Sync files to the cloud, but only upload differential changes?

Differential sync or Delta sync is a feature that is available only on the PC version and not on Android as explained in Dropbox help pages Delta sync for Android

  Power:....Delta sync means you have to carry out hashing operations on the file, which on pretty much all mobile devices is a non-power optimised operation....

  Hashing Overheads for small files: Now, if the file is very large, and the change set is very small, sure there will be a tipping point, but for mobile stuff we aren't talking about a usage pattern which generally covers files hundreds of MB upward in size being edited, its going to be brand new files (photos, videos etc) or small changes to documents etc....You aren't going to be editing huge videos on an Android phone or tablets for example.

(Emphasis Supplied)

If Dropbox for Android doesn't do Delta Sync, Dropsync logically cannot do, since it feeds Dropbox. Besides, app forum talks of comparing files but not differential or Delta sync
I couldn't find any alternative cloud solutions that implement this sync on Android, perhaps for the reason mentioned earlier. Even services like Own Cloud which have an Android app, give similar reasons
Only alternative I can think of is using rsync which does incremental backups, which is faster than differential backup (See a nice tabulated summary here)

Some pointers that may help you implement this solution ( should you decide on this route, it may help to ask a separate question for details )

How it is implemented for USB backup. Sync ext SD to USB OTG **without** using a PC
See footnotes of Izzy's answer for app based solution using rsync for Android and where to download it from
From SE.ubuntu , How to rsync to Android


Android virtual keyboard (Rugby Pro) types j when I press g (and other keyboard mismaps)

For a fix

Open settings>apps
Go the all tab, swipe left 2x's
Scroll down to Samsung Keyboard and tap it
Tap on force close, then ok
Tap on clear cache
Tap on clear data, then ok

Problem should be fixed!!!
Google search keywords
galaxy rugby keyboard typing wrong letters


How can an existing storage server in Solid Explorer be edited?

Tap the "hamburger" icon (☰) to open the sidebar.
Tap the vertical ellipses (⋮) to open the menu.
Tap "Storage Manager".

From here, tap a storage's menu button to edit or delete the server. Additionally, the storage order can be changed by holding and dragging an item.


Beside shut down the phone, are there ways to prevent battery usage for Call Standby?

Yes, using Airplane Mode will reduce power drain, as the commentors have already answered. But this approach can't be considered Call Standby, because you will not receive calls. From the point of view of cellular operator, your phone behaves exactly as if shut down.

Switching to Airplane mode shuts down the cellular connection, including voice and data, but it also turns off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Note that you can turn any of them ON in Airplane mode, but this will put extra load on the battery.

Except from radio, the major power consumer is the screen. Actually, typically it uses much more power than all the radios together. If you want to keep running longer, set brightness to minimum, set "screen off" timeout to minimum, and avoid turning the screen too often. If you have an AMOLED device, e.g. Galaxy Nexus, the display power request depends on the actual brightness of the screen. If you choose a darker theme, or switch your book reader to "night mode", you can reduce the battery drain.

Of all colors except black, red uses the least power. See description of a special app that boasts battery life improvement by applying color filter and adjusting the brightness: http://www.azzamtranslator.com/lux-auto-brightness-manual-or-auto-screen-brightness-adjustments-according-to-time-or-environment/.

Note that Airplane Mode does not disable GPS. GPS is not running on its own, so disabling it in location settings will not effect the battery life, but if some app, like Maps or Camera decides to check your location too often, this may become very significant. Without cellular or Wi-Fi, GPS can actually need even more power, because it will not have the crude location estimate to begin from.

Other than that, any app that runs in background can wake the CPU up and consume more power. Use a task manager to shut down applications that you don't need in your "standby" mode. This is especially important if you decide not to switch to Airplane Mode, because the apps in background can not usually do much if they don't have access to Internet.

If you choose not to switch to Airplane Mode, there are other things you should be aware of. Turn off system synch and turn off cellular data. Set "2G only" if this is available on your phone and on your network. Shut down any unused background apps. Don't wake the screen up too often.

Finally, Android includes a nice utility (in Settings/Battery) that displays power consumption by different components of the system, in percent:

Many system tools available on the Play Store feature similar or improved versions of this monitor.


What's the difference between the galaxys2 and i9100 CyanogenMod builds?

There's no difference. The device was simply renamed within the build system between the release of CM9 and CM10, as the CyanogenMod Wiki page for the i9100 notes:

  This device used to be called galaxys2 on get.cm, so older builds of CM can still be found under that title.

So builds of CM9 (or earlier) will use the galaxys2 moniker, whereas builds from CM10 onward will use i9100.


Where can I find a 2.3.6 stock ROM for Nexus S (i9020)?

These kinds of downloads can usually be found on the XDA-Developers forum. Usually the stock ROMs are in the "General" section of the device forums and custom ROMs are in "Development". Check out this thread for a pretty comprehensive collection of stock ROMs.


How to modify possible values screen timeout on rooted devices?

In order to keep screen awake forever:

Download No Screen Off app and install it.
(Ignore this PLEASE) If you know android programming, you can use this snippet in your app:

getWindow().addFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_KEEP_SCREEN_ON);

Some phones have "Keep screen turned on" option in Screen timeout
settings.
(Requires Root) You can use PerApp for making change in Screen timeout
settings and add your own value.(customize)
There is a stay awake option in "Developer Options" to Stay awake
while USB debugging and charging.


Can you test apps on a google locked phone?

No... Assuming by "Google Locked" you mean it has an enforced Factory Reset Protection which requires the previous owner's (or last active) Google account credentials. When this is active you cannot get to the launcher or perform any actions on the device until it is "unlocked" using the proper Google credentials. It is "locked", is essentially a non-functional device, and you cannot get past the Google Credentials screen in any way.

Some further information that might be applicable in our FRP base question, How to bypass “Verify your account” (Factory Reset Protection)


I found and answer by myself.

The best idea is to use Facebook Lite. In setting change the option to show notification and you got fully integrated messages from Facebook with Pushbullet. Of course you may use Facebook Messanger but it seems to be a little bit laggy.


Making use of the 2nd Partition on SD card (Link2SD)?

You need to use Link2SD to actually move the app to the second partition. If you simply use the built-in Android way of moving it to the SD card, then you aren't taking advantage of Link2SD at all.

In Link2SD, you can select apps and move them to the second partition. You can even set it up so that any new apps installed will automatically be moved over. Any current apps that were moved to the SD card using the native Android method must be moved manually to the Ext2 partition using the Link2SD app (though I think you can select multiple apps and move all of them at once).


Upgraded to 8.0.0 (Oreo) and Notification Vibrations Won't Stop

I experienced the same issue. I ran a google search, and came across this thread. I hope it helps for you too!

https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-pixel-xl/828108-turning-off-vibration-oreo.html

(One mentioned in that thread, that Twitter doesn't have a setting to shut it off. I don't have Twitter installed, so I can't verify) I did go into all of my notifications (each and every one) and had to turn off the vibrate. It is very tedious, but hopefully helps you too.

UPDATE: Just in case that thread mentioned above, disappears. Here is the quote from the user on how to disable the vibration on each notification

"Super annoying thing Oreo started, happened to me too. For some reason Google thought this was a good idea?!

Go into settings, apps and notifications, app info, messages, app notifications (again sheesh) and then you have to go into each and every category and uncheck vibrate. Thanks Google"


Is there an app which will force reconnects on remembered in-range wifi networks?

Auto WiFi Toggle has been getting quite a lot of traction this past week and it looks like it may be what you're looking for.

It will search for WiFi networks in your range every interval (set by user) and then connect to them.

Auto WiFi Toggle:


Can a Nexus 6P be factory reset when screen cannot be used and phone off?

If you enter the password wrong too many times on your nexus device, it will factory reset your data (by default). It is also possible to factory reset through recovery mode by turning phone off, holding power and down volume simultaneously, clicking volume buttons until hitting recovery mode, then clicking factory reset.


How to properly format a MicroSD Card for FroYo?

In Settings -> SD card and phone storage there is an option to format the sdcard. You first have to unmount the sdcard before you can format it.


Does Skype video work on a Samsung Galaxy 10.1?

The official Skype app currently does not support video on NVIDIA Tegra 2 chipsets, according to their FAQ:

  * This specifically does not include some tablets that use the Tegra 2 chipset (e.g. Android tablets and Motorola Atrix do not support video calling).

From what I read on various forums, a test version that does work on Honeycomb tablets sporting Tegra 2 has been seen floating around in Youtube videos, so it should be coming to official channels shortly.


How to share VPN connection with devices on hotspot?

Android doesn't redirect hotspot traffic through VPN network as far as I have tested on Pie ROM (almost stock; custom ROMs might have different implementations or some specific settings). The reason is VPNService API works in Java framework of Android to redirect traffic to VPN's tun interface based on UIDs (and/or SOcket MARKs) of apps. While tethering works in native code; dnsmasq is the DNS server (up to Pie) while the rest of traffic is handled by kernel directly. Also using same internet connection or VPN for multiple devices may break terms of contract with service providers. So it's left disabled by default.

A workaround is to modify routing table but it requires root and is a bit complex on Android. This works for me:

~# ip rule add iif wlan0 lookup table 5000
~# ip route add default dev tun0 table 5000
~# ip rule add to 192.168.43.0/24 lookup table 5001
~# ip route add default dev wlan0 table 5001

First command adds a rule to RPDB to send traffic coming on hotspot (WiFi) interface to table 5000.
Second command adds a route to routing table 5000 to send all traffic on tun0 interface i.e. the one used by VPN app.
Third and fourth rules do inverse i.e. send traffic coming from VPN to tethered devices.

Firewall works above routing policy. Forwarding rules and source NAT should already be set with hotspot but just to make sure:

~# echo -n 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
~# iptables -I FORWARD -o wlan0 -i tun0 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -I FORWARD -i wlan0 -o tun0 -j ACCEPT
~# iptables -t nat -I POSTROUTING -o tun0 -j MASQUERADE

First three commands instruct kernel/firewall to forward traffic in both directions in between VPN and hotspot interfaces.
Fourth command sets SNAT i.e. keeps track of hotspot traffic leaving VPN interface and coming back.

Make sure interfaces names and IP address are correct as on your device.

Also there is VPN Hotspot but I haven't tried. For non-root devices there exist some Wi-Fi Direct (ad-hoc) based solutions like PdaNet which require setup on both sides.

RELATED: How to use Private DNS on Android Pie for tethering?


Google Listen doesn't register Play/Pause commands after upgrade to ICS

After trying a few apps, I settled on KiesCast by Samsung.

Pros

Simple intuitive UI.
Has almost all settings that one would generally need without being overly complex.
Play speed from 0.5x to 2.0x.
Skip interval is configurable.
Very good podcast search.
Plays videos as well.

Cons

Sometimes CPU use goes thru the roof.
Loses the play position sometimes after the podcast is stopped.
Ad supported. Can't complain as it is free but company like Samsung should be able to support it without ads. Moreover, while listening the screen can shut off and thus no ads. In video play mode I haven't seen any ads as I usually watch video full screen.


Is there a video player that supports the orientation flag?

I'd say all videos players, but in doubt I tested :

AOSP Gallery : works.
The new "Photos" app that comes with Google+ : works.
MX Player (free) : works.


Error "Function not implemented" when creating symbolic link

The filesystem you're trying to create the symbolic link on doesn't support symbolic links. All the native Linux filesystems (ext2-4) support symlinks, but the DOS filesystem used on SD cards doesn't, and several others don't. For a filesystem implemented with FUSE (as in this case), it's entirely up to the filesystem driver, so you can't tell whether it supports symlinks or not without trying. You won't be able to create symlinks on those filesystems.


Metronome sound for disk encryption password prompt

The older Android versions were using Full Disk Encryption (FDE) mode, therefore the password enter dialog was a small mini-OS booted before the actual Android-OS.
This mini-OS was playing what you are a calling the "metronome sound" when it was waiting for the user password.

I assume this sound was introduced to ensure the user recognizes that the boot process requires user interaction. Because while the mini-OS is waiting for input the whole system is offline and no app is running - including no mobile voice/data or Wifi.

Nowadays Android use File Based Encryption (FBE) which means that every app can specify if a data is encrypted using the system key or the key that requires the user to unlock the device first. Therefore in theory if all apps are correctly implemented a large part of the system should already work before you enter your user password the first time after a reboot.

May be you are able to simulate the old behavior by installing an app that runs only after the Android device has booted up (BOOT_COMPLETED) and then plays a sound similar to your old system. Unfortunately I don't know a suitable app, but I assume programmable scripting apps like "Tasker" may allow you to create a script that plays a sound after the device has booted up.


.exe Files are Windows binaries (i.e. executable files/applications/programms) that can not be run natively on a Android system.

I am sure the Play Store (or the alternatives of the Play Store) will have an equivalent app to the .exe file you are trying to run.


recursive adb pull a directory using $EXTERNAL_STORAGE parameter

If the screenshots are getting saved in external SD card then I believe external SD card is set as default write-disk. In that case, you can do,

adb pull /sdcard/{YOUR_DIR}/ {TARGET_DIR}

I use my custom alias named adbshots which is,

/usr/bin/adb pull /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots/ /root


Download MX Player
Play YouTube video using MX Player.
Press Menu button (or the 3 dot icon), and then select Play
Make sure "Background Play" is checked
Now, you can press Home Button and listen in lock screen.
There is also a shortcut for enabling Background Play, which is tapping and holding the Play button, instead of just tapping it to play a video

Update #1

Only For Rooted: You can install Xposed Modules Installer and use Repository called Youtube Background Play


Ways to consume Linux and open-source related news on Android device?

Try Pocket or Readability. They are both Android apps that parse HTML into more readable formats without having to visit the site.


SSH login disconnect with Operation not permitted [preauth]

Use dropbear instead.

apt-get install dropbear

I cannot find any way to avoid chroot error, so I suggest you another ssh server. It works well. :-)


Adb doesn't work, "adb.exe has stopped working" window appears

adb.exe needs this runtime to work. try installing it first and running adb.exe:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/2999226/update-for-universal-c-runtime-in-windows


My phone is 'samsumg s2 plus' i wana root my phone

Rooting the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus

Here is a Youtube video with the steps to root the device, below are the written instructions I've modified this from the XDA post for grammar etc.

Prerequisites:

Android 4.2.2 (If you want to flash custom rom ||| if not 4.1.2 is okay)
You can flash 4.2.2 via odin  find your firmware at Sam Mobile
USB Cable
Samsung USB Drivers
Odin 3.07 (Flashing Tool)(http://d-h.st/hSj)
CWM Recovery I9105/P(http://d-h.st/oKe) (Android 4.1.2)
CWM Recovery I9105P(http://d-h.st/II4) (Android 4.2.2)
CWM Recovery I9105(http://d-h.st/bq8) (Android 4.2.2)
Root Package(http://download.chainfire.eu/) - Locate most up to date SuperSU Zip.

Rooting the device:

Open Odin 3.07.exe
Put your phone into Download Mode
(Power button - Home button - Volume down button,at same time)
When you enter in Download Mod, you should get blue box on Odin 3.07
Uncheck  Auto Reboot option
Go to PDA and find your recovery, then click on OK
After you checked everything click on Start
It should take around up to 30 - 40 seconds
When its finished take out battery, put it again
Go to recovery mode
(Power button - Home button - Volume up button,at the same time)
Navigate with Volume Rockers (Volume Up -  Volume Down)
Select via Power Button
Go to install zip from sdcard ( if you putted in your phone)
Go to install zip from sdcard/sdcard1 (if you putted on sdcard)
Find root package, and install it via pressing power button
Go back and reboot system now

DONE !
You have rooted your s2 plus !


Lenovo A850 Bricked while flashing Stock Rom

Is your PC showing preloader devices connected in devices and printer menu
when you put the USB cable in your device without battery (press volume key 3 or 4 time)?
If it is showing, then you can flash your stock ROM again.


"This app is compatible with all your devices", but the Install button is greyed out on the web version of the Play Store

Just saw this workaround posted by a Stefan Brunnauer on Google Play Help, and it worked perfectly for me
"Had the same problem - I removed the missmatching &gl=US query parameter at the end of the browser URL and it worked. Maybe this helps."


Somehow (maybe because of mis-hearing of "OK Google" feature), I went under guest user account :/. Just switched to my account now and found all my data. TIL, we can have multiple user accounts on phone.

When I was in guest account there was no notification or anything explaining the same and hence my havoc of losing all data started. After asking the question here and when the device was asleep, I got a notification stating something related to accounts and that I am in guest account. That gave me hope and when I just swiped from top, I could see on top right, just adjacent to battery percentage, the guest's profile picture. When I just tapped on it, it showed me available user accounts. I switched to my user account and found my data.

Not related:

When I was in the sad state of belief that I lost my data, I first tried to ask on official site of Blackberry and even after finding the forum site, I couldn't able to find a simple "ask question" like similar button. I can't believe that a million dollar company like BlackBerry can't afford to have a intuitive / user friendly site which is the only primary touch by which people can contact with them. It is a shameful fact for such an esteemed organisation. Hope they read this at some point and feel ashamed. I have many complaints with Blackberry's site, as I visit it frequently being a Blackberry fan, but I do understand that this is not the place to talk about it.

I don't know where exactly else I could have taken out my frustration. Since, I only find this site as intuitive. Thanks!


How do I export all contacts (names and phone numbers) to a text file on SD card offline?

It is function integrated into build-in Contacts app.

Open Contacts
Switch to "Contacts" tab
Press the tree-dots button at the bottom
"Import/Export"
Export to storage
Check all checkboxes
Check file like 00002.vcf

This is a vCard file. One can manually open it in a text editor and search for contact names and phone numbers even if no special program for vCard is installed.


Can I program Tasker-like programs to do stuff if specific WiFi network is in range?

In Tasker create a new State based context and choose Net as
state category.

Then choose Wifi Near as net action:

This will bring a screen where you can input data about the WiFi access point you are interested in. If you are near the desired WiFi access point then you could just press the scan button (the button with lens symbol at left end of the text SSID).

This scans the near by access points and lists its details. Simply select the one which you are interested in.  Now you are good to go to add an entry task and exit task to whatever you want.


How to stop SMS spam from mobile operator?

I stopped this sort of spam from Three by forwarding every text I received from them to their own spam reporting number, 37726.

You will get an automated reply asking for the number that sent you the text.  As you don't get a number from the spam, just use Three's own marketing number, 0800 033 8002.

It didn't work immediately but they did take the hint after a couple of weeks.


How do I restore my Android tablet from Google servers?

It's either restored when you first configure your Android account on the device and accept the Cloud Backup, or not at all. There's no way to trigger it manually except for factory-resetting and re-configuring the account (sometimes it even requires to use a different SIM to trigger a complete restore, as one user reported; I just cannot find the reference at the moment).

You'll find a lot of details in the answers to Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?.


How to create a Broadband connection (pppoeconf) on my Android phone?

WIFI PPPOE by cnDDU is an app that allows you to make a PPPoE connection from your phone over a wireless connection:

  ...main purpose is for user
  to make PPPOE connection via WIFI, e.g. dialing through ADSL Modem
  with user name and password provided by some internet ISPs. This app
  makes the Android devices be able to connect to Internet directly via
  PPPOE dialing through WIFI, and no need for another WIFI Router any
  more.

Note that a rooted phone with Busybox installed is required to use this app.

There are also a number of other similar apps available in the Play Store now, some free, some not. They all currently seem to require a rooted phone.

(answer rescued from deletions)


How to mount disks of a Samsung Galaxy in a Linux System (connected with a USB cable)?

Go to Settings -> About phone -> USB Settings and set it to Mass Storage.  You may also need to enable or disable Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging.  The drives should be visible to the PC when you connect the device, but you should also have to click the USB notification you mention and tell it to actually mount the storage to PC so that they are accessible.  Finally, try looking at this for more info: http://androidforums.com/android-lounge/115574-solved-cannot-mount-android-device-via-usb-linux.html


Can I enroll my device in Android Enterprise to install a root CA?

Your question (or at least the answer) is more development-oriented. But I take the opportunity to share my limited knowledge from an end-user's perspective.

Is there any downside to enrolling my device as a managed enterprise device and installing a certificate through the program?

Yes. The cost, and complexity.
In order to use Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) on Android, you need to buy a Mobile Device Management (MDM) suite. Usually organizations do that for their employees; it has an initial setup cost and a recurring subscription fee per device.
Or you may think about developing a solution of your own. Developing a full-fledged EMM solution may take months and years. It may include building an EMM console (usually a web interface) to set policies, a back-end EMM server to hold policies, and a Device Policy Controller (DPC, or Work Policy Controller) app which fetches policies from server and enforces on device.
But as mentioned by @Robert in comment, Google doesn't want you use your own DPC app (which was a part of Google Play EMM API since Android 5):

"Android Enterprise is no longer accepting new registrations for custom device policy controllers (DPCs). Learn more."

The latest recommended solution is to use Google's Android Management API (after doing a partnership with Google as EMM solution provider) which enforces policies on devices using Google's Android Device Policy DPC app, and also provides additional features (by making use of privileged Play Services) which haven't been part of previous implementations. It covers all possible scenarios including Work Profile (on user-owned or company-owned devices) and Fully-Managed devices (with no personal profile). Both should not to be confused with Android's multiple users.
THE SOLUTION
So I don't think you'd want to go this far just to install a root/leaf CA. However there's a possibility to develop a simple standalone DPC app based on Android's Device Administration API (which the above stated solutions use under the hood), without integrating with any remote API. Shelter is an example of such use case, which provides app isolation / duplication by creating a Work Profile (it's open source, I've no affiliation). Using admin APIs it's possible to grant access to a client certificate, that's what you want. However as stated in (the link you provided: "... certificate is available to ... apps installed in the work profile", and) the official documentation:

"All apps within the profile will be able to access the certificate chain and use the private key ..."

So if you want to use the installed CA for all of your apps (including those installed in the personal / device-owner profile), your DPC must run in Fully-Managed mode, not a Work Profile. Luckily Google provides a Test DPC app which may run in both modes. It allows installing a CA, so can be a good starting point:

THE CAVEAT
Quoted from Android Developers Blog:

"Apps that target API Level 24 and above no longer trust user or admin-added CAs for secure connections, by default."

"But app developers can choose to let their apps work with manually added CA certificates" by adding <certificates src="user" /> to Network security configuration. So in this case an EMM- / admin-added CA is no way different than a user-added CA, while the latter is very simple to achieve.


Which version of VLC is right for an Exynos tablet?

-ARMv7.apk

The version needed with -ARMv7.apk. After downloading that, you have to install it. This may be more difficult than need be because VLC currently has the content-type on the response set wrong, you can read more about that here:

Can not install apks from File Manager or browser?

You may  open the file downloaded from the Download Manager nor through the browser -- see the link above


How can I change music track without getting my phone out of my pocket?

Yes: there are essentially three possibilities.

Wired headphones often have extra controls inline (on the cable). You have to be careful when buying these: the way the controls signal to the phone is not standardized, so which one you need depends on who manufactured your phone. It's really easy to find "iPhone-compatible" ones, but you may have to search hard to find one which claims compatibility with your manufacturer. In that respect, things have not improved much since the Walkman days.
Bluetooth headphones can make this much easier. In Bluetooth, the media control protocol is standardized, so any Bluetooth headphones with volume and track controls will work with any phone that supports that protocol (the remote control profile). Pretty much all Android phones do, but some of the extremely low-end Chinese knock-offs might not.
Using the same Bluetooth profile, you can instead buy a dedicated remote control. This might well clip onto the cable of your wired headphones, or come in a convenient form factor (like Flow's Pebble, which is a lot more general-purpose), but it's still one extra thing to carry around.

Happy shopping!


How do I get my mobile data to work again, after the new Android 5.1 update?

Try a different sim card.
Check if the APN settings are right.
Check for a bug fix OTA update.

If the steps above didn't help please leave a comment.


What's the downloaded_rom folder and what's its difference from the Download folder?

To view, both Download and Downloaded_Rom folders, you may need to have file manager applications such as google's files go, es file explorer, default file manger(for mi devices -> Mi file manger/Explorer) on devices.

Download

Folder created on internal storage of android device by default. This folder is one among the other internal storage default folders such as Android, DCIM, media, Movies, Music, Pictures, Ringtones etc
It is used to store files that are downloaded from internet using mobile browser apps like chrome, firefox, and default browsers of each manufacturers.
Some devices provides Download access through Downloads app which is placed on app launcher. (Eg: Pixel, Xiaomi etc)

Downloaded_Rom

This folder is created on internal storage, which is commonly seen in xiaomi/Mi devices.
This folder contains the OTA update zip file(Stock ROM), which is downloaded using Updater application in Mi devices. stock ROM is the OS of the device which is released by the device manufacturer(Xiaomi).
Note: After, completing updation, the zip file will be automatically get cleared. So, this folder may be empty, until next OTA update notification and started downloading.
If you download OTA/update zip from xiaomi's website which is opened using browser application, the file is available on Download folder. Copy and paste zip file, to this folder and you can install this update through updater app.


I have searched for the same thing, and unfortunately, have not come up with much of anything. What I have settled for is turning off auto-rotate, and only using it for apps where I really need rotation. I do recall there being an app which allows setting auto-rotate on and off on a per-app basis. I believe it is called Smart Auto-Rotate.


I contacted the makers and they said it's a known problem and they were working on it. The latest update fixed this.


Android Marshmallow keeps moving apps to internal storage after update

From Google:

  Apps can be placed on adopted storage media only when the developer has indicated support through the android:installLocation attribute.

The problem is that some apps that deny this support can be forcibly moved anyways, which it sounds like you're doing when you ignore that error and try the process again.  From reddit:

  I have seen screenshots (see this post by Austin Pinto on eyes-free google group, where that device running Marshmallow IS allowing moving all apps (though still excluding system and built-in apps). That is, it is violating the developer's preference for where the app should be installed.

So when the app updates, the Play Store is simply following exactly where the app tells it to be installed.

So, your options are:

Stop moving those apps
Ask the developers to add support for this feature
Stop updating those apps


Will Cyanogen 13 update to Lineage 14 and preserve apps, data etc?

If you install CyanogenMod 13 then you cannot install lineage OS 14 without wiping the device.
If you install CyanogenMod 14 then you can directly install Linage OS 14 without wiping the device, but it is not guaranteed.
If you install CyanogenMod 13 then you may install Lineage OS 13 without wiping the device, but it is not guaranteed.

Lineage OS web site as more clarification.

http://lineageos.org/Update-and-Build-Prep/


Trying to perform a system update crashes the Settings app

There a couple of things you can try out, in any order you like!

New Tablet? Surprising, try a factory reset if you have nothing on it. This should fix it for most cases.
A single application crashing could be due to some stale values associated with the data it has cached, you could try force stopping the settings application and then clearing the storage.

If this doesn't work, check for the latest stable build of a rom for your device from the vendor itself, you might have to flash it.

Edit:

Just saw Jeff Chang's comment, and my answer is similar to the one on the link he provided. If it works, you can ask him to answer it for you and award him the bounty.


What exact purpose has the sync option "Background data"?

From the developer page, background data is used for "an application that uses the network in the background." For example, a quick search tells me the market requires this to be turned on. Keeping background data set to on is what enables you to keep data from GMail, Weather, Facebook, Twitter, etc. up to date without having to manually refresh/sync each of them. Also realize that battery usage increases with each app or account that is utilizing background data. I notice Twitter has several time increments to choose from in terms of synchronization rate - this helps balance between having the latest data and preserving battery. Hope it helps.


How to stream videos I own to an android device?

Personally I favour Subsonic for my media streaming, which has a native Android client (along with iPhone and more).


Seeing that it works (see question's comment), this answer is somewhat unnecessary, but for the future in a Q&A fashion, I'll put in my 2 cents.

There are a couple of things to know here. Glitches happen, and stuff breaks. We obviously prefer the first. Here's a couple of steps to isolate the cause.

Quoting the IT crowd "Have you tried turning it off and on again?". Seems dumb, but it works. If this fixes it, it's a software issue. (Hopefully one you won't be seeing again)
Quoting the IT crowd again, "Is it plugged in?". Check that the connections inside the port are clean and nothing is stuck in there. Don't go sticking anything wet in there, but maybe a very very mildly damp q-tip could do the trick.
If neither of these do anything, try a factory reset. If that doesn't work, it's hardware damage.


Trying to replace a modem but encountering errors

Okay solved myself. Solution:

1) Flash stock ROM through Odin on PC. Lost all SD content but retained external SD content.

2) This resulted in a weird encryption thing, so I flashed PhilZ recovery and then flashed a third-party ROM from my external SD.

3) Bootable, and modem is updated because I flashed the newer stock.


I am pretty sure Mantano Reader and ezPDF do this as well. I recommend the former though.


So, I've had this problem for a while as well. What I came to realize was that my sleepy-brain would hit the volume rocker to adjust the volume of the alarm while it was going off. Usually, this was to adjust the volume of my music to a more bearable level to wake up to once my phone was in-hand. But this also had the side-effect of adjusting my alarm volume to a point where next time it goes off, it's way too quiet.

I fixed this problem by downloading an app called MacroDroid. I set up a macro that executes each night at 10 pm. The macro starts by setting the alarm volume to 80%, pops a notification up that says "Don't forget to set your alarm!" And when the notification is clicked, it takes me to the Clock app to set my alarm.

It's a bit of a workaround since it uses a third-party app, but it's been a huge quality-of-life adjustment for me so I figured I'd share.


Unresponsive screen on Moto G after Lollipop update

It's actually a bug.

You have to do hard reset after the update:

Hold power button for 15 seconds and the device will be forced to shut down
Hold power button and volume down button simultaneously to enter fastboot mode and you will have factory reset option
Use volume down to navigate and volume up to select desired option
Once you have done a factory reset, click power button and the device will reboot.

If you still have touch issues you have to rollback to KitKat by flashing stock firmware.


How to add Google Search Widget on Samsung Verizon GalaxyS?

Long press on your home screen (any one from the home screens will do)
a screen; called "Add to Home screen"; will popup, choose the option "Widgets".
Another screen; "Choose widget"; will popup, start scrolling down till you find "Google Search", tap it and you will get the search options screen, pick what you want to go with, and it's all done.
I'm running Froyo on a non rooted Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000

Update: in case of that didn't work for you, you can get an application called z4root from the android market (the official market) and this will root your phone with one click (further more, it gives you the option of un-rooting your phone also by one click) then you will be free to do whatever you want without doing any extensive things.
it works for both Eclair and Froyo, the only limitation is it doesn't work with NAND locked devices.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833953
and as you've said, you can use the enhanced search apk; here is a much descriptive link, still you will need a third party launcher


Google Play site says the app is compatible but the Google Play app says otherwise

That's not a Play Store compatibility error that you're getting on your device, that's an install error which says that it's having problems installing the app on your device. The Play Store only checks some basic specs of your device (like OS versions, screen size, RAM size, whether or not there's a camera, etc) it can't tell remotely whether or not there's a problem with your device.

There are a few threads on the internet that talk about getting error 942 when installing apps, and they seem to suggest that it's a problem with the GoogleApps on your device. Either there's a data corruption in the GApps, or there's a problem with the version of GApps you've
got installed.

See some of these for more info:

XDA: Play Store - Error Code 942
XDA: Apps not available on market and cannot be installed manually
And others

The two main solutions that worked for people are clearing the application cache on Google Play Services, and Google Services Framework:

To clear the app cache:

Go to Settings > Apps > All then find the following entries in the list
Google Play Services, Google Play Store and Google Services Framework go through each of those and select Force Stop (if available) and then Clear cache

The other solution that has worked for people using non-standard ROMs and installs like yours are to double-check the version of the Google Apps package that they've downloaded and installed and make sure that it really is the right version of GApps for their device and OS version.


Samsung Tab GT: n8000 stuck on Odins Mode

Download this file and flash it with Odin, select AP Slot (2)

N8000XXUDNE4_N8000OXADNE4_DBT\N8000XXUDNE4_N8000OXADNE4_N8000XXUDNE1.tar.md5
Open Odin and click on AP Slot, select the abowe file. The log screen should be like this (3)
Put the tab in download mode and connect it to the computer. Odin will detect the COM Port assigned to the device (1)
Click on Start.
You'll see a PASS in green.

If the issue is not hardware related,your tab will be alive


Can't connect/get computer to recognize android phone (OPO)

if you are on windows then you need to manually install adb driver for your device. steps are as follow

Right click on computer and goto manage.
then goto device manager
find your device and right click on it
and from menu choose update driver

now choose let me choose

go next

now browse your google usb driver location

click next

after that you'll see adb driver name then clcik next to install drivers.

see this link for description

https://software.intel.com/en-us/xdk/docs/installing-android-debug-bridge-adb-usb-driver-on-windows


Finally after a week, i found the answer.

The CyanogenMod AudioFX was conflicting with the music app. In the previous version od CM, the AudioFX could only be turned on if a headset or speaker is plugged in. But in the recent update, we can activate AudioFX for the Phone's speaker too. Thus, in my case the AudioFX was turned on (I was not aware of the update)

But the HW+ decoder of MX player overrides AudioFX, thus I was able to hear the sound while using MX player.


How can I tell why my sleeping phone occasionally gets warm (and battery is draining abnormally)?

I think this could maybe be because of several things:

You have a bad network connection. If you are on a location where there is a bad network connection, your phone will have to try very hard to keep this connection enabled. Or maybe that is also possible when you are walking in locations that have a bad connection to the outside world (in the basements of some buildings for example).
Sometimes if you are using Live backgrounds, that drains the battery too.
Another possibiliy is that your phone is syncing in the background. If you have for example enabled that calendars have to stay synced (and you have an enabled data connection), then your phone will on regular bases connect to the internet for some updates. I don't think (but I'm not sure though) that this would show up in your task manager.
It could also be that something like your GPS or Bluetooth is enabled, and becomes a problem (although I think this would show up in your task manager)

I would suggest you have a look at the services that are enabled, even when your phone is in standby mode (Bluetooth, GPS, syncing..)


How does Google Play work out if an app is compatible with my device?

When developers make apps, they have to specify any hardware/software requirements in a file called the androidmanifest.xml file.

These can be hardware or software requirements, such as if the app needs GPS, or telephony features - or if it will only work on a certain Android version.

When you use Google Play, it sends your device's 'features' to the server, and then filters apps accordingly.

The most likely reason it is deemed incompatible by Google Play is that it is set to require a certain screen resolution - or maybe portrait/landscape mode defaults.

Some tablets have a low resolution, and also tell google play that they cannot go into portrait mode.

It could also be, your tablet being generic, that it does not have the required GPS or sensors that the manifiest file says it needs, and the market is stopping you from installing because of that.

I shall find out what the instagram app needs (look at it manifest), and edit this answer for you.

EDIT:

According to the Instagram manifest, the only 'required' item is the glEs version - minimum 131072. It could also be because of your tablets country/carrier setting.

Twitter needs a minimum of Android 2.1, and may also need a Vibrator, as it uses the vibrate permission.


Fastboot not showing device, adb finds it

Make sure you are in fastboot mode before using fastboot devices for device to show up.

If it still does not show up, looks like you don't have the fastboot driver properly installed.

Use the  following to install fastboot drivers:

sudo apt-get install android-tools-fastboot

If the repository isn't available add it using: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools && sudo apt-get update

Note: The commands are for distributions using apt. Specifcally Ubuntu and variants. Commands for others may vary.


In which Programming Language Android had Developed

As mentioned on it's Wikipedia page, Android's core is developed in C and C++, and Java is used for the UI. You can see this for yourself if you browse the Android source code. For example, omapzoom.org provides the source for browsing without the need to downloads gigabytes of data.


Network Selection disabled by WiFi Manager & Wi-Fi keeps disconnecting

I found out, the following WiFi Manager App was the reason:

  Wi-Fi Privacy Police (Prevent leaking sensitive data on WiFi)

The problem disappears whenever I disable this app. Here is how to disable it:

  (System) Settings / Memory / Apps started on boot / Wi-Fi Privacy Police / Start at boot: DISABLED

So you disabled the App's bootup autostart. Now reboot Android.
After you have Android rebooted, check again Android's Wi-Fi settings: The error message NETWORK SELECTION DISABLED BY WIFI MANAGER should have disappeared.

Wi-Fi Privacy Police was actually a useful app for long time, till I noticed the unfortunate repeated interrupted WiFi connection. Below you have a screenshot of that app's functionality:


Yeah, album art caching sucks.. I know exactly what you're going through. But I'm pretty sure I have a working solution for turning off auto-relation.

You may or may not need root, depending on if your album cache is stored on /sdcard/Android (which usually is the case) or in /data/data.

Go into /sdcard/Android/data/com.android.providers.media/albumthumbs -- where all the album arts are stored, and delete all of them.

But that isn't going to fix the problem for future offenders. To do that, we'll have to disable caching. I got the idea from a guy on an XDA thread.

To effectively disabling caching, thus turning off auto-relation, change the permissions on the albumthumbs folder to read-only on all groups. If the folder is part of the app data under /data/data it may be difficult to do so, even with root. On Samsung and ZenFone, you won't run into this issue.

Hope this helps!


Backup app data without root and no micro USB port

Probably Koush's Helium [which used to be Carbon previously] might be of help for you.

  Helium does NOT require root.

  All Android users can use Helium to backup and sync Android
  applications.

  Helium lets you backup your apps and data to your SD card or cloud
  storage [Dropbox, Box, Google Drive].

  Android to Android app sync [With Helium, you can sync app data from
  your other Android devices -- even if they are not on the same
  network].

I am not sure if you have to connect your device to usb if you want to sync to cloud though. I have not used this feature as of yet.


Since Android 4.4.0 Kitkat, Google has disabled the write permission by default for security measures.

Since the HTC desire 320 is shipped with Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat), you can't write to the SD-card by default.

If you want to get the write permission back you must root your device and use an app such as SDFix. You also can manually edit the permission list when you are rooted, but it will be reset every power cycle.


Remove "Google" appearing on Gboard spacebar

I saw this Android Authority tweet just now expressing disappointment and disapproval of this move by Google.

We’ve spotted the changes over here at Android Authority too, and we’re guessing it’s a server-side update as some of us haven’t enabled automatic app updates. So rolling back to an earlier of Gboard likely won’t help you.

(Emphasis added)
What worked for me is having more than one one Gboard languages  English (US), English (India) and two Indian languages apart from SwiftKey. Probably because of  this ,I don't see "Google" and this is supported by others on the tweet thread.
You can add languages to see if it solves the problem
Update

It appears either the update described below was a mistake or Google has quickly realized that people hate it because it’s already starting to revert back to the way it used to be.
Users are now reporting that the Google-branded space bar is no longer there and the Google search function has returned.


Determine if a Google Play app requires Google Play services?

You can use Yalp Store for this. It is a libre app which et al list trackers, shows ads and whether the app uses Google Play Services or not.


Android (Nexus 7) bypass swipe/notification screen

Solved it :

Switch to Guest User, click the icon in the top right of quick access notification panel, remove Guest user then : Settings | Security | Screen Lock - select "None" (This was previously missing)


What does zipalign mean and how does it fit into how we use our Android devices?

This mechanism is described at the Android developers site as follows:

  zipalign is an archive alignment tool that provides important optimization to Android application (.apk) files. The purpose is to ensure that all uncompressed data starts with a particular alignment relative to the start of the file. Specifically, it causes all uncompressed data within the .apk, such as images or raw files, to be aligned on 4-byte boundaries. This allows all portions to be accessed directly with mmap() even if they contain binary data with alignment restrictions. The benefit is a reduction in the amount of RAM consumed when running the application.

In short: .apk content can be easier/faster/more optimal accessed due to the order of data inside the packed file.

For deeper information, there's a "complete guide" available at AddictiveTips: What Is Zipalign In Android And How To Make Apps Zipaligned, which answers the second part of your question:

  Quite understandably, situation would be reserved for unaligned application packages. Resource reading would be slow and memory usage would be on the higher end of the spectrum. It would also depend on how many unaligned applications are present. For example, if less number of applications with an unaligned home application, you’d see slower application launch times. This is the best case scenario. For a worst case scenario, having a number of unaligned applications will result in the system repeatedly starting and killing processes, struggling with lags and huge battery drain.


How to end process while quiting, Firefox

The regular Firefox for Android is not a privacy-focused browser, it's a general purpose browser with (IMHO) the best privacy defaults that balances privacy and day-to-day usability, but it's not meant for high privacy.

You should use Firefox Focus instead, which is actually designed to be an incognito browser. Additionally, if you really need the highest level of privacy, you should be using Torbrowser.


Is there a way to get the font on my phone onto my tablet?

A pre-answer note, I'm typing in the mobile Stack Exchange app, so please excuse any spelling errors.

Yes, there is a way, but it requires your tablet to be rooted.

As with most things, go ahead and take a backup of both devices, you never know what could go wrong.

OK, lets begin!
In a file manager of your choice, head into /system/fonts, on the device that has the font you like. This does not require root, because your are only reading from that file, not writing.

Find out a way to copy the font file to your tablet. I would recommend just emailing the font file to yourself, and downloading it from the email onto the tablet.

Now on the tablet, rename that font file to something memorable, like goodfont.ttf. You are going to have to sacrifice the current font, or you can take a backup of the default font file. (If I'm correct I believe it's Roboto-Regular.ttf, but it might be different on yours.)

Now copy goodfont.ttf into /system/fonts (remember, this is on the tablet), and rename it goodfont.ttf to [default font name here].ttf.

Hope I was helpful!


What is the easiest way I can send one contact's phone number to another on my Android?

Copy and paste from Contacts app to Messaging app should just work without any problem, I've used it a few times before to copy lines from addresses, emails and that sort of thing into an SMS.

Are you sure you long-pressed long enough in the SMS message to get the input menu up with the Paste option on it? Or that you copied it properly in the first place? Copying data from a Contact is most easily done by Editing the Contact, then long-pressing on the field you're interested until the input menu comes up with the Copy All option.


Unable to connect phone to pc. Phone charges only

First of all, start with easy-to-solve debugging:

Have you unlocked your phone while trying to connect to PC or did you connect with the screensaver showing?
After unlocking, you have a tab (in most of the phones its on top) that you can show by sliding down. There, you have a notification about the connection. Have you clicked it and set it to file transfer instead of just charging?
Try changing the USB cable.

Note: I know this could be answered by commenting the question but I haven't got enough reputation in this website.


What does the music symbol notification mean

The music symbol is the Samsung Music App.  The reason why it disappeared when I pressed on it is because my data was switched off and there wasn't a wireless signal.
When I got a wireless signal and pressed on it, it initiated some installation.
As for why it suddenly activated itself, my passenger fiddled with the phone controls when I stopped by at a supermarket to get something.


Cheetah Keyboard wanting permission to manage my email

I reccomend you run a virus scan with something like malwarebytes.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en


It's not changed in a while, you know.

In fact, since Honeycomb (Android 3.x) You can just run the following in adb:

adb shell am force-stop [PACKAGE]

Of course, replace [PACKAGE] with the package you want to chop up.


How to adjust S Pen pressure sensitivity on a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1?

Only chinese tablet Eben T6 or T7 provide a better solution of Wacom S pen, Samsung has no development of Wacom pen pressure tuning at all and make it no much different from a capasitive pen


Operator Data not working post the Lollipop Update

Check your APN settings :
Settings -> wireless & networks -> more -> cellular networks -> access point names.

Theses settings are provided by your operator, or you'll easily find them by internet.


How to limit charging to a user defined limit?

There now is a hardware+app solution for that, it's called Chargie. https://chargie.org

Basically, Chargie is a Bluetooth switch that is linked to an app on your phone. You set the desired level of charging, the app runs in the background and stops the charge at the percentage you set.

*disclosure: I am the CEO of Lighty Electronics, we have developed this solution and this isn't meant to be a spammy post with a link, but rather a very relevant solution to this issue. As far as I know, there are no other manufacturers of such devices.


Can not use Alt - C in in android phone and mac laptop

Probably this answer is long overdue. But maybe it might help someone else in the future.
Had the same problem and it seems that since Android 10 apps can only access the clipboard if they are in the foreground. So the only way for the copy to work from Phone to Mac is to open the app on your phone after you've copied the text, and then paste on the Mac.


Can I improve accuracy of Google Location while hiking

There's a trick: open Google Maps, press Go button, then select a very far away destination that you are not going to arrive, then confirm to find a route. Google map will keep running on background without screen on. Also turn off the navigation voice to avoid the sound they would make. By doing that, Maps will always track your current location even if you are not really going to that destination and all location data will be saved. I use that trick often and it's way more accurate than default location report.


Clear cache for specific site on Chrome for Android?

From the overflow (3 dots menu)

Settings → Site settings → tap All sites   → choose your site
 →clear and reset

From Chrome help

  Cached images and files: Chrome remembers parts of pages to help them open faster during your next visit. Text and images from pages you've visited in Chrome are removed.

You will also lose browsing history, cookies and site data


Uninstall Android System Webview on the play store. I just did this and it fixed the issue.


Some activities are not launch-able. All activities are launch-able, but some of them may not have any effect when launched directly. They may be a window overlay, a notification, or even a simple broadcast listener.

Copying beeshyams's quotation:

  An activity is the most familiar type of component: it's a window you can see: either full-screen or dialog-sized. An activity only runs while it's displayed on the screen. Once you leave the activity, Android will keep that app in memory ready to be started again, but the activity won't run, meaning it won't use battery or network. An app starts an activity using an intent. The intent can specify explicitly which activity to start, or it can specify an action to perform (such as opening a particular file). If more than one activity can "handle" the intent, you see the dialog asking you to choose one.

If you insist on attempting, you may want to explore am start command. It can start any activity supplied as arguments. Root is required in most cases.

# am start com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.billing.acquire.AcquireActivity
Starting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=android.intent.category.LAUNCHER cmp=com.android.vending/com.google.android.finsky.billing.acquire.AcquireActivity }

Well, the above command gave no visual responses other than am's output.

You can specify another action with option -a and another category with -c, to pretend you're another app rather than a command line. However I'm not a developer, so you should work things out further on yourself.


As I've read in different places: Freezing apps does not necessarily mean their services won't be running anymore. It seems even frozen apps are able to react on broadcasts, so freezing alone won't solve the issue. Reference:

If the app you freeze is sending the intent, then no the intent will no longer happen. But if the app is receiving intents, then yes it should still receive them. (ASE)

The solution would be to use an app like e.g. Autorun Manager PRO (yes, the pro -- the free version is limited here) to disable separate listeners, so the corresponding services will no longer be started. A free alternative might be AutoStart Manager which I have not tested myself:

AutoRun Manager / AutoStart Manager (click image to enlarge)

Having disabled the corresponding listener, the app (frozen or not) should no longer receive the broadcast for the event it usually reacts on, so it will no longer start on that event, and thus no longer be running -- unless started manually.


How to turn off data usage for all but specific App in android?

There are a number of applications (3G Watchdog for example) which allow you to restrict background data to WiFi; therefore when you've left the application it cannot continually use data.

In later versions of Android you can go to Settings > Data Usage > Apps and restrict background data, thus not needing a third party app. Both methods do not require root access.
Here are a few related questions:MMS and Restricting background data, Restrict Mobile data but exclude some apps or How does "Restrict background data" work?.

The above mentioned will give much more explanation on what to do, why to do etc. but I will just give you the means to read it. It's quite an easy process to compelte. I will, however, give an alternative which is not often used: AutoMateIt. Let me know if you manage to incorportate this into your issue!


Text message appears as Chinese Symbols in AT&T

Your network APN settings are messed up somehow. AT&T can assist you with fixing it but I had to change the mine to add admin into the string. It's worth noting it's happening on large messages. It just so happens emojis bloat the send size.


My phone don't use speakers to the maximum of its possibilities

If you disassemble the device, you will see that, despite the outer shell reserved a wide opening for sound output, the actual speaker unit is quite small and biased to one side. This will produce the effect you observed.

You might be expecting a large speaker, or 2 separate speakers filling the whole opening, which simply can't be the case for lower-end devices.


Galaxy S5 isn't getting any notifications but WhatsApp messages

If you want to turn off notifications for whatsapp go into settings -> application manger -> Whats App -> Then uncheck the box at the top that says show notifications. If you are using gmail click the side bar -> click settings -> click you account -> check notifications. Hope i helped and good luck!!


What is this icon depicting a phone and Wi-Fi together?

This is WiFi calling icon or VoWiFi. Disabling that WiFi settings removed the icon as confirmed by OP

It is used for making voice calls over WiFi, similar to Volte ( more so when signal connectivity is poor). On some phones, it is slightly different with the solid triangle replaced by traditional WiFi icon as shown here


You can try to resolve your issue by below ideas.

Your device may not support the quality in which user has recorded that video.
You need to clear cache memory of phone, or reboot your phone.
Size of video is so large, it will be unable to view that in your net speed(2G).
You should try deleting the app and re-downloading.


Why is Android showing a different hosts file once my system is booted versus in recovery?

I got this problem, too.

After my searching and try for hours, finnally it worked.

Just use adb push to copy a hosts file to both /system/etc/hosts and /etc/hosts

I think /etc/hosts probobaly overrides /system/etc/hosts when the phone rebooting.


Does Play Music download songs more than once if they are in different playlists?

No.

I went ahead and downloaded my master playlist that contains all my songs, then the other playlists. The latter all took zero time, indicating the songs were not downloaded twice


I got 5 files, how to use them with Odin?

AP : CODE, CP: MODEM, BL: BOOTLOADER (you dont seem to have that), CSC: CSC or HOME_CSC and USERDATA: USERDATA same for when you need to wipe the user data. I your case you'll only need 3 files AP, MODEM and CSC/HOME_CSC which contains your carrier specific files, settings etc.

Note that the firmware you are trying to flash need to have same version than your current version on the device or higher, otherwise you'll get the error you are getting in your third screenshot.

Important: Do not use the pit file as it repartition the internal memory and can cause a brick, and actually it is the cause of the flash failing message, so it is not advised to use it.


You can easily stop Automatic Call recoding by following steps:

Go To Phone Dialer
Press Option Button { At Left side of your home(middle) button}
Go to Settings
Go to Other Settings
Turn Off Auto Recording

Thats It :)

Note: This option may not apply to all phones.


Lockscreen is missing, can I reinstall the lockscreen somehow?

Now that you have USB debugging enabled, you can try resetting some of the database flags associated with the lockscreen...

You will have to adb push sqlite3 to your device, the only independent binary that worked for my devices I pulled from here: XDA - sqlite3 binary June 2015

adb shell
cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
sqlite3 settings.db
update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock';
update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently';
.quit

If you happened to accidentally delete Keyguard.apk and the above does not work, you will have to get another Acer Liquid E3 off ebay or the like (about $80, all we need is the apk, then resell) and adb pull from the source phone and adb push to the destination phone.

I would recommend just flashing stock firmware, or pulling the apk's from stock firmware, but unfortunately that does not exist.


There's nothing wrong with your phone, the photo upload feature for Facebook just doesn't work well.  I also have a Moto DROID v1 running the stock 2.2.2 version of Android.  Over the air uploads are terribly unreliable.  The app often crashes, hangs at 0%, hangs at 100%, and very rarely, completes the upload.  On a WiFi connection the uploads are slightly more reliable, but still prone to error.

I suspect that the app is expecting to be able to do a complete upload at once over a single connection.  When working over the air, your phone might drop out long enough to drop the network session.  The app isn't handling that well.


Connecting to internet using Wi-fi portable hotspot or bluetooth? which one is more battery saving?

Generally Bluetooth uses less power. On my HTC Desire, I use Bluetooth because it lasts longer and consumes much less power compared to Wi-Fi hotspot when connection is idle.


How do I stop a specific WiFi network from turning on WiFi automatically in Oreo

So, if the WiFi turned on automatically and is connecting to the network, you need to turn the WiFi off.
When I did that, I got the following notification:

  Turn on Wi-Fi automatically
  "[SSID]" has been removed from your frequently used Wi-Fi networks.
  It will be added again if you use it more often.

Apparently that is enough to remove it temporarily at least. No idea how long it takes until it is added again.


A grey stripe has appeared right above the nav bar

I found out what the problem was.

As a side note I work as a designer for a company with a dedicated Android app. The current builds from the development team are pushed to my device where I can test the builds and provide input.

In the latest builds from today the team had integrated a third party lib which produced a on-screen server communications log. This log appeared as a grey stripe wherever I was in the device without me knowing, and only started printing logs when I started the beta app.

So, no problem with Samsung on this one, I guess this is a problem no one else ever will encounter. :)


What's app doesn't recognize a contact in my phonebook

First verify that the person actually has WhatsApp, because if they don't, it will not show up.

After you confirm the above, add the contact to your phone then open WhatsApp and press the green new chat icon on the bottom right. Now press on the three dots on the top right, and select 'refresh'

As long as you put in all area code info correctly and you did the above, it should show up.


Restrictions of a Kindle Fire in Canada?

I have a kindle Fire I received as a gift and live in Canada. The Amazon App Store is visible but you cannot download anything. It says "this service is unavailable in your region" The web browser works fine, as does downloading books from Amazon .ca
You can see the content for sale or borrowing in Amazon Prime, but get the same message.


Can IMEI number of a device really be changed

IMEI is an baseband identifier so it's stored on non-writable memory. There are two IMEIs actually - display and hardware. It's possible to change the display IMEI on rooted devices, but no way to write it down to hardware. Call your carrier for resetting your SIM card and also try to flash stock firmware using factory tools (Qualcomm QFIL in your case)


Ok, so it seems the only way to do this on android is to contact shazam customer support, give them your IMEI number and they will send you the list.


App sending spam messages to my contacts

I just ran into this same problem today. It was sent by the Imo app itself. Don't use or install this app!

I recommend leaving a bad review on the Play Store and reporting the app on the Play Store.

To find out which app sent the spam, you can use Android App Ops if it works on your phone.


The authorization depends on a key stored on your key. You can find it in the file ~/.android/adbkey. If this key has been modified, replaced or recreated the authorization is lost.
So you should make sure you are still using the same key.
However even if you have the same key you might not get an adb connection because of Android security (in detail the device encryption).
On modern Android device (e.g. Android 9+) adb is only fully working after the user has entered the lock password/pin/pattern for the first time.
Before this first user authentication has been passed adb is not or not fully available. For examle adb shell may work but access to /sdcard and other encrypted sections is not possible (Android 9 with FBE).
However on older Android versions (or if the manufacturer has changed the user authentication) this behavior may be different so that you see the device on ADB but the authentication fails as you have encountered it.
Edit: Starting with Android 11 there seems to be a new feature called adb authorization timeout. By default this is set to 7 days. I have to had the chance to test this in reality but this looks like Android 11 device automatically "forget" the adb authorization(s) after a certain period of time. There is an option in developer options to permanently disable this functionality.


Run an android Virtual Machine on an android phone

You can run Android emulator on an Android phone using VMOS, exactly what you want.


That's one of the most easy tasks, and is called Factory Reset. Depending on your Android version, you find the suitable item at different places in the device's Settings menu:

Android 4.0 has it in Backup and Reset (at the end of that screen, watch out for "personal data")
Android 2.3 placed it in Privacy (with a fence-symbol; again at the end of that page)

There are also ways to achieve this without going via the settings menu, booting into Recovery Mode. hard-reset.com mentions the appropriate procedures for most devices.


Why WhatsApp spontaneously starts a backup in the middle of the day?

I finally think I found out.It is connected to date/time as aBochur suggested, but it's not that I changed the date/time of my phone or moved between time zones.

My findings

I have LG G5 and it has a removable battery.
Whenever I takeout the battery and replace it with the second one, when the phone comes up it has an old date/time - can be hours or days before (not sure what's the rule here, maybe previous shutdown?). This, from some, reason triggers a backup on WhatsApp.

Times after startup:

After 2.5m the phone reception is back and fixes the date/time.
After 5m WhatsApp creates a local backup.
Sometimes, not figured out when yet, it also triggers the cloud backup. If it will - it will happen (~around) 30m after the local backup.

I think it has to do with the time passed from the last cloud backup, but wasn't able to test it deeply yet.

So, the conclusion is there's nothing to do with it, this is how WhatsApp works and it's backup get triggered after it recognizes a date/time change.

This is the notification that sometimes WhatsApp shows, there's not a full correlation between this notification appearance and the backup trigger.

  Your phone date is inaccurate! Adjust your clock and try again.

Note: I haven't tried anything, this message just appears on those occasions.

The answer will be updated if I'll be able to collect more information about this.


Nexus S 4G: Use wifi for LAN, 3G/4G for WAN?

by default, 3g/4g cannot coexist with wifi, 3g/4g will be disabled whenever wifi comes up, if you need this so badly you can use some custom rom's source and modify the below code to enable 3g during wifi, also you need to route like u already do.

http://gitorious.org/0xdroid/frameworks_base/blobs/234551c44102003c1fb2de5c16f60f9f0cefe71d/services/java/com/android/server/ConnectivityService.java#line224


Working root method for Alcatel OT Pixi7 l213?

Have you tried KingRoot, you can download it from their website? Not 100% guaranteed but supports the most phones. Also you could try SuperSU's Update.zip too.


This differs from carrier to carrier. Some will be sim-locked, some aren't. You'll have to ask your carrier. It has nothing to do with the OS.


Applications don't have to care where the storage is. They just ask the Android system to give them a "pointer" to it. There are specific API calls for this, like getExternalStorageDirectory(). For details, you might check on our sister site: Get the right external storage from Android devices.


is it possible to upgrade the android OS on all phones?

You receive updates from the carrier.

You can circumvent this by rooting your phone and installing a custom rom (or stock rom, if available) to get the latest version of Android.


Can't access internal storage from normal system but I can in TWRP?

Try to execute following commands via ADB if you are rooted (in what I strongly doubt):

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system

or

adb shell su -c "mount -o remount,rw /system"

After that your push should work.
If you are not rooted, you will fail on the second command. If so firstly you should acquire root on your phone.

What concerning your question about customs ROMs/recovery: most custom ROMs already contain root patches. However, flashing TWRP has nothing to do with root and is done separately.


Try using a different internet browser like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox, but I must remember you that this kind of YouTube video downloading method isn't legal and you shouldn't use it, you may be downloading viruses and other harmful components in your device.

If it didn't solve your problem, then leave a comment in my answer and I'll find a way to help you better.


Lost, deactivated phone being used by someone on wifi. Can I track it?

Yes you can if a) the phone is on
               b) wifi is on
               c) location is turned on (through settings)

As an experiment (using Android Device Manager through Google Dashboard) I tracked my phone with SIM card (cell towers) and with the card removed (WiFi). The wifi results were much more accurate.


There are custom kernels supporting the HTC logo as a button. You might e.g. want to check tbaldens kernel @ XDA, which is available in different variants underlying the logo with different features:

HOME2Wake and HTCLogo2Sleep
HOME2Wake and HTCLogoMenu

Watch the videos over at XDA-Developers to see how it works. It is not the combination you asked for, but maybe that one was added later as a variant (another dev continued with a fork in this second thread, which lists a few more details), or you can ask the dev to do so.


Duplication of cellular phone Android 5.1.1

If only one device is on the timeline, there is a high possibility that you GPS is not good.
My device thinks often that I am in a city about 20km away. I is a bug with google.
To get really save, you can open the Android device manager in your web browser and get a list of all Android devices logged in into your account.


What is my phone's hostname/network name?

There's a way to retrieve your device's hostname, but you'll have to meet one requirement, which is to have a Terminal Emulator installed on your device.

Once you have one, just open an instance of the emulator and issue the following command, followed by Enter:

getprop net.hostname

Your phone will then answer with its hostname.


Long-press or open the conversation.
Click the 3-dot, select Mute.


Can I flash a kernel without flashing a ROM?

Does flashing a new kernel require flashing a new ROM?

It depends.  You can't normally flash a 2.3 kernel over a 2.2 ROM, and so on.  You can't flash a CyanogenMOD kernel on a stock ROM in most cases, and vice versa.  But you should be able to flash any Android X.X stock-based kernel (for your device) over any Android X.X stock-based ROM.

For example, there are no issues flashing a 2.2 Voodoo kernel on my 2.2 stock-based Bionix ROM for my SGS Vibrant.
Will flashing a new kernel wipe the data?

Not usually.  When flashing a lagfix ROM such as Voodoo that does advanced partitioning and formatting, there can occasionally be issues that will make you lose data.  As well, update packages can include scripts to automatically wipe the data.  You should carefully read the official description of any kernel to see if it mentions wiping data.

I've flashed dozens of kernels and only lost data once, and that was probably my fault; I had a fairly non-standard configuration.  It's always good to do a backup if you can.  Some ROMs recommend or automatically perform data wipes to eliminate any incompatible data between the two ROMs, but this is normally not an issue for kernels.
How can I see which kernels are compatible with which ROMs?

Again, any ROM based on stock is normally compatible with any kernel for your device based on a stock kernel from the same Android version.  If you have concerns I would first search the XDA posts for the kernel and the ROM to see if you can find anyone who has used them in combination.


Some but not all music is showing in my phone's media player

This may not be your issue, but I've had a problem like this for years, and just figured it out today. I wanted to get it written somewhere.

I buy CDs (yes, I'm the one), and then rip them to .ogg files for playback from my phone. What I was finding was that the newer CD's often wouldn't show up at all on any Android media player. However, the files were definitely there. If I connected to my PC with a USB cable I could play them just fine on the PC.

Hat tip to Metrov in this AndroidCentral thread. The problem appears to be that Android media players are very persnickety about music files having their tag information properly filled out. I installed Florian Heidenreich's Mp3tag, ran it against the problem children, and sure enough, they didn't have their tag info filled out properly. I'm guessing its been more of a problem for me with new music, as newer stuff is less likely to have good tag info about it uploaded to freedb.

This also allowed me to fix another problem I had where one album was showing up twice (inconsistent artist and Album Artist) tags.

In your particular case, I'd suggest hooking your phone up to a computer with a USB cable, then running Mp3tag or a similar tag editor and comparing the tag info in the files that are showing up on Android to the ones that aren't.


Forwarding or syncing SMS to another Android phone

I noticed an application on the Android store called "MySMS" that seems to sync between phone, tablet, and PC/Mac. Maybe this is the solution to your problem.

Downloadable from:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mysms.android.sms&hl=en

The same company also has a premium service for 2 phone syncing - which has the same features as above but specifically for sycning 2 phones together. Since the other app doesn't require a premium (paid) service, its worth trying to see if that does the job for free. If not, then it might be worth trying out their second app.

This is the premium version for 2 phones:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mysms.android.mirror&hl=en

Hope this helps.


Install CA without having to activate screen lock

I've written an article on creating & installing CAcert certificates as Android System Certificates (Android >=4.2), thus allowing you to use your device without lockscreen:

http://wiki.pcprobleemloos.nl/android/cacert

Main part of my article:

cat root.crt > 5ed36f99.0
openssl x509 -inform PEM -text -in root.crt -out /dev/null >> 5ed36f99.0
cat class3.crt > e5662767.0
openssl x509 -inform PEM -text -in class3.crt -out /dev/null >> e5662767.0

Copy the files 5ed36f99.0 and e5662767.0 to /system/etc/security/cacerts/ (and chmod 644 them), reboot and it should work. Check Settings -> Security -> Certificates, it should list both "CAcert Inc." and "Root CA". Note that some browsers might use their own certificate store instead of the Android one.

The Android security model explicitly forces you to have a lockscreen whenever a non-system (user) certificate is installed. There is no configuration option around this.

You can either replace your stock Android version with one which has removed this requirement (I do not think that any exist, but you could theoretically create your own).

The other option is using (temporary) root access for installing this certificate, and then 'unrooting' it, although that sounds a bit silly.


Add custom search engines on Chrome for Android

According to the sources, the option is reported by a few users for it. And hope so it would be released in future updates.
As of now, it is not possible to change the default search engine in Android.


Cannot connect to Internet via certain Wifi networks

I was able to get this resolved, sorta. I used a static IP on my phone and am now able to get to the internet. I'm not sure what has changed on my device to force me down this path but it is what it is.


Baidu Android Store automatically installed without permission

Found the answer.

If your device is rooted, install 'Root Browser' from Google Play
Now go in the phone directory, and browse to /data/data/com.baidu.browser.inter.
Select and delete it.
Restart phone and you will never be bothered again by Baidu browser again.

Source: Experimented myself on Android tablet.


What is the basic functionality behind the Odin buttons & checkboxes?

Looking at this Odin 3, don't forget, there are variant versions of Odin in respect to different Samsung devices. But this particular one is what's used to flash, from my experience, Samsung Galaxy 5 and Samsung Galaxy tablet P1010T.

In short, for Odin to operate, there can be .bin, or .tar or even .tar.md5 files associated with a ROM for flashing. Odin knows how to handle them in the appropriate manner. (Have not seen .bin used, its more of the .tar.md5 which is  a tar file with MD5 check-sums contained in the archive, in which Odin will automatically verify each file within it)

Re-Partition does what it says - re-partitions the layout.
Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time - when the flash is done, auto reboot and reset the timer of the flashing when done. Usually can leave those two checked.
PIT - this is a file that describes the layout of the partitions involved, this will be very specific to the device in question, use the wrong PIT file for the device, and its... well... face the consequence!
PDA - an all in one archive that contains the .img's MD5 sum, boot, recovery, system, userdata, cache and movinand. Those .img's are different to the normal ones that is out there, they use Samsung's RFS (Not sure what R means, but its File System and is proprietary to Samsung) - this is optional, the clue would be in the name of the file - if it contains PDA in it, use it, if not, uncheck this and follow on, if using this to flash the device...
Phone - When flashing a ROM for Samsung device, depending on the model, there will be usually, a file similar to this XXXX-REVnn-ALL-low-YYYYY.tar.md5 Again, this will be an all in one archive as explained for the PDA, the distinction and big clue, is the former is for tablets, the other is for smartphones (That's what have played with - just doubly check and make sure this is correct, have a wifi-only tablet here, and it uses the Phone when flashing - O_o).
CSC - This is some country code used for the region to flash the ROM against, XE is Europe, AU is Australia, and so on, this part can throw you off, its more then for tracking what region this is based of, in terms of localization and language support. And more importantly, for Kies to recognize the region and to determine if there's firmware update available. It is quite possible to have a CSC that can be limited to one country.

Another aspect of the Phone and CSC is, some would expect the name of the file for the Phone to be near same as CSC,  for example, P1010XWKC1 is the froyo firmware, but does not have a PDA in the filename... just to highlight that firmware for Samsung devices can be inconsistent at times.

So with that in mind, here's the general guidelines for flashing a ROM,

Re-Partition - do not check, unless you have the appropriate PIT file for your device. This will wipe all your data.
Auto Reboot and F.Reset Time are both checked.
PIT - mandatory, ensure you have the right file for your device.
If its smartphone, ensure Phone is selected and the appropriate file is picked from the file browser.
If it's non-smartphone, ensure PDA is selected and the appropriate file is picked from the file browser.
CSC - ensure you have the right region for this.

Before doing any flashing business on Samsung, ensure it is in Download mode, And away you go, Odin will extract the archives and performs check-sum first to ensure integrity of the files within the archive and start, ambiguously, uploading to device, or from device's viewpoint downloading!

If there is a kernel update, similar principle to flashing ROM, but with one notable exception - Un-check the Re-Partition, specify the kernel file which would go in under PDA or Phone as well, that depends! Omit the CSC as its not really used for the kernel flashing.

Phew, this Odin can be confusing, armed with inconsistent filenames so to emphasize, double-check around first before doing anything with Odin.

In all fairness though, Odin is actually a lot more safer than Kies from the flashing business viewpoint, be prudent and happy flashing :)


The Gmail app does not have a contacts section -- you only see you contacts when typing in the To field or whatever.  You should have a Contacts app with your Gmail contacts, if you are syncing them.  To change your sync settings, look in Settings -> Accounts and sync.

If you're referring to the website, that's not an Android question.  But the mobile website doesn't have Contacts on the left, you have to view the Full site (there's a link at the bottom of the mobile view).


Thumbnail cache

Check the .thumbnails directory in sdcard/DCIM (Digital Camera IMages)/  notice that it is a hidden directory and only visible with certain file managers with the option to view hidden files.

This directory stores a lot of thumbnail data especially in the form of two large binary files.

Play Music (if you are using it)

Play Music caches your songs so Settings > Clear Cache.

App Data left behind

Delete some app data cache left behind by uninstalled apps from sdcard/ and sdcard/Andorid/data. Even apps such as Chrome, Maps, YouTube leave a lot of cached files in sdcard/Andorid/data. Clean those apps cache from sdcard/Andorid/data.

Storage Space

Install DiskUsage and check your devices storage by detail.

DiskUsage provides a way to find files and directories on storage card which consume a lot of space.

After pinpointing down apps and files that consume a lot of storage with DiskUsage. Simply deleting those files and going into Settings > Apps selecting and cleaning those apps would prove sufficient.


Where is the camera button in the Google Image Search webpage on my Android?

Best option is to request the desktop website on your Google Chrome browser.

Tap the menu button of your browser.
Tick the check box next to Desktop Site.
Now go to the Google Images website (google.com/imghp).

And you have the look and feel of the website like you'd expect it on your computer.


How to get the Stoock ROM from Huawei P30 lite New Edition (MAR-LX1B)?

This site seems to have a link to the stock ROM. As with everything related to flashing and getting root access, do proper research as if things go wrong you might brick your phone. Also, note that I don't own your model, so can't ascertain if the file is legit or not.


Go to Settings -> Security -> Screen lock, enter the PIN once more and select Slide (or what ever you had before).


How to unhide a contact address in Google Maps?

According to solutions given Google Maps Help forum, you can try deleting the contact and then re-adding it.

  It is presumed that these settings are  stored in the Contacts App on your
  phone, not the Maps app.

Thus perfoming the above mentioned workaround will then override the "hide" option.

Additionally you may need to resync the information to Google servers.


How do I get Key Ring Reward Cards to store other kinds of barcode?

It looks like they explicitly support a few hundred (650, as of this reading) rewards programs. So they don't support just every last bar code you might want to store, unfortunately.

That said, they do show a Toys R Us reward card in their banner graphic so you'd think it ought to upload that one. My guess is that you should nudge them about the reward cards you haven't been able to scan: http://www.keyringapp.com/


How to revoke "SMS Services that cost you money" permission?

You can choose another setting by going into Settings > Applications > Applications Manager > More (top right) > Show System Apps > Message Service (rather than Messages) >
Tap 'Send Premium SMS' > Select Ask, Never Allow or Always Allow.

On more recent versions of Android (Nougat V7) the setting is at Settings > Apps > Application Manager > More (top right) > Special Access > Use Premium SMS services (may be listed as Use Premium text message services) > Select Ask, Never Allow or Always Allow.


A simple Google search answers that: it's a "file picker" introduced with Kitkat (Android 4.4) and since Lollipop (Android 5) the recommended default interfact for apps wishing to access files outside of their own storage area (i.e. to save data to your SD card). It ships with the Android system itself – so no worries, it's nothing malicious.


I've got the same situation on my HUDL2.
8Gb of space lost in a black whole.
I did a web search and found one page where a user had the same problem. They had eventually rooted their HUDL2 and found this file "/data/IntelCPHS.log" taking up the missing space.
It's in the /data directory so it's protected and all I can do is list the size with a terminal emulator. It also doesn't show up in disk utilities because of the protected directory it is in.
I did a "ls -l /data/IntelCPHS.log" and found it was taking up nearly 8Gb.
Without rooting all I could do was a factory reset to remove it.
The only thing I've found that causes the file to grow is the All4 app. If I don't view anything with that the IntelCPHS.log stays nice and small.So not a solution but maybe a workaround.


Will reseting my device to factory setting unroot and remove superuser?

No, root won't be removed by factory reset. If you want to remove it, then you should flash stock ROM; or delete the su binary from the system/bin and system/xbin and then delete the Superuser app from the system/app.


How untangle two Whatsapp accounts created with the same numer?

You can save a backup of all messages you have, then going through settings - account you can either: delete the account then activate it again another time using the correct number for each phone. or use "change my number" and reactivate the account with the wrong number to the correct one


Try these:

Download the Android SDK, and try the driver inside the SDK.
Check out this link: Android Lenovo ADB Interface Driver


Differences in battery information and phones printed labels

mA is not the same as mAh. The former is a current rating, and the latter is the capacity of the battery. 1000 mAh means the battery can supply a current of 1000 mA (at its rated voltage) for 1 hour, or equivalently, a current of 500 mA for 2 hours, etc. It tells you how much energy the battery can hold.

The number in mA printed on the phone tells you how much current the phone can draw. It's like a safety rating, though I suspect the numbers are somewhat made-up for phones: it would be very unusual for the phone to actually draw that much current, and most of the time the amount drawn will be much less.

There's no reason for those two numbers to be the same.


Where did these share options come from?

I finally figured this out as I was cleaning out the apps on my phone today.

I had installed this Bookmarklet app as a way of sharing links with Delicious from my phone. Unbeknownst to me, the sharing options had gotten switched.

So that's where these mysterious unwanted options had come from.


It looks like Google is afraid of being sued by Apple for using "square icon with rounded corners". There is an issu on http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=125076. However there is information about fix version set to 25th release. I don't know if chromium and chrome versions have the same numbers, but last time I checked Chrome it was on v. 22. There is also a posted suggestion of introducing chrome specific Android-Icon.


Update Sony Xperia C5303 ( with Android 4.3 ) to new version?

A simple and clear NO.
Using the Sony companion app you can only install official updates. Your device is so old that Sony stopped supporting this device long before Android 8 was released.
Keep in mind that Android is not like Windows, every update has to be adapted to your device. Therefore providing updates for a device costs a lot of money which is the reason most manufacturer drop device support very early. Some cheap devices never get a single update.
Therefore the only newer Android releases for your device are unofficial (aka customROM, community builds by skilled Android developers) if they exist. Check xda-developers forum for your device for newer firmware updates. But for installing them you need to root and unlock your device which can go wrong and brick your device.
If you are lucky you may find an Android firmware based on Android 5 or 6. I doubt that there are newer ROMs.


how do I setup notification rules for email in my exchange inbox?

Try these apps:

Mail Alert by DroidDevWork (on AppBrain)
MailDroid by Flipdog (on AppBrain)

Disclaimer: I have never used any of them.


Is it possible to detect a keyboard paddle press plugged in the headphone/microphone port?

Sure you can, there's a product that uses the audio port as an extra button, check this:

http://gizmodo.com/add-a-button-to-any-android-phone-with-this-genius-head-1221431712

Maybe this is more like a comment than an answer, but actually i can't add comments untill i reach 50 points.

By the way, as microphone it's an analog input for the android, you can set a trigger point on certain value to detect an (On/Off) state, for example:

If microphone values are in a range from 0 to 1024, you can set that if input it's less than 100 consider it as Pedal Pressed, if it's greater than this, pedal it's not pressed.

You just need to read microphone input and convert it to it's analog values instead of treating it as audio.


Create bookmarks in Chrome mobile browser. (Galaxy s4)

Hit the menu button (bottom left of the phone) and then click on the star (which will be at the top right of the dialog which appears).

The star is only to the right of the URL on the omni bar on the desktop version of Chrome.


Switch chrome interface from smartphone mode to tablet mode

You will need to change the DPI of your phone to accomplish it. But, the change will affect the whole system not just Chrome and may not be retained after a restart due to your device not been rooted.

adb shell wm density 600 (When I tested, 600 was the value that enabled the change of interface in Chrome).

For those who have newer version of Android, the DPI can be changed by going to Settings -> System -> Developer Option -> Smallest width.

Chrome's interface will change from phone to tablet.


How can I save a thread from Go SMS Pro to my SD card?

From the main screen (list of threads), long click on the thread and choose the option to "backup  thread."  This will save the thread to your SD card as an xml file.


How to find where progress in game is saved

May be specifying the game name could help in providing you with a better answer of where the files are, but many backup applications can do this for you, Titanium Backup is by far the most popular.


How to revoke the authorization to view my Google account for an app (e.g. Feedly)?

You need to go to the 'Connected sites and applications' section on the security page and click 'Review Permissions'. From here you should see Feedly listed like this:

Click the "Revoke Access" button and Feedly will no longer be able to access your account.


Re-Installing an unpublished purchased app?

You'll have to just Google it and find a copy elsewhere on the internet.  If it's unpublished from the Play Store, you can't install it from there anymore.


Trying to understand the options in TWRP backup

as Irfan pointed out in his comment, "Image" means creating a partition image (using dd). Normally, TWRP creates tar archives with all the files located on a given partition, which then is much smaller.
"Data" contains all data – i.e. data & configuration from system apps as well as user apps. As the /system partition is mounted read-only during normal operation, that's where all "variable data" go (apart from files you store to the SD card).
Probably none of those. It's unlikely Odin understands any of the TWRP backups (you can try, and I stand corrected if you find out it can – but no guarantees from my side, including that it doesn't "brick" your device – I'm not a Samsung user)
Vendor is stuff very specific to your device provided by the "vendor", i.e. usually the manufacturer (including customizations) – while System is the "Android base" (though this separation is rarely absolute)
Same as between "System" and "System Image" (see 1.)


Can't get custom boot animations to display

Did you add a crlf after the last line in your desc.txt file?  I could not get mine to play until I hit return after the last line to let the file end on the new line.

Hopefully this is all you need to do too.