text:
LowMemoryKiller is killing loads of system apps and forcing user space death, but "free" says there's plenty of memory
For some time I've had a problem, where crucial system processes were being force killed by LowmemoryKiller/OOM.
Following help, I added a 500 MB swap file working natively a couple of days ago to try and reduce memory pressure and lowmemkiller triggers (thread with details here). The output of free showed an extra 500 MB of space, which I figured was plenty to prevent whatever low memory problem was forcibly killing system processes.
But it hasn't helped. Out of the blue I suddenly again got a fairly vicious "everything got killed by LowMemKiller" just now, with about 6 core dump files created in just 100 seconds, followed by a user space crash, and the kernel (dmesg) log suggest that low memory issues were the only reported problem, even though this time a large amount of swap was available and recognised by the system (see free below).
Here's the relevant part of dmesg >dmesg.txt shortly after init restarted userspace. In the first part of the log, long periods of several seconds pass where nothing new happens; when userspace is killed off during the 100 seconds at 2105-2208 there is nothing beforehand and no hint of cause.
Phone turned on
<6>[001992.334927,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[001992.386743,0] mdss_dsi_on+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[001992.424178,0] mdss_dsi_on-:
<6>[001992.424193,0] mdss_dsi_panel_on+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[001992.428789,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<6>[001993.730749,0] synaptics_dsx_sensor_state: state change SUSPEND -> ACTIVE
<6>[001993.731405,0] : mdss_dsi_panel_on-. Pwr_mode(0x0A) = 0x9c
<6>[001993.831117,0] qcom,leds-qpnp leds-qpnp-eb62f600: backlight on

Nothing in log for 40 seconds. Then there are several bursts of low memory killing, separated by brief gaps of about 5-20 seconds
<6>[002033.125104,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'system:ui' (8151), adj 1000, to free 40656kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 122600kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 3200kB above reserved
<6>[002034.172404,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'changelogviewer' (7238), adj 1000, to free 32652kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 121376kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 6776kB above reserved
<6>[002035.895963,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[002035.307927,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'droid.deskclock' (28714), adj 1000, to free 31756kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 120252kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 5532kB above reserved
<6>[002036.387002,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<6>[002036.478425,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.ebay.mobile' (26933), adj 1000, to free 29016kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 120268kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 3864kB above reserved
<6>[002037.923711,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'omm.timeservice' (6682), adj 1000, to free 24544kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 112140kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 3072kB above reserved
<6>[002037.070531,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (5632), adj 1000, to free 24344kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 108888kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 5484kB above reserved
<6>[002037.617332,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (5610), adj 1000, to free 23552kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 109164kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 3964kB above reserved
<6>[002038.335908,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (28743), adj 1000, to free 21712kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 107296kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 4616kB above reserved
<6>[002039.245833,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ainfire.supersu' (8025), adj 764, to free 32380kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 98160kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 7484kB above reserved
<6>[002040.109486,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (8429), adj 647, to free 34448kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 97952kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 8732kB above reserved
<6>[002043.386164,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'putmethod.latin' (14570), adj 764, to free 20732kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 97896kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3564kB above reserved
<6>[002047.012564,0] tapan_codec_chargepump_vdd_event: event = 1
<6>[002048.999115,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (8782), adj 647, to free 33804kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 95364kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 4556kB above reserved
<6>[002049.385765,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (370), adj 529, to free 42768kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 96588kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 5264kB above reserved
<6>[002051.397263,0] init: waitpid returned pid 30519, status = 00000000
<6>[002052.710665,1] tapan_codec_chargepump_vdd_event: event = 8
<6>[002054.259864,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (8882), adj 647, to free 33620kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 93904kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 7752kB above reserved
<6>[002055.100549,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (8939), adj 764, to free 34900kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 96324kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3920kB above reserved
<6>[002056.176783,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (8930), adj 764, to free 35656kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 89744kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3688kB above reserved
<6>[002064.446038,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (9044), adj 764, to free 33580kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 90032kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 14876kB above reserved
<6>[002083.199303,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (8974), adj 647, to free 31236kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 98132kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3308kB above reserved
<6>[002084.892508,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (9068), adj 529, to free 53876kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 95092kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 5380kB above reserved
<6>[002105.187792,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.trebuchet' (20303), adj 352, to free 33356kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 80972kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3004kB above reserved
<6>[002106.510875,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (8906), adj 470, to free 39524kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 80488kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 16500kB above reserved
<6>[002111.395568,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (9718), adj 529, to free 33576kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 70448kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3484kB above reserved
<6>[002112.755785,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (9766), adj 529, to free 34872kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 69160kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3792kB above reserved
<6>[002112.892462,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (9736), adj 470, to free 35356kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 68408kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 7628kB above reserved
<6>[002112.906543,3] binder: release 9736:9755 transaction 7689487 out, still active
<6>[002112.386885,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (9757), adj 647, to free 34860kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 69340kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4092kB above reserved
<6>[002113.952913,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (9808), adj 647, to free 31048kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 73224kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3852kB above reserved
<6>[002114.465873,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (9872), adj 529, to free 33528kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 67308kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3540kB above reserved
<6>[002115.944547,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (9920), adj 647, to free 34788kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 62112kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3876kB above reserved
<6>[002115.463421,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (9912), adj 647, to free 34804kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 61372kB is below limit 61440kB for oom_score_adj 58. Free memory is 3444kB above reserved
<6>[002116.625036,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (9947), adj 764, to free 31128kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 60288kB is below limit 61440kB for oom_score_adj 58. Free memory is 3540kB above reserved
<6>[002116.660223,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (9960), adj 764, to free 34912kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 59824kB is below limit 61440kB for oom_score_adj 58. Free memory is 3560kB above reserved
<6>[002131.486032,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (10031), adj 764, to free 35472kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 67868kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 21432kB above reserved
<6>[002132.304917,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (10018), adj 1000, to free 33728kB on behalf of 'Compositor' (8575) because cache 100976kB is below limit 122880kB for oom_score_adj 1000. Free memory is 3492kB above reserved
<6>[002132.374198,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (10049), adj 764, to free 34792kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 64912kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3280kB above reserved
<6>[002132.435346,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (10067), adj 647, to free 30996kB on behalf of 'Compositor' (8575) because cache 97520kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3364kB above reserved
<6>[002139.202616,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (9890), adj 470, to free 38940kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 77428kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3352kB above reserved
<6>[002144.987619,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (10354), adj 529, to free 33492kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 70876kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 3952kB above reserved
<6>[002145.868772,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (10410), adj 647, to free 34748kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 70496kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 9208kB above reserved
<6>[002145.500683,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (10439), adj 647, to free 30964kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 69148kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4848kB above reserved
<6>[002146.860274,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (10393), adj 764, to free 35316kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 66996kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 8484kB above reserved
<6>[002146.883536,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7710205
<6>[002147.021644,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (10507), adj 764, to free 35104kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 66948kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 8344kB above reserved
<6>[002147.496709,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (10495), adj 764, to free 33760kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 65184kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 8972kB above reserved
<6>[002166.712750,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (10529), adj 764, to free 34780kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 74940kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 4768kB above reserved
<6>[002166.041116,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (10545), adj 647, to free 30984kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 76512kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 4996kB above reserved
<6>[002183.893105,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.ebay.mobile' (10668), adj 529, to free 46620kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 71236kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4588kB above reserved
<6>[002183.175603,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (10372), adj 294, to free 39168kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 69516kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4568kB above reserved
<6>[002184.262462,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'putmethod.latin' (20205), adj 117, to free 31552kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 64740kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4528kB above reserved
<6>[002185.901421,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'pal.androidterm' (20591), adj 117, to free 22780kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 62628kB is below limit 73728kB for oom_score_adj 117. Free memory is 4548kB above reserved
<6>[002185.077441,0] init: waitpid returned pid 26289, status = 0000fc00
<6>[002185.611288,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'android.smspush' (20927), adj 58, to free 16176kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 56236kB is below limit 61440kB for oom_score_adj 58. Free memory is 3392kB above reserved
<6>[002186.955956,0] init: waitpid returned pid 26285, status = 00000001
<6>[002186.006426,1] init: waitpid returned pid 26256, status = 00008100
<6>[002186.431086,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'mozilla.firefox' (6712), adj 0, to free 354160kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 46540kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 5192kB above reserved
<6>[002186.606429,1] init: waitpid returned pid 19765, status = 00000000
<6>[002191.881505,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (10858), adj 1000, to free 33140kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 87004kB is below limit 98304kB for oom_score_adj 529. Free memory is 3960kB above reserved
<6>[002191.291965,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (10918), adj 764, to free 35228kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 81776kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3832kB above reserved
<6>[002191.591134,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (10928), adj 647, to free 34460kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 77724kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 4280kB above reserved
<6>[002192.697565,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (10957), adj 529, to free 30720kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 76880kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3604kB above reserved
<6>[002192.739096,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (10883), adj 470, to free 38292kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 74704kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 7352kB above reserved
<6>[002193.555477,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.trebuchet' (10844), adj 0, to free 58452kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 48516kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3116kB above reserved
<6>[002194.171773,1] binder: undelivered transaction 7731151
<6>[002194.355847,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (11091), adj 529, to free 34780kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 47368kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 8656kB above reserved
<6>[002194.554944,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.media' (11118), adj 529, to free 33392kB on behalf of 'enmod.trebuchet' (11110) because cache 81508kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 6088kB above reserved
<6>[002194.670126,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'com.android.mms' (11151), adj 294, to free 34528kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 47332kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3564kB above reserved
<6>[002194.680946,2] binder: release 11151:11172 transaction 7731784 out, still active
<6>[002194.681060,2] binder: undelivered transaction 7731944
<6>[002195.770478,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 're-initialized>' (11177), adj 529, to free 26236kB on behalf of 're-initialized>' (11186) because cache 80372kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3968kB above reserved
<6>[002195.828751,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.trebuchet' (11110), adj 0, to free 44916kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 46796kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3280kB above reserved
<6>[002195.996821,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (11206), adj 529, to free 28148kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 46216kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3744kB above reserved
<6>[002195.006525,3] binder: undelivered transaction 7732259
<6>[002195.111464,2] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'ndroid.settings' (11186), adj 529, to free 34436kB on behalf of 'd.process.acore' (11236) because cache 76684kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3412kB above reserved
<6>[002195.189925,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 're-initialized>' (11236), adj 529, to free 27684kB on behalf of 're-initialized>' (11250) because cache 75264kB is below limit 86016kB for oom_score_adj 176. Free memory is 3748kB above reserved
<6>[002195.582460,1] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.lockclock' (11250), adj 647, to free 30716kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 42068kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3936kB above reserved
<6>[002195.680729,3] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'd.process.acore' (11265), adj 529, to free 33160kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 41232kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3568kB above reserved
<6>[002196.766706,0] lowmemorykiller: Killing 'enmod.trebuchet' (11217), adj 0, to free 43560kB on behalf of 'kswapd0' (81) because cache 40444kB is below limit 49152kB for oom_score_adj 0. Free memory is 3448kB above reserved
<6>[002201.374233,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[002201.518183,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<6>[002202.657554,1] mdss_dsi_panel_off+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[002202.657986,0] synaptics_dsx_sensor_state: state change ACTIVE -> SUSPEND
<6>[002203.897141,0] mdss_dsi_panel_off-:
<6>[002203.897156,0] mdss_dsi_off+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[002203.936876,0] mdss_dsi_off-:

At this point anything that hasn't already failed, now fails. Userspace gets killed and restarted
<6>[002203.037750,0] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump Binder_4 19920 1417523206 pipe failed
<6>[002203.281135,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733258
<6>[002203.281314,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733265
<6>[002203.281444,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733271
<6>[002203.281597,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733366
<6>[002203.281681,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733378
<6>[002203.282023,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733372
<6>[002203.282108,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733373
<6>[002203.282258,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733374
<6>[002203.282340,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733375
<6>[002203.282488,0] binder: undelivered transaction 7733376
<6>[002204.093925,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[002204.306457,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<6>[002207.955756,0] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump system_server 1142 1417523210 pipe failed
<6>[002207.052286,0] mdss_dsi_on+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[002207.075781,1] alarm_release: clear alarm, pending 0
<6>[002207.075791,1] alarm_release: clear alarm, pending 0
<6>[002207.075799,1] alarm_release: clear alarm, pending 0
<6>[002207.089757,0] mdss_dsi_on-:
<6>[002207.089772,0] mdss_dsi_panel_on+: ctrl=eaec8010 ndx=0
<6>[002207.104989,1] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/bootanimation'
<5>[002207.106139,1] init: starting 'bootanim'
<6>[002207.136155,1] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump Binder_7 1387 1417523210 pipe failed
<6>[002207.147220,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 60d6b368
<6>[002207.147232,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 60d6b780
<6>[002207.147241,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdca680
<6>[002207.147249,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 5bf36ec0
<6>[002207.147261,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdcb4a0
<6>[002207.147272,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdd1880
<6>[002207.147281,1] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdcb460
<6>[002207.185322,1] init: waitpid returned pid 385, status = 00000009
<5>[002207.185340,1] init: process 'debuggerd', pid 385 exited
<5>[002207.185355,1] init: process 'debuggerd' killing any children in process group
<6>[002207.185940,1] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/debuggerd'
<6>[002207.185963,2] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump Binder_2 1400 1417523210 pipe failed
<5>[002207.186211,1] init: starting 'debuggerd'
<6>[002207.186764,2] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump Binder_4 1413 1417523210 pipe failed
<6>[002207.194796,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdcf108
<6>[002207.194807,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60b5faa8
<6>[002207.194816,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60b5fec0
<6>[002207.194824,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdca680
<6>[002207.194832,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 601f2830
<6>[002207.194840,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60def500
<6>[002207.194849,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdd1488
<6>[002207.194857,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60def1f0
<6>[002207.200117,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdce0d8
<6>[002207.200129,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60c6b0c8
<6>[002207.200137,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 60c6b4e0
<6>[002207.200146,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdca670
<6>[002207.200154,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdd1940
<6>[002207.200163,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5d84f710
<6>[002207.200171,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdd1430
<6>[002207.200179,2] binder: undelivered death notification, 5cdd1f90
<6>[002207.276277,1] init: waitpid returned pid 388, status = 00000009
<5>[002207.276294,1] init: process 'zygote', pid 388 exited
<5>[002207.285604,0] init: process 'zygote' killing any children in process group
<5>[002207.285863,0] init: service 'media' is being killed
<5>[002207.287087,0] init: service 'netd' is being killed
<6>[002207.287441,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/app_process'
<5>[002207.287638,0] init: starting 'zygote'
<6>[002207.289856,0] init: waitpid returned pid 383, status = 00000009
<5>[002207.289874,0] init: process 'netd', pid 383 exited
<5>[002207.289888,0] init: process 'netd' killing any children in process group
<6>[002207.290323,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/netd'
<5>[002207.290529,0] init: starting 'netd'
<6>[002207.297300,0] init: waitpid returned pid 391, status = 00000009
<5>[002207.297316,0] init: process 'media', pid 391 exited
<5>[002207.297331,0] init: process 'media' killing any children in process group
<6>[002207.297373,2] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/mdns' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'
<6>[002207.297610,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/mediaserver'
<6>[002207.297768,2] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/dnsproxyd' with mode '660', user '0', group '3003'
<5>[002207.297778,0] init: starting 'media'
<6>[002207.298187,2] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/netd' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'
<6>[002207.298939,2] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/zygote' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'
<6>[002207.315254,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[002207.386012,0] synaptics_dsx_sensor_state: state change SUSPEND -> ACTIVE
<6>[002207.386197,0] : mdss_dsi_panel_on-. Pwr_mode(0x0A) = 0x9c
<6>[002207.446161,0] init: waitpid returned pid 1373, status = 00000009
<6>[002208.865272,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<7>[002210.508025,0] SELinux: initialized (dev tmpfs, type tmpfs), uses transition SIDs
<6>[002213.793599,0] : Report pwrkey press event
<6>[002213.970096,0] : Report pwrkey release event
<6>[002213.447327,0] : Core dump to |/system/bin/coredump zygote 11352 1417523217 pipe failed
<6>[002213.508195,0] init: waitpid returned pid 11352, status = 0000000b
<5>[002213.508377,0] init: process 'zygote', pid 11352 exited
<5>[002213.508475,0] init: process 'zygote' killing any children in process group
<5>[002213.508759,0] init: service 'media' is being killed
<5>[002213.512948,0] init: service 'netd' is being killed
<6>[002213.513683,0] init: waitpid returned pid 11355, status = 00000009
<5>[002213.513805,0] init: process 'media', pid 11355 exited
<5>[002213.513981,0] init: process 'media' killing any children in process group
<6>[002213.514315,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/app_process'
<5>[002213.514729,0] init: starting 'zygote'
<6>[002213.515310,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/mediaserver'
<6>[002213.516306,1] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/zygote' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'
<5>[002213.516644,0] init: starting 'media'
<6>[002213.520811,0] init: waitpid returned pid 11353, status = 00000009
<5>[002213.520998,0] init: process 'netd', pid 11353 exited
<5>[002213.521240,0] init: process 'netd' killing any children in process group
<6>[002213.521753,0] init: computing context for service '/system/bin/netd'
<5>[002213.522248,0] init: starting 'netd'
<6>[002213.526276,1] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/mdns' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'
<6>[002213.526874,1] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/dnsproxyd' with mode '660', user '0', group '3003'
<6>[002213.527403,1] init: Created socket '/dev/socket/netd' with mode '660', user '0', group '1000'

However swap was active and it's not clear what's happening. Output from free immediately after userspace is restored:
             total         used         free       shared      buffers
Mem:        903272       879320        23952            0         1844
-/+ buffers:             877476        25796
Swap:       687060        19024       668036

No idea what's going on. Exotic guesses FWIW: (1) Swap is available and enabled but for some reason wasn't used in the event, when memory got low; (2) some process suddenly decided it needed about 1GB of RAM and to run in foreground, causing failed attempts to swap crucial but lower prioritised system processes; (3) Unpredictable dramatic memory leak.
I don't know where to go from here.
The phone runs rooted CyanogenMod 11 M6 and has 1GB ram, and the apps are pretty standard - firefox, whatsapp, nothing unusual, no strange "tweaking", no strange modding apps.
How can I resolve this issue?
UPDATE I realised that I could find the relevant core dumps. /data/tombstones contains 6 core dumps that were all created during the 100 second period that lowmemorykiller bursts were occurring in dmesg. The core dump files mostly show segmentation faults (SIGSEGV) but the owning process is different in each dump:
2014-12-02 12:27:33 name: Thread-20  (lbesec.loader) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr b3baed71
2014-12-02 12:27:11 name: zygote  (zygote) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr 5dd8ce64
2014-12-02 12:27:05 name: zygote  (zygote) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr 5dd86e64
2014-12-02 12:26:57 name: zygote  (zygote) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr 5dc03e64
2014-12-02 12:26:47 name: system_server  (system_server) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr deadf00c
2014-12-02 12:26:46 name: Binder_4  (com.android.systemui) signal 11 (SIGSEGV), code 1 (SEGV_MAPERR), fault addr cfc08b9a

Past core dumps in the same folder were just as diverse - thread owners included "gallery" for example. Some showed SIGABRT instead of SIGSEGV. Beyond here probably needs developer competencies. What can I do to track down the cause?

+1 for a well formulated question. Excellent presentation. I'm having low memory? issues and FC's on my HTC. I'm not great with looking at logs, but your thoroughness has help me understand it a little bit better (and i didn't need to take a class or read a long book…lol). Thanks.

Is the phone running slowly? The job of LowMemoryKiller is to release memory when other apps need it, and it does so by releasing memory from apps that currently don't need it. Here is google's documentation on LowMemoryKiller.

I think it's possible CyanogenMod shutting down could have something to do with this. I've noticed some odd behavior from my system ever since they shut down their web server such as opening the advanced data settings page crashing the settings app. Again, that's a total guess.

Look at the date on the question..... Cm inc shut down in late 2016............

Android has a built-in ram management system thats pretty good at its job. Ram management applications are notorious for being little more than snake oil. At worst actually harmful to its running processes. I would postulate that this memory killer app is the root cause of your problems.
Solution.
Reflash your device delete the lowmemory app and see how it behaves

-1. You meant well, but your answer is mistaken. LowMemoryKiller is a built-in part of Android, not a third-party RAM-management application. Please see here in order to view the android-4.4 kernel's lowmemorykiller.c code.  (Note:  the android-4.4 kernel is completely unconnected with Android 4.4 "KitKat".  KitKat devices use a much older kernel.)

I don't quite understand if the problem happen out of a sudden or if it just happens with CM11 or not. My first recommendation would be factory reset and run with a skeleton selection of apps, less you install from play store better, and see if problem happens. If it does then CM is running some really aggressive values for LMK (maybe update to something newer or build the rom with modified values). If it doesn't means one of your apps is telling android it needs ram and android (maybe due to poorly set dalvik or hwui heaps, or kernel lmk values) freaks out and just starts the mass murder of processes.

If this app wasn't on your phone when you bought it, but got installed afterwards instead, it's possible that the app that is doing this might be malware. I would suggest going straight to Verizon and have them figure out what is going on. It may cost a lot, but if it can be fixed, it's most likely worth it.

See the reply comment by @unforgettableid . Lowmemorykiller is a built-in part of the Android system. Its not an app, much less malware.

Also if you flashed CyanogenMod on your Phone it is most unlikely that the Carrier will have anything to do with it. It is possible that the Manufacturer would repair the Phone, even out of Warranty, as might a 'Cellphone Repair Store'. Search Engines or CyanogenMod Forums may also be useful. If you can get the Phone to operate long enough you might be able to Flash a newer version or restore your Phone with the original that you backed up prior to flashing. A new 'zero dollar phone' from your Carrier is going to cost the least and you have the value of the lesson learned.


text:
Installing TWRP on Xperia running CM11
I've got an Xperia Z2 running CM11, and would like to switch to TWRP as my recovery.  TWRP's website has the instructions I followed
 for this device.
It states that "if you install current CM10 and CM10.1 nightlies and flash TWRP to the FOTAKernel partition, you will be able to use TWRP instead of the CWM that normally comes in a CM boot image" (I'd be amazed if this worked for CM10 and not CM11?)
I have downloaded the 2.8 openrecovery***.img file to my sdcard, and followed the instructions -
adb root
adb shell dd if=/storage/sdcard1/FILENAME.img of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/FOTAKernel

adb output:
23828+0 records in
23828+0 records out
12199936 bytes transferred in 1.579 secs (7726368 bytes/sec)

So adb seems to think it worked, and dd seems to think it found something called "FOTAKernel" to overwrite.
Reboot to recovery, and no sign of TWRP, it still puts me into CWM.
What am I doing wrong?

are you sure you have superuser permission?
By design adb root command works in development builds only (ones with ro.debuggable=1)
-from SO

try 'su'

superuser definitely works. I'm using SuperSU 2.40 and tested it with terminal as well as over adb: in Terminal, "su" -> SuperSU requests permission -> whoami then gives "root" and allows r/w access to entire filing system including usually inaccessible files. (Also programs like Titanium Backup that need root would complain if su wasn't available). Over adb, "adb root" + "adb shell whoami" also returns "root". So I'm guessing root access isn't an issue..... or have I missed something? Just tried again and as before, straight into CWM, no sign of TWRP.

try to flash it via fastboot, so we'll know if the problem comes from adb or your phone

ditto. Tried that too (in all variants Ive seen online: "fastboot flash boot FILE", "fastboot flash FOTAKernel FILE", "fastboot flash recovery FILE"). Same results each time. I should say that I have got TWRP to work - but only by flashing an entire "known good" boot.img which had been built by others and based on the stock rom. Haven't managed to find a "known good" non-stcock rom that has TWRP on this device.

Huh, things are strange here. My last advice is to install clockworkmod ROM manager from the play store, if I remember correctly, the last time it had the option to install TWRP, see if that works

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Clean LineageOS 17.1 install and empty device - can't work out how to mount data partition in TWRP?
I'm installing LineageOS 17.1 on my new phone. It works fine, but I can't get to data in TWRP.
As usual, to install, I wipe everything, drop into TWRP, format (not just wipe) data, wipe cache/davlik/system, and flash the LineageOS installer file. When the system starts first time, it gives a message "encrypting data", which doesn't have a "skip" option.
When I drop back into TWRP it asks for a decryption password to access data, but I don't have one because I haven't entered one in the first place.
How do I get LOS to not encrypt data, or alternatively, what decryption password should I use in TWRP?
Note: this isn't a duplicate question. Other questions about decrypting data involve corrupt data or system issues that prevent data being accessed because of encryption, or trying to recover files from data. In my case, it's a clean install with no prior data content, but I can't figure how to access data in TWRP because it seem to encrypt it automatically but there's no hint what key to enter in TWRP.

Please specify exactly what device model you are talking about. Have you followed the installation instructions on the device specific page on LineageOS web page?

Samsung encryption is generally not supported in TWRP https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/sm-g935-exynos-cf-auto-root.3337354/post-72204306

S9+ Exynos (international) model. Yes, followed install instructions, experienced . Samsung encryption isnt involved, this is pure LineageOS stuff.

Apparently it's related to Android 10 requiring data to be encrypted if the device is up to it. So LineageOS 17.1 does so, and doesn't offer a choice on the matter, there's no "skip" option. But it doesn't provide an option later, to set a password, or turn encryption off, it leaves the device with a forced-encrypted data and no password told to me, which prevents any back up or terminal use, in TWRP.  Obviously I'm supposed to know the password as its my device. Hence the question.

Does this answer your question? Cryptfs : Unexpected value for crypto key location

@alecxs - manually editing /vendor/etc/fstab* was perfect. Do you want to write up your comments as an answer? I'm a bit stunned that LOS would insist on encrypting a partition in a scenario where the user is never given (or able to set) the key, if they configure the lock screen in some ways.

First let's have a look why it is not (yet) possible to mount encrypted userdata partition from TWRP especially on Samsung devices.
Encryption is hardware-backed in TEE and therefore vendor specific. Furthermore ...

... some vendors such as Samsung use their own encryption techniques. Without heavy deconstruction/decompiling of custom library blobs, and successful ports by an active maintainer, this may never be done.

TWRP FAQ
sandy framework DerbyCon 3.0

Decryption involves the underlaying firmware. It requires to mount various partitions and running libraries for communication with (TEE) Trusted Execution Environment.

Azeria TrustZone Research

For Qualcomm devices it is necessary to run qseecomd, for Exynos devices the Trustonic Kinibi daemon. In this example the modem partition is mounted with mounttodecrypt flag (qualcomm)
/firmware   vfat   /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/modem   flags=slotselect;display="Firmware";mounttodecrypt;fsflags=ro

As we can see on this list of libraries also the vendor partition is mounted. This is also OEM specific content used by LineageOS and not included in TWRP by default. Some recent TWRP builds have it, most builds are designed to use the firmware. However no Samsung devices known. This example is from another qualcomm device not for Samsung:
/firmware/image/cmnlib.b00
/firmware/image/cmnlib.b01
/firmware/image/cmnlib.b02
/firmware/image/cmnlib.b03
/firmware/image/cmnlib.mdt
/firmware/image/keymaste.b00
/firmware/image/keymaste.b01
/firmware/image/keymaste.b02
/firmware/image/keymaste.b03
/firmware/image/keymaste.mdt
/system/bin/linker64
/system/bin/qseecomd
/system/lib64/hw/keystore.qcom.so
/system/lib64/libbacktrace.so
/system/lib64/libbinder.so
/system/lib64/libcnefeatureconfig.so
/system/lib64/libc.so
/system/lib64/libcutils.so
/system/lib64/libEGL.so
/system/lib64/libgccdemangle.so
/system/lib64/libGLES_trace.so
/system/lib64/libGLESv2.so
/system/lib64/libgui.so
/system/lib64/libhardware.so
/system/lib64/liblog.so
/system/lib64/libm.so
/system/lib64/libnetd_client.so
/system/lib64/libsigchain.so
/system/lib64/libstdc++.so
/system/lib64/libstlport.so
/system/lib64/libsync.so
/system/lib64/libui.so
/system/lib64/libunwind-ptrace.so
/system/lib64/libunwind.so
/system/lib64/libutils.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libdiag.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libdrmfs.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libdrmtime.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libNimsWrap.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libQSEEComAPI.so
/system/vendor/lib64/librpmb.so
/system/vendor/lib64/lib-sec-disp.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libsecureui.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libsecureui_svcsock.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libssd.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libStDrvInt.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libtime_genoff.so
/system/vendor/lib64/libvendorconn.so

TeamWin github oneplus2

Now, as we know there is a lot of research to make decryption working, it's obviously TWRP maintainers are desperate overhelmed with providing encryption support for all devices. Therefore decryption is always only a goody, heavily depending on maintainers knowledge and engagement.
That might one reason why android modding scene prefer to run custom ROMs unencrypted

Encryption is forced since Android 5.0 with forceencrypt= flag in fstab (FDE) or fileencryption= (FBE)

source.android.com Full-Disk Encryption

The flags encryptable= forceencrypt= and forcefdeorfbe= are always pointing to crypto footer. Therefore they are interchangeable.

android.googlesource.com fs_mgr_fstab.cpp

To disable force encryption (FDE) use the first flag. Edit your fstab entry for userdata partition and replace forceencrypt= with encryptable=
/dev/block/platform/11120000.ufs/by-name/USERDATA   /data   ext4   noatime,nosuid,nodev,discard,errors=panic   wait,check,encryptable=footer,length=-20480,reservedsize=128M

This can be done from TWRP by installing no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.1.zip

no-verity-opt-encrypt-6.1.zip (FDE)

The benefit of having force encryption disabled while keeping the availability for encryption is in the nature of Direct Boot vs Secure Start. Upon first boot, the device creates a randomly generated 128-bit master key and then hashes it with a password and stored salt. The resultant hash is also signed through TEE (such as TrustZone), which uses hash of the signature to encrypt the master key. There are four kinds of encryption states:

default
PIN
password
pattern

On Direct Boot the former one is forced with 'default_password', indeed that's how most android devices still encrypted. (TWRP always probes against 'default_password' and only asking for password if decryption failes.)
If you choose Secure Start from security menu the keystore password is re-created using your current lock screen credentials. downside of this encryption state android won't boot until correct passphrase is entered.

To overcome this the benefits of Secure Start with Direct Boot was merged in (FBE) File-Based Encryption, which was introduced with Android 7.0 and enforced for devices shipped with Android 10+
Be aware there is no way to disable enforcement of (FBE) File-Based Encryption. Therefore the only method left is to disable encryption completely by deleting the fileencryption= flag from fstab (with no proper replacement). Indeed that is how Magisk does currently when flashed from TWRP.
Universal DM-Verity ForceEncrypt Disk Quota Disabler will disable encryption completely

Universal DM-Verity ForceEncrypt Disk Quota Disabler (FBE)

The only* way to decrypt existing data on Samsung devices is boot into android.
(*there exist investigations to break encryption, however not for Samsung encryption)

Recovering the master key from RAM

If your goal is data recovery from encrypted Samsung device TWRP is not the way to go.

manually editing /vendor/etc/fstab* was perfect

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


text:
Reverted Lollipop back to Kitkat - now I can't access the external SDCard
I had a Sony Xperia Z2 running CyanogenMod 11 (Kitkat 4.4.4). I got curious about Android 5, which is still only in nightly. Before taking a look, I took a full backup in recovery, then upgraded to CM12.
I decided that for now I want to go back to CM11, so I restored my backup, and that worked fine. But after reboot, it's been unable since then, to read or write the external SDcard.
Diagnostic info so far:
1) Android "knows" the SD card exists, because "Settings -> Storage" can mount and unmount it, and File Explorer can see and navigate to it.
2) If I go back into Kitkat, Settings -> storage" lists it as mounted but capacity = 0, and ls -l /storage seems to be saying it has the usual drwxrwx--x permissions.
3) The SD card is listed as having no contents and no size. Log entries in both recovery and logcat suggest some kind of error has occurred during mounting.
The logcat errors are: status changed from unmounted->checking->mounted, but then that cutils "Failed to mkdirat"(/storage/sdcard1/Android), that Vold returned a failed operation (not specified what the operation was) with unhandled error 30, that "VoldConnector NDC Command took too long", and that mkdirat failed because of being a "Read-only file system".
The recovery (CWM 6.0.5.1) errors are that if I unmount and remount the SDcard, CWM log says it "cannot load volume /misc", that the card's status changed from unmounted -> checking -> checked, it reports "/storage/sdcard1 mounted", then "200 0 volume operation succeeded", and then again "cannot load volume /misc" followed by "can't partition non mmcblk device /devices/msm_sdcc.2/mmc_host".
CWM can't list or read any files on the card either, perhaps making it likely to be a filing system issue rather than a hardware issue (odds of a sudden card fault exactly upon reverting OS seems small, card also a "known good" brand, Samsung)
Help really appreciated to fix this!

The permissions structures are dramatically different between Jelly Bean and KitKat, and KitKat and Lollipop. Upgrading allows it to recognize the older structure and alter it appropriately for the new needs. Going backwards affords no such ability, as the older version knows nothing of the newer one. Your best bet's likely going to be to copy all the data off of that card, format it in the phone, and then copy it back.

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


text:
Online note taking
I need to be able to save text (like url, sms, etc) on my android phone which can also be viewed on the Internet through a URL.  Right now I use Google Drive (which takes time) or Facebook chat (by sending text to s friend and then copying the same.)
App suggestions are welcome as well.

Have you tried Evernote?  You can create notes in the phone and read on the Web, and create on the web and view on your phone.  The sync works perfectly!

There's also Springpad for similar functionality.

Or catch notes.


text:
on grid view, when updating an app, this one is taken at the end of the grid
In the app drawer, when an application is updated, its icon goes to the last page, in the last free place... Is that normal? Is there a way to make the application stay where I put it? I mean, I sort everything in folder, but after some days (and some updates) many apps are taken to the last page, outside the folder... This is annoying...
This happens on Samsung S2 Android 4.0.3
I try to explain it better:
in the app drawer, i have a lot of apps, i usually order them in "pages" and each page in folders, so i would like to have the page with all the folders containing all the "work apps" such as google drive, the email client, some editors and so on, then, i've got another page, with all the folders for all the games, i mean, i've a folder with arcade games, with 3d games and so on... now, after few days in this fantastic order, some of those applications get updated, automatically, by google play, you know, when there is that notification "application xxxx is been updated!", you know what i mean. well, when this happens, that particular application is deleted from the folder it belongs, and i found her in the last page, in the last free place, the example i've made has 2 pages, one for work apps, and one for games, if something gets an update, i'll find that app in the games pages, outside any folder, hanging around and looking at me... :D

Your question is unclear. Where are you seeing this updated icon? The app drawer? A home screen? The list of apps in Settings? The list of apps in the Play Store?

If you're looking for your shift key, there should be one left to your space key ;) I fixed that. And most likely you're speaking of the app drawer? Then it would help to know what launcher you are using.

no launchers, it is the "default" one


text:
How to disable USB data connectivity on rooted device
I have a Transformer TF101 and I have Android 4.0. I want to disable the USB data connectivity of it for my purposes. The device is rooted.
How can I do that, and can I change the implementation of the USB driver ?

I tweaked your question to be more about a problem to be solved rather than asking how to implement a solution you've already identified.


text:
how to capture any .apk download
We are seeking a reliable method to get the .apk file for any arbitrary application that may currently exist on Google Play store. ("legit" reasons may be e.g. to later restore to application v8 even if only application v11 is available to public).
I am not aware of any utility that can do this, so one approach might be to capture all packets which cross your wireless network to your Android device, like when the user installs an app from Play store. So we want to see if it's possible to capture all .apk files downloaded to the Android device upon user install from Play.

which wireless capture utility should you use (e.g. pcap?), and should it be run from your Android or some other machine?
how do you reassemble a .apk file from a sequence of frames?
Is there any encryption of data that would prevent the capture of the .apk file?
Is there an easier way to get an .apk? Tried the emulator but it doesn't work for all apps. adb backup gives a compressed .ab file, but we want the .apk itself in extracted form, and not buried in some .ab compressed file.

Related: Can I build an APK from an installed app and its data?

Related: How to access Android APKs without rooting

Related: Get installed apps as APK within Android?

Related: How can I download an APK file from the Play Store?

As for your "legit" reason: Where can find older versions of Apps?

Why so difficult? Simply install AppMonster Pro Backup Restore (yes, the Pro version -- the free doesn't do this automatically), and on each install/update the corresponding .apk file is automatically backed up to your SDCard. You can configure the app to keep all .apk files, or only the latest N (number freely configurable), even pinning of a "stable version" to always keep is possible.

AppMonster only takes care for the .apk files (not for app data). As a side effect, it even shows you if an app contains an ad module, and you can have it notify you if an just installed app can be moved to SDCard via App2SD.

+1 although the answer at http://android.stackexchange.com/a/27783/23748 worked for me (free).

If you are satisfied with doing so manually, you can of course also take the free version of AppMonster. I understood you wanted to do so automatically on each install/update. Nevermind: Now you've got a choice :)

Have you searched previous questions? I think that both How to take backup of all installed APKs from Phone to PC and How to access Android APKs without rooting answer this question by providing utilities to extract/backup the APK files for installed apps. Do none of those suggestions suit your goal?
IMHO trying to sniff and reassemble packets is much too complicated - I recommend continued investigation into on-device utilities.


text:
How do I get the Music Player to display all ID3 tags
Music players like DoubleTwist are based on iTunes which supports very few ID3 tags. The ones supported are adequate for pop music but hopeless for classical music or even jazz. For example, in random play you may well want to keep whole compositions together, like a Beethoven Symphony with 4 movements and therefore four tracks. Again, compendium albums often have multiple composers so tagging (and displaying) the composer for each track is useful.
The Musichi software suite lets me tag my classical albums appropriately and has a player for the PC which takes advantage of the tagging. But there is no support for Android at this point in time.
Anyone know of a way I can do this?

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! Please note that your question is off topic (Is there an app for X?) according to our [FAQ].

I've tweaked the question to be more about a problem to solve.


text:
PDA, CSC, MODEM files in Custom ROMs
The ODIN utility for flashing Samsung phones needs different files like PDA, MODEM, CSC etc. Custom ROMs though are always provided as a single zip file.  Why is that? Do custom ROMs already contain these components in the zip file?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Can you please edit your question and rephrase it. As it stands, it is not clear to what you are asking. Most of your sentences are incomplete.

First off, the Odin utility doesn't actually need all of the files in every category.  Usually only a single file is flashed via the "PDA" option, and it will contain any of the necessary components.  However, Odin provides for an option to flash components separately.  For example, you can flash only the "Modem" portion to update the cell firmware.
Custom ROMs are usually designed to not touch critical components like bootloader, modem firmware, or recovery image.  These ROMs usually write to OS-level partitions, such as /system and /data (on most phones they can't flash modem firmware even if they wanted to.)  The idea is to not touch the critical components, so that even in an event of a bad flash (e.g. power failure, corrupted download, etc.) you could always get the phone operational in some way (recovery, fastboot.)  Also by making ROMs not contain firmware for specific hardware, the authors make it easier to create ROMs that work on several similar devices, in many different regions.
For example, CyanogenMod produces a single unified ROM for 9 Qualcomm-based Galaxy S4 models, regardless of carrier or country.  The ROM will only replace the OS, and leave the device-specific modem alone.


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Howto avoid autostart of an app (non-rooted)?
I now and then use an app that is written to autostart on every boot of the device. This is pretty annoying since I don't use it that much. How can I stop it ?
I know there is an "Autorun Manager" app, but it requires a rooted phone. Is there a way to do this on a non-rooted device ?

Related questions you might want to check: How to have unused apps not take up resources, Is there a way to permanently turn off Google Maps until needed? (Google Maps is one of those auto-starting apps), Is there any way to let Facebook run only when I want?

There are several ways how you could establish that. Though, as you discovered, most really good solutions require your device to be rooted, there are some methods working even without root:

Autorun Manager you've already mentioned -- to my experience, this is the best app in this area. This app also offers a non-root mode you might want to give a try. But like other apps in non-root mode, it can only kill apps after they've started -- while in rooted mode, it can disable the corresponding "Listeners" and thus keeping the app from being started at all. Even if killed right away, many of those apps simply re-start again (which is detected by ARM, and that app then left alone to avoid a kill-start-kill cycle). Moreover, they can only handle the boot_completed event -- but some apps (like e.g. Google Maps) start on so many different occasions (network changed, sdcard mounted...) -- where again the Pro-Version in root-mode can deal with, but the non-root mode can't.

If you've got Android 4.0 or higher, there might be another useful "work-around" -- at least if it's a rarely used app: Go to Settings→Apps→Manage Apps, scroll to the app in question, tap it once, and then tap the "Disable" button. App is gone (disabled) then, no longer shown in the app drawer -- and no longer started automatically or manually, as to the system it is "non existent". If you need it again later, go to the very same place, scroll to the very end of the list (Ah! there the disabled apps have gone to...), tap it again, and tap the "Enable" button -- back it is!
As this is a rather complicated way, it's probably not feasable for apps you need on a daily basis. But if it's an app you need no more often than once a month, it might be worth the effort.

Some related questions go deeper into details, many of them including stuff only relevant for rooted devices. However, they might be worth reading in this context, so I include their links with my answer here:

How to have unused apps not take up resources
Is there any way to let Facebook run only when I want?
Is there a way to permanently turn off Google Maps until needed?
How can I stop applications and services from running?


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Can I use an USB Ethernet adapter to connect Sony Ericsson Xperia Active to a wired Ethernet LAN?
Due to my profession I have to connect to wired-only LAN-attached devices (like managed switches, routers set-top-boxes, etc.) frequently to access their configuration interfaces via Telnet/SSH/HTTP. I am totally tired of carrying a bag with a laptop with me wherever I go.
Now I am planning to buy an Android smartphone and feel like I'd like it to be Sony Ericsson Xperia Active which is pretty tough (I need it very much as my phones fall from my hands/table/pocket hundreds times a year), reasonably robust and stylish.
It would simplify my life significantly if I could connect it to wired Ethernet networks.
Is this possible?
I don't mind using a hack or a custom firmware like Cyanogen Mod. I've already got a USB NIC based on ASIX AX88772 chip (which is detected by Ubuntu out of the box and, AFAIK, is also compatible with XBox, PS3 and Apple Macs).

How to make Ethernet work on Android over OTG?

Not an answer but a good alternative. Buy this inexpensive wifi powerbank.
This is practically a very portable wifi router. I bought and use one and so far its great. Can also be an inexpensive Mifi device using a 3G dongle, and a backup battery for your phone.

Nice thing. Thank you. I feel like I am going to buy it. The question remains open though.

Here's a full list of compatible devices: What Xperia devices support USB Host or USB OTG?
I think that OTG Ethernet adapters will be unsupported for a few years because of some Android security issues which may require some extra work, and because they are "less" important features (not everyone who owns an Android device needs an Ethernet adapter). Some examples of exploited vulnerabilities are shown here:
MTPwn
OATmeal on the Universal Cereal Bus: Exploiting Android phones over USB

You can do one of these things :
1) By an usb to ethernet cable.
I dont know about Sony Xperia Active but you can use the Nexus 7 or Samsung S4 and a usb to ethernet cable (like rj45) plus an otg cable. For method view the following video.
2) By Usb internet or pass through.
On some android devices like mine (htc 816g) there is an Usb internet option in settings which helps you to use the computer's internet (Only windows), on your phone.
For method view following video.
v=gcFDGkTd83Y&feature=iv&src_vid=zEpyImojbsU&annotation_id=annotation_1409430545

Your answer would become unhelpful the moment the said links expires. Please consider adding relevant info here to make the answer self-sufficient.

To my experience on sony xperia smartphones internet through ethernet adapter works flawlessly on devices like z, z2 z3 z ultra m5 only until android lollipop 5.0.2 afterwards there seems a change in software which disables this function ality fortunately ut is easily possible to downgrsde. Newer models like z5 may have lost this functionality atleast for lollipop and there you may not be able to downgrade depending on the original firmware

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


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Google Voice texts delivered hours late/not at all
I use a Google Voice phone number to receive texts, and I have the Google Voice app installed on my device (Atrix, OS:2.3.3).
For some reason lately when someone texts my Google Voice account it's not getting sent to my phone. For example:

I got a text at 9:00 this morning (time is now 1PM)
If I visit voice.google.com, I see I have a text in my inbox.
If I open the Google Voice app on my phone, it does the 'synchronizing' spinning wheel animation for a few seconds and then I get the 'new text' notification, which is now 4 hours late.

In my Google Voice app's options, I have Background data: Enabled. Why isn't it pushing my texts when they are received? I get Gmail messages delivered to my phone near instantly, but I'm not getting the same behavior with GV.
Any ideas?

Have you also enabled auto-sync. It might also be a problem with the network specially if 3G coverage in your area is spotty

I don't recall seeing such an option such as 'auto-sync', can you say where you saw it? The 3G in my area is pretty solid, I've usually got 4 or 5 bars.

It's in the Settings -> Accounts & sync -> Activate auto-sync, just right under Background Data. But if you're on ICS or newer, tap your account and see if data sync for each items are checked

Hmm, you must have a different version than me, because I don't see any such menus. Under settings I just have Accounts, and Battery & Data Manager. Under Data Delivery, I have Background data checkbox, but there's nothing under it called auto-sync. Maybe it's the motorola skin, not sure. Based on the number of other complaints I see about this issue I'll have to guess it's some flaw with the app and not with the android environment, but hard to be sure.

my Settings is AOSP-based so your settings must be running on Moto's skin. Also is this issue just recent?

I have the same problem on my Moto Bionic (running JB 4.1) with Google Voice text and voicemail notifications.

If I recall there was an update recently that addressed this. Is this still an issue for you?

I'm not really sure why it happens, but I've experienced the same issue in the past with the very same phone.  It usually happened when I was travelling, such that once I arrived at a new destination, I'd suddenly get text messages delivered.  The issue did seem to go away when I installed a custom rom (the latest Cyanogenmod at the time).  I've since gotten another phone and have never experienced the issue.  If you're feeling brave, I recommend flashing a newer rom.


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Can Not Open mmssms.db
I have taken a copy of the mmssms.db from the /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/
I am trying to open this in sqliteman, but the database does not want to load in, I have taken multiple copies and it will still not open.
The Android version is Ice Cream Sandwhich.
Any help will be muchly appreciated as I am running out of ideas! All other databases open fine from the phone.

Any error messages? "Does not open" is a bit vague. What exactly does happen instead? Can you open it with the sqlite command line program?


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Transfer large files beween Android device and an iPad mini
I have an iPad mini and a Galaxy Tab 7.7 tablet.
What is the easiest way to transfer several large files between an Android device and an iPad device?

If both support Wifi-Direct, that might be the best choice to connect them. Not knowing the iPad side, I don't know how the transfer itself could work.

Do you have Internet connectivity on both devices via either cell data or Wi-Fi?  If so, there are numerous 3rd-party applications available that can make it an easy task.

If you have access to a computer, it might be easier to connect the Galaxy Tab and iPad to it via USB, mount both for file access (not sure how this is done in Apple world, but most Android tablets and phones come with built-in features for accessing storage via USB,) copy the files off the source device, and then copy them to the target.
If you need to do this over wireless connection and have access to the Internet (either via cell data or Wi-Fi,) third-party apps might be an easier solution. For example Dropbox is free, available for both Android and iOS, but has a 300MB file size limit. Google Drive is another alternative, with a free 5GB storage, apps on both operating systems, with file size limit of 10GB each.  There are a myriad other similar services that are available on both platforms, but all of them require Internet connectivity, and usually an account.
For direct device-to-device transfers there are fewer choices.  AirBlue uses bluetooth connectivity on both iOS and Android devices for file transfer.  Unfortunately it's only available for jailbroken iPhones via Cydia store.  Here is another walk-through for file copying over Wi-Fi, but this requires for both Android device to be rooted, and the iOS device to be jailbroken.  Instructions from here are a bit dated, but do not require any rooting or jailbreaking of your devices, just a few apps that are freely available on Google Play Store and iTunes Store.

Using a computer as an intermediate repository is the best and fastest way. Transferring the files from Android is straightforward - connect and mount as a drive - copy contents to computer. Transferring the files from computer to iPad has to be done through iTunes as a sync process.

Try using Airdroid, works for me

Just another alternative to the ones they mentioned is BUMP
BUMP is available for IOS and Android
This app lets you share selected files by bumping your phones/tablets side by side. This requires both phones connected on the same wifi network. Can also share files on your computer by going to a url and bumping with the space bar.
If setup properly, it will be very convenient to use.

Sharable is a free to use smartphone & tablet and computer application that brilliantly facilitates file sharing between multiple operating system types. Using this app, you can share files between phone/tablet running iOS and Android; file can be share amongst phone/tablet or to and from computer running Mac as well as Windows. You can install the app on each of your devices and view the connected ones in your app’s dashboard. The next step is simply to decide which files to share and have them transferred over wifi.
Remember that the devices you use for transfer should all be connected over the same local WI-FI network.
http://sharable.in/

The best way is to use the Fast File Transfer app from Google Play. It's really good, and you don't need Internet.


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Is it possible to add arbitrary folders to the media scanner?
I have a Samsung Captivate Glide and it's got 4 gigs of storage that isn't main storage and isn't SD card memory. It shows up as a separate section under settings->storage and it's mounted on /sdcard/usbStorage
The real physical SD card is mounted under /sdcard/external_sd.
So it's 4 gigs of free space, but I can't use it for anything because the media scanner won't pick up anything I put in there.
Is there a way to force the scanner to search particular directories?

If you are comfortable using the command line then you could use the directions in Can I trigger a media scan via the command line?
Pass file:///sdcard/usbStorage to the media scanner.
#!/system/bin/sh

export ANDROID_ASSETS=/system/app
export ANDROID_CACHE=/cache
export ANDROID_DATA=/data
export ASEC_MOUNTPOINT=/mnt/asec
export ANDROID_ROOT=/system
export BOOTCLASSPATH=/system/framework/core.jar:/system/framework/core-junit.jar:/system/framework/bouncycastle.jar:/system/framework/ext.jar:/system/framework/framework.jar:/system/framework/android.policy.jar:/system/framework/services.jar:/system/framework/apache-xml.jar:/system/framework/filterfw.jar
export EXTERNAL_STORAGE=/mnt/sdcard
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/vendor/lib:/system/lib

am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED -d file:///sdcard/usbStorage

I can't test this for you so let us know if it works.


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Lost my Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos. No app Installed. Sim also not working. Can anyone help how to trace it
Lost my Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos. No app Installed. Sim also not working. Can anyone plz help how to trace it.

Chandan, I just added the lost-phone tag to your question. Please click it and check the other 17 questions using it. At least one of them should give you initial help. Closest match: Find lost Samsung Galaxy Ace phone?

Unfortunately, there is no way for you to trace it when all wireless options are nill. The best that you can do is to report the IMEI of the phone to your network so they can block it, becoming only a useless brick.
I don't know if some network operator have the ability to track phones thru IMEI. You should ask them, its worth a try.
edit: I think my thinking went overboard about your case. Have you simply lost it in the house or a familiar place?


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When did my phone power off due to low battery? Is the information recorded somewhere?
I'd like to know when my Android phone powered down due to low battery.  Is there a log or way to see this?  I am running a new program that makes use of BlueTooth and I suspect that's the problem.  I ran the program over the weekend and when I recovered the phone, it was dead.  Of course I have no way of know if the phone died after 1 hour or 23 hours.   I'm guessing the operating system logs it somewhere.
The phone in question is a Sony Ericsson Arc, but I'm hoping the answer generally applies to all Android phones.

You should install Watchdog Task Manager Lite.
It will monitor all your apps and tell you which apps are consuming the most battery and why.
For all your logging needs, install aLogcat (free) - logcat.

I am using Battery Widget Reborn (Free Beta version).
Among its useful features is a charge/discharge graph.

You can use multitouch to expand or compress the graph, too. It'll show about when the battery went down to 0.

You might want to take a look at SystemPanelLite Task Manager. While the free version only allows live monitoring, the full version (SystemPanel App / Task Manager) features background monitoring. Monitored data such will be recorded, and not lost on power-off. Take a look at this screenshot:

Here you can clearly see what time the app was active, how much battery it consumed, if you actively used the device during that time (or how much of the usage was done in background without you watching it), and more. Have this app running and recording in the background for a while, and then check the recorded data -- this should let you figure out which app was responsible, and also what time the device powered off.

BetterBatteryStats? :)

@t0mm13b good for techies, yes. And gives different details. SystemPanel is more intuitive to use for non-techies, and can give better timed results. BetterBatteryStats cannot tell you what time what event happened or when the device shut down -- at least as far as I know.


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Second ring tone for my Google Voice phone number
I'm considering adding a second phone number to my android phone by using Google Voice. Can I have a different ring tone to indicate that a call is coming from that second number and not from my first number?

The only way I can think to do this would be to set up Call Screening and Caller ID like so:

Then set up a contact for your Google Voice number with a custom ringtone.


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MTP sync on LG Spectrum --- kill with extreme prejudice
I have an LG Spectrum, running ICS, and I always keep the USB Connection Type on Charge Only. Lately, for some evil reason, whenever I connect the USB cable to a computer, it bloody ignores my setting and decides to do Media Sync (MTP) instead.
I've searched for (and will continue to search for) ways to prevent this, but I've not found much, and what I did find didn't apply to my situation. (E.g., I couldn't Stop MTP in Running Apps, because it wasn't there.)
I don't know the MTP is, but I want it off my phone completely. I don't want the blasted sync. Ever.
Any ideas?

MTP stands for Media Transfer Protocol. Its honestly better than Mass Storage mode because the memory card does not need to be unmounted on the phone for the PC to transfer data.
If you want to disable it, switch your connectivity to MSC mode first then enable charge only. MTP is a passive protocol that is why it cannot be turned off when it is set by default.

Thanks for the response. By "switch to MSC," I'm guessing you mean Mass Storage? I tried that, in a couple of different sequences, the most recent being: Switch to Mass Storage, connect, see that it's mounted as an external drive. But then it switches back to MTP.

What exactly do you mean by it being a passive protocol, and that's why I can't turn it off?
I don't know how it got turned on in the first place. That plus the fact that the setting changes on its own after I set it back the way I want it is what's got me really worked up.
Good to know that it doesn't have to unmount the SD card. That will be handy next time I actually to want to connect to my laptop. Right now though I'm just irritated that it's doing exactly what I told it not to do, and I don't know what the side effect of that is. What's it syncing with what?

As far as I know, it does not have side effects. As for the syncing, the PC side is doing that. You have to disable whatever LG software you have from your PC from starting up at boot time. I recommend CCleaner's startup manager.

Cool, thanks. I've used CCleaner before. I'll look into that, although I've more or less gotten used to it syncing, and it doesn't seem to be doing anything harmful. Just paranoid I guess. :)


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Android to iPhone - clickable phone numbers in SMS messages
Need a way to have clickable phone numbers from iPhone SMS's.
I started a new job with a company that uses iPhones, and we can send phone numbers that can just be tapped to be called. When that same SMS comes to my Android the phone number comes through as some download that I can't just click on to make the call back.
Does anyone know of a way that will allow for this "clickability" feature for the Android? (from an iPhone SMS sent to me). I looked at Handcent, and GoSMS already but they can't do it properly.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

Could you possibly post a screenshot of what the SMS messages look like? Phone numbers should be clickable in android by default.


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Stuck on the Gmail inbox
When I click on Gmail app, it takes me directly to my inbox. I cannot get out of it. I also cannot find my contacts, or the sign-in or sign-out page. I tried to uninstall it, but it would not let me.
Can you help me?

The Gmail app for Android is not the same as the gmail.com website.  You don't have to sign in when you open the app, because you already signed into your Google account as part of the initial setup procedure, when you first turned on your phone or tablet.
It's normal and expected for the Gmail app to take you directly to your inbox.  If you want to see other folders (such as your sent messages), tap where it says "Inbox" at the top of the screen — it's a drop-down menu.
Contacts are a separate app.  Look for "Contacts" or "People" in your list of app icons.


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Can I connect my Android Mini PC to my VGA Monitor through Adapter?
I am buying a new Android Mini PC. It has HDMI Output but I want to connect it to my VGA Monitor.
So, Can I use this HDMI Male to VGA Female Video Converter Adapter to connect the VGA cable of my Monitor and use HDMI to HDMI Joiner Connector to join the main adapter cable and the Mini PC?
Will this work? Any Help would be appreciated.

You might get a better response to this question if you accept an answer on your other related question http://android.stackexchange.com/q/46295/12442

please give me some response..........  Can i connect through this ?

Yes it will work. however i can see that this will have lag and will not be sutiable if your going to be playing games and some heavy HD Movies. you'll just get the bare minimum quality. I Would recommend http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-DA-HDVG-Converter-Adapter-INCLUDED/dp/B006FYPT60
Ofcourse if you only need the bare minimum of surfing the web, email, photos, videos, music. i would go with http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Measy--H2V-1080P-HDMI--to-VGA--convertor-cable-for-Android-TV-Box---TV-Stick---MINI-PC-314924.html
as it has audio output also. :) Hope this helps


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Is it possible to temporarily disable all notifications on Android wear?
I was looking into getting an android wear device but I will need to make it just a watch without the smart bit sometimes. Is there a quick and easy way of doing this?
I was looking at the Sony smartwatch 3 but I am not definite as to which one to get.

Why buy a SMART Watch and remove the SMART part?

@SuperThomasLab My school will not let me have it in lessons unless I can make it a normal watch temporarily.

ah OK:-), I don't think it is possible except for shutting down your watch. Sorry to tell you but that's why its a Smart Watch.

@SuperThomasLab OK thanks! Is there an app i can get or a setting? I guess that kind of makes sense...

You can disable the notifications if you put your watch on silent mode.

You can disable the notifications on your wearable device by following steps below:

Swipe down from the watchface
You should see something like this:

Select the option on the left will put your watch to silent mode.

Hope my answer helps.

That looks like it works! Thanks! I'll say for definate when I get smartwatch!


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Google Now Launcher is not displayed in Bluestacks emulator
I have latest version of Bluestacks emulator(v 0.9.25.5401) installed on my Windows PC 64bit. I installed Google Now laucher from the playstore in the bluestacks. And after installing the launcher it requested to download also the Google search app which I don't want but installed it anyway.
After successfully installed both the apps I opened the Google Now laucher and it showed me to clear defaults of my previously installed Apex launcher and press Home button. I did clear defaults and after pressing home button Google Now laucher is not displayed in the list.
Its not available also in the Settings menu. I can access them only in the menu drawer and in desktop two icons are created. But I click the icon it shows to select a default launcher for Home which shows only three other 3rd party lauchers but not Google Now.

Screenshots - Click to enlarge images
How to make Google Now launcher as the default launcher for Bluestacks? Any ideas?

Restarting the PC fixed the problem. I restarted the Bluestacks and also tried Restart option from the tray icon options menu. But restarting the PC fixed the issue and the fourth option Google Now Laucher is shown in the list. Wierd I dont know how this fixed it.(May be some registry or some other system reset changes required with restart.)

authors: ຈອຍ ຄົນເກົ່າ


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Created a Walled Garden with WiFi Hotspot
I want to create a WiFi Hotspot that can only access either a few files on my Android or a webpage run on my Android. This is so that when I am playing at gigs i can offer my music for free to people who connect. I know I can do this on a Windows machine but don't really want to drag around a laptop to every gig considering the amount of instruments, etc., that need to be transported.
I was hoping I could just set up a WiFi Hotspot and a walled garden so that when people connected it would force them to a page stating there is no internet connection only news and music by my band.
Has anyone got any ideas how this could be achieved or if I am being blind and there's an app that will already do it? (I have spent the last 3 days researching but so far I have not found much.)

Wi-Fi hotspot just gives you networking service. It doesn't automatically share your files. You need to use a kind of file server which could restrict sharing to few files.

You might like to try KWS Android Web Server
This is like LAMP, XAMPP, WAMP but for Android
This is not a simple file server, you need to create a webpage first to make it work.


text:
Whenever I try to download an app, it keeps wanting to download it to my old Android phone
I bought a used Coolpad, but like new. Whenever I try to download an app, be it an old one already installed on old phone or a new, never before loaded one, it keeps wanting to send data to old phone, an LG Admire. In the box, looking for device compatibility, only the old phones model number comes up.

Does the Coolpad have Google Play installed on it?

From where are you trying to download the app?

thanks for responding. I hope I'm doing this right, and this is where I'm supposed to respond to you. Yes, Goggle play store is loaded on phone and it can be any app. from any where. smart tools, angry birds any one of of them. When looking for device compatability, it always comes up that it is but always it's the admire. I'm clueless, Thanks again, there are still a few good people out there.

It is about Google Account I think. Logout and create a new account.


text:
Stop IMO messenger asking me to create account
I use this to allow me concurrent sessions on my tablet, phone and computer...
...however, everytime I open the app it asks me to create a public profile and verify with my number.
Is there any way I can stop this? I don't really fancy having a public account and I'd prefer them not to have my number (but that's not so much of a big deal).


text:
ADW lock code forgotten
Using ADWLauncher, you can lock the desktop. Extremely useful, till the password is forgotten.
I have a Nexus 4. Any solution to crack the password?

I don't know if the settings export would export the lock as well. So you could try export, then delete the data from ADW, then import settings again. In the worst case you are were you started -- with some luck the lock was not exported along. -- With some shit the password is exported plain text and you can read it (unlikely, but not impossible).

(alternative method)If you know adb, you can push another homescreen app. ex: Zeam Laucher. Then press home button and select the alternative homescreen app. This method worked on a galaxy mini.

Consider using Sqlite browser:
If you can get to the phone's internal storage from your PC, try finding the. Sql files.with the code stored. Well, provided its a numeric code; if its a swipe patter, you're s.o.l. and have to do a reset of the phone.


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Why is "Android OS" uploading so much data?
After switching from my Nexus S to a Nexus 4 I noticed that my phone was transferring huge amounts of background data.  Like 70 MB in 15 minutes.  As my data plan only allows 300 MB per month I was not amused.  Even when connected to WiFi, it often (but not always!) was uploading tons of data.
According to the "Network Usage" the culprit was "Android OS".  So I tried to limit the background data of it only to find that "Android OS" seems to be the only "app" which doesn't offer this option.  Great.
Well okay, that's what firewalls apps are made for.
I configured AFWall+ but that only cured the symptom not the cause.
Next I redirected the traffic to a laptop with a WiFi card and used the usual tools (tcpdump, wireshark) to analyse the traffic.  Result: many many uploads to some Google servers but SSL encrypted so no chance to see the contents.
I kept investigating and found this very interesting article on Android data usage.
Apparently Google has began expanding its cloud-based backups of the phone settings so that it now also does backups of the data of some apps.  So, I turned off "Back up my settings" in the Privacy settings and whoopiedoo, the sending stopped and the data traffic returned to a normal amount!
There is a post in a Google forum with similar experience: Something within the Android System—maybe Backup—is using up all my data allowance.
I started looking in the Android documentation and found that there is such a thing as "Android Backup Service" which apps can use to backup their application data to the Google cloud: Data Backup
And there is even an CLI utility "bmgr" to interact with the Backup Manager.
But I cannot find any information about how the phone owner can find out which application is backing up which data, or how to influence or stop this.  I'd be happy to use the backup service—it saved me a lot of time when switching to my new phone—but the way it is implemented now it's definitely unusable.
After talking to my former coworker and Android expert Izzy who was clueless too, I decided to post this issue here as—like he said—I will find the best experts here.  Well, let me know if you have any idea about this.  Any hint is welcome!

Related, if not an outright duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/28100/android-os-is-continuously-downloading-something-in-the-background-how-can-i?rq=1

Related yes, but not a duplicate: See the hint that for ciberandy it stopped when disabling Google Backup (in the linked question it was a forgotten SIP account).

When you say afwall+ cured the symptom and not the cause, do you mean Android os still consumed data but the consumption wasn't recorded/reported by android?

Vikki: Afwall+ is a iptables frontend to configure the Android firewall, i.e. he forbade internet access to the Android OS. The cause is still there and unknown then, only the symptoms are gone. @izzy / Andy: you might succeed by using VPN + an SSL mitm proxy on a router of yours to dump & analyze unencrypted traffic. You only need to install a mitm root ca on your android + mitm-proxy or burp proxy: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/New-Burp-Proxy-cracks-Android-SSL-1663112.html

The list of applications with backups as well as how much space each backup uses is on your Google Account Dashboard under "Android Devices".
Unfortunately, there isn't, I believe, any way to control it other than turning it on or off entirely.

Nope, all I can see there behind the link "Mehr gespeicherte Daten zu diesem Gerät" is the IMEI and date of last backup.  Can you really see more than that?

@ciberandy yes, when I click 'More data stored about this device' I get a listing of IMEI, last seen, registered date, and then a list of each backed up app, its backup date, and the backup size

You are right, after reactivating the cloud backup I just had to wait a day for this information to appear in the dashboard.

Several days later, "Android OS" has uploaded 178 MB but the dashboard
only shows:
Android Wallpaper         05.03.2013 10:52    6,6 MB
Android System Settings   05.03.2013 02:16    3,61 KB
Android Market            03.03.2013 13:27    16 B
AndroRadio                03.03.2013 13:27    8 B
So, that's wrong AND not useful. sigh

@ciberandy indeed, that isn't very useful. You could probably connect the phone to a computer, enable USB debugging, then watch logcat to see what its doing. Well, grep through logcat, it'll spew a lot of lines. Might be useful for a bug report.

I didn't mention above that I had already tried that with the help of ddms (Dalvik Debug Monitor).  I couldn't see anything suspicious, though.

It seems that Google doesn't allow us more insight and no way to influence the backed up data.
It's true that the Google Dashboard shows a little more detail about the saved data. But it takes a day or two for the information to appear, and it's definitely not complete.
I reactivated the cloud backup feature about a week ago, it has uploaded 178 MB of data, but the dashboard shows just this:
Android Wallpaper         05.03.2013 10:52    6,6 MB
Android System Settings   05.03.2013 02:16    3,61 KB
Android Market            03.03.2013 13:27    16 B
AndroRadio                03.03.2013 13:27    8 B
That's wrong AND not useful. sigh

You're not doing something like automatically changing the wallpaper every 5 minutes, are you?

Actually I do.  "tasker" changes the wallpaper according to where I am.  But that happens only 2-3 times a day.

@derobert is that a bad thing? I change mine every 30, minutes, can that cause this problem too?

@Goodwine I doubt it's a problem unless it's using too much data.

@ciberandy Does disabling that Tasker profile change the data usage of Android OS?

That could in fact explain the differences then: The Dashboard shows the amount of data stored (not transferred). So if the Wallpaper app uploads the new background image every time it's changed... You get the idea. In that case: restricting background data for "Android OS" might help (and make backups happen on WiFi only).

Quite certain that this is a bug in Nexus 4.
Ended up using close to 100 MB for Android OS last month and my current plan is only for 350 MB.
Turning off 'Google backup' did not really have much of an impact as indicated in many forums.
I did notice that 'Android OS' is active only when connected to my mobile network and not when connected to Wifi.
The issue is severe only when connected to my mobile network with "restrict background data " turned ON.
I have used the phone for couple of days with background data unrestricted and Android OS consumed limited data.. less than 1 MB.
now, I restrict data based on individual apps while on mobile networks and this seems to work fine.

That sounds interesting. I found that turning "restrict background data" on/off didn't have any influence. But I didn't experiment too much with it as there is no "local override" for "Android OS" - I still hate Google for that!
I eventually started using "AFWall+" to set necessary restrictions and save on my data plan.

postponing rooting til finding a good reason... now seems a good one as even netguard (at least w/o rooting) cant block the very android os... I think we should impose a personal limit: if the technology is causing more trouble than solving our problems, it is time to find a way to depend less on it or it will control our lives entirely.

I have a similar problem and checking on the Dashboard under the Android Devices (as suggested by derobert) I see that I have:
Android Wallpaper
Backup date: 5 Jul 2014 22:33
Backup size: 5.66 MB

I read that ciberandy has similar values so maybe the problem is related to an application I'm using to change my wallpaper every hour: Zedge.
Mendel too reported the wallpaper changing as a possible cause.
So the possible solution, ATM, are:

change the wallpaper less frequently / not automatically;
disable the "backup my data" setting under settings > backup & restore
use a live wallpaper that does that (suggested in the comments by Dan Hulme)
restrict background data (from data usage menu) (suggested in the comments by Izzy)

The last option (restrict background data) is unfortunately not available for the single "Android OS" item and on my phone is activating a permanent (annoying!) notification in the notification drawer.

Hello, my answer is indeed a very likely solution to the problem (solution = disable any app that does change your wallpaper automatically every X hours). I'd have added a comment instead but don't have enough reputation. Please let me know if I should open a new question to gather feedback from other users on wether they are or not using apps like Zedge while having a similar problem. I'm going to update my answer in a few days if that solves the problem to me.

By the way, it looks like yesterday I missed mendel's answer that is suggesting the same solution. So yes I think that the wallpaper changes are the cause of the problem, at least in my case ;)

After your edit, it looks fine (must have escaped me before, sorry for that). Maybe you want to include a third solution: restrict background data to "Android OS". This would disable backups while on mobile data – but still have them enabled while on WiFi. So they no longer affect your mobile data plan, but you don't have to disable those backups altogether. After that, we might clean up our comments here ;)

Alternatively, you could use a "live wallpaper" app to have a changing wallpaper, instead of an app that just changes the wallpaper every so often. That way there won't be changes to back up every hour.

Hello Izzy, no worries... I think you were right and my first message probably looked a little bit too much as a forum post despite I tried to write it properly :p Anyway, thanks for your tips; I'm going update my answer.

@Izzy how does your "third solution" work? I don't see how I can restrict mobile background data of "Android OS" only. Please enlighten me!  (c:

See the screenshot in ciberandy's own answer – oh, hi Andy :) Is "Android OS" not listed in the apps to restrict there? It's dealt like a "separate app" when it comes to battery consumption, so why not here? I must admit I didn't explicitly check – but your screenshot even has it...

The checkbox to disable it for the single app is available for the other apps but not for "Android OS" :p But you can restrict background data for everything and that will restrict it also for Android OS.

I would propose to disable the Android built-in Google Cloud Backup in the settings and use another app to backup your phone.
For example, Carbon supports backing up apps online to different cloud storage providers, and allows to restrict backups to times when you're connected with a Wifi network. Carbon also has the advantage that it can backup apps that are not backed up by Google Cloud Backup.
TitaniumBackup also supports backing up your data online, but requires root.
Both apps also support that they only back-up when your phone is connected to a charger, so that they don't suck your battery empty when you need it for other purposes.
The disadvantage of this solution would be that they both only support scheduled backups, so if you back-up only once a week, you might lose a week of your backed up data if you lose or destroy your phone just before the backup would run. However, I don't know exactly which schedule is used by the Google Backup solution, so this could suffer a similar problem.

Actually I do use TitaniumBackup.  This question is more of a technical kind though.  And I'm thinking about the tons of android users who have no idea how to turn off the Google Cloud Backup.

I don't know if this answers the original question, but I think this will explain data usage at least in some cases.
I was having issues with excessive usage by the Android OS and I have discovered that
on my phone (Sprint GS3 running Android 4.1.2) manually changing the wallpaper causes the android system to upload aprox 15MB of data (on one occasion it uploaded close to 60MB but I have been unable to duplicate that), so if you have an app changing the wallpaper several times a day that could explain Android OS data usage - at least in some cases.

I had this problem a few days ago on my Samsung Galaxy S7 running Android 6.0.1. The application "Android OS" used about 8 GB during two consecutive nights effectively using up my monthly data capacity.
In order to find the cause for this, I did the following: go to Settings > Applications > Application Manager > More - Show System Apps and then click through each application (maybe beginning with the most likely suspects) and checking the data usage value for each.
In my case, the data usage was caused by the "Samsung Cloud" v2.2.08 (which of course is not available on a Nexus device) and a misconfiguration under Settings > Samsung Cloud > More > Network settings where all items need to be switched ON in order to prevent synchronization over mobile data networks.

Android OS also includes the YouTube data or any video data which you have viewed online using browser/YouTube. You must have watched equally that much amount of videos online from your device. When you browse in the YouTube app or browser only browsing data is recorded by respective apps the actual data streamed for video is recorded under Android OS

Source? I don't think this is correct.


text:
Rename camera images from exif data using tasker
I apologize if this is a duplicate, I can't find anything up-to-date that really helps answer my question.
I know this is nitpicky, but it's been a long battle and I am losing it.
For some time, I have been annoyed with the fact that you can't customize the android camera app's naming convention. My workaround, since the dawn of Dropbox camera upload, has been to use dropbox to upload and rename my photos (yyyy-mm-dd HH.nn.ss.jpg) and then use dropsync to overwrite the original file in my camera photo.
The problem I'm facing at the moment is that the camera in the hangouts app does not follow the same rules as the default camera app for my phone (Sony Xperia z3) so I end up with duplicates in my gallery of any image I happened to capture using hangouts instead of the camera. I could use the camera to take a picture and then share it using hangouts, but I decided instead to play around with Tasker and try to automate consolidating my images. (Another gripe I have is that Dropbox won't let me exclude folders, so I'd like to get rid of Camera Upload altogether and not have every screenshot I've ever taken backed up forever).
The directory for the default camera is [internal storage]/DCIM/100ANDRO and for hangouts it is [internal storage]/DCIM/Camera
I have a profile (below) triggered by the "file modified" event that will move the new file in the "Camera" folder into the "DCIM" folder. However, there is often a race condition, so Dropbox will upload the image before it is moved and again after. So my problem of duplicate images is not yet solved.

(click for larger version)
I'd like to forgo the Dropbox/Dropsync combo and instead use Tasker to rename a file as it is added to either of the camera folders. I'd like to use the same naming convention that Dropbox uses, but I can't figure out how Tasker can access the EXIF data from the image to rename the photo to something like "2014-12-30 10.23.56.jpg".
So, as a tl;dr: I am using Tasker to move images captured from different apps into a common folder. Can anyone help me add a step to rename the file I am moving based on the date and time the image was captured?

Since you are using the "file modified" trigger (which should be instant at the moment the file is written,) you can use the current date and time instead of trying to extract the EXIF data from the images.
Tasker's getFormattedDate function will help with parsing the date/time and constructing the new file name.  The only issue you might have is if the source folder contains more than one image.  You can use a counter variable within your loop and append it to the end of the file name to mitigate that.

Use Tasker's native Java calls
Java code
Use ExifInterface.getAttribute to solve this problem.
exif = new ExifInterface( %filename )
%datetime = exif.getAttribute(exif.TAG_DATETIME)

Implementation overview

Getting path of a .JPG from %filename Tasker variable
Construct a new ExifInterface class instance into exif Java variable
Get date & time by exif.getAttribute Java function, and store results into %datetime Tasker variable
Free exif Java variable
Check %datetime is set (this is not set when .JPG is not contains EXIF info)

Step by step solution in Tasker

Add a new Code > Java Function action
a. Set ExifInterface to Class Or Object (or select by magnifying glass button)
b. Write new \\ {ExifInterface} (String) to Function (or select by magnifying glass button)
c. Write %filename to Param (String)
d. Write exif to Return {ExifInterface}

Add a new Code > Java Function action
a. Write exif to Class Or Object (or select by coffee button)
b. Write getAttribute \\ {String} (String) to Function (or select by magnifying glass button)
c. Write exif.TAG_DATETIME to Param (String)
d. Write %datetime to Return {String}

Add a new Code > Java Object action
a. Left Mode on Delete
b. and write exif to Name

Check %datetime is set - I added a conditional Flash for show %datetime

Done!