How to share VPN connection with devices on hotspot? I use a VPN on my Galaxy S8+ and I am looking for a way to be able to share my ExpressVPN connection via hotspot to be able to connect devices such as Xbox One and a Smart TV. Currently cannot use a PC and my router is trash so my phone is the last resort. What can I do? What are some workarounds?

Android doesn't redirect hotspot traffic through VPN network as far as I have tested on Pie ROM (almost stock; custom ROMs might have different implementations or some specific settings). The reason is VPNService API works in Java framework of Android to redirect traffic to VPN's tun interface based on UIDs (and/or SOcket MARKs) of apps. While tethering works in native code; dnsmasq is the DNS server (up to Pie) while the rest of traffic is handled by kernel directly. Also using same internet connection or VPN for multiple devices may break terms of contract with service providers. So it's left disabled by default.

A workaround is to modify routing table but it requires root and is a bit complex on Android. This works for me:

~# ip rule add iif wlan0 lookup table 5000
~# ip route add default dev tun0 table 5000
~# ip rule add to 192.168.43.0/24 lookup table 5001
~# ip route add default dev wlan0 table 5001

First command adds a rule to RPDB to send traffic coming on hotspot (WiFi) interface to table 5000.
Second command adds a route to routing table 5000 to send all traffic on tun0 interface i.e. the one used by VPN app.
Third and fourth rules do inverse i.e. send traffic coming from VPN to tethered devices.

Firewall works above routing policy. Forwarding rules and source NAT should already be set with hotspot but just to make sure:

~# echo -n 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
~# iptables -I FORWARD -o wlan0 -i tun0 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -I FORWARD -i wlan0 -o tun0 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING -o tun0 -j MASQUERADE

First three commands instruct kernel/firewall to forward traffic in both directions in between VPN and hotspot interfaces.
Fourth command sets SNAT i.e. keeps track of hotspot traffic leaving VPN interface and coming back.

Make sure interfaces names and IP address are correct as on your device.

Also there is VPN Hotspot but I haven't tried. For non-root devices there exist some Wi-Fi Direct (ad-hoc) based solutions like PdaNet which require setup on both sides.

RELATED: How to use Private DNS on Android Pie for tethering?


HTC Wildfire S digitizer replacement I've just replaced the digitizer of my HTC Wildfire S because the old one was broken. The thing is that since the replacement, the new digitizer has become totally unresponsive. LCD is working fine though.
Just some small questions to rule things out;

Should I try to perform a calibration on the digitizer to make it work? I can't use the screen so I'm planning on making a Gold Card to perform calibration.
(The new digitizer is totally unresponsive. Checked all connections, didn't clean them though but I guess this isn't causing the problem.)

Any other thoughts on what might be causing the problem? Could it be that the digitizer was already faulty at the beginning? Does this happen a lot? Bought one from Amazon.

If its totally un responsive then you need verify once your harware whether its an exact replacement or not as HTC Wildfire S digitizer comes in two variants

With Chip
Without Chip

So match it with old damaged one and if they are same then the hardware will be faulty and you will need one more replacement.


What is 02 in the magisk patched vbmeta.img? According to the Additional Info given for rooting the Android device that doesn't have ramdisk but can be rooted via recovery: we need an empty vbmeta.img and I am trying to check what it actually contains. I understand the hex that removed the verification flags from the original vbmeta.img and the hex for avbtool 1.1.0 but there is a hex 00 02 at 00000070 which I didn't get why it is there.

Does anybody can explain this?

According to this piece of source code by Intel, there is an uint32_t starting at position0x78 (120) and ending at 0x7b (124). This location is marked as "flags from the AvbVBMetaImageFlags enumeration", which "must be set to zero if the vbmeta image is not a top-level image".

On to the enumeration itself. AvbVBMetaImageFlags is defined in the same file and the flag set by Magisk is 0x00000002 (2). From the source, we see that the corresponding value, therein expressed as 1 << 1, is called AVB_VBMETA_IMAGE_FLAGS_VERIFICATION_DISABLED, which is quite self-explanatory.

In short, Magisk is modifying that value knowingly, in order to disable a verification that would likely prevent your device from booting a modified image.


Connecting Google Nexus 7 to Linux Has someone been able to connect Google Nexus 7 to Linux. I'm using Linux Ubuntu 12.04?

I've already installed mtp-tools and mtpfs but still cannot get it right. Can someone help?

Try this :

sudo apt-get install mtpfs
mkdir ~/NexusDrive
mtpfs ~/NexusDrive
nautilus ~/NexusDrive


authentication is required when I try having an access to the google play store I am not able to install my favourite games such as ZOMBIES KILLER 3D. Whenever i ha ve tried installing this games the pla store send me a message and that is "authentication is required you need to sign in your google account"
I am kindly requesting you solving my problem.

Try to clear the data for the Play Store app.
Navigate to Settings >> Apps >> Search for "Play Store"
Then Click "Clear Data"
Hope that helps!!


Enabling both normal wifi and wifi hotspot to get RSSI values of wi-fi hotspots I want an android phone to have both 'normal wi-fi' and 'portable hotspot' turned on at the same time, so that I will be able to get the RSSI values of wireless networks as well as involve in an hotspot connection.

Scenario:
4 rooted android phones in CyanogenMod (2-Nexus One, 2-Galaxy S2; consider A,B,C,D).
Kernel version 2.3.3 in all the phones
Portable wi-fi hot spot enabled in all the phones.

I wrote an application to find the RSSI values of available wireless signals. But as the phones(A,B,C,D) are using wi-fi hot spot, the normal wifi does not turn on. Either wi-fi hot spot can be on, or normal wi-fi can be on.
i.e. If each phone(A,B, C and D) have a wifi hotspot created(AH, BH, CH, DH), then I am not able to use my application, as normal wifi  connection needs to be turned on to find the wireless networks.

So I want the phones to scan available wireless networks with portable wi-fi hot spot enabled. Is there a way to do this.?

What you probably want is your phone work as adhoc and as an AP at the same time I guess it's called bridging
http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessproducts/f/apbridgingmode.htm
I don't think that at first android phones support the adhoc mode at all yet.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1932150/can-android-do-peer-to-peer-ad-hoc-networking
The bridging is only possible for normal wifi routers not for android phones. Routers also support WDS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_distribution_system
There's no such thing as WDS for android phones yet AFAK.

hope it clarifies the matter abit. thanks.


Xperia mini 17i update Android 2.3 to 4.0 I try update Android from 2.3 to 4, using tool Sony PC Companion 2.1.
Tool want terminate processes wininit.exe and java.exe.
I can't terminate this processes using Far manager and Task manager.
When I accept termination of processes by Sony PC Companion 2.1, my computer is restrted.
Any ideas?

You can't terminate wininit.  If their installer is trying to do so then it's broken, or trying to install a rootkit by replacing system files in use by wininit.  Normally you should have an option to ignore the warning and it will simply need a reboot after the install (though given that it's warning about a system process, I wouldn't trust it as far as I could throw it).  Did you get the installer from Sony's official site?


How to remove syncronized photos from facebook I have a Galaxy Note II and I syncronized my Facebook gallery by mistake. I've tried to disactivate the sync from the Settings (Settings > Account) by unchecking the "Sync gallery" option but the photos still remain in the phone gallery. I can't even remove them from gallery beacuse there's no option shown. Thanks in advance.

Just in case somebody stumbles upon this question - you don't need to uninstall Facebook. Just open the Gallery, press the menu button and go to "Content to display" option. Uncheck Facebook there. Done.


How to convert my phone in silent mode into general mode automatically for specific mobile number If my mobile phone is in silent mode and  I want  my phone automatically converts silent mode to general mode  by getting call from specific number like only for my parents or my friends.
     Many time my phone is in silent mode.If their is emergency call then I want even in silent mode I  get an alert on my mobile phone.

Favourite the contacts that you want to hear their calls from the contacts app. Then go to the settings of do not disturb and change that to priority only. So then only the people you chose  will be able to call you.

Hope this Helps


My Sony Xperia S started rebooting after i installed Beats Audio Installation I was looking through the Google Play Store after I rooted my Sony Xperia S The other day, and came upon the app "Beats Audio Installation" & Downloaded it and then when i opened the app and finished the setup, it started Rebooting and you cant go to your regular screen, etc. You can only see the boot loader (Green animated android logo) and Sony Logo in the beginning and it keeps rebooting. Please Help!

Booting into safe mode using vol- when switched on doesn't work it still reboots as soon as it goes on. Any one had an issue regardless "Beats Audio Installation" please let me know how you fixed it.

Wipe data and cache from recovery and reboot.


LogCat shows exception in SyncProcessorQueue every 5 seconds I just started noticing this in my Logcat, it seems like every 5 seconds I get this exception caught. Does anyone have any idea what app or part of the OS it could be? I can't imagine whatever this is constantly running and throwing exceptions can be good for my battery, this occurs whether the screen is on or off.

Phone is moto Atrix, android 2.3

I wonder what is com.google.apps.dots?

04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593): Caught unexpected error
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593): java.lang.NullPointerException
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.provider.BlobStore.addToPossibleStores(BlobStore.java:98)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.provider.BlobStore.getPossibleStores(BlobStore.java:108)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.CleanUpSync$OldAttachmentAndBlobCleanUp.syncSelf(CleanUpSync.java:138)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncSelfInternal(BaseSyncNode.java:121)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:104)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.syncNextChild(BaseSyncNode.java:196)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.BaseSyncNode.sync(BaseSyncNode.java:107)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncNodeProcessor.syncNextNode(SyncNodeProcessor.java:34)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.process(SyncProcessorQueue.java:134)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.process(SyncProcessorQueue.java:114)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue.access$200(SyncProcessorQueue.java:31)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at com.google.apps.dots.android.app.sync.SyncProcessorQueue$Processor.run(SyncProcessorQueue.java:236)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:444)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask$Sync.innerRun(FutureTask.java:306)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:138)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1088)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:581)
04-19 17:51:47.455: E/SyncProcessorQueue(27593):    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1019)

As per this thread, it's related to Google Currents. Either disable the automatic syncing feature of Currents or uninstall Currents completely to get rid of this error.

I don't think it's a "bad" error though and should not cause any other problems (such as battery drain, etc.)


Error occured while flashing Galaxy Y with JELLYBLAST V3.0.2 While installing ROM on my galaxy Y as per mentioned on [ CUSTOM ROM - KERNEL] JELLYBLAST V3.0.2 for Galaxy Y GT-S5360

ROM installation aborted with error:

Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Can’t open /sdcard/JELLYBLASTV3.signed.zip
(bad)
Installation aborted.

Recovery.log

-- Installing: /sdcard/JELLYBLASTV3.signed.zip
Finding update package...
I:Update location: /sdcard/JELLYBLASTV3.signed.zip
Opening update package...
minzip: Missed a central dir sig (at 0)
E:Can't open /sdcard/JELLYBLASTV3.signed.zip
(bad)
Installation aborted.

This error comes normally for two reason.

You have a corrupted .zip so you should try re-downloading.
You have an unsupported recovery.

According to your ROM's requirements, You must have stock kernal. Most of the time while rooting, we flash a different kernal. So you may have to flash your stock kernal back again.
And also you must have a CWM recovery, as they say.  You can find it here http://techcure.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/how-to-root-and-use-cwm-for-galaxy-y-gt-s5360/

If you have already done these steps, please let me know. I will try to help as much as I can.


How to get shell with busybox on android? I installed busybox free on my android device. I have super user and stuff. When I click on the busybox widget, it gets me to the configuration utility where I can install / uninstall. It is installed. How can I execute the busybox binary now?

BusyBox: The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux

  BusyBox combines tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a
  single small executable. It provides replacements for most of the
  utilities you usually find in GNU fileutils, shellutils, etc. The
  utilities in BusyBox generally have fewer options than their
  full-featured GNU cousins; however, the options that are included
  provide the expected functionality and behave very much like their GNU
  counterparts. BusyBox provides a fairly complete environment for any
  small or embedded system.

  BusyBox has been written with size-optimization and limited resources
  in mind. It is also extremely modular so you can easily include or
  exclude commands (or features) at compile time. This makes it easy
  to customize your embedded systems. To create a working system, just
  add some device nodes in /dev, a few configuration files in
  /etc, and a Linux kernel.

also, as GiantTree said,

you need to download the (Terminal Emulator - Google play).

and after install (and also install the binary and get root permission), you can use the terminal serve as more Permissions and it support Busy Box Binaries.
This is the Syntax of use this project :

/bin/busybox ls

More information :

Command Help - BusyBox


How to get Jelly Bean Camera to use external SD card? I just purchased a 32 GB SD card for use with my Galaxy S3 which is running a 4.2.1 rom. Certain apps like Titanium Backup I was able to switch to start using the SD card just fine, but I can't for the life of me find a setting anywhere for the camera to start storing videos/photos there. Is this possible?

I've googled lots, but all I can find is directions for older versions of Android, which aren't applicable to my setup.

Here's how I did it:

Go into Camera as if you were taking a picture
Go into Settings (gear) on top left
Scroll down to Storage
Change to Memory Card


No contacts showing in list in messages I have just purchased a Galaxy s4 mini and I can see all my contacts in the contacts list but when I want to send a message and add a recipient the contact list is empty. How can I fix this?

you may try any custom contacts/messaging app.
if you like you could try contacts +
, which can also be used for texting.


Flaky Wi-Fi on an Android tablet We have been experiencing an odd issue with tablets that we sell, and our vendor is being no help, so we are forced to take matters into our own hands – but so far we've been unsuccessful.

Specs:

OS: Android 5.1
Wi-Fi: Ampak AP6255 onboard Wi-Fi module with a single band antenna.

Issue:

The device will see networks and confirm if the correct/incorrect credentials were entered in, but will almost always never connect. If the device does connect, it will not stay connected. We've swapped multiple antennas out, but the issue still occurs. On a Wi-Fi analyzer, the signal consistently dips. The only way we can stay connected to a network is to connect to a 5 GHz signal, which is very inconvenient.

Check your environment. 2.4GHz is almost always saturated which causes interference and is very sensitive to certain signals such as Microwaves, Cordless phones, certain wireless fire alarms etc...  The best thing you can do is purchase (if you don't already have one) a Metageek Chanalyzer: http://www.metageek.com/products/wi-spy/?utm_expid=190328-202.Egk2FYNZQd6ZdJAUVdEvVA.0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.metageek.com%2F.
This will definitely show you visually the state of your 2.4GHz environment.  Since 2.4GHz only has three non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11) you may be out of luck.  5GHz may be your only solution because it has 23+ channels you can choose from.  The air quality in the 5GHz band is pretty clean.


How to remotely disable MobiUCare from sending "SIM card change" SMSes? My mother just changed her SIM card. I forgot to disable MobiUCare and I'm about a thousand of kilometers away from the phone.

I keep receiving an SMS:

  SIM card changed. Plz check phone if lost or stolen" with SIM ID and Gmail ID.

I found that MobiUCare supports lots of SMS commands to remotely track/wipe phone. Doesn't it have any to defuse the anti-theft system? I mean, I expected the change of SIM card, the new one is legitimate.

Actually one SMS can be considered enough instead of an half-hourly report that drains credit

Answer: No

Based on the currently available information at their support FAQ page, no, you cannot disable the "SIM card change notification" feature with remove SMS control:

  How can I control device via SMS

  Configuration
  1) Set a password and enable SMS command option using "Preference" menu of the app
  2) Send SMS commands

  Locate phone : ## locate password
  Siren : ## siren password
  Lock screen : ## lock password screenlockpassword
  Factory reset : ## wipe password
  Reset and format SD : ## wipeall password
  Toggle GPS : ## gps password
  Toggle WIFI : ## wifi password
  Toggle Bluetooth : ## bluetooth password

What can you do:

You can let the phone owner know how to access the app and from there, pressing "preferences", it can access the "Allow Notify via SMS" enable/disable checkbox:


how can I forward all calls except one? because i have a small business I get lots of calls, but sometimes I want a day off... so on these days I would like to be able to forward all my calls to my office, BUT allow ONLY my office number to call me in case of an emergency...

so how can I forward all incoming calls to my phone, but exempt a single number so as to allow it to be able to ring thru to my phone?

does the phone have this capability, or is it possible with an app?   Thanks

For starters, call forwarding happens at your service provider, not at your phone. For most services, to forward calls that you don’t answer, first dial *71+the 10-digit number to forward calls to. To turn off call forwarding dial *73.

Now, step two. Do a search on the play store for “white list”. There are a number of apps that will only allow the numbers that you have entered into the white list. In theory, all others will get forwarded. I haven’t tested it but it should work. Good Luck.


I connected to a suspicious public wifi using my phone. Is it possible that my phone was hacked? I recently was outside looking for public wifi because my android mobile internet wasn't very good. I went past a garage that had free wifi apparently, so I went up there and connected to their wifi.

However, despite being somewhat close to the garage, the wifi signal was still poor. I looked and saw a few dozen meters away some apartments and I realised that I could be connecting to some unknown wifi in the apartments,run by someone bad. I then quickly disconnected and left.

The good thing was that I was only on the wifi network for about 10-15 seconds and I didn't visit any websites where they could look at my data. Also the signal was really really weak. Though I looked online and found this:

  Once a victim connects to the rogue Wi-Fi hotspot, the host hacker can then intercept data and even use tools to inject malware into the connected devices.

https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-wifi-why-hackers-love-public-wifi.html

So I feel a bit uncomfortable. My phone also acted a little strange, saying it had 15% battery still and then suddenly 1% and switching off. Then when i plug it back in to recharge, it suddenly says it has 40% battery.

Just to clarify, I didnt visit any websites on that wifi. But i'm worried maybe it was a bad wifi which was able to infect my phone and access it remotely?

Is it possible? Sure... Is it likely, no.

Let us consider the scenarios where your phone could be hacked.

Your phone does not have the latest security updates released by google, the network you are connected is rouge, the hacker knows how to exploit the vulnerability on your phone.
You have an app installed that is malware infected, the network you are connected is rouge, hacker's network is registered with the malware infected app. He would then exploit the app to hack your phone.
Network you are connected is rouge, the hacker knows vulnerability related to android OS or a popular android app(that is installed on your phone and) that is not yet fixed by google/your phone maker (for your android phone) or the developer of the app(in case of the vulnerable app).

As you can see, there are multiple parameters/conditions involved here, I believe it would be a rare case where your phone is hacked. To answer your question, as @acejavelin commented,

  Is it possible? Sure... Is it likely, no.


Apps change their positions whenever the phone is rebooted After rooting my phone, I forced some applications to be transferred to the SD card using DroidSail, I wasn't able to transfer them before rooting. However, after moving them, whenever I reboot the phone, these apps change their positions in the apps pages.
For example, WhatsApp is one of these applications which after being forced-transferred to the SD card, keeps changing it's location every time I restart the phone. The problem is gone when I moved it back to the phone memory.
My Question is: Is there any way so that these applications remain on the memory card, and yet don't change their positions upon restarting ? 'trying to save some internal memory here'

Android Version : 4.0.4
Model Number : LT18i - "Xperia Arc S"

As you described the app icons are placed at the end of the list, the most likely reason lies in the order of things done during the boot process:

The SDCard is mounted after the system broadcasts its BOOT_COMPLETED event, so apps moved to the card become visible later than those installed on device storage. With a little unlucky timing, the app drawer is already initialized before mounting of the SDCard is completed, so those apps are added afterwards, and thus to the end of the list (as it, btw, is probably done as well with apps you install).

There are multiple solutions to this: Of course, you can move those SDCard-installed apps back to device storage, but that's not always an option (especially with only little device storage available on some devices). Alternatively, you could simply check a different launcher, as not all launchers behave the way described. Many launchers I've tried automatically sort the app drawer, so even when I've just installed a new app it appears normally in alphabetical order.


Samsung Galaxy SIII not Recognized I have a Samsung Galaxy SIII which I'm attempting to pull photos off of - but I am having trouble doing so. I've attempted to use Kies to pull the photos off - but it just says loading... loading... loading... forever. The computer seems to recognize the phone (it is shown under device manager) but it never seems to appear under My Computer (this may be related to why Kies does not recognize it either.)

Anyone have any suggestions?

When I plug my S3 into my Windows 7/8 computers (after installing Kies to get the drivers), it just shows up as a "portable media player" under My Computer and is easily accessible.

If yours isn't, and you've tried more than one computer, then I suspect more than just the screen on the S3 is broken.


Can apps know where you are even without GPS? I've noticed that Google Maps, for instance, can guess where you are using phone towers or something even when GPS is turned off.

Does this apply to 3rd party apps? Can any app figure out where you are?

If so, are there large security implications there?

Basically as a developer, couldn't you build a background process that tracks every the location of every phone that has your app installed?

Apps can get your approximate location without GPS, but only if they have the "coarse location" permission.  The "fine location" permission lets an app get your GPS location too, if GPS is enabled.

When you an install an app, Android shows you the permissions it needs.  If you don't see coarse or fine location in the list, the app can't get your location.


Can an OPPO R9S be rooted? CPH 1607
This phone has terrible phone and messaging apps.  even when i install 3rd party apps the phone defaults to stock everytime a call or message comes through.  im am desperate to root it or i will sell it.  does anyone have any idea how this can be done.  i am out of ideas and cant get around it.    thanks in advance everyone

You can root your OPPO R9S using

iRoot

Farmaroot

KingoRoot

Check out this blog for details. Hope this helps.


Can I transfer my sms messages from my old phone to my new phone WITHOUT using any third party software? The only answers I have been able to find want me to download third party software. It is NOT an acceptable solution to expose all of my SMS history to a third party. Maybe there's an open source solution?

With root

If you're rooted or willing to root, you can check out this method: Where on the file system are SMS messages stored?

Note: If you're transferring between different versions of Android, or even ROMs, I would check if the SMS format is the same.

Third party app

There's SMS Backup+, which is an open source app I found - GitHub, Google Play.
I'm using SMS Backup & Restore for a long time (maybe years) - from their Privacy Policy, it seems that the only data they send is anonymous usage data to Google Analytics.

Note: You can use a well reviewed and popular third party app from play store (bonus if it's an editors choice), and after installing it (before even opening) - move to flight mode, backup locally, remove the app and transfer to your computer or other phone.


AFWall+ allow DHCP+DNS services without allow all root? Picked up AFWall+ today when heard it is the fork of Droidwall (which had been sold off to Avast).
Bonus is that AFWall+ has an entry for "(Tethering) - DHCP+DNS services".
Problem is that entry doesn't work unless I also allow "(root) - Applications running as root".  ("Doesn't work"=connecting device gives error "Avoided poor internet connection".)

I believe the following script would still require root to be allowed, but unsure.

$IPTABLES -A "afwall-wifi" -p TCP --destination-port 67 -j RETURN || exit
$IPTABLES -A "afwall-wifi" -p UDP --destination-port 67 -j RETURN || exit

(Built from:
DroidWall and Wireless Tethering and
https://github.com/ukanth/afwall/wiki/CustomScripts )

The goal is to not blanket whitelist all Root apps, but still allow DCHP/DNS out over the Wi-Fi interface (phone as wifi hot spot).

Is this even possible?  If so, how so?

(Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III SPH-L710 running Avatar nightly_3.1-658-20130823-NIGHTLY-d2spr , based on CM 10.1 , android 4.2.2 )

On my stock Android 4.2.1, I don't need to allow (Tethering) - DNS+DHCP service, let alone (root) - Applications running as root for DHCP/DNS over Wifi hostpot in AFwall+. My system can get the IP easily but would not connect to internet unless I change my system's DNS setting to some public DNS like 8.8.8.8. It is a fix that I once saw on a forum.

That said, my system would not receive the IP from my other two devices running Android 4.4.4 if I don't allow (Tethering) - DNS+DHCP service. Even then, I still have to tweak that DNS setting to browse the Internet on my system.

I don't know the reason for such behavior, but never ever I needed to allow (root) - Applications running as root or those IP-tables rules you mentioned.


Wifi won't turn on after using xender, Unless phone restarts Device: Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos (gt-19082)
Current ROM: CM13.O Unofficial port.

After using a Wifi file transfer app like Xender(turns my hotspot ON)
when I try to turn ON wifi, the toggle goes gray(unresponsive). The problem persists unless I restart the phone.

I am experiencing this problem from way back while I had CM12. Now I have upgraded to Marshmallow.

At last the problem got solved.

I had to backup all my data, do a hard reset.

I flashed with a new version of Cyanogenmod, and then with nano Gapps.
And a full reset after flashing it with Gapps.

After reboot, Reinstalled all apps from backup, and the problem was solved, wifi works well now.


TWRP can not find partitions I had installed CWM recovery and used it to restore previous rom once and now I installed TWRP recovery (and I hope it replaced CWM because I used Odin3 to install both of them). Now I need to create backup of my device before wiping; But there is no partition detected in TWRP to backup:

Here is what shown on my device when I goto backup page and the errors shown after trying to backup:

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)

The error was because my partitions were marked to be read only and TWRP version 2.7.0.0 was not checking that!

I installed TWRP version 3.0.0 and before starting new version it asked me a confirmation to make partitions editable and this simple step solved the problem.


About accessing premium sms in Samsung j7pro On my J7 phone under Apps, Special Access, Use Premium text message service, it is not showing my messaging service, so I can't set it to Always Allow.so how to fix this problem

The app needs to request "Premium SMS" at least once before it will start showing up in Use premium text message service
So, first try to send a premium SMS using your messaging app and then the app will be available for you to make the permanent choice.


Biometric-security lock-screen? Is there a way to apply a biometric lock (as in, a look screen) to an Android device? e.g. the unlocker has to pass a fingerprint / retina / voice scan. I've read about startup companies and general ideas, but haven't seen any actual product.

Turns out unlock via face recognition will be built-in in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.


Can RAM and ROM be increased after rooting a device? How can I increase RAM and ROM after rooting my Lenovo A269I running Android 2.3.6? After rooting an Android would the RAM and ROM be increased?

I have not rooted my device yet. But I want to do so.

It can be possible by upgrading Hardware only. But the existing memory can be used wisely by rooting your device.

For example, to get some free space,

ROM (can remove unwanted System apps)
RAM (can swap some of your unused app memory from RAM to secondary storage (SD card); try out RAM Expander for instance )

Note: we cannot expect the same hardware's performance while swapping
 RAM.


Galaxy s7 edge. I want to receive and send emails. NOT SYNCHRONISE. How please? I need to keep emails on my S7 Edge that relate to current, active projects only. Some have short timelines, some are months long. I want to be able to receive emails and send them but NOT keep getting emails that are archived. Those go to my corporate computer which holds all the emails. So synchronising isn't the answer. I get all the emails all the time plus it's chewing up tons of data when I'm out of office. The emails only get deleted from the mail server (not exchange, pop) when they're downloaded to the corporate computer. Worse, the sent emails don't synchronise at all, not from the sent folder, so I wind up bcc myself (which is what I prefer), but then I get the emails twice - once for sent folder and once in the inbox. It's a royal pain. So ideally, I'd like only the NEW emails to be pushed (or pulled) into the S7 and when I answer, I'll bcc - which puts them back on the server to go to the corporate system when I get into the office. Then I can delete them. BUT that also means I retain copies on my S7 for as long as I need them. BlackBerry 10 used to do that just fine, as it never really synched with Outlook. On the S7, syncing is overkill and difficult to manage. Frankly, I don't believe all the emails are co-ordinating. But my way, they do.

Ideas, anyone?

(Sorry, no gmail, hotmail, outlook.com, live.com etc. - just my phone and pc-based Outlook 2013.)

Thanks for any help.

Try to change the protocol from POP to IMAP


Can an app with root permission access another app data? I have an rooted android phone and use root apps like greenify regularly.

Recently i have installed my Bank application on my phone and the bank application is not allowing me to login as my phone is rooted. Even in last pass also it gives an warning that it is vulnerable as my phone is rooted.

I wanted to know whether one app with root permission can access other apps data.

For Example:

I have given complete root permission to greenify and can greenify access the stored files on some other application just like lastpass(I haven't given root permission to lastpass. I knew lastpass encrypts data on client side too. But i wanted whether it can access the data irrelevant of its encryption ) .

Yes -  if you grant it root privileges, it can Theoretically access any other apps data ( granting / denying is by "Superuser or Su" which is used to manage applications which are allowed to gain root access). That is a con of rooting. But if the data is encrypted it shouldn't be able to unless it is a rogue app which is capable of doing so

Aside, if you want to bypass bank app restrictions, you can try measures suggested here Get around an app that won't work on rooted device. Also see other Root Hider apps thanks to Izzy for pointing that out

Detection of root is done on the app as explained here Root detection by server or app ( do read the comment of acejavelin in case you are planning to hide root)

Also see How do I protect my phone from malicious apps once it is rooted?


Where to report issues regarding the stock-email-app Is
    http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/entry
the right place for bug reports?

My device is a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 LTE 2014 Edition (SM-P605) with it's original shipped OS (Android 4.3).

This depends upon the ROM that you're using.

If its stock, you're stuck, for most OEMs don't allow sending big reports as such.

If its a google device, or any other device running AOSP, then, the link you've posted is appropriate. Be sure to provide as much related and useful info as possible.

If you're running custom ROMs, they'd often provide you with links, so as to where to post bug reports, (most often being the thread itself (assuming that you're using a custom ROM taken from a forum)), which is where you ought to be posting bug reports.


Best way to bookmark items on Pinboard.in I recently changed over from using Delicious to http://Pinboard.in. What's the best way to bookmark a page to Pinboard from my Android phone?

Here are 4 free options...

1) The PinDroid app:

It's a port from DeliciousDroid and was just added to the market yesterday.  It looks pretty sweet.  Here's some screenshots.

2) Save the Pinboard.in bookmarklet as a bookmark: (this is still my favorite option)

javascript:q=location.href;if(document.getSelection){d=document.getSelection();}else{d='';};p=document.title;void(open('http://pinboard.in/add?url='+encodeURIComponent(q)+'&description='+encodeURIComponent(d)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(p),'Pinboard', 'toolbar=no,width=700,height=350'));

This works particularly well in Dolphin Browser HD (but it'll also work in other browswers).  Just create new bookmark, name it Pinboard Share and paste the above text in as the location.  When you are on a site you want to save, slide open the bookmarks toolbar and click your Pinboard Share and it'll bring up the popup share window with the URL and Title already filled in.  Personally, I like saving it as a gesture in Dolphin to make it even easier.

If you don't want to have to enter anything in, here's the code for the "Read Later" pinboard bookmarklet that'll just save the url automatically to your "Read Later" list without prompting you to enter tags, or a description.  I find this easy to do in a hurry then go back an organize later on my PC:

javascript:q=location.href;p=document.title;void(t=open('http://pinboard.in/add?later=yes&noui=yes&jump=close&url='+encodeURIComponent(q)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(p),'Pinboard','toolbar=no,width=100,height=100'));t.blur();

3) Download Bookmarklet Free

Go to "Custom Services" and add your own.  Name it Pinboard or whatever you want.  In the "Base URL" field enter http://pinboard.in/add? then in the "Title Parameter" field enter title and in the "URL Parameter" field enter url.  Now when you choose to "Share" from your browser, you'll have all the regular options like Email, Twitter and any of the options you chose in Bookmarklet Free, including your new Pinboard bookmarklet. (note: it actually took a little while for the name to take for me, it was listed as "My Service" for a while in my Share menu.)

4) Post by Email

With your formatted Pinboard email you can choose the share option on any page and email to to our pinboard account.  The instructions to do this are on the Pinboard how-to section.  I prefer the first option I shared but this is a decent last resort.


Why do restricted apps still use data? I am on Android 10 and just ditched netguard firewall to rely on the systems build in restriction options.
But despite my below setting e.g. the Amazon app is still obviously online.

screenshot of the app's data usage and settings (click to enlarge)

Amazon is using data in two cases:

Foreground
: App is active (foremost on screen), screen is on and user interacting with it. You would have probably done that in response to a notification or ad or launched the app. Even if you didn't interact with app but it is foremost on screen, it consumes data. If the app was updated by Play Store, it accounts data usage to the app (UPDATE_DEVICE_STATS permission)
Background:

Amazon uses Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) (com.amazon.mshop.pushnotification. gcm. MshopGCMbroadcast receiver)
to display push notifications which you see (ads/offers /delivery tracking etc) and this uses data. GCM (or FCM (Firebase Cloud messaging) is a part of Google Play Services and can't be restricted by disabling background data. If you want to stop background data completely, your device needs to be rooted (I use servicely which can also do this and I got the receiver information using this app)
In addition apps use analytics (Fabric/Crashlytics, Facebook app events, Firebase Analytics, Google Analytic, Mixpanel, Segment) which are not always bound by background data restriction.

Bottom line Depending on how badly you want to restrict app usage data your arsenal would  need a rooted device, Firewall, means to disable services /receivers, hibernation tools, doze optimization methods etc, in addition to restricting background data.


Google apps timeline inaccurate location My Google apps timeline says I went to a postcode and stayed there for 3 hours when I never left my house which is 4 miles away from where it says I was it was in the middle of the night when I wasn't even on my phone I was asleep. But on the following date it says I was at my house from 1200am-135pm which was obviously the start on the next day and which means I was at both locations at the same time. Any light shredded on this would be great. Is there anyway to prove I didn't leave my house

Do you use your Google account on more than one device? Or do you turn off location and your cell data and connect only via wifi? If you were connected to WiFi on your phone, or another WiFi or ethernet connected device logged in with your Google account, Google may have assumed your location was the location of the IP address you were using (which isn't necessarily where the actual WiFi router/access point is). 4 miles away is about the right distance for say a cable broadband hub and the IP address location may have resolved to somewhere near the hub.

If you go to http://whatsmyip.org and click on the "more information" button, it will attempt to locate you via your IP address. That's likely analogous to where your weird Google location came from.


Are there Android devices without a camera, but with a torch? Flashlight in Android seems to be "entangled" with Camera, leading to UI, power consumption, privacy and other issues.

Are there Android devices with a torch, but without a camera at all? How the LED is managed there?

I don't think there is any Android phone with a LED flash but without a camera. There might be a few low end phones(with a generic OS) that are available with a small LED for flash for using flash.

  Are there Android devices with a torch, but without a camera at all? How the LED is managed there?

Even if there is such a phone, Android has a Camera API that will let the app control flash.


How to bind-mount "data" and "obb" folders from external SD card in "/sdcard/Android"? Can someone help me mount my Android/data and Android/obb in my internal storage from my portable storage? I'm on a Pie ROM.
I found this: How to bind mount a folder inside /sdcard with correct permissions? but I don't know what should I do.

When I type:

ls -dZ /sdcard

I get

u:object_r:rootfs:s0 /sdcard

Sub-directories in /sdcard/Android/data or /sdcard/Android/obb (called apps' private directories on primary external storage) have synthesized permissions based on directory structure. While public directories on the rest of the /sdcard have fixed permissions. See details in Android's Storage Journey and What is /storage/emulated/0/?.

My answer to your linked question: How to bind mount a folder inside /sdcard with correct permissions? addresses the latter case i.e. bind mounting public directories which are shared with all apps. But private directories cannot be bind-mounted from external storage with fixed permissions. However using the same approach you can bind-mount every app's private directory separately.

Let's take example of Termux app. Its private directories (Android/data/com.termux and Android/obb/com.termux) are owned by the UID of Termux app assigned at the time of installation. Common ways to get UID value is to read from /data/system/packages.list or do ls -ld /sdcard/Android/data/com.termux or using stat command. A simple approach is to bind-mount the directory as world-writable so that every app can write to it. But it's not a good idea to set such open permissions. So we go the Android's way; bind-mount a directory from external SD card using FUSE:

~# bindfs -u $(stat -c %u /sdcard/Android/data/com.termux) -g 9997 -p a-rwx,ug+rw,ug+X /mnt/media_rw/[UUID]/Android/data/com.termux /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Android/data/com.termux

For further mount options and details see the above linked answer.
Replace /mnt/media_rw/[UUID] with /mnt/expand/[UUID]/media/0 if SD card is formatted as Adoptable Storage but data is not migrated.
In the same way obb directories can be bind-mounted.
If your device supports sdcardfs, the same mount should propagate to default and read emulated VIEWS as well. Otherwise if your device is older you can bind-mount the same way to other VIEWS.
Some apps by default prefer writing private data to secondary external storage (i.e. external SD card), so you don't need to bind-mount their data or obb directories.


Is there any way to let Facebook run only when I want? Is there any way to let the Facebook app run only when I want to use it and really close it when i don't need it?

I've already disabled it with autostarts, moved to sd, yet it is still running 24/7.

I don't want to appear on the Facebook chat, also don't want to waste 30mb of ram, and of course there are no FB widgets on the home screen

You could always install Titanium Backup (a GREAT app to have) or App Manager (was just released today by JRummy) and "Freeze"/"Unfreeze" the app when you want it to run or not run. This is a very quick/simple/painless operation and there's absolutely no chance for it to run (taking up resources or draining battery) while it's "Frozen" - it just takes up a bit of storage space is all.


Samsung Galaxy S firmware codes When Samsung Kies offers an update it doesn't tell you what version of android the update is.

All you get is seemingly meaningless codes like

PDA:JPI / Phone:JPP / CSC:JP4

or similar

What do these codes mean?

How can you convert these codes to android versions.

If they are arbitrary can this question serve as a list mapping codes to android versions.

Well for the Vibrant, the codes are as follows; for example, KA7:

The first letter is the year: K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet, so 2011.

The second is the month: January (A = 1).

7 is the revision or build, so KA6 is older than KA7, etc.

It's obviously different for the i9000 but you should be able to find that info on XDA.  They'll also tell you which release is which version of Android, which is not in the code AFAIK.


Is there a way I can make the font size smaller on default messaging app of LG L70 I have a rooted LG L70 (D325) and I want to make the font size of default messaging app smaller. I changed the font size on the settings but it is quite large to me that the person beside my can read my conversations so I want to change it to maybe 10px or smaller.

I switched to different messaging app but delays send/receive messages.
I also want the popup message on the stock SMS App so I can reply easiy. (Similar to the image below, sent by 9122)

Can you please help me how to change it or at least suggest an SMS app that does the same as Pop Up Reply with font customization.

You can try using Textra SMS messaging app. It has options to customize the fonts smaller and change the text color. And you can also reply to messages quicky from the popup of received message. To make text smaller in Textra open Textra SMS's

Settings > Customize Look > Text Size > Smaller


Screenshots: captured by front camera or back camera? I see that screenshots posted in my answers seem to be grainy. Example

Thinking of it made me wonder which camera is used - front or back and is there a way / hack / app to improve the quality of screenshot ?

Changing brightness helps a little but grainy texture remains

Device : Moto X Play, Stock, Rooted , Xposed installed

Remove that lowercase "m" in https://i.stack.imgur.com/XXXXXm.png (More Info)

The screenshot has nothing to do with your cameras. A screenshot is taken by the system (or the graphics driver), who takes one frame from its rendering buffer and saves the frame. Thus a screenshot always has the same resolution as your screen, and is always a PNG.

Changing brightness should have no effect on your screenshots taken, because it does nothing to the images rendered by your graphics processor. For LCD screens, brightness is simply the power supplied to the backlight panel, and the masking (front) panel is not affected. To confirm this, find a static screen and take two shots with different brightness levels. Compare those screenshots pixel-by-pixel and you'll find them exactly the same.

For grainy textures, it's Imgur's service for resizing photos that caused that problem.

I've edited your example post and here's the change:

[![enter image description here][1m]][1]

  [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/L21J7.png
  [1m]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/L21J7m.png

See for yourself


How to restore the IMEI number on the Samsung Galaxy S4 I9505? (IMEI=Unknown, Baseband=Unknown, Sim Card Not Detected) Information:

Hello, I lost my IMEI number on my Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 today and I would like to restore my original IMEI back to my phone. I still have my original IMEI of my phone written down. And my Sim Card is not detected.

I do not have any backups!
I didn't make any backups of /efs (sorry!), will do that when I have this problem fixed and backup it on all my computers.

I have searched Google and www.Android.StackExchange.com but couldn't find anything that worked for me. (So please don't mark this as a duplicate question)

In short:

Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505
I live in The Netherlands
My carrier is KPN (if you wanted to know that)
I have my IMEI number written down
I do not have any backups of /efs! (sorry!)
IMEI = Unknown
Baseband = Unknown
Sim Card not detected

Screenshots:

I dialed *#06# to get the IMEI number:

The hidden menu in Android: (*#*#4636#*#* or *#*#INFO#*#*):

What I have tried:

Of course, I flashed the stock ROM back on my phone. (Android 4.4.2)
I downloaded a backup of /efs from someone else on the internet and flashed that on my phone. However the IMEI is still "Unknown".
When I flash the stock ROM on my phone for my country (The Netherlands), it did restore my IMEI. However WIFI didn't work on the stock ROM, and when I flash Cyanogenmod back on my phone, I don't have an IMEI anymore. (So I think the IMEI wasn't written permanently on my phone).

Any help is appreciated.
If I need to add some more information, just tell me. Thanks!

After all this was a simple bug in the cm12.1-20150623 nightly. It has been fixed in the cm12.1-20150629 nightly. For more information about this bug you look here: CM12.1 Nightly no Sim found. For all the people helped me so far, thanks for your support.


Archiving photos sent to Gmail My only access to computer is my Samsung epic cell phone. My storage is getting full because I take a lot of photos. If I send them to Gmail & archive them. Will this free up some storage space in my phone even though I keep my Gmail app on my phone ?

Short: Yes. You can send your photos as email attachments and delete them from your phone. It will free up your phone memory. But there are other options which are better than this.

You can use cloud storage facilities to back-up your data and access them anytime and anywhere you want. More details about widely used cloud services can be found in this answer.


How can I make an actual heart symbol in a text on my htc inspire? I've recieved text message where the the heart wasn't <3 but an actual heart symbol and I have an HTC inspire, how do I send one like that?

You can us3 character application. (Search at play market)
Use hackers keyboard (free at play market) - at landscape mode long press on button 3 allows to select: #|³|¾|⅜|♥|♠|♦|♣.


Is the fast charge safe for long-term usage with Li-Poly battery? Phone: Honor 8.

Question: Supposing I have Li-Poly battery, will the fast charging via provided Huawei Quick Charge 9V/2A charger affect the battery life?

Citation from the official site:

  9V/2A fast charging technology promises a 47% charge in just 30 minutes.

My own test result from 0-100%: 1 hour 45 minutes.

Methodology:

Bought a brand new Honor 8 two weeks ago.
I waited for the phone several days to discharge on its own, no unusual usage.
After this morning the phone shut down on its own;
I plugged in the bundled Huawei Quick Charge 9V/2A charger.
I did not turn on the phone, I charged it while turned off.
Once 10 minutes I pressed the power button for it to show me the charge status.
After it reached 95%, I pressed the button once a minute.
I noticed for the last percents to take a long time, presuming tricke charge took place.

A lot of sources on the Internet claim that fast charging immensely reduces your battery capacity over time. But you have to be careful interpreting them. For instance, take this figure:

As you can see charging at 2C ( = full charge within 30 minutes) reduces the battery capacity significantly. But charging at 1C doesn't seem to cause a lot of additional capacity degradation. I mean the degradation at normal charging rates is pretty close to that from my experience.

Honestly, I doubt that your charger would even charge at 1C (= full charge within 60 minutes). But even if it would be slightly above 1C you would probably be fine.

Unfortunately I couldn't find studies where charging rates below 1C where analyzed more closely.

If you want less capacity degradation you should avoid charging your battery at constant voltage. The constant voltage charging happens when it hits 4.2V-4.4. As the following figure shows, this is where most of the capacity degradation happens:

I can't tell you exactly at how much percent the constant voltage charging will kick in for your battery. It's probably at around 90%. So if you stop charging at that point. You should see less capacity degradation.

Very hight/low temperatures and very fast discharging will also degrade the capacity.

I recommend reading the following article:
https://accubattery.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/210224725-Charging-research-and-methodology

Edit:
You mention that charging from 0%-100% takes 1 hour 45 minutes. When your smartphone reports 0% battery the battery usually hit around 3V even though LiPos can safely be discharged to around 2.7V. (This is basically done to ensure a safe shut down.) So I would say your charger has a C-rate of about 0.5C. So you really shouldn't be able to notice any any additional capacity degradation.

And your suspicion about the trickle charging is probably right. As charging at constant voltage is significantly slower. So we can assume that your battery is being charged at constant voltage as soon as it its around 95%.

Conclusion: Only charge your battery until it hits 95% or maybe even better 94% and battery capacity degradation should be greatly reduced.


USB Driver for HTC Dream G1 - 64 bit Windows 7 I have a HTC Dream G1 (T-Mobile) - android version 1.5 and I have 64 bit Windows 7 on my laptop. I am unable to access the memory card in my phone through my laptop. Can someone tell me how to install the USB driver for my phone?

Thanks in advance.

Go and download the Android SDK installer.
When the SDK setup tool runs, you can select the USB Drivers
The drivers will be in <install_directory>extras\google\usb_driver
find the android_winusb.inf and right click it
click install

if right click -> install doesn't work, then try the following

Start Menu -> Right Click Computer -> Click Properties
Click Device Manager (on the left)
Find the device in the hardware list, will probably have a "warning icon"
Right click the item and select Update Driver Software
Select Browse my computer for driver software
Select the usb driver directory noted above
Check Include subfolders
Click next
finished...

your device should now have usable drivers so you can mount the sdcard.

For reference, the android sdk documents also has a page with links to many of the different OEM drivers too.


Two Google calendars on my Android (HTC)? I can access my personal Google calendar.

Can I also access my work Google calendar (we use Google Apps)?

Can I

Merge these two, but not share my personal calendar with work mates?
Set it up not to receive work emails?

EDIT:
HTC Desire on Android 2.1

Yes you can add the eMail adress from your GApps account via

Settings > Accounts & Synchronisation > Add Account

Then enter your credentials and you can access your accounts eMail, contacts and calendar without automatically sharing information from your private calendar with your colleagues.

But you need to watch out which account you use creating new calendar entries from now on.

After that you need to open your calendar application and press Menu > Calendar > Select the calendars you want to see.

If you don't want to see your work eMails you can easily decide which items you want to synchronize with your device.

Merging the calendars is not really necessary since you can view many different calendars in the calendar application.


Hard Reset to Factory Settings without USB access I've got an Asus ZenPad 300C that is crashing constantly. Things I have tried:

Clearing cache. I am unable to access Settings to clear the cache but was able to run a clean-up app, which I think did some of that. No effect.
Factory Reset. If I use Power+Volume Up to access recovery mode I can see the options - FASTBOOT MODE and POWER OFF, but the power button doesn't work so there's no way to actually select FASTBOOT MODE. I tried connecting via USB to run ADB and do it that way but USB Debug mode is not enabled and I cannot get into Settings on the phone to allow it because Settings crashes.
Battery. I have removed the back and temporarily disconnected the battery but that made no difference.

Is there any other way to perform a hard reset or troubleshoot and fix this issue or is it done for?

I completely forgot you don't need debugging and all thing ....... On windows/mac/Linux
1) Just open internet browser and go to click herewww.google.com/android/find
2) Enter your email id and password(which one used in asus zenpad z300c)
3) If you have multiple device with same id then selected Asus zenpad z300c carefully.
4) If only one device is register then skip step 3. And In left hand side select option ERASE DEVICE .
5) Might be Google will confirm password again. So enter it again.
6) Done.
7) Your device is factory reset.

note **Your device Asus Zenpad z300c need to connected to internet to perform this operation prefer wifi connection **
Good Luck.....

Please update it is successful or not.


Android Facebook, no chat I got my LG Optimus 2X and installed the facebook app however, there is no chat anywhere, not even in menu, is there a way to allow this?

Facebook have a separate app these days called Facebook Messenger, this has both Facebook's chat and inbox features in it. Why they've split it out into a separate app now, I don't know, but this should give you what you're after:

  Facebook Messenger is a faster way to send mobile messages to friends.
  With Messenger, you can send and receive messages with any of your
  friends around the world or anyone in your mobile contacts list.
  Messenger is available on iPhone, Android, and Blackberry.

  Messenger lets you:

  Send messages instantly to other friends who have Messenger
  Chat
  with friends who are on Facebook
  Get free push notifications for
  incoming messages


Find what is creating folders on SD card I got two useless folders on /sdcard/ (baidu and baiduMapSDK) and even though I delete them, they will generate automatically. How can I know which application or which process created these two folders?

Baidu is the Chinese competitor of Google. I can't but notice your nickname Leng sounds Chinese as well!

So my bet goes to your phone having Chinese apps, including one related to the Baidu search engine.

These folders are definitely being made by this app.

These folders also might not be empty; content which starts with a .dotBeforeName is hidden, and won't show in most file navigators.

My recommendation is to leave those folders be. If you want to get rid of them, you'll also have to uninstall these Baidu apps.


Game runs on wrong resolution I love laying this game on my phone, I have played it since I had a Nexus S.  After switching to the Galaxy S3, I found it didn't work well, so I just used my Nexus still, but now that device is broken, so I would like to figure out how to make it work on this device.

The game is called Legends of Yore, and the problem is that it displays very small. When I play it on my Nexus, it displays "normally" (phone mode), but on the S3 it displays it like it would on the computer (I'm going to call it tablet mode, because it's huge). It shoves everything that it would display on a desktop into the S3 screen, making buttons small and unusable.

I don't know much about how the game is coded, but I'm guessing that it is treating the S3's higher (than the Nexus) screen size, or pixel density, or whatever, as capable of running the game's tablet mode.

So, is there any way to make the game run in its phone mode?

This is kind of an old game, not very popular I don't think,  hasn't been updated in a long time, developer is unresponsive, and the official community forum has long been overrun with spam, so I am assuming that the developer doesn't really care about updating the app to work with modern phones, if that's indeed why it won't work right. But, I love playing this game, and I hope someone can help.

The app IMO has not been configured for High Resolution screens and hence you see small buttons and are unable to play.


Browser which always allows scale/zoom? I absolutely 100% hate, hate, hate mobile-optimized design sites, particularly ones that disable zooming. Up until now, I've done pretty well spoofing a desktop user agent to get the full pages, but with the advent of responsive design, it seems like more and more sites are feeling comfortable using viewport meta-tags to set user-scalable to false, which means that I am in effect forced into using the horrible mobile sites.

From what I understand, viewport tags are ignored by desktop browsers - is there a browser on Android which does the same thing, preventing web sites from removing key functionality from my phone? Maybe a Dolphin add-on?

I think potentially a greasemonkey script excising the offending viewport tags would also work, but I'm not sure there's a stable version of greasemonkey for android yet, and it might be preferable if the browser itself were built to always allow zooming.

Just found the setting in Chrome.  If you go to Settings -> Accessibility and then tick the option "Force enable zoom" then you should be able to zoom in on any site.  (I have read a few sites still manage to stop you, but the vast majority should then work).


Can I use my iMac's mic and speakers for a call with my android 2.2 phone (through Bluetooth)? I'd like to use my iMac's audio (i.e., microphone and speakers) for a call that is handled on my Samsung galaxy i5000 Android 2.2 phone. Is that possible?

I've paired my iMac (OSX 10.6) and smartphone through Bluetooth.
Then, during a call, I opened the context menu on my phone (where you can also enable/disable the speaker of the phone), but the Bluetooth icon is disabled. (although Bluetooth itself is active and working, e.g. from my iMac I can see the files on my phone).

Is there any way to get the above working?

(I wondered whether to post this under apple- or android-stackexchange, but given the Bluetooth icon being disabled, I decided to post it here)

The reason for the Bluetooth icon being disabled is that you haven't paired the phone with a device that supports the Headset profile. Bluetooth uses profiles to categorize which services a device supports, and Macs don't support acting as a headset, only connecting to a headset (see list of supported profiles).

To use this functionality, you'd need additional software which enables the Mac to act as a headset and connect to a headset gateway (which your phone most likely supports).


Settings dark background in Android 8 The upgrade to Android 8 changed the background of the settings and the roll down menus to white. This makes it harder for me to read (partially colourblind); how can I change the background again to black?

Google has added a dark theme to many of dev previews of Android, but they always remove it at the last minute :(

So, unless the OEM skin on your device provides this option, it looks like your only course of action would be to follow XDA's guide on installing a dark theme without root.


Everything gets saved to the phone instead of SD card I'm using the Samsung Galaxy Gio, and my problem is that all my apps get saved to the phone, using up all the storage. I've got space left on my SD card but it doesn't want to install anything there. I found a function that lets you move apps to SD card but sadly it doesn't work with 99% of the apps installed.

How do I solve this problem?

Background

Android has specific rules regarding the installation of applications and their physical location. It works like and hierarchical structure:

If the app has a specified location by the developer, this takes priority.
If it is not specified in the app, then the default install location is used.

Android has 3 identifiers for app storage location: that may be mentioned on the application manifest android:installLocation:

"internalOnly":

  The application must be installed on the internal device storage only. If this is set, the application will never be installed on the external storage. If the internal storage is full, then the system will not install the application.

"auto":

  The application may be installed on the external storage, but the system will install the application on the internal storage by default. If the internal storage is full, then the system will install it on the external storage.

"preferExternal":

  The application prefers to be installed on the external storage (SD card). There is no guarantee that the system will honor this request. The application might be installed on internal storage if the external media is unavailable or full, or if the application uses the forward-locking mechanism (not supported on external storage).

Old applications may have no choice but to install on the internal storage, as per the Google Documentation:

  The ability for your application to install on the external storage is a feature available only on devices running API Level 8 (Android 2.2) or greater. Existing applications that were built prior to API Level 8 will always install on the internal storage and cannot be moved to the external storage (even on devices with API Level 8).

What can I do?

You can manage the installed applications and set their storage location, all from one place:

Tap "home" to return to your device home screen;
Tap your device "menu" button;
Depending on your device, you either have to:

Tap "Manage apps";
Tap "Settings" > "Applications" > "Manage applications".

Now access the third tab where it reads "USB Storage" or "On SD card" (again, varies with the device);
Here are listed all the applications that are allowed to be moved to your External Storage, tab over one to bring up more options about it;
When the application details panel opens, you have a button "Move to SD card", use it to move that application to your External Storage;
Press "back" to return to the list. If you've moved the app to the external memory, you will notice that a green tick is present on the right side on the list, to let you know that the application file is currently on your External Storage.

This is a safe guide to have your OS managing the applications and moving then from Internal Storage to External Storage without hacks or tricks. You can read all about it on the Google Official Documentation.


Attempt to root AVD running Android 4.4/5.1 is failing I have referred to various posts but I don't think they seem to work, at all, whatsoever, when it comes to AVDs with Android 4.4 or 5.1.

I felt a need to post this.

So before posting this question, I have understood a basic need for rooting AVDs or even any device.

Mount /system in rw mode.
Push su binary; optionally busybox binary.
do chmod to them, say, 6755. That should be it.

I followed posts and successfully rooted AVD with Android 2.2, however, I tried to repeat the same thing for Android 4.4 or 5.1 (both with SELinux disabled), but it seems that there is some kind of fallback mechanism.

For Android 4.4 and 5.1, /system will be mounted in rw mode, but, as soon as I try to push binaries, it gets reverted back to ro mode. Furthermore, it won't get back to rw mode as well, at least until I do a reboot. I keep getting a permission denied error.

Since these worked for Android 2.2 (with a modification in filesystem type and mountpoint), I intend to execute following commands (for Android 4.4 and 5.1):

adb root
adb shell /system/bin/mount -o rw,remount -t ext4 /dev/block/vda /system
adb push su /system/xbin/su
adb shell chmod 06755 /system
adb shell chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su

Anyone who has managed to root AVDs running these versions of Android are requested to help me in this.

I have experience with Android Studio & Windows.

I have tested and found that irrespective of the version of Android, if the ABI is arm, armeabi or maybe even mips (not sure), the process of rooting is going to work. They didn't worked for me, as of now, if the ABI is x86 or x86_x64 for Android 4 and 4+.

Below, anything after "#" is supposed to be a helpful comment.

Testing working on - Android 1.x, 2.x, 3.x, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2 (add additional space in subsequent boot):

adb shell mount
# Preferred command: adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock0 /system
adb shell mount -o rw,remount /system
adb push su /system/xbin/su
# Appropriate su binary from Chainfire's SuperSu.zip package.
adb shell chmod 06755 /system
adb shell chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su
adb install "Super user.apk"
# Update the su binary for sure.
#adb install "Rootchecker app OR Terminal Emulator app to test."

Testing working on - Android 4.3-4.4 (add additional space in subsequent boot), 5.1, 6.0:

adb shell df
# See the available space in /system
adb shell mount -o remount,rw /system
adb push su /system/bin/su
adb shell chmod 0755 /system/bin/su
adb push su /system/xbin/su
adb shell chmod 0755 /system/xbin/su
adb shell su --install
adb shell "su --daemon&"
adb shell setenforce 0
# optional and recommended; adb shell mount -o remount,ro /system
adb install "Super user app"
# Update the su binary.
#adb install "Rootchecker app OR Terminal Emulator app to test."


Reject calls with WhatsApp message Is there any app or any way to reject a call with a message sent via WhatsApp? Normally when we get a call there is an option to reject it with a pre-written SMS, but I was wondering if you can use WhatsApp to send these template messages.

Looking at WhatsApp FAQ, it looks like this feature is currently NOT Supported by WhatsApp.

In Summary, When someone calls you, you will see an incoming WhatsApp call screen. And you can tap on the message icon on the call screen to decline the call with a quick message.

But for Above steps to work, the Incoming call HAS TO BE WhatsApp Call and NOT the regular cellular call.

Hence, currently user needs to use native/in-built app Like SMS/Hangout to Reject call with message.


Cannot mount /system rewritable I have rooted my phone and changed /system/etc/hosts file to block Facebook(just for test).

However, since I did it, I am not able to edit the hosts file again. As a result, I cannot visit Facebook from my phone! I've tried some hosts editors in Google Play but without a result. I've also tried to mount system rewriteable but it returns error ("Mount: Operation not permitted").

I've already rebooted the device, didn't help. I have no custom recovery installed. I've used Playstore apps that promised doing the remount, but mount -o remount,rw system has the same issue. The superuser app in place is the one from KingoRoot.

@David "I tried unrooting, but this cannot be done as it cannot access /system where KingoRoot apk is stored."

-Did you try to Unroot going on their "Superuser" app?

Superuser -> settings -> Remove Root.

That should do the job of uninstalling Superuser/Unrooting. It would still leave Kingo, but you can uninstall it from normal android settings -> Apps panel.

If you lost the root but their Superuser app is still installed, i would open kingo and re-root, then "Remove Root" after :-p

If the above fails and i could not remove it, i believe a factory hard-reset from the stock recovery options should fix it - have you done it ? you said "reboot" i dont know if thats what you meant.

(back up your data first, make sure you remember your credentials).

I would do one, and If it still did not solve the problem i would flash the SAME stock firmware i was using, then move my data back/reinstall apps.

And yes, like people say on the comments here - and also from personal experience - these "one click root" apps have the advantage of being really easy to use (maybe not the ones in chinese language lol) and work GOOD for lots of different brands/models... the disadvantage is these "half-rooted" cases (devices with Android 5+ ?) when the SU binary is not fully functional and will not work right for many apps that need SU permitions.

I had many similar mounting issues and some others with yet another chinese 1click app called "360 super root". UNfortunately, it was the only one that worked for my device so far. Kingo, king, iroot, wmroot all failed. This "360root" (aka permroot) was the only one to work, but its SU was buggy like yours seem. Fortunately now i managed to install a good root via custom recovery... root now works 100% for the stuff i need.

There IS a way of replacing Kingo's Supersu by a different/better SU app without losing the root Kingo did. There is a paid app that does this trick that is called "Super-SU-me" and also a manual/free way to do it, but dont ask me how :-/

By the way, what is your device brand/model and android version ?


Differences between fastboot erase and fastboot format I have an asus zenfone 2 laser with radio problem:it doesn't take the line.I want to format modem partition to see if the problem could be solved.I jave a doubt:what is the difference between fastboot erase and fastboot format?What command have I use before flash the modem?

I just found the answer regarding Format and Erase.
Format :
Fastboot will create allocate new block / create file system to the target partition. Not all partition support format feature. System, userdata, cache, boot, recovery.

Erase :
Fastboot will wipe out the entire partition target. All partition support this erase feature as long as permitted by bootloader.

Both command will "destroy" partition content. You will need any compatible firmware to fix it.

About that modem case :

fastboot erase modem < modem was the partition name.

fastboot flash modem "modem-file*.*"


Android Folder Layout I just installed the 8.0 update, and don't like how they changed the layout of my folders. Before installing this update, the size of my folders would be 3x3 rows, and now they changed it to 4x4 rows. Is there a setting or anything I can do to change it back to the layout that I had before?

On the S7 you can go to your home screen and go into edit mode by long pressing on an empty area or pinching on your home screen. Then click screen grid and choose the size you want. Unfortunately it seems the 3x3 option you say it had was removed.
Source

Another option is you can download a custom launcher from the Play Store and use it instead. Your mileage will vary with those however.


How to I find who sent a picture to me via Facebook Messenger? I found a picture saved to my gallery from the Facebook Messenger app. How can I find out who sent this picture to me?

When I go to the picture and click on details it tells me:

title: received_123456789012345
time: 13-7-15 8:43
type: image/jpeg
resolution: 450x744
orientation: 0°
size: 19.18kb
path:/storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Facebook/received_123456789012345.jpg

It would be a privacy disaster if the meta information of that image contains the name or email ID of the sender. Anyhow, this answer assumes that the message (not the whole thread) from which you downloaded the image exists in your inbox. If you've deleted the message, ignore this answer.

In the file name received_123456789012345, the numeric string after received_ is the identifier (ID henceforth) of that image on Facebook.

If you happen to open that image from the message using a web browser in your mobile (if you're on desktop, switch user-agent to mobile), notice the string next to fbid= in the URL bar:

https://m.facebook.com/messages/attachment_preview/?mid=mid.145450XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX&threadid=id.20XXXXXXXXXXXX&fbid=ID

It would be the same ID you saw in the title of the file you earlier downloaded.

  How can I find out who sent this picture to me?

The sender's name of that image is in the column sender of table messages in database threads_db2 located under /data/data/com.facebook.orca/databases/.

Facebook Messenger app doesn't participate in backup and restore infrastructure of Android, so the only way to access that database is with root privilege.

Once you've root privilege, copy the aforesaid database to internal or external SD card.

Get info using apps

On Android

Download an app that can open an SQLite database. (I prefer SQLite Editor.)
Open the database in that app, open the table messages and if the app supports searching in all or particular fields then look into all or attachments the ID of that image.
In the resulting row, the text in the column sender has the sender's name next to "name":.

(Click image to enlarge)

On PC

If no Android  app works for you, copy the database into PC and use an application that supports exporting a table into a format understood by a browser or text editor. Once you have the application, use it to export the table messages and search ID in the exported output.

I used Sqliteman. It supports exporting a table to HTML, CSV, XLS, among other formats.

Command-line

If you're up to the task, you can try a command-line way. Copy the database into PC, download sqlite3 tool, setup adb in PC and do:

sqlite3 -line DB_PATH "SELECT sender,attachments FROM messages WHERE attachments LIKE '[{%'" | grep -B1 "ID" | grep "sender"  # DB_PATH is the path to threads_db2 and ID is content identifier

(MS Windows doesn't come with grep utility. You'll have to download it. Otherwise, remove everything after '[{%'" and sort and search the output on your own.)

Note: Some Android versions are shipped with sqlite3 tool. You can run that last command in your Android, if you intend to.

Demo Output:

sender = {"email":"10000XXXXXXXXXX@facebook.com","user_key":"FACEBOOK:10000XXXXXXXXXX","name":"Lol Cat"}


Recover user profile image Android 5 has options to have users, so multiple people can use the device. I had my Motorola G 2 set up to use multiple users, but it now only has one profile which would be nice to recover the profile picture of:

Can this be done (without root etc as well)? I can get a very low res 90px image from screenshots but that is about it.

/data/system/users/0/photo.png is the picture you're looking for. But, you cannot get that pic or even visit its parent directory without elevated privileges. adb shell isn't enough to get it.

There is a catch here. In my Paranoid ROM (AOSP) I found that the owner is supposed to create a contact (about me) for himself. Any image used in that contact is directly user by the system as the image of the user, and hence, gets copied to that said location. This isn't the case in CM12 though.

The images provided to contacts are saved at the location /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/files/photos. Your profile image is saved in /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/files/profile.

Both location are inaccessible by ADB and an ordinary user. Now that I've given you ample stuff to search and research, it is up to you to choose a path: 1) root and get the stuff easily, 2) find an app that can copy the profile or contacts images in a standard format from which you can retrieve your profile image.


Mx player says unsupported android version for 4.3 I have installed 4.3 yesterday on my Nexus 4, and since that time MX player would not load, saying:

  unsupported android version

Is there a workaround, or do I have to wait until the developers change the API level check? As far as I know there is nothing in 4.3 that makes a code change neccessary.

I have tried RealPlayer as well, it says the same. There might have been some serious changes after all.
Then again, VLC player is working.

I am more and more confused.

You need to wait until they release a version that's compatible with Android 4.3.

For the mean time, you can try other players like BSPlayer or VPlayer. They're working with 4.3.

Update #1: As of 2013-08-07, based on GAThrawn's comments, MX Player now works with Android 4.3


lost my phone .bought new phone got same number.how do i get my contacts I lost my phone LG34 today. I've purchased a new phone and had the data restored but I don't know how to retrieve my contacts.

I'm not too bright with computers so please explain in simple terms how I can restore my contacts.

Unless the contacts were synced with Google or any other means, they are lost.


How to install games directly to SD card without going through phone or internal memory I have a Micromax Canvas A177 Android device which has 4GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.  Currently, I only have 700 MB of storage available and I cannot install any more applications.

I have a SD card installed in the device, but to move an application to the SD card, I first have to install it in the phone storage, which I cannot due because of limited space.

How can I install an app directly to external storage without first having to install it in phone storage?

Go through the one time steps mentioned on this link.


Dropbox for Android folder location Where does Dropbox for Android saves files when you click on "Download"?

I've read
How to search for files and folders?

But my /sdcard/dropbox is empty even if I've downloaded a file just now.

Dropbox 3.0 (3.0.3.2) and Sony Xperia T3:
/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/files

As of Dropbox 2.0 the right location by default is
/mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/files/scratch/[files]

Found the things with Astro file manager (Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9).
Moto G4 [Aaron]

On a new Moto G4 the Dropbox app has no "star" mechanism, instead you enable the "allow offline access" option, and the actual location this file showed up was
/Android/data/com.dropbox.android/files/[userhash]/scratch/[file]


Nougat: Possible to set all notifications from the Gmail app to not make any sound?: On Nougat is it possible to set all notifications from Gmail to not make any sound?

I want the notifications to appear just that they are not so urgent that they keep making sounds when they arrive. i.e. Immediate attention is not needed.

For Whatsapp it has internal settings where I've turned the sound off. But Gmail doesn't seem to offer such options so far as I can tell.

But is there an external way via Nougat to set what alerts / sounds a particular app's notifications will produce?

You can edit the notification settings;

Settings -> account you want to make silent -> uncheck notifications or change preferences with the box below


Galaxy Note 2 shows no sim card after radio flash I have the SGH-T889 (T-Mobile USA version of the Note 2). When I got my Galaxy Note 2, I loved the device, but disliked the software. So, I decided to flash CyanogenMod 10 build from the N7100 forums. Although many things worked, the radio did not work. So, I decided (in my infinite wisdom), to dd the radio from the Stock SGH-T889 T-Mobile rom to the /dev/block/mmcblk0p10 partition (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2039081).

This did not work, so I installed the stock SGH-T889 rom just to get it back to working order. However, my sim card was no longer being detected. I have tried flashing other roms to try and get the radio back, but alas all say that there is no sim card.

I realize I have probably permanently messed up my phone. Does anyone have any ideas or things to try to get it back to working order? I am out of things to try.

UPDATE: I have tried everything you guys have posted, and ended up sending it back to Samsung and get them to fix it under the warranty. I believe they replaced the whole motherboard, so I will never know exactly what the problem was. If you decide to send yours back, make sure to reset the binary counter that you see in download mode. There are guides around the Internet for this. Thanks for all of the help.

Get the ODIN package from here. Then use ODIN to restore to "True" Factory Stock. This will put you back to stock (but will not reset your flash counter). Then from there you can start and use ODIN to root the device again, flash CWM and flash custom ROMs. The modem/radio you linked to should be the radio that you will want to flash if you flash an N7100 ROM. But, as you can see, I would stay away from ROMs that are not for the specific model. the T889 has a couple ROMs based on the stock N7105, but there have been changes (things like the radio) replaced with versions that are for the T889.

I eagerly wait for an AOSP build (specifically CM) for the T889, until then, I am running one based off the N7105 with the Bullet Kernel by cmenard. This kernel has the modules for CIFS support, which I use constantly.


Non default browser for specific web page I have bought my 8 year old a Nexus 7 (lucky boy!). As some of you may know Flash is not available for Jelly Bean so I had to do a bit of a hack using Dolphin browser so he can go to certain Flash powered websites (moshimonsters.com). I want the default browser to still be Chrome so I can use Funamo Parental Control to monitor his web use. Is it possible to create a shortcut/widget/bookmark to the site in question but specifying Dolphin as the browser?

Thanks in advance.

It is doable, but you cannot do this without 3rd party application, because by default shortcuts or bookmarks (as available in the system features) do not hold such information. I am not able to name any app that would do this, as I never personally needed this, but I am certain they do exist as it is not technically complicated, as most likely you are not the only one with such needs. All it needs to be done is to create a shortcut, which would launch this 3rd party app being a "proxy" and said app would then call explicitly specified application handing your URL to it.


How to restore my deleted songs? I have cut all my songs from my pc and transferred them to my tab via USB cable. They were stored under a file named 'File Manager'. I saw that I didn't need to copy them to the tab's 'Music' folder (or I couldn't) because they were already in there.

Then I deleted a song from the file manager and it automatically got deleted from the music folder. Then I thought, how about adding the songs to a playlist? Maybe then I can clear my file manager,get more space to get other files in there(right?) and my songs will be saved too. But when I deleted most of my songs from the file manager,they got deleted from the playlist too.

I couldn't find any recycle bin in my tab. Some of them were left in the manager and I tried to delete them but now it shows that 'no permission to delete' and they aren't getting removed from there and the music folder.

Why did it happen before then? And how am I gonna restore my songs back? Please help me and correct me if I did any mistakes mentioned above.

There are multiple misconceptions in your "workflow", so let me try to explain them one by one:

You've copied the files to your device and placed them into a directory.
Once that was done, Android's MediaScanner found them and added them to its "library"
I've never heard they are added to the Music folder, so that might be something specific here. They were obviously not duplicated (that wouldn't make sense), so what you see as "Music folder" (you didn't specify where you checked that) is most likely rather a "virtual folder" / "Library" / "View".
As the second place was not a copy but rather a pointer, that pointer disappeared as well as soon as you deleted the file.
A "playlist" can be compared to a text-file listing up available music files, it doesn't contain the files themselves. So as you removed the files, their "pointers" were removed here as well.

So much for what has happened. Next point is that Android is not Windows (but rather based on Linux). By default, there is no "recycle bin" (though there are apps available to emulate that). Gone is gone.

For recovery (and recycle bin) you might wish to take a look at:

my listing of De-Deletion (Recovering) apps
questions tagged data-recovery
our data-recovery tag-wiki

I recommend following these links bottom-up ;)


Why does the screen come on when my phone is plugged in but idle? Sometimes when my Nexus One is plugged in with the screen switched off, the screen turns itself on (showing the lock screen) seemingly randomly, and I have the "Stay awake" Development option turned on, so it stays switched on until I manually switch it off again.

I suspect that some app is inappropriately obtaining an ACQUIRE_CAUSES_WAKEUP WakeLock. Is there a way to get a log of WakeLock activity or some other way of debugging this?

The same happens occasionally on my Galaxy S, usually about 5-10 minutes after plugging in. If you can handle the dev tools, you could try charging the phone from an USB port while running logcat and checking what goes on around the time the phone activates, or if the screen turns on only when charging from a wall socket you could run aLogcat on the phone while charging and then try to see the reason, but it can be a bit tricky on the phone.


Sending all contacts *with number* via Bluetooth I would like to transfer all my contacts to a different phone from my Android 2.2 device. In my phonebook I disabled showing contacts without numbers. When I choose sending via Bluetooth however all contacts show up, thousands of them without number. I would like to send only those that contain number. I have the option "select all" but this includes and sends all contacts. How could I send only the ones with numbers?

I am also a android phone user. To my knowledge it is not possible. when you import all your conatacts it dumbs everything into a single *.vcf file where with only this file you can export it to an other phone, it does not allow users to select their individual contacts to do so as you have mentioned. The only way is to delete it manually by choosing the contacts individually.


Can i use NFC for File Transfer in Motorola X? My friend is using Motorola X with NFC, but he can't transfer files through it. How do you transfer files through NFC on Android?

Yes you can, but you have to use Android Beans

Check this forum if you would like more info


How to go back to stable rom from beta rom in Redmi Note 4? I have Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Snapdragon 625) smartphone. I had updated it to Nougat Developer ROM Version: 7.3.23 (MIUI8) few days ago. But this update led me to some bugs, so now I am deciding to go back to Marshmallow Stable ROM Version: V8.2.2.0.MCFMIDL (MIUI8). I know I can not simply revert back to it via using phone's in-built updater app. So please help me how can I achieve it?

My phone is NOT ROOTED. It's bootloader is LOCKED. How can I once again install stable global ROM which was factory installed by the company when I bought it? I don't want to unlock my phone's bootloader because in order to do so I will have to request to the Xiaomi and I don't know whether it will be accepted or not and who knows how many days I will have to wait for the result.

I would suggest to apply for the unlock. The possibility of not being accepted is rather low. it takes around two days to get accepted but do not forget to go into the developer mode and pair the phone with the account because that needs to be done 3 days prior to attempting an unlock.

Now to the main question. You can download the zip for the version of the ROM you want to go back to and from here
Throw it in the downloaded_rom folder, go in the updater app, click dots on upper right corner, choose update package.

Now... there is a slight possibility that it might not work, failing when it tries to verify the package. If that happens then unlocking the bootloader is your only option.


Clear cache for specific site on Chrome for Android? How do you clear the cache for a specific site on Chrome for Android?

I've already tried going to the site's settings and pressing the "Clear & Reset" button, but the site's cache still hasn't been cleared (the JavaScript file that's loaded is still the old version).

So how do I do this properly?

From the overflow (3 dots menu)

Settings → Site settings → tap All sites   → choose your site
 →clear and reset

From Chrome help

  Cached images and files: Chrome remembers parts of pages to help them open faster during your next visit. Text and images from pages you've visited in Chrome are removed.

You will also lose browsing history, cookies and site data


How do I toggle headset/headphone mode manually? It seems that the hardware erroneously regard the headset as attached at all times (to the 3.5" jack). This makes me unable to make calls without headset or speaker mode.

This is a hardware problem, but there is an app called toggleheadset2 that has a widget that allows you to override the hardware switch, toggling headset output off/on.


CyanogenMod 13 fall down to 2G when data connection is OFF I'm new to Android 6 and I'm coming straight from 4.2.
As my region is with lower celluar network coverage, I'm experiencing problems with my network coverage. Now, the problem is that my Galaxy Note 3 is loosing 3G signal, because the 2G is more common here and 3G is avail only in the city. I can't select "3G (preffered)", like I was able to do in Android 4.2, then when I turn on the Data Connection, the phone will switch to 3G, when I turn it off, it'll go to 2G. I can't do that on Android 6.0, and the phone is in HSDPA all the time.

I am using cyanogenmod in my Xiaomi Redmi 1s, I used to do this steps :

Open dialer, and type *#*#4636#*#*.(I think this setting code may vary with each device manufacturer, search appropriate code for your device)
It will enter into Testing mode.
Inside that, tap on Phone Information, look for Set preferred network type, and set it as WCDMA only.

This Setting will be lost after every reboot.


Sony Live With The Walkman : Phone is restarting continuously I have a problem with my Sony Live With The WalkMan phone, it has Android 4.0 (ICS) and was working well before last week, the problem started a week before when I tried turning on my phone's Bluetooth. When I turn it on, my phone just restarts, and the things happened around 10 times and stopped. Again I turned my phone on and then everything was normal until I found that my Bluetooth is showing me "Turning on.." and I just couldn't turn it off, so I restarted the phone again, and now its starting and restarting continuously!  I don't know what's wrong with the Bluetooth and my phone? Does anyone have any idea?

I also own the same phone had the same problem. The solution: start your phone before it restarts, switch off Bluetooth. It might restart again after switching off Bluetooth but once done it will work well without restarting.


What is internal and external storage? My phone said that the Golf 2 app is moved to the SD card.

In the app info section I have the following choices:

Force stop
Uninstall
Move to internal storage

Is internal storage the SD?

Your phone's internal storage is not the SD card, it's the internal partition where all apps and app data goes to. There's an automatic decision to put excessive data somewhere else (the SD card) if an app is too big. Your app was already installed to the SD card and you therefore have an option to move it back to the internal storage.

There are mainly the following sections:

/system - The firmware sits here. Write protected.
/data - all apps and app data goes here.
/mnt/sdcard - This is your external sdcard. Also referred to as external storage
There are some other but the above 3 are the most important/interesting ones

If free space in the internal section (/data) is low, Android allows to move certain apps/data from /there to the SD card to free space.