text:
"Android OS" is continuously downloading something in the background, how can I stop that?
My HTC One V (on 4.0 ICS) seems to be continuously downloading something even when it's inactive, and it's using the battery abnormally fast.
My data usage graph:

(click to enlarge)
On the first picture, the brown line is for the "Android OS" element, which as you can see is responsible for at least 60% of the data consumption. I don't know what Android is downloading, but it does it continuously and it has a big effect on my battery's life. When I disable mobile data, the battery usage line becomes flat (see second picture). How can I check what exactly "Android OS" is doing? And how can I disable this activity?
Here is the battery usage graph. As you can see, the line became flat when I've disabled mobile data.

(click to enlarge)

I've found the culprit! I went to Settings > Call > Internet call settings and deleted the SIP account I had once created and forgot. The phone kept reaching the SIP server (probably to check for incoming calls).
I had to install a packet sniffer on the phone (tPacketCapture) to see where the requests where going and realize I had configured a SIP account.

Depending on what apps you have installed, apps like facebook, twitter, google+ and others will download data in the background to keep current when you open the app.
With ICS, you can disable background data usage for specific apps:

(click to enlarge)
this is visible in the system settings -> data usage. you should then see a list of apps that are using data. it will also show the highest usage app. Clicking on the app brings you to a details screen that allows you to disable data usage or background usage.

Thanks Ryan, but unfortunately this checkbox isn't available for the Android OS element.

interesting, i missed the part that it is actually Android OS. if you restart the device, does that continue to be the case?

@Cutter It's not available when you press the settings button while you're on that page?

@ott--I don't have a settings button, but holding the "recent apps" button (which is equivalent to pressing the settings button) has no effect (I don't have a menu popping up).

@ott-- Unless you meant the "View app settings" button, which is grayed out for me too!

@RyanConrad Yes. Do you have that checkbox for Android OS?

Look at http://www.1qaz.de/Screenshot_2012-08-23-00-16-23.png and http://www.1qaz.de/Screenshot_2012-08-23-00-16-34.png - this is from a Nexus S with 4.1.1

I don't have these menu items.

Have you looked at something like Onavo Count to monitor data usage?

I've just installed it. I hope it will give me the details about what Android OS is doing.

It turns out Onavo Count doesn't tell more than "Android OS + others"; that's the name of the app consuming most of the data.

In Apps & notifications -> Advanced -> Special app access -> Unrestricted data, click on the overflow menu (3 dots stacked vertically) and select "Show system". Then turn off background data for all of them.


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Changing end-of-list animation in MIUI
I really like the Samsung / iOS bounce at the end of lists, and I really dislike the overglow animation from Google. And since I'm only using MIUI ROMs, I'm used to being able to set up everything the way I want it, I decided to ask them the question:

And as you can see I received a positive answer. But either it's not true, or I'm completely blind.
The menu option isn't there for me. (I double-checked.) So does anyone know if it's still possible, or why she said this?

Download the MIUI control panel.

So it IS possible. I'm not sure if that's what she meant though. If you'd post this as an answer, I'll mark it as answered.

As Uri seems not to place it in an answer, I will do so -- to help other searchers see there is an answer ;)
As pointed out, there is a MIUI control panel, which should ship with most MIUI ROMs. If it is not included with yours, you will find it in an app called Extended Settings.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Keep the home launcher from being killed
I have a Motorola Milestone, and I've come to learn that it has a relatively low memory (runtime memory, not storage capacity). The problem that comes with this is that whenever too many apps want to run in the background, the android system starts killing stuff, and with my Milestone that happens very easily.
That wouldn't be so bad, if it weren't for the fact that android seems to think the home launcher is the least important app of all (which is absurdly wrong). For instance, right now I have a series of apps poluting the background, some important (like Swype) and some pointless (like Facebook). If I open up even a simple app like Messages or Contacts or Settings the homelauncher gets killed in the background. Once I press the Home button, I am greeted with an empty home screen, and have to wait around 1 or 2 minutes for everything to load again.
This happens with all home launchers I tried, though it happens more easily with the heavier ones. So far, I managed to live with this behavior by religiously avoiding apps that run in the background (as well as widgets).  But this solution is not perfect. It still happens more often than I'd like.
Is there a way to change android's priorities when it comes to killing background apps?  But why does the home launcher rank lower than Google Maps' location service and Facebook's (inactive) uploader  and everything else? I want the home launcher to be last thing that gets killed when memory is low, or as close to last as possible (e.g. it obviously can't rank higher than the currently active app, but you get my point).
I currently have Cyanogen mod 6 installed, but it also happened on the stock android OS, and I am willing to install absolutely ANY custom ROM to solve this issue.

I think ADW Launcher has a setting that should keep the application in memory. Also, CM has a setting to force the OS to keep the launcher in memory. I dont remember where it is at in CM6, but in CM7 it is in Settings -> CyanogenMod Settings -> Performance and it is called "Lock Home in Memory". I don't remember if it was in the same place or if it was called the same in CM6.

This option is helpful but not ideal. It is what I'm using right now (and thanks for pointing it out), but sometimes it causes instabilities and sometimes it crashes the current foreground app.

Any app that stays in memory like you want is going to cause the instabilities you mention. You are forcing the device to keep memory in use for your launcher when it may need to use it for the currently running application.

I understand. That's why I mentioned in the question that the launcher shouldn't have higher priority than the currently running app, but should be higher than the background apps. It's perfectly ok for the launcher to be killed if the active app needs the memory, I just wanted it to be killed after the other background apps have been killed (instead of being the first in line). But it's understandable that such an option just isn't there yet =). Can't have everything.

@BruceConnor, this is probably the one point against the argument that "Android handles memory just fine on its own". I think it does for the most part, it just kills the launcher repeatedly in the process.  Not that a task killer would really help.

Try the v6 Supercharger.
It can make your Homescreen Launcher "Hard To Kill" or "Bulletproof". If you have ICS/JB, be sure to get the ICS/JB version.
Also, be sure to disable the Lock Home in Memory of your launcher (if it has it) before using v6.

Try adding:
ro.HOME_APP_ADJ=1 to /system/build.prop file and reboot (will require root).
Source: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860023

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


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How to recover apps from a factory reset?
I have some apps installed on my device and I want to perform a factory reset. Is there a simpler way to re-install my applications after the reset (with the least possible number of user interventions), without having to search them all in the Market and re-install them again one by one?
Rooting is not a problem.
Thank you in advance.

If you have a 4.x device, the automatic backup/restore found under Settings -> Backup & reset -> Back up my data and Automatic restore options work fine.  It uses Google's own servers to save a list of apps installed on your phone.  After a factory reset once you sign in with the same Google account, it gives you an option to restore those apps.  Keep in mind that if the goal of factory reset is to change the default Google account, you'll need to first add that account to the phone, and change the Backup account to the secondary one you've just added.
On older Android versions the automatic backup/restore was not very reliable, but there are some 3rd-party apps in the Market that can help depending on what exactly your goal is.  If you want to simply re-install apps, then AppBrain along with Fast Web Installer are great.  AppBrain allows you to save the list of your installed apps to their online site, and after a factory reset you would only need to re-install these two apps, sign in, pick the list you created earlier, and it allows you to kick off a process that automatically installs the "missing" apps directly from Market.
If you also need to restore the settings and data associated with those apps, Titanium backup (rooting required) is a better choice.  This app backs up all installed apps and their settings/data to your SD Card.  After a factory reset you install Titanium from Market, and then do a restore.  It can also backup/restore system apps and settings, which can help after a factory reset, but it's generally not recommended to do so, especially if you are planning to install a custom ROM.

Great answer! However, that link to Fast Web Installer is broken. Do you know an alternative?

Unfortunately Fast Web Installer has not worked for a long time, possibly since "Android Market" was re-branded as "Google Play Store".  Google has been making good progress on first-time device activation process in the latest Android versions. Most often, your apps should start installing automatically when you sign in with your Google account on the phone, provided you previously chose to back up installed apps.

I'm running 2.3.5 - is that true for my version?

@TrojanName Difficult to say since I don't have a 2.3.5 device to test this on, but most likely not.  Root and Titanium Backup are your best options.

When you first set up a device it asks you if you want to sync your apps with google servers (I don't remember what it is called). I use that and the market goes and reinstalls all the apps I had installed. Sometimes it skips some here or there, for what ever reason, but for the most part it works well. The only problem is no data is restored with these apps. I also use Titanium Backup sometimes for this. The plus about Titanium Backup is that you can also restore the data, you know, so you don't have to redo all those levels in angry birds again.
The first option does not require root, but I don't know if you can change the setting after the initial setup. TB requires root.
Another option, but it is a bit manual and a little more work then the others, but you can go in to the market website and set them to install on the device.

After doing a factory reset, I was getting a 921 error could not download the apps from the google play store and found this page with helpful advice: http://www.chinatabletshop.com/forum/error---update-for-xxxxx-could-not-be-downloaded-due-to-an-error.-921-fixed/#simple-forum-post-5
If you see the same error, then follow the steps -

Menu > Settings > Personal > Accounts and sync > click on your google account (email)
click 'Remove account'. Don't worry, it's not deleting your physical account. Account related information is still saved in Google.
Launch Google Play Store again
When asked, use existing account to create the google account.
Provide your existing google account information (email & password)
try again to download

While potentially helpful for someone dealing with this issue, your answer doesn't seem to be related to the original question, which was simply "How do I restore apps after a factory reset?"


text:
How can I boost the volume on my Droid's speaker?
I used to have an app for my Treo called "Volume Care" that let me boost the volume of my speaker beyond what the factory settings allowed.  Is there any app or hack that would allow me to push my Droids speaker further than Motorola wants to allow?
Edit: I thought I was clear before, but let me clarify.  I am not looking for just any volume control app, I have one, I know of many, and believe it or not I am capable of searching the market for the word "volume."  I am specifically looking for a solution that will allow me to push the volume out of my speaker past that current manufacturer set limits.
Update: I just added a bounty so I'll add a bit more clarification.  I have seen apps out there that work with HTC phones only.  This solution/app/hack must work on the Original Moto Droid rooted or not, I want a noticeable increase in the volume.

Is this a good idea? I wonder if installing something like this could actually blow out your speaker.

It most definitely could, but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

I'm sure there are music apps that can amplify the song before passing the audio to the system, but you are looking for a system-wide amplification?

Yes, system wide, but I'd be interested to see those granular solutions.

If you root your Droid and install CyanogenMod there is something called DSP Manager included which seems to do what you want. [The link is dead, but the off-shoot projects still exist on GitHub] -- edited by Moderator Firelord.

Magisk modules are the answer to your solution, but which one depends on a trial and error method. Viper4Android & Dolby Atmos are the 2 options that come to mind.

It seems that Android DSP apps all do different things and you'll have to try different ones to see if they work for your particular phone and ROM.  I haven't had any luck tracking down why this is the case, or even what the apps are doing.  One time I even tried modifying a config file that by all appearances controlled volume levels, to no avail.
I have found one that works for my Note II running OctOS L, and it's called Volume Booster.  It's ad supported, and occasionally stops working, but it's great.  I boost about 25 - 30%, which is loud enough to hear music across a room at a decent level.  At that level, there are sometimes some distortions.  Also, I think it negatively impacts phone audio, but since I don't make many calls, I haven't looked into this problem.
Given the distortion, I think that this app meets your requirement to get louder than the manufacturer intended.  I presume that if I boost too much with this app, it will blow the speaker.
From the Play store:

Simple, small, free app to boost your speaker or headphone sound
  volume. Useful for movies, audio books and music.
Use at your own risk. Playing audio at high volumes, especially for a
  prolonged amount of time, can destroy speakers and/or damage hearing.
  Some users HAVE reported destroyed speakers and earphones. If you hear
  distorted audio, lower the volume (but it may be too late).
By installing this application you agree that you will not hold its
  developer responsible for any damage to hardware or hearing, and you
  are using it at your own risk. Consider this to be experimental
  software.
Not all devices support this software. Try it at your own risk and see
  if yours works.
This app does not work on most 4.2.1-4.3 devices. It should work on
  4.4 and higher, as well as on devices below 4.2.1.
This is not for adjusting the speakerphone volume in phone calls (that
  has its own boost, I think), but for adjusting the volume of music,
  movies and apps.
When you set the boost to zero, Volume Booster will be off. The
  notification icon is just for ease of launching. If you don't like
  seeing the notification icon when Volume Booster is off, just go to
  Volume Booster's Settings and set it to appear only when Volume
  Booster is running.

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

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


text:
Cloud Services for Android Phones
I own an RugGear 702 Android phone. All of my apps get downloaded to my phone storage and not the SD card,  even when I select the SD card option form the phone settings. Is it possible to somehow treat apps like cloud services, where all the tasks of applications (or apps) downloading, executing apps, messaging (and other communication services) can be executed from the cloud?

You could install the Android emulator on a server and remote into it.  I also seem to recall the ability to test apps from the Amazon Appstore on their website but I can't find that at the moment.
Android apps aren't built on X-Windowing or anything like that, though, so there's no efficient way to locally display a remote app.  VNC/RDP/etc. is going to be pretty data-intensive, probably slow, and difficult to navigate and control input.


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Lenovo a390 hangs at the boot logo
My Lenovo a390 freezes when I open it. It stops on the Logo 'Lenovo: for those who do.' I removed the battery but it is still hanging on that part. What should I do?

You can try doing the soft or hard reset. Soft Reset is to delete the cache and temporary files that causes your website to get stuck in Lenovo logo. It can be done when phone is at On position, press and hold the Power button for several second, then LENOVO A390 will show the pop-up menu to give option for Reboot the phone. Choose restart/reboot than the LENOVO A390 will do the soft reset or restart.
For hard reset, makes sure that the battery is fully charged. Turn off LENOVO A390 > Press together : POWER + VOLUME UP about several second, that the warning will appear at the LENOVO A390 > Choose: Reset Device or Wipe data or Clear eMMC.
Also, keep in mind that hard reset will result to complete deletion of your applications and data.


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Android 5 Lollipop block Advertising video in a game
I have a "problem" with a game called Geometry Dash Lite, sometime meanwhile I play an advertisement shows and consume a lot of internet bandwidth...
The advertisement is a video of another game (here's a screenshot)

Click for full size
Here's the "stolen" bandwidth image

Click for full size
There is a way (without rooting) to block it? (leaving aside the possibility to complete disable the mobile internet connection)

Without root, your best options would likely be:

Disable your cellular data while playing (assuming the game does not require it)
Purchase the ad-free version


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How can I select multiple images when uploading them to a website?
Does anyone know how to select multiple images when uploading them? I've attached a screenshot of where im trying to use a long press to select multiples but it's not working.

Update: I'm on a work website in an area where I can upload documents to a report.
The image below is what I see when I click upload. I've also attached a second pic that shows what I see when I tap "Gallery". Uploading multiples works well on a PC but not on this tablet. There are a few guys in my company that it seems to work for but they aren't near me and this is something that IT would take forever to get to.
Specs:
Samsung Tab S 8.4 (SM-T700)
Android Version 4.4.2

this is in Gallery ? please edit your question and put more information about current Application, when you try it...anyway, in below i give you some information hope it can help you.

also : http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/97668/select-multiple-files-on-google-drive-app/103577#103577

first Step :
When you open the Gallery, you should see three soft keys at the Button, Share, Delete and More.
Click Share and you should get a pop-up menu. Select your method of sharing. Now, you should see little check boxes in the upper right hand corner of each pic.
 Check whichever pics you want to send. Deleting multiple pics works the same way, except obviously you'd select "Delete" instead of Share.
Example :

Also, this feature maybe added in latest Rom, you need to try it.this reply just for give you more information and acquaintance.
good day.


text:
My SGH-i777 running 2.3.4 is saying my firmware is current, but I don't believe it is
I have a Galaxy S2 SGH-I777 through AT&T. It runs on 2.3.4 Gingerbread and when I try to update my phone says that there are no updates available.
When I try to update through Kies, it says my phone doesn't support initialising. How can I fix this? I want to root my phone but I wanted to update first. Is that smart or should I update after root?

There's some discussion here regarding the Kies error you're getting. Did you get the phone from AT&T or secondhand? Have you ever rooted or modified it before?

i bought the phone secondhand and yes it was rooted. i am just learning about root and what it can do. im not very knowledgeable when it comes 2 all the technical terms so i will do my best 2 keep up with u. i was hoping this issue didnt have anything 2 do with the phone previously being rooted because that would mean the issue im having is probably my fault. i did root the phone and it worked fine for a week or so and i loved it. then apps started force closing everytime i tried using them, the phone was running slow and my text msgs started going haywire.

im sure these were all issues caused by something i had done during the time the phone was rooted. i had no choice but 2 unroot the phone and do a factory reset, which i assumed would fix all. i was incorrect huh? also let me tell u that i did try to update b4 i unrooted and it said the same thing its saying now. but this was another reason i felt i should unroot. i thought if i unrooted i would b able to update but i was again mistaken. i would greatly appreciate any advice u could give me. ive googled this topic over and over but u r the 1st live person ive had contact with n this matter.

i would love to re-root and update the phone but im not sure which order to do it n & idk positively that i havent permanently messed something up. i know ive given u enough 2 think about but one more thing that i want 2 figure out is a wifi issue thats been occuring since the start of the root. i dont expect u 2 tackle all of these issues at once or even at all if u dont want 2 but like i said b4 i definitely need help and id appreciate any advice u can give me.

Your phone has the latest update for its generation. It will receive no more updates for the rest of the time you use it.
In order to "update" your phone, you would have to root it, and then flash a custom rom with an update available for it.


text:
Root galaxy note without extern devices, software or internet
Hi I wondering if I can root my phone (Jelly bean 4.1.2) without computer or else. I want to root it man manually by myself, in other words without any apps or something.
Also, if is possible to root without any zip-packs or additional downloads.
Now I have just a fresh installed andriod, no updates or apps installed, also no google account on it. Now I want to root it without anything or internet access.

If you want to root your device you have to either use a computer or download an APK file trough your android browser.

How exactly to you propose to accomplish this without any external downloads whatsoever? You're basically asking how to build a house, but without any tools, equipment, or lumber. The process requires at least a minimal set of supplies to even be possible.

As I know: Rooting is just switching to the admin mode of the operating system. And for that I usually do not need other devices, internet or software. On Ubuntu and other linux distribution I can also easily switch to root mode without anything? Andriod is linux?

Yes, Android is based on Linux but it is locked down by Google and possibly your carrier because if you accidentally brick or break your device they don't want to be responsible for that. Rooting basically means that you exploit a vulnerablity in Android and unlock the root account.

Android simply isn't designed that way. If it was, then the external tools and hackery wouldn't have a reason to exist. What you're hoping to do is not possible unless you manage to find some kind of huge security vulnerability that's locally exploitable with only the pre-installed apps (and if there was such an exploit, I would expect that someone would have found it by now).

Simply enough: no, there is not. You absolutely, positively will need outside resources. You will need outside tools downloaded to a computer, a USB connection to it, and data pushed to it. The bare minimum that would be possible, which is still not possible with the Note as far as I'm aware, could be rooting it from the phone with downloaded apps that exploit security holes to get through. But again, that would still require Internet and outside tools. There is no way in Android to root without that. It's not like straight Linux where you can visit a CLI and type a few commands and you're there. It's locked down to prevent that.


text:
Inquiry about Galaxy Tab
Can I install any of the software that we can install in an desktop PC? Can I use Adobe Photoshop 3, Adobe Photoshop 5? Can printers be connected through USB to this? Does it support any external USB mouse.? Can I insert a pen drive in it.

This should be split into multiple questions.

The Galaxy Tab runs the Android OS, so no, you won't be able to install any software that is made for a PC (unless they have re-made it for Android).
I do not believe you can connect a printer to it, but there may be ways to print wirelessly (I have no experience with this).
No mouse support that I know of as it is a touch screen device.

For file interchange issues you may use Dropbox. This utility is available for MS-Windows, Mac OS X and Linux (and even iPhone); you will get a folder, which is synchronized between any of your machines. It's very comfortable, you can organize your shared file set on a desktop machine, then you have just wait for a while to appear it on your Android device. I think it's more comfortable than using a pendrvie. (Dropbox is a commercial service, but you get 2 Gbyte space for free.)
For iPhone and iPad, which devices have no SD card slot nor any other way to exchange files with computers, it's a life saving solution.
For using desktop software on your Android device, you should try some kind of remote desktop, like VNC. I haven't tried, but it seems that it works.

In addition to Bryan's answers - the very last question - No, you can't connect a USB flash drive.

Here is a review that should clear up all of your questions. Except whether or not it would run Photoshop (ANY version) and the simple answer is no, it will not run any windows or Mac software. I don't even think there is an emulator, but I may be wrong. Either way it doesn't have the hardware to run both an emulator and Photoshop, it would probably not run Photoshop effectively even if there was a native version. There is also no USB port of any kind, not even micro; it charges through a Samsung proprietary cable.

There is a Photoshop for Android, but it's more like a crippled version of MS Paint :P

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


text:
Why does phone keep switching off?
I have an HTC Desire Z which I have bought 3 months ago and I usually use it for phone calls. I don't have many apps in it. Sometimes when I call from my phone it switches off and then I have to remove and reinsert the battery to restart it.
What could be going wrong here? I have Android version 2.2 on my phone.

Sounds like a kernel panic.

Wats the solution?

Hacker solution: Root it and flash a new kernel. Mainstream consumer solution: Restore to factory settings and see if that helps, or go to your wireless carrier store and have them flash your phone.

@kchau Feel free to post that as an answer.

Hacker solution: Root it and flash a new kernel.
Mainstream consumer solution: Restore to factory settings and see if that helps, or go to your wireless carrier store and have them flash your phone.

Install Battery Monitor Widget, and the companion app Process Monitor Widget.
These will display and log the battery temperature and CPU usage respectively.
Process Monitor will also let you see a list of the most active processes.
This may help you learn what's happening on the phone before you go as far as restoring factory settings or flashing.


text:
How can I set up a new Outlook.com account using a Hotmail account?
How can I setup a new outlook.com account in the Android mail application?
Outlook.com only supports Exchange ActiveSync, when I try to automatically create an account in the mail app it uses smtp.live.com (because my login is a hotmail account).
What should I change the server settings to in order to use outlook.com's exchange servers?
I am using a Sony Xperia P which is currently stuck on Android 2.3.7. It appears to support Exchange ActiveSync.

Specifying your device may actually be relevant here (though I'm not sure). Some manufacturers have had poor support for Exchange in their email applications in the past. Most notably, Motorola essentially broke it with an update once.

I have updated the post with my phone. @RichardBorcsik you can add an outlook.com account using a hotmail.com login?

I manually setup an Exchange ActiveSync account with the following settings:
Domain: *blank*
Username: myname@hotmail.com
Password: ***********
Server: snt-m.hotmail.com
Use secure connection (SSL): *checked*
Accept all SSL Certificates: *unchecked*

Please Use the settings below for your outlook.com account.


text:
Android running tweetdeck notifications when not running
I downloaded Tweetdeck for my new Galaxy S 3 and when it is not running in the task list or in the app manager | running apps it still notifies me of new tweets. How can I see this task running and how to disable it? I don't see it in services or in the Tweetdeck options to disable background services.

Did you check the running services (a separate item in setup -> applications on most Android systems)? The app might have registered a background service, which has no "front end" (visible part), and thus is not listed with the "running apps".

In Tweetdeck, each column has separate notification and update settings.    Tap the menu key, then Column Settings.     Switch notify off, and set your desired update interval, or move the slider all the way to the right to select "Manual".

Thanks. Guess when that is checked it just Runs in the background unless all are disabled.


text:
Camera button reassign function
So my power button broke on my droid 1 (yes old phone). Until I can get a new phone soon, I need a better way to lock and unlock my screen. Sliding up and down the keyboard slows down everything.
Is there an app or a way that lets me re-assign my physical camera button to do this?

Yes, there is. The first one coming to mind (forgive me, it looks like this is one of my standard answers here meanwhile) is Tasker, the most complete automation tool for Android. It lets you define actions based on events; so for your case, you could let the event Hardware -> Camera button pressed trigger the action "Display off".
You want to turn it on again the same way -- so simply make it two "profiles", and combine two events: "Camera button pressed" & "State -> Display: On" (with the "task" to turn the display off), and with "Display: Off" the other way round.
Remark: There's a 7 day trial version available on the developers website, so you don't need to buy Tasker straight away without being able to test it. As soon as you've got everything configured, export your configuration. So if after those 7 days you still cannot decide whether to buy, simply uninstall Tasker, install it again, and import your configuration. Before you hit me: That's what the developer himself wrote, so nothing illegal.

You are very welcome -- glad I could help!

You could try Camera Touch-Free.

Description
Solution for touch phones that did not have hardware camera button..
Making shots on touch phone without touches
Just use hardware buttons "Volume Up" or headset..
Use "Volume Down" hardware button for exit from application..

This isn't what I was asking. I was asking for an app that would let me reassign my hardware camera button to be a lock/unlock button. I solved it before, and not only that this was on an old device i had in 2012


text:
How to take Motorola Photon 4g out of the grave?
Recently I ordered Motorola 4g from US.... It was with stock Sprint Sunfire OS.
OS       : Sunfire-2.3.5
Baseband : 4.5.1A (I am not sure about this whether its baseband or revision)
Build    : 1_SUN-254_4

NOW ITS DEAD.... running in RSD Mode
So what I did, I was trying to install custom rom on that. Steps I had taken

Rooted phone via installing SuperUser and various rooting methods like ClickOnce, Photon -Torpedo but no one seems successful , while executing I got errors everytime. But after day or two I came to know about that my phone is rooted. As I was getting SuperUser popups on root operations. Then I installed CWM and tried to install the ROM from there but everytime I got stucked at Yellow Triangular icon (recovery mode).
Repeated step on rooting process and unlocking the bootloader by applying pudding.rar and fastboot commands and every time i got the error and Starting RSD Screens, but anyhow my phone recovers itself to its original boot state afetr pulling out battery and manually restrating.
Finally one day I use some other Recovery Tool , i am unable to recall the name. It installed and rebooted successfully in the recovery mode. I then wipe the dalvik cache, wipe factory reset and then tried to installl the custom rom that MIUI 2.68 i think . I was happy to see some designer screens on my phone and then it said rom installed successfully.
I then reboot my phone and found it in the Failed To Start2 , Starting RSD mode

I tried various way to restore...

Installing pudding.rar using RSD lite but everytime I got sec_exception : sec_exception : b655, eddc,eb
I then tried reinstalling SBF : 1FF-sunfire-user-2.3.4-4.5.1A-1_SUN-198_7-CM-release-keys-signed-Sprint-US.sbf and sunfire-2.3.5-4.5.1A-1_SUN-254_4 but while enumerating phone
I got error  sec_exception febe 4e 4e

I have also tried nopudding4u.sbf but the same result.
Please,, help me and my phone out .. as its going to be more than a week... i feel handicaaped...
Please guide me through the step by step  , which file and when and please do provide the links of the files to download.
**Update OTA with 2.3.5 before murdering.....**

I got it back. For answer check the XDA Forum with same question.. ANybody in same condition .. please visit the link..

Which link? I would be nice if you could add the information here too, in order to prevent link rot.

@Flow : thanks for pointing out the missing part.


text:
What is material is the HTC Nexus One Screen made out of?
Some say it is plastic, others insist it's glass. Wikipedia provides shady information.

The screen is glass. Since the release people were having issues with the screen due to the glass sometimes cracking when in tight pockets... this would usually not occur with plastic since plastic is a little bit more flexible.

HTC says broken glass means Nexus One not for pocket
Design: Solid, but Not Groundbreaking


text:
Does 'poor' reception deplete the battery quicker?
In the area where I live I sometimes have trouble with reception. The Internet stops working for me or it takes time to load pages. The phone tries and tries to connect.
It seems to me that when this is happening it depletes the battery much more quickly. Is my observation correct?

Cell signal
To add to ce4's answer: You can check that for yourself. If you take a look at your battery stats (they are always at a little different place in the system menu: Sometimes in the main menu, other times under phone info), it lists the apps which used most of your battery. One of the highest consumers in there is most likely your display -- and close to it you'll find an item cell standby (sometimes called phone standby). This describes how much battery was used to "keep the signal". Check that in times of good reception versus those of bad reception and see how much it differs.
Network stuff
This can even be "multiplied" if you have many apps running services to poll information from the net permanently -- like email apps using IMAP idle, or some social chat app keeping a push connection. It looks like the same is happening here: it tries hard to keep the connection, and thus pushes the cell radio further. Due to the bad reception, the connection gets slow, and those services keep longer "wake locks" (keeping the CPU alive to complete their task), which again eats battery.
How to find out if your reception was good?
The system does in fact provide this information (at least from Android 2.3/Gingerbread on), in the very same battery statistics mentioned before. On top of the first page you find a small graph1: tap on it, it brings up a bigger one2.

The screenshots are in German, but you still can tell the details: In the first1, you see the cell standby titled "Mobilfunk-Standby" right next to the Display, as said before. On top of that is mentioned "mini-graph". That tapped brings you to the page where you find the second image2 at the bottom. Here take a look at the first graph, titled Telefonsignal (phone signal). "The greener the cleaner": A bright green means "good reception" (the screenshot shows this at the begin and end, that is here: morning and evening -- so at home I have good reception). Getting yellowish: "Moderate reception". This uses more energy: compare it with the graph on top of it (not in the screenshot -- but the same as in the first screenshot), and you see the bar is almost flat where the cell signal is good -- but falls faster where it's not. See the little red spots: "no reception". And phone will power-up like crazy to find a new cell tower...
How to find out where the dead spots are?
Here we need to use 3rd party tools. I will mention two of them here: No Signal Alert3 and OpenSignalMaps4. Both can alert you when entering a "dead zone":

No Signal Alert lets you view a log of cell state changes, plus can show you a map of where the dead zones were3. OpenSignalMaps has the plus of showing you all cell towers in reach4, pointing out which you are connected to. It also offers you a "compass" giving the direction to the strongest signal.
How to automatically deal with those dead zones?
There are some little helpers available which watch your signal. If it drops or gets lost, they simply switch the radio off (so it cannot further power up searching a non-existing signal) -- and periodically activate it again to check whether the situation has improved. One of them is Battery Saver5, which also lets you define profiles so you can easily switch other things like Wifi. Then there are more powerful "automaters" like e.g. GreenPower free battery saver6, which even manage a lot more. And these two are not the only ones...

Great explanation and points to look at!

Yes, it does cost you more power.
The transceiver circuit is engineered with power saving in mind and will reduce sending power as much as possible if the reception is good. This also reduces the SAR value which is a measurement for exposure of the human body to radiation.
If the reception is bad sending signal strength has to be adjusted accordingly.
Additionally:
The underlying protocols are also designed to retransmit packages in case of a corrupted transmission. This might have an extra impact on your battery too.


text:
Where is the official location to conduct feature requests?
I often have moments where I have improvement ideas for the Android OS, but don't know where to direct those suggestions.  What forum, group, mail list, site, app, etc. is used for official feature requests for the Android OS?

The Android Bug Report system.
Search to see if someone has already suggested the feature, then submit your idea using the feature request template.

Thanks, I don't think I could have positively identified this as the correct location on my own.  The Android community seems a bit diluted by all the clone websites out there.

Well, android.com is the official Android domain, although it's primarily for developers.


text:
With Maps 6.12 Latitude seems to have vanished?
After updating, the Latitude widget seems to have vanished. And from Maps, I can't get to my Latitude friends anymore.
I can't find any notes about this online, in reports or on Google pages.
In the comments in the Play Store, others have mentioned this as well.
Is there a way to get this back, or is it running still in the background? Some sort of release note?

According to the Google Product Forums with Google Maps for Android 6.10 the Latitude widget is no longer available. You can view your friends' locations quickly by touching the Latitude icon, or by turning on the Latitude layer in Google Maps.

Do you know if there is still a way to get a shortcut on my Home Screen to the Latitude screen of Maps?

Basically Latitude has been integrated into Google Maps, so there is no shortcut just to Latitude.  You have to access it through your Google Maps shortcut.

Too bad. I thought maybe they added something like in Gmail where you can create Shortcuts to different Labels.


text:
Persist Background Process Limit setting
Is it possible to persist the Background Process Limit setting? It's lost upon reboot and reverts to Standard Limit.
Settings \ Developer Options \ Background process limit
Android 4.0.3

Do not think its meant for persisting... See Dianne Hackborn's comment
Also had a mosey around the ICS source code found in packages/apps/Settings/src/com/android/settings/DevelopmentSettings.java
Source code to the related screen, found on Android's github.
By looking for the variable that is associated with Settings > Developer Options > Background Process Limit (see line number 103)  and (See line number 215) called mAppProcessLimit.
With that in mind, keep looking further down in the source, the routine that is responsible for saving the settings for this particular screen called onPreferenceTreeClick.
That is, in programming parlance, called a "listener" that is monitoring the changes made on that screen and writes it out immediately to the backing store by Android. (See between line numbers 790 and 858)
Unfortunately, the "listener", in this case, does not have a reference to the persisting/saving of the value for that variable mAppProcessLimit; which is what the OP is experiencing, set it for the duration of when the handset is alive, then upon reboot, it gets lost.
In short, you cannot do anything about this as that is built straight from the oven, and bundled onto your handset, but with that in mind, you can roll-your-own-custom ROM variant of ICS with a modified version of the source to do that.

Any updates to this in newer versions of Android?

I have written a small android app that can be used to set the process limit by using Java Reflection to access the internal API. On Android 4.0 you don't even need to install it as a system app. This is required for Android 4.2 or so onward.
https://github.com/flode/SetAndroidProcessLimit
Thank you @t0mm13b for the internal API reference ;)


text:
Why aren't there notifications for updates to built-in applications?
On July 29th, Google released an update for the Gmail application, that brought it to version 2.3.5. Since I had version 2.3.4, I was expecting to be notified of the update shortly as I had for updates to other applications including ones that came pre-installed on my phone, such as Google Maps.
Alas, I still haven't received the notification, even though I can see the update available in the market (yes, I realise I can download it manually).
I have since surmised (though this is a guess on my part) that the difference is that gmail is considered a "built-in" app, but Google Maps, while pre-installed on my device, is not considered built-in.
Is this right?
If it is, why are built-in apps treated this way? Is there a technical reason, or are they somehow considered more sacrosanct, because of their status n the platform?
Update:
Apparently, the SDK doesn't list Google Maps as built in, but it does list the "email" app.  Furthermore, Google Maps is listed as a "Downloaded App" but Gmail isn't.

Is it possible that it autoupdated?

@PortableWorld no the version is still 2.3.4. Should it auto-update?

Since it is a built in app, I don't know. Hard to say since the autoupdating option is inside the Market Place. My Gmail app doesn't show up in the Market Place. Good question. Hope someone provides an answer.

I can confirm that Maps is a system app on my phone, as well as a couple apps I've downloaded manually from the Market, e.g. Flash.  The link you added shows apps that come with the Android emulator -- no Google apps like Gmail, Maps, or the Market come with the emulator.

If the app has never been updated via the market (you are still using the version that was bundled in the ROM) then there's no link between the market and the installed app. Because of that, you won't get update notifications. Once you install a newer version from the market you will begin to receive notifications of future updates.

I don't think so ... I do not recall ever needing to manually search out and install Gmail, it's just showed up in My Apps. Market linkage can be part of a ROM as well.

Google Maps is generally a system app as well.  There's another question where the user had GMail update automatically despite having auto-updates shut off.  So as far as we know, Google pushed this update out specially just like they push out Market updates.  Perhaps there was a critical security fix or something like that.

Interesting, that other asker had the update pushed, but I haven't. I wonder what the difference is? If there was security fix, I would definitely want to know about it.

@zdan Google tends to do rolling updates, so it could just be that you hadn't been hit yet. Or network issues, some configuration thing not quite right on your phone ... probably lots of things could be the cause.


text:
Why does accepting Calendar invites open a browser? Can I prevent it?
I'm on an unrooted Galaxy Nexus, and using stock Gmail and Calendar apps on Android 4.1.1. But I am using Chrome rather than the stock browser.
When I get a invite from a Gmail user to my Gmail account, it appears with "Yes/Maybe/No" option links and an invite.ics attachment (which doesn't do anything: "No app can open this attachment for viewing").

Clicking one of "Yes/Maybe/No", whether I have already done so or not,  opens Chrome with a warning "You are trying to use the desktop version of Google Calendar from a mobile browser [...] use the mobile version instead?"

If I click "OK" I get the mobile browser version of Calendar, but it's a view of today's appointments. There is no mention of the event I've responded to or any confirmation message about my response having been registered.
If I click "Cancel" I get the desktop version of Calendar showing the details of the appointment and a messaging confirming the response I have sent.

In either case, the event is in my calendar; the invite remains in my inbox.

I guess the core of my question is whether I can prevent the browser opening at all - surely the mechanics of accepting invites should be performed in the Calendar app and thus work offline?
Note that this question is about invites from Google Calendar and not about handling .ics files in general.

There is very little you can do! The calendar application is wired up to trigger a open intent to the web browser to accept the invites, its written up in the package's manifest.
<activity android:name="GoogleCalendarUriIntentFilter" android:label="@string/app_label"
    android:theme="@android:style/Theme.NoDisplay"
    android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden">

    <intent-filter
       android:priority="50">
       <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
       <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
       <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
       <data android:scheme="http" android:host="www.google.com" android:pathPrefix="/calendar/event" />
       <data android:scheme="https" android:host="www.google.com" android:pathPrefix="/calendar/event" />
       <data android:scheme="http" android:host="www.google.com" android:pathPattern="/calendar/hosted/.*/event" />
       <data android:scheme="https" android:host="www.google.com" android:pathPattern="/calendar/hosted/.*/event" />
    </intent-filter>
</activity>

Source: packages/apps/Calendar/src/com/android/calendar/GoogleCalendarUriIntentFilter.java

I had the same problem and I did the following: on the mobile devices Settings/Apps/Calendar. Clear Cache and Data. Relaunch Calendar and now when I tap Yes/Maybe/Now Gmail sends the reply automatically, without redirecting me to the mobile browser. Hope this helps.

Just tried this on 5.1 (CM12.1) and it works perfectly.

If you go to Setting\Apps\Chrome and scroll down to "Launch by default" and hit "Clear defaults" it will stop automatically opening in Chrome and will ask you which app to open it with when you hit "Yes/Maybe/No". However, if you try to open with Calendar it still goes to the browser with the same issue.
One workaround I have found - there is an app called Invitation Plugin. It allows you to open the invite.ics from Gmail and view the event directly in Calendar.
It's a work around for a problem that didn't exist in Ice Cream Sandwich but now does exist in Jelly Bean and really shouldn't exist at all but at least it's a simple and effective work around.


text:
Other manufacturer's USB data cable for charging?
Is there any harm in using a USB data cable of any other phone (say LG) for charging up a Nexus S? "Any harm" here means will it adversely effect my battery life or the Nexus S device in any way?

USB data cables are pretty much interchangeable. Even on devices that have modified sockets to allow connecting a headset cable to the USB port, you can usually still use a normal USB cable for charging and data with no harm to the device.

I use an old Nokia cable on occasion with no problems.

What you might want to watch out for though are dollar-store chargers (either AC or car)... not really sure how the regulation on those is.

My HTC Desire and Kindle share the same style USB connector which is handy while traveling, I wish everyone would standardize on the same connector :)

Apple-related, but relevant to @ChrisStratton's comment: http://www.righto.com/2014/05/a-look-inside-ipad-chargers-pricey.html (related to chargers, not cables).

As far as I know, Nexus S uses the so called micro-USB cable, the same my Galaxy 5 does.
This is very good, because you can buy a generic cable like that in retail stores or shops that sells electronic stuff. I did so a few days after I bought my cell phone, and it costed the equivalent of US$4.00 in my country (Chile).


text:
Downgrading Galaxy S6 from Nougat to Marshmallow
Having problems rolling back to Android 6.
I put the phone into Download Mode (switching on with Home + Power + Volume down followed by Volume up)
Connect to Odin 3 v3.12 (and get Added!!)
Add in the md5 file to the AP section (which takes a few minutes)
When I hit Start it instantly fails with this stack trace....
Get PIT for mapping..

Firmware update start..

SingleDownload.

sboot.bin

Fail

Complete(Write) operation failed.

All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

On the S6 screen I get...
SW REV. CHECK FAIL. DEVICE: 5, BINARY: 4

Most Samsung devices don't permit a downgrade since the bootloader is the latest with new OS and that prevents a downgrade

Could I ask why you want a downgrade?

Android 6 devices are on our list of supported devices and want them to run this OS rather than 7 for testing/support.

Please show us your full current firmware version, e.g. G920FXXU5EQF1. Refer to this answer for a brief explanation on bootloader level and its effect on downgrading.

Unfortunately, all Nougat firmwares (and even some late Marshmallow ones) are already on bootloader level 5, therefore downgrading through official means is impossible. It might be possible to load the device up with a custom recovery, then flash a custom ROM based on Marshmallow, but compatibility isn't guaranteed.

G920FXXU5EQAC is the current firmware.

@chris_elevate Then no go. The screen already tells you that by showing the red alert Device: 5, Binary: 4. As I said, if you don't mind warranty void, you can always try custom ROMs and see if they'd work.


text:
How can I make the GMail app open to the accounts page when using multiple accounts
When I open the Gmail application, it opens the last inbox I looked at. Is there a way to make it always open to the "Accounts" page instead?
I have an HTC incredible 2 if that matters.

Could not find a way to do this every time the app starts. I did discover that if multiple accounts have new messages at the same time, the app starts on the "Accounts" page.
It seems when you start the app it opens the account with new messages automatically, and only opens the "Accounts" list if multiple accounts contain new messages.


text:
How do I fix "Unknown reason -110"?
Whenever I try to install/upgrade an application, I get an "Installation Error: Unknown reason -110" message.  What does this error mean, and how do I fix it?
HTC Incredible 2 [Verizon Wireless]
Edit:
Updating/installing Market apps.  889MB available internal storage.
Cleared cache and data on both Market & Download manager applications.
Is there anything I can do, besides a hard reset?

From the Market only or all installs?  How much free space do you have?

@Matthew: See edits.

A hard reset solved the issue.


text:
Music App changes track after 40 seconds on rooted phone
I recently rooted my htc desire and installed cyanogenmod 7.0.3 and now whenever I use the music app it will play the first 40 seconds of a track then there is a long pause and the next track starts.  This happens both with and without headphones plugged in. Can anyone suggest what might cause this and how to fix it.
EDIT after upgrading to cyanogenmod 7.1 I started to get Force Close after 40 seconds on DSP manager.
EDIT 2 I have cleared the data on the music app and tried alternative music apps and the problem persists, also as I said it happens with or without headphones so it's not headphone related.
EDIT 3 This problem seems to be specific to ogg files.
EDIT 4 The problem occurs with winamp, songbird and the built in music player but not PowerAMP

This could be way off, but I know many music players have an Intro mode that will play first part of song.

Have you tried clearing the data for that app?

Possibly similar: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/11607/problems-with-music-playback-music-file-corrupt

Do you have the same problems with video files?

I haven't got any video on my phone to test with.  I'll see if I can find something appropriate.

Col, without some additional information, I can only give one real suggestion.
Did you install CyanogenMod correctly? Whenever installing a custom ROM on a phone when coming from a stock or older / different custom ROM, you need to wipe:
-Cache
-Data
-Dalvik Cache
If you go to the CyanogenMod Forums, you'll see this is question/step 1 in remedying any bug/glitch caused by CM.
The best way to do this is to go into your phone's Settings menu, go to Privacy (or wherever HTC puts it - maybe Storage), and do a full factory reset. If you moved from stock, CM6, or another ROM to CM7 without conducting a FULL wipe, there is no point in attempting to troubleshoot this problem until you have. Make a Nandroid backup in ClockworkMod, and perform a full factory reset (whether in the Settings menu or in the Clockwork Recovery UI), please. Please note that I am not saying return to the stock ROM, just wipe everything. If this doesn't work (which I'll be surprised if it doesn't), then there may be other issues.

I'm afraid I did do the wipe when I installed, I actually did the update again just to make sure after I first found the problem. I went straight to CM7.0.3 from the stock rom at which point I did the full wipe and then from there to 7.1-RC1 when I did the dalvik wipe but not the full wipe.

Well, what format are the songs you're attempting to play? MP3? Bitrate? Do the files play fine on your computer?

They're ogg files, at 128kbps. They play fine on a PC and were fine on the phone until the upgrade

Does the problem happen with MP3 files?

The problem doesn't seem to happen with mp3 files.


text:
Heimdall errors, "ERROR: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device."
When trying to flash a Galaxy S3 (ATT), I get

ERROR: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device.

below is the log,
$ sudo heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery.img
Heimdall v1.4.0

Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
ERROR: Failed to detect compatible download-mode device.

Start off by making sure that you're plugged into a USB 2.0 port. Then,
put the device in download-mode,

$ sudo adb reboot download

continue flashing with heimdall,

$ sudo heimdall flash --RECOVERY recovery.img

That should work,
Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.

Beginning session...

Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!

Session begun.

Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.

Uploading RECOVERY
100%
RECOVERY upload successful

Ending session...
Rebooting device...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

I don't see how the error is related to the answer. Usually when heimdall tells you that there is 'no device in download mode' then it is unable to find a device. This can be caused because the permissions of the device's USB node, which prevent the user running heimdall to access the device node.

Oh I just saw the sudo before the heimdall command. Well this would fix the error of course. Maybe you want to point that little fact out in your answer.

Or using heimdall with a device in download mode and restrictive device node permissions could cause this error. Then sudo will "fix" it.

This error message, like most error messages, can have more then one cause.

What's wrong with USB 3? I tried everything, then noticed the first sentence!

adb reboot download gives "error: device not found" for me.

Got the same issue years later, and solved it by.. using another USB cable!
Indeed, some USB cables are only made for energy transfer and do not support data transmission
You may also want to test other USB ports and check if your device is detected with lsusb

One possible explanation is that you have confused recovery mode and download mode which are (I have just discovered) two different things on some phones, mine included.  I had the same error and switching to download-mode fixed it.

Install Teamwin recovery
put in recovery mode
wipe everything
fix system partition
reboot from recovery into download mode
now flash
worked for me

The question was asked in 2013, for this to be a valid answer you're going to have to elaborate. Include bullet point instructions, and screenshots.


text:
Heimdall errors, "ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT."
When I try to flash my S4 with Heimdal and put on clockworkmod, i get the follow,
$ sudo heimdall flash --recovery ./clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img --no-reboot
Heimdall v1.4.0

Copyright (c) 2010-2013, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.

Beginning session...

Some devices may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!

Session begun.

Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.

ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT.
Ending session...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

So why is it telling me,

ERROR: Partition "recovery" does not exist in the specified PIT.

possible duplicate of Heimdall errors, "Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!"

This is because the command you used to invoke heimdall was,
heimdall flash --recovery

And, heimdall is caps sensitive, try this instead.
heimdall flash --RECOVERY ./clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img --no-reboot

If you get ERROR: Failed to receive handshake response. Result: -7 after an earlier attempt, reboot the device and try this heimdall --RECOVERY ... command again.

My partition was not called recovery but "SOS". You can check it by doing: heimdall print-pit --verbose from a terminal while the tab is in Download mode.
I flashed my p7510. Gist: https://gist.github.com/pskiden/6311605


text:
Heimdall errors, "ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!"
Using Heimdall v1.4 RC1 to flash Clockworkmod Recovery on a Samsung S4, I get the following,
$ sudo heimdall flash --RECOVERY ./recovery.img --no-reboot
Heimdall v1.4 RC1

Copyright (c) 2010-2012, Benjamin Dobell, Glass Echidna
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/

This software is provided free of charge. Copying and redistribution is
encouraged.

If you appreciate this software and you would like to support future
development please consider donating:
http://www.glassechidna.com.au/donate/

Initialising connection...
Detecting device...
Claiming interface...
Attempt failed. Detaching driver...
Claiming interface again...
Setting up interface...

Checking if protocol is initialised...
Protocol is not initialised.

Initialising protocol...
Protocol initialisation successful.

Beginning session...
Session begun.

In certain situations this device may take up to 2 minutes to respond.
Please be patient!

Downloading device's PIT file...
PIT file download successful.

Uploading RECOVERY
100%
ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence!
ERROR: RECOVERY upload failed!

Ending session...
Releasing device interface...
Re-attaching kernel driver...

I've even tried two different builds of Clockworkmod,
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ecarroll ecarroll 6.8M Aug 11 23:23 clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img
-rw-rw-r-- 1 ecarroll ecarroll 6.8M Aug 12 00:02 recovery-clockwork-6.0.3.2-jfltespr.img

$ md5sum *clock*
c95fac4d0e27fcb0c3355f209e62cd9c  clockworkmod_6.0.3.2_jfltespr.img
760cbf5a3b157ab23f49fcf40b46db2f  recovery-clockwork-6.0.3.2-jfltespr.img

This is a because of a bug in Heimdall v1.4 RC1 -- the version that shipped with Ubuntu 13.04. What you'll want to do is upgrade Heimdall to version 1.4 final, or the latest version..
That should do it. Run heimdall info | head -n1 to get your current version.

I'm still getting this in heimdall v1.4.1

I've been struggling with upgrading my Galaxy Tab P1000 from 2.2 Froyo to CyanogenMod 9 using the official documentation from CyanogenMod.
Heimdall always failed with the message ERROR: Failed to confirm end of file transfer sequence! (Final version 1.4 in Windows and Linux).
Unfortunately, Samsung Kies did not want to upgrade firmware to 2.3 Gingerbread. So I desperately tried Odin. And voila - I got 2.3.6 running.
Curious as I am, I tried again with heimdall. This time, heimdall succeeded with installing recovery. :D  Unfortunately, I got an error when installing any CM image /dev/block/stl11 and /dev/block/stl10 were unmountable. Something was still wrong.
Finally I found this reference, and it worked well. :)

Thanks for sharing, Torsten! But as a link bears the danger to "expire", could you please [edit] your answer and include an excerpt – so your answer stays useful even in that case?


text:
Where the system updates get installed in HTC explorer?
I am seeing a message on my taskbar System updates are available. When I am tapping to that message it is showing some 29 MB updates. I am running sort of internal memory, so every-time I am postponing the updates to later(I think it will consume 29 MB internal memory). Is this  true that on installing the updates will consume internal memory? I am using HTC explorer having gingerbread(2.3) version of Android.

I think in many cases updates are to the system partition. The storage on your phone is split across different partitions, the system one is not where you download third party apps to and usually run out of space. So anything an update does on the system partition would not count against you, unless it repartitioned the storage to give system more room, which is rare and usually only heard of in bizarre cases where the device just couldn't support a newer version of Android any other way.
Please make sure you have gone through the list of apps in your settings and moved any that you can to your SD card, by the way, if you have one. If your phone is rooted, there are other options as well, such as removing system apps that have been updated and are using space in the usual user partition for their update data, etc..


text:
No audio out with headphones
When I plug a headphone into my Nexus' audio port, the headphones simply don't play any sounds or music. The device seems to detect them, because the built-in sound output stops working. I tried it with another headphone and it didn't work either. There is no error log output.
It really sucks, because I can't hear any music.
How can I solve it?
(Galaxy Nexus with stock Jelly Bean)

Have you ensured that the volume level is high enough? I have found that sometimes the volume level without headphones is too quiet when used with the headphones. If that's not it, then you have a hardware fault and should return the device for warranty repair/replacement.

@All Everett I turned the volume up to maximal possible value. :(

Well, if you're sure those headphones work, then it sounds like you have a faulty device.

It sounds correct but I'm not looking forward to order a new device and download all my apps again' although I still have my warranty

I keep hoping that there is an easier solution.

A co-worker had this problem with his Galaxy Nexus. He had to send it in to samsung 3 times... Turned out it was a hardware issue. He couldn't make any calls without headphones or speaker phone.

I found the Samsung Nexus S's "auto-off" detector switch to be faulty on mine.  If I merely twist the headphone cable in the socket, it stops playback as if I had unplugged them.

I own an OG Droid and a Droid Bionic and both phones eventually had similar audio jack problems.
On one phone I found the issue to be a wad of dust crammed in the jack which I had to fish out with a [enter your choice of small pointy tool].
It could be a result of the internal contact points being pushed back from repeated tension. This would weaken the contact with the audio cable. In your particular case I don't think this is true however.
Other things you can try:

Pull the audio cable in and out several times wiggling it and testing it. (Ideally you'd want to test it with something that plays audio continuously so you don't have to keep hitting play)
Getting a different and potentially better quality audio cable to test with.
You can also try resetting to factory default which may help if the problem is software related. (As long as you have a google account synced with your phone, all your apps will be automatically re-downloaded)
If all else fails, take it back to the phone manufacturer or your phone service provider. They should be able to fix it for a reasonable price.
There is the option of trying to fix it yourself but that isn't recommended if you are uncomfortable working with small/delicate electronics, not to mention voiding your warranty.

I also had this problem. I thought something was wrong. As soon as I inserted the headphone jack the sound got cut off and there was no sound coming thru the headphones. I tried pressing the volume button and found that it was turned all the way down by default. Now there is no problem

My fix was to first play the media/music like first put a song or first open a game , when the sound is playing plug in the headphones or earphones

I faced a similar issue. Tried increasing, decreasing volume.. removed, put back headphones... nothing worked.. So.. did a restart of Samsung S7 Edge and it started working...


text:
Japanese language for directions in Google Maps
I am using Android 4.0 and latest version of Google Maps. The interface is in English. When I search for direction to some place say Kyoto, the interface is in mixed English and Japanese. See the attached screenshot to understand what I mean.

How do see the destination names in English?

It's not possible to get it in English. You will always get the text as it is "locally". It's also a known annoyance.

Try installing Morelocale 2 and setting the locale to one of the English speaking countries or yet better define a new locale with language en and locale JP.


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Leaving work profile for Tasker
I'm using Tasker, and maybe I'm just trying too hard, but I can't seem to set up multiple conditions in the way that I want to. Here's what I'm trying to do:
From M - F (8AM - 5PM), set the phone to silent mode... which is pretty easy. After 5PM rolls around though, I want to kick on the GPS/Network location listener.
If I have left the office, then I want to go ahead and switch off the silent profile, and back to normal. If I haven't yet left the office, I'd like the task to sleep for 15 minutes, and then try again (sometimes I work late).
It's the combination of these two separate tasks that I cannot seem to make work together. Can anyone help me out here?

First, you might have problems kicking on GPS without root. Is your device rooted, and if so, what ROM (stock or custom?) are you running? Everything else shouldn't be that hard to do. I could give you a raw skeleton after you provided these details, so you only would be left with the fine-tuning afterwards. PS: I took the liberty for a little re-formatting of your question to make it easier to read -- hope I got it right. If not, feel free to correct it again :)

Thank you for updating my question, it is a bit more straight-forward now. My phone is rooted. Running a stock JB that's deodexed (GSM Galaxy Nexus)

Now with your latest details, a raw approach. As you are on a stock ROM, switching GPS might not work out-of-the-box. In case it doesn't work, take a look at the Secure Settings plugin, which should be able to help out.
I assume your raw concept is: 8am to 5pm is work time, and you want different settings during work hours and after leaving work, considering eventual late-work issues. So this should preferably turn out as a single profile: At work do... and After work switch to.... So here's what shoud basically work:

Profile "Work":
Condition:

Time from 8am Till 5pm

Task:

Audio -> Silent Mode: On

Exit Task:

Misc -> GPS: On (might need to be replaced by Secure Settings, see above)

Now we enter a second profile, and you probably do not even need GPS:
Profile: "AfterWork":
Condition:

State -> Tasker -> Profile Active: "Work" [x] Invert
State -> Phone -> Cell Near: (Scan your work cells) [x] Invert

Task:

Audio -> Silent Mode: Off

So you see you neither need GPS nor the 15min wait loop. At 8am the "Work" Profile gets active, and switches your phone to silent mode. As you do not really need GPS, you can define some dummy Exit Task here (e.g. again switching Silent Mode on), as otherwise Tasker would automatically revert to the "before" mode.
The second profile does not even check conditions before "Work" has completed, as Tasker remembers which Profiles are active. After that, it starts monitoring the surrounding mobile cells -- which are either known by the phone as needed for telephony. If none of the surrounding cells match any of the scanned cells, the attached task is executed and Silent Mode turned off.
But why so complicated? Much easier done like this:

Profile "Work":
Condition:

Cell Near (Scan your work place mobile cells)

Task:

Audio -> Silent Mode: On

Done. No matter what time you are at work, your phone will be silent. And no matter whether you leave work early or late, Silent Mode will be switched off.

Great answer and explanation. If I could accept this twice for the extra rep, I would. Thank you for the help and the concise answer

That looks like I hit home with it -- glad I could help, anytime again :)

@RyanInBinary I just discovered one could award bounties to already existing answers, if one feels it earns extra points... xD Honestly: I'm not begging, just mentioning it in case you happen to receive an extra-ordinary answer some day ;)

Although this question is already answered, and accepted, I would like to add to it.
Sounds like what you want is pure location-based profiles.  Tasker is very powerful, but if you are willing to try an alternative, there is Llama.  It is roughly the same as tasker, except that almost every action is location-based. It 'learns' a location you want to set up (like home), by scanning the antennae of the mobile network in the immediate area. That is a lot more energy-efficient than using GPS.
For the things you want to set up, Llama will be much simpler to configure.  Let the phone learn the places you want to use in your conditions, and add one or more actions.  E.g. "leave home" -> do "enable bluetooth" "disable wifi".
You won't have to worry about timings, as the profiles only change when you physically, actually move to or from a location.
Give it a try.
PS: I am not affiliated.


text:
Media scanner running constantly
I recently bought one new Samsung Galaxy S 2. (Ice Cream Sandwich)
I am getting "media scanner running" message each time I try to open the camera.
How can I get rid of this issue? Do I need to replace the phone?

Does the message interrupt opening the camera or is it just a notification in the status bar?

Yes when i open the camera it shows message and camera shuts down itself

The message means that your internal and/or external SD card are being scanned for media files. If you have recently added a lot of files, this can take some time.
If this is not the case, the indexing might be broken. I'd suggest backing up your data from the phone's internal storage and your SD card, formatting both and trying again. If the problem persists, do a full factory reset. Otherwise, try adding the data from the backups to the phone and see if the camera still works.
If i remember correctly, you can find the setting to format the internal memory in Settings -> Storage -> Internal memory -> Format and the full factory reset in Settings -> Security -> Factory reset, but these depend on your Android version and might be relocated somewhere else.

Go to the Settings app, select the "All" tab, find Media Storage or Media and force stop it. Then reboot and the problem should be fixed.

Called "Stockage de médias" if some french people are looking for it.

I've had same problem. I wrote about it and it's solution in this document which I shared here.
All you need to reset is that media scanner: Settings > Applications > Manage applications > All > Media Storage: Force stop & Clear data. Then, reboot.

Hmmm... Does this apply to ICS as per the OP's question?

Go to Settings > Applications, Manage application, All, Media storage > Clear data. Most of the times, it helps solve the problem.

I had a continuing issue with my SD Card, wherein I would open up my SD files for access to the Audio/Video files that I had saved, only to be told "Scanning Files, try again later." So frustrating... but I soon realized that the data files that I was trying to open were not recognized or supported by my device!!?! Well, after a few choice words and some deep thought, I realized that the files were not supported without accessing them through the associated apps that downloaded the files. Even my Google Play Music files, which are straight-up MP-3 files, could not be opened without directing the data through the installed app,  i.e. Exo. Files for YouTube Files.
Hope this is relative and helpful.

Initially i cannot even open camera application on my LG G2 . it keep saying "try again after scanning media files"
Use Media Library Repair Scanner
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azend.refreshmusic
You do not need to root phone just click on refresh button and let media scanner start scanning and finished.

Was having same problem and read somewhere that problem was solved by deleting corrupt picture file. I deleted a few recent pics and still had problem. Remembered that I recently backed up phone for 1st time and had that file stored on external SD card. Deleted file, no more constant media scanning. Apologies if similar posted.

I had the same problem and none of these fixes worked. It turns it that my Spotify was the problem. It had crashed and could not find the media files i had downloaded. I uninstalled Spotify and that solved the problem.


text:
How do I send Bluetooth audio from the Stereo (A2DP) to Headset (HSP) profile?
I have a stereo Bluetooth headset. When paired and connected, both the Phone and Media profiles are supported.
I can hear Google Maps Navigation voice directions in the headset.
However, if I uncheck the Media profile (I am using the the media profile to connect to an iPod touch), then the voice directions come out of the speaker. I want them to come over the headset.
From this, I assume that the phone wants to send the voice directions to the A2DP if the headset supports it, and to the speaker if the headset does not support A2DP.
Is there any way to configure the Phone (Bell's Samsung Galaxy S) so the voice turn-by-turn directions are sent to the HSP (headset) profile (where to audio for cell phones voice calls is directed)?
Although I haven't tried it, I assume this problem exists for simple non-media headsets that only support HSP.

For people stuck with HSP-only headsets: a ticket has been open since 2009 (or "Day 1", as someone put it) regarding the issue.

A2DP (media profile) is a protocol for high-quality unidirectional audio over Bluetooth. HSP (phone profile) is a protocol for bidirectional lagless communication (audio) over Bluetooth.
A modern headset typically supports both. A2DP is meant to play (stereo) music. In Android, whatever the system considers as 'media' (you can find this terminology in the volume settings), will be using A2DP. Whatever is voice ('ringtone'), will be played over HSP. I suppose all that likely will be is a phone call.
The reason for this choice is that voice in a phone call is bidirectional and you don't want any delays on the line. Hence the lower (and mono) quality of HSP. In voice, quality is of less importance. However, the voice directions (which is not the same as 'voice') of your GPS are not a call, they are not bidirectional and delay does not matter, and they are played as 'media' in the system. Therefore they will be played using A2DP, or when you disable the 'media' profile in your Bluetooth settings, over the speaker. In summary, check your volume controls, they work similarly and will hint you what is what.
It is currently not possible to choose where audio is being sent, neither is that intended in both the design of Bluetooth or of any OS for the above reasons.

Hi pjv, I think it would be cool if  wen the A2DP profile was not available (either because the headset doesn't support it, or as in my case I am using it for another purpose - the iPod Touch), then all audio would be directed HSP. I was simply asking if this could be done already on an Android phone.

I've modified my answer as such.

There is a Bluetooth app that allows you to listen to music over the HSP profile called BTmono. It may accomplish what you're looking to do.


text:
What will happen if I delete the Google Play Services?
What will happen if I delete and re-install the Google Play Services?
Will all my game data be deleted too?

First, to restrict the conjunctive: is your device rooted? If not, it's a very theoretical question as you won't be able to delete the Play Services app.

Google Play services is required to access features from Google, such as downloading apps from Google Play and accessing Google Play Games for achievements. If you are reinstalling Google Play Services, your game data will not be harmed as they are either synced onto cloud or is stored locally and separate from Google. However, reinstalling does not really help. Is battery drain the issue? You can try deleting app data, which is similar to reinstalling. Freezing it with Lucky Patcher may also solve some of your problems.

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


text:
How can I download the zip file directly to sd-card?
How can I download the CM 12 zip file directly to sd-card?

You can Download the Cyanogenmod Zip file using any Web browser.
Locate the Downloaded file using File Manager App like (Ex File Explorer or  Fx Explorer)
Search for file using the search option in File Manager App.
If your File is in Internal Storage, Long Press and select the option Move/Cut/Copy to Paste into SD Card
If the File is already in SD Card then use the above steps to Copy/Move it to other folder.


text:
ES file explorer is showing my Android phone's internal storage as SD Card
It's been a year since I've started using ES file explorer. It was working fine before. But after some update it started showing my phone's internal storage as SD card storage and SD card as phone memory. I'm continuously updating the app. Reinstalled it some times. But the issue is always present with every update. It's too annoying.The screenshot that I've added here shows the issue. I'm using a 16 GB memory card and ES explorer is showing it as internal storage. How can I fix this issue?

I have a device with only one internal storage that has the same problem. Everything besides the system thinks the external SD card is the internal storage.

This is just a naming issue. AFAIK Google gives no clear directions how to name the mount points of the internal "sdcard" section and the external sd-card. Therefore every manufacturer makes it a little bit different. Therefore it is not easy for an app to identify what is what.


text:
File-based encryption security and backup/restore considerations
I'm evaluating making the move to file-based encryption on my device, but am having trouble finding satisfying answers to the following questions:

Apps can place data in either a Credential Encrypted (CE) or Device Encrypted (DE) storage, but does this necessarily mean all files in /data/ are encrypted? What if I run echo 1 > /data/test.txt from a shell? Is test.txt encrypted via CE?
I want my data to be protected with more than a four-digit PIN. Can a separate boot passphrase still be used to unlock encryption?
To enable FBE, /data/ needs to be wiped. Can I restore a pre-FBE TWRP backup after enabling it to fully restore my data?
Does TWRP still prompt for encryption password at boot as it does with full-disk encryption?
Can I make TWRP not prompt for encryption password so I can run automated backups via OpenRecoveryScript?
If I create a backup without providing my encryption password, is TWRP smart enough to restore the encrypted data as-is on restore?
Are there any other TWRP backup or restore caveats I should be aware of before diving in?

Good questions, however IMHO you should split them up a bit more, may be q1, q2 and the TWRP backup topics as a third question.

Android 9 and lower

Apps can place data in either a Credential Encrypted (CE) or Device Encrypted (DE) storage, but does this necessarily mean all files in /data/ are encrypted?

What will be encrypted and which key is used depends on the encryption policy. The encryption policy specifies on a per-directory base what to encrypt. Exclusions (no encryption) seem to be possible, too.
For Android 9 and below used policy us hard-coded in the source code of Android.
There you can read that currently some exclusions are known:

/data/apex
/data/data
/data/lost+found
/data/media
/data/misc_ce
/data/misc_de
/data/system_ce
/data/system_de
/data/user
/data/user_de
/data/vendor_ce
/data/vendor_de

For some of those exclusions there is an encryption policy for a subdirectory specified. However If I understand it correctly placing a files directly into one of those directories means that no encryption will be applied.
Android 10

In Android 10, the encryption policy was hardcoded into this location:
/system/extras/libfscrypt/fscrypt_init_extensions.cpp
1

Android 11+

In Android 11 and higher, the encryption policy is no longer hardcoded
into a centralized location, but rather is defined by arguments to the
mkdir commands in the init scripts. Directories encrypted with the
system DE key use encryption=Require, while unencrypted directories
(or directories whose subdirectories are encrypted with per-user keys)
use encryption=None.
1

Are you sure that /data/data is excluded from encryption? This is a directory where all app settings are. /data/user is a directory where are user files, so-called "internal storage".

@QkiZ There is a comment in the source code (I have corrected the link) about that some of the devices may be excluded from encryption because their subdirectories are included in the encryption. Therefore from my understanding this exclusion list is mostly applied to the directories itself, not their subdirectories.

@Robert You mentioned " while unencrypted directories (or directories whose subdirectories are encrypted with per-user keys) use encryption=None. 1"
For FBE:
What is this per-user keys, do we have separate keys per user, and do these keys changes every boot ?
Is each file encrypted with a different key?

@Lavyansi Individual keys for each file is standard for file based encryption systems. But AFIK the encryption is not user specific. You only have only types: one encryption type allows access before first user has logged on. The second type requires logon before you can access the files.


text:
Screen Overlay Terror
My phone has recently started a glitch with the screen overly prompt coming up whenever I try to access some of my apps.
I can't do anything anymore - there's this floating app I have. I thought it was share it until I deleted it, but the problem persists. It takes me back right where I started over and over and over again.

Shut down your device, power it back on, but press both the Volume keys as soon as the screen turns on. You end up in Safe Mode. Can you remove the floating widget app from there (in Settings > Apps)?

I had the same issue and I already know the solution, so if you start an app and it shows the the screen overlay text then you will have to open settings and try switching off all the apps which consists screen overlay. And if you won't get me, then you can just dm me the ss of your display screen and I can help you further.


text:
What app does this notification icon belong to?
What app does this notification icon belong to?  Upper left (x shouldn't be there). Looks like a chat bubble or ribbon. Thanks!!


text:
Can i use a separate machine as an android device to test my android studio APKs?
I have my main computer in which i have android studio installed and i have an old computer (intel atom processor 32 bit and virtualization not supported). I want to install android in it to test my android studio output apk. Is that possible ?

Here's some personal experience: Android-x86 (and solutions based on it, e.g. RemixOS) runs just fine on Atoms, but 1) CPU- and storage-intense actions will be slow, 2) you can't just connect the PC to another PC like you do for an Android phone, instead USB sticks are required for file transfer.

Usually for testing you should us hardware that is similar to the hardware the app will run on. An Atom PC e.g. usually does not have touch support and also the sensors are different.

Check out Remix OS for PC http://www.jide.com/remixos-for-pc

Remix OS for PC allows you to run our PC optimized version of Android
  on any computer. Through a simple and quick setup process, enjoy
  millions of Android apps and games on your PC alongside the many
  intuitive and amazing PC features we’ve engineered into Remix OS.


text:
How to track down an app that shows ads on smartphone screen?
I have a problem with malware apps. Looks like some app called "Native" installed itself, and created a shortcut for itself, all without my permission. After that happened, I have pop-up ads every time I unlock my screen.
I have 2 security apps: Avast and 360 security. Neither of them can find anything wrong on my phone.
Because this new app "Native" uses such a common word as its name, I cannot find anything about it on the Internet, and I don't see anything called "Native" when I browse in the "Settings"->"Applications" menus.
So I am stuck with ads popping up every time I unlock the screen. What may be the possible solution?

I'm suspecting app called "com.android.ap.provider". But i'm not sure. it may be some default android app.

I run that "Native" app, it showed one of the pop up ads i usually get, and then a blank screen with "Hello world" on it. After i closed the app, its shortcut dissapeared, and i still have those ads poping up. Antivirus software i have installed cannot detect anything.

I am facing very similar advertisement issue on my swipe tablet. I keep getting a security permission notification which says HD player wants to get location information. I block it. But when I go into the list of installed apps there is no app named HD player. But when I see the list of all currently running app then title of one of the windows says HD Player.

Android 4 & 5

When the advertisement shows up, press the app switch button to display the recents menu (if the advertisement is full-screen and cover your soft buttons, swiping down from the top of the screen will make it appear).
It will show the name of the app displaying the advertisement.
From there, long press on the app and chose "app info"
Uninstall the app.

Android 6
For Android 6 the process is similar, however the recents menu looks a bit different. In this step you now have to long press the app icon in the title bar:

Android 7
For Android 7 the process is similar, however the recents menu looks a bit different. In this step you now have to long press the app icon then an info icon appears in the title bar that opens the settigs dialog of the app the screen belongs to:

You could use Ad network scanner & detector .
It shows the app list which shows ads and such.

 This app hasn't been updated since two years
EDIT:
AD Block Notification lists all the installed packages and allows to block ads from specified packages

Or Block This! which blocks in-app ads and browser ads.

This app is not updated since May 15, 2013. I guess its AD definitions might be quite outdated...

@ThatBrazilianGuy Thank you for letting me know.Its true but this solution is for people who cannot be bothered with doing all those steps just to find out what are the apps shows, instead app shows all the apps that shows ads.

All links broken.

You can go into the setting>apps and then swipe to the left. Then look through the list and look for an app that is on but you do not recognize and has no google in it's package name.

Go to settings then click security, click device administrators there's an app checked there but doesnt have any name. Disable it. Then go to apps. Click the blank thingy above the first app with a name (ex. Android system webview) then uninstall it.

indeed, my kid had a blank application name listed. Removing it solved it. Thanks!

As you can see, I had a similar problem. It tool me 2 days but finally got the sucker. Mine was caused by this app called "android utility". It was so common that i overlooked it. Deleted many apps and couldnt find a solution.
Solution is similar to what the brazilian guy showed. For mine, i let the pop up run. Clicked on that little "i" at the corner of the pop up and it ran the app. The moment the app was identified, i uninstalled the app.

 Click to Enlarge

Just go to settings -> apps.
Then u will spot any app without a name "as u see mine up" or that can't be deleted and it's new to you.
Mark it in the box that u see. Then click on the option button above. And disable it.
After that go back to the app and uninstall or delete it. I'm sure that the pop-up page won't come back

In addition to the answer by @king:
That actually seemed to work. Photos are post removal. Just to a walkthrough.
Once you're in the Lock screen sec/device admin, there's going to be one slot under the one from android that just shows the tick on the right but blank on the left. Untick that. There should be a prompt concerning administration rights. Deactivate that bad boy!

(click images for larger variants)
Then go to apps manager. Once there look for any empty slots or rows on your apps list. On the photo i gave, there was once a row right before the app named "Adblock". You wont see it at first glance but its there. Just an empty row. Just to be sure, tap on all the apps you have on there until you notice the empty row. Tap on it and uninstall.

So far it's been 20 minutes since i did it and no pop up screen window. Yet. As opposed to before where one pops up every time I come out of screen lock.

Install an app from play store.
The name is malwarebytes anti-malware.
Do a full scan of device which takes time.
It might show your device is infected with adware.
Try deleting it.
In some casesthe program which introduced the adware into the device might have enabled itself as an device administrator. Disable it and delete the adware.
Hope this helps☺☺

I had the same problem, but I managed to get rid of it. There was an application com.file-1 in data/app, didn't show anywhere except for lucky patcher, a blank space with "nothing to patch here", I saw the path in App info, tried to delete it in root browser but it came back. I finally uninstalled it in Titanium Backup, nothing else worked. Hope it helps

there is a pirticular app which is white in colour.so in apps also you won't find any icon.beside it inly text appears.so make sure to get rid of that

What is the app you are mentioning?

i have a simple solution for this problem...the ads appears because of an app which is invisible to us means we can't see that app in apps menu...so here is the solution..
Go to settings >lock screen and security>device administarion there you will see an app with no name is allowed for the device administration remove the tick from that app....this will not solve the problem there is more work to do.  Now go to settings>app ... The invisible app will be in downloaded or maybe in running app on the first number look carefully.. Even I didn't saw the app first time.... You are all set now just click the app and softly touch the uninstall button, as i said touch the uninstall button softly. ...and done there will be no more ads.... If you don't understand what i have written above, you can send mail on sharmahainhum@gmail.com.
And if you think i am funny please vote me....

Please at least be somewhat serious. Remove the useless emojis and wording, and of course your contact details (to prevent spams heading your way). Also, it's a bad idea to just ask for votes...