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Every time I plug in my phone via USB it automatically mounts the SD card (Xperia Arc version)
I have almost this question:
Every time I plug in my phone via USB it automatically mounts the SD card

I have a Motorla Droid running CM6 (essentially Android 2.2). I'm
  connecting to Windows 7 machines via USB. Every time I plug in my
  phone via USB it automatically mounts the SD card as external storage.

Except I have a Xperia Arc with version 2.3.4, and have neither Winamp or DoubleTwist installed (given as culprits in the other question).
This behaviour started when I updated to 2.3.4 (I don't know exactly what version I had before).
How can I stop it?
Edit:
I've no "Connect to PC" section in the settings, nor can I find this setting in other sections such as "Storage"

Go to Settings->Sony Ericsson->Connectivity and un-check Auto connect in MSC.

Thanks. A bit of strange location to put that setting though.

@Bart Happy to help... :) I too had to work around the android to find out this option when I had faced this problem...

Is this possible with Samsung / Android 2.3.6 (I don't find Auto connect!)


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Uninstalling versus disabling apps
When I select the menu entry called "Uninstall/Disable apps" - from the apps drawer which can be reached from any home screen by tapping the 16-square icon in the lower-right hand corner - I can disable or delete any apps. However, clicking on an app disables it. I remember being able to uninstall apps by dragging them to a delete trash can icon. I cannot figure out how to delete an app on the apps drawer.
Also, while I realize this might vary from app to app, what would be some of the most common reasons/advantages to disabling an app?
P.S. I think the screens accessible by clicking the 16-square icon are what is called the app drawer, correct me if I'm wrong.
Thanks.
I am on a Samsung Galaxy SIII (Android KitKat 4.4.2) and I am cussing the default TouchWiz launcher.
(I would have liked to attach screenshots but at the moment my network connection is slow).

Are you using a different launcher? TouchWiz, the standard launcher for Samsung devices, doesn't delete apps this way, nor does it disable them. This action WILL delete a widget and app from the homescreen. Additionally, and the reason I ask about a different launcher, is that Nova Launcher ADDs functions to allow Uninstall/Remove apps this way. Maybe you were using Nova, and went back to standard TouchWiz?

Thank you, I have updated my post, I am using TouchWiz. Please let me know how to delete an app with TouchWiz. I will also try Nova launcher, thanks.

In order to uninstall apps on touch-wiz, go to the apps folder then tap the left soft button. Now tap uninstall and touch the minus button for the app you want to remove. Finally, tap yes when it says "(App you chose) will be uninstalled". Here is a video showing how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYL6nYapr7I

Also, while I realize this might vary from app to app, what would be
  some of the most common reasons/advantages to disabling an app?

The advantage of disabling an app over uninstalling it is that the app doesn't need to be installed all over again (from scratch using WiFi and the google play store.) Instead, you can find the app you want to use again and enable it. Think of it as a file in the recycling bin of a PC. It is not being used by the computer by any way, but can still be restored and put to use if you wish so.

I would like to accept your answer, but does this mean that to uninstall an app I first have to drag it from the apps folder to one of the home screens, and then delete it. Why can't I do this directly from the apps folder?

That is probably just the way touch-wiz was designed. There are plenty of other launchers however like nova in which you can alter this setting.

@Devin - what device and OS are you providing this action from? I, similar to Jack, have an S3, where this doesn't hold. Maybe you're speaking of a revision since?

I used a samsung note 2 running kitkat. I found that it is different than on mine now and have revised the answer. Here is a video showing how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYL6nYapr7I. Apparently you have to first hit the left soft button in then click uninstall.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How to close a window in multi-window mode?
How do I close a window in multi-window mode? I know I can show/hide the Windows supporting multi-window by keeping the Back key pressed/held down. Once I drag an app out of the multi-window and then another one how do I close it.
I am also slightly surprised that only few apps use multi-window.
Can someone please point me to the code needed to implement multi-window in am app?
Also, can I dock the multi-window drawer on other sides of the screen, where a user may find then more convenient (at least being able to choose between a left-docking and a right-docking drawer.
Android KitKat 4.4.2.
Thanks.

AFAIK for supporting multi-window you only have to target SDK Level 24 and don't set any 'orientation' on your activities (because an app in multi window mode might have a landscape orientation even if the phone is in portrait mode and vice versa)

@ValentinKuhn Nope. Samsung have had it since Jellybean, maybe earlier.

To answer your first question (since the rest are off topic, and the first one is your title question anyway) apps open in multi window can be shut by:

Tap anywhere in the app you want to shut.
Tap the Bar between the two windows (it may have an arrow pointing at that window you tapped, it may not)
Tap the X on the options that come up

BUT BE WARNED! If you opened an app over an app (for example, you opened YouTube, then gmail on top of it) it would switch to that app. Keep repeating the process to close any unneeded apps.

Sorry this solution is not working for me. Android 4.4.2 KitKat. I click on a window, then the blue dot that becomes a blue circle, and I can move it, but not close one of the windows. Thanks.

Please include a screenshot in your question. Trust me, it will help.

Done it, the app inn the top is Chrome, the one in the bottom its a music player. Was not able to capture the screen with the blue circle pressed (which enlarges when you press it, perhaps you can tell me how to do it). Thanks.

Done it. See if my question madness better sense now.

@JackMaddington Have you tried sliding the dot all the way up/down? Also, I note izzysoft in the top there :)

Yes, thanks. :-) However, when I slide the dot/ball all the way down, it disappears and the horizontal bar is reset to its original position.

How do I change this our configure a setting for it to work properly?

Also, I would like to take a screenshot while one of my fingers is on the screen (with the blue dot/ball pressed). I have tried the power-home key combination I normally use, but no luck. Can I use a different method, maybe a voice command?

@JackMaddington You could possibly screen-record, then take a screenshot of the recorded footage, but you may need root. What device do you have?

I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy SIII Neo, would love to be able to record video on my smartphone. Not sure how to do it. Could you please suggest how? Thanks.

@JackMaddington Just download an app like AZ screen recorder from the play store. Hmmm, I have am S3, and of shows the white bar I mentioned.

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


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Google Now in other languages?
What plans does Google have to support Google Now in other languages. This would be especially important for people who need to use the device without looking at the screen.
On my Samsung Galaxy SIII, Android 4.4.2 KitKat, if I change the Settings app | Controls | Language and Input | Language setting then the user interface language changes but the Google Now speaking voice is still in English.
I have also tried Settings app | Controls | Voice Control but those settings are limited to voice control for answering or rejecting calls, stopping or snoozing alarms, shooting with the camera or video software, or controlling the playing of music.
Also under Settings app | Device | Accessibility there are several useful user settings such as TalkBack, but nothing related to Google Now.
Finally, in the Google Now application there are several useful functionalities but nothing to set the input and output languages in Google Now.

It appears google already does, if you open the app Google Settings, Then Search and Now. Then Voice, at the top you can pick from a bunch of languages. I added Espanol (Mexico) since I know a little and it recognized my voice in spanish. Hope this is what you are looking for.

That's great, but what if someone cannot see the screen. There should be a universal Google Voice command to set the language. What is it? Thanks.

Note:  I would like to upvote you but I don't have enough reputation.

Hmm. I'll do some digging and let you know about that. And its all good. =)

Take a look at https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2940021?hl=en
If you scroll down to Way to use your voice. Then select android, it shows all(?) of the commands you can use. It does not look like you can at this time. Sorry. =(

@JackMaddington You may accept(no privilege needed) the answer if it worked well for you.

Actually your answer didn’t work for me, just wishing it would have worked. But then you said in a comment that the support I'm looking for is lacking. Perhaps, do you have a more modern device that has the functionality? If so, then what is it? Perhaps if you provide these details I can accept your answer. Aldo post the OS version.

Ahh I see now. Yeah you have an older device. I assume all your apps are up to date? I have the Samsung Note 4 running 5.0.1.
Edit: What version of android are you running?

I am running 4.4.2 KitKat. What's the minimum version of Android that supports Google Now in more than one language, and how many and which languages are supported?

I looked for a little bit on google and didnt return anything other than https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2839743?hl=en According to what I was reading, some options are only available for 5.0, Some for 4.4 and some for under 4.3. Its weird that languages would only be available for 5.0.

Perhaps so, but it seems the list of supported languages in the user interface keeps increasing with each release of mobile phone, so perhaps the same happened with Google Now, with it being available in other languages from version 5 onwards. The page you link to does not seem to say so in the URL, but it must refer to 5 onwards. Perhaps these are excuses to have consumers upgrade their phones (while the older versions could be brought to do the same thing, a real shame for visually impaired users).


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Configure Tasker as alarm for date and time
Could someone be so kind as to show me how to set Tasker to play a melody selected by myself when 5 June 2016 @ 10 PM is reached. I would like to be able to set the sound file to play, perhaps in a loop. Thanks.

Bit related: Play songs randomly and endlessly

Before you start having us write a new Tasker profile every day (kidding :), let me give you some help to help yourself: My site holds some Tasker Graphs showing you what conditions and tasks are to be found where. So based on that, here's what you'd have to do.
The profile

Condition:

Time › set the time you want this profile to be active
Date › pick your date here

Task: Media › MusicPlay › select your music file

Pretty basic stuff. Below the graphs you can also find a list with Tasker Tutorials – recommended reading :)
Notes

Tasker always connects multiple conditions per AND – so it's always "condition-1 AND condition-2".
When creating a new profile, after having chosen your first condition Tasker will immediately continue asking you for the task(s). So complete those first, save the new profile, then long-tap (tap-and-hold) the first condition. This will open a context menu from which you can chose to e.g. add another condition or add an exit-task
You cannot have multiple conditions of the same type for the same profile. So if you want e.g. the same task executed at two different times, you have to create two profiles; but when creating the second profile, you can simply pick the task created for the first (or any other) profile from a drop-down.

One more thing: if I want the music to stop, how do I then do that? Closing tasker won't do it, and I cannot see when I long press the home screen the actual app being used to play the music, so I cannot close that app to stop playing the music. Thanks.

Also, what is the difference between a condition and a context? Thanks.

About that of a beer and an ale :) Take the two terms as synonym. I've picked up the term "condition" some time in the past (I'm using Tasker for more than 5 years already), but the official term is "context" AFAIK. As for stopping the music: That's why I've linked the graphs. Find the "StopPlaying" (or similar) action in Media section, make it another task. Then e.g. create a shortcut on your desktop (pick "Tasker", then pick the task) so you can trigger that manually – or simply assign it to another context (e.g. for 5 min later).

Thank you for your help, that helps a lot. I also see that tasker lets you create more than one profile, each with one or more contexts/conditions associated with them and with one or more tasks for each of these condition sets. Profiles can be enabled/disabled separately. Makes perfect sense. Thanks.

Exactly. And there's also our fine tasker tag-wiki which I can recommend to look at :)

I am still trying to figure out what to do with the Music Stop task, I couldn't figure out how to create the desktop shortcut. Perhaps you can help me with it?

See the user guide: Tasker: Task / Shortcut Widgets


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Is it possible to connect desktop/laptop display with smartphone?
I have android smartphone . I have computer with Windows 7 operating system.
I want to see data that I am surfing on internet in my smartphone on my computer. If I connect my smartphone with my computer using USB cable, can I see content which is displayed on my smartphone's display (say any website) on desktop screen? Is it really possible to do it? Is there any apk available for it?  I don't want to root my smartphone.

There is no native way to do this through through a USB port, although you have a few other options:
1. Use Mirror Beta
On your PC/Mac, download the AllCast Receiver app for Chrome and launch it. On your Android phone download the Mirror Beta app and make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. If everything works well, you should be able to see your Chrome browser as an option on your phone, tap that and it should work.
This doesn't require root, but it does need lollipop
2. Simply use an HDMI cable
Get a microUSB to HDMI converter, plug one end in the phone and the other end in your monitor or TV. It should work out of the box as an input in your TV. This method will have less lag and will work on older phones, but is less like what you wanted.

If you enable USB debugging, you can actually use the Chrome debugging tools to view your smartphone's display for any website.

Enable USB debugging (under Developer Tools).

if Developer Tools isn't available in Settings, you may need to do the above.

Open the desired website in Google Chrome on your phone
Connect your phone to your computer via a microusb cable
In Google Chrome on your computer, navigate to Settings->More Tools->Inspect Devices
Check Discover USB Devices

(source: chrome.com)

Allow USB debugging on your phone

(source: chrome.com)

At this point, you should be able to Inspect any webpages open on your phone from your computer

(source: chrome.com)

Tapping on the mobile icon in the Inspector should mirror your mobile display

the resulting display should look something like this:

Note: this solution will only mirror webpages, not other content.

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


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Can I jam the WiFi connection of other android phones nearby?
Is there any way to programmatically jam the WiFi signal of another Android phone? Or anything that comes close to this?

Are you physical stronger than them in case they form an angry crowd?

For the sake of argument, let's say yes.

Jamming WiFi could disturb innocent others nearby. Leave an imperative message on their facebook pages right before the meeting starts.

In the title I say the wifi signal of an Android phone (i.e. a specific android phone) not the WiFi router.

You can't jam only Android WiFi signal, because WiFi is just... a signal, the same WiFi any laptops, iPhone, Windows Phone, etc uses. Unless you have access to their phones and installed some kind of apps to remotely turn-off and disable the WiFi, it's impossible. I'd suggest to read for the alternative: this and this.

A running microwave normally kills WiFi pretty good.  Just might be a little difficult to carry :D

Every time I go out for a beer with my friends they pull out their phones and browse facebook. This annoys me to the point that I want to smash their phones against the floor. -- I advise purging ([edit]) this. It isn't helpful to anyone. The relevant issue which can interest someone comes after this. I guess its inviting downvoting as well.


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After Pie upgrade, lock screen is not hiding all sensitive content
I recently upgraded my Pixel 2 from Android Oreo to Pie. I have "Security & location" -> "Lock screen preferences" set to "Hide sensitive content".
Ever since the upgrade, when I receive an email while my phone is locked, in addition to the email notification icon, it also displays my email address under it for a short while (Maybe 60 seconds.) Even after it goes away, if I double tap the screen or press the power button, it shows my email address again on the screen; note the phone is still locked at this point. (I'm fairly certain that) prior to the upgrade only the email icon was shown without also displaying my email address while the phone is locked.
I am using the standard Gmail app with multiple email addresses configured. I consider my email address(es) to be sensitive information and don't want them to be displayed on my locked phone.
Is this a new bug (or strange feature), or is it configurable? Or am I completely mistaken and it's always been this way?

It is not a bug, your email address is showing due to multiple email configurations u have made. However your point is valid that your email address is a sensitive information, u can try sending feedback to google by reviewing Gmail on Playstore.

I had multiple emails configured before the update too, and AFAIK it didn't start displaying the email until after the upgrade...

i experienced email shown in sensitive content on all my devices, they have android M, O and P.

Interesting - it's possible it's always been like that, though I'm surprised I never noticed until now.

i never had sensitive info hidden, i saw ur question and checked..

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


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How can I use Termux with the JuiceSSH interface?
I would like to use Termux and its package manager as a local terminal, but I cannot get used to its keyboard. The volume buttons are a poor choice IMO, as they require significant finger pressure and only work some of the times, at least on my phone (OnePlus 6.)
On the contrary, I find JuiceSSH's keyboard and overall terminal interface perfect.
Can I use JuiceSSH to open a local Termux session? How?
If that's not possible, is there a plugin for Termux that makes the keyboard work more like JuiceSSH's?
I tried executing Termux's bash from a JuiceSSH "local" session, but they are run under different Unix users (u0_a214 vs u0_a198) and so anything I try to do gives Permission Denied.

Termux is an open source app. If you have suggestions how it could/should be improved you should create an issue in the GitHub project: https://github.com/termux/termux-app

It's already supported.
I created a ~/.termux/termux.properties with the following contents:
extra-keys = [ \
 ['ESC','|','/','-','HOME','UP','END','PGUP'], \
 ['TAB','CTRL','ALT','DEL','LEFT','DOWN','RIGHT','PGDN'] \
]
extra-keys-style = arrows-only

It's enabled by opening the left sidebar (swipe from the left screen edge) and long-pressing on the "keyboard" button.
Documentation here: https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Touch_Keyboard


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Andorid - Possible virus
"I got an message on my android Galaxy S3, while reading my usual online newspaper on Chrome, the exact content is:
The page at download.com-01.mobi says:
POSSIBLE VIRUS
A website you visited could have infected your device with a virus.
Press OK for more information."
The above is the exact message that I got, and it's so weird...
Is this something that I should be worried about?

Sounds like it's just a pop up, don't worry about it. Or if you are then factory reset the phone. Also you didn't ask a question!

Use an adblocker to get rid of it. These messages are a nuisance to lure you into a trap. There are many Q/A regarding adblockers on this website. You can search them.

As noted in the comments, that's just an ad that probably is trying to get you to install some form of malware.  In general, web pages cannot tell if you have a virus — and those that do, like McAfee's online scanner, will be obvious since you'll have to be engaging them on purpose!  (And they are likely PC-only anyways.)


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bricked micromax canvas 2.2
I have problem boot my phone micromax a114 canvas 2.2
it only show start logo and nothing else.
but I can boot it to recovery mod(not any cwm recovery but factory installed recovery)
device name is mt6582
so I decided to flash its stock ROM using sp flash tool.
with option selected as"download only".
after click on the download when I connect my phone a message appears "pmt changed for the ROM; it must be downloaded"
so, plz tell me what and how to do?
and one more thing I noticed, in computer's device manager when connected the device with USB the list keep refreshing again and again every 2 seconds and under 'ports' USB vcom port keep appearing and disappearing, can anybody tell me if that is normal.
I've already installed drivers for the phone and installed vcom drivers,
and I'm using windows 8 x64
plz help. any.

Here's a a link Have you tried creating scatter file?

Yes I have tried mtk droid tool but when I connect my device with PC its unable to identify my device. And no info is displayed in mtk tool

Check if drivers are installed correctly, Also could you provide screenshot of your device manager when device is connected

Image is uploaded. The mediated vcom port keep appearing and disappearing every 2 seconds. This is quick screen sot when it appear.

related xda link


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Play store apps cannot write to external SD Card in Android Oreo
My Galaxy S7 edge recently updated to Oreo. Now play store apps no longer have rights to write to my external SD card. I have followed app instructions about how to open a system folder chooser dialog, and selecting the root of the external SD Card. Unfortunately the external SD card is never an option. The upper right 3 dot menu only has the option "Show internal storage" and does not have "Show SD Card" and the upper left 3 bar "Open From" menu only has "Recent" and "Downloads."
I've also set up a FTP connection to my phone but get permission errors when trying to delete or write files to the external SD card (I can read from it just fine).
The camera and other native apps allow using the external card as the storage location and the "My Files" file manager has full access. I am not rooted.
Any ideas?


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Is battery temperature reading, dependent on the ROM that is installed on the phone
On my original Android installation, the battery temperature was 31-37°C depending on what I was doing. Now I've installed a custom ROM and the temperature is usually 35-41°C.
This 4°C difference is something that I should feel with my hand, but I doubt there is that much difference.
Is it possible that two different ROMs are reading the same temperatures differently?
PS: Power consumption is not much different either

You are not going to feel a 4C difference with your hand.


text:
How does Avast Anti-theft Survive a hard reset
So, I came across Avast Anti-theft a few days ago, they flaunt a feature of surviving a factory reset, how is this possible without having root access ?
I looked up a few threads and could not find a good explanation, can someone tell me how it might be able to do that ?

Yes, I meant factory reset and are you sure ? Although it seems logical that as factory reset wipes everything it will definitely get rid of the application.

Here is the link to the article   Avast Lost Phone Experiment

I had seen that article earlier but a) won't believe unless it is from independent source not app manufacturer b) It is known that android doesn't have viruses ( malware , yes )but their app says anti -virus. Aside, it is not impossible - there are instances you can easily see from Google search where malware survives factory reset. Theory is that they acquire elevated privileges on an unrooted device and lodge themselves in /system partition which isn't affected by factory reset. If their claim is true, they would be probably adopting the same mechanism//

// which isn't difficult for them given that they are in this business. However, I am not aware of the mechanics and could be another question

@beeshyams I think it would make a good answer if you convert your comments into an answer. I would suggest you don't mention impossible without root but mention, as you did in the comments, the app would certainly (conceptually the only way) require elevated privileges to remount system partition in rw mode and copy itself in it. Whether the elevated privileges are root or system is not really our concern.

@Firelord. Thanks. I thought of that but this needs more understanding. If the app / malware mounted /system as rw it would trip safety net and OTA updates too and the app would be blamed for that. They wouldn't want that and neither a well designed malware. If you have more insights please do share. I don't have the time to research but this actually is a good conceptual question. If you agree and and form a question, I will be happy to place a 100 bounty on it

Hello I have been the author of Theft Aware, the core technology that later become Avast Anti Theft (my company was acquired). Yes it was possible to survive a hard reset, on rooted devices. I even built a root installer that did the hard work for you. Unfortunately this was not a mainstream feature so after I left Avast they decided to remove it - so now its not there anymore. Hope that helps.

While I cannot verify your credentials, I searched for the problem and came across some forum posts which mentioned that the app had this feature for a while and it was listed only on rooted devices.


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Recover data from unbootable phone
I have a BQ Aquaris X Pro. During a phone call it suddenly started to reboot mid-call but it hung during the boot process (on the "second screen" where it says "Aquaris" in white, animated letters). Restarting the phone doesn't help, it still keeps hanging on the same spot (sometimes already on the first screen with the BQ logo).
So far a managed to enter recovery mode. I tried View recovery logs, but I didn't find any error messages. I tried to wipe the cache partition, but that didn't fix the problem.
So I want to recover a few files manually. In the recovery mode menu I tried to select Mount \system and then Apply update from ADP. The device shows up in the Windows 11 device manager:

I'm able to connect to the phone via ADB (after installing Android SDK and JDK):
C:\platform-tools_r33.0.2-windows\platform-tools>adb devices
List of devices attached
BL000110        sideload

I tried to access with adb shell but it returns with error: closed. I assume this is because of the "sideload mode" or could there be another reason?
I searched through quite a few articles and found possible causes like wrong USB drivers or not enabled USB-Debugging. I also noticed that in "Fastbootmode" (when I select Reboot to bootloader in the recovery menu), the device is not recognized in Windows:

At the moment I'm a little bit lost, any helpful hints are appreciated.

on locked bootloader your only chance to get (encrypted) dump off device is via EDL mode (deep flash cable or test point and prog_emmc_firehose_8953_ddr.mbn required, user spark1991z may tell you)

@alecxs thanks, that seem to be quite a lot of work. If the is the only way, will there be way to decrypt the data?

No. but raw backup is recommended before trying to hack into. some modification might possible, if you're lucky you can root and enable adb by patching boot.img on locked bootloader. maybe prog_emmc_firehose_8953_ddr.mbn is generic so may work with preinstalled loaders from github, try without loader given first

@alecxs so if I understand correctly, your suggestion is just to do a backup in case s.th. goes wrong during the recovery process? (sorry, if the question seems superficial, I haven't worked with Android systems in such depth before, and still have a lot to catch up on)

Yes. you need EDL to patch boot anyway


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Music Player Not Displaying Songs?
I am using a T-Mobile G2 running Android 2.3 and recently had to replace the phone with another as the old one was bad. I then launched the stock music player with my SD Card inserted and I viewing "All Songs" I noticed I was missing songs. I went to the Artist and could find the missing songs. What I am confused about is how to get the default Music Player to show those songs in the All Songs list.
I was looking at this question and the answer provided: The music player keeps displaying deleted songs. How do I remove them or refresh the library?  I found the program and the cache was empty yet the "storage data" had info but when I went to clear it it gave me a warning saying this would clear all accounts and data etc. What will this clear if I choose this option? I do not want to lose other information.
Beyond clearing the media data is there any other steps that I should be using to try and get these songs to display?
It would be nice if in the options it gave a refresh music library option, other smart phones give this and I would assume Android would also but it is not there!
Note: This issue was not there on the old G2.

I think that's a sort of "generic" warning that shows up anytime you clear the data for a system service. I cleared my Media Storage data just now and I'm not noticing any other missing data (accounts, system settings, etc) but I'll dig around in some menus/apps for a bit to be sure.

@eldarerathis - Thank You Very Much. All help is appreciated.

I haven't looked exhaustively at the filesystem itself (didn't use adb shell or anything), but I'm fairly positive the warning is just a generic message that shows up whenever you clear data for an app or system service. I tried a couple of different apps and services and always saw the warning. After clearing my Media Storage data and unmounting/remounting my SD card I had:

All of my music still available (after it had a chance to rescan)
My Google Music account still set up and properly linked
My ringtone still set to the correct song on my SD card
All other accounts and settings normal

So basically, everything excepting the actual list of songs on my SD card was retained, and the list was refreshed after I remounted the SD card, as far as I can see.
Other than clearing Media Storage data, the only other thing I've tried to get my music to update is just unmounting and remounting the SD card (or using an app like SD Rescan to do it for you, as mentioned in the other question). I've personally had kind of mixed results with this, but the clear data then remount cycle always seems to work.


text:
How can I automatically reject some types of calls?

Possible Duplicate:
How can I reliably screen or block callers on a number-by-number basis?

I've been getting calls from a strange number recently, and it's not even a local area call. This caller has called me 20 times, and whenever I pick up the phone I am met with intimidating silence, even if I shout in it.
Naturally, I decided that I had enough, and tried to surf the internet finding ways to block certain phone number. However, the only methods I found were to either:
(1) Call your call service company to block a call,
(2) Install some apps to do it,
Now, I do not want to overcomplicate this situation, and I've had bad experiences with applications... so, any suggestions on how to deal with this?

Try blacklisting the phone no. Long press the phone no. in the Call Logs and select 'Add to Blacklist' option.


text:
Are there any video players with variable speed playback?
I am looking for a video player that can play videos on my SD card with variable speed playback
Related Questions

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/2840/comparision-of-video-players-for-android

Looking forward VLC player is released for Android.

Dice player can go up to 1.8X.

A link to the app in the Market would be nice.

Here are some: VLC for Android, BSPlayer, Dice Player
With BSPlayer you are able to speed up youtube as well if you're interested, as explained here (though as of now, bsplayer shows 'not available in your country' in my app store (USA), hope you can get it)

Mmmm. No. At least not that i know of.
I tried VPlayer, Rockplayer, the stock player, iMplayer. None of that has control over the play speed.
If i find out I get back to you.

I can do this nicely on N900 (Maemo 5) using mplayer, but nothing on the Android side yet for fast playback of videos.

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


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Is there an app or method that will let me use a cloud-synced folder on the SD card?

Possible Duplicate:
Complete dropbox implementation for Android

In my case I have a bunch of roms and save files I want to keep in sync across devices, the desktop dropbox app lets me store these files in a "real" folder in windows so any application can access them normally, but once they're changed on my pc/server they get updated. Is there any app that lets me do something similar on android? The cloud apps I've looked at so far (dropbox, box.net, boxroid) only allow for downloading single files at a time.

SugarSync does this. They specifically market it as a way to keep your photos backed up, but it works for any file/folder. They describe their "Autosync" system in this blog post.


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(adb) How to Backup things from /data/data using a shell terminal emulator on the same device without root?
~ I have Nexus 5 running Android L 5.1.1
~ I want to backup one App cach from /data/data
~ I don't concider rooting my device
~ I installed a Shell Terminal Emulator from the app store.
~ I've already tried some commands like:

adb backup -noapk com.google.android.app

But it didn't work (gives a 0kb file)
And sometimes gives error: (adb: unable to connect for backup) {I'm already a developer and debugging is on}.
Then I tried this one:

time adb shell ls -l -a | grep '^[^l]' | sed -e 's/^d.* ([^ ])\r$/mkdir -p sav/\1; adb pull /\1 sav/\1/' -e 's/-. ([^ ]*)\r$/adb pull /\1 sav/\1/' | /bin/bash
  It gives some not found errors !

Is that possible? 'Cause I heard that a lot of people succeed to backup things without root, but using adb with android sdk on a PC.

Look at this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/28296/95577

By "one App cach" do you mean a particular app's cache?

@Firelord Yes, for example, the app X downloads some content to /data/data folder, and I want to reach those files without rooting my devixe :)


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Moto G 2 (2014) Not Charging!
My phone is a Moto G (2014) XT1068. It has recently stopped charging for some reason. This morning it was charging and tonight, it decided that it would be a prick and not charge. Anyhow I tried cleaning the connector, using various cables/plugs, wiping the cache partition, booting it up in recovery mode and nothing has worked. Could someone give me any more suggestions. I can't go to the phone repair shop at the moment and my warranty has expired :( as I am in boarding school and cannot leave for another 2 and a half weeks.
Does anyone know any suggestions on what to do??? Thanks in advance.

I am not sure if you changed the charger as well. Try doing that. If you don't have a charger, try charging from USB port of a lap top. If that works, then it looks like your charger is culprit. If this suggestion works, will convert into answer

Thanks for the suggestion. I put a micro usb port into my laptop. The phone doesn't charge but there is a constant notification on my mac saying "unplug usb device using too much power"

Am guessing it to be a hardware issue...Sorry can't be of help

I have found myself in the position that all my micro-usb cables had gotten worn out, and even after having tested several, I had to buy a new cable to charge my device.  Those connectors just aren't that robust.  Can you find anyone who has a shiny new USB cable that you could try for a minute, just to see if that solves the problem?

You can try other battery and charge. Also check 3 point connector of battery on PCB.

authors: Артем Аношин


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How can I "Show all notification content" for one app, but "Hide sensitive content" for all others?
I'm using a timer app, Multi Timer Free, but it doesn't show the time remaining on the lock screen. Meanwhile, Google's Clock app does. I want to set it to Show all notification content, but when I have Hide sensitive content turned on system-wide (which is always), Show all isn't available. Is there no way to make an exception to the rule?
I considered turning on Show all notification content system-wide, but then I'd have to select Hide sensitive content for a ton of other apps, which is a hassle.
This answer indicates that notification sensitivity is set by the dev, so I checked the Multi Timer Free settings (as well as the system notification settings) for anything that could designate the notifications as "public", but didn't see anything.
I'm using Android 9 on a Moto G6. If it's relevant, it's due for an upgrade to Android 10, I just haven't gotten around to re-locking the bootloader yet.
To be verbose, the particular notification class I'm looking at is Running Timer Notification.

Please when talking about a specific app include the link the Google Play Store in the question (or include the app package name) as apps often have different names in different countries and there are often more than one app with the same partial name. Have you contacted the author of the timer app you use? May be this can be better solved in the code of the timer app.

@Robert Added link, thanks! That's a good point, yeah, I should contact the dev!

When you open the app page not in Play Store app but in web browser near the end is a contact link of the developer.


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How to make my cellphone a router or a hotspot thing with a constraint
My computer is connected to internet but I dont have a router(and I dont want to buy one) to use it on my phone. So I was using the usb "reverse tethering tool" which i could use succesfully.
But now I want to use my phone as a router so that I can connect to internet from anywhere in my room with other phones.
And yes I dont want to buy a router, My PC doesnt have a wifi or bluetooth connectivity.
Thankyou for your time.
Sincerely,
Jasser
I am using samsung galaxy S duos GT-S7562.

You can turn your device into a Wifi Hotspot (there is an option in the general settings, usually with the other connectivity settings).
Generally, you will need to pay your Cellphone provider to allow you to use this particular feature (although there are ways to get around this - but that is another thread).
Bottom line, there is an option in the settings - if your phone can support this, you will easily be able to turn it on.

When I use reverse tethering I am not able to use wifihot-spot.... I have already tried that.....

I mean it shows the sign of hotspot and I am able to connect one phone with another but i am not able to get internet access @booger

You likely don't have that service enabled from your cell phone provider.  That is specifically what I am saying.

Yes it does but the problem is that it is not working when I do it with reverse tethering part @Booger


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my wifi turns on and off continuously
Well I am not able to understand why is this happening? When I connect to a particular router this continuous state of switching happens and there is no problem with other routers. What are the possible reasons of this? How to avoid it happening?

I edited the question again @Firelord

I had experienced a problem with wifi tethering of my device and this solved my issue.
Go to settings(Data Settings), there may have an app (I am using Xiaomi device and I have Security app which controls this) that restricts data usage for all applications(both wifi and internet).  In that, there is system app named "Android System" which controls wifi and tethering.
Please check whether it provided with data and wifi access.

Please use comments to seek clarifications. With a bit more rep, you will be able to post comments.

@RahulGopi I edited the question


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Completely exporting a WhatsApp chat, including media and voice messages
I have a chat with a lot of voice messages, pictures and chat messages that I would like to completely export to my laptop, so that I can listen to the voice messages, view the pictures and read the complete chat history.
The 'email chat' option only exports a small portion of the text and voice messages and just 8-10 pictures. As for the 'back up chats' option - I don't know what to do with the created files - as far as I understood from googling, they are meant to be read by WhatsApp itself - not by you on a PC/Laptop.
Thank you for any help!
Update:
Kind of a solution: Decoding the WhatsApp encrypted backups - link

I don't remember anymore but you need some application that can open the db files (or whatever it was that one gets out of it). I used something called DB browser for SQlite for Ubuntu

Not really Android stuff but you can export your chat from WhatsApp Web using this browser extension https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/backup-whatsapp-chats/gmbicfpadlmgkfhfepknbmemfhahelll. Will include all the media sent in the chat as well.


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Listen to wireless traffic with TCPDump
I am trying to sniff traffic from a smartphone on the local WiFi network (in a legal way).
For that purpose I use the command TCPDump on a computer connected to the same wireless network.
I can sniff packets from iPhones, from a Galaxy phone with Android 5, but not from a Galaxy with Android 4.4.2.
With this device I can only sniff ICMP traffic, which is what is used for ping request. Instead of that I have nothing.
How can this be possible ? What can I do to sniff packets as I do with iPhones ? Does not Android used broadcasted messages for establishing a communication with an access point ?
Thank you.

In order to do that, I'd recommend the app Intercepter-NG. It's a bit tricky to use, and is known to generate false positives in anti-virus software, but it seems to be the only choice.
How to use Intercepter-NG
As soon as the app starts up, select "Skip scanning" and, in the newly opened activity, choose the tab with the Wireshark icon. Press the Play/Start button to begin sniffing. The packets will be displayed on the screen, as well as saved to a PCAP file on the SD card.

Hi Arielle and thank you for your response. I am sorry I was unclear, I want to listen to traffic coming from a smartphone, not sniffing using the smartphone.
For that purpose I use a computer connected to the same WiFi access point and on the same local network than the smartphone.

In that case, I'm afraid your question is off-topic for Android Enthusiasts. Try asking over at Super User.


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Can I copy the app data from one phone to another phone if they both use Android?
I will be buying Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 phone and my current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini. My S3 has Android 4.2.2 and the Redmi should have Android 5 with MIUI on top as the user interface.
I'm planning to root my current phone and backup the folder where the app data is stored at (which I believe is  /data/data ). After I get my new phone, I will install all the apps I have on my current phone from Google Play. Will I be able to copy the app data folder I backed up into my new phone to restore the app settings and progress I had? If this method doesn't work, is there any way to copy my app settings to my new phone?

You can usually copy the data for user apps without issue, but there is no guarantee.  I wouldn't copy the /data/data/ folder wholesale, since it will include system app data and provides no way to easily manage it.
I recommend Titanium Backup instead.  With root, it allows you to easily backup any subset of apps (such as user apps) that you wish, and then you simply copy over the backup folder to the new phone, install it and select the backup folder, and then restore everything in a single batch operation.  I've used this to migrate apps and data all the way from Android 2.2, to 4.0, to 5.0.

Can I use Titanium Backup to backup just the app data and not the app itself? I think there are less chances of creating bugs if I install the app using Google Play

@JorgeLuque I'm a long-time user of TiBu. As long as you don't touch system apps, simply restoring the backups on the new device always worked fine for me. With system stuff you need to be more careful (TiBu has a migration mode which I'd recommend if you must do that, but apart from the XML data backups I'd better stay away from them). Furthermore I agree with Matthew: copying the data folder manually is not a good idea here.

@Izzy There's a little "warning" to mention, here: I experienced issues when trying to migrate apps from pre-LP Androids to LP and up (while their data can be migrated flawlessly). This is probably due to the difference between Dalvik and ART.

@Jorge Yes, you can.

@DeathMaskSalesman So does that mean I was right in thinking it was safer to install apps using Google Play on my new phone  and then using Titanium Backup to restore only the app data? If so, are there any warnings for this method?

@JorgeLuque The method you mentioned is pretty safe.


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Does switching my phone from 3G to LTE only matter if I use mobile data?
I have a Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro with Android 5.1.1 and MIUI 7.3.2.0. In my settings I have the option to choose a network type. The options are "2G", "Prefer 3G", and "Prefer LTE". I only use WiFi to connect to the internet so my mobile data is off all the time although my phone automatically turns it on while downloading/sending MMS, then turns it off again). In my APN settings I have set the APN type to "mms" to ensure that my mobile data can only be used for MMS (so only my Messaging app can use data).
Does choosing LTE only affect mobile data?
I read that LTE is a faster network than 3G. Will I notice any improvements in my phone if I switch from 3G to LTE? (faster MMS download?)
Will it consume more battery?
Is my signal strength more likely to increase or decrease?

If you keep your mobile data off, it rather depends on coverage:

Good 2G coverage? Use that. Your battery will last much longer.
Shaky 2G but stable 3G? Use 3G. Same reason: shaky coverage makes the phone permanently switch cell towers, which eats your battery.
2g & 3G shaky, but stable LTE? Well, you guess it.

For a more detailed answer backed by "hard data", see 2G versus 3G: Does it really save battery? Doesn't mention LTE, but you can "extrapolate". Apart from that, with LTE in an early implementation, yur device would need to switch to 3G anyway for phone calls (that was only fixed later).

If I switch to 2G from 3G, will my MMS sending/receiving speed slow down noticeably? Will the audio quality of my calls decrease at all? With 3G I get 4 signal bars; with 2G I get 5 bars (max strength). Is that enough reason to switch to 2G?

No effect on the audio quality as far as I can tell (I didn't notice any). For MMS, I cannot say as I never sent/received any. Do you really deal with that many of them that it would matter?

@Izzi I receive about 2 to 5 MMS per week so it's not a big deal. I just tested the time it takes to send MMS and it seems like 2G might be a little slower than 3G by ~3 seconds so it's not significant. My only doubt now is that I think the 2G frequency supported by both my carrier and phone is 1900Mhz and for 3G it's 850 and 1900Mhz. Since I have support for a lower 3G frequency, will I save more battery by using 850MHz 3G instead of 1900MHz 2G?

I very much doubt it will – but I didn't do any calculations on frequencies. Please follow up to the question I've linked: in standby, it makes not much difference. On call, 2G saves a lot.

Yes LTE is faster. Making the switch from 3G to LTE is a bittersweet change. now get substantially faster data speeds, but may have to keep an eye on usage to avoid overages. If you’ve signed up for a data plan that matches average monthly usage, do you really need to worry about running up your bill? While LTE has its advantages over 3G, there's a downside to faster data speeds. The first thing you may not notice, is how much more you’ll browse the Web. Because pages load faster and the connection is more reliable, you’re more likely to browse longer. That may not be the biggest factor that wastes away your limited data plan, but all that extra browsing can certainly add up throughout the month.

As I said in my question, I only use WiFi to connect to the internet (I don't browse the web using data). I keep my mobile data off since my plan with my carrier only allows mobile data use for MMS. If I use mobile data for something else, I will be charged extra so I keep mobile data off (my phone automatically turns it on only while it downloads/sends MMS)


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After updating to 5.1, phone wont get past black "Google" screen
Last night I upgraded to 5.1 via the built-in update functionality. This phone is not rooted.
Well, now my phone won't get past the black screen with the white "Google" logo when I try and boot it up. I can get into fastboot mode though.
However, fastboot is not showing the phone as a device in windows, so I can't just re-flash the stock 5.1 android rom.
Also, when I try and go into recovery mode I get an android icon with a red exclamation point in a triangle that says "No command."
Is my phone screwed?

To use the stock recovery you are describing, hold volume up in it and press power once. Buttons should appear.

Looks like I'm forced to do a factory reset, and I am using the guide on this page:
https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/4596836?hl=en-CA


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Lockscreen is missing, can I reinstall the lockscreen somehow?
On boot my mobile phone goes to the lockscreen background but doesn't show the unlock symbol.
I've tried dragging the button blind but it's not just that it's not visible, it's not there. Neither does the "emergency dial" button show. The rest of the UI shows; the time, alert bar with wifi symbols and such. I've also tried using the Google Android device manager (ADM) code reset, the numbers don't show to allow input of the code; Safe Mode doesn't show the numbers either.
The phone is an Acer Liquid E3 (E380) running Android 4.4.2 (Kitkat?) and somehow I've managed to remove the lockscreen - I think perhaps it was with [correction:] System App Remover when trying to remove wallpapers after rooting with Kingo Root; but I had just changed to allow voice unlock so it may have been that.
How can I unlock if the buttons don't show? I know the passcode and the voice unlock commands.
The phone is online, Wifi is activated. When entering Safe Mode it showed it was downloading something, for example.
Developer mode is active but I think that USB debug is off (adb devices shows the device but says "offline" next to it).
I can access the recovery menu (power + volume-up at boot) - is it possible to "adb sideload" something that will help (like a replacement lockscreen?). Like I said it's not the code I have problems with, just the UI not showing.
I've seen use of adb shell input text 1234 to enter codes, but presumably this needs USB debug to be enabled; can I force send text that way? If I plug in a USB keyboard is there a button press that operates the "unlock" onscreen button?
Occasionally when I bring up the power off menu the number keys will show underneath (suggesting the software to show them is installed still) but touching the screen dismisses them with the menu leaving me on the broken lockscreen.
Any suggestions other than a factory reset? Thanks.
Edit: sometimes the voice unlock screen is shown behind the "power off" dialog, again it is dismissed as soon as one closes the dialog.
Edit2: I did a full data wipe [ie factory reset], ensured PIN access was set, used a different theme, etc., am now in same position but have managed to enable USB debug. However, using adb shell to provide input doesn't unlock, it will turn screen on but entry of unlock code appears to fail.
Edit3: tried again with ADM, it puts up a black lockscreen with a padlock symbol that looks like a drag-button but I can't interact with it. Also since wiping I put a widget (messaging) on the lockscreen which I can interact with.

Do you notice a change in screen resolution?

No, screen seems normal.

Do you have a custom recovery installed?

@AaronGillion - no, it's stock recovery, I tried to load one (CWM) through fastboot but it wouldn't let me write the recovery partition.

Now that you have USB debugging enabled, you can try resetting some of the database flags associated with the lockscreen...
You will have to adb push sqlite3 to your device, the only independent binary that worked for my devices I pulled from here: XDA - sqlite3 binary June 2015
adb shell
cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
sqlite3 settings.db
update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock';
update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently';
.quit

If you happened to accidentally delete Keyguard.apk and the above does not work, you will have to get another Acer Liquid E3 off ebay or the like (about $80, all we need is the apk, then resell) and adb pull from the source phone and adb push to the destination phone.
I would recommend just flashing stock firmware, or pulling the apk's from stock firmware, but unfortunately that does not exist.

Acer list a file on their website as being the OS for the phone, wondering if this is flashable? Also I have the .apk files that I removed backed up - how would I know what files to pull-push?

Well geez, you backed up the apks? Adb push them all back! A factory reset cannot account for those deleted apks.

So I just do adb push recovered.apk and it will put them in place, or do I need to do something more nuanced? FWIW I've reinstalled twice now and am no closer to getting a lock screen that works.

Actually, there is a little more to it, if those apk's were under /system. Here are the system app commands answered here on Android Enthusiasts. If those commands fail then just adb install them as user apps (easier)

So I downloaded the OS zip given on the Acer website and trawled the /system/app and /system/priv-app files looking for image files that matched the lockscreen. They turned up in /system/priv-app/AcerLiquid.apk.
From there I did adb install ./AcerLiquid.apk (initially I tried with adb shell pm install ... but that failed with a permission error). On rebooting the phone I was then able to see AcerLiquid listed in the system apps; then enabling the lockscreen worked and the phone is returned to full working order.

authors: валерий кобзев


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Reading list manager?
Does anyone know of an app for managing a reading list?
Features I'd like to get include being able search names and authors from some kind of book database, link to common book sellers (Amazon, Barns & Noble, etc.) and add books via an ISBN bar-code.

I have used this Book Catalogue program to enter my book collection. It lets you enter books via ISBN (manually or scanning), has a search feature and works great.
It has bookshelfs where you should create on for a reading list, although there is a checkbox 'have read the book' also ...
Check it out if: maybe it has enough of the features you want to be useful.
I like it very much.

What does it export the data as?  Is there a desktop app you can import data into?

@Bryan Denny: it exports the data as csv. And no, there is nu desktop app , yet - I'm a programmer , you never know :)

If you use good reads here's three apps that sync with the service:

http://www.appbrain.com/app/goodreads-droid/hactar.goodreads
http://www.appbrain.com/app/mybookdroid-%28books-library%29/org.zezula.bookdiary
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.goodreads (Goodreads' official app)

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


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Can I rollback the stock system by just installing an older image zip?
I received the 4.2.x updates on my Nexus 7 and the performance has been awful.  I tried the Forever Gone hack and it helped but it's still much worse than 4.1.x.  I'm not so excited about doing a factory wipe in order to make my system almost as good as it was a month ago.
I've never tried rolling back a stock system before, is it possible to download the official nexus image zip and install it from CWM recovery?  Or do I have to do a more involved wiping and flashing process?  My system is stock 4.2.1 rooted and unlocked, with custom recovery.

Don't use full image at recovery! It contains recovery too (CM can repair itself, but reflash of bootloader is not needed).
Use fastboot and flash partitions: system, data
You will lose all of your data on the tablet, but it is needed because of the different filesystem structure. Without reflashing data you will get a bootloop.

You will most probably have to wipe.
This is because the data will have a different structure, as it is a major version.
If you have recovery, you can flash it to see if it works and if it doesn't, then you can wipe it.
I would suggest backing up any data you would like to keep.


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Can I find which app is making certain DNS requests?
So I've been using pihole and my Android 7 phone is making some unexpected requests to DNS for a particular domain. Is there an app or technique I can use to find which app is initiating those request. It seems the Java level DNS cache won't have that info.
I'd guess one needs to intercept requests to the phones DNS service (*), recording the requested domain and the requesting app; are their hooks in Android to do that?
I don't have root.
Any help appreciated.
(* - yes I know what this acronym means!)

If you have root, you can install a DNS server like dnscrypt-proxy to view/block all DNS requests. It can be combined with iptables owner module to find out which requests are made by which app.

I'll look at getting root but I'm not sure a safe root is available on my device (Honor 5C, NEM-L51 by Huawei). Thanks for the tip, FWIW I've heard OS Monitor app is useful for tracking such things but it doesn't work on Android7 and up.

With root you could extract all the APKs (plus app private data) from your device unzip them and make a grep over all the data. If you are lucky you will find the DNS name and therefore know the app.

Nice idea, could extract suspect apps dl-ed from app store, grep through them, might find something.

Try Net Monitor.
It shows network connections of installed apps.


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Disable push notifications from a non-HTTPS website on Firefox Mobile
I visited a YouTube proxy website, NSFWYouTube, and since then I receive unwanted push notifications from that site like this:

[image above, not showing for me, is https://i.sstatic.net/xV11T.png]
There doesn't appear to be a way to disable it in Firefox Mobile 65.0.1 -- the Mozilla's Support site says to go to the site, click the "lock" icon and disable notifications there. But there is no notification option when I try; the site is not an HTTPS site (not sure if that's why).
I do not recall accepting notifications, is it possible the site click-jacked me into doing so? How can I disable these notifications?
Edit: Additional info, https://pastebin.com/L70PQHnE has copies of some of the JavaScript used on the nsfwyoutube site when spoofing a mobile device, it appears to used "siteswithcontent.com" (which this Ublock filter list associates with annoying push notifications) and ultimately firebase-messaging-sw.js to perform the push notifications ... which continue to come through.


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Android phone camera sets "dav" comment in metadata
Nearly every picture taken by my Android phone has a comment added "dav" in the metadata. I'd like to understand why and if possible stop the comments from being added. They appear to be in EXIF and some other metadata field.
Images taken with fast shutter [hold down shutter release to take a series of images, used for action shots] have the letters "bst" added instead of "dav".
The phone is a Huawei Honor5C (NEM-L51) running Android 6 and EMUI 4.1. I download the photos using Digikam on Kubuntu to my desktop. Even when I strip the "dav" comments from the EXIF comment field, when I upload to Facebook the "dav" comment is read and appears attached to the images; the actual text is in the XMP:Caption, EXIF:Image Description, and IPTC:Comment metadata fields.
It's strange, unwanted, and annoying.
Update: On further investigation, opening in gwenview and looking at metadata, the strings "dav" and "bst" arrive with images via EXIF:Image Description and digikam had been set to harmonise that with other metadata sections. So it's less mysterious, just one EXIF field is being written.

Could you update with the more details you mentioned? You said you see it on facebook - but where and how? Any screenshots and more details would be great

Added note that it's in all of XMP, EXIF and IPTC data.

It looks like you've answered part of your own question. Is there anything left that you want to ask about?

I know that the Exif:Image Description is set to "dav" but not why, nor how to stop it - the why and how are the critical parts of the question. Any thoughts?


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Ethernet and charge via USB type C
I have an HTC 10 with the new USB Type C connector. As USB C is also the primary (or only) connector on some laptop style devices such as the Pixel C  and new MacBook, there are many Ethernet and USB hub device - some with some with power.
Will this allow me to have a wired network and charge?
This is essentially the function of the micro USB Ethernet adaptor for Chromecast

It is possible but you would need to search on your device forums or XDA for the best suited hub.

It depends completely on the model/brand of the mobile phone - more exactly which drivers for e.g. ethernet chips/adapters that is has integrated in its hardware (since such drivers are not installed in software on mobile phones like this, but they are rather included in the hardware from the start or not).
The following is for example a very common USB-to-ethernet adapter, working for quite many mobile phones (just use a USB-micro-B-to-USB-C wire adapter to be able to plug it into a USB-C mobile phone), but as you can see in the compatibility list a bit down on the page, it depends very much on models and brands of the phones if it will work or not for a specific mobile phone:
https://plugable.com/products/usb2-otge100/
(your specific mobile phone model is not currently in that list, but it lists HTC ONE M9 as working, while listing HTC Desire 612 as not working)
There are also USB 3-based Gigabit ethernet adapters out there (including from the brand in my link above), but beware that these work for a lot fewer mobile phone models, due to the much less widespread inclusion of their drivers in current mobile phone hardware.


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Android Gmail app - can't download some attachments - Nexus 5
The problem is that I can download some attachments, but some not. I usually cannot download zip attachments that are forwarded to me. I cleared cache and data of the Download Manager, but that didn't help. Any ideas?
Edit: I use Gmail app for my business POP3 account.

You might need to install an app that registers as a handler for .zip files.

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but I think every email app should let me download any attachment, no matter what file type the attachment is.

Are you not able to download the attachements? or Open the Downloaded Attachements..?

Download. When I click on the download icon, it does nothing, like a button without a function.

When I click save to drive, it shows saving, but actually takes infinite time and does nothing.

Have you tried clearing the cache of Gmail app? Restart you phone and Check once again. And are you able to download something from the browser to make sure the Download Manager works properly?

What apps "should" do is not relevant to what Gmail does do.

Just tried that, didn't work.


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android box stuck at boot logo
I have an android box which is a no name chinese one RK3066 cortex A9 8GB android 4.1. it's been stuck on boot logo and since there is no reset or power or volume button on it I couldn't get it to recovery mode.
however when I opened the device, I could see two holes which said recovery. when I used a pin to connect those two I got into recovery mode
the device goes to recovery mode but the only thing I see is an android guy resting and no option.I checked evey where and they all suggest to press power button to go to menus but my device has no button on it.
I used a same device and using Online Nandroid Backup I made a backup of the ROM and put it in a 16GB SD card root. the files are boot.img kernel.img recovery.img recoverlog.log. I put all these files on the SD card hoping that once into recovery mode the recovery automatically starts. maybe it should be packed or something, I don't know what is the format of a ROM file. it seems that it should be a zip file
I found another set of holes which are three and underneath is said DEBUG. I assume it's same as debug mode which normal android phone or tablets connect to the PC using micro usb cable which comes with them and since my device doesn't have micro USB I suppose this is the way of connecting to PC so perhaps through RK Batch tool something can be done but I don't know how it works.
I bought a male to male USB cable and cut one side which found three cables. Black, White and Green. but I don't know what is the sequence and I tried everything possible solution
I appreciate if anyone could help me with this


text:
Where (and how) does Android store music playlists?
I've noticed that Android keeps the same music playlists across music apps. Where are these playlists stored? How (in what format) are they stored? Can I access them remotely via the USB storage link, or is there instead an app I can use to access them?
Related question: Music transfer and playlists

See also: How can I backup playlists or extract path+filename information from them (generated with builtin MP3-player)?

They're stored in your music.db file - mine is /data/data/com.google.android.music/databases; I'm not sure if this is exactly the same across all devices but I'd guess it probably is.
They live in a combination of the LISTS and LISTITEMS tables, which are defined as such:
sqlite> .schema lists
.schema lists
CREATE TABLE LISTS(Id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT, Name TEXT NOT NULL,
    SourceAccount INTEGER, SourceId TEXT, _sync_version TEXT,
    _sync_dirty INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, MediaStoreId INTEGER,
    ListType INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, ListArtworkLocation TEXT);
CREATE INDEX LIST_SYNC_INDEX on LISTS(SourceAccount,SourceId);
sqlite>

sqlite> .schema listitems
.schema listitems
CREATE TABLE LISTITEMS(Id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    ListId INTEGER NOT NULL REFERENCES LISTS, MusicSourceAccount INTEGER NOT NULL,
    MusicSourceId TEXT NOT NULL, ClientPosition INTEGER NOT NULL,
    ServerPosition INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0, SourceAccount INTEGER, SourceId TEXT,
    _sync_version TEXT, _sync_dirty INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
    ServerOrder TEXT DEFAULT '', ClientId TEXT);
CREATE INDEX LISTITEMS_ORDER_INDEX ON LISTITEMS (ListId, ServerOrder, ClientPosition);
CREATE INDEX LISTITEMS_SYNC_INDEX on LISTITEMS(SourceAccount,SourceId);
sqlite>

Interestingly, if you're using the new Google Music Beta, playlists that you create don't seem to appear in other apps but they do have entries in the DB. It looks like this is possibly because the MusicSourceAccount field is set to your Google Music account id; other apps set it to 0, and those appear across all apps that take data from the DB.

Nice! But how do you run this SQL query on your mobile phone? Are you using a DB tool for that? Which one?

I found a post from XDA Developers.
If anyone reading this doesn't find it on the directory listed above, try this one instead:
/data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/external-{{some hex here}}.db
You can then copy it to your computer, use the SQLite editor of your taste and manipulate the data at your own will.


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Does flashing a custom ROM require root access?
It was recently brought to my attention that it does not. Can someone confirm this and explain what the determining characteristics are that dictate whether or not root its required to flash a custom ROM?

Methods I know of:

Use a carrier/manufacturer tool such as Odin for some Samsung phones (I've done this -- it's easily the most feasible method).  It connects to the phone and writes to the phone storage when the phone is in Download mode.  A knowledgeable person could probably write their own tool as well.
Sign the update.zip file, so that the recovery/bootloader thinks its an official update.  That's really the only way most phones can distinguish them (not sure if an encrypted bootloader makes it harder).
"Has anyone actually done this?"  That I don't know -- it's probably incredibly difficult to fake, but realistically someone could gain access to the signing software.
Use a jig (an electronic setup that connects directly to parts of the device) to write directly to the storage.  Imagine the phone as a PC where the BIOS prevents writing to the hard drive -- if you don't boot up the computer, the BIOS can't interfere, so you could just take out the drive and write to it with something else.  Chips are just not as removable as drives, hence the jig.  This would probably require custom software to do the writing, again possibly taken from the manufacturer.  And if you don't overwrite the bootloader you might run into problems depending on what checks it does, I'm not sure.

At a previous job (a phone manufacturer) they used a similar tool to Odin to replace the bootloader, sometimes with one that didn't require the ROMs to be signed.  Access to a tool like that makes a lot of problems go away.


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Apps that start on their own

Possible Duplicate:
apps automatically starting?

Hello!
I am using Android 2.2. I've downloaded and installed an application called Advanced Task Manager from ReChild. It always shows lots of applications open, none that appear in the pre-installed Task Manager that came with the phone. Besides a few that I do actually use, there's some, like the Press Reader, that I have never opened, yet today I saw this particular app in the list of applications I could select to stop.
Any idea why this happens? I normally wouldn't care too much if the device wasn't on battery and was plugged in.
Thank you.

See also: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/4089/android-2-2-how-to-see-applications-that-run-at-start-up

ReChild's app is called Advanced Task Killer and there is very little reason for you to use it.  In most cases, using a task killer will hurt the performance of your device.
Android is not like Microsoft Windows.  It is designed to keep the devices memory filled and to manage that memory on demand, killing apps only when more memory is demanded.  If you kill an app, Android will start another one to run in the background and take up that extra memory.  So killing an app which forces Android to start another one and write that to memory is going to use more system resources and drain the battery faster than letting Android go about its business.  It is unnerving to look at what running and see some stupid bloatware app that you never use but don't despair, it is not hurting your performance.
That being said there are exceptions to the rule.  Android in general is designed to manage the memory so you don't have to but, Froyo is much more effective at this that than earlier versions.  I found that even though it wasn't theoretically needed, the task killer was effective in Android 2.1.  Also, poorly coded apps may go rouge and begin to unnecessarily hog resources.  It's appropriate to kill these apps, but you should be uninstalling once you identify a bad app.  As far as a list, I don't know of any.  It would change very frequently as apps are updated and bugs are fixed.
There are a couple programs that ARE going to be more effective in helping you manage you apps and resources...
Watchdog Task Manager: This app watches your apps and will notify you if one starts to behave badly and hog too many resources.  This is a good way to identify problems so you can efficiently address them.
AutoKiller Memory Optimizer (root only) or Auto Memory Manager:  Android watches how you use your device and tries to intelligently prioritize which apps get killed when more memory is needed.  If you want a little more control of this decision making process, these apps let you set the out-of-memory priorities that Android will follow when deciding which apps get to stay running and which apps get killed.
So, to sum it up and answer your question...

Any idea why this happens?

Because Android was designed to do this, so go with the flow.

Matt, could you suggest a good reference about the Android operating system so that I can get a better grasp of what it is, rather than looking at it as being a PC OS (like Windows) only for mobiles?

@Francisc look at the Android developer's guide: http://developer.android.com/intl/de/guide/index.html specifically the lifecycle of an app: http://developer.android.com/intl/de/guide/topics/fundamentals.html#actlife Basically all apps are made out of activities that exist on a stack.  Every time you press the back button, you pop off the top activity and see what was under it.  Pressing home essentially clears your stack, but you can still switch back to the most recent activities.  As the phone needs more memory, it kills off old activities.

Here's another good source for more info: http://lifehacker.com/5650894/android-task-killers-explained-what-they-do-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them


text:
How do I configure Google Latitude to auto-update with location regularly on a Motorola Droid?
On the surface, this is same question as this question, but I've made the changes according to that question's accepted answer and I still cannot get latitude to auto-update unless I have an app using GPS open.
If I fire up Google maps or MyTracks, a location is sent.  but once I close or switch to a new application, my location no longer transmits.  It has been like this for several weeks.
My Android version is 2.2.1.   GPS is on, but the GPS icon doesn't appear until I start an app that uses GPS.
I actually seem to remember that being a requested feature for an earlier version of android (1.something).
Am I missing something else?
More data: Google maps version 4.5.0 (#4519) 5.0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAh4yiCzgKw I guess I'll need to retest and see if I still have the issue)

My issue was resolved by upgrading Google Maps to v5.0.
For those troubleshooting this issue, also see this question (which should probably be your first step):   How do I set Google Latitude to auto-update with location regularly?


text:
Anyone know of a custom GPS ROM for Samsung Galaxy 5?

Possible Duplicate:
Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy 5 (model number GT-I5500) and I'm new to the android world.
I'm not satisfied with the performance of the GPS on my cell phone so I thought it would be interesting to use a custom ROM to see if it improves a bit.
Anyone knows of a ROM that was tested in this model?

Not necessarily what you are looking for, but on my Captivate, the GPS is kinda slow. I just came across this and thought I'd try it later tonight.


text:
What's the difference between the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active ST17i, the ST17i-BKW, ST17a, and the ST17a-BKO?
I am interested in buying Sony Ericcson Xperia Active (unlocked) but there are several choices and I can't figure out which phone is which. Can someone explain to me the difference? Thanks!

http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/45643

a is for 'americas' i is 'international' e.g. the rest of the world.  You get slightly different network support.
ST17i UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
ST17a UMTS HSPA 800 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
This is from the whitepaper.
I belive everything else about the phone is the same.
BKW and BKO I think will be the colour scheme of an orange or white hilight.

AFAIK not much other than the frequency bands they operate on:
ST17i: (i = International version) Dual-band
UMTS HSPA 900 (Band VIII), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
ST17a: (a = American version) Tri-band
UMTS HSPA 800 (Band V), 1900 (Band II), 2100 (Band I)
GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900


text:
missed calls not appearing as notifications
I have a HTC one x with the default HTC sense. Missed calls do not appear in the notification list which is frustrating ... The calls appear in the call history log so it knows about them. I've also tried calling myself with a another phone and it all appears as normal but when the call is hung up, no notification appears.
I'm sure it use to show notifications and I cannot find any settings that would control this.
Will factory reset if this just seems wrong/buggy.

No need to factory reset.
Just go to Settings → Call. Scroll down to the bottom and enable Show caller ID for missed calls on lock screen and status bar.

Under settings go to Application Manager. Search for "BadgeProvider".
Tap "clear data"
Tap "ok".
Your green phone icon should now show number of calls missed. This does not delete any personal data.


text:
What SIM card size does the Nexus 7 use?
The iPad uses silly little SIM cards that pretty much need to be purchased ad-hoc. This means that in a pinch situation you can't e.g. swap SIM cards between your tablet and your phone (e.g., if either's ran out of credit).
What size does the Nexus 7 use?

The Nexus 7 (with mobile data) takes a micro SIM card.
See this page from Google support on how you can Insert & activate a SIM card.

@badp Most devices, including Android phones, are coming with a micro SIM these days (except some Apple products are using an even smaller nano-SIM). So you shouldn't be too much worried about it.

Also there are cheap Adapters to place a micro SIM card in a normal SIM card device. And you can easily cut a normal SIM card into the micro SIM format with a scissor. So it isn't really a problem after all.

@badp MicroSIM-to-MiniSIM adapters are readily available and cheap (example for $1 http://www.amazon.com/Micro-card-adapter-Mini-German-Made/dp/B003OG8G6W).  All sizes of SIM are functionally identical, given that all the actual circuitry is directly under the contacts.  All the extra size is simply empty plastic to make handling easier.

@Flow do u know of a good tutorial to show the cutting, or is it just generally cutting plastic as per Compro01 comments above ? ie the difference between a Sim and Micro Sim is simply additional plastic.


text:
How to check if an APK contains native code?
Is there a way to check if an APK file hosts native code?
There are many reverse engineering tools (e.g. apktool, androguard) from which you can reproduce the
source files of an Android app but I'm not sure if there is a de facto solution
which you can use to assure that an APK contains native code. Maybe someone can
search for ARM binary files in the source files of an app. But how to know which
directories to check?
Is there a more standard way to do this?

I think this StackOverflow answer should point you in the right direction:

All of the native code for an app is stored in the libs/ directory in the root of the apk. It's compiled ARM or x86 code, or both. You can find it in libs/architecture_type/lib_name.so. You can dissemble the code with objdump or gdb. Decompiling is a much harder task, but you can find some software that might work for you.

Thank you for your answer! I will try to make a script that searches for executables in /libs directory.

An APK is also an archive so unarchive it on a computer (with tools like 7-Zip) and look at its content.


text:
Nexus 7 wont boot after complete discharge
I accidentally let the battery on my Nexus 7 run completely empty, and now it won't start up anymore even after charging overnight. How can I make it work again?
This is what happened in detail: My battery ran low, and I had no time to recharge it. I forgot about it, and found my tablet powered off. I attached it to a charger (the official wall-plug adaptor), waited a few minutes, and then turned it on. I expected it to be able to run from the cable like my phone, but it reported 0% battery and shut itself down immediately. I retried it after a slightly longer time. This time I didn't get to the home screen, but was shown a black and white animated battery icon. I pressed the power button, and the animation froze, and only disappeard after a long time (I put it away and discovered it was gone after a few hours). Since then I've been loading it for > 12 hours, but I haven't been able to get any response. The charger gets warm, but the tablet doesn't.
I've heard that once the battery is competely discharged, it only charges in "trickle mode" (that is normally used to top off a 98% loaded battery safely), and can take a very long time to become operative again. This would explain why the adapter gets warm but not the tablet. If this is true, is there any way to speed up charging?

Are you charging via an AC adapter or USB cable? If you're using USB, use an AC/power adapter. Does pressing the power button for 30 seconds do anything?

Both :-) the stock AC adapter uses a USB cable to connect with the tablet. I'll try the 30 seconds trick next.

Opps, I guess I should have said: USB to a computer or USB to AC adapter. Try the 30 second trick and let me know if it works

@BryanDenny Holding it for > 30 seconds worked! Thanks!

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/34829/cannot-turn-nexus-7-on-after-locking-the-screen/34830#34830

Try pressing the power button for > 30 seconds.
If it does not work, try to alternate power sources (PC/laptop USB port, and AC adapter) while repeating step #1.
Still no go? You may have to remove back cover and reconnect battery.
Warranty case.

(source)

Wow, it worked, thanks! 30 seconds is a rediculously long time, I would have never thought of that by myself. Every other device I have that has long-press functions needs 5 seconds, 10 seconds max.

Fantastic! Glad it worked for you!

And be sure to mark this as the answer

I have done steps 1-3 with no luck, and it's out of warranty. I've been charging it with the original power adapter. When I first plugged it in to charge, it booted and immediately shut down due to low battery at least twice. Since then I've had no activity at all. Is there any hope for me?


text:
Apps are randomly opening up after unlocking my Redmi Note 4 through fingerprint sensor?
I am experiencing this for about 2-3 weeks.
When I unlock my phone a random app(which are on home screen, I think) opens up automatically.
The apps which I mainly noticed are WhatsApp and themes.
Is this a result of malware or anything else? How to fix?
I did a bit of research on it sites like quora, android central, etc.
But none of them seems to work for me.

How you have installed apps? From play store or downloaded apk. Check these steps, Goto Settings->Installed Applications->SystemLauncher. Clear its cache and data. Check whether it is solved or not.

I always install from play store only

I can't tell it is solved or not because it doesn't happen after every unlock instead happens at any random time.

Could you please tell how it is gonna fix by clearing cache and data?

By clearing cache and data of system launcher your home screen will reset to default. That means your present arrangement of apps and widgets are lost and reset to which you have seen on first boot.  If the issue is with launcher, then it may be get solved.

Sure. No apps get uninstalled. Only changes home screen arrangement.

One last thing, is it a known issue in Xiaomi phones?

No. I have used Xiaomi phone last three years, and  I haven't had this issue. Else you can try installing another launcher(Nova) from Play Store. Launcher is the Application that loads apps and defines user interface of device. Nova launcher(stock android like UI) is different from current MIUI arrangement.

@Rahul Gopi Unfortunately it doesn't resolved the issue:-(

Have you tried with Nova launcher?

I didn't tried Nova

If still happens the same after Nova, then try by reset, and again it still happens, then the issue is with touch screen.

Okay I will try my luck with launchers


text:
Clockwork Mod tether stopped working recently
I am using moto g4 and windows 10. The symptom is: when starting the windows app and clicking start button, the application starts normally: the log windows fills up and the button changes to "stop". After a few seconds, thou, the wording on the button changes back to "start", the log stops updating, and there is not connection
Anyone else experienced this? any quick fixes?

It might have being a problem with my USB cable. I tried again with a new one and now it works just fine. highly recommended app


text:
How to link an android device (or its account) in a restricted way to my primary google account?
I have an Android powered car multimedia unit that I would like to link somehow to my google's account, so I could send locations from Google maps directly from my PC by clicking the "Send to your phone" button on the location description pane shown in the Google Maps.
At the same time I don't want this device to be logged into this account to prevent any potential data leaks.
Switching between accounts on a PC is not a convenient option.
Is this achievable?

You can send locations not only to your own account but also to friends (or the Google account of your car).

@Robert, I believe you meant "Share" button. I edited the question to be more specific.

"At the same time I don't want this device to be logged into this account to prevent any potential data leaks." - This prevents what you are trying to do, in order to make the Send to your phone option work your Google account must be on the device, you can't just "link" a device to it, you could potentially add the Google account and do not sync any information except Maps although I don't know if that would work.

"Send to a friend" or "Send to your phone" - if it works it does not matter - have you tried it? Anyway you have to use multiple accounts as a Google account on Android can't be limited to just Google Maps.

@Robert, then how to link the device to account so it has no access to all data in the account, uses another password and it appears in the list of your phones?

I wrote clearly multiple accounts not one account. What you want is not possible.


text:
Change the language everywhere
I changed the language of my phone (Samsung J7 2017) from Polish to French. So far so good, but there are many remnants of the language the phone was shipped in. For instance, the footer of new email, youtube suggestions, the news feed and so on are still in Polish.
Is there a way how to change the language of all system settings ? Or do I have to find those settings one by one?

Some apps are just not properly translated (i.e. does not contain translation for all strings in the app), especially when talking about less popular languages. For now my advice is to just flash a factory firmware designated for France.


text:
Unwanted outgoing phone calls
Occasionally, when I flip the lid of my phone and put it on the table, the phone calls the primary number of the contact with which I communicated last (by phone or text message).
I suspect that some button has this function under certain circumstances, but I am not able to reproduce this call back voluntarily.
Does anyone know what happens to me? And maybe how to deactivate this hidden callback feature.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 mini.
Edit: According to the answer I received, I moved the icon of the phone app, so that it would be impossible to tap it three times by closing the lid. But this didn't change the problem. The annoying unwanted outgoing calls still persist.

Finally, I found the problem. On the phone, when the contact is open, and I take the phone close to the ear, it calls, without touching it.
Thus, when I leave the contact open, the phone can call out unvoluntarily. It suffices that it detects an object moving near. this can even happen when the phone was locked, and is unlocked later with the details of a contact open.

Depending on where the phone app icon is on your screen, it’s can be very easy to tap it twice. Once to start the phone app and a second time to select the phone instead of contacts, call logs or groups. One more time at the same position will dial the last number in the call log. This is most likely what’s going on try it as see. Just tap that the little green phone icon a couple of times.

I'm not quite sure if this is it, but I still accept it as the answer. I moved the icon to start the phone app. So this might solve the problem.

This really is not the problem. My phone still calls occasionnally itself the last person I had on the phone.


text:
Which camera gives more accurate image, the front or the back camera?
My phone is Kyocera Hydro Icon with Android 4.4.2.
I use its back and front cameras to take pictures of my head and face at distances around an arm's length. I found the front camera gives more pleasing pictures than the back one, for example,
the pictures taken by the back one often shows my eyes are proportionally smaller.
Also the front camera seems to produce completely dark pictures when the lighting isn't good, while the back camera can still produce clearer pictures.
Which camera gives more accurate or realistic pictures of my face and head at distances around an arm's length?

That will most likely depend on the device and the hardware used in it (which makes it an Android independent question), and what kind of picture you're taking. Usually, the front camera is "intended for selfies" (video telephony) and such suited for that, while the back camera has a much different main purpose. As said, for selfies it's usually the front camera you should use ;)

Interesting question. I found that the back camera does kind of "distort" the face when used for selfies, probably because it was constructed for capturing objects/persons at a longer distance (probably because of the "barreling" effect etc.).  The selfie has less MP but it does show the aspects of the nearby face more correctly IMO. Even concidering the lower photo quality of the selfie camera I would still use it for selfies, back for full body in mirror etc.
As a blogger I first wanted to mount a tiny mirror on the back of the phone so I could use the back camera for selfies because of the higher MP. But I found out that this camera was in fact designed for another purpose. The moment the camera is 1+ metres away from the person, everything looks fine. It's the handheld selfies where the back camera "problem" starts to appear.
My phone is a Huawei Honor 6.

Thanks. When I use the back camera, it seems that I have mouth protrusion problem to such a degree that I am considering to see an orthodontist or a oral surgeon.  Do you think the back camera itself may distort the image around a person's mouth?

I apologize for not noticing this specific reply of yours and getting back to it so late! I do believe that is possible. With the current camera technology of smartphones, I do recommend using the front camera for that type of photos. I hope everything went well!

Resolution governs quality of pictures

The back camera invariably is of higher resolution and is meant for better quality. Typical resolution is upwards of 10 Megapixels
Front camera is not meant for high resolution and was intended for visiting the image during video chats. With demand for better quality (including "selfies", it is now typically upwards of 2 megapixels and in recent phones 5 or more. Dark images as reported is less for to quality of  camera but more to do with subject focus and lighting conditions

Edit
OPs concern is more about "distortion". To reduce distortion

Take the snap at arms length, picture would be smaller but less distortion
Reduce aspect ratio (if default is higher) to 4:3
Keeping the subject and camera at same level and experiment with aligning your face to the top/bottom edge of photo to see if it reduces distortion
Try an app like Cameringo, which augments photo taking capabilities considerably and adding effects (I use the pro version of this but more for rear camera shots and both trial and pro versions are good). This may also help tackle the rear camera issues faced

Thanks. My question is more about the distortion of different parts of my face/head shape non-proportionally than about resolution. Which one is more realistic in terms of shape when taking pictures at distances around an arm's length, the front camera or back camera?


text:
How to remove spy-ware and how to turn off GPS-Tracking?
Someone installed spy-ware and is also tracking my GPS.  I can tell because when I open navigator the location is not where I am. I have driven to the location and someone is sitting in their car.  This same person follows me around town. also when I call my daughter a third party answers phone also so I can't get through to my daughter.I have tried factory reset but the person is still in control of my GPS.  How do I get control back on my phone?

If you're sure about this, go to the police.  You can install an antivirus app from the Play Store to try to root out malware.

In addition to that, consider changing your phone if the issue is irreparable.

I mean this in the nicest possible way but do you have problems with paranoia....that is the most logical explanation for what you're reporting in my opinion. Otherwise what you're saying doesn't make much sense - why would someone targeting you alter your gps to show their location as your location... That would just lead you to them... Also if your gps just shows that incorrect location as your location then it doesn't seem to be tracking you. Please consider seeking help.