sd card - adb "Permission denied" to run a "./configure" file

I need to run a configure file into my android phone so I think the best way to do this is to use the adb shell command.

I'm running an Android emulator onto a Windows-7 platform, and there I'm running the adb shell command into a DOS window. Using the cd command I'm changing to the directory where my configure file is, and then I'm executing the following command: ./configure. I'm getting the following error :

./configure: permission denied

So I try to run adb in root mode with adb root -- but apparently my adb is already in root mode (Moreover I have the "#" character before each line of my adb shell).

I have also tried to use chmod but I don't see any difference before and after executing this command (ls -la), so maybe the problem is here (How can I run the chmod command?).

Maybe someone here can help me with my issue, and if you have also an explanation about why I don't have the permission to run my configure file it will be great.

Thanks.

PS: My goal here is to use the net-snmp package on an Android platform by compiling the sources of this project directly onto the platform.

Answer

This is due to 2 things:

1. The file does not have execute permissions [AND]


2. The file cannot gain executable permissions as it is on the SD Card. The SD Card's filesystem can accept file permissions, however it is mounted with the noexec flag, as stated in a comment. This stops files being executed.

Solution:

1. Copy the net-snmp-5.7.2 directory to the /data/local/tmp directory as root.


2. Set the configure file to be executable by running chmod 0777 /data/local/tmp/net-snmp-5.7.2/configure as root.


3. You should now be able to execute the configure script by typing /data/local/tmp/net-snmp-5.7.2/configure and pressing enter.

Note

This should all be done as the root user :)

locked out - Why does Android Device Manager not changes my password?

I have an Android phone with password, but I don't remember it. I have access to the phone through Android Device Manager. I tried to change the password with it, but when I set the new password, Android Device Manager says:

The phone has a password, the password you just entered will not be used

How can I change the password? I have not logged in with Samsung and adb does not recognize the device.

Answer

I solved the issue by installing ClockworkMod, and Aroma file manager with a sdcard, then I removed the next files:

• password.keypattern.key


• locksettings.db


• locksettings.db-shm


• locksettings.db-wal

Useful links:

HOW TO: Install ClockworkMod Recovery 6 on Galaxy S5 G900F

Remove /Bypass Lockscreen With Recovery

How can I change media volume when no media is being played?

Sometimes I want to play games in (near) silence, and don't like the background music to disturb people. If I use the volume buttons, the ringtone volume is changed instead of media volume. When I'm already in the game, the volume buttons do change the volume of background music, but it's kinda too late.

Is there a way for me to change the media volume to a level I like, from the home screen, before starting apps/games?

Answer

1. 
   

   You can go to Settings > Sound > Volume and turn down the Media volume all the way to 0.

   
   


2. 
   

   I used AutomateIt to Mute Media sound unless the earphone is plugged.

   
   


3. 
   

   A hack that I used to do is to just cover up the speaker hole until I can turn down the volume.

   
   

internal storage - Google Photos and Files Apps on Google Pixel 2 is giving the following error "android.process.media has stopped"

I have read quite a bit about this issue from "clearing caches" to "formatting your phone".... it works for some people and it doesn't for others. Well formatting your phone will work but you lose quite a bit of data and most importantly time!

I have been bugged by this problem for almost over 2 weeks and today I stumbled upon the solution. So I am sharing with you all so you can resolve a long lasting issue.

This is actually a SOLUTION for all experiencing the same problem as the subject header.

Good news: no formatting needed.

1a. Go into File Explorer > Phone Storage (internal) > Downloads > find a file called something like "goo.google.com..." 1b. Deleting everything in your download folder would be ideal but depends on how many files you got in there. There could be multiple files called goo.google.com or something like this. 2. Delete the file or files 3. Close all apps 4. Restart your phone 5. Check

This solution worked for me like a charm and I don't have to format my phone anymore.

Cause: I maybe was downloading a file from chrome which I may have stopped in the middle or something on these lines, i guess.

Maybe more people can shed light on this problem and solution!

Thank you, Muhammad

security - How can I disable root on a modded device?

Is it possible to disable root access to applications on an Android device again after installing modded firmware?

I would like to try Cyanogen or one of the other custom ROMs, but I'm wondering whether that poses a security risk. Do all installed applications get root access automatically, or can that be disabled?

I want to keep the Android security model the way it is or at least for applications to ask for my permission before they can access sensitive data.

Answer

If you install SuperUser you can control which apps are allowed root access. By default it blocks all requests and asks you what you want to do. You can give an app access indefinitely and revoke it at any time, or allow only specific requests with a timeout. Most rooted ROMs come with it pre-installed, including CyanogenMOD, and many rooting methods will install it for you as well.

As an alternative, you could remove the su binary and Busybox from your device to effectively un-root it.

remote access - How to connect two phones via SSH with a central SSH server?

I have two phones A and B which use Mobile Data. I would like to connect from phone A to phone B, the later has an SSH server running on port 8022. The central SSH server is running on AWS and has an Elastic IP. Phone A can connect to AWS Server directly at port 22, so can phone B.

AWS Server configuration:

GatewayPorts yes
TCP forward yes

Password Authentication Yes 

Further I have forwarded port 9099 on AWS SSH server to local port 8022 on phone B:

~$ ssh -NR 9099:localhost:8022 user@Remoteip 

By running netstat -tpln on AWS SSH server I can see that 9099 is in listening mode.

But when I ssh from phone A into AWS server at port 9099 it says timed out.

Answer

What I have understood from your question:

You have two phones A and B, which are connected to internet through Mobile Data. Phone B has a SSH server running, listening on port 8022. You want to login from phone A to phone B, but since the later doesn't have a public IP, you want to create a reverse SSH tunnel from phone B to another SSH server running on AWS cloud, listening on port 22. In this way you want that all traffic received on port 9099 on AWS SSH server should be forwarded to port 8022 on phone B, so that phone A can access it on internet.

If I understood correctly, the simplest thing you have to do is:

• 
  

  On AWS run a SSH server, which is listening on port 22. Since you are able to login to this server from both phones A and B, I think you have done it correctly. Let's say your login user here is server_user and IP address is server_ip.

  
  

  You need two additional keywords in /etc/ssh/sshd_config, should look like this exactly (no extra spaces):

  
  

  # /etc/ssh/sshd_config
  
  AllowTcpForwarding yes
  GatewayPorts yes
  

  
  
  

  After changing configuration, don't forget to restart server.

  
  
  
  
  • First parameter ensures that port forwarding is allowed i.e. you'll be able to create tunnel.
  
  
  • Second parameter ensures that the reverse tunnel will listen on all network interfaces, and not only the local (loopback) interface on AWS server.
  
  
  
  


• 
  

  On phone B run a SSH server, which is listening on port 8022, let's say your login userame is phone_user (Termux's SSHD requires no username).

  
  

  Do test if you can login to this server. For instance create hotspot on phone A or B or connect both to some third WiFi network. Now login from phone A to phone B. If it doesn't work, troubleshoot the problem, most likely with password / key authentication.

  
  



• 
  

  On phone B create a reverse tunnel i.e. forward AWS SSH server's port 9099 to phone B's (local) port 8022:

  
  

  ~$ ssh -NR 9099:localhost:8022 server_user@server_ip
  

  
  

  This can be done on Termux or use some GUI app like ConnectBot.

  
  

  To test if the the tunnel works correctly, on AWS server:

  
  

  ~$ ssh phone_user@localhost -p 9099
  

  
  

  It should login you to phone B.

  
  



• 
  

  On phone A, login to phone B through AWS SSH server:

  
  

  ~$ ssh phone_user@server_ip -p 9099
  

If it doesn't work, repeat the steps.

RELATED:

nokia 8 - Unlocked bootloader, but still cannot boot or flash partitions

I just had some luck unlocking the bootloader on my Nokia 8.1. But it looks like I've accomplished nothing still. Previously when I attempted to flash a partition via fastboot or boot a boot image, I used to see:

flashing is not allowed in locked state

Now that I've successfully unlocked the bootloader (I can confirm via deviceinfo command and also via the 5 second warning before boot), I am encountering another roadblock:

flashing is not rooted for fused device

It appears to be some sort of additional check. The device does show on screen (fastboot mode) that fuse = enable. Looks like this is some additional check for devices which have been unlocked to prevent unauthorised use. I do not have any idea how to disable it. It probably comes from the Kernel level or probably somewhere else. Can somebody guide me to a direction which I should take next? There should be some way to disable fuse.

internal storage - Huge "system data" file on SD card

I am running out of space in my SD card on Android ICS and I noticed that a huge file "System data" is taking up to 500MB. Is this normal? How can I reduce its size?

How to force browsers not to reload recently seen page after resume?

When I visit a website then switch to another app, then switch back to the browser the page is reloaded which I have just seen. It happens not just with builtin browser - I also tried Opera Mini and Maxthon.

How can I keep the recently seen page after resuming the browser?

2.3 gingerbread - How to gain S-OFF on HTC Salsa

I want to root my HTC Salsa phone. According to this link I need to gain S-OFF on my Mobile.

There is nice article to gain S-OFF.

But my Question: Is there an alternative way, without using any hardware to gain S-OFF ?

2.3 gingerbread - Contact Images location

Where are the contact images kept?

I have a contact image that is no longer in my gallery but it is one of my contact's avatar. I remember taking the photo and making it the avatar. I've went into my Google Contacts via the web but it is not there. The contact does not have a facebook or any other type of account. So it must be somewhere on the phone.

I have a Droid X with Gingerbread.

system info - Obtain package name AND common name of apps via ADB

I'm looking for a possibility to retrieve both, the package names and the common names of apps installed on an Android device via ADB – or at least to retrieve the common name if the package name is known. A quick search on our site brought up two related questions, but they don't solve my issue:

I'm looking for a way to retrieve the information directly from the device, if possible – not "any" way (including "web lookups" or "via an app") as those two questions have it.

I know there are multiple tools available to obtain package details:

• adb dumpsys package: While this lists all packages with a bunch of details, the "common name" is not shown


• adb shell pm list: only gives the package names


• aapt would be able to obtain the common name, but would require to first pull the .apk file from the device, which is not really convenient (and obviously will be pretty slow with many and/or large apps installed)

Did I miss something? I know the information must be on the device (how else could it show the app names in the GUI? I doubt Android parses the .apk file each time the GUI need the "common name"). So is there a way to get hold of it, using ADB directly?

---

TL;DR

Background (if somebody's curious): I want to be able to quickly obtain a list of user-apps from any of my devices, without having to revert to acrobatics. A list of their package names I can retrieve using adb shell pm list -3, but as those are package names only, recognizing apps is a guess-work. So if there were some ADB command to retrieve the common name for a given package name, I could simply use a loop like for pkg in $(adb shell pm list -3); do echo "- $(adb $pkg) ($pkg)"; done – and get a listing of all the installed user-apps in a "human readable format" together with their package names.

Use-cases:

• See what "superflous" apps are installed (which I could remove)


• Cross-check lists from multiple devices


• Documentation ;)


• and probably more (but the above 3 are what I need it for)

Answer

^{This is not a final answer, as it is not generic (only works on some devices) – but it's a start at least:}

As we've figured out, at least CM based ROMs with Kitkat (Android 4.4) and above ship with the aapt binary available in /system/bin¹. If your ROM doesn't have it, and installing the binary on the device is an option, you can find it here.

Using aapt, retrieving the app name is possible with

aapt d badging  | grep "application: label" |awk '{print $2}'

The output will be something like label='Funny App', which you then easily can parse for the app name, e.g.

aapt d badging  | grep 'application: label' | sed -n \"s/.*label\='\([^']*\)'.*/\1/p\"

(not good if the app name contains single quotes, but that might count as cosmetics – or you figure how to improve the sed part to deal with that).

---

^{1: we didn't find this in the Kitkat-and-above stock ROMs we've checked, so it might be CM based ROMs only}

samsung - ODIN configuration file - elements' meanings

I started this question in order to have more light shed on a tool that's used by almost all the Samsung device owners that perform operations such as flashing: ODIN.

Since there's already a good answer that covers the meaning behind the most commonly used checkboxes, I would like to make everyone think about the ODIN configuration file, namely Odin3.ini. This file resides in the same position as the ODIN main executable, and it's mandatory in order to run the program itself. Its content (v.3.10.7) can be observed below:

[Option]
Title=odin
FactoryResetTime=1

OptionEnable=1
SLP=0
AuthorityKey=pw
RtnForSprint=1


[APOption]
RePartition=0
AutoReboot=1
FResetTime=1

FlashLock=0
TFlash=0
NandErase=0


[CPOption]
PhoneEFSClear=0
PhoneBootUpdate=0k

[UIOption]

LED=0


[ButtonOption]
Bootloader=1
PDA=1
Phone=1
CSC=1
UMS/PATCH=0
USERDATA=0


[D300Jig]
;[0] not use / COM [1~2] usable
D300COM=0
;[0] not use / [1] use
MicroCable=0

[PortArrange]
;SAMSUNG Mobile Modem port (for Download mode)
DPort0=

DPort1= 
DPort2=
DPort3= 
DPort4= 
DPort5=
DPort6=
DPort7=
;SAMSUNG Android USB Modem port (for Samsung Kies)
SPort0=
SPort1=

SPort2=
SPort3=
SPort4=
SPort5=
SPort6=
SPort7=

As of recently, I performed some tests on the abovementioned values. You can see my findings in the answer below, which is freely editable by anyone.

Now comes the question part: was anyone able to ascertain the usage of those settings I was unable to/didn't test? For instance:

• Usefulness of FactoryResetTime - it doesn't reset the flash counter, before you say that;


• FTP connection output after editing SLP;


• Eventual output of DeviceInfo;


• Usage of AuthorityKey;


• Usage of RtnForSprint (only v3.10.7);


• Usage of the T Flash checkbox;


• What's supposed to be chosen as UMS/PATCH file - I've never seen one.

And yes, I'm aware that this is a bit of work, it's broad, and that it's not strictly related to Android. However, I found nothing on the XDA community, and I feel that we've yet to discover the real power of this ODIN tool. Any answer about this topic has the potential to help Samsung users out there to better understand this piece of software.

What are Cyanogenmod's profiles good for?

I just installed ICS CM9 on my Galaxy Note and I am puzzled by the "Profiles" setting. It seems to allow me to set-up different profiles (home, work, etc) and associate settings with them, eg enable Bluetooth and disable GPS at home.

But I didn't see any way to automatically change profiles according to, for example, presence of a given WIFI network. So, my question is: what are those profiles for? Should I manually switch profile from work to home when I come back home? This make no sense!

I searched but didn't find anything relevant, maybe because "profile" is a very generic noun.

Answer

Yes, you'll have to manually switch to Home profile when you come back home. Its what you can find in classic mobile phones.

If you want to automate it, there're plenty of apps for that: Tasker+Profile4Tasker (paid), AutomateIt (free), Llama (free), Locale+Profile4Tasker (paid)

applications - Are there any side effects of uninstalling Apps

Are there any side effects of Installing and uninstalling lots of apps on an Android smart phone?

Specifically are there any things that do not get cleaned up that I need to be aware off?

4.4 kitkat - Create a dd image of a Android 4.4.4 for forensics?

I'm a little new to the Android file system, I'm doing a project for a digital forensics class and I want to create a bit-for-bit image of my Nexus 5 running 4.4.4 stock, rooted. The normal way I would do this on a Linux system would be with dd like so.

dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb

As I have no removable SD card, I was planning on doing this with a terminal emulator and writing to a flash drive over the micro USB port. I need to be able to mount the image and browse the files from the device once the image is created. I'm specifically looking at GPS data and where it is stored, or unknowingly stored, from apps or the system. I'll sort that out myself once I have an image, I have some scripts I've written that will search through all directories and files looking for latitude and longitude strings. Although those probably won't find anything in the databases for android, I'll have to find another way to script/look through those.

Is there a good way to create the type of image I'm describing?

Thanks for any help!

Answer

You could do that using dd directly on the device, making sure the output goes to a partition you can afford to be modified. I will not "rank" here from a forensics point of view (where of course it is best to have nothing modified on the device, which is not always possible, etc.), but simply list options. As you are looking for data written by apps, you're most likely after the /data partition, so this is the most important to remain unchanged (though it already is subject to changes with the Android system booted):

• attach an external drive via OTG (might apply minor changes to /data for mounting information)


• write to an existing internal partition (e.g. the internal SD if you plan to "dump" /data)

Now let's check for an alternative. Assuming you've got a custom recovery installed, you could simply boot into that (something you'd probably check first). In recovery, by default most partitions (especially /data) are not mounted, so no modifications are done. Moreover, a custom recovery offers you the possibility to create a nandroid backup – which basically is a dump of all file systems (usually except the SD card(s)), each in a separate file. These dumps would go to the SD card (here: the internal one, as a Nexus has no external). You could adb pull those images to your computer even while still being in recovery mode.

samsung galaxy s 2 - How can I disable shortcuts from being created after install from Google Play?

I own a Galaxy S2 with the Samsung ICS stock, and I've noticed when I download an application from Google Play (Market) it installs it and automatically places the app shortcut on the first free space it finds on the launcher front.

Is there any way to disable this feature?

Answer

Open the Play Store, go into its settings, and uncheck the 'Auto-add widgets' option. The option also applies to shortcut auto-creation (which makes the name rather misleading).

security - PIN invisibility in android

I am using PIN security for unlocking the phone. When i type the PIN, a blue highlight comes to the pressed digit. How can i hide it? I am in Note 2 rooted with stock rom.

2.2 froyo - How to create a custom boot animation?

How to create a custom boot animation for my Android device?

My device is an HTC HD2 with Cyanogen Mod 7 installed.

Answer

A boot animation is a series of images (frames) in a folders (parts). There is a text file (desc.txt) that defines the parts, the frame rate, and how many times it loops.

A desc.txt looks like this:

480 427 30
p 1 0 part0
p 0 10 part1

The first like is the height and width, then the number of frames per second the next 2 lines define the parts that will "play".

the "p" indicates the line is a "part" the next digit is the number of times to repeat, 0 = infinite next is the pause, this is the delay before it starts the next "part" (or frame if looping) after the last frame in the part completes. finally, is the name of the part (the folder name where the frames are)

inside each part your png images will "play" in order, so what ever you name them, just make sure they are ordered how you want them to "play". For example, frame001.png, frame002.png. I added the extra 0's because if i have more then 10 frames, the order may be mixed up.

The boot animation is then put in a zip archive with "store" compression, with desc.txt at the root of the archive.

The file is named bootanimation.zip, and placed in /system/media/ (you need to remount as rw) or you can place it in /data/local on some devices (should work on CM7).

When the boot animation is in /data/local, it will take precedence over /system/media, this way the "default" can stay on the device unharmed.

Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) - Encryption, select different PIN than Screen Lock

I was wondering if one can select different passwords for device encryption in ICS?

Having the same password for encryption and unlocking the screen isn't quite that secure...

Thanks for hints.

2.2 froyo - What is SNS App?

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy I551 with Android 2.2 FroYo.

Sorry for my ignorance, but I have not idea what is that app (which came installed and without rooting can't be removed). And it is using 15MB of my internal storage! I only have 160MB so that is a lot.

What is this app for? What will happen if I clear its data? Are those 15MB included in the storage DiskUsage categorize as "System Data"?

Answer

Social Networking Service. I believe it's used for social networking widgets. Clearing the data will just clear the posts and account info in the widgets. I'm not sure if the Facebook or other apps rely on it.

How to check which app uses GPS on Galaxy Nexus?

I'm constantly seeing the Searching for GPS... icon in my status bar, and would like to check which app is trying to access my location. I checked the similar questions on the site and all suggested either Spare Parts or the test menu.

However, on my Galaxy Nexus these are out of the question, since Spare Parts crashes with ANR when I try to access the battery stats (there's no com.android.settings.battery_history.BatteryHistory activity), and the test menu doesn't have the necessary menus.

So, any other possibilities?

geolocation - How can I geo-tag a photo after I've taken it?

Is there an app for that? :)

(For when automatic tagging fails)

Answer

Actually I found such an app, after a fair bit of searching.

Photo Geolocator (Google Code)

Currently you can't look up locations via an address, so it only really works for nearby locations, but that's still better than having to edit images on a PC, IMO.

can fastboot be used to backup device?

Many people tell about fastboot that it can be used to flash a image on one of the partitions.

Is the reverse also possible, that is take a binary snapshot and store it as a zip file containig the exact binary representation of the partition to be backuped?

the reason I ask this is backup has two steps.

1) take and image/snapshot to backuplocation (backup) 2) and replacing image/snapshop from backuplocaito (restore)

to me it seems that fastboot is only doing one, while being able to write to the Androids internal flash (in binary "dd"-style) seems it should also be able to read from the flash.

This way nobody would need to organize and run another potentially not trustworthy rom to do the reading job.

Answer

If you check with our fastboot tag-wiki, and follow up the link to the List of fastboot commands, you will see the answer is NO. Fastboot only has commands to write to the device. A few exceptions include:

• making sure there is a device at all, using fastboot devices


• some OEM specific commands to read configuration values (fastboot oem – note that all those, except for oem lock/oem unlock, options start with INFO?)


• several bootloader specific commands


• rebooting the device after "work done" (fastboot reboot / fastboot reboot-bootloader)

From the CyanogenMod Fastboot Intro, emphasis mine:

fastboot is a small tool that comes with the Android SDK (software developer kit) that can be used to re-flash partitions on your device. It is an alternative to the recovery mode for doing installations and updates.

Wikipedia describes fastboot as a diagnostic protocol included with the SDK package used primarily to modify the flash filesystem via a USB connection from host computer. (again, emphasis mine).

No source speaks about backing up partitions (or data) from the device.

cyanogenmod - how to re-enable first time setup at next boot?

This question already has answers here:

Closed 2 years ago.

tl;dr: What is the hidden setting that tells the first-time-user-wizard to run? i just want to re-enable that flag so next time the phone boots it shows the new user wizard and UI hints.

A friend gave me his new nexus to install CM11 and a few applications.

To install those applications i created a bogus Google account, downloaded them from the store, configured and then removed my account.

now i want to give the phone back in a way that when it is powered on, it shows the create new account/enable Wifi/etc wizard.

I already tried wiping out data from "one time setup" system application, but that did nothing. Any other ideas?

6.0 marshmallow - Can I use my adoptable storage chip after a factory reset

I need to do a factory reset of my android marshmallow phone, but I use adoptable storage. Will I be able to use the adoptable storage chip with the apps installed after I do a factory reset?

2.2 froyo - Where are displayed shortcuts stored?

Often after a reboot, crash or USB usage, icons of apps go missing. Both in the "Home" screens and "Applications".

Currently I have four screens of apps, three in Home. Some of the icons understandably vanish when the SD is taken by eg. USB Storage to PC mode (because they are in part stored there), but often refuse to reappear even after restarting the phone.

Is there config file stored somewhere in my rooted Android 2.2 responsible for the current desktop layout of shortcuts? Or way to back it up & restore (even the stale shortcuts), or force refresh based on existing apps in internal or external memory?

Answer

App specific settings are usually stored in the internal storage folder accessible only to that app. While apps do have the ability to write to external storage and lose access to that data when you mount it, I doubt that is the case here.

When you install and move an app to the SD Card, you are not moving the entire app. Some core content of the app still stays on the internal storage. However, moving an app to the external storage has some interesting side effects. The app is completely disabled when you connect your device to the computer, on pre honeycomb devices. Android 3.0 onwards, the USB storage was switched to MTP, which allows the device and the computer to access the storage simultaneously.

In your case, when you connect to the computer, the apps on the SD Card are disabled, causing them to disappear temporarily. As for them not reappearing when you disconnect and restart your phone suggests that there is a bug in the launcher you're using. Try using a different third party launcher instead.

vpn - Automatic system-wide proxy

When I'm on a public network that I don't trust, I use a combination of ConnectBot and ProxyDroid (with "Global Proxy" enabled) to tunnel my phone's traffic through a trusted server that I control. However, I have to set that all up manually, and I'm sure plenty of other data leaks out around that tunnel (at the very least, apps will check in between the time I connect to a network and the time I set up the tunnel). Also, the process is involved enough that I usually only go through it when I'm on a public network and I get SSL errors from the browser telling me google.com is using a certificate signed by GoDaddy.

I'd like to set something up that smooths the process out a bit, such that a tunnel is automatically established whenever I connect to a network, all traffic is routed through it, and apps aren't able to connect to the Internet unless the tunnel is open (very important). Obviously, it should verify the authenticity of the server before connecting (though I haven't seen a VPN that doesn't). I'd like something that uses SSH since that's the simplest to set up, but anything will do. What sorts of solutions like this are out there? My server runs Ubuntu 12.04, and I can install extra software on it if needed.

Again, the most important part here is that no app can access the network unless it's going through the tunnel, and if the tunnel hasn't been established yet, no traffic escapes. Obviously, the one exception would need to be whatever app is actually making the initial connection to establish the tunnel.

I'm currently using a rooted HTC Incredible running CyanogenMod 7. I'm in the market for a new phone though, so if anyone knows of any solutions that require something newer than Android 2.3, those would be welcome as well.

contacts - Share (through share menu) directly to own email address

I often send over images etc to my own email for forwarding or printing or what ever.

Problem is I have many contacts, and I have to type quite a bit to find my own email address.

I would really like to have a share-menu option that says "Share to [specific email address]".

Is there any application that provides such option??

Creating a backup with adb results in 41 byte file

I have an old droid RAZR Maxx (4.1.2) that I decided I want to root, but I want to make a backup first just in case. I've followed instructions from this site:

How To Create a Full Android Phone or Tablet Backup Without Rooting or Unlocking Your Device

My command was this:

adb backup -apk -shared -all -f c:\backup.ab

The resulting backup.ab file on the C: drive was only 41 bytes and, when opened in a hex editor, appears to only be the header of the backup file. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong here, I've googled but can't find anything that helps. Any suggestions?

Edit: This is not a duplicate of the suggested a topic linked by beeshyams. That topic explains why the user couldn't back up one single app's files, I'm trying to back up everything. I don't care if I don't get SMS included in that backup because it's an old phone, I'm not using it to text, but there are other apps and settings that should back up without issue.

game controllers - Can I use USB gamepad without any setup?

I connected USB gamepad to my tablet.

I noticed that software like Tincore KeyMapper requires root access to connect to this gamepad. This type of software recognizes all buttons, but asks me to map these buttons to screen areas.

1. Can I use a gamepad without mapping buttons to screen?



2. Do games support this mode?


3. Do I need to download some piece of software that will ask root access for these games?

settings - How can I disable the notification sounds while playing music?

I don't like the notification sounds overlaying my music playback, but I can't find any setting to disable notification sounds while playing music.

I also don't like the way the sound overlay works. The IPhone handles this much better.

Is there any way to set this up to behave more like the Iphone or turn off the notifications while playing music at all?

Answer

First install Quick Settings: http://www.appbrain.com/app/quick-settings/com.bwx.bequick

With that under volume control you can control the following volumes seperately:

• ringer


• notification


• media (this would control the music)


• alarm



• voice


• system

On top of that you can install Quick Profiles

...which will let you create a sound profile with the settings you want and easily activate it with one click.

6.0 marshmallow - Can I set a macro to delete media from a particular Whatsapp group or contact?

Is it possible to set up a macro using Macro Droid, Tasker, or any other automation app which will delete all the media received from a particular Whatsapp group or from some specific contacts.

I am running Android 6.0 Marshmallow on a non-rooted Asus Zenfone 2 ZE551ML with stock ROM.

Answer

It is not possible

Quoting MacroDroid developer, in future request (dated 21 Feb this year- you can access that from within the app in forum )

WhatsApp has no SDK/API by design, they don't want third party apps interacting with their service.

When the automation app can't interact with WhatsApp, it obviously cannot set up automation tasks

I am not conversant with Tasker, but the limitation should be equally valid for any automation app

updates - What is the typical Android OS Upgrade policy?

I noticed that our HTC Thunderbolts were upgraded from Android 2.3 to Android 4.0. That is very nice, I thought it would never upgrade.

Now that it did, I am wondering, why / what rules qualify an upgrade? Is it once every 18 months regardless? Is it diverse depending on which phone you have? Does it also depend on the carrier and/or brand? (are the HTC phones generally this way, or is it Verizon's choice)

Please clarify the Android OS update policy for me.

It would be extra good if you knew the policy on the iPhone OS, and how it compares.

Oh, and I already know that apps (YouTube, Play Store, Play Music, Gmail, Games) are not part of the OS, except for certain bundled apps. (Camera, Internet, Phone, etc.)

Answer

There isn't a specific Android OS Upgrade Policy. If it's a Nexus device and it can handle the latest version of Android it will get the latest version of Android from Google. Other than that it is up to manufacturers to update drivers and their specific customized version of Android for their own devices and then it is up to the carriers to approve those updates and release them to users' phones.

Apple has only one phone basically and they release updates on what seems to be a yearly basis and update is done via their own service, not restricted by carriers.

system - Lenovo Tab 2 Partition Layout

I own a Lenovo Tab 2 A7-20f.

When I try cat /proc/emmc:

partno:    start_sect   nr_sects  partition_name
emmc_p1: 00000400 00000002 "ebr1"
emmc_p2: 00004800 00005000 "protect_f"

emmc_p3: 00009800 00005000 "protect_s"
emmc_p4: 0001ec00 00003000 "sec_ro"
emmc_p5: 0002e800 00300000 "android"
emmc_p6: 0032e800 0003f000 "cache"
emmc_p7: 0036d800 00b18000 "usrdata"

And when I use cat /proc/partitions:

major minor  #blocks  name

   7        0       9570 loop0

 253        0     524288 zram0
 179        0    7613440 mmcblk0
 179        1          1 mmcblk0p1
 179        2      10240 mmcblk0p2
 179        3      10240 mmcblk0p3
 179        4       6144 mmcblk0p4
 179        5    1572864 mmcblk0p5
 179        6     129024 mmcblk0p6
 179        7    5816320 mmcblk0p7
 179       64       4096 mmcblk0boot1

 179       32       4096 mmcblk0boot0

I don't think this is the typical Android Partition Layout. Any Idea which one is the Recovery and the Boot partition? Or how to find it out?

Update:
When I lookup /proc/dumchar_info I get

Part_Name  Size    StartAddr   Type    MapTo   Region
preloader    0x0000000000040000   0x0000000000000000   2   /dev/misc-sd     BOOT_1
mbr          0x0000000000080000   0x0000000000000000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
ebr1         0x0000000000080000   0x0000000000080000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p1   USER
pro_info     0x0000000000300000   0x0000000000100000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER

nvram        0x0000000000500000   0x0000000000400000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
protect_f    0x0000000000a00000   0x0000000000900000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p2   USER
protect_s    0x0000000000a00000   0x0000000001300000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p3   USER
seccfg       0x0000000000020000   0x0000000001d00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
uboot        0x0000000000060000   0x0000000001d20000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
bootimg      0x0000000001000000   0x0000000001d80000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
recovery     0x0000000001000000   0x0000000002d80000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
sec_ro       0x0000000000600000   0x0000000003d80000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p4   USER
misc         0x0000000000080000   0x0000000004380000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
logo         0x0000000000300000   0x0000000004400000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER

expdb        0x0000000000a00000   0x0000000004700000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
tee1         0x0000000000500000   0x0000000005100000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
tee2         0x0000000000500000   0x0000000005600000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
kb           0x0000000000100000   0x0000000005b00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
dkb          0x0000000000100000   0x0000000005c00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
android      0x0000000060000000   0x0000000005d00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p5   USER
cache        0x0000000007e00000   0x0000000065d00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p6   USER
usrdata      0x0000000163000000   0x000000006db00000   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0p7   USER
bmtpool      0x0000000001500000   0x00000000ffff00a8   2   /dev/block/mmcblk0     USER
Part_Name:Partition name you should open;

Size:size of partition
StartAddr:Start Address of partition;
Type:Type of partition(MTD=1,EMMC=2)
MapTo:actual device you operate

Now how can I found out which one is the system partition and why are Boot and Recovery one partition?

Answer

Why are Boot and Recovery one partition?

This you can find answered in a Wiki entry at Github. Quoting the relevant part:

Since MTK devices use the uboot mechanism, partitions including boot and recovery, are not revealed as separate partitions, but rather accessed sequencially by size and start parameters.

You can see that reflected in your output of /proc/dumchar_info: size is the second column, start sector the third. Think of it like "disk images stored on a raw medium" (not an exact description, but easier to visualize).

Which one is the system partition?

My first guess (by the name) was sec_ro (as system is "ro", read only). But that's not exact enough. To find out, you'd need the sector size and the size of your /system partition, then you can do the maths: /proc/emmc gives you the "number of sectors" each partition occupies, in HEX. sec_ro accordingly occupies 0x3000 sectors, that would be 12288 in decimal. At a sector size of 512 bytes¹ that would be 6 MB – too small :) A better guess probably is p5 named "android", which sums up to 1.5 GB – that seems to be the correct size. cache is /cache and usrdata will be the /data partition.

---

^{1: according to Understanding MTK’s MBR/EBR File Format}

contacts - Suggestions for syncing data to someone besides Google? Funambol?

I've been toying with the idea of getting away from syncing my contacts and calendar with Google. I'd like more control over my data. I've heard that Funambol might be a good solution to this and I'm wondering about other ideas folks might have for syncing and address book and calendar between Anroid and a desktop mail app (Thunderbird, in my case).

I keep the Thunderbird address book on my Ubuntu laptop up to date, so I'd like to be able to synchronize those contacts with my phone and (preferably) have them backed up to a place where I might be able to access them from another location. It would be great to be syncing a calendar as well, though that is less key. Are there ways to do this without backing everything up to Google's hive mind?

Answer

I've got Funambol running (though it looks like I could sync via Ubuntu One, as I'm on Ubuntu). It's easier to sync contacts between Evolution and Funambol than Thunderbird and Funambol, but it works.

I was able to install a Funambol server on my local machine, no problem. My laptop isn't really a functional server, so I opted to just sign up with http://www.funambol.com to make sure I can actually sync Laptop Calendar/Addressbook <--> Funambol <--> Android Contacts/Calendar. That is working.

I'll let you know if I learn anything in switching from www.Funambol.com to my own instance of Funambol.

Battery Life and First Time Charging on Li-ion Batteries. Myth?

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

---

"Ok you bought a brand new mobile phone with brand new battery, after checking its working ok kindly switch it off and charge it fully (100%) then start using it. IT WILL INCREASE YOUR BATTERY LIFE.", said by the Seller.

Is this a myth or absolutely true when talking about Li-ion batteries?

Answer

That recommendation from the seller was true for old batteries, and it seems they still keep saying that to customers!

Nowadays, batteries are often Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer and such batteries (as I have read many times and based on my own experience) would be stronger if you charge them often. The first time charging and "wait-until-full-discharge-before-recharge" and "don't-use-when-charging" are not applicable to these modern batteries.

Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries, if charged often, after about 1 month, would reach to their maximum performance, and you are recommended to charge them every time you find an outlet!

In stock Help application of my Sony Android device, In a section about Battery Life, it reads:

• Charge your phone often, This will not affect the lifespan of the battery.

Root Sony Xperia Z1

Is possible to do root Sony Xperia Z1 (c9603) with 4.4.2 version?

I searched on google, but all the tutorials are for other versions. I don't want to do a downgrade, so, is possible root without downgrade?

Thanks

htc droid incredible - Is it normal for Android System to be the top battery user?

Over the past couple of days, the battery usage of my new phone has been as follows:

34% - Android System
28% - Cell Standby
21% - Phone idle
10% - Display
03% - Google Goggles
02% - Angry Birds
02% - Majesty

This feels very off to me. I would have expected the games and display to rank much higher in terms of battery use. Could the high usage of Android System indicate a potential problem, or is this fairly normal?

Additional information:

I typically end up with around 15:00 hours uptime and 3:45 hours awake by the end of the day. Daily use so far includes short bursts of playing games and Internet use, but no listening to music. I haven't had a day of heavy calls/texting with the phone yet.

These numbers are all from the built in battery use screen under settings.

Answer

It all depends on your usage. Android System includes Sync, so if you're not using your phone a lot then I would assume Sync and Standby would use the most battery -- so your details make sense.

Edit: As per the comments, I think the battery usage is being recorded wrong.

google play store - How to solve "insufficent space on the device" error on Samsung Captivate

I have a Samsung Captivate, running the stock Froyo ROM, rooted. When I try to install a large app from the Market, I get the error "insufficent space on the device", for apps of ~40 MB, with 700+MB free. I first noticed it with "Jelly Defense" on Google's Christmas-week sale, but you can see it for yourself if you try the free "Reiner Knizia's Labyrinth" which is also quite large.

This is a common problem -- just Google it and you'll see dozens of posts around the Internet going back almost a year. From those posts, I've tried two free apps that are supposed to help, "Market Fix" and "Cache Fixer", but neither has done the trick yet. As I understand it, both are supposed to re-mount /cache as a loopback file on the SD card. I don't know why they don't work. If anybody has fixed this specifically on the i9000 series (SGS1, Captivate, Fascinate, etc), please let me know how!

Answer

Always the way, innit? 5 minutes after I ask, I stumble across this. It's not super elegant but its success is in its simplicity. Simply replace the dedicated /cache partition with a link to the internal SD card, and Bob's your uncle. Has to be repeated on reboot, so not perfect, but way better than not installing at all!

How do I backup and restore SMS Messages?

How do I backup and restore SMS Messages?

Answer

I recommend Life Saver 2 by Tim Bray. It saves and restores not only SMS, but also your phone call history:

LifeSaver helps you move Phone & SMS history from one Android device to another. Your phone call log and SMS messages are your life’s history! You shouldn’t lose them just because you get a new phone. LifeSaver2 (which replaces the old “LifeSaver”) is here to help.

samsung galaxy s 2 - How can I determine the cause of random device reboots?

After being annoyed with my previous ROM, I thought I'd install ICS on my SGS2 (until CM9 comes out). But, sadly, it now reboots several times a day without any real reason. The device is just lying there on the table doing nothing and every now and then the screen turns on and I can watch it reboot.

So, how would I start to analyse this issue? Obviously I could try to flash different ROMs like a mad man until the issue resolves itself, but I would prefer a more sensible approach.

Answer

You can install the android SDK and use DDMS to monitor the logcat. The thing with a logcat, it is cleared when the device reboots, but you may be able to get an idea of what is crashing if you are monitoring it before it reboots.

You can probably also find unofficial CM9 nightlies for the Galaxy S2, but I am not sure what issues still exist for that device.

applications - Is there an app that will list my phone's info in an easily copy/paste-able format?

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

---

There's a great Add-on for Firefox called InfoLister, all it does is provide a nicely formatted list of stuff and versions, for example here's what it lists for me:

Last updated: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:03:32 GMT

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 6.0; en-US; rv:1.9.2.13) Gecko/20101203 Firefox/3.6.13 ( .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET4.0E)

Extensions (enabled: 23, disabled: 7):

• Contacts 0.3.2



• DOM Inspector 2.0.8


• etc...

Themes (1):

• Default 3.6.13 [selected]

Plugins (13):

• Garmin Communicator Plug-In



• Google Talk Plugin


• etc...

Are there any Android apps that can generate an easily copy & paste-able list of the phone's version, etc. all in one place? Basically the stuff that appears in Settings -› About phone.

Answer

I also wrote an app in response to this question. It's free in the market. Let me know what you think. If you want more information, please let me know and I'll add what I can.

It's called "Android Information Text ".

rooting - How do I root my Kyocera Echo?

I've seen instructions for many other devices, but nothing for the Kyocera Echo. How do I root my Kyocera Echo without completely screwing up my phone? I've tried the Z4root to no avail. What are my options?

4.1 jelly bean - Re-install app without losing personal data

How do you re-install an app without losing personal data?

In this case its Plants vs. Zombies 2 that hangs when loading the game. I thought a re-install might solve the issue. But I don't want to need to redo everything I've done so far.

Answer

For the following procedure you'll need adb installed on your computer (if you're not already have that, see: Is there a minimal installation of ADB?). Alternatively, a terminal emulator app should do as well.

Android apps are managed by the "Package manager", which has a command-line interface called pm. So here's what you can do with it for your case:

# to use ADB, first get a command line
adb shell
# now tell the package manager to uninstall the app, but keep its data
pm uninstall -k com.YOUR_PACKAGE_NAME`

^{(Note this won't work with a terminal emulator app on device (at least with none I know of) except with root permissions, as "normal apps" lack the required privileges/permissions.)}

Of course you have to replace com.YOUR_PACKAGE_NAME with the package name of the app you want to deal with. Easiest way to find that is visiting its page on Google Play, and take a look at the URL: the package name follows the id= parameter there. It's the -k parameter telling the package manager to keep the app's data.

Now, when you re-install the app, its data is already there (was not removed).

All this does not require root (at least as long as we talk about a user-installed app).

applications - How to find app based on package name?

I've installed a malicious app that is posting ads over my notification bar, but can't find it. I know the java package name for it: com.letang.game103.en using the command: adb shell dumpsys notification.

As you see the name of the app is not obvious from the package name. I want to find which app it is, that uses this package name. I also want to report them to Android Market, after leaving a nice feedback for them there!

I've looked at different dumpsys commands:

adb shell dumpsys [something]

But so far wasn't able to get apps based on their package names. Is there any way to do this?

Answer

The easiest way, without using any specialized tools is just to visit that app's page in the Play Store (website, not app).

All apps in the Play Store have their package name as part of their URL, so you can just take your package name and prefix it with https://play.google.com/details?id= to get

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

where com.stackexchange.marvin is the package name which will take you to the page for Stack Exchange Android app.

applications - How to manually remove an app?

I lack proper keywords to google efficiently to know how to manually remove an app. Basically I want to uninstall Chrome, but I also want to know deeper about Android system rather than rely on a third-party app like NoBloat. I suspect one just need to delete /data/app/com.android.chrome-2 folder, but I'm not sure if there is more to be removed too.

How to manually remove an app?

Answer

To manually remove an app, you'll need to (manually) delete all of the following items:

• The app's package, usually in /data/app/. For system apps, delete /system/app/, /system/priv-app/ or /vendor/app/ instead, depending on where it resides. The folder and file name are not necessarily the same as package name for system/vendor apps, though.


• The app's installation information, /data/system/packages.xml. This is very complicated as an app may define resources that can be used by other apps. Be sure to remove all related keys and leave unrelated keys intact, or you can mess the files up.

Additionally, these items may be removed, but they'll be pruned if some or all items listed above are manually removed or found missing. The automatic pruning usually happens during system booting.

• The app's Dalvik cache, in /data/dalvik-cache, usually .odex or .oat files


• The app's data, in /data/data/



• The app's data in external storage, in /sdcard/Android/data/


• The app's "simplified information" in /data/system/packages.list, which will be pruned if the app is gone from packages.xml

Sometimes you'll see some log in /data/system/uid_error.log if the above items are pruned by Android.

adb - Control Android with broken screen from PC

My rooted Galaxy Nexus has a broken screen. How can I use my PC (ie, via ADB) to control the phone?

androidscreencast would be the ideal solution, but its keyboard/mouse control feature does not work in Jelly Bean. Perhaps someone knows why and we can patch the code? (see: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/androidscreencast/BAeW5iG55FI/ebTFodV-BZsJ)

Installing a VNC server is another, but for the love of me I can't get it to work. Eg, using Droid VNC Server, I install the apk, and am supposed to execute /data/data/org.onaips.vnc/files/androidvncserver but there is no files directory inside org.onaips.vnc (instructions from here: https://github.com/oNaiPs/droid-VNC-server/issues/14). VMLite is another VNC server that can be started with a special Windows utility (and doesn't need root!) but it's not OSS so I can't get the apk in order to install (Google Play is not pushing apps to my phone prob because I disabled some service--let me know if I can force Google Play to update itself from ADB or install the app). fastdroid-vnc is a binary (not apk) and it runs fine via shell, but something is broken and it shows nothing.

What are my options? Let's make this a community wiki, to help anyone who's broken their screen!

wi fi - Does the phone consume less power when 3G disabled Vs 3G & WiFi Enabled?

I found couple of questions about it but they are two year old.

So Is it better to disable (in the top panel) 3G when I have an active WiFi connection and disable WiFi (in the top panel) when I doesn't have active WiFi connection and enabled 3G Data connection?

By better I mean consumes less battery power

Can I use two phones as one phone with two screens?

I have two phones. I would like to have all my files on one, but be able to have two open at once.

Can I set up the second phone such that it extends / adds a second screen to my phone?

I do not want to use BTSync or similar (the second phone has limited storage).

connection issues - Not able to login to Gmail from browser

I have my android phone connected to Wifi. When I open youtube in browser it opens perfectly and other sites as well but I can't open Gmail, facebook etc "in browser". The message says that the requested page might be temporarily down or moved to a new web address. Google play also isn't working. I cleared data and cache from the browser but it didn't work. Then I went on to factory reset the phone but still no hope. If anybody could help..please.

security - Device won't boot - Shows g.co/ABH secutiry error

Device is a pretty much new LG V30 from verizon, running android 8.

I have done pretty much nothing with the device yet. No root, no tinkering, nothing. I accidentally accepted the software update request it showed me today, which I didn't want. I shut the device down but every time I would turn it on it would start the update progress.

The only other option I had was booting into recovery, so I did that. I was presented with the following options:

So I went with factory reset. After that the phone won't boot anymore, and all I see is this screen:

What can I do now? I could use warranty, but is there anything I can do myself right now?

Again: No root. No unlocked bootloader. Nothing. I used LG's "require password on boot" feature though, which I assume is equal to android's full disk encryption. (?)

---

Edit: Just talked to LG. Since my phone has [very minor] physical damage on its back, the warranty stands void per LG. What can I do now?

I can't even access fastboot. It just puts me into recovery. What am I doing wrong and what do I need to flash, assuming I can make it into fastboot?

How to change Android device's default search engine?

I am trying to play with Android...To change the default search engine (now is Google, or add more selectables) when I press the "search" button on the device.

Is there anyway to do it? I have HTC Hero and HTC Desire, already rooted

screen - Can I connect my Android mini PC to my Laptop as a monitor ? How?

I am buying a new Android Mini PC : http://uae.souq.com/ae-en/mk802-iv-rk3188-quad-core-cortex-a9-android-wifi-mini-pc-4995376/i/

How can I connect my Android Mini PC to my Laptop ? My Laptop only has a VGA Port.

Any Help would be appreciated.

4.4 kitkat - Frequency band mofications for Samsung Galaxy S4

I recently purchased a used, unlocked Samsung Galaxy S4 SGH-I337M (for the particular model see here). The phones native bands don't include the 1700/2100 AWS required by the cell phone provider (WIND mobile). However, the phone is able to get both talk and data as desired. The previous owner told me that he modified the phone to allow these bands.

I'd like to know

1. Why was this possible? Is it because the phone has the bands but Samsung suppressed them or is the phone being hoodwinked into working without having both bands?


2. Whether there is a chance a firmware update or factory reset will undo this feature?

Background: I'm a bit familiar with unlocking AWS bands using qcn files

Answer

Ok then, let me begin by answering in order

1. 
   

   This is possible if the previous owner flashed their own hybrid modem onto their phone, which allows phones that are physically able to use a certain band (1700/2100) in your case, but the company does not allow it on their stock modem (for many different reasons). The hybrid modem basically overwrites the old modem that in short, says to the phone, "Hey, these are the only bands you can use", while a hybrid modem tells the phone, "Go crazy", and unlocks all or certain bands at a cost of battery life (more bands, more battery is needed to power it.)

   
   


2. 
   

   Most probably, yes. A factory will wipe out the hybrid modem and replace it with the stock. So only update if you have a copy of the hybrid modem, and know how to flash it. (ODIN)

   
   

I hope this answers it for you.

htc desire - How to fix Telstra network dropouts on Gingerbread Oxygen ROM?

It's a long shot, but figured i'd give it a go.. I've installed the Oxygen RC6 ROM on my Telstra HTC Desire. It's pretty much perfect - better than this phone has ever been. It's fast, great to use, no space issues (you can force any app to install to the SD Card which solves my biggest gripe with the desire - minimal internal memory for app storage), and is just all round brilliant.

But there's one problem, and its a doozie. Every now and then (at least a few times a day) my phone drops its network connection. When i go into settings and try search for networks, it can't find anything.. its as if the radio turns off completely. Rebooting the phone more often than not fixes it, but still sometimes takes a while to sort itself out.

Its really annoying cos there'll be times where its off and i wont even know it.

The ROM i've installed is this one: http://android-roms.net/desire/2011/01/06/oxygen-v2-0-rc6/

I've tried installing a new radio (32.46.00.32U_5.10.05.17_2 on the following page): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=687464

any suggestions how i can fix this? Try a different radio? Advice on the best one to try?

Thanks heaps Greg

samsung - Galaxy S6 Folder is Empty on PC

I connected my Galaxy S6 to my PC (Windows 7) for the first time. My computer installed the driver successfully and the device is showing under "Removable Storage." When I click on the device from my PC, however, the folder is empty. There are no folders visible at all. I tried the option of automatically importing the pictures, too. I got a message the no pictures were located. I have never had trouble doing this with any other Android phone. I tried a different USB cable, but the result was the same. Thank you for your help.

What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device?

What can I do to get better battery life on my Droid? Battery life seems awful. Less than 15 hours or so on normal usage.

How do I launch a widget from a shortcut on Home screen?

I use MultiROM manager to switch from one ROM to another. It has a widget which lists all of your installed ROMs and you can choose anyone to boot into.

_{(Click image to enlarge)}

All good here, but I don't like keeping widgets on my home screen. I can only tolerate a shortcut (icon) on my Home screen.

I'm looking for a way to launch that widget (or any widget) from a shortcut icon on home screen. I think Tasker may be able to do it using Scenes.

Answer

While looking for a way to achieve the objective using Tasker I stumbled across the app named Popup Widget 2 (paid) on a subreddit. It does the job smoothly and I've given a use-case of it.

Usage

1. Install that app and launch it.


2. Tap + → choose a widget available there which you want to launch from a shortcut → Create.


3. You may leave all the settings untouched since they are not integral to widget's launch or functioning of it.


4. 
   

   Scroll down until you see your widget with sky blue outline depicting resizing functionality,

   
   

   

   
   
   


5. 
   

   Resize it up to the ideal width x height you want for your widget and tap the floppy icon at the top once you're done with the settings.

   
   

   

   
   


6. Go to Home screen → Widgets → Popup Widget 2 → choose your newly created widget entry. You would find a shortcut now placed on your Home screen.

Tap that shortcut and it would display the widget.

Because the widget is available as a shortcut you can use it anywhere you want such as with:

1. GMD Gesture Control to launch from anywhere on Android using a custom gesture,


2. Gravitybox to make a quick setting icon,


3. 
   

   LMT Launcher,

   
   

   

   
   

4.2 jelly bean - Trying to use Xbox controller on Nexus 7

I just got the Asus Nexus 7 and I am attempting to play the N64 emulator (Mupen64 plus, AE). I have my wired xbox 360 controller plugged in to the otg cable, but the light does not stay on the controller and the Nexus is not reading it. Only when I press it does it flash for a second. Help?

keyboard - How do I disable the "Select input method" Notification?

I don't know if this is standard ICS behavior or if it's due to my Cyanogenmod based ROM, but every time I open the soft keyboard by clicking on a text box/area a notification appears in the notification drawer that says "Select input method." I don't mind seeing this notification one time, but I'm already using the input method I want and I'd like to disable the notification.

Is this standard behavior for Ice Cream Sandwich? Can it be disabled?

Answer

This is a standard 'feature' of ICS. Aside from the notification, changing input methods can be accomplished through the "language and input" section of the phone menu. If you disable and uninstall all keyboards except for one, so there is nothing else to switch to, the notification may disappear.

side loading - How to install an unsafe APK after allowing Play Protect to block it?

I was just wondering, when installing an APK from an unknown source and you click OK to allow Play Protect to block it, is there a way of installing that app without fully disabling Play Protect?

When trying to install the same app after allowing the block, it shows App not installed.

Good idea to transfer all phone numbers from SIM card to google contacts?

I am new to the whole smartphone thing. Currently all of my telephone contacts are on my SIM card. I suspect it makes sense to move all my phone numbers from the SIM card to my Google contacts (i.e. adding the numbers to existing Google contacts who mainly contain only email addresses). The benefits would be: (a) no more duplicate contacts in my list, (b) automated backup of my contact's phone numbers.

Or, is there something I should be aware of before I do this effort? Will there be some workflow side effects? (apart from not having my contacts on SIM anymore)

Edit: I just transferred all. Actually, I did not remove the contacts from my SIM card, I just hid them using the contacts settings. So if I ever have to use my old phone as a backup, I'll have most of my phone numbers in there

Answer

I'm not going to answer if it's a good idea or not - you need to solve that for yourself :).

Having your contacts stored with Google Contacts will eliminate any duplicates (at least duplicates where you have the number stored in the SIM and e-mail in Google, or something like that) and allow you to manage/sync those contacts from anywhere you can access Google Contacts, like a computer. You are correct that it will 'backup' your contacts so that if you were to switch phones or even carriers, you wouldn't have to worry about bringing your contacts as long as the phone you have supports Google Contacts (web or app).

Keeping your contacts on the SIM allows you to keep them from Google (if you're worried about privacy), and if you get another SIM-based phone, you can easily move them (provided you keep the same SIM).

Personally, having my contacts in Google Contacts has been great. Easy synchronization, use photos from Picasa as contact photos, management from a computer... but you will have to decide for yourself which is "better".

You may want to see this answer to help you move your contacts from the SIM to Google Contacts.

There was a problem communicating with Google servers, try again later - Galaxy s3

Got the dreaded "There was a problem communicating with Google servers, try again later" error. This all started with notifications stating my account could not Sync with any of my apps. Seen many posts with possible solutions ...

1. Removed the account, then tried to re-add it and got the above message. Tried to add other accounts ... same thing.


2. Verified 2-factor auth is not enabled


3. Cleared cache and data from all Google-type apps on the phone, uninstalled all updates for the apps ....restarted


4. Verified the date/time setting and timezone setting are automatic and they look correct


5. The network and wifi are fine ... can browse to the Google sites



6. Non-rooted phone. Nevertheless verified the hosts file is legit


7. Not willing to do a factory reset yet since other posts suggest this does not always fix the issue and that would only lead me to likely throw my phone. Unintended consequences.


8. Tried unlocking Captcha on Google Account

This happens no matter which Google Account I try to add, making me think it is not account related rather something on the phone

I'm at my wits end now ... clearly there is a serious issue here and I can't put my finger on it. Does anyone have any suggestions.

Thx

backup - Image a phone and browse on computer emulator?

I have a galaxy nexus (stock OS). During its use I have used WeChat and WhatsApp, and would like to save my chat and voice histories within these programs.

Does a way exist to image my current phone as it is, so I can load it onto some PC emulator and browse these apps on my PC? This would allow me to save everything as it is, but also start fresh on my phone with a format. I do not want to format my phone then load back on WeChat for instance, yet I still want to be able to browse my old WeChat chats and voice clips (using a PC).

Thanks

wi fi - Force MarshMallow to keep a Wi-Fi without Internet access

I'm associating a Nexus 5x running MarshMallow 6.0 to a Wi-Fi hotspot that has no Internet access. Android keeps dropping the connection every second and then won't even try to reconnect stating that there is no Internet access.

How can I force Android to keep this Wi-Fi connection even without Internet access?

Answer

This shell command works on marshmallow: type su to enter superuser mode. Then type the following command: settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0

^^ it disables the "drop wifi if no internet connection" functionality.

factory reset - Cyanogenmod: Encryption unsuccessful

I encrypted my phone. That worked fine. Then I installed another version of Cyanogenmod. This cannot decrypt the data (which is OK: There is no important data on the phone). It tells me to perform a factory reset, but even after the factory reset the phone is stuck at the "Encryption unsuccessful".

The error I get is the same as on: Samsung Galaxy encryption failed

How do I convince Cyanogenmod that all encrypted data is deleted?

I have tried:

• Factory reset


• Installing the version of Cyanogenmod that encrypted the phone

Answer

The factory reset failed to format /data (and thus most likely left the old encryption in place).

Having formatted /data manually, the factory reset finally could complete successfully, and the new version of Cyanogenmod showed up.

windows - Why is my android phone portscanning my PC?

I have bitdefender whining about my PC being portscanned.
The logs show that it is coming from my android phone (which has static address).

Is that normal?
How can i figure out the app that is doing this?

Asked over at the superuser forums but it was suggested that here i could get more detailed information.

4Gb Storage: Why can it only use 1.6GB?

Why do Android phones say they have 4GB storage but then cazn only use 1.6GB of it? Why is this? Is it possible to access all that other space?

If you see below it confirms how much space this phone has and how little (except for Apps) it really is using. Any advice how I can make the phone use all the available space?

Edit Its a Huawei Ascend

4.4 kitkat - Does Android swap out memory used by foreground services?

Looking at an Android KitKat device made by LG, I see that an app called Software Update is always running as a foreground service (100). That service occupies a significant amount of memory.

From what I can tell, that app is just for OTA updates, which is an exceptionally rare event (has never happened so far!).

In order to free up some working memory, I was thinking about preventing the app from starting on bootup (by disabling its Broadcast Receiver), and then just running it manually once in a while to check for updates.

But before I do that, I want to ask if it matters at all? For apps that are always running a foreground service, will Android simply swap them out of memory like a background app? Or is the memory they use blocked off completely at all times, thereby making my plan worthwhile?

How do I properly install a system app given its .apk?

I removed a system app (com.android.mms) and I have the .apk needed to restore it, however it won't install through the standard channels (running the .apk gives me "application not installed"). What's the proper way to install a system app's .apk?

Answer

You will need to push the .apk to the phone to the System partition to the folder /system/app or /system/priv-app when using Android 4.3 using adb. You can find more info about adb here: http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADB.

In order to write to /system you likely have to remount it read-write:

adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount /system

Or, do it entirely from the host's ADB:

adb root
adb remount

Now you can place the .apk:

adb push my-app.apk /sdcard/
adb shell
su
cd /sdcard
mv my-app.apk /system/app
# or when using Android 4.3 or higher
mv my-app.apk /system/priv-app

Afterwards if the flags are not already set change the permissions. All System-Apps need to have the permissions rw-r--r--. You can also change them via ADB with the command chmod 644 /path_to/your_file. Though it's quite old, this may help

After you have placed the .apk you need to reboot your device. For example with adb reboot.

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!

   
   

Whatsapp Profile Pictures folder missing

I have a peculiar scenario with the Whatsapp Profile Pictures folder. Previously the Profile Pictures of contacts which I view used to get stored inside Whatsapp Profile Pictures folder. One day an error message (I presume) got popped up and I pressed OK without reading the message. From then the folder went missing but I am able to view the pictures even if the mobile is offline. Don't know where it is now saving the images. I have also checked if the folder was hidden. Even if I recreate the folder it is not storing the images in that folder. I have also reinstalled the application. Does whatsapp store the images in any other format or location other than storing in the default folder.

app2sd - Application to batch-move all applications to SD card?

I'm looking for an app that will allow me to move most (if not all) of my applications to the SD card really easily. The actual Android application manager takes too much work to go to each application and manually move it.

Answer

Take a look at SD Move and SD Watch. They don't automate the process for you (I don't think automation is possible), but SD Move will give you a color coded list of what applications you can move over, and SD Watch will alert you when you install a new app whether or not it can be moved to the SD card.

security - Phone number detected by a web page when browsing from chrome for android

I recently got subscribed to some alerts by the mobile provider automatically and some amount deducted from my phone balance. I called up the customer care centre and they agreed to refund the amount, and said that it was activated from the internet, by some site which captured my number while browsing. Considering the customer care guy was right, isn't this a big security issue, if any website can access the phone number of their visitor?