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Today I bought Temple Run: Oz from Google Play. When I filled all the credentials in to pay rupee 53.18 for this application then it automatically deducted rupee 50.00 from my credit card and after submitting it again deducted rupee 53.18 from the credit card. But the original price of this game is rupee 53.18, why did the extra rupee 50.00 deduction happen? How can I get this money back? Is buying an application on Google Play not secure? | Don't worry Vinit, one of the standard way for payment gateways (including Google Checkout and PayPal, PaisaPay etc) to validate your account is by deducting a small amount (typically 1 USD or an approximate equivalent 50 INR) and returning it in next few days. Please wait for few days and while doing so, please observe for any reversal of 50 INR. If you see a credit to your payment account then all fall in order. | Google Play deducted extra Rupee 50 after first-time Play Store purchase of an App/Game. Why is that? | android |
I own a nexus 4 and since then i am unable to download anything via 2g/3g. I am able to download content only through wi-fi. The same applies for PlayStore. I have even tried in safe mode. I have tried to clear data of Download Manager and even Playstore but in vain Please help. | I finally solved the issue. It was related to my APN. My Access Point allowed only browsing. I changed it to another access point, and it worked! | Nexus 4 download issue | android |
There are some contacts I almost never dial, and never wanna dial, but I still don't want them to show up as unknown when they call me. Otherwise I could just put them in a group and hide them. Would it be possible to just hide them but let call manager or whatever handles the incoming call still display their detail? (or is that too much having my cake and eating it too?) | Here is the way I used to do it (make sure all of your contacts are backed up to Google): Delete all non google contacts. Add contacts to phone that you don't want to appear. Delete the contacts from Google that you just added to your phone. In you contact book: Menu Button > Contacts to Display > Google Only Now your contact book will only show your Google contacts, but your phone contacts will show up if the person calls you. This is a little inconvienent if you like to use both your google and phone contacts for different things. NOTE: this process can be reversed to get the opposite effect (store main contacts on phone, store contacts of people you don't want to see on Google). | Hide contacts from Contacts, but still have them appear when the contact calls | android |
I use Firefox on a smartphone with limited RAM, where Ghostery would be most useful (removing useless content). Plus I don't like being tracked anyways. So is there an equivalent to Ghostery that supports the Android version of Firefox? | Ghostery for Firefox has been reworked to enable it to work with Firefox for Android. Click the link, install and enjoy not broadcasting everything you do to everybody. | Is there a Ghostery equivalent for Firefox on Android? | android |
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4. Is there a way in Android or an App that can take Raw photos ? IE: Have the raw camera data to process in a program like Photoshop. I am using Android 4.2.2. | NO, there is no public API that allows developers to create camera apps that takes raw photos. Based on what I've read in dpreview.com, implementation would have to be at driver level, and specific to each device. Also, raw files taken by camera phones would also look nasty . | Way to take Raw Photos using Android? | android |
Google Maps was updated last night (9-July-2013 v7.0.0). While there's a lot they added, one thing they removed was the ability to cache maps offline. I relied on that functionality in poor-coverage areas. Is there anything I can do? | Update: Apparently there was enough of a hue and cry about it that they've added a button, although "ok maps" will still work. Not the same as the old offline maps, but better than nothing I suppose. Having come under fire for (mostly) removing the option to save offline maps in its new Android app, Google has pushed a new update that makes it easier for users to save local areas to their device. In a post on Google+ , the company notes that its "engineering team has been working around the clock" to add a "Make this map area available offline" card inside the app, mimicking the functionality of the 'OK maps" command. (source: The Verge ) At least I'm not the only one who regrets the removal of this feature. The other problem with the redesign is that Google (mostly) removed the option to save offline maps — a feature that was only a year old to begin with . Power users still have a way to cache maps locally, however. Daniel Graf, director for Google Maps, tells us that the company's engineers were just as unhappy with the loss of the feature as we were, so they built an Easter egg. When you type in " OK maps " (or " okay maps ") into the search box, it will save a cached version of the visible map area locally. It's not as convenient or manageable as proper offline maps, but at least it's an option — assuming you remember it's there. (source: The Verge ) | Get offline maps in new Google Maps | android |
When I tap on a link in any app it shows me installed browsers on my HTC One X. The list includes Opera, Internet, Chrome and Firefox. Is there a way by which I can include options of Chrome (Incognito) or Firefox (Private Browsing) in that list so that I can open links in Incognito / Private Browsing mode? | Unfortunately I don't think there's any way for a user of an app to do that, I'm pretty sure it would require the developer to add that extra "stackexchange-url ("intent")" as an option to their app before it could appear in that app chooser box. There are apps that specialize in this behaviour though, and should appear as options in the app chooser box for web links: InBrowser is "a fully featured incognito/private browsing experience", which should appear in that list of browsers and work as an incognito browser. Incognito Browser "automatically operates in incognito or private browsing mode" | Opening links from app in Google Chrome Incognito or Firefox Private Browsing mode | android |
I would like to install logcat as system-app on a non-rooted phone. Is that possible (using adb without root-access)? | No. A system app has to be either installed by root or signed with the same key that signed the ROM image. | How do I install an app with system-rights on a non-rooted smartphone? | android |
Could anyone explain the difference between a backup made using NANDroid and a backup made using ADB i.e. using the <code> adb backup </code> command? I've read that both are capable of creating full system snapshots but I haven't been able to understand the difference. The more technical the answer, the better. Thanks. | The answer can be found in the backup stackexchange-url ("tag-wiki"). In short: ADB Backup is the newer file based backup scheme introduced in Android 4.0. It creates a backup of the file system tree and files. Better explanation would be it's a logical backup, as files are mainly grouped by apps. Side-effect is that files not having a clear relation might be missing from such a backup. It's secure, because you need to unlock the lockscreen first to proceed and one can also encrypt the backups themselves. Backups can be done online. This method allows finer-grained control over what gets backuped and restored. Nandroid Backup is the older partition based concept, i.e. it creates images of the file systems (think of Norton Ghost or rather the <code> dd </code> Linux tool to have something to compare with). A better term here would be physical backup, as it is a blockwise copy. A recovery mode that supports this method (e.g. Clockworkmod recovery) needs to be installed and started. Backups can be created and accessed without entering the lockscreen passphrase. This method is an all-or-nothing approach, restoring individual apps is not possible (without 3rd party support by Titanium Backup Pro, for example) Find some more details in above mentioned stackexchange-url ("tag-wiki"), which also links to further ressources. | What's the difference between a NANDroid backup and an ADB backup? | android |
A while ago my GPS was annoying me with a lot of 'searching for GPS'. I had to wait at least 10 minutes every time and it holds for just 2 minutes. Then it starts for searching again. I searched for fixes and tried one. It was done in recovery mode by flashing a zip (lost the source of the site). Since then the GPS isn't even responding! It doesn't matter if I press GPS on or off, it stays off. I've tried to clear cache, full wipe, factory reset, nothing worked. Tried a lot of apps in the market like: GPS status and toolbox, GPS fix etc. I even rooted my phone with a new kernel, this also didn't work. What can I do to make my GPS work? edit: I have a Galaxy S2 (GT-I9100) rooted 4.1.2 XWLSD Siyah kernel v6.0b5 | Got the answer: I installed a fresh ROM (rootbox) and it helped. Weird that it didn't help before. Now I need to search a solution for faster GPS fixing. | Galaxy S2 GPS not starting | android |
I'm Italian, so I use italian language on my tablet (note 10.1), but I have also a bluetooth keyboard with english layout that I use to write little snippets of programmes, the problem is that I don't know how to set english language only for the keyboard. Can someone help me to solve this problem? | The best way to use two different languages either on a smartphone or on a tablet is from device standard settings, with device keyboard and also with external USB and bluetooth keyboard. To use more than one language follow the images: [I can't post images yet] <code> General Settings -> Language and input -> Option of Samsung keyboard -> Input languages </code> Here you can chose between many languages. So you have setted correctly. Now to use one or the other language when you write is very easy, you have to slide with finger on the spacebar of the device keyboard. | Use bluetooth keyboard with a different layout? | android |
I've got this Droid X, it's not activated, and I'd like to use Google Voice as the provider (this means it will be Wi-Fi only; that's OK.) Problem is, Google Voice needs the phone to have a number before it will let me use it as the provider. I already have a Google voice number set up, but I can't figure out what to do next. What I'm envisioning is: The phone's dialer will make the calls through Google Voice (absolutely essential) Voicemails will work (would be very nice) I can text from the native texter (not critical at all) What do I need to do? | Check out the free version of ' GrooVe IP Lite ' in the Play Store. The Free version utilizes Google Voice over WiFi only, but that's all you're asking for so you should be golden. | How do I set up Google Voice as the provider for an unactivated phone? | android |
I've tried a few apps for shooting panoramas on my Android device (Galaxy S4), but I cannot find one that is able to shoot both horizontally and vertically. I would like to be able to capture a whole room, to eventually be used as a custom Google Maps Street View panorama on a website. Is there any way to accomplish this? | You can do this with your native camera app. But you have to have JB 4.2 (Not 4.1.x) . Go to the camera. Tap on the camera icon and pick the item that looks like a small globe with a panorama stretched over it. That's the Photo Sphere mode. Take a picture as usual. Keep your camera steady. You should see a message to align your camera with the blue dot. Tilt your camera up, down, left, or right slowly to match the center of the screen with the blue dot for the next area. The picture will snap automatically when you get there. Keep going for as long as you wish to take as many images as possible and make your complete Photo Sphere. Note: this may look a little weird if you try to take pictures of people, since they tend to move between shots. Landscapes and interior shots are your best bets. | Is there any way to shoot a full sphere panorama (horizontal + vertical)? | android |
On my Nexus 4, sync turns itself off randomly. Almost once a day, the option Settings > Data usage > Auto-sync data gets silently unchecked. My Nexus 4 is brand new, and I have not installed any apps that I think would interfere with system settings. This is very annoying because I cannot rely on sync at all; I frequently miss important emails etc. Manual syncing is not an option. | I don't have an answer to that. I do have a workaround for it though. Download this app from the play store called AutomateIt. It's an app that allows you to make the phones to respond to certain situations. You could make a rule for the phone to follow, maybe something like: turn auto sync ON when screen is turned on. Hope this helps. | Auto-sync data turns itself off randomly | android |
I've googled this and turned up a bunch of inconclusive forum threads. I've also checked out a few similar questions on this site, but none of them quite match my details. So here they are: I have a Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0) that's been working fine with my wifi router since I got it about 6 months ago. This morning when I fired it up, it rebooted and now I cannot connect to my wifi router. My wifi is not the issue as my Nexus 7 tablet is connected and working. This is what I see: When I go to Settings > Wi-Fi, I see my network listed. But status is stuck on <code> Obtaining IP address </code> After a while, status reports <code> Network disabled. Poor connection </code> Tablet also reports that a "Software Update" is ready. Not sure if this is related to the issue. But when I try to update, I get a confirmation page and when I hit confirm button, I get message <code> Unable to connect network </code> . I've tried the following: Rebooting tablet Forgetting and reconnecting to my network through Wi-Fi settings Read stackexchange-url ("this solution"), but couldn't find Mobile Network Settings Here's some system data from my tablet: <code> Model Number: GT-P3113 Android Version: 4.0.4 Kernel Version: 3.0.8-999349 Build Number: IMM76D.P3113UEBLH2 </code> A simple solution would be appreciated. I'll post a solution if I figure it out myself. Thanks! | When in your WiFi settings, could you try pressing <code> menu </code> (or clicking the overflow dots), and selecting <code> Settings </code> . Once done, untick the <code> Avoid poor WiFi networks </code> option, and see if it will now connect. Also, restart the router. | On my Galaxy Tab 2 (7.0), I am suddenly unable to connect to Wifi | android |
In the stock browser or in Chrome, is there a way to markup webpages in different colours for notes etc.? It would be good if the marks show up everytime I open that webpage. If that's not possible, I could save it as an image. OS: 4.1.1 Samsung Galaxy S3 | After giving thought to stackexchange-url ("what geffchang said") above, I came across with the app Skitch which can be used to highlight webpages as you wish. Added advantage for this app is you can directly synchronize your work with Evernote, a widely used note-taking app. | Is there a way to markup webpages on the S3? | android |
How can I get fisheye effect when taking a photo? I got a Galaxy S1. | Your native camera app does not support picture effects as the Sony Devices with JB update. So you have to go for a third party camera app. There are several good apps out there. FishEye Camera Photo Effects Pudding Camera FxCamera | Fisheye effect for android camera | android |
I've been keeping an eye on my battery usage on my Android device (HTC One), mostly to see if I can drain it during a full work-day, and I came across the app usage details under the Power settings. I get a percentage of battery used by the app, the CPU total, the CPU foreground, and keep awake. I'm not sure what they mean, although I can take a guess, but I'm wondering more on how they work. For instance, I've used the Chrome browser extensively throughout the day (device was on for ~14 hrs, holding around 30% battery life left) and noticed that the battery usage for the app was at 54%. Under use details (see pic below) CPU total was 29m 31s; CPU foreground was 14m 43s; and Keep awake was 30s. Screenshot (click image for larger variant) How can these numbers be relatively low when I know I've used Chrome for more than a half-hour and had it as the primary app running for much longer than 15m, which is assuming that my ideas on CPU total and foreground use are what I believe they are. In essence, what do those three numbers mean in terms of app/battery usage and what does it tell me? | The first thing to remember is that when an app runs, it doesn't actually do computation for the whole time it's running: most of the time it's idle, waiting for data to arrive over the network, or while you're looking at it on the screen. Only very badly-written apps and games keep the CPU active the whole time they're running: this runs the battery down very quickly, and makes your phone rather warm. So even if Chrome has been on the screen for 30 minutes, it shouldn't have used 30 minutes of CPU time. If it's completely static in that time and you're not interacting with it, it might not have used any CPU time at all! But at the other extreme, even if it was continually scrolling a page, it wouldn't use 30 minutes of CPU time: the screen updates every 1/60th of a second, and each time it just has to run for long enough to work out what the next frame should be. CPU foreground Bearing this in mind, CPU foreground is how much time the app has been running on the CPU while an activity from the app was in the foreground. (It might also include when a service from the app was in the foreground: that is, displaying an "ongoing" notification.) It's not a very useful figure on its own. CPU total I'm sure you already know that apps can run services and broadcast receivers in the background, as well as activities in the foreground. (For more on this, see stackexchange-url ("What's the difference between a service and a broadcast receiver?") ) CPU total includes all of this CPU use. If it's a lot more than CPU foreground , you might suspect that the app is doing a lot of work in the background and therefore might be a battery hog. How much is "a lot" depends on the app. An app that keeps running to check some remote service will use more CPU in the background than a sudoku game. Keep awake When the screen of your phone is off, it starts to think about having a quick nap. It enters a low-power mode called sleep where the CPU is almost completely powered down until needed. Because this can interrupt apps' background activities, an app can use a wake lock to stop the device going to sleep until it's finished. (There's also another kind of wake lock, which stops the screen turning off automatically. A video player might use that kind of wake lock.) An app can also use an alarm to wake the device up to perform some background tasks. Keep awake measures the length of time that this app has used wake locks or alarms to keep the device awake when it would otherwise have been asleep. In a way, this is potentially the biggest drain on battery. Sleeping uses much less power than staying awake, so if an app keeps a wake lock for a long time, it's keeping your device in a high-power mode all that time, even if the app isn't doing any useful work. If you see an app whose Keep awake time is more than a few seconds, you should report a bug to the app developer, and you might consider uninstalling it. 30 seconds over the course of a whole day is reasonable for an app that does work in the background, but most apps will show less than a second here. | What do CPU Total, CPU Foreground, and Keep awake mean? | android |
I'm trying to get USB Ethernet support on my tablet, which for some reason is apparently disabled even though 4.1.2 directly supports it. (My Note II can use it...) I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to need to essentially write everything on my own. I'd prefer to write an app that can be used by other 10.1 users, but right now I'm just trying to get it working at all on my own device. (I'm using a BobJ Ethernet-> USB Adapter) Here are my current setbacks: USB Host seems to shut down randomly. This is the most irritating part, because it means I have to restart the device to use USB at all, mass storage included. What should I use to diagnose this? I've tried three different USB-specific apps from Play, but none of them give me much information besides the obvious. (That the host is not working.) Even when the host controller is running and can detect the adapter, 'netcfg eth0 dhcp/up' doesn't work, claiming no device detected. Does this mean the adapter driver is missing completely? | Each vendor is able to customize Android to suite their whimsy. I'm using a $250USD Toshiba Thrive (OS 4.0.3), a Curtis KLU MID704 (OS 4.1.1, and one of the Rockchip clones) a Polaroid branded PMID704 and a ZTE phone. Of all these, the Polaroid and Curtis have Ethernet support in the settings. I'm using a Radio Shack Belkin USB-to-Ethernet adapter, which is supported off-the-shelf by Android. (Only the Toshiba Thrive has a full size type-A USB jack. The others need adapters, NOT available at radioshack.) The Polaroid is "broken" in that the Ethernet doesn't work. You click on it in settings and it clicks but does nothing. The crappy $75USD Curtis works, it shows me my IP and MAC address in settings and I can set static IP parameters including IP Address, Gateway, NetMask, and 2 DNS servers. However, the Android frameworks (in the Java(tm)-like language) are broken. The connection managers only support WiFi and Mobile Data. You can inquire about the Eth0 device but can't open a connection or do anything with it. So basically, your mileage may vary from mfr to mfr, and tabbly to tabbly. Good luck! -dave | Samsung Note 10.1 USB Ethernet | android |
How can I cut out a particular portion of the song and play the rest of the song? for example my song is of 4 minutes and 11 seconds and I want to remove the section from <code> 2:04 </code> to <code> 3:30 </code> and play from <code> 0:00 </code> to <code> 2:03 </code> and then continue from <code> 3:31 </code> and end at <code> 4:11 </code> I hope you got my problem can anyone help me with this? | You can use an app like WavePad Audio Editing App . It is said to have the ability to work with multiple audio files. If you do not mind adverts, there is a free version for this software as well. | Edit out a part of an audio file | android |
In 4.2.2 how can I put a picture in the pull down menu like this ? | Open the People application (it's the name of the contacts app in Jelly Bean) and edit the entry for "Me". Set your picture there. | Owner's photo in the pull down menu | android |
I have recently encrypted my S3 to allow me to get work emails, but I have now decided against this as it has caused the phone to run like a dog. When I attempt to decrypt the device it says I need to set a password of 6 characters with at least one number, however when I go to the lock screen settings menu password is not an option. I have deleted the email account and I am not sure what to try next. Can someone point me in the right direction please? | Here is a last ditch solution if you get nothing better: If you know how to use John The Ripper then all you have to do is pull all of the files off of your hard drive, and use JTR to crack the password (depending on the length of the key, this could take days or even weeks). Then you can make an image file of your hard drive and flash your device using a flashing tool. Besides that, I'm sure there is no way to disable the encryption without the key. Really your only option at that point is to get any files off of it that it will allow you to, and then do a factory reset. | Decrypt Samsung S3 Phone | android |
I've been flashing my LG Optimus L7 numerous times with various Custom ROMs and now I'd like to return to the official firmware. I've factory reset my phone, flashed the v20D official firmware with KDZ tool and then I did another factory reset. However, I've read that the factory reset only wipes /data and /cache folders (user-accessible data), while /system and /boot remains the same. The questions: I've flashed the official firmware using the KDZ tool with the EMERGENCY phone mode. After flashing, some of the old settings remained which were gone after a factory reset. As I understand, flashing the phone with a firmware doesn't wipe /system or /boot, right? Therefore some of the files from the previous custom ROM remain. What should I do now to fully clean my phone from all custom ROMs? I've already flashed the original firmware and did several factory resets, but I know the reset doesn't touch /system and /boot, for example. How do I completely clean my phone? Is it even possible? | As the firmware resides in <code> /system </code> , flashing a firmware obviously overwrites that partition. <code> /boot </code> is usually involved here as well. Whether the two get "wiped" is a different question; but as otherwise things could get "mixed", which might cause unwanted side-effects, I'd say they are (I'm not 100% sure with this). So in these two partitions, nothing of the previously installed firmware should remain. That's different for the other partitions of your device. So usually, <code> /data </code> is not touched by the flashing process , but of course it will be touched once the new system boots up (it e.g. needs to initialize the dalvik cache for the newly installed system apps, which is located in <code> /data/dalvik-cache </code> ). For the <code> /cache </code> partition (holding the application cache) it's similar: It usually is not touched by the flashing process, but used normally afterwards. Hence it's a good idea to wipe these two (Cache and Dalvik Cache) when installing a different ROM. It might not always be required, but it doesn't hurt. A factory-reset in principle is a combination of the two: it wipes the <code> /cache </code> and <code> /data </code> Partitions. So other than the manual wipe of the caches from a custom recovery, it also removes all user data (including the user-installed apps). Note: Don't confuse a "wipe" with a "safe erase": with the right tools, data still might be recoverable following a wipe. With this on your mind, your second question becomes obsolete: if you just want a clean system for yourself, this wish is already granted. If, on the other hand, you did these steps to sell your device, there's always the point of what could be restored. For a "safe erase", you might want to take a look at special tools like Nuke My Phone / Nuke My Tablet , which overwrite everything with "garbage data", and finalize this process with a factory-reset . | How to do a full factory reset and clean the phone completely? | android |
I have Samsung S 3 mini. I did something really bad to my INTERNAL SD CARD partition layout. As I remember correctly, I tried to repartition my External SD card via fdisk right on Android via 'adb shell'. And I delete existed (there was only one as I recall) partition on mmcblk0 (which is appears to be not an External, but Internal =) Now I have: ~ # cat /proc/partitions major minor #blocks name 179 0 7634944 mmcblk0 179 64 2048 mmcblk0boot1 179 32 2048 mmcblk0boot0 179 96 3866624 mmcblk1 179 97 3862528 mmcblk1p1 ~ # ls -la /dev/block/mmcblk* brw------- 1 root root 179, 0 Jan 1 10:30 /dev/block/mmcblk0 brw------- 1 root root 179, 32 Jan 1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk0boot0 brw------- 1 root root 179, 64 Jan 1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk0boot1 -rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 16777216 Jan 1 10:07 /dev/block/mmcblk0p20 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jan 1 10:07 /dev/block/mmcblk0p22 brw------- 1 root root 179, 96 Jan 1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk1 brw------- 1 root root 179, 97 Jan 1 09:28 /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 ~ # df Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on tmpfs 411756 16452 395304 4% /dev /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 3858432 1473472 2384960 38% /external_sd ~ # mount rootfs on / type rootfs (rw) tmpfs on /dev type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,mode=755) devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,relatime,mode=600) proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime) sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,relatime) /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 on /external_sd type vfat (rw,nodev,noatime,nodiratime,fmask=0000,dmask=0000,allow_utime=0022,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro) ~ # tail ./etc/recovery.fstab /system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p22 /cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 /data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 length=-16384 /efs ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p11 /boot emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p20 /recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p21 /preload ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p24 /modem ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /sdcard datamedia /dev/null /external_sd vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 ~ # tail ./etc/fstab /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 /cache ext4 rw /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 /data ext4 rw /dev/block/mmcblk0p22 /system ext4 rw /dev/null /sdcard datamedia rw ~ # parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3 Using /dev/block/mmcblk0 Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands. (parted) print print Warning: /dev/block/mmcblk0 contains GPT signatures, indicating that it has a GPT table. However, it does not have a valid fake msdos partition table, as it should. Perhaps it was corrupted -- possibly by a program that doesn't understand GPT partition tables. Or perhaps you deleted the GPT table, and are now using an msdos partition table. Is this a GPT partition table? Yes/No? My ClockWorkMod recovery tool can't mount anything (/cache, /system, nothing). This is what kind of stuff I get in CWM: -- Wiping cache... Formatting /cache... Need size of filesystem E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 Cache wipe complete. W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required) E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required) E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required) W:Can't unlink /cache/recovery/command Formatting /data... warning: get_file_size: Computed filesystem size less than 0 Need size of filesystem E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 Error formatting /data! W:failed to mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p23 (Block device required) E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log As you can see, there is no partitions for /system, /cache and other stuff, that should be there. (but /system, and /cache folders are present in dir listing) I really did everything I could. I tried: restore from backup (I have one, made with recovery tool), install new ROM (With recovery tool), install stock firmware and stock kernel in ODIN mode. I even tried some PIT file: nothing did absolutely nothing to my status. Frankly I miss some important part in understanding of filesystem, partitions, images, what is ROM, what is stock kernel, how does those 22, 23 25 partitions are created etc ... What should I do? UPDATE! Oh, looks like I have everything in console buffer (full history of distraction actions) In the beginning I had this: cat /proc/partitions major minor #blocks name 7 0 2111 loop0 179 0 7634944 mmcblk0 179 1 128 mmcblk0p1 179 2 384 mmcblk0p2 179 3 1024 mmcblk0p3 179 4 1024 mmcblk0p4 179 5 512 mmcblk0p5 179 6 512 mmcblk0p6 179 7 512 mmcblk0p7 179 8 512 mmcblk0p8 179 9 1024 mmcblk0p9 179 10 1024 mmcblk0p10 179 11 16384 mmcblk0p11 179 12 16384 mmcblk0p12 179 13 16384 mmcblk0p13 179 14 51200 mmcblk0p14 179 15 64 mmcblk0p15 179 16 14336 mmcblk0p16 179 17 2048 mmcblk0p17 179 18 2048 mmcblk0p18 179 19 16384 mmcblk0p19 179 20 16384 mmcblk0p20 179 21 16384 mmcblk0p21 179 22 1228800 mmcblk0p22 179 23 860160 mmcblk0p23 179 24 327680 mmcblk0p24 179 25 4945920 mmcblk0p25 179 64 2048 mmcblk0boot1 179 32 2048 mmcblk0boot0 179 96 3872256 mmcblk1 179 97 3868160 mmcblk1p1 254 0 2110 dm-0 / $ df Filesystem Size Used Free Blksize /dev 402.1M 84K 402M 4096 /mnt/asec 402.1M 0K 402.1M 4096 /mnt/obb 402.1M 0K 402.1M 4096 /dev/shm 402.1M 0K 402.1M 4096 /system 1.2G 414.5M 766.6M 4096 /modemfs 15.7M 4.3M 11.4M 4096 /cache 826.8M 84.8M 742M 4096 /efs 15.7M 4.5M 11.2M 4096 /preload 315M 64.2M 250.8M 4096 /data 4.6G 4G 699.2M 4096 /mnt/.lfs: Function not implemented /storage/sdcard0 4.6G 4G 699.2M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.spruds.transport.pro.tallin-1 2M 888K 1.1M 4096 /storage/sdcard1 3.7G 905.7M 2.8G 32768 Even before everything went wrong I tried to use parted command and get an error ~ # parted /dev/block/mmcblk0 GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3 Using /dev/block/mmcblk0 Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands. (parted) list list check NUMBER do a simple check on the file system cp [FROM-DEVICE] FROM-NUMBER TO-NUMBER copy file system to another partition ..... ..... copyright information of GNU Parted (parted) print print Error: Unable to satisfy all constraints on the partition. This is fdisk print before disaster ~ # fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0 The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 954368. There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024, and could in certain setups cause problems with: 1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO) 2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK) Command (m for help): p Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7818 MB, 7818182656 bytes 1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 954368 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 1 954368 7634943+ ee EFI GPT Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary And then I deleted it ~ # fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0 The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 954368. There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024, and could in certain setups cause problems with: 1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO) 2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK) Command (m for help): p Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 7818 MB, 7818182656 bytes 1 heads, 16 sectors/track, 954368 cylinders Units = cylinders of 16 * 512 = 8192 bytes Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 1 954368 7634943+ ee EFI GPT Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary Command (m for help): d Selected partition 1 Command (m for help): w The partition table has been altered. Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table fdisk: WARNING: rereading partition table failed, kernel still uses old table: Device or resource busy UPDATE 2 I can see difference from initial state. Now I have 4 heads instead of 1 and so 238592 cylinders instead of 954368. How do I change number of heads? | I found it! The answer was in PIT file, because as it says here : you will only need to use this if a firmware update needs to change your partition layout (very very unlikely) or if you mess up you partition table (you don’t want to do this) Which is definitely my case. So, I tried that GT-I8190N and GT-I8190 should be used with different PIT files (I tried to use for GT-I8190 one). So I found long list of PIT files here . | How to restore damaged Internal SD card partition layout? Tried everything | android |
I upgraded my sony tipo dual to jellybean using cyangenmod 10 using this tutorial . I was able to do most of the things without any problems. But after upgrade I am unable to connect to mobile network. Even unable to save APNs in the phone. I tried restore factory settings. I tired to set my network APN to default but am entirely unable to save my APNs (any APNs). I tried re-installing the whole process again. But nothing has helped yet. | Although the Sony Xperia Tipo is listed by FreeXperia as a supported device, the Tipo Dual isn't. It's not clear from the site, so it may simply be that (the unofficial port of) Cyanogenmod can't access the SIM cards in that device. | mobile network problem after jellybean upgrade | android |
I have a Transformer Prime TF201 which I sit next to my main pc to display a webpage that shows stats about the systems I work on. However this page is a bit rubbish for updating and will time out and log off and generally just not work all that well (its a home made iframe that just shows data from other sites). On a windows system elsewhere I used a line of VBS to, effectively, hit F5 every 30 seconds and this basically resolved all the issues. Can anyone think of a way to do this on Android? | Adding extensions will solve this type of requirements. But Chrome for android does not support any extensions yet. Look https://developers.google.com/chrome/mobile/docs/faq Or else you can use Dolphin Browser to achieve this. It supports extensions. If you are willing to use Dolphin Browser instead of Chrome, use this Auto Reload Extension . You can set time intervals in it. | regularly refresh Chrome tab | android |
This seems like a option that should exist in the Maps location app but I cannot seem to find it. Backstory: My previous phone was a Windows Phone. On this phone the default location app HERE Maps showed maps. Long pressing an area on the map area gives an address which if tapped would allow to name the place and mark it as favorite. All the favorites would show up on the map above the base layer. Now: The Maps app with the android phone has a similar option. Long pressing the map area will give the address of an area. Tapping the address allows you to mark it as a favorite. And all the favorites show up on the map. However it is missing the option to name a place to show up on the map. Is there anyway this can be done with the Maps app? | It's possible to create a personal layer in Google Maps and have it show up in the Maps app. You can create a pin, and label it. However, you will only see pins on the app. But once you click on the pin, you will see your custom text. Google Maps site. Log-in to Google Maps in Desktop mode (a PC maybe?). At the top left beside the <code> Get directions </code> button, click the <code> My Places </code> button. Then, click the red <code> Create Map </code> button. Give your map a title, add some pins (and custom text) on it, then click the <code> Done </code> button. Google Maps app. If the app is open, close it and open it again. Once open, click the <code> Layers </code> button at the bottom right. Click <code> My Maps </code> and your list of custom maps will show up, together with the pins you put up. See if that's a suitable workaround. Update: The <code> My Maps </code> option of Google Maps has been discontinued. As of 12th December 2013, a new app, the Google Maps Engine android app has features similar to <code> My Maps </code> option that allows you to create maps from the Google Maps Engine site. This app lets you see it the created maps and layers. | Is it possible to use the Maps app to save a location and give it a name so that all the saved locations appear as a layer? | android |
I have Intel XOLO (X900), I use a Airtel data connection(India). The network in my mobile 2G disconnects whenever I go home(at home there is poor network coverage). After I come out of my house, still the 2G is not enabled,even after enabling the mobile data multiple times. Every time I had to switch off the mobile and then start to get the 2G connection. Any idea on what's wrong? | It is not your Device problem, It is Airtel's Problem. Airtel.in website was on off because of server down. And the problem you are facing is very common, As i am also suffering from that and here some more . I would suggest you to disable your data connection whenever your network circle is changing. Like while you are travelling. But the solution of this problem is nowhere and can be solved by airtel only. FYI : I have a vodafone sim too and it is working perfectly. | 2G disconnects Frequently | android |
I have a rooted HTC Desire HD with a Custom Rom. Now, I want to permanently delete the stored images on my internal memory (/data). Everytime I run the app Disk Digger, my old crappy photos seems to show up. I tried flashing again and again and doing a a factory reset again and again but the images seems to be always there. All i want is to remove that images from my internal memory so i can safely sell my phone. Can anyone help me? BTW, the exact location where the disk digger digs is /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.2/by-num/p26. Can someone help me here? | Perhaps the reason why your old photos survive flashes is because there may be a secondary internal flash memory that is separate from both the memory used for the OS (root) and the removable microSD slot. (I know my phone is like this.) Not sure why they would still be there after a factory reset though. Have you tried removing them using a file manager app like ES File Explorer , ASTRO , etc? Another suggestion would be to verify that the photos aren't owned by root. If they are you could try removing them using the Android Terminal EmulatorAndroid Terminal Emulator app with root privileges, or try connecting your phone to your computer and delete them using the Android Debug Bridge . | How to permanently delete stored images in /data | android |
My Galaxy S3-alpha runs Android version 4.1.1. Recently I uninstalled some of the apps I didn't use. But when I go into the "Apps" page, with all the apps lined up, the places of the old apps (that were un-installed) is still empty! So there is a lot of empty space between the apps that make navigation between them hard. I have also tried restarting the phone several times, the OS has also been updated once, but the empty space in the apps page remains! I wanted to see if there is a way that once an app is un-installed its place won't be left empty in the apps window. Or more generally, is there a way I can sort the apps in the apps page so for example they can be sorted by their name or date installed? Thank you very much in advance, | Chances are you are using a stock launcher (maybe Samsung's TouchWiz) that leaves empty spaces when you uninstall an app. If you are using Samsung Galaxy S4 (using stock launcher), you can go to the Apps screen, and <code> click on left menu key > View type > Alphabetical grid </code> . If you are not on an S4, see if you can find something similar to this. If you do not have the <code> Alphabetical grid </code> option, you can install a 3rd party launcher like Nova . Nova can sort your app drawer alphabetically. | App page sorting after app uninstall | android |
When I click some shared links in the Facebook app and Chrome opens, I get: Please be careful for safety and privacy of your Facebook account, remember... and when I try to click on Continue, I get: The page you requested cannot be found . So how can I disable this annoying thing so the links open directly? It did before I started using Chrome and was using the default Android browser and each time I clicked a link there was no warning. | The solution: I just had to be signed into Facebook in Chrome. | Warning received when clicking links in Facebook application | android |
It seems to store some kind of application data, but how is it different from /data/data directory? | <code> /data/user </code> was added in Jelly Bean as part of multi-user support. Each user on the device gets a directory in there named after their user ID, and that directory contains each app's data directory for that user. <code> /data/user/0 </code> is a symlink to <code> /data/data </code> . | What kind of data is stored in /data/user directory? | android |
I have a relatively old phone that I would like to make some use of again. It's the GT-I9000, and it's currently stuck in a bootloop. I'd like to install CyanogenMod on it. I've already flashed it with the CWM, however, I'm experiencing problems when trying to finally put the actual mod on the internal sd card. First off, when I execute: <code> adb push cm.zip /sdcard </code> , ADB complains that <code> /sdcard </code> is a directory... Of course it is! So, I've tried to be a bit more specific... <code> adb push cm.zip /sdcard/Videos </code> - I didn't expect any significant change, but there was. It now complained about the permission being denied. I overcame this on Linux by becoming root, and executed the command again... Then, it complained about not having enough space... I used the CWM recovery to navigate internal storage, and noticed that it really was crammed with all my data. In order to get more space, I tried factory resetting, data wiping, and partitioning . The first two finished successfully, but didn't delete any of my files, and CWM recovery couldn't partition the thing. After that, I noticed that ADB can provide a shell connection, so I tried <code> adb shell </code> . On both Windows and Linux, this is the error: <code> link_image[1963]: 2950 could not load needed library 'libm.so' for '/system/bin/sh' (reserve_mem_region[832]: OOPS: 2950 prelinked library 'libm.so' mapped at 0x40008000, not at 0xafc00000)CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE </code> So I suspect it has something to do with my Android phone, not my computers. And the best thing is: my phone cannot read external cards for some reason. What a great combination! How can I wipe internal storage without a shell connection? | First, if your source is a file , <code> adb push </code> requires the target to be a file as well. Hence, the correct syntax would be: <code> adb push cm.zip /sdcard/cm.zip </code> Second, a factory-reset usually doesn't touch the SDCard (internal or external), unless there's an option offered to do so and you checked that. As for the link error: That looks like something on the device is screwed up. You're probably in recovery mode when trying this, and (just a guess, but a good one) the partition holding the required library file was not mounted. I don't know what options are available for your device specifically, but there are generally several ways to flash a device, as e.g.: <code> update.zip </code> via recovery (which is what you're just trying) side-loading via <code> adb sideload </code> using fastboot using a device (or manufacturer) specific flash tool, in your case kies , odin , or heimdall I'd suggest the last mentioned method: you could e.g. first flash the latest official ROM via Odin/Heimdall, so it is able to boot correctly again. After that, you would have a working device again, and could cleanup your SDCard to use the <code> update.zip </code> method for flashing your CM image. Another way to free some space: If you know some of the "big filenames", you could try using <code> adb push </code> to overwrite them with "small ones". Say, if there's a video file with 500 MB size in <code> /sdcard/Videos/bigmovie.mp4 </code> , you could take an empty text file <code> empty.txt </code> ( 0 Bytes ) and push it over the video: <code> adb push empty.txt /sdcard/Videos/bigmovie.mp4 </code> This should set enough space free to finally push your <code> cm.zip </code> to the card. | What can I do to save my Samsung Galaxy from a bootloop? | android |
I have the Galaxy S Wifi 5 Player, I have a rooted ROM I installed more than a year ago. I completely forgot the process of ROM installation and I hope someone can sum up a checklist so I don't find myself with a bricked device. Note: I've backed up all the data on my device, so I don't care about the current data. The deal is I want to install this ROM . Here are the installation instructions: Installation on the Galaxy Player 5.0/ Galaxy S 5.0 Installing from cm10.1/ Updating PAC Download rom and latest gapps Download the appropriate Sultan kernel or KKernel if you want Put the files on your device Reboot into recovery Wipe dalvik cache At what order should I install the zips? "or do adb sideload if you want" - what's that? Reboot Profit! From any other rom do same as above, but in addition, wipe data, dalvik, system, and dbdata (look under mounts and storage) I don't understand these (of the above list): 1) don't know what's cm10.1/Updating PAC (how do I?) 2) what's gapps 3) what are they and how to install them? are they mandatory? 4) at what location? 7) how do I install the zips? what's adb sideload? | Basically, if you are already rooted and running a custom ROM, you will want to follow these steps, and I hope you know what they mean, because I am going to try and keep them as simple as possible: backup any of your data you want. Google does this automatically with some stuff, but the other stuff you can use Nandroid Backup . Reboot into recovery. Wipe all data/factory reset. Flash the ROM in the recovery tool. I use TWRP so I just click install and then navigate to where I have downloaded and saved the .zip file that I want, but yours should be similar no matter what recovery you are using. Flash the most recent gapps package in the same way as the ROM's zip. These are the Google Apps that you will need. That should be it. I simplified it so that you can understand, but if you have questions, leave them below. If this stills seems foreign to you, you might want to look for a video guide on YouTube or something. The process is very similar for almost all phones. Just different files and slightly different methods depending on which recovery and such you use. | Wipe tablet and install new ROM | android |
Preloading of 'Watch Later' videos has been enabled, but I do not know how to tell when a video I am about to watch has been successfully pre-loaded by the YouTube app. As others have noted (stackexchange-url ("Youtube Preload limit?")) there is a limit to how much video Google will download to your device. I cannot see whether a particular video is preloaded or not. I have a good (but limited) mobile network, so preloaded or not pre-loaded both load quickly. Can you see where the data is stored? Is there a widget or indicator I missed that tells me if the video will come from the storage or from the cell network before launching it? | I assume you're talking about the Youtube app. As far as i know videos are only preloaded when your phone is charging and connected to wifi. When a video is preloading it shows a little white arrow pointing down on the bottom right of the video (when viewing your watch it later list). When it has fully preloaded it shows a green circle with a white down arrow in it. The files are stored in /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.youtube/files/ then there will be another folder (mine is seemingly random numbers). Within this there is one file per preloaded video. As far as i can tell they aren't able to be played with anything other than the youtube app. This screenshot shows videos that have been preloaded: | How can I tell if a Watch Later video has been successfully preloaded? | android |
I don't want to appear on my friend's phone. I want to delete my Whatsapp account. Will my number disappear from my all friend's Whatsapp friend list when I delete my Whatsapp account? Basically, how can I remove my number from everyone's Whatsapp account? | You can delete your whatsapp account through the following steps. Open WhatsApp. Press the [Menu Button] => Settings => Account => [Delete My Account]. Enter your phone number in the full international format and tap [Delete My Account]. Please keep in mind that deleting your account is an irreversible process, we cannot undo a deletion if you complete the process by accident. Goto whatsapp FAQ for more infomation | I want to delete my Whatsapp account | android |
This screen has been appearing lately. It appears in a few seconds after I have inserted a SIM card, rebooted the device, and draw the right pattern or inputted the right unlock code. The screenshot of the unwanted code is below. Model number: GT-N8000. Android version: 4.1.2 (stock). | No more unwanted unlock screen. Something might have been wrong with the firmware. | Unwanted unlock code screen on Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 | android |
I have tried three methods for rooting my previous Android device, running 2.3.5 (Gingerbread). It's a Verizon Samsung Galaxy s (Fascinate - SCH-I500). I have all the drivers installed for the device on my computer (Windows 8) and have USB Debug toggled. SuperOneClick failed to work after three attempts. Local rooting (No computer used) did not work either as that only rooted it about five seconds after boot, displaying a message on the home screen. The last method involved installing and app from the Play store and some software for my PC which I have forgot the name. I'm at a loss on how to root it so I can flash a custom ROM I have. I had a general idea on where to start but as you've just read, all has failed. Side note: during all of these methods the SD Card was in phone but never mounted as per all the various instructions. How can I root this reluctant device? | As you describe your Samsung Fascinate is running Gingerbread, there's a rooting guide provided at TheUnlockr which you could try. It uses the odin tool to root the device, so you would need Odin Tool , Samsung Drivers , ClockworkMod Recovery , and Superuser for this. Install the Samsung drivers first, then install ClockworkMod (which is where Odin is needed). Copy SuperUser to your SDCard, then boot into CWM (turn off the device, simultaneously hold Vol + + Vol - + Power ). Select install zip from sdcard , then choose zip from sdcard . Chose the SuperUser file you've copied to your SDCard. Let it flash, and reboot using the reboot system now menu entry. Your device now should be rooted. | Failed to root Galaxy S (Fascinate) after three methods | android |
So I have a Nexus 7 that I'm trying to connect to my Windows computer for debugging over adb. Adb works fine with my phone, but when I plug in the tablet and run <code> adb devices </code> in Windows I get an empty list back: <code> C:\android\sdk\platform-tools> .\adb devices * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 * * daemon started successfully * List of devices attached C:\android\sdk\platform-tools> </code> The tablet is running stock Android 4.2.2 build JDQ39. USB debugging is enabled, I did click on the build number 7 times to get the developer options enabled, and I've tried connecting both as a Media device (MTP) and as a Camera (PTP). The tablet is not rooted and I have not unlocked the bootloader. The computer is running Windows 7 Enterprise SP1 x64. I have the latest adb version, 1.0.31. The SDK manager tells me I have SDK Tools rev 22.0.1 and SDK Platform-tools rev 17. I've tried using the Google generic usb driver version 7.0.0.1 and 6.0 as well as the Asus usb_driver_r06 from http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=Nexus+7&p=28&s=2. Each driver I try does show the tablet as connected in device manager as either "Android Composite ADB Interface" or "Android ADB Interface" If I plug the tablet in to my Macbook Pro and run adb devices, I get the the RSA fingerprint dialog as I would have expected to see in Windows: Also if I start the tablet in fastboot by holding down the power and volume down buttons. I can see it with the fastboot utility: <code> C:\android\sdk\platform-tools> .\fastboot devices 015d262e32540802 fastboot </code> I am completely out of ideas here. Any and all off the wall suggestions would be welcome. | I finally found my problem. This might have been specific to my Windows machine, but I'm writing it down here in case someone else has the same problem. Turns out I didn't have a usb.inf file in my <code> C:\Windows\inf </code> directory. Apparently some installers/uninstallers have been known to mess with that file. I found the tip in this thread while trying to figure out why my new mouse didn't work... I copied the four files from <code> C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\usb.inf_amd64_neutral_153b489118ee37b8 </code> over to <code> C:\Windows\inf </code> and re-installed the drivers and the security dialog popped right up on the tablet. | How do I get my Nexus 7 to show up in the adb devices list? | android |
This is actually starting to annoy me! Every so often, I get the 'Storage space running out' notification. I go into my settings, and it says I have 60MB left. The thing is, almost a month ago I erased the device because of the same thing - I have my 1.8GB available, and everything was fine and dandy, until now. I haven't installed anything recently, however I suddenly only have 60MB left. I added up all the app sizes according to Android: <code> Chrome - 65.55MB Can You Escape - 34.75MB Facebook - 31.77MB (why does Facebook use so much?) Gmail - 27.46MB Skype - 24.04MB Facebook Messenger - 19.74MB Search - 18.98MB Tapatalk - 17.50MB Hangouts - 17.33MB Maps - 13.49MB Google Play Services - 13.49MB Google Play Store - 10.91MB Youtube - 10.80MB System - 10.27MB Google+ - 9.39MB Shazam - 8.37MB Titanium Backup - 8.30MB Spotify - 6.93MB Ingress - 6.70MB (I still have 3 invites if anyone is interested) Media Storage - 4.50MB 3G Watchdog Pro - 4.05MB Cerberus - 3.02MB Secret Codes Revealer - 2.99MB Email - 2.93MB Contacts Storage - 2.62 MB Super SU - 2.50MB Screen Standby - 2.27MB Settings - 2.20MB Titanium Backup Key - 2.12MB DeskSMS - 2.09MB Exchange Services - 2.05MB Browser - 2.05MB Root Explorer - 2.03MB TalkBack - 2.02MB Beats Audio - 1.90MB Google Services Framework- 1.86MB Google Text-to-speech - 1.78MB Gallery - 1.75MB Spirit UL - 1.66MB Contacts - 1.65MB Spotify Community - 1.53MB Sound Search for Google Play - 1.34MB I then have ~80 apps < 1MB in size. </code> Add them all together, and I get 490.53MB - nowhere near the 1.9GB Android says I am using. Why is Android reporting me using 1.9GB? What is using this memory? Why isn't it showing in the settings? And above all, how can I fix it? I am using a Samsung Galaxy SII with Android 4.2.2 Cyanogenmod 10.1 Output of <code> df </code> shell command: <code> Filesystem Size Used Free Blksize /dev 395.3M 48K 395.3M 4096 /storage 395.3M 0K 395.3M 4096 /mnt/secure 395.3M 0K 395.3M 4096 /mnt/asec 395.3M 0K 395.3M 4096 /mnt/obb 395.3M 0K 395.3M 4096 /mnt/fuse 395.3M 0K 395.3M 4096 /system 503.9M 340M 164M 4096 /cache 98.4M 72M 26.4M 4096 /efs 19.7M 8.3M 11.4M 4096 /data 2G 1.9G 83.9M 4096 /preload 503.9M 204.3M 299.7M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackupPro-1 2M 100K 1.9M 4096 /storage/sdcard1 7.4G 126M 7.3G 4096 /storage/sdcard0 11.5G 4.6G 6.9G 4096 /mnt/secure/asec 11.5G 4.6G 6.9G 4096 /mnt/asec/com.thales.android.view-1 3M 1.1M 1.9M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.nianticproject.ingress-1 26M 24.4M 1.5M 4096 /mnt/asec/uk.co.nickfines.RealCalcPlus-1 2M 340K 1.7M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.mikersmicros.fm_unlock-2 3M 1004K 2M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.eclipsim.gpstoolbox.pro-1 2M 76K 1.9M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.eclipsim.gpsstatus2-1 2M 912K 1.1M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.farproc.wifi.analyzer-1 2M 1000K 1M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.shazam.encore.android-1 10M 7.8M 2.2M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.hutchison3g.planet3-2 5M 3.8M 1.2M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.google.android.apps.plus-1 20M 18.5M 1.5M 4096 /mnt/asec/eu.chainfire.supersu.pro-1 2M 64K 1.9M 4096 /mnt/asec/com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer-1 3M 1.4M 1.6M 4096 </code> | I use DiskUsage for situations like this. It graphs the directory structure for you in a very pedagogical way to show you what directories (and subdirectories) that are taking up the most space. It literally solves situations like this in 15 seconds for me, because I'll see a big square with the text "Movies" or something on it, realizing I completely forgot I put an entire season of Wonders of the Universe on my device or something — or I'll se a folder with a name of an app that has long since been deleted with a bunch of useless cache :) Try it out, I'm not sure how well it works on non-rooted devices but I think it should work on those as well, I don't think it does anything else than list directories and add their content size up. | Where has all my storage space gone? | android |
I learnt from here the various keyboard commands for an emulator. I therefore thought one could afford to do away with/hide the on-screen keyboard that has the DPad buttons, the home, menu and back buttons; and have the emulator occupy less screen space. For emulators that are not snapshot-enabled, one can do this! However for snapshot-enabled emulators, I find that whatever hardware config I set it's not happening. By me, the hardware configs that matter are: Keyboard Support Hardware back and home buttons For each of the above you either don't add them to the config, or add them and set value 'yes' or add them and set value 'no'. So far none of the configs I tried so far worked. By my tries, at least, it is found that no matter what I do with regard to the Keyboard Support configuration or Hardware Back/home buttons (independently of each other) - yes, no or don't add - the keyboard remains there. I didn't find a hot-key to hide the keyboard either. I thought therefore that it's better to post a question on this here, than try booting with umpteen different hardware configurations (it'll be a precious 2-3 minutes spent on each configuration trial!) Thanks in advance, P.S. I use Gingerbread. | I learnt from stackexchange-url ("here") (in the question, not the answer) that if one sets a custom resolution in pixels rather than selecting from the built-in ones, then the emulator does not display the skin with the emulator controls. Below is the configuration I therefore set to solve my problem, at the same time not creating new problems: I just estimated the dimensions in pixels of a WQVGA size instrument and set that as my custom resolution. | Do away with/Hide Emulator Keyboard? | android |
So, these files were filling up my <code> /data/logs </code> directory, causing me to run out of storage space rapidly. What are they, why are there so many and how can I stop them clogging my storage? Screenshot (click image to enlarge) | I googled the file name and found this post on XDA: i'm still having the storage is running out error from 3.8. I found out it was caused by the signal lost issue because inside the log folder located in data folder, it will generate many dumpstate ril reset by........xxx..once my signal is lost. so, i'm wondering what's the best worldwide modem for 3.8 or lates nightly that won't cause signal lost thus my phone won't generate the dumpstate ril reset error and indirectly generating many dumpstate ril reset. I'm using dxlpa modem. Looks like your phone might be affected by a bug in CM. I would switch ROM and see if it goes away, if not, you could try an app like GetRIL to find out what Radio Interface Layer you are using, and if there is another you can use that might help you not lose connection over and over. | What are these dumpstate logs? | android |
My question is similar to stackexchange-url ("this one"), but my HTML file and resources are not on an SD card, as my phone does not accept SD cards. It is currently at <code> file:///Download/AnotherFolder/here.html </code> . I have resources like images and javascript in a subfolder. How can I run this is in a browser, preferably Chrome? Just entering <code> file:///Download/AnotherFolder/here.html </code> does not work in Chrome. | Is it in the internal SD card? Try <code> file://mnt/sdcard/Download/AnotherFolder/here.html </code> . | Open Web Page in Browser (not on SD card) | android |
I use my phone like I do the computer. Shopping online with a credit card etc. Surfing unknown sites... Does my phone require an anti-virus application to protect the internal drive of my phone? Can it be damaged by a virus like on a computer? OS: Android 4.1.1 Phone: Samsung Galaxy S3 | Android is an OS built using Linux, which is fairly resistant to viruses. Hence primarily there is no need to have an antivirus software in your mobile device. As in your case, if you are browsing unknown sites, there is a chance that you will be attacked my malware and adware (which are very truoblesome programs and which cannot harm your moblie , but show ads, popups, etc.) Also these malwares tend to come from the apps installed from unknown sources. Always install apps from the Play Store itself and you will be safe from the majority of malwares. As a precaution, do not use untrusted sites and never enter your financial details into sites that do not have secured connections ( <code> https </code> ). If you have to install apps from unknown sources, it is better to have a antivirus software, just to be safe. But keep in mind that any of those software cannot do much in protecting you with the transactions entered into with unsecured sites other that showing a warning. Oher than that, the need for an antivirus software is very remote. | Is it important to have an anti-virus application running on your phone or does the carrier protect it? | android |
The Old Reader is so far my best replacement for Google Reader. Is there a way to use it on Android, for example an RSS app that syncs with it? | The Old Reader's website has a list of apps that are known to use its API. The only Android app currently listed is: Listener Launcher which is an alternative Launcher, so probably does more than you want. However a quick search of the Play Store for "the old reader" comes up with: The Old Reader (unofficial) app, and the gReader (free version) ( paid version ) app both of which claim to sync with The Old Reader, amongst other services. | How can I use "The Old Reader" on Android? | android |
I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy S3. I am about to go abroad and will need to connect my laptop to the Internet without having someone come and install a DSL or cable router (as the waiting time to install these is quite long I would be gone before the internet technicians drop by). So what I have decided is to purchase a SIM card and connect my laptop to my android phone to do internet browsing. My understanding is that with tethering I can transform this phone into a router or wireless hotspot. What are tethering options (settings or apps) for this phone? Is it better to connect the PC to the phone wirelessly, via a USB cable to use tethering, or via Bluetooth tethering? In terms of speed, I guess Wi-Fi tethering would be superior here. | In my experience, bluetooth tethering (using Bluetooth Garden ) has been problematic. It disconnects too often, or can't open certain sites. USB tethering (via ClockworkMod Tether ) was OK. This way, my phone would be charging while providing internet to my laptop. Downside is I needed to install a program (not an issue, because the program is safe) on my laptop. Another downside is I couldn't tether another device (like a tablet) to the phone. Turning my phone into a hotspot, was a better choice. I could surf with little issues. I could connect my tablet or laptop to the phone via WiFi. However, this drained my battery quickly. I'd occasionally fix this by plugging my phone to an outlet with a charger. | Tethering options for the laptop and the phone | android |
With Android 2.3 being Linux-based, can Android 2.3 use a swap partition without being rooted? | As using swap is a system-wide thing (even on Linux/Unix, you need to be root in order to activate/deactivate swap), this cannot be done without having root access to your device. If your device is rooted, however, there are several apps available to help you manage swap space. You might want to take a look at e.g. Swapper 2 (for Root users) (free) or ROEHSOFT RAM-EXPANDER (SWAP) (paid, and not really cheap). Both seem to have quite good reputation. Of course there are several other solutions available as well. | Does Android 2 support swap space? | android |
I have my Verizon Wireless Samsung Galaxy S4's developer options enabled with USB debugging turned on. Whenever I connect it to my machine, it displays "Connected as Installer" in the notification window. However, after about thirty seconds, it switches to "Connected as Media Device" without me having done anything. This behavior is seen no matter which operating system I connect to (tested in OSX and Windows with appropriate drivers installed). I would like it to connect as a media device by default. Does anyone know how to permanently keep the phone in "Connected as Media Device" mode? | After connecting via USB and receive the message "connecting as installer" on your phone's screen, make sure you're phone isn't on the lock-screen and swipe down from the top (or at least on my Verizon device) you can access "USB PC connection" settings under the "ongoing" tab. Check one of two options, MTP or PTP. This would be the same pull-down where you would quickly alter various settings, view downloads and be able to link to recent notifications. This will effectively switch out of installer mode so that you can access your phone's directory and that of any sub sequential micro SD card. Hope this helps. | How to prevent Galaxy S4 from connecting as "Connected as Installer" instead of "Connected as Media Device"? | android |
First and forehand, I am running JB 4.2.2 AOKP on my AT&T Samsung Galaxy S3. I have the latest gapps package installed after every time I flash an update to my ROM. For some reason though, whenever I try to update either Gmail or Play Music, I get the error "Package file was not signed correctly. Uninstall the previous copy of the app and try again." I can't uninstall the apps because they are used as system apps, and the best I can do is disable them, but that still didn't let me update them. I'm sure it has something to do with the gapps package that I flashed, but why does it not give me the same error when I update Play Movies and Play Magazines? I do not use Titanium Backup to back up any of my apps, so I saw that that was a problem for some other people. If however, there is another question that relates more to mine, I will be glad to go and check it out, but after my looking I did not find a solution to my specific problem. Thanks in advance! EDIT: Here's the link to the gapps package that I installed as well as the exact ROM I am using. | In Android, every package is cryptographically signed by its author. To be an upgrade, the new package has to be signed with the same key as the old package. Since packages can read previous versions' data files, this is an important security precaution. The error you get tells you that the update you're trying to install was not signed using the same key as the package you had flashed to the ROM. Either the original package you flashed, or the new package, was signed by a different developer. You should either obtain an update from the same source you originally got the gapps package from, or flash a new ROM with a gapps package from the same source you're trying to update from. We may be able to help further with this if you edit your question to say where you got these packages from. | Issue Updating Google Apps - "Not Signed Correctly" | android |
I have a 64 GB micro SD card. I partitioned 1.2 GB as Ext2 with Mini Partitioner (highest option was about 4 GB). This is great and all, but from all of the literature I've read, Link2SD seems like it would utilize the entire SD card, not just that second partition. If what I'm seeing currently is correct, the only thing that Link2SD does, is give you an extra GB via the Ext2 partition, and imposes a dependency so that you're never able to actually remove the card due to the links. I believe my thinking is wrong so any help is appreciated. | The literature you read was wrong, then. Link2SD only uses the extra partition. The main partition is still mounted under <code> /media/sdcard </code> or somewhere similar. With Link2SD, you cannot physically remove the SD card, but you can mount the SD card on the computer. The second partition does not get mounted, so the apps are still accessible while the standard partition is mounted on the computer. If you want more space, you can always repartition your SD card manually on your computer, if your version of ClockWorkMod (CWM) doesn't have the size you desire. GParted on linux is a handy GUI, and there are apps for Mac and Windows as well. And you can still install apps to your SD card the normal Android way, though the dalvik cache and other data will still use up the internal memory (which is likely limited in your case, as that is the reason to use Link2SD in the first place). Purpose of Link2SD Here's an hypothetical example+. You have 180MB free internal memory. You have a standard 16GB SD card. When you install an app to the SD card, 10%* of the app is actually still on the internal memory. So when you have installed 1.8GB of apps, you run out of internal memory, even though your external SD card could hold a bunch more. In comes Link2SD. Now, your SD card is actually 12GB standard and 4GB for linking. New apps get Linked, but this time 100% of the app is moved, so you can install 4GB of apps instead of 1.8GB. You shouldn't be limited to 4GB, either. ClockWorkMod (CWM) may only list 4GB as the maximum size, but you can use a computer to make the linking partition as large as you want. *Made up percentage. It varies by app. +Not so hypothetical. With my old Optimus V, this was almost exactly my setup. | Link2SD proper usage | android |
As seen below, anything to do with Google Play is installed in the Android SDK in my Ubuntu. In light of this SDK Extras set above which has the Licensing Library, it is perfectly legal to have Google Play in emulators created here (correct me if I am wrong). Google Play is a factory default. Yet, when an emulator instance is created (even for that matter, a Nexus with Google API (say 10)) Google Play isn't already there. So, in an attempt to install Google Play the closest I got is using this guide, as per which, I downloaded <code> gapps-jb-20130307-signed.zip </code> (the ZIP file for Gingerbread 2.3.3) and unzipped it and just executed the adb commands in the script given at the very end. What I ended up installing was the Android Market! Why? | I browsed a bit on Android Market and then I pushed another file from the zip downloaded. It's named <code> MarketUpdater.apk </code> . That's what updates the Market to Play Store! Tried starting from scratch and pushed market updater too! So it was Play Store right when it sat in. | Attempted installing Google Play Store, but ended up installing Android Market! | android |
OUYA has been one of the largest backed products on Kickstarter . Unfortunately it runs a custom version of Android which does not provide Google Play Store support. At the same time by design it is supposed to hackable so I wanted to explore the available options in terms of custom ROMs. Are the any custom ROMs available (or planned/in development) for OUYA? | It looks like the crew over at XDA are already on it: XDA OUYA Main Page Ouya General Discussion about the Ouya Android game console (general, tips & tricks, etc) Ouya Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting For all of your questions relating to the Ouya Android game console Ouya Android Development Android development for the Ouya game console | OUYA Custom ROM support | android |
Is it possible to install/setup a new sharing option without the use of an app? In my case I'd like to be able to share photos to Flickr, but I have no interest in installing the Flickr app (or any other app whatsoever, for that matter). | No. It's not just a question of adding something to the chooser (the menu of apps): there needs to be an app on the other end to take the photo, log into Flickr, and understand Flickr's API (the programming interface that apps use) in order to upload the photo. It also needs to handle possible failures, such as resuming or retrying the upload later if you lose internet connection. If you want a share option that shares to Flickr, there are many Flickr apps on Google Play that only do uploading, and don't have any functionality to browse or view photos. That way you can have the share option while still keeping your phone lean. Alternatively, you can browse to the Flickr website in your web browser and upload photos from there. It's not as convenient but it's the only way that doesn't involve any kind of special-purpose app. | Add Share option without an app? | android |
A friend has a factory fresh, unrooted Samsung Galaxy S Duos, and except for Whatsapp every other internet accessing app works fine on a 3G or EDGE connection. She has un/reinstalled Whatsapp several times. It works fine over Wifi. She's no power user, so any solution involving rooting the phone is not an option. To clarify - there is nothing wrong with 3G or EDGE on her phone, since she can browse the internet and use other such apps perfectly fine. Update - She's on Vodafone, as I and thousands of people in India are, and no, Vodafone is not blocking Whatsapp for any reason. Searching for solutions on Google only leads to 'No shit, Sherlock!' type answers with genius level solutions like 'check whether your 3G connection is working' or 'get the latest version of Whatsapp'. So is there a workaround? | i also had the same issue. Incase you are on vodafone network, try and select vodafone gprs as ur default settings. It worked for me the same way. Hope this suggestion helps | Whatsapp doesn't work over 3G,everything else works fine | android |
I have a nexus 7 and I use chrome on it for my browser. I have a download manager installed, and I use it to download files by URL. However, it has usurped the downloading of chrome, and I like chrome's way of downloads better. Can I change the default download opener in chrome? (I'm running Jelly Bean 4.2) | Android has a "defaults"-system for handling predefined requests such as opening a URL or pressing the home button. If you go into Android's <code> System Settings </code> -> <code> Apps </code> -> <code> Android Download Manager </code> and scroll down to "LAUNCH BY DEFAULT", you should see a button to clear the defaults. The next time you open your chrome browser and tap on a URL that has the <code> <a download=""> </code> property, a screen should pop up, asking you to choose which application to use for downloading. | Force a download manager not to manage downloads | android |
I have a new annoying icon on my Razr notification bar. It is a tiny blinking symbol that sort of looks like a tiny house with a cloud over it. It is blinking above the network strength bars where the "x" would be if there was no service. Anyone know what that is? | If the icon looks like this then it means you're connected to a network extender. A network extender plugs into your existing internet connection to enhance indoor coverage in spotty areas, like a miniature tower in your home or office. Even if you don't have one yourself you could still be picking up one from a neighbour if it's in open mode. | Blinking icon in notification bar | android |
Evernote has this new feature: Page Camera which is sort of like a camera/scanner. It crops the photo down to the page you're taking a photo of and adjusts the contrast, etc. Very slick. But it's buried in the menu. There is a widget for taking a photo note but I can't find one for quickly (one button) creating a Page Camera Note . | Yes. Page Camera is now included in the Evernote Widgets. Add it to your Droid screen just like you would any of the other Evernote Widgets. | Is there a widget or setting to allow taking/making a one-press Evernote PAGE CAMERA | android |
I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S4 (from iPhone) and still trying to make the transition and learn all of the new features. One issue I have is with the stock messaging app. It completely freezes up at times. I cannot back out of a conversation thread. Messages do not go out. Eventually I will receive a message saying this app has frozen do I want to wait or close. Finally the messaging app doesn't load at all and I have to reboot the phone to get the app back. What can I do to solve this problem and have the messaging app functioning smoothly and properly? Notes: I am running 4.2.2. Memory is 8+ GB available Only a few apps are running (I know how to close open apps) | If you are coming from an iPhone and looking for a better messaging app, check out Go SMS Pro and use an iPhone theme. This app allows you to customize several things while still looking very similar to the iPhone's messaging interface. I always install Go SMS over the default messaging app and you might just want to give it a try, especially since you are coming from iOS. There are other plugins that are all free that allow you to view iOS emojis and other cools things like that. Let me know if you still have the same issues with this app as well. btw, congrats on smartly making the switch ;) | Stock Messaging App Locks and is Slow | android |
Is it possible any of the following in a non-rooted Android device? Install an application "manually" (without using Android Market/Google Play) Install an application in an external SD card Install an application in an external USB drive connected to the device | Yes. See: stackexchange-url ("Can I install apps on phone without using the Android Market?") You can't install directly to the SD card. In many cases you can move much of the app and its data to the SD card, but the OS and the app have to support it. Even then, you need to install normally and then move it, and you can't move 100%. Not without a custom ROM, and maybe not even then. | Install application in SD card or external USB drive without root? | android |
With Google Now, more specifically, the "time to home" card, is there a way that you can add more locations than Work and Home? I found it set home by itself, and then later I stumbled upon how to set up a "work" location which I called school at the time. Now I would like to have a school location, a work location, my home location, and maybe even others if it is possible. Can this be done manually, or is it only automatic once Google Now suspects that I keep going to the same location several times? | I have found that if I search for an address (or other location), not too long after that I get a card with driving directions to that location. If I tap the card, I'm asked if I "care about travel time to this location". Usually I say no, but if I say yes I'll have a new card that gives me the travel time to that location, just like for work or home. In case you're wondering, the place to edit your work or home is <code> Settings | My stuff | Places... </code> . only home and work are available for me, but maybe they'll add some more custom locations in the future. | Multiple Locations in Google Now | android |
I upgraded to a Samsung Galaxy S4 from an iPhone 4 today and have been setting various settings. When I first made a call there was a mute button in the middle bottom of the screen. Now, after I have changed settings, there is no more mute button. I am at a lost as to what I changed to make my mute button disappear. What do I do to see the mute button? Note: I am referring to muting my phone during a call. | Try this 1. Settings > tap Home Screen Mode > select standard mode 2.Tap apply and reboot. | Mute Button Missing? | android |
This question may look ridiculous at first look, but this is more sad than funny. In some cases, standart web browser (or any of the alternatives I tried - firefox, opera, dolphin) simply doesn't offer an option to paste anything in some text fields. But typing long complex password manually is deal breaker (hard to use keyboard + need to constantly switch apps back and forth unless I have super human abilities to remember all text at once) How can I paste something in such cases? Android version is 2.3.4 P.S. I'm already using Hacker's Keyboard, maybe it can help if text pasting can be done with some key combo? (like in most desktop OSes) P.P.S. I know how to copy and paste text in most situations when a bunch of buttons appear after double press inside text field. The question is about the case when this doesn't work. | You can simply have the password typed in plain text. Keep it inside a sms conversation, e-mail, note, or anywhere you like. Nobody would know that is is your password since there is no indication to that matter in the place where the password is typed. When you are required to type the password in your browser, just select all by pressing ald holding the typed text and copy it. Now go to the password field and touch and hold for a second or so and then a button named paste will appear. Then simply touch that button. The password will be pasted into the filed. Done!! | How to paste a password in a field of web browser? | android |
It keeps showing the logo and doesn't get into Android. What do you recommend me to do? I've tried hard reset, it didn't work. (click image to enlarge) | I've installed 4.1.2 Jelly Bean XXEMD2 Firmware from the scratch. It's working now Instructions: http://port135.com/2013/06/30/708/ | Android won't start. It keeps showing Samsung Galaxy logo | android |
So I partitioned my 32gb micro sdhc card with USB cable, both partitions FAT32, the bigger one set as active, and when I start Link2sd it doesn't ask me to select the file system of the second partition in order to create a script there and use it as install location, even though it shows up in the storages in Link2sd menus... How can I make it recognize the second partition, do I have to format the sd card with card reader, because I don't have one right now | Apparently it was some bug in the app itself, I had to clink the options, go to More, and there select Recreate Scripts, then it asked me what file system was the second partition, restarted, and it worked just fine after it. And all of that without card reader, like they are suggesting everywhere | Link2SD does not select second partition | android |
Okay, so I have a problem. I have a Nexus 7 (rooted, unlocked bootloader, but no other changes to the system). I have a few google documents (native gdoc format, I'm the owner) that I'd like to edit in my spare, off-the-net time. The problem is, when I select 'make available offline' in the application, the document appears in the offline tab, and I can edit it as long as I'm connected to a network. When I disconnect, wham, offline documents are set into read-only mode, I can select text, but I can't do anything else (also, there's that blue-ish bar on the top with ios-like "all docs" button). So, what's going on? I really need to be able to edit some documents when I don't have an internet access. | From the looks of it, at this point, marking something available offline only allows you to read it offline when using a mobile device (Source) . However, you can edit and write files offline if you are using a computer or device running Chrome or Chrome OS. I'm sure at some point Google will allow editing offline, especially for tablets, but at this point, I am pretty sure that you can online view files offline. Sorry. | Google Drive app on Nexus 7 doesn't allow offline editing | android |
I have very recently bought a Goclever Hybrid 3G tablet/combi. When going on Goclever web site I saw that there was a new update which is to improve power system problem? It says that if I download the update without back up of apps and data I will lose all, so to back up externally to a PC. I am not too clever on things like back ups so I was hoping that if I download the update without backing up the apps and data would the apps and data that came with the tablet remain on board only losing stuff that I have put on or will I end up with an empty shell. Please help. Barry. | That very much depends on the update. The manufacturer/vendor might have made only "bug fixes" with this update -- but he might as well have decided to replace the entire system. In neither case you end up with an "empty shell" (I wish that would be the case!), as manufacturers/vendors are rather known to add stuff nobody really wants (see: bloatware ) rather than to remove apps that ship with Android by default -- but it might very well be that some apps got replaced or will simply be removed. What surely will be gone, according to the description you gave, are all your data and the apps you've installed yourself, as obviously the update implies a factory-reset . If your device is already running Android 4.0 or higher, you might wish to take a look at stackexchange-url ("Full Backup of non-rooted devices") for how to make a good backup. At least apps+data should be restorable to a newer version of Android then; for other things (SMS, call logs, etc.) you might rather prefer some dedicated tool -- or rely on your Google-Cloud-synced data and pray they will restore automatically (if they start to, don't interrupt them: you cannot re-start the restore, which is one thing making it so unreliable). See also the backup tag and especially its stackexchange-url ("tag-wiki") for details on available backup methods plus hints for recommended readings on this topic. | Goclever Hybrid 3G Update will I lose any factory apps and settings | android |
I recently gave my old Galaxy S2 to a friend as I just got an S3 and before I did, I copied the "My Files" folder from my phone to this computer via USB debugging mode and then factory reset the phone. I have since noticed that I had saved a few of my contacts on my old phone rather than to the sim since when I put the new sim in, there are some missing contacts. I was wondering how I might recover the contacts I had saved to my old phone from the copy of files I made on this computer. I have the following files (not enough rep to post image): http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/g358/treefingers77/backupFiles_zps3b1f20cd.jpg Is there anything I can do to get the old contacts? | SIM contacts are not synced, neither are "phone" contacts. If you had used Google contact, they would have been synced with your Google/GMail account -- but then you wouldn't have noticed their loss, as they would have been synced back to your new device. Had you saved them as SIM contacts, they'd also be on your new device. Which leaves us with the other non-synced variant: "phone contacts". Those are stored on device internal storage (to be more precise: in a database file located in <code> /data/data/com.google.android.providers.contacts/databases </code> ), which is not directly accessible by normal users, so you could not have simply copied it. Conclusion: as these data are not stored in "My Files", you have not copied them. And as you've factory-reset the original device, you cannot simply restore them from there. So apart from a quite expensive forensics recovery (done by a data recovery specialist) from your old device, there's no way to recover those contacts, sorry. | How to recover contacts from backed up galaxy S2 (gingerbread) files | android |
I am trying to install Android 4.0 on a tv box. I just need to know whether Android 4.0 will have the HDMI drivers. Thanks | It depends on how the Android image you're using was built. When you build a ROM image from the Android sources, you set what drivers are included in the image, according to what target hardware you're expecting to use it with. If you got the Android image from the manufacturer of the TV box, it should have drivers for all the hardware in the device. (At the very least, it should say if anything is missing.) If you're using a third-party image that was created for that device, again, the author should tell you which hardware is supported. If you're using a third-party image that wasn't created for that device, it probably won't work at all. If you're building your own Android image, then you should look in the sources you're building from, to see if the HDMI driver is included; if you don't already know how to do this, you probably shouldn't be trying to build your own ROM. You might also find stackexchange-url ("Can I install Android on my non-Android device?") useful reading. | Hdmi drivers in Android 4.0? | android |
Is there a way to record phone calls? I tried some apps that appeared to work but it seems these only record thru the mic, ideally it should work with headset and earphones too but it doesn't and the sound quality is really poor and buggy. Is there a market leader for this purpose? I want to automatically record all calls and preferably automatically save them to Dropbox, Skydrive or Google Drive. I have Samsung Galaxy S. Update I tried all the phone recording apps and none work. Update Why is something simple so difficult? I tried all the phone recording apps and none work. They don't even look good. This feature lacks support and it is important. We are many users who need to record phone calls. Why can't we? | Have you tried Galaxy Call Recorder yet? Features list: - Recording calls, ability to enable/disable recording service in the settings - Showing grouped records extended with contact information such as name and icon. - Settings to disable recording when headphones on or Bluetooth device connected - Settings to disable recording for incoming, outgoing call and for some contacts. - Ability to specify different audio sources for headphones and Bluetooth devices. - Calling, sending SMS, creating an event from the app. - Ability to stop recording from a notification. - Ability to play, delete the recent record from a notification. - Ability to specify a recording delay, a minimal length of records. - Ability to enable/disable the detailed notifications in the program. - Ability to record a conversation into a small set of files. - Deleting a record or many records at once. - Locking/Unlocking records to prevent unwanted deleting. - Ability to automatically deleting records. - Ability to send records to DropBox, Google Drive, and SkyDrive etc. - Integration with Google+. - Flexible UI settings to change a font size and a background. - Screen Lock. - Saving records to MicroSD card, DropBox disk. If you already tried this, you should mention which apps you tried already. | Record phone calls | android |
I want to call my PC using my android phone(vice versa) without internet. I think it is possible, but not sure there is a program like that. PC to Android or Android to PC. Not just Android to Android. This is not a duplicate of stackexchange-url ("this question") | Install SIP user agents on both phones and PC. You can use SipDroid or CSipSimple for Android and a softphone program like X-Lite on the PC. Note that you need to set up local accounts when configuring the software. You can then call other parties on the local network directly by their IP:Port. If you don't want that, you need to install a full blown VoIP proxy like asterisk. | Can I use android phones and PC as walkie talkie? (without internet!) | android |
How can I delete any system app? I deleted a wallpaper app in my app folder but I don't see any changes? I want to delete some apps especially default factory-installed apps. Is there a simple way? | If you are rooted, then you can delete or hide them with the Titanium Backup app, but if you aren't rooted, I don't think there is a way to delete the system apps. | How to delete a system app? | android |
I have followed various instructions and finally was able to connect my ZTE Blade to my Ubuntu laptop for USB debugging. The same setup does not work when I exchange the phone by my "no-name" i.onik TP10.1-1500DC tablet. I have tried different cables and different USB ports. Do I need a special type of cable to connect a tablet for USB debugging? This is what I get from a root shell: <code> ~# adb devices * daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 * * daemon started successfully * List of devices attached ~# </code> (I know that it should be possible to run <code> adb </code> as non-root, but this test was to rule out permission errors.) The <code> lsusb </code> output is special for this device, no textual description is shown. The first entry below is from another device, the second entry from the tablet. I have verified this by running <code> lsusb </code> with and without the tablet attached: <code> Bus 002 Device 005: ID 10d5:5000 Uni Class Technology Co., Ltd Bus 002 Device 009: ID 2207:0010 </code> Of course, USB debugging is enabled in the tablet's settings, and I have already rebooted it. Any further hints? | Izzy’s answer is misleading. Two unrelated things were mixed up (the vendor ID list in adb on one side and the permission setup in Linux on the other side). 1) devices considered by adb: Adb has a hard-coded list of USB vendor IDs it tries. E.g. HTC mobile phones use 0xbb4, which is listed ( source file usb_vendors.c ), while 0x2207 is not. The only way to add to this list (without patching the source) is to put vendor IDs in the file <code> $HOME/.android/adb_usb.ini </code> , line by line. (HOME is set up right?) No special cable is needed. 2) permission setup for non-root access: The udev-fiddling is to give user-access to e.g. /dev/bus/usb/002/009 (bus number/device number change; see <code> lsusb </code> for current values). The details of this are not relevant to the original poster’s question, as he ran adb as root. | No-name i.onik android tablet not recognized by adb -- adb devices empty | android |
In my terminal app when I type <code> ls /? </code> it gives me <code> ls /d </code> . Where can I find the other options? For example I want to list the file attributes and file length. I have tried also busybox to no avail. | It sounds like you want the extremely common <code> ls -l </code> For reference, the complete busybox help for ls: <code> BusyBox v1.21.0-Stericson (2013-01-28 21:49:55 GMT) multi-call binary. Usage: ls [-1AaCxdLHRFplinsehrSXvctu] [-w WIDTH] [FILE]... List directory contents -1 One column output -a Include entries which start with . -A Like -a, but exclude . and .. -C List by columns -x List by lines -d List directory entries instead of contents -L Follow symlinks -H Follow symlinks on command line -R Recurse -p Append / to dir entries -F Append indicator (one of */=@|) to entries -l Long listing format -i List inode numbers -n List numeric UIDs and GIDs instead of names -s List allocated blocks -e List full date and time -h List sizes in human readable format (1K 243M 2G) -r Sort in reverse order -S Sort by size -X Sort by extension -v Sort by version -c With -l: sort by ctime -t With -l: sort by mtime -u With -l: sort by atime -w N Assume the terminal is N columns wide --color[={always,never,auto}] Control coloring </code> | ls command works but not with options? | android |
I have a very interesting problem. This is a chinese based phone Alps i4000 (fhd, inew i4000) with Jelly bean 4.2.1 os. The problem: - After i click the power button to screen lock, the phone randomly turn off (random value from 1 sec to 15 min) - After i let to go to automatic screen lock, also turn off randomly the phone. But if i use / let running any software, its working well. No battery problem, no temperature problem. the phone stock, no rooted, no custom rom, no custom app (apps just from play store). Bitdefender and avira antivirus say everything okay. Idea? | Sounds like a hardware problem to me, like the internal power supply. Fixing would probably require a change of the logic board. If the device is still under warranty, I would just return it as defective. | Power off randomly after screen lock... | android |
Could you list all possible directories where Android apps may store data, providing description what kind of data are stored in each directory? | All apps (root or not) have a default data directory, which is <code> /data/data/<package_name> </code> . By default, the apps databases, settings, and all other data go here. If an app expects huge amounts of data to be stored, or for other reasons wants to "be nice to internal storage", there's a corresponding directory on the SDCard ( <code> Android/data/<package_name> </code> ). Apart from that, all apps can store data anywhere on the SDCard, as there are no restrictions -- and many apps do so. They can use directory names freely (and they again do), which is what often makes it hard to decide what all that "junk" on the card is intended for, and what of it can be deleted. Though, as stackexchange-url ("Tom pointed out"), root-apps could store their data almost everywhere on your device, they usually follow the same rules as other apps. You can find a general explanation of the Android directory hierarchy in stackexchange-url ("my answer here"). For your specific question I might add some more details on the <code> /data/data/<package_name> </code> (and corresponding SD-part): <code> databases/ </code> : here go the app's databases <code> lib/ </code> : libraries and helpers for the app <code> files/ </code> : other related files <code> shared_prefs/ </code> : preferences and settings <code> cache/ </code> : well, caches There might be several more directories in this place, or fewer -- it all depends on the app. In its own "home directory" (and that's what it basically is, spoken Linux-wise) they can place files where they want. Usually, these files and directories are only accessible by the app itself (and root, of course) -- other than those stored on the SDCard, which are accessible by all apps. | Where Android apps store data? | android |
my question is aimed to those who have already performed some kind of network traffic analysis on Android. My device is a rooted Nexus One. I've developed a simple C program, using Pcap Libraries, which sniffs packets over its eth0. Then I have a simple Python script, using Scapy, which sends to my device self-made packets (with raw payload of 1000 characters). What I want to analize is the decay of my device ability to sniff traffic packets out of the packet rate increase. What I expect is that the lower is the packet rate, the more packets my device is able to capture. What I get is something inconsistent: <code> Pck/s|Tot_sniffed 100 179 1090 0 2080 161 3070 968 4060 628 5050 562 6040 698 7030 546 8020 391 9010 0 </code> I send 1000 packets with left column rates (packets per second). That's very strange imho and I can't get what's happening. I already have: Checked RAM and CPU usage (they're both under control, CPU doesn't exceed 23-24%) Checked Wi-Fi connection (it doesn't turn off) Killed / Suspended / Uninstalled every other application not needed from Android system Tried to change parameters and packet size but it's always the same. I'm trying to look for any known report about Nexus One unstable behavior. But I'm not really sure it depends on my device. Have you any good idea about what's happening and how can it be possible? Thank you in advance! EDIT : I've done more tests to reply to @Peanut. I've also changed my Wi-Fi network, placing notebook and Android device close to the router. The usage is this: <code> Usage: python Main.py < targetIP > < port > < numPackets > < packetSize > < initial speed > < final speed > < step > </code> Results . I really can't figure out what's going on. | After some days of struggling I've come to the understanding that my Nexus One's NIC was corrupted/broken/something_bad_else. My tests were all messed up and with no logical connection. I've tried with a S II device and results seem to be a little more consistent. By the way, even in this case, I can't achieve a worse throughput increasing the bit rate, actually it's still floating around 90% (from 88 to 95 randomly). Probably it is dued to wi-fi instability and UDP packets instead of TCP. For my purpose having tried with a different device gave me a suitable answer. | Traffic analysis and inconsistent results on Nexus One | android |
I've just bought an HTC Desire and it seems to have stopped working. On startup, I just get the O2 splash page, then it buzzes 7 times, and that's it. I tried holding down the Vol down key, then the power button, and it gets me into some menu called HBOOT. There is a recovery option in there, but it just reboots the phone, and I'm back where I started. How do I wipe the thing and get it starting up again? | I gave up and returned the phone to the guy I bought it from on eBay, saying it was faulty. My conclusion was that it was an intermittent hardware fault. | HTC Desire won't boot - buzzes 7 times instead | android |
I'm using a Nexus 7 device and whenever I download a file greater than 28MB, the Chrome browser renames it to Download.bin no matter what the name of the file. When I download a file less than 28MB, the type (jpg, for instance) remains intact but the name of the file is changed to "Download". When I use Firefox within android, the files are downloaded as expected no matter what the size. My hunch is that this is some security feature built into Chrome. The site is hosted by IIS 7.5 and I'm using the BOM with JavaScript to download the file. Any idea of a workaround for this so that Chrome downloads the files correctly? It works correctly on the desktop version of Chrome, but not the android version of Chrome. Would appreciate any help! | This issue is caused by the fact that the Android Chrome browser doesn't understand UTF-8 encoding. I was UTF-8 encoding the file names since the desktop version of Chrome requires this. It turns out that file names don't need to be UTF-8 encoded for non-ascii characters for the Android Chrome browser. I was able to successfully download a file using Android Chrome with Korean characters in it without encoding it with UTF-8. | Chrome browser in Android always renames downloaded file to Download.bin | android |
I have purchased an alcatel one touch 983 running android 2.3.7 for development purposes. So it is critical that I can view logcat messages and connect to it from eclipse via USB. But so far I have failed to get the connection to work. I have installed something called "Qualcomm USB Host Driver version 2.0.6.7 for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista/Win7" which I though was the right solution - but when I right click on "onetouch" in device manager and then tell the update wizard that my driver is in "E:\Alcatel USB driver\usb_host_driver_2.0.6.8\Win32\WinXP", it reports "The hardware was not installed because the wizard cannot find the necessary software". | In case you cannot find a device-specific driver, it's worth trying the Universal ADB driver . It should work with most devices, so I'd even say this is the first one to try -- especially when having multiple devices, as this gets you rid of the need for multiple drivers. | Is there a USB driver for the alacatel onetouch 983? | android |
Most modern top-level Android devices, e.g., Samsung S4, has: 2GB internal RAM 16/32/64GB internal memory/storage up to 64GB exernal/removable memory/storage Does the amount of internal memory/storage make any difference - for instance how many apps you can install or does the size of the storage only affect the number of images/music pieces/... you may download to the device? I agree with the answers on the performance part but what the number of apps? | The answer is...It depends. As a rough equivalent between Android and Windows PCs: RAM = RAM Internal Storage = C: drive External Storage = D: drive etc... Allocation of RAM works differently in Android, vs. say Windows or Unix. The usual notion of more is better doesn't necessarily correlate here. As I understand it, it's diminishing returns once you go beyond what's required. Android basically tries to keep the apps/files you use most cached in RAM. Swapping in and out as it finds necessary. Once you're beyond what's needed, then it seems like Android just starts caching random and useless things. That's why if you use a Task Manager on your phone there always seems to be "stuff" running that you might feel inclined to just kill and free ram...But there's a lot of debate that says you should leave it alone and let the Android OS handle it. As for Internal Storage, I personally go for the biggest I can get in my budget. The Android OS files go there, all your settings, music, photos, and apps by default are installed here. Nowadays though internal storage offerings from manufacturers are larger and larger and options to put files on external storage are getting better and better. Considering today's offerings and requirements, I'd personally suggest when buying a new phone to get: At least 1GB, 2GB preferred (As new apps with more bells and whistles come out, their RAM footprint also increases. 2GB is still probably way more than most average people need, but it's quickly becoming the standard on newer phones anyway.) Internal Storage at least 16gb (Again, as new apps come out with more bells and whistles and cameras with higher megapixels and recording High Definition movies, they all keep demanding more space. The more you have now, the less you'll have to deal with later if you have to start cleaning up or moving things off to external) Get whatever the cheapest option offered with the phone (if it's offered) (Buying the external storage from a 3rd party is much less expensive and likely faster and more reliable). | Can I install more apps if I get more internal memory/storage? | android |
I accidentally clicked 'Always Display Imnages from This Sender' and was wondering if there's a way to undo this setting in Android gmail. It's straightforward to undo on web Gmail, but not the same with Android (that I know of). Any help is appreciated! | On version GMail 4.5-694836 From the main inbox or inside any email: Bring up the Menu-> Settings-> General Settings-> Now click the Menu button again to bring up sub-menu of options-> Clear picture approvals. WARNING : This clears ALL your approved sender settings, I believe there is no option to revoke by individual email senders. | How do I undo "always display images from this sender" on Android gmail? | android |
On my Galaxy S4 (Sprint), I regularly get a voicemail icon in my notification bar with the message: With this update, you will be able to enjoy premium Ad-supported features such as inline playback and auto forward to email. I have no interest in "enjoying" these features, and I cannot figure out how to make it go away. "Allow automatic updating" is not not checked. I have no messages that haven't been listened to. I do not want to disable all notifications from the voicemail application, as I would like to be notified when I have messages. Clearing the notification makes it go away for anywhere from 5 minutes to a day, but it always comes back. Is there any way that I can disable this specific message? | Accept the update, it doesn't charge you unless you subscribe to the premium package. Aside from that, you could decompile the apk and remove the push notification for updates. | How to get rid of Sprint's notifications for ad-supported voicemail | android |
Mobile network operators (also: telephone companies, telcos, providers) sometimes offer low cost data packages that are usable only on the phone. Or so, they say. How can they distinguish between a user browsing the web with a browser on his Android phone and a user using a browser on a laptop tethered to an Android phone? In early 2012 I was in Paris and I was using an Orange mobile data package with a Nokia E51 (Symbian S60). Indeed, I could only access the Internet using the phone's browser, not from my laptop tethered to the phone. Now, I a have an Android 2.3 phone, and I am thinking about subscribing to a similar data package in Spain (operator Más Móvil). | How they detect that someone is tethering a device isn't something that network providers often want to talk about, for the obvious reason that the more consumers know about how this is being detected, the easier it is for them to find ways to hide the fact that they're doing it, and avoid the associated extra charges (1) . However there are certain known techniques that will give away the fact that you're currently tethering, if your Service Provider happens to be running the right tool to check for these indicators: Your Phone asks your network if tethering is allowed The first and easiest method is that some phones will query the network to check whether the current contract allows tethering, and then totally disable the tethering options on the device in software if not. This generally only happens if you are running an OS version that has been customized by your Provider, stackexchange-url ("example 1") example 2. Your phone tells your network that you are tethering It's also rumoured that some phones have a second set of APN details saved in them by the phone network, when you enable tethering they switch over to using this second APN for all tethered traffic, while using the normal APN for traffic originating on the phone. However I haven't found any concrete evidence of this, other than people finding odd APNs and wondering what they're for (bear in mind that an unlocked phone bought off-contract may have hundreds or thousands of APNs stored on it, ready for use on whichever network in whichever country the eventual owner decides to use it). Inspecting the network packets for their TTL (time to live) Every network packet travelling across a TCP/IP network, like the internet, has a built-in time-to-live (TTL) set on it, so that in case there is a problem with that packet reaching its destination this will stop it travelling around the network forever clogging everything up. The way this works is that the packet starts with a TTL number (say 128) set on it when it leaves the sending device (your phone, or laptop), and then every time that packet travels through a router of any kind (like your home broadband router, or a router at your ISP or phone company) that router subtracts one from the TTL (which would decrement the TTL to 127 in this example), the next router it travels through will in turn decrement the TTL again, and so on, if the TTL ever reaches zero then the router it's at discards the packet and doesn't transmit it again. When your phone is tethering it acts like a router so, as the packet passes from your tethered laptop through your phone and onto the phone network, your phone will subtract "1" from the TTL to show that the packet has passed through its first router. The phone networks know what the expected TTLs from common devices are (for instance packets from an iPhone always start at a TTL of 64), and so they can spot when they're one less (or totally different) than they're expecting. MAC address inspection Devices on a TCP/IP network, like the internet, all have a unique MAC ID set on their network interfaces. This is made up of two halves, one half identifying the manufacturer of the interface, and the other half being a unique identifier assigned by the manufacturer (like a serial number). Every network packet that is sent out will have been "stamped" with the MAC address of the originating device's network port. The MAC address of your laptop's wifi card will have a very different manufacturer and serial code than the MAC address of your phone's 3G interface. TCP/IP Stack Fingerprinting Different computer Operating Systems (eg Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX, Linux, etc) set up their TCP/IP stacks with different default values and settings (eg the Initial Packet Size, Initial TTL, Window Size...). The combination of these values can give a "fingerprint" that can be used to identify what operating system is running on the originating device. A side-effect of this may mean that if you're using an uncommon OS, or an OS that's similar to your phone's on your other device, your tethering stackexchange-url ("may not be spotted"). Looking at the Destination IP/URL You can learn a lot by what a device regularly communicates with. For instance, many OSs these days do Captive Portal Detection when they first connect to a wifi network (such as your wifi tether connection), they do this by trying to connect to a known web server across the internet, and checking to see if they get the response that they're expecting. If the expected response is not received, then it's likely that the wifi connection you're on is a "captive portal" and may need you to log in, or pay, to connect to it. As Microsoft OSs (like Windows Vista and Windows 7 check with a Microsoft server by default and other OSs like Android, MacOS and so on all connect to their parent company's servers to do these checks, it can be used as a good indication of the operating system just after the initial connection is made. Additionally, if a device regularly contacts the Windows Update servers, then it's very likely that device is a Windows PC or laptop, whereas if it regularly checks with Google's Android update servers, then it's probably a phone. Or if they can see that you're connecting to the Apple App Store, but the IMEI of the device that your SIM card is in indicates that it's not an Apple device, maybe you're tethering an iPad to an Android phone? More sophisticated systems can look at a whole range of data seeing who you're communicating with (eg are you connecting to the Facebook app's API servers which is more likely from a phone, or to Facebook's web servers which is more likely from a PC) and add a whole load of these indicators together to create a fingerprint that indicates what sort of device you're likely to be using. Some of these fingerprints can be caught out when new device types and services come out, for instance there are reports that just after tablets with built-in 3G came out, some owners of these on the AT&T network received mails warning them that they'd been tethering when they hadn't, as the fingerprint from this new style of device didn't look like a typical phone. (1) Obviously before trying any methods to by-pass tethering detection please remember to check your phone contract and your phone company's policies on tethering. They may have penalty clauses buried in their contract, Fair Use Policy, or Acceptable Use Policy for people who try to bypass their restrictions and limits. | How can phone companies detect tethering (incl. Wifi hotspot) | android |
My wife requested that I set up her new phone for her, then explain to her how to use it. Well, my phone is a Windows phone, and I've never used an Android before. (You may begin your jeering.) Anyway, I noticed that there were a lot of usage tips that kept popping up that would be good information for her. Is there a way I can reset those so that she'll see them? Note: I do not want a factory reset. | There are really only 2 tool tips that you dismiss. You'd be better off finding a tutorial or video to teach her. | How to reset usage tips | android |
My son has a Galaxy S3 and is travelling to Russia. He'd like to be able to use his phone for Internet use, and Skype, when connected to Wifi. Otherwise, he doesn't want to incur extra or roaming charges for voice, text, or data. I thought I had this figured out. The instructions I got were to 1) go into airplane mode, and then 2) turn Wifi back on. However, I just called ATT, to verify my approach, and the person said he also has to go to 3) Applications -> Settings> -> More Settings -> Wireless and Network -> Mobile Network -> Use PacketS Data and uncheck "Use Packet Data" I Step 3 necessary, even after having done Step 1 and Step 2? Thanks, | On android devices, when you turn airplane mode on, it automatically disables Packets Data usage and any other network functionality. After, you can turn wifi on without any extra cost issue. | wifi only when traveling; also necessary to turn off packet data? | android |
ADB connection to Transformer Prime TF201 on 4.1.1 With USB Debugging disabled I can see the TF as expected. With USB Debugging enabled I can see an entry under Device Manager for ASUS Transformer Prime ADB Interface with no warnings or errors. However when I attempt to use ADB to connect I'm not getting any devices returned. Screenshot here: If I plug my phone in and list devices I get a single entry returned which works as expected, SHELL etc works normally. Any thoughts? | This was an issue with the computer I was running ADB on. I took the transformer to work and ADB worked perfectly first time. | No ADB connection to Transformer Prime TF201 on 4.1.1 | android |
I have a first gen Kindle Fire that has been flashed with Android 4.0.4 (hashcode's of course). The device was rooted using my thoshiba NB305 netbook running ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid). While the original OS was still installed, I could mount the kindle's filesystem over a usb connection using <code> mount -t ext3 /dev/sdc /mnt/kfire </code> Now I'm trying perform another rooting operation from the same laptop, to upgrade android to 4.2.2, and cannot get the kindle's file system mounted with this command. I checked dmesg and the devices is still being detected as SCSI device on /dev/sdc <code> sd 11:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk </code> however, a <code> ls -l /dev/disk/by-id/ </code> reveals that <code> usb-Am_File-CD_Gadget_0123456789ABCDEF-0:0 -> ../../sdc </code> The thing is, mount isn't even detecting that a device is present at /dev/sdc, I simply get the error <code> mount: no medium found on /dev/sdc </code> I'm not sure how to mount a usb-Am_File-CD_Gadget, or why I'm not at lest getting a "wrong filesystem type" error from mount. Also, the kindle is not showing up when running <code> adb devices </code> and so figured I needed to mount it in order for adb to be able to see it. However, I just tried my LS970, and its showing up in adb devices, but also cannot be mounted with the above command (or mtpfs -o allow_other /mnt/kfire). So, I'm looking to get the kindle discovered and communicating with adb first and foremost (I thought mounting was required for this, but apparently isn't). I found this article to be potentially helpful, but still need to give it a through reading: https://developer.ridgerun.com/wiki/index.php/How_to_use_USB_CDC_ACM_and_MS_composite_Linux_gadget_driver Any help is much appreciated, Thank you. | Turns out it was the micro-usb cable I was using to connect the kindle to my laptop. Once I found my uber quality ASUS cable, progress began... Now the OS atleast properly detecting the device, and loading it as a mass USB storage device. dmesg: <code> [ 5516.756143] usb 1-1: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 125 [ 5516.824377] hub 1-0:1.0: unable to enumerate USB device on port 1 [ 5517.216091] usb 2-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 21 [ 5517.355193] usb 2-1: not running at top speed; connect to a high speed hub [ 5517.383505] usb 2-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice [ 5517.405589] scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices [ 5517.411906] usb-storage: device found at 21 [ 5517.411919] usb-storage: waiting for device to settle before scanning [ 5522.409318] usb-storage: device scan complete [ 5522.412282] scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access Am File-CD Gadget 0000 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 [ 5522.415038] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0 [ 5522.433234] sd 4:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk </code> However, adb devices now gave: <code> List of devices attached ???????????? no permissions </code> to get ADB to properly list the device, and be able to connect to it, please see this solution on SO: stackexchange-url ("stackexchange-url | Rooted Kindle Fire - Mounting Filesystem from Ubuntu | android |
I have Nexus4 with Android. One of the input languages is Russian. I use Russian word suggestions or swype method for messaging. There is a particular form of Russian verbs (frequently used) that seems to be omitted in the dictionary (suggestions). Where can I report this bug? | If you're using the stock Android keyboard, you can report it on the central Android bug tracker . Be warned that there are already more than 25000 reports there, and many never receive any response from Google. If you find a bug in a third-party keyboard you're using, visit the keyboard's page in Google Play (either through the Play Store app or on the website) and click Email developer . Lastly, and this definitely isn't applicable in this case, if you find a bug in a device manufacturer's keyboard (such as the Samsung Keyboard found on Samsung phones), the answer will depend on which manufacturer, so you should contact their product support in the first instance. Hardware manufacturers tend not to have publicly-accessible bug trackers. | Where to report a bug in a keyboard app? | android |
I would like to know if it's possible to easily switch between two google accounts in my Nexus 4 For example, I have at the moment two google accounts set up in the device, my personal account and my work account, but if I access google analytics, I can only access using my personal account (the first one that was set up). Any suggestions? | I asked a stackexchange-url ("similar question"). As a workaround, you can use the data profile feature of Titanium Backup Pro with the analytics app. | Switch between accounts in Android 4.2 | android |
I have Google Plus app installed on my HTC One X. In the App drawer it shows icons for Google+ and Messenger. Both these belong to same Google+ app. The Messenger icon opens up Google+ app with message displayed <code> Update to Hangouts. Go to the app </code> and I have Hangouts installed. The Messenger app icon looks like this: I tried to uninstall Messenger and it uninstalled the updates of entire Google Plus app. It seems the Messenger icon is created by Google Plus and it only asks user to go to Hangout. Why is this extra icon present? Is there any way to get rid of it? | No need to worry. As of Google+ v4.1 , this is going away. 5. Messenger is going away, Hangouts is sticking around Now that Hangouts provides messaging and video calls across Android, iOS and the web, we’re removing Messenger from the Google+ mobile apps (first on Android, then on iOS). Later today you'll be able to download all of your Messenger conversations (including text and photos) from Google Takeout. The new app is rolling out now and you should have it in the next few days. | Why is there Messenger icon in App drawer? | android |
I know this might be duplicate but I couldn't find any relevant solution myself. Today I tried to be adventurous and install Ubuntu Touch on my Nexus 7 and it was a failure. As a safety measure I backed up my device's data using the following command on a Windows 7 OS: <code> adb backup all -f ./nexus.ab -shared -apk </code> It took forever and created a 1.6GB file (sounds reasonable to me). But the thing is, when it was done even though the back up screen on my device was gone but the command didn't return in Windows and I had to press ctrl+c. So I went through my adventure and in the process I had to unlock my bootloader and as a result all my data was wiped out (I read that it will happen and I was ok with it since I had already backed up my data). Once I was through with my adventure (and failed), I tried to restore my data using the following command (on the same machine as I created the back up): <code> adb restore ./nexus.ab </code> It takes for ages and after it is done, it prompts nothing (no success or failure). I can tell that it is done since the restore screen on device will be gone and the command will return in Windows. But when I turn on my device it's the same as it came out of the box. So is there any hope left? How can I make sure if my back up file is corrupted or everything is going fine? Do I need to do anything after my back up file is restored? | Try looking at the <code> logcat </code> output. I had a similar issue with multiple devices (all of the same manufacturer, though not yours) -- and it turned out they obviously had a bug in ADB implementation ( <code> logcat </code> showed a parse error for the backup file). If your situation is comparable (some ADB bug on your device's firmware), you can forget restoring that backup using ADB. Still, there are alternatives: As you can read in the stackexchange-url ("tag-wiki") or our backup tag, there are other apps which can read and restore from ADB backups. Such as e.g. Titanium Backup . I'm not sure if this feature is reserved for the Pro version, but it's at least worth a try with the free one. And even if, this app is worth buying. Note, however, that your device must be rooted for this. Copy your <code> nexus.ab </code> to the SDCard of your Nexus (I know it has no microSD slot, but the internal SD should do). Then use TiBu to restore from that backup file. You might not be able to restore everything (I never tried, so I'm not sure how far it goes) -- but at least your apps and their data should be able to get restored. A second way (to be used for the remaining things) is to manually unpack the backup archive. Details can be found here: stackexchange-url ("How do you extract an App's data from a full backup made through “adb backup”?") stackexchange-url ("Is there a way to look inside and modify an adb backup created file?") You might also wish to consult stackexchange-url ("other questions tagged "adb+backup"") for additional information. | Problem restoring my .ab backup file | android |
I want to know the secret behind how my emulator gets connected to the internet. No matter whether I connect my netbook to the internet through wireless, wired or mobile broadband connection, my emulator does not indicate what type is my connection to the internet. It shows bars just like in phones/tablets to indicate the signal strength (as though a sim has been inserted!) in the notification area on the top edge. The emulator (gingerbread) is not connected to wi-fi. (I don't recall whether it does not have a wi-fi enabling option or just that I haven't enabled it) So there is no icon next to the time display near the right top corner showing that I'm connected to wi-fi! Yet it gets wi-fi internet on the emulator when I online via wi-fi! I find this curious. So I want to know what's behind the scenes. For instance is there some communication between the hardware network driver and the emulator network driver by any chance? | The emulator is a program on your computer like any other. The program can connect to the Internet in just the same way Firefox can. In particular, this means it makes no difference what kind of connection the host is using. From inside the emulator, there's a 'fake' network driver. It appears to Android like a mobile Internet connection, but instead of communicating with a cellular modem, it's actually using the usual network API of your host OS to send and receive data, just like Firefox. It also does emulator-specific things like simulating packet loss. | How does the emulator get connected to the internet? | android |
On a tablet I have a situation where I have multiple users with multiple accounts, and I am trying to have the phone's state backed up in such a way that if I upgrade the operating system, every user's data is backed up. I would like to do this without imaging the phone, so that this backup can be applied to say, a newer version of the Android OS. I am ok with the backup being finicky, if there is some significant changes to the OS, so long as minor changes don't break it. I have tried Titanium Backup, and while it works perfectly for a single user, it does not work when multiple users are involved. Neither the user's, nor their data, is backed up. What application that can achieve this? Edit: To elaborate, backing up each user individually would work but it would be slow. We may be doing this on many devices, so this is primarily a way to save us time. | We have found a tool included in AOSP debug builds called rawbu: https://github.com/GeekRom/android_frameworks_base/tree/master/cmds/rawbu that does exactly what we need it to do if you push it the right way. It backs up the entire data partition of an Android device, though it is outdated and crashes if not executed properly since they fused the sdcard. The default directory used by rawbu is sdcard/backup.dat but since that is fused to data/media/0 this will crash on devices ever since that change. So when running rawbu you must specify data/media/0/backup.dat as the backup and restore arguement so that it knows where to backup and restore to. Since the sdcard isnt backed up, only data is, this should work on newer devices. If you don't do this, it will restore the backup.dat file to itself corrupting itself while performing the restore. Cons: There are a lot of hoops to jump through that I haven't tried yet (I've only tried this on a debug build, so I haven't tried building and pushing it to a release build that's been rooted.) Your phone has to be rooted for this to work. Pros Theoretically it works It's faster than running titanium backup on each user if you have a lot of users to backup. It also restores your phone to the exact same state you had if your phone crashes. In closing it is unfortunate that there are no good methods for backing up multiple users. However with google's new push to make multi users a stronger feature, we can hope that the adb backup utility will be improved at some point in the near future. | Multi User Backup | android |
My old phone Motorola Defy had the option by calling to search for a contact just typing a number. Not sure how that feature is called but I'll give an example: If I want to call "Alex" i need to press 2( a bc) 5(jk l ) 3(d e f) 9(w x yz) and I press the call button. Now I got the Nexus 4 and there is not such a feature, which is really annoying. Is there a custom dialer that support this feature? Or is it possible to enable it from somewhere? | There is no way to do this with the stock dialer. There are a number of apps that you can install that do support this. Search the play store for 't9 dialer' (or click here ). Pick one that you like the look of :) | search somebody from contacts with the numpads | android |
I always thought they remained memory residents but a developer told me otherwise. Is there a canonical answer to this? | The answer can be found between the lines to the question stackexchange-url ("What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list?"). There, stackexchange-url ("eldarerathis quotes") some trustworthy sources: [W]hat specifically happens when you swipe away a recent task is it: (1) kills any background or empty processes of the application (see http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals/processes-and-threads.html#Lifecycle for what this means), and (2) uses the new http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Service.html#onTaskRemoved(android.content.Intent) API to tell any services of the application about the task being removed so it can do whatever it thinks is appropriate. This could mean: if there are processes to be removed, they must be running -- which would be a "yes" to your question. On the other hand, if some app is listed in the recent apps list, that does not necessarily mean there was something left. "Recent" means explicitly what the word suggests: the user has recently used that app. Don't confuse that with Alt-Tab on your desktop computer, where you explicitly switch through running apps. The concept on Android is completely different. So the final answer would be a "Nes" or "Yo". It could be such an app has still processes running. But even if, that's nothing to worry about: unless one of them is a service , those ressources are mostly limited to RAM and would be automatically freed as soon as they are required for something else. They don't eat your battery. Completely unused resources are, um, unused -- that is, useless. Why throw away something we might need shortly? The user could decide to switch back to that app. So if it's still loaded, it's not only faster available -- but it even requires less ressources (CPU, I/O) to activate it again, as it's already there. | Do applications that remain in Recent Apps list take up resources? | android |
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 with untouched Android 4.1.2 and problems with logging into accounts on any website, in any browser, as long as the password contains an exclamation mark ("!"). I use the default Samsung keyboard for typing in the password. The language of the keyboard is set to German. The Android interface language is set to English. I use the exclamation mark which is seen on the first of three special character pages. I tried this in the Chrome browser app and in the default "Internet" browser which comes preinstalled. If I change that exclamation mark in the accounts password to something else, I can login flawlessy on my smartphone. Is this a codepage error? Do I have to set up some special localization or is it just a bug? | In the comments, ce4 pointed out what was going wrong. A space gets inserted automatically after each exclamation mark (and probably other sentence limiting characters like full stop, half stop or question mark too), resulting in an invalid password with a space char too much. Whenever I enter an exclamation mark, I also enter the following character, use backspace twice and then enter the following character again. Seems to be the simplest solution yet. Samsung should consider turning off these weird auto-complete stuffs in password boxes! | Passwords containing "!" are always wrong | android |
I use Local Sync as my main address book. Several of my contacts are linked to different address books (e.g. LinkedIn, Skype, Whatsapp, Viber). In my case, I found a contact having a very beautiful photo in Viber but I chose to set an old ugly picture in my address book The question is: how do I tell Android to select the contact picture to display for a given contact not from Gallery/Camera apps but from that same contact's linked Viber account? The question can be generalized and rephrased to cover not only Viber: how do I tell Android to select the contact picture to display for a given contact not from Gallery/Camera apps but from one of that same contact's linked accounts? | For Viber, use Viber Contact Photo Sync. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.booleanaxis.vibercontactphotosync2 For Whatsapp use: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rm.android.wcps | Setting contact picture from linked contact | android |
I have a brand new Nexus 10. It worked for a few minutes of web browsing and then I am not sure what I did but somehow it got to the point where I was asked to sign into a Google Account. Since I use <code> gmail </code> , the required answer to the question: <code> do you use Google Accounts? </code> is yes. So I touched 'yes'. I put in my gmail address and password. Now it shows <code> Couldn't sign in, Can't establish a reliable connection to the server. </code> There is the suggestion that it is a temporary problem but retries have failed over several days. I then wiped all user data using instructions I found on the internet. However, it still ends up stuck on the screen that shows <code> Couldn't sign in, Can't establish a reliable connection to the server. </code> I even logged out of <code> gmail </code> on my laptop, but it doesn't help the situation on the Nexus 10. The Nexus 10 is a brick so now I am shopping for a few hundred thousand of these and some mortar. Additional info: I use 2-step verification on the laptop for my <code> gmail </code> . | I reconfigured the router to resolve the problem. The settings that work include: <code> g </code> rather than the other options being <code> b </code> and <code> g/n </code> . This looks like the setting for the suffix on 802.11. WPA-Personal AES Of course other settings may also work and might be more secure but I did not try them. | Nexus 10 cannot sign into Google Accounts | android |
I have a samsung galaxy note 10.1 and would like to be able to run a linux distribution. I would suspect that this is attainable, and that people have already done it. What I want to know is the specifics such as: When I start my tablet, can I select which operating system I would like to run? I do not want to run both at the same time. Which Linux distribution will give me the best performance? I pretty much want to keep my Android functionality for the S pen, note-taking, and games (as it was made for that). I would also like to have the option to run an efficient Linux distribution so that I can run the standard UNIX tools/programs/compilers that are all familiar to me. Also, I do not really care about having all the features of my tablet working with the Linux distribution (such as camera and GPS). That being said I do care about the Bluetooth working as I have a Bluetooth keyboard! | I just want to start this answer off by saying that if you are not an expert computer user, this is probably not for you. You will need to know how to setup and edit partition tables, along with knowing how to resize, delete and add partitions. I of course accept no responsibility for any damage you cause to any device from reading this tutorial. In theory here is what you need to do: Repartition your device's SD card so that you can make room for all the the Operating Systems you want to run Get a new boot loader that supports dual (or multi) booting Flash the partition with a build that is compatible with your phone Specifically for your device (the Galaxy Note 10.1), here is a GREAT link on dual booting: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2258867 The tutorial is on an Ubuntu machine, if you do not have Ubuntu it is pretty easy to install from their website: http://www.ubuntu.com You probably don't even need to install Ubuntu to do this tutorial, I think you would be fine just running off of the live CD. I am a little biased because I love Ubuntu, but I would recommend installing it when you have free time. It really is a life saver and it runs on top of a linux kernel so you get all of the benefits of linux when you use Ubuntu. VERY IMPORTANT BEFORE YOU START THE TUTORIAL 1) Backup your device every time before you make a change to the OS or to the boot loader. It is extremely easy to brick your device if you don't know what you're doing. If you brick your device and you have no backups to go from, then you are out of luck my friend. 2) You need to have a CWM (Clockwork Mod) installed on your device before you start the tutorial along with Nandroid Backup. See Extra Stuff below for install information. 3) I cannot stress this more: MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE INSTALLING A MOD THAT FITS PERFECTLY WITH YOU DEVICE!! You will potentially render your device unusable if you do not check your ROMs thoroughly. 4) This is not so important but will save you a lot of time in the future. Go get a bigger SD card, no 1GB or 2GB is not enough and 4GB is pushing it. Go out and buy a 16GB SD card, they are not that expensive and if you are going to be doing multiple booting, then you will want the extra space. It will be a huge pain to transfer all of your files onto a bigger SD card because you decided you wanted to triple boot Android, Arch Linux and Ubuntu all on one device. This is the voice of experience unfortunately. Hopefully the tutorial works out well for you. When you get comfortable with installing OS partitions, then you can start trying out different flavors of Linux. My favorite is Ubuntu, followed closely behind by Arch Linux (ARM) (Which is great for server applications). Extra Stuff Installing CWM and NAndroid Backup on Galaxy Note 10.1 Here is a Video tutorial for installing the CWM on the Galaxy Note 10.1 if you need to do that. Again make sure you get the right ROM for your device. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYiXzcW7xs If YouTube is more your thing, then here is a pretty good video on doing the same thing in the other tutorial. This YouTube video requires you to already have CWM installed on your device. Galaxy Note: How to dual boot 5 different ROMs For those of you who do not have the Galaxy Note, here is something else I found that might be useful (or at least a starting point): http://lifehacker.com/5826050/how-to-dual-boot-multiple-roms-on-your-android-phone Please feel free to edit if you have something to add (Tutorials for specific devices etc.) Also, if you need more info, just comment and I will help you out. | Dual booting linux on android galaxy note 10.1 | android |
I am using CyanogenMod 10.1.0-RC3 (Android 4.2.2) on my Samsung Galaxy S Plus (GT-I9001). I have read Android 4 supports USB on the go, so I wanted to give it a try. I bought a USB OTG cable, and connected a USB stick (formatted FAT32) to my phone. Nothing happened. After reading stackexchange-url ("this question"), I installed USB Host diagnostics , and my device says: Android API Claims support: Yes Classes found: Yes Device Detected: No I bought a new USB OTG cable to be sure this is not the problem, but the result is the same. What am I missing? I have the right Android version, an appropriate cable, no special hardware (just a USB stick - I tried with different ones). Maybe I need the host mode drivers? But I don't know where to find them, and I am not sure if this is my problem. What can cause my issue and how can I solve it? | The Galaxy S Plus (i9001) needs an external power source to have a working USB OTG. See this link on XDA for more information (it's for the i9000, but does also apply). According to GSMArena's spec ( USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0 ) the i9001 firmware doesn't originally support USB-OTG ( compare the S3's spec , but 3rd party firmware added this later on. It does however not function without external 5V power. | USB host mode not working on Samsung Galaxy S using CyanogenMod | android |