Charging works well with new USB cables only

Hardware is not "capable" to decide charging rate based on "newness" or otherwise of cables

In all probability, USB cables you are using are of poor quality, wrong length and thickness

What I would suggest:

Google for "24 awg micro USB cables Less than or equal 2 meter length and purchase from reputed vendor

Why these specs for USB cable? Long explanation but needed to emphasize choosing the right USB cable

Current carrying capacity depends on resistance, for the same Voltage.

  Ohm's Law  Current = Voltage divided by Resistance

Resistance in turn depends on thickness

  Resistance = Length divided by Area (ignoring resistivity)

Resistance is inversely proportional to the area of the wire

Less area = Thinner Wire = More Resistance = Less Current (you cannot make out thickness of the conductor by looking at it- they all seem to be equally thick but internally the conductor thickness varies)

Similarly, reducing length of wire decreases resistance

Arc S has 800 mA and Nexus 7 has 1150 mA Charging current rating and the cable should support that

Cable Length ,thickness, current rating required for device both matter when choosing the right cable. USB Cable Resistance: Why your phone/tablet might be charging slow relevant to your device specs says

  For smartphones, with a requirement closer to 1A, 24AWG wires up to 2m could be sufficient, or 1m at 26AWG, and 50cm at 28AWG.

Nexus 7 is more choosy: It will stop charging if voltage levels drop and resistance comes into play again. Google Nexus 7 Charging goes into details and says

  Nexus 7 will stop charging if the input voltage is less than the internal battery voltage plus 0.2 volts.

Use an app like Ampere or 3C Toolbox to measure the charging current (somewhere midway of your regular charging time is a good time to measure, as the values may be different just when you plugged in or towards end of charging)
Calculate the charging time required using the Battery Charge Time Calculator ( choose efficiency of charging at 90 %)

Repeating this test say once a month for a few months at least would give an indication if it is a hardware issue (weird as it sounds). If there isn't a significant change, it only confirms that poor USB cables being culprit

For everyone: USB Cable Resistance: Why your phone/tablet might be charging slow is a useful read to understand why it is a good idea to spend more but buy the right USB cable


How can I view SMTP headers in the Gmail app?

Sadly there's no such option in the official Gmail app.

You can try using a third party mail client with more options such as K-9 Mail: http://k9mail.org/


Questions about phone migration using rsync

Using rsync to migrate your SD data would be fine...there shouldn't be any harm to copying the entire contents of /sdcard, but now would be a good time to clean it up. You can use rsync or just plain copy/paste, and migrate everything piecemeal either to your computer or directly to the new phone (just plug both in via USB to your computer at the same time).

The main concern is any pictures, music, etc. that you have on there. Beyond that, check for any app data you'd want. Some apps store their data in /sdcard/appname/, but most use /sdcard/Android/data/full.app.name instead (this is a little harder to decipher, as the names don't always match what the app displays as...Amazon's App Store is com.amazon.venezia, for example). Games may have saved games or high scores, games or other apps may have large data packs saved, and most apps back up their settings somewhere on /sdcard when you hit "back up settings" or "export settings" in a menu.

If you're wanting anything else, check out a similar question. The short answer is you probably need root to back up actual app data that isn't on the SD card, and an app that will do it for you (Titanium Backup is pretty much the de facto standard).


Why won't badge notification work for Gmail on my S3?

The stock Gmail app on the Galaxy S3 does not have an unread count on the home screen icon.  However, you can use the stock email app to retrieve your Gmail and that app includes an unread count on the home screen.


Updating apps in multi-user environment?

Shared apps are stored only once on the device (with just the data and settings part being specific for each user), so whenever one user decides to update a shared app, it gets updated for all users (Source: Heise.DE). As usual with some of the real important details (see: Google Backup), there are no details (or even manuals) describing exactly how it works. However, the announcement page holds:

  Users can install and uninstall apps at any time in their own environments. To save storage space, Google Play downloads an APK only if it's not already installed by another user on the device. If the app is already installed, Google Play records the new user's installation in the usual way but doesn't download another copy of the app. Multiple users can run the same copy of an APK because the system creates a new instance for each user, including a user-specific data directory.

(emphasis mine)

It's left open at what point this applies. But if it applies at the initial installation, it will certainly be the same with updates (as the Heise article linked confirms; to those who don't know Heise: it's one of the leading tech magazines in Germany, and well trusted).


How to install kernel module for android?

Use adb to push them to /system/lib/modules, then reboot. Android should load them at boot as long as they're in that directory, I believe.

shell> adb push module.ko /system/lib/modules/
shell> adb reboot

If you get a "read-only filesystem" error then remount /system as read/write first, then push them. Usually you can do this with adb remount. You could probably also put them onto an SD card and then use a file manager to copy them over if you want.

You can also use insmod to manually load a module into the kernel at runtime, but it wouldn't be reloaded if you reboot. This would allow you to skip the initial reboot, though, since you should be able to insmod all of the modules after you push them onto the device.


Received messages are not showing names of contacts on HTC Desire S

http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-inspire-4g/110483-phone-number-instead-contact-name.html

HTC is aware of the issue but there is no true fix for it yet. Anything in that link is temporary, but it's insightful. HTC should be working on a fix.


How to diagnose Android phone that is not working properly via vehicle bluetooth?

You can investigate who is guilty, but most probably you will not be able to workaround it. If your phone has Android version 4.4 or later you can collect Bluetooth HCI snoop log.

Enable Android Developer Options
Turn Bluetooth off
In Developer Options enable Bluetooth HCI snoop log
Turn Bluetooth on
Wait till connection with vehicle's head unit be established and try to make a call from head unit.
Disable Bluetooth HCI snoop log in Developer Options. Do not turn off power or reboot the phone till log file be copied or studied.

The log has name btsnoop_hci.log and on different smartphone models it can be stored at different places, for example, /sdcard/btsnoop_hci.log.
This log has a binary format and commonly special software is required to parse and view it. But in your case any binary or hexadecimal file viewer with ASCII strings searching ability can be used (even Windows Notepad, but the log should not be too big in this case).
You can view it on phone or copy to PC (directly, or via ADB after enable debugging).
Please keep in mind that this log can contain private data (e.g. phone book records and SMS) and should not be shared with untrusted people.
Open the log file using file viewer and serch for the string +CIND:
You can find two form of strings like the following:
+CIND:("service",(0,1)),("call",(0,1)),("callsetup",(0-3)),("callheld",(0-2)),("signal",(0-5)),("roam",(0,1)),("battchg",(0-5))
and
+CIND:1,0,0,0,5,0,5
The first one provided by request and contain a list of indicators the phone can report with possible value ranges. Please pay attention to indicators order, a number of place in the list is used to report individual indicator states. In this case "service" has a number 1, "call" number 2 etc.
The second string is also provided by request and contains current indicators state.
Now you need to find all +CIEV: strings. The phone use them to report individual indicator states by its own initiative. They have the format
+CIEV:INDICATOR_NUMBER,INDICATOR_VALUE
For my +CIND: example, string +CIEV:7,4 means battery charge value is 4 of 5 and +CIEV:1,0 means no service. Finding all values related to service, signal and roaming you can be sure if the phone reports them correctly or not.
Possibly, the head unit attempts to dial, so also try to find strings ATD (followed by dialed phone number) and ATD> (followed by an index in the phone memory). In such case you will see the phone answer ERROR or +CME ERROR:30 just below it.
UPD: BTW if such behavior is observed with the only SIM-card in a phone with two or three SIM-card slots, try to put the card into another slot.


Locked out of my Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0

Is your phone rooted? If yes,  then

Power off your phone. Wait for 5 minutes (till it vibrates to indicate it's switched off completely or just remove the battery)
Press volume down+power button+home button (to boot it to bootloader)
It will ask your warranty is void bla bla bla., just click okay
Now navigate the menu with volume up (to go one level up) volume down (to one level down) and power button (to select)
There must be some wipe dat/factory reset
If yes then select it and wipe all - all yes' and okays' (it will not clear your media inside the internal sd)
When it finishes go back to menu and click reboot

And check if your password has been set to slide unlock

Checked and verified on many Samsung devices and other phone out in India.


Toshiba AC100 running Android 2.2 wakes up by itself

Apparently its a known issue accordingly to this Modaco thread specifically posting #8

  Still have a standby bug, (it has a "self wake up")

Perhaps Toshiba has released a fix by now, or, try another custom ROM, perhaps on xda maybe...


If you have Clock app available in your Android Jelly Bean, Open it and set alarm with silent ringtone and you chek the box to vibrate.

In Jelly Bean 4.2.1 the silent ringtone is there. If you don't have, install ES file explorer, record some silent ringtone and set it with ES explorer.


Are there any specific advantages to using the Amazon Android App Store over the Google Android Market?

There are a number of differences between the two marketplaces and while "Advantages" may be somewhat subjective there are a few specific features that the Amazon App Store has that the Market place does not.

Amazon claims to test each app before making them available for download to ensure that "each app works as outlined in [the] product description, does not impair the functionality of the mobile device or put customer data at risk once installed."
They offer one "paid" app for free each day.
Some apps have a "Test Drive" feature on their website that allows you to try the app in a virtualized Android interface in your browser (although I can't seen to find an app that has this feature yet ).
Amazon is employing their recommendation engine to suggest apps you may like based on your purchase history.

It should be noted that at the moment the Amazon App Store only works in the US (unless you are able to use a US Proxy in another country) and the service is blocked on AT&T devices.


'Clock' app does not show up in Running Applications

I use Go Launcher Pro. There in the running tab it shows Clock. May be he stock launcher application hides running system processes from showing.


No, you won't be able to get it back without a backup unless you know someone with the same phone who can back it up & provide you with a copy.

You also won't be able to update your system OTA in the future either, as updates check to make sure that all the apps that should be there are present.  If they're not, they won't install.

Freezing apps rather than deleting is generally a much better idea.


This can be easily achieved by using Tasker.

Instructions:

Create a named task.
A1: Code >> Run Shell [Command: (insert any code you wish to run)  Store Output: (insert any variable which will retain the value of ouput - stdout) Store errors in : (insert a variable which stores errors - stderr)]
Tap back to exit
Link your task to your profile.

Note: for shell commands that require root you have to the tick the 'use root' option


How to properly factory-reset a Samsung Galaxy S2?

A factory reset usually doesn't touch "external storage" (may sound confusing, but that includes the "internal SDcard" as well) – unless it explicitly specifies so (some devices/ROMs have a corresponding checkbox in the system menu, usually Settings → Backup & Reset, where this might be specified to be included).

What a factory reset usually does is, basically, to wipe /cache (where the application cache should be) and /data (where the userdata reside, including the apps the user installed).

Which means: Nothing is wrong here, it's "working as designed". If you want the SDcard to be wiped, you will have to do so yourself. You can e.g. use a file manager app, or connect your device to a computer. Or simply use a terminal app (or adb shell), and invoke rm -rf /storage/sdcard0/* to have all files removed from there.

See also: factory-reset tag-wiki


how do I use my motorala blur 3-G or internet full time when I not a wi-fi spot?

Android devices' inherent behaviour is to opt for a WiFi connection over mobile EDGE / 3G / 4G data. In order to force a device to use the mobile data connection instead of the WiFi, just turn off the WiFi.

There are a number of apps like Llama / Locale / Tasker that can automatically enable/disable your WiFi connection depending on your location and other user-specified conditions.


Was unable to install any app - how to find out what was blocking the installs?

There is a low space threshold of about 500MB (depends on the device), and any app install or update that would take you over this limit always fails. No-one really explains this, least of all Android itself.

This is actually a badly-implemented "feature" - it is supposed to prevent you hitting 0% free so that system apps don't start failing, but it doesn't fully prevent that. You can still hit 0% free - and get into a terrible situation where system apps pop up error notifications every fraction of a second - by uploading/downloading files to the phone.

(The reason the 2 apps were able to reinstall themselves, is probably because I cleared some caches for some of the apps in settings as well as uninstalling those apps.)

The only way around this problem involves root access - which I am not allowed to do because it violates the terms and conditions of my work partition on my phone.

So the only thing to do is free up enough space...


As I just discovered, on a Note 8, screen lock seems to disable backup - including greying out the "backup now" button.  Disable screen locking and everything works.  Re-enable locking, and no backup.  Kind of strange.


Samsung Galaxy S3 headphones do not plug in

Have you tried plugging in another pair of headphones on your phone?
If there's a similar problem with plugging in the jack completely, there might be a problem with the jack (female) on the phone. You might want to get it replaced.


How to remove a decrypted Androis 4.1 phone?

I only could reset the phone.. cannot remove the encryption.


How to emulate a NFC card with an Android phone?

It is possible physically for the phone hardware but there are software problems, payment works but it's provided by google. I read about using phone as nfc tag recently and even if you can make it work card reader expects like logical address from you when you connect and card has it static while android sets new for itself with every connection so you need to somehow set it also to static.


If it came preinstalled it is not a "virus" I wouldn't trust any boost apps on play store but usually these apps kill background processes to free up RAM and CPU resources. Actual results may vary but if it is an default/bloat app it is not inherently harmful. To check if it is a phone app, check its info in the App Manager.


How to change the email adress on Latitude?

You need to change the account in Google Maps.

Open the Maps menu.
Select More > Settings > Switch Account.

Source.


Uninstall the drivers from Samsung and download and install then again on your PC this seems to be an driver problem. If this not resolve your problem come back and I can suggest other options.

Does your phone recharge when plugged in?

Any sound on your PC when you connect or any notification on your phone about being connected via USB?


App to sync PDFs between Linux laptop and Android phone?

I can recommend https://www.dropbox.com/
At the moment I have it on Ubuntu, Windows 7, Mac OS X and also on HTC Desire HD


copy text in froyo from web page including newlines?

While I can't help you with the copy-paste, I do recommend using an automatic solution to convert the files.  Conversion to PDF might help if Adobe Reader for Android will let you copy newlines, or you could have a <br /> tag inserted after every paragraph, etc.


Which hardware sensors are supported by Android?

AFAIK, these are sensors which Android supports:

- Accelerometer

Measures amount of acceleration which the gravity applies to the device, in 3 dimension. Therefore, the device can detect exactly in which position against the earth it is. Its usefulness is very wide, but mostly in games.
Almost all of Android phones have this sensor.

- Gyro

This one is very related to accelerometer and according to Wikipedia:
"The integration of the gyroscope has allowed for more accurate recognition of movement within a 3D space than the previous lone accelerometer within a number of smartphones. Gyroscopes in consumer electronics are usually called Accelerometers (Acceleration sensors) and come in 3-axis, 6-axis, etc."
Not all of Android phones have this sensor, but most of newer ones have.

Full List of Android phones with Gyro sensor

- Compass

This one almost works like a normal real compass, but very very tiny! It allows device to detect in which position it is against the poles of earth. So, apps using this sensor can show you the angle which you have hold the phone comparing to the North, South, East or West. It's main usage is in apps to find your way, in companion with GPS, or for example finding Qibla for Muslims, or any other interested direction which you may need.

List of Android phones with Compass

- Orientation

I Think this one is not a real sensor, but a side usage of Accelerometer. Orientation detection is most used for Android UI and most apps to detect portrait or landscape position of the phone, to rotate the UI accordingly. Almost all of Android phones have this feature.

- Pressure (Barometer)

This one is relatively a new sensor, which detects pressure of air in area which device is in, just like a barometer. It's main usage is to detect altitude of current location of device from sea level. This helps GPS to be faster and more accurate because one of 3 main values (Latitude, Longitude, and Altitude) that are detected by GPS, can be faster detected by barometer. So, GPS would work faster in companion with barometer sensor.

List of Android phones with Barometer sensor

- Proximity

This sensor is mostly located beside earphone in top of front face of the phone. It can be seen easily if you put the phone under bright light (unlike above sensors which are inside the phone and not visible). Its main usage is to turn-off screen, when you are calling and phone is near your head. Android turns off the screen, so it prevents accidental touch of screen when you are not supposed to, and also, it reduces battery consumption in calls. Some apps also use this sensor to control phone by your hand gestures, because this sensor has 2 state, On and Off. On for when something is near it (about 1 cm) and Off for when nothing is near. Most Android phones have this sensor.

List of Android phones with Proximity sensor

- Ambient Light

This sensor, as obvious from its name, measures ambient light in environment where the phone is in. Its value is a number between 0..255 (darkest to brightest) and is mainly used by Android internal system to automatically adjust brightness of screen to be properly readable under bright light of the sun, and also in a dark room. Not all Android phones have this sensor, and no usage except adjustment of screen brightness can be considered for it. I couldn't find a list of phones with this sensor, but almost all if high-end Android phones have this sensor. Its favorite location to sit down in your phone, if ever exist, is near earphone at top of front panel, and looks like a tiny and dark front camera placeholder.


Can't mount filesystem from LG-V20 on MacBook

I'm sorry I don't have a solution for you, only a small clue.  I have the same issue with my LG V-20 and Windows 10 on a Surface 3.  I run diagnostics on Windows 10 and it tells me that the V-20 does not support USB3. Since the only kind of port on the Surface 3 is USB3 I'll need to try another computer.  (I'm on vacation and have only the Surface with me so I cant try this out right now.)  If your macbook has USB2 ports you might try these or if not, try an older computer if available.


Samsung galaxy S3 continuously downloading on gprs

If she does not use GPRS, then best is to disable mobile data usage

But if you do not want to completely disable GPRS, then here is an article which shows how can you limit mobile data usage.
disable or limit mobile data usage

here are couple of apps to monitor and control you mobile data usage
control mobile data app


Always seeing "No connection: Retry" in Android Market

The answer is that the date/time settings were incorrect. The device had been off for so long that the clock had reset. Once I set the correct date and time the Market app ran normally.


do I pay for multiple downloads of paid apps?

Apps purchased through Google play store are linked to a Google account and not a device. This means you can purchase an app then use it on devices signed into the Google account that purchased it. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/113410?hl=en


Can you reset private mode on a Samsung Galaxy S5?

Did you try to install Samsung Kies on your PC? Try to download it, connect your device and click the Backup/reset tab, and then click "Data backup".

The easiest way it factory reset. If you have any private data who you don't want to loose say what sort is it, there are numerous ways to backup them.


My locations on my google timeline are showing places i never been,and now my bf thinks im cheating

It maybe cause because your Gmail account is signed into the multiple devices may person from those who have logged in with your account cause for this misunderstanding that he went  somewhere and his device is tracked with it or it might be some misunderstanding that he had seen someone likes you and followed her as he was thinking that she was you in relationship their are lot of factors like this and it might not technical questions.


That is your kernel version.  Specifically, you are running version 3.0.31 of the Linux kernel.

The rest of the line is various details about who compiled it, what options were set, and when it was compiled.


Automatically notify people when I leave/reach a location

Tasker can have approaching/leaving a location as a trigger, and sending a text message as an action. I've read before of people setting it up to do exactly what you're asking for.


How can I turn off vibration without going into silent mode on a rooted Nexus 5 with stock firmware?

Install Vibration Tuner Xposed module and set "global vibration strength" to 0%.

Compatible with at least Android 5-7 (I don't personally own a device with Oreo installed).


Which part of Android directories contains so-called proprietary blobs?

Yes, binary blobs are part of Android filesystem. Android can't boot without them as they are kind of hardware drivers for the device. Most of those are found under /vendor/lib(64), some also under /system, /etc and /bin. Before Android Treble, /vendor wasn't necessarily a partition but a symlink to /system/vendor directory. Starting with Oreo, /vendor is a partition, containing all content related to OEM and SoC vendor. Most of the blobs are executable files or libraries, run as independent services on boot. See this sample proprietary-files list.

In addition to that, the first partition (usually labeled modem) on eMMC contains Radio/RIL related firmware. Another partition dsp contains Qualcomm's Digital Signal Processor related binaries. They aren't built with ROM but are part of Android filesystem tree, mounted at (/vendor)/firmware and (/vendor)/dsp. Their execution is isolated from the rest of the device.

Many partition related to bootloaders are in themselves complete binaries, such as aboot, sbl, rpm, tz, cmnlib, devcfg, keymaster, lksecapp on Qualcomm devices. Those aren't mountable filesystem, but directly executed by bootloaders during boot process. All of them are proprietary binary blobs; the closed-source part of Android devices.

PS:
Android (a superset of AOSP) isn't a generic OS which can be installed on any hardware like we do on PCs. Support for the hardware is locked down to proprietary binaries (HALs) by the OEM and/or silicon vendors. So the binary blobs are critical, and the open-source AOSP (including modified Linux kernel source provided by Google) is of no use without hardware drivers. And the manufacturers rarely document the working of their hardware so that developers like Replicant can implement an open source driver. There is very small set of hardware components on Android devices that you can expect to be handled directly by making syscalls to kernel as is the case on PCs. The only notable addition by SoC vendors / OEMs to generic kernel source already modified by Google (1, 2) is the handling of non-discoverable devices (defining device nodes). Rest of the hardware related stuffed is handled in userspace through binary blobs.

Further reading:

Android Device Partitions and Filesystems
Android and Linux Kernel Drivers
Android HAL and Device driver architecture


Sounds like there's an app that is listening for the permission android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED and firing the toast much to your annoyance.

You need to check with yourself by asking yourself those two vital questions -

When did this happen?
What was the last app you installed?

And backtrace it to the offending app. For an example, check out this and narrow it down to that aforementioned permission and see which one is it and un-install it.


synch the contacts on my Android with the current contacts on Google Contacts

Log out from your google account.
Delete all contacts - make sure all contacts are deleted from all sources.
Log in to your google account

There is a auto - backup and restore option (Find more here). There is possibility that your device may restore the contacts that were deleted just before the formatting.


Completing HTTP POST request when wireless network connects

You could do this using onx.ms. You'll need to know a bit of scripting, but it's not that hard. onx.ms is basically an automation tool much like Tasker.

onx.ms has the ability to automatically run the script you made at specific triggers (like Wi-Fi on/off). These triggers itself are to be defined within the script you make.

Have a look at this for the HTTPClient object you can use in the script to make this happen.

Though not a perfect app as it requires some internet action initially I presume and the fact that you'll need to have a facebook account to use it. But the whole javascript like scripting and not-so-bad documentation, makes it more fun to use.


How to import ICS into S-Planner (Galaxy S7)

I presume the ics is an attachment to a mail or somewhere in your storage. Just tap to open it like any other file, and choose S Planner to open. It will give an option to import the event.


You can query get all information Android has about your battery by executing

adb shell dumpsys battery

Then you will get an output like this:

Current Battery Service state:
  AC powered: false
  USB powered: true
  Wireless powered: false
  Max charging current: 400000
  Max charging voltage: 5000000
  Charge counter: 1363859
  status: 2
  health: 2
  present: true
  level: 51
  scale: 100
  voltage: 3833
  temperature: 190
  technology: Li-ion

I don't know how and if it is possible to get other details on the battery such as the type number (e.g. for buying a replacement). If you require such information I would check if there is a tear-down video e.g. on https://iFixit.com for your device that includes such information.


How can i root my Oukitell U22 smartphone

Your device has a Mediatek Chipset (MT6581A). You can try the Kingoroot app version or the desktop version. If it fails you'll need to try MTK Droid Tools
Follow the steps below (From MTK Droid Tools site, with some modifications).

Download MTK Droid Tools here.
Download the drivers (from the same link scroll down the page).
On your phone go to Go to “Settings” > “Developer options” > check “USB Debugging”. If you don't find the Developer options, go to About > tap 7 times on Build then go back to Settings you should now see the Developer options.
Connect the phone to the computer. Should install drivers. If not install the drivers from the above link.
Now run MTK Tools as administrator (Right click > Run as Administrator).
MTK Tools should detect the phone and display device infos at the left side.
Click “Root” at the bottom. You must grant any authorization when the phone prompts for.
A progress bar should appear and becomes gradually green.
Click “Backup” and create a backup before rooting.
Whne the backup process completes, click “To prepare blocks for flash Tool”. Follow the instructions that appear on the display and MTK Droid Tools will start rooting your MediaTek.


Why are some lollipop notifications able to be swiped away on lockscreen?

There are two types of notifications: Persistent notifications and swipeable notifications. Persistent notifications won't be swipeable because they are set like that by the app and for good reason (For eg: alarm or Poweramp or system notifications). There may be apps which abuse this. The only way to remove them would be to force close the app. And like you said, swipeable notifications can just be swiped away because it is assumed that they are unimportant.


Can I have two separate minecraft apps on my sole account?

Yes, the two devices will have independent data and a single purchase of an app can be installed on multiple devices with the same account. If they want to play multiplayer they should make sure not to sign into the same Minecraft account (not sure how that works on the pocket version) and single player will just work.


If you look at my previous answer to a similar question you can see that by Google's testing utilising WiFi will use more battery than using GPS. This seems broadly in line with the figures given in an answer mentioned in the comments.

However as Izzy mentions these are ballpark figures and actual consumption is dependant upon what exactly the phone is doing.


/system cannot be remounted as RW, even when rooted (Sony Xperia E3)

Using Total Commander to remount the / directory as RW also remounted /system as RW.

Howto:

Enable Root Functions Everywhere in TC settings.
Proceed to add a new button to the toolbar with Function Type Internal Command.
Press on the >> button, and select the 119 Remount option.
Press OK/Apply
Navigate to root (/) directory.
Press newly created Remount button and accept any prompts.

Edit: I've found that when I'm using Kingroot to manage root, mounting works correctly. When I migrated over to SuperSU however, I could not remount / or /system as RW.
If the above steps don't work for you, Kingroot might be worth a shot.

Another edit: While I do recommend Kingroot as an option to allow access to your /system folder, you should exercise caution with Kingroot, as it is known to gather information about your device. I would save Kingroot to be a last resort, should you cannot find any other method of remounting /system as rw successfully.


Is any of the Android rooting software open source?

I've been battling the same issue. Using closed-source from a private company is a huge mistake if you care about security and privacy. Open-source, though arguably not thst much more secure, has one benefit over closed source from a private company: paid programmers are expensive. What's their motive for paying people to do this? Money. Is the root software free/cheap? Don't use it.  Open Source, on the other hand, though while not totally free from malicious additions, is being handled mostly by programmers who, collectively, want to use the software they are helping create. That being said, here's what I've mustered up.

Most actively developed is by this guy, phhusson, who posted an article (https://www.xda-developers.com/the-importance-of-open-source-in-root/) about it in 2015. Then started this (still active) thread (https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/wip-selinux-capable-superuser-t3216394/page246)
Here's the repo:
https://github.com/phhusson/super-bootimg

Here's another
https://github.com/android-rooting-tools

Both of these are still under heavy development.


Why is a random app being opened when I exit an app with Back button?

It's most likely related to how the task stack works.

In Android, an application can open an activity in another application, but the task stack still belongs to the first application instead of the second.

For example, if you open a YouTube link from Firefox then the back button will take you back to Firefox. The task stack may often cause apps back button to appear to behave strangely especially if you don't understand how the task stack works; most strange behaviors with the back button is caused by users that don't understand back stack, but sometimes strange back button behaviors may be because of a bug in the application, or because of application developers that don't understand the task stack and tried to work around it rather than with it (causing grief for people that do expect proper back stack behavior).

The task stack is also the reason why the Recent apps list may show an app that belongs to say Firefox but shows a Screenshot that appears to come from the Youtube app, and clicking that app will bring you to a Youtube activity instead of to Firefox.

The recent apps list shows both the app name and a screenshot because both are needed to decide which app to switch to. If you want to go to the Youtube app to start a new task, you should switch to the app that is named Youtube, instead of any apps that have the Youtube app screenshot.  But if you want to return to the video you watched before that email come that interrupted you, then you want to go to the one that shows the right Screenshot, which may actually be named with your browser or newsreader.

I used Firefox and YouTube as an example but this works similarly in any properly written apps.


PC from/to Android voice communication without Internet

OK, just use Linphone. That's the app the old answer recommended, as you can just use the same program on Win/OSX/Linux/Android/iOS. You don't need internet, but you do still need to have IP connectivity between the devices (if one can ping the other then you're good to go).


My Samsung Galaxy Note won't charge but will turn on for 1 second

Yes, it can be because of so long time of charging. You must go for service center so that problem can be solved systematically.


How to remove everything from an Android device?

You can't do this from the OS or adb, you would have to do it from fastboot or recovery such as CWM or TWRP.

fastboot erase all - note this will erase EVERYTHING, including your IMEI or MEID and other proprietary settings, the phone will likely be unrecoverable or unusable with most devices. It is blocked in some devices. Use with caution and understand the implications prior to doing this!!!

fastboot erase XXXX - Where XXXX is the partition you want to delete, like system, boot, userdata, etc.

In TWRP or CWM, you could just format the various partitions.

In most devices, these options would require an unlocked bootloader.


You might wish to take a look at the µg (microG) project. It's currently between its alpha and beta state, but I'm using its predecessor (NOGAPPS) for quite a while and must say it works pretty well. And despite its early state, reports in the linked XDA thread sound real good: GCM seems to be working, and even the Playstore app accepts the backend.

The minimum configuration is described there: µG GoogleCore and the proxy should do – together with the Fakestore (a playstore stub with no functionality but letting apps believe it's there) for an absolute minimum should do. If you can live without the Drive, Fitness, and Games API, and without G+, it's the way to go. Currently the dev is working to add Wear support, and get the other stuff out of its "baby shoes".

Necessary .apk files can be downloaded from the first post of the linked thread.


Can I report phone numbers as NOT spam callers?

You missed seeing this  Report a mistake in spam protection

If a call from someone you know is marked as spam, you can report the mistake.

Open your device's Phone app phone.

Tap Recent calls Recents.

Tap the call mistakenly labeled spam.

Tap Not spam.

Future calls from this number won't be marked as spam.


Blackberry Priv won't connect to Windows 7 for file transfer

This was a hardware issue rather than a software issue. I had the same problem with two different Privs, so I thought it must be something to do with the Android system. But it turns out that, for some reason, my phone didn't like using a USB 3.0 port. That only charges it. Switching to a USB 2.0 port finally got me the charging notification, so I was able to switch. As a side note, setting it to "File transfers" (MTP) didn't work. I had to use "Photo transfer (PTP)" to get it to see the device. And in that case, it only sees the onboard storage, not the memory card. So it's an imperfect solution, but since my photos are on the phone storage, not the card, and I can copy from the card to the phone if I really need to, it works well enough to solve my issue.


Can I change the download path for the Amazon MP3 cloud?

Manually moving files as suggested by Michael above works (I use Ghost Commander on my device), but today I found the Amazon MP3 Mover app.

It automatically moves the files to the folder you specify on your SD card as they download and then the Amazon MP3 player app (or Apollo or whatever else you might use) finds them in their new location.

I just downloaded it a few minutes ago and am testing it. So far so good!


Where are the battery capacity files located?

I think the answer in the email is legit, here's why:

All of the following information is based on the Google Nexus 5, but the general procedure should apply for all Android phones.

The mail describes two possible sources for an app developer to get the information on how high the battery charge is on full capcity:

Reading from the sysfs file in the Android file system (/sys/devices/power_supply/battery/charge_full_design).
Using the Android private API. Private in this case means that only system apps (from Google) have access to this information. But an app developer can use a few tricks (described here) to get access to this information too.

Both of these methods have their own source for the "charge at full capacity" value.

1.: In the Nexus 5 this file is created by the driver responsible for handling the chip (Maxim MAX17048) which measures the remaining capcity on the battery. The source code of this driver can be found here. The driver uses additional files to get device specific information. This information is fixed and usually provided by the smartphone manufacturer. The file used for the driver in the Nexus 5 also contains a value called fcc-mah. You will get the content of this value if you read from the /sys/devices/power_supply/battery/charge_full_design file in the Nexus 5.

2.: Another way is provided by the private Android API. This API uses power profiles to know how much energy every component approximately consumes. The Google documentation says:

  Device manufacturers must provide a component power profile that defines the current consumption value for the component and the approximate battery drain caused by the component over time. This profile is defined in platform/frameworks/base/core/res/res/xml/power_profile.xml. For guidance on these settings, see Power Values.

The power_profile.xml also holds a value called battery.capacity which can be read via the API. This value also holds the maximum capacity of the battery.

To get the power_profile.xml for your device, do the following:

Use ADB to get the the framework-res.apk: adb pull /system/framework/framework-res.apk
Follow these instructions to get a readable version of power_profile.xml
Path to the extracted file is: framework-res/res/xml/power_profile.xml

So depending on how a developer chooses to get the "charge at full capacity" value, he may get different results. Especially when I look at the driver file for the Huawei Honor 6, one can see that there are different values depending on the used battery type.

One could assume that a lazy manufacturer does not update the files in the driver or the power profile appropriately for the used battery, which in return causes the different values.

Form a developers perspective the second method is more attractive and easier to implement (again, see this answer). The first method needs access to the Android file system and root privileges.


What does the ROM files (FACTORYFS, HIDDEN, CACHE, PARAM, etc.) mean?

From [INFO] What the ROM files mean

  boot.bin This is the Primitive Bootloader. Seems to make some basic
  initializations and finally loads the secondary bootloader.

  Sbl.bin The Secondary Bootloader. It loads the PIT, the Linux kernel,
  params.lfs and the modem. It also is responsible when the device is
  charging while it's off. This file contains the picture you see when
  in Download-mode. So it's also responsible for the flashing stuff and
  getting into recovery.

  The Sbl.bin seems to be there twice. The second one may be for backup,
  if something bad's going on.

  param.lfs A collection of JPEGs. These include the Galaxy S-Logo you
  see first when booting the phone as well as the phone-!-computer
  picture, the loading spinner and some pictures of an Android giving
  some information: "CP CRASH UPLOAD MODE", "FORCED UPLOAD by KEY
  PRESSING", "POWER RESET or UNKNOWN UPLOAD MODE", "USER FAULT Not
  KERNEL PANIC UPLOAD MODE" and "KERNEL PANIC UPLOAD MODE". And there is
  the Logo of NTT docomo, which is a Japanese mobile operator company.

  Maybe there are more information in this file, but I didn't extract
  it.

  The rest of the files should be rather obvious:

  zImage is the Linux kernel.

  recovery Backup Kernel. Don't know if it's
  used on every device.

  factoryfs.rfs is the System partition with the
  Android system.

  dbdata.rfs is the partition where the app data get
  stored.

  cache.rfs is for Dalvik cache.

  modem.bin is the Modem.

From How to Use Heimdall – specifically on Samsung Captivate – Download 512 513 and 803 PIT files

  IBL+PBL is the boot loader, be extra careful with it;
  PIT is the partition table;
  EFS contains some important data like IEMEI, be extra careful with it;
  SBL is the second boot loader;
  SBL2 is the backup of the second boot loader;
  PARAM contains some images used as various stage of the boot process;
  KERNEL is the kernel;
  RECOVERY is the backup of the kernel;
  FACTORYFS contains /system file system which is some kind of root file system;
  DBDATA contains /data file system which is the database to store application parameters;
  CACHE contains /cache file system which contains the Dalvik cache;
  MODEM contains the firmware for the modem.


I've rooted my phone.  Now what?  What do I gain from rooting?

Things that Require Root
Root File Explorers
You can remount your /system/ directory read-write, which will allow you to remove carrier-shipped applications you don't like and so on.  Root file explorers can allow you to view all folders on your phone, such as /data/ which is normally protected.

Mount /system RO/RW
Root Explorer
ES File Explorer

Patching Apps
With root access you can patch other apps to gain special access to functions, or removal of self-protection for some apps.

Freedom - Get iAP (in-App Purchase) for free! Buy diamonds, rubies and Pro unlocks without real money. Note: Legal restrictions may apply depending on your country/region.
Lucky Patcher - Patch apps so that they don't require Google Play Services / displays no more ads / automatically become Pro version / work at certain DPI... There's many you can do with Lucky Patcher and there's even a bunch of patches provided already.

Moving & Removing Apps
Access to /system also means you can move apps or updates to system apps from /data to /system (with caution!), if the partition has enough space.

Titanium Backup - Back up all of your applications and data.  Also allows you to uninstall or freeze system apps, integrate updates into your ROM to save space, move apps to SD, and more.
apps2rom - does for free what the pro version of titanium backup does: lets you move apps to the system partition.
Bloatfreezer - Freeze or remove system apps
Link2SD - Move (system) applications to a second partition in SD card, liberating loads of free space in /system partition.

Note that moving apps to the sdcard has risks and cons, and should be undertaken only if space is needed. Most modern devices have enough memory for many apps (16GB+), providing that photos/videos/music are stored on an external sdcard.
Tethering
Some devices already have Wi-Fi tethering out-of-the-box, like the Samsung Galaxy S, so this isn't such a big deal on them unless the carrier charges for the feature.

Android Wi-Fi Tether
Wireless Tether

Screenshots & screen recording
root is needed for screenshots before 4.0-Ice Cream Sandwich.
Most pre-lollipop screen recorders also require root.

ShootMe
Drocap2

Backups

Titanium Backup - Back up all of your applications and data.  Also allows you to uninstall system apps, integrate updates into your ROM to save space, and so on.
ClockworkMod Recovery (ROM Manager) - Usually requires root to install via ROM Manager.  Allows you to backup the entire device, including your ROM, as well as flash new ROMs and other advanced tasks.

There are also many apps that claim to make a full nandroid backup.
Application/Network Control

AdFree - Removes ads by changing the hosts file (so both ads in apps and in browser)

Adaway - Also blocks in-app adds.

Droid Wall - Firewall application.  Got an app that's using up all your data when you're not even using it?  Block it with this!

Orbot - Tor app

Cache Mate - Clear cache of all apps

Droid VNC Server - Connect to your phone via VNC

LBE Security Master - Selectively revoke permissions from app

Button Savior - Helps to add on screen button to compensate a failure of a physical button.

ClockSync - to automatically sync the device's time with few predefined atomic clocks.

Xposed Framework
The Xposed framework allows apps with advanced tweaking functionality to be installed.

GravityBox (for Android 4.2 4.4 5.0 5.1 6.0) - An app that provides many system tweaks.
XInstaller - Various tweaks for Package Installer.
XHangouts - Improved version of google hangouts.
XWhatsApp - Mod for the popular whatsapp messenger.
XPrivacy - Finegrained app control.

CPU Control

SetCPU - Control the processor speed of the phone, can also setup profiles.  It allows underclocking based on conditions, e.g. underclock to 125mhz when screen is turned off. It dramatically increases battery life without affecting performance (when you're actually using apps / the phone) or can improve performance via overclocking.
Overclock Widget - Similar to SetCPU but less functional

Enable swap file / partition

ROEHSOFT RAM-EXPANDER (SWAP) - Use SD card for more RAM.

Memory Swapper Free - support swap file.

Advanced and Miscellaneous

ROM Manager - Facilitates installing new ROMs with ClockworkMod Recovery, and allows you to back up your entire device (ROM + apps + data) and other advanced tasks.
Quick Boot - Allows you to reboot into recovery or the bootloader / Download Mode.
LED Hack - Disable LED on phone (no longer available on Android Market)
Lag fixes - Various tweaks and filesystem changes to speed up your phone or prevent issues with your phone pausing / freezing temporarily.  These are particularly useful on some Samsung phones that use an RFS filesystem.  An Ext4 lagfix like Voodoo is recommended, but there are also Ext2 lagfixes like RyanZA's One Click Lag Fix which also allows you to change advanced memory, Wi-Fi, and disk scheduling options.
TRIM - Some older kernels do not have TRIM.
StickMount - Automatically mount USB flash drives, keyboards, mouse via USB OTG cable.
BusyBox - Makes terminal emulators feel more like linux.
Sideloading apps.  Most carriers/phones allow this option but AT&T does not.

ROMs
Though root is not required for flashing new ROMs, many apps that make it easier do require root.
CyanogenMod is a very popular rom that many people put on their phones.  It is also easy to install via the ROM Manager app.  First install the Clockwork recovery.  Then run a backup before you flash any roms.
Also check out "Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my device" or the XDA forums for other custom roms.  Most devices have a specific "Android Development" sub-forum where ROMs are posted.
Always do a nandroid backup before installing any rom or mod!  You may also need to wipe all data and cache from your phone before installing or upgrading a ROM.
Custom Kernels
One popular set of kernels is those provided by ChevyNo1. You can also download them via the premium version of the ROM Manager.  Make a nandroid (ClockworkMod) backup before using these kernels! You'll also want to get SetCPU to make the most out of these kernels.
Start with the low voltage kernels at the lowest speed and work your way up to the 1.2GHz.  If your phone is stable up to the 1.2GHz range, then try some of the ultra low voltage kernels.  If you start getting force closes, then switch back to a low voltage kernel.
Basically each phone (of the same phone brand/model) varies by which kernel it can handle due to the manufacturing differences between processors. So I may have a Motorola Droid that can run ultra low voltage kernels and yours may not be able to run them.  These phones weren't necessarily designed to run like this.


The MDM solution can require that you set a PIN.

The Google Apps Device Policy app, for example, can require you to set a PIN. This is described in the Google Device Policy for Android if you want more details.


As of current writing, it seems that it's (still) impossible to create a new label in Android Gmail app. From Google Gmail official support,

  Create a label

  On a computer, open Gmail. You can't create labels from the Gmail app.
  On the left, click More.
  Click Create new label.
  Name your label.
  Click Create.

(Emphasis mine)


Go to Settings>Developer Options>Running Services and check to see if something you don't recognize is using a bunch of processing power.

If yes, you've probably got a virus.

Otherwise, a factory reset could fix the issue.


Check if Google Play Service is up to date

As a workaround you could sideload the last Google Play Services app.

You can check your version under Settings > Apps > All tab > Google Play Services.

Here in the Google Play Store you will find the latest version number or alternatively here at Google with some more in-depth info.

As a resource you could try and trust (hopefully) androidpolice.com and search for Google Play Services, download the app, allow Unknown sources under settings and sideload (install) the app.
/Update: APKMirror is the 'new' service from androidpolice where you find all apk's. Search here.

But usually after a short time Play Services should update automatically.


"Device located,Android Device Manager located this device" How to turn this off

In Settings app, go to Sounds and Notifications, then  scroll to App notifications, click on it, then go to Google Play Service, click on it, then click on Block all.


Due to a disclosure agreement, Corning (who make about 90% of screens) will not answer any questions on what devices use their technology. However, Samsung have said: "GT-N7100 does not have Gorilla Glass 2. Thank you for your interest."

That doesn't say who makes it or what type of material it is I'm afraid. However, from friends and others I would say get a screen protector, it is MORE scratch prone than say the S4 (G Glass 3) but not more than the average device. Just remember the screen is BIG and that gives it more leverage if it is in a tight pocket / bag and is likely to have more force on it in these situations.

I'll keep looking and update if I find out!


Why does the Yahoo Mail application for Android only show message snippets in search results?

I have the same problem. It's ridiculous.

I don't really have a solution, but here's my workaround: I forward the found email to myself. (Doing this, you still won't be able to read the message in the composition window!!)

So you'll be able to read the forwarded message only when it comes around in your inbox.

I really do hope they'll fix this.


First, there's no need to "clear RAM" (see our ram tag-wiki for details).

Second, task-killers are rather to be avoided for all but very specific cases: they are useful when an app goes bonkers, but their purpose is not to clear/clean anything. For this topic, please see:

Is it advisable to run a task killer app on Android
Do task killers actually work?

Third, "clear System Storage" is certainly not what you have in mind literally (/system storage is mounted read-only, and basically is where "the OS" resides). Clearing storage is a different thing when it comes to the parts writeable: cache, apps you've installed (including their data), files you've downloaded (eBooks, music, videos). Now that's something which can be pretty useful. There are several apps available for Storage Analysis, helping you to find the "big chunks" to delete selectively. And there are even more apps helping you with System Cleanup directly.

Not to forget what you could do even without those helpers: Walk the list of the apps you've installed (in Settings › Apps), and uninstall those you no longer need. What's not there cannot use up precious storage, and cannot waste resources like CPU, RAM, or network bandwidth.


Acer A3-A40 Fastboot erase system, OEM not unlocked, not rooted, cannot find stock rom

The easieast way if your stock rom isn't available on the internet is to try multiple system.img files from different brands which have the same specs with your device (same SoC, same TP...).

Good luck!


Is there a "hardware reset" for the Galaxy S?

Sounds like the phone simply froze up. Try taking out the battery, putting it back in, and then press the Power button to start it.


Google Maps constantly requesting location

Have you tried switching off "location sharing"?

It is under "Privacy settings" in settings menu.  Read more here


Are there any custom ROMs that can be upgraded without a wipe?

Have you had specific problems with this? Many ROMs will work fine when updating from one version to another. For example, the instructions on CyanogenMod's forums (taking the EVO as an example) say:

  Upgrading from earlier version of CyanogenMod 7?

  Perform a NANDroid backup of your current ROM.
  Flash CyanogenMod (your Google Apps will be backed up & restored automatically).

Specifically they're referring to a case such as upgrading from say 7.0 to 7.1. The NAND backup is just in the event that you want to roll back or something goes wrong, but in reality you could even consider that optional (though highly encouraged).

Again taking CM as an example, you usually only need to wipe your phone if you're going from one major version to another. A good example would be if you're going from an Android 2.2-based ROM to an Android-2.3 based ROM. This is because there are some significant changes under the hood to Android, and is not really related to the specific ROM itself in most cases. The exception to this is typically carrier OTA updates since they specifically tailor them to play nice with the previous versions (end users wouldn't want to wipe their phone for every OTA, obviously).

Edit: Just to clarify, what I mean by the above is that CM won't wipe your /data partition (or /cache, I believe) on its own, as described here. It will also backup Google Apps and reinstall them to /system during the update. You can wipe /data manually from your recovery or ROM Manager, but you certainly don't have to. I have read, though, that using ROM Manager to flash an update will automatically wipe /data. There may be a setting for this or this may not be exactly true - I am not sure because I do not install my ROMs this way (I boot into recovery and do it manually).


"Android OS" uses a lot of data in background, how to turn off it?

This is due to Google Backup.Switch Google Backup off and your problem will be solved. Follow these steps:

Open Photos app.
From options goto Settings.
Touch Auto Backup and switch the toggle On or Off.


How can I keep my clock widget work in background?

My problem is solved. Following link helped me.

http://support.meetviva.com/knowledge_base/topics/huawei-how-to-disable-battery-optimisation-for-the-viva-app#

I opened Phone Manager, then Power saving, then Protected apps and then I turned on the apps which I do not want to close after turning off my screen.


Found it!

I opened up Contacts, then went into Settings. At the top of this list I have 'My info', which contains the 'Me' contact.

Hope this helps :)


TWRP tells me: adb: sideload connection failed: insufficient permissions for device: user in plugdev group; are your udev rules wrong?

This is because TWRP doesn't support sideloading on the One Plus 7 Pro. From the official port page

If you don't download the zip file to your device first for any reason, you will need to adb push the zip to the device because MTP is not currently working on the OnePlus 7 Pro in TWRP. If you are unable to use adb, you can also use a USB stick with an OTG cable, if you have those handy.


Is "Preferred Activity Setter" a malware?

No. System apps cannot be removed without root privileges. Ignore this warning from AVG. I myself removed it using Titanium Backup, but once again you need to have root for that. If you are ready to take that step, knowing that it will void your warranty, then head over to XDA and research the rooting methods available for your particular phone model.


What determines the graphics of a device?

The major hardware elements that determine what graphics quality you can choose are:

Graphics chip built into your main CPU. The faster it is and the more parallel computation cores it has the more calculations per second can be done
The maximum RAM of your device
The display resolution. The higher the resolution the more pixel have to be calculated -> the longer the calculation of each display frame takes -> the less frames per second can be displayed


How to get Jelly Bean Camera to use external SD card?

Here's how I did it:

Go into Camera as if you were taking a picture
Go into Settings (gear) on top left
Scroll down to Storage
Change to Memory Card


Tablet not connecting to any Wi-Fi at home but other devices does

If you have an Static IP Address to connect a router, then you'll have to long press your wifi name and then advanced options then enter a IP Address manually.


Get root or re-install the OS without a USB cable?

Use ROM Manager app. It can install ROMs from SD card. You can download your favorite ROMs using it, too.

And, Samsung Galaxy S is officially supported by it.


Install default Android 2.2 / 2.3 on Optimus One

There's a "beta" version of CyanogenMod 7 for the Optimus One over at the XDA forums which you could try out. There also appear to be a couple of builds that are derived from CM but mix in different tweaks and patches to the kernel and whatnot (one such build here, also Gingerbread).

CyanogenMod - if you're not already familiar with it - is essentially a vanilla Android experience but with some nice additional settings and improvements. They build from the Android source code and then add some patches of their own. I think one of the few plainly noticeable differences is that they use ADW Launcher as a home app instead of the stock Gingerbread one, but I think the GB launcher is floating around on the Market somewhere. ADW is nice anyway, though.


Two-finger swipe 'breaks' heads-up notifications on Lollipop?

This is a bug, and it has been reported on AOSP Issue Tracker #79583.

As of current writing, the issue carries on to 5.0.1 Lollipop, reproduced on a Nexus 5. One claimed that the issue has gone on 5.0.1 (but didn't mention the device), and the rest still reported the same issue on it.

If you are interested in the follow-up, you might "star" the issue (I have done it myself).


Connecting Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 to HDMI without activating Dex

It seems that it depends more on the TV than on the tablet itself.
In my particular case, I had to select the specific input source in the TV, and only then the tablet sends the image without trying to run in Dex mode.

To summarize, I had these connection methods:

Google Chromecast Ultra: relatively low latency, but very bad quality image for anything not being Netflix or Youtube.
Google/Samsung Smart View: it sends the image via bluetooth, with higher quality than what we have in Chromecast Ultra, but with much higher latency. Unacceptable for videogames.
USB-C -> HDMI "out of the box": The Dex mode takes control, leading to unstable applications.
USB-C -> HDMI, but controlling the input source from the TV: What I wanted.

I hope this might be useful for someone else.
Best regards.


This problem can be caused by a old version of play services.

To update the version manually open this link on your android device and click update if there is an update.

Hope this solves your problem

===============================

EDIT:

Hope this way works for you. Keep in mind that setting names can be different from brand to brand.

Go to Setting > Security > Device Administrators
Un-check Android Device Manager
Go to apps and uninstall updates to Google Play Services
Go to Hangouts, it should show a message saying that you need to 'update Google Play Services'. Click update.
After updating, Hangouts should not show the error message
Go back to Settings > Administrators and check Android Device Manager


How can I decode the Bluetooth Error numbers found in errno, that show up in Android log?

The errno global variable concept is not Bluetooth specific but comes from the (POSIX) system calls used by BluetoothSocket.cpp. Your log shows that the system call accept() failed, because it returned -1 (negative values usually indicate an error). Additionally accept() also set the errno to 125. If you look at the related definition in the Linux sources, you find that it maps to ECANCELED:

#define ECANCELED   125 /* Operation Canceled */

See also

Wikipedia on errno.h
POSIX errno.h


You can backup any app you like, even purchased ones.
For your purchased apps: Make sure to log in to the Google Account you purchased it with. Else you might get "unlicensed" errors.


Unless your device has a save switch to put it in download mode without using physical keys, you are stuck in this.

Some devices can be forced to download mode by shorting specific circuit.
You can also try to short the volume button to make it appear it is pressed.


Can screen dimming apps damage the screen?

The short answer is NO. Unless you try to go over default brightness (which could potentially burn the LED), your screen leds are desgined for changing brightness and colors.

Leds work differently than most lightbulbs and flicker has much smaller effect on them.

Longer version of explanation

First of all, leds do not "flicker" the way fluorescent light bulbs do when they glow. LEDs glow by steadily releasing energy (photons) from electrons whereas most other light bulbs rely on heat to release light.

Incandecent - These bulbs are literally a wire that's being heated and the light from that same wire.
Fluorescent tubes - A bit too complex to explain in once answer, but in short, they rely on electricity to heat (basically) a wire that heats gas which in turn activates phosphor emitting the light.

A point to note here that both lamps heavily rely on heat to shine and in turn, breaking current could result in heating elements getting damaged

LEDs light is emitted a little differently. Diode (the glowing bit of LED) consists of positive charged and a negative charged plates. When affected by electricity the charges are forced to mix, which causes electrons to release energy (light).

Flicker on most heating light bulbs damages their components

Now the reason I say LEDs don't flicker the way other light bulbs do is because other light bulbs mostly heat-up and cool rapidly during each flash. In addition to that additional heat may be inflicted on the heating component during a short reverse of phase occasionally happens on power breaks. To summarize, flickering causes the heating component to crack or burn out on standard light bulbs.

LED light emission doesn't rely on heat, also, if current is reversed (like it unusually gets on power cuts or breaking current) on LED it doesn't simply shine the way most other lights do - as in fact it pulls the positive/negative charge away from each other preventing a glow.

Flicker on LEDs

As far as i know LEDs can only flicker when electric current is too low to maintain constant mix of charges between the 2 semiconductors, which would result in burst exchanges every time diode is "charged" with enough electricity.

Flickering as well as dimming by itself is known to reduce the lifespan of an standard (room-lighting and small) LEDs by 30-60% (according to various sources).

Anyways, phone screens are designed to last while being dimmed and under changing current, so even if your screen suffers it will probably outlast the phone.

Summary

With that in mind an led with lower current might glow dimmer or change color, but the light-stream should remain steady - at least on screens.

If they DO flicker (I could not produce the flicker on 3 of my android devices), they are technically getting their lifespan reduced, but still not enough to matter.

LED screens (with everything they contain) are designed to be dimmable and most apps you see on the market are most likely just exploiting device settings.

Side Notes
If you can perceive a flicker it will reflect on your health more than it will on the phone. Be wary of unusual headaches or dry/tired eyes.

Easiest way I found to detect display changes on screen is filming the screen  as you're changing the settings. If flickering DOES occur you should see it quite clearly in the video.


Is there a way to set the IP configuration on a per network basis?

There is no way to do this natively in the settings of Android, as you've noticed.

However, there is an app on the Android Market called "Wifi Static" that should help you with what you're looking for.


Any automation can probably handle such tasks. Try Automate (free) with its Alarm and App start blocks.


With a keyboard installed on the Android Wear device, how do you input text into alternate apps, or get the keyboard to inflate?

Which keyboard you have installed in your android wear? You can try SwiftKey Keyboard , one of my friend is using it, simple to use haven't face any problem.


after some experiments i think best way is use Force stop button in Application manager
go to Setting > Application manager > WhatsApp and tap Force stop button

As say Here:

  Android do not kill the apps totally when you exit from it, this button is for close completely the app and remove it from the stack (apps running), also this button free the memory used by the app

so Thanks to User pacoespinoza  this is what i want to do!


When I receive a reply to an exchange email, the gmail notifications show my original message, not the reply

You can't do nothing... The problem is in Gmail's app. You must wait for future upgrades/updates or you can send an email to Gmail's developer.


How can I text a photo from Google Photos instead of a link?

[Originally posted in the comments section on 11/5/17]

After touching the "share" icon, you have to select the Messages app. Then you select the recipient and touch "MMS".


All modern cars have CPU which measures and controls few parameters of its engine.  These CPU(s) will have an interface socket (looks like SCART connector) with which issues are diagnosed at service center.  There is a special hardware which goes into this socket and can transmit engine parameters through Bluetooth.  Google Play Store has an app called Torque which when installed in an Android phone, can receive such parameters and displays on the screen.

I am not too sure whether the OBD device can detect fuel level, but it does sense a lot of other engine related parameters like HP torque etc.


Disabling the "Wi-Fi networks available" on Samsung Galaxy S II (Sprint Epic Touch 4G) on ICS

From the Wi-Fi settings page, tap menu and choose Advanced. From the Advanced Wi-Fi settings, uncheck "Network notification". It's only for open networks, but those are the only ones that ICS on the Epic Touch 4G reports.


Is it possible to change file permissions on Android's internal storage?

On all operating systems based on Linux kernel - like Android is - it's possible to set permissions on files (including directories) provided that filesystem supports UNIX permissions (uid, gid, mode). Common examples of such filesystems are ext4 and f2fs.

However Android's internal (confusingly called external) storage which is accessible by installed apps at /sdcard, is not an actual but virtual / emulated filesystem exposing /data/media (which is a real filesystem) through sdcardfs. sdcardfs and its predecessor FUSE expose the emulated filesystem with a fixed set of uid, gid and mask (mode). So the commands chmod and chown have no impact, whether executed through CLI (adb shell or terminal emulator) or GUI (file explorer).

It's possible to change permission bits of file on underlying actual filesystem, but accessing /data/media requires root access because only UID/GID 1023 (aid_media_rw) has read access to the directory. And still the permissions will remain same when viewed from emulated view /sdcard.

So you can't change permissions of user created files on Android, with or without root.

Further reading:

What is /storage/emulated/0/?

Related:

Why chmod gives “Operation not permitted” error?
How to remount sdcardfs to allow setting file permisions / ownerships?


Macedonian keyboard for Samsung Galaxy Ace

I hope this should work for you - Macedonian Keyboard App Google Play

Install and change input method when typing to use this keyboard. (To change input method, you can follow this guide - Android Stack Exchange - Change Input Method)

  After changing keyboard, select '123' near space button and then
  select 'MKD' at same place to get the Macedonian Keyboard.

You can also try other popular Keyboard apps if they have Macedonian support, unfortunately Swype doesn't have it.


Is it possible to force a link to actually become a hyperlink in SMS?

The "linkification" is actually handled by the SMS application on the device, not by anything within the message. If their device is not changing it to a link, then the device is not parsing the links correctly for all top level domains. There is nothing you can do about it really. The only thing that I could think of around this is to use some link shorter that will show as a clickable link and send those, but that is a lot more work because now you need to generate the shortened link first.


when i download apps from my computer to send to my new motorola i1 they go to my old phone

If you have more than one device registered with your email it should show in the google play store a dropdown list (choose a device) after you click install.

Something like this.


Try connecting the card to a laptop or a PC via a card reader and see if the card is working correctly.Also format the card from the mobile and see if that works.


How do I change the Google Play country?

What turned out to actually do it in the end, was to make an actual purchase.

In Google wallet, I had updated all my information, as well as added a new card with my new address attached to it. This in itself however didn't seem to be enough.

Later though, I actually purchased something through Play using the new card, and after that I could access things in Play that previously could not due to regional restrictions.

There may be some form of prioritization between different cards, so it's possible that you need to remove your pre-existing cards as well.

Michael Hoffman mentions that it may be enough to

  Click to begin a download until you reach the "Accept and buy" screen

and thus there is no need to complete the purchase. Otherwise, getting a refund after the purchase could save you the money.

For those moving countries, it might be useful to check Googles acceptable Payment methods page.

I don't know if it's necessary, but user Ikon also adds this after adding a new card:

  Went to the apps settings and wiped Play's data. Rebooted phone, accepted terms again for Play and now I can install


This is ridiculous, no mobile company wants your to buy a mobile every month.
I assume your phone is LG treasure L51AL
Your phone stats are

Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 1.1 GHz Quad-Core MSM8909;
Internal Memory: 8 GB (up to 2.87 GB usable)
I was unable to find your Mobile's RAM; please provide that

Shut down your phone and restart.
Do you close your applications after use or do you minimize them?
Download "clean master" and clean your mobile; it gets rid of unnecessary caches and other stuff.
Are you sure that there aren't any third party app which has come with the phone?

You processor isn't very good; its 1.1GHz and Quad-Core; so your phone would be relatively not fast. Your storage space is also very little; make sure it isn't almost full, as that could cause your mobile's performance to decrease.


The stereo supports bluetooth hands-free but not bluetooth audio, which is used to stream music, so no, this is not possible. For more information see Bluetooth profile on Wikipedia and compare Hands-free Profile (which the stereo supports) and A2DP (which it doesn't).

Theoretically, you could stream music through the HFP but the quality would be terrible, like listening to music in a phone call.


According to the Android Dev Guide, files written to the internal storage such as the Angry Birds data cannot be accessed by other applications by default.  I'm guessing that Rovio used MODE_WORLD_READABLE instead of the default, however.  Maybe this was a mistake or maybe they plan on having future apps being able to read your progress and unlock sometihng, or whatever.

Of course, this doesn't bar the possibility that an Android exploit is being used to bypass the file privacy, but who really knows besides the author of the backup app?


Automatically turn on/off data when downloading MMS

Again something tasker is able to solve (and maybe one of its "free alternatives" such as llama as well – but as a Tasker user, I can better describe it for that):

Both apps can act on events, and execute tasks. So let me construct a fake-profile (use it as "guide", not literally):

Condition:

Received Text (Tasker does not differentiate between SMS and MMS here)

Task:

Mobile Data → On
Wait → 1 min (set a time frame sufficient to connect and download the MMS)

Exit-Task: (optional)

Mobile Data → Off

The Exit-Task is optional. By default, Tasker restores the "before-state" automatically.

So what would this do? Whenever a message (SMS or MMS) is received, it would turn on mobile data for a minute to download the text, and then automatically switch it off again.

As I'm not sure whether an incoming MMS would even be signaled with data off, let's have a "Plan B":

Condition:

State→Mobile Network is On

Task:

Wait → 10 min (adjust time frame to fit your needs)

Exit-Task:

Mobile Data → Off

This would be a kind of "don't forget me" timer: If your girlfriends mother turns on data to receive the MMS, and forgets to turn it off again, it would automatically be turned off after the configured time-frame. Here the exit-task is mandatory, so Tasker does not restore the "before-state".


So, I came across the solution for my very specific problem:

My tablet seems to have a problem concerning youtube and IPv6. It's probably some flaw in the firmware.
After speaking to my internet provider I am now constantly leasing an IPv4 Adress and youtube is working just fine.

If you have similiar problems you should definitly try this out!


Try using the Audiobook variant of MortPlayer. I believe it ought to suit your needs. Also - it's free.

One of its features is particularly useful:

  List of 10 most recent events for each track (where did you press play, stop, got interrupted by a call, activate the sleep timer, ...)


Does the sd-ext partition get wiped out after flashing a different ROM?

I think your build f MIUI doesnt have the code for mounting the SD-ext partition on boot.
To check this, open the init.d folder in your new ROM and see if it has any file relating to Sd-ext.

This link has a init.d script for mounting the SD-ext partition link


How can I tell if my International Galaxy S3 is suffering from Sudden Death Syndrome? If it is, how can I fix it?

Do this:

Type *#0011# on your dialer to go into Service Mode.
From there, go to Settings by pressing the left hard key
Navigate to wifi and turn off power setting mode.

This solved the problem for me.

However if you turn your phone off and again, the procedure will have to be repeated on each restart as its temporary.


How can I re-arrange sharing application icons?

With the built-in "Share" menu, that's not possible AFAIR. However, there are alternatives available – I know of two: AppChooser and AndMade Share:

AppChooser (list view / grid view) and AndMade Share (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)

I'm using the paid variant of AppChooser, and am quite happy with it. As above screenshots show, you can sort the list alphabetically. You can also hide items you don't need (they still show up if you select "ALL" at the bottom). If you didn't order them alphabetically, items are listed in a "last recently used" manner – which keeps your frequently used apps at the top of the list automatically. Works great, I'm using this for quite a while now.

AndMade Share has a paid variant as well. In the third screenshot above you can see its advantage: you can sort your list manually as you like. Which one to chose, is rather a matter of taste :) Both hook into the "share intent" – so on your first "share" after installing one of them, you will be asked whether to use the built-in share menu or your new alternative. I did so, and made AppChooser Pro the "always use" default variant – never regretted that or turned it back :)


Is it possible to completely disable radio signal in a phone without a SIM card?

Use airplane mode to disable the cellular radio. This is simple and does not require an app, use of terminal, or root access.


How can I remove the default Google Account on my phone?

Set up a new gmail account (you have to have one associated with the phone). Next, on your phone go to settings > applications > manage applications > gmail and choose "clear all data" do this for gtalk and google voice too if you have them set up. This should prompt you to start the account setup on the phone where you'll enter your new gmail acct info.


Connecting Android mobile to Mail Exchange Server

In order to connect your phone to an Exchange account follow these steps:

From the home screen hit the menu button and choose "Settings".
Choose "Accounts & sync".
Click the "Add account" button on the bottom.
Choose "Corporate".
Enter the full E-mail address and Password of the Exchange account you're trying to link, then click "Next".
This step may require you to contact your Exchange server administrator.  You will need to know the name of the domain on which the Exchange server resides, and then enter it in the first field before the "\".  Leave the Password field alone, and make sure that the Server field lists either the IP address of your Exchange server or the name (commonly something like "mail.mycompany.com").  Depending on how the Exchange server is set up you may need to check or uncheck the two boxes below the Server field, but usually the defaults work fine.  Then hit "Next".
Agree to the disclaimer (all it says is that the administrator of the Exchange server has the ability to wipe any Exchange-related information from your phone without your permission) and you should be all set!

If everything went according to plan you should start receiving E-mails right away in the E-mail app.

Edit: These steps should work for Android 2.2 and definitely work for 2.3.


HTC One M8 Sprint doesn't connect to roaming partners India

In India, The Official partner of Sprint in India are MTS(For CDMA/800) and Bharthi Airtel,Aircel for GSM(900,1800). Since you are using CDMA,MTS(Sprint partner) supports basic 1x data. and MTS will only work when you are in Main cities in India. :(

http://www.sprint.com/popups/pop-gprsCarriers.html


Android One Stuck in "Checking Connection" after Factory Reset

This happened to one of my friend some time ago. But his device and android version were different
Why you're trying to connect to any connection? Just remove the sim card and skip the "Connect to a Network" step. It will give you a prompt, select the `SKIP ANYWAY` option and you're good to go !. Later you can insert your sim card and connect to your favourite WiFi network and sign in to your accounts and whatever!. Just skip everything until you get to the homescreen.

 This is the easiest method. Good Luck! Tell me what result you get.


How can a shell script get the number of an incoming/outgoing call?

Receiving caller number from incoming call

Tasker maintains a global variable  named Call Number (%CNUM) which would reflect caller number for the incoming call.

If you intend to run your script when the device rings, you may setup the following profile:

Profile: Event → Phone → Phone Ringing → Priority: Highest
Task: (Actions): Code → Run Shell → Command: sh FILE_PATH "%CNUM"

Replace FILE_PATH with the absolute file path of your script. In your script, %CNUM can be received as an argument by storing $1 into a variable. (See this answer by Bruce Ediger for any related help.)

Example script:

#!/system/bin/sh
incoming_no="$1"
echo "$incoming_no" >> /sdcard/incoming_no.txt

Save the script and try executing it from an action in that profile. For an incoming call, it would create or append the file incoming_no.txt with the caller number.

Note: Tasker supports creating global variables, so if you don't intend to run your script with that profile, use the action Variable → Variable Set to store the value of %CNUM into a user specific global variable. Whenever time is ripe, use that variable in your script from Tasker.

Receiving called number from outgoing call

Tasker doesn't have an inbuilt support for this, as it seems to me. Worry not, since this answer by sush can be used in Tasker for our goal. The crux of that answer is: listen to a broadcast with action android.intent.action.NEW_OUTGOING_CALL and receive the value from a particular extra type key.

Tasker has support for receiving intents. Before we begin with profile, hear me out on how I extracted the value.

I made a call to a number and immediately ran the following command (requires adb in PC):

adb shell dumpsys activity

In the output, under the section ACTIVITY MANAGER BROADCAST STATE (dumpsys activity broadcasts) I noticed:

BroadcastRecord{32699300 u0 android.intent.action.NEW_OUTGOING_CALL}
act=android.intent.action.NEW_OUTGOING_CALL flg=0x10000030 (has extras)
extras: Bundle[{android.intent.extra.PHONE_NUMBER=+919XXXXYYYZZ}]

Here, android.intent.extra.PHONE_NUMBER is the extra type key.

As for Tasker, setup your profile in the following fashion:

Profile: Event → System → Intent Received:

Action: android.intent.action.NEW_OUTGOING_CALL
Priority: Highest

Task: (Actions):
the number can be retrieved from the variable

%android_intent_extra_phone_number

As usual, store the value of that variable into a user specific global variable using Variable → Variable Set and use the latter in your script whenever you want.

Note:

The solution is tested on Android 4.2.1 and Android 5.0.2 (COS12).
Per userguide of Tasker, the Variables tab is not shown if Menu / Prefs / UI / Beginner Mode is enabled.
Caller number for incoming calls can alternatively be retrieved by listening the broadcast intent with action android.intent.action.PHONE_STATE and receiving the number from %incoming_number. Use %state in a condition to check whether its value is RINGING or IDLE. If former, get the value from %incoming_number.


How to access media files (photos and videos) on Samsung GT-I9082?

You can try Airdroid for fast file transfer from Android to PC over WiFi. Install it in your phone, turn on mobile hotspot and connect your PC to your local network. After that, Airdroid will give you an IP address. Just open it in your web browser of your PC, and you will get a nice file manager to access files.

If you have access to adb shell, you can also use 'adb push/pull' commands to copy files to/from your Android.


Can update.zip update-script be used to copy build.prop to an SD card?

I fixed the problem by backing up using the stock recovery, then reflashing the factory firmware. I then went back into stock recovery and restored my user data.

The reason why it wouldn't accept my update.zip files is because they weren't signed by Archos.


Alias place names for use in Voice Actions?

Currently this functionality doesn't seem to be possible using Voice Search.

There is a free app in the market called NavigationPro which is a little funky to figure out at first.

It allows you to save locations and name them in the app.  You can then enable the feature in the preferences for the app so that whenever you run the app it automatically prompts you for a name you can speak.  Once it recognizes the name it automatically goes to Google Maps and starts navigation for the address.


Google+ Auto Backup does not upload older photos. How to reset?

Problem solved!
For anyone experiencing the same problem, just go and reset the G+ app from your smartphone, as the moderator of the G+ help community suggested here https://plus.google.com/100019569307292537451/posts/WFA457VbJRA
It worked for me :)

Good luck!


Questions like that are off-topic, man. However, there is already an app like it.

ONLY ONE CAN REMAIN

Ahem,
Try the Smart Remote app. Now, I know it's by Samsung (So you are choosing to install crapware) but it Has all sorts of features, including having the remote-get this!- in the notification tray. Try it out some time.

Disclaimer- An android phone may need an IR blaster, or the target device to control allow control over the internet. Like a sky+HD box.

Suprsingly useful: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2015/03/18/how-to-use-the-galaxy-note-4-as-a-remote-control/


if your screen would be working temporarily then you need Buy a OTG cable and connect it with mouse [if pattern as lock] or keyboard [if pin or password] and you can unlock it without the touchscreen working


will samsung galaxy 5 get android 2.2 update

You can upgrade to Froyo for the Galaxy 5 already - it was just released by a few guys recently. See this post on Samfirmware - samfirmware.com/WEBPROTECT-i5500.htm, for more information. Otherwise by mid-December almost all regions should have it appearing on your official Samsung Kies tool.

PS. I don't have a Galaxy 5 but a college does.


The files and folder you see via USB (or to be specific through the USB MTP protocol) can be different from the files and folder that are really in the sdcard section on your device.

In my case a lot of files and folders in the sdcard section were invisible via USB.
After executing the app Rescan SD Card the files and folders visible via USB were exactly the one that exist on my sdcard section.


How to retrieve a system file of Android?

This XDA post provides a Multiupload link, where you can download that file.


If your device is rooted, you can use Titanium Backup to wipe data for the contact application. There by you will reset the contact app's settings as well as the contacts. There by you can start fresh. However, if you had synced the contacts before this step, you can again sync to get back your contacts.


(Why) does Android connected to Mac not just behave as a normal USB drive?

The Default mode for Android USB Transfer is MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), which isn't supported by Mac.

  Apple’s Mac OS X is a holdout — it doesn’t include MTP support at all.
  Apple’s iPod, iPhone, and iPad use their own proprietary syncing
  protocol along with iTunes, so why would they want to support a
  competing protocol?

  Google provides an Android File Transfer application for Mac OS X.
  This application is just a simple MTP client, so it will work for
  transferring files back and forth on a Mac. Google doesn’t provide
  this application for other operating system because they include MTP
  support.

  Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/192732/android-usb-connections-explained-mtp-ptp-and-usb-mass-storage/

So, that's why you need an extra software for Mac, because Apple only wants its devices to be supported.

To avoid that, you could try to mount your SD Card in USB Mass Storage (UMS) Mode.
That could be easily be done from Settings if you're using Android JellyBean or below.

For KitKat (4.4) and above, you need to have a rooted device & some other external apps like Universal MASS STORAGE Enabler (created by me) or USBSharer or whatever.


Nexus 7 (2013) stutters while playing games

Try to clean cache, clean memory using some task manager. If it doesn't help, the stutters while playing games may be caused by lack of optimization of the games.

Also you can try factory reset.


How to recover game data from a smashed phone?

Does the device itself have a passcode? Either way, the device is probably accessible through USB. Get ADB, plug the device into a computer, and using ADB (hopefully USB debugging was enabled before your dad sent it to hell) first type adb devices to make sure your computer sees the phone. If you're successful, you'll see your phone get listed on the screen. Then type adb backup -all -f C:\Backups\Android.ab This will create an Android backup file. You'll need to get an android backup extractor in order to retrieve your data files (like this. Google is your frienemy...;) Hopefully, this will resolve your problem. Good luck!


Keyboard disappeared after updating HTC Desire X software to 4.1

Have you checked if there's anything set in Settings > Language & Keyboard?

Let me know if it works.


ADB Doesn't recognize device when on Clockwork Recovery Mode

I had similar situation with Xiaomi Mi3 W. It was totally working while in OS, but not recognized by ADB when in recovery (CWM). In this particular case it was driver problem. When phone was working normally, it identified itself as MTP device, so Windows had neccessary drivers already installed. But when in recovery mode, it isn't neither MTP nor USB-flash device.

Check Windows Device Manager, it should show some unidentified device (with yellow question mark). If so, right-click it and choose "Update driver", then install standard ADB generic drivers provided by Google (they are labeled "Composite ADB Interface" or "ADB interface" or something like that). Then reconnect the device and see, if adb devices shows anything. It should now display your phone id and say it's in "recovery" state.


What kind of encryption is required for LineageOS on Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (whyred) to boot?

Format data using TWRP, unmount the data partition, then resize the partition with adb shell :
resize2fs /dev/block/mmcblk0p50 51G

(my original size of filesystem /dev/block/mmcblk0p50 was 52.1G (you can find it with the command "df -h /dev/block/mmcblk0p50")
The encryption process need to take some place at the end of the partition or it will fail - this thread has helped me : github.com/CyanogenMod/android_device_motorola_xt907/issues/3
You can debug also the problem with the adb logcat command.


Accessing SIM Toolkit in Android settings spawns duplicate SIM card entries?

I haven't figured out exactly what was misbehaving and why, but I accidentally now (years later) found out how to force a refresh: I put the phone in flight mode, opened the sim tray, swapped the sims, put it back in and disabled airplane mode. This cleared all the duplicates.


Does Nexus One WiFi traffic go through Google?

Actually the predictive search from the address bar sends the text you enter to Google to provide the search predictions. For example, if you start to type "search" and get to "sea" it suggests "sears", "seattle times", "sean parker" etc...


Allowing app installs from “unknown sources” for Secondary Users on Android 4.4.2

Android by default does not allow secondary users (Restricted Profiles) to install apps from Unknown Sources.

But, under Application and Content restriction for the particular user, you can enable specific menu in Settings menu. You can check whether Unknown Sources can be enabled.


Is it Possible to Create an Operating System for Android Devices?

Something like a secondary bootloader. Is that possible?

Yes it's possible. As you mentioned, since the boot chain up to bootloader stage is closed source and binaries are signed with OEM's private keys, it's not possible to replace or modify the bootloader. However if bootloader is unlockable, it's possible to boot a custom kernel (your own OS). But the first thing is that you need to follow the standard format of boot.img (i.e. fixed offsets and file formats for kernel binary, ramdisk, DTB etc.) as specified in Android (AOSP).

Secondly building a "Hello World" kernel (or even a bootloader) for a PC is rather simple because many of the buses and the hardware attached to them are already recognized by BIOS/UEFI. However mostly Android devices are ARM based, so they don't have ACPI like in BIOS/UEFI. Instead hardware mapping is provided in the form of Device Tree which is provided by the SoC vendor. The Android/Linux kernel source provided by OEM also includes drivers for all hardware components. So you need to include the Device Tree Blob (DTB) and relevant parts from kernel source with your custom kernel.

Bootloader itself is built with the DTB to use hardware components like eMMC/UFS, display, USB etc. to be able to flash partitions, show boot splash screen, connect to PC etc. For instance, splash_region or freamebuffer in DTB specifies memory addresses of display hardware, which is required to print e.g. Hello World on screen.

Thirdly many of the kernel interfaces are proprietary (not documented) and they don't work with standard Linux ioctls/syscalls. In order to fully make use of hardware features (camera, gps, modem an so on) you need proprietary binary blobs (HALs) in userspace, again provided by device OEM. Android framework uses HIDL to communicate with HALs, so you also need to rely on that.

So what you come up with is not a purely “other than Android” OS. For a large part you have to share the same codebase, specifications and resources that run in Android OS, whether it's kernel or userspace.

For more details see:

How to boot Ubuntu persistent live USB on Android?
Is it possible to install Windows, iOS or Linux on Android device?


Where does music downloaded from Google Play go on my phone?

I'm afraid that's not possible. Like with iTunes, Google uses DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology in order to prevent you from illegally copying music. So, the music is stored on your phone in an encoded way and thus you can only access the music through the Google Play app.


Uninstalled system applications appear after reboot on HTC Desire X

I fixed it by enabling S-OFF on my device. Here more details https://androidforums.com/threads/uninstalled-system-applications-appear-after-reboot-on-htc-desire-x.1178166/#post-7596175


Apps not showing .How to reinstall the factory apps

Sounds like you removed the launcher (homescreen) along with some other critical stuff.

For now, go to Settings and turn on USB Debugging, plug into your PC, install appropriate drivers, and sideload another launcher app, so that you can see all your apps and backup data. After backing up, flash a factory firmware via Odin from your PC to get a fresh start (you do need to root again).


So what worked for me was to flash it, let it fail, extract the rom file (tar.md5) flash the system.img and then the hidden.img after the first. Reboot in safe mode (volume up + home button + power) and boot from /system


I think that moto x supports usb-otg. so you can connect a mouse and copy the files to an sd card or send them through bluetooth to another device.


I'm not positive when it was added, but if you open one of the duplicate contacts and edit it, you can press Menu>Join to collapse two entries into one.