text:
How to know how much recent activity has been seen by a person having access to my Gmail account?
My estranged wife has possession of my phone. I locked her out of Gmail access as soon as possible. Despite my efforts I can't view from my PC in my security settings how much recent activity she saw on my Gmail and what she was browsing while on my device. I'm afraid that my opportunity to obtain this info has passed because I didn't check the history before I signed out of all devices. Is there still hope ?

If you used Chrome for Android as your phone's web browser, you should be able to view its history by opening Chrome on your desktop, going to History, and selecting "Other Devices" (also requires you are signed into Chrome on your PC, and, I believe, a sync setting enabled in PC Chrome).
For other apps, though, most do not retain any such logs, let alone provide a mechanism for remotely accessing them.
(Keeping an activity history on the device itself would be impractical due to the limited write lifecycle of the internal storage; Chrome retains your browsing history in the cloud as a convenience.)

Google secures this data (any cloud provider should) in such a way as to not be readily accessible to their employees or hackers. However, many people are hyper-reactive regarding internet privacy, and erroneously assume anything in the cloud is accessible to the cloud provider, so they disable such features and advise others to do the same. My local news recently instructed viewers to disable Location History, without explaining that doing so breaks some very useful features, like telling you about heavy traffic on your daily commute, or when to leave to get to your appointment on time.)


text:
Phone automatically hangup when the call is picked up by receiver
I am having problems when I call people. Every time I try to make a call to someone I can hear the ringback tone, but as soon as someone picks up the phone or their voice mail activates my phone will automatically hang itself up. I'm not sure what  should I do. I thought that factory resetting my phone would work but I don't want to risk losing all of my information that I have stored in my phone.
Is there any possible solution to my problem?

It could be a firmware bug by your manufacturer and a update could be released if you report ASAP. However, if you are using a custom rom, then you should report the problem to the rom developer.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to protect my files from the Mobile repairers?
I'm using Samsung Galaxy Core GT model. I have some problem in my Mobile. I want to have my Mobile serviced, so I want to protect my photos and other data from the Mobile repairer/technician. I've heard that now a days those people are hacking the personal photos of the Mobile users. They are using the photos for illegal purposes.
So how do I protect the photos from those people before giving my phone for servicing?

Welcome to Android.SE! Your question is a bit unclear: what "mobile service person" are you talking about? Are you talking about repair service? // Please also take a look into our privacy tag-wiki, which probably already holds the information you want. If my above guess was correct: I have sold my phone on eBay. What should I do before I send it off? / What's the most complete way to erase all the data from my phone so it cannot be recovered?

Just move all your important and private data to your computer via a usb cable or to your external sd card and remove it while you give it for servicing. Once you serviced your phone, copy those file back to your phone.

If your really paranoid about your data then backing up all your information to your PC would be one thing - syncing your contacts to your Google account.
If you have a later version of Android then should have encrypting software to encrypt your device and data. But to be safe, anything personal backup to your PC.

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


text:
How to root Asus Fonepad 8 tablet?
I want to root my tablet Asus Fonepad 8. How do I do it?
I tried iroot, kingoroot, root my device, and etc, but to no avail?

Use Frama root (the easiest way) or Towel root. Tutorials are all over the web.

Elaborating that "and etc," would definitely help us to not ending up suggesting those "and etc," again, and see Methods/apps here.

authors: Собиржон Хужакулов


text:
Unable to sign-in into Google Play Store after logging out
I downloaded Freedom app, but I didn't find it interesting, so I uninstalled it completely. After a while I tried opening my Google Play Store, but it didn't open and shows: "No connection - retry".
So I logged myself out of Google to see if the problem is resolved or not.
But unfortunately, it didn't, and now, I am not able to log into my Google account, and ultimately, unable to use Google Play Store. How can I solve this issue?

You need to get Freedom again. Open Freedom, tap the three dots on the top-right corner and tap Stop as in the picture shown above.

See my answer here.

Remove your Google account from phone.
To do this, go to Settings -> Accounts. Now removal process depends on device and OS version so you will have to find how to remove it on your own.
Now go to Settings -> Apps -> Google Play services -> Delete Data/Clear Cache.
Do the same procedure for Google Play Store app.
Reboot device and try to add account again.


text:
Moto G 2nd Gen receive calls but shows no display
My Motorola Moto G 2nd Gen fell in water. I quickly removed it from the water, and tried to dry it. I went to Service centre, got it fixed, and  since then saw no problem.
Two weeks later, the phone subtly goes blank. I get calls and notifications but can't see anything.
How do I fix this issue?

My Motorola Moto G 2nd Gen fell in water.

Unfortunately, as with most unprotected electronic devices, water does unspeakable things to cell phones. It's for this reason that diagnosing challenges with water-logged phones is time consuming and unreliable.
Water can short circuit the device in the short run, water also leaves behind moisture. This moisture causes rust and calcification of any contacts and other exposed metals inside the device. It is entirely possible that this process has caused your screen to lose connection/power to the device it's attached to.
Best case scenario: Take it back to the service centre and see if they will fix it again (whether or not they'll ask for money this time is up to them). It could require a new ribbon cable or other quick part to get it up and running again.
Worst case scenario: It's not repairable, and if it is, you may continue to encounter challenges like this until the device ultimately fails completely.


text:
How to install apk in 2nd user of android 5.0 without playstore
So, android 5.0.2 doesn't allow side loading of apks for 2nd user (irrespective of whether it is guest or standard user). "Unknown Sources" is disabled and is uncheckable. And I use a pure Cyanogen Mod 12 (android 5.0.2) without any Google apps. So, there is no Play Store app.
But I have root access.
As shown in the pics, Unknown Sources is Uncheckable and installation is blocked.
(Click image to enlarge)

With this situation, how can i install apks on to the 2nd user account??
EDIT:
It seems Google intentionally (in the name of security) blocked sideloading apks for 2nd user in android 5.0.2. There is a bug report here. And sideloading was reenabled in android 5.1.
I will post how to sideload apks on lolipop 2nd user using adb. If this can be done without adb please post.

enable sideloading

How? Unknown sources is untickable in 2nd user in lolipop 5.0.2 .

amd first user? I think it's untickable because the main user has disabled it. so any other user can't active it

Main user has it enabled. 2nd user has only option to install apps from play store. Device without gapps are affected...

it's working on cm 12.1. I tried it right now.

@Schwertspize CM12.1 runs Android 5.1.x while OP noted Android 5.0.2 (CM12). I got confused first too but later amended my answer. :)

@Firelord I know that cm 12.1 is based on android 5.1. I just tried it and wanted to share that it's cm 12 only.

Using the command,
adb install -r whatever.apk

will install the application in 2nd user of android 5.0.2 .
Source

what if the 2nd user can't enable developer options and so can't enable usb debugging ?

2nd user cannot enable developer options and usb debugging. When 1st user enables usb debugging and installs this way, the application will appear to 2nd user. If 1st user willingly disables usb debugging, then there is nothing much 2nd user can do in this regard..

If settings.apk is recompiled with this (https://github.com/CyanogenMod/android_packages_apps_Settings/commit/338ab4561d7e06619b43f3634be7414afe5389d1) commit or this (https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Settings/+/ceceb2a) included, then it will be fixed.

Is there a way without need to use ADB? Any method that might require root or custom recovery maybe?

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


text:
Whatsapp last seen versus blue double check for sent messages
I have experienced a weird situation with Whatsapp, and I don't know what it means.
I sent a message and it got the blue double checks at 18:00 hrs, but the person to whom I sent the message was last seen at 16:00 hrs.
How could my message got  blue double checks if the person hasn't opened Whatsapp?

check pointers in this question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/30781/whatsapp-last-time-seen-online-what-does-it-mean

How about the good ol' first letter capital :D

There could be Two (or more)  possible reason for this:
 All the word "read" is in past tense

Read while Offline
Your friend was connected to net, but whatsapp was closed (not in foreground) and recieved your msg.
Then he got disconnected with internet, and while this, read your message.
Thus the Whatsapp application registered that the user has read the msg.
Then your friend got connected to internet, it is now when Whatsapp fires the "msg read by user" request to server.
But as the Whatsapp is closed, the last seen does'nt change.

Whatsapp Plus
The second possibility is that your friend is using a modded Whatsapp version called Whatsapp Plus (discontinued for now).
It has the ability and option to hide last seen of the user, even when the user is connected to internet and Whatsapp is running in foreground.
Thus, the user can chat with you in real time without changing his last seen!
Now the thing is that, Whatsapp Plus also has an option to Hide Blue Ticks and Hide second tick.
Thus, we can conclude that, it is possible, that your friend has Hide last seen enabled, and rest all disabled.
Leading to the situation in Question.


text:
How to prevent extra folders from being created in my external SD card?
I have an HTC desire 820s running on Kitkat 4.4.4.
I have set phone storage as my default write disk in Settings. However, when I open  ES file explorer, I always find that many folders named like ucbrowser, whatsapp, blackmart etc., have been created in my external card. Even when I delete them all and check after sometime, I find that they have been recreated.
Can you tell me how to stop these folders from getting created? I want them to be created in my internal SD card, not in external SD card.

Possible this is the answer of your duplicate question?!

How to stop apps writing to “Android” folder on the SD card?

Application storage location setting (internal or external SD card) in Android system settings involves location of application's private files such as databases or preferences. These files cannot be accessed by user unless the user has root privileges.
Application may create additional folders on it's own on your external SD card and nothing can be done about that from the perspective of the system. This is your case. The only thing is to check settings inside the app itself that could offer to disable saving of additional data.
I'm not 100% percent sure what you mean by "i have set phone storage as my default write disk" since as far as I know there is no system wide setting for default application storage location. If you edit your question I may provide additional info in my answer.

"i have set phone storage as my default write disk" . I guess that means Settings -> Storage -> default write disk -> Internal storage


text:
Micromax A88 screen flashes white after booting in recovery mode
I tried rooting my Android phone (Micromax A88) using Kingo Root for Windows. After rooting, I got root permissions, but recovery mode got corrupted.
After booting in recovery, screen just flashes white and device turns off. I have tried ROM manager and also Mobileuncle MTK Tools using Recovery Image but no luck.
How should I fix this issue?

Flash the Stock ROM using SP Flash Tool. If you go to Service Center, they'll charge unnecessary !
You need to download SP Flash Tool, Drivers for MMX A88 and the Stock ROM of the same.
Install Drivers in your PC and extract the Stock ROM, which will be incompressed file format.
Follow the detailed procedure here


text:
".walkfree" folder automatically created in SD card, and APKs downloaded into it without any notification
In my SD card a folder is created on its own named .walkfree by an unknown source, and in that it automatically downloads .apk files showing no notification of being downloaded, and if deleted, a new same folder appears and again apps are downloaded, and it does not stop.
What is going on?

Do you have an app/game called "This Crazy walk"? Research suggests that this app made it to store ad data.

Big chance it's caused by a trojan. Read MalwareBytes forum for more info. Meanwhile, check your installed apps (usually on Settings - Apps - Downloaded/All tabs) and see if there's a suspicious app that you didn't install. Edit: for technical-savvy person, check apps that has com.walkfree.internal.PushReceiver component.


text:
Is there an way to access a shared (networked) scanner on android?
I recently purchased a networked multifunction machine, and I was excited about its ability to scan via handheld devices using Epson's iPrint. Since I'm keeping the device in a different room from my computer, scanning via my tablet seemed much more useful than running from room to room, making adjustments.
However, I found Epson's android scanning app to be a bit... simplistic. It only scans preset document sizes, at preset resolutions, and only to jpeg or pdf, no lossless formats like png or tiff. I searched for alternative apps, and only found manufacturer specific options. My searching was complicated due to all the "scanning" apps that use the phone's camera, and scanning tools for network security.
So, my question is, does anyone know of any way to access shared, networked scanners and use the more advanced features that you see on desktops?

Please don't ask for recommendations for an app. Just describe the problem you're trying to solve. See also: How do I ask a question that may require recommending a product?

Sorry, didn't know about that rule :) I changed my question slightly to address those concerns.


text:
My samsung note 1 can't find the Play store and service after a factory reset
For a week I have been having issues with Google play store not working along with most my Google apps. Tonight I factory reset my phone to see if that would fix the issue but I made it worse.  Now my Google play services,and Google play store are gone and there is no market app either!
How do I reinstall Google play so I can start reinstalling all my other apps!

Try restarting your phone, most problems go away that way.

I have numerous times! I've tried just powering down, rebooting, I've even taken the battery out for15mins and nothing! Thank you though for trying to help me!

@KimberlySacchetti: Try flashing the firware from sammobile.com it should solve the problem.

@Kimberly please include some more details, such : custom or stock rom & version, whether or not you disabled/uninstalled any apps, and any other information that would pertinent.

Hi, I know my phone is rooted, (whatever that means) , something about custom os, its a second hand phone, I seem to have uninstalled Google play, market, therefore I cannot seem to really do much.I cannot download any apps, ALL OF MY APPS ARE GONE!!

The version of Note 1 thst my phone is , SGH-I7I7M. Also I don't know what it means or know how to flash the firmware. I need specific, exact step by step instructions please!!!


text:
How to select all messages Inbox Google?
The new Google email application, Inbox has just been released so I decided to try it.
I wanted to delete all my spam messages but I can't find a button to select all of them without clicking on each one.
Is it possible to select all messages at once?

The "Select All" feature is not available as of now in Inbox by Gmail app. Nor this feature of multiple selecting of spam emails at once available in the web version of Inbox by Gmail. Only Gmail app has the Empty Spam option but not select all. You can also swipe to delete in the new version of Inbox app. But that won't make a big difference if you have hundreds of emails spammed to you.

Take a look at the Features not implemented yet blog post section.

Gmail or Inbox by Gmail?
So, which one should you use? Most of the above can be reduced to just
  a couple key points for each product. But remember that: Inbox is not simply a user-interface change
  to Gmail, it as an entirely new product.

Gmail

Customizable - multiple inbox formats and message organization options  -
Flexible - many message attributes to manage e-mail

Inbox by Gmail

Simple - easy to learn and use
Consistent - the same user-interface on all platforms

Of course there's no reason you can't use both. You could use Inbox on
  a day-to-day basis, or on mobile devices, and then use Standard Gmail
  for more complex activity like creating non-labeling filters, multiple
  message selection, emptying Trash and Spam, etc. Gmail and Inbox by
  Gmail are just tools and you should use whatever helps you manage your
  e-mail the best.
So feel free to continue to use Gmail, switch to Inbox, use both as
  appropriate, or use neither if you prefer your installed e-mail
  client. The choice is totally yours.[Ref.]

UPDATE : This functionality is now available in Inbox by GMail as of 10th Sep 2015. Google has added an option to delete all spam messages in single click via the "Empty Trash Now" button. Read here.
As posted on Google Plus,

Small update: You can now empty Trash and Spam in Inbox. Thanks to
  everyone for your feedback requesting this feature.

You can also do this in the webversion of Inbox by Gmail's spam page. Clicking on the "Empty Spam now" clears up the spam folder. Note that spam left undeleted for more than 30 days are deleted automatically.

It's not available in the webversion too, I can't find it. But thanks. Do you know when this will be implemented?

Have no idea about it, only google knows about when it will be added. Only gmail has this feature right now and there are extension like Smooth checker but only works for gmail. Couldn't find anything which works on Inbox By Gmail yet. Well you can leave a suggestion on the review section on the play store app page.

I've just found out that it's possible to do a multiple selection of emails : https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/inbox/AMKpXXLOoWA but still not all messages yet.

@Maxime Note: Those are for bundled messages(Social, Promotions, Updates etc). Unfortunately Spam messages cannot be added to bundled message automatically. So multiple deletion of messages for unbundled email(in this case spam) is not possilble. Only thing is we need to select every email which is in spam and select the Bin option which is time consuming. As this message suggests, you can request this feature in the feeback option as they are tracking these requests and give us an update in the future. ;)

However I tried creating custom bundle filter to filter those spam message and add those email to the custom label bundled email. But the custom label which I created is displayed under the bundled inbox but doesn't have the option to swipe all at once. Only the pre bundled Inbox labels such as Purchases, Finance, Social, Updates, Forums have options to clear all the emails under that label at once.

Yeah, welcome to the world of half-implemented features which is called Google. I'm so pissed off that such a simple thing is not added since beginning of the Inbox. The product itself seems to not improve anymore. I think it'll soon be pushing up the daisies on the same cemetery on which Google Wave and Google Reader are buried.

@Maxime Thanks for the edit. I've updated the answer. It's good to have this option now. ;)

You can now do a "shift select" style selection to select all the messages between two.
For example, if I have 6 messages in a row that I would like to delete (because they have been filtered or searched, etc), as below:
Message 1
Message 2
Message 3
Message 4
Message 5
Message 6
Then you can first, select Message 1 by clicking its checkbox. Then hold shift and select Message 6 by clicking its checkbox. All the messages between 1 and 6 should then also be selected.

You mean by hooking up an external keyboard?

This is the closest acceptable answer for the Inbox web interface.

authors: Настя Качура


text:
Can't backup anymore Facebook & WhatsApp with adb
I've always backed up my Facebook & WhatsApp data on Android with the following command:
adb backup -noapk com.facebook.katana

and
adb backup -noapk com.whatsapp

Now, it seem it can't backup it when I run it. The backup procedure starts, but no good backup.ab file is created.
Does someone noticed this ?
Maybe they changed in the Android manifest:
<application>
    ...
    android:allowBackup="true"
    ...
</application>

After some experiments, I also reproduced this "issue". The backup for both app returns same content (which I assume is empty, but haven't checked that). Seems they protect their data now...


text:
Infinite Reboot Loop
I have a HTC EVO 4G (aka Supersonic) running Android 2.3.5 (aka Gingerbread) and last night I turned it off because it was running low on power. I connected it to the charger before going to bed and called it a night, my normal process (except for shutting it down).
This morning I turn it on and it starts up with the device screen (HTC EVOTM 4G) and then a few seconds later it shows the Sprint 4G animation, and usually after that it loads the OS and you slide down continue but now it just reboots again and again in an infinite loop. I can only stop it by pulling the battery.
Anyone experience this? Know what's causing it? Have a solution to it? I need the phone and its critical that I resolve this as soon as possible. Thanks everyone.
Update - 12/18/13
I went ahead and cleared the cache and the dalvik cache and still couldn't get it to boot into the OS, it would load the slide screen and then freeze up for a second and go back into the loop. From then on, it wouldn't even get to that screen, just would reboot after the startup animation.
I was not even running a custom ROM, just the stock ROM rooted but went ahead and flashed a stock ROM back on it and got it up and running but still bugs me that I had to lose all my customization and start over without knowing what the heck went wrong.
Anyone have any ideas?


text:
How to remount to rw?
So recently rooted my phone, after a few days all google related apps have stopped working and I get the "no connection error". I have looked at so many different tutorials and what not and nothing seems to help.
Ive tried editing the hosts file with file explorers, etc but it fails to save any changes made and it fails to remount to rw.
Ive also tried using adb. Adb root gives me the error that root cannot run in production builds, thus the following basically fails. Using adb pull and trying to push it back does not work, gives me the error that /system is mounted as ro. adb remount, adb mount, doesnt work gives permission denied error.
Im really out of ideas here, its just frustrating to not be able to use playstore, especially receive emails.
Anyone got any ideas? Do I need to flash a custom rom? I read somewhere thats the only way to change permissions since you have to change the kernel build or something, not entirely sure.
Thanks anyways

adb shell, then su and at the root prompt mount -o remount,rw /system doesn't work either?

Did you try ES File Explorer? Just open it, click Options->Tools->Enable 'Root Explorer'. Then click on 'Root Explorer'->Mount R/W->mount /system as 'RW'..

After mount -o remount,rw /system I get mount : Read-only file system, the next line being 255:root@HWGRA:/ #     im not entirely sure what to do beyond this point.

@GokulNC tried ES, FX, root explorer, and some other file explorer I cant remember.

What's your device model?

Huawei P8 @SuperThomasLab


text:
/storage/emulated/0 is missing. Apps can't find the directory
It began when I accidentally formatted the internal storage with TWRP.
Now the OS can't mount the internal storage and the /storge/emulated/0 directory is missing but when I go to settings -> storage and usb I can see that the internal storage is still there.
I can access my files through /data/media but the apps can't find the directory which is missing from /storage.
I flashed my stock kitkat ROM and it is able to detect and mount it (mounted at /storage/sdcard0) apps can access it as well
What can I do, I flashed multiple ROMs (both cyanogen and AOSP based but they can't find it!)

It may be that it is now located at /storage/sdcard0  since you flashed different ROMs with different configurations as you suggested,
alternately to run the following in emulator ;
mount -w -o remount rootfs /

then ;
ln -s /data/media/0 /sdcard

You can check with ;
ls -l -a /sdcard

Credits:

/storage/emulated/0 missing
Android 4.3 breaks Lil Debi. sdcard: '/storage/emulated/0' not a directory


text:
Why my hosts file is not saving/resetting after editing it?
I need to add # before the command line (so I can login into my google account which is a common problem).
I rooted my device (I'm using a huawei P8) and tried using total commander and root explorer, both no success. With root explorer, I used mount r/w in the etc folder. Basically, after editing the hosts file and restart the device, the file looks like it didn't change or it resetted. Even before restart the device I checked the file again (because I suspected that it just didn't save or something) and I saw the file didn't change.
Any help would be really helpful. If any info is needed, just say it. Thanks a lot.

Try changing r/w to system folder as the answer by lzzy.


text:
Android root sandbox?
On Windows I would use a sandbox to easily see file-changes made by shady programs to see how it would affect my system. What are easy methods (except decompiling and looking at the actual program code) for that on android?
Background: I ran the app 'stubborn trojan remover' showing me I'm infected with ghost push, a trojan for android. I looked up more information, but it seems there is very little. 'Stubborn trojan remover' gives also very little info, it doesn't even say where it removes the trojan from or where it found it.

You could run your program in the Android emulator on a computer, instead of on a real device. You can look at all the files on the Android emulator.

I'm looking for easy alternatives that you can do on the spot, maybe even on the phone

I don't think you're gonna find an app for that, because most phones just don't have enough capacity to emulate another phone

I guess the broader question is, are there easy ways to get a glimpse of what apps/programs are actually doing

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


text:
How to I disable the DHCP function on Wi-Fi Tethering
I want to have a Static configuration for wi-fi tethering because there is no way to change the IP range.

I think you cannot disable the DHCP in the Hotspot. Instead try to set static IP address on clients(other devices which you are going to connect).

Connect the client to wifi hotspot.
Now check the ipaddress of the Client. It should be like 192.168.42.yy
Go to 'WiFi settings' on your client, long tap on the Hotspot's wifi
Tap on “Modify Network”.
Then select “Show Advanced Settings”.
Select IP settings from DHCP to ”Static” mode.
Fill the following

IP address : 192.168.42.<your desired ip>
Gateway : 192.168.42.yy
Net Mask : 255.255.255.0
         Prefix length : 24
         DNS 1: 8.8.8.8
         DNS 2: 8.8.4.4

Note: If your give IP address in 192.168.1.xx or 192.168.0.xx range, It will not accept.
If you are a nerd, See this to change  the coding of Android system itself to achieve static IP :)


text:
Mobile Data icon and WiFi icon are showing exclamation mark even though internet is connected
I'm having OnePlus 2 with latest OxygenOS 3.0 Beta. I live in UAE. Recently I started getting exclamation mark with connection icon, whether using mobile data or Wi-Fi. I suspected of issue with beta version. But when I went outside the country, I didn't face the same issue. When I came back I started getting the same issue again. This leads me to suspect it's a carrier related issue, not an issue with beta OS.
I tried resolution mentioned in below post already. They are not helpful.
Exclamation Point Icon on the Cellular Data Icon + Impaired Data Connectivity - Nexus 5 on Android 5.11
Apparently my OnePlus 2 is not detecting internet connectivity, but allowing me to browse sites and use every services, which require internet connectivity. Could it be that OxygenOS using ping method to any particular server, which is somehow blocked by service provider? If that's the case is it possible to change this?


text:
How to keep adb from connecting to a network device
When I run adb devices on my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.14.6, I see not only my phone connected by USB but also a network device that I have no interest in. This forces me to manually specify which device I mean when using adb and Android Studio (which I sometimes forget to do). Is there any way to prevent adb from connecting to network devices?
FWIW, here's what I see at the shell (with some digits of my first device's serial number obscured):
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
HT8531AXXXXX    device
192.168.86.223:5555 device

Update: I was able to temporarily get the network device to go away by running adb disconnect, as suggested in an answer, but it keeps reappearing.

AFAIK, ADB doesn't automatically connect to network devices (i.e. the user has to manually call adb connect). Probably there's something from your side (3rd party apps on the PC, like screen mirroring, etc?) that is trying to initiate adb connect automatically?

I have the same problem with Nvidia Shield. Have you fixed that?

@MateuszKaflowski It hasn't reappeared lately.

The listed device 192.168.86.223:5555 device belongs to an device that has sometime been connected to your PC. adb saves this info until you manually disconnect this device.
To get rid of the entry execute the command
adb disconnect

Thanks, but it disappears only temporarily after I execute adb disconnect. Do you know how to make it go away permanently?

@EllenSpertus Then most likely you have some software installed that automatically recreates this entry. Check the programs you have installed, especially those that execute automatically on start-up or when a device is connected. What OS do you use?

OS X. I'll update the question.


text:
Random crashes on Nexus 5 after installing (and uninstalling) Lollipop
I had been happily using a Nexus 5 for the past year until I did an OTA upgrade to Lollipop, after which it began crashing (powering off) multiple times per day without apparent pattern (sometimes during GPS navigation, during phone calls, while taking a picture, etc.)  In addition to requiring a reboot, these crashes sucked down battery.  I did a fresh factory install of Kitkat, which I expected to fix the problems, but they continued, even in safe mode.  Is there anything else to try, or is it time to buy a new phone?
Update: After posting, I installed the latest version of CyanogenMod, and my phone only crashed once, right after enabling location services for Twitter. Besides that, it worked fine, although it was not heavily used (on vacation) and battery life was poor (lasting only an hour or two). After getting back from vacation, I did the full wipe and factory install of Lollipop 5.0.1 suggested in comments. The phone crashed twice (sucking down battery) during the subsequent setup, although I made it through on the third try.

It occurred to me that I could try installing a third-party ROM.  I'm recharging my phone and will then try CyanogenMod.

Did you do a complete wipe? Wipe data partition, wipe cache partition and dalvik cache?

@VishnuPrasadKallummel I don't know if that was part of the process on the burn station I used; probably, they were.  Are the activities you described part of a factory reset? I've done that too.

Just check this answer http://android.stackexchange.com/a/90090/74590. Let me know if you have done these.

@VishnuPrasadKallummel Thanks for the advice. I did a total wipe with Lollipop 5.0.1. Phone crashed twice during setup. I'll update question.

The Lollipop update was a red herring.  My phone was failing at the hardware level.  Unfortunately, the weeks I spent fiddling with it took me beyond the warranty period.

authors: ดุ๊กดิ๊ก คาม่อน


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Does rooting wipe the /sdcard?
I recently rooted my nexus 5 phone and lost all of my photos :( I was wondering what rooting actually does. Is it like formatting the disk and updating file tables or is it like deleting all the sectors? In the former case is it possible to recover my photos?
I used chainfire for rooting the phone. For that, I turned off the phone and turned it on while pressing +- volume buttons. Then I ran the script contained in http://download.chainfire.eu/363/CF-Root/CF-Auto-Root/CF-Auto-Root-hammerhead-hammerhead-nexus5.zip Later I realized that all of my apps, photos, etc are gone. I don't care about the apps because they were automatically installed after setup. Just need to recover my photos.

Note that, I used chainfire.

Please [edit] your question with any additional information. Nexus devices don't support SD Cards, so I'm assuming you're talking about the sdcard partition? Rooting alone won't clear anything. Unlocking your bootloader (a common step in gaining first-time root), on the other hand, will perform a factory reset.

Where did you find the link to that tool? There were probably many warnings saying that it would perform a factory reset. If not, then you should contact the link provider and ask them to provide said warnings, then check out our data-recovery tag-wiki.

The Official XDA Discussion for CF Auto-Root (The tool OP linked) includes the following line:

Note that if your device had not been unlocked before, this procedure will wipe all your data!

So to answer your question:

Does rooting format the /sdcard/ partition?
No, rooting alone will not format the partition mounted at /sdcard/.
When I root for the first time, or root using a tool, could this happen?
Yes. When using a tool provided by a third party (EG: Not you or Google), then you're following the steps their tool defines.
When you first gain root, one of the steps involves unlocking the bootloader. This is really only necessary once, Unlocking the bootloader will perform a full factory reset, erasing everything.

is it possible to recover files?

As I mentioned in my comment, you should check out data-recovery tag-wiki and other questions tagged with data-recovery. It may be possible, but not necessarily easy.


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How to nexusify galaxy s4?
I was an iPhone user for long time and recently switched to Samsung Galaxy S4 which is supposed to be the best android phone out there (at least best samsung phone). I like to try the real android the Google experience. What kind of apps, widgets, launcher, ... should I install?

Also Flash a smartphone with vanilla Android ROM. We don't do "what do you suggest" style questions, but the two linked questions have other resources.


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Updating T-Mobile G1 from 1.0 to 1.6
I have a T-Mobile G1 phone (Dev Phone) with android 1.0. To be able to install some apps, I needed to update it to 1.6. So I downloaded an update file and put it on its sdcard. But the update failed and now the problem is that I cannot boot the phone completely. First it asks for a SIM card.

Although, I don't have a T-Mobile SIM card now, I could pass that stage with an AT&T SIM card.

Now it wants me to login to my gmail account to boot up. But I cannot connect to Internet at the moment.

There is no option for wireless too. When I press menu button it just shows me the settings for APNs.

I believe in the newer versions of android, one can skip logging in to Google. But now I cannot even "adb shell" to copy other update files to the SD card.
Any helps would be appreciated.
Thanks,

Is this phone rooted?

The T-Mobile G1 and the ADP1 are different phones, which do you have? The reason you can't get an ADB connection is almost certainly because the "USB Debugging" settings has been switched off during the upgrade, you'd need to get into the settings and turn that back on again.

You can follow this guide to bypass the activation screen.  It requires reverting back to RC29 ROM (downgrading back to 1.0), and having ADB and HTC drivers installed on your PC.
The reason for installing RC29 is that this version has a flaw that treats anything you type as if it was typed into the Terminal.  You will be exploiting this flaw to enable ADB access and bring up the Settings menu, from which you can enable WiFi and activate the device.

With a Sim Card installed in your HTC G1, turn on the phone.
Plug your T-Mobile HTC G1 to you PC USB and Install Drivers on the Windows XP Machine.
Once it ask you for registration type on the keyboard the following:
  [enter]
setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1
  [enter]
  *Even though you don’t see what you are typing, but you are actually
  executing a Command on your G1 to Enable USB Debugging in Settings.
You will notice that the command worked, because Windows XP will recognize a new Hardware Device. “HTC Dream Composite ADB Intefase”. Install the driver by pointing to the folder where you downloaded the USB Drivers.
Unzip the ADB Tool software into the “c:\adb” Windows XP folder.
On Windows XP, click Start -> Run -> cmd” to Command Prompt
Type c:\adb devices (If your Device is Connected u will see it)
Type c:\adb shell (You will see a $ sign) Just Copy & Paste this into Command Prompt:
am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -n com.android.settings/.Settings
The settings screen will appear on the HTC G1 Phone. Now switch on Wi-Fi, connect to the WiFi network you have and connect to the Internet.
Now you can either Login with your existing account or create new account with Google.

After your G1 is activated, you can then flash a custom firmware (e.g. CyanogenMod) or a pre-rooted stock 1.6 ROM that will allow you to re-activate your G1 over WiFi without resorting to exploits.

It doesn't look like the update failed. What it is asking for is your google credentials. If the update you applied failed, you most likely would be at the "android" boot and it would just loop, or you'd have a black screen.
The ADP1 device is SIM unlocked, you said you have the Developer version of the G1. You do not need to have a T-Mobile SIM, an AT&T SIM will work.
Make sure you have the google USB drivers for the device installed.
You could also install a version of CyanogenMod on the device, I believe that allows you to use wifi to authenticate.
I found this tutorial on how authenticate via wifi, but keep in mind, this device is a couple years old now and I don't know if the files needed are still available.


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How do I see battery usage after a complete drain?
I'm having the classic problem of sudden battery drain, but the twist is that I can never catch it in the act. I just find my phone dead when I pick it up to use. When I go to the Battery section of Settings, I discover that apparently a complete drain resets the battery usage statistics, rendering them useless. What to do?
I'm running CyanogenMod 11 milestone build (Android 4.4.4) on Galaxy S2 without Google Apps.

I have never run a build of CyanogenMod on any of about 11 devices without bugs, errors and just random weirdness. 2) Is the battery itself damaged/bloated? Can you try a different battery and see? Can you try another ROM maybe? If it's the original battery from the device I'd say it's past it's best. You'd expect about 500 charge/discharge cycles. Something like better battery stats saves log files, but is a paid app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asksven.betterbatterystats&hl=en

Stock firmware for SGS2 is worse - that's why I went to CyanogenMod in the first place. 2) The battery is brand new from Anker. Since I don't have Google Apps, I can't get paid Play Store apps. I can get free ones with some hacking though.

You could flash gapps in a few seconds... No need to not have it. Yeah the stock firmware is laggy and slow, but it doesn't generally crap out altogether like CM. So far with 3 devices here I've had: No GPS, no WiFi, screen flickering, random reboots, crashes, black screen of death, corrupted partitions and it goes on like this. I'd say a different ROM would be a starting point. Non Samsung batteries I don't know much about but they can be poor quality, I don't know that particular manufacturer so I can't comment on that.

You could try installing an automation app that would audibly alert you (or send you an email, etc) when the battery got below X%. Then you could check the stats before the phone died.


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What is this in my system tray?
Every so often, seemingly random, this notification appears in my notification bar, but not in the tray.

The circles on the left in the notification bar. I have no clue what it's related to. There's no notification if I slide the tray down. It doesn't stay long, about the time I check for it in the notification tray, it's gone. I develop for my phone. Would anything on the development side of things trigger this weird notification?
It's a Samsung Galaxy S3 running CyanogenMod nightlies, specifically 10.1-20130405-NIGHTLY-d2spr which is Android 4.2.2.
EDIT:
I've noticed that this appears very consistently when I have Moon+ Reader open. It does not appear to be a notification caused by that app, but instead appears to be that the app is somehow "muting" notifications that happen while it is open. Is there something in the API that allows for the silencing of notifications originating from other apps?

To make sure what we refer to: you're talking about the "gray dot" in the very left of your screenshot, right? The one on top of the blueish area?

Yes. The dim, gray, concentric circles on the left.

OK -- with your permission, I modified your screenshot to make that clear (the original is still linked when you click on the displayed image). Not that I have any idea what that might be, but being on the left side usually implies it comes from some (user-) app.

There must be some service running in the background - perhaps CM stats?

I've looked through some of CyanogenMod's GitHub pages, but I can't find the resource in either CMStats or CMUpdater. And thanks @Izzy, I didn't think there was much room for confusion.

Obviously there was :) And you're welcome! If you figure out yourself, don't forget to let us know (after you made us curious). Feel free to answer your own question, just in case.

I've found it in the Android API: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/view/View.html#setSystemUiVisibility(int)
A flag, SYSTEM_UI_FLAG_LOW_PROFILE, can be passed to indicate that certain UI elements be put into a Low Profile and offer less of a distraction to the user. If I had a nexus device (really any device with soft buttons across the bottom) then I would also notice those buttons being replaces by the same dim circle I'm seeing in my navbar.
This has been available since 4.0 and is intended for book readers, games, and other immersive applications.

This is the indicator for low priority notifications, for example from Google Now.

From what I've discovered, it's not the notifications that are set as low priority, but the currently running app. Google Now's "low priority" decides if a notification gets an icon in the tray or if there's any vibration or audio cue. They share a name but not functionality.


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How do I undo imported contacts?
It started when I wanted to backup my Mom's contacts online in my email. I took backup of her contacts in a .vcf  file and transferred it into my phone via Bluetooth. Later that day, I wanted to go to the Bluetooth folder but I couldn't find it. Neither can I find the .vcf file.
I went to Bluetooth menu -> received files and clicked on the .vcf file (not a real file, just a link). To my further surprise (read 'frustration'; the file existed) all the contacts of my Mom got imported into my phone. Android didn't ask me to import them.
Moreover, I have no idea where is  that file located.  I searched the storage (extsd & SD0) and nothing came up.

If you'd synced your contacts with the Google account earlier then you may remove that account, delete all the contacts (take their local backup first), add your Google account, and sync the contacts. It should be same as what undo would do. Alternatively, sort the contacts using date/time and then delete them. There are many related apps in market. You may also look at How can I sort contacts by date added?. If you've root access, and you want to get your hands dirty then edit the contacts.db yourself. Simply sort contacts based on ID or time there.

FromNokia 3310:
                                Contacts => Option => Share Contacts => Mark => Back => Done => Blue Tooth sharing screen comes => More  => Select BlueTooth Device => conn.
In Android Phone
Go to contact => More (option in top right side) =>Settigs => Import Export Contacts => Import VCard files(VCF) from your device storage to contacts on your device

The OP doesn't asked to import from .vcf, bluetooth received vcf file got imported to his contacts and he needs to remove those and find vcf file.


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Cannot access internet via Wi-Fi on YU Yureka running Lollipop
I have a YU Yureka mobile which upgraded to Android Lollipop version. I have been regularly using my office's Wi-Fi connection. For some days, the phone is showing that Wi-Fi is connected, but I can't access the Internet through Wi-Fi. When I connect the phone to a Wi-Fi network, I can access Internet for 30 seconds and then my phone would hang and then restart automatically.
There are more than twenty employees in my office, but only my phone has this problem. I have done soft reset and hard reset to solve the issue. It  works perfectly for Mobile data network.
Does anyone know how to resolve this issue?

Tweaking the DNS might solve the issue. Go to Settings>>Wi-Fi and turn on the Wi-Fi. If the network is known, 'forget' it and then connect it back. Once the password window pops up, click on 'Advanced options' and select 'Static' from the IP settings drop-down menu. Then scroll down and enter the IP address of the DNS server you would like to use in DNS1 and DNS2 box. Now enter your Wi-Fi password and connect it.


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How can I symlink /data mount point to preseve it on reboot?
There is a link under /emmc@usrdata which points to the emmc data partition which is /dev/block/mmcblk0p7 (which is small).
I have created a 4GB EXT4 formatted second partition on  SD card, which is /dev/block/mmcblk1p2
In fstab the device name used for the /data mount is the link /emmc@usrdata. I have tried removing this link and creating a new one pointing to the new partition, but on reboot the symlink points to the original one again.
How can I make this symlink stick?
I haven't been able to find a script that writes the symlinks to root on startup, but there must be one there somewhere. The device is an MTK based phablet. ( Aries_7O ). Any clues would be appreciated.


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Cannot boot into Android after freezing Blink Feed Launcher in HTC One M7
Using Titanium Backup Pro I froze Blink Feed Launcher.
Now all I see on the screen is just logo and bootloader page by using Power and Volume buttton. I have an HTC One M7 running Lollipop 5.0.2.
What should I do now?

Blink Feed Launcher is the launcher app for your HTC One M7 and with this frozen you'll be unable to use your phone.
Factory reset will be the simplest and easiest option available, and since you're using Titanium Backup Pro, I must assume that you have a backup of all your user apps, and as such you can restore them after the factory reset. If not then you'll have to re-download them all from Google Play Store.

authors: Виталий Зонов


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HTC 626 bricked when trying to root the phone. What to do now?
I have bricked my HTC 626. I was trying to root my phone.
I installed a recovery. As you can understand that I flashed recovery after unlocking bootloader. But I have s-on on phone. I then got some file on Google searching it for ways of recovery, super su, and boot.img.
I tried to open the phone in recovery mode but recovery wasn't working.
Then I thought flashing boot.img will work so I flashed it.
On the tutorial I found on the net there was a command for erasing the cache. Now it is not booting up. I tried to switch s-off. Didn't work.
Recovery did not work. I can only go through fastboot mode. ADB commands are working. I found some details that ruu.exe could help. But it is more complicated that I couldn't find proper ruu.
I did download HTCdev source file.
Here is getvar all details version: 0.5
version-bootloader: 3.19.0.0000
version-baseband: 1.0.U20402.1@50313
version-cpld: None
version-microp: None
version-main: 1.10.709.2
version-misc: PVT SHIP S-ON
imei2: Not Support
meid: 00000000000000
product: a32_ul
platform: hTCBmsm8916
modelid: 0PKX21000
cidnum: HTC__621
battery-status: good
battery-voltage: 0mV
partition-layout: Generic
security: on
build-mode: SHIP
boot-mode: FASTBOOT
hbootpreupdate: 11
gencheckpt: 0
mfg-name: 1001
What should I do to unbrick the phone?

If you have access to bootloader (fastboot), do the following:

Unlock the bootloaderGeneral command:fastboot oem unlock (Not sure for your phone)
Flash a custom recovery: CWMUse the command: fastboot flash recovery *recovery_name*.img
Download and Flash this stock ROM from CWM: CWM Backup

(Source: https://www.facebook.com/htc626gplusdev)

Here is the link for stock ROM: https://yadi.sk/d/jX5b1Qw1hxh4t Rename the downloaded file to 0PKXIMG.zip and place it in SD Card and flash it from fastboot mode using hboot option Source: [q] need stock rom htc desire 626

Can you give me ruu.exe file

I think you can flash that from SP Flash tool
Here's the scatter file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/drc102llimhn41f/MT6592_Android_scatter.txt?dl=0


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Contacts stuck in favourites widget on HTC Legend
Until recently, I was able to remove contacts using this method. Now those methods don't work. I can remove a person from the favourites group, but that only removes them from the widget until I restart. When I visit the contact profile I see them listed as being in the favourites group, but when I go to edit, they are not listed as a member. Removing the contact from my "Starred on Android" group doesn't work either. Is there any other way to remove contacts?

Sounds like you need to delete the widget, clear the data and cache for Contacts Storage, re-sync, and re-add the widget.  That should get rid of bad data that is likely screwing things up.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I actually solved by going to the group, then editing the group's members; rather than going to the person, then editing the person's group

That's strange.  Oh Google ...

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


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How can I run Flash on a Pandigital novel hacked to run Android 2.1 (Eclair)?
I have a white Pandigital novel that I hacked to run 2.1.
I followed these instructions to the letter(except I don't have the market so I got Apps Installer elsewhere), but when I finished, nothing was different. (yes, I remembered to reboot.)  www.whatismyflash.com says my current flash version is "None or Disabled".  Anyone know what's happening?  There was also nothing related to flash in the launcher.  Should there be?  However, Apps Installer insists that my flash apk is installed.
Note: I am aware of this similar question but that question asks for a flash app and my question asks "Why isn't my flash app working?"
Other Note: I tried some games in Skyfire and they didn't work so please no "just try Skyfire" answers.

Those instructions are BS.  Flash does not work on 2.1.  However, there are several devices that run Flash Lite (it came on my Galaxy S Vibrant, for example).  Someone with Flash Lite tried that and thought they had real Flash when really they just had Lite, and it spread for a while before being debunked.  Just read the comments on that post.
Edit: According to Lie Ryan's comment below, full flash is compiled for ARMv7 chips, and so won't work on other processors even with 2.2.
Edit 2: Adobe now has a list of devices that run Flash: http://www.adobe.com/flashplatform/certified_devices/

more correctly, Flash only works in devices shipping with ARMv7 CPU architecture. No devices that does not originally ships with Froyo (or later) ships with ARMv7. Even if you upgrade your device to Froyo, you won't magically be able to run Flash if it does not come with the correct CPU architecture.

@Lie @Matt: I guess that answers that.  My CPU is ARMv6.  Thanks!

@Lie Ryan Good to know, thanks for the info! :)

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


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mount marshmallow encrypted external sdcard
How can i mount sdcard in linux ?
I have already tried using this command to pull the  key from data partiton.
sudo cryptsetup luksOpen --cipher aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 /dev/sdb2 sdb2  --key-file 1.key

And this error shows up;
Device /dev/sdb2 is not a valid LUKS device.

What kind of encryption? Did you use it as adoptable storage? Then please see: How to decrypt adopted storage?


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adb version says 1.0.32 but droid-explorer says its 1.0.29 and won't start
Using win7 64bit.
I downloaded just the commandline tools from developer.android.com; the zip not the installer.
I copied everything to c:\dev\android\sdk\ and ran the SDK Manager and updated everything. When I run> adb version it reports a version of 1.0.32
I installed the most recent droid-explorer, using DroidExplorer.0.9.0.4.x64.Setup.zip .. during the installation it asks me to specify the android sdk directory, which it detects correctly as c:\dev\android\sdk\
After installation, I run droid-explorer wherein it states adb version is 1.0.29, minimum supported version is 1.0.31 .. I cannot launch it properly.
I added c:\dev\android\sdk\platform-tools to the Environment Variable PATH but this did nothing.
Any insight in to why the adb version is being incorrectly reported would be appreciated. I tried copying 1.0.31 binaries overtop as well and this did not solve anything.
Thank you.


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Creating a backup with adb results in 41 byte file
I have an old droid RAZR Maxx (4.1.2) that I decided I want to root, but I want to make a backup first just in case. I've followed instructions from this site:
How To Create a Full Android Phone or Tablet Backup Without Rooting or Unlocking Your Device
My command was this:
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f c:\backup.ab

The resulting backup.ab file on the C: drive was only 41 bytes and, when opened in a hex editor, appears to only be the header of the backup file. I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong here, I've googled but can't find anything that helps. Any suggestions?
Edit: This is not a duplicate of the suggested a topic linked by beeshyams. That topic explains why the user couldn't back up one single app's files, I'm trying to back up everything. I don't care if I don't get SMS included in that backup because it's an old phone, I'm not using it to text, but there are other apps and settings that should back up without issue.

Search [tag:adb] tag (added to your question), duplicate of http://android.stackexchange.com/q/114437/131553

It's not a duplicate, I'm not asking how to just back up SMS/MMS, but the entire phone. Apps, settings, files, etc. I've tried this on two different Motorola phones now with the same result (the other one was a droid ultra).

It doesn't explain why a requested backup of the entire system results in a 41 byte file, it explains why the backup of a single app does, so it doesn't answer my question.

See this, if it still doesn't address, quote this in your question and amplify

That answer literally says to do exactly what my question says I did. I've got the path to adb on my environment variables so I click start, type "cmd" type "adb devices" to make sure my phone is connected properly (which it is), then I type the backup command and I get a 41 byte file, every time. I'm not worried about backing up calendar, contacts or SMS data, but there's nothing about the entire thing failing because those apps can't be backed up.

Can you try making a backup of a single app and see if you still end up with only header information? Try with an app which doesn't disallow backup, such Firefox or ES File Explorer.

I will try that and add a comment in a minute, but I thought I should note here that I rooted the device last night and I still can't get the backup to work. I've verified that I have root access, I do, but the backup still results in a 41 byte file. I'll comment with my results of a single app.

Ok, I tested. I'm not 100% sure the command was right, I can't find a ton of documentation on the backup command, but I used this: adb backup -f C:\esbackup.ab com.estrongs.android.pop and I still got a 41 byte file. I tried this command too: adb backup -shared -f C:\testbackup.ab with the same results. Seems my phone just doesn't want to do a stupid backup!

Consider using @ followed by user's name to notify them, such as @Firelord, else the user would not be notified of your followup comment. Now, could you try this command: adb shell bu backup com.estrongs.android.pop > C:\es_new_backup.ab and see if it still causes a 41 bytes file? If the issue persist, please have a new terminal/console running adb logcat and in another one, issue your app specific adb backup command and observe errors or anything in logcat's output. You may as well share the output with us too.

I'm facing with a similar issue, and, for example, Helium Backup complains for an application that is disallowed to be backed up. This might be related to your question as well: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/68209/what-is-the-purpose-of-an-app-disallowing-backups-androidallowbackup-false

Found solution here, worked for me:
https://docs.j7k6.org/android-adb-backup-41-bytes-549-bytes-bug-fix/

Appearantly the adb backup command stopped working for older Android
  devices in recent versions of the Android Debug Bridge. When invoking
  a backup with adb, the backup process is started but stops
  immediately, leaving a local backup.ab file with a filesize of only 49
  bytes (549 bytes when the backup is encrypted with a password). This
  bug is well known, but hasn’t been fixed at least until recently
  (version 1.0.39). To fix this behaviour, download the last working
  version of the adb executable (1.0.31) and invoke the backup with
  this. The executables for all platforms can be downloaded at Mozilla.

https://archive.mozilla.org/pub/labs/android-tools/
adb-1.0.31-linux.zip    479K    09-Sep-2015 18:44
adb-1.0.31-linux64.zip  455K    09-Sep-2015 18:44
adb-1.0.31-mac.zip  433K    09-Sep-2015 18:44
adb-1.0.31-windows.zip  474K    09-Sep-2015 18:44

Download, unzip, run unzipped adb:
(linux, mac)
./adb devices
./adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup-file.adb

(win)
adb devices
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f backup-file.adb

Enjoy! ;)

Does this only work with -all? I'm trying adb backup -noapk com.android.chrome with version 1.0.40 and I still get the 549 bytes file..

I tried with 1.0.31 but it does not make the backup prompt appear on my phone. Android 8.0.0.

@thomasa88, quote from answer:"Appearantly the adb backup command stopped working for older Android devices". Android 8.0.0 is prelast version of android on 04.2019.
adb-1.0.31 I use for android 4...
For newer(8.0.0) version of android try use newer versions of adb.

You should not try to backup the "entire" phone with adb, because it's plenty of bugs. My recommendation is to backup apps one by one and avoid the '-shared' flag because backup of shared storage is broken. Just copy and paste to a memory card of use ftp server to upload to your computer those things from internal sdcard.
Again: backup one app at a time and check for .ab file size so it's not "empty". It will be empty when the unencrypted backup has 41, 47 or 49 byte size. If encrypted will be 549 byte size for empty.
Latest adb is 1.0.41
Note also that some apps don't allow adb backup, and other even if allow it don't "store" anything on there because of app policy. Examples are apps which use cloud services like Google, etc.


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File transfer with linux pc through mobile hotspot
How do I  transfer files with a PC running Linux (Ubuntu) via the mobile hotspot (not through wifi)? (Perhaps with another third-party application)

Does the pc have wifi functionality? Then yes, just connect to your Hotspot and transfer with any networking app. I suggest FTP or SMB.

The set up of file transfer between Android device and Linux PC is similar to  Windows and can be achieved in a variety of ways.
I created  simple tutorial illustrating the simplest way to do it (without need for extra tricky terminal commands in Linux, or installing additional packages)
Requirements:

Mobile hotspot
Linux PC (running any linux distro eg Ubuntu, Mint, Kali etc but for this tutorial I used Zorin OS)
with Wi-Fi functionality
Android file explorer capable of FTP/SMB/SFTP protocols (I used ES explorer for this task)

Instructions

Connect Linux PC to hotpsot.
Open ES File explorer and go to Networks >> Remote Manager (FTP protocol) and turn on service. See screenshot.

Open terminal Ctrl+Alt+T and type ifconfig (just to be sure the PC was assigned a correct IP by the DHCP) The dhcp range is  192.168.43.xxx

Using File manager from Unity Launcher head to Connect to server under Other Locations and input FTP server details and port number (ftp//192.168.43.1:3721/)

Enter login details or leave as anonymous:

From now you can access files in your android device on Linux PC, and can perform various actions e.g copy,paste etc (some names hidden for other reasons)

Will this method let me write on the SD card from the PC?

@becko Sure it does! the user has rw permissions by default, to prevent unathourised access you may set password authentication

There are many FTP clients for android in play store, you can use that to create a FTP serever on phone, and access the server from computer,


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How to enable/disable DHCP of eth0
ifconfig eth0 dhcp start or ifconfig eth0 dhcp drop does not seem to work for Android.  Is there a way to enable/disable DHCP for eth0 via shell commands?

Do you've  the tool named netcfg?

@Firelord command netcfg works.  How can I use it to enable/disable DHCP?

Try with netcfg eth0 dhcp. See http://headlessandroid.blogspot.in/2012/06/networking-on-headless-android-system.html. Don't know how to disable DHCP.

@Firelord I have just tried that.  It did not return anything.

How to make Ethernet work on Android over OTG?

ifconfig eth0.15 dhcp drop
ifconfig: bad address 'dhcp'

try this code in android 5.1
ifconfig eth0 up
dhcpcd eth0

OR (static)
ifconfig eth0 192.168.70.65 netmask 255.255.255.0 up

and now
ndc network create 100
ndc network interface add 100 eth0
ndc network route add 100 eth0 192.168.70.0/24 (gateway)
ndc network route add 100 eth0 0.0.0.0/0 192.168.2.40 192.168.2.50
ndc resolver setnetdns 100 localdomain 192.168.2.40 192.168.2.50 (dns1 dns2)
ndc network default set 100

dhcpcd eth0.15
dhcpcd[4415]: version 5.5.6 starting
setprop: applet not found
setprop: applet not found
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: carrier lost
setprop: applet not found
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: carrier acquired
setprop: applet not found
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: sending IPv6 Router Solicitation
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: sendmsg: Cannot assign requested address
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: rebinding lease of 192.168.88.2
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: sending IPv6 Router Solicitation
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: broadcasting for a lease
dhcpcd[4415]: eth0.15: sending IPv6 Router Solicitation

try this way (My Android device worked)
DHCP IP
ifconfig eth0 dhcp

OR
setprop dhcp.eth0

OR
dhcpcd -k eth0
dhcpcd -n eth0

OR
netcfg eth0 dhcp

OR
getprop dhcp.eth0

and
Static IP
ifconfig eth0 192.168.70.145 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
route add default gw 192.168.70.254 dev eth0

or
su -c ifconfig eth0 192.168.70.145 netmask 255.255.255.0 up
route add default gw 192.168.70.254 dev eth0

Enable Ethernet
ifconfig eth0 up

Disable Ethernet
ifconfig eth0 down

and check wlan0 static or dynamic?
my device when wlan0 is static force once set eth0 static and after set static change to dynamic
check the device ip:
ip addr

********** try this android 5.1 ****************** eth0 dhcp
ifconfig eth0 down
ifconfig eth0 up
dhcpcd -k eth0
dhcpcd -n eth0
netcfg eth0 dhcp


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How do some system apps prevent themselves from being disabled?
I have been researching about this for quite some time and frankly I haven't found anything that reproduces this effect in any phone that I have tried, as you know there are a few system apps that manage to grey-out the "Disable" button in App info screen in Settings, at first I thought this was only limited to critical system apps but based on my research I know that this isn't necessarily the case as in some cases I found that some regular(no-critical) pre-installed system apps in some phones have this effect e.g Facebook, Weather, Facebook Installer, Email, Gmail etc. and there are even some malware apps that achieve this, these apps don't even appear to be in the device administrators list therefore they have to be using another approach.
I have tried all sorts of install locations in /system; app, priv-app, vendor (phones were rooted) but none have worked, factory reset doesn't change anything therefore it can't be some stored information in /data partition, which has led me to think perhaps has something to do with the app itself or there is some info of apps that shouldn't be disabled that the system uses without involving the /data partition (I highly doubt if this is the case).
I found a somehow related question here and another one on xda but no one gave a definitive answer.

Not ideal but you can disable the Settings with this command "adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.android.settings"
Is the only way I found to prevent users of a rooted device to tamper with it.


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How to disable Google Apps in Mi Phones
I observed in case of Mi phones like Redmi Note 4 & Mi Max2.
We’re not able to disable Google Apps like Chrome, Play Music, Play Movies & TV, etc.
Please let me know, how to disable Google apps?

If you can't disable it normally in settings or the disable button has been greyed out for some reason then I'd suggest you'd follow this procedure given in this MIUI form thread: Disable Google Apps In MIUI 8 (and 9) which I too confirm to be 100% working (tested).

Install Quickshortcutmaker from Playstore
Select normal search - under input box type manage apps and click search

In search results it will show settings click it, you will find "manage apps" under click then click try (or create shortcut by pressing create).

From here a list of installed applications is shown, navigate to the desired google app(s), select the app, and now you can click disable button to disable the app.

NB: No root is required!
Acknowledgements

Disable Google Apps In MIUI 8

I just purchased Mi Max 2 and it taken update for MIUI Global 9.2 Stable. Earlier I was trying with steps explained in https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/188240/what-is-com-google-android-ext-services. I couldn’t find Running Apps. Please let me know how to disable GoogleApps like Chrome, Play Music, Play Movies & TV in Mi Max2 with MIUI Global 9.2 Stable.

Just follow the same proceedure it works!

I will tell you how I achieved this on my Redmi note 5 pro:

Get adb
Enable usb debugging, connect your phone to pc.
Use adb shell to give this command:
pm uninstall --user 0 package_name

This must work, tested on miui 9.2.7.0
The apps will come back after factory reset

More info:
XDA Developers


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What will happen if I flash the Pixel Android P Device image on my Nexus 6P?
I just finished watching the Google I/O 2018 keynote and boy did it get me hyped up about Android P! For the last half hour or so I've been scouring the internet looking for some way to flash the latest preview using the Pixel system images here: https://developer.android.com/preview/download
Only problem? I don't own a Pixel device. All I've currently got on my hands is a Nexus 6P which Google recently dropped support for and made no mention of during the keynote.
Which leads me to my question: What will happen if I flash the Pixel Android P preview device image on my Nexus 6P? Will this brick my phone, or will everything still run ok? Now, realistically, I'm not trying to find out if someone has already tried this (duh), but I was hoping someone with a bit more knowledge could tell me if this is even remotely possible.

This is the easiest way to flash Android P to your Nexus 6p. Although it is possible to keep all your files, I recommend a backup in case something goes wrong.

Install Nexus Root Toolkit on your PC. This will allow you to flash anything you want.
Next, download an image of Android P for the Nexus 6p onto your desktop. All images for the 6p are available for download there.
Now connect your 6p via USB.
Click on "Flash Stock + Unroot" on the toolkit. Select the image you just downloaded (not the images the toolkit offers since those are outdated) then choose whether you want to factory reset the device or not.

Now the toolkit will automatically flash the image you chose onto your machine.

I don't think the Android P images released for the 6p yet though since there isn't yet an image for it.

There are definitely other ways to install Android P but I prefer this method since it's very easy to root and install whatever images you want later on as well if you wish to do so.

I'm not sure you entirely understand my question. Like you mentioned, the Android P images for the 6P haven't been released yet (and there's been no mention of when they WILL be released) but my question is whether or not just using the Pixel device images is an idea worth considering.

Oh ok, I'm fairly certain the pixel images will work for the pixel phones only. You can find images on XDA that work for the 6p if you're in a hurry.

So basically the pixel images won't install because it is not compatible.

Ok, I guess I'll just compile the nexus 6P Android P sources myself. ;)


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Only one network interface active at a time in Android
I was looking into the network configurations in Android devices. Android makes WI-FI as the default network preference. And I noticed only one network interface can be active at a time in Android. Even ifconfig shows both wi-fi and rmnet_data0 interfaces UP, the routing table has routing rules applied for only one interface.
The rmnet_data0 interface doesn't have RUNNING state when wi-fi is ON. Can you please point me to which file in AOSP file that this restriction implementation has been made (like register only one net_device)? In ConnectivityManager.java file I saw that TYPE_WI-FI was made the default interface, but I could not find how and where they register and unregister network interfaces when WI-FI is present or not.


text:
Can't connect to local server in any internet app?
I have a local server set up on my network at 192.168.1.9
All of the other computers on my network can connect to it fine.
It's definitely on the same wifi network, and I've tried disabling mobile data to make sure it's only using the wifi.
When I try to connect to it on my phone, it just says 'This sit can't be reached.  ERR_ADDRESS_UNREACHABLE
I've tried Firefox and Chrome, and nothing is working. Is there some setting I don't know about that is preventing my android from connecting to stuff on the local network? I've also had trouble playing multiplayer mobile games in the past, which may or may not be related.
It's a Google Pixel 2.

Some Wi-Fi routers have by default an option enabled that prevents communication between each other Wi-Fi devices (or sometimes even prevents communication to all LAN devices).
You should check your router if there is such an security option and disable it if it exists.


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Unknown apps - My Consumer Cellular and Prip
I've purchased MotoG4 Plus (Unlocked) around Summer 2016 at Amazon(India). I've been using the phone since then and have been extremely cautious about the apps I use on my phone.
Whilst playing through some settings on Pushbullet (under setting: Notification Mirroring > Choose which apps to enable), I've noticed an app named My Consumer Celluar who's logo looks similar to this playstore listing and two apps named Prip who's logo looks similar to this listing.

I've never installed these apps before and these apps are not listed under Android App Settings for me to simply uninstall.
Atleast, the android app id for Prip is com.motorola.ptt.prip which makes sense because I have a Motorola phone. But, I have no idea about Consumer Cellular.
My questions:

Why did Motorola install these apps even though it was sold in a different market ?
How are these apps not visible under general android app settings ?
Do these concealed apps work in the background thus invading my privacy? If so, How could one know that the apps are running in the background ?

It's probably your carrier added bloatware. Check with them first

Re: "How are these apps not visible under general android app settings", have you checked "show system" (or something similar, might be different from device to device) inside your general Android app settings menu?


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About apk installation
I have doubt on installation of apk file. Where does the apk file store RAM or ROM ?
As we know that RAM is  volatile memory and ROM is secondary storage and also  when is system shutdown, is the data  erased from RAM?

apk files you install are usually stored in /data/app which is typically part of the /data partition on your internal storage. What is the problem you are having, are all settings/applications/data erased when you reboot? Sounds like a hardware or ROM problem. Please update your question with your specific device, Android version, and clarify the issue. Thanks.

There is no accessible ROM in Smartphones, only FLASH. Apps are installed to FLASH memory and loaded from there to RAM.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! I have modified the content of your question, if wish it to edit it further please do, but make sure the question is clear enough to attract a good answer.

Just to be clear, where I used the term "ROM" in my previous comment I was referring to the operating system and it possibly being corrupt, not "Read Only Memory".


text:
Using ADB backup for app databases
I'm having an issue with the backup, I did it fine yesterday and managed to back up the folder that contained the databases. I then successfully converted the backup.ab file to a backup.tar file and got to see the files. Today however, every time I do the adb backup command and allow the 'back up my data' option on the device all I seem to get is a 1kb file.
In the time in between the two back ups the device has had no wi-fi connection and been on aeroplane mode, therefore it can not have updated the app to change the 'android:allowbackup' to become false.
I am trying to pull off all kik messenger databases using ADB, the device is rooted but Kik.android is not debuggable so i cant seem to use the "run-as" method.
I am using the following commands:
adb backup -noapk /data/data/kik.android/databases/

What am I doing wrong???
I have included a screenshot, on the left is the first backup I did and that I got the databases fine, the command prompt shows that the files are there on the device and the command I used and the bottom window shows the output of the backup.ab file being a 1kb file.
Please help as its driving me crazy.

Can you try adb backup -f kik.ab -noapk kik.android? Should result in a file called kik.ab which should be larger than 1kb. I wonder how your quoted command could have succeeded before – as adb backup expects the package name as parameter, not some directory name.

Exactly, @kelvingoodram may have confused adb backup with adb pull. (But with adb pull, you might have permission issues.)


text:
Yuphoria optimizing apps loop
I have YU Yuphoria 5010...When i start  Mobile it shows CYANOGEN then "optimizing apps ..." and then it complete and again starts optimizing.
My main concern is internal data... I don't want to wipe it out. Please help me out as soon.
Also my mobile is not rooted and does not have twrp.

I got my solution to this  problem. In one of post it is mentioned that start phone in safe mode. And i do so and really it WORKS!!!!
Just press volume down key after first time optimizing ends and then it will boot in safe mode.Here is detailed answer that i mentioned

I was once struck in a boot loop and when I  went to service centre, they found that it was not a software but a battery problem. Try getting it changed.

Thanks ansh. I had do that but in my case it is not battery issue. I have heard many of device had battery issue.


text:
How to Install an application that requires android 5.0+ on android 4.4.4
I have a phone running android 4.4 and the app requires android 5.0 or higher. I want to install this app on android 4.4. Do you have any way, help yourself. Thank you very much.

Have you tried to simply contact the app author and ask if it is really necessary to exclude pre-Lollipop devices?

Sometimes an app has the ability to run on an old device, but there is also something in an app's apk file, indicating the oldest version that can install this app. For example, maybe an app CAN be run on android 4.4 but the author of the app set the minimum supported version to android 5.0.
So it is possible to change it. Afterwards the app might be able to run on old devices, while it may also crash.
An android app downloaded from Google Play or somewhere else is an apk file, which is actually just a zip compressed package, containing multiple files, e.g. dalvik bytecode, pictures, text resources. To learn more about apk file's structure you can just google it. One of the files is AndroidManifest.xml, that was originally a xml file before the author "compile" and publish the app. You don't have to know what is xml but it was "human readable" before being published and become unreadable when the app finally reached you. The AndroidManifest.xml have a line looks like android:minSdkVersion="8" , sdk version 8 means Android version 2.3, sdk version 23 means Android 6.0, search for "android sdk versions" to get a full list. Now however, this line had already been converted to something unreadable. We need something else.
One of those things is apktool, it can "decompile" an xml or even the whole app back to what we can read and edit, then "compile" it back to apk. There're plenty of blogs about how to use apktool so I won't run into details. Using apktool you can decompile the apk, change the minSdkVersion to a very small number or just 1, compile the app back, then install.
Notice:
1. You have to "sign" the apk after compiling it back. Google for details.
2. You have to uninstall the previously installed version of the app before reinstall the modified one.
3. Do not publish a modified apk, it's illegal.
4. Don't expact too much from this method. The app may still crash.
5. Though I often do this but it's really complicated for non-programmers to do the modification so feel free to ask, and prepare to give up at any moment.

Not only publishing a modified app is illegal. Actually modifying an app is illegal, too.

there is no way to run to run apps with higher from your android version try old versions of the app and the last option is rooting and it have so so many risk of bricking your phone so using old versions is the best choice

Upgrade the android even I had android 4.3 jelly bean I installed an AOSP for my device. The AOSP was android 7.2.2 nougat.
Now I can enjoy all the app that were not compatible with Android 4.3.
I am answering from the same device, don't worry about getting your device bricked even my device got into bootloop 2 times while installing. I fixed it by flashing with my stock ROM.
Before installing any custom ROM or even before installing custom recovery get the stock ROM for you device as a safer side, if you need any help go to XDA forum and get help from top developers.
Hope that helps..
EDIT -
I have Xperia M (C1905) you can check the official stock ROM for this device the last revision given by Sony was Android's 4.3, But a developer from XDA forum ported AOSP for Xperia M.
Thanks to that guy, If you need some proof I can add some links to the AOSP rom page.

Here's a possible workaround that worked for me with the Google Home app:

The Google Play store recognized the smartphone running Android 4.4.4 and would not install the latest version which required Android 5+.
I found an archived version of the Google Home app on apkmirror and used it to install that supported version using the Adroid Debug Bridge (ADB) from the Android SDK (see: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/google-home/google-home-2-14-50-11-release/google-home-2-14-50-11-3-android-apk-download/download/ )

The basic ADB command is: adb install [PackageName].apk
This assumes you have your smartphone/tablet connected to your computer via a USB connection and the the smartphone/tablet has USB Debug mode enabled to allow a 'push' install from the computer to the device you want to install the app to.

If you're a rooted user, you can simply change your android version by editing the /system/build.prop , for this find the following line and edit the way you want:
ro.build.version.release=xx

where xx is the android version you want, after that restart your device.
If you're not rooted user you can modify the Androidmanifest.xml file of the apk and modify the minSdkVersion, there's alot of tools that do this.


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android can't connect to public WiFi
Have Essential with current OS. Just recently my phone won't connect to at least 2 public WiFi providers in Canada. One is Datavalet and the other is ConnectivityCheck. These are used in all Starbucks and many chain restaurants.
The familiar Starbucks connect page just keeps loading and loading in a loop. The others style the connect page just times out. Clearly from looking around others aren't having the same problem. A waiter once showed me how his Apple connected without issue. I have no problem at home, work or independent restaurants and cafes.
My assumption is that an App is interfereing but I haven't installed any new apps. This is a new problem as well, just noticed it in the last few weeks. Anyone have any ideas?

Try configuring your your wi-fi settings to use DHCP settings instead of static

Have you tried a Network Settings Reset within Android's settings menu? It will often clear up unusual network connectivity issues. Be aware this will reset all data settings in the device, including any stored WiFi passwords.


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How to get rid of Emotion UI which is drastically slowing down my Huawei Y330-U11?
I have Huawei Y330-U11 which performs sluggishly  due to Emotion UI installed by Huawei (I concluded it to be the reason because other phones having similar specifications but native Android UI works quite well).
Can anyone let me know how to get rid of Emotion UI? And, how to root and upgrade to Lollipop?

Flash custom recovery (mine is CWM) with SB Flashtool.
Reboot your phone into recovery mode.
Flash root.zip.

Google for more details on flashing.


text:
Samsung S3 only boots into safe mode. Also plays a female voice reading everything on homescreen
Recently, my Samsung S3 GT-19300 somehow went off and immediately restarted itself into safe mode. I assume in safe mode there are limited thing that will function on the phone? But in my case nothing seems to be working. All I hear is a strange female voice reading everything on my phones' desktop.
I have restarted the phone several times following various instruction on how to turn off safe mode but all to no avail, the problems is still persisting. It has a funny icon of a hand telling you to stop.
Do you know of any way to fix this? I’d like to be able to fix this, not minding having to do a factory reset if at all possible.

You might get more response if the title is the actual question, instead of simply "Samsung S3 GT-19300".

Can you provide a screenshot? Also to deactivate the voice just go to Accessibility and deactivate Talk-back.

Please go into your BIOS settings by completely shutting off your phone, and press power + volume down key. Send a picture of this. You can toggle between settings using volume. Try and press "Continue normal boot" or similar.


text:
Forgotten password: How do I disable the screenlock in Sony Xperia Z2?
I have a Sony Xperia Z2 upgraded to Lollipop 5.0 and I forgot my pattern lock. There is no "forgot password" or anything. How can I remove the code or fix it? If there is no solution to my problem, then how do I  factory reset the phone.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! As that's a quite frequent question here, we've set up some first-aid for it in our locked-out tag-wiki. Especially see Can not unlock my Android device as have no internet connection? It has a collection of avalable methods to chose from. Good luck! // As for the "last resort", that's called factory-reset and is described here.

Once you solve that, I recommend you install an app like Cerberus and add it as administrator. Yesterday I forgot my phone at home, but was able to send it a command to unlock the phone and other things. When I got home, my phone still was unlocked.


text:
Where is system update option located in Alldaymall A88S tablet?
I recently brought my sister a Alldaymall A88S tablet. Anyway, I cannot find the system update function (or at least, I didn't see it). Where is it?
And no root methods  please.

To update apps or Android OS?

@FiN Android OS

I am at the screen where it says use adb sideload  and need to load it up to be normal, without all the pornclub crapola that persists between factory resets.  Installing Android SDK right now.  So I need the image to download.  I might be able to get shell access and will mark everything 777 so maybe can clean it out.

@SDsolar the device has long since stopped working (charger port quite literally fell out) but thanks for your interest nonetheless

Understood.  I lost the original charger but it will charge from the micro USB port.  I posted a question on this.  https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/181337/alldaymall-a88s-popping-up-a-bunch-of-junk-from-pornclub-i-have-it-rooted-now and am getting some tips.  Have a great day!

Settings > About tablet > System Updates/Update Center

Alirght. I'll check once it is charged (they charge quickly,so....)

it is not there.

@DanB The option would be there if the OEM decided to support the device for  updates. For e.g. My JB device by an OEM doesn't have any OTA functionality but my KK device by same OEM is OTA supported.

@Firelord Well, by that logic.... Fair enough. I do have devices ensured to be at their final, but still have an update functionality/client.


text:
ES File Explorer unable to access `/storage/emulated/legacy` which it did earlier
I suddenly have a weird problem with the Android phone running version Android 4.2.2. I never rooted the phone but suddenly the app ES File Explorer is not able to access /storage/emulated/legacy which it did earlier. This contains my photos, videos and the likes. Even some of the apps are beginning to crash when I try to open them. I cannot even connect to Wi-Fi. I can only call and read/send SMS.
I tried using ADB to access the file system. See the result of ls -l on /storage/emulated/legacy,
shell@G20:/storage/emulated $ ls -l
ls -l
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2015-09-01 03:41 0 -> /mnt/shell/emulated/0
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2015-09-01 03:41 legacy -> /mnt/shell/emulated/0

And if I follow the /mnt/shell/emulated/0 symlink, the following is the actual permission,
shell@G20:/mnt/shell/emulated $ ls -l
ls -l
drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2015-09-01 19:53 0
drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2037-12-31 05:31 legacy
drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2015-08-20 12:45 obb

I'm wondering how might have this happened. I never rooted my phone and is still under warranty so, I cannot root. Hence, solution without rooting will be highly appreciated.

I do not think those permissions are causing the issue since they are same in my Lollipop. Is factory reset not an option for you? What are the results with other file explorer apps?

Yeah using ADB I can access the files but not using my phone. Is there any way I could check what user is being used to access the underlying OS files from my phone? I'm really frustrated now.

I have important smss and without root I cannot back them up I suppose to my PC and because I cannot the os from the phone I cannot even save them using copy paste or whatever.

With other file explorer is the same. I also have FileExplorer or something.

Helium can backup and restore your SMS without root, so as SMS Backup and Restore. Also, if you want to backup SMS but are not concerned for restoring them then you can take screenshot of them on Android or on PC (see AirDroid).

I tried SMS Backup and Restore but when I try to configure the write location, I cannot use any because the phone cannot write to any one. And when I tried to take screenshot then the save fails with an error 'operation failed'. Whatever, be the case, let me try with AirDriod if I can take a screenshot directly using the PC and store in in the PC filesystem itself. I'll get back. Thanks a lot.

It seems I can take screenshot with ADB. Cool! I'll try a factory reset.

@firelord adb screenshot is a great idea. Also try and access pictures, videos, and such check with ES these locations. Because there's more than one entrance to folders though it's not the real path. /system/mnt/sdcard or /system/sdcard or /system/sdcard0 (it's different folder than just 0) One other thing try a different  file Explorer such as FX file explorer. Pull logs to find out what's going on with your device.

@BoLawson: Where do you find the logs in the file system? Forgive my ignorance. I'm new to Android and ADB.

Using a PC open a prompt then.   adb logcat *:W *:S > %userprofile%\desktop\logcat.txt  if using an terminal emulator  from within device then this will put text on sdcard.  adb logcat > /sdcard/logcat.txt

@BoLawson: I'll get back to you. Thanks a lot!


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''Unfortunately, Calendar Storage has stopped'' error on Sony Xperia M (C1905)
I get "Unfortunately, Calendar Storage has stopped" because of  which I cannot make calls or send Email from my phone. This affects my work too.
Is there a solution for this issue? I've already formatted my device because it was slow and lagging a lot.

First try rebooting.
Then try deleting app data from the calendar storage app (pictured below) preinstalled on your phone
If this problem persists try resetting your phone again.

authors: محمد الحارثيي


text:
What will be faster when moving to sd-ext via A2SD+ Data or Dalvik-cache? (or can I move both with no extra-penalty)
I'm using A2SD+ on my HTC Desire running on MIUI.
Currently only the app and app-private are under /sd-ext, but I'm running out of space very quickly :)
Currently my dalvik-cache consumes 46.3MB and the data takes 53.7MB of internal phone memory, so I think data will give me more value, but I'm not 100% sure of that either.
I know I can technically move both data and dalvik-cache to /sd-ext, but I understood there could be performance problems, but I need the space. So my question is which will have a lesser effect on performance? Moving the data or the dalvik-cache?
EDIT: Some tech info (if it helps):
My SD Card - Kingmax, Class 10, 16GB
I tested with SD Tools and got these results:
Writing Speed: 8.7 MB/s
Reading Speed: 18.6 MB/s
Note that the test was on the FAT32 partition, I don't know if the EXT3 partition I use for the /sd-ext will be any faster. The /sd-ext partition is 1GB.

"Better" based on what criteria?  Are you trying to speed up the phone or save space?  It also depends on the particular apps you use and your usage patterns.

I rephrased the question better - please see if this is a sufficiently clear question and reopen it.

I'm still not sure it's really answerable, but we'll give it a chance.

As Matthew already stated, there's no unique answer possible to your question -- all depends on your usage patterns. Generally spoken, I'd say moving app data should be preferred: If you move the Dalvik Cache, it would affect all your apps -- while moving the app data only affects apps which store some data (and by "some" I mean "data size exceeds their Dalvik-Cache size"), so a good guess is it affects only a few apps. But this can very well be those apps you are using most, and which heavily access their data -- so it may or may not be the better choice in some cases.
Guess you've got to try. I'd suggest starting with the app data. A class 10 card should provide sufficient speed -- so if the results are acceptable to you, stay with this. Otherwise, go back and try with the Dalvik Cache. If this isn't acceptable either, the only choice left is buying a new device with bigger internal storage...

Summary of my attempts:
APP - Good,
Dalvik - Bad


text:
How do I troubleshoot the boot process ending up in the fastboot menu after LineageOS 17.1 upgrade?
I have an OnePlus6 (enchilada) which was working fine with LineageOS 16. I've just upgraded it to 17.1 following the official upgrade doc and using OpenGapps.
Now, after the whole procedure, I am stuck in the fastboot menu, where I can either shutdown or boot to recovery.
How do I troubleshoot? Is there some way to gather boot logs?
Or maybe there's a way to turn the boot process into a more verbose one?
(I tried booting into recovery, only then I get adb access, but no /proc/last_kmsg there as people suggest, and the /proc/kmsg contains only the recent boot logs)

I checked the /boot partition - it doesn't seem to be altered in the boot process. I judge it by trying to boot several times and checking the md5sum afterwards - adb pull /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/boot_a /tmp has the same checksum as the one I extract from the OTA mega-zip with payload_dumper

probably gapps installed to /system instead of /system_root/system upgrade TWRP 3.3.1-18 Q Unofficial by mauronofrio and 'adb pull /tmp/recovery.log' after installing gapps


text:
Is there a complete conversation convergence app?
I was very impressed when I saw the first demo of WebOS quite a while back. I loved the way they integrated SMS, email, and social media all into one stream. Their point was that the most useful view was one oriented around the people, not the media. I think that's a very good point.
I've heard that FriendStream on HTC is pretty good but I have a samsung device.
I'm a big fan of Tweetdeck which brings together four (currently) social networks. You can post to all four at the same time, for those soap box moments :-)
I'd like to see an app that brings together EVERYTHING! even the voicemail and call log!
Am I asking the impossible?

Asking for the "best" anything is a fairly subjective question. Better to be specific about your needs; whether they can be met is at least objective.

Fair point, likely to incite flames. Edited

Not flames so much as it's off-topic. From the FAQ: "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page."

Many have tried.  It's arguable whether anyone succeeded yet or not.
The big ones are Motorola's MotoBLUR, HTC's SenseUI, Samsung's TouchWiz - they all try to bring together the disconnected social aspects of different applications such as e-mail, text messages, and various social networks.  Each does it differently, with varying degrees of success.  Unfortunately these aren't stand-alone products.  They usually come pre-installed with their respective manufacturers' devices, and overhaul more than just social aspects.
There are also 3rd-party apps and widgets that attempt to do this merge.  One of the best that I've used is SlideScreen. I didn't like the fact that it replaces your launcher, but it sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

I have only used Slide Screen for a short bit (it's a good app, though not quite for me since I don't live the social media life), I'm quite sure there is an option to use SlideScreen as a standalone app (i.e. does not replace the home screen).

I might have used it way back when they didn't have that option.

The SlideScreen project is now defunct.