text:
Why does my HTC desire mount the SD card in read only mode?
I have a new HTC desire. After 3 days of use it started mounting the SD card in read only mode. I couldn't mount it in read-write mode until I formated the card in another phone.
I read somewhere on the HTC forums that this may be caused by plugging the phone in a Mac. But this doesn't make any sense to me. I did plug the phone in a Mac the first time, but this didn't start happening after that. It started happening after I've plugged the phone in a Windows 7 pc. I've never used the phone plugged in a computer in sync mode, it was either used as a mass storage device or in charge only mode (which was the case before this problem ocured). Of all the portable devices I've used that could be used as a mass storage there's never been a problem if I've used them with OS X, Linux or Windows. So I don't find the OS X explanation satisfactory. From what I know all operating systems will handle mass storage devices in the same way more or less especially if it's a FAT filesystem.
Has anyone else experienced this problem?

What software version do you have? When I first had my Desire I occasionally found my SD Card was read-only, though this was fixed with a reboot and did not require reformatting. At some point, one update or another must have fixed the issue as I haven't seen it for some time - certainly not since updating to Froyo/2.2.

I had a lot of SD card issues with my Desire. Sometimes read only but more often failed to mount it completely, and I've heard a few similar tales. I ended up having it replaced on warranty (because it was overheating and restarting) and have had no SD card problems at all with the replacement.

@FoleyIsGood It's Froyo. I haven't had that problem in the past few weeks but I haven't connected it to a computer via USB in that time either.

I have HTC Desire too. I don't know what causes this problem, but I fixed it by mounting it on a Windows computer and checking the filesystem on the card. I tried it on a Mac first, but OSX Disk Utility couldn't fix the problems it found.

I had the same problem with stock 2.1 ROM.
After the OTA update to 2.2, the problem vanished.


text:
Why does my EVO Android phone screen keep turning on?
I have an HTC EVO and I can be sitting around doing nothing, when all of a sudden the screen comes on and stays on. I try to turn it off, but it keeps turning back on - sometimes after a second, sometimes after a few minutes. If I just leave it, it will not turn off by itself, as it would if I manually turned it on but didn't enter the password. This is killing my already horrendous battery life!
I have killed almost all background processes except some of the ones by HTC that looked important.
I have also turned off application refresh, wifi, blue tooth, tried rebooting ... even put it into Airplane mode. Arghhh! Nothing helps!
I thought I hit pay dirt last week - I replaced the factory 1500mAh battery with a 3500mAh for obvious reasons. For a few days the auto-turn-on seemed to be cured but now it has started happening again.
Any ideas how I can get this paper weight to be more obedient?
Thanks, Victor

First, killing background processes will do nothing; they'll just be restarted.  Instead, focus on apps.  You could use an app like Titanium Backup (requiees root) to "freeze" an app, and see if the problem stops.  If it does you know what app is the problem.  Then uninstall it, or turn off background sync for it or something if that might be the problem.  TB can uninstall system apps, but be careful which ones.
I had this problem when I had SipDroid installed -- every time its connection dropped and came back up, it would turn on the screen.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How do I get my call log to stop listing my text messages
I have a Galaxy S4 Mini. The call log on my Galaxy S4 Mini includes my text messages. I have to sort through dozens of text messages for every call that it lists. How can I set it to display only the calls?

Open your phone application and go to Recent > Settings > View By and set it to what you require.
However, there is an issue on certain Samsung devices that once you press the back button, this setting is lost. It will also often be lost on reboot. If you are affected by this, then change the setting and just press the home button. It will remain like this until you reboot. If you are not affected then it's a one time thing.
Alternatively you could download a different dialer / call log application and just use that. Samsung's own one is quite slow I find.

Thank you for clarifying this! I noticed that the setting gets lost sometimes, and sometimes it holds, but didn't investigate more. You are right, if I press "Home" it is kept, if I press "Back", the setting is lost. And this annoyance is still not fixed, also in Galaxy S4.

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


text:
Determine ASUS Transformer Serial Number
I'm trying to determine the model of an ASUS Transformer tablet.
In Settings -> About, I know its a TF-101 (I knew this one I bought it a few years ago). But that's all it provides under Android 4.0.3 (shown below).
However, I cannot determine if its an A20, B10, etc. According to How to identify hardware versions?, its encoded in the serial number, and its on a sticker attached to the tablet. Unfortunately, even with my glasses, I cannot seem to find it.
How does one determine the serial number for an ASUS TF-101 tablet?

It should be under "Status" in the "About tablet" menu.  Have you looked in there?

It should be under "Status", in the "About tablet" menu.

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


text:
Which BusyBox is legitimate on Play Store?
BusyBox is a collection of *nix utilities. I am attempting to install it via the Play Store (I've had a lot of trouble in the past trying to cross-compile BusyBox).
The problem I am having: there are six or eight apps using that name, and I cannot tell which (if any) is legitimate. The desktop search is search?q=busybox, but it only lists about half compared to what's listed on the device using the Play Store app.
I spent some time searching on XDA and Android Enthusiasts, but I could not determine the app.
Would anyone know which (if any) BusyBox is legitimate?

search?q=busybox&c=apps brings back a ton of results for me.

@Chahk - right, that's the problem. Which one (if any) is the legitimate app?

@jww:  What do you mean by "legitimate"?  See also my answer, below.

Use either of these:

BusyBox
BusyBox Pro (paid)

Note this comment in the description:

Please note I did not write BusyBox! I wrote this installer and cross
  compiled BusyBox for Android. Please see the about menu option for
  more details or here: www.BusyBox.net

If you're installing a custom ROM, it might have BusyBox already (but usually not Pro).

Another vote for Stericson's apps.  He is quite active on XDA, with a reputation that speaks for itself.

@geffchang - so I'm clear... BusyBox does not provide a port? If so, then I will try switching up to a BusyBox prebuilt binary.

@jww What port are you looking for? Are you looking for a Windows program, or an Android app?

@geffchang - I was looking for BusyBox's Android app. Here, I'm talking about the the app that the folks at BusyBox produce, not developers with knock-offs that reuse the name. I'm no longer looking, though. I downloaded the ARMv7 build from the BusyBox website. It works fine on my Evo 4G and Transformer tablet.

I recently updated my BusyBox installer for Android: http://busybox.jrummyapps.com/ The app can be found on GitHub. You can download static binaries there and run a script to compile BusyBox yourself: https://github.com/jrummyapps/BusyBox It would be great if you edited your answer to include this

The upstream BusyBox maintainer has probably not uploaded anything official to the Google Play store.  You may choose one of Stericson's (unofficial) BusyBox installers from the Google Play store, or you may grab an official prebuilt binary from upstream.  It's your choice.
Note that if you choose a prebuilt binary from upstream, you won't get automatic BusyBox updates in the future.  You'll have to do the updating yourself.


text:
Picture converted to very low quality while sharing on Google +
I'm using a HTC ONE X with Android 4.2.2 and HTC Sense 5.0
I took a screenshot from my phone : the picture has the same resolution as my screen which is 720x1280.
Then I share it on google plus :

go to 'Galery' app ( don't know if its the standard android one or an HTC specific app :/ )
choose my picture
touch 'share'
chose in the list 'Google+' which open the google+ app to choose the circles I want to share with.
confirm.

The picture shared is then 180x320 !
All text is unreadable so the sharing doesn't make sens anymore :/
Does anyone know why ? And how to prevent this ? I'm connected using wifi connection so there's no need to scale down the picture I can upload the full size...

This issue is described here http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/google-plus-discuss/MkRuXZQQHnc and it happens even on my One X. I think the bug is probably in Google+ app which Google is refusing to fix. And somehow this only happens with screenshots, others pics taken from camera upload just fine.

It seems like it fixed by itself...
Now  can see the full size picture in my post on Google + without doing anything more.
My guess is : it uploaded a sample sized version of the picture in order to share my post instantaneously while the full picture was still uploading ...
Anymore informations on this from anyone would be nice.
Thanks :)


text:
MTS N790 APN setting for GSM Network
I have MTS N790, it is a dual sim mobile one is CDMA and other is GSM .Now I have one mts CDMA sim and one Aircel GSM sim .Here I can not set access point setting for GSM sim. I can add new apn for CDMA but for GSM there is no option to set ApN.
Anyone can help?

when I select 1St option

and When I select 2nd option

Some dual SIM phones support only the primary SIMs mobile data. Have you checked that the phone supports mobile data through the second SIM also? I can't find proper specifications for that model.

@onik Means I cant use second sim Data connection.It doesn't seems logical.And how I can check that it supports mobile data through second sim?

I just found the phone specs on MTS India, and seems like the second SIM supports only 2G voice + SMS, not data. This is because the phone is Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS), not Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA or DSA), and there isn't a 3G GSM radio.
DSDS means that if you have a data connection or a call open, the other SIM is disabled. This would prevent the use of the primary SIM if there was an open data connection on the secondary SIM.
I'm not an expert on dual-SIM phones since they are not popular in my region, so there may be a way to get a 2G data connection over the GSM card, but it's not supported by the manufacturer.

When I disable CDMA sim even then I can't access the internet by second sim.

Then either the phone's hardware doesn't support data over GSM, or the manufacturer has disabled it in software. You would need to get more details about the radio chip to see if it's possible at all, and then find a custom ROM to enable GSM data in Android.


text:
How to make an HTTP request for incoming/outgoing calls?
I am looking for a way which will allow me to make HTTP requests to my web server when there is an incoming call (or outgoing/missed called etc if possible).
This is so that I can log the information (CallerID primarily) and perform actions in my own system based on the number that is calling or being called on the handset.
I need the request to be made while the call is either ringing or in progress - i.e. what is happening now, not what happened previously.
An example use for this is so that I can present information about a caller on another computer which is connected to my system when someone calls.
An alternative to HTTP would be fine, such as SMTP or some other notification/external communication.

You might want to take a look at Tasker, the mighty automation solution on Android. I have not setup something as you request, but it's definitly possible, and basically should work like this:

Condition: Event → Phone Ringing
Task: either HTTP GET or HTTP POST to your server's URL.

For the task, you can make use of the many variables Tasker has preset (see: Tasker UserGuide, Variables). In your case: Call Name / Number/ Date / Time (In) = %CNAME / %CNUM / %CDATE / %CTIME
You might need to play a little with it to get it working exactly as you wish. Hint: A free trial version of Tasker is available via its homepage (7-day trial; on day 6 export all your settings, on day 7 uninstall, re-install, and import all settings for another 7 days, the dev said so). I use Tasker for years, it never let me down, and I don't regret a single cent from its fee ;) Couldn't do without it anymore...


text:
Asus ME302KL tablet halts on loading
I have a problem with my Asus MeMO Pad ME302KL
It halts on loading screen - Asus logo and loading spinner and loads forever, until the battery goes off completely.
Holding the power button for 10 seconds reboots it.
Holding the reset button (the one in the hole) for 10 seconds just reboots it.
Tried to enter service menus:

Holding the power button and volume down - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows system information. Asus logo and some text on the left. Does not react to any actions, except for holding the power button for 10 seconds and goes to reboot.
Holding the power button and volume up - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows "service menu". First for half a second there appears a standing android with spinning blue thing in front of him, and after half a second there appears a lying android with open bonnet and a red exclamation mark and nothing else on the screen. Does not react to any actions, except for holding the power button for 10 seconds and goes to reboot.

UPD: Tried to hold the reset button while on the "service screens" and it just goes to reboot after 10 seconds. Also have removed the SIM and SD cards.
UPD2: Before the lethal shut down I've installed a couple of games, ~5 I guess. I'm not sure, if it installed any updates, at least it did not ask m e about it.
UPD3: With use of fastboot re-installed this system https://mega.co.nz/#!QFEFFRCR!XV2tziLIueLET2aBXWBaXUp5qY5vw7vS740yYxgKO7M and absolutely nothing has changed :(

When did this start happening? Was it after a system update?

It could. I'm not sure, if it installed any updates. At least it did not ask me anything about it.

Found the combination to enter the recovery mode. Holding the power button and volume up - after 10 seconds the tablet shuts down, after 5 more seconds shows "service menu". First for half a second there appears a standing android with spinning blue thing in front of him, and after half a second there appears a lying android with open bonnet and a red exclamation mark (error) and nothing else on the screen.
Then you have to hold the power again and press the volume up - the menu appears.
Cleared the cache and device started normally. That's pretty weird, as I've re-installed the whole system and cleaned the cache with fastloader. But it works now :)


text:
Can I prevent the off button from locking the device?
I've noticed that tapping the off button locks the device under ICS.  Are there any tricks for making it only shut down the touchscreen and wait for the timeout to actually lock the device?
You must tap the off button to disable the screen when inserting the phone into your pocket because otherwise the phone gets spurious input, but frequently you'll want to pull the phone right back out again.

There's an option for this in CyanogenMod 9, but I'm not sure if it's there in vanilla ICS (I get the feeling it probably isn't, but could be wrong). You can check Settings->Security->Lock Screen to see if you have a "Lock Delay" section in your settings.

There is a lock delay option which works if the screen saver engages, but it's ignored when not when you tap the off button.

There's an option in Security settings: power button instantly locks screen.

Interesting, my Galaxy Note running Android v4.0.3 doesn't offer that option.  It appears Samsung phones running v4.0.4 offer the feature though so probably it'll turn up eventually : http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-nexus/485361-lock-screen-locks-immediately.html

image link is dead. Better to upload to stackexchange's image server.


text:
How anonymous are ratings/reviews in the Android Market?
I can see from reviews other people have given to apps in the market that at the very least your account name is made public. However, I was wondering:

Is that the only thing made public?
If I only give a star rating to an app (but no comment/review), is this anonymous?
Is there any way to leave anonymous review comments (i.e. without visibly associating your account name with it)?

Your device name is also made public. But, it can be faked easily.
As Play Store doesn't display who has starred, you'd be anonymous if you give star rating only. But, nothing can be said for future. I believe, Google stores this data and it can be made public based on TOS and PP we accepted in the beginning.
No. Currently, there's no way to leave review comments anonymously.

Note that the app developers can still see information about the country, device, mobile service provider and android version.

A star rating without a review/comment is anonymous.  I don't think reviews/comments can be anonymous.

Note that the app developers can still see information about the country, device, mobile service provider and android version.

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


text:
"An Internet connection cannot be established" when using Motorola Device Manager
I picked up a Motorola Luge for some testing. I plugged it into my Mac and it launched Motorola Device Manager. The device manager appears to check for updates (I presume for both the program and the device, but I'm not sure either guess is correct).
Motorola Device Manager is failing with the error message "An Internet connection cannot be established". Obviously, the Mac is online and the Internet connection works because I'm asking this question.
Similar questions provide disingenuous answers, like "make sure you have an internet connection". See, for example, Why won't my Motorola Device Manager connect to the internet?.
How do I fix Motorola Device Manager? Or how do I troubleshoot it?

The error message appear below in the lower left hand corner.

It appears the software is broken out of the box and it cannot be fixed. It's trying to connect to the host www.mymotocast.com, but it can't find the path or there is no server listening:

And:
$ openssl s_client -connect www.mymotocast.com:443
connect: Operation timed out
connect:errno=60

$ nslookup www.mymotocast.com
Server:     192.168.1.1
Address:    192.168.1.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:   www.mymotocast.com
Address: 92.242.140.21

$ traceroute 92.242.140.21
traceroute to 92.242.140.21 (92.242.140.21), 64 hops max, 52 byte packets
 1  gateway (192.168.1.1)  0.666 ms  0.427 ms  0.406 ms
 2  l100.bltmmd-vfttp-32.verizon-gni.net (96.234.147.1)  5.970 ms  6.265 ms  6.653 ms
 3  g0-10-0-6.bltmmd-lcr-21.verizon-gni.net (130.81.217.20)  10.525 ms  16.128 ms  12.693 ms
 4  so-1-1-0-0.res-bb-rtr1.verizon-gni.net (130.81.199.2)  33.310 ms  16.435 ms
    ae4-0.res-bb-rtr2.verizon-gni.net (130.81.209.230)  19.951 ms
 5  0.ae3.br2.iad8.alter.net (152.63.38.117)  15.596 ms
    0.ae4.br2.iad8.alter.net (152.63.7.225)  16.676 ms
    0.ae3.br2.iad8.alter.net (152.63.38.117)  14.921 ms
 6  te0-1-0-14.ccr41.iad02.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.12.45)  13.116 ms  12.950 ms  14.240 ms
 7  be2113.mpd21.dca01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.6.170)  16.623 ms
    be2176.ccr21.dca01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.41.54)  19.256 ms
    be2177.ccr22.dca01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.41.206)  17.821 ms
 8  be2153.ccr42.ord01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.30.126)  38.219 ms
    be2152.ccr41.ord01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.30.122)  38.014 ms
    be2170.ccr41.atl01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.31.105)  34.687 ms
 9  be2157.ccr22.mci01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.6.117)  60.086 ms
    be2173.ccr22.iah01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.29.118)  57.216 ms
    be2156.ccr21.mci01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.6.85)  61.500 ms
10  be2065.ccr21.lax01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.5.66)  75.636 ms
    be2066.ccr22.lax01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.7.54)  75.899 ms
    be2065.ccr21.lax01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.5.66)  78.758 ms
11  be2161.ccr22.sjc01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.27.170)  86.520 ms
    be2165.ccr22.sjc01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.28.66)  83.322 ms
    be2164.ccr21.sjc01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.28.34)  90.599 ms
12  be2063.rcr21.b001848-1.sjc01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.1.162)  87.420 ms
    be2095.rcr21.b001848-1.sjc01.atlas.cogentco.com (154.54.3.138)  90.178 ms  92.828 ms
13  as26803.xe-2-0-3.ar1.sjc2.us.as4436.gtt.net (69.22.143.162)  89.610 ms  89.776 ms  79.943 ms
14  sanjose2.barefruit.co.uk (66.201.32.134)  77.673 ms  79.710 ms  82.876 ms
15  * * *
...


text:
Does an Android Emulator exist which works with every possible app?
I'd like to install a specific free android app, which works under different Android smartphones (minimal requirements of Android 4.0):
The freely available app is called PostCard Creator and useful to send Postcards in Switzerland where I live. It works under different physical android smartphones but not with all independent of the android version.
Installation via Google PlayStore:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.post.it.pcc
I've tried different free Android Emulators for a lot of hours under Windows but without success.

Android SDK (tried with different virtual devices)
Genymotion (tried with different virtual devices)
www.manymo.com (App can be installed but not opened)
BlueStacks (App can be properly installed from Play Store but not opened)
AndY (Play Store notification "Your device is not compatible with this version", Version 4.2.2)
Oracle VM VirtualBox Android Version 4.2.2 (app can be installed from Play Store but not opened)
YouWave for Android: "There is a problem parsing the package." (I'm pretty sure: The apk is not corrupted.)
Droid4X 0.8.5 Beta (Play Store notification "Your device is not compatible with this version", Version 4.2.2)
Xamarin Android Player (CPU incompatible)

For http://www.manymo.com I've used the legal APK Downloader (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/apk-downloader/cgihflhdpokeobcfimliamffejfnmfii) to download the APK file which I uploaded here: http://www.file-upload.net/download-10976262/ch.post.it.pcc.apk.html
The app perfectly runs in my physical smartphone with version 4.2.2.
Based on an email request, the app doesn't depend on the android version. The developer says, it does not work with all devices. I've also tested the app compatibility online. The result was good.
I would be very glad if someone succeeded to use the app PostCard creator on a Windows plattform. Does someone get it?
(Alternatively, if you also don't succeed with Android emulators, I would be very happy if you know a workable way to emulate the PostCard Creator app file from the Itunes App Store, because it works also on my Iphone for free)

Appendix with adb logcat (created on the 27.10.2015)

Download of the newest version Genymotion 2.5.4 (available since 08.09.2015 with Oracle VM VirtualBox included) here and installation on my Notebook (without physical GPS sensor) under Windows 8.1 Pro N / Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU / 64-Bit OS x64 based processor / in Switzerland with own IP
Click "Add a first device" and select "Google Nexus 4 - 4.4.4 - API 19 - 768x1280"
Download "Genymotion-ARM-Translation_v1.1zip" from here and drop it (in unzipped form) directly to the virtual device. Press OK when asked. Again Press OK when asked. Click Win+R and open path cmd.exe. Navigate to the corresponding folder with cd C:\Programme\Genymobile\Genymotion\tools (must be adapted to your path: If you enter dir you must see adb.exe, then you are in the correct folder.) Write: adb reboot (until virtual device has been restarted)
Download of "gapps-kk-20140606-signed.zip" (needed for 4.4.x) based on
here
To install the PlayStore: Drag&Drop the downloaded file (also
unzipped) into the virtual device, click OK, wait, click OK, wait, write adb reboot into the console, wait. (Android is upgrading... Optimizing app XX of 22.) After the virtual device restarts, the PlayStore can be found now.
Login with personal Gmail-Account (also created in Switzerland)
Update of the Google Plus Service and all automatically installed apps.
Try to install "PostCard Creator" from PlayStore (GPS is enabled,
Camera is enabled, Identifiers is not enabled (impossible in the
free version)) failed with the message: "Your device isn't compatible with this version." Then I tried drag&drop of the PostCard-File.apk. The symbol "PostCard Creator" is available under the APPS list. But clicking results with the notification: "Unfortunately, PostCard Creator has stopped."
Write adb logcat in the console

There is a long output, so I only get the last lines from cmd.exe console which I uploaded here

Does the app just not launch, or is it failing once installed?

It does not launch. (With physical devices it works very often.)

I tried downloading the app, but it looks to be restricted by country. That could be the issue

Could you use a free VPN with location in Switzerland in order to avoid such restrictions?

Possibly, it is most likely using your Google Play account to determine location as well. A good VPN I know you could use is called TunnelBear. But in order to install through the play store you will need to install google play services on the emulator if it is not installed

BlueStacks and Android SDK have built in Play Stores. I used the very useful description of http://inthecheesefactory.com/blog/how-to-install-google-services-on-genymotion/en under Genymotion with five different Android operating system versions. Most apps can be installed, but I had no success with this specific app apk.

What version of Bluestacks and Windows are you using?

I installed the latest version of Bluestacks under Win 8.1 64bit and on a second computer under Win 7 32bit. As described above, the installation of the app "PostCard Creator" was successful. However, after trying to open the apps it says "Please wait..." and then nothing happens. If I do try to open it again, the same "no-thing" happens. Other apps I've installed in Bluestacks do work. Can you explain this issue? Or have you been able to test the app on your system?

Please try archon-runtime on Chrome.

Thank you for your advice. I tried the nice ARChon Pack with two PCs (Chrome 32bit and the appropiate one for the 64bit version), but the app doesn't work with this tool.

have you tried using adb logcat with the emulators upon attempted launches. The clue is in there.

Not yet. However it's crazy that no (?) emulator works with this app, but the app runs with a lot of different physical android devices.

Please post relevant logcats from each of them to see what is it that's preventing the app from launching.

This can happen for the following reasons:

The emulator presents an x86/MIPS CPU which the app does not support (probably not in your case as the app doesn't seem to require native code).

Google Play Services. The emulator does not have them, in fact no emulator can have them unless they licensed it from Google, and most apps depend on them.

Mobile data as an internet connection is required (maybe not at all in your case).

Location data. VMWare is the only emulator I know that can succesfully passthrough to a physical accelerometer/ GPS hardware on Windows tablets which support them. The app might need location services and will refuse to run if it does not provide the necessary location APIs.

The app developer has made the app actively check whether it is being run on an emulator or not, and the app will not run if it detects that it has been launched on an emulator. See this AE question.

For your case, I suspect either 2 or 4 is the culprit. Try:

Installing Android 4.4 on VMWare Player with a x86-compatible GAPPs package and see if it works (maybe on a Surface Pro, because it has the requisite GPS hardware). The GAPPs packages can be found on XDA threads.

If you use the .iso provided by the android-x86 project, set the VMWare boot mode to BIOS in VM Config.

Once the install completes, put the downloaded GAPPs zip onto a pendrive along with an apk for a file explorer app (I recommend ES File Explorer, that way you can extract the zip directly in the explorer).

Now once the VM boots up, assign the pendrive to the VM from the "Devices" (or similar) option in the menu bar.

Install the file explorer apk from the pendrive (use the built in file-manager) (ensure the "Unknown Sources" option is enabled under security settings).

Then root the VM following this guide.

Finally, extract the GAPPs zip to a convenient location (such that it extracts to /sdcard/) in the VM and follow this guide (use method 2) to install it.

The reason being most phones or other devices with Android from the factory have these Google Apps(GAPPs) preinstalled as the OEMs license it from Google, but any custom distribution of Android initially lacks these as their developers either can not or do not license these GAPPs from Google. Emulators fall into the second, custom, category.
Also, location hardware and region restrictions on the app can be the culprit too. The emulator cannot emulate location hardware and/or presents unexpected location or region data to the app, causing it to crash/freeze/whatever.
Edit:
From analyzing the logcat file, I can conclude that the Postcard Creator app actively checks for a touch-capable screen on the device (which any emulator other than the SDK one or Bluestacks/Youwave will fail). In the given case, this is probably what is causing the app to crash. Also, the app is loading a native library, libxwalkcore.so, which is succeeded by a Fatal Signal 11 (SIGSEGV) from the Dalvik VM library, which probably indicates a segmentation fault (segfault), which force-kills the app process. There is also an error in taking a screenshot of the activity, which is probably related to the one that Android displays for the recent apps, and understandable as the app has crashed.
Also, I think that VMware can passthrough to a touchscreen on a touch-capable device, but again, Android-x86, not being built to run on touch-capable devices exclusively, might lack the necessary drivers to present a touchscreen to apps which require it.
EDIT 2:
I came across this today: ConsoleOS (note that this isn't an emulator, it's rather like running a Linux distro in dual-boot mode on a PC with Windows, with  rapid switching (they say as little as 10s) between them).
This claims to be an Android all-in-one package for x86 PCs and tablets which allows for native licensed GAPPs and also is licensed by Google for OEM distribution. This might just cut it. If now your app doesn't run, its probably because it doesn't support the x86 platform. Then, I really have no idea how to go further.
Important
This is a developer focused release and is as such not at all feature complete and buggy. Think of it as an "alpha" ROM. It might refuse to boot or have various other issues. It might make your test PC completely unusable. Do not blame me if this happens, and please heed this warning.
Check this out ("their" comparison to other Android-on-x86 projects):

Image credits: ConsoleOS Inc.

Thank you! I will try it as soon as possible with the VM Ware WorkStation version 12 I get for free from my university. Because I have no Surface Pro, I'm required to try it with my notebook.

Now I tried to install android on VMWare Workstation. The installation process will not get finished withouth freezing the android virtual screen (for more than one hour). It looks like this: http://imgur.com/T3qPcjD I don't know why the installation process interrupts/freezes. Should I now reboot the virtual machine and try if I can load the Google-AppStore Package now?

Did you follow the guide?

Yes, I did it exactly as described with my notebook (CPU specifications in my initial post).

You might have to change the default boot mode from UEFI to BIOS if you are using the 4.4 iso

Mmh, the default is already BIOS (instead of EFI)...

Check the edits. I tried to analyze the logcat, see if you agree with the conclusions. A chatroom might be required for further discussion.

Thank you for your help. Unfortunately, after step 5 the installation of the apk wasn't successful.

If someone has fun to try another app and want to try my own PostCard Creator apk file and succeeds, then please let me know how you did it. I would be very happy and will present an additional bounty : )

Hi Tamoghna Chowdhury. Your "EDIT 2" sounds great! Thank you! I tested it on two computer, unfortunately it doesn't work on my two different computer systems (an empty space is blincking while the PC tries to boot the USB device). Currently Console OS should work properly with one of the listed computer systems here: http://wiki.console.com.co/w/Devices. If someone has fun to try it, and if PostCard Creator also works, please feel free to tell me if you succeeded.

@TamoghnaChowdhury your link in #5 is broken. Thanks!

@adamdport I replaced them with links to the Internet Archive, but the AE question I referenced early on seems to have been deleted since then.

Google recently released an ARC Welder Chrome app, which allows you to run Android apps if you’re on Chrome OS, or using the Chrome web browser.
Look at this Getting Started guide.
How to Use Google’s ARC Welder to Run Android Apps in Chrome
Very General Instructions:

Setup work folder (Once off, only happens at first luanch)
Load the APK
Click Luanch, The apk then should Run

I hope this works for you. Add a comment if you need more info.

Unfortunately it doesn't work. I use Google Chrome 46 (64bit) and started the ARC Welder. I loaded the apk after pressing "Add your APK", but the app doesn't get loaded. After half an hour I close the ARC Welder which still tries to load the apk.

@laminin From your comment in your question above, if you don't have enough disk space to save a logcat, you wont have enough space to run any emulator as they need some space to work in. so my solution would be clearing some space and try again. Because you cant run anything successfully without any free space.

I had approximately 2 GB after successful installation of ARC Welder. So, the disk space had nothing to do with ARC Welder. I deleted my comment concerning disk space above to avoid misconceptions (I've now created 18 GB of free space).

@laminin That problem has now cleared been cleared up, so now you can elimate another cause of the problem. Also just try one more time to download the apk and see if the new version works with any emulators.

see my appendix above (I didn't found any complete file like "adb logcat" generated in my tools folder where also the adb.exe is listed, so I uploaded the part I get from my console (cmd.exe))


text:
How to get SD-card write access on Honor 6x with Android 7.0?
My phone is a Huawei Honor 6x, using Android 7.0 (Nougat). EMUI version 5.04.
I want my music apps to have write access to my music folders on my external micro SD-card. I understand that this might only be possible if all my apps have access to all my folders on the card.
I would prefer to do this without rooting my phone, but if that is not possible, then please recommend alternate methods.
What I've already done:
Install Fx File Explorer on my phone, but this only creates write permissions for itself, not for other apps. That seems plausible of course, but that was not as I was told.
Questions:

How do I get write access to folders on my external micro SD-card, without rooting?
If it is not possible to get access without rooting, what is the best method to root for my type of phone and OS?
Can I root my  my type of phone and OS without or with unlocking the bootloader?
Is formatting the SD card as internal storage a better option? Or do I need to root my phone to do that anyway?

Can you create or delete files/folders using Fx File Explorer on the sd-card? You know that every app has to request write permission on the sd-card on it's own. This process is very cryptic and usually not well explained as it opens the built-in file explorer and you have to perform certain actions: https://metactrl.com/docs/sdcard-on-lollipop/

yes i can do that

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


text:
Why is Play Store still asking for all app permissions on install on Android Marshmallow?
From everything I've read, when installing a new app from the Play Store under Marshmallow, it is supposed to just install with no permission questions (e.g. Slash Gear article). The app is then supposed to ask for each permission it needs as you run it.
This is not happening on my Nexus 5 which I updated via OTA to 6.0 earlier this week. When clicking install in the Play Store, still getting the massive list of permissions along with an Accept button. Is there a setting that is needed to make this work as expected?

See if this helps. Ars Technica noted here: "Apps that target the new SDK and are installed on a 6.0 device won't ask for any permissions at install time. That's right—the "install" button in the Play Store will actually install the app now." It also noted "Old apps that don't target the Android M SDK will still show a big list of permissions at install time." My question: which app(s) did you try to install and is/are it/they updated for Android 6?

I believe the app has to be made with API 23 (aka Marshmallow's API) and the user has to be on 6.0 Marshmallow or higher for what you want to take effect. However, you can still go into Settings - Apps and change each app's permissions individually, or go into Advanced under Apps (the gear icon) and change them by category.
Source: Android Developers - Requesting Permissions at Run Time

Unfortunate that it works this way, as some apps I'd like to install but would prefer not to give even momentary access to things like contacts.  Guess I'll continue to defer installing those apps until they get upgraded to 23.


text:
SMS messages restored from Titanium Backup were automatically deleted
I understand I should have used a different app for backing up my messages, but I did not. I used Titanium Backup and made a full backup of apps and data. I was apparently also using Android Messenger and not Google Hangouts to store my SMS. This service was apparently deprecated in August. I go to Titanium to restore my messages, and for a moment, it looks good! I see all my messages. Then they rapidly delete themselves before my very eyes!
I try again, I reload app + data, or data only, and the same thing happens---I see all my messages, then I watch it delete them one by one very quickly.
What is happening in this process, and how can I prevent it?  Where are they going?
About adb backups, not Titanium Backup, is this Reddit thread relevant (could I get my SMS back if I have an old ADB lying around?)?

May be, check if this answer could help you extract the related data you want.

"made full backup of apps and data." -- did you take backup of Phone/Messaging Storage app? It's a system app.

I think so.  On titanium, I did "Backup all user apps + system data."  And adb backup, I did adb backup -all -apk -shared -f mybackupname.ab  I restore messenger as a system app, and it restores, but then immediately deletes the texts.  I watch them vanish one at a time before my eyes.

OK, here's the deal...
So, the issue was that Messenger vs Hangouts is controlled external to your application, and external to your Google account manager, it's an OS-level setting.  So, the issue was I had to sign into Messenger, agree to the terms, declare it my default SMS manager, and then when I did the restore, it didn't automatically delete.  I guess prior to this, Messenger and Hangouts were in a fight somehow.
This is probably a one-off problem, I had not converted from the deprecated messenger to the supported Hangouts, my phone was kind of grandfathered in, while the default SMS program had changed.
If you are in this situation in the future, set your default SMS to Messenger, and Hangouts won't delete your messages.

The very same thing happened to me as well. But no Hangouts is involved here. I just used the files of a TWRP backup, but OAndBackupX or Neo Backup will behave just the same.
There seems to be some other location where Android keeps the number of messages processed. Logcat says:
SyncCursorPair: Not in sync; # local messages = 9453, # remote message = 1*

What's pretty puzzling is that on a fresh phone, if you send 1 test message, then overwrite the bugle_db with your backup, all messages get deleted but your test message remains. There has to be some other storage for them as well.
I found https://github.com/tmo1/sms-db and it was quickly setup on Debian. Extract the bugle_db from whichever data backup you have.
Just issue
sms-db.pl -f bugle -i bugle_db

and then
sms-db.pl -f bugle -o msgs.xml

The resulting msgs.xml can be imported with https://www.synctech.com.au/sms-backup-restore/ (APK available for download, no Play Store necessary).
Worked reliably on a LineageOS 19.1 just now.

As a side note: use SMS Backup+ (F-Droid/Aurora Droid).
It can easily be configured to use your own mail server (I certainly don't want to hand my most private messages over to someone I don't know)
Aaaand: Make sure your <insert relative here> also regularly uses it after you set it up for them ;-) Would have made my life easier, it was there all the time on the old phone/ROM version anyway.
I also found https://github.com/p1ne/SMS-Tools and https://github.com/Nerdmind/Android-SMS-Extractor. They might come in handy as well.


text:
How to launch an app immediately after another app is closed using Tasker
I need help creating a Tasker profile that will open Aldiko Sync ONLY after I have ended the main Aldiko Premium app.
So with this profile, Aldiko Sync automatically launches and does its thing immediately after I close Aldiko Premium reader.

You can setup an exit task. An exit task is assigned from the Profiles tab. Expand the entry of your profile, long-press the assigned task there and choose Add Exit Task.
(Click image to enlarge)

Instructions:

Profile: Application → your app (Aldiko Premium in this case)
Task: (Actions): do anything you want
Exit task: (Actions): App → your another app (Aldiko Sync in this case)

Note: It is not mandatory to have an enter task in order to assign an exit task to a profile.
If you don't want an enter task i.e. don't want a task to be run when the profile is triggered, you can choose to create a task (supposed to be used as an exit task) under Tasks tab, assign it as an enter task to a profile and make it an exit task using Move to Exit (see screenshot).


text:
Compass feature in all Android phones?
Is there a compass sensor or a software emulating a compass in each Android smartphone? Or maybe is there a solution for it problem starting from Android 4.0 ICS?

What is the "problem" you mention? Your question is unclear. If you are only asking if every single android device has a compass, then the answer is no. An example, I don't know of one set top box that runs android that would have a compass.

It still isn't clear what the problem is, but no, there is not a compass in all Android phones.

No, not every Android smartphone has real compass (magnetometer) sensor. Even Google claims that,

Few Android-powered devices have every type of sensor. For example, most handset devices and tablets have an accelerometer and a magnetometer (which refers to compass usage on latter text), but fewer devices have barometers or thermometers.
(Emphasis mine for added info)

Note that Google specifically says most handset devices, which should include most (but not all) phones and tablets.
However, it seems that GPS can be used as a compass too, albeit unreliable. But again, not all Android devices have GPS receiver.
As for software emulation, I haven't found any method that can emulate compass without magnetometer, and thus, I concluded that it's impossible for now.
The conclusion is, since not all Android handsets has compass sensor/GPS receiver, and there is no way to emulate compass without them, the answer is: No, not every Android smartphones have compass feature.


text:
Android Studio doesn't detect my LG G Stylo
Thanks to help from this group, I was able to turn on USB debugging on my LG G Stylo phone. Now When I plug it in, Windows 8 detects it. Thing pops up asking me to choose what happens when the phone is plugged in, but it does not appear in the choose device dialog. It is empty, the device is not there.
I checked the device manager, and under portable devices it has it listed with the driver working OK, saying it came from Microsoft.

You might need to change the connection mode to PTP (happened on most of my phones)

Check out a site like. This [http://androidxda.com/download-lg-usb-drivers] and find a usb driver for your phone then install and try again. Because windows default drivers arent for debugging if I recall correctly


text:
Multi window is disabled after upgrading from 4.1.2 to 4.2.2
Multi-window icon is disabled after upgrading samsung galaxy tab from 4.1.2 to 4.2.2.

Screenshots (click images for larger variants)
Anybody fixed this problem ?
Any idea how to fix this without doing a factory reset ?

Have you tried turning it back on in the Settings?

It is disabled in the settings as well.

A factory reset seems to work for some people. You might want to back-up your files / data before doing this.
Source: Problems with Jelly Bean 4.2.2 update

Yes It works after a factory reset and updating again, Thanks.

Just hold the back key and it will come back. It's probably in hidden mode since the icon is highlighted and  showed as ON in the screenshot provided.

You can get back all the options by going to Settings > My device > Home screen mode > Standard mode. Now, all your missing options are there.
For multitasking, enable multitasking from notification tray then long press the 'back button' to have sidebar appears on screen. Now, you can enjoy multitasking back.


text:
Examples of mobile broadcasts being used
I recently found this page of settings in on my phone under Cyanogenmod, I had never even heard of this system before.

mobile broadcast settings (click to enlarge)
Are there any examples of this system being used in the past?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/q/157567/9897

Yes.  They're called Wireless Emergency Alerts in the USA. The underlying standardized technology is called cell broadcast, and is part of the telecommunication standards your phone supports.
The system is not without problems: There was a thing in California in 2013 over the first use of the system giving utterly irreverent information (sending the alert to people hundreds of miles from the event), presumably due to poor implementation.

Ah, I see it's an American system, that's why I had probably never even heard of it living in the UK.

No, it is not only American system. I have seen it being used in Baltics (Europe). See http://android.stackexchange.com/q/157567/9897

Lithuania has used that system during the COVID-19 pandemic, e.g. to inform people about restrictions entering into force. However, this does not seem to work on CyanogenMod/LineageOS.

@user149408: In general it does work on LineageOS (it's been part of core Android / AOSP since Android 11). But there are many things that can go wrong...

@sleske yes, Android has the functionality, but I have two devices running different versions of CM/LOS which didn’t display anything on several occasions when my company iPhone got an alert. Others have noted this as well, seems this is indeed broken in LOS, see https://gitlab.com/LineageOS/issues/android/-/issues/3667.

@user149408: Hm, I also have a LOS device, which did receive the warning sent out in Germany today. Strange.

@sleske would you mind adding the version and device to the ticket I linked above? Might help narrow down the issue.


text:
Where is GMail app on Galaxy Note 3 app list
I setup my GMail account as a Google account on my phone. When email comes in I can tap the notification to go to the Gmail app. I can use S Voice to go to the Gmail app. However the Gmail app is not on the home screen. I am not using the "Email" app though. Where is it and why is it hidden?
EDIT:
It's in the app folder Google. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
I'll update the question with the answer in a day.

From the screenshot, I'd say folders are served on a silver plate (and show a selection of icons from apps contained within them) – so it's obvious once you know it ;)

Yeah haha. I hate touchwiz sometimes. Might make a hybrid rom in the future which is like cyanogenmod with spen support and stuff :)

It's in the app folder 'Google'. Shame on you Samsung for not making the difference between folders and apps obvious. Well the folders look like this:

Click image for larger version


text:
Nike+ Running App
So, I've got Nike+ Running on Android, and I would not like for the whole world to see where I'm running.
Is it possible to still track distance, calories, speed etc without enabling GPS? Is the built-in accelerometer itself enough?

GPS is a reciever, not a transmitter. Unless you upload your results, you will not be broadcasting that to the world.
I don't believe 'inertial guidence' on phones is that good. In addition, this is off topic here, unless you are running with a tablet strapped to your arm.

Nike+ lets you select privacy options for your sharing.
Public, social, private


text:
Google Services battery drain on Galaxy devices
Here are screenshots from my three Samsung Galaxy devices:

Samsung Galaxy S3 (left) and Samsung Galaxy S4 (right; click images for larger variants)

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 (click image to enlarge)
It seems, that in each case Google Play Services ("Usługi Google") are mostly responsible for fast battery drain. 2014 lasts only a day now (compared to 3+ days of previous version of 10.1). S4 lasts less than 24 hours, S3 toughly reaches 24 hours.
What is the cause of so fast battery drain?

For the drain caused by google play services, install the Xposed framework and the module Wakelock Terminator. The free version lets you block 1 app, and that's all you need. Open up Wakelock Terminator, choose to block Google Play services, and filter it with the following: NlpCollectorWakeLock NlpWakeLock CheckinService NetworkLocationLocator. Of course, your device must be rooted. If it isnt, try disabling location access when you're not using it

Actually what helped most was disabling Google Now along with the localization services. Now Note is one day on battery with 89% still left. Thanks!

I had a similiar problem. It started when I accidentally played mp3 through Google Music ("Muzyka Play" in Polish version).
The fix was to clear any cache and data in settings, app manager Google music ("Muzyka Google Play").
Now it stays quiet again and I'm not gonna use it :)


text:
Turn off in app sounds in facebook
How do I turn off in-app sounds in facebook for android 397.0.0.23.404?
There seems to be no section named "media and contacts" in the settings menu.
As a result, every time I push a like button, I get a disturbing sound from the phone.

Facebook app (400.0.37.76)
In the Facebook app, you can follow these items to find "Sounds in the app":

Tap the "Hamburger menu" (three lines) in the top right from the main page
Tap the "gear" for settings in the top right
Tap "Profile settings" (with your name and photo next to it)
Scroll down and select "Media and contacts"
Disable the toggle for "Sounds in the app"

For what it's worth, the "Media and contacts" section also showed up for me when searching in settings for "sound"
Screenshots for help:
Hamburger menu

Settings gear

Profile settings

Media and contacts

Sounds in the app

Facebook Messenger
In the settings of the Messenger app, tap your profile picture in the top-left to get to the settings menu. From there, select "Notifications & sounds", then turn off the "In-app sounds" toggle:


text:
Font in messaging has became huge
In the stock messaging app on my LG-G3 I have the following problem:
Suddenly, all my conversations is displayed with a font size that is incredibly large. This happened out of the blue. On the other hand, a lot of times when I have been speaking in my phone (and I do not speak for a long while) my cheek has navigated the phone into some app and possibly into some settings.
How do I make it like before? Preferrably at the same size as in the popup window  that pops up and dissapears when I get a sms.
I have not found a setting for the font size or that I should be able to set it using the volume key.

It's good that you have found the solution by yourself! Now, could you add some more details to the problem, like, is this the stock Messaging apps on LG G3? If not, what is the app?

I found the answer: pinch zoom!
Using the two finger gesture in the messaging app changes the font size on:

texts
smileys
the "Enter message" field, default text as well as input text.

But not

messages timestamp
bubbles widths
the menu
the send button
the paper clip icon

If I then close the app, using either triangle or circle, the setting will persist.

Again, could you add more detail to this answer? Not all Messaging apps have this feature, so perhaps you can add that "pinch zoom" is apparently a feature of this app.

I have to agree with Andrew: There's a general feature called "pinch to zoom", but that usually does not "stick"; as soon as you switch the activity/page/app, it gets reverted. So could you please [edit] your answer and describe step-by-step what you did to fix your issue?

This was exactly the issue for me. Pinch to zoom within Google messages was being persisted. Who on earth thought this was a good UX decision is beyond me...

On some phones (including my Samsung Galaxy S4), the volume key enlarges and diminishes the text in messaging.  "Louder" makes it larger, "softer" is smaller.

Using the volume keys only changed the volume.

"On some phones" doesn't mean it'll work on your phone.

I thought your answer was written assuming that my phone could be one of those "some phones", but it is not. Thanks however and now I have found a solution!


text:
Get notifications with text, badge, no sound
I am trying to make wordfeud (and other apps) only show a text popup, update its badge and not make any sound. However, it still plays the notification sound.
I have setup no sound in the app settings of the app.
I have enabled a feature that could possibly change things, I dont know. Its called notification reminders and can be found under the Accessibility settings category. The effect will be that the notification sound it repeated every minute until I pay attention to a notification.
Will those make things different?

I found out that I can disable notification reminders per app.
There is yet another set of toggles, one toggle per app.
When I enable notification reminder for an app, I can only choose sound or vibration, which is fine because if I want neither, I just disable reminders for that app.


text:
Getting a ton of notifications when going back from airplane mode
When I disable airplane mode, I get all notifications for events that occurred while the phone had been offline. Typically that would be a couple of hundred Facebook messenger messages. The phone sounds like a machine gun for a while when it plays the notification sound repeatedly.
Is there a way to turn that off?

Use the "Do not disturb" mode

So I enable that before turning off flightmode then?

Exactly. Than the notification sound should be silenced.

But there is no way to have that builtin into "turn off flightmode"?

Or try automation. For example, with MacroDroid, create a macro like this (download macro to test) //This records your notification volume level when you put on aeroplane mode and when you disable aeroplane mode, it reduces notification volume to 0 for 2 minutes (configurable) for your machine gun to stop :) and then restores to earlier volume level //I haven't tested, hence as a comment than answer

Correction - download and import Macro into the app

are you aware of android native app notification settings? just block such spamming apps completely, or disable sound at least

But I never asked how to get rid of notifications or sound. @alecxs


text:
Alarm is silent because "Unable to play during call" because of facebook messenger
This morning, the alarm did not wake me up.
When I change the ringtone, I cannot hear how the new ringtone sounds (the phone is still silent) but I get the message

Unable to play during call

My conclusion is that the phone did not sound when the alarm went off earlier this morning because the phone was "in a call".
An alarm should not be blocked by anything (and there was no call).
How do I fix it?
I closed apps one after another and when I had closed facebook messenger, I could hear ringtones again.
But as long as the phone thinks running a particular app makes it being "in a call" and as long as being in a call blocks the alarm sound, the question remains.

User Pmx app, grant it permission over adb and deny all permissions of that app related to CALL// That also means don't use that app for calling


text:
Google Play refund a purchase?
On Google Play, I ordered an app with my Discover Gift Card, and I refunded it within 15 minutes. According to my Card balance, I have not been refunded yet. How will I know when I will get refunded?

Did you get an email from Google Play that a refund was made? If yes, you should be all right.
Sometimes, it takes time before refunds (or anything) shows up on PayPal or your credit card statement. Try again in a few days.

Credit card refunds can take up to ten working days. As you say, Google should email pretty much on the spot to conform refund.


text:
Install older version of apk on to newer installed version or root SH-06E 1.00.08
Is it possible to install an older version of an app (via .apk), when a newer version is already installed on the device – without rooting and patching system with Lucky Patcher or previously uninstalling the newer version?
Some background
This may be a weird question. I'm having the situation that I want to root Sharp SH-06E firmware 1.00.08, as described in this blog post.
Firmware newer than 1.00.07 has new root protection. This new root protection involved preventing installation of hacked VpnFaker.apk to data partition. Hacked VpnFaker is required for rooting process. The blog says that root is possible if VpnFaker is already installed (used to root on firmware older than 1.00.08), but VpnFaker in data partition on my phone is removed during firmware update. (I was on 1.00.01, root, then unroot to update firmware)
Sharp has a lot of root protection, even on firmware older than 1.00.08, the rooting process uses a workaround that mounts system image file in data partition on boot instead of directly writing file to system partition.
VpnFaker is indeed VpnDialogs of Android System 4.0.4, while newer version installed in system partition is version 4.2.2-1.00.08.
Final question
So, is there a way to sign 4.0.4 VpnFaker to have the same signature as 4.2.2 VpnDialogs. Here is the link to the files.

Your ending question differs in a little but significant point from your introductionary question. But let's go step by step:
Sure it's possible to install an older version of an app over an already installed newer version. For a user app:

make sure you've permitted installation from unknown-sources (see its tag-wiki for details)
open/launch the .apk file using a file manager, web browser, or similar
the package installer should fire, asking you if you want to replace the installed app by this "older version".

But be aware that though installation most likely succeeds, the app might experience problems if the newer version e.g. had updated the structure of its database (I had this only once yet, and the affected app just force-closed when trying to start it). If in such a case you insist on using the old version, the only way to make it work is to clear its cache and data.

Now to your final question. This is not just about installing an older version, but about signing it. Yes, that can be done as well. You've simply got to ask the developer of the original app to give you his signing key. Trouble is, his answer will (and should) be "no". Alternatively, you might give him the files and ask him to sign them with his key. Assuming it's the manufacturer's company behind it, the expected answer again is a "no", though.

So your real question rather reads:

I've got an app already installed on my device. Is it possible to install a different (older) version of it which has a different signature – without rooting and patching system with Lucky Patcher or previously uninstalling the newer version?

The answer is: No, that's not possible:

Signature check will fail, so you'd have to uninstall the app first when using the "normal approach" as shown above
Overriding this signature check without root IMHO is not possible
Changing the signature to match IMHO is not possible unless you've got the developers key

Thanks, so there is no ways to extract certificate from 4.2.2 VpnDialogs apk and sign it to 4.0.4 VpnDialogs apk, right?

That would contradict its purpose. If that could be done that easily, every hacker could replace any app with a hacked variant (though it would be hard to get that "hacked variant" on Play), as your device would no longer detect that. It's a security measure; you might compare it with a "PGP signed message", a "certificate of authenticity". To sign, you need the private key, which you don't have.

Answer is Yes :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/root-appdowner-downgrade-apps-easy-t2828705
You can downgrade your apps (install lower version over actual (higher) version of app) using android feature "pm install -r -d file.apk" , small and simple app which does everything for you. Just pick APK and click on Install APK. That's it.

You can downgrade your app easily by apk file from only 2 simple commands in windows. But there are some prerequisites to it.

Have a computer.
Adb should be installed in the system.
Enable developer option, usb debugging and install via USB option in
setting. just go through the internet you will understand how can you
set these developer option.

Then make sure adb connection is there to the device, and run following commands.
Example of windows system:
adb push C://path_to_the_app//app.apk /sdcard/app.apk

adb shell pm install -r -d /sdcard/app.apk

This downgrades your application to whatever the apk version you have, keeping all the previous data of your app.
Note: Setting up adb and developer option is easier so you can just find it out in internet.


text:
Charging Boot Loop on Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0
I have a rooted Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 (p3113) that has worked fine for over a year. After draining the battery completely out (which I have done many times before), I plugged it in to find it stuck in a boot loop. When I plug it in over USB or a normal outlet, it shows a battery with a frozen spinning dial in the center. It then shows the same battery icon that starts animating and filling itself for about a quarter second, before shutting down and doing the same thing all over again. I can't boot in to recovery or download mode (It doesn't get to that boot stage before shutting down), and the only way to stop the loop is to unplug it. It almost seems like the act of showing the charging icon is depleting the small store of battery and making it turn off. It is not on long enough to be recognized by my computer and so I can't do anything with that (no adb or fastboot).
Is there anything else that I can do to get it to boot to recovery or stop booting on charge altogether? Or is it now just useful as a paperweight?

After leaving it in the loop for days using 4 different wall adapters and a USB port, I found the wall-to-USB adapter that originally came with my device. I plugged my tablet in with that and it booted normally and started working; I don't know why that fixed it, but it did.

I had the intuition that the screen was discharging the tab, so, I tried disconnecting the ports that were draining the battery and charging till it could hold the initial charging phase.

Open it, unplug everything, leave for 10 mins, plug everything back in, and plug in the charger. Should work again. This is tested.

I don't see what this adds to the accepted answer.


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Custom Layout in Minimalistic Text?
I'm using the free version of minimalistic text on android 2.3.7 and I can't seem to find any option for custom layout. There are references to it on the net but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Is that a pro only feature or have they removed the option altogether?

Since you're talking about Tasker, have you seen this comment from their Google Play page:

Tasker integration:

add a Locale variable to your layout and set the variable name (click it)
in Tasker select Plugins -> Minimalistic Text for an action
Click "Edit", a new activity starts
enter the name of the variable and the text that should be displayed for this variable (you can use Tasker variables)

Everything else is customizable. Add a new row, and use the + button to select and add new elements by checking them.

After you create a widget, you'll be able to customize its settings as you see in the flow below. In the 3rd image, the layout section is the 3rd tab (or whatever it's called).

I'm not talking about editing a predefined layout. I'm talking about creating a custom layout from scratch where you can display Tasker variables. See this: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-gorgeous-textonly-widgets-free-minimalistic-text-android/


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How to show screen display during phone call on HTC Wildfire?
I have started using the HTC Wildfire, and have a small niggle with it.  When making a call, the screen blacks out to conserve power.  This makes it awkward when you have to enter a number i.e. for an automated phone call response.  Is there a setting to display the screen during a call?

i guess its the sensors...they sense if the phone is near ur cheek..in that case light goes off..if you remove it from ur cheek and hold it in ur hand the light comes back..its my understanding,..

I'm not sure about the Wildfire, but on my Desire HD when I take the phone from my face, the motion sensor detects it and re-awakens the screen automatically. I'm not sure if it's a setting, a Froyo feature, or maybe an HTC sense feature.

Not sure about the exact hardware doing this on the Wildfire, but this is often done with the "proximity sensor" that disables the screen when you put the screen up against your face to prevent your ear from pressing any buttons. You can often see this as a small round hole or mark hidden behind the fascia at the top of the screen.

This feature also works on Eclair.

I have a Wildfire and can confirm the behaviour is as for Andrew M's Desire.

What you're looking for is Screebl - a background service that monitors the phone's orientation, and based on that orientation decides when to allow the phone's power-saving features to operate.
There's a PRO version too that allows for integration with Locale amidst other extra features.
Also check out Shake Awake from Maplekey (in the market) - it allows you to wake the phone during a call with a shake.
I also think that pressing the HOME key should turn the screen on again. Try and let us know.

In your phone dialer enter the following sequence:
*#*#7594#*#*

will show you Shutdown App configuration - you can choose to have the device power off directly instead of showing the menu for Airplane Mode / Power Off etc. when you long-press the power button. There's also an option for keeping the LCD on during the duration of a call.

Does not work on my Samsung Vibrant, still on 2.1 :(

Works on my Spica, also 2.1

Nope. Not that I think. But the best way is to try. My phone is rooted, so I can't verify, just speculate. ;-)

Have you tried a longer screen timeout?
Settings | Display | Screen timeout

Al, thanks, but I have already increased the timeout to 2 minutes with no effect.  As soon as I take or make a call, the screen blacks out, and only displays briefly every 30 seconds. +1

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


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Remove Samsung Daily screen
The Samsung Daily screen was automatically added to my home screens. It appears when I scroll one step extra to the left. That happens sometimes and I do not wish this information to come up.
From what I read as a solution to this problem, you change a setting when you are on the screen. However, all I get is this error message about a network problem. My network is working fine. When I dismiss this error message, the Samsung Daily screen disappears.
How do I remove Samsung Daily?

Your screenshot shows a very poor connection, the opposite of a network working fine.

True, but I can have any signal strength, still getting this message.

If this is what I think it is, then try tap-and-holding an empty screen on the home screen, select Settings, then there may be an option called "Add media page to Home screen" or similar that says "Samsung Daily". (Otherwise, refer to this animated guide)

I did tap and hold, was able to scroll the screen to samsung daily and found a toggle! So you almost nailed it! Grateful @AndrewT.


text:
Disable automatic screen turn-off even if I am not near the phone during call
I have a non-rooted Samsung Galaxy S9 running on Android 10. If I am placing my phone on a table during a call (using an external headset), it will turn off the screen after a couple of seconds.
How do I disable that?
I prefer not to install new apps nor rooting the phone.


text:
Sound profile automatically set to "do not disturb" on LG G3
For some reason, my phone resets the sound profile sometimes.
It chooses the DND sound profile.
Why?


text:
Cannot install APK on Android 14 because of compatibility issues
I have an old APK (the app is internal and subject to an NDA) that can be installed and functions properly on Android 13. It continues to work if I install it on Android 13 and then upgrade the phone to Android 14, indicating that the app is indeed compatible with Android 14.
However, when I attempt to install it directly on Android 14, I receive a message stating, "This app was built for an older version of Android and doesn't include the latest privacy protections" (first image).
After selecting "Install anyway," I encounter an error message: "App not installed as the app isn't compatible with your phone" (second image).
Disabling Play Protect does not resolve the issue.
The option to install from unknown sources is enabled.
And I've already tried to set target SDK version to 33 and 34 - does not help.
I have no sources of it, but can extract APK and edit files (i.e., manifest) using APK Editor.
What can I change in APK so app can be installed?

Possible duplicate question of https://android.stackexchange.com/q/256364/2241. You can try to install the app from a connected PC using adb from Android SDK as shown here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/256366/2241


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Can I install the Android M Developer Preview on HTC One?
So I just wanted to try out the new Android M developer preview on my HTC One M8, but the only build available is for Nexus devices.
If I flashed it on my HTC with MultiRom, and it bricked, could I easily just remove it with MultiRom? Or would it mess up my main stock 5.0 ROM also?
In that case, should I make a Nandroid backup with TWRP?

Thanks guys, it simply failed to flash, nothing was lost.

The M Preview images are for nexuses only so it wont work on any other device, although if you really wanted to try out Android M there is a possibility that a developer somewhere takes interest in developing one for your phone as soon as source code is released but you will have to wait though. You should be able to remove the ROM from MultiROM but its always advisable to take a backup when changing ROMs.

The best thing when you want to try out dev builds is to find the forum for your phone on XDA and see if some one ported/built a version for your phone. Just do a quick google search for XDA phoneinfohere Android M

It would mess up your phone way too badly lol! Better stick with the ROM you're using and wait for the devs to bring up the M preview for your device.


text:
Opening an HTML file located in Terminal IDE working directory
For some reasons, I am producing some HTML files from Terminal IDE. However, I can't seem to open any of them located in the working directory. Say we have
/data/data/com.spartacusrex.spartacuside/files/index.html

Firefox shows nothing after I enter the URL
file:///data/data/com.spartacusrex.spartacuside/files/index.html

And Chrome complains 'Access denied'.
I don't want to root the device. Any walkaround?

Application data is sandboxed on Android. Apps can only access their data directory, they cannot access the data of other applications. This is why your browsers cannot access the files that are located in Terminal IDE's directory.
Even with root, you will not be able to access those files the way you are attempting to. Your browsers are not programmed to request or use root permissions. Simply rooting your device will not suddenly grant them access to your entire filesystem. You would incur an additional step: you would need to try to modify the permissions of the files before opening them with the browser.
You need to move the files to a storage location that other apps can read, like a folder on your "external" storage (either a physical SD card or a virtual one like /data/media). Accessing them directly via your browser while they reside in the Terminal IDE directory is impossible without root.

Here's a work-around that seems to work on my (non-rooted) Android device. Does it work for you?
At the Spartacus Rex Terminal IDE command prompt, type
cd ~/sdcard ;
vim a.html

then enter a quick JavaScript program:
<script>
document.write( "hello." );
alert("hi!");
</script>

Then press the ESC button and ":wq" to save the program and quit back to the command prompt.
Hit the Home button and fire up your favorite web browser, and use this URL:
file://sdcard/sdcard/a.html

You should see the "hi" alert pop up on top of a page saying "hello.".
(I originally posted something like this to
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Android/Terminal_IDE
).

Shouldn't the URL be file:///sdcard/a.html? I'm missing something here. Would you mind mentioning the HOME directory for Terminal IDE? You've referenced it with ~. Standard mksh has /data as the home directory.

Both "file://sdcard/sdcard/a.html" and "file:///sdcard/a.html" correctly show the same file in my favorite Android web browser. On my device, typing "cd ~ ; pwd" at the Terminal IDE command line tells me "/data/data/com.spartacusrex.spartacuside/files", but I don't see how that's relevant. In that directory, "sdcard" is a soft link to "/storage/emulated/0".


text:
Do not disturb/Priority mode until next alarm on Android 6.0
Android 5.1 introduced an option of enabling priority mode until the next alarm. I used that feature on a daily basis.
Now, with the redesign of the Do not disturb/Priority mode in Android 6.0, I can't seem to find that option. Further research suggests that this feature has been removed.
So first, am I missing something obvious and that option is still there?
And second, If this option was indeed removed, is there a more 'advanced' way of getting the priority mode to end after my next alarm?

Update: this feature is back on Android 6.0.1.
According to Android Police - Android 6.0.1 Brings Back The "Until Next Alarm" Option For Do Not Disturb Mode,

With Android 6.0.1, the "until next alarm" feature makes its triumphant (or rather quiet, I suppose) return. Good to know!

So first, am I missing something obvious and that option is still there?

Looks like it has been removed on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Nexus 5 on the same Android version also only have 2 options: Until you turn this off, and For x amount of time.

And second, If this option was indeed removed, is there a more 'advanced' way of getting the priority mode to end after my next alarm?

Automation apps like Tasker (paid) may be able to replicate the same behavior as the one on Android 5.x Lollipop.

Create a profile for an alarm clock

On the Profiles tab, tap the + button
Select Event - Date/Time - Alarm Clock
Press back to finish

Create a task to turn off Priority mode

Select New Task on the pop-up (or from Tasks tab, tap + button)
Input the task name (e.g. "Turn off DnD", optional), then tap the checkmark
Tap +, select Audio - Do Not Disturb
For Mode, select All (this means "allows all interruption", which is the same as turning off Priority mode)

If this is the first time using Do Not Disturb, Tasker will prompt a dialog box to turn on Notification Access. Select Yes, tap Tasker to enable it, and select Allow.

Basically, this will make all alarms turn off the Priority mode. To refine the time, (e.g. for a specific alarm at 6 AM on weekdays), add other contexts (e.g. Time and Date) by following How to create a profile with multiple context in Tasker?


text:
Problem upgrading N1 to Android 2.3
I have a once-rooted Nexus one. Since then I unrooted it to enable automatic upgrades, and currently have a stock 2.2.
I got the notification to upgrade my OS (to 2.3 I assume), but after my phone restarts, I am presented with the following text in the recovery screen:
Build : RA-nexus-v1.5.3
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
E:No signature (8 files)
E:Verification failed
Installation aborted.

How do I fix this?

2.3 isn't out for any phone right now except the Nexus S (officially, at least).

Sounds like a bad download.  I'd delete it if you can and try again, or download and upgrade manually.  For 2.2.1, try following this post at androidandme.  If it was 2.3 you might want to wait, Google has said it wouldn't be released for the N1 till after the holidays (example) so it might have been a mistake.

I was just guessing that the suggested upgrade is to 2.3, it could be just a minor patch. Do you know how I do a clean update manually, and where I can find the latest official image?

Makes sense.  I'm not sure how to clean out the update, but I've updated my answer with how to manually get 2.2.1.


text:
Will I still receive OTA updates after rooting my Nexus 5?
I just wanna ask that after rooting Nexus 5 will I be receiving OTA updates by Google ? Or I'll have to install a custom ROM ?

Yes, you should still be prompted for OTAs. However, they could remove root.
Source: My N5 prompted me

Yes, OTA updates will still be suggested to your device when you're rooted.  Under most circumstances, they will also be applied.  However, be advised that if you performed any root-required tasks that altered system files, such as editing build.prop, freezing apps, removing apps, etc, then the OTA may fail.
When the OTA does come, if you apply it OTA rather than flashing a pre-rooted image, you will most likely lose root, and Towelroot will no longer root the device.


text:
I clicked on an anti virus scanner pop up on my android?
I was browsing Google when a message popped up saying something along the lines of me having a virus. Okay, I'm not stupid. I've seen these on a computer before. I also saw the word yahoo somewhere on the pop up? But, in my frenzy, I forgot to carefully inspect the thing. Anyways, I clicked "no thanks" instead of "scan now" or something, but thinking back, if this was some kind of virus pop up, clicking on either option would have been a bad idea.
After clicking no thanks, I closed the app and turned my phone off. So far, I haven't seen anything wrong, but I am still quite concerned. I have been thinking about backing my phone up onto my computer, and then restarting my phone, however, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. In the case that my phone has been infected, would it be possible for the virus to transfer over to my computer? Should I even be concerned? Has this happened to anyone else? Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'd like to take as little chances as possible. Thanks.

"After clicking no thanks, I closed the app." What app did you close? Do you just mean you closed the browser window where the message appeared, or did you actually install an app?

Short answer
You did the right thing, and don't need to be afraid. That popup was most likely caused by some Javascript on the visited web site to make you download/install something really bad. It doesn't mean you're infected.
Explanation
There are a couple of things to consider. First, if the popup really said "you have a virus", your reacting was fully correct (and the popup bluntly lying): There are no viruses for Android, at least not "in the wild". I know, the term got mixed up, and when speaking about Anti-Virus people really mean "an app against all kind of malware". But no serious AV app would speak of "you have a virus", as that's technically incorrect.
Mixing in your "fear" from the second paragraph here: exactly that's what matches a virus definition, and makes it different from all other kinds of malware: the ability to "multiply itself". As you 100% sure have no "virus" on your device, no need to be afraid about that.
For details on the above, please see e.g. Wikipedia:

the defining characteristic of viruses is that they are self-replicating computer programs which install themselves without the user's consent.

There you see why a virus is close to being impossible: on Android, the user is always asked for his "consent" when something is installed.
Now for the last part: Who should have caused that popup? Do you have any AV app installed and active? Your question does not suggest such. So if you have no such app installed, who should have popped up that warning? Android doesn't do that. So the most likely candidate was a part of the site you've visited. That's rather so-called Scareware trying to make you install something bad. Believe me, you did the right thing – and would possibly have been in trouble if you had acted differently.

Thank you for the information and reassurance. That was extremely helpful! I really appreciate it a lot.

Glad my answer proved helpful! You might wish to indicate such to others by "accepting" it (clicking the check-mark next to it). That way it also appears in lists as "answered and solved". Thanks!


text:
Can't access my play store account
Due to some reason my phone got stuck. I took out the battery and put it back and restarted my phone, but after that the time shown in my phone was in a back date. As a result I'm getting "I can't access play store". I even removed my account and now I try to login, but still can't access.
What can I do?

Do you have a network connection? What Android version are you on?

my phone was in a back date did you update the time & date?

@Izzy I am using cyanogenmod 11,I have network connection everything but it seems that after removing the account and again I tried to add my google account it did not work ,so I finally flashed it again..

I don't know why did I read "black in time", which makes no sense: But as you wrote "my phone was in a back date" – Check your time settings, please!
If your device time is too far off, certificates will cause trouble, which finally results in exactly that: no secure connection possible, and you cannot access your account. In cases like that it often helps to set the time manually (must not be to the second, if it's a minute off it's still fine). Then try again. You can set time adjustment to "automatic" again later.
Background: Certificates have a "livetime", including a start and an end. If your device is outside this frame, the certificate is either only valid "in the past" or "in the future", but not "now". So your device will reject it. Without a valid certificate, the Google Play app won't be able to establish a secured connection, and thus give you an "unable to access" (or similar) error.
Same applies btw. to other apps using secured connections – including the web browser when accessing sites via https. The latter you can use to check whether you've tapped into this trap: Start your web browser, try accessing e.g. https://www.google.com/, and see what happens. If you get a "certificate warning", that's it.

@user202476 If one of the answers here provided the solution, don't forget to mark it such (by clicking the check-mark next to it) :) Thanks!

Did you try to delete the data of the Play Store under Settings->Apps->All->Play Store?

Also try logging into the play store on your PC's browser.


text:
S3 (i9300/i9305) Is it possible to install CM10 after installing the 4.3 OTA update?
I heard you cannot downgrade to 4.3 to 4.1.2.
But, is it possible to change it down altogether to CM10?
Reason: The new 4.3 update runs terrible on my phone. I sent it back to Samsung and my carrier both and tried to update with KIES, but it's not getting any better. Some minor lag disappeared after they performed a full reset and flash, but nothing huge change. It's still crap. The lock screen (which I see at least 50 times a day) is absolutely horrible. The battery life also gone crap, since the update, Google+ loves to eat battery. Deleted the updates, disabled the app, signed out, none of those helped. Google of course won't care since I'm just one sucker from the many people.
Sidenote: I know I won't be able to use Triangle Away (since KNOX) and such. But the phone is not usable anymore, it's a brick with a few hours of battery life. It's useless.


text:
22MB backup on new nexus 5 - too small?
Trying for the first time to root my device, using a Nexus 5 that I just got yesterday.
I'm naturally trying to back things up before doing anything that can wipe memory, but the size of the .ab files that backup programs (Nexus Root Toolkit, Holo Backup etc.) produce without root access are around the ~22MB area.
I've googled around and the consensus seems to be that it's far too small - BUT, I've only just got the device, and thrown a handful of apps (Twitter, 8SMS, etc.) onto it, no music or anything. Has this backup been performed correctly?
Also - when unlocking the bootloader and rooting the device, do I need to put the stock ROM back onto it, or does it remain there naturally?
Apologies if that last part was a bit oblivious but the places I've looked haven't been exactly clear, seeing as most of them go for custom ROMs.
Thank you in advance!

Why would you root a nexus? It is stock android at its best

To use apps that require root access (such as Greenify or Titanium Backup) and to use non-Google app depositories. :) edit: I'm just after root access - I don't want to put a custom ROM (eg CyanogenMod) on there. Just to clarify.

You're correct, I'm using tools (Nexus Root Toolkit and Holo Backup) to produce the .ab files - I'm specifying to backup "all without system apps" as both apps warn backing up system apps is "unsafe", as from what I understand adb backup is sketchy at best. I haven't been too attached to backing up system apps as Google makes the Nexus stock ROMs available on their dev site.

You might want to take a look at this answer which should allow you to see what has been backed up. Did you ask it to backup the apks or just data? If it's just data I wouldn't be too surprised at the size.

I'd love to, but I'm on Australian regional internet and downloading the SDK (which you apparently have to do to install Droid Explorer) is something I've been trying to avoid. I might have to do it overnight.

I attempted the 'backup apps' function in Holo and the request didn't reach my phone. I'm beginning to think that 'backup all' is the only function in the toolkit that works without root access, and I might just have to take it.
After I've unlocked the bootloader and acquired root access, do I have to upload the stock ROM .img again, or would it be fine to operate as-is?

ADB backup archives are a "all or nothing" solution when it comes to restore – which is what the "unsafe warning" is about. Considering your circumstances, here are a few points to consider:

do one "full backup" excluding your system apps cannot hurt, so you could restore that as-is. Note, hoever, that this most likely also excludes data of system apps, which might include APNs, contacts, calendars, etc.
use e.g. Helium Backup (no root required) to create ADB compatible backups of all your apps separately, so you can restore them separately. This can of course also be done on the command line (specifying the package names), but this app makes it much more comfortable.
Create a full ADB backup nevertheless, including everything (except -shared, as data from your (internal) SDCard can be copied on file-level using any file manager). Though you probably might not wish to directly restore it, you might still have use for it

Considering you're after rooting in the first place, here's the background for my recommendations:

If you succeed rooting your device, and have no side effects, all the above backups just gave you a "good feeling", and you have no current need for them. But hey, it didn't hurt; could well be one of the following things happened:
If you succeeded rooting, but had to factory-reset the device due to some side-effects, you could either use Helium (or adb restore) to restore selected apps from their separate archives, or use adb restore to restore all of your user-space-apps in one run. But you could also use Titanium Backup to extract selected apps/data from the complete backup, and also restore some system data that way.
If rooting failed, and you have to factory-reset your device, you at least can restore your user-space-apps and their data from that archive, or chose to only restore selected apps as described above.

As for the size of 22 MB: That could be fine, or could be too small – depending on what apps you've installed, and how much data they have; there are no absolutes for "user-apps-only" backups (except of course for 0 byte files when you have at least 1 app installed).

I'll give Helium a stab and back things up one by one. I'm guessing that if it all goes to hell, a factory reset will render it just like I got it in the mail two days ago? There's no real point for me in backing it up if that's the case, but I'd like to do it so I know how to do it next time. :)

No, it won't. Rooting changes the /system partition, which is unaffected by a factory-reset.


text:
Backup Apps Without Backing Up Rom
After doing something wrong while installing CyanogenMod 13, I flashed a google marshmallow stock rom. I wanted to go back to CyanogenMod 12, so I backed up my data using CWM recovery, factory reset, and installed CM12. After making sure it was working, I flashed Gapps and restored from my recovery. My apps were back, but I was also back with the google stock rom. Is there any way to only back up the app data?

You can use ADB to backup app data. You can use Titanium Backup app to backup app data. While not personally tested, Adebar should help you as well. Or, if you're familiar with *nix command line, make a list of package name of apps whose data you want, boot into recovery, mount data partition and selectively copy or zip the /data/data/ directories of all the apps.

As mentioned in the comments by Firelord and me, there are multiple approaches:

you could use Titanium Backup
you could use ES File Manager, which includes an app manager capable of backing up apps and their data
you could use ADB backup
You could use Adebar to make the previous step easier

TiBu and ES File Manager require root to work. ADB and Adebar don't.
Adebar a.o. creates a script to backup each of your (user) apps into a separate archive using adb backup (and another one for the data of system apps, and two others for restore). While you could do a similar thing with TiBu (which uses its own backup format), Adebar runs from the command line while with TiBu you must use a GUI. Side effect from using Adebar: you'll have your device documented: tech specs, apps installed, etc :)
Adebar is pretty easy to install, but will require adb to be available on your computer (see our adb tag-wiki for details on that). It runs fine on Linux, and recently was reported to run on Windows as well via Cygwin.
Disclaimer: I'm the dev of Adebar.

Ok, i used adb backup because i just wanted it to work quickly, but i might take a look at Adebar later

Anytime! Always glad to help. If you've got any issues with Adebar, you know where to find me :)

You can use Titanium Backup Pro to backup the apk file as well as data of your apps.Otherwise, if you want to backup just the apk files, you can use App Backup Restore.You can also copy the apk files from \data\app to your SD card via a suitable file explorer like Root Explorer or ES File Explorer.


text:
Where are extra keyword tags for photos stored?
I have a Droid3 with Android version 2.3.4.  I tagged some photos using the Gallery application.  For the first keyword tag added to a photo, the tag is stored as XMP data in the JPEG file itself.  However, any additional tags are not stored as XMP data.  Adding the second tag doesn't even modify the file at all.
Where are the other tags stored?
Is there a way to get the photos along with the tags off my phone?

The tags are stored through the media's content provider. In layman's terms, the content-provider is a way of Android interacting with a database backing store.
The location can be found in this directory:
/data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases

Which is Sqlite3 database that has the following information stored in it, or rather, a combination of certain columns, not all of them, due to the way developers can optionally add the fields of the data to be stored. (If you're un-rooted you will not be able to list the database - if someone can clarify this, just checked on Europa GT-i5500 which is unrooted and issuing ls fails)
If you have a look at this document that details the columns used in the database for the Media (that is a generic columns that is a de-facto within the database), it is combined with this other information
(Now at this stage, your brain is probably turned to mush looking at it but the pertinent information is in the column names which is found in the database)
As for the 'Tag' field you're referring to, quite simply, Android does not store them, there are replacement apps that replaces the stock version of the Gallery with extras such as the 'tag' field you're referring to. The most it can hold was the latitude/longitude/display name of the image and a picasa id in which it may get uploaded to depending if picasa is enabled with your account.

Can one access /data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases with a stock Droid3?

Would think so, had no problems accessing the directory on a un-rooted GT-i5500 running Eclair 2.1

I had to root my phone to access the database.


text:
International roaming, forbidden networks, hidden sim toolkit on one plus 5T
I have used international roaming many times before with my one plus 5T and my native Vodafone India providers roaming plan. But this time I landed in Germany and it did not work.
I've been trying to debug and even on manual network selection most of the networks appear as "forbidden". Same networks used to latch on on earlier trips. My native Vodafone provider confirms that roaming is indeed active on my plan.
I tried to reboot, reinsert the Sim but nothing works.
One of the debug steps suggested involved steps in the Sim toolkit app. This app is somehow visible under apps but I cannot seem to find it anywhere. Ideas? How can I find where it is to use it.
Even in network settings the sin toolkit option does not seem there. Other users seem to have it there. I cleared my cache but no help.
Anything else I can try to fix this?
I am on Android 8.1.0 and oxygen is version 5.1.7
Any tips are very welcome! I'm stuck here in Germany with no connectivity and my providers help desk is pretty useless.
Eg. Would inserting the Sim into another device and then back into this one help? Are there roaming related settings that need to be pushed onto the Sim?

Sim Toolkit package is com.android.stk. If you cab check if it is installed (it should be installed) using the commands adb shell pm list packages | grep -n com.android,stk using a PC or pm list packages | grep -n com.android.stk via a terminal app.

@Reddy: I added a screenshot. It shows that sim toolkit is installed. But how do I access it? Not showing up in my app list

See https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/30098/how-to-run-a-specific-apps-action-via-terminal

I also faced the same problem with OnePlus5 mobile and with Vodafone IN. The local networks in Germany were showing as forbidden. The debug is to go to Sim Tool Kit -> International Roaming -> Select International from the options.
Then try to manually search the network. This time also the networks may show up as forbidden, however click on the correct network and the settings will be completed automatically and you will be latched to International Roaming.

Glad it fixed the problem for you! In my case Sim Tool Kit itself is not visible. So could not try that.

I had same problem with Airtel but in another country. But same SIM worked in same phone in some other countries. When I used to land in one particular country it won't latch to any network. I was having this problem for almost one year. I managed by inserting the SIM in a feature phone and it worked well. Finally I figured out what needs to be done to make it work in a smartphone. Please go to manual network selection and select your operator even if it shows as forbidden. It worked for me and might work for other also.

It disconnects after one minute

In case it helps others here's how I fixed the issue: Take any other phone, maybe borrow one from a German local (I had a backup Moto G with me) and insert your SIM card in the new phone.
This action will somehow activate it. Then reinsert the SIM into the original One Plus 5T and magically everything works fine again.