Stream any audio to DLNA/UPNP speakers Is there a generic ways how to stream any audio from my mobile or table to my WiFi DLNA/UPnP speakers? By any audio I mean any audio output from any application - YouTube, Audible, BeyondPod, any music player etc.

I figured out partial solution for BeyondPod, a podcast client, and BubbleUPnP, where BubbleUPnP streams to the speaker when it is set as "external" player for BeyondPod. It's a partial solution because it works only for applications with support for redirection to external player. YouTube or Audible has no option to use external player.

And it is not ideal solution either. For example playlists are tricky, both BubbleUPnP and BeyondPod have their own playlists and they don't play along well. BubbleUPnP is unfortunately not just just audio forwarder, it's full fledged media player and its own broad functionality in this scenario it gets in the way :(

Is there a proper audio forwarding (re-streaming, re-directing) solution, an app or a driver, which would take any audio output and forward it to my external speakers? My speakers support UPnP/DLNA, Airplay and Bluetooth.

The only app I know that streams the entire audio output of your phone is AirAudio. It is capable of streaming to UPnP/DLNA speakers but does also support AirPlay.

It does require root privileges, though.


Is it possible to run an app twice side by side on the MIUI? It is said that with MIUI, it is possible to run the same app twice as if they are on two different phones. (example: WeChat or Line running with a work account and one running with a personal account).

Is it possible to run the same app twice, and side by side on an Xiaomi Redmi 4X with MIUI 8?  Or is it only possible to show them one at a time?

If it is only possible to show one at a time, you can't really play some games such as Pokemon Go and do the Raid Battle at the same time using both accounts (since you have to switch screen to one at a time and therefore not play at the same time).

And if it is possible side by side, can it be vertically or horizontally split on the screen, but won't the 2 apps be really small and make it not practical to play at the same time?

Could some screenshot / YouTube video be posted if you are possible to make it happen?

You can't play the same game simultaneously, while gaming the active window only will be active in split-screen mode (see the example below), but you can play while you're watching Youtube, because gaming isn't like watching or listening.

  Your device has a 1.4GHz octa-core and 2GB, it's not a high end device where you can run resource consuming apps twice, your chances of getting things up and running are low.
  The app cloning feature is good for WeChat,Line and other chat apps but not for gaming apps where your 5" device is not enough to run two instances in a split screen.
  The following solution is almost for every Android Device with high end specs:

1. Force activities to be resizable

To force apps that doesn't support split screen feature, you have to enable this option from Developer Settings:

Goto Developer Options.
Scroll down and until "Force activities to be resizable" and activate it.
Restart your device.

Now, you can use split-screen with any app, even if it doesn't support split screen feature.

2. Install Parallel Space & Parallel Space - 64Bit Support

  Note: Parallel Space has access to many dangerous permissions

Launch Parallel Space and choose the apps you want to clone.
Launch the cloned instance of your app.
Tap & maintain on recents button to split the screen.
Launch the same app from your recents or from your home screen.

3. Example: Two instances of Clash Royale

In the picture below I'm Playing Clash Royale and Clash of Clans (by default they don't support split-screen feature) in split-screen but not simultaneously.


Sony Xperia S - suddenly can't connect to PC anymore (it was working before) I see there are various threads for Galaxy S3 having this problem, but my phone is Sony Xperia S.

My phone used to connect to PCs fine, but today when I tried connecting to my laptop it wouldn't recognize it. This happens on Windows and on Ubuntu, with the original USB cable, and  with a generic one. The same cables and computers used to work fine with my phone.

Also, the phone does not give any notification that a PC has been connected, i.e. the phone itself doesn't recognize that a PC has been connected. It starts charging, though.

I tried rebooting Android, I also tried enabling USB debugging, but none of it helped.

In the end, it turned out it was working for the original USB cable, while the generic USB cable did not allow data connection, only charging.

For the original cable, the problem disappeared on its own, and I don't know what caused it, or what caused it to disappear.


Disable system "tick" sound I have a Sidekick 4g. This device has a system wide "tick" like sound that plays every time I do various things (click links, click items in list of RSS app, click threads in messaging app etc...) I would really prefer it if my device did not make this sound but the only way I've found to get it to stop is turn the volume all the way down, but then I can no longer hear my ringers.

Does anyone know of a way to eliminate this sound without the need to put my device in silent mode?

While typing this question this was one of the links that the site provided me with:

How do I disable the 'click' sound on the camera app?

Turns out a similar method can be used to disable the system "tick" sound in question as can the camera shutter sound.

I deleted(moved) this file:

/system/media/audio/ui/TW_Touch.ogg

and then rebooted my device, now I am free to navigate my phone in peace and quiet! and I won't miss txt's or calls because of my device being in silent.

EDIT: upon doing a better job of looking in the settings I found that this option is actually present in Settings->Sound->Audible selection Disabling it there is the preferred solution since it requires no root. (don't know how I managed to miss this the 2 times I've looked)


How to gain root on BlueStacks Android emulator BlueStacks is a popular Android emulator for Windows and macOS for gamers. It is popular, because the emulator ships with Google Play Store pre-installed and installing any games is easy. Unfortunately, the emulator file system is not rooted by default. How to root it?

These instructions require that you understand the UNIX command line basics. The instructions work on OSX, Linux and Windows. No Microsoft Windows or BlueStacks Tweaker needed.

The emulator is internally using VirtualBox and runs Android x64 binaries (64 bit). It ships with two VirtualBox VDI disk images, Prebundled.bdi and Root.vdi. Luckily BlueStacks has left a primitive su binary on the disk image, so we do not need to add this binary to the image ourselves. We still need to change VirtualBox settings, though.

adb command can be obtained from Android Studio SDK by Google or it is also found in /Applications/BlueStacks.app/Contents/MacOS/adb.

Make sure that the emulator is off and turn all disks in VirtualBox configuration file to read-write. On macOS, the file can be found ~/Library/BlueStacks/Android/Android.vbox. Make sure the emulator is not running when you edit this file.

Start the emulator.

Enable ADB bridge in the emulator settings.

Download SuperSU zip file on your local computer.

Start your ADB hacking session.

# This is the default port exposed by BlueStacks
adb connect localhost:5555

Push the zip file to the /mnt/sdcard of the emulated device.

adb push SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip /mnt/sdcard

Then work inside the emulator shell:

# Start shell session in the emulator VM
adb shell

# Use the provided BlueStacks binary to switch to root
system/xbin/bstk/su

# Disable SELinux
setenforce 0

# Remount all filesystems
mount -o rw,remount,rw /
mount -o rw,remount,rw /system
mount -o rw,remount,exec,rw /storage/emulated

# Unzip SuperSU zip
cd /mnt/sdcard
mkdir supersu
cd supersu
unzip ../SuperSU-v2.82-201705271822.zip

# Extract su command and run its post-install
cp x64/su /system/xbin/su
chmod a+rwx /system/xbin/su
/system/xbin/su --install

# Start su daemon mode
/system/xbin/su --daemon

Now run the installer for Superuser.apk in the emulator through Media Manager.

When su --daemon is running SuperSU Android UI should detect the root when started:

The emulator needs to be restarted after this as it hangs. After the restart, when opening SuperSU you see it is enabled.


Searching and filtering Android Market app reviews There seems to be no way of filtering or searching the app reviews in Android Market. This is a problem because it's usually the low-scored reviews that are most useful - they give an idea about what people are finding as disadvantages, so I can decide whether or not those are relevant to me or not.

Is there some way around this restriction? Does Google provide the review data in some way that could be searched, for example all reviews on one big page?

The comments are not searchable from the market app, nor are they searchable from the site, but you can search google using site:market.android.com my search terms here and it does include the comments when searching.

All the comments are also visible on the market site under the "user comments" tab for the application.


No WhatsApp notification on Xperia S after updating to JellyBean I have Xperia S running Android ICS, and the notifications of a new message of WhatsApp appeared in the top notification panel showing an icon of WhatsApp. I received an update to JellyBean and after that, I'm not seeing the notification icon when a new message is received.

If the volume is high, all I can hear is the new message tone, but there is absolutely no notification showing the new message received.

Does anyone know how to solve this problem?

From OP's self-comment,

  In Settings>Apps>Whatsapp. There is a check box right below the Icon which says "Show notifications" Check it and it is solved.


Weird "Unkown Error" message at specific times i get this weird "Unknown error" message sometime every 56th minute of every hour. The error looks like this:

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

It used to pop at every 26th minute but recently moved to every 56th. Anyone got any ideas as to what this may be?

This is definitely an app installed on the phone, that has a 1 hour sync interval which fails to connect to its designated server. The sync will land on the same minute of every hour.

Things to try:

Find a connected account with a 1 hour sync interval set, by going to Settings -> Account & Sync. Remove or update the culprit through Play Store.
If you have DroidWall or AFWall on a rooted device, the culprit app might be blocked in the iptables rules.
Try connecting to a different network, the network you're currently on may have a firewall blocking the culprit app. If you're on cellular data (no WiFi), still try this, your provider may have a screwed up DNS record for the culprit site.
Update every app on your phone through Google Play Store, especially if you're on Marshmallow.
If all the above fails, disable one app at a time until you find the culprit. You may not be able to disable updated apps, only uninstall them. You will have to use pm disable com.example.application from ADB or a terminal emulator. When you find the app, uninstall it, or contact the developer for an update.

If you're rooted and have Xposed framework:

There are two Xposed mods that will tell you directly what app the error is originating from:

Buttered Toast - Xposed Repo: Adds the Application name to any Toast notification displayed.
Burnt Toast: Inspired by Buttered Toast, Burnt Toast shows the application icon in a Toast message. Screenshot:

I wouldn't recommend Burnt Toast in this case because not all apps have distinct icons, but it is more UI-friendly.

Hope this helps


How to fix: only official released binaries are allowed to be flashed(recovery) on device / FAIL! (Auth) on Odin3 v3.13? I have Samsung S10 5G(Qualcomm) device. This device has unlocked bootloader but it is not rooted yet.

I am trying to learn Unpack-Modify-Pack the ROM images.

Currently, I have VZW stock ROM available for this device and I can flash it successfully using Odin3 v3.13.

After flashing this ROM, I have tried to modify system and recovery using tar, lz4, simg2img, mount, tune2fs and md5 tools available on my Ubuntu 18.

When I have tried to flash different tar files then the result is as following:

Success Attempts: If I will not modify anything and flash the Ap.tar containing any of the following file:

system.img.ext4.lz4
system.img.ext4
recovery.img.lz4
recovery.img

Fail Attempts: If I will just modify the init.rc file by writing a simple comment at the end of this file and flash the AP.tar containing any of the following file(which contain modified raw image at last level of its folder hierarchy):

system.img.ext4.lz4 which  contains a modified system.img.ext4.
system.img.ext4
recovery.img.lz4 which  contains a modified system.img.
recovery.img

When Odin3 v3.13 failed to flash the above modified files then it give below errors:

For AP.tar containing LZ4 file: FAIL! LZ4 is invalid

The device has no impact of this error and it stay in download mode.

For AP.tar containing ext4 or img file: FAIL! (Auth)

In this case the device display Only official released binaries are allowed to be flashed(recovery) or Only official released binaries are allowed to be flashed(system)

Please give your suggestions on:

This device is secure by Knox from Samsung. Is it causing this error?
If yes, is there any way to disable it in the VZW zip?
If no, what is the actual problem and how can I resolve it?

For LZ4 compression: lz4 -B6 --content-size system.img.ext4 system.img.ext4.lz4 command can be used to make a valid Odin Flashable file.

To Fix "FAIL! (Auth)", we need to truncate the vbmeta.img file and remove the signature from the boot.img. The detail is mentioned on Magisk install guide under Instructions section.


I have a Binatone Kidzstar and can't install android market or google play Possible Duplicate:
  Why do some devices ship without the Market installed?
  How can I add the market to my device?

I have a Binatone Kidzstar and can't install android market or google play.  i can't understand why not as its running 4.0 ice cream sandwich, why would i not have access????

Unlike Android itself, Google Play Market (and the rest of Google Apps) is a proprietary software, it is only available for tablets that passes the compatibility test suite. Additionally, even for devices that passes the test suite, it's up to the device manufacturer whether they want to include any parts of the Google Apps; some manufacturers have various reasons for not including the Play Store.


How can I search for or find text within a web page on the android browser? How can I search for or find text within a web page on the android browser?


Using USB On The Go files with the stock android music app? I have a Huawei Accend Mate 2.  I have a flash drive with a micro USB connector (as well as a USB connecter).  I have music files on it.  Is there a way I can get the stock music app to "see" these files?  I would like to include them in playlists etc. without loading them all to the phone itself (micro SD card).

The only name is Music and it is version 4.7.16. The only way I can see the files is with ES File Explorer. If I tap a music file when I am in ES File Explorer, it will play but only after a little pop-up message saying something like connecting to 127.1.1.1 or something like that. It does not seem like the apps on my phone see the files on the USB drive.

I could but I have a bunch of playlists set up in the stock music player. I would also run into the same problem with other files like pictures and video. I expected the On The Go function would have made this a bit more seamless.

The phone does see the flash drive is there since it does power it.  However, I can only access the files with ES File Explorer.  Accessing them from that APP will let them play but I can not access the files without going to ES File Explorer to find them.

If the stock music app is confined to internal storage [sdcard]
and can access any directory in /sdcard that contains media
you can try a bind mount between the [media containing directory]
in your otg-device and a specified new directory in /sdcard

mkdir /sdcard/more-tunes
su
chmod 755 /sdcard/more-tunes
mount -o bind /path-to-otg-device/tunes /sdcard/more-tunes

just remember to unmount the /sdcard/more-tunes directory if you don't need it anymore BEFORE you delete it.

Less stressful option would be a softlink in the same[ish] way.

su
busybox ln -sf /path-to-otg-device/tunes /sdcard/more-tunes

for this approach you can just delete the symlink without risking loss of media files, but i don't know if your default app will follow the symlink.


Setting up an Android device as file server I have a spare Android device which I always leave at home. I wonder if i can use it as a file server using its mobile hotspot because I don't have a router and internet at home. Friends always come and always ask to share a few MP3s. I'd like them to browse my Android server at their own leisure without deleting anything.

I have servers ultimate installed, but it always requires to be connected via router or Wi-Fi. Can't seem to find the option so that it will not require an active net connection.

Sure you can, you just need a samba server implementation on your android device (just like the PC)

Here is a full port of Linux Samba server which is very powerful: Sambadroid

This application allows you to share/manage files on your device easily from any device on your network. Simply start your mobile hotspot and let the devices connect.

Then start sambadroid, a good android file explorer can easily retrive the shares eg ES explorer, you can navigate to LAN>>Servers>>Scan and you should see a server called SambaDroid (unless you customized the name)


Location when on home wifi is wrong; can I disable using known wireless networks to get location? I just moved to a new city and brought my home wifi router with me. Now whenever I'm connected to my home wifi network, Android thinks I'm at my old house! It's extremely frustrating. Is there a way to disable that method of location finding? Or even better, is there a way to get Google to update the location of this wifi network?

I've tried turning off Wi-Fi scanning and renaming my wireless network. What information does Android use to fingerprint a wireless network? Maybe I can change something about the network to make Android think it's a new, unseen network.

I suppose Android is recognizing the WiFi router with it's MAC address. Since this is not easily changeable on most routers (you could do so with a custom firmware like DD-WRT), you can set your Android to use only GPS as a location source as a workaround.

Depending on your Android version, you should be able to do that under  Settings - Security & Privacy - Location - Mode. Set it to Device only.

Please note that this disables location determination via mobile network so you might experience your GPS being used more often and the accuracy being lower when you're inside a building.


HTML Viewer seems not running the website's Javascripts I have an offline saved htm web page on sdcard to test Javascript. The default render on my phone seems to be HTML Viewer. But when I tried to open the page, the code didn't run. I know this because there's some html tag in the page I was added to detect this:

<script type="text/javascript"> /* my Javascripts */ </script>
<noscript> The current browser can't run Javascript. </noscript>

which displays on the page: "The current browser can't run Javascript."

So how can I enable Javascript in HTML Viewer? Both Opera and Browser are somehow can't found out the file when I typed in the address textbox:

file://localhost/sdcard/page.htm

The problem exist on almost any phone. But the later just works on some of my phone. Another not.

HTML Viewer is part of Android OS and i felt it has no javascript engine, just HTML Viewer not HTML Browser.

Try to access it to your browser

file:///sdcard/yourfile.html


some Android text lines appeared on the screen that are changing constantly It's about a few days since some text lines (white and green) appeared on the display and I don't know what changes I have made unintentionally that caused the appearance of those lines.

Screenshot (Click image to enlarge)

In Settings, go to Developer options and un-check the Show CPU usage:


Disable swipe lock screen on Galaxy S4 running JellyBean Every since my Galaxy S4 phone was upgraded to Android 4.3 (Verizon), I have had a problem disabling the swipe lock screen.

I go to Settings -> My Device -> Lock Screen -> Screen Lock:

If I set the option to 'Swipe', I get the swipe lock screen, as expected.
If I set the option to 'None', I still get the swipe lock screen.
If I set the option to 'PIN', I get the swipe lock screen and the PIN lock screen. (It is annoying to unlock the phone, and more so when I receive a call.)

I test this by using the power key.

Is there a bug in the software or is there no legitimate way to disable the very annoying swipe lock / swipe lock screen?

Is there a 3rd party way to allow a PIN lock without having a swipe lock as well?

I have changed Setup > My Device > Homescreen Mode from "Easy mode" to "Standard mode", and the lock screen swipe options came alive. I hope this helps.


Tool to find duplicate files and hardlink them Where might there be a small program (possibly statically-linked binary) like fdupes or rdfind, to help me find duplicate files within the same partition/mount--checking only specified directories--and hardlink them?

My architecture:  armv8l

root@localhost/storage/emulated/0/TitaniumBackup 2018-08-02,12:12:26# (16) uname -a
Linux localhost 3.10.108-ga044406f3ee #1 SMP PREEMPT Sun Jul 15 02:16:25 CEST 2018 armv8l

Assume I already have root shell access, with Busybox installed.

Filesystem               1K-blocks     Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                       944236      500    943736   1% /dev
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /mnt
/dev/block/mmcblk0p3         16048     2320     13728  15% /efs
/dev/block/mmcblk0p21       197472      428    197044   1% /cache
/dev/block/mmcblk0p23     11588512 11507720     80792 100% /data
/dev/block/mmcblk0p18         8080       92      7988   2% /persdata/absolute
/dev/block/mmcblk0p4          3952      548      3404  14% /cpefs
tmpfs                       944236      452    943784   1% /sbin
/dev/block/mmcblk0p20      3023760  1258796   1764964  42% /sbin/.core/mirror/system
/sbin/.core/block/loop08    157152   110660     46492  71% /sbin/.core/img
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/etc/permissions
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/priv-app
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/app
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/app/FaceLock/lib
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/lib
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/framework
tmpfs                       944236        0    944236   0% /system/vendor
/data/media               11588512 11507732     80780 100% /mnt/runtime/default/emulated

SD Maid can help you find duplicates. You need to buy the pro version to unlock all features though (in the case of duplicates, deleting them from the app).


Android 4.0 – any browser able to set UserAgent? Is there any browser (or its add-on) running on Android 4.0 where I can tweak UserAgent string?
I would like to use older Android device to view Microsoft To-Do list in a browser. But they obviously have Android version check, because they display only old OWA (Outlook Web Access) interface.
Apps already tested:

Samsung Internet - seeing the old Outlook UI (also in desktop mode)
UC Browser - this app is unable to start
Opera Mini - seeing the old Outlook UI

After further research I found that Dolphin Browser has User agent setting built-in directly in its Settings screen, on tab Advanced.
In my specific case, switching the above setting to Desktop made the Microsoft To-Do web UI accessible as expected.


What is the fastest way to transfer huge files beween two android powered devices? What is the fastest way to transfer huge files (e.g. 500MB) between two android powered devices? Bluetooth? WiFi direct? Beam? or maybe USB on-the-go?

There are many variables that affect the performance of each method you've mentioned.
Additionally there's also the necessary configuration and requirements that each device must have in order to have solutions like this working.
As requested, lets summarize and compare possible performances between USB; Wi-Fi and Bluetooth:

USB:
USB performance can be extremely low or very high, depending on the available USB version, which in turn, combined with the SDcard reading/writing speed on each device allows us to accurately measure and ascertain the transfer speed.
There's also the physical limitation of the USB cable length that for some scenarios becomes a limitation.

USB 1.0: 1.5 Mbit/s (Low-Bandwidth) and 12 Mbit/s (Full-Bandwidth)
USB 2.0: 480 Mbit/s (effective throughput up to 35 MB/s)
USB 3.0: 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s) which is more than 10 times as fast as USB 2

Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi loses limitations like cable length, but then again we need to account for the 802.11 protocol being used, the signal strength and range to accurately measure results:
┌────────────┬─────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┐
│  Protocol  │  Data rate per stream (Mbit/s)  │  Approximate range (m)   │
│            |                                 ├────────────┬─────────────┤
│            |  Bandwidth of 20 MHz            |   indoor   |   outdoor   │
├────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│  802.11a   │  6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54   │     35     │     120     │
├────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│  802.11b   │  1, 2, 5.5, 11                  │     35     │     140     │
├────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│  802.11g   │  6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54   │     38     │     140     │
├────────────┼─────────────────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────────┤
│  802.11n   │  7.2, 14.4, 21.7, 28.9, 43.3,   │     70     │     250     │
│            │  57.8, 65, 72.2,                │            │             │
│            │                                 │            │             │
│            │  With Bandwidth of 40 MHz:      │            │             │
│            │  15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120,       │            │             │
│            │  135, 150                       │            │             │
└────────────┴─────────────────────────────────┴────────────┴─────────────┘

More about Wi-Fi protocols from Wikipedia.

Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct, initially called Wi-Fi P2P, is a Wi-Fi standard that enables devices to connect easily with each other without requiring a wireless access point.
Here the communication is performed at typical Wi-Fi speeds for everything from file transfer to Internet connectivity. Essentially, Wi-Fi Direct falls under the same values presented at the Wi-Fi table (yet again keeping in mind that signal strength and range are the key factors for a good performance).
More about Wi-Fi Direct from Wikipedia.

Bluetooth
While we need to ascertain several influencing factors to determine if Wi-Fi is faster than USB, Bluetooth is with no doubt in last place when we speak about transfer speed. Designed as a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, the maximum speeds are below the two concurrent options:
┌─────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│   Version   │  Data rate  │  Maximum application throughput         │
├─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  1.2        │  1 Mbit/s   │      0.7 Mbit/s                         │
├─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  2.0 + EDR  │  3 Mbit/s   │      2.1 Mbit/s                         │
├─────────────┼─────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  3.0 + HS   │                                                       │
├─────────────┤  theoretical data transfer speeds of up to 24 Mbit/s  │
│  4.0        │                                                       │
└─────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

More about Bluetooth from Wikipedia.

Android Beam
Being a fairly recent technology, Android Beam allows users to transfer data between devices with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities.
NFC is even slower than Bluetooth (both short-range communication technologies) and is limited to about 20cm of range getting up to 424 kbit/s.
On a positive note, NFC sets up more quickly than standard Bluetooth and the connection between two NFC devices is automatically established:
Technical comparison:
┌──────────────┬────────────────┬────────────────┬──────────────────────┐
│    Aspect    │  NFC           │   Bluetooth    │ Bluetooth Low Energy │
├──────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ Network Type │ Point-to-point │ WPAN           │ WPAN                 |
├──────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ Range        │ < 0.2 m        │ ~100m (class1) │ ~50 m                │
├──────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ Bit rate     │ 424 kbit/s     │ 2.1 Mbit/s     │ ~1.0 Mbit/s          │
├──────────────┼────────────────┼────────────────┼──────────────────────┤
│ Set-up time  │ < 0.1 s        │ < 6 s          │ < 0.006 s            │
└──────────────┴────────────────┴────────────────┴──────────────────────┘

Only relevant aspects to this answer, for full table see Wikipedia.

Summary
Based on the specifications for each method and their respective version, my classification ordered by fastest-to-lowest would be:

USB assuming version 2.0, since 1.0 is way slow and outdated
Wi-Fi / Wi-Fi Direct
Bluetooth
Android Beam


Help with Google Marketplace How can I contact Google in regards to an issue that I am having with the marketplace? I am trying to buy an application and it is not working. I tried to buy another one and that didn't work, so I need Google's help at this point.

I'm pretty sure that the standard way (that Google want you to go through) to do this is to start by going through the Android Market Help (also available by going to the help menu within the Android Market app) going into the Buying Apps section, a lot of sectsions there have Contact Us links that you can fill in with your problem and details.

If that doesn't help you then can search the Market support forums.


Google Calendar Privacy Issues Does Google have access to the data stored in my Google Calendar?
As Google Calendar seems to be the best option for Android users and is widely used, I was wondering if Google actually uses your personal data of events and tasks for their personalized ads. Looking at how Google threads privacy with their Gmail service (e.g. a Report from the WSJ), it would be interesting to know if the same pracitces are applied with their Calendar application.

As long as the data is stored in server of someone else they do have access to data you have stored, but it's different thing do they allow their employees access to data. I'd say no. They won't never give their employees access to your data, but if you read their terms of service you will find it out how they use your data. If they "access to your data" I believe they do not access to data themselves. It's like a bot which finds your interests and fetches more interesting ads front of your face, but basically none of the real persons do not know your interests. Data is anonymous. They use something else than your name or email to identify you to show you ads of your interests.


How to change the email adress on Latitude? I took over the phone (Samsung) from my mom. It still shows her address on Latitude, even though it's my email address on the Gmail account.

You need to change the account in Google Maps.

Open the Maps menu.
Select More > Settings > Switch Account.

Source.


I have over 2GB of internal memory and can't install or update some apps I tried to search for some answer but couldn't find anything.

I'm using cyanogenmod-11 on a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini.

I am pretty sure I have enough space on the internal memory, but I still receive the insufficient space message when trying to update and/or install some apps, but not all of them.

What could be the problem?

Try the fix permissions entry in your custom recovery menu. In most cases this fixes the problem.


How can I reduce latency while tethering? When tethering with PDAnet (the free version), using a stock moto-Droid 1 on Verizon, I am getting between 1k-3k ms latency on World of Warcraft. I would like to know what is the likeliest culprit, and am wondering what steps (and how) I can take to reduce the latency.

Some ideas:

Change tethering app? (Note, I have a limited use and purchasing a $30 app for tethering isn't really an option)
Root/ROM and change from stock? (running 2.2.1: FRG83D)
Get a latency targeting app for my phone/laptop?

The likeliest culprit for your high latency is first and foremost the fact that you're using a wireless carrier's network, which are notorious for their high ping times.  Switching from one carrier to another probably wouldn't solve your problem, and even if you went from a 3G contract to 4G you probably wouldn't see that much of an improvement, especially as more and more people start buying 4G capable devices.

Additionally trying to do something as data-intensive as play World of Warcraft over your cell carrier's network is never going to feel right.  Games like that rely heavily on low response times and are best left for wired broadband connections.


Problem with Play Store on Samsung Galaxy Note II: Play Store does not open I was a regular Galaxy SII user, recently moved to Galaxy Note-2 - so far so good, but since today, I am finding my Play Store application, is not working on Note-2 [it was, earlier], even from the PC, when I am trying to download an app via Google Play application, it says 'Installed', but actually nothing happens.

I click Play Store, the Home-screen comes back, Play Store is not activated.

Other than that, all are fine, Facebook, LinkedIn, SMS, Phone are healthy!!!

Can someone guide me please?

BTW the firmware as per KIES is "PDA:MB3 / PHONE:LL1 / CSC:MC1 (STS) and android is 4.1.2

I had same problem. I tried this, and it worked: Settings > Application manager > All > Options > Reset the application preferences.


I think I have a virus My phone will not download anything from my app store. Everytime I get on my browser I will get a notice that says I have multiple viruses...can I please get help with this issue...and if I have to download an app I can't..

Those things are not viruses rather they are called Pop-up Ads. You'll face this pop-ups on almost all the browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Opera etc. These ads always try to install Malware, Bloatware apps on your phone when clicked.
There are two browsers which blocks ads successfully...
1 - Firefox (with extension AdBlock Plus installed)
2 - UC Mini (with speed-mode enabled)

P.S : Your phone does not have a virus.


Google assistant is not playing my daily breafing I am using google assistant on my Moto e4 plus running on Android 7.1.1.
I found some cool tricks to do with google assistant in this video, and I found that when I say How's my day look like to google assistant, it starts playing my daily briefing.

But the problem is that there is no sound, just the text. For other commands and questions, it works fine.
What could be the problem, and how can I fix it to make google assistant work properly?

Please tell me if any more information required.
Thanks in advance.

I had the same problem as you.
This happens because of the phone's language, that doesn't support google assistant properly.

Change your device language to English United State by navigating to Settings > Languages & Input > Languages > Add a language and then search for English United State or English US and add that language. Also, make it default language for your phone by dragging it to top from languages menu back in Settings > Languages & Input > Languages. Then close google assistant and open again. It will work. You will find some change in its voice.

Hope it helps. :)

Source: Google forum


Android Phone taking up more space than it should I have a relatively new HTC ONE M8 running Android 5.0.1 (according to the settings page).

The phone is supposed to have 10.5 GB space according to Windows, but at the moment only 945 MB is free (again, according to Windows). However, when I select all of my files within and check properties it shows that they all take up only 5 GB of space, meaning another 4-5ish has disappeared. Any ideas how to fix this, as I'm trying to free up space for more music and pictures?

Screenshots from DiskInfo and DiskUsage:

Theres a few problems it could be (or a combination of):
1. The stock software is massively huge and htc has a problem that an update will fix.
2. An app youve downloaded has installed Bloatware and clogged up your storage
3. An app youve downloaded assumed you wanted to download other things (photos videos ect) without telling you

Id advise

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobile_infographics_tools.mydrive

To determine exactly what it is that is taking all that space. Happy hunting!


How to change fonts in motrola moto X XT-1060? My phone is Moto X, verizon running 5.1 and I am unable to figure out how to change font for my phone as there exist no font settings under Settings > Display.

Previously I was using Samsung galaxy J5 and there were font settings under display but for my Moto, there is no such option even in applications from Playstore for this purpose. They won't just do not do the job as they redirect me to settings page and prompting me to navigate through Display > Fonts but as I already mentioned there exist no font settings.

Moreover I cannot root my phone as it just do not connect to PC due to some driver issues. So my question is that:

Is there any way I can change font of my device without my PC getting involved?

Changing device fonts varies from device to device (it is normally found in Settings under Display section). From there you can change the actual font, as well as the font size e.g some Samsung Android devices let you change the font style in this manner. (Samsung has pre-installed a few extra fonts besides the default)

Not all manufacturers make this setting available to users. In this case, one has to root their device and add an application that can install new fonts in /system/fonts directory.

There are a few ways to do this if you're not able to root the device as in your case:

  One non-root way to change fonts on Android is through custom launcher
  apps. Some custom launchers integrate the font-changing function,
  while most others will need you to install themes.

One such launcher capable of doing this is GO Launcher (Others include Line Launcher etc)

  To change font styles in GO Launcher, do the following:

  Copy your .ttf font files to the phone.
  Open GO Launcher.
  Find the Tools app and open it.
  Tap on the Preferences icon.
  Scroll down to Personalization and select it.
  Tap on Font .
  Tap Select Font and tap on the font that you want to use.

Acknowledgements

How to change Android fonts


What to do before root and flash my phone? Right now I have in my phone the stock rom and I haven't rooted it. I want to root it and change the rom.

What should I do first, root or flash the rom?
I don't want to lose all the configuration, apps, apps data or files (images, music, videos, etc in the SD). How can I do to be sure to avoid this?
I want to make sure I can go back to the stock rom if I need, is there any special thing I should do?

If its relevant, I have a Samsung Galaxy I5510.

Thanks!

You should flash the ROM first, unless you need root in order to flash it.  (You can flash via Odin without root, but you need ROM Manager, which needs root, or something to flash if you don't use Odin).  When you flash a ROM that's rooted, your device will be rooted; if the ROM is not rooted, the device will not be rooted.
You need root to make a full backup.  See How to backup an Android device?
If you root first, you can install a custom recovery (e.g. ClockworkMOD, via ROM Manager) that will let you create a Nandroid backup of the full ROM.  That said, with a Samsung device you don't need to do this.  You can use a tool called Odin to reflash the original firmware as long as you've found it for download somewhere.

If you need more details on anything I've mentioned, I suggest searching first -- we have lots of questions on rooting, backups, Nandroid / Clockwork / ROM Manager, and Odin.  See also How do I root my Android device?, which has some info on considerations and things you can do before rooting.


Handcent SMS Delay sending feature I'm using the Handcent sms app on my Galaxy Nexus. I set the delay sending feature at settings -> send message settings -> delay sending. The feature worked for the next few messages but then stopped. Any ideas as to what may have caused this and how to fix it?

In HandCent you can set delay settings for individual contacts. I'm pretty certain if you set this then the global setting will not override it so maybe you have set the delay to 0 on some contacts. Hope this helps.


Just got a HTC one m8, have some questions about the keyboard Just got a htc one m8 and the lack of keyboard options is really annoying me... First im not sure how to turn off the replacing "mistakes" thing. Im fine with having predictive typing on because its quite handy, but i prefer to just tap the predicted word at the top bar instead of it automatically doing it for me...
Also the emojis just look horrible on the keyboard (its android 6.0) they just look all blobby and i just want simple ones like the ones on the samsung galaxy... Ive downloaded a few extra keyboards but the ones that even work show the emojis on the keyboard but if im on snapchat and i put a caption on a picture the emojis will still come out as the blobby htc ones... It would be okay but a lot of them i cant even tell what emotion they are actully supposed to represent... Please help

There is no way to disable autocorrect on the default HTC keyboard. I had this problem too and tried a few keyboards just to be disappointed with most of them like you. I settled on the the Google Keyboard as it has all the functionality of the HTC one, including typing suggestions and emojis (and I like its design).

The emoji issue may be fixable with this app but you need root for it. I have not tried it myself but some of the emoji packs seem to be in-app purchases.


apps wanting setting control I am new to Galaxy S3 abd am trying to download apps. With each one I get the list of settings the app wishes to share/link. With the i-phone there is the yes/no option of allowing this control, but I am not able to do this with the S3. I do not particulary want the app to share/control me details etc.
Is there another way of downloading apps?

What you are asking is not clear. In my understanding, you are talking about the App Permissions.

So you when you are installing an app, it will say what information that particular app will get from your mobile. That is the nature of a privacy agreement. If you like it and say yes, it will be downloaded and install. If you don't want then you can be without installing it. No big deal.

But if you want the app and don't want to reveal yourself to it, then there is no way. Almost all the apps are mainly targeting the users for a customized use. So somehow you have to accept yourself to have that feature.

I wonder why you are worried much. If you don't like, just be not using it.

  PS: OR you can simply download an app and turn off the data so it won't
  send much information to others till you connect to internet to
  download another app


How do I set my Android Nexus 4 via bluetooth MAP to get messages in car I have a Nexus 4 and I am trying to get it to work with my car computer, and for most parts via Bluetooth it works, especially for audio. I cant get the text messaging part to work, and that has to do with MAP profile for bluetooth.

When I had a samsung SIII it worked, but for some reason, with this it doesnt seem to work.. I heard from someone that it may be an issue and you need to install a custom rom. Is that true? Is there any other way around this?

It was broken in 4.2 when Google rewrote the Bluetooth stack.


Nexus 5X stays awake after charging Nexus 5X running 6.0.1 shows awake after disconnecting charger cable.

Reboot helps but later the awake state persists if I connect charger back.

I've found the root cause for awake state - it is Viber.
To detect this I've completely removed all third party software and left only one came from Google (my Nexus 5X comes only with Google and no bloatware).

So adding apps one by one I was checking the issue appearance after every.
The issue back after adding Viber and immediately has gone after removing it.


Disable "Charging slowly" warning When charging my phone, a LG K8 V, I get the message "Charging slowly: Use the charger and cable that were provided with this phone, or check the cable is properly connected." The charge rate is fast enough for my purposes (I haven't noticed an actual slowdown) and everything's plugged in properly so far as I can see. But, the warning is annoying because it pops up every time I plug in the phone and I need to manually dismiss it to do anything with the phone, even to answer a call. How can I disable it permanently?

You will find a good explanation of charging slowly in answers to this question Android phone "charging slowly": How to make it faster

  ...charge rate is fast enough for my purposes

It is not what you feel, it depends on the power as you can see from Andrew's answer there. Depending on the power the toast is displayed

Try methods suggested there to improve charging power. If that doesn't help, there is nothing you can do to prevent the notification from showing up

Edit: What finally did work for OP was a thicker Charging cable as was one of the recommendations on the linked answer


Transfer data from one user to another in 4.3 I have the Nexus 7, and I just updated to 4.3, and I'm creating restricted profiles for my kids. They use to play in my main profile, and they progressed a lot in several games and, when they access their new user, they have to start over. Is there anyway to migrate the application data from my main user to the restricted users? I'm not rooted. Tks

Had the same problem with my kid's profile. Finally solved, but it required root access.

This is what I did:

Close all running app instances.
From command prompt start ADB shell:

c:\> adb shell

Switch to root user (your device must be rooted):

shell> su

Go to in target profile directory:

root> cd /data/user/[profile_user_id]

For example: profile_user_id is 10 for first restricted profile.
Rename app directory (to have a back up copy)

root> mv [app_dir] [app_dir].old

Copy app data from main profile (id=0) to new profile:

root> cp -r /data/user/0/[app_dir] .

Change owner for files just copied:

root> find [app_dir] | xargs chown [app_user]:[app_group]

Restart device (not sure if it is really needed).


Is there a way to open an m3u8 playlist on android I'm using Android 2.2. Trying to open an m3u8 playlist file directly from a http source. Dolphin browser just asks me to save the file.

Any ideas on how I can stream the content.... is there a market app for this?

Jason

M3U8 is the Unicode version of M3U, which is simply a playlist file, providing a media player a list of media files to play.  Open it up in a text editor & you'll see from the contents.

It's a very simple format & most media players will pick it up.  The default media player included in the Android OS uses M3U for its internal playlists.  More info here.

I suspect that's not what you're asking though, since you mentioned streaming.  You don't "play" an M3U file, you play the content it refers to within.  Your best chance of success is to open the M3U[8] file on your PC and look at the actual video content URL(s) and try to load one directly in your media player of choice.  If that doesn't work, ask back here but provide the media URL so we can attempt to work out its format.

If you do find the underlying video stream format, this handy reference lists the supported stream types.


Turn off email notifications (not Gmail) I have been getting email notifications from Gmail and the default email app on my Samsung Galaxy Exhibit. I only want to use Gmail but, when I go to uncheck "show notifications" for the default email app, I am unable to do so (it is grayed out). Why is this? I really don't need double notifications.

Options:

Disable the default email app - Settings>Apps>Email> "Disable"
Remove the email account - Settings>Accounts> "Remove the email account"

I'll add any other ways that I think of if I figure out other possible options to handle the problem.


Bootloop issue with LG G2 This phone seriously hates roms and alterations. It seems like everything I do screws something up. So I eventually got a custom rom installed and working perfectly. Then I backed up my phone with TWRP and tried to install Jishnu's camera mod apk. Well, my phone is now stuck in a bootloop. It shows "LG" then "Google" Then the kitkat four circles boot animation forever. I can't get to TWRP with power+down but I can get to download mode.

I just tried the hard reset thing where you hold the power button until the notification light blinks and then let go and quickly hold volume down. I did this 5 times, still no luck. I really need help with this.

I just followed the boot-loop tag-wiki and none of it worked. I'm not able to get into safe mode or my bootloader. It just keeps booting no matter what button combo I do. Except, I can get into download mode, but I don't know how to fix it with that. I have the Canadian LG G2 D803.

How can I fix this? Please help!

I did have a problem similar similar to this with my D802. The solution may probably be the same for you. Here's what I've done:

At first to install all prerequisites, follow this article - starting from 1) Download all the files below up to 5. copy all files and folders ...

Afterwards:

Run cmd as admin (was needed for me to get the system's hosts-file changed).
From cmd run Automatic Offline Procedure.vbs
Put your phone into download mode (Vol-UP + plug USB)
Within R&D Flash Tool:

"Select Type" - 3GQCT
"Phone Mode" - Emergency
"Select KDZ file" on the right hand side: choose your previously loaded stock ROM
Click the (flat) button titled "Normal web upgrade test"

In the next window click on "Upgrade Start"
Now on "Clear phone software update registry" and select "Different Country" and your language (if possible – was empty with me)
Enjoy your phone being flashed with the stock ROM after having pressed "OK" :)

This should do the trick. At least this worked for me without any problems. If there are any problems or questions regarding the R&D Tool, please referer to this thread on XDA-Developers.

I know, it's probably too late for you. But maybe this can help others in the future. :)

Regards, mh166


What does the Storage Manager setting actually do? I'm trying to understand what the Storage Manager option in the Storage settings is supposed to do. The text says "Remove photos & videos" and I chose the option "Over 90 days old". So far, it hasn't done anything. My phone is an HTC 10.

I've found some articles introducing the feature that seem to imply that ALL backed up photos will be removed every 30/60/90 days.

In Photos, the "Free up space" option removes anything that's already backed up, regardless of age.

So does the storage manager option do what it says it does? When or how often does it run? Does it instead clear all backed up photos every X days?

According to this blog (though I don't find Smart storage on my device now on 8.1 but did see that in some earlier version)

  Smart Storage is the Android Storage Manager which allows you to automatically delete the files in your device memory that has been backed up in Google Drive. The feature can be specified by a time period of deletion to take place, options range from 30, 60 or 90.

  This indicates the time by which the photos & videos on your device will be deleted after being uploaded to Google Photos

(Emphasis supplied)

I haven't used it so can't confirm that but is reasonable since "Free Storage" clears downloads and unused apps instantly

Edit: This doesn't work. Answer retained on OP's suggestions. Please see comments


Do any google apps have any special privileges that normal apps don't have? Every android app has a series of permissions which is granted at install time. Some google apps seem to be able to do some pretty global things that not many other apps have (eg. google now constantly reading the microphone to hear when you say "ok google").

Just wondering, are there any permissions which only google are allowed to have or do all apps have access to all of the same permissions?

can I technically create an app with any of google's features?

Google's apps don't have any special privileges just for being from Google.  But certain permissions are only available to apps that are preinstalled on the device (as opposed to installed later by the user), so some of Google's software gets special privileges by virtue of being preinstalled.  On something like a Kindle Fire, which comes with Amazon's services installed instead of Google's, Amazon's software would get those special privileges instead.


How to recover deleted words in samsung mobile I am using Samsung s duos 2 7582 mobile. Accidentally I deleted few words like
to, this etc. I want to recover those words. Kindly help how to recover these words.

Please go the following way to add a new word:

Settings
Language and keyboard
User dictionary
Press the menu button
Select Add
Type in the new word
Select OK.

These steps are intended for the stock JellyBean ROM which Galaxy S7582 should have been equipped with, for other ROMs steps may be different.
If User Dictionary applet is not available in Settings, you can try to use QuickShortcutMaker app to access it (manual here)


Samsung S7 not responding While playing the Android game Alto's Adventure on a Samsung S7 Edge, I had to watch an ad to revive my character, but then my phone got stuck. It is saying "Buffering" on an empty black screen instead of showing the ad. The phone has not responded to the power button (no matter how long I hold it for), it has not responded to the home button and it has not responded to the volume buttons.

I have tried Android Device Manager, but it is unable to locate my phone.

Technical details: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on Android Marshmallow

I just want to get my phone to respond and to work normally.

Any help is appreciated!

So my friend (it was not my phone) said that he waited until the phone ran out of battery. It took 8-ish hours for it to run out. Then he charged the phone and it worked.


How to use Glase on a rooted Android device? How can I use the Tap and Pay payment app Glase (formerly SEQR) on a device which has been rooted using Magisk?

Step 0. Clean/uninstall everything Glase/SEQR, in other words - start over.
Step 1. Install Glase from Play Store but don't open it!
Step 2. Open Magisk Manager, hit "Tap to start SafetyNet check". Allow download of non-OSS if asked for. If Magisk notifies you that it has been repackaged and the check cannot be performed, you'll have to use a third-party app to check for SafetyNet Status.
Step 3. Ensure both basicIntegrity and ctsProfile are true. If not, ensure Magisk Hide is enabled by toggling its setting inside Magisk Manager settings, under Magisk. On Huawei devices on stock ROM you have to flash a specific "patch" zip file via TWRP recovery. If even after enabling Magisk Hide ctsProfile and/or basicIntegrity are false, please reboot your device, and - if it still doesn't work - reinstall stock firmware/ROM and start over. Please note that on some custom ROMs you'll have to use the "Props" Magisk Module to enable Magisk Hide.
Step 4. Go into Magisk Hide from the Magisk Manager menu and select/mark your Glase or SEQR app as enabled. You should see an orange ticked (✓) tick box next to it.
Step 5. Now go into Magisk Manager settings and select the "Hide Magisk Manager" entry from "General" menu. If you don't see it, and instead have "Restore Magisk Manager", it means you have done this already and you can go to the next step.
Step 6. Now open your Glase/SEQR app and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up.
Note: the "Tap and Pay Activation" procedure is sometimes buggy, regardless if you're rooted or not. Please allow up to 2 minutes for Glase to send you an "Activated" notification. If you don't get one, please delete app data of Glase, re-sign in with your account and attempt "Tap and Pay Activation" again


Prevent google backup of contacts? I have Google backup turned off permanently, however my contacts are still backed-up somewhere to Google cloud. I discovered that yesterday from another device that offered me to recover my contacts from a current backup.

I'm perplexed because when I open Google Drive app, it says that my device is not backed-up.

Questions:

Where are the contacts backed up? On G-Drive, or elsewhere in my G-Account?
What more can I do to prevent Google from downloading my data to its cloud?

Details:
I have LG G6 (LG-H870, Android 8.0.0). In the Settings I have set:

Backup > Google Backup > Backup to Google Drive: Off
Users & Accounts > Auto-sync account: On, otherwise my (non-Google) e-mail is not synchronized, but:
Users & Accounts > my-google-account > Sync: all four sync switches are Off

In the Drive application:

Left menu > Backups: "Your device is not backed up"

My other phone is Xiaomi Redmi 4. Here:

Settings > Google > Restore contacts> Device backup list: It offers me to restore my contacts from LG-H870 created today. When I proceed, all my contacts are really restored.

The Google documentation for contacts backup,
https://support.google.com/contacts/answer/7199294?hl=en
instructs how to turn-off contacts backup.

The description of Settings > Backup > Google Backup > Backup to Google Drive says that:

  "Backup includes: Apps and app data, call history, contacts, device settings"

Edit: I've verified that my contacts are not in Google Contacts for my account.

As said already, backup of contacts by Google does not respect the general Settings>General>Backup>Google_backup>Backup_to_Google_Drive = off. This problem may occur only on LG G6, or in Android Oreo in general.

However, I succeeded to prevent the contact backup by disabling Google synchronization services in Settings>Apps>Show_System>choose_app>disable:

Google Contacts Sync
Google Calendar Sync
Google Backup Transport

Now I hope that they won't get enabled again upon a firmware update.

Edit: Evidently, Google has more problems with collecting personal data than just contacts, see for instance location-tracking.


Google's Messages app says text message sent by SMS Pixel 4a, Android 11
As in the title, why does Google's Messages
app says sent by SMS? (Text messages are sent by SMS anyway, why emphasize?).
See below OK in the screenshot.

This is a self answered question, to share a new feature. Also, to answer questions that may be asked about this in the future (mark them duplicates).

Today morning, I got a prompt asking me if I wanted to enable chat features on messages app. I did that and saw the info on the SMS sent yesterday. Dug, to know more, and here's the summary from the Google FAQ on chat features :

You need the messages app as default SMS app.

Chat features are support is region/country/carrier specific.

When using chat features, your messages are sent using the Rich Communication Services (RCS) protocol over Wi-Fi and mobile data.

Show you when someone is typing
Offer read receipts (show when someone has read or received your message, as well as showing your contact when you read their message)
Send messages over mobile data and Wi-Fi
Lets you share files and high-resolution photos

Sending over Wi-Fi doesn't cost, over mobile data will be as per mobile data plan.

To answer the question, recipient doesn't have this feature enabled on their app and therefore SMS was not sent over Wi-Fi or mobile data and sent as normal SMS. It is only highlighting this aspect. Similarly, if you were to send MMS content in the same situation (feature not enabled, data not used), it would show as

If chat feature is enabled and sent by data, it would show mobile or Wi-Fi as the case may be.


Android phoneGoogle contacts - usage model and best practices? I am finally forced to admit that I'm completely flummoxed by the communication between my android phone and my google account's contact list.  I have tried various usage models and experienced lost/deleted contacts, edits made on my phone overwritten with unedited version from google account, random entries appearing on my phone(i now have 5 different entries for MYSELF)....everything BUT what I'm trying to do.

What I'd like for it to do is for my google account to be the system of record for my contacts, and sync with my phone...simple as that.  If I edit/add on my phone, I'd like for that change to be sync'd to my google account automatically.  If edit/add using my google account via the web interface, I'd like that for that change to be sync'd to my phone.  Obviously this is NOT the way that it works, and it is obvious that, after weeks of trial, error, and fruitless searching,  I do not understand how it SHOULD be used.

Does anyone know how Google wants us to use this?  How is it SUPPOSED to work?  Has Google published a guide for this?  FWIW, I have no problem going back and reorganizing everything  and adapting to a different usage model as long as I understand how it is supposed to behave and as long as it behaves as published.

Mine's working the way you expect it should.

I had a problem with duplicates when using services to help keep my contacts "clean" and to import from other services. In particular Soocial kept giving me dupes. So, the first thing I'd do is make sure you're not using something like that.

I suspect that something is "out of whack" (to use a technical term) with the synchronization data. I'd try the following:

Make sure the data in Google Contacts is in tip-top shape. Merge duplicates, get everybody in the right group, etc.
Export all contacts (just in case)
Then, delete the contact data on the phone. You'll probably want to turn off synchronization before you do this.
Then turn synchronization back on. Everything should be copacetic.


How to add screen filter with tasker? After hours of searching in the internet I decided to ask this question here.

How can I add a screen filter using tasker. Apps like Screen Filter, etc. creates an overlay black filter on screen which I love while using phone at night. But I don't want to use any such app. Is there any script or something else which I can use in tasker to make such similar overlays.

I have reduced the screen brightness below factory settings using shell code

su
    echo 4 > < file path>

but still at night the minimum brightness also hurt my eyes. Those filters are quiet relaxing. Please can anyone help. Thank you.

Is this what you're looking for?

(Click image to enlarge)

I'm not good in drawing so excuse my skills for not providing a breathtaking scene at first glance. However, with multiple attempts, you may come close to exactly what you need.

The low-light section in the screenshot is caused by an overlay shown by Tasker. Tasker can do it using Scenes.

Go to Scenes tab and start making your scene.

Choose the size of your scene. For screen filter, cover the whole screen.
Add Rectangle as the element and encompass the whole scene with it.
Tap Rectangle and choose a custom color which would be acting as the screen filter.
Create a task and action: Scene → Show Scene

Name: select your scene
Display As: Overlay
uncheck Show Exit Button
make other changes if you need any

Execute the task and there you go.

Note: The overlay in my screenshot deliberately doesn't cover the entire screen.


In AFWall+, how do you block everything by default? I want the default to be blocked unless I specifically allow that app. I understand you can tick all what you want blocked or not. But, what I want is for any app that gets installed to be automatically, completely, blocked from the git go - unless I get in AFWall+ and allow it. So if an app called X is installed, it wouldn't have any access to network without me having to block it. Appreciate any pointers.


How to delete one's region in WeChat? In the Android WeChat messaging app, it is possible to set up a region in one's account settings (Me -> tap user name -> Region). This region setting is then shown to all contacts in one's profile.

However, once that is done, there does not appear to be an obvious way to unset the region again.

I would like to remove my region setting from my account. How can I do that?

I am a Chinese user and I'm extremely sure that:

You cannot unset your Region settings in WeChat. You can only change it by repeating the procedure in which you set it.

Edit: From Chinese BBSs people claim that they succeeded by using an exploit of incompatibility between older and newer versions of WeChat. Their procedure is

Install an old enough version of WeChat (They picked 4.2)
Change your region settings to anything else
Install a newer version of WeChat (They picked 5.2)
Due to incompatibility the region is blank

Do note that the posts I've found are in 2015 and even 2014. I'm note sure if WeChat's server still accepts versions other than 6.x


A question about Android recovery disk image and partitions In this video, the host is trying to modify an existing TWRP disk image file and flash the modified image in his Moto G. What surprised me is the content of that TWRP recovery image. The video shows the contents of the TWRP recovery image as:

zImage (Kernal)
initrd.img (initial ramdisk)

How is that possible? I was under the impression that the kernel and the initial ramdisk reside in the /boot partition. He simply booted the image without giving any partition argument for fastboot:

sudo fastboot boot <recovery.img>

So, where would that disk image file go? /boot or /recovery? Flashing the kernel and its ramdisk (with init.rc script) into the boot partition makes sense, but I am confused because he was working with a recovery disk image, which he should have flashed into the /recovery partition. Does the recovery image also have its own kernel and ramdisk? I tried to download and see the contents of an Android recovery disk image by myself, but I couldn't open the .img file in Windows.

fastboot boot does not perform a flash.  From fastboot help:

usage: fastboot [ <option> ] <command>

commands:
  [...]
  flash <partition> [ <filename> ]             Write a file to a flash partition.
  [...]
  boot <kernel> [ <ramdisk> [ <second> ] ]     Download and boot kernel.

  Does the recovery image also have its own kernel and ramdisk?

Yup.  Recovery is essentially a miniature OS and boots similarly to the main boot image.


Bottom portion of text & numbers are not showing my screen I think I inadvertly deleted something in my device that now makes it only display the top 2/3's of text and numbers on some apps,settings and spec stuff.

I used various antivirus apps that may have allowed me to delete important OS files as junk files or something similar.

Can you please help with suggestion on returning my Ellipsis 10 back to normal? It is not rooted. It runs Android Lollipop 5.1.

Okay, I know this isn't really an answer (since I don't know what the problem is, screenshot would help), but anyway.

Firstly, try to turn your device off and then on again, it can be surprising how problems can be fixed with a simple reboot.

If a reboot does not solve the problem, what did you do before the problem appeared ? Did you install an app ? If so, uninstall it. Did you change a setting ? If so, change it back.

Try to go into the Settings, and if there is a "developer options" entry (at the bottom, under "System") go into it, and make sure the toggle at the top is set to "Off".

If nothing else works, you can always do a factory reset (which will wipe all your data), and that should fix it. (I'm not suggesting that a factory reset is necessary - it's very likely that your problem can be fixed in some other way.)

You say you installed 20 battery booster and cache cleaner apps ? That seems a bit excessive. Try to uninstall them, if you haven't already.

As a side note: these apps don't do anything which Android cannot do on it's own. (You should read this)In fact, they will probably slow down your device and cause battery drain, esp. If you have 20 of them installed.

If your battery life is less than what  you'd expect, there is a "battery" menu in the settings, which will tell you exactly what used how much battery. In my experience, this is a lot more helpful than some automagic all in one battery saver app.

If your device is slow, you probably have too many apps installed - installing a cache cleaner app isn't going to fix that.


Where Firefox for Android is keeping add-on generated files? I want to find a folder, where Firefox for Android is keeping files generated by installed add-ons (list of saved tabs in OneTab, for example).
I've tried to do a full root file system search (e.g. onetab.html, store.json) and looked insede specific app folders (e.g. /data/data/org.mozilla.firefox). Found nothing but the .xpi extension files.

According to Help @ one-tab.com, tabs data is located in C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\Profile Folder\jetpack\extension@one-tab.com\simple-storage\store.json for a Windows desktop version. On Android, using rooted Amaze, I've found nothing similar.

Where should I search next? Are those files even visible for a root user?

Browse into the location /data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/. Among many directories there would be one directory whose name would end with .default. That is your Firefox profile directory. Within that directory, you can find what you are looking for. Extensions (xpi) are saved inside the extensions directory. Some extensions may have data inside the directory browsers-extension-data while others may have it stored inside storage/default.

You can access those files by entering the URL file:///data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/ in your Firefox browser. If you want to access them using a non-Firefox app, such as a file explorer app, than you need to have root access.


Is it better to detach a charger when my Android device gets fully charged? When using my Android device at my desk, is it better to (from a battery health point of view) detach a charger as soon as the device gets fully charged, or is it ok to keep it on the charger? I like to use it at my desk while it is plugged in so that it is fully charged when I walk away, is this ok?

There are a lot of theories and myths about battery life and I haven't seen enough statistically significant data to support any of those 'theories'. I have heard that it is bad to use a phone while it is plugged in but I will tell you why I think this is wrong.
From my own experience as an Android developer, my phone is ALWAYS plugged in when I am at my computer and it is almost always fully charged while I am using it. I have been an Android developer for about 2 years now. I program just about everyday, which means everyday my phone is plugged into my charger while I am programming. I have an old Droid 3 that I use for testing compatibility for Gingerbread (2.3.3). When I got the phone it needed to recharge every other day. Now, unless I use it constantly, it will survive for just over a day. For a 2 year old battery, that is pretty standard degeneration.
If you think about it, everyone pretty much plugs their phone in at night and it will take about an hour to two hours to charge (if the batter is completely dead). That means that the device is sitting on the charger for about 6 hours fully charged every night (if you sleep 8 hours a night). I don't think that a few hours of it on the charger while you are at work will affect your battery's lifespan enough for you to notice.
If anyone has any logical reason or statistically significant data to support the fact that this is a bad idea, then I will eat my words but from my experience I would say that your battery will not experience any significant lifespan decay from you plugging it in at work.
If you want to know more LifeHacker thinks it's a bad idea, but they give no statistical support for their tables
Over at Android Forum it seems the general consensus is that it doesn't matter.
Here at android.stackexchage it seems like the general consensus is that constant charging doesn't really hurt your battery, but you should do maintenance discharges to keep it healthy:

Although constant charging cannot hurt, it looks like you may want to periodically run the battery all the way down so the digital circuits can correctly calibrate

If you really want to get to the bottom of it you can read this article. Although, Jeff Atwood has done a pretty good summery of the article:

Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.


Can't flash OTA file using TeamWin Recovery on HTC One I have HTC One, with custom recovery, bootloader unlocked, and rooted.

I got the OTA by from Settings - Software Update. After downloading, I wanted to flash the ZIP file in Recovery mode. But when I want to flash that, after 5 or 6 seconds, it says failed because MD5 can't be found. I already downloaded this file 2 times because I thought the file has problem, but the file seems to be okay.

What should I do?

There's a "file integrity check" involved with the flash process, to prevent broken/tampered files from being flashed. Basically, you've got 3 options:

Get the .md5 file that should go along the .zip
generate the .md5 yourself (if you cannot find it, and are sure your .zip is fine)
Turning off verification in TWRP.

Btw: There was a discussion at AndroidCentral on this topic, which you might wish to check.


How to force Google Photos to sync photos to the cloud? I just took a picture with my phone and a few seconds later I refreshed Google Photos on my computer and the picture was there.  But then I took a second picture and five minutes of refreshing later the picture is still not there!  This has basically ruined what I was trying to do, as I was relying on being able to quickly download pictures between shots.

I was on WiFi the whole time.  There was less than one minute between the first and second picture.  I don't see any indications that anything is uploading or that anything failed.  I have looked in both the Google Photos app and the web site looking for anything to force a sync and haven't found anything except for "Back up all" which did nothing.

How can I force my phone to sync to the cloud immediately?  In the Photos app the new image already appears, but on my PC only the first picture I took showed up.

In Google Photos app select Assistant and then you can choose (or view the current backup status/progress) to force backup photos. Be sure to set the different image maps to cloud: the folder will then contain a blue cloud icon with an arrow in it.


AVD doesn't work after installing Android Studio I installed Android Studio, but when I try to run, the emulator is not working. When I googled, I find some instructions in which the

  Open SDK Manager and Download Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM installer) if you haven't.
  Now go to your SDK directory (C:\users\username\AppData\Local\Android\sdk, generally). In this directory Go to extra > intel > Hardware_Accelerated_Execution_Manager and run the file named "intelhaxm-android.exe".

  In case you get an error like "Intel virtualization technology (vt,vt-x) is not enabled". Go to your BIOS settings and enable Hardware Virtualization.
  Restart Android Studio and then try to start the AVD again.

but I don't know where is BIOS setting of my computer. I have HP desktop CPU and try to find the BIOS from start, F10 as well as from change PC setting in Windows, but all in vain.

I faced a similar problem recently on my windows 10 laptop and found out that the Intel virtualization technology (vt-x) was disabled from BIOS.

In case you are using a new laptop which comes per-installed with Windows 8/8.1/10 then chances are that you cannot enter the BIOS manually while booting. Reason being they have changed BIOS to UEFI which is no longer accessible through boot but instead you need to do the following steps:

Go to Windows > Settings > Update and Security > Recovery.
Then under Advanced startup, click Restart now. The system will restart and show the Windows 10 boot menu.
Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings.
Click Restart to restart the system and enter UEFI (BIOS).
from here you can access the UEFI menu (which is similar to BIOS)

Search for the VT-x setting (It may be named as Intel VT or Vanderpool or Virtualization Extensions or something similar depending on your OEM and BIOS.)

Please refer to this link for screenshots on how to access the UEFI from windows 10: http://www.howtogeek.com/213795/how-to-enable-intel-vt-x-in-your-computers-bios-or-uefi-firmware/


How should I stop media players from constantly auto-starting? I have a lot of problems whenever I install media players. Some times one will trigger another player, othertimes both players will be triggered if I plug in the aux output cable into my car. Othertimes pandora will keep starting and stopping very rapidly (a bug) when I plug in the aux cable.

Here is what I want:
No auto starting ever, at all. Is this achievable with a simple imperative setting?

You can use the Autostarts app (requires root) to modify which apps can listen in to particular events.  In your case, you'd remove the media player apps from listening to the event(s) triggered by plugging in the audio cable.


Do a Google voice search with Belkin CarAudio Connect Bluetooth on a Sony Xperia I have a non-rooted Sony Xperia running Android 4.3 and I have recently have bought a Belkin CarAudio Connect AUX with Bluetooth. It connects fine and it all works however it left me wanting more. Currently pressing the button on the CarAudio Connect pauses and plays the audio, a feature that I wish to keep. However, I was hoping that a double tab or a long press can do a Google voice search so I can call or text people (or find out important information like the height of the Eiffel Tower) while driving.

How would I set this up? I have tried 'Bluetooth Launch' from the Play store but it didn't do anything and I couldn't find any similar apps. I was thinking a Tasker task or a similar app but I don't know how to set it up or what action to look for.

Please help.

This can be done using tasker and the AutoVoice Addon. From the addon's description:

  Control your Android device with your voice, now even via your Bluetooth headset! You can even redirect all audio to your Bluetooth headset and also react to your Bluetooth headset button and do whatever action you want with it in Tasker.

Basically, you create a new profile in Tasker to activate AutoVoice (e.g. shaking the device, pressing the camera button, using a shortcut to the given task, whatever), which then acts on keywords even by regular expression match (there's also a "permanent listening mode" which you could enable on conditions like "power plugged in plus Bluetooth connected to car"). There are plenty of ways to realize different things with it, a full how-to would go much beyond the scope of this site :) You can even have AutoVoice triggering Google Now, if you like.

To go deeper into this topic, let me give you some links:

How to use Google Now to Trigger Tasker Tasks - YouTube
[TUTORIAL] Merge Xposed, Tasker, Autovoice and Google Now to use phone only by voice
AutoVoice Beginner: Setting Up Voice Recognition - YouTube
Voice Control Your Phone with Tasker and AutoVoice - XDA developer TV

For more, simply google for "autovoice howto" :)


Different types of downloads on Cyanogen OS Website ** This question is for Cyanogen OS and not Cyanogen Mod.

On the Cyanogen OS download page, for my device (YU Yuphoria), I see 3 different downloads for my device, i.e.

cm-12.1-YOG4PAS47N-lettuce-signed-fastboot-5d674b9b61.zip

cm-12.1-YOG4PAS47N-lettuce-signed-806afa8c62.zip

cm-12.1-YOG4PAS47N-lettuce-boot-debuggable-c915697c50.img

It is clear that the first one is the firmware which is to be flashed over fastboot, but I'm skeptical about the second & the third one..

What do the 2nd & the 3rd link provide?

Signed fastboot zips:
  These contain the complete rom and can overwrite everything including your data partition. These cannot be flashed via recovery - extract their contents and flash via fastboot.

  Signed zips:
  Normal, stock or TWRP recovery flashable zips that won't overwrite your data partition.

  Boot-debuggable images: (This is only for developers/testers)
  These are boot images (kernels) that enable adb root and the developer menu options. To be flashed via fastboot. (e.g.fastboot flash boot cm-12.1-YOG4PAS47N-lettuce-boot-debuggable-c915697c50.img)

Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/official-cm11s-roms-ota-updates-t2906746


android.process.acore has stopped unexpectedly After updating Android I got this error. During update android asked me to move some of app to sd card as there were not enough space for update. I moved some and after update and restart I can't enter contacts. When I press green button for calls (enter contacts) it shows error: android.process.acore has stopped unexpectedly

I'm using HTC Cha Cha.

I try t reboot phone, to put battery out and back. Finally I try restore phone to factory settings by removing all apps and data.

And I still have this error - android.process.acore has stopped unexpectedly

Can you please tell me how to fix it without taking phone to service.

Phone is brought from US to EU, so I would need to pay service if I can't fix it myself.

I updated my HTC ChaCha over the air (OTA) to 2.3.5 two days ago.

Identical issue. Keep getting same error whenever I press the green call button or a number to start dialing or attempt to start the "Phone" app.

I don't have a "Contacts" app any more.

I believe the issue is in an app called "Dialer" because that's what displays when I tell my phone to report the issue to HTC.

Work around:

use the favourites (people) widget that comes, by default, on the second screen. Press the right arrow and you'll go to your contacts list. From there you can call your contacts - or add new contacts and call them.

Note that the phone does receive calls okay.

This is an outrageous bug. The software update should NEVER have been pushed.

Additional issue in 2.3.5: the initial boot up "Enter PIN" screen isn't sized correctly for the ChaCha - there are some white line dots at the top of that screen - presumably the bottom of the text saying "Enter PIN" - but all you see is the text input field and the "OK"/"Cancel" buttons. Also it seems this phone requires a SIM PIN even when none is set. Further - if you type your PIN wrong 3 times it doesn't tell you that it is expecting the PUK.

I think HTC have got serious issues when it comes to software development. I wish CyanogenMod was available for the HTC ChaCha - because it was the ONLY way I could use my HTC Desire Z (default HTC software for that had show-stopping issues, too).


Why is there no direct message widget on my Galaxy S6 stock? On a brand new Samsung Galaxy S6 in Europe with Android 5.1.1 and Nova Launcher there are widgets for adding a shortcut into a contact and to call a contact's phone number, but the one for text messages/SMS that I know from older versions. On my S5 with 5.0 I have this widget. I have not installed an additional messaging app that replaces the stock SMS application.

How do I get a shortcut for sending SMS to a contact?

On Android 5.0, the widget is there (1st pic) | On Android 5.1.1, it's not (2nd pic) – click images to enlarge

tl;dr
It seems this is an issue specific to some Samsung Galaxy S-series devices running Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. There's nothing we can't do other than waiting for update from Samsung (if it's really a bug).

I believe it's either a bug, or Samsung's decision to remove "Direct Message" widget (for unknown reason) from their Contacts app. There were some reports about this issue.
From a post on AndroidCentral forum,

I've been trading support emails with the Nova folks. According to them, "Samsung removed the direct dial shortcut for no apparent reason in their Lollipop update. It is also missing from the TouchWiz launcher."

Another thread also asked the same issue,

I just upgraded to the S6 and it has Android 5.1.1.
There are a few things I can't figure out.
[...]
3. How can I set up Direct Dial shortcut on home screen and Direct Message? [...]

And lastly, on T-Mobile forum which gives hint on not carrier-specific,

My wife and I both have the S5 on 5.1.1 (F0G6) and both have this problem since the update. It happens for Direct Message shortcuts/widgets too. It appears to be a TouchWiz bug (guessing) since changing Launchers to something like Nova keeps the shortcut ... It is a small thing but a big problem for me - help!
My best friend has Verizon, and hers are disappearing as well, so I don't think it's a T-Mobile issue, I think it's an OS issue.

Which was replied with,

This is a known issues. Both T-Mobile and Samsung are trying to find out what is causing it and fix


How to insert 2 sim cards on ulefone armor 9 I have the ulefone armor 9. It states it has a Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by). In the settings it seems it says there are 2 slots for sim cards. But for the life of me I cannot figure out how to put in 2 sim cards. Opening the slot seems there's only place for 1. Anyone seen this before? How is it supposed to work?

a hybrid dual SIM slot is a technology that offers both features of a SIM card and a MicroSD card.
The hybrid dual SIM slot also means the OEM provided just two spaces instead of the traditional three slots for dual SIM cards and a MicroSD card. In other words, either two SIM cards are used or one SIM card slot is sacrificed to serve the role of a MicroSD slot.
Simply put, you have the two options:

Dual SIM (one micro/nano SIM + one micro/nano SIM)
One micro / nano SIM + MicroSD card


"set_metadata_recursive: some changes failed" while updating Gapps-Kk-20140606-Signed.zip Tonight I updated my Motorola Droid 4 from CM11-M2 to M7, and I thought I could update gapps too, but I'm getting this error:

set_metadata_recursive: some changes failed

Am I missing something?

It looks like this happens because my recovery (Safestrap 3.65) doesn't support "set_metadata". So, I tried Mentor's Gapps: no set_metadata core Gapps working with ART ("they are compatible with recoveries not supporting set_metadata") and they were flashed correctly. Based on this XDA post,

In these gapps there are only the AOSP Quick Search Box and Play Store
from wich you can install every other gapp and app.
In these gapps there are:

minimum core gapps
lib to solve the swype problem of the AOSP keyboard
Quick Search Box
Play Store

These gapps are working with ART and they are compatible with recoveries not supporting set_metadata.


How do i fix a white screen after replacing digitizer on Nexus 7? I replaced the screen and digitizer on my nexus 7. Now when I power up the nexus 7, it is only a white screen that flickers. I checked all wires and they are fine. How do I fix this?

Are you sure that both your screen and device are functioning, and the problem does not lie directly with either device but the connection between them?

Start diagnosing your problem by finding out whether the screen works correctly (with another device), or the device works on it's own and it's not a problem with the motherboard (another screen)?

Also try contacting the company that you bought the screen from for troubleshooting instructions and double-check you've setup the screen with your device correctly.


Moving internal memory to external sd card My phones internal memory is full, how do i move it to my secure digital card? How can i get

my files

off my secure digital card if i took it out wrong, I did a factory reset?

You need to use a file explorer to move files from internal memory to secure memory card.

You can download file explorers for free from play store. ES file explorer is a great one for example.

You can then cut and paste your downloads, media files, documents to your sd card. Your internal memory is displayed as sdcard0 and your external sdcard is displayed as sdcard1. They both will be present in /storage folder.

If you want to move app data to external sdcard, you need specialised application. Many such applications would need root access to function. Link to sd is a great app for this purpose.


Formatted phone, including system I was going around TWRP recovery and tried a few things and then I accidently wiped my entire android system. Now I am left with the custom recovery and a phone that gets stuck at the bootloader warning. I can't seem to flash any stock rom to the phone. I am using a Moto G3.

You need to either restore a TWRP backup, flash a custom ROM and Gapps, or use fastboot to flash a current factory image.

Moto factory firmware images are unzipped and flashed with fastboot, they cannot be flashed with TWRP. The best source for instructions and firmware images is XDA, do not use the ones on Moto's website, they are older images and will likely fail with a "Preflash Validation Error" due to being older than what is already installed in the device.

XDA - Moto G 2015 - Factory Firmware Images
XDA - Moto G 2015 - How to flash factory firmware images with fastboot

Be sure you have the correct image and version for your device. Flashing an incorrect image can cause the device to be completely non-functional (bricked), and flashing an incorrect or old version will fail.

Be aware that Moto has recently released several security updates and patches for this device, especially outside North America, and some of the firmware images are not available yet.

Flashing a custom ROM and Gapps is nothing more than copying the ZIP and gapps to your device, flash them with TWRP, and reboot. ROMs can be found at number of sources.

Of course, the best way would be to restore a TWRP backup of the system partition, if you have one. If not, one of the above methods is necessary.


Any way to synchronize calendar app across Android and iOS? Me and my partner have been searching for ages for a calendar application that will sync across both Android and iOS devices (as she has an iPhone). We would love to be able to see each others calendars but can't find an app anywhere which will let us do this effectively?

Anybody know of any?

This isn't really an Android problem, per se.

My wife and I have been effectively sharing our calendars for a few years. I use Android, she uses an iPhone.

The secret sauce is to use Google Calendar.

We each have our own Google Accounts, and have shared (read-access) with each other.
We also have created shared calendars for both of our kids, Household events (e.g., when is the trash picked up), Local events we might want to attend, and the schedule for their schools

Getting the calendar(s) into Android is academic (and I just use the standard Calendar app). She simply needed to connect her calendar app. (She is having a problem where sometimes events she creates on her device don't show up, but that's an iPhone issue.)


Quickly switch input methods (swype->other) I'd like to be able to switch from Swype to Hacker Keyboard from within programs, especially ConnectBot and TerminalEmulator.  Hacker Keyboard comes with a shortcut to switch to others, but Swype doesn't.  If there are workarounds to reduce the number of clicks needed to switch input methods, those would also be welcome.

I am looking at Swype right now, and it's got a cogweel in the bottom left corner, which if pressed for more than 1 second gives you a choice of the input methods (Swype, Android Keyboard, others...)
http://i.stack.imgur.com/3Jg4v.png


Shorcut on desktop that enables packet data and 3G In order to save battery (it works a lot!), 99% of the time I disable packet data and I use only 2G networks, because I don't want the phone to go on internet / use data.

But sometimes I want to use internet, so I have to do :

1) Enable Settings > Wireless and networks > Mobile networks > Use packet data
2) Disable Settings > Wireless and networks > Mobile networks > Use only 2G networks

... and then to do it in the opposite way when the internet session is over.
This is quite long...

My question is:

How to set a shortcut on desktop that does 1) + 2)  in just one single click ?
(Android 2.3.6)

PS : here is what my notification bar looks like :

You can add widgets to your home screen if your phone supports. You can also try widgets from play store like

2g-3g switch

Data on or off


WhatsApp media is not showing up from WhatsApp account when migrated from old phone I bought a new phone, so I took a backup from the old phone's WhatsApp account and installed in the new phone. Now at the time of installation I chose the "Restore" option from the backup so it can restore the messages and media.

Now I was using an SD card as the storage device in my old phone for WhatsApp. So all the images are on the SD card, and I can view them in Gallery. But when I am trying to go to any contact's "Media" option I am not able to see any images/videos which I was able to view from old phone.

So how do I see the media from a contact's home in WhatsApp which are in gallery?

I took help from this Quora post, and I figured out that WhatsApp is installed in internal memory. That's why it isn't able pick up the pictures/media from the SD card. Here is what I did.

I renamed the WhatsApp folder in the internal memory. From Whatsapp to Whatsapp_backup.
Rebooted the phone.
Downloaded an image from a chat. This forced to create another Whatsapp folder to be created in internal memory.
Then moved all the content from SD Card/Whatsapp/Media to Internal Whatsapp/Media folder.
Then I closed WhatsApp and started again. This made WhatsApp to refresh the memory index and pick the media file according to chats.