Is there a way see if any of the apps on my phone have updates available?

Open the "Play Store", hit the context menu button and select "My Apps". This will show the list of installed Apps on the device and possible updates for the Apps.

See this question, ff you have Apps that weren't installed with the Play Store


anyway to find stolen device location through android device manager while location is off?

ADM will use network based location if possible, but location services must be turned on for ADM to work. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6160491?hl=en


Can i connect via adb to tablet that is stuck on welcome screen and won't boot?

It is possible to connect to the device through adb when it is stuck on welcome screen or even when it is showing boot animation. The problem in your case is that your device has not authorized the connection. Under normal circumstances, when you connect through adb a dialog is shown on the device for user's confirmation to proceed. Until the user agrees, you can't do anything good with adb. And since you're stuck on welcome screen, I see no way to agree to the dialog.

That been said, if you can somehow manage to flash a compatible custom recovery you can pretty much salvage all of your data. You might also be able to solve this adb unauthorized issue.


Messeging or Hangouts - Open Directly to List of People

When you come out of the app pressing home button, it's state is stored. So no matter how many messages you get ,you still go the previous message you were looking at, if you press messaging app...  to prevent this, when you get a new message open notifications instead of messaging app.. This makes app refresh it's previous state to the current one..


How to backup data on a non-booting, unrooted phone?

Personally, I am a Nexus user. But having repaired a friend's international variant S3 before, I do know some things about Samsung. And since you don't have custom recovery, you cannot access /data (the partition where data is stored). So the way I know of will use a custom recovery to backup/restore data. This voids your warranty.

I am assuming you already know the rooting process. So root and install CWM recovery (this will be our link for data transfer).
Power on to recovery.
Backup the /data from recovery (you can backup in internal SD card, won't really matter).

Now there are two approaches from here:

Approach 1: You are ready and willing to use custom ROM (you can switch to stock anytime of course).

Download any custom ROM from PC and transfer to some external SD card. Put the SD card in phone. Make sure the ROM is same Android version as the stock ROM you had in your phone.
Go to recovery (power off phone and power it on by pressing and holding power+volume up+home buttons. May take a few tries before you successfully get into recovery) and wipe data, cache ,dalvic (will not wipe your user data. Just don't factory reset, but manually wipe data partition).
Install ROM from external SD card. Restore Backup of data that you made earlier. Wipe cache and dalvic cache once again and reboot. It may take a while to boot up, but you should have your apps and data back.

Approach 2: You don't want to use custom ROMs.

If this is the case, you will have to use ADB.
The reason is recovery backup does not include backup of your personal files in user-memory partition. So for that, you will have to use ADB.

Power on to recovery mode and connect phone to PC.
Open up CMD/Terminal (we are going to use ADB to pull your personal files that weren't backup before).
Enter the command: adb pull /sdcard/* D:/Backup. This will start copying your personal files to your PC in a folder named Backup inside D:/ drive. This backup includes the /data backup you made earlier in recovery.
Go to sammobile and download the stock firmware for your phone. Again, make sure the ROM is same Android version as the stock ROM you had in your phone (else app backup may not work).
Flash the ROM using ODIN.
Now you will have to flash CWM again.
After flashing CWM again, power on to recovery. And again, open up CMD/Terminal and run the command: adb push D:/backup /sdcard. This will copy over your personal files back to phone.
Now to restore apps, simply use Restore feature of recovery and select the /data backup you made earlier. Wipe cache, dalvic cache and reboot phone.
First reboot may take some time but you will have your files and apps back.

Note: As silly as it might be, but personally, I have never used Titanium Backup (or any sort of backup apps for that matter. I always perform manual backups). So I do not know if what role could TB have played here. But if you stick to this guide, you will have your data back.


how do i get out of safe mode on htc desire s?

Turn the phone off
Turn it back on and hold the up volume button

Let me know if it works or not. There are also other solutions.

Source.


Do you have an ICS rom installed? I have that same issue with T9 keyboard on the Galaxy Nexus. I reported the issue to Nuance but they claimed the T9 doesn't support ICS.

You can fix it by holding down the backspace key until the whole field is cleared, then switch to a non-sliding keyboard to enter the info in the To: field.


Does the Asus Transformer have any USB ports?

No, it does not. The only USB ports are on the keyboad dock. The tablet itself has:

A microSD card slot
A mini HDMI port
A 40-pin docking/charging/USB transfer connector
An audio jack

Source: CNet's review of the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer


WhatsApp saving contacts with nicknames in a group

You are right absolutely

Contacts  in your phonebook can be named differently or nicknamed as you did in WhatsApp. These nicknames are not shown to your contacts

As far as your group contacts are concerned, they will see your name as they saved in their phonebook / or nicknamed. If they did not save your number, the profile name which you added for yourself on your profile photo, is displayed to them as clarified in WhatsApp FAQ

  This name will only appear for contacts who do not already have your contact info saved in their phone's address book.

So your WhatsApp nicknames are safe from exposure


How can I install ClockworkMOD Recovery on a Sony Ericsson W8?

According to directions on this site, there is a non-official (and therefore unsupported) version of Clockworkmod Recovery for the W8 available here.  It doesn't provide instructions on installing it, but I imagine you do it with either fastboot, or ODIN/Heimdal.

Alternatively, use xRecovery as described in these instructions.  It's very similar to CMR, but according to the site you will need ROMs packaged specifically for this recovery:

  Note: Make sure that the zip files are made for Xrecovery. (zip
  files for cwm are different)


Why is my Galaxy Nexus always force quit every apps or page I'm currently on?

It also happened to me after 4.2.1 updates. I just reset to factory settings. Now, it's working fine for me.


How can I unlock my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 without factory reset

Follow the below steps if you forgot lock screen password.

Enter a wrong lock screen pattern five times (shouldn’t be hard if
you don’t remember the correct one)
Select ‘Forgot Pattern’
Now you should be able to enter a backup PIN or your Google account
login.
Enter either your backup PIN or your Google login.
Your phone should now be unlocked.

You can also follow Device Manager by Android steps

Ensure that you had enabled Android Device Manager as a device administrator under security settings before trying this.

On a computer or other mobile phone, visit:
google.com/android/devicemanager
Sign in using your Google login details that you also used on your
locked phone.
In the ADM interface, select the device you need to unlock (if it
isn’t already selected).
Select ‘Lock’
In the appearing window, enter a temporary password. You don’t have
 to enter a recovery message. Now click ‘Lock’ again.
If it was successful, you should see a confirmation below the box
 with the buttons Ring, Lock and Erase.
On your phone you should now see a password field in which you
 should enter the temporary password. This should unlock your phone.
Now, before you go on with your life, go to your phone’s lock
 screen settings and disable the temporary password.

Disable your lock screen using custom recovery and “Pattern Password Disable”

Download the pattern password disable ZIP file on your computer and
 put it on an SD card.
Insert the SD card into your phone.
Reboot your phone into recovery.
Flash the ZIP file on your SD card.
Reboot.

Your phone should boot up without a locked screen. Should there be a password or gesture lock screen, don’t panic. Just type in a random password or gesture and your phone should unlock

That’s it!


Change Default Save To Directory For Content Downloaded From Apps

For reddit is fun, you can set it to "Use external browser" in Settings, it should open Chrome and files will be saved in the same location. Takes a little bit longer to open links though.

For Chrome, there seems to be no way to change download location but creating a symlink. This may require root, and your picture directories will still be displayed separately in your Gallery.


I don't know for sure as I haven't seen a Philips phone, but it sounds like Philips have put in their own SMS app which doesn't use the standard text entry field. The little tab to help you position the cursor accurately is part of that, not part of the keyboard.

If this is the case, then using a third-party SMS application instead will make it easier to use. There are many on Google Play, so just try one out and see if it helps.


Can't use android pay after removing root

Turned out I had to re-flash firmware for it to work. Instructions for re-flashing firmware for my specific device (lg g3) were incorrect which bricked my device. Luckily I found that clicking the other action mode than the one stated did the trick and my device was un-bricked. Was a scary few hours. At the end though my lg g3 worked and all residue of kingroot was gone!


How to transfer huge files between Android phones only with ES File Explorer and Wi-Fi?

If Es File Explorer doesnt work, I suggest that you use SuperBeam: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.majedev.superbeam

It uses Wifi Direct Technology to transfer files at wifi speeds, and the wifi direct connection is initialized by scanning a qr code generated by the app of by touching them together with nfc on.  You can "Share" the file with Superbeam and opening the app starts the reciever end of the communication


How do I transfer app data from one an s4 mini to a s5

Applications/Games save the user data like scores, gold amount, ammo etc in /data directory. thus you'll need root access on both of your devices to transfer apps with data. if you don't have root access this cannot be done by normal means. if you already have root access then use apps like Titanium backup or any other your favorite to backup apps, most of them have facility for rooted users like Backup app with data. Then you can transfer the backup to other device and just restore it with same application this should work for normal low-to-mid range games.

Note: This can be done with file explorer app also. just find the data directory of your game in /data folder copy it to your other device where you want data to be restored. overwrite the directory in other device. kill the app from memory and relaunch it and see if it works. (Remember Root access required for any method)


Does Google Navigation Live Traffic reroute during the journey?

As far as I know and based on my testings with the same concern, I came to the conclusion that it doesn't update the route based on traffic or any other reasons.

I even took an alternative route that I knew it was faster in rush hour conditions and the navigator was still trying to reroute me back to its original route, considering that faster due to speed limits.


Using MyWi USB 3G Tethering from iPhone to Galaxy Tab 2 10.1

The short answer is no you can't share your iPhone's 3G connection with your Galaxy Tab 2 over USB.


Is it possible to have Skype for Android automatically answer calls?

Currently and sadly, there's no such option to allow the action of auto-answer an incoming Skype call.

You can keep an eye out on this threads, maybe in a nearby feature such solution will arrive:

Skype Support Network: Auto answer incoming call on Android OS
XDA Developers forum thread: [RQ] Skype auto answer
XDA Developers forum thread: [Q] Skype Auto Answer

Additionally, 3rd party solutions aren't possible to this end, since Skype uses a proprietary protocol with no available API as explained on this Stackoverflow answer.


Will flashing ROMs multiple times degrade the performance of phone?

If you always wipe the device between ROMs (clear system, boot, cache, etc [not data]), then there should never be any degradation of performance. While flash memory does have a theoretical write limit, you won't make any sort of noticeable dent in the life of the device by constantly switching ROMs to try out new ones.

However, if you don't do a full wipe, you could see performance issues creep up. More likely, you'll run into bugs and random crashes as files left over from a previous ROM conflict with the new ROM. This is why you should always do a full wipe if you are installing a brand new ROM.

As for how to flash a ROM for your particular device, xda-developer forums for the Galaxy S are a good place to look. They list instructions on how to root the phone, install ROMs, and other helpful guides.


While I can't give you a step by step tutorial on how to root your phone, here are the basics for a manual method.

Firstly, you have to unlock the bootloader. This will void your warranty but will allow you to continue to the next step. Remember that I won't be responsible for any damages made to your phone.

Next, you will need to flash a custom recovery which will give you access to all the files on your device and let you wipe the system, install custom ROMs and more.

The last step is to flash SuperSu to the device using the recovery tool. Your device will be rooted.


Android 6.0 - how to update rooted and tweaked MotoG 2015

The issue here is that the installer is expecting the current build to be that of their retail ROM. Your method of rooting has been specifically marked for debug purposes (aka: rooted) and it doesn't want to continue.

Honestly if you want updates and support, either unroot your device or go to a custom ROM. As for keeping your stuff, use Titanium Backup to make a copy of all your stuff. You can restore it later if you go down the custom ROM route


Is it possible to install Android 3.0 on my Android 2.3.6 Huawei m865c?

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is supposed to be a tablet-exclusive OS, and it's already deprecated. It's replaced by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) which unites the OS both for phones and tablets.

As for official OTA, I couldn't find any information about that, so it seems that Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread) is the latest official Android version available for the phone.

The only way to update your phone (unofficially) is to flash with custom ROM/ported stock ROM, which I find it hard to search, if available. ClockworkMod site lists 1 custom ROM, A2Tude, but it seems that it's just a custom ROM based on Android 2.3.6, so I couldn't find any ROM with Android version higher than that.


What is the pathname to my application executable?

To launch applications, use the ActivityManager (am command).
Apks are not directly executable as they are just archives containing runnable code.
If you have packaged natively executable binaries in your app, you need to extract them first, then set permissions according to executable permissions (at least --x--x--x) and launch it through an instance of shell.


Pattern not working - Locked out of phone

First of all, you'll NEED to root your device if you haven't done that (You didn't specify what device you have, so Google "(device's model number here) root")
But READ this post: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-disadvantages-of-rooting-Android-devices/answer/Ashwin-Afhen before rooting your Android device

Now, download THIS terminal emulator AFTER rooting your Android device: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm, open it up and type these commands:

su
rm -f /data/system/locksettings.db*
rm -f /data/system/gesture.key

And now, REBOOT your Android device and you SHOULD see no pattern lock or a pattern lock that can be unlocked with ANY pattern (and then, unlock your device and set a new pattern)

And unroot your Android device

That's all I can say for now


BurritoRoot seems to be the way to go for root on the Kindle Fire. I rooted mine with this tool and then installed TWRP to get ICS on the Fire.

BurritoRoot is a simple .apk that needs to be installed. Rooting itself is then easy as with SuperOneClick. Here are the resources for BurritoRoot:

Offical XDA Thread for BurritoRoot
AndroidPolice Blog post with download link

Once you have root access, Amazon's Prime video service will lock you out of downloading or watching streaming video. Installing OTA RootKeeper will let you remove root when it's not needed, and allow video to work.


ZTE N9130: Video recorded, but doesn't show under Camera, Gallery or a Video player, though it can be seen under File manager

Hopefully I'm not too late.

I had the same problem I had  been looking for my videos for months. After reading what Izzy replies to you, I realized I was searching the right folder but in the wrong area.

Go to your file manager app icon, it should look like a folder. Once you open it, select phone which is to the immediate right of category. Now you should see a list of different folders. Click on camera and scroll all the way to the very bottom passed all the photos, you should begin to see a small purple triangle indicating videos.

I hope that helps you out.


Cannot connect android phone to tp link router

Improvement on previous Answer:
Well i do partially agree with @Divin3 only a slight glitch i found was: All new routers are fully backward compatible with older devices hence a router built on Wireless-N will be fully compatabile with device capable of receiving only Wireless-G or older version. Difference will be that while serving to a device with W-G the router built on W-N will go only be able to serve it at the max bandwidth which is device W-G is capable of receiving. Read more details on a device manufacturer support site here

My Addon to the Previous Answer:
Now lets back on the question, my very own personal experience has been bit different in this case. Sometimes older devices aren't able to scan WiFi networks setup with newer security methods. I noticed this when i switched one of my router's security from WEP to WPA2. Few older devices which earlier used to stay latched to the same router, actually stopped identifying it.

So a little bit of workaround could help people facing issues related to this.


How to setup a xiaomi mi band without an internet connection

You must login to your Mi account before pairing Mi Band for the first time. Thereafter you only need Bluetooth connection.

Yes you can use Xiaomi Mi Band offline. It asks for connection only for login. After login it will never ask for internet connection.

Xiaomi Mi Fit App provides for syncing data with Google Fit, WeChat, Facebook and many others. But all that sharing requires internet connection.

I have used MiBand in offline mode for 10 months.


Dashboard/Home Screen icons take up to 10 seconds to load after pressing the Home button

I have the same phone and pretty much the same issue(s).

First of all, you shouldn't be using a task killer. It's unnecessary and counter productive. (See this question and this other question.)

One thing that will help is using a Home Screen replacement. There are several, but I've been using Zeam. While it doesn't remove the homescreen redraw delay completely, it's much better than without it.

Another thing that will help is reducing or eliminating the number of widgets you're using.


That should be a malware or something related. Try disabling it in Apps or root your phone and uninstall it. Hope it helps.


The radio is closed source and provided by the manufacturer.


Burn .IMG to another MicroSD Card without root

Copy the IMG file to the internal storage
Download EtchDroid [NO ROOT] - Write ISOs and DMGs to USB from Play Store
Select raw image or ISO (do these steps after the SD card has been plugged in)
Select the IMG file and the SD card
Wait until it completes the progress (it is possible to check the progress in the taskbar/notification)
Done


My adoptable storage is full. How can I move the data to a bigger MicroSD card?

Having a similar issue, I read through the comments to your question and ended up doing the following based on a hint suggested by Barleyman:

Go to Settings > Storage & USB › Internal Storage, click on "Migrate data" to move your data back to internal

In case you do not have enough space left on internal to move everything back (which was my case), here are some additionnal steps:

Connect the phone to a PC via USB and back-up the contents of the old "adopted" SD Card
Manually delete enough data from the old SD Card to be able to do the move: typically pictures and videos that you can easily restore afterwards
Click on "Migrate data" in  Settings > Storage & USB › Internal Storage
Check that the old "adopted" SD Card is now empty (or even format it back to "Portable") then eject it
Insert the new SD Card and set it up as "Internal storage" and agree to move the data to it
Eventually reconnect the phone to the PC via USB to restore manually deleted data

Reference: Answer to "How does the "Format as internal storage" feature work in Android 6.0+?":

  You can reverse the process by opening "internal storage" from storage settings and there's "migrate data" that will copy everything back to internal nvram.


Galaxy tab 4 7.0 version 4.4.2 stuck in Odin Mode

Hmmm... seems like you're stuck. Ok so solution is to download the stock firmware and flash your device vis odin.  Thats how I got mine fixed. Sm t231.


How can I create a downloadable file with my contact info

The easiest way is to use a barcode you could e.g. create with an app like My QR code Generator. If you do not want to install an app for the purpose, there are also web services available like e.g. GOQR.ME -- simply search google for QR Code generator vcard.

The result is a QR-Code -- a simply image you can put on your web page. On Android (and other) devices, a QR code reader (best known and widely used on Android is Barcode Reader) utilizes the camera to take a picture from it, analyzes the coded content, and then offers an appropriate action. In case of a VCard, this would e.g. be to add it to your contact list -- exactly what you intended.

Of course you could simply export your contact data in VCard format for download (on opening that, the user would get the same choice to add the content to the contacts). You also could combine both, linking the QR-Code image to the downloadable VCard (make sure the file extension of the vcard file is set to .vcf, so the web server gets a chance to set the correct mime type -- otherwise it may be treated as "plain text" and opened inside the browser instead of being downloaded). This way a visitor could either use a barcode reader, or click on the code to download the VCard. Thus it even could be imported to apps on the PC: MS Outlook, Gnome Evolution, and others understand the VCard-Format as well.

Troubleshooting:

If you linked the VCard .vcf file for download, and it still only gets displayed in the browser window, here's how this can be fixed with Apache web server (solution by MrGlass -- thanks!):

Edit your Apache config (or, if you cannot access this, edit/create the .htaccess file in the directory your .vcf is stored) to contain the following segment:

<FilesMatch "\.vcf$">
  ForceType text/vcard
  Header set Content-Disposition attachment
</FilesMatch>


After an apk is installed it can be deleted from a file manager and you keep your apps/games.


How to monitor the amount of data traffic?

This is now built into Android in Ice Cream Sandwich. You can view usage per application, set limits and restrict background data.

Some more information: http://androidadvices.com/set-mobile-data-limit-usage-ice-cream-sandwich-devices/

NetCounter monitors mobile and wifi traffic.


Why can't I upload binaries to Android Sony Xperia Z?

After a lot of messing around I think I've nailed it. It was an application called "Sony Smart Connect". Like most things that contain the oxymoronic phrase "Sony Smart" is anything but smart. Instantly everything went back to working and I can now get on with coding until the next update stops me for a month...

I hope this is of help to someone in the future.

Dom


For the Samsung email app (on my Galaxy Tab A anyway) you need the following
▪An exchange activesync account - for some reason s/mime is not enabled for any other email type
▪Your public and private keys for your exchange account as a PKCS#12 cert uploaded to your tablet already or in your download directory ( root/sdcard/Download directory ) ready for import.

Go to the email settings > exchange account > security options screen and select the encryption certificate option then import. It should show you the PKCS#12 file and let you select it, enter any needed password and import it to your keystore with a friendly name of your choice. Repeat for the signing key - typicallly this is the same PKCS#12 file.
Set it to sign all outgoing mail if you wish - that'll help distribute your public key and maybe raises peoples awareness of s/mime.
It's probably not worth encrypting all outgoing messages by default as you'll get a warning for each recipient that you don't have their public key.

Send yourself test signed and then encrypted emails to prove this is working - preferably using a second device to test thoroughly. The three-dot menu on the send email will let you pick security options to sign and encrypt for individual messges.

The next stage is to try to exchange signed email with other real contacts - if you've defaulted to sign all this should just happen and they should be able to validate the signature.

The last stage is to send them an encrypted email, for that you need their public key / cert. If you've been exchanging signed email you should have it - hopefully you're also using exchange contacts and their record has their key else you'll need to add it from a received email.

Slightly concerning that you say the  recipient has a copy of your private key - this should never happen as your private key should always remain private to you. Officially you should revoke you key and get a new one. The practical upshot is things will get very confusing as to what's going on if you've got keys mixed up between public and private and sender and recipient. Good luck.

I don't think Samsung mail lets you easily swap your certs either - you can go into settings and change them but unless youre doing something interesting you should only have one email address on your exchange account.If you're trying to use encrypted group email I don't think Samsung email is going to help, and I don't know of any other mail client that can either.


How do I make my kid’s Android phone ring even if silenced when I call him?

It might not be applicable if your kids are older, but my kid just got his first phone and I manage it with Google Family Link. Even when the phone is on silent I can make it play a sound and get him to answer a call or message. It's worked out really well for me, the one thing I don't know is if you can have more than one family device managers to manage the family's devices. It might be worth checking out at least.

I can also use it for managing screen time restrictions and other parental controls that I really felt were missing in cheap, stock Android phones.


You can try the following method. This is the convectional way of installing/upgrading firmware on most android devices:

Download official firmware (correct version) preferably on PC. Extract the download you should see a sdfuse folder

Depending on contents of the compressed file you may not find the sdfuse folder, in this case;

create a folder in your external sdcard and rename it as sdfuse
extract firmware zip and copy qsb firmware "the file vit extension .qsb" to sdfuse folder or it may have the .inb extension.

You will need to transfer sdfuse folder preferably using a micro sd card Adapter or card reader from the PC  to the phone.
Make sure phone is off completely. Then press and HOLD the POWER+VOLUME DOWN buttons simultaneously until the service menu appears.
Using your Vol+/Vol- buttons navigate to sd update and the installation should begin. Follow the instructions carefully to successfully re-install the firmware.

(Your phone must have at least 50-80% of battery charged )

Credits:

Lenovo S60-A Flash File (Stock ROM) zip


If your device is rooted Stickmount should fix the problem


Is there any way to launch an app (and keep the screen on) when a Galaxy Nexus is docked?

Sounds like you could use DockAwake! Dock Manager for this. To just keep the screen on you can set Settings -> Developer options -> Stay awake.


My tablet will not turn on. Please Help!

The problem was that there was a rip in the connection from the charging port to the battery. The solution is a new battery.


"Unable to forget Hot Spot" - Can't disconnect from it either

These are probably hotspots set up by your carrier, designed to reduce load on their 3G/4G network by offloading some of it to WiFi. You would not be able to prevent using these unless you turn off WiFi (why is that a problem for you?) or root / use a custom firmware.


Is it possible to recover data from internal memory?

There is some hope to recover data which was stored on the “internal SD card”. Samsung Galaxy S2 supports USB connection in the mass storage mode (unlike some other more recent models). This mode provides the required block-level access to the partition which holds your media and other files (but not contacts, SMS and app data). Therefore you can connect your phone to PC in the USB storage mode (not MTP), then use the same utilities as you would use to recover files from an SD card which was accidentally formatted (one free option for Windows is Recuva).

Recovering data from the internal memory is much more harder for several reasons:

You need to root the phone in order to get access to raw partitions (with some phones which have an unlocked bootloader there is an option of flashing an alternate recovery image with root access through ADB). Note that the rooting process in most cases involves writes to the /data partition, which could overwrite the data you want to restore.
The internal file system is not the usual FAT or NTFS, like in Windows (recent models in most cases use ext4), therefore many recovery tools designed for use with Windows filesystems won't work well (scanning the raw disk for pieces looking like data in a well-known format might give a useful result even if the filesystem is not supported, but see the next point).
In most cases the app data is stored in some format not used outside of the Android OS (e.g., contacts and SMS/MMS messages are stored in SQLite databases with the Android-specific schema), and these formats are unlikely to be supported by commonly available data recovery utilities.

And this assumes that the phone repair lab did not just replace the main phone board (which they often do, unless the problem was obviously in some other component).


Moving app sync from one google account to another

Several of the apps you list most likely came pre-installed with your device (e.g. Gmail, Google, Google Talkback). Keeping that in mind brings up the question: How did they end up being associated with your account? Which leads to a possibility to achieve what you want:

Delete the "old" Google account from that device
Wait a little. It usually doesn't take longer than a day that a process of the Google Play app scans your device for installed apps, and links them to your (new) account if they have no link yet (that's how the pre-installed apps ended up here)
Once that had happened, and if you still need the "old" account for some purpose, it should be safe to re-create it (I'm not 100% sure about this step, as I've never tried it).


Cannot mount SD card, with error "SD card safe to remove"

I'm assuming you mean MicroSD, not SD. Sounds like the card is broken.  You could try formatting it as ext3 or FAT and see if either work.  Also, see if it works on a PC (you can get a MicroSD/USB adapter for next to nothing).


Samsung Galaxy S3 doesn't show SMS notification

Problem solved.
I deactivated Hangouts and now it works fine.


Stock Huawei Honor7 Notification Question

Ok, I finally found the solution - problem was (probably) within the MIUI-Overlay:
I had to install PM Plus-App for Huawei/Honor to unlock the "Startmanager"-menue within the preinstalled "Telefonmanager-App" (german version - english may be "security app"??)
Inside the "startmanager"-menue one can toggle on/off autostart for installed apps. After switching the mode, the phone has to reboot to take effect. BUT in my case the desired app HAD TO BE RUNNING when turning of the phone for the reboot.
Its now working fine and i receive notifications even with closed app and after a reboot.


How to check what's wrong while my phone starts? How to get logs?

Install the android sdk and plug in your phone.

Go to a command prompt
change directory to to your adb folder
Type adb logcat > logcat.txt

this creates a text file in your adb folder and would tell exactly why your phone isn't booting.


How to Get More Stable Notifications in Xiaomi MI 2 Band when Pebble and Android 6?

The Mi:2 is quite new, so it might not yet be mature. But you could try an alternative Android app for that: Gadgetbridge has Initial support for Mi Band 2 and always welcomes testers. I'm using it with my Pebble Time Steel and am really satisfied. If you're willing to give it a try, you can install the app from F-Droid.

A few things to note on Gadgetbridge:

GB is privacy focused. Thus it e.g. doesn't request the Internet permission (and probably never will), which means that watch apps/faces requiring that won't be able to do the corresponding jobs unless they come with a companion app. However, there are plans for an internet enabled addon which might add that feature for those who want it.
at the moment, multiple Gadgets cannot be connected to GB at the same time. Again, this is something being worked on.

Gadgetbridge is a quite active project, so don't give up if you miss something. Also, it has a pretty good Wiki you should make sure to check (and you're welcome to contribute to that: I've meanwhile covered most of the Pebble part – but not having a Mi I had to leave the gaps open in that section ;)


If you are speaking about Free as the french ISP...

The freebox is an ADSL modem that the french ISP Free provides to his client. It includes a modem / nas / tv and other funny stuff... It provides also multimedia features like photo gallery and video player 1

It presents a nas system accessible thru FTP, and other protocole. To answer to your question, you can install a FTP client on your mobile and connect directly to your server to put your photos. But the prerequisite is a configured server...

To go further and help you to configure all stuff, we need to know which version of freebox do you have, v5 or v6 (HD)

You can find a really good tutorial in french on this page: 2

An extract of configuration needed for the HD version.

You need to configure your freebox server if it's not already done via the following site: mafreebox.freebox.fr/

The freebox server is accessible thru the following parameters / put it into your android ftp client:

address : mafreebox.freebox.fr
login : freebox
password configured one on : mafreebox.freebox.fr


I think your question is a duplicate, it's a bit hard to understand given how it's worded.  Check out this question.


Frequent WiFi disconnects with my WiFi router

Problem was solved by unchecking the option in my android mobile --> "Use wireless networks" in "Location & security settings".


If you want to have any cellular functions apart from placing emergency calls, you have to have an actual cellular plan through a carrier.

Picture it this way: If you buy a land line phone for your house, take it out of the box, program speed dials, and set it on your table without plugging it into a phone line, you won't be able to receive any phone calls. Your cell phone is simply a tablet until you activate a cellular plan through your carrier for it.

Also, the ability to place emergency calls is a feature on all cell phones that is not dependent on carriers.

Here is a list of UK Carriers.


how to enter bootloader with moboot in HP Touchpad

It seems that moboot in touchpad is corresponding to the bootloader in android native device, so I think it may be impossible to enter such a 'bootloader' in hp touchpad.


Fixing GPS lock that takes too long without installing a custom ROM

Install GPS Status & Toolbox. Then go to the app's settings > gps sensors > auto-download AGPS data, and set it to whatever you like. It also has a Pro key, which unlocks other features.

  The main goal for the application is to assist you and all the other
  applications on your device to get a GPS lock as fast as possible. It
  is much better to know what is happening inside your phone than
  staring cluelessly on a blinking notificaion icon and hoping that it
  will stop blinking sooner or later. (Some people just simply enjoy
  watching all the raw data ;)

Steps to follow if you have a non-locking GPS, from their FAQ:

  Menu / Tools / manage aGPS state.
  Select 'Reset' to clear the internal state of the GPS.
  Select 'Download' to re-download the assistance data. You will need an active internet connection at this step.
  Close the GPS Status application for 10 seconds.
  Go outside and find a spot where large part of the sky is visible.
  Make sure you have the 'Keep the screen on' settings turned on (in Menu / Settings / Display & Tools'.
  Let the program run and try to acquire your GPS position for at least 15 minutes.

  NOTES:

  If the above steps do not resolve the GPS issue then you most likely have a hardware problem with the phone.
  Certain phone cases block the GPS signal (remove the phone from it, if you are not sure.)
  Certain windshields may block the GPS signal inside cars (those that have metallic coating to keep the heat out.)
  Certain phones (usually CDMA) turn off the GPS chip if you put the phone into flight mode.
  If you travel a long distance without turning on the GPS (i.e. flight) you can expect much longer fix times at your destination
  initially.
  Obviously you cannot expect the GPS to work in your basement! (yes I'm serious)

See if that improves the GPS lock.


No ADB driver for medion e4001 (MD 98500) for remote debugging

I found a solution (for windows):

Download the official MEDION ADB driver for some other tablets they offer
Unpack
Open the android_winusb.inf file in a texteditor
Add the following lines at the end of the two sections [Google.NTx86]up and [Google.NTamd64]
;
;MEDION Life E4001
%SingleAdbInterface%        = USB_Install, USB\VID_109B&PID_911E
%CompositeAdbInterface%     = USB_Install, USB\VID_109B&PID_911E&MI_01

Go to the device manager, select the unknown driver (called generic in my case), update driver and select the folder.

Off you go!


You can use Android Debug Bridge (ADB, contained in the Android SDK) to forward the tcp connection:

adb forward tcp:8080 tcp:8080


Why is not all traffic captured from my device when routing through proxy?

I recently answered in detail to question: How to set Wi-Fi HTTPS proxy, not HTTP, via adb shell?, trying to clear some confusions many of us (including me) have regarding how proxy works.

DOES YOUR APP GENERATE HTTP TRAFFIC?

Proxy usually means http proxy, but not all traffic generated by every app is http - a Layer 7 protocol in OSI model. Email clients, for instance, use IMAP/POP3/SMTP (L6/7) protocols which won't work with http GET method, instead require http CONNECT proxies. Latter can only forward TCP traffic, for UDP at least SOCKS5 proxy is needed which operates at L5. DNS and mostly games and VoIP apps generate UDP traffic, so they won't work with http proxies at all. ping utility - for instance - uses ICMP (at L3) which can't be encapsulated in TCP or UDP, so it won't work with SOCKS too and requires VPN.

See more details in Why proxy set on Android does not work when used as hotspot?

DOES HTTP PROXY WORK WITH EVERY APP?

Proxy is not meant to be set system-wide, or in other words you cannot force all apps to use the same proxy you have configured in Settings. Instead apps are supposed to make proxied http connections if they want to. Operating systems provide proxy-aware libraries (for http connections) as part of the SDKs so the developers don't have to take care of proxy related stuff separately. Such Android apps honor proxy settings set system-wide (but may still fall back to no-proxy mode if proxy fails for some reason).

Other OSes also use similar approaches to provide system-wide proxy settings through some GUI settings menu or using environment variables on CLI. Browsers and some other apps like email clients usually have their own settings as well to set proxy. However if the app/program is not proxy-aware, it won't honor any of the proxy settings at all. That's why when setting Wi-Fi proxy it warns:

  "The HTTP proxy is used by the browser but may not be used by the other apps."

Same holds true for proxy set through PAC file or in APNs (Mobile Data) or global proxy (meant for managed devices).

Coming to your questions...

  While using the browser on my Android device I can see requests logged in Fiddler
  ...
  However, when using certain apps I can see no requests being logged

The guide linked in the question suggests configuring Android WiFi settings to use proxy. As explained above, the browser would be proxy-aware, the "certain apps" aren't.

  I want to be able to analyze the requests sent between an app on my phone which controls a wireless thermostat connected to my LAN via WiFi.

Make sure your concerned app is generating http traffic to be captured while sniffing on proxy. Otherwise use something at lower level - e.g. SOCKS proxy or VPN - for other protocols.
Make sure the app regards Android's global proxy settings when making http connections. In case of https the app should be using CONNECT method in place of GET.
If the app is not proxy-aware, you need to enforce proxy on phone and (in case of https) do forced / transparent SSL/TLS interception on proxy.

Enforcing proxy is possible by different methods e.g. by using SOCKS tunnel instead, and/or redirecting traffic towards a proxy server using some Layer 2/3 approach like VPN (tun2socks/tun2http) app or iptables (DNAT). Xposed modules like Inspeckage can also enforce per-app proxy by hooking into APIs.

Another approach is to use a local host (preferably Linux PC) as default gateway and set up proxy there to intercept traffic from any host on local network. In this way no proxy configuration is required on phone. It's also possible to setup packet analyzer tool like Wireshark in place of proxy on local network for traffic interception.

DOES YOUR APP USE SECURE HTTP (HTTPS)?

If the purpose of proxy is DPI, logging, anti-virus scanning, content blocking, filtering or adaptation, you need to do SSL bumping / MITM on proxy server.
MITM requires adding proxy's root SSL certificate to device's credential store (or the app should be able to ignore invalid certificate errors). But since Android 7, user-added CAs (as suggested in the linked guide) are no more trusted to establish secure connections. So you need to add the root certificate to /system/etc/security/cacerts (requires rooted phone). "But app developers can choose to let their apps work with manually added CA certificates." (1)
If the app is using its own trusted credential store instead of that provided by OS, you need to add proxy's root CA to the list of CAs maintained by the app (if that's possible at all).
If the app is using SSL pinning (as the Twitter app does), it won't trust any intermediate authority except its own self-signed root CA. You may try to disable SSL Pinning by taking control of related APIs. Xposed module SSLUnpinning can disable SSL pinning for JSSE, OkHttp and Apache http client libraries. But if the app uses some other libraries/APIs, you are again out of luck.


Is it possible to use Apple Wireless keyboard with Android 4.2.2 tablet?

If you're sure the keyboard is properly paired, have you tried using the excellent External Keyboard Helper Pro? I use it with a Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard, and it handles both switching to the external keyboard from the internal one (and back) when needed, but also little chores like nuking the caps lock key.


Samsung Galaxy S 2 Kies update problem: "does not support initialising"

Yesterday I had the "firmware upgrade" button available and working (begins to download upgrade components etc) but my internet was playing up, so I tried again today and all of a sudden Kies was telling me "'GT-I9100T' does not support initialisation" (and upgrade component downloading window did not appear).

As suggested by Sparx, I checked my debugging setting. It was already unchecked, BUT I found that when I checked it, then unchecked it (the phone will prompt you to remove USB cable before you can toggle this option) it restored the "firmware upgrade" button.

Frustrations which remain:

The process began again but stopped half way through, telling me that "phone battery is low, charge phone battery" (phone was plugged in via USB and charging already from computer). When I clicked OK, the process aborted and I am back at the Kies screen without a "firmware upgrade" button again (so will have to toggle the debugging option again - annoying, but faster than rebooting computer and/or phone).
Kies doesn't tell you the download size - I have dialup
broadband with a small bandwidth allowance and cannot afford to be
downloading excessive amounts. It would be really helpful if we
could discover the sizes of these upgrade downloads.
Kies re-downloads firmware update process files (the ones before it
starts downloading the actual upgrade files) each time I attempt to
upgrade firmware - even if this was done 1 minute ago. I would think
Samsung would have the programming prowess by now to cache these
files rather than re-download them (for me, this also relates to
issue #2).

I hope this helps others.


Battery Charges OK after full discharge, but only once

See if the behaviour persists in safe mode
If the behaviour is normal, it would point to a misbehaving app (though, I haven't come across apps causing this). factory-reset your device and check
If the same behaviour continued , flash stock ROM using odin, since the fuel gauge drivers may be corrupted

For 2 and 3 make sure you back up your data

If none of above helps, service Center is the only option to address hardware issue


Are there technical reasons why Android is not as smooth as iOS and can they be overcome?

There is an article that discusses the semi-technical reasons/issues that have lead to the differences in smoothness of Android and iPhone devices.

But after gathering some key points from the article one can conclude:

From the very start, IOS had been built around a  multi-touch screen (meaning IOS had been built from the gound up to be very responsive as opposed to most other OSs that adopted full screen multi-touch displays)
Yes, it is not always hardware (processing power) dependent it is merely a result of IOS operating system giving more priority to UI rendering, etc where as Android distributes the processing power equaly (this may be an advantage or drawback as with a faster UI everything from download speeds to loading content will slow down)

  UI rendering occurs on the main thread of an app
  UI rendering has normal priority

Android is very popularly known to be highly customization and it is simply a matter of tweaking kernel parameters like 'lowmemkiller' that can make UI:

  amazingly smooth -- easily as smooth as the iPhone or WP7 phones

It is not that Android lacks the potential, but simply that developers prefer to spend resources elsewhere (like on the  bigger screens of some devices). Then why doesn't Android spend more resources on UI?

Well, Android is widely distributed among a wide variety of devices, and that is exactly why when it comes to android, only individual owners can overcome these (there is no optimum setting Android developers can set... every device that runs Android has its own set of 'optimum settings' and every user has his own perspective on what they should be 'optimum settings'). So the solution, balance the power...
And no it is not something that has been 'overcome' on newer Android devices. But it depends on what you mean by overcome, as the lowmemkiller of rooted android devices can easily be tweaked (but it comes as a cost to battery,etc...)

For more technicality, see Dianne Hackborn and Andrew Munn


How do I turn off push notifications in my Vivo Y53?

Open WhatsApp.
Tap on three dots on top-right corner of WhatsApp and Select Settings.
Goto Notifications.

Under Message Notifications, there is an option called popup notification. It have several sub options which is easy to identify by its name itself.

No popup: never pop-up on any screen
Only when screen on
Only when screen off
Always show popup.
Also set the same for Group notifications.

Note : If you wish reset to default, tap on three dots on top-right corner while inside Notifications page, which have option to reset notification settings.


To answer my own question: while I haven't found a completely satisfactory solution to this problem, I have discovered in Adobe's Reader app the "Recents" list - which shows recently read documents in the descending order of last-opened date. This, combined with the fact that the Reader app remembers the position of each document that you read, and the fact that the "Recents" menu is only a click of the back button away, gives a workable solution to reading multiple documents at a time, albeit slowly.

I wish that someone from 1998 could come back in time and give us proper multitasking. How great it would be!

For now, I hope this idea helps someone else.


Android Q Desktop Mode - control secondary display

You should keep in mind that Android Q with it's Desktop Mode is still very much in beta and not a finished product at all.

There's still lots of bugs and problems with it.

The best you can do is wait for the official release later this year.


How do I send a GIF in a text message with version7.0

The Gboard will help you at this....
it has the feature of sending GIFs,
but that wont work if your messenger doesn't supports that.....
Gboard on Google Play


MacroDroid asks for "Application Launched/Closed" accessibility permission constantly

I am an avid user of MacroDroid and noticed this issue with two devices and raised this issue on app forums (accessible from within the device and my post dated 24 December 17- unable to link)
This is what the developer said

It's not a MacroDroid issue but a system issue that can happen with any app.
If you Google the issue you will find stuff like this:
Accessibility services gets disabled automatically

I find this to be true, since I had this problem on stock ROM but not on custom ROM
Quite possibly same case with you


Auto silence based on geo location - android

There is a free app called IFTTT (If This Then That). It lets you set up a trigger and an action that happens when the trigger fires. You could set the school as a geofence trigger, and "Set to do not disturb" as the action. Unfortunately, this app on its own will not stop them from simply turning off 'Do not disturb' manually. You will need some other parental control that stops them from messing with the settings.


From Experience : The problem is with your battery. The battery can't produce stable power.
When you go to recovery mode, the power consumption is very low. So, it will stay for some time.
When you turn on the phone, the brand logo is shown, may or may not the Booting is done. Suddenly the phone turns off. Then again turns on and repeat this automatically about 15-20 times.
I have the same issue and after checking for a weak , I found that the battery can't produce the power in a stable manner.
How to check.
Since your phone has an inbuilt battery, I am not suggesting you to remove cover, which may remove the sensor, then taking out the battery and doing so.
So, if the phone is under warranty, go to a service centre. Else, go to a local mobile mechanic and ask him to test the phone by putting an alternate battery.
80% it will work.
Try it and if you are in the 20% part, let me know.


How do I set a separate launcher as default?

You have to clear the defaults in the Settings > Application > Your default Launcher. Then when you tap the home button, you will be asked to choose a launcher. You select the one you want and mark that as the default.

Generally when you install a new application, it clears the defaults for that category. So installing Holo should have done that for you. I wonder why that did not happen.


Is is possible to configure the 'listen to' voice action to pull up Amazon MP3 player (or other player) rather than youtube search?

Try using the apps suggested here and configure them to launch the program of choice.


Is there an app which supports both PDF and epub ebook formats?

Txtr purports to support both, but hasn't gotten very good reviews.

Speak Text Easy and MultiReader are primarily for text-to-speech, but they both appear to support both file formats.


Link2SD | 1st partition not working / not showing / not detected

try with this method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgV3Ty9Bnw  to creat the mount script of the second patition using app2sd(all in one tools)[ROOT]
i hop that help you .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewgV3Ty9Bnw


How do I get my picture to appear in message threads?

Assuming the answer to my comment above is Talk, you need to change your picture in your Google Account.  This is most easily done through Gmail's settings on a PC.

If you sync your contacts from Gmail, that picture might possibly show up in your SMS app as well.


Possible to restore phone-only contacts from PC backup?

Well its possible to restore any contact present on the Personal Computer provided your method of backup was done using a dedicated software like Samsung Kies.
For Samsung Kies follow the below Steps

In Samsung kies it provides two kinds of restore phone only restore
or complete (SIM+ phone).At first after installation of Samsung
kies3
Samsung  kies has currently two versions Samsung kies and Samsung kies 3.Samsung Kies is for basic mobiles as well as smart phones with Android version upto Android 4.1 As yours is Android 4.2 above device kies 3 is suitable for you.
After installation all your backup is to be taken and stored
So whenever you lose data or do a firmware upgrade you will have
your data always with you safely


Samsung Note 4 charging cable (ECB-DU4AWE vs. ECB-DU4EWE)

From the data on internet, there appears to be no difference. One thing that could be different is the thickness , measured in AWG. Lower  the AWG figure, lesser resistance is offered and hence better suited for quicker charging. In the absence of figures one has to assume they are both of same AWG, which leaves length as the only differentiator.

Since electrical resistance is directly proportional to length, the 1 m cable would permit more current flow and hence is preferred


After reading this, Iwent and saw on my phone that /system/app contains folders for Google apps, more likely the stock apps.
Make a backup of the phone (backups only include apps from the play store and other data) and wipe it. You may need to obtain an image file for your phone, install a recovery like TWRP or CWM, wipe the system partition, and install the os image and restore.


There are apps that get around the limitations you mentioned, and they're able to retrieve the messages without you opening WhatsApp.

There are many similar apps on the play store, one of them is called private read for WhatsApp it displays the messages and media in it's own app without you having to open WhatsApp, this way you can view the content without the other person knowing. I've never tried the app, and so I cannot vouch for it's accuracy.

As for hiding the fact that you are online while using Whatsapp, you should first disable your last seen from WhatsApp settings, and then, every time you want to open WhatsApp, you should put your phone into airplane mode. That way no-one will be able to see that you're online. (The messages will be sent after you exit WhatsApp, and go out of airplane mode)


Chrome infinite loop trying to update - Galaxy Tab S

Typical solution for something like this:

Open Play Store
Swipe in from the left side and tap My apps
You'll see a list of apps installed, and at the top are apps that need updates, or are in the process of updating.
Find Chrome in the top section, tap on it, and tap the X on the right side of the status. This will stop the current download.
Head into your main system settings, Apps, and locate Chrome. It may be in the Downloaded section, or the All section, depending on whether it managed to download ANY updates at any point.
Tap on it, and then tap the UNINSTALL UPDATES button. If button doesn't exist, or is ghosted, continue to step 7.
Tap the CLEAR DATA and CLEAR CACHE buttons as well.
Restart your phone to play it safe.
Reopen Play Store and search for Chrome and attempt to manually force an update.
Come back here and comment about what happened.


Minimum volume is too high with headphones

For me the app Fine Volume Control was the solution.
It does not need root, unfortunately is not free ($ 2.50) but provides a 7 day trial.

However it does a great job: it subdivides the media volume range in 100 steps, allowing a much finer resolution for your volume choice including enabling to shut the volume to almost nothing. In the setting there is also the option to enable extra low volumes.

Overall it solved the problem for me perfectly and made my phone a much better music player, thus it is worth every penny. To my knowledge this is the only app with this functionality at the moment.


The contacts I save in my lava X1 grand gets automatically saved in another android Micromax canvas .. How to solve this problem?

If you logged in your google account on both of the devices. It automatically syncs your People details in both device.
If you add one contact in your lava it will automatically gets updated in all the devices which you logged in.
So sign out from the another device or turn off the sync.


How to make rooted android phone faster and avoid battery drain

Crossbreeder is a great addition to any Android device. It does a lot of things, among them: DNS caching and paralleling, ad and spyware blocking, modulation of OS entropy levels. It helped A LOT  when I had an HTC One V [1.5GHz CPU (OC'd), 512 MB RAM, Android 4.2.2]. So much so that I also flashed it onto my Nexus 5.

Greenify helps by allowing you to manage background processes and program it accordingly for best results.

Lastly, Titanium Backup has the only "move to SD card" feature that I can vouch for. Give it a try and see if it can move the apps you need off your SD card. You should also note that this might the associated app's widgets unavailable (see Issue 11283; opened in 2010 and marked as "WorkingAsIntended").


Will the AT&T HTC Aria Froyo (2.2) official upgrade solve the Bluetooth reset issue? will it allow free tethering as the unofficial 2.2?

The official update will almost certainly unroot and not allow free WiFi tether.  I'll let someone with experience speak to the bluetooth issues.


You should be able to use the same screen type as the I9100, the main difference is the processor.
Samsung Galaxy S2 GT-I9100 vs. GT-I9100G Comparison Guide

Basically both the I9100 and I9100G have the identical features as claimed by Samsung but the only thing that differentiate both is the processor and GPU that the unit run. I9100 run on 1.2GHz ARM CortexA9 Exynos 4210and ARM Mali-400 GPU while I9100G uses Texas Instruments OMAP4430 CPU and PowerVR SGX540 GPU.


Substitute Win7 USB drivers for ADB mode

This says you should be able to use the "google drivers" after some minor tweaking. If your device came with any software for your PC, it will have the "official" drivers though, and I recommend using them.

  You must have Android SDK installed before you can proceed. If
  you don’t have it already, proceed to
  our guide on what is ADB and how to
  install it. Make sure you download the
  Google USB Driver Package as well.
  Open the google-usb_driver folder that you will find inside your Android
  SDK folder.
  Open the android_winusb.inf file in notepad or any text editor to edit
  it.
  Add these lines under [Google.NTx86] or [Google.NTamd64]
  depending on whether you are using 32
  bit or 64 bit Windows. If unsure, it
  is safe to add these under both these
  sections.

    ;NVIDIA Tegra
    %SingleAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0955&PID_7000
    %CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_0955&PID_7100&MI_01

  Don’t edit or replace any other
  text that is already there; just add
  these new lines and save the file.

  Open a command prompt window and enter this command:

    echo 0x955 >> "%USERPROFILE%.android\adb_usb.ini"

You will also have to enable USB Debugging in Settings -> Applications -> Development.

edit I would try this first:

This site has the "official" drivers for the tablet. You will still have to enable USB debugging, as I mentioned above.


Add a new laguage (Bengali) in my Huawei Honor 3C phone not having this language

Bengali is only available as a system language starting with Android 5.0.0 Lollipop. So you can't add it as a  system language ( I don't know about options with root). However, you can configure Bengali input using a custom keyboard option such as Google Keyboard or Swiftkey Keyboard. These have a "Languages" option for adding languages.


Apps can indeed contain malicious code that can be embedded in them. As for SpyBoy, Malwarebytes declared it a PUP. So I am not quite sure.


Can I use an Android phone without an Internet access plan?

YES. You will use it as a regular phone, but will be disconnected from the networks (Facebook, Twitter, IMs, Sync, etc)
YES. You can access your calendar offline. And yes, you can sync when Wi-Fi is available.
Yes, you just disable data traffic.


What do I use to update apps without an app store?

Google Play and other markets use pull technology to update your applications , without any market you cant update your applications automatically , so i recommend you to install Google Installer : http://d-h.st/ztjI

Then install the application and Download all Google Software's listed...


New Phone - Google location not syncing/sharing to desktop

Got this fixed via the Google maps forums. Nothing exciting, some horrible caching going on requiring a bit of resync.
see: https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!msg/maps/1t32l4OC9Mo/RkLr1hV3AAAJ
 for fix. Just providing an answer for anyone encountering this issue!


Lookout gives malware scare when initializing phone or after factory reset

I tried this with 2 new Android LG phones that have Lookout preloaded and got the same behavior. It's not specific to the Samsung Galaxy S7. It's Lookout's poor design choice of words for first-time initialization.


Recover photos that got deleted when device switched off?

You can connect your device to PC/Laptop whatever you have and use one of the data recovery tool like recuva*, easeus, etc. So, download easeus on your PC and connect your phone then select your device to scan for picture or videos or whatever you like. Good thing is that you don't need the rooted device to do that.
*Recuva cannot act on an Android device's storage, if device has been set to MTP. But if your files were on MicroSD cards you can use recuva to scan them.(thanks to  Death Mask Salesman)


How could I retrive full internal storage of an Android smartphone in order to restore data?

Well, basically TWRP is a tiny embedded Linux so we could do Linux things in TWRP. First we need to unmount all the unneccessary ones in Mount menu, plug in a big enough flash drive formatted using exFAT (By default, Linux couldn't write NTFS, and FAT32 has file size limitation. You may also need extra power supply to get the HDD working), and mount it. Then go to Adaveced -> Terminal and you get a busybox to play with, like other embedded Linux systems.
For phones using UFS, usually the block device for internal storage is /dev/block/sda, and you could confirm this by checking its size.
# --getsize64 would return size in bytes
~ # blockdev --getsize64 /dev/block/sda
123161542656

The returned number is the block device's size in bytes. That's around 123.16 gigabytes, consistent with the info available on LineageOS device specs (128 GB).
And for smartphones using EMMC, the block device for it should be /dev/block/mmcblk0, correct me if I am wrong.
Now we could dump all the content of that image into external storage device.
DO NOT WRITE BACK TO INTERNAL STORAGE. You would get your data overwritten and that's why I said unmounting all unneccessary volumes at the beginning.
dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img

Hint: You could utilize nohup to let dd running at background and continue other tasks in terminal, like:
# The "&" symbol at the end is necessary
nohup dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img > /usb_otg/dd.log 2>&1 &

After dd finishes, unmount your external drive. Wish you a good luck recovering data.


Rooting HP Slate 21 all in one with built in Android Jelly bean 4.2.2

I'm using a to a USB cable that works.
Adb works
And flash boot
There is a adb fingerprint for drivers at hp3 forum.

Unlocking boot loader also no problem.
Root don't work with the normal stuff,
And the Chinese program's also failed.
Wait for a tegra4 like version hope will come soon,
Think its hacked until Christmas.


How can I get the apk file of an app downloaded from Google Play?

Install the app from Play Store and use Astro File Manager to backup apps. From backup directory, you can get APK files of the installed app.


i can't get rid of my android mannager lock

Boot into recovery and do a full wipe and login with another google account. Did you sent a lock request with android device manager. Make sure you are entering the correct pin and the password combo. Can you be more specific about the part which comes after you enter the pin which you gave with android device manager.!! Hope this helps


After reinstalling Android from stock images, why do updates complain about modified /system files?

Reverting back to original rom requires a full format as partitions as well as their attributes are usually different on different ROMs. This will solve your problem with the advent of a possible change in the device's info such as IMEI or similar. Another setback is the reduction in memory from formatting, especially if your partitions contained a lot of user data during the format.

Suggestion: repeat your steps again, but this time make sure to mount your /system partition and format it as well, unmount it after (it should automatically unmount).

Now. Let the flashing begin...


How to automatically use SKYPE when calling international number?

On Android => 2.3 there is an option in phone settings under Internet Call Settings to add VOIP accounts as well as option Use Internet calling with the following options:

For all calls when data network is available
Only for Internet calls
Ask for each call

Using the third option is the closest you can get currently to your required way of doing this, using a regular SIP instead of Skype.

*Note: Some devices might not have these options even though they are later versions.


Galaxy S3 mini (i8190N) stuck in boot-loop after flashing custom ROM

there could be various reasons for bootlooping like installing ROM which has size larger than your phone's HBOOT,
or a bad ROM.


Is it possible to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on Android?

If you've saved the conversations then I think that they can be found saved within the WhatsApp directory in phone storage, this can be accessed using the file explorer.


The sub-model (CAN-Lxx) indicates the network band it supports and therefore the region it best suits. A specs listing of CAN-L02 can be seen on PDAdb (you could search for other sub-models, too - just search "Huawei Nova CAN").

Inspect the "Supported Cellular Network" section and see how it matches up to your local carrier. It's unlikely that you won't be able to use the phone at all if you buy the wrong model (that doesn't match), but it's likely you'll lose LTE support if you do - all you get will be GSM/WCDMA/HSDPA.

The long trailing digits are the software revision for this particular sub-model, and can be updated to the latest one once you get your hands on the device.


Can I safely charge a SGS9 device with a 5.2V MacBook Pro 2018 USB-C charger?

According to Wikipedia the USB specification is:

  USB supplies power at 5 V ± 5% to power USB downstream devices. (source)

5% of 5V are 0.25V

Therefore any USB device have to be able to work correctly as long as the "received" power via USB is within the range of 4.75V to 5.25V.

The Apple USB power supply with 5.2 Volt is within this range.


How to fix "Can't install XYZ app" error on Google Play?

there are several possible reasons for that.

your android version isn't compatible to this app
your device misses a feature or a library that is required by the app
you have no enough space for the app to be installed
the app has some kind of bug (this way, you can leave a review or contact app developers if the question is important)


How can I enter Fastboot or Recovery mode on the eSTAR X35?

Press the volume down and power button at the same time. If that does not work try pressing all three buttons at once (power, volume up, and volume down)


Some malware remains after factory reset

Other solution, more easy, is to root your device then :
1- block access to internet for these apps : install the firewall AFWall to block apps to access to internet. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.ukanth.ufirewall&hl
2- install an ad blocker : https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=org.adaway&fdpage=2


If you don't mind with the solution not being an app, then you can use iptables. They are included in the AOSP kernel. You can access them by downloading a terminal app off of the app store. You might however need root for this.

The usage of iptables on android should be same as the ones on desktop Linux, so you can look up some GNU manual for it.


Unable to delete a huge UPDATE.APP file on Huawei P8lite

You can use some good file explorer like ES File Explorer and then try to delete the file, if direct deletion doesn't work then try renaming the file, then delete it. If that doesn't work then plug your phone into your computer and delete it from there. If nothing works then you might need root access to delete it.


Why is my Galaxy S stuck on downloading 'do not turn off target'?

I had the same problem (except I didn't use Kies, I had the problem after the first OTA Update)
Here are the steps I did to get my device back in a usable state:
Keep in mind, this will revert your phone to a rather old (android 2.1) version of TouchWiz. You may want to see if there are newer ODIN files available.
You will probably need different files anyhow, as the ones I have below are for the Galaxy S Vibrant.
Also, I take no responsibility if this does not work for you, or your phone explodes in the process. These are the steps I took, and they worked for me. Good Luck.

Download ODIN3 1.0

Download 512 PIT

Download JFD tar

Note that all 3 of those are from the same thread. It also wouldn't hurt for your to read that post too.

Open Odin, plug in your phone, then put it into download mode.

To expand on this because a lot of people were asking "how to put in download mode". The easiest way I found to actually do it, if you can can connect via ADB is to do the following:

# reboot download
If you can't get that to work, try how i mention below (phone off, battery out, hold vol+ & vol-), or try searching these forums for "vibrant download mode" you will find other things that "work" for people

load the PIT file in appropriate area.

load the .tar file in the PDA area.

DO NOT check 're-partition'.

Click start, let it finish.

At this point ODIN failed on me. and I got the "mobile-!-pc" image.

Now, pull your battery and unplug USB

I also took out the SIM and sdcard at this point.

bring the phone to download mode again

plug the USB back in (the phone should be off)
Hold down vol+ & vol-
Put battery back in
press power

re-run ODIN as mentioned above

Don't give up if this doesn't work. If you get the device to boot, even if it is to the "Error Screen", there is a possibility of recovering.


Stereo audio input on any Android device?

Try the Olimex OLinuXino A10S - https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/A10S/


How to solve the "APN settings are not available for this user" issue?

After hours of experimenting, found the reason for this, (it works for me).
Nothing too technical about this post in contrast to what these posts suggest.

Step 1 : WiFi turned on, and be in the range of a known WiFi network.
Step 2 : Reboot the phone (may need to reboot several times, if it doesn't work the first time)
Step 3 : When the phone reboots, it should connect to WiFi network.
Step 4 : Go to APN settings and see that you can, now edit APN settings.

Reason : When phone is turned on, if it's not connected to WiFi, it will try and connect to mobile network thus disabling you from editing APN settings. However if you try the above steps, your phone connects to WiFi instead of Mobile-data.


Is it possible to move the keyboard to the top of the screen?

There is no setting to do this.  It would appear there is also no supported method for a keyboard developer to set where their keyboard is drawn (see KeyboardView on android.com).


Need help. Touchscreen not working LG G3

To answer the part about using the phone even though the touchscreen doesn't work:

You can use an OTG cable, to plug a computer mouse into your phone and you will then be able to navigate through your phone with it. This way, you'll be able to allow your phone to connect to your computer.

Here's an OTG cable that will allow you to connect your phone to the computer while having the mouse connected.


Transfer "Criminal Case" game from OLD tablet to NEW one

Look for the package name of the game in your internal memory>Android>Data folder.

Possibly copy the entire folder that matches the package name of that game to your new device (same location, same name).

I don't know about the game, but that's a possible location where the data maybe stored.

EDIT.

I installed the game just to check where it's files are, they are in your devices' /data/data/com.prettysimple.criminalcaseandroid folder

And to access that folder you need root access, so unless your device is rooted, the game data cannot be transfered by copying and pasting files, if there's some other way that game offers to sync data I don't know about it.


Location Consent & undo Remeber This Setting

geffchang's answer is correct. That said, it is meant for a rooted Android so users of non-rooted Android devices may not find it of much use.

Those users, if willing to sacrifice third-part apps' data associated with their Google account, can consider clearing data of Play services' app as a solution.

Set location mode to Device only for once, disable location mode, launch Settings app → Apps → All apps → Google Play services → Force stop → Manage Space → Clear data → Force stop again → optionally reboot.

Now try enabling the location mode. It should default to Device only and should you attempt to change to High accuracy, that Improve location accuracy? dialog for agreement would be shown to you.


Add an application to the Open With Menu

Well this is defined per app in its manifest. It registers to a certain Intent.
The app that implemented the 'open with' option checks which applications react to a certain Intent, and shows the list of those applications.

I don't think you can modify this at runtime.

(Or you could create a new application which reacts the the 'open with' and creates another Intent which the photo editing app reacts to.)


Is there a method to freeze and thaw an application vs uninstall/reinstall?

You shoud try a software developped by gatesjunior, a Recognized Developer at XDA-Developers. I doesn't require root for hiding/blocking apps.

Download debloater.exe here (mirror) for Windows (May require .Net Framework 3.5 or higher). Download dmg file for OSX here
Enable USB debugging on the phone
Connect the phone to the computer (Should install drivers to get the phone detected)
Run debloater, clikc on "Click here togin"- should list all installed apps. Just check the check-mark related to the apps you want to hide/disable then click the first icon in the top left.

I found the complete link on how to use the software, check it out here


Confusing internal memory folder structure - Galaxy S3 (I9300)

The folders you are referring to are for multi-user purposes: /emulated/legacy is a symlink pointing to the internal SD folder of the "current user", while /emulated/0 is that folder for the owner (the number at the end will be incremented for additional users created thereafter, so e.g. if you created an additional user, his place would be /emulated/1, and logged in with that user /emulated/legacy would point there).

There are sometimes issues when updating from older Android versions, where content gets duplicated from the old single-user place to /emulated/0 during the conversion process (i.e. the content is copied to the new location instead of being moved, and not deleted afterwards). As a factory-reset usually doesn't touch "user storage" (external/internal SD cards), it offers no relief to that, so you'll have to clean that up manually afterwards (if it happens).

As to your question in your comment: If this happens, it does so only when converting from "single user" to "multi-user". So your next upgrade would already start with a "multi-user ROM", which means the same issue will not happen again (as no conversion is required in this context).


You can do that with the Nook, first thing is to get access to the Nook SDK, (not just android here):

https://nookdeveloper.barnesandnoble.com/

Next, you'll want to disable the home button, Stack Overflow has a good thread on this:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2162182/android-is-it-possible-to-disable-the-click-of-home-button

Lastly when setting up your Nook-esk Kiosk be sure to set it up in a way to keep it plugged in.  Kiosks should always be powered, and a full battery drain will reboot the whole OS.


How to switch input method quickly on Android?

If you are running on version 4.x you can change it from the notification bar or if your running on 2.x you can hold down where you are inputting the text and change it from there.


Download the updated image and manually flash it instead. That is what I did with mine.


Can I use the same google account on 2 differnt Samsung G5 Phones?

Yes, you can add the same account to multiple devices. You can even have more than one account on a single device. I personally use my Google account on my Verizon phone, 2 Wi-Fi tablets, 2 Wi-Fi phones, Google TV and several computers. All synced and works perfectly.

I'm going to expand on my answer a bit as it originally just said "yes" but didn't explain...

Yes, you can use a a single Google account on multiple devices. However, if you're looking to consolidate emails I would actually suggest still having separate Google accounts for each device to save settings and other personal preferences but then add the joint Google account just for shared email use. It's always good to have a "backup" Google account as Google's security features send alerts to other accounts. If you only have one account, someone can hack the one account and you would have less options for locking them out and getting it back.

To set up multiple accounts on your Android device, you would first set up your personal account as normal-- you probably already have this set up from when you first powered on your new phone and entered your Google account information. Then you can go into the phone's [Settings] and [Accounts] and press "Add account". On my Android 5.0 Lollipop, "Google" has a green dot next to it showing there is already a Google account set up, but you can just tap it again and add another Google account. Make sure when it asks to back up phone settings to decline-- keep that stuff separate and personal. Then, still under [Accounts], tap on the new account and change all the sync settings so just Gmail is synced (or anything else that you want to share- perhaps Keep notes or a shared Calendar).

That should do it. You can even go further by managing your labels in Gmail to filter messages by recipient and only show notifications when they're filtered to you. There are a lot of options to have it work pretty much any way you want.

Hope this helps!


Is it possible for Google to detect app updates that have not been delivered through Play Store?

I used to play Ingress before, and I was able to update to newer versions using APKs uploaded by other players. I don't know if Google's verification process has changed, but as long as it's an official APK (i.e. not modified), it should be fine.

Also, according to this Google+ thread, the verification process uses Google Play Services.


Problems with "gapps" stoped, factory reset doesn't work

Have You rooted Your phone?

Seems like accidently you have removed any one app which is required for gapps.

The solution is to download gapps package for you android version and flash via recovery.


Go to Settings, Applications then find the All tab. Scroll down and you will find Calendar Storage and Contact Data. Open each of these and choose clear data.


My wife is having the same issue.  It seems to be related to how you hold or handle the tablet.  If she hands it to me and I am handling it by the top right corner, it will almost always sense the card is not there.  As soon as I change where I am holding it by the card is mounted again.  It seems like the card is loosing contact with the port by a minor flexing (just by the weight of the tablet itself) when you handle the top right corner only.  It is annoying.


How can I view which program wakes up my Android screen?

You should look into dumpsys. This works without root, using ADB.

First, enable developer mode on your phone (tap the build number in settings -> information/about this phone 7 times). Then go to settings -> developer settings and enable USB debugging there.

On your PC install ADB, there are many versions, minimal ADB and fastboot is quite nice.

Once you got all that you can execute adb dumpsys on your PC within ADB to get a f**kton of increible information, from detailed battery usage to SMS history, LCD debug information, wifi radio information and a ton more. All without root, so that's pretty cool.

The dumpsys utility is divided into multiple modules, which you can individually access by appending their names onto the adb dumpsys command.

The module you should be looking at would probably be usagestats, so give adb dumpsys usagestats a run. That should show you which app was active at the time your display turns on.


CyanogenMod, why doesn't Market self-upgrade?

It probably has nothing to do with CM; the Market is just really, really bad at updating itself.  Sometimes clearing the data for it will help, but sometimes you'll additionally need to install a newer version manually before it will start updating itself again.

I've installed the 3.4.4 Market from Android Police a few times, if you're looking for a safe file.  Just put it on your SD card or internal storage (make sure it has the .apk extension) and install it via a file manager.  Settings -> Applications -> Unknown sources needs to be checked for this.


How configure the DHCP settings of WIFI Tethering (Hotspot) on Android?

Unfortunately, there is no way to change the IP address range for the builtin tethering support, even in CyanogenMod. The Wi-Fi hotspot IP is hardcoded in android.net.wifi.WifiStateMachine.startTethering(); the USB tethering IP is hardcoded in com.android.server.connectivity.Tethering.
However, if your phone is rooted, you can try using third-party apps for tethering which have the option to change the IP address range. E.g., when the builtin USB tethering was broken in CyanogenMod alphas for Samsung Galaxy W, I used Wired Tether for Root Users, which has such option. For Wi-Fi tethering you can try the Wireless Tether for Root Users app from the same authors, which also has the option to change the IP address range.

Because Google Code was shut down, the above links no longer work. Some people exported the source code from those repositories to GitHub:

https://github.com/luftreich/android-wired-tether
https://github.com/mmorciegov/android-wifi-tether

However, there was no further development activity, and the apps probably no longer work on recent Android versions.
Just in case someone wants to try those obsolete apps, I have been able to find some APK files in the Google Code Archive:

wired_tether_1_4.apk
wifi_tether_v3_4-experimental1.apk


Update Galaxy Nexus from 4.2.2 to 4.3 while keeping files and root

You shouldn't lose any data by flashing the OTA file. You can flash the ota file (see AndroidPolice for info and where to download it from) and as long as you've not changed any system files it should apply ok. Simply select the "apply update from sdcard" option and select the update file. You will lose root but you can simply flash SuperSu (the only superuser app that works on 4.3 at the moment) which will "re-root" your device. If you get a prompt about disabling recovery flash, select "No" as the new SuperSu uses this part of getting root access.


Would it be possible to use a image/video file as an emulated camera?

I think Snapchat has the use of the camera integrated into the app, so to do this you would need to replace or hook into the camera driver or firmware.  (Or alter the Snapchat app.)  Most ways of doing this would require root, I'm not sure about a method to do this offhand.

However, some apps will use an activity from an external camera app.  For those, it's totally possible to use another app that registers as a camera app and then does whatever it wants.  Here's one app for this: Fake Camera


What you saw is likely the HTC Dot View. It's an interface that works with certain protection sleeves, that shows time, notification and other info through a stylish, easy-to-read "dotted matrix".

However, if your phone isn't wearing such a sleeve when it happens, it's advised that you check for magnetic sources around it, which could trick the phone into thinking it's paired with such a sleeve. You said "After this happened my phone sometimes turns on by itself" - further reinforced my speculation that it's some (unstable) interference from a random magnetic source around.


Can I make my phone start recording sound without removing it from my pocket?

The only hardware buttons that can be used by apps (to launch other apps or start a recording) are the “camera” button on the device and the “media” button(s) on the headset. You’ll need a sound recording app that support it, or use an automation app like Automate with its Media button and Audio record blocks.


Method 1 (Requires 2 Phones signed in with same google account):

Phone 1:

Open Google Play Store and Download HotSpot Shield or Zenmate.  Once
you have downloaded.
Clear cache and data of Google Play Store by going into Settings ->
Apps -> Google Play Store.
Now open VPN app (Zenmate) and Change your location to UK and connect
the VPN. Open Google Play Store and Accepts the terms.
Accept the terms.
Now Move out of Google Play Store.
Do not exit the app from the background.

Phone 2:

Now perform the following steps on Phone 2.
Clear cache and data of Google Play Store on Android Phone.
Open Google Play Store. You don’t need VPN on this phone.
This time, accept the terms and rules. It will take you to UK’s
Google Play Store.

Phone 1:
Disconnect from VPN and Head back to Google Play Store.

Method 2: (Same thing on a single phone, but you will need VPN everytime you use Play)

Install the VPN app provided by your VPN provider on your Android
device.
Choose a VPN server belonging to UK.
Establish a VPN connection.
On your Android device, go to Settings -> Apps.
Under “Downloaded”, search for the Google Play Store app.
Click on it.
Press “Clear Data” and “Force Stop.”
Exit settings.
Relaunch the Google Play Store App.

I have tried Method 2, it worked for me.
For both methods, you need a VPN which provides a UK server(free/paid depending on you).

Set server locations where you want your Google Play location to be, most of the VPN's provide free access to US servers.


I'd worry a lot – because what you did is equivalent to opening all doors and windows in your house wide, and then go sleep. The entire world (figuratively spoken) now has access to everything the chmod managed to touch. Not having run it as root might mean damage is not that extensive – but it could still be enough for the one or other mishap.

To fix up what might have been broken, unfortunately the only safe way is a factory-reset – as it's hard to say which files/directories have been changed and even harder what their previous "access levels" were.


Google calendar created on PC won't show on galaxy 4 active

I have the Verizon S4 and this is how you do it with that phone:

Open stock calendar app
Hit the left hand soft key for menu options
Chose Calendars from that list
All of your calendars should be listed there
Hit the Display option to choose which calendars you want to display all the time (All is also an option). Check All or select individual calendars.


Samsung Galaxy Note 4 goes standby when idle, pauses apps

I figured it out on my own.

Settings -> Display and Wallpaper -> Screen timeout - set it from whatever seconds to 10 minutes.


I misunderstood what does it mean to boot to fastboot mode. By reading through tutorials I thought when I saw the screen on the screenshot, I still needed to boot (power button) into fastboot mode. Turns out that when I saw that screen above, I was already in fastboot mode and could issue the unlock or flash commands.

Looking at some more detailed Youtube videos made that clear. After tackling a typo I successfully flashed TWRP, installed SuperSU. The OP3 DayDream mod is not working yet though: DayDream apps still displayed as not compatible with my phone in the app store, even after the XML modification and reboot.

One extra advice: a simple adb backup -all won't backup everything, as I learned.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3t/help/oneplus-3t-fastboot-ubuntu-16-10-t3561732?goto=newpost

During 2017 summer I managed to get the DayDream hack working, I used SuperSU. I just transitioned to Magisk, so I can use Android Pay and hardware tokens. The DayDream hack does not work since the last couple of OS updates in the fall.


automatically turning on usb mass storage when usb is connected

Auto Mount Your SD Card should do that for you:

  Automatically mount your SD card. Quit manually mounting your SD card every time you plug your phone into your computer.

I used that one one of my phones when I still connected it frequently via USB, and it did its job wonderfully. The app is available for free on the playstore, so nothing to lose :)


General difference in read/write speeds for internal memory vs SD card

I understand that read/write speeds are dependent on what the phone is, and what the SD card is, but since both are flash memory, I thought the read/write times would pretty much be around the same.

That is a wrong assumption. While they're all flash technology, there's a very wide certain in the speed of the storage. A Class 2 SD Card has a minimum read/write speed of just a paltry 2MB/s, while an Ultra High Speed card can perform at 30MB/s.

With a suitable device that has a suitable high speed SD Card bus, it's possible that SD Card can be faster than the internal storage. This is usually not the case, as many people just buy a standard 2MB/s SD Card, as they're a lot cheaper and most consumers don't need the ultra high speed storages.

Another confounding problem is the kind of workload that a storage is optimized for. One fellow Stack Exchange measured the performance of his Galaxy S2 internal storage vs the external SD Card that he happens to have. What he found is that the internal storage is very fast at read speeds, close to an Ultra High Speed 3 Class card at 33MB/s read, but only manage a paltry 5 MB/s write speed; while his external SD Card are more balanced, at 11 MB/s read but 8 MB/s write.

What that shows is that if that device had been judged under SD Card Speed Class criteria, the internal storage would've been put up as a lower class storage than the external storage. However given that one of the most important work load of the internal storage is loading application to memory, the massive read speed of the internal storage is probably going to give it a real world edge at application loading speed.

  On a thread on [XDA forums][3], I saw that rooting a phone allows one to increase the read/write speeds of a phone to an SD card. What happens to the phone that allows the jump in read/write speeds?

What happens is a lot of voodoo with an occasional grain of truth. People have been reporting increased speed when none exists all the time. Storage speeds do not just jump up because you are rooted.

Occasionally, manufacturers may ships the device with underoptimized drivers, and third party tweakers developed an improved driver that are better optimized than the one that ships with the device. Installing custom driver is only possible if you are rooted or if you are flashing custom ROM. It's not the rooting process itself that improves speed, but what you can do with the root power that may give you a boost.

More often though, what happens is that most major optimizations doesn't come free. What you gain in storage speed optimizations, you may lose in battery usage or storage lifetime. Manufacturers almost always optimize for the general case, and optimizing for the general case means trade offs that doesn't necessarily apply to your particular situation. For example, if you're the type to get a new device every six months, it doesn't make sense to optimize for storage longevity, so you might want to trade off using storage more aggressively to increase write speed in a way that reduces its overall life; another possibility is that you may have a good backup plans or do not store important data on device, so you may be willing to trade having the risk of a small chance of fatal data losses for a large speed boost.


How do I copy text from my PC to my phone?

You can install the WiFi Keyboard app from Android Market. A good app, supports both USB and WiFi input. You need to follow information carefully, to get work around.


Buying from Play store using a credit card with foreign billing address

As far as I know Google doesn't allow the use of International cards (at the moment).

I also heard from some other people (and t0mm13b acknowledges it too apparently) that the Play Store looks at your current SIM card to know your home country. So maybe if you could get your hands on a German SIM card (maybe an old one that doesn't really work anymore), you can still pay for applications.

Or you can have a look for some cheap credit card in the UK.


Can I turn off Google/Google+ notifications on Samsung Galaxy S3?

To turn off notifications for Google+, open the Google+ app,
press Menu->Settings->[Your account name]->Notifications, then press the ON/OFF
toggle in the top right. In recent versions, notification settings are per-account.
To turn off notifications for Gmail/Google Apps Mail, open the
Gmail app, press Menu->Settings, select the account you wish to disable notifications for, uncheck the checkbox that says: Email notifications
To turn off notifications for Google Talk, open the
Google Talk app, press Menu->Settings, select the account you wish to disable notifications for, press IM notifications and select off, and the same for Video chat notifications
To turn off notifications for Google Voice, open the
Google Voice app, press Menu->Settings->Sync and notifications, and uncheck the boxes for text and voicemail notifications.

NOTE: This is based on Android 4.0+, some of these apps (especially Google Talk) may function differently on pre-ICS.


Phone to computer without computer install

I'm not sure if how this works but have you tried this?  http://www.guidingtech.com/36734/mirror-android-display-pc-tv/


Temporarily adjust message alert and call volume

There are several ways to get your volume levels back. Personally I like to use the IFTTT app to set my ringer volume to maximum when I connect to my home WiFi. (recipe)

If you want to fix your volume at a specific time, say, you can create a new recipe using the Date & Time Channel.


You need to use something like widgetlocker for that.


How to dismiss an anoying "Queued" notification in android 4.4?

go to apps> show system apps>google text to speech engine> force stop it should work; otherwise after force stop> disable it must work; if you want to re-enable it, just touch enable again. this annoying notification works because of the very slow download of the offline voice packages of the tts engine.


I suggest to back up your data first if it has not been done. The standard way of resetting a Samsung Tab 3 tablet to factory is this:

From the Home screen touch Apps.
Touch Settings.
Touch the Accounts tab.
Touch Back up and reset.
Touch Factory data reset
Touch Reset device.
Touch Erase everything.

Please be advised that this erases everything on the tablet. Including history, documents, passwords, etc. Do not do this before making a backup if you have sensitive data on the tablet. Also, this will probably be different if you installed a custom OS. Refer to the documentation for said OS in that case.

Source: How do I perform a factory reset on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3?