text:
How can I turn off the home screen preview of SMS/text messages in my Galaxy Note 2
On an Android device (Galaxy Note 2) with a locked screen whenever an SMS is received it's preview is displayed over the locked screen. This is super inconvenient - anyone who is nearby can see it without even unlocking the screen.Is there a way to disable those previews over a locked screen?

Messaging Apps like Viber has settings to enable or disable these features. You can check how to setup those settings here http://justcode.me/how-to/how-to-turn-off-viber-message-preview-on-lock-screen/

i have been annoyed by this as well!!
even after turning off as mentioned above i was still receiving the notification and preview of the msg
my problem turned out to be an add on sms widget for evernote "sms to evernote" that gives you the option to send your sms to evernote.
It is not obvious from the pop up that it is evernote
there are two options in the "sms to evernote" settings
"Enable sms pop up"  when you enable this you get further options to "hide sms in pop up"
The "hide sms in pop up" option does not work you get the preview regardless
it took me a while to work this out and i hope this saves someone else some time :-)

You might want to format the question to be more on-point, I almost deleted it as a "Me Too!" answer.

Open the SMS app and fire up the Settings option from the Menu button.
In the Notification Settings sub-section there is a Preview Message option. If checked, that will show a preview of the message in the status bar and on  the lock screen.
Uncheck it, and your problem should be solved.

Yes, you can do that using Settings->Lock screen settings and changing there widgets.

You can go to Messaging, go to Settings by pressing the button next to home button, scroll down and disable Preview Messages ... or even better disable notification.


text:
Why does the system not recognize my fonts?
My phone is a rooted Nexus S running the custom ROM Replicant. I copied twelve font files comprising three fonts (Arimo, Cousine, and Tinos) from my computer to the SD card, used a root file manager to copy the files to /system/fonts, and then rebooted the phone. Yet I am still unable to use these fonts. On par with the other font files in the folder, they are indeed .ttf files. For example, when I view this HTML file in the HTML viewer:
<!DOCTYPE html>

<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Font Test</title>

Arimo paragraph

Cousine paragraph

Tinos paragraph

The paragraphs display in Roboto, Droid Sans Mono, and Droid Serif respectively. Why does the system not recognize the newly installed fonts? Is there some configuration file I need to edit?

Problem mostly, but not entirely, solved. For Arimo whatever font you want to install, you need to insert this text between the <familyset> tags in the file /system/etc/system_fonts.xml:
<family>
  <nameset>
    <name>the name of your font</name>
    <name>arial</name>
    <name>helvetica</name>
  </nameset>
  <fileset>
    <file>Arimo-Regular.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Bold.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-Italic.ttf</file>
    <file>Arimo-BoldItalic.ttf</file>
  </fileset>
</family>

And remove the designations of "arial" and "helvetica" from the Roboto entry. The reason this is not entirely solved is it works only in the browser and not the HTML viewer.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


text:
LG G2 Native SIP client (where Is It?)
For some reason I couldn't find the native SIP client on this Phone. On my Note 2 N7100 it's under Settings-> Call Settings-> Accounts
Will someone please show me where it's hidden?
Note: LG G2 D802 international version

Maybe it went to the same place as Where did the SIP settings go to on my LG Optimus 4X?

@Izzy
Tried that link before posting here...
It won't work as there's a missing process from LG G2 firmware. LG took that process out. This is what happen - "unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped."

That is what happens when? When you try "starting" the action from the shortcut? Happens to a lot of them, yes. Continue looking for another one with a similar name, that did it for me. In the worst case, try them all (oops).

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
Can Scrap Booker be replaced with Evernote in Air Command on Galaxy Note 3?

Scrap Booker – save anything you encounter – such as websites, maps, and pictures – into organized scrapbook categories with accompanied notes and information for later browsing. (from Phandroid Galaxy Note 3 review).

What makes this special is that it's quick accessibility from Air Command menu that is activated via S-Pen.
But functionality wise, this seems like an equivalent of (or subset of) Evernote.
On one hand, as an Evernote user, I'd love to NOT have to have parts of my data in a separate scrapbooking application. On the other, Air Command menu and S-Pen integration is a big win.
As such: Is there any way to integrate Evernote with this scrapbooking functionality in Note 3?
I'm fine with any solution (e.g. full on replacement by Evernote, or even something as simple as a way to import 100% of my current Scrap Booker data into Evernote).

No, you can't replace anything on air command.
If your phone is rooted, then there might be an app that allows this, however, I know of none.

I've found that Evernote is one of the share menu options from scrapbook. If you share the text and images of a scrap note, it will share to Evernote as any other note.

But does this apply to the "Air Command" feature of the Note 3?


text:
Get my samsung password without reset it for my stolen android device
My galaxcy s2 is stolen and i need to track it using my samsung account but i dont remember the pass; Can anyone please tell me how could i know my samsung account password without resting it as used in samsung account SignIn procedure to find password by email

Unless Samsung are complete muppets, even they don't know your password: all they know is a special hashed form of the password, which is an irreversible function a bit like encrypting it. When you type in your password, they hash what you type in in the same way, and then compare the two hashed passwords. This way, they can check your password without knowing what it is.
For this reason, there shouldn't be any way to find out what your password is without first changing it. If that turns out not to be true, it would be a very embarrassing security problem for Samsung.
If you want to find a lost or stolen phone, there are other options that don't involve your Samsung account. See the answers to My phone was just stolen an hour or so ago. Are there any options for tracking? for some alternatives that you can install remotely via Google Play.


text:
To connect a Samsung 10.1 Tab, Model GT-P 7500 to the Ethernet
I have purchased a BobjGear USB to RJ45 Compact Fast Ethernet Adapter made for Android Tablets, as well as a I-Tech USB 2.0 Fast Ethernet Adapter.
I also purchased an Adapter Cable OTG for the Samsung Galaxy TAB Android 10.1, GT-P 7500.
Both USB Ethernet Adapters come with a Driver (CD)
I have installed the Drivers to my PC Windows 7 and also installed the Drivers to my wifes MAC.
QUESTION IS: HOW DO I INSTALL THE DRIVERS ON MY TAB ? As it seems that I need the Driver in order to make it work.
Is there anyone out there who can help me  ?
Thank you in advance.

How to make Ethernet work on Android over OTG?

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Which filesystem should I use on my SD Card?
I have a 1 TB SD Card in a Fairphone 3 running the latest Lineage.
Recently I had issues with random reboots and now found out that my SD Card is formatted with FAT32, which might cause troubles on such a disk size.
I tested a bit, and unlike lots of info on the internet, both exFAT and ext4 seem to be recognised just fine. And there is also F2FS which is touted as a good choice.
So, which FS should I use? I use Linux everywhere so desktop OS compatibility is not a problem.

Does this answer your question? Best file system for an external SD card

unfortunately not, as it is quite dated

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Repartitioning Nexus 7 2012 (grouper) parted unrecognized disk label
I need to repartition my 2012 Nexus 7 (grouper) to create a bigger system partition so that I can install Lineage OS.
Here is the current partition table.

Unfortunately parted can't print the partition table because

unrecognized disk label

C:\Android\Nexus7_grouper>adb.exe shell
~ # ./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) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0p1: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0p2: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Model: Unknown (unknown)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0p3: 682MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: loop

Number  Start  End    Size   File system  Flags
 1      0.00B  682MB  682MB  ext4

(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Model: Unknown (unknown)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0p4: 465MB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: loop

Number  Start  End    Size   File system  Flags
 1      0.00B  465MB  465MB  ext4

(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0p5: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0p6: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Model: Unknown (unknown)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0p7: 5243kB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start  End  Size  Type  File system  Flags

(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0p8: unrecognised disk label
(parted) q
q
~ # ./parted /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
GNU Parted 1.8.8.1.179-aef3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
p
Model: Unknown (unknown)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0p9: 30.1GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: loop

Number  Start  End     Size    File system  Flags
 1      0.00B  30.1GB  30.1GB  ext4

(parted) q
q
~ #

No success with fdisk either:
~ # /sbin/fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0
Device contains neither a valid DOS partition table, nor Sun, SGI, OSF or GPT disklabel
Building a new DOS disklabel. Changes will remain in memory only,
until you decide to write them. After that the previous content
won't be recoverable.

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: 31.2 GB, 31272730624 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 954368 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 64 * 512 = 32768 bytes

              Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks  Id System

Command (m for help):

So: what can I do?!
Is this a known problem? Is there a solution? Or is there a workaround?
Update
Found some more disc tools: https://github.com/wangdaning/Static-Disk-Tools
~ # ./fdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0
Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.22).

Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them.
Be careful before using the write command.

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/block/mmcblk0'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

Device does not contain a recognized partition table
Building a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xa27bac20.

Command (m for help): q

~ # ./gdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.4

Unsupported GPT version in backup header; read 0x00000000, should be
0x00010000
Partition table scan:
  MBR: not present
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present

Creating new GPT entries.

Command (? for help): q
~ # ./sfdisk /dev/block/mmcblk0
Checking that no-one is using this disk right now ...
BLKRRPART: Device or resource busy
sfdisk:
This disk is currently in use - repartitioning is probably a bad idea.
Umount all file systems, and swapoff all swap partitions on this disk.
Use the --no-reread flag to suppress this check.

sfdisk: Use the --force flag to overrule all checks.

~ # ./sfdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0

WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/block/mmcblk0'! The util sfdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 954368 cylinders, 4 heads, 16 sectors/track
~ # ./gdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.4

Unsupported GPT version in backup header; read 0x00000000, should be
0x00010000
Partition table scan:
  MBR: not present
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present

Creating new GPT entries.
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 61079552 sectors, 29.1 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 5DF0FD01-EBB2-48B7-A362-76A6CD811B21
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 61079518
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 61079485 sectors (29.1 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
~ #

And this seems relevant, but I don't understand it.
https://github.com/Lanchon/REPIT/issues/79
Update: newer parted
From Irfan Latif's suggestion
~ # ./parted
GNU Parted 3.3
Using /dev/block/mmcblk0
Welcome to GNU Parted! Type 'help' to view a list of commands.
(parted) p
Error: /dev/block/mmcblk0: unrecognised disk label
Model: MMC HBG4e (sd/mmc)
Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 31.3GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: unknown
Disk Flags:
(parted) q
~ # ./partprobe -s
Error: Partition(s) 4, 9 on /dev/block/mmcblk0 have been written, but we have been unable to inform the kernel of the change, probably because it/they are in use.  As a result, the old partition(s) will remain in use.  You should reboot now before making further changes.
/dev/block/mmcblk0boot1: msdos partitions
/dev/block/mmcblk0boot0: msdos partitions
~ #

Try with new parted binary: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=82737939&postcount=233 or gdisk: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/how-to-boot-sd-card-qmobile-z8-bricked-t3712171

How did you end up resizing the System partition of your Nexus 7? I'm unable to do https://www.8bitmammoth.com/asus-google-nexus-7-custom-rom-android-7-1-2-2012-grouper-wifi-model-me370t/#comment-38227 until I figure it out. Thanks!

I haven't been able to re-partition; this question us still open.


text:
Android not connecting to server on LAN
I am unable to connect to the SSH server on my desktop from my Android (Oreo 8.1) device over Wifi.
Here is the setup: Android and Ubuntu desktop are both connected to my Wifi, which is connected on the WAN side to my cable modem. If i turn on port-forwarding on the wireless router and send port 22 connections to the desktop, I can ssh into it using the modem's external IP address. I can't ssh into the desktop using the local IP address, whether or not port-forwarding is turned on.
I don't think this is a configuration problem on the wireless router, or on the desktop, as I can ssh into the desktop from a Windows machine using Putty. The Windows machine is on the same Wifi network, and i can ssh to my desktop using the local IP address just fine.
It also doesn't appear to be ssh-specific... I can't ping my desktop from Android, or even telnet to any open port. Or any closed port, i just tried; there's no error message, the command prompt never returns until i ctrl-c to cancel or the connection attempt times out.
I do have AFWall+ installed on the Android device, but using its "disable firewall" makes no difference. Even with it on, though, the shell, adb, root, and JuiceSSH all have full network permissions.
Is there something i'm missing in Android that would prevent only connections to local IP addresses?
Ping test results:
I can ping my desktop server from every other device on the same Wifi, just not from my Android.
The Android can ping every other device, including the LAN and WAN side of the Wifi router.
The desktop can ping the Android.
When using the Android's hotspot, the Android and desktop CAN ping each other (though, of course, the IP addresses are different).
Update
I never did get this resolved, but was making another attempt yesterday and discovered the following:
Any initial attempt to ssh to my server from the Android device just hangs. "netstat -t" on the server shows the connection is there, stuck at SYN_RECV.
If i run 'nc -l -p 22' on my Android device, and then establish an OUTBOUND connection from the server to the device, it temporarily fixes the problem. Even after closing this connection, i can ssh from the device into the server. It doesn't last, though, and the connection problem returns sometimes after a few minutes, sometimes a few hours.
Does this provide any clues as to whether the problem is on the phone or the server? Or how to permanently fix it?

If you aren't able to ping PC from Android, that's a networking problem. You can use ping or netcat (nc -nz <PC_IP> 22) to troubleshoot. Can you ping router from Android? Also, if you connect PC to phone's hotspot, are you able to ping?


text:
What system apps can be safely removed with Titanium backup on Nexus 4?
Is there an official list or something? :D
I'd like to remove some of them to improve battery life, but not sure which are safe to remove

If your real purpose is to improve battery life, you just can freeze them ($6 dollars spent very well for Titanium Backup). If you don't want to spend money, i think you can use Root Uninstaller Free, that includes "disable" option in the free version: all you have to do is to open it and disable the ones you don't want.
it also includes backup and unistall options if you don't trust. (backups to sdcard/rootuninstaller i think)
you just have to pay attenction to the ones you remove, bacause no official list is findable: just don't uninstall or freeze the app if its name does not convince you like OPP, HTML visualizer, package installer, SIM toolkit,... and so on.
just do a complete backup of your device and, in the worst case, reset your phone.
everything there requires ROOT access


text:
How do you root safely?
I am thinking of rooting my android.
In general, it seems that one downloads the "unlocked" firmware from a website (not the manufacturer's) and then runs it on the phone.
How do I know if that firmware is safe (in other words, how do I know if the "rooted" firmware doesn't have a keystroke logger, for example)?


text:
updating software of HTC
HTC one V has a special feature of beats audio, but I have not updated its software since I brought it.If I update the software  of HTC one v, will it remove beats audio feature from my mobile

Beats audio is anadvertised as an outstanding feature of top HTC phones.
Why should HTC remove an advertised feature with a software update? Of course will it continue to work. I fail to see why one may question this.


text:
Android Unknown Memory Usage
I have been having a problem with my Android 2.3.3 Samsung Galaxy S, that it was shutting 2 essential applications down: messaging app and call protocol. I have been tracing the cause of that by looking phone logs with SDK in eclipse. I have spotted this error:
I/ActivityManager(524): Low Memory: No more background processes.
So I assume this is the reason for the crash... eitherway I want to understand, why I do not have enough memory. I do not have many apps running in the background and I am very careful with what I am installing. I have looked at the memory allocation in eclipse DDMS view and there were:
217 MB (75 %) was unknown,
8 MB (3 %) free
1 MB (0 %) buffers
35 MB (12 %) inactive
14 MB (5 %) slab
12 MB (4 %) page tables.
Of course now I want to know what that unknown place means. Because if I force close some system services or app services I can only reduce unknown allocation down to 55 - 60 %.
How can I find out what this unknown memory usage is?


text:
Cannot upload arbitrary files using Chrome
Using for the first time latest Chrome (v30.x) on Android 4.0.4 ICS on a 1st Gen. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet. To my huge surprise am not able to upload any files other than images or camera videos? In any webmail when I click attach a list of apps is displayed that includes Gallery, Camera etc. But the in-built file manager (My Files) is nowhere to be seen. Thinking there was a problem with it I tried many other file manager apps but none of them show up either. In stock Android browser though the in-built file manager is visible and allows me to select and upload files with any extension.
What could be wrong with Chrome and if possible how can I fix it?

As confirmed by OP  this app resolved the problem App Picker Classic. From app description

If you have app choices that are currently hidden - maybe you chose "Always" by accident once, but you'd like to be able to reinstate the app and choose each time - then reset these by clearing the defaults in the application manager of your phone/tablet.

Once you clear the defaults in app settings, and try to upload this app would appear in the choices (in addition to 4 options: Camera, Camcorder, Sound Recorder and Gallery). Using this app you can select the file explorer app on your device to select the file you wish to upload
In addition, this app permits working with some app intents and resolves common URLs.

Note: Solution below did not work for OP but I am retaining it since it worked for me, and may help someone else too
It is possible by Local Storage App which doesn't offer a UI (though it does have) but integrates with Android system to pick all files from within the device and on external SD.
Tested on Samsung Note 2 running custom ROM 4.4.2 using Chrome 53.0.2785.124 in desktop mode ( latest on Play Store)

Local Storage uses the new Storage Access Framework to allow other applications to read or write any file in your primary storage and read from secondary external storage devices (such as SD cards). On Android 5.0+ devices, you can also select entire directories and rename files.

Documentation on App Github says it is compatible with API 19 upwards
Example
Uploading a .pdf to PDF to doc site . Steps are shown sequentially in the panel of screen shots

Click upload
Choose documents option
From the selection panel offered by the App choose the upload file location ( external SD in my case)
Selected pdf file being uploaded
pdf file uploaded and converted to doc

I've installed the 'Local Storage' app but I can't find the 'Documents' option in the 'Choose an action' popup as in your second screenshot :-( Also, I can't find my microSD card (Inserted, other apps can find it) in the app when I manually open it and press the 'OPEN ALL FILES' button.

Thanks a lot!  The 'App Picker Classic' app from your other answer worked! I'll be glad to award you the bounty once you mention that app in this answer.

Unrelated, but how do I check the API level of my device? Does the settings have it?

Oh ok..I didn't know that.  To answer your API query , see what is API, API corresponds to the version you would find in the settings

Link above has the table showing  Android versions and API numbers

i was in stuck with same problem..
using FS File explorer/selector app worked for me..
can you please try this :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ioapps.fsexplorer


text:
Best "nandroid" or equivalent on Galaxy S4 VRUAME7
So I'm pretty new to Android. Just got a new Galaxy S4 from Verizon and it's running VRUAME7. Already rooted of course. Basically right now I'm looking for a way to do a complete backup (nandroid); Not planning on installing any different roms just yet, but wanna play around with some stuff in /system and the like, so I'd like have a backup just incase I screw anything up.
From what I've read, you need a custom recovery to do a backup/restore like this. For VRUAME7, it seems the only way to go about this is with Safestrap.
Is there a less intrusive way to do this? I would think a manual backup (pain.. lol) but it seems some of the partitions are inaccessible while Android is running?
Also, I'm not sure how to go about restoring that if something would happen.
Is it overkill to install Safestrap just for this purpose (backup/restore)?
If this is the best (or only) way to go about this? I'm just curious on some of the implications of SafeStrap.
On the developer thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2441441):
TEST #3: Recovery removal leaves device in clean state RESULT: FAIL

I'm not quite sure that this line means... does that mean removing Safestrap? I don't want a permanent installion; I'd like to have choice to remove it or go back to stock if needed.
Also, since this bypasses the bootloader, does this mean every boot will go directly to Safestrap first? As in I'll always have to select to boot the rom each startup?


text:
How to fix lock screen stuck at "Tap to speak" when entering password?
I can’t access my phone. When I try to enter my password to unlock my phone it displays "Tap to speak" with microphone and the word "Google". There is also sign of setting and "X" but they are not responding.
This thing blocks me from using my phone and I don't know how it got into my phone. I am not familiar with it. How do I unlock my phone?

Did you enable 'voice lock' ?

my kid was playing with my phone I suspect she activated it accidentally

It's not cleared that what lock you used(there are 3rd party and in built 'Voice Lock' which could be found under Security Settings and then one is 'Google Voice Lock').
If it 'Google Voice Lock' say 'Ok Google' & 'Hey Google'. If it is your handset, you would have used Google Voice Search/Google Assistance which only activates by saving your voice.
Same voice is used for 'Google Voice Lock'.
So, if it is this lock. It will unlock as voice matches.
If it is other than this, i found this forum by xda-developers that could help you: Lock Screen stuck at voice lock.


text:
Mute text notifications for single conversation only
I have a single conversation on my phone that is updated often. I want to mute text notifications for this conversation only.

If it is your app, then you could provide a provision for this by maintaining a flag. Else, if it is Android's SMS app or Hangout, then long press the conversation. It will provide mute notification option in Toolbar.

authors: محمد الرويلي


text:
How to maintain the gateway IP of the Android access point?
I realized that the IP address of the access point router changes every time (Android 9).
I have to change the routing table of my device connected to the AP every time
How to freeze the IP of the AP gateway ?
Thx
EDIT:
I use my android phone as hotspot.
I connect to it from my PC equipped with a wifi key.
From my PC, my routing table for this network interface is:
Net. Dest   Netmask    Gateway          Interface         Metric
0.0.0.0     0.0.0.0    192.168.43.166   192.168.43.102    600
192.168.43.102: Is the IP address of the wifi key of the PC connected to my Android hotspot.
192.168.43.166: The gateway changes, it's never the same with each new connection to the Android Hotspot

What type of access point are we talking about? Some DSL or cable router, a Wifi bridge or a access point that connects to a mobile cellphone system?

Question is unclear if the Android device is AP or the connecting device. Android doesn't change gateway IP and even if it changes, it's communicated through DHCP to connected devices. Why do you change routing table manually? Do you use static IP configuration on connected devices? Please edit your question to add more details.

It seems that you have lost access to your account. To regain access or to merge your multiple accounts, please follow the link here.


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Sharing crashes in all apps
The sharing function in all apps crash on my phone. No matter what app I use, as long as I click on the share button, the app crashes and restarts before showing the list of apps I can share with.
My phone is a Huawei Honor 9 and the OS version is 8.0. I am an Android developer so I tried to get the exception from Android Studio:
E/AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: ModernAsyncTask #1
Process: com.google.android.apps.photos, PID: 19271
java.lang.RuntimeException: An error occurred while executing doInBackground()
    at pu.done(PG:5)
    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.finishCompletion(FutureTask.java:383)
    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.setException(FutureTask.java:252)
    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:271)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1162)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:636)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:784)
 Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to read from field 'android.content.pm.ApplicationInfo android.content.pm.ComponentInfo.applicationInfo' on a null object reference
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1960)
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1900)
    at android.content.pm.IPackageManager$Stub$Proxy.queryIntentActivities(IPackageManager.java:3621)
    at android.app.ApplicationPackageManager.queryIntentActivitiesAsUser(ApplicationPackageManager.java:937)
    at android.app.ApplicationPackageManager.queryIntentActivities(ApplicationPackageManager.java:926)
    at aham.d(PG:7)
    at pi.d(PG:3)
    at pi.b(PG:19)
    at px.call(PG:5)
    at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:266)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1162)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:636)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:784)

It seems that this NullPointerException
java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to read from field 'android.content.pm.ApplicationInfo android.content.pm.ComponentInfo.applicationInfo' on a null object reference

is the cause to this problem.
I believe it's not the app's problem (in this case Google Photos) because it occurs in every app. So is it a system problem or is it caused by some other app I have installed? How can I find and uninstall that app if it's the latter case?

I'm experiencing the same in my Pixel 3, did you find how to solve it?

I backed up all my data, reinstalled the system, and restored the data. After that the problem is gone.


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adb restore across different devices, android versions
Once upon a time, I ran this on an Android 4.3.0 Nexus 7 2012 running ParanoidAndroid:
adb backup -all -nosystem -apk -shared \
  -f backup-all-nosystem-apk-shared-201309132331

Now I would love to restore at least one of those apps on my Android 4.3.1 Nexus 7 2013 running vanilla. (I haven't installed it.) I've preemptively ran:
adb backup -f backup-all-system-apk-noshared-20131027111818 -apk -noshared -all -system

and now I wonder: what could possibly go wrong if I restored the original backup? Would re-applying the backup I've just made on top of it get me to a... working system? Do I want to take additional safety measures?

Don't know if you figured this out or not, but Titanium Backup has a feature where you can import an ADB backup and then from there restore individual apps or all apps. Only down side, Titanium Backup does need root. That being said, I think it's worth it.
For details:
http://www.titaniumtrack.com/kb/titanium-backup-kb/titanium-backup-howtos.html#backup-without-root
In case that link goes away:

Connect your device and make sure its listed with the following
command:
adb devices
Run a FULL backup with the following command:
adb backup -f FullBackup.ab -apk -all
This will create a “package” called “FullBackup.ab” on the current location in your command prompt. This is your backup package.
Now you can root your phone.
Once finished rooting, insert the “FullBackup.ab” package on your sdcard
Hit the menu button and look for “Extract from ADB backup” option. This will prompt you to search for the file. Use the file manager that you installed earlier and navigate to the directory and select the FullBackup.ab file.
Now restore like as if the backup was made with Titanium Backup. Don’t forget to make a fresh copy of the backup using Titanium Backup. You’re Done!

On a relatively recent phone with LineageOS 17.1, this did not work for me: The file picker activity that pops up after choosing "Extract from ADB backup" lists all files as "greyed out"/disabled, so the ADB backup file cannot be selected.

First: As you did a backup including all your apps, you cannot restore a single app from it easily1 (adb restore is an all-or-nothing; either you restore the entire backup, or nothing – there are no parameters to specify parts to be restored).
Second: If you'd create separate backups (one per app), a restore should be possible across devices and Android versions (at least "upwards", i.e. backup made on the same or lower Android version as you want to restore it to). I've done that multiple times successfully, even across different brands and Android versions, in this way. Though that's not a guarantee :)

1 There are tools available to decode/split files created by adb backup, especially for that reason: to be able to restore a single app if you didn't think of that when creating the mega-backup.


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Backup app data and restore across ROMs
I always use Titanium Backup to backup my apps' data.
However, last time I tried switching to a different ROM, it didn't
work very well.
I let the apps be installed automatically by android, and then tried
restoring their data with TB (user apps only, no system apps), but
this caused most of my apps to always force-close when launched.
I was forced to switch back to the previous ROM to be able to get my
data back.
So I ask: is there an app (other than TB) that's more stable when it
comes to restoring data backed up in a different ROM?
Again, I'm talking about user apps, I know it's unstable to restore
system apps and I don't need that.

Restoring across different ROMs, have you considered the "troubleshooting options" of TB, and e.g. enabled its migration mode, or have it using the system's own SQLite libs instead of TiBus? All those things are especially for cases as described with your question. So making use of those might end your search for an alternative; they've always worked for me – migrating from my HTC Wildfire via Motorola Milestone 2 to finally LG Optimus 4X.
If you insist on alternatives, however, I'd suggest you take a look at the backup tag-wiki, where you find many of them described. With Android 4+, you could e.g. make use of adb backup (or use Helium Backup on your device, which does the same locally). Again: This and more is described in the mentioned tag-wiki.

I did try out options such as data migration and follow symlinks, but none helped. I hadn't tried using th e system's sqlite libs, hopefully that'll help.

That SQLite setting did the trick for me at least once, so it's definitly worth trying.


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Inbox showing date instead of time
My SMS inbox suddenly began to display the date instead of the time. Previously it has shown for example 18:54, but now it says OKT. 27 in the inbox.  When I open a conversation it will now say 27/10/2013, 18:54, instead of just 18:54.
How can I get it back to how it was?

Have you checked the Messaging app's settings?


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Contacts show gmail contacts instead of phone
when i try to assign one image to a contact, then all i can see are gmail contacts instead of my phone contacts. I'm using Jelly bean version. Please help me in this. Phone is Sony xperia C.

Check you 'Contacts' setting: open you 'Contact' -> go to Options -> 'Contact to Display'. See what is checked, setting it to 'Phone' should bring you phone contacts.


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I don't have a working ROM on my Sprint HTC One. I made an error when flashing; I'm on hboot 1.55 and Android v4.3, S-On
I've been struggling with this for over a day now.
I unlocked and rooted my phone just fine (HTC One on Sprint, 4.3) - but when I flashed a ROM, I flashed Maximus HD, which was apparently an International version and not a Sprint one. I think that messed some things up. After trying a few different ROMs on top of that, nothing works.
Each ROM I flash will "install" correctly, but when it boots to the lock screen, upon unlocking it gives me the HTC splash screen.
I'm convinced that my accidental upgrade to hboot 1.55 is rendering it impossible for me to flash any working ROMs - be it stock or otherwise. I can enter Recovery mode, adb sideload, and flash ROMs, but none of them work.
I've tried Superwipe and then Bad Boyz, but it's the same thing. After installation, it sticks at the HTC splash screen.
So, my options are limited. I think I need to find a way to revert my hboot to 1.44 from 1.55 - that way at least the stock RUU is compatible. However, I can't find any way to do this; since I'm S-On, and I can't access any ROM to mess with settings, I have no idea how to do this, or how to flash a workable ROM in order to switch to S-Off.
Anyone have any ideas. I'm seriously distraught. I just bought this phone, and I love it. I'm so sad that I decided to try this rooting/unlocking/ROM flashing business because it's disrupted my sanity.
Any thoughts or ideas will help immensely. I will give more information if needed. Thanks!

You need to do a factory reset and wipe the Dalvik Cache. What bootloader are you using? TWRP or Clockwork would be examples. I would enter this as a comment but lack the necessary reputation.
This tread on XDA may be of use. Soft Bricked - XDA

I had a similar issue on mine as well. The process to fix it was not to bad, knowing that you have the issue is the key.
Once you have gotten the proper RUU for your device in .zip format rename it to firmware.zip for ease of use. Place it in your folder with fastboot (sdk)
boot your phone into bootloader hook up your usb cable. make sure you have the fastbootusb in bootloader screen.
then type the following commands, hope it goes well.

Re-lock your bootloader (fastboot oem lock)
call up the RUU boot (fastboot oem rebootRUU) you should get the HTC logo at this point.
flash the RUU (fastboot flash zip firmware.zip)
at this point you could get an error 90 use the up arrow on keyboard to reselect your cmd command and hit enter.
if no error or when complete type (fastboot reboot-bootloader)

GOOD LUCK
MANY THANKS TO O.M.J. at xda for helping me with this issue when I ran across it.


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Unknown icon briefly appears in notifications
I'm hoping someone can help me figure out with this icon means. It's a phone with two left-pointing arrows on the right edge, and three concentric half-circles off the left edge.
It appears randomly, flashes once or twice, and is gone. It's all too quick to get a screen shot.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon running Android 5.0.1. I also have a Gear S2 watch connected. And my mobile hotspot is also on (currently) with a tablet connected.
Any thoughts, please??
Ed
Edit: 5/18/19
So sorry for taking so long.  Crazy work and life schedule.
I have attached a rough drawing of the mystery icon.

Edit (2):
Just found it -- it's for Samsung services (com.samsung.accessory). I'm assuming it gets called to communicate with my Gear S2 watch.

@qblueRed42 -- I don't have a notifications log shortcut???

Does the icon appear on the left side (-> app notification) or the right side (-> system icon) of the notification bar?

@Robert: On the left side.

Then there is a chance: Android keeps track of recent notifications. You can see the notification history as described here: How to get the notification history.

@Robert: As I told qblueRed42 earlier, that Notifications Log shortcut is not available on my phone. But that post did tell me there may be an app I can download to access that, so thank you for that.

Hi, looks like you've found the solution by yourself, which is great! Consider posting it as a proper answer since self-answering is not only allowed but even encouraged. Thanks!


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Unable to connect phone to pc. Phone charges only
My phone model is Huawei G7-L11. Android version is 6.0
Hey there, I want to connect my phone to PC to be able to unlock its bootloader. When I connect to PC, It charges only and that's it.
What I did:
1: I tried to connect to pc using Huawei HiSuit but that didn't worked. It does not show anything to PC or mobile as well, just charges the phone. I tried to connect another Huawei phone and that succeeded to connect to PC, But my Huawei G7 is not connecting to pc... Yes of course I turned on the USB debugging as well as allow hdb thing, I also disabled it and re-enabled it but that also didn't worked.
2: I tried to use adb to detect my phone... I typed adb devices as well as fastboot devices but that also didn't shown my devices.
Note: yes I know about MTP and other options, But my device is not connecting at all to PC.. It is not showing any option either. Just charges. I Installed the Huawei G7 drivers as well as snapdragon driver + universal ad drivers. I am 100% sure my USB cable is fine and I am not using any USB hub.
Please Help me... I want to unlock bootloader... Help me connect my device to PC.

replace the usb connector with spare part from aliexpress

First of all, start with easy-to-solve debugging:

Have you unlocked your phone while trying to connect to PC or did you connect with the screensaver showing?
After unlocking, you have a tab (in most of the phones its on top) that you can show by sliding down. There, you have a notification about the connection. Have you clicked it and set it to file transfer instead of just charging?
Try changing the USB cable.

Note: I know this could be answered by commenting the question but I haven't got enough reputation in this website.

first of all thnk u for your answer.. yes I know about the usb transfer thing but it does not show notification.. it does nothing else then charging..

And have you tried a different USB cable and a different USB port (on the PC)?


text:
Xiaomy (Redmi 4x) not synchronizing Calendar
I have a Xiaomi phone and almost since the beginning the calendar had sync problems. Until now they were most up to 1 week sync delay but now it stopped sync for good... I've tried to reset the phone, delete and reset the Google account, free up some internal memory space but nothing seems to work.
This problem happens both on the native Xiaomi App and the Google Calendar App so I believe the calendar sync is the problem itself.
The settings sync menu says it was updated today but no events show on the calendar...
Any help?
Thanks a lot!
UPDATE
After a new reboot the Google Calendar App started to work so I'm sticking with this App but if anyone can solve the Xiaomi Calendar issue please post an answer here.
DATA
Model: Xiaomi Redmi 4X
Android version: 7.1.2 N2G47H
MIUI version: 10.3.1.0 (NAMMIXM)


text:
Sideload non-'Android TV' app to show on the home screen
I've sideloaded an app on my Xiaomi Mi Box adb install myapk.apk. It worked and I can start it. My problem is, that it got installed as system app, which is only accesible over the settings and  prevents me from adding it to the home screen, which makes it really anoying.
Can I sideload an app directly as user app or can I convert a existing system app to a user app?
EDIT:
The app I sideloaded is a tv app of a provider which is supposed to only run on mobile devices, as the distribute apple tv.

Most likely the app is simply not an AndroidTV cable app. I do remember that as an app developer you have to provide a special entry for starting an app on an AndroidTV. Instead of LAUNCHER the app needs an android.intent.category.LEANBACK_LAUNCHER entry in it's AndroidManifest.xml.

@Robert this is most likley, as the provider forces apple tv and therefor only hands out the android app for mobile devices. Is there a workaround how I still can add it to the homescreen? An entry within the favorites list would be already enough.

As an Android app dev myself, I agree with Robert's comment. I'd suggest rewording the question to "sideload non-'Android TV' app to show on the home screen" instead since I believe this is unrelated to being a system app or not.

I found a working solution for me.
As I cannot add the sideloaded app to my home screen, I used this service to generate a launcher app which can be added to the home screen and will start the main app:
http://atvlauncher.trekgonewild.de/index.php


text:
How can I find preinstalled apps via adb?
Is there a way to find for example a preinstalled WhatsApp?
So before I delete WhatsApp I can check if for example Samsung has a pre-version installed on the device (and so I can’t fully remove it)?
With the normal „path“-command I got the actual WhatsApp path! But the Preinstalled WhatsApp-Path must be somewhere different!
Greetings
Dossy

adb shell pm list packages com.whatsapp
adb shell cmd package list packages com.whatsapp   # works on Android Nougat and above

Any of those commands would show whether WhatsApp is installed or not.
To know where the APK is installed, run:
adb shell pm path com.whatsapp

To get all the paths where both user installed APK and inbuilt APK is, run:
adb shell dumpsys package com.whatsapp

Look under the category 'Packages:' and 'Hidden system packages:'. The line with ResourcePath shows the path of the APK.
If your intention is merely to ascertain the existence of that app, then using adb is an overkill. An app can easily achieve the required objective. See my answer here for that.


text:
Nexus 7 2013 WiFi (flo) bootloader unlock fails
Update: I don't know what I did differently apart from factory resetting it a lot of times, but it finally went through and unlocked.

I'm trying to unlock the bootloader on my Nexus 7 2013 WiFi 32GB (flo). I turned it off, pressed power button + volume down, which soon greeted me with "the bootloader". I then ran fastboot oem unlock which prompted the tablet to ask me whether I really want to unlock the bootloader, and I subsequently navigated to yes using the volume keys and confirmed with the power button. Following that, this was printed to my computer's terminal:
(bootloader) Unlocking bootloader...
(bootloader) erasing userdata...
(bootloader) erasing userdata done
FAILED ()
Finished. Total time: 17.372s

As you can see, it only says FAILED (). No error code. Looking at photos of others unlocking the bootloader, it seems that the next step should be erasing cache, however it evidently does not progress there. I can still boot into Android though. First boot initially greeted me with an "erasing" screen which had an Android on it, and all user data was erased (as expected). I did try repeating the procedure once more after letting it boot Android again but the result was the same.
Other things I have tried are manually formating the userdata and cache partitions via the recovery menu and factory-resetting from within Android, however neither of these were fruitful.
I have tried 2 different computers and 2 different USB cables but they yielded the same results. How might I go about resolving this so that I can unlock the bootloader?

Have you enabled the "OEM unlock" slider in the developer settings? Without that option enabled bootloader unlocking will not work. If unlocking is still not possible try to perform a factory reset from within the running Android system (via settings menu).

@Robert I was thinking that too, but neither looking through the developer settings nor searching reveal any such option. I think it may be due to that this device initially shipped with Android Jellybean. I'll try a factory reset from within Android though. I was also thinking re-flashing might help.

I realise that even re-flashing an image from Google requires unlocking the bootloader. Reset from within Android was not fruitful either.

Which Android version is installed? According to some blogs there should be an "Allow OEM unlocking" option in developer menu. You can also try the command fastboot oem unlock-go.

@Robert Latest one available for the Nexus 7 2013 WiFi, i.e. 6.0.1 with security patch level being 5 August 2016. Are these blog posts about the Nexus 7? And I'll try that.

Result was unfortunately the same as fastboot oem unlock.

what happens for fastboot erase or format:ext4 userdata/cache? also there is a fastboot flashing unlock for all devices and unlock_critical for some

Update: I'm not sure what I did differently, but now it went through and unlocked.


text:
What is the difference between fastboot oem unlock and fastboot oem unlock-go?
I'm having issues unlocking my Nexus 7 2013 WiFi's bootloader, and it was suggested that I try fastboot oem unlock-go instead of fastboot oem unlock. Both seem to act the same on my device, however both also fail on my device so it is possible that the difference appears after the failure on my end comes.
Regardless, I would like to know: What is the difference between these two commands? I'm not managing to find documentation.

are both commands available at this device? the only difference i can imagine is for -go something is skipped (maybe erasing userdata, or confirmation dialog)? you can tell us

@alecxs both are available yes, and looking at the log I did not notice anything being skipped, however it ends prematurely due to it always failing (for currently unknown reasons). The confirmation dialogue was still there.

This XDA post says 1.it is specific to OEM 2. How to see if it this command is honored by your device 3.warns you not to try running fastboot commands of this type

@beeshyams this link is not helpful, the only explained command is oem off-mode-charge

@alecxs It is helpful to the extent not to try that command, if the device doesn't support and how to determine that. I didn't attempt to answer but provided what I found

@beeshyams thx for this. but it is misleading and contradictory to warn that fastboot oem unlock-go differs in any way from fastboot flashing unlock and therefore shouldn't be tried

@alecxs the point is OP doesn't know and I don't know the difference between these commands and you would agree it's not a good idea to run such commands without understanding the outcome. I was only emphasising this, while fastboot flashing unlock is known and well understood. I am as keen to know what the difference is and when does one use this? That's why up voted question

@beeshyams -go is recommended as alias on every 2nd tutorial, but nobody knows the difference. have seen this for by-passing xiaomi bootloader lock (temporary unlock?) http://xiaomitips.com/guide/unlock-redmi-note-3-bootloader-without-official-permission

@alecxs I too saw similar but IDK if it is an alias or two distinct things. Maybe it is a temporary unlock?

fastboot oem ... commands aren't standardized by Google. They are vendor specific. As a rough guess, they'd be 50+ from different vendors I have come across. Vendors even implement their own non-oem commands in fastboot, not following Google's recommendations. Because technically speaking bootloader (which includes fastboot) is not a part of Android. Usually OEMs don't provide official documentation on their fastboot implementation. So what the community knows is mostly based on reverse engineering flashing tools (which sometimes are plain batch or shell files).

Most device will prompt an Yes/No UI, and the user can press Volume Up/Down to choose an option, and press power to comfirm.
"fastboot oem unlock-go" will skip the prompt. But no all device support this command.

thx for clarifying :)

Can you help me find the documentation for this? I can't find fastboot oem unlock-go anywhere.


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Desire HD: I apparently flashed the wrong pd98img.zip, how can I fix this?
in a attempt to downgrade my Desire HD from 2.50 to 1.32 I apparently pushed the wrong pd98img.zip into my zip card. I can start the phone, but I'm greeted by some chinese characters and can't do anything but contact emergency numbers. I can't connect the phone with usb, I can't connect with adb or do anything else.
I can get into fastboot by taking out the memory card, otherwise it would try to install the wrong pd98img.zip continouesly.
Right now I have only following informations:
Ace PVT SHIP S-ON RL
HBOOT-0.85.0024
MICROP-0438
RADIO-26.09.04.11_M2
eMMC-boot
Apr 12 2011,00:55:45

What are my options?


text:
How can I control the media volume while using the camera?
I just upgraded to a Nexus 4 and have discovered the behaviour of the volume controls has been overridden within the camera app.  The volume up button has been remapped to snap the camera shutter.  As I often listen to music on my phone, I find this a great inconvenience.
Is there a way to restore the action of the volume buttons to their default behaviour of controlling the media volume, or alternately is there any other way to control the media volume from within the camera app?

Sorry not an answer you're looking for but I've just learnt that I can use the volume buttons to take photos with my Galaxy Nexus, had it for nearly two years and had no idea that there was a really easy hardware button for this! Thanks


text:
One S reboots with new CM 3.4 Kernel
This is something that's been bugging me ever since the 3.4 kernel was released:
Problem:
I am getting intermittent reboots when using any ROM which is based on the 3.4 kernel. It happens totally at random, but only when I'm actually using the phone - never when it's locked, or in my pocket.
Here are my last_kmsg logs, but this is where it gets really weird - it reboots twice. Every time. Once I get the initial reboot, it reboots to the HTC screen, then immediately reboots again. So I'm not sure the last_kmsg will even be that accurate.
Things I've Tried

Returning to stock RUU/upgrading/reflashing
Not restoring apps
Switching off Wifi
Undervolting/Overvolting
Different CPU Governors/Clock Speeds
Many different ROMS
CM10.2 Kernel & also Bubba Kernel

Would love to hear anything else I could potentially try, or other users with similar issues.

Sounds like the answer is to not user that kernel, unfortunately.

And to report a bug to the kernel maintainers.

What if it happens on multiple kernels? As I mentioned, I tried Bubba Kernel from the One S forums on XDA and experienced identical behavior. Not using the kernel is fine, I can stick with old 3.0 ROMs (until the Nexus 5 comes out!), I would just like to feed my OCD and find out why it's doing this


text:
Sharing/tethering 3G connection between Android devices
Is it possible to share 3G connection between two Android devices, a smartphone with 3G and a tablet with only wi-fi, for me to access the web with the tablet anywhere?
I have a Sony Xperia X8 with 3G connection, but my Nexus 7 doesn't, so I'm kind of tied to places with wi-fi routers, but I thought on using the phone to share connection with the tablet. I already do it with my notebook, although I need the cable.
Phone runs Android 2.1 and tablet runs 4.3, but I may try to install a modded ROM on the phone to update it to 2.3, if needed.

If you can upgrade the OS on your phone to at least Gingerbread, it will have a built-in hotspot feature you can use via WiFi. Otherwise you might have to root your device, or check the Playstore for solutions not requiring root. Understand that Eclair (2.1) is pretty outdated, so support might be limited.

Yes, I do understand Eclair is kinda old :/ I will search for a updated ROM for now

You phone has good development scene over at xda. Latest I could spot is Mini CM10.1 with Android 4.1.2 which does Wi-Fi tethering natively.
Good luck.

@k1chy can you give me directions on how to change ROMs? I failed miserably last try :(

read the guide over here. First you need to Unlock and install a custom recovery like ClockworkMod (CWM). From there it is simple.
Read the instructions clearly and be sure of what you are doing before doing it. Good luck


text:
Android keyboard and remapping the CTRL key
I have an Samsung Galaxy 10.1 running Android version 4.1.2. I am using ssh to remotely connect to my main machine which runs Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. Once I am connected I do all my work in emacs 24.3. I also have a bluetooth keyboard.
My question is about remapping the Caps Lock key to function as the Ctrl key. I do this with my main machine by changing a setting in the terminal options. I checked the options in juiceSSH and there appears to be no equivalent. Perhaps there is a general way to do this with Android or the Bluetooth Keyboard.
How can I remap the Caps Lock character to function as the Ctrl character?
If you need more information let me know.

I managed to remap the Caps Lock key to Ctrl using External Keyboard Helper Pro. It was really straightforward, just poke around in the settings and you'll find a way to create a custom mapping (Keycode 58 --> Left Control).

Note that you need to enable the "Keycode" checkbox when editing the mapping, then select "Left Control" from the dropdown. Also you need to enable the "Override special keys" option on the "Keyboard mapping" option page otherwise the key still functions as Caps Lock in addition to Ctrl.

If you press caps lock to initiate the keycode 58, this will lock this keycode in. Then press caps lock again. Otherwise, after activating your custom layout, you would always type everything capitalized.  2) I could replicate the desired behavior in Android this way. However, caps lock is simply inactive then (instead of 'control') inside Emacs running inside Linux for DeX, for example, which runs Ubuntu 16.04. Also other trials (setxkbmap -option ctrl:nocaps or dconf write /org/gnome/desktop/input-sources/xkb-options "['caps:ctrl']") did not respect caps lock as control unfortunately

Since Android 4.1 you can do it without root by installing an app that provides additional keyboard layouts (Key Character Map files).
The example of such app could be found here (I'm the developer).
If you don't familiar with Android development and/or don't want to build such app, there is web-app to do it (I'm the developer). It's free and open-sourced.
The KCM file to make CapsLock acts like Ctrl should look like
type OVERLAY

map key 58 CTRL_LEFT

UPDATE:
As Ronald Rogers said in the comments: Note you have to pick "ExKeyMo Layout" for all of your keyboards in your "Physical Keyboard" settings for this to work.
UPDATE:
ExKeyMo web app is not available on Heroku anymore. You'll have to run it locally. See the project's page on GitHub.

Note you have to pick "ExKeyMo Layout" for all of your keyboards in your "Physical Keyboard" settings for this to work.

If you have rooted the device, and are able to remount /system as read-write, then you can do it by editing the files in /system/usr/key*. Here is an example with detailed instructions.


text:
fastboost doesn't see device on linux even with su and sudo
so i Had a trouble booting into download mode on my Samsung Galaxy J4 to boot twrprecovery.img and not flashing it after enabling "developers options" and "USB debugging" and "Unlock OEM" now bootloader is already unlocked under "Unlock OEM" I tried adb devices it saw my phone I did adb reboot bootloader it did not boot into bootloader so after a little research I found I had to use adb reboot download I could enter download mode but when doing fastboot devices with normal, sudo and su privileges it simply doesn't see it while in OS mode nor in the download mode. I tried booting into bootloader via recovery mode using poweroff+Vol up+Homescreen and then navigating to reboot to bootloader it simply reboots to the OS.
so why adb sees devices but not fastboot?
anonsam-X550CC ~ # uname -r
4.4.0-127-generic
anonsam-X550CC ~ # cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Linux Mint"
VERSION="18.3 (Sylvia)"
ID=linuxmint
ID_LIKE=ubuntu
PRETTY_NAME="Linux Mint 18.3"
VERSION_ID="18.3"
HOME_URL="http://www.linuxmint.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="http://forums.linuxmint.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="http://bugs.launchpad.net/linuxmint/"
VERSION_CODENAME=sylvia
UBUNTU_CODENAME=xenial

Phone Model : SM-J400F/DS
Baseband version : J400FXXU2ARI2
Build number : R16NW.J400FXXU2ARK2
Android version : 8.0.0
Android security patch level : November 1, 2018

Samsung devices do not have "fastboot" but use a proprietary system. You must use Odin/Heimdall to communicate with the device. You cannot communicate with a Samsung device with fastboot.

I'm not trying to flash i'm just trying to boot twrprecovery.img, I think odin/Jodin/Heimedall only flashes a rom

Still, Samsung devices do not support fastboot in any way, you can't just "boot" TWRP on them, you must flash it.


text:
Oflline access to note/task/calendar apps
Sure Evernote is great, but I don't like the idea of paying for accessing my own data when I am offline, which is still very often the case for tablets when you travel.
Unfortunately, when you read reviews, this bit of information is lacking.
Do you know of any free evernote-like app where synced data can be later accessed offline still for free?
What about Springpad in this regard?


text:
htc one message notification problem
Yesterday I bought the HTC One which was a huge step up from the iPhone 4s which I had owned. I have one problem with the phone: I cant find a way to view a contacts notification for a text without it displaying the message in the form of a preview. Is there any way I can change the settings so that the ls will show the sender but not the message preview. Im looking for something similar to ios where it would display the contacts name and it would say "text message"

No, you cannot disable text preview completely. You can adjust how many lines you'd like to see (1-3), but like iOS native Messages.app you will be presented with a message preview.
That being said, on Android platform you can replace most default applications with the ones you like more. Perhaps you will be able to find SMS/MMS app that offers this sort of customizability.


text:
How can I download apps from Google Play to my Tab using my PC's Internet connection?
I don't have access to the internet on my Samsung Tab 3 and don't have wifi either. Only my PC has internet access through a landline and non wireless modem. How can I download apps from Google Play to my tab? I got the USB cable that connects my tab to the PC.

Sounds like what you need is "reverse tethering". How to set up reverse tethering over USB?

That would most likely require the device to be rooted, which is not always an option.

Reverse tethering sounds like too much work. I'd just buy a micro-usb to ethernet converter online if I were you. There should be no need to root your device either.

While one solution might be to setup reverse tethering, as eldarerathis already pointed out in his comment to the question (see: How to set up reverse tethering over USB?), this most likely requires your device to be rooted.
An alternative approach is described in an Article I've recently stumbled upon: How to extract direct APK links from Google Play Store. This basically uses a Java app on your PC, which is connected to your device via USB cable – and hence would perfectly match your needs.
You would need to download that Java application (Real APK Leecher), install it on your PC, configure it with your device ID (which you can find e.g. via the "dial code" *#*#8255#*#*), and then this Java app pretends to be your Android device, so you can use it to browse the PlayStore and download apps to your device.
Disclaimer: I didn't try this for myself, so I'm just sharing my find with you here.


text:
Access windows shared folder via bluetooth
I have a specific requirement of being able to access a shared folder present on a windows 8 laptop. However, rather than doing this over the wireless connection, I want to be able to do this over bluetooth. So for example, if I have a shared folder on windows called Share and i drop a file in the folder called test.txt, I want to be able to see this file automatically updated on a folder called Share present on the android device, something like what dropbox does but just not over the wi fi. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I know this is an old as hell question, but I thought I would answer anyway.
Simply put, this is impossible with the way you'd want to implement it.  Windows folder shares are SMB/CIFS, which is a NetBIOS/TCP/IP protocol.  Bluetooth is, well, the Bluetooth protocol.
Technically speaking, you could use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on your Windows machine and connect to the broadcasting WiFi.  You'd then be on your internal network, and you could access the share.  But that would involve using your device's WiFi, not your Bluetooth connection.

To add on to a more practical solution, this is a possible and can be achieved using this simple workaround:
You need a good file explorer for android capable of supporting network location folders.
In this illustration, I used ES Explorer. Also note your PC needs to support bluetooth browsing.

First step, in the Bluetooth setting on PC allow bluetooth discoverability. See below:

Secondly in your Android device be sure to switch on Bluetooth (pairing the two devices is preferred), open ES explorer, and go to Network >> Bluetooth, see below:

Next tap on "Scan" and you should see your PC device like shown below.

You will prompted by the PC to grant access to browse folders on PC and click "Allow", after that you can  see the folders on your PC through your phone and file transfers are synced, and you just need to refresh to see the changes, (for example you can send a .txt to your Bluetooth exchange folder and see the changes in your phone)

Note: You can change your Bluetooth exchange folder in Bluetooth settings in your PC to any desired folder. I just used default

The post may be old but may assist those eho want to substitute ftp file transfers via bluetooth instead of Wi-Fi. Hope this helps

I'm pretty sure it can be done although it is irrelevant for larger files. You just need File Transfer Profile (FTP), which comes with most Bluetooth suites. If its an older Bluetooth driver then you can find the Bluetooth FTP here: Bluetooth File Transfer (BlueFTP)
The received files are used store in Documents\Bluetooth


text:
Kies - Reflashing Samsung Galaxy Y
My problem is that I messed up some binaries in the ROM on my Samsung Galaxy Y (GT-S5360L). Specifically, most of the binaries in /system/bin are gone, thanks to Busybox Installer. This means I can still use my phone for basic things (calling, texting, music), but advanced things like connecting to wifi, turning on "find my mobile," etc, are now broken. Naturally, I got Samsung Kies, put my phone into download mode, and tried to reflash the firmware. The only problem is, after Kies downloads the firmware, gives the appropriate warnings and disclaimers, and says "preparing firmware," it gives me a random error in Chinese. (I can't read Chinese, sadly.) I rebooted my phone, its the same deal, nothing has been changed. (Luckily, my phone has not been hard bricked.)
I have already tried flashing with Kies again, same problem. I tried connecting the USBcable to another port, and using a different USB cable, nothing worked.
Why doesn't a firmware upgrade with Kies work like it should? All help is greatly appreciated.

Try this: 1- If you can take a photo of that error message in Chinese, with another Android Phone with latest version of Google Translate, do it: Google Translate can now translate text in images through the phone's camera. 2- If that is not possible, then take the photo with a good camera and upload it to a photo sharing service and edit your post here to add the url of the photo (then I can edit your post to embed here the photo if you want), so the translation part will be question of minutes.

Good idea. I think actually the problem is not enough space on the internal memory, so I'll try deleting my apps.  (I also found that I can actually connect to Wifi  with a static ip, so it's not that bad after all)


text:
recovery partition does not seems to be exist
Hi all I have successfully root my innos a35 phone and now what I want is to
There's no file called /proc/mtd , So is that mean that my device is not based on the
mtd technology.
I have tried the fastboot but it seems not working.
My /proc/mounts is look like this bellow.
cat /proc/mounts
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
debugfs /mnt/debugfs debugfs rw,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /system ext4 ro,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,barrier=1,nodelalloc,d
ata=ordered,noauto_da_alloc,noinit_inode_table 0 0
/dev/block/mmcblk0p15 /cache ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordere
d 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,
uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharse
t=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/secure/asec vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,rela
time,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,ioc
harset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/sdcard/.android_secure tmpfs ro,relatime,size=0k,mode=000 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:18 /mnt/emmc vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,ui
d=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0602,dmask=0602,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=
iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
#

So I understand that /dev/block/mmcblk0 is a one device and it should be refers to the
internal SD card. Is this assumption is right here?
So I navigate into /dev/block/ and executed 'ls' there.
I could find these files there.
mmcblk1p1
mmcblk1
mmcblk0p20
mmcblk0p19
mmcblk0p18
mmcblk0p17
mmcblk0p16
mmcblk0p15
mmcblk0p14
mmcblk0p13
mmcblk0p12
mmcblk0p11
mmcblk0p10
mmcblk0p9
mmcblk0p8
mmcblk0p7
mmcblk0p6
mmcblk0p5
mmcblk0p4
mmcblk0p3
mmcblk0p2
mmcblk0p1
platform
mmcblk0

What are those devices normally? So mmcblk0 does represent the whole partition table
there right?
I want to know how it was partitioned ahead, what address mapped to where and what
partition mapped to where.
So from them what is the recovery partition?
What is the booting procedure of this device? I mean device first sector of mcblk0 into it's memory and then it does starts executing there. Am I right?
Or the startup rom [I have no clue what's going on] does configured to directly read the
partition titles and load the recovery images? What is going on here?
If I dumped those partitions as hex files , is there any signature or something that
I could used to assume which is what?

If the phone does not have /proc/mtd (IMHO should have, even with no real info), you should have /proc/emmc. Also try to examine file /proc/dumchar_info Source

I was able to gather that required information through reading a log

Starting recovery on Sat Oct  5 16:12:57 2013
framebuffer: fd 4 (320 x 480)

recovery filesystem table
=========================
0 /tmp ramdisk (null) (null)
1 /boot emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p8 (null)
2 /cache ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p15 (null)
3 /data ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p13 (null)
4 /recovery emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 (null)
5 /misc emmc /dev/block/mmcblk0p19 (null)
6 /sdcard vfat /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /dev/block/mmcblk1
7 /system ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 (null)
8 /sys_boot vfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 (null)

Command: "/sbin/recovery"

It's also known as the recovery log, don't know whether there's a connection. It shows all the partitions which are mounted. I used the
dd command and flashed the recovery partition /dev/block/mmcblk0p16 as listed here:
dd if=recovery_image of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p16

NOTE: This resulted me a broken recovery image. (I think they are still not supporting this device). Good thing that I have already backed up the recovery image.
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 of=recovery_backup.img

So I have replaced it with the backup again and it's working back.


text:
how to display text on TWRP recovery screen using a sh file?
I'm trying to display message on TWRP 3.2.3-0 recovery screen using a .sh file.
i was thinking using echo command to make that.
my update-script is like this
ifelse(is_mounted("/system"), unmount("/system"));
ifelse(is_mounted("/data"), unmount("/data"));
ui_print("-- Mount partitions...");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/data");
package_extract_dir("test", "/tmp");
set_perm(0, 0, 0755, "/tmp/test.sh");
ui_print("run test.sh");
run_program("/tmp/test.sh");
ui_print("END OF PROCESS");
unmount("/data");
unmount("/system");

and my sh file is
#!/sbin/sh

if [ ! -e "/efs/imei/mps_code.dat" ]; then
    mount /efs
fi
csc_id=`cat /efs/imei/mps_code.dat`
echo "$csc_id" > /tmp/csc_id.prop
echo "Your active csc is $csc_id"

echo works because i see it in recovery log but displays nothing on recovery screen
Is there a way to activate echo or an other command to display message on recovery screen using sh file?

This piece of code is extracted from the ZIP package of SuperSU. It's working correctly on all devices I've ever had (displaying text to the TWRP terminal)
OUTFD=1
readlink /proc/$$/fd/$OUTFD 2>/dev/null | grep /tmp >/dev/null
if [ "$?" -eq "0" ]; then
  # rerouted to log file, we don't want our ui_print commands going there
  OUTFD=0

  # we are probably running in embedded mode, see if we can find the right fd
  # we know the fd is a pipe and that the parent updater may have been started as
  # 'update-binary 3 fd zipfile'
  for FD in `ls /proc/$$/fd`; do
    readlink /proc/$$/fd/$FD 2>/dev/null | grep pipe >/dev/null
    if [ "$?" -eq "0" ]; then
      ps | grep " 3 $FD " | grep -v grep >/dev/null
      if [ "$?" -eq "0" ]; then
        OUTFD=$FD
        break
      fi
    fi
  done
fi

ui_print_always() {
  echo -n -e "ui_print $1\n" >> /proc/self/fd/$OUTFD
  echo -n -e "ui_print\n" >> /proc/self/fd/$OUTFD
}

To display message, use ui_print_always "some message" instead of echo.

thanks for your answer but it doesn't work for me. recovery log is /tmp/test.sh: line 32: can't create /proc/self/fd/: Is a directory. do you use this code in sh file and sheban is #!/sbin/sh ?

@kramer You need to set OUTFD=1 beforehand.


text:
Lineage OS 16, Nandroid Backup Not Working
I am currently running the April 29th build of LineageOS for MicroG 16.0 on my OnePlus 5 (cheeseburger). I tried to update the device using the built in Updater, but the device just rebooted into TWRP and showed the TWRP logo screen for some time. After that, I got this error message:
Checking for MODEM build time-stamp 2019-07-18 14:56:39
Error: This package requires firmware version 9.0.7 or newer.
Please upgrade firmware and retry!
Updater process ended with ERROR: 7
Error installing zip file '@/cache/recovery/block.map'
Done processing script file

After searching for a solution, I decided it would be best to just backup my data and reinstall Lineage.
After looking through my options, I decided a Nandroid backup through TWRP was my best option. So, I tried to take one. This was the result:
createTarFork() process ended with ERROR: 255
Backup Failed. Cleaning Backup Folder.

If I adb pull my recovery.log, this is where I get my errors:
E:tar_open error opening '/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/[serial_number]/2019-08-10--23-11-06_lineage_cheeseburger-userdebug_9_PQ2A190405/data.ext4.win000'
Error creating backup.
I:Error creating tar '/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/[serial_number]/2019-08-10--23-11-06_lineage_cheeseburger-userdebug_9_PQ2A190405/data.ext4.win000' for thread 0
Error creating backup.
I:ERROR tarList for thread ID 0
Error creating backup.
I:InfoManager saving '/data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/[serial_number]/2019-08-10--23-11-06_lineage_cheeseburger-userdebug_9_PQ2A190405/data.info'
createTarFork() process ended with ERROR: 255

I read up about this type of error and found out that it means that those files have been corrupted and should be deleted. The strange thing is that the day before yesterday when I deleted the files in the /data/media/0/TWRP/BACKUPS/[serial_number]/ and then tried to perform the backup again, it regenerated files in the same directory, causing the same error. I also find it strange that the files that are causing the backup to fail seem to be backup files as well, although I've never performed a successful Nandroid backup on my device.
So, what can I do to fix this error and finally be able to backup and update my device?

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/214872/how-root-huawei-y7-trt-lx1-switch-slot/214897#comment275425_214897


text:
How to restore WhatsApp data from SD card or internal memory and not from Google Drive?
I changed phones and installed WhatsApp on the new one. I have a backup database file on an SD card and the same file copied to the internal WhatsApp folder and Google Drive.
However, during install, the restore process only checks in G Drive and says that no backup is available.
How do I restore the data from this backup file from the internal memory or SD card? There is no corresponding option during backup restore.
Adding a few points based on other QnA I went through. Hope they help.

The phone number has not changed. I am using the same number on the new phone as earlier.
I have copied the backup database file from the SD card to the internal memory and also to the G Drive
The backup file is named "msgstore.db.crypt12" It does not have the date in the name.

I had problems with this too, and today finally it worked.  Unfortunately I'm not sure which of the following additional steps did the trick, but maybe it helps others:

I copied the entire WhatsApp folder over from the old phone to the new one (zipped it using Total Commander, copied it to a PC via USB, copied it to the new phone also via USB, unzipped it also using Total Commander).
After installing WhatsApp, I gave the app all possible permissions before running it: under Settings/Apps, select WhatsApp, tap Permissions, and then select all permissions listed under "denied" and tap "allow" (you can revoke the permissions again after the backup is succesfully restored).

After doing this, running WhatsApp and confirming my phone number, I was finally prompted to restore the local backup. Before that, WhatsApp asked me for some permissions and then asked me to select a Google Drive backup (which I hadn't done), when I selected "skip" at this step it apparently also skipped the local backup.

Open google drive.
Top left menu, backups, deactivate WhatsApp backup
(option to delete also, not necessary)
Re-do the login procedure as usual.
Done.


text:
JellyBlast ROM on Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360L
I have a Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5360L, and I wanted to install a new ROM, JellyBlast. The only problem is the download link is broken. I searched all over google for the download, but all the links are broken. Where can I get the download? (Does it still exist? If not, what are some Jellybean themed ROMs I can get?)

Have you checked Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Cool. But I specifically want JellyBlast, and all the places I seached (including XDA Developers Forum) had a broken link (or on XDA Forums a link removed by a mod)

Well, I didn't check all sources referenced there – it was rather intended as a starting point for your search :)


text:
Where is the factory reset button on Android 4.0.3?
I would like to do a factory reset of my Android phone. All guides on the internet I read show a factory reset button under the Privacy tab in Settings. However I don't have this button.
Where is it hidden?
I have Android 4.0.3 on an HTC one phone.

I did this already.

It's easy.

Go to Settings, and then tap Backup & reset.
Tap Reset phone.
If you also want to delete media and other data on HTC One, select Erase all data.
Tap OK.

You can check HTC website also

The Backup & reset button is not there.

Then do it like this:  1. TURN OFF THE PHONE.
Press and hold the VOLUME DOWN button, and then press and hold the POWER button.
Wait for the screen with the three Android images to appear, and then release the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons.
Press VOLUME DOWN to select FACTORY RESET, and then press the POWER button.

Settings>Accounts>Backup and reset>Factory Data Reset

It's in settings/storage at the bottom.


text:
WhatsApp contact has wrong name associated with it in contacts (but correct name within WhatsApp itself) - How to fix?
In setting up my new Samsung S4 mini one contact (guy) got confused with another (girl). When the girl would phone me, I'd see the guy's picture (via google) and name. Somehow I changed the number and saved the girl as a separate new entry. Along the way, I must have done something wrong, cuz as a result I've now got the following entries in contacts:

guy: Phone, Google, WhatsApp
girl: Phone, Google
(same) guy's name: WhatsApp of the girl ( ! )

In contrast, within WhatsApp itself, the names of the guy & girl are correct.
How to fix?

PS: If I try to delete the guy's name girl's WhatsApp contact, I get the following message popup:

You cannot delete contacts from read-only accounts, but you can hide
  them in your contacts lists.

see also WhatsApp Help Center - How to delete a contact

I was facing the same problem.
I followed following steps which resolved the issue.

Removed the WhatsApp from Setting-->Account (no Impact on whatsApp).
Removed the Google account & added back.

This solved my problem.

For me, it was Settings > Accounts > Other Accounts > WhatsApp > WhatsApp > More >  > Remove account

Go to your contact list and select the girl's contact,
Hit Edit - the icon that looks like a pen
Then Settings - three dots on the top right corner
and choose "Join"
This will take you back to your contact list. From here choose the correct What's app id

The problem on an Android phone could be that you inappropriately merged two contacts for two different people into one.
The solution that worked for me was to delete both person's contacts on the Google contacts list and on the cell phone contacts list. Sometimes one person can be listed twice or more times in your contact list so all of their listings need to be removed. Then add the two people back to the google contact list making sure not to have any overlapping phone numbers. Overlapping phone numbers is what caused the inappropriate merging in the first place.
To delete and add to the Google contact list:

Open up Google Chrome.
Click on the 9-dots in the upper-right hand corner.
Scroll down in the pop-up box until you get to contacts
Click on contacts.
Type in person's phone number with area code.
Click on person's name.
Click on 3-vertical-dots in upper right hand corner.
Click delete.
Click delete in the new pop-up box.
Repeat for all contacts sharing same phone number used in the WhatsApp app. 10. Add back the contacts by clicking on the rainbow-colored cross in the upper left corner.


text:
adb shows devices as offline but system_profiler detects the devices fine
I have several devices (mix of tablets and phones) connected to my mac mini. Some of them are connected directly while some are connected by a good quality hub.
$  system_profiler SPUSBDataType | grep -i serial
   Serial Number: 015d2109ed4c0c18
     Serial Number: 4dfcbd091f3a5023
     Serial Number: 000ee30e7de4cf
     Serial Number: 4100018996d37000
     Serial Number: 0123456789ABCDEF
   Serial Number: FA35FW901634
   Serial Number: 2021bbaa

For sometime, adb detects all these devices fine.
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
4100018996d37000        device
0123456789ABCDEF        device
000ee30e7de4cf  device
4dfcbd091f3a5023        device
2021bbaa        device
FA35FW901634    device
015d2109ed4c0c18        device

But with time, these devices goes in offline state irrespective of the way they are connected (direct or via hub). Even when these are in offline state, as reported by adb, system_profiler still detects them fine. This means that Mac mini is still seeing these devices but adb is not.
I am using original cables that came with the phone. Why do they go in offline state? Only thing that get the devices back is physically re-connecting the devices. Can anyone help me with this?

That might be due to power-saving settings (may sound wierd as USB is a power supply, but the algorithm used might not take that into consideration). I know there's a setting in the developers section to keep the display on when power connected, so you could use that. Alternatively, you could set your WiFi policy to keep WiFi "always active" on power-connected. Or build something yourself with Tasker and the Secure Settings Plugin.

@Izzy I'll take a look at it for sure. Wifi is always on. I must add though that all the devices are fully charged (via usb).

I was aware of the latter, that's why I wrote the algorithm used might not take that into consideration (could be a generic powersave util). But I'd thought WiFi active should keep it in a "wake state". That leaves the display and Tasker tricks. Easiest approach might be a Tasker profile with the condition "Power (USB)", and a Task that loops over "ping -c 1 <whatever>" followed by a "Wait <30s>". Just thinking aloud :)

We've been looking for an answer to this for some several months. Unfortunately, the most hopeful response I've seen is this one, which suggests moving the Mac Mini to Linux, whose USB stack is described as 'more forgiving':
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/15727314/resetting-android-device-when-it-goes-to-offline-mode-during-automation
We're going to try shifting to a spare (PC-based) Linux box for the time being; I'll try to remember to report back whether it's more reliable.

We stayed using PCs but forgot that we periodically killed adb because of the Mac usb stack - so our test run script still kills adb before running, even though we presumably don't need to! :D

Try enabling the "Stay awake" setting under Developer options to keep it "active" while connected to the USB.

I was having the same problem. The adb devices command was giving device offline response.
Then I stopped adb server by executing the following command.
adb server-kill
Then again started daemon by adb devices command.
Connection request was promted on my android phone and I gave it .
Then I could see my device online
This worked for me hope it would also resolve yours

In this scenario, usually what i do is , stop the adb server, use the adb kill-server command. You can then restart the server by sending any adb command. Please check if that works


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Whatsapp offline status
I friend of mine says that whenver I am talking to someone over phone, my whatsapp status shows offline i.e. neither it shows me online (since I am not using whatsapp at that moment and talking to someone on phone) nor the "LAST SEEN" status is available. And he can even tell me the exact duration of time I spent talking to that person.
Is this possible??
Is this a feature of whatsapp??
because as far as i know, no such case exists and if I try to view the status of a person who is currently talking to someone over the phone then obviously the "LAST SEEN" status for that person is available.
Is the friend of mine using some software or app??

What's your carrier? Some mobile phone technologies turn off data when using voice. WhatsApp wouldn't be able to contact the home server to update your status during your call.

See also: Is there a way to search for a number in Google without interrupting the call?, orWhy does Android disable HSDPA/EDGE communication while calling? about losing data connections whilst making a call.

Your data connection is probably being lost during the phone call. Thus, whatsapp gets disconnected.
CDMA networks (Verizon, Sprint, and others that do not use a SIM card) do not work with data and voice at the same time when on 3G. Voice takes over, so anything using data is disconnected. Verizon is working towards this feature, called svdo (Simultaneous Voice and ev-DO data), and according to that page has one device that uses it, the HTC Thunderbolt. Similarly, Sprint also has the HTC Evo 4G LTE that can use it. Almost all other devices, though, do not support this.
However, LTE (4G) does allow for voice and data simultaneously, so certain devices that are LTE capable and are connected to LTE can maintain data connections during a phone call.
In the end, if you have service through a network without SIM cards, and you aren't connected to WIFI or LTE, then you will lose data connections when you make or receive a phone call.


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S Galaxy mini 2 rebooting every 12 seconds... I'd like at least to save some data!
A pair of months ago I bought my first smartphone, so I am quite the noob. Suddently last week it decided to restart every 12-13 seconds (literally), as long as I don't remove the battery, and I can't find a solution on the internet. Of course I could give it to the support, but they warned me that by this way I'll lose all my data, while I'd like to save at least some. On the internet I found a couple of people with my same problem and no answer (if we exclude the "I left it in its frenzy the whole night, when I woke it was resolved", which in my case mysteriously didn't work) can you help me?
DETAILS - Samsung Galaxy mini 2 GT-S6500, no SD
THE INCIDENT - I was playing a game when it freezed (no answer from any button short of the 8 seconds forced shut down), as it had already happened, so I pressed the "off" button and started waiting, since it usually worked; I fell asleep, and when I woke up the screen was on and black. When I restarted it manually it started the evil madness. I had not installed any new app, or so I remember.
FAILED TREATMENTS
- Can't enter recovery mode by holding Volume up (+), Volume down (-) and Home button and then power on the phone. Nor does any combination of Volume, Power and Home work in any way...

It's particularly strange that you can't get into Recovery or Download mode. I did some googling and found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbLcij05jH8 . So it's really a thing. The description of that youtube link suggests that it was a hardware failure, that the owner's father repaired with a soldering iron. That's pretty intense! If you can't get into recovery mode, can't boot normally, and can't connect to USB... I think you might be out of luck. Anyone else have ideas?

Uh, this hardcore solution looks way out of my possibilities... plus I'd prefer not to risk damaging the hardware since I would lose free support...
I was wondering... isn't there any program capable of making my pc read the smartphone memory even if it is off, so that I can at least save my data?
Anyway, thanks, at least I have some idea of the source of the problem!

Like I said before: If you can't get into recovery mode, can't boot normally, and can't connect to USB... I don't think so. Somebody else might have better news for you, though!

Have you tried a USB jig? That will get you into download mode. Maybe then you can flash a better recovery If it's still rebooting in recovery/download, you probably have a serious hardware issue and data recovery is going to be unlikely.


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Convert handwritten note to text
The Samsung S-note app has a handwriting recognition mode that will turn handwriting to text in more or less real time, but it slows down input enough for it to not be really practical to use when jotting notes in meetings.
Is it possible to convert previously-taken handwriting and turn it to text later in S-note?  If not, then what about one of the other apps that come with the Galaxy note such as aNote HD?


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Bypass proxy for everything but local addresses?
I know this is a bit unconventional, but I want to bypass the proxy for all external addresses/domains and only proxy internal addresses. How would I craft a proxy bypass setting string that meets the above requirement?

By using Hotspot Shield you can bypass proxy installed on any network

@Raman I don't want to completely bypass the proxy for all connections. I want to bypass the proxy for all external addresses. In other words I only want to proxy addresses in my local subnet.


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Wifi passwords were not restored on a new device
I got a new galaxy nexus phone running 4.2.2 and I noticed my WiFi passwords were not restored to this device.
I skipped the account login upon first start, but added it later on. Am I missing something? I'm pretty sure my passwords were automatically synced when I got a nexus 7 tablet last year.
Many thanks for helping with this.

Sorry to say so, but yes: You missed to backup them separately. While Google Cloud backup seems to work fine for some, it's reportedly flaky. You cannot tell it when or what to restore, and sometimes it restores all, while at other times parts or even nothing at all. Should be better with "newer" Android versions, but there are no guarantees.

Does that mean I can still back up passwords on my tablet and then run restore them on my new phone?

If you still have the first device, you could even try to factory-reset the second and accept the Google account straight away (not sure if that helps, though). Apart from that, there are a few apps for root users offering to backup/restore them. And if both devices are running Android 4.x, without root you might want to give Helium Backup a try. Koush might have implemented that part as well meanwhile.

Thanks, I'll give that a try, although I'm pretty disappointed with the flakiness of the restore feature

Agreed, and that's not something Google "proudly announces" (as with the new DeviceManager, which cannot locate any of my 4 Google-connected devices; many others having similar issues, but still it is announced as the killer-feature). Using e.g. Helium in parallel, you can even backup before you reset and selectively restore things after, so the factory reset won't cause too much harm. Thing is, I doubt it will work, see Dan's answer to Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?

Helium is just a wrapper around bmgr, with overburdened and confusing UI. Sometimes running adb shell bmgr restore _id_of_set_ com.android.providers.settings works for me, but it is unreliable.


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Request Persmission after changing Google password
I changed the password on my Google account a week ago, and ever since then I've been getting notifications on my Nexus 4, requesting permission for my account. When I press it, nothing happens, but Google Play Services appears in the recent apps menu, and nothing happens when I press it.

I had the same problem, it's a bug that appears occasionally when you change your Google account password, or when you switch to the two step verification. Some apps that are using your Google account can't synchronize the new password and this error appears.
In my case, the guilty was the app "My Tracks" (from Google) (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.maps.mytracks&hl=en). Going to "Settings > Apps > My Tracks", claning data and cache and relaunching the app solved the problem.
If you don't have "My Tracks" app installed then try this:
Go to "Settings > Accounts > your Google account". Start unchecking one of the options and select "Sync now" (in the menu). Continue unchecking the rest of the options one by one and doing "Sync now" until the synchronizing error stops appearing. At this time, go to "Settings > Apps", search for the last app you unchecked, clear its data and cache and relaunch it (the app may ask for permission, you have to allow it). Then return to "Settings > Accounts > your Google account" and check all the options and do "Sync now". If the error continue appearing it means that another app is failing, so repeat the operation to detect and correct it.

I don't see any reason to believe the OP is using this app.


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Galaxy S3 won't turn on
I have a Galaxy S3 and if my screen won't turn on but it vibrates when I press the power button does that mean I have a dead screen? Or is there someway that I can fix it? I've tried it over and over and over again but it won't do anything but vibrate when turning on. The first few times the LED light would turn on but now that won't even work. I even tried the rebooting process and the screen still won't turn on. Anytime I plug it in to a USB or charger it just vibrates 4 times.

Usually when this happens to me, my battery is dead and has really zero power to even turn on. Give it some time in the charger.

Hold Power and V- for 10+ seconds.
Release.
Press the Power and Home buttons for several seconds, you should see a Samsung Logo, entering your device into recovery mode.
If you can get to this point, the Display is function properly.
If issues persist, plug in the device and let it charge completely, and then remove the batter, giving it time to discharge completely.