text:
How can I remove the previous owner's Google account in a pre-owned device?
i bought a used phone that has the old owner's information stored in Google Play. How do I erase it?
when I download games from Google play if they have already downloaded them they are showing up as the old owners how do I erase this to where the phone recognizes my account not their's for Google play?

Ideally, you should factory reset the device, so you're starting afresh.
You haven't mentioned what device you have or what version of Android you're running, but usually the setting to factory restore a device is found within the main SETTINGS > BACKUP & RESET. Use the Factory reset option to erase all personal data from the device and start afresh. Once the device is rebooted, you'll be prompted to enter your Google account credentials and link your phone and all apps you download from the Play Store linked to your Google account.
Be warned, factory resetting your device will erase all personal data on the device. If there's any content, you want to retain, copy it over to your PC or to a cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox (using your account, not the previous owner's).

Go to main setting of phone and click on add account. Now add a new gmail account then you can remove the previous gmail account owner. Just tap on the owner account and there should be option to remove it.


text:
Is there an application which let me crop a picture on my device into the correct size to use as wallpaper
Do you know of software which can crop a photo or an image into the correct size to act as wallpaper ?
Now, if I download an image from the net  and try to use it as a wallpaper ( long pressing an image in a web browser, let's you use it as a wallpaper ), it always uses the top of the image. Depending on the picture, this makes a lot of pictures useless.
I could imagine a graphic application which let's met select a portion of an image ( the correct size for the device I'm running it on ), and than saves the cropped version and sets it as a wallpaper.
I am not so much interested into a graphic editing program on Android as such ( I will do graphic editing on the PC ), unless it gives me the option I am asking.
I am using an Archos 101 tablet running Froy 2.2.1 , if that should make a difference.

You can save the image to  SD Card and use the Gallery app to set the wallpaper. Gallery app has the feature to crop selected portion of an image and then save it as a wallpaper.

Indeed. Never knew this program had that feature. I'm learning something new every day !

Also QuickPic application can cut a picture to correct size before set it as wallpaper. It's free on Market.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
In google contacts where is the contact for me?
I'm not sure if it matters but my phone has 'HTC sense'.
I have all my contacts sync'd with my google account.
I have a normal contact called "me" in my google contacts that through various merging has accumulated all my contact details.
However on the phone that shows up as a normal contact called "me" rather than going into the special "my contact card" thing.
I would like to fix this, but preferably without having to copy all the stuff over manually.

As per Bob's answer below, "My Contact Card" is a special HTC thing and isn't a normal contact.  What's wrong with using the "Me" contact?  Just ignore "My contact Card".

The contact record for you I assume just has your name.  If you link the two (top right corner when editing a contact) it will pull all of the information in.  On the down side it will eliminate the "Me" entry.  At least that's how I remember it working when I went through this.  My Wife just left with my phone for the evening...

There is no entry in google contacts with my name, only the me one.

Also on the phone the the "my contact card" doesn't have the link option. And if I select link on the "me" contact I can't find the "my contact card".

Perhaps "Me" is a reserved name in the Android contacts app.  Try renaming your "Me" contact in your Google account and then see what happens in Android after syncing contacts again.

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

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


text:
Can I use the Nexus-S GPS as an external GPS for another device (via Bluetooth)?
Is it possible to use the Nexus-S GPS as an external GPS for another device (via Bluetooth) ?

Have you tried these apps:

GPS 2 Bluetooth v.2
Bluetooth GPS Output
Tether GPS Lite
GPS Tether

Great answer from Lie Ryan.
Just adding one more option : blue NMEA

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


text:
Dial-by-name in Froyo?
I recently installed 2.2.2 (official update from my provider) on my Virgin Mobile Samsung Intercept. Among other changes, this ROM uses the stock UI instead of the Touch Wiz interface from Samsung. One thing I'm having a hard time putting up with is the lack of a call-by-name feature. In 2.1, I used to be able to call "Bob" by dialing 26 (B O) and then selecting Bob from the list. Is there a way to make 2.2 do this? If it was a Touch Wiz thing, is there an app I can install to bring this functionality back?
Thanks!

You can use an alternate Dialing app like Dialer One or GoContacts. What you're looking for is a T9 dialer.

I guess that's the way I'm going to have to go. Thanks for the suggestion.


text:
How to clear up SMS space?
I just got a notification that I can't receive an SMS because "the space/memory was full". Which is it, the internal or SD space, and what's the best way to free it up?
Note - I just installed a bunch of apps, so I'm suspecting it's the SD.

Have you checked how much space you've got free and where? Go into Settings -> SD Card and phone storage and it should show total space and free space in each part of your phone. That would at least tell you where the space has run out, and if you've hit the 20MB free space limit mentioned below.

@GAThrawn - yeah, I'm at 22mb internal storage.

I got this some time ago, and even after deleting all of messages (I back them up to my Gmail) I got the same thing. The problem was that when the internal memory fell below 22M or so (I forget exactly), this message appears. The SMS themselves take up very little space, so deleting them had no effect.
You may also be suffering from this bug, as I was, which it is important to know about:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=4991

Thanks. Here is a follow-up question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/6815/android-tool-to-find-whats-taking-space-and-delete-it

SMS messages are stored in your internal phone memory, usually in this location.
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db

Also, if you installed some apps, by default apps are usually installed to the internal memory unless you've specified otherwise ans you're using Froyo or higher or some other variant of Apps2SD etc.
You can use an app like SMS Backup and archive SMS to your Gmail account or an alternate SMS app like GoSMS which has a provision to backup/restore SMS from the SD Card.
As an aside, try freeing up some space by moving / uninstalling apps that you don't require and clearing up your browser cache and app data from other apps. An app like Cachemate might help if you're rooted.


text:
I need a Handbrake preset for a Samsung GT-i5500 Europa please?
I need a Handbrake preset for a Samsung GT-i5500 Europa please?
This is to convert video clips and movies etc into a format that can be viewed on my phone.
Many thanks

You can view Android's supported Media formats here: http://developer.android.com/guide/appendix/media-formats.html
I would recommend H.264 video and AACv2 audio, for the best quality.  The dimensions depend on the dimensions of your phone -- in your case, 320x240.  It's not the most powerful phone so you may want to experiment with the quality to get it playable but also looking good.

Additionally the container for the video should be 3gp which Handbrake does not handle. I am going to do the conversion in "Super" instead. These settings worked however once I had converted the mp4 output of Handbrake to 3gp

Hmm, OK.  The developer guide says mp4 should have been OK.

It's possible that different settings may have worked within an mp4 container. I used low quality settings within mp4. It wouldn't play. Same settings with 3GP container, worked fine.

I finally found a setting in Handbrake that works fine for mp4 files as follows: Container=mp4 file Picture size width=320 height=240 Video Codec=mpeg-4 (ff mpeg). Framerate=12 2 pass encoding=checked. Avg bitrate=56 Audio source=automatic codec=aac (faac) mixdown=mono sample rate=44.1 bitrate=32


text:
How to create shortcut in the homescreen for 'Favourites' tab in Dialer?
I'm using Samsung Galaxy 3 (GT-I5801). The ones listed as Dialer.favourites and contacts.starred in the 'Choose custom activity' are not working. This happens in both TouchWiz and ADWLauncher

What do you mean "not working", what happens?

nothing happens! :( The resulting icon is unusable. clicking on it invokes nothing.

If you use Dialer One as your dialer or even if you install it but use the default stock dialer app, you can get to the Favorites screen by long pressing a blank area of the homescreen, and from the SHORTCUTS menu, choosing FAVORITES.

It works like a charm. It is better than stock dialer in many other ways too. Thanks for suggesting it. :-)

I use Launcher pro as my Default homescreen and I can have a favorite contacts shortcut by doing the following steps:
1.Press the menu button and select the Shortcuts option
2.Then select the Activites option
3.Then select Contacts-->Phone
4.Give it a name
5.There must be a Favorites Shortcut


text:
Google Calendar is installed, How do I open it?
I have recently purchased a Spice MI 350 Handset which is loaded with Android 2.3.3, the phone also has some preinstalled apps.. When I go to application manager -> installed I see Google calendar there but I don't know from where I can open it.. I have tried almost all the options.
I have tried finding "Google Calendar" at android market place but there is no such app (or at least I couldn't find one)... I need a calendar which gets sync with my Google Calendar account..
Since the phone is not rooted I can neither open nor use nor re install it from the market (disappointing) ..How do I get Google Calendar working for me...

Usually it's called Calendar. Ask your provider if it still isn't showing on your phone.
Alternatively, trying seeing if long-pressing an empty area of your screen and then choosing Widgets - shows the Calendar Widget in the list.
I am assuming of course, that you've already set up your Google Account to sync with your device.

I tried long pressing the home screen... Unfortunately calendar option is not present in the add widget section... However Google calendar app is visible in the installed section of Application manager...

Try using an alternative app like Jorte.

I asked the Customer care of Spice mobiles. They say it is already their. After trying few times I finally started using "Business Calendar" app it is good and automatically synchronizes with my Google account.

Does the app here work for you?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1317804&page=9

I have downloaded the .apk file provided there... will it be safe to install it in phone.... How can I verify it is not a spam ?

It will be safe. It's not spam, because it's been verified by users in XDA forum.

I tried copying that in the downloads folder of SD card... and since than the phone is showing msg "Preparing SD Card" and notification "Checking SD card for errors...", what to do nxt..? is everything messed up now ? If there is almost a 1GB data how much time it will take to check...? reply fast..

Have you copied the file to the phone already? Did you install it?


text:
State of VLC for Android / Media Player that plays AVI files
Does anyone know where the VLC developers are up to with VLC for Android. Is there a beta out, an APK somewhere?
I'm trying to play an AVI on my HTC Legend, to no avail. If VLC is not ready, does anyone know a media player which will play AVIs (is there more than one codec for AVI types?).
Thanks very much.

Rockplayer has decoders built-in and can play divX files. AVI files are containers - you should also find out what codec has been used for the video. Use a utility like GSpot Codec Information Appliance on your PC to check.
There's also yxPlayer but not too many satisfied users from what I hear although YMMV.

Thought that could be the case with the AVI file. Rockplayer worked a treat though. Thanks

I know this question has been answered already but if someone else comes looking for Android video players here is an article on MakeUseOf that lists 8 of the "best" video players for Android:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-mobile-video-players-android-phone/

Look for applications that use ffmpeg. It is something like an alternative set of codecs, and it handles quite a lot formats.
If I recall correctly, I used VitalPlayer once to play a Matroska file -- something which is not normally possible to do on my phone.
But it seems there are more programs that use this library.

There's been a beta for VLC out for a while. You can find out about it on the main Videolan site or on their Google Play site.
I'm not sure of how it will play on your Legend, though.

Have you tried Arcmedia? Maybe that will work.


text:
Pixel keeps changing time (losing 1 hour at random)
I have a Pixel 4 phone running Android 11. For the past 3 days, I've started having a strange problem where the time on my phone changes to be 1 hour earlier. I'm physically located in Denver, CO, USA, which is solidly in the mountain time zone (eg not by a zone boundary).
Just this morning, the following happened:

7:00 AM - phone time is correct, phone alarm goes off (scheduled).
8:00 AM - phone alarm goes off again -- phone shows 7:00 AM as the time.
8:04 AM - phone corrects itself, time goes back to the correct time.

Yesterday something similar happened:

7:00 AM - phone alarm goes off ... phone thinks that it's 6:00 AM
7:30 AM - phone still thinks it's 6:30 AM
7:32 AM - phone corrects itself, time goes back to the correct time; notifies me about the missed 7AM alarm.

In grid form:

Day
Actual Time
Phone Time
Comment

Today
7:00 AM
7:00 AM
Scheduled alarm (7AM)

Today
8:00 AM
7:00 AM
Scheduled alarm (7AM)

Today
8:04 AM
8:04 AM
Spontaneous correction

Yesterday
7:00 AM
6:00 AM
Scheduled alarm (6AM)

Yesterday
7:30 AM
6:30 AM
Checked phone, incorrect time still shown

Yesterday
7:32 AM
7:32 AM
Spontaneous correction; alerted to missed alarm

I don't know if it happens at other times of day, or only between 6:00-8:00 AM; that just happens to be when I actively look at my phone or (sync'd) smart-watch, or have alarms that go off at those times.
During today's hiccup (at 8:00 AM when it thought it was 7:00 AM), I checked the settings and it shows that it flipped from the correct daylight savings time zone to the incorrect one -- it it was using Mountain Standard Time instead of Mountain Daylight Time. I have it set to use the network-provided time and time-zone.
This is a screenshot of the 'date & time' settings that I took at 8:02 AM Mountain Daylight Time (7:02 AM Mountain Standard Time according to my phone):

How do I get this to stop happening? I'd like to avoid turning off the time sync because the other devices I do this on suffer from clock drift and it's a hassle to deal with.

As Android can make use of multiple time sources like the cellular network and an NTP service it is not clear where the problems come from. The time sync documentation of Android may contain some interesting commands you could try to find out more: https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/time-source

I'm not actually using mobile data. The phone has been on wifi only the whole time (Google Fiber). I'll review the document though, thanks.

Possibly related issue since Android 9: Time zone keeps changing wildly

I looked at that question, but the two bug tracker issues are closed as either obsolete or infeasible, and it was against an older Android version.

The time sync in cellular network is as far as I know independent of mobile data. The cell tower send the time as part of the GSM protocol.

Capitalizing on the comment of @Robert, can you localize the problem to a particular location in your house/building? Can two cell towers be competing for connection at that location, and, if found to be consistently localized, can mean one of the towers is incorrectly set for DST?

It could be a localization issue with a cell tower; the tall buildings play havoc on my connectivity and it could be bouncing me between towers even though I'm not physically moving. My phone just swapped back to standard time again, and I haven't moved between when I posted the question and now. Rebooting the phone forced it back onto daylight time, but I'm not sure how long that'll "stick".

... and less than 30 minutes later we're back on the wrong time zone. >_<

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


text:
Corporate Email account on Cyanogenmod 7 - Encryption required
Has anyone got a corporate email account working with a server that requires Encryption.
I'm using a Wildfire with CM 7 and get the error
"This server requires features your Android device does not support"

I even upgraded to CM 9 but the Wildfire is extremely slow even before encryption (I guess it being a single-core processor) - and I left the phone overnight for encryption and it just does not complete. It shows the little green guy icon forever.
does anyone have any suggestions on whether
a) Encryption is possible in CM7. Seems not as far as I can see.
b) How to get Wildfire working with CM9 with encrypted email server access. Can I use any 3rd party app to encrypt the /data mount instead of in-built ICS encryption?


text:
S5 unable to add additional homescreen
I'm trying to learn how to add an additional homescreen.  According to docs I should be able to slide over to the right most screen, long press, and a 'ghost' homescreen with a big + sign would appear-- clicking that would add extra homescreens.
The problem is that the homescreen with the plus sign is not appearing when I long press on the right most (or even left most) existing homescreen.
Is there another way to get additional homescreens installed?  This phone was previously installed with Cyanogen & Fusion.

What launcher are you using?  What ROM are you using?

I figured it out, just have to hold & drag an app icon to the far right.. a new homescreen auto loads.

I am using Lollipop, so to add a new blank homescreen I needed to hold and drag a program icon to the far right.. a new homescreen automatically appears.


text:
Running out of storage space. /data/log/ directory not found
My Android S5 is running out of internal storage.   Issuing du reveals:
root@kltetmo:/ # df
Filesystem               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/dev                   846.4M    56.0K   846.3M   4096
/sys/fs/cgroup         846.4M    12.0K   846.4M   4096
/mnt/asec              846.4M     0.0K   846.4M   4096
/mnt/obb               846.4M     0.0K   846.4M   4096
/system                  2.3G   775.8M     1.6G   4096
/data                   11.4G     9.5G     1.9G   4096
/cache                 491.8M     8.1M   483.7M   4096
/firmware               77.0M     6.9M    70.1M   16384
/firmware-modem         64.0M    52.5M    11.5M   16384
/efs                    13.8M     4.3M     9.5M   4096
/mnt/shell/emulated     11.4G     9.5G     1.9G   4096
/mnt/media_rw/sdcard1    28.8G    16.0G    12.7G   32768
/mnt/secure/asec        28.8G    16.0G    12.7G   32768
/storage/sdcard1        28.8G    16.0G    12.7G   32768

On my old S2, I regularly cleared huge log files out of the /data/log/ directory, but...
root@kltetmo:/ # ll /data/log
ls: /data/log: No such file or directory

Here are the available folders in /data:
root@kltetmo:/data # ll
drwx------    2 root     root          4096 Apr 14  2014 adb
drwxrwxr-x    2 system   system        4096 Nov  4 13:21 anr
drwxrwx--x   72 system   system        4096 Nov  9 15:39 app
drwx------    2 root     root          4096 Apr 14  2014 app-asec
drwxrwx--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 app-lib
drwxrwx--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 app-private
drwxrws---    2 media    audio         4096 Apr 14  2014 audio
drwx------    6 system   system        4096 Nov  9 15:39 backup
drwxrws---    2 bluetoot bluetoot      4096 Apr 14  2014 bluetooth
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            45 Apr 14  2014 bugreports -> /data/data/com.android.shell/files/bugreports
srwxrwx---    1 camera   camera           0 Nov  9 14:23 cam_socket2
srwxrwx---    1 camera   camera           0 Nov  9 14:23 cam_socket3
drwxrwx--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 connectivity
drwxrwx--x    4 root     root          4096 Jan  1  2014 dalvik-cache
drwxrwx--x  169 system   system        8192 Nov  9 15:36 data
drwxr-x---    2 root     log           4096 Apr 14  2014 dontpanic
drwxrwx---    3 drm      drm           4096 Jan  1  2014 drm
drwxrwx--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 fota
drwxr-x--x    3 root     root          4096 Apr 14  2014 local
drwxrwx---    2 root     root          4096 Apr 14  2014 lost+found
drwxrwxr-x    6 1023     1023          4096 Jul 11  2015 media
drwxrwx---    3 1031     1031          4096 Jul 11  2015 mediadrm
drwxrwx--t   22 system   misc          4096 Apr 14  2014 misc
drwx------    3 1027     1027          4096 Jan  1  2014 nfc
drwx------    2 root     root          4096 Nov  9 14:23 property
drwxrwx--x    3 system   system        4096 Jul  6 03:45 resource-cache
drwx--x--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 security
drwxr-xr-x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 shared
drwxrwxr-x   19 system   system        4096 Nov  9 15:45 system
drwx------    2 system   system        4096 Feb  2  2014 time
drwxrwx--x    7 system   system        4096 Mar 17  2016 tombstones
drwx--x--x    2 system   system        4096 Apr 14  2014 user

The largest file I could find in the /data directory is only 3.8M in size.
root@kltetmo:/data # find /data -type f | sort -nr | head -11
/data/tombstones/tombstone_09
/data/tombstones/tombstone_08
/data/tombstones/tombstone_07
/data/tombstones/tombstone_06
/data/tombstones/tombstone_05
/data/tombstones/tombstone_04
/data/tombstones/tombstone_03
/data/tombstones/tombstone_02
/data/tombstones/tombstone_01
/data/tombstones/tombstone_00
/data/time/time_log.5

root@kltetmo:/data # ll -h /data/tombstones/tombstone_09
-rw-------    1 system   system      3.8M Jul 25 12:33 /data/tombstones/tombstone_09

Also,
root@kltetmo:/ # du -d 1 -h /data | sort -nr
1016.0K /data/resource-cache
580.0K  /data/time
108.0K  /data/backup
36.0K   /data/property
31.1M   /data/tombstones
20.0K   /data/mediadrm
16.0K   /data/nfc
12.0K   /data/drm
11.7M   /data/system
9.3G    /data
8.0K    /data/local
5.0G    /data/media
4.0K    /data/user
4.0K    /data/shared
4.0K    /data/security
4.0K    /data/lost+found
4.0K    /data/fota
4.0K    /data/dontpanic
4.0K    /data/connectivity
4.0K    /data/bluetooth
4.0K    /data/audio
4.0K    /data/app-private
4.0K    /data/app-lib
4.0K    /data/app-asec
4.0K    /data/adb
4.0K    /data/.ssh
2.3M    /data/anr
1.8M    /data/misc
1.6G    /data/data
1.3G    /data/dalvik-cache
1.3G    /data/app

Where is the bulk of the 9G worth of used space coming from?

Could you include the output of du -d 1 -h /data | sort -nr?

Added to question.

Now, as you can see, a huge part of the 9GB you mentioned lies in the /data/media directory. Your best way to handle this, would be to focus on that directory and use the same du -d 1 -h <PATH> | sort -nr to further inspect the culprit. Keep in mind that files in that directory may or may not be critical for the OS, so you should always investigate the file name before the deletion. Still, a size of 5GB for that directory is anomalous; mine is about 677MB, to say one.

That directory identifies the internal storage that's accessible to the user under the alias /storage/emulated/0, as well as the obb directory for the files of homonym extension, which consist of further app data.


text:
Out of memory errors on S2. Safe to delete all dumpstate files?
My Android S2 is out of memory and unable to update apps.  Specifically it is currently using nearly all of the paltry 2gb partitioned for apps.
I'm reading that you can issue *#9900# in the dialer, and select menu 2, that this will clean the dumpstate files.   I get Unable to process request.
My phone is rooted so when I go to terminal and ls -l on /data/log, I'm showing no .log files but several dumpstate.tar.gz files.  Is it safe to nuke these tar.gz files?

Just as a remark: According to this answer (and to several others as well), it's rather *#9900#. Typo here – or in general? // Also see: data/log folder causes “internal storage has run out of space” message and Can I delete the log files on my device?

That was a type-o in my post.  I used the asterisk on the keypad.

I read those posts before making my own.  When others refer to deleting log files, they are referring to /data/log/*.log files.  I'm not showing any *.log files on my device - only *.tar.gz files.

Try extracting one of those (e.g. pulling it to your computer and opening them with Winzip or tar xzf *.tar.gz) to see what's within. I bet the contents turn out being *.log files, which are just "archived". Everything inside "log directories" should be safe to delete; of course you're free to make a backup first to be absolutely safe.

Deleted the files and rebooted - no problems so far.

Data in "log directories" should generally be safe to delete, as they are mainly intended for debugging purposes. The files having an .tar.gz extension simply means they are archived (see: tar (computing) at Wikipedia); if you copy them to your computer for investigation (e.g. using Winzip on a Windows machine, or the command-line tar xzf <filename>) will probably show those files contain *.log files.
If you want to be on the safe side, make a backup first. But I very much doubt you'll ever need those files again.


text:
Google Chrome crashes when attempting to access Desktop Bookmarks (Asus Nexus 7)
Steps to reproduce:

launch Google Chrome browser and open new tab
touch bookmarks option on bottom menu
select Desktop Bookmarks

This causes Google Chrome to crash, resulting in:

"Aw, Snap! Something went wrong while displaying this web page. To continue, reload or go to another page"

Screenshot:

Debug output:
http://pastebin.com/CqypRRbv
I have tried the following actions, which have been unsuccessful:

disable/enable Chrome Sync
restore tablet

Does anyone else have this issue or this is this an isolated problem?

works for me :-(

Works for me, too. Could you probably get us a LogCat? Heres how: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/33216/how-can-i-get-a-logcat


text:
How to stop uncorrect counting of my steps on Huawei Health app?
I have Huawei Mate 9 with Huawei health app preloaded. I travel most of the time by trains. I noticed the Huawei health recogizes any shaking in the train as steps while I am just standing or sitting. That's why I quickly reach 10,000 steps which are not real steps and the burned calories are not real in return.
How do I stop my phone from identifying shaking in public transport as real steps while I am standing still. Do I have something wrong with my device?

I'm not sure what all sensor data is being used by the app, but most would rely on the input of the accelerometer. And as such it is all based on its algorithm as to what kind of moments it identifies as steps.
While it is hard, the sensor on the device can be giving out wrong values. But I'd still suspect that the companion app is not able to differentiate between steps and the shaking of hands due to you being on the train. It's quite tricky for it too. I'd probably just turn off the app while in the train. We can't expect a very good amount of accuracy from an app which isn't reading anything from the body.
They can probably improve it by using GPS data and other sensor data to understand if the person was actually moving at the natural pace.

(I know this is an old thread but this is still a big issue with a lot of phones models and ppl might still find this universal solution useful)
Rootmode method
I disabled Samsung Step Counter sensor and Step Counter Detector sensor in android 10 by doing the following:

Uninstall Huawei Health application.
Activate Developer Options: go to Settings > System > About phone>Tap Software info > Build number>Tap Build number 7 times
Enable the Sensor Toggle: to do this go to developer options find and tap "Quick settings developer tiles." enable/toggle "Sensors Off" button, it will turn off your compass, proximity sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, and any other sensors.
Note: on this step in Lineage OS 17.1 the Sensors off option only added this button/icon in android status bar (near wifi button/bluetooth button/etc) so you still have to tap on it to deactivate sensors.
Once all sensors are off you need to edit your build.prop file (either install a tool like BuildProp Editor- you need root mode, or use file explorer with a built-in text editor).
The 2 lines that I've added in my build.prop file are:
Code:
ro.qc.sdk.sensors.stepdetector=false
ro.qc.sdk.sensors.stepcounter=false
5.Restart phone. Install Huawei Health
Enable back sensors by taping the Sensors Off button in your android status bar. Additionally you can repeat step 3 to remove the sensors button from your status bar.
Open Health and check if the small ! exclamation sign from main window is gone or at least if it doesn't display your steps counter from phone.

PS
I had to do this on one of my phones because Huawei app was restarting the phone randomly. It took me a while to find the culprit and apply this solution.
Since then I tested this method on various other phones I own and it worked on all.
For non rooted phones use adb method ("adb pull /system/build.prop") to edit and upload the build.prop file. For more details on how to use adb pull and push commands google search, there are some nice tutorials out there and I don't want to copy/paste someone else's work.
Trying to to this without respecting the steps will result in failure.

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


text:
Is there a way to rollback to a stock rom without "unlocked" icon on XT910?
I'm looking forward to install new CM 10.1.3 to my Razr MAXX (XT910), but I see some bug reports about this version. I want to give it a try, but - is there a way to go back to the stock ROM if I don't like it? By "go back" I mean restoring it's original state, no "unlocked" icons.
Currently I have 982.124.14.XT910.Retail.en.FR (Android 4.1.2).

Please don't ask multiple question in one post, that makes it hard to answer. If you have multiple questions, ask them separately. That's how this site works, and this way it's also easier to keep track of them (and see what's answered and what not).

Modified. Now it's single question

The lock icon when you turn on your phone shows that the phone's bootloader is unlocked and doesn't show if it's rooted or not.
Just use the tool to you used to Root and unlock the bootloader to unroot and re-lock the bootloader it.
For info about the Razr XT910 have a look at this link

By flashing a ROM or rooting your Razr voids Motorola Warranty Terms.
  Even if you flash the same rom your Razr came with.  3. All the
  devices are divided by regions. This means you can only flash a stock
  ROM designated for your Razr region. Common Regions are: Latam (Latim
  America 'n Canada) - Europe - Asia - PSHAsia - ME - China - Korea -
  Japan(*

But, if I flash it back and no "unlocked" icon, how can they know it?

@relgames This device blows a QFuse when you root the device, meaning there is a permanent record of it being rooted, which can never be erased.


text:
Stop Spotify from finishing session due to lack of activity
I am a premium user, have my whole playlist downloaded to the phone and daily play it in offline mode. Either in offline and online mode after several songs or minutes all music stops, songs stop loading, the queue shows as empty and I have to return to the playlist view and click a new song for the session to restart.
Is there any way to bypass this timeout restriction?

You "have to return"?

It got cut. Editing.


text:
Delete Known Wi-Fi networks
It seems someone, somewhere has removed the option to view remembered WiFi Networks in 6.0 (Marshmallow). I'm not sure if Android removed this feature, Samsung did, or Sprint did. How do I remove a remembered WiFi network if I'm not in range? This is for a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with Android 6.0.1.
EDIT: Please also note that I do not wish to root my device to remove WiFi networks as I know that is possible.

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/141760/how-do-i-forget-an-out-of-range-wi-fi-network-on-a-galaxy-s7

Why wasn't that marked as a duplicate of mine as this question was 6 hours before that one?

I guess I can see why it wasn't. I'm asking for a non-root solution.

Must be a handiwork of Spring or Samsung or both since stock Android M supports removing any saved network. It however allows only when Wi-Fi is enabled regardless of being connected to an SSID. When Wi-Fi is enabled, clicking the three dots line gives the option "Saved networks". From there I can remove any saved network.


text:
Can your carrier tell which sms app sent a text?
When I send a text through my messenger app, it arrives. When I send it through the smsgateway.me app, it does not. However it shows in my messenger app as sent. Can the carrier tell and filter out those messages?


text:
Select text using keyboard only
I know how to select text (in a view) using the touch screen.
Is it possible to do the same via keyboard only?
If possible, please provide a way to do this on the emulator (I need this for a programming task).


text:
USB transfer grant: disable
Is there a way to disable the dialog below:

Android version 6.0.1

It's a dialog, not a notification. :-)

I Think you can't disable this.But if you search for the code "who" is start that on pc or as root user can be a way tó disable this.Sorry for my errors i am in hungary country/Magyarország
Have a nice day!


text:
six-dot icon on home screen shows app icons, not app names
Something on my phone changed.  I don't know what or how, but now when I press the 6-dot icon in the middle of the bottom row of my home screen, I get pages of app icons without any names.  How can I get the names back?

Is it possible that you have somehow installed or activated an alternate launcher?

Somewhere I very recently read that a Cyanogen update might cause problems like this,

Your phone is on Cyanogen? You should specify that on your question because it is pretty relevant.


text:
Downloading an HTML page
Is there a way for me to download an HTML page to a folder on my smartphone?
I usually make a copy in PDF format but sometimes it does not get very good.

@Izzy I migrated the question to this site: Question

Please note that crossposting is not welcome at SE sites, even if they would fit on multiple of them. I've adjusted your post at SR accordingly, so the questions are now slightly different (asking for an app there, and for some app independent onboard solution here). Good hunting!


text:
Google Pixel C stuck on Booting
We are developing a Kiosk application using Pixel C as the kiosk device.
To achieve the kiosk mode for application, we first root the device, then use "dpm set-device-owner", granting the application device owner permission.
Devices operate 24/7.
All of the devices run same Android 7.1.1 version (build number N4F26T) and supposedly same security patch. Supposedly because Android patches won’t apply to rooted devices, because system is unable to verify checksums or something.
After some time (~ 6 months), devices started to behave strange, i.e., not able to receive/send network requests, automatically disconnect from known Wi-Fi access point. Some devices event stuck in boot loop after rebooting the device using the built-in “reboot” command.
We think that this is some kind of hardware issue, because Pixel Cs weren’t supposed to operate this way besides internetz are full of complaints about Pixel C, or a software bug, which with our operation mode (rooted + device owner) has lead to this state.
Did anyone come across to this kind of issue with the tablet?

Have you tried using the Android Management API instead of rooting the device and using dpm set-device-owner?

@Fred, thanks for the information about the Android Management API, but at the time we didn't have knowledge of it :) Our app was already developed using the device owner thingie.


text:
How can I re-enable keyboard typing? From voice?
I'm now stuck with Voice Input as the only typing mode because I accidentally chose it.
How can I re-enable keyboard typing?

Can you share screenshot?  And what android version  u r using?

You should be able to choose a default keyboard (i.e. Google Keyboard instead of Google voice typing) through your settings. Navigate to Settings -> Language and Input (titled similarly on most devices), then select an option other than voice input. If necessary, you can deselect the voice typing option to disable it entirely. The screen should look something like this:


text:
Broken Phone - Google Authenticator inaccessible - Switch Internal Storage To New Phone
I have a Snapped phone. (Huawei p8 Lite ALE L02) That has very important google authenticator codes on it.
The only way I seem them as being salvageable is to replace the internal storage from this device onto another device of the same model.
How and where Do I do this. Willing to do anything.
No I don't have backup keys, I'm an idiot

Did you 1. Update authenticator app 2. do backup to Google drive? If so , see this answer

Google codes, or third party apps using Google Authentication? If the latter, sorry you're out of luck. Moving the internal storage to another device is not economical, it would cost several times the price of a new phone, unless you work for or know someone who can do micro electronics repair.


text:
What is system/bin and system/xbin in android M?
I have few noob questions about the system/bin and system/xbin directory in Android M.
First, what is the file inside this two directories?
Next, in system/bin, the is some file looks like
-rwxr-xr-x root     shell      117136 2008-12-31 11:30 test-platform
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 time -> toybox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 timeout -> toybox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 umount -> toybox

I know toybox is the app like busybox, a collection of unix command, but what does the -> means here?
Third, I am getting the error /system/bin/sh: busybox: not found, is this shows that busybox is not installed? I thought toybox already serving the same function as busybox?
Appreciate if anyone could clarify my questions, thanks!

the -> indicates this is a symbolic link. That's how Busybox (and similar apps) work, so other processes can refer to them by the "full fledged name" of the component they need to call.
There are different "busyboxes". The original Busybox has a binary called busybox – yours has a binary called toybox. That won't matter if one of those symlinks is addressed – but if some process tries to call busybox directly, it of course cannot find it if it's not there. To work around that, you could create another symlink to toybox: ln -s /system/bin/toybox /system/bin/busybox (in order to do that you need root and mount the /system partition read/write).

still fail to get busybox after symbolic link created. /system/bin/sh: busybox: not found

Where do you get those errors? What are you doing? Hard to tell how to fix what one doesn't know existing. You might rather need to fix the script causing those errors. Btw: If busybox is still "not found", did creating the link succeed at all? What does which busybox give, and what does ls -l /system/bin | grep busybox show?

I have tried which busybox which give nothing on terminal. ls -l /system/bin | grep busybox return busybox -> system/bin/toybox which means symbolic link created successfully? TQ

That's strange. Yes, it seems the symlink was created correctly but busybox is still not found. Can you verify that /system/bin is in your PATH (echo $PATH)? I guess the easiest way would be installing a proper busybox on your device (just checked: mine has both toybox AND busybox as well). Due to the nature of both working (they check how they're called to decide what they're to do – so Toybox might get confused when called as busybox).

I'm 6 years late to the party, but the reason I believe it was not working is because from the output of ls -l from @hellojoshhhy they forgot to put the first / when creating the symbolic link, so it's a relative link instead of absolute, so it's trying to look for a directory named system in the current directory.


text:
How to determine if the bootloader is locked
The end point is for me to root my S6 but I figured I cannot do that if I first do not find out whether the boot-loader is locked or not although I am convinced it is unlocked. I need reassurance as I am not in the position to buy a new phone.
During my research I came across adb and fastboot, tools used by developers for Androids and adb does work but fastboot I cannot seem to get to work.
I tried rebooting to bootloader but it just loads the phone OS up straight away. Tried booting to ODIN MODE, tried booting to download mode, etc.
How can I find out if the bootloader is locked? My current approach is using fastboot and running the fastboot oem device-info command.

There's no fastboot for Samsung devices - Download mode is the semi-equivalent, except that it's only accessible via Odin/Heimdall. You will need appropriate drivers to get the PC to recognize a device in Download mode.
Most Samsung phones come with their BL unlocked or unlockable (notable exceptions are AT&T/Verizon devices). To root these devices, turn on "OEM Unlocking" in Settings - Developer options (if the switch exists), find a custom recovery made for the device, and flash it with Odin/Heimdall, then finally flash SuperSU/Magisk. Alternatively, make a CF-Auto-Root package for your device and firmware version with firmware.mobi and flash it.

Ok, I understand. My device is sim-unlocked from Virgin Media so I'm assuming the bootloader would be open, I'm just worried because when I try to boot into bootloader the OS automatically loads up which I think is a sign that it is locked.

@Andy Samsung can be tricky. I made the bootloader unlockable and flashed TWRP via Odin, followed by systemless SuperSU, and the phone detected that something had been altered, preventing me from booting normally. This on a Galaxy A5, 2017 variant.

@DeathMaskSalesman Need to patch dm-verity I guess. SuperSU is supposed to do that but it does often fail to do so.

@AndyYan I pretty much discovered that myself, buddy.


text:
Why is Maps using outrageous amounts of background data?
I just got three auto-top up notifications amounting to total of about $50 from my network carrier.
Upon checking data usage, I see that this month shot up to 5gb+ and the details show it was almost all due to Maps, (please refer to screenshot).
The breakdown says 2.13 MB of foreground data and 5.15GB of background!!!
The messages from my carrier were sent within a 35 minute window.
This is expensive and outrageous. What's causing it and how do I prevent this?!!
I'm using Blu Lifemark 4G. It's an american company who had had security issues relates to Chinese interference but they said the new software releases fixed that. My android version is 5.1. Maps version: 9.67.1

You say "due to Chrome" but in the title and on the screenshot it is Maps what uses GBs of data. Please fix.

Sorry, meant Maps; corrected

You can prevent it by activating "Restrict app background data" (seen in your second screenshot).
There is also the Datally app (from Google itself), which allows you to block internet access for different apps.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm interested to know why maps wanted 5gb and what it did with it. If it weren't for my carrier limiting auto- topups, I would have lost a fortune in data costs. Isn't this a serious issue?


text:
adb backup and restore, what is next?
I have followed this post to backup and restore an app from my old to my new phone. I could make the backup and the restoration. My question might be a bit silly, but what is the next step to have your app running in the new phone as it was in the old phone? Should I have to install the same app from PlayStore and do something else? Does it has to be the same version of the app that was in the old one? Thanks, and sorry if the question is too obvious but I am new in this.

If you did a full backup (with the -apk parameter included), the app should be there already. Otherwise of course you'll need to install it. So hard to tell "what's next" if the relevant details are missing :)

Thanks for answering.  So, in case I  use -noapk. Should I install the app before or after doing the restoration?

I'd do it before, but that shouldn't really matter. Apart from that, I always use -apk – you can never tell if a given app is still available in the stores tomorrow.

I am using this command adb backup -f backup.ab -apk -obb -shared -nosystem com.lbe.parallel.intl And for being only one app it is taking so long already almost 30 min, and the size is 4GB and increasing. I am not sure if I should used -shared.

Another quest, if I I restore using -noapk, and if the version of the app that I install in my new phone is different, will it work anyway?

No; -shared means to include all contents of the SD card. And if you specify one app at the end, you can skip the -nosystem as well. And the restore command takes only one parameter: the file to restore from. No choice of pieces here.

Sorry I meant, if I backup using -noapk,  and then restore. then the version of the app that I install in my new phone (using PlayStore) have to be the same as in the old phone? Thanks @Izzy

Same or newer should be safe. Older you won't get anyway there.

I did not manage to restore my app :( So I went and try Helium. Then I notice than my app is marked as "disallowed" (to backup the data). Does it mean that I can not backup the data neither using adb? or adb is more "powerful" than Helium that I can backup a "disallowed" app?

Ah, there's your culprit. No, that app then can only be backed up using root powers. Developers can have their apps opt-out from "regular backups" by setting a corresponding flag (ALLOW_BACKUP:NO) in the app's Manifest. There's an Xposed module working around that – and there's Titanium Backup of course. But without root, no chance.

ok, if I root my old phone in order to make the backup, then should I root the new phone to make the restore too? I dont mind rooting the old phone, but the new one I would not like to.

I've never tried that on a non-rooted phone (wouldn't know where to get one in the first place – I usually root mine before unboxing ;) – but I'd expect that, if the adb backup managed the backup, it can be restored whether rooted or not. With TiBu things are different, as it needs root to run even for the restore. Note for the BackupAllApps module I mentioned you'd also need the Xposed framework.


text:
Is it possible to install a custom Android ROM if the bootloader is locked?
Suppose the bootloader of an Android device is locked.
Is there any way to install a custom ROM without unlocking the bootloader? If yes, then how?

It depends on the ROM you are trying to flash. If it is based on the stock kernel, then it is possible. But it's difficult to give a universal answer - it depends on your device, the security aspects but into it and the ROM you want to flash. Best is to search the XDA forums for your device and see if such a ROM exists for your device
Such devices are few and most devices require bootloader to be unlocked and custom recovery installed to be able to flash a custom ROM

Specifying your device and Android version will help you get good  response

Just download sp flash tools. Turn phone off and flash whatever you want...

Yes, however, this method will not work on every phone.
Prerequisites

Back up all data on your phone
Unknown sources enabled in security settings
Being prepared to void warranty.

Method

Download and install an on-device one-click-root root-management application on your phone (notable mentions include Kingo Root and Kingroot, both personally tried and tested to work)
Use the application to root your phone and gain root access.
Download and install an on-device partition-flashing application. (notable mentions include Rashr, Flashify or even the official TWRP app)
Download a custom recovery for your device (TWRP recommended, see here)
Use the app you downloaded to flash the recovery file you downloaded.
Reboot into recovery (device-specific)
Install any custom ROM you want

You are now rooted and have a custom recovery installed; this is an enormous security risk, especially since anyone can delete your lockscreen password from recovery mode and hence have full access to your device.
If you brick your phone you will have a very hard time getting out of such a situation because your bootloader is locked.
I have personally tried this method before on a Nexus 5 running and Lollipop 5.1.1 LMY48M and it worked.
I would recommend going the "old-fashioned" way to root your device and unlock your bootloader.


text:
Moto M unable to boot up
My Moto M, running Nougat, is not booting up suddenly. It worked fine but after a restart it stopped booting up. It just shows the Motorola Logo and then a blank screen.
I tried Volume Down + Power button Combination and booting it in recovery mode but again the same Motorola Logo and Blank screen.
Never rooted/tweaked in any way.
I have a lot of data in it. Plzzzzz Help.

With the phone powered off, press and hold the Volume Up button and the Volume Down buttons.
Continue to press both volume buttons, and press and hold the Power button until the phone vibrates.
Release the Power button, continue to hold the Volume keys. You should see  a "No command" prompt. (You can release the Volume keys now.)
Press and hold the Power button, tap Volume Up to enter Recovery menu.


text:
How to stop Android apps starting automatically when internet connect?
How to stop Android apps (such as "todoist") starting automatically when internet connect?
(non-root device)

That's how these apps keep their data in sync. What are you trying to achieve by stopping them running?

You can go to the app info screen (Settings > Apps [> App List] > Select App) then click on Data Usage. This provides a number of options to control its access to network.
You do need Android 5.0 or up I think.


text:
What causes the error "No certificate found in USB storage." when trying to import a certificate?
I have a Samsung S3 with Android 4.04 and to get on my WiFi at work I need to install a certificate .p12 file.  So, I navigate to "Security and lock screen"-->"Install from device storage."  BUT instead of giving me a field to specify the location of my cert ( on /mnt/extSdCard )  it just says "No certificate found in USB storage."
There are some USB devices ( called "UsbDriveA" through "UsbDriveF" in my /mnt folder) but I cannot copy the cert onto them because they are read-only.
So, how do I get this certificate imported?  I tried using "Android Certificate Installer" from the app store and that didn't work for me either: it launches a browser and the browser fails to prompt for the cert password.

I figured out a workaround.  The workaround is to download a File Manager tool and then double click the .p12 cert, which opens up and prompts for the password.   I still don't know why the control panel doesn't do what it suggests, but at least I found a solution.

If you don't know which file manager to use - I successfully applied the workaround via OI File Manager - OI FIle Manager seems to be open-source and comes with sane permissions.

My guess is that it wants the cert to be in a particular spot (and possibly to have a particular name).
From Google's support pages, we see that the cert has to be at the root of your phone's INTERNAL storage, not external.


text:
Volume Slider Widget - Home and or Lock screen(s)
I recently replaced the micro-USB port on my Galaxy Nexus (GSM version, running 4.1.2) after it corroded due to water damage. During that process, I accidentally ruined the connection to the volume rocker while removing a board (I expected it to be be on a connector; turns out it was soldered...).
Unsurprisingly, the volume rocker no longer works. I don't have the necessary skill to resolder the ribbon, so I'm looking for something (a widget) that will let me control the volume from my home screen, or better yet from both the home screen and the lock screen.
I want to change the notification, music, and call volumes as easily as possible without the hardware rocker...

You will have to be rooted to control from home screen.
Button Savior Root will do this for you.
You can also download and install Volume Control + which allows you.to.modify the volume without a rooted device - you will have to use the widget or app UI however.

Cheers. Both of these are vastly better than nothing.

neither of those apps are on the playstore anymore.... any newer suggestions? Thanks


text:
Is there a reason to install, say, VLC from F-droid instead of play store?
I'm a fan/contributor/user of FOSS, but not an RMS-style purist. Is there some advantage I'd get installing OSMAnd or VLC, etc. from there instead of the playstore? Some privacy thing or frequent updates?
I'm basically worried that I'd be hurting VLC's exposure by not adding to their download numbers in the playstore with no real advantage for me or VLC or FOSS in general. I'm explicitly asking if I know an app is FOSS and ensure the author's the right one, why not download from the playstore?

Play Store releases usually get frequent updates (there is money involved). But wherever possible FOSS must be used and promoted. You and me are the community, so we have to keep the concept alive, if we really support it.

I can't prove this since I haven't used F-droid yet, but developers can also build different flavors for each store/download source, such as ad-free on XDA but ad-supported on Play Store.

As an enthusiastic F-Droid user (and, disclosure, Maintainer), one major reason I see is enhanced privacy: no tracking by the store, nor by the app. Other than in Play Store, on F-Droid "AntiFeatures" are explicitly named if present. More transparency hence.

I'm basically worried that I'd be hurting VLC's exposure by not adding to their download numbers in the playstore with no real advantage for me or VLC or FOSS in general. I'm explicitly asking if I know an app is FOSS and ensure the author's the right one, why not download from the playstore?

Given the second para of your question, where you are sure of developer, I would go with downloading from Play Store -:

Faster updates. Updates from F-Droid are typically slower than Play Store, more noticeable if developer updates app very frequently. For instance, check out open source email app "FairEmail" and see the versions on Play Store and F-Droid. Admittedly, this is an extreme example because developer at times pushed out 3 updates per day!
If it is a paid app, it is easier to use Play Store while installing on a new device.
Not sure of this but I have noticed that non Play Store apps are at times not backed up by Google and restored on new devices. Backing up and restoring has too many factors, so wouldn't weigh this heavily.


text:
Rooting A Nexus 5 and Concerns Regarding Over The Air Updates?
I am planning on buying a Nexus 5 for Christmas, to which I intend to Root it, so that I can use Rooted Apps eg Titanium Backup which would otherwise be unavailable to me.
If I root the device, but do not flash a custom rom or kernel, and instead keep stock android KitKat 4.4. :-
What happens when an OTA update occurs from Google ie to 4.4.1?
Do I lose Root and Rooted Apps ?
(Correct me if i'm wrong, if I Root the Nexus 5 and flash a custom rom, then the OTA updates would come from the XDA Developer for the specific custom rom you are using, rather than from Google).

If you root the device on the stock ROM, it will still offer to do OTA updates, but they won't work. OTA updates only apply to a completely clean system image that hasn't been rooted.
To apply an upgrade to your rooted device, you have to download the ROM image from the official Google site and follow the instructions there to flash it.

Thats exactly what I wanted to know...brilliant. In terms of a rooted device with a custom rom, what happens then ?

A custom ROM won't have the stock OTA updater anyway, so it won't even offer you the update. Some ROMs (such as Cyanogenmod) have their own OTA update system.

Ah I see so a custom rom will only receive an update if the developer has included an OTA updater integrated within that particular rom. It may be better to stay with Stock Android (especially in the case of people who have never rooted & flashed before) !

Simply rooting your device won't cause OTA updates to fail. Changing any system files such as the Kernel or installing the XPosed framework will cause the update to fail as it won't be able to verify the files.
I have rooted my Nexus 5 and the 4.4 -> 4.4.1 update applied successfully. I did have to re-root though, which simply required re-flashing the superuser.zip.

You must have lost Root when you updated if you then had to re-root ?There are obviously unforeseen "pitfalls" that someone new to Rooting & Flashing may be unaware of !

Yes, I did lose root but the update didn't fail. Simply having the su binary and app in /system doesn't stop the update from applying. There may be other things that a user can do once they've rooted but that's a whole different issue.

Apparently (correct me if i'm wrong) if you have the Pro version of SuperSU you can enable OTA Survival mode and therefore will not lose Root in the process of an OTA update (and therefore no need to re-root).


text:
What Effect Will Installing A Custom Launcher Have On MIUI V.5?
A friend installed the custom rom MIUI V.5, and is finding it a bit different to stock jelly bean. I told him to give it time to adjust, as i'm sure "its not that different".
Rather than disposing of MIUI altogether, he says he is thinking of installing a custom launcher eg Nova launcher.
He therefore wishes to know what effect (if any) will installing Nova launcher have on MIUI, and will it bring the stock Jelly Bean "experience" back or not ?
Edit:
What he trying to say is:
By combining Nova launcher with MIUI, will the experience/functionality of doing so be similar to using Nova launcher with stock jelly bean, thereby making this transition to MIUI less unfamiliar & more user friendly ?

First, launchers are apps like all other apps you can install. Which means: per se, there should be no problems -- but they of course might have bugs and, in rare cases, side effects. Again, this is not limited to launchers. So far for the "generic info".
Now specifically for the launcher: After having installed a launcher (Nova should be fine, Apex might be another choice close to Nova), when he presses the Home key to switch to the home screen, he will be asked which launcher to chose. So still he's got the choice to use the MIUI launcher or his "custom one". On every press of the Home button. Until he decides to always use one of the two, and marks the check button to remember his choice ("always use..."). Now on Home key press, it's always that launcher being started.
If at a later time he wants to switch back: still no problem. The "decision popup" will come again if one of the following conditions are met:

he installed another launcher
one of the installed launchers receives an update
more than 2 launchers were installed, and the current default launcher is uninstalled
in Settings→Applications, the settings of the current default launcher are opened, and the "clear defaults" button is pushed
some "default apps" manager was used to trigger it

So in short: I'd expect no trouble. Some special features of the MIUI launcher might not be available in other launchers, some specific MIUI widgets (specifically built for the MIUI launcher) might not work with the other launcher -- but if he wants, he can always return/swtich or even revert his changes.

By adding Nova, this will have very little impact on the way he uses MIUI ?

As written: just adding it will have the effect he will be asked which launcher to use when pressing the "Home" button. But once he starts liking Nova more, he of course might use MIUI differently :) No worries. He can always uninstall Nova if he doesn't like the results.

So having Nova could potentially make using MIUI different, than not having it installed....if i'm making sense...in other words by having Nova on MIUI, would therefore be similar to having Nova on Stock Jelly Bean in terms of user experience?

I'd say so. Just give it a try and see for yourself. As I wrote, no damage to be expected -- and if you don't like it, simply uninstall it again. After all, it's an app -- and you do use apps on MIUI, don't you? ;)

Thats what i tried to say...by putting Nova on MIUI, it would make the phone similar in functionality to putting Nova on Stock JB, and therefore make MIUI less different and more friendly so to speak :)......Thanks

Well,
You will lose home launcher. That's it. Every other MIUI feature will be intact :-)

You won't lose it, it'll still be there. Just something else will be in use.

@Malfist I meant the same.. You will loose = you will be using other one :P


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Creating Backup before rooting
I am planning to root my android ICS phone. How can I create a backup of android OS before rooting it?
Will creating a backup brick my phone?

See this post asked by @Izzy entitled http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/28296/full-backup-of-non-rooted-devices The question contains links to other very useful posts that may interest you.

is there a danger of bricking the device while rooting it?

@TechGeek Rooting a phone can potentially be risky if you are not familiar with the phone and the rooting process. When rooting, you should carefully follow the instructions for your specific phone and operating system (OS) version. If done properly, you should not have any problems. Should any problems arise and you brick your phone (completely locks up), you could try returning it to the store, but more likely your only recourse will be to turn to the internet and specifically the XDA Forums for help.

@TechGeek There will always be disadvantages - dangers as you call it, but generally people will tell you the advantages to rooting far outweigh any disadvantage. However only root if you really need too !!

If you made a backup before, and have the current stock image at hand for flashing, in the worst case you've have to factory-reset and re-flash, then restore your backup. It's unlikely that any rooting method woould brick your phone so complete that you cannot at least boot-up your phone to recovery/fastboot/whatever and flash the stock image back.


text:
Definitive Way(s) Of Knowing That One Has Bought The Revised Model Of The Nexus 5?
After complaints by many about the build quality of the Nexus 5, Google has apparently made certain hardware changes and released a revised version of its latest flagship handset in the last couple of days.
How can one ensure that they have the latest model of the Nexus 5 (or is it a given or matter of trust, that the Google Play Store and retailers will supply the latest). ?

All I've seen (so far) is a physical comparison of the two models, more-or-less requiring you to have both models in hand to compare. Not very useful when you're shopping. I've seen no mention of a modified model number or anything like that. You might just need to roll the dice.

@Krampus I understand what you are saying, but I haven't physically handled "the original", so wouldn't know.

@Poldie Your second sentence doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. If they have produced a revised model, that has supposedly rectified issues, why on Earth would I be content with quiet sound levels and protruding SIM trays ? The whole point is to BE SURE !!

@Poldie Surely there is definitive way ie by Batch/IMEI/Serial Number that identifies the revised model.

@Poldie Yes I totally agree with you. Hopefully many of the issues that plagued a minority of people in the first version have now hopefully been rectified in the revised version. I just wanted to make sure that at this point in time, if someone were to purchase a Nexus 5 they are getting the latest version rather than being given "old stock" by whichever retailer.

@Krampus XDA thread about serial numbers which people claim identifies the new from the old version http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48682988&postcount=206

@AlE. This article may clear up any confusion http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2597276

@AlE. Another way to look at it, if you buy the newly released Red version of the Nexus 5, then you will definitely have the latest model :)


text:
Definitive Guide to Customs Roms?
For those people who are interested in flashing custom roms after rooting their android device:
Does a website exist that provides a definitive, quick & up to date guide to the numerous and varied custom roms that are available for the android platform (obviously not the whole kaboosh, but something that gave a flavour). Generally I hear about CyanogenMod, MIUI & occasionally AOKP (if i'm not mistaken).
Fair enough if you have the time in the day to watch various youtube channels and do searches on the countless android orientated websites, i'm sure most people don't.
(I have seen similar questions asked here, generally people have named a few or just said see XDA)

possible duplicate of Where can I find a good comparison of available custom ROMs?

Thx for that Izzy

There is no such site that lists all the available ROM's for all the devices - if there was, it would be huge.
The best way to find a custom ROM, as well as ways to flash & guides, is to check the more popular forums - such as XDA-Developers or the Android Forums.

Thats a shame, if someone came up with a site which listed 50% in a clear, logical and easy to access manner....I'm sure that would be good enough for most.

@Simon Even 50% would be loads. Think of all the Android devices out right now, each of them have more than 5 ROM's - some have as many as 20-50.

Anything between 1-5% would be helpful to most people looking at custom roms

@LiamW There are such sites. Just see what I linked as "possible duplicate" -- it mentions a bunch of sites, some of them are quite complete and up-to-date.

I have seen some of those sites previously, the Android Release Matrix doesnt look very friendly

What is the down vote for, downvoter?


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3G/Wi-Fi Vs Wi-Fi Only Enabled Android Tablets: Pros & Cons to the Consumer?
Having never owned an Android Tablet I am thinking of purchasing one at some point during 2013. From what I gather in terms of connectivity, they either come as:

Wi-Fi Only
3G & Wi-Fi

Is it true that most tablets are Wi-Fi only enabled ?
 - Those people who purchase them can therefore connect where ever there is Wi-Fi or a Wi-Fi Hotspot ?
3G/Wi-Fi tablets might be less common (or perhaps more appropriate to say popular) because they require a SIM card to be purchased and inserted (which leads to greater monthly expense....I assume), however they can therefore use the tablet anywhere they like because they are connected to a mobile, cellular network.(In the same manner that a SmartPhone is 3G/Wifi Enabled I guess)
Anyone who can comment on the above, would be much appreciated...

Shopping/Recommendation type of questions are off-topic. See the [FAQ] for kind of questions that can be asked. :)

@t0mm13b: I wasnt looking for a recommendation..I wanted clarification between 3G/WiFi & Wifi only tablets...as answered by Liam W

Most newer Android tablets provide both WiFi and WiFi+3G variants.
If a tablet is WiFi only - then yes, the tablet can only access the internet via a WiFi hotspot/network.
If a tablet has 3G capability as well, then yes - a SIM and data plan would be needed to use the 3G functionality, but not required to use the tablet. The benefits of using a 3G model would be that you always have an internet connection, even if there isn't a WiFi network available (as long as your mobile network has coverage where you are).
The 3G system in tablets is the same as in phones - except that most 3G enabled tablets don't have the ability to make voice calls, or send SMS's - they are limited to using only the internet through the 3G network.
3G tablets are more expensive than the WiFi only models - mostly costing in the region of ~£100 more, however the benefits can be rather useful - especially if you would be using the tablet out and about alot.
However, if you possess an Android device as well, then you could just purchase a WiFi only model, and use the Portable Hotspot feature of your Android phone to create a WiFi network that the tablet can connect to, to use the 3G internet of your phone.
So, in conclusion:

3G tablets can be connected to the internet practically everywhere
3G tablets can cost around £100 more than WiFi only varients
WiFi only varients can only access the internet when a connectible WiFi network is present
A SIM and data plan are needed to use 3G data on a 3G capable tablet - this will cost extra
3G tablets are ideal for those that will be taking them out and about with them, and would need an internet connection while they are out and about with their tablet
WiFi only tablets are ideal for those that would only be using the tablet indoors that has a WiFi network available, or for those that wish to to the WiFi Hotspot feature of their Android phone.

Thx for that comprehensive answer

Even if I bought a 3G/WIFI Tablet - if i decided to just use it in wifi areas only, then that would still be possible & I wouldnt need to purchase a sim card...is that correct ?

@Simon Correct :)

Thx in the above regard :)


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How can I easily edit / add contacts to my phone book without them showing on Google?
I got my Galaxy Nexus and now I'm stumped how to get my contacts right? There's no phone book anymore here. These are just my Google contacts of which I have just a handful with phone numbers.

What's the best way to get my phone numbers into those contacts without editing every and single one? So merging phone numbers on my SIM with google contacts.
Add new that are missing in my google contacts but are present on my SIM?

Why can't I have separate phone contacts from Google contacts? And what's the rationale behind the decition they've made with this?
Is it also possible that phone-only contacts (with name of course) woudl not show on my gmail afterwards? I mean on the web. On my computer...

If you'd rather keep your primary Google account separate, why not create a fresh account for use with your phone? That way you'll enjoy the benefit of the cloud to sync/restore your contacts while avoiding "cluttering" your phone. Also, most Samsung phones (non-Nexus) have the ability of adding contacts to the phone alone and NOT sync to Google.

Rationale
The traditional concept of mapping names to numbers which many people know from cell phones doesn't really apply to smartphones. Here the idea is that there is one central instance, the contacts app, that holds information about your contacts and how you can reach them, which could include a phone number but not mandatorily. Often there is also e-mail, third party messaging (whats app), third party VOIP (skype) social (micro) blogs (Twitter, Google+) or various social networks. (Facebook, LastFM, ...).
Use www.google.com/contacts
I recommend to move all information about contacts that is stored on your SIM card to the Google contacts. Furthermore Gmail will only show contacts that have a e-mail address. So there is no need to have something like phone-only contacts.
The cloud idea is to have every piece of data (or information if you want) everywhere available. Why do you want to have some contacts just on one device? I know it's hard for some people that their contact app suddenly shows hundreds of contacts from different sources, but Google/Android provides techniques to deal with that too: Use contacts groups. Most Google software is able to show only certain contact groups (but will run contact searches for the whole contact set).

Ok. This seem reasonable. But what about merging SIM+Google contacts. And you're mentioning Skype ones as well. I have a bunch of Skype contacts many of them with phone number but without Skype account in the first place. Can I sync them into the same list as well? Will I get duplicates? Will it nicely match by something?


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Forgot code to access phone. Any way to recover pictures on it?
A little while back, I passed on my Samsung Galaxy S6 to my mom. She used the fingerprint scanner to get into the device. Today, her battery died for the first time and because you can't use her fingerprint the first time after a restart and she forgot the backup password, we cannot access the phone.
I thought there was an option to reset the device using her Google account after entering the wrong code a few times, but that option doesn't appear unfortunately. I read about Samsung's Find my Mobile, and while I was using the S6 I activated it and I can find it in my list of phones when I login with my Samsung Account, but I am unable to unlock the phone with it because it says it's offline at the moment (it's online, but I assume it says that because it isn't activated anymore, I reset the phone before I gave it to my mom).
I know that I can enter recovery mode to factory reset the device. The thing is that she really wants the pictures on it. Is there any way at all for me to get the pictures from the device? If I'm correct, it was fully stock.

Could you provide more info, such as Android version and willingness to root?

What is your carrier? If you are on T-mobile or International you'll be able to flash TWRP recovery.

I have the international version. I think it's on 6.0.1 and  I am willing to root. How would I go about flashing TWRP?

Alright, I managed to get all the files of the device! Here's how to do it in this particular case:

Like suggested by someone else in the comments, I flashed TWRP to my Galaxy S6 using ODIN.
After flashing TWRP, I turned the Galaxy S6 off and I booted to recovery by holding the Volume Up + Home button + Power button simultaneously.
I installed Google's Android SDK Manager and from within the SDK Manager, I installed the SDK Platform Tools. This allowed me to use ADB.
From within the Platform Tools folder, I held shift and right-clicked an empty space to open a CMD window in that folder.
I connected the Galaxy S6, which was still in TWRP, to my computer.
In the CMD, I ussed the command adb devices to check if it was recognized. It was.
Lastly, I used the command adb pull /sdcard to pull ALL DATA from the internal storage.

Hopefully this will help others with the same question!
PS: I didn't provide any download links because I'm not sure if it's allowed. But like always, Google is your friend.

Wait here... Phone was locked and there would not be debugging mode enabled. So, explain how you passed that thing?

Well, I just used the steps I provided. I used the comments from here along with the help I got from the XDA forums where they told me to install TWRP too. I then googled how to use Adb and I pulled the data and wiped the phone afterwards. What I wrote above is all I did.

I mean here 1. How odin recognised your device. 2. If it was so then you were able to copy all the things without doing all these steps.

If it's actually safely built, then no. If the device isn't running the latest software, it's possible that you could use a security exploit to delete the lockscreen settings database, but otherwise you're SOL, I'm afraid.
If you backed the photos up via Google Photos, they might still be there. Also check any other cloud storage or backup services you may have used.
As a last ditch resort, I don't believe there's an option in a stock configuration of Android that locks you out of your phone after so many attempts, so really all you're limited by in getting into it, is your patience of trying every possible combination.

I see, that's pretty bad news... Since when exactly was the option to use your Google Account to recover your code removed? I'm sure it was there not too long ago.

@YoungStarDC I'm not entirely sure, but I haven't seen it in a while


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Change Android USB Device Name for Windows Explorer
When I connect a Motorola Moto E (gen 2) using USB to a Windows 7 computer, the phone is shown in Windows Explorer as "MotoE2(4G-LTE)" which is a bit techie, but I know immediately what it is.
When I connect a Motorola Moto G (gen 2), it is shown as "XT1072" which I don't find very helpful.

I can edit the name in Windows Explorer, which is useful and permanent in that I later get that same new name if I connect the phone to a different computer.
However the popup on connection still uses the XT1072 name

I assume the USB device name is determined by the phone. Can I change XT1072 to something else (e.g. MotoG2) in Android settings?

This link Change USB Model Name globally on the device and this Change USB Device Description are related which might be helpful. And please also mention if your device is rooted or not and the Android version in your question. ;)

It is just a name for the device that the manufacture put there. Change the name, call it what you like, it does not matter.
The pop up is part of Windows and will call on the device's real name (what the manufacturer called it). This device name is embedded into the your mobile device and can not be changed without going down to a low level of programming.
In your phone spec on GSMarena, you will notice that your phone has multiple names.

@craig Instead of posting multiple answers, you should [edit] your answer and add the additional information that you want to provide.

Ok thanks the first post sorry will do next time


text:
How to stop "Monkey Test" and "Time Service" apps
When I long-press the "home" button to close all apps, there is an app named "time service" with android symbol and another named "monkey test" that are always open.
How to stop this?

Take screenshot when you see those symbols or apps, edit the screenshot to point them, and then share the screenshot with us.

seems like this is related to: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/120541/how-to-delete-a-file-e-g-malware-app-that-cannot-be-even-removed-with-root-ac

"Monkey Test" and "Time Service" are being reported recently by some anti-virus programs for Android as malware, as reported here in the Norton Community forum, and here at Android Central. In general form, they suggest the normal actions:

Disabling installations from "Unknown Sources",
 Settings -> Security -> Device administration -> Unknown sources
Disabling the app,
 Settings -> Application manager -> AppName -> Disable/Uninstall
Checking to see if "Device Administrators" has it blocked from uninstalling, and then trying the uninstall again.
 Settings -> Security -> Device administration - > Device administrators
Factory Reset

Both communities also suggest the use of some uninstallers for malware, which I won't cover here, in addition to rooting as a final option to totally remove it/them.


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Format of phone number in imported contacts
I created a VCF file (VCARD version 2.1) of contacts and imported it into an Android 5 phone. A Motorola Moto G 2nd generation.
The VCF has phone numbers formatted correctly for the UK (e.g. "01234 567890")
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:;John;Smith
FN:John Smith
TEL;HOME;VOICE:01234 567890
REV:20150824T162717Z
END:VCARD

but Android has altered them to a format that looks like a US format ("012-345-67890).
How can I stop this happening?

You need to prefix the phone with the country code for the formatting to be correct. The plus sign must be escaped by a backslash:
BEGIN:VCARD
VERSION:2.1
N:;John;Smith
FN:John Smith
TEL;HOME;VOICE:\+441234567890
REV:20150824T162717Z
END:VCARD

Are you sure the backslash is required


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Dragging home button opens Google Search - How do I remove this?
Ever since I bought my tablet, this has been the default action whenever I drag the home button up (this is a soft button: on screen). I do not want this functionality because I frequently drag it by accident whenever I play games. This will bring up Google Search and interrupt my game.
Screenshots:

When dragging homescreen, a half-circle with Google on top appears / Google Search brought up (click images for larger variants)
Again, how do I disable this behavior?
If it helps, I am using a Pipo U1 Pro tablet with the default OS (not rooted).

Try Google Now Swipe Disabler.

Google Now Swipe Disabler repurposes that annoying swipe up from the
  bottom of your phone. If you're tired of having to press back twice
  when your scroll gets taken over by Google Now, then have Google Now
  Swipe Disabler do nothing! If you like the new voice search, but it
  takes too long to swipe up and press the mic icon, then tell it to go
  straight to voice search! You can have super quick access to your
  camera, or maybe you're always needing to do complicated mental math,
  now your calculator is just a convenient swipe away!


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Change the name of the Wi-Fi hotspot
Device: Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The wireless tethering hotspot name is AndroidAP. I would like to change this if I can.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S4, but you should have something similar to this: System settings > Connections > More Networks > Tethering and portable hotspot > Portable Wi-Fi hotspot.

If you don't see Configure button (not visible on my S4 5.0.1), try pressing device Menu button while you are at the Mobile Hotspot settings page (which shows your hotspot name and password)

I don't seem to see a place to rename like you do. Here is what I see under tethering and portable hotspot: http://imgur.com/stE9HIM. Under More Networks: http://imgur.com/PSQWMbL. And finally under connections: http://imgur.com/UmlIDyr

Oh, now I see! I tap on "Portable Wifi Hotspot" and I then see the screen that allows me to configure it! I was confused because the on/off switch on that line looked like it was the only control for that line, instead of also being able to tap on it and enter another screen. Thank you very much!

This option no longer exists in Lollipop.  However, from this forum I discovered that the configuration has been hidden unless you hit the menu button ("recent key") on the bottom left of the phone (opposite side as the the back button).  Who decides to make cryptic changes like this?!

Oh man!  @JessRiedel I have been searching for so long for this.  I'm with you: who makes stupid changes like this!?    It would be worth a separate answer to this question with this information, I nearly missed your comment altogether!


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How a boot loop prevents access to TWRP?
I found an old Samsung Note 4 of mine which I flashed a few years ago (Lineage OS if memory serves me right) and which I wanted to reuse for my son.
It is unfortunately stuck in a boot loop:

If booted normally, it goes though the "Samsung Galaxy Note 4" initial screen (black and white and then after some time there is a vibration and it reboots (in a loop)
If booted with HomePowerVolume-Up, a blue `RECOVERY BOOTING...." appears together with the Samsung Note 4 screen above, then it reboots (in a loop)
If booted with HomePowerVolume-Down it goes into Download Mode

I tried to flashed the latest TWRP  (3.2.3) via Odin - no changes
What is the reason of such a boot loop? Is there a bootloader missing? (I found a bootlader and flashed it, the flash was successful but the problem is still the same)
My main goal is to boot into TWRP in order to wipe and reinstall a new Lineage OS
Note: Following up on the comments and answer, I wanted to clarify a few things:

the Note worked fine with Lineage OS installed
it was then left aside
it was then (not sure here) probably wiped via TWRP (the only thing sure is that at most the wipe functionality of TWRP was used, to do a factory reset). This is new information obtained after the one who had the phone in hands told exactly what she has done.
and then the problems started

This is to make it clear that it used to have a functional TWRP and a functional Lineage OS, then a wipe in TWRP occured, and then it cannot boot to TWRP (or Lineage)

It's highly possible that whatever method you used to install Lineage OS, not only triggered KNOX but has also overwritten the recovery with one designed for Lineage.... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Knox

Which variant of note 4 do you have? Looking through the official TWRP devices page there are a lot of note 4 variants. I do not mean this in a bad way but did you choose the correct TWRP file for your devices variant? Also did you: "Note many devices will replace your custom recovery automatically during first boot. To prevent this, use Google to find the proper key combo to enter recovery?"

@BoLawson: yes, I am aware of the various versions and chose the one specifically for my Note 4. I also clarified my question with a note at the end to specifically state that the phone worked under that configuration

@Zillinium: Please see my update,a note at the end to specifically state that the phone worked under that configuration

Which bootloader out that big list of bootloaders did you flash. It is important to know because the possible key to getting your device back is to flash Samsung factory firmware for your device. After that you can start to customize again. However, back to the bootloader version Samsung has a security feature call roll back protection fuse. That prevents flashing older firmware. The only thing the bootloader will allow to flash is firmware equal to or greater than what was on the device.

A boot loop can be caused by several reasons.
• Incompatible Boot and Recovery Image's.
• System Modifications
• File Permission Errors
• File Owner Errors
• Incorrect Formatting Of Files
• Knox
And the last one i can think of is incorrect settings ( build.prop edits etc.. )
Yours seems to be the first one, or the last, Incompatible Recovery and Knox
Obviously you have had a working TWRP on that device before, so maybe you still have it from flashing the device years ago.
Custom firmware like Lineage OS can also require it's own recovery image, that is dependent on the corresponding Kernel version.
If your Lineage OS installation was for an UPGRADED Android version like 4.4 to 5.1, then a new kernel for 5.1 will have overwritten your 4.4 kernel, and now that possible working TWRP is useless... This became a huge problem with people trying to downgrade device's, as it requires a factory level flash. Odin may have the ability the downgrade the devices boot image ( kernel ). and TWRP will work again, but Knox will stay triggered.


text:
Moving text messages from 2.2 to 4.2
I had recently purchased new LG Optimus L90 (model D415, Android 4.2.2, default OEM set up, Optimus UI) to replace old Optimus T (Optimus One, P509, 2.2). I had used SMS Backup+ to move my messages, call logs etc. I had successfully used it before when I did factory reset on the old mobile.
When I installed SMS Backup+ on the new phone, it did copy call logs, and it seemed to copy messages as well, because when I would tap the message icon for the first few times, it would flash old messages for a fraction of a second, but then would only display the new ones. I tried reboot the phone, and checked the settings, but nothing helped.
Is there a way to make this work, or should I try another app?
Update: I had tried restoring the messages again today, and when I check the list while SMS Backup+ is running I can see it populating with contacts that I had exchanged messages with. But if I click on any of them there are no messages inside, and so the app thinks of those as deleted and clears them upon list refresh.


text:
How do I debug my wi-fi connection?
I have two wi-fi networks at home and one of them I just cannot connect to with my Galaxy Nexus. (It works fine with several laptops.)
It shows up but when I try to connect after "Connecting..." it just goes to the state "Saved, secured with WPA2".
I also tried connecting using WPS but it just times out.
I am looking for ways to get additional information to debug this.
What I have tried (as suggested in many other places) is changing the frequency band from Auto to 5 or 2.4 GHz but that didn't help.
EDIT: By now I have also tried resetting the phone but that didn't help either.

Did you check the WiFi channel used as well? Not all channels are (lawfully) valid for all countries, and some devices are stricter than others dealing with those regulations.

No, I didn't were can I find those setting?

In your router you can define which channel to use. Some routers have auto-select. Regulations differ between countries; but usually channel 11 and below are permitted in all countries (some routers support additional/higher channels, which are not permitted in all countries). Please let us know whether this brought you at least closer to a solution, so I might sum it up to a useful answer.

It seems that the lower channels are not available for 5 GHz wireless. I set my phone to 2.4 GHz only and fixed channel seven on the access point but it didn't help.

Any hints in adb logcat?

In my experience, when I see that behaviour it means I typoed the password for the wifi. Double/triple check that?

Are the two wifi networks clashing with each other? one signal from one router interfering with the other - try moving the router away from each other and make sure they are on two separate channels.

I will have to look into the routers interfering. I think they're both set to automatic channel selection. Hadn't bothered because both networks work fine with laptops so I assumed the problem had to be with the phone. @ott I will check, thanks for the hint.

In the end I fixed it using the old "have you tried turning it off and on again?" on one of the APs. Make sure to try that first. ;)
So here is my little checklist, least annoying first:
(If you have other suggestions or things that worked for you let me know and I'll add them!)

Recheck the password it is almost always the problem! (Hint to the Android devs: A more descriptive error for this case would be great. ;) )
Reboot all devices. Yes, even if it works for other computers and if it will cut their network connection.
Try adding the network manually and entering all the data manually.
Try restricting all devices to specific channels and bands instead of using automatic discovery.
If you use multiple devices make sure they don't interfere by setting them to different channels or selectively turning them off.
Try using "adb logcat" to get more information.
Try resetting your phone.

I have experienced this also with my phone (Galaxy Nexus). The main reason that I see causing this is a miss-typed password as i believe someone mentioned above. Another thing that has happened to me is a really low connection. Check to see how strong the wifi signal is in the spot where you are trying to connect. Sometimes if the connection is really weak it will keep the phone from connecting so try moving around your house also. I know this is pretty obvious but you said you had two networks so make sure your phone is not connected to the first one when you are trying connect to the second. If all of this does not solve the problem there is a workaround that I have found works most of the time: go to settings->wifi(make sure it is turned on so you can see all the available networks.). Click on the plus button at the bottom (right above the home button in the center). Enter your network's SSID (name that appears in the list of available networks) and select the security and password. Hit save and see if that works (you might have to than click on it in the list and hit connect but it should connect when you hit save.) Hope this helps!

I actually already tried manually adding the network earlier and it didn't help either. I also did indeed have at some point a wrong password set but I fixed and quadrupel checked that and it didn't help. Pretty sad though, that it's hard to tell when you just typed a wrong password.

Yeah it can be tough to see if you messed up the password sometimes. When you enter the SSID and password manually, there is a check box to "show password". That helps me.


text:
Disabling system noise interrupts of music
When I'm playing Spotify onto a speaker, it's interrupted by system sounds such as "charging started", "battery low", etc.  Is there any way to prevent these interrupts from occurring while I'm playing songs?

Sure. Just turn off audio notifications. That won't have any effect on the media volume.
This will, of course, turn off the phone ringer, which you may not want.

Is there a way to quickly toggle it, or better yet make it automatically toggle when I start up Spotify?

Well, you toggle it from the menu you get when you press the power button. To do it automatically you'll need something like Tasker. We have a few Tasker veterans here; perhaps they can suggest a recipe.

Added "Tasker" tag, feel free to add any other tags that would attract answers to that aspect.. And thanks for the pointers so far

Should be pretty easy in Tasker: [Context] App = Spotify, [Task] Silent Mode = On. Silent mode will automatically be turned off (turning your notification sounds back on) as soon as the Spotify app is left.

@Mr.Buster is there any way to make silent mode be on even when Spotify is playing music in the background?  When Spotify is up front the context is recognized but when i go to my home screen it's not


text:
I always have to login to google again?
Everytime my battery ends, and the phone turns off, I'll have to login to google again? Isn't there a way to keep my login information even if the mobile restarts?
By the way, I use double check login, but after the first confirmation with the sms code, it should not ask for the login again.

This is not normal behavior. Please add some information about your device and how you are logging in to Google.

It stopped to ask my password after about 4 reboots, or 4 days. I don't know what was causing the problem.


text:
Why "format as internal storage" is not working when installing new apps?
I use my SD card with "format as internal storage".
When I plug my mobile on the PC I see a single huge storage with 10gb free.
But when trying to install a new app, is says that storage is full, and the "settings"->"storage" shows separated internal storage full and SD card with 10gb free.
Why it's not working? Is this a known issue?
I have a Moto G3 with Android 6.0.

Tap on SD card from screen on screenshot than tap on 3 dot menu or menu key if you have it and then choose migrate data.

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје I haver only "rename", "eject" and "Format as portable" options there.

Well, in that case your  sd card is primary storage, and why you see only one storage when connect to pc - that is normal when you adopt whole sd card. I don't know why but is seems like android is little messed up in your case it should install new apps to SD.  However if you want to be able to install apps than you'll havr to move some apps from internal to adopted storage. Maybe cleaning cache could help you but that is temp fix.

Can you reformat as internal again ? If need be after making it portable and then internal. Also it appears that it is a 32 Gb card which is fine but if it is 64Gb card then it is a known problem

Eject SD card and if the phone works or if contents of SD readable on a laptop then you can be sure that adoptable-storage didn't work as expected. Hence above recommendation to reformat as portable and then adoptable-storage

on the next day, the sdcard did stop working, I had to buy a new one, now I'm using as external storage.

All the apps you install go into Internal Storage by default.
You need to move them to your SD Card, even if you formatted it as internal storage.
Go to Settings -> Apps -> (Any Individual app) -> Storage -> Change -> SD Card.

PS : But you can't do this for most Google Apps and System Apps

Isn't the "format as internal" suppose to treat the sdcard as internal, and show me a single storage, so I shouldn't care bout sdcard vs internal storage?

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Will a factory data reset make my camera working again?
I was having low memory on my Sony Xperia phone and while emptying space, I removed some files related to the phone camera. Since then it is showing the following error on starting the camera -

Error - Camera not available.

I would not like to delete all my personal data unnecessarily, otherwise.

What are those "some files related to the phone camera" you've removed? Is the device rooted? Did you remove system files (with root powers)? In the latter case, a factory reset won't bring them back – you would have either to replace the files you've removed or, if you don't have them anymore, reflash your ROM. Btw: removing system files doesn't help with the insufficient-memory issue, as that only affects /data.