I've been living with this for a while now. Somehow restarting the device twice in a row seemed to fix the issue for some days.

But now I've finally come around to connect the device to Android Studio and in the logcat I've found some interesting stuff. I'm still not sure why this happens but the workaround is to disable Location. Enabling it again leads to an instant 2 second ping and then again periodically every 20 seconds.

The wifi service polls the location every 20 seconds and for that it seems to use a lock. It takes it over 2 seconds to release it again. Here is the log of this occurrence if anybody whose also affected wants to investigate further:

11-26 20:03:00.743 1045-1328/? V/AlarmManager: ELAPSED_WAKEUP set : Alarm{3182c1c9 type 2 when 108939554 com.google.android.gms} when 108939554
11-26 20:03:00.752 1045-2096/? D/WifiService: acquireWifiLockLocked: WifiLock{NlpWifiLock type=2 binder=android.os.BinderProxy@45a441e}
11-26 20:03:00.754 1045-1692/? D/WifiService: startScan pid=2911, uid=10005, packageName=com.google.uid.shared:10005
11-26 20:03:00.758 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  ConnectedState !CMD_START_SCAN 10005 1580 ic=1 proc(ms):2 dur:2185 rssi=-54 f=2437 sc=60 link=54 tx=4.1, 0.0, 0.0  rx=4.4 fiv=20000 [on:0 tx:0 rx:0 period:808] from screen [on:0 period:-1576736363]
11-26 20:03:00.759 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  L2ConnectedState !CMD_START_SCAN 10005 1580 ic=1 proc(ms):4 dur:2185 rssi=-54 f=2437 sc=60 link=54 tx=4.1, 0.0, 0.0  rx=4.4 fiv=20000 [on:0 tx:0 rx:0 period:2] from screen [on:0 period:-1576736361]
11-26 20:03:00.761 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine: WifiStateMachine CMD_START_SCAN source 10005 txSuccessRate=4.08 rxSuccessRate=4.42 targetRoamBSSID=any RSSI=-54
11-26 20:03:00.761 1045-1346/? D/WifiNative-wlan0: doBoolean: SCAN TYPE=ONLY
11-26 20:03:00.762 1413-1413/? I/wpa_supplicant: wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED
11-26 20:03:00.762 1045-1505/? D/WifiMonitor: Event [IFNAME=wlan0 CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED ]
11-26 20:03:00.762 1045-1505/? E/WifiMonitor: WifiMonitor:wlan0 cnt=3840 dispatchEvent: CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED
11-26 20:03:00.762 1045-1505/? E/WifiMonitor: handleEvent 14  CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED
11-26 20:03:00.763 1045-1505/? E/WifiMonitor: handleEvent unknown: 14  CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-STARTED
11-26 20:03:00.763 1045-1346/? D/WifiNative-wlan0: SCAN TYPE=ONLY: returned true
11-26 20:03:00.772 1918-1918/? D/PhoneInterfaceManager: [PhoneIntfMgr] handleMessage : 2
11-26 20:03:00.779 1918-1918/? D/PhoneInterfaceManager: [PhoneIntfMgr] handleMessage : 3
11-26 20:03:00.839 1045-1692/? W/ActivityManager: getRecentTasks: caller 10003 is using old GET_TASKS but privileged; allowing
11-26 20:03:01.480 1415-1415/? I/[SystemUI]StatusBar.NetworkController: onSignalStrengthsChanged signalStrength=SignalStrength: 14 0 -120 -227401 -85 -1 -1 99 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 gsm|lte 2 level=5
11-26 20:03:01.481 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: updateDataType sub=0, type=2, inetCondition=1 showAtLeast3G=false show4GforLte=true hspaDistinguishable=false
11-26 20:03:01.481 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: data type item name: array/telephony_data_type_sim1
11-26 20:03:01.481 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: data type item id: 2131623942
11-26 20:03:01.485 1918-1918/? D/PhoneInterfaceManager: [PhoneIntfMgr] mSigLevel = 5
11-26 20:03:01.485 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: updateDataType mSelectedDataTypeIcon[0]=2130839171, mSelectedDataActivityIndex=2
11-26 20:03:01.493 1415-1415/? D/StatusBar.NetworkController: refreshViews: Data not connected!! Set no data type icon / Roaming
11-26 20:03:01.952 1415-1415/? I/[SystemUI]StatusBar.NetworkController: onSignalStrengthsChanged signalStrength=SignalStrength: 14 0 -120 -227401 -85 -1 -1 99 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 2147483647 gsm|lte 2 level=5
11-26 20:03:01.952 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: updateDataType sub=0, type=2, inetCondition=1 showAtLeast3G=false show4GforLte=true hspaDistinguishable=false
11-26 20:03:01.952 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: data type item name: array/telephony_data_type_sim1
11-26 20:03:01.953 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: data type item id: 2131623942
11-26 20:03:01.957 1415-1415/? D/TelephonyIcons: updateDataType mSelectedDataTypeIcon[0]=2130839171, mSelectedDataActivityIndex=2
11-26 20:03:01.958 1918-1918/? D/PhoneInterfaceManager: [PhoneIntfMgr] mSigLevel = 5
11-26 20:03:01.966 1415-1415/? D/StatusBar.NetworkController: refreshViews: Data not connected!! Set no data type icon / Roaming
11-26 20:03:02.203 1415-1415/? D/StatusBar.NetworkController: refreshViews: Data not connected!! Set no data type icon / Roaming
11-26 20:03:02.224 338-428/? E/ThermalEngine: [GPU_MON] 0 percent. Current Sampling Time is 1 sec
11-26 20:03:02.839 1045-1389/? W/ActivityManager: getRecentTasks: caller 10003 is using old GET_TASKS but privileged; allowing
11-26 20:03:02.954 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  ConnectedState !CMD_RSSI_POLL 125 0 "Private WLAN" 00:25:9c:cf:5f:e6 rssi=-54 f=2437 sc=60 link=54 tx=4.1, 0.0, 0.0  rx=4.4 bcn=0 [on:0 tx:0 rx:0 period:2189] from screen [on:0 period:-1576734167] gl rssi=-54 ag=0 hr ls-=0 [56,56,56,56,61] brc=0 lrc=0
11-26 20:03:02.958 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  L2ConnectedState !CMD_RSSI_POLL 125 0 "Private WLAN" 00:25:9c:cf:5f:e6 rssi=-54 f=2437 sc=60 link=54 tx=4.1, 0.0, 0.0  rx=4.4 bcn=0 [on:0 tx:0 rx:0 period:4] from screen [on:0 period:-1576734163] gl rssi=-54 ag=0 hr ls-=0 [56,56,56,56,61] brc=0 lrc=0
11-26 20:03:02.958 1045-1346/? D/WifiNative-wlan0: doString: [SIGNAL_POLL]
11-26 20:03:03.037 1045-1505/? E/WifiMonitor: WifiMonitor:wlan0 cnt=3841 dispatchEvent: CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS
11-26 20:03:03.037 1045-1505/? E/WifiMonitor: handleEvent 4  CTRL-EVENT-SCAN-RESULTS
11-26 20:03:03.044 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  ConnectedState !SCAN_RESULTS_EVENT 0 0 found=5 known=0 got=5 bcn=0
11-26 20:03:03.045 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  L2ConnectedState !SCAN_RESULTS_EVENT 0 0 found=5 known=0 got=5 bcn=0
11-26 20:03:03.047 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  ConnectModeState !SCAN_RESULTS_EVENT 0 0 found=5 known=0 got=5 bcn=0
11-26 20:03:03.048 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  DriverStartedState !SCAN_RESULTS_EVENT 0 0 found=5 known=0 got=5 bcn=0
11-26 20:03:03.050 1045-1346/? E/WifiStateMachine:  SupplicantStartedState !SCAN_RESULTS_EVENT 0 0 found=5 known=0 got=5 bcn=0
11-26 20:03:03.050 1045-1346/? D/WifiNative-wlan0: doString: [BSS RANGE=0- MASK=0x21987]
11-26 20:03:03.065 26890-26890/? V/WiFiOffLoadBroadcast: WiFiOffLoadBroadcast: android.net.wifi.SCAN_RESULTS
11-26 20:03:03.084 1045-1132/? D/LocationManagerService: incoming location: Location[network [removed],[removed] acc=20 et=+1d6h15m41s881ms {Bundle[mParcelledData.dataSize=596]}]
11-26 20:03:03.102 1045-1045/? V/UlpEngine: handleNetworkLocationUpdate. lat[removed]lon[removed]accurancy 19.732
11-26 20:03:03.102 1045-1045/? D/Ulp_jni: send_network_location.
11-26 20:03:03.105 1045-2262/? E/LocSvc_libulp: E/int ulp_brain_transition_all_providers(), no QUIPC/GNSS transition logic run due to both engines are OFF
11-26 20:03:03.107 1045-1132/? D/LocationManagerService: incoming location: Location[network [removed],[removed] acc=20 et=+1d6h15m41s881ms {Bundle[{networkLocationType=wifi, travelState=stationary, noGPSLocation=Location[network 46.599326,14.313926 acc=20 et=+1d6h15m41s881ms {Bundle[mParcelledData.dataSize=240]}], nlpVersion=2023}]}]
11-26 20:03:03.109 26890-26890/? D/WiFiOffLoadBroadcast: Not supported operator for automatic switch
11-26 20:03:03.118 2911-25111/? W/ctxmgr: [ContextSpecificAclFactory]LocationConsent failed, ULR opt-in status is: false, account#-2116008859#
11-26 20:03:03.118 2911-25111/? W/ctxmgr: [AclManager]No 2 for (accnt=account#-2116008859#, com.google.android.gms(10005):UserLocationProducer, vrsn=10084000, 0, 3pPkg = null ,  3pMdlId = null). Was: 2 for 1, account#-2116008859#
11-26 20:03:03.144 2911-25111/? W/ctxmgr: [ContextSpecificAclFactory]LocationConsent failed, ULR opt-in status is: false, account#1995265525#
11-26 20:03:03.144 2911-25111/? W/ctxmgr: [AclManager]No 2 for (accnt=account#1995265525#, com.google.android.gms(10005):UserLocationProducer, vrsn=10084000, 0, 3pPkg = null ,  3pMdlId = null). Was: 2 for 1, account#1995265525#
11-26 20:03:03.167 1045-2006/? D/WifiService: releaseWifiLockLocked: WifiLock{NlpWifiLock type=2 binder=android.os.BinderProxy@45a441e}


Stock Samsung software always mounts the SD card after the system is up, at least on my Vibrant, so I would expect there's not too much you can do about that without hacking the startup scripts (presumably difficult).

As for the second problem, the Market description says: "It can break some apps if they are not meant to be moved to the SD card (Such as Widgets)."  Try moving any widgets back to your phone storage.


Every time skype initiates a video call, it changes the default audio output.  This will turn off blutooth if you have turned it on.  You need to go back into settings and reenable your audio output every time you start a video chat in skype.


How to debug "wlan_wake kernel wakelock" on an unrooted device?

This is mostly caused by "scanning always available" under Advanced Wifi Options.
Disable it and you shall see this reduced significantly.


Reviving my Bricked Tablet via adb and Samsung's Download Mode

Assuming you have the wifi-variant of the tablet.

Download the stock firmware from here. This file can be flashed via Odin when you're in Download-Mode. From there on you can restart your process of flashing TWRP and then the new ROM.


How do I exclude a subfolder in DCIM from Google Photos backup?

I managed this by creating a .nomedia file in the subfolder. In your case I think this should be

  - DCIM
    - XPERIA
      - .nomedia

I used ES File Explorer File Manager to create the file but I think you can use the native file explorer if you copy an existing text file and rename it.

The .nomedia tells the android media scanner to ignore the folder which stops Google Photo from showing or uploading any files.

A side-effect of this is that most apps will no longer be able to view files in the subfolder.

If you still wanted easy access to the time shift photos you could either install a gallery app that ignores the .nomedia file or set up a Tasker profile to watch the subfolder and move new files outside of the DCIM folder (e.g. Pictures folder?).


Call settings will pop-up when I open a pdf

Easier solution:

Hi, the easiest solution is to uninstall and re-install the PDF viewer app from that tablet. Android starts prompting how to open that file as soon as it notices that there are new apps which can handle that file type.

Since you mentioned Adobe Reader, please uninstall it and then install it again from the Play Store. The prompt to select which app to open the PDF with will return. There you can set Adobe as the default to avoid problems in the future.

Appropriate solution:

I am keeping this as a second choice because the Android version is unknown and different OEMs can have a slightly different settings page and slightly different names for each setting item. Still, here we go:

Open Settings app.
Open Apps and Notifications (Or Apps, or something similar which conveys the same meaning).
Tap on All Apps (Can also be See all apps or not exist at all, just choose the option which takes you to the full list of apps)
Scroll down and locate the Settings app. Tap on it.
Scroll and select Advanced > Open by Default.
Finally tap on the Clear all defaults button.

This will remove the default handler for PDF files and Android should once again start offering the choice.


Music files become unplayable after transferring to SD card

Sounds like your card may be defective. I had a similar problem a few weeks ago. Try testing it with h2test2 ( http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/H2testw.shtml). Note that you will have to format the card first (quick format is fine), and it may take an hour or two.


Cell Broadcast Function Disappeared on Samsung Galaxy S4 Android 5.1

Lollipop 5.1. There's an app called "Emergency Alerts"
Launch it.
Click upper right pop up menu and select "settings" to customize.


In 2012 it was reported Twitter did upload the address book to their servers. Something changed after that.
In case you're wondering if it has in the past you can visit https://twitter.com/settings/contacts_dashboard

If you are using Android 6.0 or higher you can disable the contact permissions as a extra precaution.

The Twitter app doesn't use your contacts unless you explicitly enable this in the settings of the app. Only way to identifies you with others that have is through your email (and mobile number)


Is Adobe Flash available for ARMv6 devices?

The official flash player for android only supports ARMv7 processor architecture.
The way that some ARMv6 devices have flash is that some is that a few cheap tablets (usually from China) have a non-official version.

You can download one here. But beware it may or may not work!


How to turn off USB sharing on Android (Archos 70) - Installing Android Market

You shouldn't need to do this for the Archos 70.  Do you have the Archos 70 Internet Tablet or the Archos 7 Home Tablet?  The link you have is for the Archos 7 Home Tablet, which is an older model.  If you in fact have a Generation 8, Archos 70, here's the link you want: http://forum.archosfans.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&t=42067  All you have to do is open the apk file on your tablet.


How do I open about:config in Firefox on Android?

about:config is disabled in builds other than Nightly
From this answer:

You can access about:config in the Nightly build of Firefox for Android, available from the Google Play store .


Different user interface than usual on Facebook app

I would say you are very lucky to have that UI (user interface). I've been waiting to get that version, to no avail.

What you have is the Holo-fied UI of Facebook, which I think was initially available to selected alpha testers of the Facebook app. A group would get the Holo version, while the rest would get the regular version. This concept is called A/B testing. Eventually, if there are no more issues, everybody will that that UI. Have you, by any chance, applied as an alpha / beta tester?

Holo, as described in WikiPedia, is the Google recommended theme for the design of Android apps, introduced with Android version 4.0.

Is there a way to change the interface? NO, because the UI is determined by Facebook's servers. If you attempted to download and install (by sideloading) a Holo-fied version of Facebook, and you were not given the rights to have this UI, you would be reverted to the regular UI. This is the reason why Holofication Nation cannot make a custom Holo-fied version of Facebook. To date, they have already released a Holo-fied UI for Grooveshark, Steam, and Instagram. (and I think for CNN too!)


On Android, to paste text, all you have to do, is long press anywhere after the last words that are displayed at the moment. This will bring up a few options, and one of them will be paste press on that, and the text will appear where you want it to.

In the screenshot below, if you want to paste something after the word here all you have to do, is long press where the red circle is (or anywhere along the line). This can get tricky in a situation where you want to paste between words.


Is there any way to Move applications in phone memory to SD Card?

If you have your phone rooted and secondary partition, you can use Link2SD.It's good alternative to use.


How can I make the GMail app open to the accounts page when using multiple accounts

Could not find a way to do this every time the app starts. I did discover that if multiple accounts have new messages at the same time, the app starts on the "Accounts" page.

It seems when you start the app it opens the account with new messages automatically, and only opens the "Accounts" list if multiple accounts contain new messages.


Phone number detected by a web page when browsing from chrome for android

It sounds like your customer care centre is telling you a story to get you off the phone. Some mobile phone providers have been caught out in the past passing your phone number in the HTTP request headers when you use their 3G connection from the phone. As you say, it's a huge security problem if they do that, and there's not a lot you can do about it (except change provider and tell them that's why).

You can check if this is happening to you by visiting a website that shows you your HTTP request headers. A quick Google search will find you at least a dozen to choose from. Make sure you use your 3G connection while doing this, because you're trying to see if your 3G provider is adding this data to your request.

It may be that the customer care person was claiming that the website is one you've deliberately told your phone number to, e.g. when shopping online. If they didn't tell you who originated the charge/junk SMS you have no way to verify this claim. Otherwise, most likely they are simply saying the most convenient thing. The entire mechanism of services which bill through your phone provider (via premium SMS, or the like) is horrendously insecure, but the carriers aren't interested in improving it. Any premium SMS company can just say any phone number they like to charge that number, and fraud is mainly detected by auditing afterwards (and when the carrier finds out via complaints like yours).


How to mount a remote FTP share as local folder/directory?

This won't directly mount it as a drive but ASTRO File Manager can emulate that experience. It will give you the same experience it does for local filesystems but with a FTP file system.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.metago.astro for the download.


Samsung Galaxy S3 black screen and automatic reboots

I gave up and did a factory reset. Since then, the phone has been working for 5 days in a row... so it seems like at least the reboots are gone (I hope not to jinx it...).

I've also noticed that since the reset, the battery lasts at least twice longer than before. I've fewer installed apps, which should lead to a slight battery life improvement, but this isn't slight, it's the double. Before the reset, at night (no data connections, no WiFi), the phone consumed about 1% of its battery per hour. Now it's consuming less than 1% in the whole night. Obviously there was something wrong before the factory reset. I hope everything is fine now...

In case it's helpful for anybody else, this what the Samsung Customer Service told me to do:

  Start the phone in Secure Mode for a couple of days. That means that only preinstalled apps will work. So if that solves the problems, there is an app causing them. To enable Secure Mode, you have to reboot the phone, and press the options button (the left one) when the Samsung logo appears; it should vibrate, and then you will see "Secure Mode" at the left bottom corner. To disable Secure Mode, turn off the phone and extract the battery for a few seconds.
  --- For Verizon GSIII phones: after you reboot the phone, press and hold the volume down button  when the Samsung logo appears. Directions also state that you may need to hold the button for up to 45 seconds before you will see "Safe Mode" in lower left-hand corner. http://support.verizonwireless.com/support/devices/knowledge_base.html/59242/
  Perform a factory reset (if the phone still has problems running in Secure Mode). To perform it, go to Menu > Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset. It will revert the phone to its original factory status, therefore, you will lose all the data and applications stored in your phone's memory (it will not affect the SIM card, nor the microSD if you have one). Be sure to backup everything you don't want to lose! You can use Samsung KIES for that backup.
  If the phone still has problems after the factory reset, it should be checked by Samsung Technical Service.


Having USB debugging (adb) enabled on a device is not a security problem anymore since Google introduced the adb authentication using public keys with Android 4.2 (or was it 4.4?).
Since that time adb does not work when you connect it to a PC it has never been connected before.
The device does not allow adb access unless the user has authorized the PC as allowed using the dialog that appears on the phone when connected via adb. This dialog can only be seen and answered when the device is unlocked.
Thus a lost or stolen device that is locked can not be accessed via adb.


How can I permanently disable (not uninstall) a stock app?

There is no way to disable an app for some users of a device but not others; it's possible to freeze an app using a third party program (ie, disable it by changing it's permissions so it can't run) but that will disable it for all users.  Android apps and services don't distinguish between physical users of a device - they all run using a single logical device user account.

That being said, depending on what exactly you're looking for it may be sufficient to disable data synchronization for a specific Google account in the settings.  In Android 4.4.0, this would be under Settings->General->Accounts->Google->[account name], which will bring up a checklist of services for which data syncing can be disabled.


How to change device name used by Google Chrome?

As of 2019, the Android devices cannot be renamed; both from themselves and from other devices.

The name listed on "Other devices" currently depends on the operating system:

Windows, macOS, and Linux use their hostname
Android possibly uses its marketing name from Google Play's supported devices
Chrome OS use their product name (e.g. Chromebook, Chromebit)

However, renaming the device directly from the Chrome browser has not been implemented.

This was reported as Issue #124964 in Chromium Bugs Tracker since Apr 24, 2012, requesting a feature to allow devices in "Other devices" menu to be renamed. The report was branched into 2 separate issues:

Issue #455925 for mobile UI
Issue #664647 for desktop UI


I'm not surprised you're confused: the term is indeed used for two different things, as you've found.

For developers, a widget means a View: a single GUI control inside an activity, which can show information or be manipulated by the user. Examples include Button, TextView, and SeekBar.

The app component that lives on the home screen (or lock screen) is properly called an appwidget. Stock Android ships with appwidgets for the calendar and email apps, amongst others.

However, terms are used differently in user-facing documentation and labels. Views don't need to be described to the user, so the term widget is used for appwidgets, presumably because it's shorter. But because it's in the user-facing documentation, and app authors have to label their appwidgets as widgets, they tend to use the term widget for both, when it's possible to tell from context which is meant.

It's common for the same thing to be described differently to users and developers; the only confusion in this case is that the users' word for one thing is the same as the developers' word for something different. It's almost always clear which one is meant, because the two components are used in different circumstances: if you need to be unambiguous, you can say "View" or "appwidget".


it turned out it was a cable issue. still amazing - all other usb2 devices worked correctly, but the nexus 7. 4th cable to the rescue.


What exactly happens to a multi-core CPU when a device goes into deep sleep?

For a layman's answer, while in sleep or deep sleep mode, the MC is instructed to turn off all non essential subsystem like the sensors in your device and run only the critical subroutines in a single core at the lowest frequency possible.

If you want the technical answer go here


Wikipedia says it was discontinued July 17 2017.
Remix OS Wiki


How do you turn off the message indicator in Hangouts?

From google's site:

"Hangouts:

When chatting with someone who is using Hangouts, please keep in mind that you can't appear invisible on Hangouts.

When you set your Google Chat status to invisible, Hangouts users will see your profile picture without a green dot in their contact list, meaning that you may be idle or unavailable on your computer.

If you are signed in to Hangouts, you won’t be able to set your status to invisible."


Google just EOLed the original Pixel. How long until it's a brick?

Theoretically, the OG Pixel will work indefinitely until there's an irreparable software/hardware issue. Realistically? Depends on how the user takes care of it ;)

"End of Life (EOL)" doesn't mean that the device will end its life. It is just that the manufacturer (in this case, Google) will stop its support; no more security & OS updates, and the like.

If the user is adventurous enough, they can unlock the bootloader (warning: will delete all the storage) and flash custom ROM which at least extends the life a little further. (In addition, seems it's also compatible with Project Fi).

Anecdotal evidence: I'm using Nexus 5 which was released in 2013 (Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich) and EOL in 2016 (Android 6.0 Marshmallow). I flashed Lineage OS after that until it's not maintained (Android 7.1.1 Nougat). As of 2019, the phone is still usable in daily life.


Galaxy S7 Edge - Change USB Mode in Phone that Will Not Boot

Did you try ADB pull? If you know the folder your files are in, you can try to pull them out. (/sdcard is the name of Internal Storage folder) If it works you should see the file you pulled in the ADB directory.

adb pull /sdcard/your-files

Also, this can be an issue related to the Setup Wizard app. If that is the case, the following ADB command should work.

adb shell pm hide com.google.android.setupwizard

If it works you may spot some errors and missing features, but MTP should work. You might have to factory reset or reflash (not sure if that is possible on Verizon devices) to fix the errors.

You can try contacting Samsung and Verizon customer support, and if you prove the device ownership to them (the bill or invoice should do) they might use their debug protocols to recover your files, but I'm not sure about this as I never tried it.

If these doesn't work, I don't see any other methods unfortunately. (@esQmo_ It is currently not possible to flash TWRP in a Verizon S7 Edge because there is no known method to unlock the bootloader)

To answer your ultimate questions:

1:
There is a way to switch USB mode from ADB, but it requires root. Also, I'm surprised that your device shows up in ADB. It shouldn't if the device is in charge only mode. My guess is that your device is in MTP mode, but it doesn't show the files because of a screen lock or something, and your OS interprets it as a CD ROM Drive.

2:
Not at all. The only way you may have a shot at recovering this is ADB. You can't do anything in Download or Recovery modes (I think you referred to Recovery as Debug?) because it will compromise data security.

3:
The options I mentioned above are the only ones I could think of.

Also, I suggest waiting for any other answers before resetting or reflashing, as they might have methods I missed. Good luck!


Install Magisk on Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935FD) UAE ROM

Yep.
I finally solved my issue late last night. In recovery, using TWRP, after trying to install Magisk, I'd get a response that was something like "unable to mount /data partition"..and I believe that was what was causing the issue. I found this html site at XDA developers

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/how-to-fix-unable-to-mount-data-t3830897

which steps you through the process of repairing the data file systems (both ext2 and ext4), and that worked. Magisk installed correctly and is now working with my banking details, as well as Samsung Health (which involved changing a digit in the System/build prop file (tima from 1 to 0).

Now if someone could show me what to do when the next samsung update comes along, I'd be grateful. Don't want to lose it all (Magisk install) after the next update...


Add New Ringtones, Notifications and Alarm tones on Nexus One

There are special directories you can use to store your custom "noises". The "starting point" (root-of-noises-dir) may be different between devices (so this is rather a generic answer, as I do not own all of them) -- pick one and check if it works, if not, pick the next:

/sdcard/media/audio
/sdcard/media
/sdcard

In there, put the directories for the specific events:

┌───────────────┬───────────────────────┐
| directory     | description           |
├───────────────┼───────────────────────┤
| alarms        | for your alarm clock  |
| notifications | for... notifications? |
| ringtones     | for incoming calls    |
| ui            | keyboard click etc.   |
└───────────────┴───────────────────────┘

Then place your sound files into the appropriate directories. Done. Now you should be able to pick them in your configuration(s).


How to stop getting sound of another phone call

You can disable "knocking" at all – so that the second caller gets a "busy" signal, and you a "missed call" notification. If that's what you want, depending on your device the setting might be in the phone app:

open the phone app
tap the overflow icon (the 3 stapled dots in the upper right corner)
select Settings
chose Advanced Settings

There you should find the option. If it's not there, an USSD code can toggle that:

open the phone app
pretend you want to make a call to the number #43# (enter that code and tap the call button)

Now it should be turned off. If you want to turn it on again, use *43#, to check the status *#43#.


Market App crashes on Samsung Galaxy Ace

go into Settings>Applications select ALL applications. Scroll the the very bottom of the list as you should see an app named "Downloads" select it, and then change it from "Disabled" to "Enabled".


Downloading... don't turn off target (S7 Edge)

That's Odin mode, designed for flashing firmwares from PC via Odin or Heimdall. As long as you didn't flash anything during the period, you're fine.


When will my phone get the Android 2.3 update (Gingerbread)?

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

Keep phones in alphabetical order listing the manufacturer and model
Specify if the date is confirmed or rumored and link to the source
If there is an unofficial release, link to the site where it can be downloaded
If a new update comes out (e.g. 2.3.5 over 2.3.4), link to the new and don't keep the old information

Note that devices that do not meet Google's Compatibility Definition will not receive a Google-sanctioned update.  In the case of the major manufacturers and many others, that means they won't release an update at all since Google's certification is important to their business.
Phones
Commtiva z71

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Geeksphone One

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Geeksphone Zero

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Google Nexus One

Official: 23rd February 2011. (According to a tweet)

Unofficial:

Without Market support: 17th December 2010.  (Via Chris Soyars)
2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Aria

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Desire

Official, manual update: 1st August 2011.  (HTC UK Announcement on Facebook and HTC Dev download center)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Desire HD

OTA: 4th May 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Desire Z / G2

Official: 29th July 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Droid Incredible

OTA: November 14, 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Droid Incredible 2

Official: 12th July 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Droid Incredible S

Official:

OTA: 4th May 2011.  (Confirmed)
Canada: 29th July, 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC EVO 4G

Official: 6th June 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC EVO Shift 4G

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Hero

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Inspire 4G

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Legend

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC myTouch 3G Slide

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC myTouch 4G

Official: 5th August 2011. (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Tattoo / Click

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

HTC Thunderbolt

Official: September 2011.  (Confirmed)

HTC Wildfire / Buzz

Official: Never. (Official mail from HTC support; cause: doesn't meet the minimum requirements, e.g., 1 GHz processor)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Huawei U8220

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

LG Optimus 2X / G2X:

Official: 29th July 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

LG Optimus 3D

Official: 22 November 2011 (confirmed)

LG Optimus One P500

Europe Official: 6th July 2011. (Confirmed)

LG Revolution

Official: 28 October 2011 (confirmed)

Motorola Atrix 4G MB860

Official: 29th July 2011.  (Confirmed)

Motorola Backflip / Motus MB300

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Cliq MB200

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Cliq XT MB501

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Defy MB525

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Droid A855

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Droid 2 A955

OTA: 24 October 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Droid X MB810

Official: 24 October 2011.  (Confirmed)

Unofficial:

12th December 2010. (Information)
Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Motorola Milestone X

Official: 26 October 2011 (confirmed)

Samsung Droid Charge

Official: December 2011  (confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy Ace / Gio / Fit / Mini

Official: 4th August 2011.  (Confirmed)

Samsung Galaxy S
1. Canada Bell Vibrant GT-i9000M

Official 2.3.3: 15th September 2011.  (Instructions)

2. Canada Telus Fascinate 3G+ SGH-T959D

Official 2.3.3: 15th September 2011.  (Instructions)

3. International GT-i9000

Official:

OTA: 16th April 2011.  (Rollout started and then pulled in Europe) (Leaked download)
Kies: Summer 2011.  (Instructions) (List of upgrades for each operator available via Kies)
2.3.4 XXJVR via Odin: 27th July 2011. (XDA update guide)

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

4. US AT&T Captivate SGH-i897

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

5. US Sprint Epic 4G

Official: 9 November 2011 (confirmed)

6. US T-Mobile Vibrant SGH-T959

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

7. US Verizon Fascinate / US Cellular Mezmerize / C Spire Wireless Showcase SCH-i500

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Samsung Infuse 4G

OTA: Leaked 2.3.5.  (Information)

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc

Official (2.3.4): 18 October 2011 (Confirmed)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

Official: 3Q 2011.  (Confirmed)

ZTE Blade / Orange San Francisco / Dell XCD35

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

ZTE V9

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Tablets
Barnes & Noble Nook Color

Unofficial 2.3.7: 11th October 2011.  (CyanogenMod 7.1)

Samsung Galaxy Tab

Official:

Sprint: 5th July 2011.  (Confirmed)
UK: 29th July 2011.  (Confirmed)
Verizon: 31 October 2011 (confirmed)

This is not specific to Gingerbread, but this forum posts lists the rough dates for all Android versions for all Motorola models: https://supportforums.motorola.com/community/manager/softwareupgrades


How can I create a rule in Microsoft Outlook for Android?

Creating and managing rules from the mobile apps is not currently supported. You can vote for this request on Outlook's UserVoice if you'd like to show your support for it.


When you're done transferring these files, it is more important that you eject the device from the computer than it is for you to unmount the SD from the statusbar.

Once your computer says the device is ejected, the problem should be resolved after you unplug the phone--

If not-- you can transfer files via adb without 'mounting' the sdcard.
In this case, you would not disable the debugging option (Which you don't really need to do in the first place, btw).

=D


How to allow a call recorder app access to call logs?

You can't unless your device is rooted or if you are running Android 8 or earlier

Details

Call logs

Thanks to Irfan who commented

  On Android 9+ an app can read call logs only if it holds READ_CALL_LOG permission, which is intended to be granted only to the apps registered as default phone app (on Android 10+ it also requires whitelisting restricted permissions during app installation). Additionally apps published on Play Store cannot hold READ_CALL_LOG permission if they aren't capable of being used as default phone app which includes call recording apps.

  For the same reason some call recording and other apps which need to access call logs or ongoing call's phone number publish two different versions of their apps; one on Play Store (without READ_CALL_LOG permission) and the other with the said permission.

Call recording

Android has blocked call recording from Android 9 onwards (country specfic)
. This has been resisted by several users as you can see in the issue tracker.
Only silver lining is that at some point of time it may be restored in future versions as mentioned in the issue tracker

  Our development team has been adding call recording APIs on their road map.  Its something that we would like to address in a future version of Android.  However due to the security and privacy implications of such APIs it is not something we can deliver for the Q release.

Without root, you cannot overcome these limitations - poor quality of recording, one sided recording, caller identity not being tagged (as in the related question which you linked). You can see these complaints in the latest reviews of the app you linked.
Side loading an older APK isn't going to help if you are on Android 9 or above, since OS itself is blocking it. Some call recorders like Boldbeast have made Magisk modules to overcome these limitations. On OnePlus devices, you can similarly record using a Magisk module.
If you don't want to root your phone, star the issue tracker and hope that call recording and maybe access to call logs is restored in future versions


Log with timing of system events (e,g, Flight Mode on/off)

You can use adb for this. Run this command:

adb shell dumpsys activity broadcasts

The output would be overwhelming, but you need to look for the string android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE there. You can use grep or save the output into a file and then do the search.

Look for that string under Historical Broadcast Background. You would find the timestamp you're looking for. It could look like this:

Historical Broadcast background #345:
    BroadcastRecord{48eb128 u-1 android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE} to user -1
    Intent { act=android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE flg=0x10 (has extras) }
      extras: Bundle[{state=true}]
    caller=android 1298:system/1000 pid=1298 uid=1000
    enqueueClockTime=2019-01-10 00:00:01 dispatchClockTime=2019-01-10 00:00:01

You can also look under Historical Broadcasts summary (background).

#15: act=android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE flg=0x10 (has extras)
    0 dispatch +1ms finish
    enq=2019-01-10 00:19:14 disp=2019-01-10 00:19:14 fin=2019-01-10 00:19:14
    extras: Bundle[{state=false}]

state=true means Airplane mode was activated. state=false means it was deactivated.

All of this may seem like a trouble, so I suggest you use an automation app to listen to the intent for Airplane mode and take an action for you for convenience.

Both Tasker and MacroDroid should be able to help with this. In MacroDroid,

Trigger: Intent Received First:

Action: android.intent.action.AIRPLANE_MODE

Intent Extra:

Extra name: state
Extra value to match: true

Actions: do what you want with that

Constraints: none

Save this. Now clone this, configure the trigger and change the value for state to false. So you would have triggers for both states of Airplane mode.


How to make a reminder on the lock screen

Since you have Jelly Bean; how about a lock-screen widget? They're very useful and there are tons of them.

Note by default Lock Screen Widgets are disabled, go to the Settings app on your device, select Security and look for the "Enable Widgets" option

You could use Google Keep  as an example:

(source: ampercent.com)

I use  Dash Clock widget on my lock screen and homescreen! It's a wonderful, simple widget. The advantage is you can add loads of extensions, for example:  Dash Clock NOTES  which sounds exactly right for what you need!

Here's an example:

http://cdn7.staztic.com/app/a/2260/2260711/dashclock-notes-extension-903772-0-s-307x512.jpg

There are numerous notebook style applications, and I, obviously, cannot provide an exhaustive list. Why not shop around (many are free) and ensure they have a lock-screen widget option?!


Try this

1.Settings > tap Home Screen Mode > select standard mode
2.Tap apply and reboot.


Does Android have a formal release cycle?

This quotes Andy Rubin in saying that they will move from a twice a year release schedule to a yearly cycle. But I don't know of an actual "official" publication. Also, this "yearly" cycle probably only means "major" releases, but there will still probably be "minor" updates through out the year like they have done in the past.
The Quote:

So we launched it, and from our internal 0.8, we got to 1.0 pretty quickly, and we went through this iteration cycle. You’ve noticed, probably, that that’s slowed down a little bit. Our product cycle is now, basically twice a year, and it will probably end up being once a year when things start settling down, because a platform that’s moving — it’s hard for developers to keep up. I want developers to basically leverage the innovation. I don’t want developers to have to predict the innovation.

ANDY RUBIN VP of Engineering for Android at Google


Unable to install apps on new Android one device due to google play 489 download error

Happened to me as well when I first got my Nexus 4, but it was somehow sorted out. It is possible that I "forgot" the WIFI network and then connected to it again but I'm not sure.

Try to see if you can download apps through the web version of the play store: (from your computer, I mean)
https://play.google.com/store

This isn't an issue that should get you to return the phone to Amazon, I'm pretty sure it is a software problem.

Solutions that I came across

Solution 1

logging in Google App store using your gmail id in your pc.
Select the App that you want to install.
Click on install .
Make sure at the same time you mobile is connected to wifi. Then App will automatically get downloaded and installed in you mobile.

Solution 2

I not only tried all the above steps I also got my mobile formatted but it didn’t work. More so, I got it replaced. Still not sure what’s the problem – maybe it’s the mobile maybe it’s the google app store. whatever it is, I found a way to use wifi to download from play store.
It’s quite simple actually, start downloading using your normal data connection and quickly switch wifi. It will automatically start using wifi to download stuff.
Use Go widget for switching if you want to.

I don't know if they will work but it's worth a shot...


What system should i back up ? system_image or system

this concerns TWRP only and is just a different method for backup & restore

have a look in /etc/recovery.fstab
you will see the same partition is listed twice

/system        ext4  /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system  flags=slotselect
/system_image  emmc  /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/system  flags=slotselect

first entry is listed as ext4 file system type which tell TWRP the partition is mountable. in case of backup / restore only the content (files) are archived into system.ext4.win (tarball archive)

second entry is listed as emmc which makes TWRP think it is raw disk image. in case of backup / restore the whole partition (including empty space) is cloned bitwise into full partition image system.emmc.win (dd image)

usually /system is sufficient for backup purposes.
/system_image is useful for restoring foreign ROM or backup of corrupt data

Note: for system-as-root devices the mount point is changed into /system_root while /system is just a symlink (or bind mount) of /system_root/system (which is not a representative of whole partition)


Nexus 5x Crashed and can not enter Recovery

Unfortunately it's not a very common problem, so I assume neither Google not LG really bother fixing it (I have the same issue). The 7.1.1 upgrade caused some sort of hardware bug that couldn't be fixed.
The solution is to contact the seller of the phone. If you bought it from Google and it's still under warranty, you're in luck because you can get a full refund. Otherwise, just explain the situation to them and see what they can do.

Concerning your photos, well, your hope is that you had backups... You can try freezing your phone (literally). In my case it gave me about 5 minutes of uptime (it shuts down once gets warm), so if it's the case for you, you might have enough time to pull your photos and all the other info from it.

DEVICE STATE - locked means that you didn't unlock the bootloader. That, in turn, doesn't permit you to perform various operations with fastboot or adb. To unlock the bootloader you need to access the Developer Options in the settings when the device is powered up.

So I hope I shed some light on your issue. Hope you can have something done with it.
UPD: I called the Google Play support and after going through the problem they agreed to send me a new 5X. The entire solution took about 20 minutes. So I strongly encourage you to do it :)


Can I use Titanium Backup to migrate from a Galaxy S2 with custom rom to a new Sony Z1 Compact?

Be careful with restoring data from system apps, that might break things (and you'll have to factory-reset and start over). Different ROMs, different (structures of) system apps (their databases might differ). I had that once; in my case, affected apps (e.g. SMS) simply force-closed either right at start or shortly thereafter.

If you really want/need to restore system data, make sure to enable TiBu's "migration mode" (in the settings "troubleshoot" section). That way TiBu won't simply replace the apps' databases, but only try to "merge in" the data.


Can you use "OK Google" to set a timer with a label by voice?

"Ok google, set alarm label laundry for 20 minutes"


How to remove the icon, caused by a voicemail, from Status bar?

This is an app independent answer.

For cases where an icon seems to be stuck in the Status bar, choose any of the following approach:

Force-stop the app

Find the app causing that icon.

Usually, it is easy to know just by looking at the icon and matching it with app icons under Settings -> Apps -> All apps. For some exceptional cases, you can use apps like Notification Saver or Notification History or setup adb in PC and use the command:

adb shell dumpsys notification

Single out your notification and look for the package name of the app behind that icon. Read View app's full package name? to get the label for the app from the package name.

Assumption: The app causing the issue is "AppX".
Go to Settings -> Apps -> All apps -> AppX -> Force-stop.

That should remove the icon from the Status bar.

Uncheck Notifications

Find the app causing that icon.
Go to Settings -> Apps -> All apps -> AppX -> uncheck Show notifications -> check Show notifications.

Works well for user installed third-party apps.

There may be apps where  the option Force stop or/and Show notifications would be greyed out. For such apps, only the mighty root can help. Any app having root privileges should be able kill such apps, such as OS Monitor. For example, in Terminal Emulator you can kill an app using its package name and am:

su
am force-stop PACKAGE_NAME_OF_APP

Related readings:

"Show notifications" is greyed out for some apps. What's causing it and how do I change it?
I've rooted my phone.  Now what?  What do I gain from rooting?


It's better if you don't manually delete stuff, unless you can recognize the package names for the apps you want to remove.
Though it sounds hilarious to install an app to get rid of apps, APPS2SD will neatly list out whatever apps are on the SD card or can be moved between that and the internal memory, so you can make a list of the apps you don't want and manually uninstall them.

Speaking of key folders, here are a couple of common ones-

DCIM - This stores camera photos.
Attachments - Default save location for Gmail attachments.
download - Default file download location.
data - Stores app specific data. If you have games that download additional data, they may store that here.

This is based off my SD card - most of the other folders I've seen are app specific.

Update - Some phones have a Camera directory, with DCIM under it, so look for both.


You can download the apk from apkmirror.com and then manually install it.


Add contact to ActiveSync on Samsung phone

Please make sure contact syncing is enabled for the particular activesync account. You can check by going to Settings > Accounts. Select your activesync account and ensure Contacts are selected. You can also check accounts settings from the contact app by opening the menu. Then try creating a new contact, it should prompt you to choose a destination (phone, email etc).


Power button broken and can't switch on phone

I am not sure if this will really help you out or not but it is worth a try.
Make sure you have fastboot and USB driver for your phone is installed on your PC

Connect the a USB cable to your phone and keep on pressing the volume down button while the phone is booting.
If you are able to access the fastboot mode then you are saved and you can try fastboot reboot command.

If your phone is not entering into fastboot mode then go to a nearby shop and get the power button fixed. I think there is no other way you can turn on your phone.


How can I update a system application without re-installing the OS?

As long as you have the release key (or whatever key you use) used sign the app in the /system you could just quickly side-load your application:

adb install -r bin/my-signed-app.apk

Note the '-r' option.

This will update the application, but not remove/update the apk file in /system or clear the user's data.

You might have to clear the data first due to database schema changes:

adb shell pm clear my.app.package

You could then go and manually remove this 'update' via the app settings Activity.


How can I take a screenshot on my Samsung Galaxy Fit?


Remotely Turn on Location for Lost/Stolen Phone

Uhm... As far as I know, there is no possibility to remotely turn on GPS on your lost/stolen phone unfortunately, which is why I always considered this "track my phone" Google feature absolutely useless.


Do I need to revert to stock firmware and/or wipe data before installing a custom ROM?

It's not always necessary, but always a good idea.  There are custom ROMs that change the partitions of the phone storage, and some flashing methods don't reset the partitions.  What ends up happening is that the update can't be written properly -- it either fails, or files and firmware end up in the wrong place and the phone can't boot.  In some cases, this can brick the phone.

With a Galaxy S, the best way to ensure this doesn't happen is to revert to stock firmware, wipe everything, and then use Odin to flash an Odin-compatible ROM with the "re-partition" option checked.  My answer here has some more info on Odin (just be careful not to use the firmware I linked to, since it's for the GT-i9000 and not the Captivate).


I had the exact same issue.  It also caused a related problem.  When I tried to browse the Camera folder on my external sd card, it hangs for about 60 seconds.  So I went to Terminal (if your phone doesn't have this app then download the Terminal Emulator) and did the following (case-sensitive):

cd //storage/extSdCard/DCIM
  mv Camera Recent

I took me a lot of experimentation to discover the problem and to find a simple fix, but this works just fine for me.  I hope it helps you.


What codecs does the 2.3-Gingerbread Internet calling (SIP) use?

From a packet capture, the codecs are:

GSM-EFR 8Khz
AMR 8Khz
GSM 8Khz
G.711/PCMU 8Khz
G.711/PCMA 8Khz

Here's the tidbit from the RTP packet capture:

m=audio 22728 RTP/AVP 96 97 3 0 8 127
a=rtpmap:96 GSM-EFR/8000
a=rtpmap:97 AMR/8000
a=rtpmap:3 GSM/8000
a=rtpmap:0 PCMU/8000
a=rtpmap:8 PCMA/8000
a=rtpmap:127 telephone-event/8000
a=fmtp:127 0-15

I couldn't find a way to configure the codecs either.


Can an app update from Play Store reinstate its permissions I've disabled earlier?

Cases that doesn't affect your current permissions:

Updating app from play store.(also maybe the same for apk install too)
When you disable/enable any app.
When you clear only app cache.
When you force stop and restart.
During uninstall updates of an app. (This action is performed automatically when you disable that app).

Cases that may reset your current permissions:

When you clear Data and Cache.
During reinstall.
After factory reset.

Note: The app developer/company can add more permissions while releasing a new update to a currently running app with specific permissions.

For example, phone app have many permissions such as contacts, phone, sms, storage, location etc. But, we need to set these permissions only such as contacts, sms, phone. Later, when developer release app update he adds camera permission for video calling. User need to enable this for video calling purposes.


the problem was a weather application with a widget.
it didn't display any notification

so I enabled USB debugging on my device, connected it to the computer and started monitor the log (logcat) using SDK Device Monitor (I used what I have from Visual Studio 2017)
I discover that once i here the sound, there is some app that use the MediaPlayer
I got it PID and using running ps on adb shell
I was able to detect the app.


How can my Chinavasion TechPad Tablet be put in standby mode

Android does not support a standby or hibernate mode.


How to create nested folders on home screen in Lollipop?

I've created a Scene in Tasker, loaded it using a task and created a shortcut using Task Shortcut widget to launch the scene.

First image is showing a normal folder with some app shortcuts. See the folder icon titled "Nest". It is a task shortcut for the Scene.
Second image is the Scene created in Tasker which is launched from a shortcut .

(Click image to enlarge)

To maintain consistency in appearance I took the background from Material Palette, cropped the color I wanted and loaded it into the Scene as background image.
All the app icons are loaded using Image element in the Scene.
Because it isn't a folder, so there is no drag and drop in it.

As for how to create this scene, you can see YoutTube videos or search Tasker sub-reddit or the numerous websites filled with cool tutorials. You may consider my answer here to get a rough idea of how to create a Scene in Tasker and how to use it then.


I think EMMC chip is dead. only fastboot commands working.

Sometimes you need to accept inevitable.


Follow this process only if mobile data is disabled and phone PIN locked. What I'm giving is Factory Reset method.
(Warning: Factory reset erases all the data from the phone permanently. Phones resets to its initial state.)

Charge the phone fully.
Switch-off the phone.
Try these combinations -

  volume key up+middle home key+power key

-or-

  volume key down+middle home key+power key

A windows pop-ups for confirming Factory Reset/Wipe Data. Confirm it.
The reset process completes in a minute or two.


How to access the internal memory of HTC Explorer

If you had ADB debugging enabled, there is an easy way to do this using the SDK.

All you have to do is connect the device to the computer while it is booting, and type:

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
rm -rvf /system/libskia.so
mv /system/libskia.so-back /system/libskia.so

To get the ADB binary you will have to download the Android SDK, or Google 'Android Mini SDK'.

If you didn't have USB debugging enabled, then the only thing you can do is flash a new ROM. You would have to install CWM recovery, and find a ROM for your device.

If your device has fastboot you can easily flash a recovery file that has been made for your device by using the fastboot flash recovery <recovery .img file path>.


Why flash games are so slow on my RCA tablet

Short answer: because it's Adobe Flash on Android

Most apps and websites are shown in the Web browser. This is a native app with lots of optimisation and hardware acceleration. This makes it possible to load large websites on your phone. The same is true for games: all game code exists when the app is installed on your device. This way, the code can be executed way more efficiently.

Flash doesn't have any hardware support or optimisations within games.

The lack of good hardware support comes from the fact that the last version was developed for Android 4.0.4 several years ago and then was abandoned. All new technologies to speed up Android that have been developed since Flash support was dropped are not available to Flash.

The lack of optimisation comes from the way flash loads game files. Every file you load in flash contains different code, animations and sounds. Flash does not precompile (process the code before it's executed) like Android does with normal games. This is another reason why flash is so slow.

Flash is a bit of a resource hog as well. From what I can find your tablet out has 1GB of RAM. This should be enough to play most simple Android games and show some websites, but it might choke on larger Flash files.

Because Adobe no longer maintains it,  Flash is also a security vulnerability. No security updates will ever come for flash on Android.

Flash is slow on even the fastest Android devices. There's no way this will ever change because Adobe doesn't bring out new versions. I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it except closing all apps and tabs in the background and hoping for the best.


Is Nexus 7 2013 LTE usable as a phablet?

Besides being unable to make traditional voice calls, one difference is there is no earpiece, so unless you have headphones, your VoIP calls, video chats, etc... will all be on speaker.  Since it is a tablet, it's obvious why you wouldn't have one and it would look crazy holding that giant thing up to your ear.  Another  difference that people also tend to overlook is SMS.  Since there is no phone number associated with the tablet you won't get SMS service.  That can be mitigated by using services such as Google Voice which uses data instead of the SMS protocol to send these messages but yet are delivered to the recipient as SMS messages.

Due to the above you'll be missing the phone and messaging app components of the android OS on the nexus 7 (although as of 4.4 messaging app has been integrated with hangouts). Also you'll have support for multiple user profiles on your tablet, which is not an option on android phones.

BTW, you'll probably need to wear cargo pants to accommodate a Nexus 7, as it would probably be too large in your front pocket for you to sit comfortably.


What's the difference between calendar reminder types "alert" and "status bar notification"?

"Alert" will cause a new window with the event details (or a list of events with their info, if more than one) to pop up on top of the active one  and take focus when the reminder occurs. It also puts a notification icon in your status bar tray. The "status bar notification" setting causes the status bar icon to appear but doesn't automatically bring up the details dialog.


Using flash player on android with Hebrew

Two possibilities:

Side load flash with the APK found here, and then run Dolphin browser to access the flash site
Try running the site through FlashFox app as it has built in flash (no need to sideload anything)


Gingerbread with ext4: will it burn my flash?

Not likely, the flash storage itself usually have built-in hardware wear leveling, YAFFS2 is only advantageous when the flash storage does not have hardware wear levelling.

However if you're reformatting a flash storage, do check that the flash storage have hardware wear leveling; most flash storage that originally ships with ext4 (e.g. Nexus S) should come with hardware wear leveling, but if the device originally ships with YAFFS2 or other file systems that does not do wear leveling, they might not have hardware wear leveling. On these file systems, you might need additional steps to ensure that a lower level driver do software wear leveling if you want to safely install ext4 (or other filesystems that does not do wear leveling).


What does it mean when I see "Throttle limit exceeded" in Dialer?

The dialer may have hard-coded the API key for the lookup service. The error occurs when too many requests are sent using a single API key in a short interval.


Will "hiding" contacts on Google Contacts affect other apps' behavior?

The name of the caller will not be identified if the contact is hidden in Google Contacts.

The contact will be removed from the contacts list in the stock Samsung contacts app.

I tested this by calling my mobile with my work phone. I hid my work phone number in contacts.gooogle.com, and I also had to remove the number from my personal information in my Samsung Account, as well as my Samsung Account in my secure folder.


Nougot (android 7) status bar in lock screen

To disable that users option

Go to settings
Click Users
Click Menu Icon
Untick Add users when device locked if you don't want adding users from lock screen.

To disable camera icon at lock

Go to Settings
Click on Lockscreen
Click Lockscreen shortcuts and remove the camera icon or replace it with another app


Simple exit to "downloading don't turn off target " downloading mode

I enquired and found some answers to this problem.

1) If you press the exit button in the recovery menu, the phone will reboot and regular app screen should be seen.

2) as answered earlier wipe cache does not delete user data, (only system cache files are deleted)

3) to exit the download mode (when not flashing anything to the device) is to either pull the battery or long press the power button (which simulates a battery pull).

Anyways what I did was take the device to support center and they told that IC power chip needs to be changed and was charged abt 27$ or so. No data was deleted at all.

Thanks to everyone who helped and especially Golfdriver97.


How to auto start/stop tether if wifi is unavailable/available?

You can do so e.g. with Tasker, adapting the Wifi Tether Profile described in the Tasker Wiki -- provided your phone is rooted:

Requirements

rooted device
Tasker
Locale Execute Plug-In (no longer available -- but most likely no longer needed, either)
Wireless Tether for Root Users

Tasker-Tasks

Tether-On:
Plugin -> Execute Script -> Run Shell /data/data/android.tether/tether start 1, check "Use Root"
(with the Locale Execute Plugin, prefix the command with an ! to mark it as "root command")
Tether-Off:
Plugin -> Execute Script -> Run Shell /data/data/android.tether/tether stop 1
(with the Locale Execute Plugin, prefix the command with an ! to mark it as "root command")

Tasker-Profiles

You now can attach these tasks to any condition, such as e.g. "Wifi Near" with your networks name. You can also add things like "Wifi On" / "Wifi off" to above tasks to customize.

Detailed descriptions can be found in the linked Wiki.


Nexus 6 NFC & Phone Stop working on setup. Cant flash!

since I couldn't reflash it or do anything instead of getting a new phone I ended up spending 45 minutes clicking the OK button and using the split second time to navigate to set up then I navigated to the settings and turn on the developer options which allowed me to install the factory image. I could not flash anything because I didn't have a custom recovery boot.

apparently the 5.1 update that I installed was the OTA update but you didn't contain the entire wrong of the system. The reason the phone and NFC were not working is because Google created an update which allows the SIM cards to be in multiples so you can have multiple carriers. This change some of the code which means of 5.0. 1 in the 5.1 updates were conflicting because the 5.0.s and which caused the phone and NFC which use may have changed my currents and which caused the phone and NFC which use my networking radio failed. the OTA update I install was about 400 megabytes the actual image was about 800 so I installed be full recovery and it worked and I'm currently using the same phone to write this message.


If you download KingoRoot from the Google Play Store or App Store it should automatically root your device. For more help see here:
https://www.kingoapp.com
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-easily-root-an-android-device/


Android Music Player is not detecting Music files

I'm pretty sure that while adb push works to get the files there, it's not the supported way to get media files onto your Android device. This means that it doesn't set the flag that tells the Media Scanner that new media which needs it's meta-data indexed and added to the media library has arrived on your device.

One way to force the media scanner to rescan your storage is to just run an app like Rescan SD after you've copied the files over.


Installing Ubuntu 14.04 on Sony XPERIA Model C5303

You need to root it and to unlock bootloader to install any custom OS. You can omit the bootloader unlock part if you find OS which will support the locked one, but you will miss the potential custom kernel features, because it will need to use the stock one. To do the actual unlocking, refer to this guide by Sony: http://developer.sonymobile.com/unlockbootloader/unlock-yourboot-loader/. Beware, though, you'll probably cause bootloop when you unlock BL, so you'll need to flash ftf to boot into the device again (refer to 1)). Also, as far as I remember, you won't be able to download official software updates until you re-lock BL again.

Regarding Ubuntu, there doesn't seem to be an Ubuntu build available for Xperia SP, so you need to build it yourself. According to the Ubuntu site, that shouldn't be hard considering there is a working Cyanogenmod build, but it's not something I'd consider 'basic'. Because I think it falls out of scope for this community (correct me if I'm wrong), I won't go into details, but I'll leave this here if you'd like to know about the process: https://developer.ubuntu.com/en/start/ubuntu-for-devices/porting-new-device/. You can find many (if not all) needed sources by following links on XDA forums here. For example, CM12.1 sources (unofficial, could be slightly unstable) are here.

1) Yes, you can download flashtool and flash appropriate ftf file. This will erase all data on phone (SD card excluded) and leave you with factory version of OS with unlocked bootloader

2) Not as far as I know

P. S. Android is based on Linux, just like Ubuntu, it's just that factory versions have some limitations so regular users don't destroy their devices. If you'd just like to unlock 'full potential', you can grab a custom ROM from XDA and enable root. They usually have nice additions, including themes, tethering, terminal emulator and much more other customization options (depending on the selected ROM).


Can I download an apk of an app I have payed for?

Since you have changed the account from the one from which you purchased the app and are now using a different account , you cannot" use the app purchased. Purchases are tied to the account

Use of a product purchased in one account in a different account

Add Google Play Apps from Other Google Account?

As You can see in the discussion, you cannot. Google play purchases are tied to the account from which you have purchased and can't be transferred

Google product forums says the same

Second part of your question is not relevant because you can't use the app purchased under a different account


Gmail app vs. browser, in terms of data consumption

I would assume less, as all formatting is built into the app, while using the web browser you would need to download the 'whole' page including Gmails UI etc


Change the number of home screen panels in Android

If you don't want use 3rd party apps:

This requires decent computer skills and a rooted phone, but here are the steps for android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Copy /system/home.apk from your phone to pc.
Decompile home.apk using apktool.
Goto [decompiled folder]/res/values/integer.xml
Change <integer name="number_of_desktop_panes">5</integer>, to 7 or whatever you want.
Save it,and compile the apk using apktool.
Copy it back to phone i.e to /system,change its permissions to -rw-r-r.


Looks like Google has removed this feature in Android P. There is a feature request open here -> https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/80089859

You can go and Star that ticket to show your support for it.


Use as much as you need – but keep free as much as possible:

At about 10% you'll start to receive warnings about storage space running low, so you shouldn't go below that.
Plus, the more free space is available, the better the controller can handle wear leveling – which will prolong the life-span of your storage.


If I insert a Japanese SIM into my Nexus 4, can I have unlimited access to the Japanese Google Play Store?

No, having a SIM card from a particular country does not get you that country's Play Store. See this answer on a related question for instructions from Google Play support about moving to a different country.


Samsung Galaxy S6 on Verizon - capable of simultaneous voice and LTE w/o having to use VoLTE?

No, simultaneous voice and LTE data is only available when using VoLTE (aka "Advanced Calling") on the Samsung Galaxy S6. See the Tech Specs on Verizon's store page for the S6 under the ADVANCED CALLING 1.0 heading:

  Activate Advanced Calling 1.0 to experience Simultaneous Voice & Data

Verizon also accounts for this with a note in their Advanced Calling 1.0 for Android Devices FAQs under the question What is Advanced Calling?:

  **Note: Most 4G LTE Android smartphones today already support simultaneous voice and LTE data without Advanced Calling 1.0. However, some newer Advanced Calling 1.0-capable devices such as the Droid Turbo by Motorola do not support simultaneous voice and LTE data unless Advanced Calling 1.0 is activated.

The Galaxy S6, it seems, is one of those newer devices that doesn't support simultaneous voice and LTE data without Verizon's Advanced Calling service. There seems to be speculation that this is because of a lack of a second LTE radio but my cursory Googling didn't pull up any primary sources.


This site and this other confirm this method:

Power off device completely
Hold down the Home and Volume Down buttons
Press and hold the Power button until the device powers on
Follow the on-screen instructions to reset your device


This is assuming you can still boot the phone like normal since your question did not specify if it could or could not boot.

boot the phone normally
enable USB debugging
connect to computer by cable
from the computer, run adb reboot recovery
phone reboots directly to recovery

Done!


A contact can not be found by name in dialer but exists in contacts

I had the same problem with Huawei P10, but it seems I could solve it. Within "Contacts" there is an option called "organize contacts" and within that "Rebuild index data". I tapped on it and when rebuilding completed (within a couple of minutes) the feature of getting a list of contacts as a string, contained by their name, is being typed in worked again.


Restrict posting to admin-only in group chat

This is impossible because the setting does not exist.
Maybe you coud broadcast to these people or try a alternative app.


Galaxy S tablet won't add app shortcuts to home screen

You probably disabled it in a setting.

Go to Play Store -> Settings and click "Add icon to Home screen" under "General"


Can't connect to college WiFi even after changing the MAC address

It is only guessing from this perspective, as there might be several reasons.

First you should check with a simple ping or similar that the network is working.

If this is successfull any you try to open the login page with your browser it might be possible, that your university checks your browser's http request for your operating system or other signs, that you are using a smartphone and no laptop.


What is this icon on the status bar that looks like a cracked egg? (see screenshot)

According to a mod to remove the icon on XDA Forum, it's RCS Service.
According to GSM Association (GSMA), the one behind the development of RCS technology,

What is RCS?
Rich Communications Services (RCS) is the platform that enables delivery of communication experiences beyond voice and SMS. It provides consumers with instant messaging or chat, one to one or to groups, live video and file sharing across devices on any network.
RCS marks the transition of messaging and voice capabilities from Circuit Switched technology to an all-IP world. It shares the same IMS investment and leverages the same IMS capabilities as VoLTE and video calls over LTE.


AbsListView on Samsung Galaxy's logcat running Android 4.3 JellyBean

try to replace in the adapeter:

view = context.LayoutInflater.Inflate(Android.Resource.Layout.SimpleSpinnerItem, null);

with

view = context.LayoutInflater.Inflate(Android.Resource.Layout.SimpleSpinnerItem, parent, false);

Ref#: this link


download magisk manager and exact variant of boot.img to any other android device. patch boot.img with advanced - keep force encryption + keep avb/dm-verity

install Odin and drivers. flash magisk_patched.tar in AP slot. set the auto reboot option

unlock device and install magisk manager. you are rooted

edit: now modify your device for auto boot each time charger is plugged in, see Irfan Latif's answer on Automatically power on Android when the charger is connected

now dump your para partition and inspect with hex editor. if you find the off mode charge string you can modify value. flash the modified para partition. this will make your device auto boot each time charger is plugged in

if the changes aren't persistent for some reason, install some start-up script which executes the mod directly

   sed -i '0,/off-mode-charge=1/s/off-mode-charge=1/off-mode-charge=0/' $(find /dev/block -name by-name)/para


What is the size of the Android System app?

Android System App is only there to represent the Android Framework. If your device is working, you don't have a reason to worry about that.

If that "App" was really of zero size your phone would not even work up until the point that you could actually see its size (= Android would not boot)

Whether you have been hacked is quite a different story, we can't determine that just out of knowing that it shows zero size for you on Android System.


How can I go back to ICS after JB OTA updates?

If you can find an original stock ROM for your device (I assume your device is not rooted etc.), or any fitting custom ROM (in case it is rooted etc.), you could factory-reset your device and then flash that ROM. See Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? for available ROM sources.


How do I automate disabling mobile data on lollipop?

There appears to be an app/widget on XDA that should do what you are asking.

Link to the thread can be found here -
Link to the app in the play store can be found here

The app is paid and requires root. Hope this helps. =)


How-to unlink the main Google account from android device without a factory reset

What do you mean,  by 'delete it' exactly? Your phone needs to be linked to a Google account, no matter what (as far as I know). If you do wish to change the "main" Google account your phone is linked with, a factory reset is the way. I've had to do it myself a few times.

If you just want to stop receiving Gmail notifications, go into Settings > Accounts and uncheck the "sync" option for the account you no longer wish to have Gmail sync with.


If bloatware (pre-installed system apps) is your concern, then I wouldn't recommended rooting just for that purpose. If your Note 8 is out of warranty, then rooting wouldn't be a problem. But still, if only uninstalling the pre-installed system apps is all you want, then you can use ADB to get rid of them, once and for all.

A few months ago I published a guide on my blog to do the same for the S10 series. Although, the method is generic and will work on an Android device. I have owned the Note 8 and moved to the S10e this year. Can confirm that it works flawlessly on the Note 8 too.

Here is the link: https://www.thecustomdroid.com/uninstall-samsung-galaxy-s10-bloatware-guide/

In case the above link goes down, here are the exact steps you'd need to perform:

First of all, download and install Android SDK platform-tools (This
includes adb.exe, which you will need) on your PC.
Make sure USB debugging is enabled on your device.
Connect it to the PC using the USB cable.
Launch a command prompt window inside the same folder
where the SDK platform-tools are installed.
Initiate the ADB shell using the following command:adb shell
Now, find the packages of the app that you want to uninstall using: pm list packages -f microsoft
Here "mircrosoft" is the keyword. You can replace it with the name
of the app, you want to uninstall and it will enlist all the related package names to the app.
Then use the following command to uninstall all those packages: pm uninstall -k --user 0 app-package-name
Make sure that you replace "app-package-name" with the exact name of the app package that you want to uninstall.
Repeat the previous command for every package that you want to uninstall.

Voila! All the undesired pre-installed system apps will be gone.


File-based encryption security and backup/restore considerations

Apps can place data in either a Credential Encrypted (CE) or Device Encrypted (DE) storage, but does this necessarily mean all files in /data/ are encrypted?

What will be encrypted and which key is used depends on the encryption policy. The encryption policy specifies on a per-directory base what to encrypt. Exclusions (no encryption) seem to be possible, too.
The currently used policy us hard-coded in the source code of Android.
There you can read that currently some exclusions are known:

/data/apex
/data/data
/data/lost+found
/data/media
/data/misc_ce
/data/misc_de
/data/system_ce
/data/system_de
/data/user
/data/user_de
/data/vendor_ce
/data/vendor_de

For some of those exclusions there is an encryption policy for a subdirectory specified. However If I understand it correctly placing a files directly into one of those directories means that no encryption will be applied.


How do you force Google Search App to keep Safe Search Filtering on

After quite a bit of searching and testing I don't think it's possible to do. Even locking SafeSearch on your Google account on the PC doesn't change it for the phone.

Regardless of this I would imagine that if your son can turn SafeSearch off even if you did lock it he would probably try getting around K9. This isn't too hard, there's even a suggested method in the product reviews, it apparently doesn't stop you from browsing within another app.


Connecting a Galaxy S3 to my MacBook Pro 10.10.5

I have faced the exact same problem when I first started android development. My One Plus One would simply not show up in Android File Transfer. I would highly recommend that you re-install Android File Transfer.

Install Android File Transfer app.
Reboot your Macbook Pro after installation
Plug in the usb cable into your mac and start android file transfer.

Let me know if this helped or not!


See below how to change your email notification sound, or how to disable it. My android is 2.3.5, gmail is 2.3.6.

You open the gmail app, menu > more > settings, tap in the account; in the very bottom there's an option "Labels to notify". In my case I have "Inbox", which I'm assuming is default; when you click on it, you have a few options:

"Email notifications" - notifies in the status bar
Ringtone - this is what you're looking for, you can set any ringtone or silent
Vibrate - well, it vibrates ;)


Updating OTA after changing /etc/system files

As far as I know, you first need to unlock bootloader to root a nexus device (I'm not a nexus user).

Now, in order to update your OTA, it is mandatory to lock the bootloader and then perform the update.
I'm a HTC user, and I faced the same issue. What I did was flashed the stock recovery, locked the bootloader and performed the update. Everything went smooth.

I'm sure nexus follows the same path.


Found it!

The culprit is this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vladlee.easyblacklist Calls Blacklist

Listen to this: if you add any number to the blacklist of this app, and UNINSTALL this app after that, the number will be kept hidden and block.

I.e. there is no way you can unblock the number, you can only do this by installing this app again, and removing all phone numbers, and then uninstalling the app.

To be of more general use -- if something similar will happen to you, go to Google Play website, check the history of installed apps (which blocks calls). Install all of them back, and then check their blacklists. Clear the blacklists, and then, with clear list, uninstall them. It should do the trick (hopefully).


Google Play Services Keeps Stopping, I've tried everything

I had the same problem today (just after updating my phone) and eventually found a way to uninstall Google Play Services updates, thanks to the thread in Google Play Help Forum:

I was able to fix the issue today, by uninstalling the Google Play Services updates. Could only do that after making sure 'Find My Phone' was no longer a device administrator. Steps I followed:

Go to Settings -> Lock screen and security -> Other security settings -> Device Administrators
Uncheck 'Find My Device'
Go to Settings -> Apps -> Google Play Services
Tap the vertical ellipsis (3 vertical dots) at the top right -> Uninstall updates
Go to Settings -> Apps -> Google Play
Tap the vertical ellipsis (3 vertical dots) at the top right -> Uninstall updates
Restart phone. At this point the message  "Google Play services keeps stopping" was gone.
Open one of the Google apps (in my case Google Maps)
It complains that "Google Play services" is outdated, click the popup to update it again. Problem solved. Really happy to have my phone back ;)

It worked for me (no more error messages, and now I can use again apps such as Google Play Store, Google Maps, etc)


Dude, I had same problem with one of my device few months back. What i did i kept reseting my phone to factory level and it use to get fixed for a while. But later on it use to give me same problem. Then i restarted my phone safe mode and tried testing the mic. It was working fine, then i uninstalled all unnecessary app. That fixed my problem. Please give it a try. If that doesn't work for you. Try reinstalling your phone's OS yourself or go to the service center. That will surely fix your problem.


issues while opening PDF files received on whatsapp directly

It turns out the trouble was that .PDF was in caps.


Download apps without google account for work device

To connect to play store you need a google account. But you need not have separate accounts for each and every device. You can connect to many devices from one account. In this case all you have to do is logout from your account and tell the other user to connect with his/her account. Then the user will be able to use whats-app etc.


Is it possible to enable 4G/LTE band 40 in Nexus 5 D820?

I followed the procedure said in a XDA forum (the very first post) and I got the LTE working in my phone.

I confirmed the same and added a confirmation to that thread as:

  I am using Nexus 5 (D820) purchased in USA and being used in Chennai
  on Airtel network. I read through many resources about the LTE bands
  that the phones (D820 and D821) support, about the bands that
  different service providers support. After reading through the posts
  in this thread I was aware band 3 can be enabled on D820. Even at this
  moment of writing (after enabling the band 3 on D820) I believe from
  various links Airtel uses band 40 in Chennai.

  To my surprise when I enabled band 3 (after few tensed moments) I saw
  LTE indicator in my mobile. The screen shot is as below:

  The app LTE Discovery did report that my mobile is in LTE when I made
  it to work in "LTE mode only". However it does not report the band
  that is being used.

I tried Speed test, but it showed a disappointing speed as good as 2G
(1.5mbps download). I need to try this at other places and see whether
really 4G is enabled in my phone or not.

Edit: The download speed in other areas of Chennai are in par with 3G. However surprisingly, I could see the upload speed is as good as download speed in 4G.

In the following image, the middle entry is 2G and rest are 4G.

Also I used Nexus 5 Field Test Mode app and it says I am using band 3 - surprise.

Edit: This was performed in my Nexus 5 D820 running stock Android 6.0.1, stock kernel, rooted and with custom recovery TWRP.

**Edit2:**This change seems to be permanent. I had OTA updates installed and after a point of time reinstalled latest ROM and even tried locking boot loader. In spite of all these changes still LTE is working in my phone.


Messaging app (stock) not using full phone number to send text/sms

I presume you're talking about US numbers? If you haven't tried including a + at the start of numbers saved in your contacts that could be worth doing. +1 555 123 4567 is the international format and may help other apps know where to send your message/call.


How can I access the /android_asset/ folder on my phone?

Where is it?

It is inside an APK file for some application.

  Can I access it without root access?

You can download the APK to your desktop and unZIP it.

  Dolphin HD...points to file:///android_asset/new_tab.htm

Since Dolphin HD is not open source (AFAIK), you have no way of changing this behavior. You also cannot modify this file unless you sign the resulting modified APK file with your own digital signature, in which case you would never again be able to get an update to Dolphin HD.

You may wish to contact the Dolphin HD developers and suggest a feature that meets your needs.


Why I can't sync contacts with Twitter/Facebook accounts in Jelly Bean 4.1.1?

Because Google disabled it for marketing reasons (pushing Google+ maybe?)
Technically it's just not in the whitelist in an xml file to allow synchronization

According to niranjanthilak here is his detailed explanation:

Facebook application can sync its contacts with the Contacts ( Through ContactsProvider ) only when its whitelisted ( or, in other words , given an escalated permission set ) in the ROM.
For this , You have to edit the ContactsProvider.apk  and add the whitelisted permission.
For editing the ContactsProvider.apk ( Which resides in the /system/app/ directory) ,You will need smali ( An assembler/disassembler for Android’s dex format ).
After disassembling the ContactsProvider.apk using smali , Go to the res/values/ folder ( in the disassembled source ) , and add the file ( arrays.xml ) containing the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<resources>
    <string-array name="unrestricted_packages">
        <item>com.facebook.katana</item>
    </string-array>
</resources>

The  com.facebook.katana is the application of facebook. So after adding the arrays.xml file to the /res/values/ folder, Assemble the ContactsProvider using the smali into an unsigned apk file.
Now , Since ICS , Android 4.0 , Google has disabled this provision of whitelisting applications natively , hence they have obfuscated certain fields from the database.
Add the column named

is_restricted

to the raw_contacts table inside contacts2.db ( stored in /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/database/ )
- If you have sqlite enabled ( along with busybox ) in your kernel you can use this command for altering the database and adding the necessary field by running it under ADB Shell:

sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db
 'ALTER TABLE raw_contacts ADD COLUMN is_restricted VARCHAR';

After adding the column, all the facebook accounts added will be provided with Sync Prompt and they will appear under contacts.


Enable SMS count on galaxy s3 lock screen?

Hey man you can use this.
Notification LockScreen Widget (available for free in the Google Play store).
It gives following features.

View all dismissible notifications including missed calls, SMS, Facebook notifications, Gmail, etc.
Launch the app directly from the notifications list.
Combine multiple similar notifications into one notification with
counter.
Allow full original notification content as it appears on
notifications bar.


'No pictures are available on the phone' after selecting contact picture

You need to have a gallery app installed like the default "Gallery" or "QuickPic" app.

I had the same issue since "Gallery" doesn't come with Android 5.0 Lollipop, only "Photos" (which I disabled since I don't use Google+)


lg phone Starts on recovery mode automatically

When you root your phone or installs TWRP you give up on Android updates. Those two things don't work together because when you root you change the system image, and to install updates you need to have stock recovery too. So download latest firmware and flash it on your device (TWRP and root will be lost).


Twrp recovery for mtk6763 (a/b) infinix note 5

I recommend following this tutorial to create a ROM dump of your device. Take the recovery.img from that dump and create a TWRP using this.

If you already have the recovery.img you can proceed right to the second link.


Yes,

when you switch network - you will need to do it again.

Also after turning off the phone you will need to connect it by the adb again.


What you need to do is root your phone and flash a custom ROM. I'll try to give you a pretty detailed answer to your question. The S2 is pretty old so I'm sure you're not concerned about voiding any warranties, correct? If it is under some carrier (Sprint, ATT, etc.) waranty, then you're pretty much out of luck unless you don't care about voiding it. There are ways to un-flash smartphones, but I would't recommend it. Anyway, onto flashing....

Rooting and flashing a new rom is a technical task so if you're not up to it you could probably find a friend (or someone on Craigslist, etc.) to root it and flash a custom rom for you. It will definitely take a few hours since it's your first time doing it, and it can be a real pain if you run into a problem. I rarely have, but you never know. You can always come back to the forum and post the problem or ask on the YouTube channels recommended below.

If you decide to procede, I take no responsibility if you break your phone. First do a YouTube (or Google) search for "Flash CyanogenMod 11 4.4.4 (Insert Carrier Name Here) Galaxy S2". You should be able to look through a few pages and find a (well written) tutorial that will guide you through rooting your S2 and flashing a custom rom.

Tip: Verify that you're able to download all of the necessary files before you even plug your S2 into your PC and start to root it (and yes, you will need a USB cable). Most of the headaches I've encountered had to do with getting half way through the install process only to come across a dead download link, and then not being able to easily find the exact same file I needed somewhere else. Also, some of the roms have some bugs. Most of them don't but it is something to be aware of if something like your GPS doesn't work. Once your phone's rooted you'll be able to just reboot it, boot into recovery mode, and flash another rom (without having to completely re-root your phone). You may have to do another search for how to re-boot into recovery mode for your specific cell phone carrier. You should be able to simply turn off the phone and then when you turn it back on, keep holding the power button down instead of letting it go in addition to the volume down button. Then just repeat the steps from the tutorial page (definitely bookmark the tutorial, in case you ever need to refer back to it) to flash a different rom.

I really hope this post helps you understand the tech lingo a little bit better and that you're able to get your S2 rooted easily. I didn't know anything about rooting a few years before I rooted my first phone, and I learned nearly everything needed within the first day! If you set aside a day or two to root your phone, flash a custom rom, and explore all of the settings of the new rom you'll be glad you did. It sucks if you're out and about and need to change a setting but have no idea where it is because all of your settings menus changed.

If you have any issues or questions, please post back here and I'll help as much as possible. I've rooted many phones and flashed a couple dozen roms so I do have a bit of experience with the process. I was actually going to do a short tutorial myself but StackExchange shut me down and said I could only use two links in my post because I didn't have enough reputation points :(.

Good luck and I hope everything goes smoothly for you!


Google maps wants a login now? Is there a way around this?

Your three options are probably:

Downgrade Maps
Use the browser-based Google maps (perhaps in incognito mode if you're paranoid)
Use some other map application

Regarding OSM, I think they don't have an official app, so you could also try to use an app that uses their data. The OSM web site allows address searches, so that may just not be implemented in the app you're using. There's a bunch of OSM compatible apps and their features listed here.


Open the Google Play Store in your web browser and click the small gear icon in the top-right of the screen and click the sub-menu called Settings.
You will now see the My devices page where your device activity in Google Play is recorded. You'll see all the devices you have ever logged into Google Play with, and a few details to the right of each device.


Which older version of YouTube for HTC Hero?

What you need to download and install is called GApps, which is a package with all the Google applications that come built in with Android, but those are flashable and you can't just install them.

I suggest you to take a look at [ROM] Hero CyanogenMod 7 Nightlys-Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread (2011-02-27), download the GApps provided there(gapps-gb-20110120-signed.zip) and flash that using the Install update.zip on your unlocked bootloader menu.


Does this permissions request make sense?

While the permission might make sense, the explanation does not at all.

To my knowledge, READ_PHONE_STATE has nothing at all to do with a firewall or networking. It is a READ permission (so what could that have to do with passing a firewall?),

giving access to your IMEI/IMSI and phone number
lets the app figure out whether a call is in progress
if a call is in progress, gives access to the phone number of the remote device

I bet the app has the INTERNET permission as well (confirmed as per Google Play link you provided). The app is free of charge. Minimum Android version is 2.0, so READ_PHONE_STATE was not forced on it (it is enforced for Android versions up to 1.6). So I rather assume it carries some ad module which requires this permission: the combination of INTERNET and READ_PHONE_STATE is very common to those (it needs to obtain the ad information, and most likely uses your IMEI to identify you -- in a positive sense, to see what ads have already been shown; but of course it could as well be used otherwise).

If you've already installed that app, you can verify this using e.g. Lookout Ad Network Detector or TrustGo Ad Detector. You could also check with Addons Detector to see if it carries any other module piggie-back (e.g. for analytics, which again would explain READ_PHONE_STATE to identify your device).

Second thought: Why would that app need to get through the phone's firewall (if there were any)? Isn't it supposed to do connections to the outside? If that would require anything else but the INTERNET permission, what should the INTERNET permission stand for?


Android social apps: ability to post on behalf of the user?

Yes you will have giving consent to post "things" to Facebook without seeing or approving them.
I suggest getting a 3rd party app to help. SystemPanel App, a full feature task manager, or App Detective, find every detail about an app. The first is a paid app, but there is a free version available.
Between these 2 apps you will be able find the culprit, get all the details about it, what app installed it, who made it, plus all sorts of other info, shut down the app, and to know the package name to uninstall.
Be careful when installing anything from other apps or questionable social websites. Read the fine print and examine permissions. And always make backups.

SNS Definition
A social network service or social networking service, most often called SNS, is a medium for establishing social networks of people who share interests and/or activities.
Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. Most social network services are web based and provide means for users to interact in various ways, such as e-mail and instant messaging.
Modern internet-connected always-online phones stake a lot on SNS connectivity and integration with the various services getting more popular than ever.

SNS is used for your social site widgets. It allows to post to multiple social sharing apps at once. Anything that you post on one site will be posted to your other sharing site. It can be safely disabled or uninstalled (root) without hindering Facebook or other apps.
The Play Store has several apps that can manage the SNS. I'll leave the choice for you.


You should get the option to add them unsynced.  Like this: