text:
Is there some SSH server for android?
Is there an ssh server for Android (such as openssh for Ubuntu) that will allow me to access my device console via PuTTY?

Yes, there are a couple of options for this, including:

SSHDroid (does not require rooted phone)
QuickSSHD (see this Google thread for some discussion)
Dropbear (requires rooted phone, see this Droidforums thread for some discussion)
SSHelper (does not require rooting; free software -- under GPL; it incorporates also code from other projects; might eventually appear in the F-Droid repository)
some other free (= libre) software projects of an ssh server have been mentioned in the discussion of their potential inclusion into F-Droid

Some of these apps will require you to root your device. SSHDroid, QuickSSHD and SSHelper, at least, do not (there may be others as well). There are certainly multiple choices for you to investigate depending on your requirements/desired features/etc.

Requiring or not requiring root is mostly a function of what port the server listens on: the traditional ssh port of 22 is privileged and so only available with root.  Also, the userid of the shell you will get would be restricted to that of the application in a non-root installation.

Do anything of these, or are there any others that don't show up in the applications list?

Here's what I could find by trying to look for definitely free (=libre) SSH servers for Android -- I searched at f-droid.org, where they consider free (libre) software for inclusion: http://vps.arachnoid.com/android/SSHelper/ under GPL (incorporating code from other projects), discussed at http://f-droid.org/forums/topic/sshelper/ . See also http://f-droid.org/forums/topic/droidsshd/ for the discussion of some other projects of SSH servers.

Unfortunately, from the Google market pages, it's often not clear what the license for the software is. I usually seek for free (= libre) software because I appreciate the ability for me and others to hack and imrpove the software. Could someone please help me determine whether there are free (libre) SSH servers? Whether the mentioned ones are free (libre) or not?

It's a pity that SSHelper (mentioned above) requires Android 3.2, so it won't be compatible with the official OS of some devices (like mine Samsung Galaxy S, which has Android 2.2, upgradable to 2.3 offcially).

I went on to check whether the other software in this list is free (=libre). As for SSHDroid, it seems not to be free/libre: "will only run if you either give them money, or let them show you ads" (a comment on Google Maket); "even checks if there is an Ad-blocker installed" (a comment at F-Droid Forum).

I also had a look at DigiSSHd which is "based on Dropbear SSH Server and OpenSSH SFTP Server", and is under GPLv3. It's a pity that it seems to work only with the proprietary DigiControl, but I'd like to avoid using proprietary software.

As for the open-source nature of DropBear app: they add pre-compiled binaries (dropbear SSH server implementation) into the Android package; which is not very nice (but OK) for reproducing the build and adapting their work. E.g., commits in a fork: add new binaries, CyanogenMod's dropbear is included as a git submodule. That way, building new binaries is simply a matter of
invoking a script.

You can also use an SSH server without a frontend app -- starting it with a command or through a configuration file, as described in Howto: Connect to Device with SSH.
According to that page, CyanogenMod included an SSH server (dropbear) in some releases. ("Cyanogenmod 9.0 RC2 no longer includes Dropbear.") Or you could probably put it into your system yourself.
It seems that by default it is assumed that the server is run by root (i.e., you'd need root acces to your system), but it must be possible to set up it to work without root.

Looks like that page was moved here. It would be handy if someone prepared the Dropbear binaries, since Android doesn't ship with a C compiler, and cross-compiling is a bit of a pain.

@Daniel, I am reviewing your link in order to make it work for Android 5.1, but I have no place to download the 2 dropbears executables from. Do you know of somewhere?

@SopalajodeArrierez sorry but I don't know of any. You might need to cross-compile yourself.

This answer is a bit late to the party, but you can also compile static openssh binaries (ssh sshd ssh-keygen etc) for android using the buildroot project. Or dropbear if you prefer.
https://buildroot.uclibc.org
https://buildroot.uclibc.org/downloads/manual/manual.html
I have done this on my linux box, for openssh and many other programs. This requires a rooted device.
My device was arm based - you would have to check if your device is supported by buildroot if it is not arm.


text:
How can I uninstall Lock Screen Widget from my Nexus One?
I am trying to Lock Screen Widget, But I am getting the following error from 'adb logcat' as I uninstall it.

W/PackageManager(   96): Not removing
  package
  com.droidmania.lockscreenwidget: has
  active device admin

Can u please tell me how can I uninstall it?
Thank you.

You might need to remove the Lock Screen Widget app from Menu -> Settings -> Location & security -> Select device administrators screen before trying to uninstall it.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
App2sd - Changing the SD Card
I plan to purchase a new micro SD card for my phone, I use app2SD for most of my programs, so what I wonder is what will happen if I get the new SD card, will I be able to copy the content of the old card onto the new card and still operate the phone as if nothing was changed?

Yes, I did that myself, like this:

power the phone off and remove the old SD card
mount the old SD on a PC, copy its entire contents somewhere on your hard disk
mount the new SD card on a PC, format it as FAT or FAT32 (make sure it's the same file-system as the old one)
copy the contents of the old SD card onto the new one
insert the new SD card into the phone, power it on.

I am not sure how that works.. some apps still take up space on the internal space even if it was 'app2sd-ed'..

That doesn't matter. As long as the SD files are copied 1:1 on the new card, everything will work fine. As I said, I did it myself and had zero problems.

Did it retain all the settings, userdata etc? or just the apps

Yes, everything was exactly as before changing the SD card - only a bit faster as the new card is Class 4 while the old one was Class 2 ;-)

I don't actually know for sure, but you can certainly test it out. You can turn on USB debugging, which will let you mount your phone as any other external drive, or you can get a micro-SD adaptor if you have an SD slot already.
It should just work.

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


text:
Change Screen Timeout to Never
Is it possible that I can change my screen timeout to never? I am using Nexus S. Currently, the maximum value I can set for screen timeout through settings is 30 minutes.

Just curious: Why? If you're watching a movie or something the app should keep the screen awake.

Because when I am at home, is it quite annoying that I have to keep pressing power button to turn on the display, if I receive frequent email/sms on and off.

I use and app called Unlock with Wifi that removes the lock screen as long as I'm on my home network. Better than keeping the screen on all the time.

I think you are searching for this app Keep Screen Lite. It allows you to keep your mobile always awake for some of the applications. You can set the applications to not to screen timeout.

You can set it to stay on as long as it's plugged in.  To do that go to Menu -> Settings -> Applications -> Development and choose Stay Awake.

Let me just warn you, the Nexus S has a Super AMOLED screen and you can burn in the images on the screen. I have burn-in of the Time and the notification bar on my screen. it is only noticeable when i have light colored wallpaper, but it is there.
Samsung even removed the "Stay Awake" option from the Galaxy S Vibrant line (possibly others as well) in their TouchWiz UI. The Nexus S will still have it, because it is a Vanilla Android.
The screen is also one of the biggest consumers of power, so if you leave your screen on all the time, when not charging, expect to see poor battery life.

Sorry. What do you mean by "burn in the images"?

see this article, it will explain better then I can. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_burn-in

Interesting, for how long did you left your screen on, so that it burned?


text:
Can I use Asus Transformer power supply and dock as with regular laptop?
I couldn't find this information in all reviews, so I am asking here about it -- I would like to get such experience with Assus Transformer:

I put everything together -- I plug power supply into the dock, I put tablet part into dock
Tablet part gets power from AC outlet, not from battery
I need to go, I pull out tablet from dock, I leave dock and power supply on desk
Tablet part works on its own battery
I get back home, and cycle repeats -- (1)

The crucial part is, I don't charge tablet directly, but indirectly, via dock, which itself is powered with power supply -- of course this is my wish, the question is -- is it actually possible with Asus Transformer?

The Transformer has a port that specifically connects to the dock?  I.e., it doesn't connect to the dock via USB?

Yes I know that, but can I plug in power supply into the dock, instead of tablet? All pictures and movies shows Transformer completely unplugged.

I'm not making statements, I'm asking questions. Note the questions marks.

Yes this is possible. Power adapter can be plugged into tablet or dock.  It is possible to charge the tablet from the dock while the dock is being charged, remove the tablet, use tablet, return to dock for charging.
Hope this helps
Pete


text:
Galaxy Nexus won't connect via USB
So my Galaxy Nexus has been fine until now. It has been running Android 4.2 and it was going perfect, then like a day ago I go to plug it in and it just won't connect via USB. It charges on USB but that's it. The drivers are installed and the problem is not my computer; I tried it on another computer as well, I haven't changed anything at all. The last option I think for me is to do a factory reset, which I reaaally don't want to do.
It won't even come up with USB connected on the phone.
Any ideas?

UPDATE
I sent mine back for repairs and the mobo was screwed on it. No idea what caused it.

I think I have narrowed this down to a thing called "fastcharge" being enabled.

When you've connected it via USB, check your notification area. On my devices I get a notification there asking me whether to connect it to the PC or to charge only. Not sure, though, if the same will still be valid with 4.2 -- but it's worth a look. Maybe you've simply set it to "charge only".

No notification, and I cant find any charge only option.

I've had similar problems with the Nexus S and also with the Glaaxy Nexus, I was never able to isolate a cause. Uninstalling/reinstalling the drivers, downloading drivers from Samsung's website and using a different cable have all worked at various times.

I have put it down to a fault usb socket on the phone.

Replace the USB port. You can find them (port and ribbon) on eBay for $13, including shipping.

There are 6 screws to open the phone up.
Separate the outside case; there is 1 screw at the bottom once you open it. Take out the large black piece (I think its the mic and vibrating mechanism).
Undo the bottom portion of the antenna.
Undo some of the connectors on the the main board to be able to lift the bottom up some and gain access to the USB ribbon.
Remove and replace with new ribbon. Be careful when lifting the main board and removing the USB ribbon to make sure nothing is connected so you don't rip or break anything.
Plug all connectors and antenna back in.
Put the battery in to make sure it turns on and you have reception.
If you're good, turn it back off and screw everything back together.

Make sure you get a little kit off eBay with the tiny screw drivers and the plastics tool to pull apart the case housing.

I think I will send it back to the suppliers under warranty. Its pretty new so this kinda thing shouldn't happen.

Funny thing is: Blowing into the phones USB solved the problem for me. Maybe you try that =D

Ah, the Atari Cartridge repair process.

as previously stated:

Blow hard into the phone's port to clear out the dust & other garbage
If you're connecting it to the front of the computer make sure nothing else is plugged in
Connect it to the back of the computer., much better & STRONGER connection than the front
If you're connecting to laptop, Again., first blow into the phone's port, do not connect anything else & try all different ports.

Go to Settings > Storage > overflow menu (three vertical dots) > USB computer connection. You can choose MTP. From now on, there will be a notification when you plug the USB device.

Update 12/5/2013: Found out that fast charge was enabled, disabling USB debugging and storage access.
I know this might be late, so this is mainly for future reference.
What I have:
I am running CyanogenMod 10.1 M2 (Android 4.2.2) on a Galaxy Nexus,
Latest Firmware / Band Updates,
Using latest Samsung USB drivers.
I had the issues:
Will not connect to Windows 8 computer as mass storage device, or over ADB (However Android unit was charging).
Solution: Full reboot.
This might be a issue with Android 4.2.2; I will submit a bug report.

Definitely the cable for me. I notice that all of my USB cables have a much smaller diameter than the one that cam with my Nexus. When I use the the thinner ones I get nothing, no charge, no data connection. When I use the one that came with the phone everything works. Seems you just can't try different cables. Again a noticeable difference in the diameter of the cable.

I have used many different USB cables that are not for the device that I own. The only device that I have seen that used a "special" USB cable was my Nook Color, but I could still charge it with other cables, I just couldn't use that cable on other devices. The port that is used on devices is a standard, micro-USB.

I have this problem too sometimes, with different cables and different computer. my samsung galaxy nexus charging full, charging usb, but not see the contents. I put something under the cable that pushes it a bit up just at the connector on phone and then suddenly it connects perfectly. hope it helps.

it's definitely a matter of USB Cable! I came here to solve my connecting problem, too. I then tried the cable that came with my Galaxy Nexus and now it works perfectly. Not every USB cable works, for sure now.

Go to Settings > Storage > Options > USB settings and select a desired USB connection mode.

Try the Tethering and portable hotspot setting (located in Settings → Wireless & network), then check USB tethering. This worked fine for me.

Won't solve the problem.

Go to Developer options and uncheck the USB debugging option and it should work.

Sorry. Read the comments. I am not some "noob" its nothing to do with adb. The actual phone its self doesn't connect to anything for data transfer

Check this out. Don't do a factory reset yet because the problem probably has something to do with the cable not the phone. This seems to be a relatively known problem. look at this Google search.

I have tried multiple cables. Still not working. When I get my dock it might work. But have no idea why its not working now. Really need it for development

And what is "this"? Answers on Stack Exchange sites are expected to be self-contained. At best, when that link no longer functions this answer has no value whatsoever.


text:
How can I make my Lenovo ThinkPad tablet charge up faster?
It takes a very long time (half a day) to charge up with a USB 2.0 charger plugged in the wall outlet.

oh, it takes half a day.

Put your device to sleep mode for faster charging.
check o/p voltage and current of your adapter(charger) and use higher o/p current adapter(this option might produce more heat while charging so could damage your device, proper cooling while charging expected)

The USB standard only specifies a rather low charging rate (0.5 amps), but there are well-accepted ways for devices to get a higher rate (by negotiating with the host).  See How much power does a Galaxy Tab 10.1 charger need to supply? for more details (of course the specifics about the Galaxy Tab probably won't apply to your phone, but the general background info probably will).  If your tablet came with a special USB adapter, try using that to see if it charges faster.
As Sagar notes, turning as much stuff or putting the tablet in sleep mode will help recharge rates.


text:
Why don't any of the files on my Android tablet show up on my computer when I connect my computer with my Android tablet through USB?
The computer (Windows 7) recognizes the tablet but I can't see anything when I click on the "drive" corresponding to the tablet.
I'm using a Lenovo ThinkPad tablet.

have you put it into "USB mode" or something of the like? Most Android devices require you to enable a mode that allows the attached system to view the files on the device.

What do you mean by "scroll over to"?

Okay - I should look USB mode up and see how that goes. I just edited "scroll over to" out and replaced it with something more descriptive.

Now that I'm looking again, "Transfer files (Media Transfer Protocol)" is selected under USB Settings, and "Allow sync with PC" is selected under "Accounts & Sync" settings.


text:
What is the easiest way to mass-transfer (via USB-C) hundreds of files (like my DCIM folder) from one smartphone to another smartphone or external HD?
A lot of the standard Android file transfer apps only allow manual selection - aka they don't easily allow me to do "select all" of hundreds of files.
Interested in both transferring to a 1TB SSD hard drive or to another smartphone.
Prefer to not go through a PC because of friction/lag/sudden disconnects.
Also how can I even view files from one phone onto the other phone?

You should clarify if having a PC is acceptable or not.

Plus what OS the PC runs, if there's one.

The definition of "easy" may vary for persons and situations. But hundreds of pictures, if not thousands, is not a big amount of data. Connect to a Wi-Fi network. Install MiXplorer or a similar app on both sides. Run FTP server on one side. Copy and paste on the other side.

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


text:
Serveral phones with same AppStore/Google login
I a have a large cluster of phones, about 100, in several places in the world. They are wall mounted, and I cannot access them physically, they all must be in silence (so are configured to reject calls, and be in silence). I have remote team viewer installed and setup to remotely access them.
All of those devices are logged in, as the same user in Android/PlayStore.
What I see, is that once in a while, the user gets logged out. I am unsure why the user gets logged out. This is first issue.
Second issue, is that when I do login, all other phones will get prompted to accept the login. This makes noise, and the phones should be in complete silence. How can I prevent the "Is this you?" popup to be displayed on all devices? (lets say I do have a few backups for me to accept it).
EDIT:
As suggested:
I viewed:
https://myaccount.google.com/security-checkup/1 (79 devices - ok)
https://myaccount.google.com/device-activity - all devices seen
In my shared GMail account - I don't see anything.
I am open for more ideas.

As to the auto-logouts - I can't tell you what causes it, but I can say that I've seen it once in a while on my own phone, so I don't think it's anything specific to your setup.

@MichaelKohne that is not good news. This renders Android as non-usable for unattended setups like mine.

possibly, though it's entirely possible that you could find out what's going on and solve it. I'd start by looking at the recent security events on your google account immediately after a disconnect event and see if that has any clues.

"This renders Android as non-usable for unattended setups like mine." Only if you need to use Playstore/GApps. You can use Android without that, you know? ;)

@Izzy and how do I do unattended upgrades? Are you telling me to reflush the system image with a custom ROM, which has my app as system app, so I can gain PACKAGE_INSTALL permissions ? (rhetorical question of course).

That all depends very much upon your requirements. If you rely on apps via Playstore, I don't see a way out. But there are certainly "unattended setups" that can do without. And yes, a custom ROM with F-Droid and its privileged extension would be one way to achieve that. You could even add your own custom repo and feed it with the apps you need from other sources. Just an idea, not sure if that fits your setup.

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


text:
Android tablet booting issue (Sanei n80)
I bought Sanei N80 android tablet two months back(android 2.3).I tried to root using z4root app.It stuck in the middle so i switched off and switched on the tablet.Now the tablet is not booting up stays in the splash screen (refer attached screenshot1.png). I also tried to reboot it using recovery mode, again its stuck and displaying warning icon with android image (refer attached screenshot2.png). I am pasting the logs for reference.
Kindly please please please help.I don't know how to proceed.
Log, while normal booting.
D/AndroidRuntime( 1309): >>>>>> AndroidRuntime START com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit <<<<<<
D/AndroidRuntime( 1309): CheckJNI is OFF
D/dalvikvm( 1309): creating instr width table
D/dalvikvm( 1309): DexOpt: incorrect opt magic number (0xff ff ff ff)
D/dalvikvm( 1309): ODEX file is stale or bad; removing and retrying (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@framework.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 1309): Zip inflate: partial write (will retry): (4056 of 32768)
E/dalvikvm( 1309): Zip inflate: write failed: No space left on device
E/dalvikvm( 1309): Unable to extract+optimize DEX from '/system/framework/framework.jar'
D/dalvikvm( 1309): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/framework.jar'
E/JNIHelp ( 1309): Native registration unable to find class 'android/debug/JNITest'
E/AndroidRuntime( 1309): Unable to register all android natives
I/ServiceManager( 79): service 'media.camera' died
I/ServiceManager(79): service 'media.audio_flinger' died
I/ServiceManager( 79): service 'media.player' died
I/ServiceManager( 79): service 'media.audio_policy' died
I/Netd ( 1311): Netd 1.0 starting
I/ (1310): ServiceManager: 0xacb0
E/AudioHardware( 1310): Can't load libsecril-client.so
D/AudioHardwareInterface( 1310): setMode(NORMAL)
I/CameraService( 1310): CameraService started (pid=1310)
I/AudioFlinger( 1310): AudioFlinger's thread 0xc7b8 ready to run
D/AudioHardware( 1310): AudioStreamOutALSA::setParameters() routing=2
D/AudioHardware( 1310): ### setVoiceVolume_l

screen shot one
Screen shot two

The screenshots didn't come through.  I suggest hosting them somewhere (photobucket.com for example) and then posting links to the pictures here.

I have posted the screenshots


text:
App resource usage over time
Looking for a way to collect resource usage (processor, at least) on unrooted OS for running apps over time. This last part is crucial, since there are numerous apps presenting current usage for running applications, but i’m yet to find one which can generate statistics, collected by running in the background, for used apps over a period of time. Basically my question is a duplicate of this one, but it was last active in 2012 and also never really got an answer for realtime statistics collection.

From the developer of 3C Toolbox Pro in XDA

3C Task Recorder, whether rooted or not, it can collect CPU, memory and network usage . It creates a CSV file that you can easily use from a PC.

If non rooted, you will need 3C Companion PC app
to enable memory usage and improved CPU stats.

Recording options in screen shots below (some of them paid)

I don't use the recorder. The pro version of Toolbox linked at top is far more versatile and has tons of features (there is a free version too with less features). If you are interested only in usage, the recorder should suffice. Screenshots from 3C Toolbox

Edit
OP confirms

Task Recorder works great and could actually unrootedly track random access memory usage for me even without its companion.

Well said, and thank you for this input. «Task Recorder» works great and could actually unrootedly track random access memory usage for me even without its companion. Accepting your answer!


text:
Can't see Android Emulator when apparently it already is running
I am trying to start learning how to develop Android apps, and I tried to make a new project and navigate through Android Studio. I tried using the Emulator by creating a new virtual device and running my new test project with it, but no matter what i seem to do it never actually does anything once I click the "Run" button on both the AVD Manager and the main one you see on the top right area of Android Studio.

I keep seeing this after i try to click the Run button again after not seeing anything happen. and i can't seem to delete any of the files this is pointing to since Windows keeps complaining its being used by another application even after I close Android Studio and terminate adb.exe
I've been looking around for an answer and i've found things like "Uncheck Enable ADB Integration", or "Changing the Emulated Performance Graphics to Hardware/Software", but a lot of these answers are from threads that are 3+ years old so I don't think these are applicable anymore. can someone provide some insight to how to get this working? I am using Android Studio 3.6.3
PS: I want to make it clear that even after i restart my pc and delete these so called "*.lock" files, this changes absolutely nothing
EDIT: As requested here are some screenshots that hopefully answers some questions I was being asked.
My PC specs:

Android Virtual devices i have set up so far:

my installed SDK Tools:

As for the BIOS Virtualization question, if "Intel Virtualization Technology" is the same thing then yes it seems to be enabled for me

Please edit your question and add more details e.g. what emulator image you have chosen,what CPU your system has, have you enabled Virtualization in your BIOS, have you installed Intel Haxm or the "Hypervisor driver for AMD" package provided by Android SDK Tools? If you are a non-commercial user you can try Genymotion emulator. It works very well and is simple to use.

Am i not limited to Android Studio's emulator? Is it possible to use Android Studio purely for writing/compiling reasons and an external emulator like this so called "Genymotion" an, option? Never the less I will update my question to contain answers to your questions

For Android Studio it does not make any difference if it is a real device, an emulated device from SDK emulator or a Genymotion emulator. They all are just ADB devices.

following Robert's advice I opted to install a copy of Genymotion Personal Edition and linked it to Android Studio via the Genymotion Plugin that was available to install.
see here for installing: https://www.techbeamers.com/genymotion-emulator/
If you do not see an additional icon pop up like described in the page then you will want to (in the case of versions around 3.6.3) enable the Toolbar via View>Appearance>Toolbar
This seems to at least link up fine for me with Android Studio, but overall does not really answer the question as to why the emulator via AVD does not function.
If no one seems to be able to share that knowledge, then I suppose will pick this one as the best answer.
Thanks to Robert again for mentioning Genymotion.


text:
How do I run an application on my phone from my PC?
I have a phone with a touch-screen malfunction, I want to run applications on it from my computer, connected by USB. Is that possible?
I've tried applications like http://mymobiler.com, but that has failed me (I can see the screen, it's not responsive).
Sadly, I have ADB turned off, so I cannot use applications like the android screencast, or DroidExplorer.

Can you not reboot the device up in a recovery mode that doesn't require the touch interface?

What exact phone model is it? If it is some of the hackable ones (Samsung, Sony, HTC) you could enable adb via some other means like fastboot or flashing a custom recovery or firmware that has adb enabled.

HTC HD2, and I managed to activate ADB, so thanks for the help :D

If you are a developer, you can install apps directly from your PC by accessing and enabling:
Settings → Applications → Development → USB Debugging option.

Have you read the question? ADB is off, and I am without a touch screen. I cannot activate it. Also, I want to RUN and application, not INSTALL it.

LogMeIn Ignition may work for what you want to do. It really remote controls the pc but to truly run a PC app it would have to be on a PC.

I don't want to run an app on the PC, I want to run an app on the phone, from the PC.


text:
Driving Mode isn't working as expected on Samsung Galaxy SII
I have this Samsung Galaxy SII, GT-I9100T, with Android version 2.3.3.
When placed in Dock with my car, the following happens

Whenever a call is incoming, the phone would read me the calling number, even if he's found in my contacts.
Whenever a message is incoming, the phone will sometimes read me their phone number, even if they're found in my contacts.

What can cause this? I've checked the configuration and found nothing helpful, Google wasn't much of a help either.

@liamwli Why have you removed the text-to-speech tag? Is it not related?

It could be possible that the contacts have been entered incorrectly, or it could be a bug with your version of the car mode app.
Please ensure that none of your contacts are duplicated, and also please ensure that the numbers are correct (you may need to add/remove the country code).
Another reason could be due to the country code being displayed when the SMS/Call is incoming, but not being in the contact.

Thing is, the number is read correctly (without country code): "Incoming call from zero-five-two-eight-five-eight-eight....", while it should say "Incoming call from Madara Uchiha" for that instance. There may be duplication, but they are linked, does that make a difference?


text:
Can't install Google Apps
I'm using an Allview Alldro P2 phone with Android 2.3.5. Fresh out of the box it worked like a charm. After a factory reset from Settings I couldn't install any apps from Google (Gmail, Youtube, etc).
Later edit : Gmail failed, Youtube failed, Google Maps worked... odd right?
I'm getting an error like "Problem parsing package" but if I download other apps, they work like a charm.
Any ideas? It's the first time I'm having this issue. Meanwhile I will be exploring this site for any clues.
Thank you.

Does Google Play work on it? Google Apps work on a special framework which your phone might be lacking? I know the Kindle Fire lacks the framework but I don't know if any other devices do.

maybe, but in the processes i see google services running, does factory resetting a phone cause such problems on other models?

This problem is taking place when you install Google apps APKs directly on phone.
The solution is installing Google apps image in Recovery mod.
You can always get the latest GApps for any android version such as Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x), Honeycomb (Android 3.x), Gingerbread (Android 2.3.x), Froyo (Android 2.2.x) and Eclair (Android 2.1.x) from this address Latest GAPPSS

so it isn't an issue with the fact that i did a factory reset? also, why install from recovery mode?


text:
Galaxy ace camera app does not open and shows warning:  ErrorMessageHandler.handleMessage(-1)
After dropping device in water, I am trying to open my galaxy ace camera app, but it doesn't open. rather than it shows a warning message:
 Warning:
   camera failed
   ErrorMessageHandler.handleMessage(-1)

How can I fix this problem and make camera launches properly, so I can take pics or record videos?

It looks like this question is asked from a developers
perspective. Please be aware that Android Enthusiasts is for end-user
questions only and it may be off-topic as per FAQ.

I asked this question on stackoverflow but I got downvote and they advised me to ask it here

Well if you are writing a program then it belongs to stackoverflow. Or are you trying to open the Camera app? Then it belongs here. But you need to improve your question, add more details (e.g. especially code snippets).

Yes it is Camera app

Is the phone new? Have you flashed a ROM? Have you ever used the camera APP before?

2 months I used to open Camera but I dropped in water

Take it back to the repair store to get it fixed. Water damage has obviously knocked out some chip-set used in the Camera.

Something has gone wrong with your camera hardware and app is unable to find what it is. Take your device to service center (as @t0mm13b said)..


text:
"PC Sync" is disabled again in calendar after locked screen
I sync my contacts and events over my pc with thunderbird on it.
My phone: HTC One S, Android 4.0.3 with HTC Sense 4.0 and using GO Launcher EX 2.87.
Problem is that after enabled the calender checkbox to show me "PC-Sync"-data in calendar-app it does always disable this again after screen was locked.
Any suggestions what is wrong here?

So, i have figured out myself what caused the problem, thanks anyway:
I tried uninstalling some apps i installed before and looks like "Business Calendar Free Beta" caused this problem. After i removed it, it works just fine and normal.
And i didn't liked it anyway and i think the standard app is good for me.


text:
Reasons for MMS to fail while sending?
I've been trying to send an MMS on a rooted ST17i with the MiniCMSandwich Lite rom but for some reason, I can't send any MMS (no matter how big). It will just say "SENDING" on the messaging app but would stay that way for quite some time (probably around 30 minutes) then it would say that sending has failed. So far, I've already tried the following combinations:

wifi: on
data: on
wifi: off, data: off
wifi: on, data: on

All to no avail. It just won't send. However, I can browse the web without any problems using my data plan (no wifi) and I have assumed that data and MMS are somewhat tied together in a way. So since data is working (it's even on an HSDPA status based on my signal bar), why won't MMS work?
I guess it should be also beneficial that I state that sending MMS worked when I was still on stock. As for my service provider, I'm under a postpaid plan from Sun Cellular. My APN settings is as follows:
Name: Sun MMS
APN: mms
Proxy: Not set
Port: Not set
Username: Not set
Password: Not set
Server: Not set
MMSC: http://mmscenter.suncellular.com.ph
MMS proxy: 202.138.159.78
MMS port: 9201
MCC: 515
MNC: 05
Authentication type: Not set
APN type: mms
APN protocol: IPv4
APN enabled/disable: APN enabled
Bearer: Unspecified

You could check Androids logcat (aLogcat is a nice app to help you with that) while sending an MMS. First start aLogCat, and advise it to write the protocol to your SD-Card. Then send your MMS. Later, stop aLogCat and check for errors. Within the app itself you can filter. This might help you to indicate the source of your problem.

Just to add closure to this question, I finally resolved it by downloading an Mms.apk from a different AOSP ICS build rom. It seems the one that came with the rom I'm using has some issues. Using the Mms.apk from another rom fixed it for me.

As I don't use MMS, I had to check first: Looks like MMS have a APN configuration separate from your (normal) internet APN. Here are some useful ressources:

How to set up Internet and MMS APN on Android for any operator A youtube video
How to: O2 UK APN Settings for Android iPhone iPad just as an example showing you need both APNs (Internet + MMS) -- if O2 UK is your provider, all the better :)
Support: APN settings for data and picture messaging (MMS): Android T-Mobile

Quoting from the t-mobile link:

When you receive errors trying to send picture messages (MMS) or access data or the internet, confirm your Android phone is set up correctly. This is usually a problem with device settings.

Which seems to confirm my initial suspicion :)
So if you let us know your provider, plus your current APN configuration, maybe we can give more detailled help. On the other hand, the easiest was would be asking your carrier for the correct APN data directly (or visit his website, where they are probably held available -- as my examples from O2 and t-mobile show). A Google-Search (for " mms apn") could also prove useful.

I actually have the APN settings already set up for MMS. As far as I know, this APN setup is the same one I used while I was still on stock and it worked quite perfectly well before. I'll update the original question with my APN settings and provider.

Good point. You can verify your settings at Sun Cellular (interactive setup guide), maybe they changed something. I also found example settings here, which look close to yours.


text:
How do I check if Tasker is the application in focus using a Tasker profile?
I want to execute a few tasks whenever I am active on Tasker (e.g. editing profiles, viewing settings, etc). However, the problem is I can't see it on the list of applications that's usable when creating a profile. Am I missing something?

I figured this wasn't currently possible so I just created a widget that activated whatever profile I want active when Tasker is open then disable the said profile if I go back to the home app.

The developer of Tasker has specifically excluded Tasker itself from showing up in the Applications list.  He cites his reason in the Tasker Why...? section of his website.
http://tasker.dinglisch.net/userguide/en/faqs/faq-why.html#d


text:
"Button: Camera" and "USB Plugged" not working for Tasker?
I saw Tasker on my friend's phone and I tried out a simple profile.
I wanted the Camera button to vibrate the phone. Nothing more, nothing less. The setup is as follows:
Button: Camera

Priority: Highest
Stop Event: Checked

Then the task only has 1 action and that is:
Vibrate

Time: 200

With the above, I couldn't get the profile to work. When I hold down the Camera button app, it still proceeds to open the Camera app. I tried creating other profiles other than the Button: Camera and they all worked. I want to know if there's something I'm missing here?
EDIT:
I also realized that the "USB Plugged" action is not firing. It keeps staying on "Not USB Plugged" mode even if we have the data cable connected to a PC already.
EDIT 2:
The device I'm doing this on is an Xperia Mini.

first, you do not need to modify priority (except in rare cases). It does not describe the "importance", you can rather compare it to the Linux nice command. Second, a stop event usually is not needed either (Tasker simply reverts to the previous state if the condition is no longer met). Third, the "plugged" stuff works for me (at least with my docking station) -- so it might be device specific, and you didn't specify your device. Last but not least, bug reports are better filed with the projects bug tracker :)

Well I'm not entirely sure if it's a bug or something I'm overlooking? As for the priority, I simply followed a tutorial about some example Tasker profiles.

yeah, priority is one of the ambigous things about Tasker. As for your example: I cannot see anything missing. Maybe you update your question with some device info? I'd say it's a device-specific issue, especially after your edit concerning "USB plugged". Could even be so specific as only valid for your single device; is USB fully working aside from this Tasker issue (charging, connecting as mass storage...)?

Yep, USB is fully working. I got around this problem already, instead of using "USB plugged", I simply used power source instead but unfortunately, the Camera button issue still exist.

I'd recommend contacting the developer for that. Hint: You could use an app like aLogCat to get some more details: Install it, run it, then press the Camera-Button, and finally export the captured log segment. Send that along your report to the developer, which increases the chances for a solution.

Could someone post why they downvoted the question?

Most are to cowardish to show themselves. I'd vote: "No downvotes without commenting why", as it is quite often irreproducible (and thus, the vote lost as unhelpful). That said: It wasn't me with the downvote...

I just played with it myself. Seems you need to press quite hard (and a bit longer) to fire that event. Got me a bit confused, but was reproducible: Short press (hard or soft) didn't fire it. Hard long press (~1s) fired it. So at least for me (Droid2), "Camera button" event should be named "Camera button pressed long & hard"...

Okay so it has dawned on me that the reason why the shutter action on Tasker doesn't seem to work. It seems to be the stock ROM I was using before. Now that I'm using an AOSP rom, it works quite flawlessly. So yeah, it might have been the rom.


text:
Add functionality to home button?
What application will let me allot a certain functionality to the home button? Currently, I want to make it so that pressing the Home button twice will activate Voice Actions. Do you know of any app that does that?
I'm rooted.
EDIT:
Okay, while doing some further research, I found out that one of the ways to achieve this is via a launcher app. I'm currently using ADW Launcher Ex. Is that modifiable via theme to do something like such?

doubtful. The system was built specifically to disallow applications from doing anything with the Home button. Even with a launcher app I don't think you could get it to recognize a double tap very easily / consistently. If your device has a camera button that is much easier for applications to add functionality to.

What about rooting does that change anything because that app has some really bad reviews.

There is an app in the Google Play Store called Advanced Home Button. Although this app won't allow you to directly configure Home button's single press, this may allow you to replace the double-tap which is configurable.
However, this app does mean replacing your default launcher (in your case, ADW launcher). You, may, though, try it out whatsoever and see if it helps your issue.
Edit: There have been  many negative responses on the app saying the app causes issues with the home button. So you need to be careful while installing such an app.

Seems to be the closest around.


text:
How do I prompt the user for "Device Administrator" on Tasker?
I made a Tasker app via the Tasker App Factory that locks the screen based on various occasions. My app works fine except from the initial run which would require the user to enable it as "Device Administrator". How do I prompt the user to do this instead of having to instruct them to go to Settings > Security > Device Administrators? I'm quite positive it has to be done by using Send intent (a Tasker function) but I'm not sure how to go about doing it.
Just to clarify, I want to show the user the dialog box for "Device Administrator" automatically on first open of the app.

Okay so I tried using Intent Intercept but even that, doesn't seem to intercept the Device Administrator prompt. See my video below on how the Device Administrator prompt appears when I select it to be enabled on Secure Settings (a Tasker plugin).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TprkAYoDVDI
As you can see above, Intent Intercept never prompted me and the Device Administrator dialog still popped up.

What's the difference between "prompt the user" and "instruct them"?  I'm guessing that you mean you want the app to open the security settings along with a popup that tells them to enable it as a Device Admin when they initially run the app.  Am I understanding correctly?

@Matt Yes, you understood my aim exactly. :) I figured it would be a better user experience if they are simply prompted.

I'm no expert on intents but this is the best answer I can offer...
There are intents that can enable the Device Admin status but since Tasker is not yet a device admin I don't think your prompt will allow the user to enable this directly.
The next best thing would be to have Tasker open the Device Administration settings page with a popup that instructs them to enable it.
In tasker, using the "Settings Dialog Action" you can create an action that opens to the Security Settings page but the user would have to manually go to the next step to open the "Device Administror" menu.  You can create a popup message directing what to do with the "Alert/Popup Action".
If you want to go directly to the Device Administror Menu you may be able to do that with the "Misc/Send Intent Action."  To find specific intent for the Device Admin Menu you can try an app called Inent Interceptor.  If you are able to identify the specific intent that opens that menu it's pretty straight forward from there.

Hi, I used Intent Intercept and updated my question above along with a demo video of how I want it to prompt others. The problem is, Intent Intercept didn't seem to catch it as well.

Try: com.android.settings/com.android.settings.DeviceAdminSettings


text:
Yellow Triangle at bootup
A few days ago I bought a Samsung Galaxy S2. But, at phone start up under the Galaxy S2 Logo I see a strange Yellow Triangle. I read a few forum posts found on google, but I have some doubts about this. To be more precisely, what that means? Ah, and yes, at first start up I didn't see this triangle, he appears after I tried to update the phone software from samsungapps.com

You just got case of failed update. Try to have look at this article and see if you can get it sorted

I cannot get it into Download mode, when I try to start it with 3 butons clicked, it turns on as a normally startup

@hoss Try removing the battery, then while holding the buttons reinsert the battery.  Only let go of the buttons once Download Mode is shown.

I managed how to get into Download mode, I removed the battery, and it's starts, but when I try to flash it, it stops on the cache.img in Odin and don't moving forward, something like freezes, but I still can turn on the device after I force disconnect it. (Sorry, I know my english is not so good)

Ok, I have upgraded it, Kies just stays in backround, and I have to remove it, to can make an upgrade successfully.


text:
How can I change the user agent for the stock browser?
I am constantly annoyed by websites that force me into the (often terrible) mobile version of the site and provide no way to switch to the full version.  I know Dolphin for example allows changing the user agent string of the browser to trick websites into delivering the full site, but I don't want to switch.  Is there a way to do this with the stock browser?  I'm open to hacks, and I have a Galaxy S Vibrant running 2.2 (Nero v5 with TouchWiz).

I wish that there was an app that would let me do this  on the fly. I think Firefox on the desktop has an add-on that can do it (not that that helps us here very much)

My Galaxy S's browser has user agent as one of the options in its settings, but I'm not sure if that's a feature of 2.3.3 or the particular ROM I'm running (Serendipity).

For Galaxy devices, you can simply enter about:useragent into your browser's URL bar. I don't think this "sticks" across reboots, but it's relatively painless to do and doesn't require extra software/hacks/etc. I don't own a Galaxy so I'm not keen on some of the specifics.
If about:useragent doesn't work, then other phones can typically to this instead:

Enter about:debug into the URL bar to activate debug mode in the browser (you won't see any kind of confirmation that this has worked)
Go into Menu->More->Settings and scroll all the way to the bottom. You should see a new menu item called UAString
Tap the UAString menu option and select a different user agent from the provided menu

I have IE6, "Mac Desktop" and "Linux Desktop" as options for mine, all of which give me full versions of websites.
See also this question with info on some of the goodies in debug mode.

The about:debug menu also works on Honeycomb (or later), but the menu is organized a little differently. You enter about:debug the same way, then go into the Settings and you'll find a new settings tab (on the left) simply named "Debug". UAString is one of the first options in this tab.

This worked for me. Note that for some websites, you need to delete your cookies before reloading the website to see the change, because some websites store your client info between page loads.

about:debug works on a galaxy j3 (lollipop), well, kind of... I can access the debug menu but as soon as I visit another page the Debug menu disappears and the user agent switches back to normal. Any suggestions? Am I doing something wrong?

On my HTC Desire running 2.2 I have an option under the stock browser menu>more>settings called "Mobile view" which Enables mobile versions of web pages.
For example with this this enabled I get the mobile version of Tumblr, with it disabled I get the full site.

Thanks for the additional information, I'm sure HTC users will find it useful.

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


text:
Xiaomi android always boot in recovery (twrp) mode
I tried to install twrp in my xiaomi redmi 7A, and it worked, but now i'm not able to boot the system.
The steps i followed are as follows:

fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot boot recovery.img

It seems like i have to flash the firmware, but i want to see another solutions for obvious reasons.

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/214902

Yes, the best solution is to flash the stock firmware. Or the other option is if you backed up recovery partition then you can flash it through twrp to go back to stock recovery, which can solve your problem.

Thanks. Where can i download good/thrusty firmware image? I'm downloading from some site i found but i'm not secure about it.

https://xiaomistockrom.com/xiaomi-redmi-7                 Do upvote.

Due to the poor attention to this problem, i've check the @munsoft004 response as accepted. And yes, i did flash the firmware.

For future intent to flash TWRP with fastboot, if the command "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" works, do not run fastboot boot recovery.img


text:
SIM popup messages keep the screen on indefinitely (Samsung A30s)
A little background: In my country, carriers keep sending those annoying pop-up messages (I think they're called class-0 messages?). This has been the case for a couple of years and they won't stop no matter what you do. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal with my previous phones; I just learned to ignore them.
However, with my A30s (which I've had for a few months), I'm facing a critical issue where the screen will turn on for the message and never turn off unless I close the pop-up or manually turn it off by pressing the power button. There are basically two types of those messages:

Ones that show up after a call is ended (very annoying but avoidable if I remember to close the message after ending the call):

Ones that show up randomly (sometimes at night while I'm asleep. Screen stays on overnight and drains the battery):

I couldn't even tell which app is responsible for displaying those messages. Here's what I've tried:

Checked the permissions for the Messages app and the Phone app to see if there's something that controls this.

Disabled the "draw over other apps" permission for the Messages app.

Installed Google's Messages app and set it as default (since I can't uninstall or disable the main one).

I also checked the permissions for the "SIM toolkit" app but there were none. I tried disabling the notifications but the option was grayed out.

None of the above helped.
Does anyone know how to get rid of these messages?
Note: I want to avoid rooting the device or installing a custom rom.
I tried reporting this to Samsung but they weren't very helpful.

One simple workaround would be to activate Airplane mode at night. It has the advantage of less battery consumption and no one can disturb you when you are sleeping.

@Robert Thanks for the suggestion! However, it doesn't only happen at night. It happens during the day as well and I might not notice it for hours if I'm not using the phone. Also, I don't prefer turning off the phone at night, in case of an urgent/emergency call or something.

Download Automate app and make a flow like this..

Allow the permissions And then configure it like this. Notice the option "When UI element appear".

Then click on record. Now, make a call and end/hang up it so that you get the dialog-box. Click on Cancel in the dialog box, see the details and try to understand if the interaction has been recorded. If yes, then click OK.
What it does is that it automatically clicks the Cancel button as soon as it appears on the screen.
I haven't received any dialog box for years so I don't know if that's gonna work. If it doesn't, just see the options from + icon and try to do something else. There are like a hundred options. If that too doesn't work then let me know.

Okay, this did help (+1). It does close the dialog but unfortunately it closes every dialog with input field and a cancel button (for example the ones you interact with using codes like *xxx#. I tried to create a condition based on the dialog text but the interactions that I recorded doesn't have anything that includes the text of that UI element. Do you have any suggestions?

Change the action in the interact block(it probably will be select or click) change it to inspect then add another block of delay 10 seconds and then copy the first block and paste it and connect it after the delay. So that the order is (Interact1 > Delay > Interact2). In interact2 change the action to click or select the cancel button. What is does is checks if the cancel button is present. if yes then it waits for user to cancel it (in 10sec) if user doesn't cancel it then it will automatically do so.

Actually that's exactly what I did :-D (I used 30 sec. delay though to allow for typing and sending if required). I was just hoping there would be a better way that depends on the text and doesn't rely on a delay. I think that's good enough though. Will accept your answer soon because it did help me. Thanks again :)

And if in cast you want to cancel the specific money remaining and all dialog box then try this experiment. Start record interaction and when the dialog box pops up click on the text it will get recorded. In automate select the interaction and in "ui element text" remove the variable things (like the amount which changes everytime). This does rely on text as you wanted and is the most efficient way i guess. Thanks to you! I too didn't know there's so much in automate yet. I just used it for simple automations.

I just want to know did the automate app auto close the random promotions pop up you were also getting from your carrier, or just the after call pop ups? Thanks,

@Suliemans You can set that if the pop-up contains some specific text then cancel it else not.


text:
Installing android 9 or 10 on iphone 4
Is it possible to install Android 9 or 10 on iPhone 4? If no, what are the missed requirements and what is the last Android version that can be installed on iPhone 4?

That Android version hasn't been released yet

interesting topic. iphone is unlockable?

Simple answer... No, you cannot install Android on an iPhone 4... On a iPhone 7/7 Plus it is possible missing MAJOR features, like the ability to use the cellular radio (ie. no voice, sms, or mobile data). https://bgr.com/2020/03/05/you-can-now-install-android-on-your-iphone/

Is it possible to install Android on an iPhone 4?
Technically speaking, yes. The bootrom of the iPhone 4 has long been exploited. If you want to try, here's a few steps you can take:

Exploit your iPhone 4 using any bootrom exploit
Build a custom Android kernel for your iPhone 4
Write a custom loader with all the necessary configuration and components
Boot it on the iPhone 4

What're the missed requirements?
There could be a lot of them, for example, the storage chip, the CPU, a lot of things can go wrong with this type of exploit.
What's the latest version that can run on the iPhone 4?
None. But if you somehow manage to get Android running on it, I would say you can run up to Nougat. Because your iPhone 4 have a single core and 512mb of ram, this configuration is similar to another device called Samsung Galaxy Star and it has almost the same configuration in terms of ram and CPU cores, and it is able to run up to Nougat.


text:
Clear Google Maps search history without removing the cached maps?
I've been using the Google Maps app to cache the maps on certain places where I might be going in the future. I don't always have internet access which is why I'm doing this. Now that I've cached most of the places I might possibly go to, I want to clear my search history to remove the clutter. I don't want to clear the whole shebang. Otherwise, my "pre-caching" actions would just be wasted efforts. I just want the search history on Google Maps to be cleared. How do I do this?

It's possible that if you use the Download Map lab, you'll be able to clear your cache (but not data) without also clearing the maps. But you can't do directions or search with those maps.
In reality I think you'd probably be better off downloading an app specifically made for offline maps access, such as MapDroyd.

Yes, You can clear the location history.
For that open settings > Location > Location Services > Google Location History.
Here you will see the Delete location history option at the bottom of screen.
Just hit that option.
That's it !!


text:
Termux closes window immediately on Android 10 and 11
Since a few days I have problems with Termux on my Android devices.
On a Lenovo TB-X304F running Android 8.1.0 I got:
CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash": library "libandroid-support.so" not found

[Process completed (signal 6) - press Enter]

I was able to recover from this using the procedure from the Termux wiki.
But on a Fairphone 3 running Android 10 and a Google Pixel running Android 11 the Termux window is immediately closed, even when I start it in a failsafe session. There is only a message saying "Termux keeps stopping".
I have removed Termux and reinstalled from F-Droid but to no avail. This is very unfortunate because I mostly use Termux on the Fairphone for quick webserver checks with openssl and netcat.
I checked the permissions (only Files and Media) and allowed them, but to no avail.
How can I get Termux running again on the newer devices?
Update:
According to this comment the issue is only with version 0.105 and should be gone with 0.106.

Shouldn't F-Droid remove .105 from "suggested" state then, in favor of previous version .104? At least until the new release.

I am not connected to F-Droid except that I use it as a platform to download the Apps. The answer only describes a workaround until F-Droid replaces version 0.105.

This is a problem that came with version 0.105 of Termux and should be gone with 0.106.
In the meantime this workaround helped me to solve the problem with Android 10 and 11.
Basically it involves the following steps:

Install Termux
Get access to the home directory inside Termux (for instance with a file manager)
Create the directory /home/.termux
Place an empty file named termux.properties inside of /home/.termux/
Start termux


text:
Lock screen shown when notification selected
I am starting to get some strange behaviour with my Nexus 4 running the latest JB os. I get a notification such as an email or sms, so I unlock the screen before dragging the notification bar down and selecting it. Upon selecting the notification the lock screen pops back up asking me for my pin before sending me to the relevant app.
Any ideas?

Same thing here. Not sure how the status bar got linked to launch the lock screen.

I started getting this after I installed and changed some custom lock screens. In particular the neXt launcher and some GO Lock screens. I'm sure it's not issues with those apps but rather some of the settings they changed.

In my case the problem appears to have been caused by the "manage locking" section of JuiceDefender. Turning that off solved the problem.

If you have any custom lock screens, un-install them. This will make the annoying behaviour stop. At least it did for me. There was some funky systems settings between the lock screen app and next launcher that you get prompted for. This made the default lock screen come up (not the one I was trying to use).
To recap, this happened with the NeXt launcher (very good, btw), Go Lock Screen and stock android 4.1.1 unrooted on the Samusung Galaxy Note II (Rogers - like AT&T).
Hopefully this helps someone pin down the real reason this happens.


text:
Internal SD-card hardware erros. Is there a way to move partitions to external sdcard?
I have a device with hardware errors in the internal sd card and want to move /data entirely to the external sd card.
I was thinking that it should be possible to create a partition in external sd-card and use it instead of the default partition for /data/ so that only system partition (which is read only ) will remain on the internal SD-card and this will reduce the chance of errors.
How can I change the initial mount options to make android mount /data from external SD card. ?
EDIT:
One solution is fstab modification,In Linux PC it's quite simple,  modifying /etc/fstab. will it work on the equivalent fstab for android ?

Not mentioned in my answer: but if your device is still under warranty, I'd rather send it in for repair.

On Android it's not that easy to modify the "fstab", as that's often stored inside the boot-image (see Wikipedia on "initrd" for a more detailed explanation).
However, depending on the device, there might be alternative solutions. Some of them would be:

DirectoryBind binds "directories located on external_sd to directories on internal memory (/sdcard). This way You can transfer large application data directories to external_sd." (in other words, you could compare that with "symbolic links", pointing to the external SDCard). See also this article.
Swap Internal and External sdcard. According to the linked article, this should work for ANY Android Phone or Tablet. This solution is comparable to your "editing of fstab".
Root External 2 Internal SD is an app to swap the cards. From its description, it does the same as described in the previous point.

There might be more solutions around, but these are the ones I've heard of. Hope one of them can help you out!


text:
Can Asus Nexus 7 WiFi support a Huawei E3276 4G usb dongle SIM holder to achieve telephone functionality?
I could connect (with an usb adapter) a Huawei usb dongle that I normally use with my laptop computer and contains a SIM card for mobile internet and phone functions like SMS and phonecalls, but it doesn't seem that android (4.4.4) with my Asus Nexus 7 WiFi edition recognizes the device. Can it be done, or should I investigate other ways to enable mobile internet and telephony for my Asus Nexus 7?

Did you go forward with this and make any progress?

I didn't test it more. I think it's feasible to make it work with software interface. First I must fix a random bug that reboots the thing. Thanks for comment!


text:
Where is the Samsung Galaxy setting for answering lock/unlock?
My friend told me that every time someone calls, he must unlock the phone. He wondered if we could change that setting. I looked in my own Samsung Galaxy and I could not find the setting. Do you know what we could do to resolve the issue so that my friend won't have to unlock his phone every time somebody is calling? I think that the problem is vendor- or operator-specific looking at this thread with a similar issue.

lock options for your device, from the Home screen, touch Menu Menu key > Settings Settings Shortcut > Lock screen > Screen lock.W hen you select the Samsung lock feature, Swipe (or the With swipe lock option), additional features become available by opening Settings Settings Shortcut > Lock screen > Lock screen options.For any other query you can check at Samsung India site.


text:
Bug in google play store?
Google Play store reports my apps sizes as "null" but AFAIK my app is working. It says "null" where app size should be listed. Is this a bug?

At my other app, it says "size undefined".

Where is it showing null in play store or inside your phone after installation ?

@HarshGundecha In play store. I added screenshot. This is the case for two of my apps. I didn't check the third.

The app link you have posted takes me to the app named "Trending Ads(unreleased)" with last update date 29-mar-2018, please verify the link

@HarshGundecha Yes. It is my app. Size null is reported at two of my apps, here too https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dev.android.jamie

To me its showing 6.64 mb

@HarshGundecha maybe it is a feature that it shows different versions? I will look from another device.

My play store version is 8.9.24 and using moto g5+ on android 7.0 stock , hope that would help

@NiklasRosencrantz facing the same issue. any workaround?

@Radhey I'm checking different apps from different devices. Will update with my findings.

I have capitalize one thing , not our apps but too many apps having the same issue over play store(which are published in this last 2 days ). I have just uploaded new build yesterday.might be you too @NiklasRosencrantz

Maybe we need to be more specific about the client. With Google Play Store native Android app, I see the app size. With webbrowsers, I see null there. I've tried Firefox Focus (Blink) and Firefox (Gecko), both of them behave this way. It is obviously a bug.

Its a bug from PlayStore itself, many of the app shows null size.

You should probably report this to Google. We aren't really going to be able to help aside from saying "yes, it looks like a bug".


text:
Is there a way to keep youtube videos etc playing even while closing the lid?
This worked before I reinstalled android with some app that I don't remember which. A common situation is that I start a youtube video, start listening and then put the phone in my pocket. And then the sound stops after closing the phone. I'd like youtube and other selected programs to keep playing. Is there a way to achieve it? I believe there was a program that could do it where a whitelisted youtube etc to keep playing in the background or similar.

For YouTube you would need to subscribe to YouTube Music Key. This allows you to

play music on mobile the way you want to – with or without video, while using other apps or with your screen off.

It also removes adverts from music videos and allows you to download & play videos offline.
I'm not aware of how to achieve this with other apps (which don't support playing in the background).


text:
Why do QR scanner apps want to access my contact list?
I want an app to scan the occasional QR code which usually should contain an URL.
The other day, I meant to download an app for that and searched the market for one that does not want access to all my contacts, my granny's underpants, and whatever else it could get its grubby hands on — to no avail.
How is it that they all want to dig into my pants contacts? Am I missing something or is that really just data mining on the app writers' part?

Let me add: I am using Barcode Scanner by ZXing Team from F-Droid. The F-Droid folks build the apps themselves, from the sources, removing ad-libs if necessary. I generally trust them way more than what you find at the Play Store.
(That said, I seem to remember that this app is also available at the Play Store. There, however, it's uploaded by the creator, and you don't know if he did upload exactly the version that's open-sourced.)

Here is QR Droid Private. It does not access your contact information.
Usually, the reason they want contact access is because you can store contact information in a QR code. So when scanned, it sees that it is a contact and adds it to your contacts. Without access to your contacts, it would not be able to do this. Another reason is that some of the apps allow you to create QR codes from your contacts. It would need read permission to do this.
Here is an example of a vCard stored in a QR code:

Here is the data that is stored in there:
BEGIN:VCARD
N:John Q. Public
ORG:Acme
TITLE:CEO
TEL:3125555555
URL:http://example.com
EMAIL:john.q.public@email.com
ADR:1234 any street suite 300 Someville\, ST 00000
END:VCARD

I think this shows why the permissions are handled all wrong.  Instead of having to accept an app that mysteriously requires some set of permissions, Android should've been set up to allow us to turn them on and off on a per-app basis, then let the app pop up a dialog "You scanned a contact, but I don't have permission", if and only if you try to use that feature.

@LarryGritz: I wholeheartedly agree. Why do I have to either slavishly follow some app writer's whim on what they want to access, or abstain from installing the app altogether? As long as I'm content with a QR reader not being able to exchange contact infos, I could use any QR reader if I only could tell the system to deny it access to my contact list. As it is, I either have to find one whose writer voluntarily excluded that feature or I have to voluntarily surrender my private data.


text:
iPhone-to-Android convert: how do I change the lock screen, set up 2-click speed dialing, etc.
I just left my iPhone 3G for a Samsung Galaxy S II Android phone. I am trying to recreate certain iPhone behaviors and am wondering if it's possible, and how.

Android 2.3's default lock screen is just a giant picture tile that you have to tap-swipe out of the way. I don't like it, as the tap-swipe distance required is ~3/4 of the screen. Are there any better alternatives?
On the iPhone, I could customize the bottom four "home row" icons. Is there a way to do this in Android? (I couldn't find one.)
On the iPhone, I could achieve a speed-dialing of sorts by choosing Favorite phone numbers, then dial them by tapping on "Favorites", then the person's entry. The closest I've found in Android, navigating through the Phone icon, requires a ridiculous five or six clicks. Is there a better way? I tried making a folder and then populating that folder with "Direct Dial" shortcuts for each person in my favorites list. But it seems very manual. I would prefer to have this folder be in my home row of icons as well.
On the iPhone, I could arrange the order of items in a folder. Is this possible on the Android?
On the iPhone, when someone sent me a text message, the message would appear in a dialog window on my screen. On the Android, I just get a icon indicating I have a new text message. Is there a way to configure Android to just display the text message contents immediately?
When I'm looking at someone's text message history, is there a way to call them directly? The iPhone had a button at the top for allowing this.

(Answer to #3: hit the left-menu button and then hit Call.)

This is a comment, so not complete answer, but if you favor how iPhone does some things, you can try alternative Launchers.  Go Launcher has many things similar to iPhone in how folders are displayed and ability to uninstall apps from home screen.

As you're using a Galaxy S2 which has Samsung's TouchWiz interface layered over the Android OS, some of your questions are specific to Touchwiz, so I'll answer them that way too, in a way that may not be helpful to people with a different interface:

Yes, there are a number of Lockscreens built in, if you go into Settings -> Location and Security, then you should see a section labelled Screen Unlock Settings selecting Set screen lock gives you some options.
This is TouchWiz specific. On the home screen press the Applications icon to get to the Apps list, then press the Menu button and select Edit. You should now be able to drag any icon off the "home row", and drag any other icon on (to maximum of four apps).
There are a couple of other questions on this site about setting up quick dials (like this one) etc. But it sounds like you could do what you want by creating a Starred Contacts folder on your home screen. Firstly go through your Contacts and "Star" any contacts that you'd regard as favourites, then find an empty space on your home screen, long-press there, sleect Folders from the menu that pops up and then select Starred Contacts.
Don't really use folders myself, so I'll leave that to someone else.
That was the first annoyance I noticed when I got my first Android phone a few years ago, I use the SMS Popup app for that, couldn't use an Android for messaging without it.
Never even tried doing that, but when you're in their text message conversation you can press Menu then More then Call.

Most home screen launchers allow you to long click on a blank space on the home screen.  When you do this, it will give you an "Add to Screen" menu, or something like it.  You can drag items into the folder.  Depending on the messagingin app, you can click their contact icon (either their picture or a blank icon), and it will pull up a menu to call them.

@chance i'm pretty sure the OP already said he tried that in point 3 and said that it was too much of a manual process? Unless you're talking about point 4s question on how to sort items in folders and i've mistaken you?

yes, I was actually talking about point 4, but upon rereading, I think I misunderstood.  I thought OP was just asking how to create folders.


text:
Can I get back to root-able HBoot version by doing a factory reset
I have a HTC Wildfire (Buzz) that originally came with Eclair. I now have Froyo on it and the Unrevoked tool doesn't work as the HBoot version is not supported (too new for Unrevoked).
At this point, I don't care about losing the data on the phone (they are backed up anyway). So, can I do a factory reset to get the old firmware back that can be rooted?
I'm ready to do anything to get Cyongenmod on this :)

No, performing a factory reset won't affect your HBoot version.
You should, however, be able to follow this guide instead (which uses Revolutionary). There's another page with instructions here which describes in a bit more detail what Revolutionary does and where to go from there. The standard disclaimers with regards to possibly bricking your device apply, of course, and I can't guarantee 100% that it will work.

Doesn't seem like that'll work. As HBOOT 1.01.0001 is listed as a prerequisite. I have HBOOT 1.01.0002 which is why it didn't work with Unrevoked.

Second link you've listed has a how to link on downgrading HBOOT. Will give that a spin and post back :)

I manged to downgrade HBOOT to 1.01.1001. But Revolutionary and Unrevoked both still fail to turn S-OFF :(
Guess there's no hope..


text:
How can I tell if I have root?
I've been attempting to root my phone (Samsung Intercept M910, but that probably doesn't matter).
How can I tell that I have actually, successfully gained root? I've run a few apps which require root, and some work and some don't, so I'm unclear if I've gained root or not.

Use terminal emulator (a popular free/open-source terminal emulator is Android Terminal Emulator, available from F-droid or Play Market), open the emulator and type
su
you will know with the message that appears after if phone is rooted or not.
Edit:
There is an app just for this now : Root Checker

A popular free/open-source terminal emulator is Android Terminal Emulator, available from F-droid or Play Market.

What if "su: not found"? It simply implies that the su utility has not been installed (or is not in the PATH), rather than whether we have root...

I got "su: not found". But I still suspect the phone is rooted. What can I do now?

try this app :  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.joeykrim.rootcheck

Connect your phone in developer mode via USB and start an ADB shell
adb shell

If you see a # at the beginning of the line your phone is rooted, if it's a $ try to execute the su command, and if you get a # now, your phone is rooted, but if you get an error that su can't be found it's probably not, or the su binary is simply missing.
There are also apps on the market that test if your phone is rooted.

That's not enough. If you see a "$"-Prompt you still can elevate to root via the su binary (typing the "su" command), if you have successfully rooted your phone.

Yeah, forgot that some ROMs doesn't have root as default. Hm, anything else you want me to change now?

There is an application available in the market called Root Checker, that can verify if your phone is rooted, and if you have BusyBox installed.

Does not that just check for the su binary?

That is exactly what it means to be "rooted", is to have su binary installed properly with suid bit set. The su binary commonly comes with an accompaniment program to manage permissions, Superuser app, but this is just for conveniences and ease of use.

Thanks @Lie Ryan, but from some other comments it looks like the phone can still be rooted even if there is no su binary. Is that not correct?

Please see this thread for the reason I am asking: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/127347/can-gmail-be-uninstalled-on-android-5-1-1-lollipop

@Leo: to be precise, there isn't exactly a different state between rooted and unrooted devices in the underlying Linux system. All Linuxes, including unrooted Android, have setuid system call, which is the primary mechanisms used by Linux programs to acquire elevated privilege. Setting up a suid binary itself requires elevated privilege. Many Android system applications on a unrooted device runs with elevated privilege (e.g. adbd, system updater), but they only escalate for very specific purposes. su is a privileged program that allows you to invoke other programs with elevated privileged.

Thanks @Lie Ryan, that was what I thought. But I am trying to understand what the trouble is with my phone (if any, how could Gmail be uninstalled?). As I understand it Gmail can be uninstalled on a rooted Android, but I do not understand exactly why - or should I say "how"? I mean can I on rooted device just uninstall Gmail from the Play Store app, or?

@Leo: in short, being rooted is actually a property of a running process, not the system/device. If a process runs with elevated privilege, they're running as root, this is irrespective of whether su is installed. What "rooted device" in common Android parlance means is that the device is set up so that the user can elevate privilege of arbitrary programs, which is achieved by installing su as a suid program.

I see, @Lie Ryan. So, perhaps, in my case a possibility is that the Play Store app has the setuid bit set (or what it is called on Android)? Is there any way to check this?

You should see the "Superuser" application in the app tray.
Most rooting methods add this app to manage the superuser rights: it appeared for me when I rooted my Desire.

You can install Superuser on a non-rooted device just fine, though. It just won't do anything without the su binary (and will complain that it needs to "update" it every time you run it). The presence of Superuser doesn't really mean you're rooted; running it kind of does, but the update failure message doesn't say "failed to update because you're not root" or anything of that nature (and you can hit "Cancel" and it goes away).

Beside what everyone mentioned,
One super easy way would also be installing an app from Google Play that requires root access.
I suggest DroidWall, which is a must-have firewall for android. Install it, and hit apply rules. If not rooted, it will tell you, and will fail to apply rule.

For developers and to provide an imho more comprising test via adb do the following:
[you@yourbox]$ adb shell
[root&adbshell]$ mount -o rw,remount /system
[root&adbshell]$ echo $?
 0
[root&adbshell]$
[root&adbshell]$ mount | grep system
 /dev/block/by-name/system /system ext4 rw,seclabel,relatime,data=ordered 0 0
[root&adbshell]$ ls /dev/block/by-name/system -la
 lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-02-23 19:33 system -> /dev/block/nandd
[root&adbshell]$ ls /dev/block/nandd -la
 brw------- root     root      93,  24 2016-02-23 19:33 nandd

points are that :

Chances are that the adb shell prompt will tell you root@[something] which is clear
but just to check we try remounting /system read-write rw (something that needs root)
checking that the result worked out i.e no error echo $? yields 0
then still checking / following that /system eventually was at a block device /dev/block/nandd in the example that is reported to be accessible only by root

I am aware that this is a "for advanced users only" option, and ad best similar to the other answer suggested by @kyrias, but I think this one is slighly more compatible as mount in contrast to su is more likely to be there.
Also I would like to suggest that a comprehensive test of rootness would involve now to use the root powers and backup the content of the /system and flash it with an alternative system for trial. Else there is a change the adbd is only faking you information, always better to make sure you can test root powers by actually doing something that is visible on multiple channels :)

You can download an application called "Root Checker" that gains root access to your device and tests if it's rooted or not. You can easily understand with that way if it's rooted or not. I can understand with that way and it's extremely easy.
There are a lot of applications called Root Checker but that doesn't matter just install one and you're good to go.
After doing that you can understand is it rooted or not.
If it's rooted you can use every application that requires root with the device you're using.
If you're device is not rooted open the recovery project you've installed (on Samsung devices press the volume down+power+home button at the same time) and from there wipe the data. Then reboot your phone from the main menu of the recovery project and press volume up+power+home button to open the download menu.
WARNING: THE METHOD EXPLAINED HERE ONLY WORKS WITH EVERY SAMSUNG PHONE. AND IT WILL NOT WORK WITH OTHERS. IT CAN WORK BUT NOT SURE ABOUT IT. YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CASE ON OTHER WEBSITES.
Connect your device to your Windows Computer and using Odin you can flash the necessary files including SuperSU to the device. And after doing those just reboot and bang, your device is rooted successfully.
Max Lee can help you on his website (highonandroid.com) that prepares cool articles about rooting.
You can also prefer The Unlockr that you can find on youtube and theunlockr.com.
Both prefer nice videos that can be helpful to you.

Its easy. Just download some famous root requiring apps(apps which require root) eg:- titanium backup, supersu etc. and see that they work or not. If they work correctly, then you have gained root. If they don't work, it means root is not working.

If they don't work, that might also have other reasons – such as incompatibilities with your device, bugs in the app. Of course if all of them fail, that might be a strong indicator – but a long way to go. Using a root checker, or a terminal app (as suggested in the linked answers) are much faster and more reliable methods.

Checking root is also a good method but according to question details, some apps had worked and some had not so probably root checker can also fail

It's more likely those failed for a different reason: A root-checker, or especially running the su command, has much less complexity, and thus is much less likely to fail.

Yes, you should download root checker basic or pro.


text:
How to copy files from tablet to PC - Not all files show up in PC
When I connect my Xoom to my PC via USB cable I get a Xoom "Portable Media Player" showing up in my Windows Explorer.  When I browse the drive, I can only see half the folders compared to if I browse the SD card directly from within Astro file manager on the Xoom.
Why aren't all files and folders showing up?  In Android (3.2), I've tried copying a file from a "hidden" folder to a folder that I can actually see on the PC but the file does not show up.
Someone suggested it was because it didn't get mounted as "USB Mass Storage".
How can I copy the files?
(same functionality works fine from my HTC Desire)

Are the missing files actually on the external SD card, or are they in the Xoom's internal /sdcard directory?

I have not installed any external SD card, so I assume it's the internal memory.  The files can be seen in /sdcard subdirectory (as well as /mnt/sdcard).  However, not all files seen there are visible in my PC

Do those hidden folders start with a dot "."? Have you tried enabling options in windows explorer to show hidden files?

@Audrius Windows doesn't hide folders starting with a dot, they have to be marked as hidden in their properties.

Does Windows Explorer show it with a phone or PMP icon instead of a drive icon? If so I would suspect onik's answer is correct.

Windows filesystem cannot create files with dot in the beginning.. So such folders, (including .nomedia files) won't be copied over.

@Power-Inside What are you talking about? In Windows, files beginning with a dot are handled as normal files, there's nothing special about them, and they definitely can be created. Just go to any explorer window and File -> New -> Text Document and name it .test.txt. No problems.

@onik We are talking about .nomedia files here.. try to create a file/folder with the name as ".test" NOT ".test.txt". It won't work. Hence, .nomedia files cannot exist in windows filesystem.

@Power-Inside That is not a restriction of the file system, it's a restriction of Windows Explorer. Try this: Open Notepad, type something, File -> Save... and select Save as type: All files. Then enter the filename .nomedia and save. Or open a command prompt and try echo This is a dotfile example > .dotfile. How do you think most Linux-based apps would still use dot-prefix folders for their settings after being ported to Windows if NTFS wouldn't support them?

@onik  Thanks for clarifying. for a moment there i thought the file system just didnt support it because I copied a folder from my android using copy-paste and the destination didnt have the .nomedia copied over!

Try WiFi File Explorer (also available in pro version with more features). It reads your SD card just like Astro does, allows you to view it from a computer browser, and does not require root. You may be able to view your files from here, and if so, you can download them via WiFi network.
Let us know if it works! :)

Unfortunately I don't have a WiFi connection at home!

ouch :/ let Mr know if you get one then! :)

you may try install the android SDK and use adb-pull under command-line.

Sounds like bit of an overkill :)

Simple painless can be with Dropbox application where you can share files between various platforms. No need for cable just wireless access ;)

Apparently Android versions 3.1+ support MTP  for file transfers. This is a better protocol than USB Mass Storage for media files (music, photos, videos) but won't necessarily work with all files as well. Probably since this mode is meant for media transfer, the system and data folders are hidden from the user.

Strange, since the files that I'm not able to access are in fact images!

Got a Samsung Galaxy Tab a couple of days ago and it uses MTP, but I can see all the same folders on it. So I don't think it's a MTP problem anymore. At least not a general Android-MTP problem, don't know if Motorola or Samsung use modified protocol stacks.


text:
Voice Commands vs Voice Search
What is the difference in Voice Commands and Voice Search? Are they both by Google?

Voice Search is the name of the voice interaction app created by Google. It allows you to search your phone and the web using your voice.
Voice Actions is a specific feature of the Voice Search app that allows you to perform actions on your phone using your voice (such as calling someone, launching your music player, getting directions, etc). Voice Search supports a variety of locales but the Voice Actions component is only available for a subset of those (originally US English only, though I believe it has since expanded).
If you have a separate app named "Voice Commands" then it is most likely developed by a third-party. I know some Verizon phones, for instance, ship with an app named "Voice Commands" and bottom of the app displays Nuance Communications copyright 2003-2011.

In my list of app I have both Voice Search and Voice Commands. Are you saying the Voice Command app is really just a frontend tie-in to voice actions?

@Homer: Sorry, I think I made my answer more confusing that I intended. If you have a separate app named "Voice Commands" it's probably made by a third party. Google only has Voice Search (with Voice Actions) as far as I know.


text:
Changing the call voicemail timeout period?
I'm running Cyanogenmod 7.  When I call my Android phone, it rings for 30 seconds before timing out and directing to my voicemail.  I want it to only ring for 20 seconds before timing out - how can I change this?  Is there somewhere in the Android GUI for me to set it?

That, I believe, is set by your carrier.

OK, this is indeed a setting which is determined by the carrier.  It can be changed (at least on GSM networks, according to this Tech Recipes article), using an MMI code (Man-Machine Interface code).  Here's the procedure that worked for me:
On your Android phone, go to your Phone app, dial *#61#, and hit the Call button.  Android should briefly display "MMI code started".  Then, it should display your current voicemail number and the delay time.  Note down the voicemail number since you'll need to enter this in next.
Next, go to your Phone app and then the keypad.  Now dial this number from the keypad to change the time your phone will ring before it goes to voicemail:
**61*1yyyYYYyyyy*11*xx#
... and then hit the call button.
In the above code, you will put your voicemail number where the yYs are and the time delay in seconds for the xxs.  Once you hit call, it will give confirmation as to whether it was successful or not.
Delay is in five second increments with the maximum being 30 seconds (ie. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 secs).
So for example, if my voicemail number is 555-444-5555 and i want to set it to the maximum 30 seconds, i would dial this on my Android phone's keypad:
**61*15554445555*11*30#
Apparently, this will work for AT&T, T-Mobile, and any other GSM / SIM Card Carrier and may work on other phones besides Android devices.
Personally I am in the UK and so my voicemail number starts +44, so my MMI code to change the voicemail timeout was more like this:
**61*+447890123123*11*20#
It worked perfectly for me, and set the voicemail timeout to 20 seconds.

Nice find. Spot anything similar for CDMA?

No idea.  It doesn't exist in most countries outside the USA. :-)


text:
Way to send a barcode via SMS with as little user interaction as possible
I would like to set up a bar code reading app (such as ZXing Team's Barcode Scanner) on an android phone in such way that it would send with as little user interaction as possible (preferably none) after the barcode was scanned the result in an SMS to a predefined phone number.
I have tried Tasker but without success and I don't have the skills to write an app of my own.

would you prefer an app that would do this explicitly?

What do you mean by explicitly? That the user has knowledge of the barcode being sent? (Yes)

barsent
....................................Weird name, I know right!

barsent is a simple and free app that lets you set a predefined number in the
  options and then any subsequent BarCode scan results will be sent to
  that number instantly without any prompts.

The barcode reader by ZXing Team is however required for this app.
Get it here!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE BARSENT APK (not available on market)
Remember to turn on "install from unknown sources" in your options!

Btw, the app is made by me when I got some spare time and I thought while it may be too simple, it could be helpful to a few people. Your question inspired me to make such an app (lol I know im such a sucker for bounties) ; anyway, it was fun getting this done in the MIT's App-Inventor
The app is not well tested because I did not have much time. If you find bugs or want to request for a feature, maybe we can do it over the chat here on android stack exchange or via email preferably. Comments are probably not the right way.
A few things I'd like to say

Its simple and will always be free
If its slow or crashing, I might not be able to do much really since its made using appinventor, do tell if those things happen though.
If you don't like this, you can modify or build your own or ask me for features. Also, there could be potentially some apps in the market that does the same in a better way. I simply made this app for fun.
I don't know if I can support app2sd or crunch the size of the app.. its just appinventor and I didn't include any fancy media into this app.
There are no obtrusive ads, background services or airpush junk
Permissions are exaggerated by the appinventor I guess
Don't hold me responsible for anything
If you like this, you can upvote this, share it using the small and cute buttons to the left of this post.
Oh and after installing the app, I recommend scanning the barcode that's above in this post using the app. ;)
Screen Shots.. maybe later but the app's really ugly in terms of looks. :D
Exclusively for the stack exchange community! That's why I am posting here!

Oh, did that feel better! :D

Thank you very much! I never would have dreamed that somebody would write a program just for me! I would very much appreciate it if you could make the source code available because I'm a bit reluctant to install an apk from somebody I don't know without checking the code first.

@Andris I don't have a source code, but I do have the AppInventor's Project files. And you can build your own apk from it. I'll post it in a few minutes from now.

@Andris Here's the source files http://db.tt/PfYm9vJh Simply log in to App Inventor and in the projects menu, just upload this zip file on a whole.

Thank you! I will only be able to check out the project in a few days but in the meantime I will award you the bounty. You have definitively earned it.


text:
Where does the standard Android Web Browser keep its history files?
As in, the included web browser (which isn't Chrome or Firefox).
I'm using a Lenovo ThinkPad, by the way. But the results might be generalizable to other tablets.

I believe the history files will be in the .db file located at /data/data/com.android.browser/databases/browser.db
However, you will require root access to be able to work with the files.


text:
Can I increase the screen dimming in Android v4?
I've noticed that Android v4 on a Samsung Galaxy Note does not dim the screen nearly enough in darkness or very low light, even when the auto dimming feature is turned on.  Are there any controls I've missed?  Are there any applications that increase the screen dimming?
If not, can anyone make comments on trying to write such an application?  Would I need to modify Cyanogen to do this?

Try the app Screen Filter, it does just what you need with no extra hassle.


text:
What happened to real time tracking in Latitude?
What happened to the real time tracking of friends in Latitude? The feature used to be there, but I cant find it anymore

Can you be more descriptive because its right here for me.

I can still see where my friends were several minutes ago, but I can't find the option of getting updates every several seconds. There used to be an option "track this person for 15minutes" but I cant find it now

OK I understood. I assumed different thing when I said that.

According tho this post, that feature was removed as of version 5.10 of Google Maps app because it was never properly working.

This is very upsetting for me :( Loved real-time updating, and only now does someone I care for following have an Android :-/

Google rep said that this feature was not working, and most of the time did the opposite, so I wouldn't miss it if I were you :)

I find their reasoning hard to believe

You can just press "refresh"-- and it will really give you second-by-second changes so long as the person you're looking at has their GPS on.
If location is set to "Network"- then it only updates when they change towers.
This is much more battery-efficient, it seems.

Yea, I am aware that GPS is expensive since its an additional chip to be enabled. While using mobile phone towers is given effectively for free, since you're going to be connected to the cell towers already.


text:
Upgrade small-screen phone to Ice Cream Sandwich?
I'm running 2.3 (Gingerbread) on an Xperia mini, and Sony Ericsson recently announced the availability to upgrade to 4.x (Ice Cream Sandwich). My understanding is that ICS is geared more towards tablets and large-screen phones. Would the Xperia mini with its small 3" screen benefit from this upgrade, or would ICS features such as action bars negatively affect usability?

It is my understanding that ICS is the first OS version that is geared towards both phones and tablets (rather than just phones). However, there are slight differences depending on which platform it is installed on to make better use of the different form factors.

If you are getting ICS update from device manufacturer, its Ok to upgrade. It'll be usable on small screen because you'll not get bare vanilla ROM.. Manufacturers put their own skins over it.
So, if Sony Ericsson is pushing upgrade to Xperia Mini, their custom skin would take care of usability.
Other than this, you will get performance boost with ICS upgrade. There're other benefits, too. So, I'd recommend you to upgrade. Best of all, would you like to be out-of-date?