Flash boot.img without using fastboot USB

What needs to be done is to bundle the boot.img and construct a new zip file suitable for flashing via ClockworkMod or TWRP.

Pre-requisites:

a Linux environment that has the usual development packages, such as Java installed. (It can also apply to other platforms, just be careful that the instructions here indicating the path used below, uses a forward slash /, so flip that around to be a back slash \ for Windows environment especially!)
adb command line tool installed.
`testsign.jar' tool, for signing the zip file so that the recovery can authenticate and verify it is a valid archive otherwise recovery will report corrupt archive or similar.
update-binary command line application, that is internal for usage with the flashable script. (This can be found with any flashable zip, the important thing is to extract that binary and deposited in the structure of the directory as shown)
zip command line tool.

Assuming your directory is called workdir, for discussion, lets call this the working directory, copy the boot.img into that directory, and create the following directory structure - META-INF/com/google/android, this is important! And within the META-INF/com/google/android, copy the binary application called update-binary into that directory. So the directory structure should be like this:

+ workdir/
     +
     |
     +--+ boot.img
     |
     |
     +--+ META-INF/
              +
              |
              +--+ com/
                    +
                    |
                    +--+ google/
                           +
                           |
                           +--+ android/
                                   +
                                   |
                                   +--> update-binary
                                   |
                                   +--> updater-script

As for the updater-script, copy the contents of the following below:

ui_print("Please wait, boot.img being flashed...");
show_progress(0.1, 0);
assert(package_extract_file("boot.img", "/tmp/boot.img"),
       write_raw_image("/tmp/boot.img", "boot"),
       delete("/tmp/boot.img"));
show_progress(0.1, 10);
ui_print("It is now safe to reboot! :)");

Remember: Do not get confused here, the updater-script as shown, should be left alone and as-is, so do not try flip the forward-slash to a back slash if doing this under Windows environment.

Go back to the parent of the directory structure, i.e. outside of workdir and do the following, we're going to create a zip file from this:

zip -r my_custom_flashable_boot_unsigned.zip workdir/ which is a recursive function, this will zip up everything into the file called my_custom_flashable_boot_unsigned.zip.

Finally, to sign the zip file, issue this:

java -classpath testsign.jar testsign my_custom_flashable_boot_unsigned.zip my_custom_flashable_boot_signed.zip

Then its a matter of pushing that across the SDCard as in adb push my_custom_flashable_boot_signed.zip /sdcard/ and manually go into recovery and specify that zip archive (i.e. my_custom_flashable_boot_signed.zip)  in which it will perform the flashing for you.


Try a different App?

K9-Mail is pretty good.


Issues transfering .apk files from PC to phone using the cable. Sony Xperia Neo

Use a SD card and put the APK file on that. Put the card into the phone (if it supports it) and open the files folder on your phones File Browser (Could be something differently named). Install it as if it were another app.


Recover nexus 5x with locked bootloader and TWRP

Both locking and unlocking bootloader performs a factory reset on your device on the next boot. This wiping needs stock recovery. You had installed TWRP to the device and since you locked back bootloader. It needed the default recovery to be able to wipe it, since it wasn't there, TWRP tries to wipe, boot and fail, back to TWRP on and on forever. Flashing stock recovery either via fastboot, or flasing software will help it reset hence boot again. If you feel new to this. You can request a full more detailed answer from me and I'll edit this to your convenience.

Note: Flashing software will always download in firmware regardless of the state of that checkbox


Is it possible to get photos from device without screen?

If your screen still works, but can't be controled, use a computer mouse to unlock your phone


My path to shared data is
C:\ProgramData\BlueStacks\Engine\UserData\SharedFolder


Will wiping data from recovery while flashing ROM on device with non-sd-slot also wipe user data?

It depends on how the particular recovery you will choose to install handles user data.

Most recent versions of commonly used recovery images (e.g. TWRP and ClockworkMod) recognize the need to keep certain portions of internal memory on devices without removable storage. On such devices the /sdcard mount point is still present, but is pointing to /data/media partition instead. When doing a regular factory reset, this /data/media partition is left untouched. If you really wish to clear that area as well, in ClockworkMod recovery, for example, you would need to navigate to mounts and storage and use the format /data and /data/media(/sdcard) option.


External SD card error: java.lang.IllegalStateException: No suitable external storage

But you did not made any error:

Moving to SD card means moving the apk files with part of app data to SD card so the app will be splited between the SD card and internal storage and this could help freeing up more space, but linking Apps to SD is different which will move the app almost completely to your external storage, but you need a second partition with ext2/4 file system and this will free up more space from your internal storage.

now the last method is making the external storage as internal which can be done by formating the SD card and preparing it again as internal storage.

Ok now every method has it's advantages but to me I prefer moving to SD:

Moving to SD card can be done defaultly without the need of any app like link2SD and without the need of spliting SD card to two partitions which will limit the size of your SD card to media data like videos/images/music .....etc and you may need more space for them, but moving to SD card from the app info at applications setting ----(or from any root app if moving option was not found at application info by default)------ will move your app to your fat32/exfat/NTFS file system SD card but not completely freeing up less space without the need to split your SD card.

Moving to sd card Also more stable and will cause no error or lose to your data if your external SD card was removed while device running so your external SD card won't lose it's function as external storage that you can move any where not in your device only.

removing your external storage while there is apps linked to your SD card has a chance to delete your linked appd or losing some of your apps data or freezing your device or making it not work normally(maybe not) according to the apps linked so you need to turn off your device then remove your SD card to put it somewhere you need and you may also not able to use second partition to move files so your external storage will be limited.

Ok what about preparing external storage to use as internel on android 6.0+  ?
Ok this option is ported by google officially to android 6.0+ and it does not need any external app to manage it so you will make your external storage as internal and forget about anything else while the device will automatically manage the apps and decide which apps will be saved in your SD card or in your internal storage.

After preparing your external storage as internal your device will fuse them as one partition and this will extend your storage functionality not limiting it unlike linking to SD card so you will have the advabtage of extending storage functionality but on the other hand you won't be able to remove your external SD completely even if you turned off your device and moved it to any other device.

The file system will shows up as corrupted so you need to attash all your device to your PC to move files for example in addition to that you will lose your data if your android system was stoped and need to be reformated and this is a big disadvantages and that's why some smartphone manufacturer like the great Samsung has disabled it in the system of her devices officially but you still able to renable it by using the app  (Root Essentials)  where you can download free from play store which will give you the simplest way to reenable this function to your Samsung device ( any way your device is not Samsung so you can skip this)

Ok, now what would you like to choose linking to SD or moving apps normally or use your external as internal?

I think Samsung was right when it has removed using external as internal storage since it has apoeared obviously dangerous to your personal files and data also losing the external functionality of you SD card so you can't remove it.

Ok know if you chose like I prefer to move apps normally to sd card you will need to fix this issue (error no suitable external storage to move apps) I think this error is from the lineage 14 and all roms passed on it like resurrection remix rom and currently I am trying to fix it and I will report you a proper solution.


Turning on screen, flickering.. with logcats

The symptoms you describe sound much more likely to be a hardware problem than a software problem. You probably need to get the backlight of the screen replaced (or the whole screen, if it's an OLED screen).

You shouldn't have rooted your phone when it had an existing problem, if it was still under warranty. As things are, you'll need to pay to get your phone repaired. Take it to your local phone repair shop.


An error has occurred with the fingerprint sensor

Most likely the problem is with the fingerprint scanner itself.  He was either damaged or moved away from the water, and he burned


How to diagnose a tethering issue after swapping sim cards?

The issue is one of Access Points, just not one configured in the tethering settings.

The fix was to go to Settings, then More under Wireless & Networks, then Mobile networks then Access point names. Finally, edit the APN that the network configuration sent. In there, I found that the APN type was just default

It turns out that default is enough for the phone to get online, but not for tethering to work. So, I changed it to default,net,dun, as shown:

With that in place, Tethering magically started working

So, the fix was APN related, just that it isn't something (in Android 5.1 at least) that is setup in the tethering area, it's in the mobile networks area and needs the dun and net settings


Unable to open copied files from computer to device (mount  as disk drive) - HTC Desire S

The transfer was probably corrupted.  The problem is probably with the host OS, and not with your phone.

What OS and what program were you using to copy the files?  Did you remember to "eject" the phone from the computer to make sure everything was synchronized?

Are the files on the phone the right size?  If you plug the phone back into the computer can you look at them successfully there?  (Or try copying them off and looking at the copies.)


ADB- Cannot get the Path variable to work for ADB

I Removed my Path Variable as I was getting nowhere, and instead I put the contents of the platforms-tools folder at the root directory of where my CMD opens in, which is my user folder. I am now able to run ADB from the default CMD location, although this isn't an ideal and thorough solution that can be used were every I open the CMD prompt on my computer, it is still a solution until I can fix this path variable problem.

Edit: It Seems that I had a space after this ; It isn't ment to have a space between ;and the begin of the address


Can I record Google+ Huddle chat messages?

There's currently no way to do this. Maybe suggest it on the google forums?


How to stop a phone from ringing without rejecting the call?

I suspect this is very much device dependent, but on the HTC Desire HD, you can press the physical volume down button to silence the ringtone whilst allowing the call to continue.


Privacy effects of disabling notifications through Android settings

Push messages - what do they contain
What data each app receives via Firebase push notifications can be very different.
Some apps receive the complete message content as Firebase push notification to the user's app. In such a case Google can of course see the complete message.
Apps that handle privacy related content should use push notifications not as data transmission system. Instead they use push notifications just as notification for the app that new data is available on their own WhatsApp/Signal/... server.
Therefore for messenger apps I would expect that the push notifications may just contain e.g. a number the app processes and then knows that new data is available on the server.
Disabling notifications for an app
Regarding the question what happens if you disable notifications of an app in settings this also depends on the app:
The app itself can check if you have enabled/disabled a certain push channel. Therefore it is possible for an app to disable the notifications on server side so that no push messages are sent at all if you have disabled notifications for that app.
However a lazy app developer may not implement such a check. In such a case I would assume that all notifications are sent as before but just ignored by your device.


Sending calls to voicemail when I am in a meeting

Using tasker you can accomplish this and more fairly easily once you know how to use it. To solve the whole phone ringing while you are in a meeting you have a few options with how to do it in Tasker. You can choose to silence your phone while in meetings, set it to vibrate, block all phone calls (probably not the best choice) or send them all to voicemail. I will go through how to create a profile for the latter.
First, Create a new profile:

Next select State, then App, and then Calendar Entry

For the Calendar entry settings you need to make sure to select No for availability and then you can click the magnifying glass next to Calendar to select which calendar it should be referencing. Then click the check mark.

Now to create a task to do during that meeting. Select New task and then click the plus (+) sign in the lower left corner.

For the action select Phone and then Select End Call and then the check mark

Once you have done that you can click the check mark to close and save the task. Go to the Profiles tab at the top, then click on your Profile you created and long press on the Context below it (the Calendar setting on the left). This should bring up a Context menu. Select Add and then Event.

From Events select Phone and then Phone Ringing.

Now you have a Profile to push phone calls to voicemail when you are in meetings.


How can I monitor and log data connection mode and rate, and log with location?

I think that the network data you need is available through logcat. View the network buffer on your phone using either alogcat (Android 4.0 and earlier) or adb (any, but required for Android 4.1 and later). I had to use this statement in adb:

adb logcat -b radio GsmSST:D *:S

The resulting list included log entries like the one below:

D/GsmSST  (  707): [GsmSST] handlPollStateResultMessage: GsmSST setDataRegState=0 regState=1 dataRadioTechnology=9

This is from a Galaxy Nexus which is GSM - if your phone is CDMA it will look very different and will need a different adb command. Note the dataRadioTechnologyportion. Do a little testing to work out what the numbers mean (my Google-foo isn't working well enough to find the answer online).

Then, all you need to do is track your location using whatever method you like. Correlate the logcat output with your location logs using timestamps and see what you get!


The easiest way is to install the official Last.FM app, this will scrobble tracks played by the default Android music player, as well as from many 3rd party audio players, like WinAmp.

It doesn't work with some manufacturer customized music player apps (for instance, Samsung have modified the music player app on the Galaxy S's and scrobbling doesn't work from there). I use WinAmp to play my music on my phone, and that happily scrobbles via the Last.FM app.


Samsung j7 is not eligible for Beta Program.
Available devices for Beta Program : Galaxy S7 / Galaxy S7 edge (with Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon contract).


Why does text disappear after browser page load on a HTC MyTouch 4G?

It seems that the WebKit bundled with HTC sense does not support jQuery properly, which is what is causing this error.

The fix would be to install a non-webkit custom browser, such as Firefox or Opera.


How to connect Bluetooth keyboard + bt mouse to Android smartphone to work in parallel?

Problem solved.
Another Shell Terminal application from Play store supports Enter key.
Only keyboard by Logitech is supported since ASCII keys input mismatch for mini keyboard


If by "screen save" you mean a screenshot, yes you can :)

Just press both Power and Volume Down together and hold them for a second.


Oreo/Pixel2: Bottom Navigation Bar is no longer fading out

Credit to PM_ME_2LEARNHOW2CODE from r/GooglePixel:

To autohide statusbar only, use command:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.status=*

To autohide navbar only, use command:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.navigation=*

To autohide both nav and status bar, use command:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*

To revert back to stock, just re-enter the command you did but without the *

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=

If your phone doesn't let you unlock it/freezes up when you try to unlock and you want full immersive mode run these:

adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=apps,-com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

I personally used a tweak to permanently hide my navbar and then use immersive for my status bar.


How can I use one Android device as mouse and keyboard input for another Android device via bluetooth?

Android Mouse and Keyboard might be able to do what you want. Install it on one device, use it in bluetooth mode, and then sync that device's virtual bluetooth keyboard and mouse to the other device just as you would a real bluetooth keyboard or mouse.


Video footage from a 'face down' camera - orientation issue

Have a look at VLC Player and the Transform-Options to rotate the video without less quality.


How to set a device-wide in-app-purchase block?

I've never tried this, but apparently you can install Advanced Permission Manager on certain versions of Android, and block the billing service for each application that requests it. You do have to go through your apps list and change permissions one by one, but you can search apps based on permissions they request.


Which ROM?

Check ROM-Settings -> "Active Display" -> then disable or
Settings -> Display -> "Active Display" -> then disable

I think good chances AOSP handles it in either one of these ways.


Is there a way to stream all audio from PC to Android via USB?

You would better off getting a pair of USB headphones than streaming it to your phone.


Run adb logcat during boot, record the output and post it here / try to find the cause of the boot loop.


Disable "Get google play services" message

Here's one way that you can try and remove the Google Play Services dependency using Lucky Patcher. Install lucky patcher (a simple search should give you it), give it root permissions, and then you can do one of the following next:

Create a modified APK file which has the dependency removed
Or directly patch the app

Creating a modified APK file

Open up Lucky Patcher. Find the app you want to patch, tap on it, and select Open Menu of Patches. Select Create a modified APK file, then APK without licence verification. Near the bottom of the list there should be an option labelled Remove dependencies. Make sure that only it is checked (ie: all others are unchecked), and then select Rebuild the app at the bottom of the dialog. Wait until it's finished (it may take a while), and voilà, you'll have an APK which shouldn't require Google Play Services. With this method, chances are you'll have to uninstall and reinstall the app with the custom APK, thus loosing all data (unless you somehow back it up).

Directly patching the app

This method is (probably) simpler and doesn't require you to uninstall or reinstall anything. First, if your app has been moved to the SD card through the normal method through settings, move it back to internal storage. Next, open up Lucky Patcher like the above instructions, and find your app. Tap on it, select Open Menu of Patches, then select Remove licence verification. You'll want Auto Modes here, so select that. Now check the Remove dependencies box and make sure any others are unchecked (however, if you want to, you can select Backup APK file in case something goes wrong, because then you'll have something to revert to). Select apply, wait for it to finish (again, it might take a while), and there you go, you should be done.


Um, How about Photoshop Touch? Might be a tad expensive for your needs, but it is essentially a toned-down, mobile edition of the Adobe product.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.adobe.pstouch

Of course, if you really want it but can't fork out the dough, there's always downloading the apk (but you didn't hear it from me, developers don't worry I support you guys :P ).

If you're looking to create icons to use as replacements right on your device, and are inclined to a minimalistic style, then Simple Text is a good way to go.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.redphx.simpletext


Photos and videos visible on phone., but impossible to import to a Mac

If the physical transfer does not work, you could try an app like WiFi File Transfer

It uses your WiFi to transfer files, so that might be worth a try.


It is not possible to move apps to SD Memory card although the device is rooted. There are workarounds for swapping internal memory and external memory but it seems to be temporary (maybe until the next boot up I think). Flashing a custom rom is recommended from my side. Visit xdadevelopers website and find your device thread for more details.


Download Archive of Old Google Apps (APKs) for G1 (1.6 Donut)

Official? No.

Trusted? Well that depends on who you trust. Rootzwiki has a list of the GApps packages for all Android versions.

Now for the rant part: Google understandably and thankfully doesn't support old versions.  The ROI is getting lower and lower with the older platforms. No person in their right mind would support 1.6 when they have 4.1 out there and a newer version in the works.


Blacklisting SSIDs is not currently in the base android software.  It is currently a "Medium" priority Enhancement for Android:  See Android Issue 7318

I have asked a related question ( How can I tell my device to ignore a public Wi-Fi network? ) but haven't found anything that works like I would expect.


How do you select a large number of rows in Google Sheets without endless scrolling downward after selecting the first row?

Here is how you can select a range when using Google Sheets:

Select a row or cell.
Click the 3-dot on the top right, then select "Select cell or range".

Enter your range. For example 1:2500 will select row 1 to row 2500.

Click Ok. Done.


Block PUBG completely from working in son's mobile

There are some methods that actually work for me.

Lock the game/app with an app or from the android if you have that function.
Go to Google Play-->Settings--->Parental controls. Once opened, you will be able to set up the restrictions you want.
Restrict the internet access to the game. You can do it from your system if you have this feature. Otherwise, just get an application from Google Play, search for "app internet restriction" for example.


How can I view the Android internal partition table?

I usually use a combination of the following 4 commands and correlate them, since each of these commands gives a piece of the information that might be needed.

Summarily:

Using df lists the filesystem path alias and size info as seen below (total size, used, free and block size)

Example output:

root@ks01lte:/sdcard # df
df
Filesystem                               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/dev                                   910.0M    92.0K   909.9M      4.0K
/firmware                               64.0M     8.7M    55.2M     16.0K
/firmware-modem                         64.0M    49.2M    14.8M     16.0K
/system                                  2.2G     2.2G    62.7M      4.0K
/data                                   11.9G     3.0G     8.9G      4.0K
/cache                                  31.5M     4.1M    27.4M      4.0K
/persist                                 7.9M     4.0M     3.8M      4.0K
/efs                                    13.8M     4.4M     9.3M      4.0K
/storage/emulated                      910.0M     0.0K   910.0M      4.0K
/storage/emulated/0                     11.9G     3.0G     8.9G      4.0K
/storage/emulated/0/Android/obb         11.9G     3.0G     8.9G      4.0K
/storage/emulated/legacy                11.9G     3.0G     8.9G      4.0K
/storage/emulated/legacy/Android/obb    11.9G     3.0G     8.9G      4.0K
/mnt/media_rw/extSdCard                 29.7G   251.8M    29.5G     32.0K
/storage/extSdCard                      29.7G   251.8M    29.5G     32.0K

(... cut for space reasons)

Using cat /proc/mounts shows the partition file path, the alias, the filesystem type, the startnig inode, the number of blocks, read/write status (and other parameters of the individual partition that I'm not entirely sure of)

NB: The output of cat /proc/mounts can be a bit messy, but if you read it line by line (entry by entry) carefully you'll get the info
Example output:

root@ks01lte:/sdcard # cat /proc/mounts
cat /proc/mounts
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,size=931840k,nr_inodes=124673,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,seclabel,relatime 0 0
selinuxfs /sys/fs/selinux selinuxfs rw,relatime 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /sys/fs/cgroup tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=931840k,nr_inodes=124673,mode=750,gid=1000 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system /system ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,journal_checksum,journal_async_commit,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache /cache ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,journal_checksum,journal_async_commit,noauto_da_alloc,errors=panic,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/persist /persist ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,journal_checksum,journal_async_commit,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/efs /efs ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,journal_checksum,journal_async_commit,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0

(... cut for space reasons)

Using cat /proc/partitions you will get the actual partition name identifier and the number of blocks in the partition.

Example output:

root@ks01lte:/sdcard # cat /proc/partitions
cat /proc/partitions
major minor  #blocks  name
 253        0    1048576 vnswap0
 179        0   15388672 mmcblk0
 179        1      15360 mmcblk0p1
 179        2      58816 mmcblk0p2
 179        3        512 mmcblk0p3
 179        4         32 mmcblk0p4
 179        5         32 mmcblk0p5
 179        6       2048 mmcblk0p6
 179        7        512 mmcblk0p7
 179        8        512 mmcblk0p8
 179        9      10240 mmcblk0p9
 179       10      10240 mmcblk0p10
 179       11      14336 mmcblk0p11
 179       12       3072 mmcblk0p12
 179       13       3072 mmcblk0p13
 179       14      20480 mmcblk0p14
 179       15      20480 mmcblk0p15
 179       16      10240 mmcblk0p16
 179       17       7159 mmcblk0p17
 179       18       3072 mmcblk0p18

(... cut for space reasons)

Using ls -al /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name you get the mapping between the partition alias and the path of actual partition file (you also get the owner, their user group, etc)

Example output:

root@ks01lte:/sdcard # ls -al /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name
ls -al /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 aboot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 apnhlos -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 backup -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p17
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 boot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p14
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 hidden -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p25
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 modem -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 persdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p22
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 persist -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p21
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 recovery -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p15
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 system -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p23
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 tz -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2014-01-20 11:29 userdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p26

(... cut for space reasons)


Scale entire display down a couple pixels due to replacement screen?

There's a command called wm window manager, which can basically set the screen density, size and overlay. Now, to make sure if you have wm binary on your device, try opening a shell(android terminal or an adb shell) and then try typing wm. If it shows a bunch of helpful stuffs, then good news, you have that and probably can use it. Now, in your case, since things go out of screen limits, it's probably the screen size that needs to be customized here. Now before jumping into the main command, try seeing the screen ratio of your device first. Type wm size and it'll show your screen resolution. Now, for eg, if it says 800x480. You need to shrink the size a bit and adjust until you find the correct ratio, for eg to decrease, type in wm size 790x450, to resize the window resolution.
Now, just before applying all of these, if you're planning to do this from your Android terminal, you'll need root privillege, since for the moment you have no root privillege, adb shell could most definitely work. Hopefully this helps (: If you don't happen to have wm binary by any chance, maybe installing busybox would be a better idea.
This post might be helpful as well
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18500611/android-how-to-use-adb-shell-wm-to-simulate-other-devices


Take a voice note without unlocking the device

Well, I don't know a specific application for this specific task. But you can use the built-in camera to record a video (obviously with audio) without unlock the phone.

Most devices have the function to take a picture without unlocking (camera-button, sliding, shaking etc). On the camera screen you can change from picture mode to video record easily.


LG G2's native camera app does not want to record anything

The problem was that the "Ok Google" feature was activated. The camera wouldn't allow recording because Google Now is constantly using the mic.


Rooted phone - sending SMS message via command line

You should be able to call the messaging intent with

am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW "sms:numberhere" -e "sms_body" "hello"

Using the intent command as described here:

http://learnandroid.blogspot.com/2008/01/run-android-application-from-command.html

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4967448/send-sms-in-android


what's this symbol mean ( square with 3 curved lines)

This symbol is of "Cast screen" found in Android which is used to cast your screen to a television. This symbol in the status bar means that your phone screen is being casted to a television or cast screen is active:

If you want to get rid of it, just go to settings and disable screen casting.

More info:
Google Support


Mounting remote folder from my linux machine to my android device?

As you're on Kitkat with a rooted device, there's a question (with answers) on SO matching your need: How Can I Mount A Network Folder Into An Android Internal Folder? The exact answer requires your Linux machine providing the resource via Samba:

mount -o username=<user>,password=<pwd>,file_mode=0777,dir_mode=0777 -t cifs //<NAS IP Addr>/<share name> <mount point dir>

E.g.

mount -o username=guest,password=guest,file_mode=0777,dir_mode=0777 -t cifs //192.168.1.254/public /storage/nas/public

But it would certainly also be possible with other protocols, such as NFS, if your device supports it. If that's too complicated for you, you could use an app named EasySSHFS, which is available from the Google Play Store as well as via my F-Droid repo. That way you'd need neither Samba nor NFS, as an SSH daemon usually comes with your Linux distro by default (if not, you can easily install it from its default repos). EasySSHFS is compatible with Android 4.0 and up.


Android 4.4 OTA system update hangs on Nexus 7 (2013)

The issue is solved. AFAICU, there was possibly a problem with Android update hosting site or somewhere on a trace to it, because the device was connected to and was capable of browsing Internet without a problem, including google.com. After some time, even without updating the progress indicator, the device displayed Install & Reboot button. After this all goes well. So, the answers are:

Android provides cumulative update to 4.4.2, at least for Nexus 7 (2013).
Android should improve the way how it shows status information. If it encounters some problems with downloading an update, it should output something like "Connection timeout, trying to reconnect..." instead of just "Downloading" all the time. Also the progress indicator may have a bug preventing it from proper UI update in similar sitations.


Gboard doesn't save new words and use my personal dictionary?

I just figured it out while trying all possible Gboard settings. Turns out that "block offensive words" was activated for some reason, and apparently the word "hon" is considered offensive in some places.

I had no idea it was an offensive word, and either way I'd have thought Gboard was clever enough not to block english offensive words when I'm in "swedish mode" (i.e. when the last word i typed was in swedish and all the suggestions it comes up with are in swedish). Turns out it doesn't care, and "hon" gets blocked either way.


Unknown error in bootloader during unlock after crash

The issue can be solved by flashing stock firmware to your device.

Download the firmware and flashing tool from here.

Edited: List of A700 ROMs and updates from XDA Developers + Flashing procedure.

Another download links


install cwm recovery in a softbrick android phone

You can go ahead with what you are planning. Find a suitable Clockwork Mod recovery for your device.

Boot your phone into fastboot mode using key combinations which differ from device to device. The common ones are Power Button+Volume Up or Power Button+Volume Down.

If you had ever unlocked your device's bootloader, skip this step. To flash a custom recovery, you need your bootloader to be unlocked. To unlock it, after booting the phone into fastboot mode, connect it with PC via USB, download platform tools for android, open cmd, run the following command in the directory where you have placed the platform tools:

fastboot oem unlock

Keep in mind, this will delete all your internal storage, plus void your phone's warranty.

Once the bootloader is unlocked, place the recovery file in the platform tools directory and rename it to recovery.img for convenience.

Run the command:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

This will flash the Clockwork Mod recovery on your device and you can flash any desirable ROM.


galaxy s3 mini - notifcation sounds -how to turn off.

There are several ways to chase this down.

I would start by checking the notifications bar to see if it will tell you what app is trying to get your attention.

If that doesn't lead you the culprit, take a look through the settings > sound area.  You may have inadvertently turned on screen lock sounds or dialing sounds or keyboard sounds.

If neither of those work, head over to settings > accessibility and look through the options for possibilities.


How to import GPS coordinates track for using offline

You can choose one specific route and save it to use later:

C|NET - Save maps for offline use in Google Maps for Android


Playstore won't allow me to log into my google account

If your galaxy s5 is rooted then you can fix this error by going into /system/etc and looking for a text file named hosts. Open it with any text editor and add this in front of 127.0.0.1, #, e.g., #127.0.0.1 localhost. If it doesn't work, delete all text from the hosts file and paste this: 127.0.0.1 localhost and save, then reboot. Hope this helps.


Permissions for apps from unknown sources

What permissions are granted is not depending on the source. If you sideload apps directly on the device via "unknown sources" (e.g. by using a third-party market app such as F-Droid or Aptoide), Android's package installer will pop up and ask you to confirm, showing basically the same permission list Playstore shows (i.e. a quite abbreviated) for the "all-or-nothing" part (i.e. permissions that cannot be granted at runtime). Runtime permissions are then asked the same way as with all other apps, whenever you use a functionality needing them.

The first confirmation is only skipped if you install apps via adb install or adb pm install. Runtime permissions will always be dealt with in the very same way: whenever needed.


Where the system updates get installed in HTC explorer?

I think in many cases updates are to the system partition. The storage on your phone is split across different partitions, the system one is not where you download third party apps to and usually run out of space. So anything an update does on the system partition would not count against you, unless it repartitioned the storage to give system more room, which is rare and usually only heard of in bizarre cases where the device just couldn't support a newer version of Android any other way.

Please make sure you have gone through the list of apps in your settings and moved any that you can to your SD card, by the way, if you have one. If your phone is rooted, there are other options as well, such as removing system apps that have been updated and are using space in the usual user partition for their update data, etc..


This is most likely some app utilizing Google Services. You don't show the details screen to be reached when tapping the graph on top of your first screenshot. Please check there, and cross-check with How to deal with (orphaned) WakeLocks? -- the "keep awake" of your second screenshot suggest Wakelocks as the "source of evil". The part What if it is the Android System itself? should help you track the issue down further.

Another possible -- no, very likely candidate is found in another question I just stumbled upon: Google Services is killing my battery by keeping phone awake. Sound familiar? ;)


Is it possible to freeze an app in Bluestacks?

What OS are you using? I'm going to assume Windows. I have no real experience with Bluestacks itself, but you can try suspending the whole process. To test if it can work open the Resource Monitor, right-click the Bluestacks process and click Suspend process.

If it does manage to 'pause' the app you can work on making it programmable using perhaps PsSuspend provided as part of PsTools. Finally put it into something like AutoHotkey.

Usage:
pssuspend <process name | process id> (-r to resume)


Sync Exchange 2010 notes, tasks and reminders

I have looked a number of products and I have got to say Touchdown by Nitrodesk always comes out on top. I have just returned to Android after a short spell with WP7 and fogot how much I relied on Touchdown. My favourite is the fact it will read out emails, which is useful!


Are there alternative ways of downloading free applications from Android Market?

If you can download from your PC without stalling*, you can then copy the .apk over to your phone and open/install from the file-system.

*Q: how to initate android download in a PC browser?

A: I don't know, but it's possible for other markets, anyway)


Change screen unlock method (old Symbian style) on KitKat

I found a possible solution for this, but it requires root:

The app "Sequence Unlock" can wake up the screen with a combination of volume up&down and (this is optional) disable the power&home button (only both together unfortunately)

It requires the Xposed Framework


How do I download a ROM from a Samsung Galaxy S3?

You mean to take the Firmware (FW) out from the stock-FW phone and put it into the other one as-is? to have two identical-FW phones?

The confusion is in download/upload words, when you put the phone in bootloader mode it's saying "Download mode". From the phone's point of view, it's going to download stuff from PC.
If you want to take out the FW. It would be upload.

That's why it's safer to say flash and dump. Even though it's not really flashing.

It's somewhat possible to dump the FW, but there is usually no reason for doing so. Download the same version from the Internet and you'll end up with exactly the same system files as on other phones with the same FW version.

How to find specific firmware version on the Internet

On the stock-FW phone, go to Settings -> About Device -> Build number
and take a note of the second part of the number. It'll be something like I9300UBUGOD1
That also includes CSC version. Now search for this version on these two sites:
Samsung-Updates
SamMobile
or put it into Gugl, usually something cames out.
Flash it to target phone from PC using Odin. No root required.

To dump firmware from a phone

There could be a way to dump the phone without rooting, but no one knows how. We can only assume this possibility because there is a disabled option to Dump in Odin program. But I tried, as many others, with factory rooted phone, developer phone or one with unsecured test pre-release firmware version, the dump option is never available in the Odin program.
It's either just for some very special pre-release FW, or it was never implemented in the Odin software, or it was planned and never finished in phone's bootloader, because for no real usability perhaps? Or it must be activated by some special cable, or button combination presses.
Or it was put there by engineers in Korea just to taunt curious hackers.
I believe the latter, as even in new FW, if you dig in bootloader resources, you'll find a graphics showing green Android taunter with words "Upload mode".

So this is a known way to dump FW anyway:

Note that you'll need to root the stock-FW phone, to Dump it.
Firstly we need to find out which files we need to dump and then flash:
Open firmware's TAR or TAR.md5 file of any version of THE SAME model using 7zip and look inside. Note the names of files included.
Later you'll need to rename files you'll dump to the same names as those in this TAR. There is much more partitions that you can dump, than those you can flash. Files which are inside TAR should be enough to fully flash a phone, but not always all partitions are included, sometimes they leave bootoaders out.
In the list on the bottom I marked those which are never included by -
and those which I remember seeing in TAR files by +
Use that list to rename dumped files which you want to flash by Odin from Partition Name to Flash Filename, or get this list from your phone by following method. Be aware that you must not flash PIT and EFS, but you might dump it to have a backup.

To get a list out from your phone:

get Heimdall
connect phone
switch driver to libusb
in Heimdall - Utilities - Download PIT file
switch driver back by removing libusb in Windows Device Manager
alternatively download PIT from the Internet, but you'll need to trust whoever is posting it that it's not from another phone, version, or broken
go back in Heimdall
use printpit to print your PIT file
Note each entry which contains both: "Partition Name" and "Flash Filename"
EXCEPT PIT and EFS partition. Make a backup but DO NOT FLASH PIT or EFS from one phone to another.

Now we have a naming scheme, Partition Name is how the file with partition will be dumped, and Flash Filename how it should be re-named before flashing.
Note that some partitions are not documented and there is no knowledge outside of the factory of what are they for. They might be for storing specific phone's information, or calibration data calculated and flashed once in factory for each phone.
Flash only partitions you'll find in stock TAR files.
Those not-in-TAR-file should be flashed only as last resort, when you know that those on target phone has been damaged. And always backup them before flashing new ones over them.

Make this dumping step on both target and source phones. On target just to have an backup.

root the phone
flash custom recovery TWRP recomended, but not working well on some models
boot into recovery
plug on PC, use adb or qtADB to go to /dev/block/platform/folder_with_different_name_in_each_phone/by-name
dd or use qtADB to copy "files" except USERDATA from that folder to media partition, sdcard, or UFD using USB OTG

Next on PC (or check alternative below):

rename all files according to flash files naming scheme
if you add recovery partition dumped from the rooted source phone, it will change targed status to custom, making KNOX disabled, same as if you just rooted it. If you don't want that either include official recovery from the same version of stock FW, or if there is working partition in the phone just don't include recovery in the TAR flash
on a linux machine or in cygwin Tar those files into TARball using ustar mode
no need to md5 it, as you probably trust yourself that you won't damage the file. but if you must than md5 it and concat hash to the end of TAR, rename to TAR.MD5
flash in Odin, no root required

Alternatively, but only for rooted phones, you can use dd on target phone, or MobileOdin.

be very careful, you must NOT flash PIT and EFS partition, even though they are mentioned in PIT file. For each phone EFS contains specific data, some of which are encrypted using some serial number taken from the phone. So each efs only works in the one phone which it's designed for. By flashing it, you'll loose the original one, that's not easily recoverable.

also no need to care about recovery partition, as it's not stock partition but custom, from the rooting process.

I know the DUMP part of this guide is not extra descriptive, but each step would need a separate post. If you're completely lost in it, consider downloading ready FW from the Internet.

s3 FW list dumped using heimdall. Might change with different FW versions:

+
Partition Name: APNHLOS
Flash Filename: NON-HLOS.bin

+
Partition Name: MDM
Flash Filename: modem.bin

Partition Name: SBL1
Flash Filename: sbl1.mbn

Partition Name: SBL2
Flash Filename: sbl2.mbn

Partition Name: SBL3
Flash Filename: sbl3.mbn

+
Partition Name: ABOOT
Flash Filename: aboot.mbn

Partition Name: RPM
Flash Filename: rpm.mbn

+
Partition Name: TZ
Flash Filename: tz.mbn

-
Partition Name: MODEMST1
Flash Filename: nvrebuild1.bin

-
Partition Name: MODEMST2
Flash Filename: nvrebuild2.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS1
Flash Filename: m9kefs1.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS2
Flash Filename: m9kefs2.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS3
Flash Filename: m9kefs3.bin

+
Partition Name: SYSTEM
Flash Filename: system.img.ext4

+ this is CSC, might be left out
Partition Name: CACHE
Flash Filename: cache.img.ext4

+ only sometimes
Partition Name: PARAM
Flash Filename: param.lfs

+
Partition Name: BOOT
Flash Filename: boot.img

+ but you can't Dumb stock recovery as to dump you need root, to get root recovery is usually overwriten
Partition Name: RECOVERY
Flash Filename: recovery.img

Partition Name: PERSDATA
Flash Filename: persdata.img.ext4

+ but contains only crapware, version is connected with CSC
Partition Name: HIDDEN
Flash Filename: hidden.img.ext4

Partition Name: CARRIER
Flash Filename: carrier.img.ext4

- this is /data and INTERNAL STORAGE, aka sdcard, do not dump it's HUGE and there is no reason
Partition Name: USERDATA
Flash Filename: userdata.img.ext4

Partition Name: PGPT
Flash Filename: pgpt.img

- it is included sometimes but to change layout, NEVER FLASH IT might hard brick phone
Partition Name: PIT
Flash Filename: MSM8960.pit

+
Partition Name: MD5
Flash Filename: md5.img

Partition Name: SGPT
Flash Filename: sgpt.img


Why do APKs never seem to be available directly from the developers, but only through third-parties?

If you'd install apps from the developers website directly, you had to trust each of the developers personally that their apps do not contain any malware etc. That's why there are "app markets" (see our alternative-markets tag-wiki for details). Choosing wisely, the user then just needs to trust that market to do the necessary checks. Most of them have such checks in place:

Google Play Store has e.g. its "bouncer"
F-Droid compiles the apps from the resp. sources, which it checks beforehand
Aptoide uses several sources to validate packages (e.g. VirusTotal, comparing signatures, and more).

Besides (and the last item implicitly mentions this), developers provide means to check the validity of their .apk files: they sign them with their certificates. Only the dev has the "private key", and validity can be checked using the "public key" – or simply the key's finger-print. Which is what e.g. Aptoide includes in its "malware check": It compares if the finger-print matches with what .apk files of the same dev from other sources (mainly Google Play Store) shows.

As your device doesn't ship with Playstore (and I fully agree its permission hunger is excessive), I would recommend you using F-Droid. Their repository isn't nearly as big as Googles, but the security measures are good. And you can use additional repositories with their app to cover a larger pool. I definitely and strongly discourage using .apk files you found "somewhere in the wild" unless you know exactly what you do (i.e. either you can trust the source, or know how to check the .apk for yourself to establish trust).


Signal problem with Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5630 mobile

Different network providers may use different masts.

The company of the second sim will have a stronger presence in your area than the company from the first sim.

Therefore, the ideal move would be to get yourself a sim from the same provider of the second sim.

I hope this helps,
Nicholas


Why Headset With Volume Control Functions Different Now And What To Do With Track Skipping Bug?

Try uninstalling winamp first, and see if the issue is still there. There seems to be, by the sound of it (no pun intended), conflicts with the stock player and winamp, and both are trying to get a stranglehold on the media playing, competing with each other.


There is this tool called RSD Lite, which is (AFAIK) an internal tool from motorola to flash their phones. You should be able to find it around the googles.

And here you should be able to pick up a stock firmware for the Defy.

This method worked for my Moto Cliq XT, but don't let this be a  guarantee for your Defy!


A workaround at least while in the main launcher home screen is to press MENU and then NOTIFICATIONS.

Else get HelloStatusBar and assign it to a shortcut key. You can also try Status bar Expander which uses a long-press on the menu key to drop the bar wherever you are.

Naturally, YMMV as certain devices don't support these apps.


Help a beginner who is about to install cyanogenmod 13 on a samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition

FIRST in twrp go to BACKUP and backup your device so if anything goes wrong you can RESTORE and start over.

its very simple copy the cyanogenmod .zip to your sd card. then boot into twrp and goto wipe and select advanced wipe and and delete system,data and boot. dont delete recovery or sd card. then go to the main twrp screen select install and locate the cyanogenmod .zip and flash away. you well also want the google apps knows as Gapps. i recommend flashing them after cyanogenmod then once both are flashed do a factory reset in twrp, i know sounds dumb but gapps has issues and if you dont factory reset you will get a Play services has stopped message that will spam you screen and or a startup wizard had failed. any questions shoot me a message or reply.


I accidentlly wiped my device with Android Device Manager

Yes you can. What you did only completely wipes the phone(all stored data, contacts, etc will be lost). You should be able to set it up again and get it running for you.


I accidentally deleted the updates of my google play

That should be easy to fix, simply make sure you have enabled "Unknown sources" in your Security section of your settings app and download and install this APK file from this reputable source:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/04/03/play-store-5-4-10-makes-the-notification-bar-transparent-on-app-pages-apk-download

It's simply a download link for the official Google Play app. When you get it installed, it should update itself automatically if there's a newer version available.


If the SuperSU app to remove SuperSU binary doesn't work, you'll have to wipe and reinstall but fear not as this will not wipe your user data.

Make sure to have the cm rom for your device and google apps if needed.

Now that you have them, preferably in your device for easier access, boot your device into recovery.

In your custom recovery you should select the wipe option>advanced wipe options>select only system and wipe it.

After this you just flash CyanogenMod normally, and Gapps if needed, reboot your device and that should be all.

PD. Is always good to make a backup.


HTC Cha Cha hard reset - stored phone numbers

You need to differentiate between a "hard reset" (hover the mouse over that tag: a forced reboot/shutdown by removing power (take out the battery, usually)) and a "factory reset" (again, mouse-over: A factory reset results in a full reset of an Android device to the original settings of the currently-installed ROM.).

hard-reset: here it's unlikely (though not absolutely impossible) to lose your stored contacts
factory-reset: here it's very sure they are deleted, as all data and all user-installed apps are deleted from the device

However, you can make a backup of your contacts. In the contacts app itself, when pressing the menu key, you should find a menu item for "export/import". Select to "export", and have it save the data to your SDCard. To be absolutely safe, before doing a factory reset copy all the SDCard's contents to e.g. your PC. After the factory-reset, you can use the very same item in the contacts app to re-import the data.

Btw: contacts export uses a common file format, which is understood by many other programs as well (*.vcf which means VCard File). It can be read e.g. by GMail (even the Web interface) or Outlook as well.

If you have your contacts synced with Google, they should be restored automatically once you configured your Google account on the device after the factory reset.


How do app updates work if the system partition is read only?

A1: I'm pretty positive that they are on the /system partition because you can't delete them, if you could, that would mean they are in /data partition or whatever it is called where the userspace is.

A2: I think they install updates in userspace, not in /system. The reason for believeing so is that after you update a system app, and you go in Settings -> Apps, it allows you to uninstall updates only, meaning that the update that was installed in userspace will get deleted but the original app, the version you got out of the box, is still left untact in /system, and you can't delete it.


Send Android Notifications(like SMS, Gmail, WhatsApp) to PC

This should work for you:

PUSHBULLET: Pushbullet makes your devices work better together by allowing you to move things between them easily.
Never miss a call or text again while working at your computer.
See all of your phone's notifications on your computer. You can see text messages, phone calls, and more.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pushbullet.android


Why would the screen to a Droid Razr Maxx randomly break?

Short Answer

There's no such thing as "randomly break", phone owners tend to use or make up terms to disguise their ineffectiveness to explain what happened, or as an excuse to avoid saying "I broke my phone".

Common factors leading to the Glass or the display damage are, but not limited to:

Manufacturer fault, a damage batch;
Device falling or getting tossed;
User sat down with the device in his back pocket.

Keep reading as to better understand the misleading information found on the mentioned forums!

Clear some ideas

Randomly break

There's no such thing like "randomly break", every device that physically breaks has a cause behind.
Faulty Software

The software is not responsible for the device physical damage, the software interacts and allows the usage of the hardware. Every software that directly interacts with the hardware has built in fail-safes to prevent abuses. Take the example of a battery charge, when you are charging the system may present you with a message informing that the charge process was interrupted to prevent heat damage to the device.
Glass or Display

While users tend to call screen and say "my screen is broken", they should actually be specific enough as to clarify if the glass is broken or the display module is broken. The two are very distinct, carrying different reasons as to why they may have broken.

Why would a glass or display module break?

The Glass

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx comes equipped with a GORILLA® GLASS. Despite the heavy promotion that its indestructible, there's no truth to that. This glass enables your device to resist damage like scrapes, bumps and drops, from the abuses that come with everyday use.

A small drop in the right angle can shred the glass due to the force propagation within the impact point to the remaining of the device:

e.g.,

Take a 22 inches fall, is just over 4 times the height of the phone. Comparing this to a Human been, could the average 6' tall person survive a fall of over 24' without breaking in some way?

On the other hand, a battery dilatation due to excessive heat will never cause the glass to break. Way before that, the plastic casing would crack, some components could even melt, and eventually the glass would fell off, lying on the floor shining like a brand new one :)

From the CORNING® GORILLA® GLASS - FAQS:

  CAN I BREAK GORILLA GLASS?

  If subjected to enough abuse, Gorilla Glass can break. However, Gorilla Glass is better able to survive the real-world events that most commonly cause glass to scratch, chip, or break.

The display

Schematic of an active matrix OLED display

The Motorola Droid Razr Maxx comes equipped with Motorola's Super AMOLED Advanced. While the glass is designed and used with one specific purpose, the protection of the display from scrapes, bumps and drops, the display can be affected from other directions, not just by its front.

If a phone falls and hits the ground by its corner, the glass has no effect protecting the display. The phone casing may not be sufficient to absorve the impact, and the resulting force from the impact may damage or even crack the display.

The display is actually more sensitive than the remaining components of a mobile device.

Prevent damaging the display or glass

The best way to prevent damage to the device, either by accident or by careless handling during use are:

Avoid charging the device while exposed to heat or direct sunlight.
Protect it with an exterior rubber casing, to absorb the impact force generated when it falls.
If carried closely with hard objects, consider using a device casing, preferably made of leather or any other robust material to prevent damage from bumps.
Don't carry the phone inside tight jeans or in your back pocket. Your natural movements or if you sit down, may exercise overwhelming force into the device.


Android stopped informing me about app permissions. Why?

Marshmallow comes with a new feature that asks for app permissions when opening the app. It has the new apple-esque asking for permissions feature. You can choose if an app can use these permissions or not.

If you want to change the permissions later, go to settings and search "Permissions"

If the app requires no permissions, it will not inform you of that.
However, if it requested access to something, it will tell you.
For example, if I just installed Skype and started using the microphone, it will ask if the app can use the microphone. You can decline it or accept it.


Can I install CyanogenMod in Samsung Galaxy I5510?

I'd like to try CyanogenMod but my phone isn't in the list of supported phones, is there anything I can do?

If you'd search more carefully, you'd find this topic (link). There is CyanogenMod for your phone. But this firmware in early alpha stage of porting. Another great link.

  If I don't like some ROM I installed I can uninstall it and go back to the default ROM or any other, right?

Yes, you are right. Also I'd note that there isn't dedicated uninstall procedure, but you always can reflash your phone to another ROM version, including original stock ROM.

  If I get to root my phone without troubles, can installing the ROM break it or my only risk is with the rooting?

The most risky part is, of course, flashing. Because if something goes wrong, you may get bricked phone. But usually everything is OK. Also Android supports recovery boot mode which can help in case of unsuccesful flashing.


How to stop a notification saying "Registering to Network" every few seconds?

Enable airplane mode. Wifi will work in this state.


Why does Android disable HSDPA/EDGE communication while calling?

Most HSDPA / EDGE CDMA networks don't support data and voice at the same time.  CDMA Modern GSM networks (including 3G and HSDPA, but not EDGE) do, and LTE will, so I'm not sure why you're having this problem.

It's possible that Dual-Transfer Mode may not be enabled on your phone.  Alternatively, your network might not support it.  (Info on DTM.)


Should Factory Reset return the phone to the original version Android installed on it?

Factory reset only delete user data (userdata partition) and restore settings to the  default values, meaning every settings will be restored to the factory state. This doesn't apply to the system, (firmware/ROM)  which remains untouched.

By original factory ROM, do you mean the one the phone came with? This can be done by downgrading the phone firmware: flashing lower version firmware (with a lower android version).

Not all device support downgrading though,  since earlier versions can have bugs, security holes, etc... Many device makers such as HTC, Huawei, Motorola (Lenovo)... don't allow downgrading.


Not receiving notifications on dual WhatsApp on Samsung Note8

I had problems with getting notifications for my dual Viber app and it seems that by default they are turned off.

So, you need to go to Notifications > Advanced and there you could find and manage your dual messenger's notifications.

I'm not sure that the path will be the same for your device but for the record I'm using Samsung Galaxy S7 with Android 8.0.0 on it.

Maybe that could help you with the issue.


The best integrated solution with your Android phone and PC is to use Autoremote and EventGhost. The general idea is that you use AutoRemote to send a message to Eventghost which then unlocks or locks your PC. The task will look something like this:

AUTOREMOTE MESSAGE
     DEVICE: NAME OF COMPUTER OR CHROME EXTENSION  <----Addressed at the end
     MESSAGE: Unlock (Really could be anything)

Next is the EventGhost side. Eventghost doesn't always respond especially if your not on the local network but you can get around this with AutoRemote's Chrome ExtensionIf you have any trouble with AutoRemote, the developer has a great website and is very active in his google group. The direction to install the AutoRemote plug into Eventghost can be found here. Here are the steps to create the Eventghost trigger:

Create a Macro but don't worry if you can't find the AutoRemote Plugin. This is really a fancy folder
Add an event from the toolbar which will trigger the eventghost macro. It should look like this: Autoremote.Message.unlock
Next are your actions. This will unlock your work station

If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments and I'll do my best to quickly respond.

If my answer solves your problem please don't forget to mark it ask the answer and upvote it for it's usefulness. I'm new and trying to build my reputation here.


Press the power button on the device. All phones should have them and they are usually the buttons that lock the screen as well. If you happen to not have a lock button you can change how quickly Android will lock the screen on idle in settings. The way to change this varies from different flavors of Android.


lock screen always toggles between two variants

Unfortunately I don't think you're going to find a setting change to fix this. It's likely a bug in the ROM, or the lock screen or cLock apk(s). I'm also running CM10.1 on my phone (LG Nitro HD) and I can't even get the cLock app to change to using an analog clock (vs. the Digital). Even after multiple reboots and confirming that indeed I have the right settings in Settings->Lockscreen.

Some rudimentary net searching and you can see issues with the lockscreen on CM10.1 is not unusual.


How does android wifi hotspot work when other wifi is available?

When your phone is in hotspot mode, it will only use your mobile data.  You'll need to remember to switch the hotspot off when you have wifi available.

You might be able to script the shutting down of the hotspot with Tasker or Locale, but I'm not sure if the "WiFi near" function would work when in hotspot mode (a good topic for its own question).

Your Nexus 7 will tend to connect to the strongest signal available, and then stay connected to that network until it loses the connection.    When you turn off the hotspot on your Nexus 4, the tablet should auto-connect to an available Wifi network.


What do the numbers and letters in the Samsung Firmware mean?

The info of this exact firmware is shown on this page.

As written, G930FXXU2EREM is the PDA version, and G930FOJV2ERE8 is the CSC version. PDA represents the "core" OS build, while CSC - "Consumer Software Customisation" or "Country Specific Code" (didn't find an official explanation of the acronym) - represents the region-specific customizations. The two, along with "Phone" (baseband), provide tailored experience for the region (TUR) such as available language, preloaded apps, optimized cellular performance and battery consumption, etc.

As for the naming convention of the string itself, I've explained that in a previous answer of mine, but it needs to be expanded to cover new fields in modern Samsung devices. Let's take your string G930FXXU2EREM for example:

G930F is obviously the model number;
XX is for country/region (XX itself means Europe or international);
U2E is the bootloader version, which you should never attempt to downgrade (this is in turn explained here);
REM are the release date and version (within same month): R for year (Q for 2017, R for 2018, etc.), E for month (A for January, E for May, etc.), and M for within-month revision.


What is /data/backup/ for on android and culd i delet the files in there (try to backup with TWRP)

This answer shows that the folder is related to Google Cloud backups.

I experimented by deleting it. When I restarted the phone, it was re-created. The files and folders that were in it, were also re-created. I'll assume that it is safe to delete.


How can I prevent stock Android browser from loading last visited page?

You can close all the pages via Menu -> Windows before exiting the browser.

If you want the last page to stay loaded and not reload, you have to make sure the browser isn't killed or forced to give up memory by Android.  In other words, use only lightweight apps or don't use anything, and hope your system behaves :P


Do messages, contacts, files get deleted when you upgrade your Android version?

No, they won't get deleted as long as you don't tell you to factory reset. If you're upgrading from stock to stock (or custom to custom for that matter), you're pretty safe with your data, and unlikely to lose anything.

However, if you're going from stock to custom, then there are some cases where you will lose your data.

I'd recommend downloading free applications on the play market that backup your messages. As for your contacts, you will never lose them, as they are synced with your Google account.


How to Block Pre-Installed Auto App Installer Malware?

First, you could make that folder "un-writeable" easily without rooting. As it's located on the SD card, and you're on a pre-Kitkat device, any app should have full access there:

Get yourself a file manager
navigate to /sdcard/.sysAndroid
delete the Download folder
create a new text file called Download, and make it read-only

Now, that malware app can no longer create the directory, as a file with the same name is in that place.

For other measures, we'd need more details (and I could update my answer then):

go to Settings › About Phone and check what Android version is running on the device
find out which app is installing the unwanted apps. I didn't test it with pre-Icecream devices, but my tool Adebar should be capable of that¹: Among other things (which require at least Kitkat), it creates a list of apps installed on the device, grouped by their installer (see here for an example: as you will notice, the package name of the installer is noted along). If your Android version indeed is older than 4, you most likely will not be able to "kill" that app, but other measures might be known.

¹ Adebar will require adb installed on your computer, and Bash being available – so a Linux machine is best suited for that. But it's reported to work well on a Mac, and even on a Windows machine running Cygwin.


Should I redownload apps for 64bit version?

Most Andriod apps contain all the platform dependent parts (if they have such) for multiple platforms: ARM 32 (ARMv7) and 64 bit (ARMv8), x86 and sometimes even MIPS.
Therefore most likely all APK files you already have will work even on the new phone.

However the Google PlayStore allows to specify special version for certain groups of devices. But as an end user you don't know what groups the app developer has defined. You can identify such apps in the PlayStore by the download size "varies by device" (additional information section at the end).

On common example that exists in multiple versions for different devices is  Google Maps.


I don't know it works or not. I just Googled and found this link.

According to the link you might want to use VPN services which changes your IP to other country IP which is valid in Google Play and also according to comment on same link one has changed his OS to Hongkong OS(i.e Google Play available OS).

You might want to go through LINK once. Hope this might be helpful for you!


How can I access my Galaxy S5 from a PC to retrieve all of my files?

It's possible to backup or access your files from Kies 3 installed on your PC even if it is password protected.

I've also tried it on my Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 and it worked.


How to take a screenshot using a keyboard shortcut on an android device?

Download Button Mapper app
decide a key to use to take screenshots(which you don't use usually).
Open the key mapper app and record the key in it(the UI is self explanatory)
Set the function of the key to take screenshots. Done

PS - remember to turn battery optimization off for the app otherwise if the system closes the app then no hardware buttons will work and you'll have to reboot.


To fix this problem you will need to either purchase and follow instructions on installing a new screen or take your phone to a local repair shop.


Activate alarm, ringtone or audio using ADB?

Suggestion of Google find my phone
worked: Google knows where your phone is, even if you don't.

From another user, you can also do it with ADB:

adb push t.mp3 /sdcard/
adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d file:///sdcard/t.mp3 -t audio/mp3

  (Playing a video file the same way or starting youtube (adb shell am
  start -a android.intent.action.VIEW -d
  https://www.youtube.com/watch\?v\=oVQqmH4ufCQ)) will not produce any
  sound if the device is locked it seems like)


PDF reader app that remembers the last page you were on?

Dropbox wasn't made to be a PDF reader, instead it's an application to have your files wherever you go. So I have two great suggestions for you:

ezPDF Reader - This is the best PDF reading application I ever seen for Android. I use it every time I need to read any kind of PDF on my Motorola Droid.
Adobe Acrobat Reader - A free alternative for ezPDF. Made by Adobe of course, which is very good to read your PDFs on-the-go too.

Both will restore from the place that you left


Addon.d bash script for removing apks after nightly reflash on Android 5.1 CM12.1 not working

This is all made with trial and error and some script copying, I have only vague knowledge of bash and absolutely no idea what I'm risking. All is done with backups and careful reflashes.
#!/sbin/sh
#
# /system/addon.d/77-MyApps.sh
#
# During a dirty flash, this script will backup files and apps at /system/*
# /system is formatted and reinstalled, then the files are restored.
#

. /tmp/backuptool.functions

list_files() {
cat <<EOF
app/ActionLauncher/base.apk
app/Dropbox/lib/arm/libblasV8.so
app/Dropbox/lib/arm/libDummyArchIndicator.so
app/Dropbox/lib/arm/librsjni.so
app/Dropbox/lib/arm/libRSSupport.so
app/Dropbox/base.apk
app/Eventbrite/base.apk
app/Flud/lib/arm/libclient.so
app/Flud/base.apk
app/GCalendar/base.apk
app/GMail/base.apk
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libgcam.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libgcam_swig_jni.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libjni_pegutil.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libjni_tinyplanet.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libjpeg.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/liblightcycle.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libnativehelper_compat_libc++.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/librefocus.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/librs.layered_filter_fast_f32.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/librsjni.so
app/GoogleCamera/lib/arm/libRSSupport.so
app/GoogleCamera/base.apk
app/GPlus/lib/arm/libcrashreporter.so
app/GPlus/lib/arm/libcronet.so
app/GPlus/lib/arm/libframesequence.so
app/GPlus/lib/arm/libphotoeditor_native.so
app/GPlus/lib/arm/libwebp_android.so
app/GPlus/base.apk
app/GPSStatus/base.apk
app/Greenify/base.apk
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libCertResourcesPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libcrypto_here.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libdatabase_sqlcipher.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/gnustl_shared.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libLohitIndicFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libMapsEngineResourcePkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libMAPSJNI.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libNanumGothicFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libNuanceVocalizer.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libposclient.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libPureArabicFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libPureChineseFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libPureIndicSouthFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libPureThaiFontPkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libSdkResourcePkg.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libsqlcipher_android.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libssl_here.so
app/HereMaps/lib/arm/libstlport_shared.so
app/HereMaps/base.apk
app/Keep/lib/arm/libsketchology_native.so
app/Keep/base.apk
app/KernelAdiutor/base.apk
app/Orbot/lib/arm/libtun2socks.so
app/Orbot/base.apk
app/Photos/lib/arm/libcrashreporterer.so
app/Photos/lib/arm/libfilterframework_jni.so
app/Photos/lib/arm/libcronet.so
app/Photos/lib/arm/libnative.so
app/Photos/lib/arm/framesequence.so
app/Photos/lib/arm/moviemaker-jni.so
app/Photos/base.apk
app/PlayGames/lib/arm/libgames_rtmp_jni.so
app/PlayGames/base.apk
app/PlayMusic/base.apk
app/Shuttle/base.apk
app/Polycon/base.apk
app/SEftp/base.apk
app/SolidExplorer/lib/arm/lib7z.so
app/SolidExplorer/lib/arm/libgif.so
app/SolidExplorer/base.apk
app/Webview/lib/arm/libwebviewchromium.so
app/Webview/base.apk
app/XDALabs/lib/arm/librealm-jni.so
app/XDALabs/base.apk
app/Xposed/base.apk
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libambisonic_audio_renderer.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libcronet.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libfilterframework_jni.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libluajit.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libm2ts_player.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libmoxie.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libmoxieclient.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/librsjni.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libRSSupport.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libvpx.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libvpxJNI.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libvrtoolkit.so
app/Youtube/lib/arm/libwebp_android.so
app/Youtube/base.apk
EOF
}

case "$1" in
  backup)
    list_files | while read FILE DUMMY; do
      backup_file $S/$FILE
    done
  ;;
  restore)
    list_files | while read FILE REPLACEMENT; do
      R=""
      [ -n "$REPLACEMENT" ] && R="$S/$REPLACEMENT"
      [ -f "$C/$S/$FILE" ] && restore_file $S/$FILE $R
    done
rm -rf /system/app/Chromium
rm -rf /system/app/Email
rm -rf /system/app/Calendar
rm -rf /system/app/webview
  ;;
  pre-backup)
    # Stub
  ;;
  post-backup)
    # Stub
  ;;
  pre-restore)
    # Stub
  ;;
  post-restore)
    # Stub
  ;;
esac

I have cobbled up this script to back up mine (after plenty of reflashing and restoring) and remove some AOSP alternatives. It seems you must write the code that is to be run after flashing over there (webview is from older AOSP, while Webview is a more streamlined mess). The template is taken from XDA with respect to grinder777. If this works, give yourself a bar of chocolate and send him (her?) a thank. If it doesn't, I have no idea what will, besides what @Android Dev said, but that's not permanent.
EDIT: As YouKnowNothingJohn said, you need at least one backup command. That command could be anything, even a dummy file (at least in >4.4). Thanks Mr. Snow.


Make the internal SD card storage act like normal Ext4 storage (with file system permission management)

You seem to be missing the point. Actually a few of them:

Emulated SD Card storage has nothing to do with the lack of physical SD card support by some devices.
It is a public storage area by design.
It is implemented via FUSE - it is not an actual block device and you can not simply reformat it to any filesystem you want.
Being able to share files via MTP depends on the current implementation and the change like you are suggesting would break it.


The last update is ok. Now the sysem is updated and everything works.
I think it's magic or someone has made an error


OnePlus 3: Disable hotspot turning off automatically

Nougat update for OnePlus 3 and 3t is extremely fresh (I managed to upgrade it only using a VPN to Canada). This must be one of the features which still needs to be polished. The checkbox is missing to keep the hotspot running even if noone is connected for more than 5 minutes.

Until OnePlus releases a new minor update to fix this, workaround can be either using USB tethering or Bluetooth tethering (reported by @MichaelPearson).

Got another update (01/17) over the air towards the end of January, that still doesn't have the checkbox.

The latest update (as of 2017 November) still doesn't have it


I am thinking that I may have to install espresso-common_TWRP_3.2.2-0.img but I have found no way to do that from the Replicant bootloader.

I think you are correct, I don't think you can flash a new bootloader with the Replicant bootloader, only update it.

You will have to flash with a computer:

Plug your device into a computer
Put your device into downloading mode
Flash TWRP for your device

And then use TWRP to flash the LineageOS ROM for your device.


In addition to enabling location services, the "battery saver" mode must be off.

In battery saver mode, location services will be automatically deactivated when the screen is off (Android Help). Unfortunately, Find My Device is not clever enough to deactivate batter saver mode for determining the location.

I did not find a way to use Find My Device while at the same time being able to extend battery life.


You could try checking your charger, if you buy a charger doctor (cost about £1). You can see if you have 5V and any current flow.

You could also check your battery voltage for around >3.6V - very carefully using a DMM. Those are suggestions I can think of from a hardware perspective.

I try to avoid updates, but it seems hard to believe it would cause that much trouble!?


Telegram does not recognise account after being offline for almost a week due to battery failure

Ok, I think I was able to solve the problem. Telegram just logged me off the phone app. I was able to log back in and now I can use Telegram as before.


How to use my phone as a WiFi adapter for playing lan games

As Robert said it's not the best idea but if you still want to do it first turn off mobile data and connect to WIFI then connect your phone to the pc then on your phone go to network and internet then tap hotspot & tethering and enable USB tethering.


Why does gmail shows idle when I am signed out thus consuming data from my android core prime?

Use Greenify and hibernate it. [You must be rooted.]


Extend pc monitor on 2020 generation tablet, by cable

Tablets are not designed to show display signals for e.g. a PC. Usually a tablet don't has any hardware support for receiving display signals.

Hence everything has to be transmitted via IP for example as video stream. Video encoding and decoding comes at a price that the latency is much higher that a standard HDMI or DisplayPort connection which mostly transmit uncompressed data.

If you have problems with your Wifi connection you can try to use the USB connection via ADB to establish a IP connection between your PC and the tablet. In detail the following command allows you to connect a TCP port on-device with a TCP port on your PC:

adb forward tcp:5000 tcp:5000

Therefore if you configure a remote screen software to use the port specified here as forwarded port (or change the port forwarding to match the used tcp port on the software) you can get a Wifi independent connection.


Proprietary software distributed along with Linux kernel

I thought proprietary software can not be distributed alongside a GPLv2 Linux kernel which Android runs on top of.

No, the so-called "viral" nature of GPL doesn't apply to things that are merely distributed together: it only comes into play when statically linking GPL and other code into a single binary. Including non-free kernel modules and non-free APKs in a Linux system such as Android is perfectly fine.

If it weren't OK, this would be a problem for desktop Linux distributions as well, which often rely on non-free drivers for certain hardware (most commonly GPUs), and non-free user-space applications (such as Skype).


Why are Android devices now not working with a hundred megs

If by "mg" you mean "MB," then 100MB free is not enough for anything on an Android device. While it seems like 100MB free should be enough, Android requires well more than that to be able to function, as it needs breathing room for temp files, caches, and more. While that app is only 10MB now, it could easily need well more than that when unpacked and adding data to the system, and in the process it could bring the system to too little storage for it to function at all. So for safety reasons, it wants far more than that available to install anything.

I don't know that device personally. I know it has a microSD slot. If RCA modified Android to allow you to move apps to SD, that may be your necessary workaround to allow you to install an additional app without uninstalling anything else. If it doesn't, then I'm afraid you're out of luck.


How to change Android device's default search engine?

Not currently possible. It's not locked in to Google, but determined by manufacturer and/or carrier. (For instance, there was a bit of a tempest in a teapot when a new phone was released with Bing as the search engine.)

I do not know if this is something that can be got around by rooting.


How do I prevent my keyboard from trying to suggest 2 sets of spelling corrections?

Shortly after asking the question I decided to do some testing, and I figured out how to fix it. I went into my keyboard settings and disabled the spelling correction feature. This disabled only the "red line with drop down" spelling correction set while the spelling correction set that was below it and built into the keyboard was still there.

It was under Settings > General > Language & keyboard > Spelling correction. From there, I disabled it, and everything was back to how I liked it.


Try accessing the memory card from another device or a memory card reader connected to a computer. If it still looks empty, you can use data recovery software on the card to try to extract any useful data. There's plenty of apps available for this, so you'd have to search for something suitable to your OS and your budget (some of them cost money) - look for articles like 5 of the Best Free Linux Data Recovery Tools.

If you find that your card works flawlessly in another card reader, then your phone is likely at fault and should be returned for a replacement.

If you manage to recover data from the apparently empty card, you should probably replace it as soon as possible as it doesn't seem to be completely reliable.


If your tablet doesn't provide a USB host port, you'll need an USB OTG adapter to connect your keyboard. There are many cheap USB OTG adapters on eBay and other electronics shops.


Is there a way to turn off backlit buttons on Motorola Droid?

There's the LEDs Hack app if you've got the root thing going.


Recovery Mode Does Not Work On Lenovo A390

That is the stock recovery screen. When you are on that screen (with the 'dead' android) you need to hold the Power button and then press the Volume Up button. That should get you into the recovery.

If you install a custom recovery then you won't see this screen, it will go straight into the custom recovery. Unless you need to install a custom recovery you can use your phone with the stock recovery.


How to re-edit /system file to reboot phone?

Try rebooting into recovery and connecting to the phone via ADB:

adb devices

It should give a message like this:

List of devices attached
01234565ABCDEFG        recovery

You can then copy the file off the phone:

adb pull /system/build.prop c:\build.prop

You can now edit it in any text editor (recommend Notepad++ because it will preserve the Unix style line endings,) and then copy it back to the phone:

adb push c:\build.prop /system/build.prop

If the issue was indeed within that file, the phone should boot now.


Get logs before logcat has started in a bootloop

you can redirect kernel logs during boot time using USB serial port.

If the phone doesn't even boot up to a stable state where the ADB commands can be used, one might be interested in redirecting the kernel messages to some places where they can be seen. This is to leverage the "console=" command for the kernel.

For different devices, there may be different ports where the messages can be redirected to. If the serial port on the device is enabled, one can use use the serial port. On MSM chips, there is a UART port which may be used. For this, one can use "console=ttyMSM2,115200n8" and the availability of the port can be checked in "/dev" if one wants to use it.

Currently, there is a possibility to use the USB serial ports too. One may want to check if they work on the device. The USB serial port is a software serial port emulated through the USB interface. It often has the names "ttyUSB" or "ttyHSUSB*". On Android devices, if one sees "ttyUSB*", those may be ports provided by the USB gadget drivers (/kernel/drivers/usb/gadget), which could be used as the console (add console=ttyUSB0,9600n8). If one sees "ttyHSUSB*", they may be a bit different. These may be provided by MSM platform USB drivers, and some might not support the "console" yet. For curious readers, in order to be used as a console, a device driver has to register itself as a console provider by calling register_console in kernel/printk.c, and it has to provide some callbacks for printk to write kernel messages. So the device driver developer would have to explicitly support this for the device driver to be used as a console.*

wikidot has an informative article on it http://bootloader.wikidot.com/linux:android:kmsg


How can I communicate with someone that only has a tablet?

Here's a couple of answers to start with:

Email
Hangouts (or any other IM app), which usually require the other person to be logged in.
Glympse - Send a check-in glympse to their mobile number with a message. They'll get it as a text.
using some SMS gateway either via Web (browser) or a specific SMS app supporting this
using a messenger app like Tango, Skype, or LINE


In this specific case your friend is correct, but it can probably vary somewhat.

We'll take the Galaxy Nexus as an example since it's a reasonably accurate internal representation of the other Samsung devices. The iFixit teardown helpfully identifies all of the major components of the device and their function. In step 5 they remove the wrapping from the battery to expose the NFC antenna underneath. Later, in step 12, they identify the NFC controller on the main motherboard.

Putting the controller itself on the battery is perhaps possible, but I'd imagine it is not really realistically feasible. For one, it would probably increase the fabrication costs of the batteries an unacceptable amount (the antenna, conversely, is likely not very pricey). It would also require the battery to have some non-standard and comparatively complex circuitry to transmit data from the controller to the motherboard, whereas the antenna is basically served by a simple conductive contact to pass the signal along. This is mostly conjecture, though - I'm not an electrical/hardware engineer (I don't even play one on TV).


No, you do not have to reload or delete anything.

However do make sure you take a NANDROID backup before you install one of those kernels.  You can potentially get into a reboot-loop that can only be broken by flashing another (lower mhz) kernel or restoring to a previous NANDROID backup.

I went from stock kernel to now running the ultra low voltage 800mhz ChevyNo1 kernel.  I couldn't get it go any faster with ultra low voltage without a reboot-loop.

Basically you will start with the lowest processor speed kernel at a certain voltage and work your way up.  So try ULV 800mhz, if it runs stable at 800mhz, try the 1ghz, then the 1.1ghz, etc.  If you're wanting to conserve battery, then try the ULV kernel.  If you're wanting processor speed, the LV kernel should be just fine.  Your mileage will vary because no two Droid processors are made exactly a like (because these kernels are going outside of the processor's design specifications).


Android software updates: How can I tell if I can update a device?

There's no guarantee that any device will ever see an Android OS update.

A Nexus device will probably see two, maybe three, updates (if the past is any guide).

Devices from big-name manufacturers will probably, eventually, see one Android upgrade. However, considering the resources needed to modify the Android source to fit with their customizations as well as to do all that testing, which will result in exactly no incremental income for them, it's in their interest to get you to buy a new phone.

Lower-end/older devices from the big names or devices from OEMs you've never heard of will probably never get an OS upgrade.

Fortunately, a lot of core functionality is being pulled out of the OS into the Google Play Services framework. That'll leave things like hardware APIs in the OS level, which probably wouldn't benefit from an OS upgrade anyway. (I mean, you can't install a bigger sensor for your camera, so OS support for bigger sensors won't help you.)


Google Services is killing my battery by keeping phone awake

After trawling through all manner of options I isolated the root cause of this issue.

Within Google Account Sync I had a look at all available settings and the one that seemed to be causing an issue was 'Sync Internet' option which was just constantly running (and appearing to be keeping the phone awake.

Switching this off has got back my battery back to normal.

I still have no idea why my phone was trying to sync the entire internet :-)


Files not copied to laptop when transferred via USB from Nexus 5

Same problem here with Motorola Moto G 1st and 2nd gen after Lollipop update. All the files will be able to be transferred after a restart but no new files after the restart is transferable. You must restart your device after every new files download to be copied to your PC via USB.


Proxy app which doesn't requie any root access in android 2.3.6

Simple answer: No.

Long answer:

No, as these app use a native binary installed onto the system to reroute data through the proxy. This is done at kernel level (actually it's done using the terminal commands, but it is done at kernel level), because of this root access is needed.

There are 0 apps that allow you to use a proxy without rooting first. Android 4.x natively supports proxies however.


How to Prevent Battery Full Notifications in Mi 2 Band?

I resolved the problem by getting the second phone for my Mi Band 2 because I use Pebble at work, thus causing me much complications because no two internet gadget -support is not supported at the same time. This way, you can control the notifications of battery full -status stably.


Connecting Android Phone to computer without USB

If you have WiFi, there are possibilities:

you can use ADB over TCP (also called "wireless ADB"), see e.g. my list of ADB solutions
you can use WebDAV or Samba to share your "drives from the device" to your computer (note, however, that with Windows that would require your Android device to be rooted, as Windows cannot deal with Samba shares on "unusual ports")


How do I authorize my device for ADB if I have only the recovery installed (no ROM)?

I learned that fastboot requires the phone to be in the bootloader, not recovery. I was able to flash a new recovery using fastboot flash recovery recovery.img.


Outlook keeps asking for login credentials during setup

Answer:

there seems to be a bug if you use outlook accounts which are not ending on outlook.com.

If you go to https:\login.live.com you can login with other credentials.
There is a menü "Your Informations" where you can edit the email or telefon alias.
In this menü you can create an outlook.com alias.

With this outlook.com alias login from Outlook on outlook mobile to Outlook.com works and contacts can be retrieved.


Mobile Network disconnects during an incoming call

This is normal if you are using a CDMA carrier, such as Verizon or Sprint.  GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile can allow simultaneous voice and data, but CDMA cannot.  This is supposed to change with LTE devices, although last a checked it wasn't working with all of them on Verizon.  If you have a CDMA 3G only device it won't work.  I'm not positive but I think even with an LTE device on Verizon that supports simultaneous voice and data it still won't work if you are out of LTE coverage area.  I used to work for Verizon until a few months ago and this seemed to be the case.


Can I temporarily use device with physical QWERTY in touch only mode?

Yes, the phone should behave same as without physical keyboard until you open the physical keyboard which will cause hiding the virtual one.


What is the name for a non-owner user profile?

On Android 5.0+, there is an option for multiple Users & Profiles, which is under Settings > Users and is titled Users & profiles. It is initially populated with a Guest User as well as the Owner User. To refer to non-owner Users & Profiles I would use and recognize Secondary User/Profile (unless specifically asking about the Guest User, which I would call Guest User)

User accounts provide full access to Apps & Services.

Android 5.0+ Tablets (this feature does not appear to be on Phones) allow for User Profiles, such as the Restricted User Profile, which can be set up to restrict what Apps and Services can be used by this user.

Accounts is a separate setting within Android's Settings. Each User Profile can have any number of Accounts set up (Emails, Pushbullet, etc.). These accounts are unique to each User.


How many DPI does the T-Mobile G1 phone have?

According to the specs at Wikipedia it is

320 x 480 px
3.2 in (81 mm)
HVGA 65,536 color LCD
180 pixels per inch (ppi)


in that App Info (though grey out), click the three vertical dots and use Uninstall for All Users.