text:
What is 720p video recording
I heard about the complaint of the Nexus S' lack of 720p video recording? What does 720p mean? How does it compare to the standard Samsung Galaxy S phones?

From Wikipedia:

720p is the shorthand name for a
  category of HDTV video modes having a
  resolution of 1280×720 (for a total of
  0.92 megapixels or 921,600 pixels) and a progressive scan. The number 720
  stands for the 720 horizontal scan
  lines of display resolution (also
  known as 720 pixels of vertical
  resolution), while the letter p stands
  for progressive scan or
  non-interlaced. When broadcast at
  60 frames per second, 720p
  features the highest temporal (motion)
  resolution possible under the ATSC and
  DVB standards.

The Samsung Galaxy S is capable of recording 720p video from it's rear-facing camera.  The Nexus S is not (max resolution of 720x480).

Beat me to the Wikipedia entry :)

@Daniel - Questions like this really are a quick-draw competition. lol

true :)

Its referring to the resolution that the video camera can record video in. 720p (1280×720 ) is a High Definition resolution.  Apparently the maximum video resolution of the Nexus S is only 720x480 which is Standard Definition.  Many new Android handsets have the ability to record HD video which is why it would be something to complain about with the Nexus S.


text:
Tmobile my touch 3g (HTC Magic) doesn't give option to mount USB storage anymore
I have a Tmobile MyTouch 3g. When I connect it via usb to my 64 bit Windows 7 machine, I do not get any option to mount for USB storage as I typically have in the past. I also do not get any option when connected to my Windows XP work machine.
I have tried getting the mytouch to dismount/mount the sd card under settings and then replugging in the phone with no effect. Not sure if there's anything else under settings I could try.
When I look in Windows 7's device manager under USB there's an "Unknown Device" listed. I "uninstalled" this device by right clicking and saying "uninstall". Then I reattached the mytouch 3g and all I got was "unknown device" again.
There appears to be a couple of forum posts on this issue, including here and here but none of them have been helpful. Only the last one seems to accurately 100% describe this problem, but nobody has responded to the post.
How can I fix this? I'm hoping it doesn't involve resetting the phone to factory defaults.

Do you have HTC Sync installed? I believe it comes packaged with drivers, so installing it might help even if you don't intend to use it. Also, for what it's worth, I had this problem with a Samsung Captivate I use at work and rebooting the phone mysteriously fixed it.

You haven't switched on USB Debugging mode or anything like that recently have you?

I too have the same problem with the USB mass storage menu. After unplugging it from usage, I noticed after using the wall charger it doent give that option anymore when I want to copy files from my computer to the phone. The only solution I have came up with is turning your phone off then turning it back on. After that you will have the USB mass storage option back again when plugged into your computer. SO anytime you use the wall charger to charge your phone over night or during the day, you must turn your phone off then on the enable USB mass storage again. (after turning phone back on, do not reconnect the wall charger then to the computer or you will not enable the USB mass storage menu)

Try installing the official drivers from the Android SDK.

that seems to require either downloading the SDK through eclipse or going through Device Manager to tell the device to update its drivers. I don't think getting the SDK to fix this is reasonable, and what I see in my device manager doesn't line up with what they tell you to do. Unless I'm missing a Windows installer or something.

@Doug You don't need to download the entire SDK, and you don't need to use Eclipse. The installer is only 31 MB, most of the SDK is downloaded afterwards optionally. You can choose to have it download only the driver from what I know.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Are there cases where Android would start an app/service other than due to Intents or explicit user start?
I'm trying to understand how/why some of the processes that are running on my phone (DroidX, stock 2.2 ROM).
It's obvious that 2 likely reasons for a process to start are:

A direct action by the user/another program to start it (e.g. click on the icon of an app, or another process launches the .apk explicitly)
An Intent is registered by the app, and the event associated with that intent happens.

The question is, are there other reasons/causes/mechanisms by which a process could be started in Android? (aside from Intents or direct launch).
P.S. As a plausible theory, something could be started off of init.rc (being how Android is based off of Linux) but I don't know enough about Android internals to judge if it launches any apps via init.rc

Possibly helpful: You can use the Autostarts app to see all the different system events and what apps register for them.

@Matthew - I'm going to post a separate question about Autostarts, as a matter of fact, but just as a response to your comment, doesn't Autostarts merely list all registered Intent receivers?

A raw native process can be created by any of the usual unix-like mechanisms.
An android activity or service is usually forked off by zygote (in response to an intent), but I think there's an obscure way to start a vm by hand using app_process.

"usual unix-like mechanisms" - could you please clarify? I'm interested specifically in what would trigger the start of the process (e.g. some crontab entry? process scheduler respawning recently dead processes? etc...)

Well there isn't a cron daemon on there right now, but anyone could make an unprivileged one with an ordinary app, or root and install a real one.  Ditto inetd (at least for unprivileged ports).  And yes, the framework does respawn things it doesn't think should have died.  There's really very little restriction on process creation; security is more in terms of it being quite hard to start a process as a userid that's able to do more than be obnoxious with shared resources.

could you please clarify in greater detail "the framework does re-spawn things it doesn't think should have died"? That sounds significantly closer to what I was looking for as a plausible reason why some processes keep popping up on my phone.

@DVK: in some cases background services are terminated prematurely since the foreground application needs more memory, Android may restart the service later to finish the operation.

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


text:
What's the difference between "cdma_shadow" and "shadow" builds in CyanogenMod 7.2

In 2011, Motorola Droid X was somewhat supported by CyanogenMod 7.1+, and was known under "cdma_shadow" tag: http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?device=cdma_shadow&type=nightly
It had - and still has - only 2 official nightlies builds (the latest from 2011-11-16) and no RCs or stable releases.
Now, I just found another tag ("shadow"): http://download.cyanogenmod.com/?device=shadow&type=nightly
It has 4 nightly builds (last one 2012-06-17), all 3 RC builds and a stable build.
However, that other "shadow" build looks suspiciously wrong to me:

Clicking on "Motorola Droid X" from CM device page links to "cdma_shadow" (the one with 2 2011 nightlies and no stable releases).
To the best of my knowledge, CM7.2 never worked well on Droid X.
The tag lacks "cdma" prefix.

Q1: What is the "shadow" tag? Is it a new name for Motorola Droid X for CM7.2? Is it non-CDMA version of Droid X? A cdma_shadow port without working CDMA radios?
Q2: How well does this "shadow" stable build support Verizon's Motorola Droid X?

A little extra info: I just downloaded the actual "shadow" stable ROM, and "build.prop" file has this:

ro.build.fingerprint=verizon/shadow_vzw/cdma_shadow/shadow:2.2.1/VZW/23.340:user/ota-rel-keys,release-keys
  ro.product.model=DROIDX
  ro.product.brand=verizon
  ro.product.name=shadow_vzw
  ro.product.device=cdma_shadow
  ro.product.board=shadow

... abd further down ...

# Default network type.
  # 4 => CDMA / EVDO.
  ro.telephony.default_network=4
  ro.com.google.clientid=android-motorola
  ro.cdma.home.operator.numeric=310004
  ro.cdma.home.operator.alpha=Verizon

As a note, I searched a bunch of forums, and only got not-very-official-looking advice, ranging from "shadow is the new cdma_shadow" to "cm7.2 doesn't work on DX unless you use unofficial builds + separate camera fix"

EDITED
Found the official source where can be read that the Motorola Droid X build was renamed to shadow:

Also worthy of note: the new release files have a slightly modified naming-scheme, including the codename instead of the commercial/common name in the filename. So the following is a handy “translation chart” to make sure you don’t mis-identify your device...
...
shadow -  Motorola Droid X
...

Original Answer
At cyanogenmod downloads, the build identified by cdma_shadow stopped at cm_shadow_full-154.zip (the available links are broken).
When they were resumed, they've been renamed to shadow, being shadow the codename for the Droid X.

Droid X formerly known as Droid Xtreme, has the development codename "Shadow".
CDMA Stands for: Code Division Multiple Access. It is the general system used for 3G services.

Related information:

CDMA Technology - CDMA is a wireless technology standard used by Verizon Wireless in all of its phones, and by certain other carriers in the countries listed at this link.

Trying further to justify this answer:
Here's the metadata found at /META-INF/com/android/metadata for the cm-7-20120624-NIGHTLY-shadow.zip where can be seen the reference to the cdma_shadow:
post-build=verizon/shadow_vzw/cdma_shadow/shadow:2.2.1/VZW/23.340:user/ota-rel-keys,release-keys
post-timestamp=1289194863
pre-device=cdma_shadow

And yet the information presented on the menu hover effect:

Besides from this, the cyanogenmod documentation, forums and wiki pages reveal no better insight and are mentioned to be outdated. This seams to be the best official justification for the build rename.

Yeah there's 4G/LTE (currently rolled out in some parts - Scandinavia I believe, there's ongoing dispute on this in the UK and Ireland with proprosal to roll out in the EU but licensing of spectrum issues, currently actively used in USA), GSM is Europe-centric, CDMA.. am not 100% sure which area of globe that is, Asia? IIRC, anyone would know for matter of interest. The reason I pointed this out, asian companies - Samsung/HTC is notorious for bringing out variants of the handsets to match the market, even source is slighly different between GSM, CDMA... :)

Is there a source for your claim that "they [the builds] have been renamed to shadow"? That is my suspicion, but some sort of confirmation is what I was looking for. I now perfectly well what CDMA and shadow mean, but having similar build names a proof does not make.

It is not a question of having similar build names, if you place your mouse over the "shadow" link, it appears "Motorola Droid X"! And that's on the official CyanogenMod Downloads page. Sorry, but besides this "official" information, their documentation, forums and wiki pages don't give much enlightenment to the subject and appear to be outdated.

Took me awhile to find it, but just edited the answer with the official source (change log for the
CyanogenMod-7.2.0-RC1), hope it helps.

@Zuul - YAY! The first link is exactly what I was looking for! +1 and accept!

'Shadow' refers to the base model of the phone, cdma_shadow being the Droid X on Verizon, and the regular shadow is likely the Milestone X, a GSM phone released overseas.
While the software is mostly the same, there is likely some difference in the hardware, almost certainly the phone's radio, and sounds like the camera as well, according to what you've been told.
It's not uncommon for the different phone+network combinations to have different codenames, another examble would be the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, with Verizon's LTE version called "toro", and the later Sprint version called "toroplus"

Then how do the "build.prop" references to cdma are explained?

@RichardBorcsik - I am guessing you consider it an anomaly because 7.2 is supposed to be Gingerbread (2.3) based?


text:
Android Marshmallow: How to manually sleep+lock OR manually sleep without locking?
I am using Android 6 (Cyanogenmod) and I would like to have the following simple behaviour:
Hardware button X: Sleep AND lock the phone.
Hardware button Y: Sleep phone WITHOUT locking.
In addition I do not want ANY automatic locking/unlocking going on.
That seems to be impossible. If so, that's clearly a design fault.
Please enlighten me with your Android expertise.
TY

First one is definitely doable using Xposed Additions.

So you are basically  saying it's only possible with mods?

Might be even doable with Tasker and Secure Settings – but will most likely require the device to be rooted.

I've tested the following solution successfully on Nexus 6 running CM13 (a snapshot build) with volume rockers as HW key X and Y.
If you don't want to use an Xposed module such as Xposed Additions, then I suggest you setup AutoInput (free trial) and Tasker (free trial; user guide). You must have the accessibility service of AutoInput enabled and root access enabled under Developer options and already granted to Tasker.
Instructions for Tasker

Create an Event based profile from Plugin →  AutoInput →  Key → Configuration:

Keys: your key X
Key Action: Key Down

Setup a task for it with following actions:

Plugin → AutoInput  → Modes:

Configuration:

Key Suppress: Enable
Keys: your key X

Timeout: None

Code → Run Shell:

Command: settings put secure lock_screen_lock_after_timeout 0; input keyevent 26
tick Use Root

Plugin → AutoInput  → Modes:

Configuration:

Key Suppress: Disable
Keys: your key X

Timeout: None

Create an another Event based profile from Plugin →  AutoInput →  Key → Configuration:

Keys: your key Y
Key Action: Key Down

Setup a task for it with following actions:

Plugin → AutoInput  → Modes:

Configuration:

Key Suppress: Enable
Keys: your key Y

Timeout: None

Code → Run Shell:

Command: settings put secure lock_screen_lock_after_timeout <ms>; input keyevent 26
tick Use Root

Replace <ms> with milliseconds. This is the timeout available under Lock screen settings and I've not tested it beyond 1800000.

Plugin → AutoInput  → Modes:

Configuration:

Key Suppress: Disable
Keys: your key Y

Timeout: None

All of the said instructions would bring to fruition only when the lock screen is secured. Furthermore, during testing I had to temporarily give up the original functionality of my HW keys.
Note: disable the action for disabling key suppress if you find that the actions are not working properly.

authors: ابوسند النصيري


text:
Possible to turn ON phone with ADB ? (Galaxy S6)
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 with a broken power button. (It only works occasionally)
Do you know if there is a way to use ADB (or any other way) to turn the phone on? (When it for some reason has shut down)
I have used "ADB devices" and "ADB reboot" which are working fine. (Tested with phone turned on)
However they do not work when the phone is off. (Phone still connected to PC and charging) The device is not detected.
I have not been able to find a solution myself. (None of the "long press methods" with volume buttons/home button etc. have worked on my phone)
I hope one of you have the knowledge I don't to turn on a S6 without the power button.
Thanks. :)
Device: Not rooted.
USB debubbing enabled.
Power button: Only working occasionally. (And of course not when the unit turns off)

I don't know a way to do that on Samsung devices other than through a modified kernel this will allow the phone to switch on while a cable is connected. If you're feeling adventuresome, it's pretty easy to fix the broken button yourself. > https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i7P08tnlHBo

I don't know if it works on Samsung devices since they don't have a fastboot bootloader menu, but in Moto and some other devices you can hold VOL DN and connect USB to computer and the device will boot to the bootloader menu, and from there you can use the command fastboot continue

@acejavelin There's no such menu for Sammy devices unfortunately - there's no fastboot in the first place.

No, ADB requires the phone to be on and be running a OS/Recovery to accept it. The bootloader uses fastboot which is only available there.
TL;DR No, when the phone is off it is not listening (by default, atleast) to commands from a PC.
EDIT: You may be better off jerry rigging something in it, is it the internal part bad or is it the external part?
EDIT2: People have pointed out that samsung does not even have fastboot (apparently) and that you COULD do something with a custom kernel, but that seems like alot of effort that may be better awnsered with get a rma or get a new phone, Sorry bro.


text:
ADB doesn't detect the phone
My device is stuck in bootloop and my USB debugging is disabled. When I type adb devices in CMD, it says adb is not recognized as an internal or external command operable program or batch file. Please help

You need to install adb first before you can run it.

how can i install adb

Check my other comment with the link to a previously asked question

please give me the link of adb.I should dwonload it and install in pc

Please take a look into our adb tag-wiki, @BenzJosuaESamson – what should get you started. You also will need the Windows drivers for your device. Still, all that will probably be useless if usb-debugging isn't activated and you don't have a custom recovery installed, as ADB won't be able to see your device. Check our boot-loop tag-wiki to first tackle your real issue, so you can enable USB Debugging.

ADB is only accessible from recovery or a booted phone. When stuck in bootloop, reboot into bootloader and use the fastboot.exe instead. Then enter fasboot reboot recovery and continue via ADB

That would require a custom recovery installed. Stock recovery doesn't support ADB. Plus, according to the error message given by OP, the issue here is rather OP hasn't installed ADB tools on the computer used.

If(custom ROM==true)
{
 - go to recovery mode from boot loader
 - wipe data
 - wipe cache, delvik cache
 - reinstall a better rom
}
Else
- reset factory settings from rm

That doesn't install the ADB tools on a computer :) Read the error message again (the adb executable isn't found on OP's computer).


text:
How can I patch Stagefright on an Elephone P6000 Pro?
According to this xda post the Elephone P6000 Pro stock ROM is vulnerable to Stagefright. A Stagefright detector app confirmed this on my phone.
The Post links to this patch, but also mentions that the partitions do not match this phone.
I tried both flashing the linked modified version, and moving the files manually into the system.
However, the Stagefright detector app still shows that my phone is vulnerable to CVE-2015-6602.
What else can I do to fix Stagefright vulnerability?

ls -l /dev/block/platform/*/by-name:
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 boot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 cache -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p22
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 custom -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p17
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 expdb -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p10
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 flashinfo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p24
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 frp -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p18
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 keystore -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p14
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 lk -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 logo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 metadata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p20
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 nvdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p19
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 nvram -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 oemkeystore -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 para -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 proinfo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 protect1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 protect2 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 recovery -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 seccfg -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 secro -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 system -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p21
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 tee1 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p15
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 tee2 -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p16
lrwxrwxrwx root     root              2016-05-30 00:59 userdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p23

Steps taken to move the files:

Copy/paste using FX File Explorer with root addon
Checked Permissions (were already rw-r--r--)

The only difference between those two packages that I see is that the latter loads mmcblk0p21 as the /system partition instead of mmcblk0p17, so the claim is accurate.  Could you add the output of ls -l /dev/block/platform/*/by-name/ and, for our sakes, spell out the exact steps you took to manually move the files?  I'd also suggest double-checking their permissions (should be 644).

@MatthewRead did that.

No further ideas?

You need to flash as newest Android accessible as possible.

I obviously did all firmware updates prior to using the device at all. There is no newer official ROM available.

There won't be any new ROM or security patch coming through official channels. Google Nexus(and now Pixel) are in fact the ONLY devices that receive monthly security patches addressing problems like this.  In the meantime, you can go into your Messaging App --> Settings-->Advanced and disable  'Auto-retrieve MMS'. This should mitigate at least part of the vulnerability.

@andDevW I have long since flashed a patched Cyanogenmod. Official channels once promised a marshmallow update for this phone, but as the post is now deleted I don't expect it to come at all. I just learned, never buy Elephone again. Their service is beyond bad, not only because of this.

If you are rooted you can do the following things.
However your status will still show as vulnerable, stagefright can't be executed. We will disable the stagefright module.
Method 1:
Use a root explorer app and navigate to the system directory.
Open the file called "build.prop" and add the following code completely at the bottom of the file:
media.stagefright.enable-player=false
  media.stagefright.enable-meta=false
  media.stagefright.enable-scan=false
  media.stagefright.enable-http=false
  media.stagefright.enable-rtsp=false
  media.stagefright.enable-record=false
This will completely disable the stagefright module on your device.
This won't have a huge impact on your device performance.
Method 2:
Use a build.prop editor app like this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.apps.build.prop.editor&hl=en
Choose to add a line and type:
      media.stagefright.enable-player
and type false as value. Repeat that for all stagefright modules.


text:
How to use Google Music MP3s to set a ringtone/alarm?
I have bought various albums through Google Music cloud service and they are downloaded for offline use on my device. How can I use one of these MP3s as a ringtone or an alarm?
It seems that the standard picker is not able to find them.

Isn't this a duplicate of http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/21293/how-can-i-turn-songs-from-google-play-music-into-ringtones ?

Could be a workaround but I would like to do it from Android, not using a PC in the middle.

If you are comfortable with copying files in a file explorer

Go grab ES File Explorer if you don't have a file manager already.
Make sure that root browsing is enabled and navigate to /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/files/music.
Hopefully you don't have too many songs stored locally, cause this is the not-so-fun part.  Go through song-by-song by selecting one and using Google Play Music to complete the action.  When you find which file is the right song, copy it (for ES, long press then select copy, could be different for other apps).
Now navigate to /sdcard/media/audio/<whichever_folder_applies_to_you> if you are on pre-ICS or /sdcard/<whatever_applies_to_you> if on ICS or Jelly Bean.  Paste it in (Hitting Paste on the status bar for ES) and you should be good.

If you aren't comfortable with copying files in a file explorer
If for some reason you don't want to copy, then still figure out which song is the right one.  Then when you go to set your ringtone/alarm/notification use the ES File Explorer entry that pops up.  Then navigate to /sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/files/music and select the right song.

Only problem with this is you cannot specify which part of the song you want as a ringtone/alarm/notification. It's much better to crop the desired song into an appropriate length at the desired part of a song.

@ElefantPhace Nice point (+1), I don't know of any straightforward way to do that. :(

Read my answer.

Thank you for the info, but the ogher main problem is that all my mp3 files are named like 1.mp3, 2.mp3, 3.mp3 and I have hundreds of them. How can I identify the one to use?

You'll need to either use a different media player

Player Pro
Winamp
MX Player

I'm pretty sure all the above, plus others, can set ringtones from mp3 files directly from the player app itself.
Or, you can use any of the many different ringtone makers freely available on the Play Market.
I like Ringtone Maker
You'll just open the MP3, find the section you want to save as a ringtone and crop it, save it, then set it!
You will need to do some searching around your file system first to find out which songs are which though. As I remember, when you download audio from Google Play Music for offline use it doesn't save them with titles or anything really identifiable :/
EDIT
That's the problem with Google Play Music. You have to open them and listen to them. If you use one of the above mentioned players it should load the metadata for you, telling you the artist, album, title etc.
I know Player Pro will show you the path of the given file by long pressing it and choosing View Details. I'm sure the others would have similar functionality.
However, using these players to set ringtones does not allow you to crop and choose which part you want saved, they will just set the entire song as the default ringtone, which is probably not what you want.
Most likely you'll need a combination of the two:

Open Player Pro (or whichever other media player) and find the song you want, view details/properties and note the file path.
Open up Ringtone Maker (or whichever you choose) and navigate to that path, and open the file.
You'll then be able to select which portion of the mp3 you'd like to set as a ringtone.
You can then save the ringtone as either an alarm, ringtone, or notification to be used respectively.

That is the main problem I think, all my Mp3 are name like 1.mp3, 2.mp3, 3.mp3 and I have hundreds of them. How can I identify the one to use?

This comment is too long, I'll add to my answer

Just open google play with chrome browser (request desktop site)  goto my music find song and tap the 3 dots over by the tracks time click download it is now an mp3 you can add in the ring tones.

It's amazing to me that it's been more than four years, and the Goog still hasn't figured it out. Your answer works perfectly.

I went to the Google Play Music desktop site, found the song, clicked on the 3 dots by it, downloaded it, then emailed myself the mp3 file, then opened it in ES File Explorer, selected to open it in ES Media Player, clicked the 3 dots > Set Ringtone > Set alarm, voila.

Why not drop the mp3 directly into a directory either ringtones or alarms within the subdirectory of /sdcard/media/audio/notifications (this is for earlier than ICS)?
IIRC ICS had this directory structure on the SDCard, aptly, /sdcard/alarms or /sdcard/ringtones. Drop the appropriate mp3 in there, and it should be picked up the Android's Media provider and away you go.
If Google Music does not have any identifiable information pertaining the MP3, the filename will be used instead.

the directory hierarchy does not matter, as long as the base folder is alarms, ringtones, or notifications the MediaScanner will pick up it and place it accordingly. Also if you just placed it in notifications you'd only be able to use it for notifications...

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


text:
Samsung Galaxy Tab-2 USB connection issue
I am working on Android application development, I want to run my application on Samsung Galaxy Tab-2 GT-P3100 but whenever I connect it with USB to the computer then it is not detecting.
snapshot -

EDIT:
I searched over internet about this problem I got same problem which is on the Microsoft Community MTP USB driver failed -Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.
When I follows all steps still is shows dialog as follows -

EDIT:

I got solution and also posted all the steps which I follow to resolve
  the problem. This is very helpful to me and hope you too.

On which android version you build your android application?? 2.3 or 4.0 or 4.1??

@Jastin: On android 4.1 (Jelly-Bean)

Have you ON USB-debugging from setting ??

@Jastin: Yes. When I connect my Tab to computer device driver MTP USB Device driver failed message show with red cross-mark.

So .. you must update your tab with latest firmware from samsung..its device driver problem.your computer not detect tab so updare your tab...

I have followed the Exact steps from Link :

Samsung mobile MTP Device cannot be installed
StackOverflow tutorial

Here are steps :  (for Windows specific instructions):

Ensure phone is not connected to PC.
Uninstall KIES from PC. Reboot your PC and Reinstall KIES after that. Just for great measure... open KIES, go to Tools | Troubleshoot connection error. Follow instructions and wait for it to finish the troubleshooting procedure.
Reboot your phone (or turn off and then on your phone again). Do not connect it to your PC just yet.
Once rebooted, go to your phone's dialer, type *#7284# - A configuration window will appear. In that window's USB section, if it's default to PDA, tap MODEM, then back to PDA, (if it is MODEM in the beginning, change it to PDA) then press the back key to exit. Most importantly, it must set as PDA when you exit.
Turn off USB debugging in your phone.
(Optional) Set your phone's screen timeout to a lengthy time. (minimum 1-2 minutes - recommended 5mins to 30mins) its found in Settings | Display. You can change this back later on.
Connect the phone to your PC with USB cable and let windows load your drivers... and wait for the drivers to get reinstalled.
Once reinstalled, disconnect the phone off USB. Switch USB debugging back on in your phone settings, and reconnect the phone back - you'll see windows load another set of drivers for your phone. Wait until it is completed. (This step is a precautionative measure to ensure your phone is identified with all the necessary drivers)
Once complete, unplug your phone, and turn off USB debugging... This is to ensure MTP will initialize. Also, press the phone's home key until your homescreen is displayed. Only after doing all that, reconnect your phone back to PC.
Test and see if MTP works using Windows Explorer. You'll see your phone's USB storage and SDCard contents if it does.

Hope it will help you..

If you want to work with ADB, the MTP driver is not really relevant. MTP stands for Media Transfer Protocol, and is used to exchange (media) files. What you need is the ADB driver (ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge). I recommend you taking a look at the Universal ADB driver, which covers most Android devices. If this driver does not work, check with your manufacturer's website for a device specific driver.

Thanks Izzy. I found a solution and I posted it, but thanks to your approach. Its great..

You might need to update the Drivers for your device. Try to search for drivers on Google or the website for Samsung Mobiles, mainly Samsung.com!


text:
How to fix Cyanogenmod 7 hanging on boot animation after NO firmware changes
I've been using my Google Nexus S with Cyanogenmod 7 for about a year now. Sometimes it rebooted out of the sudden or locked up but all in all worked well.
Today I rebootet the phone und since then it hangs during boot at the animation with the rotating circle.
How do I fix the phone and get it booting again?
Unlike many issues I found on the web I did not play with the firmware recently. Unfortunately it's been quite long since the last backup. I need to dig my data from the device.
Ways acceptable for me to go:

analyzing and fixing the issue
getting all my data and install new firmware (while updating to CM10)

Analyzing the issue
I installed the Android SDK on my computer (for adb and fastboot) and successfully ran ClockworkMod Touch Recovery image which proves the the phone hardware is actually fine. Copying files from the /sdcard directory worked and I could open a shell but adb logcat doesn't work for me. The program keeps "waiting for device".
This is what I had done before:

phone hung and restarted by removing and reinserting battery
date and time were set to 2005-01-01 00:00, reset (never had that before)
installed or updated several apps through F-Droid app "store"

installed And Bible
updated Barcode Scanner
maybe updated/installed something else, but can't remember because I browsed through F-Droid quite a long time and read dozens of app descriptions

status bar crashed, phone still usable but started reboot to get status bar again
Booom! Phone hangs forever on boot animation

I have the feeling that the Google logo with the open lock which is displayed before the CM boot animation begins stays longer than before. But I am everything but sure.
Making backup
As I cannot run any backup apps I have difficulties doing a reliable backup. I set up my phone not to sync most of my data to Google. Yes, I missed doing regular backups for some time because I find doing so is not elegantly possible with Android (compared to tar c /home or even mksquashfs or rsnapshot on Linux).
What I need at least in declining order of priority:

calendar
contacts
some app's data
saved wireless credentials

What I already got using ClockworkMod Touch Recovery:

copying /sdcard with adb pull
Running backup from the ClockworkMod Touch Recovery menu -- I have no clue what is actually backed up

The ideal way would backup the whole phone so I could install CM10 and retrieve any missing data from the backup or restore the backup to get the current state.
Any suggestions?

I installed the SDK and successfully ran Clockwork Recovery image Clarify this? Do you mean you went into CWM recovery? The status bar crashing.. installed or updated severall apps through F-Droid app "store" what apps did you install exactly for this to happen? A Nexus was out since circa December 2010 - so how did it revert back to 2005?

I guess Android will set the data back to 2005 by default. Probably that not a question of the individual device. But I don't know for sure. I update my question with details you requested.

And the apps? What sort of apps did you install as well? Might help to post a logcat by plugging in USB and reboot handset and capture the logcat, (from boot, to full Android environment) into pastebin

First wipe the Dalvik cache, then reboot. If that doesn't work, wipe the cache too.
If clearing cache is not working:

Backup your device's system partition with adb pull /system
Backup the data partition with adb pull /data
Or use adb backup -apk -shared -all -f something.ab

After that do a factory reset and restore the backup afterwards.

I would say save the trouble of using ADB if one already has the custom Recovery installed which can take Nandroid backups.

It could even be a corrupted cache file. If you are able to boot into recovery (CWM) you can perform backups, wipe dalvik-cache  and cache and install a current CM7.2. Once in recovery you should be able to mount /data with adb also to run tar, but try the gui.

Will wiping dalvik-cache, wiping cache or install CM7.2 harm my data? I find loads of forum posts but could not verify that. What portion of my data is contained in /data? If I backup /data and install CM10 will I be able to use the old data?

all your data is in.data, nothing in cache. Yes, you can upgrade, though certain apps may need their data cleared.


text:
What's this logkit, and why is it taking screenshots?
I'm using android 4.0.4.
I suddenly saw this notification in my notification pane:

This has happened a few times already. Tapping on the notification removes it immediately.
The screenshot is indeed in the location specified. However, I never pressed anything to activate the screenshot (at least, I don't think I did.)
I can't find a LogKit app in my application menu either. The symbol looks like the qualcomm symbol though.
What's this LogKit? Is it a virus? Or is it some hidden system application? Is this app automatically taking screenshots something I should be worried about?

AFAIK, it's a logging app to help app developers debug their apps. I have seen this when using 1 particular app on older version, but no more screenshot on the latest version (hopefully since they realized the mistake of releasing an app with active debugging tool). I'd say it's safe, it's not a virus. While I'm unsure if this is the same app, ForeSafe says that it's safe


text:
How to use GPS without using Google Location Services
Because I do not want to consent to the Google Location Services privacy agreement I have this switched off. By doing so I know some location functionality like cell-based and wifi-based location will not be functional.
However I would expect simple GPS functionality to work in a normal way. Functioning in a normal way to me would be to use GPS data if available, else use the last known location. (Historically this is how GPS receivers work)
The current (I am running Android 5, Lollipop) implementation from Google however seems to not give any location at all when there is no clear fix, throwing me lots of warnings and placing me all over the world instead of in my home location.
My question:
Does anyone know a third party location provider / spoofer which simply caches my last known location if there is no GPS fix? (just giving me back normal functionality)
Additional functionality which would be very welcome is caching Wifi/Cell data so if I have been somewhere it will remember without a GPS fix.
Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated!

Would an alternative provider for network based location (replacing Google's location, which requires root) also be an acceptable solution?

@Izzy - would the alternative have last known location stored? So as to have other apps use that info to start running, instead of waiting for a satellite fix.

The solution I have in mind uses cell-tower locations, which are stored locally on the device (you define which area(s) you need). As long as your phone is not in airplane mode, and you're in an area covered by your data, it hence always knows where it is without requiring a data connection.

@Izzy I thought this was one of the ways GPS aids worked but it does not reconfirms a fix. It does cache my position (and increasing speed of fix), so the solution with GPS aids answers my question. However I am also interested in a solution which you indicate, this could be an alternative answer with some advantages above the caching solution.

Done – see my answer below. It's just an outline, but should give you the idea – and points to further resources for details. Enjoy!

You could try this app: GPS Aids.
It tries to provide a quicker and more stable fix by providing a couple of GPS aids (GPS Aiding Data like LTO Long Term Orbits, gpsOneXTRA and AGPS), and it caches your last known GPS data.
It will run without root, but some options require root access.

It seems to be doing what I wanted, gonna testdrive it a bit more but looks good so far.

The program works ok for me, could you maybe increase the description within your answer a bit for future reference? We now know it works on Lollipop, maybe explain in short how en why the program is the answer.

Unfortunately the app is no longer available.

Not exactly matching your description (using the "last known" position if not GPS available), but still a good alternative:
On two of my devices, I completely got rid of all proprietary Google services, replacing them by alternatives. In detail, I've described this in Android without Google 5: Free your Droid!¹ (update¹). In short, this is what I've done:

Flash a custom ROM that comes without GApps (here: CyanogenMod)
Installing microG (successor of NOGAPPS)
Generating the lacells.db as described at XDA, and pushed it to the device

As a result, I've got a totally offline working location service using cell tower IDs and the lacells.db, Playstore access via BlankStore¹ or YalpStore, and a working Maps API using OpenStreetMap. So with "no GPS active", I still get my location as long as there are cell towers in reach. I can, however, not say whether it's using the "last known position" if there's no GPS and no cell towers.
¹ Disclosure: link go to one of my sites

Sweet! I do like this option a lot, thought not the most user friendly solution. In practise I think there will not be many places where you're not able to "see" any cell-towers, even if connecting to it will not be possible due to a low SNR.
Does this solution switch to GPS if a fix is available or are the GPS drivers part of GApps?

GPS is separate from this. I've never tried any "fail-over", so I'm not sure how it behaves with GPS enabled but no fix. My guess is it would simply chose the "most accurate set", and thus (without GPS fix) use the cell tower location – but I'm not sure.

@Requist as for "user friendly": it got easier again. There now is LineageOS for microG, available for all devices having official LOS support. That comes with microG and F-Droid pre-installed, ready-to-go. For location, they've pre-installed the Mozilla backend (fetching data online, so you might consider this being tracked by Mozilla) – but you can easily replace that backend by the LocalGSMBackend I've described in my answer. Works like a breeze, just equipped my new BQ device with that :)

Using Fairphone 2 and Fairphone Open OS and following this guide to living without Google, I set up location services using location middleware provider µg UnifiedNlp (no GAPPS)
It is easy to do this using the F-Droid repository

Install µg UnifiedNlp (no GAPPS)
Install geolocation backends such as LocalGsmNlpBackend
Install geocoding backend NominatimeNlp
Reboot your phone
Start the µg UnifiedNlp app and set up the backends. In LocalGsmNlpBackend select 'create database' and let it generate a database from OpenCellID or Mozilla Location Services (this takes ages and downloads huge amounts of data so make sure you are on WiFi)
Enable Location options in Settings

Result: both GPS and network-based location services work with little or no privacy impact.

Accessing location in Google Location service and accessing location in Android are independent from each other.
Apps can use either Android Location Manager (which does not depend on Google Location service) or Google Location service.
Thus, you can still use apps who access location through Android Location Manager. According to my research of the top 5000 apps, most apps still use Android Location Manager. So, you should be good without Google Location Services.

Yes, location support in Android has much improved. I still do not use Google location service but now Android location Manager does cache your last status and location so there is no need for third party tools for normal use anymore (except maybe for Wifi/Celluar location data).


text:
Can't add hotmail.com address into Gmail 5.0
I tried under KitKat and Lollipop on my Nexus 4 but I can't add my old account. I also tried both manual and automatic setup, but same result: credentials are incorrect.
Any solutions about this? Should I have entered different parameters during the manual setup?
EDIT:
POP3 with default parameters: server hotmail.com, port 110, security STARTTLS
IMAP with default parameters: server hotmail.com, port 143, security STARTTLS
Exchange, which doesn't give the possibility to change any parameters

What parameters did you enter during the manual setup? Knowing what parameter you tried will help prevent us from suggesting ones you already tried.

See updated original post.

Do you have two-step verification enabled on your hotmail account? If you do, that extra layer of security can trip up GMail. You'll need to create an "App Password", which should be a setting in your Hotmail settings.
From Microsoft's Two-step Verification FAQ:

Some apps (like the mail apps on some smartphones) or devices (like
  the Xbox 360, for example) can't prompt you to enter a security code
  when you try to sign in. If you get an incorrect password error with
  an app or device, you'll need to create a unique app password to sign
  in. Once you've signed in with your app password, you're all set to
  use that app or device. You'll need to create and sign in with an app
  password once for each app or device that can't prompt you for a
  security code.

Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Under Password and security info, tap or click Edit security info.
If you're prompted for a security code here, enter it and tap or click Submit.
Under App passwords, tap or click Create a new app password.
A new app password is generated and appears on your screen.
Switch to the app or device for which you need the password, and enter the app password displayed on the screen.

For more info about signing in to specific devices, see App passwords
  and two-step verification.

It worked, that's great! Thanks. I can finally uninstall the Outlook app.

Note: For me the Gmail app defaulted to "hotmail.com" for the server. I had to change this to imap-mail.outlook.com and smtp-mail.outlook.com respectively. I also had to use SSL/TSL for IMAP and couldn't use STARTTLS.

Try these steps as seen @ how-to-set-up-hotmail-on-android:
...
...
1) Tap on “Email” in your app drawer
2) You should see the Email Setup screen. Type in your email address and password. Tap Next.

If you encounter an error, repeat Steps 1 and 2 (DON’T press Next). Move on to Step 3.

3) Once you’ve typed in your details, tap on “Manual Setup”.
4) Select “Exchange” from the list of options.
5) Fill out the fields as indicated below in the Account Setup window:
Domain\Username: delete the “\” and type in your full email address
Password: type in your Hotmail password
Server: type in “debug-m.hotmail.com”.
    If that doesn’t work, repeat Steps 1 – 4 and use “m.hotmail.com”
    If that doesn’t work either, repeat Steps 1 – 4 and use “blu-m.hot mail.com”
Make sure the Security Type is “SSL/TLS”

6) Tap on “Next”.
7) Choose whatever options you want (how frequently it should check for email, how much it should sync etc.). Tap on “Next”.
8) A little loading icon may appear as it syncs your email account.
9) Congratulations! Your email is all set up and you can now set a name for the mailbox.
Your account should be completely set up by now. It should be syncing your email as you read this very sentence. Once again, this setup has only been tested on @hotmail.com and @hotmail.co.uk accounts.
...
...
Alternatively, you can always create a new GMail account and integrate your hotmail one with it (Allow you to seen your hotmail emails inside the GMail interface) as seen @ guidingtech.com and then add the GMail account.

I tried to accommodate these steps to the GMail app but it didn't work.

authors: 와이비케이YBK코리아뉴스


text:
Google settings account information showing error
I am using Jio LYF LS4503 Mobile. It is re unrooted via kingroot App. Now the problem is that in Google settings Account information showing error. It is loading after a few seconds it shows error like screenshot.

I am using Jio 4G network. It works fine and i also tried using wifi but every time error appears.
What should i do to fix that?

I can manage account from chrome browser, but in  Google settings , it shows error.


text:
Android-Windows bluetooth linkage
An android device with no internet connection and a Windows PC with ethernet connection. Is there any way to connect the android device to internet using bluetooth connection between that device and PC?


text:
How to change keyboard font?
I have changed the font of my Android jellybean 4.1.2 device. Everything got changed but not my keyboard. It appears same as i was formerly. Is there any way to change the font of keyboard?


text:
Live tile interface
I was just viewing my friend's Lumia 535 who has Windows 10 mobile installed on it which really inspired me. That OS possess a very well-integrated customizable tiled interface. I really loved that UI. Most remarkable were the aliveness and transparency of tiles. Can we have a tile interface like windows phone? As far as I know android is fa more customizable and bug-less as compared o windows but that thing really impressed me. So I was thinking as if it were possible?

Plenty of alternative launchers like what @Komninos posted, but they all affect the homescreen only. It will be tremendous and impossible work to rework the framework to show everything (i.e. apps) in live tiles.

Yup @AndyYan I was also sad because of the same reason. It provides that   interface but nothing live in it. :(

Yes, there is an app called Launcher 8 WP style for that.
Hope I helped.

Yup you helped............+1.......It was good but not as I thgought it :/


text:
Can I somehow unlock my phone's bootloader or root it?
My Moto X 1st edition (XT-1060, career Verizon, OS 5.1) doesn't stay rooted. I mean to say that it turns back to unrooted state wherever it reboots or even when it is left untouched for an hour or so. Any system apps that I've uninstalled while rooted also shown in super user applist and any other root related changes e.g changed font also reverts back..
I've tried many tools to preform root operation like iRoot but none of them does the job. Kingo Root however does the job but as I mentioned the phone reverts back to unrooted state after being rooted.
Moreover, all the tutorials and guides about rooting my phone mentions in the first place that I need to unlock the bootloader first. I have tried the official method for unlocking the bootloader but it simply does not work. Just to mention, official method requires following of some steps after which phone shows some strings and you can paste those strings on Motorola's site to know if your phone has an unlockable bootloader or not. They say my phone's bootloader cannot be unlocked. It is also not the developer edition of Moto X otherwise the things were much easier. It is a carrier specific version  of Moto X i.e. Verizon and the official Moto website says about such phones that:
Please keep in mind there are many factors as to why a device is or is not unlockable. Carrier exclusive models are almost never unlockable
So my question is that:
Can I somehow unlock my phone's bootloader or root it?
My actual concern is about rooting it so if it can be done somehow without unlocking the bootloader, I'll be more than happy. I included bootloader unlocking as a part of my question just because I cannot see any way without doing so.

You are probably not rooting it properly. How do you do that?

What have you used to root your phone?

I should have mentioned it in the first place but now I've edited it. Please have a look at it.

Root the phone by flashing superSU.zip from twrp recovery (bootloader has to be unlocked)

How can I unlock bootloader while my phone is unrooted

try this for unlocking bootloader link

I have the developer edition of Ghost, so never had this problem with unlocking the bootloader.  Did you try RockMyMoto?  You probably have the camera patch by this time, so this might be the method you need.
If that works, I suggest you flash one of the 7.1.2 ROMs over there at XDA after you get TWRP 3.1.1.  Mine is rocking Xperience right now.  Your phone will thank you :)

This does not work I tried but perhaps it is specific with the developer edition of Moto X I cannot proceed with the second or onwards steps :(

King Root will root your phone . After this you can install other 3rd party apps to download and flash custom ROM's before it gets un-rooted again.
Google play offers many custom ROM apps.
So root your phone with King Root
Install custom ROM(OS)
That's it.
But while selecting ROM's to flash , make sure they are specifically compatible with your device , this is very important to avoid bricking your phone !
Good luck !

I've tried King root as well. It doesn't do the job. I've tried almost every app which claims it can root but still I reach nowhere. And don't worry I'll not brick my phone I just need a chance :(

you said it only unroots after a while , so flash it with a rom with that time

That time isn't just enough plus to flash with a ROM, I need to restart it and upon reebooting it reverts to its previous state as I mentioned

have you tried pressing the combination of buttons upon booting to unlock bootloader , maybe you can then flash a rom with a file from sd card

Can you please elaborate it more how to do it? And my phone does'nt support sd card if its worth mentioning

when the phone starts ( right before it displays the boot animation ) press down all combinations of the buttons available on your phone , and see if a menu appears

check permissions maybe you have virus.
you can connect with adb and remount disk
mount -o rw,remount /
chown root:root /
chmod 777 /

Sure: if something goes wrong it must be a virus. Only that there is no virus for Android. Second, do you really think it's a good idea to mess with permissions like that? 777 means everybody having full access. Which, security-wise, usually is a very bad idea. Apart from which, why should that make root "stick"?

@Izzy no virus for Android really?  There are botnets for Android although less common then on the desktop.  https://www.google.com/amp/www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/falseguide-malware-dupes-600000-android-users-into-joining-botnet/ niyas answer is bad either way.

@William read the definition of "virus": a botnet is no virus. An apple is a fruit, but a fruit not necessarily an apple – and so a virus is malware, but a malware not necessarily a virus.

@Izzy Yes but the technical requirements are quite similar such that if one exists another quite likely will also.  A security issue is a security issue.  Depending on the source a botnet can involve a "Cybercriminals use special Trojan viruses to breach the security of several users' computers, take control of each computer and organise all of the infected machines into a network of 'bots' that the criminal can remotely manage." https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/botnet-attacks

@William this is no place for discussion – but NO. A virus can replicate and spread itself. Malware on Android requires some user interaction to get its foot in the door. As I wrote, read the definition ;)

malware or virus is quite similar to me since i don't use english as full time language.actually  there is  no thing you can go backward since attacker is here  using chmod 777 you gain access..he still have to..

since i am sure you don't know what is virus on kernel or ram memory...because you never have it.i did.so he can in recovery terminal to gain access to phone...also root  in twrp recovery with zip file..i didnt read the question well since i read 1,2 senteces

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
How can I get the mobile Version of stackoverflow.com on Evo3D?
I just got a new phone (HTC Evo 3D / Android 2.3.4) and opened stackoverflow.com in the browser.
I noticed I got the desktop version of the website. On my old HTC Desire (Android 2.2.2) I get a mobile version, which is friendlier on the device and probably more lightweight.
What can I do to have the mobile version on the Evo 3D as well?

Do any other sites "prefer" the desktop version instead of mobile on your Evo?  If so, it could be a setting in the Browser app.

One option or the time being is to click the "mobile" link at the bottom of the page.

Thank you for your answers; it was a setting in my browser (Mobile view was OFF). Also, the mobile link is a good option. Can you promote your comments to answers? You both deserve votes.

If you want to just browse through questions and answers try StackDroid from the app store. You cannot post or answer due to API limitations but on the move it serves the purpose, the only real time you have questions to be asked is when you are working with a desktop.

The Stack Exchange sites provide a "Mobile" link in the footer that will give you the mobile layout. It should work regardless of your browser's settings or which browser you happen to be using, so in that sense it's actually a very portable solution.


text:
Does freezing apps in Titanium Backup Pro require a phone reboot to take effect?
When freezing apps using Titanium Backup Pro, do I have to reboot for the freeze to take effect? (e.g. not be started anymore, even if applicaple Intent is fired off?)
Does it depend on whether the app is a system one or not?
If it matters, environment is Droid X (Stock 2.2 Froyo, rooted), latest Market version of TBPro.
I tried checking on TB Wiki and found zero reference to rebooting or not as far as freezing functionality.

Here's a specific example: consider the following sequence:

"GPS location changed" intent fires off.
A mapping application "MyGMaps" which is registered for this intent is started to handle it
I kill that application's process(es) - all of them - via Advanced Task Killer
I freeze "MyGMaps" via Titanium Backup Pro
At this point, "MyGMaps" process is NOT running
"GPS location changed" intent fires off again
What happens here? Will "MyGMaps" be started again due to the intent in #6, despite the fact that it's "Frozen"?

My understanding is that, once I reboot the phone after freezing, the app will no longer start at all. But what happens in step #7, right after the freeze but without a reboot?

You shouldn't need to restart after freezing an app. Once you freeze the app, it should disappear from the apps drawer.

I'm less interested in whether it's in an apps drawer than whether it will be started (e.g. if the frozen app is registered for an intent that fires off when GPS location changes, will it STILL fire off on GPS location change until you reboot?

If the app you freeze is sending the intent, then no the intent will no longer happen. But if the app is receiving intents, then yes it should still receive them.

@hillie - meaning it will launch and run?

meaning it will preform a task given to it by another app. that's it. It will not launch and run on its own.

Please see specific example in the question

See my last comment.

Please roll up your clarifications into the answer so I can upvote and accapt

a frozen app only works when an intent is sent to it. otherwise it doesn't start or work. Even when an intent is sent to it, after its done it freeze again (and it only does the specified task). It can not send intents or do anything else. If you want to stop apps from sending intents to it, you will most likely have to uninstall it. Does that fully answer your question?

Yes. Though "Even when an intent is sent to it, after its done it freeze again (and it only does the specified task)" seems contrary to what people were selling the whole "Freeze" idea on! :(

Actually, not what I read. Why else would it be a better idea to freeze and app instead of uninstall it?

@Chillie would you please integrate your comments with your answer? They are far to useful to be kept "down here"! If you could also include a reference to a frozen app acting on intents (I fully believe this, it explains a lot! I still wish to understand the "why"), that would be great! I already upvoted in advance :)

Freezing an app is similar to uninstalling it, in that it won't be able to run (whether by the user wanting to load it or via any intents). However, since it is frozen and not actually uninstalled, it does still take up space.
If you freeze a system app, you may have to reboot your phone. This usually isn't needed, but sometimes your home screen app may have a problem with a system app missing. Whether or not you reboot, though, the system app is frozen and will not be able to run.
A user app, however, can be frozen without needing a reboot.

If that were so, I wonder why some apps, while frozen, still show active processes -- even after a reboot. I guess the explanation is given by Chillie's comments on his answer, that a frozen app still is able to receive broadcasts.


text:
Droid X - is Blur home running when you use Launcher Pro?
Based on the process list in ATK, it appears that Blur home (including the widgets) are loaded and running - and can't be turned off in any way - when you are using Launcher Pro as your home replacement.

Is this an accurate observation?
Is there a way to stop any of the Blur widget processes from starting (rooted but standard ROM) completely? Just to clarify, "replace with Blur-less ROM" is not a satisfactory answer, since Cyanogen doesn't run on DroidX due to locked bootloader.

Yes, that's an accurate observation.
I don't have a Motorola phone myself, but from what I understand Blur is embedded pretty tightly into the ROM.  Trying to remove it would be painful at best, and probably just cause your phone to start crashing.  I'd recommend flashing a custom ROM that either never had Blur (e.g. something built largely from the AOSP like CyanogenMOD) or a heavily customized version of your ROM that has had Blur thoroughly rooted out and replaced with stock apps.

there don't appear to be any fully stable/functional DroidX ROMs at first glance. CyanogenMOD is explicitly out of the question due to X's locked bootloader

also, I didn't ask about removing Blur. I asked about stopping (permanently) system processes that are specifically related to Blur widgets (like com.motorola.blur.weather/...news etc...

Liberty is pretty nice for the Droid X and the newer GB versions seem to allow you to pick and choose if you want Blur available (I haven't checked the ATK though).

@DVK You can't just stop it, that's the point. It either has to run or to be removed and replaced.


text:
Tecno Camon 15 pro stuck in bootloop
My Tecno Camon 15 Pro is stuck in bootloop after I was trying to patch boot.img file.
Phone Specs:
My phone's processor is MediaTek Helio P35 (MT6765) & it was running Android 10 build CD8-H655BCD-Q-GL-200708V314. Full phone specs here if it helps. Bootloader of the phone is already unlocked.
What did I do?
I downloaded ROOT.zip  for my phone from HalabTech and extracted boot img. I patched it and flashed it onto my phone.
What phone's condition is?
It rebooted and since then it just getting rebooted again and again. It vibrates, shows Tecno logo for a few seconds and turns off. I cannot turn it off neither can I boot into recovery or fastboot. Its totally stuck and I get different errors from SP Flash Tool but not once which are as follows while trying to flash a ROM file I grabbed somewhere on the internet:

It does not have any other issues and I know it was the boot.img flashing which did this. So what should I do? Any help is highly appreciated!

I had the same problem on my Tecno Spark 3 a few months back. Unfortunately, despite the 100s of tutorials on how to flash a custom rom on Tecno phones, it's just not possible. What I remember doing is to flash the original files to the phone using the after_sales_service.exe tool. It still shows the bootloader unlocked message but at least the phone worked.

Try flashing using this tool: https://www.getdroidtips.com/download-tecno-flash-tool/

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


text:
How to exclude an app from Force Dark Mode?
So Basically I want to exclude only one app (Ratio launcher if it matters) and found no apparent way to do it easily. Closest I got while searching, I came across DarQ. It allows to apply dark mode to specific apps. But the problems with this are as:

I do not want to include app as there are 250+ apps on my phone
(don't ask me what do I do with them cause even I don't know ha!) so
just ticking all of them does not seem feasible as I want it all
over the place and not on specific app only. There is no way to
backup app list as well so not just a one time hussle.

It needs to plug in my phone to PC and run their script everytime I
restart my phone.

Even when I do not restart my phone but leave it alone for a while
on battery saver mode and open an app, dark mode is gone again. Open
DarQ only to find out it needs me to run that script again.

Installing a new app does not add it to the list automatically so I
have to start all over everytime I install a new app or uninstall
and reinstall an existing app.

So obviously far from ideal. But even if it did work flawlessly, it would be a more feasible solution for me to have exclude dark mode functionality then include dark mode one. Would be so much better if it were just builtin to the system's Force Dark mode.
P.S. My phone isn't rooted. Any suggestion which might better situation even a bit might be good as well.

I don't think it's possible in any straightforward manner. All apps which set MODE_NIGHT_FOLLOW_SYSTEM are turned to dark theme when OS switches. All other apps which set e.g. MODE_NIGHT_YES or MODE_NIGHT_NO aren't affected. So it depends on the app developers.


text:
How to root Tecno Camon 12 air?
I want to root my Tecno Camon 12 Air but nothing works. I got samsung devices rooted within a blink but this one just does not. I have:

Allow OEM bootloader to be unlocked checked
Tried different PC softwares like KingoRoot iRoot etc.
Tried almost all of the apps which said they could root

I have searched everywhere and tried almost everything but could not have the job done. Every time some adb command is rejected by an indefinite  printed on the command-line or it just reboots to get back normal. No change. Nor the fastboot commandos work as in fastboot it gets hang on the same  thing. Which is a crucial step in ROM patching or bootloader unlocking.
Its running Android 9 Pie and the processor is MTK Helio P22 if that helps.

your device is most likely Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 chipset, search for similar devices and learn from their root methods. a common method is boot image patching

@alecxs already searched and viewed the link

so your problem is actually how to enter fastboot with Volume Down + Power or adb reboot-bootloader? it would be helpful to post exact output of error messages

No no I can enter fastboot.... Just that no command actually work in fastboot and no response on device is observed. There ain't any message either but prompt is also gone

install latest platform-tools and drivers (while connected in fastboot mode)

So I was able to root Tecno Camon 12 Air. Turned out the biggest hurdle was to unlock bootloader which can be unlocked as follows:
Unlocking Bootloader
Use this command: fastboot getvar unlocked to check the phone’s Bootloader status (whether it’s locked or unlocked). If the Bootloader is already unlocked then you should see “Unlocked”
If locked you need to run the following command:
fastboot flashing unlock

And then reboot:
fastboot reboot

Alternative commands are fastboot oem unlock and fastboot oem unlock-go


text:
What's really 'third party applications'?
I would like to know what's really third party applications in android.While I was referring Android development it says that application layer consist of:

Native apps
Third party apps
Developer Apps

I know that third party applications are those which are not developed by the first party(provider of the operating system) as mentioned in third party applications.But I think when it comes to android third party apps and developer apps are same isn't it?Could anyone help me.

I honestly couldn't understand the separation between native apps, 3rd-party apps, and applications (all of those are applications on my dictionary). As it was quoted from the book (which we couldn't get access unless we buy it), does it also explain the difference between those, or only mentioning this? If it does, could you also quote and add it on the question?

@AndrewT.:Oh sorry.It was really Developer Apps not Applications as I edited the posted.Could you tell whether third party apps differ from Developer apps.As the answer stated by Izzy both should be same because both are neither developed by the OS nor the manufacturer.

I guess in this context, "developer apps" stands for apps not installed from any "market" – but those you write yourself and test-install via the corresponding development frameworks. In the context of "signatures" (see my answer below): AFAIK those apps are signed with "development keys", so they again have a kind of "special signature". I must investigate deeper into this to tell the exact difference from a user's point of view, though.

Short version
Every app other than "OS and manufacturer apps" means "third party apps".
TL;DR
Third party apps are those provided by a, hrm, third party. Though the following terms are non-existent, you can visualize this as follows: First party is the one providing the OS (AOSP/Google), second party the manufacturer (adding his own apps).
Basically, this can be read as: Everything that didn't come pre-installed. This is what the term "third party" normally is used for1.
Technical background
You find some technical background in Android's permission system. If you browse the related pages on Android Developers or see my App permissions explained, for some permissions you will encounter the phrase "not for use by third party apps" (or similar). How does the system decide what makes a "third party app"? It looks at its signature and compares that to the OS and manufacturers' signatures. If the app's signature doesn't match any of the two, it's a "third party app".
"Developer Apps"
In your question, the focus was to decide between "third party" and "developer" apps. Basically, in practice developer apps are rather a "sub-group" of "third party" apps. As the corresponding developer page states, to make debugging an app during development easier3, it can be signed "in debug mode":

You can sign an app in debug or release mode. You sign your app in debug mode during development and in release mode when you are ready to distribute your app. The Android SDK generates a certificate to sign apps in debug mode. To sign apps in release mode, you need to generate your own certificate.
[…]
You can run and debug an app signed in debug mode on the emulator and on devices connected to your development manchine through USB, but you cannot distribute an app signed in debug mode.

Thus "developer apps" can be told by using a known "debug certificate". As the quoted source states, this should not be used with "released apps" (e.g. a developer shouldn't publish any app signed this way)2.
Further readings

Application Signature Verification: How It Works, How to Disable It with Xposed, and Why You Shouldn’t
Android Fake ID Vulnerability Lets Malware Impersonate Trusted Applications (describes a bug exploited to work around signature protection, allowing any app to pose as "signed by OS or manufacturer", which was fixed e.g. with Kitkat)
Android signature mechanism (describes the difference between "ROM signature mechanism" and "Third party APK Signature mechanism")
Digital signature (general background of what a digital signature is and how it works)

1: though technically it might be not fully correct (example: in this context, what would an app be called which you manually installed, when it were signed with the same key as the ROM itself – i.e. was coming from the manufacturer?)
2: This is for security reasons. Apps might be able to access other apps' resources when using the same signature – a fact used e.g. by "addons" for specific apps written by the same developer (as the already named source e.g. puts it: Android allows apps signed by the same certificate to run in the same process, if the applications so requests, so that the system treats them as a single application. And: Android provides signature-based permissions enforcement, so that an app can expose functionality to another app that is signed with a specified certificate. By signing multiple apps with the same certificate and using signature-based permissions checks, your apps can share code and data in a secure manner). Using "your own" certificate protects "your" app from being accessed by "other developers' apps".
3: AFAIK you cannot install an "unsigned app", so signing it is a must. When "signing" an app, one usually needs to provide two passwords (one for the keystore holding your signatures, and one for the signature itself). Using "debug mode" signing, this can be avoided, as this uses an internal signature of the SDK with a password known by the development tools. This makes debugging a lot easier, as you don't have to type the two passwords over and over during the "compile › test › compile › test again › .." process.

:That's a good elaborative answer.But could you tell is there any need in signing an app in debug mode.

As described by my (again updated) answer: "make debugging an app during development easier". I'll include a little background on that with "yet another update". After that, let's clean up our comments (deleting those obsoleted by my updates to the answer), shall we? ;)

:Okay.But could you tell me what really means by the signature of an app.Does it mean who really developed it(whether it's OS,manufacturer) or does it mean anything else?

That's going a little deep into the technical part. You might wish to refer to Wikipedia for this. Basically, it means who signed the app, which usually is the developer. As with a paper being signed by a (hand-written) signature, a digital signature demonstrates the authenticity of the signed data (here the .apk).


text:
Blu Dash JR K locked-out; "Yes" confirmation option to reset is not present in recovery mode
I have my sister's Blu Dash JR K at the moment. She forgot her lock screen pattern, and there is not an option to recover via Gmail.
Phone comes with stock recovery. when I go there and try to apply factory wipe/data, all I get are a bunch of:
   -- no --
   -- no --
   -- no --
   -- no --

There is no yes option.
Second attempt, I tried to reset the phone using ADB, as I don't have the phone with debugging mode active. when I type adb devices, no device is detected.
Phone is not rooted so I'm not sure if I can install any custom recovery. What should I do now?
EDIT
I'm not able to use "official" recovery modes (Gmail Based) since she never synced with a Google account.

Hi! I reflected two issues in the title. I think that's OK with you.

@Firelord sure thing it's better that way :)

I'll share the solution that worked for me in case anyone else runs on the same issue since the documentation for this phone is marginal.
First you need to download the Original ROM, not so hard to find it I don't have the current links else I'll share them.
Then download SP flash-tool
Simply Flash the phone using the tool, I followed this instructions
Instructions
Fixed.

If your sister has access to Google account, she can try the Android Device Manager and do a "Lock and Erase". You may need to enable Lock and Erase first.
https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6160500

Is not active, she never setup the google acc. already tried that, i can get into fastboot but can do nothing, i don't actually want to recover info i just want to wipe the phone and start from 0


text:
How to extract a system image made with FlashTools?
I have a system image made with FlashTools. The image and tool are available here
Since I have a Mac I can't run FlashTools, also what I need to extract is just an apk that I accidentally deleted from my device.
Can the system.img file be extracted from a Mac?

first hit on Google does it help?

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје I tried imgtool and simg2img but none can read the file format.

Ok, stupid question did you unzip archive first? Also in which format is this ROM when you download, I can't see link unless I register (won't happen)

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје Yes, the contents are shown here in this question. I tried both tools with system.img and also tried renaming the file to system.img.zip to see if I could unzip it, but  then result file is also compressed in some other format.

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје trying with the raw system.img gave the error "bad magic" and unrecognized format with simg2img and  imgtool

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Does integrating an update into ROM remove the older application version?
I have a phone with very limited storage capacity, so I opted for integrating some updates into the system partition, the problem is that it quickly ran out of space in that partition too.
So, I'm wondering whether the previous versions are also kept somewhere and how to remove them. I'm using this tool to do the update integration, and it seems at some point to be doing a backup of something, I guess it's the user's data but I'm not sure.

The old versions are removed (overwritten actually)... Remember that changes version in the /system partition could cause your device to be rendered unusable if you perform a factory reset at a later date.

@acejavelin thanks for the heads up, it already happened to me with this phone, I guess I'll need to keep a stock ROM image at hand before trying a factory reset again, just in case.


text:
How to create a flashable ZIP from FlashTools backup?
I have this backup that I presume was created using FlashTools from a stock MINT 140.

How can I create a flashable ZIP from that backup, that I can later flash to the device with
$ adb sideload rom.zip

I know I can flash the individual images with fastboot but I'd prefer something I can flash in a single operation.

Why not just flash them with Flashtool? ROM need to be signed to be able to flash using adb sideload.

@esQmo_ I have a Mac, I think FlashTools is only for Windows... hmm... I think I'll have to borrow a PC then.

I think there is a Mac version too... @Izzy has it listed somewhere. Just make a search with tag Flashtool

@esQmo_ I've found this but it's a different tool, I think it's only for a particular model of Sony Xperia. Also found this one, which appears to be the same tool used to made the backup but it's only Windows and Linux. I'm going to google for some of Izzy's post to see what I can find, thanks.

The first is Sony Flashtool. What you need is SP Falshtool for Mediatek devices which is on the second link.


text:
What's the input and output specifications of the Samsung Infuse wall charger?
I want to know if it matches with the Samsung Strive charger so I don't damage the Infuse (I don't have the charger for the infuse at the moment).

If it's a wall charger with plugs that match your outlets, the input range should be covered.
Normal USB chargers are 5 V at up to 1.8 mA.  The voltage is the main concern -- standard USB ports for PCs only go up to 900 mA, which is why they charge slower.  You can see the USB power specs on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb#Power
(In sum, any USB charger that you can trust to do what it says on its specs should work fine.  A crappy no-name charger might lie, but two Samsung chargers should be 100% interchangeable.)

Ok Cool. Thanks for the answer Matt. I do recall both chargers saying 5v but one is 0.7A and the other is 1.0A. So I guess the 1.0 will charge the battery faster. Is it possible that charging the battery too fast could mess it up (or hurt the phone)?

@trusktr They phone shouldn't draw more current than it wants, and that's fairly low anyways, so it should be fine.


text:
Copy internal storage from dead phone to new (same model) phone?
Hi Android Enthusiasts!
I dropped my Galaxy S3 in water, then pressed some buttons and heard some nasty popping/crackling sounds. hehe
Ok, so now I think it's time for a new phone.
What I'm thinking is that I can get the exact same model, then copy all the data over (I'm guessing the internal storage is probably not damaged).
The question is, how can I do this? I'd like to flash the new phone with the image of the old phone, but the old phone doesn't work so I can't use a simple tool like clockwork to make an image backup.
Is it possible to get the data some how?

Internal storage doesn't not use the circuitry in the phone. There's no telling what's been fried, but an audible sound is not good. Next time you drop your phone in water, let it dry before you try using it.
Plug the phone into a PC using it's data cable. If it mounts, extract the data. If it doesn't mount, check the PC's device manager and see if any devices are showing up in the list that aren't being recognized by your OS. If there's nothing there, then you're pretty much out of luck.

If you can't turn the phone on, you're screwed. I'm not sure what you think the internal storage is apart from "electronics": it's a chip soldered to the main board of your phone.
Next time, try to make a backup before you get your phone wet. It's much easier that way.

Do you know if the entire OS is stored on the internal storage (cyanogen mod plus all my apps)? I think maybe I can cut off the chip, then find the API for it and reconnect it to some programmable interface like a raspberry pi or arduino, then get the data off it.

You won't be able to cut off the chip. I expect you'd need an oven to desolder it. The internal storage is partitioned like a hard disk. The OS is stored on one partition, and the data on another.

Sounds a bit hard to do at home! Thanks for the info.


text:
Run shell script in background process no matter what activity in foreground?
I have a shell script that looks does the following:
# /mnt/sdcard/touch.sh
sleep 10

while [ 1 ]; do
    input swipe 700 380 1020 600 1000
    input tap 960 540
    input swipe 1220 700 900 480 1000
    input tap 960 540
    input swipe 1220 700 900 480 1000
    input tap 960 540
    input swipe 700 380 1020 600 1000
    input tap 960 540
done

If I execute it from Terminal IDE (a terminal emulator), it only works while Terminal IDE is in the foreground, so I thought I'd make an actual app to execute it and keep it running in the background. Here's what I've got now:
package com.mycompany.myapp;

import android.app.*;
import android.os.*;
import android.view.*;
import android.widget.*;
import java.io.*;

public class MainActivity extends Activity {
    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.main);

        try {
            // RIGHT HERE. WHY DOES NOTHING HAPPEN?
            Runtime.getRuntime().exec(new String[]{"/system/bin/sh", "/mnt/sdcard/touch.sh", });
        }
        catch (IOException e) {/*...*/}
    }
}

But it doesn't do anything.
So how would I execute this, then leave it running in the background so that the taps and swipes happen while another app is in the foreground? You get the idea. :D

This question shouldn't be closed as offtopic. He just tried to solve it via writing app, but his question isn't about it at all.

It worked by just doing sh /mnt/sdcard/touch.sh & after having started a shell with adb shell. Then, when I closed the terminal forcibly while the process was in the background, the process remained running in the background of my phone as expected. I was able to kill the process later by getting with adb shell the using ps to find the process ID and kill -s KILL <ID> to kill it.
Basically, turns out I didn't have to make an Android app just to make my script run in the background. Clash on...

I'm curious what various versions of Android behavior is. I wrote a script to log battery levels that runs in an endless loop - and I find if I start forked like you did & - and pull the USB cable... that it in fact halts... but resumes if I return USB cable.

had the same needs, answer helped me greatly! but... oddly enough, only within adb shell I could get to do it with no root. when running the exact same script within an android terminal app, I could only achieve the same effect (to actually get some touching working) after activating root with su! any clues on why this could be?


text:
Can I use mono sound on a set of headphones instead of stereo?
I have a friend that is deaf on one ear and she would like to get all the sound through one ear bud. Is it possible to get mono sound instead of the default stereo sound through the headphones?

I am not familiar with a setting in Android to mix both channels but perhaps this stereo to mono adapter could help.

That's mono to stereo...

@BloodPhilia Take a look at the photo of that plug (I don't have enough points to post the image in the body of the answer). You plug it into your phone's stereo jack. Then you plug your mono ear bud into it. That's stereo to mono. I know this works because I have been using it myself (for an under-the-pillow speaker).

You might want to look for a TRRS (tip ring ring sleeve) to mono converter, some android phones have an FM radio lead soldered into the headset jack, and can have weird reactions to just a TRS ("stereo") or TS ("mono") plug

authors: محمد احمد الجبوري


text:
How to quickly switch between two apps on one half of the split-screen view?
I'm in this scenario a lot:
I'm using split screen opened to App1 taking the first half of the screen and App2 taking the second half of the screen. I frequently need to switch between App2 and App3 on the second half of the screen while keeping App1 on the first half. One way to switch between them is to tab the recent apps button then drag the app window to the second half of the screen. Unfortunately this process takes from 5 to 15 seconds each time I want to switch between App2 and App3, which is very exhaustive as I need to switch between them in a very frequent manner (About 3 to 10 times within 5 minutes).
How could I switch between App2 and App3 on the second half of the screen quickly just by some gesture and the apps get instantly switched without the need to drag or re-position the apps windows in order to re-fit the split screen each time?
A gesture example could be: swiping from the buttom edge of the screen to upwards on the second half of the screen (if screen is in horizontal mode).
Important clarification:
I'm asking about switching apps while being in multi-app split screen view. I'm not asking about single app view.
One example of apps which works very well for the single app view is EAS App Switcher. What I need is that when I switch to another app it's opened in the second half of the splitted screen (not the full screen which destroys the split screen view).
Let me clarify more. I have App1 and App2 active (in split screen mode). EAS will do the job if it replaces App2's window with App3's while keeping App1's as is. What it does is that it opens App3 on full screen (single app view) destroying the split-screen view and App1 becomes in the background instead of keeping App1 active and next to it is App3 on the other screen half.
It would be very helpful if exist some app or launcher that achieves this.
I'm on Android 6.0.1 on Samsung Note 4 with root access.

I have tested on Android Marshmallow, but it activates app in single app mode every time. I have also checked the setting and it seems there's nothing related to split-screen. It would be termendously great if it really supports split-screen on Marshmallow.

Here's a suggestion that works perfectly on a galaxy s5, and I'd assume that it's the same on a note 4.
While in split screen, long press on the back button. You'll now see all available apps on the left side of the screen. Drag the wanted app to the bottom part of the screen.
It's not as fast as you wanted, but it's two steps which would take less than 1.5 sec. when you're used to it.
Edit:
Found even a better way. Open app 1 and 2, now long press on the back button, and scroll to the bottom, you'll see an option called "create" press on that, and it will save the two apps as your preference. Now do the same while having app 1 and 3 open. Now to switch between the two, long press on back button, and you'll see the preset opting on the top left of the screen.

Wow. It's amazing. The only remaining struggle is holding the back button delay time. If there exist a way to a have a floating side movable button like in EAS app switcher to instantly switch between apps by tabbing, that will be the exact thing I'm looking for.

I'm unaware of a better way, but I'm sure this makes it MUCH faster then the way you had before...  I'll definitely be in the lookout for a better one.


text:
How to set two different sound levels for two different sounds played simultaneously from two applications?
I'm using Poweramp Music Player (in the background) to play music, and MX Player (in the foreground) to play videos (video lectures). What I'm looking for is to play music in the background with a specific (low) sound level (or volume level) while playing videos in the foreground on MX Player with another (higher) sound level. I'm able to play two sounds simultaneously by disabling Permanent Audio Focus Change (in Audio Focus ← Audio in Poweramp, hinted by this question) but without being able to set two different sound levels for the two sounds (The sound from Poweramp and the other one from MX Player) as there is only one generic sound level for everything on the media stream that all apps abide to.
How could I set different sound levels for two simultaneously played sounds from two different applications?
Suggestions tried but unsuccessful:

I've tried App Volume Control, but it says:

It's not possible to have a background app and a foreground app with different volumes, this is an Android limitation.

Device Info:
ROM: Android v6.0.1 (Rooted with Xposed installed)

This might help, although I haven't tested it myself. https://fieldguide.gizmodo.com/set-different-volume-levels-for-each-app-on-your-androi-1756332280

@Frank12 I've tried App Volume Control, but it says:
It's not possible to have a background app and a foreground app with different volumes, this is an Android limitation.


text:
How to re-partition MT6582 device? (EBR1 & MBR only available) (Infinix X507)
How could I re-partition my MT6582 device: Infinix Hot X507's Internal Storage (also known as Apps Storage Partition, System Storage) in order to expand it (it's about 1.04GB now, and only 3MB are free)?
I don't want to use Link2SD, just Internal Storage disk re-partitioning.
The stock ROM for my device has only the files EBR1 & MBR (So the device seems not to be EBR1 & EBR2 type).
The guides I have found are for the EBR1 & EBR2 type (not the EBR1 & MBR one) (examples: guide 1, guide 2).
You can find the EBR1, MBR and Scatter files here, pulled from ROM X507-D5120-L-20150923 Final (ROM info), currently installed Lollipop ROM on my phone.
I need to know how could I modify the both files in order to re-partition my Internal storage.


text:
How to override the time zone for some particular country?
How can I get my Android device to show a different time zone for a particular country?
So, when I pick the country I’d see the overridden time zone instead of the default one.
I have a rooted device with system version 4.4.2
Edit
Say I want to pick London, Dublin with automatic time zone disabled, but rather that showing GMT+0:00, I want my device to show something else, say GTM+0:30, is that possible with a rooted device?
Also I want that "fake" time zone to be reflected in the clock as if it were the actual time zone. So when it's 12:00 in London I want my device to show 12:30 instead.

using MacroDroid

Since I already have rooted my phone I used TimeZone Fixer (ROOT) app to update the related system files. Now the time is shown correctly.

First of all: There is no official way to change time zones because they are provided from the server so you would need to add the time zones there.
Second: if you go into settings -> date and time you can change the time there and subtract/add the amount of time you wanted the time zone to display.
With something like UCCW and a status bar customizer you could customize widgets. You could, of course, create a clock with an offset and display a text next to it saying: GMT +0:30 but this would not be in the entire android UI.
If you have a status bar customizer like Omega Status Bar you can customize your own status bar and set/remove text so you could set the time in android to be 30  minutes less and display 5 "GMT -0:30" next to the clock on your status bar.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 Date And Time, People!
In settings > Date and Time, you can disable Automatic timezones and do it yourself. That then alters the system time to match the new timezone.

I edited the question with an example of why this would't work in my case.

Did that was the case, Just add/remove 30 minutes to the time. AFAIK, not even rooted users could change this.


text:
How to save Whatsapp voicenotes to Computer?
I am connecting my Android phone to my computer trying to save Whatsapp voicenotes in my computer. But when I open the folder WhatsApp Voice Notes it is blank. I can see the files (begin with PTT) in my Android but it seems they can't be read on my Computer. Previously they could. Is anyone having the same issues or have some solution for it?

"it seems it can't be read" what actually happens if you try?

this may be useful: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/102512/how-to-transfer-whatsapp-audio-files-to-computer?rq=1

Hi @AADTechnical thanks for your comment, I have fixed my issue by sending it through email ^_^

My problem has been solved. I tried this trick and it works.

Open the folder on your mobile. It is WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Voice Notes/
Select all files all any files you wanna copy to your computer
Attach them on email and send email to yourself
Now open your email on computer and download the attachments.

Tadaaaaa~~~ Now you have the files on your computer ^_^
NB. The files extension is .optus, if your media cannot play it, I suggest you download a optus-mp3 converter.
Hope this helps. Good luck!


text:
Sync contacts with Facebook Lite
I've just installed Facebook Lite on my Galaxy A3 with Lollipop and no root. It satisfies all my necessities except for one: the contacts sync, which is present in the full version of Facebook.
I've thought of not uninstalling the full version, but instead using greenify to prevent it from running in the background, so that I can open it sometimes and get contacts to sync, but I wish there was a better solution.
I could not find any specific app to sync contacts because of the restrictions of the new Facebook APIs (in order for them to work properly I should ask all my friends to manually grant permission).
How could I sync my Facebook contacts having just the Lite version of the app running in the background?

The idea behind using Facebook Lite is that, it is designed for the barebones facebook experience. Its for people with really low data speeds. So I think that's the reason why it doesn't have all the features that the normal app has. As you noted. Facebook changed their API's in May of 2015. So it seems if you want your facebook contacts synced with your phone contacts, You have to use the main facebook app or get all your friends to download one of the other apps and give it permission to share their info.

Also since you are using a Samsung device. Check under Settings > Accounts. I think there is a facebook option. Unless that changed with the changes as well to the api. But I remember seeing that when I owned the Note 4. That might pull down your facebook contacts and sync them for ya.

@jer3my thanks, the option is present into settings>account and is already checked

I have solved my problem with Social Contact Photo Sync.


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How is my friend bypassing Applock application
I'm using moto x 2nd gen, I recently installed applock to keep some apps private but one of my friend knows a way to bypass the password and even change it, he did the same even with pattern lock. He doesn't even reboot the phone, he does it in seconds. How is he doing it and in what other ways can I lock my apps?

Have you thought about asking him?

Could you link the app? There are some apps that have similar name like "AppLock", is it the one by DoMobile?

One possible answer can be that he is killing the application process that is protecting your device. One possible way is that he goes to Settings->Apps->[applock_application] and then Force Stop it.
Go to this link for more detail.

I've locked settings and play store too.

There are many ways to bypass applock, you can reboot into safe mode, uninstall/force stop/clear data the applock (if Settings is not locked), widgets (some apps have a Task Manager widget or Enable/Disable app widget), using third party application to uninstall/force stop/clear data the applock, uninstall the applock from Google Play Store (if Play Store is not locked), if Play Store is locked, open Google Play Store website from any browser, then uninstall the applock, etc. These only works on non-system applock, to bypass system applock, you have to disable/force stop the applock, or factory data reset.

He either knows your pin and your pattern or He killed the apps process ( applock ) to bypass the pin or he set "destroy process after user leaves it" in the developer options.

He can't stop the app process, I locked the settings too.