text:
Setting up new phone for kid: interplay between family link & multiple accounts
I have a OnePlus 5 on which I installed LineageOS 18.1 with Google Apps.
My intention is for this to be my child's phone, who is underage and whose account is limited by Google Family Link. (I'm not particularly in love with Family Link; it just comes automatically with honesty when registering the kid's Google account, i.e. not lying about their age. The screen time limitation is the only feature I actually find useful.)
I also installed Magisk v23 to root the phone. I realize that with enough determination my kid could potentially circumvent Family Link using root and e.g. adb, and don't mind.
I used my own Google account for the initial setup, but eventually I'd like to transfer my kid's apps and data from a previous device.
My first thought was to use the "multiple users" feature. I created an account for the child on the phone, and was going to use Titanium Backup to restore the backups of apps and data from the previous phone.
However, I'm beginning to have second thoughts. Is this a good way of approaching this? For example, if I continue as the "device owner", won't this device pollute my location sharing/location history?
Do I understand correctly that there is no way to change who the owner is (i.e. promote the child from "user" to "owner" and simultaneously demote myself from "owner" to "user")?
Would it be a better idea to instead, in the device owner environment, remove my Google Account and add the child's?
I would like to avoid lengthy experiments if possible, but will answer my own question if it comes to that.
My principal specific question is: what would be the consequences of these two approaches?

kid continues as user; I am owner
add kid's google account to device owner profile; remove mine

Update: adding kid as user is not straightforward; apparently (and logically) there is a whole new mount namespace so the TitaniumBackup directory I copied to the /sdcard directory of the primary account isn't visible, and even an elevated adb shell doesn't have access to /storage/emulated/10 (which I gather is where the new storage space lives). I couldn't be bothered to workaround this, so I removed the kid's user.
I then tried adding the kid's account alongside mine, but that doesn't work because it's managed by family link; I have to remove my account first. Did that, and when trying to add the kid's account I get into an endless loop where it says it'll install family link manager, I click next, and it informs me that this step is necessary; repeat ad nauseam. I think the issue may be that it doesn't pass the SafetyNet check, because logcat has lines like
06-16 15:49:05.915 11187 11187 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask started. [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:49:05.916 11187 12931 I KidsJobScheduler: schedule job DEVICE_SETUP_SAFETY_NET [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge: java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.String cannot be cast to android.content.Intent
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.aviraxp.adblocker.continued.hook.h$a.beforeHookedMethod(ShortcutHook.java:2)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:61)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_d6cb3615b07510db932c119335b0668763709397.hook(Unknown Source:171)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentWithFeature(ActivityManagerService.java:16728)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub.onTransact(IActivityManager.java:2283)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.onTransact(ActivityManagerService.java:2867)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1154)
06-16 15:49:05.918  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1123)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge: java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.String cannot be cast to android.content.Intent
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.aviraxp.adblocker.continued.hook.h$a.beforeHookedMethod(ShortcutHook.java:2)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:61)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_1d32fd428893610d3914110116abed3745926464.hook(Unknown Source:185)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentLocked(ActivityManagerService.java:15914)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:81)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_d6cb3615b07510db932c119335b0668763709397.hook(Unknown Source:171)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentWithFeature(ActivityManagerService.java:16728)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub.onTransact(IActivityManager.java:2283)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.onTransact(ActivityManagerService.java:2867)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1154)
06-16 15:49:05.919  1444  3734 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1123)
06-16 15:49:05.921 11187 12930 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask finished (5 ms). [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:49:05.928  1444  3734 W ActivityTaskManager: Tried to set launchTime (0) < mLastActivityLaunchTime (1954917)
06-16 15:49:05.938 10959 10959 W DeviceAdminAdd: Unable to set profile owner post-setup, no default supervisorprofile owner defined
06-16 15:49:05.993 11187 11187 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask started. [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:49:05.994 11187 12931 I KidsJobScheduler: schedule job DEVICE_SETUP_SAFETY_NET [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err: java.lang.Exception: Result is true
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at m.cqr.c(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:6)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at m.cqv.j(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at com.google.android.gms.kids.setup.fragment.KidSetupFragment.cm(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at com.google.android.gms.kids.setup.fragment.ActivateProfileOwnerFragment.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:6)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at com.google.android.chimera.FragmentProxy.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at fd.ht(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):6)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at aes.g(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):6)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at eic.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at eih.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at edb.support_onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at edg.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.996 11187 11187 W System.err:    at edg.public_onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at rie.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):4)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.Activity.dispatchActivityResult(Activity.java:8310)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.deliverResults(ActivityThread.java:5002)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.handleSendResult(ActivityThread.java:5050)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.ActivityResultItem.execute(ActivityResultItem.java:51)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.executeCallbacks(TransactionExecutor.java:135)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.execute(TransactionExecutor.java:95)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2066)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:106)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:223)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7660)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:592)
06-16 15:49:05.997 11187 11187 W System.err:    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:947)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge: java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.String cannot be cast to android.content.Intent
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.aviraxp.adblocker.continued.hook.h$a.beforeHookedMethod(ShortcutHook.java:2)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:61)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_d6cb3615b07510db932c119335b0668763709397.hook(Unknown Source:171)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentWithFeature(ActivityManagerService.java:16728)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub.onTransact(IActivityManager.java:2283)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.onTransact(ActivityManagerService.java:2867)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1154)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1123)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge: java.lang.ClassCastException: java.lang.String cannot be cast to android.content.Intent
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.aviraxp.adblocker.continued.hook.h$a.beforeHookedMethod(ShortcutHook.java:2)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:61)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_1d32fd428893610d3914110116abed3745926464.hook(Unknown Source:185)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentLocked(ActivityManagerService.java:15914)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at de.robv.android.xposed.MethodHooker.handleHookedMethod(MethodHooker.java:81)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at EdHooker_d6cb3615b07510db932c119335b0668763709397.hook(Unknown Source:171)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.broadcastIntentWithFeature(ActivityManagerService.java:16728)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.app.IActivityManager$Stub.onTransact(IActivityManager.java:2283)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at com.android.server.am.ActivityManagerService.onTransact(ActivityManagerService.java:2867)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1154)
06-16 15:49:05.999  1444  4198 E EdXposed-Bridge:       at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1123)
06-16 15:49:06.003 11187 12930 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask finished (9 ms). [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]

I disabled EdXposed, leaving me with
06-16 15:58:55.797  6486  6486 W DeviceAdminAdd: Unable to set profile owner post-setup, no default supervisorprofile owner defined
06-16 15:58:55.852  6269  6269 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask started. [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:58:55.853  6269  6634 I KidsJobScheduler: schedule job DEVICE_SETUP_SAFETY_NET [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err: java.lang.Exception: Result is true
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at m.cqr.c(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:6)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at m.cqv.j(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at com.google.android.gms.kids.setup.fragment.KidSetupFragment.cm(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at com.google.android.gms.kids.setup.fragment.ActivateProfileOwnerFragment.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms.policy_kids@211980404@211980404057.377187554.377187554:6)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at com.google.android.chimera.FragmentProxy.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at fd.ht(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):6)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at aes.g(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):6)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at eic.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at eih.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at edb.support_onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.855  6269  6269 W System.err:    at edg.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at edg.public_onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):0)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at rie.onActivityResult(:com.google.android.gms@212116046@21.21.16 (150400-378233385):4)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.Activity.dispatchActivityResult(Activity.java:8310)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.deliverResults(ActivityThread.java:5002)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.handleSendResult(ActivityThread.java:5050)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.ActivityResultItem.execute(ActivityResultItem.java:51)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.executeCallbacks(TransactionExecutor.java:135)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.servertransaction.TransactionExecutor.execute(TransactionExecutor.java:95)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2066)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:106)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:223)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:7660)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(RuntimeInit.java:592)
06-16 15:58:55.856  6269  6269 W System.err:    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:947)
06-16 15:58:55.858  6269  6618 I BaseTask: ScheduleSafetyNetJobTask finished (6 ms). [CONTEXT service_id=42 ]
06-16 15:58:55.952  1395  2506 I system_server: oneway function results will be dropped but finished with status OK and parcel size 4

I will now disable all Magisk modules one by one to see if I can get past this step eventually.
Update 2: the "activate family link manager" loop issue might not be related to Magisk at all. It's been reported to Google at e.g. https://support.google.com/googleplay/thread/15850322/activation-family-link-manager-error-message-loop?hl=en and https://support.google.com/googleplay/forum/AAAA8CVOtD88XvbDIUaPF0/?hl=en&gpf=%23!topic%2Fplay%2F8XvbDIUaPF0. For at least one person, hacks like manually making the family link app a device admin in " Settings -> Security -> Device administrator" as well as "Settings -> Application manager -> Reset app preferences" helped, but "it looks like the Family Link Manager expects to be able to open the settings app on a specific page, which doesn't look to exist on all devices. This also happens on the Xiaomi MiPad as well...
https://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/first-xiaomi-eu-rom-released-for-mipad-4.46337/
Manually settings the App as a device admin does not get you past this check.", which I can confirm.
Update 3: I got past the "Next, you'll activate Family Link" loop by manually converting com.google.android.apps.kids.familylinkhelper and com.google.android.apps.kids.familylinkmanager into system apps. With Magisk, /system/app is a writable tmpfs (i.e. not persisent); I remounted / (which the real /system/app is on) rw using mount -n / -o rw,remount, then bind mounted it under a directory: mkdir /mnt/root; mount --bind / /mnt/root. I copied the two APKs from my Titanium Backups to /mnt/root/system/app, then rebooted and Family Link setup was able to complete.
Now let's see about restoring all the apps from backup.

The logcat clearly shows that the Xposed module com.aviraxp.adblocker.continued has a bug. You should file an issue on it's Github project.

Thanks; I reported it.

The reported GitHub issue is still open.  Development appears stalled.  I wonder if anyone has forked AdBlocker Reborn and resumed development.

I have a partial answer:

You apparently can't add two Google accounts to the same Android user profile if one of the accounts is for a minor (and thus under Family Link supervision).
The multiple users feature is relatively complex and breaks assumptions such as "I can access all files via adb shell if necessary".
The way to change the device owner is to first remove all Google accounts from the owner's profile, then add the Google account of the new owner.

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


text:
How can I copy specific wifi networks from one Android device to another?
I have a rooted Android 7.1.1 phone with a large number of wireless networks configured; some of these are relatively complicated (EAP-TTLS, custom CA certificate, whatnot; the point is it's more involved than just a shared secret).
I would like to copy some of these networks to another phone, also rooted (running reasonably recent LineageOS, likely Android 9 or 10), without overwriting other wifi configuration that exists on the destination phone.
I know I could use something like Titanium Backup (which I bought) to do a full backup of all wifi networks from the source phone and restore it on the destination phone, but that doesn't meet the following two needs:

don't transfer all, just some saved wifi networks;
don't overwrite existing networks on target device (just add new networks).

I'm also not certain it would correctly transfer the certificate along with the network it pertains to.
I looked at How to copy wireless networks list from one android device to another?, but that also only addresses copying all networks, not cherry-picking.
I suppose I could merge the new networks into wpa_supplicant.conf, but is that safe to edit while Android is running? Won't changes be overwritten? (Update: it would, unless editing while in recovery mode; see How to modify wpa_supplicant.conf) (Also, I'd still need to find a way to transfer the CA certificates.)

Which Android version? On 10,I see  all the details in  /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml, with the password and network name in clear and wpa_supplicant is empty

I updated my question with further details.

this app promises to sync them between devices – if you don't mind the trackers it comes with (those companies could get the data then as well: Google, Yandex, Facebook). Some alternatives can be found in my list here to e.g. copy one-by-one.

On Samsung S20FE (Android 12), passwords are saved in /data/misc/apexdata/com.android.wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Household material to mimic touches?
I'm using my Android 5.0 tablet as a drawing board, but it is hard to draw small details with finger. So, is there any common household material to mimic touch.
I already tried pencil, but it won't works.
[I do not want to buy a touch-stick or something]

Not even most touch-sticks would achieve good precision, believe me...

@Andy finally, I found a way: Wrapping aluminium foil around any edgy object such as pencil works. But, you are right it doesn't have good precision. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5mJVnuQTXo)

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


text:
Scheduled silent mode on S3
Got a Galaxy S3 with Android 4.1.2  Some time ago it started changing my phone to silent mode
automatically, every evening at 19:30. I did not install any scheduler app, nor did I change any settings. How can I find this setting and remove it?

Some devices have a corresponding section in the system settings, called "Silent times" or similar. Not having an S3, I cannot tell you where Samsung might have put that -- but you might simply browse through the system settings and watch our for something like that.

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


text:
Nexus 4 encryption
I encrypted my nexus, and now forget the password after the power is run out Can anyone tell me how many digit required and its rules (upper case, number, etc)?

According to an enlightening blog post by Nikolay Elenkov the master password is derived from your screen lock password or PIN. These screen lock passwords are limited to 16 characters but don't have any rules by default (unless you have a device administration policy enabled that enforces something different). Assuming you haven't done anything different than the normal encryption process, these should be the password restrictions you're bound by.
As an aside, according to Nikolay, there is no character limit or rules on the master encryption password fundamentally.


text:
Eroot World’s Strongest Root Tool: Scam or No Scam - That Is The Question?
"Eroot (phone one key root tools) is a free android root tool which is developed by China root team. It is a new tool and become the World’s Strongest Root Tool. Currently the Eroot supports Samsung, Motorola, Huawei, SONY, HTC’s most models, the total number of models have more than 200 models. Root success rate in the industry leader."
Source: Android Groupon
Things that are too good to be true usually are !!
However is this a tool to stay away from or a legitimate product that every android enthusiast should keep by their side ?
Anyone with experience of the above & can comment on its effectiveness, I would be very grateful.

Is there an English version? This is very vague, risking to root without knowing what you are clicking.

@AnasAzeem The link is no longer active, I'll trying looking for another one when I have some time.

Yes it works.I rooted sony er wt19i with locked bootloader and it installed superuser.You should try.Many people asking can  I do this or that  and never did nothing. How can you know if you didnt try?


text:
Titanium Backup from Nandroid using pc
I know you can create a Titanium Backup from a Nandroid Backup using the Titanium Backup PRO app.
But is there a possibility to create a Titanium Backup from a Nandroid without having a phone, i.e. using a pc (preferably Linux, Windows is ok too)?

Titanium Backup is able to read from Nandroid backups, so you can use it to restore parts from them -- and then use Titanium Backup again to backup those restored parts. However, as there's no Titanium Backup for PC, this has to be done on an Android device.
If your goal however is to separate some apps from a Nandroid backup, there are other ways to achieve this: Nandroid copies the entire partition (see: nandroid tag-wiki). So you could mount the images (on Linux, this should be no problem with the EXT file systems at least -- see e.g. Restore only part of nandroid image), or unpack them (for YAFFS partitions e.g. using unyaffs -- see my answer here).
For completeness: there are also ADB-style backups (which again Titanium Backup is able to access). For these, you might want to take a look at e.g. Android Backup Extractor and Android Backup Splitter, and also my answer here on how to convert an ADB backup into a tar file to investigate, using the Perl AdbBackupRoutines from this XDA thread.


text:
How do I make sure that a custom ROM will fit my HTC Desire?
After rooting your phone and setting S-OFF you will probably want to flash a custom ROM. One thing to consider when flashing a new ROM is the size of the partitions. This is especially important for phones like HTC Desire which has limited internal memory. I will use HTC Desire as an example here but the same principle should apply to other HTC models as well.

The HTC Desire by default allocates 250 MB of its internal memory for the /system partition, 40 MB for /cache partition and 147 MB for /data partition.
The ROMs are usually packed in ZIP files and are usually about 155 MB in size. However, they do get bigger when unpacked. Here's how to verify that you will be able to flash a custom ROM on your phone.

Download the ROM you want to flash. I will use SuperNova ROM here as
example.
Unpack the ZIP file. In my case, this is
Supernova_2.4.0.1_signed.zip.
Right click on the system folder and click Properties. Note the
size of it. In my case this is 203 MB.
Right click on the data folder and click Properties. Note the size
of it. In my case this is 17.9 MB.
Compare the found sizes to the reference sizes above.

If your system folder is less than 250 MB and your data folder is less than 147 MB then it's all good. You will be able to flash the ROM using the stock HBOOT image. This is true in my case for example.
However, if you find that your data folder is bigger than 147 MB (which is unlikely), OR if you want more free space for things like apps and user data, then you will need to flash a different HBOOT image first which will layout the partitions differently so that you get more memory allocated to the /data partition. One such HBOOT image is called "Bravo Oxygen r2". For more information and to download a differen HBOOT image, go to the AlphaRev website.
What is contained in the system and data folders is what will get copied to the corresponding partition once you flash the ROM.


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Galaxy S I9000 does not boot at all
My Samsung Galaxy S I9000 does not boot at all, the screen does not come, no vibration, no backlight on the soft buttons. It's as if it was dead.
I reset the battery and hard reset. But nothing seems to work. Any way to get it working, other than heading to a service center?
It has Slimrom's Slimbean 4.1 in it, international version of Galaxy S.

Can you boot into recovery mode (Vol Up + Home + Power button combo) or download mode (Vol Down + Home + Power button combo)? If not, have it checked by a service center.

I tried that, doesn't work. Not even the initial boot up screen (Galaxy S I9000) shows up. I guess service center is the option. Any other hard reset options?


text:
Is there a way to disable the default calendar app on a Samsung Galaxy S4?
I'd like to use the standard Google Calendar app (as available in the Play Store) too keep track of events.  However, Samsung includes a modified version of the calendar on the S4.  In previous iterations of the Galaxy it was possible to disable the Samsung version of the Calendar app so that I wouldn't get duplicate notifications of events.  On the S4, it does not seem possible to disable the app or it's notifications (the "disable" button and "show notifications" checkbox are greyed-out in the app info screen).  Is there some other trick I can use to disable the Samsung Calendar app?

Are there any in-app settings that allow you to customize the notifications? If you're rooted, you might try using Titanium Backup to freeze the Samsung calendar.

I wonder why Samsung feels the need to put on his phones apps that are so hard/impossible to uninstall/disable.

Assuming your end goal is just to get the app to shut up (i.e. not get double calendar notifications for all events), all you have to do is disable the alerts and notifications from within the app itself.

Go into the App
Press the menu button
Choose Settings
Scroll to the bottom
Change Set alerts & notifications to off

For good measure, I also unchecked Vibration and set Select ringtone to Silent, but that probably wasn't necessary.
The app will still be on your phone, but aside from the icon being there you won't even notice it unless you open it.

I just tried this but it doesn't seem to keep my settings for more than ~2days. Every so oftern it turns notifications back on.

@Steven10172 I'm not sure what could be causing that.  Mine has been disabled for almost a year now with no issues.  It could be a bug in the software, I've got version 4.3-I545VRUEMK2 according to the App Info.

I have been having the same problem as @Steven10172 for 4 months. I set the notifications on S Calendar to be Off. then at some point they turn themselves on again. I suspect that it is happening whenever Samsung pushes out an update to S Calendar and it is resetting my notification preferences. But not sure about that.

@shaune, do they push updates that often? And it used to work until my phone upgraded.

@Steven10172 No I suppose not. Now that I think of it that doesn't make sense. I guess the only thing I have been able to figure out is that like you every week or so my settings get reset somehow. I will try paying more attention and will update if I have anything else.

@Steven10172 Early this week I found this post which says that Luke's solution should work as long as you check "All calendars" in the main Calendar app and then turn off notifications. I noticed that I had a few calendars checked and a few not checked. After checking "All calendars" I haven't had the problem again (hasn't been terribly long but still better than before). I did have to go into the Google Calendar and adjust which calendars I wanted to be displayed after. http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-htc-one/311635-cant-disable-stock-calendar-notifications.html

I have a Galaxy s4; even after disabling the notifications, they turn on again whenever I reboot my phone.

On my Galaxy Tab A7 the "alert and notification" button for Samsung calendar is missing.

Root:
You can install Titanium Backup to uninstall unwanted apps easily.
Without Root:
After doing some research to uninstall apps without root, I found an interesting article which  helps you creating a script to remove certain stock APK files.
Check it out here.
To simplify it, copy and paste this for step 7 (though I'm not too sure if those are the APK files for the stock calender. You mean S Planner, right? Anyway, let me know if it works):
ui_print("S Planner remover for the S4.");
ui_print(" ");
ui_print("Partitions mount");
#Properly unmounting to avoid issues
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/cache");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/data");
#Then mounting
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/cache");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "mount", "/data");

ui_print(" ");
ui_print("S4 default Calendar remover");
delete("/system/app/SPlannerAppWidget_NAmerica.apk");
delete("/system/app/SecCalendarProvider.apk");
delete("/system/app/SecCalendar_NAmerica_SPen.apk");

ui_print(" ");
ui_print("Unmounting partitions");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/system");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/cache");
run_program("/sbin/busybox", "umount", "/data");

ui_print(" ");
ui_print("Finish");

does this work? it looks promising!

This can't remove Samsung Calendar (it comes right back), but it can Freeze it.

I disabled it in the Application manager under settings. I don't get any notifications at all and I just use the google calendar app.
I do have a it f a problem though, if I click a invite link it still opens the S planner... haven't figured out how to avoid this yet, but the app is mostly out of the way.

On my Galaxy s4, the "Turn off" button in Application Manager is greyed out.

On my Galaxy S4, Google Calendar complains and wants the default calendar re-enabled.

On my Galaxy Tab A7 the "turn off" button is greyed out too.

In Galaxy s4.

Go to Calendar
Menu
Display
uncheck "My Calendar", "Samsung Calendar", Samsung Task"
select "Done" in right top corner

You now have stopped visual of Samsung Calendar. You can add Google or if already added, your Google Calendar will display your events or appointments you set.

Clever solution... leave s planner running, but give it nothing to work with.

This also turns off the calendars on Google Calendar.

It would appear that Root App Delete can disable S Planner. Seems to work so far for me.

This works, but your link is no longer valid.  Just search the app store for Root App Deleter.

I've created a simple app, that hides all notifications from S Planner when they appear.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=s.planner.sucks.and.stinks
It seems to be the only working solution for my non-rooted Note 3, I've tried everything suggested in this thread with no luck.
Edit: with Lollipop update, you can finally disable S Calendar totally, it's hidden inside system options.
Edit 2: with another update to my Note 3 system, you cannot anymore. But I discovered a wonderful pm hide command, that will work even on system apps on non-rooted devices. You need Android developer tools installed, then you run this command from ADB shell:
pm hide com.android.calendar
and you're done, it seems to be persistent between reboots.

You would want to mention that pm hide is specific to Lollipop and above. For Kitkat, there is pm block and no similar solution for earlier Android versions. I have some details of the command covered here.


text:
HF Connector - Replace parts in a Nexus S
I have a Nexus S device (model i9023).
My current earpiece is torn - the wires are cut, and the body could not be screwed out because the specific body's screw is stuck. However, I can gently replace it without breaking the body.
I see a "HF" connector connected to the left of what I see in the picture of the earpiece unit.
To be more specific, I took some pictures of it, since I can't get the data from
fixit.
Here's a picture of what dealers are selling in eBay. This picture is pretty descriptive.
All dealers provide a unit containing the earpieace speaker as seen upwards,
a proximity sensor as seen below and the connector to the motherboard, to the right.

This is what I saw in fixit:

as you can see upwards, there's another group of wires (orange) to the right of the proximity sensor, which doesn't exist in the seller's unit.
The pictures I took of my device shows exactly what I mean:
This "HF" wires down there doesn't exist in the units for sale

Don't mind the fact that in my pictures there's no speaker, its
  because its been torn. that's the reason why I was wandering around thinking of buying a new EM-Tech EME1511AFRC replacement unit in the first place...

So does anyone know what's that HF and what am I losing if I buy a new unit without it?

The black plastic, the one that's connected with those HF wires is the phone speaker,
IHF Speaker.
The unit I showed is the earpiece speaker and a proximity sensor, an integrated circuit.
The thing is that the integrated circuit is the one with the data connector to the motherboard
and the phone-speaker's wires are soldered with two wires of the integrated circuit to receive data.
My earpiece wires were cut.
So if I replace only the integrated circuit, I can solder the right wires, like they did originally, onto my existing speaker's wires.
Problem could be solved by soldering.

At first note that the i9023 is the Nexus S (with S-LCD) and not a Nexus One.
Here's iFixit's teardown.
Here's what iFixit says: The EM-Tech EME1511AFRC integrates the earpiece speaker, loudspeaker for speakerphone and media use, and a sensor bank all into one unit with a singular shared data connector.
That sensor bank includes at least the proximity sensor, a light sensor (for LCD dimming) and maybe some of the rest of the sensors (accelerometer, gyro, compass).

First of all, a HUGE thank you, ce4.
This link is extremely helpful although it didn't answer my question yet.
I'm now updating the question with further input.

I would solder it back together if feasible. If that is not an option, search foe a replacement part on ebay, maybe? Or buy a whole (broken ) replacement Nexus S (e.g.with a shattered display)

How do you solder back that torn wired package?
I'm talking about the orange wires that are torn.
Is it possible?

after disconnecting the unit's connector, I've had no phone sound, so the HF connector connects to the black plastic unit which is the phone's speaker.
What I'll have to do is to solder the wires to the earpiece somehow.

Good question, the unit is broken anyway? You definitely need a steady hand, experience in soldering and dissecting electronics. On the plus side: It's only 2 wires and you have solder points on the connector end and probably some solder points in the loudspeaker too. Not easy to tell remotely. If you find a cheap donator for spare parts (i.e., a differently broken Nexus S) on ebay, that'll also work.

my earpiece unit like I stated and also shown in the pictures is broken, since the earpiece speaker is torn from it (wires were cut)
And I'll definitely need to solder the new unit to the  speakerphone's wires professionally.
Yes, it seems that soldering was done from factory, as you can see in the photo I took, above the  + - marks.

Now I got it (another pic on ifixit). If there are no directly available solder junctions for the earpiece, it'll maybe be hard to fix it (I have done that a few times using thin unwound wire from an inductance coil). Maybe buying an otherwise broken donator Nexus S from ebay is the quicker path.

I'm not sure if I understood your idea correctly:
If you're talking about trying to solder back the wired orange ribbons together so that the earpiece will be attached to the unit again, then I think its too tiny and I prefer to just buy another earpiece+proximity_sensor integrated unit, which is available for sale for just 5$ in eBay, and solder it with the existing speakerphone's + - terminals.

Ah, sure. That's of course a good idea, if it's only 5$ (I'm in germany actually, where supply is a little sparser).


text:
How to keep screen from turning on while unlocked?
When I get a notification from messaging apps like Snapchat, and my device is unlocked but the screen is off, the phone will not buzz but the screen will just turn on. This will happen when I am at a trusted place or I am connected to a trusted bluetooth because I use the smart lock feature. I would prefer to keep using smart lock, but if Snapchat turns the screen on and starts using the camera without me knowing, I'll miss incoming messages and lose massive amounts of battery.
How can I keep using smart-lock AND prevent incoming messages from turning my screen on?
I am on Android 6.0 on a Moto X Pure Edition.

Have you tried this setting: In the Moto app under display or in settings->display -> screen notifications -> none


text:
How can I disable album art on my lock screen?
I'm not a big fan of my lock screen getting hijacked by whatever music app is currently playing. Is there a setting, app, or work around that can disable album art from being displayed on my lock screen? Preferably without rooting.
I'm using a Moto X Pure Edition running Nougat. I would prefer solutions that work for Google Play Music.
Related

I'm not sure about any settings but you can use VLC as your music player and can disable lock screen cover.

Google Play Music, since version 8.7, has a setting to enable/disable album arts on the lock screen.

Open Google Play Music, then open Settings.
In the Play back section, disable "Show album art on lock screen".

The album art will now be shown next to the music buttons instead of taking over the whole screen when it is locked.
Note: Tested on versions 8.8 and 8.18.
Source: Google Play Music v8.7 adds option to disable album art on the lock screen


text:
Profanity Galaxy S2 Jelly Bean
I don't know what's changed and I cannot figure out how to set it up but my S2 no longer lets me swear.
I have to manually type in the words every time, it doesn't seem to be updating any dictionaries anymore, it used to just fine before the update to Jelly Bean.
My default keyboard is Swype.
No matter what I do checking Swypes dictionary is always "(empty)"

Apparently this can be fixed by reinstalling Swype but it appears you're not able to uninstall Swype anymore ...


text:
Email client not talking proper IMAP? Unfriendly to other clients
The stock email client in Android 4.2.2 and Thunderbird 17 on my computers do not like each other. I’m syncing against an IMAP server. (I control the server.) These are my problems:
• Android puts sent and deleted messages in the wrong folders. I haven’t found out how to change these on the Android side. Also: is there any standard way of informing the client from the server of which folders it expects the client to use for Trash, Junk, Sent, etc? Is only INBOX standardised?
• If I delete an email on Android, the email is still in my Inbox in Thunderbird. If I delete it in Thunderbird, it is also deleted on Android. Both have different opinions about which IMAP folders to use for Trash, but the message should still be moved out of my inbox. What is going on?
• Moving a message removes it from the originating folder on Android but not in Thunderbird. Moving it in Android removes it from the originating folder on Android. Possibly the same issue as the above with Trash.
How can I get email on Android to behave itself? I can deploy fixes on the server if necessary.

I'm using Android 4.2.2's stock email client and Thunderbird 17 against an IMAP server and both the clients see the same sent/junk/deleted folders. Since Android (as you noticed) doesn't have any options related to this, it would seem the problem must be with Thunderbird or the server, or with either client being out of sync with the server.

There are standards for this, as in the XLIST command for IMAP, which has recently been superseded by the Special-Use extension of the IMAP LIST command. Gmail supports these, and Fastmail, and mail clients like Thunderbird and Opera, and even Outlook 2013 apparently. The problem with the Android Mail app (at least for me) is that it doesn't understand these commands, and simply creates folders with localized names. In Opera Mail and also in Thunderbird, you can also manually pick the IMAP folders to use for storing deleted and sent messages. So you could choose the IMAP folders that the Android client is already using, don't forget to make these changes to all the mail clients if you have multiple machines accessing that IMAP account. That might help.


text:
Recover mini paper widget contents after update (2.3.3 to 2.3.4)
I've updated my Galaxy S2 from 2.3.3 to 2.3.4 only to find that the mini paper widget is now broken.  Plenty of places on the web explain how to clear the data to get it working again, but is there ANY way to get that data data?  It must be stored on the phone somewhere...
Or perhaps it can be rolled back to 2.3.3 (unlikely).

What mini paper widget is this? Is it an app you've installed, or something Samsung added to the system?

It came with the phone, so I would assume Samsung?  If there is anything I can do to identify it let me know.


text:
Is it possible to run ADB on multiple devices using Hyper-V?
What I would like to do is use Hyper-V to set up N number of VM's, each one being used to run a different set of tests on a different Android device. It seems like Hyper-V doesn't accept the input of the USB device.
My question is: Is it possible to run ADB on multiple devices using Hyper-V? If so, how?

Sounds like it might be a limitation that is specific to Hyper-V. Do you have the option of using other VM solutions?

Yes, I do now... Lol... Is there one in particular you'd suggest?

VirtualBox and VMware Player are both free or there are plenty of options to pay for. I run VMware Fusion 5 on my Macbook but haven't tried ADB yet. I don't know whether either free option will do what you need but they're very easy to try. Does anyone else know how well these interact with ADB devices connected to the host?

See the USB access from guest in Hyper-V question on ServerFault — in short, Hyper-V does not provide any way to access host USB ports from guests. There are some workarounds — mostly “USB over Ethernet” solutions.
Another option which could work for some use cases is to enable Wireless ADB on the devices, and then access them via the network.


text:
Best way to get Google contact images from Facebook?
I'm on Android and Syncing my contacts with Gmail/Google contacts.
I don't have a Facebook account.
And lot of my phone contacts are on Facebook where they have a profile ipcture.
Is there any way to sync my contacts and match them against those photos on Facebook based on their phone number?

You are right of course.  If you don't have a Facebook account there isn't a way to use information contained within a Facebook profile.  You didn't mention you already tried that software, update your question to reflect that fact, and I will remove the downvote.

If you don't have a Facebook account how do you have contacts on Facebook?

@slybloty, I Think there is a workround, just needs a coder.

Find user id & name: https://graph.facebook.com/nytimes
A search on this page with the Name/Username will return their image, publicaly: http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=jack&init=ffs
Parse it and append it to Google Contact.

I'm not aware if Google Contacts API can allow such thing or not, just an idea.

Are referring to facebook app or facebook account?

What ever solution that can compare my contact name/phone number to a Facebook users data and get user picture assign it to my contact.


text:
netcat listening on nexus 4 doesn't seem to respond
I have a Nexus 4 on my wifi network along with a laptop. I would like to establish a connection using netcat from my laptop to my phone.
On my phone, I can run uname -a | nc <LAPTOP IP> <PORT>, on my laptop, I can receive it by running nc -l <PORT>, and I can see the output on my laptop.
However, when I run nc -l <PORT> on my phone, when I send messages using netcat on my laptop, nothing appears to happen.
Is there a firewall on Android blocking incoming connections?

What port are you actually trying to listen on?

@DanHulme I tried 4350 and 4242


text:
How do I uninstall a system app with root?
Have root. Tried "autorun manager" app which gives option to  display system apps & uninstall, but still said "uninstall not successful"

We already have this question multiple times, including answers. You might want to take a look at e.g. How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?, or check the questions tagged bloatware.

I quickly read the description of Autorun Manager, and it doesn't mention the ability to uninstall system apps, but there are several apps that can do this, for example Root Uninstaller. Do a search on the Play Store for "root uninstall" for more.

If you already own a copy of Titanium Backup you can uninstall a system app with this tool too.
Anyway Root Uninstaller mentioned by onik seems to be free and therefore cheaper as Titanium Backup Pro (if you haven't already bought it).


text:
How to unlock a G1
Yes, I got the G1 the day it was launched in the UK. Swapped it for HTC Desire when that was launched. Now have a Galaxy S4.
Anyway, I moved away from T-Mobile without removing the G1's network lock (because I was using the Desire then). Lately, I've been experimenting a bit and would like to use the G1 for some things.
How can I unlock it?

go back to the original mobile provider where you got the G1 from and ask for the unlock code (charges may apply)

@t0mm13b Thanks, but I was looking for a more technical, DIY answer.

HTC starting offering their own free unlock tool online some little while ago in an effort to be more hack-friendly, and the G1 (or Dream) is one of the phones you can unlock with it.  Failing that you can also contact HTC support to get the unlock code.

If you wish you can check with online unlocking service provider called Mobile-Unlocker.com who will help you in unlocking your G1 within 1-2 working days...


text:
Setting up automatic reboot?
This may sound a bit lazy, but does anybody know of an app or a method that can automatically reboot one's phone? I sometimes forget to reboot it daily (I like keeping my OS fresh).

If your device is rooted, Tasker can do that (there's a free trial available at their website for you to check first). While you don't need to boot your device daily (I don't boot it more often than once a month usually, if at all), I also thought about a weekly reboot on a device having problems otherwise (my old Wildfire started behaving oddly with calls after about 10 days uptime).
So here we go, assuming a weekly reboot at Monday morning 3am for a fresh week:
Condition:

Day → Day-of-week: pick "Monday"
Time: Set both, From and To time to 3am

Task:

Reboot

I have to include a warning here from the Tasker UserGuide on Reboot:

Unfortunately, this is not a 'clean' shutdown. Neither Android nor running applications are informed that the device is rebooting, so be prepared for possible data corruption.
On the other hand, every other app that allows reboot does it the same way.

So this warning does not apply to Tasker alone, but obviously to all other solutions as well.


text:
Why does the default keyboard always change after a phone restart?
I use a Samsung Galaxy Note phone with Jelly-Bean 4.1.2. I also use SwiftKey app as as my default keyboard. After every phone restart, the default keyboard changes to Samsung keyboard.
Why does the default keyboard setting change and how to make SwiftKey be the default keyboard..always?

Have you by any chance moved the SwiftKey app to SD Card via Settings --> Apps --> SwiftKey --> Move to SD?

@Chahk I didn't change anything. It says SD card app = 0B and Move to SD card button is disabled. I am going to ask at SwiftKey's site


text:
Is there a way to override notifications that don't let me dismiss them?
I have a Galaxy Nexus that's running 4.2.2. Certain apps, like Words with Friends, occasionally send spammy notifications for trying out a different game or something like that. They won't dismiss when I press the dismiss all button, and I can't manually swipe to remove them. I have to actually press the notification which takes me to the app.
Obviously I don't want to have to bother opening and immediately closing an app to remove a notification. The simplest solution of course would be to not install apps that do this, but in general, is there a way to have more control over your notification bar?

AFAIK, with Android 4.2+ you can regulate on a per-app-base whether you want to see notifications or not. Long-pressing a notification should open a menu, from which you can navigate to the corresponding place, and define you don't want to see notifications from that app anymore. (As I have no device with 4.2+, I cannot check myself).
On the other hand, "spammy messages" sound like they come from some advertizement module, such as Airpush or Leadbolt. You can verify that with Ad-Scanners (I recommend AppBrain Ad Detector). If I guessed right with that, you have two ways to react on this: for Airpush, there's a way to Opt - out, same seems to apply for Leadbolt (Opt-Out). AppBrain Ad Detector clearly shows you which network is involved, see below screenshots.

AppBrain Ad Detector (source: Google Play; click images for larger variant)
Or you consider avoiding apps using such an aggressive advertizement, uninstall yours, and watch out for a less offensive alternative -- that's what would be my choice. I have full understanding for devs to fund their fremium apps using ads -- but please, leave those adds where they belong: inside the app they are funding. Pushing ads to the notification bar, or adding "funny shortcuts" to the user's homescreen, is intruding the user's privacy, and has no connection to the app at all (in most cases, users even have no clue where that "stuff" comes from).

I'm certain it's just from these particular apps and not some ad app. Thanks for the instructions on disabling notifications for a given app. The only problem is I want to see most notifications for them, i.e. when it's my turn to play.

Yeah, unfortunately Zynga, while it isn't the worst of the lot, isn't the best either.  If I wasn't actively playing some Words With Friends games with family members I would have deleted it.

@JohnStraka that would leave some ad blocker, if your device is rooted -- or something that blocks the ad modules themselves (there are tools that modify the Dalvik cache accordingly -- like Lucky Patcher, check this article :)


text:
Why doesn't my screen turn off after 30 seconds?
Two days back I had to do a factory reset on my android (v2.3.6). After that, I noticed that my phone display won't turn off after 30 secs idle time, even though the settings has been done appropriately. After 30 secs, the brightness decreases, but the screen won't turn off. Is there any other setting which needs to be changed here?

Could it be some app prevents the display from being (automatically) turned off? You can check the permissions of installed apps to check for those having the appropriate permission. You could use e.g. AppBrain Ad Detector for this (it also scans the permissions of installed apps).

Try the wakelock detector app.

You can try the wakelock detector app which will tell you the application which is restricting the phone from going to sleep and lock mode.
Unfortunately it did not work for me since my kitkat version required the ROOT permission.
I fixed it by going to "Settings > Apps > Running tab". I closed all suspicious application in "Cached" and "running' mode.
It was one of my recent ip-camera phone app or the Alexa app which was restricting the phone going to auto sleep after 15 seconds and then to lock state.
The phone is working fine now after closing those 2 apps, I can run them when required.
Hope it helps.

Maybe the setting that keeps Screen On while Charging got Switched On. Try switching it off.

I had the same problem and it turned out that one of my apps had permissions to my camera and was accessing it all the time. Turning off that permission resolved it.

I had the same problem, I cleared my apps, by holding the home button and making them all disappear and it worked.  Not sure what exactly the problem was :P


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Wifi hotspot generates new mac address each time
Every time I'm gonna to use wifi hotspot on my device it generates new mac address, therefore my laptop can't remember for permanent. Every time I need to set all connections details  again anad again. It's a bit annoying.
Is there a way to make android generate the same mac address each time?
ps. currently I'm using android 4.2.2 ( cm 10.1-20130521 ), unfortunately such behaviour was long before current version.


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Does the play store still show the provider and mobile information, if the google account is removed/changed
Basically what I would like to know is will the play store web version still show the provider and mobile information ie [This app is compatible with your PROVIDER_NAME DEVICE_MODEL.] if the device is factory reset/rooted/removed the google account/change google account.
Thanks in advance.

Old devices stay in your list in the Play Store for quite a while after performing any of those actions. I gave one of my old Android phones a factory reset and then gave it to a relative a few months ago, they then registered it on their Play Store account, but it still showed in the list on my account for a few months afterwards (but I couldn't push apps to it from my account any more).
See also this previous question where an old device has been factory reset'd and still appears in the Play Store list: Deleting a device from the Google Play Store?


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Bug or feature? Android ignores DNS servers with IPv6 ULAs when in an isolated ULA network?
This has cost me some hours of finally tracking it down, but I would like to know if someone can please shed light on this issue?
Android 6 and 7 do not accept DNS servers with IPv6 ULA addresses. Using some diagnosis apps, I can see that Android does in fact learn the DNS server addresses from router advertisements. But after some seconds, Android deletes them. But it keeps any SLAACed ULAs. Unfortunately, without DNS, these devices are pretty much useless in IPv6 networks with ULAs.
(But see note below.)
In contrast, when using GUAs for the DNS server address, Android 6 happily learns and uses them.
Any reason why Android dislikes DNS servers with ULAs and only accepts "real" global addresses? Seems to take the meaning of "globalization" to a new level... ;)
Update 2: Android 7 in general does not accept ULAs, but instead considers such a network as not working and won't connect to it (tested with an Ethernet-wired Samsung Tab S7 running Android 7.0).
Update: Android 6.x actually can accept DNS server ULAs, but I'm seeing this only when the network interface not only has an ULA, but also a GUA assigned. No GUA, then DNS server ULA get rejected. Now that is strange. I've updated the title to reflect this finding.

Sounds like a bug to me. Unfortunately Android has been plagued with IPv6 bugs during its history.

I'm not sure that this is a bug, it looks like design: Google wants its devices to be connected, and IPv6 ULAs can (but necessarily is a safe sign) be a sign of an IT department running an island IPv6, NAPT or not, side by side with full IPv4 connectivity. So this rule ensures that Android devices leave such IT-borked environments.

Hm, I suppose that's possible.


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How safe is the android Lock Screen with password?
If your tablet got stolen, how probable is it, that the thief will retrieve data from your device if you have only the lock-screen with a 4-character password as protection?
Is it easy for a hacker to get past that? Or can I lean back and be sure, that stored passwords in Firefox etc. cannot be retrieved?

I had a Galaxy Tab v10.1 GT-7500 that got stolen yesterday ;/

I wanted to know, so I tried entering my password incorrectly repeatedly. (Motorola Droid 3 - Android 2.3.4)
After 5, 10, and 15 attempts I was given a 30 second "cool down" where I could not try again.
On the 15th attempt I was informed that if I entered my password incorrectly 5 more times I would be forced to re-sign in with my Google Account.
So after 20 failed attempts, you can no longer try to enter a password - you must sign in with your Google Credentials.
I would say you are reasonably secure from a brute-force password log in at the password screen.
This does not take into account any other methods - just attempting to brute force.
This answer may address methods that could be used to bypass the lock screen.
To specifically address your concern about Firefox for Android's stored passwords - you can disable Firefox Sync on a lost tablet (Mozilla's Instructions) by changing your sync password. Mozilla also suggests changing all of your passwords after it.

So it seems, there are some phones out with vulnerabilities to some hacks. But I couldn't find out, if my Galaxy Tab v10.1 GT-7500?

A lot of the bypass methods require your device to be rooted, or have USB debugging enabled - or to have access to your Google Account. If you weren't rooted, or had USB debugging enabled you can be reasonably assured of your security. The other exploits involve receiving a phone call.

I had a phone card in there, but it only works for SMS; And it was not rooted.; The Mozilla suggestion only disables future passwords to be transferred to the stolen device. Passwords already in there are not deleted, if you change the sync password. So my main concern is that the thief gets access to my passwords already stored in Firefox

That is why Mozilla suggests to change all of your passwords after changing the master sync password. The passwords present become outdated and useless.

I couldn't change them all. I have about 500 passwords in my password manager! Not so many important ones though, but still: they should not be revealed to the thief. But that's all off-topic. The thing is: I still wonder if it will be possible for the thief to see them or not.


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May 2013 Gmail app update: "Reply as" multiple accounts gone? (Android 4.2.2)
I have two gmail accounts hooked up to my Samsung S4. When I go into the Gmail app and compose an email, I'm given the choice to send as any email address associated with either account. It used to be that I could reply to any email from any address as well.  So for example, if someone sends something to my work address I could reply to them from my personal address just by selecting the account from the pull down at the top.
Now it looks like I can only reply, reply all, or forward an email from any email address associated with that one account.  So I can only reply from my work addresses if the email was sent to a work address; I can only reply from my personal addresses if the original email was sent to one of my personal addresses.
This seems like a major loss of functionality!  Especially when Android will "share" from the last email account touched, it seems important to be able to quickly select which address to reply from / send from.
Can anyone explain this behavior?  Is this a problem for anyone else?  Is there a way around this?  Thanks!

It seems like you only do that on iOS and desktop according to their help page.


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Tablet not connected to N wifi
I have bought a cheap tablet, and it was not able to connect to my N-only wifi. When I set it to NG or G, it connected fine. So I took it back to the shop and had it replaced. The new one has the same problem. I have tried several channels and even disabled the encryption on the router, nothing helped.
The interesting part is, I asked my neighbour to change his network to N-only, and the tablet connected to that one.
Both of us have TP-Link routers, mine with DD-WRT, his with stock rom. 3 other android devices and a Win7 laptop connects to my N-only wifi without problems.
G is fine for browsing, but not enough for streaming.
Any suggestions?

Have you configured the N-only network to use only the 5GHz bands? It may be that your device only supports the 2.4GHz bands.

The router is not capable of 5GHz. Can it happen, that the tablet only knows 5GHz?

No, since then it wouldn't connect to G-networks either.

How do I know if a phone knows 5GHz?

Do you have an XBox?

No, I have to wired Win7 computers, 3 phones, and 1 tablet. The laptop usually stays at work.


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Lock-screen information lost calls etc
At my company we use Sophos MDM solution, witch forces all user to set a PIN on their lock screen. I use a Samsung S3 (android 4.1.2) and the lock screen is only a huge numeric key pad. The oterones using iPhone can have their phone to show lost cals, incoming mail, sms etc as a banner on the lock screen.
Is it possible to have the same features on my Samsung device? Is it possible to customize the lock screen?
Have tried to download some apps, like GO Locker, but they appear before or after my lock screen so it doesn’t work as intended

Dashclock widget is an amazing app to let you view missed calls or notifications right from your lock screen for Android 4.2 and up. Since you're still on Android 4.1.2, install WidgetLocker lock screen and use it.


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removing account with 2 emails
my primary email address in my google account was not gmail.
I used this google account in my android device for a while.
Then, I started using Gmail and it became my primary address (my former email address is still in the account, but its not anymore the primary email in it anymore).
I want to remove my former email address from the account & sync, but it says: "Removing this account will delete all of its messages, contacts, and other data from the phone!".
will my personal messaging and contacts be deleted? or it means they will just be deleted from the cloud? after all, its the same google account with different emails (the primary and my former). what will happen to the apps? are they going to be deleted too?
hope I was clear enough...
Thank you!

The first account you enter when you set up your phone can not be removed without resetting the whole phone.
If you do this you won't lose any cloud data but all locally installed apps and their data, eg. not your emails (cloud data) but for example sent/received SMSes (and all other locally stored data).


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Samsung Galaxy S3 suddenly crashing everyday
Samsung Galaxy S3
GT-I9300
Android 4.1.2
Baseband I9300XELK1
Kernel Version 3.0.31-764725
Build Number JZO54K.I9300XXELCC
NOT rooted
For the past couple of weeks this device has suddenly started to crash at least once a day

While using an app it would freeze
After no usage for some time, phone would go on standby and will refuse to wake up.
Sometimes it would reboot by itself

Have to hold down power button and restart the device. What should I do? Thank you

What type of apps that cause it to freeze?

Can't tell. Any app could cause it. I'm on stock browser and Flipboard the most so those are where I see it happen the most. But I've encountered it when using Facebook, etc @Jack

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


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Do manufacturers write the drivers for their new Android runned devices?
You notice Samsung Galaxy S4 is different than MetroPCS Z500.
Does the manufactuer update the drivers depending on the hardware their Android OS is tweaked. For, I.e., different support drivers. This question doesn't concern policy, but the software Android runs on different running platforms with different hardware.
For example extra hardware must be mapped diferently to access, so new Linix drivers must be written right?

Short answer: yes.
In fact, it's a little more complicated than that. The device manufacturer or OEM buys different components (chips and sensors) from other manufacturers. Some of those components (such as the SoC or chipset) in turn contain hardware designed by other companies. For example, an LG phone might contain a SoC manufactured by Qualcomm, which in turn contains a GPU designed by ARM.
Just like how the hardware contains components from different vendors, so does the software. In the example, when ARM licenses (sells) the GPU design to Qualcomm, they also supply the source code for a reference driver for the GPU design. (They'd include source for whatever platforms Qualcomm is interested in, including Android.) Qualcomm would adjust all the parameters of the driver (such as the memory map, which you mentioned) for their SoC, and put it together with drivers for all the other components of the SoC.
Then, when LG buys the SoC from Qualcomm, Qualcomm would supply this combined driver to LG. LG puts this together with the drivers for other parts of the phone (such as the touch screen), adds their UI customizations, and builds a ROM image that they can flash onto the phone during manufacture.
There's sometimes an extra step, too: the carrier might change the ROM to include more pre-installed apps, a different boot animation, or other customizations.
So, although in general each component manufacturer or designer is responsible for the driver for their own components, that driver is changed further down the line.

That's what usually delays an Android update being rolled out to the end user's device: Even if the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) announced a new Android version being available two months ago, it's still only available to Nexus users (their drivers etc. are included with AOSP) -- while OEMs first need to adjust their drivers, and test how that goes along with the new Android version. For some devices, they might even decide it's not worth it, and not adjusting the new version.
The same applies once more to vendors/carriers shipping branded devices: they first need to wait for the manufacturers to finish their adjustments, and only then can start adjusting the branding (and testing their adjustments again). Another delay. But now you might uderstand why some carriers proudly announce a 4.0.x update to some devices, while 4.2 is long available and even 4.3 already knocking at the door.

KLP rumoured to be happening, after 4.3.... :D

Yes, for October  :)


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Strange Issue(Auto Touch) with Touch on HTC Desire X. Has anyone experienced this?
I have got a HTC Desire X about 3 months ago. I've quite enjoyed the features it comes with. For the past week or so, I have been facing with this strange issue. The touch screen acts as if it is being touched even when I am not touching the screen.
First, I couldn't understand what was happening as calls were getting disconnected or answered automatically. Then, I turned the Show visual Feedback for touches from the developer options in settings. I could now clearly see the screen is detecting a touch on its own.
I Factory resetted the device from the settings and from Bootloader as well. It works fine for a couple of days without any issues. But, the issue comes back.
Please help me with this issues.
Thanks in advance.
TLDR: Touchscreen touches automatically. Factory reset resolves the issue, but only for some time(2 days at max, an hour at min).

You might want to check Android phone taps touchscreen on its own, the problem sounds quite similar :)

I think this may be a design flaw in the hardware. My friend has an HTC one with the same problem. He can temporarily alleviate the problem by twisting the top and bottom of the phone in opposite directions. Be careful not to damage the handset though, as I'd recommend getting it swapped on warranty.

I had this problem on my HTC Desire X, the phone would auto-answer calls as well. Took it to a service center, and they replaced the touch screen altogether. This is common in Desire X it seems, which makes this a poor manufacturing defect

I too had taken it to the service center, and they replaced the Touch Screen as well. I agree with you on the manufacturing defect.


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How to open android backup file (with .backup extension) on PC?
I created user data backup (with .backup file extension) on Philips W732 (Android 4.0.3) through service menu.
I need to open it on PC and modify (I created this backup before hard reset due to blocking by gesture key guard).
How can I accomplish this?

http://sourceforge.net/projects/adbextractor/

Excuse me, above software dont extract  a snapshot from android OS. i have same problem. have anyone a solution?


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VNC style connection over ADB?
Could I connect to a device over USB ADB, get a shell and then launch a VNC type graphical connection where I can use that device?
I have a android device at a customer remote premises and I want to flash a new rom then configure the device graphically, I have the flashing part covered but then I will need to be able to get the screen


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Why can't I access the files on my SD card?
I have a Motorola Droid Bionic which I recently updated to Android 4.1.2. Since the update, I can no longer access any of the files on the 32GB micro SD card I installed in the phone. I can view all the filenames and directories, but when I try to open any of the files, I am unable to.
Settings -> Storage tells me that the SD card is mounted at /storage/sdcard1
I had previously enabled "Memory card encryption" under Settings -> Security & Screen Lock -> Data encryption, and I believe this is likely the issue. I must have enabled this over a year ago, likely shortly around when I first got the phone.
I just noticed this issue a few days ago. I did the update last week. I am not sure if the update caused the issue, but it seems the likely cause because it's the only thing I have changed recently.
Trying to play music from the SD card (in three different players) displays the error "Could not play this track" for every song. Trying to view images on the card displays the message "Could not read file".
The phone is not rooted. I have a pin enabled which I need to enter when the phone boots and on the lock screen.
Why can't I access the files on my SD card, and what can I do to recover these files?

Are you still using password unlock with the same password you used before the update? Have you reenabled SD card encryption?

I am not using a password unlock. I don't believe I ever was. I might have enabled that when I first got my phone, but I am using a pin unlock now and have been for as long as I can remember. I was using a pin unlock last time I was able to access the SD card files.

I disabled and re-enabled SD card encryption with no effect.


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Notifications are very delayed on android - but only sometimes (apparently FIXED)
I searched for my problem but what I found either wasn't answered or was very old response and maybe things have changed since then...
I just got a Samsung Galaxy S8 and it's amazing, but maybe since yesterday notifications are a bit slow. I just answered and email that I got an hour ago from my computer while my phone still didn't show the notification. I got some test messages and again, they showed up but only after I opened up gmail app and refreshed it.
What might help find the answer - right now I'm spending most of the time on my computer when I have gmail website opened (for hangouts) and thunderbird for emails. However the days before I was mostly outside with my laptop either turned off of inactive.
Btw, I had a similar issue with the old phone (also android) but I just blamed it being 4 years old and acting up.
So what could be the possible issue? Some kind of setting on my phone? Possible network changes? (I changed cities in those days, maybe the network here sucks and phone tries to use it instead of wifi... I'm just looking for options here). Or is it just the fact that I have gmail / thunderbird opened?
Thanks in advance.

You could try to exclude Gmail app from the battery optimization setting: Go to Settings → Battery (or Power Manager) → select Battery optimization → search for Gmail and set as not optimizing battery use. This process might be different on newer versions of Android, I am using Marshmallow (Android 6).
And also in the new version of Gmail has a feature for notifying only for important messages and maybe it's turned on.

I looked around with more settings and a lot of online research and eventually I found this link:
https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1075549?co=GENIE.Platform%3DiOS&hl=en
Apparently what I really had to do was go to
gmail app -> settings -> my account name
below notifications there's item "inbox - sound and vibration"
Turn "Notify about every message"
And that decreased the delay from hours (or never getting notifications) to 10 minutes maximum, with average time being 5 minutes.
I still don't know why this option would be off by default, seems like a very important thing. I am posting this in case someone else will have this problem.


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Xiaomi. Unable to allow app run in background [solved]
I accidently disabled play market run in background. As result when display is turning off play market stop upgrade apps in background. I'm trying to enable again. But there no play market in list.
Upd 1.
Yes, it's Google play store. I has another locale and trying to translate in English all names :)
I followed next way:
Permissions / Other Permissions / There no play store here
Here are screenshots:

Upd 2.
Two more screenshots:

By play market you mean Google play store? Or another market?

in what list? add a screenshot if it helps to describe what you're seeing

I've updated my post

One more update

You could try uninstalling Google play store and then re-install it (you can also side-load it).
Sometimes this application comes as a system-core application and thus can't easily be uninstalled and the only option is unistalling the updates. In that scenario go for the latter option.

(This workaround is what solved the OP's problem )

Thanks for your response, but nothing helped me. Let's walk through all points. 1) don't have dev options at all. 2) the only advice which logically could help. However my phone is ignoring it, or the issue is referring to sth else. 3) don't have such notify option. And how it can help? 4) locked app, but also didn't help. 5) as I can see, it's the same as 2. 6) also dunno how it can refer to my issue. Anyway thanks for spent time on writing post

Sorry couldn't help resolve this issue, but how about unistalling Google playstore, then sideload it again?

Looks like my current OS doesn't allow me to do that. Maybe I don't know how to do that, but inside settings if I choose Play Store there is the only option to remove all updates. I tried to do that and it helped me! Magic, no less... Please update your post with suggesting to remove (and maybe as an option, remove updates), from my side I flag it as accepted.

Phew that's great!,  I updated post :)


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Notifications barely appearing (Nexus 6P)
I have been having this problem in which some apps (examples would be Business Calendar 2 and Telegram) don't show notification properly. The do appear, but only for a split second and then immidiately disappear, without even making a sound. It's a problem with these apps because the way I use them notifications are pretty important to me.
I've been reading a bit and managed to figure out that it might be either an issue with the android version (which I don't believe it is, since it's the latest version and I haven't heard the same problem from any of my friends), or a specific app that prevents other apps from showing notifications. Is there any known app that does that? Or is there another possible cause for the symptoms?
Any ideas for a fix would be great, thanks

@beeshyams 1. It isn't rooted 2. I'm pretty much looking for a fix, but it would be interesting to know the reason for this issue

Lol, sorry - I meant the post ^-^'

If I do fix it, I will self answer, of course

Ok here's my approach. Using automation app Macrodroid. Download and give it all permissions it asks for . Set up Trigger: Notification Received > select app ; Action: display Notification select from the ... button (s) what you want displayed along with a different notification sound. You will now get a message on your notification bar that you have a notification from that app. Go to app and check

I figured up the "problem" - Clean Master had the notification cleaner turned on. I just had to turn it off, and everything is back to normal now.

It might be useful to read this latest (2018/11/26) Android Central blog report about "Clean Master" and its ad-click actions.


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Odin and ChainFire on Samsung Galaxy S III
I am using Odin and ChainFire on Samsung Galaxy S III i9300 to root it.
This device is bootloader-unlocked and can be rooted with Odin and ChainFire.
Could someone please explain in greater detail what the rooting procedure
does to the system files, ie., which files are changed and how these
files can be restored back to normal if needed? Also, how does a
root app exploit the fact that the smartphone is rooted? Of course,
it runs as root, but how does it tell the OS it is going to run as
root?
Thanks.

Rooting will add a few files to your system and will most likely remove the startup process that resets your recovery back to stock. The files it will usually add is the su binary, which is what will actually elevate your privileges, busybox, which will give you some basic command prompt commands, and a super user app, (usually either Superuser or SuperSU). Most stock ROMs have a file that is run during the bootup process that will reflash the stock recovery on every boot (for security). Most rooting processes will remove/rename/change this file to prevent your custom recovery from being overwritten.
Most rooting processes have easy ways to unroot. But essentially, you would just remove the files that it added and then flash your stock recovery back on the device. Many toolkits have an easy unroot option.
As to how an app can use root... when an app attempts to use the su binary, Superuser or SuperSU steps in and pops up a dialog asking you for permission to allow this app root access. You can approve or deny it and there is usually a checkbox asking if you want the Superuser/SuperSU app to remember your choice. An app is not able to get elevated privileges without you approving it through the Superuser/SuperSU app.


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Battery percentage going down while charging!
(device: Samsung Galaxy S 3)
I've just witnessed something rather strange: while tethering to my laptop, with the phone being plugged in a power source (the charger I got with the device) - the battery percentage started going down.
Now, I'm in an area where the signal is pretty bad, and my phone is constantly switching between 3G and some H+ network. It's normal for the battery life to suck.
However, isn't the phone supposed to power itself directly from the charger?
I thought that the charger was both powering the phone and recharging the battery.
Now it seems that the battery is powering the phone - while the charger is only recharging the battery (and failing).
Is this correct?
Even more importantly: will this hurt my battery?
And another question: could I simply take my battery out and keep the phone alive only on the charger (e.g. this is possible with a laptop)?

I've seen this. Phone plugged in to car charger; screen on and navigation running. It's also been brought up before. I'll see if I can find the duplicate.

See this related question for your last question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23755/is-it-ok-to-swap-batteries-while-phone-is-connected-to-wall-charger/23759#23759

It's definitely a duplicate of the other question. Through USB, it can't pull as much power as through a wall USB, so when using power-intensive applications, it will drain. Some phones will not run with the battery out, and if it's draining faster than charging, it will probably just die with the battery out while plugged in

If the above questions don't seem applicable to your situation then you could try restarting my phone.  There have been a couple times where it doesn't seem like my phone is charging and after a reboot it does.

@SSumner even when plugged into a wall charger, this could easily happen (see my answer here). A wall-charger usually delivers up to 2A; tethering + download + screen on easily comes to the same power consumption.

@Izzy - true, it's just more likely to drain if plugged into USB


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Where to download new Google Play Game service from Google I/O 13
At Google I/O, Google announced Androids new Google Play game service. From what I remember and from what I've been reading online, it has already been released. Though, I haven't seen it on the Google Play store.
Is this something that exclusive to certain devices?
I have a rooted S3 if that matters.

End users don't need to install anything from their side. Google Play Services APK in your device would have already been updated to support Gaming (You can manually install/update Google Play Services framework if something's wrong). Just find a game which uses Game Services API and enjoy!

The new game features announced at I/O 2013 are enhancements to Google Play Services. Google Play Services is a framework that allows app developers to take advantage of standardized Google services like Maps, Google+, and the new Game services. It's up to app developers to implement changes and new features to these services, so you'll need a current version of Google Play Services and applications that take advance of the new stuff (Riptide GP was advertised as an app taking advantage of the new cloud save and achievement services, for example). Google Play Services is updated automatically in the background and is normally installed on Android devices by default (if they're allowed access to the Play Store by Google; your S3, in its stock configuration, is). If for some reason you're missing it, though, you can download it from the Play Store here.

While the Games Services are a background service that comes as part of the standard Google Services, Google have recently released a new Google Play Games app that centralizes your list of games into one launcher and (for games that support the new Game Services) also shows and syncs achievements between devices.


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disabling sms content and just seeing name on the lockscreen
I have an htc one. Is there a way to disable the sms content in lockscreen and just see the name, without using any other application?

I do not have an HTC One, but I use Go SMS Pro which is a third party SMS/MMS app that has a easy setting in there to only show a "New Message" notification instead of actually showing the message's contents. You said you didn't want another application, so you might be able to look through the settings of the default messaging app on the One and see if there is something similar.
If not, I highly recommend Go SMS Pro to solve this issue and several others.


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How to find a stolen android phone without internet connectivity?
Is there any app which could send me a text for the new sim and the number and with the help of the number can i send a text back to perform some remote locking features.
The point is when the phone is stolen and the thief has not switched on internet connectivity.
Are there any apps in Android market which could give some clue even then ?

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts, Rameez! Having used the lost-phone tag (which of course perfectly fits), have you consulted its tag-wiki? It contains some first-aid which most likely already answers your question. If not, come back here, edit your question, and explain what you checked and where you're stuck.

Prey uses SMS messages for its control mechanism, but I don't think that's going to help you if there's a new SIM in the phone.

@AlE.: Actually it might , I have McAfee Wave Secure , which will immediately send sms with the no  inserted in sim . If you can control the mobile through SMS , then the duo combination can actually work , rite?


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How to uninstall revolutionary rooting tool from Android devices
i have different android devices and all are rooted with the help of revolutionary tool, now i want to remove revolutionary tool from my device is there anyway so that remove all those tool which are installed on my devices ?

What exact devices are these?  The procedure for removing the s-off varies.

i want to remove it from htc desire

To re-S-ON an HTC Desire, you will need the following

USB cable
Fastboot drivers installed, available here.
Android flasher and appropriate HBOOT images available here.
Optionally, an appropriate stock RUU, available here.  Either select the one for your carrier or use the RUU_Bravo_HTC_WWE_1.21.405.2_Radio_32.36.00.28U_4. 06.00.02_2_release_126984_signed.exe one.

Ok, now that you have your tools, now for the actual doing.

Extract all the files in the revert to stock zip.
Turn on USB debugging and plug in phone.
Either use the "click this.bat" file or run fastboot flash hboot engHBOOToverARX.img from a command prompt in the folder where you extracted the the revert to stock files.
Shutdown phone and power it back up holding the volume down button, then select fastboot.  It should show you as S-OFF and using HBOOT 6.98.2000
Fire up android flasher and select to flash the hboot.img file
Restart phone again.  You should now be S-ON.
Optionally, run the RUU downloaded above.  This will put your phone back in completely stock condition, perfect for warranty claims, etc.


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Is there a special boot mode to boot into a system with root access (on Galaxy S)?
What if the Samsung Galaxy S I've got has already been rooted?..
Is there perhaps a special boot mode which would boot into the system with root access?
Or normally, a "rooted" device always boots the system with complete root access?

There isn't a special boot for rooted devices AFAIK. Any rooted device necessarily boots with complete root access.

That's correct. Hover your mouse over the "root" tag chosen, and click the "info" link revealed in the popup. This will bring you to the root tag-wiki, where you can find further details. (Remember this trick for other tags, too :)

If you want root access on a production phone, then you are going to have to use a root kit. There are a ton of benefits to having a rooted device, but there are also risks. Some devices are now coming out with the ability to run an app in root mode with user permission.
MY WORD OF CAUTION:
Attempting to root your device without proper knowledge will render it completely useless except for holding down your papers on a windy day. Make sure to do all instructions exactly and only flash your phone with builds that are meant to go with your specific device!
Best of luck!


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Can Samsung tell if my galaxy s3 is rooted if the phone doesn't turn on anymore?
My Galaxy s3 suffered from what seems to be the "sudden death syndrome". It had been turning off once in a while and wouldn't turn back on unless I removed and the battery and put it back in. But the last time it turned off it would not turn back on. When I connect my phone to the PC, the PC will make a sound recognizing the device has been connected but does not read it. When charging the phone to a wall socket, nothing happens. But if I remove the battery and connect it to either the outlet or the PC, the red led goes on. The battery isn't the problem though because I tried a different galaxy s3 battery and it did not work. I sent my phone to Samsung for repair under warranty but my question is whether they will be able to tell if the device is rooted despite the phone not turning on at all. Thanks a lot for the help!

Thanks for answering. I'm not worried about any legal problems though, I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again! Oh!..and I live in Canada.

If you can connect to the device from a PC then they will most likely be able to tell. It might not matter though because they might not look for that and unless they intentionally look to see if its rooted they will not know. Also like @Poldie said they might not legally be able to do anything about it depending on where you live.

Thanks for answering. I'm not worried about any legal problems though, I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again! Oh!..and I live in Canada.

They will know probably after they fix it. If you rooted it and used a different firmware on the device they can recognize the changes from it's previous memory.

Thanks for answering.I'm worried about Samsung wanting to charge me for fixing it since rooting voids your warranty. I was wondering if, since the phone is dead and CANNOT connect to a PC, if they would just change the motherboard, instead of fixing it, and any trace of rooting would get lost with it (rooting is done in the motherboard right?). I'm rooted but running stock. Thanks again!

Rooting is done by the internal memory of the device. The only thing you should hope for is that their procedure requires an internal memory wipe. You can respond here after you get your device back.

Ok, I'll let you know!


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How can I prevent an app being uninstalled from the Play Store?
In our organisation, we are providing Android tablets to some users. There is an app we have installed on the devices that we don't want users to be able to remove.
I have searched for "app lock" in the Play Store, and tried the various 'app lockers' which password protect the apps I choose.
If I then use the Android menu to try to uninstall an app that I have protected with the app locker app, it prompts for a password - which is good.
But, if I go into the Play store app and try to uninstall through there, it removes it straight. And I don't want to password protect the Play store. Is there any way to prevent uninstallation of certain apps in a foolproof way?

Even if you disable the Play Store, if debugging is enabled on the device, adb uninstall the.interesting.app will still remove the app.

Or maybe treat your users like adults and just tell them, "Don't uninstall this," and trust your fellow coworkers instead of trying to come up with "clever" technological solutions to a policy problem?

@GregBair I definitely agree with your approach. And you're right in putting it in a comment as opposed to an answer.

One way to achieve what you want would include the following steps:

(temporarily) rooting the device
converting the app in question into a system app (e.g. using Titanium Backup ★ root, but there are also other apps helping you with this step)
unroot the device again

As the app now resides in read-only space (/system), the user cannot delete it without either rooting the device or flashing a ROM -- which of course could be done, but it's a higher inhibition threshold at least.

Is the app developed by your organisation?
If you can control the source code of the app, you may prevent users accidentally uninstalling your app with the help of DevicePolicyManager. The advantage is that you don't need to convert the app in every tablet to be an system app. Once the app is installed from Google Play, it can not be uninstalled unless users disable the DevicePolicyManager in security settings.
If you can't change the app, then convertit to a system app. Because there are many devices to handle, you should write a script to do the job.
In both ways, if the users really want to uninstall your app, they can always find a way. So make sure your user do not hate your app.

Izzy's method works just fine, but if you don't want to temporarily root your device(s), you could make an update script which copies your app to the root of the device, so that it's been recognised as a stock app.
Take a look at the following tutorial:
http://www.londatiga.net/it/how-to-create-android-update-zip-package/

This might work for some, but in many cases requires a custom recovery to be installed. I played with this in the past, and several devices did not accept the update.zip as it was not signed with the manufacturer's key (which you cannot do as you don't have it). If this were not the case, rooting would be quite easy, as one could simply push the required files to the /system partition this way :)


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Why are Google Talk notifications at a low volume?
When I am chatting with someone in Google Talk and I receive a message, the notification sound is played at a very low volume, low enough that I have some difficulty hearing it.
But if I receive a message in Google Talk while the application isn't open, the notification sound is at full volume.
I have notification volume cranked up to maximum in Android's settings, and Google Talk doesn't seem to have a separate setting for this that I've been able to locate.
How do I get my notifications to be played at full volume in Google Talk?
The device is a Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX with Jelly Bean 4.1.2.

When you are chatting with someone, you already know that you are chatting. You can see messages as they come. You are already notified.
So Google Talk behaves intelligently and reduces notification volume. - thats for your answer
To get louder notification, the only way to fix this would be a Custom ROM with modified Google Talk app, where you can disable this feature.

Google talk notifications are not always at low volume. They are loud when the chat screen is either inactive or when phone screen is locked/turned off.
The only time when I see low notifications is when I am actually typing on the screen and the chat is active.
I am running Android 4.4 KitKat, so this might not be the case with other OS versions, otherwise, the logic given in the above answer seems true.

But if I receive a message in Google Talk while the application isn't
  open, the notification sound is at full volume

This is actually meaningful, isn't it?
Anyways, I have also used custom CM ROMs in the past, which has an app called DSP manager. Setting the EQ settings to a Treble high gave me better ringtones and notifications volume.