text:
How do I disable zooming on text input focus?
I know there are certain tricks to disable zooming when making a web page, but how do I disable zoom on focus on my device?
I have Paranoid Android and the Xposed Framework, so, I know anything is possible.

Unfortunately, the answer is that you can't.
That's confirmed pretty conclusively by this bug report/feature request thread in the Chrome development forum. The thread goes all the way back to March 2014, and recent posts indicate that a means of disabling this behavior has not been implemented.
Sadly, recent indications are that the dev team is disinclined to implement such a setting in the future. Despite input from several people providing examples of how this feature can be an impediment, and requesting a setting to disable it, this response from a developer says that they avoid adding new settings, and they'd rather work on making it "less annoying":

#12: I haven't really noticed it zooming in on mobile sites.  When it does, we can consider that a bug, but I don't think a modal ban is the right approach.  I'd rather continuing tuning the policy so that it doesn't trigger when inappropriate.  Note also that the same code deals with animating the scroll position around when the on-screen-keyboard would cover the form field.  That behavior definitely desirable to preserve even on mobile sites.
#13: We generally try to avoid adding settings in Chrome; we'd rather tune this so it's less annoying for all users, not just the ones who discover the setting.  We already made a few improvements to make this trigger less frequently since the bug was originally filed; we might benefit from loosening it further to tolerate further zoom levels.

The bottom line is that it sounds like it's not possible and it's not going to be.
You can disable this behavior by using a browser other than Chrome, at least for any sites where you don't want automatic zooming on focus.

I'm currently looking for an XPosed module that will help out. I'll post my findings once I've done enough searching

I figured it out for FireFox users:

In the Firefox browser for Android, navigate to about:config.
Find the line named formhelper.autozoom
Set to false

This is especially beneficial to navigating websites in desktop mode,  without that nasty input zoom.

formhelper.mode can also be set to 0 to prevent the scrolling to form elements. Between these two settings you get rid of most of the misfeatures associated with mobile browsers.

Ah! ysh, firefox goes brr.....

That's a "solution" for the question asked, but it's a quite efficient workaround.
What helped me was:

Open mobile browser "settings"
Go to "accessibility"
Turn on the "show distance from display on main menu" option on (or whatever it's called on your browser)
When on site, set the distance from display to minimum. In my case it was 50%.

That setting altered the display to contain more content on my smartphone screen so zoom auto zoom didn't happen.

My solution that may help was to install an app called Windows Manipulator on my Android phone and then set the DPI significantly lower.  This gives me enough screen real estate (albeit with a significantly smaller font).
This seems to keep Chrome from zooming on focus as often.  I also switched to FlashFox Pro browser which does not zoom on focus frequently.
These 2 fixes combined have eliminated my complaints.  Hope this helps someone.

Welcome to [android.se]! Thank you for your contribution, could you also add the link for the apps you mentioned on this answer?


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Enable OK Google detection when connected to car bluetooth
I have set "OK Google" detection to "in Google app" only. I don't want Google to be listening all the time.
However, I would like "OK Google" detection to work when I'm driving. This means that the phone's bluetooth is connected to the audio receiver in the car.
Is there a way to turn OK google detection when my phone connects to this specific bluetooth device and off again when I disconnect?
If not, is it possible to turn it on when bluetooth is turned on? (I rarely use bluetooth for anything else.)

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Really strange battery issue?
So, I don't have a picture, but my Android phones batter is on the fritz. At first it just started draining quickly so i checked if I had any apps that where draining it quickly but I didn't have anything out of the normal, the highest thing that was draining it was the Android systems which was 6%. I didn't think much off it since it is an older model and was thinking maybe the battery was just getting old and draining quicker. I just put it on the charger and brought it up to 100%. I took it off the charger and started watching YouTube which I knew drained it quickly but then something weird started happening. It went from 100% and instantly dropped to 1%. Thinking it was just a glitch I turned off the screen then turned it back on and it was at 90%. I went back to watching YouTube. Next thing I knew I looked back at the battery and it said 24%. I was confused and so i started to watch the battery, it drained normally for about a minute then started changing like this 58%,20%, 80%, 1%, 100%, and just all over, its been doing this for about three days now and I'm honestly not sure what's going on. I'm wondering if there something wrong with my battery or if this is just some strange phone glitch?

Related: Battery Stats Are Vastly Incorrect

Go to Settings>Developer Options>Running Services and check to see if something you don't recognize is using a bunch of processing power.
If yes, you've probably got a virus.
Otherwise, a factory reset could fix the issue.

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


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Where are notepad notes stored?
A simple question really, where do apps such as notepad store their data (the notes)?
Additionally, where do offline games store their information (such as what level you're on)?
I've looked at the android/data/ files, but they're often empty. Any tips?
Example below:

According to that, the app uses 30+ mb of data

But, the file for that app (Internal Storage/Android/data/...) only has 8mb inside it. Where's the rest?
Edit: what's a "data" file? Here's my internal storage:
.
I'm on EMUI 9.1.0 and Android 9.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! The data should be in /data/data/ folder.

Can't find a data file. Updated with more info.

Android apps follow rules where each app is stored unter <pkgname>
and usually the data is stored in databases. big data (games) usually stored in obb
/storage/emulated/0 is your Internal Storage (which is a view for /data/media/0)
/data/user/0 is a symlink to /data/data (where you have no access)
/data/user_de/0 is rarely used for some apps (not sure if this my country code or stands for DeviceEncrypted)
so the example paths looks like this
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/files/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/databases/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/shared_prefs/
/data/user[_de]/0/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/cache/
/storage/emulated/0/Android/obb/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/
/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/com.randomlogicgames.battletext/files/

So how exactly do I gain access to this "data/data" file (or the other ones)?

you don't. thats actually the sense of permissions

So there's physically no way (without rooting I assume)?

you can create backup and extract it https://android.stackexchange.com/a/211956

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


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I can't use my Google Account password to bypass the lock screen
On my CM9 / ICS 4.0 phone, if I incorrectly enter the drawn pattern five times in a row, it locks itself for 30 seconds. I can't enter any more passwords, but I can click the "Forgot my password" button and enter my Google Account password.
On my rooted 4.0.3 tablet running a custom ROM, my lock screen is set with a numeric PIN. If I input it incorrectly five times or more, it locks itself and I can't enter any more passwords.
I'm not offered the option to enter my Google account password to bypass this, although I have configured a Google account on the device.
I want to activate the "I forgot" button in order to enter my Google Account credentials. Is it possible?

You might also want to check Cannot unlock tablet as have no internet connection? for alternatives.

Favorited, but does not apply to my case: it does not ask me for credentials, and there is no "I forgot" button.

Understood. I just thought in case that would lock you out, it would be nice to have some solutions at hand.

Sorry @Izzy, I truly appreciate the effor of a great and active member! I had even upvoted your linked answer. Sorry if I sounded rude... =/

Unfortunately, for my case, apparently there's only the ADB option. I better NEVER forget my password, then. :(

You didn't sound rude, don't bother. I just wanted to state that I cought the mentioned fact, and my link was meant as a fallback -- exactly as you seems to have needed. Sorry to read that the ADB option is the only one left. In that case, take care that your brother-in-laws best friends little son/daughter does not tamper with it, using up all your "free tries" ;)

It will not show if Gapps aren't installed on the tablet (some more obscure brands don't come with Gapps).
If Gapps are installed, then try and enter it incorrectly 20+ times. This will lock you out. You will only see the enter Google details screen if the device has Gapps (Google Play, Gmail, etc).

20 times? Why is it 5 on my phone?

@ruda.almeida It's the different UI's. TabletUI must have changed to remove the reset password button.

What is "TabletUI"? Never heard of it.

I Have typed the incorrect code 20 times. It says "you have typed your PIN incorrectly NNN times, and every 5 times it locks itself for 30 seconds and tell me to wait. Nothing different happened on the 20th time.

@ruda.almeida Do you have gapps on the tablet?

I don't know what gapps are.

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


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WiFi stopped working (dhcpd times out) after enabling device encryption
On my Samsung Galaxy Nexus running AOKP 4.2 JellyBean, WiFi has worked without issue before on this exact same hotspot, and it is currently working for other devices, so I'm assuming the error is in the phone. After trying another hotspot, I could see that the WiFi is definitely dead. But after enabling encryption on my device, it gets stuck in a loop. It detects the actual network, but it goes like this:
Saved with X authentication > Authenticating>  Obtaining IP address >  (Repeat)
I also tried deleting the network and adding it again without success, thinking it had something to do with the cached WPA key.
Is there anything I can do to troubleshoot before I just wipe and reinstall? Is this some kind of known issue?

Try to connect your device with ADB and have a look at the adb logcat for error messages. You don't need to install the entire SDK for this: The ADB Guide on AndroidForums contains a "MiniSDK" (Linux, Mac, Windows versions) to download which should be fully sufficient for this. Report back then with conrete error messages.

I found something interesting, not sure what else to look for as I don't feel like posting all of the 9k+ lines I got would make sense, also there's some personal info in there. Anyway, I found this: E/DhcpStateMachine( 1029): DHCP failed on wlan0: Timed out waiting for dhcpcd to start

Here's some more from the logs, tried to clean it up as well as I could: http://pastebin.com/LL9vFhL0

That looks like your router does not want to talk to your device. Might be a MAC filter. Try looking up your device's MAC address, and check whether this is permitted to connect to your WiFi (who knows, maybe encryption also encrypted your MAC address ;)

@Izzy it most definitely is not, exactly the same on two separate hotspots that have previously worked. I think the DHCP negotiation is timing out extremely fast for some reason. Oh well, time to wipe I guess.

Also worth a try. But if your router provides a log, I'd check that first (maybe something wrong with the lease, or whatever).

Are you seriously assuming that two different routers at two different locations that have both worked before have produced the same error on the same day, rather than something has happened with my phone?

Not likely, true (I obviously didn't sort the "two hotspots" from your comment into the correct context, sorry for that) -- but the logs could provide you with other useful information. It was just a suggestion, a shot in the dark. Do as you please ;)

Might be some interoperability issue with a particular hotspot. If it is a DHCP time-out, you can try assigning a manual IP address to the particular network.
Or if it is a rooted device, you can try the below command inside adb shell:
dhcpcd wlan0

It's not related to the particular hotspot, read my post again.

+1 for the terminal command. Helped me to find out the file permission problem.

From the 4th revision of the OP's question,

Re-locked and unlocked bootloader, flashed recovery via Galaxy Nexus Toolkit and pushed a new AOKP via ADB, installed it and everything is working fine now. No idea what caused it, but I'm pretty sure the full device encryption screwed something up. However, since CWM doesn't even support full device encryption, it feels like a bug relating to it is kind of low priority since people shouldn't encrypt their devices with customs ROMs anyway and expect a smooth ride.


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How can I search the SMSs/MMSs using the default search interface?
I have a Cyanogenmod 10.1 ROM installed. I love the Google Search interface and can search most of my phone using it, but I am unable to find "Messaging" as a searchable item. I've seen a lot of photos showing "Messaging" as a searchable item, but it isn't on my phone.
I dug through the Cyanogenmod source and found that a commit was made that removed this functionality. I haven't been able to understand the reason for this.
Is it possible to re-add this feature? Do I need to configure something?

I don't know if this will help or not, but if you need this option, you can give it a try (if you are ready to face the aftermath whatever it is).
First, you have to access the system files of your mobile, so you might need
Droid Explorer. You may face an error sometime while showing the android SDK path if you have already installed it on PC. For that, you can simply create a folder named android-7 inside your sdk/platforms folder.
Then connect your phone and open Droid Explorer and try locating the particular searchable.xml file which I have no idea where it is.
Open it and try changing the false into true.
Sometimes, it might have triggered some other file to change this particular option. I tried myself for some time using this and I couldn't figure it out.


text:
How can I deduce/identify an app from a notification icon?
I'm concerned about an app on my child's phone. I saw an app icon in the notification area that looked strange (Andy Android head, slightly tilted as its icon).
How can I find out what app it is from just having seen that icon in the notification bar?

Most apps use the icon they have for the app itself. Just look through the app drawer and see if you can spot it.

You need to investigate this on your own. There's a generic way to do this:
There are at least 4 possibilities:

If the phone has Android 4.1 or later you can long press the notification and see the App info:

Look that App icon up in the list of installed  apps on the phone
Settings->Apps->installed apps

Just click it and see what app starts

Go to the Play store and look through the installed apps on [phone] list
To access this you need to be logged in with your kid's Google account. On the phone itself this is automatically the case, on the PC you need to enter username/password.

If you drag down the notification bar you should be able to tell:

Before Android 7.1/API 25 (or maybe 7.0/24), if you long click it shows which app it's from. Also if you click the (i) button it takes you to the notifications settings for that app.

With Android 7.0/7.1, you should be able to see the app name as a header for the notification. Long clicking shows the notifications settings there in the notifications item directly.

With Android 8/API 26 you can also see the app name as a header. Long clicking shows which "notification channel" (new from API 26) the notification belongs to, and clicking "MORE SETTINGS" will allow you to see all channels and set the notifications settings for each channel specifically as well as for the app overall.


text:
Monitor data connection based on location constantly
I was wondering if there was way to ping google.com (or any other stable site) and record my GPS location. It would then append the result of the ping, GPS position, and the time to a log file on my phone. It would run every 10 seconds or so.
Basically, I just want to get a view of my phone's Internet connection throughout the day and at different times. After a full day running, I could then look at the generated log and figure out all sorts of interesting analytics for my phone.
Is it possible, perhaps using apps, script, or anything?

It looks like a customized app. You need to make an app yourself, or have someone make it for you.

I think this question could be on topic if you would rephrase it like "How can I keep track of my phones data connectivity and location (GPS)?" See also the sites FAQ and http://meta.android.stackexchange.com/questions/1181/how-to-ask-android-questions-the-smart-way

I have tweaked the question to make it more about a problem to be solved than an app to be found. I think it can be re-opened.

@StephenCagle: GPS can be pretty battery-intensive. Are you sure you'd want something like this firing every 10 seconds? Further, it takes a long time for a GPS fix; the GPS receiver would need to be on constantly.

There are no apps appear to suit to your need. But you could use two separate apps to do what you need to do.
Use Googles My Tracks to record your location data automatically. This app,

Record data of where you are using GPS coordinates.
Allows you to monitor your trip or the places of visits in 3D maps.
Promotes easy sharing of your data.

Use Traffic Counter to monitor your data usage. This app,

Records your data usage details real time
Offer some good in-app analysis tools
Can be used to monitor calls, SMSs, WiFi, apps, etc. as well

With the help of these two, you can achieve your objective. No need to ping a site!


text:
What information does Chrome/Android send to Google to discover my "WiFi based" location?
Their commercial geolocation API doc says it needs a list of every WiFi access point around, with, for each of them:

MAC address,
ESSID
signal strength,
a few others.

Common devices probably query the geolocation web service like this.
However, I'm interested in knowing if Chrome/Android actually sends more information to Google, like:

my device WiFi MAC address or "ID"?
my GPS location? (say, to geolocalize WiFi APs around me for Google)
etc.

The best answer would be a (sniffed) query dump from a WiFi enabled device (bypassing https). A source code review may also be useful, but for Chromium only.

Looking at the source code of Chromium, the data structure holding the Wi-Fi data doesn't seem to have any more data that you mentioned, so I find it unlikely that they actually send other Wi-Fi related data somehow in secret to their servers from Chrome. (Only age is added to the request afterwards as I can see.)
And it wouldn't make much sense anyway. Your device's Wi-Fi MAC address or ID or anything that is Wi-Fi related is completely irrelevant for the geolocation system. It doesn't matter who wants to know his own position, what address he uses etc. The results only depend on the data provided in the API. The MAC address of the Wi-Fi network provides the approximate position of the network itself and the other data like the signal strength make a distance estimation possible.
The device's GPS location could come handy for the system though. I guess that Chrome doesn't send it only because most of the devices running Chrome don't really have a GPS chip thus they don't know the GPS location. But Android devices simply have to send this data. As stated above the network's address is what provides the position information in the queries. For that Google needs to map a more or less exact location to the address and they need to collect that information somehow. Some years ago there was a scandal that the Street View cards didn't take just pictures, but also collected Wi-Fi data. They were forced to stop doing that so now the only logical way for them to collect it is to rely on the trillions of Android devices in the wild.

I'm particularly interested in the GPS stuff, as I think you're right about Google using our phones to populate its database, never saying so "explicitly". Sniffing such a query would be great.

Well, yeah. Good luck breaking HTTPS :)

Man in the middle... :) Or can we find this information in the open Android source code?

Man in the middle attacks don't work with sites using signed certificates. And the Android source... the device can legitimately send your coordinates to Google based on your settings, therefore finding  hidden code that sends it illegitimately can be a search for a needle in a haystack.

authors: وسام الطليباوي


text:
Recover nexus 5x with locked bootloader and TWRP
I bought a used nexus 5x and got a message saying to lock the bootloader to allow OTA updates.  So I did, not fully understanding what my situation was.  It wiped the phone and now it won't boot.  I can get into TWRP but that's it.
I tried loading a bullhead factory image (as well as a lineage zip) on a USB-C flash drive from the TWRP install menu but it failed with error 7.
I'm not really sure what to do now.  Is there any way I can get my phone flashed with a working image?  Ideally the factory image.
edit: I should add that I tried the standard flashing instructions but they all start with unlocking with fastboot which doesn't work apparently because i need to check a box in the unbootable OS.
update:
Well, for some reason poking the clear cache button in TWRP fixed it and it booted, I was then able to unlock the boot loader and install the factory rom. Not sure how to evaluate the answers now as I can't test them.

Well, for some reason poking the clear cache button in TWRP fixed it and it booted, i was then able to unlock the boot loader and install the factory rom.  Not sure how to evaluate the answers now.

Content of your comment can be helpful, so please, place it in your question as an edit to give option for voting.

If flashing stock recovery image from appropriate factory image with fastboot and factory reset doesn't help, you can restore factory Nexus 5X image with TOT file with LGUP.
For this operation, no ADB && Fastboot is required.
Unfortunately, I had direct experience with Nexus 5X with erased bootloader or locked bootloader with non-factory ROM - though, with successful outcome.
Even I do complete procedure from Windows 7 virtual machine, it should be done natively
Download TOT file
Disconnect device from computer and turn it off
Install LG usb drivers
Install LGUP
Install 8994 dll for LGUP
Enter download mode by pressing and holding the volume+
button while connecting device to computer with USB cable -
if done in timely manner, Windows should install drivers
Start LGUP - if everything is done correctly, device should
be detected - then navigate - browse downloaded TOT file,
select refurbish and click start
Original information can be read from here

Both locking and unlocking bootloader performs a factory reset on your device on the next boot. This wiping needs stock recovery. You had installed TWRP to the device and since you locked back bootloader. It needed the default recovery to be able to wipe it, since it wasn't there, TWRP tries to wipe, boot and fail, back to TWRP on and on forever. Flashing stock recovery either via fastboot, or flasing software will help it reset hence boot again. If you feel new to this. You can request a full more detailed answer from me and I'll edit this to your convenience.
Note: Flashing software will always download in firmware regardless of the state of that checkbox


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Access denied on external storage: application not found
I purchased an Android car head unit (K4811) and I cannot access a USB storage device that I plug in (32 GB, FAT32 or exFAT).
I think that this comes from the absence of a program allowing elevation of rights, because by downloading FileManager+, when I select the USB key, I obtain this message:

But if I click "OK", I get the error "Application not found":

I tried from the Google "Files" application, it shows me that I have to "Tap to give File access":

If I do, I get an "Access denied":

If I click on the notification that appears when plugging in the USB key:

This opens the basic file explorer in which the USB key does not even appear.
Do you have any idea where this could come from? If an application allowing rights elevation is missing, is it possible to download it? I will be able to pass it by another means than a USB key.
My goal is to access the files on an external USB storage key.
EDIT
The application has storage access rights according to Android settings:

Go to settings > apps > permissions and set it per app. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/9431959?hl=en

@ChanganAuto Sorry, I forgot to specify that the application does have storage access rights according to the Android settings.
The app works fine on internal storage, but not on USB.


text:
How can I mirror my samsung phone screen on my Tv
I have a upnp enable TV on which ImediaShare seems to work fine. But does anyone know how to mirror my phone screen on the TV

uPnP usually does no screen sharing. Do both your devices (TV and Android) feature a HDMI port? That's the way it is mostly done.


text:
Prestigio Multipad USB debuging
I am having troubles with Prestigio Multipad PMP3370B. I enabled USB debuging in Settings, but when I plug in my device to a computer and start adb devices, it does not recognize it. Does anybody have any similar issues? I am using Windows 7. Where can I find Windows driver for that device?

You can find USB drivers for the Prestigio Multipad PMP3370B (aka Prestigio MultiPad 7.0 ULTRA) in the manufacturer website
Just click the download link for the .zip file corresponding to your model, as seen in the screenshot.

At the time of this answer, the file name is PMP3370B_20121217_V1.0.8.zip, this file is ~224 MB size and it does contain USB drivers for Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 (32-bit) and Windows Vista/7 (64-bit), besides firmware update image file, upgrade manuals (in English/Russian, 32/64-bit) and other tools. I can tell it because I downloaded it myself and looked inside.

I don't know where you can find drivers for your specific device; but for most devices (of different manufacturers), Koush's universal adb driver does a good job on Windows 7 and 8 as well. You can download them from the linked site, and find instructions there as well.


text:
How to determine what capabilities are blocking an app from installing
My bank has an app for Android phones, but that same app won't install on my tablet.  Is there a way to determine what capability or permission is blocking it from even being listed in the Play store?

Hard without knowing the details. Could be the Android version, screen resolution, or one of many other things. Easiest way would be to contact the developer with your device details.

Thanks for the tip.  I'm hoping to find a generic way - go to the app page and have something other than "this app is incompatible with your device" listed - perhaps a reason would be nice there.

This you have to deal with Google itself, to extend its message to "this app is incompatible with your device because...". Until then, the "generic way" is to ask the developer (who should know what he put into the app's Manifest) -- or get a copy of the *.apk and check the Manifest yourself. Sorry, but I see no other way.


text:
Can I install a micro-SD card into my Note 2 after I've enabled device encryption?
I recently got a Note 2 and enabled device encryption. I want to put a micro-SD in it now to expand my storage capacity, but when I go to settings, it won't let me mount the card. Is it because of the device encryption? Is there a way to add this drive without decrypting and re-encrypting?

A good question! It's possible (technically). Do a backup of your old data first! You might succeed to re-format the new sd-card using your Note2. If that doesn't work, the only way I can think of is rather hackish and involves some basic Linux skills: Raw-copy over all the encrypted data from the old SD card to the new one and try accessing it (it should have the old size still), if you can then reformat it, it might grow to the new size. If you succeeded, restore the data to the new crypted SD card. PS: I'm curious if it works, let me know! If this is to vague just ask or chat

ce4's approach sounds good. You might want to contact Samsung too.


text:
Why does my tablet reset every time I reboot?
I bought a tablet a few days ago.
I was playing around with a wireless mouse and a USB OTG cable and decided to restart the tablet for some reason (I don't remember why). After that, when the device booted I saw the setup wizard that started when the tablet was turned on for the first time.
The device now resets whenever I reboot, and I can't download & install apps from Play (error says that theres no memory), and I cannot enter recovery mode.
Device: Prestigio PMP3270B
Android: 4.0.3

All problems from busybox bad installation path..
Solution from here http://tabletrepublic.com/forum/teclast-a10t/factory-reset-after-every-restart-shutdown-1533-2.html
If device isn't root you should root it .Used Unlock Root and Tasselhof Market.
Also downloaded & copied Root Explorer to microSD.
Install and run it.
Go to /system/xbin and find busybox.
Move it to /system/bin
reboot & profit
All download links are on that forum


text:
Can I backup my HTC Desire to my laptop without a USB cable?
I want to backup my HTC Desire, but I don't have the USB cable handy for a while. Any Ideas?

A few more details (Android version, is the device rooted) might be helpful for more precise answers.

You can backup to your SD card, then use a card reader, the take out the SD card and physically copy the data to your computer. Backing up to the cloud via Drobox is another option.
There are number of apps that will help you with this. This describes a way to manage this: http://www.addictivetips.com/android/clickfree-for-android-backup-all-data-to-sd-card-or-dropbox-cloud/

Full backup
If your device is equipped with Android 4.0, and you've got the SDK installed on your computer, you might want to take a look at Full Backup of non-rooted devices (for how to do a full backup using ADB), plus adbWireless, WiFi ADB, ADB WiFi, and similar apps (which allow you to connect your device to your computer via ADB without the need of an USB cable). I didn't check all of them, at least some of these apps require root. But you didn't give enough information to figure out whether that's an issue.
Partial backup
If you don't care about a full backup, there are several other apps available on the playstore featuring, amongst others, some kind of backup, and connect via WiFi. Most of them only backup your .apk files -- but some also offer several sets of data. On of those is AirDroid (offers e.g. to backup your apps), then there's Webkey (which requires root, but then e.g. offers to backup your contacts and call logs). There are a lot more options available, and I cannot list them all.
Other means
Then there's always the possibility to have some server app running on your Android device, and trigger actions directly on the device. If your computer runs Linux, you might be a bit familiar with SSH: Search the Playstore for sshd, and you find a bunch of server apps. Running one of those on your device, you can connect remotely via SSH, and directly execute commands from the command line (of course you need to find out which ones are suitable to you -- which very much depends on what you want to back up). Again, root on the device will prove very useful here. Setting up some other file server (e.g. FTP -- search the playstore for ftpd to get a list of possible apps), you can access the backup files for transfer to your computer.
Last word
You asked for Any ideas -- so there are some. No complete explanation, as that would get a bit long to do for all listed possibilities. But if you decided for one of them, and need more details: Simply ask a more specific question then ;)
P.S.: If that all sounds to complicated "for a while", simply go to the next store and buy some USB cable, they are usually not that expensive. This also is an idea to consider ;)


text:
Bluetooth PAN issue
I have to setup the bluetooth PAN on my development board. On my device most of the functions working fine -- but PAN is having problem.
I am tring to set up Static IP for my board , which will be a client. My master is set up on the Ubuntu 12.04 PC.
I can make the connection via pand:
pand -c <bt address of the ubuntu PC>

[my master is working in GM mode]
To bring up the bnep interface below are my commands:
netcfg bnep0 up
ifconfig bnep0 172.22.22.10 netmask 255.255.255.0

but still I can not ping the master and client from master.
Do i need to do any other setting?
Thanks
Robin


text:
Best way to update to latest versions of custom ROMs?
What is the easiest and most time effective way to update to different builds of a custom ROM ?
Say for example, having an Infuse, I follow the builds of Cyanaogenmod 10 and they release updates every week or so. What I usually do is to use Titanium back up pro to backup my apps, flash ROM and do a restore. (which of course takes a lot of time)
Is there a better way to do this that I'm not aware of ? Does updating to a latest version need to have the same steps as flashing a new ROM entirely ?

Custom ROMs have no common mechanism for updates, akin to Linux distros.

If you upgrade your CM10 to a newer build of CM10 you can just flash it right over the existing one, and you are ready. There is no need to backup all of your apps.
The newest builds of CyanogenMod have an updating system build-in however so you don't have to do it all by yourself. It is under System Settings - About Phone. It still downloads the complete zip of the newer build but handles the updating by itself.
There is, however, a new method to update your CyanogenMod. CyanDelta is an app that calculates the difference between your build and the newest build and will only download and update this difference.

Just updated using CyanDelta instead of the CM build-in updater. I have it set that it checks for updates weekly. It will only need to download a couple of MBs for an update instead of the full package. So if you're staying with the same ROM (CM9/CM10), this is the fastest way to update.

@RichardBorcsik See here: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/25859/why-do-i-need-to-wipe-dalvik-cache

@RichardBorcsik Seemed I looked over the fact that you asked that question, sorry about that. And I read the answer wrong. Clearing the dalvik cache is, indeed, not necessary. Edited that out of the answer.

What I normally do with my test devices is have ROM Manager installed, which comes with an option to check and upgrade your custom firmware. Just go in there and select "Check for ROM Updates" (you must be using the paid version).
The beauty about using ROM Manager is the fact that you can also install other custom ROMs on your phone straight from it, as it will find the latest versions of various well known ROMs and offer you to download straight from the device.

Once it's downloaded the firmware (be it an update or a different version), you can simply chose install from zip, and it will boot up and allow you to install it.
Quite easy and safe to do, since it does all the work for you, and stops you from messing something up.


text:
Expand file sysem to entire sd card
I followed very simple instructions
http://liliputing.com/2012/03/how-to-dual-boot-cyanogenmod-7-nook-tablet-os-with-a-microsd-card.html1
for extracting cyanogenmod to an sd card for dual booting on nook.  Works great.  As instructions indicate, file system is only 4gb, even though I used a 16gb sd card.  I've googled all over the place to figure out how to expand the file system to use all avaliable storage.
My laptop is on windows.  the windows disk manager doesnt seem to know how to expand the partitions on the drive (or create a new one on unpartitioned space)
do i need to be running 'nix to manage the file system?
Is there an app on the marketplace that will manage the filesystem?
Apologies if this is a duplicate question, I did a pretty good search before posting.

You'll want Linux to manage EXT partitions for sure (although there ARE Windows tools, they're not native) but I don't know the process to do what you want offhand.

I've never worked on anything droid before, but why shouldn't there be an app that manages sd partitions?  Isn't there a full linux kernel behind droid?

Not really, Android is certainly related to Linux but a lot of things are different.  If you can find a native executable to partition the SD card that would be cool.


text:
Protecting or Limiting my account's power
I have linked a great deal of power to my phone. It is connected to my gmail to such an extent that I am starting to get concerned that if somebody where to steal my phone they could reek havok on my life. Is there a way to limit my phone's account power with Google, and other companies.
Example:
On my phone I can add, modify, and delete accounts. That is fine and dandy but I would be devastated if somebody deleted all my contacts and all my mail. Can I limit the accounts ability to delete stuff?

As far as I know there is no way that you can limit the ability of the phone to edit content.  That said there are many steps you can take to ensure that somebody won't be able to get to the stage where they can delete your content and dealing with it if it happens:

setup a pin number on your sim
setup a lock screen on your phone
install an application like SeekDroid and give it admin access so that you can remote wipe your phone if you lose it
install two factor authentication on all accounts which support it (Google, Dropbox, Facebook certainly do atm.  Others may)
make regular backups of anything you would be lost without, and store those backups in the cloud or in multiple places
don't use the same password more than once.  I use LastPass to ensure that all my passwords are all over 20 random characters.

You should really follow all of these steps - it adds a bit of overhead to some tasks, but I certainly favour the security over the convenience.

Quick question on Lastpass. The problem I would have storing some sort of password manager on my phone would mean that these passwords are "available" for whomever is tech savvy enough to by pass any locked screen or similar features. (For example if I have a keypass file on my phone, technically he has an unlimited intimate time to try to crack that file, and if successful then I'm in deep.) If you use lastpass on your phone don't you risk an even greater problem in the future regardless of multifactor authentication?

Yes - but I have a feeling that it will be a lot harder to crack the 256-bit AES encryption Lastpass uses than to brute force whatever your password is.

That is an issue for the cloud service providers (Google, DropBox, Facebook, etc. etc.).

Suggestion:
If they have so much storage, then only an elevated login should be able to permanently delete / re-password, etc.

Final Thought:
However, there is just as much havoc in all your information being disclosed (copied, publicly released), as in it being deleted.

How is it an answer?

I don't believe the problem (and therefore solution) in on the Android device.  IMHO it is the service provider who should be addressing this.

You should consider editing your post. You don't provide enough context for me to understand what you are even talking about without having to read the comments. These are just one line sentences on your thoughts but it's like you had the whole thought process in your head, and then put the last sentence of the whole thought down. I have a tenancy to do that too sometimes. And then as a reply to your thoughts: In so much as Richard points out, since most some providers don't offer such a feature, it is then left up to the user to take precautions. However unfortunate that may be.


text:
galaxy s2 wifi problem after updating to ice cream sandwich
hi guys i have samsung galaxy s2 and it was working very well before upgrade to ice cream sandwich i didnt face any trouble in upgrading and it upgrade well
but i faced a problem with wifi connection after upgrading ...
and the only solution i had is to reset the router...the problem that i search for this problem in the internet and i found this problem happened to others but i didnt found solution to that
problem details:
it connect normally and tell me that the device connected to the network but there is no internet and when i try to use the wifi to transfer data it says wifi not connected but when you go to the wifi settings it says connected!!
i dont reach access and i dont get IP address when i go to advanced settings said IP unavailable when i reset the router it take an IP the router has no problem on the other devices
so i need a permanent solution does not include factory reset if possible

What is the problem, can please you explain? Like what happens when you are trying to connect to WiFi?

it connect normally and tell me that the device connected to the network but there is no internet and when i try to use the wifi to transfer data it says wifi not connected but when you go to the wifi settings it says connected!!

i dont reach access and i dont get IP address when i go to advanced settings said IP unavailable when i reset the router it take an IP the router has no problem on the other devices

Please edit as many details as possible into the question.

I think it is kind of a caching ip address error. If you have been connected before the phone does not try to obtain an IP address because the one it got before is still assigned by the network.
What usually works for me is to connect to another network. I have plenty of open networks around where I live. This will make the phone to obtain a new ip address for the new network and delete the old one.
Now simply connect to your network again and the phone will try to obtain a new ip address and will actually communicate with the dhcp.
Worked for my galaxy s2. Hope it will help you too.

I don't own a Galaxy S2. However, I can tell you some steps that you can try. So let me know how it helps. It will be like trial and error. Please tell me what happens when you try this, I will accordingly update the answer.
So first things first, I think it is a problem related to getting IP address. So first, try changing IP address manually. Here's a YouTube video that will guide you in doing this. (Not my video)
Try it and see how it helps.

ok thanks for your help but i tried this way and it didnt work but i searched in the internet and i found way says : goto settings>applications>all>software update ..clear data and restart the device and it works without troubles until now and i dont know if this way!! work

Ok. That's cool! I would request you to add your solution as an answer, that may help anyone who has a similar problem. Thanks!

Thanks a lot.  This fixed it for me too.  Goto: Settings --> Applications --> All --> Software Update. Clear all the data and restart the device, this should work without trouble.


text:
Where have the megabytes from my downloaded game gone to?
I downloaded heros call game, about 130 MB. All is fine -- but I can't find the 130 MB anywhere on my phone, just about 300 KB.
Where have all the megabytes I downloaded gone to? Probably something obvious, but it's driving me mad!

You could use DiskUsage to find your files. This app shows you a graph of folders and how much space they are using on your SD Card. It is designed to help you clean out folders that get large, so it would be perfect for your case.

One of my favorite apps and, while I still had my Droid, a "must-have".

Downloaded data for games, mostly are saved in SD-CARD/Android/data under a folder with a name matching to package name of the game. Albeit, it may differ across developers. For example, Gameloft games data are saved in SD-CARD/gameloft. So, you can check those folders with a file explorer app or when your sd card is mounted on pc.

Usually Games are downloaded to the SD card, so check there, for example using a File Manager app.


text:
USB debugging - No device found after chrome update
After attempting to begin remote(usb) debugging I finally had my phone recognised via the chrome/inspect page. At which point I was told I must update to chrome 39.0 Beta to access debugging.
After doing so the phone is no longer recognised.
Xperia Z(C6603)- Android 4.4. - Chrome was on 38. Has been updated to 39.0.2171.62 (Official Build) beta-m
I'm new to all this so any help/suggestions would be amazing!
Thanks!
I have since uninstalled chrome to remove the beta and re downloaded with Version 39.0.2171.65 m and still no devices found.

I'm having the same problem. Debugging has worked flawlessly untill I updated to 39 om both my Nexus 7 and my desktop computer :(

I had the same issue. Got it working again using Chrome Canary:
https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/canary.html
Imho it's the DEV-Release - more Beta than Beta but finally i can debug my Xperia Z again.


text:
Ordered i9300 from eBay - need help to understand what's going on
I've ordered a new, unlocked i9300 from eBay, and I had some adventures with it:

I've unpacked it, inserted my SIM, powered it on, and found out that the phone always thinks that I'm roaming. Instead of trying to understand what's going on, I though: "I'll just install CyanogenMod and everything will be good".
I've installed CyanogenMod 10.2 (latest stable build), only to find out that my SIM is not being detected at all. It says that Baseband is unknown, IMEI and related are unknown as well.
After trying lots of stuff, I gave up and decided to return to stock ROM (4.3). While trying to do that, I bricked my phone, and the only thing I could do is enter Odin mode.
After reading dozens of tutorials and trying lots of stuff, I ended up flushing GT-I9300_mx_20120329.pit, and that unbricked my phone.
I successfully flashed Android 4.3. This version detected my SIM, displayed the Baseband/IMEI, but it didn't connect to the cellular network. I could scan for available networks, but when I chose my network manually, it said "Selected network not available ".
I tried to flush alternative modems, but all it did is making things worse. Usually it made the phone behave like with CyanogenMod, i.e. Baseband/IMEI are unknown.
Again, after trying lots of stuff, I tried to flush Android 4.1.2. That made no change until I've stumbled on this thread. Flushing Patched_Modem_I9300XXEMG4.zip made my networking work again, and restored it to behave exactly like it did initially. Again, the phone thinks that I'm roaming all the time, but at least it works.

So currently, I have two issues:

My phone always thinks I'm roaming. Is there a fix for it?
And more important: currently, I cannot install anything other than Android 4.1.2!

Could you please shed some light on the situation? What happens with my phone? Why does it think I'm roaming? Why does the SIM work only with Patched_Modem_I9300XXEMG4? How can I make other ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod) work?
Thanks, any help is much appreciated!

It sounds like your phone is blocked. You should try to return it if possible. If the IMEI is missing then it is very likely there is a serious problem with the radio or that it is simply blocked. You can't fix this by flashing a different ROM.


text:
How can I launch a system app that doesn't appear in the app drawer?
Just for context, I have an unrooted OnePlus 6. There's a system app called "Zen Mode" (not in the play store) that gives you notifications when you use your phone for 2 hours. I tapped on the notification, it opened the app, and there was a button to disable the notification, and I disabled it. But now it's not going to give me notifications anymore, so I don't have a way to open the app, so I cannot change those settings?

I'm using NovaLauncher, and I've verified it is not just set to "hidden" in my launcher. It just won't appear in the launcher whatsoever.
I can still view the app details in settings, but there is no "launch" button or similar.
Looking on the app details page, it looks like this app doesn't support being opened by any links, so I can't take advantage of that by typing a URL into the web browser for example.
I found a similar question here: How can I run an installed system application that doesn't appear in the app list?
however the answers on that post suggest using an "am" command that isn't working for me (error is "adb: usage: unknown command am")
and the other answer suggests the app is disabled, but in my case it isn't disabled (and in fact, the "disable" button in the settings is grayed out, unclickable.)

Regarding am command, you need to call shell first, like adb shell am <parameter> or adb shell to enter shell mode, then call am <parameter> afterward.

Ahh thank you for that. I got that method working as well, by typing:
adb shell "am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.oneplus.brickmode/.activity.MainActivity

Since you have Nova Launcher installed, try adding an Activities widget and flip through the available activities list to see if one of the activities is what you're looking for.

Thanks Andy! That widget worked. Once I opened the app, I found a feedback button, so I sent OnePlus an email about this issue.


text:
msm_otg kernel wakelock preventing deep sleep
Ever since upgrading my stock Sprint Galaxy S3 to the official Jelly Bean release, my phone won't go in deep sleep at all, it's constantly at 384MHz.  It's because of msm_otg kernel wakelock.  Anyone have any idea how to disable that?
===================
General Information
===================
BetterBatteryStats version: 1.11.0.0
Creation Date: 2012-10-29 14:02:58
Statistic Type: (3) Since Unplugged
Since 2 h 10 m 50 s
VERSION.RELEASE: 4.1.1
BRAND: samsung
DEVICE: d2spr
MANUFACTURER: samsung
MODEL: SPH-L710
OS.VERSION: 3.0.31-329968
BOOTLOADER: L710VPBLJ7
HARDWARE: qcom
FINGERPRINT: samsung/d2spr/d2spr:4.1.1/JRO03L/L710VPBLJ7:user/release-keys
ID: JRO03L
TAGS: release-keys
USER: se.infra
PRODUCT: d2spr
RADIO: L710VPBLJ7
Rooted: false
============
Battery Info
============
Level lost [%]: 19 Bat.: 19% (74% to 55%) [8.7%/h]
Voltage lost [mV]: 259 (4036-3777)
===========
Other Usage
===========
Awake (): 2 h 10 m 49 s  (7849 s) Ratio: 100.0%
Wifi On (): 2 h 10 m 50 s  (7850 s) Ratio: 100.0%
Wifi Running (): 2 h 10 m 50 s  (7850 s) Ratio: 100.0%
Bluetooth On (): 2 h 10 m 50 s  (7850 s) Ratio: 100.0%
No Data Connection (): 1 h 28 m 40 s  (5320 s) Ratio: 67.8%
No or Unknown Signal (): 1 h 28 m 40 s  (5320 s) Ratio: 67.8%
Screen On (): 16 m 13 s  (973 s) Ratio: 12.4%
Deep Sleep ():  (0 s) Ratio: 0.0%
=========
Wakelocks
=========
NetworkLocationLocator (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 6 m 15 s  (375 s) Count:339 4.8%
SignalCollector.ScannerThread (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 3 m 19 s  (199 s) Count:63 2.5%
AlarmReceiver (com.sec.android.app.clockpackage.Clock): 39 s  (39 s) Count:14 0.5%
AlarmManager (in.vineetsirohi.customwidget.Ultimate custom widget (UCCW)): 34 s  (34 s) Count:28 0.4%
AlarmManager (Android System): 29 s  (29 s) Count:278 0.4%
LocationReceiverService (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 17 s  (17 s) Count:857 0.2%
EntriesRefresh_wakelock (com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.Google Search): 17 s  (17 s) Count:16 0.2%
*sync*_gmail-ls (com.google.android.gm.Gmail): 16 s  (16 s) Count:12 0.2%
CheckinsNotificationService (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 12 s  (12 s) Count:685 0.2%
ActivityManager-Launch (Android System): 12 s  (12 s) Count:51 0.2%
AlarmManager (com.espn.score_center.ScoreCenter): 9 s  (9 s) Count:135 0.1%
AlarmManager (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 8 s  (8 s) Count:1701 0.1%
*sync*_com.google.android.apps.plus.content.EsProvider (com.google.android.apps.plus.Google+): 7 s  (7 s) Count:1 0.1%
GmailProviderProviderChangedBroadcastWakeLock (com.google.android.gm.Gmail): 7 s  (7 s) Count:4 0.1%
*sync*_com.android.calendar (Calendar): 7 s  (7 s) Count:11 0.1%
FaceDetectionService (Android System): 6 s  (6 s) Count:144 0.1%
GTALK_ASYNC_CONN_com.google.android.gsf.gtalkservice.AndroidEndpoint (Google Services): 6 s  (6 s) Count:43 0.0%
AsyncCollectorListener (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 6 s  (6 s) Count:1089 0.1%
sleep_broadcast (Android System): 5 s  (5 s) Count:85 0.1%
*sync*_com.google.android.apps.docs (com.google.android.apps.docs.Drive): 5 s  (5 s) Count:6 0.0%
ConnectivityService (Android System): 5 s  (5 s) Count:146 0.0%
DocsSyncAdapter (com.google.android.apps.docs.Drive): 5 s  (5 s) Count:2 0.0%
PhoneWindowManager.mBroadcastWakeLock (Android System): 4 s  (4 s) Count:60 0.1%
NetworkLocationCallbackRunner (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 4 s  (4 s) Count:546 0.1%
NetworkLocationPassiveCollector (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 4 s  (4 s) Count:551 0.1%
LocationReportingService (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 4 s  (4 s) Count:1704 0.1%
NLP PendingIntent client in com.google.android.apps.maps (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 4 s  (4 s) Count:1224 0.1%
AlarmManager (com.levelup.beautifulwidgets.Beautiful Widgets): 4 s  (4 s) Count:131 0.1%
*sync*_com.android.contacts (Google Services): 3 s  (3 s) Count:4 0.0%
BackgroundRequestService (com.facebook.katana.Facebook): 3 s  (3 s) Count:29 0.0%
NLP PendingIntent client in com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 3 s  (3 s) Count:166 0.0%
*sync*_com.sec.android.gallery3d.picasa.contentprovider (com.sec.android.gallery3d.Gallery): 2 s  (2 s) Count:2 0.0%
net.comcast.ottclient.common.sync.WakefulIntentService (net.comcast.ottclient.XFINITY Connect): 2 s  (2 s) Count:6 0.0%
RILJ (Phone): 2 s  (2 s) Count:70 0.0%
AlarmManager (com.android.providers.calendar.Calendar storage): 2 s  (2 s) Count:26 0.0%
AlarmManager (flipboard.app.Flipboard): 2 s  (2 s) Count:3 0.0%
*sync*_com.google.android.music.MusicContent (com.google.android.music.Google Play Music): 2 s  (2 s) Count:6 0.0%
NetworkStats (Android System): 2 s  (2 s) Count:43 0.0%
ScheduleNextAlarmWakeLock (com.android.providers.calendar.Calendar storage): 2 s  (2 s) Count:30 0.0%
*sync*_com.android.browser (Google Services): 1 s  (1 s) Count:80 0.0%
SyncLoopWakeLock (Android System): 1 s  (1 s) Count:377 0.0%
show keyguard (Android System): 1 s  (1 s) Count:9 0.0%
AudioOut_15 (1013): 1 s  (1 s) Count:5 0.0%
MQTT (com.facebook.katana.Facebook): 1 s  (1 s) Count:25 0.0%
GTALK_CONN (Google Services): 1 s  (1 s) Count:181 0.0%
*sync*_subscribedfeeds (Google Services): 1 s  (1 s) Count:109 0.0%
NfcAdapterManagerImpl (com.google.android.apps.walletnfcrel.Wallet): 1 s  (1 s) Count:10 0.0%
AlarmManager (com.birdstep.android.cm.Sprint Connections Optimizer): 1 s  (1 s) Count:3 0.0%
Event Log Service (Google Services): 1 s  (1 s) Count:107 0.0%
AlarmManager (Google Services): 1 s  (1 s) Count:216 0.0%
NLP ActivityPendingIntent client in com.google.android.apps.maps (com.google.android.apps.maps.Maps): 1 s  (1 s) Count:205 0.0%
AudioOut_3 (1013): 1 s  (1 s) Count:6 0.0%
AudioOut_2 (1013): 1 s  (1 s) Count:7 0.0%
reset keyguard (Android System): 1 s  (1 s) Count:131 0.0%
AlarmManager (org.fueledinc.jackthreads.android.JackThreads): 1 s  (1 s) Count:24 0.0%
AlarmManager (com.facebook.katana.Facebook): 1 s  (1 s) Count:47 0.0%
================
Kernel Wakelocks
================
"msm_otg" (): 1 h 54 m 31 s  (6871 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 87.1%
"wlan_rx_wake" (): 25 m 11 s  (1511 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1393/0/1393 19.2%
"PowerManagerService" (): 13 m 25 s  (805 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1128/0/0 10.2%
"wlan_ctrl_wake" (): 8 m 17 s  (497 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)236/0/236 6.3%
"bam_dmux_wakelock" (): 4 m 4 s  (244 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)336/0/168 1.8%
"sec-battery-monitor" (): 1 m 45 s  (105 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)233/0/0 1.3%
"smdcntl0" (): 1 m 32 s  (92 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1795/0/85 1.2%
"wlan_wake" (): 1 m 18 s  (78 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)35988/1/0 1.0%
"BTLowPower" (): 39 s  (39 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)16/0/16 0.5%
"msm_serial_hs_dma" (): 30 s  (30 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)16/0/0 0.4%
"radio-interface" (): 19 s  (19 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)40/0/0 0.2%
"alarm" (): 12 s  (12 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1076/0/0 0.2%
"smdcntl1" (): 11 s  (11 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)12/0/6 0.2%
"msm_serial_hs_rx" (): 10 s  (10 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)37/0/37 0.1%
"vib_present" (): 7 s  (7 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)16/0/0 0.1%
"rmt_storage_1093353344" (): 3 s  (3 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)10/0/0 0.0%
"rmt_storage_1093353168" (): 3 s  (3 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)10/0/0 0.0%
"power-supply" (): 1 s  (1 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)233/0/0 0.0%
"sec-battery-measure" (): 1 s  (1 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)262/0/0 0.0%
"alarm_rtc" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)15/0/1 0.0%
"pm8xxx_adc_wakelock" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)262/0/0 0.0%
"mmc1_detect" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)2/0/2 0.0%
"mmc0_detect" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)2/0/2 0.0%
"qcril" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)865/0/0 0.0%
"KeyEvents" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)4189/0/0 0.0%
"ApmCommand" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)58/0/0 0.0%
"qmuxd_port_wl_0" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1742/0/0 0.0%
"event7-734" (system, com.sec.android.app.gamehub, com.android.providers.security, com.google.android.backup, com.android.providers.settings):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)35/0/0 0.0%
"event0-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"event4-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"event1-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"event13-734" (system, com.microsoft.onx.app):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)57/0/0 0.0%
"event5-734" (system, com.asksven.betterbatterystats):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)11/0/0 0.0%
"event11-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"event10-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"event9-734" (system, com.android.server.vpn.enterprise):  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)1/0/0 0.0%
"qmuxd_port_wl_1" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)6/0/0 0.0%
"msm_ipc_read" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)20/0/0 0.0%
"msm_ipc_router_smd_xprt" ():  (0 s) Cnt:(c/wc/ec)41/0/0 0.0%
======================
Alarms (requires root)
======================
======================
Network (requires root)
======================
==========
CPU States
==========
384 MHz (): 1 h 43 m 3 s  78.4%
486 MHz (): 3 m 46 s  2.9%
594 MHz (): 1 m 53 s  1.4%
702 MHz (): 2 m 8 s  1.6%
810 MHz (): 2 m 40 s  2.0%
918 MHz (): 3 m 59 s  3.0%
1.03 GHz (): 2 m 3 s  1.6%
1.13 GHz (): 1 m 39 s  1.3%
1.24 GHz (): 1 m 20 s  1.0%
1.35 GHz (): 31 s  0.4%
1.46 GHz (): 24 s  0.3%
1.51 GHz (): 7 m 53 s  6.0%
Deep Sleep ():  0.0%
==================
Reference overview
==================
Custom: Reference custom_ref created 0 s (Wl: null; KWl: null; NetS: null; Alrm: null; Proc: null; Oth: null; CPU: null)
Since charged: Reference since_charged_ref created 0 s (Wl: null; KWl: null; NetS: null; Alrm: null; Proc: null; Oth: null; CPU: null)
Since screen off: Reference since_screen_off created 0 s (Wl: null; KWl: null; NetS: null; Alrm: null; Proc: null; Oth: null; CPU: null)
Since unplugged: Reference since_unplugged_ref created 1 h 35 m 58 s  (Wl: 43 elements; KWl: 27elements; NetS: null; Alrm: null; Proc: 12 elements; Oth: 7 elements; CPU: 13 elements)
Since boot: Reference since_boot created 59 s  (Wl: 11 elements; KWl: 0elements; NetS: null; Alrm: null; Proc: 1 elements; Oth: 6 elements; CPU: 13 elements)

Whoa. Where do you get so much info from ?

@rjt.rockx this was a really long time ago, but it was from an app called BetterBatteryStats.  It still exists and is highly rated, but I don't know what it's capabilities are any more, and I don't know if something better exists now.

I started having major battery drain after updating some apps recently. Betterbatterystats showed this same msm_otg as what was preventing sleep.
Uninstalling Google+ updates, and stopping Picasa sync fixed it. I didn't have a Picasa album showing in my gallery as the link indicates, but I am 100% that the G+ and Picasa connection was the culprit.
The steps listed in the link are:

Open Settings, scroll down and tap Application Manager Tap All
Select Google+ Tap Uninstall Updates
Return to home screen by pressing middle button
Find Google+ in apps menu and open it
Follow setup steps, when prompted about Auto Uploads choose to turn
them off
Close Google+ Open Settings, scroll down and tap Accounts and Sync
Select your Google account
Untick these options if available: Sync Google+, Sync Google Photos,
Sync Picasa Web Albums
Tap Sync now at the bottom
Tap Back arrow twice to return to main settings screen
Open Application Manager Tap All Scroll down and tap Gallery
Tap Clear Data
Return to home screen by pressing middle button
Open Gallery app, you should now find that the Picasa albums are
gone!

This otg bug comes when phone is plugged into a computer in mass transfer mode . not sure if happens if you improperly disconnect the device . but that is the problem .
You can reboot to make sure its not running in background and sucking up battery.

In my case it was easy.
I've tried everything.
Service need to change the resistance behind the power socket on the motherboard.
And now I don't have to reboot all the time. The battery can go into deep sleep.


text:
I keep getting storage errors but I have plenty of free space, what is safe to remove from internal storage?
I keep getting these errors:

Screenshot #1: install errors (click image to enlarge)
But according to the storage settings I should have plenty of free space:

Screenshot #2: free space (click image to enlarge)
I'm assuming, from reading similar questions, that it needs more space to perform the install even though I've moved every app possible to the sd card. I have cleared the browser cache and went through and cleared the cache of every other app, bringing me up to ~15MB. I used Ti to integrate 2 updates into the ROM, and that freed up enough space to update Dropbox. I installed the DiskUsage app, and this is what it looks like:

Screenshot #3: disk usage (click image to enlarge)
Is there anything else that I can do about the 160+MiB of Data or 80+MiB of Applications? (I misunderstood how the app works, it looks like the data for Dialer Storage is 12.7MiB and Browser is 11.9MiB, what would I lose by deleting those?)
Update: Here's a screenshot from App2SD:

Screenshot #4: app2sd (click image to enlarge)
Update #2: here are screenshots showing the Browser app and its caches cleared:

Screenshot #5: browser cache: cleared, #6: settings: browser cache cleared (click images to enlarge)
Update #3: As a long term update, I think this is partially a permissions issue with apps that I've moved to the SD card. I can move an app at a time back to the phone, and the update will succeed and then I can move it back to SD. Is there some sort of recursive chmod I can run to allow it? Here's a snippet of the ddms log when updating an app:
01-29 10:50:18.420: I/PackageHelper(16890): Size of container 2 MB 400941 bytes
01-29 10:50:18.428: D/VoldCmdListener(1156): asec create smdl2tmp1 2 fat {} 10096
01-29 10:50:18.428: E/Vold(1156): ASEC file '/mnt/secure/asec/smdl2tmp1.asec' currently exists - destroy it first! (No such device or address)
01-29 10:50:18.428: W/Vold(1156): Returning OperationFailed - no handler for errno 98
01-29 10:50:18.436: E/PackageHelper(16890): Failed to create secure container smdl2tmp1
01-29 10:50:18.436: E/DefContainer(16890): Failed to create container smdl2tmp1
01-29 10:50:18.631: D/dalvikvm(1298): GC_EXPLICIT freed 15097 objects / 741152 bytes in 173ms
01-29 10:50:18.662: D/Finsky(16687): [25] 1.packageInstalled: Package install status for "null" is -18
01-29 10:50:18.694: D/Finsky(16687): [1] InstallerTask.cancelCleanup: Cancel running installation of jackpal.androidterm

Update #4: After going through a somewhat tedious process of partitioning the SD for Link2SD, then moving items to phone, and linking them to the new SD partition, the Google Play store was finally able to update the apps. I'm still really low on space though, I'll have to try clearing the browser data and the MMS messages again.

Do you already have App2SD installed?

@IMB I installed it and added a screenshot above, all apps that could be moved to SD, have been.

Available space
11.61 MB

You're correct that that's the problem.  The Market uses internal storage when installing apps (even if it's installing to the SD card) so you need to free up some internal storage.  IMB's suggestions are good for that.  I also recommend using Titanium Backup to incorporate system app updates into your ROM, which should free up some space by getting rid of the second version of any system apps (the original version is kept by default).  You ought to have more than 2 to integrate?

I had integrated a bunch before, but there were only 2 when I checked today.

If you already have APP2SD and it says there's no app to move then there's no more app to move. I get this problem also when my I update and install new apps. I assume you are not rooted so you have less options. The only things you can do are:

Clear cache (install cache cleaner app)
Clear data of non-critical apps like Browser, Games, etc. (Manage Applications > Select Application > Clear Data)
Uninstall apps you rarely use, install them only when needed (e.g., I rarely Skype on my phone so I just uninstalled it)
Try a hack which will extend/squeeze the capability of APP2SD: http://www.bongizmo.com/blog/moving-all-android-apps-to-sdcard-apps2sd-froyo/ (this works well if you are rooted, if not there's still a few apps it can move).

The first three bullet points have all been done, I'll look into that App2SD hack, thanks.

I went through those steps and there were no more apps that could be moved. The top 2 apps when sorting by size are still Dialer Storage and Browser (as indicated in the question above).

What is the "Browser" app? Is that the default Internet Browser? If it is, are you sure you already cleared data for it? 11+MB is too big for the default browser.

It's the default internet browser app. I cleared the cache in 2 places (see new screenshots above). I have no idea why its data would be that large since I only have about 8 bookmarks (excluding the apparently undeleteable AT&T bookmark).

You need to click "Clear Data"

What will I lose by clicking "Clear Data" I'm fine with adding the few bookmarks back if they get lost, but what about things like cookies, saved passwords, history?

@travis You would lose those.

@MatthewRead Ugh, I was afraid of that, what about the "Dialer Storage", what would I lose by clearing that data?

I believe Dialer Storage is where your SMS is at

Ah, I'll go through my SMS messages and clear those out, maybe that will do the trick.

I assume you haven't rooted?
If you have, SD Maid is a great app to clean up system partition.

I tried that at one point and it wasn't able to free up any more. I'll give it a second chance though, thanks.

Of course, I currently don't have enough free space to install it, ha!

You can clear your dalvik, either through recovery or straight from Titanium. Through Titanium, it will tell you what needs to be removed and how much space it will clear.


text:
How to troubleshoot a lockup/freeze
I have a GNex running on CN(A) 3.8. It has started to lockup/freeze when the screen is off. So far it occurs mostly overnight while it's charging. I have to pull the battery to resolve. I believe it started a couple of ROM updates ago. I have not gone through the step of doing a factory wipe (but have cleared the cache/Dalvik), etc, but I was wondering what tools does Android have to troubleshoot freezes, etc.
Is there a system log, etc that I can look at to see if there's a pattern of what is occurring at the time of freeze?

There are apps that let you look at the system log, like CatLog.
What I would do is start logging before you charge it at night and then take a look at the result in the morning. The log will probably be staggering but the errors should show up in red.

Thanks. I've switched ROMs (CM10) and that seems to have resolved the issue, but I've downloaded the recommended app in case I want to dig into any future issues.

Just remember to do a full wipe between flashing ROMs. This includes Dalvik Cache which is under advanced options in the Clockwork Mod recovery screen. If you do a full wipe between ROMs and you still have errors make sure the ROM is for your exact phone model and service provider. Have fun! PS I'm also running CM10 on my GS3 and no problems yet!


text:
How do I get the Android Kindle/nook apps to recognize .MOBI/.EPUB files on my SD card?
I prefer to manage my ebook files manually, so I'm having trouble getting the Android Kindle and nook apps to locate the .MOBI and .EPUB files that I put on my SD card.
Is there any sort of Browse feature in these apps for locating custom ebook files?
For the moment, I'm getting around this issue by using Calibre/FBReader, but I'd rather use plain drag & drop and the official Kindle/nook apps if possible.

Do you want the Kindle (or Nook) app. to look at the correct location, by modifying the app. setup? (path to external is device/model specific)  OR, an app. to move the files from the (external) micro-SD to default path (in internal flash) for each app.?

I'd prefer to drag & drop ebook files onto a single directory that all my ereaders see, but they each use a different autorecognition directory, instead of, for example, /mnt/sdcard/Download.

Why two different ebook filetypes?  If they are DRM controlled, then you can only view them under the correct viewer.  If not, you should just use Calibre (on Windows, Ubuntu, etc.) to convert ALL to your preferred e-book filetype.

@david6 Calibre is bloody awesome. I guess you would have to assume that to some strange user, maintaining their original file's current formats and pathnames are more important than say, convenience.

Still puzzled, by what you are trying to solve ..

I wanted to find out where the various ereader apps looked for / stored ebooks on Android. Because most of the silly apps fail to include a manual filetree Browse feature.

Mirrored on gist.
Custom ebook files can be read on Android devices by employing a collection of software, detailed below.
Both Android and iOS devices can simply use iBooks or Stanza, and connect to Calibre.
A more manual method employes Astro for browsing Android files manually. For any ebook file format, if an appropriate app is installed, Astro will be able to open the ebook. See Wikipedia for a table of ereaders vs ebook file formats supported.
Secondary software will be required to actually get the ebook files onto the mobile device:
SugarSync
Dropbox
Each ereader app looks for books in a different directory. A good compromise is to store all ebooks in /mnt/sdcard/Books, organizing ebooks at will through folder hierarchies, and using Astro to navigate to and open individual ebooks.
FBReader

Autorecognition: /mnt/sdcard/Books
Custom browsing: FBReader library -> File tree

Kindle

Autorecognition: /mnt/sdcard/Kindle

nook

Autorecognition: /mnt/sdcard/Nook/MyDocuments

Adobe Reader

Autorecognition: /mnt/sdcard/Download/Adobe Reader
Custom browsing: Documents -> All PDFs -> Folder View

On my Samsung Galaxy S5 running v5.0 (Lollipop), the Kindle app refuses to read books you drop into the SD card. There is a folder in the internal memory named "Books" which both the Kindle app and Nook app will read from (including PDFs).


text:
Specifying SD card mount options upon boot
I have an Archos 101IT with a 16G external SD card. The SD card contains one partition that is formatted as an ext3 file system. The Archos runs UrukDroid 1.6.4 (Froyo 2.2).
The Problem: When booted, the SD card is mounted with the following mount options:
/dev/block/vold/179:17 on /mnt/storage/sdcard type ext3
(rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,nodiratime,fmode=0666,dmode=0666,errors=continue,data=ordered)

The fmode and dmode options make it impossible to use file permissions, in particular it is not possible to make files read-only. This is needed by the Titanium Backup tool to protect backups from being overwritten.
I can change the mount options with a remount:
# mount /mnt/storage/sdcard -o remount,fmode=0,dmode=0

The Question: How can I have the SD card mounted with the right mount options upon boot?

Urukdroid has a special script, /system/bin/mount_sdcard.sh, that mounts the SD card upon boot. This script understands (V)FAT and EXT4. Anything else is left to the vold automounter. Archos modded vold so it could do a bit more than stock A 2.1 vold, e.g., mount EXT3 file systems.
I upgraded the file system on the SD card to EXT4, and now mount_sdcard.sh mounts the SD card upon boot with the correct mount options.
Thanks to $aur0n for helping me solve this.
Upgrading an EXT2 or EXT3 file system to EXT4 is easy, see https://ext4.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/Ext4_Howto#Converting_an_ext3_filesystem_to_ext4 .

Glad you manged to fix it +1 :)

See if this helps: What's the Android equivalent of /etc/fstab?
From that answer:

All startup system mounting is done with the /etc/vold.fstab helper
  script.

You can go edit that script and modify the mount with the options you want, so you can have it like that on boot.
#######################
## Regular device mount
##
## Format: dev_mount <label> <mount_point> <part> <sysfs_path1...>
## label        - Label for the volume
## mount_point  - Where the volume will be mounted
## part         - Partition # (1 based), or 'auto' for first usable partition.
## <sysfs_path> - List of sysfs paths to source devices
######################

Or you can replace dev_mount with mount.

Yes, this is known information. But /etc/vold.fstab does not have a (documented?) means to specify mount options. It may very well be impossible to obtain the correct mount at boot time (i.e., via /etc/fstab.old) but in that case I hope there's a way to automatically execute the remount command. I did put the remount in /etc/rc.local but that didn't work, apparently the SDcard has not yet been mounted when /etc/rc.local is run.

you mean dev_mount ?

did you try to replace dev_mount with your mount command ?

Do you mean that the 'dev_mount' line in /etc/vold.fstab is just a shell command, and that I can replace it by an arbitrary other command?

I guess so, I don't have an android device with me but I hope I am not wrong.

Sorry, but "I guess so" is not sufficient for a change that may brick the tablet...

@Sciurius Then see if this can help: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/6558/how-can-i-run-a-script-on-boot

Thanks for your ongoing patience and suggestions. Unfortunately, all init scripts are run long before the process (vold?) that mounts the SD card.

@Sciurius I am sorry I couldn't do much to help.

I appreciate your efforts.


text:
Linux ADB Driver for LG Viper (LG-LS840)
On most devices I've run across I can plug the device into a Linux machine and no additional drivers are needed in order for ADB to communicate with the device.
However on two LG devices from last year I am having trouble.

LG Viper (LG-LS840)
LG Optimus Elite (LG-LS969)

When I plug the devices in ADB does not list them when I run adb devices to get a list of connected devices. (I get an empty list)
I have ensured that USB Debugging is turned on for both devices. And I have at some point installed an LG driver which allows the ADB to work correctly from my Windows 7 PC. (Interestingly only the Viper works on my Windows PC, the Optimus Elite can't be found by the adb on windows either)
However I would really like to use ADB from a linux machine. I am far more concerned about getting the Viper working than the Optimus Elite, but a fix that worked for both would be ideal.
On the linux machine in question I can successfully use ADB to connect with every other device I've tested so I know that my environment is set up correctly.
I have tried creating various android.rules files under /etc/udev/rules.d/ but thus far nothing I've tried has had any effect. After creating 51-android.rules and filling in the appropriate vendor id (1004 for LG) I no longer need to use sudo adb to see the devices that do work, still nothing with the Viper though.
My question is: Do I need some sort of additional drivers in order to get ADB working correctly for the LG Viper (LG-LS840) on Linux, and if so where can I find said drivers? If not does anyone know if there is some setup step that I am missing that will allow this device to communicate with my Linux computer via ADB?
EDIT: I ran `lsusb' here are the relavent outputs:
Bus 001 Device 007: ID 1004:6312 LG Electronics, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 008: ID 1004:6317 LG Electronics, Inc.

The top line is a newer LG device that is working properly, the bottom line is the Viper device that can't communicate with adb.

The lsusb -v output for these devices is required to find out what happens here — seeing just VID:PID is not enough.

Normally, the quickest 'fix' to see what's going on is to try sudo adb devices (or sudo ./adb devices if you downloaded adb stand-alone.) If that works, then your permissions aren't right. Once the server starts you can use adb without sudo.
However since you said other phones work, my guess is that the LG phones attempt to auto-detect or auto-negotiate MTP / USB Mass Storage and don't like your Linux system (this is nothing new, vendors don't test this.)
There are no drivers for Linux for this (aside: I hope there never are.)
Check dmesg and lsusb output - it's possible they're doing something funny on the phone side with USB.
You may need to force any sort of auto-mounting or USB storage option to "charge only" which should make the phone behave.

I edited my question to include output from lsusb. I assume that the slight difference in ID is what is causing me trouble. I am not familiar with the lsusb tool. Is the vendor ID the entire string ('1004:6317') or is vendor ID only the part before the colon? ('1004') All of the devices in question default to 'Charge Only' so I think that is not my issue.

It looks like someone needs to add that ID to the list that counts as a phone. You should be able to do this yourself if you can recompile your kernel.

Actually adb under Linux accesses USB devices using libusb without any specific kernel driver. Also adb has a list of vendor IDs which it is allowed to use, but this does not explain the problem in question, because vendor IDs for both phones are the same. And in case of permission problems due to missing udev rules adb devices clearly shows “no permissions” in the list, so this is also not the cause of this problem.


text:
Names not shown on WhatsApp anymore; contact details suddenly gone
My phone is Samsung Galaxy Note 2. All of a sudden, halfway using WhatsApp, the names are not shown anymore. Instead, I can only see the number.
I went to my contact list and checked. Most of my contacts appeared to be shown in email addresses. And it's the same person's email address. I clicked in and found that the detail of these contacts is gone.
What happened to my phone and what should I do?

In Settings > Contacts > Show all contacts should be disabled which was the case for me but still had the same problem. So I enabled "Show all contacts" and exited WhatsApp. Launched WhatsApp again and disabled 'Show all contacts' and got the names back again instead of just phone numbers. Hope my experience helps.

Hmm, didn't work for me. I had to keep it checked. Odd. When I uncheck it, the contacts go back to showing numbers.

Just reboot your phone after checking "Show all contacts" in settings, it will work.


text:
Multiple "kworker" are hogging CPU. Possible virus?
I read that it is used on the computer.
It has been coming up on my Samsung Galaxy S2. It is on at least 3 times at once and up to 7 or 8 at once. They are called kworker/0:1 through kworker/0:4 and/or kworker/u:1 through kworker/u:4
Occasionally, it comes up as using about 80 % of the CPU. My phone also regularly crashes as of recently. Could kworker be the problem?
The virus I have also is kind of trojan-based and has popups when I restart my phone sometimes. Also, when my phone is asleep, and I turn it back on, it says kworker is using 100% of my CPU data.

kworker* is a kernel thread. You will find them on every modern Linux kernel.

Uhhhh, that is not a virus! Who told you that? :)
kworker is part of the Linux Kernel's scheduler in which it manages the processes running and switching to it a la multitasking.
That is normal behaviour of the kernel! It exists on the desktop linux also, see this example to illustrate:
ps -elf | grep kworker
1 S root         5     2  0  60 -20 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:00 [kworker/0:0H]
1 S root         6     2  0  80   0 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:23 [kworker/u:0]
1 S root         7     2  0  60 -20 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:00 [kworker/u:0H]
1 S root        16     2  0  80   0 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:16 [kworker/1:0]
1 S root        17     2  0  60 -20 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:00 [kworker/1:0H]
1 S root        22     2  0  60 -20 -     0 worker Jan31 ?        00:00:00 [kworker/2:0H]

The reason that it is "using about 80 % of the CPU" is that there's some apps running that are consuming a lot of CPU cycles.
All in all, nothing to worry about.

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

Even if it might only cover a part of your question: Don't let you scare by those "virus" marketing bluff. There is no such thing as a virus on Android, and hardly will be.

Sure some companies want to sell you their "anti virus product". But if you take a deeper look at what it really does (apart from the marketing buzzwords), none of them seems to really deal with viruses (how should they, if there are none?).
So what's the thing behind it?
Mixing of terms. Today far to many people taking "virus" as the "master-term" including all kinds of malware: virii themselves, trojans, and other evil doers. The Wikipedia article on the term "computer virus" starts right away with the most important fact:

A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another.

Ever heard of such a thing on Android? No, here the user has to explicitly install it, and agree to its requested permissions. So how should this spread itself? (Malicious gossip has it these terms apply to the Windows OS and most of its payed programs: they replicate and spread from computer to computer via file sharing...). So Wikipedia continues:

The term "virus" is also commonly, but erroneously, used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have a reproductive ability.

There you go: You don't have a virus.

Perfect! +1 from me, have been telling the OP that all along and OP insisted to a point in which OP started flaming me by name-calling (which was removed by mods). Thank you for that answer!

You're very welcome, @t0mm13b ! I've read all the comments above and I guess I added the right solution in my comment there, don't you think? ;)

;) Yep! Why you think I gave you +1, if I could I'd give you 5 +1's but... SE does not allow you to that!!! :)

Yeah, tnx @t0mm13b -- but I was actually cross-referencing to my comment on the question itself, at the end of your long "conversation". Which you meanwhile found :)


text:
Where can I see if a developer responded to my comment on the Google Play?
It appears that Google is allowing some developers to respond to Google Play application comments.
Here is a blog post explaining the feature.
Let's assume I posted a comment on an app and the developer responded to me.
How does it look like ? How can I acknowledge the fact that he responded ?
Do I get a notification ? An email ? Nothing ?

As your comment is connected to your account, there are two options: 1) you get a mail via GMail, or 2) you get some G+ stuff (no idea what, as a) I don't use G+, and b) no longer leave comments as that would force me to G+).

OK, I came across a similar question.
It looks like you will get an email if a developer responded to your comment.


text:
Karbon A9+ System space and Internal Storage

I have recently moved from iPhone 3G (3 years) to Karbon A9+ (ICS). While my mobile is showing GBs of space available, I frequently get a Low System space warning. I had then added an 8 GB external SD card but to no avail. Coming from an iPhone background, this was confusing.... if I have tonnes of space, why am I getting such notifications?

On System Setting under Storage, it displays "Total space 581 MB" out of which 89 MB is available. Internal Storage is 2.57 GB out of which 2.56 GB is available. While on other mobiles of other brands, I don't see the distinction between System space and Internal Storage. Why this discrepancy and what are the consequences?

I have rooted my device... Is there some method where I can increase my system space to include the Internal Storage which is lying almost completely un-utilized?

You can partition your external SD card to ext4 and then use Link2SD to move large apps to this partition along with their internal data, .odex, dalvik cache. Make sure both partitions are set as "Primary"
They'll function in a normal manner after moving. Only remember that removing the sd card will crash all those apps so do not move important apps.
Examples:
Do move: Games, News feeds, Photoshop
Don't move: Google Play Services, Google Play store, keyboards

Just use DS super App2SD lite app, which gives you to system apps to your memory card
And this app work in only rooted phone

authors: Максим Светличный


text:
Download Archive of Old Google Apps (APKs) for G1 (1.6 Donut)
Are old APKs for Google Android apps available for download from some official or trusted source?
I just reset my G1, and would like to reinstall some of the (older) Google apps that don't appear to be available in the Market* anymore.
Google did make some older versions of their apps available, but not everything that I'd like to get back.  For example, I was able to update to Google Maps version 5.6.2, though the newest version in Google Play is (I think) 6.9.0, but Google Listen doesn't any longer appear to be available through the Market app on the G1.
Update: Though searching for "listen" or "google listen" within the Market app does not turn up a listing for the target app, nor does viewing a list of applications by publisher "Google Inc.", I was able to get the Google Listen app through the Market, by going to the web browser, and navigating to https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.android.apps.listen, and then letting the Market app handle the redirected Intent.
I'd still like to know if an official or trusted source is available to download old APKs published by Google.
*It's still called the Market on the G1 running 1.6 Donut.  I'm guessing Google didn't bother to make the new Google Play store compatible with old devices/versions.

I do not think this question should be closed. While the number of phones out there with versions below 2.2 is vanishingly small, they are still out there. Being able to keep them viable and as up to date (as possible) is certainly on-topic for this site.

Closely related is this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/14910/where-can-find-older-versions-of-apps . The answers there provide a number of unofficial repositories. Caveat Emptor, of course. Some of them look pretty dodgy to me.


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What is this part responsible for? The one behind the sticker in Galaxy S3
Below is an image. What is that part responsible for?
I'm asking because lately I had some problems with the GPS in my Galaxy S3, and I found out this sticker doesn't stick well. I think, but am not 100% sure, that when I hold it with my finger, the GPS works better.
I've been in a phone repair center, and I've been told that this is not related to the GPS, and that the GPS antenna is in the right, but they couldn't answer as of what this part is for.

While it's not clearly identified what this specific sticker is and covers, based on this teardown, it does look as though the chip is on the direct other side of the board from the connector that touches the component on that sticker, suggesting the connector is directly attached through the board to that chip. So my instinct is that you're correct that it's related to the GPS. I cannot confirm this without a doubt, but everything lines up.


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Android default keyboard phoning home to Google?
I installed CyanogenMod 11 on my HTC One (M8) the other day and, so far, have only installed DAVdroid for contact synchronization and Network Log. So, out of curiousity, I let Network Log run when I added my contacts in order to verify that DAVdroid indeed only connects to my server. Turns out it does. However, I noticed that CyanogenMod's default keyboard (which I assume is more or less Android's default keyboard?) connected to an IP with a *.1e100.net hostname – which belongs to Google. I've taken a short look at the keyboard's source code – which I believe is this one – and think I found something like an update function for the dictionaries but also some kind of upload functionality?! I don't know where the hosts are stored, though.
Can anyone familiar with the code tell me:

What the upload function is there for and
whether the above findings explain my observation (do the updater and uploader indeed connect to Google?) or whether I missed any network-related code?

Finally:

Why has noone thought about the fact that having the keyboard connect to some Google host isn't the smartest thing and is bound to make someone suspicious?
Why can't dictionary updates be done the usual way via the PlayStore? (I don't think languages change that fast, so the occasional download via PlayStore would certainly not annoy anyone.)

UPDATE: I tried to reproduce the observations, this time with XPrivacy installed (I in principal enabled all permissions for all apps as long as they are listed in their manifests): Turns out, I can't. In XPrivacy, I noticed that the AOSP keyboard doesn't even have the necessary permissions in its manifest to access the internet. So, I'm not sure whether I just saw some ghost the other day or if the keyboard is run with root privileges or it's what they call a system-privileged app both of which might explain why it can establish a connection, anyway.
On the other hand, this time I also noticed some background service called "input devices" connecting to Google. So either I mistook this service for the AOSP keyboard (which I doubt because I wouldn't have thought of the "AOSP" term) or we have two apps / services ("AOSP keyboard" and "input devices") connecting to Google.
In any case, the update/upload functionality mentioned above still raises questions.


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Risks of removing the stock browser on LineageOS
I would like to get rid of the stock browser (org.lineageos.jelly) on my phone that runs LineageOS. Other threads and sites already go into the details of removing pre-installed apps with/without root but I am wondering if there are any risks of removing the browser in particular? For instance, is the Android System WebView implementation in any way tied to the stock browser? (I'd still want to be able to use apps that use WebView.) More generally, is there anything else I'd affect by removing the stock browser?

Installing aroma variant gapps of opengapps.org will overwrites with current AOSP/Lineage stock apps with that of Google's. That means default dialer will change to google phone, browser will change to chrome. etc

That's good to know. However, I'm not using gapps at all, so in my case that wouldn't be an issue.

On the Developer settings page you can change the app that provides the WebView implementation. Apps that can provide the WebView is e.g. Google Chrome (can be installed from Play Store).

Does your comment imply that the stock browser indeed contains the WebView implementation? As for installing a different browser like Chrome, that's not an option in my case because I don't want to have any browser on this particular device. (Don't want any distractions etc.) As an alternative to Chrome, wouldn't it be possible to merely install Android System WebView from the Play Store as a standalone application or would this include a browser, too?

As for the developer settings, that's indeed how I realized that I might remove WebView if I remove the stock browser. :)

As a follow-up to my other comment: I just installed the PlayStore version of System WebView and it indeed shows up as a separate option in the developer settings and does not include a browser. So I suppose indirectly removing WebView by removing the stock browser is not an issue as it can always be reinstalled separately.

The System Webview app is outdated technology from Android 5.x. Currently it is AFAIK still supported by Google but in general it would recommend not to use it anymore. It has been replaced by the WebView implementation from the selected web browser app.

That's good to know, thank you! By "selected web browser app" do you mean the default browser? Also, I suppose that means I have to have a browser installed if I want WebView to work?

On a different note, I just removed the Jelly browser but the Android System WebView entry in the developer settings is still there, so I suppose WebView is not tied to the Jelly.apk.

I ended up going ahead and just removed the Jelly browser – initially manually by using TWRP's file manager and later – since it came back when I updated the system afterwards (duh) – using a handy flashable zip that I got from LOSdiet. So far, so good. Everything seems to work fine.
As for WebView, the Android System WebView entry in the developer settings is still there, so I suppose WebView is not tied to the Jelly.apk. Indeed, the LOSdiet site github.io page as well as the old CyanogenMod "barebones" wiki page indicate that the default (pre-installed) WebView is a separate .apk.

+1 for the testing. As you noticed, the browser is a separate app and it's installed anew every time you update your system. To avoid that, you can either create an addon.d script that removes the app after each update or, if you use Magisk, pick the Debloater module.

Yup, that's exactly what the LOSdiet zip does – it installs an addon.d script that makes sure Jelly is gone upon every boot-up.


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Is there a way to move apps to sd card if your phone doesnt support it?
In Huawei Phones moving apps to sd card isn't supported,there isn't an option to use sd card as internal storage too,is there anyway to bypass that and move apps to sd card without rooting android phone?

Possible duplicate of Can't move apps from internal to external storage

@Irfan Latif I forgot to mention that in Huawei we don't have an option to use sd card as internal storage.

The simple answer on non-rooted devices is no. If the OS doesn't allow it, you will not be able to. If the device is rooted, then there are many (apps, scripts, etc) ways that will help you achieve it.

so the only possible way to do this is exploit in non-rooted devices right?

It means you will need to root your device.


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Error: java.lang.IllegalStateException: command '1636 volume partition disk:179:64 private' failed with '400 1636 Command failed'
using the method described  here.
First command

adb devices

Output of first command

List of devices attached
  * daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
  * daemon started successfully
  26EBB18827208648        device

Second command

adb shell

third command

sm list-disks

Output of third command

disk:179:64

when I enter the last command

sm partition disk:179:64 private

last command output

Error: java.lang.IllegalStateException: command '1636 volume partition disk:179:64 private' failed with '400 1636 Command failed'

if I try to enter this command instead of the last command

sm partition disk:179:64 mixed 50

still an error shows up

Error: java.lang.IllegalStateException: command '1637 volume partition disk:179:64 mixed 50' failed with '400 1637 Command failed'

Phone:Huawei 7y prime
Any way to solve this?

Did you enter xxx:xxx literally or use the value from the 2nd step? Could you [edit] and provide the exact commands and their output?

Edited the question, i thought that it will be a security risk if i share those piecies of information.

Are you really sure you should try your hand at repartitioning phones, if you don't know how vold works?

@Death Mask Salesman what do you mean?


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Samsung Galaxy S3 update deleted Play Store and a bunch of other Google apps
Today my Galaxy S3 alerted me that there was an update to Push Services available. For once I actually thought "hey, let's not dismiss this update" and went through the whole process. There were no warnings, nothing seemed strange, and everything seemingly worked smoothly.
So I tap the Hangouts icon on my home screen (Apex launcher, if that's relevant in any way). "App not installed". Okay, uh, let's install it, then. I tap the Play Store icon. "App not installed". That's a problem.
A bunch of Google apps seem to have been uninstalled. Play Store, Hangouts, Calendar, and probably a few others. I've looked in my System settings > Application manager > Turned off, and they're not there - in fact, they're not anywhere in my applications list at all! Instead, Samsung seems to have installed "Galaxy Market" and a few other apps which are mostly worthless to me. Here's a list of things I have tried so far:

Checked if they were perhaps just disabled (they weren't).
Downloaded APKs for both Play Store and Hangouts. The installers tell me "Do you want to install an update to this built-in application?" for both of them, then "Application not installed".
Contacted Samsung's support center. I got a copy-pasted answer about factory resetting, and I'd rather not do that.
Rebooting. Nothing.

How do I get these apps back? I use Hangouts every day, and Play Store is just plain hard to do anything without.

My phone automatically rebooted (crashed?) a few hours later, and the apps were magically back. That's not an answer, though, and I'll leave this question up in case someone else has the same problem.