Can not boot into TWRP recovery - Black screen

I found a thread over at xda that helped me solve the issue:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-4/help/strange-problem-black-screen-redmi-note-t3716706/page10
Apparently it is some issue with a certain kind of display and the official TWRP can't handle it correctly. The proposed solution is to download an unofficial TWRP version found here:
https://cloud.mail.ru/public/9bcY/3AeSnww5N

Hope this helps anyone with the same problem.


(how) can I install android on an iphone 4?

I'd say "not yet", at this moment.

My suggestion is to keep your eye on this page: http://www.idroidproject.org/wiki/Status

As you can see from the Wiki table on the iPhone4, the iDroid project participants aren't even sure exactly what hardware is in it yet. So writing code for it without that knowledge is a bit of a challenge.

Seeing as iDroid doesn't even run on iPhone 3GS, I would guess that it's gonna be a while before it runs on the iPhone4. Although, they do have it listed on the Wiki, so the iDroid devs are probably considering it at some point "down the road".


How do I root a Zte Director..can't seem to find much info on how?

Here is the best thing I have found so far for this phone. http://www.how-to-root.club/mp3-0/zte-director-5470.html


How to control battery usage by display in Xiaomi

Please note that Display is the most crucial use of battery, doesnt matter what you do, Display gonna take some battery juice.

Tips to reduce battery usage by Display

Use low brightness. This will affect your battery life most. In most case 30% is more than sufficient. For me, i put it at minimum at home and max outdoors.
Reduce the screen time out - set it to 30 sec or 1 min. I use 1 min.
Enable the Battery save mode in the settings.
Dont turn it on as much?

At the end, display still gonna majority of battery, the best way to deal it is to either buy new battery or Powerbank.

Kudos


Since which Android version does it started emulating the SDCard?

Short summary

It must have been introduced with Android 2.1 aka Eclair.

TL;DR

Though I cannot name a date (as I found no source for that), we can get a raw estimate. But to advance that, let's first take a look into history:

The first Android smartphone sold was the HTC Dream (also known as T-Mobile G1). As you can see in the device specs when following the link, this device had a little internal-storage (256 MB; also known as "device storage"), and featured a microSD slot. So no "internal SD card" here at all.

A bit later, we saw the first Nexus1 device released to the wild: The Google Nexus One came – you won't believe it – with a microSD slot and, no "internal SD card". Release date here was January 2010, and it shipped with Android 2.1 (aka "Eclair"). Mark the date and the Android version.

Now I've found an article on Android Browser Forensics dated 9/2010 (somewhere I've stumbled upon a copy dated 6/2010, but cannot find the link currently). They report having used the Samsung Galaxy S i9000, which according to GSMArena was released 6/2010 with Android 2.1. Quoting (emphasis mine):

  Currently I’m running Android 2.1 Eclair
  […]
  Each option is checked by default. Click Capture. A folder is created on the internal sdcard called ‘forensics’ with 6 .csv files.

As you can see: This device was running Eclair and featured an internal sdcard (unless the blogger made a mistake here). As usually the Nexus devices are "state-of-the-art", but the one originally shipped with 2.1 had no internal sdcard (which is quite untypical for a Nexus – but this was the only one) – and another device introduced about 6 month later, also running Eclair, features such, I think it's pretty safe to assume that was about the time eMMC was introduced to Android devices as "internal sdcard".

Not a proof, but at least a "good shot" I'd say.

Now we come to the quote of your question: allowing internal and external storage to each be on the same partition was the next step, and introduced with Honeycomb (aka Android 3.0), with the switch being made from USB mass storage to MTP. This brought two advantages to the user: for one, being on the same partition there was less "wasted space". You no longer should run into the condition to get an insufficient-memory error with plenty of free space on your internal sdcard. And number two: this storage stayed available on the device even if mounted to a computer (so no apps crashing and widgets disappearing for that cause anymore). But it also has a disadvantage: most external data-recovery tools no longer work on the connected device, as they need "direct block-level access" – which MTP cannot provide.

So much for a short story on the "internal sdcard" – hope I not only entertained you a little, but also was able to answer your question, at least to a degree :)

1: For a history of Nexus devices, see this Wikipedia article


Every app is under its own user (this is how permissions are enforced). When you "root" a device, you add an SU binary which runs tasks as the super user. Any app can run the SU binary but they have to explicitly do so. Without explicitly doing so, they continue to run as their own user.

Most (if not all) rooting methods will have an additional APK for managing what apps have access to SU, such as SuperSU. In my experience, the first time an app tries to use SU, you'll get a notification asking for access. This will allow you to deny root to apps that request it.

EDIT: I'd also like to add that you can get command line access on Android without rooting. I highly recommend Terminal Emulator if you want access from your phone. If it's connected to a computer you can use ADB to run things on your phone by running adb shell. To get ADB, you'll need to get the Android SDK and find ADB in it.


I purchased an A9 today and I'm having the same problem. If you have a screen guard, make sure it is not covering the proximity sensor. That worked for me.


Cannot turn on WiFi and Bluetooth on Samsung Galaxy Tab 4

Thanks to the Community bot bringing this back up, figured I would answer it. As a matter of fact I fixed this very problem on my coworker's tablet today. What I did was download the factory image, extracted the modem.bin file and flashed it via odin. No root required and this method will not remove any personal data from your device. Just need a PC, Odin, a good usb cable and the device.

Since this question is older here are two links.

If your device is running Kitkat(4.X) go here.
If your device is running Lollipop(5.X) go here.

Both links include the Odin software as well in their forum post.
Samsung USB Windows drivers can be found at the top of this page.

Once you have everything downloaded;

Firstly install the Samsung USB Drivers if you haven't already.
Open the factory image with your favorite archive manager, I use 7Zip
Extract the file, if the extracted file is a tar/tar.md5 file, open it again with an archive manager.
Look for the modem.bin file and extract it to your desktop/folder/etc.
Once extracted open up Odin, uncheck F.Reset Time and hit the "phone" button, I know the device isn't a phone but that's where the modem file goes. Select the modem.bin file from where you extracted it to.
Now make sure your device is powered off. Hold the Volume down button, home button, and press the power button. You should see a screen warning you, that changing your OS could harm your device and etc. Hit Volume Up to put the device into download mode.
Once the device is in download mode. You can connect the device to the usb cable that's connected to your computer.
If done right, Your odin screen should look something like this. http://i.imgur.com/uCzwmSL.png except for, in the top right, where it says ID:COM, you should have some info in there.
Once everything is setup and you're are connected, press start and DO NOT DISCONNECT THE DEVICE, Until it either reboots on its own or you see PASS! above the ID:COM box. If the device doesn't reboot on its own, but you see PASS! in the box above ID:COM. Simply hold down the power button to turn off the device. Press it once more to turn it back on.

If everything went according to plan, You should have wifi and bluetooth working again.


Disable web search in Microsoft Launcher

It's Microsoft pushing ads for its apps, yet again

Microsoft did this in July last year. See this XDA blog Microsoft is abusing Android’s share sheet by inserting ads for its apps with reddit
and Android Police
links.

Microsoft is back to it's dirty tricks again, this time by inserting  “Bing Search” option in the long-press context menu as reported in XDA in July, this year (annual schedule?) Microsoft Outlook is inserting Bing Search into Android's long-press menu. Also by Android Police

Solutions

Find another launcher and uninstall Microsoft Launcher. Or change search engine in settings, if you want to continue using the launcher.

Uninstall Microsoft Edge. XDA blog says that launcher triggers these ads only when Edge is installed (but some users have reported in comments that they don't have Edge installed but get this Bing search).

Report to Play Store - use Report Inappropriate Apps. Play Store has a very aggressive policy wherein developers are not allowed to even link their own apps.This may cause app to be removed from Play Store

Related (app violations)

Is Android showing app ads in share menu now?

Is it allowed to offer incentives for 5 star ratings on the Google Play app store?


How to repair-unbrick-solve my Galaxy Tab 3 10.1" after rooting

If you have access to a custom recovery, just flash any ROM for Galaxy Tab 3 10.1

If your phone doesn't even boot, try flashing the stock image using ODIN.
This might help: [HOW-TO] Unbrick Galaxy Tab 3 10.1


How to make a restore image / export ISO to restore later?

Answering the last paragraph of your question first

Since you have rooted the device, flash a custom recovery meant for your device  (Google on XDA for your specific make and model) and take a nandroid backup (click on that tag and read the wiki) and restore /system to restore the way it is

Next, factory-reset will not undo the changes you made to the /system, it only affects /data. Which means apps you uninstalled will not be installed but yes your launcher settings will not survive. That's why it's better to go for Nandroid backup to restore with minimum effort

Edit Your device has official TWRP. Make sure you read the dm-verity warning


I was listening to music on my Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini when the sound coming from my headphones got really low.

Hold down the power button for 10 seconds it should reboot it this fixed my problem


legitimate version Android 2.3 available for developers?

There are many custom ROMs that are perfectly legitimate. They are built by dedicated people who put a lot of effort into the work. I wouldn't disparage them by calling their work "hacks".  CyanogenMod is the most popular, but there are plenty more.

There is not an installable phone image available for you to download from the Android Dev site.  Those are emulator images only.


Is there any working implementation of Google Docs on Honeycomb?

There was a recent (around 5-Oct-2011) update of the offical Google Docs App, with the following changes:

What's new in this version:

Optimized experience for tablet users, Honeycomb (Android 3.0+)

New 3-panel interface for improved browsing
Details panel showing a thumbnail and sharing information
Improved sharing experience with autocomplete system
Landscape or portrait mode

Improved video playback

Maybe it fixes the problems you described. I am sure Google will further work on the tablet compatibility of the Google Docs app, it's just a matter of time.


Sending emoji via SMS with UTF-8 (rather than UTF-16)?

Sadly this is a limitation in the SMS protocol.

The "ascii" charset is not the normal we are used to in the computer world, instead it is a 7bit (or GSM 03.38 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_03.38) and very limited.

If one single character is used outside of this 7 bit charset, it is switched to UCS2 (See more information about UCS2 not exactly being UTF-16 here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16).

With 7 bit, each character takes 7 bits (doh), and with UCS2 each character takes 16 bits.

While coding some SMPP (the SMS protocol) integrations, I've seen sporadic support for other charsets, but I do not think this is at all adopted in the wild.


How root huawei y7 trt lx1/ switch slot?

The bootloader must load the DTBO image that is compatible with the recovery image. in your case Touch is not working because the TWRP version does not support it. There is not much you can do, the TWRP kernel must be compiled with touch support (or maybe binary hex-patched).

Look for dtbo.img or (edit: dtb is appended to kernel for y7)
use the adb shell commands TWRP comes with:
https://twrp.me/faq/openrecoveryscript.html

You can also try to boot TWRP from fastboot instead of flashing it, sometimes this will affect to touch screen work.

fastboot boot C:\adb\TWRP_3.2.2_TRT-LX1_by_kiruha_21.img

regarding switch slots, you can not switch if you don't have A/B device. don't mix up different recoveries.

please note the differences between /etc/recovery.fstab

only in TWRP_3.2.2_TRT-LX1_by_kiruha_21

/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata fs: f2fs
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/
vendor, product, version, log

only in TWRP_3.2.2_TREBLE_TRT-LX1_by_kiruha_21

/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata fs: ext4
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/
fsc, lksecapp, sbl1, dip, dpo, limits, mcfg, mdtp, mota, oem, syscfg

Please check if your phone has f2fs or ext4 file system, and check if vendor partition is present or not. Select the proper TWRP variant according to your partition layout.

you can check your partitions from adb shell or terminal emulator (one of these commands will work)

ls -d /dev/block/*/*/*/by-name/*
ls -d /dev/block/*/*/by-name/*
ls -d /dev/block/*/by-name/*

for file system type (one of these commands will work)

df -t ext4 /data
df -t f2fs /data
df -T /data
mount | grep "/data "


Change video quality of embedded YouTube video in Chrome for Android

A workaround would be to trigger the desktop version of the site you're looking at. After the page refreshes, you should see more options for the YouTube video.


security implications of participating in app beta testing?

There is no real difference between a beta test application and a regular application for security purposes. You can remove any beta test application the same way you would a regular application. Android is setup so that applications do not normally have access to the data for other applications.

If a beta test is closed, then the Google+ or Google group is the access control for the beta test. This has no effect on the application on the phone.

If an application is in the Play Store, you have general assurances that it has been virus scanned. The Play Store is much safer than installing applications from generic websites. The Play Store will not, however, tell you anything about how the application works.

The permissions requested by the application determine how risky it is to use it. Permissions include things like:

camera
contacts
location coarse/fine
network access
read call log
read contacts
microphone

The general trouble is that applications ask for many permissions, and it is not possible to tell what an application is doing with those permissions. But if an application that turns your flash on and off is requesting access to your microphone or contacts, then you should get suspicious. If an application has access to your contacts and the network, then it is capable of sending all your contacts' information to a server on the Internet.


Feasibility of flashing a ROM (meant for original device) on a re-branded device

If all the specifications match, including chip level and GPU Mali blobs, it sounds a reasonable try, though I never owned a re-branded device.

After taking complete backup including EFS and double checking, I would suggest first flash the kernel from the proposed ROM to replace the existing kernel. If it boots properly and basic functionality of phone is fine, then you can flash the complete ROM. This way you are ruling out kernel compatibility issues.


How can I put the Google Now widget on the lockscreen with Andoid L?

Lock screen widgets were removed in Android L.

Citation: Exploring Android L: Lockscreen widgets also bite the dust


Jellybean 4.2 Auto-Download and Display file

There's no built-in tool to do this - why would there be? - but there are several apps available depending on exactly what kind of information you want to show and how you want it displayed. For example, you could do worse than my app Showr, which is a home screen widget. You tell it the web address of an image file, or an RSS feed with images, and how often to update it, and it updates the image and displays it on your home screen. It's a free download from Google Play. My users often use it to display information like weather maps and charts, as well as more fun things like webcams, photo blogs, and logos or pictures of things or people they like.

You might also use home screen widgets for other kinds of information. For example, if the events you want to display are in a Google calendar (or can be imported into it from an iCal file or similar), then the Google calendar app can display upcoming events in a list on the home screen.

There's quite a few task list apps too, and they usually have home screen widgets and push capabilities, so if you add or complete a task from your phone, the list on the wall updates automatically. Remember the Milk is one such, which I use, but you have to pay a subscription for unlimited syncing.


Tethering / Portable Wifi Hotspot Samsung Captivate

Here is what worked for me:

I connected my laptop using USB tethering, which worked immediately on the first try. Once I had done that I disconnected from USB and tried enabling the portable hotspot again. This time, connected devices could use the internet via the hotspot.


Galaxy S6 and S7 not auto-connecting to WiFi

This appears to be a problem with app interference. I have uninstalled a bunch of apps on my phones and they now auto-connect without issue.

I wish I knew which app or apps was the culprit. As I install back some apps that I need maybe I will find out. If I do I will update this answer.


Netflix-Xyboard error: "Sorry we could not reach the Netflix service. (1009)"

I think it's Motorola fault and I've found temporary workaround for me (Motorola Xoom 2 / Android Honeycomb 3.2).
Unfortunately only device factory reset is working. Before I had tried clear cache and data, uninstall Netflix app - nothing is working. Only factory reset.


This is the closest I could find that matches OP's expectations and should work, requires rooted device ( not tested by me). This only  replicates adoptable-storage behaviour of Marshmallow to the extent it allows use of external SD to be used as internal SD for moving apps

Sources:

Swap internal storage with the SD card in Android Lollipop and KitKat
How to swap internal storage with the SD card in Android device

Both these are blogs by the same person but take  different approaches:

Source 1 requires

Xposed module XInternalSD :

  This module changes value (path to internal SD card) in some Android APIs which apps use. Control this path in module's settings. You can enable this module for all apps or only for specific apps. Also you can enable full access to external SD card (for KitKat+)

And

WSM Tools app that can be downloaded from Aptoide - not available on Play Store

Source 2 requires only Xposed module XInternalSD

Approach

Swap internal storage with external SD using the XInternalSD module ( Common step for both methods)

Using WSM Tools  choose apps which you want to move External SD or move all apps (Source 1)

OR

Using a root explorer amend vold.fstab  to interchange sdcard0 with sdcard1 ( Source 2)


Google Tasks not syncing (events do) on the phone

Following instructions worked for me:

On my HTC M8, I went to Settings → Apps → found the Business Calendar 2 PRO app (it is listed as "Business Calendar") → cleared  Cache → cleared data of the app (did not need to uninstall/reinstall).

I went back to the Business Calendar app on home screen and it wanted to set up as new but my calendars and most of the data synced very fast (I think it is because I did not uninstall the app).

I had to again choose my tasks' Gmail account and then Tasks were synced correctly!
Also, check your other settings for calendars and others.  I have another Android phone so I use it to confirm that settings match.  The tasks on other phone were syncing fine on Business Calendar.


Thanks to @Izzy's comment that the text looks Korean I could solve the issue:

A Korean OCR online tool recognized the characters in the last option as 취소 which Google translates as "Cancel". Choosing the last option actually restarted the phone (without any data loss).


I followed the instructions posted at technostall and that worked for me.

Link:
http://www.technostall.com/nexus-4-android-44-kitkat-unlock-bootloader/


What version of Android starts “Messages for Web” support?

The "Messages for web" feature works only with the Messages app created by Google.

The LG V20 runs a custom version of Android with a customized user interface. It is not the stock version of Android using only standard Google apps as is shipped on, for example, Google Pixel devices. The manufacturer (LG) will customize and add more features to applications like dialer, messages, camera, themes etc. creating a custom Android version above what Google provides. So, in this case, the Google SMS messaging application has a feature "Messages for web" which has not been implemented in the Messaging app created by LG.

But, you can use this feature by following these steps:

Download the Messages app by Google from the Play store.
Set the Messages app as the default messaging app in Settings.
Open Messages app, and tap on three dots on top-right corner (options menu), select 'Messages for web'.
QR code window will open, enable camera permission, scan the QR code on the desktop, your messages on android device will be opened on your desktop/laptop.

Note: You can't uninstall the LG provided Messages app as it was installed as a system app.


Yes, you can use a custom ROM on your Android device.

You also need a custom kernel, that supports multiboot/multi-OS and you need a special Ubuntu build with ARM and hardware support. It may be hard to find but I don't think it's impossible. reference site: Asus Zenfone Blog


Can Google services be firewall-filtered (market yes, sync no)?

To firewall, you need a root, as it modifies the iptables and filters the network stack. The iptables comes with Droidwall which is btw, an excellent tool and a must have if your ROM is rooted :)

Edit: Just checked mine, in theory its possible to create a script to modify the iptables to block the domain calendar.google.com whilst allowing play.google.com to pass through. Droidwall's set of rules are a bit too generic though, but you can most certainly set the custom script by hitting menu from within Droidwall itself and use it to suit your custom needs :)

The IP address for calendar.google.com is 173.194.33.37. and for  play.google.com is 173.194.33.37. Sure they are the same, but you need to find out what port is the calendar using, same for play.

# Block all connections in the TCP port nn for calendar!
$IPTABLES -A "droidwall" -p TCP --destination "173.194.33.37" --destination-port nn -j "droidwall-reject"

Linky here that explains how to do add custom script.


thl 4000 can't install apps - insufficient storage

I found the following work around - go to 'play store' 'app info' and do - 'Uninstall updates'.
This works but
finally I end up resetting my phone to factory setting - and the message doesn't appear any more and also I have lot's of free storage.


How to turn off notifications from Facebook Messenger on Android Gingerbread?

If you have root access on your device, an application like this may work for you. I cannot test it as I have no Gingerbread devices.

This option only lets you turn off notifications for 24 hours (what a terrible feature)

Open the messenger application.

Go to the 'cog' icon for settings.

Turn notifications off.

This image shows the Icon, and shows the 'Notifications' option, but the arrow isn't pointing to it!


The comment made by @Izzy is correct; you can accomplish it with automation. I am using MacroDroid to demonstrate it.

Assumptions: The screen is off (when the screen is on, you are using the phone).

In the Trigger tab, in the Device Events section, select Notification, then Notification Received. Choose Any Application, on the next screen, click OK.
In the Action tab, in the MacroDroid Specific section, select "Wait Before Next Action", then set it to 5 minutes (or any appropriate time length).
In the Constraints tab, in the Device State section, select Device Locked/Unlocked, then choose Device Locked.
Give the macro a name and save it. It will look like the image below.

When the phone receives a notification from any app when the screen is off, it will wait for the amount of time set then vibrates.


How can I use Google Latitude's Location History without a constant Internet connection?

Latify in the Play Store does the trick.


Yes you can hypothetically copy or clone files using some simple command like cp or dd

It's almost ridiculous... I use my Android for distribution of my personal copyrighted applications, I am honestly worried about the lack of care taken to protect data .. The Google Play Protect feature seems to illegally sample my applications and copy the copyright protected package names...

I believe the only thing you can do is to include a copyright statement in each file, this will mean that any copying will result in a breach of the copyright act...

The law is the only thing stopping people from doing this, however it is touch and go ( You accept the permission, therefore you give them the right )

It's all a bit strange with Android, because they aren't the owners of Java & Linux, they use Open Source software to build android, so therefore Android "Has" to be an open sourced project...

When it comes to advanced data miners ... They've got everything... Facebook, EBay, Google, etc... All send your data to the Axiom network ( Data Mining Center )   and therefore your Purchases, Online search history, SD card data, contacts, social behaviors etc... are all available to anyone willing to pay for it....

These days, nobody has privacy... It's all part of the Data mining and protection.

You are more likely to have protection by including your copyright statement, it's as simple as ...

  Copyright © "Your identity" 2019. All Rights Reserved.


Android clearing recent applications list

The recent applications list show only what applications have been recently used, it doesn't check whether they're still running or using memory/CPU. Therefore, this list doesn't affect battery use one way or the other.

Instead, you might want to check Settings -> Apps -> [swipe to the right] to show running applications, processes and services. Here you can see the apps that are using your device and consuming battery, and kill unnecessary processes by tapping the app and then Stop.


Can Hike messenger steal our whatsapp data

"The problem is that after getting accessibility permission, it can read all the notification, even OTPs of our transaction. So how can I assure my security and privacy?"

Turn off SMS, NOTIFICATION ACCESS permissions to that app.

Kindly add more details about your smartphone so I can answer better.


Gboard: Is there anyway to switch language by swiping spacebar?

There is no as such settings that enables you the Language switch on the basis of swiping Spacebar.

But there are two options you can set in the settings.

1. Enables the Switch Language Key:- It enables you with the same features like swipe to change the language, on Clicking on this Globe Switch key your language will get automatically switched based on their preferences in the Settings.
if you have to do more with the language then this is the best option.

2. By clicking on Spacebar:-
if you have disabled the Language Switch in Settings. then you can get the language Popup by clicking on the Spacebar.


On my Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), I am suddenly unable to connect to Wifi

When in your WiFi settings, could you try pressing menu (or clicking the overflow dots), and selecting Settings.

Once done, untick the Avoid poor WiFi networks option, and see if it will now connect.

Also, restart the router.


Karbonn A52+ automatically turns off constantly

I think it's a battery issue.

If you think battery is OK, try recalibrating the battery stats. (Requires root)

If that doesn't work, yes, the problem is with the battery. Go change it :)


Do I have to reboot between flashing ROM, root and Xposed?

You can flash the custom Rom and Magisk without rebooting. However, I would reboot after flashing the custom Rom and Magisk. That way you can ensure your system and root are setup. Xposed is a bit hacking and it is best to flash on its own.

As far as Xposed you very important to reboot after flashing xposed. Also depending on Rom size it could take around 10 minutes to boot while Xposed does its thing.


How can I get the location to update again in my News and Weather widget?

Tap the widget so it opens the News & Weather app.
Tap the overflow menu and go into Settings.
Tap Weather settings
Check or uncheck "Use my location" as necessary. Clear out the value under "Set location" as necessary


Enabling USB Debugging on locked (FRP) android phone

Solved by flashing an Eng ROM aka Combination file with Odin in download mode. But flashing just a modified SBOOT is necessary.


I can't find the /system/media/ folder in any root browser or TWRP File Manager

You should read the detail text of the Boot Animations for Superuser app. There you can find the following info:

  Q: Is my device supported? A: Your device must be rooted to install a
  boot animation. Some manufacturers, like Samsung, use a different boot
  animation format (QMG) which is not compatible with this app.

Therefore the app does not work for Samsung devices. You need an app that is specialized to Samsung devices or that supports the QMG format.

And keep in mind the next section:

  Q: The boot animation doesn’t play. How can I fix this? A: Some
  Android devices use different install locations. You should find your
  current boot animation location and change it in the app’s
  preferences.

This explains why /system/media/ does not exist. Again Samsung seems to follows a different path that most of the other Android devices.


Set no wallpaper, but single color background

I found the easiest way to do this was with the application Color Wallpaper. All the possible colors selectable from a menu, and i haven't changed the color in months. You can set it and forget it. Even uninstall after setting, if that is your wish.

Disclaimer: I am not the developer of this application, just a satified user - for years.


Force GPU rendering in ICS. How does this affect system performance?

This post will explain everything. It details how GPU rendering works in ICS.

https://plus.google.com/105051985738280261832/posts/2FXDCz8x93s

Though, if you want a short answer:

GPU rendering essentially forces the drawing of windows and UI elements in apps to be calculated and done using the GPU of your phone instead of the CPU. This frees up clock cycles for the CPU to do other tasks enabling your phone to be generally smoother and faster. However, this means that everything being done by the GPU eats more RAM (as its using OpenGL to do it which requires more overhead). Android has always done some aspects with the GPU using hardware acceleration. What I have described is a MAJOR OVERSIMPLIFICATION. Its not so cut and dry. Please read the link above in its entirety for a full understanding of the concept.


Voice typing -how to continue dictation in new line without restarting microphone?

You just simply say enter, as the enter key on the keyboard is responsible for adding a new line, same works with speech recognition.

I came across this thing when I needed to type a message on WhatsApp and the enter key was replaced by an emoji key. I tried this trick and it worked!


Is it possible to connect two headphones to the phone without any splitter?

You can do it even via Bluetooth. Just search for proprietary Bluetooth technology ShareMe. For example:
http://www.cnet.com/news/get-two-pair-of-shareme-bluetooth-headphones-for-56-98/
http://www.amazon.com/ShareMe-Bluetooth-Headphones-Wireless-Technology/dp/B0152GBS66

ShareMe technology lets you to stream music wirelessly to another ShareMe equipped headphones.


How to control how long Google Assistant keeps listening when there is silence?

From Google help

  There isn't any way at this time to force the microphone to stay on for Voice Typing. When you pause for several seconds, voice typing assumes you're taking a break. This likely helps to conserve your device's battery as well

I haven't found any workaround on XDA .

So, I guess sending Google feedback is the only way out for now


CCleaner app doesn't clear my Google Chrome browsing history

It does, it seems like it doesn't because chrome stores history online if you are logged in with google account


How to find out which app is providing adverts (without reverting to process of elimination)

I'm pretty sure that your keyboard is cause of ads showing (I guess this isn't stock one, is it?) try finding settings of that keyboard and see if there is option to turn off ads (I guess there isn't but still worth of try) however if you don't find option to turn off ads than simply uninstall some reliable keyboard (G BOARD and such)


Is there anything that can show exactly what has awaken my phone?

I'm using Better Battery Stats.  It will shows what apps are causing wake locks and that sounds like what you're after.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179809


Will my deleted text message still be sent?

By text message, do you mean by WhatsApp? Or just SMS?

If you sent SMS and deleted it, unless you're phone is in airplane mode, there's high chance that your message is sent. And SMS has nothing to do with Mobile Data.

Incase you typed a very long message and it got converted to MMS, unless you had switched ON Mobile Data (as in most phones, if your phone doesn't automatically turn on Mobile Data to send MMS), and if you had deleted it before switching Mobile Data ON, the MMS will not be sent.

If you're talking about WhatsApp or any other online messaging app, then if you had sent message while Mobile Data/WiFi was switched OFF, and if you deleted it before you switched ON Mobile Data/WiFi, then the message deleted will not be sent.


Try to uninstall any Play Store updates, and then rerun the app; if all goes well, it will re-update the app, and the force closing should stop. If it still force closes, and you don't have much data on your device, you can try to factory reset the phone. That usually makes my Play Store work fine (although I don't have S5).


According to what you said,

  played some music during the night

Its most probable that your phone is out of battery juice, given that it must have been drained overnight. That's why you're only able to get a vibration and a quick blink on the screen and nothing more.

So charge your phone mate, and you're good to go


Making apps think you have a lower version of android

You can achieve it by rooting and installing build.prop editor app from there can change model no. of phone, version, manufacturer name and many more stuff yeah you can also simply revert it.


How do I update my LineageOS installation?

If you go to your phone’s settings, then “About phone”, you’ll see the phone’s status with an entry at the very top called “LineageOS updates”. In there you can configure how often your phone should check for updates, and you’ll also see a list of available updates. You can tap the “Download” button to download an update, and once it’s finished downloading, the button will say “Install” and tapping that will reboot your phone to TWRP and install the update.


Twitter & Facebook login details periodically forgotten

Yes, it is likely to be the problem. I suppose it's a hack of yours if these apps are on SD rather than internal memory.

As the Android SDK mentions1, applications that use Service, AccountManager and Widget shoudl not be installed on SD card. The Facebook app has an AccountManager, a widget and a Service.


Sim toolkit is missing after upgrade os to Android 5.0.2

This is how I found it out to work. Create a SIM-PIN in your settings, restart the phone with the PIN, and you will have the toolkit in your app browser.


Any New (not low end) phones using Froyo (or Froyo-style software system)?

Thing is, if a manufacturer would decide bringing a new phone on the market with such an old system, he'd get no license to pre-install any Google apps. Either your device runs an up-to-date Android version (I don't remember the details completely on what's counted here as "up-to-date", whether it were the latest two versions, or a version "not older than x months" – but Froyo is definitely out, as is Gingerbread, and IMHO even ICS) – or no Google Apps. As a device without Google Play pre-installed isn't that big selling hit for most people, manufacturers want the GApps shipping with their device. That doesn't leave much choice.

So it's pretty unlikely you will find a device with up-to-date hardware running Froyo or Gingerbread.

This doesn't keep modders from "skinning" the look-and-feel, sure. And many things can modified that way. Though I've never heard/read from any modification in this direction, you might find some "ROM kitchen" or the like offering it.


How can I set up different notification tones for each of my email accounts?

This feature is already provided by many email apps including official Gmail app. Gmail app even allows to set different notification tone of different labels.

In Gmail, go to Settings ~> [Email-id of attached Account] (under Account Settings section) ~> Labels to Notify ~> [Label Name] ~> Ringtone (from pop-up). If your Gmail app doesn't have these settings, time to update it.

If you don't use Gmail app, specify your email app for further help. If your app doesn't provide this feature, you can't add it by your own in most of cases (unless app allows plugins). So, switch to another email client app.


I remember having gone through the same problem years back (on a froyo device). Not sure what caused it, but I fixed it as follows:

Exporting ALL your google contacts to a file (make sure everything is in there)
Remove all contacts from google
Remove all contacts from phone
Import the contacts from the file (exported in (1)) to the PHONE
Sync the contacts
Verify whether the sync worked

After doing this two way sync worked perfectly for me. I can not guarantee that this will work for you, but it may be worth a try. Also, make very sure that the export in (1) is complete (check the contents of the file) - also, export to various file formats for safety.

Unfortunately, the changes you made on the phone will have been overwritten and I do not know of a way to revert that. In the future, if the problem persists, you can disable the sync and do it manually using files - it sucks, but at least you won't lose information.


How to run two Messenger applications logged into different accounts?

Yes, at the very least that will have to be done. You may also have to re-sign the apk, and also change any absolute references to the Application context inside the java code and/or machine code. This will require lots of effort, you might as well build your own Messenger interface via Facebook's API. Facebook does have a developer API for this kind of stuff, you may want to look into that.

Facebook Developer SDK

I would try renaming the package first, without even decompiling anything, if it crashes due to internal package pointers, I would probably try to build a plug-in.

Hope that helps,


Mirroring an Android display via Android Studio

TLDR; Yes because it receives touch events.

Why?  I have even done this with the original iPhone 2G back with a jailbreak.  Basically I would copy the configuration files from a working jailbroken iPhone onto the broken iPhone.   Back then I used Chickenvnc and a VNC root application.  The problem with Android is that I do not know of a current VNC application that let's you operate the entire device from VNC even with root.  There are literally zero to my knowledge.  My question here has gone unanswered for similar reasons.  Home Screen Launcher Completely Operated By Keyboard & Alpha VNC  But you have touch events so you should be able to configure the device on an identical pixel and then flash the exact same configuration onto the broken pixel.  The tricky part will be navigating the home screen.


Open the stock People app (i.e. navigate to your contact list) > select the contact > select Edit contact > select the camera icon in the top left corner. Your options are Gallery (find an image already on your phone) or Camera (take a picture of the contact). Hope it helps!


OpenGL apps not responding to touch on Xperia M2

I updated to 4.4 KitKat and the problem seemed to have been solved. All OpenGL apps now work like normal.


Is there a way to save profiles on Motorola's Droid X?

What you're referring to are called HTC Scenes (Hero Scenes link).  Off the top of my head I don't know of anything like that and only HTC devices have the HTC Scenes.

I just did a quick search of the market and didn't come up with anything so my initial guess is:

No, there is nothing like that currently. You would either need a Sense-based custom ROM (not sure if there are any for the Droid X) or an HTC device.


How to enable device administrator for exchange after user has declined

Make sure you have asked for the right permissions in manifest.
Also check your manifest declarations
Check your xml file.
For reference check this
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/admin/device-admin.html


Changing vibrate length of default email app on galaxy s2

There are two methods you can use to adjust the vibration duration:

System Configuration

Tap your device "home" button;
Tap your device "menu" button;
Tap "Settings";
Tap "Sound";
Use "Vibration Intensity" to adjust the duration.

This may not be available for all devices/Android versions

Custom Application
There are a few applications available from Google Play Store that you can use to adjust vibration timers.
Vibration Notifier by j4velin allows you to set a vibrate interval and additionally alows you to specify the duration of each vibration:

Let your device vibrate every X min. when you missed a call / received an eMail


Getting "not enough space" error even i have enough space in sd card

Have you ever been able to download apps directly to your SD card? I believe the reason for this is that you can only install apps onto the internal memory; not any SD cards. I think you can only move apps after you've downloaded them. If someone can confirm that this is the case, see if you have any images or videos that you can move to the SD card to allow for more space inside the internal memory? Let me know how you get on :)

p.s. I also think the write disk system only works for pictures and the sort.


How do I get rid of spam SMSs that do not want to delete?

Go on setting and open application section . Now go to system apps and search message application . Open it and click clear data and also clear catch . By doing this your problem will be solved


To control the breadth of activities this app declares for itself, it probably has set itself up as a Device Administrator, to control the ability to run many aspects of your device automatically. It probably hides itself from uninstall while Device Administrator rights are active. I would start by searching Settings>Security>Device Administrators, and deselect the Android Lost App. Once deselected here, check the Task List to see if it has stopped running. Force Close if necessary. It may then appear on the Settings>Application manager list to allow for uninstall. If not, attempt a reboot, and check the Task List again. If necessary, Force Close the app again and attempt an uninstall. Understanding of these types of apps and their unmittigated control is why downloading from Unknown Sources is intentionally complicated.


Show the original timestamp on received messages

This was raised as an issue in June 2009 and despite being discussed extensively there doesn't appear to be any way to show the original timestamp in vanilla Android. This leaves you with a couple of options:

Use a custom ROM like CyanogenMod which supports this, or
Install an app like SMS Sent Time which appends the message sent time to the message itself


Can I use an external USB Adapter with Airmon on Android?

Short answer is maybe.  You could grab an adapter (they are roughly $5) that would allow you to plug in to the charge port (almost always micro USB) to a standard USB port (AKA USB A):

Like this page of options

Then you could try plugging it in.  Android has been adding Ethernet as well as Mass Storage drivers to try and accommodate devices over the USB bus.

I did a little searching and it appears your adapter has been used by other Android users (probably for exactly the same air capture purpose good 'ol aircrack and/or wireshark).

Here's a video even, enjoy

VIDEO NOTE: Newer devices will most likely not need the extra power cable this guy talks about newer devices are putting more power over the port just for things like USB hard drives, and devices.


How can I allow my partner to find my device?

It's a bit of a workaround, but I use the Automate app to turn the ringer volume up to maximum when my phone receives an SMS with a specific text from my partner's phone. Then she can ring my phone and it's easy to find.


Has anyone ever made a plugin for the stock Android browser?

At least one plugin exists. Adobe flash.
Note that plugins and extensions are not the same. The default AOSP browser doesn't support extensions.


Odin not allowing firmware to be flashed

The phone should be in Download mode:

Take out the battery
Plug into USB (apparently skip this if you have an i9000 -- see comments)
While holding both volume buttons (Note, you may need to hold Home+VolDown instead)

Insert the battery
Click the power button

Phone should go into Download mode after a few seconds:

You may need to disconnect from and reconnect it to the computer after this for Odin to see it.


What are the advantages of a custom ROM over rooted stock?

Advantages
A custom ROM can be as little as a pre-rooted stock ROM, and with root you can do virtually anything. Thus the main advantage over just rooting is that the work has been done for you already if you grab a custom ROM with features you're interested in. For example, a custom kernel with better support for overclocking may be included in a custom ROM.
As the name implies, a ROM cooker has a lot of freedom to customize.  But, in general, the "well known" custom ROMs have:

Custom themes, or at least wallpapers or widgets. This might include modified system colors and icons, startup screens, etc.
Root, of course (see the advantages of rooting).
Less bloatware (e.g., removal of T-Mobile's "My Account").
Useful utilities for the kind of person who flashes custom ROMs (e.g., ROM Manager).
A mishmash of modems and kernels, selected for best battery life or performance.  Modems are usually stock but kernels may be stock or custom.
Additional options in menus (e.g., CyanogenMod allows a user to reboot to recovery or fastboot mode instead of just rebooting the device normally).
Additional user interface tweaks (e.g., CyanogenMod allows users to place on/off controls in the status bar instead of using widgets).

Finally, custom ROMs don't have to be stock-based to begin with either. This might enable extra system-level features (built-in tethering, for example) or allow you to upgrade to a version of Android that hasn't been or won't be released for your device.  It can also free you from hard-to-remove bits of stock ROMs, such as their custom UIs / launchers that often cannot be removed.
Disadvantages

Custom ROMs, especially those not based on stock, are often a bit experimental.  They may not be as stable as stock, especially with custom kernels or when not stock-based (drivers are hard to get right).
A custom ROM can include virtually any apps the creator wanted to include, and you may consider them bloatware.
Custom themes may not be what you want; many ROM cookers aren't designers.
Something unsavory or malicious could be included in the ROM.
Bricking your device is always a possibility.  Make sure you know what you're doing when you flash a custom ROM, and never use a ROM designed for a different device.
Like rooting, flashing a custom ROM will almost certainly void the warranty of a non-"developer" (e.g., Nexus) device.


How can I take a screenshot of the notification bar dropdown?

You just have press and hold volume down and home key for some time


Android messages deleting themselves/ Not showing up!

The problem was that the "date" i had sent it on was in the future.
I must have been getting coins in a game or something, so the messages where, according to android, in the future so i could not receive messages from that contact until the 8th.

To fix this problem if you have it either:

Wait for the date to arrive
Delete the messages from the "future" (Not tested)
Set the time on your phone to past the time stamp on the messages

Side note - You can still receive messages in the notifications bar, just not in messages.

You can also send messages, they just don't show up.


You said:

  my device was dropped to the ground

and

  sometime, the sound does not work anymore

This would very much seem to boil down to a hardware problem. The only way to "handle" it is to repair the hardware. You can start with the Asus repair page.


Save contacts to phone or Samsung Cloud?

If the choice is only between these two, I'd say go with Samsung cloud. Or if you can choose another, choose Google Contacts or Outlook Contacts. These because it will be easier to sync them to a non-Samsung device if you decide to jump the ship in the future.

A cloud backup is recommended because:

They will still sync to the device and remain on it just like phone contacts do.
If you lose your phone or it suddenly stops working, your important contacts will still be available on the cloud and you can download them to your new phone.
Contacts are easier to access on multiple devices. Say if you switch phone or keep 2 phones. And you can also get your contacts on your PC.

One disadvantage of cloud is that if you (or your child) mistakenly deletes the contacts from one device, then the deletion will get synced to other devices as well and you may lose important contacts.

You might want to save your Contacts locally on the phone if you have privacy concerns and you do not trust the cloud with your contacts. Do remember to manually back them them up periodically by exporting them and transferring to your PC.


Are Chinese phones less safe than others?

Not likely... at least not that we have seen so far. This isn't to say it's impossible, but unless those companies become owned by the government the chances this would happen are near zero, the damage such a practice would induce on their business would be astronomical and probably cause the company to go out of business. Who would buy a phone from a company that knowingly shares private information with the government covertly? No one would.

That being said, there are lots of reasonably priced smartphones out there, do your research and I am sure you will be happy with an investment far less than an Apple device.


Not able to know to which SIM sms was received

The underlying problem here is that these apps are assuming, rightly so, that there will always only be one destination number (that is, only one SIM). Android doesn't officially support dual SIMs. From StackOverflow:

Android dual SIM card API
...the dual sim features are available but not documented and hence not officially supported. Having said that it doesn't mean that it will not be usable, it just means that android is not liable to support [that] functionality.

Also,

Dual SIM card Android
The current Android platform does not have support for multiple SIMs. A device with such support has been customized for this, so you will need to get information from that device's manufacturer for any facilities they have to interact with it.

A third question was even asked specifically about building an app for dual SIM handsets that has gone unanswered, likely for this reason. So, while it sounds like a reasonable expectation, without official support or APIs for developers to use I wouldn't expect many apps to account for two destination numbers.
From a consumer perspective this means that we're at the mercy of manufacturers to develop apps that function correctly with two SIM cards. Unfortunately it sounds like the your phone's stock messaging app isn't fitting this bill. Try reaching out to XOLO.


Just did it today on my Samsung Galaxy S3.

To stream Amazon Prime (or other Flash) movies:

Download Flash 11 onto your android device. You won't find it in the app market (Google pulled it this summer) but there are a couple different guides online. I used this one from CNET.
Download the Dolphin browser from the app market (other browsers MAY work as well if they let you change the user agent string, but Dolphin makes it easy and is the only one I tested successfully on).
Go into the Dolphin browser settings and set the "User Agent" setting to "desktop".
Login to Amazon and you can now stream Amazon prime/instant movies.

I used an MHL adapter to output the video/audio to my receiver and can now watch the movies on my surround-sound projector setup (though its not surround sound).

YMMV, as I'm not sure if this works on all android devices but it works on my S3. Good luck!


Call recording for Galaxy S2 with kitkat ROM

My suggestion is to go for Call Recorder - ACR, it works fine with my CM11


No, it is not possible to remove the app from bootloader. ADB daemon is not running in the device in that tiny environment when the device is in fastboot mode and stock recovery doesn't offer shell access.

Your best bet is to flash a custom recovery, such as TWRP, CWM or Philz Touch from fastboot/download mode or from a tool using PC (if at all possible for an ordinary user) and boot straight into that recovery. Note that if the bootloader is not unlocked, unlocking a bootloader may (nowadays it does) cause a full wipe of user's data.

Once you're in a custom recovery environment, follow the instructions to remove the app:

mount data partition at /data/, if not already mounted through GUI using volume buttons or touch as appropriate;
determine package name of the troublesome app;
Using shell or through a file manager feature of your recovery, go to /data/app/ or wherever the app is installed per /data/system/packages.xml or per this answer from Izzy
remove the apk or the app's directory (for Android 5.0 and above) containing the apk using the command:

adb shell rm -rf PATH   # PATH refers to location of APK under /data/ (excluding /data/media)

#Example:
adb shell rm -rf /data/app/com.android.chrome-1.apk
adb shell rm -rf /data/app-private/org.mozilla.firefox/

Optional: remove the data of the app from /data/data/ by removing the directory with name as package name of the app using

adb shell rm -rf /data/data/PACKAGE  # PACKAGE refers to package name of the app

If the aforesaid instructions do not work out for you, make the Android boot into safe mode. My answer can help you out.

If you intend to backup contacts, make a backup of the directory /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts. The database inside it contains the contacts. To restore them after a factory reset, boot into a custom recovery and restore the backed up directory.

By the way, it does not matter whether you had USB debugging enabled in Android or not, once you've booted outside of Android OS.


Enable USB debugging: Go to phone settings -> About -> Tap build number repeatedly until developer menu is enabled. Go there and tick USB debugging.
On your PC, go to your device manager (You can find it in Control Panel, System) when the Phone is plugged in and set to MTP.  Locate the phone, (it might come up as "Android Phone" if so open the tree a level. On my computer it says "Google Nexus ADB Interface" but it might be different on yours depending on how you've got things configured) right click on it and chose "properties" from the fly out menu.
Go to the Driver tab
Click Update Driver. . .
Click Browse my Computer for driver software
Click Let my pick from a list of devices on my computer
select USB Composite Device
Close the driver assistant

Your Nexus 5 should now appear as an MTP device on your computer.


SGS3: I have all LED indicators turned off, still get blue led when gmail sees an email and screen is off

It's not actually possible to fully disable the LED for Gmail without disabling email notifications altogether. Your only alternative is to use an app like LightFlow (of which there is a free, 'lite' edition).

Hopefully there will be a fix for this in a future update.


Location of Recent Apps screenshot directory

On my Nexus devices /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots

I think it's the default, odd really as it should go in with DCIM


How can I enable calling over Wifi for a T-Mobile based Moto X?

The Moto X does not support T-Mobile's WiFi calling. Customer support reps have stated that this is because it is not a carrier branded device, meaning they have not modified the system ROM to add this feature:

  The Moto X does work on our network but because it is not a T-Mobile branded device we do not support WiFi Calling on it.

You'll either need to set up some other VoIP service or get a different phone that supports this.


Try flashing this zip (the xposed disabler attached to the OP) in recovery. You can also try repeatedly pressing any hardware button during boot until the phone starts vibrating. Xposed will have entered "safe mode" when it vibrates for a longer duration. From the post:

  Quick explanation of the safemode: It was developed by @Tungstwenty and makes it possible to disable Xposed by repeatedly pressing one of the hardware buttons during early startup. The phone will vibrate twice when the first key press has been detected. Then you have five seconds to press the same button four more times. Each key press will be confirmed with a short vibration; the final one with a long vibration. It creates /data/data/de.robv.android.xposed.installer/conf/disabled, which prevents most of Xposed’s actions (e.g. no hooks are made and no modules are loaded). There’s no 100% guarantee that this will get you out of a bootloop, but in most cases it should.


Checking that GPS is paused after turning screen off?

Macrodroid automation app may help by giving you a audio notification under the twin conditions of ( app being active, GPS being enabled ) when the screen is turned off

Trigger: Screen off

Action:

If

app state of your app ( choose from running in background / not in foreground / alive in background /not running- in the example below it is App in foreground)

And

GPS enabled

add child action of Notification sound,

end if

Constraints: None


How do mobile companies change the boot animation?

They don't have to change the ROM on every phone by hand. They have a relationship with the phone's manufacturer, so the carrier's customized ROM gets installed on the phones at the factory. This customized ROM might include their boot animation, bloatware, settings (e.g. APNs) for their network. These phones often also have slightly modified hardware: the outer shell badged with the carrier's logo, or in a different "exclusive" colour.


Apps showing up as blank white screens in recent apps list when in landscape orientation

As an Android developer, the only thing I can be sure of is that configuration changes force the activity to be restarted. This includes screen orientation (portrait, landscape), so Chrome has to be destroyed and recreated, returning a blank/stale landscape content instead.
From Android Developers - Handle configuration changes

Handle configuration changes
Some device configurations can change during runtime (such as screen orientation, keyboard availability, and when the user enables multi-window mode). When such a change occurs, Android restarts the running Activity ( onDestroy() is called, followed by onCreate()). The restart behavior is designed to help your application adapt to new configurations by automatically reloading your application with alternative resources that match the new device configuration.
To properly handle a restart, it is important that your activity restores its previous state. [...]

(Also, list of configuration changes)
I cannot reproduce this issue on my device*, but from the screenshots, the recent list is always shown in portrait mode, so there is a change from landscape to portrait between triggering the "recent apps list" event and showing it. I'm not sure about the order of the events for screen rotated, app destroyed, and app recreated, but most possibly it is destroyed-rotated-recreated, thus the app is not ready yet to re-render the activity (since an activity also cannot run while on the background), returning a blank white screen or use its previous state (the stale landscape content) instead.
The "fix" ― if it is possible ― is to allow showing "recent apps list" in landscape mode.

*The reason I cannot reproduce this issue is that my device allows showing "recent apps list" in landscape mode, so the thumbnail is shown correctly. However, when I rotate to portrait while on the list, the thumbnail will be shown squished as the screenshot.
Also, the restart may be observed more easily by rotating the screen while Chrome is active: after the rotation, Chrome will re-render the content to current available space.
Lastly, I do not know why the recent apps list is forced on portrait mode, but that is out of the question's scope.


Recovering data from Mi 4c able to get only to fastboot

Success! Thank you @alecxs for help and resources.
1 Obtain a programmer
To successfully acquire all of the data from EDL you need programmer.
For Mi 4c it is prog_emmc_firehose_8992_ddr.mbn that can be obtained in (first?) official image of OS. I got it from file Xiaomi_Mi_4C_V8.1.3.0.LXKCNDI_20161213_China_5.1_XFT.zip on some random site. You can find it in the archive under folder Firmware/images/.
The full path in archive would be Firmware/images/prog_emmc_firehose_8992_ddr.mbn.
2 Get working Firehorse
I have got mine from repository: https://github.com/bkerler/edl.
Proceed with all instructions mentioned in the repository. (I personally used Ubuntu 20.04 as all of the stuff is easier to make work.)
3 Connect to EDL
Boot phone to fastboot. In case of Mi 4c that is my case  it is pushing volume down during boot.
When you enter fastboot and you can see your device with fastboot:
fastboot devices
In case of Mi 4c you can directly boot to EDL with command:
fastboot oem edl
4 Acquire data through EDL
When device enters EDL state you can test connection with programmer (in my case prog_emmc_firehose_8992_ddr.mbn). In loader parameter you are entering path to this file.
./edl.py --loader=prog_emmc_firehose_8992_ddr.mbn printgpt
When it outputs all of the partition then you are golden!
On my phone there is one partition named userdata:
userdata:            Offset 0x00000000c4000000, Length 0x0000000683bfbe00, Flags 0x00000000, UUID 07c2b899-1574-564c-2f46-e26a6378bdd8, Type 0x1b81e7e6
To acquire the partition use command:
./edl.py --loader=examples/prog_emmc_firehose_8992_ddr.mbn r userdata userdata.bin
The copy of user data just needs to be read.
5 Reading user data (userdata.bin)
Luckily for the phone Mi 4c you can directly mount the dump in Linux. For some other phones the process might not be so straightforward and you might need simg2img. But I am not 100% sure.
sudo mkdir /media/userdata
sudo mount -t ext4 -o loop userdata.bin /media/userdata/

To read the data you will need to get root rights as the data belong to non-existing or different existing users and you won't get access with your user.
sudo mkdir userdata
sudo cp -r /media/userdata/media/0/* userdata/

The path to the your data might be different so take your time to look around.
Done! All the data are now completely accessible.


Can I import contacts from vcf and NOT sync to Google?

To import a vcf: Copy the vcf to your phone, then Contacts > Import/Export

To view hidden contacts: Contacts > More > Display options, you have the option of displaying "Only contacts with phones" and under "Choose contacts to display" you can choose to view or hide contacts based on their source. Perhaps your contacts are hidden because they are stored in your phone, but you don't check "Phone" under "Choose contacts to display"

Disclaimer: I use Froyo (2.2) so the menu name might be different.


Huawei P20 Pro charging in USB host mode

I managed to achieve this (and use an HDMI monitor) by using a USB C Power Delivery hub, and a PD charger. The hub included as well an HDMI output, but it's cheap (around 30€).
I think I used this one here.
I bought two different ones but the second one does not seem to be available anymore on Amazon and the link does not work anymore.
The charger I used is an USB C PD 41W charger from Auckly.


How can I transfer the whole contact to iphone?

Android phone backs up your contact data on Google/Gmail account, On similar hands an iPhone backs up data on it's iCloud server.

Transferring contacts from Android to iPhone this,can be done by transferring data from your Gmail account to iCloud server

Watch this Video for this method -

https://youtu.be/g_5ABwx-yW0

Other method is to use CopyTrans app for iPhone this is shown in the following website

https://googleweblight.com/i?u=https://www.copytrans.net/support/how-to-transfer-android-contacts-to-iphone/&grqid=3UysKgyv&hl=en-IN

Best Of Luck.!


Assuming you have one specific ringtone picked out: take the audio file and loop it yourself (using something simple like audacity) and make it the length of a ring (typically 30 seconds).


Android phone file structure seems corrupted when connected via USB

I'm not sure about doing this on a Mac, But if you have a windows PC, preferably a windows 7, try the following:-

Connect your phone via USB to the PC with the SD card. Turn on file sharing.
Go to My Computer, find your SD card "drive", right click > properties.
Go to Tools tab, under "Error Checking", click on "Check Now".
Any SD card related file system errors should get automatically fixed.


Where does Lollipop stores notification policy?

Since this commit notification policy settings were migrated from the separate /data/system/notification_policy.xml file to the generic AppOps subsystem. Now they are stored in /data/system/appops.xml together with other AppOps settings.


Why am I constantly running out of space on my Galaxy S2?

If you're getting "storage space runout" on your Samsung S2 phone, just dial *#9900# on the tablet and select option 2 “Delete dumpstate/logcat”

It's not necessary to root your android. Restart your phone afterwards.


Stuck at Google screen, recovery mode just turns the screen black

FAILED (remote: flash write failure)

Indicates your hardware is dead, so replace the main board or the whole device.

It was designed with a built in limited lifetime of maybe 100,000 writes. LG had to cut some corners to make the Nexus 5 so cheap which is maybe why they die a bit sooner than a flagship device of more then 3 times the cost.

You could try heat annealing the memory but you would need some electrical engineering toys to recover from the resulting hard brick (the firmware would be wiped).


As suggested by @beeshyams, I search my app with the keyboard clock.

Then, I found an app which set the wake-up alarm at 08:30 am.

Very strange, this app does not show in the RECENT APP list after alarm ringing.


You can downgrade your version to 1201EX-A_11_151230 then try to root it with kingroot. Just search for tutorials.


Do not disturb/Priority mode until next alarm on Android 6.0

Update: this feature is back on Android 6.0.1 (source).

  With Android 6.0.1, the "until next alarm" feature makes its triumphant (or rather quiet, I suppose) return. Good to know!

  So first, am I missing something obvious and that option is still there?

It seems you're right. I have checked on Nexus 5 running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and there are only 2 options: Until you turn this off, and For x amount of time.

  And second, If this option was indeed removed, is there a more 'advanced' way of getting the priority mode to end after my next alarm?

If you have Tasker (paid), you can have the same behaviour as the one on Android Lollipop.

Create a profile for alarm clock

On Profiles tab, tap + button
Select Event - Date/Time - Alarm Clock
Press back to finish

Create a task to turn off Priority mode

Select New Task on the pop-up (or from Tasks tab, tap + button)
Input the task name (e.g. "Turn off DnD", optional), then tap the checkmark
Tap +, select Audio - Do Not Disturb
For Mode, select All (this means "allows all interruption", which is the same as turning off Priority mode)

If this is the first time using Do Not Disturb, Tasker will prompt a dialog box to turn on Notification Access. Select Yes, tap Tasker to enable it, and select Allow.

Basically this will make all alarms to turn off the Priority mode. If you want to refine the time (e.g. for specific alarm at 6am on weekdays), you can add other contexts (e.g. Time and Date) by following How to create a profile with multiple context in Tasker?


Can't download anything from Google play

This is not simple to solve. The solution that worked for me requires the device to be rooted, "Terminal Emulator" app and a file manager that can access to your whole file system (like "Root Browser"). I also have the "BusyBox" app installed which might be necessary to use the terminal emulator properly.

The first thing I did was to spot all files associated to the app I couldn't install. In my case, I achieved this in the terminal emulator with the commands

su
find / -name "*[some part of the package name]*"

The first command is to gain root privileges in the terminal in order for the find command to be able to search your whole file system. The second gives you a list of files and locations related to the app you want to install. The text in brackets [ ] must be replaced by a part of the name of package which distinguishes from all others. In my case, the package is the FB Messenger. The APK file is called com.facebook.orca-21.0.0.20.13.apk, so I decided to search this way:

find / -name "*orca*"

Then I deleted all the files and directories listed using the root browser (this is a brutal force method, may be it is not needed to delete them all...).

Finally, I rebooted my phone, let it start and installed the Messenger through Google Play Store. It worked :)

I hope this helps.


How does Google Maps estimate my location without GPS?

Google and others like Apple and Skyhook build a Database which links WLAN BSSIDs to a geographic location. A BSSID is like the MAC Address of a access point that gets broadcast by that access point. It is therefore "publicly viewable" if the BSSID broadcast is enabled, which is the default for most access points. The BSSID operates on a lower layer than the IP stack; you don't even have to be connected to an access point to receive these broadcasts.

Every time you run Google Maps or Navigation with GPS and WiFi enabled and if your device is able to get a good GPS fix, the currently visible WLAN networks and your current location (the GPS fix) are uploaded to Google to build and update the database. This technique is sometimes called crowdsourcing. Every Android device acts therefore as data collector.

Since most access points are static in their position and only cover a small area - the coverage radius is approximately 100m - they are ideal anchors for a good location fix without GPS.


You need Odin in order to install CWM without root (or conversely, you need root to install CWM without Odin).  CWM does not root the phone.

You don't need root for ClockworkMod Recovery, though you do need root for the ROM Manager app.

Edit: You can't install unsigned packages with the "3E" recovery, which was part of some official update packages (most Froyo ones and presumably all Gingerbread ones).  This prevents one from flashing a custom ROM, kernel, modem, or recovery through the stock recovery (since they aren't signed by the manufacturer).

The way to get around this is normally to use Odin to flash a custom ROM or kernel with a custom recovery.  I'm not sure if flashing a signed update to an older official ROM, with the older recovery, would work; it might say it's older than your current version and fail, or it might just work.  I've never been able to try it, and I'm familiar with Odin anyways.


Can I run CyanogenMod without mobile service?

Yes, even plain Android will do this.  I've heard of some unlicensed phones that didn't properly finish setup unless you had a SIM card but it shouldn't be an issue with CM.


Could you use Nandroid to do this? I understand that this creates a full image of your phone for restore.


Not familiar with the A6, whatever that may be, but can you not boot into recovery and factory reset it?  Are you trying to get into the gmail account or the device?

EXPERIMENTAL:
I don't know much about Samsung devices, or the A6, but could you load into fastboot, or it's Samsung equivalent, and flash TWRP / CWM, then root the device, do a full system-wide reformat, and install a custom ROM?  Please check before doing this, as I have no idea what I'm talking about in regards to this device.

Cheers,

Neveraht.

P.S. : I want one of those, and they're not supercheap; how much did you get four of them for?


Play Music (KitKat): update library not working

One of the advantages of a physical SD card: unmounting and re-mounting it triggers the media scanner. But that's unlikely to be an option for you. 1

Depending on your Android version, there are different apps available on Google Play to help you out. The "version difference": starting with Kitkat, the old mechanism of triggering the media scanner does no longer work, "normal apps" are denied the permission to call it. But there's at least one new app available where the dev found a "loop-hole" to give back the functionality.

Some examples for pre-Kitkat scanners can be found in the link of "footnote 1", SD Scanner is the one promising to work with Kitkat.

1 see my answer here for a more detailed explanation of the background


No alarm sound after update from CM 11 to CM 13

As it turns out, the update skrewed up the link between alarms and ringtones resp. alarm sound. For me, the alarm app showed 17 instead of a sound name.

You simply have to choose a new sound (or reselect the old one, as it where) and you have audible alarms back.


How can I uninstall an app I downloaded, that won't let me uninstall it?

It's a pre-installed app from HTC you might be updated from play store .
If your phone is rooted then you can uninstall that app


How to use Glase on a rooted Android device?

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


Instagram keeps sending me text messages

Open Instagram... Then go to "Edit Your Profile" and then delete your mobile number from your profile... Hope it helps..


Not at all. It just depends on which files you are working on.

Protected system files will need elevated privileges.

For example a simple installation via ADB does not require root eg

adb install com.package.name

While advanced commands like mounting in system dir needs root privileges.

e.g mount -o bind /mnt/emmc /sdcard/external_sd

Requires su permissions

As for your operation, interfering with system files needs root


Go to settings --> Application manager, now you see which apps which holding more space (which is specified under every application) if it's some google services app which can't be uninstalled click unistall updates and then
Go to play store settings --> Auto-update apps --> Do not auto-update apps to avoid facing these problems in future.

This may help you in losing storage space for nothing. Hope this helps.. :)


Facebook Messenger Chat always shows one chat unread

Inspired by SocMedSean's page of fixes:

Open Facebook in your desktop web browser (not on mobile)
Click on the Messenger (speech bubble) icon
Click on 'Settings' (the cog)
Click on 'Unread Chats' - this will likely reveal some very old chats that you have never marked as 'read'
Click on each old chat to mark them as 'read'
Check back in Messenger to see if there are still unread messages showing


As you no longer have the original device, you've lost one option: Backing up those apps using Titanium Backup ★ root, sending those backups to the new device, and restoring them with the very same Titanium Backup.

If you didn't back up your apps before turning the device in, it's like asking: "I just burned those papers. Can I still get a copy of them?" At least the "regular" ones are gone that way, as apps2sd only moves a part of the app to your card. An essential part (including the app's data) is left in internal memory.

Still having your card, it might look a little different for the Link2SD part: Here you can at least pick the .apk files from your card, as they are still there. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for their data: Link2SD does not move application's private data files; it moves apk, dex (dalvik-cache) and lib files. (from the Link2SD app description on Google Play).

If you additionally used Root # All Data2SD card., it's again a completely different thing. In this case you should be able to re-install the app from the .apk, Link2SD it again, Data2SD it, shutdown the device, put the SDCard to your computer via a card reader, replace the data directories from the copy you've made of the old SDCard, unmount safely, put the card back to your Android device, and start it up.


"Error: Invalid Number." when sending an SMS

I have the Moto X as well, same issue (kept showing 7 digit number instead of 10). Read somewhere to delete the entire conversation (all text messages to/from that contact) and after that when I went to compose a new message, the contact showed up as 10 digits and the text went through.

I hope this works for you!


Cannot charge due to low battery temperature on Lenovo P780

So what you have sounds like one of two things.

One, there is a software issue giving false readings off the temperature sensor. In order to diagnose this I would recommend installing a third party battery monitor which can monitor temperature. If this gives you a normal temperature you know its software and a factory reset should fix your problems. If it still is -20 than it could be hardware or just firmware level software.

Two, the temperature sensor could be broken or malfunctioning giving a false or default reading.

Either way if doesn't cause any problems a factory reset would either fix it or tell you what is wrong.

Let me know how it goes, I may have some other options for you if need be.


Using a android tablet embeded in my car

How about using widgets? Probably cheaper and would let you control all the functionality on the device itself, without any external hacks.

For volume control, you might be able to do with a widget similar to Volume Control Widget and for the power menu try an app like Button Savior or Shutdown Menu 2.1 (Both power menu apps require root access I believe)

EDIT:
Just realized that you might have issues waking up the device once the screen turns off. Found Wave to Unlock after a few minutes of googling. It uses the proximity sensor to unlock the device. This might do the trick.


My Galaxy Nexus detects wifi signal(at home) but can't connect to it

A few things to try:

Ensure that the Wi-Fi network you are connecting to is an infrastructure mode (router) and not ad-hoc (shared connection via another phone or laptop) as Android doesn't support ad-hoc mode out of the box.
Disable the Avoid poor connections option under Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Menu -> Advanced.
On the same screen, switch the W-Fi frequency band from default "Auto" option to the one your router uses (2.4 GHz Vs. 5 GHz).
Check your router settings to ensure it's not filtering by MAC address.  If it is - either disable that option, or add your phone's MAC address to the list of allowed devices.
Check the settings on the Wifi network on the Settings -> Wi-Fi screen.  Long-press on the network you are trying to connect to, select Modify network, and check that the settings for Security are correct.
Try re-connecting fresh.  On the Settings -> Wi-Fi screen long-press the network you are trying to connect to and select Forget network option.  Try re-connecting to it.


Trouble accessing Samsung Knox & resetting the password

Ok, I seem to have resolved this!

I restarted the device while it was on the Knox lock screen, and it booted up normally.

Going back in to Knox asked me to set a password (this may or may not have been because of the steps I followed on the website as described in the question above).

Either way, it appears that either updating Android or getting stuck logging in to Knox through the Google Play Store notification was the cause of the issue.

Restarting the device again and attempting to access Knox now lets me in.

(I'll leave this here in case anyone else comes across the same issue!)


I was not so easy to notice at first that with Samsung phones, you have to note that there is also "GALAXY Apps" store.
It has its own notification settings.


It is possible to install official firmware on the samsung galaxy e5. However samsung hasn't released a marshmallow update for the e5 yet.

In the android ROM community they call official firmware, "stock".
When looking for posts online it is best to search for "flashing stock rom Firmware"

You can use Odin to install the official samsung galaxy e5 firmware. Be aware that there are multiple versions of the samsung galaxy e5 and you need to find the correct firmware for your device. Too view your device model go to -> settings -> About Phone -> device model.

There is however a unofficial cyanogenmod rom available for the samsung galaxy e5(E500H only) that has marshmallow.
Forum post to E500H Cyanogenmod


Will updating to Android 7.0 cause my phone to lose all its application data ? If so, how can I prevent this?

OTA updates don't wipe the device: all apps and data are preserved across the update.

Even so, it's always a good idea to back up your data frequently. As you point out, not all apps support the in-built Google backup mechanism, so it's wise to have a full backup just in case. See our backup tag wiki and top questions to learn about what options are available (whether you've rooted the phone or not).


"Wi-Fi was turned off since internet connection was not available on "

This was a painful one, but I figured it out:

When Android connects to a new network, it tries to auto-detect whether it can actually reach the internet via this network. If not, it will display a browser window and open a random http-address in the hope to bring up the captive portal of the network (i.e. your hotel's wifi login page, etc.).

The detection is done by requesting http://clients3.google.com/generate_204 (or similar) and expecting a certain answer. (I deliberately didn't turn this address into a link, because if you try to open it, nothing happens as it returns HTTP Status 204: No Content, which most browsers ignore).

Now, my confusion came from the fact that I did have an HTTP server running to serve this response and did have a DNS server set up to direct the request to that server. But the server wasn't getting any requests from this particular phone (other Android phones worked).

Turns out this particular phone does two things differently:

It simply disables WiFi rather than bringing up the captive portal page if no network is detected, which made it really hard to even understand what was going on.
It didn't use a DNS lookup for clients3.google.com, but instead used a hard-coded IP for it!

So, I was finally able to solve the problem by setting up an iptables-rule that simply forwarded all HTTP requests to my HTTP server, irrespective of which IP they were targeted at. After that, the phone got its generate_204-reply and everything worked as planned...


There is a port for cURL for Android:

http://thesoftwarerogue.blogspot.com/2010/05/porting-of-libcurl-to-android-os-using.html

But I think that your best bet for this one is the git repo:

https://github.com/jahrome/curl-android

                             _   _ ____  _
                      ___| | | |  _ \| |
                     / __| | | | |_) | |
                    | (__| |_| |  _ <| |___
                     \___|\___/|_| \_\_____|

  README
  Curl is a command line tool for transferring data specified with URL
  syntax. Find out how to use curl by reading the curl.1 man page or the
  MANUAL document. Find out how to install Curl by reading the INSTALL
  document.
  libcurl is the library curl is using to do its job. It is readily
  available to be used by your software. Read the libcurl.3 man page to
  learn how!


Taking pictures using an external (USB) camera on a Samsung Galaxy S2

I found this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=infinitegra.trial.usbcamera
This is an Android application to display and record the video from an USB camera which is connected to a smart phone or a tablet device. For more details please check his website: http://www.infinitegra.co.jp/en/solution/AndroidApp1-spec.htm


Receiving Chinese blocks of texts in the Messaging app

Cause
It's likely caused by either/both character encoding incompatibility and/or wrong character encoding, resulting in mojibake (garbled text):

Character encoding incompatibility
SMS, or text message, in general supports either text-only (e.g. GSM 03.38), or Unicode (e.g. UTF-8, UTF-16, UCS-2). Emoji, a character that resembles an image (not to be confused with emoticon, "a pictorial representation of a facial expression using punctuation marks, numbers and letters"), is supported in Unicode (UTF-16), but not in GSM 03.38.

Wrong character encoding issue
For some reasons, the original character encoding is wrongly interpreted somewhere (e.g. by app, or by text provider), resulting in different character encoding. While in some cases it doesn't affect the text, other cases may result in totally garbled text (refer to Microsoft Windows "Bush hid the facts" bug).

In this case, it's likely that one of the encoding that is used in SMS, GSM. 03.38, which uses 7-bit per character, is interpreted as UTF-16, which uses 16-bit per character due to emoji.
Solution

Recipients
Try changing the messaging app. If it doesn't fix the issue, then it's probably caused by the text provider itself. However, you can still try to recover the text (e.g. using online service such as http://string-functions.com/encodedecode.aspx): set encoding to UTF-16 and decoding to UTF-8.

Senders
Avoid emoji at all, or make the messaging apps send it as text-only (e.g. in Google Messenger, there's Simple characters only in Advanced settings to convert special characters in SMS messages when sending it)

Further reading:

now.sms: Emoticons and Emoji in SMS Text Messsages

SwiftKey Support: Why do emoji on Android take up more than one character?


How to Root Moto G

There are are three simple steps only

UNLOCK BOOTLOADER
FLASH CUSTOM RECOVERY [I USED CWM]
FLASH SUPERSU

DONE

Yeah ...you don't need to downgrade your bootloader which is very risky

Procedure

UNLOCKING BOOTLOADER :- i thinks its already explained well at different sites and motorola's site also [ i used this guide Moto-g-unlock-bootloader-and-root only for unlocking]
FLASHING RECOVERY-

You need 3 things
(a) motorola usb drivers [download from here ]
(b) adb drivers (download from here ]
(c) Custom recovery (download from here ] i used cwm without touch OR USE PHILZ RECOVERY (4.4.4) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Real procedure:-

install motorola usb drivers
extract adb drivers anywhere in your computer
copy recovery.img [i renamed it to only recovery] into adb tools folder
boot your phone into fastboot mode by pressing volume down key and pressing power key simultaneously , and then releasing power key .
connect your moto g to your computer through data cable
go into adb tools folder => while pressing shift key => right click => and click open cmd here !
type [fastboot flash recovery recovery.img] and press enter { IGNORE Mismatched partition size' AFTER FLASHING RECOVERY }

DONE  just press volume down and then volume up to boot into cwm

FLASHING SUPER SU
DOWNLOAD THIS FILE FROM HERE
PUT IT IN INTERNAL MEMORY

PROCEDURE => IN CWM =>INSTALL FROM SD CARD => CHOOSE SUPER SU => RESTART
It will ask 'root is broken' WHEN REBOOTING FROM CWM. CHOOSE YES
DONE !

I recommend these apps you should install first after rooting

Greenify (getting awesome battery backup )
xposed installer
gravitybox
tinted status bar (i love this module..make your android like ios7)
Titanium Backup


How can one reduce Microsoft Outlook's background mobile data usage?

See Microsoft's offical website for the full details: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/outlook-data-hog/a88b5e3f-2982-4558-a190-1afa93044e1f

You can do a number of things to reduce background data usage:

Turn off mobile data when connected to Wifi.
This may sound strange, but apparently Outlook sometimes still uses mobile data, even when connected to a stable Wifi network.
Turning off the "Sync" feature
If there is the feature, set a data limit on Outlook.
This will prevent it from eating up your data when you arn't using it.


Try connecting the device to your computer and cut and pasting all your pictures and vidoes to your computer.


Make home screen icons round again, after Huawei update

I guess the device somehow lost my theme, and this ugly look is the fallback "no theme found" behaviour.

Anyway, I downloaded the "Legend" theme from this website, and used these instructions to apply it.

After I applied that theme (although I think any theme would do), I got a reasonable compromise: smaller icons and rounded-square borders.  This is certainly improvement.

Now I just need to reset the font and wallpaper, which I can do.

Still, if anyone knows how to get the really round icons again, I would like that.


How to stop Recycle Bin from deleting files by default in My Files?

There is a way to remove system apps. Install this app and it will allow you to remove any app you wish, system or not.


An app must have permission to access your contacts in order to modify them. When you install an app, prior to Android 6, you have to agree to the permissions it requests in order to install. Android 6 and later you have to agree to permissions when you run the app. An app doesn't visibly have to do anything with your contacts to modify them; as long as it is running, it can work with whatever it has permission to access.

So, you might check the permissions for various apps you use and see if they have been granted access to contacts. You can do this through Settings > Apps > (each app).

Also, you might consider the browsers you use. If a browser has access to contacts, it might be possible (I don't know for sure) for javascript or some browser extension to write to contacts.

One more thing to be wary of: if you have installed a custom keyboard, it can be a source of compromising your system. For example, an untrustworthy keyboard could capture account names passwords and send them to some hidden third party.


How do I run a web application "offline" on my Android?

Offline data saving is supported on Android, you can see this if you go into your browser, select Settings, Advanced Settings, Website Settings and you can see which websites are using your offline cache, as well as which are using other advanced access like GPS.

To create an icon for a website on your home screen: once you've created a bookmark in your browser for the page, you can go to your home screen, long-press on a bit of spare space, select Shortcuts, Bookmark and pick that one. That should give you an icon straight to that page.


Assistant 1.0 Malicious app cannot uninstall or delete.

Are you rooted? If you are you can remove the app in  multiple ways provided you first have:

ADB (Download standalone version to PC - )
USB Debugging enabled on phone (Settings->Applications->Development and check USB Debugging).
A PC (I will be giving windows instructions but it should carry accross the platforms) and USB cable (apparently type C works best).

Next, connect your phone to your PC and ensure the correct drivers are installed to do so (these can usually be found on your manufacturers webpage).

Launch cmd and navigate to the folder containing adb (using 'cd [filepath]').

Enter the following commands into the command line:

  adb devices

If nothing shows here the drivers arent installed correctly or USB Debugging hasn't been enabled.

  adb shell

The interface my slightly change now, this is just accessing your phones internal commandline.

  cd system/app

Changes directory to system apps.

  ls

Find the app you want to remove on this list.

  rm example.apk

I would now reccomend rebooting when you are sure the app has been removed.

If you are not rooted try use one-click solutions so you do not have to factory reset your device such as kingroot.


Cannot upgrade Samsung gt-i5800 firmware from 2.1

The error you get is via Kies and relates to the PC that is running the Kies - it checks to see if you have 3GB of space on it (do not know why). It does not relate to the space on the phone internal memory.


How can I use my PC's keyboard on the Android emulator?

I had the same issue after upgrading the developer tools (v20.0.0v2012...). All of a sudden none of my android virtual devices would accept any input from my physical PC/Mac keyboard.

This is how I fixed it:

Eclipse > Window menu > AVD Manager
Select  your virtual device and click Edit
Under Hardware, Click New
Select Keyboard Support then click OK
Edit its value to yes
Now you have to click off onto another item in the list, like "Abtract LCD Density" or something. This seems to make the UI keep the "yes" change.

My other AVDs that don't have this "keyboard support" hardware property added do NOT accept my physical keyboard input.


Huawei Ascend Y330 Mass Storage notification bar not showing

Go to main screen
drop down menu from top while plugged into computer
click on device file manager
click device file manager (transfer and manage files with a computer

on computer, click in file manager
you should be able to see your phone
click on dcim
click on camera

This worked for me


Will updating the kernel reset the phone memory?

If you're directly writing the kernel with fastboot then it shouldn't touch the user data.  If you're flashing it through recovery it should also be OK, but it's possible for the update.zip file to perform other actions that could wipe data.


What smartphone and/or app support voice dialing on speakerphone like Moto X 2nd Gen?

Looks like the Moto Z has the Moto Voice feature, and the Nexus 5, Nexus 6 and Nexus 6P can be taken out of sleep mode using Google Now.  Other phones using Google Now cannot be taken out of sleep mode.  You must first touch the screen.  So Google Now is useless as a life line if you cannot physically reach your phone in an emergency and must rely on your voice.

Sleep mode and lock mode are different modes/statuses.  Sleep mode is what happens when your screen goes black while the phone is not being used.  Lock mode is when the phone is ready for authentication (keypad, face, voice, code, etc..), but have taken the phone out of sleep mode by pressing a button.  Some forums say you must first unlock the phone.  This is untrue.  I was able to get Google Now to work with the Samsung Galaxy S7 when the phone was NOT sleeping, but was still locked.  But since Google owns the rights to the Nexus brand, they obviously allow their Google Now to work ALL THE TIME, including when in sleep mode.  That's how they keep the edge.  And that's why I'm buying a Nexus 6P now.

Google Pixel phone (new Google phone) might do the same thing, but I haven't looked into it yet.  That phone is a bit more expensive.

It's possible that Google signed some contract with Motorola that allows them to share the patent.  Or maybe Google pays them to use it with their phones.  Because Motorola makes the Nexus 6.


Video file is not readable when trying to upload

Convert the files to a recognized format like MP4 or 3gp