via ADB by typing adb reboot bootloader and flash the kernel using this command fastboot flash boot filename
Note you need to have an unlocked bootloader for this to work and adb and fastboot working.


want to remove Samsung Apps I don't need poor Samsung apps such as SamsungApps, Chat-On, Blurb, S-Translate anymore. Can i simply uninstall them and make an exclusion in my Updates so as not to get them back again?

You can remove them, you just need to root your device and then download titanium backup and you will be able to clean them out completely!

1) How to root your phone? Depends on your device!

2) Stop updates? Go to apps, find samsung apps and there you have an option to specify when to update them! Choose none and you are good to go.


Can't download some apps from Google market after phone software update My phone is Sony Ericsson Xperia X10.

I just updated my phone's software to the latest Android version (2.3.3), however, I've found that I can't download some applications. It would start the download and within 5 seconds, I get a message (from my notification bar) informing me that the "download was unsucessful" I have tried downloading it several times after with the same result. Please advice!

I would trying Force Closing and clearing the data for the Market in Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications and rebooting your phone.


Are those dead pixels? "Dead Pixel Detect and Fix" apk did not work with them I have a new LG L9 for about 2-3 days now (but it came to me without foil on the screen).

Today I've noticed that about 1-3 pixels near the middle of the screen are quite black. And they do not react to color changes like other pixels of the screens - whenever they should be black, red, white - they just stay the same color (they are easy to spot on white background and hard to detect on any other color).

When I change the viewing angle, they disappear gradually. So they react to angle a lot. When I have my phone in front of my eyes, I see them good. But when I look from the very low angle (screen is in the corner of my eyes, I look from far left/right side) - they are not visible on the screen.

Is that typical for dead pixels? Or they are not dead pixels at all?

Is it possible to fix them?

It's hard to make s photo of them, because my camera makes a bit too blured photos (so those pixels are not as visible as in real life) - those are the same, viewed from different angles:

I've downloaded and run the Dead Pixel Detect and Fix application, but it didn't fix them.

I use Android 4.

Dead pixel is a class of manufacturing defects on screens which causes a pixel or sub pixel to remain permanently on or permanently off. The actual cause of dead or stuck pixel varies, and while some may fix itself over time, but many are permanent. Basically, as long as the pixel are stuck on a color that it shouldn't be, it can be considered a dead pixel. So yes, you have a dead pixel.

Depending on the device, the number and type of dead pixel, the manufacturer, and the seller you buy the item from, dead pixel may be covered under warranty. Check your warranty information on how to get a warranty and also ask the store you buy your device from, and you might be able to get a replacement. If this is a brand new device, some stores may replace even when the warranty doesn't require them to (under store policy, not manufacturer's).


Is "localhost" not supposed to point to localhost? I have several applications on my device that can run HTTP servers. I can access the server just fine if I user the actual private IP address, but localhost, 127.0.0.1, and [::1] all fail to access the server. Before you ask, the port and protocol are both correct since I use them in accessing my device's server through its private IP address. Why won't this work? How do I get it to work?

Localhost won't work because the server app that you're using is not configured to listen localhost network interface. I even doubt that the http server (web server) you're using has capabilities  to listening on the loopback interface. Thus you need to be using private IP address instead (on the network interface i.e wifi, ethernet, etc) .

In fact as discussed by Firelord and Irfan, you'd need to be using a real, dedicated webserver application that has the ability to listen on all network interfaces. Then bind the server to the localhost (or loopback interface)

  Additionally if you are using localhost, resolvers may or may not
  resolve that to 127.0.0.1 if it's not explicitly mentioned in
  /etc/hosts


Jelly bean screws up Droid 4 keyboard layout The Droid 4 physical keyboard has had driver/software issues forever, but this update takes the cake. Pressing shift-period and shift-comma no longer produce colon and semicolon as advertised, but instead greater-than and less-than. Is there any way to fix this? Also, in Dolphin browser the keyboard is even more broken—the symbol key acts as a second space bar and holding a key makes it repeat instead of offering alternatives. Help!

edit: following directions elsewhere I did a factory reset. The keyboard now seems to work okay everywhere except Dolphin, where the shift key doesn't latch, the capslock key doesn't work, and the symbol key is still a spacebar.

Edit 2: The latest Dolphin beta has the same problem.

Edit 3: Actually, Dolphin, Chrome, and the plain browser all have this problem. Firefox does not. DroidEdit does not, Gmail does not.

Some users have found doing a cache partition clearing has resolved the shift key issue. I have also read others that disabled the Google Chrome application, resolving the issue. I have done both but still get the shift key issues when using my browser. The cache partition clear resolved the shift key issues on the phone (ie texting or other apps). Below is a link to Motorola's step by step instructions for the partition clearing, you will not lose any data etc. Some users have gone so far as to do a factory reset with no resolution.

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/93162


Why did my wallpaper stop working? I just upgraded to Android 4.1 Jellybean (OTA carrier update to my Verizon Droid RAZR MAXX), and my Multipicture Live Wallpaper app is not loading any pictures. Previously, each screen would load pictures from a folder on my SD card. Now, it says "Picture is unavailable. Need to setup or reload". I checked, and the path is still the same in the settings, and the pictures are at those locations. Why did this stop working and how can I fix it?

I solved the error. Instead of selecting pictures from a folder, use the album, and the picture folder will be listed as an album. Deselect all the other albums, and pictures should show up.


Frequent WiFi disconnects with my WiFi router I recently purchased Wireless Router and When I connected Wirelessly through my mobile(Sony Xperia P, android ver: 2.3.7), keeps on connecting and disconnecting for every 2mins. Whereas from other mobile(Samsung Galaxy Y) its perfectly connecting w/o any issues. Can someone pls tell me how to resolve this issue?

Router details:

D-Link, Model No: DIR-600L, H/W ver: B1, F/W Ver: 2.00

Problem was solved by unchecking the option in my android mobile --> "Use wireless networks" in "Location & security settings".


Obtaining root by modifying default.prop(ro.secure)? To get a privileged shell you need to modify the following lines to the given values in the default.prop file
ro.secure=0

ro.debuggable=1

persist.service.adb.enable=1

I have the extracted the recovery image of my phone model :
So is it possible to modify the following values in the default.prop file, repack the image and flash it using fastboot(bootloader is unlocked) to get a privileged shell, and then copy the su binary after remounting system as read/write?

Do I need to change any other values in any of the files? And will it work, theoretically at least?

This approach will work (provided there are no proprietary funny locks in place anywhere), but the recovery partition is no party to it from the very beginning. The default.prop is overwritten on bootup, copied from the boot partition, which is not a directly accessible file system. You need an image of the boot partition, which you will then unpack, make the change, and repack.

Assuming you know how to go about doing all that (since you say you tried it with the recovery), I must warn ahead that often times it is necessary to include the base address when making the image with mkbootimg. There is no way to know when it is required, so it is safe to always include a base address. You can follow a tutorial here:

www.freeyourandroid.com/guide/extract-edit-repack-boot-img-windows

The script includes the od command with which you can get the base address, in case you want to make your own script. For more on the manual steps (for reproducing on GNU/Linux):

android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack%2C_Edit%2C_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images

I do not recommend use of the unpack/repack scripts, as they have hardcoded lines not portable across cases. Use split_bootimg.pl, then gunzip and cpio extract it, after which you will again use cpio and gzip it, followed by the mkbootimg command. The only exception is for MTK65xx devices, where you will need the relevant unpack/repack tools (because they have very different offsets; you will also skip the mkbootimg as the repack script does it for you):

github.com/bgcngm/mtk-tools

And here is an on-going example of a Chinese rebranded phone going through the same thing to finally get root:

forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1818146&page=5

I'm sorry I have to strip off proper links, but I am apparently considered potential spam. Also, I've not been rather thorough because I'm not really sure you'd want more verbosity.


Android phone as a GSM gateway I am currently in a foreign country. Is there anyway which I can make calls using my home country Android device from here? I mean I connect to that phone through VoIP and Android device set up a call through GSM network.

According to this very well written document, this is NOT possible.


Blocking people nexus 5 How do I block an unknown number on nexus 5 who keeps calling me . I have looked everywhere but I can't find the option

There isn't an option that allows you to do it on stock android, you'd have to use an app. I've used BlackList before.


Incorrect Phone labels for Google+ contacts On the Samsung Galaxy S3 contacts synced from Google+ will have their phone number labels garbled.
In the following image you can see the three phone numbers associated with my contact. They are labeled (in swedish, english translation in parentheses):

Arbete (Work)
Personsökare (Pager)
Annat (Other).

In Google+ they are however labeled correctly, (swedish translation in parentheses):

Home (Hem)
Mobile (Mobil)
Work (Arbete)

I've tried all I can think of to get the labels correct but no luck:

Syncing with Google+
Delete and re-add the contact.
Changing the phone number labels in Google+ and re-syncing.
Deleting cache and data from Google+ app.
Deleting cache and data from Google Contacts Sync.

Doing some Google searches yielded only one relevant link. Same problem, no solution.
Does anyone know if this is a confirmed bug or is there a fix?

Seems like it is a conflict between the Samsung's Phone app and G+'s way of storing labels. Using stock Android Phone app might solve your problem.


How can I create a settings shortcut for always on data? I have always-on mobile data set to off most of the time to conserve battery, but I find the need to switch it on every once in a while - using Pandora, the odd large file to/from Dropbox, etc.

The question: Can I make an easy on/off icon (much like the WiFi or 4G widgets preloaded by HTC) so I don't have to go through the settings menu every time? App recs or how-tos appreciated.

I've got an Evo with 2.2.

HTC doesn't have a data one for that?  They used to.  I believe CurveFish has one on the market.  I think it is APN OnOff.  Or search for other APN widgets.


Unlocking screen brings up Phone app on Lollipop I just updated my Nexus 4 to Lollipop. Now, every time I unlock my phone, the Phone app opens. Surely this is a bug and not a feature. It doesn't matter if I received a notification; and I'm not clicking the phone icon at the bottom - I slide to unlock, draw my secret pattern and am instantly taken to the phone app.

Does anyone know what's going on here?

I figured it out. Swiping to the right opens the phone, swiping to the left, the camera and swiping up unlocks to the home screen.


How to root htc desire 326g dual? I have HTC desire 326g dual SIM. It regularly revert back it setting. Like when installed apex launcher and selected always for using it but it always asks for launcher on restart. And it runs on kit Kat. I think now kit Kat is old so I want to replace the os too. I've tried to root it with kingo one click root apk as well as many more methods described in different sites. So any guide line.

first of all you've gotta unlock the bootloader on the HTC dev (you've gotta sign up first it's free) and you need to use the fastboot oem unlock command if they still support that model of phone. but the sad news is that phone is not a very well know phone at all so there is not root at the moment. so you stuck on a non rooted phone. theres no recovery like cwm or trwp.


Route connections through VPN, then through Orbot Currently I'm using "OpenVPN for Android", OrWall and Orbot in order to route connections through VPN, then through Orbot. So it looks like this:

App -> VPN -> Orbot

This is great, but it's not an optimal way to do it, because OrWall is outdated and is not being developed any further. It has some security issues and I'm sure sooner or later (perhaps with Android Nougat) it will cease to work.

Is there any other way to route apps through Tor / Orbot, but have them go through a VPN first, so as not to connect to Tor directly from the ISP's IP?

Not to familiar  with open vpn but if you have a integrated vpn then use tor that would work. http://www.howtogeek.com/135036/how-to-connect-to-a-vpn-on-android/


Android 5.0.2 Lollipop- Moto G 1st Gen Wifi Hotspot issue I am unable to browse internet in laptop using Wifi Hotspot of my Moto G after it got updated to Lollypop. Any one has a solution?

Following solution worked for OP as mentioned here:

  Go To Settings → More → Cellular networks → Access Point Names → at the top on the right side, click on three vertical dots and select "Reset to default".