You have destroyed your gadgets mother board while trying to root your device with towelroot. Now the only solution is that you have to change the mother board
of your device.


How to make Android always use external SD card instead of internal storage?

/sdcard isn't physically external SD card but a symlink to primary external shared storage. See details in my answers to Android's Storage Journey and What is /storage/emulated/0/?
From your comment:

How can make Android use the 2GB device instead of the smaller one. How do I configure this?

Android by-default doesn't use secondary external shared storage. But apps can, if they want. See my answer to How to save files to external SD card on a non-rooted Android?.
If you want to make Android always use physical SD card as primary external shared storage, you need to change your ROM's configuration from Emulated primary only or Emulated primary, physical secondary to Physical primary only. It's possible by editing the fstab file and some init's .rc file. Follow the above official documentation links for details on configuration changes.


How to change the ringtone for SMS in Samsung Galaxy Y?

Open My Files.
Create a new folder (e.g. Notifications)
Copy MP3 files to newly-created folder
Go to SMS message
Select Menu > Settings > Select Ringtone


I have the exact same problem. I have confirmed that my phone is powering off (I get the "powering off" message and then the screen goes blank). But some time in the night, my phone turns on by itself.

At first I thought that I was accidentally just setting it into the new (with Gingerbread) sleep mode. But I'm careful and I'm definitely pressing "power off".

Lots of people are reporting this same problem. Other forums have suggested changing the timing of the backup assistant. I've tried that, but to no avail.

It seems clear that this is a new issue with Gingerbread.


Root things (su, busybox and Superuser.apk) are installed in /system, which is usually on a special partition. This partition is usually mounted as read-only. (Remember mount command, that is neccesary to allow writing there...) It is likely that this partition is not affected by master reset.


Recovery is not working on Huawei MediaPad 7 lite

I had the very same problem for like 4 months. And finally, in one day, the problem was solved. Follow these steps:

Switch off the device.
Press power button + Volume up button until the device is switched on (followed by a small vibration).
As soon as the device is switched on, let go of the power switch but keep pressing the volume up button.
After a few seconds, a screen will appear showing a green android symbol with rotating gears. When this screen appears let go the volume up button and keep pressing volume down button.
Hold like this for a few seconds. till a big green 'OK' appears on the screen.

After this the device re-starts automatically. It may take some time. After this, it'll be like you're switching on your tablet for the very first time. You have to provide your GMail address (optional), name, system date and time etc. All the apps and files that was previously in your device, will be gone.


Twitter client tends to redirect to web browser

The Twitter app registers an intent filter for http and https URLs to twitter.com, to tell Android it can open those URLs itself. That's why you get the first chooser (the list of possible apps).

However, it seems that the Twitter app can't actually understand those "redirect" links, so it asks for a web browser to handle the URL. That's why you get the second chooser, with only web browsers.

Since the page does in fact redirect to a Twitter user (which the app can handle), after you've opened the URL in a browser you should get a third chooser, which does include Twitter, allowing you to open the user in the Twitter app. However, Firefox currently has a bug that means it won't offer a chooser in this case. If you pick Chrome in the second chooser, it should give you the third chooser.

I'd call this a bug in the Twitter app. You should complain to Twitter and ask them to fix it.


Galaxy S3 GT-I9300 version 4.1.2. stuck and freeze

As a recommendation, try installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod 10.1. You won't lose your apps, and this happened to me on my BN Nook Tablet (rooted) and installing CM fixed it.


I found out what the issue was. Leaving it out here if someone else encounters this as well. This icon essentially means 'Sensors off'. The symbol was the reason my camera was not working as well.
Inside the developer options, under quick developer tiles, there is a 'Sensors off' option.
Not sure why disabling the developer options did not revert back the change though.


insufficient storage even with marshmallow sd card formatted for internal space and plenty of space

I have the same phone & same SD card setup. David Coleman has good advice, but here are some additional points.

Many apps will not even show the word "Change." That means they cannot be moved to the SD card. Keep looking for ones that do have that word showing.
At least on my phone, every time I tapped on "Change" it came back with an error message. Ignore that & try it a 2nd time, right away. Nearly every app I tried to move to the SD card "failed" the 1st time, but succeeded the 2nd time.
Clearing cache can also give back some space. 3rd party apps like App Cache Cleaner don't work with Marshmallow, but clear caches one by one, or clear them all by getting to "Internal storage" again & then choosing "Cached data."
Apps like AppMgr III do not fully automate the move/change to SD card process, but they do semi-automate it. This is important because I've discovered that every time an app updates, if the older version of the app was on the SD card, the updated version still goes to internal storage!! Very frustrating. I believe I noticed this happening with Lollipop, too. It means we can't assume "once moved, always moved." AppMgr III or such can reduce the frustration.


How can I Automate for selected apps to only use cellular data and not Wi-Fi... and vise versa?

On the Apps section, select App in foreground? Tap on the block. On the package option, select your app. Press Save.
On the Connectivity section, select Wi-Fi set state block. Set the Wi-Fi option to On. Press Save. Link the block to the Yes output of Step 1.
On the Connectivity section, select Mobile data set state block. Set the Mobile data option to On. Press Save. Link its input to the No output of Step 1.
On the Connectivity section, select Wi-Fi set state block. Set the Wi-Fi option to Off. Press Save. Link its input to the output of Step 3. Then link its output to the input of Step 1
Your flow will look like the image below. Give it a name, give the necessary permissions, start the flow.


To copy mmcblk0 or any partition directly to pc, you need root access and busybox installed on your android phone.

Working ADB command is adb -d shell su -c busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=4096 > D:\mmc.bin

Or try these following links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWgJdwn0-4M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo5lBWAIb4g


Find out which one of my installed app open spam links

Possibly it's a background service of any app in your phone which is letting these spam ads in.
To find out the app, what you can do is install Shutapp and enable its service and try to stop apps one by one (these apps will be the apps running in background).
To see the list of running apps, click under the big circle. I use this app for the very same purpose and it also really works well in closing these apps.
Remember, closing apps will disable their notifications like closing WhatsApp will let to no notification of any new message at all until reopening of that app.Hope it helps you.


Can my father's smartphone be compromised?

The correct approach in case of a virus/malware infected device (even if it already had been clean-up by e.g. Google) is to totally erase the device (user and system data) by performing a factory reset and re-flashing the complete firmware.

Virus scanner apps are next useless on Android as they usually don't have system access. And even with system access it is still easy to hide from Antivirus software.

The main problem is that the security patches are more than one year old. Therefore a malware app could have exploited the device and installed itself into the system. Therefore there may be still active components in the system that are invisible to you and any antivirus software.

I would also not to hurry up to get the device back in a usable state. People (especially relatives) learn better not to click on everything they see when there are negative consequences.


Android home buttons not work (e,g, back button/home and recent apps)

Probably it's no software issue, the home button may have been damaged. However, you can try installing third-party Navbar tools from the Google Play Store or install a custom ROM :)


Method of typing input while the screen is off

Here is a way to do it but it will waste a lot of battery power if you don't have an Amoled screen:

Install No Screen Off. This allows you to always keep the display on (although it doesnt look like its on since it will be on a black wallpaper).
Install Draw on Screen. This will allow you to draw on any surface on the display.
Open Draw on screen and get used to the controls so you know how to use it.
Download a black wallpaper and open it using your photos app in immersive mode.

Now you should be able to draw on the black screen as if the phone was turned off. Considering you have an amoled display, this won't waste much battery. If you ever want to go back to the normal screen, simply tap "shut down" on the top of Draw on Screen and go back to the homescreen.

For more reference to how to use Drawonscreen, check this link:
How to draw on any screen on android device


Permission denied for adb push file to /data/data/xxx/file/

If you have a developer ROM, or in any way you have "su" enabled, you could copy to the SDcard and then use the shell:

adb push d:\save.bin /sdcard/.
adb shell "su @ cp /sdcard/save.bin /data/data/com.square_enix.android_googleplay.FFIII_GP/files/save.bin"


The only fix I know is to delete the tags from both albums and then re-tag the songs from the two albums. Unfortunately that will need to happen manually.


Location of battery animation file on a Chinese tablet

Provided you have adb access as root while in recovery, you can adb pull the *.rc files from recovery's ramdisk and search the entry or similar to

on charger

to see what the equivalent service is.
Or ,again, while in adb shell in recovery,

cat /init.rc

which is where the entry for charger/on charger functions should be.
The battery animation resources will be in /data/media OR (while in recovery) /res/images/

As to the boot on charger plugin, if you don't have your own approach sorted see my answer to a similar question.

Look for the service under the on charger section that runs as per on charger, Using the Samsung example, reassign lpm service under on charger as reboot, You can't achieve an instant boot up on plugin, it just doesn't work, so you tell the device that on being plugged in it will reboot to normal operation INSTEAD of beginning it's on charger defined service.
Here is the Samsung example;

From,

service lpm /system/bin/lpm
    class charger
    critical

To,

service lpm /system/bin/reboot
    class charger
    critical

Find the equivalent service for your device and make that modification.
Redefining service classes can lead you into a minefield of problems.
Or you just won't boot. You do need to be rooted and so be able to dump,unpack,modify,repack and, rewrite your boot.img


How to I find who sent a picture to me via Facebook Messenger?

It would be a privacy disaster if the meta information of that image contains the name or email ID of the sender. Anyhow, this answer assumes that the message (not the whole thread) from which you downloaded the image exists in your inbox. If you've deleted the message, ignore this answer.

In the file name received_123456789012345, the numeric string after received_ is the identifier (ID henceforth) of that image on Facebook.

If you happen to open that image from the message using a web browser in your mobile (if you're on desktop, switch user-agent to mobile), notice the string next to fbid= in the URL bar:

https://m.facebook.com/messages/attachment_preview/?mid=mid.145450XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX&threadid=id.20XXXXXXXXXXXX&fbid=ID

It would be the same ID you saw in the title of the file you earlier downloaded.

  How can I find out who sent this picture to me?

The sender's name of that image is in the column sender of table messages in database threads_db2 located under /data/data/com.facebook.orca/databases/.

Facebook Messenger app doesn't participate in backup and restore infrastructure of Android, so the only way to access that database is with root privilege.

Once you've root privilege, copy the aforesaid database to internal or external SD card.

Get info using apps

On Android

Download an app that can open an SQLite database. (I prefer SQLite Editor.)
Open the database in that app, open the table messages and if the app supports searching in all or particular fields then look into all or attachments the ID of that image.
In the resulting row, the text in the column sender has the sender's name next to "name":.

(Click image to enlarge)

On PC

If no Android  app works for you, copy the database into PC and use an application that supports exporting a table into a format understood by a browser or text editor. Once you have the application, use it to export the table messages and search ID in the exported output.

I used Sqliteman. It supports exporting a table to HTML, CSV, XLS, among other formats.

Command-line

If you're up to the task, you can try a command-line way. Copy the database into PC, download sqlite3 tool, setup adb in PC and do:

sqlite3 -line DB_PATH "SELECT sender,attachments FROM messages WHERE attachments LIKE '[{%'" | grep -B1 "ID" | grep "sender"  # DB_PATH is the path to threads_db2 and ID is content identifier

(MS Windows doesn't come with grep utility. You'll have to download it. Otherwise, remove everything after '[{%'" and sort and search the output on your own.)

Note: Some Android versions are shipped with sqlite3 tool. You can run that last command in your Android, if you intend to.

Demo Output:

sender = {"email":"10000XXXXXXXXXX@facebook.com","user_key":"FACEBOOK:10000XXXXXXXXXX","name":"Lol Cat"}


How to disable the "sign in to wifi network" page?

In most cases, no

basically, some WiFi providers will put a sign in page after you connect, so that you sign into your account which you paid for, or to be able to limit your time on the web unless you pay, or they'll give you free WiFi only if you subscribe to something etc.

So, what you're trying to do, in short, is get free WiFi in a place where they want you to pay.

There are a few tricks to try but chances are, that it's not going to work.

If the sign in page lets you download their app without signing in first, then what you can do is, press on the download option, it will open the play store, and while play store is open, you can go anywhere on the web,
Or you can use a VPN that blocks your activity from the WiFi provider and will let you bypass the sign in page and in turn you'll have free WiFi. Though it's hard to find one that will actually work.


How do I delete an old device from my Google Acct?

If you are unable to remove the device from the Device activity section of your Google account because the red button doesn't show up, go instead to Google Security Checkup and expand Your devices, then tap on the 3 dots on the side of the device you want to remove to select the option.


tl:dr; Google phones have the purest Android. They come with Google apps
In Android ecosystem, phones launched by Google are stock Android (aka vanilla). It's the purest form of Android because Google developed the OS and tightly integrated with the hardware (earlier Nexus and now Pixel). They come with Google apps, you can't avoid them, unless you root your device and uninstall.
If you are looking for a phone that is running Android LineageOS -XDA launched a phone that ran LineageOS /Ubuntu out of box. Such devices are more of an exception to the rule (running LineageOS out of the box, as you mentioned in the last paragraph of the question, though LineageOS doesn't qualify as pure Android)


You can buy SIM card readers for PCs, which will come with Windows software to retrieve any phone numbers and SMS messages from the SIM card. Just search your local Amazon site or eBay for SIM card reader. Be careful not to get an SD card reader by accident!

Do bear in mind that most Android phones don't store contacts on the SIM card by default, but on the phone itself. The SIM card can only store very limited information about contacts: just a name and a number. Unless you're sure you've moved all your data onto the SIM card, you might put a lot of time into finding a reader only to find the SIM card is empty.


Deleting a device from the Google Play Store?

You can't delete it, only hide it.

Go to the Google Play website. Make sure you're logged in.
Click the gear icon in the upper right then click Settings.
Your devices should be listed there. Uncheck "Shown in menus" on the device you don't want to see any more.


There isn't an Asus one and a Google one: both the Nexus 7 models are Asus-Google collaborations. All Nexus devices are design collaborations between Google and another device manufacturer (Asus, Samsung, or LG).

That said, the two models are completely different, with different SoCs, screens, and cameras. The original Nexus 7 (aka nakasi) has a slightly-over-720p screen, powered by a Tegra 3, and only one camera. The 2013 model (aka razor) has a 1920x1200 screen, two cameras, and a Snapdragon SoC. ROMs are not compatible between the two.


Is there a way to enable the ringer/notification sounds only when using headphones?

I don't have Android Marshmallow but following apps can easily achieve the goal on Android Lollipop 5.1. Should not fail on your OS, I believe. Let me know the result in any case.

MacroDroid

When headphones are plugged:

Trigger: Headphones Insert/Remove → Headphones Inserted
Action: Volume Change → select Notification and Ringer, and configure the slider for the level of volume you want

When headphones are removed:

Trigger: Headphones Insert/Remove → Headphones Removed
Action: Volume Change → select Notification and Ringer, and keep the slider to 0

Automate

It seems to work too. Your flow should look like this:

(Click image to enlarge)

Relevant blocks:

Interface → Wired headset plugged?
Settings → Ringer mode set

The said flow would cause the ringer and notification volume to come back to the level you set them to, before switching the phone to vibration.

Atooma

It worked as well. However, it appears to not been updated since May 2015.

When headphones are connected:

IF: Headphone → Plugged
DO: Audio Manager → Set ringer volume → configure the slider
DO: Audio Manager → Notification volume → configure the slider

When headphones are removed:

IF: Headphone → Unplugged
DO: Silent mode → On → Vibrate: Yes

Droid Automation

It also worked well for me.

Instructions:

Profile: Headset plugged

Trigger: Headset state → Becomes plugged
Task: Sounds & Media → Volume: Ringtones → configure
Task: Sounds & Media → Volume: Notifications → configure

Profile: Headset unplugged

Trigger: Headset state → Becomes unplugged
Task: Sounds & Media → Volume: Ringtones → configure to zero


why non rooted android does not support sdcard formatted with ext4?

yes , not make any sense , the better I could get until now is mount ext4 , with adb root

Mounting a ext4 formatted sdcard on Android Marshmallow

more info here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/204616/119381


Is there a way to turn my device on while it's stuck in a boot loop due to a broken power key?

Got lucky and managed to turn it on for just long enough to get my data.


"Device Admin" apps are asking for permission to erase my data after failed login attempts! How can I confirm?

Is this just a generic warning given for any app requesting admin privileges? Perhaps it's possible that Outlook doesn't use the erase feature?

Only the operations which the app can perform are shown to the user. If the device admin screen shows an operation like "Monitor Screen Lock Attempts", then rest assured, the corresponding app does have that feature.

I am sharing an image from an app named Tasker which employs only one device admin operation and is asking only for it. This should be sufficient that the device admin screen doesn't show generic operations but only app-specific ones. This can further be tested against the list of maximum operations that can be shown from here.

  Is there a way to verify how many incorrect login attempts will trip the erasure?

Developers might be able to see it by analyzing the code from the APK using special tools. You could test this using trial and error on your own by using android-x86 and running your app on it. Try incorrect passwords and count for yourself. I'm not aware of an easy way.

  Can I override the ability for it to erase my phone?

I do not know as of now. An Xposed module like Bypass Exchange Policies might be able to do this.


Can video recording be auto activated when camera app is started?

A custom widget ( start recording ) on your homescreen would work, but you still need to enter the PIN...

Maybe a custom lock screen with a record video button and unlock button, or maybe use the stock lock screen shortcuts to open the camera, manually switch to video and start ( no PIN entry )

The best way to do what you want might be to use key overrides and designate a volume key to camera key...

Your main limitation is the lock screen PIN, you could hypothetically use a shortcut to the record video intent, placed on a custom lockscreen, but not sure.


I deleted my Gmail account but I keep recieving the notification "Account Action Required" but I can't access the account since it's already deleted

Even if you deleted the account on Google, your phone is still trying to log into that account, and giving you the notification to tell you it's not working. You need to remove the account from your phone too. From the Settings app, scroll down to the Personal section and choose Accounts. Then choose Google from the list, and from the three-dots overflow menu, choose Remove account. Some manufacturers move around the settings on their phones, so while the instructions above are fine for stock Android, they might not be quite right for your phone model.

Note that apps you purchase on Google Play are tied to your Google account, so it's not usually a good idea to delete the Google account that's the main account on your phone. You'd want to follow these instructions if you've added a second account, such as a work email, and it's been deleted or disabled.


How can I root my Verizon HTC Incredible 2?

Here a guide from XDA-Dev:

(If you like to learn visually and would rather not go through these steps, check out this YouTube video.)

  Some warnings:

  This is not a FULL unlock (S-OFF or to unlock your SIM card slot.)
  This WILL VOID your warranty.
  This will work with ANY version of HBOOT.
  This is a how to for WINDOWS ONLY.
  If you are logged out of HTC Dev at any time during the identifier period (1–5), just sign back in and don't click anything. It will automatically redirect you to the last page you were on.
  I am not responsible if you didn't follow a step correctly and your phone lights on fire, cracks into two, wants to destroy you, etc…

  What you are going to need:

  A computer
  Fastboot and ADB [API] ← These are applications to be use to flash ROM's.
  HTC Drivers ← Drivers HTC gives, couldn't find them on HTC's site.
  Android SDK
  microUSB cable, phone, and some time

  STEPS TO ROOT:

  You are going to want to head over to the HTC Developer site and make an account or sign in. Once you have done one of the two, you are going to want to click 'Unlock Bootloader,' then 'Get Started.' It will next ask you what device you are trying to unlock, click 'Droid Incredible 2 (Verizon)' then 'Begin Unlock Bootloader.' Then a pop up window will ask you if you are sure, just click 'Yes.' Then, another pop up window will appear, just tick the two boxes and press 'Proceed to Unlock Instructions.'
  Go to your phone. Take off the [back] battery door and remove the battery (don't hold the power button and make it a proper shut off, just rip the battery out. Then, put the battery back in. Once you have replaced the battery, hold the volume down button and the power button at the same time until a white screen shows up. You can use the volume rocker to highlight your selection, and the power button to select the highlighted selection. Right now, we want to highlight 'BOOTLOADER' and use the power button to select it. Next, grab your miniUSB cable and plug it into your computer to your phone.
  Next, make a folder on your computer in the C:\ Drive. In Windows Vista & 7, you can just go to Computer from the Start Menu and it will be labeled Local Disk (C:). You can name the folder whatever you want, I am just going to name it Android. Next, you are going to want to download my ADB, Fastboot, and ADBAPI .zip file and place all three files into the Android folder. After you unzip the ADB/Fastboot folder, you are going to want to (if you have not already) download and install the Android SDK manager. You will need to install SDK tools [and I believe a version of Android?] After you have installed everything, you can go to the Start Menu again and type in 'cmd' in the search bar and press enter. Then type in the following: (Or you could take the easy way of going to your C:\ drive and shift-clicking the folder and press 'Open Command Window Here…)

cd C:\Android

  After you have got into Command Prompt and are in the \Android folder, type in the following:

fastboot oem get_identifier_token

  You will then see a great big brick of random characters. Right click in the bottom right-hand corner of '<<<<< Identifier Token End >>>>>' and click 'Mark...' Hold down the left-mouse-button and select the great brick of text up until '<<<< Identifier Token Start >>>>' (don't highlight any of the 'INFO' things.) Then, right-click again and you will have the identifier token copied to your clipboard. Back on the HTC Dev site, it will ask you for your identifier; just paste the identifier in the box and it will send you an email with a .bin file (Unlock_code.bin) and just throw that into the folder with ADB and Fastboot.
  You are going to want to click the continue link that HTC Dev sent you as well to downloading the file. After you have finished downloading and put it in the folder, type in the following:

fastboot flash unlocktoken Unlock_code.bin

  Once you have done that and pressed Enter, your phone will change screens. It will ask you if you are SURE you want to do this. Just press the volume rocker up and press the power button. Your phone will reboot and take you back to Android. It's normal and it doesn't mean it failed... Your phone is fine and it should have went OK if you followed the steps. We are done with HTC Dev now, so you can close it.
  Next thing we are going to want to do is flash ClockWorkMod (CWM) Recovery onto your phone. You are going to want to download the .iso for CWMR and flash it to your phone (download link). After you are done downloading the .iso, place it into your ADB and Fastboot folder. Once your phone has finished starting up, take the battery out again and put it back into HBOOT mode (step 2.) You are going to want to go back into FASTBOOT (step 2, again) and flash the recovery by doing the following:

fastboot flash recovery recovery(press TAB)

  Once you press enter and fastboot says it has completed, it will just have the Fastboot screen. Just highlight 'Bootloader' and press the power button. Next, to make sure it worked… Scroll down to 'Recovery' (which is right under Fastboot) and select it. The HTC screen should show and then CWMR should come to life.
  This is where the real magic happens. We are going to install SuperUser on to your phone now. Reboot your phone into regular Android. Now, you can plug it into the computer and make it a disk drive or pop out the miniSD card and put it into a converter. Now, you are going to want to download SuperUser and put it onto the miniSD (I recommend not putting it in any folders so it is easy to find.) Now, put your phone back into CWMR (step 6.) Now, use the volume rocker to scroll down to 'install .zip from sd card' and press the power button. Now, find the SuperUser.zip (or whatever it is named) and press the power button. The 'yes' to install it is in the middle of all the 'no' options, use the volume rocker to select 'yes' and press the power button. Wait for CWMR to finish, and in the meantime... Just stare at your phone. After you have finished installing SuperUser, restart your handset into Android. Once it has finished restarting, go into the app drawer and find the SuperUser app. Press the 'menu' button and tap 'Settings.' Scroll down to 'Su Binary x.x.xx' and tap it. On the bottom it will say 'Update Binary,' just tap that and it will do its 'magic.' Once SU has finished updating Binary, you have a rooted DINC2.


Disable (dead) phone number? Retaining for historical benefit. Is this possible, how can I request this feature?

Its easy to keep multiple inactive numbers; just place them in NOTES for each contact.  Notes is a wonderful item available on each contact.  I keep tons of data there and never run out of space


HTC STATUS-INTERNAL MEMORY LOW EVEN WITH SD-CARD?

The sdcard is not included with internal memory. What it is actually complaining about is the location where the data and apps are stored (/data & /data/data) and could also include the cache (/cache). I have been saying for a while that more space needs to be allocated for these locations.

I have to go through and remove some apps some times, and even go to apps like Google+ and "clear data". Google+ is actually a good example of a data hog. I had to clear it today. Google+ was using 42MB of storage.

The best thing that I can suggest is to clear the data on apps that are "hogs" or remove apps that you don't use.


How to reactivate Google Assistant after deactivating by changing Language?

Try clearing the cache for both Google app and Google play services in settings / applications. Also clear all your recent apps after doing so.


Is there any way to find/remove duplicate tracks from Google Play Music?

From a PC running Windows 10 x64 (64-bit):

Install the latest Python 2.7.x version. (I used Python 2.7.10; Do not use any Python 3.x.y version -- I couldn't get it to work with this script.)
If using Windows, install the Microsoft Visual C++ Compiler for Python 2.7. One of the dependencies of gmusicapi requires it.
Install the Google Music API for Python. You should use "pip" (Python's built-in installer script) to install it. On Windows, pip is not added to the PATH environment variable. The quick, lazy workaround is to invoke it specifically:

C:\Python27\Scripts\pip.exe install gmusicapi

See footnote if you're having issues. LibAV or ffmpeg are probably not required for our purposes.
On the right side of the Google Music Dupe Killer page:

Click "download ZIP" → Extract the ZIP → Rename kill-dupes to kill-dupes.py → Right click → edit with Notepad (or Notepad++, or anything similar) → Ctrl-F ("find") for "username".
On line #89, you'll see this (line numbers added for ease of reading):

88. api = Mobileclient()
89. logged_in = api.login('username', 'password')
90.
91. if logged_in:

Replace the word username with your Google username, and the word password with your Google password. Leave the single-quotes ' as-is. Save the file with the edits you made.
Allow less secure apps to access your account via Google. If you don't do this, Google will email you telling that they blocked someone accessing your account the first time you run the script. In that email, there is a link to change the setting.

(Note: you may wish to change it back after you are done with this script.)
Put the modified kill_dupes.py script somewhere you can find it. I put it in C:\Python27\.
Open the Windows command prompt. (Win+R opens the Run dialog, cmd is the command prompt. Press Enter.)

You'll see a Window with this written:

C:\Users\YourWindowsUsername>

Run Python with the script you made:

C:\Users\YourWindowsUsername>c:\Python27\python.exe c:\Python27\kill_dupes.py

Press Enter to run the script:

Successfully logged in. Beginning duplicate detection process.

The program prints a list of the duplicate tracks it found. Type y and press Enter to remove them, or n to not remove them.
kill_dupes.py and maybe its parent program gmusicapi crash on Unicode characters like つんく♂. Here is the bug report. Oddly enough, by running the script from IDLE, it worked fine. IDLE should be included with all Python installs.
IDLE (Python GUI) → file → open → kill_dupes.py
IDLE (Python GUI) → run → run module
If you just see a blank window, you probably forgot to allow less secure apps to access your account. See step 7.

(Optional) Forbid less secure apps from accessing your Google account.

I used the answer by neves to develop this answer.

Footnote: Installing LibAV

This probably isn't required, but it's what I did the first time I did this. I have since successfully removed duplicates without LibAV, but I did have ffmpeg in my PATH already. The reason I say this step isn't required is because the Google Music API website says:

  If you’re going to be uploading music, you’ll likely want Libav’s avconv installed and in your system path, along with at least libmp3lame.

Update 2016-01-09: The site now says:

  The only time avconv or ffmpeg is not required is when uploading mp3s without scan-and-match enabled.

Use your judgment as to whether or not installing LibAV is needed.

Download the newest (sort by date modified) "nightly-lgpl" x86_64 variant of LibAV. It's linked from the site given in step 2.
I downloaded libav-x86_64-w64-mingw32-20150524.7z → extracted the .7z file → added the /usr/bin folder within the extracted libav folder to the PATH. (The steps are explained in the link in step 2. lat ays to add (Python's built-in installer script) avconv.exe to the PATH. So my computer now has D:\Downloads\libav-x86_64-w64-mingw32-20150524\usr\bin added to its PATH.


They are build numbers:
According to Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL First Factory Images are Available!:

Google just posted the first factory image and OTA files for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Since today is basically launch day, the timing seems just about right.
The files are available as Android 9.0.0 builds PD1A.180720.030 and PD1A.180720.031 for both phones, the second being the Verizon specific build. This is the build you should find out of the box.

About PQ1A.181105.017.A1, a reponse is found in this article:

Google is rolling out the November 2018 security patch update for its latest flagships Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL. The current updates are also making their way to the older devices Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL.
The new build number which accompanies the software goes by PQ1A.181105.017.A1. Both Pixel 3/3XL and Pixel 2/2XL are getting an upgrade with this new build.

Summary:

PD1A.180720.030: International build (released date: 20 July 2018).
PD1A.180720.031: Verizon build (released date: 20 July 2018).
PQ1A.181105.017.A1: November 2018 security patch (released date: 05 November 2018).


Flashing radio to European G1 via Amon_Ra process: which version of radio 2.22.19.26i is safe for DangerSPL?

Those are the same radio. the file name is just different. notice the version number in both is: 2.22.19.26i. The first update-script was modified a bit so it supports both the dream (adp1/g1), and the magic (adp2). The OTA radio looks like it was specifically for the dream.

I, myself, would use the one that is for both the dream & magic, but really, it shouldn't matter.


"Slow charging" usually means that the phone wasn't able to confirm that the power source is capable of providing more voltage than the original USB spec allows. This usually happens when the phone is connected to a computer or the cable didn't go all the way in and USB data lines don't contact well. If it doesn't happen too often then it's normal.


TBH the answer is 'Yes' he can use it after factory reset.

As we know that it is needed for an android device to re-login from the same account as it was previously logged in before doing a factory reset or called it as owner's account, but one can still use other account to log in and set up a fresh android after resetting the device.

However, Google always providing patches to these vulnerabilities but it is not enough as of now.
There are various guides to bypass FRP.

Coming to your data on SD card. If it is encrypted no need to worry about data.

It may help you, read here more about 'Adoptable storage' and 'Portable storage'.


Does the bootloader need to be unlocked to flash my phone

A locked bootloader means that you won't be able to install software updates(or flash recoveries, ROMs) that hasn't been signed by the manufacturer/carrier.

So the answer is "Yes, you can flash an unsigned ROM but it won't get loaded by the locked bootloader".


Which file contains autocomplete suggestions for email address in Gmail, and can I clear it?

I had very similar problem. In addition to that sometimes the e-mail address of the recipient was "beautified" like that:

Pawel Debski president bla bla something <e-mail address>

What I found was that Google on his own created Google Contacts profile for me (https://contacts.google.com/) and than my e-mail clients on few devices started creating contacts there, often duplicated with different labels. Some of the labels corresponded to the circles in Google Plus profile, but some were created by various e-mail clients more or less randomly.

When I cleaned-up all the contacts there the problem was solved.


Remove my Google account on other people's device

Go to Google's security manager page, find the phone you logged in on and click "deauthorize".


Moto X has 5 models with different LTE bands. Does it matter which one I get?

LTE bands are the bands of radio spectrum that the cellular networks run on.  There are 44 defined bands and different carriers in different areas use different bands to provide service.  Wikipedia has a fairly extensive list of who uses what bands.
Yes, T-Mobile operates on band 4 (aka AWS), so any other band capability on the device would go unused.
If you don't have the same band available on the phone as on the network, you won't be able to use the network period.  It would be like trying to pick up an AM radio station on an FM-only radio.
Yes.  Band availability is determined by the hardware radio set the phone was built with.


How to see download count of an Android app on Google Play store?

As an end user, there is no way to know the exact number of downloads. But you can see a range if you scroll down the app page and look at the Installs section within Additional Information.


Installing app from google play in my SD Card

Have you tried the "Apollo Music Player"-app by the CyanogenMod team? As far as I know you cannot read and play music from the external memory if the application is not able to. So you won't fix it by installing the app on the external SDcard.

The Appolo Music Player is:

Free
Great
Equalizer
High Quality

This cannot be downloaded from the Google Market, but you might grab it from XDA (just be sure to enable to permit installing from unknown sources):

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2196385


Partly answering your question: What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list? So basically:

would be like tapping the back-button from within the app until you're out of it (as opposed to just hitting the "home" button)
means killing the app by sending it a "friendly exit signal"
IMHO the same as the previous item (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not entirely sure with this)
Force-Stop would forcefully remove all of the app's processes on system level (here the app would get no chance to interact, so it cannot even save its state or data. In easy terms: all system resources will be removed from it, so it can no longer continue to run)

For further information, also see:

Closing applications
What is the right way to close apps in Android?
How can I stop applications and services from running?
What does the “Force stop” button mean?


This can be solved by using system-images;android-29;google_apis;x86_64 instead of "system-images;android-29;default;x86_64".


i try to download games on my tablet and it keeps saying no space on device

You should ocassionally go to Settings -> Storage -> Cached Data and clear it, because over time it could use up more than a GB of storage. Of course, no need to do it to often as Android uses it to find data faster, only when it gets to big.


rot13 on all names of files in a directory!

Not really an Android question (rather Linux/Shell/Bash), but I give the credit of the missing executable. So:

for i in * ; do j=`echo $i | tr '[a-m][n-z][A-M][N-Z]' '[n-z][a-m][N-Z][A-M]'`; mv "$i" "$j"; done


What is this blue button next to URL in Android Firefox?

It's reader view for clutter free reading, similar to simplified view on Chrome

Reader View is a Firefox feature that strips away clutter like buttons, ads and background images, and changes the page's text size, contrast and layout for better readability. Reader View settings are easily customizable to fit your reading preferences.

Tap it to reveal a blue circular icon with Aa inscribed, from where you can configure the settings for reader view

(Click to enlarge)


A hub's USB-C port doesn't allow the phone to transfer files

Looking at the Matedock 2.0 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Huawei-Matedock-Matebook-Devices-Connection/dp/B075MWC9VS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

It seems like that USB-C port is kind of unclear on what functionality it supports or doesn't support.

I'm probably wrong on this, but my first thought was that since the USB-C port is right next to the VGA and HDMI outputs, it could be that it's only meant to be used for video output (with a USB-C to HDMI cable or something like that). I'm not even sure that could be the case technically speaking though, as USB-C should transfer data indiscriminately, I don't think it can be "video-only" like HDMI or displayport are.

It's more likely that the dock is just built cheaply, and doesn't support the proper data bandwidth necessary for data transfer on your phone (or at least, as much as Android would like. Android can be really picky with what data connections it accepts over USB, as I've seemed to notice). Also could be that your phone or USB cable has problems with data transmission over USB 3.0, which is sometimes the case with regular USB-A 3.0 ports/cables - I know I've had trouble connecting some of my android phones to USB 3.0 ports on my computers before, and they worked fine as soon as I switched them to a different 2.0 port instead.

I would suggest you try using the USB-A port on the back of the dock instead. Get a USB-A to USB-C cable and use that to hook your phone up to the dock, and then the dock to the computer's usb-c. The problem might just be with some kind of weird miscommunication along the signal path between the computer's USB-C port, and the dock's USB-C port.

EDIT: Also, try a few different USB cables. You may just need a higher-quality USB cable in order to get full data transfer capability. A lot of the time Android will refuse to connect with data transfer if it doesn't like the particular USB cable you're using. It is weird that the one you have won't work through the Matedock if it would otherwise work plugged directly into the computer, but it can't hurt to swap it out anyway and see if a different one fixes your problem.


Should a new microSD card appear to have folders in Android?

The list you have provided is that of standard directories (see official documentation and source code). Android OS creates these directories in external storage filesystems (including SD cards) when they are first mounted (see source). As of Android 10 it includes 9 directories: Alarms, DCIM, Download, Movies, Music, Notifications, Pictures, Podcasts and Ringtones.
Android's MediaScanner service puts the files in these directories in special categories as the names suggest. See some more details in the related question suggested by @Izzy in comment: List of special Android SD card folders?
Android and .android_secure are exceptions though. Android directory contains apps' private directories in external shared storage (see details in this answer). .android_secure is used by Android to move apps from internal to external storage (see details in this answer).
So all of these folders are created by Android OS on first usage.


Why does Facebook Home not require any permission?

The Facebook Home app doesn't really do much itself. It gets all its data from the main Facebook app, so it doesn't need to access the Internet. Doing any action from the launcher uses an intent to launch the main Facebook app, so it doesn't need to (say) access your location or take photos to make posts: only the main Facebook app does.

To take another example, say you use Facebook Home to "like" something. Facebook Home doesn't go to Facebook's servers: it tells the main Facebook app (on your phone, so not using the Internet) to "like" the thing. Then the main Facebook app (which does have the Internet permission) uses the Internet to tell Facebook's servers about the "like".

The same goes for the size. All the Facebook functionality, sync code, custom button graphics, libraries, and so on are in the main Facebook app, so why would they duplicate them in Facebook Home? Facebook Home probably just has a little code for laying out the home screen, a few icons, and the information Android needs to understand that the app is a launcher.

The apps can use each other this way because they're both by the same developer. (Actually there's a little more to it than that, but that's the first requirement.) Android verifies this by looking at the signatures on each app to check they were both signed with the same private key: in this case, a key that Facebook (the company) has. Without this private key, another developer can't create another app (or modify this app) that can use the Facebook app like this.

It's also possible for an app to create a new type of permission. So, as an example, the main Facebook app could create a "read my Facebook timeline" permission, and then I could write an app Dan's Bookface, which would be able to request that permission in order to read the timeline directly from the Facebook app, without needing the "internet" permission. When you install Dan's Bookface, you'd see "read my Facebook timeline" in the list of permissions just like you do with the permissions built into the system.


are there more special characters on my phone keypad such as "#"?

Yes there are. For example try holding letter F it will show $ € £ ¥ ¢ . Try other letters as well.


No there is no activity log but if you go on the play store and view all apps you can see all the apps youve downloaded and it will tell you if they are installed or not. Let me know if this helped


At first you have to install "RupiManager".
Then put your poi.txt in "Import" folder and export it as KML by the app.
In the next step you have to open your poi.kml in "export" folder with magic earth.


Does android 2.1 have any specific built-in ebook apps?

Android 2.1 doesn't have any preloaded ebook readers but specific phones may have something preloaded.  The pre-loaded apps depend on the carrier, but regardless you can download different ebook readers from the Android App Market for free.  Unfortunately none of the current ebook readers are a complete solution as they all have major limitations.  Here are the main players:

Free & Non-proprietary (free app & free books)

Aldiko: Supports ePubs with and without Adobe DRM.  There are thousands of these books available; Aldiko also has an included store selling commercial, DRM-protected books. Great user interface.  Aldiko also has a paid app that has more features.

There are a bunch more that do the open source books in the app market but none hold a candle to Aldiko.

Proprietary (these are all free apps but in most cases you have to buy the books)

eReader:  Only reads PDB files and you have to sideload the app.  There area several book stores that sell books in this format including ereader.com and fictionwise but these books are usually twice as much as Kindle or Nook books.  Barnes & Noble used to sell PDB ebooks but swicthed to a DRM'd ePub.  This has got a great (powerful and easy) UI and used to be my favorite when I could get books from B&N but now it is useless to me.

Nook: Reads open ePubs and DRM'd ePubs you buy from Barnes & Noble.  The UI needs a lot of work compared to eReader and Aldiko.  *I just abandoned this for the Kindle app.

Kindle: (this one comes pre-loaded on the T-Mobile Galaxy S) Reads DRM'd (.azw) ebooks you buy from Amazon.  *This is now my ereader of choice.

Kobo: Reads ebooks from kobo.com.  I haven't bothered with this since the Nook came out.  It used to be able to read Borders.com books but I don't know anymore.  The old version of the app didn't allow for offline reading but they might have fixed that.

Most of the major proprietary readers (Nook, Kindle & Kobo) all have about the same selection of new release books at the same price (about $12.99 per book).  I expect these apps to get a lot better in the future it's just a very frustrating that I used to be able to use a much more robust and user friendly app (eReader) with new B&N books, but now I have had to downgrade to the Nook.

But to answer you question (got off on a tangent there, sorry): If you get the Galaxy S from T-Mobile you'll have Kindle pre-loaded, but even if nothing's pre-loaded you can download all or any of the above mentioned apps for free from the Android Market (except eReader which you have to sideload).

Update: Amazon just recently updated their Kindle App with a few key features (that I came to love in eReader) that make it a Nook killer in my book:  1. Ability to highlight text and make notes 2. Ability to long click on a word and look it up at dictionary.com or wikipedia.  I'm switching to the Kindle App now although I'm annoyed that I just bought two Nook books.


How to download files to sd card from ftp without rooting

I use Folder Sync.
But it depends on your android version,    If you have 5.1 or above then the application developers must include Environment.getExternalStorage.....

EXAMPLE FILE USAGE

File file = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory(), "myfile.txt");

instead of the old hard coded way.

File file = new File("SDCard", "myfile.txt");

For more information about pause resume with FTP, i have included a link to a development question regarding pause resume on Android Clients

Folder Sync Free

Developing FTP Client with Pause Resume on Android

For terminal emulator, you should run

getprop vold.path.external_sd

then try running the external directory as returned

NOT

sdcard/download/txt.txt

RATHER

storage/sdcard0/download/txt.txt

It's usually just one directory / legacy directory isn't accessible anymore. so you need to get the actual path with some command...

getprop

getprop will return all current system properties, this includes storage paths and network status results


As far as I know, tasker can't convert any web page (or any document) to pdf. An alternative approach can be letting a third party site to make the pdf and then downloading it with tasker.

After a little googling, I found  http://www.web2pdfconvert.com.  This may serve your need.


Auto-rotate setting disabled permanently on Toshiba AT100

Based on this do you have some switch near volume button? If yes, try changing it.


Ebook reader: open file (and the overall problem with closed source, dumbed-down app ecosystem)

I found a partial answer to my overall problem, and a good solution to manage my ebook collection.

The key was to go back to the sources of the Spirit of Open Source software. I installed F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/  a catalogue of FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) applications for the Android platform. Browsing the repository, I found some good ebook readers, including 'Cool Reader' which fairly deserves its name. The good thing is that there is an embedded file browser, so that I can now easily browse and open my collection of ebooks that I copied over from my computer to the external sdcard.

Overall, I found that the problem is the messy ecosystem of closed source, dumbed-down applications found at Google Play. From now on, F-Droid will be my first source when looking for applications for specific needs. In the best tradition of Open Source software, the applications there will certainly evolve into solutions that are friendly both to the newbies, the average users and the power users.


How to fake my android - Zuk-Z1 to look like Nexus 5x/ 6p

I had a similar issue to Vivek. This is what I tried and worked for me.

Before attempting, SEE NOTES. This assumes you are rooted.

So first I went to google playstore and downloaded a build.prop editor. I focused on these attributes for my Moto X Pure:

ro.product.model=XT1575
ro.product.brand=motorola
ro.product.name=clark_retus
ro.product.device=clark
ro.product.manufacturer=motorola
ro.build.fingerprint=motorola/clark_retus/clark:6.0/MPH24.49-18/18:user/release-keys
ro.build.product=clark
ro.build.host=ilclbld87
ro.build.version.security_patch=2016-02-01
ro.build.version.release=6.0

and changed them to match the Nexus 5x:

ro.build.version.release=6.0.1
ro.build.version.security_patch=2016-03-01
ro.product.model=Nexus 5X
ro.product.brand=google
ro.product.name=bullhead
ro.product.device=bullhead
ro.build.host=wpiy3.hot.corp.google.com
ro.product.manufacturer=LGE
ro.build.product=bullhead
ro.build.fingerprint=google/bullhead/bullhead:6.0.1/MMB29Q/2480792:user/release-keys

After making the changes. I saved and then rebooted. After that I installed Gmail (didn't have it before) and it automatically sent me a "Welcome Nexus 5x User" email after installing. That made me pretty confident that I was now viewed as a Nexus 5x, by that app at least. I added the new exchange account, entering my credentials and things worked.

Fini

Important Notes

Make a backup of your phone. Specifically a NAND backup. What this
means is to have a custom bootloader like TWRP and make a backup
there.
Backup your original build.prop file and store somewhere.
Like on your SD card or computer.
Make sure GooglePlay has auto-updates disabled. This might cause some issues as it tries to update your phone with new software revisions due to it thinking you are now a Nexus 5x 6.0.1 and need the latest and greatest software for each app you have installed.

Good Luck!


Is it safe for the battery to turn on the mobile data all the time?

It all depends on your usage requirements

If you can't afford to miss mails or messages your wifi /data will be on and that will certainly lead to battery degradation. See Battery capacity wear-down, and its relationship to charging practices, specifically the graph and it's explanation.

Turning wifi /mobile data on/off isn't harmful. You can do that if you can live with missing messages or mails.

If your device is rooted you can prevent battery degradation by making the device run from mains as explained here Don't charge the battery but use connected power to run the phone or at least keep the battery charged and discharged within safe limits as explained here Ideal charging / discharging percentage for maximum battery life?

If you don't want to root your battery, your battery will lose its life quickly and you would end up changing the battery or the device. Unfortunately, that's true.


Are there any "iptables like" firewall for Android?

DroidWall is an Android front end for iptables. Root is required though.


Android not detecting USB though it is connected

To answer the last question first, yes it is save to tether with debugging mode on.

I'm not sure about the answer to the first question, because i'm not well known with cyanogenmod. If you were a normal android user i'd suggest looking if the MTP or PTP settings are set well. You can find these under Settings > Storage > USB computer connection

Hope this helps. I found this useful on my Nexus 4 using android 4 and android 5


Replacement for ability to "send tab to remote device" as removed from Firefox 29

Sorry for the trouble this is causing you. We initially removed the feature because we didn't know how well it was being used and the UX around it seemed confusing. We intended to improve the feature and release it again soon.

That said, with feedback like yours, and many others, we are reconsidering the decision and will try to get a version of the feature back in Firefox as soon as possible.

You can track some of the discussion here:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1002628


Steps I've used in the past for this kind of issue :

Check your USB cable - some are no good for data. (this is
frequently the issue when my computer can't see my phone)
reboot everything
you say the drivers aren't installing - what's the issue there? try manually installing the drivers.


How to make apps know that I actually have internet /make them not check for wifi etc when I'm reverse tethering?

The best answer is that you can't. Apps act on their programming and unless you plan to modify significant parts of Android, what you want is not easily done (if at all).


How do I share files on my mobile over WiFi?

File expert app can do this using both HTTP and FTP.


Want to increase my utorrent android speed

Your download speed is quite slow and the number of seeders are few.This is the main reason that it takes lot of time for you to download. Check the ratio, seeder should seed until at least 1.000 Ratio.

Along with those see whether this can help. Go to
Preferences --> Bandwidth --> "Disable the "Apply rate limit to uTP connections" option.


I uninstalled all apps on LG E440 using Es file explorer

Hope you have backed up all your contacts and docs. Then follow these steps to hard reset your phone:

Step 1: Press and hold the Camera button + Volume Down Key+ Power button.

Step 2: When the LG Logo appears on the screen, release Power key holding volume down+camera key.

This shall do the job for you.


Flash is not working with Firefox on Android

Current version of Firefox for Android does not support Flash content.  Mozilla developers said that they are working on it, and eventually Flash will work in some future version.  No ETA was given though.


"Phone" item using 10-15% of Battery Life

Try booting into safe mode. It should set things right up. You could determine the problem much easier there. That will turn off all 3rd party services, leaving plain android behind.

To goto Safe Mode,
Press the Power button on your device.
Touch & hold the Power off option in the dialog box.
Touch OK in the following dialog to start safe mode.


Sync navigation drawer items with fragments

In your navigation drawer activity , you need to put this method and in every fragments you need to return navigation item index . so it will automatically sync with navigation drawer.

public void NavigationFocus(int navItemIndex) {
        navigationView.getMenu().getItem(navItemIndex).setChecked(true);
    }


Unsafe certificate protection in Android?

Not sure if it helps any, but have you seen CACertMan (also on GitHub) yet?


The one on the left is a notification about a potential power or memory hungry app that could be put to sleep temporarily. The one on the right is probably a suggestion notification from Google Maps.


After two days, the media started working again. It's very possibly that (as @alecxs said), there was an update done in the background that broke something, and then another one that fixed it.
Unfortunately I am unable to give a concrete solution as to how to fix this issue if this happens with anyone else.


Android 5.0.2: Import contacts from sim card

"I'm using Prestigio MultiPhone 3504 Muze. Finally I notice that it hasn't that tab at all, vut automatically import all contacts from SIM card. My broblem was that I haven't got contacts on SIM card.
"
 See images here: i.stack.imgur.com/eYu7w.png i.stack.imgur.com/NTpdP.png

It may be the case, contacts from sim card are imported only once, so the above menu fails to open, once contacts got imported.

But you can easily test the above,
selecting
Add New Contact
and saving it on your sim card.

That way you can try to open
Import contacts from sim card

menu again, not removing and reinserting sim card again.

BTW
My Contacts app crashes every time when I select and click a contact from Contacts to make a call.
\
Looking for a cure to remove that bug

"Android is Brutal and full of Zasadzkas"


Connectivity problem with an app on my Android phone

Check using different connectivity type (wifi, lte, etc.). Also Check with whomever wrote the app, could be a server issue or bug in app too.


Android 11 update for Samsung Galaxy S10 devices

The update is currently in preview on this devices. The update is planned starting in January 2021 (this month)_ and will be the second update of the OS.


How can I stop Android from synchronizing videos while still synchronizing photos?

I have Samsung Galaxy Note II. In my phone I can configure the content synchronization in:
Settings / Cloud / Contents sync
There is independent sync setting for Pictures and Videos.


How to find and remove malware from some chinese smartphones?

Will I be able to detect such malware (Android.Trojan.Uupay.D and the
  likes) using any (free) android antivirus ?

No, if it was detectable by a free or even paid antivirus, the company wont ship the device with the malware, as it will bring down sales drastically. They have a reputation to maintain!

  Is it really impossible to remove them (GData says so) ?

No.

If you want to be 100% sure that the device is clean, then you must remove the OS that came with it and flash a trusted(opensource) ROM like official CyanogenMod. So before buying the phone, check if you can get one. Here is a list of devices that support CyanogenMod.

If a official cyanogen or other ROMs are not available and you still want to buy the same device, an impractical advice to the average user would be to port/compile CyanogenMod or AOSP from source.


Does Android hide some amount of RAM from the User?

This is not uncommon in the embedded world. A prominent example is the Samsung Galaxy S, which is advertised with 512MB RAM. But only 300 something are actually available for the OS. I believe the other part is used for the (powerful) GPU.

This leads to effects where a similar device is faster. For example the HTC Desire/Nexus One both have 512MB (576MB for the Desire) and overall play in the same league as the Galaxy S, but IMHO they are in many situations faster then the Galaxy S. But I am not sure if it's because of the "crappy" stock ROM of the SGS or because of the RAM difference.


i am not able to receive my calls at my galaxy Y after updating the android 2.3.6

After reading alot of blogs I tried one thing and it worked. First of all I saved all of my contacts on SD card then I removed it and apply sttings ____privacy settings____"Factory Data Reset". After that I'm receiving my incoming calls in regular way even after inserting the SD card. I import all my contacts from sd card again. You ca also try this


Cant unlock bootloader or go to download mode in Samsung M11

make sure that you have backed up your files because all of your
data will be wiped.
make sure that adb and fastboot is installed on your pc.
download twrp image file.
enable usb debbugging from develper mode.
connect your phone to pc an open cmd.

enter following command:
adb reboot bootloader

or simply go to fastboot mode ( like what you did in second picture ).
then connect your phone to computer and open cmd(if you already didn't).
type following command and hit enter
fastboot flashing unlock

if you got an error, try this command(used for older phones):
fastboot oem unlock

If you get a confirmation screen on your device. Press Volume Up button to highlight Yes and press Power button to select it. This will begin the bootloader unlocking process, which shouldn’t last more than a couple of minutes.
then again, reboot to bootloader.
type following command:
fastboot flash recovery <path to your twrp image file>

done!


Nexus 6 defaults to Call screen upon unlock

If you swipe from left to right (a common mistake in users new to Lollipop) the phone opens the dialer, much like if you swipe from right to left, you open the camera. If you swipe from bottom to top, this unlocks the phone without taking you to either.


It appears that you are using Android Studio (or another IDE). Try turning on developer mode and then connect the device.


The list is sorted by last used date.

Go to the Play Store on your phone, maybe download or update an app, and the last used date should be set to the current date. And next time, it should be at the top.


How do I get my Samsung Galaxy S 2 to connect by USB "normally"?

Keep usb debugging on and it should work fine.


What's the difference between Android Beam vs S Beam?

Even though Android Beam and S Beam serve similar purposes, they actually work very differently and are not compatible with one another.

Android Beam uses NFC to pair your devices over Bluetooth, then transfers files over the Bluetooth connection. I believe it can also transfer very small pieces of data (contacts, links, etc) directly over NFC, as the Ice Cream Sandwich version highlights page implies:

  For larger payloads, developers can even use Android Beam to initiate
  a connection and transfer the data over Bluetooth, without the need
  for user-visible pairing.

S Beam, however, uses Wi-Fi Direct to perform data transfers instead of Bluetooth. Their reasoning for doing this is that Wi-Fi Direct offers faster transfer speeds (they quote up to 300 Mbps). Therefore, this will only work with other S Beam enabled devices, currently limiting it to communication between two Galaxy S3s.

However, the SGS3 also supports Android Beam, so you can use that to transfer something between a GNex and an SGS3. Here is a tutorial on Sprint's website (should be essentially the same for other versions of the SGS3).


Not without a different ROM but you may be able to add one to the notification area. Try this, I don't know how well (if at all) it works on the S5 but it's worth a shot.


What could be the cause of not receiving push notifications through 3g (gsm)?

I have found this. A while ago I went overseas and got paranoid and turned a bunch of the background data off in the data usage page. Had a play with it tonight and discovered "Google play services" was restricting. Turned it off and tested it, it seems to work. If you haven't already, try that.


Stock keyboard (as well as most 3rd-party keyboard apps) has both auto-correct and auto-completion (a.k.a. "suggestions") built in.  Access the keyboard settings via Settings -> Language & input -> Android keyboard.  From there you can enable and fine-tune the auto correction and suggestion options.


User @Izzy explained that encoded pictures are actually included in the .vcf created from the export.

This led me to think that the issue is actually with Thunbird's contacts import and not with android's contacts export. As it turns out this is right.

Since the default way for Thunderbird to import vcards appears to be faulty, I used the add-on MoreFunctionsForAddressBook to import the address book. It worked fine and included all the pictures!


My samsung GT-s6312 phone does not connect to PC. Even after connecting USB cable,

I know this is old, but maybe this can help someone now:

I was using my Galaxy S5 mini as usual connecting it to my PC for common use and also as a test device for Android Studio with the developer options and USB debugging enabled and with the latest Android Studio/SDK.

So I needed to test an app in a real tablet, and when I connected the tablet (It was borrowed, and it is one from Coby brand) to the PC with android studio still running, the tablet was recognized by the PC but Android Studio did not recognized it. So after a few failed tries I disconnect the tablet and connect the S5 mini again and the problem begun: the phone started to charge but it was not recognized by the PC, nothing appeared on Windows.

I tried many options that did not work:

-Using different USB ports of the pc

-Using a different USB cable

-Reboot phone and PC

-Connecting the S5 mini in another PC

-USB debugging option checked and unchecked

-The phone has Android 4.4.2 and I was not able to see the screen with the MTP options, so I entered *#0808# and I tried every option of that menu and the connection still did not work.

-Updating android to the last release (I am not sure, maybe this helped to restore/update some configuration files, but the problems was not fixed)

Also I connected another Samsung phone with the same USB cable and the same PC and another PC and that phone is being recognized. With this I started to think something crashed in the galaxy S5, mainly because it does not appear at all in the PC, in the Device Manager nothing appeared, even there is no sign of any “!”, only charge was working, (the other phone appears with no problem) but I decided to try options in the PC side:

I installed/uninstalled Kies, (I tried using the installation of drivers by Kies). It did not work

I uninstalled/Install Android Studio/SDKs completely, and it did not work for the connection (I am not very confident of this, maybe it helped a little)
I tried to delete all drivers related in the PC with USBDeview (the procedure is better described here: http://www.topnotchtablets.com/FixUSBproblems ) and it FINALLY WORKS

So I recommend any of these options (always make a backup of everything that is important to you):

Uninstall/Install the latest Android Studio/SDKs

Update the android device to the last release

Delete all the USB drivers related to Android/Massive storage

I hope this help anyone. So if you tried this and it still does not work, before getting my problem fixed, I was thinking about of connect the phone to MAC or Linux, and repeat some steps of before. Also restore the phone to factory state BUT I leave this as the last option.


If your device have One-Handed Mode option, then you can use that. One handed mode reduces current display to specific size(say 4inch etc). If your device screen is of 5.5 in then using this mode you can easily pull down notifications (you said that your top-right corner is cracked).

In Mi devices, One hand mode is activated using navigation key combinations(swipe from home key to left or right). You need to activate it from settings before this.

In Moto devices, swipe from screen's center to left or right bottom corner.

In case if you don't have this option, try this rootless application from  XDA


Is it worth uninstalling apps with background processes?

When you finish using an app, Android doesn't kill the process right away. It simply stops it running, and leaves it alive as a cached background process. This way, when it needs to start the same app again, it's already present in memory, so Android doesn't have to spend time and energy on loading the app from storage again. The effect is to make apps start faster and reduce battery use. Android will only kill these cached background processes when necessary to free up memory for apps that are actually running. There's no time limit: even if it turns out you don't use the app again for another week, it still might be present in memory.

If you want to uninstall all apps with cached background processes, you'd have to uninstall every app on the device. Every app can be cached this way, even if it never does anything in the background.


Card management with Google fit on Android

Those option are for starter user i.e to show the new user option available on dashboard. Where ass these options are available in app already . Lets see below .

The first option is Create a new Goal :- If you dismiss the card then there is option on Home to add a goal .

And the second option is Easy tracking :- This is just for description to let the user know the features of app and what activities user can track with GoogleFit.

GoogleFit App also shows some random cards to entertain and let their user know the features of app and track of their Activities time to time. Once to swipe random card you will get one time option to undo the action if you skip it then card is gone forever.


How to access app menu without app button?

BUILD.PROP SOFTKEYS (ROOT)
If you have root, you can emulate soft keys, like the ones on the Nexus and other devices, by modifying the build.prop file. To do this you will need root. There are many guides to rooting your device, such as this one on XDA.
After you are rooted, install an app like Build Prop Editor. Change (or add) the following key: qemu.hw.mainkeys=0 (add a key named qemu.hw.mainkeys and set the value to 0.) Be careful and make sure that you have typed it exactly as shown. After this, you will need to hard reboot your phone. Power off your device (or remove the battery, not recommended) and then turn it back on. Note: For build.prop edits, you will need a hard reboot; a soft reboot will not apply the changes to the build.prop file.

THIRD PARTY APP
If you do not wish to root, you can install an app like Handy Soft Keys. Please note that this may affect performance, battery, and data usage negatively, as it is not native to Android like the build.prop edit.


It's not possible to create a widget that updates that often, because it will suck your battery really quickly. There are many stopwatch apps available in the Play Store. Many of them have millisecond or decisecond accuracy, but I'm not aware of any that have an associated widget.

These kind of high precision timers should only be needed on a case-to-case basis, so it's not worth it for them to be on the homescreen.


Restore IMEI for Samsung Galaxy SL (GT-I9003) when there is no backup

Were you messing around with poweruser settings because most of us don't suddenly "lose IMEI"  but in that case if you are rooted get an app called root explorer and go to the following directory /system/efs and see if your imei is in there. otherwise you will have to buy a new phone.


Android phone keeps rebooting, how can I save my data?

I'm sorry, but at this point your only hope is a factory reset.

The symptoms sound like the data for one of the system apps has become corrupted. If you had any way to stop the reboot cycle, you'd have a shot at saving the data. Since even safe mode doesn't give you that, there's not much you can do.

I will suggest, for the future, saving all of your contacts, messages, phone logs, et al., to external servers, such as Google Contacts. That will also help when you upgrade your phone. There are several apps in the Google Play store to save text messages, phone logs, photos, videos, and the like to a remote server.


Execute Windows Run Command or Some Windows Batch Process from Android

One option would be to install and set up SSH on the target PC.  http://sshwindows.sourceforge.net/

You can then use any of the many SSH android clients to connect to the target PC and you will have command line access.


How can I reformat internal storage on Android?

check your file system type is ext4 or f2fs with mount

in TWRP you can format from command line (beware this is factory reset /data and /sdcard is lost)

adb shell
umount /sdcard /data
mount -r /system
mount -r /vendor
export PATH=/system/bin:/sbin
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/system/lib64:/system/vendor/lib64:/vendor/lib64:/system/lib:/system/vendor/lib:/vendor/lib
/system/bin/sh
mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/block/sda44 [fs-size]
or
mkfs.f2fs /dev/block/sda44 [fs-size]

Note: fs-size is optional. depending on encryption method you may reserve last -16384 bytes for encryption footer. in this case calculate sectors


Heres a simple solution to that:

Download and install Shuame from http://www.shuame.com/
Its an app is full of android tools.Its in Chinese, though.
Install your tablet's device drivers. Youll have to find these according to the chipset your tablet uses as many chineses tabs and phones pretty much dont exist on the internet and so, youll have to search by chipset. Its probably by Mediatek.
Connect your tab to the PC and launch shuame.If your tablet isn't detected automatically, click on the blue button next to the phone icon in the main page.
4.Once your tablet is detected, click on the icon with foure squares on it in the navigation tab.
Click on the button on the left column with the phone icon and the text "recovery.

That should get your tablet to recovery mode.


How to recover a deleted file from /data partition?

First to clarify root and data:

Root directory / of Android devices is a read-only pseudo (temporary) filesystem (rootfs) that lives in RAM and is vanished when device is powered off. When device is powered on, it's again extracted from initramfs that lives in boot partition along with kernel.
On newer devices with system-as-root, system partition is mounted at root /.
/data directory is a mountpoint, where largest partition, usually named userdata is mounted. This partition contains all user apps, their data (settings, databases, caches, temporary files etc.), system apps' data and all other configurations we make through Settings. /data/media/0 is the directory that we see as /sdcard or /storage/emulated/0 through emulation.

... there was a file in the /data directory which I need. Is it possible to create an image (.img or something similar) of the root directory ...

If a file is deleted from /data, you need to create a dump of data partition, not that of root directory.
You can do that in multiple ways described below. All require root access.

But first of all see this answer to make sure your data is recoverable.
In short, recovery is more or less possible only if (1):

Your deleted data hasn't been TRIMmed or discarded.
And you haven't done a factory reset on encrypted /data partition.

What you should do immediately:

Switch off phone to make sure the deleted dats isn't overwritten.
Don't install data recovery apps on device, it can do more harm than good.
Mount the filesystem (if required) in recovery mode (or on PC) only with ro,nodiscard options.

FINDING BLOCK DEVICE:
In order to access userdata partition, you need to find its block device. If you have root access, you can do so from mounted partitions:
~# mount | grep 'on /data'
/dev/block/mmcblk0p... on /data type f2fs (rw,nosuid,nodev,...)

On Qualcomm devices, it's located at /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata (symlink). For MediaTek (MTK) and other SoCs, the path is slightly different. You can find all block devices or by-name directory using find command:
~# find /dev -type b
~# find /dev -type d -name 'by-name'

Or by hit and trial:
~# ls -d /dev/*/by-name
~# ls -d /dev/*/*/by-name
~# ls -d /dev/*/*/*/by-name

Note:

If your /data partition has Full Disk Encryption (FDE) you need to decrypt it before exposing to UMS because decrypting Android's FDE on PC is near to impossible in most cases due to hardware-backed encryption. See some relevant explanation in my answer to Cross-platform compatible encryption of SD-card for Android. dm-crypt decrypts block device to /dev/block/dm-[N]. Use this instead of userdata.
To prevent any data loss, recommended is to create dump when partition is not mounted i.e. in recovery mode.

CREATING PARTITION DUMP:
DISK DUMP (dd)
Once the block device is known, you can use dd command from:

ADB shell (OS or custom recovery)
A terminal emulator app like Termux

Since the userdata partition is the largest partition (all other partitions hardly using 5GB out of total storage), you can't dump it to your internal memory. An external SD card with larger capacity is needed.
To create dump:
~# dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata of=/path/to/ext_sdcard/data.img

ADB
If you don't want to use external SD card, you can also dump the partition directly to PC. First you need a working adb setup, running as root. Then it can be used in multiple ways:
~$ adb exec-out dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata > data.img

* Make sure your adb binary (on Windows or Linux) supports exec-out.
But you may end up with corrupted data when writing a whole large-sized partition to STDOUT of terminal because there are issues with line break types (CR LF). Also STDOUT or STDERR from the programs involved could possibly be added to file if not directed to /dev/null. Even a single wrong byte may render filesystem un-mountable. See this question for reference.
To avoid unwanted characters, use stty raw and/or dos2unix:
~$ adb shell 'stty raw && dd if=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata' > data.img

But the most straightforward way is:
~$ adb pull /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata data.img

See this answer for more details.
STREAM OVER TCP
To avoid the terminal related complications described above or if for some reason adbd cannot be run as root, it's also possible to create a minimal TCP server for data transfer. Forward port from phone to PC and run netcat TCP server in listening mode:
~$ adb reverse tcp:1024 tcp:1024
~$ nc -v -l -p 1024 </dev/null | pv -ab >data.img

On phone:
~# cat /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata | busybox nc 127.0.0.1 1024

USB TETHERING (RNDIS)
To avoid using ADB at all, USB tethering can be used to provide network connectivity:
~# cd /sys/class/android_usb/android0
~# echo -n 0 >enable
~# echo -n rndis,adb >functions
~# echo -n 1 >enable

* You may also change other files like {iSerial,iProduct,iManufacturer} and f_rndis/{ethaddr,manufacturer,wceis,rndis_transports,max_pkt_per_xfer} in above directory if required.
* On new devices you might need to use /config interfaces instead of /sys. Some relevant hints here.
Add IP address:
~# busybox ip rule add lookup main
~# busybox ip address add 192.168.1.1/30 dev rndis0
~# busybox ip link set rndis0 up

On PC add IP manually (there's no DHCP server):
~$ sudo ip address add 192.168.1.2/30 dev usb0
~$ nc -v -l -p 1024 </dev/null | pv -ab >data.img

On phone:
~# busybox nc 192.168.1.2 1024 </dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata

In the same way it's also possible to use rclone rcat to transfer dump over WebDAV or FTP or SFTP. See How to stream an encrypted backup of the entire device to remote host?
USB MASS STORAGE (UMS)
This method is useful if you don't want to create a dump of partition, instead access partition directly on PC. See my answer to Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC? for methods on how to enable UMS thorough /sys or /config interfaces.
Once done, userdata will appear as a partition on Linux PC just as we connect a USB drive. If /dev/sda is the hard disk drive, usually /dev/sdb will be the userdata partition. You can find that by using blkid command:
~# blkid | grep userdata
/dev/sdb: PARTLABEL="userdata" PARTUUID="..."

You can run recovery program directly on block device or mount the filesystem (if needed) or may also create a dump.
HOW TO RECOVER DATA?
There are basically two ways to recover deleted data as mentioned in this answer: carving method and through filesystem.
Recovery tools mostly don't need mounting filesystems but if it's required, it needs to be done on Linux PC because Windows doesn't support ext4 or f2fs natively, hence the tools aren't easily available AFAIK.
If anyone has been able to successfully make block/journal level access to Linux/Android filesystem for data recovery on Windows through Ext3Fsd or any other driver, let me know so  that I can update the answer.
On Linux you can use tools like extundelete to recover data using filesystem journal:
~# extundelete --restore-all data.img

Or to recover data directly with UMS:
~# extundelete --restore-all /dev/sdb

Since you have done a factory reset which erases filesystem, consider carving method using tools like testdisk or scalpel:
~# testdisk data.img

In the same way you can use any other data recovery tools. See ArchWiki File Recovery for more details.

RELATED:

How to get data off a completely dead Android phone?
How to take full image backup of eMMC?
Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC?
Is there any way to recover data from 2nd SD partition?
How disk space is used on Android device?


(source: howtogeek.com)
If you are getting this screen, that means your Android has booted into "recovery mode".


Can I use Android Emulator to get the Free apps from Amazon's app store?

You can certainly install the Amazon App Store app on the emulator.  First go to the settings and allow installation of apps from unknown sources, then open the browser and download this app.  This will download the app store .apk, which you can then install.

However, if you are planning to download and run Angry Birds (or other games), on the emulator, you will probably find it is too slow unless you have a very fast PC.  It might work OK for less demanding apps.

Also, beware that at the moment Amazon only permits US users to download apps (see How can I get apps from the Amazon app store from an unsupported region?).


If a specific app doesn't require full network access permission means it's completely privacy safe?

Unfortunately, all apps always have the ability to access the internet. The permission can be misleading. It has to do with viewing other devices on a network and the network details.
What you can do is right after downloading the app, put your phone in airplane mode. That will prevent any data from leaving the phone, then uninstall it before turning airplane mode off.

Although in all reality, unless you're running Paranoid Android, your data is never truly safe, and even then it isn't perfect.


LOL i went thru this few weeks ago put cyanogenmod and gapps on the sd wipe your system,data,boot . flash cm13 then gapps then in twrp if you have it if not flash itdo a factory reset. that will remove the gapps issues boot into cm13 and all should be good


ZTE Obsidian running Android 5.1 doesn't save files to SD card.

Later versions of Android do not allow for install to SD card. The cache can be saved here (which you've already enabled the option for) but installing the application directly to the SD card is no longer supported.


Unable to install Express (of Node.js) in Android Termux using sdcard0 as directory

Unfortunately, the answer is No, not even with root.

Android uses FUSE (Filesystem in USErspace), which has symbolic links disabled. Since Node needs to setup symlinks, it's impossible to install it onto the SD card (or whatever internal storage where you store your photos, downloads, etc.). You can only install it into Termux's directory, which is /data/data/com.termux/files.


Is there a way to search for a number in Google without interrupting the call?

I believe this depends on your provider.

For example: Verizon's CDMA network does not allow you to do Data + Call; however AT&T's GSM network will.

And as eldarerathis points out:

  Another potentially important distinction is that phones on CDMA carriers with other networking capabilities (WiMAX and LTE) will support simultaneous voice and data since they're essentially operating on two separate chips, so this can also be dependent on your device.

So this ends up being device, and carrier dependent.


space storage running out - "used space" using a lot of storage

There are a few things that can be done here. I'll try to be as concise as possible here to help:

Option 1. If your phone supports SD cards, I would recommend you attach your phone to a PC, clone your current SD and then duplicate it onto the new SD. This isn't really ideal as from your question it looks like you're not actually using the space.

Option 2. It may be beneficial to un-install several applications that are not frequently used and delete a few files. Once you have some spare room you can install applications like: Easy Uninstaller to remove applications and their leftovers, All In One Toolbox to help uninstall applications, delete temporary files and perform general maintenence of your phone and Well File Manager.

By applying the use of one of these you can uninstall redundant applications, clear temporary files and redundant files from applications. One a side note, there is an option in Settings to keep application data- you may wish to review this and see if it helps.

Option 3. Perform a backup of your phone, factory restore it and batch reinstall all applications. This can be achieved with the use of a tool called Super Backup Pro for Messages and Contacts. All applications can be recovered via the play store.

It would however be curious to see what files are being stored in the directory reporting the large use of space. Unlikely, but it may also be beneficial to perform a scan of your phone to ensure there is no malicious applications causing this odd occurrence.

If this answer is sufficient mark it so. If you feel as though I have not answered this correctly please provide more informaton.


You might need an adapter. I know that when I bought a couple of ear plugs with a mic once, I got an adapter with them that stated the adapter was for Samsung, among other brands. On the surface it looked like a "3,5 mm > 3,5 mm" adapter so I wasn't sure what the difference was, but upon inspecting it I noticed the plug had three "lines" where it usually only has two (I think). Don't quote me on this, but it obviously had a point since they included it.

So in short, it might be that your Skullcandy earbuds are made to work with iPhones for example, but the designers did not consider how the plugs are made for Samsung or other Android devices. If you have a working pair, try comparing the plugs.

To fix it, I guess you would need an adapter. In the future this could be good to know as well, so you can adapt your purchase after what product supports your phone.


Google Chrome - Do Incognito tabs automatically delete if phone runs out of battery?

The very purpose of having an Incognito mode would be beaten if those tabs would come back after you restart the Chrome or the device.
Google has the following to say here:
(Emphasis mine)

If you don’t want Google Chrome to save a record of what you visit and download, you can browse the web in incognito mode.
...
Incognito mode opens a new window where you can browse the Internet without Chrome saving the sites you visit.... When you close the tabs, Chrome won’t save the sites you’ve visited.

When browsing in Incognito mode Chrome doesn't record the tabs you visit which means there exists no possibility for a normal user to retrieve  them if the Chrome tries to recover/resume the last browsing session once you boot the device after charging it, in your case.
Whatever you browsed in that mode before the device went dark is lost now.
Though having a clear proof already,  I did test the solution by crashing my device and then launching the Chrome after booting it. Nope, those tabs doesn't show up anywhere.


Disable lock screen wallpaper on S3 Android 4.3

You could try and change it to a black wallpaper. There is a No Wallpaper app on Google Play, which you install as a live wallpaper. It doesn't take a lot of resources.


Is screen mirroring only possible on enabled devices?

Mirroring, or MiraCast is actually not fully supported on Android, this has lead Google to build their own mirroring software...

MiraCast never really worked on Android, there's always a resolution problem because android isn't designed to OutPut video on different resolution's.

The solution is sort of a screen recorder that utilizes WiFi and software to show the screen recording on a computer or T.V.

I'm sure that it can be enabled on any device that has had MirrorCast  in the past.

For example, Android 5.1 and up have the option to mirror removed completely while they work on a new version designed for android.

You can enable the old MirrorCast using some build.prop tweaks, however it's extremely unstable, Hence the removal in the first place.


What should I try to bring a rear camera back to life?

This is a common problem with this unit. I contacted the manufacture about it (http://www.orientdeal.com/orientphone-one-max-5-inch-1080p-screen-quad-core-1.5ghz-2gb-ram-32gb-rom-android-phone.html) and was told that due to the heat that builds up around the camera the modules fail. They recommend replacing the entire camera module. My unit they told me was under warranty and the work would be completed without cost, IF it was returned to them in China. I sent the unit off and many months later it was returned as "Undeliverable" I contacted them again and they re-confirmed I was shipping it to the correct address and had no idea why it had been returned. I sent the unit back again (At another $14 cost!)and once again after many months it has been returned as "Unclaimed" This time the manufacture will not return my emails or chats and I am beginning to question their honesty. For purchasing a brand new phone, I have now had to buy another to have one that works. I recommend looking at Elephone, quality is good and so far they stand behind their products. I am looking into replacing the camera module myself, but I doubt I would ever buy Orientdeal products again.


How can I recover contact information from a stolen phone?

IT depends, if you were using the built-in Contacts, then the contacts are stored on the phone. There are apps. that allow you to remote control your phone via Internet or SMS, but, if you didn't install any of these (like Lookout, etc.), then your contacts cannot be retrieved.


My camera was hidden and I lose the icon. how can I get the icon once again?

If you go to settings, apps, disabled, can you see the camera app there.

If so, click on it, and click enable.


Is it dangerous to keep my phone plugged in indefinitely?

As you've said it is "incredibly cheap, all-around low quality phone" yes there are chances of overheating and all. I suggest you to charge it only at nights as you need it only for alarm.


Basically roaming icon comes on two chances,

When you are in the different state.
When you are in the same state but in a union territory or capital of the state(only in few states)( like : Airtel,Vodafone treats Chennai as one place, Pondicherry as one place and rest of Tamil Nadu as another place. So if I buy a SIM from some city other than Chennai in Tamil Nadu and when I move to Chennai, the "R" symbol appears.).

So, you don't have to worry. You wont be charged. And it doesn't drain your battery. And you can keep your mobile data on, it wont make any difference if you are in roaming or not.
Mobile Data wont charge you extra.


Is Google Play Music the same as the stock Android Music App?

No, it's a completely different service.

In fact, it's a cloud service with an Android app; whereas the Music app is simply a local music app.


Or you can use the profile lock. As that is what is intended for.

Go to the profile press the lock icon next to the profile you want to set,  then just select the length of time.

Also if you go to the same theater,  make a profile for that area for silent. Obviously if it uses the same tower as another area, you will have to add condition such as"and" or "or" to prevent conflicts.


What are some use-cases for FireFox|Chrome-to-Phone?

Maps. Setting up directions and alternate routes in Google Maps is much easier with a full-fledged web client. Then, when I have what I need, I can send it to my phone.


I have experienced the same issue on my Galaxy S2(Android version 2.3.5). It was cause by Youtube, not the call app. When I saw the log related to youtube, I tried to start youtube by touching its icon, but it failed to start. You can try to see if you can start youtube now.

Then I went to "Settings/Application/Manage Applications" and found "Youtube". Cleared its data and cache. Now try to start youtube again. If it cannot start, check if you has disabled data sync. Enable it in "Settings/Account and Sync/Background data". Try to sync your data to allow youtube to update. After youtube is updated, it should be ok for the call app to work properly.

Hope this can also fix your problem. Cheers.


Etar - Open source calendar app is what we needed.
See its source at GitHub.


Email notifications for google calendar events

For the Google Calendar website, desktop version (the following doesn't apply to mobile version of the website, so you must request desktop version of the page from your mobile browser):

Edit or create your calendar event, under event color selection you'll see Reminders, by default you'll have an email sent 10 minutes before the event start time.

The following is for the Google Calendar app:

Open your calendar event, go to Reminders, then tap the triangle selector under Notification, you'll see there is an Email option too.

If there is no reminder set, tap Add reminder first, or edit your event (the pencil icon).


How to prevent phone to install bloatware automatically

Looks like malware in your phone is pre-installed by manufacturer.

It's better to install another ROM.
You may check here which one owners of your device recommend.


Work-around for process substitution in mksh

Apparently the only (?) way to do this, is by using a named pipe like this:

mkfifo myp1 || exit
mkfifo myp2 || exit
sort list1 >myp1 &
sort list2 >myp2 &
diff myp1 myp2
rm -f myp1 myp2

This need to be put into a mksh shell function in order to be of any real command line use. Another tricky part seem to be that AOS has implemented some kind of timeout that kills or messes up the pipe, if not used within a few seconds. (Reason unknown.)


Is there a way to navigate back after an inter-page jump in a PDF reader?

ezPDF Reader (free trial, pro) supports this.

Assuming you have a table of contents (TOC), clicking on a chapter link will take you to a page far from the TOC. If you click on the button with "a page and left arrow" icon (encircled below), it will take you back to the TOC.