text:
"USB Storage damaged. It may need reformatting" error message in status bar
On rebooting my Samsung Galaxy S2 (running Villain ROM 3), I got an error in the status bar "USB Storage damaged. It may need reformatting". File managers like Astro fail to open the /mnt/sdcard folder.
Things I've tried so far:

Rebooting
Connecting via USB cable to PC in USB debugging mode (This brings up 2 drives, but they are not mounted)
Removing the external SD card and rebooting

Anyone encountered this issue before? Any suggestions?

Solved it myself after hours of Googling.
I really only needed to run error checking on the internal storage (CheckDisk) in Windows. Since I couldn't get Windows to mount the drive normally, I tried booting into ClockworkMod recovery mode and then connect USB.
Ran the error checking (Right click on drive, Properties, Tools, Error-checking), rebooted phone and voilà! Life is beautiful once again.

Awesome! Don't forget to "accept" this answer so that it can act as a signpost for future readers.

I had the same problem and I found a solution.
First, problem description:
I've connected the S2 to a PC and turned on the mass storage mode. After copying the files I've selected on the phone to disconnect from pc (without unplugging the device in windows - which may cause this problem). After that I found out that both memories (sd card and 16gb usb memory) are damaged.
Solution: I have connected the phone to a pc, choose to turn on the mass storage mode. Windows found the drives but they are empty (unmounted). I selected on the phone disconnect from pc and this time I have unplugged the cards from Windows. After this my phone found the memories and start working again. I think it is a system glitch which hangs the card somewhere between mass storage mode and direct access to them.


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How to tether lg optimus v without rooting
I am trying to create a wifi access point (hotspot) from my virgin mobile Optimus v to provide internet access.
It looks like there are several options if I root it but I'd rather not root it.
Bluetooth would be an acceptable alternative.

possible duplicate of How do I share my wifi with my ipod or netbook

Found a few options. The easiest seems to be :
QuickSettings (free, works on an unrooted Droid, including Optimus V, reviewed here.).  It did reveal the Wifi Hotspot setting so I could turn it on, but it didn't work. After more investigation this seems to be a limitation of Virgin Mobile (not allowing Tethering).
k

ClockworkMod Tether works for sharing your phone's connection with a PC, even if your carrier blocks tethering, without root.

You can use PDANet to do Bluetooth tethering.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Why isn't the name of my device changing?
I changed the name of my new Kindle Fire within my Amazon account by going to Manage My Kindle -> Manage My Devices. Everything seems to have gone fine on the account side, but the upper left hand corner of my Fire still just says "Abby's Kindle". Lamest name ever. It's been about 24 hours since I made the change in my account. Why hasn't it changed? What step am I missing?

Have you tried hitting the "sync" button in the status bar menu? Allegedly that can help (source: http://androidadvices.com/change-kindle-fire-device/#axzz1hwM4JV2R).

If you haven't tried this yet, I think you should try syncing your device. To sync the device, you tap on the settings button on the top right and select sync.

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


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Wifi sleep policy not working
I tried some stuff I found about sleep policy. I obviously tried setting it to Never, I tried the Wi-Fi keep alive app, it doesn't seem to work.
When I let the phone lie for a few minutes and then wake it, the wifi icon is grey and i cannot connect to anything right away, I have to wait till it turns green. This also messes up my GTalk, plenty of times i found out someone wrote to me only by manually opening the Talk app and waiting for it to sync (there was the red unconnected line at the bottom).
How do I fix this?
I have Nexus S, if that helps.
Thank you

possible duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/14162/how-can-i-prevent-my-wifi-connection-from-being-killed

I read that question, but it didn't provide sufficient answer and I wasn't sure it's exactly what I mean, so I rather started a new one

I was frustrated for a long time with the same problem. An app called Wifi Fixer seems to have fixed it. Hope that helps you too.

Just an additional note... the problem went away with an OS upgrade, so Wifi Fixer is no longer needed, at least in my experience.


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How do you save a contact onto the home screen?
I can't figure out how to save a contact shortcut on the home screen for easy dialing (Ice Cream Sandwich on Galaxy Nexus).
Long-pressing on the home screen prompts me to choose a wallpaper. Long-pressing on a contact in the People app has no effect. I can't find any menu option to do it.
How do you do it?

Found it. There's a Direct dial widget you can add from the Applications/Widgets menu. When you select this, it prompts you to choose a contact.
There are also shortcut widgets for Direct message, Open contact, etc.

FYI, you should click the checkmark next to your self-answer to mark this as answered :)

I will do in 2 days as soon as I am able.

Oh - I didn't realize there was a time limit? My bad :P


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How can I copy to the clipboard on a stock phone?
This is something that has been frustrating me ever since I first did a fresh ROM installation on a smartphone.
I have an excessively complex password for my Google account. It would be impossible to type it into my phone by hand. Usually I would get it into my phone through QR code. But on a fresh installation, I have no QR code reader. I also can't install one, cause I can't access the market without my Google account.
So I put my password into a .txt file and put it in my phone. But when I try to open it, the application that is used can't copy text (like HTMLViewer on CM7) and no alternatives are available.

The key is not putting the password into the file, but make it the filename. Then you can rename the file in the file manager and copy the password through the rename dialog.

Alternatively, you copy the .apk for a (properly gotten) QR code reader to your device and install it through the file manager, as long as Settings -> Applications -> Unknown sources is checked.


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Does the official Google Plus Android client use HTTPS for automatic photo upload?
I'm at a conference using their (open) wifi.  Normally I don't bother to tunnel my connection because I figure anything I care about (email, banking, etc.) goes over SSL/HTTPS anyway.  It occurred to me, though, that my Plus client is set to automatically upload all my photos anytime it finds wifi.  Are those photos going "in the clear"?

There's nothing in the description for the app in the Market. It may not be using HTTP at all, for all we know. Unless one of the devs chimes in I don't know that anyone can answer this.

I have verified that Google+ version 2.4.1.271037 on Android 4.0.3 uses HTTPS for instant upload.
I did what @shambleh suggested and performed a network trace at my Internet gateway. Enabled instant upload, snapped a picture, and saw a bunch of traffic hitting Google servers (IP address 74.125.226.70, but remember this may change) on HTTP port 443. Using Wireshark, it's clear that the traffic is encrypted.

It is hard to tell which protocol is being used in the G+ app (especially since Google is trying out new protocols like SPDY lately).
This is by no means a guaranteed approach, but you may be able to take some steps to answer this one yourself using information from the SO post Monitor network activity in Android Phones.  They recommend using a tool called Shark for Root which seems to be like Wireshark for Android handsets.  Please note, that if you aren't very network savvy, the output may be difficult to interpret and will probably require an install of Wireshark on a PC to interpret.
Note: If I get a chance in the next few days, I'll try out this approach myself and update the answer.


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Date of ROM installation
Is there any way to know when I flashed my last custom ROM?
Atleast a smart way to find the approximate date/time using some logs deep down in my android would be good.

Try the following in Terminal Emulator or ADB shell:
su
ls -l /system/

The date stamps on the read-only files/directories are the time they were created, i.e. approximately when the ROM was installed.

Great answer. There's no need to issue the cmd "su". I issued only the second line without root access and it worked great.

For me, this indicated 2009, which is certainly incorrect. Nexus 5.

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


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How to install kitkat in oppo?
I bought a smartphone in China, is an OPPO r5, the smartphone has the following settings:

4 GB RAM
Android version: 4.4.2
Kernel version: eight core MT6592
Compilation number: MTK 6592
Personal compilation version: A3SE_AX_CHT_MTZ_4G_V1.1_20141105114604

But when I tap in the android version appears JellyBean Logo (weird because 4.4 is kitkat), when i restore the phone, apears with applications extra and uses 3GB of RAM (without applications starting, and due to this the phone is very slow). The question is if i can install a 'pure version' of kitkat or jellybean version (also a mod) so the smartphone will be faster?
Note: Ir has been checked with antutu and cpuz, is an oppo adn it has an octacore and 4GB ofrece RAM

Though I don't have an answer for you, XDA Developers has a great development community where you may find what you're looking for. Good luck!

But can answer could be possible show me Jellybean version if the version showed is 4.4.2?

There are a few things which don't sound quite right.

4GB RAM - The Oppo R5 has 2GB RAM build in.
"eight core MT6592" - R5 uses an Snapdragon SOC. MT6592 is an Mediatek SOC.
The Android version. It doesn't matter which version is shown in the system information. It's a simple edit in /system/build.prop. Everyone can write whatever they want.

With these things in mind I think you have bought a fake R5.
So can you change to Cyanogenmod? No. By installing the cyanogenmod for the official R5 you might brick your device as the kernel is not fitting your hardware.
Link to the official product page of the R5

It's an original OPPO (the startup) and it has 4GB (check it with CPUz), it's clear it could be a fake r5. Is it possible install it kitkat or not?

Well I don't think it is possible just by the fact that I can't tell for sure if you have an original Oppo R5. The hardware differs alot so I think its a  fake phone. Because of this you won't be able to find a rom for your specific device so again, no, you can't install kitkat.
What you CAN do is to make a benchmark (antutu benchmark in the playstore) and give us your test result. That way we can have a look at the actual performance and it might be easier to tell if it is fake.

+1 Good thing. You can add the official link to support your claim. Here it is. // @fsalazar_sch See the official link. If things differ, then you would have the answer right in front of you.


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A rather complex wifi issue (android tablet)
Straight to the point. My wifi has not been working properly since after a few days after upgrading its firmware and android version.
Issue description
The issue is rather inconsistent. Wifi will usually not detect any networks. Sometimes it will spend around 30 seconds scanning, and then it will show available networks for around 10 seconds, after which the networks disappear from the list. Trying to connect in this span of time does nothing, that is, when I tap on the network and then choose "connect", I get bumped back on the network list as if nothing had happened. Other times, attempting to connect a network makes all networks disappear instantly. In this case, the networks come back after a few seconds, and the network I was trying to connect to appears as "connecting", but all networks disappear shortly after this. Occasionally, wifi will get stuck while turning on, but this usually happens after/while I'm tinkering permissions.
I must remark, this happens on every network, it is not a router-related issue. I also ruled out a hardware issue, since I am able to briefly detect networks, but I am not able to connect to them.
Origin of the issue
The issue started after a few days after I updated my tablet's ROM, using the official software released by the developer, and after rooting the tablet. The odd thing is that the wifi worked just fine for a few days after I upgraded the software. While this could be the origin of this problem, it could come from a different source. By all means do read the "Other (weird) information"
Fixes I have tried

Changing wifi settings (changing advance settings, changing device name in wifi direct's settings, etc.)
Factory reset (issue persisted even before I rooted the device again)
Editing permissions of every file inside the dhcpcd folder, using the app X-plore (with root permission), as well as other files inside the "permission" folder (all the ones that have the "wifi" name on them).
Various "Wifi fixer" apps.
MAC changer apps (to change my MAC address)
Wiping cache partition

Fixes I have not tried

Installing another ROM (I am unable to do that, because there are no other ROMs compatible for my device, not even custom ones)
Rolling back my android version (from 4.4.2 to 4.2)

Other (weird) information

Mac Address oddities

My MAC address changed after a few days, just when the issue begun. I am not sure if this is related, but I'll explain it anyway: My girlfriend's ISP is a local small company (owned by 1-3 people) which requires you to send them your MAC address so they can... whitelist your device? If you do not send them your MAC address, you can connect to the network, but with limited access (only their webpage). This seems odd to me because the network itself is private (that is, it has its own password, like any private network) but you are still required to send the MAC address of every device you want to connect to your network.
When I went to her house and I tried to connect after I had upgraded my ROM, I got limited access, despite having already sent my tablet's MAC address many months ago. I checked my MAC address and I noticed it had changed to 00:90:4c:07:71:12. I messaged the ISP guy and sent him my new MAC. But I checked again, after a few minutes and my MAC was back to its old number. The MAC went back and forth from the new one to the old one a few times, and it finally stuck with the new one. The ISP "guy" said he would try to "remote access" to try and fix the issue (that is, my limited access to my GF's particular network).
After that, my tablet couldn't connect to any network, and the issue begun as I described above. I thought this unrelated to the issue, but I found some threads complaining about issues related to MACs that begin with 00:90:4c. Could this be the source of the problem?

Brief but stable conection

Last week, my tablet was able to connect normally to my university's network. It happened after I enabled the "mobile network" settings (Data enabled, Data roaming). I have no data service on this tablet, despite that, after checking those boxes I was able to connect like the issue had never existed. However, after disconnecting from that network the issue came back as if nothing happened. I have not been able to reproduce this, not by connecting to the same network, not by being in the same spot (so I would have the same wifi signal strength).

Wifi was on after factory reset

As it says, after reseting the tablet (and wiping the internal SD card, of course) the wifi was already on by default. Could this mean anything?
Device description and more information
It's an Onda v975s, with android kitkat 4.4.2, Firmware version v4.4_V1. Kernel version 3.3.0. Please, do ask for more information if needed.
I also have some logcats that point at wpa_supplicant.

wpa_supplicant: Could not set interface wlan0 flags (UP): Operation not permitted

You can find the full logcat here on Pastebin.
If you made it through this long post, I thank you. I just ran out of ideas, so I hope someone here is able to help me.

excellent question, very detailed, +1 from me. Can you add the logcat to Github Gist or pastebin? Including it here will make the quesion even longer IMO.

I also thought it would make the question too long. I uploaded the .txt contents: http://pastebin.com/C2Lfyy7T
Thanks for your time

+1 from me, too. Have you records of your "original MAC address"? The first 3 pairs at least? 00:90:4c is used by epigram, inc. If your new address points to a different company, that would be very strange (usually, a MAC address doesn't change – which is why it's used for network protection by MAC filters, to answer that part of your question). I had a comparable issue once, and it was related to incompatibilities of the newer ROM with the radio image of the phone, but no MAC change then.

Epigram... that's even odder, since I'm from Spain. How could that MAC change happen?  As for logs from before the ROM update, I unfortunately have none. What did you do to fix your issue? Do you think it could help my case?

More logs please, these logs will give a more detailed story of what issues your wifi is having.
Radio log: adb logcat -b radio -v time -d > logcat_radio.log
wifistate errors - fatals: adb logcat WifiStateMachine:E *:S -v long > wifi.txt
Kernel log: adb shell su -c dmesg > dmesg.txt

By looking at these two lines in logcat:
Could not set interface wlan0 flags (UP): Operation not permitted

WifiStateMachine: Driver start failed, retrying

I would say that the 4.4.2 ROM has a faulty/missing WiFi card driver (2nd line) without which you of course can't even start/scan/keep the WiFi connection (1st line).
As you have said, you haven't tried flashing it back to 4.2, but I strongly recommend to do so, at least to check if then the WiFi would work again.
If it then does work, that means the 4.4.2 ROM probably has faulty drivers or the permissions somehow changed so you don't have permission to turn WiFi on.
Depending on the outcome, you can either:

Try to contact your OEM for a fix in 4.4.2
Stay on 4.2 since you got no custom ROMs available
MAYBE try to transfer drivers somehow from 4.2 into 4.4.2

I wouldn't rely much on the last option because of compatibility and changes in Android between versions, and besides that, it would require a lot of technical skill and knowledge + it could lead to potential hardware damage.

Yes, rolling back to 4.2 does fix the issue. The OEM has released no fix, and contacting them only got me the "Soon TM" kind of answer. So I'm probably stuck with the 4.2 ROM... which also has some issues on its own.
Moral of the story, do not buy cheap tablets from crappy chinese companies.

Sorry for doubleposting. I am wondering... If there was a custom ROM for my device that featured those missing drivers (+ others I also need and are lacking) my problems would be solved. Of course there aren't any custom roms for my tablet model. But what IF I made that ROM myself? I suppose even considering this may be silly, since I have zero programming knowledge... but could I make a small "edit" to a preexisting compatible stock ROM to add those drivers/features that I want? It's not a complete makeover, but rather a small addition. Is that a task too big for a rookie like me?

Unfortunately I cant help u more in that manner because here things go to hardware level, which I am not very familiar with...

It seems that your EFS ( encrypting file system ) got corrupted. I can't tell why. But I have found to fix it. You can check these links -->

XDA
A blog

Could you also quote the content (like, how-to steps) from the article to preserve the content if the link is dead later?

I believe xda is not going to drop that link ever. Even if so, I can post steps here too. No probs at all.

I'm on vacation right now, but I'll try these as soon as I can, and I'll make you know if it works, thanks for the suggestion.


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Whatsapp Databases inside android device
Whatsapp is keeping some database files in internal memory, inside the folder /WhatsApp/Databases in the format "msgstore[date].db.crypt8".
Will my chat history be gone if I delete those files? Are these files important?
I am using an unrooted Xiaomi phone.
Please give more information about this.

Whether my chat history is got deleted, if I delete these files?. Is
  this files are important?

These are important files and If you delete these then your backups are gone.
These files are the Local backups of your WhatsApp and this local backup is run automatically every day at 2 AM and save your database in a file on the phone itself.

Your phone will store up to the last 7 days worth of local backup
  files, hence you are seeing the file names corresponding to the dates
  of last 7-days.

You can back up your chats and media to Google Drive, so if you switch Android phones or get a new one, your chats and media are safe. To use Google Drive, make sure the following is true:

Your device must be synced with Google Drive.
Your Google Drive account must have enough space for all of your WhatsApp data.
Your phone must have enough free space to create the backup.

Check FAQ of WhatsApp for more information.
Additional Note: If you delete these database files, your backups are gone. But the chat history in whatsapp itself remains untouched because the database is in still in use. So any chat data is still available for the user - just the backups are gone.

will the files get removed, If  I stored it to Google Drive?

Like you said - these files are for backup purposes. If you delete them your backups are gone. But the chat history in whatsapp itself remains untouched because the database is in use. So any chat data is still available for the user - just the backups are gone :P maybe you can clarify this and add it to your answer?

@RahulGopi You can check the details on FAQ Link I posted. It seems like back up is kept on local phone and on Google Drive, so they will not be removed. But as said in FAQ, Your phone will store up to the last 7 days worth of local backup files.


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How to get rid of performance suggestion on Samsung Devices
How do I get rid of this really annoying performance suggestion that pops up probably 50 times a day?

I've never seen a popup like that on any of my LP devices. What's bringing this notification(?) up? Maybe you just get rid of that?

how can I find that out? coz that icon is one I've never seen before and I thought it was CM security but even after removing that it still persists @Izzy

It should be long-pressing the notification to pop up a context menu or going straight to the app-details of the app behind it. On my LP devices that first "silences" the notification, but a.o. shows an ⓘ icon on it. Tapping that goes to the notification settings for the app, showing the app's name in the title bar.

If you are using Android version 5.0 or above you can always block notification of a app.
Long click on the notification you want to block, you will get a icon 'i' at right corner
Click on it and then select block all and we are done.

It seems like it was the Samsung Smart Manager that was sending these suggestions. I had to root the device using Kingo Root and then remove Smart Manager using Kingo Super Root.
This link also has a similar problem.

If you are using Android version 5.0 or above you can always block notification of a app. Long click on the notification you will get a icon 'i' at right corner click on it and then select block all and we are done.

that I didnt know of...


text:
Updates for Google Search, and Street View for Google Maps, listed but not able to be downloaded/installed
I have an LG ally that's just about a year old now, running 2.2.2. When I go to Market -> My Apps, there are two apps listed as "Not Installed" I'm having trouble with:

Google Search
Street View on Google Maps

(I have no interest in updating Facebook for Android, I luckily have an old, working version and I'm sticking with it.)
When I click on Google Search to download / install the update, the only button available  is "Open"; there is no "Install" button.

With Street View on Google Maps, there simply aren't any buttons at all!

If I didn't already install whatever these updates are, I'd like to install them. If I did already install them, I want them out of the "Not Installed" queue. How do I figure out which is the case? Is this a problem with my phone, or with the apps?

I've seen the same thing with different apps. Are you syncing to multiple accounts, per chance?

I've had the same problem with the new Market app a couple times now, the only solution I've found is to clear the Market data in Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications -> Market -> Clear data (and Clear cache if it isn't already 0.00B). Now after you reopen Market, it should show the correct updates.

+1, this did help somewhat; Google Search and Street View are now listed as installed, but Google Maps has now become listed as uninstalled. It has the "Open" button, but no "Install" button. I've tried doing the same trick again, and it doesn't seem to take effect anymore. Maybe I should try uninstalling all the updates to Google Maps from the "Manage Applications" part of the settings, then (hopefully) be able to reinstall them?

@ZevChonoles: I do the same thing as onik suggested plus force close Market. When I start Market again, I have to accept the EULA again, but everything has returned to normal.

@Dennis: I followed your suggestion, but it didn't work for me. I ended up uninstalling and reinstalling Google Maps, and now it's listed correctly, which puts an end to my problem. onik and Dennis, I appreciate your help.

I just created an account on here so I could upvote this answer.  That's been getting on my nerves for weeks.  Thanks!

They are the apps that comes with most of the phones. They must be installed in /system/app partition. You can't uninstall them without root. That's why no "uninstall" button.
The street view works with Google Maps, you can't open it directly. That's why no "open" button.
I don't have answer for why your system apps are not being able to update.


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Disappearing call logs later automatically it can be viewed....!
Am using Samsung note 3 neo from few day I am facing a problem in call logs whenever this is a missed call, dialed call or rejected call that will not show in call log for certain period later it will listed and show.. I have cleared all the cached files then also issue is presuming same. Please help !!

Need more details. What android version? When did it start happening (did it start happening after you did something specific)? Are you on stock rom?

Andriod Version : 4.4.2
Started from last 10-15 days back nothing specific i did
No idea about stock rom

Go to settings, then apps, scroll to show all apps, go down until you see a phone icon that says call and message log, force stop it and switch phone off, leave about 2 minutes and restart phone, should all be back in place, hope it helps


text:
"Connect USB Data Cable" message on fastboot screen preventing recovery/reset of Nexus 6
I have a Nexus 6 that doesn't boot after a failed Android M developer preview install (worked perfectly on my Nexus 5).
Booting into fastboot via power + volume down shows the device is unlocked but says "connect USB data cable". I believe "connect USB data cable" is the critical problem preventing any kind of recovery.
It is connected via the cable that I used to reboot it into fastboot successfully (and I've tried unplugging and re-plugging it in) so I think the cable is not the problem.
I'm guessing it's permanently bricked?

Have you tried using the Nexus Root Toolkit (yes, purists hate toolkits, but they're very handy in situations like this) and its functionality for reflashing stock Android even when it's bootlooped? It's very, very unlikely that the M preview could have killed your USB port. Also, the drivers may have changed. You'll want to check those, too. But NRT can help with that.

I did give that a go and it failed, but I did magically get it working (I think, phone is rebooting now, knock on wood) by rebooting my computer! Something was weird about the USB connection or maybe ADB/fastboot. Was able to reset to factory using this: http://www.androidrootz.com/2014/11/nexus-6-one-click-mac-toolkit.html

So the solution for me was to reboot my computer. Whatever the ADB/fastboot connection issue was went away after that. I definitely tried adb kill-server + adb start-server, tried switching USB cables and ports, etc. …rebooting was still the only thing that fixed it.


text:
How do I download a ROM from a Samsung Galaxy S3?
I have two identical Samsung Galaxy S3 (model GT-I9300), one running the stock rom and one running cyanogenmod. I want to download the rom from the one with the stock one and install it on the other one.
How do I download, with Odin or Heimdall, the rom from the stock S3?

You mean to take the Firmware (FW) out from the stock-FW phone and put it into the other one as-is? to have two identical-FW phones?
The confusion is in download/upload words, when you put the phone in bootloader mode it's saying "Download mode". From the phone's point of view, it's going to download stuff from PC.
If you want to take out the FW. It would be upload.
That's why it's safer to say flash and dump. Even though it's not really flashing.

It's somewhat possible to dump the FW, but there is usually no reason for doing so. Download the same version from the Internet and you'll end up with exactly the same system files as on other phones with the same FW version.
How to find specific firmware version on the Internet
On the stock-FW phone, go to Settings -> About Device -> Build number
and take a note of the second part of the number. It'll be something like I9300UBUGOD1
That also includes CSC version. Now search for this version on these two sites:
Samsung-Updates
SamMobile
or put it into Gugl, usually something cames out.
Flash it to target phone from PC using Odin. No root required.

To dump firmware from a phone
There could be a way to dump the phone without rooting, but no one knows how. We can only assume this possibility because there is a disabled option to Dump in Odin program. But I tried, as many others, with factory rooted phone, developer phone or one with unsecured test pre-release firmware version, the dump option is never available in the Odin program.
It's either just for some very special pre-release FW, or it was never implemented in the Odin software, or it was planned and never finished in phone's bootloader, because for no real usability perhaps? Or it must be activated by some special cable, or button combination presses.
Or it was put there by engineers in Korea just to taunt curious hackers.
I believe the latter, as even in new FW, if you dig in bootloader resources, you'll find a graphics showing green Android taunter with words "Upload mode".
So this is a known way to dump FW anyway:
Note that you'll need to root the stock-FW phone, to Dump it.
Firstly we need to find out which files we need to dump and then flash:
Open firmware's TAR or TAR.md5 file of any version of THE SAME model using 7zip and look inside. Note the names of files included.
Later you'll need to rename files you'll dump to the same names as those in this TAR. There is much more partitions that you can dump, than those you can flash. Files which are inside TAR should be enough to fully flash a phone, but not always all partitions are included, sometimes they leave bootoaders out.
In the list on the bottom I marked those which are never included by -
and those which I remember seeing in TAR files by +
Use that list to rename dumped files which you want to flash by Odin from Partition Name to Flash Filename, or get this list from your phone by following method. Be aware that you must not flash PIT and EFS, but you might dump it to have a backup.
To get a list out from your phone:

get Heimdall
connect phone
switch driver to libusb
in Heimdall - Utilities - Download PIT file
switch driver back by removing libusb in Windows Device Manager
alternatively download PIT from the Internet, but you'll need to trust whoever is posting it that it's not from another phone, version, or broken
go back in Heimdall
use printpit to print your PIT file
Note each entry which contains both: "Partition Name" and "Flash Filename"
EXCEPT PIT and EFS partition. Make a backup but DO NOT FLASH PIT or EFS from one phone to another.

Now we have a naming scheme, Partition Name is how the file with partition will be dumped, and Flash Filename how it should be re-named before flashing.
Note that some partitions are not documented and there is no knowledge outside of the factory of what are they for. They might be for storing specific phone's information, or calibration data calculated and flashed once in factory for each phone.
Flash only partitions you'll find in stock TAR files.
Those not-in-TAR-file should be flashed only as last resort, when you know that those on target phone has been damaged. And always backup them before flashing new ones over them.
Make this dumping step on both target and source phones. On target just to have an backup.

root the phone
flash custom recovery TWRP recomended, but not working well on some models
boot into recovery
plug on PC, use adb or qtADB to go to /dev/block/platform/folder_with_different_name_in_each_phone/by-name
dd or use qtADB to copy "files" except USERDATA from that folder to media partition, sdcard, or UFD using USB OTG

Next on PC (or check alternative below):

rename all files according to flash files naming scheme
if you add recovery partition dumped from the rooted source phone, it will change targed status to custom, making KNOX disabled, same as if you just rooted it. If you don't want that either include official recovery from the same version of stock FW, or if there is working partition in the phone just don't include recovery in the TAR flash
on a linux machine or in cygwin Tar those files into TARball using ustar mode
no need to md5 it, as you probably trust yourself that you won't damage the file. but if you must than md5 it and concat hash to the end of TAR, rename to TAR.MD5
flash in Odin, no root required

Alternatively, but only for rooted phones, you can use dd on target phone, or MobileOdin.

be very careful, you must NOT flash PIT and EFS partition, even though they are mentioned in PIT file. For each phone EFS contains specific data, some of which are encrypted using some serial number taken from the phone. So each efs only works in the one phone which it's designed for. By flashing it, you'll loose the original one, that's not easily recoverable.
also no need to care about recovery partition, as it's not stock partition but custom, from the rooting process.

I know the DUMP part of this guide is not extra descriptive, but each step would need a separate post. If you're completely lost in it, consider downloading ready FW from the Internet.

s3 FW list dumped using heimdall. Might change with different FW versions:
+
Partition Name: APNHLOS
Flash Filename: NON-HLOS.bin

+
Partition Name: MDM
Flash Filename: modem.bin

Partition Name: SBL1
Flash Filename: sbl1.mbn

Partition Name: SBL2
Flash Filename: sbl2.mbn

Partition Name: SBL3
Flash Filename: sbl3.mbn

+
Partition Name: ABOOT
Flash Filename: aboot.mbn

Partition Name: RPM
Flash Filename: rpm.mbn

+
Partition Name: TZ
Flash Filename: tz.mbn

-
Partition Name: MODEMST1
Flash Filename: nvrebuild1.bin

-
Partition Name: MODEMST2
Flash Filename: nvrebuild2.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS1
Flash Filename: m9kefs1.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS2
Flash Filename: m9kefs2.bin

-
Partition Name: M9KEFS3
Flash Filename: m9kefs3.bin

+
Partition Name: SYSTEM
Flash Filename: system.img.ext4

+ this is CSC, might be left out
Partition Name: CACHE
Flash Filename: cache.img.ext4

+ only sometimes
Partition Name: PARAM
Flash Filename: param.lfs

+
Partition Name: BOOT
Flash Filename: boot.img

+ but you can't Dumb stock recovery as to dump you need root, to get root recovery is usually overwriten
Partition Name: RECOVERY
Flash Filename: recovery.img

Partition Name: PERSDATA
Flash Filename: persdata.img.ext4

+ but contains only crapware, version is connected with CSC
Partition Name: HIDDEN
Flash Filename: hidden.img.ext4

Partition Name: CARRIER
Flash Filename: carrier.img.ext4

- this is /data and INTERNAL STORAGE, aka sdcard, do not dump it's HUGE and there is no reason
Partition Name: USERDATA
Flash Filename: userdata.img.ext4

Partition Name: PGPT
Flash Filename: pgpt.img

- it is included sometimes but to change layout, NEVER FLASH IT might hard brick phone
Partition Name: PIT
Flash Filename: MSM8960.pit

+
Partition Name: MD5
Flash Filename: md5.img

Partition Name: SGPT
Flash Filename: sgpt.img

Depends on what sort of rom you download.
CASE 1: Stock ROM
If you download stock rom (like from Sammobile) then yes, you will need odin to flash it.
NOTE: There is an app called Mobile ODIN (pro version on play store), its the exact odin but it wont need pc. Since your phone is already rooted (you want to install rom on phone running CM right?), you can also try flashing using that. I always flash kernels in case they aren't in zip format using mobile odin. But, warning: I have never tested ROM flashing using mobile odin. Theoretically, it should work since thats the reason it was made. But I am unsure of success and consequences. Proceed at your own risk.

CASE 2: Custom ROM
It would be likely in .zip format. You cant flash that using odin. Now the real trick here is to get it into phone in which you need to install new rom.
Further possiblities:

Possibility 1: Your phone is in bootloop or any such state where it doesn't start.

In that case, get into recovery using volume up+power+home key combination (for phone where you need to install new rom). Set up ADB on your pc.
Transfer the rom file from your stock rom phone to pc.
Connect your phone to PC in which you want to install new rom after booting the phone into recovery.
Open cmd and enter this command->
adb push PathToRomAndFileName.zip /sdcard/

This will push the rom file to your phone, you can flash it using recovery the normal way.

Possibility 2: There is no bootloop, things work normally:

Just download rom to your phone with stock rom, transfer it to your phone in which you want to install it using bluetooth or whatever method you prefer. Go into recovery and flash it normal way.

Easiest Universal Method (whether its bootloop or not, needs external sdcard):
Download rom in your phone with stock rom.
Put in memory card and transfer rom to that.
Now eject memory card and put it in phone where you want to install the rom.
Boot to recovery and install the rom from external sdcard.


text:
Mute the autofocus for the camera on samsing galaxy S3 i9305 (4.4.4) for the video mode
I have done the follwoing to silence the camera :

Renaming the files in system/media/audio/ui/
Adding this line to system/csc/others.xml <CscFeature_Camera_ShutterSoundMenu>true</CscFeature_Camera_ShutterSoundMenu> and setting to true <CscFeature_Camera_EnableCameraDuringCall>true</CscFeature_Camera_EnableCameraDuringCall>
Checking if <ShutterSound> was set to off in system/csc/customer.xml
Adding ro.camera.sound.forced=0 to /system/local.prop and /system/build.prop

Steps 1 and 2 were the only things that worked. I now have a silent camera for the photo mode (even the autofocus sound I gone!) BUT I still have the autofocus sound when I am on the video mode. The Shutter Sound option doesn't appear in the menu when I am on the video camera mode, but it does when I am on the photo mode.
Any idea how I can add the Shutter Sound menu entry to the Setting menu for the video mode of the stock camera app?
I am aware that disabling the camera sound is illegal in some part of the world.
Edit: using Tasker to switch to silent mode when the app is open is not an option.

I need clarification here. Do you hear that sound if the device is in Silent mode or Vibration mode? Because if that's the case, then you can use Tasker to put the phone in vibration or silent mode when the Camera app is launched, and revert back to settings when the app is closed. I can post an answer possibly but I need confirmation.

I hear this sound when I am on vibrating but not on silent mode however, using Tasker is not a solution for me (I forgot to add this in the question, see the update !). Thanks for your help Firelord!


text:
A swipe on status bar opens on quick setting instead of notifcation panel
In short: any idea how to set a swipe on the status bar to open the notification panel, not the quick settings one? (It was the default setting before I installed/uninstalled an app)
The whole story:
Samsung Galaxy SIII 4G GT-i9305, Android 4.4.4, rooted
Nova launcher
Xposed messed up my settings. Before I intalled this app the notification panel, was fine, it opened the notification panel by default (not the quick setting one). So I had this panel:

Now when I open the notification panel, it opens on the quick setting panel so I have to click on the lines icon (top right) to get back to the notification panel.
This is annoying. I did restart, pull the battery, restart, pull the battery, but the change made by Xposed remains: my notification panel open on the quick setting panel. See here:

I'm not looking for an app, but the right file I should edit to get back the settings I had before installing stickmount. Any idea what files could have been edited, could keep this setting modification even after uninstalling the app?
Thanks for your help!
EDIT: in Safe Mode, the problem is solved because the Xposed update is removed

CM has an option like this called Smart Settings which opens quick settings when swiped from the right of the screen. Maybe you have something set up like that as well?

Putting the phone in Safe Mode (when swipe down in the status bar, it open the notification panel)
Restart the phone in normal mode

If this doesn't work, first go in recovery mode and swipe cache and then redo the 2 steps above.
The safe mode actually remove the Xposed update, so I can't have both Xposed and the notification panel with a simple swipe.
P.S: I didn't try Adem answer (I don't have a backup of the build.prop).

Maybe it's some TouchWiz bug and if you can't figure out what's wrong, you could use a third party app called Color Status Bar.
It has some themes built-in for notification panels.
Or you could also have a look at some modded TouchWiz-like notification app in this XDA thread
EDIT:
If the issue is solved in Safe mode, then its evidence that downloaded app caused the phone to behave that way.
Safemode allows you to boot up your device with only the core pre-loaded applications running, meaning any apps you’ve downloaded won’t be running.
Copy the build.prop to external sdcard when in safemode and compare it with the build.prop when the issue occured. That will give some insight on  why it might've occured.
Restore that build.prop, if the issue is still not solved in Normal mode.

Thanks for this, I did what you say. When Color Status Bar is active, the panel open first on Notification but the notification doesn't have all the settings I had on the original notification (so it's no a good solution). Also I am very dependent on my battery so the less app of this kind I have, the better it is. Uninstalling Color Status Bar didn't revert the notification panel to the default. (It's not uninstalling StickMount that caused the problem it's installing it, unfortunately uninstalling StickMount didn't revert to the default behavior)

If you Nova launcher Prime, check whether swipe down gesture is attributed to Quick settings or not.
Nova Settings -> Gestures & Inputs -> Swipe down.

Thanks but this is only available  with Nova Prime (paid version). Putting the phone in Safe Mode resolve the problem.

authors: LïZïtÀ öRtËgÄ


text:
How to take multiple shots with a timer?
In the default camera app of my Samsung Galaxy S3, I can set the timer to take a picture after a delay of up to 10 sec.
I can also use the burst mode or the best photo mode to get several shots at once.
But I can't find the way to use the burst mode (or the best photo mode) with the timer.
So basically what I am looking for is:

I press the capture button
The count-down starts
The camera takes several shots (about 10 shots)

I have tried to use the voice control with the best photo mode, but it doesn't work when I am in a noisy place.
My phone is rooted and I don'y mind editing the core files

I've not tried it and it might not be easy, but long-press for specific time period can be performed using shell commands. If you can find a working way to long-press on the soft shutter button of your camera app to take photos in burst mode, then you can put those commands under a Tasker's task or some automation app's task or even in a simple shell script and bind them to some hardware button or to a gesture using apps. // Just an alternative, of course.

@Firelord, thanks ! I was looking for a simpler solution but apparently there isn't any.  I didn't know about shell script I will look into it!


text:
How to set default call audio output to earpiece when connected to bluetooth?
My phone is connected with a bluetooth watch. Which has in built speakers. I can make and receive calls from my watch. Now whenever I receive a call my call audio output is sent to my watch speakers. After picking up the phone I can change it to receive output to my phone's earpiece but this is annoying to do everytime I receive a call. Is there a way to force my phone not to transfer incoming call audio to bluetooth?
P.S. I can disable Phone Audio from my bluetooth profile but then I am not able to make calls or see who is calling me from my watch.

If you cannot see who is calling without the audio profile being enabled then it's an issue with your watch. All android watches I have used can display the caller without using the audio profile. In fact I am surprised that your watch cannot do this.

I can see who's calling. my goal is not to forward audio to my watch by default. is there a way I can stop forwarding my call audio to my watch?

Does anyone have a solution for this yet?

@JacquesBlom I don't have any solution for this yet. :-/

Any solution to that on late 2020? I'd like to have a simple thing. My smartphone should ring with my watch. If I answer the call using the watch, I want the audio to go to the watch. If I answer the call using the smartphone, I want to use the smartphone. Whichever device I use to answer the call does seem an evident answer to which device I have at hand ready to answer the call!

sorry I don't use android anymore but this still surprises me that even after 5 years there's no easy solution to this simple problem.

I was in need of doing this exact thing today. I was forced to figure it out on my own after I couldn't find an answer online. As it turns out, it's easier than I expected.
Open your bluetooth settings, find your device, and click the settings icon for that device. You should see some options for the device. Uncheck the "Phone audio" option.

the problem with doing this is your smartwatch won't get any incoming call notifications or any display when you get a call. because you turned off the whole phone audio channel. in my case I still want to see who is calling me.


text:
Change Launcher without starting it
I have installed GO Launcher and GO Locker. Now, when I updated them, they got an error.
The problem is that, nothing shows up when I press unlock button (I have Nexus S). So, there's nothing I can do with the phone. There's no display at all. I know the phone is running in the background. I get the tone when I get a message.
I tried to call my phone hoping it'd get unlocked for answering that call. It did get unlocked, but when I answered the call, it got locked again. No display again. But, when the phone was still ringing, I got a Force Close dialog for GO Launcher EX ( not for GO Locker ).
I restarted the phone (removed the battery). When the phone started, it was locked (using the default Android locker). When I try to unlock it, the screen doesn't work.
Now, I am unable to use my phone. The first thing that I'd like to do is change the launcher without starting the phone itself. Is that possible?
Or do I have to restore the factory settings? If I can restore factory settings, I must be able to do so without starting the phone? Can we do that? In Nokia, we can do that by pressing some key combination and restarting the phone. Does that apply here too?

You can try installing a different launcher app via the Android Market web interface.

On your PC go to Play Store and sign in with the same Google account as on your phone.
Find any Home replacement app. Click on the Install button to send the app directly to your phone (if you have several Android devices you will need to select the phone.)
After a few minutes try unlocking your phone. It should ask you to select a launcher app, so pick the one you just installed, or the default one.

This is good solution. But, fortunately, my phone somehow worked and I didn't need to resort to any of the solutions. Thank you anyway. I consider this to be the best way to go, if anyone gets stuck with this problem. So, I accept this answer.

If you can connect to the device with adb (Android SDK) you can open a command line and do:
adb uninstall com.gau.go.launcherex
adb uninstall com.jiubang.goscreenlock
those will remove both Go Launcher EX and GoLocker. If you can't you may have to do a factory reset, which will remove all the apps and data on the device (but to even do that you need to get to the settings application)

I believe you can do a factory reset from the Recovery.


text:
What can cause the Oct 2011 OTA update of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 to fail?
I'm using a Galaxy Tab 10.1 3G (GT-P7500), Android 3.1, Baseband version P7500XXKG7, Build HMJ37 P7500XWKG9, rooted. (I got it with 3.1 and TouchWiz preinstalled.)
A few weeks ago, I got a notification about an OTA update. The only information I get about this update is:
Update details (9.61MB)
Improved stability.

Trying to install this update reproducibly fails. It downloads, then asks me whether to install. I confirm, and it tells me that it will reboot the device. The device reboots. During the reboot animation, I see a low-resolution progress bar that runs until about 25%. Then it reboots again, I enter my PIN and it tells me: "Failed to update firmware. Try again using PC software (Kies) or visit a Samsung service centre". It does not give me any details as to why it has failed.
I connected DDMS to the device during the update, but (as expected) it doesn't show anything during that phase. I don't know how to get any additional reporting as to why the update failed.
I can't connect the device to Kies either. Again, it doesn't report the problem. Kies notices when I connect the device, then says: "Reconnect the device in Samsung Kies (PC Studio) mode.Current connection mode not supported by Kies." (sic!)
What can cause an OTA update to fail?

Updating via Kies eventually worked. The trick to getting Kies to connect to the device is to turn off USB debugging on the device.

I read that missing system apps can cause this problem. I unfroze the following stock apps:

Ap Mobile
eBook
Music Hub
My Files
Pulse
Social Hub

This had no effect on the update. Still fails exactly the same way.


text:
Twitter & Facebook login details periodically forgotten
Amongst others, I have Facebook and Twitter apps installed on my HTC Desire running Cyanogenmod 7.1.
Every few days, it requires me to login again, even though I've previously saved my details. It even asks me again (for Facebook) about syncing Contacts to my phone... it's as if it's forgotten my login to those apps altogether.
I have these 2 apps installed on the SD card, so wonder if that's the problem - I don't have space to run them from the phone as that storage is very limited on the Desire...
Any ideas if there's a setting of some sort that I can change so that it keeps my details?

Yes, it is likely to be the problem. I suppose it's a hack of yours if these apps are on SD rather than internal memory.
As the Android SDK mentions1, applications that use Service, AccountManager and Widget shoudl not be installed on SD card. The Facebook app has an AccountManager, a widget and a Service.

It's not my hack per se, but I guess it's Cyanogenmod's hack that allows me to do it. Shame it doesn't work fully, but I guess I can see why. Interestingly Google Plus and GMail work fine running from SD Card and never need to be reconfigured.

I had the same issue on the same device and cyanogenmod. You just have to move those apps to phone and just move the apps which doesn't appear in the accounts settings. You need the reserve the space for these kind of account syncing apps.

I don't actually have space to do that, so I guess I have to live with it if that's the only way around it.


text:
Using Facebook authentication system without installing the app
Is there a way to add Facebook account to Android Accounts in order to ease login with apps, without installing the memory consuming and invasive Facebook app ?

I don't have the Facebook app on my Android phone, but I do have the Facebook "Messenger" app installed (it's tiny) and that logs in normally. Does that do what you want?
[Originally posted incorrectly as an Answer. (Corrected thanks to advice from Firelord)]


text:
No apks will install
I have been repeatedly trying to install an apk on my moto g lte (1st gen). Nothing will install. Apks worked initially, but it stopped working at one point
su
pm install [apk]
Returns invalid URI.
The name is all standard chars.
su
pm install -r [apk]
Returns container error.
SOLVED
I had managed to corrupt my SD card which meant the apk files could not be installed upon my phone. Taking out the SD fixed it.

Is this a problem with an specific apk, or are you having trouble with installing any apk? 2) What error do you see on screen when you try to install the apk using standard procedure (tap and install)? 3) Did you consider logcat to capture the logs during the occurrence of the error? 4) Could you detail more about: Apks worked initially, but it stopped working at one point?

Thank you for suggesting logcat. I am an idiot sometimes

Corrupted SD card meant I could not install anything.


text:
Making an app into a full screen widget (no source code)
Is there any way to convert or declare in the main activity of an app without having access to the source code or using smali? I'd like to have an app as a full-screen widget in nova launcher.

Interesting question, I am not familiar with nova, but I doubt it, because so many things need to be configured. Many of your apps would end up crashing.

No, you can't convert an activity into a widget from outside the app. They work in completely different ways. With an activity, the app's process is running and controls all of the GUI controls in the activity. For a widget, the app sends a description of the widget layout (including all the images) to the launcher, and then the launcher's process is responsible for drawing that layout on the screen. The app doesn't run all the time: it only runs when it wants to update the widget layout (e.g. to change the "new mail" count after getting a push notification) or when you interact with the widget.
It works this way because keeping a process running for every widget would use a lot of memory and battery.
With the new multi-window changes in Nougat, it would be possible for a launcher to embed an app's activity as if it were a widget, but the launcher would have to be written to support this, the app would have to support multi-window, and it would still use a lot of memory and battery, and the unusual configuration could well trigger some latent bugs in apps.


text:
Does Titanium Backup work with system using Link2SD
Titanium Backup is a root app that allows you to back up your apps and all their data.
Link2SD is a root app that moves all files an app stores in internal storage to a special partition on SD card, and creates symlinks into the internal storage in place of the original files.
Does Titanium Backup work with Link2SD? That is, does it correctly back up the files that the symlinks point to, or does it instead end up backing up just the symlinks?

I don't know about Titanium Backup but I can tell you that My Backup Pro didn't work with Link2SD. It backed up data perfectly, but not apps APKs.

It works, but can't tell the difference between an app installed on the phone's memory and an app that's been linked

Titanium Backup works fine with Link2SD. I've been using them together for about six months, with around 100 apps symlinked. There's no reason taking a backup would uninstall linked apps as Wolfgang reports, and I've also had zero issues restoring backups of linked apps, so it's clear that Titanium follows the symlinks correctly. In fact, I have just finished restoring all my apps from Titanium after flashing a ROM.
The only caveat is that when you restore in Titanium, Link2SD will not automatically link apps as they are restored, even if you set it up before restoring the rest of your apps. This is annoying, because it means you have to be conscious of your available internal memory and only restore in batches that will fit in your free space, then link the apps and do another batch.
Other than that, they work very smoothly alongside each other.

However, if you have the free version of Titanium Backup, the way it batch restores apps is different. It basically installs each app individually, requiring you to click 'install' each time. Because of this, link2sd actually works better because it is getting the app installed intent.

this is actually not true for me. even though i have to click 3 times for each app restore, it restores them all to internal storage. auto link in link2sd is enabled.

In fact it works, but only in the same terminal.
If you move your sdcard with a titanium backup done previously from a terminal with android 2.3.6 to another terminal with android 4.2, the titanium backup will detect the backup done before, but it can't restore anything of it.
Perhaps if you install link2sd in a android 4.2, can you do it?


text:
After update to GRJ90 I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot
My phone updated to GRJ90 about two weeks ago and now I can no longer use WiFi hot-spot or USB tethering. When I try, my 3G connection is dropped. After disconnecting and waiting a few minutes, it comes back up. I used to be able to tether before the update. How can I bypass this, or stop the 3G from disconnecting when tethering. Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.
Phone: Nexus S 4G from Google
Carrier: Sprint

Sprint tells me that I need to pay for a hot-spot plan for $30, but there has to be a way around this besides rooting my phone and putting Cyanogen on it.

Sprint clamped down and disabled the previously free built-in tethering with the latest update. If you want USB tethering you can try PDANet, but wifi tethering will almost certainly require you to root, as it does on other devices.
Even with root, you don't necessarily need to use CyanogenMod if you don't want to, though; you could just as easily install a free tethering app (one example). This has been covered here a lot, in fact, so you might want to take a look at any wifi tethering apps noted in other questions.
See also: Is there a way to enable WiFi-tethering without root access?


text:
How do I get private bookmark from web Google Maps to Android Google Maps?
I have few private placemarks stored to "My Places" on Google Maps web version using same Google account than my Android Google Maps uses.
How do I get those places to the Android?

There are two ways I think you can do this, in the Android app, click on the layer selection and go to the My Maps layer, where you should see your private maps.
If you want to access your bookmarked address, from the main Maps screen, click the menu button and choose the bookmarks option. (not sure about bookmarks, I have a French UI, so it shows as 'favoris')


text:
Does APNdroid eat battery?
Someone suggested that APNdroid will cause your battery to drain because your phone is continually attempting to connect to the disabled APN. Makes sense, but I wonder if there's something I'm missing? Does APNdroid burn battery any faster than having a good APN and using data?

Good question. I would think (but do not know) that using data would consume more battery than searching (and not finding) a network to connect to.

I confirm it will attempt to connect all the time and drain battery in half a day in my case. To solve it you should untick the data in the network settings and check that GPRS/EDGE/HSPDA icon is not visible on top next to the signal strength bars. But at least APNdroid (or manually modify the APN name) will prevent any connection and any extra charge during roaming session.

Thankfully, my new Galaxy S has a "Data Network Mode" setting I can turn off.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
How to hide updates from market?
I have an app that has updates that reduce the functionality of the app. Is it possible to hide the updates so that I can use the "update all" feature, or update all apps from the list without worrying about the app? I've backed it up with Titanium Backup so I'll be able to restore it but that's a bit of a hassle. Also, the constant "New updates available" notifications are a pain in the.... neck.

Possible duplicate of How to get rid of update notifications for a given app in Google Play Store?

Sorry! That other question has more updated answers so I voted to close this one. By the way, why not consider merging both the pages?

Long press on the app in Titanium and choose "Detach from Market".

Without root:

install Appbrain App Market
visit the Appbrain Website and sign in with your Google account
start the Appbrain App, sync your installed apps
start the Playstore App and deactivate all update checks

Now to check for updates, you can use the Appbrain app. This gives you, a.o., the possibility to...

skip an update for a given app (but only one -- get reminded when a newer update is available)
skip all updates for a given app (i.e. never be reminded/informed of any updates for this app

Additionally recommended: AppMonster Pro. Automatically creates backups of any app installed/updated. So if something breaks with an update, simply install the previous version -- and then in the Appbrain app, decide to skip this specific version. Or if you notice too late that an update removed functionality: same procedure, but in the Appbrain app decide to never update this app again.

I know this is an old thread. And I understand that Ti Backup used to work for detaching an app from Play Store. But I also understand that this works no longer. For those who are interested, I have created an app that does a pretty good job of this. It is called Hide Updates In Play Store. There is a video showing the app at work. Thanks


text:
Using S-pen (Samsung stylus pen) to annotate books in Amazon Kindle App
I have an Samsung Galaxy Note S22 Ultra and a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE. My goal is to annotate E-books from Amazon with my S-Pen. Can I do that on these devices?
Unfortunately, I do not see any possibilities to do so in the official Amazon Kindle App.
Please help if you know how to do it. Are there any alternative apps that will let me annotate E-books?

Amazon Kindle does allow for highlighting sentences and also adding a "note", usually in text form. What about, taking a screenshot and then opening it in a paint app to draw over?

I would like to annotate mathematics books with my handwritten remarks, as a student, and also to fill in spaces in a language study textbook by hand, so taking screenshots and using an alternative viewer for the annotation is too time consuming and also for later documentation of study efforts rather impractical.

And another e-book reader won't work because the books are presumably purchased via Amazon?

@AP that is exactly the case.

There is a new kindle version called kindle scribe, but I would like to avoid purchasing another device, since I am a collector of antiques, not of modern electronic devices. Amazon may consider an obvious fix for their android kindle app.

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


text:
How to update Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus phone apps via USB cable connection?
I cant seem to be able to connect to the software update server for some reason by using my basic 3G connection (which works by the way).
The error message goes as follows:
"Failed to update software. Network or server error occurred. Try later or try using PC Kies.". I tried several times with same error.
So I was thinking if it could be possible to update my Samsung Galaxy Trend Plus phone apps via USB connection through my computer network?
I tried Samsung Kies, but couldn't find any feature to support this.
My PC has Windows 7 installed on it if that matters.


text:
Sync both ways "camera picture folder" for android and pc
I am helping an older person who is not tech savvy enough to play with Android and USB cables and I'm tired of doing it for them.
They need open pictures taken with android smartphone (built in camera, saved to its local DCIM folder) onto their computer, edit them  (Windows) rotate, crop and so on, then transfer back to smartphone and then send via MMS. (yes, it's odd to use MMS i know, but as i said -we are talking about non tech savvy persons and they know how to operate mms so there is not possibility to switch them to using email).
Right now, i have use send anywhere to transfer picture to computer, wait for them to edit, and transfer back via send anywhere... or use usb cable.
I got idea to use dropbox, and dropbox let me send saved pictures directly to pc (via dropbox camera photo upload)  so this part is done, but it won't work other way (after editing file on dropbox photo folder -  it's not syncing back to phone) It's synced on dropbox folder via browser, but android app won't sync it back - i haven't seen that function < so it's useless.
Do You have any other idea of how can i sync pictures both way and make them after edit appear on built in android gallery so they just can select edited picture and send via mms?

If both PC and phone are connected to same (WiFi) network and it's possible to assign the phone a static IP, a FTP server would be the simplest approach in my opinion. Install some free app like MiXplorer which does have minimal FTP server built-in. It also provide a Quick Settings tile to turn the server on and off. On PC it would be just to copy and paste in a file explorer. A dynamic IP would take a little more hassle.

I like idea, thank You . I will explore it and share results.

rotation, cropping and filters can be applied using photos.googe.com. you can sync folder via photos app and access it via website and download it to local windows system. otherwise if you have dropbox synced then you can directly upload to images to photos.google.com and they will automatically show in your android photos app

google drive and google photos come to mind.  But dropbox should work, maybe it's a setting? :|

You could use SyncMe Wireless application.
With SyncMe,you can copy, move, sync and backup your mp3, pictures and documents over WiFi (including Portable WiFi hotspot), (or cellular VPN)  to your computer. Nothing to be installed on your computer.
The application itself provides a step by step guide in setting up the folder to be synced (note: sharing must be enabled on your computer).

Setup device folder to DCIM folder
Setup computer folder to be the "shared folder" where photos are copied on the computer.
Configure sync options and filters (and schedule-if needed.
Tap the job to sync.

Basically the setup could be anything like this:

NB: No affiliation with the appplication but just use it as my daily driver for similar needs
Note: You may need to enable SMB1 on Windows


text:
Do the front buttons on the Droid X turn on the screen?
I had an LG Optimus V phone and the physical buttons on the front could get pressed when it was in my pocket, which would turn on the screen.
I'm considering a phone (Droid X) with physical buttons b/c I like the physical buttons easier to see and feel when using).  But.... I don't want the screen turning on all the time (and draining the battery).
Does the Droid X's  row of menu/back/search buttons turn the screen on?

Yes, the Home button (and possibly the Volume buttons) turn on the screen.
Found a fix on: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/drod2169-x/132091-ocd-stop-home-button-waking-screen-save-battery.html
Have not tested yet, but it's mentioned in several places. Not sure if it works on an unrooted phone.
GINGERBREAD

Open /system/usr/keylayout/sholes-keypad.kl
remove "Wake_Dropped" And/or "Wake" after any entries for:
HOME
MENU
SEARCH
BACK
VOLUME UP
VOLUME DOWN

FROYO

Open /system/usr/keylayout/cdma_shadow-keypad.kl
remove "Wake_Dropped" And/or "Wake" after any entries for:
HOME
MENU
SEARCH
BACK
VOLUME UP
VOLUME DOWN


text:
Is there a one-click widget to make my phone completely silent?
I currently use Mute All but it requires several clicks. I like the ease of Silent Toggle Widget but it doesn't turn of media sounds.
Ideally the widget would also turn of haptic feedback.

Related: How can I make silent mode affect media volume too?

I created a Task in Tasker called Silent  that does this and created a widget that allows the one click behavior you are looking for.
Basically Silent is just a set of tasks that set the notification/ringer/system volume/etc to level 0.  Here is the XML for the Silent.tsk.xml if you want to import it.
<class cl="Task" sr="">
<nme>Silent</nme>
<id>14</id>
<class cl="Action" sr="act1">
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg2">
    </class>
    304
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg1">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg0">
    </class>
</class>
<class cl="Action" sr="act0">
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg2">
    </class>
    305
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg1">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg0">
    </class>
</class>
<class cl="AppIcon" sr="icn" ve="2">
    <icn>2130837581</icn>
</class>
<class cl="Action" sr="act4">
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg0">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    256
</class>
<class cl="Action" sr="act5">
    <class cl="StringArg" sr="arg5" ve="2">
        <val></val>
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg4">
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg3">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg2">
        <val>3</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="StringArg" sr="arg1" ve="2">
        <val>Vibrate On</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="StringArg" sr="arg0" ve="2">
        <val>Vibrate On</val>
    </class>
    550
</class>
<class cl="Action" sr="act2">
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg2">
    </class>
    308
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg1">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg0">
    </class>
</class>
<class cl="Action" sr="act3">
    <class cl="IntArg" sr="arg0">
        <val>1</val>
    </class>
    258
</class>

With Audio Muter you should be able to set the media volume to silent, however it's a paid app.

Audio Manager (free) and Audio Manager Pro ($2.99) fully solve this issue very cleanly.  It gives complete control over haptic feedback and the 6 distinct audio volume controls (including media volume), and lets you construct profiles that can be toggled with one-click widgets.


text:
How to Securely Delete Data from Phone and Card
I'm planning on selling my current Android (2.2) device and was wondering what is the best way to remove all of my data from the phone and memory card. Will a factory reset do it? What about formatting the card?

See also these similar previous questions: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4623/i-have-sold-my-phone-on-ebay-what-should-i-do-before-i-send-it-off and http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2722/how-do-i-prep-my-phone-for-resale not nominating either as a duplicate as this question seems to be more specific about how to securely wipe the phone, where the others are asking what (or if that) should be done.

Erasing your phone internal memory
I have not tried it but using Android fastboot or an recovery ROM it should be possible to overwrite each partition on your device. Fastboot also supports an erase command - I assume that this erase can not be considered a secure erase.
Therefore a secure way would be to overwrite to the two partitions userdata and cache (and may be others depending on your device). The image used for overwriting should be as large as the partition.
Erasing the SD-Card
SD-cards can easily be "undelete" using a card reader and a common PC. Therefore it is strongly recommended to wipe it.
Best way would be to use an SD-Card reader on your PC and then use a tool like WipeDisk.

Make sure you back up any data you'll want from both the phone and the card beforehand.
A factory reset will clear all user modifications to the stock software (installed apps, files, etc), leaving a clean device. For the card, go to Settings - SD & Phone Storage (or some similar menu), and select "Unmount" and then "Format SD Card" or "Erase SD Card". This will erase all data from the card.

This won't be a secure delete, though, the data may still be present.  I'm not sure exactly whether the user's looking for a zeroing wipe or not though so no downvote.

Zeroing out the data would be ideal, as I am selling both the device and the card. Is this possible? Should I just hold on to the card?

The card is easy to "undelete" - therefore it is strongly recommended to wipe it. Best way would be to use an SD-Card reader on your PC and then use a tool like WipeDisk.

For the internal storage of the phone you can only do a "Factory reset", this will leave your phone with the default factory configuration with no apps installed or any configuration. It's not a "safe method" of deleting the content, but you can't have access to the physical internal storage so this is all you can do.
For the SD card, as @Robert said, the best option is to extract it from the phone and put on a Card reader in your PC and use some "safe erase" software. The one @Robert mentioned, WipeDisk, is free and reasonably good, so it’s a good option.

I don't think that you need "physical internal access". Android is basically a linux system and on rooted phones you can have access to everything, even the partitions on a level below the file-system. Additionally using a recovery-ROM and tools like nandroid it should be possible to extract the data stored on the partitions.


text:
Cloud music apps won't sync from device to computer?
I have a free Spotify account and can very easily sync music files that are on my computer to my Android device via wifi. But I can't find a way to sync files that are on my Android device back to the computer.
I've looked for a way to do this using Google Music and can't find it. Same with Amazon MP3.
If I download an MP3 on my phone, I'd like to add it to my computer's library and be able to easily sync it and then play it with Spotify, Google Music, Amazon MP3, etc., regardless of where I'm playing it.
Is there some reason the various cloud services allow you to sync from computer to device but not from device to computer?
Any suggestions on easy ways to accomplish this with some other software? Or am I missing something?

As for "why" it's probably an effort to reduce piracy.

@Al - that's the same conclusion I had come to. But still, it seems far more people would be pirating on their computer than on their mobile. But who knows...

It isn't possible to DIRECTLY upload songs from your device to Google Music, but there's an alternative way I can suggest you. Advice: is kinda a long process for something so simple, but, hey, Google's fault.
You need Dropbox, Dropsync (free for one folder on the market https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS50dHhhcHBzLmRyb3BzeW5jIl0. but we don't need the PRO key for this, even if it's a great program and I suggest you to use it :P) and, sadly, a PC with Google Music Manager and Dropbox installed. It kinda defeat its purpose this way, but it's the only automatic way to do this, as far as I know. Otherwise you'd have to manually transfer every song from your phone to your PC.
You simply start installing Dropbox and getting it to work. When it's all set up, you open Dropsync and select the folder with your song inside and a folder on Dropbox, which shall contain only your music files. Done? Now you fire up your PC and launch Google Music Manager. Select the folder you synced with Dropsync and check "Automatically upload new song". What happens now? Everytime you download a song in your device, in the folder you selected, Dropsync copies it on your PC, which triggers Google Music Manager to upload it to its servers. So yeah, Google Music should implement a way to do this, definitely, but here's this workaround ;)


text:
Can airplane mode be maintained during a system update?
When traveling internationally, it's often a good idea to put the phone in Airplane Mode before departure, activate wi-fi as needed, and leave the phone in Airplane Mode until returning to one's home country where calls/messages/data are charged at reasonable rates.
When on wifi, the phone can still receive notice that a system update must be performed, soon, with no user choice in the matter.  It can even download and install this update over wifi.  However, as part of the update process, the phone apparently disables Airplane Mode, connecting to a local tower to receive messages and whatever else might have been pending, potentially racking up a big bill in the process, which the user did not agree to or want.
Leaving the phone in a Faraday cage during the update, which might block transmissions to cell towers, would cause the update to fail until it is taken out, because wifi is required for downloading the update.
Why does the phone exit airplane mode during forced updates, and is there any way to avoid that?

Edit, responding to criticism that trying to maintain Airplane Mode during a system update is not a sufficiently clear or concrete objective:
There are multiple reasons why one might want to keep a phone in airplane mode.  In addition to the cost factor noted above, if a destination does not have compatible cellular signals, a phone out of Airplane Mode may quickly drain its battery searching for towers, especially if the user doesn't know that the phone takes itself out of airplane mode without notice.  In some zones, there are also restrictions on cellular transmissions (example) which do not necessarily apply to low-power wi-fi connectivity, such as on-board some commercial aircraft.
There are multiple different reasons why a person might be in a setting where it's important to maintain Airplane Mode but still wish to use the device for offline and/or Wi-Fi capabilities.  This question is about how to do that even when the phone maker is pushing a system update.
I would expect "How do I do this for reason X?" "How do I do that for reason Y?" and "How do I do the same thing for reason Z?" to all be closed as duplicates of this same question.

If you want to block communication with your mobile network provider there is a second option: You just have to make sure the MNO can not identify your devices.
You can easily achieve that by removing the SIM card from your device.
This does not work of course in case you have a phone with eSIM and you use the eSIM (as the eSIM can't be removed physically from your device).

Thanks!  I'll hold off on marking Accepted to see if another answer also provides an explanation as to why the issue happens.

Turn off your Data and turn on "Flight Mode", now if Flight Mode gets reset you still have Data turned off (and Update won't reset that, because there would be a flood of complaints).
I have always done my updates over Wi-Fi using the settings to select that option. Using the Towers to Update would be expensive (for me).

I updated Android recently. No Data usage, and a big savings by only using Wi-Fi. Only turn on Data if you must use it. Of course it depends on where you are and how much open Wi-Fi is available.
Rather than "activate Wi-Fi as needed" you need to get into the habit of "active Data as infrequently as possible" and leave Wi-Fi on (so when you hit an open Network you'll be pinged that you have something).
Remember not to use your passwords on strange unknown Networks, Google has single-use passwords if you are desperate and double authentication to ensure that it is you on your phone and not someone else, elsewhere. More about that is a different question, almost certainly a dupe.

This presents a useful strategy if data usage is the sole concern.  However, the question presents the cost issue of receiving pending messages (e.g. SMS) etc. as a secondary effect of airplane mode being disabled even when the update is done over wifi.  Disabling mobile data won't address that.  Thanks for the post anyway!

Note: The answer is still helpful because it will stop incoming messages that use the data channel.  Thanks again!

@WBTI receive SMS for free, sending is where I'm charged (and my cheap plan includes 1000's of messages). Same if someone phones me, it's not long distance for me, only airtime. Most travelers either purchase a SIM for their travel or make arrangements with their current provider to get roaming cheap for a month. By stating in your question exactly what you want to achieve rather than saying what you are doing (or want to do) is most likely to get a better answer. See "XY Problem" on main Meta. Arguably you could turn the phone off. It's been 8 months and you don't like either answer?

Do you receive calls and SMS for free when you are traveling in another country (with compatible network signals)?  When traveling for a few days or weeks, it might not be worth it to figure out arrangements for a local SIM or roaming package, when the device has plenty of utility when connected to Wi-Fi and that's enough to satisfy anticipated needs.  I think the question is clear and concrete about trying to prevent the phone from exiting Airplane/Flight mode even when the software is updated. The answers helpfully address tangential points but do not answer the question directly.

@WBT Depending upon which country you live in (answers here are generally geared for North American readers, unless you ask for a country specific answer) most foreign cellular providers are cheaper and there are ways to roam for free. Thanks for editing your question, that ought to benefit you by providing more exposure and ensuring future readers are even more clear about your objectives. A poor answer is: If your phone is rooted you can use Tasker w/plugin or NFC.

Regardless of origin, the time cost of figuring out a cost-effective way to work with a foreign provider is non-negligible, especially when details (e.g. "two-year contract with huge cancellation fees, extra charges automatically apply if customer is non-resident or non-citizen") are all officially in a foreign language.  For a relatively short trip, especially where Wi-Fi is anticipated to be plentiful relative to connectivity needs, the traveler may intentionally choose to not go through the process of signing up with a foreign carrier.

@WBT The top voted answer says it is cheaper to deal with the foreign carrier. Another consideration not mentioned here or there is to use their phone, that saves you from the non-negligible trouble of having Customs demand your phone and passwords upon your return and search your phone. And ..., if Wi-Fi is to be plentiful (as mentioned in your last comment) then my answer of turning off Data is good. Ideally an Update ought not to change your settings, I understand that's not your experience. Just dismiss the Notification and do it later.

From a Travel.SE perspective, if one needs foreign cellular service (a premise of that question), working with a foreign carrier may be a cheaper, better option than alternatives. However, that premise does not always hold. In cases where "no carrier" is an option, there may not be a perceived need to go through all the time, effort, cost, & trouble of figuring out how to sign up with a foreign carrier. Roaming charge avoidance is also not the only reason why "airplane mode" (or "flight mode") might be needed; the reason's not strictly relevant to answering this question.

Also, it's not always possible to delay doing an update until after entering a place where it's OK for the phone to take itself out of airplane mode.  The question sought a simpler way to just disable that "feature" and keep the phone in airplane mode during the update process.  Can that objective please be acceptable as a focus for answers?


text:
Make Emergency Alerts stay
Occasionally, I receive emergency alerts on my Android phone, through the stock/default mechanism.  It makes a loud, alarming/attention-grabbing sound and vibrates strongly.  The alert is displayed on the screen (which was locked) and there's a big OK button, which is the only button, and when I push it quickly to silence the alarm/vibration, the message disappears.  This may be before I've had a chance to actually read what it says in as much detail as would be appropriate.  Is there any way to get those messages to stick around and be dismissed manually, so that they can be read after the alarm is silenced?

In Apps->Emergency Alerts, you can see a list of the previously received alerts and when they were received.


text:
What's the difference between "Contacts" and "People details?"
In Settings -> Accounts -> Google, when I tap on my Google account, I see a "Sync settings" page with a list of different Google services that can be synced (App Data, Calendar, Drive, Gmail, Google Play Books, etc.).
This list includes both "Contacts" and "People details."  What is meant by "People details" and how does this differ from "Contacts?"
Are there any negative outcomes I would expect from disabling sync of "People details" (i.e. what would break?)

Contacts under Accounts, helps in syncing Google-Contacts (Phone contacts saved )
More on Contacts sync adapter here
People details deals with information regarding Google play games and Google+ (Game buddies and people in your circles on Google+)
More on People sync adapter here

This is a little bit of a guess since you didn't specify your device... Contacts is normally part of the stock Android operating system while People is usually part of the launcher or service provider software. They are virtually the same app with different skins or interfaces. The People apps usually also incorporate all of your contacts, including social media. Contacts will most likely only show Gmail and phone contacts unless you alter the settings.
Hope this helps!


text:
Media Storage: what is it, and why is it using all my data?
I am only 5 days into my Billing cycle, and noticed that already like 1/3rd of my data has been used (thanks to My Data Manager)... So I looked to see what has used all this data, and it says it is "Media Storage" that has used up most of my data (it's used up over 35 MB!). This is a system process if i'm not mistaken, so my question is: is this in fact a system process? And why would it be using up so much of my data? What exactly does this process do? Would it be safe to deny it network access?

Streaming any music or video? In the Google Music beta? Using the Amazon cloud player?

Nope. No Amazon, no google, no Pandora, and maybe 1 or 2 small youtubes a year... Nothing recently at any rate.

My phone was also using too much data for this process, and the solution for it was to restrict background data. You can find this option in Settings -> Data usage -> Menu. Just tick the checkbox.

Yes, it's a system process. Other apps may use Media Storage to download, play, and stream audio/video. I don't know specifically which media apps actually uses them though. You might try to block it, and see if any functionalities in the media player you regularly uses stops working.

Hmmm... Well, I don't actually use my phone for media playing. once in a blue moon, a YouTube, but almost never. Would there be anyway to find what is utilizing its services?

I had this same issue and i managed to resolve it. here's how:

Download the app "GlassWire" from Google play.
Go to the options button in the top-left corner and select "Usage".
Select "Downloads, Media Storage...".
Once it is open, select the settings icon next to "permissions" and clear data.
Do this for both "Downloads" and "Media Storage".

This fixed the data consumption made by Media Storage which happens as a result of uploads rather than downloads, and i have no idea what was uploading.
Unfortunately, you will have to do this every time the device is restarted.
I hope this helps.

google photos Picasa may be syncing.


text:
Watch and download youtube video simultanously
So I can watch a youtube video, great. But once I go out of range of wifi I can't play it.
So the other option, is, I use a program to download the video. But I can't play it before it's downloaded.
So is there like a program that you see the video, but after it has been downloaded, it's not discarded but permanently saved ?

Probably below [tubemate or easytube] apps really very helpful and it will give exactly what you want. There is an another way too, if you are using firefox app, you can try "save from.net helper" add-ons, that can download your video while watching video.

There are apps like TubeMate or EasyTube that let you download Youtube videos to your phone internal storage or to the SD card in order to allow you to see these videos whenever you want wherever you want.
Maybe this is what you are looking for.

You could always:
Set it up downloading using 'TubeMate': http://www.androidfreeware.net/download-youtube-tubemate.html
Then watch it on the normal YouTube app!
If you go out of range, hope that the download has finished and you can carry on watching it offline!


text:
Is the Google GMail client able to download attachments for arbitrary file types?
I emailed myself an epub the other day and went to the GMail app (v 2.3.5) on my android phone to download it.
While it showed me the attachment, I could not figure out how to download it. The email shows a pretty paperclip icon next to it, and at the bottom of email I get another pretty icon with a paperclip. But I cannot click(/press) on it. There is no preview/download button. The menu has no option to download it.
So my question is, is it actually possible?
I've seen a fair bit on forums suggesting it is not, but those are fairly dated threads. It seems somewhat inconceivable to me that one would not be able to download an attachment - as one person has put it, this seems like a feature shortcoming that is bordering on a bug.
An example of what I see is:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/attachwhat.png/
My phone: Samsung Galaxy S 2 running VillainRom 2.4.2, Gmail 2.3.5, email sent from Thunderbird 3.1.14 on Windows 7.

As far as I know this was a new addition to the app recently, so it's surprising that it doesn't work for you.  I just tried emailing myself a .epub file and it worked just fine, I had a Download button to the right of the paperclip icon and attachment name.
I know that the Browser on many devices won't let you download any files that don't have a handler registered for their extension; perhaps this is related.  You can solve that issue via an app that registers for all files, such as Download Crutch; perhaps it will solve your attachment issues as well.  I'd reboot after installing it.  I have Download Crutch installed and have had no problems with it.

Fascinatingly enough, I forwarded the email to my friend on a Nexus Prime with GMail app ver 2.3.4.x (I forget the x) and he is able to download/preview the attachment. The other  odd thing is that he doesn't read ebooks it seems like he would be less likely to have so he is less likely to have an epub extension handler

didnt find Download Crutch but another appp Download all files did the job pretty well.
Have fun
Navneet

This answer is useless unless you share with us what other app you used.

authors: موجود في كل مكان


text:
Why doesn't turning "call volume" all the way down make the call silent?
I asked this because I have searched way too long and all the results I'm getting is why is your phone silent during calls. I can't turn the volume silent during calls, like my zoom meeting. Why?

I may misunderstand the statement, but I assume by "I can't turn the volume silent during calls, like my zoom meeting", you meant "I can silent Zoom meeting, but not phone call", not "I cannot silent both phone calls and Zoom meeting"?

No, I meant that I cannot silent both phone calls and Zoom meetings

Related/possible duplicate: How do I completely mute the sound in phone calls?

Posting an answer that took me too long to find.
Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Enhancements > Mute all sounds

Looks like this is Samsung's customization. Google Pixel doesn't have Hearing Enhancements in Accessibility. Otherwise, could you mention the device model and Android version for completeness?


text:
Browser keeps refreshing tabs
I have a LG V480 (1GB RAM; LG Lollipop 5.0.2), when switching from one tab to another tab which was loaded before, it will reload it.
Example: 3 tabs with 3 websites, everytime i switch tab it will reload the tab i switch to.
Video..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjEGnTxsj3c
Its very annoying, if i had written this question on the tablet and for some reason i clicked in another tab, when returning to the question, i had to write all over again! Its not multitasked, its time/bandwidth wasting. Also tried to set to default the tablet, but the issue remains.
Tried with Chrome (preferred one), Firefox, Opera, some others browsers, and all behaves like this, some better, other worse.
How can i solve this issue?

It's probably the LMK (low-memory killer) that kills suspended threads for tabs that are not visible. They then need to be restarted and all of their data needs to be reloaded again.

Thanks for the comment. I did a follow up on your answer and Mikhail in his answer..

Its probaly in the websites code to refresh to keep you up to date with the websites content.

Definitely those tabs are just getting killed. Remember that in Chrome, page renderers run in separate processes for security. Once a renderer process has been put into background, the system is free to kill it. According to https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=98332, the issue with over-aggressive process killing should be resolved in the 5.1 update. Hopefully, LG will release this update for V480 soon.

Thanks for the answer..that makes sense.5.0.2 was released for this model some days after i purchased the tablet, originally was 4.4.2..do you think 4.4.2 also suffers this issue? I´m thinking on downgrading, if solves the issue..

I think 4.4.2 is actually better than 5.0 for non hi-end devices. For KitKat there had been a special effort in order to minimize memory usage (see http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/10/31/kitkat-feature-spotlight-project-svelte-extends-android-4-4-support-to-devices-with-as-little-as-512mb-of-ram/). Then in the initial release of Lollipop, things got bad again. This was fixed in 5.1. So until it becomes available for your device, it is wiser to keep with KitKat.

authors: القعقاع الجولحي


text:
Unable to load some websites USB tethering
I am sharing internet from my Samsung galaxy S10+ to my HP Pavilion 15-n208tx laptop via USB tethering. On my phone, I am getting browsing speeds of upto 10 mbps but while tethering, I am unable to load many websites. I am using the USB type C cable provided with the phone for tethering.
Example of strange behavior:
Sites loading:
www.google.com
www.instagram.com
Sites not loading:
www.codeforces.com
www.amazon.in

What do you mean not loading? Is the connection  timing out or the site's cannot be reached at all? Is this the  ase with both the phone and the PC or just with PC. Try pinging the sites in both the phone and PC when tethering. Also try tethering in a different PC or maybe in a Linux live boot session just to rule out your current OS is not the problem here.

The sites are reachable but after quite a long time (minimum 30 sec). It is just the case with the PC on which my OS is Ubuntu 18.04. I have tried pinging the websites on my PC and the ping is just fine. Moreover, I tried USB tethering with a different phone using a type B USB cable on this laptop, and everything works fine.

I found that my wired ethernet connection is still active and hence some sites are failing. I disconnected the wired ethernet and my usb tether is working properly for all sites.