applications - File transfer with linux pc through mobile hotspot

How do I transfer files with a PC running Linux (Ubuntu) via the mobile hotspot (not through wifi)? (Perhaps with another third-party application)

What is hard reset and what is factory reset?

It is mentioned at XDA Developers that one should do Factory reset or hard reset. I'm a bit confused about what is hard reset? Factory reset I suppose is using the option in settings to reset phone to the factory state i.e. when it was unboxed.

Answer

A hard reset is traditionally when you kill all power to the device and then boot it up from that state. Normally you remove the battery, then put it back in and boot up. You're right about factory reset — it erases all your settings and data, leaving the OS. Unfortunately, some people use "hard reset" when they really mean "factory reset".

SMS messages just have "null"

This question already has answers here:

Closed 7 years ago.

Possible Duplicate:
SMS messages from one contact displayed as “null”

I have a Samsung Galaxy 5. A coworker sent me a contact from his Nokia phone, which showed up as "null", and now all other SMS's from him also come through only as "null." I've tried deleting the thread, deleting the contact, turning the phone off and then on... Any help would be appreciated.

J

updates - Does upgrading bootloader wipe your data?

I'm about to flash an update to Android 4.4.2 on my Nexus 4, downloaded from Google Developers, and one of the files that it's going to flash is the new bootloader version.

I wanted to know if flashing a new bootloader will re-lock my fastboot, which will require me to unlock it wiping my data, or if it will in any other way cause my data to be wiped.

Answer

Ok, I made a backup in case and then I performed the upgrade.

End result: It did not wipe my data. It did not re-lock my fastboot, or any other side effect that I could find except updating the bootloader version either.

2.2 froyo - Is there a way to create groups of contacts?

On my old Nokia phone I was able to create groups of contacts. I found this very useful and had groups such as Co-workers, Neighbors, Doctors, Friends, Family, etc.

Is there a way to do this on my Moto Droid? The only way I've found to group contacts so far is to mark them as Favorites, or create custom folders with direct contact shortcuts on my home screen.

Answer

Sunpech is correct about that. However, it doesn't quite work in the way you are envisioning it. Your groups in your Google contacts don't sort your contacts in your phone, instead you are simply able to specify to Android which of those groups you want synced. When you are in your contact list (in Android) you can hit Menu and go to "Display options" and choose your preferences there. The actual appearance of the "Display options" screen will vary depending on your version of Android, but ultimately, you will be able to choose which groups to include in your contacts, and even specify to only display those with phone numbers.

I hope this clears things up for you.

4.0 ice cream sandwich - Unable to start chinese tablet even after installing recovery

When I try to boot my chinese tablet it halts on a small android icon and does not go ahead. It is not a boot loop. I just stays there.

It booted successfully a couple of hours ago after two days and after several attempts. At that time:

1. It showed up in device manager as Alcatel ADB Android Device (Windows recognized it that way - it did not ask for any driver).


2. I successfully accessed the SDCard in My Computer by going to "USB Connected" in the notification panel.


3. I followed instructions from @LyricWulf ( Chinese tablet does not boot ) and installed recovery (cwm_recovery_6.0.1.2_a10) with the # sh install-recovery.sh command and rebooted with the # sh reboot-recovery.sh - I used ADB Shell for doing this.


4. It took me to CWM recovery with a hat symbol. Over there, by mistake I selected the reboot option and again I am stuck where I was :(

Now once again, the computer is not recognizing the tablet. It is not going to recovery mode with Power and volume key combinations. Please advice what could be the problem.

How to tame "Phone Idle" battery drain on unrooted device?

I use AccuBattery and Kaspersky Battery Life to measure energy consumption. Kaspersky Battery Life shows, that all the tasks use minimal energy. AccuBattery Pro shows, that phone uses 5-10 mAh. This is a fairly new, 3000 mAh battery. Phone is a THL T9 Pro, Android 6.0 is installed on it.

UPDATE: I deleted all the mentioned applications and installed new one, GSam Battery Monitor to get detailed data:

There is data from the built-in usage chart too. I checked applications under Battery optimization, I found there only one, Google Play Services.

Answer

How to nail Phone Idle battery drain is the question, but being unrooted device, it calls for some efforts. Finding the culprit apps isn't as easy as it is on rooted devices but is possible using adb commands to enable higher privileges ¹

(At the time of writing, OP is working on his Linux to detect his device ². Once done with that, they can follow this answer.)

The primary cause of idle drain is truant wakelock (s) and the answer is around how to detect apps that cause wakelocks that hurt (Wakelocks aren't bad, they are needed but not such ones). It may help to improve doze-mode performance but more about that later.

All methods below are working on my unrooted device running Oreo 8.0.

• Measuring Battery Drain and first level wakelock detection

Battery usage statistics in Android, unfortunately, don't reveal much and are difficult to interpret (not withstanding the improvements in Oreo). GSam Battery Monitor is arguably the best for stock devices. One needs to enable enhanced statistics (Menu → more → Enable more stats) and follow the steps which are

adb -d shell pm grant com.gsamlabs.bbm android.permission.BATTERY_STATS^{must read 3}

For the PRO version, change 'com.gsamlabs.bbm' to 'com.gsamlabs.bbm.pro' (thanks acejavelin).

The enhanced statistics gives better view of app usage and wakelocks as shown. Long press of held awake (which in OP's case is 77%) shows additional information as shown in the third screenshot.

• Second level bad wakelock detection (One can optionally start with this step)

Download Wakelock Detector [LITE] (XDA thread) which works without root (see this slideshare for details). Two ways to run without root

• 
  

  As a Chrome extension or on Chromium. OP had issues with this

  
  


• 
  

  A better method is adb again

  
  
  

adb shell pm grant com.uzumapps.wakelockdetector.noroot android.permission.BATTERY_STATS

How to use (from Play Store description)

• 
  

  Charge your phone above 90% and unplug cable (or just reboot the phone)

  
  


• 
  
  

  Give it a time (1-2 hours) to accumulate some wakelock usage statistics

  
  


• 
  

  Open Wakelock Detector

  
  


• 
  

  Check the apps on the top, if they show very long wakelock usage time then you found the cause of your battery drain!

  
  

While 2 hours is enough to gather the information about top culprits, longer duration obviously leads to more data. During data collection, don't use the device and let it be as you would normally use the phone (with data or WiFi connected as is your normal usage). Screenshots below from my device (not under test but normal usage).

Left to right, they show Screen Wakelock, CPU Wakelock and Wakeup triggers. Check the top contributors to understand what's draining your battery.

Once you have identified the culprits, you have three choices

Greenify is a fantastic app but very powerful so needs to be used carefully. Read the XDA thread and Greenify tag wiki for help.

I will limit to using adb to unleashing a fair part of its power to help rein in wakelocks and enhancing Doze performance.

A word about Doze, which was introduced since Marshmallow. Though it has evolved better, it has some drawbacks from battery saving point of view.

• 
  

  It takes time to kick in, during which apps are active causing drain (even though screen is off)

  
  


• 
  

  Doze mode is interrupted when you move the device, for example, when you are moving causing battery drain. Doze kicks in again when you are stationary with a wait period

  
  

Greenify tackles these problems with Aggresive Doze and Doze on the go (There are other apps that do this too, like ForceDoze, but Greenify manages both Wakelocks and Doze).

Instructions for using adb

For different features, you need to run adb commands to grant the corresponding permission:

• 
  

  Accessibility service run-on-demand:

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

  
  


• 
  

  Aggressive Doze on Android 7.0+ (non-root):

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

  
  



• 
  

  Doze on the Go:

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP

  
  


• 
  

  Aggressive Doze (on device/ROM with Doze disabled):

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.DUMP

  
  


• 
  

  Wake-up Tracker:

  
  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_LOGS

  
  


• 
  

  Wake-up Cut-off: (Android 4.4~5.x):

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_LOGS

  
  

  adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

  
  

Background-free enforcement on Android 8+ (non-root):

adb -d shell pm grant com.oasisfeng.greenify android.permission.READ_APP_OPS_STATS

I will restrict to snapshots of settings from my device to help set it up faster after running adb commands above. I have pro version so ignore those donation settings

With those settings, even when the device is running, you will see a hibernation alert in your status bar with the app icon and in your notification panel. Clicking on that will force close and hibernate the app

You can also hibernate errant apps from Wakelock Detector by long pressing on the app

Caution: Be very careful with what you want to hibernate. Simple rule - don't hibernate apps that are critical to you. Hibernate you errant apps that are not critical

Edit

BetterBatteryStats (XDA thread) is a very powerful tool which has been recently (end Feb 18) updated to work with Oreo and sweeter still is that escalated privileges using adb is possible

adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.BATTERY_STATS

adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.DUMP

On Lollipop and forward, additionally run: adb -d shell pm grant com.asksven.betterbatterystats android.permission.PACKAGE_USAGE_STATS

Happy Wakelock hunting!

• I've done everything you suggested but it didn't help

It's likely that a system app is causing the Wakelocks for which there isn't much you can do on an unrooted device ⁴

---

---

localization - How to switch keyboard layout for external keyboard

How do I switch the keyboard layout for an external USB keyboard on Android 2.1? I've connected a German USB keyboard to my Android Tablet (Easypix 1000). Altough the language is set to German, the external keyboard is wrongly read as an english keyboard. Thanks!

video - Can I attach a USB mic to any Android phone?

Can I attach a USB mic to any Android phone? Which one?

I am asking since I need to be able to shoot video with sound clear of noise.

Hence, I need the phone to shoot good video quality as well(full HD at least).

Answer

Android currently doesn't support USB Audio Paths. You can use USB Audio if you have a Nexus 5 with Android L Preview. Otherwise you are out of luck.

backup - Restore Whatsapp

I have formatted my phone, but I made a Nandroid Backup before.

I then installed Whatsapp again, expecting it to download the chats from the cloud. It didn't. I then deleted Whatsapp and the newly generated /data/data/com.whatsapp, extracted it from the Nandroid Backup and put it on my phone, and reinstalled Whatsapp. However, it immediately crashes. It starts and just closes again.

If I copy back the newly generated com.whatsapp folder without my messages, it starts but my chats are gone. If I copy the folder from the backup, it doesn't even boot.

How do I get my chats back? Can I "mix" the working folder with just the msgstore.db from the old one? I don't want to mess more up ...

Answer

To restore WhatsApp's functionality, you need to uninstall and reinstall it again. Then, open a terminal and issue

su
ls -l /data/data/com.whatsapp

, noting down the content of the third and fourth columns. The third identifies the file owner, while the fourth is the group.

After that, restore your backup and, in a terminal, issue

su
chown -R . /data/data/com.whatsapp

, replacing and with the data you previously noted down. This procedure sets the correct ownership for WhatsApp data, letting you effectively restore your backup.

---

Reason behind the failure

I was finally able to reproduce the issue.

Your phone has SELinux installed, and set in Enforcing mode. Now, SELinux is able to limit even the root user, and it does so by enforcing certain so-called contexts. The appropriate context for app data is u:object_r:app_data_file:s0, while the context of the backup was u:object_r:system_data_file:s0. This can be seen at line 13 of your log, which reads

02-22 11:38:10.673  7269  7269 W SharedPreferenc: type=1400 audit(0.0:909): avc: denied { read } for name="com.whatsapp_preferences.xml" dev=mmcblk0p12 ino=73372 scontext=u:r:untrusted_app:s0:c512,c768 tcontext=u:object_r:system_data_file:s0 tclass=file permissive=0

(tcontext is the file's context).

Basically, SELinux denied WhatsApp the right to operate any changes under /data/data/com.whatsapp despite ownership and permissions, because the app isn't allowed to edit anything belonging to the abovementioned tcontext.

root access - Install PIT File on Samsung S8 SM-G950F

I try to root my phone but now I get the error Failed to mount '/preload' (Invalid argument) on practially every operation in TWRP, so I read that I should replace the PIT-file with ODIN.

Is this source trustworthy: https://zfirmware.com/download-samsung-galaxy-s8-g950f-pit-file/

Minimized Apps: Do they consume more battery?

If I keep one or more app minimized in my Android Phone (Samsung Galaxy Y) will my mobile's battery will be consumed faster than if I had not minimized any application at all?

Answer

If an app does not run in the foreground, it is usually "frozen"; this means, its memory structure is kept (so you can "recall" it faster, and no additional I/O + CPU is needed to restart it) -- but gets (almost) no CPU-cycles assigned. There might be some exceptions when it needs to do things while backgrounded, but usually that would require the app to use a "service".

Thus, the "overhead" is minimal -- compared to the need of restarting it every time the user needs to access it. As for memory, the Android system is quite efficient in maintaining it: To explain it in easy terms, apps are put into different groups having different "priorities". Together with some other criteria, this decides which app can be killed if the system runs "Out Of Memory": The OOM-Killer (again, "Out Of Memory Killer") comes into action then and checks: Obviously, essential system processes should not be killed at all, the users foreground-session (which he is working in) should be the last to consider. But "closed" apps are first candidates, "background apps" the next, and not-so-essential services come after those.

Again, that is a simplified way to put it -- in reality, this looks a bit more complicated :)

BUT: if you think of task-killers to "improve battery life": Forget about that before starting to think about. They are usually rather contra-productive, as they work against the system. Few exceptions apply in terms of a malfunctioning app (e.g. consuming all your CPU and there's no other way to stop it).

adb - Forgot Oneplus One pin. How to enable usb debugging?

I forgot my oneplus one pin. I have tried using google device manager and have tried putting in my pin (150+ times) to be prompted for my google account.

I was thinking if it would be possible for me to enable usb debugging and use adb to unlock my oneplus one

I was trying to do what the third answer in this thread suggests How to enable USB Debugging in Android if forgotten pattern for screen-unlock?

but am unable to follow, specifically, i don't know what to do when it says to mount "Data".

thanks in advance.

Reading images of QR codes displayed in the browser

I constantly come across websites that reference an Android application, and provide a QR code of the URL to download the application from the marketplace. Those same sites very rarely provide the actual link to the application in any other form.

I am looking for way to read QR codes that are on the phone itself. Ideally, I would like a method that utilizes the "share" functionality of the built in browser in such a way that I merely hold my finger down on an image of a QR code, select "share" from the resulting menu that comes up and select an app to send the image of the QR code to.

Are there any ways to do this or come close to the above functionality?

Answer

You can do this from the Browser itself using "QR Droid". Search for it and install it. After that:

• In the Browser, long-click the image and select "Save image"


• After downloaded, open image from notification bar


• Select Menu > Share > "Decode with QR Droid"

4.0 ice cream sandwich - Does the ICS Email app allow you to get notifications on folders other than inbox?

I have set on a IMAP account on my ICS android. I have some of the mails filtered to go to different folders. Is it possible to receive notifications the other folders? It is annoying, when I read some important messages one month late.

The is another similar question, but it is mainly for gingerbread, and also they end up discussing mostly the gmail app. Feel free to close as duplicate, if you choose this as not fitting.

rooting - Xiaomi Mi A1 - easy way to root and get OTA updates

I ordered Mi A1 which is the Android One offering in India at budget price point ( also in 36 countries going by the Wiki)

It is expected to get OTA updates for next two years , which means including Android P.

I would like to root it (looks to be straight forward) and

a) Install Xposed as long as it is on Nougat or if Xposed becomes available in Oreo

b) Continue getting monthly updates with minimal effort of unrooting or hiding root

My reading on XDA and internet shows possible approaches

1. 
   

   Systemless root with Flashfire app

   
   


2. 
   

   Systemless root with Magisk

   
   


3. 
   

   Hybrid of above with flashing stock ROM with MiFlash based tool

   
   

It's not clear to me and confusing to say the least as to which is the best approach and involves minimal effort and use of PC ( I have Windows XP 32 bit on which I understand MiFlash tool can run and Mint Linux for rooting )

Looking forward to a detailed reply , preferably based on user experience. The device should be with me in a week and I would like to implement the best approach earliest

How do I stop Play Store from randomly opening when I'm in other apps?

Play Store is randomly opening when I'm in another app. It is simply showing me an app it thinks I would like, even though I haven't initiated any action on Play Store. I'm running Jelly Bean on a Motorola Razr Maxx.

How to update the picture of my contact from Facebook in HTC wildfire?

How to update the picture of my contact from Facebook in HTC wildfire? I am able to update all other contacts but not able to update my contact from facebook. I am using android version 2.2

Answer

On your phone go to people.(or phonebook) choose your contact card. Press menu button/edit. Press on your photo/Facebook. And it will be updated.

4.3 jelly bean - What is this N-shaped icon on my HTC One?

I have an HTC One with Sprint, and I believe this icon appeared after the 4.3 update. I have gone through the list of apps (both running and total) but nothing appears to match up. Other friends with Android phones don't appear to have this icon, but they all root and customize 7893 ways. Can anybody identify this icon?

Answer

It means that you have NFC enabled. Some manufacturers (LG and HTC, I know for certain) have started adding an icon to let you know that you have NFC enabled since it can have potential security implications related to mobile payment systems. It would also be useful to know if you intend to use features like Android Beam.

If you'd like to get rid of the icon, you can disable NFC in your settings by selecting "More..." in the Wireless & Networks subheading and then unchecking the "NFC" option (you can view Sprint's official instructions here).

The icon they're using is the official logo of the NFC Forum.

4.0 ice cream sandwich - Is there a way to force an app to remain running in the background no matter what?

On Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) the OS categorizes your app and each category has its own threshold in which the OS uses for determining which app to close first when it runs out of memory.

Has anyone of you been annoyed by, say you opened a timer to run in the background to measure the time elapsed of something, then you opened few more apps and got back to your timer just to see it was reset or closed? I mean, seriously, it is really excruciatingly annoying.

Is there a way to force an app to remain running in the background no matter what even when the OS runs out of memory?

Answer

The accepted answer turned out incorrect or outdated. The "App Settings" module for the Xposed app allows you to specify on a per app basis to keep apps from being killed or freed:

http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.installer

http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.robv.android.xposed.mods.appsettings

Responsible care should of course be exercised when playing with apps changing such low level behaviour.

5.0 lollipop - Force 720p Resolution on InForce 6540

I'm working with an InForce 6540 board that has 5.0.2 Lollipop installed.

I am trying to connect a display device that has a max resolution of 720p at 60hz. I am using a micro HDMI connection.

The 6540 detects the display as a 1080p dislplay and uses that resolution.

I tried to change the resolution with adb root.

---

adb shell cat /sys/devices/virtual/graphics/fb1/edid_modes 
( to check which modes the display device supports)

adb shell setprop hw.hdmi.resolution 13 
(or other supported number, checked the .cpp file to see what each number means for resolution.)


adb shell stop

adb shell start

---

This did not work, and I tried it on a different display device that supports more resolutions, and it did not work either.

I have also tried the command wm, but that only resizes the amount of screen it is currently using. (It scales versus changing actual display resolution)

My display shows static on the bottom half, and on the top, it shows the whole display but cut. The right side of the display is cut and displayed on the left with everything shifted to the right.

Any help would be appreciated. I know this is not a normal problem.

settings - Android 5.0 (Lollipop) music equalizer?

First of all, I'm rooted. So since I have Android 5.0 on my Nexus 5 I wonder if there still exists the option to change the music equalizer.

In KitKat it was like:

I wasn't able to find any option like this in the settings, maybe someone of you knows how to get this. I don't want to use the Google Play music equalizer.

samsung nexus s - Where is current wallpaper stored on Jellybean?

On my Nexus S running 4.1.1, I am unable to find where the current wallpaper is stored. I referred to Where is the background image saved?, but my /data/data/com.android.settings/files folder is empty (I do have my file browser showing hidden files). It was confirmed in that question that ICS stored it in that location, but did Jellybean move it to a different place?

Answer

The wallpaper was in

data/data/com.android.settings/files/

on previous versions of Android. However it appears that it was moved as part of the multi-user preparations. The current location is

data/system/users/0/

The file is conveniently called wallpaper and it is a png file.

ram - Is there a way to create virtual memory?

I'm curious if there's a way to create virtual memory for an Android phone. I have a 4gb mirco sd card in my phone.
Any ideas?

usb on the go - Enabling OTG support in Micromax Canvas Nitro A310

Device info :

• Model Number : Micromax A310


• Android Version : 4.4.2



• Kernel Version : 3.4.67

The question here doesn't clear out whether all Android devices has OTG support or not. I need OTG support for my device and used USB OTG Checker to check OTG support. The app says -

Your Device OS NOT Support USB OTG!

There is another general note mentioned there that interested me a lot which says -

Important Note: USB OTG function only able fully work if your device OS has USB OTG API and load with USB OTG Kernel.

But on the other hand, looking on Google for enabling OTG support in my device ended me with this XDA link which says that Stock Rom doesn't provide OTG support and solely rooting your device can sort this out.

So the questions are-

1. 
   

   Does rooting a device really enables OTG support?

   
   


2. 
   

   If not, can external API and a USB OTG Kernel be loaded in a Stock ROM to get the desired functionality? Can loading external API has ever been done before somewhere? I know doing such about kernel.

   
   


3. 
   
   

   If (2) is true, then does the fact that compatible HW is also required becomes irrelevant?

   
   


4. 
   

   Not to mention, I do need to know can I get OTG support if its possible?

   
   

Answer

1. Rooting alone does not enable USB OTG functionality. Rooting (and having an unlocked bootloader) only allows you to flash a custom kernel that is built with proper support for USB OTG on your specific device.


2. OTG API has been included in Android since version 3.1. Many modern Android devices have the necessary hardware as well.



3. USB OTG software alone without the proper hardware won't help at all.


4. There are many apps on the Play Store that claim to be able to tell if your phone supports (both hardware and software wise) OTG functionality, but most of these apps also require root.

external sd - Move app data to SD

I would like to move some of my app's data to the SD card. I am running Android 2.2.1 so I cannot use Simple2Ext.

I would also like to avoid Data2SD because I've read some bad reviews let alone when I search it on PlayStore the responce is tha the application cannot be found.

I have also tried Link2SD and AppMgr III but those apps don't actualy remove data, as I have read in the app2sd tag-wiki

What can I do to move selectively my app's dat?

Hangouts Icons Meanings

I know when someone reads your message, their picture in mini appears after the last message. Here's where I'm confused:

1. If it's shaded, that means they're not currently looking at your particular conversation?



2. There's a mini cell phone icon that appears beside the mini picture. It seems to appear randomly. Does it simply mean that they answered your hangout via cell phone? Or does it mean that they are currently using hangouts with another conversation (if the mini picture remains shaded)?

sync - How do I restore a contact I deleted on my Android phone, but not in GMail contacts?

The contact in question had the wrong phone number in Viber, so I deleted it from Viber. I later found out that Viber had deleted it from my contacts, so I had lost all of the other correct information.

Logging in to GMail contacts on the desktop showed that the contact still existed. I proceeded to correct the faulty phone number and tried to sync my contacts from my phone, but this particular contact never shows up.

Is there any way around this?

Answer

Method 1 Stop syncing with Google account, check that all Google contacts are gone, set up sync again.

Method 2 Remove the Google account, add it again.

(You can do both in Accounts & Sync from phone Settings.)

samsung - Here is display mirroring by usb cable with the S7, but the S7 does not supports MHL and DisplayLink is also not used. So how does this work?

In the Youtube-Video Samsung Galaxy S7 Android 6.0 phone Mirror Link for Joying Android 5.1 lollipop 1024*600 car stereo he shows how to connect his Samsung S7 just by a USB-cable with an external monitor (in this case in a car system).

But how is this possible, as I read the S7 does not supports MHL, and the other option is DisplayLink? But in the video this is not mentioned, he does not installs the DisplayLink app which requires this, instead some "USB MOB driver".

So how is this realised, and is this also possible with other displays?

Remark: This question is closely related to this recent one from me.

music - How do I play MP3s from my Dropbox?

I have the Dropbox app on my Droid, and it can "download" files to the local storage on the phone, but for some reason, the music player app can't see those files.

How do I make the music playing app see the mp3s in my Dropbox? Is there an alternative way I should think about the problem or sync the files?

Answer

Download the app called Rescan Media from the market, run it then go back to your Music player. The music that you downloaded from dropbox should now show up. There are other ways to force this media sync (unmount / remount SD should do it) but this app makes it just the press of a button.

applications - Is there any sniffer aplication for Android 2.2?

Is there any network sniffer program for Android 2.2 similar to Wireshark for Windows?

Answer

There is Shark that does just this, it requires root, there is also Pixie, but it too requires root.

applications - Why are some apps on the market incompatible with my device?

I own a Motorola Flipout, Android 2.1 stock ROM. According to the market the app "Handyticket Deutschland" is not compatible with my phone. The required Android version is 1.5 or above. How can I tell why the app will not work for me?

The Flipout has a comparably small screen. Is it possible that the publisher just forgot to mark my phone's display resolution as supported?

Note: Users from outside Germany see a different message. I believe, those country-restriction are unrelated.

Answer

The Android Market has various filters which are applied to the apk in order to find out if the App will run on your device. The most obviously one is the Android version you are on (also called the SDK level).

But this is not the only criteria. There are others like:

• Screen Size


• Software libraries
  
  
  
  • Google API
  
  
  
  • OpenGL
  
  
  
  


• Particular hardware features that are required
  
  
  
  • Bluetooth
  
  
  • (front) camera
  
  
  • Vibration
  
  
  
  

Unfortunately it is not that easy to find out why an App "isn't compatible" with a particular device, even for the developer. There are some tools that an developer can use to find the current filter criteria for an .apk but this will not tell him why the Android market doesn't show an app on a device explicitly.

In your case, the small screen size seems to be the reason. You should e-mail the developer and ask him to fix this, if it isn't intended.

dialer - Prepend phone numbers with a calling card dial in number

I use a calling card to call my home country and usually it's these steps:

1. Call the dial in number for the calling card company (e.g. 1 800 123 1234)


2. Enter the card PIN code (e.g. 1234 1234 1234)


3. Enter the destination number (which is saved as a phone in the contacts - e.g. +7 12 123456780)

I have several several contacts I call regularly and also plenty of one-offs.

Is there an app or way to automatically prefix the numbers from steps 1 & 2 along with pauses (p) and waits (w) so that I could dial the contact directly from the address book?

Thank you!

Answer

You might want to take a look at Prefixer, which lets you "prefix, suffix and/or replace numbers in your calls" -- sounds like exactly what you need. There are a few similar apps on the Playstore:

I'm pretty sure one of them will solve your issue.

adb - How to Clear Caches in LG G2 Running Lollipop 5.0.2

The Lollipop update for AT&T LG G2 has pretty much destroyed my phone. I'm hoping clearing out every sort of cache might help. But I can't clear the caches the usual ways because (1) the Settings app always crashes when I am in the section where you clear app caches, as does any other app that is made for clearing caches, and (2) restarting into recovery doesn't provide options for clearing any caches. Plus, I'm curious about how to clear ART caches since I haven't found much information about them online. By the way, my phone is not rooted.

So, the question is: How do I clear (1) app caches, (2) individual apps' caches, (3) Dalvik cache (if applicable anymore), and (4) ART cache under these restraints? I'm thinking I'll have to do something via adb, but I can't find info anywhere on how to do it.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

wi fi - Change Input Method without unlocking the phone?

Recently, I've installed a WiFi Keyboard application to my Android phone. This way, since both the phone and my computer were connected to the same WiFi network, I could access the phone's keyboard from my computer.

After, the phone disconnected from the WiFi network. And got locked (I had a password set at the lock screen).

And now I cannot enter it, because I cannot enable any other keyboard than the WiFi one (which doesn't work because phone has no WiFi).

Can I enable it via adb or any similar way? Are there any solutions to this problem?

What I've tried:

• I can do nothing on the lock screen, everything's blocked. The swipe doesn't work to change the keyboard. Also there's no settings box. And I cannot drag the notification bar.


• I tried the adb shell ime command, but without luck. It doesn't seem to do anything. me@myPC:/$ sudo adb shell ime list -s me@myPC:/$

Additional Data:

• Phone is Samsung Galaxy S3 mini unrooted. Android version is 4.4 I think.


• Storage and SD card are encrypted. SD card has important data, so I can't simply wipe the phone.


• I am able to enter my password in the Decryption screen as the normal keyboard shows up, but not in the lock screen.

---

---

This problem was solved. Solution:

This problem was solved by booting into safe mode, as proposed by ak11234.

I did so by holding the volume down key while powering on my device (pressed the power on button, waited for the phone logo to show ("Samsung" and the model number), released the power button and held the volume down key until the lock screen appeared).

However, these instructions vary from phone to phone. The ones described worked for Galaxy S3 mini.

You can find instructions for the most common phones that have Android on this webpage: http://www.droidviews.com/how-to-boot-android-devices-into-safe-mode/

Answer

Try seeing if you can login when you are in safe mode. Boot into safe mode by holding down the power button to open the menu, then hold down the power-off button, and click "OK" when it asks you to reboot into safe mode. Then attempt to login once the phone restarts, and re-enable the virtual keyboard.

Hope this helps.

Nexus 5, IMEI 0, how to restore IMEI?

I dropped my old Nexus 5 on asphalt, and the phone display crashed.

I made a backup, buy new phone, and restored the backup on it.

But I did not know that before restoring I must take a backup of EFS.

So now when I dial *#06# I've got "IMEI 0" answer.

But phone can dial, works OK, but "IMEI 0" confuses me, and it's may be illegal to have IMEI 0.

Can I restore IMEI myself? I have no backup of EFS from new phone. (There is no LG service centers in my local area.)

Answer

Finally, I found the answer on Russian forum:

http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=514132&st=6080#entry38865326

You can use Google Translate for it.

Download archive: http://4pda.ru/forum/dl/post/6001635/imei_full_recover%26exc.rar (you may need to register there, use Google Translate).

Open .docx document from the archive and use Google Translate to translate it to English.

All is working now, thanks God.

Is it possible to have the Auto rotate feature turned on or off by app?

I'm sick of having to turn on auto rotate every time I use Google Maps for navigation. I don't know why it's not just automatically landscape like apps such as Youtube.

Is there a way I can have it turn on auto rotate JUST for google maps and not for any other app.

Is there an app that would do this or somehow program it in Tasker?

Answer

This solution requires Tasker installed and enabled. Tested on Android 4.2.1, 4.4.2, 5.0.2 and 5.1.1.

1. Create a profile with Application → Maps


2. Create an action under Task of the above profile as + → Display → Display AutoRotate and Set it to On.


3. Enable Profile and Tasker.

Open Maps and orient your device in landscape mode, Maps will follow you. Close the Maps and device will fall back to Portrait.

Enjoy!

---

OR

Edit start: 06/06/2015

There is a way you can force the system to go into Landscape mode by changing a value in settings.db. (Tested on Android 4.2.1, root required only under this edit.)

1. Create a profile with Application → Maps.


2. 
   

   Create an action under Task of the above profile as + → Code → Run Shell, and enter the following details:

   
   
   
   
   
   • Command: settings put system user_rotation 1
   
   
   • Check Use Root.
   
   
   
   


3. Create another profile with inverse of Application → Maps.


4. 
   

   Create an action under Task of the above profile as + → Code → Run Shell, and enter the following details:

   
   
   
   
   • Command: settings put system user_rotation 0
   
   
   • Check Use Root.
   
   
   
   
   


5. Enable both Profiles and Tasker.

The Maps will now automatically go into Landscape mode irrespective of manual orientation of your device. Once you close it the device will come back to Portrait mode. (Note that OP has Auto-rotation feature off so it should work.)

This edit is meant for users like me who on slow devices have to wait for the app to follow their orientation. :)

Enjoy!

OR

The shortcoming in the last method is that on some devices the app will first open in Portrait mode and then will force shift into Landscape mode. However, the app can be directly launched into Landscape mode by using an app shortcut. Tasker allows it and we'll use it.

1. Go to your default launcher → Widgets and choose Task Shortcut.


2. Select New task → name it.


3. 
   

   Create an action as + → Code → Run Shell, and enter the following details:

   
   
   
   
   • Command: settings put system user_rotation 1
   
   
   • Check Use Root.
   
   
   
   


4. Create another action as + → App → Launch App → select Maps.



5. To change th icon of the shortcut, tap 3x3 square icon (at the bottom of Task Shortcut window) and choose the icon.


6. You'll now see a shortcut with icon you selected in step 4 and name chosen in step 2.


7. Create a profile in Tasker with inverse of Application → Maps.


8. 
   

   Create an action under Task of the above profile as + → Code → Run Shell, and enter the following details:

   
   
   
   
   • Command: settings put system user_rotation 0
   
   
   • Check Use Root.
   
   
   
   



9. Enable both Profiles and Tasker.

Now enjoy the forced auto-mode!

Edit closed: 06/06/2015

---

1. Launch Tasker. (Note that once you're done changing something in Tasker, tap Back key once. Tasker will change/close the active window and would save the settings.)


2. 
   

   Under PROFILES tab tap + → Application → choose Maps → New Task→ name it something and tap right icon.

   
   
   

   Some Android versions might ask you to enable Tasker's accessibility service. Do it by following the instructions there and come back to Tasker.

   
   

   This step would create a profile that will be triggered whenever Maps is launched by the user.

   
   


3. 
   

   We're now under the named task (inside TASKS tab). Tap + → Display → Display AutoRotate → choose On below Set.

   
   

   We're creating an action here which will be executed once the profile is triggered.

   
   


4. Come back to main screen of the Tasker and you'll see a profile with Maps app name and marked as On.


5. Minimize the Tasker and you'll see its icon in the Notification bar. It will say No active profile. The message will change once you launch Maps.


6. Well, launch Maps and see the magic. You orient your device and Maps will do the same. You close the Maps and device will come back to Portrait Mode.



7. You can always stop this behavior by disabling or deleting the profile in Tasker. You can also hide Tasker's notification icon through its settings.

Enjoy Maps now!

How can I disable automatic Facebook photo sync?

Device: XPeria P Android: JB 4.1.1

I recently enabled automatic photo sync, but I could not remember how I did it. Now, all of my photos gets synchronized to Facebook, and my data/3G charge is skyrocketing as the photos are always get synced.

So, how can I disable this feature?

Answer

Open the Facebook app and tap the top right (hamburger) menu item in your sidebar. Scroll to the bottom and select Account > App Settings > Sync Photos. Choose Don't sync my photos.

Source.

email - How do I sync all mail folders on my HTC Desire?

The mail application only synchronizes the inbox, both for IMAP and Exchange accounts.

I auto-sort my mail into folders at the server and need to see all folders in the phone to not miss any e-mails.

Do I need a different mail-application to poll subfolders or what?

Answer

I'm afraid this is not possible with HTC Email application. This email app sync the "Inbox" folder automatically, but every other folder you have is not synced, the app gets all mail in the folder when you enter that folder to see what's inside.

You have the option to use K9Mail, a free e-mail client for Android which supposedly has support for push mail and sync of multiple folders.

Can I receive / send SMS of cellphone number with a tablet using a dongle?

Can I receive / send SMS of cellphone number with an Android tablet using a dongle? Any SMS application for the Android tablet?

motorola droid x - Bigger Notification Bar?

Is there a way to make the Notification Bar thicker?

I recently bought this case and it makes it incredibly hard to pull down the notification bar.

I was wondering if there was a way to thicken the notification bar, without completely hacking the phone?

I have a Motorola Droid X

Answer

If you have a launcher like LauncherPro or ADW Launcher, you can just hit the menu button in any homescreen and click NOTIFICATIONS. That however doesn't help if you're in another app and want to bring down the Notification area, unfortunately.

In LP, you can also configure a swipe action to pull down the Notification area.

There's also HelloStatusBar which is an app that when clicked will bring down the bar. One workaround maybe to launch it and then while in another app, long-press HOME to make it show in the recently used app list.

If it works, I would recommend exsbar which allows you to assign the long-press search button or long-press camera button to this function.

In a Google account (sync), what is the difference between Contacts and People details?

For a Google account, you are allowed to sync Contacts and People details. What is the difference between these two?

Answer

The best explanation I could find online:

People Details is a new sync service related to the recent release of Google Play Games. It was pushed to most (if not all) android devices recently. Its purpose is to tie you together across all Google Play services (the separate services available from the Google Play screen). The idea is to maintain a uniform and unique "identity" for you in all related Google Games so that data from one can potentially be used to "enhance" the user experience in another

The contact sync is for the usual contacts that a user saves directly on your phone.

2.2 froyo - Swapping the "home" button functionality

Currently (2.2) pressing the home button goes to the home app shortcuts, and long-prerssing it opens recently used tasks.

Is it possible to swap these actions? Then quick press would open recent tasks.

(I'm also interested in answers that require root, or a custom rom.)

custom roms - How to change the boot logo, Not the bootanimation 4.2.2

Im trying to find out if I can change the boot logo, the one that shows up right before the bootanimation. Currently it show's me a linux logo.

I am looking to either completely remove it or change it to something else, but I can not find any information related to this, all that comes up is the animation, which I honestly couldn't care less about.

So to summarize it, Can I change/remove the boot logo? If so, how?

Is there a free way of unlocking an Android phone from a particular network?

I bought a cheap Android handset for development and it is an exclusive to a particular network.

I would like to unlock it so I can use an existing SIM card from another network. I've done some googling and it appears that there are many services online where you can get a code from supplying your IMEI number.

Firstly, can anyone elaborate on what the unlocking process involves, and secondly, is there any application that can do this process, or are you forced to pay someone to generate a code for you?

applications - How can I manage Intent association with Apps?

When the system emits an Intent for which you have multiple apps that can handle the intent, a dialog opens to tell you which application you want to use with that intent.

Is there a way to see what these associations are, and clear them?

If there is no app or interface to do that, do you know of an API to access these associations?

EDIT: When I said associations, I was thiking of the "late-bound" associations. For example, when I open a link and I have multiple browsers, an intent is fired saying "view link", and I choose "always use that application"; what can I do if, after some time, I would prefer to use another application for that intent?

Answer

I believe it's a no to both those questions. Yes you can clear default associations only if you know which app is associated with with Intent (you will still be prompted with the dialog asking you which app you'd like to use with the current Intent).

Apart from that there is no way to clear associations. They are hard coded inside each app, there is no way to remove them.

UPDATE: To answer your edited question head to Settings > Applications > Manage applications find your application that you chose as your default app for that intent, click Clear defaults

Tethering an Toshiba AT100 to a Nokia E71

I want to tether an Toshiba AT100 tablet to my Nokia E71. Have installed JuikoSpot on the Nokia which creates an ad-hoc hotspot. It appears the AT100 only looks for infrastructure hotspots. Is there an app or other method of getting the AT100 to look for and connect to an ad-hoc hotspot?

Alternatively, is there a cheap Android phone I could get that supports being an infrastructure wi-fi hotspot?

Answer

Try bluetooth tethering instead.

Benefits: Consumes less power, you can leave bluetooth enabled 24/7. Works out of the box.
Drawback: BT 2.1 may cap your maximum UMTS speed (usually not an issue on the go).

There are two profiles for this to tether via bluetooth:

• Bluetooth PAN:
  Supported by Android 3.0+ out of the box. See Wikipedia entry for more info on PAN profile.



• Bluetooth DUN:
  Needs 3rd party app like BlueVPN (ICS version here). See Wikipedia entry for more info on DUN profile.

Stock Android 3.0+ and custom roms like CM should support Bluetooth PAN. Your Nokia E71 supports only DUN profile (Archos users can enjoy added DUN support out of the box however) .

Browse or mount SD card over WiFi on Linux?

Is there a way to browse the contents of my SD card from my Linux (Ubuntu 10.04) machine over WiFi?

I used to connect with a mini-usb cable, or send files through gmail. Surely there must be a way to access the files through wifi.

My main focus is ease-of-use, I don't particularly care about speed or security. Although I do prefer a non-cloud solution due to privacy concerns.

(I have not actively searched for a solution yet. I will do this now, so maybe I will answer my own question. Which, as I understood from Atwood, is proper use of a StackExchange site.)

Answer

I use FTPServer ( http://www.appbrain.com/app/ftpserver/lutey.FTPServer ) to browse and copy files to and from my phone over wifi. On Ubuntu you can connect to an FTP server and browse it as if it is a directory.

security - On Android, how to disable Google Chrome's incognito mode

If you thought that disabling incognito mode was enough to protect your children, you're probably mistaken. Let me explain.

Please remember that, even if you disable Google Chrome's incognito mode, there are other ways for device users to browse the Web without leaving any tracks. Even technologically-illiterate kids can ask Google or their friends what to do. So it's wise to also install a good filter.

I haven't researched the set of available filters very recently.

As of a few years ago:

Free options include Qustodio and Google Family Link. The free version of Norton Family is perhaps not as good. If you're willing to pay, I've read that Netspark or GenTech are better than the free products.

In general, Android filtering software is not as good as desktop filtering software.

You may also want to collect up your spouse's and kids' new and old Android devices, and to lock them all in your bedroom every night.

"When kids have their own devices, they are tempted to be in touch constantly — and maybe even feel obligated to be in touch when they don't want to." If your kid gets a Facebook message at 1 a.m., it might be rude for her to ignore it until the morning, and so she might reluctantly end up in a long conversation. (Based on this source.)

The solution to the late-night messaging problem is this: Late at night, there are ways to prevent your kid from using her phone, tablet, and laptop. You can keep them locked in your own bedroom to charge. Or, for Android devices, you can use Google Family Link to set a bedtime: please see here or here. This will also make it harder for your kid to secretly spend hours on addictive pursuits: YouTube, Facebook, pornography, and games.

Once you install a filter, I suggest: Immediately test to make sure that it works well. Go to a few adult websites and make sure they're blocked. If you have monitoring enabled, check to see that it does what it's supposed to. If you've set a bedtime, then check yearly to make sure that the phone actually locks itself at bedtime.

Even if a filter's control panel claims that it's working, the filter might not actually be working at all. It's wise to test it yourself.

If you'd like to test the filter even further, try to visit one or two wikiHow articles with mature content. If the filter is really good, it might block them. I don't have high hopes.

Test your filter again periodically. At least once a year; preferably more often.

Retest after major operating-system or browser upgrades, and again whenever a supplemental browser (e.g. Firefox) is installed.

Filters are not foolproof. Many kids can bypass the filters without the parents knowing. But a filter may still be better than no filter.

Google Chrome for Android includes a feature called incognito mode. This feature, when I activate it, is designed to help prevent Chrome from automatically remembering and storing information about which websites I've visited in the past.

To help protect myself, I've installed the free version of Qustodio (a Web filtering/monitoring app) on my Android device. Unfortunately, as soon as the user enters incognito mode, Qustodio for Android stops working.

What are my options? Well:

• 
  

  I could try upgrading to Android 6 or higher, or to CyanogenMod 13 or higher, or could buy a device that ships with one of these OSes preinstalled. A support knowledge base article on the Qustodio website claims that, on these operating systems, Qustodio works fine even when incognito mode is active. But I suspect that this claim may be inaccurate. I don't know for sure. Please leave a comment below.

  
  


• 
  

  I could do the following procedure:

  
  
  
  
  
  1. Install the free version of NetAddictSoft plus the Brehm browser. Mr. Brehm's claims aren't all correct; in truth, there's an easy way to clear the Brehm browser's history. But the free version of NetAddictSoft claims to be able to monitor all use of the Brehm browser and email out weekly usage reports. (Note that, on most devices, NetAddictSoft can only monitor usage of the Brehm browser, and cannot monitor usage of Chrome or Firefox or any other browser.)
  
  
  2. Configure Smart App Lock or similar to prevent the use of other browsers. (Note: Smart App Lock isn't perfect, and it's possible to defeat it.)
  
  
  
  

I might do the above procedure, but: My device has an old Android version installed. For me to upgrade to a newer Android version, I'd have to switch to a third-party ROM, and this would be a hassle.

• 
  

  I could spend money on a more-powerful filter, such as NetSpark or GenTech. But I'd rather not spend any money.

  
  



• 
  

  I could contact Qustodio's support team and send in a bug report. But I hear they can't really help. The feature is experimental. (Source.) And it's been experimental for years now. It's not really fully supported.

  
  


• 
  

  I could uninstall Qustodio, could install Norton Family, and could try Norton Family's incognito-detection feature. But I don't want to bother doing that either.

  
  


• 
  

  I could look into why Qustodio doesn't work when incognito mode is active, then file a feature request with Google to ask them to fix the problem.

  
  


• 
  
  

  I could sell my phone and buy an iPhone or iPad. They include built-in Web filtering. I don't know whether or not it's any good.

  
  


• 
  

  I could sell my phone and switch to a phone without built-in Wi-Fi. Perhaps a Palm Treo or Centro or an old BlackBerry.

  
  

But I don't want to choose any of the above options.

On desktop OSes, I already know that it's possible to disable Google Chrome's incognito mode. But I also use Android. How can I disable Google Chrome's incognito mode on my Android device?

Please assume the following:

• 
  

  I always run the latest version of Android.

  
  


• 
  

  My device is owned and controlled by me. It is not administered by a Google Apps domain administrator at my workplace or my school. And so I cannot use the Google Apps admin console to disable incognito mode. (I also don't want to pay a fee in order to sign up for Google Apps for Work.)

  
  


• 
  

  I am willing to root my device.

  
  

_{I thank Android.SE user Lucky for inspiring this question.}

Answer

If you set Google Family Link to protect an Android device, it will automatically disable Google Chrome's incognito mode on that device. (Google says so in this article. I myself have tried Family Link and verified that the article is correct.)

Family Link can also do Web filtering, screen-time monitoring, and device-location tracking. But these features are optional; you may disable them if you wish.

The usual Family Link setup is as follows: One device (a computer or mobile device) is the "parent" device, and a second device is the "child" device. Incognito mode will only be disabled on the "child" device.

If you'd like to get started, you may set up a "parent" account now.

Google Family Link has some quirks. I've described the biggest quirk I've noticed, and its workaround, in another thread.

I hope that Google will work on eliminating the quirks in the future.

Despite its quirks, Family Link works reasonably well already, and I think it's a good way to disable incognito mode.

I'm not sure whether or not Family Link is easy for crafty children to defeat. But, in general, there are ways to defeat most parental-control software tools.

It's wise to buy your kids a flip phone with no data plan, and a non-portable computer which is permanently stored in a public room such as the living room. It's also wise to store all of your personal cellphones, laptops, and tablets in your bedroom at night, so that your kids can't secretly use them.

security - Apps install on their own

Every night for the past few days my phone installs a new app that I never saw/wanted/heard of before. It all started with AppCaster (Which I never installed on my phone, it just showed up one morning).

I have uninstalled AppCaster and every other app that was installed without my knowing, and new apps are still showing up on my phone over night. I have downloaded and installed Avast which shows no issues after a scan.

I have checked the sites with access to my google account and I don't see anything that looks suspicious.

Has anyone else solved a similar issue? Does anyone have any ideas of what could be downloading these apps to my phone? How can I make it stop?

Answer

Here is a possible solution. My son had recently unwittingly installed AppCaster on our home PC, and this was causing the apps to be pushed to my phone. I uninstalled it from the Programs and Features under Control Panel, where AppCaster goes by the name "Mobile App Sync".

wi fi - What is this VPN setting good for?

Closed. This question is off-topic. It is not currently accepting answers.

---

I have a Huawei U8160 (also known as Vodafone 858 Smart) which is running CyanogenMod7.2

There are settings for VPN which are empty. I was wondering if the VPN server setting should be set to a real server?

Or should I just not touch it?

Answer

A VPN is a virtual private network.

Your device connects to a VPN server through a public connection and tunnels a second virtual and private (to you) connection through the VPN server to see all devices that are protected behind the VPN server (such as a company's whole network infrastructure for example).

This feature is mostly used for road warriors that want to connect to a company's internal network resources like email / internal web sites and so on. Other uses are: Securely connect two different company sites virtually, working from a home office...

It's generally not for normal users (Cyanogenmod includes it for some power users that also connect to a VPN).

See Wikipedia for more.

Regarding your question: Leave the setting empty, you just don't need it most probably.

lock screens - Phone unlocking ideas

My wife's nexus 4 has a dead area across the middle of the screen. There's a 1 cm strip running horizontally across the screen that doesn't register clicks.

A few weeks ago, her screen broke. We had it repaired, then two weeks after that the dead area emerged. (The technicians will not fix the issue, I've tried that). The dead area covers digits that are in her pin. On a nexus 4 the lock screen is only in portrait mode, so I can't access the dead area by turning the phone.

The dead area doesn't cover the on screen keyboard, so if I can get to that I think I can unlock the phone.

What I have tried to fix the issue:

1. punch in a bunch of invalid pins hoping that the phone would become locked and we could unlock it using the associated account with the on screen keyboard. I've tried probably 50 times but the phone hasn't stopped offering PIN authentication yet.


2. Using the android device manager, lock the device. The problem here is that I lent her my phone in the interim and it locked my phone. We unlocked that and removed her account but the android device manager still isn't locking the right phone. This is kind of weird because she never set my phone up to allow the remote control, I did that with my account. Somehow the phone or google's server must be confused. Two Nexus 4s in the same room is a problem apparently.


3. If you go to the camera, you can get the phone to go into landscape mode. Take a picture, then view the gallery. Anything from before your taking pictures while the camera was locked is hidden, and a lock shows. Tap the lock, and you are taken to a lock screen in portrait mode. But before you can key in any digits, it flips you back to portait.

The phone was never in USB debug mode, and I can't connect to it via USB while it is locked.

Does anyone have any idea how I can fix this?

Is there a way to sort apps in Google's app store by size?

Is there a way to sort apps in Google's app store by size? I would like to know what are the heaviest apps and the lightest apps from a search result. For example, to search for a lightweight RSS reader.

Answer

I don't know of any third-party app or site that does this. I did look around a few months ago and found nothing, but something might have come up since then.

However, if the reason you're looking for this feature is because of limited app space, AppBrain (both the app and the website) has a feature to view only apps with App2SD enabled.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9006: Chinese knockoff/clone or genuine phone?

A few months ago a relative picked up a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (SM-N9006) while in China. The price was low so he didn't think much of it. The phone looks genuine and when it boots up it shows the Samsung logo and all that.

While researching a problem with the preinstalled apps - see my other question here - and looking into rooting it, and/or installing a custom rom, it was made clear that I had to be careful to pick the right rom for the device. It was also pointed out that there are clones of these phones which complicates the problem.

So, my question is, how do I know if I have a genuine Samsung Note 3 or a cheap clone?

---

Device Info:
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N9006
Android 4.4.2
Baseband: MT6582
Build: JSS15J.N9006ZCUBMI5

---

EDIT:

It was suggested that if a code in the dialer can NOT bring a debugging menu on screen then it is a clone. Well, the code worked for me. It showed a set of buttons for various hardware components like, wifi, flash, speakers etc. They did perform basic tests on a couple that I tried.

google play store - Move paid apps between devices?

This question already has answers here:

Closed 4 years ago.

I have an android phone(1) on 2.3.3 and a tablet(2) on preorder that will be on 3. (And a bad gadget habit.)

Can I, when the tablet arrives, uninstall paid apps on the phone and install them on the tablet? It feels like I should be able to since I've paid for a copy of the app linked to that Google account it shouldn't matter which linked device it's on. (Why? Some stuff I've paid for will look better/be more useful on the tablet.)

I've looked online, but most people are asking about moving paid apps from broken phones (ie when they can't uninstall from the first device) or trying to run the same paid app on multiple devices which is piracy/cheap.

(1) nexus one (2) xoom

Answer

I bought an Anchor tabled last week , and using my Google account, was able to download the application I bought on my Samsung Galaxy S phone, without any problems.

So I think, from my experience, you can download the same software again, as long as it's coupled with the same Google account.

usb - Can't connect Samsung Note 3 to Windows 7

I am having problems connecting my Samsung Note 3 to Windows 7 64bit on my laptop. I have installed Kies and drivers already and still nothing. Under device manager it is still labeled "Unknown Device". When I plug in my Note 3 in it will attempt to install device driver but ends up saying "Device unplugged".

I tried both of my USB port on laptop and none of them works. However when I plugged it my desktop it work straight away. Also the weird thing its that the first time when I plugged my Note 3 into my laptop it actually worked for a while. I could access the files in my phone but all of a sudden it just stopped.

Any someone give some advice?

wi fi - WiFi and data connection switches on automatically although I repeatedly turn off the two features

The WiFi feature and data connection in my tablet turns on automatically. After resetting, the problem goes away but as soon as I download programs that I need, the problem comes back. Anyone with suggestions?

Combine/merge/concatenate/unsplit long SMS/text messages?

I've Googled and searched the market and can't believe there's no such app. Maybe some other SMS management app has this simple function, to unsplit messages longer than the 160-character limit that were broken into more than one part? Handcent and GO SMS Pro don't mention it.

For some reason (see the answers posted before Feb 17, 2013) people don't quite seem to "get" the problem. Here's a screenshot:

For whatever reason (incompatibilities between carriers in following the Concatenated SMS protocol etc.), I receive messages split in parts of <160 characters. What I'm looking for is a very simple app that would let me select two messages and join them into one, specifying which should be first.

SMSes are stored in a SQLite database, and it would be pretty trivial to append to one field the the contents of a few other fields based on a drag-and-drop interface. I'd code it, but I'm not experienced with Android development, and others could make such an app far faster.

I posted a request on xda-developers but the bozo admin there moved it and nothing happened.

Are battery monitors accurate ?

I use GSAM battery monitor. i have flashed a few roms,

I get this reading:

~91% battery. 460ma current consumption with regular use(full brightness). 3:40 hours time left(avg last 5 minutes).

So this means that my 91% battery should hold around 1800mah-2000mah (460*3:40) , but this is strange because my battery is a 4100mah battery, and i have it only for 8 months.

Another strange thing: when i look at Android's battery statistics, the sum of percenatges of the battery that goes towards each app(including screen) is only at ~50%.

As a fix, i tried to recharge my phone to 0% and than fully charge. but the problem stays the same.

So what does this mean ? and are my battery problems due to software or hardware?

Answer

Are battery monitors accurate ?

Battery monitors are an approximation and not accurate :

• 
  

  They are usually based on Voltage measurements

  
  


• 
  

  You need Voltage and Current measurements to get an accurate picture. Most phones have only Voltage sensors. Current sensors ( Coulomb Sensor) are available in some at OEM discretion ( Honor 6 for example). Even if the device has it, the kernel ( since you mentioned flashing ROMs) need to support it. For more details, see this How does the Android estimate the battery level without a current sensor?

  
  

I don't know about your device but let's assume that it has only Voltage sensor as is common. Problems with accuracy using voltage sensing ( apart from current sensor bit)

• 
  

  How often it needs to be updated (and reflect on the status bar), AFAIK is left to OEM implementation. Is the battery icon on your Android phone telling you the truth? says that updating battery SoC information is manufacturer dependent and not Android driven (emphasis mine and I haven't found any other source to dispute this)

  
  

  
  

  We contacted Google about this, and the indication is that the battery data given in the Settings is the correct one. The updating of the icon happens "every so often", we're told; quite how often is entirely up to the manufacturer, rather than being part of the Android code

  
  

  
  


• 
  

  Further voltage is NOT a true indicator of the amount of charge. This will explain in detail why

  
  


• 
  
  

  Yet another problem with Voltage based measurement is battery behaviour. Li Ion batteries display a "flattish" voltage drop even though the amount of charge falls relatively steep as seen here at Fig.2

  
  

Your app like other apps uses Voltage and inherently plagued with inaccuracies, so at best gives a rough estimate

• 
  

  Starting from Lollipop Android gives you an estimate of how long your battery is going to last, so the interpretation in other answer is valid

  
  


• 
  

  
  
  

  Another strange thing: when i look at Android's battery statistics, the sum of percenatges of the battery that goes towards each app(including screen) is only at ~50%.

  
  

  
  

Measurement of consumption per app and therefore total can also be misleading. This post, though old sheds light on this How does Android calculate battery consumption by apps?

Now coming to your concern of battery problems - it's hard to say. I would suggest that you revert to stock ROM and then observe to establish ,if, there is a problem ( Could be custom ROM, kernel too)

wi fi - Searching for WiFi toggle

How do I get the WiFi toggle to show up in the notifications area on the Samsung Galaxy S4 - Verizon - 4.2.2 - Build VRUAME7?

When I click on the pencil icon to edit it takes me here which doesn't scroll or allow me to edit the notifications except move the order around:

Answer

You can customise the toggles by clicking the pencil icon in the top right. You should then be able to add a wifi toggle icon.

Edit: Ok. It seems like Verizon have removed that toggle. If you're rooted you can add it back though. See link here (contains screenshots).

You need to download and install SQLite Editor - you need to download and install SQLite Editor

1. 
   

   Open up SQLite Editor - Select the Apps tab on top and scroll down until you see Settings Storage and click it.

   
   


2. 
   

   Click on Settings.db

   
   


3. 
   

   Click on system

   
   
   


4. 
   

   Click on the search icon on top right

   
   


5. 
   

   Type in the word notification in the Filter Value field and click ok

   
   


6. 
   

   Once the results load up, tap on notification_panel_active_app_list (should be the bottom result) and click on the pencil icon on top to edit

   
   



7. 
   

   In the Value field, you'll see all your toggles listed. All you have to do is add the word Wifi <-- just like that with a semi colon right after. Make sure there's no space after the semi colon like in the screenshot below. Once you add Wifi, click the save button.

   
   


8. 
   

   Close SQLite editor and reboot your phone. Once your phone boots back up, you should now have the Wifi toggle in quick settings!

   
   

performance - How do I know which applications slows down the phone?

How do I know which applications slows down the phone, so that I could get rid of them?

sms - How to turn off red-dotted-underline spelling check when text-messaging?

I've updated my HTC Desire HD A9191 to Android 2.3.3 and now I don't know how to get rid off the spelling check (red dotted underline) when text messaging. The underlining isn't present when typing in Evernote's application, for example. It is strictly text-messaging issue.

There's no spelling-check option in message settings. I've tried turning on and off spelling check under Settings->Language & Keyboard->Touch Input->Text input->Spell correction and it didn't do anything either way. I don't have enabled neither 'Prediction' nor 'Word completion'. Google search didn't find anything about red dotted underline on Androids either.

Why would I want to disable spelling check? Androids don't support my locale the way they should (QWERTZ instead of QWERTY), so I'm forced to use German locale. Which is fine, I'd use English as a system language anyway. But the spelling check is underlining non-German words, which is obviously annoying to me as a non-German native speaker.

Answer

You can use an alternative SMS app, e.g. Handcent. I think the spell checking feature is probably HTC specific (AFAIK, HTC has their own SMS app).

uninstallation - Is the data associated with an app cleared when an app is uninstalled?

The data associated with an app which we see when we go to Applications > Manage Applications > application, is it cleared when we hit "Uninstall" or is it left untouched by the uninstaller?

The reason why I'm asking it is, I've heard from a lot of people who first hit "Clear data" and then hit "Uninstall" mostly because they're not sure so they just ensure that they get rid of the data and then uninstall!! So do one need to hit "Clear data" before uninstalling.

Answer

As Matthew Read noted in a comment: yes, it is. The entire data directory is simply deleted:

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/

lib           shared_prefs

C:\Console2>adb uninstall com.chessclock.android
Success

C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
ls: /data/data/com.chessclock.android/: No such file or directory

#Reinstalled from the Market at this point


C:\Console2>adb shell ls /data/data/com.chessclock.android/
lib

The shared_prefs directory is absent in the last ls listing because I didn't launch the app, I only reinstalled it, therefore there were no preferences yet created for it (it sets defaults on the first launch). I point this out only because it illustrates that the preferences from the previous install were not retained anywhere.