my micromax a35 bricked when installing custom rom

Its simple to install a custom rom on any device just follow these steps:

Step 1: Install Custom Recovery

At first, make sure you have Unlocked Bootloader and installed a custom recovery on your Android device. If not, then read our guide to Install Custom Recovery on Android without PC.

Step 2. Download a ROM

You need to download a custom ROM for your device. Search on the Google with your Device name and model and then download a ROM for your device if available. You will get custom ROM file in zip format. Save it on your external SD Card.

Step 4. Reboot into Recovery

Reboot your device into Recovery.

Just Switch off your phone >> Push Power & Volume+ button together and hold it for 10 seconds to enter into recovery.

Make sure to Backup your current ROM data.

Now, click on the Wipe from the Recovery home.

After clicking on the wipe option, Swipe to Confirm and Wipe Data, Cache and Dalvik

Step 5. Install Custom ROM from SD Card

Goto the Install Option from the Recovery.

Locate the ROM zip file which you have downloaded.

Confirm and Install the zip and wait for the successful completion of the installation.

Step 6. Install GApps

After installing the ROM, again goto the Install option.

Locate the GApps zip file which you have saved in your SD Card.

Wait till the installation completes.

After completing flashing process, Wipe Cache, Dalvik/ART cache.

Now, Reboot your device.


In paragon mount, try changing the mount point when you tap mount. Just make a new folder in the root of your storage space.


How can I see which folders are used by a particular app

As root shell:

ls -l /proc/$PID/fd

To get application's current PID:

ps -C $appname -o pid=

But there are good chances all your application settings are on /data/data/$appname/{shared_prefs,databases}


App Icons for Apps on SD Card Disappear on Reboot

Those Apps which icon get lost after ejection of the SD Card are actually in the SD card and when you take SD card out of your Mobile, android is not able to find the specific App in its system. Thats why Android is not able to show the icons of the Apps. For getting out of this problem kindly go o Settings>Application Manager. Move all your apps to Phone Storage from SD card by opening each Application and selection Move to Phone Storage


How to delete a date and time tab in setting to prevent user from changing it?

Please understand my awkward English (I am writing with an English dictionary.)

As you can see comments on this question, I have solved this problem by FireLord's help, but it not perfect, because I am not good at Android.

This question is similar to this.  Refer to this first.

In summary, my simple solution is this:

Using Settings Editor (needs Xposed Framework)
Using My Android Tools or Elixrs 2 apk (needs root permission)
pm disable with adb

In my case, a approach of using 'pm disable' with adb is not working.
(adb asks me a correct package name. I command adb shell pm disable com.android.settings.˜˜˜.. I don't know correct reason)

And, I can't use the approach of 1. using Settings Editor, because my financial app blocks Xposed Framework.

So I have solved by (2) using my Android tools:

installed apk -> activity menu -> find 'Setting' apk under System tab

disable components you want by toggling these. Such as display, language ...(needed root access)

I think many Setting component is named 'setting$example'.

But you should learn by trial and error, disable 10 packages and test by opening Setting apk and again, again to get a result you want. (You should backup first before testing)

In my case, it's easy to hide display, language tab and etc (just disable one proper package).

But the "Date and time" tab is never disabled.

So I disabled 'SystemSettings' (I've hidden the whole system category in the Settings), 'SubSettings' to block approach of all menu from Search in settings (it blocks many Activity. Should check after disable!) and 'SettingActivity' in Clock apk to prevent the appearance of the date and time menu.

It is hard to say a correct and perfect solution because of my broken English and deficient knowledge about Android. What I want to emphasize is this: you should learn by trial and error, and then you can get a result what you want.

Thanks for reading and to FireLord.


Got to the bottom of this. If your data connection isn't on when someone sends you an MMS, the download has a tendency to hang. If you shut off the connection to save battery or have any app that does this (like Juice Defender), this will happen to you a lot. Go into the MMS app's settings and turn off the "auto retrieve" option for MMS and you should be right as rain.


Adding custom bootup script to Android-x86 Nougat

The avc denial you have got states that:

  init is running with its context u:r:init:0, you want it to execute /system/bin/mystart (script, binary, whatever) which is labeled as u:object_r:system_file:s0. But init isn't allowed to execute system_file in sepolicy. However you have set SELinux permissive, so it's just a warning, not actual denial.

Therefore you don't need to do anything with SELinux unless you set it enforcing. There must be some other problem with your shell script. Put set -x; exec >/data/media/0/mystart.log 2>&1 at the start of your script to see what happens when it's executed.

RELATED: How to run an executable on boot and keep it running?


If you don't know what device you have, it's hard to get any assistance.
Without any warranties of success, and without assuming any responsability by what may happen to your device, I can suggest that you visit UnlockRoot, known to work with tons of devices, may became a solution for yours.
The process is done with three steps:

Your device must be in USB Debugging mode. Turn it on, go to Settings-> Applications-> Development and check the box.（Look Here）
Connect your device to your PC, Run UnlockRoot.exe.
Click "Unlock Root", enjoy!

And it's reported to work quiet well, see last entry labeled "What are the Risks of Rooting?".
The FAQ section is also quiet useful.

Read the documentation from the website and proceed at your own risk.


How can I symlink the /cache folder on boot?

You might want to take a look at DirectoryBind, which was developed for things like this. It takes care for the user-configured "mounts" at boot-time and also on-demand, so nothing should "disappear" on a boot.

Basically, it is intended to map things from internal/phone storage to external/sd storage -- especially for cases like yours, were internal memory is running low.

NOTE: According to ce4's answer, this method will not bring any profit concerning the /data folder, as /cache is using its own partition (this seems to apply to all Android devices -- checked with 7 different devices from 5 different manufacturers; according to ce4 this is especially needed on encrypted devices, as an unencrypted partition is required to store firmware updates onto for execution). So if your concern is increasing storage on /data, this won't do with /cache. But if you simply need more space in /cache, it should be perfectly fine. You could then use the original block device (where /cache was pointing to) for something else ;)

NOTE2: AFAIK Google Playstore uses /data/local to buffer its downloads. On most devices, this should only be a directory on the /data partition, and thus could easily be handled by DirectoryBind.

Additional hint: check with the df command from within a terminal whether the directory you want to move from internal to external storage is using a separate partition or not.


What is the Practical difference between the Home screen and the Launcher screen?

The main difference is that the launcher screen contains all installed apps on your system. You cannot order it nor do anything but using the icons to access any application.

In the main screen you can:

Add shortcuts to applications (icons
like the ones in the launcher
screen), you can place each icon in
the place you want.
Add widgets that provide rich
functionalities like clocks,
calendars or weather access.

If you want to compare your phone with a computer, launcher screen is the equivalent of “start menu” in windows, while the main screen(s) are the equivalent to the desktop.


Limited internal storage, how to shift stuff to sd card

There are many "*2SD" methods, and they generally involve root access.

My personal favorite is Link2SD. It uses symlinks, which take up (practically) no space. The actual program, data, libraries, etc are stored on a second partition on your SD card. This comes with the downside of actually having to create two partitions on your SD card (meaning it will have to be formatted).

If you have root, you likely have a custom recovery installed that can automatically partition your SD card.

The upside of multiple partitions is that you can mount your sd card when plugged into a computer without causing the apps to disappear from your device. This is because only one partition is actually unmounted from android and mounted on the computer, and the other partition holding your apps is never unmounted.


Figured it out after a bit of troubleshooting. Done using Root Explorer.

Copy "base.apk" and "lib" folder from "/data/app/xyz" to "/system/app/xyz" and set the permissions. Make  sure to not delete the files from /data/app/xyz after copying!

Example with Google Messages:
- Create a folder called "GoogleMessages" in "/system/app"
- Remount "/system" as read-write when warned
- Copy "base.apk" and "lib" folder from "/data/app/com.google.android.apps.messaging-xyz" to the new folder
- Rename "base.apk" to "GoogleMessages.apk"
- Give respective permissions to the folders and files.

Permissions for folders -> rwxr-xr-x
Permissions for .apk and files inside lib -> rw-r--r--

I can't guarantee that this will work on every device, just make sure to have a proper backup ready if something breaks or just use the file manager in recovery to delete the created folder.


Will this "SIM Free" Android phone for sale near Osaka (Japan) work in Europe and North America?

This is the JP/TW variant of ZenFone 3 Max - detailed specs here.

From the listed LTE bands, it's missing the crucial Band 20 (wide coverage) for European countries and main bands for major carriers in the US. You will likely get less-than-stellar LTE coverage out of the device as a result. 3G will still work and likely suffice for most use cases.


Difference between su vs root SSH login for mounting?

I upgraded to CYM 11 M10, and now su works fine. No doubt it was a bug. So now I can mount/umount encrypted stuff as I was always able to do.

It seems the problem is solved in the M10 build.


After performing a full backup of my phone, I went through and re-rooted (not too sure the actual steps taken as I used the same method), and then reinstalled Xposed.

After validating root access via SuperSU and that the default setting for updating applications was retain root access I went ahead and used the "install via recovery" method, which succeed (I used the .zip for Android 5.0). Then lastly I ensured I performed a soft reboot rather than a normal reboot (although I would have assumed the default reboot option would be that of a soft reboot to ensure Xposed started).

So there we have it, another PEBCAK move by me - ensure you soft reboot and do not let the default reboot take course


Help! android device manager... will enable lock & erase appear after resetting the device?

It is clear that all the data is deleted. But after you reset the phone, if the location is turned on, then only you will get the exact location on map. Otherwise, you cannot get the location.


Why is my Android activity showing up on myactivity.google.com?

On your phone, navigate to Settings > Google (or Accounts and select Google account). Then click Google Account > Data & Personalization.

Under Activity Controls section you can review and turn on/off many of these tracking features. BTW, you consented to this when you skimped over the ToS Agreement and just clicked "next, next" when setting up your phone.

Each section explains what it saves/tracks.

Web & App Activity is specific to Google Apps and Websites (maps, search, account, etc). It also includes 3rd party Apps you use on Google's OS (i.e. Android). It also includes history (i.e. Chrome History) of these apps. Thankfully, the latter can be separately disabled.
Device Information is more for preinstalled Android apps, like Phone and Contacts, voice searches, etc.

Oh and it has been going on for years.
The only "recentish" change is that logging into 1 Google Service (for example, Maps) also logs you automatically into other Google Services (like YouTube, Gmail, etc)


How do I root Samsung Galaxy Tab? (Verizon)

I have not attempted this myself, but here are the steps that I found and seems pretty close to how I rooted my Samsung Galaxy S.

I am not responsible for any issues that arise from following these steps, including, but not limited to your device spontaneously bursting in to flames. I suggest you do additional research and see what others say about using the tools below and read EVERYTHING TWICE before doing it. And follow the instructions step-by-step.

The firsts step is to make sure that you have KIES installed on your computer.
Now download SuperOneClick Root App from here and save it on your desktop.
Once this is done, turn your Samsung Galaxy Tab on and connect it with your computer. Make sure that you have USB debugging mode disabled and sync with KIES.
Now disconnect Galaxy Tab from computer and enable USB Debugging mode. You can enable the USB debugging mode by Settings>Applications>Development>USB Debugging.
Now reconnect your tab again to your PC and tap the Home button so that your Tab loses sync connection with KIES.
Once done, launch SuperOneClick.exe and click on root. Please wait for 5 to 10 minutes while the application roots your Galaxy Tab.


Viper4Android and OxygenOS 2.1.1 OnePlus 2

It is not compatible with OxygenOS but you can give a try to Custom ROMs like CM13


Are there different results, depending on how you uninstall an Android app?


Light sensor not working after Lollipop update

This is an issue with lollipop and it has been reported to google. Until google fix the issue you need to lock screen using power button manually.


When will my device get the Android 7.0 update (Nougat)?

This community wiki will list all of the known and rumored dates for devices. If you have an update make sure to follow the format that's been established, and the following guidelines:

Keep devices in alphabetical order, listing the manufacturer and model.
Specify if the date is confirmed or rumored, and link to the source.
If there is an unofficial release, link to the site where it can be downloaded

Phones

Huawei

Nexus 6P:  2016-08-22 (confirmed)
Mate 8: Q1 2017 (source)
P9: Q1 2017 (source)
P9 Plus: Q1 2017 (source)
P9 Lite: Q1 2017 (source)
Nova: Q1 2017 (source)
Nova Plus: Q1 2017 (source)

HTC

10 - H1 2017 (depending on regional variant) - (confirmed)
One A9 - H1 2017 (depending on regional variant) - (confirmed)
One M9 - H1 2017 (depending on regional variant) - (confirmed)

LG

Nexus 5:  Never (confirmed)
Nexus 5X:  2016-08-22 (confirmed)

Motorola

Nexus 6:  2016-08-22 (confirmed)
Moto Z: by the end of 2016 (confirmed)
Moto Z Force: by the end of 2016 (confirmed)
Moto Z Play: by the end of 2016 (confirmed)
Moto G4: by the end of 2016 (confirmed)
Moto G4 Plus: by the end of 2016 (confirmed)
Moto X Pure Edition (3rd Gen): announced (source)
Moto X Style: announced (source)
Moto X Play: announced (source)
Moto X Force: announced (source)
Droid Turbo 2: announced (source)
Droid Maxx 2: announced (source)

Wileyfox

According to Wileyfox, ALL of their devices will be updated to 7.1.1 nougat. At time of writing (2017-05-02), the rollout is well underway. (source)

OnePlus

None yet.

Samsung

None yet.

Sony

Xperia Z3+: announced (source)
Xperia Z5: announced (source)
Xperia Z5 Compact: announced (source)
Xperia Z5 Premium: announced (source)
Xperia X: announced (source)
Xperia XA: announced (source)
Xperia XA Ultra: announced (source)
Xperia X Performance: announced (source)

Tablets

Asus

Nexus 7 (2013): Never (confirmed)

HTC

Nexus 9: 2016-08-22 (confirmed)

Sony

Xperia Z4 tablet: announced (source)

Other

Nexus Player: 2016-08-22 (confirmed)
Pixel C:  2016-08-22 (confirmed)


How to create folder in app drawer of galaxy A3?

The creation of folders depends on the launcher.
If you can't simply drop one icon on top of another (a folder would be created with two icons inside), try changing launcher.

Go launcher gives you the option of adding folders on the app drawer, so give it a go. The downside is that go launcher on the last years has been supported by ads. Give it a go and see if it's too much or if it's bearable.

Nova launcher is a good option (low on resources and plenty of customization) (you can add drawer folders and tabs with prime, I don't know how much but not a free solution)

Both are two good and stable launchers that have been evolving for a couple of years now. See which one suits you best.


Saving contacts when I change ROM on Xiaomi MI3

If it's just about contacts, that should be easy:

open the contacts app
tap the "overflow menu" (the 3 "stapled dots", usually in the upper-right corner)
select Export/Import
select Export to SD card (might be named slightly different)

A few seconds later, there should be a file called 0001.vcf in the root of your SD card. That's all your contacts stored in VCard format. Copy that file to your PC (or any other safe place off the device). If later you wish to restore them again, the same procedure can be used – except that in step 4 you'd need to chose "Import from SD card", of course.


Android 7 Bluetooth intermittent disconnecting

Go to Location settings, put mode in Battery saving mode. This helps with battery drain. Then press the 3-dots -> select Scanning -> disable Bluetooth scanning and also disable WiFi scanning.
Go to Battery -> click 3-dots -> Optimization. Select All apps, then don't optimize BT tool.


tun.ko for Samsung Intercept/Stock Froyo

CyanogenMod 6 is Froyo, and ships with OpenVPN support for ARMv6 phones, such as my HTC Magic.

If nothing else you can unpack the update.zip they supply, find the tun.ko driver, and push it to your phone via adb.


How do I put only one SIM card in dual-sim smartphone to "Airplane mode"?

You missed the very first configuration menu item: "SIM card management".

There are checkboxes to enable first and second SIM cards, as well as to choose which card is used for data and for calls/messages.


How to keep my music and alarm files separate

Folder player does that for you.
I use the pro version for years now. (I'm a fan).
But the free version works just fine for this purpose.
Just select a home folder in the settings.
I always select the directory above the Music folder, so I'm able to shuffle trough al the mp3's.

Hope this works out for you.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.folderplayer


You could always remove the home number from your contact information. It will then match your wife when getting a call from home. You can try re-adding the home number back to your own contact card and see if the change sticks.

If you have the home number in your own contact info as well as your wife's, Android will display the first contact it finds. Since your 'self' card was probably synced before your wife's card, Android shows your 'self' card as the incoming contact. (Whereas before, you likely added the home number to your wife's contact first, then to your 'self' card later).

There's another android.se question asking a similar question.


Phone using mobile data instead of Wi-Fi

Go into the Wi-Fi settings, press Menu, choose Advanced. You should get options including Wi-Fi Sleep Policy. Sounds like its set to turn off Wi-Fi when the screen is off.


An app must explicitly support App2SD, or you cannot move it to the card. There are several reasons why an app might not support it:

using widgets (both mentioned apps seem to fall into this category. AK Notepad: "Pin notes to your home screen"; Any.DO: "You can even add our widget to your homescreen")
running a service

As the sdcard would be unaccessible when connecting to a computer, both things would "crash" (as they could no longer access their data etc.). Of course there's always the possibility the developer simply didn't care -- in which case you should contact him and ask.


HTC One V rooted - can't upgrade from htc release

Two ways to flash official update from manufacturer on rooted phone:
1) Look for flashable zip with untouched or just rooted official ROM with latest updates included.
2) Revert your ROM and Bootloader to manufacturers default and then install update

You can find stock roms and instructions to revert to stock in XDA Developers Forums


Locking applications to wifi only data connections

Assuming you've got Android 4.0 or higher, you can do the following:

Go to Settings→Data Usage
Activate the limit by marking the checkbox, and moving the red and orange bars for "Deactivation" and "Warning" (hint: you can set them imaginary high to not have any effect -- but they must be enabled)
Now scroll the list below the graph and tap the apps you want to limit. At the end of their resp. pages, you'll find another checkbox to limit their background data -- mark it.

Limiting data usage
Now those apps can no longer use mobile data without your consent: only actions you triggered yourself ("foreground data") will be performed by them, no sync in the background or other background activity.
(Almost) Independent of the Android version used, but root available:
You can use a firewall app such as e.g. DroidWall - Android Firewall or its successor AFWall+ (Android Firewall) to explicitly permit/forbid apps to use either mobile data or WiFi or both. Whitelists (forbid all except...) or blacklists (permit all but...) are possible.

DroidWall and AFWall+ (source: Google Play; click images for larger variant)
Else
Worth a try: NoRoot Firewall. Not sure if and how this works without root -- but it's free, so nothing to lose :)

NoRoot Firewall (source: Google Play; click image to enlarge)


Trading clipboard contents between phone and computer

If all you care about is the clipboard sharing, you might want to take a look at ClipSync. This app allows you to share your clipboard between multiple Android devices and your Windows PC: Copy on one device, and it appears in the clipboard of all others. At least that's what the app description says (all Windows I have are just for fresh air and light coming in, or to look out of them (not Out-look), so I cannot verify). A 4.5 star rating suggests it works -- and it's only 150kB "big".

If you want a bigger benefit, take Compro01's advice and have a look at Airdroid. It's a great app, and lets you maintain your Android device from any web browser in the same WiFi network really nice (edit your contacts, write SMS, browse pics...). An beside that, allows for clipboard sharing.


Huawei bootloader: what is "FB Lock" and how to unlock it?

There are two types of bootloader locks in Huawei devices: FB Lock and USER Lock.

USER Lock restricts the standard partitions like system, data, recovery, kernel etc, but not the critical bootloader-partitions which I don't remember the names of. (So you can't edit them even if you perform a USER Unlock) The USER Lock is what requires the bootloader unlock code to unlock. Also, there are some hidden hardware commands which are used for serious debugging like JTAG, that cannot be accessed with a USER Unlock.

FB Lock is used for protecting these restricted functions. A FB Unlock works as a key for all of Fastboot. (So if you perform a FB Unlock then you can unlock everything USER Unlock does, and the other restricted stuff) FB Lock is intended to be used by Huawei personnel for repairing. It is NOT supposed to be unlocked by users, but it is possible anyway, as I discovered after quite some research, but it doesn't work on very new firmware versions like EMUI 8.2 or July/August Security patch. It has been used for years by paid software for performing FRP Unlock, full system restoring, and it can even be used for obtaining a bootloader code for USER Unlock. A FB Unlock is usually temporary.

The method of FB Unlock has been kept behind cover for quite some time now, but I saw recently that it has been leaked on XDA. You can check it out here. That guide also covers a method for extracting the NVME partition for a permanent FB  Unlock. If you don't want a permanent FB Unlock, but would like just a normal USER Unlock, you can skip doing steps after 3, but instead when you boot into TWRP, you can use:

su -c "grep -m1 -aoE 'WVLOCK.{14}[0-9]{16}' /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 |grep -aoE '[0-9]{16}'"

That will output the bootloader unlock code which you can use for standard USER Unlock. Good Luck!


Will a Bluetooth controller work with an android app running on BlueStacks?

I am not certain you can install it in bluestacks, I purchased the Skylanders Trap Team android kit myself and have been unable to install the app on any of my noncompatible devices, including bluestacks. the controller and portal while recognized by my "smart" devices and my bluetooth 4.0 pc fail to pair. It requires the app to be running for the portal and controller to pair. Since googleplay won't let you download incompatible apps you have to find the apk file elsewhere. Every time I try to install the apk file in bluestacks I get the error message, "download failed because you may not have purchased the app" despite it being a free app.I can tell you that the trap team portal/remote is the same as the superchargers one, and so work on the skylanders superchargers app which is free if you own the "hot streak" car however that is only availiable to apple devices. my recomendation is that kit is about $10, and hot streak is > $15 that is half price for superchargers. otherwise if you can manage to get the app to runn in bluestacks and your pc has bluetooth 4.0 (maybe earlier versions) is should work.


Sometimes this can happen, whether it's a decision made by the vendor, or it's really an accidental mistake.

However, it doesn't mean that the whole developer option is removed from the system (though, this could really happen, as shown on the linked question). The workaround is to invoke the developer option through 3rd-party apps, such as:

Developer Options by uDroid (free)
Developer Options by SingleByte (free)
Developer Settings Shortcut (free)
and many more...

If it's still inaccessible, then the developer option might be really removed from the ROM, and you should contact the vendor regarding this.


Corporate Exchange Email Won't Send (stuck in outbox)

The first thing I'd suspect is that a database used by the Email app is corrupted.  To fix this, you need to go to Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications, find the Email app, and clear the data for it.  (If you see anything like "Email Storage" be sure to clear the data for that as well).  Then re-add your account and see if that helps.

If that doesn't work, I recommend asking your company's IT department if they have changed any settings for the Exchange server recently.


What framework/app executes the lockscreen on android 4.2.2

Its been a awhile since I went hunting around those files but I believe its in \system\framework\framework-res.apk


I would start by holding all three physical buttons for a full 3 minutes (phone switched off) to fix battery logic problem. This resets the battery logic on some phones and how the battery talks to the software to let it know how much power it has and other parameters. Service center may be able to help you with exact procedure for your phone (please share their recommendation so that can help others)

Few possibilities if above didn't help:

Battery houses the chip that communicates state of battery to device including charge levels, temperature etc. That could be bad, though your phone is new, being a defective piece. Can be checked by replacing battery
Fuel Gauge drivers in OS corrupted. After backing up data,reflash stock to rule out this possibility. Also eliminates rogue app possibility, though app mischief not likely on your case
Problem with hardware (Fuel Gauge chip). Unlikely but possible

Edit

Further to our discussion, saw this on Nexus forum, which sends to have worked for most, though none reported your problem https://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/nexus/D7er7nMbzHI

  1.Power off your phone.
  2"Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons. This will put the phone in fastboot.
  3.Use the Volume buttons to scroll through the menu until you see "Bootloader logs"
  4.Press and hold the power key for a long time (7+ seconds) until the phone reboots.

3 button procedure described in my answer as first option is more elaborately covered here http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-htc-one/394469-battery-charger-reset-procedure-htc-one-m7-m8.html

Let me know which works...


WhatsApp is getting downloaded but not getting installed

Download WhatsApp manually from apkmirror.com and try to install using that apk file and reason for your device getting restarted own its own can be the too many apps and phone ram not able to handle them properly and too many restarts (due to ram issue ) can cause reset


Toggle location services via adb in Android 5

You may check-out my updated answer dealing with the question in entirety, or consider the following info:

High accuracy: gps,wifi,network or gps,network (if you don't want Wi-Fi enabled)
Battery saving: wifi,network or network only
Device only: gps

E.g:

adb shell settings put secure location_providers_allowed gps,wifi,network

To disable Location mode

adb shell settings put secure location_providers_allowed ' '


USB On-the-go MIDI Keyboard with Nexus 7

You can use any standard Midi keyboard with your device. (src)

There are several keyboards with Korg and Roland. Choice of the device is all yours. But unfortunately there are reports that your nanopad is not working with this as you asked in your original question. (src)

You may want to verify that with the manufacturer first, before you go for a new one. Once you have a standard Midi device (which does not require driver installations), you can use apps like USB MIDI Monitor or Grand Piano

Note: You can try eBay for good solutions. Visit a local music store and check compatibility before you buy as Izzy suggested


What is the exact difference between user and eng binaries?

"Eng" is short for engineering AKA developer build. Those builds have various logging facilities enabled which you do not see on regular "production" builds. Normally you do not want to flash such builds on to your phone.


Mount external SD-card for the secondary user

Some people wrote in 2013 that this is impossible, or at least was impossible back then. Here is what I found on a SonyMobile forum:

"Each user gets their own [internal] space and only the owner has access to the external SD-card."

"One of the reasons for not sharing the SD card is security: FAT file system doesn't allow even for the basic Linux type permissions, thus it's impossible to secure a user's files. I agree it's a bummer but they [Google] have to go w/ the most secure of the solutions..."

(Link to the SonyMobile forum)


I don't think this precise behavior exists in ADW at the moment. However, you can lock your desktop entirely if you want to, which prevents you from moving any of the icons or adding new icons (or widgets). You'll have to unlock it whenever you want add widgets/icons but it's only three clicks (Menu button->More->(un)Lock Desktop).


How do I reduce the amount of storage my Email application data is taking up?

Dave,
I am using LG nexus. Encountered same problem and concern with yours. Here is what I discover then did: tap "Settings"-"Storage"-"Photos&videos"-"Images"(I've chosen "Photos" app to open images always)-"Assistant"-"Empty your trash-bin". In this last step, you will see some other options that the "Assistant" provided. Choose accordingly.
Have a blessed day!


AFAIK there isn't a way to do it without additional applications but this app or this one seem to do what you need it to.


Is it possible to have a media folder inside a .nomedia folder?

Oh I get him now. If the .nomedia file exists in a folder containing the folders you have it will hide files in all those directories. For example having a .nomedia on /sdcard will definitely hide the whole sd card media. So ensure the folder you want media scanned isn't preceding the folder you don't want media scanned. Like:

/sdcard/myfiles/mediapublic/photos
/sdcard/myfiles/mediaprivate/photos

These are two folders. To hide media in mediaprivate and photos. Paste the .nomedia file in the mediaprivate directory. If it's photos folder only. Paste it there only. And ensure to remove the file from the folder containing that folder. There is another alternative you can use. Delete all .nomedia files. The folder you want hidden, just start it's name with a dot. Like

/sdcard/.myfiles/mediapublic/photos

To hide all myfiles

/sdcard/myfiles/mediaprivate/.photos

To hide only photos

Remember the .nomedia file is an empty file with no code even if you open it with text editor. It is 0bytes size and 0characters. So forget about editing it


Is it possible to remove an account from the Gmail app but keep the account on the phone?

Official gmail app uses accounts, provided by Android, so it's impossible. Only if you will use some patched version, what will use private accounts, it possible.


Is factory resetting from recovery or settings better? (LG Q6)

There is no difference - one depends on another.

When you select "Factory Reset" from Settings, it reboots your phone into recovery and wipes there. So there's really no difference as the actual process only takes part in recovery mode. You may choose whichever way for you: Navigate through Settings or use physical buttons - the latter is useful when your phone doesn't boot or the touchscreen malfunctions.


Unable to delete a file in /data/data with root permissions

For delete folder /data/data/ [only for rooted devices]

Install adb tool:  [if already adb install than skip this step ]

Notice that in this method you will only install the platform-tools like adb or fastboot.

1.1) Download:

Download the platform-tools for your OS from https://developer.android.com/tools/sdk/tools-notes.html
Unpack it to <home-drive>\platform-tools

1.2) Mount:

The following steps are for Windows. If you need a different OS like Linux or OSX, have a look at this answer: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/42475/91312

Copy the folder path.Open the Windows Explorer by pressing + E`.
Right-click on This Computer → Properties.
Advanced System Settings → Advanced → Environment Variables.
Variable PATH → Add a ; (Semicolon) & your <home-drive>\platform-tools.
Save all & close.

Commands for delete folder

 $ adb root

 $ adb remount

 $ adb rm -rf /data/data/<folder-name>

or

  $ adb shell

  $ su

  $ mount -o remount,rw /

  $ rm -rf /data/data/<folder-name>

I hope this help you.


Backing up whatsapp to two different google drive accounts

Whatsapp store last 7 backups.

You can see it by checking your file manager -> Whatsapp -> databases and there, you can see almost 7 files.

The size of files vary from each day.

Since you are changed your google account, the last backup file only be stored in G Drive and previous backups will not uploaded there.

So, after 7 days, you can see that the size in G Drive becoming 841 MB.


Android's Chrome bookmarks won't show up in desktop's Chrome

So, you can bookmark folders in your bookmarks manager. Just hit the star to bookmark your bookmarks manager while viewing your mobile bookmarks and stick it in your bookmarks bar, or where ever you want.


Fix "android.process.acore keeps stopping" when the contacts provider can't load it's db

I posted this question trying to find a solution for about an hour and just 10 minutes later I finally found it myself.

Going into the adb shell and running

pm clear com.android.providers.contacts

does not require root privileges and clears the cache, which seems to include the *.db-shm file.

I'm keeping this question here for future reference

EDIT: This was a misinformation. After further inspection I found out that, pm clear does in fact clear all app data, so don't run it if you only want to clear an app's cache. That command is essentially the same as clicking on the Clear Data button in the app preferences.

The reason why this worked out for me is, that the contacts themselves are stored separately. The com.android.providers.contacts package loads the contacts from that other place and provides it to other apps and therefore is called contacts provider.

The data in the provider's db seems to only be things like the call log and the contacts you recently shared something with. Deleting this data is totally fine and fixes the issue.


HTC Desire: Recovery Mode just shows 'Broken Phone' symbol

From what I know (and by no means am I an expert on rooting) the phone with the red triangle is the standard HTC recovery mode, not the Clockworkmod recovery. So my guess is that your rooting method is not working correctly.

So, what method are you using and is your desire branded / locked to a network?

When I rooted my desire a few weeks back, I struggled to get Clockworkmod installed - I was using the Unrevoked method. I ended up having to factory reset the device to be able to install it, which is always an option, but you will lose all your saved date (I'm having to replay all the Angry Birds levels).


Is there currently an easy way to root Sony Xperia S with stock ICS 4.0.4 ROM?

There's a guide on Rooting Xperia S ICS and GB over at XDAs. Not having any XPeria device, I cannot verify -- but the comments on the thread confirm it working. It does not even require the bootloader to be unlocked.
Requirements for that method:

Windows
Net framework 3.5 or later

Preparation:

Application Settings: [Unknown sources] checked {Allowed}
Application Settings: Development [USB debugging] checked {Allowed}
Application Settings: Development [Stay awake] checked {Allowed}
Settings -> Display settings [Screen timeout] Set to 30 minutes
If your screen goes off just once then you won’t be able to return to the installation properly. Very important!!
Please think about your battery and try to keep the display brightness to a minimum.
Please use a regular picture for the background. Do not use the default live wallpaper.
Charge the Xperia S’s battery to 80%.
Use the Generic CH (1257-3740) XPERIA S LT26i ROM (6.1.A.0.452).
Can be found here along with the latest FLASTOOL link: XDA FileServer
Net framework 3.5 or later
Gingerbread part 1 and part 2

It also mentions a Root Toolkit.
Installation Process:

Flash Gingerbread firmware wiping data and cache only if you are not on gingerbread
Run Step 1.bat
Install ICE CREAM SANDWICH without wiping anything
Run step 2.bat

To enter CWM recovery you have to tap on sony logo at start few times.
If it does not root properly first time run it again
Thanks to Bin4ry for the files

Alternative: Unlocking the Bootloader
An alternative method involves the SDK, and is described at AndroidPit (German; Google Translate 2 English here). this method, however, involves unlocking the bootloader -- so be aware of Sony's harsh politics when it comes to warranty in this case.


I don't know about rooting your device, but I can help with getting your device to be recognised by your computer.

Exact instructions will depend on what OS you are running, but basically you need to find the .android folder in your home directory, and replace the adb_usb.ini file with this one.  this tells your computer to let adb work with a load of different usb devices.  You may need to type this on the command line to get it to work after you do this:

adb kill-server
adb start-server

and now running this should show you your device

adb devices


Is it possible to control the strength of the vibration of the phone when ringing?

No. Android doesn't give apps a way to control the strength of the vibration, so you won't find an app that can do this for you.

That said, there's an app that claims to be able to change the vibration strength on Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 phones, using a device-specific method that requires root. Some users report that it doesn't work at all, but if it does work and you have a supported device, and your device is rooted, you may be able to find an app that does what you want.


Is there a weather widget/app that has both very good location support and supports multiple locations?

WeatherBug (free) seems to meet your criteria.  Has nice widgets, multiple location support, and tons of weather stations.

There is also a pay version (WeatherBug Elite) which removes ads and adds several additional features such as radar in motion and detailed hourly forecasts.


How do I get the actual boot image file from a block device without padding?

I would indeed use dd, with one or more of the several options available to specify the length (amount) of data to copy; otherwise, as you have noticed, dd will read the entire contents of the device, which is not what you want.
Re the apparent problem of the block device being the boot partition, the usual solution is to boot from some other medium (perhaps a LiveCD) so that the device you want to read is not the boot device/partition and can be read without difficulty.  Before that, though, try sudo dd ... and see if running as root solves the problem without requiring more drastic measures.


There are two different questions here

  Fails: tablet - Samsung adapter - extension-cable - OTG-device..... (But) it works when inserted between a thumbdrive and a PC

Android devices  support USB host mode ( connecting a USB keyboard or mouse ) as well as USB peripheral mode ( example you can plug it into a PC, so the PC can access the phone's storage)
USB OTG cable facilitates the connected device to work in host mode
PCs always run in host mode

Source: What is the difference between USB On-The-Go (OTG) and USB Host Mode?

So when you connect using an extension cable to a PC, there is no issue in detection by PC which is always in host mode.

Now, coming to the  bit of why extension cable breaks OTG

From an electrical perspective, which is well explained here

  To avoid potential conflicts regarding which device is host and which is peripheral, the assignment of which device is A or B is determined by the orientation of the OTG cable. This cable determines whether the signaling pin of the port it is plugged into is left floating or is pulled to ground. The device with the signaling pin pulled to ground is designated the A-Device, or default host, and the device with the floating signaling pin is designated the B-Device, or default peripheral.

By adding a USB-A male-female 4-lead extension cable to the OTG cable, you are not extending this port detection mechanism to the other end. Hence it fails detect connected device

Ii is better to shop for a longer 3 metre OTG cable instead of attempting to increase the length as experimented

  Charging worked, but the tablet wouldn't recognize OTG devices

As explained in Powering a Nexus 7 tablet through the USB port while simultaneously connecting a USB device :

  .... While you can purchase various kind of “OTG” Y-cables, which purportedly will allow you to use an external device (or even connect to a USB hub so you can use multiple devices) while at the same time allowing a charger/power supply to be connected, this doesn’t work with a stock Nexus 7.

(Emphasis supplied)

This is a kernel limitation and you can override that by  rooting and flashing a custom kernel as explained in the linked article

Additional reading:

USB on the go standards
From SE Electronics: Can an Android tablet serve as USB Host and be charged simultaneously through a single port?


Samsung Galaxy S5 turns on when fully charged and never turns off

I am answering my own question, because i somehow solved it. I downloaded the Battery Doctor app (the one featured by Clean Master) and created a scheduled profile for night that has timeout set to 5. Also enabled 'charging screensaver'. It's ok now. Battery doctor takes over the TouchWiz uselsss popups and notifications, and forces it to stand by after 5 secs. It's all OK now :).

This is the app I am using: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ijinshan.kbatterydoctor_en&hl=en


It's likely that the permission or owner has messed up.

Go find a folder where Termux operates normally, and run ls -ln to get the UID and GID of Termux (they should be the same, on the 3rd and 4th column of ls -ln). Then switch to root with su or tsu and change the owner of the problematic directory to Termux like this:

chown -R 10001.10001 path/to/dir

where 10001 should be replaced with the UID of Termux. Then you should be good to go.


Use another Google account in Chrome only

Open Chrome, tap on menu (top right corner), open settings.
On the first line, you should see your main account or google account 1 according to you..Tap on that.

You should see all the google accounts logged in to your android  device.
Below them, you will find sync option. Tap on that.

It will open a new window with title Sync. Find the syncing to option, tap on it. Now select which account the data should be synced to.

This will force chrome to use Account2 or whichever chosen account, keeping main account to the OS unchanged

Done!!


How to disable the assist input when the home button is long pressed?

It turns out that it's actually from Firefox, not Google. To disable this, go to Setting › Apps › Configure apps (the gear button) › Default Apps › Assist & voice input and change to none:


Most of the battery saving applications are better termed as "settings managers", if you already know how to turn things on & off there isn't much they can do for you. Plus it is another application now running.

Newer phones also have employed better hardware , better techniques and more power savings into the whole system, improving that before installing these. The newer phones are also going to sleep/standby using less power than they did before, still staying radio connected to the towers.  Plus the phones have thier own settings for user adjustable power savings, like WiFi off when screen off , and data control.

Larger screens taking more power, plus major cpu sleepy modes, means there are times when a automatic backlight control could save more than (something like) turning off bluetooth.   Again all depending on how you use it.

The displayed percentages of a battery and its voltages are not a great indicator of a specific ammount of power used, Or capacity left. Depending on the method employed to provide the battery level vision to the user.  Testing for a whole battery cycle even might not determine a small ammount of savings achieved. High power use can drop the voltage seen quick, and other factors that do not represent the actual capacity left, or the moment it will no longer be able to make a call.

So in conclusion the usual battery management applications would be more useful for the unaware, and uncontrolled use of a phone,  the automation that can save some power, most of it the same control that a user in controll can do manually.  The phones themselves being much better at it , than when the origins of this type of application would have shown more differances.
 You would also have to test for days, not hours, somehow doing everything exactally the same as before, which includes odd things like distance to the tower, which is more power employed to connect to it.


How to prevent uninstalling applications

No, you cannot add any app as a device administrator unless it has provisions for it. What you can do is convert those apps as system apps. The process requires root access. Follow:

How do I properly install a system app given its .apk?
Installing .apk as system app directly (with root)

You can alternatively, albeit with root access, disable the component com.android.packageinstaller.UninstallerActivity. (Elixir 2 can do that easily.) That component shows the the dialog to uninstall the app. If you prevent the appearance of that you won't be able to uninstall the app through GUI.

In absence of root access, consider disabling the Package Installer app. It is a system app which handles installation (sideloaded apps) and uninstallation of apps through GUI. It can be disabled from Settings → Apps → (three-dots line → Show System) or (All Apps) → Package Installer → Disable.

One side effect of disabling Package Installer completely or its aforesaid component is that you won't be able to uninstall any app through Settings app either (Play Store is exception). Re-enable Package Installer to uninstall any app from Settings app again.


How to install python in android rooted device?

Depending on what your script is trying to do you may find QPython sufficient for your needs.

It is available free from the play store and provides a python 3 environment but with some limitations on the libraries available.


No cellular network after OTA to lollipop (Nexus 4)

UPDATE2: After a while, it seems like it cured itself. No more connectivity issues for a full 24 hrs. Perhaps it was a bad tower-radio(baseband) combination?

UPDATE: Actually, this didn't fix it completely. It behaves better, but it eventually goes into a state where the antenna says 3G, but there's no data nor phone connectivity. This happened 3 times.

So, I think I fixed it by updating the APN address to epc.tmobile.com, switching to 2G only and rebooting, switching to 3G and rebooting.


Android has no such native feature – but there are plenty of apps dealing with exactly this, see my collection to Send SMS remotely. The most famous candidates from that list are probably Pushbullet and MightyText.

If you want more, there are even apps to (almost) completely remote-control your Droid, see Manage your Android Device from your Computer. From this category, Airdroid is one of the favorites.


How can I do development on my Android device?

Two years on: I use AIDE, their brief summary of features states:

  Edit-compile-run cycle:

  Create a sample App with a single click
  Run your App with a single click
  No root access required
  Incremental compilation for fast build times
  Uses Eclipse .classpath project format for compatibility
  Integrated LogCat viewer

  Real-time error checking:

  Real time error analyis throughout the whole project as you type
  Automatic Quick-Fixes for many errors

  Refactoring:

  Rename
  Inline variable
  Introduce variable
  Extract method

  Code:

  Code formatter
  Organize imports
  Out-comment code
  Create setters/getters/constructors from fields

  Code navigation:

  Goto defintion
  Find usages
  Goto symbol
  Goto class

  Editor:

  Very fast editor even with large files
  Code completion for Java and Android XML
  Android online help directly from the code
  Syntax highlighting for Java and XML
  Unlimited Undo/Redo
  Pinch zoom
  Smart expand selection
  Keyboard support with configurable keybindings
  UI optimized for small screens to show as much code/content as possible

  Filebrowser:

  Built-in file manager with the most common features: Rename, delete, create file or folder
  Dropbox integration
  Git integration with Commit/Dicard/Push/Pull and SSH support.


WiFi ICON is gray on my kitkat ONLY at home and ONLY with a specific device

You probably dont have great service in that area.


How to redirect all web requests from hosts connected to hotspot to a local web server?

NOTE: Solution suggested here requires root access.

  I would like for all requests by connected devices to be redirected to my webpage

When you create hotspot, Android runs dnsmasq as DHCP/DNS server (up to Android 9). We can use this DNS server to resolve every domain to your desired IP address. Create file /system/etc/dnsmasq.conf and add the following option:

address=/#/192.168.43.1

See details in manpage. Start hotspot and test. Similarly you can use other DNS servers on your Android device e.g. dnscrypt-proxy.

You need to make sure that the connected hosts don't use some public DNS like 1.1.1.1, instead must use DNS provided by DHCP i.e. IP address of Android device. Or redirect all DNS traffic to local DNS server:

~# iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -p UDP --dport 53 -j REDIRECT --to 53

NOTE:

For http://example.com request goes to 192.168.43.1:80 and for https://example.com it goes to 192.168.43.1:443. However if you type http://example.com/test.html it requests page 192.168.43.1:80/test.html which should exist, otherwise an error will be returned. An easy way is to configure your advertisement webpage as index page and default error page. For instance index-file.names and server.error-handler options on lighttpd.

  Can I simply change the /system/etc/hosts file as mentioned in the linked post?
  Would I add a line such as: 192.168.43.1:8080    *?

hosts file is used by DNS resolvers which are usually part of main C library of OS. As far as I know the built-in resolvers on Android/Linux/Windows don't support wildcards, so the * trick won't work. Secondly, domain names are resolved to IP address (192.168.43.1) not ports (:8080). See below links for details on DNS.

Web browsers by default use port 80 for http requests. If you are running server on some other port, you have to mention the port on web browser. Or redirect all newly generated TCP traffic from port 80 to 8080:

~# iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -m conntrack ! --ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to 8080

RELATED:

How DNS works on Android?
How name resolutions works?


Cloud app to handle grocery list over Android/iPhone & Windows/Mac

Google Drive (née Google Docs).

Just create a simple document. There's a Google Drive app for Android, of course, but even without the mobile web version works pretty well (which I'd expect you'd use with the iPhone). Windows and Mac can use the desktop browser version of the web app.


Is it possible to have my Android device see hand gestures to turn on the screen and scroll?

I recommend getting Air Swiper with which you can turn on your device just by swiping above the sensor  (which is located with your front camera), and you can also turn it off by swiping as well.


Cannot Connect to internet via WiFi on Galaxy Tab

If the hotspot ssid shows in your Android device means, definitely it wont be an Ad-Hoc network. Most probably the the problem would be getting DHCP ip from your laptop. Try giving static ip to both hotspot network and your android device.


Is there a location tracker installed to my Android phone?

If the device came into possession of an unauthorized person than you should be more concerned whether the device's software integrity is intact or not. Although Android since Nougat informs the user if boot process is compromised (only when booting the device), one can employ a minimal cross-check on their own.

Some root checker apps attempts to ensure that the software is intact (includes bootloader, kernel and system partition). You can use them to get the state of integrity. Once you are confident here, find out which apps were recently installed. You can use adb to explore the dump of package service (adb shell dumpsys package) or try an app based solution such as Applications Info. It can show the apps by installation date.

This could single out an app for you. If you find a phishy app, then check out its permissions, location usage, battery usage and data (internet) usage.

That said, if you don't find anything convincing and still remain convinced your device is tampered with and could prove your hunch to yourself with evidence (such as high battery consumption suddenly; location icon toggling in status bar, or anything that is weird or incompatible with your daily routine and usage), than I'm afraid I don't have a single source to help out.

Based on your evidences or observations, you would have to figure this out on your own. As an example, for sudden high battery consumption, you can check with Battery usage history in Settings app. Same goes for Location and data usage. Android shows the usage app-wise.

You can also search into detailed usage output of battery, location, data usage and many more important services through dumpsys utility, which requires adb usage.


Cannot take pictures without SD card inserted. Any solutions?

Every app that wants to make files publicly available to other apps on an Android device has to save to known shared location with read/write permissions to everyone (or at least the apps that need to). This designated location is /mnt/sdcard on Android and this is where the SD card or an internal equivalent (eMMC) is accessible.

Reason:

If multiple apps want to access some file (e.g. pictures like G+, upload service, Gallery viewer) they need appropriate rights to do so
Each app has its private storage section in /data/data/[App's Package Name]
This section is private, i.e. /data/data/[PackageName] is not accessible to any other package for security reasons
/mnt/sdcard or /mnt/emmc are the only sections with world read permissions (and write permissions for those apps with an appropriate permission)

Conclusion:
An app that takes pictures to save them in its private area would not be beneficial for other apps. It needs to write to /mnt/sdcard where other apps suppose shared data that is accessible to them.

Solutions:

Buy an SD card, it's cheap
I you have root, you could fake mount a tmpfs file system (mount -o tmpfs none /mnt/sdcard), this solution and all the data on saved to it will however not survive a reboot of your phone

For the record: Above said is not 100% correct but I think suitable for answering the question.


Back up phonebook list along with all data I used before factory reset

If you have sync enabled in your mobile, then your phone book list will be automatically stored in your Google account. Go to "contacts.google.com" to find your contacts.

Else If you have USB Debugging enabled in your phone, you can follow this link to unlock your phone.


Overcoming softlock when creating /system/xbin on Android 9

actually all you need is place 3 files, no need to install anything
/data/adb/modules/busybox-ndk/module.prop
id=busybox-ndk
name=Busybox for Android NDK
version=1.31.1
versionCode=13115
author=osm0sis @ xda-developers
description=Static busybox binary for all Android architectures built with the NDK
support=https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2239421

/data/adb/modules/busybox-ndk/service.sh
#!/system/bin/sh
/system/xbin/busybox --install -s /system/xbin

/data/adb/modules/busybox-ndk/system/xbin/busybox


ROM Manager: What is the difference between the MTD and the non MTD versions (e.g. "Samsung GalaxyS i9000 (MTD)")?

MTD (Memory Technology Device) is a type of Partition Map (configuration of partitions of NAND).

Partition Map allows those who are using it control over how their partitions are sized and how much space is allocated here and how much space is taken away from there. A file system resides on the Partition Map and governs the data being read,wrote,moved etc by the OS (Android). Changing a file system of a partition is very easy, but changing overall Partition Mapping isn't. Plus, partition mapping decides which file system to support. So, its choice is very important.

MTD is Open Source. MTD supports YAFFS2 as a file system residing on it governing how data is transferred and the speed of which it is done. EXT2 through 4 aren't possible with MTD. Due to Open Source nature, it gives you full control over partitions. Choose MTD if you use CyanogenMod or MIUI type custom ROMs.

A Bit of Knowledge: Samsung's stock ROM uses BML partition map. BML is proprietary in nature. It's Close Source.


How to stop Android asking for permission before permitting access to USB device

This question and answer is basically a duplicate of
https://stackoverflow.com/a/15151075/588476
See the above link for an example program and more in depth discussion.

As far as I know, there are two ways to get the USB permission box popup:

Request permission explicitly from your application using UsbManager.requestPermission(...)
Register an intent-filter on your accessory and let the system ask for permission  when the device is attached

In the case of 1 I have found that the checkbox on the popup to remember the permission has no effect.

For me, I removed all code related to permissions from my software and simply put the intent-filter in my manifest. When the USB device is plugged in, if it hasn't already been granted permission then the USB permission box will popup. If the user clicks OK without checking the remember box, then the box will popup again the next time the device is connected. However if the user checks the box and presses OK then the box should never display again (unless the software is uninstalled and then reinstalled).

I'm not sure if there is a bug somewhere related to your device showing up as /dev/bus/usb/001 and then 002 etc - let me know if you are using the intent-filter, as without that the remember checkbox will do nothing.

I do not know of any way that you can avoid the permission popup altogether. I suspect there is no way to do it without digging into the android code like you said.


Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server

Use adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.Main -n org.onaips.vnc/.MainActivity outside the shell, and the VNC server will start.


How to take screenshots from a generic ICS 7" tablet?

Hold down the back button for 3 seconds. Still holding the back button press the power button once and release both buttons.


How do I tell where Google Fit is getting step data?

It seems the steps shown come from activities. The only time I see Fit record steps (configured like yours) is from a specific activity. Check the 'activity' card/area and try to determine which app sent the data from there.


Is there someway to make "My maps" in google maps available offline with location markers?

It seems to me that you are talking about your "Starred locations" when you're talking about the markers layer on "My Maps", eih? These are stored in Google Bookmarks and can be exported -- including the locations.

As a general note: The way Googe has setup its Maps/Geo operations leads to a likely reality that Google will "never" provide good offline capabilities. Your proper solution comes from something that does. And that something is increasingly likely using OpenStreetMap. My personal recommendations for apps that can also (easily enough) handle your exported starred Google Maps locations are OsmAnd and Maverick. See OSM wiki for details and more options.


How can I stop QuizUp from using up so much of my storage space?

Edit: After recent updates this problem does not seem to occur anymore, so this answer is probably obsolete.

Overview

This is caused by the results screen. Quizup will download each match question as a screenshot instead of rendering it on the client's side. Not only does this result in a lot of additional mobile data usage but it also takes up a lot of space on your device because all screenshots are cached. Unfortunately there does not seem to be any limit to this caching and there is no way to turn it off from the app itself. Fortunately there are two workarounds.

Workaround 1: Clearing the screenshots cache manually

Navigate to /sdcard/Android/data/com.quizup.core/ on your file explorer of choice and delete the screenshots folder. This will only affect the screenshots cache. As oposed to clearing the app data from the apps menu all user data, e.g. your account and settings, will be preserved.

Workaround 2: Disabling screenshot storage

Navigate to /sdcard/Android/data/com.quizup.core/ with your favorite file manager. Delete the screenshots folder. Then proceed to create a new empty file called screenshots.

From now on no screenshots will be saved locally. They might still be retrieved and continue to cause high mobile data usage, though.

The downside to this method: The Match Questions section on the result page will stop working.

Sources

http://www.reddit.com/r/QuizUp/comments/2059bb/data_usage/


Odd mark at the top of the screen of my new LG V30

I have the same type of defect on my LG V30 but it's on the bottom right corner of the screen
.  LG wanted me to send in my phone for repair, they said it would take 2 weeks, and would not offer a loaner phone in the meantime.  Decided to check with Verizon, and they are sending me a replacement phone by end of week.  Love this phone, and happy that it's a simple swap process.


auto move `/data/log` files to sdcard? or link it?

If your device is rooted, you can try creating symbolic link from the folder to SD Card (this is essentially what Link2SD does to apps, with prettier interface) using the Terminal Emulator.

Helpful Commands (disclaimer: untested, use at your own risk, make sure you understand exactly what the commands does before running them)

Get root su
Copy the folder to sdcard cp -r /data/log/ /path/to/new/folder
remove the original folder rm -r /data/log/
Create symbolic link use ln -s /path/to/new/folder /data/log
Reboot and test. Until you reboot, old processes may still own a handle to the old files even though it had been removed from the filesystem.

Note though, /data/log generally should not use too much space, so moving this folder likely won't save too much space. If you have an unusually large log directory, you might want to investigate that instead of moving the log directory.


The problem is with the S2E on 4.2.2. I wiped everything, it worked. Now I reinstalled S2E and it won't work.

EDIT:
main user had no access to write sd-ext. I created a code added init.d to set sd-ext with chmod 777.


As Moto g received the Lollipop update recently, other roms should adopt the changes.

If you want a working phone you can flash the stock firmware or you can sideload a custom rom but this requires a computer and fastboot files installed.

I encountered this problem and solved this as follows:

If you have installed fastboot files on computer and a custom recovery on your device(Twrp is my choice) then download any custom rom which you have tried before(just to confirm that it should work as you have already it) and place it in fastboot folder.

Reboot the device to recovery and you have a option to sideload the rom from computer click on it. Connect the device to computer and and type the command "adb sidelead yourrom.zip" it may take about 5 minutes to complete. Once rom is sideloaded it flashes fine.Do a factory reset and reboot.

Go to this link if you want info about custom roms.

Happy flashing


How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?

As far as I know, you can only make a full/complete backup of the phone with root.  Because you need root in order to run Titanium Backup (which only backs up apps and their data) or you need root in order to flash ClockWork Recovery which lets you perform a Nandroid backup (full image backup of the entire device).


Transfer apps and settings to new smartphone

No, that might not cover all apps. Though the apps themselves might show up on your new device (provided you've used the Google Cloud Backup on the old one and decide to restore that on the new one), to have the apps' settings transferred, apps must explicitly support that (at least with Android 5.x that's still the case) – so from those which don't, the date wouldn't show up on your new device.

However, there is a way to transfer those data manually using adb backup. Details are described in answers to Full Backup of non-rooted devices. If you're not that "command-line savvy", take a special look at my answer on that, the app Helium Backup should make such transfers easy – especially with its full name being "Helium - App Sync and Backup" :)

Still, some apps might have "opted out" of being backed up (developers can specify that) – in which case you'd need root to accomplish a full transfer.


A Windows PC software is pushing its app onto my android devices. How can I avoid it?

You (or someone else) probably accidentally click this banner on the main screen.

And "Accept" the offer.

(Note: this dialog may also pop-up on reboot)
- OR -
Avast pushed the installation silently (which I still doubt since it didn't happen on my case).

Avast gets the Google accounts saved on the Chrome, and it's possible for them to offer their products on connected devices.

Hello,
Thank you for contacting our support center with your concerns.
We have got it from your Chrome account. If you are signed (permanently) to your Google account in some web browser, Avast can read your devices added to this account and offer our products. This situation can't be blocked.

(Source: Google Forum)
Additional reading: "How did Avast get my Google account info and install itself automatically onto my phone when I hit 'accept' on the desktop app?" on Reddit.


New access permissions for Google Maps v9.1.1

I agree, I see no obvious reason for these permissions to be added based on the change log.

Yes I can invent some reasons that maybe it "needs" them for one feature or another (clicking restaurant near you and calling from the app directly).

But the point here is that there is no explanation. It is dead wrong for Google to behave this way, as it causes behaviour of "default acceptance" in all future cases. Including non Google ones.

Just like the windows pop-ups...  this application is asking for "internet"...  you have no choice but to say yes, and frankly no way to find out why.

Now, today, you are basically as secure as if there were no permissions at all. Every app needs everything, and everyone just clicks yes.

Well done to everyone.


Chrome taking up lots of space on my Android device

You might be browsing lots of and possibly media rich websites. To ensure this is the case, go to Settings → Applications →  list your system apps then select Chrome → Storage → Manage Space → delete the irrelevant data.

I once had 5-6 GB of space occupied by Chrome and I selectively cleared the irrelevant data.

As for ADB backup issue, see this Github page.


How can I control which apps are able to use the data connection while roaming?

Give a try to Onavo Count - it can block certain apps to use only WiFi, cap data usage, provide alerts on data hogging apps, has widgets and more.

Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.android.onavoid

Overall, it's a very handy app for data management. It also comes with a companion app Onavo Extend to save on data usage: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onavo.android.onavoics

I would also suggest to keep data turned off as a pre-caution, and turning it on periodically - even if you use Onavo. Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks and tick off the "Data roaming" checkbox.

Enjoy your trip!


Battery life difference for 5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz WiFi - which is better

The coverage issue will have something to do with power usage.

When comparing 5 GHz battery drain vs. 2.4 GHz, a lot depends on the coverage you are in with respect to each frequency band.

5 GHz (for the same power) lacks the range of 2.4 GHz. Objects (depending on material) can obstruct 5 GHz more than 2.4 GHz (sometimes not depending on material).

So, if I get 3 bars of 2.4 GHz in the furthest away part of the house (the upstairs bedroom) but only 1 bar at 5 GHz, my phone will likely have more trouble keeping in touch with the access point and that translates to more packets exchanged, a slower throughput (and that means more on-time for your 5 GHz radio and the system generally), and this will burn more battery.

If you have good 5 GHz coverage and 2.4 GHz coverage in the same area, using 5 GHz is likely as good (if not a bit better) as it will pull faster, then wind down vs. the 2.4 GHz. When coverage starts getting worse for the 5 GHz, but not the 2.4 GHz, you may want to switch to 2.4 GHz for battery reasons.

Factors impacting your performance:

Distance from AP
Quality of your 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz antennas both in the phone and the AP (should be roughly similar but...)
Other nearby networks using the same 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz channels your devices want to use (channel contention and/or interference)
Other RFI (interference with the radio bands you care about - badly shielded microwaves or other energy emitters that might shed harmonics off into your APs radio bands)
What you are using your device for (the occasional short message or long many MB movie streaming) as this will emphasize or de-emphasize performance and coverage distances (two identical devices on different bands sitting mostly idle probably won't see notable battery differences, but two streaming hard most of the time may well see not only the difference in battery from streaming, but further degradation in charge based on if the 5 GHz is in poorer coverage)
Materials between your portable device and your AP

I'm likely missing a few other factors and how significant each one mentioned is depends a lot on the gear, the interference/contention in the area and the types of material, as well as the usage pattern for the device.

But generally - poorer coverage -> more battery use, so if 2.4 GHz is showing more bars than 5.0 GHz, shift to 2.4 GHz.


Galaxy Grand 2 asks password for credential storage while trying to create a vpn

You have to use a pattern, PIN or password lock screen in order to configure and use VPNs. This is a limitation in Android which may seem stupid and annoying, but there are reasons for it:

The credentials storage has to be encrypted with a password, so that even if other apps are able to steal the files they would be useless.
VPNs are primarily used at corporations that allow employees to work from home. The servers on their network often contain sensitive information that could easily be compromised if someone would steal your phone and connect to the VPN.


No you cannot, that is done at build/compile of the source of the said Android version whatever that may be.

When the source gets compiled via

. build/envsetup.sh

This is setting up the environment, and that reads in the potential devices via BoardConfig.mk within each device/product directory.

Its when lunch gets executed, the menu shows like this

$ lunch

You're building on Linux

Lunch menu... pick a combo:
     1. full-eng
     2. full_x86-eng
     3. simulator
     4. zte_blade-eng
     5. zte_blade-userdebug

Which would you like? [full-eng]

The above is the example of building the ROM for the Zte Blade, notice how userdebug and eng is prefixed!


Your current phone state is bricked, You have two options

You have to flash official firmware using PC (In your case, your phone isn't even getting detected. You may need to install all drivers such as adb, properly and check it once again)
You have to go to authorized Service center to get this issue fixed.If you have warranty make this as first priority.


Samsung Galaxy Pocket Duos unlocking screen in horizontal position when calling

It's not normally to do with the position of the phone, there's normally a "proximity sensor" on the front of the phone that locks the screen if the phone is against your face, and unlocks the screen a few moments after you take it away from your face.

According to the Galaxy Pocket Duos's specs on GSM Arena there's no proximity sensor built into that model, compare with the Alcatel OT-991 or Samsung Galaxy S's specs where you can see they do have a proximity sensor.


Unable to start chinese tablet even after installing recovery

That device doesn't have a button configuration to boot into recovery. You are going to have to run sh reboot-recovery.sh from the SDcard, (posted in my original answer) after your device gets past bootloader.


How do I place a call from my original phone number if Google Voice is the default handler?

Not sure if you mean you still want to use GV services, but with your phones' native number? Or do you mean you want to completely circumvent using GV sometimes?

If you meant still use GV, but with your native number:

Voice->Settings->This phone's number

Then just choose your phone's native number (you're still using GV services, but caller-id will show your phone's number, not your GV number).

If you meant completely circumvent GV and use your phone as if GV wasn't installed:

Voice->Settings->Making calls.

choose either Do not use Google Voice to make any calls or Ask every time I make a call


Find out how many messages sent per chat

There's an App for that

WhatStat provides you with enormous amount of statistics with respect to each user.

Overview screen that depicts messages in numbers
Most active day of the week
Most active time of the day
Conversation starter percentage
Message distribution
History (Group by day/week/month/custom)

Need Root access after latest WhatsApp update


How can I see the full charge capacity of my battery?

Without special measuring equipment and some kind of a reference - no you can't (not in mAh). There is no app that would provide you with that kind of information, at least not accurate enough.


Both Sims are not detected after update Lenovo A390 with the latest ROW firmware

I have solved the problem myself. Reason of the problem was Invalid IMEI number. What I did is set the valied IMEI for Sim.

Steps to Change IMEI Number of Your Android

Write the following in your dialler – *#7465625# or *#*#3646633#*#*.
(*#*#3646633#*#* this work for me)
Click to Call pad or connectivity options. Find out CDS information
and tap on it. Check out for Radio information. If
you have dual SIM, there will be two options for you, select the one which you want to go with.
Now to change IMEI number follow
AT +EGMR=1,7,”IMEI_1”

Replace IMEI_1 with your IMIE. For example : AT+EGMR=1,7,”8600XXXXXXXXXXXX"

And click to send.

Changing IMEI number is illegal but it may help you to get your phone back. Make sure to use  "YOUR" phone IMIE number (15 digit code ) written in the backside of the phone (mostly Under the battery)

EDIT

For Sim 2 need this insert “AT +EGMR=1,10,"IMEI_2”


Have you enabled dev menu? Settings > about phone > press on build number 7 times. If it's not in that menu on your device, try Settings > storage > more options.


How to remove or disable pop-up alert()/confirm() box from build-in Browser from malware?

First step would be to remove those apps as also suggested by @Giant Tree
These kind of apps are invariably bundled with ads. You can install software recommended here Some program is showing ads on my desktop... How can I catch it?. You don't need to install all, any one is enough (I presume your device is NOT rooted, Adaway requires root)

3.That should hopefully solve your issues related to adware. Adware is different than Malware. If some malware has entered your system,it fools the system and lodges itself deep into your device like a system app. Factory reset will NOT help and only way out is to flash stock ROM again. This article would help you identify malware http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/mobile-security/309980-five-signs-your-android-device-is-infected-with-malware


Synchronize the contact's default phone number

I believe if I understand your question, the linking between your Google account  happens automatically (as it should) when you log into your Google account on your handset, and your contacts all synchronize. However it sounds like some of the merging of duplicates, and what number is the "default" number get lost? For this I would definitely recommend the Gmail application online.  All you need is to login from a computer and select "contacts". Then just go under "more actions" and do "find and merge duplicates" That should give you just one contact per person. This is your best option if you have lots of contacts, some are duplicates, or other information not entered or organized correctly. It can be quite time consuming and tedious to do editing from the handset. If this is not what you are asking, you may have to rephrase the question slightly.

When you say "sync the default number" that is rather ambiguous sentence. For example, I log into Gmail, click contacts, and then select one of my friends. There it shows me the numbers stored on my phone (in the Google cloud). If I were to change the numbers shown, that change would be reflected when I grabbed the handset next. Are you looking to make one number the default number for that person? And have it do so automatically?

Edit: After doing a little more research, it looks like this question was addressed here at the Google forums. The last comment in the list (by ratgurrl) mentions exactly this frustration. And despite what you do on the phone, when you resynchronize you lose the preference settings you put in the handset, and the 'DEFAULT' will revert to whichever contact number is at the top of the list on that contact in Gmail. So the REAL answer until Google addresses this: log into Gmail, and move the one you want as the "default" contact to the top of the list.


is it possible to disable Google remote kill switch?

When you first used the Android Market, you are presented with Android Market's Term of Service. One of the clauses is this:

  2.4 From time to time, Google may discover
  a Product on the Market that
  violates the Android Market Developer
  Distribution Agreement or other legal
  agreements, laws, regulations or
  policies. You agree that in such an
  instance Google retains the right to
  remotely remove those applications
  from your Device at its sole
  discretion and without notice to you.

So, if you want to block Google from using their remote uninstall, you cannot use Android Market. However, note that their Term of Service only allows them to uninstall applications that "violates the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement", this implies that Google can only uninstall applications that are installed from Market (since an application that was not distributed from the Market never accepted to be bound by the AMDDA, and therefore cannot "violate" the AMDDA). If you sideload your application, Google cannot touch your application.

If your company want to use Android Market but you don't want to allow Google to use their remote uninstall on your company's devices, I suggest you contact Google to make a special TOS agreement.


While you probably can route audio to USB (I assume if you connect a USB device that identifies it as a USB audio receiver... thingy) your PC is a USB host.

So a better solution would be to get a USB audio adapter like this (may not be necessary if you have a mic in port), connect your headphone into the mic, and get something like VLC to play it.

Windows also allows to "Listen" to an input device which plays it out of your speakers so you don't need VLC or a special player.  (See image below). Note that this can be annoying if you do video conferencing as you will have to make sure this is disabled when you're on a call.


The Contacts app usually contains at least two types of contacts: Contacts stored locally on the phone and those stored on your SIM card.

Local contacts have a large variety of fields and attributes you can set. However if you select a contact from your SIM card you are limited to one phone number and one name per contact entry. This is limited by the SIM card.

Therefore you should make sure you are not creating/editing contacts stored on your SIM card.


Install APK from ADB and bypassing the prompt on Redmi

In addition to adb install, you can directly use package manager from adb shell to install apps. Place .apk files in /data/local/tmp and make sure files are readable, SELinux context must be u:object_r:shell_data_file:s0. Now:

~$ cd /data/local/tmp
~$ ls *.apk | xargs -I {} pm install '{}'

Another simple root solution is to use some file explorer e.g. MiXplorer to batch install apps. Select all .apk files and tap on Install from menu.


You can try hacking the kernel Readfile and WriteFile using a debugger and inject your data while flashtool is communicating with the device. What you should do is modify the devices output data to match the required output data from a similar device, therefore flashtool will think all is Ok.
It could work.
Or try emmc unbrick .


Phone is plugged into computer via USB, charging but not entering adb mode

Are you using the usb cable that came with your device? Check another usb port on the laptop, reboot the laptop if another port doesnt work either. If that does not help, check another usb cable. Good luck.


Audio resumes whenever bluetooth connects or disconnects - how do I stop this?

You can try Bluetooth Connect & Play app. It basically meant to start a specific music app playing when a specific Bluetooth device connects. But you can also select "Stop music from playing" option to keep any app from starting when the car connects to a Bluetooth device. I faced the similar issue on my Toyota and it did help.


How can I find out the current price of an app on Google Play after I've purchased it?

Load the application's play store URL in a web browser with incognito/private mode. This way the play store will not be aware that the viewer has already installed the application.


Different types of downloads on Cyanogen OS Website

Signed fastboot zips:
  These contain the complete rom and can overwrite everything including your data partition. These cannot be flashed via recovery - extract their contents and flash via fastboot.

  Signed zips:
  Normal, stock or TWRP recovery flashable zips that won't overwrite your data partition.

  Boot-debuggable images: (This is only for developers/testers)
  These are boot images (kernels) that enable adb root and the developer menu options. To be flashed via fastboot. (e.g.fastboot flash boot cm-12.1-YOG4PAS47N-lettuce-boot-debuggable-c915697c50.img)

Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/general/official-cm11s-roms-ota-updates-t2906746


How to watch videos with Hebrew subtitles?

Gibberish in Hebrew subtitles is due to an unsupported encoding. You can use an app such as Notepad++ in your PC to change the encoding to UTF-8. In Notepad++, go to the Encoding menu and choose to convert the subtitle (SRT) file to UTF-8 without BOM. In case  your subtitle is embedded in the video, you can find open source subtitle extractor apps.

Regarding the misplaced period, after encoding, just open the file in a text editor and see if the subtitle text is correctly stored. Generally, video apps, just show the subtitle text as it is at the given timing without any formatting (except for some html formatting in some cases).

We have our own tiny, ad-free video player (iPlay SBS Player) intended mainly for VR and 3D videos. Some of our hebrew users who faced the same problem reported that re-encoding as mentioned above fixed the issue for them.

Affiliation: Developer, Non-profit


Missing icons at the bottom of the home screen with TouchWiz

That's a little bit tricky with Touchwiz.

In order to move app links in and out of the icon bar at the bottom on phones with Touchwiz, you have to enter the app list (App Drawer) via the blue menu icon. This is the only icon that can't be removed. Then press the left hardware key and choose edit, but make sure that you are in the "Customizable Grid" view type. You should now be able to reorganize all icons in the app menu and on the space where the lower 4 buttons are, by using drag and drop. Simply long press an icon and move it where you want.


HTC Incredible says SMS storage is full, but it isn't

The Droid Incredible's available space for apps to store their data is only 150 MB, but it's impossible to view the amount of free app space on the stock ROM.  So the error message is correct, but you have no way to view the available free space.

In technical terms: /data/data is mounted on a different partition than /data, and all your free space views show you the amount of free space in the 750 MB /data partition.

What you need to do is start clearing data for spps that are taking up lots of space and that you don't use often.  One possibility is clearing the web browser's cache.  Facebook is another big data hog.  Check your other installed apps to see how much space they are using on data.

Here's a dump of the df -h output on my Inc:

Filesystem                Size      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   206.5M     32.0K    206.4M   0% /dev
tmpfs                   206.5M         0    206.5M   0% /mnt/asec
tmpfs                   206.5M         0    206.5M   0% /mnt/obb
/dev/block/mtdblock3    248.0M    121.8M    126.2M  49% /system
/dev/block/mmcblk0p1    748.0M    237.7M    472.3M  33% /data
/dev/block/mtdblock6    149.0M     79.7M     69.3M  54% /data/data
/dev/block/mmcblk0p2    193.7M     37.1M    146.5M  20% /cache
tmpfs                     8.0M         0      8.0M   0% /app-cache
/dev/block/vold/179:3     6.6G      1.2G      5.4G  18% /mnt/sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:3     6.6G      1.2G      5.4G  18% /mnt/secure/asec
/dev/block/vold/179:9     1.8G    951.8M    930.1M  51% /mnt/emmc

(Note: I'm running a recent Cyanogenmod build that allows for swapping the SD Card and internal storage mount points -- that's why /mnt/sdcard is showing up as 6.6G while /mnt/emmc is only 1.8G.)

You can see how /data is a 750MB partition with plenty of free space, while /data/data is a teensy 150MB partition that's over half full.

This XDA Thread has a flashable mod that will make /data/data a subfolder of /data rather than a separate mount point, unlocking all that 750MB for app storage and allowing all your free space views to be accurate.  You'll need to root your phone in order for this to work since it also converts the filesystems to ext4 and that's going to require a replacement kernel.  (Recent Cyanogenmod builds already have this support, but if you're running the stock ROM you'll need to flash a different kernel.)


How to make a contact "group admin" of WhatsApp Group?

Below is from the FAQ of WhatsApp for Android:


What currency does the Google Play Store display in?

Okay now I just checked the same app here as you can see:

So it shows the price in my local currency.

I also checked that 4.78 TL is equal to 2.33 AUD, so that price you see there is in AUD.


Create a dead zone on a screen using adb to fix phantom touch

I also got that problem. I tried the command wm overscan [reset|LEFT,TOP,RIGHT,BOTTOM] (from this post). That didn't fix the problem but helped a lot.


Control PDF presentations on Linux -- Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Try gremote, it's good for presentation, but difficult to configure


I am afraid your back up SD data cannot be read. Reasons

On doing factory reset your , encryption keys are lost. Which includes encryption of your external SD card and without this keys, possible to access contents.   Quoting from linked source (which incidentally advocates this method (encryption + Factory Reset ) as keeping information away from buyers, if you sell your phone)

  Encrypting does not completely delete the files, but the factory reset process gets rid of the encryption key. As a result, the device has no way it can decrypt the files and, therefore, makes data recovery extremely difficult.

Even assuming that you had an unencrypted SD card and wanted to fix the problem of not being able to read it, the very fact that neither your phone not PC can read it makes it nearly impossible to obtain data. You can still try to diagnose using this useful flowchart https://android.stackexchange.com/tags/external-sd/info. This is more for information and structured way of diagnosing SD card issues


Is there a way I can prevent the back button from going to the home screen?

Well, this is still (after investing so many hours) a half-baked (aka partial) solution. You want a message, you'll get a message. :) We need root access for the solution.

Note: Tested the solution on Android 4.2.1 but works on 5.0 as well.

At this point of time, the message will be received as a Toast and it has no effect on Back key.

For the purpose of example I'm using ES File Explorer and BetterBatteryStats to display a message on their default screen.

Fire up Tasker and enable it.
Go to VARS and create a variable as +→ %Catch (you can use a different name but keep the first letter capital (global variable)). Similarly, create another one with name %Any.
Create a profile with application context and select ES File Explorer.
Create a task under the above profile and then an action inside this task as +→ Code→ Run Shell and enter these details:

Command: dumpsys activity | grep mFocusedActivity | cut -d ' ' -f 6 | cut -d '}' -f 1 -- this command will output the focused  activity (current app launched with its activity).
Check Use Root.
Store Output In: %Catch.
Save this action.

Create another profile with application context inverse of ES File Explorer.
Create a task under the above profile and then an action inside this task as + → Variables → Variable Set, and enter these details:

Name: %Catch
To: The (you can put any word)

This step will make sure that the variable %Catch doesn't hold the value (provided in during execution of step 4) after the profile in step 3 becomes inactive.
Create a last profile under Event → New Window and choose Full Screen under Window Type -- I earlier had Toasts even for dialogs on Main activity. Full Screen option will avoid it.
Create a task under the above profile and then an action inside this task as +→ Code→ Run Shell, and enter these details:

Command: dumpsys activity | grep mFocusedActivity | cut -d ' ' -f 6 | cut -d '}' -f 1 -- this command will output the focused activity (current app launched with its activity).
Check Use Root.
Store Output In: %Any.
Save this action.

Create another action in the same task as + → Alert → Flash, and enter these details:

Text: Don't back Disk :/ -- this is the message that will be displayed in the Toast. Choose wisely!
Tap + corresponding to If and enter %Any eq %Catch -- we're comparing the main activity name for our selected app with any window Android will open. If it matches, you'll see the Toast. Now you can see why we needed an extra "inverse app context" profile in step 5.

Save everything and enable all three profiles.
Note that I had to shift my Superuser app's root access Notifications from Toasts into Status bar notifications because the third profile will need root access every time Android will launch a window. Make sure you either disable your Superuser client's Toasts or change them into Status bar notifications. It was an invasive stream for me!
Anyhow, launch ES File Explorer and see the magic. The default screen of this app will show a Toast to you. You open any other activity and it won't bother you. Come back to main screen of it and see the Toast again.
You can have this behavior for multiple apps. Just choose your app in the profile we made in step 3 and 5. They are supposed to be added in OR context like ES File Explorer or BetterBettaryStats and Not BetterBatteryStats or ES File Explorer.

Some screenshots:

(Click any image for its larger variant)

                     →                                  →

(No toast for any other app)                                                (Default screen for BetterBatteryStats)

                    →                                    →

(No toast on dialog on same screen)                                      (Dialog closed and toast came back on main screen)

                    →                                     →

(Toast on Default screen of ES File Explorer)                            (No toast on dialog of the same screen)

(Toast came back as soon as dialog disappeared)

Commentary

The aforesaid solution didn't work on my device satisfactorily if the app remained in recent list (but OP is not concerned with it) and you happen to open it again.
You can get rid of app (and inverse) context based profiles if you use a string in  step 9 in place of %Catch like com.estrongs.android.pop/.view.FileExplorerActivity (Main activity of ES File Explorer). The solution will be reduced to two steps. :D

However, I would like things to be automated here, so why bother especially when you want to select multiple apps for the toast!

What else?

Every device more or less has a keylayout under /system/usr/keylayout. In my device the generic layout is named as Generic.kl. The relevant key is mentioned at

key 158 BACK    WAKE_DROPPED

If you put # in front of it and restart the device then the back key would be disabled. To remain at safe side, I swapped it with Meny key (key 139).

This swapping can be very beneficial in Tasker. Unfortuntaley, the changes take effect only at next reboot which is very counterproductive for our goal. Let me know if it can be done without a reboot!
Xposed Additions(requires Xposed Framework) can remap or disable the Back key et al, but it has no explicitly callable activities (relevant to the goal) which can be utilized by other apps. Also, it doesn't even seem to store a database or a preference file. So I couldn't use it with Tasker to achieve the goal.
Secure Settings (another Xposed module) has an option named Kill back button but it seems to be available for Custom ROMs and so, I couldn't test it. Some folks say it does work and I too saw the plugin useful for the goal. Check it out if you've a custom ROM.

I'm open to Ideas here!


The feature you need is called Now on Tap.

According to Google blog, Now on Tap is available only in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Korean. All you have to do is set one of those as a secondary language in your phone settings to make it work.


Screen turns off during call with Tecno F7

Disclaimer: I have a Samsung Galaxy S4

Just giving this a shot in case it works. Are you using the stock Phone app? Maybe you have the Turn off screen during calls checked.


I am not experienced in the MIUI device but one alternate method could be to download an android launcher. Launchers like Google now or nova work really well in my opinion. I know this doesn't really fix the issue but, chances are you'll like these launchers better than the default one.


Why does :) sometimes display a blushing emoji on Android? Can you stop this?

Why does it happen?
Because the app renders such text as an emoji. Users of old MSN (or new Facebook) are more or less used to it. The app reads the text, sees a specific string of characters like :) and replaces it with the emoji it is linked to.
Can you stop it?
Depends on the app. Far as I know, stock messaging apps usually offer the option to turn it off. But third party apps might or might not.