text:
How do I switch between multiple users in KitKat via Lockscreen?
I am using CynogenMod CM11 R22 on the Xiaomi Redmi 1S phone.  I enabled multiple users using adb:
cd /system
pm get-max-users
setprop fw.max_users 3
echo "" >> build.prop
echo "#" >> build.prop
echo "# ADDING USER TO SETTINGS" >> build.prop
echo "#" >> build.prop
echo fw.max_users=3 >> build.prop
echo "" >> build.prop
echo "" >> build.prop
echo "" >> build.prop
echo "" >> build.prop

I can toggle between users using the Power menu,  but I want to show them on the Lock screen. How can I do that?

Multiple user support was designed for tablets only in 4.4 KitKat, and therefore the user picker only appears in landscape mode.  On CM11 for phones you will need to enable lockscreen rotation by adding a line lockscreen.rot_override=true to your build.prop file in the same manner as you did to enable multiple users:
echo "lockscreen.rot_override=true" >> build.prop

Reboot, rotate the phone to landscape mode, and you should see the user picker on the lockscreen.


text:
Does applying an OTA update remove rooted apps?
I rooted my HTC One X just to get FM and other AT&T blocked apps installed in /system/app directory. Now there is an OTA update and I'm sure it will unroot the phone. My question is will the FM app stay and work after the OTA? Thanks.

This mostly just depends on how they distribute the OTA. If it formats /system then yes (Kindle Fire does this), if it's an incremental (patch) update then probably not.

As eldarerathis already said in his comment, this very much depends on how the OTA is performed. First, some OTAs might even fail to execute, as rooting modified the /system partition and they check the CRC sum which then no longer matches (I had that with my HTC Wildfire/Buzz more than a year ago).
If they don't care about CRC, the answer still is "yes and no": Some OTAs are just "incremental" (replacing/adding single files); those wouldn't touch your root-apps, and root would be retained. However, full updates (and this includes most "version bumps", e.g. from Android 2.2 to 2.3 to 4.0) are completely "replacing" the /system partition; in this case root is gone along with all the other system apps.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
What does ROM Manager consume so much internal storage for
My Nexus S is running out of internal storage. I looked at the space consumed by individual apps in Titanium Backup. ROM Manager is consuming over 200Mb internal storage for "data". That is pretty much from 1Gb of storage. Is there any way to reduce the space consumed by it?

Have you at some point downloaded a ROM through ROM Manager, or made a backup of your phone through it? That 200Mb is about the size a ROM usually is.

@SaintWacko I have done both multiple times, but that is really not the case, as they go to the sd-card. I was able to find a xda post related to this. I think it is about somebody accidentally putting a rom as a icon in the rom list, so as you browse it, it starts downloading the rom instead. I will leave it as an answer later on when I find the post again

Oh, you mean that internal storage. Sorry, I thought you meant the internal SD. Didn't make the connection with it being 1Gb. Also, that's somewhat worrying that ROM Manager allows something like that to happen.

@SaintWacko I thought the same about the ROM Manager. I don't think the maker ever excepted the "thumbnail" to be anything else than a thumbnail. I don't know how long it was there, and it may be fixed already. EDIT: Actually just recently upgraded to cm10, and wiped the phone, so it IS pretty new

You'd think they'd put some simple constraints on what could be set as the icon. How is CM10 running? Is it at daily driver level? I'd like to flash my cappy up to it, but I need to be sure it's reliable.

@SaintWacko It might be hard to find out what a file is without downloading a part of it. There could of course be at least a size constraint. CM10 is running very nicely. I have a nexus device, so there are not that many hardware issues to begin with

That's exactly what I meant. A size constraint, and an extension constraint. I'll have to flash CM10 later today. I love JB on my N7, and I've been looking forward to getting it on my phone.

This behaviour of ROM Manager was not intended, and according to the maker of the app, it has been fixed now.
The reason for this is the downloading of ROM icons when browsing the ROMs list. Somebody had posted a ROM as the icon causing it to be downloded in the background. I just ended up deleting the big file with Root Explorer. I don't know if I should have, or whether it broke anything, but I really needed the space.
The article on XDA, where this was discussed

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


text:
How can I test my ePub files in Android emulator?
I have installed the Android emulator and everything is going fine. But I don't know how to test my ePub in it. This is actually the main reason I installed Android emulator and SDK, to test out my ePub's.
Target Name: Android 1.4
Platform: 4.1
API Level: 16
Thanks in advance!

Why would you use Android emulator for that? I suppose different epub readers will give you different results...

What exactly are you testing?

Install different ebook readers like Aldiko / Moon+ Reader etc and see whether your ePub displays as intended.

How? Because I tried going to https://play.google.com/ and installing Aldiko. And it refused to do so. It says it does not recognize the device or something.

Don't you have an Android device? Is that why you're using the emulator? Get the APK from the dev's site and install it from within the emulator. http://www.aldiko.com/download.html and http://www.moondownload.com/zthMoonReader.apk

Nop I don't. And my friends testing ePubs also don't have Androids, they have IPads and IPhones.

In any case, you can get the APKs from the links in my prev comment and install them within the emulator.


text:
Clickable phone number with pauses and bridge/extension in calendar event
What's the proper way (if any) to format a phone number when entering it as the "Location" of a calendar event under ICS (4.0.4, Samsung Galaxy S3, AT&T) so it can be clicked and auto-entered into the dialer... including pauses and subsequent digits to dial an extension, conference bridge, PIN code, etc?
I tried creating an event with a Location in the form:
1-999-999-9999,,,123456789#
but when the event reminder actually came up and I clicked it, the only thing that ended up in the dialer was 123456789
Does ICS and/or Samsung use a different character for 'pause', do I have to somehow escape it with extra characters (quotes? parentheses? etc), or did Samsung and/or the ICS calendar/dialer team just screw it up (number+pause+moredigits is something that roughly half the calendar-dialer implementations I've seen just can't ever seem to get right for some crazy reason)

I found this thread: http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-s-iii/297744-calendar-event-how-add-bridge-numbers-easy-dial.html
It looks like you can make a contact with a complex dialing code and then link to that contact as an attendee on the calendar event. Then click the attendee link to dial the number.


text:
Broken SONY SD Card, formatting, "shredding", adding/deleting files to no avail
Whole story
(Feel free to skip to the "The Problem" section. This section is included for completeness, and just in case if it actually is related.)

SMARTPHONE: SONY Xperia E C1504
Specs:
-RAM: 512 MB
-DATA/SYSTEM space: < 1GB (~700MB)
-DATA/SYSTEM used out-of-the-box: ~ 300-400 MB
-INTERNAL STORAGE: ~ 2 GB
-PROCESSOR: Qualcomm Snapdragon S1
-STOCK ROM: SONY: Android 4.1.1 - based ROM

SD Card: SONY 32 GB microSDHC Class 10 (U1)

The stock SONY ROM that comes with the phone is too bloated, filled with unnecessary features, apps, and other stuff that make the phone (close to) unusable. Not only that, but even more space is wasted with some "SONY PC Companion" installer that I don't really need (download it from internet, maybe? and NOT WASTE VALUABLE SPACE!!!)
It's so crazy, that I can't even update all the apps in the phone (even without installing other apps in Google Play) without getting "Can't update : Insufficient space available.". Not only that, but 512 MB of RAM struggles to keep up with Facebook/Twitter! (Yes, they come pre-installed.). Way to go, SONY.
(barely) Survived for 2 years, after rooting using KingoRoot, removing loads of system apps, getting an SD Card, and installing Link2SD. After that, some apps just stopped. Knowing an update was pending, decided to Unroot -> Use PC Companion to do clean install. Still SLOW, and storage problem persisted, so decided to Unlock Boot Loader -> Install TWRP -> Install CM10, CM11, or CM12, whatever was available. Latest that worked was CM11, but without camera (bummer), so CM10 was used. So much for Lollipop. :(
Running CM10 smoothly, updated everything, and installed a couple of apps, and now only 150 MB available. :(.

The problem
Installed Link2SD, created mount scripts, and rebooted. Now some apps that were previously on SD card, including Play Store, Play Services, Nova Launcher, etc. appeared magically. Since some were installed in CM10 after wiping, the were replaced by their respective SD card versions.When opening any of those apps, I am greeted by "Unfortunately,  has stopped.". Recreate mount scripts / relink apps / etc, and prompted for a reboot.
Except the reboot eliminated all trace of those apps. Means Google Play Services is GONE!
Next logical step: delete those files and start over. Used an adapter, and it mounted it read-only!!! Tried other adapter: (seems) perfect. After deleting, unmounted SD Card. Surprise! Everything is back again!
Tried GParted (deleting all partitions and creating new ones, as well as destroying old partition table), and to no avail. Everything is back!
Even tried shred -f -v -z -x /dev/mmcblk0, and no errors reported.
So I'm left with yet another SONY product that doesn't work as it should. And it's a shame as I used to trust SONY products, as I thought they were of good quality.

Non-working or impossible:
-Buy a new phone.
-Deal with it, and just use the phone for calls and SMS. No WhatsApp, Telegram / Plus Messenger, etc.
Help? Please?

Did you use GParted to format the SD card after which nothing was deleted from it?

If you've got a Linux machine near you, try running the badblocks command against the card – probably the card only consists of bad blocks (i.e. is broken). I had a very similar issue here: Everything I changed (files written/added or deleted) was "undone" within hours (when the "file cache" expired), no changes to the card possible. Turned out card was all bad blocks, replacement card worked fine.

@TamoghnaChowdhury yes, I used GParted to do it. (All my machines run Linux as their daily driver, and Windows in-case-of-emergency)

@Izzy Running right now!

@JonathanPrecise mine started spitting numbers right when started, so I've aborted it when it didn't stop that after half a minute or so. As long as it doesn't do that, let it run until finished to see the summary. If everything looks fine, you at least can rule out this fact; I'd then try mounting it to your PC (card-reader), put some files on (optionally delete others), unmount, wait a little (cache flush), remount and check if your changes persisted (or do the last step on a different device, to rule out caching stuff).

@Izzy Running badblocks -wvs /dev/mmcblk0 as root (I wanted to delete the whole card anyways, so used the destructive write mode) started spitting errors after writing 0xaa. Summary: Testing with pattern 0x55: ^C5.39% done, 36:06 elapsed. (0/0/31472640 errors)
Interrupted at block 14328000. I ^C -ed it as I knew the whole card was filled with bad blocks. Ordering replacement...

@Izzy Also no problems with the microSD to SD adapter, as I tried with a Kingston 1GB card I had, and it worked fine.

As this was the trigger, I've made it an answer for you. The replacement then will settle it and solve your issue :)

The description is a strong indicator of a currupted/broken card. I had a similar case lately (deleted files reappeared, added files disappeared, changes were undone), and used the Linux command-line tool badblocks to check the card (attached using a card reader). Even with non-destructive mode, it immediately started spitting errors – so I knew the card was "borked". Ordered a replacement, and everything worked fine again.
As you figured out in your comment already, you must tell badblocks the device to check. If the card has to be erased anyway, destructive mode is giving a more complete result (involving used sectors/blocks as well as unused ones):
badblocks -wvs /dev/mmcblk0

(which you used – so I assume you ran the badblocks binary on-device via adb shell or a terminal) or
badblocks -wvs /dev/sdb

(using a card reader on a Linux PC – make sure first the card really is at /dev/sdb, or you might destry some other storage device!) will tell you the state the card is in. If it starts spitting out many numbers (the IDs of the bad blocks), you know it's time to order a replacement.

Yes, I ran it from my Linux laptop. It already has a built-in card reader, so it was recognized as /dev/mmcblk0 (ArchLinux, don't know if Ubuntu is different.). Replacement ordered.

You can always try:
1)Format/repartition SD card using a PC and ensure that everything in it has been deleted.
2)Wipe your phone from TWRP (data,cache,dalvik cache,system).
3)Reinstall CM10 from scratch.
4)Insert SD card.
5)Link2SD again.
6)Does it work now?
7)If it still doesn't work, it might be a bug in the ROM. See if the developer can help.
8) Of course, the culprit is probably a bad SD card. Try replacing it.

Thanks for the answer. Unfortunately, it didn't work. I think it has to do with the SD Card


text:
How do I stop Galaxy Store from updating?
I use Google Play store, and I find it great but I don't really need the auto update feature on my mobile. My mobile has little disk space, so I did the natural thing, uninstalling the updates for various apps, turning off the auto update feature, (via auto update apps-> never).
But then I realised the Galaxy Store app itself can auto update whenever it wants, resetting my device settings, updating a massive bulk of unwanted updates to absolutely useless yet non deletable apps.
How can I keep Galaxy Store from updating?

Welcome to the world of Samsung :( In South Korea the home land of Samsung they even made a law that bloatware apps on a new device have to be deletable/uninstallable. You can imagine how bad it must have been there for the necessity of making a law...

I have what I believe is the latest Galaxy Store, v4.5.45.6 (don't quote me), and it allows setting some of its own to negate its power (some). You can remove all its permissions; you can disable its ability to set system settings; you can take away its overlay ability. You can Force Stop, but not disable or uninstall it, so while you can't kill it, you can remove many of its powers and weaken it.

@wbogacz i have removed all permissions, force stopped about 20 times, yet this app keeps reinstalling... i just can't seem to stop it

I'm getting more and more glad I never register a Samsung Account to any of my devices. I wonder if auto update is part of the User Rights statement that is agreed to.

Have you tried disabling the app entirely (via Settings › Apps  in the Android settings), or even uninstalling it via ADB (adb uninstall --user=0 <packageName>)?

Warning, before disabling or uninstalling the package make sure to back up  your precious data. Who knows what kind of nonsense app/service dependency Samsung has created on this app store? You might end up in a boot loop. This can happen on a Xiaomi device at least (tried two years ago).

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


text:
“Unauthorized actions have been detected. Restart your phone to undo any unauthorized changes.” notification on Samsung device
I have a new Samsung Galaxy A3 that keeps on giving me a security notice saying

Unauthorized actions have been detected. Restart your phone to undo any unauthorized changes.

How do I stop receiving these notices?

There is an app in google play you can download to fix this error https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=disable.securitylogagent.com.securitylogagentfix&hl=en

Direct-copy from Samsung Knox official support:

My device displayed the notification: “Unauthorized actions have been detected. Restart your phone to undo any unauthorized changes.” What do I do?
During regular security checks of the Linux kernel, the system has detected that the kernel has been modified. Possible causes:

You may have installed a malicious or flawed app, which attempted to modify the kernel code or file system
You may have accidentally removed or modified a system file.

One of these messages will appear: "To protect your device. It is recommended you reboot." or "The device has detected an application attempting to perform actions that are not permitted. It is recommended that you restart your device."
Restart your device to try to restore the kernel code back to normal. However, some kernel modifications made to the file system cannot be restored. Also, the original cause of the problem might still persist. Therefore, you might continue to see this error after the reboot.
If issues continue to persist, contact the Global Customer Support center and provide details of the error.

It's suggested that restarting the device may fix the issue, but not always (and since you mentioned "keeps on", it seems this didn't fix the issue). So, you have some alternatives:

Contact their customer support and explain it (as recommended by Samsung)
If your device is still under warranty (assuming you really didn't do anything to the device), consider to request for device replacement.
If there is no other choice, try doing factory reset and see if it helps. Otherwise, you might need to reflash it with stock ROM & working kernel.

Often it's because you have a rooted phone and you have granted access to some application to mess with root files KNOX are protecting, such as the kernel. My idea is that system apps can with change root files without problem.
What did to fix it:

SuperSU -> setting -> clear log
Install SuperSU to /system using the settings option


text:
Cancel sending a message to group in WhatsApp
I mistakenly pasted a message in a WhatsApp group. I noticed that immediately and turned off my internet. The message was still not sent (single tick did not appear), and I deleted that message and turned on the internet.
Will this stop the message from getting sent to the group?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/85752/will-whatsapp-deliver-a-message-that-was-accidentally-sent-while-data-was-off?rq=1 (based on self-experience at that time)

The single tick means the message was sent to WhatsApp servers and, once it gets there, you can't cancel it.
Your only chance to cancel a message is when it still has a clock sign on the bubble -- meaning it didn't reach the servers yet. To do that, you press and hold the message and then delete it.


text:
Where is Voice Privacy on OnePlus phone?
Can someone give me a step by step on finding the Google Voice privacy on my OnePlus phone?

Sorry, could you clarify what did you mean by "Voice Privacy"? I admit I didn't have Google Voice, but I didn't find any clue about "Google Voice Privacy" on Google.

Since Voice Privacy is a CDMA network function, and OnePlus One is a GSM phone, there is no such option to be selected. GSM technology doesn't have the same vulnerability as CDMA.


text:
How to view web video in media player instead of browser?
Playing media inside the browser is terrible. Until recently when I found a video I wanted to watch on a web page, I would send it to the app Downloader by Mirmay, because it would allow me to play it in whatever media player I like (MX, VLC, whatever). Following a recent update, Downloader now forces you to use its built-in, terrible media player.
How to get web video into a decent media player?

You can copy the link of the media file you want to stream, and then open VLC player app, go to More -> New stream below Streams heading, and paste the URL there. It should start streaming directly.

In Firefox for Android Beta (maybe some other browsers too? - not sure):

Click the video link.
Browser will open it in its internal player.
Press the green Android icon on the right of the address bar (at the
top).
Voila, Android will ask you what app you want to open it with.

It depends upon your browser, if you can click on the video itself or click on the browser's menu to share, and on having an APP that will load your browser's 'share menu' (as part of it's install routine) with the open command.
I have a few video players on my phone but most don't automatically fixup the 'share menu', and I've not felt the need to dig around and add the feature manually.
Using the YouTube APP or the Firefox browser I can click to share and because I have installed TubeMate (to download or play) and BS Player (stream, or play downloaded video) I can share to them and watch the video that way.
Firefox is usually capable of playing the videos 'well enough' (my phone is a few years old) and TubeMate usually can download from anywhere (and is updated frequently). There was only a week when Vimeo made some changes that TubeMate was finicky, other than that everything has worked flawlessly for years.

First, export those files from the APP itself (from your phone).
Then, plug your phone to your PC and you'll see a folder "downloadmanager" and click it. After that, you'll see files with no extension and the names would be in number. Click it, add the extension to mp4 (for videos) and mp3 (for music). And Voila! You can now view the files!

Just download it with your Downloader and then use a File Explorer and search for that file.
It should be anywhere inside either:

Your usual Movies folder (very unlikely, though) or `Downloads'  folder (also unlikely, but possible)
A unique, created folder by the app itself (many downloaders do that)
The "external data" folder (Android/data/<package name of the app>) on your internal storage
A configured folder (some Downloader apps allow user preferences).

First look inside the settings, then try to find it on your phone's storage.
After that, just tap it and Android will ask you which app you'd like to open it with.

Sure, that works, but it's not really the solution that I'm looking for. But thank you.

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


text:
Allow LED flashing for notification while on silent mode (interruptions: none)
I use my phone in school. If I use priority mode or none mode, I can't see the notifications by front LED of my phone, which I could with Android KitKat 4.4. It was easy in school, there was no sound but I didn't had to check my phone every 5 sec to see if I had a message. Is there any way to do this?

Don't know what's wrong with your version, but on my device, if I select none, the notification light works and I can also see the notifications on the lockscreen. I use android 5.0, what version do you have?

Version 5.0.2. I don't know if it's a difference..

I also have version 5.0.2, sorry. Have you set the preference in the system settings, that every notification is shown on the lockscreen? You can set this in the notification manager in the settings

It's shown in lockscreen if I touch the button I can see my notification.. but the lockscreen doesn't light up and so doesn't my notification light..

I asked the same question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/88835/notification-light-in-silent-mode-on-lollipop
If nothing has changed yet, there isn't a really satisfying answer and only and workaround.

I removed the statement regarding "alarm doesn't ring on silent mode" because it's not really related to the problem, and because Android already warns about it. Alarm only works on priority and all.

If you're using CyanogenMod (mine is CM12), there's a setting for this. Look under "Display & lights", and find "Ambient display".
Hope it helps

Be sure to set your preference like this (click image for larger variant)

Are you, by any chance, using custom ROM like CyanogenMod? I couldn't find this feature on Nexus 5, stock Lollipop 5.1 (and the menu is "Display" only, not "Display & lights" here).

Yes I have cyanogenmod. Try to find the preference with the search.

Not really sure why your notification light plainly does not work. Try using one of the LED customization tools such as Xposed, change the settings and see if it works after that.
http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.mohammadag.xposedledcontrol


text:
Install Arabic language on Android ICS
I have Samsung Galaxy S2 running Android ICS. How can I install the Arabic language on my phone keyboard as it is not listed?

Step 1 :
Download and install Language Enabler.

' Need Root ACCESS '

Step 2 :
and, add Arabic language for Menu.
Then go to Language and Input from Settings.
Tap "Configure Input Methods."
Step 3 :
Uncheck the "Use System Language" check box. This unlocks the other active input methods for use.
Select the check boxes for the keyboards and/or voice input methods you wish to add. This adds them for use during text input, as long as you use the standard Android keyboard.
Step 4 :
then add Arabic Language, and enjoy.


text:
How to copy events in KitKat 4.4 Calendar?
How do I copy events in KitKat 4.4 Calendar? That possibility to copy events has been removed from the calendar.

I edited your question to address the issue directly. OTOH, if Google decided to remove the feature consciously, then it's not a bug. Anyway, there's no possibility to know why Google removed that, making the question off-topic (we're not from Google, we're just Android users).

So...what uh what is the answer? Does anyone even know how to copy events with the current calendar? Or do they know for sure it was removed? I cannot find the answer to either that's why I came here. I mean not being able to do that in ANY calendar app is silly. So I figured it may BE a bug and thus a workaround.

I couldn't copy an event in the latest Google Calendar on Lollipop too. When I was researching about it yesterday, some suggest to use 3rd-party apps since this feature was removed on KitKat. I'll wait someone to answer if he does have a workaround on KitKat.

Yeah. Went to Informant based on Pocket Informant I used on my BlackBerry. Nice app.

It seems the only option are third party apps. I found Informant, which is sort of like Pocket Informant (same dev), I used on my blackberry. It seems that stock apps for Android are becoming more and more featureless. I guess "they're" trying to promote using third party apps, I guess, I don't know.

Open Calendar
Click on List tab
Find Event to copy, then press on it and hold until a popup window appears
Choose Copy

Something similar can be done from the Month tab...

Select the day of the event
Find Event to copy just below the month calendar
Press and hold until a popup window appears
Choose Copy


text:
"Wrong file type, please select again" when choosing a ringtone
I have a Nexus 5, all my ringtones and notification sounds returned to default, and when I try to set any file as a sound I get this message:

Wrong file type, please select again

I get the same message no matter what file type I choose, including the files that were my sounds until this morning. I tried to delete cache memory and reboot but that did nothing.

Maybe related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/85592/ringtones-incompatible-with-custom-rom-how-to-improve-compatibility

As a temporary solution I can only suggest you get a ringtone app that allows you to set ringtones and use it just for that, I've had this issue for a while and nothing solves the actual problem. Just curious. Have you done a firmware update before the problem occurred?

José Mejuto Was correct in his 2nd Point.
deleting the /.nomedia file has no effect.

1: Go to "Settings -> Apps (All) -> Media storage"
2: Clear Cache & Data
3: Change your ring tone or notification tone

Thanks José :)

On newer versions of Android, you may have to pull down the menu on the Apps list and select Show system in order for Media Storage to show up.

Today my Nexus 5 starts to do the same, default Ringtone and "Wrong file type, please select again". After several hours trying different solutions I came to the conclusion that the problem is in -or related to- the "Google Play Music" which do not work for local files anymore. I was able to finally get my custom ring tones again to life performing two tasks, but I do not known which one solves the problem because a reboot is needed and I perform both before reboot.
1) In my case in the root of the SD card there was a ".nomedia" file which could prevent multimedia use in this folder and below. So try to delete this file and reboot terminal, then try to set a custom ring tone.
Note: My Nexus is in spanish, and options could have a different name.
2)  I suspect that multimedia SQLite database was corrupted in some way, so I went to Settings -> Applications -> "Almacenamiento de medios" (Maybe Media storage? com.android.providers.media) and deleted data, then reboot.
After the reboot all multimedia data was rescanned and I was able to change the ring tone again.
Note: I had detected that my old custom tone for notifications was gone, the file was gone and I was unable to find it in my storage media.

Copy to existing Ringtones folder on device, go to choose ringtone and select media storage and amongst the device ringtone selection will be your file

Please change your audio file format to .wav; now you give it a try to assign the ringtone. It will work! Since, I had this same issue when I tried to assign a ringtone in an .mp3 file. Then, I changed the .mp3 format to .wav format; it works!

This worked for me.

I'm using the Moto G and I had the same problem. Solution for me was to

Download a file manager app
Save the ringtone mp3 file in my music folder
In settings\ringtones (in the file manager), select your ringtone from the music folder.

I stayed with the original folder named "Ringtones" and just renamed it to "ringtones" [lowercase].
Rebooted.
Problem Solved


text:
Run Google Chrome with flags (not from chrome://flags)
There are command line flags (or "switches") that Chromium (and Chrome) accept in order to enable particular features or modify otherwise default functionality.

Chromium Command Line Switches
Run Chromium with flags

I want to add --sync-url flag to use my sync server instead of Google sync servers. chrome://flags only enable/disable flags but won't let you add a new flag.
Tried Chrome 41.0.xx and Chromium 43.0.xxx shell with:
# echo "chrome <flags>" > /data/local/tmp/android-webview-command-line
# echo "chrome <flags>" > /data/local/tmp/content-shell-command-line
# echo "chrome --sync-url whatever" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line

Any idea how to run Chrome with flags on Android or directly add these to the default profile?

Hey, if my answer has helped you, I'd appreciate it if you could "accept" it. This community only works if people who volunteer answers get something back :)

No luck, not reflected in chrome://sync-internals or chrome://version

You need to add the entire command into the /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line file. For example, I usually you want to skip the "First run experience", and I do:
# echo "chrome --disable-fre" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line
You probably need
# echo "chrome --sync-url whatever" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line

Seems the OP has updated his question without informing you that it's not working.

@AndrewT. Yep.. I am pretty sure this is the correct way to set a command line switch in mobile chrome as I use it regularly. There must be some other reason the sync url is not being set. In any case, I think I answered the question asked.

Reading from other source, I found similar syntax for Chromium (different file, as already mentioned by OP), so I believe this answer should be correct. Perhaps the problem is the sync URL itself.

I just went through this myself on Android 5.0.1. It's what was mentioned by Munim with two important tweaks.

In chrome://flags, enable the "Enable command line on non-rooted devices" flag, this makes Chrome look in /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line (instead of /data/local/chrome-command-line)
Create the chrome-command-line file with chrome plus the additional flags you want (no need to repeat existing flags found in about:version), e.g. chrome --sync-url whatever
Change the mode of the chrome-command-line file to 755, e.g. chmod 755 chrome-command-line
Restart Chrome and verify that the flags you specified appear in about:version at the beginning


text:
How to limit data usage of individual apps?
There are many apps out there to limit data usage of entire system. Using Firewall, I can block an app from accessing Internet, too.
But, I don't want these. I want to limit data usage of individual apps. e.g. - AppX should be firewalled if it comsumes 1GB within a day or month etc.
How can I achieve this?
I am rooted on ICS. I have tried to use Tasker but without luck.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S shuts down automatically
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S i9003. I used it for 1 years. Recently when I want to start apps the phone automatically shuts down. The battery is fully charged. Anyone faced it before?
I'm running Android 2.2 froyo
Sometimes it takes 3/4 mins of app launch to automatically shut the phone
Any idea how to fix it?

if the phone is connected to charge then it never shuts down

Does it happens with every app you launch?

yes, it happens with every app I launched.

You should try upgrading your Firmware and/or Factory Reset (Backup!!) that should solve it if it's a software problem.

my be it was a hardware problem, Changing battery to a new one solved the problem


text:
SMS-draft on incoming call
I have a tiny problem with my Android on HTC Wildfire. When I got incoming call and my screen is blocked, I have to move a ring to unblock and answer the phone; but if I move this ring fast enough and my phone doesn't capture my movement, I get a cancelled call and a sms-draft 'Sorry, I'm busy' etc. The problem is: is there any way to disable this option to have an sms-draft? I'd like to have not a possibility to slide to sms-draft with call cancel. My Android version is 2.3.5

This might be a hardware limitation, maybe the resolution of the touch digitizer is too low for your fast finger and it detects 2 taps instead. You can try to change to a different lock screen / answer screen which uses sth. different. Also custom ROMs usually come with many options for the lockscreen feature

Some phones have the capability to edit/remove the predefined call-refusal messages, see if you can find them and remove all, maybe this will disable the SMS sending.


text:
HTC One M8 overheating, random reboots and unable to power it off
Last night I forgot to charge my HTC One M8 phone, and when I woke up in the morning, the battery was dead, Unsurprisingly. I plugged it in to charge for about 20 minutes (only to about 30% or so charge) and then left my house (with my phone in my pocket). The device was off during charging, and I only turned it on about an hour ago, putting it back in my pocket after seeing that it booted fine (and that I had about 30% charge left). About 15 minutes ago, I noticed the device against my leg getting very hot, and pulled it out to see the "HTC One" startup screen. I found this strange because I had already turned on the device, so I don't know why it would be rebooting.
After it started up again, I went looking for what may have caused my phone to seemingly reboot as it did, and in the process of using the device to do this, my screen went black and showed the HTC startup screen again, and afterward, back to my lock-screen. I'm pretty sure It's been doing this cycle of starting up and then randomly rebooting since I turned the unit on some hour ago.
I use an OtterBox Defender case on my phone, and noticing that it was extremely hot on its own, I removed the phone from its case. The rear of the phone was even hotter, to say that I wouldn't be able to hold the device that long because of how warm it is. From this, I was able to determine that overheating could be the cause of this cycle, so I tried to shut off the device by holding the power button and selecting "Power off" from the menu, but after it would shut down, the unit would turn back on. I have no explanation for how or why this would happen.
It seems now the device has run itself out of battery, so I'm letting it cool for the next couple hours until I can charge it again at home. Is there any solution to this should it be happening again?
Stock Android 5 Lollipop, Sense 6.0, No S-Off or Root

I've had the same problem on my HTC M7.
After some research, I came to a conclusion that this is not a software problem. When sending my phone to the retailer for repair, they told me the lifetime of my processor pretty much ended. This was indicated by the phone heating up and randomly rebooting.
In my specific situation, this came due to me rooting my phone and overclocking it continuously.

For a quick fix for it rebooting after you power off, try holding the volume-up button while holding the power button. For the phone, it simulates a battery pull.
Maybe try to wait overnight and wait until the morning to see if the problem still persists. If it does, hold the volume-down button and the power button at the same time, from the shutdown state to enter the Hboot HTC bootloader.
If you have a custom recovery installed, enter it and try to clear the cache and dalvik-cache partitions. If you don't have a custom recovery, use the fastboot command: fastboot erase cache with a simple tool like Minimal ADB and Fastboot while in fastboot in the bootloader.
If this still doesn't work, you're probably going to have to factory reset/format the whole system.
I have an HTC One M8 (writing on it right now), and the only time this happens is when I flash a corrupt ROM, however.
If you're going to have to format it, I suggest flashing the stock Android ROM, it has really nice animations.


text:
Putting in an SD card made my Zedge ringtones unusable and I can't access the pet shop app etc.,
I don't have an Android, but my girlfriend said she needed an SD card, so I got her one. She put it in her phone, it just said 'setting up SD card' and she didn't have to do anything else.
It made her ringtones for specific callers stop working. Then it stopped even showing her downloaded ringtones in Zedge and started using a 'default' ringtone which is one she had never heard, her phone is a T-Mobile Touch and its default ringtone is the T-Mobile theme, not the one that is playing.
She has also been using a pet shop game on her phone for about 2 years and now she can't use it. It will just say the app isn't installed. Going into the application manager, I can see that there is a file with the word 'petshop' in it saying it is on the SD card, the file and the other 2 (one is eBay app) are grayed out.
The whole purpose of the SD card was so that she could move all of her pictures of our son onto it in order to have them printed out or to move them to a new phone when she gets one. I don't honestly even know how to do that.

Was the SD card a replacement for a smaller one she had in the device before?

It wasn't a replacement. It was the first one ever used in the device I think. It was a Sandisk 8GB.

The reason for the trouble is you've replaced the existing SD card without having copied the data. With apps installed on the (original) SD card, those are naturally "gone" as soon as you've popped it out – and did not "magically transfer" to the new card.
What you'd have to do is to first copy everything from the original card to the new one – including the "hidden directories". For how to do that, you might wish to consult How do I switch my Android device's SD card without causing problems?

It wasn't a replacement card. There was no SD card in the phone when this one was put in and the apps/ringtones were working properly from the internal memory.
I haven't owned an android before, but I'm pretty good with PC's and technology in general and I am baffled by what the SD card did to her phone. Thank you for your help so far, Izzy. I appreciate the responses!

Yuck. I've missed 3 chars of your comment on the question: "True. I was in a hurry before work. It wasn't a replacement." Sorry for that! So I'm baffled now: what happens if the card is removed? Do the apps show up again?


text:
Can the previous version overwrite the currently installed app?
Suppose the new version of APK of any project is currently installed on the Android phone, but I want to install my previous APK on the phone. In that case, what will happen? Will it be updated to the previous build or showing error?
If it's updated to the previous build, will it only show specific things from that build, or also include the current (latest) things?

Downgrading used to be possible before Android 4.0.

Since Android 4.0, downgrading an app is not possible anymore. The installation will fail (with error code [INSTALL_FAILED_VERSION_DOWNGRADE] if installed from ADB).
Normally, app/update uninstallation is needed before installing the specific version from the APK, but doing so will also clear the data. There are alternatives to prevent that:

For ADB users, adb install -r -d <link to apk> allow downgrading (from an answer by supereee on SO)
(need root) Use AppDowner to downgrade the app (more detail on AndroidPit)
(need root) Use Titanium Backup root to backup the data, uninstall the app and install using APK normally, then restore the data (from AndroidForums)

In case of using the first 2 alternatives, only features from that build are available, ignoring the data from newer version. (This may or may not affect the app compatibility)


text:
Phone doesn't ring or show missed call, later a voicemail appears
I have an AT&T Samsung Galaxy 2 and have had a sporadic problem:  A person calls me, my phone doesn't ring, kicks them over to voice mail, doesn't show as a missed call, and then the voice mail shows up on my phone as much as an hour later.  I have tested this from my land line and sometimes the phone does everything it's supposed to and other times doesn't ring and doesn't log a missed call but records a voice mail.

I've been having the same problem with an HTC Sensation. And contrary to what the answer below says, I have a perfectly adequate connection when this happens.

Go to Settings > Apps > Dialer > Check "Show notifications". That fixed my problem.

I had the same issue. You will have to change your phone notification settings. Go to "settings," then "call", then "phone settings" under "other call settings."  Scroll all the way to the bottom of the call setting screen and select "phone notification preview" (To show caller ID for missed calls and voicemails on locked screen and status bar).
Most likely, you downloaded an app on your phone that adjusted your phone settings. I hope this helps.

Is this something specific to Samsung phones? I cannot find that setting on my LG Optimus 4X (Android 4.0.3).

This is probably because you do not have a good reception when the phone call happens. If you have a good reception but is still not getting the call, contact your operator; standard voice mail is managed by your operator not the phone (that's why you can still get a voice mail even when the phone is turned-off/out-of-service-area, but it won't show in missed calls, which is managed by the phone itself).


text:
Galaxy Mini hangs at boot - how can I fix it?
My Galaxy Mini powers on, but then hangs on the "Samsung Galaxy Mini" splash screen.
How can I re-install Android, or get it booting again?

Did you something that may have caused the hang? E.g. flashing some ROM? Or is there nothing special (just "normal use") you can remember? In either case, you could try a factory-reset. This would wipe all your apps and data, and make the device "virgin" again.

I am having the same problem here. I didn't do anything special to trigger any problem. The phone just shut down on its own and when I try to boot it, it gets stuck forever on the "Samsung" splash screen. So, did you manage to solve your problem?

Just found that solution and it worked for me! http://howtorootmobile.com/stuck-in-android-boot-loop-tips-to-fix-recover-from-boot-loop/
FYI my phone is not rooted, so I followed the first solution.

Welcome to  Android Enthusiasts! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies. For further hints, please see: How do I write a good answer.

You can fix it manly two ways. Performing a factory reset via stock recovery or flash stock firmware. Resetting is the easiest method. Press and hold power button,  home and volume up keys until you see the Android robot logo. Stock recovery doesn't work touch screen you can use volume keys for navigation and power button /home key for selection.
Once you're in the recovery go to the "wipe user data" option via volume key and select that option via power key. Next choose "Yes" option.
Once it's complete you can reboot the phone via stock recovery.  In recovery main menu choose "reboot" and select "yes".

Just had the same problem with Samsung Galaxy S III mini:
Steps I have tried:

Do a "hard reboot" with long press of the Power button.
Connect phone to the charger, then try to turn it on (that was the original problem: phone showed its logo, then turned black. Unfortunately after charging it it now hangs at the first boot-up screen (once it went as far as to the screen with "SAMSUNG" in it, i.e. the second screen; the third is usually operator logo).
Remove the battery, press the Power button (with battery outside) to get rid of residual charge, then try to turn it on. Didn't work for me.
Try to boot phone into "Safe Mode": press Power and Volume Down together for a while to do a hard reboot, then stop holding Power as soon as the phone turns on (vibrates). Didn't work for me, but it can supposedly cure the situation where last installed app was responsible for the hang-up.
Go to "Recovery Mode" by holding Power + Home + Volume Up buttons together (you can stop holding Power button when phone vibrates) until you see the swirly Android logo.  You should get a recovery mode menu, where you navigate with volume keys, and choose option with the power button.
Here you can delete the /cache partition, then reboot phone. It did work, but it didn't helped me. It can supposedly cure the situation where the lack of disk space on this partition was responsible for the hang-up.
I have tried steps 2-4 again.
Reset phone to factory defaults from the same "Recovery Mode". This I have not tried yet (I'll try to recover data somehow... though most of my data is on microSD, and I have copied that already).

HTH.

Unfortunately, after trying to turn it on and do a adb backup, it completely stopped working -- all it shows is a black screen; no boot screen after long press of power button, no charging image when connected to the charger...


text:
Samsung Galaxy S stuck in boot loop when 100% charged
Before we start I should mention that I have not messed with the firmware in any way. But it seems that whenever I put it on charge and it reaches 100% capacity I turn it on and it gets stuck in a boot loop. I have turned it off and on while it hasn't been on charge and it worked fine.
This happened once and I wiped all user data from the phone and it fixed it. But it's doing it again and I have tried looking around on Google but I cannot find a solution at all.


text:
Where do i find cwm recovery for samsung captivate?
I rooted my 2.3.5 and then returned my Samsung Captive i897 to stock 2.1 update 1 ROM. But now I want to put cyanogen 9 ICS -- but the CWM recovery does not work anymore.
Where do I find one for 2.1? Kies does not want to update my phone to gingerbread. Eclair has no good apps, NONE, I am bored.

CM's wiki recently moved. The old content is here (incl. a link to a cwm): http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Samsung_Captivate:_Full_Update_Guide

That link is for android 2.3 build UCKK4 i have 2.1. that is the link i followed the first time.

Seems like 2.5 here is the most recent version: http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager

And by the way, there's CM10.1 for it. http://get.cm/?device=captivatemtd


text:
Google Play Store Doesn't Open
So, in the end of the past year I have finally got to root my china replica (fake) Galaxy SIII
Everything was working just fine, until I remove some app from the /system/app directory, because this replica comes with almost no internal space, although I thought I was removing only unnecessary apps. I removed two that should not have been removed, the phone started to act erratically, it would fully start, but the screen just showed the wallpaper a blinked nonstop.
After my first attempt, I tried to solve it, throwing everything back on it, that stopped the blinking screen and showed the apps shortcuts on the main screen again. Then I started removing one app at time interspersed with a reboot. After removing what I didn't want left, except the only two necessary apps, I went to the Play Store, to download some apps and enjoy the new freed up internal space, only to discover that it simply didn't open anymore.
At first it would load, then show the upgrading screen (from market to play store) and when I tapped *continue" the app would just shutdown, and I was back at the app launcher, then I tried again just to even attempt open the app, the screen would change to the loading, but very quickly, it would shutdown again.
After my second attempt, I tried installing apps via ADB, and it worked, and so did the apps, every app that I installed worked just fine, but it wouldn't be updated unless I could find the .apk file and install it again via ABD. What, in some cases, is simply impossible.
Than I found a site, that would send the download link of the .apk file to my email, and I could download it in my phone, which was not an update but it was better than have to install anything via ADB. Then I tried to launch one of those apps, only to discover that my browser would crash with a F/C when I tapped save in the download pop-up.
After weeks searching for solutions and for any clue in this issue, I discovered that within the Dropbox's application directory contained a lot of .txt files.
Reading these files, I discovered what is causing the malfunction of the Play Store and the download function in the Browser, and it is the same thing. The problem is I don't know what to do to solve this.
Following below are some examples of the .txt files:
Location: /data/system/dropbox
File name: system_app_crash@1357930047501.txt
Process: com.android.vending
Flags: 0xabe45
Package: com.android.vending v8016010 (3.10.10)
Build: sprd/sprdroid_base/hsdroid:2.3.5/MocorDroid2.3.5 W12.20_P12_20121105.115851:user/test-keys

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unknown URL content://downloads/my_downloads
    at android.content.ContentResolver.insert(ContentResolver.java:600)
    at com.google.android.finsky.download.DownloadManagerImpl$1.run(DownloadManagerImpl.java:43)
    at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:587)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
    at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:60)

File name: system_app_wtf@1354930047485.txt
Process: com.android.vending
Flags: 0xabe45
Package: com.android.vending v8016010 (3.10.10)
Subject: Finsky
Build: sprd/sprdroid_base/hsdroid:2.3.5/MocorDroid2.3.5/W12.20_P12_20121105.115851:user/test-keys

android.util.Log$TerribleFailure: [27]
DownloadProgressManager.makeNewCursor: Download progress cursor null: content://downloads/my_downloads
    at android.util.Log.wtf(Log.java:275)
    at android.util.Log.wtf(Log.java:254)
    at com.google.android.finsky.utils.FinskyLog.wtf(FinskyLog.java:40)
    at com.google.android.finsky.download.DownloadProgressManager.makeNewCursor(DownloadProgressManager.java:126)
    at com.google.android.finsky.download.DownloadProgressManager.onDownloadProgress(DownloadProgressManager.java:234)
    at com.google.android.finsky.download.DownloadProgressManager.access$000(DownloadProgressManager.java:28)
    at com.google.android.finsky.download.DownloadProgressManager$2.run(DownloadProgressManager.java:97)
    at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:587)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
    at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:60)

File name: system_app_crash@135793929686111.txt
Process: com.android.browser
Flags: 0x9be45
Package: com.android.browser v10 (2.3.5)
Build: sprd/sprdroid_base/hsdroid:2.3.5/MocorDroid2.3.5/W12.20_P12_20121105.115851:user/test-keys

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Unknown URL content://downloads/my_downloads
    at android.content.ContentResolver.insert(ContentResolver.java:600)
    at com.android.browser.BrowserActivity.onDownloadStartNoStream(BrowserActivity.java:3737)
    at com.android.browser.BrowserActivity$18.onClick(BrowserActivity.java:3603)
    at android.view.View.performClick(View.java:2485)
    at android.view.View$PerformClick.run(View.java:9080)
    at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:587)
    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:92)
    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3690)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:839)
    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:597)
    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

Does anyone knows what it means? Or how to solve it? I really want this to work and despite it is taking up all of my free time, and I cannot come up with a solution.
Originally Posted in XDA Developers

Had a similar problem. My Keyboard constantly crashed with the same error msg. It was a failed dictionary pack download attempt. I del'ed /data/data/com.google.android.inputmethod.latin.dictionarypack/*

Ok, above comment is only meant as a hint/starting point. I guess it's also a dangling / broken app downloads, maybe manually clearing com.android.providers.downloads or so helps. Please let us know if you find out more.

Hi, thanks for the tips, the thing is, I don't have the "com.android.providers.downloads" in the "/system/app". I tried to install it and it's not re-install, 'cause I don't know if it was there, cause all the apps I removed, I made a backup, and the only

I'd say, start by doing a recursive search for download (as root): grep -ri download /data/data or so. Then investigate if it could be related. My problem was caused by an unfinished dict-pack download => keyboard broken (with very similar looking err-messages)

Hi, thanks for the tips, the thing is, I don't have the "com.android.providers.downloads" in the "/system/app".
I tried to install it and it's not re-install, 'cause I don't know if it was there, cause all the apps I removed, I made a backup, and the only download related .apk is "DonwloadProviderUi.apk" which is one of the two .apks that I've mentioned, and it's already re-installed.

Ah: It's maybe that you deleted a package and another has a "content" reference to this package and then fails to resolve it (the reference being in /data/data/pkgname/* somewhere)

So i tried to install it, but every .apk that I've downloaded to install via ADB returns error messages like "Install Parse Failed No Certificates", "Install Failed Incompatible Shared User" or "Install Failed Older SDK", and when I try to push it, the .apk appear in the "/system/app" directory but after the reboot the phone, and go check the .apk is there but when i touch it the install wizard ask if I want to install it and not overwite the system app, then I tried to install from there, it doesn't even load, just show a check sign and "Application not installed".

by "install it" I mean the "downloadprovider" (com.android.providers.downloads)

The issue was caused by lack of a system application, the application donwloadprovider.apk.
The problem was identified by comparing the /system/app directory in two similar devices, and noticing that the application was missing.
The solution:

Copy the application from the working devic e(A) to a computer.
Push via ADB the application to the malfunctioning device (B) /system/app directory.
Reboot device B.

I was going to suggest the download provider app had been deleted, good work :)


text:
What is meant by System Memory in android?
I have an LG -E405 phone running Android 2.3.6.
As can be seen here, the phone has 1GB internal memory and 384Mb RAM.
When I look at default App manager, this is what I get,

RAM - 231Mb
System Memory - 157 Mb.
Internal Memory - 378Mb.
SD Card - 2Gb.

Also, all the applications I install, by default take up space from System memory.
Many tutorials explain about moving apps from internal memory to SD Card to free up space.
But, in my phone I only get the option to move from System Memory to Internal Memory.
It is like a whole new layer has been added in the memory heirarchy.
So, what is this System Memory.

Thanks to the details you've given: Looks like it's just confusing "display names". "System memory" seems to stand for "internal/phone memory", "Internal memory" means some "internal sd card". Sizes given obviously stand for "free/available space".


text:
birthday duplicates after removing google account and adding it again
After removing my Google-Account on my HTC One S and adding it again, i recognized that all birthdays stored with contacts are in my calendar twice. When i change birthday at some contact, there is only one, which changes. The information is not from another calendar like Facebook or Google.
After removing my account once and adding it, i had two birthdays for each contact, only one changes.
After removing my account another time and adding it, i had three birthdays for each conatct and only one changes.
So why this happens or how can i delete or avoid this?
I would like the delete either automically or manually (prefering automatically) but i found no solution to do this.
I made a screenshot to make it clearer.

Meanwhile, the only thing that helped was a softreset.i wanted to do it fast. And after the new HTC Update i switched to some Custom Roms anyway.

"Online version of GCalToolkit" may help.
http://gcaltoolkit.net/

Follow these simple steps to remove all duplicates from Google
  Calendar, clean up failed Imports and Sync Sessions, delete events
  based on text or date ranges, and more... If that's not enough -
  please try the Windows Desktop Software version of GCalToolkit.:

I have these duplicates only on my phone, so i don't think that works. It's no Google Calendar Entry.

In that case you could try to first sync your phone calender with google calender. Then use the provided link. Sync again if required.


text:
MTP mounts vs USB storage - restrictions
Just got a nexus 4, and tried to copy files from my nexus one to it.  Copying the N1 SD data to my linux box was a breeze, but the N4 doesn't offer simple mounting.  Shows up as a USB Camera, with only access to DCIM.  I was able to find and use mtpfs to mount the device, but even that has some serious limitations.

The software on the phone's end seems to make some decisions for you.  I tried copying a mix of files from the N1's Ringtones directory to a Ringtones directory on the N4, and the N4 decided that mp3's belong in the Music directory, etc.  I couldn't control where stuff went.  Interesting, some flv files that were there went to Ringones, but not the mp3's.  At first I thought the mp3's weren't copied at all.  I was able to fool this logic by copying to Download on the N4.  Anyway, not sure I like the phone making these decisions.
The mtpfs mount didn't allow me to preserve the timestamps on the copied files.  I copied a bunch of pictures (cp -p) from the N1's DCIM/Camera folder to the N4's.  They all came over with the current date/time.  I can see where it'd be a good idea not to allow a usb mount to set the owner or permissions for a file, but the timestamp?  Is there a way around this, or is this just a shortcoming of the linux mtpfs implementation?

One more MTP question... In 4.2 multi-user mode, does MTP only mount the current user's storage area?  And does it force ownership of all written files to that user?  How about if your phone's rooted?

This has to be a limitation on linux, because in windows I see the entire internal storage and the entire sdcard for my device. Also, I am not sure what question you are actually asking.

With mtpfs I see what appears to be the entire internal storage, though it turns out that, for example, what shows up as /DCIM is really /storage/o/DCIM (or something like that).  That's good, since it seems to be showing only the current user's internal storage (and not the OS itself).  But my questions remain - I can write (where I can write), but I can't set the timestamp on files I write.

The timestamp issue should be raised as a separate question. It is mostly the old 'push' / 'pull' problem, with the recipient host not honouring the (remote) timestamp. This can be circumvented by copying 'from', instead of 'to', the target location.


text:
Can rooting be the cause of battery drainage?
Its been three weeks I have rooted my phone. I have installed a lot of apps using link2sd on external sd card. I have noticed that since the rooting, the battery goes down very fast. 80% of charge goes down to below 40% overnight when on stand-by (without any data/wifi connection). Can the root be cause for that? It hasn't been even a year I bought that phone.
Note: I am using android 2.3.6 and juicedefender for improving battery usage.

"root" itself should not be the cause. However, the rooting process might have caused some instabilities. I remember when having rooted my Milestone 2, it booted twice a day. A factory reset solved that (and of course kept root itself intact, as the /system partition is not affected by a factory reset).

Short answer: No
Long answer: It's all the apps and services running in the background, some great apps I use for monitoring what's going on with the phone:

System Panel [theres also a lite version, SystemPanelLite Task Manager]
CPU Spy
BetterBatteryStats

With those you will be able to narrow down what is causing all the battery drain
Also it may be wakelocks on your kernel

You forgot the link to the 3rd app

Because I'm new I can only post two links per post =/
Here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5hc2tzdmVuLmJldHRlcmJhdHRlcnlzdGF0cyJd


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E-mail (imap client) sync stopped because of low memory, and will not start again, even after freeing 60Mb
I have a Motorola XT303 running Android 2.3.6, and I use the email client (with an IMAP server). The email worked fine until two days ago: I tried to download an application that was too large for the internal memory, and the installation failed. Right after that email syncing stopped -- whenever I asked it to sync, a message popped up telling me that email syncing wouldn't be done because the phone was low on memory. However, even after freeing 60Mb of internal memory, the email client still refuses to sync.
I have tried stopping the email app from the task manager and restarting the phone, but that didn't help.
I also thought I'd just download another email client, but since this is software that will have access to my email server passwords, I'd rather use the client I'm already using.
edit: but if there is an email client that is open source and well-known, then I could just as well switch...
So... How can I get the email app to start syncing again?

Have you tried all of these steps?

Yes, I did -- ecxept for uninstalling and reinstalling (how do I do that?)

That step won't work for pre-installed apps (you cannot uninstall them). How much free storage do you have? Maybe you have to free a little more (clear some more app caches, that doesn't hurt and nothing gets lost that way), also your download might still stick around somewhere in temp (or rather /data/local).

I have 60 Mb. But after user1 mentioned uninstalling, I thought that maybe just cleaning all app data (not just cache) would work. But then I realized that there is an open source version of the email app -- k9-- and I tend to trust these, since the probability of someone including malicious code is very low (after all, the source is open). I didn't know that there was an open source email client for Android. I switched to k9 and I'm now happy with it.


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Why are SMS messages sent on my Samsung Galaxy S III running AOKP appear as unable to be sent?
Why are SMS messages sent on my Samsung Galaxy S III running AOKP appear as unable to be sent? The SMS is actually sent.
I tested with a message to myself:

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Edit: I forgot to add that I have done this very recently. So there has not been a period where it worked normally. This occurred as soon as I flashed the ROM.


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Touchscreen problems with a rk2918 tablet
I have an Evolio Evotab 2 (RK2918) running gingerbread
http://www.gsmland.ro/tableta-evolio-evotab_2-4090
(sorry couldn't find english site with specs)
When typing fast it repeats the last letter instead of the one I just pressed. (for instance If I type Q and quickly go to K I get QQ )
I tried flashing other roms from similar chinese tablets but couldn't find one where everything worked.
Also it happens more often in landscape than when typing in portrait mode.
Can anybody tell me if this sounds like a software or hardware issue?
This is what I tried so far:
-other keyboards than stock
-tried typing in different places (browsers,apps)
-other rom's
-wipe+flash+root and uninstall allmost everything with TB = still happens.
Thank you.

Try calibrating the touchscreen, sounds like the calibration is off!!!

Tried it, downloaded tscalibration.apk, did the calibration thing and restarted... no luck

Hmmm.. a quick google-fu yielded this linky
To quote:

GPS: What should I do if touch screen ( display) is not responding? In
  case that the product is E100, E205, E300 or E400 press the RESET key.
If is S1200, A1700 or Xroad, follow the steps:

Turn on the device and press key Menu M (up left), in case the GPS is turning on rolling an application it will return to the home
  menu.
In home menu press key Menu then press 4 times key +( plus, up right) and once key – (minus, down right).
If the steps were correct executed, on screen will appear a cursor +. Press, with careful, in the      center of the cursor using
  the GPS pencil, marking the screen coordonats, center and four
  corners.
After marking the coordonates, touch the screen anywhere for saving the coordonates.
Next step “Touch Test” will confirm that the settings are right and will have effect on the device, press the center of + and if the 5
  coordonates were been set correctly  it will pass at sound test, or it
  will return at the calibrating screen .
If you executed correctly the steps and you arrived at “Sound Test”, turn off and then turn on the GPS.
Assure that you executed correctly the procedure  and if the problem persist, contact our service.

Try that or use one of the hidden secret Android codes to get at the service menu, there may be an option in there to calibrate the touchscreen?

The instructions are for GPS devices with resistive screens, running windows CE. I would try the service code thing but don't know how to start the dialer on a tablet. I can see it's installed but can't find it in the app drawer... Thanks!


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Update to 4.1.2 on a Nexus S with CWM and broken USB port
I have a Nexus S, rooted, with CWM and a stock 4.0.4 ROM. The USB port is broken(only charging works), so how do I go to stock 4.1.2 update?
If there is a way to manually apply OTA, that'd be great. Or a way to fix the USB port, but I think that's widely reported and not really fixed.
I tried the system > updates (and clearing Google services framework trick) and it shows upto date, ie. no new OTA. Perhaps because I have a custom recovery?

If you can find someone else with an unlocked Nexus S, you can use nandroid backups to do everything on their device and then duplicate efforts to your device, like so:
Let's call your phone Device A and theirs Device B.
Boot into recovery on both devices, then make a nandroid backup of each device, which I will call Nandroid A and Nandroid B, for each phone.  Using some sort of wireless file-transfer application (AirDroid, Samba Server, etc), transfer the nandroid backups to a computer for safekeeping, and then put Nandroid A onto Device B and boot into recovery on Device B. Wipe the cache, dalvik cache, system partition, and data partition, then restore Nandroid A onto Device B. Once the restore is complete, boot Device B normally and perform the OTA update as you would under normal conditions.
Reboot into Recovery on Device B after installing the update, and make a new nandroid backup which I will call Nandroid A2. Then, move files around wirelessly as outlined above and wipe Device A and restore Nandroid A2 to Device A. Finally, wipe Device B and restore Nandroid B to Device B and give it back to your much-indebted-to friend.
Be careful when you wipe before a restore /not/ to wipe the internal storage on the device. The Nexus S doesn't have an SD card slot, otherwise I'd just advise you remove the SD card altogether while restoring... But TWRP has a pretty straightforward checkbox that will help you make sure you aren't wiping your internal storage.
Yes, this method is roundabout and long-winded, and yes, it does require access to hardware that you may not be able to get your hands on. But it will work.

You could also give OTA Updater a shot, though I'm not entirely sure if it'll play nice with your setup. Can't really hurt it, though.

Use an app like WiFi File Trasnfer to transfer the stock image to your phone and then flash it using whatever recovery you're using.

I have Airdroid for transfer but since 4.1, Ota packages cannot be flashed via custom recovery. It gives a 'status 7' error.

@Sumesh 'status 7' error is one of insufficient space, incorrect fingerprint, file corrupted....

Status 7 is known to occur when trying to flash Ota in custom recovery, since 4.2,  even when space and corruption issues do not occur. I've been unable to find a workaround. I have a backup of stock ROM via CWM, reverted to it but Ota isn't showing up even then.

Unlocked bootloader == no OTA in most cases. I think I even remember my Nexus 4 giving that warning when I was rooting it.


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"Incompatible with other application(s) using the same shared user ID" when installing Google Play services
I am using Samsung Galaxy Tab 3. I use it to play games and I have one that needs to be backed up by Google+. Unfortunately, my tablet doesn't have Google+ and Google Play services app installed in it. So everytime I try to sign into Google+, it always direct me to Play Store and ask me to install Google Play services.
So I did follow the steps required. I tried to install Google Play services, but it always gave an error message below.

Incompatible with other application(s) using the same shared user ID.

How to handle this issue?

Whoops! Meant to say improve the answers. These seem really vague :(

@DanB I clarified the existing answer. If it's still vague, please let me know which part.

@AndrewT. Sure, just looking now. -Edit- could you edit the part from the comment below in?

The steps which I followed (when it happens to me) :
1.Backup all the data and apps you already have on your phone as we are going for a factory reset.
( To backup current version apks of the app use root explorer and copy all apks from /data/app and some apks from /mnt/asec/ )
2.Downloaded latest signed Google-Apps for your Android version (like Jellybean, Ice Cream Sandwich, KitKat etc).

Turn off your phone.
Boot phone in recovery mode and Wipe data/factory reset. (This is why you need to back up everything).
Flash the latest signed Gapps downloaded earlier.
Wipe Dalvik cache and cache partition then reboot.
Download the latest version of Google Play Store and install it.
Update all the Google-Apps via Play Store.
Then install Google Play Services and done!

Note:- Alternatively, At step 7 you can open the Market (Play Store) and tap agree. Then press home and leave it for a while. After the Play Store is updated, open it and tap agree again. The new Play Store should download Google Play Services and install it.

Best one so far :) quick question, could there be an alt no root method cough adb sideload cough

Also: no root option in general???

Bounty awarded. Reason: this randomly came up on my phone, doing this method worked.

Steps to solve your problem:

Download Google Play services APK from APK Mirror (you can use your tab for this)
(Download the appropriate version by following the code on the Notes / What's New section)

Install the APK by opening it.
(If it gives you warning of "unknown sources", go to Settings > Security > tick "Unknown Sources")

After installation is complete, update all Google apps like Gmail, Google+, etc.

Please download appropriate version for android system only(kitkat is 4.4.x, JellyBean 4.1.x, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.x)


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Filter out ARM native apps in Play Store
I have ASUS Zenfone 5. How could I filter out or identify ARM-native apps on x86 phones in Play Store or in other app market?

The Google Play Store automatically filters your application to devices with compatible CPU architecture. E.g. if you have a library which is only compiled for ARMv5, your app will only show up for devices with ARMv5 and ARMv7 processors. Your device should show you only apps that are compatible to your device.
Source: Android Developers - Filters on Google Play

Short answer: no, you can't filter those apps manually. You may try to uncompress the APK file and check its configuration, but it will be too much complicated work.
If you need a detailed answer, read further. You may not have understood me completely with above answer I gave, let me explain in details:
There are two types of applications based on native library use (native library is compiled with Android NDK)

Apps with Native library (i.e. these apps use native library with CPU specific architecture and these libraries directly execute on CPU instead of using Dalvik VM/ART)
These kinds of apps are filtered in Play Store, because there are multiple version of apps present in the Play Store specific to device (for x86 with x86 compiled library, and for ARM with ARM compiled library. Source - Developer can publish multiple APKs with different configuration)

Apps without Native library (these apps execute on Dalvik VM/ART)
These apps are CPU-architecture-independent, so there is no effect with which device you use these. Also here Dalvik VM will be compiled for your device by device OEM (in your case, ASUS)

All the intel devices that are commercialized as of now also support ARM architecture on top of x86.
Hence the Zenfone 5 see all the compatible apps, including the one with libraries compiled only for ARM.

Yes but arm-native apps on x86 consumes more power as some work (some library is there on x86 phones to make arm apps compatable )is to be done to make it run ........  so I want to filter out  native-arm apps to avoid them

@ph0b support ARM architecture on top of x86 - Wrong assumption, this concept is called virtualization of ARM on x86, which is done using QEMO.

@ramkiran  "filter out native-arm apps to avoid them"  - playstore is already doing it for you.

The play store doesn't filter these out, because they are supported by the x86 devices. The question here is how to have them still filtered out. One way may be to root your device and edit build.prop to remove mentions to armeabi-v7a, but you wouldn't be able to install these apps anymore. It's easier to check if they are ARM after the fact, you can use this app for that: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xh.nativelibsmonitor.app&hl=en

@ph0b Agreed on supported apps. But this app will allow those apps to be filter out AFTER the installation not before, and we can consider this as partial solution until play store app filters are available for common user.

Hopping that feature will be added in play store .... for now I think I have to adjust with the app suggested by ph0b .  Thanks all


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Quantum Gamepad doesn't work on Xiaomi Redmi 1S
I have Quantum PS2-like Gamepad which doesn't work on my Xiaomi Redmi 1S. My phone's Android version is 4.3.
I use a USB OTG cable which works fine with keyboards, mouses, and pen drives.
Whenever I attach the joystick, just the red light in the joystick blinks, and nothing happens.

USB OTG doesn't work when high power output is needed. It usually doesn't work with joypads which have analog sticks. If you want to use it, you'll have to attach USB hub with external power source, or make DIY externally-powered USB OTG.


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SMS sent automatically with message "HouslistacZ GMAIL" to unknown number
My phone has been sending the following message automatically about once a week since I bought it 1 year ago. As far as I see, there is no scheduled time for sending this message and the message context always has been the same. Also, it seems that the recipient is invalid, since I got "(no recipient)" every time it's sent.
Is it a virus? How do I remove it?

It does seem like spam.  Google has a lot of results for domains registered to houslistacz@gmail.com so it's possible it's related to a botnet or something.  Did you buy the phone used?  Have you tried a factory reset?

@MatthewRead I am the first owner of it and I bought it about one year ago.I haven't tried a factory reset yet but I am going to .

I've just reset the phone but immediately the message has been sent again.I have just found out I  can block "unknown messages" in spam messages section on the phone.But how can I do it without sending the first message.

Surprisingly, searching for "houslistacz gmail" (not the email address) returns very little hint, so we need some clarification: 1) are you connected to the internet (WiFi/mobile)? 2) if yes, is it always on the same connection, or WiFi only, or mobile only? 3) if yes, try turning off the internet for a week or more. 4) if it's still sending, then it might be scheduled offline by an app. You can check the app, but hold on since it might be too complex for common user (how to)

@Andrew T. I am mostly connected to the internet via WiFi and yes I almost always use the same connection.

@AndrewT. The first message was sent 12 hours ago just after I had reset the phone and then again almost exactly 12 hours later the message was sent . I suspect  I have installed a spy program indeliberately because whenever I take pictures, the message is sent in 12 hours otherwise it could take long but interesting thing even though I reset the phone, I have reset twice, the message is sent immediately after  the phone turns on.


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How can I find out the dimensions/resolution of a downloaded video file?
My only device = An Android tablet (4.0.3), no laptop.
Long ago, I used to have a laptop, but circumstances have left me with (technology wise) only an Android tablet (4.0.3). When I used to have a laptop, I used VLC not only to watch videos that I downloaded & collected, but also to check on what a specific video's dimensions were (examples = 480x360, 640x480, 1280x720, 1920x1080).
Now that I only have a tablet, I have looked for a way to do this, but with zero success. I have tried lots of video players for Android including VLC's own app & none of them have the option to show any information about a video file. I use such information because the videos that I download always have more than one size available (dimensionals wise), but never identify the dimensions that any file has.
So, if anybody knows a way to find out the dimensions of a specific video file that I have downloaded & have on my tablet, please let me know.

MX Player provides a way to check video resolution. All you have to do is install and open MX Player, touch hold the video file until you see some options and select properties. There you can find resolution listed as well as other codec information.
Besides, VLC for Android also shows the resolution. Install and open the app, left-swipe and choose Video option. There you can find all the videos scanned by VLC with resolution already listed on them. However, if you choose Directories option, then you can't see the resolution.

Thanks Firelord. This helps me (among others) more than most people would believe. I didn't notice that VLC for android can do that because I was always making the 'mistake' of directly clicking on a video file & choosing to play it with VLC, in which case you get almost zero options. They should let you see a "media/file info" screen/menu while it's playing a video file, which most other versions of VLC can do. It would NEVER have occurred to me to start VLC WITHOUT a video file because that's VLC's only reason to exist.


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How do I update app installed from 3rd-party with Google Play Store's version?
I want to update my WhatsApp to be able to use the calling feature. I've used a third party app to update WhatsApp till now. How do I update from Play Store, or will it only happen automatically and not manually?

How do I update from Play Store?

Open your Play Store;
From the left edge of screen do a left to right swipe to access Play Store Menu;
Select My Apps - it will open a list of all apps installed from Play Store;
Find Whatsapp Messnger, select Whatsapp Messenger and you will be presented with a page of Whatsapp;
Otherwise, after "Step 1.", type in Search Bar Whatsapp, enter and select "Whatsapp messenger" from the list.
From there you can select Update option if it is available.

Will it only happen automatically and not manually?

On that Whatsapp page, press Context menu key (usually the hardware key left to Home key in the bottom panel of your phone), and check Auto-Update option. Otherwise, you can access Play Store menu, select Settings -> Auto-update Apps option and choose update option relevant to you.

Note:

I've used a third party app to update WhatsApp till now.

It is recommended by Google and many security vendors to not to use anything other than Play Store to install or update any app. Be cautioned about privacy and security issue when you use third-party clients.
Edit: I've incorporated Rohit Kabdwal's points here in this answer.

The call feature is available in WhatsApp-2.12.5.
The Google Play Store should show you the latest version (If Notification Checked)

How do I update from Play Store, or will it only happen automatically
  and not manually?

This is only available, when the below option is enabled: if this option is disable, you need to download manually.

As you can see in above option, if there is an update it will be shown in a notification.

Upper Points are correctly given to update your WhatsApp application from play store, but if you want to enable the voice calling feature in your application then,

Find one person who already has the WhatsApp calling feature enabled in his/her application.
Ask that person to call you through his/her WhatsApp Voice calling feature.
Then receive that call (Note: your phone should be connected to the internet to receive the call)
When you end the call, you will see three different tabs in your WhatsApp application.

I know that you mentioned you would like to update the app from the Google Play Store, however when I checked if an update was available using the methods in the other answers, the Play Store said that my app was up to date.
With this in mind, if you navigate to the download page of the WhatsApp website, it will allow you to download the latest .apk which you can install manually.


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Remove other peoples' Google accounts on my device?
My friend used my phone to check his email but forgot to clear his account on my device, now his mails and notification come to my device, how do I remove his Gmail account and remain with only my account on my device?

Open settings, and go to "Accounts and sync", from there you can see currently logged in Google accounts, and you can sign-out from there.

Open settings -> go to "Accounts and sync" -> go to "Google Account", open which account you want to remove and there is "Delete/Remove Account" option in the menu(More option), you can delete the account from there.


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Failed to start monitoring 0123456789ABCDEF
When I connect Android device to Eclipse for debugging, it will show Failed to start monitoring 0123456789ABCDEF, but not always. Sometimes it works perfectly. USB debugging is active, but still shows like this.
Why is it so? Can anyone help me?

If this is a development related question, you may have to ask in StackOverflow.com. You may still post it here if you rephrase your question. Any way, have you tried "adb devices" whenever you receive such messages from Eclipse? Does that show your connected device or something else?

A bit of additional information might be helpful in determining the best audience for this question. As Narayanan pointed out, checking adb devices from a command line would help to narrow down if this is an issue with the adb driver/communication in general (which we might be able to help you with) or if it's an Eclipse problem (which would probably get better answers on [SO]).


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Does Android have a formal release cycle?
I have been tasked with documenting Google/Android's release plan so that our company has a policy of advanced testing our software on new mobile operating systems.
It seems like Apple/iOS has a fairly routine plan where several rounds of betas are available to developers.
The most detailed report I found was this: http://reecewagner.com/post/21956240240
but it is a little lacking in official sources, and is less relevant for application developers.
I would like to know when they offer the SDK/emulator with new OS image compared to when phones ship/platform updates roll out.

Rule #1 - never ask for ETA :) Just monitor the Google's developer blog for new releases of SDK and also, Android-Building newsgroups and watch for Google's Android head-honcho, Jean-Baptiste Queru who is responsible for the rollouts of the Android platform... :)

@t0mm13b thats the CM rule :) Google does need to be on a set cycle if they expect enterprise to start making internal enterprise applications.

@RyanConrad Heh! yeah of course the rule belongs to CM! :) I did hear some rumour now that they're starting on "enterprise"y stuff... something about play store.. not sure... its been bandied about.. :)

Even if there were a regular cycle from Google, carriers and/or manufacturers need to add their own changes after the official Android release. And they can vary from several months to over a year, and vary by device. There's no rhyme or reason.

All that said I don't think this question is a good fit for this site.

@AlEverett - where do you think it belongs? Seemed better here than stackoverflow.

Not every question has a place in the Stack Exchange network. Frankly, the forums at http://developer.android.com would seem to be a better place to me.

This quotes Andy Rubin in saying that they will move from a twice a year release schedule to a yearly cycle. But I don't know of an actual "official" publication. Also, this "yearly" cycle probably only means "major" releases, but there will still probably be "minor" updates through out the year like they have done in the past.
The Quote:

So we launched it, and from our internal 0.8, we got to 1.0 pretty quickly, and we went through this iteration cycle. You’ve noticed, probably, that that’s slowed down a little bit. Our product cycle is now, basically twice a year, and it will probably end up being once a year when things start settling down, because a platform that’s moving — it’s hard for developers to keep up. I want developers to basically leverage the innovation. I don’t want developers to have to predict the innovation.

ANDY RUBIN VP of Engineering for Android at Google

No, there's no officially published plan. The only people who get advance access to new versions before they're released are certain big-name developers (and tier 1 hardware vendors, of course) under NDA, so they can be ready take advantage of new features. The rest of us get it when the updates get pushed out. (Usually, the new SDK and emulator images appear a little after the new devices ship.)
Unless you want to take advantage of not-yet-announced features, there's no need to change your app for new OS versions, because of the backwards-compatibility features present in Android.


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Acer a510 touch screen not responding to some fingers
Its more of a touch screen question than an Android question, but it pertains to an Android device so...  I got my Dad an Acer A510 for Christmas and he has been very frustrated with it, especially the touch screen.  I noticed that when he taps the screen it does not respond as readily as when I tap it.  So my question is: do touch screens not respond as well to older (drier) fingers?  He lives in New Mexico, and probably has relatively dry skin.  Alternatively, is he just doing it wrong and skin type has nothing to do with it?

Calibrate the tablet, if that doesn't work it could be a faulfy digitizer or it was made to respond to a stylus

It may be that he's used to older resistive touchscreens (the kind you use with a pointy stylus), and so he's pressing the screen with the tip of the fingernail, instead of with the finger itself. That doesn't work well on capacitive touchscreens unless your fingernails are cut very short.
Also, you're probably right about older, drier fingers having less capacitance and so showing up less well on the screen. Using the 'pad' of the finger instead of the tip might help by giving the screen more finger to work with.
If all else fails, you can get styli for capacitive touchscreens. You can distinguish them by having a rounded, foam tip the size of a finger, instead of a pointed, pen-like tip.


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How to sync photos from Aperture on Mac to Android?
My photos are stored in Aperture on my Mac. I would like to sync them so they show in Gallery on my Nexus 7.
Restrictions:

I want to sync over USB or, preferably, WiFi. Uploading to a cloud server from the computer then pulling them back on the tablet is no use, given the speed of my connection and the number of photos.
If there's something that syncs to a companion Android app rather than Gallery, that app needs to support Daydream so I can have my photos appear in Photo Table when the tablet is locked.
Manually exporting the photos from Aperture to a folder is no good — I need something automatic that will export new photos when they appear in the selected projects / smart albums.
Switching to iPhoto or Lightroom is also not an option :)
As the photos are mostly 14Mp RAW files, converting to JPG is essential; scaling them down to a smaller size would also be useful.

Is there anything that will do what I want? DoubleTwist doesn't support Aperture yet; Missing Sync is expensive and the trial version refused to pair with my tablet in any case, so I can't see if the Aperture sync is any good with that.


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how to sort my contacts from pc on google account to most frequently used. not including the default email list
How can I sort my contact list from my PC to show the most-used contacts or most-recently-used from my Google account without my Android in hand? This does not include the default 20-most-contacted email addresses that Google has.
Basically, how do I sort by most-frequently-used contacts?


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Automatically update all Apps
I have some problems with the update feature for some apps. I cannot update them via Google Play, because there is no "Update" button, only the "Installed" button. However, there is clearly a new version (I've checked the version number of the installed app with the one offered by Google Play). Also, under "My Apps" in Settings, these apps are not listed, even though they are installed and run just fine.
What do I have to do, so that ALL apps can be updated, either automatically or manually through Google Play?
I am using a Nexus S with Android 4.1.2 installed.
Thank you very much for your time!

Have you installed these non-updating apps from the Play store or from other sources (such as alternative stores or downloaded as .APK files)?

Most of them are from alternative sources indeed.

I think Titanium Backup has an option to fix market links for manually installed apps. I haven't used it myself though but its worth the try. I also know some other way to trick Google Play but is of questionable legality, use google if you want to know it.

If these are paid apps that you purchased from a third party market you have to use that market to update them, ie. Amazon Appstore. If they are free apps, look for the under the 'All' tab in Settings/Apps and try to uninstall them the reinstall them from Google Play.

Go to Google Play --> Menu --> My Apps --> Update All
The "update all" should be near the top right corner. The default for most apps is "allow automatic updating". This can be changed for each app from this same screen by clicking on the app and checking the box "allow automatic updating".
BTW sometimes an app requires a manual update. The update all function will leave those out you have to click on each app and hit the UPDATE button.
I do know Google Play will not let you update an app if it thinks the update is not compatible with your version of software or hardware.


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How to get the one-line clock on the lockscreen back on my Xperia running Lollipop?
I've just updated my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact to 5.0.2.
The clock on the lockscreen used to be like this:

but now it's stacked like this (two lines):

Is there a way to keep Lollipop but get the old one-line clock on the lockscreen back?

I own a z2 and about to get lollipop soon, and your post caught my interest. I would hate my lockscreen clock to be stacked vertically too. Did you check in the lockscreen settings under personalization yet?

@Banana I've checked in Settings -> Personalization -> Clocks, but there you can only choose between the two-line "Sony Clock", another digital one (Android default I guess) and an analog one.

you can try long press clock in lockscreen, and you can choose one line clock and analog clock.

Thanks, but that's not the Sony clock with the bold letters. Do you perhaps know of any way to also change that?

Somehow I accidentally switched to analog clock. Firstly I am unable to read analog clocks :), secondly it was causing significant battery drain.

Go to Settings, then lock screen, then Clock Style, then click the one-line option.

Yes, there is. You could use an alternate clock app, like Clock JB, that has the same widget's look and feel. I would recommend any of the Clock apps developed by Moblynx. They have the same look and feel, and can be customized to your liking.
But, if you can't add widgets to the lockscreen, you will have to resort to another lockscreen app. If you want to go for hardcore mods to make it look that way, I would suggest posting a question at the XDA forums. The mods over there might help you out.

Thanks for the tip, but with Android 5, it is apparently no longer possible to put widgets on the lock screen.

@Niko, Is your phone rooted and having Xposed Framework installed?

Press and hold screen until the option to remove apps appears then press the + icon, swipe left until you see clocks and select the format you prefer.
Hope this helps.

When the time is showing on your lock screen, press and hold on the time, and then you can choose from 3 options (Sony clock, digital clock, or analog clock)

I went to settings/personalisation/clocks then changed it to digital clock rather than sony clock

And did that produce the exact result the questioner asked for?

Go to Settings - Lock screen. Under "Display" uncheck "Enable Widgets".

This actually isn't the problem, read the OP, he's talking about the OEM clock.


text:
Disable prompt when sending an SMS that "may cause malicious charges"
Since I got my new phone Lenovo S960, I have a problem when sending an SMS. If I send an SMS to any numbers, it prompts me this message:

Try to send to 0784xxxxxx a sms may cause malicious charges, are you sure to send the sms?

I tried with several messaging apps, but they still give me this prompt message, and it bothers me because everytime I have to tap OK, but sometimes I forget and the message is not sent.

Do all your numbers have a 0 prefixed?

the romanian prefix is 40, so some of them start with +40..but the numbers are saved in the phone strating with 07xxxxx. its like the app sees them like foreign numbers and it is charging roaming fees

When you send an SMS with correct country code, does the message appear too? If it doesn't, then as a "dirty" (but recommended) workaround is to add the country code to all numbers (this is useful if you make a call/send SMS from other country). However, this question is still valid, and someone might know if it's possible to disable it.

On the other hand, is it possible that this is related to SECUREit on Lenovo S960?

I have uninstaled secureit, i have root so i removed it..should i flash a new rom ?