text:
Deleteing photos from device but still have them in the backup (default Google+)
I've been looking all over for a proper explanation of how to delete photos from the device (nexus 5) to reclaim some space, while being sure that the pictures are still in the Google+ backup.
Unfortunatley i have not found one, other than "wild claims" it works somehow, while other say it does not.
Plus deleting photos via the Pictures app actually warns you (now?) that it will delete the backed up copies too. Do i have to delete them in the Gallery app?
I did delete some photos recently, and i was quite sure they ware still backed up (still showed up on the Google+ website) but looking now i see they are in the trash in the device.
Is there really no way to be able to know for sure if the pictures are backed up savely while i can delete them from the device?
Alternatively i'm also open for alternative solutions to this problem, or i just go back to the "good old copy and paste when plugging the phone".

With the latest update to Google+ something changed in the Photos app. To ensure you are deleting the right pictures take the following steps:
Go into the Photos app
Click on the top left corner for the side menu
Scroll down to Folders and click on it
You will be presented with the different folders on your phone. Delete everything from there and check your storage again.

"Folders" is called "Device" on my phone, but the rest still seems to apply.

Ok I think I cracked the problem. To perform one way backups from your android to the cloud:

Go to settings->accounts
Click on your gmail address(google account)
Un-click everything you do not want synced (2 way- to cloud and
back).
Then Open the Photos app
Touch the menu button or icon  and select Settings.
Touch Auto Backup and switch the toggle On.

There is a feature for backing up all photos now also.
Now you can delete photos from your phone after they are backed up, and they will not come back. The deleted photos will remain on google+.
This is working on my Samsung 5

This seemed to work for me, when combined with disabling Google photos sync described in the answer above. Thanks!

I'm not a big "Cloud fan" (au contraire, I'm avoiding it wherever possible), so my suggested approach is a little different – though it should work with the cloud as well:
For a comparable task, I'm using FolderSync. It supports a load of protocols (FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, Samba/Windows Shares) and even Cloud services (OneDrive, Copy.com, Dropbox, Dump Truck, SugarSync, Bitcasa, Ubuntu One, Box.net, LiveDrive, HiDrive, Google Docs, NetDocuments, Amazon S3). You can define "folder pairs", i.e. one local folder and one corresponding remote folder) to be synchronized. You can have that synchronisation done manually, automatically based on a schedule, or have it triggered by tasker.
Now for our "special case": you can define how the synchronisation shall be done:

local <-> remote: changes are synchronized both ways
local -> remote: only changes on your device are transfered to the remote, not the other way around
local <- remote: the opposite direction

Folder Pairs in FolderSync (source: Google Play; click image for larger variant)
Plus you can specify what shall be done when a file no longer exists "on the other side", e.g. leave it untouched in your case.
So with a one-way sync "local → remote" and "keep option", you should have a solution to your problem. Only thing missing might be the "immediate backup" whenever a picture has been taken – but if a "delay" seems "impractical", you still can approach that via Tasker.


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Cannot see tablet screen while it ts connected to the TV
I have a Serioux s101 tablet and when I'm connecting it to my TV(Toshiba P1300D) it works fine but my tablet's screen becomes blank. Is there a way to see both screens?

Not sure if you are using a USB cable or some sort of wireless connection, or an HDMI cable. If you're using HDMI you should still be able to see your tablets screen. Also, check the input/output settings for your TV.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Rooting Unknown Device
Actually i want to root not-branded tablet. That table is running Android Jelly bean 4.2.2, Kernel 3.0.8+.
Current my status:

From the start i have root access in adb shell
I managed update su binary from legacy to 3.1.1 (su binary located at /system/xbin/)
I also installed Superuser app as System app
And busybox already existed and i think there is no need for updating

You may think the device is rooted, but it's not. Even Superuser app can't access root permissions.
I don't want to use one click solutions and Thanks in advance.

To make sure applications can access the root, you may need to enable it from the Developer Options menu in your device's settings. Once in the Developer Options menu, look for the root access option and select from 'Apps only', 'ADB only' and 'Apps and ADB'. You might have to accept a warning about security, too.
If developer settings isn't visible, try the usual method of hitting 'Build Number' several times in the Phone/Tablet Info section in the settings.
Source: I had a problem similar to this after rooting my S3 and installing CyanogenMod 12.

In CM 11 and CM 12, I found that the settings  Apps/ADB root  cannot be enabled without first enabling Developer Options, so I wonder how OP gets root shell on ADB if not managed by this setting. I guess  some su binary with no interception apk.  And if you end up disabling Developer options somehow, the root settings would disable as well. Besides, CM 11 and CM 12 are based on Android 4.4.x and 5.x.x. This setting that you mentioned might not be found in 4.2.2. Not at least in 4.2.1 of my device. But anyway, if your answer somehow works out for OP,  then its good. :)

Thanks for your suggestion @Firelord. I understand where you are coming from, but I couldn't think of anything else at this time.

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


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How to Refresh Gallery instantly?
I am using Kitkat 4.4.2 on my android device.
When I mount USB drive to my device then all the images,videos in USB drive are shown in the Gallery. After unmounting USB drive, images,videos are still there as a thumbnails.
Can't I refresh my gallery without rebooting?

The system itself AFAIK doesn't expose a GUI element to do so. However, you have multiple options to trigger the Media Scanner:

Reboot the device (not that convenient)
unmounting/remounting the SD card (via Settings; better, but still not convenient)
using one of the apps/widgets available in the app stores. One that's reportedly working with Kitkat is SD Scanner (see my answer here)
using ADB to trigger it (telling it the card has just been mounted – so basically we fake the second option):
adb shell "am broadcast -a android.intent.action.MEDIA_MOUNTED -d file:///mnt/sdcard"

Edit: Some ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod) seem to have a GUI element for it in Settings › Developer options › Developer tools › Media provider – where you can find a button labeled "SCAN SD CARD"

Thanks! I also needed to am force-stop com.android.gallery3d

I unmounted/remounted the SD card, then killed the Gallery app and restarted it. The photos have reappeared. Thanks.

Setting - app - gallery force stop and clear cache. Gallery will reload all those media.

Last time I did this, it worked though some of the thumbnails couldn't be loaded anymore.

This had no effect for me.

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


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How to swap UI of a custom rom with other rom?
I have a custom rom which has Xperia like UI. It's very fast uses very less Ram. The other rom has Kitkat/Jellybean like UI but it has low performance as compared to Xperia UI like rom.
I was wondering if I could change UI of Xperia rom with the other Kitkat rom. is it possible?
I want to change Notification bar, menus , locker, Popup windows, buttons etc.
I use custom launcher and keyboard so no need to change that.

Xposed Framework will help .... Install it http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/versions-changelog-t2714053 Grab some modules http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/xposed-modules-android-rom/ and HOLLA you are the one with awsome phone ... 3;)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-customizing-statusbar-modding-apks-t2332575

If your ROM has Theme Chooser integrated into the system, I would recommend just switching to an AOSP theme, like this KitKat theme.
You can check if you have Theme Chooser by doing any of the below:

Android 2.3: Check if there is an app in your launcher named 'Theme Chooser', with an icon of the Android robot colored four different colors
Android 4.0+: Check if there is any theme-related menus in Settings.

If your ROM does not have Theme Chooser, then you would have to get your hands dirty with manually themeing system APKs. Go to xda-developers for more info and tutorials on that.


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Root Sony Xperia Z1
Is possible to do root Sony Xperia Z1 (c9603) with 4.4.2 version?
I searched on google, but all the tutorials are for other versions. I don't want to do a downgrade, so, is possible root without downgrade?
Thanks


text:
Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 not supporting addtional Language?
I'm using Lenovo IdeaTab A1000 and tried to display a text in malayalam. I found out that it doesn't have the language pack pre-installed. So I tried downloading a malayalam keyboard which was a success. But the problem is that when I type in some text using the malayalam keyboard I'm not able to see the text on the screen.
OS- Android - 4.1.2
Is there a problem with my tablet or with the lenovo OS? and are there any alternative to solve this problem ?
Please help me guys.
Thanks.

See also this question about displaying Tamil writing

@DanHulme I'm able to load the Tamil specific web pages with no hitch. But when I try to display the font in my app, I'm not able to see any text on the screen.


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motorola DROID xt926
My phone has a cracked calibration ( the fore glass) with a good screen but yet it freezes while loading and then restarts. i never get to even see the homescreen before it restarts over again. Nw, I'm confused because i'm not sure if its going to work properly once i change the screen/calibration or its just another hardware problem from the board. Can someone please enlighten me on this?.. i want to know if the cracked calibration is liable to make the phone hang while booting.
 Thank you!

The crack in the glass itself can't cause the kind of problem you're describing, but it's possible that it's not just the glass that's cracked, but the touchscreen sensor. This looks like a thin, transparent plastic film under the glass. If this is damaged, it could be causing a power short or sending bad signals to the rest of the phone hardware, causing it to fail during startup.
In short, from what you've described there's no way to know for sure whether replacing the touchscreen will fix the problem. An experienced phone technician might be able to examine the electrical signals and determine if the touchscreen is still working, but that's probably harder and more expensive than simply replacing it to see if it fixes it. That said, taking the phone apart to replace the screen might make it obvious by letting you see any physical damage to other internal components.

Thanks a bunch Dan, i feel a little more relief, knowing the problem still surrounds the screen as a whole and not other parts from the main board. I would gladly purchase the whole screen, but the only issue i'm having now is getting the phone accessories since it happens to be so scarce here in Nigeria. I cant even say i've seen any other person using this my exact model, except lots of xt912s and xt910s. And the idea of shipping it down scares me because it costs quite much. Whew!


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What is YGPS and why does it have every permission that's in the book?
I have a FairPhone One. From time to time I look in the system settings and the battery usage to see what is draining the battery. I've disabled anything I don't use, including a number of builtins from Google. I've also looked at other apps and if their permissions are in balance with what they're supposed to do. (Simple games should not have access to my phone calls.)
What is YGPS and why does it have the longest possible list of permissions? Can I safely disable it?

YGPS, as far as I can discern (I don't own a FairPhone), is an app which lets you view what GPS satellites your phone is currently connected to. I'm guessing it probably provides the same kind of function here, and is likely draining your battery life because it's constantly making GPS calls in the background.
My guess is that, being a poorly developed app, the developers decided to call every permission possible to ensure they wouldn't run into any issues. It's likely only using the GPS function of the phone anyway, but considering you were going to anyway it's probably not a bad idea to disable it.

It has beau coup permissions because it it a system app running in a phone/sms/gps/sim process that needs those permissions.Battery usage may be due to phone, sms, etc monitoring.
I prefer GPS Status app to view satellite array info, compass, battery temperature, voltage, etc.


text:
Automate sending messages using whatsapp?
I want to automatically send a whatsapp message to a specific number on a specific time every day. How can I accomplish this?
I toyed around with tasker but since I'm a newbie I haven't yet figured a way.
Any other way to accomplish this?

CAUTION: Doesn't use Tasker.
Take a look at [WhatsApp] Scheduler ROOT BETA. It lets you schedule messages, and also lets you specify the frequency (once, every minutes, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, anually, steps). Requires root access.

Any good reason for the caution?

@Firelord OP is looking for a Tasker solution. This isn't a Tasker solution. It should probably be "NOTE", instead of "CAUTION".


text:
How to root Samsung Galaxy Ace II X
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace II X smartphone, and for various reasons, would like to root it. It is running android version 4.0.4. How exactly do I root it? Should I download the necessary files, or make them myself? (I have no idea how to make them). I would also like to somehow have a way to undo the rooting if necessary, and have a backup of everything on my phone now. I have heard that rooting could cause my phone to become a "brick" or be completely useless, should I be concerned about this?
Also, my computer is a mac, if that makes any difference whatsoever in the rooting process.

There are several root options for Samsung devices.
EDIT: It seems like the first method is not available for your device.

CF-Auto-Root: Created by XDA developer Chainfire, this method consists of a modified recovery image which injects the su binary into the system and restores original recovery upon reboot. This is the safest method because it does not require user interaction.
Root programs: These PC apps, like OneClickRoot, require you to enable USB debugging and connect your phone to your PC. It will then execute an exploit which will allow it to inject su to /system.
Framaroot: Created by XDA member alephzain, this is the only root method that does not require a PC. Once installed and opened, Framaroot will present you with a list of exploits compatible with your phone. Once you choose an exploit, Framaroot will either a) tell you that the exploit was successful and that you need to reboot in order to enjoy root, b) tell you that the exploit failed and that you should try another, or c) it used a so-called local.prop trick to root your device with a squashed file system, and that you should reboot to try and see if you have root.

All methods install a Superuser apps which governs the use of su.
An example of a su app is SuperSu, which has an unroot option in its settings tab.
As for the bricking, it's very hard to do that unless

You interrupted a flash process
You deleted something you shouldn't have
You flashed something meant for another device

Check out the XDA FAQ thread for the Galaxy Ace II X.
After you thoroughly research rooting and its pros/cons, if you decide to root, the instructions are in that thread. Since you are on a Mac, you will not be able to use Odin, which is designed for Windows. You will have to use the Mac/Linux alternative, JOdin, as explained in this video. Good luck!
Note: About bricking your device: I wouldn't worry about it, in all my years of rooting and tweaking, I have not had one brick. The only way to brick is to modify something you know you really shouldn't, unplug something while your bootloader is connected to your computer, or using a corrupted download for rooting/bootloader operations. Just use this general rule of thumb: Look on the XDA thread. If someone has done it and their phone is not dead, then it is typically safe to do.


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Samsung Galaxy S3 choosing contact for text..takes forever to come up
When I am sending a text and i type in the name for the contact it takes several mins for the contact for to come up..this is very aggravating when you need to send a text fast..how to i fix this????

What version of Android are you running, this seems to be a 'feature' of Samsung devices at times. What text app are you using, default or hangouts?

If your contacts are stored on a SD card you may have a faulty SD card. Try moving your contacts to the device storage or sync them to your Google contacts.


text:
my phone was stolen last day and its switched off now , is there any way to get my contacts back?
my phone was stolen last day and its switched off now , is there any way to get my contacts back ? There is a screen lock with numbers, can anyone access the phone without formatting the phone . If they format all the datas will be lost right? And als can I block my memmory card by an means ?

If you have your phone linked to your Google account, your contacts are, by default, saved to your Google account, and you can access them through gmail. Even better, if you get a new phone and link it to the same account, it'll have all your contacts again.
If it is linked and your phone is turned on you can find it's location through Google's Device Manager or remotely wipe your phone.
Keep in mind that if it's linked and they manage to get in somehow, they'll be able to access your Google account as well, so if you don't intend to locate the device you should unlink your device from your Google account, blocking their access to your account.
Unfortunately, if your device is not linked, or you chose to save contacts locally instead of the default location, there's no way of getting your contacts back, unless your manufacturer offers a way for it and you have enabled it. I believe HTC has something for it if you link your HTC account.


text:
SMS App with DIFFERENT conversation list style for unreplied threads.
I've been searching everywhere to find an SMS app where I can see at a glance which conversation threads might need my attention. I often forget to reply to a text and would love to be able to look at my conversation list and see the threads where I was the last person to reply shown in green shading and ones that might be waiting for a reply shown in red.
I find it ridiculous that all the SMS apps I've tried rely on memory alone (or estimation based on texting style) in order to remember who was the last person to reply.
I'm a self employed musician and have about 100 contacts that I contact regularly and it takes me ages to go back and check if there's anyone waiting for a reply because I have to open each thread individually.
It seems like such a simple thing!  You could even have threads highlighted in bright red where the last message was from someone else and it had a "? " in it!
Seriously does anyone know of an app with any distinction between threads like this?
Any help would be much appreciated!

You might want to take a look at GO SMS Pro. Unread messages have a NEW indicator at the top right corner of a conversation. Also, the contact name is usually bold (see screenshot below). You can also select other themes which may have different indicators.
Caveat: There is no way to filter by UNREAD conversations. So, you still have to scroll through them. But the indicator should help a bit.

Thanks Geff. I tried that. Unfortunately GoSMS pro only makes a distinction between unread and read threads. I usually read a message but forget I hadn't replied!  Looks like I might have to make my own app:( just looking for a way to save time!


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Galaxy S2 - Unable to perform a hard reset
My S2 froze, I took out the battery and restarted it but it kept freezing on the pin screen. I have tried both soft and hard resets but still cannot get the phone to work. When performing the hard reset, I am able to reset it, but on rebooting it freezes on the 'installing applications' screen.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.

Have you tried starting it in Safe Mode?
Press and hold the Power key to boot up your Samsung GT-I9100 Galaxy S II.
After the start-up animation begins to display, press and hold the Volume down key.
When the lock screen is displayed Safe mode is displayed in the lower-left corner of the screen. To boot your Samsung GT-I9100 Galaxy S II in normal mode again restart your device.
If you've installed / updated something recently, try removing it and see...
If that doesn't work, you might need to effectively re-install the OS by flashing a ROM of choice
If you can boot to recovery, flash a new ROM (or a new version of the stock Samsung ROM). Check out the relevant forum on XDA-Developers. Else, use ODIN to flash via your PC and USB cable.
Be mindful of the model and variant - the international i9100 differs from other US based variants.


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Can I transfer my Injustice game data from my iPhone to my new Android phone?
I currently use an iPhone 4, and I'm eligible for an upgrade. I'm considering the Note 3 and the Galaxy S5.  I've been playing Injustice for some time now and I'd very much like to not have to go through all the trouble of re-earning all of the characters I've bought or won in challenges. Will logging in with my WBID on my future phone automatically let me transfer over my game data? If not, is there something else I could do?
Also, if you have any other suggestions for what I should upgrade to please feel free to suggest it.

Man, you're out of luck. Versions of Injustice for Android and iOS differ greatly. the iOS version generally gets updated months before Android. This affects what characters you can buy, what challenges you can complete etc.
I thinks it's safe to say they're incompatible. And from my experience the Android version performs rather poorly compared to iOS.
Considering all of the above I would recommend sticking to your iPhone for playing Injustice.


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How to get "Peak.ar" to work on Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini
I am using a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini and try to get Peak.ar working correctly. However, it seems to me that none of the involved sensors (gyro, accelerometer and compass I guess?) is sensitive enough to make it behave reasonably. Besides the fact that the peaks are typically already initially shown with quite (!) some offset in both elevation and azimuth (rather: x and y), also when I move the phone it does not move accordingly, lags behind and eventually gets an even larger offset (or smaller - I sometimes use it to reduce the initial error).
I already tried to calibrate the sensors by this magic command *#0*# , but this changed absolutely nothing.
Does anybody have an idea how to improve the behavior? (with particular focus on the Peak.ar app)

authors: عاصہٰيٰ الہٰجزائريٰ


text:
Lock screen security - reboot after X invalid PINs
I used following methodology to create a strong boot password on the phone, at the same time keeping a weaker PIN for screen unlock. Now I want to make sure that if someone tries to pick up a PIN, that the phone reboots, which would make it fallback to a more secure password prompt.
The default setting is to put a 30-second delay after 5 invalid attempts. I wonder if I can tweak these settings in any way to lower 5 to smaller number, and replace cooldown with a reboot.
If stock Android does not offer that experience, maybe there is a 3rd party application?

related: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/13720/can-android-phones-be-set-to-automatically-wipe-all-data-after-a-certain-amount

Stock ROM doesn't. Apart from building custom ROM or installing DPM, there are 3rd-party apps, SnooperStopper & Wrong PIN Shutdown.
SnooperStopper will power off device what option can not be changed. However, custom command can be issued in Wrong PIN Shutdown.


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How can I connect my android phone to my PC via USB cable in MTP mode
I tried connecting my mobile MOTO G to my PC running Windows XP SP3.
I hear a sound notifying it is connected but in the DEVICE MANAGER all i get is a Unknown Device and under that there is XT 1033 with a question mark next to it.
The computer detects it when i connect it as PTP but not when connected as MTP. I don't know what the problem is. And the drivers don't get installed too.

Have you tried installing Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol Porting Kit? MTP is not available on XP without this.

I did. But it didn't make any difference. @filoxo

Ok, then how about installing just the drivers (without the Motorola Device Manager)? This XDA forum offers 32/64 bit USB/ADB drivers for the Moto G. You might need to clean out any previously installed software/drivers before you get the prompt for the device's drivers.

Nothing worked out in XP. So i just installed WIndows 7 and the drivers got installed automatically.


text:
HTC rhyme shows LOCKED when I turn it on
When I turn my HTC Rhyme phone, it just shows A page that's written ***LOCKED***  at the top and has three android icons at the bottom and have some menu items as below:

Bootloader
Reboot
Reboot Bootloader
Power Down

I've tried all of the menu items, but gained no success. Is there anything I could do to recover my phone.

all that the locked status indicates is that the bootloader itself is actually locked...it sounds like your partitions may have gotten botched up.  Was the phone acting up prior to this, or were you attempting to root/install a custom rom?

No it was inside of a bag. And just some keys were hit by accident. That's all that could happen to my cellphone. I've done nothing to it! ;-(

What is the solution? What can I do??

Very sorry for the late response, I had forgotten about this question entirely.  If you still have the phone and haven't figured it out yet, you can try and do a factory reset (http://www.htc.com/us/support/htc-rhyme-verizon-wireless/howto/318231.html).  If not, it's likely a hardware issue.


text:
Rooted Nexus 7 v2: Using Tor and Adblock Plus
I'm having success using both Tor and Adblock Plus, although independently.  I'm trying to figure out how to get both to work on the device at the same time.
When successfully using Tor, I get ads yet adblock works when Tor is disabled.
Adblock Plus 1.2.1 build 318
Android build KTU84L
Orbot 13.0.7-BETA-1
My question is, have any of you been able to get the two to cooperate and if so, how?

Since both work by acting as proxy server, it's no surprise they'd interfere with each other. You might have better luck using a different ad-blocker that works by editing the hosts file (such as AdAway).

Yes they both use a proxy. Root rqd. Proxies on the wireless nic I believe. They don't interfere with each other. Abp uses port 2020 which I dont think you can configure. So configure tor to use localhost:2020 and if abp is running all good.
Sorry for bad english. Usibg android keyboa rd and no good on them.
Part axe.


text:
Smart Launcher - How do i change icon of an application on home screen
Smart launcher used to let me change icon of application shortcuts that are on home screen individually, by long pressing a shortcut.
Now it doesnt work anymore. How can i do that?

If the app does not allow it anymore, then you can't do it from that app. However, last time I checked, Nova Launcher did support it. I'm not sure that's why I've put it as a comment. Hope it helps! :)

I love Smart launcher so i can't change. Thx anyway

Sorry for the delay. You can still change the icon of a shortcut but the procedure changed with SL3. Long press on a bubble, then select "Edit Icon".


text:
How to end call via adb in android 2.2.1?
Im creating small call center like system based on pyadb.
I was developing for my phone which has custom SlimKat ROM - kitkat based.
To call i do :adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.CALL -d tel:xxxxxxxxx
To end the call i do input keyevent KEYCODE_ENDCALL
and it works like a charm on my phone.
But now my boss want's to use old htc wildfire (buzz) with android 2.2.1
On this phone adb input keyevent KEYCODE_ENDCALL gives me '[1] Killed ...`- error.
I tried to use keycode number instead of KEYCODE_ENDCALL, like this:
adb shell input keyevent 6-
this is not giving error but does not have any effect on the phone.
Same for KEYCODE_MUTE.
Curiously KEYCODE_CALL(7) is working as expected.
How can i make it work? Can i change adb commands in anyway? Or maybe installing CyanogenMod(7- I think is the newest for this phone) will help?
Or is this lost fight and i need a newer phone for this?

Found that and it works for making and ending calls. Still looking for a way to mute Microphone.


text:
Restrict background data not working on android 4.2.2
Since updating my Samsung tablet to Android 4.2.2 I can no longer see the option to restrict background data when I select data usage > app > view app settings. For most apps now the view app settings is now greyed out and cannot be selected. For those apps where it can be selected the restrict background data option has disappeared.
As I am on a limited data plan with big penalties when I go over my allocation I really need to restrict background data. Why has this option been removed and how can I overcome this problem?


text:
"App Data" Sync & "App Data" Backup both are same?
May be its silly but I'm curious to know the actual fact. I searched google and this site a lot but didn't got satisfiable result. So asking.
There is "App Data" sync in Settings->Accounts->Google
There is also Backup My Data in Settings->Backup & Reset

Are they same??

I know that if I flash my device then all apps I get by restore. how its being done??

one of my app after restoration asked me to update. "SMS Backup & Restore" if Google restores by installing from Google play why after restoring it wants to update?? last update date of that app in Google play was older than today's date. So it seems that Google installed an older version of the app though there is a new version
So do Android uploads whole binaries and app local data to the Google server from the device?? or Google tracks which apps were last installed in the device & just re installs those last installed apps according to version from Google play??

Related: What info does Google backup? / What exactly is this App Data that is being backed up to Google? / What exactly is synced with Google? / Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?

@Izzy I read all these before. But my question is little different I think. cause I'm getting restore of an old version of app whereas there exists a new in google play. So I want to know if google backup the apk files which are in my device direct from my device?? or just installs apps from google play and restores the app datas.

I couldn't know you've read that already (as you didn't mention it – which would have been a good idea :) Up to my knowledge, only references to the apps are backed-up (not the .apk files themselves, which Google already has – you've installed them from there, remember?). I'm not sure about side-loaded apps and whether those are backed-up at all (if they aren't available at Google Play).


text:
Get rid of Google Play
I would like to freeze, or in any way disable Google Play on my Android 2.3.6.
I tried to prevent the autorun: it always finds its way.
I tried to freeze it with Gemini App Manager: even blocked it starts.
How can I definitely block or even uninstall this damned application ? Has someone succeeded in doing so ?
The reason: every time it starts, my whole phone becomes extremely slow, barely usable.

So, you don't ever want to install or update apps?

As Al said, if you do uninstall Google Play you can't download or update any apps at all. I guess you could occasionally install the store apk file and do it then uninstall. Google Play is a system app so you'd need Root and an application like Root Uninstaller (downloaded from Play Store ironically) and then uninstall system apps.

My phone is already rooted, and I already tried to block/freeze Google Play, but like I said, for Google Play it does not work, the apps unblocks itself one way or another.
I wanted to avoid uninstalling it completely to be able to sometimes use it, but maybe this is the only way. I suppose I can then use another store app to install and update my applications.

Do you have also unlocked phone? I mean unlocked bootloader, so you are able to make changes in system partition.

Not sure how well this works but if you have root you could try this F-Droid app.

If your phone is rooted, then you can rename Google Apps APK file extension to ._ap_k or something like that. You can also move it outside the system/app folder. This will definitely prevent it from starting.
You can also use startup manager and task killer apps to kill it.
If the disable option is available in Settings -> Apps - All, then it you can disable it. Otherwise, try to disable Google Framework or Google Account. Google Apps is dependent on them.

The most straightforward method would be to just flash a custom ROM without GApps, so you would have a clean device. Just backup all your apps with TitaniumBackup or oandbackup before doing it.

If your phone is rooted you can use the pm command in terminal.
Instructions:
1. Install https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm
2. In the terminal emulator type "su" (without the "") and hit enter in order to obtain root permissions.
3. Then you need to type
pm disable package_name

Replace the package_name with the package name of the app you need to disable. It should work.
To enable a package do the same but replace disable with enable.

The package name of the play store should be com.android.vending


text:
How to disable RIL on Android?
As soon as I connect a USB modem to android device, system grabs ttyACM0 and ttyACM1 in an attempt to open connection. As a result, the ports are blocked and can not be opened by other services. How, if possible, can I disable RIL on android to avoid having it block ttyACM0 and ttyACM1 as soon as modem is plugged in? Is it doable without having to rebuild Android?
I have tried making following changes in init.rc, as well as deleting ril-deamon service entry.
setprop ro.radio.noril yes
setprop hw.nophone true

Build your custom ROM.

1. how to stop rild
note: tested on android 4.4
try1
kill -9 `pidof rild`

it'll auto start a new rild
try2
stop service rild

not work for me.
try3
stop ril-daemon

this worked, found it from /etc/init.rc:
on property:ril.reset.rild=1
    stop ril-daemon
    start ril-daemon
    setprop ril.reset.rild 0

//so setprop ril.reset.rild 1 may restart rild too.
about service name
service ril-daemon /system/bin/rild ...

found such line in init.rc, maybe this define the service name referred in try3
2. answer the question
maybe you can imitate config in try3, add this config line.
on property:ro.radio.noril=yes
    stop ril-daemon

The consequences of disabling the RIL daemon (rild) is hardware dependent. Because RIL is getting more and more involved in all aspects of Radio related items, including WiFi. The easiest way to stop RIL is by killing rild. But you need to have a rooted device to do this. Open a command shell and get root prompt (#).
# kill -9 `pidof rild`

You can then check the current status with:
# getprop |grep init.svc.ril
...
[init.svc.ril-daemon]: [stopped]
[init.svc.ril-qmi]: [stopped]

To restart rild you have to point it to the right device and library files. You can find what these are with:
# getprop | grep rild.lib
...
[rild.libargs]: [-d /dev/smd0]
[rild.libpath]: [/system/lib/libril-qc-qmi-1.so]

Then restart with*:
# rild -l /system/lib/libril-qc-qmi-1.so -- -d /dev/smd0

* PS. I haven't actually tried this line, so feel free to edit this post. It's possible you also need to supply the correct SE context to SU as well...

There doesnt appear to be any process named rild running. This is android 7.1.1.

My original post was from 2014, so surely today, the more common name may be something else ril*, like ril-daemon as suggested below.

Killing the daemon is not the correct way although it would kill the service but you won't be able to access it again.
Type stop service rild in adb shell and it would work again for other services properly. You can check by typing ps if rild process is there or not. Just worked on this a few days back.


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TI SensorTag firmware Update through OAD(over-the air ) in android
Help me to upload firmware through android app in nexus 7 ,as I have build my sensor tag project through IAR embedded workbench,but I didnt find any app for OAD firmware update in android, when I am trying to update firmware through TI ble device manager android app, its telling "OAD service is not available" while it has OAD service uuid0xFFC0.

Could you try to write this question in sentences? At the moment it's really hard to understand what you're trying to do.

I have TI sensor tag device with some different-2 sensors.Ijust wanted to update the firmware of that device using android app named "Bluetooth device manager" but I am unable to update because I am getting One issue ""OAD service is not available". @DanHulme

Since that's a pretty niche desire, you're most likely to get an answer by asking the developers of that app.

It's not available because you have an old version of the TI firmware in your SensorTag. Some months ago they added the "Connection control service" to the SensorTag firmware to enable OAD with Android. If your firmware is not recent, it has the OAD Service but not the Connection Control Service, so you'll have to use iOS to to OAD.


text:
HTC One SV: Preditive dictionary turns "I was" into "I WAS" every time. How can I turn this off?
Whenever I type "I was", the preditive dictionary chooses "WAS" as the first choice, rather than "was". However, it does not do this if I type "was" on its own, only if it follows "I." Obviously this is very annoying when typing out quick replies on my phone. I have next word prediction turned off, "WAS" does not appear in my dictionary so cannot be deleted. Why is it doing this only with this phrase, and how can I turn it off?


text:
App shows ads even after restricted background data
I restricted background data for my file manager app. But still when I open the app, I am getting ads at the bottom.
How is that even possible? How the app able to connect to mobile data?
Am I missing something?

I don't think the background data setting is working the way you believe it does. When you're using the app and it's in the foreground that setting has no effect (it's not background data), thus allowing it to serve ads. See How does "Restrict background data" work?

@eldarerathis thanks now I tested with the dolphin browser and it seem to connect internet with background data restricted. But I cant understand why I cant do the same with the google play? When I restrict for google play it asks for enabling it. But I am running google play as foreground app

That's actually something I've asked myself a couple of times: Why does Play require background data enabled when running in foreground? Definitely worth being asked as a separate question – though we already have several questions touching  the issue, I couldn't see it explicitly "nailed" on a quick view. // Ooops: See here for an explanation :)


text:
How do devices recognize their chargers?
Several android devices complain when they are not plugged into their manufacturer-designated chargers. One samsung tablet I own won't even charge if its not on its own brand charger.
Is there some code between the device and charger, or is it just the voltage / amperage gauges?

I know that on some samsung devices the charging pins are longer. So the device can tell if the original charger or another generic charger with shorter pins has been added.

Hum, Samsung is going the 90's Microsoft rabbit hole all the way (and we all know how it ends) but some Motorola devices also b** about the chargers too. So its not a Samsung specific question (hence no Samsung tags).

Yes there are parity strands in some cables that allows the device to identify if its own cable or not. I don't understand why manufacturers have to be like that but they are. I know devices that use the same exact cable (voltage and plug type) but they can't be interchanged, its ridiculous.


text:
Unassociate an app from a file extension?
As part of a beta test for my company's app, I've sent a link to an APK for the users to download. However, when a user has the Winzip app installed, instead of being prompted on whether they want to install the APK, they are instead redirected to the Winzip app (which of course has no options to install the APK). Is there any way to tell the Android OS that I don't want it to launch the Winzip app if I download an APK file, or is the only solution to uninstall the app?

Goto Settings>Apps>Options>Reset App Preferences

This as well doesn't solve it.

Which app is it?

It's linked in the original question, the Winzip app. It doesn't really matter, the app is terrible and most people have it by mistake, so uninstalling it isn't a problem for them.

Oh yeah, sorry i missed it.


text:
Share text via HTTP request
I'd like to add an item in the system "Share" menu that sends links and other small text via HTTP POST requests.
On my PC i'm using curl + a shellscript.

The share menu simply lists apps that have an appropriate intent filter for the share action with the type of data being shared. So the only way to get a new item on the share menu is to install an app that does the thing you want. If one doesn't already exist, it's not that hard to create one following the official documentation, but since this isn't a programming forum, we can't help you any further.


text:
16GB memory card, ive used 2GB and yet have 14GB of free space, how can i use that 14GB and why is it saying low of space on sd card???
im using my 16gb memory card as to store all my apps on etc.. as my internal memory is too full so i chamged my sd card to default storage, but now as i have been using it it says storage space is getting low... but when i check it i therefore have 14gb left in total space i can use but it wont let me ... that's heaps of space I can use, I've tried moving apparently from sd to phone but internal is too full so I can't... I don't see how I need to do that anyway as I've only used up 2gb on sd and yet have 14gb I can use but why is it saying low on storage space on my sd? And how can I go by using the other 14gb ?

I assume your device (name?) is rooted? How did you make your SDCard the "default storage"? I know it's possible on some devices to switch internal/external SDCard addressing, but I've never heard someone switching device-internal storage to SD.

This may be expected, depending on what phone you are using.  The original standard of SD card readers had a 2GB limit on them.  These readers could read cards that had more space, but only had enough memory registers to read the first 2GB of them.  Sometimes a firmware update can increase this from 2GB to 4GB, but it's extremely rare.
From the wikipedia article on the SD standard:

Capacity
SDSC (SD): 1 MB to 2 GB,
   some 4 GB available.
SDHC: >2 GBs to 32 GB
SDXC: >32 GB to 2 TB,
   some 32 GB available.

So there is no way I can change it?

You mean, there are really Android devices out there being bound to some standard that old? SDHC was released 2006, according to the linked Wikipedia page. The first Android devices came 2008. I doubt even the very first ones came without SDHC.

This is why I said "may be expected".  Depends on the device and whatever settings are anywhere else.  There isn't any information on what device is being used, but it's the only thing I can think of that would limit a card to 2GB.  It may even be a software issue that is locking the phone to the old SD standard instead of SDHC, which a firmware/software update can fix.


text:
Anything else works besides safestrap to install ROMs on n900a (at&t) Note 3?
Question is pretty self explanatory.
Is there any other method available to bypass bootloader and install ROMs like other models?
Is at&t bootloader still under lock and key?

At the moment... no man, but be sure, there would be a way!


text:
No Incoming Call Screen Shows & No Sound [Wildfire S Cyanogenmod 10.1]
I have updated my HTC wildfire S to cyanogen-mod 10.1 yesterday.
I am facing Two main Issues.
1st: I am unable to receive a call because when i called from other cell, there was no incoming call on WFS but on the other cell after one beep there was a "Number Busy" notification.
2nd: Power button does not enable the pattern lock.As i have set a pattern from setting>security.
Please help me with this.


text:
Transfer files via USB from PC
Windows will recognize my Sony tablet, but the external SD card does not show, only the internal memory, I have the settings in the MPT mode. But can only see internal memory.

The answers at this question will help you out.

I have three suggestions:

If it is a MicroSD card, you could plug it into an external reader.
Try ADB (Advanced). If it shows up using the devices command, try pushing and pulling on the SD card.
Install file expert. When the app loads, the third tab has "Share my files" (Or something like that) Try these options via Bluetooth or WiFi. File Expert also has a seperate app, Web PC Suite, which can do the job you want.


text:
Tasker: Detect ANT+ paired device, then switch on Endomondo
What will the Tasker Profile and Tasks look like when I want Endomondo app to launch as soon as my Note 3 detects a paired ANT+ device?
J

I can't tell what it will look like (as I don't know all the details, e.g. your BT devices MAC), but I can show you the way to create such a profile:

Condition: State → Bluetooth Connected (parameter: BT MAC of the ANT+ device)
Task: Launch App (select Endomo)
Worth reading: Tasker User Guide (easy to look up things here ;)

Hi Izzy, ANT+ is a different protocol than Bluetooth. The Note 3 has sensors for both. I do not see a ANT+ connection state.

Ah – sorry for that, I wasn't aware of this fact. I don't own any ANT+ device, so I cannot check. In fact, "ANT+" doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere on the Tasker site. Maybe you contact the dev to ask? Either it's just missing in the docs, or it simply didn't yet make it to the TodoLists of the app …

Don't forget us with the results then :) Good luck so far!


text:
No 3 dots option on whats app on my Samsung Galaxy Grade
i don't have that 3 dots( which usually is in the top rhs) so I can't change my profile picture on my what's app

If your device have hardware buttons like menu,home,back buttons, you can get those options by clicking Menu button. Those 3 dots denotes menu options for an App. Actually its useful for devices with capacitive(software) buttons. Currently I'm not sure about your device, and I can't find any device named Galaxy Grade. I you meant Galaxy Grand it have hardware buttons and you can use Menu button as mentioned earlier.


text:
What Changes Take Place When Installing A Custom Launcher eg Nova To A Rom?
If I install a custom launcher eg Nova on Stock Android 4.4.3, what inherently changes ?
Similarly if I were to then install a custom rom eg Paranoid Android, are the benefits gained from installing it then overshadowed or "lost" if I were to then install Nova launcher ?
To clarify wouldn't the experience of Stock Android with Nova and Paranoid Android with Nova be very similar if not identical ?

If you install a alternate launcher, the first thing you'll see is a difference in how the home screen, widgets, (maybe lockscreen if it has support for that), and the app drawer appears and works.
AFAIK that's the only changes you'll see from changing the launcher regardless of what ROM you use.
But one thing's for sure - depending on which ROM you get, the experience will change very little or a lot.

Each launcher has its own default appearance which will vary. Unless you tell the third party launcher to import you stock launcher settings and icons it will not have any customizations and you will need to set up the screens yourself.
The look and feel of each launcher will vary greatly. I use Nova Launcher on my S4 since I despise the stock Samsung Launcher. The screen transitions, default layout, and many other options are customizable with a 3rd party launcher that you don't get with stock. So, the experience can vary greatly depending on the settings you change in the chosen launcher. Nova has many settings I didn't bother to change but the ones I did change make a huge difference in the interface and experience from the Samsung TouchWiz Launcher.
You should not lose any benefits of a ROM by using a 3rd party launcher but you may not need the third party launcher depending on the ROM.
One feature of many 3rd party launchers is the ability to backup and restore your home screens. For this reason alone they are worth it. Particularly if you like to flash roms frequently. It can save a significant amount of time and agony if you don't have to reset all your home screens after each flash.


text:
How do you restore app from trash?
Accidently dragged an app into the "trash". How do I restore it to home screen? Do not know how to retrieve the app from trash.

Dragging an app shortcut from the home screen into the little bin simply deletes the shortcut, not the app. You can recreate the shortcut this way:

Find the app in the app drawer (that is, the list of all apps)
Hold your finger on the app to pick it up
The screen will change to the home screen
Drop the app where you want on the home screen. You can move to the next screen by dragging to the edge of the screen.

On the other hand, if you drag the app icon from the app drawer to the bin, it will completely uninstall the app. It checks first, with the dialog, "Do you want to uninstall this app?" If you answer OK to that dialog, then the app is completely removed, and you can only get it back by installing it again in the usual way.


text:
Forward console output to computer
Is there a way to forward the console output of your phone (I'm assuming there is some because Linux) to your computer, maybe using ADB? I'm especially interested in how to get the boot time messages, because I suspect there are quite some errors going on.
If it matters, I have a Samsung Galaxy GIO.

Running adb logcat and rebooting my phone worked for me. Requires the Android SDK though.


text:
Samsung Galaxy 2 stuck at start up. Can I recovery the phone or at least the data?
My Samsung Galaxy 2 stuck every time when start up. It looks ok on the beginning, it shows "Samsung Galaxy S II ..." then change display to Vodafone logo then the shows word "samsung" and stuck here forever. It does not respond to any key after that. To shut it down I need to take the battery off.
My questions are if I can recovery the operational system or at least data from the phone.

I believe I have a similar problem and shall update this answer as I find more information.
What variant of Samsung Galaxy S II do you have?
These steps could help:

Fresh reboot by pulling battery, SIM card and any external SD card out for a while (some sources I have read say to wait over an hour).
Clear the cache partition (this is safe, no data loss):
Hold power, volume up and menu simultaneously to boot the phone into recovery (for Samsung).
Select wipe cache partition using the volume up and volume down keys, then press menu.
The boot-loop tag information contains further instructions.
Otherwise, this answer indicated that it should be possible to root the phone and recover data via the Android Debug Bridge (ADB): these instructions should work for the Samsung Galaxy S II GT-i9100 but I have not yet tried them.


text:
How to open a html file which is in a hidden folder?
I have a folder which has many html files and images. I set the folder to ".myfolder" to hide the folder because it has so many images and they mess up my Gallery app. After set the folder to the hidden folder, the Gallery problem is solved. However, I could not open the html from Chrome even if I update the path. How I could open the file in a hidden folder?
Thanks

It sounds like it might be easier to not use a hidden folder and just remove those images from the gallery. Here's how.

@DanHulme How to remove those images from the gallery? I have a few thousand of folders and each of them has at least an image.

The question I linked explains how?

I need to able to access those image files somehow. They are part of my offline website. That's why I need to open the html file in a hidden folder as I say in the topic. I have hidden everything already, but could not access the html file.

Instead of making the folder hidden with a dot prefix, create an empty file inside the folder with the name ".nomedia". This will prevent image/gallery apps from indexing the folder.

It perhaps wasn't possible in earlier release of Chrome for Android since Chrome 45.0.x can easily open the HTML files from a hidden folder.


text:
Using Android GPS as NTP refclock?
Is anyone aware of an existing or potential way to make an Android device run an NTP daemon which takes its reference time from the GPS hardware attached to it?
I'm talking about configuring the ntp daemon with a refclock from the list in http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/html/refclock.html (or an additional driver, if nothing in this list works).
I found http://time-server.android.informer.com/, which seems to enable the Android device to serve the time over the network to other devices using NTP, but it doesn't sync the system clock from the GPS time.


text:
How to boot htc desire ss510e into recovery
I want to install 4.0 ics on my htc desire ss510e, so i want to know how can i boot into recovery in order to install the custom firmware. Please help!!

Boot up your phone using power button and volume down button together. You'll get something called hboot. Now using your volume buttons, goto Recovery Mode listed on the screen. Press the trackpad button to reach recovery mode.


text:
Owner Information on Galaxy S3
I just had a software upgrade on my Samsung Galaxy S3 phone. The Android version is 4.3.
How do I update the owner information on the locked screen?
There is no option under "security" in the setting.

Have you selected a lockscreen? Make sure it's not set to None.

Hello. Did any of the answers below solve your problem? If so, please mark it as an accepted answer.

From SM: Go to Settings → My Device → Home Screen Mode and select "Standard Mode", then hit "Apply".
Next, go to Settings → My device → Lock screen. All will be active now.

Settings > Lock Screen > Lock Screen Widgets > Personal Message/Personal Information.
That should be what you're looking for if I understand correctly.

Yes! But for some reason, "Locked screen widgets" is inactive. I can see it but it is not an active menu item.

@JaveerBaker , that might be due to your Screen Lock type. For example, mine is set to the simple "swipe" setting. I also have "Multiple Widgets" disabled. "Shortcuts" on. "Unlock Effect" off. "Help Text" off and "wake up lock" off. Maybe these similar settings will enable them as an active menu item?

There is several apps which can display the same info, try mine: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skjolberg.instaowner


text:
My nandroid backups are around 2gb, I'm told it shouldn't be this big
my nandroid backups are over 2gb and someone told me they shouldn't be that big. What might the culprits be? It would be nice to keep the backups on my phone if they were smaller.
Not sure how relevant it is, but I'm on stock deodexed ROM and ElementalX kernel.
I'm pretty new to android so any help would be nice.
CWM 6.0.4.5 and using ROM Manager to backup.

Keeping a backup of your phone on your phone seems a bit pointless.

@DanHulme I always keep my backups on the device (external SDCard), additionally to syncing them to my PC. That gives me the option to restore stuff even with the device alone. OP didn't state to keep those backups on phone alone :)

The size of your NANDroid backups is directly related to the amount of apps you have installed on your phone, and amount of data these apps store on your phone's internal memory. Even though CWM excludes the /data/media folder (which is usually mounted as /sdcard on newer Android OS versions,) the contents of /system and /data partitions alone will take plenty of space in the resulting backups.
Backup size of 2GB is not that uncommon, especially for phones without external storage.  Consider an app like Google Plus, for example. The app caches articles and images from your stream into /data/data/com.google.android.plus/cache directory.  The more you use the app, the more this cache fills up, and the more space in the backup it will require.  Same with other apps, like Google Chrome, or Gmail, for example.
To mitigate this, you can always clear the caches for the largest apps in Settings -> Apps -> All -> Sort by size.  Also, an alternative to CWM called TWRP recovery has an option to compress the backups in order to save on storage space.  Some apps give you an option to store their data and cache onto external storage on phones that sport SD Cards (Google Play Music has such an option, for example.)  NANDroid does not back up contents of SD Cards, so selecting this option will further shrink the size of your backups.
In terms of keeping backups on your phone, I would strongly advise against it.  I usually keep only the most recent backup on the phone, and copy older ones to my PC.  This way I have the backups in case the internal storage of my phone is rendered non-accessible.


text:
External USB Keyboard to Android (via bluetooth preferably)
How to connect external USB keyboard (preferably via bluetooth) to Android device?
Best would be piece of hardware with USB socket to plug standard usb keyboard into it, that would work as "bluetooth keyboard" without need of any special software on android device.

If it's an USB keyboard, it can be directly connected to the MicroUSB port of your Android device using an OTG cable. If your device is OTG capable (most devices of the current generation are, so chances are pretty good), it should be detected automatically. That's what I do with my tablets (running Android 4.1) and a tablet-case with integrated keyboard, to transform them into a mini-notebook – it works fantastic!
As a USB keyboard usually doesn't have Bluetooth integrated, the BT approach would require some kind of adapter. I won't say there is no such thing, but at least I've never heard of any.

Adopter idea you've mentioned is exactly what am I looking for.

I understood that, but I'm not aware of anything like that existing, sorry. The OTG variant, OTOH, is what's reported to work fine, and also is the intended way of connecting an USB keyboard.

Thanks for feedback , if not to me it might be helpful to other readers :)

Anytime :) You might consider upvoting the answer (if you find it useful). I understand it's not exactly what you're after, so you're unlikely to "accept" it as solution ;)


text:
I am no longer able to read sd card
i saved pictures and text messages to external sd card. Why cant i read them? I have tried several apps but no luck, just garbled gibberish, help please!


text:
Can Android play Audible books to a Sonos system?
I'm considering moving from iPhone to Android in the next couple of months. I'm perfectly happy with the iPhone with one exception - the integration or lack of it between Sonos and Audible apps.
So my question is - with the Android versions of these two apps can I play an audible file through the Sonos app on to my home Sonos kit? I've checked the online docs but they are a little vague and contradictory on the subject.
Any help would be very much appreciated!

I think the problem is not so much with the phone as with the connection between sonos and audible. There is currently no service from Sonos to Audible. However, you can connect through the line in on a Play 5 and I think 3 also.  In other words, you play audible through app on phone and plug into the Sonos directly.


text:
Android tablet I2C Read Errors
i've a brand new Ramos i9 tablet and have big issues with the touchscreen and charging. I've rooted it, and before i send it in for repair, i'm trying to debug the issue (in hope it's only software).
If the tablet is fully charged, the touchscreen and battery information is working fine. But after a discharge to 50% leads to the failure of the touchscreen and battery information. It somehow recharges after 1 day to 95%, and then everything works again.
If i'm under 95% (and the system was rebooted), i get these i2c errors at boot time:
<6>[    1.454126] ==ft5x0x_ts_probe=
<6>[    1.624056] input: ft5x0x_ts as /devices/virtual/input/input0
<3>[    1.783786] i2c-designware-pci 0000:00:00.5: i2c_dw_handle_tx_abort: slave address not acknowledged (7bit mode) :slave add 0x38
<3>[    1.784019] ft5x0x_ts 2-0038: fft5x0x_i2c_Read: i2c read error.
<6>[    1.784137] ft5x0x_ts 2-0038: [FTS] Firmware version = 0x71
...
<3>[    1.795292] max170xx_battery 2-0036: I2C SMbus Read error:-121
<4>[    1.795413] max170xx_battery 2-0036: reset i2c device:-121
...
<4>[   34.364528] smb347 2-006a: failed to read reg 0x30: -110
<4>[   34.364642] smb347 2-006a: smb347 suspend
<4>[   34.411268] smb347: probe of 2-006a failed with error -110

The ft5x0x_ts module is for touchscreen, the max170xx and smb347 for battery information and charging.
If the system is running, the touchscreen does not react to movements, but the kernel log flashes when i'm touching the screen:
<3>[  787.510109] i2c-designware-pci 0000:00:00.5: i2c_dw_handle_tx_abort: slave address not acknowledged (7bit mode) :slave add 0x38
<3>[  787.510356] ft5x0x_ts 2-0038: fft5x0x_i2c_Read: i2c read error.
<3>[  787.510472] ft5x0x_ts 2-0038: ft5x0x_read_Touchdata read touchdata failed.

How can i pin down this issue? Could this be a thermal problem?
Maybe anyone has an idea how to proceed. Thanks!

It's too late for you, but in case any other visitors are thinking of doing this: if you have a brand new tablet, and it goes wrong like this, send it back straight away. Don't root it or try to fix the problem yourself: you'll probably void the warranty.


text:
App not installed error while sideloading and Install failed UID changed via adb [Not rooted]
I am having hard time getting an app installed since none sideloading nor adb install work...since I dont have root i cant delete the app's data folder from the data/data folder..
seems delete that folder will easily fix it but I am wondering is there any other way.
Error via adb install  is Install failed UID changed
I dont wanna root is there any fix for this.....
BTW my phone is Moto g

For rooted devices:
Run the below command
adb rm -rf /data/data/<your.package.name>

For non-rooted device:

Change the ApplicationId of the app. Refer this link to change
ApplicationId.
Build and install the app. App will install successfully because it is treated as new app.
Now uninstall this app. Which will clear the data.
Now change the ApplicationId to the previous one.
Build and install. Magic.. It will install.


text:
How to install custom kernel from source? - Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (GT-P5113)
I have modified the kernel code in attempts to add a driver for USB to Ethernet. I have successfully compiled the code and am trying to install it onto my tablet. I am following the README that came with the source code provided by Samsung (making a .tar for the zImage file), but when I try installing it with Odin it gives me an installation error. Alternatively, I have tried making a zip file and installing with CWM and it again fails.
I am thinking that I am missing some files needed to perform the installation. What else besides zImage do I need?

I assume you're on Linux.
If the zImage already has a ramdisk in it (check by using unmkbootimg and confirming if you get initramfs.cpio.gz after decompiling), rename it to boot.img and do this in a terminal (Odin way):
tar -H ustar -c boot.img > boot.tar

Or you can look for an existing kernel for your device, download the flashable ZIP for it, replace the boot.img inside with yours, then flash in CWM.


text:
Android x86 on DELL INSPIRON 1501
I can't run android-x86 (4.4 RC2) on my notebook (dell inspiron 1501) well
the first problem is :
Graphics : Radeon Xpress 200M
my /proc/fb : 0 ATI Radeon 5975
I can use at most 1024x768x16 (vga = 791)
but my native resolution is 1280x800x32 and if I use this in kernel (or even 1280x800x16) it shows A  N  D  R  O  I  D and graphic ui doesn't show up. just a blinking underline in the middle of page. and I can write terminal commands  like cat /proc/fb there !
==================================
the second problem is :
I can not turn on my Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter in android-x86
==================================
if there is a release of android-x86 (preferred : 4.0+, second choice 2.3+) or a way to solve it please tell me
Thanks
EDIT : installed 4.3 4.2 4.0 still no luck

Your device isn't listed in the list of supported notebooks, so it's not surprising that it doesn't work. You'll have to wait until it's supported.
Remember that the Android-x86 project is made by volunteers, so support for particular hardware depends on someone with the necessary skills having that hardware and an interest in making it work. You might be able to help speed the process along by buying a similar device for the project (that they can test on), or by helping to update documentation or such to help free their time for porting. If you want to help get your device supported faster, in the first instance you should contact their discussion group and ask what you can do to help.

wrong wrong wrong it's not about he's laptop "is not supported" kitkat have issue with Radeon graphic cards there is small solution for that you have to change destination library for source to start graphic acceleration I have Lenovo T400 with radeon it run only in debug mode 2 and most important it start only with selected DEBUG NOMODESET KITKAt start with 860  x resolution. I try to edit almost all possible graphic ( important kitkat support only 16 bit color)
so even if you will be able start os you will not have graphic acceleration. I saw one solution  when i will test it and it will work i will drop info here , Sorry for all typo and mistakes (English is not my native language )
PS. On Samsung Laptop 3530 intel 3000 vga - installation and setup took few minutes no problems at all (Radeon usually older cards have that problem) If anyone will have 100 % tested solution please give me a shout Good Luck Everyone
Almost forgot using KITKAT 4.4.2
and this works for me
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!topic/android-kitkat/-AupM37ELEM

OpenGL ES hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets (not include the PowerVR chips).

I'm not sure how your "have issue with Radeon graphic cards" is different from my "is not supported". What exactly are you suggesting Mr Tahernejad should do?

You mean if I install android ICS or JB it will work fine ?! no it isn't! I have the same problem with them, and for 4.3 it restarts immidiately after boot selection in any mode. even with lowest possible mode I wrote in kernel=

what the heck are you talking about this is topic about Android XDA 86 PC ( Personal Computer ) so no jailbreaks are required its Already rooted  if you need advise provide full specification on what device did you installed and how and from where

@Wurt ha ?! :| JB = JellyBean :|

I think this is all I can advise for this topic:

Find drivers for Linux for this card (test on Linux to see if it works properly)
Android x86 have different location of resource folder (additional drivers)
Find on androidx86 where exactly you have to copy driver's
Start new installation of Android Kitkat 4.4.2 x86 version  with drivers included in specific folder

It works.
If not, you should be able to see on screen where it stops during first boot and after installation (drop screenshot(s) here)

If you don't see anything, try debug mode and then drop screenshot(s) here.


text:
Set font size in Opera
Opera Mini has an option to choose between small/medium/large font sizes. I tried to find this option in the new Opera browser for Android, but couldn't.
Is there any way at all to set the font size for Opera?

I have not seen any setting to change the font size. However, you can pinch-in and pinch-out to zoom.

Except you can't on sites that disable zooming. Those are the sites I want large fonts for.


text:
Ubuntu connection woes, device not showing up in lsusb any more
I have a really weird issue in connecting my Samsung GS2 to my Ubuntu 14.04 system.
I found the ID via lsusb at first, and added a udev entry. Everything was perfect and I was happily ADBing away for a few minutes. Thereafter, I begun getting "Unable to mount samsung device" (or something similar) popups.
Since then, my GS2 doesn't even show up in lsusb. When I plug it in, the phone behaves as if it has just been connected to a wall charger; MTP doesn't work any more, while it used to fine. I've tried removing the udev config file, restarting phone and pc, and enabling/disabling debugging mode, but still there's nothing in lsusb. Everything works perfectly on my other windows machine.
What on earth is going on here?

The most likely cause of the symptoms you describe is that a pin is bent or broken in the USB connection. With the data pin broken but the power pin connected, the connection is exactly as if As it works on a different machine, that would narrow the problem down to the cable (if you are using different cables on each) or the USB port on your PC. Try a different cable and a different USB port.
As your phone works fine with a Windows PC, that rules out it being a problem with Android itself, so if changing the physical connection doesn't help, we probably can't help you any further here.


text:
Add contact to Exchange from Signature
searched around a bit and found one app (Contact Adder) that didn't work.  What I'm wanting to do is add contacts to Exchange from their signatures on my phone.  Anyone know of an app?  I use Mac for work and nothing will do it in Mail.app or Outlook for Mac, thought I'd try on my phone.


text:
Nexus 4 factory image restore
Hey I've download the factory image but i can't open the folder it's just gave me an unknown type file and i really need to open the folder to use the flash command

Why use winRAR when 7-zip exists?

The image shows that you have downloaded the factory image archive, but it's not the official one. I'd suggest that you read the instructions on the official page, Factory Images for Nexus Devices and download the archive from there. This includes the tools needed to flash the image.

Download the Android SDK which contains the necessary tools here
You need to have fastboot in your path
Put your device into fastboot mode with the bootloader unlocked and connected to a PC
Extract the downloaded archive to a directory
You should see the following files:

bootloader-mako-makoz30d.img
flash-all.bat
flash-all.sh
flash-base.sh
image-occam-kot49h.zip
radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1700.98.img

Run the flash-all.bat file with Administrator privileges (i.e. right-click and Run as Administrator...)

The process will flash your device with the stock ROM, assuming the previous steps were done correctly.


text:
Multicast dns registers hostname based on IP address
I would like to use avahi/zeroconf to do ssh logins to devices which are connected to the local network by wifi. Since I do not have control over the wifi routers I cannot assign fixed IP-addresses to the devices. Therefor I set up a multicast dns server (on my android phone) which registers the device. Now I see the device using an avahi-browser on my ubuntu notebook. However the hostname is assigned based on the IP-address, which I cannot know in advance. avahi-discover displays:
Service Type: _udisks-ssh._tcp
Service Name: samsungtablet
Domain Name: local
Interface: wlan0 IPv4
Address: 10-0-0-101.local/10.0.0.101:22
TXT Data: empty

I would like to be able to do
ssh user@samsungtablet.local
or something like this in order to log in. It works now with
ssh user@10-0-0-101.local
but I cannot know this hostname in advance.
In contrast my Ubuntu notebook appears as
Service Type: _udisks-ssh._tcp
Service Name: einstein
Domain Name: local
Interface: wlan0 IPv4
Address: einstein.local/10.0.0.106:22
TXT Data: empty

Here ssh user@einstein.local will work.
Note that the hostname on the samsungtablet is set to samsungtablet using net.hostname. The multicast dns server I set up on the tablet contained in "servers ultimate" and the name there is set to samsungtablet as well.
Note that I am aware that SSHelper supports multicast dns as well, however I would prefere a solution where I can choose to keep my ssh-server.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Player 5.0 won't turn on after messing with build.prop
I went to mess with my build.prop to do some stuff and then my device wouldnt turn on. I tried looking everywhere for ways to fix it but none will work because it keeps ending with when im in cmd with the adb stuff, when I type the commands it says "operation not permitted".
Heres the tutorial I was looking at (the wndows one) - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1927198
I was able to get to the very end until I had to do "chmod 644 build.prop" which then resulted in the "operation not permitted".
I also have a copy of my original build.prop in my device sdcard folder however Im unable to pull it out (or im just an idiot)
Please help, ive been sitting here for 6 hours straight trying to fix this!

Have you tried sudo chmod 644 build.prop? The error message you report sounds like you're not in "root mode", which sudo should fix.

I did however nothing seemed to happen.

So no error message? Then you should have succeeded :) try ls -l build.prop. It should list the permissions as -rw-r--r-- (which corresponds to 644 for a file).

Actually nvm, the sudo did get an error msg saying "sudo: not found"

What should I do then?

Oh, forgive me... It's simply su on Android. Full day working on Linux, so I messed up, sorry. So could you try with su chmod 644 build.prop again and state whether there was any message, plus the result of above ls for verification?

the command repeated itself and then when I went into ls it said -rwxrwxr-x

So it did not work.

So no error message, no change, nothing? Sorry, then I'm out of ideas.

Are you sure you're rooted?
If so, have you tried su -c chmod 0644 /system/build.prop? Or you can also try entering su first and then the chmod command next.
To pull the build.prop: adb pull /sdcard/build.prop
Or maybe you can just replace the one in /system with the one on your sdcard:
su
cp /sdcard/build.prop /system/build.prop
chmod 0644 /system/build.prop


text:
Safe download URL for odin3?
There are so many odin3 download websites I am not sure what is a trusted url to download an odin tool suitable for flashing my International Note3 SMN9005.
Can someone provide a link and maybe some upvotes to confirm it's safe.  I'd hate to brick my $800 phone due to some messed up copy of odin.

More often than not, the download links on XDA are trustworthy.

It's always a good idea to take a look into the corresponding tag-wiki :)

I understand this is an old question, but FlashFire has emerged as the "spiritual successor" to Odin. It's developed by Chainfire, who's also responsible for other things like StickMount, SuperSU and LiveBoot and is a highly regarded name in the Android community.
FlashFire is currently in beta, so getting it is slightly more involved:

Join the FlashFire Google+ Community
Download the app from Google Play

If you still want Odin however, this XDA thread appears to offer a popular and trusted version.


text:
IRC clients with PASS support
I've been developing an IRC server which makes use of the PASS command, like this:
PASS mypassword
NICK mynick
USER (...)

However, I couldn't find any IRC client app with support with the PASS command so far. Does anyone know of an app that supports it, or that can be tweaked to send a "PASS mypassword" command on entering?

AndroIRC supports PASS, although it's hidden in the settings.
Open the app, and press the Menu key. Then, select "Servers". Press the Menu key again, and select "New server". Look for the field "Password": if you set a password, it will be sent with PASS.


text:
Reboot problem in my S3 GT-I9300
I got S3 GT-I9300 and it requires to restart the device to update the software and when accept that it says will reboot for a while , I leave it for two hours and its keep frozen on Samsung logo , I tried the hard restart with up volume + home button + power button and try the factory setting but it still give me the same result , when press the volume down + home + power , its asked me if I wish to continue and I said yes and its still downloading but it take a while now , what should I do to get my phone working back again .


text:
what is rooting? Should I upgrade my Xperia U from GB to ICS?
I have an Xperia U[GB] and there are certain apps which do not work on it[device is not rooted shows up everytime I try to open these apps]. So what exactly does it mean by rooted device. Should I root my device? Does it have any negative implications?
Also I still haven't updated it to ICS,since I've been told that Xperia U doesn't perform well with ICS.So should I upgrade it?

The latest Xperia U firmware b.100 is faster.

Rooting” your device means obtaining “superuser” rights and permissions to your Android’s software. With these elevated user privileges, you gain the ability to load custom software (ROM’s), install custom themes, increase performance, increase battery life, and the ability to install software that would otherwise cost extra money (ex: WiFi tethering). Rooting is essentially “hacking” your Android device. In the iPhone world, this would be the equivalent to “Jailbreaking” your phone.
Disadvantages of Rooting
Bricking
The number one reason not to root your device is the potential risk of “bricking” it. As mentioned earlier, “bricking” your device means screwing up your phone software so badly that your phone can no longer function properly and is pretty much as useless as a brick. You would likely need to purchase a new Android device since the manufacturer of your device will void the warranty after any attempts at rooting.
Security
There is an increased risk of unknowingly installing malicious software when you root an Android device. Root access circumvents the security restrictions that are put in place by the Android OS. There isn’t really an effective way to tell just what the application intends to do with that “superuser” power. You are putting a lot of trust into the developer’s hands. In most cases, these applications are open source and the community can take a look at the source code to assess the risk. But, nevertheless, the risk is there. Fortunately, malicious software on rooted devices hasn’t really been a problem as of yet. But I thought it was worth mentioning since this could be a potential risk in the future. I’d recommend installing an Anti-Virus and Security App just to be safe. Lookout Mobile Security seems to be one of the best ones available at the moment
If you want to Root your Xperia U follow this link rooting explained on XDA
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Sony_Xperia_U

Really "bricking" your device by rooting it is a very rare case. And what you describe for "increased security risk" would only affect apps requiring root access. Last, Antivirus stuff is only to be recommended if you like to be scared by false alerts and want your device to be slowed down, sorry. See e.g. Android Antivirus: 6 truths about smartphone malware. Using some "common sense" is much more effective, and doesn't have negative impact on device performance :)


text:
How to send few specific contacts to my old basic phone?
I am having a Moto G and Nexus 7 (2012, WiFi only) devices which have my contacts synced with my Google account.
My Moto G suffered a hardware issue because of which I am using a very basic phone for my calling needs. I have given the Moto G for service and it would take a week for them to fix.
My basic replacement phone (Nokia 1800) does not have Bluetooth, no WiFi, No packet data support. Since my SIM and the new phones are devoid of any contacts,I could not see who is calling me and to make calls, I resorted to pen and paper method.
I am just wondering whether there could be any means of sending few of my contacts from my Google account to the SIM via SMS.
Another way I could try is to use someone else Android phone to access my google account and copy selected to my SIM. But I see that's too much of trouble to others as they might not be willing to lend.

Here is a relatively simple description of the desired process:

Download your contacts from Google by following the simple instructions here
Open your e-mail program and start a new e-mail message.
Enter the cell phone number in the To: box using the format number@teleflip.com, where "number" is the phone number of the cell phone to which you're sending the message. For example, to send a text message to cell phone 123-456-7890, enter 1234567890@teleflip.com.(in this case you want to enter your own cell number) Please see source for more information
Type a message of up to 160 characters in the message box and then click Send (in this case, attempt to attach the contacts file that you exported from your Google account instead of a message!) .
Congratulations! Your message will shortly appear on the cell phone.
Hope this helps! Good luck

Thanks, my operator (BSNL,India) seems not to have any such way to send an email and receive it as a SMS.

Not even "your_number"@teleflip.com works?

Attempts like 91mynumber@bsnl.co,in, sms.bsnl.co.in, .bsnl.in, .sms.bsnl.in and the same combination with absense of country code 91 tried. All resulted in bouncing email. Sending to 91mynumber@teleflip.com and mynumber@teleflip.com does not bounce, but no reply nor sms.


text:
how do I reset the default photo image size for sharing
how do I reset the default photo image size for sharing, it is set too large and I can't find where to reset to a smaller image since I said not to ask each time

Sharing via what? MMS?

Go to settings -> apps -> gallery -> clear data


text:
Huawei Ascend Y511 with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean lock screen Widgets
I cannot get the lock screen widgets to work no matter what I do. I do not have Corporate account added, just Google, Viber and Facebook. I searched the internet quite some times, but I couldn't find anything. I have the < / > icons next to the clock but when I try to slide it does not work.
The phone as said is Huawei Ascend Y511 (Bought 2 days ago, not rooted or anything) and the Android is 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Is there really no one that can help me?

Try changing it in Settings-Security-Shortcut settings. Try changing the icons to something different than they currently are.
If this doesn't work try a factory reset.
I have a y511 as well and I'm trying to get the unlock symbol to be at the right (3 o'clock position).


text:
ADB "screenrecord" not working when executed form device
I recently found out about the screenrecord feature of ADB on Android since API19.
If I try and execute this from Android Terminal Emulator on my device, I get the response from the device I would expect (identical to what I get on my CMD window when executing from Windows) but the file it creates does not work. The file is always ~3.3kb in size and VLC gives me the error:
VLC can't recognize the input's format:
The format of 'file:///C:/Users/Jonny%20Wright/Downloads/videoo.mp4' cannot be detected. Have a look at the log for details.
(I have not checked the VLC log as from what has been happening it seems it is a problem with the recording of the video by the device as when executing from Windows it works fine.)

You need to run screenrecord as root, type su to switch to root (your phone needs to be rooted obviously)


text:
No "/data/logs""directory. Is it hidden? Not on my version?
I am having the "INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE" error when trying to do some app development. Googling around and looking here I see a lot of advice saying to empty the "/data/logs" folder.
Only I cant find that anywhere.
I have looked with the normal file manager (with rout permissions), as well as trying a few tools like SD Maid and Disk Usage. But no sign of it. Ditto with terminal and manually looking. The data folder just does not container a "logs" folder. And nor does data\data for that mater.
I am using CyanogenMod M10.0.0 Beta 1 on a HTC Legend. Android version 4.1.2
Is this folder not on my version? is it somewhere else?
The behavior seems to match. I was just constantly using usb debugging and sending my own app over from eclipse to test, my own app being tiny (well under 1MB). Then I started getting "INSTALL_FAILED_INSUFFICIENT_STORAGE". So I assume something is building up/wasting space from the dozens of compiles and crashes I have had today.
Thanks for any help,
Thomas


text:
How to transfer Viber message history to a new phone
Since Viber currently doesn't offer backup and restore functionality, I resorted to using Titanium Backup for transferring message history to a new phone.
However, after the restore, when launching viber, the message history appears for a second and then the activation screen pops up for confirming the new device -- and after the device is confirmed (via incoming call or sms), all the history vanishes!
Any ideas?

I don't use the app  but I suspect you're able to see that confirmation because after restoring the app data the account wasn't restored explicitly. Accounts has to re restored separately in the device.

What method did you use to transfer Viber messages to your new phone? I just switched from Galaxy S6 edge to S7 Edge so looking to transfer Viber chats to my new android. So far I tried these instructions about transferring Viber chats from old Android/iPhone to new Android/iPhone with some app: http://www.easyphonerecovery.com/transfer-viber-messages-from-one-phone-to-another.html It worked and I could transfer 20 Viber messages with attachments to my S7 edge. Now, it’s asking me to pay $19 if I want to transfer all the chat history. Is there any free solution? Else I’ll buy this software.

You can do it without root access
Requirements:

Install ADB and OpenJDK 8 (I had nothing to do with security extension) by following adb backup guide on XDA
Download adbextractor

Then do
sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre-headless
sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot

Now, do the following

Connect the old mobile, create backup with adb backup (disable WiFi and data and forget the old phone)
sudo adb backup com.viber.voip -f /home/user/Downloads/viberoldphone1.ab
sudo java -jar abe.jar unpack /home/user/Downloads/viberoldphone1.ab /home/user/Downloads/viberoldphone1.tar

Install Viber on new phone and activate Viber, connect the new phone and create backup with adb backup
sudo adb backup com.viber.voip -f /home/user/Downloads/vibernewphone2.ab
sudo java -jar abe.jar unpack /home/user/Downloads/vibernewphone2.ab /home/user/a/vibernewphone2.tar

Open TAR archives in an archive manager (found Archive manager for GNOME 3.14.2 on my Lubuntu LiveCD). Copy files below from viberoldphone1.tar DB directory to vibernewphone2.tar

viber_data
viber_data-journal
viber_messages
viber_messages-journal

Repack to .ab and restore data to phone
sudo java -jar abe.jar pack /home/user/a/vibernewphone2.tar /home/user/Downloads/vibernewok.ab
sudo adb restore /home/user/Downloads/vibernewok.ab

Works like a charm. I have just tested on Android 4.1 and 5.0. I run into problems on Win7 with adb so finally used Lubuntu.
You can try to edit Viber DB files with SQLite editor. Probably DB files could be restored directly but I had no time to test
References:

http://dbremes.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/how-to-get-a-backup-of-your-android-applications-database-in-windows/
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2078710/android-adb-access-to-application-databases-without-root

Works perfectly! I noticed a few extra files in the backup of my new Viber install which weren't in the backup of my old Viber (files like viber_data-shm and viber_data-wal). I just ignored these, followed the instructions as stated, and it worked fine.
Why is every command prefixed with "sudo" though? I ran these without sudo, so long as you own the directory you're saving backups to it should work.

Links are always good for Extras info.

First of all thank you very much! These instructions didn't seem to work for me, after some testing and realizing the way the "tar" created the tar archive threw BackupManagerService off giving "java.io.IOException: Illegal semantic path" and other errors. To circumvent this I've followed the instructions at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2011811 to created the tar without trailing slashes and in the exact order of files (by listing the files from the new phone backup), using "pax" as the archiver.

Works like a charm. Just don't forget to copy the /viber/media files from the old phone as well to get the missing photos/videos. Mine happened to be on the external storage so copying it was easy.

I tried this in MacOS but the archives are basically empty.... I'll try again later using Ubuntu 16.04.

Anybody still succeed with this on Android 7.0 Nougat?

Overview:
To completely migrate Viber, you will have to copy your message databases from old device and set them to Viber's own on new device. In addition, if you want to have all photos and videos from your conversations, you must migrate them too.
How to:

You need both devices rooted
On both devices install some Root File Manager (further "RFM"), like Total Commander or ES File Explorer.
On the new device install Viber and activate your mobile number. You message board will be empty for now.
Lets backup your user photos and videos:

On old device go to directory, where Viber user data files installed. In most cases it will be your Home directory, such a /storage/sdcard or /mnt/sdcard or /storage/Emulated/0, etc. In most cases it is in your Internal memory, but if someone chose to move Viber to SD card, then he/she have to go to /storage/extsd or/mount/sdcard2 or whatever it named in his/shes particular system.
In this directory Viber directory will exist (with "media" directory inside, just for proper identification). Directory Viber contains all downloaded user photos and all images and videos from your conversations. As many videos you send and receive, as big it will be. You will need to backup this directory.
If you have external SD slot, use it for copying mentioned directory to SD card. If you do not have such, use any other method allowed by chosen RFM - send it by FTP to your PC/new device, send it by e-mail to yourself, share it to Google Drive etc.

Lets copy message databases from old to new device:

On the old device open RFM and go to /data/data/com.viber.voip/databases/. There you will find 6 files (in 3 corresponding pairs); you will need all of them, so copy them all to your external SD or so, as I mentioned before.
Well, we finished with old device. It's up to you now for not pollute our planet throwing it to the trash mindlessly and consumingly.
On new device go to the same directory and see the same files there. 3 of them (those without .journal extension) will have permissions rw-rw---- (or 660), and the rest 3 - rw------- (or 600). You may see permissions right after file name, or you must get file property - it depends on RFM. Remember those "permission map".
Choose any current file and get his Properties in chosen RFM. You will see UID/GID (Owner/User and Group ID) of it either in form of owner name (like Viber) or system name (like u0_a92) or user ID (like 1092). Remember this UID or write it down.
Now you can copy all 6 "old" files from SD (or whatever else place you copy them before) to current location (/data/data/com.viber.voip/databases/) on new device.

Lets set proper rights to message databases:

Some of RFM (as Total Commander) allows to do group operations with permissions and UID/GID. Select all 6 files and get Properties of them. If your RFM allows you to set now Owner/Group or permissions, you lucky man; if not, you will must do next steps repeatedly for each single file.
Now you will need correct UID you remembered/written down before. If you thought you should easy remember u0_a92, but you don't, and now you are in doubts about correct UID, don't panic. Parent directory (/data/data/com.viber.voip/databases/) have the same correct UID, so cancel, go one level up and get it in it Properties.
For all 6 files in /data/data/com.viber.voip/databases directory get it properties and there set correct UID, which you remembered before (instead of current "root", set during copy by RFM). Probably you will be pushed by RFM to choose from a (long) list of existing UIDs, instead of writing down user ID manually.
For the same 6 files set the same correct GID as in previous step.
In file properties (for each fileset of 3 files) set correct permissions, as you remembered before (according to "permission map").

Lets restore your photos and videos:

Go to the Viber installation directory on the new device (usually /storage/sdcard if there is internal memory) and copy there Viber directory, you backed up in Step 4.

Go to Settings -> Applications -> Viber and Force Stop it.
Start Viber and enjoy your migrated conversations, with photos and videos, as nothing never happens.

P.S. I really do not understand why Viber have no will to implement this easy procedure.

I tried following your instructions to the letter, but can't get this thing to work. I'm transferring from a 4.0.4 Xperia Ray (which doesn't seem to support adb backup option) to a 5.1 Cubot X17, both rooted. I tried copying all the six files or only four (as per above answer). I also tried setting file permissions (with ES) to what they were by default before overwriting and to what you stated in your replay, but all for naught. Once I restart viber it will simply show no messages and no groups. If I clear data, groups come back, but they are all empty. Any and all suggestions appreciated.

Oh dear, one of those facepalm moments. I tried opening these recovered databases in SQLite browser and it appears there are no messages in the corresponding database. Which makes me think that these messages may have been deleted when I used the export option. Or I cocked up something badly when copying.

None of the responses I have read on the web has worked for me.
But the following very simple method works perfectly:

On your target device, install and activate Viber
Using a file explorer that allows access to the whole device (e.g. ES File Explorer), navigate to /data/data/com.viber.voip/databases on your source device, and copy the file viber_messages to the same location on your target device.

Note: I did this as follows:

Started ES File Explorer's FTP server on my target device
Using ES File Explorer on my source device, copied the desired file from my source device to my target device's download folder using FTP (I couldn't see /data/data/com.viber.voip/databases from the source device)
Using ES File Explorer on my target device, copied the desired file from the download folder to /data/data/com.viber.voip/databases/
Restarted Viber on the target device

You should point out that this requires both, source and target device, to be rooted.

I also had many problems with this issue, but finally I managed to import Viber messages from other phone.
Steps:

Use Titanium backup to backup Viber on old phone
Restore Viber by Titanium Backup, but do not start it (no activation!)
Make a save from Viber with Titanium Backup on new system (Backup/Restore page - Viber)
Activate Viber (and loose all messages)
Go back to Titanium Backup and Clear data of app (Viber)
Make a restore data with prev. saved data
Run Viber, and your messages are OK!

I recently upgraded from Galaxy S6 Edge to new Galaxy S7 Edge and like OP I didn't want to lose my old Viber conversations. I successfully transferred all the Viber messages along with the photos, videos, and other attachments from my old Android device (S6 edge) to new Android device (S7 edge) with the the help of a paid third-party software called Android Viber Transfer mentioned in this guide.
It costs $19 but I guess it’s the only tool to transfer Viber messages from one phone to another (Android to Android and iPhone to iPhone) because on Google I found 3-4 websites that are talking about this tool. Free version lets you transfer only 20 messages which is kind of useless. These are the steps that need to be followed in order to transfer Viber messages from one Android device to another:

Launch the app on your computer and connect your old Android device
with to your computer via USB cable. Make sure USB debugging is
enabled on your device.
Tap ‘Back up my data’ on your Android and you’ll be able to see all
your Viber chat history on the UI of this program.
Right click on your Android and choose “Backup Messages” to
backup your Viber messages to the local database on your computer.
Move the SIM card to your new Android device,    download the Viber
app on your device and verify your phone number.
Finally, connect your new Android device to your computer, right
click on the database that you’ve created and choose “Restore
Messages”.

I tried this on my non-rooted S7 edge running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and it worked for me. I hope my answer will help the folks those who are looking to transfer Viber messages from their old device to new device as currently there isn’t native/official solution for this.

Unfortunately, this doesn't work anymore on Android 7 and above.