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Enable USB debugging on Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD Global with no screen
Before this gets marked as a duplicate please consider that virtually every answer involves vague references to things like 'fastboot' that I honestly don't understand and can't find any information about. I have spent the last 4 hours scouring 100's of forum posts, reading ADB documentation, looking through wiki articles trying to learn the ins-and-outs of recovery roms, flashing, etc., and I still don't have a working solution -- not because the things I've tried haven't worked, but because information is so obscure and vague that I have no idea what to try.
I have a Droid Razr Maxx HD Global. The screen and digitizer are both broken. I have a new identical working device. I want to transfer everything -- system settings, app data, etc. -- from the old device to the new device. It's easy enough to move the SIM and external SD to the new device but I still have the issue of internal storage.
The phone is stock. USB debugging is disabled. I can't use ADB because of that. I also can't use tools like MobileTrans (or whatever) because of that. I can't enable USB debugging because I need the screen. I don't have a USB On-The-Go and I don't even know if it would work with my device. I don't have an HDMI cable or a monitor that accepts HDMI. I have tried multiple USB On-The-Go adapters and multiple mice and none of the mice are recognized. I have an HDMI cable and an HDMI monitor which works but does not help with the digitizer issue.
The most promising looking path I see so far is to install a ROM that has USB debugging enabled. Maybe it's a regular ROM, maybe it's a recovery ROM, I have no idea. I have this RSDLite tool that I guess flashes regular ROMs, or maybe recovery ROMs, or both, I can't tell. I have a regular and recovery Cyanogen ROM image. RSDLite can't load it. RSDLite doesn't show my device. I saw a few people say "oh just boot into fastboot and use that". Ok I'll just, uh, press the "boot into fastboot and use it" button? I have no idea what fastboot is other than a tool that I have in my ADB installation.
There is also this answer, which recommends typing setprop persist.service.adb.enable 1 somewhere, although I don't know where. The poster says, amusingly, "The Droid X does not have a physical keyboard - but if it did you could try this in a terminal." Anybody have any ideas about this one? My imaginary keyboard on my Razr doesn't work either. (Update: This requires screen access and a terminal on the phone, so, as per usual, that doesn't actual answer the question that was asked.)
I did try "using" (fsv of "using") fastboot to boot with the Cyanogen recovery ROM (which may or may not be the correct ROM and may or may not have debugging enabled and I don't actually know if "boot" permanently modifies the device or not):
fastboot boot /path/to/some_arbitrary_rom_i_got_on_the_internet.img

But it just got stuck on <waiting for device> and eventually gave up, something that all the answers involving fastboot seem to neglect to address. Not really sure how to proceed there, or if that's even the right path to be going down. (Update: Apparently the power + volume down button boot menu is called "fastboot" mode -- odd that it's this easy when all mentions of "fastboot mode" on the internet seem to involve some huge chain of drivers, weird tools, and arcane commands and never mentioned that on Motorola devices it's just the plain old boot menu. I will try this when I get home from work.)
The flood of advice like "yes just select X and Y in the boot menu" seems to help nobody with this problem because, obviously, the screen is broken.
HOW (keyword: HOW) do I somehow enable USB debugging on a device with a broken screen? Do I use fastboot for something? Do I find a ROM of some sort with USB debugging enabled? What ROMs have USB debugging enabled (it's not exactly something listed in their feature list)? How do I actually do this?
Minor rant: It's amazing how massive the headache is compared to how conceptually simple the problem (need to enable one setting and can't) is. Given that drop damage is the most common cause of accidental smartphone failure and that USB debugging is required to transfer system data (for some reason the Android folks tied the concept of "transferring data" to "development tool"), it boggles the mind why there isn't a more robust interface for this or at least a non-arcane working how-to out there somewhere for people who reasonably don't want to spend a week of their life becoming an expert on Android kernel image development and debugging.

Is the bootloader unlocked? If you did not unlock the bootloader on your phone before, the fastboot mode will not help — a locked bootloader will refuse to flash or boot anything except a stock ROM or recovery signed by the manufacturer. The official bootloader unlocking process (which is available only for some variants of this model) wipes all user data, and the unofficial bootloader unlock for xt926 requires having a rooted stock ROM with USB debugging enabled.

I don't think the bootloader is unlocked, which probably means it isn't. If unlocking it requires some explicit process, I know I didn't do it. In all the research I did, nobody mentioned anything about unlocking the bootloader in the context of fastboot -- I don't know why. What else can I try? Even though I can't see what's going on, my power and (probably) volume buttons still work. Is there something in one of those special startup menus that can somehow help?

Have you seen these posts: My screen got broken, how to see on the computer what I'm doing in my device? / Broken screen/glass, turned off, pc-controll? (check the comments here) / Broken screen while debug mode was disabled. How can I re-enable adb? All of them give options how you can see what usually is displayed on your device's screen, and thus let you re-enable USB debugging.

I've seen them all except the second. The first one recommends Droid@Screen, which requires USB debugging (I even commented there). It also suggests an HDMI cable (which, as stated, I do not own). The second one ends with the OP still wondering how to turn on USB debugging. The third one (I already commented on all the answers there) details the failed fastboot command I mentioned as well as other options that either do not work or make no sense as per my comments there. As I said, I've been searching for hours, but the "information" out there, in reality, isn't information at all.

I just checked through the other links you provided in the comments to those questions. Every single one of them requires USB debugging to be enabled to work, without exception. None are actually valid solutions to enabling USB debugging with a non-working screen. This answer: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/12887/46219 (from the third link you provided here) had intrigued me prior to me posting my question here. Do you know any details on that? I had previously left a short question in the comments there.

@SergeyVlasov I found clear instructions on the Motorola site (https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-b but you might have to log in) detailing how to unlock the bootloader. I am at work and can't try it right now, but I read through it and it doesn't appear that I need the screen or digitizer to be active. So that could be a start. Not sure what I'd do after that.

This site requires a “Motorola Account”, with no obvious way to register (if this is even possible without having a Motorola device). Following these instructions will most likely erase all your data from the phone (this is the case with most official bootloader unlocks).

I will repost the instructions in an accessible place if it works. I can try it on my new device, where it's no problem if the data is lost. I just logged into the site with my Google account; but it may need to be bound to a device. The site warns that data may be lost but does not state that it will be. You also have to submit some device ID data via a form and get an unlock key back. I've printed the pages to PDF (not useful as is, but just FYI: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zty1yfrem8i0jo4/PAGE1.pdf and https://www.dropbox.com/s/awgkvtx85823qki/PAGE2.pdf).

This looks similar to the procedure used by HTC and Sony, which both result in the data wipe at the last step of the process (fastboot oem unlock). Probably the data wipe warning is buried somewhere deep in the legal agreement; also https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a/action/auth says “You will lose all media and content on your device and will need to reinstall all applications downloaded from Google Play”. Therefore this procedure is not useful for data recovery.

The quest goes on, then.

In your case probably the cheapest way is to get access to any kind of HDMI display somewhere (maybe one of your friends has a TV with HDMI input; there is also a chance that a monitor with a DVI input together with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter might work), obtain microHDMI-to-HDMI and USB-OTG cables, connect the phone to HDMI display and connect an USB mouse or keyboard using the OTG cable. At least some forum posts claim that both HDMI output and USB keyboard/mouse connection work on this phone model.

I ordered USB OTG hub and an HDMI cable right before you posted that, cost about 40 USD with shipping, 5 day wait. I have a portable 8" editing monitor at the office I can borrow. However, I am absolutely not giving up trying to do this without external devices (and in under 5 days), just on principle now. This seems so unreasonable for the 5 second process of enabling a single system setting (a setting conceptually unrelated to the task I'm actually trying to perform, no less).

BTW, if you planned to use adb backup, note that it also asks to confirm the backup by tapping the on-screen button, and someone had problems doing this with a broken screen (although with a different phone model). You would need to solve this problem somehow, because you will not be able to use an USB mouse when your phone is connected to the computer. (Maybe a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse could be used at this time, but you probably don't have such a device; beware that most wireless keyboards use proprietary protocols, not Bluetooth.)

I found this Android VNC server (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vmlite.vncserver&hl=en) that doesn't require root access. I could install (it's 10 USD though) that using the OTG/HDMI setup before connecting it to the computer, then run VNC on the PC after connecting to get full control (in theory).

I never actually got this working. The HDMI output worked fine but I was never able to successfully get the device to recognize a mouse. I still have that phone and I still want to do this. What a ridiculous oversight by Android to bury then explicitly warn users against enabling the sole setting required to recover from the single most common cause of a broken cell phone. It's almost as annoying as the automatic "unhealthy to listen to loud music too long" volume reduction that has been appropriate precisely 0% of the time.


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How is it possible that an app stores its data even though I clear the cache and uninstall?
I have downloaded an app (its a game), made some test progress, and then deleted the game data. I have also cleared the cache and uninstalled the game, but whenever I install it again from the Google Play Store, the progress is still there.
I have also tried installing the app after clearing its data, offline from the .apk-file.
How is it possible to retain the app data like this and how can I clear the data?

Since you mentioned you were still seeing it after installing offline, I'm going to assume you also tried the game while still offline. If the data was there, it could have made a folder to hold the data which you could get to and delete using a file explorer. There's a number of apps that make folders to hold data that don't get deleted when the app is uninstalled.

Yes, you might be on to something. How can I track down the files? :)

Install a file explorer this one should be fine. Then go in and look for folders that have names of the uninstalled apps and delete them.

It's possible that the game progress is saved in the cloud, if you are using Google Play Games.
The Google help page says you can clear this progress / data, but note that it will clear for ALL games:

If you want to delete your saved data from all games that use Cloud
  Save, visit the Google Settings app and select  Menu > Clear app data.
  This will clear all your data from all accounts.
Depending on your device, your Menu icon may look different.

Thanks! Is there a way to identify wether the app uses the cloud?

@subZero I don't know. :( There's this reddit thread, althought it doesn't help much: http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/1ew5o2/which_games_have_supported_the_new_cloud_save/

I'm not entirely sure (as I don't use games), but the Google Settings app has an own section for this. It's empty for me (no games, as said), but looks like it should list games that have data stored to the cloud.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Can we install Android 4.4 factory image on Samsung Galaxy Core?
Google has released Android 4.4 factory image for Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 today. The steps to install Android 4.4 factory image in nexus 4 is

Download the factory image corresponding to your device's model and version
Extract the downloaded file and cd into the extracted directory.
run adb reboot-bootloader
run ./flash-all.sh

Can I follow the same steps and install the above Android 4.4 in Samsung Galaxy Core or in Galaxy Grand? Any help will be highly appreciated?

No, you can't. Those ROMs are intended for those devices only. Flashing a ROM that is not compatible with the device can brick the device.
You should wait for 4.4 ROMs for your devices.

Hi @geffchang, thanks for your quick reply. Is there any other way other than to wait for the 4.4 ROM release for my device? I really want to try it in my device :)

@Ibungo You can check if there are custom ROMs for your phone that are using 4.4. If a stock 4.4 ROM is already available for your phone and is available in other countries, you could download the stock ROM from sammobile, and flash it using Odin. However, the RISK is yours (same for using custom ROMs).

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


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4.3 OTA Update Install Fail With Motochopper Root 4.2.2 Google Nexus 7
I am using Stock Android 4.2.2 on Nexus 7 2012 Tablet. I rooted my tablet using the Motochopper Root. I was able to download OTA 4.3 Update using normal procedure on my tablet however, when I tried installing the update, it just stuck at the android guy with error at startup. I tried downloading the OTA update again as it just disappeared, however it is stuck at waiting to download. I tried Nexus Tool Kit downloaded Stock 4.3 OTA and tried to install it using ADB sideload command. However it gave an error and mentioned some error file and exited. Please Help me out . I also tried full unroot with SuperSu but it also did not work.

Download stock ROM from Google, and flash it.
To check correct version for your Nexus 7 2012, see this question.
Since it would now be stock, you'd have to root it again.

I dont want to lose any data.

How do I achieve that??

@aibk01 If you can still connect your tablet to a PC and access the files in it, copy them. Otherwise, too late. It is recommended to always backup before doing something that might break your phone, like rooting or flashing a different ROM. I'm afraid you'll have to do a factory reset (in recovery mode) before flashing a new ROM.


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How to turn Android phone into an USB gamepad for PC?
Is it possible to turn an Android phone into a USB gamepad for the PC? If yes, how?

USB gamepad for what? for a PC?

I tried out VirtualTablet and it worked pretty well. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sunnysidesoft.VirtualTablet.lite  but it is just wifi and not usb - but it gets you a keyboard and mouse.

There's a $43 USB device, InputStick, that will do the trick. I bought this a few months ago for password entry from KeePass on Android, but the developer created the USB adapter so your android device can act as any conceivable USB device. Your android device connects to the USB dongle via bluetooth, and the desktop computer sees the USB dongle as any profile you choose.
The gamepad profile is built-in. From the description, it can emulate 4 axis and 16 buttons built-in, with the ability to customize as well.

Remote Gamepad allows you to use your phone as a game controller for your PC. I created this app because other apps are no longer available or do not work on newer phones.
You can use Remote Gamepad as the steering wheel in racing games by rotating your phone. On-screen controls are available similar to a game controller.
A PC with Windows 10 or later is required. This app is compatible with all PC games which support game controllers. Use a Wi-Fi or USB cable for the connection, no additional hardware is needed.
Remote Gamepad is available on Google Play.

authors: Гугулян Карина

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


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How to recover "data/data" folder from HTC Desire before rooting
I've got an old HTC Desire with a bitcoin stuck on it. Trying to access "/data/data/de.schildbach.wallet/files" through ADB shell predictably gives me permission denied.
I tried using unrevoked but it says my firmware version is too new.
I've been following the guide to use revolution at "http://androidforums.com/desire-all-things-root/579600-guide-s-off-root-htc-desire-revolutionary-updated.html" and have successfully got S-OFF, but I still can't access files in "data/data/..." through shell. Now HBOOT screen, although being tagged -Revolutionary- and having S-OFF doesn't have the recovery option.
The phone's current details are
Android version 2.2.2
Kernal version 2.6.32.15-gf...
The fastboot screen says
-Revolutionary-
BRAVO PVT1 SHIP S-OFF
HBOOT-6.93.1002
MICROP-031d
TOUCH PANEL-SYNW0101
RADIO-5.11.05.27
Aug 10 2010,17:52:18

FASTBOOT

<VOL UP> to previous item
<VOL DOWN> to next item
<POWER> to select item

BOOTLOADER
REBOOT
REBOOT BOOTLOADER
POWER DOWN

I've followed the guide all the way up to point 6, Adding custom recovery.
That seemed to go well with the command prompt telling me
C:\Users\Dave\Downloads>fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA_2.0.1.img
  sending 'recovery' (3936 KB)... OKAY [  1.089s]
            writing 'recovery'... OKAY [  1.146s]
finished. total time: 2.235s

I couldn't find the "recovery" option before but have just found it by accidentally selecting bootloader.
What is the safest way now to fully root the phone without risking deleting that "data/data" folder?
Update:
From the point I reached in this post I proceeded to create a nandroid backup from BOOTLOADER and copied the *.img to a folder on my PC, then used unyaffs to extract the data from data.img. This worked a treat and I didn't have to fully root my phone to find what I was after.
One minor problem I encountered was that the first attempt at a backup said it was successful, yet gave me 0 byte files. I just had to free up space on my SD card to fix this.

As you mentioned Revolutionary, have you seen How to root a HTC Desire running official Android 2.3? If that doesn't work for you, please [edit] your question and state where you're stuck. Mentioning the Android version running on it might also prove useful.

You can backup data in an app's /data/data/<packagename> folder by using Android's backup function.
adb backup -noapk com.app.packagename

You will now be prompted to 'unlock your device and confirm the backup operation'. The resulting 'backup.ab' file on your computer contains all the app's data in android backup format. Use
adb restore backup.db

to restore the backup.


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changing the default home & power buttons behaviours on Note 3
Is there a way that I can configure the following?

double press on the home button shows the recently opened apps. (by default, a double press  does that)
long press on the home button triggers the voice search  (by default, a double press  does that)
long press on the power-off button gives me the recently running apps(by default, it gives me the DEVICE OPTIONS ( poweroff+airplne mode etc...)
alternatively, long press on the power-off button gives me an option to create an action list of my own which may contain items like
+turn off the phone,
+open app voice recorder
+start google search
+even a "go back" function...

Is there a way in note 3 to get a handle of these functions/actions in terms of a shortcode handle name and then use it in making a list like that? ( I hope this part is not too confusing to you )
What's the ultimate tool/approach that lets one do these such fundamental changes in the way note 3 buttons work?
thank you

I'm not sure concerning the Note-3 specifically, but there are some apps claiming to help you at least parically on this issue:

Button Savior (Root)
Home2 Shortcut
ButtonRemapper

They all have in common that they help you remapping one or more buttons.


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Can I add special characters to the default Android keyboard?
Sometimes I need to type a special character or symbol that is not accessible by default through the Android keyboard. Currently I do this by copy/pasting them from other sources, very inconvenient.
Is there a way to add custom characters to the keyboard?
It's typically things like currency symbols (such as ₭ ₩ ฿ ƒ) or math symbols (such as ∈ ⇔ ∫ ⌊ ⌋ ∑ ) etc.

Maybe these are helpful: Is There A Keyboard Layout Creator for Android? / How do I add another keyboard layout to my ICS phone?

No, you cannot add custom keys on the default Android Keyboard.
But what might work is keyboard shortcuts. You can create shortcuts like when you type "yt" option to change to "You there" will appear. So may be you can create keyboard shortcut that when you type "ms1" it will change to ₭.
To create keyboard shortcut:

Go to  Settings -> Language & Input ->Personal dictionary
Tap the “+” sign in the top-right corner of the screen and create your shortcut.
Now, go to the Messaging app, compose a new message, and tap one of your new shortcuts—and when you do, the phrase you entered will appear in the row of auto-correct options just above the keyboard. Tap the phrase to add it to your message.

More details on keyboard shortcut is here: http://heresthethingblog.com/2012/12/04/androidiphone-tip-create-custom/

For math symbols, I downloaded a Greek language keyboard, and so far it seems to do the trick. I'm using Swiftkey, but it should probably work for the Android keyboard.


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quick way to add chrome (or internet) shortcuts to home screens
On  the iphone, under the Safari settings, there was an option ADD TO HOME SCREEN.
that gets quite handy to have direct bookmarks launchable from a single tap on the icon.
How do you do that in the android world?
I got a note 3 & I'm dying to get this functionality in.
http://cubiq.org/add-to-home-screen

Would the "bookmarks" widget be sufficient? AFAIK that's available by default, and you can pick the desired bookmark from your stored ones.

I uninstalled TouchWiz ROM so I'm not sure, on stock you can add > Shortcut > Contact  and then select dial or message each person you add. Also there's many widgets on the play store too for contacts etc!

From Chrome, first add the site you're interested in as a bookmark by clicking the little star icon. Then go to Bookmarks (from Chrome's menu), and long-tap the bookmark you just created. A context menu appears, and the bottom item is Add to home screen. If you like, first click Edit bookmark to set the label the bookmark will use: it defaults to the web page title, which isn't always what you want.
If Samsung is still shipping their own browser in the Note 3, the procedure is the same there, but the bookmarks icon is a kind of banner with a star, and the menu item is called Add shortcut to home.

Update March 2017
The above is now more than three years old, and the Chrome UI has changed since then. You can't add a bookmark to the home screen that way any more. Now, you need to visit the bookmark in Chrome, bring up the menu (three-dots icon in the top right), and choose Add to home screen.
The method of using Chrome's bookmarks widget still works. Long-tap the home screen, choose "Widgets", scroll down to Chrome in the alphabetic list, and drag the bookmarks widget to the desired place.

I don't get a context menu when I long tap the bookmark, and see no option to add bookmark to homescreen. I have android 5.0. Is this normal?

@the_prole I've updated my answer for Chrome's current behaviour.

How to do it from the default Browser:

If it is not yet in your bookmarks:
Go to browser > go to website > Menu: [Save to bookmarks] > On the bookmark page under [Add to] select Homescreen instead of Bookmarks.

If it is already in your bookmarks:
Go to browser > Menu [Bookmarks] > long-press on bookmark > in pop-up menu select [Add shortcut to home]

How to do it from the desktop:
Long Press Desktop > Add a widget > select Bookmark > select website from bookmark


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Phone stuck on loading screen and recovery mode doesn't work
I have a Samsung Galaxy S1 with CyanogenMod, and I don't know what happened but when I turn on the phone it just stays on the loading screen, something like this:

It's just a black screen with that little loading icon in it (without animation) I tried running both recovery and downloading mode (Volume Up/Volume Down, Menu, Power) but nothing works.
There is another strange behaviour, sometimes it show me the "Downloading.... do not turn off target !!!" message. When it is in that screen, the PC does recognise the Samsung driver but I have no access to it, and Odin doesn't find the device.
Any advice please?
UPDATE :
After charging it for few hours (wall) the phone now isn't stuck in the loading screen, instead it goes directly to "Download Mode" (Downloading ... Do not turn off Target !!!).
When I plug it to the PC, it installs a driver then a message (windows driver)
"SAMSUNG USB Composite Device Ready to use".
The bad new is that Odin doesn't recognize the device :/
I have Samsung Kies installed (a long time ago for my Samsung Wave Y), I also made sure that it's not working on background though. I have also installed the Samsung USB driver manually. I really don't know what to do next.

What version of Odin are you using? Have you tried plugging in the to the USB port at the back of your computer (vs those in front)?

strange behavior, sometimes it show me the "Downloading.... do not turn off target !!!" message

In fact, this strange behavior is the downloading mode. If it's true, then I would suggest trying to re-install the driver for the phone and seeing whether Odin recognizes it.

i did re-install drivers, re-install kies, run Odin as administrator but nothing seems to work,

i have some good and bad news,
the good news is that somehow Odin recognized the phone and i was doing the stock flash step by step from the xda forum, when the big top rectangle in Odin become green (the small ID : Comm didn't yet) the phone got turn off by it self, which bring the bad news, now the phone is stacked in a screen that i saw for the first time
Phone--Triangle--Computer
i can't get neither recovery or download mode
what sorcery is this :( ??!!!

UPDATE :
i managed to get download mode working again, and i followed all the steps in this thread :
http://roms.android-emotions.com/stock-rom-2-3-6-for-samsung-galaxy-s-i9000/
i get the green "PASS" and the phone try to reboot but it get stuck on the samsung galaxy home screen, it just stay there for ever, and there is no "Reboot" in the Odin Log
i tried this instructions too :
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1922505
but it stay for ever on "Setup Connection"
and like always the recovery mode doesn't work
any help please ???
thank you

It seems that you did not flash the ROM properly.
Reflash the ROM, and use CWM (ClockworkMod Recovery) for flashing.
Do not forget to wipe /data, /cache, /system and Dalvik-cache before flashing.

Alright so it's a common mistake... it's the old software running on the old android systems.. just take the battery out and let it sit for 10 minutes... put it back In let it reboot. Then restart the process.. it's also the overheating of the over working battery to keep up with the technology


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New owner of phone and I need to get admin access!
I have a Samsung Galaxy SII that I got from work. When I got it it was on a vodafone plan and linked to the work gmail account. I left the company but bought the phone off them, returning the sim card.
My new sim works fine, but the phone seems tied to the old email account. I can't update many of my apps as I am prompted to enter the password for the work email account which I dont have! When I try to remove that email it says I cant as it is required by some apps and I will need to do a factory reset.
Is there any other way I can get control over the phone? If not what will I need to save before doing the factory reset? Im not fussed about reinstalling apps but should I save all my pictures etc first?

Welcome to the site! The good news is that it should be pretty trivial to get your factory reset done. It's always good to back up any pictures, videos, and other personal data before a factory reset. Do you happen to know the model number of your phone? (Something like Galaxy SII i9100)

Could you check whether some Device Administrator is active? To me that sounds like you had some Exchange mail account with the company, which usually requires their profiles being activated on your device – and that's done via Device Admin. You should find that in Settings→Security.

dotVezz: Thanks for the welcome :-) I cant see a model number on the phone, where would I find it? Izzy: I dont think Device Administrator is active, the only option in that section is to activate Android Device Manage and that is currently not activated as far as I can tell.

Is that an Exchange email? Then YES, removing it will trigger a Factory Reset. This is standard operating procedure, for security purposes (of the company).
As dotVezz said, you should back-up all your data (pictures, documents, downloaded files, etc). To back-up your apps and its data, you can use Titanium Backup; needs ROOT. Just to be on the safe side, also copy the Titanium folder (contains apps and data) to your PC. After doing a Factory Reset, just restore the files with Titanium Backup (which you'd need to download from Google Play after the Factory Reset).


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Why video made with iOS can't be read on Android but the inverse works
I'm currently testing why a video made with an iOS device does not seems to work on my Galaxy S3.
Here's the file info from ffmpeg :
Video took with Galaxy S3:
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from '20130715_151126.mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : isom
    minor_version   : 0
    compatible_brands: isom3gp4
    creation_time   : 2013-07-15 13:12:08
  Duration: 00:00:41.33, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 17143 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p, 1920x1080, 17015 kb/s, 30.01 fps, 30 tbr, 90k tbn, 180k tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      rotate          : 90
      creation_time   : 2013-07-15 13:12:08
      handler_name    : VideoHandle
    Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 48000 Hz, stereo, 123 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2013-07-15 13:12:08
      handler_name    : SoundHandle

Video took with iPhone 4S:
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'trim.BE866F9A-654A-4C76-AC43-5CDF4923A2F0.mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : qt
    minor_version   : 0
    compatible_brands: qt
    creation_time   : 2013-11-15 12:44:22
    encoder         : 6.0
    encoder-fra     : 6.0
    date            : 2013-05-31T14:22:11+0200
    date-fra        : 2013-05-31T14:22:11+0200
    model           : iPhone 4S
    model-fra       : iPhone 4S
    make            : Apple
    make-fra        : Apple
  Duration: 00:00:21.79, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 4221 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(und): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, mono, 62 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2013-11-15 12:44:22
      handler_name    : Core Media Data Handler
    Stream #0:1(und): Video: h264 (High) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 1280x720, 4147 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 600 tbn, 1200 tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      rotate          : 90
      creation_time   : 2013-11-15 12:44:22
      handler_name    : Core Media Data Handler

They seems to be fairly the same video and audio encoding using h264/aac
The only thing that differs I can see are :

The resolution (It should not be a problem)
The FPS (should not be a problem)
In iOS the audio is stream 0:0 while in Android it is 0:1

The thing is, a video took with a Galaxy S3 does work fine on iOS without recoding it.
Anyone knows why ?

Have you tried using a different video player?

I would like to use the default player, since it is to create an Cross-Platform App iOS - Android, I don't want to ask Android user to download another player in order to play it. And since video should be saved on the users gallery, I can't even do a Player myself... I would have to re-encode the video.

If you do not want your users to download a player to show the videos, then you have no other choice but to create videos with the H.264 Baseline profile. This is because the stock Android player does not support anything higher.
iOS on the other hand does support the Main and High profile. While not listed in the iOS specifications, the iPhone 4S and upwards should support it.
It could very well be that your Samsung's video app records High profile video and can also play it (because Samsung included a non-stock player*). In any case, converting to Baseline profile would ensure that the video is playable on all devices.
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -profile:v baseline -pix_fmt yuv420p -crf 23 output.mp4

That should do it. You can change the CRF parameter to change quality. Check the x264 encoding guide for more.
* Disclaimer: I don't own a Samsung Android phone. No idea if they have a non-stock player.


text:
Lookout - Which application is trying to access the system with no authorization
Is there any log where I can check which unknown source app is trying to access the phone without authorization? Lookout keeps popping up this message but don't tell me which application is! It happens whenever I connect to Wi-fi/3G. The application says that everything is normal after a scan. I don't want to remove all applications installed from unknown sources!
I couldn't get the message in english just switching the phone language, it only shows partially in english:

I don't use this Lookout app, so I cannot tell you whether it has this hint somewhere. But I can give you some clues how to "rule out innocent apps", so you don't have to "remove all applications". With some luck, this filtering leaves only a few candidates.
First indicator you gave: It happens whenever I connect to Wi-fi/3G. So it has to be a) an app with "some WiFi permission", which also listens to the "network changed" broadcast (to put it in easy words). So first let's check for apps with matching permissions:

Guardian Droid and Permission Explorer (source: Google Play)
Two helpful apps for this are Guardian Droid and Permission Explorer, as shown in the screenshots. They help you identify apps by permissions (and also apps with excessive permissions). Taking the Permission Explorer screenshot as a base here, your suspect app should be in one (or more) of the following groups: Internet, Access_Network_state. Most likely in both: it needs to know when Internet is accessible (so it's interested in the network state), and most likely wants to access it (Internet).
With this check, you will have ruled out some apps already. Probably not enough, as many/most apps will have the Internet permission even when not requiring it themselves – to load ads. So the next step is to check which of the filtered apps are listening to the "network state changed" broadcast (an indicator that your suspect does this is that the alert is triggered immediately when WiFi was connected, if I understood you correctly).

S2 APK Viewer and App Detective (source: Google Play)
For this we take a look at S2 APK Viewer and App Detective. Both of them allow to browse the Manifest of your .apks (Apps). Watch out for <receiver>s, which declare what broadcasts an app is interested in.
By these steps, you will not end up with the single candidate, but rather with several. But at least you don't have to check them all. As a broadcast listener can alternatively be declared dynamically by code (instead of in the manifest),  our friend might not be listed in the "reduced set" having applied all filters, but must be amongst those left over by the first (permission) scan.
Whilest not completely solving your issue, I hope this at least helped narrowing down candidates to an acceptable level.

As it turns out in this case, it still leaves ~200 candidates to check. So let me suggest something I should have thought of from the beginning: investigating Android's logs. There are multiple ways to do this, like using dedicated apps (CatLog, Gemini LogCat, and LogCat Extreme are good examples), or doing it via adb logcat (requires ADB to be setup on your computer, see Is there a minimal installation of ADB?). If something raises a security notification, it should show up in the logs at least as warning (so you can restrict your investigation to this loglevel and higher ones). Most of the LogCat apps let you setup filters via their GUI. For the command line tool, you can take a look at its help page. Moreover, there's a nice article on "adb logcat" Command Arguments - Output Filters, which should be quite useful here.
Start the logcat viewer. If possible, clear "past entries" from the output, or set a mark (if the app offers this). After that, connect to WiFi. As soon as the warning pops up, stop log recording (or set the "end mark"). Now investigate the recorded lines. I'm positive this leaves much less than ~200 candidates – and wouldn't even be surprised you'd end up with an exact hit.

Thanks, but still I have 200 apps to analyze... Anyway, +1 for the tips.

That doesn't make it easy, admitted. Maybe adb logcat might offer some help then (no idea why I forgot about that). Let me update my answer accordingly.

I have a galaxy s4, I went to the settings,clicked more, then clicked security, then the section that says security update service I only checked the VIA Wi-fi Only box, clicked the home screen, turned off my wifi, turned it back on, clicked that security message that was on the notification bar, an update option came up, I clicked the update, agreed to the terms & conditions and now it never shows up for me anymore!! I also unchecked the VIA wi-fi only box after it updated just for my preference but i don't think its needed


text:
Do the new NFC options in 4.4 Kitkat allow one to have a combined digital wallet?
The new Android has Host-based Card Emulation built in which takes care of the secure element: https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/hce.html
Wondering what it takes to load NFC enabled cards unto a Nexus5 (or another Android Kitkat phone). Can one read out the cards and load them in some general app to create a digital wallet with public transport, company access and credit cards (how awesome!)? Or do the card suppliers need to enable this themself in compatible apps?
Hoping for the first option of course, but seem unable to find the answer online and don't have the Nexus5 yet.
Thanks in advance! :)

All that host-based card emulation (HCE) does is it enables app authors to support more hardware: that is, devices that don't have the necessary secure element hardware. Developers of apps that previously made contactless transactions using the secure element will now be able to make their apps work on devices that don't have that hardware. However, using HCE is less secure than using a hardware secure element, so it's likely that payment card operators will choose not to support this.
Secure payment cards
The obstacle that stops you reading your own cards into your phone (cloning the cards) is not related to the phone's technology: it's because the card is designed to prevent this. The card contains a secret number that can't be accessed via an NFC transaction. To be more precise, there's no sanctioned way to do this: security researchers and criminals have found ways to use flaws in the design to clone various contactless payment cards. I wouldn't recommend doing this, as doing so may constitute a criminal offence where you are, and will almost certainly make you liable for your bank's losses should anything go wrong.
In summary: the only difference that HCE makes is that if your bank already offers an app to do this, but it doesn't work on your phone, it might (if your bank chooses) work after you upgrade to Android 4.4.
Door cards, etc.
Unlike the high-security payment cards, with processors and secret numbers, door entry cards and tags and the like often just have an ID, which they present to the card reader. Such cards are already very easy to clone. The main obstacle has been getting the the phone to present the desired ID, and HCE means there may well be an explosion of apps that are made for just this use case. (See also Can I clone my (mifare classic) Access card with an Android device?.) However, the long-term result of this is likely to be that door entry systems are changed to use challenge-response protocols and thus become harder to clone.

Thanks for your clear answer! Too bad, I was too enthousiastic for this new addition to the Android NFC capabitlities it seems, haha.


text:
Black screen after Flashed ROM build from AOSP source
I everyone. I have compiled Android 4.3.1 for my device (Samsung Galaxy TAB 2 7.0). After flashed the compiled zip file my tablet stuck on samsung logo.
After analyzed the Logcat i have noticed this part :
I/SurfaceFlinger(  109): SurfaceFlinger's main thread ready to run. Initializing graphics H/W...
D/libEGL  (  109): loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libEGL_POWERVR_SGX540_120.so
D/libEGL  (  109): loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libGLESv1_CM_POWERVR_SGX540_120.so
D/libEGL  (  109): loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libGLESv2_POWERVR_SGX540_120.so
F/libc    (  109): Fatal signal 11 (SIGSEGV) at 0x00000000 (code=1), thread 136

I am not sure but i think my problem is linked to SurfaceFlinger. My problem is SurfaceFlinger can someone tell me how to fix it ?
PS : In case someone ask for it, here's my full logcat : http://charly1811.ga/logcats/logcat.txt or https://gist.github.com/charly1811/7488508/raw/60cc1b4795159efb3a4daaf2c05d437d73e7aeac/logcat
Thanks in Advance

Probably the kernel is missing the kernel GPU driver needed by the userspace GPU driver. Did you remember to build and flash a kernel as well as a system image?

The GPU Driver is there (/system/lib/modules/pvrsrvkm_sgx540_120.ko) . I have flashed the kernel image. After flashed zip files . I used heimdall to flash *img files generated during the build

Is it loaded as well? lsmod will tell you.

yes . The output of lsmod is: pvrsrvkm_sgx540_120 394802 0 - Live 0x00000000

Trying to follow your link, I couldn't reach the server "charly1811.ga."

@dan the link works here

If you can't see the logcat you can get it from here https://gist.github.com/charly1811/7488508/raw/60cc1b4795159efb3a4daaf2c05d437d73e7aeac/logcat

anyone can help ?


text:
Use Reverse Tethering as Wifi
The internet obtained via reverse tethering is not detected by my tablet.But i can access the web.But i cant download via the play store.So how to make it recognizable as a wireless fidelity connection ?

Just to be clear, you want to use your computer as a wireless access point?

simply download wifi hotspot. this may help you convert your pc onto a wifi hotspot and then you can share your internet connection on more than one android phone. it even runs on java phone which supports wifi. but if you have  windows xp then you might get problems but if you have higher like windows 7 or 8 then it will run very swiftly.
here is a link you can use to download it
https://a1-downloads.phpnuke.org/en/c151454/wifi-hotspot-creator-free-download-full-review


text:
My wife shares her Google calendar with me. How can I see her events on my Android device?
As what I described above, my wife shares her calendar to me, I can see her events on Goggle online calendar, but on not my Android device. How can I sync that?
My phone is Android 4.1
Thank you

See also: How do I sync and share Calendars from multiple Google accounts with my phone?

Are you using Google Calendar or a stock calendar app? Do you see her calendar when you go to Google Calendar on the web?

I encountered this problem too when trying to get my Facebook events and shared Calendar events (which were appearing on desktop) to appear on the mobile app. I solved it via the Calendar app's settings:

Go to Calendar->Settings

Find the email address the shared calendar is associated with

Select the shared calendar (if it isn't appearing click 'Show More')

Click on the 'Sync' slider to enable that shared calendar

The shared calendar events should now appear

Guidance screenshots:

Click image for larger versions

Yes, this was the missing step for me too. Thanks.

Worked for me! To "find the email address the shared calendar is associated with", I had to tap "Show more" to see the one I wanted.

There are multiple possible solutions to the problem behind your sync issue:
Make sure Auto-sync is enabled

Press your device's < Home > button, then press < Menu >.
Select Settings.
Select Accounts & sync.
Make sure the checkbox for Auto-sync is checked.

Turn sync off and on

Press your device's < Home > button, then press < Menu >.
Select Settings.
Select Accounts & sync.
Select the account with sync problems.
Uncheck the box next to Sync Calendar to disable Calendar sync. Then check the box to re-enable Calendar sync.
Note: If the box next to Sync Calendar was unchecked, simply check the box to re-enable Calendar sync.

Clear Cache

Press your device's < Home > button;

Select App Settings;

Select All;

Swipe until you find the Calendar App and tap over it;

Tap over clear cache;

Perform a resync to Google.
If that doesn't work, go through the same steps but tap clear data and perform the resync to Google.

Sources:

Google Support: Problems with sync
Google Calendar App not syncing to Google Calendar online

I went thru all the steps you suggested, but unfortunately it's still not synced. My calendar APP sync with my online calendar, but not with my wife's shared calendar.

Did you try Syncing your Calender?
Go to Settings--> Under the Accounts select Google --> In that menu select your email address --> Then in the new menu "Uncheck" Calendar and "Check" it again.
It will sync and most probably you will see the shared calender.

Unfortunately, it's still not synced. My calendar APP sync with my online calendar, but not with my wife's shared calendar.

@user46285 Your calender app syncs with your online calender which will contain the information of your wife's shared calender as well. Have you tried all the steps Zuul mentioned? Try rebooting your mobile and do again.

This thread really helped me too. Resetting my phone, then going to Google account settings & syncing all, then going back into calendar settings (on my phone) and in the list of visible calendars and colours I had to tap "More" before I could see my wife's shared calendar. Then I went into that calendar's settings and turned on Sync.
Thanks all!
Tay

None of this worked until I rebooted my phone.  Then I had to go in to Calendars and select the one I'd added via the web. Worked great. Thanks.


text:
Kitkat update on Nexus 4 fails
Hard to believe this is the first Kitkat installation question, but I don't find any. Sorry if it's a dupe!
I feel like I'm too stupid to follow directions, but can you guys help me out here -- what am I doing wrong: I want to update my Nexus 4 from stock 4.2.2 ROM to the new 4.4 following these instructions. Note that the phone is rooted and runs Clockworkmod - I'm guessing this causes my problems but I need help to fix that.
I've got the downloads extracted and added the path to the bootloader so I can run the commands. But at the step that says Reboot into the bootloader and run the appropriate flash-all script it just says waiting for device forever.
The phone is in bootloader mode, but it's running Clockworkmod so I am guessing this is the problem?

The trouble I encountered was that the fastboot program could not find my phone even though it was in bootloader mode. The solution was to run fastboot as sudo, but then the problem changed to be that sudo didn’t have the path to fastboot so I needed to give the explicit path to that as well: sudo ./fastboot devices worked (when I was in the directory android-sdk-linux/platform-tools). So I figured that I needed to change two things in the setup instructions:

run fastboot as sudo, and
add explicit paths in the flash script.

I've written a blog post that gives step-by-step instructions if anyone else needs this:
How to update your Nexus 4 to Android 4.4


text:
Possible to flash factory ROMs on an encrypted phone using fastboot?
I have the storage on my Nexus 4 encrypted using Android's built-in encryption feature. I'd like to update to 4.4 using one of the factory images provided by Google. If I follow the standard script included in the tarball (removing the option to wipe the phone), which uses fastboot, will fastboot do the right thing and prompt me for the encryption password? Or might it brick my phone by writing unencrypted data on top of an encrypted partition?

I believe fastboot will overwrite the entire partition, so it won't prompt you to decrypt the device because it's just going to blank out your data partition completely if you flash the userdata image. However, I also don't believe that you need to flash or wipe the data partition (if coming from a fully stock system), so if you flashed only the system and boot partitions it would be somewhat analogous to receiving a standard OTA update.

Yes, I'm coming from a fully stock system. The script that comes in Google's tarball does "fastboot -w update image-occam-krt16o.zip" - I was planning to remove the -w to avoid wiping the data partition. So, from your comment, @eldarerathis, I take it that the system partition is not covered by the encryption, so as long as that's the only partition I flash, I should be good?

Yes, encryption only covers your data partition. I've not used fastboot update before, but my understanding is that is somewhat akin to performing the OTA via the recovery system, which doesn't require you to decrypt your data (as far as I'm aware, anyway). Therefore, I would think that flashing without the -w flag would simply update your system/boot partitions and leave your data intact. Google's scripts always seem to wipe the data partition, but I think it's only because they expect people to use them more often to fully re-flash and wipe a device, and less for incremental updating.

Some of this is also a bit contingent on what exactly is in the .zip archive, though. It might be worth taking a quick look to see if there's anything for the data partition in the folder structure. Again, I've not used this method (I have generally flashed using their .img files instead), but putting modifications to /data in a ROM archive is fairly uncommon, in my experience. Also, since you have fastboot, any boot problems would at lest be recoverable (though you may end up losing your data or something if it got really wonky, I suppose).

It does include a "userdata.img" in the zip - I guess I'll just play it safe by only flashing boot.img and system.img .

For the record: this works fine, so long as you are careful not to flash the userdata partition. I was able to follow the instructions from AndroidPolice for flashing the factory image, including removing the "-w" option from the "fastboot update ..." command (this prevents the update from wiping the userdata partition).


text:
Android 4.0.4 tablet WiFi fails to connect due to bad authentication
I was already using the android 4.0.4 tablet with WiFi at my home. Very frustrated that when I just turned it on again today it was not able to connect.
Actually, it does connect - There appears to be two phases:

Connecting to WiFi
Authenticating
a.  "Authenticating.."
b. "Saved secured with WPA/WPA2"
c.  "Authenticating"
d.  "Authentication problem"

The first step is successful. The second fails at the step d.
Now, I had saved the password for the WPA/WPA2 network. So this is NOT a wrong password issue. But even so I did a "forget" and re-entered the password (with "show password" turned on to be sure).
What really bugs me here is there is no further information on "why" the authentication failed.
There are several other laptops in the home. They have not changed any settings for months (all DHCP with long leases).

Are you sure it is WPA and not WPA2 or another security protocol? The fact that it is failing to authenticate could mean it is using the wrong method. Also, your tablet should keep WiFi connection logs or you could download an app that logs them for you.

@enigma Thx for responding.  The message is "authenticating with wpa/wpa2".  Where would I look for the logs? I will try find / -name *.log

@enigma thanks again, will take bit of time to get that going. started the log daemon, but then figure out how where it is putting the logs. will get back.


text:
How to disable popup on Chrome for Android?
I have once opened a website on Chrome for Android. By mistake, I allowed the popup.
Now I am not able to find how to disable this popup. As a result, every time I open the URL (which is quite often), the pop-up is opened which is a pain.
How to disable the popup for a website for which it was enabled earlier?

In Google Chrome for Android, go to Settings > Content settings > Website settings. Select the website in concern, and clear the data / cache for it.


text:
Download location for Android 4.4 x86 (64bit)
Where can we download following
 Android 4.4 ISO
 Android 4.4 64bit ISO
I have checked at following location
https://code.google.com/p/android-x86/downloads/list
Seems like android-x86 4.3 is the maximum version provided there.
I am searching for ISO to set it up on VM Player/Virtual Box.

It looks like there are no Android 4.4 images ready yet for this. In the download area of the Android X86 project you can find a couple of images and more, starting with Android 1.6 (Donut) and currently reaching up to Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), and also other useful resources. Might be worth checking there again later, as I would expect they add 4.4 as soon as they have an image ready for that.
I'm not sure whether the Genymotion project (the "next generation" of AndroidVM) offers some image downloads as well, as checking would require one to sign-up first. Genymotion is another VM solution, which AFAIK works together with VirtualBox. It should be quite fast and stable, is based on Android x86, and available for MacOS, Linux, and Windows alike.

EDIT (2014-10-31): The download-area now holds the 4.4 images. A second place to check is the project's downloads at sourceforge, which currently also have the 4.4 images available.

If you go to www.androidx86.org and click on releases, it will direct you to a list of releases that can be downloaded.  http://sourceforge.net/projects/android-x86/files/Release%204.4/ is where the Android x86 4.4 RC2 ISO is one such link that androidx86.org will direct you to.

The Genymotion web site says, speaking of Android 4.4, "We are finishing baking this hot new flavour... Be ready!". As of this post Android 4.4 is not yet available via Genymotion or AndroidX86 to my knowledge, although both claim to be working on it.

The x86 Android* 4.4 (KitKat) emulator system image enables you to run
  an emulation of Android on your development machine. In combination
  with the Android SDK, you can test your Android applications on a
  virtual Android device based on Intel Architecture.

Source: Android* 4.4 (KitKat) x86 Emulator System Image

Here is a link for Android 4.4 :
android-x86-4.4-RC2.iso
Android X86 is still in beta, the above link will give you RC2. On 8/8/2014, they released version R1.
You can always go to http://www.android-x86.org to check for new updates.


text:
Recent vs Running vs Downloaded apps
What happens when you:

Swipe out an app from Recent section?
Stop an running app by going into Running section?
Force stop an app by going into Downloaded section?

Even if you remove an app from Recent section and stop it by going to Running section, you can see the Force Stop button is enabled for app in Downloaded section. Why is it so? What kind of processes are running for that app?

Which phone are you using? What is the android version?

I don't Think Phone matters, but it's HTC One X+ running 4.2.2

Partly answering your question: What actually happens when you swipe an app out of the recent apps list? So basically:

would be like tapping the back-button from within the app until you're out of it (as opposed to just hitting the "home" button)
means killing the app by sending it a "friendly exit signal"
IMHO the same as the previous item (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm not entirely sure with this)
Force-Stop would forcefully remove all of the app's processes on system level (here the app would get no chance to interact, so it cannot even save its state or data. In easy terms: all system resources will be removed from it, so it can no longer continue to run)

For further information, also see:

Closing applications
What is the right way to close apps in Android?
How can I stop applications and services from running?
What does the “Force stop” button mean?


text:
Android 4.4: How to get the Easter Egg and unlock the Dessert Case daydream?
Similar to Android 4.2/4.3 easter eggs, does 4.4 KitKat have similar or other ones?

KitKat easter egg

Open Settings
Hit About phone at the bottom of the items list.
Tap the entry Android version three times quickly. A big K will appear on your screen.

Hit it a few times or long-press to continue to a KitKat style Android logo.

Dessert Case daydream:

Go through steps 1-3 of the above.
Long-press (1s) the big K.
Long-press (1s) the Android logo.
It will open a new daydream 'screensaver'.

From now on, you can select it as a daydream option in Settings → Display → Daydream.

You can also do it if you have launchers like nova or holo. Long press home screen to add shortcuts->activities->system ui->dessert case.


text:
SMS sort-by-date mixed up after transfer from Nokia (Symbian) to Android
I know this question has been asked quite a few times. However, please read ahead.
I have tried a lot of apps such as VeryAndroid SMS Backup, SMS Backup & Restore, WonderShare MobileTrans. I also used an android app called SMS Tools which took the .csv file created by Nokia OVI Suite. Most of them work. The SMS messages were threaded as per the contact name. However, they were not sorted as per date & time. In other words, what I would expect is to get the latest SMS (sent or received) at the top, followed by the next latest.
Is there any way we can transfer the SMS messages in such a way that latest appear at the top & the hierarchy is followed? I've already tried the solutions offered by How can I copy SMSes from Nokia N8 to Android for free?, this answer on SMS transfer, SMSes from Nokia 6300, and How to move contacts and other data from Symbian to Android? to no avail: They all restore the messages, but they are not ordered as per time. Even editing the .csv file accordingly did not have the desired effect.

Which of the sms+nokia questions on our site have you checked already, so we can rule out their solutions? There's e.g. How can I copy SMSes from Nokia N8 to Android for free? / this answer on SMS transfer / Import SMSes from Nokia 6300 / How to move contacts and other data from Symbian to Android?

@Izzy: I tried this How can I copy SMSes from Nokia N8 to Android for free?, this answer on SMS transfer, SMSes from Nokia 6300, How to move contacts and other data from Symbian to Android?. They all restore the messages but they are not ordered as per time,

I also looked into 26 other results from sms+nokia questions on our site. Has anyone successfully restored SMS to Android from Symbian keeping the messages ordered by time?

Just a thought: I did not see those .csv files, and especially not their order. Maybe pre-sorting that file would do the trick? You could e.g. import it into Libre/Open-Office Calc (or Excel), sort it by the date/time column (if there's one, which I assume), export it back to .csv, and then restore the sorted file to your Android device.

@Izzy: Tried that too. Did not work.

Oh – that's bad. I've updated your question accordingly – but with that ruled out, I'm out of further ideas, sorry.

If your Android is Samsung, you can try http://samsung.com/smartswitch. The imported threads appear sorted by date latest->oldest in my phone.

I think the sorting problem depends on your messaging app. Many stock messaging app doesn't sort messages by date but by received time.
The AOSP messaging app does sort by date (in cyanogenmod at least). Textra does (4.0+), Go SMS too, and also the new Hangouts app (4.0+).

The app need not sort by itself. But if the restoring is done such that the messages are shown in sorted order, it would be good. For instance, if I use only Android & back up and restore messages using MyBackup Android app, the order is maintained.

So have a look at the format that your Android backups have and see if you can mimic it for the Nokia messages.

Connect your Nokia handset and start Nokia Ovi Suite on your PC
Create a backup .nbu file (it doesn't matter what you select for backup, as long as it includes messages)
Download NBU Explorer (open-source program which allows you to explore .nbu backup files and export them)
Run NbuExplorer.exe > File > Open > Browse to your .nbu file and open it
Go to the Messages tab and click on "Export Messages" button located above the table on the right pane
in the "Save as type" field, select (*.xml) and save the file
I wrote a little tool which converts the .xml file to the format accepted by theSMS
Backup & Restore Android application. Download XML2Android.exe
Save the tool in the same folder where you saved the .xml extracted file
Open the command line console (Win7: Start > type "cmd" and press enter)
CD to the directory where you saved the files (e.g. CD C:\my_messages)
Execute: XML2Android  (e.g. XML2Android my_sms.xml)
This will generate a file called AndroidSMS.xml, copy this file to your Android phone
On your Android, download the SMS Backup & Restore app from Google Play

Now, simply run the app on your phone and Restore your old messages from the generated XML file. You're done!

Worked a treat. Good job

Download Mobiletrans, run it.
Connect your Nokia and Android at a time via USB
Click "Start Copy" to transfer contacts, text messages, photos and videos from Nokia to the Android.

It was developed by Wondershare, you can download it from here
Edit: Maybe you can have a try with Samsung Switch Mobile, created by Sumsang

What's your relationship with this software? Promoting your own products is OK on this site, as long as you admit that's what you're doing.

authors: ฟิล์มฟอง เบียร์


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Can't "Wipe data/Factory reset" due to broken power button
Alright, so a little background:
lately my Epic 4G touch has been acting up (restarting when it feels like it, power button won't work, going from 100% power to 20%, etc) and I decided to take appropriate action. I first purchased a new battery (as my previous one was "bloated" and had water damage) hoping that would fix my problems. Unfortunately it only reduced how often the problems occurred. My next course of action is to do a factory reset on my phone (it's rooted running CM 10) and get a new one from Sprint (I have insurance) which I did following this tutorial. Everything went well - as far as I can tell - but I am experience a boot loop as mentioned in the video. The remedy is to wipe the /data partition, which is where I'm stuck.
The problem:
As mentioned, my power button is broken, but in a very odd way. I can use my power button to get into Recovery Mode, but after that it almost never works (and if it does it's as if I'm holding the power button and my phone restarts after about 5 seconds). So due to this I can't select "Wipe data/factory reset" from Recovery Mode. I tried using adb to wipe my data partition, but since my phone is no longer rooted I get "Permission denied" and any attempt to use root or su (obviously) fail. I'm not sure what my options are at this point, is there anyway I can wipe the /data partition without root or a power button?

You could try booting into fastboot mode, and then use fastboot -w. This command wipes userdata and cache, and thus should be equivalent to a factory-reset. For more information, there's a List of fastboot commands, and of course our fastboot tag-wiki.

I tried using fastboot, but for whatever reason it can't see my phone (while adb can). The Google USB Drivers are installed and I'm running as admin, but fastboot devices doesn't show my phone.

Well, somehow I was able to get the home button to register as being clicked by plugging in my phone at random intervals. I was able to wipe my /data partition and boot into stock. Now to (hopefully) get a new phone from Sprint. Thanks for the help! (I'd upvote your answer, but I don't have enough rep to yet :/)

In fastboot mode, the device presents a different ID. It seems sometimes this raises some trouble (I've read that already here in the past). But luckily you've been able to solve your issue, and that's what's important. Remember us next time, and be always welcome – cannot take long to gain the rep for "more things" ;)

+1. Was stuck needing to wipe a dell venue 8 with a completely shattered screen and no ADB access... thanks!

The following was inserted as an edit to this post by an anonymous user : "Thank you, this saved my day! My Motorola Xoom 3G (Everest) wouldn´t wipe data in recovery, fastboot -w did it! :-D"


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I lost my phone, can I recover the data from my Google account?
I've lost my smartphone (Samsung Galaxy Star duos) last month. And now I realized that it contained very important data of mine. I believe that my phone was connected to the Google account almost all the time.
My question is, "Can I get my data (photos) back, from my Google account (connected to my phone)".

I don't know how we're supposed to answer this. Do you see your photos, email, etc., in your Google Account? Check your Google Dashboard. There is, if nothing else, an option to download (some of) your data.

Moreover, you missed all the details which could help us finding an answer: Have you even sync'd your photos with your account? Maybe uploaded them to Google+, or Dropbox? If you did neither of those, there's nothing in your Google account to pick them from. I further doubt your battery lasted that long (one month, not even an old dumb-phone could endure), so direct access to the device is nearly impossible. Why did you wait an entire month before taking action?

You're probably SOL since the battery is dead by now. Still, on the off-chance it isn't, check out Plan B (described at http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/how-to-track-a-cell-phone/). When you install an app through the Play Store on the computer, it is automatically installed on your phone.
If you used some service that syncs photos or other data somewhere else (e.g. syncing photos to Picasa) then you could find everything you backed up there. If you didn't, then you assumed this risk by placing all your eggs in one basket and never transferring data off of your phone. Perhaps your service provider had some automatic backup software running (e.g. Verizon backup) in which case you could contact them to ask how to recover data.
The fact is, if your data was that important, you should have taken steps to protect it ahead of time, and you should not have waited so long to try and locate the device; and now you are faced with the consequences of that negligence.
If you choose to keep all of your critical data on, say, a thumb drive, or an external hard drive, or a CD/DVD-ROM, and you have no backups and you lose that device, then, whoops, that's the risk you assumed by keeping it all in one place. It's the same with your smartphone.
Steps to protect it include anything that generally backs up your data elsewhere (be it specialized software that syncs photos, or general software e.g. MyBackup Pro), and any software that may help you locate the phone if it is lost (see the link above for more tips there).


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Android phone cannot connect to internet via wireless, other devices can
I recently installed a new cable modem.  After getting everything up & running, I can connect to the wireless router, and then to the internet, through laptops, desktops, and a Roku device, but I cannot access via my Android phone.  It connects to the router, but cannot get to the outside world.  If I turn off the wifi, then I can connect via my data plan, but I cannot connect via wifi.
Some details:

The phone is a Samsung Galaxy S3, and the Android OS is 4.1.2
I use Comcast for cable internet.
The (old and unchanged) wireless router is a Netgear device.  (I am not sure the model number, but I can get it if that seems pertinent.)
The new cable modem is also Netgear.  It's model CMD31T and it is DOCSIS 3.0, while the old modem was quite old and I have no idea what it's level of throughput.
I changed to the new modem because the old one was becoming "spotty" -- it would occasionally lose signal.  The new modem has so far been consistently on, and with strong signal... it's just that the phone cannot connect to it.

When it "connects to the router": does it show a wifi signal indicator in the notification bar (and if, with strong signal)? In Settings→WiFi, does it show "connected" with your AP, or something different (e.g. "obtaining IP address")? Any useful information in the logs, maybe?

Well, now the phone can find the signal fine after a few days.  I did NOTHING different.  However, I had taken many steps beforehand, such as updating the firmware, PRL & Profile, restarting the phone, restarting the cable & router.  None of those actions worked, however just waiting a few days seemed to resolve it.
This is not much of an "answer", but I am keeping the question & answer so that if anyone else has troubles, maybe theirs will also be resolved by "just waiting".


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Karbonn A1+ CWM recovery
I have a Karbonn a1+ and i have rooted it. I want to install CWM recovery plz tell me the method and files that i require. Also my hardware version is 1.1.0 and software version is 2.0.2. Also is it possible to upgrade my phone to 4.0 i.e ice cream sandwich.

Download CWM here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/kf88nz9k9adugqa/A1%2B+recovery.img
Download Mobileuncle tool: http://www.mediafire.com/download/lmd4m939ymahddz/Mobile+uncle+tools%281%29.apk
How to install

Download Recovery.img and Mobileuncle tool from given links
Rename A1+ recovery.img to recovery.img
Copy recovery.img to root of your sd card
Install mobileuncle tool
Open mobileuncle tool. Click flash recovery from sdcard, allow root permission, and click ok. Thats it.

Information found on XDA Forum (source).
Custom ROMs for the Karbonn A1+ are few, but I found this XPERIA Rom forum. More can be found elsewhere. Do your research and you'll find some more.


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Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD HDMI Portrait Mode
I have Razr Maxx HD with a broken screen and partially functioning digitizer. I am attempting some data recovery. I have an HDMI cable and monitor, and I have a USB OTG hub on order (for mouse control) but it has not arrived yet. I'd like to do this ASAP and not have to wait for the hub to arrive.
It is stock, no root. USB debugging is not enabled.
The HDMI out is working fine. The problem is, it seems to always display in landscape mode, and I can't enter my unlock pattern because that portion of the digitizer is unresponsive.
Can I make it display the unlock screen in portrait mode? I noticed when I press the power button to turn the display off then press it again to turn it back on, for a brief moment it displays portrait mode on the monitor but immediately rotates. So, obviously, the capability of rendering portrait mode over the HDMI output exists, I just don't know how to make it stay that way.

@Izzy Our discussion in these comments is around the answer you made in your first comment (which you have mysteriously deleted, thus confusing the context even more), which was indirect and doesn't involve HDMI and portrait mode. This question is about HDMI and portrait mode, not anything else. The info you added was completely off topic for my question. You certainly made a bit of a mess of this comment discussion. I will delete my comments now too, because they are no longer meaningful.

Sorry for that: I tried to address the underlying problem. Please, move the link from your first comment directly to the question (using the [edit] link), pointing out what you just wrote in your last comment (that you're explicitly after the HDMI problem, as alternatives are already addressed in the other question – so nobody runs into the same confusion as I did). Then let's remove all confusing comments for a "fresh start", as you suggested (and I did in my previous comment; unfortunately, you removed my summary from your question again as well; but of course it's yours ;)

I see no need to edit. I believe it's already clear that I'm explicitly after the hdmi problem because that's precisely the question I asked. Not sure if I can get much clearer than "can I display the unlock screen in portrait mode" in a question titled "hdmi portrait mode".


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How do I format my Nexus 5's /sdcard volume?
I have an encrypted Nexus 5, and I want to format /sdcard as ext4 so I can use symbolic links. What steps should I take to back up and restore it, and to prevent apps from trying to use it before it's ready (e.g. using the Android equivalent of single-user mode)?
I've rooted my Nexus and unlocked the bootloader, but I haven't installed a custom ROM or anything else—it's still running stock Android.

It's already an ext4 filesystem. /data/media/0 is basically FUSE mounted to /sdcard (in reality there's some more indirection going on, since /sdcard itself is a link).

@eldarerathis Hmm…any idea why ln -s gives me link failed Function not implemented, then?

@BlacklightShining, that would probably have something to do with the fact that it's FUSE mounted.


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Notification bar doesn't work anymore
I have stock (rooted) android on my acer lcona B1 A71.
My notification bar is empty since I had to do hardware reset my machine by pin pressing with toothpick above the power button.
I can't for example receive any file via bloototh - confrmation is required but there is nothing since my notification bar is 'frozen'.
There are some things that still work: input selection when keyboard is active and wifi network name is allways correct.
What's interesting i can toggle rotate/lock screen orientation but can't get into settings by pressing icon next to it.
Have you got any clues what may be the cause?
Which process is responsible for notifications? Maybe I can clean some corrupted cache files or something?
I'm tech guy but not from android-world.
I can invoke some shell commands to give you more data etc...
Maybe there is some related thread on xda forum or answered question here that I've missed.
Just point me to it if you know there is.
Thank you.

maybe your digitizer is getting damaged.

It might be the digitizer, as roxan suggested. But if it worked fine until the reset, and started broken immediately following the reset, it could well be a software issue. You could try clearing all cache (using e.g. Clean Master – though I doubt this will help). Or you might rather try a factory-reset (make a backup before!), which would also clear the Dalvik cache. If the latter doesn't solve it, it's a hardware issue and a case for the service team.

Digitizer - do you mean touch screen not working in particullar area? No no, this is not the thing for sure. This is not "can't slide notif-bar" issue. It's about the notification system itself. Notification drawer area stays empty all the time, I can open and close it without any problem.

I've got the same issue one week ago. Today I flashed an AOKP ROM using cwm and finally everything runs well.


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My WIFI doesn't work
I have a Samsung Galaxy Stellar from Verizon. It's unrooted.
I can connect to a Wi-Fi network (input the network security key, etc). However, I can't use the network. I've tried it over three different networks and none of them worked. I've also done a factory reset still it doesn't work.
It worked just fine until a few days ago.
This is my wifi screen:

And this is my notification bar, where it says it's connected:

Can you define "doesn't work"?  You say you can connect, so how are you determining that it isn't using the wifi network?

And how are you determining it did connect successfully, and is not stuck at e.g. "obtaining IP address"?


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Switching app with physical keyboard, with one click "alt + tab"
I love android's exensive support for keyboard, even "app switching" works almost exactly as in Windows/Mac OS/Some graphical Linux disitros.
When you click "alt+tab" it shows:

But what bothers me is that after you click "alt + tab" this window shows "actual app I used before"   so you need to click
"Alt + tab, and then keeping alt pressed again tab"  So those are 3 cliks instead of 2.
Is it customiazable ? Maybe I'm able change this behaviour?
Thanks in advance.

Just for clarification: Isn't this the way it's supposed to? Press (and hold) the ALT key, and then (repeatedly) using the TAB key until the wanted app is hilighted, then finally releasing the ALT key? At least that's how it works on the desktop.

@Izzy No. On the desktop when you click "alt + tab" and release you will switch the app. On Android when you do the same you end up in the same app. You have to click "alt + tab, and keeping tab pressed, click tab again and then release it. -> On Desktop 2 kepresses, on Android 3 presses to do the same thing.

How about just single-touch app switching? Switchr works great! I love having it on my tablet.

the only way this works is as follows:
alt-tab, use arrows keys to select app and than press enter, once app has switched only than release alt-tab.
Hope this helps.


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How to debug "wlan_wake kernel wakelock" on an unrooted device?
The question is as short as the title. I've a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 & it has started showing issues where the CPU remains in lowest possible frequency (250Mhz) and it doesn't go to deep sleep.
I tried uninstalling all the apps that I installed in last 2 days but I can still see the issues.
Searching on google isn't helping either. Most of the posts that get in search results are the posts where people paste the betterbatterstats output. On the official wiki, https://github.com/asksven/BetterBatteryStats-Knowledge-Base/wiki/wlan_wake , it's mentioned that a sniffer should be used to debug.
I saw that most of the sniffers actually require root. So, how do I debug this wakelock without rooting my phone?

This is mostly caused by "scanning always available" under Advanced Wifi Options.
Disable it and you shall see this reduced significantly.


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How do I get Android kitkat 4.4?
I have Android 4.3 jelly bean on my Nexus 7. How do I get Kitkat?
I have tried exploring the Android website. I have also found some tutorials out there like this one - http://www.ibtimes.com/android-44-kitkat-update-how-manually-update-nexus-7-latest-android-firmware-tutorial-1469800
but they seem to require taking steps that are quite low-level. I don't think a consumer like me is supposed to delve into such a low-level ...

This is really just if you want to do the upgrade manually, now. Google's own devices (the Nexus range) have always received the latest OS versions sooner or later over the air (called "OTA").
Actually, they've started seeding it now, according to Team Android on an article published November 15th:

The new WiFi version Nexus 7 2013 can now be updated to Android 4.4 KRT16O KitKat OTA software update. The official Android 4.4 KitKat has just begun rolling out to users starting today and Google will be pushing out this firmware update to everyone in the coming days.


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Whatsapp does not show a contact. Tried "everything"
I have an Xperia Z1 with Android 4.2.2 and the latest version of Whatsapp.
There is at least one contact whom I am sure has got Whatsapp but is not shown in Whatsapp contacts.
The contact is in my phone's address book, with country code.
"Show all contacts" is selected, no hidden contact, auto sync is on; I manually synced, refreshed, deleted and reinstalled both contacts and app.
Other ideas?

So, as said, I had tried everything, Refresh included, the international code for my number and all contacts numbers, everything.
The problem was much more idiot: my friend finally told me that the number connected to Whatsapp was the old one. As it was associated to the email, it was not letting the new number appear.
Something like that.
I still do not understand how this is possible,
I mean, somebody uses Whatsapp with a number, then changes number but not email, and start sending messages through the new number, but does not appear with that number because the email is registered with the old number?
Crazy. How can then this person send messages from the new number?
Complicated.
Anyway.
Thanks :)

Some options you could try:
Option 1
Tap on  icon and then go to  Menu > Refresh.
Option 2
Tap on  icon and then go to  Menu > Help. There are some instructions their which you can try and tap on Show invisible contacts.
Option 3
Follow this article from WhatsApp to try to troubleshoot: How do I add contacts to WhatsApp?

Well you just need to edit the contact by adding +(country code) follow by the existing contact number.

Thank you, this solved the problem. My contacts from abroad did not have a plus before the country code, so they were not parsed. Just add a plus and problem solved!

Is it an international contact? Whatsapp sometimes doesn't add 00316-* numbers for me but it does add 06-*.

Mobile number should have+area code

OP wrote: The contact is in my phone's address book, with country code. So if even the country code is in, area code is in as well (or OP would have noticed trouble when trying to call that contact). Or did you mean something different?


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Overclocking CPU Settings on an Android Device
So I have a Galaxy Note II and recently rooted the device for the main reason to overclock it. I want a faster web browsing experience. I installed the App. Set CPU so that when I have either Google Maps or Chrome running the CPU settings which were at a default range of 200 MHz to 1.60Ghz to be bumped up to 400MHz to 1.60MHz. Will this damage my phone? I can feel a tangible difference with the slight bump up. Will this overclocking degrade the phones chips??

Thanks Mihic. You really helped me understand it well. So do you think I can increase the frequency a little more, say to 600MHz? From what you wrote, as long as I didn't increase the defaulted allowable range of [200,1600], I am OK. It just eats up a little more battery.

That is correct, but you are not gaining any speed doing this. This configuration is only faster in the very first moments of scrolling and loading. After the devices recognizes the load it will in both cases choose the same frequency (the max, 1600).

To directly answer your question: no, this modification will not harm your device.
To elaborate:
You didn't overclock your device (that's why I said it was safe). You raised the minimum frequency. What you see in Set CPU is the scaling range. For any given moment your device decides which frequency it needs to do what it's doing.
For example when only reading and not scrolling it needs only 200 MHz to basically wait for further input. This is done for better battery life. When actively loading pages the device will automatically increase the operating frequency up to the limit of your scaling range. This increases performance, but is worse for battery. In both of your cases the maximum scaling frequency is 1600 MHz.
You told the device to save less power when idling, but kept the maximum "speed" the same.
Overclocking on android is done by raising the scaling range maximum value above the default. For example a very small and usually OK overclock for your device would be to set the scaling range to 200MHz to 1700MHz. This modification however can harm your device, but not very likely. It also often requires custom kernels to be flashed. When things go wrong with overclocking you can see random reboots and freezes, and almost never any permanent damage to the device. I suggest you try to read more about this topic on sites like xda-developers, before doing anything else with the device.


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install KitKat factory image on nexus-4
I have never flashed rom or anything close to it on my mobile so far. I have a nexus-4 and would like to install 4.4 KitKat from the factory image published by Google. Is there any site that provides detailed steps on how to do it?

You can follow the steps in this question but get the 4.4 rather than the 4.3 factory image.

I followed the instructions posted at technostall and that worked for me.
Link:
http://www.technostall.com/nexus-4-android-44-kitkat-unlock-bootloader/

When that link no longer functions this answer has no value.


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.htaccess protected HTML5 videos not playing
I have videos in a directory which is protected through .htaccess. I want to deliver the videos by means of the <video> tag.
Here is an example:
protected video
Use test/test to login.
Without the protection the same video plays fine:
unprotected video
I've tried it with the stock browser and also Chrome.
I am on a custom 4.0.4 ROM.
Am I the only one experiencing this issue? I couldn't find anything on Android's Bug Tracker.

It doesn't work for me in Firefox on Ubuntu either. I get "no video with supported file format and MIME type found". I don't think this is an Android problem.

Works for me on Firefox 28 on Windows 8.
On Chrome on my Phone, it seems to keep loading indefinitely... Same on stock browser (4.1.2).

The bug has been fixed in one of the latest Chrome Beta versions.
Here is the reference:
https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/20bd0b28f6467339e611311aaf241d7eab388578
https://codereview.chromium.org/405663002
------------------- my original answer below --------------------
The problem also persists on Android 4.3 and most probably also with later versions.
I've reported the issue on chromium's bug tracker and it has been confirmed:
https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=331876
There's also a bug report on the Android's bug tracker for the stock browser:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=43414
I hope this issue will get fixed soon.

This bug is still present.
Actually it's present in all Android browsers except Firefox.

Both worked fine for me in Google Chrome.
I am using Mac Book Pro with OS X Maverick and the latest version of Google Chrome.
On firefox ( latest version) it displays an error:
No video with supported format and MIME type found.

On safari it keeps loading. See the screen shot please.

Thanks for your answer, but I was talking about Android. I thought it would be clear. Firefox doesn't support .mp4 h.264 videos yet, except on Windows.

Hello, No problem. I know you are taking about Android, I have just tried to check it in my computer to see if it works in there. I thought it might be a little information to help you with this. : )


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Can I have horizontal scrolling in the installed application on the Sense 5.5?
I have an HTC One with Sense 5.5 installed. In Sense 5.5 the installed application menu have a vertical scrolling. I'd prefer to have horizontal scrolling.
Can I change this setting in some way?

You can use a third-party launcher app like Nova Launcher. Nova will let you scroll vertically or horizontally via Nova Settings > Drawer > Drawer Style.

I love Nova launcher, but if you want the Sense widgets you cannot have them in Nova. Sense is VERY restrictive and from what I can see on my HTC One there is no option other than the default... This is the usual with Sense. The alternative is to root and install some modded Sense roms or such.. but that's a messy road if you're not sure what you're doing!

I don't think this is possible.
I had a look around in the settings, but also couldn't find something to change this scrolling. But there is not a single Sense version that I can remember where it was possible to change this setting. So seems very unlikely that they will have changed this.

I had the same reaction about missing the horizontal scrolling. I couldn't figure out Nova Launcher the first time around, so I uninstalled it (but might try it again later - looks cool).
However, I also found this in a review, which may help you:

The app menu in HTC Sense 5.0 has a clean and streamlined feel to it,
  and scrolls up and down rather than left to right like the S4.
  However, if you happen to scroll horizontally out of habit, the app
  drawer will automatically move to the next screen.

I tried it, and it worked for me. Not as smooth as being able to page horizontally by default, but for me it's good enough.

I suggest you to Keep all the needed icons on home pages, so that you can horizontally swipe to launch the application you need and no need of opening Applications menu every time.


text:
Are launchers as stable and safe to use as stock software?
My main concern is that I do not want to modify my Android so that it becomes less stable than it currently is.
If my understanding is correct launchers like Buzz Launcher or GO Launcher significantly change how Android looks, but the changes perhaps do not stop just there.
Also, once a third party launcher has been installed, is there a way to revert the changes? I mean, sure they can probably be uninstalled, but is it going to be a very clean uninstall, or do they typically leave junk behind around the filesystem?
I'd like to try out Buzz Launcher very much, and GO Launcher probably too, but if they're going to render my Android somehow inferior in terms of causing arbitrary type of damage or just clutter the device as a consequence, I'd rather not.
Update
Incidentally, what about keyboards? Same deal?

It doesn't really seem like some of your concerns can really be addressed in a particularly meaningful manner. There are probably hundreds of 3rd party launchers out there, so it's going to be pretty much impossible to generically state that they are "safe and stable", and the fact that one happens to be stable now doesn't preclude a future update from making it completely broken later.

I understand, that is why I gave two names to use them as an example in conversation. Those are supposed to be  popular, massively used and hopefully tested/debugged enough to be considered reliable and stable... but that is just my assumption. That is why I am asking for other people's experiences and impressions.

You could look into this question for some suggestions: Is it safe to install Launchers for Android which require quite a few permissions?

The question-and-answer format of this site works best if you put each question in a separate question post. Tacking an extra question onto the end after you've already accepted an answer isn't likely to lead to good answers.

In Android, a launcher is no different to any other kind of app. The launcher just has an extra intent filter that launches it when you press the home button. If you have more than one launcher app installed, you get a chooser dialog to select one, just like any other time you perform an action that more than one app can handle (such as sharing a photo).
Android packages aren't like packages in GNU/Linux distributions. They have very limited access to the system, and can't leave files behind them after you uninstall them (except on the SD card, if they request the permission needed to access it). Except when allowed with specific permissions (which you should always check before installing), the only real problem they can cause is using the resources of your phone: taking too much power, network, or storage.
In this respect, you don't need to worry about an unstable launcher any more than any other kind of app you install.

If my understanding is correct launchers like Buzz Launcher or GO Launcher significantly change how Android looks, but the changes perhaps do not stop just there.

I think you are overstating how much a launcher can do. All it changes is how your home screen looks, including the list of apps and widgets you get to from the home screen. A launcher doesn't affect the appearance of any other app, nor does it change how Android works. It's just an app you launch by pressing the home button.

Excellent answer. I'd like to add that Nova has always been rock solid and stable for me. Note also that, while a new launcher takes up RAM, so does the Android launcher, and using Nova means the Android launcher will not be run, so the RAM it used will be available, so a custom launcher should in theory take up the same amount of RAM as using the Android launcher does.

Not sure if you guys will get notifications for the OQ edit, but what about the keyboards? Same story?

You can try different launchers without worrying about "junk being left behind" or any kind of "permanent" damage. If you uninstall an app it and all its data are gone.
I will not comment on the specific launchers you mentioned, since this is a very subjective and sometimes even heated subject. I suggest you try them out. If you don't like them uninstalling is all you need to do to get back to where you are now.

Just knowing how often Linux software, heck this happens on any system basically, leaves some junk around the system and that too, very often, it is buggy all of that makes me feel uneasy. I love Linux, but I want my cellphone to be stable, not a development/qa box that runs a poorly tested software. Hence my generalized question about the state of launchers.


text:
Ringtone volume decreases after silenting and unsilenting my HTC Desire X
It's that clear as Title says.

I can see that current Ringtone and Notification volume is at the highest level.
I now put my phone in silence mode and deselected Silent (I selected it using maximizing the top nav(?) bar, and activating silent (and then deactivating silent mode) from there.
Now I go back to Settings and see that the Volume is very low (about 10% as it looks).

I want my settings back after disabling Silent mode and going Normal.
Environment:

Phone: HTC Desire X Dual Sim
Android Version: 4.1.1
Kernel Version: 3.4.0-ge410a46
Software number: 1.0.0. Desire X

I can also give the whole information in Settings -> About -> Software Information if they are not enough.

Can you provide more information about which phone you are using, and which version of Android?

Don't you have an update to 4.1.2 available? I don't know if the Desire X have it, but in general, every device running Jelly Bean 4.1 are updated to 4.1.2...

It's less than a week that I have bought my new phone and I haven't even rooted it. I haven't also updated to 4.1.2 myself. The information was gathered from Settings -> About -> Software Information.


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Transfer files from recovery on a Nexus 10
My Nexus 10 won't boot, so I need to copy a ROM from my computer to the device. Since it won't boot, I need to copy it via recovery. I can flash recoveries as needed and install software on my computer as needed, but I need to get the ROM on there!

What are you actually asking? I don't understand the question.

It turns out I just forgot to forward the device to my virtual machine. Derp.

Use ADB on a computer while your device is in recovery. To copy a file from the computer via usb, use this:
adb push /path/to/local/ROM.zip /sdcard/

This will copy the local file to the device in the specified location.  Directories can be created on the device via the shell:
adb shell

and using the usual shell commands to navigate around and create directories. This beginners guide may also help you.
You might also consider getting a USB OTG adapter. This way you'd be able to put the files you need on a USB drive, plug it into your N10, and flash the files you need. I do it this way on my N7 with TWRP all the time so that I can erase everything on it without worrying.

Have you tried Wugfresh's Nexus Root Toolkit? It should be able to do that.


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Is it possible to send and receive faxes over an Android phone?
Can an Android phone make phone calls in order to send fax? I mean, is it technically possible  with Android? Without using 3rd party servers.


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How can I find a GPS supported phone without an Internet support enable?
Can I still find my phone's location even without Internet? Because as I know, GPS support will be enable if the phone's Internet is active. So is there a way how to find it? Because today, someone stole my phone. And I don't know if I can still find it. Is there a way how can I start the GPS from remote?

GPS activation is not connected to Internet settings/activation. So if you didn't install any specific app before, and your device has no network connection, that's not possible AFAIK. For existing solutions, please take a look at our lost-phone tag-wiki.

If your phone never connects to the Internet again and you don't already have something installed that can be activated through SMS, then there is nothing you can do. You could try to install Android Lost remotely (press the install button in the Play Store) and hope that the phone will at some point come online again while logged into your Google account; then it will install. Maybe use Android Lost Jumpstart first, not sure how that works. At any rate, good luck...