Backing up everything on my kindle fire with ubuntu before installing firefirefire, can't get past Hellions with blue flames when rooting I'm trying to follow this post in order to install firefirefire on my kindle fire:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1369405&page=1

I'm at the part at the beginning of the guide that has me back up everything:

  This will back up all partitions and the hidden NVRAM data. If you
  ever have to restore from scratch, you can get fastboot to write a new
  partition table and then fastboot in these backups Need >8GB local
  free, and adb installed and able to get a shell. Root not required so
  you can do this on a fresh out-of-the-box KF. Make a new directory to
  store the dump files and cd into it. Get and copy zergRush into the
  directory. You must use zergRush even if you're rooted!!! We need adb
  running as root for this to work. Then run in a terminal

adb push zergRush /data/local/tmp
adb shell chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/zergRush
#(if you've already rooted, or the next command says "permission denied", you may have to do:)
adb shell rm /data/local/tmp/boomsh /data/local/tmp/sh
adb shell /data/local/tmp/zergRush
for F in `seq 1 12`; do adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0p$F; done
adb shell idme ? > nvram.txt

So I go into root mode in ubuntu with

sudo -i

My kindle fire is plugged in to my computer via USB, and the kindle fire's display shows the "You can now transfer files from your computer to Kindle" screen with the Disconnect button.

I execute the first command:

adb push zergRush /data/local/tmp

This returns:

565 KB/s (23060 bytes in 0.039s)

I execute the second command without error:

adb shell chmod 755 /data/local/tmp/zergRush

I execute the third command without error:

adb shell rm /data/local/tmp/boomsh /data/local/tmp/sh

Then I execute the next command:

adb shell /data/local/tmp/zergRush

And this returns:

[**] Zerg rush - Android 2.2/2.3 local root
[**] (C) 2011 Revolutionary. All rights reserved.

[**] Parts of code from Gingerbreak, (C) 2010-2011 The Android Exploid Crew.

[+] Found a GingerBread ! 0x00000118
[*] Scooting ...
[*] Sending 149 zerglings ...
[*] Sending 189 zerglings ...
[-] Hellions with BLUE flames !

Which indicates that the rooting has failed, so the next commands also fail. I'd appreciate any help.

According to a post of by ch4lky in XDA:

    [-] Hellions with BLUE flames !

  This output means that the exploit didn't crash vold, or didn't know
  it did. The reasons can be :

  vuln[erability] has been patched
  no debug info in the logs
  no access to the logs
  the buffer size is different on your device than on the others (<- can be fixed)

I did a quick read of zergrush's code; the log he's referring is located "/data/local/tmp/crashlog", you may want to look at that file to see if there is any useful info.

Since according to the thread you linked to, the exploit has been reported to work for Kindle Fire, the most likely possibility is either the vulnerability has been fixed in the latest update (the vulnerability already had a patch in upstream since November) or you had a weird version that have different buffer size than other Kindle Fires.


Strange "update twitter" notification A few weeks ago, a new notification item appeared on my tray. It's worded in a way similar to normal update notifications, but it's not one of them, and it makes reference to software I haven't installed. See this image:

The screen grab shows two standard update notifications: "X applications updated" and "X updates need approval". However, there's also a different one that reads "1 new update - Touch to download Twitter". Not only this one is different, the really strange thing is that I DON'T have Twitter installed, so there should be anything to update.

Aside: I use a Twitter client, but it's called Tweet Lanes and it normally upgrades through the normal routes. This doesn't seem related.

My tablet is a 2011 Samsung Galaxy 10.1, running Android 4.0.4. Maybe the notification is generated by the OEM software provided by Samsung?

Is there a way to tell which programs are showing which notifications?

The notification appears to be coming from apps installed from the Firefox Marketplace on Firefox for Android.

These apps can be found by opening the menu in Firefox and going to Tools > Apps.


My Android is Freezing after Factory reset I am using a Galaxy Note Lte (SHV-E160S) it was working slowly lately so decided to root it to improved it performance. After rooting i Installed an application called SYSTEM APPS REMOVER which help me remove some unwanted apps on my phone because i am not using them and they keep on using my data.
After going through this process i decided to Factory Reset.
Now comes the problem after successfully factory reset it. Went i got to the configuration of language stage the phone keep on freezing and the screen won't respond but the back and menu keys are all working perfectly.
Guys i just wanted to ask is the anyway i can skip that stage or any help will be appreciated.
Thank you

(Just something you can try)
I know what happened to you can be frustrating. It happened to me once when I accidentally uninstalled an android required app. You can try flashing a GApps zip package. That worked for me.


How can I re-arrange sharing application icons? When I click on Share from within an application, say an RSS reader, I will see a multitude of choices. See screenshot.

How can I re-arrange it so that my often used applications such as Hangouts and GMail can be moved to the top of the list of applications?

With the built-in "Share" menu, that's not possible AFAIR. However, there are alternatives available – I know of two: AppChooser and AndMade Share:

AppChooser (list view / grid view) and AndMade Share (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)

I'm using the paid variant of AppChooser, and am quite happy with it. As above screenshots show, you can sort the list alphabetically. You can also hide items you don't need (they still show up if you select "ALL" at the bottom). If you didn't order them alphabetically, items are listed in a "last recently used" manner – which keeps your frequently used apps at the top of the list automatically. Works great, I'm using this for quite a while now.

AndMade Share has a paid variant as well. In the third screenshot above you can see its advantage: you can sort your list manually as you like. Which one to chose, is rather a matter of taste :) Both hook into the "share intent" – so on your first "share" after installing one of them, you will be asked whether to use the built-in share menu or your new alternative. I did so, and made AppChooser Pro the "always use" default variant – never regretted that or turned it back :)


Is there a program which will log each program I start on my Android device? I am looking for a program that will count each start of a program on my Android device.

Over time, you install quit a lot of programs.

It would be nice to see how many times you actually start these programs over time.

That could give a good indication whether you should leave the program on the device, or not.

Use the phone information dial code if it works.

In your dialer enter *#*#4636#*#* to get to the phone info screen.

On my Spica running 2.1 Eclair, the last option of USAGE STATISTICS shows the usage time (in milliseconds) and the no. of times an app has been launched.

At first glance, it does however seem to be a log restricted from the time the phone was last booted.


ADB not working, but Fastboot is I recently bought a used Nexus 5. It came with the L preview on it, and I decided to flash CM 11 instead. My last phone was a Nexus S, and I've flashed various ROMs to that thing in the past.

Using the same machine that just re-flashed that Nexus S a couple weeks ago, I booted the Nexus 5 into fastboot mode, flashed ClockworkMod onto it and re-unlocked the bootloader. However, when I tried using ADB to push the CyanogenMod image over, I got error: device not found. Sure enough, adb devices fails to detect the device, even though USB debugging is enabled.

I decided this was just an issue with L, so I used Google's flash-all.sh script to give me a stock KitKat install. This worked fine, since it's pushing the image via fastboot. However, I still can't get the device to show up to ADB. When I enable USB debugging with the phone plugged into my computer, I don't get a fingerprint confirmation dialog, and no icon notification appears to indicate that it's connected to a computer. I've tried 2 different OSes (Windows 7 and Linux Mint 14) on 3 different computers with 4 different USB cables.

I've tried installing Google's USB drivers, and I have this problem with both fresh installs of the Android SDK and time-tested ones. I've already got 0x18d1 in my adb_usb.ini. On my Linux system, the output of the lsusb command gives identical output whether the phone is connected (with USB debugging enabled) or not. When it's in fastboot, it shows up as Bus 001 Device 069: ID 18d1:4ee0 Google Inc.

The phone seems to work perfectly fine in every other respect. I'm pretty happy with vanilla KitKat, but I'd be happier at least knowing I had the option to use something else. I also like having access to adb shell now and then.

I've seen plenty of people having issues with ADB before, but never without also having fastboot problems. Any ideas what might be going on? I'd prefer a Linux solution, but I can also work with Windows if needed.

Update: I was able to get the appropriate files into /sdcard/ by simply downloading them with a web browser, then flashing them with ClockworkMod. I'm now running CM 11, and the ADB problem hasn't gone away. Whatever is causing this, it persists through complete ROM replacements. I'm now curious as ever to know what could be causing this.

Update 2: Upon further communication with the ebay seller, it turns out this phone had been the subject of water damage prior to being listed for sale. The device booted and appeared to work fine, but in addition to this strange ADB issue, it also couldn't recognize a SIM card. It seems like this was some one-of-a-kind hardware damage, so I doubt there's even a solution.

I ended up returning the device, so there's no way for me to test anything else on it, but if anyone's able to come up with an explanation for why Fastboot can communicate with the device but ADB can't (again, probably due to a hardware fault), I'll accept that as an answer.

Flash ROM with Fastboot

Before starting ensure bootloader is unlocked. Obtain a ROM of your choice, and note the location on your computer.

Reboot your device into fastboot mode via one of the following options.

adb reboot bootloader (requires USB debugging to be turned on). - for working adb; OR
power off the device then back on with 'vol up' + power button. - for nonworking adb

Wipe your device. fastboot -w
Update your ROM. fastboot update /path/to/your/RomFile.zip
Your phone will update and automatically reboot into the new ROM

Edit:

Try the Universal Naked Drivers by 1wayjohnny over at xda forums.

This has been included because my researching has also found corrupted drivers can be the culprit

Try http://code.google.com/p/boot-unlocker-gnex/ to reset tamper flags.

The only other information I could find for the error: device not found is not helpful in this forum. It does lead towards development and programming though.


Gesture typing on multiple languages? I recently played with my friend's Nexus 7 and tried the gesture typing. And I'm surprised it only works on user's locale keyboard. It lacks Ukrainian dictionary too :( , but that's another question.

It works only on Russian keyboard. Dictionaries for all English variants are present, I even tried all three English keyboards (QWERTY, UK, US). Android version is 4.2.2.

Is that a bug? A reported one?

I don't know about your specific issue, but Swiftkey 4 has gesture typing that's worked for me in multiple languages (English and French).


Does putting an unlocked phone on a no-contract plan lock the phone in any way? I bought a factory unlocked Samsung Galaxy S5 from eBay recently, and signed up with Ting.
(Was on Virgin Mobile with a different phone, switched carriers and phones at the same time)

When you're bringing your own device, Ting does ask for the IMEI to do a compatibility check, to make sure the phone will work on their networks (T-Mobile and Sprint), but it's optional, and after that, they only ask for your info and the Ting SIM card info (if you got one, which I did).

So I'm wondering: is my phone now locked to Ting or something similar?

No one locks your phone when you haven't purchased it from them with a contract - your S5 will stay unlocked when you use it with Ting or anyone else.

Of course, different carriers do need different APN settings etc. which will overwrite the existing ones in the phone - but this should normally happen automatically when you insert the new SIM. If not, then you might need to search for the carrier settings and do this manually (trivial to do anyway).

As for the IMEI check done by Ting, that is because in some cases phones may be banned from the network they're using (reported as lost, having an unpaid balance etc.) and in that case the IMEI gets blacklisted, which 3rd party resellers can't do anything about.


How to change the interface or positions of the home and back buttons after updating a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet? My Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 downloaded an update.

Now, the buttons (home, back) on the bar are in the middle. Previously, they were postioned left. It's really uncomfortable. It seems that I received the "mobile user interface" instead of the tablet interface.

How to do I change this?

Google migrated to using the mobile interface for tablets in android 4.2

You will not be able to change to the previous button arrangement on your stock ROM.

You could root your phone and install a custom ROM such as paranoid android to get back your old button arrangement.

Hope this helps.


Force 3G mode on dual-SIM Android One phones I want to forcibly enable 3G mode on a dual-SIM Micromax Canvas A1 (Android One) running Android 5.1 Lollipop.

I've already searched the net for answers, but all I came up with was using *#*#4636#*#* which unfortunately is disabled by the manufacturer.

So what else can I do to force 3G?

So it's a dual SIM phone. Only one SIM can be set to use in 3G mode and the other in 2G. It is your wish which one uses 3G. Common method is to open Settings / More networks / Mobile networks / Network mode (for Sim1 or 2) / WCDMA only.


My phone is downloading "Google Play", over mobile data My phone randomly shows the Download Manager downloading "Google play". I usually cancel this download since it seems fishy to me, and that's what my question (asked below) is about. Since this sounds all too common and like many questions posted here, let me clarify what this is not:

This is not a download within the Google Play store.
All apps are up to date in my play store.
My OS was recently updated to Oreo (Samsung Galaxy S8).
All my Samsung apps are also up to date.
As far as I can tell, I have set all updates to happen only on wifi, not on mobile data connections.
The download is happening via Download Manager. Long-press etc shows me info about the default "download manager" app itself, not about what it is trying to download.

This reeks of malware to me, wherein some shady app might have just named itself "Google Play" so that I allow it to be downloaded and run it. A malware scan shows nothing (of course, I aborted the attempted download  so that file was not scanned, but there seems to be no trojan trying to download more stuff) My questions are:

Has anyone seen this issue? Is it a regular deal, so that I should just let the phone do what it wants?
If this is "business as usual", how do I set it to happen on wifi and not on mobile data?
If this seems suspicious, what steps could I take to further investigate / remove the problem?

Update: I have seen this happen many times by now, and typically right before other apps are updated. I have concluded that this is normal behaviour, just like microsoft office auto-updater updates itself first before updating office itself. If anyone knows otherwise, please respond!

(Posting as an answer, because it seems a lot of people have this issue based on how many views this question is getting!)


Why does my phone receive only 2G data? I am using a dual sim smartphone with sim cards on both the slots. Sim card inserted in slot 1 receives 3G data but, the other sim card inserted in slot 2 receives only 2G data, even though 3G internet pack is activated.

I swapped the sim cards between the slots, believing that there might be an issue with the mobile network, but the same problem exists.

My smartphone: Moto E 2nd Generation 3G
Android version: 5.0.2

I have even changed the preferred network type to 3G for the sim in slot 2 (Settings -> Data Usage -> Mobile network settings ->Preferred network type) but, no change.

What could be the issue ?

Thats how dual SIM in this model works. One sim supports WCDMA (3g) bandwitch, while the other one is only EDGE (2g).


Changing Play Store default language and/or country I bought a Samsung S4 here in the Philippines but the default language in the Play Store is Korean. Also, the prices of the apps for sale are in Won (Korean currency). How do I change the language to English? And how can I see the app prices in Philippine Peso? Please help me!

System settings > My device > Language and keyboard > Language.

Note: I also have an S4, and also from Philippines.


Stock recovery can flash root packages and custom recovery ZIPs but not custom ROMs This question might seem to be a duplicate of this question but it is different.

But I'd like to have a brief explanation on why we need a custom recovery to flash a ROM. My main points of confusion are:

In stock recovery we have a option to "Install Update from SD card". Why can't we directly flash a ROM from there?
If signature verification is the problem regarding the first point, then how can we root and flash custom recovery using update from SD card?

Why doesn't any signing or verification problem occur while flashing root package or custom recovery package?

Like any other custom ROM package they are also unsigned.

Kindly explain this to me. Thanks.

Now, you should be clear on 2 things:

All flashable packages are signed. They can be stock OTA zips, root packages or even custom recovery or ROM zips.

So what is the difference between the "signed" and allegedly "unsigned" packages?

It's in the cryptographic keys used to sign the deployment builds, or the zips in this case.

The "signed" zips, e.g. a stock OTA zip, use a private key specific to the OEM for signing the build. This is a "release" key, and the only type of a key a stock recovery will recognize using its corresponding public key when asked to "Install Update from SD Card".

The "unsigned" zips, e.g. , root packages or custom ROMs, use the publicly known AOSP (Android Open Source Project) private keys for signing the deployment build. Even if the build hasn't been explicitly signed, the test-signing is implicit. Any released device with a stock recovery from the OEM does not have or recognise the public key corresponding to the "test" private key. Hence, it will refuse to install such test-signed or "unsigned" zips.

This is to maintain device integrity and security, at least according to the OEMs.

This is the official source: The Sign Builds for Release Page on the AOSP website.

A custom recovery like CWM or TWRP either disables or provides an option disable (which is usually enabled by default) "ZIP File Signature Verification".
This basically implies that it can flash any package, regardless of what keys, test or release, were used to sign the package. To the (stock) recovery, everything is an OTA zip.

So why can some stock recoveries flash a custom recovery zip or root package?

This is probably due to 2 reasons:

The stock recovery has a security vulnerability or exploit, which the flash package uses on being initially loaded to bypass or circumvent the signature verification procedure.
The OEMs private release keys are actually known to the developers of the flashable package, but not to the developers of the ROM. I have personally observed this with Mi and some low-end Samsung devices.

Also, there's another reason a custom recovery is necessary for flashing a custom ROM.

To install the ROM, you must do these steps before actually flashing the ROM zip:

Wipe /data and /cache. On a stock recovery, this amounts to a factory data reset.
Wipe /system. No stock recovery can do this, for obvious reasons (why would a recovery wipe the /system partition if it doesn't support getting it back from somewhere, such as a custom ROM zip?)
Wipe dalvik-cache, usually done after flashing the zip. Again, no stock recovery can do this, but in this case there's no issue with the device getting bricked if the stock recovery did this.

If your stock recovery does not have either of the above 2 "features", you'll need a flashing software which will flash the recovery or ROM images to your phone from your PC. These flashing software use disk image files of the partition to be flashed, and care nothing about whether that that is signed or not. This involves the bootloader of the device, and bypasses the recovery altogether.

Custom recoveries are usually distributed as flashable disk images, not as flashable ZIPs.

A few examples of such software are fastboot(most Android devices), Odin, Heimdall(both for Samsung devices), Smartphone Flash Tool(for Mediatek devices)

Even the bootloader might perform security verifications on the flashed files on some cases, but insofar as much as fastboot is concerned, the bootloader had to have this verification disabled, that is, it needs to be "OEM unlocked"before anything can be flashed to the device. Anyway, the disk images do not contain any signature related metadata in the first place.


"Uninstall old version" before installing, but can't find it Spotify doesn't show up anywhere (I used to have it). When I try to install the app, it wants me to uninstall the old version. But the old version doesn't show up anywhere. Tried going through "My Apps" and through the file menu when hooked up to a PC, and I cannot find it.

Any thoughts?

Spotify may be installed as a bloat-system-app so try Apps>right upper corner the three dots>show system apps. It could be that you hided the spotify app.

Additionaly you can type in the terminal pm list packages and use grep to filter so like that pm list packages | grep -i spotify. you can uninstall it by typing pm uninstall [package name]

Note the above assumes you're either using adb or running the commands as root. pm uninstall on system apps can only be performed as root (if at all) – for the other mentioned pm calls, connecting via ADB is sufficient.


Using drony to enable system wide ABP I am trying to get system wide adblock set up on android 5.1. After setting up the proxy as asked in was told that it would only work on the default "internet" browser. After further research I found that this could be done with drony but after trying I have had no luck (with ABP and Drony enabled) wondering if anyone could help,

Thanks!

Its better to block ads on android through the hosts file rather than via a proxy but you need root for that. If you have root access the you can use Adaway along with  an updated hosts file from XDA for a stricter ad blocking.( You can add the source location of the hosts file in adaway)

http://adblock.mahakala.is

If you don't have root access then you can use adgaurd. But it sets up a vpn. For more effective ad blocking in apps, you should get adguard premium version.


android.process.acore stopped - CM10 on Galaxy S3 I'm getting the error "android.process.acore has stopped" constantly, which makes my phone impossible to use. I have cm-10.2.0 on a galaxy S3. I have already tried factory reset and re-flashing the ROM several times. Any more ideas or is my phone now a brick?

Is it possible that google restores faulty contacts each time you did a factory reset? deactivate google sync for contacts and delete data for contacts and contact storage. This will delete all your contacts so make a backup!

(sorry I meant to write this in the comments section... now I don't know how to delete this.)


Do applications that remain in Recent Apps list take up resources? I always thought they remained memory residents but a developer told me otherwise.

Is there a canonical answer to this?

The answer can be found between the lines to the question What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?. There, eldarerathis quotes some trustworthy sources:

  [W]hat specifically happens when you swipe away a recent task is it:
  (1) kills any background or empty processes of the application (see
  http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/processes-and-threads.html#Lifecycle
  for what this means), and (2) uses the new
  http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#onTaskRemoved(android.content.Intent)
  API to tell any services of the application about the task being
  removed so it can do whatever it thinks is appropriate.

This could mean: if there are processes to be removed, they must be running -- which would be a "yes" to your question. On the other hand, if some app is listed in the recent apps list, that does not necessarily mean there was something left. "Recent" means explicitly what the word suggests: the user has recently used that app. Don't confuse that with Alt-Tab on your desktop computer, where you explicitly switch through running apps. The concept on Android is completely different.

So the final answer would be a "Nes" or "Yo". It could be such an app has still processes running. But even if, that's nothing to worry about: unless one of them is a service, those ressources are mostly limited to RAM and would be automatically freed as soon as they are required for something else. They don't eat your battery. Completely unused resources are, um, unused -- that is, useless. Why throw away something we might need shortly? The user could decide to switch back to that app. So if it's still loaded, it's not only faster available -- but it even requires less ressources (CPU, I/O) to activate it again, as it's already there.


Create, edit, and sync-with-PC txt file on Android There are many apps that allow us to take notes on android.

But just like this thread (Is it possible to create a plain text file in android?), I want to create and edit plain txt file on android.

But moreover, I also want to automatically sync with a txt file in my PC. Ideally, dropbox. So ideally, I edit txt file on my PC then the edit will sync to my Android phone, and vice versa.

But if this ideal solution (dropbox solution) is not available, then I am fine with less ideal solution which will sync txt with PC.

Give Standard Notes a try. Works on multi platform, syncs across all platforms, permits tagging, encrypted, and open source. Don't be discouraged by Beta in the description. It's perfectly stable and I have been using it for nearly two years.

Pro version (expensive) does much more. Sync to Google Drive (also Dropbox if I am not mistaken is a pro feature) but you may not really want that once you see the way app does things.


Prevent volume rocker from disabling silent mode On my Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, everytime I bump the volume rocker the phone comes out of silent mode. I hate this. The only way I want my phone going into or coming out of silent mode with a hard button is by holding the power until the modal shows up. Is there any way to prevent the volume rocker from knocking the sound back on when in silent mode?

There are some apps that will do this for you:

RingGuard: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.x475aws.android.ringguard&hl=en
Volume Locker: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hourdb.volumelocker&feature=related_apps


Nexus 6 Not Showing up in "My Computer" or ADB with Debug Mode Enabled I use my Nexus 6 for the purposes of developing Android apps, and I have been using my laptop along with my phone to write and test the apps. In the past, I have never had any issues with connecting my phone to my laptop, but as of today, my phone only shows up on my computer when Debug Mode is disabled. When debug mode is enabled and I plug my phone in to my computer, my computer plays the tone that indicates new hardware, but the phone never shows up on the "My Computer" listing, and adb devices does not show it. I have tried rebooting both the computer and the phone, but that has not resolved the issue.

My computer is running Windows 10 Pro x64, and my phone is running Android Lollipop v5.1.1 Build LMY48M.

I do not know if there is any connection, but prior to installing the latest update to Android System WebView from the Google Play store, this worked just fine. The only reason that I cite this as a possible cause to the problem is because after getting this update, my app drawer was updated to look like the Android Marshmallow app drawer which I thought was not going to be released ahead of Marshmallow.

UPDATE: I tried plugging my Nexus in to my machine running Fedora Workstation 22 and it works just fine regardless of whether Debug Mode is enabled or not.

UPDATE 2: Whatever the issue is, it's got something to do with my computer. I tried it on my mom's laptop and it works just fine. She does not have the Android SDK installed, but aside from that, her machine is identical to mine.

Installing Universal naked drivers shall solve your problem. Assuming you are skillful enough installing drivers manually as you intend to make use of ADB, here's a reference link to Universal Naked Drivers: http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/development/adb-fb-apx-driver-universal-naked-t2513339

It generally supports all Nexus devices(probably all), if it doesn't help, uninstall the current installed driver from Device Manager and replug your Nexus device to make it install its drivers again.


How can I see what a private number is? I've had a few missed calls from private numbers now, and I'd like to see who it is.

Is there a way to do this with a Galaxy S4 running Jellybean 4.2?

I installed the app 'CIA caller' but that simply listed the private number as '-2', and when it looked up that number, it unsurprisingly said 'number not found'.

Any ideas how to get at these private numbers?

I don't think there is a good way to do this - the issue isn't that the private number is being hidden by your phone, it's that the phone company isn't transmitting the caller id info to you at all. So there shouldn't be any way for you to get that data working strictly from your phone.

Unless you know people who regularly block caller ID data, but don't leave messages, I'd just assume it's spam callers and ignore them.


Where is the NFC element located in a Moto X? I have a Moto X (2013 version) -- and use Google Wallet's tap-to-pay at merchants that support it.  With certain readers, I end up moving the phone around over the reader until it works; knowing where the element is might make it easier to line it up correctly on the first try.

You can check iFixit Moto X Teardown. Looks like it takes up most of the center of the back.


Truly hands-free voice recording over bluetooth I know that there are lots of "voice recorder" apps out there.  Some of them will let you record using your bluetooth headset instead of the built-in mic.   However, all the ones I have looked at say things like "tap the button to start recording".  This defeats the purpose of what I am trying to do, which is to record thoughts I have while I am out and about walking, biking, driving, etc. when I can reach up and hit a button on my bluetooth phone, but I am not able to stop, pull my phone out of wherever I have it stashed, take off my gloves so I can touch the screen, power up the device, enter my lock code, jump to the record app if needed, and tap to start recording.  By the time I have done that I have lost my train of thought, and wasted a lot of time.

Voice activated recording is probably not going to work, because, even though my headset has some degree of wind cancellation, there is a lot of ambient noise from time to time.

I can use voice commands, which is still a bit of a pain but at least keeps me mostly hands free, that is, I can tap the button on my headset, say "activate" and my headset will connect to the phone and bring up voice commands.  However, I am not sure what I would do next.  The commands offered are things like "Go To << Shortcut >>", and "Check << Item >>" - these are the only two that seems remotely related to what I am trying to do.  I assume that maybe if I said something like "Go To Voice Recorder" it might open up the voice recorder, but I couldn't get it to work and am not sure what it expects for << Shortcut >>.  Even then, assuming that part would work, I would need to have some way of telling the app to start recording, for instance, if the shortcut was not just the app but a full-blown intent.  I am not sure how I would set that up.  There is also the question of how to stop it, but hopefully hitting the headset button again would work as that already as a similar function while on a phone call.

Am I on the right track here?  Is there some kind of app that will help me out here?  One thing I don't understand is, does the app have to explicitly support bluetooth audio for this to work?  I would think the OS (Android) would abstract away the input source, yet some apps explicitly claim Bluetooth support (even going so far as to only support it in the for-pay version) while others don't say anything about it.

The Google Now option for Note to Self might work for you... It doesn't do a voice memo, but it will let you leave notes to yourself.


Remove app notification when app opens from launcher I have looked all over the place and cannot seem to find a way to automatically remove an app's respective notification upon the app opening from the app launcher. In iOS this behavior was just a given but, in Android the notifications remain even after opening the app.  If I open the app from the notification, the notification is cleared out, but I may not want to open the app from the notification because it may take me to a part of the app that I don't want to go to (like directly into a particular email rather than the inbox).

I am on a Note 9 running 8.1.0.  Not rooted.

From searching, an app developer can program this functionality in but I don't think there's a global setting for it. You can investigate into IFTTT type apps like Tasker or Automate - shouldn't be too difficult to set up a trigger when an app is in foreground and then clear notifications (or disable then enable it if clearing is not supported).


SMS intercepted and edited before arriving? I'm hoping someone here can help me with something.
The other day I received a text message from someone and the latter half of it was odd and didn't have anything to do with the conversation.

When I asked the person who sent it they said they never sent it... even though it was part of the original message bubble that i received from them. I even looked at their phone and the part in question was not there on their phone.

So i'm wondering: is it possible for someone to edit out/delete part of their sent sms? Or is there software out there where someone could possibly intercept a message, ad to it, and then pass it along so only the receiver has the "additional" parts?

I'm using a samsung galaxy ace 2 an they have a samsung 3. Sorry if this is vague or not specific enough technically... just confused and don't know much about this stuff.

Technically in Android you can alter SMS stored, so you can modify, them after received, and before presented to the user. Of course a malicious application can hide a received SMS and delete it before the user knows it.

About a SMS modification before sent, no you can not, but you can modify the stored copy in your phone just after it has been sent. With rooted phones it could be possible if the intercepter app has root permissions.

In Android KitKat and up only the main SMS application can perform this kind of tasks.


How can I completely reset android samsung galaxy s 4g? My phone has gotten extremely slow, and the GPS no longer seems to function which is the main reason I got the phone.

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile.

Is it possible to reset it completely? I read several reset guides, and they said to hold the volume down + power and volume up + power but neither of those worked.

Thank you

I don't have that particular model, but every Android phone I've owned has had a "Factory Data Reset" option.  On my Nexus S, it's under Settings/Privacy.


How can I create a downloadable file with my contact info I'm trying to create a link on my website where you can click and add my info to your phones contacts. Is there a file format that android will recognize & load a contact from?

The easiest way is to use a barcode you could e.g. create with an app like My QR code Generator. If you do not want to install an app for the purpose, there are also web services available like e.g. GOQR.ME -- simply search google for QR Code generator vcard.

The result is a QR-Code -- a simply image you can put on your web page. On Android (and other) devices, a QR code reader (best known and widely used on Android is Barcode Reader) utilizes the camera to take a picture from it, analyzes the coded content, and then offers an appropriate action. In case of a VCard, this would e.g. be to add it to your contact list -- exactly what you intended.

Of course you could simply export your contact data in VCard format for download (on opening that, the user would get the same choice to add the content to the contacts). You also could combine both, linking the QR-Code image to the downloadable VCard (make sure the file extension of the vcard file is set to .vcf, so the web server gets a chance to set the correct mime type -- otherwise it may be treated as "plain text" and opened inside the browser instead of being downloaded). This way a visitor could either use a barcode reader, or click on the code to download the VCard. Thus it even could be imported to apps on the PC: MS Outlook, Gnome Evolution, and others understand the VCard-Format as well.

Troubleshooting:

If you linked the VCard .vcf file for download, and it still only gets displayed in the browser window, here's how this can be fixed with Apache web server (solution by MrGlass -- thanks!):

Edit your Apache config (or, if you cannot access this, edit/create the .htaccess file in the directory your .vcf is stored) to contain the following segment:

<FilesMatch "\.vcf$">
  ForceType text/vcard
  Header set Content-Disposition attachment
</FilesMatch>


Change critical settings with ADB without root I am new to Android "internals". I am looking for a way to change some settings on my device, just by using ADB, with debug mode enabled, without having root on my phone (warranty issues taken seriously).

The settings I am trying to change are:

Turn ON/OFF the unknown sources.
Add specified app to device administrators and remove it at any time.
Allow / disallow notifications for specific apps.
Optimize / do not optimize battery usage for specific apps.
Give / take screen capture permissions for specific apps.
Enable / disable google scan feature.

Unfortunately I am not a Java programmer, but, if there isn't a way to do the things above with adb but there is a chance to automate these tasks by using an app, I will try to do it. I just need some directions here. Thanks.

No, you cannot change device settings with ADB unless you have root.

$ adb shell

$ settings put system test_variable test_value
Error while accessing settings provider
java.lang.SecurityException: Permission Denial

$ su
# settings put system test_variable test_value
# settings get system test_variable
test_value


Hey, if I use "Mobile Tethering" and share a network with my computer, will the network admin be able to see my activity on my computer? if I use "Mobile Tethering" and share a network with my computer, will the network admin be able to see my activity on my computer?? If the Admin can see my activity, is there any other ways to "hide" my activity on my computer??

Yes, Its possible to do so. Here, I am adding a link that can guide you to the process. I am sure that will help you out in the pursuit of getting your query answered without any bias.
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-check-what-people-are-surfing-using-my-WiFi


OTG storage devices stopped working I have a Samsung I9305 running rooted stock Android 4.4.4 with Xposed framework.

I used to be able to use USB OTG Storage devices flawlessly.

However, recently, none of them mount. I've tried third party root drivers such as Paragon, but it didn't help. I've tried drives formated in FAT32, exFAT, ext4, NTFS and HFS+ (for the latter I tried using the Paragon driver.) None of them work now.

OTG mice and keyboards still work, so that leads me to think that this may be a software problem.

Is there anything, short of a full firmware restore, that I can try to make this work?

Try the app USB Device Info  it might assist with debugging USB issues.

  This application will provide information about almost all currently
  plugged-in USB device (see below for more info about the 'almost').

  Information includes: •The Device class •The USB device path •The
  Vendor ID (VID) and the Product ID (PID). •A List of all interfaces
  and their endpoints.

  If you download the accompanying databases, the application will also
  be able to provide you with additional info such as the Vendor of the
  device (which is not necessarily the brand!), the vendor's logo and
  the product name.

  This application uses two different methods to collect information:

  Android mode will use the native android USB API.
  Linux mode will parse /sys/bus/usb/devices/.


before I factory reset my galany j3 my daughter has locked herself out of her phone. so before I factory reset her galaxy j3 luna. she's is hoping there's a way I could hook up the phone to a cpu and save her pics & other files?

If the phone is locked and you are not able to open it in any other way, (check the lockscreen, sometimes email is an option), then the device content is gone.

You could try this though:

Take a look into Google photos, sometimes they are backed up there, just search Google photos on your PC.
They could be in Google drive too.


Remove In Case Of Emergency association I was setting up the contacts on my Xperia Z3 (Kit Kat) and entered in my wife as the In Case Emergency contact. However now if I dial her number normally (e.g. from the phone app) it comes up as "In Case Emergency" on the screen. Messages from her in the Messaging app appear as though they have been sent from "In Case Emergency". It appears as though just her mobile number has been associated this way as if I dial her home number then her details are displayed correctly.

I have tried turning off and on, and clearing out the data for the contacts app. I have tried adding and removing her and other contacts from the In Case Emergency contact list.

Given that she is the person I call and send messages to the most it would be nice to have her actual name displayed! Is there any way to fix this?

The problem was caused by a contact named "In Case Emergency" that was not appearing on my phone but was in my gmail contact lists when I looked on the web client. Removing this contact fixed the problem.


Moved out with my router : Location services don't get it So I moved out, carrying along my WiFi router. I set it up at my new place, but now, every time I use a location service, it recognizes my router and places me at my old address... Any way I can force the new location to be recognized for my router?

Thanks!

I have the same problem with a WLAN router I have bought recently. When I connect my mobile without GPS on it usually places me at the location of the former owner.
I assume the router location is bound to the router's unique MAC address - not to it's IP or the SSID which both have changed now.

ZdNet's article says, the location database will become updated when connecting a mobile with it's GPS "on" to this router. More info about Google's location service can be found here.


Android storage , where did my 2GB go? I have an Android phone and trying to understand how it deals with disk space. When I connect my phone to my computer via USB, I can see that I have:
* internal storage space (1.8GB)
* SD card (16GB)

My android phone still complains often that I don't have enough free storage. So I installed the DiskUsage app (which was suggested on some blog). It visualizes perfectly how the data is organized. The app shows that I have roughly 700MB of total storage. Why is that? According to Windows I still have 1.7GB free.

How does this work? Does Android run on a partition which only is 700MB? How can I access the "other" 1.8 GB?? Is there a way to reclaim all that unavailable storage space?

The internal SD-card of the device is probably partitioned.

Check out this screen in the app you mention in OP:

Since my SD-card is not partitioned, I only see one partition. In your case, you should see more than one. The combined sum of all the partitions should equal the total size of the SD-card.

You could root the device and attempt to change the partition table and merge the partitions. It may be a bit risky, though. But it's certainly worth trying if you're open to the risk of rooting, tinkering, etc.

You may also try apps such as this one to move apps to the storage partition. You can free up space on the app partition that way.

If you want to root, you can also use this app to remove bloatware system apps that you don't need. This can also free up space. However, this may also be risky. If you try this, you should be prepared that something might potentially go wrong, and you might have to re-flash stock firmware. That said, removing preloaded bloatware is often easy and trouble-free.


Why does Nexus 5 HCE respond to FELICA select? I have an NFC reader constantly polling for tags present. I also have a Nexus 5 with a HostApduService activated. When repeatedly tapping the Nexus 5 on the reader, the reader reports a FELICA (JIS: X6319-4) tag found in 9 out of 10 cases. About 1 in 10 it reports an ISO14443-3A device.

The latter is the expected behavior and the one described for Android HCE. I cannot find mention of this FELICA support anywhere. A OnePlus One only shows up as ISO14443-3A, for example.

Why does a Nexus 5 HCE show up as FELICA? And is there a way to disable this behavior?

[EDIT]: I have two Nexus 5 phones here, acting differently. This one acts like FELICA: Android 5.1, Build LMY47I. The other does not: Android 5.1.1, Build LMY48M

Besides HCE mode, an Android device typically also operates in NFC peer-to-peer mode. Passive peer-to-peer mode (ISO/IEC 18092) is based on the anti-collision and activation protocols from ISO/IEC 14443 (for 106 kbps) and from JIS X 6319-4 (for 212 kbps and 424 kbps). Hence, devices in peer-to-peer mode may be detected as JIS X 6319-4 cards as well as ISO/IEC 14443-3 cards by contactless smartcard readers.

How likely it is to (accidentally) detect an Android phone as "FeliCa" or to (properly) detect it as ISO/IEC 14443 depends on the implementation of the NFC polling/listening loop that the phone uses to cycle between the different active and passive NFC (and NFC-compatible) protocols.


How can I remove the "+" button on the new Material Design Google Calendar (or revert to an old version)? How can I remove the "+" button on the new Material Design Google Calendar (or revert to an old version)?  The add appointment button is large and annoying; I prefer to double tap the calendar to add appointments.

Reverting back is easy. Just open Settings>Apps>All Apps>Google Calendar>Uninstall updates.


How do i make a new photo album on my HTC Hero S I have Astro File Manager, but i still cant figure out how to create a new album in my Gallery.  If there is any way, can someone please help me out?

Just create a new folder, and put some pictures in it. The Gallery app will detect and show that folder automatically.


Can't access my play store account Due to some reason my phone got stuck. I took out the battery and put it back and restarted my phone, but after that the time shown in my phone was in a back date. As a result I'm getting "I can't access play store". I even removed my account and now I try to login, but still can't access.

What can I do?

I don't know why did I read "black in time", which makes no sense: But as you wrote "my phone was in a back date" – Check your time settings, please!

If your device time is too far off, certificates will cause trouble, which finally results in exactly that: no secure connection possible, and you cannot access your account. In cases like that it often helps to set the time manually (must not be to the second, if it's a minute off it's still fine). Then try again. You can set time adjustment to "automatic" again later.

Background: Certificates have a "livetime", including a start and an end. If your device is outside this frame, the certificate is either only valid "in the past" or "in the future", but not "now". So your device will reject it. Without a valid certificate, the Google Play app won't be able to establish a secured connection, and thus give you an "unable to access" (or similar) error.

Same applies btw. to other apps using secured connections – including the web browser when accessing sites via https. The latter you can use to check whether you've tapped into this trap: Start your web browser, try accessing e.g. https://www.google.com/, and see what happens. If you get a "certificate warning", that's it.


Get files of phone with broken everything Dropped my Oneplus One recently, and have bought a replacement already, but would like to get my files off.

The problem:

screen works, but only top left inch of touchscreen registers
volume buttons don't work
USB debugging has disabled itself for some reason (I usually leave it on for this reason)
when I connect it to the computer using the original USB cable, it just keeps connecting over and over but never shows up (and adb devices doesn't list it)
I have a USB OTG adapter but it's not registering my mouse or keyboard

Other possibly helpful stuff:

wifi is connected
bluetooth is on
I have an 'ftp server' app on my phone that I could connect to to get the data off if I could open it
TWRP is installed, phone is unlocked
lock screen disabled

I've read through the nice broken screen wiki, but nothing on there helps

any creative ideas?

If your ROM and the functionning touch surface of your screen allow it, try to go to settings and activate 0°-90°-180°-270° screen rotation. By turning your phone sideways or upside-down, you might then be able to enable USB debugging again, and proceed to get your files with adb pull.

However, since yout OTG adapter doesn't seem to work, it's likely that your USB port is broken too.


dell streak mini 5 upgrade os to v3 or above Is it possible to upgrade a dell streak mini5?
  android operating system  to v3   or above please?
if so how?

No.  The last official release for the device was Android 2.3, and 3.0 was closed source so there are no custom ROMs.  By the time 4.0 came out, no one was interested in this device anymore (and I'm not sure it could even physically run 4.0).


Update ongoing notification stuck after reboot I selected to upgrade all of my applications, but my phone shut down for some reason during the upgrade. After restarting, I noticed that the upgrade was stuck so I cancelled the updates. Unfortunately, I still saw a notification that the other app were being downloaded. Even after restarting more times, clearing market data and killing the download process, the issue remains. How can I fix this?

Strange that clearing the data did not fix it.  However, you should be able to click on each of the apps that are pretend-downloading and hit Cancel.


Unable to view files (copied from computer) I've been trying to transfer some apk files from my computer to my Galaxy Nexus.  From the information I read, transferring files from PC to android smartphone is supposed to be as easy as drag and drop. I connected my phone to the computer via usb cable, chose MTP option, allow unknown sources installation, and I can access the internal storage of my phone (DCIM, Download folders, etc) just fine.
Then I copied the apk files to a folder (say, Download), disconnect the phone from the computer. On the phone, go into downloads folder and I cannot see the apk files at all !

I dont have any file manager installed, could that be the problem ? How can I install my first file manager through pc ?

I dont have any file manager installed, could that be the problem ? How can I install my first file manager through pc ?

Go to the play store and look
for a file browser of your liking. Install it on your phone.
Connect your phone to your computer. Go to command line/terminal. Make sure you have adb installed, if not install it now.
Use the adb command install <path-to-apk>.


Why does gmail shows idle when I am signed out thus consuming data from my android core prime? Going to Accounts and removing sync off does not help.  removing the gmail app does not help as well. I am not logged on to my gmail account however when a friend checks their mail, finds me being idle even though i am not signed in. why does this happen as it is consuming data as well.

Use Greenify and hibernate it. [You must be rooted.]


How to unhide my review that had been hidden by app developer? I noticed that one app that is licensed under GPLv3, while the app developer had not been publishing code updates on github for several years already. I decided to write a review on Google Play and stress this issue in it:

Since the review was added, many users upvoted it and app developer was quite angry at me. So he clicked some option, that my review was inappropriate/spam, after which it was hidden and became not seen to other users. Only I can see and edit it now, but visibility does not change.

How can I dispute this? Can I appeal to Google Play support team?

Normally, I would be right there with you about getting the code released and would go and fight with you, however they have made some changes, one of which being the licensing.
According to their website, they no longer use the GPL license, which started with version 2.7. They still have a commercial license available.

Sources
Until release 2.7, FBReader source code was dual licensed: GPL and commercial. Unfortunately, GPL violations were too regular. Since 2.7 the source code is only available for a fee. Please contact us for information about the commercial license.
The full sources of FBReader 2.6.15 for Android 2.x are available under the GPL from the git repository at GitHub.

If you were to look at the Wikipedia page, which uses a web archive page as the source, it will tell you that they use a GPL and commercial license. That need to be updated to reflect the new information.
Now, as to your review, what the app publishers are doing is correct. You are technically in the wrong. It is misinformation that you are posting and gives bad credit to the owners.


USB charging in host mode Possible Duplicate:
  Using an OTG cable while charging

Recent versions of Android allow USB to operate in host mode.  But is it possible for them to be powered/charged via that same USB port while operating in host mode?

There is only one USB port for USB OTG (which not supports USB hubs if I remember well) AND charging the phone. So you will have to make a choice. To my mind this is the main problem with USB charging. Phones are used to having a unique port and you have to choose what you want to do with this only port.


Upside down videos on BlueStacks I use the latest version of BlueStacks as a simulator on my PC at the office.
I've installed Instagram on the BlueStacks simulator to work easier when I don't have my mobile phone with me at the office. My PC is OptiPlex 9020 - i7 and I have installed the latest version of BlueStacks.
The problem is that I see the Instagram videos upside down.
Should I change any setting?

Because I had used it, just download BlueStacks with Android and Windows both set to the 64-bit version. Use the following link https://www.bluestacks.com/download.html.
It will 100% solve your problem, the only condition is virtualization on your PC must be enabled.


Move the pointer and control it with the head My name is Stéphane. I am disabled (quadriplegic).
I have a Mac Os 10.15.7 computer where I can move my mouse pointer with my head with this system and with my webcam.
Is there a way with Android to use the webcam to move the cursor?
Thank you.

Welcome Stéphane! Although I am not personally aware of such a system, I imagine at least one does exist. Accessibility functionality on Android is fairly advanced, and I have a hunch a system exactly like what you describe is available. I'm sorry I can't be of more help in that regards.
As a possible simple alternative, years ago a quadriplegic colleague of mine was a computer programmer at a very prominent tech company.  He would strap a pencil-like device to his forehead using a specially-designed headband and write computer programs.  Instead of a pencil tip, the tip of the device was more like an eraser.  Back then, there were no touch screens, so he would be pressing physical keyboard keys.  I wonder if something similar would work for you, but with a tip that works with touchscreens.
Another quadriplegic friend had short 10-15cm (4-6") arms that were rounded at the ends. At the ends of each (or just one... I don't exactly recall) small appendage, was a small ~1cm cavity in which he could attach tools, including a similar pencil-like device (with an eraser-like tip) which he used to type.  He even drove a customized vehicle (a large van that had a wheelchair lift).
I don't know, but maybe some of the above gives you ideas!
I also have a hunch that organizations that help quadriplegics and paraplegics would have good resources for exactly the type of system about which you inquire.  I know that for people with very limited vision or blindness that there are some amazing organizations that help locate (and possibly help fund) obtaining tools like you describe to help accommodate their needs.  I imagine (and hope) similar organizations exist for quadriplegics and paraplegics.
In summary, I hope someone else here will be able to offer you a more specific answer to you question, but in the meantime, that at least a little bit of what I wrote will be of help to you.


update xnph44s to xnph05q the problem:

I am using a OnePlus One. Current CM version - 11.0 XNPH44S. I got the update notification to XNPH05Q and when i click "download update" it downloads the update(i dont know where). And when i click "install update" it reboots and automatically goes to CM recovery mode(i dont need to press the power and volume down button).

As most of the forums suggested, I do the following:

Apply update > choose from internal Storage > 0/

but i dont find the correct file to select. And so I simply reboot the system and download the file cm-bacon-5fa8c79c0b-to-5229c4ef56-signed.zip and put it in the internal storage.. then i do the following:

reboot (automatically goes to cm recovery)
apply update
choose from internal storage
0/
select the zip file

the installation starts...

Same problem has been posted here at xda-developers forums but no solution is given... also, i tried the instructions from the forum of oneplus one.

Note: i dont have much idea on flashing twrp, etc.... you can consider me a noob.

HELP!

My solution:

The problem lied in the ROM installed in my phone. So, I rooted the phone, installed TWRP recovery, flashed SU binary and then flashed the updated ROM.

The most easiest way to root is given here. After following the video tutorial, download the ROM you want to install then flash it using the TWRP recovery.

Go to Recovery mode, select Install,  look for the ZIP file and select  Install zip.


Fastboot stuck on sending system I feel my old mobile with android 2 or 3 got bricked as it get stuck on boot logo each time but I can easily got into fastboot mode but in fastboot mode I can complete following commands like:

fastboot devices
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash splash splash.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img

But each time I run the following command

fastboot flash system system.img

The fastboot command stuck on

  Sending 'system' (124183 KB)

I can easily erase the system but cannot flash it.

boot in recovery from fastboot, once in twrp enter adb shell, or use -> Advanced -> Terminal

fastboot boot recovery.img
adb shell

be careful with dd especially double check partition name and partition size.

in your /etc/recovery.fstab there might be just a symlink but no worry you can use it dd will targeting the real partition.

cat /etc/recovery.fstab
ls -l /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system
dd if=/external_sd/system.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p99

   if the file size is bigger than partition size it is strongly recommended to add parameters block size and count to limit the write process to maximum partition size, otherwise your cache and userdata partition may be destroyed.

beware files bigger than 4 GiB can not copied to MicroSD Card, so instead adb push

adb push system.img /dev/block/mmcblk0p99

How can I view the Android internal partition table?

if you are not sure about your system.img is sparsed image or LZ compressed, you can check the header for file system type / partition magic
ext4: 0xEF53 at offset 0x438
f2fs: 0xF2F52010 at offset 0x400

hexdump -C -n1088 system.img | grep 53.ef
hexdump -C -n1032 system.img | grep 10.20.f5.f2

if one of these magic is found the image can be loop mounted for testing, otherwise you need to convert file with simg2img or sdat2img first


Battery warning (?) No words, just an image: Yesterday, I connected my Huawei u 9805 smartphone to a reliable USB charger when it was at 11, 12, or 13 % (I don't remember, but I have occasionally waited much longer - it warns at about 7 %, I think).

This morning, only the following Image apperas on the screen: (I cannot photograph it now)

The phone won't start; this image is displayed when I connect the charger Instead of the usual "battery loading" screen. There is not text on the screen, making this hard to Google. And I don't think its meaning is clear. Battery defect?? Can't they just put these letters onto the screen? Actually it looks like it's loading, doesn't it?

The Phone is about 13 months old; 4 months ago the same thing happened and I just replaced the battery without thinking about it. (I still retained the original.) Usually the battery lasts at least 2 days (I only activate Wifi in the evening at home, I don't use mobile data or multimedia); I wouldn't expect it to break this early or this suddenly.

What does this error screen mean? Is it an error screen in the first place??

This looks like the screen that displays when the charger is plugged in.  I don't have a Huwaie device, but I do see a similar full-screen battery icon when my device is plugged in (but turned off).

I don't think this is an error message, try a different charger if you are having issues (that is probably your issue, not your device).


Odin froze on TWRP image I started flashing mu Samsung A5 (2017) about 30 minutes ago, and Odin seems frozen at TWRP image. What should I do?

<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1203)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> TWRP_3.1.1-0_a5y17lte.img

You should be okay based on those log output nand write start did not start. Nothing that is not recoverable. Just simply:

1) disconnect usb

2) reboot the phone

3) restart odin

4) Try again

During the super important stuff the log states: DO NOT TURN OFF TARGET!! if it happens again you might need to try a different odin version.


Do not Disturb Mode with some special conditions I am looking for a way to establish a "Do not Disturb" Mode (like on iOS) that does at least the following (on an unrooted phone):

Switches ringer and notifications to Silent (disable vibrate, vol = 0) during a special time
Lets repeated calls through (if anyone really wants to phone me)
Still allows the alarm clock to ring
Is disabled when phone is in use (e.g. display is active)
Manually enableable/disableable (for a specific time)

Cool would also be:

Enables only when I put the phone in the charger during the specific time
Does not enable when connected with my car via Bluetooth

Is there any way to achieve this? If not natively, maybe by using some application? My phone and tablet are unrooted.

It sounds like Agent fits the bill for you. Specifically, the Sleep Agent.

I do use the Agent app, though I don't use the Sleep Agent itself, so this list of features is just me going through the setup options in the app.

Set Days & Times for it to activate. (defaults to 11:00 PM through 7:00 the next morning, Sunday through Thursday nights.)
Selectable whether it does 'Silence' or 'Vibrate'.
Has a whitelist of callers that are allowed to get through. (And selectable whether unknown callers get through or not.)
Can wait until plugged in before starting.
Can auto-respond with a text saying "I'm sleeping, text 'urgent' to wake me up."
Right off your request list, it can allow repeated calls to get through.

(I use Agent mostly for the Meeting Agent: It links to the Google Calendar on my work account, and auto-silences the phone for the duration of the meeting.)


No USB Storage Mode on GalaxyNexus running 4.2.2 I have a GalaxyNexus running Android 4.2.2

I just want to quickly backup some data files to my PC. I'm pretty sure I've done this many times before, but I guess not on this phone.

I have the Android SDK and tools installed on my PC.
I attach the phone by USB
I run monitor.bat and go to the File Explorer tab

Now, I can see and explore the file system.

I believe the folders I want to back up (like DCIM and Download) are under /storage/sdcard0
When I run a file explorer app on my phone, I see the folders under this path.
However, when I run the File Explorer from my PC I don't see the folders.

Do I have to do something to unmount the folders first before I can access them through USB? Do I have to shut off MTP and put the device in USB storage mode?

What am I missing?

Normally you would put the device into storage mode. When the phone is normally booted without storage mode you'll only be able to see internal, then when switched to storage mode you'll see the sdcard as well.

But VerizonWireless says the Galaxy Nexus doesn't come with USB storage mode. According to them you would transfer your data/files to PC across MTP.

So having the external SD card not show in PC explorer, can be bypassed by inserting it into a card reader on the PC. A little inconvenient, but will accomplish your task.


ICS silence on lockscreen On Gingerbread, there was a nice silence slider on the lockscreen:
How do I get something like that in ICS?

You need to use something like widgetlocker for that.


My Nexus 7 is dead, any suggestion? My Nexus 7 died. I didn't see it happening. My son was playing, went to school and left it charging. At night it didn't turn on anymore. The screen is black.

I've followed the Asus instructions. This answer says to disconnect the battery. Any other tip? Nexus isn't officially sold in my country (Brazil). I'm afraid I won't get be able to use the warranty.

Since the last update, I've noticed some hiccups. Maybe it was due to excess of running applications.

Hold the Pwr & Vol- 60 seconds. Release, Press and hold power button for up to 10 seconds. Release.

If this does not work, it is fairly easy to remove the back cover and detatch the battery.


how to watch DVDs on my Captivate I would like to rip and watch a DVD on my new Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate variety) handset.  Sometimes I get a goofy sci-fi on Netflix that I would like to watch but the wife wouldn't bother. So I want to rip a copy to my PC and watch it later on my captivate.  What is the best format/method/player for me?

Handbrake is a good program to rip and convert DVD video (it may not work on certain copy protected DVDs but that's a topic for another SE).

The stock video player plays H.264 .mp4 videos well (here are the supported formats).  You can actually just use the iphone/ipod preset in handbreak, just change the width of the video to the height dimension of your phone (so you can watch it in landscape, on the Droid it's 854 px).  It will output a .m4v format which technically isn't supported but it will play because it's not drm'd by itunes.

If you prefer another format like .avi, then you'll need another player like RockPlayer which supports many more video formats:

  avi mkv rmvb mp4 mov wmv asf wma wav
  mpg ts mpa dvd au mp3 mid ivf aiff ogm
  ogg cda flic d2v aac roq flac drc dsm
  swf pls pmp


Connect to laptop's localhost websites is it possible for me to connect to http://localhost websites on my laptop from my phone without any internet connection?

Phone is Samsung Galaxy W. Laptop Acer with Windows 7.
The server I'm using on the laptop is XAMPP at the moment, but this can be changed if another program is easier.

Basically, I want to connect to my laptop server from the phone without router or internet connection.

I know the phone is supposed to have hotspot functionality, does this work without internet (just bought it so I don't know much about it yet)?

One solution to your problem probably is Reverse Tether:

Other than your hotspot functionality (which lets you use your phones Internet connection with other devices via Wifi), this allows you to use your computers network via USB, as the screenshots imply. Thus your phone gets a (configurable) IP address (pic1: "Desired IP") matching your computers (pic1: "Gateway IP"; it is important that both are part of the same subnet), and then you can access your computers web services from your Android device as described before (using the computer's IP).

Drawback: This solution requires your device to be rooted. I will check further, maybe I find a similar solution not requiring root, and then will update my answer with that new information.

UPDATE:

If your computer is equipped with Wifi, an "adhoc connection" could also provide a solution. You might want to take a look at the question How to connect android wifi to adhoc wifi? for details on this. And there is a brand new article just published today at PC Advisor: Connect Android phone to Ad Hoc network, which might be even more helpful to you.


Can I trigger a media scan via the command line? Is it possible to trigger the media scanner to update its DB via the command line?

I have an SSH server installed on my Android device and I copy files to/from over the same link. It would be great if I could also trigger a re-scan for the media scanner.

I am aware that there are applications on the market to do this via the UI but this is not what I want.

Any help fully appreciated.

The SSH server doesn't set all the necessary environment variables so it is easier to use a shell script.

#!/system/bin/sh

export ANDROID_ASSETS=/system/app
export ANDROID_CACHE=/cache
export ANDROID_DATA=/data
export ASEC_MOUNTPOINT=/mnt/asec
export ANDROID_ROOT=/system
export BOOTCLASSPATH=/system/framework/core.jar:/system/framework/core-junit.jar:/system/framework/bouncycastle.jar:/system/framework/ext.jar:/system/framework/framework.jar:/system/framework/android.policy.jar:/system/framework/services.jar:/system/framework/apache-xml.jar:/system/framework/filterfw.jar
export EXTERNAL_STORAGE=/mnt/sdcard
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/vendor/lib:/system/lib

am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED -d file:///mnt/sdcard

When successful:

# rescan-media
Broadcasting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED dat=file:///mnt/sdcard }
Broadcast completed: result=0

This works on Cyanogenmod 9.1. Depending on your system the environment may be slightly different.

Note: In later versions of Cyanogenmod / Android the SD card may be mounted at /storage/sdcard0. Make sure you know where your card is mounted or this will never work. Diskinfo may help here.

Thanks to Dan Hulme for pushing me in the right direction.

References:

http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent.html
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1752749
http://intwoplacesatonce.com/
http://kennystechtalk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/start-android-media-scanner-from.html


Android browser's about:debug, what do those settings do? I have just found this hidden setting:

Open Stock browser (Not Chrome on ICS. about:debug doesn't work in Chrome. Use remote debugging instead.)
In the address bar, type about:debug, nothing should happen, there will be no confirmation screen or flashing green box telling you that you've done anything.
However, there should now be a few new options in the browser's Settings page.

(Click image to enlarge)

In Menu > More > Settings:

(Click image to enlarge)

In Menu > More, there is also:

(Click image to enlarge)

probably there are other new menus showing up that I haven't noted and the menus are very likely to be version specific.

While, I understand some of these settings, there are many of these settings that I don't understand, like where can I find the Javascript Console, what is being traced, what light touch and nav cache dump does, where do the dump files being saved to, what are the valid JS (Javascript?) flags, etc.

I find it difficult to Google what these setting do. I'd like help from others to play/experiment/Google with about:debug and write up what these settings do. Any bits of info you can gather is helpful.

Please have one answer per setting, unless you're describing interrelated settings.

Javascript Console is this thing:

For some reason, the "Show JavaScript console" bar will only show up in android.com website. Not sure whether the Syntax Error triggers the console or if there is another reason why it shows in android.com and none of the other sites I've been checking.


Nexus 5 upgraded to 5.1 and mobile data wont work anymore My Nexus 5 upgraded from Android 4.4.2 to 5.1 now it won't connect to mobile data.

How can I get it to connect?

You're not the only one: google support forum issue.

Seems to happen after mobile data has been unused for a while - ie when you come off Wi-Fi.

Comes back if it reconnects to the network.

Workaround 1 - Toggle Airplane mode on and off

Workaround 2 - in Settings -> More -> Cellular Networks -> Preferred Network Type.  Change the setting, then change it back.

Workaround 3 - go out of mobile range (no signal)


Are APKs architecture-independent? Android devices have different processors like ARM and Intel processors. Can Android apps run just the same regardless of which architecture the device has? Or are there apps that will only run on ARM-architecture, etc?

Yes, applications (APKs) are independent of the architecture.

Android is made up of 4 major levels.

The apps you write is compiled into Dalvik EXecutable (DEX) code, which is finally converted into assembly code (according to the required architecture) by the kernel to send to the processor.

So, the kernel is the final one that's responsible to act according to the required architecture and it's compiled by the ROM developer accordingly.

The DEX code is always independent of the architecture, so that application developers needn't worry about the type of processor.


Remove persistent notification of an app without disabling all of its notifications The latest Pushbullet update (v17.0.4) for Android  has added a persistent notification to my notification drawer. The app indicates that I can remove the notification by enabling Pushbullet in the notification access settings. However, I can't seem to find these settings in my Samsung Galaxy S4 running Android 4.2.2 with Samsung's ROM.

Are there notification access settings in Android 4.2.2? If so, where did Samsung bury them in the settings?

If there are no such settings in Android 4.2.2, is there a way to remove persistent notifications without affecting Pushbullet's functionality (such as through an Xposed module)?

EDIT:
To clarify, I don't want to disable all notifications for this app, it would defeat the purpose of the app. I want to disable the persistent notification that now shows up. It is supposedly necessary in order to allow certain features, now that the accessibility service has been removed.

In the case of Pushbullet, if you don't want to use SMS sync, you can turn off it from Pushbullet settings and the notification will disappear.


My SGS2 got stolen and I want to reset it through a PC - how? My phone got stolen and I want to reset it through a PC how do I do that?

Did you have Lookout or another security app installed? Most of them have remote-wipe features. If you didn't, there's also Lookout's Plan B from Google Play. I don't think Plan B allows remote wipe, but even still, it's likely your best bet.


Trouble installing SwiftKey via APKPure I don't have a Google account and use APKPure (and F-Droid) to get most apps I need. Now, there are a few apps which, after download, refuse to install - they give me the "App not installed" error when I try to install them from within the APKPure interface. Right now I'm seeing this with the SwiftKey Keyboard application: I already use it, and I'm trying to install an upgrade of it but getting that error.

How can I determine why I'm getting the "App not installed" message?
Should I try installing in "Safe Mode"? I've heard about it but don't yet know how to get into it.
If I want to try and install manually - where do I find the APK file(s) for my app?

Additional informations:

I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi 3S with Android version 6.0.1.
SwiftKey is already installed and is in use; but just to be sure, I replaced it with another keyboard as the chose/active keyboard app and the results are the same.
The APK file seems to be this one (assuming I get the same file from my desktop and from my APKPure app on my Android device).
$ apksigner verify SwiftKey\ Keyboard_v6.6.9.32_apkpure.com.apk
WARNING: META-INF/DEPENDENCIES not protected by signature. Unauthorized modifications to this JAR entry will not be detected. Delete or move the entry outside of META-INF/.

Following @Izzy's patient advice in the comments, I got impatient and finally resolved this.

The reason for "App not installed" in OP's case

The pre-installed version of the SwiftKey Keyboard app had some sort of incompatibility with more recent versions - a "signature mismatch" - preventing an upgrade from the former to the latter.

Should I try installing in "Safe Mode"?

Not relevant in this case.

So how do I upgrade SwiftKey?

Uninstall SwiftKey (just the main package; there may be auxiliary packages) and install the new version.### How to determine why you get "App not installed" generally

It's tricky. What you can do is have a look at the "logs":

Install a log viewer app like CatLog
Install something like Termux (or an SSH server, then SSH into your phone)
In a terminal, run adb logcat
Try installing SwiftKey
Have a look at the what you get in the log

You need to redirect the log output into a text file if you can't scroll your terminal well enough.


Droid x on Liberty 3 v 2: How can I restore contacts with titanium backup after flashing? I just rooted my droid X and installed liberty 3v2. Awesome experience so far.

Before I flashed, I backed up most of my apps + system data with titanium backup. What app / data do I need restore from titanium backup in order to get my contacts back?

If your device is linked to a Google Account, merely syncing will restore your contacts and calendar.

Otherwise, in TiB - look for Contacts / Contacts Storage in the backup/restore tab.


How can I send service commands from my Nexus 7? I have a Nexus 7 3G and I often need to send network service commands (e.g., to use top-up codes or to activate/de-activate data-plans), but can't find a way to do it from the tablet. Instead I'm forced to take the SIM card out of the Nexus and put it into a mobile phone temporarily. Is there a way to do this directly from the Nexus 7?

I think USSD Checker is the app that you are looking for.

It allows you to send USSD codes to your network without the use of a dialer. I haven't tried it myself though so comment whether it works or not would help.


I just want to call numbers I find on the internet! When I click on a phone number in Chrome on the internet it prompts me to download Hangouts. I just want to call it with the default Samsung dialer not Hangouts! How do I do this?

Sounds like the default application has been changed from "dialer" to "hangouts" - so when you press a phone number, it's calling to the default handler for that thing... which is the phone number.

So, look in your phone's settings for default apps and see what's selected for the dialer call as it should now be hangouts (so just look for hangouts in there and if you find it, click on it to change it - maybe, depends on your phone).

Good luck!


Can't install Aptoide I'm having this problem since I was trying to upgrade Aptoide from 6.5.X to 7.X.

I was trying to upgrade Aptoide from inside Aptoide: Installation failed.

I was trying to adb install or pm install it, got the same response:
Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_CONFLICTING_PROVIDER]

So I removed the older Aptoide version and got the same response exactly except for several times where I got Failure [INSTALL_FAILED_INVALID_URI].

I tried upgrading my CM version (My device is OnePlus One with the latest official COS12.1), didn't help, same response.

I checked the list of packages, there were no conflicts with the name in android:authorities in AndroidManifest.xml and there were also no special character in that file (I used apktool to decompile the apk and look at the files).

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong but I don't want to mess with the package and there's nothing I know I can change in my phone's configuration that would fix that.

Any ideas?

Figured it all out!

Apparently Aptoide-dev was installed but somehow only for the guest user.

All I had to do was switching to the guest user, going to Settings -> Apps and remove the Aptoide-dev package.

Going back to my profile did some weird stuff (I can't switch between apps, it'll probably work after restart) but I managed to install Aptoide finally.

Thanks.


What Android versions have captive wifi detection? A captive Wi-Fi or captive portal being a Wi-Fi network that redirects all websites to a page, usually with a form to log in, enter a code, or accept some T&Cs.

My samsung-nexus-10 can detect when I've connected to a network with this behaviour, and brings up a notification to tell me, but my old htc-desire can't. When was this feature introduced?

As best as I can tell on GrepCode, functionality relating to walled gardens (captive portals) was added to WifiWatchdogStateMachine.java in 4.0.1. I can't find it listed in the Android API reference to confirm exactly when it was added, but that would seem to match with your Nexus 10 having the feature but not your HTC Desire.


Why is Google Now Launcher using Samsung Theme Store Icons although the theme is uninstalled? I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Android 5.1.1. I installed Google Now Launcher then I installed a theme from Samsung theme store, which replaced the default icons. After removing the theme and the launcher, I came back to Google Now, and although the theme was removed, the same Icons remain, even with default theme. Tried countless reinstalls of Google now launcher, but still no results.

Here is what I mean:

Fyi for anyone googling this or looking for this still. I had my s7 edge display scaling set to condensed to fit more on the screen. Once I changed it back to standard (with the material Samsung theme applied) and rebooted the correct icons appeared. Could be that the change forces the launcher to recreate icons or clear it's cache etc.

Also, stock android lovers, install good lock from the galaxy app stores to bring the stock android notification shade and status bar into your s7. Got a very stock feel now with Samsung material theme, Google now launcher and good lock.

Hope this helps someone.


I want to use an old phone for making calls only, does the OS version matter? I have an old Galaxy S phone running Android 4.0 and only want to use the phone for calls.  Does the OS version matter?

If you use it only to make and receive phone calls, then no, the OS version doesn't really matter. You might still want to keep up with updates, the latest official version of the OS usually bring improvements to battery life, bug fixes, and other little improvements; but keeping up with updates is much less important if the phone is just used as a basic phone. The protocols serving basic phone functionality (GSM, SMS, MMS, etc) is pretty well standardized and the carrier had all kind of incentives to maintain backward compatibilities.

You might want to turn off mobile data if you're not using it.

If you are using the phone's browser regularly and/or running apps, then is crucial to get the latest version of the OS and the browser. The latest version of the OS and apps also provides security fixes, so running an outdated OS or app can be a risk to you, your data, and to your other devices.

If you are running social apps (e.g. chat, social media) or other apps that relies on an external service (e.g. news feed, sync folder) then it is pretty crucial to keep the apps up to date. Some apps are better than others, but these apps, as they rely on external services, may regularly break functionalities for people that doesn't keep up with updates, as the service evolves. For these apps, it's easier if you keep up to date than to wait until things start breaking before updating.

For purely offline apps, like many stand alone games, keeping up to date is less crucial. You may choose not to update them as long as the current functionality works for you.


How do I disable notification sounds and vibrate in messenger? I'd like to disable sounds and vibration for messages on Facebook messenger, but leave on sound/vibration for calls and other apps. How can I do this?

As of now, notifications for chats and calls in Messenger are grouped and can only be enabled/disabled together.
Your best bet is to contact facebook/messenger and ask them to add the feature, by splitting the notifications into channels, which can then be controlled seperately.


Is there a command or application similar to ipconfig? I would like to see my network addresses on my phone. On Windows I can use ipconfig for this and ifconfig on Linux. But how can I see this information on my Android device? Is there an application or command for this?

More specifically I would like to see what IPv4 address I get and what IPv6 address I get or if I don't get one.

Android comes with ifconfig, install Terminal Emulator and type "ifconfig eth0", or use "netcfg" to list all available devices. You need root to use ifconfig though.


How to find the list of servers accessed by a webpage on android? On my desktop Firefox I can view the list of servers any given web page accesses either by checking with Firebug or by pressing "Ctrl-i" Page Info > Media. Out of the two Firebug is of course much better, it gives a detailed list in the Network panel.

How would I do something similar on android? I don't mind using another browser either, so far I haven't found anything similar on Dolphin or Firefox.

What I'm really after is getting a list of ad servers for my frequently viewed web pages so that I can block them (I rooted my phone so I can edit /etc/hosts). So if I need to use another browser is not a problem, I'd just use it once, get a list of ad servers, block them, and then go back to Dolphin (which is what I use normally).

It just seems odd that even though this feature is present in all desktop browsers it is completely missing in android browsers.

you need sniff packets when open one URL on browser,
so, use Burp Suite

  (with setting proxy between android device and burp proxy)

also you can use Wireshark for sniff packets and receive send/receive packet between Client/Server, and ,
finally receive ip's.
i hope, this help you.


Backup and Restore with Holo ( ADB ) from N4 to another N4 - some questions I am soon receiving a replacement device for my Nexus 4, that got some problems charging now and then.

Some questions regarding Holo Backup:

It shall be no problem to restore a "Backup all without system apps" and sdcard from N4 to N4 both running the exact same firmware and stuff, right?
Does this option also backups alarms, ringtones set for certain things and sdcard0?
Anyway to save my widgets and stuff placed on default homescreen?

//EDIT

my replacement just arrived. Gonna answer these questions soon.

Restore via Holo Backup didnt worked at all. Nothing happened on my phone no matter what kind of backup i tried to restore.

Restore via adb from commandoline worked... well not the full backup!! it stucked at an app called "Tasks".

But backup only from app and system data worked fine! So i just let google restore all my apps.

Apps and Folders on the Homescreen were restored. eMail ringtone too (hangouts sms not).
alarms were also restored.

I just pulled and pushed my whole sdcard0 folder manually.


How to back up DSLR pictures with Android? I'm going to be traveling soon and taking a DSLR camera and Galaxy S5 mobile phone. How could I transfer the pictures to my phone and then to a backup service such as DropBox or Google Drive? I anticipate taking more than 100 GB of pictures.

Wi-fi memory cards! That is, if your camera doesn't have Wi-fi capability itself.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye-Fi

A comparison between two brands:

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/4616822206/battle-of-the-wi-fi-cards-eye-fi-vs-transcend

It's pretty cool stuff. Quoting from dpreview:

  Eye-Fi and Transcend wireless cards can both connect to a smartphone or tablet, providing the ability to wirelessly transfer images and videos to the device.


com.google.settings has stopped Micromax Android one I am using Micromax android one with Android 5.0.1.

Couple of weeks ago, few of my applications stopped one by one. Only two things I was able to do was calling and Whatsapp, probably waiting for their turn to stop. Recently it started showing Unfortunately, com.google.settings has stopped.

I tried to do a Hard Reset. On rebooting itself it started showing Unfortunately, com.google.settings has stopped. And now I am able to do nothing with the phone.

Highly appreciate any help.

A sureshot way to fix this would be to factory reset your device. I understant that you've already tried it from settings while the OS is booted and running. You could try factory resetting it from the stock recovery.
This Google help page will help you with what needs to be done. But do remember - everything in your internal storage will be wiped clean.

Reset device in Recovery mode
Before you begin
If your device is running Android 5.1 or higher, your device is protected to prevent other people from using it if it's been reset to factory settings. To ensure that it's really you doing the reset, you'll need to enter a Google username and password associated with the device after factory reset. If you don't have this information, you won't be able to finish the setup process and use the device at all after factory reset.
You'll also need to:
Wait 72 hours if you recently reset your Google account password
Make sure you have an Internet connection
Back up your data to your Google Account and be ready to restore
To do a factory data reset, follow these steps:

If your phone is on, turn it off.
Press and hold the Volume up button and the Power button at the same
time until the device turns on.
Press the Volume down button to select "Recovery mode." If you need
to navigate to the "Recovery mode" option, use the Volume up button
to move the arrow and the Volume down button to select it.
You’ll see an image of an Android robot with a red exclamation mark
and the words "No command."
While holding down the Power button, press the Volume up button and
release it.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe data/factory reset" and
press the Power button to select it.
Scroll down to "Yes - erase all user data" and press the Power
button to select it.

Your Android One device will erase all of your data and restart with its factory settings. You'll see the Welcome screen just as you did when you turned the device on for the first time. When you're done with the setup process, follow these steps to restore your data.
Note: If your phone becomes unresponsive at any point during these steps, you can restart it by holding down the Power button for several seconds. If that doesn’t work, try taking the battery out and putting it back in and starting the steps again.


How to bring back GOOGLE PLAY SERVICES NOTE: MY PHONE IS ROOTED.

A few days back my GOOGLE PLAY STORE started showing '"NO CONNECTION...RETRY" even when the phone was connected to WIFI. All other internet using apps worked normally but appstore didnt. SO my friend told me to uninstall the PLAY SERVICES and again insatll it through finding an .apk file of it on internet.I did uninstalled butb i cant find any file to reinstall the play services and my phone is. I tried everything best but couldnt get any solution. Should I go for A factory reset or there is some other solution as well.

Google Play Services as of Nov. 25, 2014.

This directly from the Play Store. I have used this on a couple of devices. It works. Install like a normal apk.


"Could not do normal boot invalid kernel length" My G935F shows “Could not do normal boot invalid kernel length” when attempting to boot into TWRP or turn on the device normally. The only thing I can access is ODIN. This happened after attempting to update TWRP and LineageOS. From looking online, I believe I can get a kernel and select the AP option in ODIN and flash a kernel as long as it is in .tar format. I was previously using PRIME kernel https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-...1-4-0-t3678159 so I looked in the latest download from there but there are no .tar files, only a bootimg.tar.xz and a ramdisks.tar.xz. I tried extracting bootimg.tar.xz to a bootimg.tar and flashing that, but ODIN says it failed:

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1210)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> g930eur-aosp-Image-r12p0
<ID:0/003> Unassigned file
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I also tried flashing the zip from https://autoroot.chainfire.eu/#odin but ODIN gave me:

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> CF-Auto-Root-hero2lte-hero2ltexx-smg935f.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis.. <ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I don't know what I'm doing and I'm afraid to mess up my phone beyond repair with ODIN. Can someone please help me? XDA forums has no answer and I don't know who else to ask.

I ran ODIN as administrator and was able to flash Chainfire. I was then able to boot in normally, and after that flash TWRP again. Still not sure which step caused that issue but it is resoled now.


How to deactivate headphone's buttons I think my headphone or phone jack broke, and if I move the jack a bit, somehow the headphones activate the google assistant or pause the music, so this is from the button.

Can I deactivate it on a non rooted Huawei P8Lite (Android 6.0)

Software wise: HeadsetBlocker & Wizdroid both attempt to block headphone buttons. However both are very outdated. Can install and try.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idunnolol.headsetblocker&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yifandroid.wizdroids&hl=en

Hardware wise: You can try a 4 pole to 3 pole adapter to remove the microphone (I am not positive this will work)

https://www.amazon.com/LEMENG-Female-Headset-Extension-Cable-2Pack/dp/B01LRWO9GU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1510759624&sr=8-6&keywords=3+pole+adapter


How to install a custom ROM on a generic Chinese Android tablet? My generic Chinese Android tablet has Android 5.1 pre-installed on it.
Here is a link to the eBay page on where I bought it.
How can I install Android 6.0 onto it?

I have the same Chinese tablet but on my tablet I have Android 4.1.1 Jellybean. So first you can see what is the type of the proccesor you have. Next step is to search a custom ROM for your tablet (a CyanogenMod is a good choice). But you need to root your tablet (Superuser is a good choice) and you need to install CWM. You can watch on YouTube step-by-step (you can watch and you will understand)


How to install ClockWorkMod recovery on a Samsung Galaxy S2 plus gt-i9105? I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 plus (GT-i9105), running Android 4.1.2 (Jellybean).

I really tried evereything – with Odin, with apps, with other programs. I tried to update with Samsung Kies, but that doesn't work.

I want to install CyanogenMod. I tried with the CyanogenMod Installer, but doesn't work. Now I'm out of ideas. Could you give me any pointers on how to succeed?

First: Cyanogenmod is a customized version of Android and NOT a recovery.

Ok, let's move.
You should root your device first. Once rooted you can install the ROM Manager App from the Play Store, which will guide you to install Custom Recovery.
In order to root your S2 follow this instructions: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2663834

You also can follow this tutorial: http://youtu.be/xBJyQrbEkuc