Buying games for my kids, without me "attaching" a credit card

You can buy an application in the website version of the Play Store to remotely install application in the tablet. This way, you'll be entering your credit card details in a computer you can trust.

In the tablet itself, if the child goes to Play Store to purchase a paid application, the last 4 digits of your credit card numbers will be displayed on the device. When you use the default setup (which is to ask to reenter password for every purchase), he will not be able to make any purchase unless he knows the Google Account's password.

If him knowing your last 4 digits of your credit card number is a worry for you, you can detach the credit card after every purchase. I think this is probably unnecessary, if he wants to know your credit card number, it will be a lot easier for him to just snap a picture of your credit card out of your wallet if you live together.

I recommend using a dedicated account for app purchase rather than using your own personal account (you probably don't want him reading your emails) or your child account (he probably should know the password to his own account). You can attach multiple Google Accounts to a single device.

Another possibility is to just tell him to buy the gift card himself. He wants the game and he has the money, he can buy the gift card himself. This is assuming he's mature enough to go to a supermarket/store alone.


How to make Google Chrome definitely remain as the desktop version?

There's a method suggested here, based on this XDA thread for both rooted and non rooted devices:
Rooted Devices

First Method: Download a file ( chrome-command-line) mentioned in the article, change it's properties and place in appropriate directory, relaunch Chrome

Second Method: From the XDA thread linked, download ChromeDE.zip and flash

Since I don't have access to PC, tried the second method and it worked. Chrome now opens in default desktop mode ( Moto X Play, 6.0.1, Chrome 52.0. 2743.91)
Unrooted Devices (not tried by me)

Download the file mentioned in first method above

Using adb , enter
adb push /chrome-command-line /data/local/chrome-command-line

Thanks for asking this, I have been wanting to do this but was too lazy to search
Edit: User Agent Switcher app for rooted devices can do the same, and in addition offers a host of other choices and creating shortcuts


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.


Why do Android phone manufacturers describe RAM in powers of 1,000 but not 1,024 (as PCs do)?

tl:dr:  Android memory is more in line with hard disk memory and uses the SI or decimal standards unlike PC memory. Standards support this

Basing my answer on What is the advantage to using a factor of 1024 instead of 1000 for disk size units? - Software Engineering Stack Exchange and bringing out only the key aspects. Details can be referred in that question

In the case of PC's, quoting  from the accepted answer binary addressing was adopted

  It is kind of convenience and optimization for getting the most usable, addressable space between the two considerations of addressing and physical platter size

For Disk drives SI units were adopted. From Bobson's answer

  The disk drive industry followed a different pattern. Industry practice, more thoroughly documented at Timeline of binary prefixes
   and continuing today, is to specify hard drives using SI prefixes and symbols in their SI or "decimal" interpretation. Unlike binary-addressed computer main memory, there is nothing in a disk drive that influences it to have a total capacity easily expressed using a power of 1024.

(Emphasis Supplied)

That explains in brief the reasons for binary and SI

Evolution of Mobile Phones and Standards

The earliest commercial model phone  DynaTAC 8000Xappeared on the scene in  1983. It couldn't do anything more than basic calls so RAM doesn't come into play
By 1987 hard drives were marked in SI units as can be seen from the binary timeline linked
Feature Phones: IBM Simon was the first feature phone in 1994, which had 1 MB of RAM and 1MB of storage expandable to 2 MB - you read that right :) So, when the feature phone cane out , SI standards were in vogue

So, likely reasons :

SI standards were automatically applied to mobile memory as they were more viewed as storage elements rather than computational requirements
Fact that memory was / is not based on platters (see accepted answer ) ,  adopting binary system made no sense . Instead of having separate nomenclature for storage and RAM, SI units were adopted for both. But in the case of PC's legacy continued, though one could argue that it is incorrect. Mac OS since
has since version 10.6 (Mountain Lion in 2011) shown hard drive size using decimal prefixes and continues to do so
By 1998

  IEC     introduces unambiguous prefixes for binary multiples (KiB, MiB, GiB etc.), reserving kB, MB, GB and so on for their decimal sense

By 2001 Linux Kernel (used in Android) adopted IEC standards


How to check if a phone is rooted from a PC

You can use the adb shell command to check if the phone is rooted. Execute adb shell su and if the phone is rooted a root shell will be opened. If it's not rooted you will get a su: not found error message.


How can I change the default Google Drive PDF viewer on Android?

I had the same problem using Firefox on Android - totally maddening - but fixed it.

After installing Google Drive all my links to pdfs would open with Google Drive PDF Viewer.

I fixed it by, in Firefox, going to about:config in the location bar, then finding "browser.download.preferred.application/pdf" and doing a Reset there.

The next time I clicked on a link to a pdf I got the choice to Download, or use Google Drive PDF Viewer.

Shouldn't it be there in Chrome, under the hood somewhere ?

Btw, that "browser.download.preferred.application/pdf" in Firefox only seems to show up after a choice has been made, in this case, forced by the install of Google Drive. Seems redolent of the old browsers wars.


It depends
As you said that you are playing with the battery,
If the battery is damaged, it may produce power with different voltage. As you tried putting and turning the phone on using that battery, the over voltage may damaged your phone
Else,
The battery is dead. You can put a new battery and start using it.


Changing default video player in Google Chrome for Android

Use Dolphin Browser.  I think what you are asking is impossible for now on Chrome.


Connect to emulator from another PC in LAN

Suppose you have PC1 and PC2. According to the official Android Developer documentation, adb forward is not for forwarding a TCP port of the PC1 to another port of the PC2. It's for forwarding a TCP port of PC1 to a TCP port of the Android device.
For your situation, you can use any port forwarding tool like Port Forwarding for Windows.
There is a nice tutorial below copied from hasper.info by Philipp Hasper:

I often use the Android emulator to check my apps with different display configurations and to stress-test them. But the problem is that it is really slow on my development laptop. So I installed the Android emulator on my desktop PC running Windows and connect to it over my LAN. The major advantage is that you can continue using your development machine while a “server” deals with emulating – one could even emulate several devices at once and still continue programming.
The approach in a nutshell: Forward the emulator’s port so that it is accessible in the local network. Then connect the ADB to it.
On your desktop – the “server”:

Store the executable of Trivial Portforward on the desktop system (e.g. directly in C:\trivial_portforward.exe).

Create a virtual device to emulate (HowTo) and name it “EmulatedAndroid”.

Create a batch file:
<your-android-sdk-path>\tools\emulator -avd EmulatedAndroid &
echo 'On the development machine: adb kill-server and then: adb connect <desktop-pc-name>:5585'
C:\trivial_portforward 5585 127.0.0.1 5555

If you execute this batch file on your desktop PC, it will open the emulator with the specified virtual device.

Now on your laptop – the “client”:

Now – given that both systems are in the same network – you can connect to the emulator from your laptop by typing in a terminal:
adb kill-server
adb connect <desktop-pc-name>:5585

Now you can upload apps, access the logcat and execute adb commands on your remote emulator like on any other Android device. And all without performance impairments on your workstation.

If you are experiencing communication losses, increase the emulator timeout in the eclipse settings to maybe 5000 ms (Window → Preferences → Android → DDMS → ADB connection time out (ms)).


no notification for automatic upload of images and videos in google+

If you're talking about when your phone uploads to Google+ automatically using the built-in Instant Upload, then you can just switch that off in the Google+ notifications. In fact I think that you must have switched that on at some point because I'm sure it was off by default for me.

Open the Google+ app, press Menu, select Settings, press Notification Settings, and then scroll down to the Photos category and take the tick out of "Photos added from Instant Upload". You'll still get the red notification box at the top inside the Google+ app, but won't get notified in the standard Android notifications bar any more. The other notification settings are there too, if you want to tune any of the others.


Unusually large file size of recorded video

Video record size depends not only on resolution and framerate but also on the compression algorithm - the encoder used by your phone.

I suggest you transfer a video recorded with your phone and another recorded with your friend's phone to a computer and analyze them a bit with MediaInfo.

Look for format, width, height, framerate and bitrate (probably the video quality setting affects bitrate) and if there are small differences between the two files then there may be a problem.


Is it face unlock you are asking about? If so, there is a handy guide here. It requires your phone to be rooted and have ClockworkMod Recovery installed. Here are the installation instructions from the link:

  Installation Instructions

  Before you proceed with setting up Face Unlock on your Galaxy S2, make
  sure that your phone:

  is rooted, has ClockworkMod Recovery installed, and is running Android
  4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich firmware build XXKP8.

  If your phone meets those requirements, you can follow these steps:

  1.Download the Face Unlock update file to your computer and then copy the downloaded ZIP file to your SD card. Get the file here.

  2.Turn off your mobile phone and reboot it into recovery mode. You can do this by pressing the Volume Up and OK buttons. Press both buttons
  at the same time and then press the Power button.

  3.If you are already in recovery mode, proceed by selecting “Wipe data/factory reset” and “Wipe Cache partition”.

  4.Reboot your device by selecting “Reboot system now” from the recovery menu.

  5.Reboot your device again into recovery mode.

  6.From the menu, select “install zip from SD card”, then ” choose zip from SD card”, and then choose the Face Unlock ZIP file which is on
  your phone. After you have selected the file, installation will start.

  7.After installation, your device will again display the recovery mode screen. Select “Reboot system now” to reboot the phone. Take note that
  this time, restarting your device will take much longer. On the other
  hand, you can also opt to update this package from ClockworkMod
  Recovery.


How to find and remove spy software on phone

Format the sd card and flash the stock rom again. This would guarantee clearing out any spyware. Here is a tutorial describing how to take it back to stock.

"…I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure."


“Unfortunately, Google Play services has stopped.” on Android L Developer Preview

I have the exact same problem -- Google Inbox, developer preview on Nexus 5, same error. I looked at the log (CatLog) and it's showing a runtime exception "UnsupportedOperationException: Can't convert to color: type=0x2" on AccountPickerActivity.

A friend said it works on his Nexus 5 after he flashed the latest developer preview image, so you may want to either do that or just wait a couple weeks for the official 5.0 update. I've had several problems like this on the preview version that I have.


Cyanogenmod 11 in htc explorer running on cyanogenmod 10.1

No you can't. The CyanogenMod Installer app is only available for Supported devices, which can be found at the CyanogenMod Wiki.

For this device, you'd need to first unlock its bootloader, which I presume you've already done, since you say that you've already rooted, and have installed a custom ROM. Update to the latest version of TWRP recovery which can be found here (which supports installing KitKat), or you could also go for alternatives like Philz Touch recovery (found here), which I am currently using. Note that you need to use the latest version of recovery, as there are certain changes in how KitKat is installed, causing the installation to fail in older recoveries.

You'd need to manually flash the CyanogenMod 11 update, whose two variants can be found:

Official CM11 thread (by galaxyfreak): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2535682
Weekly CM11 builds (by me, aka thewisenerd): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2611381

As for the "problems" part of it, can't really say. Only Instagram is found to be buggy (with the uploaded pics, in black color (?)), and of course, Flappy Bird lags a bit (the solution to which probably lies in reverting some upstream changes, and/or the build.prop). I would really suggest that you take a backup of your current custom ROM, try CM11 (or any other KitKat ROM for that purpose), and restore your backup, if you feel it's not worth the update.

Also, do use Google, to find the answers for your queries first (and a topic that's directly related to a particular device, i.e. HTC Explorer, you'd have rather searched here). Its always probable that your questions' already been answered.

Note: As to why I'd say that you'd turn to XDA Developers, as because development for this device primarily takes place in the XDA Developers forum. That's why.


The best application I've found for this is Titanium Backup. It will save copies of your applications and all their associated data.


I had to factory reset my mobile. If you don't know how to do that, you can  refer  this artice...


Turning on hotspot automatically turns off my Wi-fi in my Moto g4 plus

The device has to support 2 WiFi frequencies, and the OS has to implement the feature (e.g. Huawei D2 and Samsung S7/Edge), or else you will only get either WiFi in or WiFi out. I've never seen any mention of the original G supporting the feature either, and since I've owned an original G myself, I can say that it can't do it in my experience.

The only way that was able to do it on non-OS-level was FQRouter2, but it's now obsolete and might not work.


How to limit/throttle WiFi data speed on my Android device?

FOR ROOTED DEVICE
(copied from Mansour's answer on this post)

Checkout BradyBound. It's a system wide download speed shaper/limiter. Few things to note:

The app requires root access.
It works by dropping packets using iptables. This wastes some traffic - how much depends on the type of traffic (e.g. long running download, web browsing).
Rate measurement is done by number of packets instead of bytes so the speed limit won't be accurate.
This only limits TCP traffic (it makes no sense to drop UDP packets).

Note also that I'm the author of this app.

Edit #1:
Explanation:
Data is divided into small parts called Packets to be transmitted across the network.
It can be transmitted using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
Let's take an example:
Suppose you are the server and I am the host and I want to download a file, so first I will send you a request for it, after which you will process, and instead of sending the whole file, you will divide the large file in small packets.
Now each packet that has been created will contain information like source IP (yours) and destination IP (mine), along with some additional data (sequence no., data size, time to live, etc.)
You will send those packets and they can reach me via routers.
It is not necessary that all the packets have to come to me via the same route.
They can come to me via different available routes.
When they reach me, TCP/UDP comes in picture.
If you have used TCP for transmission, when a packet reaches me, an acknowledgement stating that the packet reached me is sent back to you.
This feature is lacking in UDP. If you have used UDP, unlike TCP, it doesn't send acknowledgements to you. That means you, as a server, have no idea whether packets are reaching me or not.
In case it is lost in transmission, it is lost forever.
Dropping Packets
Dropping packets means discarding packets.
So basically, when I will drop the packet sent by you, an acknowledgement will be sent to you (in the case of TCP) that the packet was lost in transmission, so you will have to send it again.
In this way, it wastes traffic and limits speed at the same time I get the whole file.
If I will drop UDP packets, I will not receive the whole file.
That's the reason the app doesn't control UDP traffic.
And yes, root privilege is a must, since iptable can be accessed with superuser access only.


How to organize photos from Camera folder in to folders sorted by month names?

There must be apps to facilitate what you want to achieve, but one of very straight forward method (for me at least) is to use a shell script as suggested by @alecxs in comment. We can read date of Photo Taken using exiv2 commandline tool. You can build from source or try this one. Or get Modified Time of photo using stat command, but the former is usually more accurate because some programs like file explorers badly change the modified date e.g. during copy/move operation.

Once the month of photo is known, create respective folder and move photo there:

#!/system/bin/sh
set -e

DIR='/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO'

find $DIR -maxdepth 1 -type f -iname '*.jp*g' -o -iname '*.png' |
while read -r photo
do
    month=$(exiv2 -q pr "$photo" | busybox awk -v c=1 -F '[: ]' '/timestamp.*[0-9]{4}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}/{print $5"_"$6; c=0} END{exit c}') ||
    month=$(busybox stat -c %y "$photo" | busybox awk -v c=1 -F '[- ]' '/[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}/{print $1"_"$2; c=0} END{exit c}') ||
    { echo "Couldn't find month for $photo" >&2; continue; }

    mkdir -p "$DIR/$month"
    mv -n "$photo" "$DIR/$month/"
done

echo Done.

Android's awk and stat are buggy or show non-standard behavior. Better use busybox.

Let's name the script sort.sh. This is how it works:

~$ find /sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/ -type f
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/00100sPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190222182032908_COVER.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/IMG_20170312_013609.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/IMG_20180818_180827_HDR.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/IMG_20190222_164812.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/PANO_20190421_132245.jpg

~$ sort.sh
Done.

~$ find /sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/ -type f
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/2017_03/IMG_20170312_013609.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/2018_08/IMG_20180818_180827_HDR.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/2019_04/PANO_20190421_132245.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/2019_02/00100sPORTRAIT_00100_BURST20190222182032908_COVER.jpg
/sdcard/DCIM/100ANDRO/2019_02/IMG_20190222_164812.jpg

Additionally you may use file command (instead of relying on file extensions) to only move photos and not videos or other files. But again Android's /system/bin/file is very limited. Either use one from Termux, or build from source, or try this one.

You can run this script manually or on a regular basis using some automation app. crond is also an option if you have root.

  I'd also be interested in alternatives to the USB -> browse device options

This part is itself a separate question. If you want to browse files from PC you can go for adbfs, SSHFS/SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB etc. Or to simply transfer files adb pull will suffice and is reasonably faster. If you have root and the volume of data to be transferred is high, consider using USB Mass Storage (UMS) from custom recovery. It's very high speed and reliable method.


File transfer error between Samsung Galaxy S3 and Ubuntu 12.04 over Bluetooth

Your hypothesis is correct. It's like transferring files over FTP: the receiving computer needs to run a server that understands the right protocol. To receive files you probably want a server that understands the object exchange protocol (OBEX) or object push protocol (OPP).

Our sister site Ask Ubuntu has an answer about receiving files, which may help you out. If you need any further help setting up your Ubuntu laptop, they'll be able to help if you ask a question there.


Why are Boot and Recovery one partition?

This you can find answered in a Wiki entry at Github. Quoting the relevant part:

  Since MTK devices use the uboot mechanism, partitions including boot and recovery, are not revealed as separate partitions, but rather accessed sequencially by size and start parameters.

You can see that reflected in your output of /proc/dumchar_info: size is the second column, start sector the third. Think of it like "disk images stored on a raw medium" (not an exact description, but easier to visualize).

Which one is the system partition?

My first guess (by the name) was sec_ro (as system is "ro", read only). But that's not exact enough. To find out, you'd need the sector size and the size of your /system partition, then you can do the maths: /proc/emmc gives you the "number of sectors" each partition occupies, in HEX. sec_ro accordingly occupies 0x3000 sectors, that would be 12288 in decimal. At a sector size of 512 bytes1 that would be 6 MB – too small :) A better guess probably is p5 named "android", which sums up to 1.5 GB – that seems to be the correct size. cache is /cache and usrdata will be the /data partition.

1: according to Understanding MTK’s MBR/EBR File Format


What changed between versions of the Amazon Appstore?

After you posted this I got curious too but I couldn't find a change log.  I emailed Amazon support and asked what changed and where I could find a release log and here's what they said:

  Unfortunately we do not have a change
  log detailing the changes made between
  versions of the Amazon Appstore app.

  I will forward your feedback on to the
  Appstore team who will take them into
  consideration. Customer feedback like
  yours is what allows us to continue to
  improve and provide a quality product
  and experience.

  If you have any other feedback please
  let us know via email or at
  1-866-749-7771

  Thanks for contacting Amazon.

This is actually the most direct answer I've gotten.  I've emailed them a couple other questions and got boilerplate responses that looked like they were for different questions.


One current work around would be to create a draft in gmail that has the signature and use it in the mobile app.


If really damaged - only by re-soldering broken components by new components.

But HOW? USB polarity is declared in standard, cable is impossible to insert at wrong position without break of connector.


How can I get Google Maps on Android to show metric units?

I'm in Canada and recently made a road trip to the states.  When I'm planning a trip starting in Canada, the whole trip is in km, even if it crosses into the US.  If the trip starts in the US, however, it shows everything in miles, even if it crosses into Canada.  It appears that it's not the location set in your phone but rather the location of the phone itself (if using "my location" as the departure point - otherwise it's just the departure point).

You can try this out by plotting a trip from a "miles" country to a "km" country and then clicking the reverse trip.  The units changed with me.


How to factory reset a locked phone when you cant access fastboot or usb debug mode

Some phone needs to be plugged to light before it can boot to recovery mode/hard reset. Try putting the plugged charger in the phone when it's switched off and immediately it shows the charging signal press the volume down⬇key+power key, if that doesn't work try volume up⬆key+power key.
The both work for my phone innjoo i2s.


adb devices show phone in debug mod but not in fastboot mod

Have you checked that the idProduct value is correct? run lsusb when the device is connected in fastboot mode to see the vendor id and product id and check if it matches.

Also, I think it's not supposed to show up on adb devices when in fastboot mode, try fastboot devices instead.


Add Google calendar reminder numbers as one contact

I think Google Calendar SMS reminders are supposed to come from only one number (or only a few numbers), which might be different from user to user. For example, you would get reminders from numbers A, B, and C, while I would get reminders from numbers D, E, and F. So, if you add A, B, and C under one contact, that should solve your problem.

However, there seems to be a recent issue causing reminders to be sent from many random numbers. The issue has been recognized by a Google employee (KatherineG), so hopefully they are working on a fix. You might want to head over to that thread and add your country / carrier to the list affected by this problem.


Firefox / uBlock Origin only showing camera / image apps when clicking on a file upload button

As confirmed by OP this app resolved the problem App Picker Classic. From app description

  If you have app choices that are currently hidden - maybe you chose "Always" by accident once, but you'd like to be able to reinstate the app and choose each time - then reset these by clearing the defaults in the application manager of your phone/tablet.

In addition, this app permits working with some app intents and resolves common URLs. One needs to install the app, reset defaults and enable required app.

Note

Despite the app being not updated for last two years, it even works with Marshmallow, as can be seen from @Arlinds answer here - which was a surprise to me, and the reason for remembering it !


.zip files are generally flashable from recovery, Odin's .tars are indeed a completely different format.  If flashing a kernel you can convert them relatively easily (thought I won't get into it here) but it won't work for a whole ROM.  You'll need to find an Odin package.  XDA is your best bet, but see also: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?


I am looking for one that hides the detail of how a message was sent to a given contact or number as well as possible.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. Do you mean you want it to not say whether it came through SMS vs. Facebook?

Anyway, there are numerous apps for this purpose. Some ideas:

GO SMS Pro plus the Facebook Chat plug-in
IM+
Yuilop
HeyWire
Pinger


Difference between killing an app by clearing it from Recent Apps menu and “Force Stop”

Although some people may think that clearing an app from Recent Apps menu will fully close it, they are unfortunately mistaken. There is a difference between clearing an app from Recent Apps menu and clicking Force Stop on it.

Clearing an app from Recent Apps menu may not fully close the app specifically the apps that use services such as Music Player, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc. When you clear Music Player for example, the music won't stop because the app uses a service running in the background, BUT if you force stop it from mobile settings, the music will stop hence the service is terminated.

So if you want to clear some memory to increase your RAM, you should force stop the apps that use services.

In conclusion, clearing an app from Recent Apps menu will only kill the activity lifecycle of the app but not the services that are run by that app.


I don't know about the HTC One V specifically, but in my experience, the Mic, stereo ouputs, and the single button answer/stop will work for both Apple and (most if not all) Android phones.  But the volume up/down buttons will not work, even with an app such as headphone button controller; it simply does not get detected.

The problem arises when the marketing depts start using a word such as "compatible", meaning a degree of compatibility, but not necessarily every function.  So they feel OK saying an Apple headphone is compatible, meaning just the audio works, or even the audio and the answer button.

However, it is possible that the HTC can somehow detect and use these extra two buttons, I suppose, but I would guess not.


Why does Kingo Root app need network access?

Not sure entirely, but this may be the reason why

KingoRoot was banned from the XDA Developers forum along with vRoot in November 2013 due to concerns with the information collected by the app during the rooting process.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingo_Root

Ragnar (Retired Forum Moderator)
Nov 6, 2013 at 3:02 PM
Be aware that as of this moment XDA has deemed the Kingo root method and Vroot method are not allowed on XDA. There are concerns with the information which is collected during the root method by the exploit. It is not about a continuous malware which may affect your device but about important information shared about your device, serial numbers etc during the root process which could be huge securities issues.
You have all been warned
Thread closed. If you have any questions regarding this please contact myself or any other moderator via PM
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/kingoapp.2503591/page-3


This is probably because the icon pack you installed does not have an icon for those apps. Icon packs only include app icons for certain apps and clearly the one you've installed does not cover many common apps. If you download another icon pack you may find that includes more icons for the apps you have installed.

Another option would be to contact the developer of the icon pack you have installed and request that they include an icon for the extra apps.

If the icon pack does include an icon for the app but for whatever reason it doesn't change, you can do this manually.

Long press on the app icon
In the menu that appears, click on 'Edit'
Click on the icon in the popup
You should then be able to see all available icons, from which you can select the one you wish to use for that app.

This will change the icon everywhere within the launcher (i.e. app drawer and home screens).


Does the EVO 3d's 3.5mm head phone also support a microphone?

It is a headset (as opposed to merely headphone) port, tested using TRRS (tip ring ring sleeve) Klipsch Image S4i headset. Also, because of the peculiarities of the way HTC soldered the fm radio on the 3D, it apparently (I didn't test this, don't have any TRS headsets/don't care about FM) only works correctly with a TRRS cable.

You'll note on android, when you plugin a TRRS headset, the icon in the notification area is subtly different (it has a Mic boom under the headphones). If the notification area icon only has the 'phones and no mic, you probably don't have the headset plugged in all the way (happened to me with a case skin on my DInc) and music will sound kind of funny.

The pertinent HTC EVO 3d Forum entry


How can I trick or force an app to work on an unsupported device?

You can't FORCE it to work. There may be tricks you can play to fake the app into thinking it's on another device, but for the specific app given (video playback), it's almost certainly refusing to playback because it CAN'T.

The hardware on the device is probably something that the devs didn't anticipate, or that the app can tell isn't fast enough to actually work. Even if you find some way to fake it out and make it try, it's only going to crash or play back so slowly that it will be unwatchable.


How does freezing an app work technically?

Titanium Backup etc just use in-built Package Manager (pm) to freeze an app. pm has a feature to prevent apps from running & from appearing in Launcher. To use it, Titanium Backup etc execute following command:

  pm disable {package_name}

You can freeze apps by yourself without using a dedicated freezer app. Just use the above command in Terminal Emulator or ADB Shell.

For example, if you want to freeze Stock Web Browser, open Terminal Emulator & switch to root using su command. Then, execute # pm disable com.android.browser.
It'll return #Package com.android.browser new state: disabled. Done!
Restart your Launcher (some devices may require reboot) to see the app icon gone.

To defrost the app, just replace disable with enable in the command.


How can I restore a Whatsapp backup without uninstalling it (Whatsapp is a system app)?

If you have a WhatsApp backup in Google drive or a local backup, and you'd like to restore it, all you have to do is clear data for WhatsApp. To do that, go to settings → apps → WhatsApp → storage → clear data.

Now, when you open WhatsApp, it well be as if you have just download the app. It will ask to verify your phone number, and it will then give you the option to restore your chats.


How to root a Yxtel G928? (Spreadtrum SC6820 chipset)


What is a tool to sort apps by their data size?

I know this answer's a bit late, but you haven't received a good one yet!

In Titanium Backup, you can do Menu -> More -> Overview of app storage use, then order by data size. Not only will you have your apps sorted by data size, TI shows you the size with graphical bars, so you can compare apps at a glance and see what's huge vs. tiny. See the last screenshot on the market (the free version) for an example.

Another option: App 2 SD by Sam Lu. Not as pretty, and the apps are split over 3 screens, but it is possible by doing Menu -> Sort by -> Data size.

Finally, if you have a rooted phone and an ext partition, you can move some or all of your data to the ext partition and gain tons of space!


L90 bootloop - no emergency mode, no download mode, pc doesn't recognize

I have the same device and experienced the same behavior and it turned out to be my SD card. After I removed it my phone worked fine. I never did find out what the problem with the SD card was. I inserted it into an adapter and put it in my chromebook to see if I could run some diagnostics tool on it but it even caused my chromebook to reboot!
Hope this helps.


nfc tag compatibility with google nexus 5

According to this article Tectiles 2 tags are based on the NFC Forum Type 4 tag standard (though the article does not mention an exact chip). Also Samsung explicitly released Tectiles 2 for use with devices that have non-NXP NFC chipsets (like Galaxy S4). This means that these tags are compatible to all current Android NFC devices including the Nexus 5.


Samsung s6 edge battery drains super fast at 15%

This was occurring for me as well, and a resolution was reached, although it may not be valid for everyone.

It is the sign of a failing battery, and is unfortunately common in the S6 series. Once the phone goes into Power Saving Mode, it seemed like the battery would drain abnormally fast, sometimes skipping from 15% to 12% immediately.

My carrier (Verizon) claimed that it is indeed a bad battery, and they are aware of the issue. Samsung typically wants you to send your device to them for repair, as removing the case and battery yourself will void any remaining warranty. Thankfully (hah), my device also had a faulty camera, which was close to failing entirely, and Verizon was able to replace my device with a brand new one (not a refurb, which I was surprised at). It was still under a manufacturer's warranty, so I did not have to pay for the replacement.

Regardless, get in contact with your carrier or Samsung, and see what they can do for you. This is unfortunately the only solution that worked for me. All the tweaks and tips from various Android sites were unsuccessful in helping the battery drain.


Is there a way to make a link to a specific page of a PDF file *on the desktop*?

Technical answer: Yes.
Practical answer: It's hard.

You'll need:

"Manual intent shortcuts" app to add really custom shortcuts on the desktop ( https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.cwfk.ig88.intents ).
Plus: Knowledge how to generate a specific intent that does exactly what you want to do (install above app and see what information it wants, you have to know exactly what to do).

PS: I had a look at ezPDF and it seems to allow to launch a specific .pdf file by an intent at a given page, so your problem is solvable, but requires deep knowledge of ezPDF and Android's intent subsystem (intent extra data: path, page).

EDIT: Sample for ezPDF, alas jumping to the page doesn't work, but the correct file is opened

Shortcut Name: test
Action: android.intent.action.VIEW
Category:
URI: file:///sdcard/test.pdf
Component Package: udk.android.reader
Component Class (FQDN): udk.android.reader.PDFReaderActivity
Extra Key: page
Extra Value: 14
[ ] Broadcast

Regarding how to get those values:

Use a file browser to open the 'test.pdf' file you want to open by the shortcut later.

adb logcat -d | grep -i ‘test.pdf’
You should see some line like this:
I/ActivityManager( 123): Starting activity: Intent { act=android.intent.action.VIEW dat=file:///sdcard/test.pdf typ=text/plain cmp=udk.android.reader/.PDFReaderActivity }

Manual launch via adb:
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -n udk.android.reader/.PDFReaderActivity -d file:///mnt/sdcard/Books/Effective.Java_2.Ed_2008.pdf -ef page 2


I'm O2 UK as well, and at 4.3, my phone is 'up to date'.

This article suggests we'll be getting Kitkat, but not quite yet. If you look at comparable previous releases from Samsung, I think we've still got months yet.


My EVO 3D is narcissistic and won't stop taking pictures of itself

You could try this app: ButtonRemapper (XDA Thread)

It takes a little reading to figure out how to properly configure this to your needs but once it's done it should solve your problem.


Android tv box MAC address keeps changing

I faced for a similar issue.

However, i was not able to get the my old IPTV network on my Mac.

Therefore i had to go for another service.

Then i tried several apps like Cinema apk and all. However i ended up with using Cyberflix TV. this might help you https://techslott.com/cyberflix-tv-apk/ if you have not yet sorted the issue.


Galaxy Note II slow due to lack of memory?

The speed of your device relates to the RAM not ROM. RAM of NOTE2 is 2GB and RAM is not expandable.
RAM is the memory where all your foreground and background process resides. If RAM usage in your device is very high, uninstall or disable unnecessary applications. And install a Task Killer and schedule it in crazy mode at every half hour. It may increase the speed of your system.

You can manually clear your ram from task manager. Long press home button then tap on left most option which is task manager there select ram tab and tap on clear Memory.


Android tablet won't reboot after rebooting using volume and power buttons

I was able to solve this problem by draining the tabs battery completely. After a day I was able to turn it on using the power button today while charging.


What happens when you connect an Android phone to another Android phone?

Yes, it is possible to transfer using an OTG cable. But you require at least one of the phones to support OTG, and it is better explained here. The phones mentioned in the post are Xperia and Micromax. I am sure it will work with the rest of the OTG-supported phones too.


App installed from apk, but not in app drawer and in settings

Seems like a spying apps which can install in stealth mode and never being detected.

Try with ADB commands to check if it appears in the list of installed apps and eventually delete it.

Download Minimal ADB and fastboot . Unzip and run it. (Windows machines)
On the phone, enable USB debugging in Settings > Developer Options > USB Debugging. If the Developer Options is not present: Go to Settings > About then hit 7 times on Build number then go back to Settings.
Depending on your phone, you'll need drivers for your device to be detected (Windows).
Connect the phone to the computer. On the terminal window, type adb devices [press enter]  this checks if the phone is detected. Output : xxxxxxx devices
Type adb shell [press enter]
Type pm list packages -f [press enter]. A long list of apps with their packages name will output, just check if your app is listed.
Then to delete the app, type cd /system/app [press enter] or cd /system/priv-app [press enter] depending on the app location and then type rm app_name.apk [press enter] (app names are case sensitive).

Note: An alternative for Minimal ADB and fastboot which is available for Linux, Mac and Windows as well, can be found in the answers on Is there a minimal installation of ADB?.

Since you are using Nova Launcher, I remember you can hide apps. Check if you didn't do so inadvertently.

Go to Nova's Settings menu, by either long-pressing on the home screen and selecting the “Settings” icon in the bottom right, or heading into the app drawer and tapping the “Nova Settings” icon.
Open the second entry App & widget drawers
In the Drawer groups section, select the **Hide apps* option.
Then check if the app appears there and eventually uncheck the check mark.


Rotate 180 degrees screen in HTC Desire HD with ICS from Blackout team

Go to settings > display > rotation. In there you might have the option to enable 180 degrees. This works for me using CM9 so hopefully it works for you.


Backup contacts, photos, apps, remove google account, and replace with dummy account

Here is what I have done so far for each thing to backup (For reference I am on Droid 2 Global CDMA, OS 2.2:

Contacts:

Open "Contacts" i.e. "Contacts A-Z"
Click the menu  button
Click "More"
Import/Export
Selected "Export contacts to:" -> "SD Card"

The file will then be exported to "/sdcard/00001.vcf". Every time you export it will increment. The VCF file is one of the those standard types of files and is human readable, so even if you have problems later you can at least salvage the information. Just connected by phone to PC via USB and copied.

Photos:

I am not sure about third party apps or other versions of android, but it seems all of my photos are stored on the sd card using the dcim folder "/sdcard/dcim" which is easily accessible upon connecting with USB.

Calendar:

It looks like it was using one of my account's Google Calendars, I don't know if they permit a local only option with the default calendar. I plan to just export using my private feed to the next account or dealing with this separately since its not "not on the phone" http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=37111

After backing up the above and some specific apps with dumps, I decided to just go the root route (z4root) and I am now using adb to backup files (http://jonwestfall.com/2009/08/backup-restore-android-apps-using-adb/), I might also try Titanium or make a image once I figure that part out.

I will update others as I go.


This thing happened to me, try formatting the drive in the phone itself. Then it should be good to go.


Incoming calls Moto X ; press 1 to accept call

"Press 1 to accept the call" sounds like Google Voice's call screening.

Check your GV call settings to ensure that call screening isn't on at all. (You can individually turn it off for certain people or groups, but the main setting would need to be "on".)

More on Call Screening at Google Voice Support.


Stopping an ongoing download without exiting Chrome

The Download manager is just a viewing app for seeing all downloads you have done clearing it or forcing it to stop will do nothing(it will just clear the app's data and cache)
You might want to try clearing cache of chrome app since that's the app you used to download the file by going into Settings -> Apps/Installed apps ->Locate Chrome app -> Clear cache
If this still doesn't solve your problem you might want to clear data of the app as well (same procedure as above just click clear data) WARNING: Clearing data will clear all bookmarks,sometimes the files that were downloaded using chrome and sign you out of chrome(which you sign in after clearing is complete) So better move all the downloaded file to other location before proceeding
(Not a risky process i get the same problem randomly and do the same thing most of the time clearing cache does the job)


USB Drivers for Dragon Touch E70 (or how to install an APK from PC on this device?)

I had a similar issue using a DragonTouch K10 and found this question - The issue I discovered I was having was that I needed to enable developer tools on the device. I went to Settings>System>About Tablet, then tapped the Build number 7 times to turn them on. Then my SDK was able to detect it with the drivers I had installed.


How can I tell if I need a valid SIM card (active phone #) on my old Smartphone to use an App?

The phone service (which includes texting) is a feature of the Android.  Tablets don't have this feature.

Without being connected to a phone provider will cause you to loose features the service provide.  However other features of the Android OS will not be affected.  You don't need phone service to use many apps.  Also there are many apps that can be used without Internet service (as long as you have a means (such as USB tethering to get the app on the device.

In other words the Android device should function very similar to a computer that works offline with applications installed and online when connected to the Internet.


I need some more details, like whether you are using stock ROM or custom ROM, stock kernel, etc. If you have ClockWorkMod, that will come in very handy. Devices do not usually brick without having root access first. If you have ClockWorkMod, restore your backup. If you don't, try and find your stock ROM from the Internet, although when you carry out the second method, you will lose all data on your phone (not SD card though, if it's one you plugged in manually to expand the memory).

Kind Regards,

Indraj Gandham


In Google Voice, do all SMS messages have to be transmitted via a data connection?

If you are using the Google Voice or Hangouts app to send or receive messages using your Google Voice number, then yes it must have a working data connection, but it's data usage will be extremely minimal.

In Google Voice you can setup your SMS messages to forward to email or your actual carrier's SMS service if you prefer. You can replay from either email or carrier SMS via both methods as well.


Is ROM Manager compatible with the Galaxy Nexus?

The Galaxy Nexus is supported from a device/hardware standpoint, but it may not be available in your region for some reason. If that's the case, you can instead get ROM Manager directly from the developer's website. There are also ClockworkMod recovery downloads on that page.

If, for whatever reason, ROM Manager proves to be unusable or unsatisfactory, there are a few alternatives currently available:

GooManager Beta
ROM Toolbox


How to tame "Phone Idle" battery drain on unrooted device?

How to nail Phone Idle battery drain is the question,  but being unrooted device, it calls for some efforts. Finding the culprit apps isn't as easy as it is on rooted devices but is possible using adb commands to enable higher privileges 1

(At the time of writing, OP is working on his Linux to detect his device 2. Once done with that, they can follow this answer.)

The primary cause of idle drain is truant wakelock (s) and the answer is around how to detect apps that cause wakelocks that hurt (Wakelocks aren't bad, they are needed but not such ones). It may help to improve doze-mode performance  but more about that later.

All methods below are working on my unrooted device running Oreo 8.0.

Tracking truant apps that cause battery draining wakelocks

Measuring Battery Drain and first level wakelock detection

Battery usage statistics in Android, unfortunately, don't reveal much and are difficult to interpret (not withstanding the improvements in Oreo). GSam Battery Monitor is arguably the best for stock devices. One needs to enable enhanced statistics (Menu → more → Enable more stats) and follow the steps which are

adb -d shell pm grant com.gsamlabs.bbm android.permission.BATTERY_STATSmust read 3

For the PRO version, change 'com.gsamlabs.bbm' to 'com.gsamlabs.bbm.pro' (thanks acejavelin).

The enhanced statistics gives better view of app usage and wakelocks as shown. Long press of held awake (which in OP's case is 77%) shows additional information as shown in the third screenshot.

Second level bad wakelock detection (One can optionally start with this step)

Download Wakelock Detector [LITE] (XDA thread) which works without root (see this slideshare for details). Two ways to run without root

As a Chrome extension or on Chromium. OP had issues with this
A better method is adb again

adb shell pm grant com.uzumapps.wakelockdetector.noroot android.permission.BATTERY_STATS

How to use (from Play Store description)

  Charge your phone above 90% and unplug cable (or just reboot the phone)
  Give it a time (1-2 hours) to accumulate some wakelock usage statistics
  Open Wakelock Detector
  Check the apps on the top, if they show very long wakelock usage time then you found the cause of your battery drain!

While 2 hours is enough to gather the information about top culprits, longer duration obviously leads to more data. During data collection, don't use the device and let it be as you would normally use the phone (with data or WiFi connected as is your normal usage). Screenshots below from my device (not under test but normal usage).

Left to right, they show Screen Wakelock, CPU Wakelock and Wakeup triggers. Check the top contributors to understand what's draining your battery.

Eliminating the bad apps or controlling them

Once you have identified the culprits, you have three choices

Uninstall them
Replace them with a comparable feature app with less power consumption (assumption being they are better designed and wakelocks don't cause havoc). See Is there a searchable app catalog that rank applications by power and network bandwith usage?
If you don't want to uninstall because you need the app, then greenify them!

Taming wakelocks and improving Doze

Greenify is a fantastic app but very powerful so needs to be used carefully. Read the XDA thread and Greenify tag wiki for help.

I will limit to using adb to unleashing a fair part of its power to help rein in wakelocks and enhancing Doze performance.

A word about Doze, which was introduced since Marshmallow. Though it has evolved better, it has some drawbacks from battery saving point of view.

It takes time to kick in, during which apps are active causing drain (even though screen is off)
Doze mode is interrupted when you move the device, for example, when you are moving causing battery drain. Doze kicks in again when you are stationary with a wait period

Greenify tackles these problems with Aggresive Doze and Doze on the go (There are other apps that do this too, like ForceDoze, but Greenify manages both  Wakelocks and Doze).

Instructions for using adb

For different features, you need to run adb commands to grant the corresponding permission:

Accessibility service run-on-demand:

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
Aggressive Doze on Android 7.0+ (non-root):

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
Doze on the Go:

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP
Aggressive Doze (on device/ROM with Doze disabled):

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP
Wake-up Tracker:

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_LOGS
Wake-up Cut-off: (Android 4.4~5.x):

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_LOGS

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

Background-free enforcement on Android 8+ (non-root):

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_APP_OPS_STATS

I will restrict to snapshots of settings from my device to help set it up faster after running adb commands above. I have pro version so ignore those donation settings

With those settings, even when the device is running, you will see a hibernation alert in your status bar with the app icon and in your notification panel. Clicking on that will force close and hibernate the app

You can also hibernate errant apps from Wakelock Detector by long pressing on the app

Caution: Be very careful with what you want to hibernate. Simple rule - don't hibernate apps that are critical to you. Hibernate you errant apps that are not critical

Edit

BetterBatteryStats  (XDA thread) is a very powerful tool which has been recently (end Feb 18) updated to work with Oreo and sweeter still is that escalated privileges using adb is possible

adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.BATTERY_STATS

adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.DUMP

On Lollipop and forward, additionally run:
adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS

Happy Wakelock hunting!

I've done everything you suggested but it didn't help

It's likely that a system app is causing the Wakelocks for which there isn't much you can do on an unrooted device 4

1 Is there a minimal installation of ADB? and for the latest version refer to Izzy's awesome repo. Also see this XDA guide
2 How do I get my device detected by ADB on Linux?
must read 3:  For all adb permissions to stick,  force stop app to let the granted permission take effect. You can either do it in system "Settings → Apps → App name → Force stop", or execute this command: adb -d shell am force-stop com.<package name of app>
4
How to deal with (orphaned) WakeLocks?


In order to pull the files with ADB from my phone I flashed the latest TWRP recovery with ODIN (3.0.7, not the latest), then by default you have an authorized ADB devise in recovery, so I just entered

adb pull /sdcard/*

and waited for the files to transfer.


broken screen and touch, how to control?

Use a USB-OTG cable, then you can connect a mouse to the phone and you'll get a cursor on-screen. You can also connect the OTG cable to a USB hub, then you can connect both a mouse and keyboard. You could also connect a wired mouse long enough to pair a Bluetooth mouse/keyboard to the phone.


On Android Chrome 54, turn off autoplay of media by going to Settings - Site Settings - Media - Autoplay and Block autoplay.

This feature is disabled if you have data compression enabled in your Android Chrome browser.


Checksum Error on restoring userdata*****.backup file

Stock Android recovery backup files can be restored with a Nandroid custom recovery, if you simply repack them into tar archive.

i put this two command lines in a dirty shell script (extract + repack as tar). thanks to ektoric figuring out his gunzip method!

the shell script will convert your backup file into nandroid backup automatically. download >bckp2cwm.zip< at

From http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=65374561#post65374561


Problems rooting a Pandigital Planet 7 tablet

The error message says that the update is for a device with the codename pandigitalplnt1, not the Planet 7. You need to find one for your exact device model.


Activating wifi hotspot tethering on a Verizon Droid with Froyo 2.2

That app is really your best (and maybe only) choice. Try resetting (or maybe reinstalling) the Wireless Tether app and try again.

If that doesn't work, you may need to set a manual IP on your Mac.


Google PDF Viewer doesn't have app icon.

However, when you're trying to open a PDF file from other apps (e.g. Download, or any file manager like ES File Explorer), it will be listed as one of possible app inside App Chooser dialog.


Why is this?

It's faulty.

  What can I do about it?

Return it to the vendor for repair or replacement. Nobody should expect this kind of problem with a new phone. It's not on you to fix it.


Is it a NAT configuration 3G uses?

Yes, I believe most - if not all - carriers use NAT.

  if so, how can I make apps like "Droid IP Camera" (this app is only given as an example) work over 3G?

You will probably need to ask your carrier to provide you with an external IP address.


Is the "History" tab gone from Wikipedia after latest update?

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

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


How can I unlock the boot loader on a HTC Magic?

The process for getting CM on HTCs in my experience (HTC Sensation, Raider, One S, Desire Z) has been to:

Unlock the bootloader, usually via HTC Dev, after installing only Sync Drivers
Flash Custom Recovery - TWRP preferred, but CWM works fine
Flash Superuser zip file for easy root. If that doesn't work, I can suggest VRoot, worked great on an Lenovo Ascend G610 with little documentation on the web
Run S-OFF tool of choice, sometimes terminal based, sometimes it's an easy apk
Set SuperCID for easy flashing of other stock roms
Flash Cyanogen and Gapps, make sure to clear data before first boot

Don't try to install custom bootloaders with S-ON, as I've bricked an HTC Hero that was S-ON, tried to flash Amarulz HBoot, and it never started up again.

The method above has successfully unlocked all the HTC devices first mentioned, without any bricks.

To answer your questions, you can't flash a custom recovery because you are S-ON. Perhaps you cannot get the unlock key for your HBoot because it predates HTCs unlocking program. My HTC Hero got an Hboot update that required the use of using HTCDev to unlock.

If you're looking to flash a recovery via ADB Shell, you'll need to use 'dd' for that.


Which is less insecure - mounting /system rw or disabling SELinux

I'm not an expert, but disabling SELinux is almost certainly more insecure.

Nothing that's not already in /system should be able to write there without root in either case, or an exploit that would let malicious code remount it anyways.  But disabling SELinux hamstrings Android's process sandboxing and access controls, meaning a malicious app could modify or steal data from others.


My phone is not connecting to the cell network (No Service)

Reset Your android
just search for recovery mode buttons combination in google for your android

then choose wipe data/cache in that option


How can I backup contacts on a SIM card to my computer?

Create a separate Google account for your brother's account. Import your brother's SIM's contacts to that Google account.

OK- here's the idea I have:

Back up all your existing contacts to SD card. Open your Contacts App and press MENU > IMPORT/EXPORT > EXPORT TO SD CARD. A .vcf file will be created with all your existing contacts. Using My Files or Astro or a file manager of choice, save / copy this backup file to another location as well.
Optional Step - You can create a separate Google account for your brother so his imported contacts are pushed/synced there.
Turn on Airplane Mode - this way there's no chance of any changes being made to your Google Account Contacts (added safety).
Wipe all your contacts - from within the Contacts app, press MENU > DELETE and choose ALL CONTACTS. (This is also rather optional, depending on whether you wish to sync to a Google account or not).
Turn your phone off and insert your brother's SIM. Turn your phone on.
You currently have no contacts. From within your CONTACTS app, press MENU > IMPORT / EXPORT and choose IMPORT FROM SIM - it'll ask where the contacts should be imported to - PHONE / list of Google Accounts. Depending on your process, either choose the PHONE or the new Google account and you ought to be done.

You can either sync the new contacts to the new Google account or export them to a .vcf on your SD card.

This is just a rough idea of how you can do things. The end process is yours to tweak to your liking and needs.


If you can charge a little  or arrange a new battry I guess you can do it by wiping data in recovery mode.

To do so hold the volume up, home button and power button simultaneously.
Once you are in Recovery Mode Scroll to wipe data/factory reset by pressing the Volume down button.

THATS IT.


ParanoidAndroid can't make bluetooth call

This certainly sounds like a bug in the ROM. In the first instance you should report it to the system integrator (the person who ported the ROM for that device).

Debugging and developing device drivers is not for the faint-hearted, and it's well beyond the scope of this site!


Is it possible to reach hidden SMB/CIFS share from Android?

You can add a share directly in ES. From the LAN window, click New. In the Server text box, type the address and path of the share (e.g. server/priv), and fill in the rest of the form appropriately.


Why I have problem downloading iso file in android?

It's entirely possible that your carrier's network has noticed you downloading large files and throttled or shaped your bandwidth - particularly if that file put you over 2GB of data for the month, which it sounds like it would have.


Unable to connect to websites which donot start with www

How do I prevent Firefox to use: www.foo.bar instead of foo.bar? suggests setting browser.fixup.alternate.enabled to disabled to be a working solution

Steps Involved Source

Turning off Domain Guessing

In the address bar, type about:config and press Enter
The about:config "This might void your warranty!" warning page may appear. Click I'll be careful, I promise! to continue to the about:config page. (There's no warranty with Mozilla so I suppose this is to just a warning joke)
In the Search field, type fixup.Double-click the browser.fixup.alternate.enabled preference to set its value to false.

Changing the prefix (to www )

In the about:config page, double-click the browser.fixup.alternate.prefix
In the pop up menu enter www.  ( if that doesn't help try www without . )

This is perhaps what was suggested in comment


if you can't take out the battery of your device and if longpressing whatever does not solve it

install adb on pc.
connect device with usb cable to pc
enter following command on pc

adb sideload /dev/null

the device will complain that file is not valid but it will come out of the sideloading state


How can I study or prepare myself for an exam with the help of my Android device?

I could list up a bunch of stuff here now, but that would get quite long. So let's better organize it by groups:

Covering multiple topics

First, of course, there are mentioned Flashcard apps (best-rated here are probably Learn Easy and AnyMemo -- a longer List can be found at my AndroidPIT overview Vokabeln & FlashCards (Google Translate version here).

These are not only restricted to languages, as mentioned AnyMemo shows1: being able to also use images, you can use it for everything -- think e.g. of images of molecules, electronic wiring examples, and others.

Languages

Second, there are the "big language guides" -- again I can refer to an overview at AndroidPIT: Sprachführer (and the Google Translate variant here). Though this latter mainly addresses German native speakers, the end of the list has some generic hints.

While FlashCards & Co focus on learning words, the more complex language guides also cover grammar and complete phrases. I guess best is to use a combination. As for the FlashCards, any solution should do: they are mostly not language specific. Other with the language guides, where it lies in the nature of this type that it has to be specific at least to the target language you want to learn. Examples here include French Class Demo3 and Italian in a Month Free4.

A third category should not be forgotten to mention here: Get yourself a good eBook Reader, and add some books to it which are written in the language you want to learn. I recommend Moon+ Reader5 here, which already includes a huge Online Library list for multiple languages (which actually is sorted by languages even), so the reader immediately has some ressources at hand. Having trouble with some words while reading? Simply long-tap the word to open a dictionary -- either online translation, or an offline dictionary like Fora or ColorDict6, which both can deal with StarDict files saved on the sd card. Being able to mark and even annotate with Moon+ Reader (see the picture5), one could also use this app for other subjects/classes.

Number four now should be obvious: There's that Youtube app one could check some language specific movie[clip]s with. Or get some other movie player (MoboPlayer probably being a good choice), plus some videos in the targeted language.

Guess number 5? Right: Music. There are plenty of music players around, and songs to pick. Repeating them over and over is baking some phrases to ones brains :) Beside this fact, there are also some audio books and language-learning audio files around.

Science

So far on language-learning -- but your question was not restricted to that, as I just notice. So let's go for some more possibilities -- pointed out in the AP overview Formelsammlungen & Referenzen (Google Translate: formulas & references). There are tons of references for chemistry, like e.g. the very famous Merck PTE HD (periodic table)7, mathematics calculation helpers and references like e.g. Mathematics8, physics references, electronics, stuff for engineers... So learning is clearly not restricted to languages.

School Organizers

Learning for school or study? Multiple subjects to cover, and courses to keep track of? This also can be covered using your Android smartphone or tablet. The AP overview dealing with this would be Stundenpläne und Schul-Organizer (Google Translate: school organizers). From simple timetables like School Schedule9 to just keep track of what subject is running when and where, to apps also keeping track of related tasks and even silence the device during classes (e.g. My Class Schedule -- note the tiny numbered boxes on the blue items in the screenshot10, which indicate connected tasks), you can find many solutions.

Summary

To sum up: There's a lot of stuff you can pre-load to your tablet -- and then use to learn on-the-go.


Accidentally accepted update, how can I abort before it actually installs?

Ok, here is how I solved the problem:

I followed the first part of the directions here: http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Motorola_Droid_2_Global:_Full_Update_Guide  to wipe the flash and install older version of the Motorola software. (specifically, section 2.1.1)  Then I upgraded to the version that I was running before the update started attempting to run.


Log out from Google account on Android 6.0.1

Partly answering my own questions:

It appears that you can sign out any (other) device by going to Google's recently used devices list and revoking the device's access. At the very minimum, the Play Store app will whinge with a permanent notification (one of the kind that won't go away, no matter how many times you acknowledge it) that you need to sign in again.

Edit: The notification goes away if turn off notifications for Play Store and turn them back on.

The downside:

Under syncing of app data etc. still happens under Settings -> Cloud and Accounts -> Accounts -> Google if triggered manually. Not sure how that's possible if the device has access revoked...

Man alive, this is an awful user experience... If Google was asking money for this kind of service, they'd be bankrupt tomorrow.


Is it possible to direct all audio output, including music output, to a Bluetooth headset?

I did some googling and stumbled across this post on androidforums.com which has some suggestions:

There are several apps which appear to provide this functionality.  BTmono is the only free one I found that isn't limited to a certain length of time.  It requires Android 2.2+.  There are several other similar apps that you can also see at that link.
This person posted a trick which looks like it works without the use of an additional app:

  I went to the phone and dialed '**' (2 stars) which creates a 'p' for pause. Then press call. This enables the headset without actually
  placing a call.
  After this I started doggcatcher (or other audio / video player) and it played through the headset. Everything went through the headset
  after this point.
  In order to stop playback to my headset I just called my voicemail and hung up. At that point, audio was routed back to the speaker.

  EDIT: I have found that it only works when my ringer volume is off or
  on vibrate. Also, the media volume needs to be turned up separately --
  Either from the settings control or prior to performing the 'p' call.
  The volume rocker only controls the Bluetooth call volume after the
  bluetooth headset is active.


How to fix file permissions on Android 5 so that a certain app can access certain files?

Try using Supersu 2.49 beta for Lollipop (LP) 5.0.

Do a full unroot first.

I have LP 5.0 Touchwiz on my Samsung tab with SElinux enforcing and functioning root. The Supersu version in your recovery can probably be replaced by unpacking your recovery with any number of methods and/or tool-sets, and replacing the archive. The better approach would be to update your recovery if one is available. Also, fix permissions scripts need a different/new approach as of Android 5.0.

This is my imperfect fix permissions script for my other Samsung tab running LP 5.1.1:

#!/system/bin/sh
mount -o rw,remount /system
find -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find -type d -name '.*' -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find -type f -name '.*' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '.su' -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find -type f -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.h' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.a' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.o' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.so' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.so.*' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.c' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.cpp' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.cgf' -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find -type f -name '*.xml' -exec chmod 644 {} \;


Looks like there are some clients now.

AndroIRC, Yaaic, XdccDownloader and probably even more


How do I prevent Whatsapp displaying entries in the contacts app?

Using Samsung S9:

Whatsapp does show in "custom group" list of available contact lists on my phone
Doing that has not effect on the Phone App contact list though (still showing all contacts available on the phone including whatsapp).

so the question remains:
How to define the address book to be used by the phone app?
Note:
I don't want to merge duplicates becasue that comes with a whole host of new issues like intetional duplicates being merged etc..


Cable to send audio from iPhone to android phone via TRRS

I understand this question has long since been asked. However I have useful information for Google-fu students and teachers.

From what I understand, iPhones by default have the TRRS 4-conductor jack. Androids, on the other hand, vary in specifications.

Quoted from here:

  I'm sure android and apple are the same kind (I've used them interchangeably) though samsung android phones have two rings swapped.

More specifications related to Android, specifically the Nexus One, can be found here (with wiring diagrams). However, the application is different than what you are proposing. Still, this may help.


I've found it out,

the ext2 partition magically turned into ext3 without formatting I don't know how but it happened,

Formatted my ext3 partition into ext2 again and it worked,I couldn't find anyway to bring lost data back.


Turn on bluetooth when USB is connected?

I'm not 100% sure because I've never used the app myself, but knowing that it has a million features I'm sure Tasker could handle this.

Tasker


Generally speaking, any system app you can disable can safely be disabled. Core system apps will have the disable button greyed out. You can see this if you open App info for the Settings app itself.

Go ahead and disable all Google apps you don't want.


Oh, I found how languages may be switched :). There is a small keyboard icon in the notification area which allows to do that.


Android device manager..password not accepted

Nope. I had the same issue and google support gave me no answer but factory reset, as did the samsung representative i spoke to. I have  a galaxy note 3. You can try unlocking from "find my phone" on samsung website if you have a samsung phone and have the services set up... or try reseting password through another phone with ADM... but if not, you'll have no choice but to factory reset, which is what i had to do.
Sorry if that didn't help you


Do Apps like Google Assistant work on Blloc Zero18?

Optionally.
From the Blloc site

Start your smartphone experience differently with Blloc: the real (non-Google) stock Android experience without any forced Google services.
Zero18 comes with the Blloc MNML operating system—a distraction-free custom software built on top of Android 8.1

So out of the box there appears to be NO Google Services.
Google Assistant, Google Maps, Google Mail, Google Translate all require Google Services to be running on the device.
Therefore from the Blloc help/wiki page: it seems you would need to manually install Google Services (basically flip a special settings switch and reboot) so that the device could get Play Store apps.
I'm unclear/doubtful that some of the deeper integrations of Google Assistant like being able have the phone passively listen for "wake words" to enable a voice assistant would be possible on this device.
You have the option to use alternatives to Google Services


It works after a Backup & Reset:

Make a new local backup (via settings -> chats -> chat-backup)
uninstall WhatsApp
install WhatsApp
Login via Phone number and sms verification (even when there's a backup)
Whatsapp finds the local backup and asks if you want to import it. Nothing is lost, but a few settings. Profile image is restored, but for the screen name whatsapp asks you again (and suggests the name from your google account)

So if someone has the same problem: backup & restore works fine.
Of course it doesn't hurt to have a TitaniumBackup, adb backup or similiar as well.


How to get the information of users connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot?

Take a look at Network Discovery1 -- it lists all devices within the same network, together with some details on them, as e.g. IP, MAC address, available services:

Network Discovery (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)
Other port scanners will do as well.

1: This app is no longer available on Play Store.


I got my solution to this  problem. In one of post it is mentioned that start phone in safe mode. And i do so and really it WORKS!!!!

Just press volume down key after first time optimizing ends and then it will boot in safe mode.Here is detailed answer that i mentioned


Change week day names on specific locale

Found /system/usr/icu/icudt51l.dat
http://site.icu-project.org
Need to tamper with that file


Sony Xperia M4 Start Screen almost black

I found more people with same problem on Sony's forum.

I fixed reseting to factory using PC Companion: https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-M4-Aqua/M4-Aqua-won-t-start/m-p/1025996/thread-id/1311


Galaxy s2 bluetooth stopped working suddenly

Well, that's weird first of all make sure that the other bluetooth devices you are searching using the S2 are visible, otherwise its not going to detect the bluetooth device. And if you are sure that the bluetooth devices you are trying to connect is visible try clearing the cache and the data stored by the bluetooth app, you can do that by going to settings>application manager>Tap the bluetooth app and clear the cache and the data store. Now try connecting with the other bluetooth devices and see if that works out or not.


Sony Emma FlashTool saying Unable to connect to the network and exits suddenly while I have network

try updating your JAVA. It might work...
If you Want to fash a new Rom, 'Flashtool for sony' will be very useful. It is very easy to Use.


try MyPhoneExplorer at www.fjsoft.at
it provides you access like a remote does to a tv, and you can use the mouse on your pc as a touch control for android.
its not a smooth experience but workable.
you can also use to back up device data as well
hope this helps.


Stop Android from displaying "Install blocked" prompt

You're better off with Izzy's advise and find and weed out the app trying to install that Clean Master app. Anyhow, there you go with an another solution.
When you attempt to sideload an apk using UI or any app that attempts to install an apk and isn't granted the permission android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES, Package Installer app comes into action and its activity PackageInstallerActivity is launched. The setting for unknown sources (install_non_market_apps) under Settings Storage's database is checked and based on that, you're either shown that prompt (dialog) or the permissions and the install button.
Even if you manage to find a hack that disables that prompt from being shown, Package Installer would still be launched and the UI would look awkward since only app's label and white space would be visible to you, which would do naught but create confusion.
For rooted Android
The solution I ended up with is to get rid of the activity PackageInstallerActivity. You can use Elixir 2 to disable that activity.
Launch it → Application → tap  → System applications → Package Installer → find and disable the said activity
You can also use adb in this case
adb shell su -c pm disable com.android.packageinstaller/.PackageInstallerActivity # Disables the activity
adb shell su -c pm enable com.android.packageinstaller/.PackageInstallerActivity # Use it to enable the activity

Now whenever you or an app attempt to sideload an apk which requires launching the Package Installer app, you may either get a toast like in the following image or an app registered to open/explore an apk would be launched or be suggested by system.
(Click image to enlarge)

If the toast becomes noisy, hide it using EnhancedToast1 or UnToaster2. Since they are Xposed modules, you would need Xposed Framework appropriate3 for your Android version.
Note that disabling that activity wouldn't affect the ability of Play Store to install an app, neither would it affect adb install because the underlying package manager is intact.
You can use automation here too. Example, whenever your preferred file manager is active on screen, enable that activity so that you can continue to sideload an apk, should you decide to, and keep it disabled for any other on-screen active app.
For non-rooted Android
You (KitKat or Lollipop users) can hide/block the whole Package Installer app. You definitely need adb for that.
adb shell pm block com.android.packageinstaller # for KitKat
adb shell pm hide com.android.packageinstaller  # for Lollipop

The biggest inconvenience here is that you won't be able to uninstall an app using Settings app because it uses Package Installer's activity named UninstallerActivity and UninstallAppProgress. Attempt to removal of an app using Settings app would cause the latter to crash.
Every time you intend to remove an app using Settings app or sideload an apk using UI, you must unhide/unblock Package Installer app.
To unblock/unhide, do
adb shell pm unblock com.android.packageinstaller # for KitKat
adb shell pm unhide com.android.packageinstaller  # for Lollipop

Note that hiding/blocking that app wouldn't affect the ability of Play Store to install an app, neither would it affect adb install because the underlying package manager is intact.

1: XDA: EnhancedToast
2: XDA: UnToaster
3. Xposed Framework: Android 4.x, Android 5.x and 6.x


Are the apps safe? How can I make my Android more secure?

It only takes a one time fee of $25 for a developer to start putting apps on the market.  No hoops to jump through.  $25 and you can publish as many applications as you want, instantly.  No waiting, no queues, no approval process, nada.

However, there have been a few cases of malicious applications. When these problems arise, Google usually pulls them from the Market (and from user's phones).  It doesn't happen very often.

Android was designed to to keep yourself protected: all applications have to ask for "permissions" to do certain things: make calls, read contact data, access the internet, etc.  Read the permissions before you install an application.  Make sure you know and understand what it is going to be doing.  Does it seem to have a dubious "permission" that it asks for access to?  However, at the same time: don't berate the developer because of certain permissions.  Some ads ran in apps require at least the internet permission and sometimes some other ones (about the phone state, I believe). Be sure to have a thorough understanding of why a developer would need certain permissions.  Most importantly, read what other people are saying about the application in the market.  Read some of the comments (although beware that the comments on the Android market are the same level as Youtube in terms of quality) and see what the app's rating is.  Have you heard of the app before?  Has a blog mentioned or reviewed it?

Worse case scenario: if you aren't rooted, then no single application should be able to damage your phone as every application is sandboxed from each other (technically, each developer's set of applications are sandboxed from each other. Apps signed by the same developer key can have access to other apps signed by the same developer). They could potentially steal your data, depending on the amount of permissions the application is given. The rarest scenario I can think of is if an application uses an exploit to enable root access on your phone and then does something malicious (e.g., delete everything).


Where is the internal memory for Samsung Galaxy S2 and how do I remove it?

The internal memory isn't removable - it's soldered onto the phone's motherboard. The only way to get data from it is via USB.


Cant open tar.md5 files to view the .img files

Generic Samsung Firmware MD5 Information:

You can flash an MD5 file via Odin for Samsung Devices.

An MD5 file is just a .tar file with a checksum included. Odin can recognise both, and you an even just remove the .MD5 and have .tar on the end, rather than the usual .tar.md5 extension Samsung software has. A tar file is just a *NIX archive file to all intents and purposes.

Note: MD5 cannot be flashed by CWM or TWRP or any other custom recovery.

For example:

Lets say I download a new Modem called MODEM_S6102DXLC2_REV01.tar.md5
Open ODIN
Place MODEM_S6102DXLC2_REV01.tar.md5 in the 'Phone' or 'CP' section (Depending on Odin Version)
Flash Modem.

Opening Tar Files:

To open a .tar file you can use 7-Zip in Windows.

Link to 7 Zip Page note it mentions Tar explicitely on the page.

Here is a list of free archive software for windows many of which can open tar files.


Ok solved it.

I opened g.co/androidbeta directly in Chrome on the device, opted back in and out again. Did it via a Desktop browser the first time and didn't work.


Moto G8 plus - Android 9 - no support for sms message restore from Google backup - how do I manually access these messages?

If the SMS are restored successfully, you can use ADB:
adb shell content query --uri content://sms

That will print all the content of the table sms in the database "/data/user_de/0/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db".


Summing up from the comments:

First you need to understand that updating apps works different on Android than it does on a "normal" Linux distro: There is no such thing as "apt". Though Android has its own package manager (listening to the pm command), installs/updates are usually dealt with by services/apps like google-play-store or other alternative-markets. pm would rather be comparable with dpkg on Debian-based systems: it can do local installs (i.e. with the .apk file already present on the device itself: pm install would be the command for that), and a lot of other things.

Apart from that: a terminal app can be compared with a terminal on Linux allright. You get a text-mode "window" where you can execute commands. Most are even similar to those available on Linux, as Android is Linux based: you have things like cd, ls, grep, and more. For details on this, you might wish to take a look at e.g.

Ten basic Android terminal commands you should know (AndroidCentral)
Using the terminal (XDA)
Android Terminal Commands (XDA)
Android Shell Command Reference (Github)
our command-line tag-wiki

A look into our terminal tag-wiki will not hurt either :)

I'd say all terminal apps available for Android should support the above. Some even offer additional features, such as an entire development environment (Terminal IDE), or access to remote servers (JuiceSSH).


"Scanner disabled; location inaccurate" in Ingress

Try updating google maps. This is what worked for me (after none of the other stuff mentioned worked.)


Connect to local network with OpenVPN . Problem: Local IP address unset but adding route?

I managed to resolve what I think was the same issue as you (I am also using Shibby firmware for OpenVPN and using an Android client).

I believe it comes down to how the routes are pushed to the client and the Android app not liking it (the refusal to open tun interface is an error message belonging to the app).

I'm not sure why the routes aren't pushed successfully, but if you set up your client profile under IP and DNS, disable Pull Settings and set the IPv4 address to be the same network/cidr as whatever bridge your TAP OpenVPN interface is (default is br0 and 192.168.1.0/24).

This also even gives me internet access over the router.

Note I'm using the latest versions of the Android app and Shibby firmware as of writing.


How do I take a shot without the volume display on screen?

I assume you're on TouchWiz and are trying to take a screenshot by using Vol - and Power.

On TouchWiz it's Home + Power.


Applications lost permissions after flashing Marshmallow

For me the boot.img modification by Chainfire worked partially: device seems to be rooted (with supersu 2.51 beta), but twrp asks for password and cannot mount anything (I've posted a question about the latter). In particular I could not install supersu via adb sideload from recovery, as Chainfire recommends. Rather I just installed apk from system (using simple explorer).


Can't enable Developer Mode on Nexus 7 2013 with tapping the Build Number

The problem was that the tablet had installed Family Link. Once I removed the account from Family Link, tapping the build option worked.


How to automatically reconnect VPN on network change?

This seems to have been caused by either a bug or an oversight by the app developer, and it sorted itself after an update. Just make sure the OpenVPN client is recent.

Also, the following settings are worth checking.

Reconnect on reboot. Enable it unless you want to manually decide when to OpenVPN and when not to.

Seamless tunnel. Enabling it blocks all internet traffic while the VPN is (re)-connection, to avoid leaking your real IP.

Connction timeout. How long to try re-acquiring the connection if it is lost. Set this to CONTINOUSLY RETRY to keep trying until a connection is established. If a timeout is set, and a connection has not been established before it runs out, OpenVPN Connect will exit, and the connection will be unblocked, to let you connect unprotected until you manually restart OpenVPN Connect.

Moreover, keep in mind, that reconnect on reboot only works if OpenVPN Connect is connected when you initiate the reboot. If you manually disconnected or if you lost the connection, you need to manually reconnect after rebooting.


Strange behavior on Nexus 4, Android 5.0.1 (issue with Google Play Services?) Apps don't autostart, Google apps don't work, phone freezes

The uninstall updates and force stop buttons are greyed out because of the device administrator's setting. As you already know, you must uncheck the checkbox for Google Device Manager as device administrator first, afterwards the buttons are active.

I did that a couple of times myself because I have the same problems on my Galaxy S4 with the newest Lollipop. There are two problems, though:

Immediatelly after reboot of the phone, this setting takes a while to kick in. Only after one or two minutes the device accepts to remove that device admin setting. So give it some time and several tries.
From time to time, after reverting to factory version of Google Play services, they get auto-updated to the newest version again, regardless of the auto-update settings you might have.

I figured out that for me each version of Google Play services of 7.0 and newer definitely will crash. Version 6.7.76 is the last one that works for me. You can download and install the APK at apkmirror.com. At least for as long as it takes to auto-update it again...


Will I keep the credits that I redeemed from a Google Play voucher if I get a new phone?

Yes, the credits / load is tied to your account. So, it will still be there, as long as you use the same Google account.


Getting confused by rooting and enabling wifi tethering

If you have the Settings > Wireless and networks > More > Tethering and portable hotspot menu item (which is present from Android 2.2  onwards, so I assume you do, since your phone ships with 4.2), you do not have to root your device to turn on tethering. Just use that menu and WiFi tethering will work. Those apps are for phones with earlier versions of Android which did not have this menu item.
Your phone only has one ROM on it at a time. If you modify or replace it, your warranty is gone. It makes no sense to "flash a custom ROM to avoid messing with the stock ROM and thus preserve the warranty", because by flashing a custom ROM you erase the factory one. (There MAY be highly dangerous procedures which restore the device to a state that the former modification is undetectable, but you could assume that if you do anything that involves flashing or rooting, you void your warranty.)


How to read out the data in HTC Desire SMS backup file?

All the messages in Android are stored in an SQlite database on the mobile. So, I guess this Desire backup application simply copies this database to an accessible folder (presumably sdcard).
Since it's an SQLite file, you can simply download and use an SQLite Browser and view the SMS in there.


You can check the phone specifications and accordingly contact your service provider. Phones are manufactured keeping in mind the cellular network operating specifications of a particular country/region. Probably the following link might help you understand about the cellular network operating frequencies: Wiki - Cellular frequencies


Is it possible to use "unlock with fingerprint" feature, and be asked for (after boot) giving passphrase and fingerprint on encrypted Galaxy S6

I found myself an answer to part one of the question: Yes, on the Galaxy S6 you can apparently use the fingerprint sensor to unlock the device after encrytion.

Infomation found here:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/help/fingerprint-unlock-device-encryption-t3081102

Has somebody something to say for part two? :-)

Edit 2015-10-06:
I got my S6 last week. Here is the story:

Encrypting the device and using fingerprint unlock does indeed work. :-)
When configuring fingerprints you have to set a backup password.
The backup password is used to encrypt the device's encryption key. --> Whenever you reboot the phone you must enter it. You cannot boot the phone using fingerprints alone.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to unlock the device using the fingerprint sensor the device forces you to enter the backup password.
I could not find some kind of timer to configure. If you want to force the input of the password you have to power down the device or use an unconfigured finger a few times in a row.

This is a near-perfect solution for me (except for the timer issue, but I can live without...).

Hope this information helps somebody!


This can have multiple reasons. First thing to look for is always whether a "user app" might have caused this. This can be done by booting into safe-mode: if everything works here, at least the hardware is fine, and the system as well. In that case, next steps would be:

Boot into recovery-mode, and clear (wipe) cache. This is possible on rooted and unrooted devices, each recovery (stock or custom) should permit this (exceptions are quite rare). Then reboot, and see if the issue is solved.
If it's not solved, and your device is equipped with a custom recovery: Again boot into recovery, this time wipe the "Dalvik Cache". Reboot, and check whether the issue is solved now.

If none of these two steps brought you any relief, you need to go the "hard way":

Backup all your apps into single backups (so you can restore them separate), including .apk and data. Useful tools for that: adb backup (see: adb, backup) and Helium Backup, or on rooted devices also Titanium Backup.
Uninstall apps in reverse order of their installation (the culprit it's more likely an app you've installed lately, than an app you've installed a year ago) one-by-one, and after each single uninstall see whether the problem solved. Doesn't hurt to reboot as well (i.e. uninstall→reboot→check, next).
At the point where it starts working again, re-install all apps you've removed (again one-by-one), skipping the last one – as that was most likely causing the issue.

If the issue still persists (or still persisted in safe-mode), last resort is a factory-reset. Before doing that, make sure your contacts etc. are either synced with your Google account, or backed up otherwise (the apps you have already "secured" with above steps). Does the issue stay even after this, it's most likely a hardware issue, and you'll have to turn in your device for service.

If, on the other hand, the factory-reset made it working again, carefully restore from your backups – again one by one, with a reboot in between (to make sure you don't end up where you've started).


Faster CPU means higher battery consumption?

Yes you're correct. Android will use CPU frequency as required including deep sleep to highest CPU frequency. If Android uses 1.2Ghz for high end task it will consume more battery but on the other hand will finish the task quicker than 1Ghz.

Many custom ROM also allows you to change this CPU scaling behavior by changing the governor. For eg: if you choose governor for high performance then Android will try to scale CPU to higher frequency.


Galaxy S2 no USB Conenction after firmware update

I don't think this is a driver issue.

Please try the following-

  Unplug the USB cable from your phone.
  On the phone, dial the following number:   *#7284#

Once the last # is hit, the PhoneUtil application should be launched.

  Choose USB -> Modem and then USB -> PDA mode.

The good mode should be PDA. Even if the mode is PDA, switch to Modem and then back to PDA!!!

  Now Plug the USB cable back in your phone/PC and check if it works.

(I had the same problem on my Samsung Galaxy 3, and I resolved it like this)


Do a hard reset, remove sim, set network type to WCDMA preferred.


Is erasing the `misc` partition a solution to automatic/unnecessary boot into TWRP after having installed LineageOS 15?

Some comments for those who need (save your time to google):
What is the misc partition?

MISC - also FOTA on older devices
It's a tiny partition used by recovery to communicate with bootloader store away some information about what it's doing in case the device is restarted while the OTA package is being applied.
It is a boot mode selector used to pass data among various stages of the boot chain (boot into recovery mode, fastboot etc.). e.g. if it is empty (all zero), system boots normally. If it contains recovery mode selector, system boots into recovery mode.
It may also carry some necessarily required information in the form of switches to control hardware or settings related tasks such as CID (Carrier or Region ID) information and USB configurations etc.

Source: [INFO] ANDROID DEVICE PARTITIONS and FILESYSTEMS | XDA Developers Forums
Locating misc/fota folder
From TWRP terminal (or via adb shell):
ls -d $(find /dev/block -name by-name)/*

Windows equivalent of hexdump
Windows doesn't provide an equivalent command for hexdump. However, in PowerShell 5.0+, there is one with format-hex. Still, in my opinion hexdump is better.
Don't forget to backup
To create backup:
adb pull /dev/block/platform/soc/7824900.sdhci/by-name/fota fota.img

To restore backup:
adb push fota.img /dev/block/platform/soc/7824900.sdhci/by-name/fota

In my case it didn't work, so I restore it because only the OEM knows what it means


Are there guidelines on how much free RAM a phone should have - specifically Samsung Galaxy S?

In the "linux world", what android is at its core, free RAM is wasted RAM. The system will attempt to use up as much RAM as needed. If more is needed, and there are applications that are no longer requiring the RAM it has allocated, the system will free up the RAM from that application an allocate it to the new application that needs it.

Having less RAM available will not necessarily affect the performance. What will affect it is if it frequently needs to free up RAM on the system for other applications. meaning if there a lot of running applications that are Active, and require the RAM, then you can see performance issues. This is because the the system needs to save the state of the application, free up the RAM and then allocate the freed RAM to a new application.

As for what a "low point" might be, I can't say. I have NEVER watched my available RAM, and never really experienced any performance issues because of RAM. for the record, I have the same device (but the T-Mobile version).