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Why does the new Gmail address not show on the Samsung tab 2 version 7.0?
A friend forgot her primary Gmail address so I created a new one for her. The reason she could not find it was her surname was wrong. The problem is that when I press the Gmail icon on her Samsung tab 2 version 7.0 only the primary email inbox is shown. I have found no way to view the new Gmail address which she needs to open to confirm something she did on the internet.
Is there any solution given on the web, perhaps from Google? I completely fail to understand why Google will not allow us to change what the primary address is. We shall never use the one Google has decided upon against our wishes. The only inbox we are interested in opening is that of the new Gmail address I have just created.

I want to access the inbox of the new email address so we can read the emails that have been sent there in connection with applications for membership cards we have made on the web. Should I copy this question and paste it on Android Enthusiasts instead? I am totally incompetent regarding technical matters and things like tags and did not know there was any other place to ask my question than this one.

Go to your phone's Settings. Under Accounts, add the existing Google account. After you go through the wizard (and making sure email is synced), go back to the GMail app. When you trigger/click the hamburger menu, you should be able to select between your different GMail accounts.


text:
Netbook with Android 4.1 freezes on load screen
I'm using a brand new Craig 10-inch netbook. It came with Android 4.1 jelly bean by default. I've made no changes at all but on boot, the initial splash screen appears, the jelly beans seem to appear inside of the Andrew character, but then it just freezes. No mouse icon, no menus, nothing.
I've tried:

long-press of the power button (both on to off and off to on).
Holding F2 and/or F8 during power on or power off or just the load phase.
Pushing the factory reset button on the bottom of the device.

None of these have any effect, unfortunately.
I've also noticed some posts saying to hold the volume buttons during boot to get safe mode. This seems only for phones as this netbook has no volume buttons at all.
Are there any known remedies for this load screen freezing? I cannot access any menus or options that require the computer to actually be booted. How can I access safe mode or some other boot mode to try to restore?

Did it ever work?  If not, then it probably faulty. Best to return it.

It did work without a problem for the first five or so days (maybe 10 on/off power cycles before the problem started).

Can you remove the battery? It could be like my original (rev 1) Nexus 7, where the device flips out if it ever goes to 0% battery. The fix is to do a special key sequence to do a reset (not factory reset, though). Android doesn't have a safe mode.

In fact, the battery cannot be removed and the instruction manual says it is not user-replaceable. It was working fine for several uses in a row. There are many posts about booting into Android safe-mode (for example, this link.

Also, the battery had never gone close to 0% when this started. Since that, I've tried draining and recharging the battery, which seems to go fine, but the same frozen loading screen persists on startup.

press "Fn" button and "F2" and "home"

Some explanation on what this will do would be appreciated.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How do I disable faces on contacts?
On an older version contacts without images are a solid color. Now its a solid color with a blank face drawn on top of it. It's irritating. How can I disable it? I also would like to disable the face/color box next in the text message conversation.
I'm using version 4.3

What device is this?

If it's rooted and you have a backup copy of the ROM, you could potentially replace the actual blank face image with something more visually pleasing.

I think the stock Contacts and Messaging apps do not have the option to hide the profile pictures.
However, you can try GO Contacts Ex and GO SMS Pro. These are highly-customizable 3rd-party apps that allow you to hide profile pictures. I'm sure other apps can hide the pictures two, but those are are what I've tried so far, and it works well.

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


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How to revert Hangouts to Google Talk in Samsung S4
I just updated my Android version to 4.3. However, Google Talk is replaced by Hangouts automatically. I don't like Hangouts, since I cannot see friends who are online/offline. I wish to revert to Google Talk. When I try to uninstall Hangouts, there is no uninstall option for me.
I am using a Samsung S4 smartphone. Does anyone know how to revert to Google Talk?

If you're comfortable sideloading apps rather than only getting them from the Play Store, this Question and its answers may be of help: Where can find older versions of Apps?

Note, though, that you'll probably continually be pestered to update and it's likely that down the road the old Google Talk app just won't work at all.

Hangout is the replacement to Google Talk. And on Hangout you CAN see people online. Go into Hangout, Click the + sign to have "New Hangout" (+ sign is on top right, or simply swipe from right to left), and all people with a green hangout sign are online people. All people with grey hangout are offline, but you can send them 'offline' messages so they can see it as soon as they are online.
Unfortunately this is only half the answer as I don't see a way to remove Hangout back to Google Talk. If anyone can add to this answer, please do.

If you didn't install Hangouts via Play Store, it was supplied by the update. In that case, there is no way to get the old Google Talk back.
An alternative would be installing a messenger app that supports GTalk and/or XMPP (XMPP is the protocol GTalk uses).
some messaging apps:

Xabber is an open-source, fully configurable XMPP client
imo.im is closed-source and displays ads in the non-paid version
IM+ is closed-source


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How can one run an app made for a more recent version of Android on an older Android Device?
How can one install an app made for Jellybean and use it on Gingerbread?
Let's take Google Keyboard for example. Google Keyboard is meant for use with Ice Cream Sandwich and up, but say I want it on my phone running rooted CyanogenMod 7.2. Is this possible?

Technically, one can override the version requirement by cracking open the .apk file and editing the manifest.xml file and setting the  android:minSdkVersion attribute in the <uses-sdk> element to your sdk version (or simply remove that attribute altogether, in which case it will default to "1" and assume it will work on any Android version), then using your modified .apk file to install it.
However, this is almost always a bad idea.  The developer of the application presumably set that requirement to the value it is because they actually do need something introduced in that sdk version.  If they didn't, they'd set it to something else or omit it .  Trying to make the app run on an Android version missing those features it needs is likely to cause havoc, crashes, force-closes, and other unhappiness.
In the case of Google-made apps, I would assume they knew exactly what functionality their app uses and when it was introduced and that it would definitely break in some manner without that functionality when they set the minSdkVersion for their app, and thus trying this trick will almost certainly fail.
But if the developer is just a lazyish type who insisted upon setting the attribute (probably to the current version) without much thought about whether it's really needed (i.e. "I don't feel like going through my code and checking what functionality I actually use and when Google added it to Android, so I'll just set the minSdkVersion to the current version of Android"), it might just work.  Or the missing functionality might only be used in some part of the app you never use, and thus the brokenness is irrelevant to you.

No, at least no-one found a reliable way to do it. Higher Android versions introduce new APIs that the app may require to function correctly.

That's somewhat saddening. Is there anyway to tinker with the app (assuming it wasn't from the Play Store in the first place)?

If you have the source for an app there's no reason you can't alter it to work on an earlier version of Android, although you obviously would have to change any part of the app which required APIs provided by the later versions of Android.

@JeffreyLin That's not going to be easy for anyone but the original author, and they already decided it was too much effort.


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Send SMS instead of MMS when texting multiple people
When I put more than one person as the recipient to my message my Samsung Galaxy S3 vibrates and says it's converting to MMS. When I send my message I know at least one person is not getting the message. However that person can send me a group message and I can see it is as a SMS instead of MMS.
I can't find any options to prevent it from becoming a MMS. I set the delivery report checkbox and sent another one out. I know one person got it and that person did it. I get no report on who got it. I'm using Android 4.3.

And what app you use for SMS? You describe the default behaviour of Hangouts (in which case you might want to switch to a different app for SMS).

@Izzy: I'm using the default app for text messaging It's the same as every android I seen but I haven't seen many. What do you recommend?

I'm not a big SMSer; if I write more than a single SMS per week, that's already extensive. For that, the stock app is more than sufficient. So I'm not really the one to recommend an app from my own experience. You might wish to take a look at this list (never mind the German, you'll be able to interprete the list itself), plenty of apps together with (and ordered by) their resp. ratings. Should make a selection easier at least.

It isn't actually the 'default' one that you have, it is Samsung's default SMS application. It is specific to Samsung devices, they have put layers of their own code on top of the old stock SMS application. The new default is Hangouts for Nexus / AOSP. There are many other apps that do this. If you have a rooted device you can install a Wanam Xposed module that stops the auto MMS conversion in the default Samsung SMS application.

@RossC: I see I had no idea. I got one of the free apps. I don't particularly like it but it does send the messages so the few times I need to send a group message I'll use it.

I was facing the same problem for long time on my Galaxy S3, at last i figure it out
by default android SMS allow you to send same message to multiple people without converting it to MMS.
But when you Select the option Group Messaging under the multimedia message (MMS) setting
it now set group messaging only for MMS
try un-checking the option
hope this will help ( am using default sms of android)

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

A note for people it seems that Android 4.3 installs with Group Messaging as MMS option enabled HOWEVER, the box remains un-ticked. In order to go back to the pre-4.3 single SMS sent multiple times you have to tick the Group messaging option, back out, then go back into settings and then un-tick group messaging under MMS.... Thanks Google that cost me a few £ before I noticed.

On my Nexus 5, the setting is under Hangouts > Settings > SMS > Group messaging which is also enabled by default.

WDF google sets this by default to MMS?!?! Here the mobile provider charges you for MMS! Thank you for this hint

When I just saw my T-Mobile bill for Feb it became evident that since upgrading the OS from version 4.1.2 to 4.3 when I send a ‘Group’ text message it creates individual MMS messages, one for each recipient.  These are picked up by T-Mobile and charged for at 25p each even though they are text only and I have an unlimited texts allowance.
In addition, if somebody sent me a text message as one recipient of a group text message I do not know it is a part of a group text message but if I reply to the sender then a text message from me is created for each of the recipients.  Each of these is an MMS message and so I get charged 25p for each reply message even though I don’t know it has happened.
I rang Samsung and said I am fed up with problems with OS version 4.3 and asked for version 4.2.1 to be re-installed.  They referred me to one of their Samsung Repair Centres, The PocketPhone Shop in Cheshunt, to re-install version 4.1.2.  However, when I rang them they said they are not able to this but if I bring my phone in they will investigate my problem.
Chris at the PocketPhone Shop did some investigation and then told me that if I go into Text Messages, Settings and then scroll down to Multimedia Message (MMS) Settings there is a parameter ‘Group Messaging’.  If this is ticked, when sending Group text messages individual MMS messages are created.  However, if this is unticked, group text messaging still works but the messages created are SMS messages and not chargeable MMS messages.
Well done to Chris and I hope this adds additional assistance to the previous helpful messages in this forum.

I found that too.  Group text wasn't checked to start with so I checked it then unchecked and now it's back to normal.  Thanks for your help

Thats exactly what I did and my cousin did to solve it. Good to hear we're not the only ones


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How does fast-charge work?

How does Fast Charge work?
Does it actually charge your device faster, and if so,
Is there a downside to using it?

Fast Charging can be achieved in two ways

Hardware based Charging

Qualcomm-  Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 and Qualcomm quick Charge 3.0. Also see Fast Charging by Qualcomm 3.0- impact on battery?. This is the most popular, adopted by OEMs under various brand names
Type C USB Charging- USB Type C Charging explained. Also see Android phone “charging slowly”: How to make it faster
By OPPO- VOOC (Voltage Open Loop Multi-step Constant-Current Charging) and Super VOOC

Kernels (including kernel tweaks) capable of increasing charge rate whether it is USB or wall outlet charging

First part of your question How does fast charging work? Does it actually charge your device faster
This has been covered at length here (linking it rather than copy-paste) Will plugging the Samsung fast charger into a outlet rated 10W/2.1AMP slow down the charge rate?.
To summarise, normal charging is done at 0.5 to 0.8 C (C is charge rate) and fast charging done at 1 to 3 C. Please note that the exact or indicative charging rate is not revealed in any OEM documentation despite extensive search and it is unlikely that OEMs will reveal such  details, deeming it "proprietary"
Coming to the second part of your question Is there a downside to it (Fast Charging)?
Yes, in two ways:
A common feature while using fast chargers is raise in temperature of battery (since more current is being pumped in and power (read heat) is proportional to square of current) and this is inimical to good health of battery, which is extensively  covered here.

Short Term (Battery capacity after charging) Battery is not really fully charged as it does not undergo charging spending enough time in all stages, compared to conventional charging. In simple words battery may deliver typically 85% of performance compared to regular charging. Details on this are available here
Long Term (Battery life span) Battery life is specified in Cycles or discharge cycles. OEMs/ Battery resellers may specify this number, for example, it is 550 Cycles for Samsung Note 2

Quoting from BU-501: Basics About Discharging

What Constitutes a Discharge Cycle?
A discharge/charge cycle is commonly understood as the full discharge of a charged battery with subsequent recharge, but this is not always the case. Batteries are seldom fully discharged and manufacturers often use the 80 percent depth-of-discharge (DoD) formula to rate a battery, meaning that only 80 percent of the available energy is delivered and 20 percent remains in reserve. Cycling a battery at less than full discharge increases service life and manufacturers argue that this is closer to a field representation because batteries are commonly recharged with some spare capacity left.
There is no standard definition as to what constitutes a discharge cycle.

This does not mean that every time you charge you are consuming a cycle

For example, if you discharge a battery to 50 percent one day, charge it back to 100 percent, then discharge it 50 percent again the next day, that is counted as one "cycle" of the battery. So shallow discharges, in all these regards, are ideal for a Li-ion battery.

Now that battery life in cycles has been explained, let us see how fast charging adversely affects long term battery life
Figure 2 from BU-401a: Fast and Ultra-fast Chargers graphically shows deterioration in long term battery life. Note deterioration in charge holding capacity and life of battery are both affected adversely

Figure 2: Cycle performance of Li-ion with 1C, 2C and 3C charge and discharge
Charging and discharging Li-ion above 1C reduces service life. Use a slower charge and discharge if possible. This rule applies to most batteries.
Bottom Line: Use fast charging when you "have to" due to time constraints else if possible stick to normal charging if you care for your battery( if you have read this lengthy answer, it's because you care:). But a relevant question is what can be done if your cell is equipped only with a fast charger? Answer would be to use a battery pack for normal use and fast charging when you really need it. This way, you could end up spending more but wouldn't need to bother about battery health
Perhaps realizing that ill effects of fast charging would be negative, Samsung has come up with user selectable enable/disable fast charge option

See FoneArena Labs : Best Fast Charging Standard in the market for performance comparison of different charging techniques

FYI. You may like to see Quick Charging 3.0 explanation here http://android.stackexchange.com/a/138678/131553

So if I have a phone with a 3000mAH battery, assume it's at 4v and charging, then I would need to reach 3A (1C) *4V = 12W of power in order to reach "fast charge" speeds, which means 5v * 2.4A is needed - OR some variant of higher voltage (i.e. 9v x 2A, 12v x 1.5A, etc.)

Theoretically ,yes, but neither OEMs nor internet search had revealed to me the actual figures in terms of actual. I don't have a device that fast charges to arrive at an approximation. If you are talking of Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0, I would go with 5 V figure. If 3.0, then both voltage and current can be varied so ultimately one needs to look at wattage . You can see the linked answer for 3.0. AFAIK Samsung is the only OEM which is offering a device that can be charged normal/quick as mentioned in last line of answer. If I lay my hands on it can atleast compare

When you plug your phone into a PC, or other device that communicates with the phone, the phone uses a USB "Data mode", so to speak. In this mode, there is a 500ma maximum draw from the USB port.
When you plug your phone into a regular AC wall charger, there is no data connection. The phone then uses whatever amperage is supported by both the phone and charger (typically between 500ma and 2.1amps)
There are USB charging cables that have the data pins re-wired to disable a data connection. This makes the phone think it's plugged into a regular AC charger, and allow more than 500ma to flow. That does not mean the USB port has more than 500ma to begin with. Typically, USB ports on PCs have 500ma, or USB 3.0 ports may have 900ma.
Theoretically this is safe because it's just disabling a data connection. It's not using more power than it should. Phone's are designed not to accept more amps than it can handle.
There are also apps that allow for fast charging by forcing the phone into using the AC charging mode instead of data. However you still need a compatible kernel or it won't work. (For standard users, changing the kernel is a complicated and risky procedure.)
Please note that there are reported cases of people's phones not supporting regular data modes after attempting to activate fast charge via an app (notably the nexus 4).


text:
Check if a certain directory exists on AVD using ADB command
I want to check if a certain directory (e.g. /data/textdata/) exists on the AVD using adb shell.
I'm following prolink007's answer on SO, except this line:
DIR_RESULT=$(adb shell ls /data/ | tr -d '\015'|grep '^textdata$')

but it goes always into the then branch if the directory exist or not. I've also looked for the adb shell manual without results.
Any suggestion?

I tried this on an avd and it works for me:
ls /data/textdata > /dev/null 2>&1 && echo "exists" || echo "not exists"

Please try this:
DIR_RESULT=$(adb shell if [ -d  "/data/textdata" ]; then echo "exists"; else echo "not exists"; fi; );

does not work. it says "exist.sh: command substitution: line 4: syntax error near unexpected token then' exist.sh: command substitution: line 4: then echo "exists"; else echo "not exists"; fi; '".
I think is how the command is structured: if statement should not be there (in my opinion)

the command of prolink007 now works: i was wrong in the command copy.

I found a solution which works for me. See my second answer.


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Kitkat 4.4.2 and Play music: won't find files
I have a nexus 4 and I have been using the music downloader called music maniac. Just recently updated to kitkat 4.4.2 and now when I download music the play music app won't find it in my phone. I can find the file when I look it up in the storage settings, but when I plug it into my computer I look in the same place and it's not there. Anyway I don't know how to make it read the file I guess.

Try an Android media scanning process using apps such as
SD Scanner (other older media scan apps seem to crash in 4.4). Once done, the new files should show up in Play Music (I personally found Android's background running of the scanning process to be too slow).
It could be due to the .nomedia file (see "Hiding your files from the Media Scanner" on the Android API guide) in the folder containing the files (or even in a parent folder) which prevents the any media from appearing in Play Music. Since .nomedia is a dot file, it is considered a hidden file and your file explorer may not show it in by default and you may have to dig into the settings. OI File Manager has an option to view hidden files.
With regards to not being able to see the files on the computer. Strangely on OSX

using the Android File Transfer app that is provided by Google, the MusicManic folder /sdcard/MusicManic appears as a file and not a folder
using adb shell, it appears as a folder

using AirDroid on my Nexus 4, my computer can connect to the phone and /sdcard/MusicManic appears as a folder which can be downloaded.

So I guess for now, try use AirDroid to transfer the files across.

If you have an app like astro file manager you can just copy/paste the file from the music maniac folder to the Music folder. It'll then be in your music player playlist.  If you go to the downloaded songs tab in the music maniac app and hit the menu button, it'll tell you the file path. I think it's storage/emulated/0/music maniac. This is on my HTC  One.

I've had similar issues in connection with ROM upgrades but never figured out the cause, it never seemed to be permissions related for example, but a solution that I seem to remember worked was to "re-write" the files. Essentially you cut the files over to your PC and then copy them back in, making them "new" files from the Android device's perspective, and they show up. Might work for you, it's worth a shot.

That sounds like a failing media scanner: does a device reboot have the same effect? Or unmounting/mounting the SDCard? Both would trigger the Media Scanner.

From what I remember, rebooting the device had no effect.

Your case might be a little different from the OPs; "resetting" the media library (deleting cache/data) might have solved it, if it only figured files with a "newer timestamp" needed checking (deleting its cache+data would have forced a "full rescan"). But looks like that's completely hypothetical now ;)

What is the music format of the files? It seems that the Google Play Music app cannot recognized some file formats, just like .WMA files. I have got such music files like this on my Android devices and Google Play Music does not find them too. I solved this problem by using another music player. I use VLC for Android and it recognizes all my music files. Moreover you can specify to it the folders containing your Music (in case some of the music files which should belong to your media library are not in the Music folder). VLC is still in beta version and misses some features but it will be the best Android media player when he comes out of Beta.

I had a load of mp3 files which I tried to copy onto my HTC One and after spending weeks trying to get the media scanning working I eventually tried an Android Conversion App (MediaConverter) from Google Play. I re-converted them to mp3 and after that they showed up.
...John...

I've had this problem and the fix for me was something as silly as just renaming the folder. I originally created the folder, then moved music into it. This probably caused the issue,  but I'm  not sure.

Play Music (for me anyways) seems to only see files in the Music/ directory. If your songs are in another folder, move them into the Music folder and see if that works. If you don't have this folder you may need to create it. Play Music also seems to have a problem with files that have not been transferred from your computer over USB. Try moving your files out of the Music folder and back in again.


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Gallery preview folder takes about 1GB, how to delete it?
I've got a Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus (GT-I9105P) with Android 4.2.2 and I've got many photos. The folder with the Gallery previews (the one that stores thumbnail to load images faster) takes about 1GB of storage (815,9MB, precisely) and if I delete it, when I open the Gallery app it recreates.

Here you can see it (click image to enlarge)
"Anteprime galleria" in Italian means "Gallery previews". The folder itself is called "DCIM" and it's in the phone's memory (All my photos are in teh SD card) and it contains an hidden .thumbnails folder.

So, how can I delete it and make sure it won't recreate?

Do you really want to do that? That might lead to you no more being able to see your images in the gallery. But if you want to try:

open a file manager of your choice and navigate to the DCIM folder
delete the .thumbnails directory
create a file named .thumbnails
open the file's properties, and set it "read only"

Now, as there cannot be two objects with the identical name, the gallery cannot re-create the folder. As the existing object is a file, it cannot put its thumbnails in there, either.

Thanks, I tried and it worked fine. Nothing happened to the photos, and seems like the gallery loads it even faster than before!

The first part was expected, the second irritates me. But important thing is, it worked and solved your issue :)

@Izzy well great, it's going to bother me now also. That... doesn't make sense unless they are cached (which is very unlikely). I would have thought they wouldn't work, and certainly not after a reboot!

@RossC Thinking about it: What would happen if the card were full, no space left? Gallery couldn't generate thumbnails then either. As a dev, I would consider that possibility. What rather puzzles me is that it should "load even faster than before". While it should work, I'd expect it to be slower (as it always has to load the "big file").

@Izzy Ah, that I hadn't considered that. Without seeing the files that were there, and what it is loading now there is no way to know for sure. If it was out of space though the thumbnails would already be there and no new pictures could be added that would need thumbnails. I'm pretty confused. Either it loads thumbnails, which should be the faster way, or the entire thing which would initially be much slower. It just doesn't add up to me. Edit: Unless the thumbnail gallery had hundreds of thumbnails for removed/deleted/moved images and was lagging very badly.

@RossC the "disk" could also be filled remotely, i.e. by copying files from your computer until it's "filled up". No thumbnails for the copied pics. And no space left to create any. It would be bad practice to have the gallery ignore new pics then; the media scanner could still update its library (different storage). Just loading should take longer than, especially when displaying a collection of more than one file (as opposed to directly opening a single file).

For deleting the thumbnails you need to follow the following steps no need to download any app for it.

create a new folder on your desktop, inside that folder create a text document and rename it as .file
make as many text document files with extension as .file as there are .thumbnail files under your DCIM folder => .thumbnail files and rename the text document files with exactly the same name as .thumbnail files (or you can make some text document files and rename them again and again with the new .thumbnail files).
delete all the original .thumbnail files and replace it with the new text document files that you made with the extension .file
reboot your phone and you are done.


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Displaying all images automatically in the gmail app?
Is there any setting in the gmail app to show images automatically when you open an email instead of pressing on the little links?

Currently Gmail Released new App 4.7.2 with Auto Show Image feature By storing all images in specific server(Correct me if wrong).
See here
Link to Apk file

Not seeing anything so far...

Featured Gmail App released..link is in answer.

As for latest version 4.7.1 (946962), there is no way to show images automatically for all messages. But for version 4.7.2 (967015) it is possible. See my other answer to this question for more details.
In version 4.7.1 (946962) it works as follows:

By default when you receive a message, it doesn't show pictures and it
displays a button to allow pictures  for this message.
If you click this button, all pictures will be displayed for this message, and there will be a button asking if you want to show pictures for all messages from the same sender.
If you click this button, the sender will be added to picture approvals list.

You can clear such list from Settings menu, as indicated in the following screenshots. This way all messages will return to default layout (don't show pictures).

Ugh. This blows.

Good news for you: Google is currently rolling out Gmail 4.7.2 (967015), which allows to show inline images without using the steps described in my previous answer. Here is what you'll have to do:

Download Gmail app update. You can either wait to be rolled out to your device or download it from this page (because in this case it will be an app sideload, you'll have to make sure you enabled installation from Unknown Sources before).

When installed, by default it will behave as previous version, i.e. showing the Show pictures / Always show pictures from this sender links, so you'll have to configure this to not happen (don't worry: this is done only once). Tap the overflow menu on Gmail action bar (not the message one) and select Settings. Then, in Settings screen tap your account.

In your account, scroll down to Data usage section and tap Images. By default it will be selected Ask before showing, so you'll have to select Always show.

Go back repeatedly until you get to your inbox. From now on, when you open a message, you'll be able to see inline images without confirmation.

Notice: This Images setting (Always show) will override the picture approvals state, so if you Clear picture approvals as shown in my previous answer, you'll still see inline images in all messages, until you change the images setting back to Ask before showing.

authors: ภูริต สุรินทร


text:
Change system font on 4.2.2
On my GT-I9105P with 4.1.2 there was a section in the Settings where I could change the system font. But now I've done the 4.2.2 upgrade and the Settings have been redesigned I can't find any option to change the system font. How can I change it?
P.S. I would not use any applications to change the font, so I wanna know if the option to change the font have been removed or simply I can't find it.
EDIT: I found the solution.

Are you running an official Samsung firmware? It should be in Settings > Display > Font Style. Failing that there are apps, maybe they would be worth considering? I have the option on a Touchwiz ROM on the S4 but not on the 4.4 Google Edition.

@RossC, Based on my experience, this seems like an entirely valid answer. I'd be happy to upvote it if posted as an answer.

What was the solution? Could you share it here, and accept it as an answer 2 days later?


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Will flashing a custom fix lag on my Android?
I have a 1 GB RAM tablet running a pretty much vanilla Android Jelly Bean 4.1.1 and it's been running very slow. Apps startup time have been slow, noticeable lag exists while scrolling between the home screens, and apps crash sometimes. Browsing on the Internet has scroll lag and I have many more problems. I know that 1GB of RAM is more than enough to run Jelly Bean smoothly without any lag. How will rooting my device or flashing any custom ROMs help? I am new to the Android world, any suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Can't tell from your post what manufacturer made your tablet. If it's Samsung, their TouchWiz application tends to muck up occasionally, like lagging. This is more evident in Android 4.2 than 4.1. Worst case, backup your app and data, do a factory reset, reinstall your favourite apps and see if the lagging return. Custom ROMs might eliminate the lagging, but no guarantee.

Im not sure about the hardware of your tablet ,so might not be that powerful .That could be the reason for the lag
About rooting and custom roms they are not assured to remove lag  ,some roms might help while some may be even slower, it depends on the rom You use .But that said generally custom roms are made to be lightweight ,fast and fluid.


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How do I remove my credit card from Google Play?
I want to remove my credit card from Google Play because a random money glitch in a game is worrying me.
Google Wallet isn't compatible with my phone.

this is the first link https://support.google.com/wallet/answer/2907561?hl=en on google with (remove+credit+card+google+wallet)

Please follow the following steps

Login to Google Wallet
Click on Payment Methods
On the card which you want to remove, click Remove
Confirm the prompt for card removal

This should remove the Credit card from Google play store.

Doesn't work unless you have or replace the payment method with another, but if you wish to remove all payment methods - you cannot do it this way or anyway probably.


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Why must my device be compatible with a certain ROM before I flash it to my device?
This it the explanation telling me not to install a custom ROM without checking the device's compatibility. "Now, be careful as each custom ROM comes with a version that is suitable only with one device; you can’t install the same variant of firmware on all the Android devices as the same is not compatible."
But, I'm using a HP Slate 7, there isn't an official thread for this device on XDA Developers, and the furthest I can go is to root my tablet. Other than that, there are no custom ROMs specifically for this device.
My question is, why can't I install a custom ROM if I follow all the correct processes for flashing a custom ROM, even if my device is unsupported? Is it purely because of the bootloader? Or the kernel? I'm fairly new to Android, but I've been reading up on new terms, so can I have some guidance?

Related: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/info-to-instal-windows-ios-linux-t3763961

No long explanation needed, the reason is quite simple: Different devices come with different hardware components, such as the camera or sound "chips". Those require special drivers, which are in most cases proprietary and not part of AOSP (which is the "Android base code").
This means, each ROM must include device specific code, and thus is specific to the device it is created for.

In order to understand why specificity is important we must understand the structure of a device, both software structure and hardware structure. Different devices have different structure. Two devices having different models don't have similar hardware and even the slightest of difference in hardware is enough for the software to cause compatibility issues. An operating system (or a kernel) has code specifically written for particular hardware, and it shall never work on another hardware.
Now, from a software point-of-view, a device has a kernel and some middleware which provides an interface between hardware and software. You may have noticed different partitions of your device, like recovery, and firmware. These partitions vary with devices as well. If you flash incompatible software, you will most likely end up with a bricked device.
That's why it is advised to use ROM from a nearly-identical device (hardware) when porting ROMs.

As far as my understanding goes when you say you are flashing a new custom ROM onto your device you are essentially changing your android version flavor(whatever goes into your /system partition) and most importantly the kernel(/boot contains kernel and bootloader).
More on Android Partitions.
Now when you flash a ROM onto your device you generally use a application installed on your machine. Then you enable USB debugging on your device, connect it to your machine and run your application to flash the ROM. First thing here is that the application must recognize the existing ROM/Kernel so that it can replace it with corresponding custom ROM(Eg CyanogenMod). So your device must be in the list of devices supported by the flashing application. If you have a STOCK ROM than generally all application recognize it and should not be a problem. But if you already have a custom ROM and trying to flash another then it might be a problem.You may wan to read How to Pick the Right ROM for Your Device?
Is it purely because of the bootloader?

As far as CyanogenMod Installer in concerned it does not care if your bootloader is locked or not. It will unlock it for you. Other may require rooted device(How to root your Android device? ).
Or the kernel?

This should not be a problem either because finally it is a Linux kernel on which the android runs(As long as versions are same).
So what is the problem then?

This is my personal understanding. Please correct me if I have mistaken. Kernel is that piece of code that interacts use programs with the device hardware. Now it is very much possible that you have an old device(outdated hardware). Now if you say I am flashing the new ROM that has come to market... it will have a kernel that may require upgraded hardware(Not all things are backward compatible). So even if you flash it on your device some functionality wont wonk. Worst case your phone may get bricked. Hence it is essential to do some research about the ROM you are flashing whether it is compatible with your device.

“/boot contains kernel and bootloader”: I don't know of any device where bootloader is on boot partition. “because finally it is a Linux kernel on which the android runs(As long as versions are same)”: kernels are very device specific.

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


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Why do people recommend rooting a device before flashing a custom ROM?
If rooting isn't required to flash a new ROM (unlocking your bootloader is), why do many people recommend rooting your device before flashing it?

I think this one really depends on the device and procedures involved in installing a new ROM. For Nexus devices, there's really no point because you can just fastboot oem unlock the bootloader. Other devices, however, may force you to use tricks that require root in order to unlock the bootloader. However, I'm not 100% up to date on non-nexus ROM installing and such so I could be mistaken.

@dotVezz That's not a comment, but an answer, go ahead posting it as such :) Maybe a hint to custom recovery wouldn't hurt either, as that might require root permissions to be installed (and on most devices is the pre-condition to flashing custom ROMs).

@Izzy, I just posted it as a comment since I wasn't quite sure of the non-nexus procedures. But I'll go ahead and put a slightly expanded version of that as my answer.

I think this one really depends on the device and procedures involved in installing a new ROM. For Nexus devices, there's really no point because you can just fastboot oem unlock the bootloader and install your new recovery with fastboot flash recovery [file].
Other devices, however, may force you to use tricks that require root in order to unlock the bootloader. For example, in order to install a ROM on a device which doesn't support fastboot, you may need root in order to install a custom recovery.

I don't remember ever having used fastboot, but I have CWM on some of my devices. So while some certainly require flashing it via fastboot, there must be other means; but I'm not aware of any such method not involving root :) +1 from me :)

authors: ป้อม'ณ้อย เจ้าชายตัวป่วน


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Multiple tabs browsing?
I like using many tabs when browsing. It's a bit annoying to click links and open them as a tab on Firefox. It's annoying to close and switch between them too (Next tab so I can read VS pull a list and click the next one).
I tried Firefox and the default web browser. I tried looking up Android Firefox for gestures or some way to handle tabs better but it looks like I can't open tabs easily on it.
Are there other recommendations?

Yes, Firefox wastes too much space (especially when showing open tabs), maybe they fix that someday. In the meantime, have you tried with Chrome for Android? It has new gestures to switch between tabs:

In Chrome for Android, you’ll be able to:

Swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch tabs.
Drag vertically down from the toolbar to enter into the tab switcher    view.
Drag down from the menu to open the menu and select the item you want    without having to lift your finger.

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


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Make the sleep timer on a tablet dependent on whether it's being charged or not
Is there a way to set the sleep mode timer depending on whether the tablet is being charged or not?
I normally have my Android tablet (Xoro Pad 9718, Android version 4.1.1) next to my computer on the desktop, and I like having some manual page or similar on the tablet while I'm working on the computer. In this case, the tablet is plugged into the charger, and I set the sleep mode to as long as possible, because it's just annoying if the screen turns black every few minutes. When the tablet is NOT plugged into the charger, I want a sleep mode timer of 30 seconds or one minute, to save battery life.
I'm open to a hidden setting somewhere as well as an app that detects when the charger is plugged/unplugged and changes the timer setting.

Have you considered using Tasker?

I'm the OP - unfortunately when my question was moved here from superuser, the ID wasn't taken over so i can't accept Chahk's answer now. I installed AutomateIt, it does exactly what i need (and a lot more :-). Thank you.

Please go here to see about merging your accounts: http://android.stackexchange.com/help/merging-accounts

There is no such feature on Android natively.
However, there are quite a few "automation" type apps that can do this for you.  Some of the better known ones are Tasker, AutomateIt, Locale and Llama.  All of these allow you to define a trigger (e.g. "charger plugged in" in your case) and set up various actions such as toggling settings.
Keep in mind that most of these apps require excessive permissions in order to be able to change system settings (and some toggles even require root.)
Also, some manufacturer UI overlays and custom ROMs allow you to set up profiles with different settings.  Switching these profiles is either a manual process, or does not provide such granularity in configuration as the automation apps.


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Why is my Wi-Fi connection saying "no account found" when I try to connect via wireless networks?
I have enabled Wi-Fi.  I try connecting to various networks, and during the IP address obtaining process, the notification will popup from the Wi-Fi app saying:
"No account for ___________ network. Try again."
It does this with many different Wi-Fi apps, including the stock app (the one that comes default), other apps, etc. It also does this with any network, within range, yes, and still the same problem arises. I checked all system written logs and there's no errors, or anything that could explain this issue.
There's nothing wrong, I believe, with the hardware on my phone, nor the software(for the most part).
However, this has been suddenly happening with any wireless network. What could be causing this?

Voting to close as off-topic, because questions about Android devices do not belong on Super User. See the [help/on-topic] for details. This question will be migrated to [android.se] shortly; please do not cross-post, as this will happen automatically once enough close votes have been cast on this question. To ensure you retain control of the question, please create an account at [android.se] and associate it with your Super User account.

Also a duplicate of http://goo.gl/5UGEDT from an hour earlier. Wherever this ends up, could be an android OS or even carrier software update


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Ubuntu 13.10 adb "device not found"
I'm trying to reinstall Android on my first-gen Nexus 7. I'm using adb to do so because the install is so corrupted I can't even use the touch screen.
I use Ubuntu 13.10 and I have adb and fastboot installed. My Nexus is plugged in. This is what I type:
sudo adb kill-server
sudo adb start-server
adb devices

And... nothing shows up. How do I fix this?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/15844160/nexus-7-tablet-not-recognized-by-adb

@caffinatedmonkey Did not work.

Please post the output of lsusb when your device is plugged in.

You need add info about you device to 'adb_usb.ini'
Solved here http://askubuntu.com/questions/213874/how-to-configure-adb-access-for-android-devices

Try running "sudo adb devices". Or, fix your udev rules so that the USB device is writable by your user (see the link in caffinatedmonkey's comment)

I've tried sudo adb devices. Thanks for the advice tho!

Use PTP option instead of MTP USB PC Connection.

How did you end up with this conclusion? Please explain and possibly back it up with source(s) too.


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Android Version Upgradation
I have an Android Version 4.04 ICS on my Samsung Galaxy S Duos phone, how do I upgrade to version 4.1 as I am aware it is possible, did try to Google, but in vain as I did not find satisfactory answers. Is it possible to use the Debugging Mode to upgrade the version.
Thanks in advance

You can update using kies if samsung has released official update for your phone.
If there is no official update, search for custom roms. Installation instructions will be found along with such roms. Use your best judgement.
This question seems to be off-topic btw. Please go through the rules.


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Setting a Hardware ID on an Android Tablet
I wonder if I could get some guidance.
We purchased 6 android tablets for our kids over Christmas and shortly after we also purchased McAfee Live Safe so that we cold protect all these devices.  Now, McAfee's installation depends on a unique Hardware ID and it appears that from the manufacturer, the hardware ID on all devices are the same and have been rooted (Android 4.2).
Now, McAfee have no solution apart from refunding us our subscription as they are not able to resolve which means their application is not doing what it says on the tin.  this is all good but I have only found McAfee to provide an antivirus solution that will protect multiply devices.
I want to know if there is an easy way to set a Unique Hardware ID (like using the serial number of the device or the MAC address) so that I can install McAfee with no issues.
Anyone's help and guidance would be very much appreciated and I apologise in advance if this is the wrong place to ask but I have found many solutions from here in the past and thought I'd give it a go.

Did the folks at McAfee say anything about this "hardware ID"? It's not a lot to go on.

Given that McAfee himself (who has had nothing to do with the software for years after selling it to Intel) describes the product as "the worst software on the planet", I'd take the refund and be grateful at dodging that bullet.
I won't recommend a particular one, but you could buy six copies of a competing Android security product for what a year's subscription to McAfee Live Safe costs.

Other antivirus programs likely won't ask for device unique information from you either.  It almost sounds like it was trying to look for an IMEI number or something of that nature, which wouldn't exist on a wifi based tablet.


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Why has the delete function disappeared from my Gmail app?
I cannot see a delete function on my Gmail account for my inbox.
I have a Galaxy smartphone.

This post should (or might) help: GMail's delete button is not gone, it's just hiding.
Edit:
As per the URL, follow the steps below:

Hit the menu button, and go to settings. Then, go to general settings. You should see the option below at the top of the list - Archive & delete actions. Right now, it should be set to "Show archive only"
Tap it, and you get three options - Archive only, Delete only, and Archive & Delete. The third option gets rid of the 'Move to Folder' action. Choose the one you want (probably the second or third), and you're set to go - your little trash icon will return.

Note: If you still want to swipe to delete, you must select 'delete only' from the actions menu above.


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How to use PC internet on Android mobile via Bluetooth
How to use my PC internet on Android mobile via Bluetooth. I'm having a bluetooth dongle connected to my PC. My phone and the PC are paired.
DETAILS

OS: Windows XP
INTERNET CONNECTION MECHANISM : ADSL modem (connected to PC via
Ethernet cable)
Phone: Sony Xperia (Android Ice Cream Sandwitch)

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

First switch on your PC's and your phone's Bluetooth.
Make sure that your phone is paired up in your PC.
Goto "System Preferences"
In that goto "Sharing"
Then goto "Internet Sharing"
Now Select "USB Dongle" as the source
Now "Airport Wireless" as share via
And now you can connect your phone to the internet.

It should be noted that this is for Mac..

is there a way to do same using a PC instead of Mac


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"can't read /etc/fstab: No such file or directory" when mounting system?
I am running CyanogenMod 7.2, and when I type mount system in Terminal Emulator, it gives me
mount: can't read '/etc/fstab': No such file or directory

What's wrong? It obviously can mount the /system partition because the device boots fine, but yet I am getting this message.

Hmm... I think a bit more context might be helpful here.

@dotVezz It started this morning when I tried to use Chainfire's NoMoarPowah! It said 101Can't mount system, so I got the terminal emulator and tried it. It apparently can't mount it either.

Hmm... I could have sworn that there was an /etc/fstab until Android 4.3. I'm kind of surprised that your 2.4 doesn't seem to have it. Or was it /etc/vold.fstab? What's in your /etc/ directory?

Bluetooth, wifi, etc. GPS.conf, vender, and more, I can't list them all. no fstab though

And just to confirm, no vold.fstab either?

Editted question, I do have one of those


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Is there an easy way to invert colors?
iOS has a nice option in the accessibility menu that allows you to invert the screen colors. Does Android have anything like this?

What is the main reason for this though? I saw it on PC too, but no idea what's its uses are.

Since Android 5.0 Lollipop, the feature is built-in as one of accessibility options.

Open Settings
Select Accessibility
Below Display section, toggle Color inversion.

After toggling it for the first time, the "Invert colors" toggle will be added to the quick settings menu.

It's not a built-in feature on Nexus devices, but Samsung devices have this in the accessibility settings.
Inverting all colours isn't much use, as some apps have
light text on a dark background, and some apps have dark text on a light background. Making text easier to read is better achieved by increasing the text size, which is an option on all Android devices (also in the accessibility settings).

If you really want to make your phone look cool, learn some OpenGL programming and make your own live wallpaper. http://shadertoy.com/ has some cool ideas. It's a good use for school maths too!

If your device is rooted and your Android version is at least Android 4.4 KitKat, you could try CF.lumen (free, pro version also available). The app is actually a screen filter which supports automation based on time/brightness, but it also supports color inversion.

Color filters
Several filters are provided. Those named after a color (red, green, blue, amber, salmon) do not limit the display to those colors, but convert the displayed image to grayscale first, then display that image in levels of the selected color. This preserves details that would otherwise be lost.
Grayscale, invert colors, temperature adjustment and custom R/G/B adjustment filters are also provided.

(Emphasis mine)
For basic usage, set the Master filter mode to Invert.
Disclaimer: I don't have any relation with the app, its company and their developers. I just found this when trying to answer the same issue on KitKat.

I use Automate with this flow.
It needs to set some permissions via ADB.

For Samsung devices with Android Lollipop 5.1.1:
Settings → Personalization → Accessibility → Vision
 → Negative colors

You're intentionally abusing the use of formatting. Your post is not big or have multiple parts so there is no need to use top-level headings and preformatting is completely unjustified here.

You misunderstand. Andrew T. used quote tag because he quoted text from description of a product. It is justified there. Second, this is a Q&A site, not a typical forum where abuse of, or unnecessary highlighting is a  norm. Everyone here knows where a new answer starts and ends. There is no point in making an advert out of it. That said, I'm done here arguing. I've removed unnecessary quote tags but left the heading untouched. It should be fine with you now.


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How long should the "Downloading" screen take?
was trying to install a custom ROM, but got stuck into CWM boot loop. learned that this could be solved by entering the download mode and flashing a new firmware, but my phone has been showing the "downloading..." screen for over an hour. is this normal?

Did you actually flash the ROM successfully? Is it entering download mode automatically when you tried to boot it up?

@eldarerathis I entered the download mode by pressing VOL DOWN + HOME + POWER buttons. It asked me whether I want to install the ROM or to cancel and I chose to install it. Now it's showning Download... do not turn off target! and that's it

So you did successfully install the ROM using Odin or Heimdall on your PC? Did you reboot after that, or did it reboot itself or anything? Did you receive any kind of success or error message in Odin/Heimdall? Typically I think the phone reboots itself after the flashing process has finished. I ask because I'm not clear on where in the process you actually are right now. If it's just sitting there then it sounds like it's not actually doing anything, either because the install failed or was never initiated on the PC end.

@eldarerathis I did something related to Odin too long ago in order to root my phone, but I didn't do this before entering the download mode or even while I'm in now. and I remember that it ended with a success without showing error messages.

@eldarerathis so, do you think it's safe to power it off now (since it's not connected to the PC and has nothing to do with Odin) and repeating what I did with Odin after connecting my device to the PC?

I think this might simply be something of a misunderstanding regarding how "download mode" works exactly. When you reboot into download mode, your phone doesn't automatically reflash itself. It's not capable of doing that, and in general this is a rare feature (Nook tablets can do this, notably, though not with "download mode"). Instead, it's simply listening for commands from a PC, delivered via the Odin or Heimdall utilities.
The reason your phone has been sitting in download mode for over an hour is because you haven't yet told it what to install. Again, it won't do anything by itself, so If you didn't use Odin to install the ROM then it's waiting for you to do that. You'll need to get Odin (or Heimdall), find a ROM to flash, and then hook your phone up to a computer and actually perform the installation. Once that's done, it should reboot into the new ROM, but until then it will just hang out in download mode waiting for commands.


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Google Play Store is not working
I updated my Galaxy S3 three months ago and since then, my Play Store went wrong. I can't open it anymore, not to mention my phone often got stuck for hours. I tried every method I could find like resetting the phone, cancel Google account but it just wouldn't work. I can still open apps that I downloaded before, but I can't update them. What should I do to make it back to normal again?

By "resetting the phone", do you mean a Factory Reset?

Is the device rooted? You could reflash the gapps package. Alternatively clear the data, uninstall updates as SilverlightFox suggested.

restore your device or
clear google play data from app manager
or install another google play app

Try going to Settings > Applications Manager > All > Google Play Store and then click Uninstall updates.
It could be that the Play Store data has been corrupted. This will downgrade Play Store and might make it possible for you to launch Play Store which will then update itself in the background, but hopefully correctly this time.


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Samsung Infuse - missing notifications after rooting
i have a Samsung Infuse 4G and have rooted it.  Everything is great except i've somehow lost notifications  in the icons for Messaging, Gmail and Yahoo Mail.  I may  have deleted BadgeProvider.apk.  Would that cause the missing notifications?  I used NoBloat and backed up   all the apps i removed but I can't seem to get BadgeProvider back on. Thanks anyone for suggestions.

That's why it's recommended to freeze apps before removing them, so you can find out. Yes, that might be the cause; from the name, that's the one providing the "badges" on the icons, to show e.g. how many missed calls or pending short messages you've got.

It might be better to Titanum Backup your apps and reflash the ROM at this point. There's a lot of dependant tasks/apps and one falling down can just roll on like an avalanche.


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Keyboard stuck on screen
I'm having keyboard issues on my nexus 4. If my phone locks with the keyboard on screen, then when I unlock, the qwerty keyboard shows over the pad to enter my code. I can work around by clicking the emergency call, then using the back arrow to get the lock screen and number pad. It's super frustrating. It also stays on if I am typing and swipe notifications down. The problem just began, and persists even I change the keyboard. Would love some help!

That doesn't happen on mine. When you say change the keyboard, you mean this is not just Google Keybaord right? It's all of them? Have you updated to the latest 4.4.2 update for the Nexus 4? What launcher are you running? Could you try another launcher (say Nova for example, which has tranparent status bar btw not like the awful nexus default one), and see if this persists? Can you try a third party Lock Screen also and try to replicate?

I'm on 4.2.2, and yes, it's happening with the Google keyboard, and Swype as well. The keyboard problem continued even when using nova, but seems to go away when using a different lock screen.

Ok, so it would seem to be a bug in the Lockscreen itself. That's very odd. Would you be happy using a different one, or do you want the stock one? If so it will require a lot of digging to find.

I'm pretty used to my stock lock screen, and the dash widget I have on there...

After a little more digging, I may have come to an answer.
I did notice that my problems started after I added the handwriting recognition functionality to my phone. I found one forum that suggests that turning it off will fix the issue. I shut mine off and will use it that way to see if it helps. I suggest you try that too.
To shut it off go to settings -> Language & Input, then uncheck the Google Handwriting input.
Hope this helps :-)


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Add DuckDuckGo to search engines list in Chrome
I am using a Samsung S3 Rooted phone. I want to customise Google Chrome to add DuckDuckGo in the list of search engines, and maybe make it my default one.
It is not possible to do this in chrome by default. I have Googled this question and have not found any way to do this.

There is a lot of people talking about it online: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2097329 and here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1545359 That should do it. You may need Chrome Beta, but that is in the Play Store anyway.

Thanks Ross
But Google Chrome on Android seems to be hardcoded.
It adds "search?q=" before the search expression
So searching for "test" will end into
https://duckduckgo.com/search?q=test and that will search "search" instead of "test"

What about in Chrome BETA, NOT THE FULL ONE, changing the settings mentioned in the 2 posts in my first comment? Change from: "last_known_google_url": "http://www.google.com/" "last_prompted_google_url": "http://www.google.com/" To: "last_known_google_url": "https://www.duckduckgo.com/?q=" "last_prompted_google_url": "https://www.duckduckgo.com/?q=" You cannot do it in Chrome, but the BETA should work fine. I've just watched someone do it and it worked fine on his phone! EDIT: which is an ancient phone and an OLD chrome beta. May not work on newer one I'm afraid.

Anyone desperate to add DuckDuckGo can try this solution with alternative Chrome-based browser - http://android.stackexchange.com/a/148880/137930

This is now possible in Chrome 57. Just visit DuckDuckGo, perform a search (search for anything), then visit Settings > Search engine and DuckDuckGo should be listed at the bottom of the page.

After doing the DuckDuckGo search, if you still don't find DDG on Chrome's Search Engine page, you may (as I did, using Chrome 61) have to go to DuckDuckGo.com and then do the following:

Tap DDG's three-line symbol (≡) in the upper-right corner of the webpage.
Tap Other Settings.
Scroll down to the Install DuckDuckGo section, and make sure "Show links to instructions . . ." is set to On.
Tap Save and Exit.
Back on DuckDuckGo.com, tap the Add to Chrome button if you see it; if you don't see it, scroll down to find the Add DuckDuckGo to Chrome button, and tap that.
A "Take Back Your Privacy!" message should pop up. Follow its instructions:

) Tap the Google app's three-dot symbol () in the upper-right corner of the browser window.
) Tap Settings, then tap Search engine.
) Now, DuckDuckGo should be there at the bottom for you to select; at least, it was for me.

I hope this works for you too!

Works on unrooted Android (Samsung S6).


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Any way to auto-update cyanogenmod with encryption enabled?
I've been enjoying cyanogenmod a lot, but the auto-updates don't work, since I encrypted the phone.  I'd like to have both, if possible, even if there's a bit of work involved.
Is there any fix / third-party tool that can auto-update an encrypted cyanogenmod installation?

Auto updates are not available yet, but you can update your phone with this recipe:  https://www.bfccomputing.com/updating-cyanogenmod-11-kitkat-milestones-on-encrypted-devices/
Worked smoothly for me between CM 11 versions on a Galaxy Note 2 (t0lte).

I think if you set up an additional unencrypted partition, or add an unencrypted sdcard (if your device has a slot - not my Nexus 7) and mount it up and copy over the update file before flashing, it will work.


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Prestigio MultiPhone 5430 and nonexistant boot/recovery partitions
I've got the Prestigio MultiPhone 5430. It's built on Intel Medfield platform. The phone isn't popular as it was released about 6-7 months ago.
Because (as far as I know) nobody before me has tried to hack into it, I'm seriously interested in getting this model's recovery and bootloader partition to have any modding start-point. I've already searched for any clues in init.xxxx.rc, xxxx.fstab and in /proc partition, however that research yielded nothing.
What I already know is:

The DROIDBOOT is locked and doesn't accept any fastboot commands besides some basic info commands like version and one oem erase. I'm trying to guess possible commands.
I'm not sure about the partition layout, devices are identified like mmcblkX and mmcblkXpY where X is device number and Y is partition number.
The recovery seems like it's a really limited CWM recovery; allows only to install updates from ZIP and reboot, but does not allow backing up whole filesystem.
Another way to flash bootloader is to use Intel SoC Manufacturing Tool and Medfield board drivers I got from Intel support (they actually responded and even provided some useful usage info), but then, I would have to get a bulk-upgrade file, like .KDZ for LG.

The partition layout in FSTAB file is:
/reserved hidden /dev/block/mmcblk0_none none size_hint=164
/panic    raw    /dev/block/mmcblk0p1    none size_hint=8
/factory  ext4   /dev/block/mmcblk0p2    none size_hint=32
/config   ext4   /dev/block/mmcblk0p3    none size_hint=16  ro
[then nothing helpful: media - mmcblk0p5, cache - mmcblk0p6]
/logs     ext4   /dev/block/mmcblk0p7    none size_hint=16  ro
[and then nothing really interesting, down to mmcblk0p9, then sdcard begins]

It's interesting that mmcblk0_none doesn't exist in /dev/block, at least at runtime. Another interesting fact is that some parts of init.rc were copied straight from Acer Liquid C1, as far as I can deduce from comment left-overs.
Is it possible the system is hiding some partitions from me? If so, how can I reveal them? Can I get service documentation for this Prestigio model anywhere? Has anyone done any research on this before?
I'd really appreciate pointing me into the correct direction, because I'm in dead-end of this research for about a week already.
Oh, and I already tried asking Prestigio support. They didn't answer (such a surprise!).

While I am not nearly as well up as you, I haven't seen any replies and this might be of interest - if not to you then to others looking for info on Prestigios.
I have a Prestigio PAP 4500 Duo which bricked itself spontaneously on New Year's Eve, sleeping the sleep of death. It's under guarantee so all I was looking for was a possible reboot mechanism. I happened upon this menu which seems to offer lots more than you described. Now I couldn't navigate the menu, but that may be because of a fault, but the menu is there to be accessed.
Thanks for your info and hope this adds a little,
MJF

 (Click in the image for larger picture)

Thanks for your answer, well, my recovery offers only installing .zip packages from SD card. The strange thing is, my PAP5430 has bricked itself 3 days ago after unexpected system reboot.


text:
Android ADB connect to device with broken USB and no root
I've read through the thread below and come across 2 solutions for connecting a device with ADB.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4893953/android-run-install-debug-applications-over-wifi/19940301#19940301
The first is to use USB, and this isn't an option because the USB port is busted on my Droid Razr Maxx. The second is via wifi but using root permissions.. and I don't really want to root my phone.
Can't I use strict WiFi without root to set up ADB?

I don't believe you can.  However, you can install applications from email attachments, websites which serve with the correct mime type, etc

@bughi The USB port is busted and it could have been fixed if under warranty, and then you don't want to root. Is there a reason for not rooting the device?

@Firelord some devices Can't be rooted coughverizoncough.

@ChrisStratton There are many reasons for using ADB besides installing applications

@Michael of course there are other lesser reasons.  But the literal name is "Android Debug Bridge" implying the primary use of installing and getting debug messages from apps being developed.  A device with broken data connectivity on the USB port still retains the possibility of installing fresh builds of apps being developed by the other means of sideloading supported when "unkown sources" is enabled in settings.

I have not tried this myself, but there's an app named ADB Wireless (no root) which, as the name suggests, claims to make this possible without involving root:

This app is for developers wanting adb access over WiFi without rooting your phone.
  …
  *** NO ROOT REQUIRED ***

Usage instructions can be found on the app's playstore page – looks pretty easy and straight. And the permissions look phantastic: nothing that's not necessary or explainable. In fact, just a single one to view WiFi connections. So no ads or spyware to be expected ;)

Same to be said for an app called ADB Wireless (no-root) (yes, same name – different dev), which seems no longer maintained though (last release was 6/2013):

the first android application in the Google Play store to provide a wireless ADB connection without root.

Asks a few more permissions (a.o. full network), though.

Note however that all those non-root solutions seem to require a (USB) cable connection for initial setup – so there's probably nothing for your special case.

Conclusion:
No app for that if your USB port is busted. So unless you get your busted port repaired or root your device, I see no way to get ADB running wirelessly. As initialization requires more permission as any "standard user" on Android gets, there are no command-line tricks either unless you already have root access: the initialization via USB makes use of the ADB daemons elevated permissions, which are only accessible that way.
For other readers:
Initial phrasing of my answer omitted that fact, as the OP's USB port is broken/unusable: If your USB port is in working order, and you can use an USB cable to connect to it, you won't need any of those fancy enabler apps (see here for more) just to be able to use ADB wirelessly (though some might come in handy if they e.g. offer a tasker plugin, so you could enable wireless ADB in your home network automatically and turn it off when you leave it). As Firelord pointed out in his commend, and Lucky linked to a post on SO, steps to enable wireless ADB are easy then:

enable usb-debugging on your device
connect your device to your computer via USB cable
run adb tcpip <IP address>:<PORT> (e.g. adb tcpip 192.168.1.50:5555 – find the correct IP address in the wireless properties of your Android device) on your computer
still on your computer, run adb connect <PORT> (e.g. adb connect 5555)
unplug your USB cable, it no longer needs to be attached – ADB now runs via WiFi

+1 to that,  but I think adb  tcpip <PORT> -> adb connect IP:PORT -> adb shell can also be added. In fact, those non-root apps probably be doing the same thing.

@Firelord That might well be. But they cannot do so unless executing it with "elevated privileges" – either via root, or via the ADB daemon. So without root, that's a "chicken-and-egg" issue: you need ADB access to run those commands to get ADB access. IOW: in this specific situation, the answer is "no, not possible". Unless I've missed something – which I won't say is impossible, but at least unlikely.

@Izzy I just installed the first app and works fine as instructed in the Playstore description. I couldn't understand what this app used for. I know that we can run adb commands over wifi. In non-rooted phones it only works if we are connected via a usb-cable. Then how does this app named wireless? It will only make sense only if all the devices which are connected to this wifi can send adb commands via wifi to this device. Is this possible at all - just for clarification? ;)

And for developers the above apps uses the same concept mentioned in this answer from SO.

@Lucky that's what those apps are for (see here for more): Enabling the device to listen for ADB commands via WiFi. All devices connected to the same network then could issue an adb connect command followed by adb shell, adb install, or other ADB commands. Those apps are for nothing but starting the TCP/IP interface for ADB, which is disabled by default. So if your USB connection is working, you don't need any such app – but could simply use the commands from your linked SO post, correct.

Anytime, @Lucky. Maybe I should really include that with my answer. I've omitted that as the OP's USB port is broken anyway – but I should not confuse "other readers", allright :)

once you have connected your USB, is it possible to never have to connect it again and enable/disable wifi adb without ever reconnecting?  i need to automate setting up some config which can only be done with ADB and which my phone periodically "forgets" and my phone is not rootable

@Michael without root I'm not aware of such possibility.

If you've never connected your phone to the computer before, you may be out of luck. Since the later versions of 4.X, (I think at least JB 4.3), you must authorize the host computer to connect via ADB, which will popup the first time you connect with USB.
When using Wifi, this authorization MUST already be established, or it will not accept the ADB over Wifi connection.

This is now possible for devices running Android 11 or higher.
There's Wireless debugging menu under Developer options. The pairing is done using a 6-digit pairing code, or a QR code.
To use the pairing code:

get the IP address, port and Wi-Fi pairing code from Developer options/Wireless debugging/Pair device with pairing code,
Using a terminal, pair the device:
adb pair IP:port pairing-code

You're now ready to connect. Get your port number from the Wireless debugging screen on your phone (beware, the connection port will most likely differ from the pairing one) and connect from the terminal:
adb connect IP:port

The menu options may be named slightly differently on your Android build. The ones above are from Android 11, running on Mi 9T with MIUI 12.1.1.0 installed.
If you prefer, you can also use the pairing interface from Android Studio. The instructions are here.
You will need platform-tools 32 or higher, for both options. At present it can be downloaded here.


text:
"Android broadcasting MAC when the Wifi is turned off" How authentic is it?
According to TheHackerNews latest article,

http://thehackernews.com/2014/02/chainfire-released-pry-fi-android-app.html
According to the expert, the latest versions of Android OS keep on
broadcasting MAC address of the Smartphone you are using; doesn’t
matter whether the Wi-Fi is turned ON or OFF.
“If your Wi-Fi is turned
on, even though it is not connected to any network, your phone will
periodically broadcast a unique number (the MAC address), as well as
all the Wi-Fi network names and addresses it remembers ever connecting
to. With newer Android versions this can happen even if Wi-Fi is turned off, due to a feature called "scanning always available", which**
helps your device better determine its location.”**

How true is this statement ? and what is the authentic source of this statement ?

I think the key is the little may be hidden in there (different paragraph from the one you quoted).  If you leave "scanning always available" on then basically the wi-fi will blip on and off every so often just to see what's around... this could be enough for a nearby wireless network to detect/track you.  If you read the google plus post (and bare in mind it's by the person who wants you to download his software) it actually points out you can still turn your wi-fi off in latest Android (off in the sense you'd expect - "One solution is shutting off wi-fi completely").
The paragraph you quoted is a bit of a dogs breakfast... the first part happens (wi-fi networks will be able to see the MAC address of any device polling them).  The only reason the second part would happen is when your device knows about wireless networks with SSID broadcast turned off (it used to be recommended to turn this off, but now the opposite is true for this reason) - if it knows of such cloaked networks it'll poll each network it meets to see if it's one of the ones it knows (simplified).  There's also allegedly some "known network sharing" between your device and google for the purpose of backing up your network settings to the cloud, but this isn't available/visible to the wi-fi network.
So the benefits... disable wi-fi completely a strange feature since the author recognizes you can do this with stock, but you wouldn't want to because you'd loose the "scanning always available setting".  Random MAC address this could be useful, it certainly defeats a series of networks from tracking your device's movement, but so does turning of wi-fi completely.  MAC addresses are supposed to be unique, and while it's a large namespace, one wonders with a randomizer if collisions will happen (if two devices have the same MAC address they won't work properly on wi-fi).  If you visit places that have MAC address filtering or identification (for legitimate reasons - your home network, a business network, a company that provides free wi-fi for a period and tracks that you've accepted their terms) you may find your device no longer works although there's mention of a setting that will restore your stock MAC when wi-fi is on.  war mode sounds like it just changes the MAC address more frequently (possibly during a wi-fi session) but this isn't without processing overhead.


text:
Viewing Google Earth in offline mode
I have a tablet (Android 4.1) which does not have 3G internet. I have installed Google Earth and I heard that there is a solution for viewing maps offline.
How do I do that?

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-download-offline-maps-in-google-maps/

@Davidenko: Google Maps <> Google Earth

Related discussion on Google Product Forums

As of current writing, Google Earth doesn't support full offline mode, in which you can specify to download certain location's satellite imagery in detail. However, just like Google Maps, you can cache a small portion of it for offline viewing.
Quoting Google Earth product support,

Google Earth works best with a live internet connection. You can, however, cache (save) small amounts of data that you can access when you're offline.
To do so, log on to the internet and visit the imagery you'd like to view while you're offline. Please pay attention to the Streaming indicator, which appears just below and a little to the right of your images. When this indicator has reached 100% for the imagery you're viewing, Google Earth has gathered all available data for that specific altitude and settings, so you can disconnect from the internet.
Please remember that once you're disconnected, you'll be able to view cached areas only.

Note: there's no streaming indicator in Google Earth app. Instead, you can wait until the images are fully loaded.

Note that downloading Google Earth's data probably won't be feasible due to its size. Compared to Maps, which its data can be compressed significantly (using vector instead of real image), Earth comprises of fully image.

If its not too much data you are looking for, you can try to clear the cache before you want to save something for offline use. But the cache size is not too big, so don't expect too much.

As far as I know of, there is a "make available offline" option which allows one to select and download the most recent version of a portion of the map. Of course, you'll need an Internet connection to download it first. How to:
  Menu>Make Available Offline;
  From there you should be able to select a region to download.

Google Earth doesn't have such a menu item. Could you be thinking of Google Maps?

But of course, silly me.


text:
CPU getting hot. GPS can't lock on
I know this was probably asked several times, but here's the deal: A couple of months ago I was charging the phone (Alcatel Onetouch Star) at my friends house, when I got a warning that the phone was getting too hot. After that, every time I use anything that's at least a little resource hungry (Facebook, note apps, video player, browsers, and obviously Youtube and games) the area below the battery gets warm, and almost burns my hand in some cases.
The battery itself doesn't get warm. The area below it, where the capacitive buttons are does. I'm guessing that's where the CPU is, and its getting hot. It didn't get hot before that night, it'd get only slightly warm when using YT or larger games (even in summer), but lately it's getting too hot, even though its winter and ambient temp is much lower than it was in summer.
Any ideas whats causing this? Oh, and also the phone can't get a GPS lock anymore. Not even after 5-10 mins under 7-12 satellites. I'm holding off on rooting it until I get everything sorted out, as I still have the warranty.


text:
Dialog option "Use by default for this action" or "Always" not displaying for NFC tag
I just completed my Android application which scans NFC tags. When an NFC tag comes near the device, the device tries to show all the apps which can scan the NFC tag.
I want it to remember which app it should use to scan the NFC tag. It displayed my app, but I do not want the system to always ask me which app to use.
In my two devices, it not does show any option like Use by default for this action or Always, while in my other device with Android 4.2.2, it shows the options.

Why is this so?

This is because there can be no default handler for all NFC intents. You'd have to create a mimetype for your NFC tag and use that mimetype as the data field for the intent filter.
However, this site doesn't deal with developer issues, so you'd be better off on StackExchange, for example here.

I have issue in two phones and working well in one phone.

If I'm guessing correctly, the one device where this works has an older Android version? Those have a different way of resolving NFC intents, and that's why there can be such a checkbox.

No, That device is new Android version 4.2.2.

NFC disovery events that indicate only a certain tag technology (or even only the presence of any tag) are usually too broad to be bound to just one app. It seems that the Android team therefore decided that it should not be possible for one app/activity to take precedence for such an unspecific event.
As a consequence, the only way how this mandatory intent chooser can be avoided is if an NDEF formatted tag is used and if the app's developer registered the app/activity for a more specific NDEF intent (e.g. a URI, an NFC Forum external type or a MIME type).

Someone or something has set defaults for the application(s), and this default was set as soon as someone or something set it either internally, or by hitting the button "Always."
In this case, you'll have to go to your App Drawer, go into Settings and find your Application Manager. In this case, you'll want to go to the application that doesn't have the option. Find it, click it, go down, and hit "Clear Defaults.", now, hit the home button, find the application you're wanting to run, and VOILA! The action menu should set itself back.
If it doesn't, find the application that is automatically running upon startup of that specific object, and hit Clear defaults.

This is not my case, dialog box show the list of all the apps which can scan the NFC tag but issue is that "“Use by default for this action” or “Always” not displaying. If any app is already set as default then above screenshot was not asking the apps to scan the NFC tag. Above screenshot showing two apps which scan scan the NFC

@TheFxApoc the screenshots show that no default has been set (otherwise you wouldn't see that dialog at all)

Just disable the default app for NFC by searching it in the application list. Post this your custom app will be the default app to run, when you tap NFC Tag and it will execute the task as you configured in the NFC Tag

If the "chose" dialog is shown, there obviously is no default app configured – so it cannot be disabled (also see GATrawn's comment on this answer).


text:
Lock screen force close.when slide the phone reboots it continually persists.:-\
I installed a widget locker lock screen app for my android 4.1.I didn't liked it so I directly uninstalled. Now every time I try to slide on the lock the phone reboots. Again after boot when I touch the lock it reboots .what to do now. I think it is a sort of service problem .

Can you boot into safe-mode? If so, check there if that app did really uninstall. Though a factory-reset should certainly solve the issue, that would mean all your apps and data to be wiped from the device.

It is uninstalled. And i don't like to factory reset .i have rooted device


text:
How to Install apks from computer?
Was just wondering is it possible to Install apks directly from pc. I am not talking it through Google play . I have a rooted device.

Please see: How can I install an app given only its APK file? / How do I properly install a system app given its .apk? / How to push and install APK files from a PC over Internet? and several more.

There are a few ways.
ADB is the first one. By connecting your phone to your PC with USB Debugging enabled and ADB installed, you can simply run the following command (where 'android' is the location of your ADB or platform-tools installation and 'appname' is the name of the apk to install):
C:\android> adb.exe install c:\somefolder\appname.apk

This assumes Windows. For other operating systems the process is basically the same just executing adb install in the terminal in the folder where adb is installed using the appropriate path name to the app in the format of your OS (forward vs back slashes).
The next way is with an app. Apps like AirDroid will let you install apps and much more over wifi (for free, or you can pay a fee and use mobile network). AirDroid is simple. Install the app on your phone and open it and then go to http://web.airdroid.com/ from the same wifi network and follow the instructions to connect. If you sign up, you don't have to use the Pin or qr code each time, just log in. Then you can install apps and more from the desktop like interface.
If you haven't checked it out, AirDroid is very useful.

any simpler app that is specialized for installing apks usingdata cable?

I don't know of one, and a quick Google search didn't turn any up, but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist. The adb method is built into Android. The other option is to just copy the app to your phone's storage when it is connected to the PC and then just use a file manager to browse your internal storage and launch the app. It will then install like normal.

Yes, you can just copy that apk file to your SD card and just tap, its start installing.


text:
Wifi hotspot not working on my unofficial cyanogenmod 10 (Android 4.1.2)
On my unofficial cyanogenmod 10 custom ROM WiFi hotspot is not workingsl .Is there any other method or app to turn the WiFi hotspot on?I tried the foxfi app it didn't work.also there is no restriction that carrier applies on this.:-( :-(

What device are you using?

Its karbonn titanium s5 .local OEM in india

If the Wi-Fi Hotspot feature is broken in your custom ROM, then it doesn't matter what apps you install. They all rely on the OS to do their work. You need to build or find a ROM which supports this feature in order to use it.


text:
Can I purchase apps from the Amazon App Store without an Android Device?
I don't have an Android device anymore. However, I still see an app for free every now and then that I would like to have when I get a new one. Can I get apps from the Amazon Appstore without having a device?

By using an Android emulator such as Genymotion or the one provided by Google, you can download the Amazon Appstore on that "device" and authorize it that way. From then on, you can just get the App of the Day by visiting this link from your desktop browser.


text:
How to Remap the
Hardware Buttons On
Your Android Phone
I want my return hardware button (capacitive touch buttons) to turn into recent apps button. Please help me out. I don't use return button enough.

Is your device rooted? Otherwise, button remapping is (at least currently) not possible.

If rooted Xposed framework with Gravity Box module will do it.


text:
Batch install apks from computer to Android without actually touching my Android
I want to batch install apks from my desktop directly. Such as I downloaded many apks on the desktop and want to install apks without actually touching my android.
How to do this?

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7076240/install-an-apk-file-from-command-prompt + script :-)

That's done easiest using adb (see the ADB tag-wiki for details on what ADB is and how to get/install it on your machine). As you don't state the OS you're using on your desktop, I write how it could be done on Linux (which I work with); should be easily adaptable to other platforms:

put all your downloaded .apk files into a single folder
connect your Android device, and make sure it's recognized (adb devices should list a connected device)
open a terminal/command prompt, and change to the directory where your .apk files reside
run for file in *.apk; do adb install $file; done
watch all the apps getting installed, without requiring any further interaction :)

NOTE: If you have .apk files which have "spaces" in their names such as 'Xposed Framework', 'Adobe Flash Player' etc. then you will have to rename them, as ADB cannot handle that. Either remove the spaces altogether, or replace them e.g. by underscores. Linux provides a Perl script for that (/usr/bin/rename) which you can use:
rename 's/ /_/g' *.apk

It replaces all space character with _,  which makes names like this Xposed_Framework, Adobe_Flash_Player which are recognizable by adb.

If you have apks in different folders (like if you used adb pull) then you can use my script below:
for /r %f in (*.apk) do adb install -r "%f"
Just run it in the folder above all your APK Files and it will recurse and install all of them.

I tried this and I am getting this
C:\Users\AndroidApps>adb install "C:\Users\username\Downloads\AosApp\AppName.apk"
'adb' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

@SujayUN Okay, replace adb with the direct path to your adb.exe in quotes and that should work.

For windows, open command line:
set PATH=%PATH%;C:\path_to_your_platform-tools\

then
for %e in (*.apk) do adb install %e

So you have a problem that you have tons of apps to install and you didn't do a backup like Titanium Backup or other backup-restore app. But one-by-one installing and confirming and waiting would take forever, not to mind it's so tedious!
I tried to find an app that could do it to save me the effort, but after trying them all, none of them worked. So I was doing it one-by one and it was taking so long that I decided to just do it with ADB.
No worries, I am here to save you, if you are using Windows. You can solve this using ADB. You might not know how to use ADB so I will write the full instructions here. Don't worry, it's easy.
How to do it in Windows:
On your phone,

Be sure your phone's drivers are installed. For example, Samsung drivers or LG drivers form the manufacturer's website.
Go into Settings > Developer Options (Click on Settings > About Phone > Software > Build Number 7 times to activate Developer mode)
Turn on USB Debugging
Turn OFF Verify apps over USB
Connect your phone via a USB cable to your computer.
On your phone select the popup that says allow USB Debugging. If you don't see it or missed it, just turn off and back on USB Debugging and it should pop up again if your phone is connected.

Now you are ready for the next step.
On your Windows computer:

Download Android SDK Platform Tools
Extract the platform-tools folder into your computer. I recommend the root of your C: drive, so that it is located at C:\platform-tools\
Get all your APK files you want to batch install and put them into a folder and put it into your platform-tools folder. For example, you might make a folder named "apks" located at C:\platform-tools\apks\
Open a CMD (Command Prompt) window. (Ideally, right-click and run as administrator just to be sure. It may not be necessary.)

Now, your phone is connected and you have ADB installed on your computer, so you are ready to enter the following into your command line.
First, test to see if your device is connected.
cd C:\platform-tools\

adb devices

If your phone is properly connected, you will see something like this:
* daemon not running: starting now at tcp:5037
* daemon started successfully
List of devices attached
Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1    device

where Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1 is the device ID of your phone.
If you saw that, you are successful. Proceed to do the install commend:
for %e in (apks\*.apk) do adb install %e

If it worked, success! Enjoy watching everything get installed quick. It's probably faster to do this than to manually install 300+ apks on your phone.

ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS
If you get the error more than one installed and you saw emulator-5556 under your device, try this (or you can skip to the end and see the way to get around this problem):

reboot phone
adb kill server in the CMD window
When phone finished rebooting, type: adb devices
If it worked and only your phone shows, then great!
Type again adb kill server in the CMD window (don't check adb devices again)
If you still see emulator then try these instructions.

Then run the final command and watch everything get installed.

If you get error "FAILED ALREADY EXISTS" it is because the app already exists on your phone and it won't reinstall it, it will only install apps which are not installed yet.
If you get your phone crash and disconnect, it's because the screen timed out while it was installing. You could swipe the screen on the desktop occasionally and it should prevent it from sleeping and blocking your install making you start over.

All apps might not install because your computer is too fast for the command prompt and some might say "more than one device/emulator", while others install normally. In this case, I have a solution.

Type adb devices. Take note of your device ID like the Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1 in the output above.
Specify your device ID after -s.

See an example command below:
for %e in (apks\*.apk) do adb -s Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1 install %e

where Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1Z1 is the device ID of your phone.
This is going to make sure that ADB ignores any other devices and it will prevent the "multiple devices" error.
Hope it helps!

In addition to adb install, you can directly use package manager from adb shell to install apps. Place .apk files in /data/local/tmp and make sure files are readable, SELinux context must be u:object_r:shell_data_file:s0. Now:
~$ cd /data/local/tmp
~$ ls *.apk | xargs -I {} pm install '{}'

Another simple root solution - though not from computer - is to use some file explorer e.g. MiXplorer to batch install apps. Select all .apk files and tap on Install from menu.

For Linux, in the directory that APK is located, open terminal and type
find . -name "*.apk" -exec adb install {} \;

For Windows:
Using ADB (Android SDK Installed & PATH set correctly)
and Command Prompt on Windows
Run the following to make sure ADB is working
adb devices

Place all APKs in a folder
cd C:\your\path\to\folder\of\apks

for %e in (*.apk) do adb install "%e"

Improved version based on @thetechreader's answer (works for file names with space/symbols)

I just ran into the same situation. Am writing this soln  which is enhancement from the ones given for two reasons

--You have a LOT of apps to install most likely your previous backup . Cant afford to keep phone connected . If your adb snaps you should know what you already installed  and not waste time, going over everything again
--If some apps erred - need to know which ones and avoid them
I did this with adb shell  but  you can do it from outside much the same. My Apps were lying in my memory card partition.

for apk in `find  . -iname *apk -type f`  ; do  pm install $apk
 ( test $?  -ne 0  &&  mv $apk    $apk.ni )  || mv  $apk  $apk.ok ; done

sample output of bad installs
# find . -iname *.ni -type f
./org.satok.gweather-bSyZZ3_Zu8ElvJR_4l5sJg==/base.apk.ni
./com.teslacoilsw.launcher-AAZW9c2u4qCjIL3ZmVKsQg==/base.apk.ni
./com.linkedin.android-hLWhs0ddIZ2KWTRO-bZG_Q==/base.apk.ni
./com.google.android.apps.youtube.music-arEVgcC5NTbNUAwP-oYz6A==/base.apk.ni
./com.udemy.android--4YWw0rFLDSA-koaYxCsRA==/base.apk.ni
./com.theporter.android.customerapp-rKFfqbF4WgXvCouQ4ZcvUQ==/base.apk.ni
./com.vested.investing.android-tx7OKTeaemkmdOnomJqTGg==/base.apk.ni
./com.inscripts.namaste-TnRILvo6qbtjjen2r-BTSw==/base.apk.ni
./com.google.android.soundpicker-13nSUeHMYf5qIkXTC1I56Q==/base.apk.ni

and good installs
find . -iname *.ok -type f
./org.videolan.vlc-UMth4_20QtXe66eAx1qzRw==/base.apk.ok
./com.zoho.meeting-0fFi8KgjQBd2N0OZcwdyqA==/base.apk.ok
./sulekha.yellowpages.lcf-JGBM0zpT3hVj2XShwoKvRw==/base.apk.ok
./com.teradata.tcapp-BjVV7TLB5aBUfbW32KzN2A==/base.apk.ok
./com.oasisfeng.greenify-_OK3qGqs7MsTO-QY5aKOeQ==/base.apk.ok

Its  a good idea to also Id `apks` which have `split apks` within & move  them elsewhere before you kick off the run.

You can install APK directly from your computer to Android mobile through ADB. First, download ADB and install it. You can download it from Google's DL Repository if you did not have it already.
Then enable developer mode on your mobile. You can find it in the settings of your mobile.
And then run this command.
adb install "path to your apk file"

For example:
C:\Users\Owner>adb install C:\Users\Owner\Downloads\android-agent.apk

Note that this only installs a single APK, not a batch/multiple APKs at the same time.