Samsung Galaxy S10+ Will not boot into Recovery mode from Download Mode

The problem with the S10 is that you cannot shut it down from "out of the Android OS".
Then you can only boot into the recovery with the (hard-ass) key combination when your phone is completely shut down. So if you miss the tricky key combination one time after shutdown or odin-flash you're stuck in some kind of boot loop between the "bootloader" and the "security warning". The only solution seems to be to let the battery drain so the phone is completely off and then use of one of the following methods:

Booting Into Different Modes
Even though you have rooted your Samsung Galaxy S10, you still have to
keep in mind that both the recovery and the Magisk will be in the same
partition. Which means that you will have to use a different method to
root into the rooted system.
Note: The following steps are to be followed when your phone is
completely powered off.
Unrooted System: Simply hold the power button as you would normally and your phone will boot into an unrooted system.
Rooted System: Hold the Power, Bixby, and Volume Up buttons together, and release them once the Bootloader Warning screen appears
and that will boot your phone into the rooted system.
Stock Recovery: In order to do that, you will have to hold the Power, Bixby, and Volume Up buttons together, and release the Power
and Bixby buttons when the Bootloader Warning screen appears and keep
holding the Volume Up button to boot your device into the stock
recovery.

In your case it will be the last option which is the most tricky key combination ever. I also failed it several times, it needs practice! (I suppose Samsung did this on purpose).
Check this guide, it's the best I found out there:
Root Samsung S10 Guide


How to upgrade Galaxy Nexus from 4.0.1 to 4.0.4

I think to move to the standard Google build, you have to root your Nexus to bypass the signature verification. Otherwise you can't go to the Google build.
I have a Nexus One and it's the same thing. Before, i can get the Google OTA, i had to root my phone.


Can I install an app directly to my SD card?

You are out of luck sorry!

The only way to do so, is to install to internal space on Phone, then:

Tap on Settings
Tap on Applications
Then tap on Manage Applications
Scroll down looking for the appropriate game, then tap on it
Finally, tap on Move to SD Card...

You will have to free up space temporarily in order to do this.


Generic version of Cyanogenmod for any Android device?

No, there isn't.

eldarerathis' answer on What's the risk of installing Cyanogen Mod on unsupported phone? explains the negative effects if you installed the incorrect CM ROM.


How Google Wear install app from Google Play

Please note the below is generic details. OEMs have their own Android Wear apps, just as an example Smart Connect from Sony

According to this article:

  When you install an Android app that also has an Android Wear app, the app is automatically installed on your watch.

The watch connects and starts downloading apps using the phone’s internet connection. You need to have the Android Wear App installed on the phone to enable this.

As for Gmail, yes you can use it on a Smart Watch.

See here for details. You can do the following with Gmail in Android Wear:

Read email

Your new email will show up in a Gmail card. Touch the card to expand the message. If the message is long, you might have to tap to expand it multiple times.

If you have multiple messages, you’ll see a bar at the bottom of the card that shows how many messages you have. Touch the bar to see the rest of your messages.

You’ll get Gmail cards if you get Gmail notifications on your phone. Learn more about how notifications work on Android Wear.

Reply to an email

When you get a new email, you can read and reply by going to the Gmail card. Swipe ← to the left until you see the “reply” action. You will have to touch to reply. You can’t use a voice command like “reply.”

If your watch’s screen is dimmed, touch it to wake up your screen first.
Your Gmail message will show up in a card. Touch the message you want to reply to.
Swipe ← to the left until you see Reply.
Touch Reply.
Say your message. Your message will send automatically.

Keep in mind, you can’t edit what you said after this point. If you want to change or cancel your message, you’ll have one second to press Cancel.

Send an email
You can speak to your watch to send an email to a contact, or say the email address.

If your watch’s screen is dimmed, touch it to wake up your screen first.
Say “Ok Google.” You’ll see a white screen with a red “g.”
Say the following: “Send email to Alex Jones that I’m looking forward to dinner tomorrow.”

Archive an email

You can archive an email right from your watch.

If your watch's screen is dimmed, touch it to wake up your screen
first.
Your Gmail message will show up in a card. Touch the
message you want to archive.
Swipe ← to left until you see
Archive.
Touch Archive.
Your message will be archived.


Both Facebook and Twitter contact sync stopped doing anything useful sometime recently (ICS?). They no longer provide a meaningful between your phone contacts and the actions provided by those clients. I think this has to do with changes to the Android API that for whatever reason these companies have not adapted to.

There is a stop-gap solution for Facebook using a third party app such as Contact Sync for Facebook or Friends Sync* but I don't know any solution for Twitter other than the hack-it method of having a URL listed and using the web client.

* This publisher also has other sync apps for foursquare, flickr, and others.


How to root a Samsung Note 3 Neo bought in China?

Well, I think that can be done by using CF-Auto Root, best option over here would be heading directly over to the EDITED: Try using this guide over the PRIME HOW TO which I think is going to help you in getting things step by step ! Nothing much is changed over here I guess things are mostly the same and for self satisfaction I would say you can work with this one !


Has anyone flashed an Android build (i.e. a Crespo build) onto a Nexus S phone manually before? How does one do this?

It's possible to inject your system.img into a previous nandroid backup done from clockworkmod and then restore that backup with the new system.img.

Prerequisites:

Installed clockworkmod recovery
desired system.img saved onto sdcard
do a fresh nandroid backup

To install the new system.img:

boot to recovery
create a nandroid backup to let's say /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/[currenttimestamp]/
replace /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/[currenttimestamp]/system.img with your new one
compute the md5sum of your new system.img
update the md5sum in the system.img line in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/[currenttimestamp]/nandroid.md5 file with the value from [4.]
restore your altered backup
if needed, do a wipe


One way that I know how to do this is though Android's Do Not Disturb feature.
You basically keep your phone in "do not disturb" mode always, then manually set who is allowed to interrupt you.
Some of the options for who can interrupt you are:

Conversations:

All conversations
Priority conversations. To choose
which conversations are priority conversations, tap Settings.
None

Calls:

Anyone, contacts or starred contacts
Repeat callers. To let a
call through if the same person calls twice in 15 minutes, turn on
Allow repeat callers.

Messages:

Anyone, contacts or starred contacts
None
Reminders
Events

Basically, this is essentially a white-list approach as opposed to a black-list approach.
There may be third-party apps that can accomplish what you are asking, but the above is a stock built-in to Android option for you.


In ICS, what differs between use on a phone, and use on a tablet?

Assuming just vanilla ICS, with no custom UI from a manufacturer/carrier or anything:

A phone has a status bar at the top and soft buttons (or hardware buttons) at the bottom. A tablet will only have the bottom bar, with soft buttons on the left and clock/notifications on the right. The notification pane pulls down from the top status bar like in previous versions on a phone, but it pops up from the bottom-right corner on a tablet.
The default launchers and home screen layout are visibly different. The app drawer on a phone is in the center bottom, on a tablet it's top right, and phones have a sort of "dock" at the bottom that is visible on all home screens (tablets do not). Also, the Google search bar collapses on a tablet but is persistent across the top on a phone. The home screen transition animation is also different.
Apps that use the Action Bar will display a bit differently. On a phone the bar will almost always be split between the top and bottom of the screen, with some options on each portion of the bar (possibly unless they use very few icons/actions). On a tablet it just uses the top of the screen because there's plenty of room. Google Music is a good example of this.


Disclaimer: I am the lead developer of Droid Explorer

The dialog is telling you exactly what the problem it. It isn't saying you don't have root, it is saying that it cannot start ADB with root.

The more information link takes you here: Droid Explorer permission denied when accessing root-only folders.

Or you can go right to get ADBD Insecure. The app will exit because you need to install that app first, then start Droid Explorer.

Ultimately, you will need to install ADBD Insecure, or a custom kernel that allows ADB to run in root mode, or you will have limited access to some folders on the device.


How do I stop Facebook linked contacts' pictures from automatically updating from Facebook?

From your home screen, under Menu->Settings->Accounts&sync->Facebook you can uncheck Contacts. Obviously, this will stop your phone contacts from syncing to facebook, but after you get the list the first time, the only thing that really updates is the pictures, so disabling it should take care of it :)


Want to change country in Google Play store

One option to do that is going into your Google Wallet Setting and add a new profile for that Country / Region


From what it sounds like, you not only want it to show a higher percentage but also 'use' this last little bit of juice in the battery.  Technically you could just modify the icon to show full all the time or be slightly above the real level, but that's just the icon's look.  I think to accomplish what you're trying to do you will have to modify the ROM yourself.  If your savvy in this field, you can look for some open source ROMs, modify it, and see if it works.


Disable Google Play Ads in Notification Area?

Airpush! A bloody nuisance they are.

Need to figure out which app did you install recently, that is the culprit. Uninstall it, let the developer know that airpush is disastrous and let them see their downloads drop!

If your handset is rooted, you might try Ad-Away to block those pesky adverts. And its open-source and available on Google Play.


When receiving a call, how do you mute the phone?

Just press any volume button while its ringing.
On side note, make sure there isnt an option like answer by volume buttons in settings->accessibility. If there is, make sure its disabled. If its not there, then you are fine ;)
Hope this helps.


Root Samsung Epic Galaxy 4G (SPH-D700) on FC09 Gingerbread?

Just about every Samsung device can be flashed with Odin, regardless of what firmware is installed on it at the time. For specific instructions you can refer to this XDA thread, which explains how to flash a rooted FC09 image:

  put your device into Download Mode
  Connect to your computer and make sure ODIN recognizes your device
  Flash the Clockworkmod.tar.md5. Make sure EVERYTHING is unchecked INCLUDING AUTOREBOOT!!!!
  Once ODIN does its thang, unplug your phone and pull the battery
  Now reboot into CWM Recovery by pressing and holding the power button, camera, and volume down button until the capacitive buttons at the bottom show
  Now locate the ROM.zip. It should be called DeodexedFC09.zip
  Wipe Data/Factory Reset, Wipe Cache Partition, Wipe Dalvik Cache, and if you want Wipe Batt Stats
  Now reboot, and you should be running Stock Rooted FC09!

  ODIN: http://www.mediafire.com/?66csfeo1ce95ysw

  CWM TAR: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1357655

  Stock FC09: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1580931

You should be able to get the Epic into download mode by doing the following:

  You enter download mode by shutting device completely off. Then open
  the physical keyboard press and hold the 1 key and then press power
  for a few seconds.

Downgrading, rooting, and then updating seems unnecessarily complicated. The updates probably wouldn't apply on their own once the device was rooted, so you'd need to install them manually anyway. You might as well just install the image you want straight away instead, whether that's a stock one like the above linked image or CyanogenMod.


What is the Android Permission "WRITE_GSERVICES" doing?

Note this permission is almost completely undocumented, hence we need to feel our way to its real meaning. So this is in no way an "authoritative answer" – but more or less something between a "good guess" and a "deduction from other pointers".

The official description for this permission (as said, there's no further documentation) is:

  Allows an application to modify the Google service map.

So now we can guess what that's supposed to mean. Let's do some "reverse engineering" for that to feel our way into it. Ryan already gave some pointers in his comment, linking to two SO questions:

Android Google Maps API v2 - Requires permission that it already has (in our context: Maps API requires READ_GSERVICES)
When to use READ_GSERVICES permission?

Reading between the lines: Whenever an app wants to use (parts of) the Google Services Framework, it must declare the READ_GSERVICES permission required – which is pretty much similar to requiring GET_ACCOUNTS if you want to USE_CREDENTIALS: the app first needs to ensure the required service is available at all, before accessing it.

This gives us an idea of what the Google Service Map must be: some kind of index for available (installed) Google Services.

Now that we discovered that, we can make a good guess what the WRITE_GSERVICES permission might be intended for – and why it is protected by the system protection level (meaning, it's only granted to "system apps" – i.e. those integrated into the ROM, which is being installed on the /system partition): If READ_GSERVICES is intended to figure out which Google services are available, WRITE_GSERVICES must be its counter-part to update that service map. Which is e.g., whenever a new service was installed (or removed), to update the "index of Google Services available on the device" – the "Google Service Map".

Just one thing I wonder in this context is, why this permission belongs to the ACCOUNTS group …

See also:

Google Play Services Requirements (especially the chapter "Specifying additional permissions")
Maps API v2 and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission describes the READ_GSERVICES permission as "Allows the
API to access Google web-based services" (quoting a message from the android-developers@googlegroups.com mailing list)
Google Service Map: Karte des Google-Netzwerks (a German article preceding Android) describes the "Google Service Map" as "listing of all available Google services". Note that, though similar in terms, this might be something different – but it makes much sense. See the complete list here. And it might explain why this permission belongs to the ACCOUNTS group, as it includes e.g. Google Account Authentication ;)
SO: What is Android Permission WRITE_GSERVICES exactly for? (again points out this refers to Google Web Services)


Strange ALT key behavior running c4droid on my droid 3

Since this behavior appear only in the c4droid app ,it isn't a system problem but a problem with the c4droid app ,I suggest you send a feed back to the app's dev ,the implementation of supporting physical keyboards is in the app it self ,or may be there is an option in the app's settings to remap or choose keys behavior.

Email address of the dev: n0n3m4@gmail.com

C4droid's Play store Page


Instead of going the whole "multicast over reverse tethering" way, which to me, doesn't make any sense at all, you should evaluate if a VPN setup with multicast enabled (plus optionally reverse tethering) may be a solution to your problem.

On a second thought: VPN + reverse tethering is basically "multicast over reverse tethering"


The combination of encryption, PIN lock, and having ADB turned off should protect your data pretty well.  It could still be compromised if someone finds a security flaw that can be exploited through the network or the MTP USB connection, but that risk exists in any case.

However, with your bootloader unlocked, someone could take your phone, flash a malicious ROM that contains keystroke loggers or something, and then return the phone to you and wait for you to type your PIN or decryption password.  It'd be better to keep the bootloader locked whenever you don't actually need to flash things via fastboot.

You can use BootUnlocker to lock and unlock the bootloader from within the running Android system.  Unlike fastboot oem unlock, this doesn't wipe your data when you unlock.


Is there a way to speed up games with an accelerator?

Try use GameGuardian. It perfect works on all Android versions include Lollipop and Marshmallow.

It have speedhack worked on arm and x86 devices, include x86 emulators like Bluestacks, Droid4X, Andy and others.


Make new notifications beep every 5 minutes?

For others reading this:

I found the option to do this hidden under Accessibility / Advanced Settings / Notification reminders on my Samsung.

(not the best place to put it, if you ask me)


There are multiple solutions which can be used here.

Disable or hide the app

If the device supports multi-user setup, you can can create a secondary user account for your son and put as much restrictions you want.

If you don't see Users under Settings app, your device officially doesn't support  multi-user setup. See a bypass here: Multi-user option not avilable in Android one after Lollipop update

Anyhow,

Setup adb in PC, enable usb-debugging in device and plug the device into PC.
Create a new user from Settings -> Users and switch to it.
Go to Settings → Apps → All apps → find your app, tap and disable it.

If you think disabling may not be enough, simply make the app inaccessible to your son. Follow these steps:

We need to know the UserID of the secondary user we created. For that follow my answer at How to find out currently running user name/ID from ADB?. The UserID most likely would be 10.
We're going to hide any app whose usage you find questionable for your son. Execute

adb shell pm hide --user UserID PACKAGE

Replace UserId with current user ID you found and PACKAGE with package name of the app. For Google search app, it is com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.

Hiding here is akin to temporary removal of app, with the major difference that app is never removed from the system but only inaccessible to current user. You can always unhide the app by replacing hide with unhide in the said command.

You may be able to skip some steps by using Debloater app

Rely on automation

I'm not sure how your app blocker app really works. It should have no problem. Anyhow, you can use an automation app, such as Tasker to block usage of an app.

Profile: Applications → choose app(s)
Task : (Actions): you have range of options to choose.

You can send the kid back to home screen whenever app is launched.

Action: App → Go Home
You can launch another app as an alternative.

Action: App → Launch App
You can create a transparent scene with dimensions equivalent to screen and use it in overlay blocking mode. This would make screen not receive any input hence app would become useless for your son.

Action: Scene → Show Scene

Disable the scene whenever the app is closed or some app takes over, using an exit task.

Action: Scene → Destroy Scene

See my answer for more info at How to add screen filter with tasker?
If the Android is rooted:

you can force-stop your app

Action: App → Kill App
you can implement previous section for your only user in order to hide or disable the app on-the-fly without the need of PC. You just would need a suitable trigger

Note: some of the actions mentioned for Tasker can be achieved using MacroDroid, AutoMagic, Automate and AutomateIt individually.


Cache more tabs to preserve the content when there's no internet connection in Firefox for Android

According to a blog article by Geoff Brown, the developer of Firefox for Android, looks like you need to disable "smart sizing" feature in Firefox because it sets the cache size dynamically.

I'm now using version 37 and I still don't see any progress in functionality though.


Access synced Exchange calendar from desktop browser

If you have Outlook 2007, you can use the built-in Publish My Calendar feature to publish it to Microsoft servers, which will make the ICS feed available to add as a calendar in Google Calendar.

In Outlook 2007, go to the Calendar section and click the "Publish My Calendar..." link. Fill out that dialog and it will start syncing.

If necessary, feel free to adjust which calendars are shown in your Android device via the Calendar app's Option menu item "Calendars".


What is the difference between application cache and data?

App developers decide what information to be kept in "data" and what to be kept in "cache".

Usually, "data" is used for account info, settings, saved activity data, game scores, and whatever is need to be kept permanently. Clearing data will make your app "forget" everything like you have reinstalled it.

"Cache" holds all information and files that can be retrieved somehow (from the internet, or other way). For example social apps can cache all your feed data (photos, comments, and so on). Clearing cache may lead your app to reload all the lost (and necessary) data from it's original source. It shouldn't make your app behave bad.


Why is Busybox still not recognized after installed properly?

The mistake here is that you're trying to run Busybox by issuing busybox in your Windows terminal. This way, Windows searches for a program called busybox in its PATH, but doesn't find it, since it resides inside the /system/bin directory of your Android device.

To run any command residing on your Android device, you need to preface the actual command with adb shell, so adb shell busybox, in your case.


how to check if my OS is not modified (is original)

No real way to test it unless you know what you are looking for (in terms of spyware) the best solution is to flash a new CM rom from an approved site that is known to be clean.


How do I create a calendar event that repeats every other week?

The current calendar app from google now supports custom repeat appointments where you can specify repeat every 2 weeks.


There are several root options for Samsung devices.

EDIT: It seems like the first method is not available for your device.

CF-Auto-Root: Created by XDA developer Chainfire, this method consists of a modified recovery image which injects the su binary into the system and restores original recovery upon reboot. This is the safest method because it does not require user interaction.
Root programs: These PC apps, like OneClickRoot, require you to enable USB debugging and connect your phone to your PC. It will then execute an exploit which will allow it to inject su to /system.
Framaroot: Created by XDA member alephzain, this is the only root method that does not require a PC. Once installed and opened, Framaroot will present you with a list of exploits compatible with your phone. Once you choose an exploit, Framaroot will either a) tell you that the exploit was successful and that you need to reboot in order to enjoy root, b) tell you that the exploit failed and that you should try another, or c) it used a so-called local.prop trick to root your device with a squashed file system, and that you should reboot to try and see if you have root.

All methods install a Superuser apps which governs the use of su.
An example of a su app is SuperSu, which has an unroot option in its settings tab.

As for the bricking, it's very hard to do that unless

You interrupted a flash process
You deleted something you shouldn't have
You flashed something meant for another device


Banks detecting root devices is a bit disturbing but then again Java script is very powerful when abused. Perhaps get a browser with better privacy options.

Usually root detection is performed on the target device when the application loads. @acejavelin summed it up best in above comments.

I'd suggest to any reader concerned about apps probing for permissions on rooted Android to check into Xprivacy module for Xposed. This and Donkey Guard, both are fantastic for disabling or modifying access to entire features of the device on a per-app basis. Generally I prefer Xprivacy because device specifics can be forged much easier.

  One short note on security with Xposed; it's not really secure. Lots of permissions and portions of processing are exposed to the device's user.

Reporting (if any) is done over the network. While it's possible to attempt detection from the server side it's very noisy and would cause lose of trust with customers.

There's another option with root reporting, run a firewall that doesn't allow the application to report out to it's servers. Though for some this will brake functionality when not allowed network access.

Bonus option "Advance Freeze" with ROM toolbox Pro

While the above linked options are free and nearly full featured this last suggestion isn't... but it's worth it to freeze features of an application outright. Some apps crash but most will just limp on without privacy invading features or adverts enabled.


Sometimes there may be interference from other electronic / microwave equipment.

In your router / access point's settings change the channel and see if there's any improvement.

Also, don't be taken in so much by the bars displayed. Very often, I see only 2 bars, but in the WiFi settings, I see the signal strength displayed as EXCELLENT.

The other usual rules apply - place your router as high as you can. Place it away from other cordless phones or electronic devices that can generate interference.


Pattern lock screen on Froyo, what should I do if I forget the pass?

If you have linked a gmail account on your android, dont worry.. just follow these steps:-

Input the wrong pattern 3 or more times till "forgot password" button appears
Click on forgot password button and check your inbox


How to import large files to google drive from a public google drive shares without downloading?

Just click on Add to my drive. Download it whenever you are free.


Android Market app throwing "a server error has occurred" error message

TL;DR: Google has ended the support for the Android Market app. Users need to migrate to the Play Store app by installing the compatible version (skip to the last section).

Background

According to Android Authority, Google has ended Android Market support for Android 2.1 Eclair and below:

  On June 30, devices running Android 2.1 Eclair or lower will no longer be able to access, or install other apps from, the Android Market.

In a different article, they also stated an opinion that the Android Market app would no longer be supported on "newer" versions:

  Google also mentioned that it will continue to support “later versions of Android Market for as long as feasible.” Exactly what that means is anyone’s guess, but I think it’s safe to say that the company will eventually end support for Android Market on other versions of its operating system — and probably sooner rather than later.

The Play Store app is supported on Android 2.2 Froyo, and by default, the Android Market app should be automatically updated on supported devices when it's opened:

  If you still have the Android Market on your device for whatever reason, it’s probably best if you upgrade it to the newer and much improved Google Play — provided you are running Froyo or newer. As soon as you open the Android Market app, a window will pop up saying that a new version is available for download. Then just follow the directions on your screen, and in a minute or two the Android Market will be replaced by Google Play.

The issue

However, according to some reports (1, 2), the Android Market shows an error message "A server error has occurred. Retry, or cancel and return to the previous screen." since at least 8 March 2018, preventing it to be updated to the Play Store app, and thus making it dysfunctional.

The fix

While the Android Market app cannot update itself, users are still able to install the Play Store app by downloading and installing the APK.

APKMirror listed all variants for the Play Store app, including for Android 2.2 Froyo. The latest version available on there is 4.9.13.

  Version: 4.9.13 (80290013)
  Package: com.android.vending
  Min: Android 2.2 (Froyo, API 8)


How to sync music bought on Google Play back into iTunes

I've bought one album on Google Play Music and because I've set in Preferences that I want monitor my iTunes folder, everything new in iTunes is uploading to GPM.
When I bought this album it started downloading to my iTunes library automatically but when I deleted in on iTunes (I needed to free some disk space) it hadn't appeared again. So I have to download manually whole album using Google Play extension in Chrome and add it to iTunes.
So I assume there is no "sync" or "push" to iTunes in GPM.

Recent introduction of Apple Music brings more confusion. if you are Apple Music abonent then:
1. When you buy some album on GPM and it will go to iTunes.
2. If you turned on iCloud Music Library the album start to upload to iCloud and songs start to being matched by Apple.
3. As long as you are subscribed to AMusic you may hear this album "from the cloud" on all your PC and iOS devices with exception of Apple TV for now and Android phones (will be possible in fall 2015).


Google timeline telling me I was somewhere that I wasn't

At the thread Google Maps Location History is showing an incorrect location

Here on Android Enthusiasts, there is an extensive discussion about exactly this problem.

If you’re only looking for a way to edit your timeline, there are some very elaborate instructions at the link View or edit your timeline


Trying to root and install Xposed on Nexus 5 with Lollipop

Hopefully I don't get burned too badly for this, but I thought I would share this info for people who haven't rooted/unlocked their phones lately (or never have).

In order to root one must unlock first; this functionality is provided in Wug's rootkit as well as the rooting function.

I was trying to mod my phone as little as possible, and I was told by several people that I could root without unlocking first, but it appears that this can never be done (perhaps Wug's rootkit should make that a pop up notification that the user must read in case a scenario presents itself where a user tries doing what I did; this way they can take recourse). In short, I had heard long ago that rooting and/or unlocking could potentially permanently disable Google Wallet, (more deeply speaking, I believe it would disable the use of the NFC chip) and I use NFC for lots of things so I didn't want to risk it if I didn't have to.

I've restored now, and everything has been tested and is fully functional.


Is Google maps more accurate than other geolocation apps?

Android defines interfaces for interacting with its location sources. The location information returned will be the same for all applications.

GPS - Your phone locates itself using a constellation of satellites. This can be done without any data connection, but usually uses a data connection to assist and reduce the time to first fix.
WiFi/Bluetooth - Your phone scans for transmitters, and sends the list in a location request to Google.
Cellular - Your phone scans for towers (transmitters), and sends the list in a location request to Google.

How an application chooses to use location information may be different, as in your snapping example. Usually the best accuracy source currently available is used, which starts as WiFi then switches to GPS. But an application can choose to ignore WiFi and only use GPS, for example.

If you are trying to map locations in open areas, then application heuristics like your snapping example will not help; any application with GPS that records coordinates should be fine.


Using Trebuchet (the default launcher)? Long press empty space on homescreen, tap the little up arrow on the bottom, then find this and turn off.

Screenshot captured on my own Nexus 6P with CM13.


Setting up Play Store on a Samsung phone from China?

Find a Play Store APK
You can Google play store apk or something similar, find a suitable (trustworthy!) source like this one and sideload the APK.
This does not require you to be rooted, or your bootloader to be unlocked, but it does require you to allow installation of apps from unknown sources (check your Security settings or equivalent)
Flash Google Apps
There are Google App zips for different Android versions you can flash. You can find these by Googling (again!) on reputable websites such as the CyanogenMod wiki page. Pick the correct version that corresponds to your version of Android and flash it over your existing ROM. This will install the entire suite of Google Apps depending on which version you flash. Micro for the minimal amount of apps and full zip for everything Google.
However, this requires you to be rooted and have a custom recovery installed, so the first option might be preferable.


I cant Update Google play services as it says "Authentication is required. You need to sign into your google account"

Try to update Google settings, front-end for Google Play Store and other Google stuff. Go to Settings -> Apps -> Google Play Services and uninstall the updates. Leave the phone on WiFi. It will update automatically.


Creating a playstore account for someone

To setup the Google play store account. You just need to setup a Google account within the Android device. This can be done when the phone is first turned on in the initial setup or can be done in settings within accounts.  Google support


Why does a factory reset keep the operating system updated?

System updates overwrite /system. Factory reset wipes /data and /cache but doesn't touch /system. Simple as that.


How do I make my phone play a ringtone over my headphones despite being on "silent"?

You could create a tasker profile that sets the ringer volume when a Bluetooth headset is connected.

I'm not sure how to handle the case when you disconnect the headset,  though.  You would only want to set the volume back to zero if it was zero when it was connected.

Edit: tasker gives access to current ringer volume via variable %volr

In a profile with condition Bluetooth connected:

Set a variable %savevol to %volr

Set ringer volume to desired level, if %volr = 0

Exit task: set ringer volume to 0, if % savevol = 0


How to execute “reboot recovery” in recovery mode?

TWRP recovery project make it like below maybe this can help

case rb_recovery:
            check_and_run_script("/sbin/rebootrecovery.sh", "reboot recovery");

Github ref


Google Timer :: what is "one raised to one"?

The button +1' will add 1 minute to the timer. It's a convenience function to extend the timer so that you don't have to stop the timer, add a little bit of time, then restart it.

I am not aware of any way to change the extension value. If you want to make drastic changes to the timer running, it's easier to stop the timer and start a new one with a different value. Otherwise, you are constrained by adding 1 minute at a time.


Can I prevent ICS browser from using CPU while in the background (without back-button exiting)?

I have reason to believe that this may be a bug caused when the Web app has a large number of bookmarks.  In System Settings -> Accounts and sync I turned off Sync Web under my Google account.  Then I went to Manage Apps, clicked the All tab, and hit the Clear Data button.

This reduced the usage of the Web app to 1% when in the background.

When I enabled Sync Web to import all my Chrome bookmarks, then disabled it, the problem showed itself again.  I reproduced this problem twice.


Error in connecting Samsung A3 to Ubuntu 14 (USB); adb unauthorized (no pop up on device too)

You might be able to clear the list of authorized devices so the authorization list is reset to its default if it is in some kind of corrupted state right now. You can do this under Settings > Developer options > Revoke USB debugging authorizations.

Another thing that is frequently overlooked is rebooting: rebooting both your Android device and your computer might make it work. Another thing to try is connecting the device to your computer and then disabling and re-enabling USB debugging, my personal experience is that this fixes a lot of ADB problems.

Users on stackoverflow reported that switching the device to camera mode might work as well.

If all else failes, you can also try to manually authorize yourself on the device, using Flavios answer on Stackoverflow:

Move the authorized key file: mv /data/misc/adb/adb_keys /sdcard/adb_keys_backup (you can also delete it if you want)
Send your adb public key to the device (look in the ~/.android directory)
Stop adbd using the command stop adbd as root
Copy your key to the authorized devices list: cat adbkey.pub >> /data/misch/adb/adb_keys
Start the ADB daemon again: start adbd (as root)


any way to read DATA/ directory's CONTACTS.DB?

What you read is about correct: contact is stored in /data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts2.db.

You will only be able to read /data if you're rooted. Although Android 4.2.2 should be easily rootable by now, the fact that you're stuck in the boot logo (likely a bootloop) means you can't keep a stable ADB connection, therefore no rooting tools would work (requires stable connection for minutes).


Set a call forwarding number based on a defined schedule

This can be done in Tasker.

Create a profile 'Call forwarding at home'
Add a context for 'Day' and a context for 'Time'
Add a task 'Call' with 'Auto Dial' and the special number to enable
call forwarding (i.e. '*21#')
Add to the context for the location an exit task 'Call' with 'Auto
Dial' and the special number to disable call forwarding (i.e. '#21#')

Source: Enable/disable call forwarding at location - Tasker Wiki


Why are playlists breeding like rabbits on my device?

This sounds to me like a similar problem I have had with duplicating images in the gallery. I fixed this by clearing the gallery data, and allowing it to rebuild next time the media scanner ran.

I would suggest trying the same technique. I would imagine that whereas I deleted the data from the Gallery App, you should try clearing data from the stock Android Music Player, or failing that from PowerAMP.

Settings-Applications-Manage Applications-All-Gallery-Clear data (confirm). This doesn't delete your media itself, just the database that details where the media is. The media scanner will rebuild this database automatically next time it scans.

It would be prudent to backup your phone contents before you try this.


How to turn off screen of android with terminal emulator?

There are two ways of doing this, depending on if you have root or not on your device.

If you use root

If you have rooted, run:

su
input keyevent 26

In any good terminal emulator.

If you have not rooted

If you haven't rooted, either root, or:

Install ADB (Instructions vary between windows, Mac and Linux)
Enable "USB Debugging in settings > developer options (if you cannot find developer options, tap the build number in 'about phone' seven times.)
Connect your device to the PC, and connect via ADB
Run: adb shell input keyevent 26


Try the latest Museek player. It has support for gapless playback. You need to enable it from within the ADVANCED settings in the app.

There's also PowerAmp and Winamp which seemingly offer decent gapless playback quality.


How to use an external sdcard as internal in Android Lolipop 5.1.1?

sm is actually not a binary, it is a shell script for java program which does not exist/work on 5.1-lollipop

# Script to start "sm" on the device, which has a very rudimentary
# shell.
#
base=/system
export CLASSPATH=$base/framework/sm.jar
exec app_process $base/bin com.android.commands.sm.Sm "$@"

to answer the headline

a completely another solution for rooted devices only:

you can mount ext4 disk image (or ext4 partition) with same permissions like /data
(mount script example)

/su/su.d/40sdextimg start-up script with executable permissions

#!/system/bin/sh
until grep -qw /data/sdext2 /proc/mounts
  do
    mount -t ext4 -o loop,rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime /storage/31D1-1308/data.sdext2.img /data/sdext2
    sleep 1
done &

then you can move apps and create symbolic links
(that's what Link2SD does)

mkdir /data/sdext2/com.textra-1
mv /data/app/com.textra-1/base.apk /data/sdext2/com.textra-1/
ln -s /data/sdext2/com.textra-1/base.apk /data/app/com.textra-1/base.apk

or bind mount whole folder
(assuming 2nd partition is mounted /data/sdext2)

mkdir /data/sdext2/media
chmod 0770 /data/sdext2/media
chown 1023.1023 /data/sdext2/media
chcon u:object_r:media_rw_data_file:s0 /data/sdext2/media
mv /data/media/. /data/sdext2/media
mount -o bind /data/sdext2/media /data/media


Failed to mount /cache (Invalid argument)

Format the cache partition, that will help you to mount later.

Just go for Wipe menu from TWRP home screen and select cache. It will show same error but format will be completed.
Then select Mount menu from TWRP and select cache. It'll be mounted.


Google unlike Samsung and Nokia and such is a service company that wants to bind you to its cloud (sorry for the buzz word).

You can see it with Gmail, Google Docs, Google+, Google Voice and of course Google search which all are (more or less) agnostic of used operating systems, hardware and so on. They all operate in the cloud, the only dependancy is a decent browser.

And so does Android. You aren't bound to even own a PC if you have an Android device at all. It's meant to be a replacement for some of the stuff that you currently do on a PC. For a comparison: Only with iOS 5 has Apple removed the hard dependancy to have iTunes installed for backups and updates of ones iOS device.
Courtesy of Google :-)


What does "encrypt all outgoing email" really mean?

It actually gets the public key of the receiver before sending the email. So yes, it could do what it says.


Copied files folder structure via usb not showing properly in Gallery (moto-g + Kitkat)

The built-in Gallery app doesn't show photos in a tree structure: it just has albums. When you copy files in directly, it normally just puts each folder of photos in an album with that photo's name. When another app adds photos to the gallery, it can specify what album(s) to put it in, according to what the app knows about the picture.

If you want to browse photos by their folder structure, don't use the built-in Gallery app. There are a lot of third-party photo viewing apps on Google Play, so pick one you like and use that instead.


How do I install DropBear SSH on Android?

First as a side-note for other readers: We're not talking about "an app" here (those have already been tried and didn't work on that architecture), but about a command-line binary. DropBear sometimes is part of Busybox, or it comes as separate binary.

Now for the installation part. Binaries you install yourself best go to /system/xbin, which is in the $PATH but usually "initially empty" (Android's own stuff is in /system/bin and /system/sbin), so we run a very low risk of "collisions". So either adb shell or terminal to your device and make sure you're root. I further assume you've already transferred the dropbear/busybox binary to your SD card.

mount -o remount,rw /system        # make sure we can write to system
cp /sdcard/busybox /system/xbin    # copy the binaries to /system/xbin
cp /sdcard/dropbear /system/xbin
cd /system/xbin                    # switch to our target directory
chmod 755 busybox dropbear         # make sure we've set the correct permissions
busybox --install /system/xbin     # advice busybox to create all its symlinks here

Installation part done (skip the dropbear parts here if your dropbear comes with busybox – and vice versa, skip the busybox part if not needed.

Now, we need to make dropbear fly. I've never tried this myself, so I refer to an external script at Github for that. In short (and in case that link dies), again assuming the required files are already copied to your SD card:

# Creating a home-dir for DropBear
mkdir /data/dropbear
chmod 755 /data/dropbear
mkdir /data/dropbear/.ssh
chmod 700 /data/dropbear/.ssh
# Copy over our files
mv /sdcard/authorized_keys /data/dropbear/.ssh/
chown root: /data/dropbear/.ssh/authorized_keys
chmod 600 /data/dropbear/.ssh/authorized_keys
# Generate a hostkey, so we can use DropBear
dropbearkey -t rsa -f /data/dropbear/dropbear_rsa_host_key
dropbearkey -t dss -f /data/dropbear/dropbear_dss_host_key

An additional part if you want DropBear to auto-start at boot:

cat << EOF >> /etc/init.local.rc

# start Dropbear (ssh server) service on boot
service sshd /system/xbin/dropbear -s
   user  root
   group root
   oneshot

EOF

Note that this assumes your device supports init.d scripts. First check for the availability of that file to make sure.

Finally, don't forget to make /system read-only again. Either reboot at this point (so you also can check that DropBear starts as intended), or at least execute

mount -o remount,ro /system

for now, postponing the reboot. To start the service manually, it should be possible executing that block via some shell script (so you could e.g. have a tasker task for starting and another one for stopping the daemon, and even make shortcuts to those tasks on your homescreen for manual control). Again, I have not tested this part, so it's "pure theory".

Good luck with DropBear and BusyBox!


Unable to disable password on Android screen lock

Please read the subtitle of every remaining button...

"Because you've turned on an accessibility service, your device won't use your screen lock to enhance data encryption."

You need to turn off accessibility services before you can change any settings here.

Settings-> System section-> Accessibility->
Turn off each process using the accessability services until you are allowed to change your password again.

A second cause may be what Journeyman said, but you seem to be running an older android version that doesn't support that.


How do I add to the favorites in Samsung S3 contacts?

To favorite a contact:

Open Contacts app
Search for contact to favorite
Long-press on contact
Select Add to Favorites

To remove from favorites, select Remove from Favorites for a favorite contact (has a star).


What will be faster when moving to sd-ext via A2SD+ Data or Dalvik-cache? (or can I move both with no extra-penalty)

As Matthew already stated, there's no unique answer possible to your question -- all depends on your usage patterns. Generally spoken, I'd say moving app data should be preferred: If you move the Dalvik Cache, it would affect all your apps -- while moving the app data only affects apps which store some data (and by "some" I mean "data size exceeds their Dalvik-Cache size"), so a good guess is it affects only a few apps. But this can very well be those apps you are using most, and which heavily access their data -- so it may or may not be the better choice in some cases.

Guess you've got to try. I'd suggest starting with the app data. A class 10 card should provide sufficient speed -- so if the results are acceptable to you, stay with this. Otherwise, go back and try with the Dalvik Cache. If this isn't acceptable either, the only choice left is buying a new device with bigger internal storage...


Mobile Data blocked while getting/sending phone call and message

This all depend on your network provider. And also android operating system.
Generally in 2G network  when you get call, mobile data turn off. while in 3g you can use call and data simultaneously. This also depend on network strength and hardware.
while in 4G LTE, you can connect internet and make call.
So choose network which support data + voice.
kindly provide what is written near your network signal strength at the top of the screen E or 4G Volte.


Sometimes CyanogenMOD messes with the SD card paths after rooting. If that is the case, you will need to use a terminal emulator to correct the path to /sdcard/external_sd

Make the external_sd folder in your SD card first. Then through the emulator use the command

su

mount -o bind your_current_path_as_per_es_explorer /sdcard/external_sd


How can I copy files onto an SD card with a Honeycomb tablet?

Getting to your external in File Manager HD is...not very obvious. The only way I'm aware of to get to it is to hit the Home button at the top right on the action bar (not the Android OS button in the bottom left) and then hit Up. This should put you at /mnt, so you can get to the external at /mnt/external1. The "Storage" shortcut on the left pane also takes me there, but I don't think it's always operated like that in the past. I might be mis-remembering there, though. If "Storage" takes you to /mnt/sdcard then you can hit "Up" from there to get back to /mnt.

As for copying, the external card was originally read-only by default. Now it seems to exist in some kind of weird limbo (at least for me) and I'm not entirely sure how the permissions are designed. File Manager HD shows its permissions as dr- (that is, read-only directory) but it lets me paste files there anyway. Nonetheless, if you're rooted you can use something like MicroSD Mounter as an easy way to remount it RW (it works fine for me).

I should probably also note that the above is on Android 3.2.2, after getting Verizon's LTE upgrade. The permissions may still be read-only for Xooms in other regions, but I'm not sure. Mine could also just be read/write because I'm using a custom kernel and boot image (don't remember if it was in there).


Prevent upgrade to 4.3 on rooted 4.2.2. device

Go to this XDA-Developers thread and follow the instructions. You have to download an APK from there and install it as a system app.

[How-to] Disable OTA updates on Stock + Rooted ROMs - xda-developers


Check if your charger's current or voltage is not higher than what your phone is supposed to accept. I had similar issues before with generic (chinese) Android chargers.


How to suppress these “Application needs installed” notifications from Google Maps?

The only way possible is to root your phone and install Xposed Framework.
It has a module, This App Will Run Without Google Play Services, which makes Play Services installation not compulsory for certain apps (including Maps); it's compatible with Android 2.3 – 5.0.


Will an Android 4.3 upgrade rewrite my custom /etc/gps.conf file?

In my case, the upgrade to the android 4.3 did not replaced my custom /etc/gps.conf file.

It was edited by hands on rooted device before the Android upgrade and stayed with the same content afterwards.

Answering myself :)


Since Recovery won't start up, you can clear the cache by powering off your phone and holding down Power + Volume Down for 20-30 seconds.  Then you will be able to enter recovery once you restart where you should clear the Dalvik cache and cache again.  I had the same problem and this worked for me.


Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications -> Market -> Clear data


How to tether an Android phone to a PC via Bluetooth?

Under Settings, Network & Internet, Hotspot & tethering enable Bluetooth tethering. Then, if you haven't already, pair your computer with your phone and connect.


How can I run a startup script for GNURoot Debian?

To install:
apt install dropbear

To start:
service start dropbear

Autostart:
Make sure enable is set to 1 in /etc/config/dropbear.


Are OEM USB drivers needed for developing Android apps on Windows 10?

No, the ADB drivers included with the Android SDK are universal.

On Windows 7, I was able to use the Google driver to interface with

1) Three different models of the Kindle Fire
2) Nexus 5,7
3) ZTE Speed
4) LG Optimus F3
5) HP Touchpad
6) Galaxy S4
7) Asus Memo Pad 8
8) Galaxy S3
9) Generic unbranded tablet


Try Removing your google play service and install the Last version it should be working

Or Just update your google play service (if your phone is not Rooted)


First, this often just a simple problem. Little balls of lint and debris can gather inside the headphone jack. This can cause the plug not to seat fully into the jack. This will prevent the system from recognizing that headphones were connected. I have to clean mine out every few months. I just use on of the little plastic dental picks to pull the lint out.

Also, since this is not an official MIUI ROM, it could be a problem with the port. Try contacting the ROM maintainer through the forum where you obtained the ROM.


Long-press on the search bar; after a second or so, a trash can should appear at the top or bottom of the screen.   Drag it to the trash can.
Alternatively, you could drag it to an open space on another screen by dragging it to the left or right edge of the screen.   The screen will flip to the next panel and you can drop the widget on any open space large enough to contain it.


OnePlus One - How to enable USB Debugging with broken TWRP

You don't need debugging mode to flash. You must boot in bootloader (Fastboot mode) and flash the files.

This tutorial explains clearly the whole process. You need the second method since you are not able to boot in recovery mode.


"This app won't run without Google Play Services, which are missing from your phone"

This is happened because your mobile is not supported by Google play service. For this you have to root your mobile and install play service


There's a program on Google Play called Network TrafficStats Lite that does this in most Android versions.  If your phone happens to be compatible to Ice Cream Sandwich, consider upgrading as this feature is built in.


Older Exchange calendar disappear in Android Calendar, but not in Apple Calendar

Open system settings
Goto Users and accounts
Click on the exchange account
Click on Account settings
Click on the settings button next to the account name

Now you see all settings for this account.

Scroll down
Click on "past items synchronisation"
Change this to all past items
Click the back button till you're out of the settings

NB: I translated "past items synchronisation", so the actual English name for this might be different, but I think it's clear what I mean. If you have the correct naming, then please comment here.


I had the same problem and this solved it.

1.With the phone powered off, press the VOL DOWN KEY for 2-3 seconds, then POWER key, then release.

2.The device will display different BOOT OPTIONS
Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL to Recovery and VOL UP Key to select

Tip: If the device reboots, you may have waited too long to make a selection, you will need to begin the process again.
The device will display the Motorola logo and then the Android in distress (logo with Exclamation mark)
Press and hold the VOL UP key for 10-15 seconds. While still holding the VOL UP key tap and release the POWER key

Tip: You can try this step, holding the phone in landscape. If you are stuck on step 6, try a force reboot by pressing the POWER key and VOL DOWN key, and start the process again.
The device will display additional menu options (Text will appear in BLUE)
Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll to wipe cache partition and the POWER Key to select this option
The device will then perform the partition wipe
The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence

DISCLAIMER : I am not responsible for any loss of data due to you doing any of the steps wrong. follow the procedure. It should work out well.

Good Luck!


Automatically switch to Chromecast audio

Right, after some research it's certainly possible with Tasker combined with the (premium) Autocast app or AutoInput (beta feature of tasker.)

AutoInput + Tasker Method

(according to some, can sometimes be unresponsive, but it's free.)

Profile - State - Net - Wifi Connected - input your SSID Task
Action - Launch App - (music app)
Wait 5 seconds (to allow app to fully load)
AutoInput Action - Select cast button
AutoInput Action - Select chromecast
AutoInput Action - Press play


What does the program Samsung Kies light do?

Source: Samsung FAQs: Cell Phones: What is Kies Lite mode, and what can I do when using it?

Kies Lite mode launches the application with a reduced set of features. This uses fewer system resources and lets some key features of Kies run more efficiently. Using Kies Lite mode, you can access and use these features more quickly: Firmware Upgrade, Sync Data, Backup, and Restore.
You can switch to Kies Lite mode by clicking Kies Lite Mode Icon in the top-right corner of the screen. If you switch to Kies Lite and you close the application, Kies will open in Lite mode next time you run the application. To switch back to "normal" Kies mode, simply click the icon again.
Or open Kies in Lite mode by double-clicking Kies Lite Icon on your Windows® desktop.

So it would seem that the functionality is limited to: Firmware Upgrade, Sync Data, Backup, and Restore.


Since which Android version does it detect internet connectivity on Wi-Fi?

The "Smart Network Switching" is available since Android 5.0.

You can see it in the official changelog here (in "see all features", "connectivity" : «Improved network selection logic so that your device connects only if there is a verified internet connection on Wi-Fi»).


Multiple keyboards for multiple applications

You can use tasker with the Secure Settings plugin:

Condition: Application (chose the app)
Task: Plugins › Secure Settings › System+ › Input Method (chose the keyboard)

If you just want to use 2 different keyboards, create such a profile for the keyboard you use with "fewer apps". In the condition, chose all the apps that should use that keyboard. You might need to add an "exit task" reverting back to your "default input method".

For more than 2 keyboards, create one profile per "special keyboard" the same way.


Is It Safe To Root A Samsung Galaxy S5 (or other applicable Android devices) using Geohot's Towel Root Method?

It is legitimate. (Or as legitimate as an exploit can be. It isn't malware and if used properly has little chance of doing damage itself.)

Obviously the usual cautions apply with rooting any device. You may void your warranty. Be sure to read through the forums at xda or other guides to be sure how and what can be recovered if something goes wrong because of a change made with root access. You probably don't want to root your brand new phone and then not have any understanding or way to recover if something goes wrong down the road. Just do your research first. It will be worth the time spent.


How can I flash my Galaxy 5 (GT-I5500) via Linux?

you can use mobile odin to flash ROMs directly from your device.Galaxy 5 (I5500) is supported. See the thread at xda developers: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1347899


You can't install Android like Windows or Linux - every handset is a little bit different due to hardware and carrier changes.  You could call technical support for your phone to find out how to change the language (easy option), or find a ROM to install that has what you want (much harder option).


How can transfer my game progress from HTC Legend to Samung Galaxy S3?

As long as none of the devices runs JellyBean (Android 4.1 and up), and it's just about those Angry Birds (as the comments suggest), take a look at AngryBirds Backup:

As the screenshot shows, the app supports a variety of the AngryBirds games (I don't know if it's complete, as I'm no "gamer", but it looks pretty much). So use this app to backup your AngryBirds data from the old phone to SD, copy the data to the SD card of the new phone, and use the very same app to restore them there.


Android sends a request to http://clients3.google.com/generate_204, and it expects a 204 response (the HTTP code for "no content").


Can a Google/Samsung backup be restored if the account holder is not logged in?

You can remove the device from your Google account prior to factory reset with this link Google's Security Checkup Page  and for recent device removal have a look here Google's Recent Devices Page ... if none of these help then look at this for all linked devices Google's Support for Linked Devices


What's causing battery drainage by "Google Services" while packet data is switched on in a 3G dead zone?

It looks like your phone tries to build a 3g connection only if packet data is enabled. After all, 2g is just fine for voice and texts. But unsuccessfully trying to create a connection when there is no network costs a lot of power.

In my experience, phones normally cope just fine with that. My theory is that the 2G signal normally contains some sort of flag that indicates whether there is also a 3G signal. The 2G repeater would incorrectly send this flag -- possibly because the tower it gets its signal from sends it too. Thus your phone wastes energy trying to connect to a signal that only exists somewhere else.

If you cannot (or don't want to) replace the repeater by a more sophisticated model, you should turn off 3G altogether while in your office. GSM phones have a setting in Wireless & networks -> Mobile networks -> Network Mode that lets you switch between WDCMA (3G) and GSM (2G). I don't know what the setting looks like on a CDMA phone.

You can probably automate this with Tasker if you do want to use 3G where it is possible. Alternatively you could use a widget to change the setting manually without having to go to the settings menu. One app that provides a widget for this is Widgetsoid.


Dual SIM: Disable telephony features on second SIM

You can achieve this by applying call barring on the SIM.

Although I know this is a different Andriod version, I am sure you will find something similar to this on my OnePlus 2.

  Phone app > Settings > Call settings > SIM 2 > Call barring > Incoming call barring


How to backup phonebook and user data through usb or command code in a locked Android phone

You can connect through adb and run a backup, doesn't require root, however the process is different for different phones.


why smartphones become laggey and slow with time?

Same reason a PC becomes slow over time. A lot of crap ends up on the system. For instance; even when you uninstall apps many of them many times leave something behind. The internal android DB becomes full and becomes harder to search because of the large amount of data.


How can I determine the hardware video file decoding capability of my android phone?

http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html

Some devices may play more formats, but these are supported by every phone.


How does Google test and check Android apps uploaded to Play Store?

As per my personal experience, Google does not check each and every functionality of the app, it just does some routine validation check for publication. Whereas Apple's App Store does the opposite, Apple requires working login credentials for checking each and every screen at least.
Now, it is perfectly fine to publish an app in Play Store, which does nothing, i.e., useless till the time it is adhering to the Play Store's policy. Now if you found some apps which are violating the listed policy Play Store Policy, you can always report it to Google and most probably Google will unlist that app for sure.


how long can the battery in my new mobile stay idle till first use

You might want to check How frequently is it okay to let the battery discharge fully or as low as possible? and A: Although I was told to charge my Android device before first use, it was already charged. Ha… for this, which include corresponding hints. Some basic stuff here, though:
Wikipedia holds a detailed article on Lithium-ion batteries. For your question, the answer is mentioned there as follows:

Li+ batteries have a self-discharge rate of approximately 5–10% per month, compared to over 30% per month in common nickel metal hydride batteries, approximately 1.25% per month for Low Self-Discharge NiMH batteries and 10% per month in nickel-cadmium batteries. They last longer if not deeply discharged (depleted) before recharging. The smaller the depth of discharge, the longer the battery will last.
Batteries may last longer if not stored fully discharged. As the battery self-discharges over time, its voltage gradually reduces. When depleted below the low-voltage threshold of the protection circuit (2.4 to 2.9 V/cell, depending on chemistry) it will be disabled and cannot be further discharged further until recharged. It is recommended to store batteries at 40% charge level.

(emphasis mine)
From that you can deduce: If the manufacturer behaved responsibly (which we may assume), the battery was charged at about 40% when leaving the factory. Assuming it took at least a month to get to you (it was at store as well, so it should have taken that long or longer), and consider the fact you bought it 6 month ago, the battery wasn't charged for at least 7 months. Self-discharge rate, according to the article, is 5-10% per month -- so your battery is pretty empty now, and most likely already about to enter the "dangerous level" of deep-discharge.
Conclusion: You should at least check it twice a year (once every 6 month) and make sure to charge it up to ~40..50% when not using it.


Install custom ROM from Linux on a LG GT540

I also have that phone and it had fastboot disabled. To quickly answer your question, I haven't found a method to install a fastboot ROM from Ubuntu but it is possible to flash a custom ROM from it.

Assuming there is fastboot ROM installed, you should first boot it into fastboot mode (if you have ADB running, just use adb reboot bootloader):

turn the phone off
hold the camera button and then the power on button
keep pressing the camera button until you see the LG logo

The phone will be in fastboot mode when you see a blank screen (just the back light will be on). After that, you should be able to use Ubuntu to flash a custom ROM. All you have to do is open a terminal in the folder containing the extracted files and type:

sudo -s
fastboot -w #this wipes user data! don't forget to backup :)
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot reboot

This process should take about 10 minutes to complete.

Just for the record, I downloaded fastboot binary from here and Swiftdroid 2.0 from here, but I believe you can use any fastboot-ready ROM (in other words, ROMs with boot.img and system.img). If you don't have a fastboot-enabled ROM installed already, you can do it using the KDZ Updater as described here, but you have to use Windows and the fastboot ROM.

Reference thread and post


Problems since 4.4.2 OTA - Verizon Wireless Note 2

Take it to the samsung care and fresh install the kitkat rom all your problems will be solved.
If you don wana go to samsung care go to sammobile.com find the suitable firmware and flash your device using odin.


First of all, nowadays, how does the process of rooting an android
  phone work?

By using an exploit in the Android system, a binary file which is named su is added to /system/xbin partition. When an application wants to execute a command with root privileges, it executes the command with an su at the beginning of it. This sends a call to the binary file. Binary file reads a text document generated by the GUI application. If in this text file there aren't any specific information about the app that asks for root access, then the binary checks another text file (again, generated by the GUI) that shows how it should act by default in such a case. Normally in such a case, GUI app will prompt you about an app asking for root access and will ask you if you want to grant it. Depending on your decision, the GUI app will tell the binary to whether or not should it grant that app root access.

Whole process is pretty much that. However, methods of rooting are so many, that I can't fill them all in here. Because they mostly vary across manufacturers.

  What would be the security risk of rooting an android phone ? If I am not mistaken, these could be grouped in at least two issues: the rooting process itself, and the aftermath.

Well, we can do so if you want.

For the rooting process itself:

First of all, it voids your warranty. Other than that, even though it is hard to completely brick the phone when only trying to root it, it is still possible when one is not careful enough. But the most common case is usually bootloops, which is not that much of a big problem in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.

For the aftermath

A rooted phone is pretty much the same, only with more customization for a person who knows what they are doing. But every now and then there are some guys who corrupt their IMEIs, delete the Telephone app or sometimes completely brick their phone by messing up stuff in /system. Also, giving root access to an app with bad intentions, might not (and probably will not) end well.

  a. Regarding the rooting process, is there any open source procedure
  (or at least closely reviewed) to root a nexus phone that could
  guarantee that there's no malware installed in the process ?

Well, I don't know about Nexus a lot but I don't think a rooting process might actually end up with malwares in your phone. Most su binary creators share their codes at gitHub already. And the popular ones (i.e. Chainfire from XDA) are trustworthy developers that have the trust of the community.

  b. From what I understand, having a rooted android is no different
  than having a linux OS with a root account. Are there any (free, open
  source?) apps that can monitor (what commands have been launched, etc)
  and prevent apps from getting access to the root account without my
  agreement ? (so that it is linux OS where any account that requires
  root privileges must go through 'sudo' and ask the user to enter their
  password).

Know this: Apps can make use of the exploits on their own and gain access even on a non-rooted phone. However, the GUI apps like SuperSU or Superuser come with their own su binary that act only as ordered by the GUI app. So if you don't let them, they don't have root access.


How to disable file extension check during incoming file transfers?

You could use a workaround, compress your file as zip archive and then extract it on your Android Device.

I use AndroZip for it. As an alternative you could use a better Variant. Total Commander.


contents of playlists being deleted but playlist files still exist

I had a long journey and did some trial and error. I think I've figured this out  - with a big disclaimer that the details may vary between devices, Android versions, music apps and maybe even types of SD card.

The apparent cause

It seems to happen when this happens - this fits my experiments plus the details in the various angry "Arrrrgh why are my playlists empty" forum threads I've read:

Something causes the phone to need to reconnect to the SD card, such as restarting the phone or connecting it to a computer by USB.
Reading the SD card doesn't happen instantly - kinda like plugging a pen drive into a computer, it needs a little time, seconds or maybe a few minutes. The more stuff on the SD card, and the older/slower/cheaper the SD card, the longer this will take.
The important part - something causes the music app to look at the playlist while the SD card isn't fully connected. It sees a bunch of references to files it can't find.
The music app, instead of sensibly realising that the files are on a card that is being connected, freaks out and deletes each item in the playlist it can't find. If all your music is on the SD card, that means emptying the playlist.

Possible fixes

So far, the first two of these seem to have been enough to fix it for me (Sony music app, Xperia Z3 Compact, 4+ year old nearly full 16GB SD card).

Don't touch the music app until the SD card has definitely finished connecting. For example, wait 5 minutes after restarting the phone or unplugging from a computer. Some versions of Android show a notification like "checking SD card for errors" but in  my testing relying on this wasn't quite enough.
If you use a music widget, move it off home screen 1 and maybe delete it. This was a crucial one for me. If I had the music widget on my first centre home screen, or, if I swiped over to the home screen with the music widget immediately after restarting the phone, the playlists got wiped (even though I hadn't touched the widget or app). If I had the music widget on the home screen one swipe to the right, and I didn't look at that screen until a few minutes after restarting the phone, the playlists didn't get wiped. Clearly the widget being visible on the screen caused the music app to do some startup process which then triggered this problem if the SD card wasn't fully connected yet.
Maybe play a second of a song you know is on the SD card before touching a playlist. I thought this would fix it for me, forcing the music app to have successfully read from the SD card before giving it a reason to look at my playlists, but my music app doesn't seem to work that way. Others might, though.
Test anything else that might start the music app before the SD card has loaded. For example, some phones have music players on the lock screen, or things that auto-start the music player if headphones are plugged in.
Consider getting a faster SD card. This is a last resort option, I've seen people post that this solved it for them. I guess maybe some modern SD cards connect fast enough or leave some sort of trace that stops this happening.


How can I recover the files in LOST.DIR on my SD card, and what are they?

According to this Super User answer, LOST.DIR is the folder  mac disk repair looks for as part of it's repair process.

LOST.DIR is something mac disk repair looks for and will ask about as part of it's repair process. If it's related at all to the standard lost+found, then it's a special file that holds all the corrupted or orphaned files found during a file system check.
Something is checking your drive and finding a problem it wants to make note of in LOST.DIR. I think this sort of thing is more likely to happen with Macs on non-HFS drives.

Android also creates this directory as part of it's filesystem check and puts files there which Android believes are corrupt.


Using sponge to act as a stylus pen for Android phone and tablet?

It is true. But not all touch screen phones work well with this.

The capacitive touch screens that we find in most android phones these days work by detecting electrical disturbances from our body. The 'sponge' used in these DIYs are electrically conducting foam and they transfer the charge of our body through it, thus registering touches.

On the other hand, these sponge tipped styluses obviously won't work well with resistive touch screens unless you apply some amount of pressure.


How to remove data usage from droid 2 welcome screen?

Press and hold (long press) on the widget, then drag it to the remove/trash icon that will appear.


Disable voice notifications on SGS2/Android 2.3?

Look under SETTINGS > ACCESSIBILITY for Talkback or something similar. Also check under settings of individual apps - Phone/Dialer and Messaging.

Finally check to ensure that DRIVING MODE has not been recently enabled. That might also be the cause. Look under SETTINGS > VOICE INPUT


unable to mount storage while installing new ROM - Nexus 5

You don't install factory images in custom recoveries, let alone "flashing" them like regular custom ROMs.
XDA has you covered for simple stuff like this. Excerpt taken and simplified below:

Install adb and fastboot drivers.
Download the latest factory images
Extract the archive you downloaded.
Unlock your bootloader (In case you haven't already)
Power off your phone.
Boot it in fastboot by pressing and holding Power Button + Volume Down at the same time.
Connect your phone to your PC through your USB cable.
Execute the flash-all.bat script (for Windows) or flash-all.sh(for MAC and LINUX) in the folder where you extracted the factory images.
Wait for everything to flash.
After everything finished, select "Recovery" using the volume buttons.
When a small dead Android appears, press Power Button + Volume UP.
Select "Wipe data/factory data reset"
Reboot.


Under developer option, Enable OEM unlock.
First find custom rom as per your mobile model. Connect mobile to computer having developer kit. Root the mobile and flash rom.


How can I fix internal storage growing for no reason?

Before you can fix the issue you have to identify the cause. We have a few answers that deal with tracking down storage usage. But usually they target the external storage/SD-card. Here we are dealing with the internal storage, which is usually protected from normal user access and hence it's good (if not required) to have root. But other then that, the tools mentioned in the question should give you a good idea of how your internal storage is used:

Izzy's Answer on "Something is secretly eating up my Acer Iconia A500 internal memory and I need help finding it"
What can I do to manage my phone's internal storage?


How do I unlock bootloader when OEM unlock setting is missing in Developer options?

Android 4.x don't have this option, this option was first seen in lollipop (5.0).

This I've found on XDA if you don't find a guide to unlock your bootloader ask in the help thread.


Spent the last hour looking for an answer to your question,  think I got a solution for you. The app "PlayTo Universal" $4.99/US and "Cast2TV-PRO" $2.99/US, both available from play store will stream directly to the PC from your android. They should work for your "game face cam".

Good luck!!


It's not a standard, but just a convention which is followed by many in custom ROM world. IIRC it's the LineageOS/CM who introduced the idea. So their repo is the best place to see latest changes.
There is no complicated API, just a few bash script functions to backup/restore some files during OTAs (dirty flashes).


What is the purpose of "Tracing" settings in Google Chrome Canary?

In software development, tracing is the process of logging information while a program is running or executed. It serves mainly to debug a program.
In case of Chromium (or Chrome I presume)

When diagnosing performance problems it can be valuable to see what Chrome is doing "under the hood." One way to get a more detailed view into what's going on is to use the about:tracing tool.
Tracing records activity in Chrome's processes (see multi-process architecture for more on what each process is doing). It records C++ or javascript method signatures in a hierarchical view for each thread in each process. This is a lot of information, but sifting through it can help identify performance bottlenecks, slow operations, and events with irregular lengths (leading to e.g. framerate variation).

This is just what is happening with Chrome Canary.
The categories selected are those the apps will log information, details while running that will help the developers diagnose potential problems with the app.


Lollipop plays call notification ringtone instead of notification ringtone when a text is received

Turns out the Messenger app has its own notification setting. Google has an article where to access the setting(s).

https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6080337?hl=en


How can I install official Android 2.2 Froyo in Samsung Galaxy S which runs Android 2.1 Eclair?

Depends on your model.  For most of the international versions such as the GT-i9000, you can get it over the air (a notification pops up, ir you can go to Settings -> Software update) or through Kies (I recommend getting Kies Mini from Samsung.com).  Froyo has not been officially released for some models including the US ones, however.  I recommend a custom ROM such as Nero v5 for the T-Mobile Vibrant.  The easiest way to find one is to go to XDA and look and the subforum for your device.  Note you probably need root and ROM Manager (in the Market) to load a ROM.


Why does my HTC Android phone's screen switch on and then off again?

Some badly developed apps can cause device wakes.

Try uninstalling or freezing suspicious apps.

Check the logs to see what is causing this.


Is rooting 4.2.2 really this complicated?

My further investigation indicates that the Nexus 4 Toolkit isn't the best one to use - in fact it doesn't seem to work at all with 4.2.2.

Instead, the Nexus Root Toolkit seems to work well with 4.2.2 and is basically a one-click installer. Download from the linked page and run it; it will do the rest by itself and/or give you simple instructions when needed.

Update: I've just completed the rooting process with this tool. Worked well and was simple enough. Note that after completing the process, I had to download and install the Superuser app from the Play Store - this step was not completely evident, but simple to do.


How to Have Device Encryption With Magisk Systemless Root Installed?

This was an old problem with Lineage OS based ROMS, where the encryption just didn't work properly. The problem is that ones the encryption is set, it cannot be changed in the GUI. However, I had a success in the past where I changed my encryption key through vdc cryptfs changepw command that can be run on the Terminal app from the developer menu (or any terminal emulator) with a required root access, and you can only change an old password to a new password, an old pattern to a new pattern, ...etc, but not a pattern to a password, ...etc.

I believe the issue has been resolved in the latest Lineage OS (correct me if I am wrong), as I am using another Lineage OS dialect called Havoc OS that have this issue perfectly resolved!


Many recent TV devices ship with DLNA support. If yours does, you could turn your tablet into an UPnP server using an app like e.g. BubbleUPnP. Once that app is up and running, it serves the tablet's contents to your TV. Your TV detects accesses this service, and you can control it using the TV's remote control:

  BubbleUPnP is a full featured UPnP/DLNA Control Point, UPnP Media Renderer and UPnP Media Server. Play easily your music, videos and images on your phone and devices on your network (DLNA TVs, XBMC, WMP, ...), from your external UPnP Media Servers. Play your phone/tablet media to those devices.
  Browse and play your local phone/tablet and cloud media from other devices [...]

So basically, this works both directions -- and you can even use this app to browse contents of your other UPnP sources on the tablet itself.


Samsung Kies: 'This version of the device can not be updated'. Never?

According to this link this message is due to a bad translation from Korean to English (and from that to Dutch, because in Dutch the message has the same meaning).

Original Korean was something like "For this ROM there are not updates available (yet)".


google.com redirected after xpressconnect installed

I fixed the problem by the following steps:

Clear data of the xpressconnect app, then uninstall it.  This step alone didn't fix the problem.
Reboot my nook to recovery mode, and clear/wipe the Dalvik cache.
Restart.

To start fresh, I also clear the cache of all my web browsers.


After some digging around, I unearthed some interesting developer settings that significantly jazz up my homescreen. The added benefit of this in-built solution is it doesn't block app installs :)

There's also the colour inversion option under accessibility settings

I'd post a screenshot of my new homescreen but it seems the filter isn't reflected in screenshots.


Unlocking Android phone immediately after reboot

Note: This is a workaround.

Some users have posted about the bug (saying this bug is present from long time)
 in reddit and oneplus forums.
Since it is a bug, there is no definitive solution to this.

One possible work around is to simply turn off the screen by pressing  lock button
and turn back on by pressing  lock button  again, and enter your pattern.


Is it possible to open a locally saved Flash file on the Ideapad A1?


Motorola Defy Gallery app is crashing upon start

Have you tried Settings > Applications > Manage applications > Gallery > Clear data?


Network unavailable error when screen is off or after exiting the browser whilst downloading files

In the advanced WiFi settings, the keep WiFi on during sleep option may be the cause.


How do I get Google+'s notifications into Android's notification list?

Uhhh...I get Google+ Notifications all of the time.

Check:

Settings | Apps | Google+ | Show Notifications is checked
In the Google+ app, Overflow menu (three vertical dots) | Settings | Notifications is ON. Tap that entry and choose which types of notifications to get. I see

POSTS AND MENTIONS

Mentions
Shares
Comments
Comments on a post after I commented
Circle subscriptions

CIRCLES

Adds me

PHOTOS

Tags me
Comments on a photo I am tagged in
Comments on a photo I tagged
Photos added from Instant Upload

EVENTS

Invitations or updates to events
Reminders about events I'm invited to
Activity on events I created

COMMUNITIES

Invites me to a Community


Samsung Galaxy S3 not booting up, just shows ”Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-19300” black screen

Your system might have become corrupted or hampered by some misuse/mishap.
The method below will install Latest factory Firmware for your Samsung device, i.e., Unbrick the phone.
Steps to Install latest firmware
Note: Write your phone's model number like "GT-I9812" and IMEI number on paper beforehand.

Put your device in Download Mode.

Don't connect your device to USB port

Now, on PC, download and install Samsung KIES.

Now, after installation, reboot PC. All required drivers will be installed for the PC and android device.

Connect your device to the PC

Open Samsung KIES, Go to Tools > Firmware Upgrade and Installation.

Dialog will popup asking for Model Number. Put Phone's Model Number which you have written on the paper and Press Next.

Now, it will ask for the IMEI number of the mobile phone. Just put that in and Press Next.

There will be some dialog boxes about the system reset and warnings. Just Click Ok/Next.

Now,Samsung KIES will download system software for the device and Install it on the device itself.

This will take lot of time, so be patient.(Time depends on the Your Network Speed.)

Voila! Your Phone is New Again. (atleast on the inside. :-P)


Is there a music player that supports play counts and smart playlists?

iSyncr does this. They also do wireless sync. lifehacker article

Unfortunately (for me at least) it uses iTunes and I hate iTunes, but it does work. I think I hated iTunes so much I bought an Android to avoid it, but now have to use it anyway because of the smart playlists. It is the only thing I've found that keeps smart playlists, playcounts, and ratings updated. Everything you said you wanted. Plus you already use iTunes and seem to not hate it.

I think iSyncr could work for you. :)

You should be able to use the stock music player, MixZing, or a half dozen other popular other android players in combination with the sync app which pushes playcounts and ratings to iTunes.


It seems that fastboot mode is working and bootloader is already unlocked, so what you can do in such a case is flash the stock firmware in the device. You can either flash it via fastboot itself or via recovery. The one with recovery is a bit safer.

Full OTA image for Nexus and Pixel devices can be found here along with the instructions. If the instructions there do not work for you, here is what to do:

Download TWRP (a custom recovery) for your device and follow the instructions there to flash it. You can alternatively directly boot into TWRP by using this command:

fastboot boot recovery.img

Make sure to rename the downloaded TWRP image to recovery.img and provide the full path to wherever you have downloaded it within the command.
Download the full OTA image in the PC.
In TWRP, go to Advanced → Sideload, and push the slider to begin sideloading. In the PC, issue this command:

adb sideload FULL_OTA_IMAGE.zip

Replace FULL_OTA_IMAGE.zip with the actual name and path of the full OTA image you have downloaded. Once it reaches 100%, your sideloading is finished. You can now issue the command adb reboot or reboot from the TWRP.

Your phone should boot fine now. Note that this would remove TWRP if you had installed it earlier. This does not locks the bootloader though.


Which filesystem should I use on my USB stick to have interoperability with Android and Windows?

Based on your requirements there are not many file-systems left: ext3/ext4 or exFAT both are file-systems that are natively supported nearly all Android devices.
My recommendation as file-system to use is exFAT as long as you don't want to store a large number of small files.
partitions size to cluster size:

7 MB–256 MB -> cluster size 4 KB
256 MB–32 GB -> cluster size 32 KB
32 GB–256 TB -> cluster size 128 KB

The other option ext3/ext4 may cause problems if you ever want to connect the USB-stick to an Windows PC as Windows does not support it.
exFAT has no relevant maximum file-size (the file size limit of exFAT is 16 Exabytes and therefore larger than the largest disc for the next decades)
Regarding the exFAT support Android should support this file-system if it has an SD-card slot and supported SD-card with 64 GB and beyond.
To my experience the exFAT read support usually works, but the write support can be buggy on some devices (permission problem). Therefore the only way is to format an USB-stick with exFAT and test it on the devices you want to use it.
For more details see also this question and it's answers: Since which Android version is exFat supported?


Is it possible to somehow understand from the logs what happened to the phone a month ago? Are there such logs?

Here is some ADB commands that can help:
Dump each app and it data usage
for package in $(pm list packages | cut -f2 -d":"); do echo $package; pm dump $package | grep  "Mobile network"; done;

Monitor Application
for package in $(dumpsys package | grep "Package \[" | cut -d "\[" -f2 | cut -d "\]" -f1); do
    echo $package $(dumpsys package $package | grep firstInstallTime)
done;

That will list install date of all the applications on the device.
You can replace "firstInstallTime" with "lastUpdateTime" to get last update time.
Some applications monitor and store the phone state in a database or a log file, you can also backup the apps in the device and try to find some useful information in these backups.
Hope it can help!


How can I control the frequency of synchronization with Google?

I don't know of any way to set the sync frequency or to make syncing low-priority, unfortunately.  You could use Locale to turn off/on auto-sync based on profiles you set up, however.  There's a Locale plugin that might do most of the work for you: https://market.android.com/details?id=net.andvari.android.syncsetting


How to copy mp3 files from computer to Android phone

You should install drivers for your device first. When you connect device to computer select from settings on device, usb connection most related to mass storage. Just google for android usb connection mass storage. After this you can see in your computer internal phone storage and also external sd card(if you have one) as drives.


How do I resize internal storage of an Android Studio AVD image that's stuck at 200MB?

This is a known problem. I imagine that nobody has made the investment to fix because it affects an earlier API version/build. But, if you're on a Mac, here's your fix.

Go into AVD and set the Internal Storage size to 1GB (or whatever size you need -- I've only tested this to 1GB).
Run the image to make sure that it boots up okay. (this is just to rule out any other problem that might be ailing your image)  If you look at the image partitions, it should still be only 200MB.
Stop the image from running.
From the command line, run: gtruncate --size 1g userdata.img. If you don't have gtruncate, install it with brew install coreutils.
From the command line, run: tune2fs -e continue userdata.img. If you don't have tune2fs, install it with brew install e2fsprogs. If you still can't find it after installing, check /usr/local/Cellar/e2fsprogs/{whateverversion}/sbin/tune2fs.
If you also have a userdata-qemu.img file, you can repeat steps 4 and 5 for that image file. If you get an error, best bet is just to delete userdata-qemu.img and let AVD automatically recreate it.
Run the image. Verify that your partition is 1GB. Celebrate.


if a user debug build comes with adb root access by default, does it contain the su binary?

No, adb does not require a su binary to get root permissions.
On a regular build it is just the other way around: adbd is started by the Android system itself with root permissions. Up to a certain point it uses these root permissions (open port and so on) and then adbd drops the root permissions.
On an Android user debug build comes with adb root access adbd does not drop the root permissions, hence every command executed via adb is executed also with root permissions.


My wifi turns on randomly and automatically.

KitKat has a feature where, when Wi-Fi is turned off, it periodically scans for networks to allow Wi-Fi-based location detection to work. To turn this off:-

Go to the Wi-Fi settings
On the overflow menu (the three dots) select Advanced
Uncheck Scanning always available

Even when an app turns on Wi-Fi fully, this isn't done with an intent; rather, it's done by calling the method WifiManager.setWifiEnabled. Only apps with the permission  "connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi" can do this.


did "restrict background data" *per-app* just disappear in an os update? (android 4.2.2)

The option is "Restrict Background Data" and you can access it on Settings -> Power Saving, after choosing a proper power saving mode.

To stop Google Play from hogging your data, open the Google Play app settings and look at the "Auto-update apps" option. There is a possibility to only update when connected to an wifi network.


Go to the Titanium Backup settings page and enable (it it isn't already enabled) the Auto Sync TB Settings option. Then you should be able restore the file created on your SD Card to your new phone.


Phone calls dropped after approximately 5minutes into call

With the info you provided, one possibility is that the screen times out after five minutes, locking the phone, and thus ends the call. This shouldn't happen during a call, but go to your display settings and make sure your screen doesn't time out to see if this solves your problem. Again, it is unlikely this is the problem, but it is a possibility.


Why is the FEATURED TABLET APPS tab in the Android market not present on my PC?

Edit: As per Lie's comment below, it looks to be US-only. The proxy site I use apparently changed to hosting in the UK :P

I'm in Canada, and also tried from a US UK (my bad) proxy.  It doesn't show up.

A quick Google search shows that the URL for the page with the tablet apps should be https://market.android.com/details?id=apps_tablet_featured.  Using this link directly doesn't work either, whereas https://market.android.com/details?id=apps_featured (the regular featured apps) does.

So I think Google just had it up temporarily and took it down.  Or, if Daniel can still see it, they're doing what Google normally does: rolling out new features slowly, to only some users at a time.


How do I move multiple app icons at the same time?

Unfortunately you can not do so with GoLauncherEx.
Your best bet would be to contact the dev team at their blog, or other forms of contact like Twitter, facebook, etc. and just ask them to include this feature. As of right now (Mid-2012) I don't believe there is a launcher on the Android that has this feature yet.

Feel free to contact the dev team.
http://golauncher.goforandroid.com/

GoLauncher is really innovative and usually has features long before other launchers and updates frequently. They have a very active development, with the largest user base of all other launchers, so its not really out of the question for them to support this feature if asked.

I do believe it would be pretty handy at times. But who knows how much of a priority they would make this innovation, as their is only 8 home screens and once you pull an icon over to another screen it automatically takes you to the overview of all home screens, so its a pretty efficient and fast situation. But the "Go" devs love what they do, and love their user base so I don't see why they wouldn't work on it if you asked.

The only way to find out is to try and contact them! :)

Hope the best.


As it turns out, the timing is just that finicky. Both buttons need to be pressed & held at exactly the same time to take a screenshot. I was used to a mod on my previous phone that had more relaxed timings so you could hold power and then hit volume down to take a screenshot.


Reconnect Authenticator with Google account for a second time

From what I can see, there is no way to re-associate a phone. It looks like your option is to disassociate/re-associate.


Control android tv-box with my tv's remote?

After much reading, I ended up achieving what I wanted thanks to CEC. Thankfully the M8, and my VIZIO TV support CEC, which I had never heard of before, and I can control the M8 with my TV remote control (actually I'm using my direct TV remote which is programmed to control the TV). The signals get passed through the HDMI cable.

I had to enable CEC on both the M8, and my TV. At first it didn't work, but I tried with another HDMI cable and it started working. Apparently not all HDMI cables implement the pins that are used to do CEC, and the cable that came with the M8 did not.


Why does my phone's Bluetooth keep switching on automatically after every 5 minutes precisely? (Mi A2, Stock Android 10)

Check if it stops in safe mode. If yes, some installed app is causing this. I uninstalled an app that I suspected was causing this and Bluetooth activation stopped


Will deleted apps be restored when I reset factory data?

Inbuilt apps that you deleted/disabled will be restored. Any apps that you installed from Google Play and weren't pre-installed on your phone wont't be restored.

You will have to redownload those apps again which you want to use again. Also give this a read and the linked question inside.