Unable to unlock/turn on Nexus 4 : Lollipop 5.0.1 I am running Android 5.0.1 on my Nexus 4. This has started happening recently. Whenever my phone is locked, and I try to unlock, nothing happens on pressing the power button. Initially I thought my battery was getting drained to zero and phone was shutting down, but that's not the case. I need to long press power button and restart my phone forcefully. Some observations are:

This issue was not there when I was on 5.0.0.
Also I am finding that this is happening when I play a game and then close the game and leave the phone. Most recently, I have been playing Swish and Drift Zone.
However, even after uninstalling the issue persists.

Any suggestions/references to overcome this issue are welcome. TIA.

I have experienced many problems with Android 5 on both my Nexus 4 and my wife's exactly identical Nexus 4. Strangely enough, both phones experienced slightly different problems. The main issue with my own phone was WiFi - it simply did not work except for a few hour period after rebooting.

I have not experienced this issue since switching to Cyanogenmod using the instructions from their Wiki:

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_mako

My wife's phone has experienced the same exact problem as you. Sometimes it won't show anything on the screen, won't wake up. After rebooting everything is fine. This occurs even when plugged in and fully 100% recharged.

So my solution is to get away from Android 5 Lollipop. I don't know how to downgrade to an older version of Android, but moving to Cyanogenmod has fixed my own phone and I will be switching my wife over probably this evening.


Samsung Galaxy S3 Stuck at Samsung Logo, possible virus? My Mom has a Samsung Galaxy S3 from 2 years ago, it now gets stuck at "Samsung Galaxy SIII GT-I9300" screen and can't boot properly. It can't enter Recovery Mode either but can enter Odin Mode.

Also tried to remove the battery, plug the charger cable and insert the battery but it gets stuck at "Loading Battery", showing a frozen gray battery in the center.

When tried to get it repaired, the repair specialist said it was a virus and it would be very expensive to get it repaired (warranty doesn't cover it).

Searching online, I found someone with the same problem, and answers to that post instructed to enter Odin Mode, connect the Phone via USB to a machine with Samsung Kies installed and let it download a new Firmware.

I should do it? I'm feeling a little reluctant to do it since the repair specialist mentioned a virus (don't know if a phone-oriented virus can affect a PC)

Thanks for reading,

LeoAM.

Odin mode is run in a very very early stage of phone boot - that's why you don't see the phone logo when entering Odin mode. The virus (if it really is the problem) will not have a chance to execute its malicious code because the bootloader isn't even running in Odin mode.

So yes, you can safely Kies your way back to working condition, but sometimes you should use the specially created Odin program (Google it, I can't give links right now as I'm on a slow connection) to flash the firmware by yourself if Kies doesn't feel like working.

Just note that either way, you'll have to download 1+ GB of firmware.


How to properly downgrade a phone that shipped with a newer version of Android? I recently purchased two Samsung G5 phones from Amazon with the intent of ROM development on a downgraded version (the phone shipped with 5.0). I took one of the phones and successfully downgraded the device to an earlier 4x version without issue. It was only later when I attempted to do this on the second device that I ran into problems.

As it turns out, the same firmware I flashed on the first device does not seem to work with the second. After a bit of research I realized that the second device was of a different locale. Both devices, however, have the same model number. So this leaves me with the following questions:

What is it about different locales that may make firmware incompatible for same model devices? (Aside from carrier types: GSM, CDMA)
If a phone ships with a newer version, is it possible that downgrading may be impossible?
If not, what information, aside from the model number and region, is needed to select the proper firmware version for a deivce? (PDA,CSC, etc appear different across firmware versions)

Speaking to the third question listed above: I have attempted to flash countless 4x firmware images (for the correct model and region) only for the phone to get stuck at the Samsung splash screen.

Different Locales:
It is possible that the different locale is shipped with a different bootloader.
This bootloader is responsible for loading up Android and may contain additional checks for stock firmwares before booting. It is also possible that the device was shipped with different hardware (Qualcomm/Exynos processors), so that Android has to include the needed kernel modules and firmware modules to work on that particular device.
Downgrading a device that shipped with a newer version of Android:
It's certainly possible that an updated bootloader may prevent you from flashing a complete older version. There are ways to circumvent this:

Don't flash the bootloader: Some bootloaders just prevent you from downgrading themselves, but not the rest of the firmware. It is then possible to flash just Android and use an older version with the new bootloader (possible on the Samsung Galaxy S3, personal experience)
Use a custom ROM: Custom ROMs are usually free to be installed, even if the device shipped with a newer version of Android. They just don't allow them to be checked, because they are not stock. Thus it's in my opinion the best way to downgrade your device. (Let alone all the advantages of having a pre-rooted, debloated device).
Don't downgrade at all: Older versions of Android often carry bugs, security issues, missing features and warnings in your IDE, that make app development a pain. ROM development only needs a compatible, unlocked bootloader and a custom recovery, so don't worry about upgrading Android on your device. (Unless you got the device from a carrier that puts their custom stock ROM on their devices, then try to not upgrade at all and wait for the community to come up with ways to unlock the bootloader and flash a custom ROM)

What information can help you to find the right firmware:

Go to Settings -> Device Info  and read your Baseband, Build number and Build version
Look up your IMEI on the box or behind the battery on your device (or look for Status -> IMEI information, if your Settings app contains this information)
(if you are unsure which firmware to use because there are different hardware layouts): Get the serial no. of the mainboard. Because currently all phones are SOCs (system on a chip), you should be able to determine whether to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon, Exynos, MediaTek etc. version of the firmware you are looking for.
If in doubt, ask on the appropriate forum on xda-developers; most major devices have sub-forums like "General Help", "ROM development" etc. The people that are active there know what they are doing and should be able to help you out.


Ringtones ring only once for alarms and calls in Cyanogenmod 11 I have the latest monthly Cyanogenmod 11 installed on my Samsung Galaxy SII phone. This past week, I noticed that the alarms I set (with both the built in alarm app and the I Can't Wake Up app from the Play Store) only ring once then goes silent (the alarm is still on the screen and the phone still vibrates). This is also true for incoming calls, the ringtone rings only once. I tried changing ringtones to no effect.

Looks like this is an issue that's not limited to a specific ringtone or app. How can I troubleshoot this? Thanks!

In recent Android versions in order for a ringtone to repeat on a loop, MP3 and OGG files must include a label in their metadata called android_loop with a value set to "true".  If you are not using built-in ringtones (that already have this label,) your files most likely do not have this label in their metadata.

You can use a number of freeware utilities (such as WinAmp, for example) to edit the metadata of OGG files and set this flag, or MP3Tag for MP3 files.


Password sync with Chrome I know about Xmarks and LastPass, but is there a free solution for password syncing between Android and Chrome?

Keepass is an option. You can set up the KeePassDroid app to use a password database that you keep synced with Dropbox (a good tutorial is available at AndroidPolice). Not very elegant, but it might be what you're looking for.


How do I install nethunter? My device is Motorola G3(2015) [XT-1550] android version 6.0.1(osprey-apac-cust) and I want to install nethunter but I am confused with which .zip should I flash? Different different tutorial saying different different file. One+ One cm 12.0 or Nexus 5/6/7/9 marshmallow.
Even as well confused with method also some tutorial saying flash zip file and some are saying with root file explorer replace couple of file.

Please guide me toward right direction.
Thanks in advance.

You should not flash any ROM image that does not claim to support your exact device.

Therefore you should not flash any of the ROMs you mentioned!

See the full list of supported devices including Android version : https://github.com/offensive-security/kali-nethunter/wiki

Android is a bit different than common OS like Windows or Linux - it is not a generic OS that supports multiple devices types, instead it supports only a very small subset of devices. Therefore you have to use the correct ROM image or just don't do it.


How to receive notifications when an app goes on sale on Google Play store I would like to know if there's a way to receive notifications on the computer (online) or smartphone (offline) when a customized list of apps goes on sale on Google Play store. (Maybe through e-mail, RSS feed, SMS, etc.)

The implementation of this project could be easily developed if there is an available API from Google. I think there is no free Google API for this purpose. You can receive emails or SMS on your mobile phone when a new Android application is published on the Google Play Store, but you need a special API from Google.


Does Sony always check if the bootloader has been unlocked when repairing the phone? I'd like to unlock my Xperia Neo V's bootloader, but on the other hand I don't want to lose my warranty. Obviously, that isn't possible. So my question is: Do Sony Ericsson's repair centres always actually check -- or care -- if the bootloader has been unlocked and if so, how often do they?

Impossible to predict what their techs would do. Theoretically they certainly can deny repair service on bootloader-unlocked phones, since it clearly says that you are voiding your warranty when unlocking the device:

  Important information
  Please note that you may void the warranty of
  your phone and/or any warranty from your operator if you unlock the
  boot loader. Sony Ericsson can then no longer guarantee the full
  functionality of your phone, and will not be responsible for any
  unsigned custom software being flashed to the phone after the boot
  loader is unlocked. ...

However, unlike the carriers (who 100% always check the bootloader status,) manufacturers have been known to turn a blind eye on this from time to time.  For example, I've sent my Atrix 4G to Motorola for repairs twice after unlocking its bootloader.  Both times their techs repaired the device, and even re-locked the bootloader for me.  HTC is also known to be lenient towards repairing unlocked handsets.

You can always try calling Sony's support department and anonymously ask where they stand on repairs for bootloader-unlocked handsets.  You may not like their answer though.


On how many devices can you install a paid app purchased from the Amazon App Store? Several questions on Android Enthusiasts (including this one) seek to determine on how many different Android devices an app purchased from the Google Play Store can be installed.  The answers provided state that the answer is "unlimited".

What about applications purchased from the Amazon App Store?  Are there limits to the number of devices on which the app can be installed.  Or is it unlimited as well?

It is unlimited. The Terms of Use for Amazon's Appstore make no statements regarding number of installs or devices, but it uses the word "copies" to refer to the fact that multiple installations are permitted. The only restriction noted is that you must have the Appstore app installed and you must be signed in to the account that made the purchase:

  Once you have paid for an App, you may download copies of the App for your personal use to compatible Android devices. Each time you download an App to a particular device, you will first be required to download and install the Appstore Software, if it is not already available on the device, and to sign in to the Appstore Software using the user name and password for the Amazon.com customer account that you used to buy the App.


Is it possible to re-install Android OS When the OS is practically useless As the title suggests I'am trying to re-install Andriod but their are several criteria that are preventing me

1. the Android operating system boots but upon passing the lock screen, all core processes such as launcher crashes meaning i'm unable to change settings (Even though sometimes I'm able to change the settings it just reverts back upon Reboot and the settings don't even work properly)

2. ADB does not detect the device (assuming because of USB Debugging)

3. Tried Android safe-mode it does pretty much the same thing as normal mode

4. Tried a factory reset but it just reboots and shows the Android recovery options instead of erasing

I'am currently out of options Please help

Thanks in advance

Short answer is yes!
Long answer:
you can Flash* Android "Stock Rom" for almost any type of android devices, even if the old one isn't loading at all.
as long as the hardware doesn't have any problems
but there is some problems
1. To find the stock Rom:
you will find it with a little search depending on device manufacture
2. To flash it without breaking your device:
this process can be very risky and highly depend on device type
3. you will lose your warranty
safest way is to find a near service center to do it for you
but you can find very useful stuff here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/


How does NFC Task Launcher toggle Power Saving and how can I get Tasker to do it? So I've noticed that NFC Task Launcher can toggle the Power Saving mode for the Galaxy s3.

Obviously then, this is not a secure setting that requires root access (eg. turning GPS on / off).

So is it possible to automate this (the turning on and off of power saving mode) in Tasker (without rooting my phone)?  I've tried to use the Load App functionality but the most I can do is open up the Power Saving control panel.

I'm thinking the toggle is most likely an Intent that NFC Task launcher is calling but I don't know what the intent is as I can't seem to find any documentation about Samsung specific system functionality.

My objective is to create a tasker profile which toggles Power Saving mode when I turn the screen on and off, instead of using NFC to trigger this event.

You can create the task in NFC Launcher, install Autoshortcut (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joaomgcd.autoshortcut&hl=en-GB) and then you can call the NFC launcher task within Tasker via the Plugins>Autoshortcut>Configuration>Run Task.

I just got my unrooted Note 2 setup to disable powersaving when on USB power and enable it again when I unplug it :-)


My Android screen is not responding My Android screen is not responding. I cannot even draw the pattern to unlock the phone. I have powered it on and off, it still is not responding. I have removed the battery and still no response. I have removed the SIM card and still no response. The screen has become non-tactile.

It is possible that the actual screen is malfunctioning and you will need to take it back to your retailer to get fixed


Password unlock and access to widgets? So I just realised that having a Swipe unlock allows you to have widgets and access to the camera etc. But whenever I put a password, these features are gone.

Is there a way I can allow for a swipe feature along with widgets etc, but then ask for a password ??

For example: A password lock app that I can safely use instead of the phone's password lock, then use the phone's swipe to unlock feature and have the password app prompt before action continues ?

Lock screen is probably the most discussed topic since release of jellybeans.

Well currently there is only one solution to yours problem if device is not rooted. install another lock screen which will provide you that slider shortcuts and which will then be followed by stock lock screen with pin/password. one software is widget locker available in market. however this will be a waste of memory using dual lock screens.

 Alternatively I'm looking for a solution for a rooted device. I will post once found.

Most custom roms comes with this feature as stock like AOKP and MIUI.


Force fullscreen mode in Chrome for Android I want to put my Chrome browser in fullscreen mode without having to scroll down first.

Is it possible? Alternatively, are there any browsers that have this feature?

If it matters, my device is a Samsung Galaxy Tab E, Android 4.4.2. Not rooted.

Settings > display > expanded desktop

That works on lineageOS, but last time I told someone to looks here, they said their phone didn't have it.


Note 5 freezes and restarts First of all, no root since I didn't want to mess with knox bricking my phone. The problem started tonight when I wanted to buy PlayStation Plus from the PlayStation App. For some reason, the app hung my entire phone so I had to do a soft reset. After that, it would boot up, but before everything would load up, it would freeze and then restart again. I tried to figure out what process was doing this by going into the running applications, but I could only get there sometimes before it froze, and the times I did get there I couldn't get any worthwhile information.

Next thing I tried was a factory reset by holding the power and volume down button during boot and it sat there for about an hour stuck at installing system update. The animated Android had stopped moving and the phone was basically melting the table it was on, so I soft reset it again.

After that I booted into the Android system recovery to try a factory reset from there so I wiped the cache partition and went to "wipe data/factory reset" the readout looks like this.

#MANUAL MODE#
-- Appling Multi-CSC...
Applied the CSC-code : VZW
Successfully applied multi-CSC

--Wiping data...

Formatting /data...

Formatting /cache...

-- Set Factory Reset done...

-- Copying media files...

-- preload checkin...

E:failed to mount /preload (No such file or directory)
Data wipe complete.

Also the recovery freezes up after a while as well...

I tried just a normal boot again and it seems like the phone has been reset to factory but the phone freezes during the setup and then resets. I am at a loss of what to do next I can't really be without a phone for a long period of time as I need it for my job. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Use odin with official Samsung firmware, in download mode. It is knox safe.


What is com.android.documentsui This shows in my Google web activity.  Does anyone know what this does?

A simple Google search answers that: it's a "file picker" introduced with Kitkat (Android 4.4) and since Lollipop (Android 5) the recommended default interfact for apps wishing to access files outside of their own storage area (i.e. to save data to your SD card). It ships with the Android system itself – so no worries, it's nothing malicious.


Flashing CM 11, I get `set_metadata_recursive: some changes failed`: ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.2.3 gives me the folling error when I try to update my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (GT-P5113) to Cyanogenmod 11:

Restarting adbd...
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Installing update...
set_metadata_recursive: some changes failed
E:Error in /tmp/update.zip
(status 7)
Installation aborted.

Being desperate I tried the same thing with Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) v2.6.3.0 -- also the latest for my platofrm,

Checking for MD5 file...
Skipping MD5 check: no MD5 file file found.
set_metadata_recursive: some changes filed
E:Error: executing updater binary in zip '/data/media/0/sideload.zip'

In short, if you want to flash KitKat Android 4.4, you'll have to upgrade to a version of CWM greater than v6.0.4.5. Or, use an alternate bootloader. For the Galaxy Tab 2 GT-P5113 or GT-p5110 you can find the instructions here.


How to transfer files over WiFi without a hotspot? I'm looking for a way to transfer files between an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S2, rooted) and any computer system I may need to interact with (this means preinstalled software on the computer, besides a regular web browser, is not an option) without connecting to an actual WiFi hotspot.

Essentially I'm looking for something that works the same was as WiFi direct (allows two phones to transfer files over WiFi) but that would be compatible with any computer with WiFi.

So far I have tried creating an ad-hoc connection from the phone (as I can't take the computer being ad-hoc-creating-able for granted) using Android WiFi Tether and connecting the computer to the device, testing the different modes it offers (WEXT, Netd & Softap). I have tried to connect to and from the computer over LAN, FTP and SMB without any success.

I feel like I'm missing some small step over here. I've looked through multiple other posts, but I couldn't find any that would show a way to do this without actually connecting to an already available wifi network.

Connect your computer with virtual hotspot created by Android device.
Install any FTP Server app on Android device. It'll NOT give you IP of device for sure. :)
In your computer, find IP of Default Gateway of Wi-Fi network of Step 1 (In Windows, you can use ipconfig cmd command). Its the IP of your device.
Use any FTP Client software on computer. Use ftp://IP:Port (Port is generally configurable in FTP server app). Enter username & password configured in FTP Server app. Done!


OnePlus 5 Soft Brick I have a OnePlus 5 and it won't boot.
The phone is stuck on black screen and blue led (can't boot) since 20 days and I tried everything I saw on the web to make it boot again.

I tried :

to flash the recovery with the original one
to flash the Oxygen OS and the Hydrogen OS via fastboot (authorized even with a locked bootloader)
to use MSMDownloadTool (a tool I found on the web, used by the support of OnePlus to reinstall bricked phones.

...but nothing helped.

I'm now with my OP5 soft bricked but since I used MSMDownloadTool it locked itself (the tool locked the bootloader) and I can't flash again with fastboot (except the official rom but still won't boot) nor adb, I tried fastboot oem unlock but I got an error (because I can't go on the developers options due to the phone not loading) :
FAILED (remote: Flashing Unlock is not allowed)

If it gets you some info I did :
./fastboot oem device-info
 and got that result :
(bootloader) Verity mode: enforcing
(bootloader) Device unlocked: false
(bootloader) Device critical unlocked: false
(bootloader) Charger screen enabled: true
(bootloader) enable_dm_verity: true
(bootloader) have_console: false
(bootloader) selinux_type: SELINUX_TYPE_INVALID
(bootloader) boot_mode: NORMAL_MODE
(bootloader) kmemleak_detect: false
(bootloader) force_training: 0
(bootloader) mount_tempfs: 0
OKAY [  0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.002s

Is there any solution to be sure to write again everything on the OP5 ? (it seems that the MSMDownloadTool and fastboot won't erase everything as the OP5 finishes properly new installation but bootloops every time).

The present state of the OP5: bootloader locked, official recovery working, official rom installed but won't boot.

I'm on mac and windows btw.

I followed numerous tutorials like this one :
Unbrick tool OnePlus 5

Thanks in advance.

This will be a good workaround for the situation above. Since you were able to flash the phone, that means the MSNFlashTool is well configured in your computer. Now what I want you to think about is how you can flash a custom recovery image into the phone so that you can even get the phone alive by a third party OS like Lineage and anything.

After downloading the firmware file and starting flashing, the MSMTool writes the current progress in the progress window writing what it's flashing in the phone. Notably the userdata.img is one of the files you recognize since it is somehow big and doesn't flash quickly.

Consequently many data partitions exist in the phones memory, like the:

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

These are the essentials in any system, remember these are not all but these are the compulsory in any system. I'm sure the flash file is an archive that you can open with rar. It sometimes can be an archive containing an archive so you have to extract it twice incase you don't see these img files. Once opened in rar take note on what type of archive is the firmware file. It can be:

zip
tar
7z
rar
gz
gzip

And many more other types. Hope you remember this. Look for a compatible custom recovery image like twrp and replace it with the recovery.img or alternatively the boot.img if you miss the recovery in the firmware. If there are checksums like the md5, sha256 or any other sums to verify the integrity of files, regenerate and replace them, then repack the firmware with the same compression type as it was and flash the phone using it and you shall have teamwin recovery as your default recovery or boot.

Use the recovery to load third party OS and if you get the OS booting use it to unlock bootloader for futher fastboot actions or you can even use the new OS if you're convenient with it

Note: Ensure the recovery image is specifically made for your device model. If you have any trouble finding the appropriate recovery for your specific phone model, I can make you a download link for it after you give me exact specifications of your phone.

Hope it helps you


Calendar app on Desire - Can I get Stock Android Calendar? So i'm pretty sick of the calendar app on my HTC Desire... it's good, and does most things well, but something it does badly which is just really a stupid oversight by htc is this:  The date picker does not show the day of the picked date.  Even when you have selected the date, the event you're creating doesn't tell you the day.  WTF??

I guess i should ask if this is the same onthe stock android calendar app?  If not, how can i get that one on my desire?

I'm very tempted to ditch the HTC ROM and install a Gingerbread ROM... the running out of space issue is beyond a joke too.  ugh!

thanks heaps
greg

You probably have the HTC Sense calendar, which is different from the regular calendar.  To replace it:

Root your phone.
Use a file manager like Root Explorer to back up any files you replace and to copy in new ones.  You'll need to browse to /system/app and mount it as R/W.
Use an AOSP (android-open-source-project) calendar like this one from XDA (has instructions).  It's for 2.1, it might work for 2.2 but if not just search XDA for another.


How to avoid application autostart when a usbdrive is plugged to tablet When I plug a USB drive to my Samsung tablet (using USB connection kit), my Android 4.0.4 automatically starts the Archive application, in order to see which is the content of the pen drive. The same happens with an application that I wrote, Android popup a message to match plugged device with my application.
Is it possible to avoid this autostart? How?
Thanks

Why are there any apps starting when the drive is attached?
First you need some background information what's going on there. Many things on Android are "event-based". That is, when "something" happens, the system issues a "broadcast" saying so. Some well-known and easy-to-understand events include

boot completed
storage (un)mounted (usually sdcard removed/inserted, or some external drive)
battery low
network changed

Apps can register "listeners" for specific broadcast-events (intents), so they get started/awakened/informed then. Again some examples:

media-scanner wants to know when a new storage "entity" got attached, to check for music/pictures/videos to insert into its internal database
location service wants to know about network changes: if there's a new network, it might be interesting to determine the current location
several apps (far too many) want to start at boot

So obviously, your Archive app has registered a listener for the storage broadcast, and similarly your app.
How to get rid of that?
For your own app, you could adjust its code correspondingly. But that's no task for us here, but if needed, you can discuss that at our sister-site stackoverflow.com.
For all other apps (the following is applicable to other combinations as well), you will need your device to be rooted (details can be found in the rooting tag-wiki). Then go to the playstore and get yourself an app like e.g. Autorun Manager PRO (yes, for the following you will need the Pro if you decide for this app. I chose it nevertheless, as it turned out to be the best in my tests a while ago):

AutoRun Manager (click image to enlarge)
As you can see in the screenshot, AutoRun Manager permits you to disable each listener an app may have registered separately. And their names are (in most cases) quite descriptive. So use ARM, go into its "Advanced Mode", look up the Archive app, and check what listeners it has registered. Disable the one sounding reasonable -- and your issue should be solved.
You can change that anytime you want. Whenever the modified app is updated, you will have to do that again. You also can simply revert all changes with two taps, as ARM has a specific "restore" feature for that.

PS: As you have tagged your question auto-start, you could have hovered your mouse over that tag, and select the "info" link. This will bring you to the tag wiki, where you can find most of what I just wrote (and maybe even some additional information) -- so I recommend reading that as well. Furthermore, take it as hint for the future: Many of our tag-wikis contain first-aid. And in many cases that might already be enough to solve an issue :)


Automatic switching to the strongest Wi-Fi Access Point Both at home and at work I there are multiple Wi-Fi access points nearby with the same SSID and security settings.

My Samsung GS2 used to switch to the strongest available access point quite quickly. Now that I have ICS 4.0.3 installed it seems that my phone is sticking to the previous access point too long. This causes my network speed to very often be too slow as I'm consistently connected to "the previous hallway".

What are the solutions available to fix this issue? Is there a system setting I've missed? Is there an app that can help?

While not the easiest way around the problem, it is possible to do this using Tasker. This is a program that allows you to script various things within Android (e.g. I have it set to turn off the keyguard when I connect to my home SSID.) The following profile for detecting Wi-Fi signal is quoted from this thread:

Profile: Low WiFi (1)
Event: Display Unlocked  Enter: WiFi (2)  Task: WiFi Sig (1)
A1: Variable Set [ Name:%wfs To:%WIFII Do Maths:Off Append:Off ]
A2: Variable Split [ Name:%wfs Splitter:Sig: Delete Base:Off ]
A3: Variable Clear [ Name:%wfs1 Pattern Matching:Off ]
A4: Variable Split [ Name:%wfs2 Splitter: Delete Base:On ]
A5: Variable Set [ Name:%WIFISG To:%wfs22 Do Maths:Off Append:Off ]
A6: Array Clear [ Name:%wfs2 ]  Task: WiFi (2)
A1: Write File [ File:wifitest.txt Text:Task start: %DATE %TIME  Append:On ]
<Signal check>
A2: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:15 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]
A3: Goto [ Type:Action Label Number:1 Label:End ] If [ %SCREEN ~ off ]
A4: Goto [ Type:Action Label Number:1 Label:End ] If [ %WIFII !~  *CONNECTION* ]
A5: Perform Task [ Name:WiFi Sig Stop:Off Priority:5 Parameter 1  (%par1): Parameter 2 (%par2): Return Value Variable: ]
A6: If [ %WIFISG < 3 ]
A7: WiFi [ Set:Off ]
A8: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:0 Minutes:5 Hours:0 Days:0 ]
A9: WiFi [ Set:On ]
A10: End If
A11: Goto [ Type:Action Label Number:1 Label:Signal check ]
<End>
A12: Write File [ File:wifitest.txt Text:Task end: %DATE %TIME  Append:On ]

I've never personally done anything that complicated with the Wi-Fi, but the profiles I have set around SSID work like a charm.


Google Hangouts v Hangouts Dialer v Voice : Which to download to call outbound? If I desire only to make outgoing telephone calls from my Android, which must I download?

Google Voice gives you a second phone number linked to your original. You can use it to call outbound from the app. Google voice can also recieve calls as well as send and receive texts.
Google Hangouts is a messaging app. On the web version, you can call outbound. I'm not sure about the app version. You can also use it to video call, both single person and group calls.
^^My Google Hangouts menu^^
Google Dialer (If I have the correct product) seems to be just a phone management app, just like the typical "Phone" app that comes preinstalled on most phones. It gives you a dialer screen and a Google Duos video call screen as well as spam protection and caller ID. However, it doesn't look like it comes with a phone number, it uses the one from your SIM. So it'll make outbound calls, but only if you have a SIM card installed.
EDIT: Hangouts Dialer (Not Google Phone, sorry, got that wrong the first time) is a dialer for Google Hangouts (hence the name). It's a way of making phone calls without using minutes. You can call any phone number, and it shows on the receiving end the verified number connected with your device. I believe it can also be used in combination with Google Voice, using that number as your verified number.


Transfering contacts from one Android smartphone (with smashed screen) to another So my mother in law used to have an Huawei ideos X3 (U8510) and due to an unfortunate event the screen of her smartphone got smashed. That wouln't be a big issue if it wasn't for the fact that she wasn't saving her contacts in the cloud on google servers, she was saving them only on the phone.

Since her screen is unresponsible to touches, I can't get her contacts into the google cloud.

I gave her my old Samsung Galaxy S with CyanogenMod but I can't get her contacts over there.

What I did so far is, root the Huawei phone through adk to gain access to all files and databases. So far so good. I extracted the database with the contacts (contacts2.db) and overwrote the contacts2.db from the Galaxy S, which resulted into major force closes when opening the contacts app.

Any other suggestions? She needs her contacts badly.

Have you tried using a third party app to get the contacts to PC?

Here is an example https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snappea, but there are more, pick one. Install it using adb and then access your phone from PC.

Hope it helps.


How to enable silent mode during calendar events? I'd like to disable all notification sounds whenever there is a current event in Calendar. How can I do this automatically?

Llama will let you do this, and it is free (Tasker costs money). It has many of the features as Tasker and Locale, and it can even use Locale plugins. I have grown fond of this app and have set up many automated events.

To do this in Llama, you create two events and two profiles.

Profiles

Create a new profile and name it something like "No Notifications". Uncheck all of the volume options except for Change notification volume. Set the volume level to 0.
Create a second profile and name it "Normal". Again, uncheck all volume options except for Change notification volume. This time, set the volume level to whatever you want, like 5/7.

Events

Create a new event.
Under Actions, click Add Condition and select Calendar Event. Use the defaults.
Next, click Add Action. Select Profile and choose your silent profile.
Create a second event. This one will be the opposite of your first event, so change the condition of the calendar to "Event finished/Not current event" and set the action profile to your normal profile.

The developer of Llama is still working on it and adding new features, and you can get details here.


Does rooting erase anything? If I root my android phone (just so I can get access to Wifi Tethering, etc.) will that erase anything on the phone (apps, data, etc.)?

Will it change anything other than the ability to run app(s) as rooted?

will that erase anything on the phone

Rooting itself should not erase anything (except for, maybe, temporary files created during the process). However, on some devices rooting requires to first unlock the bootloader -- and that usually includes a factory-reset (which means: all data and user-installed apps are gone -- which you can work around on Android 4.0+ performing an adb backup –apk –shared –all –f /path/to/backup.ab before performing the unlock, and adb restore /path/to/backup.ab afterwards, as Compro01 pointed out in below comment).

  Will it change anything other than the ability to run app(s) as rooted?

Yes.¹ As the necessary binaries (usually su, SuperUser.apk/SuperSU.apk, and busybox with all its symlinks) are pushed to the /system partition (which otherwise is mounted read-only), it will change that partition. Might sound trivial now, but the thing is: some ota-updates (and other updates shipping directly from the manufacturer/provider) first compare the partitions checksum. If that doesn't match (and it won't after rooting), updates might be refused/failing.

On the other hand: if those updates wouldn't fail, you might lose root when they are applied. If they include a full /system image, that is.

¹ Update: With Magisk the changes described here are not applied to the system partition.


Where to add SSH keys to allow connections to remote server on Android? I'm using a rooted custom Android kernel (Gingerbread), and am able to connect to a remote SSH server with password authentication using busybox and a terminal emulator app.  I would like to be able to use SSH keys for auto-login; is this possible?  If so, where should I put my private key?

It's not quite as seamless, but the ssh binary provided by busybox (mine, at least) supports the -i flag, so you can put the key wherever you want and use that:

ssh -i /path/to/key_file joeuser@somehost.com

The relevant man page entry for -i (with the caveat that the information about the default path may not be the same on Android):

-i identity_file

         Selects a file from which the identity (private key) for public
         key authentication is read.  The default is ~/.ssh/identity for
         protocol version 1, and ~/.ssh/id_dsa, ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa and
         ~/.ssh/id_rsa for protocol version 2.  Identity files may also be
         specified on a per-host basis in the configuration file.  It is
         possible to have multiple -i options (and multiple identities
         specified in configuration files).  ssh will also try to load
         certificate information from the filename obtained by appending
         -cert.pub to identity filenames.


How do I root my Samsung Galaxy Ace? I want to root my Galaxy Ace but don't want to install Custom ROM or CWM!

Just only root so that, I can run some apps which requires root.

Everything you need to know about rooting and installing custom ROM on your phone.

a. Rooting for 2.2.1:

Turn on your phone
Enable Debugging at Apliccations>Programming
Connect your phone into PC via cable
Launch Super One Click 2.3.3
Click "Root"
Wait until the program will root your phone
When the process is complete turn off SOC and unplug your phone
Reboot
Now you have root!

Db. Rooting for 2.3.x (NEW METHOD!):

Download file called universal_gb_root_v25.zip and copy it to your sdcard
Turn off your phone
Press POWER+HOME BUTTON
Select update from sdcard, select the file universal_gb_root_v25.zip
After the update completed - reboot
Now you have rooted S5830

OPTIONAL Unrooting for 2.3.x:

Download file called universal_gb_unroot_v9.zip and copy it to your sdcard
Turn off your phone
Press POWER+HOME BUTTON
Select update from sdcard, select the file universal_gb_unroot_v9.zip
After the update completed - reboot
Now you have unrooted S5830[/QUOTE]

ps: its best you read the first link.


Install Nexus Android on Samsung S4 The Android OS that comes with the Samsung S4 has quite a few unwanted extras. The Android OS that comes with the Nexus 5 is quite slim and I prefer its interface.

Is it possible to replace the OS running on the Samsung S4 with the Nexus-flavoured android?

Yes; The Nexus Android is closer to AOSP which is a minimal OS all the other Android distributions are built on. You probably want CM though as it's the most popular pre built ROM for your device.

https://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Jfltexx_Info

Also unlike the Samsung ROM, CM gets security updates every month and unlike Samsung will continue to for older devices like the S2, S3, etc.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOSP


Boot loop after updating to official Android 6.0 Marshmallow on my Nexus 5 Last day I got the notification to download and install official Android 6.0 Marshmallow in my Nexus 5, which is not rooted, was running Android 5.1.1 and no custom ROM. As I downloaded and installed it, from that point its gone to boot loop state (the four dot animation is endlessly running).

I have already searched the web for solution like Boot loop after flashing Android 6.0 Marshmallow on my Nexus 5, Boot loop after flashing android 6.0 marshmallow on nexus 5 follow up and many more, but not tried. Because all those help seekers had tried to manually OS install or phone was rooted or already had custom ROM, but my Nexus 5 did not have any of those.

I had tried "wipe cache partition" and reboot, but it did not helped. As I don't had any data backup of my phone storage, the last thing I will be willing to do is "wipe data/factory reset". As my phone's usb debugging was enabled and I had adb in my desktop, so I have also tried to copy data from my phone using the "adb pull" command in boot looped mood. But also did not got any luck, may be "adp pull" command don't work in booting mood or I am doing something wrong with the command.

Any help to backup/recover the data or solution of the boot loop problem without "wipe data/factory reset" is appreciated. Thanks in advance.....

If your device is in a boot-loop you will not be able to pull anything.
You might want to try and booting the phone into bootloader IF possible by pressing volume down and power to power on the device.
I would recommend downloading the factory image from Google, extracting it and trying:

fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-hammerhead-hhz12k.img

To flash the bootloader image in in the zip via the command line, as well as boot and radio just to be safe. DO NOT FLASH userdata.img or cache.img, or run any flash all batch or script as this WILL erase everything that is currently on your device.

OR:

You can try to follow the same instructions to boot to bootloader and:

fastboot flash recovery twrp-2.8.7.1-hammerhead.img

To install TeamWin Recovery, which you can download here.
This will give you a custom recovery you can then boot to and possibly be able to adb pull from there.

Hope this helps!!


Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore? It is nothing new that one can use multiple Android devices with a single Google account. Switching on a new device for the first time asks whether one wants to store one's data with Google, which then would always sync "some stuff" to the Google servers, basically

some application data (if the apps support it explicitly)
Wi-Fi passwords
browser bookmarks
a list of the apps installed from Google Play
words added to the dictionary used by the onscreen keyboard
most of your customized settings

Details might be found in the Google Dashboard. Relevant questions here covering those issues include:

What info does Google backup?
What exactly is synced with Google?
How does Android sync the WiFi Profiles?

The Developers API on Google Backup gives some further insight on how the backup stuff is supposed to work (and several questions here show how it really works -- that is, sometimes it does, sometimes only partly, and sometimes not at all). Aside from reliability and the fact that not everybody wants his private data in the cloud (and even mentioned API reference2 warns: Android makes no guarantees about the security of your data while using backup. You should always be cautious about using backup to store sensitive data, such as usernames and passwords.), my main question is:
Having backed up data from multiple devices using the same account:

what would happen to a factory-reset device being used that way before? Would it be recognized, and have only those things restored which have been used on it before?
(device-identification could e.g. take place e.g. via IMEI (but not via the Android_ID, as that might be gone with a factory reset) -- and this could be the reason for the behaviour described in Nalum's answer)
what would be restored to a (new/factory-reset) device you just initialize for the first time with this Google account?
(if devices would be identified with backups in the Google account used, this could trigger a special action for "new device", e.g. "restore all, device changed!" -- or "restore all from the no longer connected device X, as it was probably replaced!" -- but stick to "restore only what was on that device" in case of a factory-reset)

The deal is: If one has multiple devices, they are often used for specific issues, so one does not want everything on all devices. As I've seen no way to chose which data to backup (e.g. to exclude those "sensitive data" we have been warned about: WiFi passwords would belong to that category), I assume there's no choice on restore either? So how is this handled?

Let's talk about sets, baby

Android's backup service has a concept called a set: the set of all data backed-up from one device (on one transport, but that's a detail). Each set is identified by a unique string, such as the IMEI on the device. When an app (or the list of installed apps) is backed up, its backup data go into the set associated with the device it's being backed up from. All the sets are still specific to the user's Google account. If you wipe your device and sell it to someone else, he won't be able to access that device's set unless he can log into your Google account.

Default behaviour

When an app is installed, or a device has its list of apps restored, the backup system first looks in that device's set for backup data for that package. If it doesn't find any (either because it's a completely new device with no backed-up data, or because that package has never been installed on that device), it'll expand the search to other sets. (If there's a choice, it'll use the last set that was used for a full-device restore.)

Thus, when you set up a new device, it'll restore the list of apps from an old device's backup, and restore each app from the old device's backup. If you had an app installed on one device and you install it on another device, the app will be restored with its data from the old device. In either case, the data are now backed up into the new device's set, which means that the backup data from the two devices are separate from now on.

After you factory-reset a device, it'll restore from that device's last backup if there is one, and failing that, from some other device's backup if there is one, but it will start to create its own set from then on. That's why Nalum's two devices don't see each others' backed-up apps: they're each restoring from their own last backups.

Source

This mechanism doesn't have any user-facing documentation, since it's supposed to automatically do the right thing, but the code is available.

bmgr: basic use

As Izzy found, the bmgr tool gives you some control over this process. It's intended as an aid for programmers to help test and debug the backup integration in their apps. You can use this tool in an adb shell to trigger backups and restores of chosen packages, wipe packages' backed-up data, and even a whole-device restore.

Don't try to use it in an on-device shell except as root: you need the system-level android.permission.BACKUP to do anything interesting with it.

You can make an app update its backed-up data immediately:

bmgr backup com.shadowburst.showr
bmgr run

(or whatever the app's package name is). There's not normally any need to do this, as apps request their own backups whenever their data changes, but this lets you work around a badly-written app. To restore one package from the backed-up data it would choose by default:

bmgr restore com.shadowburst.showr

but again, this will only do what the device would do on its own, so you shouldn't need to use it. Note also that the device already needs to be installed to make this work.

More control

Now for the stuff that the backup system won't do on its on. To see what sets of backed-up data are available:

bmgr list sets

and you'll get some output like this:

  3ff7800e963f25c5 : manta
  3f0e5c90a412cca7 : manta
  3dd65924a70e14c8 : TF101
  3baa67e9ce029355 : m0

The 64-bit hex number on the left is a token. You'll need this in a minute. The thing on the right is a (relatively) friendly name for the device that owns the set. For example, manta is the code name for the nexus-10; TF-101 refers to the original asus-eee-pad-transformer. Once you've figured out which set you want, you can restore an app from that set using its token:

bmgr restore 3ff7800e963f25c5 com.shadowburst.showr

You can add more package names to the end of the command to restore several packages at once, or you can specify no package name (just the token) to restore every app with data in that set (that is, it does a full-system restore).

Finally, you can wipe an app's data from the current set:

bmgr wipe com.shadowburst.showr

This will make its next backup operation start from scratch. This might be useful after uninstalling an app, if an error in the app corrupted its backup data and you don't want it restored.

You can't make a device start writing into a different set, nor can you wipe a whole set.


Pandora pauses randomly? I find that Pandora often will pause the current song for no apparent reason. Any idea what I might check to see what the cause is?

(HTC Droid Incredible)

Make sure you have a full signal. Try running it with nothing else running. The resources might be getting used by another app and makes pandora freak out. I know on my droid x2 i have a problem with it skipping songs on me.


How do I turn off screen turnoff during call? Even though thr light sensor still works as Ive checked, it turns of screen automatically no matter how lighted the area is and i can only reuse the screen once the call is over. I've followed other directions to check call settings, but i couldn’t find any settings to modify that there. Is there any other ways to disable this?
To reiterate, I'm running Android 10 on Realme 7i.

The screen off feature in phone apps use the proximity sensor rather than the luminosity sensor. I am saying this because my device doesn't have a luminosity sensor, but the screen turns off as soon as I bring it near my face during a call.
To answer your question: There is no Android system setting for this as far as I know. It is completely up to the phone app whether it will turn off the screen. If the caller app that you are using does not give you an option to keep the screen on, your only option is to try other apps that have this feature.


Samsung galaxy s3 not rebooting in recovery mode My galaxy s3 will not reboot after I've wiped cache and did factory reset.  The little guy just says error and it shuts off.


remote: Permission Denied Asus Zenfone 2 I recently (dumbly) removed my internal through TWRP on my Asus Zenfone 2 whilst trying to flash SuperZen from xda. So now I'm attempting to go back to stock, and I've tried doing a factory reset with the stock recovery, but with no luck. I'm currently trying to flash boot.img, recovery.img, droidboot.img and system.img via fastboot on Linux and Windows, but I get:

$ fastboot flash system system.img

target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
erasing 'system'...
FAILED (remote: Permission denied)
finished. total time: 0.136s

for each one. This is when trying to flash using version WW_2.19.40.22. The interesting thing is, is that when I flash twrp.img or recovery.img(stock) it still gives me that same error, but when I boot into recovery, I have either TWRP or stock recovery, which shows that it did work. Sadly, this is not the case with system, so if I reboot into the system, it does not work properly and hangs on the "Powered by Android" splash screen.

EDIT:
just tried using fastboot update -w Zip_Name.zip and it gives me:

archive does not contain 'android-info.txt'
archive does not contain 'android-product.txt'
error: update package has no android-info.txt or android-product.txt

EDIT 2:
booted into TWRP and used "Install" to try and flash the .zip I put on the SD card, I got the logs copied to the SD, and here is the relevant section:

minzip: Missed a central dir sig (at 0)
E:Zip file is corrupt!
MtpServer::run fd: 13
E:request read returned -1, errno: 5, exiting MtpServer::run loop
Error flashing zip '/external_sd/UL-Z00A-JP-2.19.40.21-user.zip'
Updating partition details...
I:Data backup size is 0MB, free: 55424MB.
...done

Basically, it gave me E:Zip file is corrupt! and ended up with "Failed".

To solve you problem execute the following :

Boot your Phone into TWRP Recovery.
Plug your phone to PC and make sure it is recognized by adb you can run adb devices command to check.
on you Phone TWRP go to wipe > advanced wipe  check data ,cache and system then swipe the swipe zone in the bottom
Now go back to the home of TWRP and navigate to Advanced >> ADB sideload swipe where it is written Swipe to Start Sideload
go to you PC and fire up a terminal or a cmd (depend on your operating system) and type this command adb sideload path/to/you_firmaware.zip
Your phone will start flashing the zip wait until it's done and then reboot your system.
the first boot may take awhile be patient.


Turn off screen on boot How can I have my device automatically turn off its screen after booting?

booting as in having turned off the device, finished charging and turning it back on
turn off screen as in the function after single-pressing power button

At night, I turn off my device to charge it overnight. In the morning, I turn it on. Since the boot process takes a long time, I usually leave it on the counter for it to   s l o w l y   boot up. During this time, I get ready for my morning (which takes longer than for the device to boot). Taking the device with me to manually turn off the screen once it is finished booting is not good enough for me.

Short of building my own app that runs itself once on boot or having it turn off the screen after n seconds of inactivity, how can I have my device automatically turn off its screen after booting?

The device in question is not rooted, but answers requiring root privileges are acceptable
(I plan on rooting the device... eventually...)

For this, I suggest you use an app called Tasker with this app, - among other things - you can set it that when you are not using any app, the screen should timeout after x amount of time, but while you are using an app, it will time out at a different amount if time.

download Tasker. (it is a paid app, but it has so much to it that it's worth the money)
Open the app and press on the '+' symbol on the bottom right of the screen. And press 'application'
Now select the apps in which you want the display to stay on for a long time. For example your ebooks app, or any other app. Select as many apps as you want for this action.
Press on the back button on your phone. Now it will ask you what you want to happen when you open those apps.
Press on 'new tasks'
Type a name for this task something like 'screen timeout 5 min'
In this new window, press on the plus symbol, and in the search bar type 'display timeout'
Press 'display timeout', and now under where it  says 'mins' choose the amount of time you want the screen to stay on for, while using the apps.
Press on the back button twice, and you should be brought back to the main page.
Long press on 'screen timeout 5 min' (or whatever you named this task) and press on 'add exit task' -> 'new task'
Give the new task a name something like 'screen timeout x seconds.'
Here, do the same as steps 7 and 8 just when setting the time, set it to the amount of time you want the screen to stay on while you're not using the selected apps.
Now, go back all the way to the main screen of Tasker and press on the check mark symbol on the top right. (If you don't see a check mark symbol, then don't worry about it, just doing this step)
Test to see that all is working by going to your home screen and see how long it takes for the screen to go to 'sleep' it should be the amount of time selected in step 12, then go into the selected apps and see how long the screen stays on.


How to temporarily spoof ᴍᴀᴄ address without root? There are many claims that’s it’s possible to change Wi‑Fi ᴍᴀᴄ address temporarily, but each time there’s a permission error when running one of the command.

How to temporarily change ᴍᴀᴄ address without root ?

MAC address is always spoofed temporarily since it's a read-only number burned-in hardware and a part of it uniquely identifies the manufacturer. However many network interfaces allow setting a spoofed address. In order to make the change permanent the overriding process has to be repeated on every boot.

Secondly, configuring network interfaces requires at least Linux capability NET_ADMIN if not whole root. So, as you have observed, it's not possible to change MAC address or IP address or do other similar network configurations without the said capability or complete root access.


How do I turn Google Play Books pages with Voice? I use Google Play Books a lot, especially for tech books and programming etc. Is there any way I can turn pages of an app, specifically Google Play Books, using my voice?

I don't think Google Books has a voice interface, which is a shame.  I don't know of any book app which does, I'm afraid. Moon+ Reader  is a great ebook app which has auto page turning, based on time, but they are very active and are always adding features - it may be worth emailing them and asking if they will implement it?


upgrade to lollipop 5.1 using twrp? In a burst of energy in the past I installed twrp. But when I attempted to install 5.1 on my nexus 7 2012 by following the prompts, it dumped me into twrp with no information on how to proceed. Do I just hit the install button and find the update in my downloads folder and install that way?

I tried to flash the rom manually but failed miserably (ran into this page).

I decided to use the Nexus Root Toolkit (download here) to go back to stock Android 5.1 (losing everything on the device of course). That worked like a charm and re-rooting it afterwards was simple enough Rooting guide for 5.1.1.

In the past whenever a new Android version came out I had to flash back to stock Android to get the update and then re-root it. I'm sure some people manage to update without erasing everything...


Notification icon text background has changed If you see the image for ex the wifi name's background has changed to white. I might have unknowingly changed something, but I don't know how to change it back. This problem is there for other situation also. If you see second image you can get an idea.

This setting is called "Show button shapes" and you can turn it off from the "Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements" menu.


How can I reset my device without losing images on it? I know I can backup and restore. But I just don't want the images to be deleted (either phone memory or sd card). Meaning, have the folder of the images remain, so that Gallery can read all the images from it after reset.

I want to reset because after an upgrade to Lollipop, com.android.phone doesn't work. So I tried several options, but could not solve this, so now I'm looking to reset

Factory reset does NOT erase any user data. It just erases system/data/data folder and cache. This is the reason why sometimes problems doesn't get fix after all: Because is not so low level as we'd like.


Why does my phone keep telling me it has low storage? My LG Android phone keeps telling me that it has low storage available. I have looked through the apps and have 5 text msgs on the phone.

It seems like I keep deleting and deleting and it keeps coming back!

Why do my actions not work and what can I do?

Many times it is not the apps themselves taking up all the internal storage, but rather data they keep cached (i.e. not your mentioned 5 text messages, but rather things like browser cache, temporary files (though the latter should be gone on reboot), and the like).

Now while you can go to the place mentioned by Narayanan to check all apps separately (Settings->Applications->Storage use) for cache used (and tap the delete-cache button where appliable), and you probably have to start that way as your limited internal storage most likely doesn't allow for additional apps being installed, there are apps around to ease these steps:

eClean is a high-rated app claiming to automatically care for a lot of cache storage like app cache, search- and browser history and more, and even claims it can do so automatically (starting an on-boot service)
1Tap Cleaner is a similar, also high rated app
1-Tap Clean Cache has a high rating as well, and cares for your apps cache
Cache Cleaner is another high-rated app caring for caches and history

Many more apps are available on the play store, but the mentioned four give you a good starting point. Of course, if you are low on internal storage, and run at least Android 2.2 or higher, you could also consider moving some of your rarely used app to SD using App2SD. Moreover, uninstalling apps no longer used is always a good idea.


Third party apps installation when 'unknown source' option is disabled Instead of using my company phone, I set up my company email account (MS Exchange Active) on my personal phone. So now I can organise and overview my private and work events in the calendar etc. Also reply to work emails from my personal device.

However, our IT department is pushing the company policy onto my phone and disabling the option for "unknown sources" (third party apps installation using apk file).

Does anyone have a workaround to be able to install third party apps on my phone while the policy is enforced? In other words, I can't enable the "unknown source" option on my Samsung Galaxy S8.

Thanks in advance.

Being technical, if the default app store doesn't use an encrypted connection (SSL/TLS), you can perform a MITM attack, and intervene the downloading process, and replace the app with an APK you've prepared.

A computer running Linux is strongly recommended, but a more user-friendly approach could be using zANTI to intervene.


Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10" (YT3-X50) factory image, OTA update or backup needed I was playing around with some modifications to my rooted Yoga Tab 3, and I messed up - the tablet wouldn't boot anymore, even after a factory reset. I could still boot into recovery, so I was not too worried until I realized that I can't just download a factory image or an OTA update for my tablet in order to restore everything.

In desperation, I tried flashing the update image for YT3_850F, which was available online. This made the tablet boot again (I can hear the sound and I can see it through ADB), but without anything being displayed on the screen, which is strange, since both tablets seem to share the same graphics card (Qualcomm Adreno 304).

I think my only remaining option is to locate a factory image, or an OTA update for my tablet and flash it in recovery. Does anyone know where I can get an image for YT3-X50?

Or maybe someone with a rooted tablet could do me and the rest of the Internet a huge favour and make a backup image of their tablet available?

Are there any other recovery options that I am missing?

Since I'm a Chinese, I could browse Chinese sites (including Lenovo's own) and grab what I can get. Here's something I dug up with a wee bit of search.

Factory images (page in Chinese). Available for both F (WiFi) and M (cellular) variants. Click any link with "链接跳转" before them to go to the download landing page, then click what's behind "下载地址" for the actual download site (Baidu Cloud). It does seem to require Baidu Cloud client to be installed, so if you can't download it yourself, give me a heads-up and I'll see if I can host it on my own AFH. The extraction password (if there's any) is "ask.lenovomobile.com".
Flashing tutorial (page in Chinese). Requires an SD card with >4GB free space, and a >50% charged battery. Rename the extracted firmware package (something like YT3-X50F_USR_S000015_1509171725_Q1241_PRC_CN_otafull_factory_update.zip) to * factory_update.zip (as the page says, "*" stands for any amount of characters - I don't know what that means exactly so I'll just leave the translation here). Insert the card into the device when it's powered off, then hold POWER and VOL+ for ~3 secs until it vibrates and boots. The devices should automatically do a factory reset and update from the zip, then reboot subsequently.
Also refer to this starter thread for general info.


Are there any video players with commercial skip for Android? I have a TiVo Series 3 and the TiVo Desktop Plus software, which I use to convert shows for playback on my iPod Touch.  I'd love to find a video player that would have 30 second/commercial skip for an Android phone (future purchase).  It's hard for me to adjust the slider on the video player with that degree of precision.

It's not an actual 30 second button, but MX Player has a feature to slowly adjust forward and backward (a full screen swipe typically does ~45-60 seconds), making it very easy to precisely navigate a video.


How to uncompress a password protected zip file? I have a password protected zip file, but ASTRO does not let me enter a password. What should I do?

Install Dual File Manager. This program lets you unzip password protected files.


An App disappeared after downloading, Where is it? When I download an app from play store, The download process is completed (100%) but the app disappeared and silently failed to install on my phone.

I would like to know where the source file of the app is downloaded so that I can reach it and install it manually.

Phone Type: Techno P5

Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean

Phone storage: 2GB ( 1GB free )

SD Card: 8GB (3.6GB free)

512 MB of RAM

1.2 GHz dual core processor

App size: 100 MB

It appears there is an issue with your phone with Google Play not installing correctly.

If the app is in Google Play you can't install it manually
When you go back into Google Play and search for the app you have installed, do you see the button Install or Open?

If the buttons Uninstall & Open show the app is installed
if the button Install shows you will have to reinstall


My phone has an error when I want to delete drafts, what should I do? So, here's the problem: when I want to delete drafts from HTC Wildfire S, I go to drafts and press the three-line-button, which always offers more options. It says "Delete drafts". I press that and it says that there's an error and that I should either force close everything, or report it to HTC. I can delete drafts by opening them and selecting discard from the menu, but I don't want to do that every time, and the lag is just irritating.

What should I do? Does someone have the same problem? Thanks in advance!

I assume you mean 'draft' txt messages.
Try this:

Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Select the Messaging App
Choose 'Clear Data' and also 'Clear Cache'.

If not you could also factory reset the phone.
Otherwise report it to HTC support


Zombie process using termux I am testing one of my application on android's (Android version 7.0) termux terminal emulator.
I want to spawn some zombie processes.

On GNU/Linux, if I open a terminal emulator and write:

ruby -e '10.times { fork { exit! } } && sleep '

This will create 10 zombie processes. To check about zombie processes, I write:

ruby -e "puts Dir['/proc/**'].select { |x| File.split(x)[1].then { |y| y.to_i.to_s == y } }.then { |a| %<Active Processes: #{a.size} (#{a.count { |x| IO.readlines(%<#{x}/status>)[1].split[1] == ?Z.freeze} } Zombies)> }"

Which outputs in the format:

Active Processes: 189 (10 Zombies)

But on Termux, I can't create zombie processes. When I am forking a process, the process count doesn't increase (as reported by htop and the ruby program). Even if I try to spawn processes, it won't spawn any. I have total 11 processes showing on Termux!

What's so different about android? Is there any way to test my application using termux? Or are there any other applications that will allow me to do such stuff?

I just created 100 zombie processes on Termux using:

for n in {1..100}; do (sleep 1 & exec sleep 10) & done

and they do exist for 10 seconds as expected, then reaped by init. To see zombie processes:

~$ ps axo stat,ppid,pid,cmd | grep ^Z

Or just to take count use grep -c ^Z.


How to disable Verizon backup assistant? My friend has an HTC Droid Incredible and his phone's battery is draining like nothing else. He says Verizon Backup Assistant seems to keep getting hung up while his battery is draining. During this time he also can't get Google to snyc.

From what I can tell Verizon Backup Assistant offers no useful features once your contacts are already in Google so I'm thinking just disable it. Does anyone know how to do this?

Can you uninstall the application?  Or is it one of those pre-installed apps?

If it's preinstalled, you'll have to get root access to remove it completely, see here.

However, removing it can potentially cause a brick if you factory reset your phone.

EDIT: It looks like there are no easy ways to disable this app.  You have two choices:

Factory wipe. During setup process, do NOT enable the backup assistant.
Do some trickery using this method mentioned in this post (quoted below).  It does not require a Factory wipe.

  1) Be sure to have all your contacts backed up to your Gmail account. Check
  online before proceeding to step 2.

  2) Log into your My Verizon account.
  Go to the contacts tab, sort by list
  view and select all contacts. Delete
  the entire list. There's a deleted
  contacts tab as well. Select that and
  delete anything that's in there.

  3) Go into your Incredible settings
  tab, select applications, manage
  applications. Do not sort or filter,
  allow list to populate. Select Sync
  Service, (icon resembles backup
  assistant icon) select clear data.

  4) Also in manage applications scroll
  down to backup assistant, select clear
  data. This should do it.

  5) To verify backup assistant is now
  disabled, select settings, accounts
  and sync, then under manage accounts,
  select backup assistant. You should be
  looking at a license agreement screen.


Import/Install SSL-certificate without CA-flag Our team has the following problem:
We are developing a client-application for android and iOS using Unity + UniWebview + HTML. This app includes Ajax-requests to some servers via jQuery. For testing purposes we're using a testing server instead of the live server. This testing server uses a self-signed SSL-certificate.
NOTE: We have no access to that server, so changing the SSL-certificate is likely not an option.
When testing the .htm-file locally with the desktop browser we just did import that SSL-certificate to Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. With this approach our HTML-code worked as expected.

Now we wanted to test it in our UniWebview environment on an android device. Intially the app didn't work. As we tested the .htm-file in the mobile chrome browser, the requests were blocked because of the not trusted SSL-certificate. So we went looking for a solution on how to import the certificate to Android.

The most common solution we found, was exporting the certificate in chrome or firefox and copying it to the SD-card drive of the device. Then: Settings > Security > Install from USB-Storage, then select the certificate and install it. After the installation we got the message of a successful installation. But when looking for it in the list of user certificates, it doesn't show up. After testing our script again it also still doesn't work. We gave this solution a couple of tries by experimenting with different formats and encodings, but everytime we got the same result.

The second try was using the application CAdroid for importing SSL-certificates to Android. But there we also encountered a problem. At step 4 (checking of the certificate) we got an errormessage that the basic constraints are missing. Therefore there is no CA-flag set, therefore the CA-flag isn't true.

The third try was using the Android-emulator of the Android-SDK. This time we got the same problem as in our first try, when installing the certificate directly to Android.

TL;DR
So my quesiton: Is it possible to install this self-signed certificate to Android without having a set CA-flag?
If not, is it possible to modify that existing certificate, so it can be installed?
NOTE: Creating a new certificate is NOT a real option.
NOTE: We only have the certificate-files, we exported with chrome and firefox
I found this post: self-signed certificate install claims success, but android acts as if cert isn't there . In the comments there is some discussion about modfying an exisiting certificate, although I am not sure if this is an option for us.

Testing device:
Samsung GT-N8010 (Galaxy Note 10.1)
Android 4.4.2

Best Regards

Is it possible to install this self-signed certificate to Android without having a set CA-flag?

Android uses OpenSSL (or the fork BoringSSL in later versions) as the underlying SSL stack. OpenSSL will not accept a self-signed certificate unless the CA flag is true, because even a self-signed certificate must have the correct flags so that it can sign itself (i.e. CA flag). So even if you would be able to install the certificate it will not be used as the trust anchor for validation, i.e. the validation will fail.

  If not, is it possible to modify that existing certificate, so it can be installed?
  NOTE: Creating a new certificate is NOT a real option.

No, you cannot modify an existing certificate. You could probably re-create the certificate if you have access to the original certificate and the private key.


How do I get rid of uneccessary System Memory? So, it is as the title says: my Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) is filled up. Not with apps, but with "System Memory". The device only has 8 GB of storage, and about ~48%+ of that (3.3 GB) is used by System Memory. Well, apps fill 4 GB, but that is why I have removed about 20% of the system apps (like Google, Hangouts, and many more).
What do I do? How do I get rid of extreme amounts of space used?

The "system memory" Is where the Android OS is installed so there is no possibility to delete that


How do I root Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 without loading a custom ROM? I am changing the question because my original question is a duplicate of "Does rooting require a custom ROM? ".  The answer is apparently "Yes, in fact you need root to load a Custom ROM"

So then the obvious question, since searching for rooting my phone keeps on taking me to instructions for installing a custom ROM, is "How do I just root my phone without installing a custom ROM".

FWIW this is for a Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500, which, surprisingly, is not listed on "How do I root my Android device?"

You don't need a custom ROM to get root.

Geohot's towelroot works for all S4 variants except your I9500 which has a different chipset. So if your firmware is I9500XXUFNB3 or older, then try:

1) Go and Download the " philz_touch_6.12.8-i9500.tar.md5 " located on this website
http://goo.im/devs/philz_touch/CWM_Advanced_Edition/i9500

2) Download and extract Odin 1.85 to a folder, from:
http://www.datafilehost.com/d/138bbdea
or here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=581913

3) Put your phone in Download mode (turn off phone, then press power + home + volume down at the same time until it goes to download mode, then proceed according to the screen instructions)
- video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5KMYhWs2fFI

4) Download Deknox Removal Script from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2365214&d=1383345163
Put the zip to your phone memory

5) Now go to the Philz recovery you just installed (turn off device, press power+home+volume up button until it goes into philz recovery) and flash the deknox removal zip

6) After you flash the Knox removal script you are ready to go rooting your device:

-in Philz touch, go to Philz Options / Choose Re-root system / Choose Yes Apply (SuperSu)
-Wait until it finish, Reboot and install SuperSu from playstore
-Once installed, Open SuperSu app / It will ask you to update binaries click on Update as normal (NOT TWRP)
-Once binaries are installed reboot your device
-Root done.

Or find a guide on XDA to your exact version of your ROM, which you can find in settings > info about your device.


Do I have to install every nightly on LineageOS? Do I have to download and install every single nightly that comes up?

Are the later updates dependent on the earlier ones?

Every update would fully overwrite /system and carry all history changes, therefore just installing the latest build would sync you up to progress.

There will be (rare) occasions where the developer pushed patches that negatively affects the build (e.g. wrong CPU governor causing the phone to lag or heat up). On top of that, Android security patches, which are arguably the most important change for users, are only updated once per month. In light of these, although installing every nightly when it comes out is possible, I suggest updating monthly, plus making a nandroid backup and inspecting user feedback (e.g. respective device discussion thread on XDA-Developers) before flashing any build.


Italian Froyo not show Month Name After update my HTC Desire to last Froyo Update, I can't see anymore Month Name or Day Of Week name.
Instead of January I see 1 and instead of Wednesday I see 2.
This happens in all my App (even Facebook).
How can I restore the names?
Do I have to root it?

My HTC language system is Italian.

This is a known "bug" with Android (it is probably intended behavior).  The language, locale, and related settings are all linked and cannot be changed independently.  Google apparently decided that people who read Italian want to see numbers for dates.  I don't believe this was changed in 2.3-gingerbread so I guess there is no fix yet :(


Force specific folder to be added to Photos? How can I force media-scanner to index a particular folder?

I use an app that takes photos and stores them in a sub-folder of it's own data folder. The data folder has a .nomedia file, so the photos sub-folder is ignored by Gallery etc. Is there an opposite of .nomedia file?

The data folder has a lot of other files an folders which should be ignored by media-scanner.

The ultimate aim is to have these photos backed up to my Google Photos account.

The target folder is not listed under Google Photos >> Settings >> Backup & Sync >> Device Folders.

I tried creating a symlink from (...)/sdcard/DCIM/foobaz to the (...)/foobaz/data/photos folder but get a message that the operation is not permitted.

Android 7.0, not rooted. (Samsung S6)

Delete the .nomedia file to force media scanning  (
restart the phone. It is then that media scanner database is re indexed )
and it should appear in Google photos folder list for sync.
If you don't want that folder to be scanned by media folder at all, create a new folder in gallery ( use a third party file explorer from Play store , if your built in explorer can't do this ) and copy those photos into this folder manually. Verify, it's showing up in Gallery options to sync
Obviously, you wouldn't want to manually do this every time you use that app, so automate it. Macrodroid app implement it this way

Trigger: Application Launched / Closed → Closed → Select your app

Action:  File operation → Select   paths and move / copy options

This ensures that everytime you close your app, pictures are moved / copied into gallery sub folder and available for sync


Are there any "iptables like" firewall for Android? Possible Duplicate:
  Are there any good firewalls available?

How can i make my Android more secure with a firewall? Are there any legal/offical ways to do it?
Thank you!

DroidWall is an Android front end for iptables. Root is required though.


How to do connectionless UDP broadcast using Wi-Fi? I'm hoping to broadcast UDP packets using the Wi-Fi antenna to everyone else (running the same application) in range. I'd like to do this without having to establish a connection. Is this possible?

I'm able to establish a P2P Wi-Fi connection and then send a multicast message, but that's not quite what I want.

Yes, it's possible, but you must learn IEE802.11 Datagram very well. There are two ways, the first provides two-way data exchange, the second only broadcasts to receivers:

use the beacon frame and Probe request/response frame to send data from AP to clients without connection

Broadcasting Information in Variably Dense Environment Using Connectionless Data Exchange (CoLDE)

use the length field in the data frame to broadcast only. You should develop a communication protocol with the encoded length. The receiver should:

enter Promiscuous Model
switch channels
Provide a 100ms timer interrupt at least.


How do I create fast backup of camera photos to cloud storage One of my friends have taken some photos which were deleted by some elements by forcibly taking their mobile device and deleting them.

So I searched for ways (including app searches) for fast backup  newly captured photo by his camera to prevent this problem in future.

I need to find a way of doing this backup efficiently and automatically. Please suggest ways of doing that

You can try this app. It can instantly upload taken photos to Google Drive or Dropbox. There is option in settings to upload using cellular data.


Pin to set lock screen? My phone recently forgot what my correct pattern to unlock the lockscreen. But when I reset the lock screen to swipe, now I can't change it to anything else because it asks for a pin to change it from swipe. I only ever set a backup pin for the pattern, and it isn't accepting that pin. How can I add security to my lockscreen again?

EDIT: Galaxy S5, Android 6.0.1

I'm assuming you've resolved by this point, but for anyone else that comes across this issue:

I just ran into the same issue.  I managed to resolve it by going to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and used the lock option to set a different password.  Then I was able to go into lock screen settings and change to pin/pattern/ect as normal.


Why does Better Battery Stats say my Galaxy S4 is awake 100% of the time? I think the screenshots speak for themselves. Can't pinpoint a reason from what I see. Anyone can help please? Thanks

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)

Buggy firmware. Restarted and problem went away.


On Whatsapp can I know if I am in someone's contact list based on the "security code" messages? Can I know if someone has me in their contacts based on the security code messages that are sent when there is a change or is that based on whether I have them in my contacts?
I want to know if someone still has me in their contacts, I have their number saved and when I opened the chat I saw the list of security code changes from their side going back 4 years or so (most recent one from this year). Does this mean they still have my number saved or is that because I have theirs?

If you are able to see that other contacts' Security Code Change Notification, it means that you are they have you as a contact as.

These codes are unique to each chat and can be compared between people in each chat to verify that the messages you send to the chat are end-to-end encrypted.

If you have never communicated with a contact, there won't be any security codes exchanged between both of you. Meaning that you won't see changes that happened when they reinstall, update the app or change numbers.

At times, the security codes used in end-to-end encryption might change. This can happen because you or your contact reinstalled WhatsApp or changed phones.


How do I crop a photo without spinning it On this screen in the stock Gallery app on the Note 5, I always try to crop by dragging a corner inward, and most of the time it spins the photo instead. I hate that! How do I make it clear that I want to crop, not spin?!

Tap on “Ratio” button and it will give you options like: “1:1, 4:3, 16:9 and free”. At that point you will be in crop mode. Select an aspect ratio from that list and then drag the corners to crop the image. The Image showing is 16:9. Tap “free” to crop to any ratio that pleases you.


Help with phone upgrade Hi my question is how to upgrade to jelly bean? I have a Samsung Galaxy 2. I am use to Jelly bean that what my tablet is,so I am 1st time user of this phone I purchased. I was trying in google store to get my game on my phone and it said it was not compatible.So went in setting saw software update but when I tried to it said no firm ware. It is a second hand phone so I don't know what to do. I thought maybe if I could upgrade to jelly bean it all problems. Idk if I could find a site that has a free upgrade download. If you know a site I can do this please let me know. I don't have a USB cable just a home charger, do I need one? Ty in advance, Wendy

What you need to do is root your phone and flash a custom ROM. I'll try to give you a pretty detailed answer to your question. The S2 is pretty old so I'm sure you're not concerned about voiding any warranties, correct? If it is under some carrier (Sprint, ATT, etc.) waranty, then you're pretty much out of luck unless you don't care about voiding it. There are ways to un-flash smartphones, but I would't recommend it. Anyway, onto flashing....

Rooting and flashing a new rom is a technical task so if you're not up to it you could probably find a friend (or someone on Craigslist, etc.) to root it and flash a custom rom for you. It will definitely take a few hours since it's your first time doing it, and it can be a real pain if you run into a problem. I rarely have, but you never know. You can always come back to the forum and post the problem or ask on the YouTube channels recommended below.

If you decide to procede, I take no responsibility if you break your phone. First do a YouTube (or Google) search for "Flash CyanogenMod 11 4.4.4 (Insert Carrier Name Here) Galaxy S2". You should be able to look through a few pages and find a (well written) tutorial that will guide you through rooting your S2 and flashing a custom rom.

Tip: Verify that you're able to download all of the necessary files before you even plug your S2 into your PC and start to root it (and yes, you will need a USB cable). Most of the headaches I've encountered had to do with getting half way through the install process only to come across a dead download link, and then not being able to easily find the exact same file I needed somewhere else. Also, some of the roms have some bugs. Most of them don't but it is something to be aware of if something like your GPS doesn't work. Once your phone's rooted you'll be able to just reboot it, boot into recovery mode, and flash another rom (without having to completely re-root your phone). You may have to do another search for how to re-boot into recovery mode for your specific cell phone carrier. You should be able to simply turn off the phone and then when you turn it back on, keep holding the power button down instead of letting it go in addition to the volume down button. Then just repeat the steps from the tutorial page (definitely bookmark the tutorial, in case you ever need to refer back to it) to flash a different rom.

I really hope this post helps you understand the tech lingo a little bit better and that you're able to get your S2 rooted easily. I didn't know anything about rooting a few years before I rooted my first phone, and I learned nearly everything needed within the first day! If you set aside a day or two to root your phone, flash a custom rom, and explore all of the settings of the new rom you'll be glad you did. It sucks if you're out and about and need to change a setting but have no idea where it is because all of your settings menus changed.

If you have any issues or questions, please post back here and I'll help as much as possible. I've rooted many phones and flashed a couple dozen roms so I do have a bit of experience with the process. I was actually going to do a short tutorial myself but StackExchange shut me down and said I could only use two links in my post because I didn't have enough reputation points :(.

Good luck and I hope everything goes smoothly for you!


How to disable redirects from Google Search results to Android apps? I had the Wikipedia app installed a few weeks ago. It lacked the ability to switch between different languages (link to read the same article in a different language), and it still does. This bothered me a lot since I know more than one language and some articles are much better written in other languages. So I like the ability to easily switch language. This is something that works very good on the mobile versions of Wikipedia (e.g. m.en.wikipedia.org).
Here's a screenshot showing an example.

Click on the image for a larger view.
So I uninstalled the Wikipedia app in order to go back to browsing Wikipedia content normally via the Chrome or Firefox Web browser. But now when I do a search with Google, and I see a Wikipedia link in the result, it says "Wikipedia app" underneath it. If I tap on it, it tries to open it in Wikipedia app, and since it is uninstalled now, it brings me to the app page in Play Store.
Is there a way I can disable or disallow this behaviour? I certainly don't approve of it, but I was never asked about it either. I'm not interested in using the Wikipedia app any more. I just want normal Web browsing to be back. Is that too much to ask? I tried re-installing and uninstalling the Wikipedia app two times, it didn't help.
Update

You may have noticed that there is an "Open on wikipedia.org" link further down the page. This will certainly open the article in the browser, instead of insisting on opening in the Wikipedia app. But the problem with this is that it's much harder to pin-point the link, because it has smaller font size.
As for "Default applications" menu option, I don't have any option to disable Wikipedia or wiki links. I only have "Home", and "Message" options.

Update 2

The problem is with Chrome
This problem is clearly related to Chrome browser only. Here are two screenshots of Chrome and Firefox respectively, showing the same Google search results.

Firefox on the left, Chrome on the right.
Firefox (version 32.0.3) clearly doesn't even have the ability to link to the Wikipedia app. Instead, it would show the article as a normal web page. Regardless of whether or not the Wikipedia app is installed or not.
There are no default options
As can be seen from the screenshot above, in first update, the "Default applications" option has no options to set or reset defaults for wiki links (or other types of app links in Chrome). Additionally, there are no default settings that can be reset under Application manager. Not for Chrome, nor for Wikipedia app. It just says "no defaults set".

Chrome on the left, Wikipedia on the right.
Latest Chrome update solves the problem
Chrome version 33.0.1750.517 came with the latest Android 4.4.2 (or a few versions below that, for this phone model anyway). In this version, tapping on a link for a Wikipedia article redirects to the Wikipedia app automatically. If the Wikipedia app is not present, it brings up the app page in Play Store. This behavior can't be change through setting in the Chrome browser or some default settings in the phone menu. However, updating Chrome to the latest version, which at the moment is 37.0.2062.117 does away with this problem. The first noticeable difference is that it presents the "Complete action using" dialog, which was not present with version 33.x.

Chrome 33 on the left, Chrome 37 in the middle, Wikipedia 2.0-r-2014-08-13 on the right.
The second difference is what's really good! When you uninstall Wikipedia, it no longer shows the "Complete action" dialog. Neither does it bring up the app page in Play Store. Instead, it opens the Wikipedia article like a normal web page. The normal behavior one would expect. Yes, it still says "Wikipedia app" underneath the link, but it opens like a normal web page. The same behavior as seen in Firefox.

This is in part because the Wikipedia app is set as the default app for Wikipedia links, and in part because Chrome is not up to date.

Go to Settings menu.
Tap "More".
Tap "Application manager".
If the Wikipedia app is installed, go to step 4. Else, go to step 7.
Locate "Wikipedia" and tap on it.
Under "Launch by default", tap the "Clear defaults" button.
Go back to Application manager.
Locate "Chrome" and tap on it.
If Chrome version number is equal or greater than 37.0.2062.117, press the home
button to go back to the home screen. Else, go to Play Store, locate
"Chrome" and make sure to get the latest update.
Open Chrome. The following steps are optional.
Press the Menu button on the phone.
Tap on "Settings".
Tap on "Content settings".
Tap on "Website settings".
Locate "en.m.wikipedia.org" and tap on it.
Tap "Clear stored data".
Press the home button to go back to the home screen.

These steps apply to Android 4.4.2.


how can i retrieve my private mode data after factory reset I got my samsung s6 edge phone and there was some data which was moved to private mode but due to some unavoidable reasons I got to factory reset my phone. but as it was connected to my gmail and was being backed up so i got all my pictures back in gallery but none of my picture is there which i had moved to private mode... I got s6 edge... any help there how to get those data back which was in private mode?

If you did a factory reset there is no way you can retrieve your data, but if you had a backup of your rom there should be no problem recovering it


How do I totally disable my phone? I've bought a very cheap Android 8.1 tablet (which has 2 sim slots) just to play about with.  As it's cheap, the battery isn't wonderful and it has a very short life before it needs recharging.  The main culprit is "Phone Idle" which uses a vast amount of CPU time, whether I have sims installed or not.  I don't actually want to use the phone at all, just the tablet features;  is there any way of completely disabling the phone functions ?

Try turning on airplane mode and turn on wifi.


Why am I getting an SSL error on my captive portal? I setup a captive portal on a wireless access point.
If I use a laptop to connect to it, the laptop pops up a browser telling me to login to the captive portal. I can open any browser on the laptop (IE, Chrome, Firefox) and it works fine.

With my Samsung Galaxy S8 (Android 9), when I connect to the wireless access point, Android automatically checks for captive portals, same as every other device does these days. Since it detects it, it also pops up a browser and tries to load the login page, and on my phone, it shows an SSL cert error. Other Android phones don't have this error.

If I tell my phone to stay connected to the WiFi despite not having logged in, and open Chrome on my phone, the exact same captive portal redirect loads without any issues. It is clear that whatever internal browser my phone is popping up, it's not the regular Chrome browser, as that one works fine. It also doesn't appear to be the "Internet" app my phone shipped with, as that shows no SSL error either.

What browser is my Galaxy S8 using to detect captive portals? Why does it have an SSL error when other browsers and devices don't? How do I even begin to debug this?

Note: My SSL cert was generated by LetsEncrypt. It points to http://ocsp.int-x3.letsencrypt.org as the server for verifying that the cert hasn't been revoked. I added this domain to my captive portal's walled garden (bypass) list, so that connections to that domain are NOT redirected, but it didn't help.

After a ton of digging, I finally figured it out.

First - a quick recap: The captive portal's job is to intercept any requests to the internet, and redirect it to the captive portal's login page. Because my login page is cprewrite.hyperlinkinc.ca, a remote website, I had to add it to the whitelist. Any requests to that domain will actually get online. This works great.

The problem is that when the user is redirected to that web page, the web page's HTML reference some external resources. My page relied on bootstrap for some css formatting. My bootstrap was stored locally, on cprewrite.hyperlinkinc.ca, so that wasn't a problem. Unfortunately, when I read the source code for bootstrap (bootstrap.min.css), one of the first lines reads:

*/@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lato:400,700,400italic");

Essentially bootstrap references an external resource for its fonts. This makes the Galaxy S8 try to load the resource. Because the link is an HTTPS link (not HTTP), it is expecting to receive an SSL cert for fonts.googleapis.com. Since fonts.googleapis.com was not in the whitelist, my captive portal was redirecting the request to itself, returning its own SSL certificate, rather then the expected one.

Some browsers, like the regular Google Chrome browser on Android, just fail silently. Others, like this In-App browser, fail loudly, and show an SSL warning.

I'm still not entirely sure what this browser is that pops up when captive portals are detected, but the question is now moot, since I know why it didn't like my page.


Using Android as network server I want to use my Android device as a network server. In the same kind of way you would make it a Wi-Fi hotspot, but I don't want to allow connected computers to access the internet, I would like them to be able to communicate together.

Possible uses:

Playing games via LAN (e.g., Quake)
Allow computers to share files
Bonjour (Macs)
etc...

Is there any way to achieve this? Any apps out there that will set up a wireless network server?

Use WiFi Tether app to create Wi-Fi hotspot. It features Access Control using which you can allow/deny clients to use mobile data.