text:
Install 4.3 (OTA) on rooted Nexus 4 (CWM + stock rom, kernel)
I'm running Android 4.2.2 on my Nexus 4. It is rooted, and I have ClockworkMod recovery installed, but rom and kernel are stock. I received the OTA update to 4.3, and would like to install it, but it failed. (With a message that CWM couldn't verify a signature. I remember that the previous OTA worked, and I think I had to re-root, but that was easy.)
How can I get the stock 4.3 update on my phone, while keeping root and CWM, and especially keeping all my data? Step-by-step instructions would be great.
Also, I'm curious, what is the technical reason that the update doesn't install?

Update: I found some instructions here, however they didn't work for me. I get the following error from CWM while applying update.zip:
Installing: /sdcard/0/update.zip
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Installing update...

Warning no file_contextsVerifying current system...

assert failed: apply_patch_check("/system/bin/app_process", "76c3a9a7a6d400a9ff3e4db391327daa33aa0663", "2a221441bf06f2618aa6c35ae0cade13bd4f6e1b")
E:Error in /sdcard/0/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation aborted.

Update 2:
I forgot that I tried out Xposed some time ago. Apparently this modified /system/bin/app_process. I removed it by starting Xposed Installer, and then selecting "Uninstall (restore app_process)" and (probably not neccessary), "Clean up (complete removal of the framework)". I did one complete reboot, and then rebooted into recovery mode to continue the update. But now it hangs because "build.prop" is modified (don't remember changing that). I wonder if there is a way to just flash the new OS files (not patches), overwriting any modifications, but keeping all settings and user files...

It sounds like the "/system/bin/app_process" has been modified and so it doesn't match the signature required. There are 2 ways to fix this, either get a copy of the stock file from another phone/rom or flash the factory image for 4.3
Edit: After reading "update 2" it sounds like you want the factory image option detailed below.
AndroidPolice has a step by step guide here. I've duplicated the steps in case that page dies:

Download the full occam factory image, which includes the full system, bootloader, recovery, kernel (boot.img), and radio. It's a clean slate for these components - they'll flash cleanly over anything you have now.
Instead of using the bundled script called flash-all, you will unpack the tgz (tar/gz) archive, and then the zip contained within as well. This will put all the components into one folder:
Follow the excellent guide over here and make sure to omit step D10, which overwrites userdata. Here are the commands you will be executing, for reference:

adb reboot bootloader
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader*.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1700.84.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot format cache
fastboot reboot

Note: Instead of unpacking the image*.zip and flashing system and boot
manually, you can actually do fastboot update image*.zip - this won't
delete data (you would pass a -w flag if you wanted that to happen),
but it will re-flash recovery back to stock if you were running a
custom one. You can then flash it back, or just use the commands above
instead. Either way, the result will be the same.

You will then need to re-root (there is no way to go from 4.2.2 to 4.3 keeping root at the moment) by following the steps in this thread (I won't link to the file itself as it is being updated as/when issues are found.).

I don't see any boot.img file for the 4.3 update for the Nexus 4 that I downloaded. I have the bootloader.img, image.zip, and radio.img. Where's the boot.img?

You need to unzip the image.zip as well. the boot.img and system.img are in there.

Gave up on trying to flash these manually after first boot was getting stuck. I extracted the factory image to my ADB directory and ran "flash-all.bat" and it booted right up first time after that. The flash-all.bat does a bit more than the above procedure.


text:
Magnetic compass correction
After updating to Android 4.4.3 the magnetic compass deviates by 90 degrees. This is more than a lttle bit and recalibrating did not help.
Q1: Is this a common problem?
Q2: Is there a fix or workaround?

Have you tried to re-calibrate the compass? See: How can I calibrate the compass on my phone? / How does compass calibration work? / How can I get my compass pointing the right direction? / Google Search on android compass calibration gives even video tutorials on this.

@Izzy Yes I tried to recalibrate that does not change it.

I have seen some other reports avlbout 90 degree compass deviations, and they were reported on android 4.4.3.
Now that was an extremely short lived version.
On 4.4.4 the problem vanished. So I am still convinced that this was a 4.4.3 problem.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Personal data (contacts, sms, phone logs, settings, etc) gone after moving apps to a new microSD
I've just bought a 16gb Sandisk microSD and I moved some apps to that by using the functionality available under Settings > Applications > Manage Applications. I went through the list and I moved some apps to the microSD when the button was available. I also moved the Music folder to the new microSD.
Then I left my phone for a while and when I came back it was asking me for the PIN code as it had restarted. Then the Android configuration wizard popped up, like when you first boot the device (so asking me to choose the language and set other configuration things). After this I found out that my previous data was gone including contacts, text messages, settings, etc. Similar to when you do a hard reset. Some things remained like pictures and music files.
Unfortunately there's no sync with Google or similar. I should have done that or at least made a backup before moving things to the new storage.
I believe my data is still there somehow. I'd like to know if my things are completely gone or maybe they are just not loaded for some weird reason. Can you help me?
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S Plus (GT-I9001) / Android version: 2.3.5
EDIT: After completely reformatting the microSD as also suggested by official SanDisk tecnical support for general problems, I didn't experienced another hard reset so far after moving files.

As you correctly tagged, your description fits a factory-reset -- which includes a wipe of user apps and data. So from your "internal storage", there's no easy way to restore anything, as its gone. However, the data you moved to your SDCard should still be there, as a wipe usually doesn't touch it. I just wonder what should have triggered such an "automatic factory reset" -- never heard such a thing before!

y indeed was really strange. do you know if there are some logs I can take a look at, hidden somewhere? (supposing they're not gone with the other stuff)

You suppose correctly: the logs will be gone for good with all the other stuff on internal storage. To my knowledge, there's nothing logging to SDCard by default.

As the factory-reset already correctly suggests, the description makes quite clear that such happened. A factory-reset "deletes" everything from your internal-storage -- that is, all the apps you've installed, all data, caches, etc. So nothing is left but what you've moved to SDCard/external storage.
While there are possibilities to even recover deleted data (usually via a nandroid backup or any other 1:1 copy of the entire file system and doing file carving), this is nothing easy and you must start the copy as soon as possible, before you do any other initialization (which you already did). With every data change, chances to recover something get smaller. We have some questions/answers behind the data-recovery tag explaining this in more detail, see e.g.

How can I recover a deleted file on Android?
Recover deleted content from userdata partition?

Btw: With all other data on internal-storage, also the logs are gone for good -- which is a pity, as it would be very interesting to know what triggered an automatic factory-reset. The only thing coming to my mind is a remote-wipe, which might have been triggered either via your company (if you're accessing their exchange server via active-sync, and thus accepted the corresponding device-administrator) -- or the previous owner (if any) having set up some anti-theft app, and now pulled the trigger on you...

Thanks for your replies. I wouldn't say it was a remote-wipe as I exclude the two possibilities listed (especially the latter, as there's no previous owner). A friend suggested it might have been a sort of short-circuit when playing with the new microSD, which might have sent a reset signal somehow.

Never heard of a microSD sending a signal which caused a factory-reset. The remote-wipe was just a guess, I'm missing your full background to place a "hit" here :) // If my post answered your question, it would be nice to "accept" it (click the checkmark next to it), so it's recognizable as such. Thanx :)

which kind of background might be needed? :)

All account data (social networks, bank, whatever) including passwords and keys plus full authority :) What I meant to say is: While all details of what might have happened (and what is installed, how configured, how you've got the device, first/second hand, etc.) might be present to you, they are not present to me. Even writing a full story would not be the same as experiencing the thing yourself. Which leaves some guess-work.

Ok it happened again. I think it's something with the new microSD card. This time I was uploading some videos on that memory (using Airdroid). Suddenly I saw that the progress bar got stuck and when I looked at my phone I notice he had reset itself. And then, again, configuration wizard and what it's supposed to be another hard reset..

I'd suggest to try another SDCard (other brand) to figure out. It's nothing new that some combinations (SDCard/device) cause problems, though it's the first time I've heard of this special one. Checking Google for "samsung galaxy s plus" sandisk if others share your problem with this combination (I've picked two with trouble on the first result page), and how they solved it (which other brand) might prove helpful.

y.. I'll try to borrow another microSD from friends. Meanwhile, I tried to completely format the one I have and see what would happen (I'm not particularly concerned about my stuff now, as all is gone and I'm syncing on google only few important contacts).
thank you very much for your useful support, so far :)

You're welcome -- and good luck! Don't forget to update us once you've found out something. Who knows who's next...

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


text:
Android / S3 (i9300/i9305) - Disable default keyboard pop-up at lock screen
After the 4.3 update, there is a default keyboard popping up at lock screen.
Let me describe what I mean.

When you opened up your phone pre-4.3, it displayed the lock screen. With no keyboard or anything, just the information. Like the clock, your missed calls and such. When you tapped into the password field, the keyboard popped up. It was all buttery smooth, looked good, worked good.
Here comes 4.3, ala Samsung. Now if you lock your phone, it will pop up the keyboard every time.

This saves one tap, that's a pro.
But:

It tears apart your wallpaper, as the keyboard - which won't get loaded in time - got your wallpaper, not the lock screen wallpaper.
As I said, the keyboard just can't load in time. This is not a bug, it's just not possible to wake it up from deep sleep and throw so much work at it.
So overall it looks glitchy, cheap, awful. Like some copycat Chinese fake smartphone. Which I believe the S3 is not. It's just untasteful. Ugly.

I understand that this was most likely a design decision, to speed up the unlock.
Is there a way to disable this behavior?
Rooting is OK. I mean, this thing looks so ugly, I'm fine with losing my warranty.
Just let me fix it somehow.
Custom keyboards: I'm using AI Type keyboard (free) as for now, but the glitch and the auto-pop up happens with any keyboard I tried. It's like there is an event defined, so it's like you would "tap" into the field.
Custom lock screens: I looked around as much as I could, but I only found "press to lock" apps. Basically little widgets and buttons to lock your phone. But they were no custom lock screens, just shortcuts.
Wake-up apps: Tried "Auto Wakeup", but it only wakes the phone up the very same way. With the keyboard, lag and all. :/

If you want to try some alternative lock screens, there are plenty: Go Locker, Widget Locker, Holo Locker... See here (well, you need to sort out some "unrelated lockers", yeah, so maybe this search get's closer). Might not be a "real solution", but worth a try.


text:
How do I disable camera autofocus on the Galaxy S5?
I'm trying to take video with my camera on my Galaxy S5, but the shots are almost always out of focus, or the autofocus will kick in randomly and leave the shot blurred.
I have tried the stock camera app and Open Camera, both have this issue.
The phone is useless to me unless I can resolve this issue, every video has a problem with blurring.
Thanks

Sorry for telling you the truth , but you cant really disable autofocus from the stock camera app...

Can you disable it in some other way?

No worries. I'm furious with the phone company for selling me a terrible phone, but it's not android's fault.


text:
Seesmic Twitter image upload problem
So I started using Seesmic application to post on FaceBook and Twitter, but I have problem when uploading images in Twitter statuses.
If I use yfrog.com as service for uploading images in the settings, it uploads ok and adds the link. No problem.
But I don't like using yfrog because official twitter doesn't show the image normally if it isn't uploaded on official Twitter servers...
So I want to use the option Twitter or Twitpic for the image upload, but when I try to sent tweet with image using this settings it fails with this error:
"Cannot update status
The service provider cannot be reached. Please retry later."
So I try to Retry later.. but still won't work.
Anyone with same problem or solution? I tried Googling, but nothing helpful. Or is there any small app for twitter + facebook with official twitter image uploading that you would recommend?


text:
how to always show homescreen after unlocking?
On a Nexus 5 and I am looking for a way to configure it to always show the homescreen after unlocking it. is it possible? how?
Right now, after unlocking it shows the screen exactly as it was left it before being locked. I have not yet managed to get the habit of pressing the home button (i.e. go to homescreen) before I press the power button (i.e. lock my screen)...
p.s. this device is rooted.

Can you Include your Android version?

on that Nexus I have Android 6.0.1    On another device I have 7.1.2

It seems that the only way to get this without automation is having the habit of pressing "show desktop" before locking.
In case, you are not against automation, you can accomplish your request with MacroDroid, Tasker or other apps.
With MacroDroid

In the Triggers section, select Screen Unlocked.
In the Actions section, select Launch Home Screen.
Give the macro a name, then save it.

When you unlock the screen, the home screen will be shown (there was about 300 ms delay when testing) even if another app was in the foreground.

hhmm... yes, that it a way to get it. But I don't wish to have automation. I'd prefer to edit code somewhere with my fingertips (:

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


text:
Making LineageOS even more lightweight

How can I minimize the power footprint of my LOS?

My device is rooted and I have Termux. There I can run
$ su
# htop

and see that the device is running 83 processes (!).
These are the processes ordered by RAM-consumption:
  1  [||||                                                    5.6%]   Tasks: 83; 1 running
  2  [|||||||||                                              13.6%]   Load average: 2.92 2.41 2.25
  3  [|||||                                                   7.1%]   Uptime: 08:41:45
  4  [||                                                      1.2%]
  Mem[||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||473M/1.23G]
  Swp[                                                    0K/1024M]

VIRT   RES   SHR S CPU% MEM%   TIME+  Command
349M  213M  182M S  6.1 17.0 10:40.71 system_server
942M   98M 64496 S  0.0  7.8  2:07.61 com.android.systemui
898M 73096 53764 S  0.0  5.7  0:12.71 com.android.launcher3
869M 70724 48804 S  7.9  5.5  0:28.07 com.termux
001M 69448 59892 S  0.0  5.4  0:04.49 zygote
850M 66664 49636 S  0.0  5.2  0:06.64 com.android.inputmethod.latin
858M 58840 45960 S  0.0  4.6  0:04.01 com.android.phone
841M 58288 43200 S  0.0  4.5  0:02.12 com.topjohnwu.magisk
824M 53216 41948 S  0.0  4.1  0:02.28 com.joshsera
828M 51044 38292 S  0.0  4.0  0:29.72 android.process.media
833M 49820 37400 S  0.6  3.9  4:57.86 com.android.nfc
827M 45232 35236 S  0.0  3.5  0:00.38 com.android.deskclock
824M 42824 33144 S  0.0  3.3  0:00.29 com.android.calendar
827M 42032 32384 S  0.0  3.3  0:00.30 org.lineageos.lineageparts
824M 41924 32244 S  0.0  3.3  0:00.25 com.android.traceur
820M 41364 31636 S  0.0  3.2  0:00.40 com.android.settings.intelligence
824M 40452 30620 S  0.0  3.1  0:00.24 org.lineageos.audiofx
822M 39488 29944 S  0.0  3.1  0:00.26 org.lineageos.lockclock
818M 38960 29456 S  0.0  3.0  0:00.21 com.android.keychain
820M 38836 29092 S  0.0  3.0  0:00.21 com.android.se
817M 38252 28512 S  0.0  3.0  0:00.19 com.validity.fingerprint
005M 29012 19480 S  0.0  2.3  0:00.14 webview_zygote
9248 12664  9816 S  0.0  1.0  0:00.97 /system/bin/gpsd -c /system/etc/gps.xml
9304 12476  8460 S  3.6  1.0  2:08.56 /system/bin/surfaceflinger
1136 12120  9208 S  0.0  0.9  0:01.16 /system/bin/audioserver
6084 10360  8172 S  0.0  0.8  0:00.78 /system/bin/mediaserver
1004  9964  5780 S  0.0  0.8  0:00.70 /vendor/bin/hw/rild
4364  8812  5732 S  0.0  0.7  0:01.09 media.codec hw/android.hardware.media.omx@1.0-service
8556  8444  6200 S  0.0  0.7  0:00.50 media.extractor aextractor
0856  6708  4884 S  0.0  0.5  0:00.37 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.camera.provider@2.4-service.kminilte
8504  6040  4656 S  0.0  0.5  0:00.27 /system/bin/drmserver
8300  6004  4656 S  0.0  0.5  0:00.26 media.metrics diametrics
6864  4288  1340 S  0.0  0.3  0:36.68 /system/bin/logd
2432  4028  3180 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.15 /system/bin/keystore /data/misc/keystore
1644  4016  3244 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.10 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.drm@1.0-service
5596  3920  2680 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.44 /system/bin/vold --blkid_context=u:r:blkid:s0 --blkid_untrusted_context=u:r:blkid_untrusted:s0 --fsck_c
6320  3476  2628 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.59 /system/bin/netd
8008  3456  2740 S  0.0  0.3  0:01.03 /system/bin/vcsFPService
9616  3444  2792 S  0.0  0.3  0:01.14 /vendor/bin/hw/hostapd
2012  3400  2616 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.64 /system/bin/statsd
9484  3356  2588 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.65 /system/bin/hwservicemanager
9568  3324  2684 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.64 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.wifi@1.0-service
6512  3312  2604 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.44 /system/bin/gatekeeperd /data/misc/gatekeeper
1808  3236  2620 S  0.0  0.3  0:00.08 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.gnss@1.0-service
5320  3132  2068 S  0.0  0.2  0:01.60 /system/bin/installd
2796  3112  2240 S  0.0  0.2  0:15.73 /system/bin/storaged
0096  3048  2364 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.08 /system/bin/mediadrmserver
8368  3028  2392 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.07 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.keymaster@3.0-service
9284  2964  2296 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.07 /system/bin/wificond
1672  2856  2116 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.07 magiskd
7572  2572  2024 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.06 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.cas@1.0-service
0020  2568  1988 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.06 /system/bin/incidentd
8308  2472  1936 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.06 /system/bin/thermalserviced
7204  2412  1896 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.05 /vendor/bin/hw/vendor.lineage.touch@1.0-service.samsung
6848  2408  1716 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.09 /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash -l
5856  2404  1200 S  0.0  0.2  0:03.80 /system/bin/dnsmasq --keep-in-foreground --no-resolv --no-poll --dhcp-authoritative --dhcp-option-force
7012  2376  1900 S  0.0  0.2  0:06.52 /system/bin/healthd
7228  2372  1864 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.05 /vendor/bin/hw/vendor.lineage.trust@1.0-service
7628  2312  1780 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.28 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.graphics.allocator@2.0-service
5780  2284  1332 R 10.3  0.2  1:13.78 htop
3028  2252  1324 S  0.0  0.2  0:02.97 /init
6880  2216  1720 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.04 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.memtrack@1.0-service
6876  2212  1716 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.04 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.ir@1.0-service
7568  2156  1648 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.06 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.configstore@1.1-service
9340  2136  1608 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.04 /system/bin/perfprofd --binder
8128  2064  1592 S  0.0  0.2  0:17.77 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.biometrics.fingerprint@2.0-service
5916  2048  1192 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.12 /system/bin/ip6tables-restore --noflush -w -v
6744  2040  1584 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.04 /vendor/bin/hw/android.hardware.usb@1.0-service.basic
6688  2012  1572 S  0.0  0.2  0:00.11 /system/bin/hw/android.hidl.allocator@1.0-service
6416  1956  1404 S  0.0  0.2  0:01.37 /system/bin/servicemanager
5908  1912  1180 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.13 /system/bin/iptables-restore --noflush -w -v
1160  1720  1204 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.29 /system/bin/mcDriverDaemon -r /system/app/FFFFFFFF000000000000000000000001.drbin -r /system/app/mcRegis
5904  1692  1264 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.02 /vendor/bin/vndservicemanager /dev/vndbinder
4516  1580  1160 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.03 /system/bin/sh
4992  1544  1148 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.74 /system/bin/logcat -s Magisk
6348  1528  1160 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.41 /sbin/cbd -d -t ss222 -b m -m m
4884  1460  1120 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.10 /system/bin/lmkd
6668  1424  1072 S  0.6  0.1  0:02.13 /sbin/su
4680  1420  1076 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.03 /system/bin/tombstoned
4568  1164   760 S  0.0  0.1  0:01.13 /sbin/ueventd
3544   960   532 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.01 /init subcontext u:r:vendor_init:s0 9
3416   952   532 S  0.0  0.1  0:00.00 /init subcontext u:r:vendor_init:s0 10
6936   436   316 S  0.0  0.0  0:00.04 /system/bin/adbd --root_seclabel=u:r:su:s0

I am using an old Galaxy S5 mini with LOS-GAPPS-free as a wireless touchpad. :)
It is nice, but I'd like the battery to last more than a day. (In flight-mode, with the screen off, and its used battery, the s5-mini achieves more than a week of battery life!! remember this is w/o GAPPs!)
How cool would it be to have an old device be your PC's touchpad and last over a week?!!
It all boils down to the processes that are active.
I certainly don't need 83 for a touchpad!

I have used Link2SD to deinstall and deactivate software and features in devices before to save machine-resources. It gives the option to Freeze as well, but many times, I have an annoying message that appears every 3 seconds about an app crashing. Like telephony. My smatphone-touchpad doesn't need telephony or gps services running. I would happily turn them off if the OS would stop annoying me about it being off and rebooting to recovery by itself!

I have come across this xda-post
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/rom-unofficial-11-r-lineageos-18-1-for-z5c-suzuran.4205135/#post-84135891
and it seems to lead to the right direction.

Does anyone here has experience with something like this? Which apps are the ones I can disable?

In standby the phone goes to proper sleep mode; when awake it doesn't and additionally boosts CPU on touch for responsiveness - these are kernel-level stuff that 1) can't be easily modified and 2) are for your own good (you don't want your touchpad to lag in use do you?)

true. still, those 83 processes can surely be reduces to (may be) 40, or even further.

for example the following could be (just guessing) removed: phone, nfc, calendar, traceur, audiofx, intelligence, keychain, fingerprint. without those I'd stay below 1G of used RAM.

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


text:
Cyclic App Screens?
Is there a way to make the "App-screens" cyclic, e.g. if you have four to be able to swipe from the 4th to the 1st one?
How to activate it?

Its definitely possible, Samsung's TouchWiz interface does this.

Great! I want it in my Huawei.

Try Nova Launcher from the play store. You can import your old home screen pretty easily and it allows you to "infinite scroll".
Press Menu on the home screen > Press Nova Settings > Press Desktop > Check Infinite Scroll

:( you beat me by 3 mins

Thanx for the advice! Is it possible to implement this on other launchers? Playing with the code, scripts and stuff like that?


text:
Sync Office 365 (Exchange) calendar with Android
I have a Nexus 4 and an Office 365 account. I cannot setup sync between Office 365 exchange server and the Android builtin Exchange account manager (called "corporate" in Android settings).
What happens is that Android settings seems to approve my input of Exchange information from Office 365 including username, password and server host, but then no sync of Email, Calendar, Contacts etc. takes place.
I've tried 3rd party apps such as MailDroid, Touchdown, RoadSync and RemoSync work. Of these, only Maildroid is great but doesn't have calendar support. Touchdown and the others are very clunky, and I've no particular desire to try anything else unless someone can make a strong recommendation.
What I'd really like to do is use the native Google calendar app with my Office 365 account. Is anyone able to help me get that working?


text:
Resetting SMSC for Lollipop 5 SMS bug
Ok, so I tried to do this tutorial to fix the SMS bug that was keeping me from texting my buddy in Switzerland (I'm in the US using AT&T on a Samsung Galaxy s6 Edge with Lollipop v5.0.2);
I followed it, did the *#*#4636#*#* and brought up the screen. Hit "Refresh" and it displays "1",0
So I hit update "Update" and reboot. Now not only does my texts to him fail, but all the local US people I can normally msg fine fails as well. Could someone show me the light? Thanks!

Sorry for the trouble. I'm the writer of that fix. Well, I was able to get it right on Nexus 5, Unite 2, Galaxy S5, LG G2, LG G3 and MOTO G as well. So, if you've come across a different problem try doing a factory reset. And, keep a backup of your data before formatting it.

Thanks, I finally got it resolved via at&t support although I couldn't tell what they technically did to resolve it. Cheers!

Great! And sorry again haha.. Do check out our site more often (if you like the content). We're students so can't really update 24x7 content :-D


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How to watch videos with Hebrew subtitles?
I've bought an adapter for watching movies and tv shows from my smartphone (galaxy s3) to the big screen tv.
For some reason, all of the video player apps I've tried so far have problems with showing Hebrew subtitles: either they become gibberish, or they have punctuations marks being put on the wrong places (for example "." in the beginning of the sentence instead of at the end).
Here's a screenshot of MX-Player app, showing a subtitle :

In Hebrew, the "." should be placed on the left of the sentence since you read from right to left. Same goes with any other mark (such as "?" , "!", "," ,...).
On a PC, it's hard to find any app that has such problems.
Maybe it's because it's an RTL (right to left) language, and Android doesn't support such languages well (on 4.2 i think the situation has changed though).
Anyway, is there anything one can do about this? Does it require a special video player to shows Hebrew subtitles well?

Gibberish in Hebrew subtitles is due to an unsupported encoding. You can use an app such as Notepad++ in your PC to change the encoding to UTF-8. In Notepad++, go to the Encoding menu and choose to convert the subtitle (SRT) file to UTF-8 without BOM. In case  your subtitle is embedded in the video, you can find open source subtitle extractor apps.
Regarding the misplaced period, after encoding, just open the file in a text editor and see if the subtitle text is correctly stored. Generally, video apps, just show the subtitle text as it is at the given timing without any formatting (except for some html formatting in some cases).
We have our own tiny, ad-free video player (iPlay SBS Player) intended mainly for VR and 3D videos. Some of our hebrew users who faced the same problem reported that re-encoding as mentioned above fixed the issue for them.
Affiliation: Developer, Non-profit


text:
How to avoid showing many processes on DDMS?
Background
As an Android developer, I use DDMS (link here about what it is), which shows all of the processes that I can debug (along with other stuff).
Today I've finally flashed a custom ROM that is based on AOSP.
The problem
Ever since I flashed the new ROM, I've noticed that instead of showing just a few processes (including mostly just the apps I'm making), it shows a lot more processes, including both system apps and user apps.
The question
Is there any way to avoid this from happening?
BTW, I tried putting a tag called "DDMS" and a tag called "AOSP" , and sadly I still can't do it even though my score is quite high on StackOverflow.

@Izzy This is DDMS : http://developer.android.com/tools/debugging/ddms.html . It's a commonly used tool for developers to handle when devices are connected to the PC. You can take pictures, see the log, choose which process to debug, etc...

DDMS shows the running apps which have the "debuggable" flag set. If the built-in apps are also debuggable, it suggests you're using a debug build of the ROM. Switch to a release build. If the custom ROM you're using doesn't have a release build, switch to a ROM made by people who know what they're doing.

I've tried out both CM, OmniRom, and PAC-rom. All have this. Also, as I've mentioned, it even shows user apps, such as Whatsapp...


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How to make Hangouts stop sending me SMS messages?
I've tried out the SMS feature of Hangouts app, which allows you to handle SMS within itself instead of the default one.
I didn't like it for certain reasons, so I disabled it.
However, for some reason, almost each time anyone sends me something via Hangouts (from a PC for example), I get it in both Hangouts and via SMS (with phone number that looks like "1000274" ). That's right - I get 2 messages - one for hangouts and one is an SMS message shown on the normal messaging app.
Why does it happen? How can I stop it from happening?
I hope it's a bug and that it will get fixed soon... :(
NOTE: I have Android 4.3 on a Galaxy S3 I9300 device.

Are you using a Google Voice number?

OK, I think they've fixed it some weeks ago, as I didn't notice any new SMS message that comes after a real hangouts message.

Go to

Settings -> Under data usage tap More
Tap Default SMS app and select your SMS app

Source with detailed instruction: http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57613499-285/manage-default-sms-app-on-android-4.4-kitkat/

sadly I don't have kitkat. I have Android 4.3...

@androiddeveloper, does this not work on 4.3?

@dotVezz android 4.3 doesn't have this option on the settings of the device. I was talking about the feature within the Hangouts app... Only android 4.4 has the ability to choose which app is the default SMS app...

The functionality is different with Kitkat as you can choose your default SMS application in the Wireless & Network settings. Below is for 4.4 and for 4.3 and below.
Open the google-plus-hangouts application.
For Android 4.4+ (Kitkat) (As per the above):
Click on Menu then Settings.
Click on SMS.
Click on the setting "SMS Enabled" under the General heading and change your default SMS application.

For 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and Below:
Click on Menu then Settings.
Click on SMS.
Untick the setting "Turn On SMS"

(source: cbsistatic.com)

well as i've already written, i've already disabled this functionality. the problem is that for about half of the messages i get via hangouts, i also (in addition) get an SMS containing those messages.

Have you uninstalled hangouts and reinstalled it? Have you installed any other 3rd Party apps for SMS and reset your default? I know my answer is generic, but I wasn't sure WHAT you had disabled already. I've not seen this issue on the S3, S4, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, HTC One, HTC Desire X or any of my other devices. I wanted to give a generic answer, and assumed you had cleared all data, reinstalled, rebooted etc. Are you getting IMs from Hangouts converted into SMS? The wording is not clear to me on your question. Are you rooted, running custom firmware?

I'm not sure how should I write this problem. For almost each message I get via hangouts (that someone writes to me via his PC, for example), I also get the exact same message to both hangouts and the SMS messaging app, and it's really an SMS message, with a weird phone number as I've written. I've now updated my question. hope now it's clear.

Ok that's totally clear now, that's very very odd. Did you reinstall hangouts from scratch (delete data and cache, uninstall and reinstall)? Do you have a different SMS app, or the default one that came with your device. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I'll keep looking for you. Something very odd going on there.

I've now tried to clear the data of the app. It didn't work. In fact, I think it got worse (or maybe it was like that before too) : now some messages are sent only as SMS, plus video calls request don't always get to be received ... :(

I've recently flash a custom ROM called "OmniRom" (AOSP, Kitkat based), and I think this problem is now gone.
Not sure why it occurred, and why I don't see it anymore.
Maybe it's because of a bug on 4.3.


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"Ssp update received" toast keep showing from time to time
Sometimes I get a toast (a temporary popup on the screen) saying something like:

Ssp update received for package XXX

where XXX is the package of the app i'm currently running. It might not be exactly this text as it's hard to read the whole message (disappears after a short time).
It seems it is shown when an app is accessing the Internet. It also seems it started occuring when I've installed "Onavo" app, but it kept occurring even after I've uninstalled it.
my phone is rooted and has some tweaks. it's Samsung Galaxy S3 with Omega ROM 50.1 , which is based on stock samsung ROM (Android 4.1.2).
It also has the Xposed framework.
Does anybody know the reason for this message, and how to avoid getting it?

I think it has something to do with the API demos, as I've searched google for this text, and found this:
https://android.googlesource.com/platform/development/+/master%5E1%5E1..master%5E1/
looking at the file it says, its name is "AppUpdateSspReceiver.java" .
It makes sense that very few know about this problem, as this app is mainly used for developers who wish to see what's new on the new version of Android, and how to use the new stuff.
I have no idea what is its purpose and what it tries to demonstrate - the comment there says "Executed when a new version of the application is is installed.", but it doesn't seem the case).
Anyway, uninstalling the API demos seems to solve the problem.
Can anyone please tell me what is this demo?


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If an APK is labeled "for Android TV", will it work with stock mobile phones?
I am looking for an APK for a specific application, and I found two APKs, both of which have the same version, but one has the minimum version 2.3 and the other has the minimum android version 5.0 and has the label "for Android TV".
The mirror I am browsing says that the former is "outdated" in favour of the latter that has the label "for Android TV". Does that mean that I have to take the latter, even though I am not using Android TV, for a mobile phone? Or should I take the former, which has the same version albeit a lower minimum-android version requirement.

No, It simply won't work for a stock android phone. Because the app was created with a tv's resolution in mind so all you would see is misaligned screen or force crash.

"Because the app was created with a tv's resolution in mind" -- how are you so certain? Also, I don't believe that there isn't  any way to scale the UI based on the resolution of the device. In any case, please read How do I write a good answer?

a TV normally has 1080p, which seems suited for most phones. Of course, I can't imagine you can touch a TV, so that might also be a reason

@Firelord A tv's resolution exceeds 1080p nowadays. He is probably talking about those apps which come with 4k resolution android tvs.

No problem mate at all. ;)


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Voice activated bluetooth recorder
Apps like Babbler and Automatic audio recorder are noise activated, but none I've found are Bluetooth compatible. Do you know any? Is there a way to make them recognize the Bluetooth recorder?

Autovoice and autoinput can provide voice-activated functionality for a bluetooth recording app, though you will be fiddling with setting it up like a pianist.


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Accounts problem
Using Gmail, if I click on the 3 horizontals bars top left, near Inbox, on top I see my primary account (a) with an arrow on the right.  If I click on this arrow, I see 2 secondary accounts (b) & (c).
Going back to my inbox, I want to reply to an email using address (b).  I click reply and the arrow next to my primary address.  There I see: send email as (d) or (e) - i.e. 2 other secondary addresses that I had created very long ago.
My questions are:
1. how can I remove (d) & (e)?
2. how can I see (b) & (c) instead?
If I go to Settings/Accounts/Google, I only see (a), (b) & (c).  (d) & (e) don't appear, therefore I can't remove them.
Thank you in advance for your help
(Android 6.0 but I had this problem before this version)

In case someone else has the same problem, I solved it by going to Gmail on my laptop: Using my main account (a), 'Settings > Accounts and Import > Send Mail As' Only (d) & (e) were there. I added (b) & (c)

If this worked for you, you should tick your answer (Since you answered your own question) so it does't remain in the unanswered section and so other users who have the same problem know of a solution.


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Factory reset doesn't delete everything
I tried to perform a factory reset on my phone to give it to a friend of mine. However, I realised that when I installed Whatsapp, I can still have my chats, my photos and songs aren't deleted as well. What is wrong with this?

It looks like your /sdcard partion is not getting wiped. You need to specify more information but I'm assuming you're using a Custom Rom or at least, a Custom recovery. A stock recovery will as far as I know wipe /sdcard too. Only a Custom ROM by default wouldn't do so. So there's nothing unordinary here. Boot into recovery (I can't tell how since you didn't mention your phone's model) and you can use the options there to wipe any partion you want.

Hello. my phone is a samsung s5, it has custom rom

Also note that for a really "safe clean", factory-reset won't be sufficient – you might wish to really wipe, to make it impossible to recover "old contents". Apps helping you with that can e.g. be found in my list here: Safe Data-Wipe

Maybe because there's cloud backup?
See, what will happen if after a factory-reset, a whatsapp messenger with different account is installed? What will happen to our conversations? (assuming there's no cloud backup)


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Where does Clockworkmod create a Backup?
I have a Moto G with the bootloader unlocked, and cwm v6.0.4.7 installed. I'm still one the stock ROM, and am looking into installing cyanogenmod
Before I do this, all the articles I see advice me to do the following:
1)Create a Backup using CWM
2)Format System partition
3)Clear Dalvik Cache
4)Flash the new Rom
Now my question is, where is the backup created by Clockworkmod stored? Won't it be deleted when I clear the system partition & the Dalvik cache?
Will I be able to go back to my original ROM if I follow the above steps?

Your backup would be saved in the SD card under the folder clockworkmod, depends upon which SD card you choose there. System partition is a different partition so you need not to worry about that folder, but I wager that your flashing instruction would involve formatting data partition as well, so if you get the option in CWM to not to flash /data/media then you can let the folder remain in internal SD card, else, move it to external SD card or PC, and then do the flashing. You can revert to stock ROM using that backup, or Recovery flashable ZIP or fastboot flashable ZIP.

And then there is the question Where is my ROM backup made in recovery mode saved?

@Firelord: when I go to the clockworkmod folder  us ES File Explorer, I can see only two files: .last_install_path & .recovery_version  I do not see a backups folder within it.

Did you take the backup? Which SD card is it?

This device does not have a SD card slot; and I have taken the backup using CWM recovery, but I don't know where it is stored. (Though CWM can see it after it is created)

Is there a folder named 0? I remember seeing a folder named clockworkmod inside /sdcard/0/. See if it helps.

possible duplicate of Where is my ROM backup made in recovery mode saved?

Added an answer..mentioning it in case you missed

Contrary to expected location of the back up being stored in sdcard/clockworkmod/backup,it ends being stored in /data/media/clockworkmod/backup, upto KitKat and I guess it to be same in later versions for reasons explained below.
Reason for this as given in the Reddit Post Transferring CWM backups to my PC? is

"In Android 4.2, backups are placed in a secure directory, inaccessible to other apps" That's why you can't find the folder with a file explore or when connecting to your computer via USB.

Whether it is TWRP / CWM / Philz recovery, clearing "internal storage", does not wipe this folder, unless explicitly cleared, hence back ups remain safe (I am on 4.2.2 and this  holds true (if  you choose to store on device rather than external SD)  and would welcome if others can comment validity on later versions)
Coming to your question

Clearing System  Since backup is stored in /data/media,  it is not affected by clearing the /system partition (using TWRP also, clearing internal storage leaves /data/media intact )
Dalvik Cache pertains to app optimisation (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/7541281/what-is-dalvik-and-dalvik-cache) and is rebuilt every time it is cleared. This has no connection with back up storage location
Reverting to original ROM On carrying out the steps mentioned in your question and flashing nandroid backup, you can safely revert

The backup can be transferred to PC using adb pull /data/media/clockworkmod/backup

It is stored in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backups/<software version with time stamp>/, which on merged storage becomes: /storage/emulated/0/clockworkmod/backups/<software version with time stamp>/
It isn't supposed to be a hidden folder, but it might be in case someone changed something, including the CWM developer. Refer @beeshyams answer for further details.
Also, this is in reference to versions of Android below 4.2 JB for merged storage, but can be applicable up to 4.4 KitKat if the device has a separate SD card partition, i.e., no merged storage. Now, CWM does offer a choice of locations for the backup, not limited to USB OTG, external SD or internal SD partition (whether real or emulated).
Try connecting your device to your computer and see if the folder shows up there.

Is there a reason why that folder would show in up PC and not in Android? ES File Explorer should be able to show, if the folder exists.

Not in case it was hidden either in Unix form of via ES File Explorer itself, and the OP has not set ES to show hidden files, or he forgot that he hid it. Possibilities.

OP is already able to see hidden files (see this comment) which explains that ES File Explorer is set to show hidden files already.

Oh sorry. It could still be hidden by ES itself.

But, ES hasn't introduced its own file hid mechanism, at least I didn't yet encounter it.  It simply follows *nix way of using ..

It does. Look in hide list.

My bad, yes, the Hide option. I see it now.

Have added answer here...mentioning in case you missed seeing it


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Root Lenovo vibe p1ma40 with Lollipop 5.1
I'm trying to root Lenovo vibe p1ma40 with Lollipop 5.1 this particular device since last couple of day, without any success. So I need your help to do this, or not this particular device but it would be good if there will be generic solution for root of android device.
Below is list of techniques that I've already tried :
1) KingoRoot, and other apps - seems they are under development for this particular device.
2) SP Flash Tool(link) - device go to charging mode after step-8.
3) Fast boot(link- METHOD 1) - command fastboot boot recovery.img gives error as - FAILED (remote: download for partition 'boot' is not allowed)
or - command fastboot flash recovery recovery.img gives error as - FAILED (remote: download for partition 'recovery' is not allowed)
4) New Flashing Commands(link) - command fastboot flashing unlock_critical gives unknown command error.
Any help would be highly appreciated, Thanks in advance.

Unlock the bootloader first using the command: fastboot oem unlock (Note: Unlocking bootloader formats the User data (/data partition). So make a backup of apps/settings first).
Then flash/boot the recovery :)

That third link is specifically about Nexus 6P, so why are you using them on your non-Nexus 6P? The instructions there are bound to fail on your device.

@Gokul - Tried this command too. Even after execution of this command and then following method 3 as describe above gives error. And no this command doesn't format any data.

@Firelord - I've installed latest adb  with fastboot for Ubuntu and linux while in Ubuntu these commands are not displaying but in Windows these commanda are diplaying in help.

So I thought if it has something to do with android lollipop 5.1 then let me give it a try.

Just to make sure, did you do this step: click on checkbox recovery and browse to the extracted files and locate recovery.img for your technique 2 ?

Yes Gokul I did that also.

Did you install VCOM drivers in your computer (for doing that SP Flash Tool method) ? Where I found this hint: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64339913&postcount=2

@Gokul .. Really really thanks mate. You're life saviour. Please put your comment as an answer with some details, so I'll be glad to accept it.

Also I've downloaded "recovery.img" from technique 2 (http://www.cyberkey.in/how-to-root-lenovo-vibe-p1m)(He has also updated same  for VCOM drivers) is it reliable?

@Chitrang Yeah I think the recovery is OK. He has given screenshots also. So, go ahead :)

For the technique 2 that you have listed, you have to install the USB VCOM drivers in your computer so that SP Flash Tool can detect your phone and to enter Download Mode via the USB VCOM port.

This action will add the following drivers in to the operating system:
MediaTek DA USB VCOM Port
MediaTek PreLoader USB VCOM Port – for transferring the firmware to your device
MTK USB DEBUG Port
MTK USB Modem Port
MTK USB Port – for transfering PreLoader to your device (and recovery in case of bad or corrupt firmware)
Source:
  http://laurentiumihet.ro/technology/windows-10-mtk-vcom-usb-drivers-for-32-64-bit-drivers-installation-tutorial/

This should definitely work and help you root your phone.

For your technique 3 (using fastboot), I think you get the error:

FAILED (remote: download for partition 'recovery' is not allowed)

Because you need to unlock the bootloader to flash the recovery.
This varies a little bit for different phones.
The most common command to unlock bootloader is:

fastboot oem unlock

Before doing this, do this: (this might be required sometimes)
1. Go to settings -> About Phone -> Tap on "Build Version" until it shows developer, may be 7 times.
2. In Settings -> Developer Options -> Enable OEM Unlock.
After doing this, still if you're unable to unlock the bootloader or flash recovery using fastboot, I would recommend you to seek further help from the Lenovo Forums.

Hi @Gokul any help for this http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/135607/how-to-resolve-boot-loop-problem-on-android-pumpkinx-10-1-tablet

No need of any other methods. Just use kingroot. Its best. It didn't work for me for about 3 times. 4th time it worked.
Use latest kingroot app


text:
Transfer image after completely wiping Nexus device
I've completely wiped my Google Nexus device. I still have Team Win Recovery Project. But, seems that the device isn't detecting USB.
Executing adb shell returns error: no devices found.
Executing adb devices doesn't return my device.
Tried it out on bith Windows 8 and OSX (El Capitan).

My device (non-Nexus) is detected in MTP mode as well when I boot it in TWRP. Have you checked in your OS in PC, that an MTP device shows up when device is in recovery mode? What kind of image do you have? Can they not be flashed using fastboot?

@Firelord: Nope, no devices show up.

@Firelord: I tried many images. CW recovery, CynogenMod 12, others. It gets stuck on < waiting for any device >

"USB Debugging" enabled in Settings - Developer Options?

Does this happen in Android itself as well as in recovery environments?

@RMarkwald note the "completely wiped" in the first line. Afraid OP cannot check that. Wouldn't be relevant to recovery-mode anyway. But often devices show with different IDs in recovery-mode, so it might be a driver issue. Is the device visible in the device manager?

@Izzy: No. The device isn't visible in the device manager. Already installed the latest drivers (ADB and Google USB) from the latest Android SDK. Life would be so much easier if somehow it was visible!

If it not even turns up in device manager (not even as "unknown device" or something like that), it's rather a generic USB issue. Try different cables and different USB ports, even a different machine, until it at least turns up there.

@Izzy: Already tried it on two laptops. Will try on some other ones tomorrow and post an update here.

@xan take a look at one of my questions : http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/123513/adb-sideload-doesnt-work-no-drivers , it is related and will probably help you out. I'll flag this as a duplicate of that pending further info from you.

@TamoghnaChowdhury: Thanks for the link. I already resolved it. Used a different USB cable and got everything fixed!

@xan if you were able to solve your issue, consider answering your own question and accepting the answer afterwards. This will help others identify solutions in similar cases. Thanks!

I've resolved it. Used a different USB cable and got everything fixed!


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bad calls on custom rom on I9500
For quite some time of trying out various roms on my I9500, I've found out that on all of them I had a call issue, where the other person kept hearing himself twice (echo).
I've tried today to flash a modem for it, but for some reason, now it doesn't identify the sim card anymore.
I've tried flashing other roms, including wiping of everything except for internal&external storage, of course.
The sim card itself is fine, as I can see it working well on Nexus 5.
What can I do to fix this?

EDIT:
ok, I flashed an old modem, and it worked:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58658207&postcount=2729
Sadly, the calls still have issues, but at least the sim card identification is ok.
If anyone knows how to fix this, please help


text:
What are "T Google Enrolment" and "X Google Enrolment"
In my Pixel 3 with stock ROM I can see (among other) apps called "T Google Enrolment" and "X Google Enrolment".  What are these and what do they do? Can I safely disable them?
UPDATE: If, as alluded in an answer, these are listening for "OK Google" phrase, why are there two of them and how are they different from "OK Google enrolment"?

To disable it:

Open Settings
Search for "OK Google"
Choose "OK Google Enrolment"
Select info
Push the "Force stop" button
Push the "Disable" button

This doesn't exactly address the question. Is it safe to remove?

They're used for hotword detection, e.g. continuously listening for "OK Google".

Thanks.  This only raises more questions: why are there two of them?  And why are they needed in addition to "OK Google enrolment"?


text:
Strange problem with proximity sensor on Nexus 5X
A few days ago I started experiencing a strange problem with my proximity sensor. When I answer a call and put the phone to my ear, the screen goes blank.  When the call ends, the screen stays black.  This (as I've discovered) happens to quite a few people.
I started checking with aida64 app. When the app starts, it reports proximity sensor value of 5cm.  When I cover the sensor, the value goes to 0.  Then I uncover the sensor - and the value stays at 0.  I switch from aida64 to any other app and back to aida64 - and the value goes back to 5cm.  Alternatively, I can
switch the screen off, then on again - and the value will go back to 5cm. Basically, it looks like once the value is down to 0, it won't reset for the currently running activity/app - yet it does reset when the activity is deactivated and then reactivated.
I tried booting in safe mode - same results.
Any ideas about trying to solve this?
The phone is Nexus 5X with PureNexus 7.1.2 ROM and Magisk.  Come to think of it, it may have started when I updated magisk a few days ago, but maybe not.  Any suggestions on rolling magisk back a couple of versions would also be useful.
EDIT: I uninstalled magisk altogether and the problem persists, so it can't be magisk related.

The proximity sensor bases on optical recognition. The sensor is usually located next to the speaker in the upper border of the phone. Using another smartphone camera digital camera or a webcam you can see the LED that creates the light detected by the proximity sensor. Make sure this area is clean and the display glass is full intact.

Answering my own question. As I didn't have much to loose, I opened the phone up and found HUGE amounts of dust inside, including around the proximity sensor.  The whole sensor was just clogged with dust. I took out all the tiny parts, gaskets, etc., carefully cleaned everything with a soft brush and re-assembled the phone. Voila! Everything works correctly now.
I suspect the dust was getting in the way of the light in the proximity sensor - but it wasn't fully closed due to the dust moving around there.


text:
Disable web search in Microsoft Launcher
Recently, Microsoft launcher has started to give web search suggestions when I click on my home button and search for an app.
I only want to find apps, but in addition to installed app results the launcher now also gives internet search suggestions.
I want to disable that because I do not use it for that functionality. I guess this is MS's way of pushing Bing, but I still would like to disable it. Is that possible?

It's Microsoft pushing ads for its apps, yet again

Microsoft did this in July last year. See this XDA blog Microsoft is abusing Android’s share sheet by inserting ads for its apps with reddit
and Android Police
links.

Microsoft is back to it's dirty tricks again, this time by inserting  “Bing Search” option in the long-press context menu as reported in XDA in July, this year (annual schedule?) Microsoft Outlook is inserting Bing Search into Android's long-press menu. Also by Android Police

Solutions

Find another launcher and uninstall Microsoft Launcher. Or change search engine in settings, if you want to continue using the launcher.

Uninstall Microsoft Edge. XDA blog says that launcher triggers these ads only when Edge is installed (but some users have reported in comments that they don't have Edge installed but get this Bing search).

Report to Play Store - use Report Inappropriate Apps. Play Store has a very aggressive policy wherein developers are not allowed to even link their own apps.This may cause app to be removed from Play Store

Related (app violations)

Is Android showing app ads in share menu now?

Is it allowed to offer incentives for 5 star ratings on the Google Play app store?

It's a shame. I really like the launcher. Not too many bells and whistles. I do not have Edge installed so that does nor help  I guess I'll have to decide whether it's worth keeping...

The real solution
Just disable app's network access.
Go to settings - > apps - > find Microsoft launcher - > disable network access
It is indeed a really well made launcher.
Cheers


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Sending single SMS message to multiple contacts causes MMS
I'm experiencing an annoying (and costly) problem on my HTC Desire X. (Android 4.1.1) Every time I send a single message to multiple contacts at the same time, the message will be sent as MMS rather than SMS, even though it is a normal text message (not too many words).
I am using Facebook's messenger app to send 'normal' messages as well, but I don't think it has anything to do with it.
EDIT: okay, so after some testing I noticed it has to do with Facebook messenger's app. I went over all settings but can't seem to find anything that disables MMS for group messaging?

Are you using the stock app or Facebook app to send the messages? If I recall correctly, Facebook doesn't handle MMS.

On Stock Android 4.2, in the Messaging app's settings, there is an option called "Group messaging". Disable it. "Use MMS to send a single message when there are multiple recipients"

@BryanDenny My phone can only receive 4.1, so I don't have 4.2. (I checked and "Group messaging" is not in the options or settings.)

This is an easy problem to fix, I believe @BryanDenny already mentioned it.

Go to the stock Android messaging app.
Click the Overflow menu button down in the lower left hand corner (it looks like three boxes stacked on each other).
Select "Settings" from the pop-up menu; should be the first option.
Under "Multimedia (MMS) Messages, uncheck the item that says: "Group messaging- Use MMS to send a single message when there are multiple recipients".

As I said in the comments, I do not have that option. (Android 4.1)

In all likelihood, MMS is just the standard for a group message due to the slightly larger overhead even though you are sending only text. It technically has to send that text times the number of recipients and even though that is still considerably less information than a picture, I would guess it's yet another dick move by big telecom to rake in more money.
SMS/MMS should be free, and it can be:

Get a Google voice number
Install/configure Hangouts (also integrates with chrome)
Set Google voice number in hangouts to the default sending number
Free MMS/SMS over data
Added bonus: Free phone calls with Hangouts using Google voice

You can still have facebook as well as the stock messaging app on your phone and choose to use any of the three at any point in time. They should all synchronize to a degree.
An alternative workaround would be to send the message to one person, and then copy the text and send it to the next person, etc.
Also worth noting just in case:

If you add a Subject to the message you're making, it gets converted
  to MMS format. Even if the Subject is empty, at least, that's what I
  know (source)

It is also relevant how many characters are being sent. If it is > 160 (or perhaps another close number), there is a good chance the protocol gets bumped to MMS automatically.


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Recovering deleted call logs in Android 5.1.1 - to root or not to root?
I accidentally deleted my call logs/histories and badly need them now. I would like to recover the call logs and tried few softwares. Most of them were not successful in recovering the deleted call logs. Some are asking permission for rooting or superuser access.

Is rooting a right thing to do for recovering my call logs? Will it affect my android phone in any unexpected ways?
Are there any other ways or softwares where I could recover my deleted call logs?

Any help would be appreciated.

SMS and call logs are not backed up by google. So unless you have a backup its unlikely you can recover it. You should have used Super Backup from playstore to backup your call logs/SMS etc. Related

So the recovery apps that ask for superuser/root permission to recover call logs are scam? From what you say there is no way for me at all to get back the old deleted call history.

Does the app listed in playstore? Could you provide the app link(s).? I can only find this android-pc recovery tool but i haven't used it myself. You can give it a try or have you already tried it?. And regarding rooting risks question see Are there any risks to rooting a device?

Worst case scenario, if none of the apps work without rooting and if you dont want to root your device you can still call your service provider for your call log information.


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How to get out of non-responding screen swipe on locked Galaxy Edge 6?
I have a Samsung Galaxy 6 Edge phone and twice now, the phone has gotten into a locked state, but the screen swipe does not work, it does not respond to finger swipe to unlock the device.  I can push power button to get screen on or off, but no screen finger action has any effect.  I cannot get it to reboot.  Pushing power off button for a while brings up screen with choice to reboot, but that requires touching screen to select reboot.
I pressed power and volume down keys for several seconds to force restart, and chose normal boot from the menu, but after rebooting the issue remains, no screen swipe response.  Booting into safe-mode didn't help either.  I did a factory reset and still no response to screen touch.  Is this a hardware issue and I need a new phone?  Should I use ADB and redownload the operating system onto it?

It sounds like you've tried all the user steps necessary. ADB does allow for some screen unlock in certain situations, but it still may not be enough. It is possible it is a hardware issue. I think the next step is to take it in for service. Sorry.

Verizon had to replace the phone due to hardware issues evidenced by these symptoms.

Had same problem with Galaxy 6 yesterday. Tried all of the above. No help. Tried volume up button for 10 sec. Got screen asking if i wanted to down load OS , but in middle was an option to restart phone . That worked, touch swipe function opened and works now.

Mine was stuck due to the home key/fingerprint sensor. I tapped it in multiple directions and the problem went away.

I've had the same problem and after many restarts it continued. I tried holding the power button and down volume and home button all together. It will take you to another screen in which you need to push the down volume to cancel and that worked. Hopefully it helps

If you have a case or screen protector on your device, try removing it.
Clean the screen with a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth.
Unplug your device.
Restart your device. If you can't restart it, you can force restart your device.

Always try this last step before concluding. Any smartphone, computer or tab has something they call safe mode which bars installed apps and user system apps from at least running automatically to running at all. Get to google and search how to get to safe mode on your device try it and see if it works. If it doesn't, either take it to service centre, reflash the phone yourself or install a third party OS like Cyanogen of the Samsung Touchwiz is messing up. Many people have been complaining. This is a bug in Samsung ROM's

The questioner already said, "Booting into safe-mode didn't help either."


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Pulling out app and data
I incidentally broke the digitizer connector on the motherboard of my Nexus 10 tablet. I can still power on the tablet, but cannot do anything since the touchscreen is not working. I asked around a couple of repair stores, and was told that there is no easy fix for the connector. My question is: buying another connector or soldering the broken one would not be feasible?
If unfixable, I would like to pull the data out of the tablet, and move to another device. Since I can't use TitaniumBackup in this case, how can I extract each specific app and the data associated with that app so that I could transfer to a phone or another tablet via shell command adb? I could run 'adb backup...', but with that I don't know how to transfer the backup to another device.
My Nexus 10 is rooted, so some of apps are rooted and others are non-rooted, and the former seem to be anywhere on the phone. Also with TitaniumBackup, I know how to transfer the app and its data to another device. In this case, after pulling out the data, how do I move to another device? For example, I notice that some apps are stored under /data/data/ with multiple directories such as databases/, lib/, files/, shared_prefs/, etc. Can I directly move the whole directory tree over to another device?
Another question: the rooted apps seem to be installed as /data/app/com../base.apk. I tried to pull out base.apk, but it can't be installed properly on another device.
Thanks in advance!

Install a custom non-touch CWM recovery via the adb, make a full backup in it, pull the created backup out via "adb sideload" function in the recovery. Then, you can play with the total backup of your system, just rename "data.ext4.win000" (internal storage file) to "data.ext4.tar.000" (and other files in similar way) and open it in FTKImager (even lite version is enough).
If you want just to reinstall the apps with their data on a new smartphone use AppExtractor with your backup zip

Thanks for the help! Not so comfortable with installing a CWM recovery at this stage. Is there a solution through a total backup with 'adb backup -all ...' ?

adb backup -apk -shared -all -f C:\1.ab  will probably pull out everything, but I don't know how to avoid backuping everything.
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/24785/partial-adb-restore
You should probably search for help on xda forum.

I just realized that I could not run a backup through 'adb backup ...' because it requires that I unlock the screen and confirm the backup operation, which I cannot do because of the loss of touchscreen.

so I guess, cwm non-touch recovery is maybe one of the last options that you can try


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Effect of changing resolution on battery
There are various ways to change the resolution on Android devices, and I was wondering: Does it have any noticable effect on battery life? And has anybody ever tried doing some proper measurements?

Have you tried experimenting it (research) or perhaps searching about it? It should lead you to some point I suppose. What is it?

@Firelord I indeed tried searching for it with very little luck. Why do you think I ended up here with the question ;-) And no, I have not started doing any research myself, because that would mean I couldn't use my phone for at least a couple of days whilst I run each test at a different resolution.

I suspect the reduction in power consumption will not be significant, but you can easily test this yourself using free software like Trepn Profiler. Disclosure: I am part of the team that makes this software. Make sure to follow these best practices, if you want to get the most accurate results.
Another method to measure power consumption is using Monsoon Power Monitor hardware. I forced the screen resolution to 240 dpi using this adb command:
adb shell wm density DPI && adb reboot

Then I measured the power consumption idle and under a load at 240 dpi using the Monsoon Power Monitor. I used the Adreno Test app to load my device. Next I remeasured at the 560 dpi, which is the native resolution of my Nexus 6. At 240 dpi, icons and text appear much smaller on the screen.
Here are the results:
Idle power consumption

240 dpi: 514 mW
560 dpi: 522 mW

Power consumption under load

240 dpi: 3155 mW
560 dpi: 3287 mW

Bottom line: My simple test showed there is almost no benefit to reducing the resolution of your screen via software.


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How can I reclaim space used by the defaul email client
The default email client on my phone is reported as have almost 2.5Gb of data.   It's used to sync with my work Exchange account.   I've reduced the number of days to sync and the number of folders to sync, with no reduction in the reported space used by the app.  I do notice that the trash folder claims 999+ messages, even though I delete the contents most days from my laptop client.   That folder doesn't offer sync settings, and I can't find a way to select all of the messages to delete them.
Short of clearing all data for the app and setting my account up again, is there any way to reclaim some of this space?

I ended up deleting the account and re-adding it.   Space used by Email went from 2.7Gb to 16Mb.
On my Moto X, running Android 4.4.4, Delete the account from System settings (i.e., not in the Email app) -- under Settings, in the "Accounts" section, find the account with the Email app's icon and name that matches the name in the app.  Tap the account name, then the menu icon, and select "Remove account".   Details may vary on other Android versions.
To add an account to the Email app, click the menu icon, then select Settings", "Add Account" will appear in the right side of the top menu bar.

I you work at a company with an IT department that your device has been added to, you may need to consult with someone there as to how to handle this matter. Administrators have to be very particular about who has access to what on the company network.


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Multiple Gmail Accounts
Am I able to add a second email address to my phone. On the iPad I know you can have an inbox for multiple email addresses. Can I do this so I have my personal emails and a secondary one in the gmail app? They are both gmail accounts.
Thanks

Yes you can, to get this working just click on the button on left upper side of window and click on you email, now you'll get option to add another account.

*P.S on the image it shows "Personal" you just click on "Google" since it's Google account

Ahhh thank you! I was trying to do it from settings...


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Device suddenly unauthorized for adb
I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Lollipop and recently broke my screen so that it is now black. adbcontrol worked somewhat okayish - I did not see the whole screen but it was just enough to navigate to my memos and share them. But now I remembered that I hadn't synced my Browser bookmarks so I started my PC again, connected the phone, adb devices showed the device - but unauthorized.
That already happened to me once so I ran adb kill-server && adb start-server but the phone stays unauthorized. Unplugging and putting it back in or restarting the computer did not help either.
Why is it suddenly unauthorized? And why can't I fix it with what I tried - because that worked already a few times...
And most importantly: Has anybody got any idea how I could make this work again (or maybe a different screen-replacing tool that doesn't require adb) ?

I can't say why you are unauthorized, but you can try resetting all authorisation in developer options. it will ask you again.

Thank you, but this is not an option because my Screen doesn't work (since I cannot access it anymore also not with the tool 'adbcontrol') - except I could somehow accept it again by using only the pc (?)

You can try the following:

adb kill-server followed by adb start-server
(on device) Settings -> Developer Options -> USB Debugging -- switch off and on
[Windows] Make sure you have the proper driver (your best bet is Universal Adb Driver by Koushik Dutta -- will handle any device)
[Windows] Try turning off all fancy on-the-fly anti-malware scanners/firewalls
[Linux] Make sure you have the proper UDEV rule in /etc/udev/rules.d/51-android.rules (again, universal solution: https://github.com/snowdream/51-android)
[Linux] Try using adb as root
Restart your phone
Replug cable, try different cable, different port, remove any extender cables

I hope somthing works for you :)

Thank you :) but I already tried unplugging, restarting and killing the server and re-enabling on the device is impossible cause of destroyed screen...I decided to bring it to a screen-replacement-shop..that should let me keep the data

You're welcome :). I hope your device works now. Let me know if there is anything that works besides the sceen replacement.

Now that the screen works again, adb DEVICES made the device ask me again for permission so youryour idea of dis- and reenabling would probably have worked if the screen would have

Great! :) Well you can mark it as an answer then :)

I just re-read my question and noticed that I mabe didn't make the 'my screen doesn't work' part clear enough. Questions without that exist enough on here. On one hand, your answer didn't help me at all, but on the other hand it is probably the most complete list of what could help when the screen still works. So I guess I give you that tick because ther is probably no solution for my specific problem.

You are right. Infact, there can not be a specific answer to problems like these. They require debugging but one thing is for sure, you need to debug in the right direction rather. Anyways, thanks


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Download purchased APK from play store
I am using CyanogenMod on my Android devices without Google Apps (and consequently without the Play Store). Nevertheless, I have a Google account bound to my device ID and have purchased various apps with the account.
I want to download the APK files of the purchased apps and install them via ADB. About a year ago that was no problem using Real APK Leech or the APK Downloader extension for Chrome. Today Real APK Leech is seemingly unable to download any APKs, and the Chrome extension can only download APK files of free apps, even though the used Google Account has purchased the apps.
Are there any currently working ways of downloading purchased APK files without using the Play Store-App on the device itself?
(Similar questions I found on this site suggest outdated answers)

There are multiple possibilities for this. One is using the appropriate counter-parts from the µg project (pronounced "micro-G"; formerly known as NOGAPPS) – in this case Phonesky (the inofficial Google PlayStore Client) or BlankStore (same thing, basically). Each of these two would run directly on the device, no Google-Apps required (hence the name "NOGAPPS", or "micro-G(oogle)"). Check with FakeGApps, which has a good ReadMe to get you started with that on a Google-free device.

Blankstore (source: XDA; click for larger variant)
Then there's Raccoon, available for Linux, Mac, and Windows, see the article Raccoon is a desktop downloader for Google Play Store apps at AndroidCommunity. Raccoon can be used on your computer to download the APKs, which you then would need to install by other means (adb install, or copy to your Android device and manually install there). Raccoon also keeps track of updates available for apps you "watch". I'm not sure if it can deal with apps already bought (didn't give it a try yet), but as it works with your normal GPlay credentials, it should. As with BlankStore, just the process of bying apps will not be available – but you can do that using the Google Playstore with your web browser.

Raccoon (source: Tutonaut; click image for larger variant)
With payed apps, trouble often is they use Google's license service to verify their "legitimacy". That would fail with Raccoon if you've got neither GApps nor NOGAPPS on your device. BlankStore and Phonesky, on the other hand, were reported to take care of that as well (though I've experienced BlankStore to fail with payed apps recently, which might be caused by some API changes on Google's end – I didn't dig deeper into that yet, so I cannot tell for sure, but I don't seem to be the only one).

Thank you for your quick answer. Raccoon seems to be exactly what I have been looking for - it seems very mature and managed to download an already purchased app!

Glad I could help! Meanwhile found out why BlankStore doesn't work anymore with paid apps But something seems to be pending, according to this commit: Licensing working, building needs to be fixed :)


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How to prove Orbot is working for apps
I am using Orbot to torify the traffic of a certain app. To be sure I selected the option 'Tor Everything', because I dont need high speed internet on this phone anyway.
Now besides using this browser and checking my ip is there any way is there anyway to prove tor is working for all the other apps aswell ?
Best regards

There is no general way to verify if an unspecific app has been torifyed, but you could simulate behavior of https://check.torproject.org/ web service (which essentially looks up HTTP client address in tor exit node list and reports if found or not) using general purpose utilities as follows:
Launch terminal and telnet to public route server
user@android:/ $ telnet route-views.optus.net.au

At server prompt issue show users command
route-views.optus.net.au>sh users
    Line       User       Host(s)              Idle       Location
   2 vty 0                idle                 00:01:32 94.228.44.113
*  3 vty 1                idle                 00:00:00 tor-exit01.baconsvin.org
   4 vty 2                idle                 00:04:46 203.81.71.31
   5 vty 3                idle                 00:00:46 cg.eastlink.ca

  Interface    User               Mode         Idle     Peer Address

An asterisk * at line 3 (vty1) denotes an active line you are using to connect, and location of your line's endpoint (tor-exit01.baconsvin.org in this case) clearly marks tor exit node (some exit nodes do not have so friendly reverse DNS, so check against known endpoints like your ISP, VPN or look up in tor exit node list).
Thus, you just connected through tor (try the same with tor stopped to see the difference) and hence, Orbot's transparent proxying feature works for all apps.

thank you for your answer unfortunately I cant upvote your answer. How would the routing look like if I'd use an additional VPN ? Android->VPN->Tor->Appserver ?

@flxh, sorry, I can't say for sure without configuring a lab.  Just tested with simple anti-censorship VPN I use and Tor over VPN tunneling didn't work. Also, expanded the answer a bit on how to figure out current connection type from location reported by network service.


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App is kept in memory, content is not
On my GPE S4 (Android 5.0.1), if I change from Firefox or Google Sheets or ezPDFreader to another application for more than 1 or 2 minutes, and come back, the data is loaded again. It is not only bad for my data plan, but is also time consuming. I monitor data usage, it is not just re-rendering.
On my Nexus 4 (Android 5.0), applications in the background keep content for an hour or more. It is quite strange, as they have the same amount of memory, 2GB.
Is there a setting for this? How can I avoid unnecessary reloads?

Via Browser is the only way I've found to avoid this problem. (Besides already having a lot of RAM anyway)
Make sure "Go back without reloading" is checked under Advanced settings.
Here's the play store link
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mark.via.gp
If you look outside the play store you may also find special versions with other features.

The problem is in RAM usage of your firmwares. Nexus has a fewer "stock app" processes running in the background, thus it consumes less random access memory, so there is more of it for user apps. This means, you can launch more apps simultaneously without having some of them to be killed in the background!
Samsung tried to include as more "cool features" as possible to their devices like a pretty (and heavy) TouchWiz, much of bloatware, and all other "special" features also consume RAM.
There are several ways solving this issue:
One of them is switching to a custom ROM. Like CyanogenMod. It will really help you, but u might loose some of your phones abilities (mostly useless of them).
Another one is, you can disable all the bloatware, uninstall some unnecessary apps, that run in the background (you might have to root your ROM for some of them) disable ALL unused features like Live wallpapers, and much more. Disable some autorun apps, using 3C Toolbox (root). For more info, Google "how to free ram on" and your device name.
I strongly reccomend you to do a backup of your ROM before you begin! Otherwise, be really careful!
Good luck :)

as I wrote, it GPE (google play edition), so none of the usual Samsung bloatware is there

@András If RAM isn't a problem, then I have found some interesting info here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1175236
They say, some carriers install a task killer, that closes background apps after X minutes.

I assume its only for browsers (and some high end gamed maybe)? Because file managers should well maintain that. Same with music and possibly other apps.
Actually, there is not really any workaround for this sadly (not on unrooted atleast0. Its the way browsers are made. If an app or system has to reload content, it will because it has decided to. No stopping it. Its not a memory or ram or any other problem, just the way app is made or that specific android os on phone is designed to work.
To be accurate, it doesn't really reload. It rerenders.
For instance, say you start a game and android decides to free up some ram by clearing or suspending background apps, then it will kill the chrome and it will have to "reload" next time you start. Even if you dont start some heavy task, chrome and similar will still rerender.
From How to force browsers not to reload recently seen page after resume? | Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange:

the browser isn't actually reloading, in the sense of reissuing the
  HTTP GET request; rather, it's simply re-rendering the existing HTTP
  response that it presumably has lying around in its cache. I say this
  because I've seen this happen without network connectivity; if I then
  tap the "reload" button, it gives the error you'd expect ("Cannot load
  page because I cannot connect to the Internet" or whatever.)

browsers had to rerender if it has been killed by the system
  (generally when a foreground apps needs more memory). With chrome,
  rerendering is a bit obvious because chrome displayed a grayscale
  screenshot of the page while it's rerendering. If you want to prevent
  rerendering at all, you should avoid switching to a heavy application
  (e.g. games). How much states are preserved across rerendering depends
  on the quality of implementation of the browser.

it is not just re-rendering, I minister data usage

Well, its the way the app/os is designed then. Using custom OS might help but otherwise there's no way while unrooted. I suggest you read the discussion's answer I gave link to (and the comments following).


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Widgets of installed apps do not appear in list
I just bought my father a chinese phone, seems to be working great except after I install an app, it does not appear in the widgets list.
I have tried several apps (Wifi Manager, Gsam Battery monitor) on several launchers (Default, Zeam, GO Launcher EX). I even set English instead of Hungarian, nothing helped.
The default widgets (Bookmarks, Calendar, Gmail, etc) are in the list.
Is there some setting I am missing?

Maybe. You didn't move those apps to SDCard somehow? Unlikely, but the first thing coming to my mind when widgets do not show up...

It was the default setting somehow. Thank you very much. If you convert it to an answer, I will accept it as a solution. Someone else might profit from it.

Sure thing – glad my guess was a precision landing, and thus the solution an easy one! Done so.

This can (and certainly will) happen when installing apps on SDCard. Normally, the system should prevent this (or rather the dev, by defining the "install-location" accordingly in the app's Manifest).
So if the apps were installed on SDCard, go to Settings→Apps, scroll to the apps' entries, open them (one by one), and move the app to internal storage. If the widgets do not appear right away after that, they should do so at least after a reboot.

Izzy is right, by default you aren't able to load widgets from external memory. If you'd like to do that you will have to use an app like link2sd or something to trick the kernel into thinking it is the internal memory.
Link2sd
link2sd +


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Nexus 7 randomly reboots and resets date to 1999
Twice now my Nexus 7 has randomly rebooted while it was charging and the date was changed to December 31, 1999 and the time has been changed; this time it was set six hours ahead. Does anyone know what's going on and how to stop it?
Update: It just happened again today, 4/28/13. This time the time was set 2 hours ahead. It's been charging every time this has happened.
Edit:

I use the original charger and cable. However, the charging port is a
little bent and I can't do a data connection to a PC, and it can
be a little hard to get it to charge sometimes.
I do not use any docks.
My Android version is 4.2.2
I updated the Android version myself using ClockWorkMod Recovery as I am rooted.
I have 63 apps installed.
I do not use task killers.
I have not yet done a factory reset since I won't be able to re-root (see note about charger above) and it would take quit a while to re-download everything since I only have internet occasionally. I will do a factory reset only if it's the last resort.

This isn't too big of a problem, just annoying.

I have N7 too. I never heard or read about anything like this. It can be faulty battery or charging circuit, but it can be just SW problem.
First, please, add some important details to your question:

Did you use original charger?
Did you use original USB cable?
Did you use original dock?
What android version do you have?
Do you have this version out of box from the first day (from factory) or did you get it as OTA update or did you update it yourself?
How many apps do you have installed?
Do you use any task killer?
Did you try reset to factory defaults?

Added the details you wanted.

Do you mean by "the charging port is a little messed up" that the micro USB connector on your Nexus 7 is dirty and has a poor contact?

The metal "frame" part of it has come apart at the joint and is a little loose, and the one of the gold contacts got bent up and I had to flatten it.

Ouch, I think that damaged micro USB connector on your Nexus 7 can be culprit of your problem. You can check this theory: rent the dock from friend and try to charge through the dock's pogo pins, I bet that everything will be all right.

I don't think I know anyone who has one but I'll check. I am also planning on replacing the port anyways, just haven't yet.

Haven't fixed it yet, but while jiggling the charger trying to get it to work out reset again. Pretty sure that's the problem. Thanks


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What is my Google password?
I set up my device quite some time ago and created a Google account. Since then, I haven't had to use my password even once because my device is linked to the account.
The problem is, now I would like to sign into my Google account online and I can't because I have absolutely no clue what my password is.
Is there any way I can recover or even change my password from my phone?
I understand the need for privacy but I really have no need for that kind of protection.

No, you can't recover the password nor you can change it using the device if you don't know the current password.  Passwords aren't saved in plain text in the device and there is no functionality in the Android to allow changing Google account password.

Did you try to go the account recovery page and tried to provide your mobile no, or email to recover your lost password?

@Lucky I haven't tried that yet, however, I don't have a phone number and don't even have a sim card.

@Firelord oh really, /data/system/users/0/accounts.db sqlite is plain text enough for me

You have an answer with the link to the account recovery page. Please try that and provide your email after selecting I don't know my password checkbox. You'll be shown the list of recovery options.

You still have your Android device, and I assume you're using Playstore from there. Recent versions of the Playstore app ask you to provide "alternative contact details" after each install/update. Provide them. Then you can get a new password sent there.

@izzy awesome I'll have to give that a try.

Good luck! And what I forgot to write: you're only asked as long as you didn't yet provide those details. Nasty nag-screen, I hate it (I don't like to give those details) – but can prove useful to some :)

visit https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery/ to recover password. you can do this from any browser. to create your own android "app password" you need to go to google.com/accounts/security and set an "app password"
however, if you need to recover anything ever again from your phone, you can enable the 2-step verification and verify your phone number so you can be texted stuff from google.

I don't have a phone number and don't use a sim card, I have wifi everywhere.

the website for google account recovery is accessable via wifi. so is the ability to make app passwords specifically /for/ your phone if you have 2-step verification. also, instead of text messages, android phones can instlal the "google authenticator" app... again, via wifi.

I will go ahead and accept this even though it wasn't exactly what I was looking for because it seems to be the only reasonable and most standard way to do this. However, I feel it needs to be said that this seems unacceptable from a user standpoint that the capability to manage my account etc. isn't at the very least an option for those of us who choose to take upon the responsibility of trading an extra layer of security for convenience. Certainly not that it should be a default, but that it should be an option, possibly with the same kind of warning we get when raising the volume too high.


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The "While locked" or "When device is locked" menu is missing in settings
Using Lenovo A5000. Recently Android 5.0.2 update arrived. After updating I was asked about the notifications at lock screens. I would like to change my choice but there is no menu "While locked" or "When device is locked" in Sounds and notofocations. Have anybody seen that? And how can I fix it? The lock screen is unlocked with pattern.

Go to Security settings and select "screen lock". Create a lock (even if you have one already). After confirming the lock, you will be asked to change how your lock screen notifications are displayed. Change according to your liking.


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do I pay for multiple downloads of paid apps?
I am thinking about buying Tasker, and swype. If I purchase these apps, will I need to pay for them on each device? Or will a single purchase allow me to install on all my devices?

Apps purchased through Google play store are linked to a Google account and not a device. This means you can purchase an app then use it on devices signed into the Google account that purchased it. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/113410?hl=en


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Mirror device screen to pc
For presentation purposes I want to mirror the device screen to a (very large) screen connected to a pc, so multiple people can see it at the same time.
What is the best way to do this. I have seen some apps but they either require rooting, signing up for accounts etc.. I don't mind buying some cable if they exist but chromecast is a bit excessive (need to switch device often and don't always run the presentation on the same pc).
Any suggestions or hints to get me in the right directions would be much appreciated.

It has to run on multiple devices. For my current project I am testing on an asus phonepad 7 but this changes from time to time.

Does this answer your question? How do I project the screen of my Android phone for a presentation?

I would use Vysor.  You can control your phone from your computer.  Root is NOT required.
Link to information on Vysor

You'll need the Android SDK install on the computer, as it does use adb, so you'll want to start adb by opening a command propmpt window and typing:
start adb-server

You'll have to install the Google Chrome extension from here.  It only works in Google Chrome.
You'll need USB Debugging enabled on your phone, Settings → Developer Options.
Plug in your phone, and Vysor will start up automatically, and a window will open, which will be a welcome screen, shown here:
(Click image to enlarge)

From here, you can use your mouse to swipe your homescreen left/right, take screenshots, click to open folders/apps, even keyboard access.

Nice this worked right away without any problem.

You can try AllCast witch only require a working Wi-Fi connection.
It works pretty great for me (LG G3, Android 5.0) :

Download Mirror Beta
On your PC, in Chrome, install AllCast Receiver

Make sure both your phone and laptop are connected on the same wireless network and then :

Open Mirror Beta and select your computer :

AllCast Receiver will show up on your computer mirroring your Android screen.
Hope this will work for what you need.

The app for this solution keeps getting stuck on downloading without actually doing something so I couldn't test it. Also you mention both needing to be on the same wifi, but I need to display it on a pc which doesn't use wifi. Is it still possible then? I'll try downloading the app again later.

Oh ok if the PC does not have a Wi-Fi connection it won't work. Glad you found a solution ;)

You also can use simple and cool tool droid-at-screen.


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Is there a setting to always start from the home screen on unlock?
I am running Lollipop 5.0.2 on an LG phone.  Is there a setting to always start from the home screen on unlock?  Instead of trying to open the last open application.

AOSP ROM doesn't have such setting and neither did I ever hear about such setting in any other ROM. Anyhow, if you are comfortable with app based solutions then you can consider any of the following apps for the objective.
Tasker (7-day trial) does it nicely.

Profile: Event → Display → Display Off or Display Unlocked
Task → Actions: App → Go Home.

Done!

Macrodroid (free for up to five macros) can also help.
Macro:

Trigger: Screen Unlocked or Screen On/Off → Screen Off
Action: Launch Home Screen
Constraints: Choose depending upon the trigger or leave it untouched

Done!

AutomateIt (free) works too.
Rule:

Trigger: Screen Off Trigger or Screen On Trigger
Action: Launch Home Screen Action
Rule: Show rule popup when launched → No

Done!

Atooma is also doing well here.

IF: Screen → Screen On
DO: App Launcher → choose your launcher app

Done!


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Galaxy Note 2 N7100 does not turn on, only shows battery "loading" icon
I bought a GN2 three days ago, it worked fine until today, when I did a reboot and it didn't come back. The blue LED turned off with the device, and instead of rebooting, the battery "loading" (empty battery with a loading icon) screen appeared. This screen flashes up every 15 seconds or so.
If I plug in the phone to the charger, the battery loading screen stops appearing and the red charging LED appears. However, if I hold the power button to turn the device on, the battery "loading" icon reappears and after a few seconds, it goes back to the red charging LED and charging screen.
The battery has 60% charge, so it is not dead.
I can boot into system recovery by pressing volume up + home + power every single time. Selecting "reboot device now" from the recovery sometimes boots the device, and sometimes does not.
Occasionally I can get it to boot in the normal manner (by holding the power button), but there seems to be no pattern between when I can boot it by pressing the power button and when I can't.
Just before this battery loading screen appears, there is a very brief flash of red from the LED.
I am not aware of doing anything that should mess with the bootloader or ROM. The device is running the stock ROM and the bootloader is locked.
I have tried removing the battery for a few minutes, which did not resolve the issue (it turns on after the battery is inserted, but afterwards this issue reoccurs).

I replaced the phone a few days after I made this post. I haven't had the issue with the new phone. Sorry for not being able to provide a good answer!