How does the emulator get connected to the internet? I want to know the secret behind how my emulator gets connected to the internet. No matter whether I connect my netbook to the internet through wireless, wired or mobile broadband connection, my emulator does not indicate what type is my connection to the internet. It shows bars just like in phones/tablets to indicate the signal strength (as though a sim has been inserted!) in the notification area on the top edge.

The emulator (gingerbread) is not connected to wi-fi. (I don't recall whether it does not have a wi-fi enabling option or just that I haven't enabled it) So there is no icon next to the time display near the right top corner showing that I'm connected to wi-fi! Yet it gets wi-fi internet on the emulator when I online via wi-fi!

I find this curious. So I want to know what's behind the scenes. For instance is there some communication between the hardware network driver and the emulator network driver by any chance?

The emulator is a program on your computer like any other. The program can connect to the Internet in just the same way Firefox can. In particular, this means it makes no difference what kind of connection the host is using.

From inside the emulator, there's a 'fake' network driver. It appears to Android like a mobile Internet connection, but instead of communicating with a cellular modem, it's actually using the usual network API of your host OS to send and receive data, just like Firefox. It also does emulator-specific things like simulating packet loss.


Make google searches and "Ok, google" open in broswer, not Google "App" Is it possible to change my settings so that the results to me asking a question through "Ok, google" or typing on the search bar in my home screen, open in my default browser instead of the Google "App"?

I dislike how the Google App isn't actually an app in the sense that I can't open it through the recent applications shortcut, and the broswer-like window isn't actually saved in memory anywhere for me to go back to if I switch out after a search. Additionally it doesn't allow me to filter search results by date, etc. like a normal Google search does.

You need to open Google app. Then go to Settings > Accounts & privacy > Open web pages in the Google app.

Turn the above toggle off and you can open the web pages from search result in your choice of browser. You are forced to install Chrome before but once that's done, any browser will handle the webpage to display the results.

For results:

I'm not sure of an alternative to the Ok Google. But for the widget or search bar at the homescreen, it is better to use the search widget from Chrome or Firefox instead of relying on the Google app widget. In that case, your search (not just webpages) will entirely open in your browser.


Lenovo Vibe K5 Note USB connection issue Whenever I connect my mobile to Laptop I'm not able to view mass Storage option. Instead of that only getting "Lenovo CD" option which includes USBdrivers and other Lenovo softwares. (MTP option is already enabled). Current Android Version: marshmallow 6.0

Ive found 2 ways to solve this problem.

Goto C:/Windows/INF and search for wpdmtp.inf & right click and install it.
Turn on safe mode in yor phone and then connect it to pc then remove safe mode.


Automatically install new applications on SD card How can I do this? My phone's internal memory is low, yet Android (2.3.3) still deems it fit to attempt installations of files in the phone memory, I haven't found any option for this in the settings.

Edit : Turned out, it was Facebook's contact syncing. I recommend you back up your contacts on your SD card, and clear the data from the "Contact Storage" app in your settings.

You can check your phone's internal settings to ensure that it is set to install apps on the SD card by default, and set it to do that if not.

You'll need ADB available on your PC, which is part of the Android SDK.

Download and install the SDK, and switch on USB debugging in your phone's settings.

Then, with the Android SDK installed, and your phone connected via USB with the USB Debugging mode switched on, enter the following commands:

adb devices

(check that ADB can see my phone, and start necessary services)

adb shell

(connects a shell to the phone)

pm getInstallLocation

(this tells us what you're currently set to. 0 = Auto, 1 = internal memory, 2 = SD Card)

pm setInstallLocation 2

(sets the default install location to SD card)

pm getInstallLocation

(run again to check that it is now set to the correct location])

exit

Safely Remove Hardware, unplug phone and all done, without any need for root!

(Instructions a combination of these previous answers)


How to watch lectures in Adobe Connect app when I can't find Flash 11.2 for Samsung Galaxy S4 running Android 5.0.1? I want to watch prerecorded Adobe connect lectures on my Samsung Galaxy S4 running Android 5.0.1.
The problem: when I try to play them through a browser (I have tried Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin, and the default browser on android) and through the Adobe Connect app I downloaded from the Play Store, I'm told every time that:

Adobe Connect requires Flash Player 11.2 or above.
Adobe Connect requires the Flash Player plugin, version 11.2 or above.  Please download and install the Flash Player to continue.

I have successfully gotten Flash 11.1 on my phone, thanks to a tutorial I found through Google search using the Dolphin browser. Obviously, that is not 11.2. I did search Google on how to get 11.2 on Android but I could not find anything useful. From Adobe's official site it's not compatible with my device.
Specifically, I want to watch lectures like COP1000 Lectures
Fall 2013 (but for the upcoming semester - same concept)
I  have even tried adding a link from that page to the Adobe connect app but with no luck.
If there is anyone who can help me in any way get access to these lectures on my phone that would be amazing. Even if it means finding a way to convert the lectures to an mp4 or other video format. (I tried searching that on Google too)

Puffin Browser. I'm able to watch the Adobe connect lectures for school (as mentioned in the post). Puffin seems pretty fast and impressive with flash.


How can I open data/data/com.termux/files I am unable to access com.termux/files folder. I want to access it because I want to do a change in writer.js files.

I tried cd.. and cd - codes to go back to files folder from home folder.

In order to get to the Termux files folder, you have to CD to the entire path name like this.

cd /data/data/com.termux/files

From there can cd into the usr folder and where ever you want to go. Once you find writer.js you can edit it using nano which comes with Termux. Enter nano writer.js, make your edits and the use CTRL O to save it and CTRL X to exit nano.

Then you can get back to your home directory with:

cd ~


Is there a way to sort apps in Google's app store by size? Is there a way to sort apps in Google's app store by size? I would like to know what are the heaviest apps and the lightest apps from a search result. For example, to search for a lightweight RSS reader.

I don't know of any third-party app or site that does this. I did look around a few months ago and found nothing, but something might have come up since then.

However, if the reason you're looking for this feature is because of limited app space, AppBrain (both the app and the website) has a feature to view only apps with App2SD enabled.


How to restore (mobile) data usage? I've an S3 and until yesterday I've PACMAN ROM running - previous: Paranoid Android

I made a Nandroid backup, in using titanium backup but I've forgotten to save my mobile data usage.

Now I'm searching for an way to get it back (without restore the backup, if possible)
Is there any absolute path to a file?

This time the correct approach, hopefully:

XDA mentions the stats being located in /data/system/netstats/* (the statistic data you are looking for) and /data/system/netpolicy.xml (configuration of the applications that have restricted reference data).


Where does Google Tasks tasks arrived from? I recently installed Google Tasks and was surprised to find tasks and lists over there. I haven't used Google Tasks on the web (or from gmail) either.

Those were old tasks/notes taken around 3-6 years ago.
I checked my Google keep, Google reminders/assistant and Gmail (which are the platforms I use and used for reminders/notes/lists) and haven't found any origin for them.(I rarely delete, I always archive, so if it existed in one of them it should've been found).

Where did they arrived from?

By beeshyams' advice is I searched in my Google activity for phrases and tasks I had in the list, but I only found them in the search history, and not in any kind of task/list/note app.

Examples:

Google tasks has been since long, but only in Gmail. Here is a 2009 article explaining it.
I guess it came around the same time probably. There wasn't a separate app for it back then. It was just a chat-type window popup in the bottom of your gmail screen. Check the old Gmail, the tasks' list comes from the drop down in the top left (circled red)


Dual SIM standby -- data and calls on different SIMs I wanna ask about Dual SIM standby 4G phones, particularly Lenovo P70 if that makes a difference.

If I have two SIMs: (A) with a call and SMS tariff, (B) with LTE data.

If I browse the internet on (B) and someone calls me on (A), will I be notified of the call? And if so, when I answer the call, will I disconnect from the internet?

As far as phone calls are concerned, when you use SIM1 for a phone call, SIM  2 will be unavailable to receive calls or messages. Anybody that tries to call, the call will not go through.

As far as Data connection is concerned, when you use SIM1 for Data, and you get a call on SIM2, data connection is automatically put on hold, and will continue when the call on SIM1 is finished.


How can I maintain stable/smooth performance permanently on a Nexus 7 2012 (wifi) [grouper/nakasi]? After a day to a few days, the n7's performance will degrade sharply to the point where a reboot is necessary for the device to function properly.

I've tried numerous ROMs, a few kernels, tweaking CPU governors (mainly just to performance) yet no matter what I try it will work great for a while but if I let it sit idle for a day or so load times for doing anything jump up to unacceptably slow levels.

By unacceptably slow I mean on the order of magnitude of 10 times longer than normal or more. UI elements and the UI itself are often unresponsive to very slow and even when it catches up to the first command (ie home button), the next command still takes just as long (ie loading an app).

This is a single user device and has very few apps and fewer running. There is always lots of free ram usually 50% or so.

Right now it's running lollipop (ART) but no difference.

Is there something I can do so I don't have to reboot every day?

How can I diagnose what component(s) specifically need the reboot to begin functioning normally again?

I set up auto fstrim with Device Control [root] and after a few weeks have not seen the same degradation I was seeing before. I am running CM12 lollipop nightlies.

You can set it up in Extras >Filesystem :


Battery backup is not good after the CM12 update on Micromax Yureka After updating to Lollipop CM12, my Yu Yureka is not giving not even 7 hours backup in balance mode. On KitKat CM11, it was giving 1.5 days backup in balance mode.

Is there a way to increase the battery life?

If you are rooted, there are many apps and tools available to help you see which apps are killing your battery.

I have found Wakelock Detector to be very useful.


How can I do a screen recording on the S3? I need to record my screen as I'm using a specific app to show the issues showing up that a developer is  unable to replicate.  How can I achieve this? Is screen recording even possible on Android?

OS: 4.1

Most screen recording applications require rooting your phone, unfortunately.

You can try EASY screen recorder NO ROOT (paid version here): it is the most well-rated screen recording application that does not need root I am aware of.

A few other applications:


How do I exclude a subfolder in DCIM from Google Photos backup? I set Google Photos to automatically back up pictures and videos I take and nothing else. I use an Xperia phone and it comes with a feature to take "Time Shift" photo which is essentially just a series of rapidly taken pictures. It's stored under the "XPERIA" folder inside "DCIM". The problem is it doesn't show up in the setting to exclude folders. And it also gets uploaded to Google Photos, so I'm often flooded with pictures (remember, it's multiple rapidly taken photos) that I don't really need backed up. I can't move the folder either as it is hard coded into the Xperia's system.

I managed this by creating a .nomedia file in the subfolder. In your case I think this should be

  - DCIM
    - XPERIA
      - .nomedia

I used ES File Explorer File Manager to create the file but I think you can use the native file explorer if you copy an existing text file and rename it.

The .nomedia tells the android media scanner to ignore the folder which stops Google Photo from showing or uploading any files.

A side-effect of this is that most apps will no longer be able to view files in the subfolder.

If you still wanted easy access to the time shift photos you could either install a gallery app that ignores the .nomedia file or set up a Tasker profile to watch the subfolder and move new files outside of the DCIM folder (e.g. Pictures folder?).


Is it possible to install the Google Keyboard on 4.1.1? I have a HTC Desire X running 4.1.1. I want to use the google keyboard - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.inputmethod.latin - but I get a device incompatibility and the playstore doesn't allow me to install it.

I found an APK here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2312179 - there is a link there to v3.0.19423.1102675a.

I was wondering if there is any harm in trying to install the keyboard through the APK - anyone tried it. Keyboards are the first thing you use to interact with the system - so I am worried if something goes wrong, I may not even be able to uninstall it or something.

My phone is working on 4.1.1 and I downloaded and installed the application, it worked fine. No problems at all. XDA seems to be a reliable source. I used it to type this answer and I'm going to uninstall it as I have paid version of SwiftKey.

I'll post a comment whether it uninstalls or not.


What happens with updates for purchased apps after the associated Google account is removed? I've recently bought a new phone for my brother and I'd like to install my previously purchased apps on his device. I'm trying to understand: If I add my Google account (temporarily) on top of his account to install those purchased apps on his device, and then remove it (for privacy reasons), will those apps on his device get future updates via Play Store even without my account?

To add a bit of context, I'm trying to do this for Tasker and a bunch of automation apps I bought last week. Once I install Tasker on his phone and remove my Google account (which was used to purchase Tasker), will Tasker get future updates whenever the developer releases them, just like other apps on his device?

Also, Is there a way to transfer ownership of purchased apps from one Google account to another Google account?, For now, I'm using a newly created Google account to make and transfer purchases across all my devices (Unfortunately, this is not the case with the situation in question).

Any thoughts are appreciated, Thanks!

All apps you've bought via your Google account are bound to that. Not only they cannot be updated without your account then (which is where they're bound to), but some of them will even stop working if you remove the account (those which use Google License Check to verify a valid license whenever you start them).

And no, there's no way of transferring ownership from one account to another. Though it would be technically possible, Google is not offering that.


Turn down app volume in Lollipop while not in app? In Lollipop the volume buttons seem to be context sensitive.  In some apps the volume buttons adjust ringer volume, while in others it adjusts app volume.  This usually works well, but I often want to turn app volume down before I open an app with sound to avoid disturbing those around me.

Is there a way to force the application volume down without being in a "app volume context" for lack of a better word?

The only way I'm aware of to set media volume outside of an app is to go into the Settings. Specifically, Settings → Sound & notification should give you separate sliders for each of the available volume channels. You'll want to turn down the top one ("Media volume").

On some custom ROMs it may be possible to do this slightly differently. Older versions of CyanogenMod had an option to expand the volume slider overlay, so you could hit the volume button and then manually adjust the appropriate slider from the overlay without having to go into your settings. Other ROMs may include something similar, but I cannot state definitively any that do.

As an aside: I'm not sure that this is unique to Lollipop. I believe it's been like this for a while (as long as I can remember, anyway).


MMS (send & recieve) stopped working last month on Moto X I'm trying to debug an issue with my wife's Moto X:
she sends/receives SMS (individual texts) just fine, but MMS (photos & group texts) fail to send or receive.

Details

Moto X (v1) running 4.4.4
Used to work, and stopped sometime in November
I've tried switching from Messaging to Messenger to see if it was related to the client app and it made no difference, so I assume the problem is

Any ideas for what to try next? Have you heard of this before? I Googled a bit but couldn't find something quite like this.

Thanks!

Aha!

I just saw the answer to this question and it turns out to be the same thing. Somehow she (or our daughter) turned off her Mobile Data. Turning it on fixed the problem!


How do I hide the SSID of an Android phone? I sometimes use my phone as an ad-hoc WiFi network, however there is no option in the settings to hide its SSID. How can I achieve this?

You cannot hide AP SSID (stop SSID broadcasting or beaconing) through Android API.

SSID hiding depends on the kernel/WiFi-driver that you have on your phone. Only a few drivers (devices) support this feature. Also, a few drivers support monitor mode. Vendor-drivers have closed source which makes it difficult to add these features to them. See bcmon project for example.

Android API allows you to connect to the network with specific SSID (it may be hidden) programmatically. You should know network SSID and password (see this link about WifiConfiguration class and hiddenSSID, this link about WifiManager class, and these Stack Overflow answers: programmatically create WiFi Configurations, connect to a specific WiFi network).


Prevent bloatware which gets reinstalled from starting I had a problem with this app (I found on a package with the same name on Google Play, but I doubt it's the same thing) which kept getting installed all by itself again and again, and once istalled, it would start using my limited 3G internet traffic. My phone is not rooted and installing apps from unknown sources is forbidden. A scan with Malwarebytes doesn't detect anything.

From this I deduced that the offending app is somehow bundled by the manufacturer, so I won't be able to get rid of it without rooting (which I don't plan to do). Since uninstalling it didn't help as the app would get reinstalled, I figured I strip it of all permissions and forbid it to use background data. So far this solves my immediate problem with 3G traffic consumption.

However, I see that the app still gets started, consuming RAM (second entry in the list on a freshly booted phone, right after "Android OS") and creating storage data and cache objects. Is there anything I can do to prevent the app from getting started?

Edit: I have tried adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 com.freshmenu which indeed removes the package, but it gets reinstalled after a while. I have tried to search for installer in adb shell pm list packages -i com.freshmenu, and it's indeed set to null, so I could not discover the offender responsible for reinstalling. I have run adb shell dumpsys package to discover which apps have REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES permission. There are 4 of them, and they don't look suspicious:

com.whatsapp (installer=com.android.vending)
android (installer=null)
com.google.android.apps.docs (installer=com.android.vending)
com.android.chrome (installer=com.android.vending)

There are 5 more apps having INSTALL_PACKAGES permission:

com.android.vending (installer=com.android.vending)
android (installer=null)
com.mediatek.datatransfer (installer=null)
com.google.android.packageinstaller (installer=null)
com.android.managedprovisioning (installer=null)

After a rather long exchange in the comments, it was discovered that installing a dummy package with the same name as the bloatware helps, by making the bloatware installation silently fail.

@Firelord was nice enough to make a dummy package for me, future readers could make their own packages with Tasker + Tasker App Factory plugin. Those who don't need Tasker and don't want to pay for it should be able to grab a 7-day free trial here.


Youtube Offline Data I like to use Youtube Offline videos because my location often has no connection. But lately I've added too much and it says not enough space. I don't want to delete them. Is there a way I can transfer videos into my computer? Or somehow add more storage space? Thanks (Samsung Tab)

Since those downloaded video files are in the .exo format, even if you do manage to transfer them to PC (which I don't think is too easy either), You cannot usually change a file extension (like the EXO file extension) to one that your computer recognizes and expect the newly renamed file to be usable.

Having said that, you may want to try few options mentioned in this link.

And since those download files are stored on to internal storage of your device, most likely to something similar to below path:

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

And, you will not be able to move those to additional extra space such as sd-card.

Remember, for offline feature, YouTube controls access to the offline file.

The permission is controlled on their server per account basis, to access those downloaded files.


How can I stop an application from updating itself? Not to be confused with applications auto updates.

I have this application as an APK file, once I install the application and choose open it starts working perfectly yet it starts downloading a newest version of itself which I dont want to for a certain reason.

The application is a full screen IPTV application. It runs on an Android box. It can be rooted as it's version 4.2.2. The application has no menus or option, it's not available on the store nor it has a specific name.

Disabling the "Uknown Sources" is not a good solution as I would have the "install blocked" message popping up every two minutes or less since the application does NOT give up on trying to update itself.

Obviously disabling the Internet access is not a solution.

Is there any solution that does not require modifying the APK file itself? I know nothing about Java development and it is impossible for me to modify the source code unless it can be modified to achieve my goal using a for-dummies software like APK Editor

Maybe you can use an app such as Network Connections which has live capture capabilities to find the IP of the update server your app is accessing.

You can then add an entry to iptables to drop the connections to that IP.

For the changes to persist across reboots you'd need a kernel with init support. So you'd have to check that out as well and instal custom one if needed.

PS: I want to make clear that I have no real experience with actually trying any of it and that my answer is just put together from answers I found on other questions on Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange. In particular, this one and this one.


Logcat not working on my LG G4 (H815) I can't read the logcat from my phone. As an Android Developer, this is terrible for me. The message that I'm getting is:

logcat read failure

Looking the sources, it seems like a generic error:

Code from the source (Github, logcat.cpp)

while (!g_maxCount || (g_printCount < g_maxCount)) {
    struct log_msg log_msg;
    log_device_t* d;
    int ret = android_logger_list_read(logger_list, &log_msg);

    if (ret == 0) {
        logcat_panic(false, "read: unexpected EOF!\n");
    }

    if (ret < 0) {
        if (ret == -EAGAIN) {
            break;
        }

        if (ret == -EIO) {
            logcat_panic(false, "read: unexpected EOF!\n");
        }
        if (ret == -EINVAL) {
            logcat_panic(false, "read: unexpected length.\n");
        }
        logcat_panic(false, "logcat read failure");
    }

My phone is rooted and has the bootloader unlocked. I'm using stock kernel. I've no clues. Any ideas, something to try?

Thanks in advance

Are you using a custom rom ?
I have the same problem, here is how I solved it partially:
Download this:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Mx2p0Jd24Jcm9fNEV6d0xDV1E/view

Put this file to root/system/bin an rename it to logd. Attribut -rwxr-xr-x (755) an reboot your Phone. After that logging works.
This file has been deleted because it consumes a lot of battery.
After logging, rename the file in logd.xxx and restart your phone. Thereafter, the battery consumption is reduced again.

More Description
http://forum.xda-developers.com/g4/help/guide-disable-logd-process-battery-drain-t3308921#post65168793

then download a logcat reader app from playstore.
Unfortunately, logcat from computer still don't work :( I'm still searching a solution for logcat from computer


Enable/disable navbar NO REBOOT I am using Linage 16 and there I have got enable navbar setting. I want to enable navbar using Tasker program. I have read some info here: Enable On-screen navigation in CM12 (Lollipop) using shell? . But I still don't understand how to make it.

This is interesting haven't tested this thoroughly but you can try this;

  Tasker now has WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission to the Manifest.
  Hence it is now easier to control device Secure/Global settings
  without needing an additional plug-in such as AutoTools or SecureTask.

You can enable this new permission by issuing the following command via ADB (important):

adb shell pm grant net.dinglisch.android.taskerm android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Now the business end you, since you want to use the Java function proceed as follows:

We need to call,

cr = CONTEXT.getContentResolver();
Settings.Secure.putInt(context.getContentResolver(),
Settings.Secure.DEV_FORCE_SHOW_NAVBAR, 1);)

As usual create a task to this this, name it accordingly.

The following actions are found under Code → Java function

A1: Java Function [ Return:cr Class Or Object:CONTEXT Function:getContentResolver {ContentResolver} ()

A2: Java Function [  Class Or Object:Secure Function:putInt{boolean} (ContentResolver, String, int) Param(ContentResolver): cr Param(string):dev_force_show_navbar Param:(int):1

Save and execute task to test

However I would have preferred a simpler route with run shell (Tasker) or adb:

A1: Code Run shell [Command: settings put secure dev_force_show_navbar 1 Tick Use root]

or

adb shell settings put secure dev_force_show_navbar 1


Access Samsung Galaxy S4 storage and SD card directly I bought a Samsung Galaxy S4 a while ago. One annoying difference compared to my previous Android device that I've noticed on S4 is that I cannot access the internal storage and SD card directly by plugging the phone into the USB port of my computer (I use a Macbook Pro with OS X 10.6). It seems that I need a Mac app called Kies developed by Samsung to access the storage and SD card on my Galaxy, which is very inconvenient.

May I know if there is any way that I can access the storage and SD card on my Galaxy S4 directly, as if from a USB flash drive? I was able to do this with my previous Android device. Thank you!

I found this potential solution.  It says to download SG USB Mass Storage Enabler to enable this mode.


How i can protect my android from Master Key Vulneralability? When i install apps ,that i take from my friends , it seems quite fishy , so how to check that the apps are trusted or not.

You can check whether your device is affected using e.g. Bluebox Security Scanner.

To close the vulnerability, your device needs root access. If that pre-condition is given, there are different fixes available, e.g.

Master Key dual fix (a module for the xposed-framework)
Master-Key Security Patch (again a module for Xposed)
ReKey (a stand-alone app)


Dialer Apps crash after a few seconds, 4.4, almost new phone, no modifications As titled. Two week old Sony Z3 Compact, running 4.4. Not flashed/rooted. Plenty of apps installed. I'm very new to Android, so I have no idea how to go about troubleshooting this issue, and could use some advice. It's a new phone and I can't make calls. I'd like to avoid the wipe everything and start again approach I've seen elsewhere online.

Thanks

If you can, try to go to Settings -> Applications -> All
applications and find your Dialer app (usually called dialer). Then
delete data and reboot your phone. That should fix issues coming
directly from the dialer app itself.
If other applications like
Contacts or Messages (Hangouts) crash then some databases inside
your phone (eg. contacts.db) are corrupt or have wrong permissions
associated with them.

Rooting and then fixing permissions manually may solve the problem if the first option didn't do it.


Moto X 2nd gen. randomly goes into Priority Mode I own Moto X 2nd gen. and it goes into priority mode automatically. It is very annoying because the priority mode switches of my WiFi and reduces the phones ringtone volume.

About phone (click the image for its larger variant)

Uninstall Battery Doctor

I figured out why this is happening. It's the Battery Doctor which turns off my Wifi and put my phone in priority mode.

I tested 3-4 times, when I enable (start) Battery Doctor, the issue was reproduced and when I forcefully stopped it, phone works properly.


What's the easiest way to paste my current address or zip-code into a web field in my browser? Many web services have you dump your zip code (e.g. radio station locators) or address (for bus directions) into some fields on a form to give you information.  Obtaining this data seems tedious (go to Google maps...current location...remember the address...type it back in) or otherwise impossible (get current zip-code while on the highway).

Is there some easy way to copy an address or zip code string to paste it later?

Install Clipper. From Google Maps, share your current location & choose Clipper from the menu. Or, if you've Copy to Clipboard or AndMade Share Pro installed, you can just Copy to Clipboard (Clipper monitors clipboard). Or, if you've location in mind, you can enter it in Clipper manually.

Whenever you need to paste an address or zip code, just pull down notification to launch Clipper. From Clipper, tap desired item to copy it to clipboard. Now, don't ask how to paste. Cheers!


Is it possible to install a higher Android version on a phone and have it still running smoothly? I have an LG Optimus One P500 phone which has an official update limited to Android Gingerbread 2.2.3. But I've heard of people installing ICS custom ROMS on their phone even though officially it is not supported.

My phone has the following specifications:

CPU: 600MHz
RAM: 512MB
Current OS: Gingerbread (runs very smoothly with no lags for any tasks)

So I'm just trying to find out what are the minimum requirements for ICS and whether a phone will continue to function as smoothly as it did for Gingerbread.

The minimum requirements should be something around 800+ MHz CPU and 256+ RAM/ROM. That should be for a stock ICS ROM. Custom ROMs on the other side, are developed for a specific device, so their minimum requirements may be different. This can be achieved by enhancing the ROM to be able to get almost the same features (or more depending on the custom ROM) as the stock ICS.

The downside of custom ROMs is that not all go as smooth as a stock ROM, since many of them have several core items modified and under certain circumstances they might fail (or don't response in a good manner).

If your phone is rooted and you have a custom recovery, I would suggest you do a nandroid backup to save the state of the phone as it is right now and give it a try to a custom ROM. If you find the custom ROM doesn't meet your expectations, you can restore the nandroid backup and recover your previous phone ROM.

For those who aren't familiar with nandroid backup, it creates an image of the entire phone (like Norton Ghost or Clonezilla), so if you mess something up you can recover your phone from that image.


Where is data of Google Play Services located in device? Can I safely delete it? Just noticed that data in internal storage for Google Play Services app grew above 100Mib, so this app is officially a space hog now.
So my questions are:

What is the exact location for Google Play Services data? (for backing up)
Can I safely delete Google Play Services data and let the app recreate it?
What might I lose if I delete Google Play Services data unsafely?

What is exact location for Google Play Services data?

Package name of Google Play Services is com.google.android.gms.

Default data directory of apps is under /data/data, and for Play Services, it is /data/data/com.google.android.gms.

Note that you can't simply copy-paste it into anywhere. To peek into data directory of an app you would need root access. Fortunately, for non-root devices, Play Services allows its backup using adb.

After installing ADB, enter this command in a shell:

adb backup -apk com.google.android.gms

This will save the backup in the file backup.ab located in the current directory.

To restore that backup, enter this command from the same current directory:

adb restore backup.ab

  Can I safely delete Google Play Services data and let app recreate it?

By safely, if you mean clearing data from Settings → Apps→ Downloaded → Google Play Services, then you're good to go.

In Android 4.4.2 and 5.0.2, you don't get the straight option named Clear Data. Instead you get Manage space. Follow the screenshots:

(Click image to enlarge; hover to know details)

However, in Android 4.2.1, there was no Manage Space but Clear Data. Perhaps, the former option is Android version specific and not app specific.

Doing adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gms is also safe, at least, my Play Store, and Gmail (both ridiculously dependent on Play Services) worked fine after executing both steps independently.

The data recreated too.

  What I might lose if I delete Google Play Services data unsafely?

I don't know what unsafely would mean here other than purging the app directory of Play Services without uninstalling it, so I can't comment on it.

Anyhow, the front-end of Play Services is named Google Settings, the core of Google Apps, whose icon you would see in your app drawer. Simply open it, and the entries you would see  are possibly responsible for the data collection of Play Services. And as I said above, the dependent apps worked fine without a hitch, so this app's data isn't something I would worry about. Your case may vary, so dig deeper into this app's GUI.


Retaining applications and settings when flashing custom ROMs The one thing that's been keeping me from flashing a custom Jelly Bean ROM on my Verizon Galaxy S3 (SCH-I535) is the fact that, unlike OTA updates, when I update my phone with a custom ROM, I'll lose all of my apps and settings.

I don't want to have to reinstall and reconfigure all of my apps every time a new version of Android comes out.

What options are out there for backing up and restoring applications and application settings between custom ROMs?

Synopsis
Titanium Backup, is the most popular tool for everybody, not just for ROM Flashers, its for everybody, due to a large number of features such as:

Backing up user apps and their data
All backups are saved on the SD-Card (really, I should be calling this external storage to future proof this answer as SD-Card readers are in favour of getting dropped)
The capability to store up to fifty backups
Extract data from a CWM recovery image (via CWM's backup within recovery)
Freeze an app, and put it into a state of "suspension" such that, it gets removed from the app drawer temporarily.
Schedule backups on a regular automatic basis or via a widget, and by tapping on the widget, Titanium Backup will perform the backup.
There's far too much that you can do with it.

What is this Titanium Backup you speak of, in plain english?
Think of this as a "Time Machine" application, where a backup is instigated, to backup user applications and their application data, and then can "revert" back in case of unforseen circumstances or... playing Angry Birds, and got to a euphoric state of delight in getting the high score, and decided to backup Angry Birds and the high-score data in place, "just in case" a foul-up is made.
The tool is often used heavily by ROM flashers, have AOSP Gingerbread, decide to go to AOSP JB, backup the apps etc, flash the new AOSP JB, and restore the apps.
Astute readers will point out a vital step that I left out, where does the Titanium Backup come from then, The answer is quite simple, every time there's a new update to the Titanium Backup in which Google Play automatically updates, first things first, instinctively, always, I do the following,

Launch Titanium Backup
Hit 'Menu', tap on 'More'
Finally, tap on 'Create "update.zip"'
Select 'TitaniumBackup-w.x.y.zip' under the heading titled, 'Select the name of the output file:' (Latest version, is 5.6.0)
The zip file is created and saved onto the /sdcard/TitaniumBackup-5.6.0.zip, so, its' just a matter of adb pull on that file, unzip it, and install on to a newly flashed ROM, for example, in this case, AOSP JB, via the adb install method.

Then from there, after installing it, Titanium Backup will simply re-load the archived information about the backups already in place on the SD-Card.
The full information wiki can be found here on the developer's website, if any further information is required. Also take a look at our titanium tag.


how to toggle oem unlock from fastboot? i have flashed a new rom , nano gapps , a new firmware(which i think may be corrupt and have created problems),so now i see the oneplus logo for almost 500ms and then black screen appears though i can boot into fastboot mode but not into TWRP.
Main problem is I don`t have enabled oem unlock from developer option as i have just flashed a new ROM.So,i just need a method to toggle oem unlock further all things can be done by me.

company OnePlus
model OnePlus 2

Just try these fastboot commands:-

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem unlock-go
//To Toggle
adb reboot bootloader
fastboot oem lock-go


open messages to a contact at bottom of list When I open my messages list with a contact (I presume this is the same across all androids, and not my htc legend) it has the message history with that contact...if you have just received a message from them, the new message is at the bottom and you always have to scroll to it...is there a way to make it so that the new message is focused? or that newer messages are in view by default or by sorting?

Edit
Seems to be a HTC Sense messages app bug...Anyone with HTC Sense not have this problem?

HTC provided the Froyo (2.2) update for my phone for my carrier which I've now installed and it is no longer a problem. Furthermore, the messaging app in 2.2 is a lot better than 2.1, so happy user all round here.


Samsung Firmware Modifying! As i'm working as a mobile software technician, alot of times i need to unpack some odin firmwares to add or remove some files, maybe adding some languages which isn't available in the firmware, then i repack it again so i can flash it with odin, i need to understand Samsung firmware structure, i need to know how exactly the system works, for example: I747 is an US phone, which comes with only 3 languages, if i want to add some other languages to it's firmware, then i need to understand the CSC tree first, so i can edit it and add the desired languages pack, i've been searching around for some tutorials about that but i couldn't find any, i know how to unpack and repack odin files, but as i said, i need to understand the system.

XDA is the go-to site for you

This link at XDA Samsung Firmware Naming Convention would give you an insight into the conventions followed for PDA,CSC and Phone, Region Codes,
Year, Month, Revision codes and other useful references

Depending upon the models you repair, you could search XDA for modem related info including collection of modems for different regions
Guide on repackaging firmware
Samsung Firmware Version Number
Samsung Firmware Code Reference
Editing CSC file
Phone Info Samsung is a great tool to help you with many things related to Samsung phones. Quoting from the developers thread it would help you with

  SAMSUNG SPECIFIC:

Phone Colour (Samsung specific)
CSC Product Code (Samsung specific)
CSC Sales Code (Samsung specific)
Country Region (Samsung specific)
RIL Serial Number (Samsung specific)
PDA Version (Samsung specific)
CSC Version (Samsung specific)
Changelist (Samsung specific)
Country of Origin ★ (Samsung specific)
Phone Manufacturing Date ★ (Samsung specific)
Knox Warranty Void ★ (Samsung specific)

  OTHER INFO:

Manufacturer
Phone Model
Device Name
Product Name
IMEI
Serial No
Bootloader Version
Baseband Version
Kernel Version
Build Number
Build Description
Fingerprint
Build Date
Android Version
Mobile Operator Name/Mobile Network Code
Total RAM, Screen size and resolution, Battery capacity and health


How do I begin to troubleshoot aCal? I'm running aCal on my Samsung Galaxy S / Gingerbread and it isn't updating. Adding events pushes them out to my CalDAV server, but I don't see any events.

In aLogcat I see an awful lot of errors:

  W/ActivityManager(  110): Permission Denial: broadcasting Intent {
  act=android.appwidget.action.APPWIDGET_UPDATE (has extras) } from
  com.morphoss.acal (pid=11107, uid=10003) requires null due to receiver
  com.android.settings/com.android.settings.widget.SettingsAppWidgetProvider

and

  E/aCal DavParserFactory(14157): IO Exception when parsing XML

I can't figure out how much of this is aCal, how much is my phone, and how much is bad data from my CalDAV server (Chandler Hub)

I'm having similar issues on a Kindle Fire with iCloud. One quirky workaround is to open Settings | Servers and disable your server(s). Then re-enable them. That seems to force an update.

Edit:
a) Not sure about all calendars.b) Right, it's a workaround, not a fix. But it address your questions:

"I can't figure out how much of this is aCal,"
Likely most of it, aCal being the one common element in both our observations.

"*how much is my phone, *"Less likely, for the same reason.

"*and how much is bad data from my CalDAV server (Chandler Hub) *"Ditto.


Does Titanium Backup's update.zip restore all apps AND data? I was unable to find clear documentation of what goes into an update.zip created by TB.

Can I use TB's update.zip to restore all of the apps along with their data?  If I understand correctly, this would enable me to flash a new ROM with full wipe, then restore all the apps at the push of a button.  Do I understand correctly?

No, the update.zip does not restore all your apps. The purpose of this is to allow you to install Titanium Backup as a user or system app while in the recovery bootloader. You would wipe your phone, then install a custom rom (as usual), and afterwards would install Titanium Backup.

This is to greatly simplify restoring your system data. Normally, you would have to boot the new rom, sign into the google play app, download TB, then run a restore. This way, you can simply open TB as soon as you boot and restore everything, including your google accounts and wifi passwords.


What is the /cache partition? What purpose does the /cache partition in Android serve? Are there any cases where clearing the /cache partition could result in lost data?

/cache partition is mostly for saving the downloads from Google Play Store, found in /cache/downloads. It also can hold the recovery log found in /cache/recovery called last_log as well (this holds any errors and/or diagnostics from the recovery binary a lá CWM or stock, which will get logged in the file to aid debugging and development of the recovery binary).

There is also another directory in there called lost+found which holds any recovered files (if any) as a result of file-system corruption, such as incorrectly removing the SDcard without un-mounting it.

So really, there is no loss of data from clearing it.

In fact, upon Android boot-up, the script will clear out the /cache/downloads to make way for any new downloads/updates from Google Play Store.


Control Android with broken screen from PC My rooted Galaxy Nexus has a broken screen. How can I use my PC (ie, via ADB) to control the phone?

androidscreencast would be the ideal solution, but its keyboard/mouse control feature does not work in Jelly Bean. Perhaps someone knows why and we can patch the code? (see: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/androidscreencast/BAeW5iG55FI/ebTFodV-BZsJ)

Installing a VNC server is another, but for the love of me I can't get it to work. Eg, using Droid VNC Server, I install the apk, and am supposed to execute /data/data/org.onaips.vnc/files/androidvncserver but there is no files directory inside org.onaips.vnc (instructions from here: https://github.com/oNaiPs/droid-VNC-server/issues/14). VMLite is another VNC server that can be started with a special Windows utility (and doesn't need root!) but it's not OSS so I can't get the apk in order to install (Google Play is not pushing apps to my phone prob because I disabled some service--let me know if I can force Google Play to update itself from ADB or install the app). fastdroid-vnc is a binary (not apk) and it runs fine via shell, but something is broken and it shows nothing.

What are my options? Let's make this a community wiki, to help anyone who's broken their screen!

adbcontrol can do this. It opens a window containing the phone screen on your computer, so you can use it when the phone screen is broken, and you can click and type in the window to control the phone. To install adbcontrol do:

wget http://marian.schedenig.name/wp-content/uploads/adbcontrol.zip
unzip adbcontrol.zip

Now edit config.properties and change:

adbCommand=/your/path/to/adb
localImageFilePath=/home/youruser/adbcontrol_screenshot.png

Save config.properties and run java -jar adbcontrol.jar which will open a window to remote control your phone. Make sure that adb works (adb shell opens a shell), and that the phone is awake so the screen is on (even if it's cracked/broken) otherwise you'll just get a black window.


Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution Is there any way to disable autostart apps at boot time? I need to disable some of them (not all) like Facebook, etc to get quicker boot time. I'm asking how to do this on Android 9.0.

Without getting into the details whether or not one  should stop autostarting apps, and what  could be the consequences as discussed in a plenty of other answers, here are my simple solutions which may work without any third party apps, at least on Android Pie.

ROOT SOLUTION:

Apps use BroadcastRceivers to listen for broadcast ACTION_BOOT_COMPLETED so that they can run on boot. Broadcast receiver is an app component that can be disabled with root privileges.

Using Package Manager list all broadcast receivers listening for BOOT_COMPLETED:

~# pm query-receivers --components -a android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED

It will give a list of broadcast receivers in format package_name/component_name. See dumpsys activity broadcast-stats and dumpsys activity broadcasts for more details.

Now to disable a component:

~# pm disable <package/component>

There are apps like Autostarts (com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts) and SD Maid (eu.thedarken.sdm) which can do same for you. File /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml can also be edited directly to disable apps or their components, but it's not recommended.
It's possible to disable multiple broadcast receivers of an app, and a single receiver can also possibly listen to multiple types of broadcast events.

NON-ROOT SOLUTION: (non-universal)

In order to receive android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED, apps need android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED which is a normal permission and hence can't be revoked by user.

However there is a hidden permission management framework, named AppOps that provides a slightly more fine-grained control of (permission-like) operations. OP_BOOT_COMPLETED is one of those but it's not a part of AOSP, only added by some custom ROMs like LineageOS. If you are on one of such ROMs, you can control the autostart behavior through adb shell:

~$ appops set <package> BOOT_COMPLETED deny

Now the app won't be allowed to receive BOOT_COMPLETED broadcast. There are apps like App Ops (rikka.appops) which can do same for you. Some custom ROMs have built-in front-ends to AppOps with different names like Privacy Guard, AutoStart Manager etc.

Please note that AppOps:

  is not generally intended for third party application developers; most features are only available to system applications

So its usage without root may be disallowed or get harder in next Android releases.

Both of the above methods can stop apps from starting on boot only. An app can listen for some other broadcast events too and it can keep on restarting if killed, or run in background continuously (as a service) if it's designed to be so. See dumpsys activity services for more details.

A slightly different approach would be to stop apps from running in background by using OP_RUN_IN_BACKGROUND (introduced in Nougat) and/or RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND (introduced in Pie) which are part of AOSP:

~$ appops set <package> RUN_IN_BACKGROUND deny

They don't have an equivalent manifest permission, but there is an experimental permission with same name.


Disable threaded email in Gmail app How can I disable threaded email in the default gmail app on my s3 android.... I would like to see each individual email instead of all the threads mashed together.

At the moment the Gmail app doesn't support normal email views, only the conversation view is available.

As a workaround I believe you can open your gmail account to allow pop3 access, and then you can use the default email application, instead of the gmail application.


How do I move apps from my phone to tablet? I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 Active. My daughter just got a Dragon Touch tablet for Christmas, but we don't have wifi. I want to move the games that I've downloaded on my phone for her onto her tablet. She's six years old and driving me crazy wanting some games on this tablet. I moved the apps from my phone's device storage to a mini sd card. However, when I put the sd card into the tablet it is not showing the apps. The tablet shows that the appropriate amount of space is used on the SD card, but I can't seem to figure out how to open the apps or transfer them from the sd card to the tablet. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? Or am I trying to do something that just is not possible? Clearly I don't know a whole lot about technology. Please help.

Your Galaxy S5 Active should be able to create a Wi-Fi network, and share its own cellular data.  This is usually referred to as "tethering", or "mobile hotspot".  The settings are different for various Android devices, and sometimes are a paid feature (or may be missing completely) depending on the carrier.

Generally, on Samsung devices like your S5 Active you can find it under Settings -> Connections -> Tethering & Wi-Fi hotspot.  You can activate and configure it there, and then use your daughter's tablet to connect to the newly created Wi-Fi and access Google Play Store, or other app stores (like Amazon, for example.)  Here is a video that shows how to find the settings.


Any way to kill a crashed app on a non-rooted CM11s device? Every once in a while, I find my phone battery draining unusually quickly, and the 3rd-party "OS Monitor" tool shows some app running in the background, using lots of CPU when it's not supposed to. Sometimes, it's a music app actually playing audible music in the background, despite no evidence that the app is running - no notifications, and nothing in the recent apps list. Invariably, if I open the app info screen and click "Force Stop," it does nothing at all.

Certainly an enthusiast-friendly, developer-friendly system like CM has some way to kill a frozen app... right? Without rooting my phone, is there anything I can do other than rebooting when this happens?

Edit

Settings > Apps > Running

Once here, you can manually kill the app's processes. Also, there is a button at the top called "Show Cached Processes". You can also remove the cached processes from there.

Note: Removing the cached processes will kill the (cached) process of course, but the next time you launch the app, it will again call the necessary initialization functions to work, using more clock cycles. It is preferred not to kill the cached processes. But if you there is an app that's behaving weird, then go ahead and kill it!

Original Comment

open the app and hold press the back button... it should kill the app... also, why not disable the app that's draining your battery?


Can any computer connect to a SSH server running on an android phone connected to a wireless mobile network? I run a ssh server on an Android phone using SimpleSSHD.

When the phone is connected to a wifi network, I can connect to the SSH server from a computer in the same wifi network.

When  the phone is connected to a carrier's wireless mobile network, I found an IP address on the android phone in "Settings-> About Phone -> Status". How can I find out if the IP address is a public IP address for the phone's network interface, or shared by many devices in the same LAN? Can any computer connected to the Internet connect to the SSH server using the phone's IP address?
It seems that I can't, and I was wondering why?

$ ssh -p 2222 11.22.333.444
ssh: connect to host 11.22.333.444 port 2222: Connection timed out

Thanks.

For running a SSH server on a Smartphone connected via mobile data to the Internet you need a public IP address on the mobile network interface.

You can simple check if your IP is a public one: Enable mobile data and disable Wifi on your phone and check the IP address you have (Phone status in Android settings). If the IP address starts with 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x it is obviously a private IP address. If not open your web browser on the phone and go to https://www.whatismyip.com. Compare the IP address shown there with the one one in your phone settings. If they match your IP is a public one.

Unless you have a special mobile data plan, the majority of mobile network operators (MSO) will not assign your device a public IP address. Instead you are getting a private IP address that needs to pass a NAT gateway running in the MNO's network. The main reason for this situation is that the IPv4 addresses are rare - most MNOs don't have enough IPv4 addresses to assign every mobile device a public IPv4 address.

Some MNO offer special data plans with a public IP address - usually only for business customers and with higher prices.

The whole situation is similar to a Smartphone connected to a Wifi in a network with a NAT router that is connected via DSL/cable to the Internet. But in difference the NAT router is not accessible so that nobody can open up ports (port forwarding) to make a service accessible running on a system in the network behind the NAT router.


there is an internal problem with your device When I install my custom kernel i got this message after reboot.
The phone working normal no kernel panic or etc.

system/build.prop

vendor/build.prop

https://github.com/LineageOS/android_vendor_lineage/commit/27180809c594cf6beeaeb206cced6fa42c086517 apparently that commit fixes it I have the same issue on a phone I made a kernel for, which I don't own.  Will know sometime tomorrow if it works.


VLC speed play in Android app In VLC player there is a "faster" and "slower" button that makes the video go faster or slower so that if you need to learn something (for example a guitar solo) you can slow it down a bit or if someone is talking too slow in a documentary you can speed it up a bit.

Does anyone know any Android app that does the same? I have a couple of documentaries that I need to speed up on my tablet and it's driving me nuts that I cant do it.

I have tried these apps so far:

VLC (neon)
[UPDATE: VLC does support playback speed adjustment by now.  (See
answer below.)]
MX player
Poweramp
and a couple others

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

VLC for Android supports playback speed regulation up to 4.0x, with audio pitch adjustment (optional).

The setting is under ⋮ ( Advanced Options).

Image source: https://wiki.videolan.org/Documentation:Android/#Video_playback_interface


My apps can't save my input or choice in android 6.0.1, how to fix it? I'm using Nexus5, it's original version is 4.x, later on I upgraded it to 5.0(Lollipop) and recently I updated my system to 6.0.1, via internal upgrade mechanism. But I found a serious problem. Many apps can't store cache inputs now. Which works fine on my 4.x era before.

There is a background I need to mention, as I'm in China, many of my apps are download from local apps market, but not google play market.

Here is an issue description about using a food-ordering apps in my mobile.
At the final step of a food-ordering, I got to choose my current address.
Then I was prompted into a single page-view where I can choose between all my addresses.
After I finished choosing, I was redirect back to the order main-page.
But there I found my address-choosing behavior was not saved.

Three of my frequently used apps has this issue.
Even after I uninstalled them and reinstalled them later won't fix the issue.

Yesterday I downloaded another film app, but I stuck in the login page, every time I typed my infos and press OK. After a flash, It redirect me to the login page again. It drives me crazy. I opened all permissions for it, restart my phone, but still I was stuck at the infinite login loop.

All those apps I mentioned above has hundreds of millions of users in China. I believed they have considered the compatibility with 6.0 version.
So I'm wondering something may went wrong during my upgrade.

Does anybody have any idea about this issue? How to fix it? (It's the best if the solution doesn't require to reinstall my system manually.)

PS: I just did another upgrade to 2016.08 patch for my mobile. And hilarious things happened. When I opened my shadowsocks app, the system requires my to verify the connection permission for it. I chose OK on my screen. Nothing happened, shadowsocks didn't start proxying. I touch the button again, the same require permission screen pops up. I tried it for 5 times. Can't start my shadowsocks, it seems after this upgrading, the system pops-up can't save my choice/input, either.

It's not the answer you were looking for but what I would do if I were in your shoes would be to install the latest TWRP (assuming you rooted) and download the latest "hammerhead" for Nexus 5 (GSM/LTE) 6.0.1 (M4B30X, Oct 2016).

After you get the .zip, unpack it to a folder. You'll see

bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img
radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img
image-hammerhead-m4b30x.zip
flast-all.bat

Unpack that enclosed zip as well to get:

boot.img
cache.img
system.img
userdata.img
recovery.img

Edit flash-all.bat to something like this:

@ECHO OFF

::PATH=%PATH%;"%SYSTEMROOT%\System32"
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul
fastboot flash radio radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul

fastboot erase boot
fastboot flash boot boot.img

fastboot erase cache
fastboot flash cache cache.img

fastboot erase system
fastboot flash system system.img

fastboot erase userdata
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img

::fastboot flash recovery twrp.img     // this one if rooted
::fastboot flash recovery recovery.img // this one if not rooted

echo Press any key to exit...

You mentioned you flashed a factory image before so I ommited the information about how to set up and use fastboot.exe but the details can be found here: https://developers.google.com/android/images

I don't know that this will fix your cache issue but it is a more complete flash method than running the stock flash-all.bat.


When making calls the screen turns off I have Karbonn A9, Android 2.3.6.

When making calls the screen turns off and comes on pressing the power button. But sometimes it fails to come on, forcing me to restart it by removing the battery. Any clues?

I purchased an A9 today and I'm having the same problem. If you have a screen guard, make sure it is not covering the proximity sensor. That worked for me.


How to boot into the bootloader when you have ClockworkMod? I want to upgrade the radio and I'm not sure how to boot into bootloader.

When I try to power the phone using VolumeDown+Power, I do get into the ClockworkMod Recovery, but it seems that this is not what I was looking for because on PC the command fastboot flash radio radio.img is still < waiting for device >.

In case it matters, this is a permarooted + hroot + ClockworkMod, HTC Desire HD.

Make sure your phone is powering off completely before you try to boot into the bootloader. For a DHD you might need to go into Settings > Applications and uncheck the "FastBoot" option in order for it to power down completely (source).
If #1 doesn't help, try turning your phone off, then pulling the battery. After you've pulled the battery and waited a few seconds, hold the volume down button and put the battery back in the phone. Then continue to hold volume down while you power up the phone and it should land on the bootloader.
If #1 and #2 don't work (or you're lazy, since I think this is the easiest way), plug your phone into a computer that has adb on it. Make sure USB debugging is enabled, then simply enter adb reboot bootloader from an adb terminal. This will (unsurprisingly) reboot your phone into the bootloader.


Unfortunately, Google Play services has stopped? I recently bough an Android computer from China. However, it does not have Google Play Store on it. I've tried downloading and installing the Google Play APK. The installation appears to be successful, but it freezes each time that I try to open it, with a message saying "Unfortunately, Google Play services has stopped" The system has Android Version 6.0.1 and Kernel version 3.10.0.

Naturally, you cannot simply install Playstore as user app. First, it needs to be a system app, and second it depends on several other Google apps (GSF, Google Services Framework – see Wikipedia). For details, please check with our google-play-store tag-wiki and especially follow up to How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device?

Alternatively, you could e.g. use the the YalpStore app (and optionally the microG framework, an open-source GSF alternative – not really needed by YalpStore but would provide the needed services for other apps usually depending on GSF).


Movie or Video of mobile web application for demo Possible Duplicate:
  Is it possible record videos of my screen?

Is there any way to capture mobile activities of user on mobile capture as a video.
I have samsung galaxy S running 2.3, is it possble using this? or is such feature introduced Android 3.0

or, if above is not possible, could you please help me out in finding out any software which does window activity capturing in Windows7 , I will use Android emulator to create video of my  mobile web application.

-Thanks.

You can try Screencast Video Recorder FREE and if it works you can get the paid version Screencast Video Recorder.

For Windows I'm sure many software exists. Why don't you ask on Super User if you can't find one.


How to list all major partitions with their labels? I want to figure out all partitions on my device together with their resp. mount points or labels (i.e. to know which partition is holding system, recovery, boot, etc.). This needs to be device independent (as I have multiple devices). Goal is to dd them and know which image is what.

I have seen Command to list partition mount points? – however, there the goal was just a partition list of mounted partitions. I need them all, and e.g. /recovery is not mounted when booting into "normal work mode".

So far, my recherche has brought up a bunch of approaches – but none of them works on any of the devices I've tested:

cat /proc/mtd: this is empty or non-existing
cat /proc/emmc: this is empty or non-existing
cat /proc/dumchar_info: non existing (MTK/MediaTek)
ls -al /dev/block/platform/*/by-name: either non-existing, or not having the wanted details

Any idea of what I could have missed? Of course I could walk all the /dev/block/mmcblk0p* devices, dump them, and sort them out later – but then I had to repeat that investigation for every of my devices (and again when someone turns up with another one), so that's no solution.

EDIT: Please note the command-line tag to this question. I'll have to access that information via ADB, and do not want to install some app on a device handed to me for investigation. Consider it "forensics background" (no changes to the device), though that's not exactly true ;)

Also apologies for my initial mis-phrasing: the "mount points" are only interesting in so far they reveal the purpose of the partition. I don't want to mount/remount them :)

As existing answers already show, there seems to be no "unique way" to achieve that. So I started combining ideas from allover, joining them into a script (or rather a "script library") to have them checked sequentially (until a good hit was made), and integrated that into my "Device Documentation Tool" named Adebar. Those interested can find it in the lib/partitions.lib file. As Adebar is open-source (GPLv2), feel free to copy and use it – or fork the project and improve it.

The full solution is a bit long to post here (as said, you can grab it at Github), but as our policy is to include at least the general part in the post, here's what it does:

Different sources provide different sets of details, so it tries the "best ones" first – and then recurses down until at least something was found.

/proc/dumchar_info gives the most details, so this is tried first. Happy MTK users will get this.
/proc/mtd is the second best source.
/proc/emmc should have almost as much as the previous candidates, but is a bit tricky to use
/dev/block/platform/*/by-name, cross-checked with …
/proc/partitions cross-checked with /proc/mounts gives us at least the partitions mounted

So the script I've built basically walks the sources in this order, stopping as soon as it was able to collect details (e.g. if /proc/dumchar_info was found, no need to parse all the others). All of them put into separate functions, returning data using the very same structure, one could even merge results from all of them.

If someone can come up with a better solution, I'm of course always open for the idea :)


Is it possible to securely factory wipe a phone directly after encrypting it? I would really like to make my phone more secure. But at the same time I want to be able to factory wipe it any time. I'm afraid that factory wiping could brick the phone/makes it unusable. So is it safe to wipe the phone directly after encrypting it?

Phones delivered with or since Android Lolipop, which came out in 2014, are encrypted by default. Android uses full disk encryption, same as Apple's iOS. This means that every block is encrypted, not just specific files, but also the meta information which describes where is what.
A factory reset will clear the decryption key used to access the data and descriptive information. So once you perform factory reset, it is effectively wiped, as none of the data blocks can any longer be accessed without that key, its practically random data.

I'm afraid that factory wiping could brick the phone/makes it unusable

This is not an uncommon operation. Factory resets are frequently used by diy people installing their own custom ROMs. It is also standard practice when reselling or disposing a phone. It is likely a very well tested feature, since it a user accessible feature.


How to switch to vibrate mode using only hardware keys I have a Nexus 4, and I would like to be able to switch it to vibrate mode without having to look at the screen or unlock it. My previous phones had this ability (my iPhone had a switch dedicated to this on the side, and on my flip phone before that I just held down the volume down button). I've found this feature pretty useful in many situations where I realize after the fact that I want my phone to be silent, but I don't want to show that I'm silencing my phone (movie theaters, churches, meetings, etc.). I keep my phone in my pants pocket, and the other two phones allowed me to silence them without even removing them from my pocket.

I've tried holding down the volume up, volume down, or power buttons, but that doesn't do anything. I know that there are apps that I can configure to automatically silence based on my location, time of day, and/or calendar items, and while those are useful they still don't give me a universal way to silence the phone with minimal interaction. A home screen or lock screen widget won't work for me because my work requires that my phone lock itself, and doesn't allow me to put widgets on the lock screen.

I'm also not interested in rooting my phone, but a free or paid app (preferably on the Google Play store) is fine. Really, an ideal solution would be an app or setting that allows me to press and hold the volume down button (while the phone is still locked) to put it in vibrate mode.

The following short procedure should work:

press power button (enable the screen)
hold power button for 1 second (new required step on Android 4.2.2, not needed on 4.2.1)
press volume up or down until phone vibrates
optionally press power button again (turn off screen)

The idea is to enable the screen first, because then volume buttons would be enabled to change ringer volume (when screen is off they only work for music volume if it is playing).

Then depending on what volume you had set you need to press volume up or down:

if volume was set to silent, press volume up once, the phone should vibrate, now the phone is in vibrate only mode
if volume was set to regular ringtone, press volume down several times until phone vibrates. Now phone is in vibrate mode. Pressing volume down again would enable silent mode.

So you need to press volume down or up until you feel single vibrate and the you can leave the phone as is and it should turn off screen after short time by default. There shouldn't be much risk leaving screen enabled in a pocket for a while, but if you want you can press power button again to disable screen, but you risk pressing volume keys again which might either put phone in silent mode or enable ringtone.

Full procedure that should always work:

press power button (enable lock screen)
press volume down up to 7 times until phone vibrates then stop the procedure (this assumes there are 9 levels of volume, see below)
if phone not vibrated press volume up (you were probably in silent mode), phone should vibrate
if phone not vibrated repeat the procedure only one more time (maybe screen was enabled and first step turned it off)
optionally if phone vibrated, press power button once to turn off screen

Phone changes between following states when pressing volume up/down keys:

Maximum volume
...
...
Medium volume
...
...
Minimum volume
vibration only
no sound, no vibration - silent mode

The procedure was tested on Galaxy Nexus, but since Nexus 4 is very similar (same button layout/number, OS version, nexus brand) it should also work for it.

Update: Since android 4.2.2 changing volume on lock screen as described above does not work. There is additional step needed: holding power button for at least 1 second when screen is enabled. This will bring the "power off/airplaine mode" dialog and volume buttons will work there.


Bluetooth auto connect to headset I am using Android 2.2 on my samsung. One problem that I hate is that when I turn on bluetooth then turn on my handsfree headset it doesn't auto connect. It's paired and works, but each time I have to go to system settings, then wireless, then bluetooth and finally select the headset to connect.

This is very annoying. My old Nokia N95 would auto connect, why can't Android.

Is there a setting I am missing for auto connect?

Android surely can do that as well. Unfortunately, you've been a bit vague on the devices used: Samsung is a manufacturer having brought out plenty of smartphones, and there are also plenty of Bluetooth headsets; maybe there's something with that specific combination.

Nevertheless, there are some generic solutions available on the Playstore, like Bluetooth Auto Connect: It automatically tries to connect to your Bluetooth devices when Bluetooth has been turned on or when your device screen goes on. Unfortunately, this only works with Android 3.0+, so it's not really a solution for you – but a search for "bluetooth auto connect" will give you additional alternatives, one of those hopefully works with your Android version:

There's e.g. Shake To Connect working with Android 2.2+, which at least should save you from the "long walk through the menus".

Note however that I didn't try any of those solutions, so no guarantees :)


Where are my lost photos I had a few years of photos on my phone. they were backed up onto google+. Google had gone into them and put some together making a video. My phone was recently reset but that should not have anything to do with google+. But yet my photos are not there from  and on. Just recent ones. Where did they go and how did it happen? Can I get them back?

Try checking at 'Google Photos' app...Google had recently announced that they were no longer going to support g+ photo backup...but not to worry!! All your g+ backed up photos would've been shifted to Google Photos


What is the ODIN tool? Recently, I've been learning about rooting/flashing android devices and I often come across web-pages mentioning "ODIN".

From my common sense, I've come to realise that it is some sort of Windows GUI software that helps you in flashing/tweaking android devices.

However, my concern is that wherever it is talked about, it is only provided as a downloadable binary blob .exe file hosted on third party file hosting services. Which raises concerns over trustworthiness of that downloadable file.

So my questions are - What is ODIN? What is the canonical website? Is it open source? If yes then, what is the canonical URL for repository?

Odin is an internal Samsung tool used for flashing firmware to their devices (via Download mode, bypassing recovery etc.).  Importantly, it also has the ability to repartition the device storage based on a .pit file, which can save you from softbricking (when flashing goes wrong and recovery/the bootloader fail).  It is not open source and to my knowledge they have not intentionally released it — a few versions have been leaked.  For what it's worth, I have used the version posted here without issue.

Heimdall, however, is open source and duplicates the functionality of Odin.  It claims to be more reliable as well, in addition to being cross-platform (Odin is Windows-only).

Both tools appear to work best with Galaxy S devices, so if you're using another device you probably want to ensure someone else has tried it and succeeded.  Another note is that they use .tar packages layed out differently than the normal update.zip format used by recovery and OTAs, so you need to get the proper package for it to work.


Watch whether an app uses TLS I'd like to inspect the network usage of my apps (e.g., a banking app) to determine the security protocols they employ (if HTTPS: TLS layer version, encryption protocol, key size, signature algorithm, if multiple cipher-suits are supported, then suit preference--mandatory/preferred FS support--etc.).

In a browser, that's easy; not so much for standalone apps, which for all I know might not be using modern protocols.

Are there apps that listen to- and analyze network activity for that information?

There are Android apps available that can act as VPN service on the Android device itself (even without root). Afterwards all traffic is redirected through that app.

The app captures and displays the proxy, allowing you to detect unencrypted data.

Available Apps:

Packet Capture

On the step "SSL Decryption" select "skip", otherwise your SSL connections will be intercepted and decrypted.

Apps that use correctly protected SSL/TLS connections will fail while Packet Capture is running and capturing the data.


Google Android for Galaxy Note II? Hey guys is it possible to get the stock android OS like on the Google Nexus and install it on the Galaxy Note II? I'm just tired of the bloatware and I also prefer the OS on my friends Galaxy Nexus much more.. I don't want to install a custom ROM but the same one that is used on the new Google Nexus 4

Thanks!

I don't think there is any official ROM from Samsung for Galaxy Note that does not contain any of their framework application.

Your only option is to install custom ROM. CyanogenMod will be one of the best choices since it's build based on AOSP.


How to install core GMS packages on Huawei 7 Plus? I have a Chinese phone and I don't know what to do with that. I have Huawei 7 Plus (Android 7, EMUI 5.1.1 B223).
How to install core GMS packages on it?

There's no legal way to do this. Google only offers Google Play Services for phones that are approved by the Open Handset Alliance. Manufacturers pay money and the phone model has to pass a conformance test suite to be approved.

Some manufacturers cheap out by not paying the fee or passing the conformance test, and then mislead customers by selling the phone as an "Android phone" even though it doesn't have access to most of Android's software ecosystem.

In March this year, Google added an anti-piracy feature to Google Play Services. Even if you obtain it and illegally install it on an uncertified phone, it will block you when you try to add a Google account.


How do I root my Huawei S7-961wd aka PLDT Telpad QS? I couldn't find any one-click (no PC needed) rooting solution for my PLDT Telpad QS.

Tick Unknown Sources
Download Master Root APK for Android 4.1.2 +
It's in Chinese, just follow through then click the RED button.
SuperSU will be installed automatically
Enjoy!

You can watch this video for more information.


Zenfone 2 stuck on USB logo I tried to flash Zenfone 2 but instead of writing droidboot.img I sent an .exe file. And now when I try to get into droidboot (Volume + Power button) the device gets stuck at USB logo.

Whatsoever I found online is related to Zenfone 4|5|6 and not Zenfone 2

How can I access droidboot again ?

(Click image to enlarge)

Long press the power button. Phone will turn off. Then press power button and volume up button simultaneously, till the asus logo appears. Then you will enter the recovery mode. Reboot from there(press power button after navigating to reboot using volum up/down)


How to list clients that have used your wifi hotspot on a Nexus 5 Is there a way to list clients currently using my mobile hotspot? Or even better does it log info on the clients that connect?

I have some totally unexplained bandwidth usage when I had it on and took a 5 hour nap, while the password wasn't that weak, I'd like to check to make sure no one besides me was using it.

Edit: Preferably without root. Although, I might root it if it means I can actually LOG the activity.

If your phone is rooted, you can open the file located at /data/misc/dhcp/dnsmasq.leases with an editor. There you can see information about connected devices.

Source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9996351/wi-fi-tethering-how-to-get-list-of-connected-clients

(This I maybe duplicate of the link provided)


How much usable storage space does the 16Gb Nexus 9 have? How much usable storage space is available on a 16Gb Nexus 9 once the space occupied by the OS, preinstalled software, etc. is subtracted?

Please do not answer with speculation; I am interested in answers with authoritative sources, or from people who have a Nexus 9 and can report directly.

To clarify: I am interested in the space available on a brand new Nexus 9, complete with everything that Google include on it. I remove it from the box, turn it on, and check the available storage. What do I see? :-)

For the 16GB version: 11.05GB Source

Click image for larger version

For the 32GB version: 25.61GB

Click image for larger version


Initial setup: Google Assistant isn't available for this account Getting the following error when I try to active my new One Plus 7 Pro,

  The Google Assistant isn't available for this account

  The Google Assistant needs Activity controls that your device administrator has limited on this account. Check with your administrator or switch accounts and try again

What I had to do was

Log into https://admin.google.com
Click "Apps"
Click "Additional Google Services"
Click "Web & App activity"
Select ON For Everyone
Confirm


android app install overwrites /data/data/com.my.app Background: As part of an upgrade to A6/MM, I ended up having to wipe my phone. I did however back up /data/app and /data/data before I wiped. After the upgrade I rsync'ed /data/data back to the phone. Then I proceeded to re-install some apps from google play.

I expected the app data in /data/data to be used, but instead the app install first failed, but on 2nd attempt the install worked (finished), BUT it overwrote all my settings (etc) that I had restored into /data/data. My question is, how do I avoid this? Was the first install fail because the app installer saw the old data?

The app in question was Zoiper Lite, but I don't think the specific app is terribly significant. Is there something about wiping (factory reset) that causes the apk install process to expect no data and therefore fail, but then erasing data if you insist with a 2nd attempt? Of course, what I really want is a workaround so I can install the app AND keep the old data. I have lots of apps for which I would like to do this, so it is definitely a problem...

DO NOT create the folders before the app itself does, as you often won't be able to get permissions, ownership and contexts right. Instead, after a new install, run the app once to let it create the file structure, then proceed to overwrite. It's also highly recommended to find which exact file(s) stores the preferences/data you want to restore - usually just some XML files in shared_prefs sub-folder - and restore them only.

The final solution to such problems in the future would be just using apps like Titanium Backup to automate the backup/restore process.

EDIT: I downloaded Zoiper myself and tested: I modified some preferences, backed up /data/data/com.zoiper.android.app/shared_prefs/com.zoiper.android.app_preferences.xml, then cleared data and re-ran the app to let it generate structure. I restored the pref file afterwards, and they did get restored after I did the 1st trick. The thing is, don't forget to first force close the app before you try to replace stuff, or the running app will simply ignore it.


How to see the device list of a given Google account I have many test Android devices and added my Google account to those device to reuse my application collection.

Recently I often recieve payment notification via gmail for application which I really don't buy. So my need is to see the list of devices which has been added the account to.

This also related to the situation when someone try to use my account on their device and read my email/download my application.

So my question is "How to see the device list of a given Google account"?

Just visit My Android Apps with your browser, and log in with your account. This will list your devices and apps.

Another good place is the Google Dashboard, which is even more detailed in some respects (shows EMEI on GSM handsets for example), less in others (thanx, @ewanm89).


Turn Tasker on and off with a widget I would like to create 2 widgets to turn Tasker on and off (Enable and Disable tasker).

If it helps, I have Secure Settings and Zooper Widget. My phone is also rooted.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Disclaimer in advance: I didn't try this myself – so I'm not sure if the "turning on" part will work.

In Tasker: Create a task to stop the Tasker service (Tasker › Disable)
In Tasker: Create a task to start the Tasker service
On your homescreen, add a Tasker-widget (Tasker ships with that), and connect it with the Task.

So when you hit that widget for #1, Tasker will be disabled. You will have noticed the strike-through at #2: If Tasker is not active, it does not listen – so there is no such action. From the Tasker help on "Disable":

  Permanently turn off Tasker's Monitor and stop running tasks.
  Tasker will not do anything further until enabled via the On/Off button in the Profile List screen.

So I am afraid that's all you can get: a widget to disable Tasker, but none to (re-) enable it.


Backup and Restore using adb Possible Duplicate:
  New phone: How to transfer game progress?

I recently got a Samsung Galaxy S3 and I am wanting to transfer my Jetpack Joyride game progress from my old HTC Legend. There are 2 things I am unsure of when it comes to using adb. Is there a way to us it to get the data from my HTC or will I need to root it. I read in a few places that it doesn't work on Android 2.2. Also, what commands would I use to restore the data to the Samsung?

adb backup –apk –shared –all –f /backup/mybackup.ab - backs up your all apps and data.

adb restore /backup/mybackup.ab - restores it back.


Split phone calls by day Is there any Android app that allows me to see my phone calls (number, total time) split by each day?

Or do I have to dig it out manually from my call log (quite unhandy)?

try call stats
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.movinapp.calls
there are other similar apps on Google play.


Any way I could use a USB monitor with my Droid? The Droid doesn't support video out but I'd like to have a bigger screen sometimes.  The Mimo would be cool but their they don't seem to have Android drivers (or even linux drivers).  Any way to do this?  (Note: I do not want to have to run it through an existing computer)

AFAIK, the original Droid is completely hardware incapable of providing video out via usb. The Droid Incredible does provide this functionality, but it has a USB port specifically designed for it (extra pins).


take bug report for specific application I am starting android development, and I am looking for a way to get a bug report from a user's phone.

I know about the settings / developer options / take bug report system, but from what I have seen, it dumps all logs from all sorts of apps I don't really care about.

Is there a similar method which would generate a similar file, with just logs relevant to my app?

(I also know about adb logcat, which I can then filter on my computer during development, but it's not easy asking users to do that!)

You should try third party libraries such as Android Bug Tracker.  You can find many other on github.


Unable to boot into recovery after flashing TWRP My phone model: Moto G Falcon
I flashed TWRP with the app. I am not able to boot into recovery mode. I get this error message:

Invalid boot image size!
failed to validate recovery image

I am stuck with Cyanogenmod12 Nightly. The thing is I am at least able to boot my phone.

Install adb-tools for your distribution. Check if it works with:

  fastboot devices

then install with:

  fastboot install recovery twrp*.img

For me the installation via twrp app did not work and I flashed it manually.


Phone encryption on OnePlus 2 cyanogenmod 13 I've just installed Cyanogenmod on my OnePlus Two. When I go to Settings>Security> Encrypt Phone and perform a encryption, the system just reboot and back to the lock screen without any encryption steps.

Does anyone know how can I enable encryption? I need this to switch on my work profile.

I at one point used the July 16 nightly build of CyanogenMod with encryption. I would recommend using the stock OxygenOS recovery before doing this.


Google Keep Not Syncing Notes Google keep has stopped syncing all of my notes all of a sudden. Notes created on Android phone are not available on the web version and vice versa. It was working all fine till yesterday. The Google help was not of any help. Anything Else I can do? I have restarted, checked the sync settings and updates etc.

Okay. Found a way to fix this here ( https://www.thetechminute.com/fix-google-keep-not-syncing-notes-images/). It is a temporary solution though. Removing and re-adding the Gmail account associated with Keep account did the trick. But, it only stays for an hour so and the problem re-appears again. But, at least, I can sync my stuck notes and images for now.


YouTube videos all choppy Has anyone seen this behavior when playing videos in the YouTube app?
I've tried clearing both the cache and data for the app, but it did not help.

Note in the screenshot how the video is all choppy and blocks that are all mixed up.
It is happening on ALMOST all videos, but every rare one will work fine.

Running on a stock Verizon Galaxy S3.

I had exactly the same problem. The only way I found to 'fix' it was to uninstall all updates back to factory defaults. So far that seems to have done the trick.


change icons on sensation lock screen I've just got a HTC sensation and I've worked out how to change the icons on the home screens, but is there a way to change the icons on the lock screen?

There are various lock screen apps on the market, but so far the best I've seen is WidgetLocker, very customizable and in my opinion worth the small price.


BlueStacks: Is there a keyboard shortcut for the menu button? Instead of hitting the menu button with the mouse, is there any keyboard shortcut?

It's the "Menu" key on your keyboard usually located right next to the right "Ctrl" key. (It's the key that opens the right-click menu on windows)


How to sync Facebook contacts in Android Lollipop on Moto G (2nd Gen)? Previously I owned HTC One X on which I had Facebook app installed. In Facebook "App Settings" there was an option called "Sync Contacts". With this option I was able to sync my Facebook contacts with my contacts in Google.

Now I have bought Moto G (2nd Gen) with Android Lollipop. I installed Facebook app but now in "App Settings" I cannot see the option of "Sync Contacts". I still have my HTC One X and its updated Facebook app still shows the option of "Sync Contacts" which is not present in Moto G (2nd Gen).

Am I missing something here? How to sync Facebook contacts in Android Lollipop on Moto G (2nd Gen)?

Update 1:

I tried the solution indicated in this question but I cannot see Sync Contacts checkbox in "Accounts > Facebook". Maybe because the device for which the issue is stated, is pretty old.

Okay, I should searched a bit more before posting this question. But in my defence the answer was in second page of Google search results.

From this link I gather that:

  Facebook contacts will no longer sync with the Android Contacts app
  [on Android OS 4.1 and later].

  The Android Contact list is built to provide data portability, and
  Facebook provides contact data that cannot be exported from the
  device.

  Facebook contacts can still be accessed on the phone through the
  Facebook app.

It seems HTC had its own custom Contacts app which made the importing syncing contacts from Facebook (and other social networks) much easier. The Contacts app on Moto G (2nd gen) is stock Android and doesn't seem to have this feature.

The artilcle further suggests:

  While we cannot guarantee or warranty a third-party application, some
  owners have reported success syncing Facebook contacts using Ubersync
  and Haxsync.

NOTE: The link mentioned earlier refers to Nexus 6 but I believe it applies to other devices also and seems to be the only logical answer as of now.


Full battery completely depleted within a few hours without any user activity -- what to do? I left my phone on the table with full battery without doing anything with it. After a few hours the battery was completely depleted, and the phone automatically shut down.

What could cause such a thing, and what actions to take in such a situation?

Some causes and answers...

You leave a high-CPU using app/game paused or running.

Apps and Games can and do continue to devour battery if left running. If you're going to step away for awhile, make sure to exit out of any games or apps first (particularly any that usually cause the phone to get warm while using) so they don't unnecessarily become power vampires.

Cellular/Data Signal Hunting.

Especially with LTE phones, if you're in an area with bad signal the radio on the phone will continue to try to make connection and will drain the phone in doing so. Putting the phone in Airplane mode before leaving it for extended periods will stop the radio from 'hunting'.

Too many background activities (or updates set too often).

Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc... Setting how often they communicate with their servers (like switching from every 5 minutes to once an hour) can make a big impact on battery savings.


Android Wear system updates origin Are the system updates for Android Wear coming from Google or from the watches vendor?

I've tried to Google this information, but I found nothing on this topic.

The updates for Android Wear OS are released by Google.

As depicted in the image below. Find the source of image here

Hope this satisfies your query.


Any way to hide the "Advanced Reboot" option in Power menu in AospExtended? An Advanced Reboot option appears in the Power Menu(which appears on holding the Power button) which gives me a bad feeling since my phone ends up in a lot of hands. Is there any way to disable it?

I asked this on their Telegram group(which is great):

Extensions -> Systems -> Buttons -> Power Menu -> Advanced Reboot


Trouble accessing Samsung Knox & resetting the password I seem to have locked myself out of Samsung Knox (on a Galaxy Tab S2 - I've used samsung-galaxy-tab because there doesn't appear to be a tag for the S2 tablet yet).

I hadn't used my tablet for awhile. I turned it on and updated to the latest version of Android.

I had a notification asking me to load the Google Play store to update that as well, and after clicking this notification, at this point, the device locked with the Samsung MyKnox login screen.

I did originally set up Knox but haven't really used it since.

I tried both my device password and my Knox password, but these both came back as incorrect.

I'm able to log in to Knox online with my Knox password, so I followed the instructions in this answer (which are the same as the ones Samsung offers), but it's unclear what I'm meant to do: after clicking on 'Rest KNOX Password' on the web and confirming that action, nothing happens - either on the web or on my device.

On my device, I can pull down the notifications, but pressing the Home button does nothing - it seems to want me to get past this Knox screen.

I'm inexperienced with Knox and a bit inexperienced with the Android ecosystem in general. Have I locked myself out? What steps do I need to take?

Ok, I seem to have resolved this!

I restarted the device while it was on the Knox lock screen, and it booted up normally.

Going back in to Knox asked me to set a password (this may or may not have been because of the steps I followed on the website as described in the question above).

Either way, it appears that either updating Android or getting stuck logging in to Knox through the Google Play Store notification was the cause of the issue.

Restarting the device again and attempting to access Knox now lets me in.

(I'll leave this here in case anyone else comes across the same issue!)


Able to play only few mp4 files in Samsung Galaxy Y? Why is it that I am able to play only a few .mp4 files in my New Samsung Galaxy Y Mobile but not he rest. What should I do to make even the other .mp4 files to play?

What should I do to make .mkv, .avi and other video formats to play?

Deriving from the link given in Comments:

Answer by Richard

  You are not able to play the high resolution videos in your mobile.
  Your device should be able to handle videos up to 640*360, this is the
  resolution of HQ YouTube.

  Note that there's absolutely no point in watching HD videos on your
  phone. It has a screen resolution of 240 x 320. Anything above this
  will be scaled down to fit the screen.

Comment by ce4

  In General, HD videos need to be decoded by a specialized companion
  chip (h264 decoder) because the CPU is not powerful enough. For price
  reasons, only a subset of h264's Features may be supported leaving you
  without HD support