yea, but with the recent update, no option to do this, i thought that it was strange, so i got fed up and called samsung and they said with 4.0.4 that you actually can not place icons in the tray, fail samsung. all other previous versions allowed this, i would have assumed that this would be a standard thing, apparently not.


Flash ROM with Fastboot

Before starting ensure bootloader is unlocked. Obtain a ROM of your choice, and note the location on your computer.

Reboot your device into fastboot mode via one of the following options.

adb reboot bootloader (requires USB debugging to be turned on). - for working adb; OR
power off the device then back on with 'vol up' + power button. - for nonworking adb

Wipe your device. fastboot -w
Update your ROM. fastboot update /path/to/your/RomFile.zip
Your phone will update and automatically reboot into the new ROM

Edit:

Try the Universal Naked Drivers by 1wayjohnny over at xda forums.

This has been included because my researching has also found corrupted drivers can be the culprit

Try http://code.google.com/p/boot-unlocker-gnex/ to reset tamper flags.

The only other information I could find for the error: device not found is not helpful in this forum. It does lead towards development and programming though.


Locating a wallpaper that comes activated by default after ROM flashing

Default wallpaper is found in /system/framework/framework-res.apk and /system/priv-app/SystemUI/SystemUI.apk. Incase of the lock screen paper

To remove it copy the .apk to sdcard and rename the apk to .zip so that it is extractable by archivers like RAR. Extract it's contents and find it at

/res/drawable-hdpi-v4

If your phone's resolution is 480x800

/res/drawable-xhdpi-v4

If your phone's resolution is 720x1280

/res/drawable-xxhdpi-v4

If your phone's resolution is 1280x2440

They are renamed as:

default-wallpaper.png
keyguard-wallpaper.png

Their file extension can vary to jpg mostly in many devices. And as added by Andy, it can be found at  /res/drawable-nodpi resolution of device is not considered. It always persists under all resolutions

For example mine is found here

And it's properties are

This goes down to tv-dpi or xxxhdpi for android tv. Replace it with your favourite but ensure to keep resolution of the paper for good results, zip it again and rename it back to apk. Replace it with the system one.

Note: For framework-res.apk I recommend you to use TWRP file manager to replace it to system original apk because framework is always actively used on a boot device and will crash the system if you try to replace the apk using root on a boot device.


Can I prevent my S6 from reducing brightness at 5% battery?

I believe you are looking for Power Saver Mode. This is under the Settings > Battery.
There is usually an option to turn on Power Saver Mode altogether or adjust what it does.

See

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00038729/


Where are the inline remote settings in Android?

To my experience, headset control behaved randomly. Took me a couple of weeks to figure out why suddenly in my training sessions the music player started (wow! that button on the headset suddenly does something...). Like you, I never found any corresponding system settings.

To get rid of that "random system", I took a look around. As usual with Android, almost everything is triggering (or triggered by) an intent, and a listener reacts on that. If there are multiple listeners, the user will be asked with which app to perform the action -- and can declare that app the standard; which holds until a new app registers or the chosen app gets uninstalled.

That said, I went to the Playstore and took a look around -- and indeed, there are multiple apps around taking care of the button-presses: Single press, double, triple, long-hold, klick-and-hold... I never imagined how much to do with a single button :D Unfortunately for me, I could not yet convince the one app I tried to behave as intended -- except for single click and single hold (i.e. play/stop/take-call and volume-up) -- but that may be due to the combination of headset/phone/app, and I certainly will try to figure this out by evaluating different apps.

To give you a starting point: there's e.g. JAYS Headset Control, which I currently use. Though highly configurable1, see above for my problems (Philips plugs, Motorola device). Then there's also Headset Droid which looks quite promising2, but costs about EUR 2. This seems to support multiple buttons even, from the screenshots.

Then there are Headset Button Controller (also about EUR 2), Philips Headset (free -- the next one I should try with my Philips headset), and a lot more -- just search the playstore for "headsetbutton"...


Prevent volume rocker from disabling silent mode

There are some apps that will do this for you:

RingGuard: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.x475aws.android.ringguard&hl=en
Volume Locker: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.hourdb.volumelocker&feature=related_apps


Pixel 2 Android Phone to Lenovo Windows 10 Bluetooth Won't Pair

Are there additional steps that need to be taken in order to make both devices "discoverable"?

Yes. Android phones are discoverable only while the Bluetooth Settings activity is displayed. (There's a message in the activity to tell you this.) You need to scan for devices from your laptop while this activity is open on your phone.


How to enter CWM recovery on an encrypted Galaxy S3?

How to get into Recovery Mode
Unplug the USB cable.
Shut down the phone.
Hold down the 'HOME' + 'VOLUME UP' buttons and press the 'POWER' button for about 5 seconds to enter Recovery Mode.

How to get into Download Mode (eg: for Odin)
Unplug the USB cable.
Shut down the phone.
Hold down the 'HOME' + 'VOLUME DOWN' buttons and press the 'POWER' button for about 2 seconds until a WARNING! Screen appears. Press the 'VOLUME UP' button to enter Download Mode.
To get out of Download Mode, simply press and hold the power button until the phone restarts.


First off (to everyone else), Hangouts comes default on all Android phones, people don't know they already have a working copy of Hangouts.. but they do, its in the App drawer, not the normal pages. You don't have to goto Google Play to get it.  Unless you have no clue how to buy a phone, in which case your fruity phone starts with the letter i.

Anyhow, now to disappoint you:

Sorry, an update to the newer Google Play Services is required for Hangouts.

You need more space.

However...  Google Play Services definitely stores a lot of data. You can actually limit and delete this data to save space. In my case it is currently at over 120MB. Goto Settings > Apps > All Apps > Google Play Services > Storage > Manage Storage.  Another screen will pop-up called "Google Play services storage".  At the bottom you can clear out that cache (120MB in my case). And at the top you can view your search data. From that screen the search data can't be deleted. I presume you might have to clear the data for each app individually. Speaking of which...

If you want to scrap some more space, you have to use some space, at least for a moment.  Download CCleaner and clean your phone. It also has this weird notification permission you have to set manually for it to free up more space.
It will try to clear the data on your apps, but doesn't seem to get them all. If you are still lacking space, goto Settings > Apps and ... painstakingly... click on each app and clear its data. Well, you might not want to do apps you use daily. And after this, the app will think it was freshly installed and not run yet. So the next time you run it, you will have lost your saved game or login. Keep this in mind when choosing which app's data to clear.

So "clear the data" from Google Play Services and other apps, then uninstall CCleaner for more space... then try again.

Of course deleting photos/music/videos from the phone will save you more space than probably any other solution.  You can prevent the Sync from happening by going to Settings > Accounts > Google > [your email] > and turn off sync for just about everything, except what you specifically want to sync. Like, maybe, contacts for one example. Then, if you clear the app data, it won't come back.

Also, you can goto https://photos.google.com and https://get.google.com/albumarchive to permanently delete photos/videos that are in your account and are trying to sync.

And finally, If your phone supports an SD card, get one! Put that sucker in and wonder why you haven't had one ever since you got the phone as you move apps and photos to the SD card and free up all sorts of space. Not all apps can be moved to the SD card, and not ALL OF THE app gets moved, just most of it.  There is no easy way to do this (besides some questionable 3rd party apps). Similar to above, you have to goto Settings > Apps and ... painstakingly... click on each app (to see if it supports moving to SD card), then click "Storage". If it supports being moved to SD card there will be a new third button called "CHANGE" near the top. If you click that you can pick from "External" or "Internal" it should be obvious but "External" is the SD card and "Internal" is your regular space on your phone.

This can save you a lot of space.

Or even better yet, move your Pictures/Music/Videos to the SD card. You will need a file explorer like Astro or ES File Explorer. And knowledge of how to move files around with those apps. I'm tired of typing so you can figure that one out.

PT


Is there a zoom and timer functionality on Nexus S camera?

You can definitely zoom.  I don't believe there's a timer, but an app like PRO Zoom Camera 5x should work for that (note, it doesn't say whether it works for the NS).  Additionally, you could use an app like Tasker to time the shot; its website mentions that specifically.


Where the apps from google play get downloaded?

In older Android OS versions the apk files downloaded by Google Play Store were usually stored in either /cache/download or /data/local directories.

Now the temporary location is determined by the Download Provider service, and is usually found in /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache directory.  Again, this may be different for various Android OS versions.  It can also vary if manufacturers modified the OS (e.g. Samsung's TouchWiz or HTC's Sense.)


Downloading and installing WhatsApp for Android 2.2.1 Froyo

You can find old versions of WhatsApp here. Just navigate to the last (around the last) page to find versions compatible with Android 2.2.1.
BUT because those versions are too old, I am sure after you will be asked to update to a newer version. You should know that WhatsApp has stopped working on some versions of Android as stated here:

Come Saturday, February 1, 2020 (tomorrow), WhatsApp will no longer work on devices running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older or iPhones running iOS 8 and older.

Specifically, as of February 1, 2020, WhatsApp will no longer support devices running Android 2.3.7 Gingerbread and older. After February 1, users will no longer be able to create new accounts or reverify existing accounts on these older Android versions.

As stated above, even if you install the old version, you will not be able to create an account or re-verify it.


Restore Google Authenticator accounts from ADB backup

You cannot get the recovery keys (which are used to create backup codes) from adb backup of Google Authenticator because they do not exist in that backup. Adb backup of Google Authenticator only backup the user preferences of that app.

Furthermore, if you took a single adb backup, hoping all apps would have been backed up that way, than I'm afraid even the user preferences were not backed up. A specific flag is used for Authenticator when backing up through adb. Without that, the app cannot be backed up. You can read more on that in my answer here.


Error retrieving information from server [DF-CHARTA-01}

It looks like this error is related to G Suite (formerly known as Google Apps).  Your account administrator most likely disabled Play Store recently.  If you are not an admin and cannot ask the admins to re-enable Play Store, your only option is to add a personal Google account to your phone, and switch to that account in the Play Store as described here.

  To get rid of the error [DF-CHARTA-01] one can always add a new
  account to his Android-phone, then go to Google Play menu and switch
  Google Play to use the latter. To do so one has to follow the steps:

  Open Google Play;
  Tap Settings;
  You will see the name and email address associated with the account you are using;
  To select a different account, scroll down Selector;
  Select the account you want to use and tap on it.


Prevent autocomplete of addresses from gmail in android email application

I had exaclty the same problem. I use Sony Xperia Z with Jelly Bean 4.3

The solution that worked for me is like this:
1. Stop contact autosync of google account.
2. Clear all data and cache of Contact Storage App.

After this Email app will not autocomplete with Gmail contacts.
 The drawback is that the native Gmail App will not autocomplete either.

In general I believe this should be fixed in the next patch for Android somehow to let me choose from which contacts I want autocomplete to pull.

Hope this helps

KS


Why my phone is stuck on a backlit black screen?

Although I've never had a Lenovo device, I have accidentally deleted my OS and recovery before.

Are you able to boot the phone into 'Download mode' (I would love to post a guide for you but, after a quick Google I couldn't find one)?

Download mode should still be available (it's used by the manufacturers to install the OS in factory) and hopefully you'll be able to connect your phone to a computer and re-flash the firmware.


Orange state: can't boot into fastboot after bootloader unlock (REALME 1)

adb reboot fastboot is not a command. You just rebooted into the system not the bootloader.

The adb command to get into the bootloader is:

adb reboot bootloader

or

adb reboot-bootloader


Direct backup from Titanium Backup to DropBox

I don't think that's possible. TiBu syncs a local copy to DropBox.

What you could do is:

Use / Buy an external SD card (64GB or less)
Go to System settings, open the Application manager, and Move to SD card TiBu

This way, it doesn't take up internal phone memory. (i.e. TiBu dumps its backup to the external SD card)


The box of my Asus Zenfone 5 (501CG) says

SAR (some chinese characters) 2.0 W/Kg; (some chinese characters again):0.710 W/Kg


Disable sound when a specific App shows a notification

I assume you mean OxygenOS 9.0.8, based on Android 9 Pie.

To do this, you can go to Settings > Apps and Notifications > See all apps

Scroll down the list to find your app and select it from the list.

Tap Notifications.

Choose which notification channel you would like to mute notifications from.

Tap Behavior and select your desired behavior.


how to cast from samsung s2 and ipad mini to chromecast?

If you want to watch videos that are located on an android phone or tablet, the LocalCast Media 2 Chromecast app will stream videos from your device to ChromeCast.
Note that not all formats are supported and that the performance depends on the device (may be slow if old) and on the WiFi connection.


File transfer over USB cable option no longer appears after upgrade to MIUI 10

Though I was pretty sure I'd transferred files with at least one of the USB cables I tried around the time I posted this question, I tried a third cable at work tonight and the file transfer option now appeared!

So unless it was a coincidence, it seems it was due to a USB cable that was designed only for charging and lacked the wiring for file transfers!


I have the same device and this may help

There were two December updates for Nougat. You need to have 7.12.19 which is a prerequisite. My son also purchased the device a week after mine and he got the second update just yesterday and no Oreo yet, so I suspect that the roll out in batches is linked to the purchase date
Clearing Google services framework is not recommended but I went ahead and did it, since none of the users who did it reported any problems. Update didn't follow immediately but it came after about 7 hours (overnight)
Some users have successfully got updated after spoofing their location to other countries, using a VPN (US and Germany). I did this too but didn't work

Of course the fastest would be to visit local service centre and get it done free of cost


Searching the name of that "virus" returns only results for NQ Security, who are essentially a nobody company accused of creating spyware to trick people into paying for their useless security app.  In my opinion, this is a complete scam.

You should check in Settings → Security (or Safety & Privacy) under Device Administrators and remove any apps that you don't want controlling your device (if present), and then remove anything suspicious under Settings → Applications.  Specifically, remove anything from NQ or any anti-malware software you don't recognize.


How to stream audio from PC to android device through USB?

What you just read from the Android developer's guide is actually a specification for an Android device to send, not receive, audio using USB to an external device, such as a charging dock-cum-music player. This is a host mode USB connection. This does not allow your pc to send ( stream) audio to your device via USB. However, if your PC has Bluetooth, maybe you can register your phone as a Bluetooth audio player and stream audio to it that way.


Sounds like you Custom Maps is exactly what you're after.


How can I exclude certain contacts from silent mode?

Silent Mode Bypass can do what you want.

  Silent Mode Bypass automatically disables Silent/Vibration mode when receiving calls from selected contacts.

  Mostly useful at night if you know you can receive important or emergency calls from certain contacts, but want to keep everything else—texts, emails, notifications—silenced.


Return my motorola defy to its original state

Provided you haven't rooted your phone or changed the kernel, a simple Factory Reset will do what you require.

Tap Settings.
Scroll down and tap Privacy.
Tap Factory Data Reset.
Tap Reset Phone.


What is the difference between a Restricted Profile and a User in Android 4.3?

With 4.3, Android apparently has three types of user:

primary user (admin, owner)
secondary users
restricted profiles

Primary user is the first user created for the device, when setting it up.

All users (the primary user and secondary users) have pretty much equal control of the system - they can alter all the system settings, create more users, etc. but they cannot access the data or the apps* of the other users.

Since all users can only access their own data, they can also be linked to different accounts. Likewise, they could also use a same account if you set it up for each user individually. However, this doesn't make the device aware of the different users using the same account - each user has their own "link" to the account, unaware of the others.

A restricted profile is different. Like users, it has its own settings, and own data. However uses the primary user's accounts and installed apps. The primary user controls which of these are enabled for the profile.

Further, these profiles can be given parental-type restrictions to content - such as blocking all content defined as "mature". (Note: This requires support from the apps providing the content in order to work.)

* - Google Play app-store does sort-of support some inter-user data - when you install an app that another user already has, the same app code is used by both users. This means it doesn't need to be downloaded a second time, and doesn't take up extra space. It also means that when one of the users updates the app, it is updated for everyone. However, only thing shared between the users is the app code, the users cannot access each other's data.

More information on developer.android.com, see specifically: Support for Restricted Profiles.


You can try FPS meter or GameBench (FPS counter without root). I am not sure but they both supports non-rooted phones.


It may well just have changed name; check through all your apps. Happened to me a couple of times, so I assume it's just a carrier thing.


"There was a problem communicating with Google servers, try again later" error

Finally the only thing that worked for me was doing a factory reset.
Hope one of these approaches works for others!
Having more potential solutions in your tool box increases your chances of success.

YMMV  "Good luck, Jim!"


Can I have notification sounds repeat every few minutes?

Missed Call will do repeat vibration patterns/notifications for SMS (per contact), missed/incoming phone calls (per contact),  Battery, Calendar events, device storage, etc.

Unfortunately this doesn't do voicemails, but if a missed call is good enough for you, then give it a shot.  You can also set it up to do different patterns/notifications per contact for missed calls (so alert you differently for a VIP than everyone else).


Phone response slow, responds 2 - 10 seconds after touching screen or not at all, random lock ups, and power downs

Read an article at this location
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4502/tmobile-g2x-review-gingerbread-infused/9

Seems to be a software problem.

Imho root and flash cyanogen or install the ROM after reading in XDA


Is there any good micro USB cable (not loose)?

The micro USB cables that come with BlackBerries are great, the connection is not loose at all.  (I've tried one with my Android phone).  So I'd have to say that your cables are indeed "bad".


Most custom and stock launchers for Android support an "app search" feature. I know that ADW.Launcher, Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher, Google Now Launcher and Google Now itself has this feature. I'll tell you how to access this feature with Google Now (Launcher) and Nova Launcher, because I have those on hand to confirm this procedure.

For Google Now (or the stock Search app):

Enter the app's name into the home screen search box/widget. It should an option for the app, tapping on which should launch it.

If your Google Now has "OK Google" voice commands active and properly configured, saying OK Google, launch <app's name as shown in the launcher> or OK Google, open <app's name as shown in the launcher> to the device should also work from the home screen.

For Nova Launcher:

On the App Drawer page, swipe down from the top, to get a magnifying glass icon on small white circle in the top-center of the page. Pull it down further to get the search bar. Entering the app's name in the search bar should show its icon below the bar, and tapping on that icon will launch the app.

This applies to Nova Launcher version 4 and up. Apex Launcher is very similar to Nova, but I'm not sure this works there too. The latest version of Nova, 4.2.0, also has the "Recently used apps" feature like Google Now Launcher below.

For Google Now Launcher:

Same as Google Now above, but it also has a separate search bar on its app drawer page. It also shows your most recently used apps at the top of the app drawer's first page.

This should get you started. Welcome to the mini-universe of Android's custom launchers!


Google keyboard, no option to keep my word?

I am sure you are talking about two different things that are:

• Autocorrect (it will automatically replaces your word when hitting space.)

• Predictive Text/Suggestions (it just shows you different word you can use including which words you use previously.)

You should Turn off 'Autocorrect' and let 'Predictive Text/Suggestions' turned on.


How can I increase the maximum speaker volume?

There is an app which can do it for you...
Try the free one first, and if it works, then buy the full version :)

Free: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.FREE.android.lvh&feature=search_result

Payed: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.TEST.android.lvh&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5URVNULmFuZHJvaWQubHZoIl0.

Have a great day :)


The apk files for each are in /system/app (all your installed "system" apps and their odex files, if they're not deodexed, are there). You can rename them, move them, freeze them with the right software, or just delete them.

Also data/data probably has a matching directory with the trash files from those apks (xml, cache, etc) that you can toss.

Note: I've noticed more utilities "uninstall" system apps (does all of this for you if you're rooted): SD Maid, Titanium Backup are two I know of off the top of my head that have added the "uninstall" features since I bought them years ago. That might be your best bet: see if you already have a root tool that does this for you!


I will start this with the most funniest thing the malware developer did. The developer who created this malware with label Android 6.0 Marshmallow, version 6.0(6) and package name com.xtrlee.fiehan, didn't bother with an Activity or an overlay (was trendy) or with a lock screen (the latest trend as of now) either. They decided to employ a full screen Toast (you read it right). Here's what dumpsys window windows and dumpsys appops reported on Android 5.1 (tested on Android-x86).

That explains to me why the view was not constant but flickering.

Now, contrary to the permissions a typical ransomware would need, this malware comparatively didn't demand anything significant. The dangerous permissions it requested consist of listing out all the files available in your external storage (both internal and external SD card) and listing out device information, such as Android ID, IMEI and other information to uniquely identify your device.

The app is targeted at SDK version 21 (Android 5.0, not 5.1) and would work on Android 2.2 and above (the author must have planned to subdue the whole world). The user's data in my opinion would never be touched by this app as it didn't ask for the permission to write external storage.

Interesting components

As far as what I understood, the malware is definitely not a work of art. It has one main Activity which is responsible for showing the app's icon in app drawer. It also acts funnily. If you launch the app the very first time, the user would be shown a dialog to make it a device administrator. If you cancel the dialog, it would spawn again. However, if the user doesn't act under the next 10 seconds, the dialog is immediately dismissed and the main Activity is disabled.  Automatic disaster aversion, so cool.

This is how that dialog looks like:

The rest of the components are various receivers which helps in device administration and starting the app once boot process completes.

The solution

So, you made a series of terrible mistakes and you think your data is held as hostage. What do you do to save the data and get rid of this supposed update-cum-ransom? Follow any of the approaches noted below:

USB debugging already enabled and authorized

Using adb and root access, you can find the apk under /data/app/, remove it and reboot the device. You can also achieve this from a custom recovery as well. Alternatively, with adb alone, you can force-stop the app.

adb shell am force-stop com.xtrlee.fiehan

If the above command doesn't help, in Android 5.1.x, you can have appops deny the malware permission to show the toast.

adb shell appops set com.xtrlee.fiehan TOAST_WINDOW deny

Use this window of opportunity to go to Device administrator settings and deactivate the ransomware. Post that, you should go into application manager and uninstall that malware.

USB debugging not enabled or authorized

If your device doesn't have USB debugging enabled, your only hope seems to be to boot into safe-mode. Fortunately, the app doesn't obstruct the power menu (not at least in Android 4.3 and above) so you can long-press Power button → long press Power off → tap OK when asked to reboot into Safe mode. Once the device boots into safe mode,

you should open the security settings which usually comes down to Settings app → Security → Device administrators → deactivate the ransomware. If you're shown any dialog that the data would be wiped, ignore it. It's not going to happen anymore at this stage.
you should remove the app from application manager which is more or less the Settings app → Apps → All apps → tap the app's entry → Uninstall.
you should do a  reboot to boot the device into normal mode.

And that's how I removed that malware multiple times on this day.

Recommendation

If you're not a power user, do not venture into the unknown territory. This comes down to

not side loading any app;
keeping Unknown sources setting always disabled;
never granting Device administration privilege to any app (even to ones installed from Play Store) until you've certain the app is safe to use;
taking a minute the report the malicious page/site if encountered to your favorite web search engine. For Google, you can report here.
using your head before the fingers jump in.


How to access /storage/emulated/10 (multi-users env) in adb shell on Android 9+ without root access?

WHY IS ADB DENIED ACCESS TO MULTI-USER STORAGE?

Access to /storage/emulated/10 is denied from adb shell due to this change in Android 9:

  Add "default_normal" support to vold.
  This new flag isolates each user on a multi-user device for security reasons.

What the mount option default_normal does in sdcardfs is explained here:

  The default_normal option causes mounts with the gid set to AID_SDCARD_RW to have user specific gids, as in the normal case.

The whole story is about Android's filesystem emulation in order to have a permission-less directory (/sdcard) which makes file sharing among multiple UNIX users (apps) possible. It's achieved through mount namespaces and different VIEWs of /data/media mounted in /mnt/runtime/. Apps belonging to secondary as well as primary user have isolated mount namespaces. For details please see What is the “u#_everybody” UID? and What is /storage/emulated/0/?.

  Btw, my /sdcard/ always points to the first user's space /storage/emulated/0 at adb shell regardless what my current user is at mobile UI.

For all native processes running in root mount namespace (including adbd), /sdcard is a symlink to /storage/emulated/0 and /storage/emulated is bind mounted from /mnt/runtime/default. The device owner's (User_ID: 0) files in /storage/emulated/0 have ownership root:sdcard_rw (0:1015) and permission mode 0771, while secondary profile/user's (say with User_ID: 10) files in /storage/emulated/10 have ownership 0:1001015.

It means that non-root processes can read the directories only if they are members of supplementary groups: 0001015, 1001015, 11001015 and so on, "others" can only traverse the directories. Since adbd is member of only 1015 GID, it can read only device owner's files, not of secondary users.

However up to Android 8 there was an exception to the above rule: to all the processes running in root mount namespace (non-app processes), sdcardfs always returned the directories /storage/emulated/[N] owned by GID 1015. So adb was able to read these directories. However the exception has been removed in Android 9 using mount option default_normal.

HOW TO ACCESS MULTIPLE-USERS FILES FROM ADB?

WITH ROOT ACCESS:

You can mount the emulated filesystem without default_normal option:

~# umount /mnt/runtime/*/emulated
~# /system/bin/sdcard -u 1023 -g 1023 -m -w -G /data/media emulated

Or to make changes permanent, replace sdcard binary with a shell script:

~# cd /system/bin/; mv sdcard sdcard.bin; touch sdcard
~# chown 0.2000 sdcard*; chmod 0755 sdcard*
~# chcon u:object_r:system_file:s0 sdcard
~# chcon u:object_r:sdcardd_exec:s0 sdcard.bin

/system/bin/sdcard (remove -i argument passed by vold):

#!/system/bin/sh

set -- $(echo "$*" | sed 's/-i //')
/system/bin/sdcard.bin $*

After reboot you should be able to read files in /storage/emulated/10 from adb shell.

WITHOUT ROOT ACCESS:

On Android 9+ filesystem level access to secondary users/profiles is not possible from adb on user builds of ROMs (i.e. without root). Only interaction through adb commands which support --user option (am, pm, content etc.) is possible. Documented in What’s in Android 9 for enterprise apps:

  "To help keep work data in the work profile, the Android Debug Bridge (adb) tool can’t access directories and files in the work profile."

If the files owned by secondary users are accessible to primary user (through adb or any other means, except through Device/Work Policy Controller app), it breaks the intended isolation between users/profiles which is controlled through Android APIs. See more details in How to share files between regular account and work account?

It should be noted that Android Debugging Bridge (adb) is meant to be used by developers for debugging, not by end users. That's why a fully-managed device owner can completely disable adb.

There's a suggested workaround to transfer data with secondary users/profiles as explained in Testing Multiple Users:

  "adb (or more accurately the adbd daemon) always runs as the system user (user ID = 0) regardless of which user is current. Therefore device paths that are user dependent (such as /sdcard/) always resolve as the system user."
  ...
  "Access to /sdcard paths of secondary users is denied starting in Android 9."
  ...
  "Because adb runs as the system user and data is sandboxed in Android 9 and higher, you must use content providers to push or pull any test data from a nonsystem user."

For instance to transfer test.jpg file to /storage/emulated/10/Pictures/ run the following commands from adb shell:

~$ content insert --user 10 --uri content://media/external/images/media/ --bind _display_name:s:test.jpg
~$ ID=$(content query --user 10 --projection _id --uri content://media/external/images/media/ --where _display_name=\'test.jpg\' | grep -o '_id=[0-9]*' | cut -d= -f2)
~$ content write --user 10 --uri content://media/external/images/media/$ID < test.jpg

However it's not a practical approach for bulk data transfers on a regular basis.


Forgottern Pattern on a Samsung Galaxy Tab A

To do this, you will need to use recovery mode and will need the Google account password linked with the device.

Power off the device and hold Power+VolUp+Home, then wait a minute.
Navigate the recovery menu with VolUp to go up and VolDown to go down, and the Power button to select.
Select factory reset>Yes.
Press "reboot system now".
Enter the Google account password last used with the device.

Your device should now be unlocked, and you can use it again. But none of its original data will remain (except data on the SD card). If you still have issues, contact the company and tell them your issue, and what to attempted to solve it (You will not void your warranty with the steps shown above).

For more, refer to this article on the Samsung website.


View older "What's new" for Android apps

The Changelog Droid app will start building a history of app changes from the date it's installed.


How can I use a Bluetooth keyboard with my Android 4.0 phone?

Do you have any custom keyboards installed? I've found that when I pair the external Bluetooth keyboard (tried two models) the phone errors and reports you must change back to the standard Samsung IME keyboard before the it will type. You can manually change the input method with the hot key inside any writing app, but the message will reappear and convert the keyboard back to Samsung IME.


You need to look at 3rd-party keyboard replacement apps, not locale changing apps.

Many well known keyboards like Swype and SwiftKey offer Russian layouts as either an in-app downloads, or separate add-on packages (like AnySoftKeyboard's language packs for example.)

Keep in mind that after the initial installation new Keyboard apps are not enabled. Go to Settings -> Language & input, scroll down to "Keyboards & input methods" section, tap on the checkbox of the newly installed app, and tap OK to accept the scary warning. You should now be able to switch to your new keyboard. This is for Android 4.x; on other OS versions the menus might be slightly different.


Is there any way to save data i.e. Screenshot/ photo to external storage by default

Try this solution:
https://android.stackexchange.com/a/217936/218526
The Directory Binder option in Lucky Patcher might work as well. Haven't tried it out myself though, so no promises.


No. Sorry. Anything "System" cannot get uninstalled without being root. Some apps like ADW.Launcher allow you to "hide" them by making app groups in the app picker list. These apps will still start during boot, but like all android apps, as long as they are not running, they won't consume anything other than ram, and if android needs more ram they will be the first things just removed from ram the second the phone needs it.


Can't install custom rom: "Can't mount SD card"

As I noted in a comment, one thing to be aware of is that (typically) the order of the partitions matters. Android basically only looks at the first partition in the table, so you need to make sure the FAT one is first on the disk and the ext2/3/4 one is second. Otherwise Android will see the ext partition and won't know what to do with it.


Old sim deactivated but i want to use that same number for new sim

Phone numbers aren't tied so much to the SIM card, but to the provider via your SIM card. Your old phone number can be reassigned to another person now, so it would be unwise at best, probably illegal, to make Whatsapp use your old phone number.

In short, "your" old phone number is no longer yours.


It is an app you've uninstalled recently, if you restart the device that entry will clear.


How to run app in Kiosk mode with Wear 2.0?

Self-answering for now, this seems to be an issue in Wear 2.0 - see https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=232628

I'd be happy to know of any workarounds though!


How can I take a photo when battery <20%?

Try downloading and using a third-camera app from the market. The restriction is apparently on the stock camera app, not on the hardware (the camera itself). I downloaded Retro Camera, and it is able to take a picture when my Galaxy S is on low battery. That might not be the app you want, so do a search on the market with the keyword "Camera".


Difference between Super LCD screen of Nexus S and Super AMOLED screen of Samsung Galaxy S -- Which is better?

The US Nexus S has a Super AMOLED, But a lot of manufactures are moving to Super LCD for the screens because of the "Super AMOLED Shortages". Even the Galaxy S 2 is supposed to have a Super LCD.

From an engadget article comparing the two...

  there really is no clear winner between SLCD and AMOLED when it comes to picture quality -- the former offers a sharper picture plus a more realistic color reproduction, whereas the latter shows off brighter, more vibrant colors. But as we concluded earlier, AMOLED seems to be slightly ahead of the game with its power efficiency

Now, I am not really sure if there is a big difference between AMOLED and Super AMOLED, but as you can see, visually, there isn't much of a difference between AMOLED and Super LCD. Super AMOLED is going to produce a darker black, as Super AMOLED doesn't transmit any light at all when displaying black, which helps on battery.


I'm having the same problem here.

Check running services under Settings --> Applications --> Running services.  Is the Google Voice update service stuck on restarting?

If so, you might want to try and remove apps that are running services.  In other words, uninstall apps that you aren't using that are causing excessive amounts of services to run and eat up your free memory.

You can also try Al's suggestions.


I need a way to trace GPS trails in the background

If you are ready to compromise the third requirement, Google's My Tracks, fits your other needs perfectly.


Periodic Nexus 7 touch responsiveness issue

You can try to diagnose the problem yourself, or at least get a little more info by turning on a couple of developer diagnostics.

In Settings, scroll down to Developer Options.
Under the "Input" section, check "Show touches".  This will cause a small (white) circle to show on the screen where ever you touch it.  If you don't see the circle (which might be under your finger, so look carefully), you know it didn't register your touch.  If you see the circle lagging, then you know it registered your touch and is just being slow for other reasons.
Under "Monitoring", you may want to turn on "Show CPU Usage" and "Strict mode enabled."

"Show CPU usage" will show you what is running as a little overlay in the top right of the screen.  The top line of the display shows the system cpu load.  See this excellent write up of what the load numbers mean.  If the load is high, your little Nexus-7
"Strict mode enabled" will "Flash screen when apps do long operations on the main thread."  If your screen flashes, then you know something is hogging the CPU.


Your system doesn't support Devanagari fonts. If you're using Windows, install the fonts from Microsoft Support.

Update:

Download this(press the big blue Download Now button)
Open the downloaded file and click onInstall button(requires administration privileges)
Open the log, and select encoding as UTF-8

Update#2:
For details on how to set the encoding to UTF-8:
 - click on the
    File menu - click on save as - on the drop down menu beside the field encoding, select

CHARSET UTF-8


Does USB Internet option require root access?

ReverseTethering does not require a rooted device. Depending on your device, it might come with a preinstalled reverse tethering option. Unfortunately, this preinstalled solution is only included in very few devices.

I am the developer of ReverseTethering NoRoot, an app that brings reverse tethering to any Android device running Android 4.0 or newer. No root required. All major host OSs are supported. The app is available on Google Play.


Give fake permission details to apps on Xperia X10i

What you're looking for is called "Permission Manager". While Android itself does not (yet?) provide such itself, there are several of them available, my list holds some of them.

There are different approaches. While some simply "deny access" (which might cause an app to crash, if the dev didn't take "revoked"/"not granted" permissions into account, and didn't place an exception handler for those cases), the majority rather replaces "real data" by "fake ones". Examples:

network access: "we are currently offline"
contacts, calendar: "the user has none" (empty list)
IMEI: "0123456789" (sometimes a total random number on each call, but other times a random IMEI is generated after each boot)
location: "not available" (location services deactivated) or "fake location" (e.g. north pole; some apps even allow to set your desired "fake location" and simulate movement in a specified radius)

A selection of popular "Permission managers" includes:

PDroid/OpenPDroid: Effective, but hard to install. Both require root and deodexed ROM, AFAIK OpenPDroid is even limited to cyanogenmod
LBE Privacy Guard: proprietary solution made in China, which might raise some eyebrows. Works great up to Android 4.0; don't install with higher versions as it will only stick your device in a boot-loop then. Root required.
LBE Security Manager: Successor of Privacy Guard, works with all current Android versions. Playstore version is in Chinese only; patched versions are available at XDA for other languages. Some feel this one a little overloaded, as it wants to be an all-in-one security suite covering a lot of stuff not everybody needs. Root required.
Xprivacy: A module to the Xposed framework. Gives very granular control, but other than LBE you cannot configure it to "ask everytime" whether access should be allowed (a feature I love about LBE). Root required.
App Ops: With 4.3-jelly-bean, Android had some permission management integrated but hidden from the user. There are several "App Ops" front-ends available, not all of them require root. Not all of them keep working with 4.4-kitkat, though, where this feature was "better protected". Not that granular, but much better than nothing if your device is not rooted.

Above mentioned list holds several more, but these are the best known. I personally use LBE Privacy Guard on my devices running 4.0 or lower. No app ever crashed on me for "disabled permissions", so LBE IMHO uses the "fake permissions" approach. Same AFAIK applies to the other solutions I've mentioned here.


Auto-rotation can be enabled in the settings: Settings > Display > Screen rotation. Turning the phone then displays text fully.


ANSWER:

So this took me some troubleshooting to fix.

During this process I was using the Linux Archive Manager GUI to work with my animation files.  This was my mistake.

At one point, as a test, I deleted folder part0 from the archive, and then added it right back in and pushed it back to the phone.

Black screen.  This was my "A-Ha!" moment.

My archive manager was automatically compressing everything I added to it.  Thus, after adding part0 back into the archive I noticed the compression ratio changed from 0.99 to 1.34...

Easy fix:  I created an uncompressed new bootanimation.zip file

zip -r -0 bootanimation.zip part0 part1 desc.txt

worked flawlessly. Custom animations now work.


Summing up from the comments on the question itself, so it doesn't "get lost":
As ce4 pointed out: The READ_LOGS permission requested by the app grants it access to the system logs, which might include sensitive information logged by other apps (also system apps). However note, that this specific problem has been adressed by Google with Jelly Bean onwards (apps can only read their very own logs, and not everything in the log since then). So the READ_LOGS permission on Android 4.1+ is safe. You can install the app without fear on Jelly Bean devices (but not ICS and below).
PDroid
If one has CyanogenMod (or a compatible ROM) installed, there's the option to use PDroid in one of its incarnations. Visit the XDA-Developers for information on...

The OpenPDroid AutoPatcher, working on Linux, MacOSX, and meanwhile also Windows. With this tool you can patch a ROM image so it will contain the PDroid functionality.
The OpenPDroid project. This thread gives you detailed information on what OpenPDroid is, what it does, what features it includes, and more.
PDroid 2.0, which now also offers support for stock ROMs. Tons of screenshots there, for sure an interesting read!

Still, PDroid is nothing for Android newbies to install -- it's not like just picking an .apk and go. All PDroid incarnations require you to patch an existing ROM image file, which you then must flash to your device. So no easy-go.
LBE
LBE Privacy Guard, on the other hand, can just be installed straight from the playstore if you run Android 4.0 or below. There are issues with JellyBean like e.g. boot-loops, so do not install the playstore version on JellyBean devices! At least not if it was not updated May 2013 or later. You have been warned!
For JellyBean users, again XDA is a good source: some busy members took care to translate the Chinese LBE安全大师 (LBE Security Master) to different languages. The thread can be found here, and this version does not boot-loop JellyBean.
XPrivacy
XPrivacy is pretty new in this area (I just discovered it recently, after I wrote this answer -- so I felt the need to update it). As with the other mentioned solutions, it requires a rooted device. In order to install the app, you also need a Custom Recovery such as e.g. clockworkmod or twrp. XPrivacy is based on the Xposed-Framework, so you will need that as well. Requiring Android 4.1 or higher, this seems a nice option for those having used LBE Privacy Guard before, and don't want to use the overloaded LBE Security Master on JellyBean.
From its behavior it's comparable to LBE: on a per-app basis, permissions can be set separately. In most cases, if you "revoke" a permission, "fake data" will be served instead -- with two exceptions, where this seems not to be possible (internet and external storage). More details can be found on the project page.
CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android, & Co. with Privacy Guard
CM 10.1 nightlies and onwards of CyanogenMod as well as Paranoid Android already ship with a Privacy Guard, which lets you define what apps should be placed into "incognito mode". While that's better than nothing, it's just an on/off switch: either the app is put into "incognito", or it is not. No selective withdrawal of permissions here.
Android 4.3+ App-Ops
With Android 4.3, Google finally introduced a kind of "permission manager". In 4.3, it's still hidden, but can easily be made available: App-Ops allow you a fine grained control over your privacy, almost similar to what PDroid, LBE, and XPrivacy provide. But just almost: not all permissions can be revoked here (e.g. network/internet access cannot).


WhatsApp Messenger not showing "last seen" for a contact

There's a relatively new privacy feature on WhatsApp that can disable a person's last seen. When disabled you can see when the person is online but can't see when they were online last. For the person enabling this setting, it blocks others' last seen automatically as well.

You can read here for more information on privacy settings:
https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/android/23225461


how to get skype to work when the phone sleeps

Android shuts of WiFi after a certain time by default, sometimes as little as 15 seconds after the phone is locked.  To change the timeout period, go to:

Settings -> Wireless and network -> Wi-Fi settings

Then press the menu button, choose Advanced, and change the Wi-Fi sleep policy to "Never".


Motorola G2 - "erasing screen" and reboot (over and over)

While running the screen "erasing", press the "Volume Down" button, and after the reboot occasioned by the "loop", the Bootloader screen will appear, and then you can select the "Recovery" mode as usual, giving you  the normal menu screen (wipe cache, factory reset, mount /sys, update from SD card, update from ADB, and so on). With the last option, I was able to manually update the Android, using "adb" commands via terminal + using a update package (for example: http://androidhost.org/plvIU).


How to delete a single (SSL root) certificate?

To be honest I had never removed a cert before but I've added my own and it looks like it's the same process.

It's basically:

use Linux (or a vm of Linux)
install bouncycastle (java SSL library)
download the cacerts.bks files from the device
use keytool -delete command to remove the cert from cacerts.bks
verify that it worked with keytool
push the cacerts.bks file back up to the device

Bouncy Castle: http://www.bouncycastle.org/latest_releases.html
Detailed instructions on how to use keytool: http://wiki.cacert.org/ImportRootCert#Android_Phones

In ubuntu it's a little easier to download through apt just so you can get the PATH stuff right. "apt-cache search bouncycastle" should help.


should you be on a tablet when its charging?

Yes, you can use a tablet while it is charging. But, if you do something cpu intense (like 3d game) it can become a little hot.

No, you don't need to stop charging when fully charged. The tablet will make sure you don't overcharge.


My question is: How can I make my phone to pick up signals from those satellites without connecting to internet and end this nightmare?

GPS works by getting a fix on your location with the satellites whereas the Internet connection is used to download the map data associated with the particular area you're in.

Give this answer on Stack Overflow a read. It'll solve some of your doubts on how much signal strength is required.


Associate android actions (at least turn sound on/off) with calendar

I wasn't able to find a free solution so I am doing exactly what you're looking for with Tasker.  When my work calendar shows me in a meeting it turns the ringer to vibrate.


Cannot set up a yahoo email account with @yahoo.com.au address (.au not accepted)

I would guess that Samsung failed to provide proper support for Yahoo Mail. Therefore I recommend that you install the offical Yahoo Mail app. It should work out of the box.

Antoher approach is to forward your yahoo mail to your google mail. They advantage is that you don't have to use an additional e-mail app.


Is it possible to reinstall S Notes after flashing Lineage OS 14.1 on Samsung Galaxy Note 8?

S Note is tightly integrated with Samsung's framework and thus can't be ported to non-stock-based ROMs.

In the meantime, try Squid as an alternative. Lots of available pre-defined notes, export to PDF, and best of all it makes use of the spare button on the pen that LineageOS doesn't use.


How can I see my NFS share in any file manager on Android 6.0.1?

Turns out an option in SuperSU blocked me from seeing the content of my mounts. I needed to disable the "Mount namespace separation" option in SuperSU app. Only then the mounts will be visible to other apps! Disabling namespace separation may cause security flaws, but I don't see any other solution yet. Reboot the device, mount your shares and everything will be as expected.

Found the solution here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/33611664


Want to download an unsupported app, but says it will replace an app

It means that an app with the same app id is already installed in your phone.

For eg: If there is an app with id com.example.app and you try to install another apk with same ID it will give that message.


With Android, does a factory reset truly reset the device to the same as it was when it left the factory (unlike an iPhone)?

It is the same as an iPhone I believe. A "factory reset" removes all information in the data and user partition, but leaves everything in the system and associated partitions as is. That means if you got an upgrade or update that changed anything in the system partition, it would remain after a "factory reset".
The reality is that a "factory reset" is kind of a misnomer in this case, it's more of a "user reset" than anything else if we were being more accurate.


Show the time an SMS was sent, not received

It's a stupid setting of galaxy s sms' app. To resolve this you have to replace the mms.apk into /system/app with that attached in this thread of xda forum
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=891667&highlight=mod+sms
If you look all the thread, you can also find the complete installation guide!


How to prevent tracking or hacking of a used phone

You can check if your phone is currently unlocked/rooted in bootloader (volume down+power for a few seconds when phone is off should do it. Otherwise Google for your phone.) I guess there's no way to check if your device was ever rooted.

Indeed, the safest* is to root the phone yourself and flash a ROM. Another advantage of this is that you are up-to-date.

*Of course, there's always the potential risk that rooting fails and your device explodes :)


HTC One E8 phone app lists just the top contact while dialling

Ok after struggling for about a week, I found that selecting "Show Large Dial pad" from the menu in the phone app showed the list making it possible to call others as well.

I now need to find how I can see more than two at a time in the background list and shall update this answer once I find.


Deleted my only Launcher and APK - Black Screen. Please help!

Open play store in your pc
Install any launcher app like this
When installed you will get a prompt in notification
Clicking it will take you to play store
Click open which will give a launcher


Need to delete this file to be able to backup data on TWRP

just mount /data and type rm followed by the file name in single quotes. TWRP has a build-in Terminal, but i recommend to do it from adb shell

adb shell rm '/data/anr/3i6xjEcwwZbkn6mZ,+ccwD'


This answer from StackOverflow should be hepful. It requires to use of the input command and keyevent.

adb shell input keyevent 279


How to convert .img to .tar to flash using Samsung odin tool?

Quoting the answer from XDA Forum.

In linux or windows with cygwin.

$ tar -H ustar -c recovery.img > recovery.tar
$ md5sum -t recovery.tar >> recovery.tar
$ mv recovery.tar recovery.tar.md5


Update Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to Android Lollipop

Yes it is possible, but it involves installing a custom recovery (TWRP or CWM) and to download and install an AOSP-based ROM. Note that the following links refer to the N7000 model of the Note 2.

Possible Recovery - TWRP

Possible AOSP based ROM


WhatsApp service extended to lifetime and revoked immediately?

It sounds like other blogs are talking about it:

WhatsApp is now free and promises to stay ad-free - Yahoo! News
WhatsApp, why you gotta be so rude? - techshout

WhatsApp official blog says that the app is going free:

  So over the next several weeks, we'll remove fees from the different versions of our app and WhatsApp will no longer charge you for our service.


Contacts doesn't show up under account sync

I went under settings>apps ticked show system apps, and searched for 'google'. Found my google contacts sync there. Went through a bunch of relevant sounding system apps that didn't all have the contacts permission, and granted contact permissions. It was to several apps, so no telling which one actually made it work.


Limited Connectivity - Connected, no Internet

This is the exact problem I met. Since you cannot ping google I'd guess you're from China, just like me. My i9300 had the exact problem as yours. After downgrading to CM11 everything is fine.

Then I bought a Nexus 6P. Guess what? It has the same problem. After confirming with a friend who works in Huawei, this is actually a Marshmallow feature, or bug in our case. When you cannot connect to google service, Marshmallow would think that there is no internet connection.

Update: Found a possible fix which worked for me:

Create a new user via Settings -> Users
While it is trying to connect the network (which will take some time, or forever in our case), power off the phone.
Turn on the phone again. The "no internet" warning should be gone.
You may need to delete the newly created account.**


Custom recovery reporting wrong device when flashing CM11 in Samsung Galaxy Note 8 even when I downloaded the right firmware

On comparing the models, there is difference between the two (especially when it comes to network). I suggest that you do have a look at this before proceeding and try that first.
But if you are sure that your model is N5100 and still want to try and proceed, there is a workaround you can do so it doesn't check/compare the models.

Open the ROM zip file with winrar.
Go to META-INF/com/google/android and open the updater-script with notepad.
You are looking for line similar to:

getprop("ro.product.device") == "N5100" || abort("This package is for \"  N5100\" devices; this is a \"" + getprop("ro.product.device") + "\".");

(this line should in fact be the very first line in script).

Erase this line, save the zip and flash again. It won't verify your model.

Warning: I am not really a Samsung user. So I am not aware of its models and naming conventions that much.  Make sure about models otherwise you may end up bootlooping your device or having other problems and having to flash firmwares over again (you can ask on xda itself about this).

Hope this helps ;)


Are you talking about an artificial limit of the number of contacts you can add to the default Mail app's "group" section? Because this as far as I know can't be circumvented.

I use Gmail (Gmail app recently stopped working so I switched to their newer "Inbox" app.. thanks google.. >_>) and there's no artificial limit on the number of members of a mail group in Gmail.

Like you have suggested though, it's an annoying "feature", it's unlikely it can be changed in the default "email" app.

[I have a SG4 too]

Edit: I'd recommend trying to add the people from your contacts to a general contacts group in the "Contacts" app or "People" app depending on your Android Distribution then choose to email them directly from there. I have one with 52 people I can email using a variety of email clients/apps.


How to block incoming advertisement sms from senders with no visible phone number?

Try this SMS Organizer app.
Apart from a host of other features, this app lets you set 'rules'. For example, you can set a rule to auto delete any message when the sender's phone number/contact name contains a certain sequence.

If you are unsure about deleting, you can also set the rule to move the sms to a folder (This app also lets you create folders for sms), say a spam folder


Is there any documentation on the correct/expected directory structure of the external memory card?

Summing up from the comments, and adding a little.

Directory structure

There's no complete documentation for the entire cards structure, that seems not to be fixed. However, some directories seem to be more or less common:

the developers guide suggests app specific data should be stored below /sdcard/Android/data/<package_name>/files/ (<package_name> represending the name of the package the data belongs to, which looks like com.example.android.app), and /Android/data/<package_name>/cache/ for external cache files (basically, this corresponds to the /data/data/<package_name>/ directory on internal storage)
same source recommends a bunch of directories to store files intended to be shared among apps. All of those directories are located in the root of the card, and include:

Music/ - Media scanner classifies all media found here as user music.
Podcasts/ - Media scanner classifies all media found here as a podcast.
Ringtones/ - Media scanner classifies all media found here as a ringtone.
Alarms/ - Media scanner classifies all media found here as an alarm sound.
Notifications/ - Media scanner classifies all media found here as a notification sound.
Pictures/ - All photos (excluding those taken with the camera).
Movies/ - All movies (excluding those taken with the camcorder).
Download/ - Miscellaneous downloads.

Excluding directories from Media Scan

If you wish to exclude a directory from the media scan (i.e. from being indexed for the gallery), you can place a file named .nomedia there. This will tell the media scanner to skip this directory (including all files and subdirectories) from a scan -- thus neither images, nor audio or video files stored here will turn up in the gallery. You however can still access them by looking them up manually. Up to my knowledge, there's no way to restrict this to a certain media type (i.e. having the media scanner index audio/video, but skip images). Important: Note the "dot" at the beginning of the file name (making it a "hidden file"). This must be included with its name.


What's the relationship between a custom recovery and rooting?

You don't need to root your phone in order to use a custom recovery like TWRP or ClockWorkMod.

It will only root your phone if you use it to...

flash a rooted image
flash a su binary
restore a rooted backup

It is common for recoveries to offer to root when you restart, but you can just say "No" if you don't want to root.


Android running tweetdeck notifications when not running

In Tweetdeck, each column has separate notification and update settings.    Tap the menu key, then Column Settings.     Switch notify off, and set your desired update interval, or move the slider all the way to the right to select "Manual".


How to fix in-app (google) maps after Google Play services update broke map functionality?

Most surprisingly, after reverting and/or updating some of the relevant Google apps, some settings got restored to some previous values. Those may also include permission settings and in my case, the Data Usage settings.

I solved this by first ensuring that the following 2 system apps were up-to-date:

Google Services Framework *
(com.google.android.gsf)
Google Play services (com.google.android.gms)

Note that GSF is normally never updated and remains fixed for your AOS API version.

Next, I went to check the permissions of those apps. That's when I found that Mobile data had been mysteriously disabled under data usage. Check by navigating to:

Settings > Apps > Google Services Framework > Data usage > Mobile data: "allowed"

Check both Mobile data and Wi-Fi tabs, and for both apps above. That fixed it!

For completeness, also check:
Settings > Data traffic management > Networked apps and check that data is available on both the tabs Installed apps and System apps.

But since you're on it, you might as well also update:

Android System WebView (com.google.android.webview)
Google Play Store (com.android.vending)

If you still have map problems after this, then (a) make sure you're using compatible binaries (APK) for your specific device (API, DPI, arm version etc) and (b) that the permissions for all of these apps are as allowing as possible. Also, the device clock need to be correct...


Does "Data Saver" also apply to metered Wi-Fi?

Yes, Data Saver option applies to metered Wi-Fi. As quoted here:

  From Android 7.0 (API level 24), users can enable Data Saver on a device-wide basis in order to optimize their device's data usage, and use less data.
  ...
  When a user enables Data Saver in Settings and the device is on a metered network, the system blocks background data usage and signals apps to use less data in the foreground wherever possible.

Android achieves this through iptables and I can confirm (tested on Pie) that REJECT rules are added for wlan0 interface when both conditions meet i.e. Data Saver and Metered WiFi.


T-mobile/Orange HTC Hero - no 3G on Orange

See the FAQ, particularly the billing section.  You won't get charged for turning on data roaming and connecting to an Orange network, but you need to remember to turn it back off before roaming on any other networks to avoid charges.

Also, the FAQ mentions that it's only for calls and text messages right now, but it's not clear why they would also mention the data roaming setting if that's the case, so YMMV.  Regardless, you'll likely be limited to 2G since 3G is typically on a carrier specific frequency.

And of course, all of this may change if AT&T completes their acquisition.


Setting a shortcut icon to switch to another home screen in Nova Launcher Prime

Long-press -> Nova Action -> Jump to page. You can choose the icon by long-pressing on the shortcut after creation.


Netcounter can monitor both cellular data and wifi usage levels.


Possibly the files have been stored as .zip files or without any extension. All you have to do is rename the files. Just download any File Manager from Play Store and rename the files.


Is there a "clean" Android I can reinstall on my Galaxy S4?

You should try out http://www.cyanogenmod.org/, they have a version of their ROM for pretty much every major device out there. They try to stick to the AOSP (Stock/Vanilla) Android as much as possible.
If you use a stable version or a mile-release you'll probably never have any problem with it. If you want the latest features, you can use the nightlies, but they might have some bugs from time to time.

On my Galaxy S3 I've got a Android 4.4.2 ROM that is based on cyanogenmod source with some added components. While the stock Galaxy S3 OS is not even on Android 4.3 yet.


Is there a way to check when my Android screen was on and off?

You can setup an automation app to log those events in a file. Tasker and MacroDroid, both are capable apps that can do this


How can I use shell commands and interact with the Linux system underneath?

Yes there is,

Check out the application Better Terminal or Android Terminal Emulator both are support from 1.5


Tab 2 10.1 P5100 stuck on starting screen

One of first links in google. Try it.

http://www.tips4tab.com/how-to-restore-galaxy-tab-2-10-1-p5113-to-stock-android-4-0-4-ice-cream-sandwich-with-official-firmware-ueblh3/

In short:

You need to download Odin and firmware package. You boot to download mode, open odin on computer and connect your tablet to pc. You select the frimware donlowaded earlier and click start.

If something fails then you can do again power+volume up.


Copy internal storage from dead phone to new (same model) phone?

Internal storage doesn't not use the circuitry in the phone. There's no telling what's been fried, but an audible sound is not good. Next time you drop your phone in water, let it dry before you try using it.

Plug the phone into a PC using it's data cable. If it mounts, extract the data. If it doesn't mount, check the PC's device manager and see if any devices are showing up in the list that aren't being recognized by your OS. If there's nothing there, then you're pretty much out of luck.


Allowing SSH connection to Android Devices with Droidwall installed

>> AFWall+
>> Filter for " (root) - Applications running as root
>> Enable LAN

This can work with default Port# 22


How can I answer a call using the HOME button in CyanogenMod 9?

Go to Settings > Accessibility > Answer calls with home button.


want to get my Droid back to stock, but don't want to reinstall apps

Your phone is almost certainly not permanently bricked.  Chances are you can boot into recovery to flash a new ROM.  Worst case, you'll have to flash the phone back to stock with RSD Lite.

That said, there's really no way to unroot the phone or flash a stock ROM without having to re-install your apps.  You can try flashing a stock ROM without wiping data & cache (or doing a factory reset), but it's probably not going to work very well.

The major apps for restoring 3rd party apps & their data, like Titanium Backup, require root.  You can use other avenues to re-install apps (like AppBrain), but you'll have to reconfigure them by hand if you're not rooted.  Since you say you're having problems, this might be the safest course of action for a large # of your apps anyway.  It's just a bear to lose complex configurations or progress in games.

Since your're already in trouble, the course of action I'd recommend is using RSD Lite to flash the latest SBF availble -- FRG22D in your case.  It's available for download from Peter Alfonso's Site.  Your phone will update to FRG83 via OTA.  Flashing the SBF will wipe all your phone's data.  You may even need to reactivate your phone with Verizon, but that's not difficult to do (just dial *228 and press 1).  This will not wipe your SD card, so things like backups you have or pictures/videos/downloads on the SD card will be safe.  Despite the dire warnings or bricking one's phone, as long as you don't do something foolish like unplug the phone (or pull battery) in the middle of flashing (or have bad luck with a power outage), you should be OK.  Using SBF to root and unroot @ DroidForums

If you can still boot into recovery, you can flash the stock ROMs from there and accomplish nearly the same thing -- though I'm not sure it will do things like update baseband. Unroot w/o SBF @ DroidForums

The DroidForums guides are very thorough, and their Rescue Squad group is very helpful.


Changing country in Android play store is not working, how can I change it?

I used a 3rd phone with an older Android version, added my Google account into that phone, and changed using the exact same way in the Play Store.


All fixed it seems. Found another option to clear the data from Internet (I swear that option wasn't there earlier today), and that seems to have worked. Or for now at least. We shall see...


How do I fully charge my emulator battery?

You can open a telnet connection to the AVD:

telnet localhost 5554

then once connected:

power capacity 100

or

power status full

Source: Android Developers: Using the Emulator


Why newer android versions drain the battery faster?

I doubt this is a software issue but moreso a hardware issue. Consider the following, Newer phones typically have:

Bigger Screens
More Antennas (Wifi N, 4G, NFC, etc.)
More sensors (This includes cameras)

Either more or more advanced of what's mentioned above. This comes at a cost, as each draws its own amperage. While it may be minuscule in an isolated system, when combined together these features present a non-negligible drain on the battery.

And, While newer batteries will perform great, over time the battery will not hold the same charge as it once did, this is not a limitation of the phone but battery technology in general. I'm specifically talking about Lithium Ion batteries right now, b/c that's the most common battery in phones today.

While there are things you can do to mitigate the problem, such as staying in airplane mode throughout the day or buying power management apps for your phone, downgrading your OS likely won't help much. If anything, it will provide old power management code, as well as no support for newer hardware.

Custom ROMs are a different story, and aren't created equal. Some may have modified code to provide better battery life, some may be performance focused and not taken battery life into account.

Some phones also have extended batteries available for them. I can't speak firsthand to their effectiveness, but I obtained one for my Dell laptop and it made a huge difference. Some people are reluctant to this approach because it changes the weight and/or profile of the phone, however one must weigh that against having it tethered to a charger all day as well.


How do I know If my phones Bootloader is locked or not?

to just answer your question, and without needing any software, you can start your phone (or tablet) in bootloader mode by holding the  volume key and the power key from an OFF state. the software will then tell you the info you want.


Is it possible to root the Samsung Galaxy Fit?

According to some users in this thread, application named "SuperOneClick" is able to successfully root your handset.  You will need to install it on your computer (various Windows and Linux flavors available).


Which code to use with service call depends on Android release. On Android 9 IPhoneSubInfo method 1 returns first IMEI while methods 3 and 4 return both IMEIs:

~$ service call iphonesubinfo 3 i32 1 | grep -oE '[0-9a-f]{8} ' | while read hex; do echo -ne "\u${hex:4:4}\u${hex:0:4}"; done; echo
~$ service call iphonesubinfo 3 i32 2 | grep -oE '[0-9a-f]{8} ' | while read hex; do echo -ne "\u${hex:4:4}\u${hex:0:4}"; done; echo

Related: How to check IMSI/ICCID on MIUI10?


could not set ad-hoc mode on wlan0. operation not supported on transport endpoint

install  this wifi tether and configure it according to video. It's working


does google know my browsing history by virtue of my phone being linked to my google account?

The title of your question sounds like you're talking about Chrome's "web history" feature. When you browse using Chrome (either on your Android device or on desktop), or from Google Now searches, the pages you visit are logged in your browser history. Chrome syncs your browser history to Google's servers, to let you access your history from any computer where you're logged into the same Google account, and for other Google services such as Google Now.

If you don't want your browser history stored on Google's servers or used in this way, go to the Google Settings app, click Accounts & privacy, and turn off Web History. (As Mr Kutch points out, there's also a web interface.)

If you use some other browser that isn't Chrome, such as Firefox or Opera Mobile, Google has no access to your browsing history.


Prevent app from knowing about root access (sandbox)

Due to changes in the SafetyNet API, which is a mandatory part of Google Play Services, most apps cannot have the fact you are rooted, or modified in anyway (such as running CM), hidden from them. Most financial apps, Android Pay, Pokemon Go and others use this API to check and there is no known work around at the moment, and according to some developers this may never be possible anymore IF the app is using the SafetyNet API to check for modifications.

Until recently (early October 2016), it was fairly easy to get around this check, but today it is almost impossible due to changes over the last month. The only known work around is to go back to stock. Be aware than starting with Android 7, even having an unlocked bootloader with no other modifications will cause a SafetyNet API check to fail.

If the app is just checking for su or standard root calls, then RootCloak or Suhide should work, but most apps are switching to SafetyNet now that Google is actively updating and enforcing it.

http://phandroid.com/2016/10/06/safetynet-update-no-longer-hides-root/
http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/10/19/safetynet-api-fails-unlocked-android-phones-android-pay-affected/

There are multiple other sources, but to see why this is nearly a foolproof method, or will be soon, see how SafetyNet works here.


USB host mode not working on Samsung Galaxy S using CyanogenMod

The Galaxy S Plus (i9001) needs an external power source to have a working USB OTG. See this link on XDA for more information (it's for the i9000, but does also apply).

According to GSMArena's spec (USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0) the i9001 firmware doesn't originally support USB-OTG (compare the S3's spec, but 3rd party firmware added this later on. It does however not function without external 5V power.


I had the exact same issue with my Nexus 4 after the Lollipop update.

Rebooting the phone will fix this temporarily, but only for a few hours from my experience.

So far there is only one thing that has resolved this issue for me - I replaced the stock Lollipop with Cyanogenmod, using these instructions:

http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Install_CM_for_mako


Can I prevent the Android 2.2 browser from inserting "www" at the beginning of URLS?

It seems to be specific to the HTC Droid Incredible. When I first tried to search from the stock browser, I'd get an error page (I didn't notice the "http://www"). So I asked this question which gave some options in the form of browsers which are ready for search queries. (It turns out you can search from the stock browser once you delete the "http://www")

You may want to use another browser. In the Dolphin HD browser for example, the "www" isn't there so typing "android.stackexchange.com" works fine.


I can't find a good complete list, but you can always search for the permission on developer.android.com.  In the case of READ_PHONE_STATE, it does look like the phone number can be read.


What's the difference between the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active ST17i, the ST17i-BKW, ST17a, and the ST17a-BKO?

AFAIK not much other than the frequency bands they operate on:

ST17i: (i = International version) Dual-band

UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)

GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900

ST17a: (a = American version) Tri-band

UMTS HSPA 800 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I)

GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900


Okay. Found a way to fix this here ( https://www.thetechminute.com/fix-google-keep-not-syncing-notes-images/). It is a temporary solution though. Removing and re-adding the Gmail account associated with Keep account did the trick. But, it only stays for an hour so and the problem re-appears again. But, at least, I can sync my stuck notes and images for now.


How do I stop my phone from disconnecting from discord calls?

I'm having the same problem, try disabling battery optimisation for discord only, eventually that will work.


Although I have enough the available storage does not match it

with 32 GB when I go to settings I can see 25 GB available storage

Though the device is declared to have 32GB, part of that is reserved for the firmware. The entire 32GB are partitioned:

/system for the device-firmware
/recovery for the recovery (see: recovery-mode)
/boot for the boot image
/cache for application cache
/data for apps and their data (see: internal-storage)

The 25 GB you see are those from the internal-storage aka /data.

This answer only covers the first part of your question. For the second part, we need some more details.


Windows 8 does not recognize HUAWEI Y536A1 for debugging

First make sure that you have virtualization on in the BIOS.

Next, make sure you have done what I have done in my question.

What I forgot to do was install the android_winusb file in the usb_driver folder. The path should be sdk\extras\google\usb_driver. In my case, C:\Users\Ruchir\AppData\Local\Android\sdk\extras\google\usb_driver

After doing that, go back to device manager and go to the install as path. At the bottom of that should be another option:

  Let me pick from a list of devices on my computer

Select your Android phone; it shouldn't have a yellow exclamation point over it any more. After that, select Composite ADB Interface. THAT'S IT.


apps and google play cannot connect to the internet after rooting

Be sure and check your Date.   Had problems with google play suddenly stopped working.   After trying multiple suggestions, realized the date was reset back to 2008.   Once reset, things started working again.


How to enable preview in notifications on an Oppo phone

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

I think I found the answer. I was also looking for the answer because I also wanted to expand my notifications and I tried it and it works.


Fixed it by creating small application which restores timezone every time it changes.

GitHub: https://github.com/4ndv/tzfixer

APK: https://github.com/4ndv/tzfixer/releases/


Problem with TWRP 2.8.7.1 on Wileyfox Swift

You will need to update your TWRP: AFAIK LOS13 already requires TWRP 3.0+ – and you are probably speaking of LOS14 even. You're on 2.8.7.1 – the latest available version is 3.1.1 as of this writing. So here's what you will do:

Download the latest TWRP for Crackling to your PC
connect the SD card to your PC using a card reader, and copy the .img file to the card
safely unmount the card from your PC, and put it back into the Swift
boot the swift to recovery, tap "install", browse to where you placed the .img file and select it
perform the install
just as precaution, reboot to recovery once more (you've got no other choice anyway without a valid OS installed)

Now you can go forward to install LOS again – same way as described above. Cannot hurt to perform a proper wipe before (to be on the safe side: data, cache and system).


System application are odexed, which means the code part it extracted and kept separate and also some crucial parts of the application are kept in framework.jar. If you want to copy your freshly-compiled application to your phone, you have to deodex it first, which restores the missing parts and only then you may replace /system/Settings.apk with your new file. And, please, make sure you delete old /system/Settings.odex file, otherwise it won't work.

As usually, it's recommended to save old Settings.apk/odex files just in case when something goes wrong.


Short answer: No.

The app dev must have made it like this. You could email the dev, to ask them to sort it, but otherwise there is no option.


In Android 4.2, only tablets support multiple user profiles, not phones. This means it's up to the manufacturer to enable multiple users when they set up Android for the device (what's called system integration). Since the Le Pan Mini is a tablet, they should have turned on this support. You should report this bug to the manufacturer (and let us know what they say, to help future visitors).

It's sometimes possible to change this using a customized, unofficial firmware, but that relies on having a community of knowledgeable users who can do the work necessary to create a new firmware image: this is very hard without the manufacturer's support. Since your device is not a mainstream one, it's unlikely there are enough interested people with the necessary skills.


Charging and playing heavy games damages the battery very quickly. It is caused due to the overheating while charging, short Recharge n discharge cycles while charging n playing games and heat due to the GPU. Heat is the sole enemy of Battery. This is the same scenario in most of the mobile devices.

I recommend you to first fully charge the device n play until the charge drains out. I know it's a bit harsh.


There are APIs available which apps (like this) use to read SIM information. Looking for CLI solution (refer to this, this and this), we can get IMSI and ICCID with following commands respectively (up to Android 9):

~$ service call iphonesubinfo 7

~$ service call iphonesubinfo 10

* Codes depend on order of methods defined here, which may differ on different Android versions.
* For dual SIM device use code 8 and 11 instead and append i32 2 to command to get second SIM information.

Pass the output through following pipes to convert hexadecimal output to a good looking string:

... | grep -oE '[0-9a-f]{8} ' | while read hex; do echo -ne "\u${hex:4:4}\u${hex:0:4}"; done; echo

Terminal emulator apps usually don't have permission READ_PHONE_STATE (though you can grant manually with root) which is required by both functions. So commands need to be executed from adb shell.

Codes 7/8 correspond to getSubscriberId and 10/11 to getSimSerialNumber. However both methods have been removed for normal apps usage in Android 10. Only system apps with READ_PRIVILEGED_PHONE_STATE will be able to get this information. iphonesubinfo service can't be dumped with dumpsys either. So root is the only solution on Android 10+.

RIL may also log the operator/SIM related information to logcat when SIM state changes. With root access it's possible to read telephony database (the component of application framework which interfaces RIL) and also RIL database itself (which interfaces modem). On my Qualcomm device RILD stores information to /data/vendor/radio/qcril.db including ICCID and MCC/MNC.

~# sqlite3 -line /data/user_de/0/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/telephony.db 'select icc_id,card_id,carrier_name,display_name,mcc,mnc from siminfo'

~# sqlite3 /data/vendor/radio/qcril.db 'select ICCID from qcril_manual_prov_table'

As of Android 9 IMSI is also stored in /data/system/netpolicy.xml to set mobile data limits for MNOs separately.

~# grep -o 'subscriberId=[^ ]*' /data/system/netpolicy.xml

RELATED:

How to get 2nd IMEI number using adb?


Having a different icon for a specific email in my Gmail App on Android

As far as I can see the Gmail does not provide this functionality.

When getting notifications, the app itself decides on what kind of icon is displayed. So unless the app supports setting a custom icon  for notification of a specified account you are unfortunately out of luck.


What does the yellow progress bar in stock browser means, while rendering downloading web page?

I've never seen it come from the right, nor have I seen it "gap", but the progress bar is just that, it shows the download progress for the page that you about to view.

After you posted your screenshot and video, it looks like that the browser is seeing that you are on the Malaysian version of Google. If I am correct, the Malaysian is read from Right to Left, which would be why the progress bar loads from right to left.

If you just go to Google.com, it will load from left to right, or you have the default language on your device to be Malaysian, in which case, would default it to right to left.


Mac OS X fastboot is just waiting (HTC M8 T-Mobile)

As others have commented you need to reboot your device in bootloader (fastboot) mode.

Easiest way, is to use the command

adb reboot bootloader

Your device will reboot and will end up in the fastboot mode. Now you can use the fastboot utility.


The answer is easy: Under normal circumstances you never need to "force stop" any app.
Android automatically handles which app should be stopped in case the system is running out of free RAM.

Anyway even if you force an app to stop it usually should be able to start again at any time. Note that "starting an app" may even happen without user interaction based on certain events like change of battery level, a new Wifi was found, or simply because another app has triggered the app to run in background.


Google Play Services Has Stopped and now I Can't Access Play Store!

you can try to find the play store app in your android settings / applications. then go to storage and clear data and cache. maybe it helps! i had this once and solved it in that way.


Is Backing up my Android Device to the Cloud using Skydrive or Dropbox Equally as Effective As using dedicated Back Up Apps?

One more thing to keep in mind is privacy: While you mostly have control over your locally stored data, you cannot say the same for Cloud services. For storing personal/sensitive information to the Cloud, you should always consider encryption.

A third option is to have your app creating backups on your sd card, and use another app (e.g. FolderSync) automatically sync the backup directory to your local computer (or NAS device). This way you are a bit safer if your card breaks, and have more privacy. And you have both, a local and a remote backup -- plus even if you need the latter one, download is a bit faster as from the Cloud. If you trust some Cloud service, chances are also good that service is supported by FolderSync as well.


If you have a rooted phone, you can try using Market Enabler to spoof the Market into thinking you're accessing it from a country where the Android Market is available.


Where does shared prefrences data are stored in Android device?

Well, the path is right. It's

/<datadir>/<pkg_name/shared_prefs/<pref_name>.xml

Where <datadir> is usually /data/data


What does the usage data access permission allow

Not a developer here

Apps granted this permission have access to data pertaining to usage of other apps, like in my case Better Battery Statistics, Macrodroid (automation app) and  such apps that need to know this

App usage statistics

  You can now access app usage history on an Android device with the new android.app.usage API

  The system collects the usage data on a per-app basis, aggregating the data over daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals. The maximum duration that the system keeps this data is as follows:

  Daily data: 7 days
  Weekly data: 4 weeks
  Monthly data: 6 months
  Yearly data: 2 years

  For each app, the system records the following data:

  The last time the app was used
  The total length of time the app was in the foreground for that time interval (by day, week, month, or year)
  Timestamp capturing when a component (identified by a package and activity name) moved to the foreground or background during a day
  Timestamp capturing when a device configuration changed (such as when the device orientation changed because of rotation)


Samsung GS4 SCH-I545 broken after attempting twrp custom recovery

You don't install TWRP on a Verizon device so easily. In fact if your firmware is not early enough then you won't ever have TWRP since the bootloader is locked down by Verizon and devs virtually gave up on unlocking it. Read up here and the threads here.

What you can do now is to use Odin to return your phone back to stock and at least working. Get firmware for your model here. Make sure not to downgrade, i.e. you need to know what Android version you were on before bricking and flash a firmware of the same version or newer. Simple instructions are on the download page itself, and detailed ones are all over the internet.


AFAIK, you cannot read those files directly as they are encrypted and backed up on Google Drive.

The purpose of that Google Drive back up is to restore your chat history so that if you lose your phone or switch to another Android phone, your chats are safe.

Below is how you should restore back up of your chat history using Google Drive.

  Make sure the same Google account that was used to perform the backup has been added to your phone.
  Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
  After verifying your number, you will be prompted to restore your messages and media from Google Drive.
  After the restoration process is complete, tap on Next and your chats will be displayed once initialization is complete.
  After restoring your chats, WhatsApp will begin restoring your media files.

Note : In order to successfully restore a Google Drive backup, you need to use the same phone number and Google account used to create the back up.

You can read more on Google drive and WhatsApp Integration at FAQ page of WhatsApp.


How to infer battery consumption on a non owned app

Looking into the APK of Podcast Addict you can find the library libsonic which is the key component "for speeding up or slowing down speech". As it is  a native library it should be relative efficient (compared to plain Java). The sonic library does not seem to use the GPU for computations, just plain CPU power.

Regarding the comparison on different Apps modern Android systems already have everything in place to do so. On the app details page you can see the CPU time (total, background), and the keep wake time.

If you want to see more details you can use an app like GSam Battery Monitor.

Using a fixed length podcast you can compare different apps by noting the displayed values before and after the test.

For testing non-owned apps I only see the chance to buy it if it is not free, test it and then if it does not meet your expectations regarding the battery usage refund it. On Google Play Store this should be possible within 48 hours after you have bought the app.


How to get Samsung GT-19305 out of boot-loop?

/** I am not responsible for your phone. Many options listed here will void your warranty and/or irreparably damage your phone! Proceed with caution and at your own risk! **/

Hi there! As was mentioned, this is known as a boot-loop. This is usually a recoverable state, but you need to be EXTREMELY CAREFUL if you choose some of the more daunting items on this list; many WILL brick your phone for good (unrecoverable state). You don't give a ton of context as to your experience level, so this list is a little drawn out, but, without further ado, here it is:

USE YOUR WARRANTY. If you haven't already voided it and your phone is still under warranty, use it! All other options on this list will void it. DO THIS FIRST!
RECOVER FROM A BACKUP. If you got into this state by dabbling lightly into the world of roots and custom roms, it's likely you already have installed a custom recovery. If that's the case, and you followed instructions to a T, almost every guide will have had you create a backup. Booting into recovery (hold volume up+home+power from a cold start) will give you the option to restore your backup, or minimally the boot image from it.*
GO NUCLEAR. Essentially the same idea as the recovery mode, but you'll need a computer. You'll want to flash the "stock rom" or "stock firmware" here. IT IS SUPREMELY IMPORTANT that you find the CORRECT VERSION. If you don't, your phone is likely forfeit. Kiss it goodbye. A website like Sammobile keeps a directory of stock firmwares to pick from. Again, CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONE or your phone goes kaput. The basic idea is to use a program called ODIN to flash the stock rom (or minimally the boot image from it) to your phone in download mode (hold volume down+home+power from a cold start). There are many guides online for this, so I won't go step by step here, but Google something to the effect of "Flash stock rom using ODIN" and you'll get some good results.

Hope this works out for you; lemme know if you need anything more!

*Having a custom recovery with a backup is wonderfully handy. Once any android phone of mine is out of warranty (even unrooted ones!) I always flash a custom recovery and perform/keep a backup. I'm a pretty heavy power user and often find myself in boot-loops or the like. Being able to flash a fresh boot image straight from my phone's recovery has saved me many a trip to my computer, not to mention my sanity :D