text:
Can I redirect the recent apps button/action to the app launcher?
In short, I wondered if there was a way of configuring the home/recent apps button to go to the app launcher instead?
(Perhaps it is a software recommendations/tweaks question.)
EDIT: This lost its relevance as I have now upgraded to Android 9 where a double up swipe gets me past the downgraded recents apps view into the launcher quickly.

While I know some custom ROM (and perhaps more on rooted devices) provide customization on navigation buttons (e.g. long-pressing/double-tapping home button), I'm afraid opening app launcher really depends on the launcher app itself, so the action might not be standardized and depends on each launcher app (refer to "How to create an app drawer" section on this custom launcher development article), e.g. Pixel Launcher needs to swipe up, but other launchers might need different action/do nothing.

You can use GravityBox Xposed module for this or Xposed Edge Pro. I am sure there are some other good solutions as well which use Xposed framework.


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GSM vulnerabilities
I heard that there are inherent flaws in the GSM protocol that make it possible for someone to impersonate a network operator and do all sorts of nasty things remotely, even if your phone is off.
Is this true? Is it also true of today's Android phones?

in the case of android upto 4.3(jelly Bean) the OS is most vulnerable

It depends on your carrier's technology. According to Wikipedia all the encryption used in GSM (A5/1, A5/2 and A5/3) have been cracked (albeit some are more difficult to decrypt than others). A5/2, the least secure of these, is no longer in any GSM-related standards (and newer phones shouldn't implement it). A5/3 has not been decrypted in 3G, but people have cracked it.
GPRS and EDGE (GSM's data protocols) - the "G" or "E" above your network signal status icon - may also be vulnerable. It depends on your carrier's encryption level. Some carriers don't encrypt GPRS data at all. Others will use the GEA/1 or GEA/2 - which both have a publicly available tool called "gprsdecode" available to crack them. GEA/3 is "relatively hard to break", but the recommendation is to upgrade to GEA/4, which uses 128-bit encryption. UMTS (aka 3G) is more secure, meaning that your data is safely encrypted.
To be certain that you're actually using your carriers network, your carrier needs to have implemented USIM, and your phone needs to support it - which is guaranteed if your carrier supports UMTS and your phone supports 3G. However, to get these  additional security features you need to use UMTS - which means your phone can't be on "prefer 2G networks" mode, and your phone can't connect to 2G networks.
Now, as for "doing nasty things while your phone is off" - I really don't think this is possible, but perhaps you can clarify what these "nasty things" are? And also perhaps where you've read about this.
TL;DR depends on your carrier and if you use 2G networks or 3G networks.

By "nasty things" I mean using the phone's microphone to listen to its surroundings (without being in a call). It's a rumor I heard recently, but from people I can't discount easily.

I can't say for sure (but it seems very unlikely to me that there would be microphone listening), but if you use a custom ROM/AOSP ROM such as CyanogenMod in which the code is open there's no way android itself could be doing any spying (low-level phone firmware is another matter, and it's pretty hard to know if it's doing anything because it's all closed-source.)

source: Stack Exchange

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

authors: w̢in̡͢g͘̕ed̨p̢͟a͞nt̡͜͝he̸r̴

sort: votes


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How can I make an Google Talk voice call without hands-free mode?
When you call someone who is online via Google Talk, it use the back speaker in loud mode. Is there a way to use GTalk for calling like a regular phone call?

This may no longer be relevant since Voice is being replaced by Hangout, and you can only make video calls with Hangout. You could look into using a Google Voice number with a VoIP client, like Groove IP, to make calls. This is a great tutorial if you need some help getting started.

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


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Controlling the camera through phone keys
I am an android novice. My question is : Is there any free app to take pictures or videos using any phone key, like power or volume up/volume down, without touching the screen button? I checked the other answers here, but they talks about cyanogenmod or a paid app.

Check the following Android apps on Google Play

DeSpy Camera (Free)
VolShutter Camera

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Could you explain why you are recommending these 2 apps. Why not others?

There are many apps. You can go with Vosco which is my favorite one but without key mapping (no hardware button to take pic) but a great one. Otherwise, Camera360 is a good choice. Also you can go with CameraMx (or Mx Camera maybe) or Line Camera or Cymera (this one has a great range of photo editing tools as well). All of these can be customized to take pictures with volume key or so.

Vosco? Searching for this on Google Play gives 0 results.

yes boss! :) Vosco Cam. Recently launched for android.

I will edit it with the link once I go to home. :)

@THelper : Think he meant VSCO


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Nexus 10 won't boot after attempted unlock/root
I have a brand new Nexus 10 which is supposed to be a present for my partner for tomorrow.
I wanted to have it rooted and set up for her before I gave it to her, so I installed WugFresh NRT on my work computer (WinXP x32) and went through the same unlock/root/flash procedure I've been through a million times with all my phones/tablets.
After unlocking, it went into TWRP and I was told by NRT that I should do a factory reset manually from TWRP - a step I've never had to do before. I followed the instructions, but the factory reset failed.
I rebooted the Nexus 10 and it just sits at the colourful 'X' forever. I can hold the power button to try again, but I can never get past this. No problem, I'll just flash CM from TWRP, right?
Well, I can get into fastboot from power + vol-, but fastboot is frozen. It doesn't matter if it's connected to my PC or not, I have "start" selected, and I cannot select anything else. Fastboot.exe won't detect the tablet, and there's pretty much nothing I can do.
I can press power to select "start" from the fastboot menu and it begins booting normally, and freezes as before.
So basically I'm stuck here. I know how to push across a recovery and re-flash the system, but I can't actually get to that stage. I'm not sure if it's a driver issue - my experience tells me it probably is. I've tried 2 different cables and all the USB ports. I can try on my home computer that has the drivers all installed, tested, and working - but I won't be home for another 12 hours or so. I actually can't even turn off the device!
I've tried the naked drivers, the google drivers, the Samsung drivers, I can't install the PDANet drivers because it wants me to install the ADB drivers first - but I can't do that because the device won't boot!. This XP machine is now a cocktail of drivers that don't work. I do actually have an "unknown device" associated with the tablet, but I have NFI what it is or what driver to install. I've tried them all, and windows just keeps saying that the driver location I've chosen doesn't have any appropriate drivers for this device.
Any suggestions?
Edit: Hmm, I've managed to get my hands on a Win8 laptop and got the drivers working so that Fastboot and ADB recognise my Nexus 4 phone. When I plug the Nexus 10, it doesn't show up in Fastboot devices.

I am pretty much sure it is driver problem. I too faced this issue on my windows xp machine, but worked great at very first instance in Windows 7 machine. Try the NRT's USB tools to clean up the reg entries and stick to Samsung's drivers.

If you can't get hold of another machine,you can consider using a virtual machine. I agree it takes more time and effort to build one for such a small and one time job. But when it comes as a Hobson's choice, what else to do?

Had similar problems. My Nexus 4 was discovered just fine, but Nexus 10 failed to be seen as an Android adb device. So I uninstalled the Nexus 4 drivers, rebooted, and then installed some unsigned drivers from internet called Naked Drivers.
After that both Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 were properly recognized.
Then, attempted to unlock the Nexus 10 using WugFresh NRT (I'm lazy, I know) and after a temporary install of twrp, WugFresh NRT told me to do a factory reset to prevent a bootloop. So I did this, but it told me that it failed a couple of times.
After reboot, found myself in a bootloop, exactly what I tried to avoid.
After some google search came around this movie that explains how to do a basic wipe, but from original recovery not twrp.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/T1Se7Hr9Cww
Written explanation of the steps from the video above (in case it goes down):

press and keep power, volume up and volume down to escape from
bootloop and reach the fastboot menu
in the fastboot menu use volume up and volume down to navigate and select power off button to make a selection, so just select the recovery option
you will reach the recovery mode (there is an icon with android robot on his back and a "!" sign) and press quickly all three keys at the same time (power, volume up and volume down). If you succeed, a blue menu will appear, so from there, just select your wipe option.

After I tried this, it worked and found myself at configuration screen for first time setup.
Next, I downloaded latest version 2.5 for twrp, replaced the old 2.4.1 in the folder WugFresh Development\data\Recovery_Custom\TWRP. After that, using the WugFresh interface I went for the root and also checked Custom Recovery.
This time everything went smooth and also twrp was upgraded.
Hope it helps.

Could you please include an excerpt of the steps described behind your Youtube link? If the creator decides to delete his video (or it gets otherwise deleted), your answer will become useless otherwise. Thank you!

ok, updated my answer.

Thank you! That deserved another +1 :) Nice step-by-step guide now.

Oh my GOD THANK YOU. Literally every other guide on the internet says that you are supposed to only press power + volume up.
This is the only one that says the correct command which is just a quick press of all three buttons (NOT A HOLD)


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Update last checked ^ 1
When I navigate to settings -> about tablet -> system updates, it tells me updates were last checked "^ 1" instead of giving a date and time like I expected. Clicking on check now does apparently nothing. It's been like this since updating this Nexus 7 to 4.4.4. What does it mean and can I get it to show something meaningful instead?
After changing the language to English (United Kingdom), it now displays a time, and check now updates the timestamp. Placeholder error in the translation template, perhaps? Should I report this error somewhere?

What is your system language?. Try changing the language to English and check.

@sameer Finnish, I changed it to British English now and it seems to work. Translation placeholder error? Should I report it somewhere?

Sorry I don't know where to report it ?

What ROM are you running, stock or custom? If its custom, then post on the developers website. If its stock, then first read this Android Bug Reporting. There several important things. First is to search for the same bug, then how to have a "good" bug report. And where to report it.


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Is there any way (or any iOS or Android app) which i can use to change the current location of my mobile device to be detected as a US location?
I want to test a mobile application which has map search and directions functionality, i.e driving directions from the current location.  Is there any way in which i can change the current location of my device to be detected as a US location?

Developer Settings > Allow Mock Locations! I'm not sure how it works on iOS, I'll try and find out.

Enable mocklocations from settings and use any application
Eg. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lexa.fakegps&hl=en

In settings we can allow mock/proxy locations in android.


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How do I get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids to preference the SD card?
My son's Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids edition is running low on space after I added several applications.
I added a micro SD card (external card) to compensate for storage.  I confirmed I was capable of standard Read-Write-Delete tasks against files on the external card from within the standard files app.
Unfortunately, I discovered that the system is unable to move applications to the external card (the option is simply never offered!).  I'm also having problems setting various applications (camera, music, etc.) to preference storing their data to the external card rather than the internal card.
Android version 4.1.2, Model number SM-T2105.
How can I best leverage using the external SD card?

Have a look at my answer which should answer your question, I hope!

Other Q&As helping you in your situation: What can I do to manage my phone's internal storage? / My internal storage capacity is running low, what can I do? / High Frequented 'internal-storage' Questions (as that's where you want to "free up" space)

Thank you, @Izzy. Any idea why I can't transfer the applications to external SD card like any other Android system?  Heck, even my old Droid X used to allow it (where do you think I got the SD card from? :-) )

For that you'll have to ask Samsung. If they act like LG, they'll blame Android (saying "starting with ICS, this is no longer possible" – which of course is complete bull... ah, nonsense). But there might be tricks for that as well, see e.g. How to move application to SD card in samsung galaxy s duos: Also a Samsung device, having the very same problem. Another possible work-around involves executing pm set-install-location 2 from either a terminal app or adb shell, as t0mm13b already suggested.


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SGS2 can't connect to PC for USB file transfer or Debugging mode
I am an Android developer and I have been using my SGS2 for a while and I was accessing the debugging mode without any problem, until I broke my phone's screen. I found a repairer who replaced the screen with another. Since that day I cannot access my S2 neither on Debugging mode, nor on USB File Transfer mode.
How can I fix this?
EDIT
It still charges when connected to PC, but no feedback in my Win 7. I tried with other computers and getting the same things ...

Sounds like the "repairer" messed up something. Have you checked with him?

i wanted to be sure before going back to him ! what has he messed up ?

Guess some "cables". I'm not in hardware, so I cannot be sure: but if it worked before, and all that has changed was some hardware, the culprit is most likely to look for there. Does it still charge when connected? Do you get any feedback on either your PC or the SGS itself when connecting the cable? Have you tried a different cable, and are there any differences then? No charge, no feedback, and no difference would make it pretty sure a messed-up "wiring". Even if charging works, he might have forgotten about the other two (data) pins, or accidentally losened something.

Thank you @Izzy. I have edited the question to provide some more information for new comers. Please can you explain what you mean by : he might have forgotten about the other two (data) pins, or accidentally losened something

To replace the display, he needed to at least partially dis-assemble the device. I have no idea how it looks from the inside, but he could have accidentally losened some connections, or simply have forgotten to re-attach something. There are definitly some connections he had to replace (to make the touch-screen work). But that's rather an Android unspecific hardware issue. Why not just ask the one person who should be able to tell? We can only guess here.

yes you are right, thanks for all. I will ask him tomorow, and will come back to you. Thanks.

Hi @Izzy. You were right, he messed something up ? it was difficult to convince him, but he finally knew and repaired it back. Thanks too much.

Glad the issue solved for you! I've summed up the solution and made it an answer. You might wish to "accept" it, so the question turns up as being "answered and solved" in all lists. Thanks a lot, and enjoy!

The description of the issue pretty clearly pointed to a hardware issue (the "repairer" having "messed up" / forgotten to re-attach some "connectors").
As reported back, this guess was correct: Taking the device back to him and have him check, he found the "missing link", repaired it, and the device is fully operational again now.


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What causes "could not be downloaded due to an error. (498)"
I purchased an app from Google Play and I uninstalled a while back.  I wanted to get it installed again but when I try to install it I get the error message:
"Appname" could not be downloaded due to an error. (498)

What does that mean? And what can I do about it?

Solutions (though not the reason behind) are explained e.g. on Appslova.com. Taking a look at them, those are more or less the "Generic Google Play Solutions":
Method 1

Go to Settings→Apps, Select “All” tab
Find Google Play Store, open its entry, Clear Data and Cache
Find Google Service Framework, do the same
Now restart Google Play Store and try to download/update the app or games

Method 2

Open Google Play Store
Go to Settings→Accounts, Choose Account or add new account
Now try to download or install the app or game

Method 3

Go to Settings→Accounts→Google, remove your Gmail account
From Settings→Apps→All: Force stop, Clear data and cache for Google Play Store, Google Service Framework and Download Manager (like in method 1)
Again, go to Settings→Accounts→Google, Add your Gmail account
Restart your android and then accept all the Google terms and setup Google settings
Run Google Play Store and update or install your app.

Some more hints are to be found in Google's product "forum". Reasons here were e.g. storage full: Clean up, delete stuff, try again, worked.
Find a bunch more hints, all on the first result page to a Google search on "google-play error 498" :)


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How to delete ROOT APPS from Andoid jelly beans?
I am using Galaxy s3 dous, Whenever I turn on my wifi my phone itself start downloading google apps, and I am unable to uninstall them, In application manager there is no option to remove but to update only. And same in playstore>>My Apps. Any suggestions??

That's not possible on stock ROMs. And it's not possible on other ROMs either when you want Google Apps. As long as Google Apps are installed (and a network connection is available), they will update automatically.


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Sync saved wifi passwords from defected mobile
I had an accident few days ago and broke the screen of my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, everything in it is working fine, even the touching system is working fine as well, but I want to retrive the saved wifi passwords, I looked over the internet, though if I could sync the screen of the mobile with my PC, though about the synced passwords on google, non of them could help.
I have purchased samsung galaxy tab 3, logged in using same account and tried to retrive the saved passwords from google account, but it seams that there is nothing saved there.
can you please advice how can I solve this issue?

There are multiple possible approaches:

If you have Google Cloud Backup activated on the "old" device, your WiFi passwords have been stored along (plain text, by the way). So starting with a new (or factory-reset) device, you should be asked on account creation whether to enable it here as well. Answering with "yes" will restore several things even from your old device, including WiFi passwords (for details, please see Google Backup: Multiple devices using the same account - what happens on Restore?)
If both devices have root access, you can use either a dedicated tool like WiFi Pass Recovery & Backup, or straight go for a full-fledged solution like Titanium Backup
If at least the "old" device has root access, you can obtain your passwords from their configuration file directly. They are usually stored in /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf using plain-text.

THanks for the great summary,I tried to sync from Google Cloud Backup but it synced 1 old wifi password which means that the sync to the cloud was turned off (I guess), but in the end I don't have it saved on the cloud.
And for the root, non of them is rooted and for the "old" one I cannot root it with a broken screen.

but I have been wondering if I can sync the screen to PC or maybe turn it on, using google play on the computer try to install an application that works as Spy allows me to access to it using another device "using new device", same idea of teamviewer but buthg without IDs, just standing in installing the app, do you think something like that is available?

See e.g. Broken Screen + Using adb shell to run vnc server / Control Android with broken screen from PC / What can I do with an Nexus One with a broken LCD? / Broken screen while debug mode was disabled. How can I re-enable adb?


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Maps app crashing
I have a Google play edition of the S4. Lately, I keep getting the window telling me that unfortunately maps has stopped working. The problem is I'm not actively using the app, but it does run through Google Now. I cleared its cache, data and even forced stopped it to see if anything would change but nothing. Help?

Can you disable it (Settings→Apps, Maps: is there a "disable" button)? If so, does that help?

Ill give it a shot. I'm sure it does but I use google now a lot just to view traffic/driving times and wouldnt want to lose that

Um, that contradicts the I'm not even using the app. But in that case, if disabling does the trick, Greenify might be worth a second shot. Might need either root, the donation package, or both, though.

I have a mac and Ive tried to root my phone but it never works. The free Greenify wont even locate the map app

Just go to Settings - Apps - Maps and uninstall updates. It may be that the new updates are the reason it crashes.
It would be good if you can switch off location setting in Google Now because every time you use Google now it starts locating via network or gps and starts up the map application in the background.


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Does charging a phone with another phone's charger affect it in any way?
I have a Samsung S4 and because its charger is short I charge it with a Samsung Wonder charger. I am afraid that it can damage the battery or something. Will it?

Generally speaking the wrong charger to the wrong phone can cause damage.
However in your case, I do not believe that there is much to worry about.  The article below is a gizmodo article that explains in pretty good detail.
http://gizmodo.com/can-i-use-the-same-charger-for-multiple-devices-510829339
Basically the whole using the "wrong charger" was an issue back before the micro-usb standard.  Now that there is an international standard for the micro-usb, the voltage is limited to 5V.

This used to be a much bigger issue on account of the wide variety of proprietary charging units and pin connectors that came with each device. Thankfully, the advent of USB changed all that and has provided an easy, standardized platform for charging devices. All USB cords carry the same 5V, regardless of if it's got a 30-pin head or a microUSB plug, whether it's first-party or third. That means DC chargers are now brand agnostic; if the volts, amps, and connectors are compatible, an Apple wall wart can charge an HTC just as easily as a Samsung. That if, though, is where people run into trouble.

In terms of the current, there can be issues that arise in the amounts of amperes that are flowing through  Take for instance the iPAD can charge off of 2.1 amp.  If the charge to it is only say 1 amp, then it won't charge as quickly.

Because they have consistent, standardized voltage, USB chargers need another means of putting more power (in terms of watts) into larger gadgets faster. To do so, the system will increase the current (measured in amps). Most USB cables designed exclusively for charging (as opposed to data transfer) limit the current to between 1 and 1.5 amps, although new iPad chargers can deliver 2.1amps, and a standard USB port on your laptop only puts out .5 amps. This is why a 1 amp charger isn't effective on a 2.1 amp iPad. The device consumes power at the same rate that it's added.

Gizmodo also discusses things such as chips in the battery that monitors the charge (why you can plug your phone in at night and go to bed).

Smart chargers are those that utilize a small CMOS chip to monitor and manage the state of charge (SoC) and state of health (SoH) of similarly-equipped batteries. This is a de facto feature on most every modern secondary battery on the market, and it's ubiquitous among Li-ion systems. This feature allows the batteries to be left unattended when charging without the fear of having them overheat and explode, and while maintaining 100-percent capacity over long periods via a trickle charge.

The author of the Gizmodo article, ANDREW TARANTOLA, does not think that you should use a different phone charger and that you should use the specific device's charger with the specific device.

Once you're sure that your device's needs line up with your charger's output, all that's left is ensuring your USB cords are equipped with the proper pin connector. The micro-USB to USB cord that came with your last phone works just as well with your new one and can plug into any suitable USB power brick, so why do you have multiples of it—each with its own brick?
Instead, just stash a single spare brick in your bag, bring only the cords you need, and stagger your device charging so that one is always plugged into a port on your computer.
Tl;dr? While you can use the same charger for multiple devices, you probably shouldn't. Not unless you want to ruin your gear, or wait a lifetime for it to recharge.

So if you do not want to take the risk or what not, then you can use the correct charger (specific charger for specific phone).
I'm currently using a motorola backflip usb cable with the iPhone wall charger to charge my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active.  I have not noticed any issues at all.

Can you elaborate on how the "wrong charger" can cause damage? As they are pretty standardized (voltage etc.), that's hard to imagine.

If you read the article you'll see that not all chargers have the same specs.  By "wrong charger" I mean a charger that did not come with the phone.
However, like I said.  I do not think that you will have an issue.
Also, now days, if I am not mistaken, there is an actual chip inside the device that prevents damage.

The following link refers to the new international standard requirement for micro-usb cables. Based off this, again, I believe you should be fine.
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/34573/is-using-chargers-of-phone-not-meant-for-it-harmful-to-the-battery?rq=1

Thanks for the explanation! But could you please include that with your answer? I read that article, yes. But in case of "link rot" (it means, when that article becomes unavailable), that information would be lost here. That's why we prefer to have at least an excerpt of the relevant facts included directly with the answers, while keeping the link for reference. Thanks a lot!

As long as the charger volts and amps are the same, you shouldn't have any issues. Take a look at the charger and it will have the stats you need to be aware of written right on it. Seems like in your case, you have both chargers handy (because you said the reason you wanted to use the other was the cable being too short).
I've personally been using chargers from phones for my tablets and vice versa for years without any issue. Obviously, it's best to use the charger that was designed for the device, but with everything being micro-USB these days, most of the time things are pretty safe.

Thx everbody for answers really appreciate it.(^o^)


text:
Common messenger app for phone and PC
Is there a way to do messaging on my PC and my Android? In other words, using either has the same contacts and you can see the same messages in both places?

Please note: Asking for an app that does something is off-topic here, largely because it's simply a popularity contest with short, uninformative answers with people listing their favorite app of that type. It's much better to describe the problem you're trying to solve. I've edited your question to be more along those lines. Please also see: How do I ask a question that may require recommending a product?

Google Hangouts. Does text chat, video chat, and can even send and receive SMS messages.

MightyText is app that does what you asked for. And it's pretty popular, too!
I personally did not try it yet, but it was recommended to me several times.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.texty.sms

Line is a great messenger that works for PC and Phone. It is also the second most populated app, I believe, about 100 million less users than WeChat.
http://line.me/en/

You can use Whatsapp messenger on PC using Blue Stacks, Windroy, Youwave android etc.


text:
Make the screen to appear again when the screen is off by just touching the screen. Instead of pressing the on/off button
Our system at work is automated. Sometimes a machine stop and we get the fault popping up on a android device everyone is carrying.
It's a Cat B15 Mobile with Android 4.1.
We are carrying the phone with a holder around our arm.
If the screen is on all the time, the battery drains out pretty fast.
So I want to make the device to shut down the screen, and when I touch the screen it will start again.
Right now it's a little complicated to press the on and off button. Because the holder is blocking it.
Anyhow, if this was a possibility it would make everything a lot easier!
I checked the settings but didn't see anything about it.

Try searching the playstore. if you gave a proximity sensor on your devices try using that. Magnetic sensors use less battery, but you need a magnet to activate.Another option are g-sensors. The screen will not register touches while turned off (some very rare devices do).

I'm afraid there is no such facility (though it might exist a device which has this, I've not yet heard of). Screen off means screen off.
However, I may be able to offer an alternative: tasker can react on "motion" as well, so you could use a "shake-pattern" as trigger. A profile I could imagine:

Condition: Shake twice (record the shake-pattern)
Task: Turn display on, unlock, bring app to foreground

I'm not sure if "shake patterns" could also be something like "tap the device twice", so you could try that as well. And though Tasker is a payed app (worth every cent!), there's a free, fully functional 7-day-trial available on their homepage.


text:
Headphone Volume buttons
I've got a Bose qc15 headset with online volume and call buttons. The call button works with my Nexus 5 but not the volume buttons. Is there a way to get the volume buttons to work?

Related (and possible duplicate): Headphone Volume buttons do not work

Related: Does android, specifically the HTC Incredible, support headphone volume buttons?

Related: How to make volume buttons on earphones/headphones work with Android?


text:
Why does phone reset to Gingerbread instead of the version of Android that came with the OS when it was purchased?
When I first purchased an Android phone over a year ago the installed OS was Android 2.1 (Eclair). The OS has been updated twice by the carrier since then and now runs Gingerbread.  However, I had to restore my phone to factory settings recently and the OS that was reinstalled was Gingerbread. I was expecting it to restore back to 2.1 (Eclair).  Is this expected behavior and was the phone reset properly to factory settings?  I followed the hard reset instructions here and everything looked correct. However, this was not the factory restore I expected.  If this was correct does anyone know how the Gingerbread OS "replaced" the OS that was installed from the factory?  I thought the factory settings were "read only."  Thank you very much.
This is all from a stock Android phone that has never been rooted.

Resetting to factory settings removes all personal settings, data and installed apps from the phone.
It doesn't uninstall operating system updates and doesn't remove apps that your manufacturer or service provider have included in the system.
It also (normally) doesn't delete data from your SD card.
Installing operating system updates on an Android phone overwrites the previous version of the Android operating system and doesn't keep any of the old OS files. It's the same as if you upgraded a Windows Vista PC to Windows 7, you can't go back to Vista on that PC without finding the original install disks, as it has overwritten and deleted the old Vista files. The only way to go back to the previous version is if your manufacturer/network has made a copy of the old OS files public that you can download and install.

when you reset factory settings, it will not downgrade firmware (gingerbread to eclair). this is normal and expected bahavior


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Should I root before or after activation?
I purchased an evo on Sprint that I'm going to root.  I'm wondering, should I root the phone before or after activation on Sprint's network?  Does it make any difference?

Do it after, just in case.  Rooting shouldn't affect this process, but you never know.  If it fails to activate you'll need to bring it in presumably, and if they see it's rooted they won't honor your warranty.
Installing a custom ROM can definitely screw this up, though, so I wouldn't do that.  The comments on my answer to this question have some insight into that experience (fortunately he got it fixed).


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How can I embed youtube videos so they play on my HTC Wildfire?
I have created a youtube video and embedded in on this page:
http://tanguay.info/test169.htm
I tried to play it on my HTC Wildfire in the default browser, but it says there is no flash player installed.
However, I know I have played youtube videos before on this device, so it must be possible.
What do I have to change so that my HTC Wildfire can play embedded youtube vidoes that I produce?

The Wildfire only supports Flash Lite, so I don't know that you can do this.

If you click a link to that video, does the YouTube app launch?

You can produce videos in the vp8 format.  This is Google's answer to HTML5 video and is supported by most of their phones.
You have the option of embedding the video using HTML5 and <video> tags, or uploading the mobile friendly version to YouTube and embedding the link in an iFrame like previously suggested.
vp8 is much like H.264 in that they both boast high-quality/low-overhead and both have hardware decoders. WebM is the container format for vp8 and will remain Royalty Free as long as the technology exists, whereas H.264 will require encoders (and possibly decoders) to pay fees for its use.

This question/answer is probably a little "off topic" for this site as it is more of a web development question.
When you embed the youtube video on the page, you have to use the iframe version, as it supports both the "flash" version and the html5 version of the embeded video. The "default" style only supports flash enabled devices, where the iframe style will support both html5 and flash (if needed).
To embed the iframe style you would do this:

yes, that is the tag that I used:  but the HTC wildfire default browser still requires the flash player


text:
Where does Google Music store offline songs?
I have a song I want to use for a ringtone, but the Google Music app doesn't let me set it.  I've checked on my sdcard/internal storage for a music/google/gmusic etc folder but can't find anything.
Where is the music file stored on my phone?

See "Where does Google Play Music v5 store music locally?" for the location of the new Google Music version.

The Google Music Apps cache is at
/<external_SD>/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache/music

which is usually
/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/cache/music

Is it possible that this folder is only readable on a rooted device? On my (unrooted) Nexus 4, using Astro File Manager, both the /cache and /files subfolders appear "EMPTY", even with "Show hidden files" enabled. (And I have quite a few songs available offline/"on device" within Google Play Music.)

I assume that this has to do something with the multi-user feature and new sdcard layout of Android 4.2. You can read more about it here and here. tl;dr try looking at /sdcard/0/... or /sdcard/<userid>/...

Well, maybe... but I have neither of those folders you mention. If I search the entire device for music/mp3 files (using Astro FM) the only files found are files I have manually copied onto the device. None of my "offline" (Google Play Music) music is found. Using the DiskUsage app I can see a large continuous data block in Apps/Google Play Music/ which appears to relate to my "offline" music (the size increases as I store more offline) - but there are no individual files as far as I can see.

It is actually in /data/data/com.google.android.music/files/music.
You might need root to access this. The songs are titled just by numbers so it might be a pain to find the right ones. This is from a Sprint Samsung Galaxy S4 rooted stock ROM NAE Android 4.4.2.

I use Bluetooth File Transfer and have found the files in
/storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.google.android.music/files/music

I'm running Android 4.4.2 on a Galaxy S5 (not rooted) and the Play Music app is v5.7.1788Q.1634597


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How do I install Google Apps 20130812 into CyanogenMod 10.1 (Android 4.2.2)?
I am attempting to install the Google Apps (gapps) 20130812 update for Android 4.2.2 on my Samsung Galaxy Fascinate which is running CyanogenMod 10.1-20130723-NIGHTLY-fascinatemtd utilizing ClockworkMod v4.0.1.0. I have pushed the gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip file to the device's SD-Card.
Once I have booted into ClockworkMod I select install zip from sdcard then chosse zip from sdcard then select gapps-jb-20130812-signed.zip and confirm that I am sure I want to install. ClockworkMod then goes through the process of installing Google Apps for Android 4.2.2 and indicates that it succeeded in doing so.

When I reboot the Fascinate none of the gapps are listed. What am I missing? How do I install Google Apps 20130812 into CyanogenMod 10.1 (Android 4.2.2)?

You mean, after the installation you boot into phone and there is no google market?

@Rat2000 exactly. After installing in ClockworkMod and rebooting into CyanogenMod there are no Google Apps, market or otherwise.

And you are positive that the installation finishes successfully? I mean this is very strange what you are saying here. In the thread from where you downloaded the app, isn't there any gapps posted? mayby you need another link or smth

@Rat2000 is there a way to take a screenshot while running ClockworkMod? If not I can just take a picture of the phone.

No you do not need to take a picture, if you read on the screen that the instalation was successful I belive you. Did you try and download the gapps again from the website?

In CWM recovery try going into Mounts menu and mounting the /system partition before flashing the gapps zip.

@Chahk when I tried to mount /system I received the message Error mounting /system!. Regardless I tried to install the gapps again and as you might expect it did not work.

@Rat2000 I decided to upload a picture because there are some other messages accompanying the installation success message. Those messages appear when I load the install from zip screen.

Mayby it would be better if you reinstall CM completle, wipe dalvik cache and partitions and download again gapps and install it.

Error while mounting /system partition is bad.  I would also recommend starting clean.  Also, it would be beneficial to check if there is an updated version of the Recovery image for your Fascinate available.

@Rat2000 I am using jt1134's ClockworkMod Recovery which is recommended on CyanogemMod page for installing CM on a Fascinate device. Is there a better version of ClockworkMod I should be using?

@Chahk where can I find recent Recovery images for my Fascinate? As indicated above not having a ton of luck with my Googlfu.

Good question.  The latest version on the official page seems to be even older than the one you are using (3.0.0.8), but I'd try that anyway.  Try the version from this thread.  Worst case - you can always revert back to stock and start again.

I had this problem. Apparently when you boot into recovery with the 3-button-method, you can't install zips. No idea why.
Solutions to try:

Enable Reboot into Recovery in Power Menu. First, enable Developer Options by going to Settings > About phone > tap Build number a bunch of times. Then go to Settings > Developer Options > Advanced Reboot. Then power down and select Reboot into Recovery. This option never appeared on the Power Menu for me. No idea why.
Use ADB to reboot into recovery. Enable USB (Android) debugging via Developer Options. I gave root access to Apps and ADB also. Plug device into USB port on laptop with ADB. Enter this into your terminal:
adb reboot recovery

If you haven't installed ADB, I would try here first if you're on Ubuntu or Debian: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_adb_intro

The "Error mounting /system" line seems a bit off as I believe that's where the gapps update is applied. If you mount /system manually, what happens? You'll find the option at 'mounts and storage' > '- mount /system'
If you're successful in mounting it, try installing the gapps zip file again.

It fails when trying to mount. That error is left over from trying to manually mount.

My solution was to flash back to Factory Rom (EH03 Gingerbread). Reinstalled CWM and SU, then flashed CM 10.1 once more from SD Card.  CWM returns to boot option menu after install, at which point I installed gapps BEFORE rebooting into fresh flash of 10.1 - Problem solved.

Do you aware of these,20130812
MD5: 5f22f046e37038a3856eeb825e73d4ed
Not compatible with 4.3.x!
Not recommended for 4.2.1.
Does not include GalleryGoogle, meaning no Photosphere-equipped Camera app.
Gmail added to package (for those who could not download through Play Store) and updated to 4.5.2-714156.
Google+ added to package (to fix Location map tiles bug) and updated to 4.1.0.50809204.
Google Play Services updated to 3.2.25.
Google Play Store updated to 4.3.11.
Google Search updated to 2.6.7.721924.
TalkBack updated to 3.4.0.
for more details please refer this link

He is installing the correct package

I got that issue when moving from c10.0.1 to 0.2.
I have to re-flash it and worked for me. Try it now.

Not sure if you managed to resolve this but I had the same problem and found a fix.
First, I had to flash using rt4formatter, then mount /system and then flash the google apps. This worked for some of my google services but still missing google play and and other things. Only gmail and calender were installed.

Unfortunately, I have not resolved the issue. In fact I think I bricked the phone in the process and have not got back around to trying to fix. When I Googled rt4formatter I only found this page. Do you have a link to it?

This doesn't seem like much of a fix if it only installed Gmail and Google calendar (and I also cannot find this "rt4formatter" anywhere on the Internet).


text:
Can I browse a locally hosted web site from a USB connected device?
I am attempting to remote debug a locally hosted web application on Nexus 7 and 10 tablets running Android 4.2.2, that are connected to a development machine via USB. My goal is to browse to the equivalent of 127.0.0.1:xxxx on the tethered PC (so from the tablet I would expect to browse via the host PC's IP address 192.168.1.100:xxxx).
I do realize this can be accomplished utilizing Wi-Fi, but unfortunately the tablets are not connected to the same network as my development PC and can not be. Bluetooth is also out as my dev machine does not have Bluetooth.
It seems like utilizing reverse tethering would allow me to browse to the host machine. The reverse tethering solutions I've tried to utilize have focused on simply using the PC as a pass through to the internet. In any event I have not been able to successfully setup reverse tethering much less browse to the web application hosted on the connected development machine.
Using a USB reverse tether solution is it possible to browse a locally hosted web application? Is there an alternative to reverse tethering that will provide the same capability? Can I browse a locally hosted web site from an Android device connected via USB?

As 127.0.0.1 (alias "localhost") is the device you are on, this is unlikely to work. But instead, you could use the IP set for inside your local network (usually 192.168..). Have you tried that? IMHO this should do even via USB tethering, as the tethered device is part of the same network.

@Izzy I definitely understand that localhost is only available from the host machine. In fact one of my favorite geek jokes is: "there's no place like 127.0.0.1". Irregardless I refactored the question as I don't think the previous iteration was as clear as the current version. It boils down to running a web app on a dev box and browsing to that web app from an Android device connected via USB.

Yes, that was my understanding (besides: nice joke, I like that ;) So have you tried it with the "local network address", as I suggested? Did it work? Or is that not possible as the web-app only listens to localhost? In the latter case, some VPN solution might do the trick (not sure, never did VPN myself).

Can your PC connect to the tablet? If so, ssh reverse port forwarding might allow for tablet-to-PC connection.


text:
How do I bypass the Verizon activation on a Samsung Fascinate?
I want to use a Samsung Fascinate (model SCH-I500) in WiFi only mode for development and testing purposes. The device has been factory reset and boots to the Verizon activation screen. How do I bypass activation? Do I need to root the device?

You used to be able to bypass the activation screen by tapping in all four corners of the screen (start in the top left and work clockwise from there). Don't know if it still works, but you could try that.

After doing some additional research I finally came across a YouTube video on how to bypass a Samsung Galaxy S Continuum activation screen. The steps outlined in the video are very simple:

From the Activation Screen select Emergency call.
Enter the following *#83786633 (*#TESTMODE) which will disappear when you press the last 3
A toast with the text Softkey is enabled will appear
Then press the home button

Emergency, dial: *#83786633 and a message will pop up saying "Softkey is enabled" then press the home key.

Install a stock or a custom ROM that best fits your need from, e.g., Samobile or xda. This way you can select the android version and its flavor.


text:
Offline Mesh Instant Messaging
TLDR: Is there an Android app that would allow for reliable instant messaging in areas without internet of any sort?
I am looking for a free Android app that would allow several users to communicate with each other over short distances even when there may not be any internet connection available to them. This means that the app should be able to run in the background, connect to a mesh network of all other devices running the same app and send and receive messages reliably. Having to give the app special permissions is not a problem. (Though the previous option
is preferable, if there is a way that works using a private WiFi (without it having to be connected to the internet) and a server hosted on a local machine I am also interested in it.)
I know this is asking quite a lot, however, a number of apps on Google Play claim to possess all these features. I have tried some of these that work via Bluetooth and ad-hoc WiFi but I found that none of them worked reliably. These include:

FireChat: I know it used to work in the past but the current version does not
Bridgefy: only seems to support text messages in the current version and is unreliable, but it's still the best I could find
Briar: did not work well
Signal: did not work well
goTenna: likely works well but very expensive

I only tested these between two devices each time, might any of these work better in practice with more users as mesh networks should in theory? Is there an app that might help I have not tried yet? Or is there a point to trying out old versions of FireChat hoping to stumble upon a working one? If so, would I be able to trust it (both the APK from a mirror and the app data security-wise)?

You might want to describe what you mean by "reliable instant messaging in areas without internet" as Android is being aggressive about turning off the radios in recent versions of the OS and may require user action for pairing.

@MorrisonChang I edited the question.

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


text:
Nexus 4: Stuck on boot animation for baseband version != 2.0.1700.48 and android version > 4.3
The symptoms I'm seeing seem to be common, with many suggested solutions, none of which I've found to solve my case.
I'm not sure to what extend it is related, but it happened after the screen was replaced. With the screen damaged and no touch input was registered, it was still booting and running CM11 fine. After replacing the screen, everything other than actually booting up the OS works. I can enter in ClockworkMod Recovery, access shell through adb, format the system (/system, /data, /boot, /sdcard, etc), flashing recovery, flashing the bootloader, flashing the radio, replacing the system with stock android.
I have tried erasing everything possible, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.4 (KTU84P), 4.4.2 (KOT49H) w/corresponding bootloader and baseband (radio) versions. I've also tried locking and unlocking the OEM, forcing a system wipe. With USB-cable connected to usb charger, computer, and not at all. The result is the same, stuck on boot animation.
This is a series of steps for what works... sort of. Its current state marked as [WORKS], meaning it boots up fine, and if not [FAILS] (if nothing else is specified, it ends up stuck on boot animation).

Through stock 4.2.2, and subsequent system upgrades.

[WORKS] Flashing to Android Stock 4.2.2 (JDQ39). Phone boots up fine, no issues.
[FAILS] System upgrade to 4.3 (JWR66Y) OK. Note that baseband (radio) version is now M9615A-CEFWMAZM-2.0.1700.84.
[WORKS] Overriding radio version to 2.0.1700.48, the one that came with 4.2.2 (JDQ39) stock image.
         It now boots into 4.3 without issues.
[FAILS] Error screen after booting to perform system upgrade to 4.4 (possibly due to wrong baseband version). Reboots OK into 4.3. No longer reports a possible system upgrade (checked 4 times, rebooted twice).

Similar as above, but through fastboot and stock 4.3:

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.3 (JWR66Y) w/corresp bootloader and baseband.
[WORKS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4 (KRT16S)  w/corresp bootloader and baseband.
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4.3

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.3 (KTU84L)
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48

Through stock 4.4.4

[FAILS] Clean reset, flashing to Android Stock 4.4.4 (KTU84P)
[FAILS] Flashing baseband to 2.0.1700.48 (from 4.2.2)

I don't know what else to try, or how to understand this further.
The output of /proc/last_kmsg isn't very informative to me, but I've uploaded one such here.
*edit:* Mostly groundless speculation, but it could maybe have something to do with drivers communicating with the battery and reading the battery level. Every time it has worked on 4.2.2 and 4.3 (with baseband from 4.2.2), it has (on the first boot up) reported battery level as 1%, even though it is much more charged than that. It continues to charge, and the percentage slowly increased to 5%, whereupon I rebooted it. After the reboot, it shows the battery level at 53%.


text:
Moto 360 software update hangs
I have a Moto 360. I get a card saying there's a system update. I open the update and tell it OK to install. I get the red/blue/yellow/green spinning dots and a progress bar. When the progress bar reaches approximately 30%, the dots disappear. The green Android robot appears. He has a hatch in his stomach area, and a red triangular icon with an exclamation point inside of it appears. The watch stays like this until the battery dies (unless I hold the physical button until the watch shuts off). I can then reboot back to normal, but after a few hours (or sometimes minutes) the system update card will appear again and the whole cycle starts over.
What is causing the system update to fail? Are there any debugging steps I can perform?
When I go to Settings, my current software version is 4.4W.1.
I have tried doing factory resets twice and then updating, but the issue persists.
Update-I got in touch with Motorola support. They had me reset the watch and try updating. When that didn't work, they decided to replace my watch. They'll be shipping me a new one.

Never had this problem before, and my Moto 360 updated OK.  I know it is a pain in the butt, but I would do a factory reset on the watch.  The best way to fix problems on these wearables are to reset them - there's no way to debug when they're just Bluetooth.

Sorry, should have mentioned I tried factory resets. Twice. Didn't help the issue.

Very interesting!  Do you have any third party apps installed?

American Airlines, Audio Recorder, Browser, Fit, Hand Dialer, Heart Activity, Heart Rate, Keep, Look Behind, RunKeeper, SWear, Tip Calculator, Wear Mini Launcher, iHeartRadio, tinyCam Monitor, Wear Watch Faces, WIB, WatchMaker, Facer, Connect, Pujie Black. It'd be a pain to remove all of those. In you experience, have apps caused any software update issues?

Those are all Wear enabled apps?  I don't have any experience with problems, but the first step in narrowing down the problem would be to remove all of them from your device.

Yes, they're all Wear enabled. But removing from the device means removing them from the phone. And that's a real hassle, so I'm not going to go through that. I'm going to try to connect my watch to my Nexus 7 tablet (I had been using it with my Galaxy S4) and see if that makes a difference.

Good luck, report back.

That did not work. I'm out of ideas. Will just have to wait for the replacement from Motorola to get here.

I'm convinced it's one of those apps.  But regardless, good luck.

It probably wasn't one of the apps, because when I reset it and synced it with the Nexus 7 it didn't have most of those apps.


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Unable to uninstall apps for secondary account
I have a Nexus 10 on which I have a master account, and a secondary  (restricted) account for my kids.
Recently, one of them got hold of it while it was logged in and installed a bunch of games. I removed them again — or so I thought. I just found out that, while they don't show up in the list of apps tray, they do show up among the app permissions for the secondary account, as well as in the list of apps available via settings -> apps.
I can't uninstall them from either location. While I suspect I can I uninstall them from the secondary account, how do I know they're really gone if I do so?
Shouldn't I be able to uninstall them from the master account?

Not really a dupe to the question, but yes: same cause, so the answer fits both :)

@Izzy I'm not sure how duplicates are handled here, but I'm used to the SF Stack, where duplicates focus on the answers rather than the questions. Also, I'm the OP and that answer solved my problem.

I was not critisizing you – just left a pointer for those who might wonder. I fully agree with you and marked it duplicate. Sorry for any confusion I might have caused!

@Izzy, I didn't take it as criticism, so no problem.

Duplicates are always supposed to be about the question.  I was on SF a couple days ago and saw 5 open questions with the same answer.  But, you're the OP.


text:
Why is Google Keep's use of background data suddenly through the roof?
I just got a warning from my provider that I had already used up 80% of this month's data plan. So I checked my data usage and saw that Google Keep had used a whopping 201 MB in background data, since april 8th.
Needless to say I immediately turned off background data, but the damage has already been done.
What on earth can have caused for Google Keep to use such an enormous amount of background data? I hardly even use it, only as a clipboard (since sharing to clipboard isn't always available, while sharing to Keep almost always is).
Also, in a case like this which looks like a malfunction, is there any chance for me to get a compensation from the app's maker - Google?

Well that would be a data leaking app as per April 8th. And I never saw that coming because I have a large amount of data package for myself but would go and check.
This is a hell lot of data being used up by such a tiny app. I mean in my phone 200mb+ data is either used up by Google Play store or a Browser app by which I downloaded files (audio, video, images etc). Otherwise I never saw such event.
However, if you want to contact Google about it. They would be waiting for the feedback and you can include this as the feedback message. But if you want them to get you some data package (maybe I got confused and mis understood your point of view for contact) then they won't do it.

Haha, but it's obvious they won't! Dude, what do you expect? And yeah, if your Google Keep is eating your Data Packet, then stop using it as a Clipboard, because every single time you open it, sync starts. I never found this issue with my Keep. Turn off Google Sync; it's the best way!


text:
Android Beam - vCard Not Init'ing
When I try to send a contact from one nexus 5 to another, Android Beam fails (everything is enabled). Other things such as a pic, a Play App link, etc. work just fine.
When I pull the log, I can see vCard fails to init.  I'm not using any special apps. Just plain stock Android running 4.4.2. Any ideas what's causing this issue?
01-20 14:18:56.187 W/ContactsProvider(16573): Failed to init VCardComposer
01-20 14:18:56.187 E/ContactNfcHandler(30975): IOException creating vcard
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Steve

Do you have enough storage available? If so, have you tried to reboot?

No, memory\storage is not the problem. Something else is going on.


text:
How to play video on mobile browser's webpage WHILE ON the webpage?
On any browser I try, even with SkyFire 4.0 and Flash, when I play a video on a webpage, what happens is the video is actually played by another program(Moboplayer, SkyFire's client, HTML5 browser video player, etc.).
What I want to do is play a video and watch it streaming while still being able to:
1.Move the webpage around, scroll, navigate, select other buttons, radio boxes, hyperlinks, etc.
2.Be able to have Flash run other streaming media, such as top-bar Flash ads, flash games in the manner described above, etc.
3.Access webpages more like they're intended and viewed on a non-mobile targeted site, but through a mobile device and browser.
Here's a picture to illustrate what I mean crystal clearly:

What I want to know is what the problem is here:
1.Is it the way the browsers are programmed/configured?
2.Can't a browser app developed for Android/iOS/Windows Phone/Symbian/etc. (theoretically) be used identically with touch gesturization like if with a keyboard(such as pressing articulate little buttons, scrolling iFrames properly, running Flash runtime).
In other words, is it possible for Flash to run like it does on Windows on Android?
Why and why not?
PS: The problem is that on my device I can't find any tricks to get this done right, and I'm very limited with Flash video playback in this manner(and Flash altogether).
Just to clarify, no, I'm not unaware of the YouTube app. What I want to do is all of the aforementioned tasks (video streaming, viewing Flash ads/animation, etc.) right from a single webpage which the .swf data lies upon(no "transferring" of data to other programs and leaving the webpage).

What browser are you using? At least #1 works for me on the LG stock browser (P880), and AFAIR also on my other devices. I cannot tell for #2 (no use for me). For #3 are also solutions available, e.g. switching the browser to desktop mode.

HTML 5 video plays within the browser in Chrome. To use HTML 5 video with Youtube (both the mobile and desktop websites), go to http://www.youtube.com/html5 to turn it on.
Browsers won't be able to run Flash animations, videos, and games, because Adobe decided to stop supporting Flash on mobile devices. Adobe is also winding down its Flash authoring tools and encouraging its customers to output to HTML 5 instead. Because Flash is a closed, proprietary format, Adobe's free to choose to support or not support Android according to their whims, and there's very little consumers can do about that.


text:
Removed storage/emulated/0 file and lost access to all files
I was cleaning up my files using the PC and I accidentally removed storage/emulated/0 file completely.
I can no longer access images, music or files in general.
Is there anything I can do at this point?
Android 4.4.2, original, untouched.
The phone is a Nexus 5.
Using ES File Explorer going to storage/emulated/0 (the 0 here is a folder) shows me and Android folder. This is where my data was. The 0 I removed didn't look like a folder on Windows, it looked like a file with no extension.

I'm not sure, but I think it is a symlink (I'm on 4.1, so I can't verify). Maybe try ln -s /sdcard /storage/emulated/0?

0 was a file, not a folder and it didn't look like an alias either. /sdcard only contains one folder: Android. Nothing else...

I'd expect /storage/emulated/0 to be the actual directory containing the whole of the fake "SD card", not a symlink or a file.

Ah, that's bad news. It didn't look like a folder. And it was inside /sdcard. Would you say there's anything that can be done about that?

If it's a mountpoint (what I guess it is), simply re-creating the directory and then re-booting the device should fix it. If it was a symlink, re-creating the symlink should do. But you must be sure to chose the right action; i.e. if it was a symlink, and you create a directory, it won't work out. Maybe you [edit] your question and add the device you're using, so someone else with a similar configuration can check?

It's a Nexus 5. I'll update the answer and add a bit more detail about what I see using ES File Explorer. Thanks.


text:
very slow performance of Galaxy Grand 4.2.2
After the new update of 4.2.2 on Feb 6,2014 my phone performs very very slow.. cant even run a single application.. cant even pick up the call as the screen remains blank...
Smart phone has become absolute dumb and for no use...

Have you done a factory reset? I know it is extreme, but it seems to be almost essential after Samsung updates software. The 4.3 update for the S3 produced results like this and a factory reset resolves most of those same issues. Just back up anything you need off the device (you can use Kies if you want more than just the internal SD contents) and do a factory reset, reinstall your apps and see how it goes. It should improve dramatically.

I was facing the same issue after the 4.2.2 Feb 6, 2014 update. Did a factory reset and I'm able to run applications now. The dialing and answering the call problem is resolved, but on the whole, the mobile still lags.

I was able to fix up the issue by clearing Gallery data.  Go to Settings --> More --> Application Manager --> All Applications --> Gallery --> ... Here you will see data reported in hunderds of MBs.  Press Clear data button and once that is complete, you phone should be back to normal.

Just go to settings --> more --> storage --> miscellaneous --> delete all data by check all file.
Before you delete all miscellaneous data make sure you had move the important file to external memory or PC.
Hope it helped :)

Gallery data may not be the main matter.
The Cache and RAM have to be cleared. Just see that RAM is at least 40% free. Uninstall / clear unwanted apps.

That's nonsense. What makes you think RAM should be free? Free RAM is a wasted resource on *nix based systems. See: Are there guidelines on how much free RAM a phone should have?, and other frequent questions tagged ram.


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Galaxy S3 mini (i8190N) stuck in boot-loop after flashing custom ROM
I've got a S3 Mini (i8190N) & I tried to install a custom ROM to it which failed. My phone will boot but then before the ROM/OS starts it reboots so it's stuck in a Bootloop. I cannot get into Recovery 'cause when I try that it simply just reboots. I can get into download mode!
I'vve had enough messing about trying to find a custom ROM; I don't think there is any out there. (The one I tried was mentioned later on in the thread that it isn't compatible with the model I've got.)

So what's the actual question here?

there could be various reasons for bootlooping like installing ROM which has size larger than your phone's HBOOT,
or a bad ROM.


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How to find IP addresses of nearby Wi-Fi networks?
Smartphone application show info about nearby Wi-Fi networks it finds, i.e. channel, SSID, MAC address of router, etc, except it IP addresses. Is it possible to discover IP addresses of nearby Wi-Fi networks without connecting to it?

No. To find out the IP addresses you'd have to be able to connect to the DHCP server that handles giving out the IP addresses for that subnet, get and IP address and a subnet mask, and then scan the subnet for active IPs. To do this, you'll have to be connected to the access point.


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Android Spy Apps
Is it possible for someone to install a spy app on an Android phone JB os? Do these spy apps really work? Can anyone install this spy app to your mobile phone without your knowledge? If you suspect that it's been installed to your mobile phone, how do you find it and uninstall it? Would it show as an installed app in your internal files accessible by apps like All-in-One Toolbox?

In simple words YES! Can they be installed without your knowledge? Mostly no, but with hackers finding innovative ways to push malware through you could get affected.
Any app during installation asks for a few permissions, if I were to develop an application to spy on your location, your contacts, your messages etc I could very well just add these permissions on the app and discreetly upload your data. How would you prevent this? Well if you are downloading a music app and it asks your permission to send and receive messages or access your messages you can make an educated guess that something could be wrong here.
Your best bet at finding spy apps would be to see the permissions for apps downloaded and see if they match the functionality that is provided by them.

That could be mitigated by using a firewall to block spying apps in a rooted device.

It is my understanding that, in a non-rooted android device at least, all apps are available to be seen by the user. Now unless there is a security vulnerability that I am unaware of a "spy-app" will be visible to the primary user and owner of the phone.
This does not mean it will be called "spy app" or anything that is obviously malicious but it does mean that if it is there then it will be visible.
A great way to check if an app could be a "spy app" is to check its permissions, other than that its just good practice to know what is on your phone (so you could see if an app is installed that you did not install).


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Not connecting via usb since latest update
Since the latest update on Galaxy S3 (now have Jelly Bean 4.3) my phone will not connect via USB to the USB port on my car radio. It connected before the update. What can I do to correct problem?

It could be that its recognizing the USB cable as a computer and not just an outlet for power. Is there any indication that you are getting power? Did you try the same cable on a different device?


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Do 4.3 JellyBean apps work on 4.4 KitKat?
I am an android developer and would like to upgrade my Nexus 7(2013, JellyBean 4.3) to KitKat 4.4.2.
My apps are all developed to work on 4.3 fine. I'm just wondering if my 4.3 apps will work when I upgrade. Does anyone know?
Thanks in advance.
EDIT - I upgraded and all apps work fine, thanks for answers :D
EDIT 2 - Actually, one of my Bluetooth Low Energy Apps does not work. Any Help? I have changed the targetSDK version to 19, but should I install the SDK for 19 as well?

Congrats! Make sure tha you thank answers with upvotes, and "Accept" the one you feel was most helpful. Questions for BLE should be asked in a new question.

I have not accepted because not all of my apps work. I do not think that BLE is the problem, but rather something else. If it is alright, I will leave the question longer and see if anyone else can help.

Did you try clearing the app data? Note that issues with app development are off-topic here.

I would say that the BLE bugs should be asked in a separate question nonetheless. The question here is "Will the apps work?" and both answers say "Most likely" - they are correct answers for the question asked. Our site's format doesn't work well with evolving threads - new issues are asked in new questions, like an issue-tracking system, so it's probably best for you if you close this one and ask the BLE questions on another question.

There's no gurantee that they'll work, but API compatibility when upgrading is a standing tenet of Android. The odds are very high (above 90%) that they'll work no problem.
In the end, whether they work or not depends on you, as the developer. As an Android developer, you should probably read the documentation released with new API's for the features and methods you use.
One way or another, you may need to upgrade to 4.4 as soon as you can - in order to address potential bugs that may pop up for your users.

It's updating now, I'll edit answer if it works. Thanks :)

Excellent point about updating to identify and address potential bugs.  As a developer this is absolutely a high priority!

My guess would be, yes, they will work.  As you know, when you develop an app you select the target Android build for your app, which is the lowest version of Android your app is "supposed" to work with.  That being the case, your apps are targeted for 4.3 and should easily work on 4.4.2.  Likewise, if you targeted 2.3 (as many devs do) your apps should still work.  It's not guaranteed, of course, but I think you will be fine.
As a side note, my Galaxy Note 2 recently received the new update and I haven't had any issues with apps that were installed on my phone, and I'm fairly certain they have not all been updated for KitKat.


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Andriod device rebooting constantly
Because of processes stoped working and fixing them was taking too long with 0 rezults I tryed to reset it to factory settings but that didn't work so I also wiped the cache and media patitions and now it's in a constant rebooting state. I doesn't even load the OS just shows a logo and a loading screen with images like this one: link.
How do I fix it?

The steps below will walk you through clearing the partition on your device.

This process will not delete any information from your device.

1.  Power up the phone by pressing the VOL UP + VOL DOWN KEY together + POWER KEY .

2.  The device will enumerate with different BOOT OPTIONS

3.  Use the VOL DOWN Key to SCROLL and VOL UP Key to SELECT

4.  Select Recovery

5.  The device will start up, now power up to  a little Android man logo with Exclamation mark

6.  Press the VOL UP and VOL DOWN Key together at this screen

7.  The device will display BLUE Text on a Black background .

Use the VOL DOWN Key to scroll DOWN and the POWER Key to SELECT the option desired .

In this case , press the VOL DOWN key till the cache partition wipe is selected and press the POWER key to confirm the selection .

Use the VOL DOWN key again to select YES - delete all user data and press the POWER key to CONFIRM .

The device will then start performing the partition wipe

Once the Formatting is complete , press the POWER key to confirm a REBOOT

The message rebooting is displayed on the phone.

The device will reboot and start the normal power up sequence .

Already did that, that is the cause of my problem

which rom did u try and from where did u download the rom files? which version of android was that?

I have jellybean and didn't download anything, just wiped the 2 partitons and then choose factory reset. I dont have a rocovery option. The tablet is AllView City+

seems like the action you performed corrupted your OS. you probably need to reinstall your OS. have a look on this link this will help you to download and install a new OS jelly bean 4.1 . this might solve your problem.

May be it got stuck in boot loop.
You can recover your phone. Search the internet, preferably XDA forum, for your phone model. They will surely help you.

"Search the Internet" is not really an answer.


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Automatically delete local photos that have been backed up by Google+
I use Google+ to automatically back up any photos taken with my phone. Unfortunately my phone has only 8GB storage. Is there a way to automatically delete the local copies of photos that have already been backed up by Google+ in order to save storage space?

There is an app called "flickr uploader", since flickr offer 1TB free it's pretty convenient. This app allows you to auto backup  all your pictures to flickr and it has an option to delay the backup so you can delete blurry photos, for example, and of course, the option to delete the photo from the phone 24 hours after successfully uploaded.
I have been using it for a long while, totally worth it.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts – and thanks for taking the time to answer! But how does your approach help the OP with Google+? I don't see any indication of "switching to some other cloud service" being a valid option. So does that app support G+ as well?

I am using an app called FolderSync (paid version) to pack up my photos to cloud.
You can set automatic delete of the local files, after transferring them. But with this you can't use Google+ 's automatic upload.

I have recently started trying to teach myself how to (properly) use Tasker so thought this could be a nice little project to try.
Harder than I thought. I couldn't manage to do exactly what you want and it is a pretty crude method but I will continue anyway. I thought if I put it out there, someone with more experience with Tasker may be able to improve it.
So I started by creating the task "Delete last photo". Fortunately, doing this with Tasker is very easy as it has a build in variable Last photo.
Now the hard bit I found was choosing a trigger. Ideally it would be when you get confirmation of upload (Tasker does support HTTP responses but that stuff is way over my head, if it is even relevant) or when a photo is taken (which I couldn't find as an event within Tasker). So the way I settled on, and here comes the messy bit, was to have it run everytime the screen is turned on. I know this is a very poor trigger (e.g. If you have no network connection it will delete the photo without uploading it) but I could see no better options within Tasker.
I know this is far from the answer you will have been wanting but as there have been no other (proper) answers I thought I would get this in there, may give you or someone else a better idea.

I like the approach and will look into it. I, for a while now, wanted to teach myself to use tasker anyhow ;)

I don't use G+ autobackup feature so was new territory for me too. I did notice that G+ notifies you when pics have been uploaded too. Tasker also supports notifications as triggers so could be another avenue to explore.


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How to increase the call volume in xolo q700
I have xolo q700, not sure if the problem is unique to my piece.  During the incoming/outgoing call, voice is not audible (very feeble), however speaker option and headphone provide good volume.
Is there any settings I can change to improve volume during my call in non-speaker/headphone mode?

Try any Audio Manager app from play store.
AudioManager
Audio Manager

Instructions :

List item
Enter Engineering Mode – Dial *#*#3646633#*#*
Go to Hardware Testing → Audio → Normal Mode.
Select “Sph” in type.
Select “level 6″ in Level.
Enter 160 in value.
Press Set.
Restart the phone.

It will increase your device's volume when you put your volume
to the highest level.
If you want to increase your volume in all levels then
choose from “level 0″ to “level 6″ and enter value you wish to. Max is 160, and min is 80.

Are you certain it's called "Engineering Mode" and not "EngineerMode"?


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Cannot connect my Moto X to Windows 7 PC
I cannot connect my Moto X to Windows 7, 32-bit PC via USB. After doing some research normal solutions people found were

Enabling MTP in connection settings.
Disabling USB debugging in Dev. settings.
Updating drivers.
Updating windows media player.

I've tried all of this still my PC can't detect Moto X as USB storage device. It shows the device in - Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Devices and Printers, but says this device does not work properly as Windows cannot load its drivers. It gives option to re install drivers in troubleshooting but everytime I do it the device driver is not successfully installed.

https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/94931/p/30,6720,8696/action/auth try installing this

@sameer I've already installed it... Even tried re installing it several times still it doesn't work.

Goto device manager and right click on the motorola device name and select Update Driver Software and click browse and point to the driver location.

It says device driver is already installed... @sameer

connect your phone with computer
go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Motorola Shared\Mobile Drivers\
run Motorola Driver Installer.exe, choose clean and Reinstall.

That is not helping either... @sameer

It should work. Try in different port or in different pc

it works in other PC without even installing drivers it automatically installs drivers from windows 7 database in other PC... the problem is with this PC only..

Take a look at this question/answer. The device is different and the drivers are too, but the method should be the same.

If your phone is able to connect in another PC, the problem is in PC and not with the droid. The possible solutions are

Download Motorola driver
Goto Device Manager and right click on the motorola device name and select uninstall
Now right click and select Scan Hardware Change Now select Update Driver Software and click browse and point to the downloaded driver location

If this does not work Try:

connect your phone with computer
go to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Motorola Shared\Mobile Drivers\
Run Motorola Driver Installer.exe, choose clean and Reinstall.

or
The problem may be due to windows mtp driver and you can try the fix provided by Microsoft.
or

Unistall driver from device manager
Remove all USB controllers
Disable Windows Media Player (Control Panel - Uninstall a program - Turn Windows features on or off - Expand Media Feature - Uncheck Windows Media Player)
Connect your device and Reboot the pc
Reactivate Windows Media Player(Control Panel - Uninstall a program - Turn Windows features on or off - Expand Media Feature - Check Windows Media Player)

I formatted C drive and reinstalled windows.. And now it works without installing drivers too... thanks for the help though...

OK, I pulled my hair out for almost 2-days.  I'd install the Moto USB driver ware on my PC (Moto Device Mgr V2.5.4) and when I'd connect my Moto X via USB, the driver wouldn't 'install' properly.  Status via Cntl Panel, Device & Printer, showed a device named XT1095 (yep that's my Moto X) but flagged with a yellow exclamation point and the declaration 'Driver Not Installed'.
After a NUMBER of uninstall/re-install episodes and delving into the Moto X (turn developer USB options ON/OFF), I tried the setup on my older Dell laptop.  BINGO, everything worked like a hose!  Hey, what's the difference?
Well, one thing is the Dell hardware is specifically limited to USB 2.0.  My desktop PC running a quad core based motherboard has both USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports on it.  Hum...
I did a clean install of the Moto Device Mgr and then connected my unlocked/running Moto X intentionally to a USB 2.0 port.  KAZOOM, the device driver installed and all was working!  Then, I unplugged the Android phone and re-installed it on a USB 3.0 port where it had previously failed to work. VAROOM, it came up and running nicely!
Methinks there's an issue here of technical due diligence in testing the Moto USB driver with various hardware manufacturer specific USB ports...

Have you tried unlocking your screen after plugging in the USB cable?
I was having a similar issue - my Moto X would charge but not connect as media device - but none of the above advice was relevant. Finally, I realized that it would not connect as long as the screen was locked. After entering my PIN, it connected immediately. In retrospect, this is a really obvious security feature! Just thought I'd post this in case someone else has also misdiagnosed this as a USB issue.

I was facing the same problem with my moto e and windows 7 professional, XP i.e. unable to connect.
Earlier, it did connect with every system but for the last few days it did not.
Today an IT person gave me another USB cable (thicker one) and it worked.

+1 for the suggestion. After researching different USB cables at http://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides/usb , swapping the USB cable from "Micro-USB A" to "Micro-USB B" solved the problem. The "Micro-USB A" cable did not work because Windows recognized the phone as a generic usb device. On the other hand, both Windows and Motorola Device Manager see the phone correctly when using the "Micro-USB B" cable.

Okay this is extremely weird, but I've found this with more than one laptop (one HP and one Acer). For some reason the second USB port from the front of laptop never works with certain devices. My 3G dongle and now my Moto X would not be detected properly and said 'unrecognized device'. I had the same issues as the original question, but after switching ports it just works, every time. Hope this helps someone.

To make a Moto G device work with Windows 7 computers, go to Settings > Developer options on the device and select USB configuration. Change it to PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) instead of MTP (Media Transfer Protocol).
I have been racking my brains and searching the phone and web for answers. Poking around the phone did it! Good luck :)

Had the same problem and nothing worked until I made sure I was using a USB data cable. Maybe the one I was using is for charging only

This doesn't really answer or attempts to answer the question. OP clearly mentioned that (s)he tried changing USB connection (MTP, USB debugging) which IMO cannot be done if the cable is for charging only.


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Reinstall OS on Karbonn A1+
I have Karbonn A1+, android system of my phone totally hanged. i want format my phone and reinstall operating system. please suggest me method. (Android Operating System : Android 2.3 Gingerbread)

Do you want to void your warranty? If not, contact the Karbonn Customer Care and ask for the Official Flash Tool and a copy of the Stock ROM. Reboot your phone in recovery mode and reinstall the android using that tool.


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Synchronize Gmail but not contacts
I have a phone with Android 4.2.2.
I want to sync my mails but not my contacts.
The problem is that it seems to be joined in my phone.
When I go to Settings > Account > Google I can activate synchronisation but not choose which one.
Does anyone knows how to do this or an app that allows this?

When you tap Google in your accounts list, the first option shows your user mail. Tap that and you will see a list of services which are getting synced. Untick Contacts and make sure Gmail is checked.


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How to avoid Titanium Backup's 50 backup limit?
In the Pro version I can extend backup history from 1 to 50, but it is not enough.
What should I do?

Maybe I can move some backups to another folder?Will this cause issues with Titanium?

@geffchang Im sorry but when I visit the site you provided I get:No thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator

Sorry, that should be: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2691743

@geffchang Thanks how did you find it? When I googled before asking here I couldn't find it

This is what I Googled: titanium backup limit


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How can I delete a group in Viber?
I made a group in Viber. I wanna get out all of members from this group. How can I do that?

Directly from Viber :

Groups cannot be deleted by any one user. When a user leaves a group,
the group continues to exist with all remaining participants. When all
participants leave a group, it will automatically be deleted.

How do I use group conversations on my Android device?

Does this mean that if one user (the group admin in this case) has changed his phone number we will never be able to edit/delete the group anymore?

With the new version as of March 2017, Swipe the screen to the left OR Tap on the 3 dots in the chat header & select Chat Info. Then you will find the Leave and Delete command (go to the bottom of the page if you have many users). You will delete the group conversation from your chats list only, you won't delete the group. If you are the admin of the group, you will be able to delete the group.
Note: Initially I added this as a comment. As @AndrewT pointed out, I thought it is best to put it as an answer. I'll update the answer if the current version of Viber has a completely different method.

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


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Treat Android as USB for forensics
I have a Galaxy S3 Mini. I want to plug it into Linux and treat it like a hard drive or USB device so I can use Recoverjpeg to recover photos from it, and use dc3dd so I can take the image of the Android files. I tried to do it on Kali Linux but when I tried use the command:
fdisk -l

I can't find it. Is what I want to do possible?

Newer Android phones don't act as USB mass storage devices, so you can't use PC-based recovery software on them. Those tools (and the mass storage profile itself) require that the phone gives the PC very low-level access to the storage, which simply isn't practical any more. Here's a longer explanation of why not.


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Switching between my profile on Google+ and a page I manage
I have a Google+ account. I manage a page there, too. But how to switch between them using an Android device that its version is 4.2.2?

In the Google+ app, tap the "hamburger" menu in the upper left. It should show your cover image, your profile image and name, and a menu of options: Home, People, Photos, etc.
Tap the downpointing arrow next to your name.
You will probably1 see an option to "Select Google+ page" with a right-pointing arrow. Tap that.
Now you should see your page(s) available in a menu. Tap it.
You are now using Google+ "as" that page.
To go back to your personal profile, follow the same steps, but choose your profile where before you chose your page.

1If you've done this before, then the page you used before will be listed here along with "Switch Google+ page" (if you have more than one page to manage). This also assumes that your Google+ account is set as a manager/owner of the page in question.


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How can I turn off all sounds and LEDs apart from my Alarm?
How can I deactivate all sounds and LEDs, except the alarm? When I'm sleeping, I don't want to be disturbed by anything except the alarm.

You can use an app, but you need root. First you need to root there are many useful link, you need to find instructions for your own device an useful site is link after that you need this link for xposed.
If you got lollipop 5.1 you need only the apk and this link, if you got non 64 bits you need the arm. Else you need arm64.
After that follow the instructions.
After the instructions you'll need this link for true silent mode.
Edit: if you don't want to root, then you can set the none mode to be enabled until your next alarm, this will disable your led.
Edit 2: you need to have an alarm set in the next 12 hours, so if it isn't there then this might be the reason.
You'll need to use the stock alarm app and Android 5.1/5.1.1 else it won't work.

[...] then you can set the none mode to be enabled until your next alarm, [...], how do I do that?

There is a setting in the sounds settings

I can't find it. I can only enable none mode indefinitely or for a specific number of hours.

Go to settings and then to sounds and then you can set it

As I said, I don't have such a setting.

In your settings app go to sounds

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

It seems that the LED is NOT deactivated. I forgot to check that earlier, sorry.

That's weird @gartenriese

Priority Mode added in Android 5.0, allows you to 'snooze' alerts until you turn 'All' mode back on or for a set period of time. You can trigger it by touching either of the volume buttons.
In Android 5.1, you can set priority mode to be enabled until your next alarm, which means you can set it right before going to bed and when your alarm goes off it will be back to 'All' mode.
NB. This also applies to 'None' mode as well as 'Priority'
As for the LED's i don't think it is possible with stock android to turn them off just when in Priority mode. It might be possible using an app such as Lightflow Lite (Full) which allows you to configure the LED notifications for your device.

This does not deactivate the LEDs though.


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White Background In Landscape Text Input
I'm sorry to bother you but I couldn't find anything anywhere on this:
I installed CM a couple of days ago on my Samsung i9305 (Galaxy S3 LTE - CM stable release 10.1.3 based on Android 4.2.2) and so far am very happy about it. There is one thing to annoy me though and I couldn't find a way to change it.
I'm using my phone a lot to write, especially when it's dark, so naturally I've chosen dark themed text editors.
On portrait, text input is as it should, I can write simply within the dark themed app.
As soon as I put the phone in portrait mode (which is desired for longer texts), I get this awful white text input thing popping up with the "done"-button on its side which really takes me out of it (Form editor?).
I have searched the settings high and low, tried changing the theme and have tried installing other keyboards (which has nothing to do with it but it was worth a shot) but no success.
Is there any way to get rid of that function?
It may be possible for it to just be an Android 4.2.2 feature, which I would find odd since it breaks the immersion into an app, so the question remains.
Thank you very much for your effort.

I assume you have a screen like this one? There's a way to disable the so called "fullscreen landscape keyboard". Some custom roms have feature an option by default, but not CyanogenMod.
What you could try is to download the Xposed Framework and disable that fullscreen landscape keyboard through Xposed Modules like "Gravity Box" or "XBlast Tools".
Those two modules also feature a lot of other useful tweaks.
I hope I understood you correctly and that this will be helpful.
EDIT: Those two modules I mentioned above may be a bit confusing at first. So I would rather recommend this module instead: No Fullscreen Keyboard Xposed - Android Apps on Google Play

That's an idea, thanks! I've actually used XPosed on my phone before installing Cyanogenmod but have never needed these mpdules specifically. I'll try right now.

This answer is correct, though "No Full Screen Keyboard" didn't do the job. XBlast did it! Thank you very much.

You're most welcome!


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TWRP 2.8.7.0 asks for password on Marshmallow (Nexus 9), cannot mount anything
After flashing TWRP and booting it (situation described in title), TWRP asks for password. When I bypass it, TWRP cannot mount anything. When I reboot to system, it is stuck at the startup animation forever. Only can boot when I reflash stock recovery. Actually I have to reflash system too, it cannot boot otherwise.
I also tried boot.img replacement by Chainfire, result is exactly the same.
Has anybody successfully rooted Android 6 at all? What was the procedure?
Update
Just installed apk for supersu 2.51 (beta) and it seems to work - at least adb now goes root (could not before). However twrp still asks for password and cannot mount anything.

Worked for me like this:

Boot into Fastboot
Flash Chainfire's WIP boot.img
Flash TWRP
Copy latest SuperSU BETA onto a USB stick
Use an OTG adapter to connect that USB stick to your Nexus 9
Boot into TWRP
Tap "Cancel" at the password prompt
Mount the USB stick
Install the SuperSU.zip from USB
Reboot

I didn't have to install stock recovery or anything else. It booted up just fine with all data still there.

Sounds much better! So you do not need to wipe data?

No, you only have to wipe if you want to disable encryption. But for rooting only, you don't need to.

Even I went into the same problem but finally I fixed it.
The reason why your phone gets stuck up on the start page is because android phones with lollipop and above version needs to unlock the boot loader to gain the privileges. This was implemented by google for the purpose of factory reset protection.
To do so you need to enable the OEM Unlocking check box in Developer Options.
This is what I did and i finally rooted my device using TWRP recovery. If it doesn't work try installing the latest version of SuperSu.

In my case that was not the reason since my device was unlocked when this happened. On the bootloader screen this is explicitly declared.

authors: محمد جارالله

authors: მამუკა ჯიბლაძე


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Why is my Android phone unable to detect some wireless access points?
I created an unsecured ad-hoc network from my Mac machine and scanned for networks using my LG Optimus 3D, tried Samsung Galaxy Pop also. But unfortunately both the phone doesn't seem to pick up the private access point I have created.
But the network is detectable by other laptops and phones (except Android).
I need this connection to happen via Wi-Fi, but seems I am not able to get out of this problem. I tried Wi-Fi tether to do this the other way round, but it seems to be buggy. The tether works for some time but fails some other time (pretty unstable).
Is there any stable solution to this problem?

If it is an Ad-hoc network
Vanilla Android does not support Ad-hoc Wi-Fi networks. But there is a patch for the wpa_supplicant, that allows you to connect to Ad-hoc networks (root required):

http://www.xda-developers.com/android/android-ad-hoc-wireless-network-support/
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=754961
http://szym.net/2010/12/adhoc-wifi-in-android/
http://szym.net/2010/12/prospects-of-ad-hoc-wifi-in-android/

But Android 4.0 supports Wi-Fi Direct, which can be seen as a more enhanced version of the Ad-hoc protocol.
If you have an soft-AP
This sounds like you AP is transmitting on a channel that is not avaiable on your Android phones. Try setting the Wi-Fi channel to something < 12 e.g. 5.

The network is ad-hoc. I heard by default android phones don't support ad-hoc. Is there any way to do it in my LG Optimus 3d?

@JuliusCanute That important piece of information was missing, maybe you should edit your question: There are no "Access Points" in ad-hoc networks. :) I have updated my answer.

I think i have corrected now. My phones wpa_supplicant version is v0.6.10. Is it ok if I apply the path which seems to be v0.5.11?

Also I tried wpa_supplicant version 0.6.10 from the following link:http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/19556-howto-ad-hoc-wireless-connections/ but it didn't work. I am getting an error stating "Unable to scan for networks" Wherein none of the access points are detected.


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Can't connect to Windows 7 "hostednetwork"
I have been trying and failing to connect my phone (Samsung GT-I8150, running CM10.2) to my Lenovo T420 laptop via Windows 7's "hostednetwork" facility.
The hostednetwork's SSID is visible in my phone, but after I fill in the password, it goes "Connecting" for several seconds, then back to "Saved". No error, no nothing.
I know hostednetwork works because I borrowed a colleague's phone, and his phone has no problem Connecting-Authenticating-Obtaining_IP.
Interestingly, I have no problems connecting my phone to a wifi router in a cafe, or in my home.
What could possibly be the problem between my phone and Windows 7's hostednetwork service?
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Edit: To make things clear:

hostednetwork is Windows 7 facility to turn a laptop's wifi into an Access Point (Infrastructure mode)
My colleague's phone is an Alcatel D662 (running stock Android GB)

Please [edit] your question and clarify: is "hostednetwork" using infrastructure mode, or ad-hoc? What is "a colleague's phone" (I never heard of that brand ;) Hint: Android does not support ad-hoc natively.

Thanks, pepoluan! That rules out a) ad-hoc as possible source, and b) makes clear that Android as-such is not the issue here. One more thing you could check: What channel is that hostednetwork using? Depending on regulations, some channels are "out-of-band" by definition in certain regions, so your w7 might use a channel your Android device thinks is "illegal". If ch > 11, this becomes very likely, so make sure to use a channel <= 11.

Well, by default, activating hostednetwork on Windows 7 will give it Channel 11. Perhaps wpa_supplicant on CM10.2 is buggy? (I'm grasping at straws here... can't bear seeing my friend using my hotspot happily while I can't even connect)

Have you tried a different channel (one between 1 and 9)? If that doesn't solve the issue, we can at least rule out this as the culprit.

Well, after tearing my hair out and feeling my hair became lighter, I gave up. But then, the wifi of the laptop became even flakier: It can no longer connect to the Office WiFi.
So, I did some drastic measures:

Uninstall all ThinkPad utilities that manage the wifi
Uninstall the wifi drivers
Reboot
Reinstall just the wifi drivers

Afterwards, I can connect to the office wifi... and hostednetwork works! Go figure :-/

On my W540 running Windows 8.1, disabling the "Lenovo Settings Mobile Hotspot Service" fixes the issue.