text:
How to add scramble support for Open VPN for Android Client
Obfuscation is known to bypass restrictive firewalls and DPI of some ISPs. I am wondering why this hasn't been implemented officially in the client, given that its open source.
This has been done for some mac and windows clients (and perhaps android clients which are mostly close sourced).
After a bit of digging, I came across a scramble/xor patch here: https://github.com/clayface/openvpn_xorpatch/blob/master/openvpn_xor.patch.
Is there a way to add scramble support for Open VPN client, either by simple decompiling and recompiling or building the client from scratch?
There is another client: VPN Client Pro, which has scramble support but requires a subscription, ideally was looking for a free option to simply to this patch in order to connect to obfuscated servers.

I was in a country where government could sniff OpenVPN using DPI techniques.  So on a rooted device, I've been using shapeshifter-dispatcher and obfs4proxy to tunnel OpenVPN through obfuscated/scrambled protocol. No need to modify the OpenVPN client. Just run a separate process as listening proxy and send OpenVPN towards it. I used to run the process as an init service to fully automate the process.

Thanks!  I will look into it, if you have a guide that will be appreciated

No sorry I don't have a guide. It was a pure DIY project. But currently I don't have a working setup either. You can find guides for Linux though. They are applicable to Android as well for the most part.

I found out that, there is an ics-openvpn-xor project on github by lawtancool.

This is the latest stable release of
https://github.com/schwabe/ics-openvpn compiled with added support for
the Tunnelblick obfuscation patch.

APK releases can be found here


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Wifi not turning on/Stuck on "Turning on...", is there any other solution
I have a tablet (tab s6 lite) but there is a problem, when i connected the tablet to my (old) macbook,it started going crazy
It kept on resetting and the wifi would not work
I fixed the first problem, but not the second
I really want this to get fixed soon, and i know this is a common question, and i know i might need to factory reset or repair it but i have alot of data and i am fine
with reparing it, but i will Happily accept any other solution
(I couldn't put a recording here so this is what happens)
if i open setting and turn on wifi then it gets stuck on "Turning on...", but if i go back and then open wifi settings again, it will be turned off
Same for the Control Center

I would recommend to you to totally shut down the phone.
Shutting it down powers off a lot components which is like a hard reset.
Usually one would expect that there is no difference between shutting down a phone and power it on again to a reboot but it seems that unser some rare conditions some chips can enter a state that is not affected by a reboot. Only powering of the chip can solve such problems.
I had this once with the GPS chip in my phone. No matter what I did it wasn't working properly. Only shutting down the phone, wait some seconds and then start it again restored it's functionality.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Incoming calls end immediately after being answered (phone hangs up as soon as call starts)
I have a Motorola Moto E (2020) (model number XT2052-1) running Android 10 (build number QPGS30.82-141-17).
Recently, it started ending incoming calls as soon as I answer them: when the phone is called, it rings and displays the associated on-screen prompt to answer/decline the call, but when I answer it, the call immediately ends (i.e., the phone hangs up automatically). This has happened multiple times with multiple callers; at this point I'm unable to successfully answer any incoming calls. From the caller's side, it seems like the call is answered but then immediately disconnected (they're not put through to my voicemail).
I was able to answer an incoming call about a week ago and I haven't made any changes to my phone's configuration in months (I haven't installed any new apps, changed any settings, etc.).
I'm able to make outgoing calls with no issues.
I went through Motorola's troubleshooter for both Calls are dropping and Unable to make or receive calls (under the general Calls category) and also tried some potential solutions I found online.
At this point, I've tried:

Clearing the phone app's cache and storage.
Powering off the phone and then powering it on again.
Restarting the phone.
Force rebooting the phone.
Restarting the phone in safe mode. (This apparently rules out the possibility of another app interfering with phone calls.)
Checked for a software update (my phone is already running the latest version of Android available to it).
Testing the proximity sensor (this seems irrelevant but was listed in one of Motorola's troubleshooters).
Ensuring that the "Power button ends calls" option is disabled (again, seems irrelevant, but was in a troubleshooter).

I haven't tried a factory reset (yet).
I've found a lot of reports of this problem or similar ones occurring for phones running Android, but the cause is often a third-party app (which I seem to have ruled out by trying to answer an incoming call in safe mode).
I'd appreciate any suggestions of other things to try before performing a factory reset. I'm also concerned that, even if I'm able to fix this problem, it may "randomly" occur again in the future (which I'd only realize when I'm unable to answer an incoming call), so any thoughts as to what the root cause might be (software, hardware, an issue with my cell service provider) would be welcome.

Check your network settings for "Wifi calling" and disable it if it is active.Just to make sure the calls are really using the mobile network. Additionally check if the call behavior changes while the phone is connected to a charger. Sometimes old bad batteries have short voltage drops which can crash system parts or the whole OS. When connected to a charger this should not happen if it is the battery.

Thank you for the suggestions; in my case, this turned out to be a problem on the cell service provider's end (see my answer for details), but good to have other potential causes documented in case this happens to someone else and isn't a provider issue.

This problem was caused by an outage my cell service provider was experiencing.
After posting this question, I tried my SIM card in an old iPhone and the same issue occurred; I then called my provider and they said the issue was a problem on their end that they were working to fix. After a few days the issue was resolved with no action on my side.
Doesn't inspire confidence in the provider, but at least I didn't have to perform a factory reset.

Enable WiFi calling.
I had a similar issue as OP and the comment from Robert saved my life (literally).

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


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install cwm recovery in a softbrick android phone
My Android device is not booting up and is stuck on the manufacturer's logo.  The phone was rooted with Kingo-Root and Clockwork Recovery Mod wasn't installed.  Now I want to unbrick my phone with custom rom flashing.  So I think I need to install CWM recovery although my device is not booting - is this possible?  Also, if I want to flash a stock ROM - do I need to unroot my device first?  If so, how can I unroot it if it's not booting?

Please include info about your device and android version.

You can go ahead with what you are planning. Find a suitable Clockwork Mod recovery for your device.
Boot your phone into fastboot mode using key combinations which differ from device to device. The common ones are Power Button+Volume Up or Power Button+Volume Down.
If you had ever unlocked your device's bootloader, skip this step. To flash a custom recovery, you need your bootloader to be unlocked. To unlock it, after booting the phone into fastboot mode, connect it with PC via USB, download platform tools for android, open cmd, run the following command in the directory where you have placed the platform tools:
fastboot oem unlock

Keep in mind, this will delete all your internal storage, plus void your phone's warranty.
Once the bootloader is unlocked, place the recovery file in the platform tools directory and rename it to recovery.img for convenience.
Run the command:
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

This will flash the Clockwork Mod recovery on your device and you can flash any desirable ROM.

my phone does not boot into fastboot mode.it can boot into download mode and can install apk from google play.and also can boot into Stock recovery.In any mode,the  command  "fastboot devices" shows nothing.

The command "fastboot devices" will not show any result until and unless you're in fastboot mode. Which phone is it?

walton primo e2.

Some Google search suggests your phone uses the MT6572 CPU. That's the same as my phone. The combination I use to get into bootloader is Volume Up + Power Up and that shows me a set of options: Fastboot mode, recovery mode and normal boot. I select fastboot mode from there. You may try this method..

thanks for trying to solve my problem.But my phone doesn't show those option.However my phone come to life after flushing stock rom from android xda with sptools.But it has no sound and cannot detect sd card.how can i solve it?

That can be a problem with your ROM. I'm not sure on this though. Now that your phone is booting, you can easily install custom recovery. Download MobileUncle MTK Tools app from Play store, download the CWM recovery.img for your device, copy it in your internal memory, and flash it using MobileUncle tools app (this app requires root access).

if you are using a samsung device go into the download mode
-> continue
install odin on ur pc and download the stock rom for your device
open odin
now connect your device
you will see com1 highlighted that means your phone is connected and select the files .
Note: Do not change any settings .
finally click on start after completing the process your phone will automatically rebooot .
Enjoy...

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


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Does Accelerometer Sensor work on my Samsung Galaxy S2?
I have Samsung Galaxy S2 and i'm experiencing with an issue that is annoying me very much.
When I do \auto rotate\ , the rotation happens after 4-5 seconds.
I've done the calibrations and all that stuff that you will find on google or forums.
After i checked secret code *#0*# , i noticed that: at Accelerometer Sensor I get:

ACC Raw Data - X: changing numbers, y: changing numbers, z: 1024

( z is not changing like X and Y)
After this test i noticed  that somthing is wrong with this phone, and i doubt that the problem is with the sensor.
The strange thing is that sometimes my phone and accelerometer WORKS JUST FINE, but most of times it doesn't work at all!
So, does my phone have problem with sensor or something wrong with the software?
Here you can see in the graphic Accelerometer values
https://i.sstatic.net/OvUzb.png
Please Help Me!!!

Yeah, except it is a programming problem, because he's developing an app and the output he's getting from his code isn't jiving with what is expected.

Al Everett - you think that this is a problem with programming, not with sensor chip or whatever?!

It may very well be a problem with the sensor, but my point was that it should not have automatically been moved to here.

Having an SGS2 myself, I just checked *#0*# and all 3 axis values change. So you definitely seem to have a problem here, either in software or hardware, and since you've already tried to search for solutions online and could not find anything which works, perhaps it's best to contact Samsung directly for help.

It's very very weird... today the accelerometer is working perfect. I didn't do nothing?! all 3 axis values change now.
After this, yet i really don't know what is the problem on phone. Is it sensor or software issue!!!!

After i did the calibration of the compass (this app https://market.android.com/details?id=com.apksoftware.compass) the accelerometer is not working.
Again, cheking #0# at Accelerometer Sensor I get:
ACC Raw Data - X: changing numbers, y: changing numbers, z: 1024
( z is not changing like X and Y)

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


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App installs result in "Process System Not Responding" message
After installing or updating an app in the newest version of the android market I receive the warning "Process System is not responding" with the option to either force close or wait. I choose "wait" and everything continues as normal. It's not a major issue just a mild annoyance, also it interferes with automatic updates.
I have tried fixing permissions, wiping dalvik cache, etc. but to no avail.
Has anyone else seen this issue? I have googled this problem but haven't found too many relevant threads.
I am running CM 7.1.0 android version 2.3.7 with Tiamat kernel 4.1.0.
Here is where I believe the timeout occured:
02-06 11:49:02.300 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:03.301 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:04.302 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:05.293 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:07.955 W/ActivityManager( 171): Timeout of broadcast BroadcastRecord{40b706d8 android.intent.action.PACKAGE_ADDED} - receiver=android.app.ActivityThread$ApplicationThr ead@40717ca0, started 10002ms ago
02-06 11:49:07.955 W/ActivityManager( 171): Receiver during timeout: ResolveInfo{40afb560 com.android.server.AppsLaunchFailureReceiver p=0 o=0 m=0x208000}
02-06 11:49:08.235 I/ActivityManager( 171): Start proc com.svox.pico for broadcast com.svox.pico/.VoiceDataInstallerReceiver: pid=2067 uid=10048 gids={}

Here is a longer log:
02-06 11:48:57.235 D/installd( 123): DexInv: --- END '/data/app/com.vevo-1.apk' (success) ---
02-06 11:48:57.245 D/PackageManager( 171): Registered content provider: com.vevo.SearchSuggestionsProvider, className = com.vevo.SearchSuggestionsProvider, isSyncable = false
02-06 11:48:57.245 D/PackageManager( 171): Providers: com.vevo.SearchSuggestionsProvider
02-06 11:48:57.245 D/PackageManager( 171): Services: com.vevo.services.VevoService
02-06 11:48:57.245 D/PackageManager( 171): Activities: com.vevo.Startup com.vevo.Home com.vevo.activities.VideosActivity com.vevo.MusicMapActivity com.vevo.QRCodeResultActivity com.vevo.ShareResult com.vevo.activities.RegistrationActivity com.vevo.PreferencesActivity com.vevo.activities.AboutActivity com.vevo.activities.ArtistsActivity com.vevo.activities.ViewArtistActivity com.vevo.PlaylistsActivity com.vevo.activities.MyPlaylistsActivity com.vevo.activities.ViewPlaylistActivity com.vevo.activities.WatchCompletionActivity com.vevo.activities.VevoWatchActivity com.vevo.FlashWatchActivity com.vevo.BrowserActivity com.vevo.activities.SearchResults
02-06 11:48:57.245 I/ActivityManager( 171): Force stopping package com.vevo uid=10144
02-06 11:48:57.435 I/installd( 123): move /data/dalvik-cache/data@app@com.vevo-1.apk@classes.dex -> /data/dalvik-cache/data@app@com.vevo-1.apk@classes.dex
02-06 11:48:57.445 D/PackageManager( 171): New package installed in /data/app/com.vevo-1.apk
02-06 11:48:57.965 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:57.975 D/HomeLoaders( 273): application intent received: android.intent.action.PACKAGE_ADDED, replacing=false
02-06 11:48:57.975 D/HomeLoaders( 273): --> package:com.vevo
02-06 11:48:57.975 D/HomeLoaders( 273): --> add package
02-06 11:48:58.106 D/dalvikvm( 171): JIT code cache reset in 3 ms (1048556 bytes 1/0)
02-06 11:48:58.116 D/dalvikvm( 171): GC_EXPLICIT freed 1458K, 34% free 8594K/12935K, external 1828K/2161K, paused 98ms
02-06 11:48:58.126 D/Finsky ( 1999): [9] 1.packageInstalled: Package install status for "com.vevo" is 1
02-06 11:48:58.276 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.247 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.657 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.657 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.687 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.707 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.757 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.777 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.817 D/szipinf ( 171): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.917 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:48:59.927 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:49:00.067 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:49:00.088 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:49:00.148 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:49:00.248 D/szipinf ( 317): Initializing inflate state
02-06 11:49:02.300 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:03.301 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:04.302 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:05.293 W/SharedBufferStack( 250): waitForCondition(LockCondition) timed out (identity=3, status=0). CPU may be pegged. trying again.
02-06 11:49:07.955 W/ActivityManager( 171): Timeout of broadcast BroadcastRecord{40b706d8 android.intent.action.PACKAGE_ADDED} - receiver=android.app.ActivityThread$ApplicationThr ead@40717ca0, started 10002ms ago
02-06 11:49:07.955 W/ActivityManager( 171): Receiver during timeout: ResolveInfo{40afb560 com.android.server.AppsLaunchFailureReceiver p=0 o=0 m=0x208000}
02-06 11:49:08.235 I/ActivityManager( 171): Start proc com.svox.pico for broadcast com.svox.pico/.VoiceDataInstallerReceiver: pid=2067 uid=10048 gids={}
02-06 11:49:08.265 I/Process ( 171): Sending signal. PID: 171 SIG: 3
02-06 11:49:08.265 I/dalvikvm( 171): threadid=4: reacting to signal 3
02-06 11:49:08.286 I/ActivityThread( 2067): Pub com.svox.pico.providers.SettingsProvider: com.svox.pico.providers.SettingsProvider
02-06 11:49:08.366 I/ActivityManager( 171): No longer want com.google.android.maps.mytracks (pid 1520): hidden #16
02-06 11:49:08.386 D/GTalkService( 292): handlePackageInstalled: re-initialize providers
02-06 11:49:08.386 D/GTalkService( 292): [RawStanzaProvidersMgr] ##### searchProvidersFromIntent
02-06 11:49:08.386 D/GTalkService( 292): [RawStanzaProvidersMgr] no intent receivers found
02-06 11:49:08.396 I/dalvikvm( 171): Wrote stack traces to '/data/anr/traces.txt'
02-06 11:49:08.396 I/Process ( 171): Sending signal. PID: 265 SIG: 3
02-06 11:49:08.396 I/dalvikvm( 265): threadid=4: reacting to signal 3
02-06 11:49:08.396 I/ActivityManager( 171): Start proc com.google.android.partnersetup for broadcast com.google.android.partnersetup/.AppInstalledReceiver: pid=2075 uid=10015 gids={}

If you can consistently reproduce this problem, I suggest retrieving the system log and cut/pasting the areas around the time you get an "Application Not Responding" error here to help us troubleshoot this for you.  You will need Android SDK with USB drivers installed on your PC, or a stand-alone app like aLogCat from the Market: https://market.android.com/details?id=org.jtb.alogcat

Yes I can consistently reproduce it. I added the logs above. Thanks! :)

You mention clearing all the big caches, but have you also tried clearing the Market/Play app's cache? I recently had a similar problem, cleared the app cache and then everything came back to normal.

@Vapen Did the last hint solve your problem? Would be nice to know if this question found a solution (it's currently still tagged as "unsolved").

As there's no response to all the hints from the OP (or other people having the problem), I'd recommend to close this question as "too localized".


text:
Android Presentation display
I've read about Presentation display support in 4.2.2, but I cannot understand - Presentation supports only WiDi-display or HDMI too?
EDIT I want to build application which uses external monitor to display some media (video, photos or gallery) and built-in display as a control panel (only button and some settings)

check out this article

Yeah, look like answer. But is also looks like this feature isn't very popular :(

Like the article said, it seems like it is one of the features that Google has announced, but hasn't really put enough time into in order to make it really useful. Maybe in future releases they will add more functionality.

THe may problem is following: vendors don't implement this feature in them firmwares, and it is sad, because currently I really need it

What exactly are you trying to do? If you give more detail in your question, then people can give you more helpful answers.

See edit please


text:
Enabling both normal wifi and wifi hotspot to get RSSI values of wi-fi hotspots
I want an android phone to have both 'normal wi-fi' and 'portable hotspot' turned on at the same time, so that I will be able to get the RSSI values of wireless networks as well as involve in an hotspot connection.
Scenario:
4 rooted android phones in CyanogenMod (2-Nexus One, 2-Galaxy S2; consider A,B,C,D).
Kernel version 2.3.3 in all the phones
Portable wi-fi hot spot enabled in all the phones.

I wrote an application to find the RSSI values of available wireless signals. But as the phones(A,B,C,D) are using wi-fi hot spot, the normal wifi does not turn on. Either wi-fi hot spot can be on, or normal wi-fi can be on.
i.e. If each phone(A,B, C and D) have a wifi hotspot created(AH, BH, CH, DH), then I am not able to use my application, as normal wifi  connection needs to be turned on to find the wireless networks.
So I want the phones to scan available wireless networks with portable wi-fi hot spot enabled. Is there a way to do this.?

What you probably want is your phone work as adhoc and as an AP at the same time I guess it's called bridging
http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessproducts/f/apbridgingmode.htm
I don't think that at first android phones support the adhoc mode at all yet.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1932150/can-android-do-peer-to-peer-ad-hoc-networking
The bridging is only possible for normal wifi routers not for android phones. Routers also support WDS http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_distribution_system
There's no such thing as WDS for android phones yet AFAK.

hope it clarifies the matter abit. thanks.

yeah. this clarifies a lot. thanks for the links:)

Related: Can we use an Android phone as a Wi-Fi repeater?
The answer is basically no.  It's theoretically possible, at least with some Wi-Fi chips, but the software needed is fairly involved.  Some Android phones do support ad-hoc mode, but bridging is the problem as Sergey indicates.  I don't know of anything that's been ported to / written for Android to do this, since it would probably involve altering proprietary drivers (pretty hard without the source code).

Few Android phones support WiFi<->WiFi tethering (bridging). Samsung Galaxy S7 [Edge] is one such phone. The feature may be intentionally crippled on the models distributed through carriers, but the unlocked version works like charm.


text:
Photo transfer from Android device (no screen) to Android smartphone
I am working on an Android passtime project. I have a camera device that runs on Android 8.1. This camera device doesn't have a Screen. I am trying to identify the best way to transfer photos from the camera device to my smartphone. So, I see a few options.

Pair the camera device with my smartphone over Bluetooth. This way, I can transfer photos over Bluetooth. In this approach, I will be building a background Android service and pushing it to the camera which can take care of transferring the photos.
Have a hotspot turned on on my smartphone. Connect the camera device with the smartphone's hotspot. This way, I can upload the photos captured to Firebase or some other cloud platform and later pull the photos on the smartphone
Make the camera device utilize the data connection of my smartphone. I am not sure if this is feasible.

I am evaluating these options to identify which will be a better option. I am trying to understand what kind of Android services I would have to build and push to the camera device and my smartphone. Any thoughts/insights are welcome.
Details about the camera device:

The camera device (camera module) has both Bluetooth and wifi capabilities.
The camera device is not stationary. So it can't be connected with home wifi or specific wifi. But the camera will always remain closer to my smartphone.
As the camera runs on Android, I can build services/APKs and push them to the camera. The same applies to my smartphone.

I am trying to find more details on how the photo transfer works on devices like Google glass.

Regarding 1.: If the camera has no screen how would you start a transfer over Bluetooth? Bluetooth is AFAIR push only not pull, so you would have to start the copy operation on the camera. Usually cameras without screen provide an app that does the image transfer, what camera are you talking about?

@Robert I can build a background service and push it to my camera device. This is a custom camera I am building from a Camera module.

Just a note that while the overall question might be on-topic for this community, app development is off-topic since Android Enthusiasts focuses on end-users or power-users (but not necessarily developers) solving their issues.

does camera have storage? you could just adb pull over tcpip (wifi or bluetooth)

Does this answer your question? Make mounted cifs/smb share visible for normal user in Android-x86

Yes. the camera has storage.

Isn't adb over bluetooth a hacky approach? i.e. Would devices live Meta Smart Glasses and other devices used adb over bluetooth?

I don't think adb is used for anything other except debugging because it provides no security

@alecxs That's exactly my point. So I am trying to see what is the better option to transfer photos.

kindly self-answer your question with final solution, so we can use for further reference


text:
Android has a MIDI synthesizer?
I was searching about playing MIDI in the mobile, but I not found much information. So, Android has a MIDI synthesizer? Varies according to the model?

Searching the Market for "Midi" shows quite a few apps that have some level of midi functionality.   If you're looking for a full-fledged midi app such as you'd find on a PC or Mac, you will probably be disappointed due to the small screen and limited hardware interfacing capability of most Android devices, but if you are looking to experiment with midi functionality, one or more of these apps should do the job.


text:
How to set the default dialer?
Where are the configurations to set the default dialer? I installed a new one and want to know where I set the default.

Go to your Settings -> Applications -> Manage Applications.
Select the 'All' tab and scroll to the current dialer app.
Scroll down and press the 'Clear defaults' button. Now when you select dial, you should be prompted to select a particular app and also have the opportunity to set a new default.

It should have automatically done the prompt for you to choose once you downloaded it but this solution guarantees that it will ask you to choose the default.

@Vian - Unless the way Renato is launching the dialer is actually via a shortcut to a specific dialer. Some launcher apps allow you to place shortcuts on the dock (I vaguely remember Zeam working like this when I tried it).


text:
What is the cost of Android apps?
I have purchased apps from Google play store which were recurring charges and I've purchased some with one-time cost.  I don't see an indicator from Google Play to distinguish between $1.99 one-time charge or $1.99 per month charge.
How does one know the full terms of the purchase?  How do I distinguish the contracts?

For apps there are is only one possibility to start a subscription:
If Google Play Store asks you before you download an app if you want to purchase an app for a certain amount of money, then this is an one-time fee. To my knowledge apps can only have a one-time-fee or they are free (to be downloaded).
Repeatable fees are are usually billed as in-app-purchase. That means you open the app and at some point the app can ask you if you want to start a subscription. That will open a Google Play dialog containing the price, when the subscription starts and so on.
in-app-purchase can also be a one-time payment. But that is then visible in the Google Play payment dialog.
Active subscriptions can be viewed in Google Play Store app in section Payments and Subscriptions. The same is possible in the web interface which also has a section Payment and Subscriptions

I got the Aloha browser from Google Play Store... It hits me every month.. and I don't recall how GPS presented it.

Thank you for you full answer.  I can rest easier...

@TheGeeko61 Aloha browser is free to download and once you have installed and started it it can ask you to start a subscription.

The easiest way to avoid bill shocks like this is to not give Google your credit/debit card details. Instead buy - in a supermarket - a Google Play card, and then load that to your Google Play account. That way, if there is an-app payments, the payment can't be taken from your credit/debit card. Once your Google Play credit is exhausted, then the transaction will be declined.  The same applies to Apple, etc

Note also that if there is a way to pay for in-app stuff like a subscription that's through a website or similar rather than through the actual app, it might be cheaper. Google and Apple tend to charge app developers for using their payment services. And if I recall correctly, Apple has even been in anti-trust lawsuits over how they forbid app developers from helping users find the cheapest option.


text:
On what relies the limit for maximum eSims on my device?
I have a Pixel6 and it supports 1 eSim.
Since eSims are just software, what are the limiting factors to not have basically unlimited eSims on a smartphone?
Where is it coming from?:

The lawmaker?
The telcos?
The phone manufacturers?
The phone operating system manufacturer?

Any or all of the above.  To manage real production and price point, everything is designed to have limits, thats life.  What are you trying to solve ?

eSIM are not pure software. For security reasons the storage is a hardware component similar to the old SIM cards, just way smaller and AFAIK today integrated into the central SoC.
Also your statement "Pixel6 and it supports 1 eSim" is not correct. you can only have one eSIM active at a time but you can have multiple eSIM profiles installed and easily switch between them (usually you can have up to eight eSIM profiles installed, they are often called "lines").
The reason why you have only one eSIM is because the phone is designed to work as a dual-SIM phone: one physical SIM and one eSIM can be active.
Each active SIM requires the phone to search for the operator network and then connect to it and keep the connection. So when two SIM "cards" are active the whole radio system of your phone is shared between two providers. This means increased radio traffic and the necessity to manage things like hand-over and so on two times in parallel. This means it costs battery and it can come to conflicts where both connections want to use the radio system and the antennas at the same time.
Increasing the number of active SIM cards would increase those situations so each connection would suffer.


text:
Xperia Arc shows 3G signal but not connecting to Internet
I have an Xperia Arc L15i about 5 months old, suddenly I have started experiencing problems with my 3G/2G service.
I have the Access Points properly set up (confirmed the same also with my service provider) and when I start the Data Service it shows up the 3G signal (full strength) but cannot connect to Internet.
Tried with the inbuilt browser, Opera mini and neither is the market accessible.
Network mode is WCDMA/GSM and even if try with Only GSM still its the same issue with 2G.
Is there anything else I need to look into or could it be a handset issue (not sure since I can see the H symbol). Any idea ?
EDIT
It seems i can access the net via WiFi, now i am puzzled (in case some wonder my data plan is valid)

I don't know what was the issue behind it, but i upgraded my Arc to 2.3.4 and surprisingly this made it work.
Just added it as an answer in case someone does come across any such thing.


text:
How can one delete all text message threads except for a few ones on Pixel 6?
I have plenty of text messages for OTP or similar automated services on my Google Pixel 6. I'm doing some cleaning. How can one delete all text message threads except for a few ones on Pixel 6?

Be aware in newer versions of Messages, you can go to
Profile Pic - Message Settings - Message Organization

and enable the option "Auto-delete OTPs after 24 hours"... this can help a lot.

Otherwise Messages doesn't have the kind of granularity to mass delete multiple entire threads, you would have to switch to Textra or something like that to do that.

There exists no built-in solution to delete all text message threads except for a few ones on Pixel 6. Android does not offer any built-in solution for that use case.


text:
Pixel randomly turn on flashlight, shows emergency call screen
This is a very poorly-defined question, because I can't figure out what causes this issue. But on occasion (and not rarely), when I pull my phone out of my pocket, the flashlight is on, bluetooth has been turned off, and when I unlock the phone I am looking at the emergency call screen. I believe that the DND and bedroom settings get modified sometimes as well.
I haven't been able to find anything like this on the web. Any ideas? (Pixel 6, Android 13)

I did and it seems to have worked. I've been waiting to see the behavior, and after about a week I have not had the problem. Thanks. If you want to write up an answer we can close this.

Solution: In the lock screen settings disable both Tap to Wake and Lift to Wake
Source: Pixel 6 Dialing Contacts Or Opening Random Apps When In Pocket [Fixed]

Numerous users have voiced their concern that whenever their Pixel 6 is kept in their pocket, it tends to open any random app, dial a phone call to any random person, enable DND Mode, turn on Airplane Mode, send a message via WhatsApp, etc

OP has confirmed the solution to work on their phone


text:
Can I fix a bootloop for non available storage by mounting a SD card?
I was receiving an alert from Whatsapp saying that my storage went full, so I wanted to clean it up but this morning I saw my phone and it got stuck in the boot logo. The weird thing is it lets me to write the password (and then it freezes).
Someone in Facebook told me that was because my phone ran out of storage and tries to write some logs (and since it hasn't space it keeps trying)
Can I fix this problem mounting a SD card so the phone can write the logs? is there another solution (except doing a hard reset)?
It's a OWN FUN 7

Does this answer your question? View app's full package name?

Does this answer your question? What useful Android Shell commands do you know?

None of them worked, since I can't enable debugging option. Thanks anyway

flashing boot.img does not concern userdata you won't lose anything with this method (enable usb-debugging via modified default.prop)

Since I can't enable the debugging option, I gave up and went to hard reset. Thanks anyway

try airplane mode or remove sim card and try to reach developer options/usb-debugging at least. then you can free up disk space from adb shell
another method is readback boot.img with SP Flash Tool, modify  it and flash it back to device

I couldn't reach developer options, since it stills getting stucked at the logo, and I can't flash it because I don't want to lose internal storage


text:
How do take good close shot photos of documents
One of the purposes of my phone investment is to quickly take photos of documents.
I find this difficult.  When I hold it with my hand it takes a long time to get “focused”.
I have a Notes 3.
Stability would help of course, but don’t know exactly how to do that.  What could help is if the photo is automatically taken when focus is achieved, perhaps with “retries” until it is OK.

How is it an Android issue?

@SachinShekhar The answer might be a special-purpose camera app that can compensate for motion blur or sharpen text. For example, there's one in the "related questions" that might be useful.

I rawly remember having seen a photo app doing exactly that (auto-shoot on focus), but I do not remember which one it was...

"camera app that can compensate for motion blur " I would think you need focus before you take the shot?  Then it is a bit different for correcting for motion in a photo that is already shot.

About "Android issue".  Focusing is part of the software - so it is different from taking a good shot with a regular camera.

I found the app InstaCamera.  (Seems OK, but I don't like the way they seems to use the free version as a bait for the paid one)

Use Evernote. It has a dedicated Page Camera feature for your purpose. You can continuously snap documents with it.
If you are a premium user, keywords from your snapped documents will be indexed with OCR technologies (which will be useful in searching). And, it works great (I am a premium user & I have used it). If you aren't, just buy premium subscription for 1 month... Indexing continue to exist after 1 month (but new documents won't be indexed).

I think perhaps InstaCamera is a good alterantive.  I guess a proble for both it would not work with apps thatare made to create pdf's like a scanner (Since they use the camera directly).

I have been using InstantCamera for a while now, and its definitely better than native.


text:
Does purchasing something in Subway Surfer remove pop-up ads?
Pop-up ads in Subway Surfer annoy me a lot. Can I get rid of them by purchasing something like Double Coin feature? I am unable to find any information about it on their official website. If you have ever purchased something in it, please share your experience. Does it remove pop-up ads?

Depends on what you're talking about pop up ads.
If you're talking about the full screen ad, often for another game, that pop up when you go to the main menu for example, then no, I don't get any ad since I have purchased the double coin bonus.
If you're talking about the push notifications that warn you about daily challenge and new events, purchasing something doesn't remove it, but you can turn them off in the settings (Reminders).


text:
SMS time stamps are behaving strangely
I am having an issue with the time stamps of incoming SMS messages when backing up messages. The time stamps of the messages I send out are correct. The time stamps of the incoming messages in the backup files are 8 hours before the correct time. I read elsewhere that this can happen when you are roaming. I have a Motorola XPRT on Sprint and I live in California.
I downloaded and used about 5 different SMS backup applications (both free and paid) to try to archive my messages. They all have this problem.
Now here's the interesting part. The time stamps rendered in the stock SMS application are correct. I tried 2 third-party SMS applications with different results. Handcent SMS shows the time stamps correctly. Go SMS Pro show the incoming messages with the same incorrect time stamps as the backup files.
This leads me to a point of reevaluation. The database that stores the messages on the phone is storing multiple time stamps. I'm guessing they have sent time (the time that is 8 hours behind what it should be) and received time fields. The backup applications and Go SMS Pro are probably using the sent times. The default SMS application and Handcent SMS are probably using the received times.
Ok so now I need a way to solve this issue. To do that I need answers to some questions:

Does Android use SQLite to store SMS messages?
Where is the SMS database is located?
How and where are MMS messages stored?
How can I copy the database to my computer?
Do I have to root my phone? How do I do that? Does doing this affect my warranty with Sprint?

UPDATE:
It looks this is a known problem where the time zone offset is applied 2 times instead of 1. There is a ticket for it here http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=1305. This ticket is more than 3 years old and is still open.

I am surprised the issues is still open. the way the issue is reported is that it is basically saying that t-mobile is handling the timezones differently then everyone else. if the issue is not directly code related, google usually closes the ticket.

It's not clear to me that it's a T-Mobile issue. I'm on Sprint and I see the issue too. My previous phone was a Palm Pre on Sprint that had no issues with SMS time stamps. As far as I can tell this happens when I am on Sprint's towers. In other words, the phones that Sprint sells do not work with Sprint's network correctly. This suggests software is the culprit.

The way the issue was worded specifically states T-Mobile. even the title of the issue is : Recieved SMS timestamps incorrect on non-tmobile networks. That is all I was saying. I believe you that it happens on other networks, I was just saying that when an issue is pointing to something that is not software related (by how it is described) then they usually close them.

What timezone are you in? It sounds like when you back them up, it is saving them in a different Timezone (maybe UTC).
to answer your other questions:

Yes, SQLite is used for the messages
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
Same way as SMS messages : /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db
You can use ADB from the android SDK and copy it to your PC by doing:
c:/android-sdk/tools/> adb pull /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db c:/users/my-account/desktop/mmssms.db
Yes, you will have to root your phone to get access to that directory.

maybe check out SMS Backup + in the android market. It will backup your sms messages (doesn't do MMS yet) to your GMail account and put them in an SMS label. It will also restore them too.


text:
Can a firmware upgrade take away the ability to unlock a bootloader?
Historically I've always unlocked the bootloader on my phones (and installed a close to AOSP ROM and made use of root access) - however - and I bristle at the thought - I am almost at the point where the cons of unlocking the bootloader may exceed the pros.
If I purchase a phone, use it with a locked bootloader, and the firmware then gets upgraded - is it possible for the upgrade to remove the ability to unlock the bootloader?   (My thinking is probably not, and anyway I should be able to downgrade the firmware - however in a world of efuses and software patches to hardware defects I'm not sure).
(Its almost peripheral to my question, but I'm probably looking at a OnePlus 12 or Nothing Phone 2A phone)

Yes this is not only possible but had already happened several times: Huawei and Asus and most likely many more. Regarding the Asus case, there was just recently something in the press because a dissatisfied user took Asus to court because of the removed bootloader unlock.
For Huawei, as far as I remember, several years ago there was an unlocking service provided by Huawei where you could retrieve an unlocking key that allowed for you to unlock the bootloader of your device. Some day Huawei shut down this service...
Also, downgrading will not help in such a case, as the ability to downgrade a bootloader (if it works at all) can also be removed at any time. I had such a case with a Pixel device where Google even noticed the user that by installing a certain bootloader version a downgrade of the bootloader would be impossible (and with it a downgrade of the Android version).
In conclusion, one can say that on a bootloader locked device you can only perform those operations the company who controls the software allows you to do (not considering vulnerabilities and exploits). In certain cases, this can even happen without any change to the device.

Thank you!  This is informative and fleshes out my understanding. I did not tick accept yet as most of the supporting links are around taking away tools required to unlock a bootloader (not an issue in the case of my phone candidates, and not actually related to flashing, and something I was aware of).  The link about the Pixel was more interesting and much closer to ,y question - but did not mention locking the boot loader - only preventing OS downgrades - still - reasonable inferences can be made that it could be possible to prevent locking the bootloader based on the technologies used.

@davidgo May be I picked the wrong article, but from what I remember the OS downgrade prevention is enforced by the bootloader, thus the OS downgrade prevention implies a bootloader downgrade prevention.

Agreed.  My question (and based on your answer I think the answer may well be yes) is can changes to the bootloader prevent unlocking it.  Ie is the bootloader lock part of the bootloader?

@davidgo Google/Android does not define anything regarding the bootloader, so the botloader can be implemented just like manufacturer want's it to be. Therefore the bootloader lock part can be part of the bootloader and it can be outside, just as the manufacturer decides.


text:
Installing Polaroid Cube app onto a OnePlus 12 with Android 14
I recently bought a (currently discontinued) Polaroid Cube+ off eBay and I want to be able to use all its features.
The instruction manual and other places mention there is an app (package name com.polaroid.cube), but it seems to have been removed some years ago. (Latest version I can find is from 2017, v2.3.8.)
I want to install the Polaroid Cube app onto my OnePlus 12 with Android 14, but when trying to install (by running the APK or via adb install --bypass-low-target-sdk-block) it says that it is not compatible with my device. It seems that the architectures don't match (armeabi-v7a, armeabi vs arm64; the specific error from adb is INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS).
Is there a way of installing this app onto my OnePlus 12? Ideally it should not involve rooting, as I have some work-related 2FA associated to my phone that need it to be unrooted. In addition, I don't have any older phones to install the app onto; the goal is to install this ancient app onto my modern Android phone.

If GSM Arena's page on the OnePlus 12 is correct, it can only run ARM64 native code: the processor cores in its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC can't run in 32-bit mode. For more about this, see here.
If the app uses 32-bit native code, which seems to be the case from the INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS error, then you are stuck: your 'phone can't run that code. Rooting would not help at all, your hardware can't do it.
It isn't impossible, in principle, for someone to write an emulator to run 32-bit Android native libraries on 64-bit Android, but I don't know of it being done, and it would be complicated.
Some Xiaomi devices come with the "Tango" binary translator which allows them to run 32-bit native code, but that has to be integrated into Android when the OS is built.
The easiest solution would be to acquire a 'phone that can run 32-bit native code. Those are still around, but they won't be forever.


text:
Screen turns off after a certain time
I have a weird issue on my Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 with baseband s5830XXKPP (bought in Mexico), whenever I'm doing anything (playing a game, using a web browser, etc), after a certain time (like a minute or so), the screen turns off, but whatever app I was using at the time stays there (sometimes I have to lock and unlock the phone to see whatever is on the screen again, and some other times, after blacking out it shows again, but brighter), it's really annoying and I'm not sure what happened (I recently upgraded from 2.3.4 to 2.3.6 and I didn't have that problem before). My brightness is set to the minimum and I've set the Screen timeout to 10 minutes. Does anybody know why this happens and how to fix it?

Ok, I found out the reason for this problem is the band differences on the 3G:
S5830: HSDPA 900 / 2100
S5830B: HSDPA 850 / 2100
S5830L: HSDPA 850 / 1900

And the incompatibility with the current firmware I had (I updated to CyanogenMod 7.2.0 and still had the same issue), so for a quick fix, I went to:
Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile networks > Use only 2G networks

And that took care of the issue, however, for a full solution, flashing a latin (like the Brazilian one) with a Modem file like the kp7 or kpl should take care of the problem.


text:
Phone not receiving calls on deep sleep
I have a Samsung Captivate Glide running android 4.2.2 (an unofficial version of Vanilla RootBox with a kernel called Litekernel). This phone is originally for AT&T but it's unlocked and I'm using it on Mexico's carrier Telcel (and I've seen multiple people with the same issue on different countries/carriers).
My issue is that sometimes when someone calls me, the phone rings on their side as if I wasn't picking up and eventually goes to voicemail, but I get no call at all, it's not a sound/vibration setting, I've checked. Also I've read about this kind of issues with multiple phones/carriers.
Once I tested this with another phone and called mine and the call didn't come until I pressed the power button to unlock the screen, waking the phone.
Also I read about some guys using an app called Wake Lock - PowerManager and using the option PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK to keep the phone from going to deep sleep, but of course that consumes the battery much faster.
Does anybody have any idea what could be done?
My phone is rooted and I'm willing to modify the kernel or do any complex action required to fix this...
Edit: I forgot to mention I have reflashed this rom several times, every time clearing the cache, dalvik chache, factory reset, etc. And this happened to me in other roms as well...

I think there is some problem with the radio version currently on your phone . Try flashing a updated radio version.

I just was about to suggest the same as Ankit. Though I hadn't the similar issue with deep sleep, that solved my trouble I had with my old Wildfire concerning GPS and frequent freezes on calls. Especially that the issue persist with different ROMs points to trouble with the radio image.

I hope you use ClockWorkMod , reflash the custom rom after clearing the cache ,factory reset,etc,. If the problem exist try flashing other roms and see if the problems is due to the Custom Rom.
If you are having the  problem only when using the first custom rom, then contact the developer of the Custom Rom and ask tell him about your problem.

Thanks for the advice, however I have reflashed this rom (and others) properly several times. I just updated the question to reflect that

Revert back to your Vanilla Rom (Stock Rom) and check . I had the same pbm in my Galaxy Mini it is solved when i flashed ROM with Different Kernel version .

Nice suggestion, I'll try it out...

You should be able to flash a custom kernel onto the rom as well, if it is the same major version.


text:
Isolating pocket casts from scrobble for last.fm
When I play a podcasts on my android phone using pocket cast 4.2.3 I notice that the details are scrobbled to last.fm. It is happening because I have set my last.fm app to scrobble. I want to scrobble every music playing app I have but I do not really view pocket cast as a music app. How can I stop scrobbling from pocket cast?
In last.fm scrobble settings I see that there are various categories of apps to scrobble from

Scrobble Android Player: Scrobble the built-in Android music player
SLS support: Scrobble apps that use the simple Last.fm scrobbler API
ScrobbleDroid support: Scrobble apps that use the ScrobbleDroid API

Where does Pocket Cast fit into those options?

Last.fm picks up the intents apps like Pocket Casts and Google Music send to bluetooth devices, and hacks that into their scrobble implementation. I guess they figured Google were never going to support them explicitly so that was their only way in. To stop Pocket Casts from scrobbling you'd un-tick the Google Music option in last.fm.
The fine people of Pocket Casts (read: us) are planning to put in a setting that turns off that bluetooth data, which would also turn off scrobbling. We looked into the last.fm API and there's nothing extra we can send to tell them to ignore us, which would be a better solution, since it would mean keeping the blue tooth meta data as well.

For the past few months or years last.fm on my android has been scrobbling my various music players but not my pocket cast. Something happened on or just before Wednesday 2013-05-22 15:00 (Eastern Time in the USA) that put the pocket cast data into last.fm for the first time. Did a recent release from you put the data in the bluetooth data which then enabled last.fm scrobbler to see it?

Yes, in v4.2 we added bluetooth meta data, as the release notes say in the store ;)

Farrel, the only way I've found to allow Google Music to scrobble to Last.fm but not Pocket Cast is to stream podcasts rather than downloading them — that seems to work. I realise that this is not always ideal.
Don't forget you can delete tracks from your last.fm profile/library but I'm not sure if that is persistent. Again, not ideal.

Alas, I am wrong — streamed podcasts can be scrobbled. Sincerely sorry for reporting otherwise.

I guess I am pretty late to the party, but Pano Scrobbler no longer relies on the traditional music intents. It checks for media sessions only from specific players, which are enabled in settings.

Last.fm app only scrobbles if the device tells it to. So i think in you Pocket Cast, if you go in to it's settings then i think you would find something about Scrobbling, and you should have there an option to disable it.

I want last.fm to scrobble my music player (such as Google Play) but I do not want it to scrobble my podcast player. Pocket cast does not have a scrobble setting.


text:
Strange .txt file that has the names of different presidents inside the android system folder
Browsing the systems files of my LG P350 I discovered a strange file inside what seems to be the XT9 files: there's a txt file called heads_of_state.txt, which contents are the following:
Hamid
Karzai
Bamir
Topi
Sali
Berisha
Abdelaziz
Bouteflika
Ahmed
Ouyahia
Andorra
Joan
Enric
Vives
Sicília
Nemesi
Marquès
Oste
Nicolas
Sarkozy
Christian
Frémont
Albert
Pintat
Jaume
Bartumeu
José
Eduardo
dos
Santos
Paulo
...

The list continues and I can spot a few presidents names. It's located in system/usr/xt9/databases/mdb/
What does this means?? Why the file is there? What it is porpuose?
For the curious, here's the full list: http://pastebin.com/V8hHYZmz
(I'm using the V10F firwmare, rooted with Gingerbread)

It's probably for the auto-complete/spellcheck dictionary so that political leaders can be added and removed more easily due to their often transient nature (but I can't prove that, so comment instead of answer).

I tried to type the names in a SMS with XT9 enabled and it didn't recognized the words or tried to correct them. Paranoia is attacking me :F

Interesting that this exists! I would agree with @eldarerathis it is most likely used for AC or spellcheck

Why would some head of state be removed from dictionary, even if (s)he is no longer in office? Besides this list is little outdated, some of those names are not in office anymore.

I insist, this words aren't used in the XT9.

@Tschareck: It's kind of moot at this point, but you don't see the value in being able to add new political leaders on the fly without having to replace the entire dictionary file? You certainly don't have to remove people who are no longer in office, and it seems they don't by your own observation, but even for just adding new names it would provide a lot of benefits.

@eldarerathis I think the real question here is why we need a dictionary for the name of the presidents. And why it's bundled to the stock firmware.

Is this a stock ROM?

If it was a dictionary, then maybe it would make a point to have separate file, because names are common to all languages. But as @Andres (and me too) pointed out, XT9 doesn't use them.

@Flow Yup, version V10F: http://csmg.lgmobile.com:9002/swdata/WEBSW/LGP350/ACISSV/V10F_00/V10F_00.kdz. Also i found it in a LG Keyboard apk of another phone (not remember which one, because it was only the apk file)

@Tschareck: Your previous comment doesn't make any statements regarding XT9 or whether or not the file is used by it (or even a dictionary), so I have no idea what point you're even trying to make now. That seems like a complete non sequitur. Andres: Are there any other files in that directory or is this the only one? Does it look like it's been accessed at all recently? (ls -l should show you)

Strange.  I'll be this is left over from testing of some kind.  They probably just imported a random list to test some function.

@eldarerathis Yes, there are more files in the folder:
DE.txt
EN.txt
ES.txt
FR.txt
heads_of_state.txt
IT.txt
mdb.py
mdb.txt
The files with two charaters in the name are 2 bytes long (2 hex numbers)
Python file contents are:
#!/usr/bin/env python3.0
import codecs
filein = 'heads_of_state.txt'
fileout = 'mdb.txt'
setHeads = set()
for line in codecs.open(filein, 'r', 'utf-8'):
setHeads.add(line.strip())
liHeads = sorted(setHeads, key=lambda a: (len(a), a))
liHeads = filter(lambda a: len(a) > 4, liHeads)
codecs.open(fileout, 'w', 'utf-8').write("\n".join(liHeads))

Ooops, no formating in comments! Here are the contents of mdb.py: http://pastebin.com/n3jUrdEA Contents of mdb.txt: http://pastebin.com/WeVq2pHF

@eldarerathis ls -l result is: -rw-r--r-- root root 6265 2011-04-18 10:22 heads_of_state.txt. All the other files show the same date.

I found a related github repo but don't know if its official or from some ROM developer. From the source the file heads_of_state.txt is listed under IME but has been removed in the latest commit (the only other commit). The commit message is "Deleted uneeded LG's Calibration apk". I can't conclude anything from this but maybe this will be helpful.

Just found this strange python script that is included in the XT9. Note that it uses the 'heads_of_state.txt' file as input for something. Seems like a sorting script or something.

I think that's the pastebin i used to post the mdb.py contents in this comment

i searched the internet for it, and the file seems is for developers testing purpose, this file can be found in other platforms either.
i found it in:
Python
Android
PHP

seems like foo bar case

Please provide a link, I didn't find any references to such a list being used for testing. Though it indeed does look a lot like foo bar case.


text:
Why can't Android Media Storage detect my new Ringtone file?
I have had this problem on both the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 (of all phones).
I have a file, it is the same ringtone file I use on all my phones, it is an edited mp3 of a song I like.
I put this file in the "Ringtones" folder of my device.
When I go to change my ringtone, my new file is not available as a selection in the Android settings.
Rebooting the device does not cause the new file to be detected.
What I end up doing EVERY SINGLE TIME I have to add this ringtone file (I wipe my device occasionally) is finding the "Media Storage" app on my device and clearing its memory. At this point the phone thinks there are no ringtones, but then once I reboot, all the old ringtones are there along with my ringtone which has been in the same location the ENTIRE TIME.
So I have a workaround, but can anyone tell me where I am going wrong?! This is driving me nuts! Is anyone else seeing this problem?
I have to be missing something simple because all the internet forums I am reading are all straightforward "just put the file in the ringtones folder and it works like magic" which is very frustrating.
EDIT: Some additional info, I have had the file there for a couple days now, just to see if that makes a difference. Rebooted the device over a dozen times in the last couple days. The file still is not available as an option.
EDIT 2: See comments below. Seems to be something to do with how I am placing the file there, but still strange that media scan does not pick it up on reboot. Anyone know anything about media scanning? Maybe it is optimized on boot to skip folders like the Ringtone folders since those shouldn't change frequently...?

Why it doesn't turn up immediately is easy: that requires the media scanner to add its name/location to its database. But a reboot should have triggered that definitly, so something seems to be wrong there indeed. How did you add the file? Have you tried doing so via MTP/UMS (while the phone is connected to your computer)?

@Izzy I added it using ES file explorer and copied it over from cloud storage (Ubuntu One). ES signs into U1 for me and I do everything in app from there. This is usually how I always add the file since I know it is always on my cloud storage.
I just tried plugging it in, removed the file, unplugged and replugged, added file, unplugged and it was there in my ringtones without reboot. I guess the app is not triggering a media scan correctly, still weird that it doesnt pick it up on reboot till I clear the media storage app memory :/ :/. File cant be corrupt, I just re-copied it now... :(

You are probably right about the app not triggering the mesia scanner. However, a reboot should trigger it. Let me make a guess: all affected devices already run Kitkat? Because starting with that, media scanner does no longer do a full scan AFAIR (at least the apps triggering it no longer can do so in the "old way"). If I remember correctly, media scanner must now be pointed to the changed files directly.

One more note: If my guess was correct, and your devices run 4.4.2, you might have hit a Kitkat bug (Google Translate version). The work-around described there is pretty much the same you're already using.

@Izzy I am pretty sure this happened on my nexus 4 pre-kit kat. That is a good point though, I have noticed that change to the media scanner as well in kit kat. Oh well, I'm stumped.

related http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/56905/where-is-the-default-ringtone-stored

tried today on Android 8.1 and worked fine. Transfered via USB cable.

What solved it for me - I had a hyphen - in my OGG filename, changing it to an underscore and restarting the phone (Nexus 5 KitKat) made it show up

Confirmed for Lineage 14.1 and Notifications. No hyphens.

If you just copied over the file then it's permissions are like set at 600.
chmod the file to 644 so it is WORLD READABLE.
so,
chmod 644 /sdcard/ringtones/blah.whatever

also a filename with a space in it could cause an issue, do a rename anyway
so if the files name is blah blah.whatever , rename it to blah_blah.whatever
Lastly if the above are no go or already sorted correctly, goto settings-->apps and locate media storage. Force stop it, clear it's cache and then reboot. Note if you want to clear all it's data, pull your ringtones to a different directory first JIC then after your clear all data , move them back to your ringtones directory. If you are rooted just copy the file over to the correct place in /system/media/ and set perms correctly [644] and reboot.

In terms of a space in the name, you should just be able to put speech marks around the file name and extension. Or was it the whole path...

That was my first reflex, but chmod would fail silently, permissions remained at 660. For me it was the hyphen.

@Someone hmm, if chmod is "failing silently", try chattr -i <filename> you might have immutable bit set though, that would be odd, else , you are not root OR file format may not be supported or "corrupt". Use file utility to check the file.

I'm sorry this is so long, but if you're still desperate it might help.  I've unsuccessfully been through a lot of online advice.  I have a generic phone running 'N' (that's Nougat, right?), a Blu Vivo XL2, which has two SIM slots.  I'm only using one of the latter at present, and for some reason the guy at the store put the SIM card in slot 2.  I took T L Kannan's advice to give the ringtone file a title in addition to its name (by going back to Audacity and not skipping the Metadata part of Export audio and of course placing this version in the phone's Ringtones folder), which may or may not have helped.  Real resolution came from a bizarre experience I hadn't heard of before.

Tapping Settings->"Sound and Vibration"->"SIM 2([network name])Call ringtones" (other choices SIM 1, Notification, Other...), which brings up the list of built-in ringtones
tapping a little icon at the bottom of the display labeled "Ring DIY"
swiping down through the resulting endless list of every blessed sound file on the phone to find and select my file at the very bottom.
This brought me to a new screen which looks like a bare-bones sound editor with a big red Start button, which plays the file. Great!  There's also Cancel and Save at the top.
tapped Save, which brought up a screen with the snarky message (no kidding!) "Oh well--Good--You should name this ringtone" with the (already-named) file in an edit box and a Save button at the bottom.  It wouldn't let me not (re-)name the file (I just added a digit to the end) and Saved.  (This process BTW seems to save duplicate copies of the file under the modified names in a subfolder of Ringtones named "diy", and I think I'm up to [Filename]4 by now.)
This leads to a screen "Congratulations~Saved successfully!" with "Make ringtones" and "DIY again" buttons below.
Tapping the former brings up a popup at the bottom labeled "Make Ringtones" and a single choice; "Voice call ringtones", which led me to
a choice of SIM 1 and SIM 2.  Tapping one of them leads back to step 6 again.  Backing out of there via "<-- Ringtones" at the top takes me back to step 2, the list of built-in ringtones (and where, incidentally, still no version of my ringtone is listed!)  Backing out one more step gets back to the basic Sound and Vibration screen, where my ringtone name is now listed in a small, gray font under the SIM 2... item

But wait!  Testing the new tone by adjusting the Ring volume slider still plays the default ringtone!  Apparently this is tied to the (in my case, empty) SIM 1 slot, because repeating all of the above nonsense allowed me to attach yet another, differently-named copy of my ringtone to SIM 1, with the result that the volume slider finally plays (the equivalent of) my new ringtone!
That's ALL there was to it!
Hopefully it'll work when I get a real call.

I have a setting on my phone. settings - audio profiles - individual profile setting - custom ringtone.
here I can add any MP3 to the list of phone recognised ringtones. if you have such, then you're golden.

I had the same problem, in my case I use my favorite song as alarm, since I install new apps for some reason I can not remember I force to stop the default app for music, and I went back to it and run it again and I was able to search for music files again,,,, it seems no default app is running and that's why can not run the option.
:)

I had the same problem.
I copied the file from Dropbox on my phone into the Ringtones folder.
The file was not found for use as a ringtone.  I deleted the file after several hours.
Then, I plugged the phone into a PC and copied the file from the PC.
The ringtone was found instantly.
Don't know why. Hope this helps someone.

I put 100 new ringtones onto my SD card but they wouldn't show up when I tried to select them. So, I played a single MP3 ringtone in my music player, then all 100 new ringtones suddenly appeared in my 'select phone ringtone' in settings/sound

Some of the MP3 Files may have different "file name" and "file title", we can see file title in laptop using : Right click on the file -> Properties -> Details.
MP3 ring tones listed in Android by "File Titles".
   Ex: I downloaded a file named "Notify.MP3" and it is listed in Android Ring tone as "Morning Alarm 4"
Note: I'm using Android-L

I came across the same problem. My new Moto E (2nd gen) would not play the ringtones I copied from my computer to my phone. I solved this problem by ignoring the message that I get from my Moto E about converting the files over to WMA files (I left them as .m4A files - music files) when I copy them from my computer to my phone and copied them back into the ringtones folder as well as the music folder. I opened Google Music player and played them and then assigned them to my alarms. What a pain in the neck! It is fixed now.

Try finding the song through your device music player. Play the song and while it is playing, select options then set as ringtone.


text:
Pixel 6 Pro - system taking up over 200gb of memory

Pixel 6 Pro
Android 14
256Gb storage

About a week ago my phone began complaining about a lack of storage - there was only about 2Gb left!  I've done a bit of a tidy up and freed another 4Gb but yesterday I realised the System is taking up 224Gb!!
I've spent the last 24 hours googling and searching on YT and on here but without rooting it I can't see any way to clean up this storage (which appears to be at least 100Gb more than it should be) or even see what's happening.
I'd rather not do a factory reset but that's what I'm facing if I can't find a solution here!

Since it's the /system partition gobbling up huge space, I doubt if there is anything that can be done by the user (even on a rooted device, since the partition is "read only"), except:

factory-reset

Caveat: I haven't tried the options below on my Pixel 4a/6a

Flashing the stock ROM again without the -w before running the flash-all script
to prevent data wipe.

Flashing factory image flashing in fastboot with force option on (see this guide for both options 2 and 3).

IMO it's best to jump to option 3 with force option enabled (without wiping data), since this involves dynamic partition sizing glitch. The force option apparently fixes dynamic partition sizing based on what the developer  of PixelFlasher, a GUI tool for flashing / updating / rooting / managing Pixel phones says here:

Full OTA is indeed full ROM, but based on observation, when it comes to switching firmware, or even downgrading, it does not work, I suspect that it does not do partition resizing.
I do quite a bit of messing up on my test phone and often I had to resort to factory image flashing in fastboot with force option on.

(Emphasis supplied)
I wanted to put all this in comments since I haven't tried these options but it was getting to be too long, so made an answer of it, more as a pointer towards possibilities then a definitive course of action.

I did a factory reset - system is now less than 20gb(!) and the backup restored most of my apps so a result in the end!

Good that's fixed. Just in case it was due to malware, and happens again (hope not), you may have to try option 3 ( see first para of answer

Sadly it has happened again so am now trying option 3.

Sorry to hear that, all the best. It may/not be malware, it could be partition sizes glitch as quoted in the answer


text:
How can I prevent YouTube shorts from looping by default?
I use YouTube app on Android. How can I prevent YouTube short videos from looping by default?

Not sure if it's possible at all with the official YouTube app. The behavior is the same with the web version.

Google is trying to compete with TikTok so I wouldn't expect much here.  Maybe one of the alternative clients for youtube has or would add this feature sooner than google.

You cannot do anything about this currently, but I did send feedback (bottom left of the menu) expressing how dumb this is and that they should have an option not to loop... and also that this option should be default, because why oh why would we want to keep looping?
So I suggest anyone reading this send the same feedback... maybe they will eventually listen.

Firefox and Chrome have extensions for turning shorts into normal videos:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-shorts-block/
Probably nothing you can do on the mobile app.


text:
Can I disable the default calendar app notifications?
This strikes me as a bug since the behaviour is incredibly consistent, but perhaps someone here can help me.
I want to use the google developed calendar app as my main calendar app. My phone (a Galaxy S2) came with a samsung developed calendar app (both very conveniently named "Calendar"). At this point, I simply want to disable the samsung calendar app from displaying any sort of notifications (since the google app also displays notifications and I want to use that app).
I have been able to do this by going to settings->Notifications in the samsung app and toggling to "Off".
However, as soon as I restart the device, the notifications are back on their original settings. Anyone else experience this? Anyone know how to make the settings stick?
EDIT: I notice the notification settings of the google developed app (sound, default reminder time, popup) are also not sticking after reboot. Is my device broken? It seems to only be for calendar. Gmail and other apps hold their settings fine.
EDIT 2: Ok, so disabling the samsung app allows my google app calendar settings to stick after reboot. So looks like that is what I will be doing. Anyone know how I can change the vcs file association to this app now?

I don't know how to make the setting stick, but if you are using ICS you can easily disable the Samsung calendar app - so it will act as if it is uninstalled.
You can disable it by clicking the Disable button on the App settings page - just above the disable notifications checkbox.
Once this is done, reboot your device and it will act as if that app is no longer installed!

Ya, I've done that, and it works, but then for some reason, I cannot set the google developed app to work with appointment files (vcs) which the samsung app handles. It's nit-picky, but if apps just did what they claimed to do, none of this would be an issue :(

I've same issue on my S2.
The problem is a conflict between Google Calendar & Samsung stock calendar.
The second one overwrite settings of Google Calendar.
Only solution is disable it and use Google Calendar.


text:
What causes NFC on Nexus 4 to stop working?
Sorry for the vague question title, I am open to suggestions, but I am not sure how else to phrase this.
I recently got a new phone; the Nexus 4. When I got it, NFC tags were working fine. They would scan successfully about 90% of the time (as good as it gets with NFC it seems).
Now, all of a sudden, it is down to 0% success. About once every couple minutes it will make the faint low-pitched jingle it makes when it detects NFC but does not read successfully (successful read results in higher pitched jingle).
What happened?! I can't get it to read anything no matter what I do.
Tested with 2 tags here at work. I will try a couple more when I get home too.
I was trying to install a custom NFC apk today to allow NFC while the screen is locked, but even when I revert back to stock apk I get the same behavior. I didn't test NFC today before attempting to install the custom apk, so I don't know (or think) that is what has caused this.
Anyone have any ideas? Seems so bizarre that it would just suddenly stop successfully scanning NFC.
I flat out REFUSE to send it back to LG. They already had it once and I didn't get it back for 2 and a half weeks.
EDIT: I have also tried removing some of the apps I have installed in the last couple days (avast and tasker specifically). Could rooting the phone have something to do with it? Really stuck here.
EDIT #2: So I have restored from some old (nandroid) backups I had. Still no dice. Probably going to attempt a factory reset when I get home at this point (my original settings and apps are so far gone now anyway). But honestly, it looks like it is hardware at this point, which has me extremely irritated. This would be the second time sending my phone in, and the last time I sent it in, I had to fork out for a manufacturer defect. This time, I'll probably crack it open and attempt the repair myself.
Pro Tip: NEVER BUY FROM LG.

"I tested it on both Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, on same tags. The Tag I used was MIFARE Classic 1k. Nexus 4 (I tested two - one mine and one my friend) no effect for both writing and reading Tags.
With Nexus 7 full success in terms of reading and writing.
Would like to know the results of someone with the Samsung devices." From users/4441/patrick

Looks like this might be hardware, but not broken hardware.
EDIT: See comments below, but I suspect this is actually the tag hardware I was using and not the phone hardware causing the problem.
This appears to be a design flaw with the nexus 4 and I would absolutely love to hear from any other nexus 4 owners who use NFC tags.
I managed to get it to work consistently with some tags at home (i.e. not broken hardware). The only tags I can get to work though are "sticker" tags. The other tags I have are wrapped in some kind of hard plastic enamel to protect them from damage and allow you to carry them on a keychain etc... (also some which are specially designed to work near metal and other sources of interference, they did not work, I assume because they are also thicker than paper).
Any NFC tag that was made of the thicker plastic (i.e. not a pure sticker) would not scan, I am thinking this has to do with range. I could get them to scan somewhat inconsistently so I know the tags were ok (also tested on other phone). They also scanned better when I removed the back cover, but this cover is literally 1mm thick. Maybe 1.5mm. It's a Ringke Slim. So I have to conclude there is something internal to the Nexus 4 that is ruining the range. Seems like a massive oversight, but what other conclusion can you draw from the results I have so far?
Will update if I learn more.
Does anyone have a nexus 4 and use a thicker NFC tag (basically anything that is not paper thin)? If so, let me know, otherwise I'll accept this answer in a few days.

FWIW, I have scanned by company ID badge by mistake on several occasions, so my Nexus 4 worked fine with credit-card thickness at least.

Thanks. It's been a while since I looked at this, and I have a nexus 5 now, but I think (having done some research on the nexus 5) this might have been a type incompatibility. This was happening right around the time they were changing the types of tags android supported (type 2 vs mifare or whatever else). And i am pretty sure I had mixed tag types I was testing with. The old ones are in the trash and newer tags ordered seem to work just fine. Thanks for the feedback, seems to make sense.


text:
Is there a Win10 cloning tool for Android devices?
I am looking for a cloning tool similar to Macrium for Win10, that is capable of cloning Android devices to a runnable virtual machine image.

Theoretically possible but unlikely that you be able (or want) to do this in reality because of the following problems:

Cloning of a device is not possible unless it is rooted (and even then some keys can't be extracted because they are protected in the ARM TrustZone).
Android devices have an ARM CPU, PCs usually an x86 CPU, which means the PC would have to emulate an ARM CPU which is very CPU intensive and thus the emulated Android will be slow even if you use a high-end CPU.
An Android firmware is not universal, it is developed to target one specific hardware (display, touch digitizer, Wifi chip, System-SoC, ,...), so you would need an emulator that emulates exactly your hardware. It is unlikely that you find such an emulator.


text:
How can I disable what looks like the Most Recent Used List
I am using various apps under Parallel Space.  Even when all these apps are closed, looking at the running apps shows this line of icons.  It looks like the MRU (Most Recent Used) list.  Not only does it show what apps I have used, one can click on the icons to start those apps.
I don't know what this line of icons (or feature) is called.  How do I get rid of it?
I am using

Note 20 Ultra
Android 13
Nova Launcher

For Samsung devices

Open the Recents screen
Tap the overflow menu (3-dots) on the top-right
Select Settings
Switch off Show recommended apps


text:
Fine-tune/calibrate system-wide tap vs swipe detection
I've had to replace the screen and touch assembly on a device I have but now the new hardware is too noisy: most of my taps end up being recognized as swipes or flings, making for a very frustrating experience.
What can be done to fix this? An ideal solution would be to fine-tune the gesture detection logic to be less restrictive on what is considered a tap, interpreting fast short-distance flings as taps instead.
Any solution that involves root, xposed or recompiling the OS with suggested tweaks is welcome. The device in question runs LineageOS 15.1, based on Oreo.

According to Android's developer documentation:

Because finger-based touch isn't always the most precise form of interaction, detecting touch events is often based more on movement than on simple contact. To help apps distinguish between movement-based gestures (such as a swipe) and non-movement gestures (such as a single tap), Android includes the notion of touch slop. Touch slop refers to the distance in pixels a user's touch can wander before the gesture is interpreted as a movement-based gesture.

In the AOSP source code, the touch slop value is obtained with one of two functions on frameworks/base/core/java/android/view/ViewConfiguration.java:
/**
 * @return Distance in dips a touch can wander before we think the user is scrolling
 *
 * @deprecated Use {@link #getScaledTouchSlop()} instead.
 */
@Deprecated
public static int getTouchSlop() {
    return TOUCH_SLOP;
}

/**
 * @return Distance in pixels a touch can wander before we think the user is scrolling
 */
public int getScaledTouchSlop() {
    return mTouchSlop;
}

I haven't seen any Android device or ROM that provides a way to change this value through system settings or similar, but possible ways to change it yourself are:

Changing the config.xml entries, either through an overlay mechanism or by creating your own custom ROM,
Hooking the getTouchSlop and getScaledTouchSlop functions to have them return a different value, through e.g. Xposed or one of its forks.

There are many apps that target this specific issue available through the Play store, and many of them do not even require root access. The search term I would recommend that you use would be "screen calibration" or similar; due to the sheer volume of them, I won't suggest any in particular but I have tried multiple myself throughout the years (while exercising common sense, e.g., checking reviews prior to downloading) and they seem to do the trick perfectly. Some are targeted toward mobile repair technicians and come with multiple utilities and test functions (such as for other sensors and screen functions), I tend to find these more "trustworthy" in that the targeted consumers are able to leave more competent and detailed reviews.
Edit: @And0réCarini I know some of them do work, typically the type that has you tap a target within four quadrants of the screen, and it typically does not require root.  However, please note that 1) dependent on the cause, sensitivity might not be the issue or what needs to be adjusted, and 2) depending on your device model, there could be other variables at play (e.g., Samsung Note devices have two separate digitizers, one for the stylus and one for finger touches).
It may benefit you to first activate developer mode and enable the show screen touches option to see if there are any visual clues as to what's going on.  You can also access your device's diagnostics mode (aka, [advanced] test menu, example) to see if the touch test can help identify any further details.  And, if on the off-chance it is due to a faulty / damaged digitizer, as a temporary measure there are apps available that allow you to custom set boundary areas on your screen that will block touch inputs, which can mitigate unintended input behavior (assuming it's stemming from a contained localized area).
Finally, I was able to find this post (root required) in regards to a potential method to adjust your touch sensitivity, but please note this is specific to the Pixel 2 XL so YMMV.
On a separate note, it seems that the minimum distance for swipes to activate are determined by the application's code (see here and here); as the distance is predetermined, I would infer another possibility aside from a sensitivity issue may be a multi-touch issue causing a false swipe input to be registered; my above suggestions may help confirm or eliminate that possibility.

I've tried a few and noticed no difference; I don't know either how any of these apps (especially non-root ones) could tweak the gesture detection mechanism system-wide. I'm inclined to think they're pure adware.


text:
How do I force Google Play Store to download new apps on a roaming mobile connection?
I am often on a roaming mobile connection, and I have found that Google Play Store does not allow you to install apps while roaming. Clicking the "Install" button puts the app in a "Downloading..." state, but doesn't progress until you switch to a non-roaming connection (mobile or wifi). How do I force the Google Play Store to download the app while roaming? This issue occurs on and may be specific to Android 7.0.

Which OS? Are other apps able to access internet while roaming? Is the problem only with Play Store?

Saw the issue with clean installs of Android 7.0 and 6.0.1. Yes, other apps can access the network while roaming; the issue is specific to the Play Store.

With Nougat it is a known issue. Haven't heard of it with 6.0.1. can you do a clean install again and see?

Thanks for the reference. Do you know if an issue has been opened on the Android tracker? I can't do another install with 6.0.1 right now (I've already reinstalled everything with 7.0), but I'll see if I can reproduce it later.

Is mobile network data connection enabled when in roaming mode? I remember an option in the network settings that disables data connections when roaming.

@Robert yes, it is. Other apps can use the network without issue.

The bug has been reported to the tracker #224209. Moreover, it has occured since Android N dev. preview (refer to #211038). /cc @beeshyams


text:
Limit on Android version on an Android device
I'm trying to make changes to the Android framework as a part of a project. As ambitious as it sounds, I want to flash a Nexus S with an Android 5 image. Can this be done, or is there a limit to the Android version supported by a device?

Do you mean Samsung Google Nexus S ? I don't think that you can flash Android Lollipop over your device. Anyway I guess better to wait a bit more while and see what other users have to talk about it !

Well you could always wait for someone at xda to port Android lollipop to nexus S(will probably happen) and then clone the device tree from them and try it out.

@HackToHell I am not sure about it but I don't think its going to arrive soon, device is almost outdated. I guess it was released over 2010, I would say there are a very little chance for something like this to happen.

Well it has kitkat http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-s/general/rom-cyanaosp-04-04-2014-t2634728

Strictly Speaking I do not think so.
If you look on the google images for android site (https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images) the highest the Nexus S goes is up to 4.1.2. Also, according to wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_S) the highest modded version is 4.4.3 KitKat via the CyanogenMod. Hope this helps.


text:
Tactile keypad for nexus 5
I've got a new nexus 5 & I know it sounds odd but I just can't seem to find the option to switch to phonepad type keyboard for texting. Could someone please help me with it?
edit
I'm looking for a keypad like this to use for texting.

I'm not sure if it is a good choice to use a alphanumeric keyboard instead of a qwerty one.
But here is some choices for you:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bigkeyboard.bordeux.net
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bb.keyboard.wf
This one is paid, but seems better:
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.fredricknet.inputmethod.latin
There is no much people making this keyboards, so it is probability that the keyboard is no longer updated.

Big keyboard (the first link) would have exactly been what I wanted if it used a dictionary. Would you know of a free version of one similar to the paid one?

@mindReader Well, I did not find other good keyboards, the ones that I wrote were the best I could find.


text:
Booting to recovery
I have Xperia mini pro (4.1.B.0.587 Stock ram), and my bootloader is unlocked.
But I could not boot to recovery mode by pulsing volume down button. I press it after phnoe shakes and before displaying "SONY".
What is wrong?
Update: Whene I install stock ROMs (using .ftf) files The recovery mode is wiped.

It is not clear whether you had flashed CWM's recovery (through boot image). If you had done, you have to press vol up and down while powering on. If not, you do not have a recovery mode at all. You have to flash it using fastboot as described in CyanogenMod's How to install CM in Sony Xperia Mini Pro.

I previously was installed CyanogenMod for a while, and replaced it with Stock ROMs (4.1.B.0.587)

Indeed I want install http://www.technikan.com/how-to-update-sony-xperia-mini-pro-sk17isk17a-to-android-4-1-2-paranoid-custom-rom/ on my phone. Should I yet follow CM related steps?

Yep. Follow till 10th point in section Installing CyanogenMod on Sony Devices and in the 10th point choose the zip file for "Paranoidandroid Jelly Bean 4.1.2".

I think You 1st Press volume button then power it up keep pressing voulme button untill it shakes.. In My Galaxy Gio I do this for bootinh to recovery mode.

I tried it, no success.


text:
Micro-USB headphone support in Android
I have a micro-usb headphone (from my LG GS155 phone that is a feature phone).
I plugged it to my Xperia Mini Pro (Android 4.0) but it did not work.
Is Micro-USB headphone supported by Android? How does it should be configured to work?

The “Micro-USB” headphone used by LG GS155 is not really an USB device — it just uses the USB connector for the same analog audio signals as in usual 3.5 or 2.5 mm round connectors. Look at the MicroUSB to 3.5 or 2.5 jack headset pinout.
In order to work with such headsets, the phone needs to have the appropriate hardware to detect the type of connected device and switch functions of USB port pins from USB to analog audio. It is highly unlikely that the phone will have such hardware if it also has a standard 3.5 or 2.5 mm audio connector. Even older HTC phones using the proprietary “ExtUSB” connector compatible with Mini-USB did not switch pin functions when a headset is connected — they used separate pins for audio.
The only way to connect this headphone to your new phone is to build an adapter with a 3.5 mm plug and a Micro-USB Type B receptacle connector, so that the headphone will be connected to the audio circuit through the 3.5 mm audio connector on the phone.

Some Motorola phones have both a 3.5mm connector and support audio via the USB connector; they apparently use a specific resistance across two of the USB pins to indicate that it's an audio device rather than USB.   This functionality is used by their car and desk docks to provide a 3.5mm audio out connection in the dock or via a special adaptor cable... which doesn't help with your Experia, buy may be of interest to someone else.

Looks like a driver is definitely needed at least.
Take a look at this XDA post and this Acer Tablet Forum post.

These posts are about real USB devices, which could be connected to Android devices with USB host (OTG) support. But the headphone in question is not really an USB device — it is just a simple analog headphone using the standard-looking Micro-USB connector for nonstandard functions.


text:
Could not turn wifi on
I just installed 9 and 10 version of CyanogenMod on my Xperia mini pro (downloaded from http://download.cyanogenmod.org/?type=stable&device=mango), but I could not turn the wi-fi on. Version 9 is stable version. What is wrong?
Does the method of ROM installing have any influence on the issue?

Might be compatibility issues with the radio image version. Or a known bug in CM. The official CM wiki does not list the mini pro -- so it is most likely a port from another device, which might cause some issues. You need to check the documentation where you got the images from (XDA?).


text:
Fastboot mode recognizes my device but adb doesn't
ADB cannot recognize my device in recovery mode. USB debugging is disabled and I think that's the reason why. Also, how can I enable USB debugging via fastboot (if that's even possible)?

not possible

Not possible. If you want to enable USB tethering from the device, you have to do it from Developer options in Settings. Or you can use an ADB command:
adb shell svc usb setFunctions rndis

But this still requires the device to be booted into Android.


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Google Messages adds spaces to emoticons
Since past 3-6 months Android Messages app started to insert spaces between characters of my emoticons and also started to remove certain characters, causing garbage to be actually sent:

In addition to Google Messages, I am using Gboard on both devices, so maybe this is a problem with the keyboard app, not with the messaging app.
Does anyone know what is this and how to prevent this?
At first I thought that this is a problem with my very old Motorla Moto One (first edition, X1941). But now I have migrated to Neffos X9 and I am observing exactly the same behavior.

This is caused by the "use simple characters" setting on Android Messages app. The setting will convert special characters in SMS messages.
This is due to the possibility that the recipient's messaging app converts the smileys into respecting emoji, thus resulting in an incomprehensible message, like when the sender intends to send the symbols as-is instead of being considered as an emoticon.
Related questions demonstrating the issue:

How do I disable all emoticons on incoming/outgoing text messages?
Prevent Samsung's stock Messaging app from converting textual emoticon to emoji

Wasn't "use simple characters" setting meant to control whether national characters are converted into Latin counterparts? I intentionally enabled the setting that you're talking about, but I was 300% sure that I am enabling the feature of national characters conversion.

@trejder that's also one of the purposes. Basically it makes the SMS (which by default only supports the limited GSM 03.38 character sets) save for the SMS provider (wrong encoding, e.g. due to emoji) and recipients (client-side emoji conversion).

I have accepted your answer, because you have explained everything perfectly. However, I must admit that this is as stupid as it can be. I've been using this switch (to replace national characters into simple Latin characters) for as long as I have been using Andriod phones, so ~10 years now. And they've only introduced adding spaces inside emoticons only a couple of months ago. Was that too hard to make that being controlled by two separate switches? Now, I can only choose: to have emoticons and send expensive 2-3 SMS long messages (even though text itself is short) or disable both at once.


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Torify an arbitrary application?
After setting up a self-hosted Nextcloud over tor, I am trying to synchronize an Android Calendar app with it. On Ubuntu I was able to torify vdirsyncer and run khal as a terminal calendar. However, on android I would prefer a GUI, and I have not yet been able to install vdirsyncer in termux.
I tried installing Nextcloud developer app and connecting it directly with the some_onion.onion server, however, as expected that did not work. Hence, I would like to ask:
How can one torify an arbitrary application on Android (using e.g. LineageOS or /e/OS)?

This is exactly what the orbot app does.
To download the app from f-droid one:

First installs the f-droid apk from f-droid.org.
Next, in that f-droid app on the phone, one can go to: settings> (My Apps)> Repositories> (Enable) Guardian Project Official Releases.
(Update the repositories with: `back> Updates> pull the window down to do an update of the repositories).
Next, search in the market place search for: orbot and select the one that literally says: Orbot: Tor for Android. If that is not in there, verify you enabled the Guardian Project Official Releases and that you updated the fdroid market place/repositories.
Install the Orbot app.
Open the Orbot app.
Enable "VPN Mode"
Select "tor enabled apps" and choose which app you want to go over tor.
Back in the main Orbot screen/window, press/hold "start" until you see a green onion.
Now you can go to your app, e.g. Nextcloud and enter your https://some_onion.onion domain, to make the Nextcloud connect to your self-hosted Nextcloud server.

This is marvellous work by the Guardian Project I think. I am amazed by how well it works, and have not automated this yet through adb.


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Problem in syncing contacts after factory reset
I have reset my phone using factory reset option. Now I get "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly." error when trying to sync contacts. What is wrong with it? I also tried "Contacts Sync Fix" app without success.

In my case, I could fix this using https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ru.ivary.ContactsSyncFix&hl=en, though the solution basically boiled down to removing groups from my contacts. Probably I also could have created them on my Gmail account instead

The first thing I usually do when I experience this kind of problem is I uncheck the one having problems syncing (Contacts, Calendar, etc.) and then check it again. This should initiate a new sync and possibly fix the problem.
If it doesn't fix it, try clearing the data for Contacts app (Settings>Applications>Manage applications) and then sync again.
If it's still not fixed try removing the account that experiences this problem and then re-add it.
It also can be on Google's end, so sometimes it can fix itself, just wait a few days.
And if nothing of that helps, try by another factory reset. Good luck!