Where is the baseband firmware stored and how does Android interact with it?

Is the firmware really stored in another eMMC than the Android firmware?

No. Baseband firmware, kernel and userspace Android are all stored on the same eMMC (there might be some exception but I don't know of). Some SoCs have boot area partitions which are somewhat isolated at hardware level (usually used for bootloaders) but technically those are also on the same eMMC. So are Replay Protected Memory Block (RPMB) partitions.

  How does Android interact with the baseband firmware?

Your understanding is correct that Communication / Baseband Processors (CP/BP or modem) are completely isolated from Application Processor (AP, which runs Android OS) and they run their own RTOS. Communication between AP and BP can be through multiple possible channels but mostly those are proprietary just like BPs themselves (not sure why: if giants like Qualcomm are keeping backdoors, or hiding their security vulnerabilities, or don't want to put users' privacy at stake). On Qualcomm devices, for instance, its in-kernel implementation is called Shared Memory Device/Driver (SMD).

BP also includes a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) which is used for multimedia processing. Both Modem and DSP have their mountable partitions on eMMC (at least on Qualcomm devices) which they access through kernel using RPC mechanism. This old document states:

  "No new hardware is required. An eMMC card will have 2 partitions reserved for modem storage.
  ...
  All the modem requests will be handled by a user space program and the remote storage RPC client will provide an interface to the user application to receive the requests from modem and also to send the status of requests to modem."

In-kernel implementation includes just an RPC client, while a closed source userspace daemon (Remote Storage) handles the actual communication with the modem. Though privacy advocates have issues with this approach. Since the kernel interfaces of SMD or other communication drivers are not documented, only the closed source binary blobs (HALs, provided by SoC vendors) in userspace can communicate with them (e.g. rmt_storage uses Userspace I/O API), while Android framework communicates with the HALs. Reference implementations of HALs are part of AOSP.

  Is it only mounted for modem firmware update?

No. MODEM is usually first partition on eMMC with FAT filesystem, while DSP has EXT4. Both have entries in fstab and are mounted on every boot. rmt_storage also provides BP access to IMEI which is stored on signed partitions like EFS, MODEMST1, MODEMST2, FSG, FSC along with modem firmware files. All of these partitions have no filesystems but are binary blobs written to raw partitions. So they aren't mounted. All or some of these partitions may get OTA firmware updates from OEM/SoC vendors.

Like rmt_storage, Radio Interface Layer Daemon (rild) is another HAL from vendor which facilitates communication between Android's telephony stack and modem's LTE/3G/2G interface through kernel using control and data transfer protocols like RMNET, QMI etc. Other isolated components including RPM, GPS, Modem Diagnostic Mode and TEE (not sure about SE) also communicate with AP using similar communication channels in kernel (which also include UART) and their respective HALs in userspace. RPM (Resource and Power Management) and TEE (Qualcomm's TtustZone) have also their partitions on eMMC, both contain ELF executable binaries.

RESOURCES:

Android Device Partitions and Filesystems
A Journey into Hexagon: Dissecting Qualcomm Basebands


Cannot flash phone to install TWRP (One plus One)

Have you rebooted the device after "Unlocking bootloader"?

  fastboot reboot

You need to execute this command before flashing custom ROM.
Also, You don't need to turn on USB debugging when unlocking bootloader.


There's no way to fix the digitiser, but it can be replaced. Your local phone repair shop can do that job for you. The parts and labour cost should be much cheaper than replacing the phone.


What is this screen and how do I get rid of it?

That's the sort of thing you get from an app that comes with ads. Check what apps you've recently installed and force close the offending app to remove the screen.


Unplugged my cable while upgrading via Odin

You will have to Switch ON the phone in "Safe Mode" by pressing the Volume down, Power, and the Home button all together. Then, factory reset the phone, and upgrade it through Odin; or on a safer side, use Samsung Kies for upgrading to a new OS.


Once upon a time, there is a walled city with a large, closed gate bound by magical lock that can only be opened with a magical sword. According to the cityfolk's traditions, anyone who brings the magic sword and unlocked the magical gate is destined to be the lord of the city.

One day, a young hero comes to the city, bringing with him the magical sword he took from the root of the Yggdrasil tree. He tapped the sword lightly on the door, and immediately the magical gate unlocked itself and peered open. The cityfolks cheered, and as per their tradition, they anointed the young hero as the city's lord.

As a city lord, there are many tasks he had to do, one of which is to ensure the security of his people, especially now that the gate is open and bandits and thieves may attempt to enter the city and rob the cityfolks' of their belongings.

To ensure the peaceful days of the cityfolks, the wise lord hired a trusted SU manager to guard the gate; dutifully, the SU manager enters the city, and he closed the gate behind him, and he put a lock that only he can open, then he creates a big door knob for strangers to knock the gate, a small hole on the door where he can peek outside and look at the strangers, then asks the city's lord whether or not to allow strangers in.

In eternity, the wise lord ruled the city for a long time and the cityfolks lives happily ever after.


Dismounting the emulated sd card to be used as internal storage and use the physical sd card instead?

I was surprised when I recognized, that the 4 Gbyte storage of my Android 4.2 device is partitioned such stupid way (1 G for system, 1 G for internal storage and 2 G for "internal SD card"), it makes the whole device unexpandable. I assume, you have the same problem.

I'm not an Android Guru, so I did just a little trick: I've swapped SD cards in the configuration: I've edited /system/etc/vold.fstab, and swapped sdcard0 and sdcard1 in mount commands.

  dev_mount sdcard /storage/sdcard1 emmc@fat /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.0 /devices/platform/mtk-msdc.0/mmc_host
  dev_mount sdcard2 /storage/sdcard0 auto /devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.1 /devices/platform/mtk-msdc.1/mmc_host

Now "internal SD card" is my real SD card, and the 2 Gbyte partition (was: "internal SD card") is not accessible for the most of the apps (except factory ones, which can handle two SD cards, and ones which can use specified path).

Caution: if you don't know how to do it, you're probably shouldn't do it. If you make mistake in configuration files, your device may not boot up. Always make backup, install recovery etc. Anyway, if your SD card configuration is wrong, it's not a fatal error, the only effect is that you'll have no SD card mounted. So be sure that all the tools needed (file manager, root manager, SSH server etc.) are installed on the internal storage.


Phone answer or hangs up when it rings and I take the phone out of my pocket

Ok, I dug a little deeper and read the user guide/manual for your phone. It might be some settings that are enabled in the accessibility settings, called Single Tap mode. Here is the link to the user guide. I included a screenshot of that section and added the text too.

  When an alarm sounds or a call comes in, tap the button to stop the
  alarm or answer the call instead of dragging the button.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility, and then tap the Single tap mode switch to activate it.

  Change the method of answering or ending calls.

On the Apps screen, tap Settings → Accessibility → Answering and ending calls. Select the desired method.


Possible to change SIM card PUK on Android device?

The PUC (PUK) is a SIM-specific code assigned by the service provider.
  - Personal Unblocking Code (Wikipedia)

That means you cannot change it with help of your android device.

If you want to crack it you must watch this video

Video is about 'Rooting The Sim' by  Karsten Nohl at BlackHat 2013.

In this video Nohl showed vulnerability that almost every sim have  which was manufactured before 2013(Also Some cards after that whoes providers have not fixed this security hole)

Procedure
-Send binary sms with OTA command to card requesting response

-Crack DES signing key that sign Java virus and sent through binary sms

-Leverage gaps in Java VM memory separation to access arbitrary sim card data

Results
-Card may response with DES signed error message

-Card install and execute signed Java applet

-Malicious applet extract ki,banking applet etc. and send ti attacker via sms

Once an attacker cracks the key, he can commit premium SMS fraud, circumvent caller-ID checks, manipulate voice-mails, redirect incoming calls and text messages, abuse USSD payments, track and phish users, install malware on their devices, or perform any other browser-based attack. With data access enabled, Nohl claims an attacker can clone SIM cards, decrypt 2G, 3G, and 4G traffic, clone NFC takers and future SIM applications, and alter the operating system to prevent future patching.

Nohl also claims to have been able to break out of the SIMs Java sandbox and get access to this personal unblocking key


Using the keytest app, I found out that the device ID of the headphones     (2) differed from the device ID of the regular volume buttons (7 and 3).
Now, I only had to find out the device name corresponding to the device ID. This I did using a terminal emulator:

$ su
$ getevent
add device 1: /dev/input/event7
name: "msm8976-skun-snd-card Headset Jack"
add device 2: /dev/input/event6
name: "msm8976-skun-snd-card Button Jack"
add device 3: /dev/input/event4
name: "qpnp_pon"
add device 4: /dev/input/event3
name: "qwerty"
could not get driver version for /dev/input/mouse1, Not a typewriter
add device 5: /dev/input/event2
name: "hbtp_vm"
add device 6: /dev/input/event1
name: "input_mt_wrapper"
could not get driver version for /dev/input/mice, Not a typewriter
add device 7: /dev/input/event5
name: "gpio-keys"
could not get driver version for /dev/input/mouse0, Not a typewriter
add device 8: /dev/input/event0
name: "synaptics_dsx_s2"

According to the documentation, all characters other than 0-9, a-z, A-Z and - are replaced by _. Thus, I created a new file: /system/usr/keylayout/msm8976-skun-snd-card_Button_Jack.kl with the following content:

# Configuration file for LeEco Le 2 headphone buttons
key 114 VOLUME_UP
key 226 HEADSETHOOK
key 259 VOLUME_DOWN

After a reboot, I got the expected behaviour!


How can I write in a PDF with a tablet and a pen (a.k.a  Is there a Xournal alternative for Android)?

So far the closest that I found to Xournal in Android is RepliGo Reader or ezPDF Reader.
They both

Allow drawing of lines, curves, freehand, etc.
Save the annotations/drawings within the PDF file

But in my opinion both Apps do not use the full potential of what's possible with the Thinkpad Tablet and/or xournal. It may be subjective, but my colleguas who have Thinkpad tablet PC's running Linux with Xournal seem to have a better experience "writing into PDFs". I hope that there is more to come on Android.

Alternatives, suggestions are always welcome. :-)

Edit: I am going with ezPDF Reader. It's the best PDF reader for Android IMHO.


"Android Pay is unavailable" on Note 2 running CM 12.1

Android Pay checks the operating system and if it's not stock Android, it will refuse to run. Some people have reported on that they have fooled the app into working by changing the default.prop file and others install a custom APK of the older version of Google Wallet. Otherwise, there's no way to run Android Pay on CyanogenMod or any other custom ROM.


You should reboot your device to resolve this matter. After the the icon cache rebuilds (after reboot), then recreate shortcuts and widgets on your home screen.


You likely need to include the util-linux-fsck package into your busybox image. The warning is saying that there is a file missing which the util-linux-fsck package provides.


I'm afraid not, you now have to enter your boot menu and wipe all data. This will remove the lock.

This URL might help

Boot Menu


Upgrading my phone - what happens to the apps?

As long as you log in to the new device with the same google account that you use on the Incredible you will have access to all the apps that you purchased / downloaded. You will not have to purchase them again. The android market is tied to your google account, not the device.


Internet Usage on Samsung Galaxy Ace 5830.

Assuming that you are using a Galaxy Ace with Android v2.3 (Gingerbread), I suggest you to use an application like 3G Watchdog or Onavo Count. But if you are using a Android phone with Android v4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher there is a built-in option in settings menu called "Data Usage".


Good work on not upgrading to 2.2 yet for purposes of rooting!

As for your specific issue, you mention it happens when attempting to sync with facebook and then mention the reboots are random. Are they random or a cause of a specific action? My guess is they would be more random since as far as I know few people have problems with FB. Although there was an issue on HTC servers that caused FB sync to stop working awhile back. I do not think that issue caused any phones to reboot though.

Where did you buy your phone and did you get it brand new or used or refurb? With random reboots I would think you could take it into Sprint and have them look at it if you bout it new, since the likelihood you caused the reboot issue is slim.

Have you looked at the XDA Forums for help? There are a lot of Evo users there and they may be able to help, even if you aren't rooted.

Also I would recommend rooting, check the XDA forums. I don't think a single custom ROM has any issues with FB syncing. Not that rooting will necessarily fix your issues.


It could possibly be that you have a wifi time out enabled? Check the wifi settings carefully. Also, make sure the wifi sleep setting is diabled.

It could of course be a hardware issue (and probably is if it happens on multiple roms). It could be that the wifi card in the tablet 'Shuts Off' after a certain time, check online as this would happen to all owners of the tablet if this was the case.


How do I prompt the user for "Device Administrator" on Tasker?

I'm no expert on intents but this is the best answer I can offer...

There are intents that can enable the Device Admin status but since Tasker is not yet a device admin I don't think your prompt will allow the user to enable this directly.

The next best thing would be to have Tasker open the Device Administration settings page with a popup that instructs them to enable it.

In tasker, using the "Settings Dialog Action" you can create an action that opens to the Security Settings page but the user would have to manually go to the next step to open the "Device Administror" menu.  You can create a popup message directing what to do with the "Alert/Popup Action".

If you want to go directly to the Device Administror Menu you may be able to do that with the "Misc/Send Intent Action."  To find specific intent for the Device Admin Menu you can try an app called Inent Interceptor.  If you are able to identify the specific intent that opens that menu it's pretty straight forward from there.


Can't install USB driver for Zopo zp300+ on Win7 64

I used a wrong driver. H9000+ means you need ZOPO MTK6577 DRIVER from http://zopomobile.cn


My SD card was removed unexpectedly and won't work anywhere no

Try the following: switch off the phone, remove the card, stick it into a windows computer. It will most probably pop up a window with the message that the card is corrupt, and ask: "do you want to format it?" refuse the formatting. Open "your computer", check if the card is visible as removable medium. It likely is, even if the card is corrupt. If it is, copy the data of the card, format it (the card is corrupted after all), and copy the data back. I had that twice now.


Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus will not enter recovery mode

Well, I will answer to help anyone else. I still cannot get to recovery with only the device, but I was able to reboot into recovery and successfully root the device by using "adb reboot recovery" from the command line on my PC while the Galaxy Tab was attached to USB.


How to prevent apps from using WiFi network?

In the place described on the linked page¹ you can mark selected APs to be dealt with as if they were "mobile networks" – i.e. "background data restrictions" which usually apply to mobile networks only would be applied to those as well.

In order for that to have any effect, you either need to toggle the "background data" setting – or limit background data for those apps which should not use them. The latter can be done in Settings › Data Usage below "mobile data limit", where you first need to set a global limit (can be some "phantom value", i.e. very high). Then walk the apps below that and tick their "limit background data" setting.

I'm not 100% sure what falls into background data – but roughly it should be what an app does without your explicitly telling so. A.o. that's "background syncing" and similar "intervall stuff" – but definitely nothing you'd have to setup manually, like loading a page in your browser.

¹ Nougat (Android 7) and up: Settings › Data Usage › Network Restrictions
  below that: Settings › Data Usage, tap "More" (or the 3-dot overflow-menu) › Restrict Networks


How to fix Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Loose Home Button?

If your device is still in warranty I'd stop fiddling with it and get it fixed at an authorized service center. Opening the device yourself will void warranty.


Increase Wi-Fi Roaming Aggressiveness on Samsung Dart?

Even if the other AP connected, you will lose your call. When you switch access points, you are going to drop the wi-fi call.

The device may have a hard time figuring out if it should switch to AP2 because it is still connected to AP1 and it can still see AP1. if the signals overlap, it will connect to the strongest one at the time, if it is already connected, it will not attempt to connect to another AP until it is no longer connected. Once you go completely out of range of AP1, the device scans and sees AP2, then it connects. It doesn't matter how "strong" the signal is for another AP, if you are connected, it will not see another AP. Then once you disconnect, the device needs to go in to "scan" mode.

If your router supports it, you could turn down the power of the AP so they don't overlap (or if they do, it is only slightly). but then again, if your router supports that, you could also increase the power so you don't need the second AP.


remote: Permission Denied Asus Zenfone 2

To solve you problem execute the following :

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


Is it possible to get a visual indication of the status of the alert slider on Oneplus 3?

Well, after a support representative on their official chat told me that it was apparently a software problem and recommended that I perform hard reset (on a device a week old), it turns out that if you go to Status Bar settings, you need to turn on the switch called Do Not Disturb and you're done.


How can I update my Samsung Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) from Android 2.3.3 to a newer version?

Sure, just be aware that doing so you'll lose the warranty! If you want to do it anyway, just go to sammobile.com and look for your phone (just type i9100 in the search box). In the result list, choose your firmware and download it.
To flash it, follow these steps:

Download ODIN v1.85 from here
Unzip the downloaded files, both Odin and the firmware
Power off your phone and boot into Download Mode. To do so, press and hold the Volume Down and Home buttons together, and then tap the Power button until you see the construction Android robot icon with a triangle. Hit the Power button again to confirm entry into Download Mode
Launch ODIN on your computer and connect your phone to it while your phone is still in Download Mode
In case your phone connects successfully, one of the ID:COM boxes will turn yellow with the corresponding COM port number. This process may be time-consuming
Choose the files to be flashed or installed on your phone, which can be found among the extracted files in Step 2
Click the PDA button and choose the file named 'CODE'. Tap the Phone button and choose the file named 'MODEM'. Ignore this step if such file is missing. Hit the CSC button and choose the file named 'CSC'. Ignore this step if such file is absent. Click the PIT button and choose the .pit file. Ignore this step if there is no such file
In ODIN, enable Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time options. In case of the Re-Partition option, check it ONLY if you chose a .pit file in the previous step
Click the Start button in ODIN and the ROM installation process will begin. It may take a few minutes to complete. DON'T DISCONNECT THE PHONE OR IT WILL IRREMEDIABLY BRICKED
Once the ROM is installed, your phone will reboot. When you see the home screen, disconnect the phone from the computer. This may take a LONG LONG time, so don't panic and give it a few minutes

Your Samsung Galaxy S2 I9100 is now successfully updated. Go to Settings > About Phone to verify the firmware version installed.

Enjoy :)


This popup is there for security reasons and can't be bypassed without system manipulation (root required).
Without that dialog an Android device would be once the user activated ADB wide open to anyone who connects to the device via USB. Therefore since Android 4.2 if I remember correctly Google added the RSA based authentication on ADB level to avoid unauthorized data access via ADB.


Install cyanogenmod on an S5 mini (G800F)

3rd-party recovery is necessary.
Yes.
XDA-Developers also have you covered. You already have the ROM there, why not take some more time to look around and grab TWRP 3.0.0 (newer than provided in your link)?
*.md5 allows Odin/Heimdall to verify image integrity before loading it. It's just your regular *.tar with MD5 attached to it. Odin does not accept *.imgs.

Also, in case you didn't notice, CyanogenMod 13 is available for this device too.


Remove "Acuttweather.com" widget on the top of the home page

Remove Items from Home Screen - LG K8 V

From a Home screen, touch and hold the item (e.g., widget, shortcut, folder, etc.).
Drag the item onto "Remove" trash icon or "Uninstall" trash icon (located at the top) then release


This is common with this device if you didn't do a manual systemless root with SuperSU... To fix it perform the following steps, assuming you have an unlocked bootloader and the latest TWRP 3.1.1 installed.

Download the latest SuperSU from here (official source)
Start TWRP and copy the SuperSU zip file to the device
In TWRP, go to Home, Advanced, then Terminal
Enter echo SYSTEMLESS=true>>/data/.supersu EXACTLY as shown and press Enter
Enter cat /data/.supersu to verify the output is SYSTEMLESS=true
Exit the terminal and press Home
Install the latest ZIP from Chainfire
Reboot. The device should not take more than 15 minutes to boot

Although I haven't updated it in a while, here is the full guide with explanations of each piece.

If you used Magisk, no special preparations are necessary if you are using a current version, just flash, install Magisk Manager, and enjoy.


Is there any Android browser which lets you control page refresh?

I don't know about chrome, but UC
Browser is definitely an answer for your question. You can preload the pages and then even if the data connection is off, you can read the articles (in your case). Just make sure you don't kill the app itself.


How to run adb and fastboot commands from Termux?

This question is nearly a duplicate of this which has a detailed answer by @Firelord, except the Termux part. As mention by @DeathMaskSalesman in comment, Termux is more like a Linux environment, but so far it doesn't have adb and fastboot in repositories, though proposed. Most probably because they are meant for rooted devices. But you can use static binaries (e.g. this or this) on Termux like on usual Terminal emulator app. Make sure to set proper environment variables (TMPDIR, HOME or HOMEDIR).
However you won't be able to run each of them without root because only members of AID_USB group are able to read devices in /dev/bus/usb/ (1). Furthermore SELinux restricts unprivileged apps' access to /sys and /dev.
For adb there's a workaround if both devices are connected to same network e.g. Wi-Fi or hotspot. adbd can be run to listen on TCP socket instead of USB. It's possible if before turning on "USB Debugging" property service.adb.tcp.port (2) is set to some port (first default is 5555). Apps can't set properties, so to do this using setprop on adb shell or by simply executing adb tcpip 5555, you need to connect the target device to a PC over USB. Then all you have to do from Termux before sending commands is:
~$ adb connect <IP>:5555

But service.adb.tcp.port is reset on reboots and you have to set it again. There is another property persist.adb.tcp.port which persists across reboots but it's meant only for testing and SELinux won't let you set this without root or some system app running with UID 1000.
Some custom ROMs have built-in toggle to set service.adb.tcp.port. But for fastboot root is must. However it's possible on Android to access USB OTG devices through android.hardware.usb APIs. fastboot-mobile is an unofficial library from Google to send fastboot commands over OTG. This app (I have no affiliation) also provides similar limited functionality.


It turned out that SELinux policy on the Amazon Fire TV/2 caused my exFat drive to be read-only when mounted, despite mounting arguments. The SELinux command setenforce can be run with an argument of 0 or 1, setting SELinux to permissive or enforced, respectively. When set to 0, the drive can be used normally.

So, I check for the presence of setenforce in my mount script and set it to 0 if found. The unmounting script does setenforce 1, putting things back as they were.


Is there a way to move the caret in a text box without using the hard keyboard and without a bunch of single touches?

This depends on the phone you're using, on my Spica, for example, I can use the directional keypad to adjust the position of the cursor. On phones that have trackballs, the trackball does the same job.

Otherwise, the backspace key can be used as a workaround for left-arrow key (delete a few chars, then retype the word you're inserting and retype the deleted chars.

Another alternative, if you're typing in English or in one of the supported languages, you can try Swype. Swype is a word-based text input (as opposed to character based), and you typically delete or swipe one word at a time and the correction mode (double tap on the word you want to correct and pick or swipe the new word) make correcting errors a breeze.


HUAWEI P20 LITE -ANE- LX2J. I can't get rid of this setup process

Not my fault for creating such a message thread but this is officially solved with the new security update.

SOLVED


Google plus application is 24 mb after wrong update

The new update has made the size bigger.


It will probably be the fact that games use a port that is disallowed on your work network.try using the tethered hotspot on your SGS3 as an alternative.


How much internal storage for Apps does Nexus S have?

I believe the 1 GB is for the /system folder, which is not normally mounted via USB.  The rest of the space is usable for your apps!  I have a Galaxy S and this is how it works, plus there's an external SD card.


Here is the step by step to root your devices! BTW, Xda is the good place to start with.


Does unlocking a phone from a Network allow manufacturer updates?

Unlocking a phone from network has nothing to do with manufacturer updates. Its more of, being able to take a SIM card from another network and pop it in.

For example, buy a handset from Orange, and using a T-Mobile SIM card in the new Orange handset, the T-Mobile will not work as the handset is locked into the Orange network and thusly refuse any other SIM card except Orange's own. By unlocking the Orange handset, you can effectively pop in the T-Mobile SIM card in place and continue using the handset as if it was "bought from T-Mobile" instead.

A unlock code would be required (There are plenty of websites that can do this for you for a fee), some operators will charge you for the unlock code - again this is dependent on whether you're on contract or pay-as-you-go - check the terms and conditions of that first. For example, from my dealings on modaco's forum, Orange will not give you the unlock code until after a time period of usage on contract, think it was 3 months, again check!

Once a unlock code is handed over to you, this is taken from the handset's IMEI number and the designated SIM card that you wish to use, which a 6 or 8 digit number is generated, that, going by the previous example, a T-Mobile SIM card gets popped in, the Orange's handset will prompt for the network unlock code, in which the 6 or 8 digit number is entered to unlock it thus freeing the handset from the network.

One thing though, this happens with Samsung, flashing unofficially using the likes of Odin or Multiloader, it could mess up the handset, because there's a checking in place to ensure that if the handset is locked, the flashing will fail. KIES is one! Now, this was going back about 18 months ago, so I do not know if that applies now.

If you are thinking of flashing a custom ROM, double check to ensure that the handset can indeed be flashed with the network lock in place.


Does Google Drive replicate files before uploading?

I'd say so. When uploading large files (~200 MB), I have gotten "Low memory" errors, even though I had over 500MB (out of 16 GB internal) free.

This notification would go a few seconds after the upload completed.

Typically, about 300 MB causes low memory errors for me. I have a Moto G3 running the CrDroid custom ROM, 6.0.1 (Marshmallow).

I don't know the Google Drive code, but it certainly seems to be so. Whether the data is cached as app data or on the SD card, I can't comment.


My moto 4G play treats incoming messages as if they are group messages

Try uninstalling any updates, disabling and re-enabling the stock
app. To do this go to settings > Apps > (your default messenger
app).  Then press disable/uninstall updates.
Try using an alternative messenger such as WhatsApp , BlackBerry
Messenger or Telegram. All  of these are available for free on the
Google Play store.
Try resetting your phone by doing a "Soft-Reset". To do this go to
settings > Backup and Reset > Factory Data Reset.  Be sure to backup
all your data, app data, documents and media  on your phone before
doing this.
If a soft reset doesn't work, try resetting your phone using a "Hard
Reset". This completely reinstalls your Android system. Like before,
be sure to backup all your data before doing this. Here's a link
with instructions to do so Motorola G 4G Factory Reset
Instructions


Gallery pulling pics from Hangouts even when Hangouts has been disabled

This is not Google Hangouts that is creating the problem, it is Google+ photos. When Google+ photos is enabled, it automatically stores all pictures posted on any and all Google services.Try accessing the settings of Google+ photos to attempt to disable whatever autosave setting may have been enabled. If the instructions above were no help, try disabling the Google+ photos app.


How to fix S7 edge performance degrade after Oreo update?

There is no way to downgrade as bootlader is now on revision 7 (if I recall correctly) and Marshmallow/Nougat uses way older ones. So an official update won't be an option.

The other method is to use a custom ROM from XDA (you'll find many there), but be advised that that'll void your warranty and could brick your device (tho unlikely).

If you want to use a custom ROM, you can either go for an old TouchWiz ROM or (like I did on my S7) use an AOSP-based ROM. Presonaly I use LineageOS 16.0(9.0), but 15.1 (8.1) is preferred for stability as 16.0 is still beta. I'd recommend you use a custom AOSP ROM over an old TouchWiz ROM as those old ROMs don't have security patches and using an old Android version is never a good idea, not only because of security, but also you're just downgrading your phone in terms of features.


When will my device get the Android 4.0 update (Ice Cream Sandwich)?

This community wiki will list all of the known and rumored dates for devices. If you have an update make sure to follow the format that's been established, and the following guidelines:

Keep phones in alphabetical order listing the manufacturer and model
Specify if the date is confirmed or rumored and link to the source
If there is an unofficial release, link to the site where it can be downloaded

Note that devices that do not meet Google's Compatibility Definition will not receive a Google-sanctioned update. In the case of the major manufacturers and many others, that means they won't release an update at all since Google's certification is important to their business.

Phones

Google Nexus ONE

Official: never (confirmed)
Unofficial: Oct 2011 (alpha)

Google Nexus S

Official:

GSM - T-Mobile (GT-I9020): Soon (rumored)
GSM - AT&T (GT-I9020A): Soon (rumored)
CDMA - SPH-D720: April 2012 (confirmed)

HTC Amaze 4G

Official: May-June (confirmed), June 16th 2012 (unconfirmed)

HTC Desire

Official: never (confirmed)
Unofficial: November 2011 (beta)

HTC Desire HD

Official: never (confirmed)

HTC Desire S

Official: By the end of August 2012 (confirmed)

HTC DROID Incredible 2

Official: To be determined (by the end of August) (confirmed)

HTC DROID Incredible S

GSM (international)

Official: 2012-July-2 (confirmed)

Verizon

Unknown

HTC EVO 3D

Official: Early August 2012 (confirmed)

HTC EVO 4G+

Official: May-June (confirmed)

HTC EVO Design 4G

Official: 1 August 2012 (confirmed)

HTC Incredible S

Official: June-July (confirmed)

HTC Raider

Official: TBC (confirmed)

HTC Rezound

Official: August 2012 (confirmed)

HTC Rhyme

Official: June-July 2012 (confirmed)

HTC Sensation

Official: March-June (confirmed)

HTC Sensation 4G

Official: March-June (confirmed)

HTC Sensation XE

Official: March-June (confirmed)

HTC Sensation XL

Official: April-Jun (confirmed)

HTC Thunderbolt

Official: 31-Jan-2013 (confirmed)

HTC Velocity 4G

Official: March-June (confirmed)

HTC Vivid

Official: March-June (confirmed)

Huawei Honor U8860

Official: 12 January 2011 (confirmed)

LG Optimus 2X

Official: 2012 (confirmed)

LG Optimus 3D

Official: 2012 (confirmed)

LG Optimus Black

Official: 2012 (confirmed)

LG Optimus LTE

Official: 2012 (confirmed)

LG Prada 3.0

Official

Germany and Italy: 4-July-2012 (confirmed)

Motorola Atrix 2

Official Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola Atrix 4G

USA (MB860) Official Q3 2012 (confirmed)
AsiaPac/EMEA/LatAm (MB860/MB861/ME860) Official: (TBA)

Motorola DROID 3

Official: never (confirmed)

Motorola DROID 4

Official: 2012 August 14 (phased update) (confirmed)

Motorola DROID Bionic

Official: Early Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola Droid RAZR

Official: 2012-06-21 (confirmed)

Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx

Official: 2012-06-21 (confirmed)

Motorola Photon 4G

USA Official: Q4 2012 (confirmed)
Japan Official: TBA

Samsung Captivate Glide

Official: 7 Sep 2012 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy Note

Official: March 2012 (rumor)

AT&T: July 2012 (confirmed)
T-Mobile: August 2012 (at launch) (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy S

Official: never (confirmed (1), confirmed (2), confirmed (3)) but Android 2.3-based firmware upgrade to give some ICS-like features

Samsung Galaxy S Advance (GT-I9070)

Official: unknown (Techzek, Slashgear, Samsung Forum)

Samsung Galaxy S 2

Official: March 2012 (rumor)

T-Mobile: May 14th (unconfirmed)

Samsung Epic 4G Touch

Official: August 2012 (confirmed)

Skyrocket

Official: July 2012 (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman™

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia active

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia arc and Xperia arc S

Official: March - May 2012 (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia mini and Xperia mini pro

Official: June 2012 (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo and Xperia neo V

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

Official: TBA (confirmed)

Sony Xperia P

Official: 17-August-2012 (confirmed-official)

Sony Xperia S

Official:

Three: 29-June-2012 (confirmed)

Tablets

Acer Iconia Tab series

Official: April 27, 2012 (confirmed)

Archos G9

Official: Early Feb 2012 (official)

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

Official: Feb 23rd (Feb 24th for North America) (official)

ASUS Transformer Prime

Official: January 2012 (rumour)

HTC Flyer

Official: Q1 2012 (rumour)

Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet

Official: May 2012 (offical source)

U.S.: 1-July-2012 (confirmed)

Lenovo Ideapad K1

Official: June 15 2012 (working date) download (not OTA update) (source)

Motorola XOOM

Official:

US Wifi models - Mid Jan 2012  (confirmed)
non-US Wifi models - Q2 2012 (confirmed)

UK: August 2012 (confirmed)

US 3G models - Q2 2012 (confirmed)
non-US 3G models - (TBC)

UK: August 2012 (confirmed)

Unofficial:

US 3G/LTE models (CyanogenMod "Kang", Team Eos)

Motorola XOOM Family Edition

Official: Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola XOOM 2

Official: Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola XOOM 2 Media Edition

Official: Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola XYBOARD 8.2

Official: Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Motorola XYBOARD 10.1

Official: Q3 2012 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy Tab Plus 7.0

Official: 3 August 2012 (confirmed)

Austria: July 2012 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Official: 4-July-2012 (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

Official: August 2012 (official)

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Official: August 2012 (official)

Toshiba Thrive

Official: 3Q 2012 (confirmed)


How do you NOT sync contacts when adding a new google account on Android?

That's almost a chicken-and-egg problem: you cannot disable sync before the data are already gone, and you cannot create the new account offline to prevent this. But there are two apporaches which should work:

create the account and turn sync off before you save any contacts/calendars (not always possible; I assume you are speaking of an additionbal account while already using the device for a while)
have your contacts/calendar data in a separate calendar/addressbook which is not synced. To achieve this,

either use the "device only" storage (if your device offers that)
there's e.g. offline calendar for calendar. And there's DAVDroid (and probably other DAV-based sync tools) creating its own calendar and contact storage.

You should then make this other storage the "default storage" so that, whenever you add a contact/calendar entry, it will be saved there. Now you'd also need to move your data over to the new storage. For contacts, you could e.g. export them to a .vcf file (the contacts app offers that), then delete them all, then import the .vcf into the "other address book". For calendars, there's no such export possibility, unfortunately, though the .ical format could take care for that.

The easiest way of course would be not to create a Google account …


How to install custom stable ICS rom on galaxy S2 (rar file)?

I can't see any obvious mention of that particular SGS2 ICS ROM on XDA's SGS2 pages but there are a few other ICS ROMs there, all with install instructions in their main post.

Have you tried opening the RAR file with something like WinRAR or WinZip to see if there are instructions or a readme inside it?


Try this in a Terminal Emulator. The 'su' command is for becoming the root user and the next one fixes all the permissions.

su
restorecon -v -R /data/media


How to make sparse image file from original firmware?

concatenate files with dd seek=$offset from xml and then sparse with img2simg
rawprogram0.xml contains
- partition name:    filename="system.img"
- partition size:    num_partition_sectors="8388608"
- partition offset:  start_sector="1312768"

rawprogram_unsparse.xml contains system_1.img - system_53.img
- file name:         filename="system_1.img"
- file size:         num_partition_sectors="262160"
- file offset:       start_sector="1312768"

Note: we don't want the offset so we will subtract from start_sector
1312768 - 1312768 = 0
- file name:         filename="system_1.img"
- file size:         num_partition_sectors="262160"
- file offset:       start_sector="0"

1576968 - 1312768 = 264200
- file name:         filename="system_2.img"
- file size:         num_partition_sectors="16"
- file offset:       start_sector="264200"

1581024 - 1312768 = 268256
- file name:         filename="system_3.img"
- file size:         num_partition_sectors="256048"
- file offset:       start_sector="268256"

Now use the dd seek parameter to paste junks into proper offsets
(sparse is filled with zeros)
bs=$SECTOR_SIZE_IN_BYTES
seek=$start_sector
count=$num_partition_sectors
dd if=system_1.img count=262160 seek=0       bs=512 of=system_ext4.img
dd if=system_2.img count=16     seek=264200  bs=512 of=system_ext4.img
dd if=system_3.img count=256048 seek=268256  bs=512 of=system_ext4.img
...
dd if=/dev/zero    count=0      seek=8388608 bs=512 of=system_ext4.img

the result is mountable ext4 partition image
mkdir system
sudo mount -t ext4 -o loop system_ext4.img system
ls system

finally this file can be sparsed with img2simg
sudo apt install -y f2fs-tools android-tools-fsutils android-sdk-platform-tools-common
img2simg system_ext4.img system.img

GNU bash script with sed
#/bin/bash

shopt -s extglob

bs=512
label=system
input=rawprogram0.xml
output=rawprogram_unsparse.xml

source <(sed -nr "s,.*\s(filename=.${label}\.img.)\s.*\s(num_partition_sectors=.[0-9]+.)\s.*\s(start_sector=.[0-9]+.).*,\1; \2; \3;,p" "$input" | head -n1)

out=$filename
off=${start_sector:-0}
end=${num_partition_sectors:-0}

printf '%s\n' "${label}"_+([0-9]).img | cut -d. -f1 | sort -t_ -k2n | xargs -n1 -I_ echo _.img | \
while read -r file
  do
    source <(sed -nr "s,.*\s(filename=.${file}.)\s.*\s(num_partition_sectors=.[0-9]+.)\s.*\s(start_sector=.[0-9]+.).*,\1; \2; \3;,p" "$output" | head -n1)
    dd if="$filename" of="$out" bs=${bs:-512} count=${num_partition_sectors:-0} seek=$((start_sector-off)) status=none || exit 1
    echo "filename=$filename num_partition_sectors=$num_partition_sectors start_sector=$((start_sector-off))"
done

dd if=/dev/zero of="$out" bs=${bs:-512} count=0 seek=$end status=none || exit 1
echo "filename=$out num_partition_sectors=$end start_sector=$off"

file "$out"
e2fsck -n "$out" | grep clean || exit 1
mv "$out" "${out%.*}.raw"
img2simg "${out%.*}.raw" "$out" || exit 1
file "$out"
echo "Done."

exit 0


Where can I find the Caller ID settings on BQ version of Android N?

After hours of searching among the settings:
Phone -> More options (three dots) -> Settings -> Calling Accounts -> SIM -> Additional Settings and voila, there it is :).


Disable Google Voice typing automatic language detection

Unfortunately at the moment it is impossible to disable automatic language detection and force the speech to text to interpret spoken words with the language set manually in the keyboard.


Facebook non-official app for contact sync

Have you tried HaxSync? I use it to sync high-res profile pictures to my contacts, but I also use the Facebook sync, so I don't know which one syncs the phone numbers and emails.


As long as your phone is aligning you on the maps with the right direction, it should be fine. I've noticed that the wizard coms up automatically once in awhile, (roughly more like once a week) on my 6P. You could try clearing the cache on the maps, but this is not a sure shot way for the wizard to show up.

Issue resolved by following google recommendation after opening the app (wizard popup was not mandatory)


how to survive a program from factory reset

Preserving the application itself (APK) can be easily achieved (with root access) by dropping the .apk in /system/app, but the configurations are a bit trickier to keep.

Factory resets generally do a wipe of /data, which also contains all the configs/gamesaves/etc that all apps installed have, so you might have to use a seperate backup app (I recommend Titanium Backup) for that.


Examples of mobile broadcasts being used

Yes.  They're called Wireless Emergency Alerts, part of the Emergency Alerts System.

There was a thing in California earlier this year over the first use of the system giving utterly irreverent information (sending the alert to people hundreds of miles from the event), presumably due to poor implementation.


How to lock android tablet for web browsing only?

The simplest approach is probably to use Google's Android Management API, it's compatible with all Android devices running Android 5.1 or above.

To lock the device on one app, or on multiple app, you define a kiosk policy like below:

"applications": [
 {
   "packageName": "com.example.app",
   "installType": "FORCE_INSTALLED",
   "lockTaskAllowed": true,
   "defaultPermissionPolicy": "GRANT",
 },
 {
   "packageName": "com.example.app2",
   "installType": "FORCE_INSTALLED",
   "lockTaskAllowed": true,
   "defaultPermissionPolicy": "GRANT",
 }
"persistentPreferredActivities": [
  {
    "receiverActivity": "com.example.app/.com.example.app.MainActivity",
    "actions": [
      "android.intent.action.MAIN"
    ],
    "categories": [
      "android.intent.category.HOME",
      "android.intent.category.DEFAULT"
    ]
  }
]


Why is my Galaxy S3 making a weird beep beep noise during calls?

Check the settings for your dialer app.  Most dialers have some kind of "call in progress" beep that goes off every minute or so if the option is enabled.


To hard reset samsung galaxy ace,

Turn off your phone
Press and hold volume up, home, power button at the same time.
The Recovery appears, use volume up/down to navigate, power to select
Navigate to wipe data/factory reset and select
Navigate to Yes - delete all user data and select

And now resetting... (Make a backup of your phone first)

Navigate to reboot system now and select to get out of recovery.


How to solve the audio problem in Zoom Cloud Meeting for Android TV

OK. I solved this problem by try and error myself.
In summary, you need a microphone present to enable Zoom audio communication.
I have tested 2 TV Boxes, one with Android 10, another with Android 8.0.1. The microphone I used is Logitech H310 headset with microphone.
The details are as following:

[Edited on 8/27/2020] There are 2 USB 2.0 ports on TV Box. One is Master, where you can plug USB headset and microphone into. The other is slave which is used for PC debugging and local upgrade. You cannot use the slave USB port for microphone. Unfortunately, there is no mark on the box, so you have to try it yourself.
Test the microphone is working on TV Box. I use Skype to test.
Open Zoom.
(For Android 8.0.1 only, it is strange) Click join meeting, scroll down to find "Do not connect to audio). It is unselected by default, click it to make it selected.
Join a meeting.
Click the participant, you should see yourself with a microphone icon. If you cannot see the microphone icon, you can unplug the usb microphone and plug it again.
Once you can see the microphone icon for yourself, click the "join audio" and click  "call over Internet". Then you will see the "join audio" disappear and a microphone icon on the bottom left with "mute".
Now you will be able to hear the sound on your headset. And you can speak over the microphone.
(For Android 10, it is also strange) If you unplug and plug microphone after you already connected to Zoom by microphone. You can see a prompt saying "USB audio AV is plugged in..." and ask "Yes" or "No". If you click No this time, it will say "connect by default channel". Then you can hear the voice communication through both the TV speaker and the headset.
(For Android 8.0.1) I can hear the voice communication on headset, but I still cannot make the speaker to work.

I will mark this one as answer to myself.


Asphalt career performance isn't synced between my PC and Android phone

According to Ryan from Gameloft, writing on the Touch Arcade iOS forum, Asphalt 8: Airborne doesn't sync save games between different platforms:-

  no, Asphalt 8 doesn't have cross-platform save functions. You won't be able to play on an iOS device and then load that progress on an Android device.

He's writing about iOS and Android, but it's easy to see why the same would apply to Android and Windows too.


View Installed Apps on particular Device on play.google.com

Luckily, this is possible again:

while logged in with your Google account, visit Playstore's your apps page (you can also reach this from your Google Dashboard, scrolling to Play Store, and hit the "view apps" link)
at the top of the page, you should see a "link" labeled "all apps". That's a drop-down, push it
now select the device you want to see the apps for.

Screenshot of the described drop-down (click image for larger variant)


How do I force reinstallation of an apk with different signature on rooted Android?

You can use an app called 'Lucky Patcher' witch contains many system tweaks, (root and busybox are required) then follow the following steps:

Go to 'Toolbox' tab in the buttom.
Select 'Patch to Android'.
Check 'Disable signature verification in the package manager'.
Press 'Apply' and wait for your phone to reboot.

and that's it. 'Lucky Patcher' also has an Xposed module to do the same task if Xposed is already installed in your system.


Screen goes dark and phone goes unresponsive whenever I make/receive a call

Disabling the proximity sensor seems to have worked: after some testing, I got no freezes at all.


If I have Android can I respond to group messages from iPhone users?

GoSMS Pro will allow you to group message (including adding pictures) just fine to iPhone users. Just tried it and it works great! Messages come back as single addresses but that is because they are sending via iMessage. All people in the group do get them however. And as an added bonus, you can add GoSMS emoticons so you can send and see emoticon smiley pictures from your iPhone friends!


Android keyboard flickers on and off when typing

Disable the hardware overlays from the developer options.

Go to Settings - Developer options
Tick Disable HW overlays.

It should drastically fix the flickers or at least help until the fix is merged.


Prevent Google Music (but not other players!) from scanning local files

Well, if you are on android 6 and above, you can just revoke "Storage Permission" of the application.


Different volume level for new email notification and new SMS notification?

One simple method would be to use a custom ringtone for SMS where the audio itself is louder.  You coould use a loud audio clip or edit one to be louder.


Rename camera images from exif data using tasker

Use Tasker's native Java calls

Java code

Use ExifInterface.getAttribute to solve this problem.

exif = new ExifInterface( %filename )
%datetime = exif.getAttribute(exif.TAG_DATETIME)

Implementation overview

Getting path of a .JPG from %filename Tasker variable
Construct a new ExifInterface class instance into exif Java variable
Get date & time by exif.getAttribute Java function, and store results into %datetime Tasker variable
Free exif Java variable
Check %datetime is set (this is not set when .JPG is not contains EXIF info)

Step by step solution in Tasker

Add a new Code > Java Function action

a. Set ExifInterface to Class Or Object (or select by magnifying glass button)

b. Write new \\ {ExifInterface} (String) to Function (or select by magnifying glass button)

c. Write %filename to Param (String)

d. Write exif to Return {ExifInterface}

Add a new Code > Java Function action

a. Write exif to Class Or Object (or select by coffee button)

b. Write getAttribute \\ {String} (String) to Function (or select by magnifying glass button)

c. Write exif.TAG_DATETIME to Param (String)

d. Write %datetime to Return {String}

Add a new Code > Java Object action

a. Left Mode on Delete

b. and write exif to Name

Check %datetime is set - I added a conditional Flash for show %datetime

Done!


How to swap an encrypted SD card without losing data?

As your device is rooted a complete backup of the sdcard to your PC is IMHO the best option:

First enable ADB on your device and connect it to your PC that has ADB installed

Second check via adb shell that the tar command is available. If not you can install for example the BusyBox app.

Now open a terminal/or commandline (Linux/Windows) on your PC and execute the following command:

adb exec-out "su -c 'tar c /sdcard/*'" > sdcard.tar

Or without root:

adb exec-out "cd /sdcard && tar c *" > sdcard.tar

This will create a tar file in the current directory on your PC with the complete content of your sd-card. Note: If your sd-card is not accessible via /sdcard replace this part of the command with the correct path.

Now you have a full backup of your sd-card. Check it using an archive tool.
Using tar you can write it back similar to how it was created or you extract the relevant files and write them back manually via adb or MTP protocol.


What are the current rooting options for Galaxy S6?

These are my options by which you can root your device:-

Odin (I prefer)
Kingo
Oneclick

See this link to know more.


Can I charge Galaxy Tab S2 while using MHL adapter?

The Galaxy Tab S2 (2016, 9.7, Wi-Fi) specs say that there is no MHL support.

(Which exact device version do you have? Have you tested MHL support in the meantime?)


Browse or mount SD card over WiFi on Linux?

WiFi File Explorer allows browsing of the SD card through a web based interface. Quite nice, but perhaps difficult to copy a large number of files.

http://lifehacker.com/5626268/wifi-file-explorer-manages-your-android-sd-card-from-a-web-browser

On Air (Wifi Disk) 'allows you to easily transfer files over your Wi-Fi connection by accessing it as if it were a drive', but only for Mac I suppose.

SwiFTP is an FTP server, which does what it says.


How do I prevent applications from restoring after a factory reset?

Before doing the factory reset, you can turn off backup by unchecking Settings -> Privacy -> Back up my data.  The Market will remember your paid apps.  If you're not going to root and use something like Titanium Backup for the other apps you do want to keep, you could do something like ls /data/app > /sdcard/apps.txt to record what apps you have and then refer to it afterwards, or use something like App List Backup.


This is just showing whether your phone number is saved to the phone number description property on your SIM card. Some networks always program this in for you, many don't. Some phones let you write to this property, some don't, some read it, some don't.

It has nothing to do with what actual phone number is attached to that SIM card by the phone company.

It is possible to put your phone number in there, and is easier than you might think:

Go into Contacts -> [Menu] -> More -> Settings -> Own numbers -> [Menu] -> Create and type your phone number into the Number field, now Save.

Then switch your phone off and on again, and it should show the correct number (or whatever number you entered) in the status now.


Android device with 240x320 resolution and soft buttons

I'm pretty sure there's no phone with that resolution and on-screen buttons. It should be theoretically possible, but no one in their right mind would do that.


Setting Dynamic IP Address from command line

You may need BusyBox and root access to proceed.

You can see all built-in Unix-like commands by running toybox.


Check this out. It's a step-by-step guide on how to load a rom with fastboot. Maybe it helps.

Also, additional info can be found on xda forums.


Unfortunately not without rooting your phone. Your best bet's going to be to remove the headset jack. If it's not reachable with any normal tools, you're going to want to use something thin and strong, like a toothpick with a filed-off end, and apply a small drop of super glue to the end of it, then VERY carefully insert it into the jack, press it firmly against the end of the headphone jack you can reach, hold it there for about a minute, and then carefully remove it.


Requirements

Root access
Busybox : for 'crond' service
/system/etc/init.d folder to start 'crond' service at boot

Creating cronjob
Create the cronjob file in directory /data/crontab/ with filename root. Write your cronjob inside the file 'root'. Set executable permissions for the file 'root'

Test without rebooting
Now open any terminal emulator in device and run the following commands..

su -
crond -b -c /data/cronjob

Now the crond service will start, to check type...

top | grep crond

Start crond at boot

mount system partition in read write :

su -

mount -o remount,rw /system
Create a file 99my_daemon at /system/etc/init.d with executable permission and enter the following lines

crond -b -c /data/crond
Close writing the /system partition

mount -o remount,rw /system
And reboot

Example of cron filename root

*/15 * * * * reboot

Will reboot your device every 15 minutes from o'clock.


Turn on flashlight when volume button is held

I don't know how to detect a Volume Up/Down button press for 'n' seconds, so I would give an alternate  solution. You would have to install Xposed Additions Pro and TeslaLED Flashlight. The former needs root access and Xposed Framework installed.

Instructions

Visit my answer here. Under the heading "Instructions for Xposed Additions" follow steps 1-6.
For step 7, choose Screen Off instead of others.
Tap the newly created entry, activate Long Press by ticking the check-box, then tap on Long Press.
Scroll down and select Shortcut → TeslaLED Toggle. It will show a screen like:

(Click image to enlarge)

Also, the delay of 2-3 seconds is way too large in my opinion. Anyhow, the app doesn't allow long press delay more than 500ms and you may configure in step 2 of my linked answer. I settled for 250ms.

You may use Tasker instead of using the TeslaLED app (officially recommended) but there is no guarantee that the native method would work. In fact, some users reported that even the latter app didn't work for them.

The action in Tasker to activate torch is Alert → Torch. It would show up in red color if it's not supported on your device.

There are some other ways mention in this Reddit thread which seems to be device specific but nonetheless could give you a lead for better web search results.

For example, in my One Plus One running CM12 there is no class named camera  let alone a file /sys/class/camera/flash/rear_flash. But it does have a class leds and the file /sys/class/leds/led:flash_torch/brightness too. The default torch brightness in my device is set to 53 instead of 100.

I also tried the Tasker plugin AutoInput but it doesn't seem to support long press hardware buttons.


Restrict permissons when app is in background

If you haven't rooted yet, go to your sercurity and see the permissions
If you have rooted, just use Rom toolbox


Can I Update my T-Mobile G1/HTC Dream so it runs Android 2

No.  You must root your phone and install a mod such as CyanogenMod to get your phone running a semi-equivalent of Android 2.1+.  There is no stock rom for Android 2.1+ for the G1.  Additionally, if you do go with CyanogenMod, not all features are fully supported due to hardware limitations, such as LiveWallpapers.


Why many unrequested 6-digit SMS login codes sent to my Nougat Phone?

The most likely source of your multiple two-factor confirmation messages is something making multiple attempts to log into Google or Google+.  This might be malfunctioning apps on your device, or someone else (accidentally or intentionally) using your Google ID from another device.  You should contact Google, who will be able to confirm the device that was used for the login attempts; if it's your phone, you'll want to look at what app might have a wrong stored password, or that would have been closed and reopening (hence relogging) at those times.

If it's not your phone, you'll want to change your Google password immediately: these two-factor codes aren't generated until after someone has entered your valid password during a login attempt.

You note above that:

  Signal app is also sending me verification codes at the rate 1/day, although I uninstalled it. This fact suggests me a software issue. I cleaned the cache, but not sure if enough.

This suggests that your OS isn't fully under your control.  Whether this is due to malware or just a glitch of some sort, things you've uninstalled aren't going away as they should.  I'd suggest backing up any important data (photos, music, text conversations, etc.) and performing a factory reset on your device.

If that fails to clear up the problem, you should take the device to one of your carrier's shops (carrier owned/operated, not franchised -- there's a big difference in the level and type of support available) for further evaluation: your device might have been cloned, a situation that can lead to shocking bills and a lot of headache trying to clear up the charges.


How to fix auto call rejection issue in Android 8.0.0

Check your phone's Blacklist.

Check whether that important number has somehow got inside the blacklist or not. Any number in the blacklist will be automatically rejected without notifying you.


Do some running apps not show in Task Manager?

Not sure which task manager you are using -- but some devices/Android versions distinguish running apps from services. On my Droid2 running Gingerbread, I find running apps at Apps->Apps in the "Running" Tab, while services show up at Apps->Active Services. Parts of Google Maps (which is the navigation app you probably refer to) are implemented as services, as e.g. the "location service" which keeps checking your GPS or Wifi based location in the background. I never used navigation itself, but I imagine this is handled similarly.


How to turn off "Suggested: ..." video pop-ups in the YouTube android app?

These are Youtube cards (also known as Info Cards or Interactive Cards as described here: All about cards on YouTube and here: How To Setup and Use Youtube Info / Interactive Cards.

There are inserted into the videos by owners to (for marketing, advertising or information etc)  the viewer.

As described on the support page:

  You can choose which apps and websites show cards in your feed, and
  you can turn off cards from apps and websites at any time. You can
  also get more personalized cards by letting Google learn which apps
  and websites you use most.

The fix: Turning off cards from apps & websites

On your Android phone or tablet:

Open the Google app Google Search.
At the top left, tap Menu Menu → Customize → Apps & websites → Receive Now cards from apps and websites? → No.

Sources

Add cards to videos
See or remove cards from apps & websites

Note: For other ads not related related to info cards you need to use an ad blocker or patch host file to prevent ads, this fix is only for info cards and not ads.


Gaining root acces/installing custom rom on G1 with build number CRC1

I think you will have better luck at the XDA developers forum

It's the main place for ROM cookers (mainly HTC devices), for the Dream follow this link.

Try this thread for more info on rooting your HTC


What is the purpose of the 3rd on-screen button on a button-less phone?

That's the "Recent Apps" button. It's alternative of long-press physical home button.

If you tap this, a scrollable screen appears containing thumbnails of suspended or closed recent apps. You can tap thumbnails to switch to apps or swipe it to discard.


How do I manage users on my HTC One with Android 5?

Warning: This solution requires a rooted device.

Download the Xposed Framework installer by opening this link on your device: http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer
Alternatively, scan this QR code.
Install and open the Xposed Installer app.
Enter the 'Framework' section, select 'Install/Update' then reboot your phone.
Once you've rebooted, open the Xposed Installer again.
Enter the 'Download' section, and search for 'Multiple Users'.
Select 'Multiple users for phone'.
Swipe right to the 'Versions' tab and select 'Download' on the newest version of the module (which will be shown at the top of the list).
Wait up to two seconds until a popup appears.
Select 'Install' and wait another two seconds.
Select 'Done' (not 'Open') and change from the 'Download' section to the 'Modules' section.
Tick the checkbox beside 'Multi Users'.
Reboot your device.
Open 'Settings' and go down to the 'Users' option, which will now be there.


Can I drive a USB webcam with my android touchpad?

I don't think directly. There are, however, several apps in the market that seem to let you view a webcam connected elsewhere by URL or IP.


How can I have two names for same contact in android?

Save one contact number with country code and other without it . it worked in my mobile


How do I know when "adb backup" is finished?

The adb backup command won't work fully on an unrooted device as it will attempt to backup things like the /system partition, and without root access the phone will deny you this for safety reasons. I'm glad to hear running it with the -nosystem flag worked out for you :)

If you want to do a complete backup you need to be rooted. The /system partition, according to this page:

  contains the entire operating system, other than the kernel and the ramdisk. This includes the Android user interface as well as all the system applications that come pre-installed on the device. Wiping this partition will remove Android from the device without rendering it unbootable, and you will still be able to put the phone into recovery or bootloader mode to install a new ROM.

This means that your backup does not include anything related to your operating system, only your apps and their settings. If you decide to root your device, you can create a very solid backup from CWM Recovery where all partitions are backed up to the sdcard on the device, including the system and boot partitions.


s3 bootloop switching to cyanogenmod with cwm

As your device supports an external microSD card: take that card, put it into a card-reader (if you don't have one: now's the time to buy it; they come for less than 10 bucks), attach the reader to your PC. Now, copy the file to the root of the card, safely unmount, then put the card back into your phone. You should be able to flash it then.

For what possibly happened: you might have placed the file in the root of the internal SDCard. Recovery is looking on the external card.


adb device doesn't listed on cmd {Lenovo K8 Plus}

Common mistake these days people do not read the instructions.
Here is a example Warning from TWRP site:

This device uses dm-verity!
This means that swiping to allow system modifications will prevent you from being able to boot if you are using the stock kernel. In order to bypass dm-verity's boot prevention, you will have to install a kernel that has dm-verity disabled in the fstab.

Go back to the Tutorial where you have downloaded TWRP and read, i am pretty sure there is something you forgot to flash.
Universal DM-Verity ForceEncrypt Disk Quota Disabler
Another common mistake after flashing TWRP you must not boot into android. Reboot straightforward into recovery right after flashing, otherwise your custom recovery will be replaced with stock recovery
/system/recovery-from-boot.p


What is this Google Settings app that installed itself on my phone?

The Google settings app is being put their either by the Maps app, Search app, or the Google+ app.

It's a unified settings/sign-in thing they just added in literally yesterday and allows you to manage the settings for all of the above (and probably more in future) from one menu.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/27/google-settings-app-sneaks-onto-android-to-bolster-g-sign-in/


After some research this is what I came up with.

Did you download an APK for some app from the Aptoide website recently? If so, you didn't download that app. You downloaded the Aptoide market, and that market downloaded your app. It is likely that one of the kids tried to free download a paid app, as I see there are a lot of them in Aptoide. :) As always those free market apps are not trustworthy at best (they may look clean enough but they might still be sending sensitive data to their servers), and malicious and virus-infected at worst.

Here is a list of what I came up with each of the apps you mentioned:

"Messagerie Double" means "Double Messaging". I didn't find anything specially useful about this app, but based on what I've seen it looks like the Samsung Dual Messaging function, hence a system app.
"SEMFactoryApp" should be a system app, as it was mentioned in this Reddit Thread. Also, this JoeSandbox analysis dodn't detect any suspicious code in this app, so it looks like it's safe to assume that it is a system app.
"SVC Agent" looks like it matches com.samsung.android.svcagent, which is in this debloat list on XDA, and this thread on Android Authority also mentions that, so it looks like a system app too.
"NetworkDiagnostic" is mentioned on this APKMirror page as having package name com.samsung.android.networkdiagnostic and it is also in the debloat list above, so likely a system app.
"slocation" looks like a system app too, considering it didn't go away after a system reset as mentioned here.
Finally "bootagent" also looks like a system app, refer to post #147 here.

So why does Aptoide display system apps? Because it doesn't distinguish between system and non-system apps, and someone named sirkesyone-applikes (clearly without a proper knowledge of system apps) uploaded those system apps to Aptoide. If you or one of the kids mistakenly hit "Update" and confirm the update on one of those apps it could update to a wrong or incompatible version and brick your phone or erase your data or etc. So I would recommend uninstalling Aptoide as quickly as possible. :)

Good Luck!


You need to install apps that are classified as "Accessibility Apps". The most used ones are part of the Eyes-Free suite (Talkback, Kickback, Soundback, Accessibility Preferences, Eyes-Free Shell, Talking Dialer, Rock Lock, Walky Talky, Intersection Explorer), plus several useful 3rd party apps such as IDEAL Web Reader, IDEAL Magnifier, and K9 Mail.

More info - https://eyes-free.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/documentation/android_access/enabling.html


Duplicate calendar entries presumably caused by Google's calendar sync

I ended up disabling the linked calendar, and adding it manually using the ICalSync app in the market.


What is the small hole on the top of the pixel 3a?

If you look at the specs for the Pixel 3a and open up the Media & Audio section you'll see:

  Stereo speakers

  2 microphones

  Noise suppression

The small holes are for microphones, usually multiple ones are used to improve call quality, i.e. suppressing background noise.


"Save as draft" option missing from the default message app?

The stock messaging app will automatically save a draft message when you tap on the back button while composing the message, but the recipient field has to be filled. Without a recipient it will give a warning that the message will be deleted.

There are a lot of good alternatives. I have no experience with them myself (I'm using the stock app) but a lot of people seem to like Handcent, GO SMS Pro or ChompSMS. Just search the Internet for reviews.


I am on a MotoX Pure, but the Gmail application should be the same or at least very similar.

Open Gmail
Navigate to your Spam folder
Tap on the icon in the far upper-right corner that looks like three dots sitting on top one another
A dropdown will appear and the only option should be to "Empty Spam"


Galaxy S4 - Cannot turn email notifications OFF

go to settings, find aplications menu find your e-mail client that spams notifications, click it. you will find buttons like uninstall or delete app's data. there should be a checkbox for notifications. you can disable them. now app dosent have permission to throw any notifications on you


Android Box M8 - Issues with QWERTY Wireless i8 keyboard

What input method is chosen? If you have chosen Google voice typing then the keyboard won't work.

Try choosing Google keyboard. If that is not working, try downloading a third party keyboard app from play store and choosing it.

For a bluetooth keyboard to work, you have to pair the device with your tv box first


Yes, preloading has been removed from version 5.6 (and above).

  To make way for some upcoming mobile features, we removed the
  preloading feature on the YouTube app for Android. We apologize for
  any inconvenience, and we look forward to bringing these new features
  to you.


Do you need a special charger for a Nexus 7?

No, you don't need anything unique. While it comes with something specific - it can charge off a USB in your computer (or the wall outlet -> USB). (Source: I have the 2012 one)

Sounds like you have other issues such as:

Bad/Obstructed USB header - Visually check the USB on your Nexus for physical damage or blocks (dust, debris, lint, etc)
Bad USB cable - Try an alternative cable or verify that cable in other devices if possible.
There are complaints of the 2013 Nexus 7, mostly related to odd behaviors with touch. Perhaps this could be another manifestation... Though I somewhat doubt it.

If you clarify further, that may help your cause: Did it ever work normally - if so, has anything changed between then and now (rooting, custom ROM, etc)? What came in the box with it? What did the manual tell you? What else have you tried? What do you mean "What's the deal with these android tablets?" - have you found other evidence of issues or reported complaints?


What determines power management policies in Android?

Power management is determined by governors which set the CPU clock speed according to use. Each clock speed operates at a certain voltage and a lower voltage means less power. If you have root access you can change the governor and the allowed CPU clock speeds. Also there is sleep state into which the CPU will enter when the screen is off and nothing is working in the background. There are probably battery-charging functions that can't be messed with, but everything else can be changed even the cpu and dsp voltages.


Android 2.2 Galaxy S SGH-T959 kernel update with netfilter

The CyanogenMod aftermarket firmware supports netfilter.

You can follow the instructions from CyanogenMod's full update guide for the SGH-959/Samsung Vibrant to install CM7/9/10 (downloads for the vibrantmtd are here).


Mount USB OTG to specific destination folder

It's actually real simple but you need work from recovery.
All things mounted go through some script called fstab.
And don't go change anything until you know sure that's right to do.
Some info can be found in a map called MNT and PROC.
However never try to alter those because it could lead to bricking your
device.

Some textfile examples are MOUNTS and PARTITIONS where you can find detailed info. Mounting however uses the fstab folder as device parameter info point.  So think adding or changing it might work.
Here an fstab textline as example.

/dev/block/mmcblk0p9 /system ext4 rw

You might find more info when googling for android fstab properties.
Still altering them in any way is up to you.


Upgrade to Android 6 or 7 and use sdcard as internal storage. Use cyanogenmod if zte won't accommodate.


How can I watch HD Amazon videos on Logitech Revue?

It is a problem with the Google TV OS, not the device's firmware.

There was a Google TV update that supposedly came down the stream quite some time ago, but my Logitech Revue never got it.  It was SUPPOSED to have given Amazon Instant an ACTUAL app instead of the link to Chrome which is currently on the device.  Since Logitech is no longer supporting the device, I don't count on ever getting that update, or any updates.

What annoys me about this issue, though, is that I USED to get HD through Chrome on my Revue. I actually bought an HD season pass for Walking Dead at the beginning of the season, and watched the first half in HD.  I stumbled across the inability to watch HD content only a couple weeks ago. There must have been a software update on Amazon's end that created this new incompatibility, and since the Revue isn't getting any more updates, it will continue losing functionality like this.

I am going to try watching Walking Dead via PlayOn to see if it makes any sort of difference.  Though, that only runs through Chrome, also.  It does not have its own app on the Revue, even though it does on a lot of other devices and platforms.

It's only a matter of time before I replace my Revue with a Roku or something now.


Does Android continue to run after phone is switched off?

There was a question here asking if it is an expected behavior, it has two answers saying not much more as simple yes.

I am going to answer this question as a question of why is it so, whether Android is running, and how it works if not.

The answer is: no, Android is not running nowhere, nor is Linux underneath him. Wake up on alarm is a hardware feature which was around a long time and was actually very common a time ago. The feature involves hardware. And because of the associated costs, I think, manufacturers started to implement it less and less. There is quite a lot of expensive phones today, which don't have it.

The alarm clock while power off feature has nothing to do with Android or whatever OS is on the phone. Any device today is never quite completely off. There are always few chips powered. No conspiracy here, those chips in question are well documented power chips, without any special spying powers if that is in question. We can say a phone, or other device, is on if it's processor is on. That can be woken-up by various events, only one of which is the power button. If you plug a charger to a powered off phone, it will power on, determine what's happened, then it shows a battery charging graphics. There is usually separate boot for each such event. One of such could be a signal from an alarm clock. You have phones which shows such alarms while they boot to special alarm clock mode, and then you have phones which will go through normal boot to show alarm in its alarm App.

But it's not just to send the wake signal. Phones offer multiple alarms, you have timezones, silent modes, and there need to be a way to store the alarm value from an alarm app when you set an alarm time into the clock chip. I don't think it's all such a big deal, especially when a basic clock is usually there somewhere anyway, but it's cheaper without it.


Control of apps while driving. (Macros?)

Tasker can do that (and a lot more things), as long as the app in question supports it (a list of apps with Tasker support can e.g. be found here − never mind the German, if you're just after the list). As you've described, it supports "Shake gestures", and if your device has a camera button, you could utilize that as well. "Flip gestures" might also come in handy (flip the device to face down, then face up, etc.)

I know it's a paid app. But to try it out, visit the app's project site and get a 7-day trial (remember to export all your configuration and profiles before "day 7", then you can simply uninstall, re-install, and re-import your settings for another 7 days period − this hint comes from the dev himself, so it's nothing bad ;)

The app needs some time to get warm with it. But once you did, you don't want to miss it anymore :)


How to Remove persistent "Samsung Account" notification? It keeps showing up regardless of settings

Constantly had the notification appearing and making noises, tried everything but nothing worked until I tried this;

settings
notifications
advanced (top right corner)
tap the 3 dots in the top right hand corner and select "show system apps"
scroll down to Samsung Account
Turn off
Curse samsung for making this so difficult and counter intutive.


How to backup Samsung 6 edge data with broken USB port

You can use the smart switch app to send to a different Samsung phone.

I've noticed that calendar tasks on Samsung doesn't sync with Google or with anything else, only smart switch or kies worked me.


How To Install Android 5 on an LG G Pad 7.0?

Yes, it is relatively easy (compared to apple). The basic steps you will have to take are as follows:

Unlock the bootloader, can vary massively in difficulty by device, depending on how irritating your manufacturer's being. This will wipe all your data, but theoretically is the last time you ever have to wipe your data.
Install a custom rom of your choice

In order to find more concise tutorials, explaining step by step, do a google search for "lg g pad 7.0 (LTE?) bootloader unlock"


How do i prevent screen dimming for specific apps?

That's one of the many things Tasker does for me, with a quite simple profile:

Condition: App (select your browser, reader, etc., multiple apps can be selected simultaneously)
Task: Display-Timeout (all sliders to max = never)

Optionally, you also can adjust screen brightness. Then, as soon as one of the selected apps is running in the foreground, that action triggers – the screen won't turn off anymore. When you bring another app in front which was not selected with your condition, Tasker reverts to the previous state automatically.

Of course, there are also several apps available just doing that and nothing else; but having one app (tasker) that can doing this and so much more, I forgot about them long ago...


Removing ads on apps that don't have ad-free version (e.g. Angry Bird)

If your device is rooted, install Adaway. It will remove ads basically everywhere.


Notification icon that looks like 'b' with 3 dots

This question has been answered by wickdaman on Android Forums,

MunstersRebel said:
It's beam some proggie that works like a virtual loyalty card holder

It is! To be exact, it's Beaming Service for Samsung which works with this app, Beep'nGo (made by the same folks, Mobeam).
So you can use loyalty cards from shops (e.g. Starbucks). Quite a handy app if you ever wanted it and less crap to have in your wallet...


Sony Xperia L1 Screen Always Open, I Cannot Lock

The problem has been solved. Proximity sensor seems broken due to service report. After a fix, it resolved. Thanks.


Whatsapp, Keeping the number on the new phone but without the old sim card

Whatsapp checks if there's a sim card installed at the time of boot.
So as long as you have a sim card installed, it shouldn't be a problem to your whatsapp account (The old one)

I've switched sim cards and it hasn't affected my whatsapp account.
The problem of verification arises when you boot your phone without a sim card.


Generate different thumbnails for videos in Gallery

Not a nice solution, but if you have to access those videos regularly for a long time, you could find the thumbnail files and edit them so you could tell the videos apart.

Also you could find another application which displays the title as well, or an animated preview. VLC player and Mobo player function well for me.


Issues after rooting my Galaxy S2 by running fk23, the Jellybean ROM

I think it is due to u have use wrong Rooting file. did you tried other Rooting file as well?
what i tried is I9100ZSLSJ Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean Galaxy S2 I9100
if you want to download it. here is the link


Something eating CPU on Sony XPeria XZ, how to find out what it is?

Use ADB and its logcat feature to see log of system and activity of processes.

Also you use adb shell top to see processes and consumptions


How to restore Google Accounts from a local backup in MIUI 10?

No, it won't restore automatically. You have to manually sign in all the accounts even after back


There is a similar question posted on Google product forums,
Forced to join google + in order to rate apps?
Answer: It's not possible to anonymously rate or review an app. And letting users post anonymously will result in simply posting a review in anger, in an attempt to hurt the developer or app. Making someone identify who they are, in this instance, ensures that they are more likely to think about what they are writing, and if they're going to criticize, they are more likely to do it constructively. Also read this Google product forum post,

It sounds like the heart of your concern is you want to be able to
leave reviews anonymously and the recent change won't allow for that.
Requiring accounts to write reviews is increasingly common (Yelp,
TripAdvisor, OpenTable, and others). In the world of mobile, Apple
requires sign-in with an AppleID to review apps and other content.  In
fact, requiring sign-in has become so prevalent that there's already
industry research on it (example here).
Unfortunately, for folks who don't want to sign-in to leave reviews
like yourself, this shift isn't a desirable one.  Changes like this
can be frustrating if it's not what you want to happen and I'm sorry
that you're so frustrated by it.  Aside from illuminating that this is
a greater trend, there's unfortunately not any other solution except
that I hope that you can make the choice that's right for you.
Finally, I'm not sure what your objective is with leaving a review for
the app and don't know if this will be helpful to you, but know that
you can reach out directly to the app's developer via these steps.

Go to Google Play and select the app in question.
On the app's description page, scroll down to the "Developer" section.
An email address, a phone number or a website will be provided.


How can I change the default search box to use another browser?

In settings, goto applications > internet > clear defaults. Next time you perform a search it should ask you which you would like to use and simply select dolphin.


System audio files appearing in playlist

Add a blank file named .nomedia in the folders containing music that you don't want to be seen in the music player. Media scanner ignores files in the folder with .nomedia file. I have never tried this on Eclair, but I guess it should work.

And yes, you may have to restart the device after this is done.

EDIT:

The restart is to trigger the Media Scanner to do its job. You can also trigger it by unmounting and remounting your SD card (which can be done from Storage Settings or by connecting it to your computer), or by using one of the "trigger-happy-apps" like e.g. SDrescan


Looking for an alternative to Smart Statusbar

Try Bird Bar.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mikedg.android.bar.lite

And now, for the rest of my 30 characters...


Google Play Store uses mobile network, ignoring Data Saver settings?

Google Play Store and Google Play Services self update is known to update when they "want" no matter if you are on WiFi or mobile and what settings you have configured.
I am not sure if the respect data saver settings but as Google Play Store is a system app permissions and settings do not apply to it.
And you have agreed to those updates when setting up your device. The following screenshot is from the setup-wizard that shows up on a new device/after a factory reset (see section marked in yellow).


phone makes touch vibration sounds when on facebook

I know this sounds silly, but I think it is likely that your hand is wrapped around the phone and thereby gently touching the screen with the tip of your fingers OR you are touching the volume down key that goes to vibrate mode.

Technical possibilities could be:

-Setting in the Facebook app, maybe it is sending some sort of notification equivalent that just vibrates instead of showing up on your screen.

-It could also be a different application that runs in the background and gives you notification vibrations. To solve that, go to applications manager, and click through applications and disable push notifications until you find the culprit.

Hope that helped.


Try making them device administrators. I know that AFwall+ can be set as device admistrator. I have not used Netguard except for testing purposes in the last year but I believe it is also possible to set it as device admistrator.


Recover From Bad Flash, Recovery Gone, ODIN no go Galaxy S6 Verizon

Just in case anyone finds this in the future. I figured out how to fix this. I had have a working phone to install verizon's upgrade assitant. It would not work from the exe I found on the internet. From there I had to install it in a virtual machine because it did not like Win 10. From there I simply plugged in my device and it restored it. Use this method if odin doesn't work. I WILL NEVER ROOT AGAIN!


How does one share Samsung camera "Virtual Shot" (3D spin-around) photos?

Othr than an MP4 export, you can't. You have to take your photos in Phogy (app, gif, or mp4) or Fyuse (web or gif). Both are lower in pixel quality (slightly) but allow for sharing the interactive experience. The pro version of phogy has higher quality but still lower than 4k.

I hope someone makes a parallax  player that takes raw videos, then all video cameras could share it.


Is it possible to remove unnecessary letters from android-provided keyboard?

As you didn't give much details, we can give generic answers only.

It very much depends on the keyboard app used: some allow modifications, others don't. You can either switch to a different keyboard layout (almost all keyboards support this), or use an alternative keyboard app altogether.


Configuring GMail to use system email accounts

I would do that not only for the Gmail app but all the Gmail. Go to your desktop pc, log into your account, go to settings and configure Gmail to receive all your emails inside your account.


How do you unlock bootloader on galaxy J3 (2016)

Go to Settings > Developers options >  OEM  unlock.

If the developer options is not enabled:

Go to Settings > About device > Software infos > Tape 7 times on Build number then go back to Settings the options should be visible now.


Why doesn't My phone recognize my SD card?

Try your SD card in another phone or a computer. If it works, then it's probably your phone. Try an SD card that you already know is working in your phone and see if it reads it. If it doesn't, then it's definitely your phone but it could be the SD slot itself or a software problem. If another card works in your phone and your card works in other phones, then I don't know what to tell you; use a working card, I guess. :)


Hold the volume-down button, the Home button and power button until the phone restarts and don't let go, the bootloader should appear after 10 seconds approx.


buy an app - message: "none of the accounts on your phone are supported"

This is a known issue with the Market / Apps accounts.  I believe Google has upgraded some Apps accounts to allow Market purchases, but if yours hasn't been upgraded then I believe you're out of luck and should create a regular Google account to use with the Market.


How can I limit WiFi data usage to activities I explicitly allow?

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

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

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

If you have root access, there are more alternatives:

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


How do I know which root method was used to root a phone?

In general, no.

The basic goal of rooting is to place an executable su binary somewhere accessible via $PATH.  Nothing else needs to be left behind.  The specific exploit that was used need not have side-effects, and multiple different tools could use the same exploit anyways.  In fact, there need not even be an exploit — many devices just let you unlock the bootloader and flash or otherwise load su in a straightforward manner.

If you know that a specific root tool does leave behind a signature, you could check for it, but in my experience that is not typical.


I found the answer for you here in this question

Quoting the answer given by @petercarlos :

  Well, I would say I don’t think you can’t do anything about it because
  the forgot password button isn’t available with the Lollipop , now
  what you are left with is you can try unlocking your device with the
  help of your Google account i.e. Log yourself over the Google account
  you are using over Laptop/PC once done head over to the Android device
  manager and using it try unlocking your device remotely, also in order
  to do that your device must be connected to the Mobile Data or Wi-Fi
  network. And if you don't have the access then I guess you are locked
  out and the only thing you can do now is factory resetting your device
  by holding the Power+Volume down button.


If you are currently using those themes, just switch to the default theme and try uninstalling them. That usually works.


While updating LineageOS, do I need to update Gapps too?

You normally don't need to re-flash GApps as most GApps installers will install an addon.d script which restores GApps automatically after flashing a new ROM that supports addon.d (LineageOS does so).

If you are using Open GApps (http://opengapps.org/) you are on the safe side.


What to do when you believe your phone was hacked? I want to start fresh without buying a new phone

Reinstall stock ROM with odin with factory reset and install Avast Antivirus

A tutorial to reinstall stock here


you can easily achieve the first with Llama, a free app (easier to use than Tasker, its location sending works with cell towers) but for the call recording I think you would need tasker for that (as call recording is not that easy to achieve on android)


Navigating Android: How To Go Back To Previous Screen?

This is something of an oversimplification, but the simple answer is: you can't.

What makes this an oversimplification? Well, it's because it depends on how a given app is implemented. Android applications are based around the concept of an Activity, which is described in the development documentation as:

  An activity is a single, focused thing that the user can do.

When a new Activity is launched it is placed onto a system-wide "Activity stack" at the top of the stack (for anyone unfamiliar, see Stack (data structure)). When the back button is pressed, the current Activity (at the top of the stack) is finished and removed from the stack, causing the previous one (beneath it on the stack) to be brought to the foreground. This pop/bring-to-foreground behavior continues as you keep pressing the back button until you land at HOME, which is the start of the stack. From here, you cannot go "back" any further.

Now, how does this apply to apps? In many applications, an Activity represents one, individual screen. When you advance to a new screen, then, a new Activity is actually created for the screen and pushed onto the stack on top of the one that created it. In apps that use this design, hitting back will, in fact, bring you to the previous screen. The reason should be fairly self-evident: the screen you are currently viewing is on the top of the stack, the previous screen sits below it (since they are each Activities themselves). Thus, hitting back removes the current screen from the stack, finishes it, and then loads the previous one.

This is not a required model, however. You can have an Activity that contains multiple layouts and screens. We have used this in my office to, for example, create a configuration wizard of sorts. The idea is that hitting back should simply exit the wizard, and there are "Back" and "Next" buttons on the screen itself to provide navigation. Thus, even if you are on the third screen of the wizard, you have not created any additional Activities, so hitting the back button (hard button) will take you out of the "Wizard Activity" and back to the "Menu Activity".

Further, the behavior of the back button can be overridden by an application of they so choose. It simply calls a method named onBackPressed(), which performs the default behavior of going backwards on the Activity stack. However, if there is an overridden implementation of onBackPressed() in the current Activity, that will be executed instead.

So to sum up: the idea that the back button goes back to the previous "screen" is not guaranteed at all. The hard back button deals with Activities only, which are often "screens" to the user, but aren't necessarily, and are in no way required to be. There is no concept of "go back one screen" unless the app you are using says there is, but that functionality is still not guaranteed to be provided by the back button itself.

Further reading:

Activity and Task Design
Activity documentation


i cant enter recovery mode; how do i install my ADB driver?

If you display is at least partially usable, you may use a USB/micro-USB adapter to simply plug a computer mouse to your smartphone. From there and depending on your screen damage, you may more easily interact with your device.

Also, remember the screen rotation settings : if your ROM allows 360° rotation (i.e. 90°, 180°, and 270°), you should be able to see any part of the screen by turning it on the sides, and/or upside-down.


Accelerometer/gyroscope not used by apps LG L70