Where to get help for unrooted phone that won't boot after switching from original carrier? Recently my LG-P659 phone, originally from T-mobile, has had a lot of apps crashing or exiting for no reason, and today it can no longer get past the splash screen on boot-up (if it gets even that far).  When it gets to the T-mobile splash screen it ends up in an infinite loop at said splash, and sometimes it just ends up in a black screen.

This phone was originally purchased in the USA by a family member, through T-mobile, but I am currently living in France for a few months and am using a sim card for a local carrier here called Free, using a month-to-month plan.  The phone was unlocked from the T-mobile network through a code provided to me by T-mobile.  It is unrooted.  The phone is no longer on an account with T-mobile, though the account it was originally associated to is still active (but I am not the owner of this account).

I attempted a hard factory reset, but all this results in is the error message "Secure Booting Error! Cause: boot certification verify".  I managed to get it to boot up once after that, when trying to get it to start in Safe Mode.  Everything was reset, but I made the (apparent) mistake of restarting the phone after getting some things updated and reconfigured, and now it's back to being stuck in the boot loop. Repeating the previous things has not been able to get me past the splash loop again.

So the question is: who am I supposed to call about this?  T-mobile, Free, the phone manufacturer, or someone else?  And do I have to call a French line or an American or what?  Making the call itself will be hard, seeing as my phone is dead, but I think I can manage to solve that issue.  And is there anything else I can reasonably try on my own, or should I just leave it as a brick for now?

T-mobile (toll free): 1-877-746-0909.
T-mobile (direct): 1-505-998-3793.

I called T-mobile, and they said I had to contact the manufacturer.

LG (toll free, US): 1-800-793-8896

They also have a french version of the website, which you will go to by default when accessing lg.com if you are on a French ip.  You can otherwise access it by going to lg.com/fr . Conversely, you can go to the US version of the site via lg.com/us .  Either version supports a live chat function and has other relevant contact information.

That answers my question of who to contact for support, but I feel it is worthwhile to now note what options I appear to have.

After talking to the US support and French support, I don't really have any options for a quick repair.

I could send it in to LG in the US, which will take them 5-7 days after they receive it, but then they will only return the phone to an address within the US.  Taking into account the mailing times, the cost to get the phone there, and the cost for someone to send it back to me, then this gets a bit costly and slow.

They won't repair American phones outside of the US.  And to make things worse, my particular model isn't even available in France.

So the only reasonably quick solution to needing a phone is to buy a phone here in France.  What to do with my existing phone is a problem that's outside the scope of the question I initially asked, so I leave it at that.


Does anyone knows who is paying for the free (normally paid) Android programs on the Amazon store I am really curious who is paying for the free applications you get when installing and using the Amazon Android market program?

Is it Amazon (to promote their software/online store)?

Is it the application/game developer?

Does anyone know?

No one pays or gets paid.

According to the original version of Amazon's developer agreement (see section 2(a)) a developer received at least 20% of the price the developer set for the app, regardless of the price Amazon actually sold it for.  But they changed the agreement, adding the sentence "No Royalty is payable for Apps with a List Price of $0.00."


Android equivalent to Remote Messages/WiFiSMS on iOS? One of my favorite things about my iPhone was the ability to receive/send SMS/MMS through my web browser on my computer. As far as I know, Android has alternatives for this, but they all rely on an online service which isn't ideal.

Is there any way to send/receive SMS/MMS through a PC without the use of an online service?

You could use AirDroid which offers more functionalities.
It does not need internet service

  ✔ SMS: Send and receive individual or group messages.
  ✔ Files: Transfer files between Android and computer from any network. Share files and chat with friends.
  ✔ Notification Mirror: Mirror phone notifications from any allowed apps to computer.
  - Contacts: View and edit all the contacts.
  - Photos: Transfer photos between Android and computer.
  - Music & Videos: Play and manage music & videos on Android and transfer them between Android and computer.
  - Ringtones: Set music as ringtone and export ringtones.
  - Screenshot: View the real time screen of Android devices, take static screenshots. (requires root)
  - Apps: Import and export .apk files.
  - Camera: See through the lens of both front and back cameras.
  - URL: Push url to Android and open it with default web browser.
  - Clipboard: Share clipboard content between Android and computer.

Alterntively, Wifi SMS for android offers to send/recieve SMS


Galaxy S2 - Accessing Internal phone memory in Recovery Mode How can i access to Internal Storage in Recovery mode using Android Debug Bridge (ADB.exe) ?

C:\Users\MohammadReza\Desktop\platform-tools>adb devices
List of devices attached
4F58000600000001        recovery

C:\Users\MohammadReza\Desktop\platform-tools>adb remount
remount failed: Operation not permitted

C:\Users\MohammadReza\Desktop\platform-tools>adb shell
$ mount /system
mount /system
Usage: mount [-r] [-w] [-o options] [-t type] device directory

You cannot issue adb remount unless your handset is rooted, which is why it failed in your case a la "remount failed: Operation not permitted".

There is an answer to how to root the Galaxy S2.


Some magic to remount /system First of all:
Phone's model is Alcatel One Touch Idol Mini / 6012X
Chipset model is MT6572

The short version:

The device is in boot loop and to resolve this I must rename a file. The problem is that the file is in /system and I haven't granted ADB superuser permissions (So ADB simply hangs on "su", even when running scripts through ADB. Also "at" is not installed). Another problem is that I haven't installed a custom recovery and, more importantly, I haven't even unlocked the boot loader.

I can't manage to install custom images via SP Flash Tool (SP Flash Tool doesn't find the device although the VCOM USB drivers are installed).

What's worse than this? Alcatel doesn't provide a way to reflash the stock ROM.

So, my question:
Is there some kind of magic to force "su" to execute through adb without adb being granted permission by SuperSU?

According to this thread, your device is rootable using framaroot.

As you only need a temproot, the first thing to try would be to:

extract the temproot binary used by framaroot and push it to /data/local/tmp or any folder where you can set permissions
flag this file as executable then run it

$ chmod 777 filename
$ ./filename

if successful, you have temp root and can remount the system read/write

# mount -o remount,rw /system /system


How to disable Gtalk chat history? Am I missing something or is there no way to disable Gtalk history by default? Clearing separate conversations is a pain. If history can't be turned off, is there at least a way to wipe the whole Gtalk history at once somehow?

(using android2.2)

thank you

Signing out and exiting (may need to check the task manager to make sure it's closed) should clear the local history.


Media Device (MTP) problem I have USB Debugging on, whenever i set the USB Computer connection to MTP it just disappear in the Devices list, I set to PTP and it appears in the Devices list, help please.

Its an incomplete question but will try to answer.
First of all make sure you installed your smartphones drivers successfully by enabling usb storage if available.
If its not available install from your smartphone manufacturer website or from xda developer website.

Then try to reboot your laptop and reconnect your smartphone with your laptop.

It will surely fix the issue.


Add address from Google search or maps On iOS, as  limited as it was, I  could do two things that I can't figure out how to do in Android  - htc one m8

When finding addresses in Google search or map, Google result page had an option to save a contact.   That seems missing in Android.   I can't figure out how to add an address from these results.
In ios, whenever I receive an address as plain text in email or sms or web page, I was able to long press and ios would give me option to add the info to a new or existing contact.  I have no way of doing this in Android.  I am forced to manually copy ever line to a contact.

Any suggestions to resolve this would be appreciated.

The user teresaw has posted years ago a possible solution in this forum :

  I believe if you use Google Maps on an Android device, you can merge an address with an existing contact:
  1. Search for the address
  2. Select the address to open more details about that place
  3. Click on 'Add as a contact'
  4. This will prompt you to add this address as a new contact. HOWEVER, if you press on the Menu button (on Android devices), you will see an option to 'Join'.
  5. You can then select any existing contacts and add this new address. Just make sure to enter in the correct Name.

  I am not pretty sure if this still works but back then it was really helpful for me.


How to unroot Motorola Moto G 2014? I have rooted my Motorola Moto G 2014. But now, I want to unroot it to get Lollipop update. I followed  few suggestions, but in all of them stock Android download link is not working.

And, can I get the Android L update prompt even if my phone is rooted?

You can go to SuperSu app or any other Superuser app you are using, and go to Settings and you will see a Full unroot option, press that and restart the phone when prompted. This should unroot the phone. But the boot loader will stay unlocked if you have unlocked it.


How do I tell if my Samsung Galaxy uses XEU or BTU etc...? i'm wondering how to tell the difference between a Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 flashed with something like XEU or one with BTU. That is if it's already installed and if I don't know what type it is.

Any answers are appreciated. Thanks.

XEU or BTU (...) are Samsung CSC codes. CSC stands for Country Specific Code. It is unique for each country or region or network carrier. This website lists them all.

So to check which CSF file your Samsung device has, try the following:

Dial *#1234#
Go to Settings > About phone > Software information then you should see something like Service provider SW version, see screenshot below: Here AIO is the CSC.

Download Phone Info app from Google Play Store


Why is my notification bar duplicated and offset on home screen? The defect can be seen at the top right corner of the home screen. There is also a black bar running down the right side of the home screen. When compared with the second picture from Google Chrome, the notification bar appears normal and there is no black bar.

(Click image to enlarge)

What exactly has gone wrong and how can it be fixed? Thanks in advance :-)

There are two notification bars- the real one and a second one that is part of the wallpaper. Check the wallpaper image and adjust as necessary.


Vibration- Samsung Galaxy Ace Can anyone guide me or advise on how to disable the in-built vibration for holding down on the screen whilst copy/paste to the clipboard?

Have searched in Settings and cannot find it.

I've checked the settings in my devices as I knew I've seen it somewhere.

On my Tabbies with 4.1.1: nothing found.
My Wildfire with 4.0.4 running CyanogenMod 9.1 has it in the Audio/Tone menu as Vibrate on touch
my Milestone 2 (CM7.2/Gingerbread) has it at the same place as haptic feedback
LG Optimus 4X (aka LG-P880) running stock 4.0.3: Again same place, Vibrate on touch

So the location of this setting seems to be quite clear -- but some manufacturers seem to have the setting removed/hidden. If your device belongs to that group, take a look at Spare Parts Plus! (no ads), which offers this setting at the end of its main screen as haptic feedback (the app is free and has no ads).


Any text in desktop and menu is unreadable My girlfriend owns an HTC Desire X running Android 4.1.1 with HTC Sense 4+.

The phone was working fine but suddenly yesterday any text in desktop and menu has become unreadable. Instead of letters (european character, spanish) text is now made of white squares. Something  like having an issue with fonts. You can see a picture below.

My troubleshooting was:

Asked her if she installed any update: she did not install any new app or software update.
Restarted the phone but the issue was still present after reset
As suggested in comments, verified that language is properly set

Today she installed 3 updates: Twitter, Chrome and Dropbox. Suddenly fonts in desktop and menu came back to normal and text is readable again.

Did any of you have similar issue? Any idea what could be the cause?

Had the same problem after rejecting installation of HTC sense keyboard (I chose 'later'). Nothing seemed to help, until after some random opening and closing of apps (specifically, I went to messages) the app-choser had the icons visible again.
Went to settings on this menu, and simply exited settings and the problem was 'solved'. (not really solved of course, I don't know why it occured and it may happen again).

Btw: exactly that one: the HTC desire X!


What is the list of commands to dictate punctuation, capitalization and line breaks? I'm on a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 with Android 4.3.

I would love to become a power user of the dictation feature to dictate text messages and emails. More often than not, however, I have to hand-edit the dictated text not because of text comprehension issues but because of punctuation, capitalization and spacing problems.

These are the "commands" I've found to work. What is the full list?

"period"     --> .   (works fairly reliably)
"comma"      --> ,   (works fairly reliably)
"new line"   --> \n  (works about 50% of the time)

I've not gotten capital or anything like that to work, or acronyms. If you know how it works, please share.

Commands

"New Line" or "Next Line"               Press the enter key once, capitalize next word
"New Paragraph" or "Next Paragraph"     Press the enter key twice, capitalize next word
"Caps <word>"                           Type with an initial capital
"All Caps <word>"                       Type in all uppercase
"Caps On"                               Start typing words with initial capitals
"Caps Off"                              Stop typing words with initial capitals

Punctuations

&                                       "ampersand" or "and sign"
.                                       "period" or "dot"
:                                       "colon"
?                                       "question mark"
!                                       "exclamation point"
,                                       "comma"
=                                       "equal sign"
@                                       "at sign"
/                                       "forward slash" or "slash"
-                                       "hyphen"
'                                       "begin single quote" or "open single quote"
'                                       "end single quote" or "close single quote"
"                                       "begin quote" or "open quote"
"                                       "close quote" or "end quote"
(                                       "left parenthesis" or "open parenthesis"
)                                       "right parenthesis" or "close parenthesis"
%                                       "percent sign"
$                                        "dollar sign"
#                                       "pound sign"
°                                       "degree sign"
:-)                                     "smiley face"
:-(                                     "sad face"


How can I install Skype on my NexusOne phone? I search for Skype in Android Market application and cannot find it. I live in Vietnam.

Skype publish their app directly into specific country's Android Markets, they don't publish it to the "Rest of the world Market", Vietnam doesn't have its own Market, it uses the "Rest of The World Market".

Skype's FAQ says:

  Why can’t I download Skype from the
  Android Market?

  The Android Market only distributes
  applications in certain countries, so
  it’s possible that your location isn’t
  supported. To find a full list of
  supported locations, please visit
  Android Market Developer Help.

  If you live in a country that's not
  listed,  then you can still download
  Skype for your Android phone from
  GetJar.com. Simply search for “Skype”
  and download it for free.


How can I make an Android app "forget" that it installed on my phone before? Some apps, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Tinder, etc., seem to have a mechanism to remember which Android phone installed their app. So if a user is banned on these apps, the next time somebody creates an account on the same Android phone, that account is flagged or even banned automatically.
What is the way to make sure the app forgets that my Android phone was used previously with a banned account? I tried to clear the cache and delete app data, then uninstall the re-install the app, but it still remembers! I tried it on different IP addresses, but the same issue is there.
Does the app have access to the IMEI of the phone!??
I am on Android v10.

tl:dr; addressing OP's question - sorry, no way AFAIK. From Android 10 onwards normal apps can't access IMEI number.
Revised answer with additional inputs from Izzy (thanks)
How do apps (Google or third party) identify you?
Apps identify a device using:

Some or all of device identifiers, mainly Android ID, GSF Android ID, build serial number, and advertising ID. I know of one paid app which tracks IMEI too (before Android 10). It depends on the developer as to how badly they want to identify you and prevent installation of apps. See this excellent write up by Izzy (a moderator here) for more details Android Identifiers: How Android devices and their users are identified. It is rare that an app depends only on one type of identification. I have observed over the last three years that shopping , banking, social media & social media related apps are particularly nasty and use every trick in the book.

In addition to this apps come packaged with trackers and loggers (all utilities which are used to log user activity on an app or logcat in general), which identify the user and their browsing patterns , in addition to fingerprinting user by device identification. These can be used for benign purposes in theory but in practice can extend to key logging features that can track what you type. Have a look at Staggering variety of clandestine trackers found in popular Android apps.

What happens to this data?
Those identifiers are stored on third-party servers (analytics companies and other "big data collectors" such as Facebook, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc.) – so once collected, there's no chance you can delete that. Some offer an opportunity to sign out, but there is no way you can have that data deleted. Even if it is legally possible under GDPR (which I doubt), it is not a trivial task to get this implemented across hundreds of trackers/loggers.
How can I prevent from being tracked/ identified?
Root is a must for full control over this menace (see rooting) That's the unfortunate part. Without root you can only choose apps with care and probably try some hacks which in the long run aren't effective or at best partially useful.

Choose the apps you want to install with care: Up to a degree, apps like TrackerControl or Warden can help. Ideally, you avoid apps including trackers; Exodus Privacy is a good helper for that – and Izzy's app listings use such services to "mark" apps, making it easier for you to sort the wheat from the chaff.

Feed them faked information: This approach is better than denying permissions because it doesn't result in malfunctioning apps or apps that crash. Highly recommend you to use XPrivacyLua being the most effective broad spectrum measure. This requires EdXposed to be installed from Android 8 and above (see the restrictions section to see what can be faked). If you are on earlier versions Xprivacy by the same developer does the job with Xposed. Even XPrivacyLua can't help in instances when the app code is obfuscated.
The Warden app mentioned above can also "nuke" your device, making it free
from trackers and loggers. It also gives you flexibility to tackle apps on individual basis. The Warden App Manager uses a static list of trackers and loggers compiled by French non-profit Exodus Privacy.

While Android has been showing greater concern for privacy and PII information over the last few versions, this problem is not significantly mitigated even in Android 11 (no prizes for guessing why. Google is probably the biggest data aggregator).


Non-root methods to mount USB storage devices From my understanding, one can use StickMount to mount USB Sticks / Thumbdrive. However, StickMount require one to root phone.

So, are there ways that I can mount a USB Sticks / Thumbdrive to a Android phone / tablet without rooting the phone?

This depends on your device. Sone Android devices have USB ports that can work in host mode or support USB OTG. These devices can at least have read access to the USB drives, some can even use them as full mounts. One app that allows read access on a lot of devices is Nexus Media Importer. You can use it to browse media and copy files to internal storage.


Deleting a Whatsapp group chat As an admin, I deleted first all the members of the group, left it and then deleted the group. Can the other members still see the messages?

Yes they can see all those messages, you can see the example here: Example Conversation for those who has been removed from the WhatsApp group. So removing people from the group is not the best way to hide messages.


Log app with reminders I want to log some 1-10 parameters multiple times a day, i.e. mood, energy, hunger etc ...

After two hours of googling, I did not find a simple app that completes the following:

Log multiple things on a scale 1-10
Set multiple reminders during the day

Ideal scenario:

Let's say I set daily reminders at 10:00, 13:00, 19:00, 23:00 for hunger and happiness

at 10:00, I will get a notification/reminder. Upon rolling the screen from the top (to display all notifications), there would be two sliders, one for hunger and one for happiness.

Does this exist?

If not, anyone wanna create one with react native with me?
Will be open sourced, compensated if u wish :)

Thanks in advance for any help!

You can try it with tasker.

Variables can be queried at the desired times and then written to a text file, for example.

If there are actually sliders, you probably need to design your own scene.

My recommendation is to simply try out if you can do with tasker.

To get started, there are countless tutorials. On the homepage there is one 7 days trial version.


File recovery on bootloader unlocked Pixel without flashing I have a first generation Google Pixel the bootloader of which is unlocked and is running stock Pie. I need to recover deleted files on it because a move operation got effed up by ES File Explorer with confusing dialogs. Performing file recovery requires root, but I don't want to install a custom ROM. Is there instead a way I can run one in RAM that is delivered to the device over USB?

Answer is too late but may be helpful for future visitors.

First of all, there are a number of factors which make data recovery impossible, particularly if you keep on using the device. See this answer for more details.

Secondly since you have an unlcked bootloader (but don't want to go with custom ROM), you can flash a custom recovery like TWRP (or boot directly from fastboot) and from there dump your /data partition to a PC using simply dd command or USB Mass Storage (UMS). Then you can apply any data recovery techniques on the partition image e.g. recovering from journal or by carving through sectors.

For detailed steps: How to recover a deleted file from /data partition?


Samsung galaxy s2 bootloader I was trying to install the Ubuntu touch into my Samsung galaxy s2 .. when I entered at the terminal 'adb reboot bootloader' the mobile rebooted but didn't enter the boot loader !! any help please? thanks :)

Hold the volume-down button, the Home button and power button until the phone restarts and don't let go, the bootloader should appear after 10 seconds approx.


Disable contact sync for one Google account - S8 - Android 8 My Samsung Glaxy S8 with Android 8.0 & Samsung Experience 9, is configured with multiple Google accounts. Would like to disable contact sync for only one Google account, while synchronising all Google accounts calendars, including the account with contact sync disabled

Possible?

Yes it is possible. You can choose what items to sync in the account settings. The option might be relocated slightly, but you'll ideally find it at the following location. I'm including a screenshot for reference.

Settings > Users & Accounts > Your Google Account > Account sync.

Here turn off the toggle for Contacts.

Contacts from this account will stop syncing while from all other accounts will continue to sync. The calendar functionality will not be impacted unless you disable that as well.


How to enable debug mode on Sony Xperia V with broken touch screen? My Sony Xperia V touch screen is broken in the right corner. The rest of the screen doesn't respond, but the LCD works fine.

I need to make a full backup, but I can't activate debug mode. Also, Windows can't see the internal or external memory.

Do I have any other options on retrieving my data?

UPDATE: This problem is SOLVED. I got debug mode turned on by using a USB (Female) to Micro USB cable (Male). I connected a regular wireless mouse, and moused it through the settings.

There are several options available for you.

Given you have enabled USB debugging, you can use Droid@Screen to view the android screen on your PC and control it. (So you can get backups through the PC)
You can use an otg adaptor to control your device using a USB mouse. (So that you can use whatever the app you want to back up your device)


What is the synchronization source for the internal clock Using a tool to compare the internal clock of my Android device to internet time servers, I noticed my device is 30 seconds wrong.

So that made me wondering what is the cause of this error. Where does Android gets it time from, so I can adjust or complain there:

I can think of the following sources:

Provided by the cellular network provider.
From GPS.
From a NTP server on the local WIFI network.
A global NTP server (hosted by Google)?

When I go to my Date & time settings, there is option that says: Automatic - Use network-provided values.
So, basing on this wording (also in other languages), I would say that automatic time is provided from your carrier.

There are apps, that can sync your clock with GPS satellites or NTP servers.


How can I display my Android on my PC monitor? I have scoured the Internet and come here as my last hope.

I currently have the Galaxy S4, M919v. I own two 24 inch Samsung monitors.

Is there any method for me to display my Android screen onto one of my monitors?

I want to basically play my Android games, using my Android phone, but have them displayed on my monitors. My 24 inch monitor has the same resolution as my phone, so I figure the graphics should be great.

I am trying to find a WIFI/micro-usb cable solution to this problem without buying any types of additional connectors.

You mentioned in your question that you don't want to buy any additional connectors. Any reason in particular? How unwilling are you to spend money? Resolution isn't going to be the problem, it's latency.

If you're absolutely adverse to paying, try running a VNC server on your phone then connect to it using a VNC viewer program on your computer. Laptop Magazine has a very good walkthrough here: How to Control an Android Device From Your PC. They reference VMLite VNC Server which is $9.99 but you can find other VNC server programs that are free (though several don't look terribly trustworthy, IMO). You're getting what you pay for, however; a cheap wireless solution means input lag. Your games are going to be very hard to play and the experience will be generally poor.

If you can manage a few dollars, then an Micro USB to HDMI MHL Adapter (with 5pin to 11pin Micro USB Adapter for your S4 - be sure to read the fine print!) as referenced in gt7599a's answer is the way to go. $15 (ish) plus an HDMI cable gets you a wired solution with very low latency.

If you want something wireless but are also wanting to be able to actually play games, your best bet is an adapter that takes advantage of the S4's WiFi Direct/Miracast capabilities. That means a Samsung WI-FI All-Share Cast Hub ($55), NETGEAR Push2TV ($60), or similar.

How much is it worth to you?


What kind of power saving smarts does Android already have? I just d/l tasker and it's been really interesting (although not as interesting as I would've liked since I feel a lot of the good features require a root).

I would like to optimize my Galaxy s3 so that it uses less battery power in a way that has minimal effect on my usage.

I have a few suggestions but they seem fairly obvious things so I'm not sure if they are already implemented in the OS and I don't need to create a tasker profile for it.

Turn off 3G when I've got WIFI on. I only need the mobile networks for phone calls when I've got wifi so I would prefer not to have 3G on.
Turn off 3G if i'm in a low signal area - I hear if you're on the edge of 3G connectivity, it'll use lots of power constantly connecting to 3G. Does android have a way to stop that from running the battery down or should I create a tasker profile for it?
Power saving mode on when the screen isn't on. There isn't much the phone needs to do when I'm not using it so are there already processes built into android to turn the CPU down etc. or do I need to create a Tasker profile for it? It can chew up to 25% of my battery life overnight sometimes.

Anyway, do any of those profiles seem worthwhile to do or are they already built in features of android?

Turn off 3G when I've got WIFI on. I only need the mobile networks for phone calls when I've got wifi so I would prefer not to have 3G on.

3G and mobile data are two separate things. When wifi is enabled, mobile data no longer goes through the cellular connection, but it does remain connected to the 3G network (otherwise it couldn't receive calls or SMS/MMS). I know older versions of CyanogenMod included a highly customizable Power Control widget that had options that when wifi is enabled (not necessarily connected), it switches to 2G/EDGE. But there are some downsides with this. Switching from 2G to 3G (and vice versa) require completely losing phone signal as it shuts down the connection and then searches for the other network. In doing this, you are probably looking at at least 30 seconds of being without a signal when this occurs. One very bad thing I can see with this is if you are on a phone call when you enter or leave a wireless network, it will most likely get disconnected and you won't be able to call them back until you are reconnected. In my experience, switching to 2G-only really isn't as big of a battery saver as it was a few years ago. 3G modems have gotten a lot better with power consumption.

  Turn off 3G if i'm in a low signal area - I hear if you're on the edge of 3G connectivity, it'll use lots of power constantly connecting to 3G. Does android have a way to stop that from running the battery down or should I create a tasker profile for it?

You can adjust the preferred networks under the Phone Information section, which can be accessed by typing the following into your dialer *#*#4636#*#* and then going down to the Set Preferred Network Type section. Most likely your phone is on WCMDA Preferred. This seeks out a 3G/HSPA signal and tries to keep it active and only falls back when the signal is really poor. If I remember right, you can set it to GSM/CDMA Auto (PRL) and it will pick the one with the best signal. But I read this a while back and haven't been able to find the reference again.

  Power saving mode on when the screen isn't on. There isn't much the phone needs to do when I'm not using it so are there already processes built into android to turn the CPU down etc. or do I need to create a Tasker profile for it? It can chew up to 25% of my battery life overnight sometimes.

Samsung is the only device that I know of that includes a Power Saving Mode. Android is actually pretty good about being easy on the battery, but apps that we install are typically the culprits of our poor battery life. A device should be in Deep Sleep mode well over half the time it is off the charger (I tend to notice mine around 65%-75% Deep Sleep). This can be checked using CPU Stats. Unfortunately, to get more information about what is causing your problems, you most likely need root. The app I typically recommend to people on the CyanogenMod forum is BetterBatteryStats (which is free on xda for memebers). This will actually tell you exactly what in an app is keeping the device from entering deep sleep. This app may still have some functionality without root, but I've never tested it (I always put a custom ROM on my phone, so I am never using it long without root).

Finding out what apps are keeping your phone from entering Android's low power "Deep Sleep" when the screen is off will save you more on battery than Samsung's Power Saving Mode probably could.

As I mentioned above, Android already does a great job with trying to minimize power consumption. All phones support CPU stepping, which basically will lower the speed of your processor in various steps until it enters the deep sleep mode. The range of the processor speeds vary from device and kernel (3rd-party custom kernels can modify quite a bit). When the screen is turned off, Android automatically tries to enter deep sleep mode. The only way this doesn't happen is if something is holding a wakelock. A wakelock is designed to allow an app to finish something before entering the low power state. This could be anything from sending a text message, to being on a phone call, to syncing email. Ideally, these should only hold wakelocks for as long as needed, but occasionally they get buggy. This is where the above app I mention comes into play. It can determine what apps are holding those wakelocks, and if they are excessive, you can check the settings of the app to try and minimize it or try uninstalling/reinstalling the app to see if it is a glitch or corrupted somehow.

The other option comes with rooting and custom kernels. I give this only as general information. With custom kernels, they can significantly change how the processor operates. Everything from lowering the max speed of the processor, to actually sending less voltage to the processor, to severely limiting how high of speed the processor can get while the screen is off. This is part of the reason why a lot of people run custom kernels. The battery savings from undervolting the processor can be quite substantial. Also, when running a custom ROM, you can remove a lot of the bloat that carriers and/or manufacturers add to the ROM, all of which can increase battery consumption.

That being said, if you are noticing certain apps are using a large amount of battery or hold large wakelocks, but they are system apps, with newer versions of Android, you can still disable those apps (even if you can't remove them). You can do this under Settings -> Apps -> All -> App name -> Disable. If you want to reenable it, it can be found at the bottom of the list alphabetized with all other disabled apps (if any).


How can I install additional audio/video codecs on Android? Does android separate the module between video player and video codec? If so, how do we install more codec to the system?

The video codecs are limited to what is supported by the device. This suggests that the codecs are in firmware and not software codecs like you are used to on the computer. This means you will probably need to use something like Handbrake to convert your videos to the phone. Unless there are in the h264 or 3GP formats that all android phones support.

Reference: Act1 Video Player FAQ


What is the red joystick icon that is on some of the screenshot of Android phones? In some Android screenshots, I see this red joystick icon imposed on other app's screen:

What is this joystick app?

It's Game Genie included in ZenUI for the Asus ZenFone.


How can I tell if my phone is locked? Thanks to a helpful commenter at a previous question, I now know that Starting February 11, 2015, All Four Major US Carriers Will Let You SIM Unlock Your Phone.

But that just raises another question: how do I know if my phone is locked in the first place? Is there some place in the phone's settings menu I can go to determine this, or do I have to get in touch with my carrier and check with their records?

You could try putting another SIM card in your phone and see if it works, if it doesn't, it's locked.


Upgrade version Of Custom Recovery I have CWM already installed on my Android device.  To upgrade my CWM version, do I simply boot into fastboot and cd the new .iso over to my device?  Is it realy that simple?

EDIT -- The new file that I have is an .iso not a .zip so when I boot into CWM it doesn't see the .iso.

2nd Edit ---
I used this command when booted into fastboot to flash my recovery

fastboot flash recovery recovery-clockwork-5.0.2.0-olympus.img

It's even easier than that. Just flash the new recovery from CWM as you would any other flashable zip.


How can I install apps onto my 2nd partition of my SD Card? I created a 2nd partition on my SD card. It has the FAT32 file system. Then I used Link2SD to create the mount scripts. In the settings, I changed the default install location to External. The below summary gives an overview of my storage capacity.

However, when I try to install an app from the Play store, I receive an Insufficient storage error message, despite having 94% free space on my 2nd partition.

How can I install apps directly onto my 2nd partition?

Internal /data (10% Free)
SD Card /mnt/sdcard (72% Free)
SD Card 2nd Part. /data/sdext2 (94% Free)
System /system (15% Free)
Cache /cache (97% Free)

You'd better give up attempting to install apps on a FAT32 volume. Various issues will soon drive you mad. Format the 2nd partition to ext4 before doing anything else.


Google Play Services taking more and more storage I'm using HTC Desire A8181 with Android version 2.2.2. I'm currently running out of free internal space. Besides of some applications growing bigger from release to release, the greatest space consumer is Google Play Services. It is currently using 13,55MB and is automatically upgraded, taking more and more space. Soon I'll be forced to deinstall some of the apps because of that :(

Is there anything I can do with that Google Play Services? For example, can I safely uninstall it, install older version or tell it to move to external storage? My phone has barely 2 years and it's in danger of running unusable, while normally I'm using electronic devices 5 to 10 years...

What Akas refers to is using the Link2SD app, which is "kind of" App2SD, but much more flexible: You can get the entire app moved out (not just parts), and can even move apps you otherwise couldn't. But Akas missed one important part: your device must be rooted in order to use this special way.

As to the other part of your question: Sure you could uninstall the updates of Google Play Services -- but that wouldn't help you in any way, as the app will automatically update itself again. Furthermore, there might be dependencies, as other apps use this service (e.g. Google Play to access the playstore, and others). So newer versions of those apps might rely on newer versions of the Play Services.

Maybe someone digged (or will dig) a little deeper into all those dependencies and what can be done about them. It might end up in using some "legacy apps" -- like e.g. the Legacy Playstore (original post), while the original ones could be frozen/removed. Maybe all this is possible -- it again would require you to root your device, as these apps need to be installed as system apps.

While we all wish our devices might have a long life: if you look at the specs of your two-years-old, and compare it even with todays low-end devices, you will see the difference. And if you compare app sizes from two years ago ("What? 1 MB app size? Too big!") with todays ("Unfortunately, the play store has a limit of 50 MB app size, were we cannot fit our app into"; with my own words the summary of LibreOffice for Android), you see were it goes. And while I fully agree that core services/apps should be kept slim, there's nothing we can do about that...

Enough theory: if your device is rooted, or rooting it is acceptable (and doable) for you: Akas recommendation seems the best way out for you.


How many devices does one purchase of Android app support? I have purchased an app from the Play Store. How many times I can install the same app on different Android devices?

Is there a limit?

There is no limit. From Google Support:

  Downloading previously purchased & downloaded apps

  When you download a paid or free app on Google Play, the app is
  connected to your Google Account, meaning that you get several
  benefits:

  If you get a new device, remove an app to free up space, or reset your
  device, you can reinstall the app without purchasing it again.
  If you have multiple devices, you can install the app on all of your devices
  without purchasing the app again.
  You can quickly find free or paid
  apps that you previously downloaded.


Call app needs long time to start The call app on my Samsung Galaxy Ace takes a really long time to start (about 20 seconds). When it finally starts and I cancel the call and call again, the app launches normally. When I turn off the screen and turn it on again, the app starts again delayed. I was watching the LogCat output, and it gives me this:

07-21 21:11:08.710: D/PowerManagerService(1502): releaseWakeLock flags=0x1 tag=ActivityManager-Launch
07-21 21:11:11.390: D/BatteryService(1502): update start
07-21 21:11:14.703: W/PowerManagerService(1502): Timer 0x3->0x3|0x0
07-21 21:11:21.421: D/BatteryService(1502): update start
07-21 21:11:22.531: W/ActivityManager(1502): Timeout of broadcast BroadcastRecord{407bdff8 android.intent.action.SCREEN_OFF} - receiver=android.os.BinderProxy@40bd2f18, started 20000ms ago
07-21 21:11:22.531: W/ActivityManager(1502): Receiver during timeout: BroadcastFilter{40bf3618 ReceiverList{40bd2f88 23024 com.google.android.youtube/10057 remote:40bd2f18}}
07-21 21:11:22.554: I/Launcher(19091): ACTION_SCREEN_OFF
07-21 21:11:22.578: D/PowerManagerService(1502): acquireWakeLock flags=0x1 tag=GeofencerStateMachine
07-21 21:11:22.578: D/PowerManagerService(1502): releaseWakeLock flags=0x1 tag=GeofencerStateMachine
I think it has something to do with this line:

07-21 21:11:22.531: W/ActivityManager(1502): Timeout of broadcast BroadcastRecord{407bdff8 android.intent.action.SCREEN_OFF} - receiver=android.os.BinderProxy@40bd2f18, started 20000ms ago

but I don't know how to fix it.

I have experienced the same issue on my Galaxy S2(Android version 2.3.5). It was cause by Youtube, not the call app. When I saw the log related to youtube, I tried to start youtube by touching its icon, but it failed to start. You can try to see if you can start youtube now.

Then I went to "Settings/Application/Manage Applications" and found "Youtube". Cleared its data and cache. Now try to start youtube again. If it cannot start, check if you has disabled data sync. Enable it in "Settings/Account and Sync/Background data". Try to sync your data to allow youtube to update. After youtube is updated, it should be ok for the call app to work properly.

Hope this can also fix your problem. Cheers.


galaxy s5 says battery temperature too high too low! help me please. my galaxy s5 won't charge it says the battery temperature is too high or too low. i used to change my battery but when the new battery runs out of life and when i try to charge it, the same problem exist. what can I do? any helps or suggestion please. thank you.

I have an S5 also, I haven't had this problem. I have extra batteries along with an external wall charger.

I use the wall charger to avoid charging my phone. It was $15 on ebay, and it may be a viable workaround and/or solution outside of replacing the motherboard.

These wall chargers will charge your battery no matter what, you can confirm this by looking at the pins on the image below. If the third pin not present, the charger does not check battery stats before charging.

(I consider this a solution, because we'll be taking advantage of the removable battery feature, and the chargers come in packs of three batteries so you'll never be stuck to an outlet again. I recommend labeling each battery with lines around the curved edges.)

Anyway, hope this helps.


how can android keep a TCP connection alive when changing network provider? i'm curious about how android can keep a TCP connection alive while i'm switching from 3G ( mobile data ) to WiFi and viceversa.

i'm asking this after i seen that i had an uninterrupted radio stream thought TuneIn radio.

is that valid only for TuneIn ( via some code workaround ) or it's a cool feature in the Android API calls ?

thanks in advance for any help.

-- my crime is that of curiosity :)

A TCP connection cannot be kept alive during a network change, since you get a new IP address, causing all connections being terminated.

TCP builds upon IP to get the data delivered. If you change networks you also change your public IP address which is used by the TCP connection to let TuneIn deliver data to you.
This invalidates the current connection and forces you to establish a new one.

But there is still a chance of getting an uninterrupted audio stream. The TuneIn app most likely buffers the stream for two or three seconds to compensate for connection hiccups or even a reconnection.


Where does the Fastboot pull the information from? I have a Motorola Xoom MZ601 but which is a GSM Wifi model. 3G on Xoom is not wokring currently. So I tried to debug the problem and when I did Fastboot getVars I got following info

NFOversion-bootloader: 1049
INFOproduct: xoom-cdma
INFOsecure: yes
INFOmodel: MZ600
INFOmemory-info: 0x101:0x5454:0
INFOmid: 001
INFOversion: 0.4
INFOversion-baseband: N_01.100.05P
INFOversion-baseband-2:
INFObattery-status: 64%:7.749V:0.9844A:36.75C
INFOunlocked: yes
INFOiswarrantyvoid: yes
all: Done
finished. total time: 0.946s

Can somebody help me find where does this info come from, as that partition or file may be corrupted.

The device is rooted.

the information comes from the misc partition.. /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/misc

if you dd if=.... of=/sdcard/misc.img then do an adb pull /sdcard/misc.img you will see.. I stuffed up a root and had CDMA crap in there from one of the updates.. now no 3g either :)

but that's where it queries the information from.. doens't do an mdm_ctrl commands to extract it or anything.


Firefox Focus crashes after uninstalling Google WebView I uninstall Android System WebView with adb shell using the following commands.

pm uninstall com.google.android.webview
pm uninstall --user 0 com.google.android.webview

Now, when I launch Firefox Focus and type any website to visit, it crashes and shows the warning, but the normal Firefox Browser works without any issue.

Question: Though Play Store shows "Android WebView is a system component powered by Chrome", does Firefox Focus (FF) depend on that Android WebView? Can FF be run without WebView as normal Firefox?

TL;DR: As of Oct 2018, FireFox Focus now uses the GeckoView engine for rendering

TL;DR: Yes FireFox Focus depends on the Android System WebView with plans to switch to GeckoView when its ready. So NO you can't remove the Android System WebView and expect the app to work (as of Jan 2018).

So Firefox Focus is an open source project:

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android

Looking at the project, there isn't much code there but does pull a library called:

geckoview-latest.arr

From what I can tell from this mailing list post (after following a few links from the main page README):

https://mail.mozilla.org/pipermail/firefox-focus-public/2017-October/000018.html

and this issue:

https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/focus-android/issues/13

states that the team started the Firefox Focus project using Android's WebView while waiting for GeckoView to reach Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1322573

The fact that not everything in the Depends On list is crossed off means that GeckoView is a work in progress.


Copy (duplicate) a file in the OneDrive app I have a PDF I want to duplicate into another folder on the OneDrive app. However, the only way I've been able to make it work is by saving the document, editing it, and then re-uploading onto OneDrive. I want to use OneDrive's built-in PDF editing tool but this just throws a spanner in the works.

I cannot find an option to copy/duplicate a file within the OneDrive app on Android.

Is there a way to copy/duplicate a file in the OneDrive app?

As I cannot add a comment being a starter to this forum, I would like say that I am not sure how to do it other ways, but I am good at Rest API and have done it through this earlier. Let me give you a code for that if you are interested, else give me a comment and I would delete the answer.

  COPY
  https://apis.live.net/v5.0/file.a6b2a7e8f2515e5e.A6B2A7E8F2515E5E!126

  Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN
  Content-Type: application/json

  {
      "destination": "folder.a6b2a7e8f2515e5e.A6B2A7E8F2515E5E!114" }

Also, as you rightly said, there are forums like forums.dev.windows.com where you can ask such questions.


Download files with Chrome for Android Is there a way to download media files directly from the Chrome browser? In the stock Android browser I can long-click a link and select "Save link" to accomplish that, but Chrome doesn't offer that option and opens a media player instead.

In Chrome, keep your finger pressed on the link, and you will see an option "Save Link".
Hence, the file(s) will be saved in the Downloads folder.

To access it and (perhaps) other folders in the future, I recommend downloading a File Management app.

The best ones are said to be ES File Manager and ASTRO File Manager.

While generally, ASTRO is said to be better, the free version has ads.

Your choice!


Downloading to sd card issues Recently bought a Vodafone Smart Mini 7 (VFD-300) running Android version 6.0. Even though I have changed my default write disk to sd card, every time I download an app from play store, it downloads it to internal storage. It is supposed to download to the sd card is it not? Is this a normal issue? its a big issue for me basically rendering my phone useless. I have considered rooting etc but would rather not. Am I missing something?

PS I have searched for the 'move to sdcard' option. it seems to have been removed.

Ok I'll say this for a hundred time that SD card cannot be used for apps as is, you can do that with apps like APPS2SD or link2sd (you'll need root for that), or if you have phone running android 6.0+ you can adopt sd card so it becames like internal storage but you can't use it with other phones until you format it.

Here is how to do it (it says for galaxy s7 but it works with all phones the same way):
http://www.modaco.com/news/android/heres-how-to-configure-adoptable-storage-on-your-s7-s7-edge-r1632/


Is it possible to designate an alternative wifi connection test site? I live in mainland China and uses a Google Pixel bought from Hong Kong. Current system version is 7.1.2. As you might know, Google servers are not accessible in China without the use of VPNs and such. So whenever I connect to a wifi network, my phone tries to connect to Google connection test server, but does not do that via ShadowSocksR (my VPN app) so the test always fails and the phone tells me the wifi has no internet connection, which isn't the case and isn't very helpful either.

So I am wondering, is it possible to designate an alternative connection test site that is accessible within mainland China? I know the one Windows 10 uses (http://www.msftconnecttest.com/redirect) is usable so is there any way I can let my Pixel use it by default?

Yes. Since Android 7.1 the method is a little different (not gonna mention the old method here) - fire up adb shell then use the command settings put global captive_portal_https_url **site domain here**.

In the past g.cn (Google's remaining Chinese domain) worked alright, but since Nougat for better reliability I'm using one hosted by V2EX: captive.v2ex.co/generate_204, so the full command becomes settings put global captive_portal_https_url https://captive.v2ex.co/generate_204.


How to set Now SMS as default SMS app? I have Nexus 7 2013 LTE with Android 4.4.2. I want to set Now SMS as the default SMS app but I have not been successful. After choosing it as the default, the popup is still shown next time I start Now SMS!

Can anyone help me out?

Go to Settings, and under the "Wireless & Networks" section tap More....  There should be an option called Default SMS app.  Tap it, and select the "Now SMS" app.  You should be all set now.

[Edit]:
Apparently, Google deliberately disabled the SMS functionality on cell-enabled Nexus 7 tabs (both 2012 3G and 2013 LTE tablets are impacted) with the 4.4 update. The recommended solution is to flash a custom ROM that re-enables the setting.  Keep in mind that this will require unlocking the bootloader, which may void the warranty.


Linux Deploy on Android 5.0 (Nexus 5): "Configuration file not found!" I used Linux Deploy on Kitkat before and it worked. Now that I updated my Nexus 5 to Lollipop (Chainfire-rooted the device), I installed Linux Deploy again, but whenever I would like to create the disk image or virtually do anything else, I obtain Configuration file not found! or Updating configuration file... fail. I tried various settings, also enabled Wi-Fi while the application is running... no success. Has anyone been able to run Linux Deploy on Android 5.0 or know how I can get the configuration file?

You need to install Busybox to be able to update the configuration file. However, on my Nexus 5, I haven't been able to get past "Updating configuration file ... done" after the fact. It could be incompatibility or some settings need to be tweaked first. I'll report back if I fix it.


How to upgrade Galaxy Nexus from 4.0.1 to 4.0.4 I would like to know how to manually upgrade my Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Android version 4.0.1 to the latest 4.0.4.

I got this phone in Australia and it is currently running the "yakjudv" build rather than the standard "yakju" build. My understanding it that the "yakju" build is the standard one produced by Google and that the "yakjudv" build is one produced by my carrier and hence why I am not getting the standard Google updates.

I am prepared to move to the standard Google build if it is easier.

I think to move to the standard Google build, you have to root your Nexus to bypass the signature verification. Otherwise you can't go to the Google build.
I have a Nexus One and it's the same thing. Before, i can get the Google OTA, i had to root my phone.


How can I search for emails on an IMAP (or exchange) server? Is there an app that can search emails by subject, sender or body text through the IMAP4 protocol?

Alternatively, is there an app that caches the email headers for all messages and searches them locally?

K9 (IMHO the best Mail client for android) currently lacks this feature. If you want this feature, please vote for it without leaving "I want this too comments"

I don't know of any other alternatives.


How to mute notification sounds during a call on Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge? While on a call, if I receive a text message, the notification sound for text message plays during the call. How do I mute the notification sounds for text messages while I'm on a phone call? My device is Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge.

This action in the Samsung Galaxy is controlled by the setting 'Alerts on call'.

It is set from within the default Phone app. After you have opened the Dialer, open Call Settings > Call Alerts > Alerts on call.

Deselect this setting to turn it off.


How to take a picture and uploading it with a comment to Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter? I am coming from the iPhone, and there was using an app called Camera+, which worked well for my workflow. On Android, I am now looking for a way to:

On the go, take pictures, and store them somewhere. (I don't care where they are stored, they could very well be in a private store specific to the app.)
Allow me to go through the picture I took, delete the one I don't like, and for the others, enter a description, and upload them to a combination of Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. I want to just enter the description once, click on checkboxes for Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter to select where the picture will go.

I could do this with the standard Camera/Gallery, with the Flickr and Facebook apps installed, but it requires way to many steps. I'm looking for something simple, that allows for a fast workflow, not for an editing workhouse. Is there any solution out there that would allow me to do this?

One solution would in fact be using a specialized photo app: Fotor for Android. Next to a bunch of features for taking and editing photos, the app description mentions:

  Using Fotor you can easily share your amazing photos with friends and family! Share photos via email, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr, with just one touch.

Which is exactly what you asked for. This app even supports HDR, and much more... So this would be your all-in-one solution. Seems hard to beat...


Galaxy tab 2 10.1 (GT-P5113) stuck on samsung starting screen after update got update screen & clicked on it to update. When it was done it rebooted but is stuck on start up screen that says Samsung

Force shut down the tablet then boot in recovery and delete cache, reboot. should pass now.


What is 'Launcher3' in Android Nougat? I was recently trying Microsoft's Arrow launcher and it was then I saw that the default launcher on my phone is called 'Launcher3'. Its icon resembles 16-bit icon.

From what I read, it is the name of default Google launcher. Is it?

Does my phone why virus or this is the default launcher from Google? I am using Moto G5 Plus.

Launcher3 is the default launcher in AOSP Android, and is the base behind many customized launchers - even Google's own Now Launcher (obsolete) and Pixel Launcher. Some manufacturers would leave the default name and icon in, but customize its appearance and behaviour nonetheless.

If still unsure, verify the package ID using one of the methods listed in this question.


State of VLC for Android / Media Player that plays AVI files Does anyone know where the VLC developers are up to with VLC for Android. Is there a beta out, an APK somewhere?

I'm trying to play an AVI on my HTC Legend, to no avail. If VLC is not ready, does anyone know a media player which will play AVIs (is there more than one codec for AVI types?).

Thanks very much.

Rockplayer has decoders built-in and can play divX files. AVI files are containers - you should also find out what codec has been used for the video. Use a utility like GSpot Codec Information Appliance on your PC to check.

There's also yxPlayer but not too many satisfied users from what I hear although YMMV.


Can I avoid to synchronize videos with Google Photos, I want only pictures to be synced I use Google Photos to synchronize pictures from my smartphone with the cloud. I do not want to synchronize the videos. Is this possible?

In the official Google Photos app, you can't disable backup of videos per se, but you can exclude folders having videos from being backed up. That can be done like this:

In the "Device Storage" view (accessible from the swipe-in sidebar), look for the "cloud" icon to the right of the folder name.
If the Cloud icon is blue with an up arrow on it, backup of that folder is enabled. Tap on the icon to disable backup for that folder.
The Cloud icon should now become white with a slash through it. Congratulations! Backup of a folder has been disabled successfully.
It might happen that your videos are intermixed with your photos, especially if they have been shot on your camera. Move the videos to a separate folder using a file manager app, usually "Videos", and disable backup for that folder from the "Device Storage" view.

This will disable Google Auto-Backup for the selected folders only, leaving the rest unaffected.

Click on image to enlarge

Image Credits @ mobilesiri.com

Source


Missed call alerts when phone busy on another call? I have a Samsung Galaxy Y phone with Gingerbread.

I have just discovered that I do not receive any kind of missed call notifications when my phone is busy on another call.

I am quite shocked as this facility is available even in very cheap, ordinary phones.

How do I fix it? Is it because of some phone settings of mine? or is there an android update? or do I need to install some app? or is the trouble with my network operator?

Go to Settings -> Call settings -> Additional settings and find Call Waiting option (its may be in different address in android 2.3).

Enable Call Waiting it if is not already. If it was already enabled, but you never here beeps or receive notifications when another call happens, I think you should check with or consult your operator.


Andoid App install workaround, country device not valid I have a Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 (P905 with Sim) and the device itself is great, but I do regularly encounter "This app is incompatible with your device." and "This item cannot be installed in your device's country".

I've played around, rooted, revised and corrupted build.prop, reinstalled (cost be £40) all in an attempt to workaround, all to no avail thus far.

Further research has also indicated the issue could be to do with Sim, Camera and other "add-ons" which could give rise to the above restrictions re installation.

My latest endeavour gives rise to this question.

Are these contraints purely related to Google Play Store?
If this is the case, could I not obtain, via download the APK file (my test is for Churchill Solitaire), and install direct without going via Play Store.  Would this circumvent the above issues?
I guess the only real test is to try but before I did I thought I'd ask.

Cheers
PG

Developers may restrict their apps to work only on certain devices, countries, and some versions of Android. But, you can bypass theoe restrictions to install apps that are “not compatible with your device.”

P.S: You should have ROOT access to fool Play Store, but didn't guarantee if the apks will work correctly on your device.

I won't tell you why some apps are not compatible with your device? and on your Android device, Those won’t appear in Play Store search results. You are seeing those incompatible apps on the Google Play website only.

How to bypass device restrictions ?

On your system partition there is a build.prop file storing the device,  brand and manufacturer.

if you have ROOT access device, you can edit the build.prop manually and change your device model and brand entirely. This will allow you to install apps that are marked as compatible with your new spoofed device., the values to be modified are:

ro.product.model
ro.product.brand
ro.product.name
ro.product.device
ro.product.manufacturer
ro.build.fingerprint

Be careful, when dealing with ro.build.Fingerprint

You can simply download Device Spoofer apk from Play Store on your device. Once it’s installed, don't forget ROOT is required; launch the apk and spoof your device to any model available on the list. after rebooting your device, You can then install apps compatible with that new device.

Tricks for Installing Country-Restricted Apps
Some apps are only available in certain countries. If you have forgotten to install your bank’s app before travelling or you want to install a video or music-playing app that’s not available in your country, you may be able to fool Google into thinking your device is actually in another country.

We have used these tricks in the past to install US-only apps from outside the US. However, none of these tricks worked for us when we tried them while composing the article. It’s possible that Google is sure our account is outside the US because we have paid with a non-US payment method on Google Play. However, we have included these tips in the hopes that they may still work for some of you.

How to install country restricted apk?

Just use any VPN apk from Play Store to Install country restricted apks. Use Wi-Fi only when using Play Store, and disable cellular connection with AirPlane Mode.

VPN applications don’t need ROOT access. just restart your device, connect to another country's VPN, and then open the Google Play app. Your device should be located in another country. maybe you need to clear Google Play Store data & cache to detect device’s new country.
Install the App’s APK File
If an app is marked as incompatible because you’re in the wrong country, you may be able to locate the app’s .APK file and sideload it onto your device.

Install apk from unknown sources

On your device, downlaod the APK file you want from sources other than Play Store.
Launch any File Explorer apk and navigate to your downloaded apk (Tick the option "Install from Unknown Sources" on your device Settings)

P.S: Downloading and installing apks from web include many security risks. You shouldn’t download APKs from untrusted sources.


Is there a PDF/eBook Reader like the "Google Playbook"  Tablet? I'm a really big fan of the Google Playbook reader, especially for an Android Tablet. I love the 2 columns and the effect when you go to other page. So I was wondering, is there a PDF/eBook reader with similar functionality as the Google Playbook? Unfortunately Google Playbooks don't allow to import documents in PDF or EPUB format.

There are several apps you might check (ordered best recommendation first):

Moon+ Reader Pro is the best ebook reader I know. Support for the important formats (txt, html, epub, pdf, umd, fb2, chm, zip -- pdf only in the pro, said to be the fastest PDF renderer on Android), plenty libraries pre-configured to download books from (you can add your own sources), great support, and more. Just no DRM (yet; as Adobe didn't answer to the developers requests). My clear recommendation for this one.
Aldiko Book Reader supports epub, PDF, DRM -- and also can access online sources
Mantano Reader supports epub & PDF, available in several versions, supports DRM
GO Book supports epub, txt, umd, pdf and fb2 (DRM/catalogs support: unknown to me)

There are some more on the Playstore, but not all are recommendable (and some may have escaped my notice).


Stock Nexus 5 stuck on Google word on boot My nexus suddenly froze. I was on whatsapp when it happened. A few apps were being (auto) updated in the background and AVG was scanning each app as it finished downloading and updating. I usually don't pay attention to it.. and always, every time AVG scans the app, my keyboard goes down. It's a bit annoying, but nothing major.

Today, after the last app was scanned, (at least I think it was the last one) - instead of my keyboard disappearing, my phone just froze. It wouldn't respond to anything on touch screen and not even to volume/power buttons.

Googling a bit told me to hold both volume buttons, with the power button to do a force restart, as I was out of the option of just taking the battery out.

Now, the phone is stuck on the first start screen - the screen that says 'GOOGLE' and nothing. Usual fix to this seems to be factory reset - I did that. I've got everything I need backed up so don't care about losing data - but that just brings me back to the google screen.

The second screen on recovery mode - the one you get by going to recovery mode and holding power button + press release volume up... I see some errors at the bottom saying

E: failed to mount /cache (No such file or directory)

and a bunch of similar errors.

This is a stock android with latest lollipop (or the latest that's been released to nexus 5) and I have not messed with the phone in any way... So I am understandably a bit disappointed it's got a problem, esp as the phone is less than a year old.

So, Is there a way to fix this please?

Edit: After chatting with google support team and walking through some troubleshooting steps, turned out to be a hardware problem with ROM and I was suggested to contact the seller.. I spoke to amazon and am having to return the phone for a full refund.

Sounds like a hardware problem. Google will support the device even if it was not purchased directly from them, since it's still under warranty. Try contacting them through the options at the upper left of their support page- support.google.com/nexus


Installed Galaxy S3 ROM on Galaxy S2 I installed a ROM meant for Galaxy S3 on my Galaxy S2 phone by mistake and now the phone won't boot.

I can get into Download Mode fine but I can't get to Recovery Mode because the ROM installed a S3 specific recovery as well.

How do I fix it?

Go to Download Mode and flash Galaxy S2 firmware/recovery using heimdall or Odin (over USB). There's no other way.


Is there a way to display Interstate Rest Areas on Google Maps Navigation? I've had several instances where this information would have been useful when navigating w/ Moto Droid, but I haven't been able to figure out a way to get to interstate (USA) rest areas in Google Maps Navigation.  Are they grouped in with something else? Called something else?

I was thinking of suggesting this to Google, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't already there and missing it.

A bit of a hack.

Thanks to an answer in the gis.stackexchange.com, I was able to contact the owner of a web mashup (driven by a google spreadsheet) who created an KML export link.

http://tables.googlelabs.com/exporttable?query=select+col3%2Ccol1%2Ccol2%2Ccol4%2Ccol5%2Ccol6%2Ccol7%2Ccol8%2Ccol9%2Ccol10%2Ccol11%2Ccol12%2Ccol13%2Ccol14%2Ccol15%2Ccol16%2Ccol17%2Ccol18+from+261434+&o=kmllink&g=col17

Copy/Pasting this link into the search box in Google Maps on my droid displayed the rest areas on the map.

There's a limit to the number of points the map will display out the KML, so if you are zoomed out too far, you'll only get a cluster of points.  So make sure you are zoomed in close enough--having a few states visible should still work and be no problem.

When the map points load, the extent changes. I guess it's to the extent of all the points that were loaded from the KML.


Find history of entering and exiting apps on Android I have a Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 running Android. I would like to know whether there is a way to recover the exact history of when one entered and exited an app  during one day.
I have tried this trick, but it does not work.
Do you know any other solution?
Many thanks!

I don't think there is anyway to get this info from Android (at least, I am not aware of it, if it exists).
You have an app alternative, Usage Analyzer: Apps, Data & History, which gives this information and much more information.
It does not give you explicitly exit time but it gives you start time and usage time, and you can add both to get exit time. Chrome usage highlighted in screenshot below

(click to enlarge )
It also gives you day/week app usage details.


How to see Public Holidays via Google calendar on Samsung Galaxy S? I have Galaxy S with Froyo. Use Google calendar a lot to share appointments with colleagues, and via PC can see a calendar called UK Holidays along with colleagues' calendars.
However the calendar on Galaxy S only allows me to add my colleagues' calendars, it does not display UK Holidays. Why is this, and it there a way of changing it?

Can you see the calendar if you go to your Calendar app and open Menu -> More -> Settings -> Calendars? Check that it's enabled there. You could also try to remove/readd the calendar from the PC and then sync your phone again.


Cannot uninstall "GO Security" app No matter what I do, this app won't uninstall or deactivate.

I tried just uninstalling it, then went to phone administrator and tried deactivating it and every time I do, it shuts down my phone.

Any suggestions?

It seems the app is trying to prevent you from disabling the device administrator permission. To get around that, you need to boot into safe mode.
The easiest way to do so is to hold the power button until the shutdown dialog pops up. Then hold the "power off" menu item until a popup appears asking to reboot into safe mode. If that does not work, many devices can also be booted into safe mode by holding the volume up/volume down buttons while booting.

In safe mode only system apps can run. That's why you can safely disable the device administrator and remove the app from there.

Once you're done, simply reboot to leave safe mode and have access to all your apps again.


Constantly asking to reboot My android phone (can give more details if helpful) has started to show a dialog after 1-2 minutes after booting:

Reboot to update network setting?

(My translation, network settings refers to mobile telephone network, not WIFI etc.)
There only is an OK button, and the dialog cannot be closed or ignored. And after rebooting, it shows up again after 1-2 minutes.
The problem showed up after crossing the border into another country.
Does anyone have an idea what the problem might be, and how to get this to stop?

I found out that the last system update had been downloaded, but not installed. After installing it, the error disappeared.


How can I download an MP3 to my phone instead of opening it in a music player? I'm trying to download podcast MP3s to my phone so I can listen to them in my car. Ideally, I'd like to be able to Chrome-to-Phone them from my computer at home, and then choose  to download and play them back from my device once I get in my car.

The problem is that when I send an MP3 URL to my phone, the browser only gives me the option of playing the audio directly in a media player. This is a really poor experience because it can't properly buffer the podcast file for smooth playback and it doesn't seem to allow me to play in the background.

I tried both Download All Files and using ASTRO's "Enable Browser Downloads". The screenshot above was taken with both apps installed. I've also tried using Google Listen to download podcasts, but I can never seem to use that without the download getting corrupted or the app crashing in some way.

Does anyone know what I need to do to be able to download MP3s instead of just playing them back immediately?

Are you able to Chrome-to-Phone a page containing the link to the mp3 you want? If so, Dolphin (and most most every Android browser) will allow you to "save link as" (or similar) when you long-press on it. This will download the file instead of trying to play or stream it.

More cumbersome solutions include downloading the mp3 you want on your PC then transferring via Dropbox or syncing via doubleTwist (or even their AirSync for-pay feature). Doubletwist even has its own built in podcast features much like iTunes. BigCaseyDog's answer about Amazon MP3 would be a very similar alternative to Dropbox.

FWIW, I'm a Pocket Casts fan for the purposes of this very question - I was stuck with the same problem you describe until I fell in love with their download feature, among other things.


Start an app on start up without root I have android lollipop 5.1.1 on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4. I would like to have an app start with my smartphone's boot. It's a call recorder app (automatic call recorder). How can I do that? Is that possible without root?

I found AutoStart on the play store,  it is a free app to start applications automatically.  It has mixed reviews but might do what you want.

Alternatively you can utilize Tasker ($2.99) on the play store.  Open tasker and add a profile (+ icon).  Select "Event" from the list, you will get a popup menu,  select "System", then select "Device Boot". Now select the back arrow in the top left corner.

Now select "New Task +" from the right side of the screen.  Name does not matter,  but I would name it something like "Start App". Press the + icon on the bottom to define your action, then select "App", then "Launch App", now select the applications you want to start on boot.

With the profile you created,  you told tasker "When my device boots" then with the action you created in tasks you told tasker "start this application".

Tasker is a powerful tool to automate actions on android.  It basically works by saying if this happens do that.  I use it to disable my wifi when I'm not connected, kill all my apps and disable auto sync while on the charger and face down in order to speed up charging.  It can be used for many things,  I feel my $3 was well spent on it.


How to remove a song from Google Play Music without removing it from the storage? I recently added a couple of ringtones and notification sounds to my phone by placing them into my storage's Ringtone and Notification directories respectively, and I can select them from the sound settings dialogs without any problem.

The thing is that they also appear as songs on my Google Play Music's playlists, and of course I don't want to hear a 1 second long "jigglypuff!" notification sound every now and then when I'm listening to my music on shuffle.

I did search using Google for a while but it seems that there's no way of either removing the file from just the music database or from excluding those directories from the media search. I recall this didn't happen on an old 4.0 Sony Xperia phone I had with it's music player.

Hello everyone and thank you for your answers, I've finally managed to accomplish this with a very simple solution: The Android media storage service will not index media files inside directories which are hidden (preceded by a "."), but also those which contain a file named ".nomedia", so I just created on all the directories I wanted to exclude and that was it. Hope it helps somebody else.

P.S.

I didn't want to hide the entire directories since they're my phones ringtones and notifications directories and I still want them to be visible to the sound manager to use them, I just don't want them to be seen by Google Play Music.

I found the solution here: http://www.guidingtech.com/15563/hide-certain-files-android-music-player-photo-gallery/


SAR value in ASUS Zenfone 5 When I type *#07# into the dialer on my Asus Zenfone 5, it is not showing the SAR value. This works on other phones. How can I get the SAR value on an Asus Zenfone 5?

The box of my Asus Zenfone 5 (501CG) says

SAR (some chinese characters) 2.0 W/Kg; (some chinese characters again):0.710 W/Kg


Launch AVD manager from command line I'm on Windows 10.
Android studio version 2.3.3

How can I launch the AVD Manager with-out opening the Android Studio and creating a project ?

I remember it was possible for earlier version of Android Studio. I found the avdmanager.bat file in Android\Sdk\tools\bin but running it won't launch the avdmanger UI that we get from the Android Studio.

Anyone here faced the same issue and found a way to launch AVD manager from command line ?

There is no way to launch AVD manager from cmdline (It is deprecated)
There is no way to launch AVD from cmd line. But you can use avdmanager cmdline tool to create, delete, move, list & edit your AVD.
The avdmanager tool is provided in the "Android SDK Coommand-line Tools" package and is located in android-sdk\cmdline-tools\latest\bin\avdmanager.bat
To read more about cmdline avdmanager read this

To launch emulator from cmdline
Add the path first
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\emulator

Your path may be different update accordingly
An then run the cmd
emulator -avd "avd_name"

Reference
Android developers launch avd from cmd line


Is there any way to export game progress made on iPad to the same game on Google Play? I used iPad to play Six-Guns & Siegefall. Is there any way to export my progress to the same game on Google Play? I want it because I've played them for a long time

It depends on the app. Some apps use Facebook or another external server to store everything. Many apps just use the built-in cloud save feature of the device, which cannot be shared between iOS and Android.


How to find the files (.apk) of a certain app like Google Play Services I have a rooted device and I tried the find / -name "*Play*" command and got some files from com.google.android.gms and a couple of Playlists but nothing like Google Play Services.apk
I wonder if it is possible for an app to not have an .apk file and if this is the case is there any chance of finding the files associated with the app from the app name?

You won't need root for that, but can utilize the pm command either on-device from within a terminal, or via adb:
adb shell pm path com.google.android.gms | awk -F':' '{print $2}

will give you the full path including the file name, so you could use that to pull the APK from your device to your computer:
adb pull $(adb shell pm path com.google.android.gms | awk -F':' '{print $2})

To answer the other parts from your question:

every app has an *.apk file. Some might even have multiple ("split APKs").
finding the APK by the (localized) app name is not trivial. You'd have to parse the entire app list to get the package names, use those to get the location of the APK as described above, and then use aapt to extract and match the localized name (I haven't yet found whether and if where Android might store that outside the APK). aapt usually isn't present on-device.


How to load public route into Google Maps? Let's say there is a route:

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=pl&msa=0&msid=104314102588659350539.00043799567b09d5f132f&z=12

I have Google Maps (application) in my Android phone.

QUESTION: how can I load a route (as one above) so I could later turn it on (to see it over the map) and off (not to delete, just to make it disappear from the map)?

I am interested in downloading it (storing) for later off-line usage.

Is this the route you want to take offline in Google Maps app:

How did I take it to Google Maps app? Well, I opened this question in Dolphin Browser and tapped the link you provided. It gave me Share via.. pop-up from which I chose Maps. Done!

To push links to Android device, you don't need to publish it on web. There are plenty of options available viz. AirDroid. You can use Gmail too. In Android device, just open that link in web browser.

If Share via.. pop-up doesn't appear with your web browser, it means that its not tightly integrated with Android. I'd recommend you to use Dolphin Browser because I have tested it.

To make it offline, just hit Options key & you'll find Make available offline option...

To later use this map, just tap Layers icon on top bar (on bottom bar in ICS) & choose the route:

Note: I've put screenshots from a Gingerbread device. My ICS device is currently not available. If you're running ICS or above, it'll be slightly different.


Difference between Accelerometer, Orientation sensors used in Android devices Android phones have sensors. I heard about following sensors but there is need to identify difference (or different use) between following terms:

Accelerometer
Orientation
Auto-Rotation
G-sensor & Gravity sensor

From above which deals with auto-rotation of screen and what are other different specific use of them

The only "real" sensor there is the accelerometer. The other 3 are actually synthetic; the device uses the data from it's accelerometer to find "up" and down" (relative to the ground) and magnetometer to identify which direction is "north". From those pieces of information it is possible for the device to know it's absolute 3-dimensional orientation relative to the Earth. Your best bet is to read the explanation of the sensors provided for Android developers.


Removing white transparent space caused by Google Search Bar on the home screen after disabling Google app I would like to know how to remove this artifact of the Google Search Bar after disabling the Google app.

Possibly there is a search bar toggle in settings somewhere?

That's the Google Search widget, but since you disabled it, it looks like a gray bar.
Just long press on it then you should be able to remove it as you would do with other widgets.

Check this video out on how to do it: https://youtu.be/Vn07c-5XcdM


droid explorer device not found I have an Xperia Z C6606 rooted

Android version 4.3

I have tried both 4.3 and 7 Android SDK.

I kept getting the error message "device '' not found" as shown in the below screenshot.

Please replace the platform tools API 23 file size 9 MB and remove the previous one. And remaining the same.

Your device will be visible.


History of files sent over Bluetooth? Does Android keep a history of the files sent via Bluetooth? I didn't see anything like that in the user interface (there's a log of received files, but not sent ones), but maybe there's a hidden log file  somewhere?
I need to check past activity. Installing an app to start logging this now won't help me.

Go to settings and turn on bluetooth. Click menu button and you will see the option Show received files. Alternatively every files sent via bluetooth will be stored in a folder named bluetooth in storage (if the files are not moved).


One of my Whatsapp voice notes saved is not starting with PTT; what does it mean Whether whatsapp voice message be saved other than name starting with PTT; if so what does it mean...why its not stored with the mobile number details along with it; I deleted one of my contact; I have a voice note; but its not starting with PTT; its a alphanumeric number; and I could not find the mobile number associated..

It's more likely that voice note wasn't created as as  push to talk (PTT) message via WhatsApp in which case it normally starts with PTTxxxxx, rather this voice note was created with a device recorder hence starts with alphanumeric number.

I noticed my voice recorder names all recorded audios with in a number format to confirm this. Hence its still recognised snd plays well on your device. Perhaps they sent you an audio created by a native voice recorder not via WhatsApp.


How can I control my phone remotely? As a new Android user, this question has had me thinking quite a while. Is it possible to create an app or is there an app available that will do the following;

Remote access to your device
Impossible to remove from your phone (rooting, flashing, w/e)
Turn your phone into 'Lost Mode' and make sure it can only be used remotely and disables all but the useful services to find your phone (camera, gps, etc)

OR

Impossible to remove from your phone (even after reinstall, etc)
Remains in the background whilst the person is using your phone as theirs (stolen, swiped and reinstalled)

Google's Android Device Manager service can do all of that apart from the remote control, though unless your phone has a new enough OS to have it installed by default (instead of pulled down as part of the Google Services updates) it's difficult to remove rather than impossible.

Find your lost phone with Android Device manager
Remotely lock Android devices


How Android Device Manager working? I got one article about Android Device manager for find losing your Android device, either to theft or your own forgetfulness. The Link

How its ringing my mobile and giving correct location in map. its may cause any privacy issue?? or they may stole my data???

The Android Device Manager application has access to many device permissions. Some of those allow it enable GPS capabilities in order to find out the device's current location.  Once you enable it on your phone, you can log into ADM's web site, and provided your device currently has Internet connectivity, you can send a request to your phone to retrieve this information and send it to Google's servers.  Google then displays see this information on a live map.

As described in the Help section of ADM's website, you can also choose to provide the phone number to dial once you lock the device remotely (it can be any number that you currently have access to.)  This information is then sent to the phone, and is displayed on the lock screen with a dial button.

You can also choose to wipe your device, in which case Google will remotely instruct the ADM app that is installed on your device to perform a full factory reset (including wiping the contents of removable storage.)

In terms of privacy issues, it's definitely a trade-off.  By using apps like Android Device Manager (there are plenty of alternatives as well,) you are trusting that application's developers with your location data.  In return there is a small chance that you will be able to retrieve a lost or stolen phone, or at the very least erase your private data off of it.  In this case you place your trust in Google, since they are developing ADM.


What are the differences between: LauncherPro "Keep in memory" and "Lock home in memory." LauncherPro has an option for "Keep in memory".
CyanogenMod settings has an option for "Lock home in memory".

How do these work? Do they conflict with each other? What problems might they cause? The CM version seems to work better, but causes other apps to shut down.

I keep them both enabled, but I have tried them each individually and the CM option works much better.  The fact that it "causes other apps to shut down" is the whole point.  Android keeps the memory filled at all times and ends tasks on demand when more memory is needed.  It is supposed to be pretty smart and know, based on your usage, which apps to give priority to but if you are multi-tasking and the phone needs more memory it may kill LauncherPro causing it to to reload from scratch when you hit the home button.  The option to keep it in memory gives it a higher priority so when Android tries to free up some memory it kills something else.


Importing photos finds all image files, not just camera pictures When trying to import photos from my Galaxy S2 in Windows, it tries to import all image files on the phone (including application data), not just those in DCIM.

The system is Android 4.0.3. The phone is set to connect as a camera (but Windows Explorer can still see the full directory structure on the phone and SD card.)

Probable answer by guessing what you are doing: If all those unwanted pictures are also displayed in the galery, and you use some "media-importing-software" (as opposed to just copying files in explorer yourself):

This importing software is probably contacting your Android device's media server for "media of the type image", so it gets all images returned the media service knows about. No big help up to this, but: You can tell the media service to exclude directories from its library by placing an empty file named .nomedia there (the leading dot is essential in the file name!). As soon as the media scanner finds that file, the entire directory it resides in (including all subdirectories) is skipped. If there are any pictures, videos or sound files, they won't show up in the galery (but you still can access them via a file browser if you want), and the media service will not even know they exist. So the next time it is asked for "all media of type image", those files won't be mentioned.


Which system files are safe to delete? I got only 160MB internal storage out of which 100MB is reserved by android operating system.

Which System files and folders are safe to delete?

For example:

de, fr, es and it files in /system/tts/lang_pico/  seems useless
/cust/hw/es folder seems uselss
As I have moved many of my application to SD Card, many folders in /mnt/asec seems useless

So which files/folders of Android system are safe to delete so that I can make more space for applications

Not a description of all system files that can be removed but the Cyanogen Barebones page gives a pretty good description of which system applications can be removed and how. This may help you clear out some space.
Details here:
http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/index.php?title=Barebones


Gear vr galaxy s6 edge plus I have a Samsung Galaxy s6 edge plus from Verizon but I'm currently using it on page plus unlimited plan I recently bought a Samsung gear vr oculus headset and after I place the phone in it nothing happens what can I do thanks.

Is the phone's software up to date? You need to have the oculus/gear vr system processes running for the phone to register gear vr.


Alternative Lockscreen with Fingerprints Is there a way to use the fingerprint sensor on my Samsung Galaxy s6 with a costum lockscreen like AcDisplay(no root)?

You can use it on CM Locker. They said. And it will be compatible to S5 next month, but it's supported by S6.


What is the difference between unmanaged vs managed in-app product? What is the difference between a "managed in-app product" and an in-app product that is not managed?

The short answer is that managed items are items that can only be purchased once per user and that Google Play keeps track of their purchase, unmanaged items aren't tracked by Google Play and they can be purchased multiple times.
A fuller description is given in Google's In-app Billing Version 2:

Managed per user account — Items that can be purchased only once per
user account on Google Play. When a user purchases an item that uses
the "managed per user account" product type, Google Play permanently
stores the transaction information for each item on a per-user basis.
This enables you to later query Google Play to restore the state of
the items a specific user has purchased. If a user attempts to
purchase a managed item that has already been purchased, Google Play
prevents the user from purchasing the item again and displays an "Item
already purchased" error.
The "managed" product type is useful if you are selling items such as
game levels or application features. These items are not transient and
usually need to be restored whenever a user reinstalls your
application, wipes the data on their device, or installs your
application on a new device.
Unmanaged — Items that do not have their transaction information
stored on Google Play. This means that you cannot later query Google
Play to retrieve transaction information for those items. For
"unmanaged" purchases, you are responsible for managing the
transaction information. Also, Google Play does not attempt to prevent
the user from purchasing an item multiple times if it uses the
"unmanaged" product type. It's up to you to control how many times an
unmanaged item can be purchased.
The "unmanaged" product type is
useful if you are selling consumable items, such as fuel or magic
spells. These items are consumed within your application and are
usually purchased multiple times.

Note that only version 2 of the in-app billing deals with both managed and unmanaged, version 3 only deals with the managed in-app product type.


How does hibernating an app work technically? I was wondering how hibernating of an app works technically.

I know about freezing an app (shell pm disable com.mypackage.name),
but this also hides the app icon from launcher. I want to know how Greenify App works. It disables the app from running in background until I launch it again and then when I exit from that app, Greenify automatically hibernates it.

So my question is how does it do that?

This is a citation from excellent explanation by lioux on XDA:

Greenify uses the Android command am to stop an app and applies this command again if the app is awakened by any action whatsoever. That's what hibernating means. Hibernated app will no longer start during phone boot, respond to registered intents or be triggered by alarms from the system. Everything it does is temporary. The am command does not touch the installed files or any configuration information.


Where is my original Galaxy S task manager? When I bought my i9000, there was a task manager kind of thing on the home screen which showed a memory status bar and the number of processes, and when I touched it it showed details of all process and active applications. I deleted it but changed my mind. How can I get that widget back?

long press the home screen, select samsung widgets--> select program monitor


Asphalt career performance isn't synced between my PC and Android phone I am playing asphalt 8 airbone on my pc which runs on windows 8.1 pro and on my android smartphone. I connected Asphalt 8 with my same facebook account but it doesn't show same career performance, my car pack, etc. Help me out with this.

According to Ryan from Gameloft, writing on the Touch Arcade iOS forum, Asphalt 8: Airborne doesn't sync save games between different platforms:-

  no, Asphalt 8 doesn't have cross-platform save functions. You won't be able to play on an iOS device and then load that progress on an Android device.

He's writing about iOS and Android, but it's easy to see why the same would apply to Android and Windows too.