Are there any downsides to using a nandroid recovery?

A nandroid backup is a full device backup – so you could ask the same question about a full backup of your PC: After restoring the backup, you'd be at exactly the state the device was in when you performed that backup – all changes done between making the backup and restoring it are lost.

Reading between the lines of your question, you're rather asking how a Nandroid backup works or what its pros and cons are. There were some changes in the past years, and I don't know to which custom recoveries they apply (I can only speak for clockworkmod for long-term and twrp for, say, the last year. So let me sum up:

In the past …

Nandroid backups were created as partition images
there was one image per partition (relevant partitions only, of course)
those image files were uncompressed 1:1 blockwise copies of the corresponding partitions

2012 example from my Motorola Milestone 2:

-r-xr-xr-x 1    8388608 Apr 29  2012 boot.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1      10560 Apr 29  2012 cache.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1  346287744 Apr 29  2012 data.img
-r--r--r-- 1        288 Apr 30  2012 local.prop
-r-xr-xr-x 1        132 Apr 29  2012 nandroid.md5
-r-xr-xr-x 1  301956864 Apr 29  2012 system.img

2010 example from my "good old" HTC Buzz:

-r-xr-xr-x 1    2883584 Okt 23  2010 boot.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1      12672 Okt 23  2010 cache.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1  112421760 Okt 23  2010 data.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1        222 Okt 23  2010 nandroid.md5
-r-xr-xr-x 1    4325376 Okt 23  2010 recovery.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1  213227520 Okt 23  2010 system.img

These two have been created by CWM. So you see, at least from 2010 to 2012 this was what Nandroid did.

As these were full disk images ("physical copies", 1:1 block-wise), restoring them of course meant all contents on the target lost and replaced by the backup, which was restored block-wise as well. Both above nandroids were created by CWM.

Nowadays …

… things are a little different:

Nandroid backups are mostly created as tarballs, i.e. logical copies of all files of a partition
There's one tarball per (relevant) partition, often with the exception of /boot which remained an image copy
those archives are uncompressed

2015 example from my LG P880, created by CWM as well:

-r-xr-xr-x 1   10485760 Mai 29 22:48 boot.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1          0 Mai 29 22:50 cache.ext4.tar
-r-xr-xr-x 1      23040 Mai 29 22:50 cache.ext4.tar.a
-r-xr-xr-x 1          0 Mai 29 22:49 data.ext4.tar
-r-xr-xr-x 1  650801664 Mai 29 22:50 data.ext4.tar.a
-r-xr-xr-x 1        390 Mai 29 22:52 nandroid.md5
-r-xr-xr-x 1   10485760 Mai 29 22:48 recovery.img
-r-xr-xr-x 1     136590 Mai 29 22:52 recovery.log
-r-xr-xr-x 1          0 Mai 29 22:48 system.ext4.tar
-r-xr-xr-x 1  947858944 Mai 29 22:49 system.ext4.tar.a

2015 example from my Motorola Milestone 2, this time done with TWRP:

-r--r--r-- 1  247035904 Sep  6 23:14 data.ext3.win
-r--r--r-- 1         48 Sep  6 23:14 data.ext3.win.md5
-r--r--r-- 1        104 Sep  6 23:39 _original_dir_name
-r--r--r-- 1     184842 Sep  6 23:14 recovery.log
-r--r--r-- 1  287747072 Sep  6 23:15 system.ext3.win
-r--r--r-- 1         50 Sep  6 23:14 system.ext3.win.md5

In both cases, we now have .tar files for normal partitions (don't ask me why TWRP names them .win), and disk images for /boot and /recovery. Note that TWRP forgot to backup these two partitions; I'd count that a bug, but specific to the build used here (I didn't decide to switch to TWRP, it simply came with the CyanogenMod ROM).

Other notes

The original "physical copies" (aka "disk images") had a big advantage: if you accidentally deleted something from your device, you could use file-carving technologies on the Nandroid images to get it back (see our data-recovery tag-wiki). This no longer works with tarballs. But tarballs can be restored even after partition resizing – while restoring an image file results in the same partition size (and fails if e.g. the partition got smaller). Also, switching to tar made the backups somehow "independent" from the file system – so you could back-up ext3 and restore to ext4 without having the partition put back to ext3.

On the other hand, there's one thing which got easier with tarballs: Looking inside them to retrieve a file or easily evaluate the structure on your PC. Not that I'd count this as a "big pro": with the correct tools (here: TestDisk) one can do the very same with images. It just takes a little longer, as TestDisk needs to investigate the structure (partition type, file system) before contents can be accessed.

As for restore, there should be almost no difference from the "users experience with results":

restoring an image overwrites the entire partition, restoring each block as it was before (including "bad blocks")
just unpacking a tarball wouldn't overwrite "new files", so this could result in a mess; I'm confident Nandroid takes care for this by wiping the target partition first
another minimal pro of the tarballs: restoring such a Nandroid implicitly includes a "defrag", with files being written sequentially and without any delete in between ;)

My personal opinion is: Nandroids are backups. Backups are meant to be restored from in cases of emergency. Thus, while the Tar archieves have their conveniences, disk images are preferable – as one can use file-carving to even restore deleted stuff. But pros and cons are rather subjective.

Verdict

Though there might be "subtle differences" (as e.g. the now "defrag'd" partitions if your Nandroid used tarballs), there are no differences the "normal user" should notice. As Nandroid backups always include the entire partition, everything gets backed up and such restored – including "root and his files".


Why in Google Play 10.3.12 I have old layout?

Have you tried reinstalling Google play services?

https://www.google.dk/amp/s/www.androidpit.com/install-google-play-services-apk%3famp=true

Although I would like to point out that sometimes Google play store indeed does change some functions. Sometimes I see the downloads as text, sometimes I see it as an icon.


How disk space is partitioned in an Android phone?

Most Android phones have eMMC (flash memory), partitioned in GUID partition table (GPT) just like a PC's hard disk. There are usually less or more 50 partitions on a latest Android phone. OS uses /system while user uses /data mainly. Internal SD card is /data/media. Other partitions are smaller.

For more details, visit this link.

If you have a rooted phone, you can use Linux tools (parted, gdisk etc.) to manipulate Android 's partition table. But that's really risky.

To fully access storage space, you need root permissions.

RELATED: How disk space is used on Android device?


How to disable vibration on widget drop?

The vibration you are referring to it's called "Haptic feedback", and can be disabled for certain UI interactions. This may or may not work for you:

Touch "home";
Touch "menu";
Touch "Settings";
Touch "Sound";
Scroll your way to "Haptic Feedback";
Disable it by touching to remove the green tick.

Try and see if it provides the desired effect. Take not that this option doesn't affect all UI interactions, as mentioned under that option.


What are workable/straightforward methods for using external game controllers (bluetooth, USB) with the Android platform?

The best option (albeit a rather pricey one) appears to be the iControlPad.  It was originally designed for use with an iPhone but now uses bluetooth to communicate with all bluetooth-enabled devices.  It sounds like developers plan on supporting it, but I'm not sure how well it will work with current games.

EDIT:  I recently became aware of another bluetooth gamepad that caters specifically to smartphones.  It's called the Bluetooth Game Gripper.  There is an Andoinica article about it here, and the kickstarter project is here.  However, it doesn't appear that the maker has garnered enough VC to get the project off the ground, so I'm not sure of the current status.


Samsung Galaxy 7" (GT-P6210) USB debugging is not detecting in Linux?

When adb shows devices as ???????????? it's usually a permission problem and the usb device file. Your udev rules doesn't seem right. Make sure that you have udev configured to something like this:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", SYSFS{idVendor}=="04e8", MODE="0666"

Where 04e8 is Samsung's USB Vendor ID.

Under Linux there is also an adb_usb.ini from the SDK where you have to add the vendor IDs:

~/.android/adb_usb.ini

# ANDROID 3RD PARTY USB VENDOR ID LIST -- DO NOT EDIT.
# USE 'android update adb' TO GENERATE.
# 1 USB VENDOR ID PER LINE.
0x17ef
0x1949


If your device is rooted, you can try Undelete for root users which claim to restore even from internal storage, which is boon as other PC based apps does not work well unless they have physical access.

The app Dumpster claims to work even for unrooted device. But I suspect this has to be installed before the event of deleting - not sure just give a try.

If either of the apps seems promising, I would advice you not to directly or indirectly use the internal storage as if the data blocks are overwritten (by you or by an app or by the system) your chances of recovery goes slim.


Modify framwork-res with same signature?

The core android framework, the UI and lockscreen are all compiled into the framework-res.apk. So naturally messing with it and improperly modifying this will result in infinite boot loops, strange overall bugs and "wonkyness."

If you have the ability to flash new framework-res.apk, it means that you have a custom recovery and root access. So just flash ROMs that don't have Carrier IQ. These are usually builds built from AOSP and CM as both of these code bases are given straight from Google and are clean of any third party proprietary software like Carrier IQ.


how do I browse to files on my external sdcard when the phone is connected using MTP?

That's probably cause your phone automaticly mounts sdcards in MTP, when your phone is in MTP mode you apparently can't use your file manager.


What to do after:" No sd-ext found. Skipping backup of sd-ext"?

This means you do not have an ext3/4 partition on your sdcard. This really ins't a big deal, this is like a legacy part of the nandroid backup process. CM doesn't "officially" support the sd-ext partition any more anyhow.


How to enable Wifi Access Point / Hotspot on my Moto Droid (2.2) without editing the Kernal or flashing the ROM?

When I first rooted my Droid (with EasyRoot), I remained on the stock ROM until I got annoyed by the OTA update message (and ended up switching to CM6).

However, I was able to use Wireless Tether without doing anything else.  No new kernel, no mods, nada.  Just root on vanilla Android.

If you've already updated to the latest version of Android via OTA, then I'm pretty certain you'd have to downgrade your phone to get root to work unless there is a new method to get root now.  I know for a fact that EasyRoot no longer works with the OTA update.


OneNote app -> Save images from Notebook to local storage

On my OnePlus 6 running latest OneNote from Play Store, when I long-press an image, Gallery is listed as an option. From Gallery you can really do virtually anything, specifically, "sharing" to another app. Then you can find a way to save the image.


Have you tried doing a factory reset, if that doesn't work it might be a faulty battery


Bridge Wi-Fi through router > Galaxy S3 > desktop Windows

Simple solution, connect your phone to your computer via a good quality usb data cable.

Disable your computers wifi, connect your phone to your wifi.

Go to settings on your phone and enable 'Usb-tethering" (it will be in the same place as wifi tethering was. Wait a couple of seconds for your computer to recognise it, and you're done


my mail won't show after upgrading to 4.0.4

When chaging Android major versions, GB to ICS or ICS to JB or even GB to JB, its advised to do a full wipe, since many old files from the previous version might collide with the new Android version.

Since you haven't done it, I suggest you do the following:

Backup all your phone's data with either Titanium Backup or a Nandroid backup if you have a custom recovery installed.
Get your phone to recovery mode and wipe all data (factory reset). If you have a custom recovery you can wipe /system, /data and /cache.
Once clean, reboot in download mode and use Odin to update to 4.0.4 (or 4.1.2 if you have the international version GT-I9100)
Reboot and enjoy a clean installation of ICS/JB.


Benefits of skins as opposed to vanilla Android

I wouldn't want to call MotoBlur or HTC Sense just "skins" -- they aren't a suite of visual enhancements, but an entire app suite that sits on top of the OS. They're full-fledged graphical user interfaces with additional custom apps, virtual keyboards, widgets, etc.

So, as to the benefits? I like Sense - its my major UI on the Incredible, but I've also used my wife's Aria. The Sense UI is cleaner and smoother (hardware speeds aside). The custom widgets are smoothly integrated and have more features. Other than the HTC mail and messaging apps having a possible memory leak issue [I replaced their use with K9 and Gmail, and Handcent], I've been pleased with Sense. A smooth, consistent user experience with the interface can make using it better. It's not the be-all end-all -- despite the recent MS WinMo7 commercials -- but it's nice.


How to have isolated FIDO access in Android 7.x?

Not supported by default. No maintainer for the feature in Android 7.


If I buy an unlocked sim-free HTC Desire HD can I still get Android updates OTA?

AFAIK, Android updates are released by the Google then the phone's manufacturer (e.g. HTC) writes updates for the drivers, and providers (e.g. T-Mobile) only help with the distributions. So you will at least be able to do manual updates as long as your phone manufacturers released the update.

However, this means getting update depends on your phone manufacturers support (I heard HTC is quite good on this). If, for example, your manufacturer decided not to support updating of your phone (e.g. Samsung has no plans for updating Spica to Froyo), then you probably won't be able to update using official ROM (although there is almost always a community update to non-official ROMs).


No recovery mode .. Stuck in Fastboot mode (RAMDUMP)

As Ryan commented, you can use fastboot commands to push a recovery image to your phone.

download a recovery image for your phone if you don't have one, then connect your phone to your pc and, via the fastboot tool on your computer, type

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

where "recovery.img" is the absolute path of your custom recovery image (path is not required if you placed your img in the same directory of your adb-fastboot toolkit).

Afterwards, get into recovery (it should go automatically there if system is missing/corrupted, if not try pressing the power/vol combination for you device)

As you are into recovery, flash your OS as you normally do.

PS: before flashing your system via recovery, remember to update your custom recovery, to avoid using a buggy one. Also, be sure to make it check MD5 sums before flashing.

It is also possible that your problem is temporary: a lot of people got through this just by extracting battery, SIM and SD from the phone and then booting normally. Try this before doing anything.


How to unlock bootloader, root and install TWRP on Redmi 3S+ (should work with Mi 3s Prime too)

Instructions to unlock bootloader of Redmi 3S phone are very confusing it took me many days to make it work, so I've documented the steps for anyone else trying. There's a lot of text but should be easily readable. Don't bother with part II, unless you have success with part I.

Part I - how I unlocked Bootloader on Redmi 3S+.

Intro: These are not a guaranteed "how to" steps. Because there's no consistent method that is available people have to go by trial and error, and none of the guides I tried worked. Everything about unlocking MI is inconsistent, even their own tool. And there's no meaningful feedback which makes it even harder to figure out what's going on. Just when I was beginning to think that all those reports of it working are fake, it worked for me. Seems when it works, people don't provide exactly what they did. So here what I did was recorded all the conditions under which I've successfully unlocked the boot loader. If you follow this exactly it will increase your chances of unlocking. But all the variables are unknown, so Redmi may change one and it might not work. So it's like superstition.

So, here are the conditions/states under which I've unlocked it:

Original version of MIUI: 8.1.6.0
Android version: 6.0.1

In Developer Options:

OEM unlocking: enabled
USB debugging: enabled

Settings / Mi Account / shows as signed in
Clicking on Mi Cloud there:

Every sync is off.
Find device is off
and Back up device is off.

Clicking on Devices shows:
- Redmi my phone number activated

Next, enable Developer Options by going to Settings / About phone (at the bottom) And tap a few times (10?) on  "MIUI Version" Till it will give you a message: "You're now a developer!"

Exit and go to Settings / Additional Settings / Developer Options -- and enable it.

There will also be "USB Debugging" - enable it

OEM unlocking - enable it to allow the bootloander to be unlocked

Next, you need to register and request bootloader unlock permission.

Register on miui official forum. I used my e-mail (you should have a secondary e-mail, not a good practice to use your primary one on sites like these): http://en.miui.com/forum.php

Once you've registered, you can request unlock here: http://en.miui.com/unlock/  (it'll come up in Chinese, click English below) and just follow instructions.

Next:

1) I had only ONE sim card in the phone's slot: #2 (slot #1 empty)
Same sim I used to sign in and request authorization with. I never got a confirmation message from Redmi. It's been a while since I've requested it, so I don't think it's because I've waited or "was patient" as some people say you have to be. I think it's rather the combination of things I've done. So just try right away or next day.

2) You need internet on your computer throughout the whole process. Without internet I only got first checkmark in the MI Unlock, which is "Verifying device", then on the "Unlocking" part I got a red x, and "error: unlocking redmi unknown error (-1)"

3) With my 3S phone tethering internet to the laptop, I logged into my MI account. Oh, by the way, sometimes it would give me "network error" during this login. I know I had internet, so it must be their server. I kept clicking without changing anything, and after a few times it signed in. Having said that, "network error" could mean anything and doesn't even have to be related to "network". (If you put a wrong information for example it might tell you that "account doesn't exist" for example, and after I unlocked it, now it just permanently gives me "network error" which makes me wonder if I lock it, will I be able to unlock again?)

Now it wants you to put the phone into Fastboot. Unplug the USB cable shut down the phone. Then hold Volume Down + Power and it enters Fastboot. Plug in the phone back.

4) Now, don't do anything. As I said you need to have internet throughout the steps. So use alternate internet connection (don't touch this sim). Just ask a friend to turn on hotspot on their phone for a couple of mins.

5) Check in a browser to confirm have internet. Now click unlock and hopefully it'll work for you as it did for me. Good luck!

MI Unlock (miflash_unlock.exe) version I used: 2.2.406.5

Part II - Install TWRP and Root

Disclaimer: this part could brick your phone.

1) Download TWRP. The official TWRP site's versions for "Redmi 3" didn't work for me. The one shared by a guy on redmi forum seems fishy. So I found another one (and there is considerable size difference between the two).

https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=529152257862698997

MD5 of this file (check to confirm after you download using win-md5 or something like that): 36be7f4b14082b2e0cfd9d8f7c3b08d0

I forgot where I got this link. But it seemed more reliable than the one from Redmi forum. And this is the one I've used. I'll try to find the source later. You have to use TWRP designed for the model of the phone you're using. Using incompatible one could brick your phone (though supposedly not permanently). Anyway, if you find another TWRP source, make sure it specifically mentions that it's made for Redmi 3S.

Before you proceed, to connect the phone to PC, you'll need ADB and drivers. If you have Android Studio, you already have them, but for most people it's too big of an install, so instead download small package here and follow instructions to install: http://www.cyanogenmods.org/forums/topic/install-adb-fastboot-windows-drivers/

Once you got the drivers installed, go to the folder where adb.exe is and place the recovery.img there (it's the one from the TWRP zip, it could be named differently of course).

Then open up command window (cmd.exe) and go to the folder where adb.exe is.

A) Type this command to put the phone into Fastboot mode:

adb reboot bootloader

If your phone asks “Allow USB debugging” say yes.

B) Then transfer TWRP image file to the phone via the following command:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

C) And lastly, tell the phone to boot into it:

fastboot boot recovery.img

If you skip step C, the phone will probably delete the image when you reboot. Some tutorials skip it, and that doesn't seem to work

First time in the TWRP, it'll ask if you want to "Swipe to allow Modifications". You want to do this if you want to root.

Now once you've done that, you MUST “Disable dm-verity“. If you don't, the phone will enter into infinite bootloop and the universe will collapse (or so I heard). So I disabled it! Go to Advanced Settings and there it will be.

Now once you've done that you should be good to go. Reboot it into normal system mode and prepare yourself for Rooting!

Once the system boots, you should confirm that you've indeed installed TWRP.

  To enter TWRP recovery:  Shut down your phone. Then hold Vol Up, Vol
  Down and Power, at the same time and as soon as MI logo shows up,
  release just the power button, and when TWRP logo shows up release the
  other two buttons also, and wait a little and it'll start up with the
  menu. Although for me also works releasing all buttons once MI logo
  shows up.

Now to the actual rooting.

Having done the previous things, this part is actually pretty easy!

Go to the official SuperSU site: http://www.supersu.com/download

The SuperSU site is hard to understand, though what you need to do is really easy. Just need one file to download there: "Recovery Flashable.zip" (latest) and copy it to your phone. Or better yet, just download it from the phone's web browser. (They also have APK files on their site, you don't need them)

The browser will save the file to your Downloads folder most likely (check to make sure it's there once transfer is complete)

Now reboot into Recovery Mode (TWRP)

Click Install

locate the zip file and Swipe to confirm flash.

Now the installation process will start and it will reboot the phone a few times while doing it, so be patient and don't fiddle with the phone, just put it on your desk and look at it.

Once it's all done, It'll ask you to reboot, and once you do that your phone should be rooted! An app was also installed during this process called SuperSU, it is a root manager that will manage which apps get the Root permission. To confirm you have root, you can enter adb shell and  cd /data/system  and try to create a folder there, only root can do that. (No need to download extra software to check if you have root.)

That's all. Next you'll probably want to remove some bloatware. I'm making a guide at the moment and will post a link here once done.


How to disable sound during screenshot in Android 11 on Pixel 3?

This is not possible unless 1. you have root access(delete the sound file) or 2. Use a 3rd party trusted screenshot app or 3. Disable system sound(yeah it will disable notifications sounds and all too) I'd recommend you to use a 3rd party app(you can use power and volume button to take screenshots by the app by over-riding system's screenshot system) You can try Screenshot Assistant from fdroid or  Screenshot or Screenshot sharer(super helpful if you don't use google assistant much) from fdroid. fyi fdroid is super trusted.
" The Silence option refers to the notification you see with the preview of the screenshot. Try editing some other options in there (try making it alerting and then enable 'Pop on screen'). You will see what I mean. And yes, you're correct in saying that setting it as Silence or Alerting doesn't actually make a difference to the sound - it doesn't occur anyway.
There is no user facing control to silence the sound emitted while the screenshot is being taken."
Source - https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/23068196?hl=en


Is there anyway to increase the bass in Jelly Bean?

You can access the built-in graphic equalizer by going to Settings, then Sound, then Audio effects.


External SD card no longer able to be read on CM11

How old is your SD card? Does it work under stock? If it doesn't work under either, I wonder if the SD card is going bad? How long have you had it and do you do a lot of writing to it? If so, then the card might be going bad as SD cards have a limited lifespan. The more you write to it, the shorted the lifespan.

Do you have another SD card you could try? I would also do a chkdsk on it to see if any bad sectors are found. If so, time to ditch it and get a new card.


Does Cyanogenmod Kernel support loop devices?

According to zivmo on the linked thread, Cyanogenmod 7.1 stable and later ship with loop support built into the kernel, so loop devices just work without having to compile or insert a kernel module.


Error message in Words With Friends is preventing download? - "You already own this item."

You may have to contact the Words With Friends developers and request that they restore your purchases. They should restore automatically if you're logging into app with the same credentials however, some developers tend not to use this method so you have to buy the packs again. It's an easy way to make a few extra dollars.

The fact you're getting the message that you've already purchased the pack is a good sign. Get a hold of the developers and see if there is anything they can do.


LineageOs compatible with European (H850) version of LG5

The difference in baseband is often quite crucial - your link isn't showing the bands these models support. This usually warrant separate codenames and builds, although they might be unified in the future.

Given that even unofficial builds for these 2 models still opted for separate codenames instead of a unified build, it's obvious that at least at this moment you shouldn't treat them as one.

You could just use the unofficial builds for now, but shifting back to official builds after that will require a wipe, due to official builds claiming "incompatible data".


How can I change the order of local bookmarks in the stock browser

The bookmarks are kept in an SQLite database. There is no stock tool to modify them directly. I did, however, find an app that can rearrange the order of your local bookmarks: Bookmark Sort & Backup

An issue has been opened about this in Allow User To Arrange Bookmarks In ICS Stock Web Browser.


There are email replacement apps, but unfortunately the few that act similar to HTC Mail will cost money.

Touchdown by Nitrodesk: Touchdown is my preferred email replacement as I use the exchange functionality, and imap protocol. It can tie into most major email services, and also offers some premium features for business users.

Enhanced Email: A more powerful revamp of the stock Email app that is starting to become popular.  It offers some premium features and the developer is very responsive if you have run into issues.

Moxier Mail (free trial): Offers support for all major protocols, its user interface is probably the closest to the HTC Mailapp.

Maildroid (free): Never used MailDroid, but it is yet another email replacement.  The upside is there is a free Ad supported version.

Hope those help!


It might be different on other devices, but in a Samsung this is how you do it:

In the dialer app go to menu>settings>call settings>call alerts>notify during calls. Turn that off.


Android 9 (Pie) sd external card conventions

The card was corrupted at removal time because it wasn't properly ejected (unmounted) beforehand. Remember to eject your removable devices even if you think it is safe to remove them.


How to SCP files from a PC to storage in Termux

By design Android won't allow any other app to access Termux's data directory: /data/data/com.termux/files/home. However you can scp directly to SD card after granting WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.

As referenced in Termux wiki:

  It is necessary to grant storage permission for Termux on Android 6 and higher. Use 'Settings>Apps>Termux>Permissions>Storage' and set to true.

Now to copy files to Download directory:

~$ scp <file_name> <phone_IP>:/sdcard/Download/

RELATED: How to run SSH/SFTP server for multiple user logins with password authentication on Android?


How to save battery on Moto G 2nd generation without installing third party apps?

To save battery without installing third party apps here are a few tips,

Disable vibration on your phone for notifications, calls, keypads.
Disable keypad tones.
Turn off Automatic screen rotation.
If you prefer to keep your phone silent during night, better switch it to Airplane mode, this will save a lot of battery.
Keep your phones brightness to a minimum.(Disable auto brightness option.)
Keep your phones volume low.
Turn off mobile data when not in use.
Disable background data on mobile networks for specific apps which consume unnecessary. To do this navigate to Settings - > Data Usage, there you will find the list of apps that consume the data, click on the app and then select "Restrict background Data".
Disable the pulse notification light. Go to Settings - > Display and uncheck the option Pulse notification light.


Not sure if you're still having this issue, but recently suffered the same (different app) and managed to resolve it completely by accident:

Go to the recent apps menu (as shown in image) and simple do a (quick) swipe to the right on the app you want to lock/unlock, starting point doesn't seem to matter much but make sure to swipe all the way to (or over) the edge. If you do it too slow or not far enough it doesn't work.

I haven't been able to find this in any official documentation or if/where it can be configured/disabled, it's not listed in the System->Gestures menu. It also seems to be fairly tenacious since 'locking' an app persists after a reboot or force stop via developer menu's 'running services'.
It seems to be something similar to Windows' 'Pin to Taskbar' or Apple's 'Keep in Dock'.

Phone: Alcatel 1S (2019) running Android 9 (build 01001)


Luckily a friend of mine has an S4, here its  back. See the 4 gold metallic pins? Those are  the NFC  antennas connectors

The antenna is on the back cover, not visible on the photo bellow, his back cover is not an original one, so no NFC antenna.

It doesn't make sense the NFC antenna be ON THE BATTERY ITSELF! Despite the fact  is it written on the battery. My S5 battery also has Near Field Communication writing on it.

If NFC doesn't work, you should check if your back cover has something similar to this from my S5:

EDIT:

Effectively, the  battery contains a built-in NFC antenna. And it is recommended to handle the battery carefully to avoid damaging the NFC antenna, may be that's what happened to you.


Moto G3 (android marshmallow) not detecting SD card anymore (solution?)

This worked for me:

Removed the SD card from the phone
Plugged the SD card into a MicroSD to MicroUSB adapter
Plugged the MicroUSB adapter into the MicroUSB plug on the phone
Run ES File Explorer and in my case the SD Card was
named '0'. I was able to access the DCIM folder and upload all my
photos and videos

NOTE: ES File Explorer Ver 4.0.5.5 was used. When I upgraded it to the latest version so I could upload to Google Drive, it no longer could recognize the files, so I had to downgrade back to 4.0.5.5 and use Dropbox.


unable to connect my mobile and computer with usb

try this Methods, may be helpful for you,

Try using different USB-Ports of your system.
Try with different USB-Cable your using to connect your phone and system.
Try to install the Mobile-Device Drivers and then connect to your system.


Is the data associated with an app cleared when an app is uninstalled?

As Matthew Read noted in a comment: yes, it is. The entire data directory is simply deleted:

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
lib           shared_prefs

C:\Console2>adb uninstall com.chessclock.android
Success

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
ls: /data/data/com.chessclock.android/: No such file or directory

#Reinstalled from the Market at this point

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
lib

The shared_prefs directory is absent in the last ls listing because I didn't launch the app, I only reinstalled it, therefore there were no preferences yet created for it (it sets defaults on the first launch). I point this out only because it illustrates that the preferences from the previous install were not retained anywhere.


How do I disable HTML5 player for Chrome on Android?

I'm stuck with the same issue.

A workaround is to use another browser: I tried Firefox, Dolphin & Opera so far.All of them use embedded video playback.

Only "Opera Mini" asks for external playback app.
See download link below:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opera.mini.native


It was google photos for me. I do not use google photos so I disabled it and it went away. Otherwise I am thinking it is waiting for wifi to download.  connect to wifi and it will download and intall and go away. The burning thing is that it attempts this without permission and I have not found a setting to disable the update in the app without disabling the app


How can I import a list of words and shortcuts into my Android Personal Dictionary?

I had a look at your file and couldn't import the words to Gboard either. There are 3 errors that make Gboard ignore your words and shortcuts: space between words & shortcuts and no language for the words.

Error 1:  Space between words & shortcuts

Your words and shortcuts are separated by spaces. That's not correct. They must be separated by Tab. I didn't know that either. I created some words and shortcuts, then exported them. When I opened the exported file in a code editor, only then could I see that the separator was not a space but a tab character.

Error 2:  No language for the words

This error is minor. Your words didn't belong to any dictionary language. It seems when you don't add the language, the words & shortcuts are not imported or GBoard just decides to ignore and select a language for you (I have not checked why). So, you must add a language at the end of each words separated of course by Tab characters.

Error 3:  No dictionary version

Add the dictionary version at start of the file. GBoard ignores the language (see Error 2) which is bad if like me you have many languages enabled.

I have not found yet how to add words to the "All languages" dictionary (although you didn't ask).


How do I clean up remembered files in builtin files app?

Delete cache of the file manager and photos app.

Go to the app info section in your settings, enable "show system apps" on the hamburger menu, locate media storage, delete it's cache. Reboot, wait for a few minutes for the media databases to build up again and your problem most likely would be solved.

This may not always solve the problem as explained very well in this answer by Irfan Latif and you may have to resort using apps such as AZ media rescan


Google This exactly

  CF Autoroot Note 2 "n7100" [Insert Version Os Here, IE: 4.4.2]

Also Try

  Casual root "n7100" [Insert Version Os Here, IE: 4.4.2]

Match your OS version to the thread, and it should work.

Note
 1. Back up stuff, like everything will be deleted.
 2. Wipe the phone before starting it (Some software can interfere and mess it up.

To increate your od
Easiest way for Note 2, If you havent updated in a while,
As for specific thread and links - It will take some searching. I dont have one saved.
But once you find it its easy


How to disable the reading voice on incoming calls in LG G2 Mini running Android 4.4.2?

The "reading voice" on incoming calls may be part of the Accessibility Features that are a part of Android. It also seems that LG has a setting for enabling Voice Notifications for calls and texts - try that too.

Ensure that the following settings are turned off/unchecked:

Accessibility > TalkBack
Sound > Voice Notifications


How to maintain 1 char at a time when holding down delete?

This is a 'feature' of Samsung's keyboard, default on Samsung android phones. I did look at Samsung's settings and did not see the ability to alter this. Use another keyboard to fix, which I did, such as Gboard by Google.

While I do like the ability quickly delete word by word also, that should be provided by a another key, not shared with the character by character key.


Installing Android 4.1 or higher on Sony Tipo with permanently locked bootloader

Have you tried FlashTool?

This is a particular software suite for flashing ROMs on Sony handsets, however, I am not 100% confident if it supports the Tipo.

The full forum thread that discusses about this tool can be found at XDA so it might be worth a try to read the thread from beginning to end, to see if others have used it successfully on the Tipo.

If no luck, try posting a question there on that XDA thread, identical to the above question that is asked and wait for a while for someone to answer - you do need to be patient, as people are answering in their own personal free time.

Be warned though, using this tool, you could lose data, as a result of unlocking the boot-loader, there is a FTF (Flash Tool Firmware) file available for listed and detected devices, which can circumvent this and also can re-instate the boot-loader lock mechanism.


How Do I change from PTP to MTP mode? Cannot find options in settings

You can do that via adb or a terminal app (in the latter case, ommit the leading adb shell from the examples):

read settings: adb shell getprop sys.usb.config
find valid settings: adb shell grep usb.config= /init*rc
change settings: setprop with the appropriate values (e.g. adb shell setprop sys.usb.config "mtp,adb" or adb shell setprop sys.usb.config "ptp,adb")

EDIT: If the above doesn't yield the expected results, it might need root powers. So if your device is rooted, you could try to run adb root prior to above commands. If your device does not accept this ("not available in production builds"), instead run:

PC> adb shell
Android $ su
Android #

Now at the root prompt (#), run above commands without the adb shell prefix (e.g. simply setprop sys.usb.config "mtp,adb").


How do you clear share actions bound to ‘copy to clipboard’?

There are multiple ways to clear "default actions":

Walking through the list of apps in Settings→Apps→Manage Apps, looking at each entry whether it has a "Clear defaults" button, and hit that (not very user-friendly -- and in this special case obviously not applyable, as the action seems not bound to a special app)
Using a helper app like e.g. Default App Manager or DefaultApp Reset (much more user-friendly -- but not suitable in this case, for the same reason as the previous point)
Installing another app which uses the same intent (in case of a "homescreen launcher" and the "home" key, another launcher, to give an example) -- not always easy to figure out what app might be fitting for this purpose. This is what lead to success in our case here, by installing Andmade Share
Note: You do not need to keep that app installed. It's the installation of the app which "drops" the default. This is also the purpose why the next item works:
Updating/uninstalling one of the apps currently using this intent (to take above example: that's why you will be asked again when your launcher received an update) -- this point just for completeness :)


Apple Notes alternative for Samsung device

I'd say 'Google Keep' is one of the best ones to use:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.keep


How can I add a calender to my Android tablet?

Seems like you have an Android tablet without the Google APIs. This are devices that use Android but without a Google branding ("with Google (TM)") and Google Services Framework (Google API) to avoid paying fees to Google.
Android itself is open-source so every manufacture can use it without charge on their devices, but if they want to have the Google Services like Market, Maps, Navigation, Google Calendar and so an, they have to pay a license fee to Google. You can recognize devices with Google Services based on the "with Google (TM)" branding on the back of the device.

AFAIK there a ways to install the Google API when you have root on your device.


My phone's wifi keeps switching itself off

In the WiFi settings, in the advanced tab there's an option that let's you decide when do you want the wifi to be turned on; make sure always is selected.

If that's not the case then you should better check your installed apps. An app (provided the right permission is given) can toggle the wifi switch.


That icon is one of the apps from Opera Software and its called "Opera Max" thus the "M" icon and it is used for data saving or so it claims. Its shows you your estimated data usage and what you have saved. In their own words "Opera Max - Data Manager is a tool that lets you save considerably on the number of megabytes on your Android device's data plan using a simple procedure that automatically compresses all videos and images that you see (while using 3G) to around half their size. "

Hope your question is answered


The Lost.dir is a system folder. Its a place where the Android OS places files that were recovered during a system boot up.

lost.dir in android

What is the folder for?

  Its quite evident that there is no application named LOST.DIR
  installed on your device. At times the folder's size can range in
  gigabytes. In such situations one may wonder about the contents of the
  folder and its use, and whether it is safe to delete the folder to
  save memory.

Can I delete the contents of LOST.DIR ?

  In order to save precious memory space its completely normal to delete
  the contents of LOST.DIR as it only acts as a recycle bin. You can
  also delete the LOST.DIR folder itself but it will reappear the next
  time the system boots up. When your Android system throws up a message
  saying 'Preparing external SD card' its actually checking the contents
  of LOST.DIR, and if it fails to locate the directory, it creates one.

ref :
All you need to know about LOST.DIR folder on Android devices


How to make use of the entire screen area on Android 4.1 in full-screen mode?

It is not intended to hide the system bar (combined soft button/notification bar) on tablets. Imagine the bar is hidden and the app you are currently using does not offer an option to exit. -> Your are stuck within this app.

Some custom ROMs offer the option to hide the bar.

General option would be to use some third-party-apps like Hide Bottom Bar or full!screen which can disable the bar somehow. Unfortunately these apps require root.


Can still sync email after revoking app specific password on gmail

What's going on is that your phone is not using your password. When you log in an Oath token is issued.
This is more secure, because your password is not stored on the device. It also has the additional benefit that it can automatically log you in in your browser. To deny access to your phone, remove the authentication token here.

Moreover starting with ICS you don't need to use applications specific passwords for your phone. Enter your regular Google account info; it will notice that you have 2-factor authentication enabled and open an internal browser where you can log in using your OTP.


On my phone, the credentials are stored in /data/wifi/bcm_supp.conf.  You'll probably need root to see it directly on your phone but you may be able to use adb pull (requires the Android SDK) from your PC to get the file.

As noted in the comments, the location may vary based on your ROM or device (specifically the Wi-Fi chip; mine's a Broadcom).  Check /data/wifi/, /data/etc/wifi/ and /data/misc/wifi/ for relevant config files if you don't find the ones suggested by eldarerathis or me.


I have succeeded in rooting the Karbonn Smart Tab 7 and am apparently the first person on the net to do so. In your face, Karbonn Technical Department. I have been using it only for a few hours now, and it is working fine (EDIT: I've been using it for 4 months now and it still works fine :) - August '13).

Here are the steps for any other wanderer in the same plight as I was:

The first step is a warning to all users. Please be aware of the consequences of rooting before doing so. It should work perfectly, but just to be on the safe side, back up all your data.
Connect the tab to the computer and enable mass storage mode. Also keep in mind that the Karbonn Smart Tab 7 has internal memory and an internal storage card. The internal one cannot be used for the purpose of rooting. You need to put in an external microSD card. When you connect the device in mass storage mode, the internal SD card's name will probably be NOVO7.
Download this file and put it in the root of the external microSD.
Put the tab in recovery mode. For those of you who don't know how to do this, switch off the device and hold the volume down and power buttons till it says "android is upgrading...", and then release the power button but keep holding the volume down button.
Click on "Apply update from SD card" and select "crystal_root.zip". It should install.
Now reboot it and it's done!!!
You can check if the rooting process has been successful by downloading the Root Checker app from the Play Store. The app is (obviously) used to check if the root is accessible. You will also find that the SuperSU app has been installed automatically.

Enjoy!!!

P.s. Please vote me up (I would love that) and also thanks to @Izzy for giving me a heads up on how this stuff works.


Can I use Droid Explorer to migrate my apps and app data from one device to another?

This is the closest to migrate that you can do without additional apps. From what I know, use Android 6 and newer with a valid Google account where all Playstore apps are recorded. I have not tried on older than Android 6 for these to work.

Enable its Google backup and auto sync options. Activate all application that have a backup/restore, such as Whatsapp.

When you login to the new device, the contacts, wireless settings and those auto backup can be restored. The respective Android apps from Google Play Store are listed as Library in My apps & games. Select and install back the required games.


Hope this helps ! Setting up the finger print on nexus devices


How to remove ONE account from Google Maps

I had the same problem and this is what I did.

Open google maps on your phone.

Slide right to see the menu.

On the top you will see both accounts

Choose the account you don't want to use and go to Notifications and turn everything off

Then go to sign out. This will sign out all accounts.

Then go to sign in and sing in only the account you want to use.


What do I do when the keyboard is frozen on my lock screen and I can't get in?

What do you call that protection feature. Password but you use swipe to unlock or a feature similar to LG's 'Knock On'


Lost my android tablet, how can I find it without a network connection?

The only way is likely going to where you went today. It will be very diificult to find it without network connection. Lookout Plan B would have helped you if your device had got something to manage SMS but it is a tablet.


How to simulate a slow internet connection on an Android phone

There is no such setting on Android phones, but you can use the Emulator for this. Install the Android SDK from developer.android.com and launch it. On the DDMS view undet the Emulator control tab, you'll find the following options:

After you have created an emulator and ran it, you can set these values according to your preferences and test how different networks affect your site.


Running Android on a PC as a nondeveloper, just to run apps

Yes, Bluestacks is the best option for your needs. Particularly suitable for game players, you can run any app on it. No need to download any extra; after downloading Bluestacks on your PC, just log in with your Play Store account and you'll find all of your apps listed.


What are the features that TouchWiz has that vanilla Android does not have?

Home Screen

Up to 7 Home screens, with the ability to add and remove screens at will, and drag them around to change the order (pinch zoom the home screen)
Customizable dock area at the bottom of the home screen, allowing you to add/remove up to 4 apps.

Apps List

'Screen at a time' sideways scrolling apps list
Rounded square backgrounds added to all app icons in the app list (see here)
Pre-installed apps (or apps present during the last OS upgrade) are in alphabetical order, new apps are added at the end in the order they're installed.

Home Button

Holding the Home button brings up a list of 6 recently used apps, along with a Task Manager button
Holding the Back button and tapping the Home button takes a screenshot on the Galaxy S, for the Galaxy SII use Power+Home

Samsung Widgets

These are home screen widgets that Samsung include, and are in a separate Samsung Widgets category pre-Gingerbread, post-Gingerbread they are in the main Android Widgets list with the word "Samsung" under them instead of "Android". Exact widget selection varies depending on OS version and network.

AccuWeather Clock
Buddies Now (messaging shortcuts for nominated contacts)
Calendar Clock
Daily Briefing (News, weather, stocks, social media updates)
Days (create new entries in the Diary app)
Dual Clock
Feeds and Updates
Program Monitor
Y! Finance Clock

Samsung (and other) Bundled Apps

Samsung AllShare (DLNA)
FM Radio (for models with hardware FM radio)
Kies air (shares phone data, and allows control of some phone functions over wifi to a PC web browser, first pre-installed with Gingerbread, available in Samsung app store for older OSs)
Memo (notepad app)
Mini Diary (create diary pages with daily details, memos and photos)
My Files (file manager)
Samsung Apps (Samsung's own app store, currently only free content in there, but some of the apps are normally paid or ad-supported on the Android Market)
Social Hub (messaging app combining email, SMS and social networks)
Task Manager
ThinkFree Office

Modified Apps

Contacts (History and Activities tabs, linked to Social Hub and social network account updates, showing recent posts by contact and recent interactions with them)
Gallery (interface to select either scrolling wallpaper or static, portrait wallpaper)
Music (Disc View interface added, allowing sideways scroll through albums showing the artwork on a "CD" shape)
Videos (extra codec support DivX/Xvid in particular)

Region specific TouchWiz features

Throughout most of Europe and Asia, Samsung's Mobile Tracker feature is included in the Security settings allowing remote password setting, tracking and wiping of mobiles registered on the http://samsungdive.com website

Version specific TouchWiz features

Eclair (Android 2.1) - TouchWiz included Wifi tethering as a standard feature before it was brought to the main Android OS in v2.2.

(except where noted, all from TouchWiz 3 on a Gingerbread Galaxy S)


How do I tether my android tablet to my Huawei U2801-34 phone

Install shareIt app on both devices and the phone will do a hotspot tether with the tablet. SnapShare and SFT apps also perform hotspot tether. If you are doing file transfers the Snapshare does fastest with simultaneous dl's.


You can't run apps that don't request root permissions as root.  This is excluding native apps that you can run from a terminal.


S4 Wont turn on unless removing battery then turns off after 2 seconds

Try booting into recovery mode and seeing if it turns of there

if it doesn't that means your software is corrupt and a factory reset/format cache from recovery mode might fix it

to access recovery mode hold power button+ volume up + home button at the same time while the device is off


Is there a way to get to the numeric keyboard when entering text fields

If you're using Swype simply drag from the Swype key to where the 5 is; Swype will change to the numeric keypad.


Like you said - it may be a problem with the H/W itself because if its a S/W problem it should've been rectified after hard reset (in most of the cases). If the device is on warranty I'd suggest taking it to a service centre ASAP :)


How come moving files on my phone when it's connected to my computer actually does a copy instead?

I would really need more info to give you a precise answer, but I think I know what you are speaking of. When you move a file through MTP with your mouse, on your computer, your computer is not just moving the file... it is a totally different type of filesystem, and therefore has to basically read the file and write the file in new location. It is not the same as if you were in adb or terminal issuing:

  mv FILE NEWFOLDER/FILE

...or a root explorer long pressing to move, which issues the same as above.


Can't find low battery threshold setting (Samsung Galaxy S3)

There is no setting available in any Android ROM that has the battery threshold setting.

From the previous answer given, it is built in.

Only course of option is to roll your own Android build, with the hard-coded value adjusted, but, and is a big but indeed, it is not the recommended route to take, as the code behind Android to handle the battery mechanism varies from chip-set to chip-set and to each and their own manufacturer.

By adjusting it, there could be invariable damage to the battery as a result, since the threshold is specified, by "tweaking" it could affect the battery in the long run and possibly end up shortening the battery life also.


Ok so you are wondering if you can change the download folder by changing some sort of config file. This sort of behavior has been sort of deprecated in Android. As an Android Developer, we are supposed to make all of our cache files private so that they cannot be accessed by another person or, more importantly, another program. Letting other programs root around in your files was a big security hole for linux, so it is kind of frowned upon now, so I would be very surprised if you found a config file where you could change the Download folder. If you want to be able to set your download folder, then you could try to find an app on the market that has such functionality.

And yes I know the frustration you are talking about, I used to use my Droid 3 for doing my school email and finding and opening attachments was next to impossible.


Thermal paste is, as you probably already know from the video, is a glue-like substance that conducts heat fantastically well. It is used to dissipate heat from processors into heat sinks as well as other heat generating objects to their heat sinks.

What the person in the video did (at least what I got from quickly scrolling through and your description) is he added some metal to the phone and used thermal paste between it and the phone's processor. This will lower the temperature of the processor and make it run a little bit better.

In my opinion, in a phone, this isn't a good idea. In PCs where there is a dedicated heatsink already with a cooling system on it, there is room for this to be effective and for the heat sink to dissipate the heat. In a phone, the heat will not have any more room to dissipate than it previously did. There is no method of cooling the heat sink. I'd actually be concerned that areas of the phone that were not designed to experience such heat could become problematic when the makeshift heat sink becomes hot, such as the plastic coated ribbon cables that likely have low melting temperatures. In addition, phones are not designed to be tampered with like this. You are far more likely to damage the phone than help it.

That's my 2 cents.


Is it possible to install Android KitKat or newers versions to Samsung Galaxy Beam i8530?

The phone uses a NovaThor U8500 SoC, the manufacturer of which, ST-Ericsson was dissolved in 2013, not long after its release, thus cutting support for it. Although there are devices with the same SoC having higher Android version and third-party ROMs (namely Galaxy S Advanced and Xperia P/U/Sola), your device appeals to a much more niche market and therefore doesn't enjoy a large enough user base for developers to come and develop for it.

So the definitive answer is, yes, go for something new. And no gimmicks like those projectors - more gimmicks means less possibility for the community to support it.


Joining Contacts has no effect (SG3 4.1.1)

After much searching for an answer, I found this in another forum.

I use Companionlink to sync my old Palm Desktop database to my S3. The contact records come into the device showing as a phone record, but most times don't auto join to Facebook and LinkedIn records...even if the names match exactly. I tried in vain on many records to join contacts by clicking on a contact then selecting the paperclip icon to join contacts. I would go through the motions and join the contacts, and get a confirmation that contacts were joined, even though it never actually happened. This solution below works! It appears that the 'main' way of getting this done (at least with Jelly Bean) has a programming flaw. Hopefully it will be fixed when Key Lime Pie comes out. In the interim, use this solution below.

Do this:

Open the settings for one of the contacts (click on the "pencil" while viewing the contact)
Put the cursor at the end of the contacts last name, like you're changing their name, and type a space (hit space bar) then it will bring up other similar contacts below. Choose the account you want join by touching it and the phone will prompt you to join contacts.

This method has not failed!


Default calendar app does not show all my online Google calendars

Not all calendars are allowed to sync with the google calendar app - examples of this are NFL schedule calendars. Any calendar that are not in the XML format will not sync. I remember seeing a warning about some of the interesting calendars not being able to be synced with my phone when I first set some of them up.

Here is post with a work around on how to get them on your phone - if this is your issue:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=70374da8b32c29e4&hl=en


Lock Screen Pattern Too Small After Android 4.3 Update on Samsung Galaxy S3

1) Does there exist a way to make the lock screen pattern larger on
  Android 4.3 so that it looks more like it previously in Android 4.1.2
  without the use of a third-party app?
  I don't intend on using the
  space provided for widgets above the pattern, so a solution that
  causes this functionality to be removed in the process is acceptable.

As from above images it seems that the upper widget screen is comparatively similar in both images, I think the width of lock pattern is reduced.

So, I think you can't change the size of lock pattern without the use of a third-party app

  2) If no native solution exists, is there a third-party app that I can
  download that will allow me to substitute the default home lock screen
  pattern for one that is larger? I am aware that there are app-specific
  lock screens with large patterns, but I am referring to the home lock
  screen only.

AFAIK, You can't replace the home lock screen.
You can disable the home lock screen and enable the third party app lock screen, which will work as lock screen.

Example: Go Locker!


Galaxy J5 connected to wifi but network not available

My dual sim Samsung J5 has problems after restart to find the Provider Connection, so i can't take the calls. The solution to fix this: after every reboot, start your both sim cards, after that you cabt ake calls again and turn of 1 card if u want to save the battery. You have to do this after every phone reboot. It's easy but importend to knowt this solution.


Cost of using AGPS for satellite location

Assisted GPS may cost money: it depends on your cellphone provider, and you should check with them first. See this old CNET story for more info. For Vodafone, I couldn't find any official information online, but this thread by a user on the official forum suggests they charge A-GPS data the same as any other Internet access.

If you're worried about the data charges, go into Settings -> Wireless and networks -> Mobile networks, and turn off Data roaming (the names may be slightly different depending on which device and Android version you have). While data roaming is turned off, your phone won't try to use mobile data while you're roaming (that is, abroad). The GPS will still work fine, but it may take longer to fix your position: maybe as long as 12 minutes, according to Wikipedia.

Whether the app you want to use will still work without an internet connection depends on the app you're trying to use. You should probably test this before getting abroad: if it turns out you have to download and use a different app, you won't have saved any money at all!


Our phones/tablets comes with 2 types of memory:

Internal memory(can't be expanded)

External memory(that is expandable)

If a certain manufacturer says that your handset comes with an expandable memory of 32 GB, means you can insert a 32 GB SD card in it.Now , if your device has 8 GB internal memory,that overall you get 32+8 GB space.

Coming to the second part of your question, if you insert a 64 GB SD card in a handset mentioned above in answer, it wont support it.There is a limit to the amount of memory a particular phone can handle. SD cards come in a variety of flavors. And if your device isn't able to handle a particular flavor of storage technology, it won't accept higher capacity cards.

There are different SD card flavors as in :

SDHC(Secure Digital High Capacity), Cards using this technology can hold between 4GB and 32GB of data.

SDXC(Secure Digital Extended Capacity), which can hold between 64GB and 2TB of data.

You can learn more about these flavors here


How can I physically remove the internal memory device from my Samsung Galaxy S2?

This may not be as easy as you think. The eMMC is connected to the board with a Ball Grid Array (BGA) connection, which is pretty difficult to reconnect once removed.

You can see photos of the chip and more discussion on the topic on this XDA post.

As for where the chip is, you might be able to find it on some teardowns, but my eyes didn't catch it in iFixIts photos.


Lineageos + opengapps: remove gapps, dirty migration to lineageos-for-microg fails

You can do this:

Flash the "microG unofficial installer" (Disclaimer: a flashable zip created by me) that remove the base of GApps from all partitions in addition to installing microG
Wipe /system to remove traces of the installer
Flash LineageOS for microG


On how many devices can you install a paid app purchased from the Amazon App Store?

It is unlimited. The Terms of Use for Amazon's Appstore make no statements regarding number of installs or devices, but it uses the word "copies" to refer to the fact that multiple installations are permitted. The only restriction noted is that you must have the Appstore app installed and you must be signed in to the account that made the purchase:

  Once you have paid for an App, you may download copies of the App for your personal use to compatible Android devices. Each time you download an App to a particular device, you will first be required to download and install the Appstore Software, if it is not already available on the device, and to sign in to the Appstore Software using the user name and password for the Amazon.com customer account that you used to buy the App.


Unable to unlock bootloader for HTC 816G android phone

I only have experience with an old HTC Wildfire S so please be patient with me here...

• The first step towards unlocking Any HTC  bootloader is to make an official account with HTC Dev.    HTCDev.com

( Become a HTC Developer -  so to speak )

• Secondly you need to Unlock the bootloader using the official HTC Bootloader unlock tools...
 HTC Dev.com/bootloader

The process usually goes as follows...

Enter Fastboot
Enter Command fastboot oem get-unlock-token

You place the unlock token into the website and then it will convert the Token into a Token.bin or something like that ( unlock.bin ) i can't remember, i said bare with me...

You place the (.bin) file next to your fastboot.exe program ( not ADB ) and then run
fastboot oem unlock -pathToUnlock.bin

You will get appropriate instructions on the HTC Dev site so don't worry about my crappy guide ;) ...

--

P.S
ADB is only uses while the device is "Live" .. Fastboot is used to flash things like the System...

ADB is a part of the system, Fastboot is part of the Boot... Different programs for different things.


how to sync my university email to my Android?

This question is impossible to answer without knowing the configuration your university uses. You should ask for the details of the mail server from the university's helpdesk. You'll need to know at least the server address, username and password for your mail account, and possibly even more details such as custom port numbers, access restrictions, protocols to use, encryption etc.

I'm certain that the helpdesk can assist you in getting the email settings correctly into your phone.


OnePlus one is charging but is recognized in device manager only when in debug mode

Are you using the red/white cable that came with the device? Most standard USB cables are not capable of file transfer, and so will not be recognized with Windows.


Could not enable mobile hotspot function on HTC One X

Looks like you've messed up some terms:

  I was trying to enable mobile hotspot function, so I could enjoy internet from my PC adhoc wireless network

First: the mobile hotspot function is to share your Android device's mobile Internet connection to other devices not having Internet on their own, e.g. a tablet or laptop, via WiFi.

Second: only few Android devices support ad-hoc networks. There are solutions, but all of them require your device to be rooted.

Third: if you wanted to use your PC's Internet connection on your Android device, that would be reverse-tether, and again require root to be established.


Normally it will not consume battery after disable. I don't know much about the  Map version 9.16.2.

Can you try with force stop the Map app.
Please check the link below how an app is disabling

http://www.howtogeek.com/195786/how-to-closestop-a-running-app-on-an-android-device/


Chrome white pages and image not loading

As you have already tested, trying out different browsers might be a good alternative. I suggest you try either Boat Browser or Dolphin Browser.

My stand for Chrome Browser still remains. It is still an immature browser, and lacks many features / add-ons that are available in other browsers.


Why does my SD data get messed up when i connect to PC with USB?

It sounds like your ROM doesn't properly reset settings when the sdcard is re-enabled (since it obviously becomes unavailable to the OS when using USB Mass Storage). Unfortunately, this is likely an issue with your ROM and I don't think there is a likely setting that would fix it.

However, in Android 3.0, Google added MTP (Media Transfer Protocol) support and it has been in all versions since. This allows the sdcard to remain mounted in the Android system while also allowing it to be accessed on the computer. I can't remember the exact layout of ICS, but to be able to change it to MTP from UMS, it is probably pretty close to Settings -> Storage -> Menu -> USB Computer Connection -> enable MTP


You need to flash the phone to solve the brick. This works on locked and unlocked bootloader.

Download the firmware (search on Google)
Download and Install the flash tool. The default directory of installation of flash tool will be C:\Flashtool
Open the drivers (C:\Flashtool\Drivers) directory and install the Flash mode and Fast boot drivers.
Now Open Flash Tool. Click on the “Black Lightning icon” at the top left corner.
Then choose flashmode from given two options.
Now browse to  where you saved the firmware previously download.
See the right hand side of window under the “Wipe” tag,.  If you don’t want to delete all user  data and don’t want a factory reset then you should uncheck them.
Click on “Flash” button.
After clicking on “Flash” Button in above step, now FlashTool will prepare file. When prompted the notification of connecting your phone, connect it in flashmode: Press Volume down button and then insert usb in phone.
Wait untill the process finishes. Et voilà, your phone should boot normally.


I use SMS Backup & Restore which backups your text messages to an XML file on your SD card (does not require root). This way at least you can safely lower the message limit and still save your messages somewhere.

I'm not aware of any way to lower the limit without the Messaging application automatically deleting old messages - in the stock messaging app anyway.


How can I get the LogCat before my phone restarts?

If the reboots are caused by kernel panics (sometimes the case), you can get the last_kmsg file. It's located at /proc/last_kmsg. This file gets reset every time you restart your phone, so you'll have to grab it soon after a reboot.

Look at the bottom of the file to see why the phone is rebooting. If it's a normal shutdown from an app, it may point to the app that initiated the shutdown. If it's a kernel panic, hopefully it'll tell you what's happening.


Is there a hands free way to manipulate pandora while driving?

This would really have to be enabled by the developers of the app, unfortunately. An always listening app would be very risky to distribute, as it would generate many complaints about battery life...

I have an Android Wear watch, which makes interaction minimal and on your wrist as you drive. This is my best suggestion, though this also would depend on the developers, if they have implemented Wear functionality.

I know this is a more costly solution than an app, but there's more to it than just this functionality. Wear apps can also implement voice functionality, so those developers better get working...


Running a Debian installation on Android as a NAS / VPN - what would I lose as compared to a Raspberry Pi or similar comp?

Disadvantages

I'm assuming that you already know the advantages, so I'll just tell you the disadvantages:

 Hardware errors: Many users have reported this. Issues include (but aren't limited to) WiFi connection errors, Bluetooth not working, Hardware buttons not working, etc. (These obviously vary from phone to phone)

 OS errors: Some users have reported that Linux hangs randomly and that the phone needs to be forcefully shut down by long-pressing the power button or taking the battery out. (These depend on which distro you are using)

Software errors: A friend of mine says that some software doesn't work the same way it would on a PC. You have been warned :/

Driver errors: Some hardware may not be detected by linux. This depends on the distro you are using and the hardware support provided by it.

Hardware Comparison

Here's a comparison:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Criterion              |Android (Android One)  |RaspberryPi            |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|Connectivity           |                       |                       |
| (a)Bluetooth          |Built-in               |External Dongle        |
| (b)WiFi               |Built-in               |External Dongle        |
| (c)SIM - 2G           |Built-in               |External Dongle        |
| (d)SIM - 3G           |Built-in               |External Dongle        |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|Specs                  |                       |                       |
| (a)RAM                |1-2 GB                 |1-2 GB                 |
| (b)CPU                |1.3 GHz                |1.2 GHz                |
| (c)Storage            |SD card + internal     |SD card                |
| (d)SIM Slots          |2                      |None                   |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|Battery                |Internal               |External               |
|                       |(Fixed Capacity)       |(Your Choice!)         |
|                       |(Use Power Bank)       |                       |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|Cost                   |INR 6999-8999          |INR 1299-3899          |
|                       |USD 100-150            |USD 20-60              |
|                       |                       |(+Extras)              |
|-----------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------|

Conclusion

So what does all that (^) even mean? According to me, it's worth a try. If it works, congratulations, you are a very lucky man (or woman). If it doesn't, take it as an interesting experience...

TL;DR: Try it, but don't expect too much...

PS:
The are plenty of ways in which this can go wrong [see https://github.com/meefik/linuxdeploy/issues ]

A tutorial and some troubleshooting tips can be found at http://null-byte.wonderhowto.com/how-to/rooted-android-your-new-pentesting-tool-0159093/


It is not really possible to do all of this in the phone, but you could insert both sim cards to the phone and use an SD to USB adapter.


Why can't I access the /data directory with ADB on my Samsung Vibrant?

You need to escalate the shell, since /data requires root permissions to access.  After running adb shell, run su before running cd /data.  The prompt should change from $ to # if it works.


disconnect adb of device connected over TCP does not work

I just use "adb disconnect" and it worked fine for me. See the photo below:


Google Voice needs to be able to save data such as contact details, ongoing conversations, etc., somewhere and in the case of conversations delete them later - I suspect that this is where the "modify and delete data from SD card" comes in.


How do Android apps implement the share button?

I'm not a dev, so I just can give a raw explanation: apps declare in their Manifest which Mimetypes they understand and willing to respond to on share actions. For this they define so called "intent filters", e.g.:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.SEND" />
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <data android:mimeType="application/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="audio/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="image/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="message/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="multipart/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="text/*" />
    <data android:mimeType="video/*" />
</intent-filter>

So whenever you hit the "share" button, the content-to-share is evaluated and matched against apps having declared their willingness to receive the format.

Sources:

Intent Filter to capture all sharing Intents (StackOverflow)
Receiving Simple Data from Other Apps (developer.android.com)


I see this issue quite frequently.  Hangouts will crash if you disable stock Messaging app, but you can't re-enable the Messaging app if you've disabled it before upgrading the OS.

In order to resolve you need to go into Settings -> Apps, tap the three-dot menu button, and select the "Reset app preferences" option:

This re-enables all previously disabled apps, including the ones you couldn't re-enable before.  Hangouts should also stop crashing now.


If nothing can be retrieved from logcat you are probably running into a kernel panic.

You could check via adb the output of: dmesg

Some devices also have a kernel feature where, on critical errors, the last received kernel message can be read from /proc/last_kmsg

Maybe this will give you some hints whats going wrong.
If not you could stream the full kernel logs via: cat /proc/kmsg and reproduce the shutdown while doing this.


How to see other partitions using the Terminal Emulator and mount them?

The Android's linux kernel would not have the SATA/IDE hard drives drivers installed into the kernel, all it can see is flash cards MMC, understands ext3fs and ext4fs, vfat filesystems so the answer to the question is no you cannot see other partitions outside of the domain of Android itself! What you can do though is this, build a new linux kernel with the appropriate drivers installed in place, then the mounts would work :)


Possible to turn ON phone with ADB ? (Galaxy S6)

No, ADB requires the phone to be on and be running a OS/Recovery to accept it. The bootloader uses fastboot which is only available there.

TL;DR No, when the phone is off it is not listening (by default, atleast) to commands from a PC.

EDIT: You may be better off jerry rigging something in it, is it the internal part bad or is it the external part?

EDIT2: People have pointed out that samsung does not even have fastboot (apparently) and that you COULD do something with a custom kernel, but that seems like alot of effort that may be better awnsered with get a rma or get a new phone, Sorry bro.


Is there a way to calibrate screen - Huawei Ascend Y550

Most phones do not have screen calibration routines. If it's always been off it likely is defective or poorly made. If it has gotten worse you might try a factory reset (but you'll lose all your data, apps, config, etc.). If the phone is still under warranty you might try getting it replaced.


Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 bootloop even after flashing rom

It might be issue with the ROM you flashed. Try downloading factory image from samsung, then flash it using odin. If everything goes well, you can see factory new phone OS in your hands :p I am also concerned wether it is bricked or not. Coz Galaxy note has many variants, I bricked mine long back, then I got Sansumg gig to get back my recovery. If your contacts are in memory, do not fully wipe the phone. Just re-install OS via odin.


Adjust long press of back button to kill app in CM7?

I have not ever found a way in any the settings to adjust this. I think the time is hard coded. I completely agree with you about the time before it would close, for this reason, I disable it unless I am testing something and need it for a specific test.


Google Play store showing updates after several weeks?

When it says under Gboard "Updated 4 weeks ago", it means that the last time you updated the app was 4 weeks ago, and not that a new update was available 4 weeks ago.

My proof?
The Chinese app that appears under Gboard was never updated by you.
It should have also ben said "Updated x days ago".

And look at Google app under that, you updated it 3 min ago and not that Google pushed out an update 3 min ago.


Do wireless charging adapters interfere with NFC?

TLDR;
Qi wireless charging can damage NFC tags and readers.

I don't have any experience with using Qi adapters and NFC in conjunction but I would imagine there would be some interference.

Depending on the position of your NFC chip, the Qi adapter may partially or completely cover the chip. Whilst this would only be a very thin layer of metal obstructing the chip, the interference would largely depend on the quality of the NFC chip.

I do have a wireless charging mount in my car that I have previously placed an NFC tag on. I was able to charge my phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and Note 9) perfectly, however, my phone struggled to consistently read the NFC tag. It would often either not read the tag at all or would repeatedly read it, which was very frustrating as the routine I had set up would send multiple messages to my wife.

So, it would seem that wireless charging and NFC can interfere with each other if not implemented correctly. If this is a risk you can not afford to take, then I would suggest sticking with a charger cable or perhaps a magnetic charger cable for more convenience.

Following OP's comment I have done some more research regarding NFC degradation caused by Qi wireless charging and have come across this article from RFID Journal.

The article details an NFC-enabled wireless charging system for cars and, although it doesn't specify any sort of statistics, it does state that NFC tags can be damaged by wireless charging.

  NFC devices are also commonly stored in the wallets, purses and pockets of individuals for payments, access control and more. NFC tags, however, can be damaged or destroyed by the magnetic fields of wireless chargers, creating a potential conflict for a variety of NFC technology products

I wasn't completely satisfied with this.

I changed my search criteria to specifically look for details on NFC readers and it wasn't long before I cam across a post on the Nordic Semiconductor DevZone forum regarding Qi wireless charging damaging an NFC reader.
In the thread one of Nordic Semiconductor's support staff responds with the following

  Yes, QI currents can damage NFC readers/tags, and what you're describing does not seem reversible. Sorry about that. Although we can't guarantee anything, adding the extra capacitor seems to protect the NFC tag sufficiently, so I suggest you give it a go. Additionally, it wouldn't hurt disabling the NFC while you're charging either, but I don't believe it to be crucial.

So, given this information and OP stating that NFC doesn't work with wireless chargers (at least that's my understanding of OP), I would be inclined to believe Huawei disables the NFC reader while charging wirelessly in order to protect the NFC reader from damage.


Quoting from Google Product Forums solution posted by M Power, marked as best answer - this may help solve the hung problem but can't say about not charging during file transfer, but going by your description both seem to be related

  .... Secondly, when doing a transfer, the phone must be unlocked. This was the problem I was experiencing. I would start a large transfer of photos, then during that time my screen would lock and I would get an error. My screen timeout is typically set to 30 secs so this happened quickly for me. Changing the lock to 30 minutes and checking the phone on occasion solved my problem.


View Google Play In-App Purchases on Google Play Store

In-App purchases come in a wide range including unlocking features, making donations, adding bonus content and buying specific items but they all fall under the single permission.

I've also seen them broken down as:
Permanent enhancements to the app,
Expendable updates (i.e. extra lives or tokens),
Subscriptions, and
Auto-renewing subscriptions

If the type of in-app purchases are not listed in the description of the app or in any reviews for the app I would ask the developer via email. Other than that you would have to download it to find out.


ROM Toolbox claims backups are blocked; how can I work around this?

I got this response from Koush, the developer of ROM Manager:

  ClockworkMod recovery is open source. However, the hooks that ROM Manager uses to automate backups by hooking into ClockworkMod Recovery are proprietary.

  I have told other developers, if they wish to use the ClockworkMod Recovery hooks, they can do it in the following ways:

  1) Build, distribute, and support their own version of ClockworkMod Recovery, so that I am not responsible for the maintenance of it.

  2) Use the ROM Manager API, which requires a ROM Manager Premium License.

  The user can ALWAYS make backups manually in recovery, without a Premium license.

  Basically, the issue here is that developers are relying on me and my open source work, which I maintain, to build a competing product to my paid applications. Essentially undercutting me by relying on me developing 90% of the product for them.
  It seems pretty silly for me to continue maintaining and distributing something that directly competes with my income, so I put a stop to it.
  If they want to build a competing product, they will have to go through all the hassles involved with building, distributing, and supporting recovery images.

  So, no, those other applications are not "blocked" from creating backups. They are just being lazy, and not actually building/flashing their own recovery image. Nothing is preventing them from building a ROM Manager clone, if they really wanted to. They are just avoiding doing the hard part.

So for now, I think you're best off finding out if rzrecovery supports your device variant, and if so, using it until there is a version of ClockworkMod for it.  I own ROM Manager Premium and have no complaints, and I really respect Koush for the work he does.


Tasker: switch on VPN when opening specific URL?

On the Tasker homepage there's a section called "Plans" where the developers outline future ideas that they might incorporate into the product: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/todo.html
Also listed on this page are those two lines:

Actions/Tasks: VPN (dis/re)connect
Events/States: VPN connected

So it's not included yet but it might be at some point in the future. Again citing from the page:

This is an informal list of features under consideration for Tasker.


Magisk will fail Safety-Net hereafter. Why?

John Wu (Magisk Developer) posted updates today, which clarifies the reasons.
Earlier, SafetyNet API wasn't fully / correctly implemented, the way it was meant to be :

Key Attestation

From what we've seen so far, key attestation doesn't seem to be fully enforced yet, as devices with incompatible, potentially buggy(?) keymaster implementations (e.g. some OnePlus devices) that result in attest key cmd failures still pass SafetyNet regardless.

Attestation was done locally

bootloader reports the device status via kernel cmdlines, and init will reflect them in properties, and apparently SafetyNet was using those values. All those stuff is in userspace, so Magisk can simply manipulate it

Now, with the Feature Preview: SafetyNet Attestation API evaluationType, there will be two types of evaluation, BASIC and HARDWARE_BACKED for a complete evaluation with remote validation (as against local) :

HARDWARE_BACKED - When we use the available hardware-backed security features of the remote device (e.g. hardware-backed key attestation) to influence our evaluation.

We’re currently evaluating and adjusting the eligibility criteria for devices where we will rely on hardware-backed security features.

Can this new system be hacked?
Looks very unlikely

Even if we force validation to use BASIC method, it won't be hidden

IMO it is theoretically possible to alter control flow in SafetyNet's code to force it to always use BASIC evaluation by using some hooking framework like Xposed, however these kind of code injection is basically impossible to hide (memory space analysis).

HARDWARE_BACKED is serious stuff and unlikely to be cracked since it involves TEE or hardware changes leading to cryptographic compromise (Robert also pointed out in comments)

To hack this thing, you have to either find a vulnerability in TEE firmware (which will be patched ASAP once found) or hardware (less likely to happen) to break the cryptography.

Breaking TEE won't be easy, which is why many security researchers are actively working on it.

(Emphasis added in all quotes)
How to check if Google has implemented hardware Attestation for my device?
Edit Magisk canary has been updated to show evaluation status and once the API is implemented, you will see more details (failing SafetyNet). Or, follow instructions on this XDA post to check attestation method using logcat

For more information see SafetyNet's hardware attestation will make hiding root in Magisk really hard

Edited on 16 December 20
And the final nail in the coffin for  fooling safety net detection
Johnwu in

tweet says

HW based evaluation is impractical to "hack" (except tricks to make it fallback to basic), and I lost all interest in improving the current way of hiding.

Another tweet of 13 Dec 2020

If passing SafetyNet is the only use of Magisk for you, then yeah, bye Face with rolling eyes
( in response to So... magisk is completely useless right now?...)


Sync setup question: will Android, Outlook 2010, Gmail, calendar and contacts sync?

Android syncs to Gmail, Contacts, and Calendar nearly effortlessly. It seems like in your case it's Outlook that is the problem child. Do you need to sync contacts with Outlook too? If not, a one-time export/import from Outlook to Gmail should meet your needs.

I would say have Outlook sync with Google and have the phone sync with Google. Syncing the phone to Outlook too will probably duplicate data and/or leave gaps in your data.


I have three suggestions:

If it is a MicroSD card, you could plug it into an external reader.
Try ADB (Advanced). If it shows up using the devices command, try pushing and pulling on the SD card.
Install file expert. When the app loads, the third tab has "Share my files" (Or something like that) Try these options via Bluetooth or WiFi. File Expert also has a seperate app, Web PC Suite, which can do the job you want.


The queue limitation, AFAIK is 200 videos:

You can queue up a maximum of 200 videos in a Watch Later list. The same limitation applies for any created playlist.

Note:
Make sure that you're preloading videos having the device charging and with an active Wi-Fi connection, in order to have them correctly preloaded to your phone.

YouTube Instructions for a successul preload
According to the YouTube Blog, it's mentioned that the preload process works if the phone is charging and a Wi-Fi connection exists:

you can now preload and temporarily cache videos from your subscribed channels on your phone anytime it’s charging and your WiFi is connected. Just enable “Preloading” in the Settings menu. You’ll still need a connection to play the video, but once you do it’s smooth sailing through the latest from your subscribed channels and Watch Later queue.

Additionally, you need to have an active connection when pressing the play button.


You can tap for those words, Swype's autocompletion will use your personal dictionary to finish the rest.


Invasive advertising in Android notification center

I've never been bothered by an advertisement  since ages because of my ruthless choice of using a full-fledged ad blocker like AdAway. You may try it if the device is rooted, or try adblock-plus for non-rooted devices.

Let's come to the issue. If that advertisement is indeed a notification, then you can tap and hold that notification → App info, and you would be shown the app's info which generated that notification. If the app's notifications or toasts are not important to you, uncheck Show notifications and you won't be bothered again by the app through notification or toasts. This also implies that you would receive no notification at all from that app. It's take it or leave it approach. Check Show notification by going into Settings → Apps →  and things would come back to where they previously were.

For Android 4.2.1 and 4.4.2:

(Click image to enlarge; hover to know details)

For Android 5.0.2:

An alternate way to find out which app owns the current notification is to issue the command (after setting up adb of course) :-

adb shell dumpsys notification

(Android 4.2.1 needs root access for dumpsys.)

It will give detailed output for each of the current notification. Under each record, look for entries like pkg= or contentIntent=. You can see the package name of the app. See the corresponding app name using App Browser (Lollipop already shows package name below an app name in Settings → Apps).

Cheers!


Not able to access 3G Data when no Wi-Fi connection

that was weird.
the day after I posted this, I dialed the magic 4636 number, changed nothing in the settings and the mobile data was working allright. I was confused.

Then today, it happened again.
Mobile data was unavailable, there was a ! over the signal strenght icon. I ran the Ping test and I got this:

Ping IPAddr: Fail: IP Addr not reachable
Ping hostname : Fail: Host unreachable
HTTP Client test: FAIL : IOException.
This also disabled the normal calling capability of the phone (see other post :error: call not sent. Unable to make outcalls?)

I turned the phone OFF and ON.
It booted allright and now I has H+ and full mobile data usage.

So I thank you for the help, and I hope the workaround will be good enough to close the issue for now.


What does "Can't send message on card 1, error 21" mean?

Most likely the destination phone number is formatted wrong, which can happen particularly when importing contacts via third-party tool.

In this particular case, I used My Contacts Backup for iOS to export my contacts to VCF, then imported from Gmail.  In the process, some numbers were wrongly formatted as +61 0 4xx when they should be just +61 4xx, causing the highly uninformative error message above.  (The 21 error code actually comes from the operator's network, and has nothing to do with Android as such.)  Removing the extra 0 solved the problem.


How prevent my phone from hiding the country code?

source Go through this link for more understanding.

Conclusion:

A leading 0 or "(0)" is a way of showing that you have provided the full phone number in the national format.  The 0 represents the national dialing prefix; the caller will know to omit the leading 0 if they are placing a local call.
A leading + is a way of showing that you have provided the full phone number in international E.164 format.  The "+" will tell the caller that they need to dial the international dialing prefix such as "00" or "011" if they are calling from outside the country; and that conversely they may need to dial a "0" or "1" if calling from within the country.


What are the features that Motoblur has that vanilla Android does not have?

Motoblur has a bunch of widget-based applications which bring your social networks and/or emails together for ease of viewing, as well as weather, rss feeds and other simple UI elements/widgets that can come in handy. However, Motoblur keeps a process running in the background for each service (type of widget) and thus many people (myself included) forego it and install a non-Motoblur ROM to conserve RAM, CPU and battery. But if you are an avid user of social networking sites then it is a good choice and worth the battery drain.


Problem was caused by phone not set in USB charging mode in settings

Settings > Additional settings > Developer options > Select USB Configurations > Charging only

This made 1.0.31 behave just like remaining versions of ADB mentioned in the question.


How can I remote support an Android tablet?

I attempted to get VNC options working, but they're all buggy.  In particular the keyboard mappings and clunky and the screens never seem to render correctly.  I even wrote to an author offering money for improvements but never got anything back.

Teamviewer 8 is the only solution I've found where it actually works the way it is supposed to (i.e. seamlessly).  Teamviewer is free for personal use, which is a bonus, but it is by far and away the best solution I have found.  It properly supports the Android home/nav keys and has complete and properly mapped support for keyboard input.

To use it, install Teamviewer 8 on your PC/Mac, and "Teamviewer Quicksupport" on your Android device.  As far as I know, root is not required.

No, I don't work for Teamviewer.


Every time I plug in my phone via USB it automatically mounts the SD card

Apparently the Winamp app has an Enable auto-mount setting that is by default set to true.  Problem resolved.


Tried hack to force 4.2 update, result is a broken play store. Theories?

Remove and add again your Google (main) user account. This should do the trick.


A traditional email client on a mobile platform?

You're probably looking for K-9 Mail, which is a traditional mail client in the spirit of mutt (but with less vi).


Can't access photo stored in SD Card from computer

Most modern devices don't give you direct access to the sdcard from your computer. The "sdcard" is just an emulated storage area which can not be separately unmounted and provided to your computer via USB.
They explained this sometime ago when it was introduced with 4.0? 4.1?

What you see on your computer is what the Android Media-Content-Provider knows.

In your case it's not up to date with the current content. To get it syncronized you will have to trigger a media scan.

See this question for how: How do I refresh/rescan the SD memory in Android 4.4 KitKat

If a normal media scan does not bring it into a consistent state:

There is a system app called similar to "Media storage" (packagename com.android.providers.media on a Nexus5), you can clear it's data and then do a media scan to start from a clean state.


How to increase the internal memory of HTC desire GSM?

300MB are the absolute maximum you can get without having an EXT4 partition on the sd card as a replacement.
Having a look at http://alpharev.nl/ you see that there's only a 330MB partition left, however none of my preferred ROMs fit that. It's made for some special ROM called Oxygen which I didn't like.

With custom CM9/CM10 builds however I had to switch back to Bravo Stock again and I set up an external EXT4 1GB partition on my SD card. Those 1024MB are far better than having 30MB more (330MB instead of close to 300MB).


Don't know if you already done. But, most customs like CM, have an option in developer settings to not overwrite recovery.