Adcash malware removal process, tool When I am online, I get always when I unlock the screen a browser popup with a specified address: adcash.com/...
It is just a blank page, but very annoying.
I have tried all the Play offers and highly recommended apps, but it is still there.

I also have this issue, and it has just started in the last week.

Do you by any chance have an HTC device?

Edit - I've been uninstalling apps one by one, and the removal that seemed to stop it was Ad Block Plus.


Why is my SD card not being fully recognised? I recently bought a new Alba 10" tablet, along with a 32GB microSD card to boost the storage.

My problem is that the SD card isn't functioning as I would expect.

The expected behaviour

If I insert the card when the tablet is already switched-on I see a "Preparing SD card" notification message, which subsequently disappears.
If I remove the card when the tablet is already switched-on I get an "SD card removed unexpectedly: Unmount SD card before removing to avoid data loss" notification message.
The card appears in the tablet's built-in file browser (and other apps I've tried) as a 29.79GB SD card and it appears to work normally (creating/deleting files and folders etc).

The unexpected behaviour

When the SD card is present the Settings->Storage screen only shows the tablet's internal storage, exactly the same as when the card is not present. This has a few undesirable effects:

I can't unmount the card to avoid the notification mentioned in "expected" behaviour 2, above.
I can't change the default write disk. This means that I can't, for example, save photos from the camera app directly to the card.
I can't move any apps to the SD card.

Some other points that may or may not be relevant

The tablet is running Android 5.0.1 and doesn't appear to have any major customisations.
The card is a Samsung EVO 32GB microSDHC, bought from a reputable retailer and delivered in sealed packaging, so I'm about as sure as I can be that it's not counterfeit.
I've tried the card in my PC and it appears to behave normally. I've also tried reformatting it on the PC before retrying in the tablet, with no change in the tablet's behaviour.

And here are my questions...

Is the described behaviour truly unexpected or is it my own expectations that are wrong?
If this is known behaviour then is there some way to make the SD card show up on the Settings->Storage screen?
If this isn't known behaviour then is there anything else I should try in an attempt to diagnose and/or fix the problem?
Does it really matter if the problem can't be resolved? Is it likely to be safe to use the card purely as file storage, even if it can't be made to appear on the Settings->Storage screen?

The immediate red-flag is that you are using a Samsung EVO SD card. There have been a huge amount of counterfeits being reported, even from retailers like Best Buy and Target. It even made it on XDA, which explains pretty thoroughly what to look for: Fake Samsung EVO 64GB SD card - XDA

It doesn't seem, however, that it would affect your Settings app in that manner. I have a few unbranded tablets that handle storage terribly, and I think it's definitely the manufacturer's fault.

If you like Vanilla Android tablets like I do, I would recommend the Dell Venue line of tablets, they are Intel core and handle games and Bochs emulator very well.


Missing Google BackupTransportService in Cyanogenmod 11 Google backup seems not to be working on my Nexus 4 with CM11 (snapshot M9).
I've the Google Apps installed (gapps-jb-20130301-signed.zip), but when I try to list the transports, here's what I get:

$ adb shell bmgr list transports
  * android/com.android.internal.backup.LocalTransport

Is this expected?

Under Settings -> Backup & reset I find this screen

I think this issue is ROM related, the .BackupTransportService should be there.
I've checked the list on a similar setup (LG Optimus G, CM11 20140813 nightly)

bmgr list transports
  * com.google.android.backup/.BackupTransportService
    android/com.android.internal.backup.LocalTransport

Have you tried newer CM versions?

(Also see this thread at XDA from Nov. 2013)


How do I set the default messaging app to use google voice? (4.2.2 Galaxy S4) I keep seeing advice to set the default messaging app by going to Settings> Manage Applications> All Applications>

And then clicking on the messaging app (I also tried google hangouts since that can send text messages).  But in the "clear defaults" button is greyed out and it says there is no default.  If there is no default, then what is it using to send the message?

I guess a second-best solution is for me to replace the default app with one that can send using google voice.

I believe this is the app that can solve your problem...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.james.SmartUninstaller

I hope it helps! :)


"Wrong file type, please select again" when choosing a ringtone I have a Nexus 5, all my ringtones and notification sounds returned to default, and when I try to set any file as a sound I get this message:

  Wrong file type, please select again

I get the same message no matter what file type I choose, including the files that were my sounds until this morning. I tried to delete cache memory and reboot but that did nothing.

José Mejuto Was correct in his 2nd Point.

deleting the /.nomedia file has no effect.

1: Go to "Settings -> Apps (All) -> Media storage"
2: Clear Cache & Data
3: Change your ring tone or notification tone

Thanks José :)


Prevent redirection on chrome Whenever I select anything I have Google on Chrome, I always get redirected to another spam like site or says my phone is infected. I have an antivirus software which doesn't pick up any virus infected on my phone.

Others suggest blocking JavaScript, which works but you cannot view any site or video after. Is there a way to prevent always being redirected?

Try anyone of these:

Root the phone. Use Adblock plus app. Rooting voids warranty.
Use Firefox with Adblock extention installed. This doesn't require rooting.
Use Adblock browser. Rooting isn't necessary here.
Use UC mini browser with Speed mode enabled. Browsing experience will be deteriorated.
I recommend second method the most. Please don't ask for links. Everything can be found using Google.


How do I sync and share Calendars from multiple Google accounts with my phone? I have some questions regarding to Android's default calendar app in Galaxy 5 (five).

I am working with two Google accounts, but my calendar app shows calendar of only one account which is marked default. How to see events in calendar of other account?
How can I sync events of Android calendar and Google's online calendar?
How can I share events of my calendar to other Android device or my friend's Google calendar?

Assuming you upgraded your Galaxy 5 to Android 2.2, you can do the following:

To sync and see calendars from both accounts:
a. If you already added your other GMail account, skip to step c.
b. Add your second GMail account under Menu -> Settings -> Accounts & sync -> Add account -> Google and follow directions there.
c. Tap on the newly added account and make sure the "Sync Calendar" option is selected and exit out of Settings.
d. Open up the Calendar app and go to Menu -> More -> Calendars expand the newly added Google account, which should show you all of its available calendars.  Keep tapping the button  to the right of each calendar until both icons are enabled, and the text under the account name reads "synced, visible", and tap the OK button.
e. You should now be able to view the second calendar's entries in the Calendar app (or any app that accesses Google calendars.)
Any events you create on your phone via the Calendar app and assign to a GMail account will automatically sync to your online GMail account.
Instructions for sharing your Google Calendar with a friend can be found here.


Using Android phone as Bluetooth headset to PC I'd like to use my HTC One S (running Android ISC) as a Bluetooth
"headset" for my computer, so I can use it to make VOIP calls.

For devices without that capability built in, are there computer/phone applications that make this possible? Wo Mic is a start, but only supports the voice input, not output.

Why not use the Google Voice application for Android?  It can be found in the Google Marketplace.


Stop connecting to a particular wifi network based on my location I'm trying to get my head aroud how to use Tasker to solve a problem I face.

In short, I am exposed to two wifi networks that have the same SSID, 'NETGEAR' . One is in use at my parents, and my phone is setup to connect to this network with the relevant encryption key.

The other is in use near my office, I dont have access to that network ( and dont want it)

The problem is that my phone will try to connect to the NETGEAR network at my office, thinking it is the same network that it already knows about. I'd like my phone to ignore that network while not at my parents house.

Is this something Tasker can accomplish, or is there a better approach? I do not want to delete and re-setup the network all the time.

One way to do this would be to add a location context to the profile.
Alternatively, if you are at work or your parents house at consistent times, you could add a time context to the profile.


Enable USB OTG for a Galaxy Tab 4 7.0 SM-T230NU I want to be able to use a OTG cable on my Galaxy Tab 4 7.0. This tablet is not enabled for this feature. I am told it is missed the S3C Host file/apk, to do this. I can't seem to be able to get this done. Is it even possible, or should I just give up?

This tablet does not support OTG.  I gave up and bought a Nexus 7 (2013)


How can I disable viber on my stolen device? My mobile phone has been stolen. How can i stop viber services process?

I need your urgent help to stop the people reach my friends.

Viber is linked to you phone number, not to the Device? Why don't you block your SIM-card (this will not deactivate your Viber), get a new card from your cell operator, then install and activate viber on it, then deactivate youe account?


Some app is causing bootloop It happened when Google Play was automatically updating apps. I guess, something went wrong and the phone suddenly restarted and was not able to turn on again. It always gets stuck on "Starting apps" screen and then restarts again (bootloop). I figured out, that if I can delete the app causing bootloop it should be just fine. However, I don't know how I could do it.
My phone is nexus 4 running Android Marshmallow. Also, I have a custom recovery (cwm 6.0.4.7). So, I tried to connect through adb to the phone in recovery mode and delete the app, however, I can't use any adb command, because "device unauthorized". I assume, as soon as I can get access through adb, I can delete the app.
After surfing many forums for the past several hours I couldn't able to find any solution which preserves data the phone has. Any ideas how I can delete/fix the app without loosing any data? (nexus 4 doesn't have SD card slot). Thanks.

P.S. wipe cache partition didn't help.

I just faced and fixed exatly the same problem on my Galaxy S3 I9300 with Android 6 Marshmellow (bliss 6.1 rom). Bootloop happend without any warning at the Night of 31st to 1st November. Just saw my phone rebooting ever and ever. Over the last 5 days I tried to get it back working or even to get some more backups out of the twrp backup.

What I found was: I got it running with factory reset and right after installing either of them: telegram, davdroid, the phone crashed directly in the appstore while installig. Then the phone rebooted and got stuck.

Important: you should make a twrp/nandroid backup if you not already did.
a lot of reading, testing and questions in xda got me that far and this link here finally brought me to the ida: TWRP backup - Can I restore some app data without restoring the whole image?

initial Idea:
extract all neccessary /data/data and data/app subfolders of your apps in the system and restore them to a clean factory reset.
This worked not perfect but I got it running to access some more data as before. I did the copy or delete of the app folders through twrp -> advanced -> file manager.

Update:
After I later got another(quite simple) idea on the base of initial guest  post: why not going the way in the other direction and removing apps in the broken installation.
This did the trick perfectly. I finally got into my broken rom again, all remaing apps worked as before (quite important to me since encrypted apps like threema and signal are not just copy-data-backups).
Right now I am doing backups of my old Android 6 system :) for the import in my new Android 7 setup.

Hopefully it works for you, too!

OK now step by step what I did:

be sure to have a twrp backup of your device (efs,boot,system and data) and to have your broken system installed and not factory reseted.
then in twrp got to advanced -> filemanager and navigate to systemfolder. there delete all unneccessary apps by deleting the appropiate folders in /data/app and in data/data. This will "uninstall" the apps. These will not be optimized or loaded when you boot up. I especially deleted Telegram, DavDroid since I knew out of my checks one of them was causing the error. but i just deleted more apps that I do not need a backup or which are less important. For me this did the trick! Even better this can be done 1 after 1 if neccessary. I first tried this with all apps -> again bootloop. Tried it again with less apps -> worked. So its likely not the system its directly a app in the optimizing/starting process killing the bootprocess.
just to be sure clear cache and dalvik cache to be sure android is reloading the changes and not seeing and cache
then go for a reboot to system (Fingers crossed)
if your're able to boot in again, then imediately open google play store -> scroll down to settings and deactivate automatic update of apps ( Just to be sure not getting any update causing a crash while you are inspecting your data, making updates and so on)
finally i would recomend thinkig about moving on to a Nougat rom (if available for you). It's likely that there will not be an update soon fixing this bootloop problem (even if its unclear what caused it or which app(s)). I choose ressurection mix since its a quite active project and frequently updated.

best luck to you guy, I know how hard this problem hits.Alex.

(Guest "Alex." and me are the same author -just forgot that I already have an account).


Is it possible to migrate apps and their data from one unrooted Android phone to another? I would like to migrate apps and their data from one phone to another without too much faffing around, like:

rooting (very convoluted device specific process with a lot of ambiguity around it and often involving running closed source software from random vendors that you have to believe does the right thing),
using app specific backup export/import facilities if at all exist (too manual, seems the only option though).

I am ok with:

using a PC to help facilitate the process,
manual copying/pasting files (within reason).

Ideally, I would like to have a process that works something like this:

select apps that I would like to have in their current state on the other phone,
bundle them together and store somewhere (external SD card or PC),
put that bundle on the other phone and somehow install and recover their state.

A bit like PortableApps works.

So far I have tried :

Super Backup - unfortunately, like many others, requires rooting,
Helium - seemed promising but Helium has never been, nor ever will be, compatible with any device running anything less than Android 4.0 and it does not work on certain phones.
App Backup & Restore - Q: Does it backup data of apps? A: No, currently it only backup the apk files of apps.
and skimmed through a number of articles including this one (looks like even if I was willing to root I would have a hard time).

Helium has never been, nor ever will be, compatible with any device running anything less than Android 4.0

First things first: What you want cannot be achieved on not-rooted devices running a lower version of Android. Only with ICS (4.0), permissions of the ADB daemon have been alleviated to enable this (see: Full Backup of non-rooted devices).

For compatibility: What Helium does directly on the device, can be achieved from a computer connected with the device via USB, using the ADB tools: You can use the adb backup and adb restore commands, as described by answers to the linked question. There should be no compatibility issue, as long as your computer recognizes the device.

I have just had a similar issue: My main device needed to go for repair, so I had to migrate stuff to one of my "backup devices". Completely different brand, even different Android version. The above mentioned worked fine (working app-by-app, only "moving in" those ones I required). Just to ease the process (which I might need once more, or others might need), I wrote myself a little helper: If you're using Linux (or some other *nix coming with Bash), you might wish to take a look at Adebar – which not only creates you the scripts needed for backup/restore, but also to "re-freeze" apps you might have frozen on the original device, and additionally creates you a little "device documentation". Feedback welcome – and again the disclosure: I'm the author of that script.


Sync contacts to more than one google accounts I have two gmail accounts on my android. When I first use it, I synced all the contacts to the one account. Now I want to sync all the contacts again(I have added many contacts since then) to the other account. But I cant, although the gmails contacts have synced to my phone. Sounds dummy but I am confused.

Any help appreciated...

You cannot do this on the phone.  Any contacts created on the phone that were added to one Gmail account, cannot easily be "copied" to the other Gmail account, especially not in-bulk.

You can however, do this quite easily on Gmail's web site:

On your computer log into your Gmail account that has your latest contacts, and click on "Contacts" link.
On the upper-right side click the "Export" link, select "Everyone (All Contacts)" and "Google CSV format" options, and click the "Export" button.
When prompted, save the "google.csv" file somewhere on your computer (e.g. C:\ drive.)
Log off your Gmail account, and log into your second Gmail account.
Go to Contacts, click on the "Import" link, click on "Choose File" button, browse to your C:\ drive (or wherever you saved the file in step 3,) select the "google.csv" file, click Open, and finally click the "Import" button.  You may also choose to add these new contacts to an existing group, or create a new one.

After a few minutes, these contacts should sync to your phone under the 2nd Gmail account.


Should I format /sdcard and /data if I want to wipe all personal data with Cyanogenmod? I'm trying to completely wipe all personal data from my Nexus 4 with CM installed. I've seen different advice on different sites for making sure all my data is gone:

Just do 'Factory Reset'.
Do 'Factory Reset' at least 3 times.
Do 'Factory Reset' and wipe dalvik cache.
...

and so on... I'm interested in erasing all traces of my personal data from the device. It's a Nexus 4, so there is no removable storage to worry about.

My guess would be to 'wipe data/factory reset' and 'wipe cache partition' in the main recovery menu. In the mount/storage menu, I would choose 'format /cache', 'format /data', and 'format /data and /data/media (/sdcard)'. Finally, in the advanced menu, I would choose 'wipe dalvik cache'.

Is this thorough enough? Should I also choose 'format /system', 'format /firmware', etc? Are there any options I should steer clear from? I would like the phone to boot to a fresh Cyanogenmod after clearing all data.

Just do 'Factory Reset'.

Well, this depends upon the recovery you're using. If you're using TWRP (assuming you've v2.8.4.x or above), choosing Factory Reset would remove everything under /data (excluding /data/media which serves as emulated storage available through /sdcard as internal SD card), would wipe cache partition, and since davik cache gets stored either in cache or data partition, it would already be wiped out.

If you're using stock Android recovery (<3e>) and choose Factory Reset, then it would format the data partition and cache partition. Davik and internal SD card would also be automatically taken care of by formatting.

If you're using Cyanogen recovery or any other recovery, then I can't comment. I can only  suggest switching to TWRP for better control and features.

  Do 'Factory Reset' at least 3 times.
  Do 'Factory Reset' and wipe dalvik cache.

You only do it one time and that's all you need to do. As I said, a factory reset automatically wipes cache partition so you need not to explicitly wipe it. TWRP notes:

  [You] need to [factory reset] and you only need to do it once, not three times as some people would lead you to believe.

As for,

  I'm interested in erasing all traces of my personal data from the device

Wiping the partition wouldn't be enough if you're talking about erasing all traces of personal data. There are already Q&A discussed about that on this site, so I'm referring them to you:

When selling your phone, what steps should be taken to make sure that all personal data has been removed?
How can I erase whole phone securely?

Note that if the phone would remain with you after a factory reset/ full data+cache wipe then it is not worth the time engaging in addressing "traces of personal data" since resurrecting deleted data requires physical access to your device.

  Are there any options I should steer clear from? I would like the phone to boot to a fresh CyanogenMod after clearing all data.

Yes, please stay away from anything other than /data, /data/media and /cache. System partition doesn't contain personal data and when you would flash your ROM the partition would automatically be flashed because modern ROMs (such as CyanogenMod) do that. Modem partition is mounted at /firmware so it is not worth wiping it out because that may only cause trouble for you.

Related: Won't placing a cuostm ROM file before factory reset remove it from the phone?


How to flash stock ROM using TWRP on Tecno Spark K7, leaving TWRP intact What are the right steps of flashing stock ROM using TWRP (Tecno Spark K7, Android 7.0 Nougat, TWRP v3.0.2), and still have TWRP Recovery on the phone, after the process.
I already have the phone backed up and have the stock ROM as a zip file.

you need a linux machine for converting sparse image into raw partition image

sudo apt-get install android-tools-fsutils android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
simg2img system.img system.ext4

connect phone in twrp

adb push system.ext4 /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system

if file smaller than < 4 GiB you can rename to system.emmc.win, copy to sdcard and restore from twrp directly, or manually restore from built-in terminal

cat /external_sd/system.emmc.win > /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system

repeat this for vendor/odm (if exist). boot.img is already in raw format and can be renamed into boot.emmc.win directly

your data and internal storage is maybe encrypted, if you want to backup you need to adb pull /dev/block/dm-0 or /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata + /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/metadata
or
make twrp backup and adb pull -p -a /sdcard


Recovery Mode Does Not Work On Lenovo A390 I Have a Lenovo A390 and I'm having trouble going into the recovery mode. Everytime I boot into recovery mode, a dead android icon with a red triangle appears and nothing happens.

The icon is like this:
)

I waited 2-3 minutes and still nothing happens. What should I do? Should I install a custom recovery? Or what? I'm on stock and my phone is rooted, I rooted it using framaroot.
Please Help Me.
Thanks. :)

That is the stock recovery screen. When you are on that screen (with the 'dead' android) you need to hold the Power button and then press the Volume Up button. That should get you into the recovery.

If you install a custom recovery then you won't see this screen, it will go straight into the custom recovery. Unless you need to install a custom recovery you can use your phone with the stock recovery.


Where are the developer options in Android 2.3.x? I have Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G SGH-T679 running Android 2.3.6. I do not see the developer tools anywhere in the Settings menu.

Is there something special needed to get it to show up?

It has only been hidden since Android 4.2.

Back in Android 2.3, you just need to go to Settings - Applications - Development.


Why do My shortcut icons change to a robot? I have a rooted Vodafone VF685, running Kitkat 4.4.2 with ADW Launcher. I'm having trouble with my shortcut icons. They keep changing at random to the green Android robot. The apps still launch when I tap the robot, but it's annoying.

Can anyone help please?

For me this worked: deleting the shortcut and adding another back onto the homescreen. :)


How can I connect to my home VNC server via its hostname? as asked in the Android chat room.

At home I have a remote-access VNC server set up (running UltraVNC server). My current Android VNC app, called, funnily enough androidVNC will only accept IP addresses to connect to. This is fine when using it inside the home, but as I want to access it from outside, my external IP address is dynamic, so when I save the settings one day it may be different the next day.

I have a domain, home.example.co.uk that is set up for the web server also running on that machine. If I open the ports in my home router, how can I connect via the server hostname (home.example.co.uk:5900, or similar)? If it requires a new VNC client, so be it.

Android VNC viewer is free and works with host names, but I have not played around with it much, so I cannot vouch for quality. Alternatively you could use a hostname to ip resolver (either as an app or as a website) to find out the ip address and use that to connect. I just tried out DNS Lookup from the Android market, and it looks like a pretty decent solution (fast, long-press to copy ip).

If you have the time, send an email to the creator of the app you use for a feature request, I'm sure he would appreciate the feedback :).


"Can't reach Google at the moment" when using Google Now I have Nexus 4 running on Lollipop 5.0. Everytime I input a command via voice, or typing to set a reminder in Google Now, I get

  Can't reach Google at the moment

I've changed languages from English (US) to English (IN) with no results.

Does anybody know a fix for this? Alternatively, is there another way to set reminders via voice command just like Google Now?

I had issue with reminders not working and that was "fixed" by going into app settings and then Accounts & Privacy, turn ON Search with Google.com

Now commands work properly? Must be a local server issue.


Why does the built-in Download Booster on Samsung not work with UC browser? Download Booster is a built-in function on Samsung devices, and it works great when downloading a file more than 30MB from the Play Store. However, it does not work when downloading a file via the UC browser.
Why?

It does not work / has limited support with Third-Party applications.

Have a look at the following article by Samsung on their homepage:
What is the Download Booster and how do I enable it on my Samsung Galaxy Alpha?

It seems like that the download booster is only available when downloading via the integrated Browser / Samsung Apps / Google Apps.
See this image for the download browser description:

Thanks Samsung for providing this picture

The last sentence pretty much says that third-party applications might not work with the download booster.

You can also have a look at Even though Download booster feature on Galaxy S5 is enable, it does not work to download contents. What is the problem?.

I'm quoting the essential part:

  This feature supports Hypertext Transmission Protocol (HTTP) 1.1 only.
  So, It can be activated in Play Store, Samsung Apps, Samsung Video , YouTube, Play Movies, Play Games,   Internet(S-Browser), Chrome (ChromeBrowser), Baidu, and not all applications.
  The feature cannot be used with other protocols, such as HTTPS or FTP.
  So, it’s not supported regarding to attached files of E-mail , Streaming service like  Dropbox or Twitter


Why can't I install this downloaded APK? I downloaded an APK and when I try to install it, the "install" button is completely unresponsive.

I have gone into the settings and enabled "Unknown sources" in the security section.

Is there something else I need to do?

I'm using a Galaxy S5 with Kitkat 4.4.2, unrooted.

Disable your screen dimming app. :)

Some screen dimming apps work by overlaying the whole screen with a translucent window, and letting touch events pass through to the activity below, but for security reasons, you can't interact with system dialogs (such as the package installer) through another activity.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but it could be the cause. It's more likely than a corrupt APK file or a version incompatibility, either of which would cause an error message.


Tasker: How can I close chrome when at a specific website? I'm a student and new to Tasker.

I would like to be able to close Chrome whenever I go to certain websites (in order to help me get distracted less) but I'm not sure how to go about checking the web address and then creating a task, which closes the Chrome, based on that web address.

You would need a plugin that enables you to interface with chrome (as chrome doesn't come with a way of other applications seeing the current web address built in), I couldn't find one with a brief search, but there may be one.

You could set it up so that when you open a specific link in chrome (either from the google search app, facebook, or another app), it scans the intent* for certain urls, and if it contains them, alerts you, if it doesn't, passes the intent on to chrome.

This may get you stuck in a loop (it tries to pass the intent on, but catches it again), so you could use a redirection service (i.e. you pass the intent on with something extra infront, so that it doesn't redetect it, and then chrome loads it, gets redirected to the original web address).

One final thought, you could use tasker to register to receive specific links (the same method that allows links to be opened in apps when you click on them, e.g. wikipedia).

Anyway, the following link should be useful, I figure you would like to work this out yourself, so I won't provide a step by step solution (unless you really want one):
http://tasker.dinglisch.net/userguide/en/intents.html

*an intent is a message that is passed between application on android, for example, when you click on a link and it opens in your web browser, or you click on an address and it opens in mapps.


Samsung account not showing Could anyone assist me with enabling my Samsung account on my S3. Each time I pressed buy in video hub I got this message on my phone:
"Your Samsung account has been disabled. Enable it by going to Applications manager > Samsung account"

I followed the instruction but there in no Samsung account among the list to enable. I tried to setup the account through "Add account>Server >sync server giving the web address, login in ID and password. Everything was accepted but still giving me same message. My Samsung account is running well on web.

please help.

If the app 'Samsung Account' has been disabled, re-enable it by using the following:

Settings > Application Manager > Use the right-most panel by panning right to the Heading 'All'. Scroll up all the way to the 'Disabled' part of the list, which is at the bottom, click 'Samsung Account' > Enable.

UPDATE: expanded instructions for clarity:
The Application Manager is initially in the 'Downloaded' panel, and the column header is underlined. To the right is the 'Running' panel, and to the far right is the 'All' panel. Disbled apps are at the bottom of the 'All' panel. Select the app you want to re-enable.


I accidentlly wiped my device with Android Device Manager I accidentally deleted my phone through Android Device Manager as I thought it was stolen. I have found the phone.

Can I still use the phone, or is it no longer usable since it has been wiped from Android Device Manager?

Yes you can. What you did only completely wipes the phone(all stored data, contacts, etc will be lost). You should be able to set it up again and get it running for you.


Samsung Galaxy Tab GT-P1000 USB Cable Problems ; Charging Problems Galaxy Tab is an old tablet.Yesterday,I can "resurrect" it from the dead,and I buy a fake USB cable to charge and exchange data.
Since I have a worser phone than the Galaxy Tab,I really want to play my games there (Galaxy Tab.)

However,it requires us to have a minimum of 2.3 (Gingerbread) and above to play the game.
Somebody suggested me root the device and use the latest 4.4 OS,since they say it can improve the performance of the tab.

I tried to root the device,first using Z4Root app (APK).It doesn't works.(Took 3 hour and no result,tried everything.)

Then,I tried to connect it to a PC.I've downloaded the Kies but it doesn't work.I tried installing the USB drivers,but still,my PC (and Kies) can't detect it.

And also,when I tried charging it,sometimes the tab recognize the tablet as connecting to a pc,not charging.Alhough so,sometimes it works,so yeah.

You guys have any solution?

The fact that your Tab is not being recognized by the PC is telling me that there could be an issue with the USB drivers.  Try uninstalling all Samsung USB drivers (including the Kies utility) and then re-installing Kies from here.

Further, if you want to only root the tab, follow the steps outlined in this thread:

  Prerequisites:

  1) Kies Software downloaded from HERE and installed, and Tab connected even once
  2) USB debugging enabled
  3) SuperOnceClick downloaded from HERE

  Process:
  1) Connect your galaxy tab with debugging mode disabled and sync with Kies even once
  2) Disconnect it and enable debugging mode from Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB Debugging
  3) Connect the tab again to PC and click on home button so that Tab comes out of Kies connection
  4) Launch SuperOneClick.exe
  5) Click on root and wait for 5-10 Mins

If you want to install custom ROMs like CyanogenMod for example, you will need to flash a custom recovery first by following the steps in this post:

  Download Odin from here and extract it to a folder on your desktop.
  Download the custom recovery from here
  Launch Odin3 v1.7.exe to open the Odin application.
  On Odin, click on PDA.  Navigate to the location where you have downloaded CF-Root-TAB7_XX_OXA_JQ1-v3.3-CWM3RFS.tar to from above and select it.
  This is the most important instruction ever and we really can’t stress how important this is.  Make sure that the Re-Partition tickbox is unchecked!!  Ticking this is a surefire way to brick your device.
  Power down your P1000.
  With the device powered down, press and hold the Volume Down + Power buttons until the device boots into Download Mode.
  Connect the device to your Windows PC using a microUSB cable.  Odin should now recognize your device and the ID:COM should light up yellow.
  Click on Start.  Again, make sure that Re-Partition is unchecked!!
  Download your favorite ROM (e.g. CyanogenMod).
  Copy the downloaded ROM zip file to the SD card on your device and disconnect the device from your PC.
  Boot into ClockworkMod Recovery.  To do this, with the device powered down, press and hold Volume Up + Power until it boots into Recovery.
  Select "Install zip from SD card".  Navigate to the location where you downloaded the ROM zip, select it and then select "Install".
  Optionally, download and flash the GApps package compatible with your ROM.


Google Maps always zooming out The Google Maps on my Android phone got updated and now everything's screwed up. It keeps automatically zooming way out. It does this whenever the phone changes orientation or when the screen is locked. How do I keep it from automatically zooming out?

The version is 7.1.0 (#701000802).

Here's an example. It automatically goes to the second image after a few seconds, I think because I move the phone.

Click the images for larger variant

May I know the reason why it happens? Maybe it's not a problem with Google Maps but my device.

The app does this because you're not in navigation mode, you're browsing the route. It zooms out to fit the entire route on your screen when you reorient the device. If you don't want it to zoom, press the navigation button in the lower right corner and optionally switch off voice navigation.


Is it possible to keep multiple address books on a single phone? I'm trying to find a way to set up and manage multiple address books on my phone, and to keep them distinct.

I want to do that to separate my personal contacts from the work ones.

The default behaviour is to collect all contacts from my various accounts in a single big list (two google accounts and some other social networking apps), but it is a bit of a mess to have everything together. I know that the default app have a built-in group manager, but it has a bit of a clunky interface that's not very handy (whenever you open it, you are several clicks away from the desired grouping).

Ideally I'd like to have a solution that let me manage my contacts in a powerful and customizable way, i.e. with tags, custom groupings, and so on, and that let me switch easily between said groups without too much clicking around.

How can I do that? I'm also willing to consider a third party app, but right now everything I've tried still collects every contact from all accounts together.

One app that works to create different groups of contacts is contacts plus. It is a bit of a crummy interface but works. The only way I found of doing via the native Google app is by creating different Google accounts and saving the contacts to each specific account, then signing in to an account and signing out of the other when you need to use another set of contacts.


Tapping 7 times Build number in HTC Desire 300 does not work I am trying to enable developer options in my phone (HTC Desire 300) but tapping 7 times the build number doesn't work. Is there any idea? Thank you in advance!

Yes, starting from Android  4.2 the Developer Options menu are hidden by default.

If your phone has any Android release between version 3.0 to 4.1, you don't need to enable Developer Options. Just access it by going to  Settings → Developer options.

Just to make sure you are doing it right, here are the steps:

Launch Settings from the application launcher
Select About Phone
Scroll down and locate the Build Number entry
Tap on the entry 7 times.
The Developer Options menu will now be listed under Settings again.


How does the "Cast screen" display feature work? I have a Galaxy Nexus running Android 4.4.4. Under Settings->Display & lights, there is an option called "Cast screen", which can be toggled on and off. What devices and/or software are compatible with this feature? Is this for Chromecast, or something else? Is the screen picture/video sent via WiFi, Bluetooth, or USB?

It is meant to work with Chromecast, but there are other desktop applications like Reflector 2 that will work with the cast screen setting. You can use the Chromecast app from the Google play store to do the same thing.


My messaging application sometimes closes itself while typing - How can I fix this? When typing an SMS message, the messaging application will automatically close and the typed text is deleted, causing me to have to retype the text. It seems to happen after two or three messages. I have clear data of Messaging software from Manage Applications->All->Messaging->Clear Data but the problem persists. Is there a way I can fix this?

You can try to investigate this issue more deeply based on system logs. Install some application to grabbing logs from device (for example SendLog). When you application crashes, then grab system log in which should be placed callstack started in your application.

Getting logs should be done asap after crash, because these files rotate.


Power button not working. Phone wont boot? I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace GTS 5830i.

I somehow messed up the power button of my phone and now after the battery drained completely, It will not start.

I tried looking up online for going into recovery mode (without using the power button) i.e keeping home key pressed while inserting the charging but nothing works. Finally, I thought I must have an option to boot up my phone through Eclipse DDMS but I cant find any option there either (See screenshot)

Please help.

EDIT : Thanks to the answer by Sparx, I have solved this problem. Connect the phone via USB to your computer. If you have installed the Android SDK, go in the android-tools folder and execute adb devices (if on a mac, run ./adb devices)

If your devices shows up in the list run ./adb reboot

Have you tried plugging in the charger? or else plugging in the charger and while plugged in, remove and then re-insert battery. Some phones tend to start up in that manner.

Also if you can connect via adb (even if your phone is powered down), the adb devices followed by adb reboot ought to start your phone. If you're rooted, there are apps like Quick Reboot that allow you to reboot to Recovery or Download mode with a tap, provided you have CWM.


How to Ignore the Icons in Camera Album? Possible Duplicate:
  Unwanted folders showing up in Gallery. Can they be removed?

My Album contains Camera Pics and the icons of other applications. Those icons are there in my SD Card. I took back up of other applications using some Backup applications tool. It stores the icons also. I had to delete them manually to separate the icons and my camera pics.

Is there any way to exclude the icons and include only Camera pics in Album ?

The way to get the Gallery and the Music apps to ignore folders on your phone is to create an empty file in the folder called ".nomedia".

The easiest way to create that file is to plug your phone into a PC, explore the phone until you can find the folder that has your unwanted icons in it.

Then if you open Windows Notepad, click File -> Save As, navigate your way to the folder on the phone and then make sure that Notepad's Save As Type box says All Files (*.*) and does not say "Text Documents (*.txt)" you can now type .nomedia (note the full stop/period at the start of the file name) and click Save.

If you've done it right the file should not have a Notepad icon in in Explorer, it should just have a default plain white, rectangular icon. Now safely remove the drive, unplug your phone and (after your phone's done a media scan) the icons should disappear from the gallery.


Possible to charge device with Google Pixel phone through USB-C? Is it possible to charge an external device using Google Pixel smartphone as a battery? In other words, can I change the charging direction (reverse charge) so I can charge e.g. a laptop using my Google Pixel as power source?

Pixel phones support USB C Power Delivery
This standard says

  Power direction is no longer fixed. This enables the product with the power (Host or Peripheral) to provide the power

Which translates to reverse charging

Reddit users confirm reverse charging with Pixel

How efficient charging your laptop would be dependent on the state of charge of phone / laptop , battery capacity of laptop but theoretically yes, you can ( you would need USB cable with male connections at both ends)


CyanogenMod 12 - is there quick sound/vibrate switch In CM 11 there was a switch to mute my phone or put it on vibrate. I can't seem to find it in CM12. There are only profiles, which are not what I would like to have. Is this something missing from Android 5.0 Lollipop and thus not present in CM12, or did CM "broke" something? Or am I blind and couldn't find it, but it's there?

You are right, no quick switch from top of the screen.

Solution 1: long press Power button, you get the option to switch to vibrate
Solution 2: change volume with physicals buttons, tap on setup on the right side of the sound pane. You will find options to switch to vibrate or mute for a given time or definitively.


Changing the numbers format when entering phone numbers in the dialer possible? I'm using a Sony Live With Walkman. The Android 2.3 is in English, and I rather leave that way... But, I find kind awkward the mask input of numbers when I am typing.

Is there any way I can change that?

I would prefer something like 9999-9999, or at least no mask at all.

Well, as it may seen, there's no solution without relying on third-part softwares.

Instead, I (partially) solved it by changing the language for English UK, where the numbers format are without separators. Ex: 99999999.


Do Android apps store data in clear? As in the title,

is there any chance someone with Android phone (5+) could access private app's data via USB storage?
In other words, **do apps encrypt data by default? **(e. g. Google Apps but also other ones)

It depends. First, if the developer is a good one with a brain he will make the app to do so, then you have to consider which kind of data that is.

Obviously you don't want your settings to be encrypted, it's just nonsensical, they will be stored in a xml file (or even json, again, it depends). But things like chat history, credentials, etc. they have to be encrypted.


Where is GMail app on Galaxy Note 3 app list I setup my GMail account as a Google account on my phone. When email comes in I can tap the notification to go to the Gmail app. I can use S Voice to go to the Gmail app. However the Gmail app is not on the home screen. I am not using the "Email" app though. Where is it and why is it hidden?

EDIT:
It's in the app folder Google. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)

I'll update the question with the answer in a day.

It's in the app folder 'Google'. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Click image for larger version


How do I change a Google account for Android mobile (Xperia 10)? When I first set up my Xperia 10 (running Android 1.6) I selected a 'dummy account', not knowing that it might be somewhat difficult to change it afterwards to a real account (I wasn't warned).

I want to avoid hard resets or losing too much data. Is there a recommended procedure for this case?

Should be pretty easy.

Just go to Settings > Accounts & Sync
Remove the 'dummy' account
Add the real account

You can even leave the dummy there for now. Android supports multiple accounts.

Note: I'm running Android 2.1 so the menu options may be slightly different, but the idea and results should be the same.


Blocking mode not working with WhatsApp I own a Samsung Galaxy S4, which has the Blocking mode feature.
It is very useful because it mutes notification sounds during certain hours (I use it to automatically keep my phone quite while I'm sleeping).

It works perfectly for all the applications but WhatsApp.
It seems to be a known issue, and I found a workaround that involved a led notification management application.

I don't like that solution because it is not clean and I'd like to find a better one.
I come from the iOS world where all the applications are forced to pass through system notification center and I can't really get what's happening on my phone nor how WhatsApp can deliver me notifications.

It looks like a Whatsapp problem. Your best bet would be to raise this concern with Whatsapp themselves. There's no guarantee that they'd fix it, but this isn't Google / Android issue either (from a general perspective). Developers should follow "best practices" when developing Android apps.

UPDATE 2013-10-07: This issue has been discussed in XDA, and it's because of how Whatsapp handles notifications (no specific details given). In that thread, there is a possible solution using the Light Flow app.


Why do Android create "Shell Folders" automatically? Can I change the shell folders? Android automatically creates these folders in primary storage:

Alarms
DCIM
Documents
Download
Movie
Music
Notifications
Pictures
Podcasts
Ringtones

They are the default "User Shell Folders" of Android (USF is a concept from Windows). There's hardly any documents or discussions on the internet. Most discussions are about MediaProvider (and Media Scanner).

Is there something like a "registry key" that controls these folders? Can I change the default location and name of them?

Registry key is a windows concept in android these locations are handled as following

/**
 * Standard directory in which to place files that have been downloaded by
 * the user.  Note that this is primarily a convention for the top-level
 * public directory, you are free to download files anywhere in your own
 * private directories.  Also note that though the constant here is
 * named DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS (plural), the actual file name is non-plural for
 * backwards compatibility reasons.
 */
public static String DIRECTORY_DOWNLOADS = "Download";

This code snippet is extracted from android / platform / frameworks / base / android-<version-tag> / . / core / java / android / os / Environment.java

So as you can see this returns a hard coded static string and I could not find any function to change it in AOSP code. So you can not change this location for all applications unless you modify the source code and build your own custom rom. For your application obviously, you can download it in its private folder also.

But some OEM had provided this capability in their rom. See this.

A work around to do so for Download folder is to download a 3rd party download manager like ES file manager. It will prompt you to choose download location for the file.


what app/script is responsible for video media? When podcast videos or youtube videos or flash videos play, what app is behind that?

I'd like to be able to use that script/app to as a trigger for tasker to do something whenever ANY video is playing.

I don't  want to make the apps a trigger because sometimes when apps like YouTube you are just browsing and not watching any video. I want to make a trigger when the media is actually playing.

There isn't a single app or script that runs for all videos. Some video support is built into the Android framework, and each app also have its own logic for playing videos.


Unable to permanently forget a WiFi network I have an 802.11ac router at home with both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz connections and separate SSIDs for each. In most parts of my home, the 5Ghz connection is utterly useless, which I learned the hard way from my phone regularly connecting to it and then failing to do anything while it does. So, of course, I told my phone to "forget" the connection.

But since Google backs up all my WiFi networks and syncs them with all my devices, which is a great feature, it constantly restores this WiFi network to my Nexus 6 (and did the same to my 5 before that) without my realizing it until I notice my phone being useless at home again and find that it's reconnected to it. I'll forget it again, it's fine for a while, and then after an unknown period of time it's back.

Anyone know how to PERMANENTLY forget this network from my Google account?

I experienced the same behavior, and through quite a bit of trial and error, I have a pretty solid theory on why this happens.

I think as a "convenience", Android looks for 5GHz networks sharing the same root SSID as a 2.4GHz network and assumes that the password is the same. So for instance, if you have MyNetwork and MyNetwork (5GHz), you can connect to MyNetwork and Android will automatically try the same credentials on MyNetwork (5GHz).

There's nothing I've found on the Android side that will prevent this. The only thing you can do is to change the SSID of the 5GHz network so that it's completely different from the 2.4GHz SSID.


Where is the Light Sensor of Google Glass? The GDK document says that light sensor is available on Google Glass. But the document has no information about where the sensor locates on the Glass.

It seems that there are two possible positions:

In the front with the camera.
On the inner rim with the mysterious sensor which provides wink detection feature.

Anyone knows which is the source the Glass gathers light data?

From my reading it's a bit of both.

The Wink Detection uses a small light sensor. See here for a picture. Currently it seems that Google aren't releasing full code for this to be enabled, though libraries are available. The sensor in the GDK appears to be the Ambient Light sensor, beside the camera.

According to the Google Glass Wiki the wink light sensor is just beside the display.

  "Right next to the display is a tiny light sensor that watches your eyelid move. It's used for on-head and wink detection. If the sensor is obstructed or aimed incorrectly, these features will not work."

The camera has an ambient light sensor

Number 28 on the image below, from this article, is the ambient light sensor:


java.lang IllegalArgumentException When trying to set up a S5 for adoptable storage with 6.0.1 opp sys. When I put in the sm list disks command I get a list of sm commands and an error.

The command is sm list-disks instead of sm list disks.


Why have i received a message that wasnt sent from the said sender? I received a message in error yesterday, i am using the Samsung Galaxy. It wasnt sent by my friend, who i was chatting with over sms at that time, but i still received it and it shows time of sending at that time itself. I believe had received the same message from my friend around 2 months back, it may be the same message. Has this happened with anyone else?

Maybe the error is not in your phone, or your friend's one. Maybe the error is from your provider, or the provider of your friend.

In some situations the network will not deliver a SMS due to overload, or many other causes, if this occurs some carriers delay the deliver some time, maybe this is the case, the network detected some problem and delayed the delivery of the SMS, and now you received a message send some time ago (like sometimes happens on December 31th with overloaded networks, you end up receiving a "Happy new year!!" on January 4th)


Stream from my Android over Wifi to my amp I have an HTC One and I would like to stream music over wifi via any player app (PowerAmp, Google Play, etc..) to a stereo amp.

I looked into Nexus Q, Sonos and more. Which one will actually support any player app in my device, letting me stream the music smoothly straight forward to my amp?

I am looking for the same solution and the only thing I have come up with is the Sonus Connect.  It sells for around $300.  Have not tried it yet, but seems to fit what you are looking for.  Basically you would transmit audio from your phone to the sonus connect.  The sonus connect would be wired to the amp and the amp to the speakers.


How to select all messages Inbox Google? The new Google email application, Inbox has just been released so I decided to try it.

I wanted to delete all my spam messages but I can't find a button to select all of them without clicking on each one.

Is it possible to select all messages at once?

The "Select All" feature is not available as of now in Inbox by Gmail app. Nor this feature of multiple selecting of spam emails at once available in the web version of Inbox by Gmail. Only Gmail app has the Empty Spam option but not select all. You can also swipe to delete in the new version of Inbox app. But that won't make a big difference if you have hundreds of emails spammed to you.

Take a look at the Features not implemented yet blog post section.

  Gmail or Inbox by Gmail?

  So, which one should you use? Most of the above can be reduced to just
  a couple key points for each product. But remember that: Inbox is not simply a user-interface change
  to Gmail, it as an entirely new product.

Gmail

Customizable - multiple inbox formats and message organization options  -
Flexible - many message attributes to manage e-mail

Inbox by Gmail

Simple - easy to learn and use
Consistent - the same user-interface on all platforms

  Of course there's no reason you can't use both. You could use Inbox on
  a day-to-day basis, or on mobile devices, and then use Standard Gmail
  for more complex activity like creating non-labeling filters, multiple
  message selection, emptying Trash and Spam, etc. Gmail and Inbox by
  Gmail are just tools and you should use whatever helps you manage your
  e-mail the best.

  So feel free to continue to use Gmail, switch to Inbox, use both as
  appropriate, or use neither if you prefer your installed e-mail
  client. The choice is totally yours.[Ref.]

UPDATE : This functionality is now available in Inbox by GMail as of 10th Sep 2015. Google has added an option to delete all spam messages in single click via the "Empty Trash Now" button. Read here.

As posted on Google Plus,

  Small update: You can now empty Trash and Spam in Inbox. Thanks to
  everyone for your feedback requesting this feature.

You can also do this in the webversion of Inbox by Gmail's spam page. Clicking on the "Empty Spam now" clears up the spam folder. Note that spam left undeleted for more than 30 days are deleted automatically.


Which hardware sensors are supported by Android? Which hardware sensors are supported by Android? Are there any imaginable sensors that may be planned to be supported in the future?

For every sensor:

How is the sensor useful?
Which devices currently have it? (Only for new sensors)
What do notable apps use the sensor?

Here is a list of currently supported hardware sensors:

Environment Sensors

ambient humidity
illuminance
ambient pressure
ambient temperature
Device temperature

Motion sensors

accelerometer
gyroscope

Position sensors

geomagnetic field sensor
the proximity sensor

  The orientation sensor is software-based and derives its data from the
  accelerometer and the geomagnetic field sensor.

AFAIK, these are sensors which Android supports:

- Accelerometer

Measures amount of acceleration which the gravity applies to the device, in 3 dimension. Therefore, the device can detect exactly in which position against the earth it is. Its usefulness is very wide, but mostly in games.
Almost all of Android phones have this sensor.

- Gyro

This one is very related to accelerometer and according to Wikipedia:
"The integration of the gyroscope has allowed for more accurate recognition of movement within a 3D space than the previous lone accelerometer within a number of smartphones. Gyroscopes in consumer electronics are usually called Accelerometers (Acceleration sensors) and come in 3-axis, 6-axis, etc."
Not all of Android phones have this sensor, but most of newer ones have.

Full List of Android phones with Gyro sensor

- Compass

This one almost works like a normal real compass, but very very tiny! It allows device to detect in which position it is against the poles of earth. So, apps using this sensor can show you the angle which you have hold the phone comparing to the North, South, East or West. It's main usage is in apps to find your way, in companion with GPS, or for example finding Qibla for Muslims, or any other interested direction which you may need.

List of Android phones with Compass

- Orientation

I Think this one is not a real sensor, but a side usage of Accelerometer. Orientation detection is most used for Android UI and most apps to detect portrait or landscape position of the phone, to rotate the UI accordingly. Almost all of Android phones have this feature.

- Pressure (Barometer)

This one is relatively a new sensor, which detects pressure of air in area which device is in, just like a barometer. It's main usage is to detect altitude of current location of device from sea level. This helps GPS to be faster and more accurate because one of 3 main values (Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude) that are detected by GPS, can be faster detected by barometer. So, GPS would work faster in companion with barometer sensor.

List of Android phones with Barometer sensor

- Proximity

This sensor is mostly located beside earphone in top of front face of the phone. It can be seen easily if you put the phone under bright light (unlike above sensors which are inside the phone and not visible). Its main usage is to turn-off screen, when you are calling and phone is near your head. Android turns off the screen, so it prevents accidental touch of screen when you are not supposed to, and also, it reduces battery consumption in calls. Some apps also use this sensor to control phone by your hand gestures, because this sensor has 2 state, On and Off. On for when something is near it (about 1 cm) and Off for when nothing is near. Most Android phones have this sensor.

List of Android phones with Proximity sensor

- Ambient Light

This sensor, as obvious from its name, measures ambient light in environment where the phone is in. Its value is a number between 0..255 (darkest to brightest) and is mainly used by Android internal system to automatically adjust brightness of screen to be properly readable under bright light of the sun, and also in a dark room. Not all Android phones have this sensor, and no usage except adjustment of screen brightness can be considered for it. I couldn't find a list of phones with this sensor, but almost all if high-end Android phones have this sensor. Its favorite location to sit down in your phone, if ever exist, is near earphone at top of front panel, and looks like a tiny and dark front camera placeholder.


Can "find my phone" still track my Samsung Galaxy S4 after factory reset? Just lost my Samsung Galaxy S4 this weekend. If the thief has removed the SIM card and reset to factory mode, does the "find my phone" app still work or does it also get removed?

Been trying to track it but nothing happens. Can I find it if the thief has put his information into the find my phone app that comes with the device?

No, the app will be removed along with all other apps and user data. If you root the phone, it's possible to install a tracker as a system app, such that it will only be removed if the thief flashes a new ROM, but any app you install from Google Play or another app marketplace won't be able to do that.


Cannot connect to xfinitywifi on Google Pixel 3a I just bought a Google Pixel 3a phone, I cannot connect to xfinitywifi. I have no problem with many other Wi-Fi.
What happened is like this:

When I tap xfinitywifi at the Wi-Fi list, I can see that it comes to the phase of acquiring an IP address.
Then it shows I need to log in to the Wi-Fi.

At this point, I encountered several different problems:

I am led to a sign-in page, wifilogin.comcast.com, but before I can finish typing user name, I am led back to the Wi-Fi list interface and it shows either "not connected" or "connected but no internet"
I am led to that sign-in page, but before I even have a chance to type, it goes back to the Wi-Fi list interface
It does not leave from the Wi-Fi list interface at all. I can see some notification at the top saying login is needed, but it does not change to that login page

At the first start of the phone, it asked me whether I want to transfer everything from my old LG phone to this phone, I did that. The LG phone connected to xfinitywifi automatically.
I tried the following:

Open the browser and go to wifilogin.comcast.com, it only gives me a blank page
Click Forget the wifi and re-connect
Power down and on
Go to setting and delete all the user credentials.

None of these works.
Any suggestion?

Using http://neverssl.com/ only works if you have a data connection.  Maybe the problem is that Private DNS is enabled?


Why would I enable "Install Unknown Apps?" I have a LG G7 Thin Q running Oreo. While poking around the settings, I came across "Install unknown apps."
Settings -> Apps & Notifications -> Special Access -> Install unknown apps

It is a list of programs that may install unknown apps. Only Messaging and Email are allowed to install unknown apps.

Why does Android have the option for apps to install unknown apps? It seems rather vulnerable to malware.

Starting Android Oreo, sideloading (installing an app from a source other than Play Store) has actually became more secure.

Previously (Naugat or below), when you used to tick "Unknown Sources" option, it actually universally allowed all apk sources (Chrome, Amazon Appstore etc). Means, the system didn't care about the source of the apk file.

Now, you need to allow individual apps which can be set as source. And, don't worry: That allowed app won't be able to install apps in background. You will still need to hit Install button to install an app. So, no security compromises here. You'll just have peace of mind while hitting Install button. If you've allowed Amazon Appstore only, then you can be sure that you won't be installing a malicious apk which was downloaded in background by an advertiser app.


Vibrate mode vibration pattern So there is this thing that has annoyed me since my Galaxy S8. The default vibration pattern for notifications (when on vibrate mode) seems to be two short vibrations.

This is driving me nuts as I always have my smartphone on vibrate but I want it to only vibrate once, one short "bing" kind of vibration.

I tried several apps which allow you to control the vibration pattern, but they all seem to work only if not in vibrate mode or for older types of OS (< 8). Mind you that this is pretty much only about WhatsApp, as I dont receive many messages via SMS or anything else. Changing the pattern in WhatsApp does nothing (it keeps vibrating literally exactly the same), external Apps do something sometimes (sometimes 3 vibrations, sometimes 1, most often still 2 and nothing is really reproducible). Finally, Android itself does not really give you any control over vibrations unless I miss something.

I even had a look at the sourcecode which (if I understand correctly) hardcodes the vibration pattern fallback for vibrate mode and does not allow any changes.

I know that it sounds really stupid but this is such a big grind for me, that I even consider switching the OS, as it drives me insane. So if anybody has any help it would be much appreciated.

Go to Settings --> Sounds and Vibrations. There is an option "Vibration Pattern". Change that to "Basic Call".


How can I limit WiFi data usage to activities I explicitly allow? I'm about to go on a cruise, and the ship has its own WiFi.  If things are the same as before, they allow a very small amount of data a day for free (beyond that requires purchasing data).  To use this free data, I go to a certain web page and sign in.  At this point, I have full internet access until I sign out.

So the question is, can I limit the WiFi data (or overall internet data) usage to only the things I specifically allow?

I know there are plenty of options for restricting data usage to WiFi only, but this is about restricting access while connected to WiFi.

I need to restrict 2 phones - a Galaxy S5 and S6 Edge.

Thanks!

If you don't have root access on the device, then you can use mobiwol to control the access various apps have to the Internet. Mobiwol creates a 'virtual' VPN connection on the device which allows control of the individual app connections. However, although the app starts when the device starts it is possible that there may be a brief period prior to Mobiwol executing in which apps could get Internet access despite the Mobiwol configuration.

Also there is NetGuard which can generally forbid an app access to WiFi or mobile data, permit an app access to WiFi or mobile data only when screen is on, regardless of above settings, keep it from accessing mobile data when roaming.

It's by far the best rated app in this section – and though I haven't tried it myself, I'd say it's the one to recommend if your device is not rooted.

If you have root access, there are more alternatives:

Remove the 'internet' permission using an app like Permissions Denied
If your kernel supports IPTables, you can use an app such as AFWall+ to control which apps have access to the internet.


Problem unlocking HTC phone using their  fastboot program According to HTC, my Amaze 4G is fully ready from the factory to be queried for its identifier tolken, but when I run the appropriate command, it doesn't work. I get:

$ fastboot oem get_identifier_token
...
(bootloader) [ERR] Command error !!!
OKAY [  0.010s]
finished. total time: 0.010s
$

Note that someone reported the same problem, but their phone requires updating firmware and running "RUU". You can read about that here.

Same problem, different cause. Note that I did update the SDK prior to trying run fastboot - I wonder if I shouldn't have!

It's worth mentioning that I called HTC and asked for help and they were of no particular assistance; "You know more about it than I do." "How do I report a bug on fastboot?" (No useful reply to that!)

[ERR] Command error !!! is a generic response from fastboot. In effect it means "invalid command arguments." Check that you are writing the command correctly, in my case I made a typographical error and this was the result.


What happens when an SDcard is inserted? I have a rooted Sony Tablet S, and one of my issues with it is that there is little onboard storage. The Sony-recommended way of dealing with this is to transfer files between internal and external storage, as many apps do not have access to the external storage.

Having rooted the device, however, I am able to use mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard2 /mnt/sdcard/2 to mount this. I was then intending to rename the media folder on my external sdcard to .media, and use mount -o bind /mnt/sdcard2/.media/$F /mnt/sdcard/media/$F/external for each folder $F in that directory. The problem with this is that on removal of the external sdcard, or on reboot, these mounts are lost.

On my Maemo phone I did something similar, and was able to have this mount behaviour occur when the external storage was attached. As Maemo5 is a truly open OS I was able to do this fairly easily, and there was a lot of community support.

When trying to do the same under Android I have come across an app called Tasker that performs actions as I would need, however this is paid software and I would prefer not to have to install something that performs actions which should be build into the operating system.

TLDR;

I'd like to know what is actually happening on my device when an SDcard is inserted - are scripts run? Are signals sent which could be used to trigger scripts? Has anyone attempted to do similar (I don't understand why this would not be the default behaviour to be honest - the fact that external storage is hidden from apps is frustrating to say the least)

If your intention is to have your script run each time the card is inserted, or the device is booted, I'd recommend the already mentioned app Tasker, maybe in connection with Scripter. The latter can be used to execute (and manage?) scripts, but AFAIR you can do that part with tasker as well.

You would need to create 1 task (execute your script), and 2 profiles using this task (as there is no possibility for a logical OR with the conditions). One is for the boot_completed event, the other is for the inserted SD-card. That should do it.

In case of trouble (or hard understanding), just comment and I see what I can do :)


Xiaomi Mi A1 How to change the screen lock code NOT the sim lock code The title says it all.

It seems there is no way to change the screen lock code for this phone.

I am not looking to change the sim lock.

I am not on stock ROM on that device but as I recall Settings → Security ( and location?) → Device Security → Screen Lock.

You need to enter your PIN to change screen lock


Selecting USB for photo transfer always My question has to do with options when using the USB connector for Photo transfer. I have a LG K10 phone running Android version 7.0.
After I select "Photo transfer" from the USB connector menu, I then select "Just Once" because I will at other time use it to charge my phone. What happens if I mistakenly hit "Always". How would I get back to using it to charge the phone?

You can easily switch modes if you mistakenly if you default to a selected mode. Just follow the steps below:

From the Home screen, touch and hold the Recent Apps Key  (in the Touch Keys bar) > Settings > Storage > the Menu icon  (at the upper-right corner of the screen) > USB PC connection.

From here, you can choose which mode to use:
 - Media sync (MTP)
 - Internet connection
 - Camera (PTP) to connect to the PC.

Tap Charge phone to use only the charging function and not the USB function.

It also allows you to safely disconnect your phone from your PC.

Source: LG Support


How to connect an encrypted phone to a network? I forgot my pin and my phone is encrypted. I cannot access any toolbar and all i can see is a black screen with the pin request. I tried unlocking it through Find my Mobile but it does not work as ny phone doesn't connect to a network due to it being locked.

I do not think there is any other possible workaround besides finding the correct PIN or factory resetting the phone because the Android operating system hasn't even started yet so you can't turn on WiFi.


Is the "History" tab gone from Wikipedia after latest update? After latest update to Wikipedia mobile app for Android (3-4 weeks ago, the one that introduced many changes in user interface), I cannot find "History" functionality or tab.
I've checked the usual place (three dot menu on article) and probably all other and... nothing.
Is this functionality removed after the latest update of this  application? How can I browse articles that I've read recently?

It is still there. But you have to click on Search to view your history.

You need to be in the main Wiki app screen for this to work. If you tap "Search" (the same icon, in the same place) while being on any article, you will only be able to see list of recent searches and not list of recently visited articles.


Pull down notifications from the center of the screen in Android 5.1 on Sony Xperia On my previous phone (sorry, I didn't set it up myself, so I can't give any more details than "some kind of Android") I was able to pull down the notifications by swiping down from the center of the screen (or anywhere really).
On my new Sony Xperia running Android 5.1, the same can only be accomplished by swiping down from the very top of the screen, which is quite a stretch to make.

Is there a way to change this? I couldn't find anything in the settings.

If you are using the stock launcher, chances are there aren't settings for that.  I know that with a custom launcher like Nova Launcher, there are gestures that you can set up to do what you are looking for.

Nova Launcher on Google Play

Nova Launcher Prime on Google Play


Kitkat appdrawer hide apps and create folders Back in Jellybean you where able to sort the apps in the app drawer, even make folders. In KitKat it seems that this feature is removed. Is there a rom or app that can bring this back?

This has never been a feature of the stock launcher. Perhaps you were using a phone on Jellybean where the manufacturer had replaced the stock launcher with their own launcher, which had this feature.

Since Android supports third-party launchers, just install a launcher (home screen) app which supports this feature. There are many to choose from.


Dark mode / theme before Android 10? How is it possible (via third party app or without?) to enable Dark mode for all apps (Chrome browser, Phone calls app, Messaging app, etc.) on a Android 5 or 6 smartphone?

It's integrated in the OS in Android 10: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/look-and-feel/darktheme

But how to do this for Android 5+?

On Android 10, it's available as a system setting.

However the dark theme can be enabled using "night" resources for example. Meaning  switching resources such as styles, colours, themes, drawables, etc according to user's device time.

  This can change during the life of your app if night mode is left in auto mode (default), in which case the mode changes based on the time of day. You can enable or disable this mode using UiModeManager. See Handling Runtime Changes for information about how this affects your app during runtime.

You can force the mode or not using a toggle or something too. Read documentation for more info.


Why does the system not recognize my fonts? My phone is a rooted Nexus S running the custom ROM Replicant. I copied twelve font files comprising three fonts (Arimo, Cousine, and Tinos) from my computer to the SD card, used a root file manager to copy the files to /system/fonts, and then rebooted the phone. Yet I am still unable to use these fonts. On par with the other font files in the folder, they are indeed .ttf files. For example, when I view this HTML file in the HTML viewer:

<!DOCTYPE html>

<meta charset="UTF-8">

<title>Font Test</title>

Arimo paragraph

Cousine paragraph

Tinos paragraph

The paragraphs display in Roboto, Droid Sans Mono, and Droid Serif respectively. Why does the system not recognize the newly installed fonts? Is there some configuration file I need to edit?

Problem mostly, but not entirely, solved. For Arimo whatever font you want to install, you need to insert this text between the <familyset> tags in the file /system/etc/system_fonts.xml:

<family>
  <nameset>
    <name>the name of your font</name>
    <name>arial</name>
    <name>helvetica</name>
  </nameset>
  <fileset>
    <file>Arimo-Regular.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Bold.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Italic.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-BoldItalic.ttf</file>
  </fileset>
</family>

And remove the designations of "arial" and "helvetica" from the Roboto entry. The reason this is not entirely solved is it works only in the browser and not the HTML viewer.


Methods to trigger a gallery/music player refresh? I've search around the internet for details regarding this, and the only way I found was to remount the SD card..

But I have a lot of apps (virtually, all) installed on my SDcard and this is probably what is causing me enormous time to unmount and remount the sd card. Furthermore, just unmounting the sdcard itself takes almost an eternity. (I dont know if this is a bug or if its due to my large no of apps; i have around 90 apps).. So this method is really inconvenient for me

So I wanted to know if there are other methods to refresh my gallery items and music player. Is there any small app that would do this?

To refresh the list of your music you do following:

Go into settings->manage apps->ALL services. Scroll down and select "Media Storage." Then hit the "Clear Data" icon.

Source: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-4-general-discussion/220965-players-dont-detect-music-my-sd-card-after-ics-update.html


Philz touch 6 stuck in recovery mode I recently installed philz touch 6 recovery on my galaxy tab 3 lite, with the main purpose of rooting.

When I downloaded it over ODIN it was fine, and booted into recovery.

Now, when I try to boot (at all) it goes to recovery when I want to use the OS (without pressing any buttons other than POWER) it boots to recovery still. any help?

You should make a backup and reflash a stock ROM for your ROM or flash a different recovery for your phone. Also take a look at these sites.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2426426
http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/369146-only-boots-into-recovery-mode.html
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1794153


No Users settings on my Samsung Galaxy tablet running on Android 4.4.2 On my Samsung Galaxy tablet running on Android 4.4.2, I don't see any way to manage multiple users on this device.

From what I can find, there is suppose to be a Users settings menu item, but it's not there.

What's the possible reason, and how to fix it?

If it's not there, then either your ROM is messed up somehow, or the menu item is hidden extremely well, or Samsung chose not to include the Users functionality in your ROM, period.

There is a way to force your device to display the Users setting screen; working or not. You just need to launch the Users activity in com.android.settings. One way to do that is by installing Nova Launcher, adding the Activities widget to the homescreen, and choosing that activity from the list.

If that still doesn't work, then your device really does not include the Users functionality (which is surprising, as it's a tablet).


How to configure BlueStacks App Player to use Proxy settings when connecting to Network? Bluestacks allows running of Android apps on Windows by emulating the Android OS image.

I recently installed BlueStacks_HD_AppPlayerPro (0.7.0.725) on Windows XP but was not able to download/install any apps because my network requires a proxy. It shows the following error:

I tried using ProxyCaps like freecap, but it did not work for me. How can I configure BlueStacks to use my proxy settings?

The other answers are way out of date.

BlueStacks installations now includes a command-line utility HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe to setup a proxy connection. I can't find documentation for this utility anywhere but it's pretty basic:

Using BlueStacks with a Proxy Server

Open BlueStacks. (It has to be open before running the utiity)
Open a Windows command prompt.

(eg. hit +R  →
type cmd → hit Enter )

Change to the BlueStacks program folder.

(eg. cd C:\Program Files\BlueStacks )

Run HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe :

  Usage:

     HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe set <host> <port>      connect to specified proxy
     HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe reset                  reset/stop using proxy

  For example: HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe set 123.45.67.890 4444

When prompted, close and re-open BlueStacks.

Alternatively, you can specify other proxy protocols by including it in the <host> in standard syntax.  For example, I used socks://localhost and my custom port number. It took a couple tries but it worked eventually.

To disconnect / reset BlueStacks proxy settings  :

Make sure BlueStacks is running
Open a command prompt
Run command: C:\Program Files\BlueStacks\HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe reset
Close and re-open BlueStacks.


Cant connect Oneplus 2 to Mac via USB Ok, I have Oneplus Two, with the latest OxygenOS 3.0.2 (android 6.0.1), not rooted.
First sad thing is that there is no option in "Developer Options" to do "ADB over network", seems like developers removed it, which is really frustrating for me, because I have a lot of trouble connecting the phone to my Mac.

By lot of troubles I mean I cannot do it. I tried everything that google offered, hell I spend whole day trying to figure it out and nothing.
Literally nothing happens when I plug in the phone to Mac (phone is charging).

system.log dump: kernel[0]: 006676.874534 HS01@14100000: AppleUSB20XHCIPort::resetAndCreateDevice: failed to create device, disabling port

adb devices yields empty list of devices, android studio same.

I checked my adb_usb.ini, it cotains this id 0x2a70.
I can't even root my phone to use 3rd party adb over wifi to start developing.

Anyway I can get the usb connection to work with my Mac?

To enable Developer mode, go to Settings, then About phone and click on Kernel or Build number several times until you will become a developer.

Now you should have OnePlus Drivers mounted where you can find Mac app for file transfers and shell script for ADB configuration.

If you still having trouble connecting via USB, try to use the original cable.


ls command works but not with options? In my terminal app when I type ls /? it gives me ls /d. Where can I find the other options?  For example I want  to list the file attributes  and file length.  I have tried also busybox to no avail.

It sounds like you want the extremely common

ls -l

For reference, the complete busybox help for ls:

BusyBox v1.21.0-Stericson (2013-01-28 21:49:55 GMT) multi-call binary.

Usage: ls [-1AaCxdLHRFplinsehrSXvctu] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]...

List directory contents

        -1      One column output
        -a      Include entries which start with .
        -A      Like -a, but exclude . and ..
        -C      List by columns
        -x      List by lines
        -d      List directory entries instead of contents
        -L      Follow symlinks
        -H      Follow symlinks on command line
        -R      Recurse
        -p      Append / to dir entries
        -F      Append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries
        -l      Long listing format
        -i      List inode numbers
        -n      List numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names
        -s      List allocated blocks
        -e      List full date and time
        -h      List sizes in human readable format (1K 243M 2G)
        -r      Sort in reverse order
        -S      Sort by size
        -X      Sort by extension
        -v      Sort by version
        -c      With -l: sort by ctime
        -t      With -l: sort by mtime
        -u      With -l: sort by atime
        -w N    Assume the terminal is N columns wide
        --color[={always,never,auto}]   Control coloring


Link2SD not working completely My Link2SD doesn't seem to be fully working. I noticed this when updating the Facebook application. Google Play prompted me of insufficient storage. I first uninstalled some apps but I got curious so I checked Link2SD's storage info, I got this:

(Click image to enlarge)

As you can see, the internal storage only has mere 70mb left. What's peculiar is, these are the only apps I have NOT linked:

(Click image to enlarge)

I tried moving one linked app (Amazing Alex) to the sd card (normal Android way) and sure enough, the free space on my internal storage got bigger by about an additional 20mb-ish.

Why is this happening? Why isn't Link2SD moving the data to my sdext2? How do I solve it?

I have encountered this problem with link2sd multiple times already. You can try to recreate your mount script via link2sd, reboot and then relink all your application files, lib files, and dalvik-cache.. hope this solves your problem.


Android In-App Purchase Costs More In My Country Recently I made an in-app purchase in the very popular SuperCell game Clash Royale where I bought some Gems for $11.18.

I later realized that players in the USA paid $9.99 for the same item so I was wondering...why does the same item cost more to purchase from my country on Google Play? Does Google charge depending on the region or country?

I live in the Caribbean, we use USD to make In-App purchases from Google Play.

Can anyone please shed some light on this?

Pricing is market specific

From Google Developer help targetting app developers :

  We'll use the price you enter as the base for calculating market-specific prices. We'll convert your price to the local currency, add tax (in select countries), and apply locally relevant pricing patterns.

Though this is mentioned in context of pricing of apps, logically it should hold for in app purchases too


Fast boot up on iMX6 I'm working with a development board based on Freescale i.MX6 ARM Cortex A9 processors. You can have more info about the board on this link. The Android version I'm using is the one provided by the manufacturer which is based on Android 4.4.2 if I'm not wrong.

This will have an automotive application, which will be the Head Unit of a kind of car. At this moment, the board takes about 15-20 seconds to boot. As you know, this is unacceptable for a car infotainment system. I've developed several Android apps but this is the first time I'm playing with the internal system, and I need some help to achieve this.

My question would be, how can I make the system to boot in at least 6-8 seconds? I've tried adding this line to build.prop:

ro.config.hw_quickpoweron=true

But it hasn't have any effect. I've seen few manufacturers have achieved to start the system in 4 seconds.

As far as I know this option is present in 4.4.2.

So you want the device to be ready as soon as you enter your car and have a good power consumption. you probably want to use the "QuickBoot mode"  (not the same as fastboot mode) which doesn't really turn the device off if you choose "shutdown", but gets it into some sort of power saving mode. on my mobile phone it will be there after ~1 second.

In order to enable this feature:

Enable Developer Options: Go to device info and hit the "Build number" few times

(Click image to enlarge)

Enable the QuickBoot setting: You can find this option under the "Developer options" nearly at the top.

Shut down your device: Hit the shutdown button and wait until the device will vibrate. It's now in the power saving mode. (All apps would be disabled)
Turn on the device: Push and hold the power button, after around 1 or 2 seconds, the mobile phone should be usable again.

Note: I know I'm using CyanogenMod 12.1 but it's not that different and I found this feature in my stock Android 4.4 ROM too. The screenshots looks different because of a theme in place.


Error 505 during installation from Play Store I have LG G Pad. I have been trying to update Google Play Services since October. It always fails during installation. Many of my apps are not working such as YouTube, Gmail, etc.

I tried clearing cache, and I also did it with Play Store too. I restarted the tablet after clearing cache and still to no avail can't update Play services. My LG G4 phone has no problem.

What can I do?

Try to download and install from http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-play-games/google-play-games-3-7-23-release/google-play-games-3-7-23-2867637-836-android-apk-download/download/

It worked out for me on slimrom for Kindle Fire 5th gen


Make an android app keep its spot on the home screen on uninstall/reinstall When developing android apps, I will often end up reinstalling the app I'm working on (deliberately after uninstalling it, or when the build signatures are different).

It's bothersome to always put this app back on the home screen where I want it. And if I don't, I either have to type its name in the app directory (which can take a few letters depending on how similar its name is to other apps) or scroll to find it.

Has anyone found a way to have an app find it's previous spot on a reinstall, or something that would make finding it easier ?

I'm familiar with Tasker and Llama, but couldn't find such options.

Not quite what you asked for, but you could put a Tasker shortcut on the home screen, and have that task just open the app. You could also have that task try different package names in order to support both your debug and release versions.


How to get installation log (either from adb install or manual install) The question is what to grep/filter?

adb logcat | grep what?
adb install file.apk

tried with grep apk and manual install, but it contains no useful information:

01-25 17:29:05.721  4241  6322 I ActivityManager: START u0 {dat=file:///data/user_de/0/com.google.android.packageinstaller/no_backup/package7763548981090696460.apk flg=0x2000000 cmp=com.google.android.packageinstaller/com.android.packageinstaller.InstallInstalling (has extras)} from uid 10020, pid 24521
01-25 17:29:08.660  4241  5058 I ActivityManager: START u0 {dat=file:///data/user_de/0/com.google.android.packageinstaller/no_backup/package7763548981090696460.apk flg=0x2000000 cmp=com.google.android.packageinstaller/com.android.packageinstaller.InstallFailed (has extras)} from uid 10020, pid 24521

tried with grep apk and adb install nothing captured (stuck), how can i know what part causes the installation failure?

Sometimes errors are getting lost when using adb. Effectively adb install does nothing more than uploading the apk file to the the device and then executing the command pm install <file.apk>.

Therefore in case of problems you can perform those steps manually and see the complete log of the package manager pm when installing the apk file.

Therefore I would suggest doing the following:

Upload the apk file to your device (e.g. via adb push, MTP, direct download to the device, ...)
Open an adb shell by executing adb shell
Install the apk file:  pm install <path_to_the_apk_file_on_the_device.apk>

Then you should get the most details log and all (error) messages.


Is adb backup usable in case of soft-brick? Let's assume I create a backup of my phone with this command:

adb backup -apk -shared -all

When I want to install Xposed framework it warns me that the phone maybe trap in re-booting or suffer from soft-brick so they advise the user to create a nondroid backup. my question is that is adb backup method helpful in such scenarios?

A softbrick usually renders the user unable to boot into Android OS successfully and satisfactorily, and most of the  time you can boot into a custom Recovery (you would be having it if you mentioned Xposed) and then use the ADB commands to restore the backup from there.

ADB backup method isn't useful in case of Xposed Framework since ADB doesn't make any image of /system or /data (Xposed makes changes into /system). ADB backup is concerned with user data (Apps, app data, settings, and similar things, internal/external SD card data) only. That's why Nandroid is recommended and always preferred.

Note that the command you mentioned will backup only shared storage (SD card), all apps (user+system) data and their apks as well. That's just it, but not enough to run a system.


How to fix Dead or Stuck pixels on my android phone using PC? I currently have fully covered black screen on my phone and it started from a small black spot and it spread. I don't know if its whether it is a dead pixel or stuck pixel. the phone is still functional just no display. How do i fix this using my PC?

You asked how to fix it using your PC, so here's the steps to follow:

Load up Google Maps on your PC.
Search for phone repair shops.
Find a result that's easy to get to and take your phone there.
Tell them your phone screen is broken and needs replacing.

If this started with a new phone, you should instead take it back to where you bought it, tell them they sold you a faulty phone, and ask them to replace it for you. Your PC isn't involved in this case.


Not able to flash/factory reset Galaxy Nexus.; restores to one particular backup every reboot My Galaxy Nexus will not factory reset. I tried to flash many images. I deleted the gallery contacts, but it restores to a restore point on each reboot.

Currently, it is having "yakju-jzo54k". I am getting an OTA update. After downloading and updating, it is going to recovery mode with red caution sign. Then, it reboots after sometime. Again, a restore point is restored (with my old pics and contacts).

I tried Wug's Nexus toolkit, flashing it with a rooted boot.img, and deleting many files. Still, the old backup was still restored.

It's became a big headache now. So, any help is appreciated.

It seems that either your recovery is broken, or the OTA update did not download correctly and the data is unable to be recovered. I would recommend starting anew, perhaps by installing a CyanogenMod ROM so that way you are running the latest Android (4.4.2). Head over to XDA and find the instructions for the type of gnex you have (GSM, Sprint, Verizon).