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How to do a full nandroid backup via pc
How to do a full nandroid backup via pc using adb or anything or any software specialised for it.

I have a rooted device

Have you checked with our nandroid tag-wiki and other questions using the tag? There's e.g. Is there a way to do Nandroid backup directly to pc and then restore it directly from pc also?, which seems to precisely match your question.

The easiest way is to make the nandroid via a third party recovery (E.g. CWM, TWRP, PhilZ etc.) and copy that onto your PC of course. If this option isn't possible:
From  XDA Developers on Nandroid to PC
This guide is intended to make a full backup of your android phone (the entire memory block with all partitions) or a single partition (including sdcards, etc) directly to your computer, in either

Block level (with dd): for single partitions or whole memory block
(all partitions in one piece). The backup always has the same size
which is the size of the partition.
File level (with tar): only for individual partitions. This only
includes files and folders, so occupies much less space, depending on
how much filled is the partition.  It can be done with the phone
powered on or from ClockWorkMod Recovery (from both ADB works, while
in Fastboot doesn't so won't apply). Unless specified the commands
meant to be used from Windows. For Linux and Unix is similar.

REQUIREMENTS

Rooted Android Phone  Busybox installed on your phone.  If you are
using Linux / OS X you have native tools, for Windows download
Cygwin,  and install with it netcat, pv and util-linux.    Cygwin's setup.exe
ADB installed.  Make sure adb.exe is in your
windows' path. See here and here, or use Path Manager.
Android phone
with USB Debugging enabled, and the proper drivers installed on
Windows so the phone is recognized. Typing 'adb devices' on a
terminal should show your device.

PARTITION IDENTIFICATION
You now have to identify the partition or block device that you want to backup. For a single partition you can use either tar or dd, while for the entire memory block you can only use dd.
For example, on Galaxy Nexus you have the list of partitions here .
Usually on android, the entire block containing all partitions is located at /dev/block/mmcblk0 and the data partitions is a subpartition of it. You can push parted with GPT support to your device and see all information on a partition or block.
Whole phone memory -> /dev/block/mmcblk0 (may vary, in some phones this is the sdcard)
Subpartitions -> depends on each device. Usually at /dev/block/platform/dw_mmc/by-name/ there are listed by name linking to the real device.
Back up of the whole memory block (via adb)
Connect the phone in ADB mode and unlock the screen.
Open one Cygwin Terminal and enter (replace mmcblk0 if needed):
adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
adb shell
su
/system/xbin/busybox nc -l -p 5555 -e /system/xbin/busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0

You will see the cursor blinking at the left. Now the phone is waiting to send the block over the network.
Open another Cygwin terminal and type:
adb forward tcp:5555 tcp:5555
cd /path/to/store/the/backup
nc 127.0.0.1 5555 | pv -i 0.5 > mmcblk0.raw

You will see how the image size is growing until it finishes. Now you have the whole phone backed up in raw format. You can see the contents of the GPT partition with gptfdisk tool, available for windows, linux and such. See official website and sourceforge to get it. You can do it the same from ClockWorkMod Recovery but you have to mount first the /system partition since the busybox included with clockworkmod does not come with netcat and you have to use the one from the system partition.
With further linux tools you could edit or extract single partitions from the whole block.

Would be nice to link to the XDA post you are quoting.

This looks very complicated and jumping through the hoops in netcat'ing the output to forwarded ports, also its based on Cygwin, the OP may not have that installed? Also another thing, I am somewhat dubious that the partitions are actually GPT based as that requires PC BIOS translations either by legacy BIOS or UEFI BIOS?

Just stumbled on this XDA Thread it seems GPT appears to be more common on Samsung devices - has yaffs2 died off?, again, assuming the OP has one of those devices... I think you should ask the OP for full clarification and re-edit if necessary :) It will be useful to some who love to bash out on the command line.

Sorry I did link the thread but I left a  " out of the markup, sorry, amended now. It's a very messy one, and it's only a pointer on how to do it. Anecdotally, speaking to people in Android they just said "don't do it" so that didn't help me much. The recommended way is still to just nandroid to SD (Internal or external) and copy the folder to PC to be honest. I can amend and correct htis as things go on.

@RossC cool! :)

So, how do you restore from that mmcblk0.raw? Or that calls for separate question?


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Replacing default phone application with other one on rooted device
I'm on Android 4.1, rooted, with ClockworkMod Recovery. I want to replace the default phone.apk in root with my custom downloaded APK, and cumbersome is my default phone.apk that is shipped with my custom ROM.
Can I replace my phone.apk from the system/app with a new Phone application such as Swipe Dialer Pro? Will it do any harm?
There is also one additional APK in the system/app called phone service.apk. What's the purpose of that?

Why do you want to install the new phone app to /system? You can use a new phone app by installing it in the usual way.

Its cumbersome on my custom rom

I just want to remove it and replace with other one

How is simply installing an app from the Play Store "cumbersome"?

I want to replace the default phone.apk in root to my cudtom downliaded apk.and cumbersome is my default phone.apk that is shipped with my custom rom

So does copy/paste not work? Why bother replacing it? Why not install a better dialler side loading or via the play store and then set it as the default? I don't understand the issue here? Be aware that the new dialler is built into Google Search also so you will need (if you want that one) the phone apk, the correct Google Services apk and the correct google search apk... or you could just install things as normal..?

Ok thanks RossC i will not take the risk doing that. Just install as normal ok.

@user52165 yep I think that is safest. It depends on what dialer you want, and IN THEORY you'd be fine, but from my own (limited) experience it can all go wrong quite fast. Diallers are small apps so best install normally. You can't install the Kitkat dialer anyway, as you are on 4.1!

I waa trying to put swipe dialer pro

There is only one way I found. Just download some system app installer APK and install it. Then get phone.apk and contact.apk from any custom ROM which is for your device and install them using the system app installer. That's all you can do
I've tried a lot to find the way, but it didn't work. Good luck.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Will after i batch restore on titanium backup will it restore to the same location?
I have done a backup with titanium backup (except system apps) More I am switching to another ROM.
My question is when I will batch restore then will my internal apps(apps not installed in SD card ,installed on phone storage) that I have installed will be restored to same location as of previous ROM?ie . internal apps to internal and SD card apps to SD card.
Switching to same ROM version android 4.1.2 JellyBean
Thanks in Advance!

Yes. Don't worry. It usually restore in the same location. Even if it doesn't it isn't supposed to cause problems. You can always move them.

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


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I installed an incompatible kernel with CyanogenMod - what do I do?
I installed Faux kernel on my Nexus 5 with CyanogenMod 11. I forgot about CM's special kernel setup when installing Faux - how do I uninstall, or wipe my phone to reinstall CyanogenMod?
I use ClockworkMod Recovery and know ADB

Post your "Resolved bit" as an answer, it's okay to answer your own questions!

Resolved: Using this (http://android-revolution-hd.blogspot.ca/2013/12/how-to-copy-rom-zip.html) Then flashing the zip uploaded to the device. Note: If your cellular stops working or glitches out re-flash the stock radio (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2513701) Or completely re-flash stock then you are free to continue ROMing!

And it would be good to accept it, but now you can do that after 24 hour. :P

Nexus 5 is pretty easy to correct that issue
Just find a working CM Kernel...
This ones kinda nice: http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/development/kernel-bum-5-t2774572

Boot to Recovery.
"adb push [your new kernel file here.zip] /sdcard/
then wait...
Flash the new kernel.
Zap the dalvik cache.
As they say "profit"...

authors: محمد النبريصي

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


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How to manually change default save location to phone storage
My phone Iocean X7S has opportunity to save apps to either internal storage, phone storage or external SD-card. However, I can't use phone storage as apps saving location. There is Phone storage and SD card opportunities in Settings -> Storage -> 'Default write disk' . However, whichever I choose as primary, there doesn't happen anything. If external SD card is mounted, there is "Move to SD card" button in apps and a tab 'SD card' in Settings -> Apps. If I unmount SD card, there disappears opportunity to choose primary save location, SD card tab and button to move app another location. However, there reads 'Phone storage app 0.00B' and 'Phone storage data 0.00B' in apps instead of 'SD card app and data' when SD card is unmounted. So I think it is some kind of software issue.
I have tried factory reset different ways without any result, there is still only opportunity to keep apps in internal storage or SD-card. In \storage\sdcard0 is external SD-card and \storage\sdcard1 is phone storage.


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Is CyanogenMod Installer compatible with my Note 2 after updating it to Android 4.3?
Can I install CyanogenMod on Samsung Galaxy Note 2 after I updated it to Android 4.3? Will knox interfere? How can install it using the installer of CyanogenMod or with the conventional way?

Some people have successfully installed CyanogenMod on top of 4.3 (with Knox).
Refer to the official installation guide, which includes installation on the phone and on the PC.

Thanks for that. I feel better now that some tried and succeeded. I will still do some research though. Maybe someone tried it on Note II and can share his experiences with us.


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Android: huge thumbdata4 file in DCIM folder
I have recently noticed a huge (>3.5GB) file in the DCIM/.thumbnails folder. I have tried deleting it, but the next time I open the Camera app it rebuilds the file (and locks up the phone, sometimes displaying a "media scanning in progress" message, in the process.)
The total file size of all the (approximately 2,000) photos displayed in the Gallery is around 500MB. There are in addition around 35,000 images in folders which contain .nomedia files to instruct Android to ignore the media therein. The total file size of these is around 1.5GB. The Gallery app is correctly ignoring these images, but I wonder whether the Camera app is misbehaving and actually processing them.
I think this problem has emerged since the ICS upgrade ... either when the phone (Samsung Galaxy Note) was first updated from Gingerbread or at some later date.
Any ideas, please?

the thumbdata file stores a 10kbyte micro thumbnail for each image (ignoring the .nomedia ones) iirc. If it is getting that huge, samsung may have broken something. see MiniThumbFile.java

Hmm MiniThumbFile stores data offset with the id which is a number that is assigned to all files on your device including nomedia files. If you have a lot of files and your images get a high id they will be positioned very late in the minithumbfile. You can maybe get a smaller file if you try to get lower ids for your real images (maybe renaming the folders of the nomedia images to something with Z or so could work - also reset the media db somewhere under system settings > apps > Media Provider or so)

Thanks for your suggestions, zapl. I don't understand why your suggestion about naming the nomedia folders later in the alphabet would help; do higher id numbers take up more space?
Luckily, I seem to have found a workaround. See my Answer below.

Incidentally, I see there was one vote to "close" this question even before it was answered. I don't understand. Does someone think the question was in some way inappropriate?

The question is not programming related and would IMO fit better on [android.se]. Regarding the larger id thing: I am not 100% sure but the thumbfile uses long pos = id * BYTES_PER_MINTHUMB; as position in the file, so the larger the id is the larger the file has to be. 2000 of those thumbs (with ids 0-1999) should need only about 20mb. The part that confuses me is that you have a minithumb4 file while the official source has just a minithumb version 3.

I didn't know about Android Enthusiasts. I don't think I've ever encountered it in my Googling. Thanks for pointing it out. Sorry for posting in the wrong place.
(My thumbdata4 file hasn't changed its size since it was initially rebuilt after I did the factory reset three days ago, so perhaps my problem has been resolved.)

This is normal and usually not a bug.
Usually.
Before you do anything else, try and figure out whether your phone's storage is using a file system that is not FAT or any of its brethren.
If you are not using FAT or similar, then those files report a maximum size, but actually do not take up any significant amount of space, since they are so called sparse files. That means you can just delete them once and they'll be recreated but be of zero size, despite reporting a maximum size of whatever.
If you are using FAT or similar, or the reported size of those files is causing trouble with other applications, follow the instructions in prepbgg's answer, to reset the thumbnail indexing back to zero, an operation which you may wish to repeat occasionally.

on CyanogenMod9 at least, /mnt/sdcard partition if VFAT, so does not support sparse files - trying to create one will instead create REAL huge file filled with zeroes, not sparse file.

This happens when you load many images at one time through third party applications like whats'app or pixlrxperss. The only known solution till now is replacing the .thumbnail file with a small .thumbnail file of same name. There might be utmost 2 such files you might have to replace everytime.

I know the question is old, but I tried to find a solution here and on those android forums. None seemed to work.
Creating a link to /dev/null on .thumbnails solved the problem and now seems so obvious:

Connect your phone to your computer
Find the huge DCIM/.thumbnails folder and delete it
Create a link to /dev/null as root with the folder's name:
$ sudo ln -s /dev/null .thumbnails

This avoids the folder to get created again. I didn't notice anything going wrong in my device, not even with thumbnails on whatsapp or quickpic.

Unfortunately, on at least CynogenMod 9 (android 4.0.4 based) /mnt/sdcard is of VFAT type, so symlinks are not supported (nor other nice things which would work on ext2/3/4 filesystems - like "chown root .thumbnails; chmod 000 .thumbnails; chattr +i .thumbnails")

By googling I have found references to a bug in ICS that may be causing this problem.
Following advice here I have:

Deleted the thumbdata file (in DCIM/.thumbnails)
In Settings->Applications->All->Gallery: cleared data (only a few MB), (I would also have cleared the cache if there was anything there), then "Force stop"
In Settings->Applications->All->Media Storage: cleared data (only about 30MB), (I would also have cleared the cache if there was anything there), then "Force stop"
Restarted the phone

When I next ran the Camera app it was unresponsive for a long time, perhaps 20 to 30 minutes, presumably while it was re-scanning media files. After waiting for this to complete things now seem to be OK:

Camera, Gallery and QuickPic all seem to work
thumbdata4 seems to have settled at about 500MB (still surprisingly large, but manageable).

I spoke too soon. After sticking at the same size for 4 or 5 days the .thumbdata4 file has now jumped to 1.1GB.

Delete the .thumnails folder and create a file with the same name in it's place, this will prevent the folder from being recreated: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1318827&page=3

there is a suggested waz to solve this: copy .thumbnail.. file name, delete it and create folder in dcim/thumbnails/ with the same name as the file had. This prevents gallery from making the file again. But I guess after some time it will create it with different name. I have maybe 2GB of photos in the phone. And about 3-4GB of .thumbnail files.. this is rudiculous

@79E09796 It only works until you take another photo or move photos around on your phone.

In Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) the Gallery application was replaced with Google Photos. You should be able to delete the thumbnails folder as I don't think the Photos application uses it.

The only way is to remove the Gallery app and install another app. QuickPic is a replacement application that that doesn't build any thumbnails and is fast and efficient.
The answer given by Andión also works.
Note that you have to disable features among various apps to prevent stacking up. In X-plore file manager, disable the "Show media files" and it wont generate thumbnails. Lastly add some .nomedia files in the image folder you don't normally reach.

Give your videos and images file names that start with ., like .video.
Then no thumbnails will be created in your DCIM folder.
Another solution is to disable your gallery app for you app list in your settings.

Your first suggestion would hide the image and video files completely as well – which is unlikely to be in the OPs interest. And the second one you couldn't mean seriously (at least not without suggesting an alternative the OP could use to view those media – in which case this answer already has it in a better way).

First, delete .thumbnails folder from DCIM folder
Then in DCIM folder create file with name '.thumbnails'

You are done.
Notes: Create a file, not a folder.  If you don't have file manager, then download ES file manager from Play Store for free.


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Error 492 in Google Play Store
I have android 4.0 and I am getting Error 492 while downloading any app from Play Store. I have tried resetting my SDCard and doing Factory Reset.
I have HCL ME U1 Tablet and It isn't rooted and I don't want to do the same.

Is this stock ROM, or custom ROM like CyanogenMod?

What do you mean by 'resetting your SD Card'?

I had the same error and did some research on it. Here is what I could find out.
This error seems to be a little mysterious as it comes and goes. I've tried many things from several forums but in the end, waiting solved the problem. It just disappeared from one day to another and I wasn't the only one experiencing this phenomena. Some even say it's a problem on the side of Google.
If you want to take action, here are the steps I could find and have tried:

Unlink your Google Account from the phone. Do so in the Account Settings
In the Application Manager, find the Play Store and delete data and caches
Relink your Google Account
If that did not help and if it is possible on your Phone: Delete the Dalvik Cache, which stores information about the apps and the structure. Do so by booting into maintenance mode -> Option 'Advanced' -> 'Delete Dalvik Cache'
While you are there, you might want to wipe the Cache Partition
I have not tried this and on an unrooted phone it might not be possible, but several people said it helped them to delete the ".android_secure"-file with a file browser though I am not sure about the consequences of this.
If all fails, wait for a couple of days (which worked for many people I've heard of including myself).

I hope this could help you.

Helped me a Lot!

We have some more simple fixes which might help you out in fix the Google Play Store 492 Error.
try the below quick fixes before you attempt to do it the hard way.

Reinstall the Google play store application.
Uninstall any of the recently installed app.
Downgrade Google play store application to lower version.
Remove application cache.
Switch Google Play store accounts.
Remove the SD card and try opening the application.
Simply Reboot your android phone (Yup, sometimes that's all it takes :P )

Hope this helps.


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Samsung galaxy note 2 android 4.3 problems
Is there a solution for the battery drain problem that the note 2 suffers after the 4.3 update?
In my case the drain is most noticeable when the wifi is on. When its off battery lasts a good while same or maybe a little bit better than before. But when wifi is enabled, you can watch the battery indicator change values quickly.
I've looked for solutions but found non that seems to be working.

There may be apps in the background that run which drains the battery life. To be certain of which app:
Go to

Settings > Battery > Battery Graph

The battery graph will give detailed analysis which app used how much battery. If there is any app that you don't recall using a lot but is one of the top battery consumers I'd recommend you to uninstall/disable the said app.

I already did that the thing is, it is not apps that cause this drain, it is the wifi which when disabled everything is fine but when it is on i can watch the battery go down. Another thing is the SNS service it consumes alot. And what is the difference between Android system and android os. Both appear in the graph and both consume the most


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Samsung Galaxy S2 not enough storage
I have a Galaxy S2 and a memory card installed. There are tons of free space on both. When I install any app, it downloads and then says not enough storage. How to solve this problem?
It's running ICS, and it's the latest available for it in my region.
I tried moving most apps to the SD card and uninstalled some. I also restarted the phone as well. Now, it shows low on space notification in the notification bar.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! I've just added the insufficient-memory tag to your question. Please check its tag-wiki for a starter, as it contains some first-aid. If you were able to solve your issue by this, please answer your own question and describe how. Otherwise, please [edit] your question with what you've tried and where you're stuck. Thanks!

@k1chy I don't think this question is the same. The question you linked is about the storage filling up for no apparent reason. This one is about installing apps when the storage appears to have lots of space.

@Dan, it appears so. I will remove the comment.

There was a thread similar to yours a while back. It refered to a Stackoverflow thread with a overwhelmingly positive answer.
One of the answers is to clear dumpstack. Here is the excerpt from the Stackoverflow answer.

Here's a very simple solution that works on my Samsung Galaxy S II and NOTE 1 ; I have no idea about other models:
Open the Phone app and switch to Keypad.
Dial *#9900#
On the screen that appears, click on the button labelled "Delete dumpstate/logcat".

I've restored about one GB of system space this way.

Hope this solves your problem.

I tried it and I Still get insufficient space error. And when i did that nothing happened to system storage. When I go to the storage settings, there is system storage and usb storage. System storage has about 0.2 GB free and usb storage had 7 GB out of eleven. What does this mean?

Yes you must root, flash etc and then install a new rom. I had all of this crap on my S2 so I just upgraded to a Nexus 5. Best thing I ever did

Root and flash your phone it solves anything (not only in my experience)

Well I am looking for a solution without rooting. I will do it if nothing else works but for now I don't want to root it.


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Can you fully remove Google system apps from Android including the Play Store updates?
Believe it or not, but I want to remove a few Google Apps which I have no use for and want to free up space, resources and mobile data usage by not having them on my phone at all.
These include:

Google Currents
Google Play Music
Google Play Movies
Google Play Newsstand
Google Keyboard
Google+

I have ‘uninstalled’ them via the Play Store, but they still appear in my ‘Installed’ items in ‘My apps’ in the Play Store and instead of ‘UPDATE' and ‘UNINSTALL’ for any other app in my ‘Installed’ list, they stubbornly remain and only have ‘OPEN’ AND ‘UPDATE’ options.
Also going in the ‘All’ list in ‘My Apps’, all these apps are also different from other ones, where unlike other locally uninstalled apps that have their payment status (‘FREE’ or ‘PURCHASED’) and a ‘X’ at the top to remove it from your Google Account entirely, these Google Apps that I don’t want on my Android and want to be completely optional for my Android experience, only have an ‘UPDATE’ and no X up the top of their listing.
I don’t mind them remaining on the Google Account if Google insists on this, but I just want listings to ‘update’ them in my Google Play updates list to be removed, given this is Google basically forcing me to reinstall them against my will.
Is there a way to do this?
I’m on stock 4.3 Gnex.

The solution is to ‘Disable’ the apps from the Android system settings and they will no longer appear in your Play Store updates list.
E.g. for Google Currents:
Settings > Apps > All > find ‘Currents’ - tap it, select ‘Disable’.
The same applies to the all other listed apps in the question (with the exception of 'Google Play Newsstand’ which I couldn’t find in the list), and when you open the Play Store updates list anew, they will finally be gone from it as desired.

N.B. I worked this out after already writing out the entire question so thought to document it here for others in the future instead.

Update: I'm now trying to remove Hangouts, and it isn't in the list of 'All' apps in Android system app settings, and it's still bugging me by being in the updates list, forcing itself to be there and in my way. sigh. anyone know how to remove it from the Play Store? I'm rooted, if that helps.

Worked out Hangouts: in the 'All' apps list in settings, it's 'com.google.android.talk' :)...

Disabling really isn't removing Google apps, it's just disabling. So this isn't really answering your question, just band-aid'ing it.

Umm, with due respect - that's not a solution, that's a way of ignoring the problem... Also, if you don't using Play Store, this doesn't even help :-(

Above answer only stops them from appearing, it doesn't remove them. For that you'll need to root. Here's a guide that kind of answers your problem:
Be careful!
Droidviews: Removing Stock Apps.

That was excellent, thank you very much! Not all apps I wanted to remove were there, but for the ones that were that was even better than my 'disabling' solution! (Though I'm not sure whether they should be disabled first anyway, in case it mucks up the Play Store apps presence issue or not...[if they're hard deleted suddenly despite wanting to still sync them to the account or something.])

Is it safe to uninstall the apps the OP has shown? Will I face any issues on doing so?

Unless rooted, there is no way of uninstalling stock (system) apps.
That being said, even rooted uninstalling a stock app does not give you any usable free space (they're not on "user storage"). Disabling these app however, as suggested before, gives you all the other benefits you desire even on a stock, non-rooted Android.

This is getting more complex than I thought. Even if ROOTed, the phone apps may be on ROM (much cheaper than Flash) and there fore impossible to remove. It depends on how the phone was designed.I am beginning to think Disable may be the best option. It turns off (I think) at least some of that task and along with Clear and Default should free up some resources. I do worry about the warning (every time?) that it "...may cause other apps to misbehave..."
Some smart guy with a rooted phone and lots of experience needs to check memory before and after Disable and then Root remove and compare. It is harder and more dangerous to use root and we all need to know if it is a benefit to resources, including RAM, CPU cycles, as well as more ephemeral things like reliability and useability.

I build these things for a living. I've never heard of system apps stored on ROM -- at least not for Android. If you did that, you couldn't even update them during a system update. Most of the devices I've worked on only used ROM for the first-stage bootloader and last-ditch recovery mode.

I rooted my phone then installed Link2SD and Root Explorer. I used Root Explorer to backup the .apk files in the system folder, then from the Link2SD interface selected carefully the system (odex) apps I didn't want and uninstalled them.

I rooted my phone (Pantech P9070) and froze a lot of unwanted stuff using Link2SD. I thought freezing was a better option than removing, just in case. I also installed DCentral1 to see what apps could be spying on me.
https://sites.google.com/site/androidbloatware/freeze-able-bloatware

You don't need root to disable apps. See @foregon's answer.

Some apps have the "disable" grayed out. So this is useful sometimes.


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Corrupted data - Can't restore Whatsapp chat history
When I try to recover my Whatsapp messages on my new phone after I have copied the Whatsapp folder from my old phone to the SDcard, it suddenly crashes after 10 seconds: "Whatsapp has stopped working"
I looked into the System Log to find some clues about this crash. It looks like it has something to do with SQLite and the msgstore.db (or msgstore.db.crypt) file, because there's msgstore.db file is corrupt error. Here are some lines from the System log:
 "E/DefaultDatabaseErrorHandler (3784): Corruption reported by sqlite
    on database: /data/data/com.whatsapp/databasesmsgstore.db"
 "E/AndroidRuntime (3784): java.lang.AssertionError: android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabaseCorruptExcep tion: Database disk image is malformed (code 11), SQLiteConnection.java,-2"
 "E/SQLiteLog (3784): (14) cannot open file at line 30191 of [00bb9c9ce4]"
 "E/SQLiteDatabase (3784): Failed to open database '/data/data/com.whatsapp/databases/msgstore.db' "
 "E/SQLiteDatabaseException: unknown error (code 14): Could not open database"
 "I/sqlite_db_corrupt (3784): /data/data.com.whatsapp/databases/msgstore.db"

Can somebody help me to unravel this mistery?  I really want to copy my old messages to my new phone and continue using the app on my new phone.
How can I fix the corrupt msgstore file? Or see what part of the file is corrupt (the exact cause)
Some screenshots of the System Log file:

Usually if you place your msgstore.db or msgstore.db.crypt7 file in the following directory on your SD card and reinstall WhatsApp it will see it and ask if you would like to restore your old messages during installation.
/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/

However if your database (msgstore.db or msgstore.db.crypt7) is corrupt you may still be able to regenerate the databases using sqlite3.
The WhatsApp Database is an sqlite3 database and is stored unencrypted at this path on the Android device:
/data/data/com.whatsapp/databases/msgstore.db

Backups of the database are also stored encrypted on the SD card typically at the following location:
/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/msgstore.db.crypt7

The unique key for the encrypted backup databases is stored here:
/data/data/com.whatsapp/files/key

Access to the /data/data directory requires root access. Alternatively ADB (Android Debug Bridge) can be used to extract the above files after booting into recovery on the device.
If you are dealing msgstore.db.crypt7 files then you must Decrypt them first as follows:
(commands below are run from a linux enviroment)

Extract Key File: /data/data/com.whatsapp/files/key
Extract crypt7 file: /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/msgstore.db.crypt7
Extract Decryption Keys from "key" file extracted in step 1:

256-bit AES key:
hexdump -e '2/1 "%02x"' key | cut -b 253-316 > aes.txt
IV (initialisation vector):
hexdump -e '2/1 "%02x"' key | cut -b 221-252 > iv.txt

Strip Header in crypt7 File:
dd if=msgstore.db.crypt7 of=msgstore.db.crypt7.nohdr ibs=67 skip=1
Note: Size of header stripped file in bytes must be divisible by 16
Decrypt crypt7 File:
openssl enc -aes-256-cbc -d -nosalt -nopad -bufsize 16384 -in msgstore.db.crypt7.nohdr -K $(cat aes.txt) -iv $(cat iv.txt) > msgstore.db

Once you have you msgstore.db file either by first decrypting the msgstore.db.crypt7 or by extracting it from the /data/data/com.whatsapp/databases/ directory you can now try to regenerate it using the following commands:
echo .dump | sqlite3.exe msgstore.db > Temp.sql

echo .quit | sqlite3.exe -init Temp.sql msgstore_new.db

Now Try to Restore your database Again

If you followed the procedure above correctly you should now have a msgstore_new.db file.
Rename this file to msgstore.db and place it file in /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/ and reinstall WhatsApp. Choose to restore your old database/messages when asked during installation.

Reference:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=24566937&postcount=3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1583021


text:
What can you use on Windows to try out Android apps you find online?
What can you use to quickly try out apps you find online?
The tool should

Run on Windows
Give you root access so you can run apps that require root access
Have functionalities of a physical android device. In other words things like GPS and a Internet connection should be present and you should be able to install apps using APK files or through the official Google App Market.

These things would be nice to have but one can still work around them

The tool runs fast and lag free
It's lightweight and can run smoothly on some of the most low spec hardware by today's standards.

I've gone ahead and updated the question to be more concise.

You can use Android Device Emulator for this. It is packaged with The Android SDK and a virtual mobile device that runs on your computer. The emulator lets you develop and test Android applications without using a physical device.
Link: http://developer.android.com/tools/help/emulator.html

Does it have root access though? And can you use use any version of android with it? ...And also does it let you install apps from the Google app store and from apk files? ...And does it simulate all the features (like gps) and gives you internet access in apps?

Yes it is full simulator. I don't think you natively get root access, but you can root it. You will not find a more complete solution (which is free) than something which most developers use to develop and test applications.

So it has everything I just mentioned? And how do you root it?

You can choose android version, you should be able to install and test apks, it has GPS, Call and the like simulation etc.

What what about internet? Could you go into a browser like dolphin and go to google with it? And it's just like a regular phone - i.e you can install all the apps you could want and set it up just like a regular phone? And I think you said you can root it; how would go about doing that?

I have already answered that and I gave you the link for all the detailed information. Feel free to try it out.

You said "GPS, Call and the like simulation etc". You didn't specifically say Internet. And you didn't say how to root it.

@softwareninja I think there is enough information in the answer and comments to construct a Google search query.

Here is BlueStacks which gives you exactly all you want. 100 times better than Emulator.
I have seen my colleagues using WatsApp, playing Temple Run (not efficiently) in that. You can root it too.

Are you affiliated with the product?

No, am not affiliated. I have used it.
Am Android App dev, so I know the performance of Emulator.

...painful lack of performance, that is. Feel your pain, will check the app asap.


text:
Is it possible to install Cyanogenmod on a SPH-D710 (Boost Mobile S2)?
How do you go about doing it? I couldn't find any instructions for installing the latest version of Cyanogenmod on it anywhere.

CyanogenMod does not officially support the Epic 4G Touch (SPH-D710) phone. Your best bet would be finding an unofficial port over at XDA-Developers forums.
From the looks of it, Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and 4.3.1 are the latest versions of custom ROMs that are available.  These are not pure CM though. Details and installation instructions at the links.


text:
I want to execute a shell script on an Android device when it boots up
I want to run a shell script on my Android device every time it boots.
What do I need to do?
The script is stored on the MMC of the device and looks like this:
#!/system/bin/sh
MUXPORT=`/system/bin/getprop hn.gsmux.port`
Modemport=`/system/bin/getprop hn.gsmmux.modem`
/system/bin/setprop hn.gsmmux.mux-exit""

/system/bin/log -t gsmmux "port: $MUXPORT"
/system/bin/log -t gsmmux "modemtype: modemport"

/system/bin/hn_gsmmux -p $MUXPORT -b 115200 -s/dev/hmmodemmux -m Modemport

/system/bin/setprop hn.gsmmux.mux-exit $?
#exit $?

You wanna look pretty hard at /init*rc

sir mikeserv can u expalin me how it can happen..? what to do ..any example

Do you have root access?

no root acess...

Then youll need to write a small android app - or possibly use an app that can do the equivalent for you, such as Tasker - that can become a service executed at startup. Without a scripting service like Tasker youll likely need to do it with Java.

bro the thing u saying and i asking is differanrt...look my android set is at lock condition..and i want to make a shell file which will run automatically when set got power on..how i can..?

I know what youre saying - at boot the Android system interprets and executes shell scripts and rules applied in /init*rc. Without root you cannot modify these files. So you have to compromise - either write an app that can get boot service permissions and have it execute your script or use one that already does and tell it to run your script. Thats what youre looking at. Sorry.

Unless you've installed some flavor of Linux for Android or other tools, your question is off-topic here. Android runs off a Linux kernel, but it doesn't have a full-blown unix system, and in particular it doesn't include any of the mechanisms that allow users to run code at boot time.

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about Android, not about a unix flavor.


text:
Android Droid 1 only partially recognizes SD
My Motorola Droid began experiencing a weird quirk where when booted it recognizes the SD card, but only once. After that some applications complain that there is no SD card inserted and persist until rebooting again.
For example, I can take a picture, but any attempt to take another picture results in a warning that an SD card must be inserted.
Oddly, music and apps which were installed on the SD card work fine, and I can browse it with a file browser. What causes some apps to not recognize it and others to work just fine?
It's probably worth noting that I'm using a Liquid Smooth ROM with Launcher Pro; though I hadn't had any problems of that type until today.

Could the partially be reading but not writing? I have seen instances where a Sd card was locked for any further writes until it was fixed of its corruptions. Some devices would attempt to do some sort of corruption fix and store deemed to be broken stuff in special folders.  If i ever got in that situation, with an Externaly available card, I would deal with it in a card reader in the big PC.  Copy all usable off, reformat on the pc OR reformat in the device so it puts on its own desired file system, then copy back from the PC.

The corruption that was occuring for me was a GPS tracking type program that did constant writes, in what might be a poor writing method. when stopped also with bad stopping methods the write was not properly closed, and corruption again existed. IF there was corruptions occuring and getting locked out, getting to the bottom of why , can be more important than getting it working once again.  These EXT file systems can have ways of dealing with corruption that are "better" or worse depending on what the problem is, so using the device format for the file system, the device expects that.

is it ok to format? I was afraid of doing so in the past in case the ROM or CWM had data there

I do not know about special things being there from those 2 items. a removable disk shouldnt have system critical on it, but i just do not know.


text:
gmail account recovery with android phone
Say I have attached my android phone to a gmail account and specify that phone for account recovery.
If I am locked out of the gmail account, will I be able to operate the phone sufficiently to receive the confirmation signal from google, even though its link to google is severed?

Yes; But setup all other recovery options

Yes; you should have a recovery email for the gmail account, a phone number, SMS, ect. you should backup the google authenticator so it can be restored to any device

No, not if you're using the google authenticator app. You will be able to receive the sms with the code, but you won't be able to link the app. Always print out your backup codes in case of this:
Account - Security - 2 step verification - backup codes


text:
Unroot R-Box (Android 4.2.2 device)
I've bought an Android TV-Box from ebay - it's called R-BOX. I got the device with Android 4.2.2 and root access. However I don't want root. I tried to reset the system and remove root with SuperSU. None of it worked. The vendor software version is RK3066_R-BOX_ANDROID4.2.2-SDK_V1.0.0_130308.

Did you look in the SuperSU app settings itself... For a very long time the option to completely remove itself has been there. EDIT: Why do these old questions keep popping up in my feed list?

You could install Titanium Backup and freeze the SuperSU app which provides root access on your device. I wouldn't recommend uninstalling it if you don't know how to get it back.

I think this device does not contain neither su binary nor SuperUser
So, At the factory level, when the software team releases the firmware build for your device, they have signed it with the public AOSP test keys, thus ro.secure=0 and the adbd is probably insecure, so it will mount your device for R/W with those commands:
adb root
adb remount

Take a look at your Build number if it's ending with test-keys or release-keys
If you have a firmware with test-keys the easiest way if to find another firmware with release-keys


text:
In Line Runner, what does "Restoring transactions" mean?
I was wondering, when I open the Line Runner app, I get this message saying 'restoring transactions'. What is that? This also occasionally happens when pressing the play button.

It means that the app is checking the Play Store to see if you have made any in-app purchases that have not yet been activated on that device. It is normal behaviour, you don't need to worry about it.


text:
How to protect data after unlocking bootloader?
I am to root my Nexus, so I have to unlock it first. But I worry that once done, some one may boot with customized recovery to copy or modify my files. Any idea?

there is nothing that can be done to address this concern, just as there can be no gaurentee that an adversary with physical access to the device can unlock it themselves to do the same. The Nexus root toolkit has a "relock" feature, that makes android believe its on a locked partition, but in reality, once unlocked, the device cannot be locked again, so don't count on the little open-padlock icon to tell you if someone who had your device didn't root it done their business, and then relocked the device.

@FrankThomas I may misunderstand your words, I feel sorry if I do. Unlocking an unrooted devices require data swiping, how can my adversary unlock my device, access my files and then relock my device? Without unlocking and third-party recovery, I know no way to access files. What I worry is that once I unlock my Nexus, someone can access my files while I don't know what's happened.

@Noverull - Which is the point Frank made.  Once unlocked the partition cannot actually be locked again, it says its locked, but its actually unlocked.  Its sort of like a paper padlock on the door.

@Noverull, you are correct, there will be dataloss immediately after unlocking, but the stock recovery system allows the attacker sufficient ability to back up your content, that they could restore your old apps and data such that you would not likely notice.

The main takeaway here is a very old adage Physical Access == Root Access. Period.  So, all the above said, since there is nothing you can do about it either way, I'd recommend unlocking your phone if that will give you functionality you want (and you don't mind voiding your warranty). The main point of locking from a data protection standpoint is bad apps. as such, be more concerned about what apps can get superuser, rather than what an adversary with physical access can do.

@FrankThomas Get it! Thanks. Why not post an answer?

@FrankThomas Is there any reference to bakuping my content using stock recovery?

I'm not sure I'm following you, but my point was simply that if an adversary had your locked/stock device for any real period of time, they could backup your content, unlock and root your device, do nefarious things, relock it, and finally restore your content. It would be quite difficult to know anything had been done to it, unless you looked rather carefully. This seems to be the concern you had about unlocking your device in the first place, so it makes little difference as to whether they can copy or modify files on the locked partition.

@FrankThomas You've explained it very clear. Thanks again for your kindness. I'm now just curious about how it happens to backup content in one phone with stock recovery for I've searching but eventually found nothing.

I find an app named BootUnlocker which allow rooted device have bootloader locked/unlocked without swiping data.


text:
Seeing ads on every website no matter where I visit on my android phone
I don't know what I've installed to my android phone but something cause my phone to show ads on every page I visit.
It doesn't matter if I use Google Chrome or default android browser.
I try to uninstall every app I got suspicious but it did not helped.
Here is a few screenshots of the problem (Click for full size):

I don't see the problem. It looks like the website your going to is the cause for the ads.  If you truely believe your phone is infected with malware ( its not ) then restore the fun from the factory settings.

I see those ads even on my personel website. That are not regular ads. I don't want to reset my phone to the factory settings. Looking for a fix such us deleting/uninstalling or checking a file. Is it possible to get rid of this problem by editing a file?

If it is addware, it comes in via a program install, it is often identified in the whole program descriptions or in user comments at the play store. It is usually easily removable using the standard un-install methods for programs. Research your programs at the play store, go to settings apps and remove stuff. Use an app backup program like appmonster (or others) to ease re-install of legit programs without network downloads.

As a side note, remember all those permissions you agreed to, there is a lot of discussion about avoiding programs that you end up providing unnessisary permission to do things like , change your system (more complex than that) when the program needs no such permission to do what it does alone. It can also be that control of background data , and automated updates would be desired by the user, to reduce surprise changes.

Thanks for the suggestions but, I am aware of the app permissions and how to track them. I guess I fixed the problem just by updating the Chrome app. Pls check the answer below. @Psycogeek

After uninstalling nearly all the apps downloaded from Play Store (except a few like Twitter, Facebook etc.), I still had the issue.
I, then, tried to uninstall Google chrome which seems to be not allowed to do in normal ways (I guess it is one of the default apps of the phone).
Lastly, I found out that there is an update for the Chrome on the Play Store. I updated the app and surprisingly see that the problem is solved.
Have no idea what happened there and still suspicious about the problem but, seems like I succeed.
P.S. I will be grateful if someone explains what happened to my phone, technically. (Does updating Chrome change things for the default web browser? Because, I was having the same issue both in Chrome and default browser)

If you restore the setting of your default android browser then problem will solve.Actually I was also suffering from this problem. Try it and I am definitely sure ,your android web browser will not longer to show you adds whether you browse on a official websites.It works.


text:
What will happen if I "Clear data" for the "Settings" app? (com.android.settings)
I'm on a stable (Installer) build of Cyanogenmod 11 on a Galaxy Nexus, and for a while I've not been able to access 'Settings' at all - tapping on it to try to open it, gives me a "Unfortunately, Settings has stopped." crash.
I'm not a fan of unnecessarily wiping and re-flashing ROMs unless I absolutely have to - and I've got an idea, which is to 'Clear data' for the 'Settings' app (com.android.settings) and maybe that will make the crash go away and me be able to finally access Settings once again.
But what will I lose by doing this?
Will I lose important settings such as my (finely tuned) customised home screen icon layout, or my saved Wifi network passwords? Will it even delete my saved Google account(s) in the OS and possibly cause havoc as a result?
And furthermore, Could backing up the 'Settings' app in Titanium Backup Pro (then restoring), be a solution to fully restore the app's settings if it does?

i think you will lose your wifi password, bluetooth name,sound profile, display setting,  secuity setting for sure. You wont loose your account settings or home screen customization because there will be data for those particular app and you are not clearing them

@sameer Can you back up your information? To my knowledge, most of the items you've listed are not related to the "data of the settings app". I don't want to try it out myself just to see, either ;)

@Izzy Me either dont wanna try, I remember clearing data in settings and loosing ringtone and display setting in my old phone

@sameer that's the two where I thought you're correct. But e.g. WiFi APNs & passwords are not saved in the apps settings, but directly in the file system (/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf), I'm pretty sure they are not affected. I rarely use Bluetooth, but AFAIR that's dealt with similarly (/data/misc/bluetooth/*).

Well I bit the bullet and finally hit the 'clear data' button - and as reported above, nothing is lost in the home screen or saved accounts, and nothing else really that I've noticed so far - though it's true I'm not extensively using my phone much at the moment anyway, but, I should also note, clearing it didn't actually reset it back to 0KB, it went from ~16MB to only ~14MB! So maybe some settings were kept and it wouldn't even let me delete all of them...not sure.

But the question is did it fix your problem?

No :(. For THAT, you can continue here :S...I'm pulling my hair out.

I did it a few days ago for the same problem (CyanogenMod M8 for i9100):

I didn't lose anything;
It fixes the problem =)

You won't  lose anything unless you clear data of "settings storage" app. It's pretty safe to clear data of settings app.but it'll hide the developer options just like on a new phone.

As @sameer has mentioned you will lose the wifi password and bluetooth name etc when you do clear data for settings.But using titanium backup pro you can restore them as it is.

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


text:
Settings app: 'Unfortunately, Settings has stopped.'
I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Cyanogenmod 11 11-20140225-SNAPSHOT-InstallerXNPQ09P-maguro Android 4.4.2 KitKat with CWM 6.0.4.7. It's a stable installer build.
For a while now I have been getting been getting a 'Unfortunately, Settings has stopped.' error, when trying to simply open Settings from the home screen or application drawer.
It also happens if I try to run the app (com.android.settings) in other ways such as opening a third-party keyboard's settings (which tries to open 'Language & input' within the Settings app).
I have tried the following things, to no avail:

Wipe Dalvik cache in CWM
'wipe cache partition' in CWM
Fix permissions using the 'ROM manager' app
Did 'Clear data' for the Settings app (by dragging it to 'App info' on home screen)
Installed AROMA Filemanager in CWM, and, not finding anything to delete in /data/data/com.android.settings/cache/, but deleting /data/data/com.android.settings/shared_prefs/CMStats.xml
Botting into safe mode, where Settings app STILL crashes.

I will note that the Settings app still sits in the multitasking list, but when you try to open it from there it still gives the same crash error.
I'd like to try and avoid a factory reset if possible, so are there any steps I could try further before an entire factory reset?
Could it be having selected ART mode that eventually mucked up Settings somehow? If so perhaps I could turn it off manually via Terminal/adb and then reset Dalvik again or something?
Whatever it is, what troubleshooting steps could be done in addition to the ones above?

Are there any hints what goes wrong in logcat?

I had the same problem where settings would keep on crashing. I just got the snapshot today and it did the same thing. After experimenting I fixed it by going in the app drawer and holding on setting, opening its app info, and clearing data. It now opens and works well. I hope this helps.

Thanks, I had flashed a rom(CM11) without cleaning data(old rom slimfox), and this worked for me, before this settings was crashing in developer options

Going into the app info may also trigger the crash.  One possible way to avoid that, is to use adb:
 adb shell pm clear com.android.settings

Now clearing the app data may not be enough.  I had to do, as root:
 rm -fR /data/data/com.android.settings

authors: Олег Котенко


text:
Why can't I press the Install button when installing applications from unknown sources?
I'm trying to sideload an application, as seen in the picture below.

I have allowed the installation of applications from unknown applied actions in settings, but I can't seem to press the install button. The cancel button works correctly and installing applications via adb install works correctly. What's the problem?
EDIT: For those who have this problem, using ChainFire's C.F. Lumen will correct it because the app uses hardware compositing, and Android doesn't notice a "layer" on top of the current screen.

Related: Determine which app is drawing on top of other apps?

Looking at your screenshot, I think you are using screen filtering apps like Twilight, f.lux, CF.lumen or bluelight filter. Try to force stop/uninstall or disable the screen filtering apps and it will work again.
If you are not using any filtering app, try looking for your installed apps that have overlay capability, apps that can show their contents over another apps, apps with overlay permission (like- Messenger, Musixmatch, Touch Assistant apps that can float on your screen).
If you are not sure, try disable them one by one in your Settings ⇒ Apps and find which one is causing the problem. You can also look for "Draw over other apps" menu in your android setting where all the apps with this permission will be listed. If you couldn't locate the menu, search for overlay permission + {android version} + {device manufacturer}.

It worked. But why is this a problem?

I believe Android disabled it for the security reasons. The malicious apps might trick the user to install unwanted apps by showing something over "Install" label?

Can you tell why screen filtering app causes this issue ? Because Cancel button is working and install button alone not working ..

@logan Allowing the user to press cancel button won't hurt anyone right? Just my opnion :)

Also my copy bubble app was causing this, and it's just a tiny floating view in corner.  I had to exit this app for install button to enable.

I don't get it. I spent around 30-60min tweaking with my running apps until I was able to install my apk. Why Android doesn't show a pop up like "Are you sure you want to install example.apk to you device?", instead of disabling a button and making the user feel even irritated with something that simply doesn't work?

@TeoInke Then that battery saver+fast charging enabler+antivirus+ram cleaner+all the bloatware available in universe app will show something like 'oh your phone seems pretty slow. why not press ok button below' over your message :P

I don't understand how this is a security feature. If a malicious app can display something over install button and intercept the touch event, what would stop it from displaying something over the cancel button?

If you want to fix this without killing any apps, you can do it by going to "Settings -> Apps -> Click Settings Wheel -> Draw Over Other Apps" and disable the permission for all apps. After that you can install your 3rd party app and then restore the permission to draw over apps for any apps you like.

@user3829751 The security issue is the malicious app tricking you in to pressing install. E.g., draw something over top of the permissions display, making you think the app its installing is safe, when its not. Or draw over more of the dialog making you not realize you're installing an app at all. So when an overlay is active, the install button isn't clickable at all. OTOH, tricking you into pressing cancel is harmless. (It's a UI failure, though, that the phone doesn't explain why you can't install the app.)

@user3829751 no, pressing the cancel button does not install the app. That's the while point of the button! That's a system (privileged) dialog box, asking the user for permission to install an app. Only the user pressing install allows the app install. (Some system apps like the Play Store can install an app without the dialog, but normal apps can't)

@derobert How is tricking you into pressing cancel harmless when you could fire the same exact logic, as you would if drawing over the install button? They would both start an install process, correct?

@user3829751 no, they wouldn't. That logic is provided by the Android system, not your app. You can't change it.

@derobert So you can alter the behavior when drawing a view over the install button, but not the cancel button? That just doesn't make sense.

@user3829751 no, you can't alter the behavior of either button. The install button would always install the app, the cancel button not install it. What an app can do is confuse the user (e.g., but drawing new labels on top, or a fake permission notice, fake app name, etc.)

@derobert I see, sort of like a phishing attack. Thank you for enlightening me!

FYI If you happen to be using something like 'scrcpy' you can just  over to the install button with your keyboard and hit enter.

The following is a community-curated list of some well-known/popular apps that have "Draw over other apps" permission and may cause this issue:

Twilight
Pixel Filter
Facebook Messenger
Battery Mix
Samsung S Finder
DU Recorder
Lux Lite


text:
Samsung Galaxy S4: what application is responsible for "Time to home" notices?
On my Samsung Galaxy S4, I constantly get notifications "Time to home XXX minutes". They are not only useless for me, but also apparently some app is accessing my location, internet, and is draining my battery.
I couldn't find out what is responsible for that. What app is showing that messages, and how to turn it off?

as they already answered it is google now, regarding your battery drain I think it is unlikely this is the one causing the problem, UNLESS you have your gps set to HIGH accuracy.

Google Now, you can disable in the settings of the "Search" app.


text:
adb shell su: permission denied
I was trying to unlock my android phone by adb installed. I tried to followed these steps:
adb devices adb shell cd data/system su rm *.key

But when I typed and enter su, it's showing permission denied. My phone is also rooted, but I don't know why after entering su it's showing permission denied.
Can you please tell what extra steps I have to do so that I don't get permission denied?

Most superuser apps don't allow adb su access by default. Depending on the app you used the option may vary in location, but basically you need to go to settings in the superuser app and change it from "apps only" to "apps and adb." This should allow you to use su in an adb shell.

I have used this Superuser app ---> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noshufou.android.su But don't know, how to change "apps only" to "apps and adb". I did search in settings but didn't found such a thing. Can you please tell me how to do that ?PLease check it and tell me..

Oh wow, that is a very old superuser app. What device do you have? Is there a particular reason you used this superuser app versus one of the newer ones like this or this? It may be an issue with that particular superuser app.

authors: Энхтөгс Жаргалсайхан


text:
Android gallery, Connected devices list, How are they connected?
I have Android Jelly Bean 4.2,  When I open Gallery, Select the sort list (top left) it lists "connected devices", there are three devices connected currently,  I am using a company wireless network connection (cell is poor inside here). I have not enabled any devices to connect in my Settings, Connect and share, everything is disabled or prompt. I do not understand how any devices could be connected?
Thanks, wrmcnut

Stack Overflow is for programming questions. Are you the author of "Gallery"?

Perhaps those 'connected' devices are DLNA-enabled devices on the same network as yours?


text:
Enable rotation of stock home screen
How can I enable home screen rotation of Google Nexus 5(stock) with root enabled?
I've found launcher.force_enable_rotation=true, but it doesn't worked... Anything similar for Google Nexus 5?

Related: How can I enable auto-rotate for the home screen?

It doesn't support this out-of-the box, but you can swing it by using the Xposed Framework and the Xposed GEL Settings module:

Install the Xposed Framework installer
Open the XF installer and select "Framework" at the top of the menu, then press the "Install/Update" button on the next page
Reboot
Install Xposed GEL Settings, either from Google Play or via the XF installer's repo interface (the "Download" item on the main menu).
Launch XGELS and open the app drawer (tap the top left icon or swipe from the left edge). Select "General" from the drawer, then switch on "Rotation" on the list of settings.
Go into the XF installer and select "Modules" from the main menu. Check the box next to XGELS to enable the module.
Reboot again


text:
Is there a way to get a history of Facebook profiles that I've visited?
I have visited a profile on Facebook recently but now I've forgotten the name of person. Is there a way that I can get a history of the profiles which I have already visited?
I am currently using Android Facebook application

From Facebook help center,

To view your activity log on the Android app, first go to your timeline. Under your cover photo, you should see a group of tiles (ex: About, Photos, Friends). Swipe the tiles left until you see the Activity Log tile, then tap on the tile to view your activity log.

Then,

Tap Activity Log > Filter
Scroll down and tap Search

For the desktop version, click on the little down arrow at the top left of the screen, then Activity Log, then MORE then scroll down to Select.

There is no down arrow at the top left is there?

This is only searches, not profile visits in general. If the OP forgot the name of the person then presumably they didn't get to that person's profile by searching.

You can see your earlier visited pages if only you have done any comments or likes like that.  Otherwise you cannot .

I don't think you're going to be able to do this in the Android app. At least if you were in the desktop version you might be able to look through your web browser history...


text:
What is the difference between aboot and boot?
I'm looking through my device and I noticed within /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name that there is boot and aboot partitions. What is the difference between them? Mainly what is aboot?

The Application Bootloader ABOOT boots the Android kernel/Recovery kernel.
It is the mechanism to download images onto the device from a host machine (like Windows/Linux PC).
On Samsung devices it runs the ODIN protocol on the device.
The Primary Bootloader boot part is a computer program that loads the main operating system or runtime environment for the computer after completion of the self-tests.
The PBL acts as a communication engine to download the Secondary Boot Loader (SBL) into the internal RAM and then activates it.
The SBL adds functions for erase and programming of flash memory and EEPROM; it also handles the actual download of new or updated software. This allows a minimum ROM utilization by the PBL

And what about the SBOOT

Boot chain goes like this: Power ON --> BootRom/PBL --> SBL --> aboot --> boot | recovery. Boot is kernel (+ ramdisk optionally), not PBL. PBL is stored on SoC, all others are on flash storage partitions.

@IrfanLatif I wonder if an Android device exists where SBL can be loaded also from an SD card. There would be no danger of bricking any more, and no more hard-or-impossible rootable devices.

@peterh-ReinstateMonica my first question on Android SE (which was marked off-topic) was about breaking the bootloader boot chain in order to boot from SD card. The problem is that everything that loads before Linux kernel is signed with OEM's private keys (check Android Verified Boot), including SBL (or equivalents). And secondly the locations (offsets or filesystem paths) from where to load the next components are hard-coded (except on some develeopment boards/SoCs which provide a switch to change the location). In most cases it's not possible to cope with the both limitations.

@peterh-ReinstateMonica related: booting Android from SD card and How to boot Ubuntu persistent live USB on Android? and Why Android devices are more brickable than PCs? and Is there a way to root an Android phone without unlocking the bootloader?

authors: กราญจนา สุภาษิต


text:
Is it possible to transfer EVERYTHING from one Nexus 5 to another?
I just broke the screen on my phone, and the way my insurance works, they're going to replace it with a new one...
However, I've spent a lot of time setting up everything in my phone, and would like to not have to do it again...
Is it possible to transfer EVERY SINGLE BIT OF DATA on my phone to my pc, and then restore it in a new one?

Yes, there is. It's called making a Nandroid backup.
The complete steps are outlined here, but before you even proceed, you'll need to root your phone. You can't do this without rooting. Rooting is the process of gaining superuser access on your phone.
Since you have a Google Nexus 5, you should read the instructions for rooting it available over here and here.
After you have rooted your phone, you might want to install a custom recovery tool like ClockworkMod Recovery or TWRP.
After you've completed both those steps (got root, installed a custom recovery), all you need to do it reboot your device into recovery mode and perform the Nandroid backup.
UPDATE: To restore the backup on your new phone you'll need to root it as well. And install a custom recovery too. After that, you can boot into recovery mode and restore the nandroid backup.

Note that, the new device will also need to be rooted and have a custom recovery in order to flash the NANDroid image back.


text:
Galaxy s4 remove icon doesn't work
i have problem with my galaxy s4 i9500 (android version 4.3)
Shortly - when i drop my app icon on trash nothing happens.
More info - I can't to remove apps with desktop remove trash, tap and move app icon on the trash icon from desktop and apps is not remove, just icon, why? with my another galaxy s4 i can to remove like that.
i can to remove just from settings (app manager).
p.s. sorry for my english

I'm not clear on what you are asking: Do you want to uninstall the app or just remove the shortcut? The trash can should remove the shortcut from a home screen. You need to open the app drawer and drag it to Uninstall to uninstall.

i want to uninstall app(from homescreen trash), but i can uninstall just shortcut.

Yes, that's what the transcan does for a home screen. You need to open the app drawer and drag it to uninstall it.

i dragged app on trash of homescreen, but nothing happen. when i drag system app(msgs, contacts and ...) trash icon also showed(on my another device it doesn't show, because system app can't delete)

So the shortcut stays on the home screen? It isn't meant to uninstall from there.

when i try to remove shortcuts - all working nice, but when i try to remove app like that(drag app on trash of homescreen) nothing happen, but my another device too samsung s4, when i drop app on trash icon of homescreen, device prompt DELETE APP OR NOT.

Different devices do it differently. With the S4: Drag from HOMESCREEN: Remove shortcut. THAT'S IT! Drag from App Drawer: Uninstall.

i know it :) but drag from app drawer doesn't work, after drop app on trash icon(with "remove" text) nothing happen. i need to go to settings, and in apps manager to do it(uninstall).
but on my another s4 device all it's working nice(drag from app drawer for uninstall and remove shortcuts too)

@IceJOKER What's different between the two devices?

@DanHulme android version . I'll try to upgrade to kitkat

After upgrade os all is working nice ))


text:
"device unauthorized" message when trying to use ADB, but can't boot device to confirm authorization
I managed to get stuck in a boot loop after installing the Chainfire 3D driver on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.
I can boot into the recovery mode (and download mode) but when I try to establish a connection using adb shell, it says:

error: device unauthorized. Please check the confirmation dialog on your device.

Of course, I cannot boot my device to confirm authorization.
How can I use ADB without first being authorized?

'adb devices' says unauthorized in TWRP

Boot into recovery mode, and connect your device to your computer; then mount your device's internal memory/SD card and download the corresponding firmware for your device (ensuring that you have the correct firmware, or you will brick your device!).
After this, flash the firmware via the recovery, bearing in mind that it will wipe the current version of Android from the device.
Samsung devices are usually very good, as they keep personal data such as music and photos separate from the system partition, and so your personal data should remain intact. With this in mind, attempt to back-up your device first (your recovery function may have the ability to do this).
Try and establish a connection with ADB using the ramdump mode (usually Volume Down+Power+Home), and it may work.
Otherwise, ADB requires a fully functioning device to work (for security reasons).
Before installing something that modifies the way your device works (such as Chainfire's mods, Beats' sound driver, etc), always back-up your device first! Only you can be blamed for not taking a backup before you installed the mod.

You can't authorize adb. But anyway from recovery only the type of adb available is adb sideload. Sideload official OTA package or Flash the phone using ODIN if you want to ever boot it again. And where was adb shell anyway? Since adb shell works on a totally boot device or without using computer while on TWRP Terminal?

boot into downloading mode connect with odin and install new rom from sammobile (find your firmware)

How does that answer the question – which is "How can I use adb without first being authorized?" Even with a new firmware, the device must be authorized.

@Izzy Because installing a new ROM would fix the bootloop. You don't need adb at all for this.

@DanHulme true in this specific case, which is why it should be part of the answer including an explanation ;)


text:
Does Android support the external USB devices?
Does Android support the external USB devices like PC keyboard, joystick, camera or other devices that can be connected to the PC? If so, then do I need some additional software, or is it enough to connect external device via Standard/Micro USB adapter?

Depends very much on Android OS version, and the hardware included in the device (you can find out by looking for specifications and manuals for your specific device's manufacturer and model number).  Please add this information to your question.

All that depends on your device, which must support this as well. Android itself does support this since 3.1-honeycomb – and I e.g. successfully use an external keyboard with my tablets, which is just plugged into the USB port.
The keyword to look for is usb-on-the-go. We already have more than 60 posts on this topic, which you might wish to check (or start with the 9 most frequented to easier get to the core points). If those leave open questions, feel free to ask those in separate posts :)
Edit: As Dan correctly points out in his comment, if your device has a full-sized USB port, there's no need for OTG. See our usb-host-mode tag for that.

You don't necessarily need USB-OTG: some Android devices have a normal (full-size) USB port for connecting peripherals to. Use the [tag:usb-host-mode] tag, which applies in either case.


text:
How can I disable Google Voice Commands on an Android phone?
I prefer not root my phone, but I'd be willing to, if it's necessary.
Google Voice keeps popping-up Search and Voice Dialer randomly (about twice a minute). They enter random commands into Search bar and I can't turn them off.  The problem might be caused by inexpensive headphones.
I'd like to just completely remove the software from my phone.  If I can't do that, I'd like to get them to stop randomly popping up.

Here's how you can turn this off in most Android builds:
Look for an app called "Google Settings." By default, the icon will look like this:

From there, choose "Search & Now" → "Voice" → "'Ok Google' hotword detection" and turn that setting off.
If that doesn't apply to your phone's OS, you'll need to provide more info. If you are running the OS that came with the phone, provide the make and model. If it is rooted, provide the name and version of the custom ROM.

This doesn't seem to work any more on android 6.0 :( I turned of "Ok google detection" but I still get the microphone thing popping up all the time.

I also think the voice recognition is a nuisance.  On my phone (running CyanogenMod) the only setting I found was "Settings", "Language & Input" -> "Voice Search" then disable "Ok Google" detection.  I think it was mishearing my saying "Ok Google" when it would pick up random voice commands.

I'm super frustrated because my child is able to do things on my phone that she can't actually spell. My solution was to do as you describe here, and also change the speech recognition language to Magyr.


text:
What is the difference between "Network Unlock Code" and "SIM Unlock PIN"?
I bought an unlock code because my phone was asking for it (Enter PIN Code). I got the code and it does not work. It actually only allows me to enter 4 digits.
Now, these guys are telling me that the code is for the phone's "Network unlock" not the "SIM unlock", and if I don't remember the PIN, I will need the PUK code from my network provider, so I feel that I paid for something I don't need.
This is the first time I try to do this and I feel frustrated. I would really appreciate any help.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! This has nothing to do with Android, but rather with the way SIM cards work. You could ask your provider for assistance. And yes, you're correct: You've bought something you don't need. PINs and PUKs (there are two of each) usually come with your SIM card/contract.

Yes, I've made that connection, too. Please don't consider my comment a harsh "go away", it was not meant such. It's rather that our site covers a specific area as outlined in our [help/on-topic], and you certainly understand where it would lead to if we didn't keep to that :)

And glad to read 1) your issue solved, and 2) you didn't buy that unlock code in vain. Enjoy your new phone – and be welcome here anytime you've got yourself in "Android trouble" or have any other Android related questions :)

If your SIM card is PIN locked, the network unlock code is useless. The network unlock code allows a phone that is restricted to a single carrier to be unlocked for use in other carrier's networks.
The SIM PIN is a personal identification number that is used to unlock the SIM card in order to register it to the network. This means that the phone will not connect to the network before a SIM is unlocked. Usually (at least around here) a new SIM has a simple PIN, like 0000 or 1234, and the user can change this. However, the carrier doesn't know your PIN, so if you forget it it can't be reset from the carrier directly.
If you happen to forget your PIN, the only way to unlock the SIM is to enter a wrong PIN enough many times (3 or 5 usually), and after this the SIM asks for the PUK (Personal Unlock Key) code, which is sometimes referred to as PUK1.
The PUK code can be obtained from the carrier, after they verify you are the rightful owner of the SIM and contract. If the SIM is a prepaid, the PUK code is sometimes printed in the card holder. After you get the PUK, enter it into your phone and enter a new PIN. After this, you can unlock the SIM with the new PIN you specified.
Note: DO NOT try to guess the PUK code yourself, if you enter it wrong three times, the SIM will be permanently locked and you'll have to get a new SIM from your carrier.

As @onik has rightly said there's difference between a Sim lock and Network Lock.

SIM lock-In order to provide security to stolen Phones there's a SIM
lock in-built by the manufacturer. In the event the phone is stolen
the phone would ask a SIM lock(mostly the digit pin) to register/verify the user. Once the user Is registered the phone would function normally.
Network Lock-This is the manufacture built in feature to prevent any
subscriber to switch to Another Telecom operator other then the one
the manufacturer has contract with the Operator(Basically these
contract phones are cheaper then the Factory Unlock Phones).
So what you have done is that you have purchased the Network Lock only to unlock the phone to use with other Telecom operators but not to use the phone.

In order to use the phone you  need the SIM lock which would be available with your service provider.
In case you entered the SIM lock wrong 3 consecutive times then your phone wout get locked and would ask for a PUK code which will also be available by the operator but would require a lengthy process.
So I suggest you to contact your service provider regarding the SIM lock key and don't un-necessarily enter the Pin if you don't know to avoid the PUK code


text:
Is there any way to sign into Google Play without also signing into Gmail?
I have an android tablet. I would like to sign in into the play store in order to get other apps, but I do not want to sign in gmail/contacts/calenders/g+ etc. This device will be shared among multiple people and I want to keep my information private.
The mere ability to turn of syncing with gmail is not enough - it can be trivially turned back on without a password. And in the time it takes to turn off gmail sync, a fair bit of email still gets synced to the device. I can't find a way to remove it, without also signing out of Google Play.
On iOS, the app store credentials are separate from iCloud credentials, so this isn't a problem.
Is there any way to sign into Google Play without also signing into Gmail?

Do you have a google account? What happens when you sign into the google play with that google account(not gmail).? On Lollipop versions you can add as many users accounts you want and each user sharing different user data(also different gmail accounts) so your information and apps wont be mixed up with your collegues

https://android.stackexchange.com/a/214984/10015 is relevant.

As pointed out by Hiemanshu you need to do this by using a separate account.
Now, as Android itself doesn't differentiate between Google accounts the question in your use case boils down to: How can I create a Google Account that does not have Gmail (and various other Google services with possible private information on them) associated to the account in question?
I have had similar cases at hand both in work and private use and would advice the following three options:

Create a regular Google account without Gmail. You can do this via https://accounts.google.com/SignUpWithoutGmail . Note that You need to provide some non-Gmail email address to do this but it can be anything and it's only used as a username, ie. it doesn't give access to that email address in any way. (I use guest@myowndomain.com for which I have a catch-all email set up so that I can just invent emails on-the-fly and will get emails pushed to that should anyone ever email to those, but that's another thing).
You can also delete the Gmail address. In essence this will make your whatever@gmail.com Google Account become the same as one created in the prior step. You'll still login with the whatever@gmail.com but you just won't have the Gmail email service active anymore after that. You can do this here. Lastly
You can use a Google apps account and simply limit the services available for the username in question. If you don't have a Google Apps account you can still create one for free even though it's been officially discontinued for some years not. You can find this advice by searching the web for: Techwalls "How to Get Free Google Apps Standard Account for Single User"

I've been using options 1 and 3 myself and they have both worked fine. As a final additional advice I would remind you to pay attention when you are adding the account(s) to the device in question. There are two things to pay attention to, actually:

ALWAYS add the limited account as the very first account on the device. The thing is that (at least on older devices) you can't delete the first account that was added to the device. On shared devices you might very well run into situations (that you don't come to think of now) in which you want to completely remove your personal account when you give the device to someone.
Last but not least, pay attention when adding the non-gmail account that you don't activate the synchronization of any of the Google services (unless you specifically want to).

That's it!

Google Apps have been renamed to G Suite and it costs money since December 6, 2012 there's no free version.

Depending on the version of Android you can create multiple users where each user has its own accounts system. http://www.howtogeek.com/170191/share-your-android-tablet-and-keep-your-privacy-with-a-guest-account/
The only other way to work around this issue is to create a new account just for that device and use play store with it. Most of google apps seems to be really coupled at the moment.

authors: นภัสมินตรา ผาดี


text:
No tap menu in Drive
I am trying to switch accounts in My Drive.
My understanding is that this can be done by tapping on the menu in the top LH corner of the screen, as you would do in the Gmail app etc
However on my phone (Samsung Duos) nothing happens - no menu at all.
I have tried completely uninstalling, then restarting and reinstalling. Same result. Also tried clearing the cache/settings in App manager. No luck there either.
Does anyone have any other ideas I could try? I use Drive heaps for my business and personal use (separate accounts) so it's driving me nuts not being able to switch between them!

SORTED: Not allowed to answer my own question so here is the solution...
Deleted both accounts and recreated them, now it works :)

As soon as the timeout is gone, you can answer your own question and mark it as accepted to show this problem as resolved for future reference for others :)

OK got it sorted... just writing this down incase anyone stumbles across the same issue...
Deleted both accounts and recreated them, now it works :)


text:
Mute notification sounds when on a call
I use a bluetooth earpiece, and whenever I'm on a call, notification sounds play on top of the call audio. The person on the other end can't hear it, but it's very annoying as I usually can't hear them behind the sounds.
I've tried turning down audio completely, but that doesn't work. Any ideas?

This may help
Go to Setting:

1.Sound
2.Default Notification Sound (None)

.

Choose the None option!


text:
Allow "unknown sources" from Terminal without going to Settings App?
I have a corrupted Settings app in CyanogenMod and have a possible idea to restore a backup of it (App and Data) in Titanium Backup. But it's currently set to not allow "unknown sources" so Titanium cannot actually restore the old Settings over the current (corrupted) one.
I have a Terminal app installed on the phone. Is there a command in Terminal to essentially 'tick' that "unknown sources" setting, since I can't open the Settings app itself? (It gives this.)

I'll comment here if this helps others (I see someone has starred it): I googled further and it appeared that the relevant file to modify in the file system is data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db and is an SQL file, and you can edit the SQL tables by using an sql editing app like Sqlite Editor. For instructions see: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2784173. I'm too busy doing other things to make this into an official answer, if someone does (and preferably tests themselves to confirm), I'll gladly upvote it and mark as accepted answer! :)

For newer android software use:
adb shell settings put secure install_non_market_apps 1

Hmmm, F-Droid still could not install apps after this :-(

As mentioned in the comments by OP, SQLite Editor is fit for the job. Following solutions tested on Stock Android 4.2.1 and 4.4.2.
Instructions for  root users:

Install and launch SQLite Editor from Play Store.
Under APPS, tap Settings Storage → settings.db → global.
Tap install_non_market_apps  → click pencil icon (at the top) to edit it and change the Value to 1.
The changes took effect immediately in my device. Otherwise, restart and Unknown Sources would be found enabled.
(Source)

Instructions for non-root users:

Install ADB in your PC, connect your device, and enter:
adb shell settings put global install_non_market_apps 1

Unknown Sources would now be enabled. (Source)
Change the last command's value to 0 to disable the Unknown Sources.

Note for non-root users: USB-debugging needs to be enabled from "Developer Options".

If you can somehow obtain a zip style backup of the settings app you can try to manually push it from a computer through ABD (Android Debug Bridge) from your bootloader/recovery (If it is unlocked)
More info here.
http://teamw.in/ADBSideload

For rooted users: to enable unknown sources use Terminal Emulator with these commands:
su
settings put global install_non_market_apps 1

This is an exact copy of another answer of this question, except you used the global flag. Does your device not run the command using the secure flag?


text:
Camera not Working
Since a couple of days, my brand new Sony Xperia M2 (less than a week old) now has the error message '"unfortunatly, camera has stopped' every time i try to use the camera.
I've googled, and even tried "reset to factory", but nothing worked so far.
Of note: the device was rooted with "towelroot".

There is a known issue at Android 4.4.1 KitKat with the camera.
Try another camera-app instead and see if it's an Android Problem.
When the other App is working, i recommend to upgrade to 4.4.3 with the fix for this.

Android Version says it's 4.3, Model D2303, Kernel 3.4.0+, Build 18.0.C.1.13.
I'll try installing another camera app.


text:
Recovering data from broken android phone which is sent for replacement
Sent broken android phone to Sony customer care for replacement.
I had the device encrypted with a 4 digit numeric pin. I erased it.
I found when searching on Google that data can be recovered easily from an erased android phone. But, if it has some kind of encryption turned ON, then it is a little hard to recover.
I had peace of mind that no person can look into my personal stuff and business stuff, my credit card details etc. But, today in the morning I was surprised when Google Plus notified that a photo was uploaded from the phone. Its an old phone screenshot which I took one day before 7th July, 2014 ( The day when I returned the phone ).
So, what I want to know here is, is Google photo upload got stuck somewhere for 6 days as today is 13th July, 2014 OR some person from sony staff was able to decrypt my phone? I am a little worried about my personal stuff now. Had so many accounts linked there and now I will have to log in into each google account one by one and sign out all devices.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
EDIT: Also, I had my LastPass account with offline login associated with that.
EDIT: Phone info as requested by @davidbaumann: Sony Xperia Z2 with latest version of Android which I think is 4.4.2 KiKat.

Cann you add information about the phone?

I voted to close (move) to SE Android as that would be the appropriate site (unless this question was in some way about how the android device works with a computer). Please do not post there, this will be moved.


text:
Automate installation of Android devices
I am having a lots of Android devices which I need to prepare for use as follows:

Remove all unnecesary applications
Add single Google account
Install certain applications from App Store of given Google Account
Set background/themes

I would like to write scripts which I could execute to process these steps. Is that feasible?
Thanks.
EDIT 1:
Creating useraccounts as
adb shell am start -n com.android.settings/com.android.settings.accounts.ChooseAccountActivity

results in:
Starting: Intent { cmp=com.android.settings/.accounts.ChooseAccountActivity }
java.lang.SecurityException: Permission Denial: starting Intent { flg=0x10000000 cmp=com.android.settings/.accounts.ChooseAccountActivity } from null (pid=7214, uid=2000) not exported from uid 1000
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1425)
    at android.os.Parcel.readException(Parcel.java:1379)
    at android.app.ActivityManagerProxy.startActivityAsUser(ActivityManagerNative.java:1976)
    at com.android.commands.am.Am.runStart(Am.java:494)
    at com.android.commands.am.Am.run(Am.java:109)
    at com.android.commands.am.Am.main(Am.java:82)
    at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit.nativeFinishInit(Native Method)
    at com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit.main(RuntimeInit.java:263)
    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

Similar problem is:
$ adb shell ls /data
opendir failed, Permission denied
$ adb root shell ls /data
adbd cannot run as root in production builds

So the permissions are preventing me from using the scripts. Can it be overcome?

This could be done - but would need to either:

Root the devices and allow system privileges high enough to automate uninstall/install/create wihtout user confirmation

The user would need to confirm app uninstallations and installations - which would be almost as slow and laborious as doing the work manually.

If you decided to go down the root and run route, you would need to write an app which could install the others for you OR you would need to look into something such as nandroid which can be used to create an image of a working Android device and return you a set of image files to deploy to other devices.
Failing that, as James said - look at the debug bridge APIs which could be used to accomplish this.

Seems so. If you have a look at Android ADB API I've used commands in batch scripts etc to install / uninstall .apk files etc (agreed that isn't the same as installing from the store but it's a start) ... and as for theming I'm pretty sure you can do stuff with issuing intents etc to make that happen.

This seems to be quite interesting, but I am not sure whether it will allow everything – for inst. I am not sure whether it will allow me to setup the Google account.

Agreed it won't give you everything you need ... I've had experience with a tool called EggPlant which is really high level, if cost is a barrier maybe you could try and implement something similar ? Sorry I can't be of more help.


text:
Constant app crashes + google play error 960
I recently got a new Nexus 5 and I have a lot of issues with the software.
Basically I have 2 major issues which I guess are likely related:

Google play store very often gives me an error Unknown error code during application install: "960"
Many applications often crash with the error message Unfortunately application <insert-app -here> has stopped working. I'm under the impression these are mainly stock apps but I'm not 100% sure.

Next I also see some side issues in google chrome, which I suspect have the same reason:

Sometimes while browsing the whole phone crashes, I haven't pinned this down to a single action, but it only happens while using chrome, not with any other app or while idling.
I often get an error stating "this page cannot be loaded, please reload", after 5-6 times reloading it finally works (or the phone crashes...).

To me it looks like there is some error with a basic android support app (maybe services) that messes everything up but I really can't figure out what it is. I have tried already:

Factory reset several times, including using recovery mode
Adding/removing my google account
Clearing app caches of several apps like google chrome and google play services
Clearing the cache partition using recovery mode
Rebooting in safe mode

As it's new, take it back to the shop and get them to sort it out. This isn't normal behaviour, and it's not on you to fix this.

I don't know how things are in Belgium, but in the UK if you have to return broken or misdelivered goods, it's up to the seller to pay the delivery costs.

Found this page while trying to solve the same problem on my Nexus 5. Here is the succinct answer that worked for me: You need root and to install an app called SD Maid (Play Store Link), run it's "CorpseFinder" function, remove the corpses, and reboot. Force closes and 960 errors stopped for me after doing this. I elaborate more here on this thread on AndroidForums.com. Hope this helps!

You could delete the data of every app that fails simply by long pursuing on it and dropping in the app info option that appears on the desktop. This will force the app to «restart» from zero.


text:
Divert calls during a time interval
How to set-up a phone so that the calls are diverted during a time interval (e.g. from 8:30 to 17:00)?
If it matters, I have a Huawei Ascend P2 running on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and on the UK's "3" mobile network.

I don't know about your device but on my HTC One I have a "Do Not Disturb" function which I can schedule for a particular time. However I think this will block everything; text messages, emails etc. If thats not what you want then I suggest you try Tasker. There is a call divert option in there.

Tasker was my first thought as well – almost nothing it cannot do. Apart from that, you might check into call blockers. I've never used any of those, but rawly remember some had kinds of "timers" integrated.


text:
Why does Android check email and play store when sync is off
At night, or at work, my Android is usually offline. For me it's enough to only check email when I like to do so.
However, every time (or most times?) I switch on mobile data on wifi on my phone, it also seems to sync email (corporate Exchange account only, NOT the gmail app), and also checks for Play store updates for my apps. Same goes for Cyanogenmod updates.
Why does it do so? What's the use in turning off Sync, when apps can just ignore the setting and run background checks whenever they like?

I think you've misunderstood the sync settings. They're not intended as a way to stop apps performing background operations. The sync settings for each app come from within that app, like any other app settings, so the exact behaviour is up to that app. Because the sync settings are part of the accounts mechanism, they're usually used to control data attached to that account (e.g. if you have the Evernote app installed and an Evernote account signed in, the sync setting within that account just controls syncing the data owned by that account; it doesn't control any other kind of background processes).
OS and app updates aren't covered by any of the sync settings, so you wouldn't expect those settings to change their behaviour.


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HTC One X+ is getting hot. Is it Normal?
The other day my daughter was playing with wife's phone (HTC one x+) and asked me for help. When I grabbed the phone I realised that was so HOT that I think I could fry an egg on it. Is this normal?
Is there any tip you can give me to avoid this?

It is normal. It could have been because your daughter was playing a game on the phone, or just taking up a lot of processing power. Also, having one's hands on the back of the phone also does not help. I've had this issue with multiple devices when playing games specifically.

Nothing wrong with the phone. Getting hot, just not a problem with hardware.
I can solve the overheating problem just like that.
Disable all the apps that have Google in their name including Google service framework, Play and market feed back and just don't forget the boss Chrome browser. (Even if you don't use them) . Use built in Android browser.
You will be cool, I ment your HTC