text:
External HDD not recognized by tablet
I have an external 320GB HDD with Backtrack on it, partitioned as follows:
-partition '/' ext4
-partition '/home' ext4
-swap
-free partition fat32
The problem comes when I connect it to my tablet [Vonino Orin S --jellybean 4.1.1]; even if I connect the HDD to an external power supply the tablet doesn't recognize it; even more, sometimes I get a notification "Storage removed. Insert a new one.".
Is there a specific way [size, FS] my HDD must to be partitioned?

It may be looking for FAT, unfortunately.


text:
/data partition corrupted?
I have a Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 running CM 10.1 which was installed about a month back. Yesterday my phone suddenly crashed and after rebooting it got stuck in a boot loop. I tried wiping the cache and data but when the CM recovery starts formatting /data partition it gets stuck. I also did a clean install of GingerBread stock ROM but the problem still persists. Formatting /data partition cannot be done after installing stock ROM also. Did I brick my phone? Can someone give me links where I can download new kernels and fix the problem?

If you really talk about formatting (and not simply wiping) which fails, I'm afraid that might rather be a hardware issue, and the memory chip got corrupted.

Yup I tried formatting usingCWM recovery. And every time I try to format the /data partition the phone hangs. I installed stock ROM and tried factory reset and even then the phone hangs when it starts formatting /data partition. So does that mean that the hardware is messed up?

I'm not 100% certain, but to me that sounds like trouble with the equivalent to "bad blocks", so formatting gets stuck due to write errors/locks or the like (I'm not that deep into low-level storage modifications). If you can watch logcat parallel to that process (e.g. using adb logcat while in CWM), that might give you some additional clues.

its a kernel corruption. Just install a new kernel.

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  Both the CM kernel and the original kernel were working at one point, why would a third be better?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Install Android TV app on mobile Android
I have a Wetek Play 2 Android media player. It has "normal"/mobile Android 6 as operating system. I would like to be able to install Android TV apps (the OS in some smart tv). However they are not visible for me in Google play store. Is there a safe way to get Android TV apps for mobile Android?
Edit:
As an answer to @beeshyams (who says it is not possible to install TV apps on a mobile device):
The alternate app market Aptiode has a TV version called Aptiode TV. From their web page it says:

Aptoide TV brings you an app store that offers content with a rich
  user experience, optimized for the larger screen devices, such as
  high-definition televisions. Yep, it means that you can use Aptoide
  not only in your mobile devices, but also in the comfort of your
  couch.

I have tried installing two apps from that store and I could start them but they crashed when I tried to view some streaming contents. Probably because the versions of the apps supplied by Aptoide TV were outdated.
So I think that it is possible to install Android TV apps on a mobile version of Android. (I understand that they are not intended for mobile.)

Are you asking for how you can see Android TV apps in Google Play as opposed to just side load them? Is the device rooted?

From what I have read Aptiode TV is simply an alternative store app that can install Android apps that are optimized for TV screen. Those apps are still regular Android apps, not Android TV apps!

Android TV - Wikipedia
 says

(it )  is a Smart TV
  Platform

(Emphasis Supplied)
Android TV app is meant for Android TV - Which to me means it cannot run on mobile . To support :

You can't find it on Play Store because it is not meant to be installed on mobile devices
Other Devices section of Wiki quoted, doesn't mention mobile / media players of regular Android
Net search doesn't reveal the possibility

Bottom line - You can't

Edit: Post your revision

The extract from the blog you linked gives you the impression that you can install TV apps on your mobile but to my understanding that's not the case. It explains you can download the app on your mobile and use your mobile as a play store for TV apps but doesn't claim you can install and run on your mobile
If you visit Aptoide , which is an alternative play store, you will see a bunch of apps Aptoide TV. Only one of them has an app description that reads

.... The optimised app store for your set top box and Smart TV

Install Apps On Your Android TV From Your Smartphone With AptoideTV claims that you can install mobile apps on your TV

Lacking practical experience and based on these, my conclusion is that you can't install TV apps on your mobile (and that's probably why those you tried to install crashed).
Requesting readers to clarify based on their experience. Thanks

please see my update. I believe I can install TV apps on a mobile device.

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

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


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How can I access my files on Galaxy J1 Ace? (restore "My Files" icon)
At the moment, I can only access the files stored on my phone from the PC. I can access some music through players and pictures through gallery, but any other files that are there are hidden. Reading the manual, I realized this would normally be accessed through "My Files" - only... I don't have that icon anywhere. If it was there initially, I must have accidentally deleted it during the very first couple of minutes of having the phone and getting used to it. I hope such a thing is not irreversible? If I download something from the web, the download icon will show and then I am redirected to My Files, so they do exist, only the icon has gone and I don't know how to restore it or how else I can access the files without having to newly download something each time.

Did you try a third-party app? Some phones appears to have no file manager/explorer at all.
To achieve this just install a third-party file explorer and you're done or if you think your phone had it before, you'll need to factory reset it then the icon will be back.
I'd recommend you to download ES Explorer but there are many other similar apps in the Google Play store.

This didn't even cross my mind! Although I still cherish the idea of having a more fool-proof Android, this certainly does the job.


text:
S7 Edge Messaging App Cannot Block a number that is not a contact
I can block a number that is a contact such as my mum. But I cannot block numbers by companies such as my network proviser Three. By block I mean stop receiving annoying text messages,

It is not Three I am trying to block just using them as an example. I cannot add three to contact to perform block options that does not work. What is even more infuriating is that I cannot find a number to block its just "Three" with no phone number to be discovered anywhere.
How can I block these annoying text messages that are not even in my phones contacts.
I am using the default messaging app on the samsung galaxy s7 edge, fully updated, no modifications made.
Long pressing does not work either.

Try long pressing on the contact and select "block number"

That menu yields only "delete" and "pin" buttons, no block options. However with a number in my contacts the block option. Adding a picture to show this in my post. Thank you

I believe that it's the way that your carrier send you those texts, they make it impossible to block, as that don't send it using a number, your phone can't know when to block it. I'm also guessing that when you open the message, there is no place to write a text. Is that correct? Try an app called truecaller. It might be able to get past the issue, but you'll have to switch to their app for that

Thank you I will try the app. But this is not limited to my network provider three. I also cant block messages from Deliveroo a company I work for.

And yes that is correct there is no option to write a text


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Understanding Excessive Battery Drain on Note 8 (Nougat 7.1.1)
I'm suffering from excessive battery drains on Note 8, Nougat 7.1.1. The battery drain is excessive when on idle mode/when the phone is asleep. I have installed BetterBatteryStats (gave it all permissions) and tested with different settings for a couple days.
My findings:
I strongly believe the issue is with my wifi.

Day 1: I kept wifi on, turned off "adaptive wifi" and "wifi power saving mode" and set "keep wifi on during sleep" to always. Battery drain was very excessive at home. In BBS, wlan_rx_wake and powermanagerservice.wakelocks were very high and phone didn't doze much. When I left home and went to the library and was connected to my school's wifi, the phone dozed, and the two wakelocks mentioned didn't occur any more. In fact, from the screenshot you can see the two flat regions are those when I was at the library, and the downhill regions are when I was home.
Day 2: I kept wifi on, turned on "adaptive wifi" and "wifi power saving mode" and set "keep wifi on during sleep" to never. No change. The results were just like day 1. Excessive wakelocks and battery drain. In fact, funny enough, the wakelocks occurred more often as if "wifi power saving mode" was doing the opposite of what it was supposed to.
Day 3: I turned off wifi completely, and was on cellular the whole time. Battery performance was amazing. Lost 5% over 10 hours, and I actually used the phone during this time. I made calls, surfed the web and texted. Additionally, the are no excessive wakelocks, and the battery plot is nearly flat the whole time.

In conclusion, I am really confused. At home, wifi kills my battery. At school, wifi doesn't do anything weird. It makes me feel like this is more than just some setting on the phone or some bug with Nougat. Maybe some networking issues with my wifi at home? At any rate, I seem to have found the problem. But I was hoping I could get some insight as to why this is happening. Additionally, I'm wondering if there is a fix, because I would like to use wifi instead of cellular the whole time.
Notes
I was at home, I had wifi turned off, and during this time I experienced great battery life (~4-5% every 12-14 hours). Then, I turned on wifi just to test things, and the battery life noticeably got worse. I'm talking ~1% drain every hour. I turned it back off.
For those wondering, I experience wifi-related battery drain even if Wifi-Calling is off, so it's not that. Also, I have factory reset many many times so that is not a solution either.

Yeah I keep posting the updated ones. It's been twice so I wouldn't say "over and over again". Just one more time. Experienced people exist on this website and I'm hoping someone has an answer. As I said, I don't think my phone is the issue, but rather my wifi is, since I only experience issues with my home connection. I was looking for a thechnical explanation of why. Perhaps those who know how Android handles wifi connections can offer something of value.

Ok that's fine. I didn't mean to sound it in a bad way when I said over and over again...Its just that the community generally frowns up, duplicate questions...I hope someone experience will assist you nevertheless

I know. Do you think there's a better place to ask this question?

Android enthusiasts has a good reputation for answering android related questions, however certain users with vast knowledge in specific topic may not be always online to attend to such questions, but if they do you will get good help here, you could try XDA forums, Android central and see if they can help, but I advise you to be patient something might come up soon or later..


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The odyssey for CM10, all i get is a bootloop. How can i solve this?
I'm here to discuss about the unlocking of my new LG Optimus L5. I'll start saying that it come oot with Android 4.1.2 and the LG mod v20b.
I wanted to delete all the LG stuffs that slow the phone so i decided to root+unlock bootloader+install CWR+flash CM10 and Gapps.
I started following this page and tried all the root methods; only the one using a modified kdz worked.
After that i tried to unlock the bootloader, succeeding only after a day of tries. The problem was the Superuser app (it won't allow the ADB shell to edit the bootloader information even if it was allowed. I don't know why), so i installed superSU and all went right.
After that i installed ROMmanager, which allowed me to flash the CWR, but i was able to enter it only if the USB cable was disconnected (again i don't know why).
Inside the CWR i wiped bot caches, i did factory reset and flashed CM10+ Gapps; unfortunately i installed the wrong Gapps, denying me the Camera app, and few more little bugs...
So i decided to flash the righ one (gapps-jb-20121011-signed), but after that, all google services was crashing, so i decide to factory reset all and reinstalla CM+Gapps (the righ one this time)
The fate decided to curse me, sending the phone in bootloop after the flashing.
Hopeless, i tryed to flash again the modded firmware with the kdz flasher to retore the phone at the first passage, but it remained in bootloop (this time with the LG logo, not with the Cyanogen one).
I'm now trying to restore the original kdz (the v20d not modded) hoping for some miracle.
Someone have a hint to help me? The only thing i know now is that i can put the phone in download/emergency mode or remain in bootloop.
As far as i know the only way to enter the recovery is from SU binaryes in this f***ing phone, so no key combination to enter in it at startup.


text:
Using existing playlists on Google Play music
I have a Nexus S, and I sync my music between iTunes and my phone using iSyncr, which basically just dumps the music files and playlist files into a folder within my phone's USB storage. I'm using iSyncr instead of Google Play to get music to my phone, because I want a true sync, which, in my understanding, Google Play's uploaded doesn't currently do with iTunes.
Until recently, Google Play music would read both the music files and playlists, but with the most recent update it no longer sees the playlists.
Anyone have any idea how I might go about fixing this ("fixing" meaning getting my synced playlists from iTunes to show up in Google Play music on my phone)?


text:
Is there a way to do Nandroid backup directly to pc and then restore it directly from pc also?
My phone doesn't have enough space to store backup files so I wonder if there is a way to do Nandroid backup and restore with files stored on pc.

I doubt that there is any way to do this. You should try backing up to an external SD card and then transferring to the computer. Or just move enough files to your computer so that you can create and restore the backup on your phone and then move the files back when you are done.

I have written some tools for exactly this purpose, due to similar frustrations: https://github.com/dlenski/tetherback
These tools are written in Python and use adb to create either nandroid-style backups (raw partition images from dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0pXX) or TWRP-style backups (mixture of raw partition images and tarballs for ext4 partitions).
They attempt to probe the correct partition layout, and show the progress of the backup:
$ ./twrp_backup.py
Device reports TWRP kernel (3.4.0-bricked-hammerhead-twrp-g7b77eb4).
Reading partition map for mmcblk0 (29 partitions)...
  partition map: 100% Time: 0:00:03
Saving TWRP backup images in twrp-backup-2016-03-17--18-53-12/ ...
Saving partition boot (mmcblk0p19), 22 MiB uncompressed...
  boot.emmc.win: 100% Time: 0:00:05   3.10 MB/s
Saving tarball of mmcblk0p25 (mounted at /system), 1024 MiB uncompressed...
  system.ext4.win:   2% ETA:  0:06:29   2.69 MB/s

This is a work in progress—feedback is very welcome!
Requirements:

Python 3.3+ under Linux/OSX/Windows.

progressbar package is needed (pip install progressbar should do it)

adb (Android Debug Bridge) command-line tools
Rooted Android device with TWRP recovery installed.

The requirement for a rooted device and a custom recovery is never going to go away: if you don't have root access, then you have no means to copy the entire contents of your device's memory, simple as that.

EDIT: Looks like most of the traffic to https://github.com/dlenski/tetherback comes from this thread. The early issues with data corruption described in the comments below have all been resolved; tetherback now includes very strong checks against corruption.

First off thanks for making the program. It seems to be working well except whenever I use nandroid.py the bigger files, such as the system.img.gz and the userdata.img.gz, fail when decompressing the gzip. The "crc fails" and it produces an img file about 1/5th the size of the img.gz file. However, the bootloader.img.gz decompresses fine. Is their anyway that you could disable the gzipping or do you know another way to fix the corrupted file?

@I'm_With_Stupid, you can disable the gzip by modifying L46, but I doubt this is actually the problem. Are you running Linux or Windows? Unfortunately, under Windows adb mangles CRLF characters, meaning that it's impossible to transmit a binary image through it using the technique I'm using. I can write a workaround for this if need be.

Also, if you can provide any more details, please add it as a New Issue on the Github repository because it makes it easier to keep track of!

I added my problems as new issues so we should probably continue our conversation there.

A thread on XDA developers describes How to make a nandroid backup directly to your computer without using sdcard. Of course it only works on rooted devices. Further requirements include either a Posix OS like Linux/MacOS (Windows users can emulate this with Cygwin), and ADB (so either the entire SDK, or at least a minimal install). Moreover, busybox must be available on the device, and USB debugging activated.
The article describes step by step the commands needed to create a Nandroid backup. Basically, it's using dd via a named pipe to create a block-level copy of your device's partitions – what a nandroid backup basically is.

Thanks for the pointer, @Hudayfah! But whilst link-only posts may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, the answer becomes useless in case the link dies. I updated your post accordingly to show how that can look like, to help you concerning future posts (which you hopefully will make :) A warm welcome to our community included!

Also how would you go about restoring this backup, assuming you only have access to fastboot or maybe adb in recovery?

why must it be rooted?

I noticed that (if you already have ADB configured, your phone is rooted and you're working on a Linux system or similar) it is possible to dump the partition content by a single one-liner:
adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0

This is the same as what is described in the XDA thread for getting the bit-for-bit contents of flash memory, except without the dance with netcat and pipes (which might be needed or not depending on circumstances, I guess). Obviously no partition on the flash memory should be mounted while copying the data (ie. do it from a recovery while adb mount doesn't list any partitions mounted), otherwise you'll risk an inconsistent backup in places which Android decided to write data at the time of backup.
Note that for restore a simple:
pv mmcblk0 | adb shell dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0

will not work, as adb shell does not support piping. But if you somehow can do a dd of=/dev/block/mmcblk0 on the device itself, I suppose it should restore your backup. Don't trust me on this though, it might as well brick your phone. I haven't tested it yet; so far I only needed to recover a single partition and dd was fine for that.

Show Developer Options (Settings > Developer> tap build 7 times)
Enable USB Debugging (Settings > Developer > USB Debugging)
use recovery to avoid OS root limitations
./adb reboot recovery
do the pull
./adb pull /dev/block/mmcblk0 mmcblk0.img

How would I restore such backup?

@Suma with adb push (or mount the img and copy the files of interest out)

Android will let you access the entirety of internal storage that easily?

@Suma I have been scouring the internet and there are tons of guides on pulling the raw mmcblk0 partition data, but only vague answers or guesses on how to restore the data. From what I understand so far, restoring the mmcklk0 full device backup is not possible. You would use a utility to identify each partition contained therein and restore each of those partitions separately. You may need utilities like simg2img to get the right format of the data. Raw, sparse, image, etc. I am still looking into this, so that is all I have now.

@KingHolly "adb root" will let you restore. no need to over-complicate by using anything other than a raw image.


text:
Rooting a Toshiba AT100 running ICS
I have been trying to root my Toshiba AT100 running ICS 4.0.4 however I am unable to get it to work. I have tried several tutorials and they either don't work, are for tools running on Windows or only work in Honeycomb ROMs. I have also tried MotoChopper Universal Root Tool which worked well for all phones I have currently rooted with it but it fails to root the tablet. Does anyone know of a root tool for Linux (I'm running Ubuntu 13.04) that will work on the AT100 tablet?

You might want to consult our rooting index. Though it doesn't explicitly mention your device (yet), it also lists available methods working mostly device-independent. As your device runs ICS, you might especially consider "root many Android", which concentrates on ICS/JB and reportedly works for many devices (link in the mentioned index).

I tried the tools on the linked page but they do not work. The tool seems to be geared towards Sony phones and tablets and just happen to work with some others.

It got special adjustments for Sony devices only later, and there are many positive reports from other devices. But if you tried and it didn't work for you, that's a definitive answer. I have no idea which method really works with your device; you might try for some of the others, or wait whether somebody can offer a real answer here. Sorry that I cannot give a more positive answer.


text:
Battery Drains Way Too Quickly. What's Going On?
I know there are many forums and posts already discussing battery issues, but I am posting here because I would like constructive and detailed feedback.
I have a S7 Edge running Nougat 7.1 not rooted, and a couple months ago, the battery used to drain by 5-10% overnight. Now, it drains by about 20-30%. I have tried different things to try to pin down the issue and/or alleviate it, but none seems to have worked.
Note that I have used the pm uninstall to get rid of some known bloatware and services.
I have tried 1) factory reset, 2) booting to Safe Mode, and 3) wiping the cache partition. The attached figures show the battery status at night and then the morning, and the captions indicate what action had been performed that night. I have pictures for all actions, but due to my reputation I can only post 2. Basically, the trend is that Android OS and Android System seem to always be in the range of 5-12% battery usage by the morning.
After all these methods, I really don't know what can be going on. Another interesting observation is that I lose more battery overnight, than during the day if my phone is just sitting in idle mode. Any constructive help/advice would be appreciated.
Update: Usually, the battery plot needs to stabilize overnight, indicating the phone is in deep sleep (or doze mode). I am thinking my phone is not able to reach doze and/or stay in that mode for a long time. Any ideas on that? I already have optimized all my applications.

Have you tried simple things like varying placement throughout your overnight residence? Is it consistently bad ? Is this one night? A straight line needs at least 2 points; more points yields better theories. Your notification bar seems busy; chances are your phone is too, in a period of supposed downtime.

yeah, this is one night. Other nights are similar too. I literally don't have much on my phone. Unless it's some weird unknown background process, I would know about it.

Seems like a wakelock issue. Have you gotten any new Bluetooth devices?

Ok, how do I monitor wakelock apps? I am not rooted and kinda don't plan to root. Ideas?


text:
Tasker Volume does not work
I use the latest version of tasker.
I created a simple task Category Audio and then Media volume and system volume.
I set both of them to the maximum (15). However, when I run the tasks, the volume does not change. ideas?
FYI I'm using a Samsung SG10 and android 11.

you have to grant permissions as device administrator app

OK. I found a solution. seem to be a bug in Tasker.
Action 1: Set the Volume.
Action 2: Add 1 Second Wait
Now volume changes!
Note: I have not tweaked Wait times, it could be possible it can be optimized.

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


text:
Are these adb commands safe?
my phone gone locked after hard factory reset, waited for 3 days but still can't login. I've found a solution on internet that works, i need to use adb and use following commands on my phone:

adb shell content insert --uri content://settings/secure --bind
  name:s:user_setup_complete --bind value:s:1
adb shell am start -n com.google.android.gsf.login/
adb shell am start -n com.google.android.gsf.login.LoginActivity

what are these commands doing(especially first one)? Safe to use or makes a backdoor on my phone?

The first one just tells the device that the setup wizard was completed I believe, so it will skip the initial configuration wizard... Seems to me this was a potential bypass of FRP on Lollipop on older HTC devices, it is relatively safe and doesn't open a "backdoor". The other two are just starting normal services. Not sure how the last 2 would help at all, but it shouldn't hurt anything to try.

yes, It is safe. the first one code is about to validation on user: name as 'true', the others starts Login and jump it..
about the codes its ok. but if you use another one soft, it might be not safe.


text:
How do I disable Google Chrome from using regional google search?
I am using a VPN app
 and I don't want google to give me Arabic searches if my VPN is Arabic (besides, the whole site is mirror-imaged, since Arabic is written backwards). I want every search on Google to go to either google.com or google.co.in. I have tried searching, but all of them are about Chrome in PCs, and not for Android.

Installed the VPN app and checked
Easiest way is to choose an English speaking location like USA instead of app choosing the location in auto mode
Alternatively, use other search engines available under Chrome settings → search engine. It appears Chrome picks up default search engine based on location, which happened to be Arabic based on the choice of VPN

You can visit these addresses below everytime you want to do a search or simply bookmark it. There is no way to add a custom search engine on the mobile Chrome version.
Google Search No country redirect or www.google.com/ncr
And now when you search with Google Chrome, it will always search using Google.com in English without the country redirect.

"There is no way to add a custom search engine on the mobile Chrome version." Big bummer. Is it possible to "pin" my country settings and forbid Chrome from changing country redirect?

i don't think that is possible.


text:
Is there any (open) standard for importing/exporting contact from/to any mobile phone?
Is there any open format for importing and exporting from/to any mobile phone. It doesn't have to be a smartphone, it could be a basic mobile phone. If any such thing exist, does is also support import/export from/to SIM as well?
Contacts is one feature which is universal in all phones so I am hoping this is some standard/format which could be used for doing this. In smartphone, it could be done by apps but what about the basic phones.
Any help/insight on this would be highly appreciated.

That format most likely is VCard (Versitcard), which even has its own mimetype (text/vcard). According to the linked Wikipedia page, it became a standard around 1996 (and since it was proposed 1995 for the first time, older devices won't know it).
Android's contacts app uses this format when directly exporting your contacts from it. To my knowledge, this format is also used when transferring contacts via Bluetooth (even to/with older devices not necessarily running Android or being "smart phones"). Mail clients support it as well. So if you're looking for any standard here, this most likely is it.

Thanks @Izzy. Never thought vcard could be used for this.

Even my old Nokia phones seemed to do that, if I look back now. You could send a contact card via Bluetooth or even SMS that way. I cannot say for sure that was VCard, but with phones manufactured past 2000, I would almost bet.

for basic phones, you might want to consider the GSM AT Commands defined to read contacts (via serial connection, however even most usb data cables will still provide a virtual COM port)
http://www.traud.de/gsm/numbers.htm

The "U" in USB stands for universal. Using a USB cable to connect 2 devices will provide exactly the same functionality as any other USB cable.


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Warning: Camera Failed
I have a vanilla Samsung Galaxy S3, and just a month or two ago the back camera won't work. Whenever I use the default Jelly Bean camera app, it just pops up a message saying: "Camera Failed." then closes the app.
I downloaded a third party camera app to use the forward-facing camera, which works fine. This happened very recently after I got the phone (it was a replacement) and has been in a rugged case the entire time. I don't recall any trauma to the camera itself, either.
Any fixes or what I might be doing wrong?

This is very likely a software problem. You can try to clear the camera app's data and see if it helps (Settings -> Apps -> "All" tab -> Gallery -> clear data).

Nope, I tried to clear data for the Gallery and for Camera.

You mentioned using a 3rd party app, but only saying it worked with the front-facing camera...Does it work with the rear-facing camera as well?

@namuna, no. The actual Camera app won't initialize enough for me to switch the cameras, so I used that app to switch to the forward facing camera. When I use the main camera, it just freezes (CameraMX).

Sounds like your camera app became corrupt. At this point if you still want to try to fix it, I'd suggest backing everything up and then doing a factory reset. Otherwise a trip to the carrier store is in order and let them fix it.

I have had my gs3 with T-mobile for about 11 months. Two days ago I began receiving "camera failed" warning. I was beginning to think, after researching this issue, that my phone would need to be replaced if I wanted a functioning camera again. But moments ago, with the "camera failed" warning showing on my screen, I started squeezing the top of my phone between my fingers in different places, and suddenly my camera started working again. I'm a bit afraid that it is going to stop working again, but at least I know this is a mechanical error. I'm thankful I didn't reset my phone for no reason. I have never posted to any site before this, but if this can help anyone else having this problem, I thought I should mention it. I do hope it helps.

After a month of tracking it down, I realized that it was part of my secondary camera's cable that was disconnected, although I still can't pinpoint when it went bad.
Thank you for providing a similar experience, it helps me to determine the probability of this type of problem occurring.

This is a pretty common problem on the Galaxy S3. If the phone has been dropped or the camera has been bumped hard enough the connection to the back camera may have come loose. My suggestion would be to take it to a repair shop and have them open it up or open the phone up yourself.
If the phone is under warranty I would file a claim with Samsung.

Power off phone. Take out battery for 30 seconds. Power back on phone. Camera app worked again for me.

I turned my Galaxy S3 off and turned it back on again. It fixed itself; no need to clean or wipe your Gallery or phone.


text:
Auto-accept incoming bluetooth tether request?
Everytime I tether my PC to use my phone's internet via bluetooth it (phone) asks for confirmation. Is there a way to auto-accept that confirmation or suppress it altogether?

This app doesn't work for me. (I'm not sure whether it's its intended purpose. Although it could be and it might be not working on my device... (I've sent email to the dev.))
I can't find any other apps...

Didn't you mean this app from the same developer?

@ce4 No, that one just enables "bluetooth tethering" option from the settings. (it's disabled by default upon every boot). Which is actually fine by me; I can manually enable it when I want. What I would rather have is it auto-accept the incoming connection request from my PC.

I think that confirmation request is specific to your phone's firmware (my Galaxy Nexus doesn't do that , it's running CyanogenMod 10.1 aka Android 4.2.2)

@ce4 Did you install the app? (or is that by default?)

Yes, the one I linked is all I need with CyanogenMod, but note: there had never been aa confirmation request upon connecting. Without the app, I needed zo enable Bluetooth tethering after each reboot


text:
It is possible to forward all audio to the Android smartphone via wi-fi?
Are there apps/methods that allow for the sound to be forwarded to the smartphone?
So if I would watch a YouTube video on the PC, I could also hear the sound via the smartphone.

One way to do this is to use Airfoil Speakers for Android, which is free, but requires a server component (Airfoil) to be installed on your PC. The free version plays audio fine for 10 minutes and then overlays noise. The license key is $25.

A cheaper option is  SoundWire "Free version - Market Link" the free version will speak every 45 mins (just a nag) the paid version is under USD 4, link to it inside the same market link. Logically try the free version first. Sadly its PC only, not sure why as as far as i can see its a lite VNC app, sending only the audio and not keystrokes or anything else.
Honestly i find it extremely surprising that no one has made a Bluetooth headset, or similar profile for a phone. It would be very useful also for HTPCs as a kind of cheap (but very good quality) wireless headphones.


text:
Sudden drop in battery life
I used to get average good battery life, i.e. for about 2 days without re-charging, since yesterday my Samsung S2 battery life has become terrible, I haven't installed any new applications.
What could be the reason for this?

Go to Settings - Battery and take a look at the usage. You should see if there are any apps using an unexpected percentage of battery life. I've also seen location based apps drain my battery, but that's not saying that's what's causing your issues though.

That's in fact the first place to look for. I have this from time to time on some devices -- until now, always Google Maps was the culprit. And the solution was a simple reboot -- until Maps did it again a few weeks later... As that always had to do with WakeLocks, a look into How to deal with (orphaned) WakeLocks? might prove helpful, too.


text:
syncing markup/word notes over dropbox?
hi i'd like to have the following functionality:

putting a file into my dropbox (html,wordformat) - which i'm editing from my PC
android app for acessing that file (desktop shortcut), display html/word-format + edit

any ideas?
currently i'm using a textfile which i can edit with the default android-editor, but markup would be better :)
thanks

i saw that but epistle is not at the android market anymore :(

You're right. The developer has a new, similar app now. There was also a similar question; let me see if I can find it.

Epistle has been replaced by Draft. That said, searching for "markdown" on the Google Play Store offers a number of possibilities. Have you tried any of them?


text:
Digital magazines on google play/android Market: does it work like Apple newsstand?
I apologize if I may seem a bit confused but actually I need some direction to make up my mind about digital magazines publication on google play /android markets.
I'm comparing to the Apple store/ Apple newsstand just because I already know the general work flow on iOS devices.
I'm from Italy and I see the google play magazines has been enabled lately in for my country. Last week it wasn't  available.
So questions are:
If i have a Android device where am I supposed to search for digital publications?
(I ask the above since I can't find the same famous publications I find on Apple Store)
Is there a counterpart of newsstand?

I've never used the Apple Store, so I can't help you with comparing them, but to answer the parts that I can.
On a PC you can look through the website for the Magazines section of the Google Play Store to find magazines. You should be able to find areas for Top Magazines, Staff Favourites and various other Categories.
On your phone or tablet you can use the Google Play Magazines app or the Play Store app. Either open the Magazines app and press the overflow button at the top left and select Shop, or open the Play Store app and select the Magazines category from the top of the first screen.
If Magazines have only just become available in your country then it is very likely that Google haven't set up deals with all of the magazine publishers in your country yet, so there may be a smaller selection of magazines than you're expecting. I know that when Magazines became available in the UK it seemed to take about 3 months before some of my favourite magazines started showing up.


text:
Hebrew language to a physical keyboard
I have a Nexus 7 (2013) (Android 4.4.2). Recently I bought a Bluetooth keyboard to go with it.
For English the keyboard works as expected, however I noticed that there is no Hebrew language when adding layouts for the Broadcom BT HID.
I have Hebrew with the virtual keyboard (comes with it - I didn't have to use 3rd party software).
Is there a way to add/install Hebrew so I could use it with the physical keyboard (without 3rd party apps)? As I see it, it is a software thing since the keyboard sends the same signals only the mapping is different.
If no, is there a way to do such a thing with 3rd party apps?

External Keyboard Helper Pro (costs $2.50) has Hebrew support.


text:
Enable Hebrew Swipe Input
I noticed I can use (with my out of the box Nexus 4) swipe for.input in English but there does not seem to be a way to use swipe for Hebrew input.
Am I missing a configuration option that enable this?
I know there are 3rd party applications that does Hebrew swipe input but I prefer not to use them if the OS provides me that functionality.

Today (almost a year after my initial post) I tried using swipe on the Hebrew keyboard and now it works.

Did you activate the Hebrew language pack in the Settings/Language & Input/Android Keyboard Settings/Input Languages? Hebrew is listed there. Check the box.
I don't know if that will give support for swiping but it will at least add the language dictionary.

Yes, Hebrew is activated. I can write (Hebrew keyboard) in Hebrew just not using swipe.

You may have to go with a 3rd party app like Swype Beta SwiftKey to get Hebrew swiping. I believe Swype supports Hebrew. Not sure about SwiftKey.

This worked for me: uninstall your current google keyboard (it will ask you if you're sure you want to uninstall updates as you can't really uninstall the keyboard), then reinstall it.
If you're having trouble finding it in the play store here's a link to open from your phone:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.inputmethod.latin

Tried it but that did not work for me.

This worked for me. I didn't have gesture support for Croatian. After reinstalling, when I switched to the Croatian language, a toast message applied saying something like "Downloading, gestures will be soon available for Croatian". It sucks that there's no way to trigger this manually.


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How can I enter an English unlock password when the keyboard is Arabic?
How can I unlock my tablet that my password is in English and the keyboard is in Arabic?

Try plugging in a keyboard via USB.  If you don't already have an adapter for it I would recommend that you go ahead and buy one.  It comes in handy.

What is your OS? Here is a link that might help you:
How to unlock device when I forgot my password?
Now here are some scenarios:

If you are in Jellybean and you only have the stock Jellybean password, then I'm sorry to say you need to take a drastic measure in opening your tablet which is doing a factory reset. However, on the link above it will tell you that you can unlock your device by using your Google account online. I don't really know the details but that might help you.
If you are using another keyboard from the Play Store, chances are you can edit the settings on the keyboard itself. This could appear in the form of a settings button (a circle with a dot on the center) where you can set up the language of the keyboard or you are using Hacker's keyboard you can swipe the spacebar and the keyboard will change the language.

I strongly suggest you add what OS and keyboard configurations you are using(activated keyboards, current keyboard used) to your question so that others might add more helpful answers.


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Google now on moto 360 thinks i am talking in arabic
Everytime I say somehting to my moto 360, it thinks I said something in arabic and searches for something absurd in arabic.
How can I change that? I don't remember ever setting it to arabic

Try changing the voice language settings of the Google app on your phone. You select several ones. You just have to tap and hold to select the main one.

authors: عبدالله الشيباني


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Imported Hebrew vcf contacts come out gibberish
I just joined the Android community. I have been using a Nokia E72. I am a bilingual user (Hebrew/English). I have succeeded in importing my address book 838 contacts with the help of this blog http://myhtcdesire.com/tutorials/how-to-transfer-contacts-from-a-nokia-symbian-phone-to-htc-desire
My Android OS came with Hebrew/English pre-installed. The problem is that in the imported address book all of the Hebrew in contacts show as gibberish.
I tried switching back and forth the default language, but that made no difference.
Any help would be appreciated.

I found the solution here http://iandroid.co.il/forum/topic1999.html

If it's the answer you were looking for, post it as an answer.

Sounds like an encoding problem.  Have you tried importing the .vcf into Google Contacts (on the web) and then syncing your phone with your Google account contacts?  That might provide better results; Android doesn't play nice with multiple languages right now.

@Miki800 I honestly wouldn't consider a phone without Wi-Fi a smartphone. If you're in that situation, however, consider asking your own question -- most everyone has Wi-Fi so in the absence of evidence otherwise, those considerations aren't relevant here.

I have followed the steps mentioned here.
It's using .vcf technique only. I had to transfer Nokia C3 contacts to Sony Xperia and it worked for me.

Create a backup file in your nokia phone.
For that go to Menu > Settings > Sync and backup > Create Backup
Select only "Contacts" for backup.
It will create a backup file at a location you specified.
Copy that backup file in your PC.
Rename its extension to ".zip" or ".rar" (make sure to uncheck "Hide extensions for known types")
Then extract this file. It will extract all your contacts in root folder named "32" in ".vcf" format.
Copy this folder into your memory card
Then go to "Contacts" in your android phone. press on the 3 grey dots on the upper or bottom right of the screen.
Select Import from the list. Next, select Import from > SD Card / external memory.
It will search for ".vcf" files and popup you the choice to import specific files or all (select "Import all vCard files" to
  import all contacts)
Wait for a while and its done.

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


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Samsung I5503 Arabic Froyo
Is there any Arabic Froyo rom for I5503 (Galaxy 5)?

I can't find one.  It may be possible to extract the language from Eclair and add it to a Froyo ROM, but I'm not sure.  Have you asked your carrier?

There doesn't seem to be one right now. Check SamFirmware for official ROM updates. (note - that's not an official site, they just host the official firmwares).
This site describes how to install a 2.1 Arabic ROM on a Galaxy 5. Hope that helps.

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


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Xiaomi Mi Max lock with screen with picture of phone with usb cable and "pcsuite.mi.com" url, regular reboot, no pcsuite connect
How can i bypass the screen with "pcsuite.mi.com" url and picture of phone with usb cable?
Below is the image of boot lock screen when Mi Max is not connected to PC:

Click to enlarge the image
I was using my phone (Xiaomi Mi Max Dual SIM with 4GB RAM + 128GB ROM) and i got that screen. None of the buttons seams to dismiss the screen. Reboot always go to the same screen (boot loop). Can't use the phone (no calls, alarms, etc).
Below is the screen, when is connected to PC (the cable changes position in the image).

Click to enlarge the image
I download the pcsuite, mi flash and mi unlock on my pc but can't connect to device (even when i run the apps as administrator).
Below is Mi Pc Suite screen:

Click to enlarge the image
Below is the Mi Unlock screen (no device connected):

Click to enlarge the image
ps specs are:

Dell OptiPlex 7020 CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590 CPU @ 3.30GHz
Dell Motherboard 0F5C5X with Intel PCH Q87
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) Service Pack 1 (build 7601)

Have issues with "SM Bus Controller driver" that are now solved. I read in the foruns that Max is not yet supported by pc suite. pcsuite can't connect detect phone, but adb driver installed with success.
Mi Suite and Mi Unlock don't identify the device. Mi Flash detects the device if i boot with volume-down + power (and got a back screen). The flash failed on the initial tries, because the device don't reply to the hello package.
If i boot with power pressed for 8 sec (or more), i got into the phone + pcsuite lock screen and Mi Suite, Flash and Unlock don't detect it.
I try power up with volume up, volume down, volume up+down and no recovery screen (no rabbit or fast boot leters). Still can't use my Mi Max: no calls, no access to apps, nothing :(
The pc suit logs are at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-J9Wa8DpsEzU0RTV3VMR0ZuRGs
Does the Mi Flash util work without the unlock boot? I already got the sms unlock code, can login into my Mi account inside Mi unlock fine.
New steps
Reboot the phone using power + volume up + volume down (EDL mode - back screen)
Connect to PC, install the Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 driver, Mi Flash detect the device and i could flash the helium_global_images_V8.2.1.0.MBDMIDL (full flash, delete all).

Click to enlarge the image
I use a normal cable (no deep flash cable). I did the flash but did not open the case, remove the battery or short the testing points.
Below is the mi max test points photo (from tutorial on web).

Click to enlarge the image
When i reboot the phone (power button for 8 secounds) still get into the same "pcsuite.mi.com" and phone image screen. Mi Pc suite and Mi unlock don't identify my phone in 9008 / EDL mode.
Last steps
Phone is working, Can't still unlock. "time is too short" screen below:

Click to enlarge the image

what happens when press and hold power button for 15 seconds? Bootloader is locked, so you cannot go to recovery.

press and hold power button keeps me on the Mi starting screen. After release, it goes into the back screen and later the  screen with picure of phone with usb cable and the "pcsuite.mi.com" url. The picture change if the cable is connected to pc or not.

Do you have tried to unlock boot loader? Or, what may be the cause?

To put it another way, what were you doing when it first happened?

I got my Mi max an month ago. I was using Whatsapp and vlc to see videos.

@RahulGopi I only try to unlock the boot loader now. I'm waiting for the code by sms.

It may take sometime to receive SMS(I have got after 2 days). They're telling it will take about 3-21 days. Ref: http://xiaomiadvices.com/unlock-bootloader-xiaomi-mi-flash-tool/

yep. It's great if i get the code in 3 days or less.

I don't think you can unlock the bootloader without booting into the OS, logging into MI account and flagging it for unlock permission on this device. That's how modern MI devices counter thefts, after all.

What you CAN try right now (and possibly the only way out at this point) is the EDL (Qualcomm 9008) mode. Please verify: hold VOL+ and VOL-, and press POWER to boot; the phone should vibrate once with the screen still black. Connect the phone to the PC, and if proper drivers have already been installed, you should see an entry under "COM port" or "Ports" that says something containing "9008". If it successfully connects in this mode, there is still a chance to recover; more to follow after your verification.

Have you tried Zcx twrp for mi max hydrogen ? You can try these instructions from: http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=365918&highlight=TWRP , from the looks of it it works on both locked and unlocked bootloaders

I'm waiting xiaomi reply if there is any close Belgium official Xiaomi resaler/shop/repair center. Already downloaded the helium global images V8.2.1.0 MBDMIDL and read the Max hydrogen, but since I buy my Xiaomi Mi Max from VolumeRate.com at 30/04/2017, and got in my hands at 8/06/2017, it got 1 month and i hope to have some sort of waranty.

@xavier_fakerat i read it, but didn't open my phone yet (to remove the batery and do the sort in the test points.

@RahulGopi Yes, i try to unlock the boot loader

Do i need a special usb cable for EDL like https://www.fonefunshop.com/edl-deep-flash-qualcomm-9008-2-in-1-cable-for-z3x-octopus.html ?

You might need one, but you can DIY one from existing USB cables. Guides should be aplenty around the web. @xavier_fakerat pointed you in the right direction - the link he offered you basically taught you how to enter EDL mode and recover from there.

I now have the phone working, already re-install all, update the image and i'm waiting 72h to unclok the device (I'm afraid of getting this error again). It's related to an hardware issue in the volume up button. I'll post all the information and steps soon.

Try booting with both volume up and down pressed, and only then connect to the pc, if the PC recognizes it as Qualcomm 9008 (COMsomenumber) you are set, open MiFlash and flash the latest ROM
Hope this helps :)

Mi Flash detect the device and i could flash the helium_global_images_V8.2.1.0.MBDMIDL or any other image, but still go back to the same lock screen

Ok then try to flash a china dev and after that report back please.

First of all connect it to PC via adb and backup your required data. Follow this answer for it
Try this command adb reboot bootloader or adb reboot recovery
If any of the command works then you can flash stock image directly from bootloader using fastboot or from recovery.
adb and fastboot commands for xiomi
If above mentioned method does not work then try this
As you have got unlock code, you can unlock bootloader now. (Typically after 1 week of requesting you can successfully do it).I guess you would be able to do it now so follow this method now.
After unlocking you can do either one of the following tasks

Flash a custom recovery (prefer TWRP) and then custom ROM
Download stock image for the device and flash it link

I can't unlock, since after working, i need to associate my mi account with the device and wait at least 74h

try flashing the stock image via adb or any other flash tool made by xiomi or wait 74 hr

@PedroPolonia as you are unable to flash stock rom so you should flash a custom recovery and custom rom


text:
Bluetooth reverse tethering
Hey all so I have connected my HTC to my laptop via Bluetooth ( they're paired and connected)

the Bluetooth Tethering option in the phone is Enabled
I can see a Bluetooth network connection has been added in network
connections and adapter panel
I'm stuck after this....
the problem is that when I go to the sharing tab of the network
connection which I'm trying to share it's internet, there it asks you
to select a network connection which the internet is going to be
shared too but the Bluetooth connection wont show so I could select
it...

Bluetooth reverse tethering for Android on Windows 7/8/10 is not possible out of the box. It might be if you have installed the Toshiba Bluetooth Stack (see below).
As of Windows 10 1809 the Bluetooth PAN network generated by Windows' own BT drivers technically is not a "full blown" network like wired LAN or WiFi. Thus it does not show up in the list of network adapters to use the shared internet connection.
For the same reason you cannot bridge your wired LAN ethernet adapter with the bluetooth PAN (Microsoft documentation says bridging needs two "highspeed" connections - which PAN obviously is not).
As some googling reveals Mac and Linux folks are better off because these OSes can do reverse tethering with bluetooth.
If you really desperately need to do it based on a windows machine your only choice is to set up a virtual machine with Linux as guest OS and do it from there. There is a how-to in German on this solution at PC-Welt.


text:
No sound on my Asus Transformer
I have two problems :

my device was dropped to the ground (not by me) and the power button does not work anymore. I use the keyboard to wake up and suspend it.
sometime, the sound does not work anymore, and I cannot reboot it to make it run again.

The device is not rooted (no reason), run Android 4.0, how can I handle it?

You said:

my device was dropped to the ground

and

sometime, the sound does not work anymore

This would very much seem to boil down to a hardware problem. The only way to "handle" it is to repair the hardware. You can start with the Asus repair page.

Looks like the link is dead.


text:
Upgrading HTC Wildfire S to Jelly Bean
How can I upgrade my wildfire s to jellybean? Help anyone?
What are the risks? I tried to look up on google but couldn't find anything usefull..HELP!

HTC has dropped upgrade support for the Wildfire S. If you want to have Jelly Bean you have to :
 1. Unlock the bootloader
This is done by going to the htcdev website and select your device on the dropdown to the  right. All the procedure is described on the site, but be warned that by doing this, you void your device's garranty. (though it can be relocked, but a relocked device is easily identified by a "** RELOCKED **" mention on the bootloader).
 2. Root your device
A user on xda-developers forum has developed a "One click root" program. You can download it on the original thread, run it and follow the instructions.
 3. Install a custom rom
There are many different CyanogenMod 10.1 rom (the Wildfire S community seems pretty fragmented to me...), but one I recommend is the one by the Owl Project. Simply download the zip file, put it in the root of your sdcard. Power off your device, power it on while holding the volume down button, choose install zip from sdcard and pick the downloaded zip file. If you are not satisfied, you can choose another one from the Wildfire S development section
BUT ! Be warned that all of these procedure may or may not harm your device and nobody could be held responsible for this. (though if you follow the instructions, there is a very minimal chance of bricking your device)


text:
QR code printer/reader?
I run a small business repairing computers.  Sometimes I have very similar looking computers, and shenanigans ensue if the customer labels fall off or the serial numbers I record become detached from the computer in the course of repair.
Is there an app I can use to print a qr code of plain text information about a computer/client/problem?  I believe my current printer is equipped with bluetooth, but I wouldn't be appalled if I needed to purchase a specialized printer (zebra, or whatever).

Ideally the app would also read said qr codes, but a separate reader is also not the end of the world as long as it is a common and compatible qr form.

Technically speaking, your question is off-topic (see our help-center: Can you suggest an app that does X?). Basically, any QR Code generator should be able to create such a code, and there are printing apps as well. So it should work creating the image, and "share" it with some printer app. Take a look at QR Droid for a good example QR reader/creator.

If the customer labels / serial numbers can become detached, how do you ensure that your printed QR codes do not also become detached?

Check out an app in the Play store called 'Barcode Generator / Reader'.
And here's a link on how to use it: LINK

Here is a simple example of generating and printing QR code from your android phone directly.
https://github.com/msayanece/PrintQR
Hope this helps.

Since this isn't a programming site, a link to some source code with no APK file isn't going to help out our visitors a lot.


text:
Complete incremental phone sync
I have two samsung galaxy s2 models and I want them to sync with each other completely, either over wifi or usb. I usually only use one at a time. Is it possible or is there an app already for that?

What is it you want to sync? What problem are you trying to solve?

also: are your devices rooted?

I want to sync all the settings and app data for each phone. basically i want mirror images of my phones. no my phones are not rooted.


text:
Is it possible to save SMS in folders?
Can I create folders and move sms's that I want to keep to these folders? For example, I would want to save all my sent sms's in a Sent folder.

If this is just to back them up then try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore

Not really for backup. Rather to organise and easily recover important messages. E.g. if I am sent settings for the phone, it would be nice to save it in a folder called "References". Also, all my sent messages could be saved in a "Sent" folder.

Any updates from your end? Does the SMS Folders work for you?

this app can create folders https://android.stackexchange.com/a/169892


text:
What is the voltage range for GALAXY Tab 2 10.1
I bought GALAXY Tab 2 10.1 from USA and going to use in Asia where I have 220V power. I am not sure if I can connect the power adapter that comes with the tab. There are no power specification mentioned there on the adapter or on the user manual.

What about in the adapter itself?

Nothing mentioned there.


text:
How to turn off Viber's new SMS income message notification
I am getting double SMS notification, i.e. one from system SMS app and another one from Viber. I don't want Viber SMS notification and need to turn it off.
I'm looking in Viber app's setting but I cannot find where to turn it off. All I can find is the below snapshot; but I guess it helps to reply the SMS message via Viber text message and save my mobile fee. I don't want the notification though!
Any work around for this please? Great appreciate.

I had that option turned off and viber still "helpfully" notified me. So not sure where that leaves me!

Go to viber, in the bottom corner you should see 3 lines stacked on top of one another (Menu) click on it, then click on Settings, then on Calls and Messages, and you should find that option.

Go to VIBER APP
Go to right bottom corner; you should see 3 lines stacked on top of one another
Click on it
Click on Settings
Click on Calls and Messages
Uncheck free reply with viber
There you go, you will not receive double SMS notification.

Alternatively you can go to settings on your android phone, go to sound, then vibration intensity and you can turn notifications off, the only problem is you will lose it when you get text messages. But if you're using mainly whatsapp or viber it makes no odds.


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How can I determine what URL an app is accessing?
I have an app that downloads mp3 files.  The app does not tell you where it is getting these files from.  Is there an Android tool/app I can use to figure out what URL an app is accessing from my phone?
Thanks

What is this app?

Its an 'old time radio' app, but I was hoping to figure out how to determine what connections apps make from my phone in general.

Ah, tcpdump. Why didn't I think of that before?

I was going to recommend Sharkbit, but I couldn't see the URL of the connection. Anyhow, please add a link to the app you used, and don't forget to mark your own answer as Answer. :)

Please don't add comments as answers. Use actual comments when seeking clarification of any issues.

This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below their post.

@ce4 Red Cricket is actually answering his own question. It's a poor answer, but I assume he went with tcpdump to find the URLs / IP addresses.

Ok, got it. He's right, but extracting links from tcpdumps only works for unencrypted traffic


text:
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 won't get out from recovery booting
I got a problem with my Samsung device and now I've no idea how to fix this, hope anyone want to help me in fixing this problem.
So this thing started yesterday when I just went in to Recovery Mode to "Wipe Partition Cache" and turn my phone off.
1)When I tried turning my phone on, it doesn't go to normal boot but it go to "recovery boot" I dont't know why, restarted, unplugged the battery and turned on my phone again but it won't make my phone get out from recovery boot.
2)Now I'm trying to flash my phone with Odin, when I tried to flash it says "There is no PIT partition", "There is no PIT Binary", how to fix this ?
I've tried to download and used the pit file but it didn't worked.
please help

You can only get out of this if you were on custom recovery where you shall look for the official boot.img of the phone and flash it into the recovery partition. There it will boot. If you're sure the boot partition is not damaged, you can use the dd command to extract it. In simple. Using TWRP Terminal:
dd if /dev/block/[msdcblockname]/by-name/boot of /sdcard/boot.img

This will dump boot.img at internalsd. Use it to flash the recovery partition. Note: the folder reffered to as msdcblockname above varies with device so research path to boot for your specific phone model.
But anyway if you're on stock recovery, either get a full OTA package that is made for full system update, not the incremental one ADHD flash it by apply update from sdcard or ensure the ROM you downloaded for Odin is specially for your device model and it has all items in it. Because Odin is the only hope you're left with


text:
How to remotely access an Android device from any device connected to the internet with root access?
Out of curiosity, I always wondered is it possibly to access your android device remotely, your files, start any app, run any function you will want to the same way you can do as if you were with the device physically. If it is, then how?
I'm kinda thinking if I should have the following;

IMEI
ESN
MEID
Google Account

It should be more than enough to grant me full access to my device.
Considering the IMEI is can be used to identify the device, ESN (Electronic Serial Numbers) and MEID (Mobile Equipment Identifiers) can link an individual to a phone. And with the Google account used on the device.
Since a remote desktop software lets you access your computer and all its applications over the Internet using another device, essentially by streaming a feed of your desktop. This works from a tablet or phone, even over a cellular data network, I feel an android device should be able to do same.
I have checked to see possible question;

I want to remotely control my Android device from my PC without rooting it. Is this possible?
Remotely control an Android tablet from a Mac or Windows machine?
Accessing and Controlling an Android Device Remotely
Can I remotely control an Android device using TeamViewer?
is there way to remotely turn on your android phone?

but none has fully answered the question.
NOTE: This is with the assumption that the android device has access to the internet and throughout the remote access, the device will have access to the internet. There's no restriction to the usage of just TeamViewer.
Any good answer and comment is greatly accepted on if there's an app that can actually do that or what it takes to make such kinda app. Thanks in anticipation.

"but none has fully answered the question" Could you explain that further? How precisely is your question different from those existing questions?

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/156946/accessing-and-controlling-an-android-device-remotely specified on using a particular app (Teamviewer) and there seems to be a whole lot of improvement in android technology compared to the time those questions where asked.


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Can you disable ambient display when you have an Android Wear device connected?
I have Ambient Display enabled for New Notifications which I really like. However, I also have an Android Wear smart watch and when that is connected the Ambient Display notifications are pretty redundant. Is there a way to toggle this setting if the Wear device is connected? I don't wear the watch all the time so when I am not I would like the notifications to resume.

This seems like something you might be able to do with Tasker, but I'm not sure if Tasker can access that setting.

Try Macrodroid automation app. Trigger: Android wear connect ; Action: Ambient display off. This needs root. If you don't have  root , you can give elevated privileges using ADB . I don't have Android wear to test. Try it out (App is free)


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How do I move past the ICS lock screen using a bluetooth keyboard?
How do I move past the ICS lock screen using a bluetooth keyboard? Or, alternately, what happens to the keystrokes I type while the lock screen is active? They're different versions of the same question, so I ask them together.


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The application google services framework (process com.google.process.gapps) has stopped unexpectedly
I am using  nikai tablet NMD8000b which is on Android 2.2 . Currently device showing The application google services framework (process com.google.process.gapps) has stopped unexpectedly
I didn't get any support from the nikai site. How can i rectify and overcome the problem

See also: Getting GApps error message and com.google.process.gapps crashing

See also: How do I stop com.google.process.gaps force closing randomly?


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How did can I find important partions of any android devices?
Please Help Me !!!
How did can I find important partions of any android device . Using adb or fastboot . Such as, boot, recovery, etc...
I mean to backup any androdi device rom . I have tried with "ls /dev/block/" . Then I see many things.

        I've tried another with "cat /proc/mounts" . This one give me more pressures .
Take a look at this .

Sorry for my English :'(

You might want to take a look at this answer or, even better, at Android Folder Hierarchy, which most likely gives you the necessary details.
Using that information, your best approach to backup via ADB might be:
# find the device for the partition
mount | grep system
# from the output of the above (data from your screenshot), now back it up
# using "dd":
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 of=/mnt/sdcard2/system.img bs=1M

if is the device to back up, of the target (I just placed the image file in the root of your sdcard, you might wish to adjust that). Take care not to mix up the two, or you might destroy your system! (this is why dd sometimes is backronymed "data destroyer"). bs defines how much data to read/write in a single operation, my example uses 1 MB; you might play with this and e.g. use "8M" to speed things up, but do not set this too high.
Above example just handles the /system partition. Repeat it similarly for any of the other ones listed in the linked question which you want to have backed up.

This error occurs. Why ?
Please !
C:\Windows\System32>adb shell
shell@android:/ $ su
su
shell@android:/ # mount | grep system
mount | grep system
sh: grep: not found
127|shell@android:/ #

Maybe because there's no grep found in $PATH? You could try busybox grep instead (if busybox is found). Or simply skip the grep part and check the output manually: this part is only needed once to find out where the devices are. Once you got them, they won't change, so you can save your dd statements for subsequent use.


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Why are Android apps getting rid of "Quit" functionality?
Lately I have seen many apps getting rid of the "Quit" functionality. For e.g. older version of Firefox for Android have a Quit option in menu which now is removed. Same goes for Opera browser which had a Quit option in menu which was removed after it moved to Webkit from Presto.
Wouldn't quitting an app be better for Android as it would consume less memory and resources in turn would give better battery life?

Possible duplicate: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/8295 . See also http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/927 for more info about whether the "quit" button actually does anything.


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how long can the battery in my new mobile stay idle till first use
I bought a Samsung Galaxy 6 months ago. Have not used it yet nor have charged the battery atleast once. I am worried about the battery. Can i keep it idle two more months.

You might want to check How frequently is it okay to let the battery discharge fully or as low as possible? and A: Although I was told to charge my Android device before first use, it was already charged. Ha… for this, which include corresponding hints. Some basic stuff here, though:
Wikipedia holds a detailed article on Lithium-ion batteries. For your question, the answer is mentioned there as follows:

Li+ batteries have a self-discharge rate of approximately 5–10% per month, compared to over 30% per month in common nickel metal hydride batteries, approximately 1.25% per month for Low Self-Discharge NiMH batteries and 10% per month in nickel-cadmium batteries. They last longer if not deeply discharged (depleted) before recharging. The smaller the depth of discharge, the longer the battery will last.
Batteries may last longer if not stored fully discharged. As the battery self-discharges over time, its voltage gradually reduces. When depleted below the low-voltage threshold of the protection circuit (2.4 to 2.9 V/cell, depending on chemistry) it will be disabled and cannot be further discharged further until recharged. It is recommended to store batteries at 40% charge level.

(emphasis mine)
From that you can deduce: If the manufacturer behaved responsibly (which we may assume), the battery was charged at about 40% when leaving the factory. Assuming it took at least a month to get to you (it was at store as well, so it should have taken that long or longer), and consider the fact you bought it 6 month ago, the battery wasn't charged for at least 7 months. Self-discharge rate, according to the article, is 5-10% per month -- so your battery is pretty empty now, and most likely already about to enter the "dangerous level" of deep-discharge.
Conclusion: You should at least check it twice a year (once every 6 month) and make sure to charge it up to ~40..50% when not using it.


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Possible to connect Android device to Internet with Ethernet
I want to connect my Samsung S3/S4 to the internet using an Ethernet cable and USB network adapter. Is this possible?
I have tried a couple different adapters, which don't work, and leads me to wonder if A. there is an adapter that works; B. If there is any software/drivers that I need; C. is there a way to do this with code?
I have gotten this to work a Nexus Tablet. I'm wondering why it works on the tablet, but not on a device.
I want to do this because I have some code that needs to be tested, and I'm looking for a way to ensure that I ALWAYS have an Internet connection. The wireless connections tend to be flaky on my network.
Any insight would be helpful.

If your device is rooted, you might want to take a look into reverse tethering.

It's not. I'm trying to avoid rooting if possible.

How to make Ethernet work on Android over OTG?


text:
How to re-arrange images in gallery after changing the GMT time zone?
I travel to another country and take photos for a few days. After that I change the tike zone of my phone.
Since then, photos in my gallery are mixed up!?
I open the DCIM folder and see that the cause is that gallery sorts images by the filename and filenames are named after the taken time when the photo is captured.
How can I get photos updated with the time zone changed?

NOTE: This is based on Samsung Galaxy S4 (Android 4.2.2)
In Gallery, click All beside the Gallery (flower) icon. Then, press left menu button, and select Sort by latest (If you see Sort by oldest, then your pictures are already sorted by latest.

Could find this on my phone

@Nam G. VU You found it? Good! Did it fix your problem?

I'm sorry I mistype the word not :( Updated my comment @geffchang

Could not find this on my phone


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Share a number from call history to calendar
On my s3, I would like to make a calendar entry after some one called me and put the number in the description field on the calendar.
I'm thinking this would be easy, just share the number from call history to calendar. Unfortunately "share" is not available and I can only "send number" as an sms.
Is there an app that can help me with this?
Is there a reason the s3 doesn't have this obvious feature?

+1 interesting, however I wouldn't say it was an 'obvious feature'. This seems similar to what you want: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobileapptek.talknotes.beta&hl=en

It just seems very un-android-ish to hard code send with sms, and not just a share.

This is a bit roundabout, but it works:-

From the call log, click Create contact.
On the screen for creating a contact, long-tap the phone number field to select it and bring up the special action mode buttons for selected text.
Click the 'copy' icon. (That's the one to the right of the pair of scissors.)
Click Cancel to cancel creating the contact, and answer OK to the confirmation dialog.
Switch to the calendar app and create a new event, or edit the event you want to change.
Long-tap some empty space in the description and click Paste.

As for why the S3's Phone app doesn't let you copy the number to the clipboard directly, or share it, only Samsung can tell us that.

How is the vanilla android call history? Can I copy or share the number from there?

@Esben: On my Galaxy Nexus, when viewing the call in the call log, there is an option in the overflow menu: "Edit number before call". That pulls up the phone app with the phone number in the number field, and I can copy the text as in any other field. But no, there's no "share" option. (Nor is there a share option in the Google Voice app for "Missed calls".)

There is no such option in Samsung Galaxy Note Edge either.  However I found a way out to copy the phone number in the log this way:

Select the phone number and click Send number under the option;
The selected phone number will appear under New message; and
Long press the phone number and do the necessary to cut or copy to the desired    location.


text:
How do I prevent the media volume from changing when a headphone is plugged in?
Device: Samsung Galaxy S4
Android: Stock 4.2.2
When I listen to music with a headphone using PowerAmp, I usually set the Media volume to the max setting. I am hard of hearing. When I'm done, I just close PowerAmp and unplug the headphone. Then when I want to  play music again, I plug-in the headset again. At this point, I assumme the media volume setting is still at max. However, it's not. Instead, the volume has been reduced to nearly half (or at least, not max anymore).
The same behavior seems to happen even with the stock Music player.
How do I prevent the media volume from changing when a headphone is plugged in?

Thought of using Tasker? I use it the other way. When ever I plugin my headphones, all volumes should come down irrespective of what ever value it was before.
I use Tasker to detect inserting the head phones and used an entry task to being down the volumes. I couldn't succeed sorting the volume levels before bringing it down so that I can restore them back in an exit task. Hence I restore them to a predetermined levels in the exit task.

I don't necessarily want it to be set to max. I want it to retain previous volume level. But I suppose setting it to max all the time might suffice. Will test with Tasker later.


text:
phone makes touch vibration sounds when on facebook
Why my galaxy s3 make a vibration sound like im recieving a notification while I'm on facebook. While this is happening I am not touching my phone, its happening while I am reading something on facebook or a website. Again, I am not touching the screen in any way, just holding my phone while reading something on facebook or a website.

Is there a question here? Could you please rephrase?

I know this sounds silly, but I think it is likely that your hand is wrapped around the phone and thereby gently touching the screen with the tip of your fingers OR you are touching the volume down key that goes to vibrate mode.
Technical possibilities could be:
-Setting in the Facebook app, maybe it is sending some sort of notification equivalent that just vibrates instead of showing up on your screen.
-It could also be a different application that runs in the background and gives you notification vibrations. To solve that, go to applications manager, and click through applications and disable push notifications until you find the culprit.
Hope that helped.


text:
Android 4.2 "Partition...has a different major than its disk!" error in logcat
I'm using a Samsung i9100 running Android 4.2.2 via sentinelrom_v4_75_i9100.  No changes to the kernel outside what came with that ROM.
I've tried encrypting a number of different 4.2.2 ROMs and always after a few reboots the sdcard0 doesn't mount.
Before encrypting again (and presumably having the same problem) I'm trying to trouble shoot the issue ahead of time.
Logcat is spitting out the following errors.
--------- beginning of /dev/log/system
06-14 14:53:58.775 I/Vold    (1842): Vold 2.1 (the revenge) firing up
06-14 14:53:58.785 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard0 state changing -1 (Initializing) -> 0 (No-Media)
06-14 14:53:58.785 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard1 state changing -1 (Initializing) -> 0 (No-Media)
06-14 14:53:58.785 D/Vold    (1842): Volume usbdisk0 state changing -1 (Initializing) -> 0 (No-Media)
06-14 14:53:58.795 I/Netd    (1843): Netd 1.0 starting
06-14 14:53:58.800 W/InterfaceController(1843): Error (Symbol not found: ) while searching for the interface command fini function
06-14 14:53:58.805 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard0 state changing 0 (No-Media) -> 2 (Pending)
06-14 14:53:58.805 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 1, PARTN 1
06-14 14:53:58.805 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 2, PARTN 2
06-14 14:53:58.810 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 3, PARTN 3
06-14 14:53:58.810 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 4, PARTN 4
06-14 14:53:58.810 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 5, PARTN 5
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 6, PARTN 6
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 7, PARTN 7
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard0 state changing 2 (Pending) -> 1 (Idle-Unmounted)
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 259, MINOR 0, PARTN 8
06-14 14:53:58.825 E/DirectVolume(1842): Partition '/devices/platform/dw_mmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p8' has a different major than its disk!
06-14 14:53:58.825 W/Vold    (1842): Duplicate state (1)
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 259, MINOR 1, PARTN 9
06-14 14:53:58.825 E/DirectVolume(1842): Partition '/devices/platform/dw_mmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p9' has a different major than its disk!
06-14 14:53:58.825 W/Vold    (1842): Duplicate state (1)
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 259, MINOR 2, PARTN 10
06-14 14:53:58.825 E/DirectVolume(1842): Partition '/devices/platform/dw_mmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p10' has a different major than its disk!
06-14 14:53:58.825 W/Vold    (1842): Duplicate state (1)
06-14 14:53:58.825 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 259, MINOR 3, PARTN 11
06-14 14:53:58.825 E/DirectVolume(1842): Partition '/devices/platform/dw_mmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p11' has a different major than its disk!
06-14 14:53:58.825 W/Vold    (1842): Duplicate state (1)
06-14 14:53:58.830 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 259, MINOR 4, PARTN 12
06-14 14:53:58.830 E/DirectVolume(1842): Partition '/devices/platform/dw_mmc/mmc_host/mmc0/mmc0:0001/block/mmcblk0/mmcblk0p12' has a different major than its disk!
06-14 14:53:58.830 W/Vold    (1842): Duplicate state (1)
06-14 14:53:58.830 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard1 state changing 0 (No-Media) -> 2 (Pending)
06-14 14:53:58.830 D/DirectVolume(1842): DirectVolume::handlePartitionAdded -> MAJOR 179, MINOR 9, PARTN 1
06-14 14:53:58.830 D/Vold    (1842): Volume sdcard1 state changing 2 (Pending) -> 1 (Idle-Unmounted)

Is there a way I can correct this?
I flashed I9100XWLSN_I9100XXMS2_I9100OXXLS8_HOME.tar.md5 as my clean ROM before flashing this ROM.  Is there a better stock rom to clean up the device before flashing a custom rom?
Thanks for your time.
Ed


text:
Dropbox: How do I open a file without extension as a text file?
I have 1000+ text files without extension in my DropBox folder.
While looking the list of them by the DropBox app for Android, I touched one of them to see and edit but the app just said I should download any app to open the file and does not open it.
How do I open the files have no extension as a text file?

One way is to use another app to manage your dropbox that enables this functionality. I use Astro File Manager to generally manage the files on my device and this can also link directly to your Dropbox, Google Drive, SkyDrive, etc.
Astro gives you the additional option to "Open As", from which you can choose Text, Audio, Image or Video. Select "Text" and you get the usual list of apps that can open text files, including the DB Text Editor.
UPDATE: Unfortunately there appears to be a limit to how many files Astro FM is able to retrieve from a Dropbox folder. Somewhere between 1,000 and 1,100 files I get a "Connection Failed - Could not establish a connection to Dropbox" message when trying to browse the folder. 1,000 files (exactly) seems to be OK. There is no such limit with ordinary folders on the device.

Thanks for your answer. I tried Astro File Manager and the app allows me to open any file as a text file, as you said. But there is a problem. The app cannot open my Dropbox folder which has many(1000+) files. I just have reported the issue to the vendor and am waiting an answer.

@npcode: Yes, I see a similar problem unfortunately. With exactly 1,000 files in a folder it appears to be OK, but with 1,100 files it fails with a "Connection Failed" error!?

Currently the official Dropbox app can open a file which has no extension with external editor. (I prefer VimTouch)

I have the latest version of Dropbox (2.3.8) and by itself it can't open an extensionless file - only by installing another app that perhaps registers this "file type" as a supported file type will it work. Ordinarily you get the message as mentioned in your question: "Please download an app that can open this file."

@w3d Probably you are right. I am not sure which app makes Dropbox app to be able to open extensionless files, but I suspect VimTouch.


text:
Google Books errors on HTC Sensation on application launch
Google Books Android crashes on loading, and whenever I have auto-sync enabled (which is hence very disruptive)
I always get the error twice:

The application Books (process com.google.android.apps.books) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again.

The actual stack trace shows the error to be:

java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to create application com.google.android.app.TabletBooksApplication: java.lang.IllegalStateException: Expected a directory for path: /data/data/com.google.android.apps.books/cache/logs/null_account at android.app.ActivityThread...

I didn't consciously choose to install this application, it just seems to be part of the android application set.  I'm assuming the null_account bit is the problem but have no idea how to go about correcting this.

Are you signed in to your Google account on the device? That sounds like a dumb question, but it might be the reason for the 'null_account.'

Yep am signed in.  I use two google accounts on it (to access two different mail accounts).  Not sure if that has a bearing

I don't think it should, but when you signed into the second Google account, did it prompt you to choose which services to sync. I also have two accounts on my phone, but one of my accounts only syncs its email and contacts.

I may have done.  I'll investigate the settings on the second account (or just remove it for now)

Removed second acct, but still getting the same problem.  Also noted the last successful sync time was on 13th May.  Not sure if that was when I added the second account or if something else has triggered this behaviour.


text:
How to install System updates in HTC ONE SU
My handset HTC One Su (t528w) showing notification of system update to 4.1.1 from present 4.0.4 . When ever I click on install updates. it reeboted and log into bootloader menu . How can I install the updates ?
I searched on google but didnt get any help . This mobile I bought from China . So didnt find any useful help .

@romanr9999 Settings>>About>>Software Updates >>Check now
if your network has someupdates for your mobile then after check you will get notification for upgrade.


text:
How to quickly scroll to top in android?
In iOS, it's possible to tap on the status bar to scroll to top and automatically go to the beginning of a list. Is there such feature in android as well? I am looking for a way to go to the beginning of a large list without needing to tediously swiping my finger down repeatedly thousands of times.


text:
Current firmware version is not supported to update via kies
I've got Samsung captivate glide. It comes with at&t only so I've got unlocked version. Its base firmware version is 2.3.5 Ginger Bread. Official update of ICS 4.0.4 is out by at&t and Samsung. Thre is whole good tutorial for How do I update my Samsung Captivate Glide to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich?
Heres the reference link of it: http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00048593&fm_seq=53023
I've installed Samsung Kies version 2.5.313043 on my Windows 7 32-bit desktop PC. As soon as I connected my Samsung captivate glide to my PC via micro-USB cable Samsung Kies detects it and says Your device's current firmware version is not supported to update firmware via Kies.Current firmware version : PDA:KI3 /PHONE:KL1 /CSC:KI3 (ATT) (See attached screenshot) Although there is an official update released I cannot understand why my device can't update via Kies?? Can any one tell me how to update my phone??
Any link or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance....

You might want to check the odin tag-wiki plus heimdall tag-wiki for alternative update tools.


text:
Multiple Camera Folders in the Gallery
Ever since I changed the settings in my camera to store the images on my external SD, there have been two folders in my gallery called "camera." One of these is where all of my photos that I take normally with the camera go, and then the other appears to be the one that Android associates with the default camera gallery and only has a few photos in it. The photos that go to the default camera gallery are normally only ones that I take directly from apps such as when I capture a picture and send it all from my text messaging app.
I have tried deleting the default folder to see if it would then associate the other folder as the default camera folder, but that doesn't solve anything. As soon as I take another picture straight from my text messaging app, there are two folders again. Is there a way that I can merge the folders, or change the settings in my camera app to store the pictures on the external SD and still view them as if they were taken by the default camera?

"photos that I take normally with the camera go" -- Is this using the stock camera, or a 3rd-party camera app?

Stock camera. The one that comes with the ROM.

I had the exact same issue.  It also caused a related problem.  When I tried to browse the Camera folder on my external sd card, it hangs for about 60 seconds.  So I went to Terminal (if your phone doesn't have this app then download the Terminal Emulator) and did the following (case-sensitive):
cd //storage/extSdCard/DCIM
mv Camera Recent
I took me a lot of experimentation to discover the problem and to find a simple fix, but this works just fine for me.  I hope it helps you.

You can use URSafe Media Redirector.

Get rid of DCIM folder for pictures, videos and much more ...
Redirect files to any folder for any application you want.
Easy to use !
Fast and Lightweight !

Most of Android users, like me, do not like the folder where Pictures and Videos are written by default because they are mixed, so we developed a tool that enable you to redirect each type of file for its correct place, in an automatic way.
For example, you can redirect all 'Image Files' from '/sdcard/DCIM/Camera/' to '/sdcard/MyPictures', and all 'Video Files' to '/sdcard/MyVideos'. Once these redirections were created, you do not need to worry anymore because all Pictures and Videos taken will go to its right place alone and automatically.

I don't think this will do what I am looking for. I want to store my picture on the external SD, but I also want it to associate that location with the default location for pictures to be stored.


text:
How to root Alcatel OT-997D?
I currently have an Alcatel OT-997D which has the MTK6577 chipset and runs ICS 4.04. I've looked mostly through threads at xda-devs and I've tried various root methods including: "root many android" - I get "mount access denied", "ICS/JB Universal root" - When trying to update in stock recovery the file fails verification, "MTK Droid root" - Reboots phone and backup/restore prompts appear but no results.
Does anyone know any other "universal" rooting methods or ones specific to my device?

I've just linked to your question from our rooting index (as our policy is: one rooting question per device, yours now is marked for this device :) Though I have no specific answer, you might want to follow that link: at the end of the devices list follows a list of known rooting methods. Maybe you have more look with one of the others. Crossing fingers!

Thanks Izzy! There's a few I haven't tried yet so I'll take a look...

This is somewhat late, but for anyone else looking to root their MTK based devices, Framaroot is excellent in that regard.

Before you begin, I enabled developer mode and I'm not sure if it makes a difference but this is what worked for me so you might as well:
Open settings, click on About phone, scroll down to Build number and tap Build number seven times.
I tried many different methods on a similar alcatel phone with a mtk6582 and I also got error messages from various exploit methods.
However, here are two methods that were successful.
iroot
Root is successful and uses a one click method. However, in order to gain file access, you must install "root file explorer" and which is a paid app. For me, paying for an app is not an option.
kingroot
Download and install kingroot. This one also uses a one click
 method and obtaining root is successful. This is the method I recommend as kingroot will allow you to allocate root permission to individual applications.
After installation and successful root, click the gear icon on the upper right hand corner of the main screen. If you need to, close the app and open it again to view the main screen.
Enable the option Enable Root authorization.
Then, under Root authorization setting, enable the first three options, Smart authorization, Backup Root permission, and Keep the Root upgraded.
For me, I set Authorization count down to 10 seconds and Default timeout to Allow just to get things working. Exit KingRoot.
Next, install ES file explorer and then open KingRoot. Go to Root Authorization and select Allow for ES File Explorer.
Open ES File Explorer and click the menu icon on the upper left hand corner of the screen. Scroll down and expand the Tools section of this menu and toggle the option ON for Root Explorer. Swipe the menu left to close the menu and a few more times to get to the files where you will have full root access to modify these files.
Additionally, KingRoot has the ability to Uninstall default apps and there is also Kingmaster which allows you to manage and restrict apps to obtain full performance of your device.
However, Kingmaster is in Chinese. Most of the app restriction is obvious as red restricts the app and green allows.


text:
Android - Phone storage full
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace. Every time I try to install a new App I get a message saying my internal memory is full (the SD card has plenty of room). The phone has 180MB of internal storage. I counted the memory that all my apps should take and it came out to 50MB so something is taking up 130MB and I don't know what that is. I rooted my device and moved all the apps that could be moved to the SD card. It still says that I have only 20 free MB. I was wondering if there are any apps out there that can tell me what is taking up all my memory. If not is there any way to programmatically map out the internal storage of the device? Does Android block access to this storage, or can I view it from my computer in any way?

There are some applications like "folder mount" that can help with that. Also you can move some apps to the SD card to empty more space.

I moved all possible apps to SD card only system apps that can't be moved are still on the phone.

Sorry, I didnt noticed that in the initial post. Another option is to root the phone and check out which app consumes how much space, with Titanium backup

You can also use this app, I think it does not require rooted phone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.diskusage

I used folder mount to analyze partition sizes and it shows that /data is almost full. How do I empty it?

What are the data...maybe you browser pictures from facebook/dropbox and it caches them

/data is the user data partition (rather /data/data), i.e. where all user-installed apps go, and all data of all apps. You can empty it by a factory-reset, but that's unlikely what you want to do :) Rather check the insufficient-memory tag-wiki to get a start. py_script already suggested "folder mount", which is the right direction: pure app2sd only moves parts of the apps, but doesn't touch their data etc.

I like Disk Usage to show simply where are the octets.


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Transfering SD cards to new phone
My girlfriend and I both bought "Optimus V" phones at the same time with the same carrier,I have since upgraded but her phone is starting to act possessed by demons. Is it possible to just change out the SD card in my phone with hers and have the carrier transfer my old phone to her number?

You should just be able to swap the SD cards yes and all of the data will be fine, as for changing the number try just moving her SIM card over to your old phone, if the phone's not locked to a network then it should just work.

Thanks! Changing the SIM card over was the step I forgot.

@brett No problem! If this sorted your problem then you should accept the answer by pressing the tick to the left.