text:
720p or 1080p - How to verify the same?
All,
I recently bought a cell with 1920 x 1080 resolution. When i search for a 1080p video in Youtube ad play it, it plays fine. However, the same video is playable in another cell with only 720p screen resolution. How can that be possible? How can we verify if the video played in youtube is just HD or Full-HD?

You could use a system info app to show the device's specifications.

"How can that be possible?" -- why not? Scaling can be done by a software. Related: What are the differences of watching a 1080p and a 720p version of the same media on a 720p screen? / On a 720p monitor, should it be possible for me to see 1080p? Or at least the difference between the two? / Does 2K or 4K media look better than HD on 1080p monitor?

You tube videos while titled Full HD do not appear to be playing at that resolution.  When you click the three button vertical bar on top right, you get a menu option and the central one which is a gear icon displays resolution, which is lower.
For downloaded videos,  you can always check the resolution using VLC player properties listed under video track
Some cell phones like mine Honor 6 have an option to lower the screen  resolution  to achieve better performance and battery life. Hence, as suggested in comments, please do check the properties of resolution


text:
The power of galaxy tab 4 7,0 charger
Please what is the power of tab 4 7.0 charger
Is it like 1 or 2 Amp

The charger that came with my tablet is rated at 5V and 1.0 amps.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Recover From Bad Flash, Recovery Gone, ODIN no go Galaxy S6 Verizon
I have a GS6 on 5.0.2. I wanted to get rid of my root and go back to stock firmware while upgrading to 5.1.1. So I flashed official 5.1.1 using odin but it failed. Recovery mode no longer works.
Odin seems to always fail. I can go back to download mode or be instructed to restore via Verizon's software assistant. Verizon's software is not supported on Windows 10 and won't detect my device on Windows 8.1. Smart switch is not recognized.  Here is what odin has to say. It fails at the system.img
Verizon G920V
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Binary Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 0)
<ID:0/004> Added!!
<ID:0/004> Odin engine v(ID:3.1100)..
<ID:0/004> File analysis..
<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/004> Initialzation..
<ID:0/004> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/004> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/004> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/004> sboot.bin
<ID:0/004> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/004> cm.bin
<ID:0/004> boot.img
<ID:0/004> recovery.img
<ID:0/004> system.img
<ID:0/004>
<ID:0/004> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I have tried multiple firmwares. If I could find a pit file to flash I would.
Anyway, I went to Verizon and they are sending me a replacement in two days. In download mode it still says that the firmware is official. However it also says samsung custom. (Assuming the root) I don't know if Verizon will backcharge me for this. Is there any way to get rid of the custom status? When I put it in the box to return it I'll leave it on the System Software Update Failed screen.

Just in case anyone finds this in the future. I figured out how to fix this. I had have a working phone to install verizon's upgrade assitant. It would not work from the exe I found on the internet. From there I had to install it in a virtual machine because it did not like Win 10. From there I simply plugged in my device and it restored it. Use this method if odin doesn't work. I WILL NEVER ROOT AGAIN!

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


text:
How Can I Fix My Google Maps App?
Maps worked fine on my Galaxy S5 up until a few days ago. All of a sudden, I can't access my history, get directions or see the map of where I am when I open the app. When I go to the menu, it still lists the email that connects to my account, but nothing works. Still works fine on my other devices. History, directions, etc., show up on my laptop & tablet on the same account. I tried signing out & signing in again and deleting updates. No change.
How can I get my Maps working again?

If you have a resolution, please write your own answer about what you did to fix it and mark it as accepted.

You can go to maps in the app settings and delete data, and if that doesn't work you can uninstall updates and update it again to reinstall it.

Thank you for your answer. Unfortunately, I have done everything that you mentioned and the problem still persists. Any other ideas?

@Ira Is sync on? If not that might be the problem.

Hi Grant, yes, sync is on, and as I said, "Maps worked fine on my Galaxy S5 up until a few days ago. All of a sudden, I can't access my history, get directions or see the map of where I am when I open the app". I hadn't changed anything (like turning off sync or anything else) and it just stopped working.

Yesterday I got a typical notification that 7 apps have updates available (I always keep them updated, including Google Maps), Google, Google+, Google Maps, and other assorted apps. I updated all. My Google Maps came back! Works perfectly now.


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Permission denied
[ASL] gives this error in library installations:
%ANDROID%\platform-tools\adb.exe push %NATIVE% /data/local/asl-native

--->RUN
'/data/local/asl-native':Permission denied

How can I overcome this problem without roots in the device?

You can't. The /data partition is write-protected for any non-system process (including adb).

So how can I do this? not that I've tried a lot of things

Root your device, type adb root, execute your command. If it doesn't work, you will need to change one line in build.prop: ro.adb.secure=1 -> 0.

is not it possible to do without the root?

No, I'm sorry but this is not possible. It is meant to secure the system from unauthorized modifications.

Do not have any way to give this permission?

I'm sorry but this is not possible without full control (root) on your device

You can use /data/local/tmp, does not need root.

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


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Incomplete file list when browsing file system of Nexus 5 in Windows 7 / 10
I connected my Nexus 5 (Android 6.0) to my Windows PC via USB (tried both MTP and PTP mode) and noticed that the file list in Explorer was incomplete. I compared the file list in ES on my Android device to the file list that Windows Explorer shows and discovered that the majority of files and folders was missing in the Windows file list. I tried both Windows 7 and 10 - same effect.
Did anybody else have this issue?

Can you list  the files that were available under ES File Explorer but not in Windows Explorer? Use a paste service to mention them here.

Let's take this example. This is the full file list I obtained via ES Remote Manager:
https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9f2516cbd3f05d372950
Only the first two (sorted by name) are displayed in Windows:
voice-2014-08-08-13-02.mp3 and
voice-2014-08-08-13-16.mp3

I had this issue a while back, and to be honest I never found out why it happened. Sometimes refreshing explorer helped, sometimes not. It was certainly strange.


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Manually Updating Galaxy S3 Firmware
I own a Samsung Galaxy S3 (SCH-I535), Stock ROM, rooted, running android 4.4.2
For a while now, since updating to 4.4.2 through OTA, I have had horrible battery life. Android System constantly uses 20%+ of the battery life, and can get to upwards of 40% for no apparent reason. I made an attempt to factory reset, but I messed up the backup process, and lost a lot of data. I decided to root the phone and explore other options for saving the battery. The factory reset hasn't worked, and although using some root-worthy apps like Greenify and others, nothing has helped significantly.
I asked a question on Android Enthusiasts a while back about this battery issue, and a user replied saying he experienced the same issue, but he fixed his by doing a manual install (through a PC connected to the phone with USB). Apparently the OTA update can get messed up somehow. I want to try this but I'm running into some issues.
When installing the Samsung Desktop Update Utility (or whatever it's called), it installs, but will not run. As soon as I run it, WerFault.exe also runs, and then they both close a few moments later. So this option is out.
Now, I moved on to Kies. I installed this program since it was said I could update this way. But, I see a lot of people saying that Kies is unreliable. The alternative is a program called ODIN.
TL;DR--

What could my issue with the Samsun Update Utility be?
Is Kies a reliable way to do this process? Or will it brick my phone as I so often see?
Is ODIN a reputable and competent alternative?

Any help is appreciated, and I can provide whatever extra information is needed!

Is Kies a reliable way to do this process? Or will it brick my phone as I so often see?

I only install Kies for the USB drivers.

Is ODIN a reputable and competent alternative?

I need Kies for ODIN to detect my Samsung Device. So yes, ODIN is a reliable alternative.
As from what I read, you already messed up your files, so there are few files left to backup. Backup those files.
Method 1:
You can do a manual flash. Guide
My steps:
(Disclaimer: Do at your own risk.)

Download a Stock ROM (.tar or .md5 file) for your Samsung S3 and ODIN 3.07 (I frequently use).
Install Kies. Make sure that you have installed Kies. Then terminate all processes that have linked to Kies.
heck your Task Manager > Processes > Look for processes with the Kies name in it (e.g. KiesTrayAgent.exe).
Make sure your device is charged, around 80%-90%. Power off the device.
Boot into ODIN mode (press and hold Volume Down + Home + Power keys together). a new screen will show up. Then press Volume Up key.
On your PC open ODIN, then plug-in your device. There will be change in ODIN, like this

Follow the options on the picture. Do no change anything. Then click PDA and locate your Stock ROM file.
Hit Start. Let the devices do the work. Do not power-off and/or interrupt the PC and Device as  this may cause the device to get brick.

Now I'm assuming this stock rom will completely wipe the phone to install itself? There isn't another way to reinstall the 4.4.2 firmware?

Yes it will. There are other ways like flashing custom recovery(eg. TWRP or CWM) then flashing a .zip file. But If you are looking for STOCK ROM.. Looking around the internet. There are rare STOCK zip files. Best shot is a Custom ROM but I think you wouldn't go further than STOCK OS/ROM. So I would recommend using ODIN.


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Can Google Photos sync up iOS Photos *albums*?
Is there any way to get Google Photos sync on iOS/OS X to recognise my albums and retain those photos in those albums when on Google Photos?
I am looking for ways to return to Android.
Thanks.

Photos doesn't store files by the albums they belong to. They can't because any photo could be in multiple albums. The questioner is not trying to sync photos, he's trying to sync albums. This is the Photos equivalent of syncing iTunes playlists. It's not just about copying files. I'd like to know how to do it, too.

I’m voting to close this question because it is about apps on iOS, which should be more suitable on our sister site [apple.se] instead.


text:
I need help with some SD card troubles
I have a Samsung core 2 I have android kernel version think is 4.4. I recently ran out of memory and installed a 8gb SD card but my apps won't store there. When I try to install an app it says insufficient memory. Help please

I down-voted this because it has been asked hundreds of times before. Please Google search for answers before posting a question like this and try to solve it for yourself. Please also describe what you have done to try and fix the problem. But to be clear, the SD card has nothing to do with installing apps. Apps are installed on the internal memory. The best thing to do is to go to your System Settings-> Storage and find what exactly is taking up space. If your system storage is full (or close) it can cause more problems than just installing apps.

There are several apps that visualize what's taking up memory. You can get a better insight with Storage Analayser,DiskInfo,Disk Usage & Storage Analyser, DiskUsage or Memory map

You must move applications one by one from internal memory to SD card.
For help in this download this application: "AppMgr III (App 2 SD)".

Root your device by using any rooting method ( I used kingo root).
Download (link2sd).
Use your computer to make partitions on your SD card (two partitions) ... make the first one fat32 and leave the second one without a type.
Insert your SD and go to link2sd it'll ask you about the type of the second partition, choose ext2.
Choose the app you want to move to your SD and choose great link.
This method worked for me your apps will be stored in the ext2 partition and it will be used as extra internal memory and the fat32 partition stays as your external SD if you made each of your partitions 4 GB you get 4GB extra internal memory and 4Gb external.

Seriously- rooting is not the answer to every question. This is an extensive suggestion considering we don't really know what the OP's problem is.

@paulmz this is the method that worked for me, I'm just trying to help


text:
how to connect to hdmi TV by non hdmi mobile?
I want to know how to connect my in focus m810 with HDMI tv. Note my TV doesn't have WiFi, so wireless display can't be used.

ChromeCast is the way to go. Your phone does not support slimport or any  other standards for hdmi over MicroUSB.

This question has been asked and answered many times before... usually by me.
I personally use Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire Stick and it works well connected with my Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Tab 4. The Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter is supposed to work with Android devices as well.
How to use display mirroring on the Fire TV and Stick (from Amazon's website):

To quickly start display mirroring, on your Amazon Fire TV remote
  press and hold the Home button and select Mirroring. Then connect your
  compatible device. Swipe down from the top of the screen to open Quick
  Settings, and then tap Settings. Tap Display & Sounds, and then tap
  Display Mirroring.

Also note that Chromecast doesn't stream everything from the device. It streams from the Chrome browser and select apps. Miracast enabled devices, like the Fire Stick, stream any video and audio that is on the mobile device screen (with a slight delay, of course).
Hope this helps!


text:
Manual update to marshmallow possible for rooted phone
Can an unlocked phone such as Moto be updated to Marshmellow upon release, or are we stuck waiting for Motorola or the carrier?

It depends if the manufacturer makes a version of the ROM for the device or not - if they do, then you'll probably be able to get your hands on a stock ROM and flash it onto your device. Some custom ROM developers may create custom ROMs which are based on marshmallow too, which would allow users of that device to experience marshmallow, especially if it won't be/isn't yet available for that specific device.


text:
Android 6.0: Phone remains unlocked after boot?
I've a screen unlock password set on my Nexus 6P and the password also gets prompted before the device is booted. However, after the device is booted, the phone is unlocked: that is, I'm sent to the launcher.
I regard this as a minor security risk since there's some time after entering the password (before the device is booted) and before the device has been fully booted.
Anyone face something similar? Anyone have a solution?


text:
How to identify installed apps where I participate as beta tester
On my Moto G (peregrine) with Android 4.4.4 I installed some apps where I joined beta tester programs long time ago (via log-in from a googlegroup etc.), and also just some weeks ago where no more group joining was necessary.
As I lost overview of the apps where I am beta tester:
How can I identify all apps where I a take part in beta testing?
(looking on my device intensively, also in GooglePlay settings and a general internet search were without success for my to find this out)

Why would you want to identify them though. If the beta testing has ended they'll inform you, dish out the formal app and stop informing you AFAIK. Else it's more likely the beta has not ended yet.

@JoshHolland : I have apps where I take part in beta testing and I am able to rate them in play store. So this cannot be the criteria I am looking for.

@XiangJi : My beta apps I am using are apps that have regular updates and thus have regular beta releases as well. So Beta testing will not end, I assume.

Late comment, I know, but maybe is interested: The rationale behind wanting to detect the beta state of a user for me is that users are allowed to "rate" my app also in beta state (Google should not allow this or warn users!), but the rating does not appear in the "usual" ratings, but are just sent to me as feedback.

Maybe I finally found a (cumbersome?) way to find out whetre I have an app as a beta tester:
Have ideally a desktop PC with a browser and go to https://play.google.com and be sure to have logged in there with your google account.
There you can list all apps (in a kind of gallery) that are connected to your account, and even what apps are installed right now to any of your android devices that uses your google account.
Hover over one app there and you have a link for each app that leads to the indiviual item on play.google.com for each app.
For example:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.generalmagic.magicearth
Since summer 2015 you can take part in app beta testing (when supported by the developer) by visiting a special link for each app, like
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.generalmagic.magicearth
So you just need to take the first link for the "official" app,
and replace the part of the URL
/store/apps/details?id=

with
/apps/testing/

Then you can have at least three cases:

You are not allowed to take part in beta testing for this app.
You can become a beta tester for this app, when invited or it is a public beta test.
or you can see that you are already a beta tester for this app.

Anybody knows a more simple way?

If only it can be automated... I'm thinking of a way to automate it, but still not sure...

Believe in future!!!
Because in these days of June/July 2016, there is a new feature in the Play Store app:
After selecting "My apps & games" I can see now:
Installed ... All ...Beta  <- There you can see all beta apps now !!
(available at least on two devices with android 4.4.4 and 5.1)

Confirmed on Android 6.0.1, so I believe it's device independent, and only depends on Play Store version :)

Does this also apply to the web app under play.google.com?

so far I have NOT seen any beta section when browsing to play.google.com to see all my android apps on different devices.


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Can't decrypt internal memory; no hard reset available
I have an LG Access (LGL31L) (Tracphone) running 4.2.4 that I recently rooted using towelroot. The phone's memory is encrypted, and after getting somewhat over-zealous with the new root access I disabled something important and after rebooting my phone all I can do is get the screen that says "Enter PIN/Password to decrypt". But before I get to that screen the phone says "unfortunately, settings has stopped"...
I can still pull up the emergency dialer, the touch screen still works, but I can't get the phone to pull up it's keyboard to input the decryption PIN. It doesn't help that this phone is rare enough that I can't seem to find a custom recovery and it's even worse because there is no way to perform a hard data reset, only via the settings menu (which I can't get to...)
If anyone has any ideas I would be extremely grateful!!!

"running 4.2.4" -- what did I see? Please [edit].

There is another way to factory reset your phone. Go to the dial pad and type in    *#*#7780#*#*     and this will automatically factory reset the device.
WARNING: This will wipe everything on your phone. So proceed with caution.


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Network unlock a cyanogenmod phone
I have a Galaxy S4, SGH-I337M. I installed an unofficial CM 12.1 ROM because they've only released official CM ROMs up to 11.0. I brought it into a store to get it network-unlocked from Telus Mobility, and they told me that since I installed CM, they'd have trouble finding a working unlock code. Will they be able to find one eventually (they said give them 24 hours to find one) or should I go back to a stock TouchWiz ROM temporarily?

Yes, you should always be on a stock ROM when attempting a network unlock.

It is better to install your stock rom and recovery because your phone will be originaly supported by the seller. Now they will probably contact CM somehow and this will cost you more time and money.


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adb shell -> su: not found

How can I overcome this problem?
Devices:

Samsung Galaxy TabS - Android 4.4.2
HTC M8 - Android 5.0.1

The two devices have the same problem.

Are the devices rooted? su binary doesn't come with factory shipped devices. You need to root the device (which involves finding and pushing the su binary into /system/bin/ or /system/xbin/). See What is rooting?

no roots in the device. Is this procedure is not done without roots?

The procedure I told you is part of rooting. In order to switch to UID 0 (the userId of root user) you need access to su and in order to access su it has to be present first. How would you move the binary depends upon the device you're using. Some methods are mentioned here: How do I root my Android device?

Had the same issue after deleting my "device" which Visual Studio 2017 created and made a new one. Solution was to make sure to leave "GooglePlayStore" ticked off.

Your device is not rooted.  To see what Rooting is and how to go about doing it:

http://www.androidcentral.com/root
What does "to root a phone" mean?

Once you have rooted your device, you will be able to access the Super User state of your device (SU). Just be aware that rooting could brick your device if done incorrectly, as could and tampering with files in the root directory.


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What system data can I purge from my LG Tribute Android phone?
I own an LG Tribute Android phone, with Virgin Mobile service.  The phone has 4 GB of storage and despite the fact I only have a handful of apps installed (Acrobat Reader, Starbucks, OpenTable, Skype, Uber), I have run out of storage on my phone.  Here is the breakdown ...
Available - 124 MB
Apps - 1.45 GB
Pictures, videos - 112 MB
Audio - 148 KB
Downloads - 336 KB
Cached data - 13.8 MB
System data - 2.3 GB

What system data can I delete wihtout screwing up my phone and how can I do that?

Freeing up system memory by deleting system apps might not help in my opinion. You wouldn't be really able to use it... The partition size will not change by deleting bloatware so you'll gain next to nothing.

My question references system "data" so if there are other things I can delete besides apps to free up disk space (not memory, don't care about memory), what is safe to delete?


text:
how to send to special number in the new hangouts
before the update I can send messages to number like "2200" no problem but since the update hangouts instantly adds +63 to the numbers and now I can send sms to it and it doesn't even let me compose a new sms for that number.. please help I love using hang outs as my default sms messenger so please help me..

You to access Hangouts from the website version https://hangouts.google.com/ and then input the number that you want to send a text to once the conversation is created you can access the conversation from your phone.


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How to recover contacts from an Android phone whose screen has died?
My daughter's Samsung Galaxy S4 has a faulty screen - it is completely non-functional. As it died the remainder of the phone functionality appeared to be completely fine. Now the screen is dead. So there is no way to see what is displayed nor interact with it.
She got a new phone and was dismayed to learn that most of her contacts did not appear. Apparently, unbeknownst to her, they were saved to the phone (not SIM) rather than Google.
Is there a way for her to recover those contacts from the screenless, but otherwise still-functioning, phone?
It does not appear that simply connecting it to USB will work. I thought about installing over-the-air the app AirDroid - but it appears it is too late to do that, since some of the setup appears to need to be done on the phone itself.
Any other solutions?
Thanks.

If the phone was not linked to a Google account you are likely out of luck considering the device won't even turn in.

@Ramhound - as I wrote, it is linked to a google account - and those contacts sync to the new phone. The problem is with the contacts that were stored on the device - which appear to be most of them... Also, as I wrote, it does turn on - but the screen is blank because it is broken.

This is theoretical, proceed at your own risk after satisfactory search: I've heard that Galaxy devices comes with unlocked bootloaders. If that's the case then you may be able to flash (using PC) a custom Recovery like TWRP on the device without risking the device to be automatically getting reset. Then boot into TWRP. TWRP should by-default give access to contacts database which is where the contacts are stored.

If the USB port were working on the phone it would probably be easiest to copy any or all of the phones data with a pc, however I surmise the screen defect was caused by the notorious shorted USB connector on Samsung phones. This being the case if you have another Samsung s4 5 or 6 one of the pieces of preinstalled softwares allows you to place 2 phones back to back to copy your contacts and settings perhaps that could help you.


text:
LG G4 not restarting
My device is rooted. It was working fine for months. But suddenly it struck and now its not restarting back. It struck at LG logo. I have no idea why its happening.
Also, it is rebooting again and again to LG logo. I don't wanna factory reset as I have have too many apps installed on the device and don't even know the names of all those apps. Is there any way through ADB that I can get the list of installed apps(without restarting) and then I can hard factory reset?

I do not understand why you're asking for a solution which requires ADB. If the device can't get past the boot logo, then it means that Android OS is not in a condition to launch and run ADB daemon in the device (I even wonder whether OS itself is initialized by that time) which implies that adb devices would give you nothing. Instead, simply ask for a way to get the installed apps' name. Also, there is nothing termed hard factory reset: there is [tag:factory-reset] and separately, the [tag:hard-reset].

I did factory reset and hard reset both. The phone starts and them again its gets into bootloop @Firelord

You can view all the apps by going to My Apps in the Google Play Store, and selecting the "All" tab. Although, this will also show all apps you have ever installed.

@SarpSTA You can view it from the new phone. For instance, I can view apps I installed on my old android (cyanogenmod) tablet from my N5.

This method is much easier, as you can easily reinstall them, and you don't have to go hunting for the packages.

Some users have reported this loop which looks like a hardware problem if its persistent.
However, your best option would be to hard reset your LG G4. No one loves starting from the scratch but you often get frustrated from the phone being frozen most of the time. At this point, you have to detach your emotions and apply technical logic which will solve the problem.
If you are not sure about a hard reset just yet, you can try a soft reset that involves removing the battery and inserting it back after 1-mins.
If that fails, you really have to perform a factory reset. You can try any of the methods in this guide to hard reset your LG G4.

It's a hardware issue. Got the hardware fixed multiple times still there's a problem. Sold the device


text:
How to perform emergency call while "Android is starting..."
Sometimes when I start my phone I get this "Optimizing app" thing that takes about 10 - 20 minutes for it to finish.
During this operation phone is unusable and reset doesn't help as the operation is repeated on next boot.
I am wondering, sometimes my nexus dies because of low battery. Now imagine there was a car accident and I needed to do emergency call. I could start it up using USB charger I have in my car, but what would I do if it got stuck because of this "Optimizing" thing?
Is there any way to cancel it so that I can do an emergency call?

AFAIK, "Optimizing app" only happens after OS update. Perhaps it's also happened on factory reset (I don't know, I never do factory reset). Other than that, the OS needs to optimize the app after the change from the update. Lastly, I don't see this can be bypassed, it's like stopping Windows while it's updating, which can be considered as dangerous (data corruption). If this happens often, then I'd consider that as bigger problem than what you ask here...

Yes, it happens very often to me when system dies improperly (that happens to me often, because of poor battery condition).

There is something really wrong with your phone if you keep getting that thing randomly (it shouldn't even happen if your phone dies of poor battery). On top of that, it really shouldn't be blocking your device for 10-20 minutes too. I'd recommend you to do a factory reset (or a full system reflash) on your device.


text:
note 5 signal refresh
I am using a galaxy note 5 running android lollipop 5.1.1. At times, my phone will show "Emergency Calls Only", alerting me to the loss of signal. I can restart my phone and re-acquire signal successfully. My question is: is there a way to refresh network signal without restarting the phone?
Thanks

See if turning the radio on and off would help.

As Firelord suggested try turning Flight mode ON and turn back OFF

Try enabling Airplane Mode, wait about 15 seconds, then turn off Airplane Mode.

OK - I tried: airplane mode would not turn off when I switched it off. I guess it was still looking for signal, and would come out of airplane mode once it was acquired. it's been a couple of minutes now and it will not get out of airplane mode.


text:
Can I change how my Gmail account is displayed in the Android Gmail app?
In the Android Gmail app, when you have several email accounts configured, you can switch between these in the menu to the left. Any IMAP account you add, you can assign a name to. When you add a google account, it assigns the email address (e.g. me@gmail.com) as the name by default. I'm wondering if I can change that name to e.g. "Personal" or "School", etc.

I just tried it out and it seems like this is not possible.
However, did you know that you can use aliases for your Gmail Account? If your address is for instance "maxmuster@gmail.com", you can also use "maxmuster+school@gmail.com" or "maxmuster+work@gmail.com", and all E-mails will land in the same inbox. Then you can filter them by recipient-address, to gain order.
I can also recommend you the "INBOX" app by google, if you want your inbox to be more structured. Hope it helped you in any way.


text:
How are good, fair, poor and bad defined for signal strength?
How are good, fair, poor and bad defined for signal strength in terms of dBm, in most Android phones or telecommunication community?
Are they defined the same for mobile network and for WiFi network?
Thanks.

Signal strength is always expressed in terms of (decibels) dB whether it is Wifi or Cellular Network signal. Only difference is the spectrum and bandwidth...

It depends on the technology of the mobile, i.e. CDMA 1xEVDO (Verizon & Sprint 3G), UMTS (AT&T and T-Mobile 3G), LTE (all carriers 4G LTE).
In general, for 3G:

-116dBm to -108dBm is bad
-108dBm to -103dBm is poor
-103dBm to -95dBm is fair, and
pretty much anything > -98dBm is good to very good.

For LTE, it's:

-120dBm to -115dBm is poor
-115dBm to -105dBm is bad
-105dBm to -95dBm is fair, and
> -95dBm is good

None of this however is absolute to guarantee the quality of service (QoS).  There are many factors that go into QoS. In urban areas, there is much more interference from various sources including the operators' own network that affects speech quality and throughput speed.

I can answer this for WiFi:  received signal strength indicator (RSSI) in the 802.11 standard is only required to be orderable. This means for a single device you can tell when its reported value x is greater than its reported value y, but not by how much because there may be no real scale. Every device can report different values for the same real signal power, and the values across devices are not directly comparable because they can each use different values and they may have no scales. A device is only required to be able to tell a signal is stronger or weaker than another signal.
For reference, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_signal_strength_indication


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Questions about "Nandroid" backups
I have a nexus 4 and I'm having issues with Android 5.0 so I was thinking to go back to 4.4.4, but first I want to backup the current state.
Before I do this, I have a few questions:

if create a full nandroid backup with Nexus Root Toolkit, then Flash 4.4.4 + unroot, then change my mind and restore the backup, will the Phone be in precisely the same state as before? Meaning Android 5.0, same apps installed, no lost config etc. ?
can i switch between backups as I please without any side effects? Like restore a 4.4.4 backup, then restore a 5.0 backup ...
can the contents from these backups be visualized on the computer?

thanks

Don't know how Nexus Root Toolkit takes the backup bit I would recommend TWRP/Philz to take Nandroid backup. Note that you may (I don't know so verify it) need to flash other firmware partitions as well to go back to Kitkat. // Yes, if you restore the backup all your Android settings and apps would be there, that's what backup literally means. // Yes, you can revert from one backup to another (but as I said, do verify the need of flashing rest of the firmware). // The only downside I see is flash storage have limited number of write cycles so if your device is already aging then go easy.


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How can I make on viber those who call me to hear them normal and not slow motion?
I have Xperia z3. I know that I have a function so that the people who call are speaking slow and I ve turned it off. But for some reason on viber it does the same and there isn't anything to make it stop. Can you help me please..?

If you know you have a "function", please state what that function is.


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Silent mode on Z1 Compact Lollipop 5.1?
I have a Sony Z1 Compact. Android 5.0 had a beautiful silent mode. Pushing the power button the screen went on, locked, and when you pressed the volume button you could set it to silent, optionally for several hours.
Recently I've upgraded to Android 5.1, and this option has disappeared. The strange thing is that when I google for this, I find that Android 5.0 had no silent mode, and 5.1 has exactly what I want and how it was for 5.0 on my phone.
How can I use silent mode on my Z1C with Lollipop 5.1?

Tried Volume down > Priority Interuption?

When the phone is locked, and I press volume down (or up), I see the volume bar and I can set the volume. On the right side I see a menu button. When I press that it opens a menu for Ringtone, Mediavolume and Alarm. That's it.

@SPRBRN Ahh, I have Lollipop 5.0, and it has the None, Priority and ALL options.(even if the screen is locked). Have you installed some custom ROM? May be you can install some Notification bar widget to switch on the silent profile.(some apps doing this requires root though). So is your device rooted?

@TechMod, that was the solution! If you want the points, make it an answer!

Just press the volume-rocker while the screen is locked. Then choose the ringing-mode by pressing the bell-icon on the left side of the volume-slider until the phone is silenced.


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Marshmallow only displaying https sites
The network connection on my Nexus 6 with Android Marshmallow (rooted) is messed up, and right now the only pattern I can see is that only pages with HTTPS are displaying. I can supply a bug report.

A Log would be helpful here, and any more info would also be useful. E.g. Does this happen with the default browser or does it happen with other browsers (Chrome, Firefox, UC mini etc.). Any extra info will help us narrow down the problem and help you solve it.

@Matt0711 This happens with everything, even app's like Imgur or SoundCloud. I also tried Firefox (since I thought the HTTPS everywhere plugin would help)

Can you supply a [tag:logcat]

Did this happen recently or since you bought it? Or was there a moment when you didn't have this problem? If it was, can you remember what did you do to the device at that moment? Does this happen on WiFi and mobile data?

I have no idea if it happens with data, since my plan doesn't include data. The problem started a little while after upgrading to Marshmallow. Right now I'm trying to upload a logcat, but it'll take me a while

Don't know why, but changing the SIM card seems to have fixed it.


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Don't have the option to use carrier billing
I erased off my phone the carrier billing payment from Google play store how can I get it back so I can buy games,I totally don't know how I did it

Look up the name of your carrier on google play. See what applications are listed there. Install them if they're not already on there. Update your registration info on them.


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OTG Support on latest Nexus flagships 5X, 6P
The recent flagships featuring USB Type-C connections have no mention of on-the-go USB flash accessory support. Does anybody know whether it's there, has anyone tried it?
What are the necessary cables for the same?

Google search on XDA forums shows both phones support  OTG
Nexus 6P. USB OTG. Shows connectors and retailer info
Nexus 5X Nexus 5X OTG support from Google product forums
USB standards from USB.org  also has pictures of three types of connectors and general info

Nexus 5X is something different than Nexus 5.

@MaxRied thanks for pointing out my error. Edited the answer


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Why does my phone charge more quickly at some outlets than at others (with the same charger)
My cell phone seems to charge slowly, especially at my home (I've tried different outlets).  But recently I was in a coffee bar, and it seemed to charge a lot - a lot! - faster.  I was using the same charger. (My phone is an inexpensive Samsung Galaxy phone, I paid like $50 for it.)

Could be because

Coffee bar may  be using charging stations which may look like regular charging wall outlets but seem to be designed to charge faster (have not been able to get technical view to back that yet and am searching)
Outlet at home is not providing sufficient wattage either in terms of voltage or amperage, may be because of poor electrical earthing

It depends on the voltage and current being supplied to the charger at different places. Like for me while travelling via train, the sockets have half the voltage but higher current(Amps) which used to charge my cell faster(of course cannot exceed the maximum output of your charger). I guess so, can be some other reason too.

Also, your phone may be connected to WIFI at home which will also slow down charging.

There may be some issues with the input and output voltage with your phone, or its charger. I strongly suggest getting a new charger. I just got a new charger from Amazon. I have a Samsung Galaxy S4, but I bought a charger for the Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge. This charger is a lot faster, and is consistent with charging speeds.
Try this charger: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Authentic-Samsung-Adapter-Charger/dp/B0108LF09Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1446877691&sr=1-4&keywords=galaxy+s6+charger


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Different coloured journeys on location services
On google location services, my journeys are shown in dark blue, light blue and grey. Is there some significance to this?


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Help fix my tablet?
My Next book tablet isn't working. The Google Play Store keeps saying check connection try again but every other app works. I tried to reset the date/time, clear cache, clear data, but nothing will work. PLEASE HELP ME its a nextbook tablet by android

Umm... Some more details please? Android version, device chipset, other hardware details, etc.? Also, have you bothered to check your internet connection or reorienting the device(s) involved so they can get better signals?

it may well be that google play services is out of date. Try logging out of and back into your google account, try restarting the phone, if all else fails, backup your data and do a factory reset.


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How to sync profile pictures with Facebook after May 2015
I just bought a new phone (OnePlus Two) and I can't get the Facebook profile sync to work. After reading up on it, it seems facebook has killed all 3rd party apps that do this back in May... which is fine, except I can't do it even with the official Facebook app... there seems to be no such option!
Yes, I added the facebook account to account; no, I have not enabled sync in facebook settings since there is no such option in the latest facebook app.
Any thoughts on how could I achieve this?


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Tapping 7 times Build number in HTC Desire 300 does not work
I am trying to enable developer options in my phone (HTC Desire 300) but tapping 7 times the build number doesn't work. Is there any idea? Thank you in advance!

Is this a new phone or bought used? If bought used, the former owner probably used it and it is not further available. See this question.

It is bought  used. There is no way to fix this?

Yes, starting from Android  4.2 the Developer Options menu are hidden by default.
If your phone has any Android release between version 3.0 to 4.1, you don't need to enable Developer Options. Just access it by going to  Settings → Developer options.
Just to make sure you are doing it right, here are the steps:

Launch Settings from the application launcher
Select About Phone
Scroll down and locate the Build Number entry
Tap on the entry 7 times.
The Developer Options menu will now be listed under Settings again.

It is Android 4.1.2 but its developer options are hidden


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Mount an ext4 formatted sdcard on a stock Lolipop 5.1 rom (rooted)
I currently have a Sony Z1 Compact. Unfortunately, it has an unlockable bootloader. I typically install Cyanogen on my android devices, but in this case, I don't have that option (without messing around with packages and changing out some kernels and so-fourth which I don't want to deal with).
I'm running the stock Sony 5.1 firmware with SuperSU root. My SDCard from my old phone is formatted in ext4. Upon loading it into the Sony Z1, it tells me the card is "damaged" (it doesn't recognize ext4) and refused to mount it. I can mount it via adb manually using the following:
mount -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /storage/sdcard1

But of course, it doesn't show up as mounted storage in any Android app or the system preferences. I've found a myriad of posts for older 4.4 firmware references files that don't seem to exist in Android 5.1 (at least not on the Sony firmware).
The kernel obviously supports ext4. I can mount it. What is the correct way to get the Sony firmware to either auto-mount it or to setup my device to mount it manually on boot and have it correctly recognize it as an external sdcard to all my other android apps.
It's a 128GB card filled with my music (well, A through W. X through Z will have to wait until I decide to buy a bigger card) and I really don't want to have to reformat it in vfat.

If mountpoint is visible only to root and not to other users/apps, that's due to mount namespace explained here: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/197959/partition-gets-unmounted-automatically-in-android-oreo/200449#200449 Permissions problem is explained https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Moto-X-Play/Android-ext4-support/m-p/3262766#M1645 and https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63074215&postcount=2


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Bulk manage Google Contacts with dual SIM card
I have a Archos NEON 45 with a dual sim option. Never had a use for it until my business phone stopped working. So I transferred the business SIM-card to my Archos NEON.
I also added by Google Business accounts in order to have the business contacts available on my phone. Now I have to choose which SIM-card to use when making a phone call.
There is the possibility to link a contact to a specific SIM-card. By now I have to edit all the business contacts manually to specify this link to the correct SIM Card. Is there a desktop app or Android app that can do this based on the groups I have specified in each contact?

Accidentally stumbled upon a useable solution. In the Settings menu on the top is a menu item 'Manage SIM". This is meant for setting up names and defaults for the SIM cards. At te very bottom there is a menu item 'Link contacts' (translated from the dutch 'Contact verbinden'.
Next step is to select the SIM card and then you can select contacts to link to the selected SIM card. (Don't forget to press the 'Add contact' icon at the top-right after selecting the correct contacts, instead of the checkmark at the top-left.......)


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Google Keyboard crashing caused by latin input
PAC ROM 4.4.4 SGS3 & N7
Google Keyboard keeps crashing with this stack trace:
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error receiving broadcast Intent
{ act=android.intent.action.PACKAGE_ADDEDdat=package:com.snapchat.android flg=0x4000010 (has extras)}
in com.android.inputmethod.latin.DictionaryPacklns1allBroadcastReceiver@43223ccO
at android.app.LoadedApk$ReceiverDispatcher$Args.run(LoadedApk.java:776)
at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:733)
at android.os.Handler.dispatehMessage(Handler.java:95)
at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:136)
at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5158)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:515)
at com.android.internal.os.Zygotelnit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(Zygotelnit.java:732)
at com.android.internal.os.Zygotelnit.main(Zygotelnit.java:566)
at de.robv.android.xposed.XposedBridge.main(XposedBridge.java:132)
at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
at com.android.inputmethod.latin.DictionaryPacklnstallBroadcastReceiver.onReceive(DictionaryPacklnstallBroadcastReceiver.java:91)
at android.app.LoadedApk$ReceiverDispatcher$Args.run(LoadedApk.java:766)
... 10 more

This stack trace seems, that it crashes after all updates / app installs.

Seems the problem is either on SnapChat or Google Keyboard's dictionary, though I'm not sure why.

I don't think it's Snapchat • think also its the dic


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Need help recovering data from corrupted userdata partition (Galaxy S3 International)
Phone: Galaxy S3 International i9300
The phone started bootlooping, and I tried to do a factory reset, but it seems my phone went off during the process.  I'm trying to obtain images etc. off the phone.
I could connect to the phone using adb after some help.  All the other partitions except the USERDATA (/dev/block/mmcblk0p12) mount fine.  Trying to mount this partition gives an error about a bad magic number on the superblock.  I pulled the ext4 partition with adb pull, and none of the other superblocks have a valid magic number: the lower numbers report invalid magic numbers, while for higher numbers I get:
e2fsck: Attempt to read block from filesystem resulted in short read while trying to open mmcblk0p12.img
Could this be a zero-length partition?

I tried regenerating the superblocks, but the subsequent e2fsck could not find the root folder so everything gets hosed that way.
I've also tried using foremost and recoverjpegas per https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DataRecovery , both of which recovered zero files.
However, from what I have read (can not currently find source), I understand that the virtual SD card on the Galaxy S3 is a partition on the
USERDATA partition, so I'm not sure if it may be mountable in a loopback fashion, in which case it's possible these tools will not detect anything even if the data I'm looking for is there.
Questions:

What else can I try to repair/recover the file system?
Is my understanding about a partition within a partition correct, or am I grasping at straws?  (i.e. if foremost/recoverjpeg can't find a .jpeg, should I assume it is gone?)

Output of mke2fs -n mmcblk0p12.img
mke2fs 1.42.9 (4-Feb-2014)
mmcblk0p12.img is not a block special device.
Proceed anyway? (y,n) y
Filesystem label=
OS type: Linux
Block size=4096 (log=2)
Fragment size=4096 (log=2)
Stride=0 blocks, Stripe width=0 blocks
1703936 inodes, 6809600 blocks
340480 blocks (5.00%) reserved for the super user
First data block=0
Maximum filesystem blocks=4294967296
208 block groups
32768 blocks per group, 32768 fragments per group
8192 inodes per group
Superblock backups stored on blocks:
        32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208,
        4096000

Have you checked with our data-recovery tag-wiki? Especially the last link there might prove helpful in your context: One Way to Use a Linux Computer to Recover Files from an Android Device.

Don't see anything on the tag-wiki that would help me unfortunately.  Had also tried testdisk on the partition image already, without any luck.

Could it be that partition is encrypted? // Concerning the virtual SD: It's certainly not a "partition inside a partition", but rather a FUSE mount of a directory residing on that partition.

I got the phone from someone else, so I can't say it is not encrypted for sure -  but I am not aware of anything like that.  Does the FUSE mount basically just duplicate access to the underlying directory at a specific mount point, then?  In this case, it basically seems like I'm at a dead end...

In this case, AFAIK that's exactly what happens: to avoid "clutter" (the classical "insufficient storage" issue, where internal storage runs out of space while there's plenty on the internal SD card), both share the same partition – and the "internal SD" basically is a directory on "internal storage", presented as "separate mount point" for compatibility reasons.


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HTC One M9 Portable Wi-fi Hotspot
I have an HTC One M9, I can tether a laptop via USB cable, and an iPad via Bluetooth, but the Portable Wifi Hotspot will not allow connection from either. I have renamed the SSID and set a new access key, but still no joy. Any suggestions?
Chris

You should check the advanced settings for compatibility with the Security protocol between the devices. By default it should be Wpa2(aes). Change it and try parring again.
Advanced settings is in the top right corner in hotspot settings menu.
Regards.
P@pz


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How to enable root on my Device without using a computer
I've been try my hardest these past couple months to figure out a way to root my Device without a computer(Got wet in April) and no success. The problem is , my Device is a BN Nook HD and Unknown Sources is blocked since software version 1.4.1 . So I can't use Kingroot etc. and It appears I can't do anything without a computer.
Any Help or Advice would be largely appreciated.

Don't you have a friend with a laptop? Ask a friend to borrow you his laptop or just call him over for a couple of hours until you root it. It's hard to imagine not being able to get across a PC today and with a PC you get plenty ways to root it...

Actually You don't need the Computer to Root using kingRoot just download KingRoot Apk from Open link to Download and Just network connection is enough to root the Device It's easy one click root and it works ;)

OP wrote: "Unknown Sources is blocked since software version 1.4.1 . So I can't use Kingroot etc."


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Editing the apps within factory reset
Much like flashing a new custom Rom that's been de bloated, there are some factory apps, and some are stripped. My question is, can you edit the apps that are within the factory reset? So when you DO factory reset, the modified apps that you changed will be the apps replaced into the system, and not the plethora of useless bloatware.

Haven't understood what you mean by editing apps but factory reset implies setting the  cell to the condition it was in when you purchased the cell  bloatware and  all

What I seek is to modify the apps themselves within the factory reset, allowing me to factory reset to a de-bloated state.

Ah understand.  Answer is same. Factory reset brings the phone to the condition it was in when it was bought. What you are trying to do requires root and custom recovery like  TWRP or  CWM which makes a nandroid copy and restores exactly to that state.  If  this answers you let me know so that it can be upgraded to answer

Somewhat, but the answer is not quite satisfactory. If the device pulls a list of predefined apps to reinstall upon a factory reset, then there must be a way to modify that list of apps.

Then you are looking at  modifying recovery image built into the phone and I am yet to  hear  a way of it being done and IMO is  not possible

This isn't satisfactory, I have root on all of my devices, there isn't anything that I can't modify. I understand what you are telling me, but I am certain there is definitely a way.

Understand your point.  Let's wait for a knowledgeable person to show how it can be done

Possible duplicate of How can I uninstall applications that are locked by phone vendor?

Well, why not?
Whenever you write a change, such as a modified or deleted app, to /system, which is where most factory bloatware resides, it cannot be reversed by a simple factory reset. Why?
A factory reset just does a perfunctory wipe of /data and /cache. This removes any user-specific info done after the initial configuration, as well as user-installed apps. This does not affect the system partition in any way, so any changes made there will persist after a factory reset is done.
My recommendation:
1) Take a NANDroid backup.
2) Delete whatever you need to from /system.
3) That's it, its not coming back even if you do a factory reset. Now, if you need to restore the backup, that's a whole different story.


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How do I use my phone as a WiFi hotspot without using my data connection?
I know it sounds strange, but what I want to do is use my phone as a WiFi router to create a private LAN that doesn't use my data connection.  Basically, I'm at a hotel and need to do some testing using a HHC that is designed to connect to a LAN and talk to a database over that LAN; I'm hosting SQL Server on my laptop, but I'm not comfortable connecting my customer's HHC to the hotel's network in such a way that I can test.  I know that I can create and host a wireless LAN from my phone, but the option is disabled when I have data turned off.
I'm using a Galaxy Note 3 with Android 5.0

Have you tried turning on the hotspot (with the data on) and then turn the mobile data off after the hotspot is turned on. This should work for you.

Turn off your mobile data. 2. Turn on your mobile hotspot.

Normal Human, what phone are you using? The instructions I gave will work on a Note 3, which is the phone used in the original post.

Tried this every way I could think of (turned data off, turned on airplane mode, removed sim) and every time the option to turn on hotspot is disabled.

@jvance Airplane mode must not be enabled because that kills all connections including hotspot (WiFi). Wifi must be on. Only mobile data must be disabled.

My earlier comment was unclear.  I tried disabling data using the three methods listed individually, not in combination.


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Reconnect to WLAN automatically
Android sometimes has this strange habit of not automatically reconnecting, when it looses connection to the router.
I have an Android tablet running 24/7 using a bot to do stuff on the Internet.
But sometimes, the connection breaks, and i have to manually click on the wlan symbol in the dropdown thingy the force android to reconnect the the router. This is annoying, because I have to check multple times a day, whether the bot is still working and reconnect if not.
This happens approximatly once/twice a week. I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Tab SM-T230, Android 4.4.2
Does anyone know how to fix the problem/why android does that?

You may be able to fix the problem using Tasker (paid; 7 day free trial) or MacroDroid (free/paid) or AutomateIt Pro and I don't have a reliable way to test my answer so I can't fix some flaws.
MacroDroid
The macro would be:

Trigger: Wifi State Change → Disconnect from Network → select your network
Action: Wifi Configure:

Connect to Network → select your network

or

Disable Wifi
Enable Wifi

Constraint:

Wifi State → Not Connected to Network → select your network

and

Wifi State → Wifi Enabled

Tasker
Profile would be:

Trigger: State → Net → Wifi Connected → check Invert
Task: Action(s):

Net → Wifi Net:

Action: Reconnect
check Force

or

Net → WiFi → Off
Net → WiFi → On

Additional trigger: Net → Wifi Near → select SSID of your network

AutomateIt Pro
The free version requires me to connect to internet (which I'm unwilling to) to unlock a feature, so perhaps, free version can also do the job here.
The rule would be:

Trigger: [Composite AND Trigger]:

Wifi Network Connection State Trigger:

Monitored Network: select your network
Connection State: Disconnected

Wifi Network Available Trigger:

Network Name: mention the SSID of your network
check In Range

Action: [Composite Action]:

Set Wifi State Action → Wi-Fi Disabled
Set Wifi State Action → Wi-Fi Enabled

That should work.


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Photo recovery from a MotoX phone with black screen
I have a MotoX (1st Gen) phone. A few days back my display went black and I am not able to see anything once the phone boots. The notifications are getting displayed on the locked screen, but when I am trying to unlock, the screen is getting black again. The voice command is responding sometimes, but that's about it. I have cleared the cache partition, but that did not help either. Please tell me some way to recover the photos/videos in my mobile.

Though your screen is not physically broken – not being able to interact with it makes it pretty close in dealing with the issue, so please take a look at our broken-screen tag-wiki, which has a few hints and links on data recovery in comparable situations.

Your phone still works, so you got lucky.
Plug the device into a PC/Mac and navigate the phone's file directory. Look for the root folder "DCIM". All of your videos and photos should be in there.

I had already tried connecting my phone to laptop using USB cable. But my laptop is not detecting anything. Only the phone is charging.

And the device works besides the screen being broken? That's really weird.

Duh. Do you know where you have to tap to enter your password? You need to get past your lockscreen before the computer will see any files.

The phone is 10% functional at best. Only the booting and charging are taking place properly. It is showing the notifications and recognising the voice commands sometimes. Only possible solution for recovery that I have found is using OTG cable and use a screen with HDMI input support to turn on USB debugging. But that solution is quite expensive. It would be great if I can get an alternative solution.

I think this will work.
just go to this website.
https://www.fonelab.com/resource/moto-x-data-recovery-recover-videos-from-moto-x.html
just download the app.
app is only for apple and windows.
this app recovers media.

Their website doesn't have a physical location for the company, not even a country, and they hide their identity in the domain registration. I wouldn't buy anything from these people or run their software on my computer.

I agree with Dan. Looking at the software signature it turns out that this product is from "RayShare Co,.Ltd", a software publisher located in Beijing, China (according to some data I found on the net).


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Android dies at 20% battery?
It all started about three months ago when my HTC One (M8)'s USB charging port died. At first the port would sometimes not work, you just have to move the cable around a bit for it to charge, then you had to hold the cable down to make it keep charging, and finally device wouldn't charge at all.
The same exact thing happened to my HTC Vivid. When I got the Vivid fixed, the technician said it was water damage.
Anyway, after the local phone repair shop successfully installed the new USB port on my One phone, failing on the first try as it was still in the same condition, everything was fine. For a few weeks. Then the phone started shutting down as if it had no battery left, at 20%. I immediately plugged it into a charger, turned it back on, and the phone read 1%.
Its been doing that ever since. Some days it goes down to 0%, some days it goes down to 20% or 25% and dies.
Here's a screen shot of what is going on.

Under device settings, it says that the battery condition is good.
So I'm just wondering why my phone may be doing this, and what do you think the best option is to fix this.
I tried recalibrating the battery, clearing the cache, and installing a new ROM. None of the above worked.

The battery is probably worn out. It won't show anywhere that the status is bad, but it will suddenly drop voltage and can't keep your phone running. Try to get a replacement and check if it fixes the problem. I had this problem on my devices multiple times and replacing the battery always fixed the issue of a sudden shutdown.

@GiantTree Actually, check my answer, the battery problem is finally fixed!

Well, that is an HTC specific answer. Glad the support helped you. Usually the battery has no way to tell how much charge it has, only a voltage that is used to determine the charge.

Well thanks anyway. If it starts dying again, I'll get a battery replacement.

There could be three reasons to this (not in any order)  :

Battery lived it's life.
Fuel Guage drivers corrupted.  To rule this out, i suggest back up your data and with your recovery wipe clean all Cache and system and flash stock(not sure if you cleaned fully when you flashed a ROM)  If the problem continues, it is likely that it is not a driver corruption issue.
Hardware of battery charging chip gone bad. One possible way of checking this is to see if it is charging and discharging fully in safe mode. If  it  does unlikely to be hardware issue

I would recommend step 2 first and then if possible borrow a battery to check if it is a case of  battery end of life.
All the best and do post the conclusion

I would love to test a new battery, but the HTC One's battery is not removable, nor is it easy to take apart. It requires resin, and heating of that resin to get it apart. It costed 40 dollars for labor alone at our local phone repair shop.

Then a guy with an iPhone came in and said his USB port was broken too and they said it would only be 20 for everything. No joke.

That sounds steep. All the best

Thanks, maybe I can try to install a new battery myself.

Actually, after hours of scouring the forums, I finally contacted HTC via chat. Right away, they said to power off the device. Then hold the volume down, volume up, and power buttons all at once for...3 mintes??
Yep. You hold all three physical buttons for a full 3 minutes. He said this resets the battery logic, and how the battery talks to the software to let it know how much power it has based on the voltage. The phone started up, then shut back down. Powered up, then shut back down again for the whole 3 minutes, then I let go. It started turning on and when it finished, the battery read out 19%. Woah, before I did this, I was at 54%! Was my phone really that inaccurate the whole time? Probably. I'm charging the phone back up right now, so hopefully this fixes the problem!

Checking back:  Did the battery problems you were having actually end after you did this?

@user1354557 No, it ended up doing the same thing after a few hours. It was the battery hardware. I tried replacing it but broke the whole phone and ended up getting another M8. Few months later and I bought a Nexus 6P.

I had the battery problem with my phone - shutting off at 20% and some settings resetting after charging and turning it back. Nothing helped except factory reset. The reason for such behavior seem to be HTC Service Pack (not 100% sure though). Make sure not to install it after reset or uninstalling the update might also help.

In case more people are having this issue but are unable to get the battery working properly, I developed a workaround that shows a low battery warning at any given battery percentage.
Here is the link for the interested: Custom Low Battery Warning

How does that app address the question? Please enlighten.


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WiFi stuck on "Turning on..." after rooting Samsung Galaxy NotePro P900
After rooting my tablet the WiFi stopped working, it activating it just makes it go "turning on..." for a while and then shut down. Tried reflashing stock rom, tried doing a factory reset - Nothing worked.
WiFi worked fine before root so its probably not a hardware issue, unless the root process can physically break the WiFi?
I am certain I used the correct model to flash the root (Using P900 WiFi only)


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my phone is asking for a previous google account after reset
i reset my alcatel one touch and now it wants the previous google account to continue after I reset it and I don't know it how do I get passed this plz help so annoying

Hi! Please read How do I ask a good question? Did you thoroughly search/research for an answer before asking your question?  Tell us what have you tried so far and why it didn't meet your needs? This demonstrates that you've taken the time to try to help yourself and it saves us from reiterating obvious answers.

Go to youtube and look for this video. It'll show you how to bypass Google's FRP Security. Take it from me, I had the same problem but this method actually worked on my Alcatel Acquire+ from At&t.

They might not know the credentials, and as such this would be useless

This is more like a comment than an answer. Please read How do I write a good answer?


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Titanium restore vs. ADB restore. Which one is better after a system update?
I backed up my phone (HTC ONE M7, Android 4.4.2) with ADB backup -all -apk (one with -nosystem and once without it). I also backed up by Titanium Free (option system + apps). I also copied the media, download, music etc files into my computer.
Then I wiped my phone, factory reset and updated android to 5.0.2.
What would be the best way to restore the apps and the data that I had backed up?
I am worried that by restoring the apps, some of them might be incompatible with the new android version, or the old system files might overwrite the current system files and cause problems, or the residues of the uninstalled apps from the old system are also restored and make my new installation slow.
what would you recommend for the restore procedure?

I would prefer restore apps using Titanium, for the reason that it gives you total control on which user apps you want to restore.  In your case restoring system apps is not a recommended option since you have upgraded OS. It would lead to a mess up. Hence, while restoring choose the option of restoring just user apps with data. Answer how to restore only user apps is covered here
As a general guideline, best not to restore system apps after upgrading or changing ROM. After changing ROM also it is better to verify and update only those user apps which are not included as system apps in  new  ROM. You may often come across this situation while flashing Gapps recommended with new  ROM


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Does miracast work without wi-fi?
I have zero Internet capabilities at my home. I use my galaxy s6 as my only source of Internet. I would like to mirror my youtube, Facebook, article reading etc on my new insignia tv. Am I able to do this if I buy a miracast dongle for my TV without using any home wifi network?

The quote I got from here is as following:

These Miracast dongles have 'WiFi direct' like this Sony has,
  therefore you'd not need a router controlled WiFi home network.
But if I had a Note I'd look for a Samsung Allshare dongle, just to be
  sure

Thanks for the reply. I read that as well. I can't seem to find a straight yes or no.


text:
Complete silence on Lollipop
Until KitKat I was able to silence a device completely by simply pressing volume-down. Repeat presses first reached "vibrate" and then "not even vibrate". This is very handy just before meetings/lectures/..
Now with Lollipop pressing all the way down reaches just "vibrate".
How do I recover the ability to completely silence Lollipop using the volume-down button?
I am aware of the power-saving widget, but I'd still like to sync while the device is silenced.

Enabling the 'do not disturb mode' silences all notifications and alarms. Press the volume down button and you'll see the 3 categories "None", "Priority" and "All" Notifications. Choose none should do the trick

"None" works for meetings/lectures/theaters/.., but is not suitable for sleeping. It also disables alarms. Thoughts?

I am using the priority notification mode over night which mutes all messages/calls but leaves the alarm as it is.

@benjaminS That makes sense. So really "None" should be interpreted/functions as "in a meeting", and "Priority" functions as "sleeping". The labels are somewhat machine-tilted rather than meant for humans, but they are sufficiently general in case, for instance, one still wants to be interrupted during a meeting or while sleeping.


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Where are my lost photos
I had a few years of photos on my phone. they were backed up onto google+. Google had gone into them and put some together making a video. My phone was recently reset but that should not have anything to do with google+. But yet my photos are not there from  and on. Just recent ones. Where did they go and how did it happen? Can I get them back?

Try checking at 'Google Photos' app...Google had recently announced that they were no longer going to support g+ photo backup...but not to worry!! All your g+ backed up photos would've been shifted to Google Photos


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Nexus 4 - Bootloop after screen replacement
I've replaced a screen on a Nexus 4, and now I can't turn it on, it goes into bootloop. I can enter recovery mode, and even tried to wipe cache partition but it didn't help. One more detail, I'm trying to turn it on without backcover, because I'm going to replace digitazer, don't sure can it affect in such way my phone or not. Before I replaced the screen, everything worked fine.
My big problem is that I haven't done backup before performing this maintenance and therefore I don't want to do the hard reset. Can I in some way to make a backup of my phone right now or cause it to work?
Thank you in advance.

Ok, I've found what was a problem thanks to that thread : Nexus 4 Stuck at boot screen after replacing the LCD/Digitizer, I've forgotten to attach the headphone connector, after I've done it, it begun to work.

If you have answered your own question to your satisfaction, you should mark it as the correct answer for future readers.

authors: Максим Кургускин


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Is it possible to reinstall an android that has a pass lock?
I bought a new Sony Xperia Z C6603 phone last week and first thing I did was set a complex pass code. Unfortunately I forgot it shortly after and now I have no access to the phone. Is there a way to reinstall the entire operating system so I can start new and have no pass code?

That won't be necessary.
Open up the Android device manager on a PC or Mac and log in to your google account. If you mark the device as lost, you can set a temporary password. Use the temp password to get past your lock screen, then promptly go to the settings and change your password back.
Also, after 5 failed attempts of entering the password your device should let you override it with your Google password.

And if that doesn't work there is always the ability to reset the phone (Last resort)

@Matt07211 let's hope it doesn't come to that.


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how can I stop the Google app from randomly opening?
Whenever I have my headphones in, especially when I'm listening to music, the voice app thing for Google will randomly open!! I can't seem to get it to stop! Please! Someones gotta help me!! Make it stop!! It's even opened twice during writing this!

Try the following.

Launch Google app
Tap Menu icon on left
Tap Settings
In Search & Now section tap Voice
Tap Hands-free
Adjust your misbehaving settings

I was also going to suggest this, this method works for me too.

doesn't work for me


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Moto G System update installation
I've downloaded a system update and now i'am freak out.
I downloaded new update on my phone by going to About Phone/System update
and when it finish downloading it ask installation and I click yes. The phone power off itself and restarted in to a team win recovery project screen and it is has eight options.

install
wipe
backup
restore
mount
settings
advance
reboot

What should I do now ?
I click on install option and it asking for a zip/image file but i cannot find anywhere in my phone.

The OTA update probably expects OEM's recovery to do the flashing. Remove TWRP, flash the stock recovery, download the OTA update again and see what happens.

I try to update because the system pop up msg several time saying there is a new update but its too complicated.  I don't what to do I gave up. Anyway Thanks.


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Most frequently used contact is muted but mute isn't checked, how to unmute/demute?
I mainly use my phone to contact one person. Recently the contact's texts got muted so no notification sounds. In the conversation view the little mute icon shows but in the menu the mute option is not checked/ticked.
This happened before with the same contact and I had to delete the contact and recover the conversation from a backup. It's very strange that it has happened again. I'm seeking a simpler solution if there is one.
Does anyone know how to unmute notifications (demute notifications or reactivate notifications) for a single conversation or contact that has been muted but isn't muted in the menu.
In particular I've tried:

using the menu to mute, then unmute
using the menu to mute for a set time, on the hope it would then be unmuted
set the "ringtone" for the conversation to default
set the ringtone for the conversation to a non-default

There is no problem with the contact when receiving calls, texts from all other contacts are notified (none of them show as muted).
The phone runs Android 4.4.2 as in an Acer E380. It's on Three network in UK; contacts are synced to Google manually but I've checked on the Google end and can't see any settings that are relevant. Contact is in a group but other members of the group sending texts causes notifications to sound as normal (and they're all set to the same default "ringtone").
Thanks for any suggestions.

I had the same exact problem. I pocket muted my girlfriends notifications. I found the solution however! Go to your messages with the person who has a mute symbol next to the conversation. Then look at the spot that had their name at the top left (with a phone number right under) click the drop down arrow on the right side of the name. And it will say notifications. Then click on. (: good luck. (Galaxy s6)

Same issue here for my husband's text messages; just his conversation was muted and I wasn't receiving any type of notification when he sent a message.  I must've pocket muted him :)  To fix I opened the conversation, tapped the arrow to the right of his name, and tapped notifications to turn them back on (was set to off).  Now the conversation is un-muted and I get notifications!  Thank you thank you!!

Whoop, found the answer - open "messaging", click on the conversation for the contact, hold menu button to get the menu and choose "Chat Settings" then press the "..." menu this gives an option which says "Restore default settings" which worked, removing the mute and the mute icon.

Just click on the down arrow beside the phone number and change the notification

Please elaborate. On which phone/Android version does your suggestion work? It'd be really great if you could provide a screenshot too.


text:
Calculator WiFi usage on Marshmallow, Nexus 5? What?
I have not used the calculator app.  I also don't know why it would be using the wifi or any kind of external data.  Yet behold, below:

I flashed 6.0 recently and restored some apps from an old backup, but nothing that looked like calculator.  Should I be concerned, or is this a known thing?

For some reason, I believe it should be Chrome (or other browser that you mainly use), but I have no idea why Android refers to Calculator instead. Perhaps a mismatch in internal app ID (not based on package name) on Android system after restoring the old backup... I don't know...

First off,
   They no longer uses Floating point arithmetic al which I read from a blog.
Second,
    Marshmallow have introduced a lot of new features in its calculator which does uses internet for floating/decimal calculations for user-friendly UI and other touch gizmos. Currently its a kind of prototype, so it'll be downloading a bit for the updates but you can always disable the app from system settings.
You can see the new features from this site - http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/06/12/android-m-feature-spotlight-the-stock-calculator-app-has-been-overhauled-no-longer-uses-floating-point-arithmetic/

But OP never used Calculator app, and Calculator using 1.79GB is actually scary. Also, nowhere on the link that says Calculator needs internet for calculation (and I really doubt for simple calculation like this) .

Yeh but they said that they are trying to get the new features user friendly for people so they are making a lot of updates so obviously there are a lot of new updates and new downloads will be there, its just like google translator.

But the app doesn't need any permissions, and thus cannot use internet access...

David, 1.79GB of total updates for such a simple and small app is unrealistic. You're talking about small app updates, not System updates to Android, correct? If 1.79GB doesn't ring bells, expand it into MBs and that would be beyond 1700MBs. Are you saying those new flashy features consumed more than 1700MBs? Can you link cases similar to  the one OP has?  Without similar cases or a strong evidence which shows that Calculator app can consume such huge amount of data and on top of it, without being used by a user, your answer would be considered nothing beyond baseless opinion.


text:
Google apps timeline inaccurate location
My Google apps timeline says I went to a postcode and stayed there for 3 hours when I never left my house which is 4 miles away from where it says I was it was in the middle of the night when I wasn't even on my phone I was asleep. But on the following date it says I was at my house from 1200am-135pm which was obviously the start on the next day and which means I was at both locations at the same time. Any light shredded on this would be great. Is there anyway to prove I didn't leave my house

Do you use your Google account on more than one device? Or do you turn off location and your cell data and connect only via wifi? If you were connected to WiFi on your phone, or another WiFi or ethernet connected device logged in with your Google account, Google may have assumed your location was the location of the IP address you were using (which isn't necessarily where the actual WiFi router/access point is). 4 miles away is about the right distance for say a cable broadband hub and the IP address location may have resolved to somewhere near the hub.
If you go to http://whatsmyip.org and click on the "more information" button, it will attempt to locate you via your IP address. That's likely analogous to where your weird Google location came from.


text:
Change default direction of rotation
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S5 for AT&T with Android 5.0.
When I run a game which runs on landscape mode,
the default rotation is the top of the screen goes left and the bottom is right.
If I rotate the phone, then I can change the direction so that the bottom side of the phone becomes left and top-side to be right.
But I want to set the default so that bottom is left and top is right.
How can I do this?

@GrantDavis I don't think you responded seriously. Did you misunderstand my question?

No I was being silly. Hence the :P


text:
My phone keeps changing "wifi" word into "WLAN"
I have a Lenovo A319 with Android 4.4.2 and I have noticed a weird thing.
My phone keeps changing the word "wifi" into "WLAN" whenever it finds it.
If I type "wifi" anywhere on the phone (notepad app, browser, etc...) it will change it to "WLAN". This happens no matter what I wrote it like "wi-fi", "Wifi", "WI-FI" and so on...
I also noticed that it is even changing it in the networking data of installed apps.
Why is this happening, is it a bug in Android or just in my phone, or is it a prank !!

Is this basically autocorrecting it when you type, or is it also replacing it in places such as quick settings, the settings app, etc?

It is replacing it everywhere when typing, in settings, inside apps, i had an app that fetches data from the internet, tha data contained the word "wifi", even that was changed !!

If it's just when you're typing, this could be part of a custom dictionary for your keyboard or something that someone has set it to correct it to, however it does seem strange and a but beyond that. With the app, it simply replaces WiFi with WLAN even though the data fetched off the internet definitely had WiFi?


text:
Can't change dialer default app
I installed Full Screen Caller ID (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.androminigsm.fscifree&hl=en), but it doesn't work.
I searched about it, they say you should clear defaults of the default dialer app, but I can't find it in Manage Apps.
I have a Huawei Honor 3C, Android 4.2.2, EmoutionUI 2.0.

I cannot find my default dialer in settings>manage apps (like I said in my question).


text:
Reboot alternatives
So my situation is this. About a week or so ago my power button fell out and I dont want to get it repaired until I back up my stuff. For some reason my pc hasn't been able to link to back up but that has been since i got the phone.
So anyway, my internet has gone down on my phone so I want to restart it (turn it off and on). The turning off is fine but I'd rather not sit there for an hour doing the unpluck power, pull out and reinsert battery to make it turn on again. I know on Blackberry phones there is an app as standard which acts like the power button but is there one (or an option somewhere) for android where I can restart my device? The only option I can see is a factory reset option.
My phone is a Note 3 if that helps.

What is your android version? Do you have root access? There are many soft-key applications that give power button functionality, but they need root access. When you have root, you can even enable on-screen navigation bar and use hardware home button as power button (maynot work on some devices) by tweaking some .kl file in /system/usr/keylayout/.

Internet suddenly started working again so im going to look up getting an app to deal with this incase there's a relapse while I backup. Thanks for the info Bharat G


text:
Media Device (MTP) problem
I have USB Debugging on, whenever i set the USB Computer connection to MTP it just disappear in the Devices list, I set to PTP and it appears in the Devices list, help please.

please add as much information as you can - e.g. your android version, the device you are using, when the problem first started and changes you have made befort, aswell as what have you tried to fix this problem.

Its an incomplete question but will try to answer.
First of all make sure you installed your smartphones drivers successfully by enabling usb storage if available.
If its not available install from your smartphone manufacturer website or from xda developer website.
Then try to reboot your laptop and reconnect your smartphone with your laptop.
It will surely fix the issue.

Wait, how do I install drivers?  I connected my phone to my PC via USB, and selected MTP on the phone side, but nothing anywhere is prompting me to do anything.

Specify your device name. I will look into it.


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I can't access google play store
I uninstalled all updates on Google play store but won't update and says no connection. I have cleared all caches and all data.

Did you bother checking if you have a working internet connection? If you do, please mention that in the question. Also, phone and Android details are preferred.

Try disconnecting your google account and readding it to the phone, I've had this problem as well.


text:
Transferring music from computer
Why does my Android phone show up on the Widows Media Player Sync function as a Linux O.S? Transferred music files from the computer show up on the Android phone music app but will not play.

That's because Android uses the Linux kernel, so it is a Linux based OS. Probably you're device's music player does not support the music format you are using, hence it doesn't play.

That is because Android is based on Linux. Android uses Linux as part of it core operating system. This does not mean that you can run Linux programs on Android nor can you run android apps on Linux.


text:
samsung galaxy S6 Sim Network unlock pin
I Have bought a Samsung galaxy s6 model from Saudi Arabia and inserted saudi STC sim and i just made a call and brought it to India.I tried with inserting Indian SIM and it asked me for the "Sim Network Unlock Pin". My few friends say saudi sim should be used minimum 5 minutes of call but i did only 1 min. I also Have a Saudi Arabian Sim which is currently in roaming. Can I insert that particular SIM and make calls from India and get it removed. Kindly help everyone . Please...


text:
How can I export Notes created in Outlook to Memo in Samsung Galaxy A3
I'm new to Samsung Galaxy smartphones and just got a Galaxy A3. I already sync Contacts, Calendars and To Do from Outlook to my smartphone using Smart Switch app, however I haven't been able to find a way to export or sync my Outlook Notes to my Samsung Galaxy A3 smartphone.
Any idea how can I do this?

The iPhone and certain models of BlackBerry smartphone can sync directly with Microsoft Outlook using iTunes or BlackBerry Desktop Software, respectively, but Outlook doesn't directly support Android with this option as far as I know.
So this is where third party apps like VCOrginizer comes into play. It allows you to Sync Outlook notes from WiFi. If I were you, I'd certainly check it out.


text:
Navigate your Android with Cardboard
Can I view my phone with the screen split-duplicated and turned sideways (for use with Cardboard)? I have a controller for navigation.
I am looking to run regular apps, see my regular homescreen, etc., but with the screen split and rotated sideways (for use with Cardboard).

Umm, just to let you know that if the apps don't support 3D, it's useless to use Cardboard, since you're going to see flat screen anyway. (In other words: making screen split-duplicated doesn't automagically make it 3D)

@AndrewT. I don't care about 3D, a fixed image is preferred, in fact.

As per today I have found nothing that solves your problem.
(I also don't see any use for it but that is another question.)


text:
How does the android system calculate remaining battery time
I am aware that the Android OS when calculating time left it cannot really calculate true usage, and an A.I. algorithm that would learn how you use your phone and give better estimations would actually deplete the battery on it's own.
On the other hand though.
When giving time left estimations what does it check? Does it check the remaining percentage or the remaining milliamps? Because a phone with 4000 milliamps at 50% will probably have the same battery life left than a phone with 2000 milliamps at 100%
So what does it really check to do the calculations?

While I'm not referring to how Android OS calculate remaining battery time, some apps estimate the remaining battery time by "remaining milliamps / average milliamps output/minute" (these info can be requested by any app)

I was not aware of that. I thought apps only had access to percentages

Dumping some relevant source codes: BatteryHistoryChart and BatteryStats. The computeBatteryTimeRemaining() method inside BatterStats should be the one who provides this value. Unfortunately, it's abstracted, and I still can't find the implementation of it.


text:
Why is my Android phone not receiving text messages from certain contacts?
I'm in the UK.
My phone:

Samsung Galaxy A3 (SM-A300FU)
Android 5.0.2
three.co.uk branded Android & SIM

The symptoms have been detected for these contact situations:

Swiss phone (unknown make/model) in Switzerland
Swiss Android phone in Australia
Norwegian iPhone in the UK

In all these cases the contacts have told me via other channels that they have tried to send me SMSes, and these have not come through. It looks like this has been going on since at least early August. I have been able to receive automated SMSes from a company in Norway in the meantime, and I've not detected problems with UK numbers, so not all numbers are broken.

Today I spoke with Three support, and I was told a very puzzling workaround which actually helped: Delete the contact before sending any more messages! This worked for one contact which tried many times before to send SMSes, but now I'm worried:

Why would my phone stop receiving messages in the first place?
Why on Earth would deleting the contact fix it?
How can I detect if this happens again? I can't keep sending ping messages to all my contacts on a regular basis.
Is there a more reliable messaging application than the built-in Android one?

I think you should address the second question to the three.co.uk support. One thing I think was an issue for me some time ago - in order to be able to receive SMS, your mobile network provider and the sender's mobile network provider should have made a mutual contract. Unfortunately I cannot provide facts for this...

After "resolving" this with Three they insisted that it was not an issue on their side - the number was simply stored "incorrectly" (sic) on my phone. I'm inclined to think that they are right, since deleting the contact on my phone was enough to fix at least the immediate symptom.


text:
Creating problems in wipe cache partition
My phone, moto e 1st gen is very slow after i updated to Android lollipop. So, I gone to recovery mode after switching off my phone. The "no command" message came. Then, i pressed power button 2-3 seconds and volume up button as given in some genuine website. I did not get the wipe cache partition. I tried it multiple times.,
How to overcome this problem in my phone ?

You had pressed Volume Up button. Try with Volume Down button. I had seen the same problem with Asus Zenfone 5.
Try this:

Ensure the device is powered off and unplugged
Press and hold the Volume Down button and Power button (located on the right edge of the device) for approximately 3 seconds then release.
From the "Boot Mode Selection Menu" screen, select Recovery.
Note: Use the Volume Down button to scroll through the menu options and the Volume Up button to select.
From the "No Command" screen (Android figure lying on his back), press and hold the Power button then press and release the Volume Up button to display the menu options.
Select "wipe data/factory reset".
Note: Use the Volume buttons to highlight and the Power button to select.
Select Yes -- delete all user data.
Note: Allow several seconds for the factory data reset process to complete.
Select reboot system now.
Note: Allow several minutes for the reboot process to complete

Original sources:

Moto X (1st gen): stuck on boot screen?
How to Clear Cache Partition On Moto G


text:
Other SIM cards won't work in VZW S5. Should I root it?
I have a Verizon S5 which they claim to be unlocked. I travel internationally a lot and Verizon doesn't cover some of the places I go, so the Verizon rep I talked to said it's fine to just change out the SIM for a local one. I tried this in one country and it wouldn't recognize any local networks (or let me access the network selection menu for that matter). During my most recent trip back to the States I purchased a pre-paid T-Mobile SIM because it allegedly does work in these countries. However, upon installing the SIM I found that I only had voice/SMS capability (no data) and as soon as I left the US it stopped working entirely. The T-Mobile support couldn't even figure out what the issue was.
I have a sneaking suspicion that if I root the phone to get rid of the Verizon controls on it that it will magically start accepting other SIM cards. Unfortunately I have no references to back up that suspicion. Can anyone confirm whether or not that would help my situation?

Perhaps this thread on XDA can give some explanation.

By the sounds of that thread, there's no reason it shouldn't be working already :/

Rooting might possibly help you to unlock the phone, but I doubt that it will accomplish anything on its own.  Have you verified that the phone hardware is compatible with the network you want to use?

According to the T-Mobile support rep (and the TM vendor who sold me the SIM to begin with) the phone should be 100% compatible with their network.


text:
whathappens if i hit the manage space button in google play services
what happens when I hit manage space button in google play services im trying to free storage space so I can download an app

See the screenshots here: Where is data of Google Play Services located in device? Can I safely delete it?

Don't worry- pressing the "Manage storage" button won't break you phone.

Here is what happens when you press the "Manage storage" button in Google Play Services through App Management:
(Click image to enlarge)

Tapping any of the apps on the "Search Data" page just goes to that app's "manage" page.


text:
search and delete select sms?
I get all these spam sms from everywhere...
I tried the phone's usual search feature. I search for a spam keyword in my messages, and then try to delete all those messages.
The problem here is that I don't have the option to select all those messages at once and delete them; instead I've to manually delete those messages.
Is there a better way to manage this problem?

Is the SPAM messages you receive come from the same number or different numbers?

Its from multiple sources

SMS Search and Delete have option to select all found messages and delete  them all at once.


text:
How to play song unlimited time?
There are 2 songs in my playlist. I want to listen first song once then secondary song unlimited times. How to do that ?
Thank you !

Which music player do you use? Have you tried the repeat mode on?

There should be an option "Repeat all". That would do the job.

@Firelord Repeat all would repeat both infinitely, not just the second one.

Just listen to the first song as normal.
When the second one starts playing click on the repeat(1) button and...
Enjoy!

VLC allows you to easily loop files/playlists.


text:
How can i disable android permission manager notification?
I have an android 4.4.2 device and permission manager app enabled.
I have facebook messenger installed for example and i deny it permission to read my sms or phone contacts.
It works, but keeps displaying "Messenger is denied " in the center bottom lower screen for ages. Sometimes i need to reboot my device to make it go away.
absolutely annoying

That's called a toast. Permissions manager is part of Android (android) and you can't do anything about it without root access. See if there is an option to not show toast/notifications, in your permission manager app.

Thank you for clearing that up. I had no idea it's called like that. Will search google on toasts and whatnot but my device is rooted. any advice on how i can do something about it given that it's rooted ?

I can give you the way, but as I said, it is part of Android (android). It's take or leave approach. There is no compromise. My solution would make you end up with no USB connected notification, no low storage notification, may be many more native notifications that you will not be able to see. Do you still want the solution?

i think i can adapt it or something. so please tell.

Things are different in my case. Sorry I mixed things up with my Lollipop. I need some clarification. Do you see a notification in the notification bar about Permission manager? Or do you know the app responsible for that toast. I see that in my Android 4.4.2 the relevant app is named "Permissions Control"  whose package name is com.mediatek.security. What's the name in your case?

See this answer. It lead me to Untoaster app (requires Xposed Framework). Once you're done installing it, you have to use a regex pattern. For example, if you choose com.mediatek.security as app or all then then the pattern would be [a-zA-Z]+ is denied. You've to tweak it until the toasts are stopped coming.

"Toasts" are implemented in an app's java programming, so that needs to be modified in some way, assuming the app doesn't give you the option to configure toasts. The following assumes you're rooted.
The easy way: Use Xposed. There are many modules available to block all toasts, block toasts for a specific app, or even customize toasts, e.g. EnhancedToast and UnToaster Xposed. Xposed supports Android 2.2(Froyo) and up, with increasing support for 5.0+(Lollipop). If your Android is bootloader locked, aka no TWRP/CWM recovery, you can see if your device can run FlashFire to install Xposed. Note: To use Xposed modules on an app, it needs to be deodexed, e.g. data apps, apps you download from the Play Store are deodexed.
The hard way: You can usually decompile an app into smali code, edit the smali code to disable toasts, and then recompile the app. Without smali modification, this process is known as deodexing. If you're interested, check out this Lollipop compatible deodexing guide for decompiling an app's java code, and this smali code editing guide to learn how to edit smali code.