text:
Access phone without SIM PIN
Sometimes I want to access my phone without unlocking the SIM cards (yes, two of them, so two PINs). It may be that I just want to play some games, and I know that there is no coverage so I do not care about missing calls.
How can I avoid entering the PIN but being able to unlock the phone itself?
Note: removing PIN for normal SIM access is not an option.

is removing the SIM cards an option?

No, see comment to Timo Schwarzer's answer.

It's a bit late for answering this, but I had the same issue:
When you get asked for the SIM PIN, press the power button for some time until the menu with shutdown options pops up. Select "Airplane mode" here. Now you can use your phone without the SIM PIN.
Verified on an old Galaxy S4 mini.

airplane mode is not provided as an option when pressing power button

Yes, Samsung/Google are changing things constantly.
My current Galaxy Xcover 5 lost this option too :-(

You can simply remove the SIM cards. Then you will not be asked for a PIN. Some phones will show a "No SIM card"-dialog.

Removing the SIM implies removing the battery, thus losing e.g. clock configuration.

Ok. There are phones (like mine) where you do not have to remove the battery to eject the SIM card

Removing the SIM card also requires a sharp tool that I don't carry everywhere. It is ridiculous that I cannot use my mobile phone just because I forgot the second SIM's PIN, which I don't need at the moment.

On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, holding the power button displays a window which can be used to power down the phone. Then the battery can be safely removed, and then also the SIM card. Upon rebooting the phone I get the No-SIM-Card icon in the top-left notifications area, but I can still dial emergency numbers and access the Internet using Wi-Fi. On my phone it is also possible to disable having to enter the PIN from Settings -> Security.
Regards.


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Locked-out Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 asking for GMail pass and username
My 8 year old son has locked himself out of his Samsung GALAXY Tab 3. It is now asking for GMail password and username. I have no clue what they are.
So far, I have tried:

Hard reset, but it didn't work.
Downloaded Samsung Kies and tried to update the tablet, but I need the password to proceed.

One more thing, we have new WiFi, so the tablet does not have the access code since I can't get into the Settings to change it.

I'm not a Samsung user, so I'm not sure, but I think it should be the GMail account used to setup your account for the first time, or maybe GMail account used for administrator (if it has multiple users). Who setup the tablet for the first time?

I think my husband did it with my son but we have tried all of gmail accounts he has and no luck!

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Removing the default guest user account on Android Lollipop
How to remove the default Guest User on Android Lollipop in Nexus 5?
In the user settings, I am presented with option to add the guest user. However I am unable to remove the default guest user already present. I am able to remove the added guest users but not the default guest user. The phone is not rooted yet.

Yeah, you can remove it. Just switch to the guest user, pull down the notification with two fingers and tap on the user icon in the top right corner. It will then offer you the possibility to remove the guest user.

Thanks that worked. Still the user is able to guest log from lock screen using add guest option

You should be able to disable that feature in the user options

that will delete an existing guest account, but not disable the feature of creating them in the first place. Yes, there's a checkbox to disable adding users (including guest) from the lock screen.

@RickyBeam See my answer: Is there a way to remove guest in lollipop?

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


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Remove my Google account on other people's device
I once had to log in my Google account on my friend's phone and I forgot to delete my account on his phone. Is there any way for me to remotely delete my account on my friend's devices?

Go to Google's security manager page, find the phone you logged in on and click "deauthorize".

I was just too late to give the same answer you did.....

Thanks. it works. really appreciate it. Once again, thanks for helping me.

That link is (now) for apps, https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity is where one should go

The "Account access" and "Remove" button is not shown in https://security.google.com/settings/security/activity?pli=1 page.  Do anyone know why?

@EugineJoseph, you must click onto the device you wish to disconnect. Then a menu will come up with those items.

I wonder if there is a way to "gracefully" disconnect/remove a device. When I remove a device now it suggests that I lost the device. It still shows up in the list, but without the "Remove" button.


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Can't find shortcuts for downloaded apps
I have a Galaxy Tab S. At first, I could download apps and the shortcut would appear on the screen.
Now this has stopped happening. The app is there as I can find it using S Finder, and I can use the app. There is just no shortcut. How to get the shortcut?

Creating that shortcut is done by the Google Play Store app, which has a setting for that. So:

start the Google Play Store app
go to its settings page
check the setting for creating shortcuts (and enable it).

I currently can't tell you what exactly that item is named (I have no device with Google apps installed available at the moment), but it should be easy to identify. On the other hand, there's always a Google Image search :)

Google Play Store settings (source: ProgrammerGuru; click image for larger variant)
For a detailed description, please see the source of that image: How to create and remove shortcut for Android application?.

I accidentally found the way. Find the app in “manage apps“ and disable it and then enable it back.


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WiFi won't turn on after rooting, still won't turn on after factory reset
After rooting my phone, the WiFi wouldn't turn on. When I say it won't turn on, I mean it won't toggle on at all. I cannot flip the switch to put it in the on position.
I decided that I would just reflash the stock OS to remove the root. WiFi still wouldn't turn on. Then I decided to do a factory reset. It still won't turn on.
I don't care about losing anything, I just want to be able to turn the WiFi on.

Have you checked the logcat for error messages? Those might shed some light on the issue. If you don't know how to do that, please take a look at our logging tag-wiki.

We need you to provide more information. Such as phone, what custom ROM and version, what stock ROM and version, did you wipe the cache and dalvik-cache, what way did you flash the ROMs, and anything else helpful. That way we can provide you with a correct answer.

If it's a Samsung you can flash a more up to date modem through odin

There can be two causes:

Hardware failure. Unlikely, but a possibility.

Each device has multiple sub-models, and each sub-model has multiple ROMs. You need to be sure you're installing the ROM meant for your exact device model, even if you are re-installing a stock ROM. If you do install a ROM not meant for your device, you often face issues like these.
The solution for this is to first confirm your exact device model:

Boot into your device's bootloader and look up the device version/model.
Open the download page of the ROM you installed
Download the version specific to your model
Install the ROM the usual way, but be sure to do a full wipe/clean of all partitions first from the recovery.

Did you reflash the stock ROM?
By the way, factory reset only wipes data and cache directories which don't even touch the system directory. Normally, the system directory is read-only, but when you have root privileges, you may change something in the system partition, and that cannot be reversed with a factory reset. The only solution is to use a recovery or something and delete all the partitions, especially the system partition, and flash or install your stock ROM/firmware.
You said you can't toggle at all. That occurs when there isn't any device or any driver is not initialized.

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


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Reset password on Galaxy Player
I have a Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 and I haven't used it in ages. With that being said, I forgot my password. When I tried to unlock it, it told me to put in my email, but I forgot my password to that as well.
I want to know if there is a way to reset it, or just figure out the password to my email. Now my device doesn't let me try to put my password in because I tried too many times and failed. Is there a way that I can reset it?

Olright mate you will have to wipe/ reset the whole device to do this Remove the battery. Replace the battery but do not power the device on. Hold down the Volume Down + Menu buttons then press the Power button. Hold the Power button for 2-4 seconds and release it without releasing the Volume Down or Menu button. Your phone will boot into hboot mode. Use Volume down to navigate the options and the Home Button to select Choose "Clear Storage" (sometimes named 'Wipe Data / Factory Reset') Confirm your choice and wait for the device to do the work.  Let me know if it works buddy.


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TWRP Unable to mount everytime I boot into TWRP recovery mode
After I installed TWRP and a Custom ROM everytime I boot into the Recovery Mode it says unable to mount storage or data and then I have to do the steps to fix it and then when i boot to system my files get removed
Steps I do when the TWRP can't mount:

I click the wipe menu
Then Advance Menu
and then I click the data and check it
And then I click the repair or change
I click change first since error 255 when I click the repair first
I changed it to HTX4
I reboot to recovery
I changed it back to f2fs again
And repair it
10 finished the mount problem is fixed

The problem is when I boot up and then reboot to recovery again the problem is back again and the data is erased

this is no "fix" to get "access" you're simply factory resetting device each time. booting into android will automatically re-encrypt the phone, and there is no way access encrypted data in TWRP. ask the TWRP maintainer for encryption support, use another custom ROM, another recovery, or simply disable encryption in ROM at all

How do I disable encryption in ROM?

with encryption disabler

Can you send the file for it

And also the custom ROM is android 13 can I still disable it

maybe if you add the necessary information in your question

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


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Run init rc script after package manager have loaded
I'm writing an init service which make sure a package is installed and if not, it will install the apk.
The problem is, that currently I'm using a boot trigger with on boot but when I run pm install from there it doesn't seem to work. I've used a sleep command to wait for the package manager service to load but I would like to find a proper solution.
I've had three ideas which all seems to lead to me to a dead end:

wait for a prop to show up, but the package manager service doesn't create any.
wait for a file to show up, again no such file exist
set my service in a class but it seems to be relevant for the service itself and not the trigger or am I misunderstanding something?

My current service definition is like so:
on boot
    exec_background -- /vendor/bin/install.sh

Please share how you are starting the service (e.g. class_start, exec, ...) and the service definition. What property have you tried to trigger on sys.boot_completed or dev.bootcomplete?

You need to wait for the zygote (along with all of its services, which include PackageManager) to start. on boot is fired at very early stage. Use on property:ro.runtime.firstboot=* && property:init.svc.zygote=running && property:init.svc.bootanim=stopped && property:sys.boot_completed=1.

Sadly it didn't seem to work, pm install still failed

@yotamN failed with what error? Are the above properties set on your device?


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How to disable "Your phone is getting warm" warning?
I'm using Lineage 20, Android 13 on a Pixel 4A and often when I'm using the hotspot feature while charging I get a notification with the message "Your  phone is getting warm".
It then disables stuff like the hotspot for some time until it decides my device is not warm anymore.
When touching the casing with my hand it doen't feel warmer than usual and even then I want to choose if my phone should die early from overheating so I'm looking for a way to disable this "feature".
Thanks for your assistance !

FYI, documentation from AOSP: https://source.android.com/docs/core/power/thermal-mitigation Just be aware that charging a battery and running the radio as a hotspot generates quite a bit of heat.

What charger do you use (what voltage and ampere does it provide)? An easy mitigation would be to use a charger with less power as this reduces the heat created by charging. Additionally I would build a stand where the phone can stand on its long border and additionally is in the air flow of a fan.

@Robert I'm using a 5V/3A charger on a Pixel 4A (i'll add it to main post sorry), the stand is a great idea but the body of the device doesn't feel hotter than usual at all, I doubt it'll fix the issue

@MorrisonChang Thanks for the AOSP documentation, I'm gonna look for a way to disable the mitigation of the emergency level in the ThermalManagerService

@Hollow Do realize that the warning is a safety feature to avoid damaging hardware.  Unless you are using a thermal camera and know that the device or a  certain component like the radio is throttling incorrectly, finding a way to reduce the temperature of the device during operation, like a cooler ice block or using active cooling case/attachment is something to consider.

It's normally the battery that starts getting warm.  The automatic cooling of it is a safety feature.  I have only ever had this when in a cradle in the car, charging the phone, while using a driving app, and with the sun shining on it.

If you have a cover, take it off.

A slower charger (as mentioned in the comment) would help.

If you are not traveling at that time, turn off the GPS.

Some Providers limit the length of the hotspot and automatically connect.

Hotspot Settings has options for Auto turn off and data limits.  Check these by doing a long press on the hotspot name followed by dropping down Advanced Settings.


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Android devices take upto 10 minutes to acquire cellular reception after boot while roaming
When I boot android device having a SIM on roaming it took around 2-10 minutes to get cellular reception. I've tested this on multiple devices, similar behavior.
One interesting thing is, if device is already booted and then I inserted the SIM, it instantly gets cellular reception.
For a non-roaming SIM it works instantly even after boot.
Edit: The SIM provider told us it's an eSIM, though it looks like a regular SIM card.
If you've any explanation on this, could you please share?

In your "already booted" tests did the phone had internet access through Wifi?

@Robert No, there was no wifi


text:
System update on restart takes to TWRP
I guess everyone got a notification for downloading an update for Android 5.0 Lollipop on Nexus 5. When the download is complete and the phone is restarted, it takes me to the TWRP screen and I could not figure out what to do next. How could I update now?
If I restart according to the following screen, it takes me to TWRP.

You need to flash stock recovery to install stock OTAs without computer-based intervention.
Alternatively, you can download the relevant OTA for your version of KitKat, put it somewhere on your Nexus's internal storage and flash it in TWRP  like you would any other flashable zip. Although you may want to note that xposed doesn't work with Lollipop yet, and rooting is a little bit more involved than it was on kitkat.

I was running into the same problem yesterday with my Nexus 5, I updated to the latest version of TWRP and nothing...
Eventually I followed one of the guides online to flash the Nexus 5 with the Factory Images and that worked at the price of loosing my data.....
https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images


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'You must have at least one calendar activated under My calendars. Do you want to open the calendar list?' after disabling/deleting calendar app
I used the CleanMaster app on my Samsung Galaxy S3 to disable apps I do not use.  I then accidentally deleted my calendar. When I want to add an event, I get a notification:

You must have at least one calendar activated under My calendars. Do you want to open the calendar list?

When I hit OK, I just get the blank calendar list.
I have now also downloaded the 'Business Calendar' app - but this also notifies me that I have no calendars selected.
How do I reinstall or reactive my calendar then?

What calendar was it? A "local one" (not synced anywhere), or a Google-synced calendar?

Have you tried installing Google Calendar?

I had the same problem. It's easy to fix:

Go to settings/more/application manager
swipe left to get to "disabled"
Click on "calendar storage"
click "enable"

All your calendar entries should now re-appear.

authors: Константин Каюкин


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What does it mean to "link" my contacts?
I just got an Android today and I'm entirely lost with how it works. I was looking at my contacts and noticed the "link" option, so I tried it and clicked on another random contact, and nothing happened.
What does the linking do exactly?

Well, I am sure you must be aware that Android shows your contacts from multiple sorces like Gmail, Facebook etc.
I am sure you probably have the same contacts in multiple sources and LINK is a way of telling Android that these contacts, from the different sources, are same. Once you link the contacts Android will merge the contact details i.e. one contact will be shown with all the details from every source.


text:
What does purple colour mean in GPU rendering profiling?
In this video you can see lags in the Easter egg in Android Lollipop on Nexus 5

What does purple colour mean?

The colours are:
Blue: Indicating time spent creating drawing commands
Orange: Issuing the commands
Yellow: Waiting for the commands to complete. For more info look here: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/17854103/android-4-3-on-screen-gpu-profiling-long-gfx-waiting-time Also, please ignore my answer. I was completely wrong. I thought you meant talking about the blue!!

Yeah, thanks for the link, but there is nothing about purple there.

Sorry that I can't really help you, as I don't know either. It's an excellent question though! +1

Purple is "prepare"
It has been added in Lollipop, so now we get:
draw (blue), prepare (purple), process (red), execute (yellow)
If you do adb shell dumpsys gfxinfo, the table for each app now has 4 columns (with prepare added between draw and process)
I have yet to find any documentation on this yet :)


text:
Normalization - Automatic global Android media sound (music videos on YouTube) adjustment
I'm using this app: PVSTAR+. I have my list which plays in an endless loop, but the problem is that some YouTube videos are louder and some are quieter. I want the audio to be constantly at a certain "loudness level". What I need is a way to "normalizes" the Android volume on the fly.
I found an app called Waver - Volume Control, but it says it is not compatible with my Android 4.1 device; the app requires 2.3. Anyway, I downloaded the APK of waver and installed it but it seems not to be working.
Is there a way to adjust the media audio on a certain level automatically, so it automatically detects that the current audio is too low and increases it?


text:
Flash vanilla (AOSP) Android ROM on Xiaomi Redmi
I have a Xiaomi Redmi 1S.
Is it possible to flash a vanilla (AOSP) Android ROM? This MIUI is annoying me.  I have a few bugs which come from MIUI and I want to flash a vanilla ROM but always when I thought I've found the right one, it's bricked my phone and had to restore it with the custom MiFlash Tool.
Recovery on the phone was not even possible.

I changed to [tag:vanilla-android], since the definition of "stock ROM" is "MIUI" for Xiaomi. Anyway, it seems there are many "custom" AOSP ROM for Xiaomi. Searching for "Redmi AOSP ROM" might help you.


text:
Windows sees broken Android phone, no directories
So a friend brought me their Samsung Galaxy S7 phone with a broken screen, the phone does boot and my Windows 7 machine recognizes the phone however there are no directories or files listed. Edited screenshot:

I've spent an excessive amount of time searching for anything relevant and there are no directories or files on another person's Windows 10 laptop.
How do I force the phone to reveal the files so I can cover them for my friend? Critical note: please only answer if you're willing to provide sufficient steps without skipping anything critical (as 90% of tutorials and videos have failed miserably at this).

Did the device have a secure lockscreen (pin, password, etc) configured? By default many devices will not give access to their storage over USB unless they are unlocked, in an attempt to prevent drive-by file theft.

Like eldarerathis said maybe is problem there. And maybe it's problem with that, that you need to allow access after phone is connected via USB to PC that is also anti theft feature, because of some incident were airports or someone else were collecting data via wall USB sockets. What is the device?

Have you cleared cache for "external storage" and "media "?

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје No idea if I hooked it up to my computer; there is definitely a way to override this security mechanism; the question is how.

@xavier_fakerat No idea what that is or if that is relevant. I can't do anything with the phone directly except turn it on after the battery drains and adjust the volume while it is turned on. The data cable between the screen and the motherboard was completely severed because you know, why not.

Even my phone on 4.2.2 can't be accessed until you confirm the prompt which you get when connect to PC or at least it prompt a window to choose type of connection. What I can see that is phone Galaxy S7 and mtp connection, so as I said you can't access storage until confirm "allow this computer to access phone data" I doubt there is a way to recover data on broken screen phones, at least for us mortals. Maybe there is some paid software to access storage in this situations but I don't think it will work if encrypted and most phones are encrypted by default.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Transfer Township game progress from iPhone to Android device
I have Samsung Galaxy S3. I've been playing Township on my iPhone for awhile. When I bought the tablet, I can't get it to sync.
I've downloaded Township, but it's starting from scratch and I'm on level 50 something on iPhone and don't want to start all over.
Is there something I can do for that?

What kind of tablet? Does either app have some kind of account that you need to sign into that could be used to sync data? The games would likely need to facilitate the syncing themselves - Android and iOS are not really intercompatible like that.

http://support.playrix.com/hc/en-us/articles/213578197-How-do-I-transfer-my-game-progress-from-1-device-to-another-
this worked on my phone. From iPhone to ASUS :)

Link-only answers can become useless if the link goes dead, so it would be extra helpful if you can [edit] your answer and include a summary of the steps.

You should quote this from your link: "NOTE: For more information on how to transfer your game progress from iOS to Android (or visa versa) please contact our Support Team."


text:
Downgrade to KitKat from CyanogenMod (Lollipop 5.0) on Samsung S5
I installed CyanogenMod (Lollipop 5.0) on my Samsung Galaxy S5, but I want to go back to my original software on KitKat. Can anybody help me please?

Backup. Always do a nandroid backup (assuming you have CWM or TWRP since you have CM12.)
Download the appropiate firmware for your device which can be found here
Download Samsung Kies (during installation you will be prompted to install "developer" driver. Accept that.
Download odin here and then extract it to a folder of choice
Navigate to where you extracted odin and run it as administrator.
Now reboot your phone into download mode by first turning off your device completely and then turn it on again using three-button-combo: Volume Down + Home + Power at the same time.
If done correctly you should see a screen on your device that looks like this  Now connect it using a usb cable to your computer.
After you've done that Odin should look somewhat like this:
Make sure you can see anything on the highlated area. If you cannot see it after 5 minutes you need to go back to step 3.
Now click the PDA/AP button and select the downloaded firmware using the window that pops out.
Make sure repartition is not checked and click start. Do not touch your device until an indicator says "PASS" or "RESET".
If your device is in a bootloop then boot into recovery and do a factory reset.
If your device is still in bootloop try again. If it still doesn't work then apply the nandroid backup you made.

NOTE: While Odin is doing stuff DO NOT UNPLUG THE USB CABLE!


text:
Enabling LTE on Nexus 4
There seems to be various sources on the Internet on how this can be achieved. A Modem Flashing version that required a rooted phone and a code dialed on the phone.
Can someone tell me which of these two are valid?

You need both pieces. The LTE radio was disabled, in software, by the 2.0.1700.48 radio firmware update. In order to enable LTE, you'll need to downgrade to an older radio image (2.0.1700.33 or earlier), then use the *#*#4636#*#* dialer code menu to enable LTE. If you try to use the dialer code on the .48 or higher radios, it will not work.
If you're comfortable with unofficial images, there are also "hybrid" radios that you can use instead of downgrading below the .48 one. These basically attempt to integrate the updates present in the later radio images, while maintaining the "bug" that allows LTE to be enabled. They are made by third-parties and not endorsed or supported by Google/LG.
There is an XDA thread that compiles a list of all official Nexus 4 radios, along with downloads to each version. If you want to enable LTE, you need to do the following:

Unlock your bootloader. This will perform a factory reset in the process.
Download the radio you want, then flash it from fastboot: fastboot flash radio /path/to/radio.img
Boot into Android, open the dialer, and enter *#*#4636#*#*. This will bring up a new menu.
Select "Phone Information"
Scroll down a bit to find the "Preferred Network Type" option. Change this to "LTE/GSM". It should take effect immediately.
At this point, you can re-lock your bootloader if you choose.

There is also an app on Google Play that attempts to streamline this process. It requires root, and I cannot personally endorse it because I have never used it. Based on the reviews, it appears to generally work well on Jelly Bean (or earlier), but may have trouble on Lollipop.
Also be aware that the N4's LTE chip only supports one LTE band, AWS band 4. If your carrier has deployed LTE in your area on a different band, then you won't be able to use it.


text:
When updating an app, is it newly installed or only part of it updated?
While updating an application, is the application newly installed, or only updated-part added to previous application?
Is it possible to download only updated part of the application?

This is called "delta update" and Google already does this on Play Store.

These delta upgrades, which save time and bandwidth when updating larger apps by only downloading the actual changes (rather than the entire program), [...]

Emphasis mine.
Basically, instead of downloading the whole package, Play Store will instead only download and apply part of the code that are changed. In the video demonstration on the site, you can see the difference between updating OfficeSuite (whole app) and SwiftKey (only a small part).


text:
Can an Android device send a fax traditionally?
Can an android device send a fax without internet access, only via a phone/voice connection? (Since a message over the internet isn't really a fax now is it?)

Send fax directly to or from phone without going through a web-based service?

@eldarerathis thanks, kind of disappointing that it is now 4 years later and still nothing


text:
Can't switch/close tabs in the Chrome browser on my Android tablet
I just recently purchased a cheap tablet (DigiLand DL701Q 8gb), as my first foray into Android.
I've been using the pre-installed Chrome browser but I can't figure out how to switch tabs or close them. I've searched for hours and all I could find was that the little square icon with numbers in the top right is the tool for tabs, but tapping it does nothing.
I've tried double/triple tapping and swiping, but it still does nothing. Tapping and holding on it opens a popup message with the phrase "open tabs" but tapping that also has no function. I've tried every combination and method I can think of, but nothing works. Only one time did I manage to switch to a different tab and then quickly close it, but this was a result of me desperately mashing the square icon in frustration and I haven't been able to replicate it.
I currently have 7 tabs open and I have no idea what they are or how to view them or how to close them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Please indicate the Chrome version you're using by going to Settings (from Chrome) - About Chrome. Also, indicate the Android version. Different Chrome and Android version might affect this behavior.

Click the three dots, choose "Settings", then turn off "Merge tabs and apps". Now tabs will work like they used to.
(This solution was improperly proposed as an edit by an anonymous user.)

Much more recently I ran into a very similar problem using Android Chrome. Going backwards to recent prior versions did not fix this. Chrome Beta is working correctly.
Problem:
I could not

Click/tap on a tab,
Click on the X that closed the tab,
Click on the plus sign that opened a new tab, Etc.
Open the menu in the upper right corner (that only opened a new tab)

I was able to

Click on and edit the URL area of the screen, and
Click on  items within a page.

Not-solutions

Backing up to recent versions of chrome did not fix this.
Resetting tap duration in Android settings temporarily fixed my problem. [See image.] But after adding more tabs problems returned.
Closing down Chrome and restarting it also seemed to help, but only temporarily.

Solutions:

Using Chrome Beta appears to have fixed this.

Samsung tablet SM-T860
Android ver. 10
Chrome ver. 87.0.4280.101

I had the same problem. I was never able to find a way to exit those tabs so I just went to Settings → Apps → Chrome, then deleted data. Nothing bad happened, and those 8 tabs I couldn't remove are no longer there to annoy me.

Note that this also reset all the Chrome setting you have done, if you have tinkered it before.


text:
How remote control/remote desktop on Android works? (e.g. TeamViewer)
I am wondering how TeamViewer for Android and simple applications work. For instance, TeamViewer claims on its webpage that they can remotely control Android devices from Samsung, Lenovo, Sony, HTC, and many others.
I know that Samsung SAFE Devices have some API for this, but what about others? How is it possible to remotely control non-rooted Android device?

I haven't done much research specific to TeamViewer, but as an app developer, I'd say it's very possible with certain limitation. The key is, you also need to install certain app on Android device as the interface between PC<->Android.
The Android SDK provides many things: given correct permissions, it can place a call, read/send messages, open app, read device's sensors, etc. If the app has Super User permission, then it will have greater capability.
If you look into the permission of TeamViewer app, you can more-or-less guess what features the remote app can do:

Version 10.0.2555 can access:

Device & app history

read sensitive log data

Identity

find accounts on the device

Photos/Media/Files

modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
test access to protected storage

Wi-Fi connection information

view Wi-Fi connections

Device ID & call information

read phone status and identity

Other

access SurfaceFlinger
read frame buffer
press keys and control buttons
full network access
prevent device from sleeping
view network connections
connect and disconnect from Wi-Fi
pair with Bluetooth devices
control vibration
measure app storage space
close other apps
draw over other apps

Then, you have TeamViewer app installed on the PC. This works as a monitor/main control. Now, given 2 apps (PC and Android), both apps can communicate to each other (just like chat/messenger app). You can send a message from PC, then the Android app will receive the message, interpret it, and do something on the device. You can also request data from PC, then the Android app will again receive the message, interpret it, and send the data back to PC.

Hi, the teamviewer for instance says: TeamViewer mobile device support for Android enables you to remote control mobile devices, allowing you to see exactly what your mobile device user is seeing.
I presumed, that this is not possible on non-rooted devices. So I am wondering, how they are able to do this.

Nono, as I mentioned before, Android SDK provides these functions without the needing to root. Just as how 3rd-party messaging apps can read your SMS, or 3rd-party calendar apps can read all events, it's the same as TeamViewer Android app. The difference is, it also sends the info to TeamViewer on PC (probably through their server, or direct WiFi)

Yes, but in Android SDK, you can read SMS, calendar etc. but you cannot see screen of the phone remotely. E.g. Helpdesk cannot see the screen of your android device if it is non-rooted, can it?

Ah, it's about the screen mirroring. Well, last time I could do that without rooting, but I don't know the explanation for that.


text:
File "has unexpected contents" error when sideloading Android 5.0 OTA zip file
I have a Nexus 7 (2013) (wifi) and am trying to update the software to Android 5.0. When I try to sideload, I get this error:
Installing update...
mount: failed to mount /dev/block/platform/msm.sdcc.1/by-name/system at /system: Invalid argument
Verifying current system...
"/system/app/Drive.apk" has unexpected contents.
E: Error in /tmp/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

How I did it:
I placed the OTA file in sdk/platform-tools folder. Then I opened up a command prompt and typed in adb sideload 5a0f7a47588c268c239e58cf568823c6637c5af1.signed-razor-LRX21P-from-KTU84P.5a0f7a47.zip and I got that error.
What did I do wrong?

It seems to think you've modified your original ROM. Are you rooted? Did you uninstall or disable the Google Drive app?

What do you mean by disable the Google Drive app? @eldarerathis

Based on the filename, looks like it's the official stock OTA.

This means that recovery doesn't recognize the Google Drive APK inside the update package. Most ROMs don't come with Google Drive pre-installed, so I assume you're trying to use a factory image, which needs to be decompressed and flashed via fastboot. Factory images cannot be installed via recovery.
First, you'll need the Android SDK. Here is a link to get that: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Next, you'll need to unlock the bootloader. Power down your Nexus 7 and then hold power + volume down until it boots into fastboot mode. Now connect your Nexus 7 to your computer via USB, open a command terminal and type fastboot devices, and hit enter. If your computer recognizes the device, the terminal will output the serial number and fastboot.
The next step will wipe all data off of the device. If that's ok, continue.
Now, type in fastboot oem unlock and hit enter. The device will prompt you to confirm the bootloader unlock. Follow the instructions on the Nexus 7 to unlock the bootloader. When finished, the terminal will display a success message. After this is complete, type fastboot reboot-bootloader and hit enter to refresh the bootloader.
Now, move the image zip to the platform-tools folder of the Android SDK and unpack the factory image on your computer using whatever zip tool you have available. There is a second zip file inside the package, be sure to unzip that also. then, in the terminal, navigate to the unzipped factory image folder and type ./flash-all.sh (OSX/Linux) or flash-all.bat (Windows) depending on your computer's operating system.
Let it do its thing and the device should boot into the OS when it's done.

The app's file has been modified in some way, changed or removed. Look up your build number in settings and search for it on Google. Hopefully you'll find a zip with .img files in it. If you've got the correct img files, reflash system.img and you're able to flash the ota.


text:
Apps opening automatically when updated
I have a Nexus 5 that I just updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Since then, whenever an app is updated from the Play Store, it opens automatically. If 15 apps are updating, all apps will open one by one.
I can't find any setting for this. How can I stop this?

Also, the same problem with a different cause: Apps launch automatically after update in Google Play Store

You could disable the automatic updates from the Play Store.
Then you could control which app should be updated, so one at a time would be opened.
I'm pretty sure that is a bug that will be fixed in a near future, but you could turn off that until that fix come.

According to the (now deleted) OP's comment,

This issue is fixed when Google Play Services is updated.


text:
Bizarre new battery behavior on Samsung Galaxy S3
After my old battery puffed up, it was time to buy a new one for my Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) on stock ROM. After I got my new battery, I put it in and turned on the phone as I had some urgent messages to check. I was supposed to charge it to the max but I skipped that part because of urgency.
Well, I noticed that the screen flickered when the battery was 23% and the phone switched off. I decided to charge it to 100%. After I got the green light I turned on the phone and I noticed that the battery jumped down to 88%; indicating that I needed calibration.
I tried the good ol' discharge-recharge to 100% method, but the battery wouldn't go below 23%. I decided to use some app, like Advanced Battery Calibrator. After following the on-screen instructions, it asks to switch off the phone and let it charge to 100%.
The bizarre part is that as soon as the battery reaches 90% (in switched-off mode). it jumps back down to 20%.
I do not know what is causing this. Any leads would be appreciated.

It could be a faulty battery.

@ToDo Safe to continue using the battery?

If it's a new battery you could return it for a replacement under warranty I suppose. About your question: if the phone turns off haphazardly it could cause data corruption so even though I don't think I would cause physical damage (unless it heats up and burns) then at worst you'll need to factory reset the phone.


text:
Auto-hide notification bar while apps are opened
With a custom launcher, you can auto-hide the notification bar on the home screen and swipe down to make it re-appear. However, when you open an app, the notification bar re-appears.
Is there any way to hide the notification bar on a non-rooted device?

For the ADB approach, it's mentioned on this answer.

This feature is known as "immersive mode" and was first introduced in Android 4.4 KitKat. It allows the app to hide the notification/status bar and even the navigation bar.
For the official method, the developers of the app need to implement this feature on their app. Though, some ROMs may also provide this feature built-in, sometimes also known as "expanded desktop mode", e.g. CyanogenMod/LineageOS, OnePlus.
Otherwise, some 3rd-party apps may help to force immersive mode in all apps:

Search for "Immersive mode" keyword on Play Store.
(For rooted devices) Xposed Framework with Immerse Me module. Follow the instruction on phoneArena.com for step-by-step installation.

Note that by using these apps, the keyboard may not work properly.
From BGR,

Due to some security features in Android, users will not have access to the keyboard in many apps while in immersive mode.

From WonderHowTo

Beware that your keyboard may not work in Immersive Mode, which is why having the toggle in the notification shade is so handy.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 not rooted, issue with SuperSU when updating su binary
After I root my Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 (GT-i9205), I downloaded SuperSU from XDA Forums. After I open SuperSU, it asks me to update my su binary.

The SU binary needs to be updated. Continue?

But after a long time, it got stuck on

Installing, please wait. If you see this message for more than five minutes please restart and try again.

Then I tried to check whether my phone is rooted or not by using a root checker. At last, the answer is does not have proper root.
Please help!

I faced the same problem when I tried rooting a Chinese phone having Samsung Galaxy S2 stock ROM. I searched and here is what I found.
Firstly, try installing binary through BusyBox Installer on Play Store. Internet is required to download and then try every version.
If it didn't work out for you, then download Kingoapp. It's a one-click rooting method. Kingoapp has successfully. In some cases, it will ask you to install custom recovery in order to root your device if it failed to root your device in an ordinary way, so if you don't want to lose your stock recovery, just cancel the rooting procedure.

I have already tried it but it wont work for me..is there another way?

What method did you use to root your phone before installing SuperSU? Finding SuperSU on the launcher drawer without manually installing it is a sign that your phone has been rooted. I forgot to mention that after I root my phone through Kingoapp, I got the same error, so I tapped on updating the binary and it works after reboot. Yes, there's using Odin. Check out this tutorial on Android Central. But please, before you start, do your searches on Google and YouTube for "How to root Galaxy Mega 6.3 i9205".


text:
How to get a list of latest apps released on Play Store sorted by date?
Is there any way to get a list of recently released apps on Google Play Store sorted according to date added?

ShivamSoni
As google play store have daily adds New  Updates of Apps of thousand/lakhs/millions  of new versions all of them are new for Play store .
But still I searched and founded links for  new releases sections for you in play store website options.  I am sharing below links of website of new releases  and option to search apps latest releases apps category wise. But i dont think its possible to sort all apps list date wise launch option in app or website.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/new?hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/cluster?clp=Si8KKQojcHJvbW90aW9uXzMwMDA3OTJfbmV3X3JlbGVhc2VzX2FwcHMQBxgDOgIIAQ%3D%3D:S:ANO1ljKj5O4&gsr=CjFKLwopCiNwcm9tb3Rpb25fMzAwMDc5Ml9uZXdfcmVsZWFzZXNfYXBwcxAHGAM6AggB:S:ANO1ljILDUU&hl=en
In Google Play store App version 19.3.36 there are tabs named "for you, Top Charts,  Categories....." tabs of at very last there is a tab in last  "Early Access" which  shows latest to be launched beta developing Apps and  games.

There are  many 3rd party apps that you can utilizes to sort and easy your work  about one of popular one i searched   is called AppBrain App Market, and can be downloaded for free via Google Play (see the link at the below). The best way to find new apps in Google Play.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appspot.swisscodemonkeys.apps&referrer=utm_source%3Dappbrain%26utm_medium%3Dappbrain_web%26utm_campaign%3Dappbrain_web
According to appbrain website link says product details says
https://www.appbrain.com/app/appbrain-app-market/com.appspot.swisscodemonkeys.apps

Description
The best way to find new apps in Google Play (Android market).
Make the Android market usable, and find your next favorite app, live wallpaper or widget:
  - App recommendations
  - New and hot apps of the day
  - Find top Android apps with a price drop
  - Share your best apps (eg twitter/facebook)
  - Tracks market update: notifies of updates available
  - Fast uninstaller
  - Browse "my apps" on www.appbrain.com and install apps with a sync instead of barcode scanner
  - Keep your list of installed apps as a backup on AppBrain.com
AppBrain is the best way to discover top Android apps in the Android market and to manage your apps. The recommended apps helper provides recommendations based on what you already use. We also have recommended games. It does not work with the Amazon app store.
The manage apps is like a killer file explorer / task manager for your already installed apps:
  - Start app, Quick uninstaller, share to Facebook
  - Fast sync widget to access AppBrain from the desktop and backup your apps to the cloud
  - app2sd functionality to move apps to sd (app 2 sd)
  - Find market update: notifies you of any updates available
Discover cool apps and top games in the Android market:
  - sort by hot apps today, hot apps this week, highest rated apps, price drops etc
  - Filter apps by free apps, paid apps, price reduced apps, app2sd enabled apps, new apps
  - Fast search over the entire Android market
  - Unlike applanet or black market, these are only legal apps.
AppBrain is the best app market and app discovery tool for Android apps from the Android Market. It allows you to easily find the best apps in the Market, the free apps and downloads, the price drops, live wallpaper, widgets and much more.

Hope this app will help you  any further  option i will get  i will update in the answer.

Hope my answer suggestions helped you if any thing helped you out from your search or my or others help do tell me what helped you in comments for my knowledge. if any doubts or further clarification feel free to ask and if worked do not forget  to accept and vote for the answer


text:
Bug report and Settings crash on Nexus 4
My Nexus 4 is rooted with stock ROM (version 4.4.4) and custom recovery TWRP. Recently it automatically generated some bug report: one is a png image (just a blank screen in black) and another text file in 9MB. Since it's a huge file, what should I look for in the text file?
Also, there is another problem with my Nexus 4: Settings keeps crashing when an app is selected under Settings/Apps with error message: "Unfortunately, Settings has stopped." It's described in details here. I'm not so sure if the two problems are related. I've tried to re-flash the factory image of 4.4.4, but the problem remains.

Why would you be looking for something in the bug report file? Are you an Android OS developer?

I thought that the bug report might reveal something about any potential problems including the Settings crash. Any suggestion regarding the Settings crash issue?

Did you wipe the data and cache when flashing? What ROM were you coming from before you flashed KitKat 4.4.4?

Yes I wiped data and cache in TWRP after flashing. It was KitKat 4.4.3 before the recent flashing.

I've been using stock ROM all the time.

Don't know about the Settings issue, but the bug report thing is pretty popular: Google's devices do a report now and then (don't ask me why.... maybe those reports are sent to Google to keep everything under control or to check if something goes wrong), so just don't worry.
On my Nexus 5, I can even make a bug report every time I want (just by pressing power + volume up at the same time) and you should have the same feature. It basically depends on the activation of USB Debugging: if it's active, then the bug report creation is active. You can disable it by simply disabling USB Debugging or by going into /system/bin and renaming bugmailer.sh to bugmailer.sh.bak or deleting it. Then just reboot and no more bugmailer.
P.S.: for the Settings issue, just try the simplest thing: go into the app drawer -> long-press on the "Settings" app -> move it to the upper side (App Info) -> clear data.

Thanks for the suggestions! I really appreciate it. I thought that the bug report might provide some clues about the problems I'm having. Since it's a text file, someone with enough knowledge may be able to parse through and find some clues. In addition to the Settings crash, the time and location stuff is not working properly either on my Nexus 4. I also tried your suggestion of long pressing on "Settings". However, that basically brings up the same error: "Unfortunately, Settings has stopped."


text:
New contacts added to my phone get deleted after sync with my Google account
Any time I add a new contact to my Google contacts, the second I turn on my WiFi it gets disappeared. It's been for over a month on Android 4.3 and 4.4 I have tested. This is new and I have not had this before. I guess the problem lies with the synchronization with Google account.
Note that this is not the case with Phone or SIM card contacts. That's why I am sure the problem lies somewhere in sync.
Is there any official issue that I'm not aware of?

Did you mean the contact is deleted when you say disappeared?

Yes Yes Yes. Deleted from my contacts.

I think you need to filter out the contacts in Contacts menu. There's a filter option if you see clearly. Click on the particular Google account and then select 'All contacts'. One thing must be made clear that contacts won't be deleted themselves.

I know about that filter and it was one of the first things I checked. In fact 3 of my friends with different android have the same problem as me. I am sure it is not from my side. I am absolutely sure the problem is with the contact sync. When Android wants to sync my contacts with my Google account contacts, it thinks those contacts that are on my phone which do not exist on my Google account it thinks they have been DELETED from account (not added on my android) so it deletes the contacts from the phone.

Same here! Android 5.0.1! No solution?

Same question (no answer up to now): http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/82717/contacts-phone-numbers-disappeared-after-sync-to-google

Same here with Moto G2 4G marshmallow... maybe is a configuration issue?

solved!
I had the problem for a while, I now tried to add the contact to another google account (I have 2) - this time to the main account the phone is registered on.
The contacts have yet to disappear!
hope this will continue working (I know this isn't the best solution, cause what if you don't have 2 accounts?!)


text:
Install custom ROM without using CWM or TWRP on a rooted XOLO Q1000
I have a rooted XOLO Q1000 device. Due to a problem when installing the stock ROM using SP Flash Tool, I am not able to see the displayed content on my screen.
I am sure my device is working fine. It just needs to install an updated version of any ROM. As nothing is displayed properly, I am not able to start CWM. Hence, I am planning to flash custom ROM without using CWM.
Is it possible to flash a custom ROM without using CWM or TWRP on a rooted XOLO Q1000?

If your phone has an advance recovery with this option:

Install from sdcard
Install from extcard
(... or other similar options)

then it is straightforward.
However, if it doesn't exist, then you have to install an advance recovery like CWM or TWRP. I'm not sure what is the problem, but I think only this way helps you to install it.


text:
Is there any virtualization software that will run under Android on an x86 device?
I have an Android device (Dell Venue 8) which runs on an Intel x86 CPU, and I was wondering if there was any application like VirtualBox or VMware that could run a 32-Bit Linux distro, Windows XP 32-Bit, etc, via Virtualization. I'm aware of various emulation software like Qemu and Bochs, but I wanted something that could directly virtualize instead of emulating, since both the host device and the Guest OS are of the same architecture.

I'd love something like this. I've found a couple of qemu ports for Android, but they're all really dodgy and I wouldn't trust them (download apks from mysterious forums)...

Related: How do I run Windows or Linux as a virtual machine on Android?

I found myself stumbling in the general vicinity of these forums with some similar questions and decided to share some info on the off chance any other wandering curious computer enthusiast happens to walk on by.
Method #1: EMULATION
A kid managed to get XP running on Android using the tools you mentioned at the beginning. You can see in his comments how there was a significant performance loss. One of the key issues here is an inability to translate drivers. There will also be a lot of bottlenecking that occurs when you sneak in some unsupported stuff.
Method #2: ROOTING AND FLASHING
It required gaining root, unlocking the bootloader, and flashing a custom recovery, among other many other things. I managed to get multiboot from ARM-supported OS's Ubuntu Touch, Cyanogen, and stock. I could probably throw Windows 10 on it if I wanted to.
Method #3: KERNEL VIRTUALIZATION
https://www.linux-kvm.org/page/Main_Page
Assuming your hardware supports virtualization, KVM is an option for back-end stuff if you don't need a GUI.
Method #4: BAREMETAL HYPERVISOR
There is a white paper on it, but I can't post the link because of my new account, so here is a copy of the conclusion:

Virtualizing a modern mobile platform involves dealing with devices such as camera, compass, gps, etc, for which PV frontend and backend drivers do not exist today. If only one VM needs access to one of these devices at a time, you can simply assign the device to the VM, remapping the corresponding MMIO regions and interrupts. If multiple VMs need access to the device simultaneously, you have to write a new pair of PV frontend and backend drivers. Fortunately many open source implementations of PV frontends and backends for different class of devices already exist in Linux and other operating systems. Something similar is likely to already exist. The difficulty of writing a new pair of PV frontends and backends increases with the complexity of the device you are trying to share. If the device is simple, such as the compass, writing the new pair of drivers is going to very easy. If the device is complex, such as a 3d graphic accelerator, writing the new pair of frontends and backends is going to be difficult.

Here is another paper on the KVM/ARM dynamic:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210118182924/https://systems.cs.columbia.edu/archive/pub/2014/03/kvm-arm-the-design-and-implementation-of-the-linux-arm-hypervisor/
Seems as though for now we are stuck with what the software developers are willing to write for us, or with what we are willing to write for ourselves. These systems were meant to be largely proprietary, some frustration is to be expected I suppose.

You could try LinuxonAndroid.

So this might actually be an answer to the question. But could you explain why this is an answer? What does linux on android do that would answer this question.

LinuxonAndroid's website appears to have been taken over by malware scammers.

Apart from all the options mentioned, one can also try using the UserLand app.
The app is available on Google Play Store for easy download.
It has an easy setup for Ubuntu. Users do not need to have root access to be able to use this app, so that's an advantage here.
For further info, one can go to their product page: https://userland.tech/

OP wants a full-virtualization solution that can host Linux and Windows. You are suggesting a PRoot (non-root chroot; an OS-level virtualization) based solution. They are different things.

Virtualization is now possible on Android, thanks to several upgrades and patches to the SDK. Currently, there is an app that offers virtualization on Android by running multiple "same apps" on a single phone named Parallel. It works without manipulating the system files and without root access.

App cloning has nothing to do with OS-level virtualization or full-virtualization or hardware emulation.


text:
Can I receive WhatsApp messages on multiple phones?
I have two phones with the same number, one for home and one for work.
Can I get my WhatsApp messages to come to both phones at the same time, or will they only deliver to one of the two?

No, you can't use WhatsApp with the same number only on mobiles. But that does not mean you can't.
WhatsApp is providing such facilities called WhatsApp Web. Simply, you have to open your browser like Google Chrome, then open https://web.whatsapp.com. There you will get the QR code. Open your WhatsApp application for once, and click on an option where you get WhatApp Web. On clicking that, it shows the QR code scanner. You only have to scan the QR code that is already opened in your browser. After scanning, it will display all the conversations, and here you can use WhatsApp from another device.
But there is a little limitation for using WhatsApp Web, that mobile having a SIM card should be connected to the internet.

It is kind of possible to open WhatsApp Web on mobile browsers by enabling Desktop mode, but your mileage may vary.

No, you can only use Whatsapp with one number on one device.
Quote from the FAQ page:

Can I verify one WhatsApp account to multiple phones, or with multiple
  phone numbers?
Your WhatsApp account can only be verified with one number, on one
  device. If you have a dual SIM phone, please note that you still must
  choose one number to verify with WhatsApp. There is no option to have
  a WhatsApp account with two phone numbers.
If you attempt to frequently switch your WhatsApp account between
  different devices, at a certain point, you may be blocked from
  re-verifying your account. So please do not repeatedly switch between
  different devices.


text:
Show event names on month view in Google Calendar
It's just square dots and lines of your choice of color. Are there any options or ways to get it to show the event's text in the month view as it does in the week/agenda/etc?
Edit:
Apparently month view was stripped out of the latest store version. I don't understand how a calendar could be better without the ability to see the whole month (or at least the option to) as you would on a wall but so be it.

Google Calendar doesn't have that feature.
You can use a 3rd party app like aCalendar instead (paid/free).

I don't consider this an option since it is not free.

@Enigma The free version is aCalendar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.withouthat.acalendar&hl=en

Oh good. I'll leave this unanswered for a while just in case Google comes through.

Jorte Calendar is a free alternative that offers this functionality. It also synchronizes with Google calendar both ways.
It looks normal by default and the icons only get added if you want them there.

That isn't an option in the Google Calendar app. However, you could:

Open a browser and go to http://calendar.google.com/
Scroll to the bottom and click the "Desktop" link for "View"
Zoom in to see what you want

Note that all the features might not work depending on the browser, but Chrome Mobile seems to do pretty well.

On 23 April 2015, Google Calendar was updated with the return on Month view.

See even more events at a glance with Month view on phones

On top of that, the current version also displays the event name instead of square dots and lines.
Note, however, that it only works on portrait mode. The landscape mode only displays in Week view.


text:
Cannot change lockscreen shortcuts on Samsung Galaxy S III, Android 4.3 JellyBean
I have Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III running on Android 4.3 JellyBean. I am unable to find a way to change the shortcuts on the lock screen.
Here is the available settings:

I tried all the settings, but it doesn't work.
Could you guide me through how I can achieve this?

More details needed and question is not clear.

@MANI that's for sure, but I've made a guess at it being the lock screen short cuts that Samsung have on the rightmost lockscreen. It is disabled by default, and the method for navigating the options on Samsung devices is..... confusing at the best of times.

You need to enable lockscreen widgets, to allow the shortcuts to be shown.

Go to Settings > My device > Lock Screen and tick the box "Multiple widgets"

The actual layout can change from device to device slightly, but below will give you a rough guide to how to find them.

Now click on "Lock screen widgets and turn on the button "Favourite apps or camera" on.
Now click on the actual option (by this I mean click the text, not the button) "Favourite apps or camera and select "Favourite apps" and hit save.

(source: laptopmag.com)

Thank you. I did everything that you said.
but the problem is that I don't have the shortcuts on the menu at all. I think. you think the shortcuts switch in not avtive in my mobile. but I don't have that option at all.

@givarawan What version of Android are you on? That could be the issue. I definitely have this option on 4.3 and 4.4.2 on the S4.. I don't have an S3 to hand here, but I'll look around in a bit.

Samsung Galaxy s3 GT i 9300 version 4.3

@givarawan that's very odd, it is possible the network carrier locked these down (I know Orange used to do it) but I have the option here on a friend's S3 matching my own... What are the options under the 'Lockscreen widgets' option?

@givarawan sorry the second one didn't load in for some reason. All I can see is that you don't have the option, but I don't know WHY it has been disabled, or isn't available. This article suggests that you can add a few shortcuts to the screen also, but you don't have the "shortcuts" option at all. I'll have to keep digging to find you an answer.


text:
"Ending Session" toast message appears when turning off WiFi
Recently, a message has been popping up when I turn off my WiFi, in and oval box saying "ending session", which never used to happen.

I would just ignore this if it wasn't for my phone seeming to slow down on downloads or using my browser and web pages take ages to load.
Is there a link here or is the message's appearance part of an update or something, or both?

Could you post a screenshot of this message? It isn't normal. Also, please let us know what phone you have. Have you installed any new apps around the time the message started appearing?

Are you logged into any online apps like Skype or such that could bring up the message? Is there any notification in the notification area? Have you installed anything lately?

It's Netflix, I had the same problem and installed an app that identifies which apps make toasts. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mars3142.android.toaster


text:
how to remove moist on the camera in my phone?
I've managed to fall into the lake three times last week. Yes, I'm trying to learn to sail a Laser dinghy
The cameras on my Samsung S21 Ultra now contains small droplets, and cannot take proper photos.
How do I get the moist to go away?

I would put it in an air-tight sealed box with some silicia gel. If this is not available, rice is also working fine. Let it sit for a couple of days and check it. If the water is still there, look for a possible repair shop.

Rice doesn't work


text:
How to Disable Drag n Drop on Samsung (not Google) Calendar
Too many times I am trying to add a new event on Samsung Calendar, and somehow I select onto an existing event and suddenly this previous event enters into drag mode.  If I do not recall where the event was, I am lost because there is no way to cancel this drag mode, the previous event will end up wherever I release my finger to drop it and there is no way that I can tell to undo the moving of the event.
How do I turn off drag and drop capability on Samsung Calendar?  Or, is there a way to undo these accidental moves of existing events?

If you don't find a way to disable or cancel the drag&drop you could switch to a different calendar app (Google or whatever). Calendars apps on Android are usually just fron-end apps to the Android calendar back-end. So you all apps show the same data.


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Notifications coming thru BUT no Internet access to apps?
I'm using OnePlus 5 on Android 10. Notifications never stopped arriving, but if I tried to connect to the Internet (e.g. Browser, Banking App), the app connection failed (timed out). I'm pretty sure these are Push Notifications. As an example, I received notification from my Bank of a recent deposit, but the banking App timed out when I tried to log in to verify this. Also the phone is receiving Facebook notifications of recent birthdays, including today's date, but can't open the Facebook App.
I've tried this with both WiFi & Mobile Data and see the same behaviour.
I connected the phone to my laptop with USB and ran an adb shell on the phone proving Internet access with a successful adb shell ping 8.8.8.8. I then thought I had an explanation for the behaviour: DNS lookup failing. However, repeating a similar adb test adb shell ping google.com, this too was successful, proving DNS resolution working!
I'm now out of ideas, and reached the limit of my Android knowledge, so I wondered if anyone here could help. I expect a factory recovery would fix the issue, but I don't want to lose all my apps & my valuable data! Any suggestion on how to fix it without losing my old data?
Edit: I still haven't resolved this issue, but have made futher investigations:

The notifications are Push notifications from the Internet, not locally generated. Verified this by turning off Mobile Data & WiFi for some time, and when I turned it back on again, the phone received a bunch of backlogged notifications.

I side loaded "Ping Tools" apk and installed, with this I could successfully "Ping" sites like amazon.com, cisco.com demonstrating DNS is working and the phone is able to receive small ICMP packets. However putting these domains into a browser gives error "ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT"

I also tried connecting the browser to local IPs 10.0.0.x (Router, NAS) which should present the login page for these devices, but again get the error: "ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT", despite being able to successfully ping both devices from the phone.

Again, I've run out of ideas, so any further suggestions greatly appreciated.
Edit 2:
It's been a long time since I posted my original question and I still haven't resolved it. However, further experiments show the behavior is weirder than ever:
I noticed that I was receiving WhatsApp notifications AND the actual WhatsApp messages. Not only that, I could successfully send WhatsApp messages & even make a WhatsApp voice call!!
 Now this may be just WhatsApp specific black magic because I still cannot browse any website and all my other apps cannot access their back end servers on the Internet.
It's almost like my phone has some weird firewall configuration that is allowing WhatsApp & Notifications but nothing else. And if this were the case, I've no idea how to investigate it further, so, as before, any helpful suggestions welcome. I'm now really keen to understand what is going on here.

See if clearing DNS cache helps as explained in Irfan's answer

Welcome to the Q&A site Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange. Since apps can generate notifications without the internet, could you describe more about the notification? Is it a push notification, like notifications for new emails/messages (i.e. required internet connection for real-time info)? Also, are you using WiFi or mobile data?

I'm having the same issue and I'm particularly concerned because the notifications I get contain payload data, i.e., message previews, even after having disabled both WiFi and mobile network access for the particular app.

@Douba Please read How do certain apps show new notifications when internet access is restricted to them? on that topic.


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Closing/killing "Android Terminal Emulator" app
I have a Sprint LG G3 running Android 4.4.2. I'm using Android Terminal Emulator by Jackpal. It respawns after I close the app. I see the terminal process and the child shell but killing that way seems too manual.
When I closed the only window from the dropdown list at the top, it closes temporarily, then reappears in the "Recent apps" list. There is an un-swipeable notification that says "Terminal session is running". When I tap on either the thumbnail or notification, the "Window 1" comes back.
The only workaround I've found is rebooting.
Any better ideas to really close this app?

Did you try am force-stop jackpal.androidterm or OS Monitor to kill it?

Open settings > apps > Terminal Emulator > Force Stop .. After you have force stopped the app, wipe the data and cache then close app info settings, Try to open the app again and see if it closes normally

I saw another answer today and here's my update. I never did need a terminal again. I leave this to the next person who encounters my problem to try Firelord's suggestion and report. I have since moved to an LG G6 tethered to a Chromebook.

There are this ways :
1 - CTRL + D ( Volume Down + D )
2 - Tapping The "X" Button
3 - Typing The "exit" Command

Simply tap on 3 dots and first close all Windows. When you close the last 1 window, you will be out of simulator.

Close all windows of the terminal emulator and it'll automatically quit the app and close the notifications.

There should be an "X" at the top of your screen. Just tap it.

It just re opens.


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Samsung Galaxy S2 Bluetooth stopped working suddenly
I have Samsung Galaxy S2. The Bluetooth of the phone has stopped detecting any Bluetooth devices around. It was working fine till last night. The phone got switched off during the night due to a low battery. When I charged it in the morning and tried to connect the Bluetooth, it turns on and when I do scan devices, it says no Bluetooth devices found although there are Bluetooth devices present.

Well, that's weird. First of all, make sure that the other Bluetooth devices you are searching using the S2 are visible. Otherwise, it's not going to detect the Bluetooth device.
And if you are sure that the Bluetooth devices you are trying to connect are visible, try clearing the cache and the data stored by the Bluetooth app, you can do that by going to Settings > Application manager > Tap the Bluetooth app, and clear the cache and the data store.
Now try connecting with the other Bluetooth devices and see if that works out or not.


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Prevent using YouTube app for watching YouTube video
What are the ways to get FireFox (or another browser) to play YouTube videos, rather than open the app? Of those, are there any that work on a relatively low-end phone ?

If it opens in the YouTube app by default go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Clear Defaults and next YouTube link you select it will ask what to use to open it.

it used to give me options (youtube and tubemate). But not a 'native' option

as it turned out, for some reason, requesting the desktop site did the trick

You need to clear the default setting to open YouTube videos in the app.
Go to settings -> Apps -> YouTube -> Defaults -> Clear defaults

You can use any browser that supports streaming. You type in the address bar or Google search for YouTube. Tap on the link for YouTube. Then search for your video(s). There maybe some buffering issues on low-end/legacy devices. You can change the quality of the stream (ie. 240, 480, 720p). Aside from that,  make sure all background processes are shut down and you don't have any other running apps.
As to which one works best, that would be an opinion and not correct forum for this. Although I just use stock Android browser.

authors: พรพรรณ จักรวาฬณิชย์


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How to play YouTube videos at 2x speed?
I use a Samsung Galaxy S5. I'd like to play YouTube videos (or videos anywhere else) at 2x speed, but I can't find any options for that.
Is it possible to find a way to do this on Android?

Update 2017: It is now also possible to change the speed in the YouTube app, by clicking the three dot menu when playing a video, and then selecting Playback Speed

Other ways:
Sharing the video to an external app

Download an external player that lets you control the speed, like BSplayer.

Then in the youtube app when you get to the video you want to watch click the Share button and then select the player you want to use.  The external player will open and it will play the video you want, and you can control the speed in it.

Tip: you can also use this method to skip ads.  If you share the video to a different player you can watch it right away without having to wait if there's an ad.
Edit: I mentioned VLC and Dice Player as other options to control video speed, but looks like I can't share a video from the youtube app to play with them, at least on my phone
.

Using YouTube in a browser app (like Chrome) and running JavaScript
This works for watching videos on m.youtube.com
on the Mobile Chrome browser (probably other browsers as well)
When a video is playing, enter this into the URL bar
javascript: document.querySelector('video').playbackRate = 2

Note: you have to type out the "javascript:" keyword, because the browser might remove it if you paste it
You can use any number for the playback rate, including decimals
Tip: Speeding up videos this way could get laggy if you use a slower phone, and the max speed you are able to watch it smoothly might depend on your device capabilities. For this, you can also select a lower resolution for the video, or in the phone browser select Desktop Mode and then select a lower resolution video.
Saving the code as a Bookmarklet
You can save JavaScript code in a bookmark (called a bookmarklet) so you don't have to enter it in the url bar
Create a bookmarklet, name it something like 'ySpeed', and paste this code into it, I added a prompt so it asks to "Enter the Rate" each time it is run:
javascript: document.querySelector('video').playbackRate = parseFloat(prompt("Enter Rate"));

then on your phone when you're watching a video on m.youtube.com, type 'ySpeed' into the URL bar, don't press enter, you should see your bookmarklet pop up as an option. When you tap it the code will run and you will see a popup to enter your speed (.5, 2.5, 3, etc)
Instructions for Creating a Bookmarklet:
You can create it from your desktop browser or from your phone browser
On Desktop

Right-click the bookmarks bar
Click Add Page
Edit the name, and type the javascript code (including "javascript:") into the URL field
Select your Mobile Bookmarks folder (optional) and then click save

On Mobile Chrome

On any page (that you haven't bookmarked already) click the three-dot menu button next to the address bar
Tap the star
Tap Edit on the popup that shows up on the bottom of the screen. If you missed it then tap on the star again and it will take you to the Edit menu.
Enter the name, select your Mobile Bookmarks folder, and replace the content of the URL field with the javascript code (including "javascript:")

Some more info on bookmarklets: http://www.labnol.org/software/google-chrome-bookmarklets/27894/

The external app is a great suggestion because I can playback with double speed without ads. Also good controls.

Alternative way does not work, the video stops playing.

"use this code" in this answer means: 1. Click 3 dots on top left 2. More Tools -> Developer Tools 3. Paste the above line of code in the "console" tab and press enter.
Works for me.

VLC works for me, although I wonder if I can get a better speech speedup quality with some other app.

@ritratt not sure what your comment is referring to, because Chrome for Android doesn't have Dev Tools, unless you're referring to other browsers.

As of 2014, the YouTube app does not have that feature.
However, it's available if you use a browser in desktop mode. Here's what it looks like on Chrome (on desktop mode):

How do you prevent browser from going into m.youtube.com?

@InquilineKea You either type "https://www.youtube.com" manually into the address bar. OR, request for desktop mode. In Chrome, left-soft-key, then Request desktop site.

doesn't work on android 4.4: note 2 and note 10.1 2014 .I haven't seen this working on any Android.

Unfortunately web player consumes much more cpu. On non top /older smartphones it is laggish.

Didn't work for me, I just don't see that speed option in Chrome for Nexus 7 Android 6.

It's worked for me.

For playing YouTube videos on 2x speed, I use the BS Player (available on the Play Store). I open the video on the YouTube app and then I share it to the BS Player, which has speed control. With a good internet connection it should run very smoothly. (I also tried playing it with Chrome on desktop mode, but it has an awful delay for me.)

How to choose quality?

Just in case anyone still has this question, I should probably mention that at least since September 2017, it is now possible to control playback speed in the official YouTube app. Just tap the menu button in the top-right corner of the video and the setting will show up:

You can download movies and play them with an external player, for example, Dice Player (which has a speed control).
But downloading from YouTube is illegal. Can be done with TubeMate.
Be aware, TubeMate is censored and no Google tool will help you to find the right version.

This is against Google's TOS. I don't think this should be a recommended solution.

I would gladly use any legal youtube client with preloading (with was cut out from android client) and higher playback speed (never worked yet). Without it, most of youtube videos are not essential and available  enough to be watched by me.

The USE of the tool is against Google's terms but not the actual discussion of the tool itself. Educational purposes, right?


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Migrating game data from Windows 8.1 to Android 4.4
I have been playing Asphalt 8: Airborne on Windows 8.1, and now I want to continue playing it on Android without starting over. I read that you cannot save data on cross-platforms.
Can I go into a folder in Windows and copy current data to Android? Otherwise, are there other options?

@Beron as far as the edit if this is what you really want to achieve then you need to use the help option in your game wherein you will have a chance to contact the customer support and you may tell him your problem.

No, you can't get around it by copying the save data yourself from your PC to your phone. The reason the game doesn't support cross-platform sync isn't just because it doesn't know how to copy the files. (Obviously it does, or you wouldn't be able to sync on the same platform either.) It's because the different versions of the game have different data formats. So even if you did copy the save data, the game on Android wouldn't be able to understand it. It might ignore it completely, or it might crash trying to load it.
It was the developer's choice to do it this way. They obviously didn't think that spending time on making the different versions compatible was worthwhile.

You need to log in, once you do whatever progress you do is saved on the cloud, be it that, if you do log in on another OS , it will continue from where you left it.
References or more information , please visit :
http://support.gameloft.com/OnlineAndSocial/showSelection/283/

Nope. Same link: "Please note that only devices with the same operating system (Android, iOS, Windows 8) can be synchronized."


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How to hide my Android WiFi hotspot from being detected?
I have a Samsung Galaxy Young phone and a 3G connection. I use my phone as a wireless modem, but I don't want other devices to find my WiFi hotspot when they search for WiFi.
How can I stop other devices from seeing my hotspot?

What you're asking for is the ability to hide the SSID.
Depending upon your phone and service provider, you may have an option to configure "Hide my device" for the hotspot.  My Samsung (with Android 4.4.2) has that option and it appears to work.
However, there seem to be plenty of other phones/provider combinations that don't appear to provide this feature, or, they don't work correctly as evidenced by this discussion on a 3rd-party app for enabling tethering via WiFi.

Don't waste your time trying to hide your hot spot - you can't really.
What you CAN do however is to require a password to allow a connection TO your hot spot.
In some cases, not sure here as I do not have your device, it is possible to lock the hot spot and only allow connections from one (or more, if there are others who also need to connect) specified MAC addresses only.

A strong password is your best protection. "Hidden" signals are open invites to hackers who will see you as frightened and defeneseless prey. Hackers only see a fun new target to seek and destroy. You stand out like a sore thumb when you attempt to hide. ATTEMPT to hide. Doesn't work or everybody would do it.


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How to restrict stranger messages in WhatsApp
How can I restrict other WhatsApp users from messaging me, who are not in my mobile contacts? My friend and I have given it a try by simply deleting my friend's contact number from my mobile, and he's still able to send me messages through WhatsApp Messenger.
So, is it that, anybody can send messages to anyone in the world, provided they know the mobile number? If so, where is the privacy? Is there a setting option?
Do I have only one option to block them? I would like to see only people in my contacts list message me.

WhatsApp allows you to hide your profile photo, status and last seen from strangers if you turn it on as part of their policy.
This can be done by going to Settings->Account->Privacy and choosing "My contacts" or "Nobody".
If you want a stranger not to send you messages, all you can do is block that person.

That's a bad solution I think. How many can you block?

That's the only solution that whatsapp provide. there is no limitations for blocking.

There's no method of blocking messages.
Ex: Let's say you receive a message on WhatsApp from an unknown number not in your contact list. WhatsApp will undoubtedly display that message as its functionality says so.
Once you have received the number, you are aware that the number is unwanted, and you can block it.
Note: Here, you are only blocking the number from seeing your last seen, read, display picture, and name, but it will not refrain/stop the number from sending messages.
There is no feature in WhatsApp to block any number from sending messages.


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Samsung Galaxy Note 2 doesn't power on after changing Motion Settings
My wife want to use the side to side motion feature on her Samsung Galaxy Note 2 SCH-I605 (Verizon). I allowed the feature, but then her screen dimmed then went off. When I pushed the power button, nothing happens.
It had been getting hot near the motion sensor, so I replaced with a new one (before the shutdown happened) and everything was going fine. But it shutdown like I said earlier and won't come back on.
I can't enter any mode as it won't come on and it's unresponsive. I have purchased two OEM batteries, but it didn't help. I also used a new OEM charger but again, didn't fix. When I connect it to the computer or charger, nothing happened; no battery icon or LCD light.
The SKU is SCHI605ZWV if that helps. It's not rooted and has the official Android 4.4.2 update from Verizon.
My questions:

Do I need a motherboard replacement or any peripherals replacement?
Can a bad power button affect the charging process? (stop charging or stop showing the battery icon when charging)
Can a bad USB charging port stop it from turning on?
Can I have a list of possible things that would stop all functions from working and not turning on?

I'm afraid you have burnt the motherboard. You'd better go to Samsung service center to have it checked.


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Phone suddenly slow, many apps not working
From one day to the other, my LG magna phone suddenly started stuttering a lot. Several problems are occurring, and all of them had their onset at same time:

Many apps stopped working, and don't even start or are stuck in white-screens when I start them: Google play store, Google Inbox,
Google Calendar, Google Maps, Facebook Lite, 9Gag, Instagram.
Lag on input: when I type, my key touches have some delay in being recognized. For instance, type "Pizza restaurants" on
internet, and the word "Pizza" types normally, but then image
freezes, and suddenly the entire word "restaurants" is recognized.
Apps misbehaving: some other apps do not work properly, which is the case of the Weather app (also by google?) that never lets me
change location - "Unable to show locations".
Phone stuttering: upon watching youtube or other videos, every 10-20 seconds there are like 2-3 seconds frozen video,
followed by a "rushed" catch up of those frozen frames.
Phone became quite slow suddenly.
Google Play Store doesn't open.

I have not installed anything. I have already tried:

Rebooting many times;
Cleaning cache/stored data of Google Play store, Google services, etc. Note that now I cannot clean stored data of Google Play store as the screen becomes white when I press "Manage space".
Cleaning cache of phone by going to Device storage.
Airplane mode.

The only thing left to do is factory reset, but maybe you can give me any suggestions before I resort to it?
Phone became a brick...
Thanks in advance

Have you seen My device is getting slow, apps start misbehaving/crashing. What can I do?

Yes, I have tried the two possible steps for my phone (clearing cache, deleting apps). Right now, I have barely any apps installed.

You could try taking a look at the logs while performing one of those "broken actions". That might (hopefully) give a clue on what might be wrong.

@Izzy, I ended up doing a factory reset since it would take me more time to learn to use the logs effectively, especially given how slow it was. The factory reset solved all problems - I was really afraid it was a hardware problem. Thanks for all your tips anyway!

There are times when even a factory reset doesn't seem to solve it – and one has to find the exact culprit to get rid of it (a specific app or even a bug in the ROM itself, or problems with the file system on the external SD card – all things I've already seen). Didn't say you must evaluate those logs all yourself: if you'd upload them to e.g. a pastebin, others might have a look as well and be able to help out better. So: Glad you solved it for now – and just keep the rest in mind, might come in useful another time :)


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Nexus 5 won't start stuck on loading screen
My Nexus 5 has been stuck on the loading screen. After turning it off it wouldn't start and after showing the "Google" logo would just spin the 4 coloured dots for hours on end.
I tried a few things such as clearing the cache and doing a factory reset through the bootloader, but this didn't work.
I did some research and came across this forum topic which suggested re-installing an image. It took me a long time to figure out how to do this, but I eventually followed this guide
It involved unlocking the bootloader, for which I got the warning that my warranty would be voided, but I thought whatever I need to try this.
I followed all the steps and installed this "5.1.0 (LMY47I)" with the checksum "d78c50bc06fe37a19536cbca0a17394a" from the Google website here
When I was in recovery mode LMY47I was listed at the top, so I presume that this is the correct image to use.
This seemed to be installed just fine. However when the phone restarted I was still left with the same problem. The four dots just spin endlessly and the phone does not start.
Is there anything else I can do to resolve this?
UPDATE: I managed to get the phone to start by using the image "4.4 (KRT16M)", the earliest listed for the Nexus 5.
After doing this I was able to start the phone but camera, gallery and play store kept coming up with an "unexpectedly stopped" error.
I decided to go through the stages of upgrading bit by bit before installing any apps or doing anything else. I was using the system update in settings, not the bootloader. This seemed to be going okay (although strangely no signal) until I got to either 5.1 or 5.0.1 (I can't remember which) and after the download, install and reboot I was back with the spinning dots loading screen indefinitely again.

Any reason you're not using Nexus Root Toolkit by WugFresh?

I've not heard of it and it seemed safer to use Google's official stuff.


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Sim contacts on call screen?
Is it possible to see contacts from SIM on the incoming call screen and in SMS messages? I did only find apps for managing them.
I am using Cyanogen 7.2 (that’s Android 2.3.7) if that matters.
NOTE: I am not interested in paid apps.

"SIM Contacts" by "NEEDOM STUDIO" is a free app on the Android market that shows contacts from SIM on the incoming call screen. You have to enable the "incoming calls to remind" option for this.
I didn't find an app that shows them in the SMS or call log. I'd really like that.
Even better would be just an option in a normal contacts manager to include contacts on the SIM without having to copy them to the phone.
I like to keep my contacts on the SIM only so i can just put my SIM in my old phone (with longer battery life) and it shows all the contacts.


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Motorola Triumph & HyperShell in Titanium Backup
It would seem that Titanium Backup, everyone's favorite root backup tool (right?), does not particularly like the Motorola Triumph—or vice versa. I've been having problems with restoring apps (only the Manual, APK installer method works) and integrating system updates (it just hangs, and then the app it hung on is broken until I restore it from a backup).
My TiBU (5.4.0.2) main screen says that I have root, BusyBox 1.20.2-Stericson from system, and HyperShell—but then turns around and says "Fast/Auto app install: NO (HyperShell needed)". Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.
The BusyBox I have installed is the latest version, and I had the same problem when I was using the BusyBox 1.18.x build included in TiBU. I have also tested using both the stock and Umph v1.0 kernels.
Why is everything on the Triumph so bloody buggy? I never had these problems on my old LG Optimus V.

Interesting question - I have Titanium Backup that is failing to recognize my license key (yes I have a valid license and donated!) I am guessing its something to do with how the partitions are laid out. And each time, it refuses no matter how hard I try, the darn thing refuses to recognize it and treats it as a free version, as you say, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot! :D

Could you try manually mounting /system as writable and see if integrating system updates works then?

"/system mounted as rw!" — Remount // "Processing… \n Please wait" — Titanium Backup (for a long time, until force stopped) :-/ (I'm off now to fix Play Store so it works again.)

I'd suggest contacting the developer with as much details as you've got. Joel is very cooperative. There are some very special issues with some ROMs and devices -- but he cannot solve them without either buying all the devices available (not a real option) or good help from those using them (you in this case). I'd bet, once you've sent him the details, a fix is available within a week.

Is Joel someone I can reach by emailing the general Titanium Track support address? I never seem to get an answer through that channel.


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Can I set my HTC Desire into sync-mode without using touch screen
The screen of my HTC Desire just broke (It's not shattered, but it's completely black).
I have no reason to believe anything else is broken (When I start it up, I hear the short tune that plays when the logo is normally displayed). Now, I'd really like not to lose any data, so I'd like to sync it to a PC using USB; however, I've set the default mode to tethering.
Is there any way for me to set the phone to sync-mode or any other way for me to recover my data?
I know that I can extract the memory card and use a card reader for that data. This question is specifically about the data that doesn't reside on the extractable memory card.

If the device itself works as you suggest you might be able to access the recovery mode, enable USB and then download the files you need. However this will not be a USB sync access, instead it can be a fastboot or ADB access.
To do so take your Desire which have to powered off and press and hold Volume Down. Now start it up by pressing Power.
In the recovery mode you are able to enable USB access via ADB. As the recovery mode uses only Volume Down, Volume Up and Power it can be controlled even without seeing anything.
You only have to know which keys have to be pressed in which order. This is of course the complicated part. I don't have an unrooted device with the original recovery here for giving you the orders which keys to press. May be you find an Youtube video showing it or a very detailed manual.

This is very helpful information. I'll see what I can work out and report back with the result.


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Galaxy S II - USB debugging not turning off
I have a Samsung Galaxy S II. Instead of Samsung Kies, I have installed MyPhoneExplorer to use for synchronization. This required me to enable USB debugging.
After I turn it off and connect Kies again, it still tells me I am in the wrong mode. Please note that:

I have made several tries, with reboot(s)
Even with debug off, when I connect a cable I get the "USB storage" screen
the only running processes are those that I cannot kill (system processes and some watchdogs, that existed while I could connect).
If I try to run MyPhoneExplorer again, it will then complain that no device is connected to USB (so Kies thinks I have USB debug on, and MyPhoneExplorer that I have it off...)

Is there a solution?

have you tried to reinstall MyPhoneExplorer?