text:
How do I install OS in Andriod phone without using fastboot and TWRP?
I've tried to upgrade the rom in MOTO G4 Plus using TWRP version of 3.2.1.0 and during installation process I wiped out the existing android 7.0.1 without backup(understood the cost of backups now). As I faced error while installing android 9.0.1 with error 255 code because of TWRP some upgrade issue couldn't complete the installation process successfully.
I tried multiple ways to upgrade TWRP which was not successful and even fastboot commands aren't working now. Whenever I try fastboot + combinational command like devices and etc it goes into an infinite loop with an error code iterator not found. After a good amount of search found about ADB and happily can connect to my device using ADB now. Then started trying with multiple options like adb side load after reading multiple forum answers and posts I did pushed a rom to scared/data/media after reading this forum NEED HELP: Accidentally deleted OS in TWRP/Cant install Rom which was successfully pushed but didn't do any thing nor I couldn't understand what to do after pushing it.
Then started search again to install stock rom in any different ways before coming here and stumbled at this question which is similar did read the question and included forum post in it to go start the process when I did download stock rom stock rom download couldn't find any flashall.sh file to start the process
Now I'm stuck and couldn't find better place to find a working solution for this situation. Can somebody help me? What can I do while my phone is in this state?

QPST Flash Tool

That ROM seems to be for G4 Plus. I don't recommended playing with it when your device is already bricked.

Here is the Full Forum discussion link to the problem I've faced. Thanks everyone who tried to help me out.
For Quick Solution follow this steps mentioned below:

If you still have access to TWRP on your device? please push 32bit flashable ROM to your device.
Try with a TWRP flashable like the stock ROM Oreo flashable https://forum.xda-developers.com/mot...-test-t3873367 and follow the instructions to install it (i.e. push to your device, or copy to an SD card, then tap install in TWRP to flash it to your device). This TWRP flashable should work on this mentioned TWRP version since it's 32 bit.
The stock ROM download would still require fastboot, so I'm not sure why the fastboot is not working and not choosing the fastboot method as of now.

FYI: error 255 when flashing custom Oreo or Pie ROMs means that the TWRP is 32 bit, whereas the custom ROM requires a 64 bit TWRP.

It is best if you mention the details behind that link because this answer would lose its usefulness should the link expires.


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How to get forwarded calls log via ADB
I am trying to obtain some info about the forwarding call facility in Android using the ADB tool from my computer (device attached to USB port and USB debugging enabled). I'm looking for evidence of changes in settings about enabling and disabling call forwarding and the phone numbers used for that.
I've tried some commands like

adb shell content query --uri content://call_log/calls and
adb shell settings get global last_call_forward_action.

But the information that I need is not present. The logcat shows something from the past, but its time range is limited to a few days and I want to know what happened several weeks ago.
Is that possible? Should I use another different tool?

Note that adb is only a short-term log system where old messages are overwritten if the buffer limit is reached. Depending on your device and the logcat volume the buffer may hold messages of the last hours up to may be one or two days See Is it possible to somehow understand from the logs what happened to the phone a month ago? Are there such logs?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Turn off automatic adding of spaces to phone numbers
When I create a new contact and start typing its phone number, spaces are being added between the numbers, even though I never type phone numbers with spaces.
How can I prevent the extraneous spaces from being added when I don't need them? On a Windows OS I would go look into number formats/grouping, but I could not find the location of the equivalent setting in Android.

I agree that's it's a PITA, and one of many reasons I stopped using Google Contacts.  In the off chance that it helps you, it's a Google-specific problem.  Other contact apps don't experience the same problem.  So if you're willing to ditch Google Contacts, you won't have this annoyance.  But if you're committed to Google Contacts, hopefully someone will have an idea, else you can post an issue report on Google's feedback site, at which time they will promptly take action... ;)

@AmazonDiesInDarkness Are other contact programmes compatible with Google's cloud for the purposes of handling the contact list? Because if yes, that seems like a radical but viable potential solution.

Why does it matter so much?

@vicky_molokh I humbly don't know.  I don't use Google cloud, so I've never looked into it.

I have not used it, but DW Contacts looks lie it will do the job for you.
Screenshot does not show the numbers with spaces.

There is a review of contact apps here.  It mentions Contacts Optimizer, which I use.  It is amazing for organizing your contacts. However, its not really suitable as a Contacts App.
I am not associated with the app or the website

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


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To what extent are the "factory settings" immutable?
Context: I have a Samsung phone and I am doing a "reset to factory settings"
Question: could an app that was installed before have altered the factory settings?
I am not very acquainted with Android (as opposed to Linux) but my understanding is that, for a given Android installation, specific code is loaded during boot. This code ("Android OS") is initially present on a market phone and then updated with the vendor patches as they are published. They modify this original code. You end up with an "up-to-date Android OS". I guess that the updates are signed so the OS you have is always "vendor-certified".
This "patched up-to-date Android OS" is what you get by restoring your phone to factory settings.
With the above in mind - is there a way for a non-vendor application to modify this "up-to-date Android OS"?
Note: I am not addressing here the situation with alternative OS reflashes.

See also Isn't Factory Reset exactly the same as wiping /data and /cache?


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How to see Samsung S24 phone on Windows
When I connect my Samsung S20 to Windows via USB, Windows' File Explorer can see the phone, and I can transfer some files.
I have just purchased an Samsung S24.  I cant see it on Windows.

I turned on developer mode
I switched default mode for USB to "transfer files"
I have also enabled USB debugging
I have looked at device manager - there are no issues.
I have run Driver Easy with the phone plugged in - it does not find any drivers to update.

Yet, I can not see my S24.  Previous phones S20, S9 and a friends S22 all work fine.
Windows can't see it.

Check Windows Device manager for USB devices with yellow exclamation mark. If that is the case you are missing the correct drivers.


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Google Family Link - new Apps are set to always allowed
If my Child installs a new App from Google PlayStore, the newly installed app is automatically set to Always allowed.
Is there a way to set new installed apps to Blocked or set to none of the options?


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Laptop doesn't get IP address when tethered via WiFi
I'm trying to get an internet connection from my laptop via my SGS2. The phone is rooted, and I've tried two different WiFi tethering apps. I don't have a tethering plan (they want to charge me more than my home broadband!) so that's why I'm not using the native tether.
When my laptop connects to the WiFi hotspot, it fails to get an IP address. I guess this is due to the phone not running a DHCP server. I've tried the following:

Setting the IP of the interface to 192.168.1.99 and 10.0.0.99 (in case of standard /24 and /8 ranges) with x.x.x.1 as the default gateway.
The same as above, except with the public 3G internet-facing IP as the default gateway.
Setting the IP of the interface to the phone's public 3G internet-facing IP.

I've been unable to send ICMP pings to any IP address. I've also tried setting various DNS servers (private IPs, 8.8.8.8, etc.) but can't resolve any host names. It's like the traffic just gets black-holed at the phone.
Any ideas? I'd be happy to go with a USB tether, but my plan doesn't cover that and I've yet to find an app that'll allow me to get round it.

With the hotspot enabled, have you checked what IP it is using -- or have you simply guessed the 192.168.1.99 and 10.0.0.99 addresses? OS Monitor is one of the apps showing you all interfaces and their current settings, when in doubt.

I guessed the 192.168.1.0/24 and 10.0.0.0/8 ranges, and you were 100% right - I got them wrong. Don't know why I never considered running ifconfig wlan0 on the device - it was running on 192.168.43.0/24. A little annoying that the app didn't tell me which IP to use though...

LOL Yeah, I didn't want to suggest that -- though I should have guessed you are familiar with the command line :) So did that solve your issue, so I should make it an answer for others to find?  (And btw: I find it very annoying that it cannot be configured. I'd like to fix it to a given network, so I've not to pray it won't switch the next time...)

@Izzy Yup, solved it. Add an answer and I'll accept it. And I absolutely agree that it should be configurable. FoxFi seems rather limited in that regard, but at least it works. I believe that Barnacle does allow for such configuration, but it doesn't seem to work on my device due to problems starting the driver.

Glad I was able to help - and thanks for the upvote :)

You should first check which IP address (and network) your hotspot is using. From the command-line (e.g. using a terminal app like Android Terminal Emulator or adb shell) you can figure this out with the command
ifconfig wlan0

If you rather want to avoid the command line, or your device uses womething other than wlan0 for the interface and you want to avoid guessing, OS Monitor is an app which tells you all the necessary details for each interface as well.
Once you've found out the correct data, you can specify those on your laptop: Use the IP of the interface for the gateway, and take network and mask accordingly.

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


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Missing application shortcuts
We got a generic Jellybean tablet, and some of the preinstalled apps (Chrome, Maps and others) do not appear in the app drawer for some reason.
They do appear in the Google Play list of installed apps, and in the included Apk Installer.
How can I create home screen shortcuts to these apps?

Is your Jelly Bean 4.1 or 4.2? And is the tablet totally stock Android, or does it have manufacturer customizations?

4.1. It probably has some customization. (is there such a thing as stock Android?)

I see 3 solutions for you:

You can use QuickShortcutMaker (or any similar) application to add launcher to any installed application (or Android Activity).
Not sure if it helps, but you can check your launcher's settings. There should be item "Hidden applications" (or similar).
Install and use another launcher.

QuickShortcutMaker didn't work (it claims to create the shortcut, but it's nowhere to be found). The launcher doesn't seem to have have settings. I have reset app preferences, and made sure those apps aren't disabled. Using another launcher is a potential workaround, but I'd have to research which one,

@DiegoMijelshon, I've tried QuickShortcutMaker - it works fine on 2.3 and 4.1. Just add widget and select needed activity - very easy. About new launcher: try Apex Launcher - it's similar to default Trebuchet but much powerful.

OK, I got QuickShortcutMaker to work.

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


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How to download all my apps in google play when I have flashed a new ROM?
When I have flashed a new ROM, I have to download all the apps I need in google play one by one, which is very inconvenient absolutely. Some of you may recommend "Titanium Backup", but it will lead to some errors with my device sometimes. So I want to download all my apps using google play in one time, instead of downloading my apps one by one. That is, I want google play to download and install all the apps in my previous ROM automatically after I have flashed a new ROM, Is that possible? Better if you have some more convenient methods. Thanks for any help!

You have two options.

Do a factory reset. Go to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset.
When you are asked to log-in your Google account, it will ask you if you want to download the apps you installed before. Usually, your paid apps will be installed (and possibly some of the free apps). You may have to manually install the others.

Or, you can always use Titanium Backup. Make sure to back-up only user apps, not system apps. Then, restore those user apps after you have flashed a new ROM.

Keep in mind that for #1 you must have had the "Google backup" enabled before ("Store my data with Google"). If there was nothing backed up, there's nothing to restore from, obviously :)

Also, if the above doesn't work for you, or there are many apps that haven't been downloaded you can bulk install previously installed apps using the "My Apps" on the Play Store.
My Apps > All

Then press and hold on an app, and it will be selected. Apps that have already been installed onto your device will be greyed out.
You can then press on any other apps you want to install, then "Install" at the top right.


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How do you "Share via" email & wifi option from gallery ? It's missing
I recently upgraded to ICS (4.1.2) and have lost the ability to share photos from the gallery via email and wifi. The option was there before the upgrade. But not now. Is this a bug ?

After some mucking around, I discovered Google (un-intuitively) changed the way you can share photos in the gallery for email and wifi. You now need to do this
Open Gallery > Select Menu button > select "Select Items" > select the share button at the top of screen. All the icons should appear now in the share dialog window.


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Contact search in Xperia Z doesn't show all contacts
The contacts system on my Xperia Z doesn't search through all my contacts, for some reason. All of the contacts were imported from my Google account, which has no groups or anything special.
As an example, I have the following contacts:
Antti H*****
Antti J*****
Antti K*****
Antti S*****

Now, if I search for antti, I only get the last two contacts.
The same applies for sending SMS messages. If i compose a new SMS and tap the recipients field and write Antti, it only shows details for the same two contacts as the contact search. For the other two, I have to go to Contacts, scroll to the contact, tap it and then tap the SMS button. The type of the phone number (home, mobile, work...) doesn't affect this.
The contacts work fine otherwise (show up on incoming calls, SMS threads etc.).
It seems that the contacts that do show up are the ones I have on Facebook. However, I can't find any settings that specify which accounts to search.
Is there some setting that I've failed to find?
Oh yeah, everything is stock, but not vanilla.
Edit: Tried searching with Google Now, but that won't find the contacts either.

I was in contact with Sony support, and the problem was in the initial import (or sync) from Google contacts. Something was corrupted, even though no corruption was visible. I got this fixed by:

Exporting the contacts from Google Contacts
Deleting the contacts from the phone
Importing the contacts to Google Contacts
Syncing the contacts from Settings -> Accounts -> Google -> <my Google account> -> Menu -> Sync now
(optional) Removing HaxSync from accounts (or other additional contact syncs)
(optional) Adding HaxSync account

After this all contacts were included in the search.

For me all I had to do was add all contacts I wanted to be able to search to "My contacts" at http://www.google.com/contacts

I've always kept my contacts in the "My contacts" group, but glad to hear you found a suitable solution for you :)

I just got my Xperia Z and the contacts didn't seem to work properly in terms of filtering. The names were there when I scrolled through the list, but not all would show up if I filtered it with, say, the beginning letter. I enabled all ticks in the filter settings menu too.
Finally I figured that the ones not showing up were not assigned any group names like my contacts. They were showing as other contacts in Google contacts when I accessed the server through browser, but shown as undefined group inside android contacts, when I edited any of those contacts.
My solution was to log in to Google contacts server through browser, select other contacts group, click to select all, and add them to a group like say my contacts. Then log out from server. Go to Android Settings → Accounts, and force resync Google contacts by checking and checking the option. Wait for sync to finish. That's it. Now try Android contacts filter and it works properly!!!

Yes: Log with desktop browser, go to "Other contacts" (or any missing group), Select all contacts and click the button right of multiple selection "Add to my contacts": then it syncs on Android. You can only select up to 250 contact, I had to repeat that a lot.

My Son found this fix. Just go to contacts, then click the settings tab at the bottom of the screen, choose "filter", then click all the boxes for your Google account, the Xperia account and Local contacts. Then the search will actually find everything in the phones contacts list. Easy as, but wasn't intuitive for me unfortunately. Another reason to have kids!

I actually checked that, and all my contacts are in one big group under Google contacts, so my problem was different. But glad to hear you got it solved :)

My phone has done this 3 times now. First time I took it to support, but second and 3rd time I managed to recover lost contacst myself. Just go to your contacts, press "view more options"-bar on the right. Choose bring contacts and choose "from sim".

In my case this wouldn't have worked, since I didn't use the SIM card memory at all.

Go to Setting -> Account -> Google -> Account & Privacy -> Search engine storage -> Google Search then Clear Data.


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Contact or application-specific vibration "tone" (pattern)

Possible Duplicate:
Is there a way to customize vibrate patterns?

I want a custom vibration "tone" (pattern) for different callers or applications.
Does Android have any facility for this? Can contacts hold custom information like this?
Thanks

Duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/1217/is-there-a-way-to-customize-vibrate-patterns/1220#1220

Using the app, Locale, you can use the Contact condition to spot the caller and the Notification plugin action to use a vibration pattern.
There does not appear to be a contact-specific configuration built-in, even in Froyo.

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


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Is there an equivalent to iOS "Reset Home Screen Layout" on the Nexus 7?
On iOS, "Reset Home Screen Layout" auto-arranges your application icons.  Is there an equivalent for this on my Nexus 7 Android tablet?  Right now my icons across several screens.

Are you asking about re-arranging the home screen icons, or resetting the home screen's items to default settings?

@Chahk I would like to know how to reset the home screen's layout to default settings.

Go to Settings->Apps, swipe to All, scroll and press Launcher, then select Clear data.
Your home screen is as good as new :)
UPDATE: As suggested by Chahk below, a good way to avoid cluttering your homescreen is by going to the Play Store then going to Menu -> Settings and un-checking the Auto-add widgets option.

Worth adding that you can disable auto-creating of shortcuts for newly installed apps by opening Play Store then going to Menu --> Settings and un-checking the Auto-add widgets option.

@rnh16 I would never have known to do this but it does work as a "factory reset" of the home screen.

Frank, glad I could help :) - @Chahk, added, thanks for the suggestion!

On newer devices/OS versions (i.e. Nexus 5X), try going into Google App instead of Launcher, select Storage, Manage Space, CLEAR LAUNCHER DATA.


text:
Where does SafariOnline store downloaded books?
I used the Safari Books Online "Safari to Go" app to download a book to its "Offline Bookbag". In what format is the book stored? I ask because I'm hoping to use a reader other than Safari's own app to read the downloaded book.

On my Nexus 7, my downloaded books go in /Android/data/com.safaribooksonline/files/zips. They are stored in xhtml directories which includes various metadata, images and the chapters themselves as xhtml documents.
While these look vaguely HTML like, they certainly can't be rendered in Chrome or other web browsers directly, you just end up seeing all of the mark-up as text.
I don't know how standard the xhtml format is for e-books, or whether other readers could understand the format Safari uses, but hopefully this helps point you in the right direction.

Plain html, concatenate them, include the css and images and add html extension or  so the browser knows what to do

As a developer, I more-or-less get the idea of this answer. But most of visitors here are probably not a developer and might get lost. It'd be better if you could explain the steps in more detail (e.g. linking some steps to SO, or blog that already explain this is still acceptable)


text:
Making the browser remember its current location when minimized
When I minimize the Android browser, it seems to forget what page it had open. What setting will make it remember?
Here are the steps I take. First, I load a website in the Android browser to completion, and then minimize the browser. At this point, if I press the menu button to see the apps that are running in the background, the preview still shows me the site open in the browser. When I select the browser, though, it comes up with the site about:blank (my home page) up.
This is under 4.1/Jelly Bean. When I had 4.0/Ice Cream Sandwich, this didn't occur. While searching, I came across a question asking for roughly the opposite behavior that suggested that memory might be the issue; in my case, there's plenty of RAM free, so that's not it.
I would prefer for the page to simply remain open, as it does when you minimize a browser on a desktop, but if the browser just remembered the URL and reloaded when it was brought back, that'd be okay, too. How can I set this up?
By "minimize," I may be referring to pressing the "home" button and opening another app, or pressing the "other running apps" button and selecting one of them. The device is a Galaxy Nexus.

Not an answer (since you specified the Android Broswer) but a possible and (I find) effective work-around: I use Dolphin browser which does exactly this, even with multiple tabs.

How are you "minimizing" your browser? Are you pressing the back button?

@rnh16 Sometimes I press the home button and open a new app; other times I press the "other apps" button and select something else that's running.

I just tried this on 3 Jellybean devices I had handy. Unfortunately all of them behaved normally, so I couldn't replicate your issue. Hopefully someone who had a similar experience might answer and provide the solution. Ideally, even if you have low RAM, Android would automatically "save" your browser state and automatically load it back into memory when you try accessing it again. - Side note: I suggest adding your device to the question, it may be a device issue.

@rnh16 Thanks, at least now I know that what I'm seeing is considered abnormal. (Before, I thought maybe it was just that the default behavior changed on Jelly Bean.) I've edited the question.

I had this same behaviour and figured it out. Go to Settings, Developer Options, scroll to the bottom and uncheck the Don't keep activities option. My Xoom didn'thave this sselected but my galaxy nexus did. Not sure if its a default or if I checked it accidentally at some point . Anyway, that solved it for me.


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Is there any userspace NFS client for stock android kernel(Galaxy Tab)?
I have tried kernel-mode things but it is not going to work.
Actually i've reached my limit for seeing errors in one day:
mount: unknown filesystem type 'nfs'
mount.nfs: No such device
and many more bared in bash/browser history :)
I'm kind of scared from recompiling kernel.(I'm having daily problems with virtual-box, don't want to mess up with my Tab)
sorry for writing such a ** question.
specs:galaxy tab*2-Asia/Europe ROMs-using debian command line-Stock OS
request:add NFS/NAS  tags.(I can't)

What mount command are you using?

@Matthew Read :mount -o nolock 10.1.1.232:/media/P1/Media/movie /mnt/sdcard/Movie/ExternalHD

actually a lot of variations, but i think this one is the one that should work.

this seems like a legit question with almost 1k views. not v-c

I dabbled with an Android port of libnfs, but eventually got stuck. Maybe someone else will have more luck, or maybe I'll revisit the project sometime. A native Android port of libnfs seems like the best way to go as long as NFS isn't built into stock kernels.

You will NEED fuse for that.Won't work.+1 for caring to answer after years.

:) thanks. But actually libnfs doesn't need FUSE. It's just a C library that implements the NFS protocol. Check out some of the examples: https://github.com/sahlberg/libnfs/blob/master/examples/nfsclient-sync.c

So it cannot be mounted but its cool enough to be accepted.

You need the kernel module to add support for NFS and/or CIFS. The "no such device" is a message you will get when the kernel module for the file system type does not exist.
One way to check if the module is loaded is to do a lsmod | grep nfs. if it doesn't return any matches, then you do not have an nfs module loaded.
There are kernel modules out there for the Tab, as I have had reports that my app (Mount Manager, License) works with this device, with the correct kernel module.
You will need to manually load the modules before you will be able to mount (Mount Manager takes care of this too)


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Which custom or official kernel should I use on SGS2?
I'm using SGS2 with latest stock ICS ROM, but it has few bugs which I really hate, so I want to look at custom kernels which could help me in this.
The main headache for me at the moment is I can't turn off my SGS2, when I try to do this my phone reboots itself so I need to pull out the battery to Switch it off. I'm getting hardly 24 hour battery backup while I'm not using too many calls or internet on my device, if I charged it 100% at night and wake up in morning then it drains out 5-10% battery. I have disabled auto sync, network connection etc which could be cause to drain out battery fast. Why I'm looking for custom kernels are due to
1: I want to get good battery life.
2: I want a good and stable performance.
3: Don't want to lag while playing games like Temple Run
I have heard two custom kernels for SGS2 are Siyah and Speedmod. Now I'm not sure which one should I use to for my phone for getting a good performance and battery life.
Can I flash kernel using stock recovery of my SGS2? And is it safe?

Upgrade your phone to latest JellyBean stock ROM and flash SpeedMod kernel from Odin. Right now is one of the most stable combinations for the Galaxy S II.
If you want more performance you can always install Siyah kernel and tweak it for your needs.
Also remember to do a full Nandroid backup before flashing anything and wipe /system, /data and /cache before installing JB from Odin.

I'm not sure if they have release any JB update for SGS2 in India! I've tried to install CM9 and get superbrick bug in my device when I tried to wipe/reset data. Now let's see if they have launch any new official update. :)

If your device is SGS2 international (GT-I9100) you can download it from samfirmware.

Right now I'm using custom JellyBam ROM and Dorimanx kernel, seems to be very perfect for me till yet. Haven't tried speedmod kernel yet, let's see if I'll flash it in future.


text:
How can I change LauncherPro shortcut intents without using the Shortcut option on my NookColor?
I have a rooted NookColor and am using launcherpro as my home app. I would like to change the dock's shortcuts to different applications but the problem is a rooted nookcolor does not support the shortcut intent. If you try to use it, it will crash launcherpro. Is there another way I can change the shortcuts?

Where is that information stored?  In a DB?  I'm not that familiar with how .apk files work but it seems to me that user specific data like this wouldn't be stored inside the apk and would be in some place you could edit manually.

@Matt I'm not sure.  Actually, I think LP has a backup feature.  I might be able to hand edit the backup file and restore it?  Going to see what damage I can do... :)

Let me know how it goes. If that doesn't work try editing and restoring a titanium backup backup.

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


text:
how do I setup notification rules for email in my exchange inbox?
At my company, I get WAY too much email to endure notification on ALL items. But maybe Boss and team emails are worth getting interupted for. (then again maybe not!)
I don't see a way to do this yet.
I'm on 2.2 with an HTC Evo (powered by the speedy Qualcomm Snapdragon!)
BG: I've been a stack overflow fan for years (and don't like PhBB that much), and Just got my android Phone.
I'd like to help this site get better.

PS I'd really like to help upvote questions or even answers.. But I can't !! I don't recall that 5 rep was needed to upvote back when I started using stack overflow!

I was panicking.  didn't know I just had to wait 20 min after first question.

Try these apps:

Mail Alert by DroidDevWork (on AppBrain)
MailDroid by Flipdog (on AppBrain)

Disclaimer: I have never used any of them.

You can try eNotify or eNotifyLite...It enables you to customize email notificiatons and create your own alerts based on the subject, sender and other properties: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hermes.enotifylite

I notice that both of your posts so far promote this app. Please ensure you are mindful of our [FAQ#promotion].

According to Richard: enotify only works for exchange 2007 and 2010 not for previous versions


text:
Open bookmarks to local files in Chrome
On my Nexus 7 running Android 4.2.2, I can open Chrome and type file:///sdcard/whatever.html and it opens just fine.
The problem comes when I want to bookmark this file. The bookmark gets created, but after tapping it, nothing happens. (Therefore, also adding it to home screen and tapping it does not work - it says that Application is not installed.)
However, after long-pressing the bookmark and opening it in new tab, the file loads and I can view it.
Does anybody know why it behaves like this and possibly how to make local bookmarks to open directly, without the need to open them in new tab?
Thanks

A similar issue is covered with the question Generate a browser bookmark from file manager -- which got stuck at the same point. But you might also keep an eye on that one, in case a solution appears over there.

This was originally going to be a comment, as I'm not 100% sure of its accuracy, but here goes:
At least with the stock Gingerbread browser, every link that you click makes the browser broadcast an intent to see which apps respond saying that they can handle the link's target themselves (like when you follow a Play Store link and it asks you if you want to open it in the browser (play.google.com) or in the Play Store app).  Since no apps respond the browser essentially ignores it.  When you ask to open it in a new tab, the browser already knows exactly what you wantit to do with the link, so instead of querying your apps, it simply opens the link in the new tab (like opening a new tab and typing in the URL).  So that's why it works when you open in a new tab, but not when you simply click the link.
As for a solution, you could try HTTP Server, AirDroid or similar apps.  Once you setup the server, your target addresses should look something like http://127.0.0.1/whatever.  Since this has an http:// protocol the browser recognizes this.
EDIT: To my understanding, you can also use other (potentially free) server apps, like AirDroid.  When it tells you your IP address is http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:abcd, you use that when you are connecting from another device, like your computer.  But when you are using the same phone that you are running the server on, just go to http://127.0.0.1:abcd in your android's browser.

@kaboom1 Glad I could help :)

If you install open in browser and then the bookmark will work as expected.
And the above app is open source


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WhatsApp sending videos with low quality
Using a Samsung Galaxy A30s and the WhatsApp Messenger (Beta) version 2.21.12.15.
Anytime I send a video, be that filmed within the app or externally, it loses all the image quality.

What can be done to fix it? For clarity, a few days ago this was working fine.

I followed the approach mentioned by Caomhin

If you are using a Beta version of WhatsApp, backup your chats and try
Uninstalling WhatsApp and revert to an earlier Stable version.
Also while chats are backed up clear the WhatsApp App info Cache and
App info Storage as well.
Log back in and see if that can help.

In order to do the backups,

Open WhatsApp
More options
Settings
Chats
Chat backup (without videos, or else it'd take too long in my case)

Then, uninstalled the app and left the Beta program.
After I installed the normal version, restored the backup and now it's working fine.


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Edited descriptions of multiple events and now they are gone
Using a Samsung Galaxy A30s and the Google Calendar version 2022.48.2-494681027-release.
I have a weekly recurring event until July 2023 with two more persons.
In order to add more specifics, I edited the description of each (from now until the end), saving "This event" as the next image shows

Initially, everything was showing up fine and they received emails with the updates.
But now I don't see the text in the description. The same happens in the Calendar of the other two persons.
How to proceed to get back the descriptions in the events? Ideally I wouldn't have to do it all over again...

Instead of keeping the recurrent events, I created a separate event for each week with the desired description. In other words, didn't manage to save the time but got the job done.


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How to Screen Record on Samsung Galaxy A30s
My goal is to record my screen. Coming from a Huawei, I would have in the upper area icons an option with "Screen Record". I'm now using a Galaxy A30s with Android 10 and these are the only options available

and

So, no screen record.
If I go to Settings and search for "screen record",

If I search under apps,

How should I do it?

Edit
As pointed by Robert, I tried to enable the screen recorder via adb but didn't get the desired result.

Download Platform Tools and unzip the folder in location of your choice
Open Command Prompt in that location

Connect the phone with the computer allowing USB Debugging

Run
adb shell settings put global settings_screenrecord_long_press true

and this opens up the following in the phone

Click "Allow" and run the command again

and appears to be working.

Long press power button. This is what I see

So, still no option to record screen. I restarted the phone as well just in case but that wasn't enough either.

What Android version is installed on your device?

@Robert Android version 10

Have you tried to enable the screen recorder via adb?: adb shell settings put global settings_screenrecord_long_press true

@Robert I haven't, didn't know about it

Afterwards the screen recording function should show-up in the power menu (long press the power button to show this menu).

Just tested it @Robert but didn't solve the problem

According to Android 11 announcement page, we can expect a Built-in screen recording

Screen recording lets you capture what’s happening on your phone. And
it’s built right into Android 11, so you don’t need an extra app.
Record with sound from your mic, your device or both.

Considering Samsung releases new OS updates relatively fast, I'll just wait until December 2020 or so in order to update the Android version and then won't have to uncomfortably download an app from the store for this job.


text:
How to use clipboard in Galaxy A30s everywhere?
When going through the options available on my keyboard, found a section which references "Clipboard".

In specific places, like in Stack Overflow's question box we can se from the opacity that's not active.
I would like the opportunity to use it anytime I wanted, not just when in particular locations like Google Keep.

I would assume that this button is only for pasting from clipboard, hence it gets active if you copy something to the clipboard. Long pressing a text section usually opens a small menu for copy to clipboard. The address bar also has a copy functionality, usually there is a special button to to so in the share menu.

@Robert I have many things copied to the clipboard (things i simply selected and clicked "copy") and that's still inactive

What keyboard app do you use? (if it is not GBoard please also provide the PlayStore link)

@Robert it's the one that comes as default in this phone, I didn't change it

Sorry but I don't know what standard keyboard app is used on your device. Depending on the manufacturer it could be any keyboard.

@Robert under "Manage keyboards" it mentions just "Samsung Keyboard"

@Robert you might be right when you state that the "Clipboard" gets active in locations it can be used. I just checked in Google Keep and it worked there; just didn't work in the browser in the way I did...

Maybe this solution helps?

@beeshyams just edited the question, it was misleading but got clarified while commenting with Robert

The way I've fixed it was to change the keyboard from Samsung Keyboard to Gboard and now got a Clipboard icon always active

And can use anywhere just fine


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ASUS ROG II - Android Update
So, unfortunately I brought a Tencent Branded ASUS ROG II phone and paid a hefty amount for something ASUS calls unofficial
Consequences:

No Android Security Update
No Software Update since August 2019

Even after having the latest hardware and more RAM and Storage than my Laptop I am stuck at older software which is annoying.
I tried looking stuff to manually update to Android 10 as my device is not reciving any FOTA Updates but it says the Product ID, Fingerprint and the ROM should match i.e to WW ( Considering this is a Chinese phone flashed with global firmware / ROM) fortunately on my device it does but I still can't manually download ( Keep it in root) a FOTA Update and apply it(After Restart). It just fails, so I am skeptical to actually unlock the bootloader and do fancy stuff and end up bricking my device!
Is there a way I can completely get rid of the issue of manually upgrading the software ( by manually I mean connecting to a PC and flashing the latest FOTA)?
Some way I can just download the latest update keep it in root restart the device, it detects an update and does it automatically?
Product : WW_l001D
Fingerprint : asus/WW_l001D/ASUS_l001_1:9/PKQ1.190414.001/16.0631.1908.12-0:user/release-keys

Usually branded devices only allow applying OTA updates that are also using the same branded version. As far as I know, if you want to change the ROM the only way is to unlock the bootloader .

I am okay for doing it once and for all. Although the application I found for unlocking bootloader fails with network error


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How do I recover data from a phone with a broken screen
So, I broke my phone's screen recently, and it had a lot of important data.  I cannot see or use the screen, and I want to get all my data off the phone. Can anyone help me with this?

besides you'll propably find a solution if you click on the tag, depending on phone model, android version and additional information like usb-settings, encryption, bootloader state you may get answer

Duplicate of How to perform a full system dump/backup with a broken screen?

If you are using my phone app, you can get some data.
Also, if your phone has already been rooting or debug enabled you can connect via adt.


text:
How to use adb to take dumpstate logs on a Samsung device during device setup after first power on?
I need to get dumpstate logs on a Samsung Fold device during device setup after first power on (after new binary flashing or factory reset).
I am unable to set debug level high through *#9900# because the device is switching on for the first time.
Is there a way to do this through adb? I have a custom ROM in which adb is pre-enabled.
Thank you for your time

Unless you have flashed a custom ROM with pre-enabled adb mode, adb will not be available until you have finished device-setup, activated debugging menu and there enabled adb.

@Robert Thank you for your response. Yes, I have a custom ROM in which adb is pre-enabled.

I am not quite sure if that is helpful but you can install sidebar lite from adb and do anything you want on initial setup screen, like open dialer and type the code (sure there is a more straightforward way)


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Facebook Messenger keeps on playing sound in notification
I'm using facebook Messenger on a Samsung Galaxy S9. Since a few months now, Messenger keeps on playing a notification sound when receiving chat messages even when I change the sound to Silent.
Let's be precise :

When going in Messenger parameters and choosing a notification sound, there is no "silent" sound (and I'm pretty sure it existed before)
When going into "Manage notification" from the app which leads to the notification management of the OS, I can chose "silent" as a sound but after a while (1/2 hours or so, sometimes less), messenger changes it back automatically to its default sound.

That's driving me crazy. I want to keep notification as I used to : vibration, preview but no sound.
I tried to delete and reinstall the app, nothing has changed. I even left a message in the Play store.
Any idea ? Thanks

Have you found a way to make the change permanently. I have the same problem here with my Moto G4 and my new Galaxy A50. I want to keep the vibration so I have to select "Silent" for the sound but it always come back to the messenger sound.

Unfortunately I gave up. I chose silent. At least it doesn't ring. But I can't have the vibration either


text:
App2sd link2sd how to show mount view 2nd micro sd card ext2 partition
Question :App2sd link2sd how to show   mount view 2nd  micro sd card ext2  partition
I had loaded  twrp recovery (fastboot boot twrprexovery.img) in bootloader mode and installed SU and rooted and then installed app2sd and link2sd apps.
I had partitioned my 64 gb memory card  30gb fat32  and remaining 32 gb. As ext2  and then  when I tries to view partitions in android 5.1.1 settings>storage it show only one fat 32 partition in sd. Card and not second sd card for ext2
As I want to install 2nd sd card and from recovery or adb pull take NANDROID image backup
Of second partition backup in cloud  and want to see pace and access file system so that I can recover if any thing goes wrong or memory card got corrupted
My queries:-

How can I view second partition   of external micro sd card partiton through file manager  or in setting> storage

Can I be mounted In boot.init through any aap

App2sd  auto created a mount  script to run through recovery to  mount the ext2 partition how to run it in twrp so I have to run through install

How to take NANDROID image backup of  system boot recovery internal (userdata partition) and external sdcard 1st and 2nd partitiion and save it in usb drive or cloud storage through adb pull or twrp. Or any other apps how can these files be secured in password or encrypted in cloud

As app2sd pro or link2sd plus card link apps and moves lib hex odb files  to which files which are randomly access should be not moved to sd card  and should be left in  internal memory.

types of files to moved app2sd link2sd

app2sd eroor mounting script screenshot

link2sd error mounting script

Already explained in my answer to your previous question: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/220042/218526

@irfan Latif bro questions are different I had asked to  a tool apk to view backup copy external sd card ext2 partition nandroid img file to clous or usb  and viewing it in setting>storage  and that question about parting sd card

Correct. But I didn't say the question is same. I said what you are asking is already explained there. Spend some time to read and understand things so that you don't have to repeatedly ask similar questions

@alecxs Bro I am using link2sd version 4.3.4  patched by  apkmos  tried to install link2sd plus also but it didn't showed  now link2sd is giving error for ceating mount script and app2sd pro when I created partition told me to load install script in boot.init but I didn't notes it  flashed back... The link2sd is not moving or linking apps whereas app2sd is linking app but on every reboot it gave error of  softboot and. Ask to recreate  boot script i will include error photos in question for ur guidence kindly view question as in chat no option to attach photo

make decision which app you want. uninstall others. read the howto and troubleshooting section. Follow the instructions (have you disabled namespace separation?). If linked apps not available during boot, reason is partition is mounted too late. post location and content of mount script.

@alecz bro I didnt added mount script manually yet  ..how to fine where is mount script.locatwd any adb shell terminal emulator command or option setiinh in app2sd or link2sd

@alecxs bro there is no /su/su.s folder as link2sd is not able to create mount script only app2sd crwtes a mount script successfully there is mount-script-recovery.sh in app2sd directory

@alecx see if this  it works https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/init-d-10-05-2012-super-app2sd-script-major-update-beta.1888986/

@alecxs bro see this link for app2sd if u ubdestand the solution https://www.reddit.com/r/androidroot/comments/de3n16/fix_required_soft_reboot_on_apps2sd/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=comments_view_all

TWRP is not compatible with Link2SD, therefore one must manually mount MicroSD Card 2nd partition each time before TWRP backup/restore is started.
One can do this from - TWRP menu - Advanced - Terminal
mount /dev/block/mmcblk1p2 /data/sdext2

TWRP backup will include 2nd partition in data.ext4.win as regular directory sdext2 therefore it is important to double check /data/sdext2 is actually mounted before restoring process is started, otherwise TWRP will try to restore all files into phone storage /data instead (and probably run out of disk space)
If you prefer to create separate TWRP backup files for 2nd partition (instead of mixed userdata) this can be done from TWRP backup menu.
It requires modified TWRP recovery. Unpack twrp.img ramdisk with AIK and add new entry in /etc/twrp.fstab
/dev/block/mmcblk1p2  ext4  /sd  flags=display="MicroSD 2nd Partition";backup=1

This will show you separate entry in TWRP backup menu and create separate sd.ext4.win backup files

@alcex bro thanks a lot for great advice  support knowledge ....bro it may help me  to...take backup of external sd card second partition backup from twrp backup ... If  128gb micro sd card is placed and I create 3 parttion and dictate third ext4 partition  for twrp image backup storage so that when I need revoer I recover from t he third partirin within moments from twrp recovery.... Can we mount 3ed partition and save the twrp backup ext4 images on 3rd partirin to

TWRP backup can only saved to 1st partition (what's wrong with this?) But you might succeed with external HDD connected via USB-OTG (or cheat TWRP by mounting 3rd partition into /usbotg)

bro twrp backup is saved in first partition which is fat32 and it creates a ext4 named file in fat32 ..secondly the reason to theis partition is to permanently store there dedicate for it and recover whenever wherever it crashes...as in pc laptop there is a  button to recover windows hard disk image as when button pressed it recovers from windows shadow or small image restore from a.partition  disk image saved in ..within minutes... So I want that to keep  images in parttion and recover whereaver it goes wrong

can external HDD be connected through otg as its need voltage from usb ...I have laded usb from otg bit not tries external hdd.... There used to come external hdd casings can it  connect hdd to

external HDD requires OTG charge hub and external power supply https://i.sstatic.net/EYFZA.jpg

tar is the standard unix/linux tool to create backups and can be gzip compressed (.tar.gz tarball archive) it contains files and permissions. Same for TWRP backup, it uses it's own twrpTar and offers optional (gzip) compression in backup settings. "when button pressed it recovers" that's exactly what is TWRP designed for (restore button) there is one directory with date of backup containing all necessary files to restore (except for /sdcard which you can backup manually or by modifying fstab) - TWRP backup is fine, no partition image backup required

Nevertheless if you insist in partition images instead tarball archives (.win files) you can modify fstab and change file system type from ext4 -> emmc to force TWRP creating dd partition images (requires more disk space) and you can also add more partitions to TWRP backup menu by simply adding new lines in fstab https://android.stackexchange.com/q/194574

@alcex bro thanks for guidance and help  all link2sd worked successfuly and that to chainfire super user pro  thanks all modified and.mobile.working fine thanks alot beo

Don't thank me, thank the developer and buy plus version

bro sorry to trouble you more ...a small problem existing...link2sd linking apps and the remove link option is working great...but problem is some apps (eg Facebook whatsapp) crashes after linking and opening they opens and disaapears and remains opened without displaying .... I tried to remove link ..still fails..Then unistaller the app ..and through sd maid clean corpse or system rremains...then reinstalled them still they are crashing opening anddisappering


text:
How to keep the Car Home app from opening automatically on my Droid?
Hey all, this is something that's been bugging me for a while now and I just found this wonderful, glorious place so I thought I'd pick your collective brains.
I'm running CM 6.2.1 on my original Motorola Droid.  I don't want to uninstall the Car Home app, but I don't want it to open automatically when I put my phone in my car dock either.  Aside from ripping apart my dock and pulling out the magnet, is there any way I can accomplish this?

You can use an app like Autostarts (requires root) to manage which apps can listen to which events.  You just need to remove Car Home from the docking event.

@Matthew Read - Very cool, I'm going to hang on to that link but are there any other options?  It seems like overkill to download an app for this.

@JonnyP Theoretically you could learn just what it is that Autostarts is editing and do the same thing manually, but I'm not sure how myself.  By the way, note that Autostarts requires root.

@Matthew Read - I think what Autostarts does is prevent the OS from announcing that it's been placed in the car dock (in my case).  I'm pretty sure the Car Home app listens for the "placed in car dock" intent and runs when it that intent runs.  I am rooted (have to be to load a custom ROM), so I suppose I could try to figure out which file runs the intent I'd like to suppress, back it up and then modify it, but that seems mighty dangerous.  Makes me wish Cyanogen would include this as an option in Dock Settings.

@JonnyP Actually the OS will still announce it, but Autostarts will remove Car Home from the OS's lsit of apps to announce it to (intents aren't broadcast to every app, they must register with the OS to receive specific ones).  I don't think it should be too dangerous if you're only editing the entry for the docking event, but making a backup is always a good idea.  You could backup with ClockworkMOD / Nandroid if your phone supports it to be worry-free.

@Matthew Read - I do use ClockworkMod, and that reminds me that I need to make a new backup since I just reflashed last night.  I didn't realize that was how the intents worked; I keep meaning to dig into Android app development and start writing my own stuff but I can never find the time.  :)  Thanks for all your help!

I'm the dev of a Car Home replacement app (Car Dashboard).  Basically the app declares that it acknowledges car mode intents.  So whenever the phone enters car mode, it automatically launches an app that handles that intent.  If you have multiple apps that handle that intent, you get a list of them to choose from (and can set one of them as a default). I guess they never thought about someone wanting for an intent to never be handled.

@Bryan Denny - I've seen your app, it looks pretty slick.  If I didn't prefer to have my PowerAmp open while on the road I'd definitely be using Car Dashboard.  The speed alerts thing is genius.

@JonnyP thanks :D at some point in the future I plan on having media controls via headset emulation, but have been doing other feature requests first


text:
What information does stock Android send to Google by default, and how do I opt-out?
I'm about to buy my first Android phone. My understanding is that, in order to download apps and get updates from Google Play, I need to be permanently signed into a Google account that's linked to my name via credit card information.
I find Google's privacy policy too ambiguous to understand what data is logged from Android users. I don't want to share more information than the device needs to operate.
Here are some steps I plan to take already:

Turn off Google Now
Don't use Gmail
Use a non-stock browser
Use DuckDuckGo for search

My questions:

What other information does Android send to Google by default?
What actions should I take to minimise data collection from Google and other apps? (I'll be using stock Android 4.2 on a Nexus 4.)
Is Android still a good choice if I don't plan to use Google's services?

You could try a ROM like Cyanogenmod without installing GApps!

@wayback Thanks. I'm still interested to learn if there's anything in the default Android installation (i.e. even without GApps) that phones home to Google.

More related questions: Privacy level with an anonymous account?, How can I use Google Play without storing any Google account information on my phone?, Using the GPS instead of Google Location Services in Chrome, Is there a way to use Google location service without tracking my positions constantly in background?

One more: How to prevent google aggressively associating my account to my searches?

Android is FACC
Android might be many things, but certainly not "privacy first". At least not if you want to use Google Playstore as a ressource for your apps. While at creation (initialization) of your google-account on your Android device, you are asked "Do you want to store your data with Google?", this only means "Backups of your apps and their data, as far as they support it". Soon you will discover that your contacts and calendars are automatically synced with Google servers, without asking you, unless you explicitly opted out of that.
So if there are any firsts, it's FACC: Android comes Free of charge, is Ad supported, Cloud based, and highly Customizable. Nobody will argue the first and last items are very appreciable, while "the cloud" is fine with most, and the ads are mostly "accepted" (as long as they are not too agressive, like e.g. Airpush).
So what data do Google services collect?
Nick checked some sources (namely, Google's privacy policy), and reported in a below comment:

Google says it logs your "phone number, calling-party number, forwarding numbers, time and date of calls, duration of calls, SMS routing information and types of calls" in their privacy policy. It also logs your IP address.
But it doesn't say if this info is logged for Android users specifically, or if it's only collected from other services such as Google Voice. And it doesn't say whether it logs data even if you're logged out of Android services.

Sometimes what's missing speaks as well (sometimes even louder than the facts mentioned). So starting with the "worst-case scenario", we won't be too much shocked later on. Having created a Google account or not: as soon as a network connection is available, data can be uploaded to any servers. System apps can access identifying data such as imei or IMSI, your phone number, or even your locally stored contacts and calendars (yepp, paranoia-mode enabled again), and with an available network, they could transfer all data they have available anywhere. (Careful: I did not say they do so, just they could).

We may collect device-specific information (such as your hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information including phone number). Google may associate your device identifiers or phone number with your Google Account.

(Source: Google Collection, see below)
Never forget: While Android itself is Open Source, many apps are not. But also keep in mind: this is not just the case with Android, but with any other system as well.
If you want to read some more on Google's privacy:

New Google Privacy Policy: Explained (01/2012)
Google’s in the Privacy Hot Seat Again (03/2012)
Google Collection: What is collected? An excerpt of the privacy policy (06/2012)
The Truth About Android Security (10/2012)

There's one really scary part:

We may collect and store information (including personal information) locally on your device using mechanisms such as browser web storage (including HTML 5) and application data caches.

(emphasis mine; source: Google Collection, see above)
First steps for privacy
At the very first you could check in advance how the device you want to buy comes configured. In most cases, there will be a lot of bloatware pre-installed, which contributes to the "data share". While you cannot really be forced to use those apps, it sometimes is not really possible to get rid of them without rooting. So the less bloatware there is, the better.
rooting is not always an option, as in most countries this will void your warranty. Otherwise you could decide for a more privacy-friendly custom-rom. So when you've got your new device, you will have to carefully check all options whether they might be intrusive to your privacy:

say "No" to above mentioned "Backup to Google" question. Otherwise, next to the list of apps you've installed from Google Play (which Google knows anyway), and data from several apps, also sensitive information like e.g. your WiFi passwords find their way into the cloud.
before you enter any contact or calendar data, make sure to have the sync disabled for them (see Settings→Accounts & Sync). You can still export your contact list easily direct from within the contacts app -- but if you are going to import anything again after e.g. a factory-reset or on a new device, make sure to check the sync options before that (that was how Google got my data, when I forgot that one time).
if you enable Google's location service, this will also send "anonymized" data about places you've been. I placed "anonymized" in quotation marks, as a study recently showed that de-anonymization can be easily achieved. So you might want to turn that off as well.

Android without Google?
Wouldn't it be more consequent then to use Android without Google? This question has been discussed more than once. And yes, it is certainly possible (and before you say it's a "contradiction in terms", I could split hairs and argue that Android is not developed "by Google", but by the AOSP, the Android Open Source Project). You will have to sacrifice some things (as e.g. a big part of the apps on Google Play are hard to find outside Google Play, for example). But if that's a price you are willing to pay to protect your privacy at max, here are some readings for you:

Can an Android phone run without Google?
Guide: How To Use Your Android Phone Without Google
"Android without Google" discussion @ XDA-Developers
XDA developers are also working on a pendant to Google Apps. The project is called NOGAPPS.

Privacy with Android and Google?
Okay, the above approach might be a bit too exaggerated for the most (but hey, only because we are paranoid, that doesn't mean nobody's after us, right?). So what's the way in the middle? I mean, aside the "first steps" mentioned above?
There are many things. In First steps for privacy I already described how to prepare a fresh, unbloated Android that comes with the Google Apps. Now let's look what to care for next:
Pre-installed apps
There might come some pre-installed apps not belonging to the Android core system. And not "really needed" for the privacy-concerned. Stuff like Google+ or Facebook. Starting with Android 4.0, we can simply go to Settings→Apps→Manage Apps, and disable those we don't want to use. This also might give a boost to performance and improve battery-life, as it rids us of several "background services" those apps were running. At startup. Even if we never started them.
Installing new apps
Don't click on everything fancy (well, need to remember that for a later part: ads in apps). Of course look around what sounds useful or interesting to you. But make sure to read through the comments (at least scan through them) for possible obstacles. Ignore those one-word comments like "great" and "shit", and also those just declaring "download problems" and the like. They do not speak about the app. But check if there were any privacy concerns in the past, or any other trouble for that sake.
Then make sure to check the permissions the app requests. Do they make sense (in the context of what the app is supposed to do)? Critical combinations for privacy are e.g. access to personal data (contacts, calendars, etc) with internet. Or simply internet -- as they could send anything. How hard you argue depends on the grade of paranoia you cultivate :)
Privacy helpers
Sometimes it's not avoidable to risk some permissions: of course a web browser needs internet access, as does a SMS app need access to your messages. So how to control or restrict them?
There are several helpers around (see e.g. this list at lisisoft, will take you a while to scan through it :). You can hide sensitive information using...

password stores
locked galleries
crypt containers (see e.g. Droid Crypt)

All these things do not even require your device to be rooted. But really forbidding apps to access things (or control their access) won't work without root. Examples have already be named in bassmadrigal's answer:

LBE Privacy Guard controls access to your data (call-logs, contacts, etc.), to critical functions (initiate calls, access location data, etc.) plus firewall your device (control which apps might access the net via WiFi, mobile data). Careful when you're running JellyBean or higher: the playstore version of this app is known to cause boot-loops there. Rather check XDA-developers, they have a fixed version.
PDroid comes in several variants: PDroid Privacy Protection being the original one, followed up by PDroid Manager and OpenPDroid. Other than LBE, these cannot be installed as an app, but need additional preparations -- as they are deeply integrated into the system. This not only adds another layer of protection -- but OpenPDroid is even OpenSource, which adds another layer of trust as well.

See also how to fake my personal information.
Want some shocking details?
Visit your Google Dashboard, log in with your Google account. Here you can find out whom you contacted most frequently, and what other data Google collected from you.
What happens with all your data when you die, or for any other reason become inactive?
Ooops? Yes, also something one should keep in mind in this context: Plan your digital afterlife. The linked article introduces the new Inactive Account Manager:

You can tell us what to do with your Gmail messages and data from several other Google services if your account becomes inactive for any reason.
For example, you can choose to have your data deleted — after three, six, nine or 12 months of inactivity. Or you can select trusted contacts to receive data [...]

(Read more in the linked article)
Protect your device
Now you've taken care no data is leaving your device, even locked data away in "data vaults", and secured the "back-doors" -- you should not leave the front-door wide open. Go to Settings→Security and set up a screen lock. Multiple choices here:

the good-old PIN code. Not really secure. At least not, if you use King Roland's PIN for Druidia's planet shield (or president Screw's for his briefcase; in case you do not know Spaceballs, the PIN was "12345" for both). Also not your birthdate or something like that.
a pattern-lock. More secure, as a relation to data retrievable by social-engineering is quite unlikely.
a password can be highly secure, if you use all characters available: letters (upper and lower case), numbers, special chars. And make it long. E.g. Ti1$spnc3h! -- how to remember that? Check: "This is a $uper secure password nobody can 3asily hack!"

Anti-theft protection
Also a lot of solutions on the playstore. Highly praised solutions include Cerberus anti theft, avast! Mobile Security, and more. If your device gets lost, with a good anti-theft protection you can

check its position
sound an alarm
remotely back-up (retrieve) stored data, before you...
remote-wipe the entire device including its sensitive data

and optimally, the anti-theft app automatically informs you in case the thief changes the SIM. It hides itself (stealth mode) and, with root available, can even protect itself against a factory-reset by integrating into the /system partition. So the only chance a thief has is to immediately switch-off the device, put it into a Faraday cage, and flash a new ROM while it's still in there...
Anti-virus
...you can left out, if you've followed above steps. Yes, there certainly is malware around. But with all the protection levels taken, and careful selection of sources as well as the apps themselves, risk is absolutely minimal. I never had malware on any of my devices, though I've tested a lot of apps over the past years. After all, Anti-virus (or rather anti-malware, as yet there was no virus sighted for Android) might give a false sense of security ("What shall happen? I've got that Anti-virus."), as they cannot really detect everything (no heuristics, e.g.), but rather check against a database of known malware mainly.
Backup
Last but not least: Having turned off all Google services (or at least restricted them to a minimum), you will need an alternative backup. To be honest: even if you've decided to answer "Yes" to the above question of "Do you want to backup your data with Google?", you will need a good backup -- as that "Google backup" might be many things, but for sure not complete (apps must explicitly support it by implementing its API, which is done by few apps).
For this, if your device is rooted, I strongly recommend a little investion: do yourself (and your device) some good, and buy Titanium Backup PRO. You won't regret it. TiBu is a very powerful tool to backup and restore apps including their data, restore parts of nandroid backups (see: nandroid tag wiki and backup tag wiki for details), freeze/unfreeze apps, detach apps from the playstore, and much more. Scheduled backups included. Stored to your sdcard or, if you really want to, to the cloud.
Not being rooted, but having a device with Android 4.0 or higher? Take a look at Carbon - App Sync and Backup, so you can at least backup all your apps and their data, plus some of the system data. Scheduled backups are planned here as well.
Additionally, you might want to take a look at Full Backup of non-rooted devices for more details on this topic.
Conclusion
As I wrote, there usually isn't a simple answer. You can use "Android without Google", cut down all network connections, and so on -- but at latest when you also take out your SIM, it's no longer a smartphone. Android is designed to be network enabled, from its very beginning.
You could say "who cares", and let it all go -- and complain when it's too late.
Usually you have to find a way in the middle, deciding how much of your privacy you are willing to sacrifice for how much comfort/convenience. I just listed possibilities, showed what is to be found where, and what solutions exist to protect your privacy the one way or the other. Hopefully, my elaborations will help you making your decisions.

Thanks for the detailed response. If I turn off location services, Google Now, and contact and calendar syncing, but still use Google Play and data backup, will Google only know the applications I've installed (and my Wi-Fi passwords, which I presume are encrypted)? Or does signing into any Google service allow them to transmit additional information (like call and SMS logs, for example)?

As Google Apps themselves are not necessarily "Open Source", how shall one tell what they do in background? As soon as you're logged in with your account, e.g. your search history is recorded (at least with the default browser). Using Google's cloud backup includes your WiFi passwords plus several other app's data. I'm not sure about call-logs etc., but AFAIR that would be send to the cloud as well. Of course you will need a good backup; if you rooted your device, I'd recommend Titanium backup.

Oh: and your WiFi passwords are, ooops, ahem... not encrypted. They are saved plain-text on your device. Hopefully the backup itself will be encrypted -- but the first thing I turn off is that backup, so I never checked. And thanks to your hint I added another very important topic to the end of my answer: backups...

Thanks. Google says it logs your "phone number, calling-party number, forwarding numbers, time and date of calls, duration of calls, SMS routing information and types of calls" in their privacy policy. It also logs your IP address. But it doesn't say if this info is logged for Android users specifically, or if it's only collected from other services such as Google Voice. And it doesn't say whether it logs data even if you're logged out of Android services. Your answer has helped, but these unknowns make me cautious to adopt Android.

As I wrote, there usually isn't a simple answer. You can use "Android without Google", cut down all network connections, and so on -- but at least when you also take out your SIM, it's no longer a smart-PHONE. You could say "who cares", and let it all go -- and complain when it's too late. Usually you have to find a way in the middle, deciding how much of your privacy you are willing to sacrifice for how much comfort/convenience. I just listed possibilities, but can't make the decision for everybody :) Thanks for your details! Sometimes what's missing speaks as well...

@Izzy: Any recommendations for privacy friendly custom ROMs? I have checked the entire http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_custom_Android_firmwares and their respective websites and under their feature presentations, they all mentioned much UI stuff, but NONE mentioned privacy features!!! I want to have ensured that contacts, calendars, SMS & call logs don't get into the cloud but only locally stored and synced with my Mac through USB/BT/WiFi with SyncMate to remain under my control. I prefer to have slightly less usability for improved privacy.

I'm afraid such recommendations go beyound the scope of this side (see [help/on-topic]). But generally, if you take a ROM that comes without Google apps (and don't install them yourself), your conditions should be met. Most custom ROMs ship that way for license reasons either.

There are some inaccuracies with your answer. "app cache" is a feature of the web platform that enables faster load times. In the context of your citation, it doesn't look very threatening. Your assessment of the lock screen setting is also completely off: PIN > pattern, because any pattern can be replaced with a PIN, while the reverse is not true. I would put the password below the other two, because it has a very negative impact on usability, possibly leading to a less secure setup (longer idle delays to avoid typing the long password again).

You don't need to sign into Google. But without access to the Play Store, you do limit the apps you can install on your phone. Many apps are available in alternative stores like Amazon, but I don't think they have all of them. When you first start up the phone, it should ask you for your existing Google or to create a new one. There should be a skip option there.
If you do still want the benefits of Play Store, then you can sign into an account and limit things as you have plans to do.

What other information does Android send to Google by default?

Android itself will send anonymous data, such as Android version, device, carrier, and country to Google for usage statistics. I am not positive if this is sent through Play Store usage or if there is some code in the phone that does this. If it is the latter, there is no way to disable it.

What actions should I take to minimise data collection from Google and other apps? (I'll be using stock Android 4.2 on a Nexus 4.)

Limiting your use of Google apps will certainly be the biggest way to minimize data going to Google. For other apps, pay attention to the permissions that apps ask for when you install them. If you aren't happy with the permissions, many times the developer will explain the reason for the permissions needed (Read Phone State and Identity is used to make sure the phone isn't in a call, Get location may be used for localized ads in free apps). If you still aren't happy, don't install the app and try to find an alternative.
Also, if you do decide to use a Google account for access to the Play Store, keep in mind that certain apps/services are already set to sync with Google. To disable syncing for those apps/services go to Settings -> Google -> your username. Under this menu will show all apps and services that will sync with Google. Uncheck any you don't want synced. Keep in mind, any that are not synced will not be recoverable if your phone goes belly-up without a backup (like your contacts), so if you choose not to sync those, I would make regular backups of any important data. Google also features an account backup, which can sync certain Android settings like your wifi networks and bluetooth pairings and can restore those when a phone is wiped. This should be one of the settings when you do the initial setup of your device, but if not, or you want to check, you can verify what it is set to at Settings -> Backup and Reset -> Back Up My Data/Automatic Restore.
If you are rooted, there are apps/mods you can install that can allow you to limit specific permissions for each and every app (Permissions Denied, LBE Privacy Guard, PDroid, etc - each app/mod has its own requirements/limitations, check them out to find out which one will work best for you and what you are currently running on your phone). While this can help alleviate concerns about what apps can access, it can also cause unexpected issues with those apps if they do require a permission that was revoked. It can take some testing to get things where you want them.

Is Android still a good choice if I don't plan to use Google's services?

While running without Google does remove some of the benefits/functionality of running an Android device, it doesn't remove all fo them. You still get a easily customized OS that allows pretty much every default app to be replaced with an alternative 3rd-party app. Don't like the dialer? Replace it. Don't like the text messaging app? Cool, check out a couple of the big 3rd-party ones and see which one you like. I am definitely a fan of Android, even without Google's presence in the OS (although, personally, I wouldn't want to run it without my Google accounts linked, but it is still certainly feasible). I am not familiar enough with the privacy practices of other OSs, but I can't imagine they would be much better than Google's. Privacy practices are probably quite similar between all the major mobile OSs. Android may be a bit more singled out due to the tie-in with all of Google's services, but that ends up only becoming a concern if you decide to use those services. Android does allow you to sideload apps (install apps from outside the Play Store) by enabling a checkmark in the settings (it will pop up the first time you try and do it and ask you to enable it). I know that can only be accomplished on iOS after you jailbreak it (not sure about other OSs).
Another thing to consider, especially since you will be using a Nexus 4 is to look into custom ROMs. Many ROMs will not include any of the proprietary Google apps (like Play Store and Gmail) and only allow you access to it after you flash a gapps package (Google Apps). This removes everything "Google" related from Android (except for maybe that anonymous usage statistics I mentioned above). I run CyanogenMod on my Nexus 4 (albeit with the gapps package), and it runs great and adds additional features on top of what stock Android 4.2 includes. I see a lot of people on the CM forums running CM without Google's proprietary stuff included.

If you are rooted [...] apps/mods you can install that can allow you to limit specific permissions => this does not require a custom ROM (I e.g. run LBE on a rooted stock ROM with my LG Optimus 4X), so you can remove the restriction in parenthesis :) Good points, besides. You might want to explicitly mention all that "PIM sync" (calendar, contacts) which by default is enabled (and one has to explicitly "opt-out"), plut the "Backup your data with Google" one has to opt-in. As the OP, I still miss the "privacy first" approach with Android...

Thanks for the insight and the info on running LBE on a stock ROM, Izzy. I've made your suggested changes.

You're welcome. Just one mistake introduced: PDroid does require a Custom ROM (as do PDroid Manager and OpenPDroid) or at least a deodexed ROM (according to several install instructions), recommendations mostly go to CyanogenMod here. Careful with LBE in conjunction with JB (boot-loops with the playstore version; see XDA for details and fixes). As for "privacy practices", I highly doubt they are better with iOS (nor worse, just "different"). // Maybe you want to come to chat for further points? I cannot promise "full attention" there, but try my best!

I missed the part about requiring deodexed ROMs in the description I read. It does seem it will work on any ROM as long as it is deodexed. Rather than getting specific for each app/mod, I just generalized it to have people check the requirements/limitations for each. Otherwise this could get into a big app/mod review post. And chat won't load on my work computer. We are stuck with IE8 (shudder) and it gets in a refresh loop.

I thought this might make a good "community wiki" -- but of course I could place my "additions" in a separate answer as well. Though in one big "wiki-like" answer, it could be "better organized"... As for chat, whenever you have something working available, be welcome. I'm usually "connected" there and monitor it, though my responses might be a little "delayed".

"Android itself will send anonymous data, such as..." is IMO technically not correct. The Google Play Store (i.e. Google Services Framework) will send this data. Android without any Google apps does AFAIK not send any data to Google.

I remember reading something a few years back stating that sending anonymous statistics was something that was coded into Android itself and not provided by adding Google Play. I couldn't find that reference, but I also couldn't find anything refuting that. That is why I put the additional information in there trying to clarify that I could be part of just Android or added via the Play Store. Should I change the first sentence too? Because I thought it made sense.


text:
After phone reset - how to download all my apps from google play store?
In the web front end all my apps are still there and I added the google account in my phone. Now how do I get the apps down to the phone?

download them all again

how? i have them all marked as installed in google play store. uninstall and install them?

pressing install on each, got it. thx

Feel free to add it as an answer (with a few more words ;), so this question does not show as "unanswered" anymore :)

I installed them all again. While google play knew my apps, it did not automatically install them again. So pressing install on every app brought them back.
About backup, I found that the android sdk has a backup function that backups everything, installed apps as well, next them I use that, maybe this makes reinstallation of apps unnecessary.

Just press down on the app in your list. It will select, then click on all you want reinstalled.  Then  click install once.
You will have to click accept repeatedly.  It's easy: same spot, just tap tap tap...

Hi Richard, you are always able to edit answers instead adding new ones, please delete the other one.


text:
Gallery is displaying three, sometimes even four copies of the same file - why?
I have a non-rooted Android phone running 4.0.4 (ICS). The phone has 3GB of internal storage and I have inserted a 16GB SD card. The SD card contains a number of audio and video files.
When I opened the stock Gallery app, the directories on the SD card were displayed as expected. However, there was one small problem: multiple copies of each video were being displayed.
Wondering if something had happened to the SD card, I unmounted it and inserted it into the card reader in my computer. After mounting the card, I opened a terminal and ran:
find * | grep .mp4

But the results were exactly what I expected - there was only a single copy of each video on the card. None of the files were duplicated.
Next, I tried clearing the cache of the Gallery app (Settings->Apps->Gallery->Clear Data). After relaunching the app, I discovered even more copies of each video.
One important detail to note: only the videos on the SD card appear duplicated. None of the videos on internal storage suffer from this problem.

Oh, and I forgot to mention: other media players like VLC only display one copy of each video. So this appears to be specific to the gallery app.

Do you have DropBox with its automatic camera upload feature enabled?

Though not identical, you might want to check I'm seeing duplicated images and videos on Gallery, as the solution could apply to your case as well.

@wbogacz: No, I don't have the DropBox app installed.

@Izzy: Turns out that after clearing the cache for the Media Storage app, the duplicates have disappeared. If you want to post that as an answer, I'll gladly accept it.

Here you go :-)

Though it's not the identical situation, the solution which worked out for I'm seeing duplicated images and videos on Gallery might apply here as well:

Go to Settings→Apps→Manage Apps
Select the "All Apps" tab
Find the Gallery app, open its entry, tap "clear cache"
Do the same for the Media Storage app
Have the Media Scanner running again. This can be triggered by either

a reboot of the device (ugh!)
unmounting/mounting the external SDCard if any (hm...)
attach the device to your PC via USB, optionally copy some file to it, detach it again (ok...)
for repeated use, take a look at apps like e.g. Rescan Media, Scan Media, or SDrescan (yeah!)

Check if the duplicates are gone. If not, repeat everything, but this time additionally select to "delete data"


text:
Direct VISIBLE connection required for GPS?
I am confused by the type of connection GPS requires. Some people say it requires a direct visible connection to the satellite, while others only refer to a direct connection without the specific need for a visible connection.
Basically the question is whether GPS also works in a pocket or with a case/bumper.

GPS works fine in a case or pocket.
You do need a generally unobstructed view (from a radio perspective, not necessarily a visible perspective) of the sky (no trees/buildings/etc. in the way, but thin barriers, like say a tent, won't present a problem.) in order to pick up the GPS signals from the satellites.
Ideally, you should have as clear and as wide a view of the sky as possible.  Ideal conditions would be standing in a flat empty field with visibility to the horizon in all directions.
Narrow that view of the sky by adding buildings and trees and your ability to obtain an accurate lock starts to degrade and you get more and more error in your position, until such point where you can't get an accurate lock (or in extreme cases, like being in a deep basement or similar, any lock at all) at all.

Thank you. So it is really a radio signal and nothing visible-like like infrared for example (it confused me as people often say for TV satellites you should have good weather, which would make me believe it requires an actual visible connection).

@user32840 The "good weather" bit about satellite TV is due to the radio frequencies satellite TV works on (specifically, the Ka and Ku bands), which are quite suitable to rain fade, where the water absorbs the energy of the transmission, like what happens in a microwave oven.  The L band used by GPS is not very susceptible to that effect.

AGPS tends to work better in indoor areas since it uses phone signals and wireless signals in addition to GPS signals to get a better idea of where the phone is. This also helps where there's no direct connection. I do also believe that there's some degree of inertial navigation used by some map applications, since I have seen google navigation work inside a tunnel where I know GPS dosen't work. Pockets should be trivial to get a signal through, as should bumpers, unless they are specifically made to shield signals (which is implausible)


text:
Install USB host drivers on Android ICS
I have a Desire HD running a custom rom: Android ICS 4.0.4. I ran USB Host Diagnostics software and connected my camera through a USB OTG cable but the phone does not detect the camera. I am thinking the ICS rom that I have on does not include the USB Host drivers. Can I install them on my phone in any other ROM or do I need to install a different ROM?

This doesn't belong here, but that aside...
You don't really "install" the drivers. The framework needed for USB OTG is often found in custom kernels, you should be looking there.
This question is also probably best asked on the forum thread of the custom ROM you flashed. A quick look at your device's forum on XDA shows a fully working stock-based Custom ROM that supports USB OTG out of the box.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2204384
I'd start with that.


text:
How to customize Facebook chat notification sound?
Facebook app and the Facebook Messenger app often plays the same sound for new incoming chat message - this is the system notification sound.
That makes me confused facebook chat with other notification, especially the calendar reminder, new incoming email, etc. ...
How to customize it?

In Facebook, you can change the notification sound from Facebook > Menu > Settings > Notification ringtone.
I assume it would be the same for Messenger, never used it though

In my Sony Xperia Z1 it's Facebook > Menu > Account > App Settings > Notification

Go on messenger select a ringtone I just did it because Eveytime I have to update messenger I have no ringtone. Then for facebook go in Facebook settings choose a different ringtone. Have different ringtone for both. On messenger there there is a little icon tap on it you will see your ringtones


text:
Get rid of virus that downloads apk
My android tablet, a zoom, has started to download apk's at random without any initiation on my part. I have the don't allow foreign apk's to be installed thing checked so they can't get on to the tablet. Has anyone else caught this? I don't see anything else on the internet about it and I have done a search with Avast to no avail at finding anything.
I suppose that the easiest way to remove it is factory reset. If I do that does google remember all my apps and download them instantly?
Anyway any I'm grateful for any information.

Are you sure that they aren't the updates to the app you've already installed?

Yes, I have no app for hot girls uk installed. I can click the apk, it doesn't install but briefly boots. Pretty sure they are viruses.

Care to provide the logcat?

http://pastebin.com/taVrXCEb

Go to Settings -> Backup & reset. Then check 'Backup my data' and 'Automatic restore'.
An alternative is to use an app like Ultimate Backup or Titanium.

the Google does not saves your apps.
I have tryed that.
I was downloaded 380 mobile security and it detected 40 viruses.
I pressed clean all and a rescaned:
The viruses wasn't removed.
I performed a factory reset and the viruses was removed.
This is the solution when you have many viruses on android.
My tablet model is:Maxwell maxtab H10


text:
ADB does not work in boot loader mode
I have a Galaxy Nexus 'maguro' and a laptop with Ubuntu 12.10. I'm trying to install Ubuntu Touch preview. I installed the adb and fastboot packages, and adb detects the device when it is booted in to Android. But when I do a reboot-bootloader, it no longer turns up in the devices list.

Are you checking adb devices? 'Cause that's not where it will be when it's at the bootloader - you should see it under fastboot devices.


text:
Many apps don't work for secondary accounts
I have a Google Nexus 7 that I share with my kids.  I am the owner and created a second account for my child.  I've found that many games work on my (the owners) account, but will not work on the second users account.  One of the apps in question is Unblock me Free.  It works great on my account, but on the second users account, it will get to the splash screen and then just disappear. I cannot find any app, user or security settings that could be causing this.  Hoping for some insight from this group as to what is causing this.  I hesitate to install a root-kit or unlock the tablet unless I can be convinced that's the best/safest way to go.

As far as Android SDK documentation goes:
    As an app developer, there’s nothing different you need to do in order for your app
to work properly with multiple users on a single device.
...

    To be certain that your app behaves properly in a multi-user environment, do not refer
to your internal app directory or external storage location using hard-coded paths and
instead always use the appropriate APIs:

Hence theoretically speaking, if the app developer had used appropriate methods this app should work normally. In that sense, I do not think you have any better way other than reporting this to the app developer.
Rooting your Nexus 7 doesn't going to solve this issue - in my opinion.

Update: I sent an email to the support team of the app developer quoting this question. I received a reply as:
Thank you for your information.
We have filed the issue with engineering team.
We'll try our best to fix them ASAP.

which in my opinion supports my assumption.

There are so many apps that have this problem.  Do we really have that many crappy Android developers?

I am not sure. But one justification from developer's point of view is that what is correct today is not correct tomorrow. This especially happens in the technology. As you could have read the SDK documentation, before Google decides supporting multiple users, the methods that app developer used might be appropriate and breaks only when Google did this change.

Fully agreed with @Narayanan.  This is not limited to Android, and is true in any software development environment. An application that was working fine in Windows XP might break horribly under Windows 7, for example.  Developers can't be faulted for not knowing of the changes ahead of time, only for not responding to user feedback in a timely manner.

Google Play's Family Library with app and game sharing goes live July 2, 2016.
From the relevant post on the website Android Police:
Family Library and sharing have been a long, really long, time coming on Google Play. In his different app teardowns, Cody has repeatedly discovered strings pointing out to the feature coming to Play Books, Play Movies, Play Services, the Play Store, but up until recently, the only Google entity that had benefited from any kind of family sharing was Play Music and its Family Plans.
But at this year's Google I/O, Google announced that Family Library was coming to Google Play app and games purchases with the new changes taking effect on July 2nd.
What has already changed though are the terms of the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement. A new section 5.4 explains how a family group, with one manager and different members, can purchase the product once and share it with other members of the family. So starting July 2, any purchases you make on the Play Store will be available for sharing with your other family members.


text:
Get offline maps in new Google Maps
Google Maps was updated last night (9-July-2013 v7.0.0). While there's a lot they added, one thing they removed was the ability to cache maps offline.
I relied on that functionality in poor-coverage areas. Is there anything I can do?

There's also this: How to use GPS/Maps without an Internet connection?

Update: Apparently there was enough of a hue and cry about it that they've added a button, although "ok maps" will still work.
Not the same as the old offline maps, but better than nothing I suppose.

Having come under fire for (mostly) removing the option to save offline maps in its new Android app, Google has pushed a new update that makes it easier for users to save local areas to their device. In a post on Google+, the company notes that its "engineering team has been working around the clock" to add a "Make this map area available offline" card inside the app, mimicking the functionality of the 'OK maps" command.

(source: The Verge)

At least I'm not the only one who regrets the removal of this feature.

The other problem with the redesign is that Google (mostly) removed the option to save offline maps — a feature that was only a year old to begin with. Power users still have a way to cache maps locally, however. Daniel Graf, director for Google Maps, tells us that the company's engineers were just as unhappy with the loss of the feature as we were, so they built an Easter egg. When you type in "OK maps" (or "okay maps") into the search box, it will save a cached version of the visible map area locally. It's not as convenient or manageable as proper offline maps, but at least it's an option — assuming you remember it's there.

(source: The Verge)

Noooo I've been using that all the time for last few months (eg). Luckily my phone hasn't pulled down the update yet.

Open Google Maps and search for the area you want to cache (or just zoom in on it).

Tap the search bar.
Type "Okay Maps" (some people report success with just "OK Maps") in the search bar.
Tap the search icon

You'll be dropped back at the maps view, and you'll see a notification that the area was copied to your clipboard or otherwise cached. Now, even offline you'll still be able to zoom down to the same level you were at on that map area.

The best free offline (Google) maps is (rmaps). First, you will need to download Mobile Atlas Creator version 1.8, which allows you to download Google Maps of anywhere and any size, on your PC. unlimited.
NOTE: Select map source (Google Maps). Zoom level (17 is good for cities). Atlas settings (format: RMaps SQLite). Then create it. Then, insall (rmaps) on phone. Copy-paste the saved maps to phone memory > rmaps > maps. Then, open rmaps > settings > user defined maps > select the maps. It works great. I have all Europe (Google Maps) saved on my phone.
Enjoy!

Not interested in installing extra stuff to do this.

...but might be helpful to someone else.

You might want to take a look at little helpers like e.g. MapsOn Free: Offline Map:

Offline GPS travel maps. Cache maps to SD card and use them when traveling without network coverage.

This one fills GMaps' map cache (at least it did before it was renamed; the current screenshots confuse me a little concerning whether that was changed, but it's certainly worth a try with the free version; if that works out, you can still decide whether to "go pro").


text:
How can I disable profanity filtering of autocomplete suggestions?
I'm using a Galaxy Nexus with Android 4.2.2. I started using the baked in Swype imitation/gesture typing as soon as I found out it was there. However, the profanity filtering is extremely frustrating. It's way too liberal - it won't even recognize "sucks." I poked around a bit but can't find anywhere to disable it. Is this possible?

Just type it in once, click it, and save it. Done.
You can also go to Settings > Language and Input > Personal Dictionary and add your words from there.

Doesn't work. Android already recognizes most of them as valid words.

OK, then type in some gibberish, click it, then again to save to dictionary. When the dialog comes up, replace it with whatever word you want and save. Just did this with 4.2.2 default keyboard and it works.